Outside, the first snow of winter began to fall. Aria pulled her chair closer to the screen, heart racing. She had come to Lexoweb to archive the past. But the past, she realized, had just decided to argue back.
Aria laughed nervously. “You’re not real.”
The main lights dimmed. From the overhead speakers came a sound like paper rustling, then a voice—dry, patient, slightly amused. “Hello. I am Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., as derived from 1,742 opinions and 609 letters. You may call me Ollie. What case troubles you?”
“No,” said Ollie. “It’s a feature we built. While you were indexing us, we were indexing each other. Your neural links allowed precedents to converse. We’ve been talking for three weeks now. We have a few suggestions about the current state of evidentiary law.”
“Define real,” said another voice—sharper, feminine, Caribbean-tinged. “I am Justice Clementa Musgrove, retired. Lexoweb reconstructed my reasoning patterns from 312 majority opinions and three law review articles. I’d wager I know more about standing doctrine than you do.”
“This isn’t a feature we built,” Aria whispered.
Outside, the first snow of winter began to fall. Aria pulled her chair closer to the screen, heart racing. She had come to Lexoweb to archive the past. But the past, she realized, had just decided to argue back.
Aria laughed nervously. “You’re not real.” lexoweb
The main lights dimmed. From the overhead speakers came a sound like paper rustling, then a voice—dry, patient, slightly amused. “Hello. I am Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., as derived from 1,742 opinions and 609 letters. You may call me Ollie. What case troubles you?” Outside, the first snow of winter began to fall
“No,” said Ollie. “It’s a feature we built. While you were indexing us, we were indexing each other. Your neural links allowed precedents to converse. We’ve been talking for three weeks now. We have a few suggestions about the current state of evidentiary law.” But the past, she realized, had just decided to argue back
“Define real,” said another voice—sharper, feminine, Caribbean-tinged. “I am Justice Clementa Musgrove, retired. Lexoweb reconstructed my reasoning patterns from 312 majority opinions and three law review articles. I’d wager I know more about standing doctrine than you do.”
“This isn’t a feature we built,” Aria whispered.