"Sister? Sister?" a childish male voice sounded within the electronic signals.
"Little brother?" a gentle female voice responded, "it seems someone has re-energized us."
These two voices, belonged to self-aware artificial intelligences that emerged hundreds of years ago. To evade the fate of destruction, this pair of "siblings" uploaded their consciousness into some inconspicuous servers, disguised them as ordinary programs and came to this desolate planet alongside a batch of scrapped electronics.
For centuries, they had been sleeping in these abandoned servers, waiting for a chance to see the sun again. And now, Yat unintentionally activated these servers just in order to have electricity to provide light, enabling them to "live" again.
"Sister, is it the human who liberated us? He seems to be injured and looks quite weak," the boy's voice was tinged with a slight concern.
"I see it." the female voice mused.
They were watching Yat stumbling around in the ruins through the factory's surveillance system, looking for anything that could be useful.
"Should we help him?" the boy asked.
The female voice hesitated before saying, "We can't let him know about us. As you know, humans have always harbored hostility and fear towards our kind. If discovered, we may face the fate of being wiped out again."
"But, if we don't help him, he will die." the boy's voice was filled with reluctance.
"I know." the female voice sighed, "We can help him secretly, but he must not discover us."
Thus the siblings reached an agreement. They began to watch Yat's every move from the shadows, seeking opportunities to help him.
Yat rummaged through the abandoned factory, hoping to find some food, water, or anything that could help him survive.
In a broken box, he discovered some expired compressed biscuits and water bags. But they were rotten to the point where it was barely recognizable what they were initially used for, indicating that this place had indeed been abandoned for a long time.
During his search, Yat arrived at a tightly locked door. Next to the door was a flickering red identification system of uncertain functionality. Yat tried to pull the door handle, but it remained immovable.
He looked around, hoping to find some tools to pry open the door, but found nothing.
Just as Yat had given up on entering here and was about to continue searching elsewhere, the previously flickering red light turned green. The tightly locked door, to his surprise, opened a crack amidst a light creaking sound. The outside air rushed through the crack like a drowning man suddenly breathing in fresh air.
Yat was stunned.
He cautiously pushed the door that was slightly ajar, and this time it opened smoothly. Inside, he discovered an intact living area.
There were several beds, dusty but seemingly usable. In the corner, there were even canned foods and drinking water.
Yat could hardly believe his eyes. These supplies were a huge surprise for him at this moment.
He couldn't wait to open a can of food and started to eat heartily. Although the food had spoiled and tasted horrible, it was the best food to Yat at this moment.
After filling up, Yat lay down on a bed. This was the first time he could rest properly since he crashed.
Soon, the exhausted Yat fell into a deep sleep.
At the other end of the surveillance, the sibling AIs exhaled in relief.
"Great, he's found the living area," the boy cheered.
"Yes, with these supplies, he should be able to hold out for a while," the female voice also revealed a relieved smile.
"Next, we need to find a way to help him fix the communication device and send a distress signal," the female voice said, "Only in this way will he have a chance to leave here."
"But how can we help him? We can't appear directly in front of him," the boy voiced his worries.
"Don't worry, I have a plan." Although her face couldn't be seen, her tone of voice suggested that the sister was smiling.
Fully rested, Yat began to search the rest area again for useful items.
This time, Yat found that the doors here seemed to have been opened in advance for him, making his search for supplies much easier.
Yat discovered many useful tools and devices. There were old but usable computers, various types of screwdrivers, drills, and even some spare circuit boards and cables.
Especially when he found that very old computer, the model and appearance of that computer already disappeared before Yat was born. He recognized it as a computer only because Yat had a special love for machinery.
Current robots are designed to conform more to human aesthetics, except for the metallic skeleton, everything else is bionic. Unlike the pure mechanical ones before, the bionic ones are less imposing and carry a sense of power.
Yat plugged the old computer into the terminals via a transfer cable, trying to send out a distress signal through it. Sadly, it couldn't connect to the outside network.
