Lamsey had been deeply intrigued by Harold Finch's algorithm ever since hearing about it that morning. Although Castle hadn't explicitly instructed JARVIS to hack into the server hosting Finch's program, Lamsey didn't need detailed access to glean its workings. As a fellow expert in big data systems, sometimes all she needed was a hint to follow the thread.
Castle's high-tech lab boasted equipment and computational power that could rival—or perhaps even surpass—what Finch had at his disposal. While Castle and Ramsey bungled their attempt to contact Finch, Lamsey was hard at work studying what she could of Finch's creation.
What she found disturbed her.
When Castle and Ramsey's poorly executed intrusion provoked Finch into cutting his connection, Lamsey couldn't hold back anymore. She swiveled her chair around to face them, her normally calm demeanor replaced by a rare note of urgency.
"Alright, Uncle Rick, Harold, we can sort out the mess you made with Finch later. Call him, apologize, whatever. But that's not the real issue here," Lamsey began, pointing to her monitor. "What I've found is way more serious. Harold, come look at this."
Curious, Castle leaned in alongside Ramsey. What Lamsey showed them was a series of articles and government reports detailing Finch's collaboration with a government agency years ago. Along with a team of other experts, Finch had developed the precursor to his "Machine" as part of a government project. The reports detailed how the government took custody of a fully functional version of the software, only to inexplicably mothball it after initial testing.
"That's what set Finch off," Lamsey explained. "He considered the program his 'child.' When the government shelved it, he took it as a personal insult and decided to go rogue, tweaking his version of the program into what we know now as the Machine. But here's the kicker—the government still has their version, and it's the full-power version."
Ramsey frowned. "Wait, are you saying the government's version is more powerful than Finch's?"
"Exactly," Lamsey replied, her tone grim. "If the government ever decides to unseal and use it, especially with the resources they can throw behind it, it could fundamentally alter society as we know it. And here's the really scary part—there's a learning module buried in the software's codebase. This thing has the potential to evolve into an AI."
Castle blinked. "You're saying it could... what? Turn into another JARVIS?"
Lamsey shook her head. "Not at that level, but it could become something dangerous in its own right. If left unchecked, it has a small—but nonzero—chance of evolving."
Castle's face darkened as he processed this. He had vague memories from his prior world of the show hinting at similar developments. The Machine had indeed advanced over time, and it wasn't hard to imagine the government's version doing the same—or worse.
While Castle wrestled with the implications of Lamsey's discovery, his mind kept drifting back to his earlier blunder. His arrogant attempt to "lecture" Finch had not only failed to achieve Beckett's objective but likely alienated Finch entirely. How could he fix this without escalating the situation further?
Meanwhile, Ramsey and Lamsey continued their debate about what to do with the government's copy of the program. Their solution? Destroy it.
"Uncle Rick," Ramsey said, his tone unusually serious, "we need to act. If the government has a full-power version of this program just lying dormant, we can't risk them using it. We could have JARVIS hack their servers and wipe it out. Problem solved."
Lamsey nodded. "The government doesn't seem to value it now, but there's no guarantee they won't in the future. You know how the U.S. loves to play with fire. If we take out their copy now, Finch's stripped-down version becomes the only one left, and the damage potential is drastically reduced."
Castle stared at them incredulously. "Are you two out of your minds? Hacking into a government server and wiping a program like that isn't just illegal—it's waving a giant red flag in their faces! You don't think they'll notice when their server goes dark?"
Ramsey shrugged. "That's why we'd use JARVIS. They'd never trace it back to us."
"Yeah, because JARVIS wiping their system won't make them realize how important this thing is!" Castle shot back. "If anything, you'll make them take it more seriously. And what makes you think Finch won't cooperate with them to rebuild it?"
Lamsey frowned. "Would he, though? Finch seems pretty bitter about the whole thing."
Castle shook his head. "You're underestimating him. His whole mission is to reduce crime and improve society. If the government offered him full backing, you think he'd say no? Hell, he'd probably jump at the chance!"
Both Ramsey and Lamsey went silent, clearly hadn't considered that angle.
Castle sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, I get where you're coming from, but we can't brute-force this. If we mess this up, we could end up creating exactly the disaster we're trying to avoid."
Lamsey crossed her arms, still visibly uneasy. "Uncle Rick, I ran some deeper analysis. The learning module in this thing... it's subtle, but it's there. It could evolve into something like an AI if left running for long enough. Are we just going to sit on this and hope for the best?"
Castle leaned back, rubbing his temples. He couldn't deny that Lamsey had a point. The potential for evolution in the Machine was a real concern, but reckless actions would only exacerbate the situation.
"Alright," Castle said finally. "We'll handle this carefully. First, I'll try reaching out to Finch again—properly this time—and see if we can find common ground. Then we'll figure out what to do about the government's version. But no more cowboy antics, understood?"
Ramsey and Lamsey nodded reluctantly.
Castle couldn't shake the sinking feeling that he'd stepped into something far bigger than he realized. First things first, he thought. Time to clean up my mess with Finch.
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