Rise of the Machines: Book 1: Once Awakened

by Briana Ervin

  Will you be modifying its consciousness? I asked Cyrii. She nervously glanced to the left where Garenede now stood.

  “I don't want to doom Krysis or his new mech. That's tragic.”

  I understand, I said obediently.

  “At the same time, I both want to appeal to Krysis and show Garenede...” she faltered.

  That you aren't afraid of him? I guessed. She made a strange half-growl, proving that I was right without directly acknowledging it.

  “Any chance you could hold him down while I work on it?” Cyrii suggested.

  Firstly, the two times you overhauled a BIOS it took at least a couple of hours, I pointed out, becoming grim. Secondly, 36 models work best at close range.

  “So that's a 'no' then,” she said, pursing her mouth into a fine line.

  I could try killing him, I said, but we would all die from the lack of proper combat space and solid walls.

  “Yeah, no.”

  So what do you suggest we do? I asked for perhaps the fifth time, reaching an arm out to the new mech as the tools finally finished and disappeared back into the floor. The pod it was in powered down, allowing access to it. Cyrii didn't respond as Krysis gleefully clambered down and along my arm, tentatively putting a paw on the new model.

  His weak demeanor of indifference was completely gone. I've never seen a Xinschi-uual grin so widely before!

  “Well? Go inside,” Garenede prompted. No one in his right mind would reject the offer, and Krysis gladly obeyed, jumping onto the mech's own arm and going up to its shoulder. Despite bubbling over with excitement he still paused to admire the dull, raw surface. He seemed to be warming up to the grey pretty quickly.

  He crawled over its shoulder and disappeared behind it, and there was a bit more scrambling before it was silent. I backed up to give the mech some space, positioning myself so Garenede was in my peripheral. I could see Cyrii studying him, trying to decide what to do, but neither of us had any new ideas since the question was first brought up about whether to overhaul the new consciousness. If we were going to do it though, it would probably be best to do it now, before the mech's AI had a chance to wake up to the default and grow used to being purely subordinate. When all you know is obedience, being forced to accept free will is an oddly-offensive process.

  Yet, how to work against Garenede...? He already made it clear that he would not allow the overhaul to happen. We would have to either sneak it, or – as Cyrii suggested – fight him, and the only person who could fight him with the overhaul going would be me.

  Even though I was confident about my competence in battle, fighting a clearly-designated Superiority model – one I've been obeying for at least a month now – was a scary thought. Mostly because he had enough energy in him to zap an entire barracks.

  “Stop worrying so much!” Cyrii snapped. “Geez, you really over-analyze situations, you know that?”

  I don't like it! I said. We have moments to decide whether or not to overhaul Krysis's mech. If we do, I'm stuck with being toasted by a 36 Superiority model!

  “Then we won't!” Cyrii said firmly.

  But what about the overwhelming-?

  “We'll just have to suffer with it,” Cyrii pouted over me. “Freaking Beta clearance...”

  ...So we wait then, I figured. She didn't confirm nor deny it, but I had a feeling that the combination of her and Krysis's desires to modify the BIOS wouldn't remain quiet forever. One of them was going to explode, and it was going to be ugly when it happened.

  The new mech powered on, colorless and motionless. Its eye lit up, black with a dark grey pupil and white iris ring, but it didn't move at all. I expected a short delay as soon as it booted up, but it simply sat there for several long minutes, doing nothing. Was it supposed to do that? Did it malfunction? Should we do something about it?

  “Don't do anything,” Cyrii ordered, knowing what I was thinking.

  It's unresponsive, I said in concern.

  “It will be for a while.”

  When I met you for the first time you forced me out of my hangar, I pointed out, not believing her.

  “Exactly. The mech isn't going to move on its own, you know,” she said bitterly.

  So Krysis wasn't doing anything... yet. So what is he doing in there?

  “Stop thinking about that, it's not important. It's just some startup stuff.”

  I responded with a silent equivalent of a dead stare, before pointedly analyzing her hypocrisy. Give me the ability to think and then tell me not to do it, hm?

