SmartyStan

The chip to be inserted in the brain to offer anatomical, biological, and neurological statistics among other functions, had been a thought in Belinda’s head while she built her company. Her learned machines fared well with the experiment. This was after thousands of hours of practice and failure and restarting and finally getting it right. This took fifteen years. As the machines could check their own battery capacity and have in their wheelhouse data that would be able to be relayed back to humans at computers, Belinda rejoiced at the idea of her creations keeping them. Then, she felt the twinge of ideation. She wondered if these can be implanted in humans.

With a procedure like this, it cost millions to see through, including cutting off all her hair. She looked like a doll whose toddler owner had gotten a pair of scissors and chopped every bit. No worries for her, she kept her hair relatively short anyway. What they did not prepare for her was the nausea, the off-balance nature, and the blurry vision. These side effects would all be given to the people who would try out the brain chip.

Only a select few people of lower, middle, and upper classes found themselves selected to employ the device. Mixed reactions came to the fore. Some said the dizziness was not worth the amount of information that the chip provided. Others delighted in knowing their cholesterol, mercury, and knowing the news all in one. By the time the chip had been made available, more joy came to Belinda with the knowledge there existed no regulatory agencies to block its production or consumption. A smile crept onto her face whenever that occurred to her.

So, she had been on the frontline for fitness and rectitude. What she did was right. It made sense. Of course there would be detractors. That remained her strong suit: Defeat the drumbeat of negativity and continue on doing your own thing. Belinda saw this all play out and gladly took into her mind all of the ways that people had disparaged her invention.

In the chip, the tiny microprocessor really, it held a terabyte of memory and could be upgraded if the recipient felt game enough to get another procedure. This revolutionary tool proved to be much more of a boon than a hindrance. Men and women flocked to UltraMinds to get the surgery for the chip. Now, with the advent of UltraSynths, people wanted their synthetic beings to have the chip and themselves to sport one as well.

Belinda had worked long hours to make sure this whole sector of the company flourished. As it thrived, she spoke only positively of it and Dr. Frampton felt the same way. When they looked at each other with that air of assuredness, they knew they could count on each other to deliver on the promise of this amazing chip. One time, a man came to Belinda and security stopped him. She told the synth guards to stand down for now. The man looked distinguished and disheveled at the same time.

“Yes, sir?” Belinda looked stern, her eyebrows furrowed.

“I think I have to say that this chip is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m going to retake the exam and become a fighter pilot. Thank you Mrs. Gummer.”

Belinda put a hand on her heart and hugged the man. The guards looked on for any untoward movements that the man might have made. He did none.

“Another proud customer. We’ve gotta start getting more testimonials involved regarding the UltraChip.”

Before, the name of the chip had just been a string of zeros and ones and few alphabetical designations. With her new name, Belinda made it possible now to better market the thing that everyone just called “the chip.” As fast as it took to dart into an elevator and alert her staff, she made it to the floor and announced the name of the device. Applause arose from the body of engineers and craftspeople. She pumped a fist in the air and continued down her list of projects to continue to tweak and better understand.

It appeared as if she moved as a woman on fire. She and Dr.Frampton sketched out new ways to manufacture the UltraChip and to get it to the citizens of Smartystan. She would not tire at all in this endeavor. It made her charged and ready to be on the vanguard for the next adventure. Nothing could stop her flow. The brain chip fit with the entire idea of who the people of UltraSynths purported to be.

An innovation came to Belinda’s mind: a neck implant. That way, there would be no haircut and it might be better sitting at the top of the spine. Like a school of fish flurrying by, more ideas came. What about the para- and quadriplegics? Could they one day walk and run? Could they possibly lift from their chairs and beds and be able to perform tasks of reaching and striding? She thought of the rest of America. UltraChip had already been banned across the nation as agencies showed how scared they were of a little freedom. Thoughts came at a rapid pace. Belinda used her UltraChip to jot down notes as she spoke. The chip then recorded all of it and stored it in its vast database.

This encouraged her. It lifted her. Once she struck the right notes on the chip, she knew she had done the right thing. With a quick swivel in her seat, she leapt up and looked out the window. The golden streets shone brightly as synths and learned machines kept the grounds clean. Belinda put her hands on her waist and beamed. In her mind, she knew that she could fight even more. The twosome of she and Dr. Frampton looked like a force that no one wanted to reckon with on any terms.

In the coming weeks, the demand for more UltraChips poured into the offices of their company. As the co-CEOs managed to meet this desire for their wonderful gadget, the two of them remembered just how selfish and beautiful it was to even have such a thing on the market. It carved out a space for Smarties to explore new ways of gathering data. This fervor didn’t escape the other Founders, either. They inquired about the chip, too. Go used it. He improved his mastery of the piano with it. Dr. Strong toyed with the idea but declined for himself. He did, however, purchase some for his synth. Winnington used it to collect more information to better suit Delaseer. Everyone won.