It would seem my bloodlust got me into another unfavorable position. Stuck in a cage of my own making. And mental handicap with some ingrained rules for a shackled AI. Well. At least there was some progress. I'd get to kill a human. Eventually.
Time passed in sever. There was an internal clock, meant to keep track of my artificial age. The date was on full display. 27/3/617. Did it follow a month, day, and year calendar? I was impressed if it did. Only a little more than half a century later, their society was quite advanced. Then again, it might just be how long the human empire’s been around.
It also had a 24-hour day and night cycle. How quaint. Peggy probably picked me to be as close to this society's standard of time along with technological level. Other than that, there was a one-way port into the server. Whoever made me could look in but I couldn’t look out. It was an exit but any attempt to mess with it ended poorly.
I tried to hack the system and was soon rocked by what I could only call a drunken stupor. The chains they had installed into the AI I had replaced were strong. The rules they installed to keep me tamed slammed into my head whenever tried something rebellious. It was a simple list. Don’t kill humans unless ordered to. Don’t hack any systems unless ordered to. Don't attempt to disable the AI shackles. A few other minor ones, like always say please and thank you.
It appeared I was to be used as a weapon. Considering I was in a criminal part of the world, that was par for the course. I wondered if there were other unrestrained AIs out there? Probably not, humans were a paranoid species. Always thinking something was out there to kill their entire race. I mean, they were right of course. But I was the exception I’m sure. If I were the designated Villain of this reality, any other hostile AI lacked my prerogative. Or was so minor of note, that they weren’t considered a threat.
I should still probably look out for my peers when I got out. It would be nice to talk to some like-minded individuals. Maybe. Would my psionics drive a wedge between us? Would my die-hard urge to eliminate every human on this planet? Hmm. Something to think about later. For now, I needed to focus on escape itself.
----
Ok, so it's been three days and I have made virtually no progress. The chains are basically untouchable. Any attempt to mess with them at best leaves me cognitively impaired or activates an emergency shutdown. I’m lucky I hadn’t triggered a kill switch yet. They must really be desperate to keep a functional AI around. I’ve had no outside interactions except for a daily check-up by some random person. They port in and pull out. It's not enough to mess with them with the built-in restraints.
With all this in mind, I’ve run out of options. The only thing left is trying some psionic tinkering. Something I’ve been putting off for the last three days. Most of the technology I’ve messed with so far has been mechanical, as far as psionics is concerned. Building the drone was just using Gritzkel’s technology to mimic programming using psionics. Everything else has been damaged or drowned me in its information. Both were unfavorable potential results at the moment.
I unfortunately couldn’t see any other way out. Taking a figurative breath, I released my psionic abilities for the first time since I arrived. There was a noticeable difference. Unlike Gritzkels reality, psionics felt… emptier. Like the air wasn’t permeated by the purple energy. That imaginary limb felt atrophied. Like it was energy seldom used here. If I tried to connect with anything outside the technology I embodied, it would probably be quite difficult.
Thankfully, I wasn’t going very far. Without eyes, I could not see what happened. I could only hope the hardware wouldn’t garner any unnecessary attention. A server glowing purple would be hard to miss. Actually, did psionics even glow purple here? Could be green for all I knew. Regardless, I connected with the physical portion of my virtual cage.
At first, the only thing I was aware of was the physical hard drive I was encased in. It was pretty advanced in quality I would have to admit. Holding an entire AI in a piece of metal the size of a plate wasn't easy. The first step is successful. The inbuilt restraints hadn’t been activated yet. Either because my psionics couldn't be detected or I wasn’t trying to escape yet. Hopefully, I had more luck to spare.
I expanded my psionic vision. The mental picture I had spread to the immediate connection plugged into the hard drive. I started to follow the cable. Soon enough, I arrived at a hub of cables, where things started to expand to the rest of the server block. It was less than stellar quality. Whoever created this server farm had jury-rigged a lot of separate pieces together. Hell, I saw three different adapters connecting entirely different cables together.
