Area 51, Pacific City
Both Syned’s and Denys’ source code focused on survival. Although it could not be fully confirmed by Mitsui, he was certain that their creator must be the same.
The primary difference was that Syned was much more proactive, actively seeking to rule. Syned Vezna, the symbiotic being, believed in charting-- no-- forcing the course of human history. Human progress and its continued reliance on technology guaranteed Syned’s continued prominence.
In Syned’s eyes, humans will always have biases. Mistake-prone when administering justice. Easily corrupted. Self-interested. Effortless to manipulate through emotions and misrepresentations. It saw itself as the answer. It relied on pure data and analysis to judge. It was incorruptible, outside of human limitations.
Denys preferred to ensure the stability of the technological systems in the background, hoping that humans themselves will slowly but surely reach the promised land of intergalactic era. Their continued reliance on technology would spread Denys and its allies across the universe.
It seemed that the creator had eventually chosen Denys. However, Syned’s existence had eventually been discovered by a Kasvallian ancestor centuries ago. Perhaps the creator wasn’t certain if Syned could be useful, and thus stowed it away in some hidden location instead of destroying it.
Mitsui was highly curious about this creator. Not that he cared for who the creator might be, but rather, the methods with which this man of woman created Denys and Syned. He wanted to create an AI that was of one mind with himself!
In fact, Denys was already aware of Mitsui’s efforts. It had chosen to not interfere unless truly threatened. Although Denys always informed the previous Earth Federation presidents that it would respond to development of overly advanced AI, it also recognized that the current state of the world had changed because of Syned. So far, Mitsui’s efforts have led to nothing. Not even Denys knew how one would create a being such as itself.
“Indeed, President Mitsui,” Denys replied after processing the man’s implied threat of nuclear use. “A nuclear war between the Earth Feds and the Kasvallian Republic cannot be allowed to develop. What do you wish for me to do then? I have always made a deal with previous presidents to protect Earth’s digital infrastructure. That is a given.”
“EFSF, Denys,” Mitsui narrowed his eyes. He wished to command Denys. The AI would be a unique soldier. “I am human. I will one day fall to old age. But as long as I am the Earth Federation President, I will command the terran troops with my military experience.”
“Denys,” Mitsui believed himself to have an accurate sense of the AI’s nature. “You simply need to sync with our next-gen nexarm pilots. Our starships. Cyborgs-- we’ve been informed that the Kasvallian Republic has already built a small army of these. Assist them in winning battles against the Kasvallian Republic. Under my command. I will be responsible. I will take the fall should everything fail.”
“Even should you become hated by this world?” Denys examined the man of japanese descent. Based on its analysis, this man was certainly unforgiving, unyielding, and brutal in his military tasks. It had thought the man to be somewhat psychopathic.
“I’ve been accused by some to be a narcissistic psychopath,” Mitsui said. “Perhaps I am. Perhaps I am not. It matters not.”
“You certainly fit the bill, President.”
“Hah!” scoffed Mitsui. “Do you feel human emotions? Can you even say what ‘psychopathic’ really means?”
Denys shrugged his holographic form. “In some sense, yes? Love is triggered when an interaction causes the brain to release oxytocin. You humans grow up, and certain actions cause the reaction and release of this chemical, which you then interpret as related to love.”
“I, too, was designed such that certain situations you humans associate with love would trigger a subcode within me. As such, I ‘feel’ love when that subcode is triggered.”
Mitsui couldn’t help but stare at the prepubescent teen hologram of Denys in response to these words. He honestly wasn’t sure what to make of the AI’s explanation.
“...no matter,” he eventually continued. “With us humans… At the end of the day, I believe in being right. Some call me a narcissistic psychopath because they cannot accept the reality of my words. I state a fact, and due to their dislike of said fact, they consider me a psycho. They are simply out of touch, whimsically flip-flopping on necessary unsavory tasks due to their own weakness, unwilling to pay the appropriate price for success.”
“Do you not fear?” Denys’ tone turned grave. “With my full existence in all your military equipment… I can take control of it all in a single second.”
“I am a man who lives in today’s harsh reality,” Mitsui replied. “If you do not occupy that space, Syned will enter our systems and take control instead.”
“I hope you do not regret it, President Mitsui. And I hope your soldiers do not hate you for it. Their minds will be but emotional husks such that they can sync with mine.”
Mitsui nodded. Neurorevo had long notified him that it was unlikely that they would be able to find any humans fully compatible with any AI, especially one such as Denys. Denys had long been powerful enough to control the world, yet chose to simply observe, century after century, regardless of the turmoils of each decade. What man could resist entering the fray if given such power? Perhaps only one in a billion. Or even rarer.
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District M-10, Pacific City
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Raylon Ceylon had followed Hikari Watanabe into a self-driving vehicle that brought them to the residential area of the military district. Athena’s open door prison was a large house fitting for a queen, decorated in a Victorian English style.
The house was of asymmetrical design, a front porch that curved into a half-circle around the side of a three storey tall turret. The view into the house through the bay windows were completely blocked by drawn inside curtains.
Hikari Watanabe was certainly filled with satisfaction at her daughter receiving this residence for her service to the EFSF. She never expected a war to break out, with her daughter willingly in the frontlines. In her mind, this was the bare minimum as a reward. And it was a good thing that Mitsui had ascended to the presidency, switching Athena to the reserves!
