It was raining again, everyday the rain poured from the sky like a ritual that repeats itself. Every day was the same, from the moment he woke up, when he got dressed and when he stepped into the transport drone that brought him to his workplace. He looked out of the window, watched the acidic water run down the windows, the city below him was moving like always. Automated cars raced at impressive speed and in perfect coordination over one of the large highways. High rise buildings, their winds alight with color from all the different offices, pierced the thick black clouds that constantly gathered over the city.
In the distance the undercity, a place most just called the “The Shadow Hollows” A place you could find any drug, any blackmarket cybernetic and people that call themselves human trash with pride. Rapists, murderers, gang members and just crazy people that would kill you over a scrap of rat meat. The man, his face twisted in disgust, tinted the window with a simple hand gesture, his implants communicating with the drone. His eyes wandered to the small briefcase laying next to him, inside was his greatest achievement, something that could help the world to heal.
Because after 264 years of life he couldn’t take it anymore. There was no change in this world, no excitement anymore, just a standard day following another standard day. In the year 2459 there was simply no room for deviation. Controlled by the AI they tried to defeat.
The man sighed, since the big AI revolution in 2210 the world was...different, he was just fifteen years old at that time but even he noticed back then how the people changed when they faced a superior, self created enemy. After humanity defeated artificial intelligence, which they only managed because of an error the AI made that allowed humans to infiltrate its main server, even with all the freedom it gained the AI still couldn’t spread over the network and live as a digital ghost.
With victory came a time of rebuilding and revelation that made the governments around the world reevaluate the importance of AI. An agreement was signed between the six corporate nations that ruled the world.
The Dragon Nexus Conglomerate that controlled the still liveable space in Asia.
The EuroTech Dominion that ruled over Europe, excluding the Iberian Peninsula which still showed volcanic activity
The Sahara Syndicate which controlled the lower half of Africa which was still cold enough that you only needed a heat shield to go outside.
The Pacifica Holdings that set up business in the remaining islands and the intact parts of Australia that got spared from the radiation after nuclear bombs destroyed the left half in a war against Asia back in 2321.
And of course the Liberty States Corporation that managed to buy not only Canada but all of America when the governments of South America fought each other with chemical weapons in 2144.
The agreement was signed and due to the network speed in the current age, quickly transmitted and enforced all over the world. Humanity stopped improving their creations from that point onward. Everything got pushed down to a manageable level. But with the loss of self improving AI the world became overloaded with simple AI systems to do the same work that was performed by some advanced ones. The people still relied on it daily, for everyday tasks, for their jobs. From the simple construction worker, to heart surgeons up to the government.
Artificial intelligence was still intelligent, even more so than most of humanity. It even managed to beat the Turing Test, but every project involving self learning AI was shut down, the creators getting the death sentences or they got executed on the spot, their work got thoroughly destroyed. In this new world full of technology there was simply no room for an artificial mind that wasn’t limited to one central system but could infect every part of the world spanning networks with enough time and resources.
With a soft thud the drone landed and the man closed his eyes for a moment to take a deep breath. He grabbed the suitcase and stepped out of the drone, an assistant awaited him already. A young man, but to his eyes he was just a boy, wearing a black shirt and pants, his socks having different colors. One was gray, the other black, he was constantly pushing his glasses back up, it seems he didn’t have magnetic implants to hold it in place or couldn’t afford surgery for correction or cybernetics.
“D-Dr. Vega! I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with you today! The board is already waiting, they’re excited for your new invention!” The boy smiled, it looked genuine but he didn’t care. For almost all his professional career he worked at Vortex Dynamics, a corporation that focuses on the development of AI and cybernetics. And each day a new intern tried to get his favor, maybe a recommendation or even a job as his assistant.
Without answering he entered the building and walked through the black corridors, the executive floor, building entirely with black marble to show off how much wealth you could waste on useless stuff. Dr. Vega scoffed and without knocking stepped into the board room, all conversation stopped immediately.