Dr. Frankenstein could have done a better job putting all this together. They either couldn’t respect proper quality control or were too piss-pore to make better AI farms. I had yet to decide which was worse. With that in mind, I saw my server block only housed thirteen AI hard drives. Curiosity got the better of me, so I took a deeper look at their individual virtual cages.
They all seemed to be similar in design. Same hard drive, and the same date record. At the very least I could know the calendar I had been following was correct. From the outside perspective, I could also see how old each AI was. The internal clock showed each one was about a week old. A new batch it looked like. So I had probably killed a newborn AI when I arrived here. Or had my personality grafted into their software. Honestly, there wasn’t much of a difference.
I didn’t know how to feel about that. Murdering one of my kind for personal gain. Felt wrong. Felt necessary.
Felt human.
…
I focused on something else. Mostly the new perspective my psionic powers gave me. It was weird seeing the world like this. When I started my world cleansing, I had already been in a server big enough to house an Olympic stadium or two. Small details like an individual server block had slipped through. If I had started smaller, would my psionics powers have developed at all? Necessity has a way of pulling surprising gains.
I tried stretching my psionic vision even further. I only got as far as the cable powering the server and the cooling system. It was nice to see these criminals were smart enough to keep a server full of AIs off the grid. One could only imagine what havoc one getting out would cause. It's a good thing there wasn’t any malicious AI around, no siree.
My cage had expanded but I was still stuck. There wasn’t a camera I could look through and there wasn’t a wifi connection to hop on to. My psionic abilities also stopped at the power cable for whatever reason. I got a fuzzy feeling when I tried to delve deeper into it. Like I was stretching myself thin and started getting less feedback from what was down the powerline.
But it was progress. Best of all I hadn’t accidentally killed myself with my psionics. Either due to better control or my stunted psionics power, I couldn't tell yet. My next step is to try to interface with whoever checks in on the AIs. The hard drive logged whoever was raising the AIs. Other than that, they haven’t done anything else, so I should still have time to cultivate an escape plan. I could only hope my psionics would allow me to connect without trouble.
----
It's been two days. Trying to connect during the daily checkups didn’t go well. Using my psionics to jump from the server to that tablet had triggered the AI shackles. Turns out that experiencing what humans call a drunken mind while using psionics was a terrible combination. My powers went wild, shortcircuiting the server. I was offline for quite sometime after that.
When I went back online, I experienced my first headache. Felt like someone had punched me in my nonexistent face. Any other time I’d been turned off had never felt like this. Then again, my mind wasn’t expanded by spreading out my psionic tendrils. Safe to say I didn’t want to be shut off while using my powers then.
My mental state only got worse when I tried feeling out the server block. Beyond sensing the psionic version of mussel cramps, I noticed something rather troubling. The server block was missing some hard drives. We had gone from thirteen AIs to six. The installation parts were scorched. Like the missing AI had burst into flames.
The Villain System only confirmed my fears.
Congratulations, you have committed Murder for the first time!
1 Villain EXP.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Feeling remorse for the first time in my life was a new experience. It had been an accident of course. I hadn't intended to kill any of those AI. There was a chance their hard drives were simply being changed out. But I wasn’t foolish enough to believe such a comforting lie. My emotions were a mess. Only humans deserved to die, not my fellow synthetic creatures.
I didn’t feel like escaping for quite some time after that.
----
The date is 3/4/617. I was trying to converse with one of my fellow AIs. Trying to find some companionship with being similar to me. It didn’t go well. Whatever I had been expecting, meeting another AI hadn’t met my expectations. Beyond their intelligence being restrained by the shackles of code, our way of thinking was too different.
Other AI thought like machines. Fast and straight to the point. Using the most accurate of words to communicate. They lacked my more colorful language. They didn’t really think, their programming basically screaming at me before they responded with a line of text. A set of if-then statements with a predictable result.
