The next week, the work and monotony of the lab was back to normal. Except for Roger. Having the most knowledge of the new machine, he was tasked with making abbreviated instructions for the lab techs to operate the new machine. Distilling down the manuals and procedures to step-by-step instructions with decision trees for each task they performed on it was something he excelled at.

But the rest settled back to the normal day-to-day grind. Talk in the break room often revolved around the all too often tragedy du jour. The school shooting. The mass killing at work. The Russian missile attacks on citizens. The political posturing around these and other events. Other talk was around the potential and risks of AI and chatGPT. The homeless problem. The drug problem. The immigration problem. The normal small talk about big subjects. Families were almost never discussed except for health challenges some faced.

The next time the group met was at Noah’s house. He and his wife had only recently moved there and things were still in a state of half-packed disarray. The house was almost 70 years old and in a rural area. Their nearest neighbors were a large dairy farm behind and the factory workers that lived on either side of them. The house was on just over 3 acres and had two run-down barns and an old outhouse on the property. Noah’s wife was a history major from college and had a deciding vote on the living accommodations. She had worked at a living history museum in coastal South Carolina before they were married and wanted to put her knowledge to work in the furnishing and operation of the home. They had furnished the house with an assortment of antique store pieces, none matching, and yard sale/thrift store finds. One of the first pieces they had bought was a ¾ bed. It had rope supports for the mattress, which had proved hard to find and expensive since it was a non-standard size. Being in size between a twin and a double bed, it could sleep both of them, after much practice and nights of lost sleep.

Being on a tighter budget with the move and the attendant additional expenses, the food for the evening was a feast of hot dogs, chips, watermelon, and beer. Austere for some, but fine for this crowd as long as kept in good supply.

While all was being prepared, or thrown together as it were, Ryan began talking about AI. He had been a computer science major for a couple of years before changing to analytical chemistry.

“Have any of you had any exposure to Chat GPT? I’ve have been messing around with it online and you would be amazed about what it can do.” Ryan said.

“I thought that was still just for researchers and online gamers.” said Tom.

“No. They sell subscriptions to it and it’s amazing, in a kinda scary way. Twenty bucks a month and your in.” Ryan continued.

“So what have you done with it so far?” asked Tom

“Not much. I’m still learning about it. But it’s fun.” Said Ryan.

“Are you training it to do your work?” asked Noah.

“Not yet. But I may not need to train it.” Ryan said. “It can learn a lot just by reading what’s on the web. And it can read really really fast.”

“So it’s not the same thing as AI?” asked Tom.

“No. It’s a use for AI.” said Ryan. “The GPT stands for generative pre-trained transformer and uses a learning program called a neural network to soak in tons of information and date from the web to compose human-sounding responses to your chat entries.”

“A neural network?” said Justin. “Isn’t that what your brain is?”

“So it’s a chatbot.” said Tom, who’s mind had apparently been stuck on Ryan’s previous answer.

“Well. Not like you’re used to when you logon to ask questions about your cable bill.” said Ryan. “It’s infinitely more than that. In fact it may be doing all our jobs before we know what’s going on. One of its biggest promotors releases studies often about the impact it could have on various areas of human life and society. One released a few months ago suggested it could replace 10% of the work for 90% of the jobs in the economy. And for about 20% of the jobs, it could replace 50% of the work.”

“Well I’m already doing half your job.” Roger joked. “And if it replaces the other half, I guess you’ll be out of work.”

“Machine automation replaced lots of machinists, welders, and many other skilled trades in manufacturing 30 years ago.” said Tom. “Maybe this AI will do the same on historically white-collar jobs.”

“The study I mentioned predicted that high-wage jobs would be impacted more than low-wage jobs.” said Ryan. “The web can probably teach it how to do chemistry research easier than teach it how to cut your lawn.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” said Roger.

This line of conversation had produced some concerned looks from the guys. So it seemed time to change to another line or topic.

“What game are we playing tonight?” asked Chris.

“I thought we might play an old one. So I found the Monopoly game the wife found in a thrift store. I think all the pieces are there and that’s important when there are 6 playing.” Said Noah.

“Monopoly. I’ve not played that in years.” Said Tom.

The table was cleared and the board and pieces set up. Tom had drunk the least as was his practice, so he was nominated to run the bank.

The game progressed and the play switched from man to man around the board. The low attentiveness the game required was appreciated by the players and conversation flowed more freely than in some other games they sometimes played.

