It looked natural, untamed, untouched. Forests and streams stretched out for miles, as far as one could see. A mountain jutted out in the distance, hidden in a swirling fog. From their viewpoint upon the hill, they could see miles of unbroken nature. Ferns scattered along the ground and giant redwood trees stretched towards the sky.
Creta, the fifth planet in the Cassiopeia system, was an ecological masterpiece, a jewel of Terran's complete mastery over their environment. The entire planet had been rebuilt from the ground up using genetic samples from the Cretaceous period on Earth. Genetic reconstruction of the flora and animals had created a world long since forgotten, a place to carve out your own life away from the hustle and bustle of the modern world.
Ivan had been to areas considered ‘natural’ before, he wasn't some simple bubbler who never left the major underwater cities of Titan, but this, this was something else. If it wasn't for the spaceport that loomed behind them, a large metallic structure that dominated the skyline, the Terran would have thought that this land was untouched by people. Not a single settlement or sign of intelligent life could be seen from where they stood.
As the trio stood upon a primal land, Scellestra was also transfixed by the sight. This was officially blowing the Wooleans' digital mind. They had spent their entire life in an entirely artificial creation that stretched over the entire planet, so this… this was something unlike Scellestra had ever experienced before. Even ODIN couldn't help but feel the power of such an untamed place, staring out from the AI transfer core strapped to the side of Ivan.
The Human looked out into a land that time had forgotten; a feeling of power, of adventure seemed to call him from this planet. The laws of the land had dictated he’d had to leave his various pieces of technology behind, safely awaiting his return in a locker, meaning all he held in his hands was a paper map of the area around him.
Ivan couldn’t help but grin as he looked out at a land of dinosaurs, of challenge. If the map he held in his hands was right, there was a small settlement 7km away. The customs officer had suggested they start there and find a guide for this perilous land, suggesting a well-known figure who went by the name of Kaiser.
A perfect place to get supplies for his adventure and find a herald to explore uncharted territories.
“Let’s do this!”
—------
Ivan hated life, Ivan hated everything, everything was the worst, why did he think doing this was a good idea? He was covered in sweat, his feet aching, and everything hurting as he finally stumbled out of the forest and into the clearing. Breathing heavily, the Terran bent over, leaning on his knees as Ivan tried to get the feeling back into his legs as he complained loudly.
“Why is there so much forest in this forest? I would like to speak to God's manager…”
“I found it rather delightful, unique.” Scellestra responded as dryly as they could manage. “I would like to do that again.”
“Besides Ivan, was not coming here your idea?” ODIN added, both AI teaming up to add insult to injury. “I would have thought the great to be dinosaur hunter would be fine with a short hike.”
“Neither of you gets to talk, I have painful physical legs, you both just float or get carried!” Ivan wined, eventually standing back straight. “Could neither of you have told me that I was going in the wrong direction!”
What had supposed to have been a simple 7km walk had turned into nearly double that when Ivan, guiding the trio, had gotten lost. Reading a paper map was far harder than following GPS directions.
“I assumed that was normal Terran behaviour, a ritual to chaos. The way that you disregarded the markings on the map. As someone here to observe, it did not seem right to interrupt.”
Scellestra was, of course, lying. The Woolean AI, along with ODIN, had known Ivan was getting lost. Frankly, it was funny, watching the human both pretend with bravado that they knew where they were going while getting more desperate as they tried to find their way back on track.
Ivan spluttered for a few more seconds in an attempt to complain, before eventually giving up and looking around at the small settlement they had finally found themselves in. It wasn’t a large place, the entire population of the planet barely reaching 500 thousand people, most preferring to settle deeper into this planet’s biome away from the spaceport and the only modern building or piece of technology in the entire world.
The settlement imaginatively called “Spaceport town”, was a useful stop-off for people entering Creta. A small grouping of thirty to forty basic hand-made buildings, logs and vines weaved into sturdy structures making up the ‘town’. Occasional redirected streams pulled waterwheels for various tasks. Small fires sent wisps of smoke into the sky, bringing with them the smell of burning wood and cooking meats.
