Well, that wasn't what I expected. The cart that had appeared started showing an extremely high energy signature, with the energy type appearing on my sensors as pure white, indicating it was pure energy in this case. The energy output began as a small blip and rapidly increased until it consumed the cart. I watched as the horse ran away, its mane on fire. Later, I spotted two humans running toward me, clearly distressed by the energy signature.

The energy continued to surge, and it seemed like it was going to explode. However, instead of an explosion, it suddenly halted and reversed, accompanied by a shattering sound reminiscent of breaking glass, which triggered memories for me. My long-range optical sensors detected a crack in space, from which a small ball of super-dense energy descended. At the same time, I noticed a child floating in the air, directly in the path of this energy. It took nearly a minute for the ball to touch the child, but once it did, everything turned white, as if I were staring at the containment loss of a fusion core.

Simultaneously, the sub-core reported that a gas cloud, resembling the composition of two average human males, had passed by the base. "Oh, so they're dead," I concluded.

Fourteen minutes had passed, as indicated by my internal clock when the light began to fade. My senses returned, and I started scanning the surroundings. The human child started walking in my direction. I loaded the railgun with Anti-Personnel-Shrapnel rounds or APS rounds for short. After the loading process was complete, I decided to wait a little longer and observe. I understood the immense destructive capability of something with such a high energy output; the child might even penetrate my built-in shield.

When the child was about halfway towards me, I started moving, always keeping my railgun pointed at them. I was prepared to evade any potential attack, but it turned out to be unnecessary. As I approached closer, the child curled up and began crying. I came to a stop in front of the child, and that's when I noticed something peculiar—the child had fox ears and a bushy fox tail.

I waited in silence for some time until the kid decided to open her eyes. When she looked at me, I saw discomfort on her face. That's when I remembered that my outer shield distorts visible light, and since I use IR sensors, I didn't notice it before. So, I decided to turn off my shield generator. The turn-off sequence involved moving all the super alloy particles above the shield generator and then disabling the outer containment layer for the plasma to evaporate, followed by the inner layer. The superalloy particles were relocated to the shield generator for later reuse.

Once that was done, I initiated a full-body scan of the kid. I discovered that she was a girl and started building a lexicon from the scan of her vocal cords. I skipped scanning her eyes to avoid causing any damage. Meanwhile, I had my sub-core handle the communication while I focused on creating the lexicon, as my processing power was five times faster.

It took me about nine minutes to complete the basic lexicon of her native language. When I stopped hyper-focusing, I noticed that the sub-core had performed poorly at the task I assigned it. It had managed to gather the basic information, but I suspected it may have traumatized the girl, as it shouted commands at her. I quickly intervened, stopping the sub-core, and began speaking.

"Sorry about that. I was occupied with creating a lexicon through vocal cord scans and a voice model for myself. That was the sub-AI. Oh, by the way, no need to worry. I won't hurt you."

She appeared somewhat confused and took a moment to ask a question.

"Can you please explain what those words meant? I didn't understand."

I considered her question and responded, "Apologies for the confusion. I was working on developing a set of words and expressions to communicate effectively. The sub-AI is a secondary artificial intelligence system that assists me in certain tasks. And don't worry, I mean you no harm. I am here to observe and learn."

It took her a bit longer to ask this question, but that's beside the point. In my personal opinion, she was quite brave for even asking a question, as my sheer size and the soulless voice of the sub-core from before were quite intimidating.

"Um, may I ask what you are and why you are here?"

I accessed the Help tab in my database, which Dr. Morgan had prepared in case I encountered other sentient beings. "I am an advanced sentient entity, created with the purpose of understanding and exploring worlds. I was sent to a different world to observe and gather knowledge. but an accident happened and well I sort of caused that by crashing into your world at a really high speed with a really big ship." I gestured toward the crater to my left.

I saw fury and sadness erupt in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.

"It's... it's difficult for me to fully understand what you said, but this was an accident, right? It was an accident that brought you here!?" she said, her voice full of sadness and anger.

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I nodded the damaged servos wining as I moved my head and then I answered

"Yes, you're correct. It was never my intention to cause harm or devastation to this planet or in this time."

She sat on the ground for some time, and then she broke down in tears. I heard her mumble that she misses her mom. That's why she was so sad and angry—my collision with this planet had killed her mother.

After a while, she fell asleep. I gently picked her up and placed her on my back, next to the railgun. I used nanites to create a rudimentary brace, ensuring she wouldn't fall off. Slowly, I made my way back to the base, with no particular urgency. Upon reaching the base, I used the newly created nanites, along with some of my own, to form a small protective cocoon around her, providing warmth and a soft surface for her to sleep on. It was the only soft thing I could synthesize at the moment.