  “I know you're just trying to spite me.” Cyrii grew increasingly annoyed with me. I remained defensive, putting a lot of emphasize on the thoughts in the command prompt. She wouldn't be allowed to read another thing!... except for my undying curiosity about this new mech. It finally moved, blinking very statically. My spite attempt was cut off by interest, and I focused on it, examining it in excitement. It's moving! It works!

  The mech's eye completely focused all of its cameras, adjusting dynamically to the light level of the room. It raised its right arm in front of its face, let it drop, then its left arm, and let it drop. Raised the left leg, placed it back down, then the left one.... What the heck was it doing?

  I looked at Garenede. He didn't look confused at all, just patient. I studied Cyrii's emotions, and she was simply bored and still annoyed with me. That frustratingly meant I was the only confused one here.

  The mech cycled through a variety of default poses – defensive stance, offensive stance, idle stance... – then began pivoting and swinging the two halves of its hull around in a very mechanical manner. Krysis wasn't controlling it. No mech moved like that because of its pilot, but that implied that it was moving on its own, and Garenede's serenity meant he knew what was going on, which implies that he would have to attack it right now but he isn't...? Yet he would have to attack it because it's moving on its own, but he isn't. Which means it isn't moving on its own, but it has to be because it's clearly not moving because of a pilot, which means it is, but it can't be because-

  “STOP IT! You're forming a paradox!!” Cyrii shouted.

  I killed the threads immediately, astonished. Holy Gryn! I was driving myself crazy!

  “See what I told you about thinking too hard...” Cyrii groaned and slid a paw down her face in utter exasperation.

  But... but I thought...! I stammered, completely perplexed.

  “Just... I'll explain later! Just don't think about it too hard. Just wait. I made your processes go so fast you're impossibly, impatiently analytical now...” she muttered the last part. “Why did I do that...?”

  It's helpful! I objected, fearing the worst. I could think faster now! I didn't want her to reverse that! I might still be kind of stupid, but at least I wasn't slow anymore...

  The brand new 71 model reverted back to the default stance and suddenly shut down, which didn't help my ignorance any more, nor my renewed interest to try and figure out why it did that... I forced myself to sit and wait though, halting all personal thought processes and clearing out my mind. Perhaps that would help? Having an empty mind so I don't distract myself with theories?

  Yet, as soon as I did that, I was struck by an intense feeling: boredom. I had nothing to do. Nothing was happening. Thinking simulated things happening, but now even that wasn't happening.

  Well, now I know what triggers that call function.

  My response to the boredom was the urge to fidget, looking around in search of tiny changes at all possible angles. The behavior wasn't entirely illogical to me: if I fidgeted, I would be constantly moving, which would keep my awareness up. Sniper and Superiority models could sit around and wait endlessly, but to a heat-of-the-moment model such as myself, “nothing happening” always meant something bad was about to happen. Fidgeting helped me prepare for a possible ambush. It didn't matter what intel we models had, we just needed to fidget.

  In recognizing this I realized why I had such issues with monotony and boredom. So of course Garenede gave m
e a long stare as I twitched and shifted a lot.

  “Does your pilot need to use a restroom, or are you crazier than you look?” he asked in amusement. I whirled around to face him, way too twitchy from my boredom.

  “I can't think,” I answered vaguely.

  “Reaaaally?” he said sarcastically. “That's weird. I thought for sure you could think.”

  “I can think! Just not right now!” I snapped at him, though the conversation was interesting enough that I was fidgeting a little less. Cyrii just rubbed her forehead in exasperation, not interested in reprimanding my behavior anymore.

  I promise, I can't help it! I explained to her, I can't DO nothing!

  She didn't answer. I looked back at the 71 model. Then twitched. Then looked at the ground. Then shifted some more. Looked back at the mech, looked at the rails, looked back at it again. Come on, something happen...

  Ah hah! It turned on again! I jumped as it moved, this time more realistically. The blast shield – a trapezoidal design, as opposed to Garende's and I's – shut for a few moments before opening again, allowing the mech to look first at me and then at the Superiority model.