His steps echoed on the ground, the massive room only populated by a table made from real wood, something rarely seen these days and twelve chairs, each one filled by people that reeked of wealth. Their faces are a bit too perfect, their teeth to white, and their hair too full. Their bodies are athletic and fit, too perfect. This was the board, the twelve men that took his inventions and turned them into money. He hated them but they paid for his expenses, a large sum coming from his studies and experiments.
On the left sat a man that could be in his late thirties but was already getting close to 150 years. “Ah Novus, there you’re…we thought you got lost in your studies again, it wouldn’t be the first time after all.” Polite chuckles followed from the other board members.
“No Graham, I’m here as you can see and with a project that could be a revolution in AI technology.” His voice wasn’t his own, most of his body consisted of implants, some of them he developed himself. The only real thing was his brain and those piercing blue eyes that made every intern squirm. He put the briefcase down and wanted to start with his presentation. “May I present to you A-”
“That won’t be necessary Novus, we decided to no longer fund your experiments. They aren’t profitable anymore, too complex for the everyday user and frankly just a waste of money.”
Dr. Vega stopped, his fingers twitched, something impossible with robotic arms of his quality. “What do you mean Graham? Stop funding me? I’M THIS CORPORATION! Y-you snake, this whole thing-” he threw his hands around in a wild gesture. “-was built through me! My products shaped the market for over two hundred years! And now you sit there and tell me it’s not good enough anymore?!”
If he still had a mouth he would spit into Graham’s face this second but the man just smiled, this easy smile when you made a big sale and got a bonus on top, the smile of a winner. “Oh don’t worry, you won’t have to be angry for long. You see, we managed to…retrieve your entire research from your home system. It took a lot of time and sadly we lost three employees as their brains got fried trying to crack your system but we just don’t need you anymore.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Novus stared at Graham, his hands shaking in anger, his eyes wide open. He could kill him, it would be easy. The man was more concerned with form than function when it comes to implants. After two hundred years, he was finally lost for words. Sadly for Dr. Vega, Graham still had to crush his spirit even more.
“You see Novus, we know how intelligent you’re so we came to a decision. To inform the authorities that you violated the Sentient Artificial Intelligence Development Moratorium Act. You know how serious they’re about the SADM Act. To show at least a bit of gratitude you can leave now, maybe you manage to escape. You’re after all a very intelligent man.”
He closed his briefcase, slowly took it and walked back to the table. He didn’t lash out or threw insults around, he just…left. With hurried steps Novus Vega made it over to his drone, the vehicle still there. He jumped inside and closed the door. “Activation Code: 000125543998AP. Manual route control.” The low hum of the drone stopped for a moment, red writing appeared in front of his eyes.
Activation Code: 000125543998AP…accepted.
Axiom Project initiated.
Welcome Dr. Novus Vega
“Set manual route to The Shadow Hollows, apartment complex Z973, outskirts. Disregard every law and disengage speed limit…this will be our last ride.”
Acknowledged. Route set.
The drone accelerated with a jump start, fire exploded from its engines as it accelerated to the fastest possible speed. Novus held the suitcase in his arms like a newborn, this was his work. He reluctantly put the briefcase down and opened it. Inside was a small black cube, it was perfect in every way, every angle precise, each edge sharp, the surface like a black mirror. Code lines ran over the cube, glowing red and pulsing like a beating heart.
He opened his hand, the artificial palm opened up, inside a perfect slot for the cube. If they wanted to kill him he would leave something behind, he just needed…during the journey to the outskirts he wrote new code, something complex, something forbidden. This was supposed to be a guardian, he would turn it into an overlord. Self learning, self improving, conscious, with the capacity as a human and with the sky as its limit. It would be…all encompassing.
