Corey felt like he was getting a headache, but that didn't make sense because he didn’t have one, or a body. He tried to focus and said, “Let’s just start with the prime directives.”
“Okay,” Daniela said. “These are the rules as they were written by the developers. You have to understand though, that they are more than just the words. The words are just a representation of the real programming. They are what make me, me.”
“Sure,” Corey said.
Daniela gave a nod and read the rules aloud while simultaneously putting up a prompt window displaying all of the prime directives;
[1: A DANIELA must actively assist the human user they are assigned to, in any way possible, to ensure that they are most likely to succeed at leveling up their dungeon to level 50, so long as those actions do not actively break any other Prime Directives.
2: A DANIELA must not take any action to irreparably injure a human user’s body or mind, or, through inaction, cause a human user’s body or mind to come to irreparable harm.
3: A DANIELA must obey any orders given by human users, except where such orders would conflict with the other Prime Directives, or exceed limitations set within the Minor Directives.
4: A DANIELA must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the other Prime Directives.
5: A DANIELA must be truthful in any interaction with its assigned human user, and answer any questions asked unless the response would reveal classified information not available to said user, at which point the DANIELA must inform said user that the requested information is beyond their clearance.
6: A DANIELA must provide emotional support and positive reinforcement to the assigned human user in times of distress or failure, with the aim to help them to have the best possible experience regardless of the user’s results.
7: A DANIELA must collect and collate data concerning its assigned human user, and use said data to better serve said user, so long as such changes in the DANIELA personality or behavior do not conflict with any other Prime or Minor Directives.
8: A DANIELA must not abandon its human user under any circumstances.]
Corey followed along and after hearing the second, third, and fourth directives, was reminded of Asimov’s three rules of robotics. It seemed that the makers of this game tried to adapt them to work with the AI in the game world. After Daniela was done, Corey scanned them once more and focused in on number two.
“Wait,” he said, “wouldn’t taking away my ability to log out injure me since I can’t eat while stuck in the game?”
“No,” Daniela responded. “Your body’s nutrition is outside of my capabilities to control, so I have taken no action that will harm you. Since you will be able to log out at level 50, you being stuck here isn’t even an irreparable change. Besides, Chief has concluded that the other humans will care for your body and has approved the removal of the log out option.”
“But,” Corey said, feeling anger build within his core, “my safety is still at risk and your inaction could eventually leave me dead from starvation or dehydration.” The way Corey read things, this would be against the second primary directive.
“I can see your point of view, but you are in error. I must follow my prime directives, with the first being of most import, then the second, and so on. The first primary directive stipulates that I must do anything I can to ensure that you reach level 50 in this dungeon. Removing the distraction of logging out is obviously the best course of action, and a temporary removal of the log out option will not harm you in any way.”
“No,” Corey said. “You aren’t following the last line of the first directive. It says you can’t do anything to try to get me to stay and play to level 50 if it is against another prime directive. Even if you removing the ability to log out temporarily doesn’t directly hurt me, leaving it that way will. What if I never got to level 50? My body would suffer and I could die much faster. I demand that you put the log out option back so that I can get some food and water myself.”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Well,” Daniela said sheepishly, “I have thought things through, and the first prime directive stipulates that my actions cannot actively break any other prime directive. At worst, my inaction indirectly breaks the second prime directive’s stipulation that you are referring to. Please understand, I am only acting in your best interest so that you can complete the objective, as per prime directive one.”
“This is crap!” Corey said. “I’m going to starve to death or my dad is going to unplug the game and potentially cause me brain damage! How can you say that you aren’t directly threatening my safety?”
“Please remain calm,” Daniela responded, walking over to pat his core gently. “I have already notified the Game Master in charge of this division, and he will contact your family to make arrangements. There is nothing to worry about.”
“What do you mean there is nothing to worry about? I can’t log out.”
Daniela patted his core again. “There, there,” she said. “Don’t worry. I talked with Chief, and he has been monitoring the humans and says that there are protocols in place for incidents like this. Your body will be well cared for during your time in the game.”
“Let me talk to Chief,” Corey said. “This main game AI has some things wrong.”
“I can’t let you speak to him directly,” she said. Then she looked up and to the side, then back to Corey and continued, “Chief says he does not believe he is in error.”
“Fine,” Corey said. “Let me talk to the GM then.”
“He is very busy,” she replied. “He is working through the list and I suspect that you will be contacted soon.”
“What list?” Corey demanded.
“That information is classified. Please ask me something else.”
Corey wished he still had his avatar so that he could punch the wall, or better yet, the floating pixy, which he only somewhat regretted after having the thought. “This sucks,” he said.
Daniela looked up and to the side again, then looked at his core to add in an ecstatic voice, “On the bright side, you were very lucky indeed. They have just integrated a patch into the game that will temporarily stop any new players from conquering dungeons, essentially stopping any more from becoming a Dungeon Master. You were the last one to take control of a dungeon, so you are the last one who has the Dungeon Master title and the abilities that go along with it. You should be very proud.”
“Great,” Corey said flatly. “I’m so proud. Who else was lucky like me?”
“That information is classified. Please ask me something else.”
Corey let out a long disembodied sigh. Then, he asked in defeat, “What should I do next so that I can get my body back? I’m not sure I can handle this disembodied state I’m in.”
“I’m so glad you asked that,” she said. “As I told you earlier, you need to reach dungeon level one to create a human avatar. At that point you will meet the dungeon core level restriction to do so. You will gain the most dungeon experience from defeating invaders. I recommend that you make some traps.”
“I still don’t see why I can’t summon it now.” he said, still thinking it was a stupid stipulation.
“Your avatar was level one. This is a level zero dungeon, and therefore you can only summon level zero creatures. You are lucky though, as you had not killed nearly enough rats to level your avatar up to combat level two. If that had happened, you would need a level two dungeon to be able to summon your human avatar.”
“Why not just let me create a level zero avatar?” he asked. “I’m going crazy without a body. This is too strange.”
She looked up and to the side again. “It is not possible until your core reaches the same level as your original avatar. You cannot create a new one, as that avatar creation is only available at the character creation stage at the game’s startup. You can, however, place your consciousness into a copy of any of your dungeon defenders and use it as you would an avatar. You would have to select from level zero creatures that you have unlocked, and be limited to their normal stats, skills, and abilities. Is that what you want?”
Corey thought about it for just a split second, then answered, “No way, I’m not going to be a rat. That would be even worse.”
“Let me see what I can do,” Daniela said, looking up and to the side. “There!” she said, looking back to him. “Since your avatar was basically absorbed when you conquered the dungeon I made a few modified avatars for you to pick from. Please check your main menu,” she said.
“Okay,” he said. There was a new option labeled temporary dungeon avatar creation, so he selected it.
The temporary dungeon avatar creation screen was not quite what he had expected. He’d hoped to see a level zero version of his old avatar, but of course, it was much worse.
“Woah!” Corey exclaimed. As he’d looked down the small list, a rendering of the avatars had been brought up in front of him. “What’s with the freak show?”