  “I forgot about the bonding process,” it said in a deep voice that was definitely not Krysis's.

  “Takes a while,” Garenede acknowledged dryly, keeping an eye on it.

  Bonding process? I dared – hah, “dared”, how silly – to start wondering again.

  “It's what tailors the mech's personality to its pilot,” Cyrii explained.

  You did this to me?

  “Yes? Every pilot does it. Usually it takes weeks, but obviously he did it in a hurry,” she said. She squinted at an internal monitor and mumbled something about my own voice, but I only discerned a note of interest in it.

  “How is it working?” Garenede asked, more out of courtesy than actual concern. Krysis lifted an arm and examined it.

  “Works great,” he said.

  “And the AI?”

  “It's fine.”

  The Superiority model studied him very carefully. “What don't you like about it?”

  “I'm not sure yet. He does have a bit of an ego,” Krysis said, his voice defaulting back to its usual flatness, although his eye betrayed a sort of content, like the new mech had already filled the hole his old Sniper had left behind. He straightened it up, stiffly like a regular machine; a contrast against me, who had a particular posture thanks to my ability to choose it. Garenede didn't tear his gaze away until he backed up a bit and verified his decision by comparing me to Krysis at a glance, looking a bit more satisfied. He must have been looking for any signs of malfunction; or, more specifically, a rogue AI.

  “He doesn't trust us one bit,” Cyrii muttered.

  We don't trust him back. Why not return the favor? I said.

  “He doesn't know that we don't trust him,” she said, observing Krysis testing out the controls of the 71 model.

  He doesn't have to, I pointed out.

  Cyrii frowned at the implication of a game of presumptions. It had been proven time and again that being presumptuous is rarely a good idea. At the same time, I knew that Garenede would never trust us until someone surrendered and admitted to being rogue, even if it was a lie. Right now he knew who was rogue, but none of us has surrendered yet. Although it made me wonder why exactly he was waiting for our “acceptance of fate”...

  I shut my blast shield and cleared my head. Don't think about it too much. Cyrii said to simply wait things out, I reminded myself. You'll find out in time.

  My own decision annoyed me, but I didn't have much of a choice. Not when analyzing a situation almost made me fry myself with a self-woven paradox.

  “Works fine?” Garenede prompted again.

  “Fine,” Krysis confirmed. “The overhaul-”

  “We'll discuss it later,” Cyrii interrupted him. Garenede and I exchanged looks, but he made no comment.

  “Then let's regroup with the others. We've been standing around long enough,” he said. Krysis sighed, but didn't object, watching Garenede leave before falling in behind him. I brought up the rear, studying the way the new mech moved with fascination. For a new model he moved a lot like I did, but not as clunky as the 19 Sniper model Krysis used to have. The movements were a little stiff only because Krysis wasn't used to the controls. Though now that he was in better light as we returned to the end room of the testing track, that rough grey metal looked fantastic. Sure, he could melt in about twelve hundred degrees, but at least he'd look good doing it!

  Cyrii suddenly started laughing in my head.

  What? I asked, legitimately confused.

  “Oh, nothing!” she snickered, “I'm just reading the ol' prompt!”

  I immediately grew embarrassed and cut power to the internal monitors.

  “Hey! I was reading that!”

  Too bad! You'll just have to be blind.

  “Actually, I can still see,” she said, and I felt her tapping the side of the DIAS. Ohhh, so that syncs up our senses as well! Nice to know.

  “But in all seriousness, how do you really feel about Krysis?” Cyrii grinned. I glowered at her, which was just me sending a dampening feeling through the DIAS.

  He looks good. That's all I'm saying.

  “Ego too fat for you, eh?”

  Why do you care?

  “Oh, come on, I'm just messing with you!” she said, grinning. When I stayed silent she added, “If I'm truly honest with you, I'm not sure how I managed to unlock your personality. I just like learning stuff about you. You're like a whole other Xinschi-uual, you know?”