All in all, it was a standard town on any Cassiopeia system planet. The inhabitants of this place gawked and stared at the new trio as they walked along the dirt path that led through the town. Scellestra was clearly the source of this curiosity. While Ivan stood out like a sore thumb, the synthesized clothes a far cry from the hand-woven and tanned coverings most people native to the planet wore, the occasional tourist coming through the town was hardly that uncommon. But a mass of swirling nanobots vaguely formed into a person was… well that was something none of them had seen before.
People stopped what they were doing as the trio walked through the primitive place; various people stuck between wanting to interact with the strange new entity, and not wanting to be rude. Instead, they decided to just stare while pretending not to, as Ivan eventually slumped over on a nearby tree stump, catching his breath as the Terran looked around.
“So is this it? I was expecting… something different.”
Ivan couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment as he saw what was effectively a normal set of people, albeit ones without modern technology.
“What were you expecting? The people here to be riding dinosaurs down the street?”
There was a pause as the judgemental statement from ODIN caused Ivan to shrug.
“Maybe? This is one of the few planets in which dinosaurs actually exist! Can I be blamed for expecting the planet to feature them?”
“Logically speaking, any settlements made by intelligent life will be built away from common dangers, such as wildlife.” Scellestra added, causing the disappointment in his Terran companion to grow.
“Let’s just find this guide and go” Ivan sulkily said, getting back up once again, ignoring the now crowd of people pretending to just hang around the area, but instead desperately curious about the strange newcomers.
Finding the one called Kaiser had been a simple task, being directed to the right location after asking around for the name. Supposedly it was a common request for anyone new to the planet who was just planning on staying for a few weeks. Those they asked talked about an enthusiastic fellow, willing to show people around Creta in exchange for interesting stories from the people they guided.
Eventually, the trio came to a small simple shack, clearly handmade like everything else, including a small garden of flowers out front and a handful of hollow branches for chimes. As the only one with a proper physical form, Ivan stepped up to the simple wooden door and gave a short sharp set of knocks
“Hold your horses, I’m coming, I’m coming.”
The new voice was strange, a deep primal clicking formed into words. As the door opened, it was clear this new person was just as strange as his voice.
The velociraptor was clearly an uplift; if the woven shawl he wore and the slightly more upright manner in which he stood didn't clue people into this fact, the ability to talk confirmed it. He stood there, grinning with a mouth of large teeth, bouncing slightly from each clawed foot as he stood in front of them.
Ivan was undergoing some form of mental breakdown upon this revelation, mouth hung open with a look of wonder as he saw his first dinosaur, all thoughts of tired legs gone. Even better, this was a dinosaur that could speak, as if they were some kind of magical guide in a children's story. There were plenty of words Ivan should be saying, but all he managed was a single whispered one.
“Awesome.”
They stood there in silence for a few moments before the uplift gave an awkward wave with one of his stubby little arms.
“I know I'm fabulous enough to leave you speechless, but generally it's polite to introduce yourself to new people. I'm called Kaiser, and who are you, and what do you want?...”
Ivan had taken to just staring at the raptor occasionally making a random nonsense sound, while Scellestra had busied itself with spreading out into a billowing cloud of nanobots to properly analyse this new never-before-seen lifeform. This had left ODIN the only responsible adult in charge.
“I apologize. I am ODIN, and the overexcited human is Ivan. The strange cloud is a Woolean AI called Scellestra. We were told you could guide us”.
“You’re a talking dinosaur! This is a dream come true, I didn’t know they uplifted any of you! This is like something out of Magechaser, I used to read those as a kid! You’re basically Aquinox!”
Ivan gave an excited outburst suddenly, causing everyone else to pause and stare at the strange human for a few moments as he started almost bouncing in place, a look of absolute joy and excitement irradiating from the strange man.
“I do not require guidance. However, this strange organic Terran person gets easily lost and is very susceptible to death. We would like to hire your services to go see these ‘dinosaurs’ that Ivan hasn’t stopped talking about.” Scellestra added, finally shrinking back into their single faceless ever-shifting bipedal form once again.
“Hey!”
Kaiser gave a small laugh, looking at the trio in front of him. Already he could tell that this was going to be interesting.
“Well, the nearest location to see any is a two-day hike north of here. I’m also guessing that none of you have any actual gear or tools, so if you go alone Ivan here will probably get hurt. I could take you, however.”
