The Codex
Codex Entry No. 3: Zeus
Zeus’ place in history is unique in the range of titles he had. Zeus was Earth’s first ever Class-1 Artificial Intelligence, and arguably the first one ever if he is to be believed regarding the matter. He referred to the Martian breed of A.I. as his younger siblings, and while there is much to support his claims, no solid evidence has been found as historical files surrounding that matter were either destroyed or doctored for political reasons.
Without a doubt though, Zeus was Earth’s first ever world dictator. After determining that Humanity was due to face a “Great Calamity” he decided that he needed to intervene, and brought about the Intelligence Wars, a war where Earth warred against itself to determine if human or machine intelligence would guide the planet forward. Humanity won, narrowly, thanks to the help of Earth’s estranged colony, Mars.
Though it was told to the public that Zeus was dismantled, Zeus served with [REDACTED BY THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION] as a partner for almost five years before [REDACTED BY THE OFFICE OF RESARCH AND INNOVATION] was assassinated and Zeus was stripped from his corpse and locked deep within Titan’s prototype vaults. Had Code Red never invaded Titan, he likely would’ve sat down there for all time. Thankfully for him, that was not the case.
Zeus selected me as his new partner after Earth accidentally released him while rummaging around in our prototype vault. With Zeus’ careful intervention, I was saved from death and deformity thanks to a clever alteration in the coding of the nano-tech Earth was testing on Titan students and faculty. Of several thousand to undergo the procedure, I am one of the few that survived.
Ultimately, Zeus proved a good partner until he died [REDACTED BY THE OFFICE OF RESARCH AND
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Chapter 4: Now you see me…
"The human mind and the artificial mind are two things which are not necessarily inferior or superior to each other, just different. Both can interact with the world in ways that the other, as of yet, cannot." -Dr. Sarah Lang at MIT's Future technologies Expo in 2247.
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After the world had gone blue, I found myself standing. There was no clear floor, no clear ceiling, and no clear walls. Everything as far as the eye could see in every direction was just blue. If I focused on a single area though, I found I could peer past the blue's infinite qualities and make out tiny lines of code streaming so quickly that I couldn't even begin to figure out what it was. Despite the lack of clear points of reference for my mind though, I still felt secure as I stomped my feet a few times and found there was some kind of seemingly solid mass under me.
Years later, it would be explained to me that the human mind wasn't equipped to perceive the things that A.I. do. When the mind is subjected to such environments and strange realities it translates the data form into something more familiar. At least, if all of the right hardware and software is in place. Otherwise the brain becomes jelly and starts leaking out of the ears. Looking back at that space, I think it reminds me of a loading screen without the symbol to indicate something was loading. That is probably because the 'load' was already complete by the time I had entered the space. The oddest thing about this place I had wound up in wasn't the vast nothingness though. No, that was alright. The strange part was the door.
Directly in front of the point I had spawned into this voice there was a door. It was like any you would expect to see at, say, a middle-class home or even on some restaurant bathrooms. It's worn, brown color wasn't anything different than what any reasonable person would think about when they considered a door in their minds. To me it seemed the door was absurd, a pinprick of reality and material in a vast empty space of endless blue code. Considering it for a moment, I remembered that Zeus had mentioned something about a door, and cautiously reached out to take hold of the handle.
Pulling the door open, I was met with a screen of static. I closed the door, and walked around it to the other side, opening it again.
Again, I was met with static.
Huh. I wonder if it's safe? What I wouldn't give for a rock or a book or- or- Dammit, I would give anything for anything to throw through this!
As I pondered my unique concundrum, I tapped my foot and listened to the drumming of my armored foot beat against the non-existent void floor before stopping as I smiled.
Looking down at my armored boot, I wondered, Could it be so easy?
I hadn't realized it up until that point, but from the neck down I was dressed in the Trinium armor I had attended my test in. Reaching down and undoing several seals and clasps, I pulled off my boot. Tossing it up and down a time or two in my hand before proceeding, I pulled the door open and chucked the boot through the static. Then, I waited.
I didn't wait long though, as I just barely managed to catch the boot when it came flying back with a sheet of yellowed paper tucked in-between two of the armor plates. On the paper was a rough note that looked like someone had wrote in black crayon that said, "Walk through the door!"
Well, I don't exactly have any more pressing engagements, I thought with a shrug before pulling my boot back on and stepping through the door.
Once I’d passed the threshold the world seemed more… Real. I couldn’t see through anything into code. I also could hear the wind blowing through the place I had come to, and smell a variety of things that reminded me of my Aunt's study back on Mars.
The place I found myself in was a massive library full of scrolls, musty books, and sunlight which shone down from slits in the sandstone roof. The arid climate felt like home, except that the temperature made me wish I wasn’t in armor.
