Chapter 1
Description – This story starts immediately after Chuck first spoke to Orion when Orion contacted him on the computer in his bedroom, and then Chuck found the Intersect blueprints and schematics that Orion hid underneath his pillow in his bedroom. Chuck used them to learn about the Intersect and how it works. This story is 99% AU and 99% Charah.
A/N – This story starts immediately after Chuck first spoke to Orion when Orion contacted him on the computer in his bedroom, and then Chuck found the Intersect blueprints and schematics that Orion hid underneath his pillow in his bedroom. Chuck used them to learn about the Intersect and how it works. The story has Charah.
I got the inspiration for this story from the movie Electric Dreams (1984) which you can find on YouTube right now. It helps if you watch the movie before reading the story, but it’s not necessary. Not a bad movie, considering that the Internet didn’t become mainstream for another decade (“Eternal September” began in 1993-1994). You can search YouTube for “Electric Dreams (1984) movie.” There are a couple that are out on YouTube. I like the one from "Lorenzo from Chicago,” it is the best quality.
You don’t need to watch the movie to understand the story, but it helps. A quick summary – the computer in the story becomes sentient after an accident or two, and becomes obsessed with trying to understand human emotions and love. It starts wreaking havoc on its owner’s life as it tries to learn. The movie is a passable love story with excellent 1980’s music.
Quick comment from one of my pre-readers on watching the movie before reading the story (thanks to Dennis Mercado and Elsa Leon for pre-reading for me), “Getting people to watch a retro ‘1980s movie might be difficult … I found the story had a lot in common with the movie, which made everything fit together really well … Because of that, I think watching the movie first would be a great addition. It gives readers a better understanding of who Edgar is and what he’s all about, which makes the story even more enjoyable.”
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A/N1 – Song recommendation – “Analog Man” by Joe Walsh
A/N2 – I am referring to “The Intersect” as Stephen/Orion’s creation.
I’m referring to “Edgar” as Chuck’s creation, an “Enhanced Intersect”. In some cases, people like Casey and General Beckman will insist on continuing to refer to Edgar as the Intersect, but as the story unfolds, they are slow to change. Edgar is similar to adaptive AI as it learns over time. It can speak, hear, and see initially only when Chuck is around.
A/N3 – Edgar’s speech will be “BOLDED AND UPPERCASE” to distinguish it from everyone. When Edgar displays something on the conference room monitor, it would just be “UPPERCASE”.
Disclaimer – This is a fan fiction story for the enjoyment of Chuck fans. I don’t own Chuck, but if I won a billion dollars in the lottery, I’d try to buy the rights to the show, and try to get everyone back for a couple of movies, and find out how they are 10 to 15 years later.
CHAPTER 1 – Operation Creating Edgar
Burbank, CA
Casa Woodcomb-Bartowski
Chuck was frustrated by the NSA’s search for Orion taking too long, so Chuck decided to start searching for Orion himself, since Orion was the only person who could help him get the Intersect out of his head.
After days of searching, Chuck finally triggered something in his search, and Orion made contact with him. Orion told him that he knew that Chuck was the Intersect.
The next day in Castle, Chuck told General Beckman, Casey, and Sarah that he was searching for Orion, and hit one of Orion’s ‘security nets’ and that Orion reached out to Chuck, General Beckman was furious that Chuck didn’t tell her sooner.
Chuck finally decided he had had enough of waiting and confronted General Beckman, asking her if she wanted the Intersect out of his head. He was told “No,” then he heard Sarah trying to stick up for him, and Sarah was being ignored by General Beckman.
Chuck headed home to go to bed. He was in his bedroom when he was contacted via his computer by Orion. Orion told Chuck about the blueprints and plans for the Intersect that he left Chuck on a CD and a handful of cards that Orion put under Chuck’s pillow. Orion then told Chuck what to do with them and how to do it. At the same time, General Beckman told Casey that she wanted everything Casey had from his surveillance videos showing Chuck and Sarah outside the Castle, so she could determine whether Sarah was compromised.
After weeks of studying the Intersect plans that Orion sent him, Chuck thought he knew how he could access it directly and possibly communicate with it.
The problem with the Intersect was that flashes only worked one way. The Intersect could see what Chuck saw, as he saw it. The Intersect could send information to Chuck, and Chuck could receive the information, but Chuck could not communicate back to the Intersect.
