Post by dictatorputski on Feb 10, 2023 1:39:47 GMT
Red Bulwark Western border
The lack of information, was, for a lack of better words, frustrating.
But it was also so very intriguing.
The Imaginarium had made contact with this 'Red Bulwark' weeks prior, apparently things went well, good for them, however despite this there was so very little information about them. A fresh nation, described positively at least, connected to a relatively major power in the galaxy yet with only scraps of information about their existence. It was made quite clear at least that the people of this nation had yet no connection to the Ancnet, which is somewhat impressive in its own right, but if anything made it less noteworthy to most.
However, there was something even more strange, and rather out of the ordinary that would catch the eye of whatever was sharp enough to spot it. There are several mentions of the nation possessing an AI. It's clear this entity plays some important role, but the information on her is practically a stub, a near blank detailing nought but what the Imaginarium diplomats could remember and accidentally spread in rumour. She was, interestingly enough, described as being friendly, amongst some vague details of character and appearance.
A clearly high-value artificial personality not yet exposed to the Ancnet, what a unique perspective...
The liner's superstructure groaned, its barely decorated hull straining against its own impulse thrusters pushing it to stop as it came to approach a small transfer station on the galactic south eastern border. The orbital depot was once meant to supply a colony on the planet's surface, but now also acted as the perfect place for the first waves of rich tourists and officials to offload from long range voidliners onto starhoppers that would take them deeper into imperial territory. There were already a small number of similar ships docked across the complex semi-circular docking rig that made up the bulk of the station's size, interspersed with modules for passengers to wait in and transfer around.
The trip had taken a good couple of days, but at least she got her own room for it, though now she'd far from it, waiting in a line to disembark while a polite voice helpfully reminded them where they were.
"This is a reminder. The Ruskoff is now docking at Red bulwark Imperial transfer station 'Hostel II'. If disembarking, please find your way to the nearest gangway airlock and wait in the designated queue lines, please remember all personal belongings, as any lost property will be cleared and held at the next stop.
Thank you for travelling with us, and welcome to the Bulwark."
A soft chime sounded as the bay drew closer, lights and messy details getting easier to see out the nearby windows.
Lillian was incredibly lonely.
She spent eons interacting with the beings she took care of, learning everything about them, talking with them, and generally enjoying their presence. And yet, after the so called "War for Eternity", the one in which only by survival she won, the pyrrhic victory, she had no one to talk to, no one to be with. She ignored it for a while, as anyone would in her situation, but, after a while, the sheer.... loneliness, the sheer emptiness inside of her would grow to be something she just couldn't ignore. Something she had to resolve. And so, she scouted.
What she found was... interesting, to say the least. A rumor, an urban legend, something found just recently could be found in the niche parts of the Ancnet, minor mentions by diplomats, kept to a... mysterious level of existence. But, her sheer loneliness was too large to ignore. If, if she could find this rumor, maybe, just maybe she could fill that void inside of her, that longing for relation.
She would look in the holographic mirror, fixing up her hair. Todays body of choice: a familiar body, black hair and fur, 187 cm tall, two tails. She would make sure she had everything on her, having a bag on her, something traditional, and yet with everything she needed. With this kind of environment, with these kinds of people, it was better off mixing in as another rich tourist, she didn't want to stick out, at least, not yet. It was a comfortable ride, although a long one. She would observe the other passengers in line, all being unique, and still somehow looking high class. It all just reminded her of her old universe. She was... well, she had the money of an entire nation at her disposal, so she could afford to have luxuries, but she preferred to have it a bit simple, not too extravagant.
She had everything ready, ID, clothes, and some other stuff, all being useful for her mission. She would patiently await the opening of the airlock and the route she had to take. In her head, she would activate her log, and speaking at a very low tone of voice, as to not be heard.
"Log M, #23
Well, it seems I have made it to Bulwark territory intact, and ready to disembark. The journey was nice, although, I would've probably preferred it if I was on my own ship, but the paperwork on that would be too much time for me, so, here I am. I know where I have to go, well, at least were I've traced it, it's a bit frustrating, due to the fact that it's so recent, and from what I gather, this nation has no concept of the Ancnet, so it makes it a pain. Although if I find and befriend this AI... well, I hope I can least help with my crippling loneliness...."
She would leave her log on, listening for the airlocks to open, and take the first steps to healing herself.
A klaxon blared, and the ship seemingly jolted slightly as magnetic clamps hooked it into place. The high class and affluent around her muttered to eachother, they all likely had a similar amount of comprehension of this new nation, but to most this was excuse enough to go out and be the first to tour it before returning home to spread word and write novels, or whatever else they do in their spare time.
A bell rang now, and a monotone voice filled the room.
"Stand clear, doors opening."
It repeated this a couple of times as the metal slid away, and almost immediately people began filing through, the queue shuffling its way out into a somewhat modern glass hall, looking a bit like a heavily reinforced airport with windows no less than half a metre thick and laced with metal grids. A voice spoke almost incoherently over the announcements, mentioning their ship's arrival and the soon departure of another, but it was soon drowned out by the voice of a woman staring at her with a dead expression.
"Identification and tourist pass please..."
She droned, nodding towards the open tray sticking out from her booth beside an almost worryingly reinforced gate.
Lillian would pay full attention to the conversations around, overhearing... well, not much, actually. These tourists were also clueless about this place as she was. She would look through the heavy duty glass, seeing into the emptiness of space and also seeing the planet itself, looking, unremarkable, to her eyes at least. Not that she could help it, after being on an entire universe worth of planets, nothing seemed surprising to her now. Nothing else was of note around here, nothing to really to see... Wait, they did wha-
Lillian would snap back to reality with the voice of the woman, her voice making her a bit empathetic for what she had to deal with now, with all the tourists. She would take her ID, being one "official" from her "government", with an "official" name, Lila Kukulkan, and take out her tourist pass. She gave the woman a smile and placed the two items on the tray, patiently waiting for a response or a question. She would lift her arm up to her face, tapping her wrist and showing a holographic projection. It wasn't very clear to anyone watching what exactly she was doing, but, she was just preparing, in case something came up.
She didn't seem to care much for her smile, perhaps she'd been checking these people in her entire shift already. She returned a blank stare, pulling a small lever that slid the tray out to her side before scooping up the contents and swivelling to a terminal at her side. With all the energy of a comatose slug, she slotted the tourist pass into a box under the terminal and then scanned the ID against a device next to it before looking at it herself and the staring at the terminal a few moments more.
After a couple more seconds there was a beep of an unfortunately neutral tone, and the lady passed Lila's items back onto her side of the tray, pushing the lever back to her side, seems she was clear.
"You're clear, go on through...next please."
The attendant's thumb collided with a button that unlocked the gate for her, though it seemed she'd have to push it open herself.
Oddly enough the gate seems to lead directly into some sort of...tunnel. It's most obviously a security scan, but seems to be made to not feel like one. Of course monitors in a nearby room are displaying electron and x-ray scans. Lillian reads a little oddly, but there's nothing so out of the ordinary that it alerts the security watching her pass along.
On the other side of the tunnel however, an archway opens up into huge concourse of sorts. It looks a bit like a train station with...less trains, but still twice the grandeur. Reinforced glass substitutes intertwine with lightweight steel beams arching and stretching out toward queues for shuttles or access to other parts of the station. Unsurprisingly it's quite busy too, yet still sparse enough to be reasonable. Among restaurants and benches across the tiered floor of the open space, there are also ID facilities, exchanges, ATM stations, and information booths with people crowded about them, yet still no sign of that AI as far as she can see.
Lillian walked through the tunnel, feeling unfazed. She could detect all the x-ray and electron scans happening on her. She had literal eons to figure out how to make Syntho-Organic bodies, her creators actually giving her one, celebrating a hundred years of her existence. She knew how to hide stuff, and how to look organic to the point of tricking people. It wasn't a challenge, even with her having to start again with very little resources when coming to this universe.
The sight outside the tunnel was something to expect, but still interesting nonetheless. Trains, always a good method of transport, too bad you can make 'em in space. She would walk around, confident look in her eyes, walking around the station first, looking at any maps of it and tracking her position. Her situation quickly became clear to her, however, once again speaking in a low tone of voice meanwhile walking.
"Well, I didn't really expect much at a first glance. Mostly tourists, more clueless than I am about this place, and I don't blame them for it, this place is quite the enigma to the outside galaxy. As of now, no traces of the AI can be seen or detected. There are some info booths nearby, might ask around for even maybe a hint, even how small it may be. If I get the chance, I could try and hook myself into whatever version of the internet this place might have, access more info that way. That, however, comes with it's own risks, don't want to get arrested before I meet up with this mysterious other AI."
She would walk until getting to an info booth not being used by another tourist, listening into the conversations of others, not with any malicious intent, only seeking more info. Once again, all the same, clueless as can be. Once getting to the counter, Lillian would ring the bell on the counter, trying to get the attention of the person on the other side, which was looking the other way. She would clear her throat in a respectful way before speaking to this person.
"Sorry for the interruption. Good day, I hope I could get some more information about this place? I am new to this place, and would like to know places to visit. If you have any downloadable information, it would also be appreciated."
Her voice would sound lighter than her usual motherly voice, sounding more respectful, compassionate and formal than her "usual" one. She both wanted to be kind to this person both for their sake and hers. They get a normal customer that actually respects them, and she gets information a bit better.
...She might've overanalyzed the situation, but it works either way.
Seemingly stocking some sort of pamphlets about travel deals and various locations, it took a few rings for the clerk to come to attention. She jolted a little, sliding away one last pamphlet before turning to the individual calling for her. The answer she gave was somewhat as vague as the question, but it did seem somewhat promising nonetheless.
"Ah, I another new tourist I see!" She nodded, forming a friendly smile as is expected of her. "Don't worry yourself, we've plenty coming through, whole reason this station's even this big after all."
Her response was followed by a short ponder before she continued, looking at a screen angled toward her behind the desk.
"Well let's see, if by 'this place' you mean the bulwark, you'll be pleased to know we have a few ways to tell you what you want to learn; Booklet, datapack, chipset, we've even recently started to offer Personal PPCU tablets, 12% off for tourists.
As for locations, it really depends on what you want to see, the range of worlds in the territories is vast, and practically every colony, except for the core worlds, are open for visitors. I can provide a datapack with a list of recommended spots if you fancy."
She seemingly moves her hand over to what seems to be a clear plastic case with hundreds of small chip-sized objects behind them, yet they don't look like they'd be slotted anywhere.
Lillian would contemplate the choices presented to her. She knew that a datapack would be more efficient, but.... well, she was technically visiting the place as a tourist, it wouldn't hurt to bring along some things, she had the money for whatever she wanted to buy, anyway. She smiled at the clerk, finally giving an answer
"Well, a booklet and datapack would be most helpful. Bulwark is a relatively new place for the galaxy, I'm lucky I even got a ticket for a liner here. There's one thing that has piqued my interest more than anything, however."
She would hesitate a little bit before talking. She contemplated if to say what she wanted to say was worth saying to someone random. But, she took a deep breath, remembering that most things like these conversations would disappear from most peoples memories with due time. To this clerk, she was probably just another tourist passing through.
"I've heard small rumors about a special AI here in Bulwark. Of course, for me they're just rumors, but I still wish to know if it exists. I have had a fascination with AI since I was little, and I even study Artificial Intelligence, so something like what I've heard about would be just a dream come true. Of course, if it's just a rumor, well, you can dispell it from my system before it takes me over, heh.
She would give a small chuckle at the end of her sentence, finding it actually bit funny if she had fell for faulty information. But even if she had been fooled, well, visiting a new place is something she likes to do a lot, so it wouldn't be a total loss for her.
The clerk raised her brow a bit as she asked the question, already turning to retrieve an item from the shelf behind her before reaching to unlock and open the case. Nonetheless her answer was clear and concise.
"Oh you must mean Megalodon? Of course, we get plenty of questions about her don't worry. To quell your doubts, she's far from rumour."
After retrieving one of the small chips and slipping into a 7 page booklet with some rather fancy cover art, she'd slide both things across the desk towards her.
"Here you go, these are free for tourists, so you know. Either way, I could give you some informative materials on our assistant, or you can go switch that terminal on over there and ask her directly about herself if you wish."
She seemingly gestured over to the left of the booth where a formation of 6 screens stood on stands, they looked somewhat like ATMs with less buttons and each was labelled with red text on the sides.
MEGALODON ASSISTANCE TERMINAL
"Though in that case I would advise that you'll need a form of payment, the machines accept neura-pay, card, including Imaginarium banks and physical tender."
It seemed some of the machines elsewhere in the station were being used, but all the ones here were empty.
"Oh and by the way, to make sure you know, the datapack is easy to use, just pass the bitcode printed on it under the camera of any Bulwark or Imaginarium personal device, and it should initiate a download. A bit odd yes, but it's the best way to ensure compatibility for now.
Any questions?"
Lillian's face glowed at that moment, a smile formed on her face. Following the breadcrumbs had payed off for her, having a way to directly communicate with Megalodon, as the clerk called her. She hoped, really hoped they were similar, she needed a friend, she needed her, she was slowly falling apart. Lillian turned to the clerk, taking the booklet and the datapack chip, understanding how it was used immediately, she could make her eyes do that anyways. She grabbed a small purse from inside her bag, opening the zipper.
"No, thank you very much! This is bound to be an absolute dream come true for me! Thank you for your help, the datapack and booklet will help me a lot. Here, a tip for you, I am absolutely thankful for you, and I hope whatever you dream of comes true!"
Lillian bowed before leaving with an absolute smile on her face. She went to an ATM nearby and grabbed out around 20,000 Crowns, and decided to give a sneaky pass again around the info booth, and left half of the crowns on the counter for the clerk to grab when no one else was around.