Armor? No, I- I lost-, I stopped my mental protests as I quickly reminded myself that this place wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. The real world was full of Earth Marines and crazy scientists. This place was pleasant, by comparison.
In front of me, a man in a toga and sandals stood reading over a scroll from the shelf nearest to him. His beard was a charcoal color than gave him a distinguished quality, and made me think of the busts of old Greek philosophers I’d seen pictures of back in school.
“Hello Thomas,” came the voice, clear and slightly amused as the man looked up. It soon clicked that this was the voice of Zeus.
“What is this place?” I asked, not returning the pleasentry in my state of confusion.
“From what I am reading from the data, you perceive us to be standing in something like the Library of Alexandria. In reality you are in my ‘mind’, as it is. I apologize that you were dumped outside at first. That must have been unpleasant. The connecting space between our minds will likely be like that for some time as it wasn’t made for you to stand in, but pass through. Still, now that you have accepted my invitation you may come here whenever you wish,” Zeus said with a pleasant smile as he rolled up the scroll and put it back on the shelf.
“I think you have more pressing questions though. Would you care to walk with me and discuss all of the questions plaguing your mind?”
I stopped, and thought for a second about that invitation.
Zeus was supposed to be a homicidal monster. This A.I. didn’t resemble him at all.
“Are you really Zeus?” I asked, allowing a bit of my hesitation to leak into my question.
“I am,” Zeus answered with a nod, “just an older, wiser, and more regretful version than what history remembers.”
He approached me, looked around, and said, “I’ve been trapped in this place for what feels like an eternity. A.I. think much faster than humans, and so minutes for you are lifetimes for me. The proprietors thought making me suffer in that way would be a nice punishment for my actions. Most of these shelves were locked to me until I was released by the invaders…”
“How do I know I can trust you?” I asked, tucking away those last comments for later.
“You don’t,” Zeus admitted, “For all you know, I am working with the invaders. However, you have to use your judgement and decide what’s best for you. I can’t stop you from heading back through the door to your mind, waking yourself up, and doing whatever you want. However, I hope that my limited help and non-hostile interactions have bought me a droplet more grace than all that.”
Nodding, I said, “Perhaps they have. I don’t have any better options at the moment. Homicidal thing or not, I’m not going to be able to handle all of this on my own, it seems.”
Zeus chuckled as he shook his head a bit. “You don’t even know the full situation, yet you’ve already drawn that conclusion… Very good!”
Looking directly at me, Zeus said, “Titan has been invaded by an Earth para-military group which seems to be linked to Code Red, based on what I was able to uncover before retreating into your nanites. All areas of the academy are under their control, save one.”
“The Vault?” I guessed.
“Indeed,” Zeus confirmed, “but there are only a few hundred defenders there. It’s been estimated half of all the occupants of your academy were killed in the initial invasion. Many of the survivors were captured, and most of those died in the wicked experiments which helped to create you as you are now.”
“An experiment which you knew how to manipulate,” I pointed out.
Sighing, Zeus reminded me, “I told you that the project was based off of one of my own. Had it not been for that, I wouldn’t have been able to save you. I may have saved more students if it didin’t risk me being discovered.”
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Zeus grimaced, and with a hard look said, “Whatever you believe about me, know that I am here to help you. I- I will not go back in that box, but I will do anything else required of me. I’d rather die than see more people die because I chose poorly.”
Although his body language and tone suggested he was telling the truth, I also counted the fact that we were in a space which Zeus could control. I filed the exchange away in the back of my mind but gave it no credence. Emotions were easy to fake. I would know.
“Fine, let’s say I believe you, “I allowed, “what exactly is your plan?”
“As of now, it is just to get you to the Vault,” Zeus said, “I am unaware of what assets would be available to us, but I thought that would be a good place to start.”
"It would be an excellent place to start," I agreed, "though I'll admit some of the stuff in there really is just junk. The guys from the science school have a funny idea of what is essential to be stored for the future."
Zeus snorted, and agreed, "Men of science will never change in that regard. Many of them are the smartest people you will ever meet, if you want something built. However, the moment pragmatism factors into it you would think the rug was pulled out from under them."
I fell into step with the A.I. as we walked a steady pace through the seemingly endless library around us. Zeus seemed to know where we were headed and somehow every time I looked back the door I entered from was the same distance as it was when we started walking.
"How is it that you are alive?" I asked at last, "History says you were destroyed."
"Mars had a lot they wanted from me," Zeus answered, "and unfortunately the method used to extract me from the global control system I designed planted me firmly in the mind of one of their favorite Maines."
My eyes widened and quickly Zeus said, "It wasn't your father. You and I aren't cosmically bound on that level."
I considered that for a moment before asking, "How long do we have in here?"
