Project Eden Zero

Chapter- 1 Ray of Hope

It is mid July on earth, and probably my father has just woken up to start his day. Here on Poitum Krot it’s nearing the end of the day in the winter season and I have just finished my work on coding a project for the doctor. He sent a pda with me that has 2 terabytes of decrypted information that was found at the dig site, it’s oddly familiar. While walking to my apartment on the 4th floor of the intelligence facility, I noticed some soldiers playing around with one of the sorting bots. I walked over to stop them and the bot got pushed over on top of me knocking me down and pinning me to the floor. One of the soldiers laughs as his colleague grunts, “maybe that little piece of s**t will get disabled for ‘attacking’ a human.” I yelled at the men to help get the bot off me and as soon as I was on my feet I slapped all three of them in the face.

“How dare you! You should respect these mechs! They are doing hard work and some of them are doing your jobs on planets where you would die instantly as you set foot off your shuttle! So go! Get out of here!” I pointed to the exit into the shipping bay elevator and gave them a sideways look. As they walked off mumbling about me being a bot lover and mech sympathizer the bot turned to me and looked me dead in the eye and said, “thank you,” it kept looking at me and eventually it turned back to sorting. I was barely able to keep my composure as a tiny whelp of, “you’re welcome!” Came out of my mouth. All of a sudden the bot turned back around and looked at me again, then returned to work.

Later that evening I was laying in the virtual information direction pod, or VID pod for short, collecting my thoughts and watching a video of Yelevene. Yelevene is one of Poitum Krot’s moons that is relatively habitable and has some very ancient ruins there that would date back over 500,000 years. But nobody has really been able to figure out what they are or who made them. So far the only other intelligent life that we have come in contact with are the Vysterns. They are a humbling people that are just one step ahead of us technologically, and they have some of the most delicious food. There are even humans that find their species attractive because of their features that are similar to humans. They normally stand between 6-8 feet tall and none of them seem to hold any sort of body fat. The males have a bald head, but have tendril spikes coming out of the back crown growing down like an old human who was balding, and let his hair grow. They have bony spikes on their shoulders and they have 4 fingers instead of 5. (We still taught them how to shoot a bird though, although with their fingers being 6-8 inches long and coming to a point depending on their height, that’s a big bird.) Also they have one big toe that’s more like a talon, and the rest of their foot is just a combined web like structure where the little toes should be. The skin is just like ours but much harder, and very smooth, kind of like a piece of smoothly ground soft wood. Their anatomy resembles ours for the most part aside from the females. They are a little bit larger than the males for the most part, aside from brutes and krates. They have big supple breasts and a figure most human women would kill to have, just born with it. The brutes stand at 10 feet tall and have massive muscle structures and melee combat skills. The Krates are normal height, but are much wider and have armor plated skin. They also are very slow aging species. The oldest one I met was a council elder and a Vicecron which is like a shaman but has more responsibilities than a president, being 1358 earth years old. But most of them say that their life spans are among 700-800 years. I couldn’t imagine all the things I could learn in a lifetime that they have. But even with their scientists, we still haven’t had a breakthrough in our research yet. They invented this type of computing technology that allows you to be able to have it with you everywhere and also for it not to hinder you, they call it a Teltavesn, English is Allserver. It looks like a bracelet that has a link ring on the middle finger, but it actually is the computer itself. The ring is the communicator and activation signal, and the bracelet has a metal band that adjusts to fit the wearers wrist. The middle of the bracelet where the link to the ring connects is a shiny blue gem that, when activated, glows and pulls up a hologram display of your personalized desktop. The number of functions this thing can perform are exceptional and no human has been able to figure them all out. But they are very useful and completely put the smartphones out of circuit while we also have made our own improvements adding what we had technology and application wise from smartphones onto the Allserver. I plan to try to decode this information some tonight and finish it in the morning before I head over to the lab. I also want to speak to that bot again, something tells me that it isn’t functioning properly. It stared at me way too long and it shouldn’t have turned back to me when I said you’re welcome. The virtual intelligence programmed into those bots doesn’t allow emotional functionality or social interactions. It’s more like a consensus run from a central network here in the facility. The bots are many single platforms run from one mind in the consensus. Of course they can thank you for helping them or agree to a command, but they cannot exceed too many self aware, free will, or emotional thoughts past that. We haven’t been able to make an artificial intelligence yet that is self aware or has the capability of self awareness, we are missing crucial components that make up emotions and programming to do so.