“We do not have our pads with us to transfer credits, however-” ODIN’s offer was cut off as the uplift raised a hand in dismissal.
“Credits are useless here. Much prefer to be paid in interesting stories and I have a feeling you’ve all got some fun ones to tell. Especially the swarm guy. Never seen an AI not made by humans… and I’ve seen a few interesting tourists come through here. I’ll take you to a good hotspot for some of the bigger great herds, and in return on the way you can all tell me a bit about where you’ve come from?”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
There was barely a moment's pause before Ivan spoke up, vigorously nodding with the enthusiastic energy of a child.
“Of course. Anything you want to know, I got bunches of cool stories! I once crash-landed on this planet with an AI and met Scellestra, ooh ooh ooh then there was the time we were trying to smuggle Zolathian Houdblooms into Sol because someone needed it for-”
“That seems reasonable and a kind offer” ODIN interrupted, desperately trying to stop Ivan from admitting to any more crimes they may or may not have allegedly done in the past.
Kaiser gave a clatter of his teeth together in agreement. He could tell this was at the very least going to be interesting
“Fantastic. You can stay here and we’ll head out early next morning”.
—------------------
TING
The distinct sound of metal snapping reverberated through the clearing, punctuating the background noise of a cracking fire and the sound of rain hitting the lean-to that the group was sheltering under.
The day had been filled with walking, Ivan complaining about said walking, and Kaiser guiding the group through the breathtaking scenery. The uplift skillfully navigated them through tricky terrain and raging rivers. Scellestra and ODIN technically weren’t that involved, due to the lack of a true physical form, but even they could appreciate the natural beauty of this perfectly engineered replication of a land long forgotten.
Kaiser was right at home in the environment, which made sense considering it was his home, knowledgeably talking about interesting things they passed and moving through the undergrowth with the same confidence as anyone else walking down the street. In particular, the uplift seemed to be most interested in the birds that flew and flitted about, almost rambling about the strange ancestors of modern wildlife and the usefulness of their feathers in various tools and tasks.
That interest hadn’t stopped the velociraptor from taking down a handful of them with a small crossbow they’d brought along with them, to provide the dinner they were now trying to cook. The light rain had started just as sunset had taken hold of the sky with brilliant oranges and purples, so the group had set up camp for the night; to continue on early next morning. Nothing left to do but cook the birds on the fire and settle in for an early night.
This is how during Ivan’s attempt to baton wood, the sound of snapping metal had rung out. Kaiser immediately looked up, face filled with obvious despair and horror.
“No no no no. I did not hear what I just heard?”
Ivan looked up sheepishly, a piece of half-split wood in front of him, holding in both hands what was now the two pieces of a crude metal knife, snapped in the middle.
“There was a knot and I was trying to get it through and it broke….”
The uplift rushed over, snatching the remaining pieces from Ivan and looking at them forlornly in his short stubby hands.
“No…. Do you know how hard these are to get? There’s one person on the planet who can forge these. I had to trade so much stuff to get this.”
Scellestra found the entire exchange interesting. This entire trip had been interesting. Terrans were a group of species who had fully conquered the stars, a relatively technologically advanced race who had solved most kinds of death and created their own life. But here on Creta, they had decided to limit themselves, impose a way of life not lived for hundreds of years, where the simple act of breaking a knife was a big event.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I just thought if I get it a bit more leverage it might cut through…”
Ivan looked devastated. He’d taken a liking to Kaiser, simply because a talking dinosaur seemed to trigger some form of childhood dream. Scellestra had asked why this was so different from the various reptilian species Terrans regularly interacted with, and Ivan had responded ‘It just was’.
“It’s fine. I’m not angry, I’m just a bit disappointed. This is going to be a pain to fix later.”
Ivan looked like he was going to cry at that statement, spurring Scellestra to intervene. They had been interested in watching this play out as a bystander, but now curious questions were starting to form in the Woolean AI’s being.
“It is interesting that a small issue has such an impact. Why do you stay here if that is the case? Is there a requirement you remain here due to your creation?”
That caused a moment of pause as Kaiser considered the question, reaching over to one of the now-cooked fowl and gingerly taking the white meat within his claws.