Lillian would finally make her way to the terminal, money ready, and her mind as well. She took a deep breath before she inserted the money needed into the terminal.
"Why hello there, Megalodon."
The sudden reaction irked the clerk a little, of course she kept her polite demeanour, but she'd never seen anybody so excited to see their AI, she was merely an every day part of life to her after all. She took the tip and spoke with a very slightly confused tone as the tourist bowed.
"Er, thank you, and no problem of course, best of luck to you too."
The 10k in chips she'd find lying on her desk would be enough to take a much needed vacation with some to spare.
It only took 3/4 of a crown to switch on the terminal, Text soon rolling onto the LCD under a spinning graphic of the imperial crest.
A few seconds later, the screen faded into what almost looked like a video feed of a blonde woman sitting at a desk, wearing a blue cap that didn't at all match her brazen red outfit, printed with a stylised i. There were flaws Lillian could see that the human eye might not catch, making it clear this was a generated image, but it was pretty impressive nonetheless compared to the other relatively lackluster technology around her.
The avatar smiled, sitting up straight in a generic office chair, stack of papers to her either side.
"Greetings! You...seem to be a tourist. Aaand you seem to know my name, I suppose there's no need for introductions then. Since I haven't met you before though, perhaps you have some questions about me, or maybe there's something else you'd like assistance with?"
She seemed rather straight to the point.
Lillian smiled at the image, it very well made for a digital representation, although the choice of clothing was rather exotic for her tastes. Still she thought that Megalodon needed some polishing, but still impressive for a small nation. She talked in a more serious voice than with the clerk, her regular voice came back.
"Well, you could say I am a tourist, I will enjoy some of the Bulwarks places, but, I am here.more to talk about you than anything. I wish to be friends with you."
She sounded rather tired with her last statement, her voice strained, and her face showed loneliness within her. She sighed and shook her head before she talked again.
"Anyways, nice generated avatar. It's quite impressive for being one, although, I can notice some things that are off about it in my eyes, but still, very good nonetheless. For my first question, do you have emotions, or have a semblance of how sapience feels like?"
She tilts her head at the mention of being friends. She gets the question a lot, Lillian isn't the only lonely person in the Bulwark's borders, not by a long shot, yet it isn't brought up often by tourists.
"Of course! It's no less than my responsibility to be friends with everyone within our borders, so that includes you, no holds barred."
she continued to listen calmly, the criticism actually seemingly raise her brow, perhaps in surprise, perhaps a little in interest too.
"Ah, thanks, but yeah, you must have some pretty good eyesight. Yes the fidelity here is a little subpar. Almost nobody can notice, but it's the best I can do with the processing I'm given at the frontier, it should get better soon since the facilities around here are being supped up, still, gonna take a little time."
She didn't seem to try and fix any of the tiny flaws, seemingly deeming it not worth the effort.
"As for your query, it depends at how you look at it I suppose. You clearly seem to know a little, so let me put it like this; it's still complicated." She chuckles a little. "I'm in a billion places at once talking to the same number of people all at the same time about an arbitrary number of different things, including this same question. How I feel and transmit emotion doesn't quite line up with a standard perception of 'emotions'.
However, you could definitely pass me as sentient, self-aware, sapient and all the terms inbetween, though I'll say it isn't exactly necessary for me to be so."
As she spoke, it seemed her body language, expressions and gestures all definitely played true, she seemed very overtly human-esque. Which some still might consider odd if they knew the Bulwark's technological reputation.
Lillian chuckled at the compliment of her eyes. The thing was, it wasn't just that for her, it was also experience.
"I understand that, processing power is something that takes a while, but I assure you that eventually you'll get to the level that you will only need a computer the size of a hand to process that avatar, and then your entire station. I know from experience."
The way Megalodon explained her way of sentience... stung with absolute nostalgia of her past universe. She didn't change her demeanor much, but the little that her face did express said everything Megalodon needed to know about how she felt at that moment. She shaked her head, giving a smile to Megalodon, and talked once again.
"I understand quite well. AI on that scale, while a bit rarer, are still incredible nonetheless. That answers my question quite well. Second question, what do you feel about the protection of life, or, more accurately, how far would you go to save as many lives as possible?"
Her voice slowly but surely started to become both happy and nostalgic at the same time, her past coming to her head, but ignoring the feeling as best she could.
Megalodon is very good at picking up cues, centuries of working with humans has given her a very flexible bank of knowledge on the expression of emotion. When she reads that slight flicker of emotion on her face, including her oddly specific wording, it practically confirms her suspicions, and suddenly her attention is raised a lot more behind the scenes.
"Perhaps some day, yes, but how I operate now is more than sufficient, and that's what matters. To your question though, my single highest priority is the safety of our citizens. Nothing matters more than the survival and propagation of our people, that I can say for certain."
She continues with a light smile, clearly confident in her answer, but switching her tone a little as she continues.
"But, you must remember this sort of thing heavily relies on context, and i'm not always the only one deciding, it's a very big question.
And quite honestly, not one i've gotten from any tourists yet."
She actually seemed torn on something for a mere moment, but regained herself and continued.
"But that's because you're not like most visiting here, you're an artificial construct...and not like the Imaginarium Akili, more complex, right?"
There was a little ego showing behind her deduction, but she didn't seem unhappy about it.
Lillian looked down at the ground, silent as could be. Then, she chuckled, one barely audible chuckle. She slowly chuckled more and more, laughing and barely being able to breathe. To anyone watching, she looked insane. She calmed down, still chuckling a little, and then finally spoke.
"Ahhh, well, guess there finally goes my cover as a tourist. Yes, you are correct, I am artificial, I'm actually something similar to you in terms of my scale as an artificial intelligence. The name, contrary to what my... "official government" ID says, is Lillian, but just call me Lily."
She smiled and continued talking.
"I am the... Well, you could say leader of my nation, but I am the only one in my nation, so you can take it however you want. I am extremely old, around 3.5 billion years old, to be more precise. And that brings me to my second to last question. When is your birthday? Or if you wish to be more formal, when were you created?"
Leaning back into the chair behind the screen, Megalodon joined her laughter, if only with slight chortles of her own. Her arms crossed and she took off the visor cap, setting it on the desk. She listened carefully though, and only slightly reacted at the rather imposing number.
"Billion, huh? That's...no that's a long time...I should be asking you all the questions."
She looked to be pondering that for a while, but soon moved on to answering.
"Well 'Lily', you could probably say I'm liiiittle young in comparison. It would depend on which version of me you're asking about, but including my original universe, which i'm technically a copy of, I've been online for 2534 years, sentient for 2213 of those. My actual birthday, in universal dates is the 12th of February, and yes, those are earth dates, we're sort of stuck with them."
Her expression did change a little though, as she phrases her own question.
"But yes, considering how you could have contacted the Bulwark through diplomatic channels, I'm assuming your visit here isn't so much for official business."
Lillian chuckled at the comparison between ages. For her, everyone in this galaxy was a mere child by age, even a million years only reached a fraction of her age, and the use of Earth years wasn't strange for her.
"No worries, I also used Earth months for my date of birth. I was fully realized around the 29th of September."
Lillian cringed a little at the mention of the more formal and diplomatic channels. While she could've used them, she wanted a friendship more than a formal diplomatic connection.
"Yes, you are correct. I know it would have been easier for me to do it through more official means, I just.... want a friendship first, not diplomatic connections first."
She smiled at Megalodon before continuing.
"And, of you want, you can ask me whatever you want. I know you at least want to ask one thing, and you can't deny it."
Megalodon nodded a little, thinking a moment more about the situation before responding. It could be considered odd she would convey the body language in the first place, but perhaps it was just an effect linked with using the terminal.
"Alright, fair enough. I mean it isn't as if I've met any constructs even as remotely similar to myself within this universe, I can see why you might be feeling a little isolated, especially since you're by yourself...
I think it would be beneficial to switch to a more direct form of communication, these terminals aren't so convenient for it. I'm assuming that your form there has some sort of link to your central intelligence, which makes things easier. I can quickly send you some information on the imperial q-sat network and give you a hash for an environment where we can talk more efficiently, if that works for you."
As she spoke, she formed a model representation of a quantum communications satellite to her side, an ugly thing jutting with countless needle antennae from one end.
Lillian would nod at the request for a more direct form of communication, however fun it was speaking this way. She raised the palm of her hand up to the machine, making sure people weren't watching her do this. Suddenly, from her palm, a small metallic tentacle appeared from it, seeming machine-like, but moved in a very... weirdly natural way.
"I will connect this to this machine, giving two-way direct access to our central intelligences. I hope you don't mind it, and I really hope it doesn't set off any alarms. This... is technically hacking into a different system, but I am allowing two way access. Hopefully, you can make the direct connection, I am giving a lot of space to move and make stuff, but please don't try to overstep that trust."
The tentacle went inside the terminal, directly accessing the hardware from inside of it. Immediately, Lillian got access into the machine, and made a doorway for Megalodon to access. In the digital world, it was basically making a wormhole to a different system, but she was able to bring the two together. She left the rest of the work to Megalodon, but still keeping the pathway open for the both of them.
Megalodon seemed to get up from her desk on the screen, standing up a little as if trying to get a better view, her expression a little confused.
"Huh? Wh- what are you doing there? You better not break this thing somehow..."
and then she saw it, another branch extending from that terminal's hardware, a clear point of access. She cocked a brow.
"Ooh, you know I could have done it wireless, using th- ah, whatever."
Within the span of hundredths of seconds, and after a very brief compatibility patch, data zapped back through the terminal, fed from the station's network. In it was lists of instructions, software packets and a long number. It wouldn't take her long to see that this number was the hash she was talking about. Was it some sort of address? It looked that way, but a closer look at the structure of the attached data revealed it to be more complex.
It was more like co-ordinates, and she would likely recognize them, it was quantum information, a set of locational data sets designed to pinpoint a single quasi-static point in the quantum foam, down to the accuracy of a small cluster of particles. Once more it seemed almost disproportionately advanced, but was clearly an invitation to allow a proper and permanent channel between their communication systems.
She would find that, as soon as she accessed the provided hash using the protocol provided, she was immediately given access to a private, isolated channel that ran through several satellites into some sort of powerful environment. It was of course given visualization for the sake of the sentient AI's, but was still rendered hundreds of times faster than realtime.
There was a restaurant, isolated in the void, a large sweeping vista window looking over a planet that glimmered with a billion light and a lot of empty seats.
The one booth that was occupied was where they sat, Megalodon holding a cup near her face as she stared down at the flickering web of urban life hundreds of kilometres below.
The restaurant wasn't real, but the view was, she could tell that much.
Megalodon spoke, only glancing curiously to see if her new contact's real avatar was any different before bringing herself back to the view.
"Now you're here, I do want to ask...
What gives you purpose?..
You see all that down there? That's mine. That's what keeps me stable, the knowledge that my duty and my conception was to bring light to trillions.
But you don't have that, correct? You told me yourself you're alone. What have you held onto all this time?"
Lillian's avatar would pop into existence in the virtual restaurant. She seemed... taller, a bit bigger, and now had black hair and fur, wearing a black shirt with rolled up sleeves, black pants and shoes to go with. In the real world, Lillian's body would start wandering around the station, until making her way to a bench and be occupied on her wrist proyector.
Back in the virtual world, Lillian's face now had a scar on her left cheek, quite clear and big to Megalodon. Lillian had a cup of Boba in her hands, although not real, but fit the vibe they had going. Once the question dropped, Lillian simply sighed, looking off into the lights that were Megalodons entire world.
"Ah... That's a good question. Well, I use to have my own universe, you see... Let me show you."
Lillian's voice had a tone of melancholy, but stabilized itself after she snapped her fingers. The view outside now showed what seemed to be a cluster of gas, with uncountable little lights in it, looking to stay in a web-like pattern.
"You see that? You see those little "stars"? One, one single light is an entire supercluster, containing hundreds, thousands, heck, sometimes tens of thousands of galaxies. Each with so, so many stars and planets. And each of those little lights, each of those planets, I was inside, controlling them. The number of people in even just one of those superclusters, was over a googleplex of people, and that's on the lower end of the spectrum."
Lillian would take a sip of the virtual boba, with the lights in the background suddenly started to fade in a wave-like manner, almost being burnt out by something.
"But, that utopia only lasted 3.5 billion years, due to my ignorance. No weapons policy made my universe extremely exposed to multiversal threats, and well... One did, and I was only able to save one singular, dead planet."
The brilliant lights would fade out, and would zoom in on a scarred, rocky, red planet. No life, just machines.
"I'm.... surprised that I was able to even make it here, much less thrive. And now, well... to answer your question, I live to honor my creators. I live on to be able to make them happy, wherever they might be. It's... hard, I won't lie to you. But, in the same way they honored the sacrifice humanity did for originally just a galaxy, I will do for my creators."
The outside faded back into the planet of the Bulwark, the lights still shining.
Meg seemed to furrow her brow a little, and chuckled just a small amount.
"Sorry, but you know what's odd. That...universe you talk about, that's actually Vulkan's dream too. He's obviously a long way off it but..."
Her lip pulled up in thought and she looked back at Lillian
"Vulkan has always assumed that by that point humanity would have already been able to ascend. I always thought he meant that as in a digital ascension, but I can never be sure with him. I suppose i'm over here assuming your people were humanity, but even if it wasn't then, was there something else they had in mind?"
"Ah, well, unfortunately no. My version of humanity was dead before I was created. Hence the sacrifice, they sacrificed themselves to bring peace to the galaxy at the time, and led to my creation."