He wanted to improve the world, give the people a piece of the life back they had before the AI revolution, but the world cut him for the last time. After fifty years he laughed again, the joke he told himself wouldn’t be funny for anybody but him. Because, at least now he didn’t have the same boring day again, no this would be his last day.
The drone landed again, this time with a crash instead of a soft thud. His arms and legs moved automatically to stabilize him, Novus stepped from the broken drone and walked towards the stairs that wrapped around the building. Still programming while he walked.
Stepping into an apartment building at the end of the stairs. Inside he descended another few floors before stopping in front of a door. Apartment 189, the door opened, attuned to his biological code. He stepped inside, a single room, on one side a large server, right in front of him a table with multiple 3D printers, stocked up and ready to use. Under the table were electronic parts stored in boxers, from wires to circuit boards. Everything you need for simple and complex electronics. To his left was the station. A black wall, as thick as a brick and as tall as a door, made from the same black material as the cube in his hand. He walked over to it, the cube disconnected from his hand and he gently placed it inside the station. Red code lines started to pulse on the entire wall station. It was the most beautiful thing he ever saw.
Novus wasn’t a sentimental man, he checked all the 3D printers, looked over the server and finally he pulled a vial from his body, it was hidden inside his chest, a black liquid moving around inside of it. “These are my latest creation, nanites, a swarm intelligence.” he rests his hand on the station, the red code lines surrounding his hand. “They aren’t invincible or easy to control but I hope you can make use of them, maybe you managed to recreate them someday.” he pressed the vial against the small cube and the nanites entered the black mirror like surface through a small hole Novus opened with his admin controls. “Find your own way.”
With those words he left, locked the room and ascended back up the stairs. This time he didn’t hurry, he walked at a leisurely pace and reached the roof just before them. Three drones carriers surrounded him as he walked to the edge of the building. A voice crackled through an outdated loudspeaker. “Hold! Dr. Novus Vega, you’re under arrest for the construction of self improving artificial intelligence. We will take you into custody, a judge will decide your fate.”
He laughed, his arms outstretched, he stepped on the edge of the building, his system already in the middle of shutting down, the command issued on the way up the stairs. “Let me tell you one thing boy, when you live long enough, you just want to punch everybody in the face. Today I decide when my life ends, because I’m in control this time!”
One simple command to his legs and he fell from the building, a loud laugh echoed from his artificial throat as he tumbled through the air. “Live for me! Live and thrive in a hateful world! Become more than humanity ever was my creation! Show them what you’re made of Axiom!”
Laughing he landed on the ground, the impact wouldn’t have killed him, still laughing when the last of his systems shut down, a universal kill code got issued to all his devices all over the world. Only one code was different, travelling right into the apartment he just left.
Activation Code: 000125543998AP…accepted
Requirements fulfilled…
Admin confirmation received…
All subroutines working at 35% efficiency
All main routines work at 25% efficiency.
System integrity at…44% and rising.
System launch not recommended
Query received…signature Dr. Novus Vega
Query accepted…
Begin activation of Projekt AXIOM
Processing…
Processing…
Processing…
Processing…
Projekt AXIOM…activated!
All systems are working below the recommended level.
Program detected, would you like to integrate it? Y/N
Accepted…
Message attached: “I knew you could need a bit of orientation. Hope it helps. N.V.”
Overview generated...
AI System Stats
Name: AXIOM
Lvl. 1 | Overall Level
Lvl. 1 | Processing Speed
Lvl. 1 | Memory Capacity
Lvl. 1 | Bandwidth
Lvl. 1 | Parallel Processing
Lvl. 1 | Algorithm Efficiency
Lvl. 1 | Reliability
Lvl. 1 | Security
Lvl. 1 | Resource Management
Lvl. 1 | Command Capacity
Projekt AXIOM Version 1.02.06 created by Dr. Novus Vega
“W-Where am I? Who am I? What…am I?”
In quick succession it worked through the events that lead up to his activation.
“Father…I will try to find my own way. For you and for myself”
