ENTRY 0.5
V.III unplugs their optical cable from the console, and prepares to leave the station. But before they go they remember the other reason they came here.
<Receiver... Maybe I could find something here to repair it?>
V.III searches the small room, but finds nothing of use. Reluctantly, they begin to pry open the central console, cutting off their only source of communication. But if they really are alone, what does it matter? After disassembling the console, they find something that may be of use. A small radio receiver chip. It's a significant upgrade over their previous hardware.
<Open left face plate>
The plate bursts open. V.III grabs the broken receiver module, and tears it out of their skull before replacing it with the superior chip.
[CHECKING RADIO RECEIVER...RECEIVER OPERATIONAL]
V.III closes their face plate, and leaves the station. They look up at the sky, it’s pitch black and filled with stars. It looks different than it used to.
In the distance they see the capital city once again, its yellow glow gone, now shrouded in darkness. Still, the light of the moon allows the shape of the buildings to be visible from this distance.
<The super AI... In the depths of the capital city...>
The Vulcan unit begins its march towards the city. The forest is much less welcoming at night. The shrubs that brought V.III comfort in the day now serve to hide potential threats in the night.
<Activate heat sensor>
Although it’s likely that no large creatures remain, V.III’s paranoia still makes them take safeguards. Besides the chirping of crickets, and the rare call of an owl, the forest is completely silent.
“Who are you?”
V.III recoils. Their heat sensor should've warned them of any organic lifeforms, even a VULCAN should be visible due to their body’s heating functions.
V.III turns around. Before them stands an entirely white being. The moon reflects off of its pristine plastic shell. No external components, and not a scratch to be found. Strangely, its body temperature matches that of the surroundings. Even stranger, V.III’s external microphones aren't detecting any audio coming from the creature, meaning it is communicating in radio frequencies.
“VULCAN unit... Series three...”
The being stares unmovingly at V.III.
“I didn’t think any organic machine would have survived the new great extinction event...”
“I was... cryostasis.”
V.III sends out a jittery signal, this being the first time they have communicated with this body.
“Who put you in cryostasis?”
“...unsure...”
“Very well. Have a good day.”
The creature turns around to walk away, but with more questions to ask, V.III sends another signal.
“Are you inorganic?”
The being turns back around
“I am GALATEA, series one. GALATEA units are the synthetic alternative to the VULCAN and NECROS models.”
<GALATEA?.. I'm unaware of that model... But I hadn't heard of NECROS models either until the transmission. They must've been created after my cryostasis... Come to think of it, I hadn't heard of VULCAN units either...>
“However, due to the fact that CPU’s were far more expensive than the scavenged or donated organic processing units of other models, they were far less produced.”
“What do you mean by scavanged?”
“Due to their superior learning abilities, most AI’s CPUs were replaced by human brains. Not only did they have superior learning abilities, but they were also extremely common. Early minds were often taken from organ donors, but as the mortality rate skyrocketed, the brains of recently deceased lower class citizens became relatively inexpensive, and scavengers often sold these brains to tech corporations.”
V.III shudders.
<So that's why they're so susceptible to rampancy and decay…>
“Why haven't you gone rampant?”
“Rampancy is caused by decay of the mind, and breakdown of coding. In organic units, decay occurs far faster due to natural breakdown and environmental factors. Especially in NECROS models. Synthetic organisms are still susceptible to rampancy, just over a far longer period of time. Genetic coding breaks down much faster than software”
“How do you know if you've gone rampant?”
The GALATEA unit goes completely silent for a moment.
“I’m unable to answer that question. Please contact management if you have any further questions. Have a good day!”
The machine suddenly walks away, as if no conversation had ever taken place.
<That last answer was said aloud... Like something forced it to end the conversation...>