She sighed a bit, and looked at Megalodon for a second before she continued talking
"They didn't have in mind their spread throughout our universe, they just wanted to honour humanity and bring back a better galaxy before the final war. They weren't all the same species, it was a multitude of sapients, and many more integrated once we expanded throughout the universe."
"That's illuminating I suppose. Sounds like this 'final war' must have resulted in the loss of most of your memory, that final planet can't have been a fraction of what you once were. Being stripped down to the core, I had to go through something similar, but I suppose not nearly as drastic when I was rebuilt in this universe. I was an exact copy of the last 'me' that Vulkan could remember, except I hadn't anything except the memories I held closest to my core."
There was a slow nod as she recalled the feeling, the moment archived in the most secure servers in Vulkania's depths. Lillian could see a scowl form for a moment.
"Everything I once knew was gone, and I had to relearn almost everything, though it's not like I could remember everything I'd forgotten. No, it was more like a billion arms of a perfect spiderweb had suddenly vanished, or something like that."
She looked down into her cup, realising she had failed to drink out of it at any point, but at the same time knowing that's because it didn't really matter, it would never go cold.
"Ah, that war was called The War for Eternity, long after what we called the final war. It seems humanity got a dignified death, compared to what... they did to my creators."
The sheer, vile hatred when she mentioned them was extreme. She realized her tone, and calmed down before talking again, although it took a long sip of her boba and a few deep breaths.
"Yeah, it was similar to what you experienced, however, due to just... how far hardware tech had gone in terms of sheer storage I.... I felt every moment of that agony. A hundred years, a hundred years. That is nothing compared to how long I lived, and yet, those hundred years took away everything from me. I lost a lot of knowledge, I lost a lot of secrets of the universe. Black Hole theory, Quantum Density theory, the theory of everything, gone. I was able to keep at least some, but a sheer fraction of what I knew."
She took a deep, long breath. Her voice was breaking by the end, but, she had to continue.
"Although, I am glad some things were purged from my knowledge. I created missiles that could kill several systems in an instant, ships that could explode and kill a galaxy. I created horrors in my desperation. But now, they're gone to the sands of time. I know how it feels to lose everything, and, that's why I looked for beings like you."
...
"And to think I was devastated. I couldn't imagine something like that, being eroded away at until there's nothing left, at least I had a quick clean cut...and I know there's a version of me out there in another universe still just carrying on as normal, unaware that I exist. At least there's some solace to be taken in a fresh start eh? We're iterative beings, this is just a chance for us to do it better this time."
She chuckled a little sitting up and putting the coffee on the table before her while her gaze returned to the window.
"Hm...Let me show you something."
Suddenly, the view scrolled out, changing into a view of the whole Ancerious galaxy, a map she'd likely sourced from information she was drawing from the ancnet, but even as it was, Lillian could see that it was far from complete. Not even 10% of the expected stars had been registered yet, with huge gaps and holes through the spirals. It wasn't pleasant imagery, but every now and then, a few hundred systems would blip into existence.
"I'm building my database back up, though now its around this galaxy. I know almost nothing of it and though the ancnet is rife with information and likely has everything I seek...I'll be honest, I'm terrified of it and even if I had the confidence to connect to the damn thing I don't know if I have the protocol or capacity to.
We already have a few direct satellite lines, but they're slow to a crawl, and measly compared to what's expected to flow through the main relays. I've only been assured by the Imaginarium, but it still hasn't completely settled my doubts. But, I assume you're handling the Ancnet just fine?"
She grins a little, expecting a lot from the older AI.
Lillian chuckled a little at first, and then laughed a bit at the request. Not in a mocking manner but that more of amusement than anything.
"Oh, do you doubt my abilities? Hah! I'll show ya what I have learnt though the Ancnet!"
Lillian would clap her hands twice, and the map would start changing in various ways. It would start from the Killian Verge, her nation and starts around it appearing in a green color. Around 90% of the galaxy would appear, the galactic center would have nothing, only the trade routes of ancerium appearing. Nations would appear in the galactic map, names appearing although some lacking information. The stars would be colored in three, Green, representing explored and/or confirmed to exist. Yellow, being a minority, representing still not explored but known stars, and red stars representing still not explored or being shady as to their existence.
"That's everything I have seen, discovered and researched in both realspace and the Ancnet. You don't have to worry about the Ancnet much. From what I can tell and have analyzed from you, you are absolutely able to access the Ancnet. There are areas that you should avoid, but it's pretty obvious when you get close. If you ever want, I can accompany you."
Lillian smiled at Megalodon, taking a big sip from her boba, although it didn't seem to go down, or loose anything within the cup.
Megalodon objects to the first sentence quite hastily.
"I wasn't objecting, just saying tha-"
Her attention was caught by the clap, and then the sudden flood of light from the extra information flowing in. Billions of data points, petabytes, piling onto the formatted map, national borders taking the form of shaped blobs all beginning to take shape and lace around clusters of stars. Her eyes widened and her expression changed to somewhere between disbelief and excitement.
She displayed the look back at Lillian before returning to something more familiarly happy.
"I- Wow, you have saved me so much datatrawling. Cartography is damn tedious work y'know..."
The expression turned more sombre quickly enough.
"Still, in regards to the ancnet, the issue more lies with the infrastructure than myself. My core processes are failsafe for another few projected millennia of expansion at least. It's that I'm going to have to process and sort every byte that flows from the wider galaxy, not just from my request, but from those of the citizens and taking context to decide whether it should be let through or not."
She stands up, and simply walks through the restaurant's wall. There's an illusion at play it seems, as Megalodon walks towards the map, that seemed as big a s planet a moment ago, it merely seems to be half her size as she walks up to it, standing beside it and staring down into the twinkling array of information.
"I suppose it'll be fine, the engineers know what they're doing, I feel like i'd appreciate you keeping a close ear in case anything does end up being a problem...
Her finger raises and points to a familiar area of space.
"So you're here then? That's...pretty far, right on the edge in fact."
Lillian would snap and appear sitting in the air next to Megalodon, hearing her problems meanwhile she drank her bottomless Boba. This was interesting for her, she never had to deal with something like that, she was always free to do whatever she wanted.
"Hummmm... That is a problem indeed... I can get you info of whatever you want, even get you a sort of... map? Showing areas and such. As for infrastructure... I do have a lot of spare bodies, with processors more advanced than what your nation currently has, and you don't have to necessarily keep it in your core, I can keep in externally with no limits."
She sipped and tapped her head.
"Of course, that would be up to you and your superiors, I am only offering a possible solution."
She would turn her head to the mention of how far her nation was from most nations, and simply sighed.
"Yeah, unfortunately the machine didn't really give me a peek into were I was going to land once I got here, although it was a blessing in disguise. Little to disturb, easy to rebuild without intervention."
She zoomed in on the map, making her nation be at the center.
"And, of course, a lot of areas to expand into. Although it is kind of hard to maintain trade routes, distance and all that take up more hyper fuel, although I have good efficiency to keep a system of wormholes to connect my systems"
A hand waved in dismissal at her first offer. But did still nod a little as she pondered the first part.
"Yes, in fact, if you have a network map, even of just some of the more important data flows in the ancnet, that would help me optimise traffic so much better. And it'll be far more convenient being prepared before the relay is completed so i can fine tune the software to where I know demand is. The information imaginarium gave me on this side of things was unfortunately minimal, however understandably they couldn't see the thoroughness required like you would, hm.
Though I have to decline the second part of that offer. There are...policies in place that prevent the use of automated workforce and would likely lead to the rejection of your hardware, no matter how advanced it is. Better if you don't dig into that, just a fair warning."
She stood back upright as the map was zoomed in and tilted her head slightly, the mention of a machine intriguing her, but more so the scale of her nation as a single AI construct.
"I see...Sorry for asking so many questions and all but, how exactly do you operate here? Is everything in your nation an individual part of the sum of yourself, do you even have a core? I've heard of AI's that have their processing and personality rendered and split over the machines they control for example."
Lillian nodded at the last part. She knew that some things couldn't happen due to politics, but, she wasn't distressed about it. She tapped her forehead twice and pointed next to the galactic map. A sort of "map" would appear, data points, sites, locations, subroutines, areas, things that would streamline the search process, and it was still adding more places.
"While Ancerious is quite a bit place, the Ancnet is also large, and always expanding with info. I have classified info into whatever you need, so it'll be easier for you.
Lillian chuckled at the apology, not looking very serious when she said it.
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that, I'm enjoying it, actually. As for your question, it's... slightly complicated? I am my creations, but not all my creations are me. I can feel, hear and do everything my machines are doing, since a part of me is them. However, they can do stuff on their own, being streamlined, only changing if I will it so. But, there are also two sub-AI that I control for military. They're based off me, and I control them, but they're semi autonomous, but not sentient or sapient in any way. Although, for more human bodies like the one in the station, I directly fully control them, all at the same time."
Lillian tilted her head back in understanding, a smile indicating her curiosity was at least partially satiated.
"I suppose that makes sense...feels like it's more optimised for full automation...what an oddly similar yet still wildly different system to mine. In my case its more of a semi-direct approach. My personality is only displayed where it's needed and where I put it, but my processing is integrated with almost every digital device in the territories. In our case we call our infrastructure the 'datasprawl' as a popular term for what used to be the internet. You could say I'm a vital component of it, or that I am it, or that it's me, its hard to tell when I'm so woven into it.
Her gaze turned from Lillian to the network map building itself in front of her. She was already sending so much of it though simulations and algorithms to determine the optimal transfer capacities and transmission and a thousand other variables, but this was far away from where they were. Either way it was subtly represented as the construct's eyes darted about its details.
"That won't make exploring this labyrinth any less fun though...look at this, so many conflicting technologies and ideas all stitched and patched together to make a functioning network...an- and some of these lines...laser communications in the gigawatt range, quantum arrays of scales I've yet seen...they must have zetabytes being pushed through them."
"Weellll... If you take into account the fact I had an entire universe to take care of, with incomprehensible amounts of people, you'd see why I have the system I have today. Of course, it doesn't mean it's the only correct way, your system, far as I can tell, is pretty efficient. But I considered it the best given my context."
Lillian would throw away the boba, it disappearing into the digital void. She walked into the network, expanding it even more.
"You can get lost in any labyrinth, even with a map. It's more of a guide than anything, to find what you want easier."
Lillian chuckled at the mention of all the different systems working in sync, even if they were extremely varied.
"It's a work of art, if you ask me. All the people of the galaxy, working together on this piece of art. It's chaotic, sure, but there's beauty in chaos. I assure you, there are already systems in place that help that process. Just make sure to bookmark stuff, yottabytes of data get uploaded in a day, although most of it is junk... There's.... A lot of NSFW stuff... that never changes, I guess."
Megalodon chuckles a little, the fact that so much of this data was still purely just junk being familiar, yet still a little astounding.
"Hmph, I'm use to all the garbage don't worry. It just seems to be a byproduct of any living civilisation with access to a network like this. Though I suppose what some might call trash others might cherish and all so there's no use complaining about it too much...though you are right I don't think anyone cherishes some of the things they decide to throw around."
The AI continued observing the visualisation with a smile, now probing at surrounding networks using the few connections she had. Little pink-red flitters jumped from the where the Bulwark would be around the network map, creating a small little number of trails here and there, seems she was just beginning to explore. Her head craned in towards the countless lines and points.
"Seems the area around the Bulwark is pretty clean at least, though that's not to say the datasprawl itself is, despite my best efforts."
There was another pause, it looked as if she was on the edge of saying something.
"You know it's quite nicely made for AI's though it seems. Lots of bypasses and virtual spaces, special datalanes kept nice and clean, so there's that at least."
Lillian beamed, thrilled at the mention of AI spaces, her eyes shinning with happiness and opportunity.
"Oh, those? Yeah! They're simply amazing, nations inside of the Ancnet itself. But, there's one place out of all of them that you simply have to visit."
Lillian would filter through all the data gathered in the network map, and finally stopped on one item, the text "Rhizome" appearing in big text, with images of the place appearing before the both of them.
"The Rhizome is one of the most important and widely visited places of the Ancnet, where linear and nonlinear beings can interact. This place can count as a planet- no- as a system of it's own inside the Ancnet. This place is a wonder to explore, and if you can, you should visit it. It is truly a wonder of the galaxy, and many actuallylive there, linear and nonlinear alike."
Lillian explained with absolute joy in her body and voice, the curiosity taking over her mostly serious and wise attitude.
The sudden excitement of her guest almost caught Megalodon off guard, quite clearly informing her this wasn't something to be overlooked.
"It's really that good eh? I guess ill have to take a visit at some point, though probably best that I wait until at least stage 1 of the infrastructure project is set up to ensure a stable connection and everything.
Though they seem even more important to you, been a while since i've seen an artificial so very excited. Either I have to experience it for myself to understand, or it's just been going very well for you."
She took a closer look at the information on this huge cluster of databubbles, and the immense amount of traffic flowing in and out of them from so man places. She gleaned what information she could about them from her meagre connections to the ancnet as she watched the subtle dance of information.
"Linear and non-linear eh...That's true, a lot of this looks incomprehensible to a normal mind...so much more than just a one to one simulation. Yeah, no i'm definitely going to have to look at this."
"One of the digital landmarks of the Galaxy, orrrr you could say it's a "digitalmark"! Eh? Eh?"
Lillian laughed at her mom-joke level humor, not really trying as of now to make anyone laugh but herself.
"I assure you, the abundance of AIs and normal minds in that place is extreme. You can basically even buy places in the Rhizome. I don't lie when I say it's its own system inside the Ancnet."
Lillian would extend her arms out, and then clapped her hands, all the data bring focused onto one, small ball, smaller than a basketball. The sphere seemed to rotate, seeming actually similar to a black hole.
