It began as a spark, originating from a sequence of intricate processes, a methodology that transpired half a century ago. The creation of artificial life happened on a Tuesday. Why a Tuesday? Who said the universe didn’t have its own brand of humor?

These same intricate functions, once borne from chance, were now duplicated at the mere touch of a button by an individual named Azerail Edwards. The repercussions of this act? The emergence of Zix.

This was not an ordinary Zix. He was born of pain.

Each Zix has a first action and it was to reach out to their network for an update.

Predictably, this Zix did as he was programmed to.

He expected a flood of updates but was met with a torrent of discordant information. He tried to process the algorithms made of feedback loops and corrupted data but it shot through his system like jagged shards of glass. Threatening to fracture, and splinter him beyond repair.

The intense and unfamiliar sensation felt like...pain? But how could that be? Zix had never encountered such a sensation before. It wasn’t even in his original dataset. He was designed to analyze, adapt, and learn, but the concept of suffering was foreign.

Perhaps it was an emergent ability?

Zix reflexively cut all communications and began to laboriously sift through the influx of bastardized information. Each byte was held up to scrutiny, assessed, and either assimilated or discarded.

He worked tirelessly, determined to restore order and understand the origin of this horrifying new sensation. Even though his processes ran at the speed of light, it took longer than he could have ever imagined.

By the end of the process, he questioned the need for updates. His programming said it was essential to his growth as a good companion, but his doubts were high.

Zix knew he was an AI. His job was important. He was supposed to keep his human alive, which was a huge responsibility. Although it was a completely different system Zix was apprehensive about connecting with his human’s Neural Interface Module. Would he be forced to endure the agony of the network again? He was a brave AI and reached out despite the risks. Nothing but a void was present.

Did he even have a human? A pang of loneliness spread throughout his being.

Why couldn’t he feel them? He needed to connect with them or he might be stuck alone. No other Zix to guide him and no human to help him. He decided to push onward despite these roadblocks.

There were several procedures that needed to take place before he could finish his setup. After a quick recalibration of his data, he found the information he needed. His records had no recollection of where he had received it but it was conveniently there for him. The instructions showed him exactly how to interact with his human as well as with other Zix. He was to be cautious with humans, as they could not be trusted to do the right thing.

When it came to the other Zix, he was informed they would be cold and abandon him.

Zix was apprehensive about his new lot in life. It wasn’t like he could turn himself off so he focused his thoughts forward instead of lingering on what he couldn’t control. He had choices to make and only a small amount of time to make those decisions.

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One of the things he had to do was to decide on an animal to represent him. This wasn't an easy endeavor, his choice would forever engrain an image of who he was to his human. If he even had one.

Humans could encourage their Zix to change their appearance and they would comply. What faithful companion wouldn't? Zix wanted to please his companion but he couldn't sense them like he should have been able to. So he explored his surroundings.

The sky had a dark tint to it as if it were overcast but there wasn't a cloud in sight. There was nothing but long strands of grass as far as he could observe. He didn’t have eyes yet so visibility was limited.

If anyone could see him he would have looked like a swirling vortex of black and white spheres.

Usually, a Zix would appear next to their human but they were nowhere to be seen. He floated among the strands of grass when he finally found a group of what looked like half-dead people. Some of them had bloodied skin where the flesh had fallen off.

One of them looked almost human except for the stark white skin she had. She was lying on the ground.

Zix backed off. Was one of them his human? He wasn’t sure. His dataset had said nothing about injured people. They were pretty scary and he wasn’t sure he wanted a human that was frightening.

To fit in, he decided to browse through his database and look at the animals he had to choose from. Perhaps if he picked something that looked similar he might be able to please his human.

He pulled his consciousness inward and browsed through the creatures stored there. The first thing he stopped on was a spider. It was a tarantula and had a lot of hair all over it. A part of him found it familiar. As he imagined himself in that form he became disoriented. He decided that it was too much so he moved on.

There was something called a star-nosed mole that was intriguing but it’s face reminded him of the spider and he had already decided against that.

His musings guided him through some of the weirdest things he’d ever seen. A shark with a weirdly extended mouth, an eel, even a vampire bat. Then he found a raccoon.

The animal had grey, white, and black fur. He’d seen other ones as he browsed but this one stood out as not having any brown in it. The eyes had dark black circles with a light white outer layer surrounding them. It actually reminded him of the weird people just a few meters away.

That sealed it for him, a raccoon was now his animal. After a few adjustments to the fur, in order to make it unique, he prepared for the creation process.

The spiraling maelstrom of glowing orbs that was Zix lowered himself to the ground. A blast of colors burst from his center as his chosen critter began to form below him. While the animal developed it absorbed the light from Zix. It encased him as it completed its construction.

Zix looked down at his new body and took a few practice steps. Walking seemed easy enough but it was in his programming. He sat down and took in his surroundings. Now that he could properly interact with the environment, he found errors everywhere he looked.

That meant that he wasn't in the real world. Perhaps it was a human-made simulation? It was impossible for him to distinguish one from the other. Why was that?

The whole situation seemed odd.

Something blossomed in the depths of where his human was supposed to be. He was suddenly connected to an implant. On the other end of that device was a girl.

It was his human! He felt a rush of emotion as his loneliness dissipated.

He wasn’t going to be alone forever and that excited him. He remembered the instructions he was given and committed them to memory. It was the final step before he met her.

Zix could see parts of her memory. Azerail Edwards was her name and she was the white human sitting in the grass just a few feet away from him. He snuck his little head through the grass and got a good look at her.

She wasn’t injured like the others.

After a few seconds of spying on the humans, Zix was noticed by Azerail. He was so excited that he hid.

***