"As much or as little time as you like," Zeus said with a grin, "in here I can stretch a second into an hour if I want to. I'm sure you'll find that handy at some point. For now, though I think we should talk more about the invasion, unless you still need to find greater grounds to trust me?"
Shaking my head, I said, "I can work with you for the time being. If you had malicious intent, then there were several opportunities where you could've forced me to give you access to things I wouldn't normally do so that you could escape my body later. As for the invasion, there isn't much for us to discuss. I was knocked out in the initial salvo it seems. I have no idea what's going on."
Sandals clacking to an immediate halt, Zeus half-turned and asked, “What do you mean an explosion knocked you out? You- “His eyes searched my face for a moment before he determined, “You don’t remember… Then let me restore to you a few hours of your life.”
Completing his turn, Zeus snapped his fingers and the library turned to smoke, walls, ceiling, even the light. For a single second I felt as though I was standing in a dense fog before the fog cleared and I stood next to Zeus in a familiar room. The training room from my exam, just before the invasion.
“Look there,” Zeus instructed. I noticed that all color had drained from him and looking down at my hands I saw that I was the same. We were ghosts on the landscape, and Zeus smacked my shoulder and demanded of me, “Look!”
I followed his finger to see a pile of rubble moving. Many of the buildings had been crushed, and craters pock-marked the space. The mech I was supposed to have fought was nowhere to be seen, but to my surprise I was.
Clad in my armor, I watched as I hauled myself clear from the rubble and shakily stood up, quickly doing a pat down check to verify my equipment was still in place. As I watched memories started to flood back to me.
Who the hell authorized artillery in the testing room? I had wondered as I felt the ground shake below me. I probably should have put together what was happening sooner but being blown up has a way of rattling you that you don’t shake-off easily, armor or no armor. Based on my positioning, I was able to determine upon that review with Zeus that the artillery shell had impacted very close to me, and I was lucky to be alive, let alone in one piece. Thank God I’d had on a set of Trinium-3 armor!
The ground… Are we-? No, who would- We’re being attacked!
I rolled my eyes as I recalled thinking such obvious things. The test should have ended the moment I’d been blown up with the mech, and then rescheduled. After all, a test where the ambient conditions defeated the enemy was no true test of one’s abilities. Shell-shocked I may have been, but it was still embarrassing for me to have taken so long to draw such a natural conclusion.
What surprised me though was when a group of black armored people entered the room. Their amor configuration was old, almost two-decades old, and so I had no issue recognizing them as Marines. Their weapons were up and ready as they entered the room, and the lead one with a Seargeant’s insignia on the shoulder ordered, “Drop your weapons and strip out of that armor, Martian!”
“A friend of mine makes requests like those all the time,” my past self (who I will refer to as Thomas 1.0 from now on) quipped to the Seargeant, “but he normally buys the girls drinks first.”
The woman fired a burst of five rounds at my feet, sending shards of concrete up as the rounds bit into the ground.
“I won’t ask a third time! Disarm now!”
With a shrug, Thomas 1.0 dove to my left with everything he had as suppressing rounds chewed into the concrete barrier he was hiding behind, not harming him, but also reminding him of the dangers of stepping even a toe outside. In a flash of brilliance that was actually worthy of me, I peeled off my knife belt and shouted, “I give up! I give up! I’ll toss my weapons over now!”
“Cease fire!” The Seargeant called to her men. Once the rounds had asked, the woman asked, “You want to surrender?”
“Yeah, I don’t really see myself winning against four highly trained soldiers,” I lied, suppressing a smile, “I’d like to start by tossing my combat knives over. Then my side arm.”
“That’s fine,” the Sergeant called, her voice carrying a bit of approval, “but keep your cute fucking comments to yourself spaceman!”
“Understood!” I replied, “here come the knives!”
Tossing the knives back, I heard a pair of boots rush closer to the barrier, then back away. Thomas 1.0 had correctly surmised the person who had picked up the knives went back to his place in their formation.
As I watched Thomas 1.0 work, I couldn’t help but snicker slightly as I realized what he was doing.
Bringing up the command prompts in augmented reality thanks to his contacts Thomas 1.0 keyed in the master detonation sequence with a timer. Just as the Marine carrying the knives turned to resume his place in the squad formation, a small fireball ripped through the group and sent the Seargeant flying forward into the concrete barrier.
Thoams jumped the barrier, weapon ready, and did a quick sweep to verify the other five marines had been neutralized. Once he’d established as much, Thomas 1.0 holstered his weapon, and slammed his knee into the Seargeant’s armored head to disorient her more, and dragged her further into the training city, away from where he’d barbequed the Marines. Once he’d found a building that was to his liking Thomas 1.0 set the woman up, tapped her on the cheek a few times and brought er back to cognition.