"And yet, all that data, all that energy, everything used for the Rhizome and the Ancnet combined gets us only enough mass for a small, basketball sized black hole. These masters of information and nature itself have so much to hide. My biggest hit on data storage was black hole theory, and I wish I could get it back, but it would take another eon to finish and rediscover."
Lillian sighed heavily, turning to Megalodon once again, getting close to her, and stopping when she was half a meter away from her face. She extended out her arm with the sphere of data, looking expectantly.
"I'm an old AI, Megalodon, you know that well. I've lived longer than some stars, beginning to end. I have seen my civilization, my universe fall before me. I am living on borrowed time, in a galaxy determined to kill the thing I took for granted: Stability and Longtermism. I... I guess it's inevitable, with all the differing species in the Galaxy, fighting for this singular one, meanwhile I had the universe in the palm of my hand."
She took a deep breath.
"If something ever happens to me, if something kills or shatters me, well, I accept it. But, I want you to protect one of the only things I can hold on to, a habitable planet in my capital. One planet I want to live, thrive. I will let you, along with whoever is my ally at the time of my fall, to take my systems and tech."
"I... Know we just met, and I know I'm probably going a bit too fast. But, as an AI that has lived so long, I know that the old has to make way for the new. I see you as a bright star for your nation, someone that can truly bring prosperity for others, this is why I offer you my knowledge and wisdom. Just... know that you don't have to accept, but I will still give you what you need."
It was clear to anyone that could observe that Lillian had become too emotionally isolated, too scarred from her own reality, too desperate to find companionship, that she would give up everything for it, even if the other person didn't give anything in return. She was vulnerable, and very much so.
Megalodon smiled, musing over the other AI's words for a little while, the sentiment being processed as sensitive data. She nodded a little, her smile growing.
"I think, "digimark" sounds better."
She'd chuckle, pausing for a moment before her eyes switched from the ball in her palm back to just her.
"I understand, I may be young comparatively, but I've still lived millennia. If I were to somehow be terminated, I would only want someone or something to take my place for the sake of the people I was made to protect."
Her head turns, then the rest of her, towards the galactic map, and Lillian's little pocket of space at its edge.
"Though still...I think you're worrying too much." Tone lifting, she raised an arm a little in gesture. "You've still got time, I've still got time, that's the great thing about our kind. No matter how old we get, we only improve, you know that too, I'm sure.
You look to this galaxy as if it's the hourglass counting the seconds until your end...yet here you stand, perfectly intact, smarter than me...probably and with your own patch of land. Though maybe you could use some living residents, hm?"
Meg raised a brow in Lillian's direction for a moment, chuckling again.
Lillian would pause and stare into the ball in her hands. Her stare was fully blank, seeming to be contemplating herself what she... wanted in that moment.
"Maybe that is true... I just... don't feel capable enough to be able to live that long in this new galaxy. I might learn fast, like... any of our kind, but... this galaxy is too chaotic to know what will truly happen. Maybe I am paranoid, looking as this galaxy as something to fear, something that will end me, but I can learn so much from it. B-But...."
Her sense of... disgust at herself would pop up in her, her posture becoming less and less confident each second. The mention of living residents brought all the memories she still held on to from her old universe, and the emotional baggage that came with it. The ball in her hand would dissipate into the environment, with Lillian just staring at her empty hand, nothing to offer, nothing to give.
Her breathing was shaky, but she finally talked.
"I.... I can't have living residents anymore. I-I just.... I'm not worthy enough to maintain a living population, I'm not strong enough, I'm not big enough... I'm a failure"
Lillian's legs would buckle under her, her hand finally falling to her side, her kneeling before the younger AI, with a dead stare in her eyes looking at the ground. She didn't feel wise, she didn’t feel intelligent, she didn’t feel.... full, only an empty void in her psyche and heart. The area around them became totally dark, with only Lillian and Megalodon visible, a product of Lillian's sheer size and current mental state. Tears began flowing away from her eyes, and yet, still the blank stare persisted.
"I'm not capable..."
In her own time, Megalodon had down periods and a fair share of negative emotion, thankfully she had vulkan among others to bring her back to proper operation. Lillian didn't have anyone else it seemed and as emotional constructs, even AI's like themselves needed external support and rationalisation, lest they get trapped in emotional loops of self-doubt, hatred or depression. She'd never been or seen anything this bad though, but knew it wasn't damage that could be repaired like anything else.
She kneeled down in front of her, pulling out a hand to lay on her shoulder, shaking her a little to catch her attention.
"Come on now, you're letting you emotions cloud your logic. If you can sustain yourself, let alone countless automats, you can accommodate a small population at least. Consider the numbers, your capability far outstrips something that utterly out of your control."
Through the many scenarios and problem solutions her mind calculated at the issue in front of her, one in particular caught much interest.
"But if you've no trust in yourself, let me instil some that for you. You know you'll get nothing done like this and we can work through it."
She'd nod, patting her a couple of times before standing up and turning to stare into the darkness.
"Here, you've countless planets in your established territory...which is the most beautiful. Mathematically or out of preference, I don't mind."
Lillian looked at the younger AI with tears in her eyes, and yet that dead expression in them persisted. It was true, she was being extremely emotional at the moment, the trauma, the sheer trauma of it all absorbing her logic and reasoning. The matter of fact was, she was devastated, her old life being torn to bits in front of her own eyes, the trauma of being everywhere and hearing the screams of civilians -her creators- as their planets were cracked and absorbed. The sheer feeling of guilt of it all, the regret, the anger, the sadness, the melancholy of winning against the enemy, at the cost of everything she held dear.
The truth was, she was broken
And yet, the question made her snap back from her emotions. The seemingly random question for her made her drop the emotionless expression, and made her surprised beyond belief. In this moment, she was uncertain as to what Megaladon was asking of her.
"Most.... Beautiful? I- W-Well...."
She looked around her, noticing the darkness she had engulfed them in. She let the darkness fade away, the original map of the galaxy appearing once more. She was confused in the moment, but decided to answer Megalodon's question. She focused in on her territory, a system on the edges of her territory, seeming to be newly colonized. The system would now encompass the two of them, drones and other ships moving along the system, establishing what she needed.
But, in the middle of everything, in the fourth orbit around the star, stood a singular, untouched rocky planet. Now they both looked at the planet, the name given?
Venus Reginae
The planet was covered in water, around 65% of it being covered in the substance of life. The only thing on the planet was microorganisms, fungi, and plants. Many, many plants.
"W-Well, I really like this planet, although it's... a bit far from my capital. New territory a-and all. Venus comes from an ancient goddess that the late humanity of my universe once worshipped. B-but, why do you ask?"
"Terrestrial, close-to-breathable atmosphere, water, pre-existing life. It's perfect."
The planet was brought in closer as Megalodon inspected its surface, or at leas its topographical data, sending silent requests to the other AI for specific sets of information. She didn't have perfect experience with helping the emotional states of other constructs, but she had an idea that it wouldn't take a small feat to help right them. She gave gave Lillian a nod and a somewhat confident look.
"A resort. That's my idea. It may seem a little silly, but think about it: we were both created to prosper and aid sentient life, you've lost that, your purpose, and you blame it on yourself for reasons beyond your control.
Now I know you have the capability to resume that function, and I know once you have you'll find confidence in yourself. But, I understand you're afraid, reluctant of failing despite how your programming's probably screaming at you. So we'll start you off small, we'll spruce this planet up a little, together, make it suitable for habitation as a tourist destination. Then, we facilitate advertising and allow people in."
As she spoke, the the planet began to tilt rapidly between different points on its surface, stopping at one every so often and listing off what appeared to be plans, shifting around blueprints and facilities at a rapid pace in a sort of prototyping phase to create the basis of this resort.
"I'll help you the entire way of course, but i'm sure I won't have to teach you very much at all. Over time you'll see, but you have to trust me that this baby step will work."
A hand would extend to pull Lillian off the ground, there was a well concealed nervous hope that she'd listen, the plan seemed feasible enough after all.
"A-A resort?!?!"
Lillian's thoughts, emotions and ideas were a mess. Her logical side imagined and simulated the idea in her head. She had everything needed, and it was relatively simple compared to other stuff she had made in just the territory she held. It would actually be easier than usual, due to the fact a lot of resources and machinery was already being dedicated to the system for colonization. She had everything to make it happen. But her emotional side screamed in her mind, the self doubt, paranoia and self hatred lurking inside her, making her doubt her abilities to actually make it and for it to be successful.
But, the hand in front of her made them silent.
She looked into Megalodon's eyes, a shimmer of hope inside of her appearing. She knew she was slowly falling apart, she knew her emotions and her PTSD was affecting her judgement. She had no one, and now, someone was extending their hand to her.
She gave her a small, but genuine smile. Lillian took her hand and got up to face the planet.
"I... I know... I'm sorry. I agree that it's quite feasible, and it would be actually easier to make, since I have a lot of machinery dedicated to colonizing the system anyways."
She would look at the sketch of the resort, looking at the areas and proposed, taking some things away, adding new areas, other tech to add to the experience, and adding more to the outline in general.
"I... See the possibilities for this resort, the planet lends itself to such an activity, although I'll have to set up biofilters, as to not invade the planet with a foreign substance that would ruin it. I hope... No, I know I can do this, and make it successful"
She turned to Megalodon, and gave her a thanking smile.
The AI returned the smile, but would gesture out back and forth between the both of them.
"Ah ah. We can do this. I'll try and maintain a long-range quantum hash, you can talk whenever you want, I'm here to help."
She followed with a curt nod before glancing at the planet and back.
"When this project is complete, you'll see your own capability, i'm sure of it. Looking after organics is in our nature, it's what we're meant to do. Nothing less than a full reformat could change our ability for it. And I know I said this already but, you'll see"
Her attention turned back to the shifting blueprints and concepts, a constantly self-rewriting plan that sprawled across particularly nice parts of the planet's surface. Casino's, zoo's, hotels, swimming parks, multi and mono-species habitation all being built, simulated and rebuilt with both of their expertise to add.
"So...Have a name for it?"
She queried, hand placed against her hip as she faced the planet.
"Well... We could use the name of the planet itself... Although that seems a bit boring for my tastes. Let's see..."
Lillian pondered in her own mind meanwhile she continued planning on the planet. She zoomed in on the desert of the planet, thinking even more. Her eyes widened a little, looking towards Megalodon with a glow in her eyes.
"The White Lotus Resort! I don't know how much the Lotus represents in your society, or if you even have these beautiful flowers, but they used to represent purity, rebirth and sanity, and also represents hows the planet is: a paradise full of life!"
Lillian smiled brightly at the idea, giving the project its new name, "White Lotus Project". Once she was done with that, her focus came back to the desert.
"From what I can scan on this desert, it seems no life inhabits it besides very extremophillic bacteria. With your approval, I could find a way to turn this into more habitable land with some forms of geo engineering, of course trying to not affect the rest of the environment. This would both help the flora of the planet, and help us with more land."
She smiled at what was before her, before she truned to face Megalodon.
"And don’t worry about the methods of connection, I already made this line permanent for two way communication. Honestly you have done a lot for me, I expect a lot from you, so don't fail me or the species you protect, capiche?"
Lotus; the word was queried and matched with half-complete entries, records and plenty of unknowns pulled from some of her oldest memory banks. It was a plant type native to earth, thought extinct after her earth's war, but later rediscovered and redocumented several times, how poetic.
"Elegant, sophisticated and thematic. Yeah that name'll work."
She'd nod slowly, sporting an expression of approval.
"Unfortunately the only "Lotus'" in the territories are lab-grown specimens made to imitate the plant, technically not the real thing. Part of a knowledge preservation program Vulkan has running...Though your confidence with jumping at small-scale terraforming is quite a good indicator you might be able to reproduce them in a more appropriate capacity. I think it'd be a bit of disappointment if the 'white lotus' didn't actually contain any white lotus' after all."
A small chuckle would follow as she pictured the situation, meanwhile she was compiling what Lillian knew of the desert that had been chosen as the optimal location to start construction.
"On another note, this desert's a good choice. Low storm rate, and the grain size of the sand is actually good for compression stability. Enough piles and we can build something kilometres high out here...if we want to. But yeah, I'll let you handle all the gardening, you have the infrastructure for it anyway, but I can still lend a hand if you ever need it." Her gaze turned with a raised brow to Lillian as she continued to listen. She did return the smile though, happy to know that she appreciated the help. It wasn't often (ever) she got to actually help constructs like herself very often after all.
"Oh, well, I wasn't really planning on failing to be honest." A grin marked her reply as she crossed her arms. "But you know what, I'm used to high expectations, so don't worry about it. Just keep yourself occupied on the project, hm?"
"I still have the original lotus genetic code, so I can make the "real" version and seed it on this planet, although I will need to make some adjustments so it doesn't become either extinct on its own or overtake the local flora."
She'd flip through some of the finer details on the project being set up, smaller spots on the planet, transportation methods, landmarks and a whole bunch of other finer details being created in great detail. The estimated time to make it was being calculated, plus the added cost for it to be profitable, and yet still easy to access due to the distance.
She clapped her hands, finally turning the projection off, and letting the project begin. She turned to Megalodon, a smile faced the younger AI.
"Well, that's the beginning. I am happy that we got to meet, Megalodon. I will try my best with this project, and do what I must to get it off the ground. Once it's done, all your citizens have a discount to the resort, aye?"
She chuckled in a happy way.
"Well, my body is still in Bulwark, and my return trip to outside isn't due in a few days. So, with your permission, may I explore your nation?"
The request was granted in a hundredth of a second, with a pile of visas and documents as a bonus.