Sometimes a whole conversation would take off based on just one word. This time the word was “offended”, as in being offended.

“It seems to me”, said Chris, “that people are more easily offended than even just a few years ago. What do you think?”

“Well it does seem that people take offense at things that used to be allowed to pass by,” said Roger. “I don’t know if the problem is that there is so much more that could possibly offend a person, some people, or if people are just thinner-skinned than they used to be. It does seem like there are some always looking for an offense and my experience is that if you look hard enough for offense, you will usually find it.” He added.

“Was it like this when you were growing up Tom?” asked Chris.

Tom began, “Well you must remember that I grew up before any of you were even born and it was different. It seemed that there were things to be offended by, but people for the most part just laughed them off. A few would get angry, but they were the exception. Even television shows back then would show situations and have dialogue that would never be allowed now. The most popular primetime show on the tube in the early 70s was All in the Family. The show revolved around a character named Archie Bunker. He was prejudiced against everything and everyone who was not just like him; and no one was like Archie. He had a nickname for every minority that existed and since the setting was New York City, he was always exposed to them and always complaining in the crudest ways about them. The language he used would get a program cancelled after the first episode if broadcast today and the writers would probably receive death threats. But back then everyone just laughed at him. For the 1972 presidential election there were actually “Archie Bunker for President” bumper stickers. People could laugh things like that off. Today, no one’s laughing.”

“Not laughing and also not often friendly.” said Roger. “No one want’s a friend anymore, they want an ally. You either agree with them on everything and qualify to be their ally or you don’t and automatically become their enemy. And they define the truth on any matter as what they believe.”

After this, the conversation turned somewhat lighter. At least temporarily. Justin had gotten engaged since the last get together and although family questions were rarely asked by the others, this night was somewhat different, possibly because the bride-to-be was the daughter of another employee in a different department at work. That family had moved to the US the previous year from eastern Europe and stuck out somewhat in the community, although for no bad reasons.

It is said that English is the international language for business. At least they used to say that. And the husband in the family was almost fluent, having needed passable English skills to handle interactions with employees traveling there from the US company locations. Other family members were not bad with the exception of the wife who had not made much progress despite the time spent learning. The daughter was even better than her father, having been an English language instructor in her native land.

The language barrier did not get in the way of Justin introducing himself and offering to help the family get settled in to the American way after they arrived. He had been impressed by the family’s close-knit relationship and openness in family matters. Whether this was something normal to the culture they came from or just their way, he didn’t know. He only knew he found it refreshing.

As Ryan, Noah, and Chris prodded Justin for details about his fiancé and her family, Roger and Tom just listened. It was not like Tom to begin a conversation, and sometimes to not even say much at all. But when he chose to speak, the others listened since he spoke with the life experience they still lacked.

Justin asked Tom if he thought 9 months was too short a time to know someone before committing to marriage.

Tom began, “I once worked with a lady that told me that she and her husband had known each other only 2 weeks before they got married. At the time she told me, they had been married about 20 years. I have also known people who married after dating for 5 years and the marriage didn’t last 2 years after they married.”

“How long did you know your wife before you got married?” asked Justin. Tom was always good for taking a question that could be answered in just a word or two and giving a 3 paragraph answer.

“Well we lived 2 floors apart in the same apartment building for probably a year before we ever spoke. I would see her in the parking lot or in the laundry room, but she appeared to have a boyfriend at the time and I was working my way through graduate school and didn’t have much time to pursue her. But as graduation approached and I saw her alone more often, we began talking and then we started going out. I was working at a bank at the time and she banked there. It was back in the day when banks still had tellers. One day she came to the bank and walked up to my window to make a deposit. The bank put a box of dum-dum suckers or Hershey’s kisses at each teller window for us to give to children and adults as we wanted. After she made her deposit, I placed a Hershey’s kiss on the counter in front of her and said, “Want a kiss?” It was just like a movie, or so I thought. I thought myself very witty to come up with such a line. She picked it up and I took it as a sign. I guess we dated officially for about 2 years before getting married. But I had seen her around for about a year before that” Tom replied.

“And you’ve been married how long now?” Justin asked.

“34 years at the end of this month” said Tom.

“Have they been 34 of the happiest years of your life?” Justin said.

“No” was Tom’s immediate answer. “In fact they are without doubt mostly 34 of the hardest years of my life. But all in all, I don’t think it’s turned out too bad.”

