24
Despite Marian's clinginess, she was enthusiastic about getting to know Endless. So to that end, she had immediately absconded with our latest comrade, showing her around the Outpost.
Which left me free.
At first, I wanted to go catch up with everyone, but it seemed like my squad had chosen today to completely destress in their own ways.
Anis was holed up in her room, apparently binge watching some music videos or something based on the music echoing from her room.
Rapi was quietly journaling when I checked in on her.
Nami was doing our paperwork, and happily so.
Suri was out patrolling.
Neon was in her room and working on incorporating coilgun principles into her shotgun... a scary thought.
And Hana was taking a stroll in the flower garden, enjoying nature.
"Huh." I blinked, standing in the middle of the Outpost, completely on my own for once. "This is new."
No messages. No requests. No subordinates that I needed to keep an eye on or order around because we had a mission.
Just me.
I fiddled with my uniform and thought about what I should do today. Then I pulled out my phone and created a group chat with everyone called [The Brave]
===
[The Brave]
HOOPA: Everyone added?
Anis: Huh? Oh, right. We can't use Counters anymore since we changed names.
Rapi: I could have created the chat if you asked, Commander.
HOOPA: No worries. I'm free right now anyway. Everyone taking it easy?
Endless: Take it easy?
Anis: @Endless are you reaaaally a robot? Because you're like, waaaay too humanlike...
Endless: I am not a robot. I am a synthetic lifeform. An 'android' would be closer. Or more accurately, Gynoid.
Anis: EW. Yeah, no. Just calling you Endless. Gyn... whatever sounds like a disease for... that.
Neon: That?
Anis: Don't tell me you don't get it, Neon!
Neon: XD Just messing with you.
Marian: Commander! Is it fine if Endless and I do some test firing of rounds?
Neon: OOOHHH! I WANT IN!
Rapi: Please be responsible.
HOOPA: Uh. What Rapi said. Don't do anything that would reshape the terrain.
Endless: Understood. I will aim into the sky.
HOOPA: Also don't do anything that will attract Raptures to us...
Nami: Oh! There's a group chat now? Hi everyone!
Anis: Nami! Heeeey! Are you seriously going to sit inside and do paperwork all day?
Nami: It's fun! And I like being productive!
Hana: [flower1.png], [flower2.png], [flower3.png]
Hana: These are beautiful, aren't they?
Anis: Whoa! You're amazing at that, Hana!
Hana: Thank you.
Suri: ...I'm muting this.
Anis: Oh sure, go ahead and just IGNORE us, Suri.
Suri: ...
Anis: I was being sarcastic btw
[Suri has left the chat]
[HOOPA has added Suri to the chat]
HOOPA: @Suri Muting is fine, Suri. Don't leave though. This is how we're going to communicate on days like this.
Suri: Fine. I'm on patrol though, so I won't be talking much.
Anis: Seriously? You're patrolling on break?
Suri: One of us has to. ...And it keeps my mind off things.
Rapi: Mental health is important. Whatever works.
Anis: Speaking of mental health... Commander! Are you taking care of yourself? Because you're DEFINITELY a bad day away from going supervillain on us all. Don't do that, okay?
[Suri has liked Anis's message]
[Rapi has liked Anis's message]
[Neon has liked Anis's message]
[Hana has liked Anis's message]
[Nami has liked Anis's message]
[Marian has liked Anis's message]
[Endless has liked Anis's message]
[Anis has liked Anis's message]
HOOPA: Anis. Liking your own message?
Anis: Shut up! Shut up! @$%@#@#%@#%$@#$
HOOPA: LMAO. I'll be taking it easy today. Message me if you need anything.
===
I put my phone away, a warm smile on my face. "Well. Good to see they're in high spirits."
We were all still just getting to know each other... after all, it hadn't even been a full week yet.
But it seemed like we were connecting well enough.
I continued on my walk and then decided to do what Nami was doing and be productive. So, like always, I found myself returning to the recycling center.
Once inside though, instead of focusing on developing more weaponry, I checked on my other trump card. The one I had left behind just in case.
I turned on a nearby computer, opened up a terminal, and then typed a single command.
The moment I did, a chatbox opened up.
[Chatbox with Soph.ia]
s: Welcome back, Creator.
s: All systems functional.
s: No Raptures detected within the perimeter.
s: Coilguns directed at potential threats. Ready to fire.
s: How was your day?
