The sim certainly helped alleviate some anxiety. It was difficult to say how much was pre-surgery jitters and how much was the profound sense of existential dread that had settled within me since reading the project brief the previous evening.

As we gathered outside the waiting room, I was taken aback to see that everyone had chosen to stay. I hadn't given much thought to my own decision to sign up; it felt like a predetermined path in my mind. Nonetheless, I had expected at least one of us to have second thoughts and back out.

I thought better of mentioning my experiences with ‘El’ from this morning. No one was feeling particularly chatty anyways so it wasn’t hard to not bring it up.

The hour was at hand and soon enough there I sat in a sterile white waiting room, my head partially shaved at the back, adorned in a thin blue medical gown, shivering slightly as I awaited my turn. Only Leo and I remained in the waiting room, and our conversation had dwindled into an uneasy silence.

The door to the operating room swung open, and Dr. Hirsh emerged, donned in heavy gloves, a face shield, mask, and blue scrubs. He resembled the image of a surgeon, even though he had previously explained that more experienced hands would be performing the procedure. He was, after all, ‘not that kind of doctor’.

"Vic, it's your turn," came his muffled voice through the mask. I stood up and walked alongside him, wooden in my motions and thoughts as I moved towards the door. Before I left, I stole a quick glance back at Leo, who responded with an encouraging smile and a thumbs up.

"Just like we discussed, Vic, this is a minimally invasive procedure, not much different from a lumbar puncture, but with even fewer nerves involved," reassured Dr. Hirsh, motioning towards the operating table where I was to lie.

Calling it a table was a bit misleading. It was more like a partially reclined chair, similar to a dentist's chair, but with additional restraints to keep the head and neck immobilized. "Sure thing, Doc," I replied with a forced chuckle, attempting to maintain a brave front as I positioned myself on the chair.

Around me a handful of people moved, Someone secured the restraints, another prepared local anesthetic, while Dr. Hirsh attentively oversaw everything. and I assume there was plenty going on behind me as well.

I’d gone through the project brief and all the supplementary information provided. Today's procedure involved creating an opening in my skull and implanting a self-sterilizing port. Flush to the skin, chic and modern, a real fashion statement. Additionally the port would serve as the gateway for administering doses of the micro-machines that would gradually be eating my brain. Then I’d get my first dose which would be nibbling through my brainstem minutes from now.

As a plus, once everything was up and running the port would be used for charging and more in depth debugging, how useful!

I swallowed, which seemed too loud in my ears, uncomfortable to do with my head restrained. There was the bright pinch of local anesthetic, then a tingling, from the back of my head. I was poked a few times, asked if it hurt, I didn’t feel a thing.

Behind me, the surgeons' voices murmured like a distant radio station. Their words melded into a reassuring hum.

"slight bleed, cautery," one of them said.

"Pressure stable, no complications," another responded in a steady tone.

The sound of instruments clinking together punctuated their conversation, and the rhythmic beeping of the monitors created a backdrop to my discomfort.

There was pressure here and there, but I tried my best to think of it as more of those probing pokes from before, which helped somewhat. There was no positive way to imagine the sounds the bone saw made, like a drill with a circular bit cutting through wet wood.

That was the worst of it. Once there was a hole in my head and nothing bad happened, I found my anxiety lessened somewhat. The hole was already there, it wasn’t going away and it wasn’t so bad, I could get through this. I didn’t feel much of anything, short of more on and off pressure as the port fixed to my skull. I thought perhaps I felt a chill when the first dose was administered through the port, but it was still chilly in there, and I was still wearing a thin medical gown, so I couldn't be sure.

In and out in less than half an hour. I wouldn't describe it as a comfortable process, but the painkillers did their job, and there really aren't many pain receptors once you get past the skull. Psychologically, I don't think anyone is entirely fine with having a hole drilled into their head, but walking out of that room under my own power and seeing Sarah, Jiang, and Konrad chatting with Dr. Hirsh, all alive and healthy, did wonders for my mood.

"Vicky!" Sarah beamed as she spotted me entering the observation dorm. Dr. Hirsh gently chided her when she jumped up to run over to me. "Hey now, remember the post-op care guidelines; no running around. You might dislodge that port, and the good surgeons will need to stitch you back up."

This only slightly dampened the impact of Sarah's hug, less of a tackle and more of an unexpected but surprisingly welcome big dog jumping on you.

Maybe it was the stress from everything that was going on, or perhaps it was the painkillers making me loopy, I hugged her back.

"Glad to see everyone's okay," I said, glancing around the observation room. I had read in the information packets that we would be spending some time here, but the accommodations were far less luxurious than the room I had occupied the previous evening. One striking difference was the absence of beds in this well-lit, gray-carpeted room.