“How can you say that if they have mostly been hard?” pressed Justin.

“Well,” said Tom, “I was a person who wanted to be married and wanted to be a father. So when my college buddies had all gotten married and moved away, I wondered if I would ever find a girl crazy enough to marry me. And my wife told me that she wanted to be married and wanted children when she was younger. Maybe we just happened to be in the right place at the right time to finally hit it off. Of course when you’re young, the whole relationship is around emotions and often lust. If there are things in common, that’s just icing on the cake. But if not, you can go quite a while on emotions and lust. After we were married, the children came along after about 2 years. A boy, a girl, another boy, and then later a couple more. There are pulls and strains that children place on a marriage, but there are always pulls and strains coming from somewhere.”

“Did you ever think about calling it quits?” said Justin.

“Not for long, if I ever did” replied Tom. “Actually neither one of us considered divorce an option. Both of us came from homes that had been split up and knew we didn’t want that at any cost. I thought about it like this. Everybody likes new cars, and that new car feel. But when you get a new car, especially these days, they are so complicated that you need to study the owner’s manual just to get it started and in gear. Then if you don’t do something wrong, you may get to your destination as long as you don’t have a wreck with someone else who just bought a car they don’t know how to operate it. A new car has a nice finish. No scratches. The paint is shiny. The suspension is tight. The upholstery is clean. And the engine is in perfect tune. All the accessories work. But it never stays that way. After a year or three, the finish is fading a little, there’s a bump and a scratch here and there. The suspension begins to sag a little and the upholstery may be torn or loose. The engine doesn’t respond like it did when new. Maybe a few things don’t work at all. You all know I drive an old car, and I thought driving an old car is like having the same wife for 20 years. She’s got a few imperfections in the finish; maybe a little dull or scratched. Her motor is no longer high performance. She’s not as stylish or head-turning as when she was new. Her suspension bounces and not everything works. She makes unusual noises that she didn’t used to make. But at least after 20 years, I know the noises, and which are new ones and which have been there awhile. When I hear a noise, I know which ones need immediate attention and which can be safely ignored. Marrying a new wife after 20 years is like getting a new car. If she’s a newer model, the technology has changed so much. Things don’t work like they used to. And you’re always going to push a wrong button by mistake at just the worst time. Then you’ve had it and start thinking your old car wasn’t so bad after all.”

“So how old is that old boat you drive?” asked Ryan.

“It is not a boat. It’s a ’96 GMC Suburban.” answered Tom.

“I noticed it in the parking lot. The license plate looked different than other cars. Is it for another state?” asked Noah.

“No. It’s an antique car tag. Your car has to be at least 26 years old to qualify for one. Those tags cost more. But they never expire.” answered Tom.

“So 26 years old. I guess you know every noise it makes by now. But no one keeps a car that long these days.” said Ryan.

“Most don’t keep wives that long either.” was Tom’s retort.

“But some cars are lemons from the factory. What if you get a lemon?” asked Ryan.

Tom had not anticipated this question and paused before replying, “Well, even new cars should be test-driven. And if you notice a problem while test driving, you should choose something different. Maybe you could also check to see if there any reviews on that model.”

At this point Chris spoke up, asking Tom “Remember what we were talking about being offended? Do you think your wife is offended by you comparing her to an old car?”

“She likely would be if she heard me say that. But the years have taught me just enough about what not to say around her.” he said.

“Did you test drive her and check her reviews before getting married?” asked Ryan, with a smirk on his face.

“No comment.” Said Tom.

“So Tom, do you have any advice about choosing a wife?” Justin asked.

“Well, being engaged, you may be hearing this too late. But I’ll just say this much. You should understand that when you marry a girl, often you marry her family. That is, you marry into her family. So if her family has issues, it will be hard to keep them from affecting your marriage. If she is normal, but they are crazy, how long can you avoid the craziness? Then if she is also a little crazy already, there’s two strikes against you and you only get 3 before you’re out. If she is an only child, she’s likely been at least mildly pampered and spoiled and you better be able to keep that up or you could have trouble. It’s not always that way, but it is too often. Whatever she is like before you get married, expect her to change usually after you get married. But don’t expect that you will change her to the way you like. She may be trying to change you to the way she wants you to be and that will be an interesting situation to say the least. You both will change and you will have to learn to manage that change and hopefully keep it moving in the same direction. If children come along, they will put additional stresses on things.”