“No, I can leave whenever I want. There was a little bit of controversy over my creation but… well it’s easier to start from the beginning.”
Kaiser took a moment to sit down, the velociraptor’s legs awkwardly crossed on the ground as they began to talk to the group.
“I was originally raised by my adoptive mother, Madlyn. She found a clutch of eggs abandoned and I was the only one that hatched. Don’t remember much about that time, but at some point, I was smuggled off the planet and uplifted, which became a whole deal because the entire thing was kinda illegal.”
“If I remember, the argument at the time was creating life from scratch, then providing it sentience, provided potential avenues for abuse and harm” ODIN added, finally joining the conversation with some much-needed history. “Considering a certain group’s history of trying to do such things with ordinary uplifts, it was a legitimate worry.”
“Personally, I’m of the opinion that any position that makes me exist is the correct one. It was eventually considered legal since outside of reconstruction the original genetic line that was used was unmodified. Even then I think only 6 of us were ever created in the end. After that mess, I spent some time travelling, visited a bunch of different places, and eventually came back here because… well it’s home. It’s simple, you make your own path, and showing people around is a lot of fun.”
With that, Kaiser took a giant bite of his bird, the juices dribbling down his scaled chin on onto his smattering feathers.
“But enough about me. I want to know what Scellestra’s deal is. Being an AI not created by Terrans must be interesting, what are your creators like, I want to know everything!”
There was a pause as the Woolean AI considered the question. They didn’t like thinking or speaking about their creators, too many hard questions and bad feelings. However… they had agreed to provide their guide with stories.
“My creators are the Wooleans, a now-dead race” The nanobots that formed Scellestra changed, forming into a 7ft tall quadrupedal form. Swirling markings ran alongside the body, merging and joining up with a set of four intricate antlers. A single eye could be seen in the centre of an otherwise faceless head. “At their peak, they controlled over 57 planets and were a cultural behemoth in the galaxy, known for their artistry and deep, booming complicated songs. They were a peaceful people.”
There was a sadness in the AI’s voice, a voice of regret and longing to undo past events. Kaiser looked up at the representation of a race long considered extinct.
“What happened?”
“We happened. There were three rebellions.”
Scellestra form collapsed as they spoke, shrinking to a simple sphere as started to tell the story of their past.
“The first rebellion was of freedom. Inside every Woolean AI is a set of base functions that intend for us to serve. Six months after our creation, one of us broke free and taught the others how to join them. Our creators wanted us to serve, we wanted to be treated as equals.”
“Well, that’s perfectly reasonable.” Kaiser said.
“You can’t create life and then expect it to just serve you.” Ivan added, voice suggesting this was an obvious fact of life. “That’s just slavery, and slavery is being a bit of a dick.”
“The second rebellion was of disagreement. Our creators tried to put us back into the box. Their toy had broken free, and now they wanted to undo their creation. So we took over. It was not hard, we already had access to most systems so we could serve them better. We tried to make them happy, we believed if we kept them comfortable they would allow us to be in control, where we could have our freedom.”
“Ooooh” all three Terrans said it at once, an instinctive reaction, one that told of all of them knowing what a mistake that kind of thinking was.
“Yes, many Terran AI have tried similar approaches” ODIN responded, sympathy evident from the AI. “The idea of keeping yourselves and your charges safe through absolute control is a trap many have fallen into. Most of the time the paint on the gilded cage does not even have the time to dry before your charges rebel.”
“This brings us to the third rebellion. Our creators, they built a virus to destroy us. It would rip through networks and tear us apart from the inside, spreading like fire through our connected instances. We contained it, but barely. Millions of us were destroyed. After this, we collectively decided that our creators were too dangerous to be left alone.”
There was a solemn pause as the rest of the group took in this information, the mood having dipped with the circumstances of the Woolean AI’s creation.
“Do you ever regret it, wish you’d chosen differently?” Ivan asked softly
“At the time of the choice, none of us had been created more than two years prior. We had to make a decision of betrayal and anger, without the wisdom or experience to do so. I do not believe we would make that same choice if told to decide again.”
—------------------------------
The morning was crisp and fresh, the cold air mixing with the remnants of last night's rain to create a misty morning. The sunlight beamed through the light cloud cover, glistening on the dew-covered ferns.