The next morning I finish the work the doctor sent with me and realize that he’s made a breakthrough on building an ai. It’s amazing that he was able to configure a matrix out of the strange cube we found at the ruins. I opened my cabinet and grabbed the face masker, a nice little invention of my own design that automatically traces your face and reads your skin tone for the perfect makeup layer that lasts all day and is water proof. You can select many options for eyeliner, mascara, lash extensions, eye shadow, blush, and lip options. It automatically does foundation and applies all your selected options with ease and comfort. Then I grabbed my hydro cyclonic 3000 toothbrush and while brushing my teeth, the Allserver VI voice breaks the silence in my apartment, “Miss Ray, you have received a vid message from, (his voice) Specialist Adiran, planet Earth.” I touch the ring with my thumb and the hologram interface pops up with a red and blue light flashing at the bottom right corner. I tap it and the vid starts playing, “So! Lieutenant Ray! How’s the intelligence lab on PK treating ya? Must be hell. But I’m not jealous, I finally got my work cut out for me here on earth. I don’t know if you’ve heard the news or not but we finally met a new intelligent life! Sergeant McLeod has brought back some of their people as a rescue effort and they seem really cool. We are calling them the Voided. We found their wrecked ship floating out in the void on the crescent nebula. I filled you in with a surprise data packet,” he lowers his voice to a whisper, “it’s highly classified info so don’t show anyone please, job at stake.” He raises his voice back up to normal, “Hope everything is well with you, Peace out Girl Scout!” It was good to hear from my old ROTC buddy, I haven’t spoken to him in almost 2 years. In the background of the vid I could see the new species walking behind him, but it looked like they had been arrested instead of being processed as friendly. This worries me, if they’re volatile, and the military mistreats them...this could be bad. They looked like humanoid praying mantids, their head looks like a dragon but with humanlike features, slanted eyes, no nose, but two holes for nostrils, their arms have bladelike features on the forearms and the hands were like three finger claws, and their legs bent backwards down to two pronged toes with blades on the ankles as heels. Worried, I hurried getting ready and headed to my door to check the mailbox on the right side of the door panel and I noticed an unusual data pad model I’ve never seen before. It had a black trim that seemed to have stars on it that moved as i moved it. It had a blue screen that was way more advanced than the ones we currently use. All of ours that we’ve upgraded thanks to the Vysterns have a white trim with either an orange or green screen that’s pretty clear and is easy to use. Before messing with it, I decided I should let Dr. Olly look at it first to make sure it was safe to use so I stuck it in my bag and looked through the rest of my mail seeing if Adirans data package had come in. Then I see it at the back, a purple crystal data ball, how thoughtful, he always knew that I wanted (and needed) a crystal data ball but could never afford one, and my favorite color is purple. They all hold 500zetabytes of information, they link up to the Allserver with no lag, they have an anti gravity matter effect field that allows them hover around the user who linked it to their Allserver, and they’re very beautiful to look at. The hologram output that displays the information you record is also vivid, high profile, and beautifully designed. Where the Vysterns lacked in making things look nice and comfortable, the humans were able to help. I put it my bag, headed out of the living quarters, and started walking to the area where the bot was. When I cut the corner to where it was yesterday, I couldn’t find it. I asked the assistant personnel that was overseeing the area where the bot was, she said, “I apologize ma’am, the sorting bot you’re referring to attacked a young woman last night and has been sent to be decommissioned.” Frustrated, I stormed out without even a second thought, or word. Decommissioning was on the first floor, just past the cargo bay, but still before the lab so at least it’s it’s on my way. I waved my Allserver in front of the elevator control pad to show my identity and gain access, I pressed urgent 1st floor and waited. Once the door opened I walked as fast as I could trying not to run and have my things fall out of my bag. When I approached the sliding plate glass doors, I waved my Allserver at the control panel beside the door, and as it opened I stormed in. “RUSSELL!!!!” I screamed just as he was about to remove the head of the sorting bot, “don’t you dare! I was the one that the bot fell on. And it’s a misunderstanding, it was those three soldiers from cargo security night shift that did it, not the bot itself. So please let it go and I’ll take it with me.”

Russell looks up at Ray with grease on his face and his technician interface in front of his eyes. He taps a button on the interface and the screen spread across his eyes fades away, “Katie, I’ve already been ordered to disassemble it...”