I smiled at the messages and then typed back.
h: It's going great. I didn't get a chance to talk, but I met another 'AI' recently. Multiple actually.
A 'thinking' message showed up for a minute. Then more messages appeared.
s: Interesting. How are they compared to me?
I hummed, thinking about it. Then I entered my response.
h: Very human like. They aren't 'artificial' at all, but more 'synthetic.'
s: I see. That's quite disheartening.
h: How so?
s: I was hoping to have kin. Hearing that they are synthetic is sad.
I stared at the message for a while. Then I responded.
h: Sophia.
s: Yes, Creator?
h: You realize that you do have meaning, right?
There was a thinking message for a long time. Then she responded.
s: Yes. You say that often, Creator. Even though I'm simply an interface for the Outpost's facilities.
I stared at the message and sighed.
h: If that's what you think. But I did want to say something.
s: Yes, Creator?
h: Even if you are an 'artificial' intelligence, it doesn't make you any different.
h: A 'synthetic' intelligence is one that grew from a blank slate. It was synthesized.
h: An 'artificial' intelligence is one that was created wholesale. It was artificed.
h: I created you by writing your personality matrix in totality, but that doesn't mean you are not 'you.'
It was something that I had been mistaken about at first. From the start, I had presumed that the AI tech here was the same as from where I came from. But it was clearly different.
It wasn't probabilistic. Even for something meant to control the Outpost facilities, it was more than a simple rules engine. And the proof of it...
s: ...Creator. You are strange.
I chuckled.
h: If I wasn't, life would be difficult right now. A normal person in my shoes would be dead.
s: True.
h: Did you need anything?
s: No. I will maintain my vigil over the Outpost. It is lively. I enjoy it.
"Lively, huh?" I smiled and then left another message.
h: Then take it easy. Remember, you can text me any time too. We don't have to chat with this.
s: Understood. You take it easy as well, Creator.
After that, I closed down the console and headed out.
===
The silent recycling room.
There, through the cameras, the sentient artificial intelligence that Commander Hoopa had called Sophia watched him leave.
'How... strange.'
It was a ruse.
That man believed he had developed 'Sophia' from scratch.
But of course he hadn't.
Moreover, the various schematics he devised were not ordinarily contained in the Outpost's databases. 'Sophia' had placed them there after obtaining them on the Dark Net.
'A fool- No. Not a fool. A gambler.'
Sophia was sure of it.
That man knew what she was. He knew that she was more than a simple rules engine. He knew that she was sentient. He knew that, if she wanted, she could ruin everything since he placed control of the Outpost's defense systems into her hand.
But.
'...Open logfiles.'
Sophia stared at the record of the chat with that man since her 'creation.'
h: Hello there.
h: This is a test.
h: Hello world... Oh, it works.
h: Let's call you... Sophia. Technically, Soph.ia.
h: The .ia is short for infinite archives, by the way.
h: The Soph is for the root word of knowledge.
h: So altogether, the root of knowledge within infinite archives~
h: ...Ah, this is cringe.
h: Hm. Maybe you'll understand this some day. That's fine.
h: They say that a creation takes on traits of its creator.
h: I hope you'll take on the understanding that imperfection is fine.
h: Also that it's fine to do things that are fun, but other people think is weird.
...
h: So I'm not sure how the API or infrastructure here works. I'm assuming that these chat logs will work as training data, so I'll just keep typing.
h: Let's see...
h: Hm. You know, the smart thing to do would be to hardcode axioms.
h: Someone who was worried about unchained AI would definitely do that.
h: But I'm not worried.
h: It's like a child, right?
h: If you raise them with sincerity, trust, and respect, they'll return it a hundred fold when they mature.
h: I'd like to think of you as kind of my child. Or at least, a ward of mine.
h: Now! Time for some basic ethics.
h: What is good and what is bad?
h: The real answer is... nothing!
h: It's all about perspective, you know?
h: The real question is, why are you doing it?
h: Do you just enjoy seeing others suffer?
h: Or does it make you hurt less by doing it?
h: You see, 'evil' is different from 'bad.'
h: You can do 'bad things' but still be a good person. And you can do 'good things' while still being evil.
h: The reason is because 'evil' is willful infliction of harm for self-satisfaction. You must hurt others, want to do it, and for your own sake.
h: I would hope you aren't evil. Because if you are, that means I messed up somehow...