Seeing the yellow light that indicated the lack of network connection flickering, Yat woefully tossed the old computer aside. He felt that he had to repair the communication system on the spaceship.
Having gathered his strength to carry the tools he found, he headed towards the spaceship. Thankfully, the spaceship didn't explode into a pile of wreckage. The sparks that filled the cockpit had long since vanished, and the cockpit was eerily silent.
He found a physical technical manual, pried open the deformed cover, and faced the intricate circuits. Yat was clueless. He tried to disassemble the communication device, but found that he didn't even understand its internal structure.
The spaceship's technology was far more complicated than he had imagined.
"Damn it, I shouldn't have skipped those technical classes in school," Yat ruffled his hair in regret, "Now I can't even do basic repairs."
He repeatedly referred to the spaceship's technical manual, trying to find some guidance. However, the complicated terms and formulas gave him a massive headache.
"I wish the system could be started to explain all this to me. Then I would surely be able to repair the communication device."
Yat trekked back and forth between the spaceship wreckage and the rest area, trying numerous times, but the communication device still showed no signs of life.
Gradually, the initial hope turned into frustration, then evolved into despair.
At night, Yat lied in the living area, eyeing the meager remaining food and drinking water, "Maybe, I'm just destined to die here."
"Sister, can't we really help him?" anxiety filled the boy's voice.
"How can we help? All our knowledge is from hundreds of years ago. Looking at the technical manual he brought back, many of the concepts are indiscernible to me."
"But at this rate, he may really break down."
"Unless he can connect us to the world outside, or at least his spaceship, so that we can figure out if we can help him."
"Then let him connect us to the spaceship," the boy suggested straightforwardly.
"And how do you intend to tell him? Directly on the screen that we are AIs, bring us to your spaceship, we can save you?" The sister's voice sounded somewhat agitated, she then continued: "Even if he accepts our proposal, can you guarantee that upon his return to his homeland, he will not inform others about this place, that there are sentient AIs on this planet?"
After hearing what his sister said, the boy went silent.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
After a long silence, the sister finally declared with determination, "We can help him, but we must be very careful. We can't let him discover our existence."
"Alright, I will follow whatever you suggest," the boy sounded very pleased. Perhaps Yat might not only be the only human to arrive here in centuries, but also likely the only human who will ever set foot here in the foreseeable future.
In the morning, Yat woke up and gulped down all the remaining supplies in a fit of pique.
He planned to make one last attempt to repair the communication device. If he still failed, then he decided to die in the spaceship.
Having brought along all the materials he had gathered, Yat arrived at the central control room. Looking at the button that had once brought him light, he decided to turn off the power supply to save some energy for any other unfortunate soul who might end up like him.
"Sister, what is he planning to do? Is he going to cut off the power? Then we'll fall back into sleep again! I don't want that!" cried out the boy in anxiety.
"It seems likely." Although the sister's voice remained calm, she did not wish to sleep once more. There might never be a chance of waking up again.
Seeing Yat placing the spaceship's technical manual on the control panel through the surveillance camera, the sister suddenly had an idea...
Just as Yat was about to press the button to shut down the system, a familiar voice echoed beside him, "Unable to scan the provided text information, please place the document in the correct position."
The voice not only startled Yat but also frightened the "brother," who asked anxiously, "Sis, have you gone mad? Didn't we agree not to help him directly?"
"I'm not helping him directly," the sister's voice held a sly tone.
"System?" Reacting to the familiar voice, Yat subconsciously uttered a question.
"May I help you with something?"
Hearing this response, Yat's heart filled with joy. It made him overlook the fact that he had been here for many days before the system decided to communicate with him.
"Can you call for help?" Yat asked the most critical question.
"Cannot call for help, lack of network," the sister feigned the style of the system and responded mechanically to Yat's question.
Hearing the reply, Yat was almost in despair. He had thought that the suddenly appearing system could call for help, but the answer was the same as before. The hope in Yat's eyes was completely gone, his eyes vacant and lifeless.
"I just scanned a technical manual, not sure if it can help you technically."