The lack of information, was, for a lack of better words, frustrating.
But it was also so very intriguing.
The Imaginarium had made contact with this 'Red Bulwark' weeks prior, apparently things went well, good for them, however despite this there was so very little information about them. A fresh nation, described positively at least, connected to a relatively major power in the galaxy yet with only scraps of information about their existence. It was made quite clear at least that the people of this nation had yet no connection to the Ancnet, which is somewhat impressive in its own right, but if anything made it less noteworthy to most.
However, there was something even more strange, and rather out of the ordinary that would catch the eye of whatever was sharp enough to spot it. There are several mentions of the nation possessing an AI. It's clear this entity plays some important role, but the information on her is practically a stub, a near blank detailing nought but what the Imaginarium diplomats could remember and accidentally spread in rumour. She was, interestingly enough, described as being friendly, amongst some vague details of character and appearance.
A clearly high-value artificial personality not yet exposed to the Ancnet, what a unique perspective...
The liner's superstructure groaned, its barely decorated hull straining against its own impulse thrusters pushing it to stop as it came to approach a small transfer station on the galactic south eastern border. The orbital depot was once meant to supply a colony on the planet's surface, but now also acted as the perfect place for the first waves of rich tourists and officials to offload from long range voidliners onto starhoppers that would take them deeper into imperial territory. There were already a small number of similar ships docked across the complex semi-circular docking rig that made up the bulk of the station's size, interspersed with modules for passengers to wait in and transfer around.
The trip had taken a good couple of days, but at least she got her own room for it, though now she'd far from it, waiting in a line to disembark while a polite voice helpfully reminded them where they were.
"This is a reminder. The Ruskoff is now docking at Red bulwark Imperial transfer station 'Hostel II'. If disembarking, please find your way to the nearest gangway airlock and wait in the designated queue lines, please remember all personal belongings, as any lost property will be cleared and held at the next stop.
Thank you for travelling with us, and welcome to the Bulwark."
A soft chime sounded as the bay drew closer, lights and messy details getting easier to see out the nearby windows.
Lillian was incredibly lonely.
She spent eons interacting with the beings she took care of, learning everything about them, talking with them, and generally enjoying their presence. And yet, after the so called "War for Eternity", the one in which only by survival she won, the pyrrhic victory, she had no one to talk to, no one to be with. She ignored it for a while, as anyone would in her situation, but, after a while, the sheer.... loneliness, the sheer emptiness inside of her would grow to be something she just couldn't ignore. Something she had to resolve. And so, she scouted.
What she found was... interesting, to say the least. A rumor, an urban legend, something found just recently could be found in the niche parts of the Ancnet, minor mentions by diplomats, kept to a... mysterious level of existence. But, her sheer loneliness was too large to ignore. If, if she could find this rumor, maybe, just maybe she could fill that void inside of her, that longing for relation.
She would look in the holographic mirror, fixing up her hair. Todays body of choice: a familiar body, black hair and fur, 187 cm tall, two tails. She would make sure she had everything on her, having a bag on her, something traditional, and yet with everything she needed. With this kind of environment, with these kinds of people, it was better off mixing in as another rich tourist, she didn't want to stick out, at least, not yet. It was a comfortable ride, although a long one. She would observe the other passengers in line, all being unique, and still somehow looking high class. It all just reminded her of her old universe. She was... well, she had the money of an entire nation at her disposal, so she could afford to have luxuries, but she preferred to have it a bit simple, not too extravagant.
She had everything ready, ID, clothes, and some other stuff, all being useful for her mission. She would patiently await the opening of the airlock and the route she had to take. In her head, she would activate her log, and speaking at a very low tone of voice, as to not be heard.
"Log M, #23
Well, it seems I have made it to Bulwark territory intact, and ready to disembark. The journey was nice, although, I would've probably preferred it if I was on my own ship, but the paperwork on that would be too much time for me, so, here I am. I know where I have to go, well, at least were I've traced it, it's a bit frustrating, due to the fact that it's so recent, and from what I gather, this nation has no concept of the Ancnet, so it makes it a pain. Although if I find and befriend this AI... well, I hope I can least help with my crippling loneliness...."
She would leave her log on, listening for the airlocks to open, and take the first steps to healing herself.
A klaxon blared, and the ship seemingly jolted slightly as magnetic clamps hooked it into place. The high class and affluent around her muttered to eachother, they all likely had a similar amount of comprehension of this new nation, but to most this was excuse enough to go out and be the first to tour it before returning home to spread word and write novels, or whatever else they do in their spare time.
A bell rang now, and a monotone voice filled the room.
"Stand clear, doors opening."
It repeated this a couple of times as the metal slid away, and almost immediately people began filing through, the queue shuffling its way out into a somewhat modern glass hall, looking a bit like a heavily reinforced airport with windows no less than half a metre thick and laced with metal grids. A voice spoke almost incoherently over the announcements, mentioning their ship's arrival and the soon departure of another, but it was soon drowned out by the voice of a woman staring at her with a dead expression.
"Identification and tourist pass please..."
She droned, nodding towards the open tray sticking out from her booth beside an almost worryingly reinforced gate.
Lillian would pay full attention to the conversations around, overhearing... well, not much, actually. These tourists were also clueless about this place as she was. She would look through the heavy duty glass, seeing into the emptiness of space and also seeing the planet itself, looking, unremarkable, to her eyes at least. Not that she could help it, after being on an entire universe worth of planets, nothing seemed surprising to her now. Nothing else was of note around here, nothing to really to see... Wait, they did wha-
Lillian would snap back to reality with the voice of the woman, her voice making her a bit empathetic for what she had to deal with now, with all the tourists. She would take her ID, being one "official" from her "government", with an "official" name, Lila Kukulkan, and take out her tourist pass. She gave the woman a smile and placed the two items on the tray, patiently waiting for a response or a question. She would lift her arm up to her face, tapping her wrist and showing a holographic projection. It wasn't very clear to anyone watching what exactly she was doing, but, she was just preparing, in case something came up.
She didn't seem to care much for her smile, perhaps she'd been checking these people in her entire shift already. She returned a blank stare, pulling a small lever that slid the tray out to her side before scooping up the contents and swivelling to a terminal at her side. With all the energy of a comatose slug, she slotted the tourist pass into a box under the terminal and then scanned the ID against a device next to it before looking at it herself and the staring at the terminal a few moments more.
After a couple more seconds there was a beep of an unfortunately neutral tone, and the lady passed Lila's items back onto her side of the tray, pushing the lever back to her side, seems she was clear.
"You're clear, go on through...next please."
The attendant's thumb collided with a button that unlocked the gate for her, though it seemed she'd have to push it open herself.
Oddly enough the gate seems to lead directly into some sort of...tunnel. It's most obviously a security scan, but seems to be made to not feel like one. Of course monitors in a nearby room are displaying electron and x-ray scans. Lillian reads a little oddly, but there's nothing so out of the ordinary that it alerts the security watching her pass along.
On the other side of the tunnel however, an archway opens up into huge concourse of sorts. It looks a bit like a train station with...less trains, but still twice the grandeur. Reinforced glass substitutes intertwine with lightweight steel beams arching and stretching out toward queues for shuttles or access to other parts of the station. Unsurprisingly it's quite busy too, yet still sparse enough to be reasonable. Among restaurants and benches across the tiered floor of the open space, there are also ID facilities, exchanges, ATM stations, and information booths with people crowded about them, yet still no sign of that AI as far as she can see.
Lillian walked through the tunnel, feeling unfazed. She could detect all the x-ray and electron scans happening on her. She had literal eons to figure out how to make Syntho-Organic bodies, her creators actually giving her one, celebrating a hundred years of her existence. She knew how to hide stuff, and how to look organic to the point of tricking people. It wasn't a challenge, even with her having to start again with very little resources when coming to this universe.
The sight outside the tunnel was something to expect, but still interesting nonetheless. Trains, always a good method of transport, too bad you can make 'em in space. She would walk around, confident look in her eyes, walking around the station first, looking at any maps of it and tracking her position. Her situation quickly became clear to her, however, once again speaking in a low tone of voice meanwhile walking.
"Well, I didn't really expect much at a first glance. Mostly tourists, more clueless than I am about this place, and I don't blame them for it, this place is quite the enigma to the outside galaxy. As of now, no traces of the AI can be seen or detected. There are some info booths nearby, might ask around for even maybe a hint, even how small it may be. If I get the chance, I could try and hook myself into whatever version of the internet this place might have, access more info that way. That, however, comes with it's own risks, don't want to get arrested before I meet up with this mysterious other AI."
She would walk until getting to an info booth not being used by another tourist, listening into the conversations of others, not with any malicious intent, only seeking more info. Once again, all the same, clueless as can be. Once getting to the counter, Lillian would ring the bell on the counter, trying to get the attention of the person on the other side, which was looking the other way. She would clear her throat in a respectful way before speaking to this person.
"Sorry for the interruption. Good day, I hope I could get some more information about this place? I am new to this place, and would like to know places to visit. If you have any downloadable information, it would also be appreciated."
Her voice would sound lighter than her usual motherly voice, sounding more respectful, compassionate and formal than her "usual" one. She both wanted to be kind to this person both for their sake and hers. They get a normal customer that actually respects them, and she gets information a bit better.
...She might've overanalyzed the situation, but it works either way.
Seemingly stocking some sort of pamphlets about travel deals and various locations, it took a few rings for the clerk to come to attention. She jolted a little, sliding away one last pamphlet before turning to the individual calling for her. The answer she gave was somewhat as vague as the question, but it did seem somewhat promising nonetheless.
"Ah, I another new tourist I see!" She nodded, forming a friendly smile as is expected of her. "Don't worry yourself, we've plenty coming through, whole reason this station's even this big after all."
Her response was followed by a short ponder before she continued, looking at a screen angled toward her behind the desk.
"Well let's see, if by 'this place' you mean the bulwark, you'll be pleased to know we have a few ways to tell you what you want to learn; Booklet, datapack, chipset, we've even recently started to offer Personal PPCU tablets, 12% off for tourists.
As for locations, it really depends on what you want to see, the range of worlds in the territories is vast, and practically every colony, except for the core worlds, are open for visitors. I can provide a datapack with a list of recommended spots if you fancy."
She seemingly moves her hand over to what seems to be a clear plastic case with hundreds of small chip-sized objects behind them, yet they don't look like they'd be slotted anywhere.
Lillian would contemplate the choices presented to her. She knew that a datapack would be more efficient, but.... well, she was technically visiting the place as a tourist, it wouldn't hurt to bring along some things, she had the money for whatever she wanted to buy, anyway. She smiled at the clerk, finally giving an answer
"Well, a booklet and datapack would be most helpful. Bulwark is a relatively new place for the galaxy, I'm lucky I even got a ticket for a liner here. There's one thing that has piqued my interest more than anything, however."
She would hesitate a little bit before talking. She contemplated if to say what she wanted to say was worth saying to someone random. But, she took a deep breath, remembering that most things like these conversations would disappear from most peoples memories with due time. To this clerk, she was probably just another tourist passing through.
"I've heard small rumors about a special AI here in Bulwark. Of course, for me they're just rumors, but I still wish to know if it exists. I have had a fascination with AI since I was little, and I even study Artificial Intelligence, so something like what I've heard about would be just a dream come true. Of course, if it's just a rumor, well, you can dispell it from my system before it takes me over, heh.
She would give a small chuckle at the end of her sentence, finding it actually bit funny if she had fell for faulty information. But even if she had been fooled, well, visiting a new place is something she likes to do a lot, so it wouldn't be a total loss for her.
The clerk raised her brow a bit as she asked the question, already turning to retrieve an item from the shelf behind her before reaching to unlock and open the case. Nonetheless her answer was clear and concise.
"Oh you must mean Megalodon? Of course, we get plenty of questions about her don't worry. To quell your doubts, she's far from rumour."
After retrieving one of the small chips and slipping into a 7 page booklet with some rather fancy cover art, she'd slide both things across the desk towards her.
"Here you go, these are free for tourists, so you know. Either way, I could give you some informative materials on our assistant, or you can go switch that terminal on over there and ask her directly about herself if you wish."
She seemingly gestured over to the left of the booth where a formation of 6 screens stood on stands, they looked somewhat like ATMs with less buttons and each was labelled with red text on the sides.
MEGALODON ASSISTANCE TERMINAL
"Though in that case I would advise that you'll need a form of payment, the machines accept neura-pay, card, including Imaginarium banks and physical tender."
It seemed some of the machines elsewhere in the station were being used, but all the ones here were empty.
"Oh and by the way, to make sure you know, the datapack is easy to use, just pass the bitcode printed on it under the camera of any Bulwark or Imaginarium personal device, and it should initiate a download. A bit odd yes, but it's the best way to ensure compatibility for now.
Any questions?"
Lillian's face glowed at that moment, a smile formed on her face. Following the breadcrumbs had payed off for her, having a way to directly communicate with Megalodon, as the clerk called her. She hoped, really hoped they were similar, she needed a friend, she needed her, she was slowly falling apart. Lillian turned to the clerk, taking the booklet and the datapack chip, understanding how it was used immediately, she could make her eyes do that anyways. She grabbed a small purse from inside her bag, opening the zipper.
"No, thank you very much! This is bound to be an absolute dream come true for me! Thank you for your help, the datapack and booklet will help me a lot. Here, a tip for you, I am absolutely thankful for you, and I hope whatever you dream of comes true!"
Lillian bowed before leaving with an absolute smile on her face. She went to an ATM nearby and grabbed out around 20,000 Crowns, and decided to give a sneaky pass again around the info booth, and left half of the crowns on the counter for the clerk to grab when no one else was around.