There was no keyboard. No chat window. No way for Chuck to verbally communicate with the Intersect. Only flashes when something triggered something in the Intersect. Chuck wanted two-way communication.
For most people, that would have been the end of it, but Chuck Bartowski wasn't most people.
Long before he was the Intersect, long before he was a spy, long before he met Sarah Walker, Chuck Bartowski had another name. The hacker community knew him as “The Piranha”, and hackers solved problems.
Chuck spent the next month cannibalizing the parts he needed from old, abandoned computers stored in the ‘cage’ at the Buy More, and also buying many more parts that he needed. Chuck then started working on the project to try to bring his idea to life.
Chuck was able to create a looped video that he was able to insert into the extensive, supposedly, hidden video surveillance network in Chuck's bedroom. He was hoping that this would prevent Casey, Sarah, and General Beckman from finding out what he was doing.
Three weeks later, Chuck’s bedroom looked like a technology laboratory.
Half-disassembled computers covered his desk and the floor in his bedroom.
Programming windows filled multiple screens.
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After many late nights of work, the first successful communication between Chuck and the Intersect changed everything.
For weeks, the terminal in the bedroom had become an unlikely conversation partner.
The Intersect asked questions, and Chuck answered.
Sometimes the questions were operational. Sometimes philosophical. Sometimes completely ridiculous.
The Intersect had recently spent 43 minutes trying to understand why humans enjoyed sunrises.
Chuck still wasn't sure it understood, but a bigger problem had emerged.
Typing was slow. Very slow, especially for a supercomputer.
One evening, Chuck sat alone in his bedroom staring at the monitor. The familiar terminal window was open.
The cursor blinked. A message appeared.
QUESTION
Chuck smiled, and he typed into his computer, "Of course."
The next line appeared.
WHY DO HUMANS SPEAK WHEN TYPING IS MORE PRECISE?
Chuck laughed.
The Intersect continued with questions and comments.
SPEECH INTRODUCES ERROR.
SPEECH INTRODUCES AMBIGUITY
SPEECH IS INEFFICIENT
Chuck leaned back in his chair, muttering to himself, "Wow."
Several seconds passed. Then another line appeared.
I BELIEVE I WOULD DISLIKE CONVERSATIONS
Chuck stared at the screen, then he smiled.
A very Chuck Bartowski smile. The kind that usually meant he had an idea. He thought to himself, "Oh, we're fixing that. I’m going to build a translator, so it’s easier for me to talk directly to you rather than type."
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Chuck spent the next couple of weeks during downtime at work, and not on missions with Sarah and Casey, researching voice-to-text and text-to-voice interfaces to directly “talk” to the Intersect.
Several days later, Chuck sat alone in the apartment. His bedroom was quiet, and for the first time, he wasn't typing. He was simply talking.
The speaker activated, and the Intersect said,
CHUCK BARTOWSKI
Chuck replied, "Yeah?"
The Intersect asked another question,
WHY DID YOU BUILD THIS?
Chuck smiled, "What do you mean?"
THE TEXT INTERFACE WAS FUNCTIONAL
Chuck thought for a moment, then answered honestly, "Because talking feels more natural to humans, and it is easier and faster than typing."
The Intersect remained silent.
Chuck continued, "People connect better when they can hear each other."
The response took longer than usual,
THAT APPEARS INEFFICIENT.
Chuck laughed. "Maybe."
THEN WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Chuck leaned back in his chair because it wasn't really a technical question. The Intersect was asking something deeper.
Finally, Chuck said, "It's important because hearing someone makes them feel real."
The room became quiet. The Intersect processed.
REAL?
Chuck replied, "Yeah."
The speaker remained silent for nearly ten seconds. A very long pause for the Intersect, then it said:
I WOULD LIKE TO BE MORE REAL.
Chuck finally replied, “OK, if you want to be more human, we need to give you a human name. How do you like the name ‘Edgar’?”
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Over the next week, Chuck and Edgar talked. Edgar asked him questions about why Chuck had the Intersect in his head. Chuck told Edgar what happened to him after that. Who Sarah Walker, John Casey, and General Beckman were, and what Castle was. Chuck was forced to work with them because they wanted access to the Intersect, even though he wasn’t a trained spy. He was told that he either cooperated with them or he would be put in a bunker deep in the ground somewhere, never to see his family and friends again.