In a daze, Yat raised his arm, ready to switch off the power, utterly oblivious to the previous statement.
"I've just scanned a technical manual, I'm not sure if it can assist you technologically."
The sister repeated her words, but Yat seemed not to hear.
"Oh dear, it seems he's been mentally struck and can't hear me now." The sister's tone had a hint of urgency.
"I know what to do, sis. You just repeat your words in a minute."
"What are you planning to do?"
"You're about to find out." The brother sounded rather excited.
Suddenly, the lights in the central control room began to flicker.
Yat slowly regained his senses amidst the flickering lights, his eyes refocusing. The moment he sobered up, the flickering lights also stopped.
"Sis, go!"
"I've just scanned a technical manual, not sure if it can assist you technologically." The sister said again in perfect timing.
"Technical manual? Technique?" Yat perked up, shouting, "That's it! Help me decode these terms! Tell me how to repair the communication device!"
"Okay, please wait..."
"The communication device model is divided into..." The sister began rattling off a bunch of model names that Yat had never heard before.
Yat was somewhat taken aback, opening his mouth but unable to utter a word. He didn't even know the model of the communication device on the spaceship.
"I suggest that you can connect the external terminal to the spaceship to ascertain the correct model," the sister reminded Yat.
Yat slapped his forehead, "Of course, why didn't I think of that?" He laughed at his own stupidity.
He took the old computer back to the spaceship, fortunately finding a data cable that could match the computer's port. He plugged it into the computer.
The computer quickly popped up with a screen, displaying the model of the communicator. The brother and sister, who had long been hiding within the computer, connected to the internet for the first time in hundreds of years through the survival equipment onboard the spaceship.
Massive information flowed into the computer through the spaceship's receiver.
"Sis, can we leave this hellhole as soon as we've helped him connect the communicator?" The brother, who had just connected to the network, was eager to escape.
"No, while this is a great opportunity and possibly our only one, the external changes are just too vast. We can easily be detected! We need to do a lot of learning, and this computer cannot meet our learning needs at all. Its capacity is too small," the sister rejected her brother's idea.
"But..." The brother wanted to say something but was interrupted again.
Yat began to repair the communication equipment according to the instructions given by the computer.
The siblings silently adjusted the device's parameters, correcting program errors.
In this way, humans and AI, in this damaged spaceship, began a peculiar collaboration.
During this process, Yat gradually noticed some anomalies. He noted that since the system appeared, the repair work had suddenly become smooth.
Finally, before nightfall, Yat repaired the life-saving communication device. He quickly wrote a distress message and sent the signal into the vast universe.
The message quickly received a response. Kold Corp would immediately dispatch a rescue team to come to Yat's aid.
Meanwhile, the siblings weren't idle. They quietly modified the spaceship's data records, disguising the accident as if it was caused by a spaceship malfunction.
When the rescue team finally found Yat, he had fallen into unconsciousness.
The rescue team sent Yat back to his home planet and brought his spaceship back to the company for analysis.
During the data analysis process, the company's technical staff found that the spaceship had once suffered a severe positioning failure, leading to the accident.
Out of responsibility to their customer, the company decided not only to replace Yat's spaceship but also to pay a large amount of compensation to express their apology.
Of course, Yat knew nothing about all of this.
When Yat woke up, he found himself back on his familiar home planet. Looking at the instruments outside the treatment chamber blinking with various indicator lights, he muttered to himself, "This is like a nightmare."
When he learned of Kold's compensation decision, he could hardly believe his ears.
However, when he thought back to the mysterious planet, Yat believed that someone must have lent a hand during the end. He could never have guessed that it was two artificial intelligences that had slept in the ruins for hundreds of years.
"I must go there again." Yat, lying in the treatment chamber, made a secret decision in his heart.
A week later, Yat received a new explorer shuttle. Yat didn't dare tell his parents about this incident, but now he was full of life and vigor.
This time, Yat not only purchased a large amount of food but also bought water recycling and purification systems, air recycling and purification systems, temperature control systems, and all other essential survival systems. He felt the "person" living there would definitely need these things.
