Reuleaux's Portal

2

2

Holly sat in the large conservatory that backed onto her surprisingly modest detached house. She could have afforded a much larger and ostentatious home, but neither she nor her husband, Simon, felt a need for a larger property yet; they had married on her return from rescuing Coppélia but – as yet – had no children (nor planned to have any for a few years), so they were perfectly satisfied with their home as it was.

Simon set up a portable holographic projector and switched it on. Holly wanted to confirm what she had seen at the Nobel Awards ceremony.

“Load up our copy of the holo-recording that we’ve been watching on Nan’s birthday for the last umpteen years, please.”

Simon started playing the holo-cast, which soon arrived at the point where Coppélia had changed her clothing.

“Sorry about that, everybody. I had to get changed.”

Coppélia was wearing a deep blue leotard and a pair of matching ballet shoes. Holly pointed at the image.

“What colour is Coppélia’s leotard?”

Simon thought it a silly question.

“Deep blue, of course.”

“Correct. Remember that. Now move the holocast forward a little.”

Simon did as she asked. The hologram of Coppélia continued speaking.

“I hope you like the colour, Karen. It’s Hex #4F5A77”

Holly was now certain that her suspicions were correct.

“Play it again and make a note of the Hex code.”

Simon replayed that part of the recording and noted down the Hex Code on a digital notepad. Without being asked, he then played a recording from the Nobel ceremony.

Coppélia returned from changing her clothing.

“Sorry about that, everybody. I had to get changed.”

Coppélia was wearing a burgundy leotard and a pair of ballet shoes.

“What colour is Coppélia’s leotard, Simon?”

Simon could now see what was making his wife so agitated.

“Burgundy.”

“But in our – Nan’s version – the leotard’s blue.”

“Maybe Coppélia’s copy has been corrupted and distorted the colouring?”

“I don’t believe so. And the next thing Coppélia says will prove it. Listen carefully to the next bit.”

“I hope you like the colour, Karen. It’s Hex #800020.”

Holly stood up abruptly.

“Play that sentence again.”

Simon did so, and Holly squealed with delight. She hadn’t been seeing and hearing things.

“Well, Simon?”

Her husband had to admit that Holly was correct. She pointed excitedly at the holographic images, feeling vindicated.

“In our copy, Coppélia says that the colour is Hex #4F5A77 but in Coppélia’s copy she says it’s Hex #800020. How can that be?”

Simon shrugged his shoulders.

“I have no idea. I mean, your grandmother’s holo-cast and the one that Coppélia played at the award ceremony are identical – as far as I can tell – apart from the leotard’s colour.”

There was no denying what they had just seen. File corruption could possibly have explained visual contradictions in colour, but there was no denying that Coppélia had said two distinctly different Hex codes on each recording. They couldn’t explain it. Simon clutched at a straw.

“Maybe she’s an imposter.”

Holly shook her head.

“How can she be an imposter, Simon? We brought her back from Proxima b ourselves. You were with me. We went down to the planet’s surface together, both of us, and we brought her back to Earth on the Sir Isaac Newton. Both of us. How can she possibly not be Coppélia?”

Simon was perplexed,

“OK. Let’s take both holo-cast copies to my cousin Rory. You remember him from our wedding? He’s a Robotics Forensic Officer, an RFO. If anyone can throw some light on this mystery, he can.”

At Rory’s laboratory, Holly and Simon paced up and down like a pair of expectant fathers. After what seemed like hours, but was actually only forty-five minutes, the door to the staff recreation room opened and Simon’s cousin entered, holding not a new-born baby but a digital tablet containing his evaluation. Both Simon and Holly stopped their pacing and looked at Rory, who suggested that they sit down. Once they were both seated, he spoke.

“I’ve performed all the tests I know – twice, in fact – and there’s nothing to suggest that either of these holo-casts has been tampered with. Both holo-casts are authentic. There’s no evidence of deepfake.”

Holly thought back to a story that her grandmother had told her.

“Simon, do you remember that Nan told us about her friend Rachel, who quickly confirmed that Coppélia was an android?”

“Yes. What about it?”

“I think that maybe we should follow her example.”

The next day, Holly and Simon met up with Coppélia at a local coffee shop. The android had no need to take on organic sustenance but enjoyed meetings such as this from a social context. After some unnecessary small-talk, Holly got to the reason for her invitation.

“Coppélia, you know that you have a Catalogue Identification Code?”

Coppélia nodded.

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“Of course. It’s SAI-0046.”

Simon interrupted.

“Are you sure, Coppélia? SAI-0046?”

“Of course, Simon. The alpha-numeric is etched onto my Central Processing Unit.”

Holly repeated the code.

“SAI-0046. No margin of error?”

Coppélia wondered why Holly and Simon insisted on repeating the same question.

“No margin of error. SAI-0046. Why do you want to know?”

Holly took a deep breath.

“It’s just that Coppélia’s CIC was – is – SAI-0047.”

This was certainly a curiosity. Coppélia performed a few self-diagnostic tests. She looked at her friends.

“I’ve checked my systems. I am definitely a prototype that was being tested in the field. SAI-0046. There is no mistake. Could you be mistaken?”

Holly was certain that Coppélia’s code should have been SAI-0047. There was plenty of documentary evidence that supported that fact. There was also the question of the leotard’s colour, which Holly now introduced to the conversation.

“Coppélia, what colour was your leotard in the holographic message that you sent to my grandmother? The one where you performed a dance from the ballet Coppélia?”

“It was burgundy. Hex #800020. Why?”

“I have the original holo-cast copy of the same episode, my grandmother’s copy, where your leotard was deep blue and you state very clearly that the colour is Hex #4F5A77.”

Coppélia was confused.

“This is very strange.”

“Very.”

Simon leaned forward in his chair.

“Do you have any idea what might be causing the discrepancies, Coppélia? Holly and I have no idea.”

The android thought for a few seconds.

“There is only one explanation as far as I can see.”

Holly was eager to hear what it could be. Coppélia smiled at the couple, in an attempt to reduce any shock that might follow her conclusion.

“There are two of me.”