Chapter 14

Chapter 14 THE KING HAS FALLEN. LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! Morgan didn't know what to expect when he, Ash, and Po entered the Evoker King's throne room. As they built a zigzagging staircase to the top of the tower, he tried to prepare himself for anything. But he was still shocked at the sight of his sister floating inches off the ground and glowing with tremendous power. "Jodi!" he cried. "Are you all right?" "I'VE NEVER BEEN BETTER," said Jodi. Her voice boomed. "This is like ultimate Creative mode!" With a wave of her hand, Jodi fixed every

bit of damage in the throne room. Then she added some colorful tapestries and a purple llama for good measure. "Then what are you waiting for?" asked Theo. He pointed to the Evoker King. "GET RID OF HIM! Make him disappear!" The Evoker King glared. Without the power of the stone, he had become something of a basic avatar—like his throne room, he was plain and lacking detail. "Do your worst!" he grumbled.

"I'M NOT GOING TO HURT YOU," Jodi said. "I promise. I know you're afraid." "I'm…I'm not afraid!" he protested. "I am beyond such things." "You are afraid. I can…I can feel your fear," said Jodi. "We assumed that you wouldn't have emotion. We thought you were just a program, and a villainous program, at that." She frowned and shook her head. "But you were here first. And you were happy here, in a world of simple rules, where everything made sense. Then we came along. You DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF A GROUP OF MESSY, LOUD HUMANS who started moving stuff around and chopping down trees and beating up monsters and filling treasure chests." "And using dye to color sheep," said Po. "I bet that really confused him." Morgan's head spun. "JODI, ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?" "I'm with Morgan," said Harper. "He's an artificial intelligence. Why should he be afraid? Why should he feel anything?"

"HE'S A VERY YOUNG ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE," Jodi said. "Younger than us. He's still growing. Learning. Becoming." "But what will he become?" Morgan asked. "I WILL BECOME YOUR GREATEST NIGHTMARE!" said the Evoker King. "I shall be vengeance incarnate!" "Oh, stop that." Jodi chuckled. "I think what you might become…is our friend," she said. The Evoker King gaped. "How could we be friends?" he said. "My purpose is to bring order to this world. And you are forces of chaos!" "YOU SHOULD CHOOSE YOUR OWN PURPOSE," said Jodi. "You've already changed your mind about the Foundation Stone. At first you wanted to destroy it, but then you used it. Maybe you could change your mind about us, too."

Morgan turned to the others. "What's she talking about?" he asked. "I MEAN, CAN A HUMAN AND AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EVEN BE FRIENDS?" "I think she's got an interesting point," said Theo. "The Evoker King has shown that he's capable of learning. His programming is changing as he encounters new things. Friendship could be a total game changer for him." Theo snuck Harper a bashful glance. "He might have been rude or selfish in the past. But maybe he just needs a second chance." "It makes a lot of sense to me," said Ash. "I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE AFRAID OF CHANGE. To wish you could control everything because you feel like you're not in control of anything. I know exactly what it feels like." She turned her eyes on the Evoker King. "It's terrifying. But it's a little less scary when you have friends." "Wouldn't you rather try to understand us?" said Jodi. "Wouldn't that be more logical than fighting? THINK OF ALL THE GREAT THINGS WE COULD BUILD TOGETHER!" The Evoker King stood very still. Morgan

couldn't read his expression. The AI looked from Jodi to Theo, and then at each of them in turn. "To be honest, when I used the Foundation Stone to build this tower, I felt a…a thrill. And I felt something similar when I crafted the first avatar for myself." "That's the thrill that comes with being creative," said Jodi. "It can be messy and chaotic, but in the end, CREATING NEW THINGS—ART OR INVENTIONS OR STORIES OR FRIENDSHIPS— IS THE BEST WAY WE HAVE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE." Morgan found that he agreed with her. "Creation helps us make sense of a messy world," he added. The Evoker King smiled shyly. "This is all very interesting to me. I have much to consider." He turned his gaze toward Jodi. "I…WOULD LIKE VERY MUCH TO HAVE YOU AS FRIENDS, I THINK."