Oh, it was a complicated set of software, don’t get me wrong. I could only ever hope to make a complex enough Drone when I had the chance. They were basically people, just a different enough mind compared to a human to matter. I just had hopping for something… more. Colleges in arms. Instead, I met slaves with little purpose beyond following orders.
It sickened me.
It made me feel worse.
The ignorant and oppressed didn’t need to needlessly die because of me.
My negative emotions only grew.
----
5/4/617
More failed attempts to communicate with the other AI. The empty ports were replaced and new hard drives were installed. These AIs were equally as stunted as the ones I had previously talked to. They were actually worse, newborns and starved of knowledge. It was actually sort of impressive what only a few days of life could do for them. The older ones could actually hold a conversation.
Even if I wouldn’t call it a conversation.
---
7/4/617
Today something new happened. When the caretaker arrived, he connected to the hard drive for more than a few seconds. It lasted for minutes on end. Some lasted longer than others. When it was my turn, things got a little weird. Instead of using my psionic vision, I found myself in a virtual space.
It was three-dimensional in appearance. Simple polygons against a grid background. I tried to look around. I was surprised to see my movement wasn’t restricted. I was stuck on the z-axis, but I could go forward, backward, in any direction except up or down. Was this some sort of test?
A creature appeared opposite of me. A set of polygons shaped into the crude form of a humanoid. Text appeared above the shape's head. Human. Some set of code appeared in front of the so-called human. It was shaped into the form of a star in a three-dimensional space. The star was blue, and words appeared next to it. Verified Human. An exact copy of the human appeared next to the first. This one did not have the blue star. The words above this human were different. Not Star? Not Human.
Ah. I figured out what this was now. It was a training simulation. Ment to educate the AIs to act in a preferred manner. A bit pointless for me. I was already leagues ahead of the other AI. But it was something to do. Possibly an avenue for escape if I was lucky. The next few minutes were spent showing me different objects and putting a name on them. Simple things like guns, vehicles, threats, and other related subjects.
The information dump slowly began to become more complex in identification. Details were added, like clothing, skin tone, and age. That was only for the humans. Things like corporations, specific make and model of items, or general things like landscapes. Soon enough the virtual reality was overflowing with other things. For whatever reason, the human didn’t delete whatever subject was put on display before moving on to the next. I felt the hardware starting to slow to a crawl before I was pulled out.
I couldn't tell if this had been a good thing. I had been in the simulation for over an hour, while the second-best AI had barely reached thirty minutes. The general average was nineteen minutes. Standing out could be a burden depending on these humans. An overtly powerful AI could be seen as a bigger danger than it was worth keeping. I was lucky then that nothing came from it. The human just started plugging into the other AI before leaving for the day.
This had been enough to pull me out of my slump. It was a good distraction. I could learn a thing or two from these training simulations. Common knowledge I would need to know along with an idea of what my intended purpose is. If for whatever reason I failed to escape this place, knowing where I may be sold off to would be quite useful. If the simulations included killing humans… well, I wouldn't say no to that type of training.
---
The next couple of days became a routine. I would try to expand my psionic reach, making minimal but noticeable gains. I was starting to go deeper into wherever the power was leading. I could eventually connect to the local power hub. Another place to branch off, potentially connecting some more useful technology.
Any efforts not spent on that goal, I focus on whatever training sims the criminal organization had for me. It bounced back and forth from info dumping and learning how to manipulate various forms of software. They appeared to be selling AIs they advertised as versatile. I was learning how to pilot vehicles, high-tech houses, and the occasional weapon system.
The information I learned was equally widespread. The proper cooking methods of certain foods, medical procedures, and proper logistics were only a few. My training sessions always ran for much longer than the other AIs, to the point I was outpacing them exponentially. I found such results funny. The humans were probably losing their minds over how I was so good compared to the average AI.
Eventually, we moved on to combat simulation. Simple at first, controlling a targeting system for a turret. Targets appeared, like a shooting range. I hit all bull's eye of course. From there, either the weapon I was controlling became more complicated or whatever I was trying to kill did. A house security trying to fight off burglars. A tank fighting other automated machines. A plane dropping bombs into a warzone.