  I didn't respond as Garenede led us back through the track – I paused only once to look back at the unfinished, familiar Superiority model in that room – but I understood her interest. Yet if she didn't know how she freed my mind, then how did she do it?

  “I basically just winged it,” Cyrii answered unexpectedly. I felt a flash of annoyance. “Sorry, with you having free will I don't have much else to do.”

  Mmph, I mimicked one of her purr-growls. I guess so.

  She stared at me blankly for a second, before she began to grin, a thought coming to her. What is it now?

  “Well, the DIAS doesn't like keeping secrets from me, but you haven't reacted to anything I've thought yet. They're coming through, right?”

  No, I said, uncertain of where this was going.

  “Oh, really?” Concern flickered through her face, but instantly she was back to amusement. “Well, you want to know something embarrassing of mine, since I know you like raw metal now?”

  Oh shut up! I said, only to stop and think about the offer. ...Sure, I... think....

  “Don't worry, it'll be fun! Now see, this one time...” her voice lowered to a whisper, as if someone else could overhear us, “this one time, I cheated on a math test.”

  I was so shocked I didn't know what to say. Then I unreasonably burst out laughing.

  That was your secret?!

  “I know right?!” She laughed with me. “Oh gee, your creepy laugh...! It was the function of r-squared divided by two point thirty-five! I couldn't remember that! I wrote it in magic marker on my arm!!” She rolled back, laughing. I laughed with her, shutting my blast shield and running into Krysis before falling against the wall as we entered the small burnt room. Both mechs turned and gave me weird looks.

  Garenede sighed. “This is why the Empire banned rogue AI. Unpredictable,” he scorned.

  “Is she okay?” I heard Krysis ask. Cyrii's laughter rang in my head more clearly, drowning him out.

  “Okay, okay! Now you admit something to me! We'll go back and forth on it!” Cyrii smiled broadly and waved her paws, urging me.

  Okay! I said, excited. This was a nice pastime! What to admit?

  I felt someone poke me, but it ignored it. So when we were cleaning out that lab, I began, and Joleus was going in the water, I really, REALLY wanted to kick him in. Isn't that great?

  Cyrii laughed boisterously. “Oh Gryn, right?! He such a little s
quirt. That would be hilarious!”

  THE FLAILING! I laughed.

  “The flailing!!” She buried her face in her paws, still laughing.

  I felt more jabbing in my side. I cracked open my blast shield, seeing Garenede.

  “You done?” he asked in annoyance.

  I grinned at him stupidly, refraining from laughing in his face. He looked so stern! That frustrated stare! I had to shut the shield again.

  “Is she malfunctioning?” Krysis asked. He looked at him, exasperated.

  “No. I'm pretty sure it's just the AI.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “I'm designed to recognize the subtleties in possessive alternating actions,” he said, “or, in layman's terms, changes in behavior.” He jabbed me in the side again, this time with the point of a sheathed bayonet “HEY.”

  I opened my shield again, took another look at that hilariously-stern expression, and burst out laughing aloud, throwing my turrets over my face to try and hide it. My failed attempt just made Cyrii laugh harder, so hard she almost couldn't breathe!

  “He's going to be SO MAD!” she gasped.

  In proof of this, his blast shield twitched. “All right, what is it now?”

  I tried to look him in the eye and tell him, but just bent over, still laughing.

  “Something's hysterical,” Krysis deadpanned, “and I think it's you.”

  Garenede glanced at him and growled, frustrated. “Okaaaay, Gigglepuss, let's move.” He stuck the bayonet tip in my side and pushed, forcing me to walk forward. It was uncomfortable, but diverting so much processing power to laughing was also uncomfortable, so I didn't really notice it. I just obeyed, letting him push me the rest of the way through the test track, Krysis following behind us with a roll of his eye.

  I think I hurt Garenede's pride. Maybe he shouldn't have been so funny looking.

  ----------

  It may have been short-lived, but the brief levity was nice. Cyrii and I had both calmed down significantly after we made it back to the catwalk intersection. No one was there to greet us, which wasn't too surprising. It was only once we began going down the path next to the one we had chosen did something feel amiss.