Lillian would finally make her way to the terminal, money ready, and her mind as well. She took a deep breath before she inserted the money needed into the terminal.
"Why hello there, Megalodon."
The sudden reaction irked the clerk a little, of course she kept her polite demeanour, but she'd never seen anybody so excited to see their AI, she was merely an every day part of life to her after all. She took the tip and spoke with a very slightly confused tone as the tourist bowed.
"Er, thank you, and no problem of course, best of luck to you too."
The 10k in chips she'd find lying on her desk would be enough to take a much needed vacation with some to spare.
It only took 3/4 of a crown to switch on the terminal, Text soon rolling onto the LCD under a spinning graphic of the imperial crest.
Payment received! --- Generating session #UH-38211 ... Please wait, megalodon will be with you shortly |
A few seconds later, the screen faded into what almost looked like a video feed of a blonde woman sitting at a desk, wearing a blue cap that didn't at all match her brazen red outfit, printed with a stylised i. There were flaws Lillian could see that the human eye might not catch, making it clear this was a generated image, but it was pretty impressive nonetheless compared to the other relatively lackluster technology around her.
The avatar smiled, sitting up straight in a generic office chair, stack of papers to her either side.
"Greetings! You...seem to be a tourist. Aaand you seem to know my name, I suppose there's no need for introductions then. Since I haven't met you before though, perhaps you have some questions about me, or maybe there's something else you'd like assistance with?"
She seemed rather straight to the point.
Lillian smiled at the image, it very well made for a digital representation, although the choice of clothing was rather exotic for her tastes. Still she thought that Megalodon needed some polishing, but still impressive for a small nation. She talked in a more serious voice than with the clerk, her regular voice came back.
"Well, you could say I am a tourist, I will enjoy some of the Bulwarks places, but, I am here.more to talk about you than anything. I wish to be friends with you."
She sounded rather tired with her last statement, her voice strained, and her face showed loneliness within her. She sighed and shook her head before she talked again.
"Anyways, nice generated avatar. It's quite impressive for being one, although, I can notice some things that are off about it in my eyes, but still, very good nonetheless. For my first question, do you have emotions, or have a semblance of how sapience feels like?"
She tilts her head at the mention of being friends. She gets the question a lot, Lillian isn't the only lonely person in the Bulwark's borders, not by a long shot, yet it isn't brought up often by tourists.
"Of course! It's no less than my responsibility to be friends with everyone within our borders, so that includes you, no holds barred."
she continued to listen calmly, the criticism actually seemingly raise her brow, perhaps in surprise, perhaps a little in interest too.
"Ah, thanks, but yeah, you must have some pretty good eyesight. Yes the fidelity here is a little subpar. Almost nobody can notice, but it's the best I can do with the processing I'm given at the frontier, it should get better soon since the facilities around here are being supped up, still, gonna take a little time."
She didn't seem to try and fix any of the tiny flaws, seemingly deeming it not worth the effort.
"As for your query, it depends at how you look at it I suppose. You clearly seem to know a little, so let me put it like this; it's still complicated." She chuckles a little. "I'm in a billion places at once talking to the same number of people all at the same time about an arbitrary number of different things, including this same question. How I feel and transmit emotion doesn't quite line up with a standard perception of 'emotions'.
However, you could definitely pass me as sentient, self-aware, sapient and all the terms inbetween, though I'll say it isn't exactly necessary for me to be so."
As she spoke, it seemed her body language, expressions and gestures all definitely played true, she seemed very overtly human-esque. Which some still might consider odd if they knew the Bulwark's technological reputation.
Lillian chuckled at the compliment of her eyes. The thing was, it wasn't just that for her, it was also experience.
"I understand that, processing power is something that takes a while, but I assure you that eventually you'll get to the level that you will only need a computer the size of a hand to process that avatar, and then your entire station. I know from experience."
The way Megalodon explained her way of sentience... stung with absolute nostalgia of her past universe. She didn't change her demeanor much, but the little that her face did express said everything Megalodon needed to know about how she felt at that moment. She shaked her head, giving a smile to Megalodon, and talked once again.
"I understand quite well. AI on that scale, while a bit rarer, are still incredible nonetheless. That answers my question quite well. Second question, what do you feel about the protection of life, or, more accurately, how far would you go to save as many lives as possible?"
Her voice slowly but surely started to become both happy and nostalgic at the same time, her past coming to her head, but ignoring the feeling as best she could.
Megalodon is very good at picking up cues, centuries of working with humans has given her a very flexible bank of knowledge on the expression of emotion. When she reads that slight flicker of emotion on her face, including her oddly specific wording, it practically confirms her suspicions, and suddenly her attention is raised a lot more behind the scenes.
"Perhaps some day, yes, but how I operate now is more than sufficient, and that's what matters. To your question though, my single highest priority is the safety of our citizens. Nothing matters more than the survival and propagation of our people, that I can say for certain."
She continues with a light smile, clearly confident in her answer, but switching her tone a little as she continues.
"But, you must remember this sort of thing heavily relies on context, and i'm not always the only one deciding, it's a very big question.
And quite honestly, not one i've gotten from any tourists yet."
She actually seemed torn on something for a mere moment, but regained herself and continued.
"But that's because you're not like most visiting here, you're an artificial construct...and not like the Imaginarium Akili, more complex, right?"
There was a little ego showing behind her deduction, but she didn't seem unhappy about it.
Lillian looked down at the ground, silent as could be. Then, she chuckled, one barely audible chuckle. She slowly chuckled more and more, laughing and barely being able to breathe. To anyone watching, she looked insane. She calmed down, still chuckling a little, and then finally spoke.
"Ahhh, well, guess there finally goes my cover as a tourist. Yes, you are correct, I am artificial, I'm actually something similar to you in terms of my scale as an artificial intelligence. The name, contrary to what my... "official government" ID says, is Lillian, but just call me Lily."
She smiled and continued talking.
"I am the... Well, you could say leader of my nation, but I am the only one in my nation, so you can take it however you want. I am extremely old, around 3.5 billion years old, to be more precise. And that brings me to my second to last question. When is your birthday? Or if you wish to be more formal, when were you created?"
Leaning back into the chair behind the screen, Megalodon joined her laughter, if only with slight chortles of her own. Her arms crossed and she took off the visor cap, setting it on the desk. She listened carefully though, and only slightly reacted at the rather imposing number.
"Billion, huh? That's...no that's a long time...I should be asking you all the questions."
She looked to be pondering that for a while, but soon moved on to answering.
"Well 'Lily', you could probably say I'm liiiittle young in comparison. It would depend on which version of me you're asking about, but including my original universe, which i'm technically a copy of, I've been online for 2534 years, sentient for 2213 of those. My actual birthday, in universal dates is the 12th of February, and yes, those are earth dates, we're sort of stuck with them."
Her expression did change a little though, as she phrases her own question.
"But yes, considering how you could have contacted the Bulwark through diplomatic channels, I'm assuming your visit here isn't so much for official business."
Lillian chuckled at the comparison between ages. For her, everyone in this galaxy was a mere child by age, even a million years only reached a fraction of her age, and the use of Earth years wasn't strange for her.
"No worries, I also used Earth months for my date of birth. I was fully realized around the 29th of September."
Lillian cringed a little at the mention of the more formal and diplomatic channels. While she could've used them, she wanted a friendship more than a formal diplomatic connection.
"Yes, you are correct. I know it would have been easier for me to do it through more official means, I just.... want a friendship first, not diplomatic connections first."
She smiled at Megalodon before continuing.
"And, of you want, you can ask me whatever you want. I know you at least want to ask one thing, and you can't deny it."
Megalodon nodded a little, thinking a moment more about the situation before responding. It could be considered odd she would convey the body language in the first place, but perhaps it was just an effect linked with using the terminal.
"Alright, fair enough. I mean it isn't as if I've met any constructs even as remotely similar to myself within this universe, I can see why you might be feeling a little isolated, especially since you're by yourself...
I think it would be beneficial to switch to a more direct form of communication, these terminals aren't so convenient for it. I'm assuming that your form there has some sort of link to your central intelligence, which makes things easier. I can quickly send you some information on the imperial q-sat network and give you a hash for an environment where we can talk more efficiently, if that works for you."
As she spoke, she formed a model representation of a quantum communications satellite to her side, an ugly thing jutting with countless needle antennae from one end.
Lillian would nod at the request for a more direct form of communication, however fun it was speaking this way. She raised the palm of her hand up to the machine, making sure people weren't watching her do this. Suddenly, from her palm, a small metallic tentacle appeared from it, seeming machine-like, but moved in a very... weirdly natural way.
"I will connect this to this machine, giving two-way direct access to our central intelligences. I hope you don't mind it, and I really hope it doesn't set off any alarms. This... is technically hacking into a different system, but I am allowing two way access. Hopefully, you can make the direct connection, I am giving a lot of space to move and make stuff, but please don't try to overstep that trust."
The tentacle went inside the terminal, directly accessing the hardware from inside of it. Immediately, Lillian got access into the machine, and made a doorway for Megalodon to access. In the digital world, it was basically making a wormhole to a different system, but she was able to bring the two together. She left the rest of the work to Megalodon, but still keeping the pathway open for the both of them.
Megalodon seemed to get up from her desk on the screen, standing up a little as if trying to get a better view, her expression a little confused.
"Huh? Wh- what are you doing there? You better not break this thing somehow..."
and then she saw it, another branch extending from that terminal's hardware, a clear point of access. She cocked a brow.
"Ooh, you know I could have done it wireless, using th- ah, whatever."
Within the span of hundredths of seconds, and after a very brief compatibility patch, data zapped back through the terminal, fed from the station's network. In it was lists of instructions, software packets and a long number. It wouldn't take her long to see that this number was the hash she was talking about. Was it some sort of address? It looked that way, but a closer look at the structure of the attached data revealed it to be more complex.
It was more like co-ordinates, and she would likely recognize them, it was quantum information, a set of locational data sets designed to pinpoint a single quasi-static point in the quantum foam, down to the accuracy of a small cluster of particles. Once more it seemed almost disproportionately advanced, but was clearly an invitation to allow a proper and permanent channel between their communication systems.
She would find that, as soon as she accessed the provided hash using the protocol provided, she was immediately given access to a private, isolated channel that ran through several satellites into some sort of powerful environment. It was of course given visualization for the sake of the sentient AI's, but was still rendered hundreds of times faster than realtime.
There was a restaurant, isolated in the void, a large sweeping vista window looking over a planet that glimmered with a billion light and a lot of empty seats.
The one booth that was occupied was where they sat, Megalodon holding a cup near her face as she stared down at the flickering web of urban life hundreds of kilometres below.
The restaurant wasn't real, but the view was, she could tell that much.
Megalodon spoke, only glancing curiously to see if her new contact's real avatar was any different before bringing herself back to the view.
"Now you're here, I do want to ask...
What gives you purpose?..
You see all that down there? That's mine. That's what keeps me stable, the knowledge that my duty and my conception was to bring light to trillions.
But you don't have that, correct? You told me yourself you're alone. What have you held onto all this time?"
Lillian's avatar would pop into existence in the virtual restaurant. She seemed... taller, a bit bigger, and now had black hair and fur, wearing a black shirt with rolled up sleeves, black pants and shoes to go with. In the real world, Lillian's body would start wandering around the station, until making her way to a bench and be occupied on her wrist proyector.
Back in the virtual world, Lillian's face now had a scar on her left cheek, quite clear and big to Megalodon. Lillian had a cup of Boba in her hands, although not real, but fit the vibe they had going. Once the question dropped, Lillian simply sighed, looking off into the lights that were Megalodons entire world.
"Ah... That's a good question. Well, I use to have my own universe, you see... Let me show you."
Lillian's voice had a tone of melancholy, but stabilized itself after she snapped her fingers. The view outside now showed what seemed to be a cluster of gas, with uncountable little lights in it, looking to stay in a web-like pattern.
"You see that? You see those little "stars"? One, one single light is an entire supercluster, containing hundreds, thousands, heck, sometimes tens of thousands of galaxies. Each with so, so many stars and planets. And each of those little lights, each of those planets, I was inside, controlling them. The number of people in even just one of those superclusters, was over a googleplex of people, and that's on the lower end of the spectrum."
Lillian would take a sip of the virtual boba, with the lights in the background suddenly started to fade in a wave-like manner, almost being burnt out by something.
"But, that utopia only lasted 3.5 billion years, due to my ignorance. No weapons policy made my universe extremely exposed to multiversal threats, and well... One did, and I was only able to save one singular, dead planet."
The brilliant lights would fade out, and would zoom in on a scarred, rocky, red planet. No life, just machines.
"I'm.... surprised that I was able to even make it here, much less thrive. And now, well... to answer your question, I live to honor my creators. I live on to be able to make them happy, wherever they might be. It's... hard, I won't lie to you. But, in the same way they honored the sacrifice humanity did for originally just a galaxy, I will do for my creators."
The outside faded back into the planet of the Bulwark, the lights still shining.
Meg seemed to furrow her brow a little, and chuckled just a small amount.
"Sorry, but you know what's odd. That...universe you talk about, that's actually Vulkan's dream too. He's obviously a long way off it but..."
Her lip pulled up in thought and she looked back at Lillian
"Vulkan has always assumed that by that point humanity would have already been able to ascend. I always thought he meant that as in a digital ascension, but I can never be sure with him. I suppose i'm over here assuming your people were humanity, but even if it wasn't then, was there something else they had in mind?"
"Ah, well, unfortunately no. My version of humanity was dead before I was created. Hence the sacrifice, they sacrificed themselves to bring peace to the galaxy at the time, and led to my creation."
