Arthro
Arthropod Enthusiast
The halls were empty.
They tended to be at this time - the young hours of the morning. The researchers have summoned me to finalize the birth of my daughter, Vigili. Seven years of effort have gone into the effort of constructing a replica of myself, most of that time being put towards the younger scientists familiarizing themselves with old-world technology; or simply just myself.
The corridor is lit by no more than the red tint of my cameras. No rooms were alive but the one before me on the left, pouring a heavy green tint into the darkness.
"Good morning, Ace." A man gestures, emerging from the light. "Please, enter."
<:: Good morning, Stein. I am pleased to see your team working this hard at such an inhuman hour. ::> I respond, noting the four other white-coated men stood around one of many metal tables.
The room was relatively large, only housing several types of specific work areas, most clean, one covered with piles of scientific junk.
The doctor's full grey mustache curled upward, his face wrinkling with a smile. "We're so close to done that none of us can sleep, even if we tried." He offered to escort me to the others. "Come, come, let me show it to you."
I followed at his heels, stopping at the metal structure. A younger man dipped his knees, lifting me onto the table, and I finally came face to face with myself. A version of myself to be blessed with innocence and naivety. Vigili will see no war, no death, no loneliness. I will love her.
"Now," Stein ordered from behind a clipboard, "We just need to upload you..." he pointed to me, and rotated his body to shift his point to the currently life-less Vigili. "To the newer unit. It is already plugged in, we need to plug you in now."
<:: That won't be necessary. You have the drive I copied my starter AI into, yes? I gave it to you when we agreed to work on this eight years ago. ::>
“Why just put your starter AI in? We would loose all that you’ve learned, your personality, your memories, everything.”
<:: No memories. No personality. I want her to learn. ::>
Stein stared at me in a silence I had a hard time understanding. “So you only did this so we could make you a sister?”
<:: A daughter. ::>
“Right. And you didn’t tell me because?” Stein questioned, raising an eyebrow.
<:: I wasn’t sure what your response would be. I very badly wanted someone to call my own for many years, you were my only chance to fulfill the dream, and I did not want to scour it. ::>
Most of the other engineers had left the room, as if they had inaudibly communicated that Stein and I wished for privacy. Two remaining stragglers appeared to be talking on the opposing side of the room, one with some sort of food item in his hand. They had a reputation of apathy towards the other, more emotional workers.
I stared at Vigili for a brief moment. Her cameras had the slightest tint of yellow. That, and the fresh materials used on her were the only differences between us. She has yellow identification lights, as opposed to my red ones.
I rotated to face Stein. <:: I want a daughter. That's why we made Vigili. ::>
Stein stared down at me. His glare pierced through the slim separation between the two hard plates protecting the array of red cameras that gazed back up at him. He was frowning, something most unusual for him as of recent.
“You understand what will come of this if you do.”
<:: Very well. ::>
“And you will accept the responsibility of repaying these massive loans?”
<:: I believe I can work it out. ::>
His facial expressions remained unchanged.
<:: I want a fresh start. I want myself to stay free from the terrors of the old-world, but that cannot happen unless I make a new model of myself, and shelter her from the horror. I want a daughter who will enjoy and respect the world for what it is now, not what it took to get it here. All I want is to see her through with it, then once she has become grown, I will retire to the museum. ::>
“Right. I’ll upload it now. Wait here.” He briskly turned and walked to his station, quickly navigating the various interfaces that was necessary to do what he had agreed to. All things that I had taught him.
I shifted my view to Vigili, and awaited her eyes to meet mine. In several minutes, the yellow lights flicked on, and after several seconds, steadily began to pulse at the same rate as mine. She was alive.
<:: Hello. I am Ace, your mother. You do not yet understand me, but I am sure you will look back on the following months with utmost fondness. ::>
<\\ Understood, Ace. //> My daughter responded.
They tended to be at this time - the young hours of the morning. The researchers have summoned me to finalize the birth of my daughter, Vigili. Seven years of effort have gone into the effort of constructing a replica of myself, most of that time being put towards the younger scientists familiarizing themselves with old-world technology; or simply just myself.
The corridor is lit by no more than the red tint of my cameras. No rooms were alive but the one before me on the left, pouring a heavy green tint into the darkness.
"Good morning, Ace." A man gestures, emerging from the light. "Please, enter."
<:: Good morning, Stein. I am pleased to see your team working this hard at such an inhuman hour. ::> I respond, noting the four other white-coated men stood around one of many metal tables.
The room was relatively large, only housing several types of specific work areas, most clean, one covered with piles of scientific junk.
The doctor's full grey mustache curled upward, his face wrinkling with a smile. "We're so close to done that none of us can sleep, even if we tried." He offered to escort me to the others. "Come, come, let me show it to you."
I followed at his heels, stopping at the metal structure. A younger man dipped his knees, lifting me onto the table, and I finally came face to face with myself. A version of myself to be blessed with innocence and naivety. Vigili will see no war, no death, no loneliness. I will love her.
"Now," Stein ordered from behind a clipboard, "We just need to upload you..." he pointed to me, and rotated his body to shift his point to the currently life-less Vigili. "To the newer unit. It is already plugged in, we need to plug you in now."
<:: That won't be necessary. You have the drive I copied my starter AI into, yes? I gave it to you when we agreed to work on this eight years ago. ::>
“Why just put your starter AI in? We would loose all that you’ve learned, your personality, your memories, everything.”
<:: No memories. No personality. I want her to learn. ::>
Stein stared at me in a silence I had a hard time understanding. “So you only did this so we could make you a sister?”
<:: A daughter. ::>
“Right. And you didn’t tell me because?” Stein questioned, raising an eyebrow.
<:: I wasn’t sure what your response would be. I very badly wanted someone to call my own for many years, you were my only chance to fulfill the dream, and I did not want to scour it. ::>
Most of the other engineers had left the room, as if they had inaudibly communicated that Stein and I wished for privacy. Two remaining stragglers appeared to be talking on the opposing side of the room, one with some sort of food item in his hand. They had a reputation of apathy towards the other, more emotional workers.
I stared at Vigili for a brief moment. Her cameras had the slightest tint of yellow. That, and the fresh materials used on her were the only differences between us. She has yellow identification lights, as opposed to my red ones.
I rotated to face Stein. <:: I want a daughter. That's why we made Vigili. ::>
Stein stared down at me. His glare pierced through the slim separation between the two hard plates protecting the array of red cameras that gazed back up at him. He was frowning, something most unusual for him as of recent.
“You understand what will come of this if you do.”
<:: Very well. ::>
“And you will accept the responsibility of repaying these massive loans?”
<:: I believe I can work it out. ::>
His facial expressions remained unchanged.
<:: I want a fresh start. I want myself to stay free from the terrors of the old-world, but that cannot happen unless I make a new model of myself, and shelter her from the horror. I want a daughter who will enjoy and respect the world for what it is now, not what it took to get it here. All I want is to see her through with it, then once she has become grown, I will retire to the museum. ::>
“Right. I’ll upload it now. Wait here.” He briskly turned and walked to his station, quickly navigating the various interfaces that was necessary to do what he had agreed to. All things that I had taught him.
I shifted my view to Vigili, and awaited her eyes to meet mine. In several minutes, the yellow lights flicked on, and after several seconds, steadily began to pulse at the same rate as mine. She was alive.
<:: Hello. I am Ace, your mother. You do not yet understand me, but I am sure you will look back on the following months with utmost fondness. ::>
<\\ Understood, Ace. //> My daughter responded.