The elevator dinged to a stop and Jake stepped out into the corridor. There were white walls and ceiling and white tiled flooring. A cleaning bot methodically scrubbed the tile before zooming into a small hatch in the side of the wall which quickly closed. Jake said, “What now?” The synthesized voice seems to emanate from somewhere up ahead, “Please proceed to the anterior containment room. A glowing trail appeared in his vision. As he walked he saw a door with safety glass on either side of the hallways. Some were conference rooms, labs, clearly marked restrooms, storage, and even a janitor's closet. The air smelled completely sterile and that made Jake's smell stand out even more. Seeming to sense his thoughts the system intoned, “Not to worry, you will be cleaned soon in decontamination.”
Jake asked, “Can you hear my thoughts?” The system replied, “No?” Jake thought, “Are you sure you cannot hear my thoughts?” The system replied, “Still no.” Jake stopped in his tracks. The system said, “Please continue to decontamination.” Jake asked, “Do I smell that bad?” The system replied, “Yes but you also need to be clean of lethal doses of radiation before entering into the reactor room in accordance to company policy.” Jake picked up his pace.
“So you really can hear my thoughts then?” The System replied, “No, but algorithms can predict what you will think, say, or do before you say, think, or do it.” He questioned, “So why do you not answer my questions before I ask them?” “Admin policy strictly forbids it. The previous administrator found it annoying.” “So there was an Administrator before... What happened to them?” “The previous Administrator is no longer functioning.”
Jake came to a door that opened automatically sliding into the door frame. Inside was a small empty room with a glass wall to the left. There was a control room that sat empty on the side of thick glass. There was another door opposite of the one that slid shut behind him. The system said, Please remove all items and clothing and place them into the decontamination bin to the right. A box-sized door that was completely hidden in the structure of the wall tilted out and a bin appeared there.
As Jake stripped down he asked what about my stuff will I get it back?” “All items will be returned to you upon exit and no nude photos will be saved or posted to social media due to company policy. AI Solutions, a subsidiary of Biotech Industries thanks you for your cooperation.”
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Jack frowned at that once he stripped and placed everything in the bin he asked, “So that was a problem at some point?” The System didn't reply. Instead, a green laser seemed to scan him, and then a fog sprayed out from the ceiling and floor. Just as quickly the fog was sucked out through vents. Then a humming noise emanated from the floor. It stopped suddenly and a ding rang out. The opposite door slid open. There was another small room with an open closet where what looked like a space suit hung.
“Please proceed and don the provided PPE. Any damage to the PPE will be deducted from the Employee's account.” Jack put on the protective gear and checked the seal. As soon as he finished another door that blended in perfectly to the wall slid open. Beyond he saw a huge reactor room. There was a large circular vat and two smaller vats to either side below at the large room's base. Where he stood was a metal walkway that encircled the chamber. They were metal steps with handrails on the sides of the room that were painted Yellow with black slashes that spiraled down to the ground floor. The entire room was lit with soft light with a few spotlights illuminating key components of the reactor and control panels. There was a platform with the main control panel just ahead.
Jake stepped up onto the platform and checked the readings. The issue stood out to him immediately. While this reactor model was a sealed system and coolant was condensed and fed back into the core, the fuel rods in the main reactor were spent and they needed to be manually switched out with fresh fuel rods. At least coolant would not be an issue and there was no danger of a meltdown.
Jake asked the system to show him the spare fuel rods. A glowing trail lit up on the floor and he followed it to a door marked containment room. Yellow lights flashed as the door slid open and beyond was a long Room with a freight elevator on the opposite side. Along the walls stood industrial freezer vats with radiation warning symbols. There was a cart on a rail that allowed for quick transportation across the space. Near the entrance were carts for transporting material. Jake asked, “How many fuel rods are required to be replaced?” “12 fuel rods must be replaced to bring the facility back to full functionality.”
As Jake grabbed a cart he asked, “What will happen once the fuel rods are replaced?” “Once the facility is at full power the artificial intelligence will come back online.” Jake paused, “So you are not the artificial intelligence?” “No, I am the virtual intelligence backup. I am capable of providing limited control in the absence of the AI. Full administrator privileges cannot be granted by VI according to company policy. I can only provide limited access until the AI is restored. ” So what you are just like a talking toaster then?” “This VI is not capable of being offended, dirty human.”
As Jake worked he thought the VI certainly sounded offended. It took some time but with assistance, he was able to replace all 12 fuel rods. Once that was done he returned to the main control platform and initiated the restart procedures. The procedures went smoothly and Jake heard the coolant pumps come back online. All systems were green and nothing else happened. The VI announced, “The facility is at full power, do you wish to reactivate the facility AI? A positive verbal confirmation is required to reactivate the Facility AI.” Jake wondered if he was making a mistake but he needed answers, “Activate Facility AI.”