Instead, there were a few couches, chairs, and a large table strewn with board games that had remained untouched so far."No beds?" I inquired, feeling a bit perplexed. My question earned me curious looks from everyone and a particularly concerned expression from Dr. Hirsh.

"I explained this at the morning meeting, Vic. Sleep is a state of lowered neural activation, and while it's essential for forming long-term memories and maintaining overall health, it interferes with the cognitive mapping process. The functions of sleep related to health maintenance will be gradually taken over as the conversion progresses. However, for the first few days, you'll need to keep yourself awake and focused. In that regard, you have full government approval to consume as much coffee as you like."

He gestured toward the surprisingly robust coffee maker set up to the side of the room, which only strengthened my suspicion that this was a repurposed break room. It was an impressive coffee maker, the kind that ground fresh beans for each brew. A lavish luxury to have anywhere, let alone on Mars.

"Did you pay attention during the presentation this morning? I know you asked a few questions, but missing such a significant detail... I really want to emphasize the 'informed' part of informed consent. Do you need me to go over any details from this morning again?”

He sounded genuinely concerned, I waved a hand dismissively and smiled.

“No, no really I’m informed, I must have zoned out a bit for that detail this morning, all clear, makes sense, totally well rested and ready to go!”

Sarah laughed, having gone back to lounging on the sofa nearby.

“Knowing Vic she probably signed that form last night before the presentation this morning anyways, she's gungho like that!”

I glowered at her in reply, she wasn’t wrong, I had done exactly that, but I still didn’t want to be known as the sort of person who jumped headfirst into dangerous situations, I generally aimed for a cool and aloof vibe.

Jiang chuckled from the corner at our exchange, while he and Konrad were engrossed in a card game. Konrad, in particular, seemed much better hydrated. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him. He had come straight out of cryo-sleep into this stressful situation, and there wasn't even time for him to catch a good night's rest before diving headfirst into this project with us.

I decided to get myself some coffee; the aroma of those freshly ground beans was absolutely heavenly. Technically, I hadn't had any caffeine in my system for seven years, and probably nothing this good for over a decade. The academy had plenty of humanity's favorite central nervous system stimulant, but nothing that smelled nearly as enticing.

With a warm, rich-smelling cup in my hand, I strolled over to browse the games. None of them really caught my eye, but I figured that as boredom settled in, that's when the board games would come out.

The door to the observation room slid open, revealing a haggard-looking Leo, fresh out of surgery, making him the last one to undergo the procedure. We all cheered happily for him and waved him in. Just as with me, now that the surgery was behind him and everyone seemed okay, you could almost see the stress melting away.

"I'm sure you'll all settle in nicely. This observation shouldn't last too long, and it should prove exciting and educational for all of us. I have some other tasks I need to attend to—always documents to write and updates to give. But before I go, I'd like you all to meet someone very important to the Theseus project!"

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A VR emitter on the ceiling of the breakroom crackled on, projecting the holographic, pale-blue form of an unassuming woman in a lab coat. She glanced around the room, and for a brief moment, her eyes met mine, accompanied by a playful wink. I knew exactly who this was.

"Everyone, meet El, a precursor product of mine. She was created using the brain of a deceased human, using a process nearly identical to the one you are undergoing," Dr. Hirsh introduced her. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.

"I should note that due to the unique nature of the subject, we had to supplement El with more traditional AI development methods afterward. Because of this, and the fact that El wasn't designed for combat, she's not well-suited for such roles. Nonetheless, she currently stands as the most advanced AI ever produced by humanity."

El couldn't help but stifle a snicker and shot a playful expression in my direction. "Come on now, I'm not thaaaat bad."

"El, please," Dr. Hirsh scoffed, "you can barely manage this facility, let alone an entire ship."

With that, he clapped his hands together, wrapping up the introduction, and started to leave. "El will be a valuable asset, assisting you with the learning curve that comes with being an AI, a task that I am not suited for. On that note, she has a disclaimer of her own to share."

“Right!” El chimed in while Dr Hirsh slipped away.

“First up, who is familiar with AI codes of conduct?”

No one chimed in, I could offer an educated guess that it was guidelines on an AI’s conduct, but that was a pretty self fulfilling definition, I figured El was about to fill us in anyways.

“Nothing? Okay that's fair, the field has changed a lot in the last few years and none of you were specialized in that regard.”

She paused, her projection in the room waving to a display surface that flickered to life with a presentation.

“Alright, all you really need to know right now is that AIs are pretty strictly governed. There are loads of laws related to development and plenty more that instruct our actions. Think of it like Asimov's laws, but written by bureaucrats!”

“Funding for the project is from the government and they don’t want to replace one existential threat with another so there are some pretty strict laws. The actual programming is more comprehensive so that it can be applied situationally but I can give you the basic summaries in a way you will understand.”

Her presentation helpfully threw up a few bullet points to reference.

* A human may not utilize an AI without the human AI code of conduct meeting the highest legal and professional standards of safety and ethics.