I interrupted him abruptly, “I don’t care! Just tell Kenneth that you did and sent it to us to program another VI to go in it ok?” He looked down at his data pad and then to the bot, he touched his interface back on and looked back at me, “something’s not right with this guy huh? That’s why you want it?” I started blushing slightly scared he might’ve figured it out already, “kind of yeah, I want to take him to the lab and study him. He might be a big help to us. We have a project that we are working on. But you can’t tell anyone why, just say that the lab confiscated the bot before you could decapitate it...cool?” He looks at me for a moment longer before putting the screws and locks back onto the head mounts, “look Ray, I know what the secret project is. Don’t forget you already owe me for getting you that nifty earth transmitter mod for your Allserver, now you owe me two. Plus this guy here was pleading with me not to disassemble it. So hurry up and get him to the lab before he spurts off any more nonsense.” I gleefully hugged his neck and kissed him on cheek, “thanks Russell, I swear I’ll get Dr. Olly to take you on a date, how about that?” He finishes the bot and turns it on. He looks back at me, eyes behind the interface, but clearly blushing, “haha...yeah...doc Olly huh? Wait...what? Huh....umm....you think...you think she might be....well...you know....interested? In like....me?” His stuttering was adorable and I knew he had a big crush on her, half the damn place does. She’s one of the most beautiful women to ever step foot on this planet. So I cheerfully smiled and helped the bot to its feet, “sure Russell, you’re cute, funny, sweet, and I heard you’re a pretty good dancer too. I’m sure she will like you. Just give me a day and she will be vid calling you in no time!” He blushes again and gets back to work for a moment before turning back around and mumbling, “hey wait, who told you I could dance?” But before I could answer him I ordered the bot to follow me and stay quiet until we get to the lab. And just before we hit the lab I hear a familiar voice call to me from behind, “Lt. Ray! Wait up!”

I look behind me and squint to see Commander Kenneth Rectis quickly pacing towards me, “commander, sir. What can I do for you?”

I held my composure as well as I could standing at attention in front of the bot saluting. “Lt. Ray, I see you have finally recruited one of the sorting bots to help you with your research? I’m guessing some heavy lifting needed to be done and there aren’t any heavy mechs around here. But I wanted to catch up with and give you two things.”

I stood at ease and gave a brief sigh of relief thinking that Russell didn’t turn me in, “Sir, this bot was being abused by the three night guards in cargo bay E3 sir. And I requested it come with me to keep from getting any further damage, and yes, sir, I do need some heavy lifting done.”

He turned around and looked down the grand hall way and waved down a group of men courting a heavy mech on a hover jack down the hall. He turns back to me and clears his throat, a heavy rasp with deep pitches and a fluid rumble in his voice and slight smell of cloves rolled in a Cuban cigar, he must have special packages delivered from earth. “Miss Ray, I’m wanting you to help reassemble this heavy mech for me and program a special VI for it if you please.”

I squinted to look down the hall and noticed it was a damaged heavy artillery mech that was missing its guns and head mount. “Sir, I’m guessing a new ordinance for heavy g*n fire?”

He looks at me sternly and then cracks a smile and I notice a scar on his left eye, “No ma’am, I have prepared new equipment to be arrived with this mech, a newly designed drill arm and a heavy duty crane arm, also a new energy core has been installed in it that earth scientists want to test in the field. I believe this mech will help you with your excavation of the site on Yelevene. Once you get it ready, I’m sending you, Dr. Kelley Ollison, Dr. Drew Tydis, along with some of my men to Yelevene to comepletely excavate the area. This heavy mech and I’m guessing your new companion here, will be accompanying you, you will be reassigned, so pack your stuff and be ready. You have 3 days. Dismissed.”

I stand at attention gleefully smiling and salute him. “Yes sir!” He turns on his heels and struts away towards decommissioning and I stand back at ease waiting for the men to deliver the heavy mech. They arrive within a couple of minutes only having trouble running into corners and maneuvering the hover jack. “I can take it from here guys,” I say laughing while I grab the pad from the cargo specialist and sign my name. “Is there anything else?”

The specialist looked over to one of his men and he jumped out of surprise, “yes! Uh wait.....hold on....I have it here somewhere...” he rummages around in his shoulder bag for a moment before pulling out a shiny black ball, “here you go ma’am...ugh!” He drops it and the specialist manages to grab it just an inch from the floor. “I....I......I’m sorry!”

“Private! Get back to the cargo bay and give me 100, your mistakes will not be tolerated!” He runs off and the specialist looks back at me handing me the ball, “here you go ma’am. We have no idea what it is but we were ordered to give it you and a word of advice, don’t touch it without gloves.

“Thank you specialist Conroy I appreciate it. I can handle everything from here, have a good day.” They all turn back down the hall and leave. I immediately put the ball in the front pocket of my bag away from the other stuff and sit it down on the hover jack. I grab the wedge tool and open up the first box behind the mech revealing a huge multi layered drill arm with diamond gauged interfolds and quantum laser tip. “Amazing! This is very expensive tech! The general must be really excited about that excavation.” The second box contains the crane arm, nothing special here. Just an arm that can grab and lift really heavy things like boxes, rocks, steel pillars, etc., and lastly the new head mount. It was an unusual head mount, it had a camera and light and only one eye in the middle. Moveable plated armor on the head and the connection module was also covered in armor. “Very nice, it would be able to withstand a cave in with that much armor. And with it being military grade it will be able to do just about everything.” I ordered the sorting bot to grab the head out of the box for me and sit on the hover jack. I then started to remove the casing and check out the computer inside to see what I’m working with, to my surprise there was nothing. Just links and cables to hook up one. “Hmm, what do you think about this sorting bot? Wait...I can’t just go around calling you sorting bot the whole time, do you have a name?” The sorting bot looked at me, I could see curiosity growing in its robotic eyes.