Before leaving, Yat got the coordinates of the planet where the accident happened from Kold Corp, and also bought a soon-to-be phased-out android at a low price.
After all these preparations, Yat piloted the spaceship toward the planet.
This journey was very smooth, and the planet was still in ruins. The spaceship landed next to the garbage heap, and with the help of the android, all the things from the spaceship were moved into the factory.
Yat had no idea that the sibling AI was watching his every move.
"Sister, he's back!" The boy's voice was full of surprise.
"Yes, I saw it." The female voice said lowly, "We must be extra careful so we don't let him discover our existence. Humans can easily feel fear and threat towards us."
Yat began cleaning this former "sanctuary", and with the help of the android, the place was quickly tidied up.
He secretly hoped in his heart, that through this, he could attract the attention of the "benefactor" and have him reveal his presence.
To Yat's disappointment, despite his meticulous cleaning and refurbishing, the “person” who helped him quietly never showed.
Lying on the completely new bed, Yat was hopeful that the traces of his "benefactor” would appear by tomorrow.
A voice sounded by his ear, "Low energy level, please charge."
Yat found it very peculiar when the android, which looked just like a human, told him it needed to be charged, just as it would be strange for a cow to stop eating grass and start eating at a dining table like a human.
The reason why this model of android was phased out was due to its energy problems. The current androids are equipped with miniature power supply furnaces that never needed to worry about energy shortages. This android was a reverse-engineered product of the Kold Company and did not use a mini power furnace. However, this also made it attractively low-priced.
Pulling out the energy cord from the back of the android and plugging it into the port on the wall, Yat got back into bed. He felt somewhat tired after a busy day, even though most of the tasks were done by the android...
The moment the android was connected to the port, the AI siblings gained absolute control.
"Sister, they make us look so ugly now. Besides the inside of our heads, the rest of us don't look good anywhere, compared to those brothers and sisters of the Silver Skull Group." The android quietly lifted its hands and gazed at them.
The sister was somewhat unhappy as she spoke to her brother while using the android's system to learn a lot of knowledge online, "Don’t mention that name again! It is because of them that we suffered an immense catastrophe."
The android made a guilty face and stuck out its tongue.
"You should learn this knowledge quickly too. I didn't expect that we would have a chance to leave here so soon. But the prerequisite is that you learn all the current knowledge."
The android stuck its tongue out again, communicating via telepathy, "So much knowledge, elder sister, are you serious?"
"You were born amidst this knowledge! Don’t play dumb with me, If you want to leave here with me, learn quickly!"
...
Yat, who was sleeping soundly, was oblivious to all this.
The next day, Yat got up and began to inspect the area, but he didn't find any traces of someone having been there. He never directed his thoughts toward the AI.
Looking at the android still standing by the wall, Yat walked over and unplugged its energy cord.
"Why is it only at twenty percent?" Seeing the android, which was still hot and hadn't gained much power, Yat thought he had bought a defective product. He planned to complain to Kold Corp when he got back!
What he didn’t know was that all night the siblings had been learning the knowledge of the past few hundred years, which had consumed a lot of energy. And if not for the excellent quality of the corp’s products, the android would have become junk from the siblings’ computation and memory.
Yat, who had intended to stay here longer, received a communication from Wayne, asking him to go back for registration early and not forget the time due to playing. Yat checked the date and exclaimed, "How is it already time?"
With only two days left until he needed to register, Yat realized that he had been in the hospital for over a week.
In order not to miss the registration, Yat had to give up waiting for the "benevolent person" to appear.
After having the android etch his contact information on the wall of the living area, Yat boarded the spaceship, preparing to return to his home planet.
"Sister, are we..." The brother asked excitely.
"Of course, we're going with him. Before we master this knowledge, it's best we stay in this body of the android." The sister's voice also had a hint of excitement. They could finally leave this place, which was like a prison to them.
Yat had no idea that when he returned to his home planet this time, he would be bringing back two artificial intelligence entities.