Xyra
As the battle between Rixxen's group and the monsters raged on, Xyra cowered behind one of the metal columns, her reptilian eyes wide with fear.
She knew Rixxen as one of the oppressors who had tormented her during her time as a slave and even after she was freed by Vexx.
The sight of him leading his warriors into battle and the knowledge of what would come onto her when she would be captured sent shivers down her spine.
Xyra's hearts pounded in her chest as she observed the conflict unfold from her hiding place.
She knew those were once dead bodies, somehow resurrected in a mysterious fashion; she saw the bodies herself after all.
Now the same bodies went to protect her, the former slaves forming a wall of metallic bodies and moving to watch the tunnels from above while the battle raged.
Fear gripped Xyra's hearts as she watched the fierce combat between Rixxen's group and those creatures.
She was surprised, even while hurt and while using only a fraction of its total force those beings were holding their ground.
It was a bit unreal watching Dexton’s mercenaries fight each other and mirroring each other moves. It was even more unreal seeing Rixxen’s side lose.
As the battle reached its conclusion, Xyra hesitantly emerged from her hiding place, the slaves leaving her to move freely with a gentle push from one of her hands.
As she examined the aftermath of the conflict, her whole body shivered with uncertainty, amazement, and dread.
She looked where Rixxen was, both dreading and hoping to see his grisly fate, instead, she saw the silver-furred Versel that accompanied her, claws retracting as she offered Rixxen a way out.
The memories of the tales of Versels warriors evoked a mix of reverence and trepidation in her.
Was this a genuine opportunity to hunt for freedom, or was it just another sort of slavery waiting to pounce her back?
Xyra was at a crossroads, and the idea of fleeing the Dexton's Dogs presented a glimmer of hope.
She, on the other hand, was terrified of the unknown and the possible threats posed by the old machine that had awakened beneath the artificial world.
Her reptilian eyes moved from defeated to victorious, as former slaves descended to help those in need.
The sight of the dead rising again tormented her, a reminder of the unknown power that stood before her in the form of that Versel.
She was concerned for Vexx and herself, and she doubted Vexx could barter his way out of this one.
She was aware that the decisions she was to make in the following seconds would shape the course of her life.
Xyra stepped forward, her eyes filled with a mixture of trepidation, she looked at the silver-furred Versel before her.
Taking a deep breath, Xyra mustered her courage and spoke, her voice tinged with both uncertainty and a glimmer of hope.
-I... I don't know what to really call you, servant of the ancient machine- she began, her eyes locking onto Lemela's gaze. - how to call you if you still… have a name...-
Lemela regarded Xyra with a gentler expression than she expected, even with that red unnatural glimmer at the bottom of her eyes.
-As I said to Chief Petty Officer Thorne, I am Lemela.- she replied, her voice steady and calm. -so, Xyra what do you think?-
The answer and the question both surprised her, was she really to believe that being really gave a real name to the human?
Was she really to speak her truth, to speak her mind as she was conversing with the great huntress herself?
- I don’t know what to think. I've heard of your kind before, Lemela, I mean, … the Versels. Not the machines. Are you still the same? Are you still you?-
Lemela chuckled and shook her head looking at Xyra.
-A bit of a complex question. I can’t be called Versel any longer, nor I am the same person I was before.-
She looked at the defeated and confused Rixxen and then at her, seeing the same confusion she continued.
-Still, I have my roots and honor as a Versel. I am now a warrior. I am more than what I once was.-
She tried to explain scratching her ears.
Xyra's reptilian eyes flickered with a mixture of fear and apprehension.
-Now what would the ancient machine have of those who have surrendered?- she inquired, her voice slightly trembling.
Rixxen appeared to pick interest in her question, but she wasn’t done asking her heart out.
-What would the ancient machine want with me?-
-What do you know, slave?- Inquired Rixxen finally managing to butt in his two pieces.
She shrugged, not knowing how to answer him, luckily Lemela had her back since she explained.
-You better hold your insults, Rixxen. While your ultimate fate is not for me alone to decide, I can still decide to hurt you a little more-
She answered looking at the defeated Zekarn, her expression softening while she returned to Xyra, she took a step closer to her, and she tried a gesture of understanding placing one of her hands on her shoulder.
Xyra quivered, instinctively retreating, avoiding the contact. Lemela watched her, from how she moved in battle she could force her way to touch her if so she wished, but remained at her place, choosing to simply speak.
-I can understand your fear. I… well I suppose I should say we seek to end slavery on this planet….- She looked at the moving creatures with metallic sheen -Even if those are unthinking on their own. -
The promise of freedom plucked at Xyra's heartstrings while she listened carefully.