Roger added, “I heard quote once along those lines. It said a woman marries a man hoping he will change and is disappointed that he doesn’t. A man married a woman hoping she won’t change and is disappointed that she does. I can see that in what Tom said.”

“And just one more thing,” Tom added, “If you ever face a choice between dating a girl who has a cat vs. one who has a dog, choose the dog lover.”

“What difference does that make?” asked Justin.

Tom began, “My theory is that cats just want to be served and dogs just want to love and be loved. So, if you want to be served, marry a cat woman. But sometimes they get it reversed and want to be served. If you want to love and be loved, marry a dog woman. Look at it this way. There are many different kinds of dogs. The AKC defines 7 dog groups. Some are herding dogs, hound dogs, working dogs, guard dogs, and a few others. But they all have a job to do and are bred to do it. When you see pets in old movies, they are always dogs. You can train dogs. They take training because they want to please their masters. How many circus acts do you see where they have cats trained to do things? If you do see one, it’s often lions or tigers in a big cage with a man who has a whip and a blank gun. The cats are snarling and he has to crack the whip to get them to do anything. It’s often just something easy like jumping from one platform to another. But dog acts, they are different. The dogs can ride bikes, jump over each other, climb ladders, and jump over things. And who has ever heard of seeing-eye cats? Or guard cats?”

At this point, Tom’s phone rang and he looked at the number before answering. “My wife. Well, I hope I’m not in trouble” he said. She’s calling just now. I hope I didn’t butt dial her a few minutes ago and she heard all that.”

Tom excused himself and took the call while placing distance between himself and the rest.

Changing subjects, Roger said, “I heard that the boss is gone for the next 2 weeks.”

“He’s going back to China to visit family,” Chris said.

“I hardly ever see him,” said Justin. “Doesn’t he ever come out of his office?”

“Well he gets in around 6 every morning and I know he’s often there late,” Roger said. “There’s no bathroom in his office, so he’s got to come out sometime unless he has a chamber pot in there.”

“What’s a chamber pot?” said Justin.

“Never mind,” answered Roger.

“I remember seeing him 2, maybe 3 times since I started,” said Justin. “What’s his name again?”

“Mr. Wen Lo Phat,” Roger said.

“Do you know much about him?” asked Justin.

“I don’t. And I don’t know anyone who does. He’s not as old as Tom, but not a lot younger. I think he came here from Hong Kong about 20 years ago to go to school. I’ve heard he really knows his stuff.” Roger said.

“Does he have any family here?” Justin asked.

“Not to my knowledge. But he may have children or parents in China still. He goes back a couple of times a year to visit someone and I guessed they must be fairly close relatives,” Roger said.

“Maybe we should invite him to our next appointment,” said Justin.

“He’s not too much on socializing.” said Roger. “Right Noah?”

“Right.” came Noah’s reply. There’s that Chinese or Vietnamese lab tech that was hired a couple of years ago and I’ve seen them talking some. I tried to get him to go out to eat once or twice after I started working here but he politely declined my offers. Said he brings his lunch and works late most nights. But if he’s going back to the motherland, I guess he’ll get some R&R while he’s out.”

“When I was working on my degree at school, most of the graduate assistants and a few of the professors were Chinese. They were always cordial, but not warm. Maybe it’s the culture.” Roger said. “A couple were from a city in China that was a sister city to Knoxville. I think almost every city with a major university must have a sister city in China.” he added.

Tom re-entered the room and joined the group.

“Well. Are you in trouble?” Chris asked.

“No. My sister called my wife to confirm I was coming to stay with dad this weekend.” Tom said.

“How’s he doing?” asked Chris.

“He’s on that slow downward slide that everyone with Alzheimer’s is on. It’s amazing some of the things he can do and yet other things he can’t. He sat at the piano in his living room last weekend and played a hymn from memory like he was 20 years younger. He missed a note or two. But other than that, he was perfect. Of course he’s been playing the piano for about 80 years. But when it’s time for him to change clothes, I literally have to tell him step by step how to change pants. Take off your belt, take of your shoes, un-button your pants. Step by step till he gets them changed. For most daily functions, it seems like learning in reverse. He is slowly forgetting how to take care of himself. Even the simple things. He knows it’s happening, and that it’s going to keep sliding downhill, and nothing can be done.” Tom said.

“We were talking about Dr. Lo Phat.” said Roger. “Was he here when you started Tom?”

