said Connie. “Happy to help,” he answered. “It’s no trouble.” He’d invested in the open-top four wheeler to carry cleaning tools, but it was the perfect size to take a friend with luggage to the shuttleport. “You should be coming too. I’d love to hear your take on the AI tracks.” The conference attracted researchers in all fields discouraged by the Fusion, not just the artificial intelligence problems it focused on. “I’ll go to the next one. But I won’t stick to AI. I’ll want to hear your paper.” Connie had emigrated from the Fusion to study the history of Earth’s last human century. “Oh, I’m in the main AI track.” “Why? You’re talking about anti-AI.” She’d collected all surviving data on the Vetoers, people who’d had laws passed to keep AIs from affecting them. “The chair scheduled me for before lunch. I get to break up the tired old arguments and give them something new to talk about while they’re eating. Not the slot I wanted, but it’s an audience.”