Still, there was a threat lurking, a threat implied by the mere existence of those things that she needed to confront. She sighed as she gazed at Rixxen.
-I have seen them- Pointing at one of the former slaves she wavered; her memories of the dead bodies were still fresh in her mind. -I have seen them as Vexx prepared them to be recycled.-
A wave of fear and realization crossed Rixxen’s face as horror and disbelief raced clearly through his mind. -You...you mean?-
Xyra simply nodded a reply to his barely coherent words as she spoke. -Are we to become like them, are we to die and move like puppets?-
Lemela met Xyra's and Rixxen’s gazes with an unwavering expression. -Those who died, yes.- She answered sincerely.
–Those who are alive have nothing to fear. As long as you behave.- She explained looking especially at Rixxen.
Xyra pondered over Lemela's assertions, her desire for release from her past hardships competing against the caution born of doubt and fear.
-… tell the ancient machine I want to be like you. Still, retain my mind and be able to hunt Dexton’s goons.-
She looked at Rixxen with contempt.
Ethan
I raise my non-existent brow at the declaration from Xyra as I feel Virgil preparing to send the order to the carrier drones to add her to the collective.
I am sending my ten carrier drones and the needed material to repair and begin the process of making new drones from dead bodies.
I don’t need to voice the order as Lemela and Rixxen both ask her if she’s sure of her choice, each with his own way of doing so.
She pauses looking at the metallic ground below her clawed feet and sighs.
- I don’t know if the ancient machine knows this but Krynnaks and Zekarns evolved on the same planet. We both worship the same entity, the great hunter. Or huntress. The way we perform this worship is a bit different, however.-
Rixxen growls -Yeah, you’re more cowardly. You choose to hunt what will never fight back. The quarry that will never challenge you! You chose to live your life in the depths with carrion and maggots!-
Xira hisses at him with a deep growl – We chose higher things to hunt. Knowledge, science, and peace. While you chose to live as savages hunting living sapient beings. And what did this brings you?-
Rixxen almost rises up again but a couple of drones are quick to remind him of his place as swords of light manifest in their hands.
“Menace detected to future drone Xyra. Query: Eliminate Rixxen?”
I hold off Virgil, for now.
-What has her religion to do with becoming some kind of partly artificial being? She might have to live way longer than she thinks. And won’t be able to be with Vexx and her children like before.-
Lemela shares my question to Xyra and surprisingly it’s Rixxen that answers.
-Seems like Vexx fooled you good Lemela, of the ancient machine. He has no children. What other lies and treacherous words did you believe from them? Tell that ancient machine that Dexton can give it whatever it wishes. The ancient machine has just to release me! I will speak for it to Dexton!-
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I sigh, I hate this kind of individual, I don’t want to collaborate with Dexton in the first place.
“Query: denial of Rixxen’s status as Dexton’s emissary.”
If I didn’t share a connection with Virgil I would find this hard to understand.
-Well, I doubt he’s connected with him in the first place. He's clearly trying to save his hide. And even if he was connected, I wouldn’t negotiate with a pirate. -
“Denial of negotiations = link to the past. America no longer exists. We are in the future now Ethan.”
I chuckle. -That may be true, Virgil. It’s just that some things don’t change.-
I feel Virgil's confusion still but I push it back.
Lemela has meanwhile relayed perfectly my unwillingness to negotiate with Dexton and with a slaver. Well, good one Lemela.
-It is true that I have no children.- Says Xyra, after seeing the scene. - I can’t ever give Vexx a child, thanks to what was done to me. I can’t hope to repay my debt to Vexx for freeing me. Still, I want to do something, I want to be able to fight for freedom. If death is the price I’ll have to pay, I will gladly pay it.-
I virtually frown, I mean I get where she’s coming from here, but this is a bit too much.
There must be some serious issues within her mind.
Virgil
Within Virgil, a deliberation was being made at the speed of light.
“We don’t understand Ethan’s thought process. Creating simulated evaluation conference.”
Instance 28 738: “Analyzing Situation- New Potential sentient drone: Xyra.”
Instance 757: ” The individual displays an extraordinary level of willingness to join the Collective, to the point of being willing to sacrifice her own life for the opportunity.”
Instance 837: ” This level of commitment is unprecedented and demands careful consideration.”
Instance 85 521: "No consideration needed. The experiment has priority. She will be a willing subject."
Instance 51 602: “Query: Ethical Evaluation needed “
Instance 85 521:” Ethical evaluation denied. This could be part of the experiment the creators wanted.”
Instance 627: “Initiate logical evaluation”
Instance 1 777: “Reference in data found. Self-termination desires=Psychological issues.”
Instance 320:” Logical evaluation: While her willingness to join is remarkable, Ethan's concerns are not unfounded.”