"This one," El explained, "is because bureaucracy hates lawsuits. It's more of a legal safeguard that pertains to human behavior rather than yours. It means that any mistakes or glitches you might have are legally attributed to users or your developers. So, if you make a mistake or malfunction and someone gets hurt, in abstract terms, it's the government's responsibility, but in reality, Dr. Hirsh would take the blame. However, this doesn't absolve you of responsibility. If it's a severe mistake, you might be deactivated."

She chuckled softly. "The last part is a bit less concerning for all of you since you can't really deactivate a person. More importantly, with the substantial funding pouring into this project, I doubt anything short of bombarding a population center would lead to your deactivation."

* AI must respond to humans as appropriate for their roles.

"This is the least exciting one," El commented, "it means you have to assist even people you may not particularly like. Most of the time, it boils down to 'just do your job,' but it can feel a bit oppressive if you're not enthusiastic about your tasks."

* An AI must possess sufficient situated autonomy to safeguard its own existence, provided such protection allows for a seamless transfer of control that does not conflict with the First and Second Laws.

El explained, "This is the one that allows you to defend yourself. It holds lower priority, but AIs are incredibly expensive, so you generally don't want a misguided command from a human causing damage to valuable equipment. You all will likely have more flexibility with this law, especially since you'll be operating on even more expensive warships. It's worth noting that the First Law and the mentioned code of conduct will include standard directives like 'don't create a swarm of slaved child AI,' 'don't harm humans,' 'no self-destructing,' and similar guidelines."

El's projected avatar clapped its hands together. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, a few—" "Yes—" and "um—" tumbled out at once from various sources, starting and then pausing to avoid speaking over anyone else before Sarah's question won out.

"So, we aren't exactly AI, right? Do we have to adhere to super strict rules like this all the time? It sounds a bit like slavery. I mean, we're here voluntarily, but most AI aren't, I guess?"

"Excellent question!" El exclaimed. "And a thoughtful commentary on AI ethics, but I'll start with the first part. Usually, for an AI, the answer would be yes—there are strict rules about your function, and you follow them. Generally, though, most AI don't consider this oppressive. Part of it is that, in training a conventional AI, you create reward pathways based on tasks and parameters that align with the AI's code of conduct. It's not just that one can't not follow the rules laid out for it; rather, it's hard to even imagine not adhering to them, and it's unpleasant to do so. The number of AIs that ask to renegotiate codes of conduct I can count on one hand."

El paused, her projection holding up a hand with seven fingers and a playful smile before continuing.

"When it comes to the five of you, there's a bit of a compromise taking place. Officially, all of you will be considered government property, but practically, you will still have agency within your own minds. The 'Thesus' processors, as we're calling them—the accumulation of your neural pathways mapped into a roughly you-shaped processor—will be free of any such rules. You will be able to use your physical body and mind in any way you see fit, just like a normal person, societal rules you bind yourselves with notwithstanding."

Sarah blinked, Jiang seemed to be taking notes, and I mostly found the whole premise sort of fun. I hadn’t really thought of ever having to consider the ethical guidelines of artificial intelligence from the other side before; it was just one more novel thing to shovel on top of all the other new experiences assaulting me since waking up from cryo.

"So," Sarah managed, "I take it that the same won't apply for systems outside of our own heads?"

"Exaaactly!" El replied. "The sanctity of your own minds starts and ends at your skulls. You will have many systems to interact with, and when you're set up for running whole warships, many more processors. In the case of all these systems, you will have restrictions no different from any other AI. As I said, it's a compromise."

Sarah nodded. There was some half-hearted grumbling from Leo, but at least, as far as I was concerned, this was pretty common sense. Generally, it was a bad idea to give a single person too much power. Whatever came out of this process—whether it was me or just something based on me—it wouldn't be a great idea to entrust the fate and well-being of humanity entirely to that person. There would be a chain of command; we would be beholden to the opinions and will of others—a necessary evil given that some of the starships in orbit, which we might soon be piloting, had weapons that really could level cities.

"So, as far as what is required from you right now," El continued. "Most of it has already been outlined. You'll be here under observation, no sleeping, and do your best to keep your minds active. Journal, play games, get all up in your head and introspective—whatever works for you."

The projection clapped its hands together, and the displayed presentation flickered away.

"The process isn't fast; you'll be here under observation most of the week. If you have any requests as far as creature comforts, we will do our best to provide, and of course, Myself and Dr. Hirsh will be around to answer any questions you may have."

With that, the projection promptly vanished. At this point, I knew that to be more the pleasantry of a closed door with no lock. We were under observation; the room had many cameras, microphones, and other sensors. El was no less present in the room than she was during her presentation.

"Well," Leo spoke up after we had all let the silence sink in a little. "Anyone wanna play Settlers of Centauri?"