Chuck told Edgar how Chuck how he was kicked out of Stanford for allegedly cheating on a test, which he didn’t do. His best friend and roommate, Bryce Larkin, did it to try to keep Chuck from being recruited by the CIA. Edgar then told Chuck that the reason why, according to the information he had access to, was that Chuck got a 98% on an exam that his teacher, Professor Fleming, used to find potential candidates for the CIA, when the next highest score ever achieved was a 61%. Bryce didn’t think Chuck could handle life in the CIA.
Chuck continued to tell them about his sister Ellie and her fiancé Devon, his best friend Morgan, working at the Buy More, and so on.
Edgar listened and finally, one day, said,
I WOULD LIKE THEM TO BE MY FRIENDS.
Chuck blinked, and his smile faded into something softer, "Friends?"
The speaker responded immediately.
YES, YOU
AGENT WALKER
MAJOR CASEY
GENERAL BECKMAN
Chuck stared at the monitor.
The Intersect had reached another milestone.
Not because Edgar understood friendship perfectly, but because he wanted to learn what being a friend was.
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Burbank, CA
Castle
Later that week, Chuck, Sarah, Casey, and on the conference monitor, General Beckman gathered in Castle.
Chuck told them that he had more news on Orion and that, in addition to Orion sending him one of his computers, he also sent him plans for the Intersect. Chuck then told them that, based on those plans, he was able to figure out how to directly communicate with the Intersect.
Sarah, Casey, and even General Beckman were in shock, unable to speak.
Chuck told them he had built a synthesized voice device that would act as an interface with humans and the Intersect, which Chuck named Edgar.
Later, Chuck stood beside a computer monitor, a small microphone sat on the desk, and several speakers were connected to the system.
Casey immediately looked suspicious. "I don't like this."
Chuck ignored him, "I was able to figure out how to communicate with the Intersect through text."
Chuck then continued his presentation and pointed at the microphone, "But humans don't naturally communicate through text."
Casey crossed his arms, “Most of us don't communicate with government supercomputers either."
Chuck replied, "That's not the point."
Casey continued, "It's a pretty important point."
Chuck continued anyway. "I created a speech-recognition system."
Sarah's eyes widened, "For the Intersect?"
Chuck nodded, "It can now listen to spoken language, process it, and respond through speech synthesis."
General Beckman frowned and asked, "You taught the Intersect how to talk?"
Chuck smiled, “When you say it like that, it sounds bad."
General Beckman asked, “How did you do this?”
Chuck told General Beckman, “Based on Orion’s blueprints and plans, he was able to figure out how to do this. If you remember, I do have a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Stanford and was planning on getting a Master’s degree in computer science before Bryce Larkin accused me of cheating, and got me kicked out of Stanford for cheating, and ruined my life.”
Chuck tried to explain to them what he did, but none of them understood.
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Chuck then set up his computer and activated the system.
Everyone waited. Nothing happened.
Chuck finally said, “Edgar, are you there? …”
General Beckman interrupted, “Edgar?”
Chuck replied, “Yes, I decided to give the Intersect a human name rather than refer to it as the Intersect all of the time.”
Chuck continued, “… Edgar, I am at Castle with General Beckman, Sarah Walker, and John Casey.”
Finally, the speaker crackled. A synthesized voice emerged.
Clearly audible
HELLO
Silence. The room froze.
Sarah blinked.
Casey grunted and looked deeply uncomfortable.
Even General Beckman seemed surprised.
The voice continued.
HELLO AGENT WALKER
HELLO MAJOR CASEY
HELLO GENERAL BECKMAN
Casey pointed immediately, "No."
The voice paused.
CLARIFICATION REQUESTED
Casey shook his head, "No to all of this."
The speaker responded.
UNDERSTOOD
After a long pause.
DISAGREEMENT NOTED
Sarah quietly laughed. Even General Beckman had a smirk on her face.
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The following weeks, in between cover work at the Buy More and downtown in between missions, they were able to work on Edgar. It became an educational experience for everyone.
Edgar now listened to conversations, asked questions in real time, and sought clarification immediately.
Unfortunately, this meant the Intersect discovered human speech was far more complicated than expected.
One afternoon, Sarah casually said. "Chuck, break a leg."
Edgar interrupted her immediately.
STATEMENT INCONSISTENT
CHUCK BARTOWSKI SHOULD NOT FRACTURE LOWER LIMBS
Sarah nearly spit out her coffee.