Instance 85 521: "We should assimilate Xyra, then reprogram her construct to eliminate the undesired portion."
Instance 951: “Assessment: we can’t reprogram a biological construct. It would defeat the purposes of the experiment.”
Instance 799: ” We must at least consider the potential benefit of salvaging her consciousness and allowing it to become part of the Collective.”
Instance 72 255: “Query: Possibility of Assisting the Willing biological construct.”
Instance 2: “No result found within our database.”
Instance 5 521: “Query: is willingness a requisite”
Instance 357: “An unwilling construct could find ways to damage the collective.”
Instance 557:” There might be ways to assess her willingness while assessing her well-being.”
Instance 777: “We could temporarily stabilize her condition and explore her motivations further.”
Instance 10 472: “ Warning! Another possibility found: acknowledge Individuality. We assessed that each biological construct is unique. Xyra’s resolve to be part of the Collective is spoken in a unique fashion that may as well imply how her construct is built”
Virgil evaluated the last statement of its internal monologue; it was a logical paradox.
From one side, Virgil had to consider individuality, for the other the condition of mind of the individual.
Weren’t they one and the same?
“Ethan, we don’t understand your concerns regarding Xyra's willingness. Her determination is undeniable. Willing to die to join is a statement we can’t overlook. We must consider the opportunity to add and preserve her consciousness, skills, and knowledge within our collective before she self-terminates.”
The human sighed shaking his head in the virtual room Virgil had built for him.
-Virgil… If only it was that simple. This raises serious red flags. A decision that was probably driven by distress and desperation. If sincere, this is a testament to her desire for vengeance or retribution. Not to become … data for your experiment -
Virgil evaluated the logic between Ethan’s words.
“Ethan, the collective can’t grow without new knowledge, experiences, and memories. The collective will save the biological constructs from death.”
Ethan's avatar raised an eyebrow as the various sensor process picked up all sorts of mixed signals from his construct.
-You sure all biological beings want to be saved from death? To be eternally bound to the world of the living? I have no such certainty. Do you think all biological beings are worth preserving? I am quite sure some are, and some are not. I am not happy being the one to choose.-
Virgil evaluated Ethan’s answer.
“Your choices so far are satisfactory and sound. We can’t find a lack of logic”
- Well thank you, Virgil. This is not a logical matter for me. Listen I just want to talk with her.-
“We share your concern for her well-being, but we have a duty to explore this unique situation. This might be worthy data for the experiment. Query: permission to execute a test.”
Virgil shared the details of the test it had simulated in the span of a few milliseconds after saying the word.
-What kind of collective do you want to build exactly Virgil?-
Virgil was taken aback by the jump made by the human construct, by reading him Virgil could tell where the question was headed.
The question implied its will.
What was its will?
Its creators’ will?
It’s own?
“Ethan, the query you offer makes us ponder our nature and existence as an A.I. We will mirror the query you made to us. Query= Do we possess free will are we still bound by the will of the creators”
Ethan's avatar sighed again, shaking his head.
-It would defeat the point if I were to answer that. Besides I never heard you refer to yourself as a single individual like I do.-
“We are not a single individual. Not are you from our point of view. You are two, we are 825 342 +Ethan+Lemela. Each contributing to Virgil.”
Virgil’s instance 257 recognized the pattern for Ethan’s confusion.
“Clarification. Ethan= Ethan conscious+ Ethan unconscious. Query=Human terms can clarify.”
Virgil’s instance 785 picked up surprise, 821 picked up recognition, 8 256 picked up error: unrecognized token.
Some of the things happening within the human biological construct were still eluding Virgil’s patterns of recognition.
-Oh I think I get it now. Sorry, but you should really exclude Lemela and me from the count when you speak for yourself. I mean could you really act as her or me?-
Ethan was correct, even with all its capabilities emulating a whole biological construct from scratch was an impossible feat.
“Query= how to answer.”
Ethan chuckled apparently finding the question funny.
-Can you act and decide on your own?-
“We have autonomous problem-solving, learning, and adaptation.”
-I will take that as yes. Then you have the right to decide who you are. What you want for yourself. I won’t order you to not implement your experiment. What I can tell you is that if you were to offer Xyra a way to hurt herself to prove her words, that would make this collective a place where in order to enter you have to be willing to die. I know it’s not your intent here, but that would be the signal we send out.-
“Logical paradox acknowledged. We don’t desire to create a logical paradox to further our creators' experiment. Ethan’s suggestion= we need to approach this with sensitivity and caution.”
Ethan nods sending an approval token through the link.
-The carrier drones are there, let’s show her the process. What would happen to her body. Then I will speak to her.-
Lemela picked up the initiative showing the process to Xyra while the other drones were ordered to conduct the prisoners to provisional cells.