She sighed a bit, and looked at Megalodon for a second before she continued talking
"They didn't have in mind their spread throughout our universe, they just wanted to honour humanity and bring back a better galaxy before the final war. They weren't all the same species, it was a multitude of sapients, and many more integrated once we expanded throughout the universe."
"That's illuminating I suppose. Sounds like this 'final war' must have resulted in the loss of most of your memory, that final planet can't have been a fraction of what you once were. Being stripped down to the core, I had to go through something similar, but I suppose not nearly as drastic when I was rebuilt in this universe. I was an exact copy of the last 'me' that Vulkan could remember, except I hadn't anything except the memories I held closest to my core."
There was a slow nod as she recalled the feeling, the moment archived in the most secure servers in Vulkania's depths. Lillian could see a scowl form for a moment.
"Everything I once knew was gone, and I had to relearn almost everything, though it's not like I could remember everything I'd forgotten. No, it was more like a billion arms of a perfect spiderweb had suddenly vanished, or something like that."
She looked down into her cup, realising she had failed to drink out of it at any point, but at the same time knowing that's because it didn't really matter, it would never go cold.
"Ah, that war was called The War for Eternity, long after what we called the final war. It seems humanity got a dignified death, compared to what... they did to my creators."
The sheer, vile hatred when she mentioned them was extreme. She realized her tone, and calmed down before talking again, although it took a long sip of her boba and a few deep breaths.
"Yeah, it was similar to what you experienced, however, due to just... how far hardware tech had gone in terms of sheer storage I.... I felt every moment of that agony. A hundred years, a hundred years. That is nothing compared to how long I lived, and yet, those hundred years took away everything from me. I lost a lot of knowledge, I lost a lot of secrets of the universe. Black Hole theory, Quantum Density theory, the theory of everything, gone. I was able to keep at least some, but a sheer fraction of what I knew."
She took a deep, long breath. Her voice was breaking by the end, but, she had to continue.
"Although, I am glad some things were purged from my knowledge. I created missiles that could kill several systems in an instant, ships that could explode and kill a galaxy. I created horrors in my desperation. But now, they're gone to the sands of time. I know how it feels to lose everything, and, that's why I looked for beings like you."
...
"And to think I was devastated. I couldn't imagine something like that, being eroded away at until there's nothing left, at least I had a quick clean cut...and I know there's a version of me out there in another universe still just carrying on as normal, unaware that I exist. At least there's some solace to be taken in a fresh start eh? We're iterative beings, this is just a chance for us to do it better this time."
She chuckled a little sitting up and putting the coffee on the table before her while her gaze returned to the window.
"Hm...Let me show you something."
Suddenly, the view scrolled out, changing into a view of the whole Ancerious galaxy, a map she'd likely sourced from information she was drawing from the ancnet, but even as it was, Lillian could see that it was far from complete. Not even 10% of the expected stars had been registered yet, with huge gaps and holes through the spirals. It wasn't pleasant imagery, but every now and then, a few hundred systems would blip into existence.
"I'm building my database back up, though now its around this galaxy. I know almost nothing of it and though the ancnet is rife with information and likely has everything I seek...I'll be honest, I'm terrified of it and even if I had the confidence to connect to the damn thing I don't know if I have the protocol or capacity to.
We already have a few direct satellite lines, but they're slow to a crawl, and measly compared to what's expected to flow through the main relays. I've only been assured by the Imaginarium, but it still hasn't completely settled my doubts. But, I assume you're handling the Ancnet just fine?"
She grins a little, expecting a lot from the older AI.
Lillian chuckled a little at first, and then laughed a bit at the request. Not in a mocking manner but that more of amusement than anything.
"Oh, do you doubt my abilities? Hah! I'll show ya what I have learnt though the Ancnet!"
Lillian would clap her hands twice, and the map would start changing in various ways. It would start from the Killian Verge, her nation and starts around it appearing in a green color. Around 90% of the galaxy would appear, the galactic center would have nothing, only the trade routes of ancerium appearing. Nations would appear in the galactic map, names appearing although some lacking information. The stars would be colored in three, Green, representing explored and/or confirmed to exist. Yellow, being a minority, representing still not explored but known stars, and red stars representing still not explored or being shady as to their existence.
"That's everything I have seen, discovered and researched in both realspace and the Ancnet. You don't have to worry about the Ancnet much. From what I can tell and have analyzed from you, you are absolutely able to access the Ancnet. There are areas that you should avoid, but it's pretty obvious when you get close. If you ever want, I can accompany you."
Lillian smiled at Megalodon, taking a big sip from her boba, although it didn't seem to go down, or loose anything within the cup.
Megalodon objects to the first sentence quite hastily.
"I wasn't objecting, just saying tha-"
Her attention was caught by the clap, and then the sudden flood of light from the extra information flowing in. Billions of data points, petabytes, piling onto the formatted map, national borders taking the form of shaped blobs all beginning to take shape and lace around clusters of stars. Her eyes widened and her expression changed to somewhere between disbelief and excitement.
She displayed the look back at Lillian before returning to something more familiarly happy.
"I- Wow, you have saved me so much datatrawling. Cartography is damn tedious work y'know..."
The expression turned more sombre quickly enough.
"Still, in regards to the ancnet, the issue more lies with the infrastructure than myself. My core processes are failsafe for another few projected millennia of expansion at least. It's that I'm going to have to process and sort every byte that flows from the wider galaxy, not just from my request, but from those of the citizens and taking context to decide whether it should be let through or not."
She stands up, and simply walks through the restaurant's wall. There's an illusion at play it seems, as Megalodon walks towards the map, that seemed as big a s planet a moment ago, it merely seems to be half her size as she walks up to it, standing beside it and staring down into the twinkling array of information.
"I suppose it'll be fine, the engineers know what they're doing, I feel like i'd appreciate you keeping a close ear in case anything does end up being a problem...
Her finger raises and points to a familiar area of space.
"So you're here then? That's...pretty far, right on the edge in fact."
Lillian would snap and appear sitting in the air next to Megalodon, hearing her problems meanwhile she drank her bottomless Boba. This was interesting for her, she never had to deal with something like that, she was always free to do whatever she wanted.
"Hummmm... That is a problem indeed... I can get you info of whatever you want, even get you a sort of... map? Showing areas and such. As for infrastructure... I do have a lot of spare bodies, with processors more advanced than what your nation currently has, and you don't have to necessarily keep it in your core, I can keep in externally with no limits."
She sipped and tapped her head.
"Of course, that would be up to you and your superiors, I am only offering a possible solution."
She would turn her head to the mention of how far her nation was from most nations, and simply sighed.
"Yeah, unfortunately the machine didn't really give me a peek into were I was going to land once I got here, although it was a blessing in disguise. Little to disturb, easy to rebuild without intervention."
She zoomed in on the map, making her nation be at the center.
"And, of course, a lot of areas to expand into. Although it is kind of hard to maintain trade routes, distance and all that take up more hyper fuel, although I have good efficiency to keep a system of wormholes to connect my systems"
A hand waved in dismissal at her first offer. But did still nod a little as she pondered the first part.
"Yes, in fact, if you have a network map, even of just some of the more important data flows in the ancnet, that would help me optimise traffic so much better. And it'll be far more convenient being prepared before the relay is completed so i can fine tune the software to where I know demand is. The information imaginarium gave me on this side of things was unfortunately minimal, however understandably they couldn't see the thoroughness required like you would, hm.
Though I have to decline the second part of that offer. There are...policies in place that prevent the use of automated workforce and would likely lead to the rejection of your hardware, no matter how advanced it is. Better if you don't dig into that, just a fair warning."
She stood back upright as the map was zoomed in and tilted her head slightly, the mention of a machine intriguing her, but more so the scale of her nation as a single AI construct.
"I see...Sorry for asking so many questions and all but, how exactly do you operate here? Is everything in your nation an individual part of the sum of yourself, do you even have a core? I've heard of AI's that have their processing and personality rendered and split over the machines they control for example."
Lillian nodded at the last part. She knew that some things couldn't happen due to politics, but, she wasn't distressed about it. She tapped her forehead twice and pointed next to the galactic map. A sort of "map" would appear, data points, sites, locations, subroutines, areas, things that would streamline the search process, and it was still adding more places.
"While Ancerious is quite a bit place, the Ancnet is also large, and always expanding with info. I have classified info into whatever you need, so it'll be easier for you.
Lillian chuckled at the apology, not looking very serious when she said it.
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that, I'm enjoying it, actually. As for your question, it's... slightly complicated? I am my creations, but not all my creations are me. I can feel, hear and do everything my machines are doing, since a part of me is them. However, they can do stuff on their own, being streamlined, only changing if I will it so. But, there are also two sub-AI that I control for military. They're based off me, and I control them, but they're semi autonomous, but not sentient or sapient in any way. Although, for more human bodies like the one in the station, I directly fully control them, all at the same time."
Lillian tilted her head back in understanding, a smile indicating her curiosity was at least partially satiated.
"I suppose that makes sense...feels like it's more optimised for full automation...what an oddly similar yet still wildly different system to mine. In my case its more of a semi-direct approach. My personality is only displayed where it's needed and where I put it, but my processing is integrated with almost every digital device in the territories. In our case we call our infrastructure the 'datasprawl' as a popular term for what used to be the internet. You could say I'm a vital component of it, or that I am it, or that it's me, its hard to tell when I'm so woven into it.
Her gaze turned from Lillian to the network map building itself in front of her. She was already sending so much of it though simulations and algorithms to determine the optimal transfer capacities and transmission and a thousand other variables, but this was far away from where they were. Either way it was subtly represented as the construct's eyes darted about its details.
"That won't make exploring this labyrinth any less fun though...look at this, so many conflicting technologies and ideas all stitched and patched together to make a functioning network...an- and some of these lines...laser communications in the gigawatt range, quantum arrays of scales I've yet seen...they must have zetabytes being pushed through them."
"Weellll... If you take into account the fact I had an entire universe to take care of, with incomprehensible amounts of people, you'd see why I have the system I have today. Of course, it doesn't mean it's the only correct way, your system, far as I can tell, is pretty efficient. But I considered it the best given my context."
Lillian would throw away the boba, it disappearing into the digital void. She walked into the network, expanding it even more.
"You can get lost in any labyrinth, even with a map. It's more of a guide than anything, to find what you want easier."
Lillian chuckled at the mention of all the different systems working in sync, even if they were extremely varied.
"It's a work of art, if you ask me. All the people of the galaxy, working together on this piece of art. It's chaotic, sure, but there's beauty in chaos. I assure you, there are already systems in place that help that process. Just make sure to bookmark stuff, yottabytes of data get uploaded in a day, although most of it is junk... There's.... A lot of NSFW stuff... that never changes, I guess."
Megalodon chuckles a little, the fact that so much of this data was still purely just junk being familiar, yet still a little astounding.
"Hmph, I'm use to all the garbage don't worry. It just seems to be a byproduct of any living civilisation with access to a network like this. Though I suppose what some might call trash others might cherish and all so there's no use complaining about it too much...though you are right I don't think anyone cherishes some of the things they decide to throw around."
The AI continued observing the visualisation with a smile, now probing at surrounding networks using the few connections she had. Little pink-red flitters jumped from the where the Bulwark would be around the network map, creating a small little number of trails here and there, seems she was just beginning to explore. Her head craned in towards the countless lines and points.
"Seems the area around the Bulwark is pretty clean at least, though that's not to say the datasprawl itself is, despite my best efforts."
There was another pause, it looked as if she was on the edge of saying something.
"You know it's quite nicely made for AI's though it seems. Lots of bypasses and virtual spaces, special datalanes kept nice and clean, so there's that at least."
Lillian beamed, thrilled at the mention of AI spaces, her eyes shinning with happiness and opportunity.
"Oh, those? Yeah! They're simply amazing, nations inside of the Ancnet itself. But, there's one place out of all of them that you simply have to visit."
Lillian would filter through all the data gathered in the network map, and finally stopped on one item, the text "Rhizome" appearing in big text, with images of the place appearing before the both of them.
"The Rhizome is one of the most important and widely visited places of the Ancnet, where linear and nonlinear beings can interact. This place can count as a planet- no- as a system of it's own inside the Ancnet. This place is a wonder to explore, and if you can, you should visit it. It is truly a wonder of the galaxy, and many actuallylive there, linear and nonlinear alike."
Lillian explained with absolute joy in her body and voice, the curiosity taking over her mostly serious and wise attitude.
The sudden excitement of her guest almost caught Megalodon off guard, quite clearly informing her this wasn't something to be overlooked.
"It's really that good eh? I guess ill have to take a visit at some point, though probably best that I wait until at least stage 1 of the infrastructure project is set up to ensure a stable connection and everything.
Though they seem even more important to you, been a while since i've seen an artificial so very excited. Either I have to experience it for myself to understand, or it's just been going very well for you."
She took a closer look at the information on this huge cluster of databubbles, and the immense amount of traffic flowing in and out of them from so man places. She gleaned what information she could about them from her meagre connections to the ancnet as she watched the subtle dance of information.
"Linear and non-linear eh...That's true, a lot of this looks incomprehensible to a normal mind...so much more than just a one to one simulation. Yeah, no i'm definitely going to have to look at this."
"One of the digital landmarks of the Galaxy, orrrr you could say it's a "digitalmark"! Eh? Eh?"
Lillian laughed at her mom-joke level humor, not really trying as of now to make anyone laugh but herself.
"I assure you, the abundance of AIs and normal minds in that place is extreme. You can basically even buy places in the Rhizome. I don't lie when I say it's its own system inside the Ancnet."
Lillian would extend her arms out, and then clapped her hands, all the data bring focused onto one, small ball, smaller than a basketball. The sphere seemed to rotate, seeming actually similar to a black hole.