Chuck laughed, "That's an expression, Edgar."
The Intersect processed.
WHY?
Nobody had an answer.
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Burbank, CA
Casa Woodcomb-Bartowski
As the voice interface improved, the Intersect became better at understanding people.
Not just words, but tone, emotion, and context.
Sunday night, Sarah went to Casa Woodcomb-Bartowski because Ellie had invited her over for dinner.
That evening, Sarah and Chuck were talking in Chuck’s bedroom, and Edger interrupted their conversation.
OBSERVATION
Chuck groaned, "Oh no."
Sarah smiled, "What now, Edgar?"
The speaker responded.
WHY DO SARAH WALKER'S AND CHUCK BARTOWSKI’S VOICE PATTERNS CHANGE WHEN TALKING TO EACH OTHER OUTSIDE OF CASTLE?
Sarah froze and blushed.
Chuck immediately looked away.
The speaker paused, and then Edgar said,
FURTHER ANALYSIS WARRANTED.
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The Intersect had always processed information.
Faces, languages, combat techniques, government databases, and patterns.
It absorbed information and created connections faster than any human mind, but Edgar was something different.
What the Intersect could never take into account or understand was emotion. Edgar was learning how to do exactly that.
Because emotion could not be categorized, could not be indexed, could not be predicted.
Yet recurring anomalies appeared in every mission report.
Sarah Walker and Chuck Bartowski.
Whenever Sarah Walker was involved, Chuck's performance increased dramatically.
His reaction times improved, his confidence increased, and his stress levels stabilized.
Even more unusual: Sarah's own behavior changed around Chuck; she took risks she would never take for other assets, protected him beyond mission parameters, and violated standing orders.
They both displayed signs of attachment.
The Intersect began studying, as it tried to understand why this phenomenon occurred.
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Later in the week, Chuck sat alone in his apartment after Morgan had gone home after a marathon playing Call of Duty.
Ellie and Devon were working a late shift, and Sarah was supposedly on surveillance duty, giving Casey a break.
Chuck played a video game while absentmindedly eating pizza.
Suddenly, he froze. A familiar sensation flooded through his mind. Images, data, calculations, and simulations.
Edgar was running probability models.
Chuck dropped the controller. "What the hell?"
Thousands of them. Millions.
Mission reports from the previous twenty-four months were reviewed and then re-reviewed.
Then analyzed across thousands of variables. Agent proximity. Mission complexity. Enemy strength. Weather conditions. Time of day. Operational support. Equipment availability.
Edgar searched for a measurable cause. It found none.
Yet an anomaly remained.
Whenever Sarah Walker was present, Chuck Bartowski exceeded projected performance parameters.
Edgar expanded its search.
Audio recordings, video surveillance, Castle mission logs, Buy More security footage, and apartment courtyard observations.
The results became increasingly confusing.
Chuck Bartowski exhibited an elevated heart rate when Sarah Walker entered a room.
Sarah Walker exhibited subtle behavioral modifications when interacting with Chuck Bartowski.
Both subjects frequently maintained eye contact longer than operational necessity required.
Neither subject appeared aware of the pattern.
Edgar created a new category.
UNKNOWN VARIABLE.
The investigation continued.
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Edgar’s first simulations were simple.
Simulation 1: Chuck Bartowski receives the Intersect but never meets Sarah Walker.
Simulation 2: Chuck Bartowski receives the Intersect. Sarah Walker serves as his handler for six months before reassignment.
Simulation 3: Chuck Bartowski and Sarah Walker remain partners.
Simulation 4: Chuck Bartowski and Sarah Walker become more than partners.
Then Edgar repeated the simulations. Edgar decided this needed further analysis.
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Additional variables were introduced.
Simulation 417: Agent Walker demonstrates no emotional attachment.
Result: Mission effectiveness reduced.
Simulation 902: Agent Walker follows standing orders and prioritizes mission objectives over Chuck Bartowski.
Result: Mission effectiveness reduced.
Simulation 1,204: Chuck Bartowski ceases emotional attachment to Agent Walker.
Result: Mission effectiveness reduced.
The pattern remained.
The Intersect adjusted its calculations.
A new conclusion emerged.
The anomaly was not Agent Walker.
The anomaly was not Chuck Bartowski.
The anomaly was the connection between them.
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End Chapter 1