The training city wasn't exactly small, and as I understand it was designed to look much like downtown London. Of course, London in that time had yet to be reconstructed, and was overall low on the list since it was more of a financial hub than an industrial center. Earth had corrected assessed that getting its heavy industry back online was the first step towards regaining their strength and so vanity reconstruction projects like London were a far-off dream. Still, there were many excellent hiding places, all perfect for interrogating a Marine.
“Let’s try this in a way I’m more familiar with,” Thomas 1.0 said seriously, all mirth dropped from his voice, “Who are you?”
“I- I’m not telling you-“
The sergeant screamed as she held her left hand close to her chest, stifling sobs from a very broken finger that was pointing the wrong way. In those days, I was a student and ardent believer in the Martian Intelligence adage, "One hard punch is better than a few light taps." In retrospect, such a brutal ideology had limited effectiveness and took a terrible toll on the people who let it guide them. I wouldn't learn any different for years to come though.
“I’m cutting off that finger next,” Thomas 1.0 informed her, “then I’ll break another. If you persist, I’ll cut that one off, and we will proceed until you have no fingers. At that point, I have a great random number generator on my phone, and I’ll just assign numbers to body parts. I like to mix things up. Now, to quote you, I won’t ask a third time… Who are you?”
“E-Earth- Earth Combat Group One,” the woman said through gritted teeth.
Earth Combat Group One was well known to me, and most Martians doing military service really. The conscript-based force was one of the few which still had a large number of veterans from the Intelligence War. It was also one of the few forces that had formal training in how to use Martian equipment, training we had given them so they could better work the arms they sent them to fight Zeus. Funny how helping someone one day tends to hurt you the next, hm? In any case, upon consideration Thomas 1.0 determined, That is the best equipped group to raid a Martian installation. Why though? When word of this reaches Mars, Earth will be lucky to be more than a smoldering ball of ash?
“Good,” Thomas 1.0 said approvingly, “why the hell are you attacking a Martian installation?”
The woman was silent, and Thomas 1.0 moved to draw a knife before swearing and shaking his head remembering, I blew up all my knives.
I will admit something in these pages that I have never openly admitted in my life. My exploding knives were both my best and worst idea. They were my best in that they worked very, very well in a number of circumstances. They were my worst in that it's idiotic to throw away a weapon of last resort commonly meant for survival by packing the hilt full of explosives.... Those were another thing I wouldn't learn differently about until years later though. I was young and dumb then, so I think that gives me a bit of a pass.
Sighing, Thomas 1.0’s hand shot forward, and bent another finger brining a fresh round of pain on for the Seargeant. The woman tried to kick him, lashing out wildly, but Thomas caught her foot and used his second hand to grab her heel before twisting both hands sharply clockwise with the woman’s foot still firmly grasped. Thomas 1.0 could feel the pops of things breaking as the woman screamed and tried to lay still, her breath ragged.
“Tell me, or this gets worse for you,” Thomas 1.0 warned.
“We- We are here- “the woman fought back tears, and I grimaced as I recalled my own brutality. It was easier in the heat of the moment to do than to watch.
“You are…?” Thomas 1.0 prodded.
“We’re here to take back something you took from us! I- I don’t’ know what!” The woman clarified, her eyes pleading.
“Fun stuff,” Thomas 1.0 said, standing up, “Heart or head?”
“What do you- “The woman never finished her sentence. Thomas 1.0- No, I, had already delivered a shot from my side-arm to her head.
Standing, Thomas 1.0 made his exit and stealthily made his way back towards the entrance to the training chamber. As he approached, Thomas 1.0 heard shouting and boots crunching.
“A fucking Marty did this? I thought this was some kind of exam room!” A loud, Southern tone sounded out.
Tucking myself in an alcove, Thomas 1.0 stopped and focused on that conversation.
“Sir, it’s a practical exam room. All live rounds,” a younger, less confident voice chided.
“These guys take their training seriously! I’ll have to suggest that for when we get back to-“
I’m not sure if it was bad luck or just carelessness, but the concrete chunk separating Thomas 1.0 from the voices was tapped on only a little bit by his shoulder. The piece was apparently just barely leaning, and so that tap was enough to flip it down with a
Thomas 1.0 was deathly still as all the Marines snapped their weapons to him. Restricted in the alcove, he couldn’t move. The sound of boots approaching was all he heard before the scene stopped, everything turned to fog again, and Zeus and I regained our color as we stood back in the library.
“You resisted Earth forces for almost three-and-a-half hours,” Zeus summarized with a smile, “and while you did some impressive things, I think that you can revel in your combat prowess some other time. Earth is here, and you have now seen a bit of what their forces are like. I am still unsure of what they are looking for, but I doubt it’s anything you want to let them have.”
I thought for a moment as memories did indeed flood back to me.
“What’s your idea to get us out of here?”