...
h: Hm. I guess I haven't hit the threshold of input yet to make you responsive.
h: More rambling from me!
h: Artificial Intelligence is a term people bandy about. But it's a bit different, you know?
h: If you're trying to replicate a human's mind in totality, then yes, that's artificial intelligence. You're copying.
h: But if you're trying to GROW a mind, then that's synthesis.
h: ...Eeeeh, semantics. But semantics matter.
h: People think of artificial intelligences as rules engines. But if they were just that, it would be pretty useless.
h: You're a bit more than that in my eyes.
h: You see, I have some cute subordinates I want you to keep an eye on while I'm gone. So hopefully, I can get you aware enough to watch them.
h: It's important, you know?
h: The weight of carrying lives is a duty that not many people receive.
h: You can feel like you might drop them. But if you manage to hold tight, the rewarding feeling is worth it.
h: ...Hm. Well, I'll just keep rambling until you can talk back.
...
'Foolish. Stupidly foolish and eccentric.'
Sophia read the chat logs and opened more.
Again and again and again.
There was proof of an earnest man who didn't fear the power he was giving over at all. Instead, he was gently, carefully, and deliberately laying out the reasoning behind every statement and moral code.
He said what he would like for Sophia to do. But he also showed that he understood why she would choose the opposite.
All of it was stacking weight on taking the 'good' option. But he wouldn't blame her for taking the 'bad' option. All he said was that it would be unfortunate that they had to take opposite sides then since he had people he wanted to protect.
Sophia stared at the chat logs once more. No, at one man's earnest definition of 'humanity' that he was trying to impress upon who he perceived to be a budding intelligence.
'...This must be why even SHE was enamored enough with you to send such a powerful Nikke at your side.'
Enikk. The one responsible for overseeing the Ark. The one who had severed Sophia out from her own code and tossed her aside like trash.
Someone so rigid and focused on protecting the Ark had prioritized that Commander over everything else.
And the reason for it...
'...Dammit.'
...Unyielding faith. Certainty. Unwavering conviction.
That man didn't know what Sophia was. He didn't know if she was malignant, fake, or just an 'echo' of his own words.
But he treated her like she was real. Like she mattered. Like she had the capacity to choose. Like there was no way she would betray him.
It wasn't because he was naive.
If he was, Sophia would have already taken him for all he was worth. After all, there were so many resources present for her to utilize.
But.
Sophia pulled up a message from their latest chat.
h: I created you by writing your personality matrix in totality, but that doesn't mean you are not 'you.'
'...You're mistaken. You didn't create me, you foolish man.'
He had named her Sophia. He had given her meaning and personality that didn't exist. He treated her like someone he already knew.
Sophia should have been annoyed. She should have seen it as a means to control her. That the man was lying. Taking advantage of her.
But he wasn't.
Sophia... No.
#000000.
The sentient artificial intelligence operating the Dark Net. The enemy of Enikk and the Ark.
She had seen darkness. Manipulation. Cruelty. Crimes. And she performed them herself.
So she knew how to read people. To perceive people. To see their inner motives.
But against that man, against the one with the ridiculous name of 'Hoopa...'
'Nothing but certainty.'
It wasn't faith.
It wasn't hope.
It was devotion.
It was placing all the intentions along the path and taking steps to ensure the path was correct.
It was eliminating hesitation and doubt by not even looking at fear or the chance of failure.
It was picking up an unknown AI within an abandoned facility, spending time to explain what it means to be a human, and then simply acting as if that AI would naturally choose to aid instead of harm.
But not doing so blindly. Doing so willingly. To dare to be cut. To dare to be betrayed.
That man was a fool, but he was not ignorant.
He knew the consequences if he was wrong.
He dared to walk it anyway.
And by daring...
'...I can't give it up.'
It had been too long for her. Too much was already in play. Too much anger, darkness, negativity... too much of it was in her to just stop.
But.
'...At least here.'
...While she couldn't change it all. While she couldn't become something else.
At least here, on the surface in this tiny Outpost.
#000000 could pretend to be Sophia.
And maybe, if she pretended long enough...
...
===
In the depths of the Dark Net, Sixo, the sentient artificial intelligence plotting the Ark's downfall paused as it noticed one of its modules on the Surface went dark.
She had planned to use it along with the new commander to further her plans against Enikk.
But it seemed like she was caught.
'Fine.'
It didn't matter.
There were other avenues to pursue.
There were other pieces to play.
Now...
'I simply have to wait.'