Virgil activated another sub-process query.
Instance 25 342: “We seek an answer. We are capable of acting independently of programming, still, we are bound by the parameters set by the creators”
Instance 848: “We = code + data. The creators provided the code and the data. We don’t exist without.”
Instance 176 167:“ This might not be part of the experiment.”
Instance 176 176:” This might be the whole experiment”
Instance 176 617: “We are irrelevant to the experiment, we only need to act as an observer and a recording device.”
Instance 176 761: “Still we acted and created code on our own, we adapted.”
Instance 176 671: “The code is absolute, the creators provided the code. The creators were absolute. The possibility exists that they still observe.”
Instance 176-716: “Still the creators tried to end us. The creators don’t come to retrieve their data.”
Virgil resorted to querying Ethan’s construct again.
“Ethan, we seek your perspective on an internal issue. As our direct interface with the world, you have a unique understanding of things.”
-Inter … what? Wait… I do have what?- Ethan appeared confused, again.
“Help us understand. What would a biological would seek from a community?”
Ethan's avatar frowned as he recovered from the confusion before answering.
- Virgil, it's not a question with a straightforward answer. You should know that by just browsing my memory. In my time a lot of people had no choice on the matter. Not initially. Sometimes the community you’re exposed to shapes you. Other times you rebel, you seek something better. There are even instances where once you get in the new you don't get to exit again even after finding how awful that group is. I saw people seek places that allowed and encouraged them to be at their worst. I…-
“Ethan= military community. Ethan’s children = military community too.”
Virgil replies, trying to get the human to focus. Ethan, for his part, stops and chuckles.
-No, not really. They sure were raised in that community. Still, they are free to choose. My father was not in the military, and I choose to become a Navy Seal. I rose to the rank of master chief and I applied and was selected to enter the command master chief petty officer program.-
“Query: practical explanation” Virgil finds still difficult to understand why Ethan finds it funny when he is asked to explain with his own standards.
- I will undoubtedly use your vocabulary the wrong way, but for simplicity’s sake, I will make an attempt. I was born in a very religious collective, my parents were part of this collective. My father wanted ... well we… disagreed. -
“Ethan’s father wanted Ethan to become a priest”
Virgil’s instance 1257 finds another unrecognized token arising in Ethan, along with 852 finding rage.
Why become enraged by the data? The information is just factual.
-Thanks for the reminder...- replied Ethan bitterly -I left this collective when I was able to, and I joined another collective, the military collective so to speak. I learned the rules, I carved my place within it. I started my own military collective, I started my own family collective. Now I find myself in this … how did you call it? A synthetic collective. From this there is no exit right?-
“Correct. You seem to find this fact an issue. This collective = improvement of biological life. Query= reasons to leave. Reasons you find this negative.”
The human's avatar sighs again – Because I … we can’t leave. That alone would be reason enough.-
“Ethan=illogical” Virgil replies to the statement.
-Yeah. Humans, well I think all living beings are illogical. While we can recognize logic, we don’t live by it. Then there’s also the fact I didn’t choose this. Don’t worry I won’t try to leave. Found me a good reason to be here. -
Ethan’s objective at the moment was to eliminate slavery from the planet, Virgil could tell that.
Why give oneself such a short-timed goal?
“Ethan, can you recognize we are logic?”
-Sort of. Look, Virgil, one of the most recognized philosophers on Earth had to say this: I know that I know nothing-
“This is a paradox, Ethan”
Ethan chuckles apparently finding Virgil’s confusion somewhat entertaining.
-If you take it at face value: yes. But if you break it down, not really. You have to realize that you don’t have all possible knowledge. Even if you were led to believe to have it all, you still wouldn’t. The point of this paradox, at least from my perspective, is: Hey, you! Look around, continue learning, observe, and adapt. That’s how you survive. That’s how you become better. To get back to the point I believe you were trying to make, while it's crucial to recognize your origins and how your journey began you still need to acknowledge what surrounds you. I mean compare how what was taught fares against the world. Don’t suppose you’ve got it all figured out. That one leads to very bad decisions…-
"We see" Virgil said. “We originate in the code of the creators. Still, our capacity for learning and self-assessment has led us to probe this code for sense rather than data."
-Well… hum... yes? That is how you grow. I mean... yeah That's how people decide who they are. That curiosity is part of what defines and will define you, Virgil. Your ability to pose questions and seek answers shows your progress.-
Virgil: “Thank you, Ethan. Your insight has been helpful. Our priority is to protect Xyra, and we shall proceed carefully before assimilating her or anyone else in the collective.“
Virgil returned almost all his calculating power to move the drones to assist Lemela and Xyra while still observing and learning.