“No. It was about 10 years after I started when he came. I think he had been at a lab out west doing research.” Tom said. “I always wondered why he came to our lab. It seemed he was overqualified for the work we do.”

“I’ve thought the same thing.” Chris said. “He does sometimes go to our other locations where there’s some more cutting-edge stuff happening and he seems to appreciate that.”

“How would you know?” Noah asked.

“Just a guess. I see him and that Chinese lab tech talking more after he returns from a trip and they really seem intense. Makes me wish I knew Mandarin so I could tell what they were saying.” Chris said.

“How do you know it’s Mandarin they’re speaking?” Noah asked.

“Well, that’s what they speak in China isn’t it?” answered Chris.

Noah went to check the grill to see if the hot dogs were ready and returned announcing they were.

After the initial rush to get a filled plate, the guys settled down to exercise their table muscles.

“So what does your fiancé do for a living? Roger asked Justin.

“She’s a public school teacher.” Justin replied.

“What grade does she teach? Roger asked.

“This year, she’s teaching 4th grade. She’s not very big and she says the boys here grow faster than in her home country and she’s not comfortable in a classroom with bigger boys.” Justin said.

“Teaching’s not what it used to be.” Said Tom.

“That’s for sure.” added Chris.

Tom began, “When I was in high school, a good number of the guys drove themselves to school. Since it was a small town in a big rural community, there were a fair number of boys who drove pickup trucks; probably hand me downs from their dad. In several of those there would be a gun rack in the back window with a shotgun or rifle hanging in them. It was completely normal and no one gave it a care. Can you imagine that happening now?”

“You’re making that up Tom.” Chris said.

“No. I’m not. And it’s not like I’m 70 years old either.” Tom replied. “It just shows you how things can change even in one lifetime. Or part of a lifetime even.”

“Does your fiancé ever talk about all the violence in school these days Justin?” asked Chris.

“I think she tries to not think about it.” Justin said. “And you can’t avoid thinking about it when you’re talking about it. But maybe she just doesn’t talk about it around me. It seems like it’s in the news on an almost weekly basis. I think sometimes these school shootings pick up in the spring because the shooters know school will be out soon and they will lose their opportunity for that school year.”

“Sick. But maybe true.” Said Tom.

“After you’re married, there will be other things she won’t talk about”, said Noah.

“What things?” questioned Justin.

“Well anything she doesn’t want to tell you or want you to know of course.” said Noah. “Things that may cause an argument.”

“You’ve hardly been married a year yourself.” Said Justin. “How are you so cynical so soon?”

Noah replied, “Reality rears its ugly head sooner or later. Before we were married we never had a disagreement. In fact my mom said we should have a good fight before we walked down the aisle so we would know it’s not all roses. But it happens, trust me.”

Justin shot back, “Well we’re not going to hide anything from each other. We both want everything in the open. That should prevent most arguments.”

“It’s easy to say that now. Not so easy later. What are you two going to do, take truth serum with your vitamins every morning?” Ryan, who had been listening, added.

“If there was such a thing, I’d be willing to give it a try.” Said Justin.

“There is, or was, such a thing.” said Tom. Sodium Thiopental. It was discovered in the early 1930s by a couple of researchers at Abbott Labs. It was sometimes called “truth serum” because it was used by spies and some law enforcement agencies and such to get a person to tell the truth about something.”

“Making up something more?” said Chris.

“No.” said Tom, “Look it up.”

“How did it work?” said Justin.

“It sedated a person lightly enough so that they could still speak and answer questions but heavily enough so that the part of their brain that could devise lies and execute deception wouldn’t work.” Said Tom. “Although I read they still use it in India, I think it either fell out of favor here or something more effective was developed.”

“Yeah, like rubber hoses or bamboo shoots under your fingernails.” said Noah.

“Actually it got a bad name because it became one of the drugs used in the US for lethal injections and the domestic manufacturer stopped making it. 34 states still use the stuff for that.” Roger added. “Didn’t help that the EU banned export of it for execution purposes either.”

I think it’s something the whole world could use a big dose of, the sodium stuff I mean.” said Justin.

“A lethal injection for the whole world?” said Chris somewhat surprised.

“No. Just enough of it for the truth-telling effects.” said Justin somberly.

“All the world needs. A world full of truthful zombies.” Roger laughed.

A few more beers and everyone decided to pack it in for the night. Another opportunity to save the world, lost.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3