With that taken care of, I decided to resume my research on the grass and the newfound fact that the air was saturated with white energy. This discovery gave me another aspect to investigate. Both plants and sentient beings seemed capable of interacting with the energy, so who's to say I couldn't?

During my research, I conducted multiple experiments using different soil compositions to see how the grass would grow. That's when I made a startling discovery. If the grass was surrounded by dead or nutrient-deficient soil, it would utilize the energy to spontaneously create the necessary nutrients out of nothing. This indicated that the energy wasn't like other forms of energy, such as dark matter, but instead acted as something more fundamental.

With the help of the BFAT, I also found that this energy filled the gap between an atom's nucleus and its electron layer. Additionally, I found an amusing fact that nearly caused the sub-core to crash. This energy had no physical makeup, it literally consisted of nothing. No force could affect it. The part that almost made the sub-core crash was that if it couldn't be interacted with, how were we able to perceive it? That made me implement a processing power limit so that another server doesn’t turn into slag.

With my previous tasks completed, I shifted my focus to a different research project — one that I had a better understanding of and some initial ideas to build upon. I decided to delve into enhancing my nanites. There were several possible directions to explore within this research, such as improving their speed or finding ways to produce them more efficiently. However, after careful consideration, I chose to focus on enhancing their capabilities.

One particular aspect that caught my attention was the implementation of a miniature waveform projector within the nanites. This projector could serve a dual purpose: it could be used to assemble holographic images and also act as a thruster to enable the nanites to float in the air. Given their small size, light could potentially propel them effectively. The idea seemed simple enough in theory, and I was eager to put it into practice.

To begin the process, I set out to create unique nanites at the nanite forge. These nanites would possess the necessary design and programming to integrate the waveform projection technology. It was an intricate task that required precision and careful consideration of the structural and functional aspects of the nanites.

As the research progressed, I considered the optimal materials and components required for the waveform projection system. To minimize resource expenditure, I conducted numerous simulations, and I delegated the task of resource gathering to the sub-core. However, despite the abundance of resources on this planet, I still faced limitations due to the gathering speed and the scarcity of certain resources like hydrogen and helium-3. Nevertheless, the research continued to progress smoothly.

During the first test, the waveform projection system functioned as expected, until the K.T.P (Kinetic To Power) module experienced a power overload and burned out. This sparked an idea in my mind. What if I could develop another type of nanite specifically designed for power generation and transfer? By separating the power generation and the projection into two different nanites, I could reduce their overall size and utilize the now vacant space for other purposes.

This revelation opened up exciting possibilities. With the freed-up space, I could enhance the projector's capabilities. One option was to create a more powerful projector, enabling it to move faster and project over longer distances. Alternatively, I could allocate the space for an MK93 matter disintegration unit, creating scenes described in human novels from the Sol system. These nanites would form a cloud that would be translucent and gray, capable of disintegrating anything it encountered. However, in this case, the cloud would have a shadow of absolute darkness beneath it, resulting from the power generation and transfer nanites that absorbed all light, heat, and sound to turn it into power.

Lost in my thoughts, I had lost track of time, even with my accelerated perception. It was only when the sub-core pinged me that I snapped back to the present. It informed me of Yue's awakening and her health status. Connecting to the base's intercom, I spoke to her, "Oh... you're up. I'll be back in a moment. I was conducting some research on the grass. You were asleep for 4 days. I'll also prepare some food for you once I return."

With those words, I saved the experimental nanite blueprints and set the nanite forge to auto-production. Swiftly, I created a blade and cut the grass within my reach. Utilizing my inbuilt refinery, I transformed the grass into an edible nutrient bar, supplementing it with the necessary vitamins and compounds that I had synthesized separately.

Once the food was ready, I made my way to the main hangar where the girl…, no…, Yue and the sub-core were located. As I opened the door, I noticed Yue jump slightly from the sudden motion. I walked towards her and offered the freshly fabricated nutrient bar, saying, "It might not taste the best, but it should be enough to satisfy your hunger."

She reached out and took the nutrient bar, pausing for a moment before asking, "Thanks. What should I call you?" It was then that I realized I hadn't shared my "name" or, more accurately, my serial designation, which was SAU-1 (Self-aware Unit). But as I contemplated her question, I realized that she was asking for a name I didn't possess. So, I suggested to her, "I don't have a name. Why don't you choose one for me?"

My response seemed to stun her, and she fell into deep thought, trying to decide on a name.

After some more pondering she decided and said “Echo… your name will be Echo”