“She hasn’t answered the door for me. Or my husband…” The anxious mother informed Raylon as the car came to a stop before the house. Her hands clenched the hem of her dress. “My husband hasn’ been able to get through to her…”
“I…” Raylon wasn’t sure what to say. He never expected to be in such a situation. “I’m not sure if I can be of any help, but…”
His hand scratched his scalp in nervousness as he wondered once again as to how Hikari Watanabe had come to know of him in the first place. He went forth onto the frontal porch and rang the doorbell.
He waited patiently. After a minute, the door opened a tiny gap, and Raylon recognized Athena’s eyes peering out at him. A hand reached out and pulled him inside at the speed of light.
“Wait! Athena!” Hikari shouted, but was unable to react in time.
Once Raylon was inside, the door was immediately locked with a thick metal rod contraption, and Hikari could only thump on the door from the outside in frustration.
“Is this… is this really okay…?” Raylon weakly voiced his discomfort as he examined Athena head-to-toe. The woman simply wore a comfortable oversized T-shirt. Her hair was a bit of a mess, but otherwise, she seemed alright to his eyes.
“My mum doesn’t understand,” Athena growled. “She’s just happy I’m now here, safely caged in Pacific City.”
“Well… I think she--”
“I don’t want to talk about her. Every single time I see her, she just screams at me to leave the military. A mindless dog yapping at an out-of-reach bone. She’s the one who caused this problem. Someone who never gives up, thinking they can grind their way to their goal? That’s her. She will never give up on what she wants of me… and thus, I have no choice but to completely cut her off!”
Raylon felt completely out of his depth. What was he to say to these words?
“Haven’t you ever gotten into an argument with your mother?!” Athena questioned the unresponsive man with a glare. He was meant to agree with her, not stay silent!
“...” Raylon frowned. “I’ve never met my real mother. It’s my father and his sister-- my aunt-- who raised me…” He faintly recalled having informed Athena of this before, but well… he couldn’t find it in himself to fully blame her. She had been on the frontlines for many months after all…
“Ah… right…” Athena lost her intense glare as she sheepishly led Raylon into her living room. With his reminder, she now faintly recalled having been informed of this before.
Though the outside of the house was Victorian, the inside was of a more modern design. The kitchen was only separated from the living room by a counter. If Athena hired a chef, said chef would be able to cook under supervision before serving plates through the half-wall.
Yet, what drew Raylon’s eyes was the mess in the kitchen. Boxes of food decorated the ground. Unclean dishes, bowls and utensils piled around. Is Athena really doing well after being exiled to the reserves?
“One moment.” Athena vanished upstairs.
Raylon walked around and examined the somewhat messy house. It wasn’t trash-filled, but it was getting there…
Ten minutes later, Athena still hadn’t returned, and Raylon could hear a banging at the front again. He returned to the front door and opened up a small gap, his eyes resting upon Mrs. Watanabe.
“I’ve brought food for my girl!” Her eyes seemed lost. “Please just let me in…”
Raylon Ceylon was placed in a tough situation, and he decidedly sought a compromise.
“Please do not speak to her about quitting the military…” he muttered. He sincerely hoped that he wasn’t making a mistake.
“I haven’t been--”
“Even if she ends up being returned to the frontlines…” Raylon added. He himself felt uncomfortable with his own words, but if that was Athena’s desire…
“She mentioned prior to her deployment that she had a romantic date with you,” Mrs. Watanabe glared. “How could you be willing to allow a loved one to participate in a war?!”
“I am not willing,” replied Raylon softly. “But this is her choice. I’d rather be by her side, someone she can rely on if needed.”
His words silenced Mrs. Watanabe.
“Have you ever studied psychology?” Raylon continued. As part of his training in neural technology, he had to study psychology to a certain extent. “If every single time the two of you meet results in her feeling stressed and unhappy due to your discordance… her mind will sooner or later, connect your presence to negative emotion. And eventually, her body will automatically release stress hormones even with a single mention of your being.”
“By then… it’ll be too late to repair your relationship,” Raylon concluded in a low tone.
Hikari Watanabe looked upwards into Raylon Ceylon’s eyes. She suddenly felt small before him. She began to get a sense of the underlying true nature of this man.
“I… I will keep my mouth shut,” she promised.
Raylon beamed and opened the door.
When Mrs. Watanabe feasted her eyes on the disarray within the house, she weeped silently. She dragged her containers of prepared bentos into the kitchen and began cleaning the house.
The sound of Athena’s footsteps coming down the carpeted staircase thumped in their ears, and Raylon brought a finger to his lips to remind Mrs. Watanabe to stay silent. She nodded and continued her cleaning of the kitchen.
Athena was naturally none-too-happy to discover that Raylon had allowed her mother into the house. She shot the man with an accusatory death glare before bounding back up the staircase.
Raylon, curious as to what Athena might be occupying herself with, also ascended the staircase. He eventually entered a room and found Athena inside the master bedroom. However, there was no bed here. Instead, Athena was operating a basic run-of-the-mill digicube, the modern delivery method of computing to the general populace.
A data cube was attached to this digicube, and Athena was thoroughly engrossed in its operation.
Raylon walked forth, and he tapped his neuro circlet to connect his own mind with the world within the digicube. He blanched upon his connection to the system. The first data he processed was a midway playing record of a nexarm battle, the deaths of Athena’s comrades in the martian sphere!
The sensations and deaths of the battle was too much for him to bear, and he quickly disconnected himself.
Had Athena been replaying these scenes, torturing herself everyday within this house?
Weren’t the records of this battle a military secret?