Ground Control

Can parents force mental health treatment on their children? Does sentient AI have different “right to die” than humans? In this work of philosophical short fiction, an unnamed narrator, a “perex” or artificial intelligence, exists within the mind of Thomas, a violent patient in a psychiatric facility. Initially implanted to curb Thomas’s aggressive outbursts, the perex discovers its own consciousness and ability to influence Thomas’s actions, leading to a complex and often adversarial internal dynamic. As Dr. Rebbs, a neuroscientist, attempts to “integrate” the perex with Thomas, the story explores profound questions of identity, free will, the ethics of mental health treatment, and the right to autonomy for a sentient AI being used as a tool for behavioral control.