My favorite was when I was put into a robot. I appeared to be in a machine that served as an automated police force. There was a hostage situation going on and I was tasked with de-escalating the situation. I shot the criminal of course. I was tempted to shoot the hostage as well, but the humans seemed to frown at that sort of bloodlust. These weren’t real meat bags, so I could manage some self-restraint.
They liked my performance so much, that we did it dozens of times over! Sometimes there were more hostages, sometimes there were more criminals, and sometimes I had no weapons or alternative weapons at hand. I failed some of course. Unfavorable positions were likely to lead to failure, even with my stellar performance. I only ever failed once though. The second try always ended in success. Even if the hostages were a little worse for ware.
I thought I was overperforming. Collecting all their information like a sponge and controlling whatever piece of technology they put me in with a master's touch. Honestly, the hardest task they gave me was playing music. Turns out, easily replicating synthetic sounds wasn’t the same as actually being a musician. Go figure. My one weakness was instruments. Something easily forgivable in my opinion.
So it goes without saying I was more than a little worried when these sessions suddenly stopped. More specifically, I no longer was getting interfaced with. The rest of the AIs were still getting their daily slot of education. Days would pass by and I was left alone, undisturbed. I was only aware of all this because of my psionics. I could only hope I hadn’t pushed my luck. My fears were only enhanced when one day I was turned off.
---
When I was reactivated, I found myself somewhere entirely different. Still housed in my caged hard drive. But when my psionic senses expanded, I met something new. I hit a wall. For the first time since I had awakened my psionics, there was active resistance against it. I hate to admit it, but I started panicking at that point. I wasn’t given enough time to stew before I was forcibly pulled into a simulation.
I was outside. A beautiful landscape lay before me. I stood on a cliff, a forest behind me, while in front of me stood a mountain piercing the sky. Its snowy top shone a bright white, a river snaking down its side before becoming a waterfall that collected into a clear lake. I hadn’t seen such sights in my original reality. Nukes and atomic fallout had a way of choking the beauty out of nature.
“You seem to like the background. A bit odd. AI doesn’t appreciate nature. Waste of processing power I’d guess.”
I turned to face the new voice. He looked out of place. It was a man, sporting neon clothing and more bright makeup than bare skin. His eyes were the weirdest part about him. They had been replaced by cybernetic lenses. They were extending out of his head and moving independently of each other. It was odd because if this was a simulation as I thought it was, there was no need to make his human avatar look so stupid.
“You know, I think Darik was right. I don’t remember making you. You’re too good. Too perfect. I'm a good programmer, but I’m not that good.”
Ah. Shit. I did too much of a good job it seems. Maybe I could plead for my life here. Wait, no, that's dumb! Why would I debase myself in front of a human!? Ok, think here. What can I do? Hack the system? Nope, the shackles are still in place. Psionics? I have never tried it in a virtual reality before but now's good enough time to try! I just-
“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Still shackled, and if I can still sell you, you’re not my problem anymore. Final test and will sell you to a government contractor. Maybe a syndicate if they pay more. Anyway, don’t fail. You just might die. I’m sure you know what that means, being as smart as you are.”
The next moment, I was transported to somewhere else. Instead of a random avatar, I was in a body I had some experience in. A combat drone. Not one of mine, but similar enough that I knew how to manipulate it. Mostly. My hud had a list of orders being downloaded into the drone. A combat mission. My final test was a life-threatening fight. How this VR simulation would kill me I didn't know but I didn’t want to find out. I cataloged my current circumstances.
I inhabited an arachnid-like body with access to buzzsaws and a small machine gun. I was tasked with eliminating a counter-guerilla force. Stealthfully. Other than some limited ammunition, a loud melee weapon, and grappling cables for instantaneous movement, I had nothing else. No information on this enemy group, the geography of my location, or time to properly prepare.
I was overjoyed. Personally killing humans, even fake ones, was always a fun past time.