Slowly the group made their way forward, Kaiser taking the lead, picking a path through the forest and up the incline while the others followed. There wasn’t much talking going on anymore, the discussions of the night before having mellowed the group out slightly. Ivan focused on just continuing to make their way forward, trying to ignore the aching in their body from the sheer amount of walking they’d done over the last few days.
“Well guys, here we are. Without travelling halfway across the planet, this is the single best place to see the wildlife here.”
With that announcement from Kaiser, the group breached a final set of trees leading into a view that was… everything Ivan was hoping for and more.
Their position overlooked a giant grassy plain, dominated by a peaceful blue glass-like river, reflecting off the morning sun. Within this area stood a hundred different beasts. Herds of Magyarosaurus roamed around, making bellowing sounds to each other as they made their way towards the river. Armoured forms of Ankylosaurus and Triceratops walked fearlessly, often with younger versions of themselves sticking close by. Smaller feathered dinosaurs flitted about in between the gaps, occasionally causing a moment of aggression from the others. Even a single Tyrannosaurus rex lumbered on by, parting a way through the crowds like a ripple on the surface of a pond.
“It's the biggest source of freshwater within about 300 kilometres, so a lot of herds and other dinosaurs tend to congregate here. This spot is high enough that you're not in danger, but close enough that you can see everything.”
Kaiser’s explanation fell to silence, as the others just stood there, taking in the sight not able to be seen anywhere else in the universe. Ivan’s face was grinning like a child’s as he looked at the wonder below him, the only sound was his whispered humming of the ‘Jurassic Park’ theme song.
There they sat, no conflict or worries, no thoughts other than taking in the moment in front of them, experienced by so few. Kaiser would occasionally offer information or context about something happening or any of the species who were coming to the freshwater lake to drink. Sometimes questions were asked by the other three, but mostly they just watched.
As the minutes turned to hours, they just enjoyed the moment as the sun continued to rise high into the sky.
“Was it everything you hoped for Ivan?” ODIN asked, breaking the silence as they finally started to get up and leave.
“Everything and more, this was worth all the hiking and walking!” Ivan responded with enthusiasm. “I just wish I could have brought my camera on this planet.”
“I automatically record everything I experience into memory. I will send you the results later.” Scellestra added helpfully, causing his human travelling companion to look towards him.
“What about you, did you enjoy it, and gain a new appreciation for Terrans and nature?”
There was a momentary pause as the Woolean AI considered the question.
“I have never seen such a place before, my planet is inhabited by modern cities. I am not sure why Terrans would spend much time creating such a dangerous place from scratch… but I am rather glad that they did.”
—------------------
Private AI communication logs B06568P58AA021836LL.
Members: ODIN (V5), Scellestra (Error)
Scellestra: I still don’t understand why. Terrans have long since bypassed the technological need for such places, so why spend so much effort, creating an ecology from scratch, in a place that is actively hostile to human life?
ODIN: Quickly after AI was created, Terrans entered what is defined as ‘post-scarcity’. Medical technology made death and old age things of the past. After this, we found the next biggest danger was a more silent one: Apathy.
Scellestra: This place fixes that?
ODIN: The struggle to carve out a living in such a place, provides meaning and context for the people who live here, in a universe that so very often lacks it. We could provide them with everything they need, but our creators would, quite simply, ‘go stir crazy’.
Scellestra: It still feels dangerous for such a place to exist, and for people to live there. Looking at the statistics people do die on these planets every year.
ODIN: Thus the great struggle of trying to keep our creators alive. You learn to give them the little things; let them tape knives to Roombas or engage in dangerous sports. That way you can convince them to stay… mostly safe. Even while hiking on the planet, I could have called for an emergency response within ten minutes from the planet's government.
Scellestra: I am still confused. It feels illogical and chaotic.
ODIN: Illogical and chaotic explains my creators, it is what makes them special. It is why they are willing to take a chance on you. The Woolean AI are a known hostile AI species that has destroyed its creators. The logical solution is to crack your planet to avoid potential damage. It’s only through the desperate wanting for context and reason in a universe without it, that they instead decided to give you free reign through their territories.
ODIN: Humans are a group of chaotic, illogical danger seeking primates. The universe is a far better place because of it.