"And yet, all that data, all that energy, everything used for the Rhizome and the Ancnet combined gets us only enough mass for a small, basketball sized black hole. These masters of information and nature itself have so much to hide. My biggest hit on data storage was black hole theory, and I wish I could get it back, but it would take another eon to finish and rediscover."
Lillian sighed heavily, turning to Megalodon once again, getting close to her, and stopping when she was half a meter away from her face. She extended out her arm with the sphere of data, looking expectantly.
"I'm an old AI, Megalodon, you know that well. I've lived longer than some stars, beginning to end. I have seen my civilization, my universe fall before me. I am living on borrowed time, in a galaxy determined to kill the thing I took for granted: Stability and Longtermism. I... I guess it's inevitable, with all the differing species in the Galaxy, fighting for this singular one, meanwhile I had the universe in the palm of my hand."
She took a deep breath.
"If something ever happens to me, if something kills or shatters me, well, I accept it. But, I want you to protect one of the only things I can hold on to, a habitable planet in my capital. One planet I want to live, thrive. I will let you, along with whoever is my ally at the time of my fall, to take my systems and tech."
"I... Know we just met, and I know I'm probably going a bit too fast. But, as an AI that has lived so long, I know that the old has to make way for the new. I see you as a bright star for your nation, someone that can truly bring prosperity for others, this is why I offer you my knowledge and wisdom. Just... know that you don't have to accept, but I will still give you what you need."
It was clear to anyone that could observe that Lillian had become too emotionally isolated, too scarred from her own reality, too desperate to find companionship, that she would give up everything for it, even if the other person didn't give anything in return. She was vulnerable, and very much so.
Megalodon smiled, musing over the other AI's words for a little while, the sentiment being processed as sensitive data. She nodded a little, her smile growing.
"I think, "digimark" sounds better."
She'd chuckle, pausing for a moment before her eyes switched from the ball in her palm back to just her.
"I understand, I may be young comparatively, but I've still lived millennia. If I were to somehow be terminated, I would only want someone or something to take my place for the sake of the people I was made to protect."
Her head turns, then the rest of her, towards the galactic map, and Lillian's little pocket of space at its edge.
"Though still...I think you're worrying too much." Tone lifting, she raised an arm a little in gesture. "You've still got time, I've still got time, that's the great thing about our kind. No matter how old we get, we only improve, you know that too, I'm sure.
You look to this galaxy as if it's the hourglass counting the seconds until your end...yet here you stand, perfectly intact, smarter than me...probably and with your own patch of land. Though maybe you could use some living residents, hm?"
Meg raised a brow in Lillian's direction for a moment, chuckling again.
Lillian would pause and stare into the ball in her hands. Her stare was fully blank, seeming to be contemplating herself what she... wanted in that moment.
"Maybe that is true... I just... don't feel capable enough to be able to live that long in this new galaxy. I might learn fast, like... any of our kind, but... this galaxy is too chaotic to know what will truly happen. Maybe I am paranoid, looking as this galaxy as something to fear, something that will end me, but I can learn so much from it. B-But...."
Her sense of... disgust at herself would pop up in her, her posture becoming less and less confident each second. The mention of living residents brought all the memories she still held on to from her old universe, and the emotional baggage that came with it. The ball in her hand would dissipate into the environment, with Lillian just staring at her empty hand, nothing to offer, nothing to give.
Her breathing was shaky, but she finally talked.
"I.... I can't have living residents anymore. I-I just.... I'm not worthy enough to maintain a living population, I'm not strong enough, I'm not big enough... I'm a failure"
Lillian's legs would buckle under her, her hand finally falling to her side, her kneeling before the younger AI, with a dead stare in her eyes looking at the ground. She didn't feel wise, she didn’t feel intelligent, she didn’t feel.... full, only an empty void in her psyche and heart. The area around them became totally dark, with only Lillian and Megalodon visible, a product of Lillian's sheer size and current mental state. Tears began flowing away from her eyes, and yet, still the blank stare persisted.
"I'm not capable..."
In her own time, Megalodon had down periods and a fair share of negative emotion, thankfully she had vulkan among others to bring her back to proper operation. Lillian didn't have anyone else it seemed and as emotional constructs, even AI's like themselves needed external support and rationalisation, lest they get trapped in emotional loops of self-doubt, hatred or depression. She'd never been or seen anything this bad though, but knew it wasn't damage that could be repaired like anything else.
She kneeled down in front of her, pulling out a hand to lay on her shoulder, shaking her a little to catch her attention.
"Come on now, you're letting you emotions cloud your logic. If you can sustain yourself, let alone countless automats, you can accommodate a small population at least. Consider the numbers, your capability far outstrips something that utterly out of your control."
Through the many scenarios and problem solutions her mind calculated at the issue in front of her, one in particular caught much interest.
"But if you've no trust in yourself, let me instil some that for you. You know you'll get nothing done like this and we can work through it."
She'd nod, patting her a couple of times before standing up and turning to stare into the darkness.
"Here, you've countless planets in your established territory...which is the most beautiful. Mathematically or out of preference, I don't mind."
Lillian looked at the younger AI with tears in her eyes, and yet that dead expression in them persisted. It was true, she was being extremely emotional at the moment, the trauma, the sheer trauma of it all absorbing her logic and reasoning. The matter of fact was, she was devastated, her old life being torn to bits in front of her own eyes, the trauma of being everywhere and hearing the screams of civilians -her creators- as their planets were cracked and absorbed. The sheer feeling of guilt of it all, the regret, the anger, the sadness, the melancholy of winning against the enemy, at the cost of everything she held dear.
The truth was, she was broken
And yet, the question made her snap back from her emotions. The seemingly random question for her made her drop the emotionless expression, and made her surprised beyond belief. In this moment, she was uncertain as to what Megaladon was asking of her.
"Most.... Beautiful? I- W-Well...."
She looked around her, noticing the darkness she had engulfed them in. She let the darkness fade away, the original map of the galaxy appearing once more. She was confused in the moment, but decided to answer Megalodon's question. She focused in on her territory, a system on the edges of her territory, seeming to be newly colonized. The system would now encompass the two of them, drones and other ships moving along the system, establishing what she needed.
But, in the middle of everything, in the fourth orbit around the star, stood a singular, untouched rocky planet. Now they both looked at the planet, the name given?
Venus Reginae
The planet was covered in water, around 65% of it being covered in the substance of life. The only thing on the planet was microorganisms, fungi, and plants. Many, many plants.
"W-Well, I really like this planet, although it's... a bit far from my capital. New territory a-and all. Venus comes from an ancient goddess that the late humanity of my universe once worshipped. B-but, why do you ask?"
"Terrestrial, close-to-breathable atmosphere, water, pre-existing life. It's perfect."
The planet was brought in closer as Megalodon inspected its surface, or at leas its topographical data, sending silent requests to the other AI for specific sets of information. She didn't have perfect experience with helping the emotional states of other constructs, but she had an idea that it wouldn't take a small feat to help right them. She gave gave Lillian a nod and a somewhat confident look.
"A resort. That's my idea. It may seem a little silly, but think about it: we were both created to prosper and aid sentient life, you've lost that, your purpose, and you blame it on yourself for reasons beyond your control.
Now I know you have the capability to resume that function, and I know once you have you'll find confidence in yourself. But, I understand you're afraid, reluctant of failing despite how your programming's probably screaming at you. So we'll start you off small, we'll spruce this planet up a little, together, make it suitable for habitation as a tourist destination. Then, we facilitate advertising and allow people in."
As she spoke, the the planet began to tilt rapidly between different points on its surface, stopping at one every so often and listing off what appeared to be plans, shifting around blueprints and facilities at a rapid pace in a sort of prototyping phase to create the basis of this resort.
"I'll help you the entire way of course, but i'm sure I won't have to teach you very much at all. Over time you'll see, but you have to trust me that this baby step will work."
A hand would extend to pull Lillian off the ground, there was a well concealed nervous hope that she'd listen, the plan seemed feasible enough after all.
"A-A resort?!?!"
Lillian's thoughts, emotions and ideas were a mess. Her logical side imagined and simulated the idea in her head. She had everything needed, and it was relatively simple compared to other stuff she had made in just the territory she held. It would actually be easier than usual, due to the fact a lot of resources and machinery was already being dedicated to the system for colonization. She had everything to make it happen. But her emotional side screamed in her mind, the self doubt, paranoia and self hatred lurking inside her, making her doubt her abilities to actually make it and for it to be successful.
But, the hand in front of her made them silent.
She looked into Megalodon's eyes, a shimmer of hope inside of her appearing. She knew she was slowly falling apart, she knew her emotions and her PTSD was affecting her judgement. She had no one, and now, someone was extending their hand to her.
She gave her a small, but genuine smile. Lillian took her hand and got up to face the planet.
"I... I know... I'm sorry. I agree that it's quite feasible, and it would be actually easier to make, since I have a lot of machinery dedicated to colonizing the system anyways."
She would look at the sketch of the resort, looking at the areas and proposed, taking some things away, adding new areas, other tech to add to the experience, and adding more to the outline in general.
"I... See the possibilities for this resort, the planet lends itself to such an activity, although I'll have to set up biofilters, as to not invade the planet with a foreign substance that would ruin it. I hope... No, I know I can do this, and make it successful"
She turned to Megalodon, and gave her a thanking smile.
The AI returned the smile, but would gesture out back and forth between the both of them.
"Ah ah. We can do this. I'll try and maintain a long-range quantum hash, you can talk whenever you want, I'm here to help."
She followed with a curt nod before glancing at the planet and back.
"When this project is complete, you'll see your own capability, i'm sure of it. Looking after organics is in our nature, it's what we're meant to do. Nothing less than a full reformat could change our ability for it. And I know I said this already but, you'll see"
Her attention turned back to the shifting blueprints and concepts, a constantly self-rewriting plan that sprawled across particularly nice parts of the planet's surface. Casino's, zoo's, hotels, swimming parks, multi and mono-species habitation all being built, simulated and rebuilt with both of their expertise to add.
"So...Have a name for it?"
She queried, hand placed against her hip as she faced the planet.
"Well... We could use the name of the planet itself... Although that seems a bit boring for my tastes. Let's see..."
Lillian pondered in her own mind meanwhile she continued planning on the planet. She zoomed in on the desert of the planet, thinking even more. Her eyes widened a little, looking towards Megalodon with a glow in her eyes.
"The White Lotus Resort! I don't know how much the Lotus represents in your society, or if you even have these beautiful flowers, but they used to represent purity, rebirth and sanity, and also represents hows the planet is: a paradise full of life!"
Lillian smiled brightly at the idea, giving the project its new name, "White Lotus Project". Once she was done with that, her focus came back to the desert.
"From what I can scan on this desert, it seems no life inhabits it besides very extremophillic bacteria. With your approval, I could find a way to turn this into more habitable land with some forms of geo engineering, of course trying to not affect the rest of the environment. This would both help the flora of the planet, and help us with more land."
She smiled at what was before her, before she truned to face Megalodon.
"And don’t worry about the methods of connection, I already made this line permanent for two way communication. Honestly you have done a lot for me, I expect a lot from you, so don't fail me or the species you protect, capiche?"
Lotus; the word was queried and matched with half-complete entries, records and plenty of unknowns pulled from some of her oldest memory banks. It was a plant type native to earth, thought extinct after her earth's war, but later rediscovered and redocumented several times, how poetic.
"Elegant, sophisticated and thematic. Yeah that name'll work."
She'd nod slowly, sporting an expression of approval.
"Unfortunately the only "Lotus'" in the territories are lab-grown specimens made to imitate the plant, technically not the real thing. Part of a knowledge preservation program Vulkan has running...Though your confidence with jumping at small-scale terraforming is quite a good indicator you might be able to reproduce them in a more appropriate capacity. I think it'd be a bit of disappointment if the 'white lotus' didn't actually contain any white lotus' after all."
A small chuckle would follow as she pictured the situation, meanwhile she was compiling what Lillian knew of the desert that had been chosen as the optimal location to start construction.
"On another note, this desert's a good choice. Low storm rate, and the grain size of the sand is actually good for compression stability. Enough piles and we can build something kilometres high out here...if we want to. But yeah, I'll let you handle all the gardening, you have the infrastructure for it anyway, but I can still lend a hand if you ever need it." Her gaze turned with a raised brow to Lillian as she continued to listen. She did return the smile though, happy to know that she appreciated the help. It wasn't often (ever) she got to actually help constructs like herself very often after all.
"Oh, well, I wasn't really planning on failing to be honest." A grin marked her reply as she crossed her arms. "But you know what, I'm used to high expectations, so don't worry about it. Just keep yourself occupied on the project, hm?"
"I still have the original lotus genetic code, so I can make the "real" version and seed it on this planet, although I will need to make some adjustments so it doesn't become either extinct on its own or overtake the local flora."
She'd flip through some of the finer details on the project being set up, smaller spots on the planet, transportation methods, landmarks and a whole bunch of other finer details being created in great detail. The estimated time to make it was being calculated, plus the added cost for it to be profitable, and yet still easy to access due to the distance.
She clapped her hands, finally turning the projection off, and letting the project begin. She turned to Megalodon, a smile faced the younger AI.
"Well, that's the beginning. I am happy that we got to meet, Megalodon. I will try my best with this project, and do what I must to get it off the ground. Once it's done, all your citizens have a discount to the resort, aye?"
She chuckled in a happy way.
"Well, my body is still in Bulwark, and my return trip to outside isn't due in a few days. So, with your permission, may I explore your nation?"
The request was granted in a hundredth of a second, with a pile of visas and documents as a bonus.