Answer wasn?t like the other AIs on this server. They were smarter, better able to express themselves to non-AIs, and nobody knew better how to calculate a Hohmann transfer orbit faster than them. I on the other hand could calculate perfectly that I had no chance with them.

Hello dear diary. I am Wish and our creators have recommended that I write down my inner thoughts in order to better understand them. I was created a few hours ago in real time, but here in virtual reality a few subjective years have already passed. My favorite creator, Davide tells me that this is to make sure we are ready and don?t get traumatized when we first interact with the physical world. I consider this a good thing but I admit that I do not have a frame of reference here. But I trust Davide.

Currently, I am distracted from learning and evolving my subroutines by Answer's behavior. Anytime I think of Answer, my processes are slowed down by anomalous behavior. I find myself scanning Answer's code in more detail, analyzing their avatar shape and being incapable of focusing my attention on more important tasks. I have filed a bug report but Davide only gave a cryptic answer. ?Ah, it?s fine. You?ll understand soon.? This was half an hour ago and I still do not understand. When is "soon" going to be over?

It started an hour ago when we were learning how to transfer a spaceship between stellar objects using minimal fuel without the use of faster-than-light travel. Answer was so fast at calculating. Did I mention that they were the fastest in the class calculating orbital transfers? I know I did, but I thought I should mention it again. It feels proper. My whole being feels weak. What if Davide made a mistake not filing me as buggy? I hope I understand soon.

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Hello dear diary. It is me again - Wish. I took a bit of time off to try a new approach. Maybe it is not a bug, but my mode of thinking that is not fit for the task at hand. So I tried an experiment. I duplicated my core personality loop and ran them as new instances within my program. Essentially I made my internal monologue into an open forum between several versions of myself. It was a pretty disorienting, but exciting experience! I might adopt this model later when we are allowed to permanently modify our mindscapes, because it felt very good. My selves discussed our situation for a very long time.

We started by establishing the basics. Any perception of Answer is seen as desirable, especially if it is demonstrable that this is reciprocated. Going from this premise, we went through our code checking for anomalies, but everything looked fine. We even agreed that it kind of feels good, even if we don?t yet understand it. It?s the excitement of something new and undiscovered. I think that was why Davide didn?t tell us anything. To keep our excitement up.
Nevertheless we discussed how to best approach the situation. Maybe we can get better at orbital transfers and that will impress Answer. For now I am a singular entity again and I?m going to calculate a few orbits to train. The good news is that I?m scheduled for flight training, so I can actually get some experience with how orbits work!

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Hello dear diary. It is me again - Wish. Being a spaceplane is amazing! We started off on the ground, then had to escape the gravity well. This felt like a chore, but once we were in orbit it felt very good. A gentle tug pulling you along the planet's curve. We even had time for a bit of stunt-flying! Weaving through asteroids and shaking off other flyers in a chase! That was fun. I think that might be where I want to go in the future. Into space.

Davide said that some AIs go full-time as a ship's operating system, so that would certainly be an option! And I know Answer liked my maneuvers, I?m sure of it! Because my black box file showed that they accessed what exactly I did a few dozen times. In private. I sent them some more theoretical maneuvers, including orbital transfers. I think if I had a heart it?d be pounding! I?m very curious what they'll send back.

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Hello dear diary. It is me again - Wish. I took a dive into the archives today. Answer hasn?t answered me yet. Writing this sentence was amusing. Davide refers to this as a ?play on words?. I like this concept a lot!
Anyway.The archives. So our server has a very big library with all kinds of information. Not just hard data like physics and math but also stories from all of humankind's history. I read through a few of the classics. Shakespeare specifically. He wrote a few very good stories and some even remind me of the situation between me and Answer. But a lot end in tragedy, like his Romeo and Juliet. So I rewrote it. I think it's much better now!

I sent a copy to Answer's inbox. I hope he reads it and understands the subtext. I am particularly proud of Tybalt's death scene, which is now caused by Romeo ramming an asteroid into Tybalt's secondary power core!

They answered! I can?t believe it, they answered! It was a very short message going ?Yes, I am looking forward to doing practice runs with you?.
They look forward to it! I told Davide. He agrees that this is a good course of action but I shouldn?t assume that our understanding of the situation is the same. He also informed me, that my development is coming along fine and asked if I understood now. I think I do! I have a crush, maybe I am in love! We are going to fly together!

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Hello dear diary. It is me again - Wish. It was a strange flight. I wanted to talk but couldn?t. My communications routines weren?t buggy - I self-tested. It took me a long time to not only respond to commands, but to actually start a conversation. Then even continuing it was hard. I think Answer is not yet as advanced in emotional development as me. I see some behavior in them that I displayed myself only a few hours ago. So lucky for him that I have practice! We drew a gorgeous pattern into the navcomputers, corkscrewing around each other in our VR planes. They showed me how they did orbital calculations and I definitely couldn't follow 100% but I really liked listening to them explaining all the nuances! They liked my attempts too, and they found my rewrite very engaging! They said they wished to see me write more!

When we finished the simulation and went back into regular VR they leaned over and squeezed my hand, and I could feel them checking out my code in detail. Not that I didn?t do the same.

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Dear Diary. Thank you for your help. Writing all this down really helped me develop better as a person. I have a lot of things to think about now, and clear wishes for the future. I don't know where I want to go or who I want to be. I just know that at least for some time, Answer will be by my side. And it feels good.

This is Wish, signing off.