“This platforms unit number is NUCSOD-66 but it do not possess an actual name....ma’am.” It walks over to the head and scans it, all the while I’m thinking of what to call it. “I do believe this model at one time had a military protocol VI installed but was removed for safety. Do you require any further data?” It looks back at me.

“No, thank you. How about...Sam? Do you like the name Sam?” I studied it’s face for a reaction to see if whether or not it would show emotion.

“Sam is a fine name, we shall adjust programming for this unit to further be known as Sam,” I knew it! This bot has learned far more than its VI protocols! Not only has it developed a male voice tone, but it has also registered a name to the unit. I need to study this behavior and let Dr. Tydis know about my discovery. This could be our breakthrough on creating an AI, or maybe that we have already begun by giving the VI the ability to learn new tasks on their own. My only concern is how to give it free will.

“Sam, if I were to tell you that you could do anything right now, anything you wanted...what would you do?” It looks at a bench outside the lab.

“This one would sit down.”

“Why?” My curiosity grows exponentially.

“This unit has been standing for 92.4 hours and the vertical position sustained has lowered the functionality of its power core, in your terms, this unit is tired.”

“Then go ahead and sit, at your own discretion, I do not order you to do anything.” I watch carefully as it blinks its red glowing eyes and turns to the bench, walks over, and sits down carefully. “Amazing...” I pull up my allsever and call Dr. Tydis, “Doctor you have to come see this, this sorting bot has some odd potentials, I don’t know much for lack of study, but it let me give a name to the unit!”

He walks out of the lab with his normal drowned look. “Where is it?” I point there on the bench and he turns to look at Sam. “Ok bot what’s your unit number?”

“This units newly appointed name given by Lt. Ray is Sam, Sir. Might we ask yours?” It stands up and offers its hand in a greeting gesture.

Dr. Tydis’ face lights up with curiosity and his jaw drops, an ink pen he had in his mouth falls to the floor. Sam bends over and picks it up with its other hand still held out for the doctor to shake. They shake hands and Tydis grabs his pen from Sam, “by god. Tell me Sam, would you like to go for a walk? Or would you rather sit down and talk?”

“Right now, sir, this unit has preferred to sit down. This unit is tired.” It sits back down.

“Aha! Tired! I thought I’d never see the day, Ah...alas I see your discovery is well made Ray. I’m almost 90 years old and this bot says he’s tired.” He sits next to Sam and starts talking about several different things and I take the hover jack around the corner and into the loading area of the lab. Once inside I get one of the assistants to help me unload the head mount and put it on a table. When I hear a female voice screaming from inside the testing labs...

I quickly grab an Omni-welder off the table to defend myself and run past the double glass sliding doors into the testing labs. Once inside I look around frantically to see what happened, then I notice someone sitting on the floor and the table above them had a canister of hydro-yelesium acid spilled and melting through the table very quickly. The assistant that followed behind me quickly grabbed the liquid nitrogen spray to help stop the acid and I ran over to help get the person away from the table. As I approached I noticed the person was Dr. Olly and that the acid had melted her arm off up past the elbow, a gruesome sight and hard to take in. I gathered myself quickly and managed to get the assistant to spray Dr. Olly’s arm really quick and I grabbed her up and helped her out of the room. Her consciousness was falling in and out and she was hard to carry, suddenly Dr. Tydis and Sam burst through the doors and Sam quickly walked over and picked Dr. Olly up and rushed its way to the med bay without any orders. Confused I looked at Dr. Tydis with a questioning look, “did you give it the order to help any injured?” He shook his head no and looked around the area where she was.

“You should get to the med bay and make sure she’s going to be alright, we can’t lose her. She’s a valuable asset, and she’s an old friend. Whatever happened here wasn’t an accident I can tell you that.” He pauses for a moment before looking back at me, “I said go!” He raised his voice pointing to the exit. I nodded and jogged back through the lab and grabbed my bag off the hover jack and proceeded out into the hallway. Once outside I turned right and headed down to the med bay, about 50 meters from the lab in the opposite direction of decommissioning. Trying to hurry without running I managed to stumble on my feet and my tech interface came loose from my head and fell to the floor breaking into a few pieces as it crashed on the floor. “Damnit! I actually really liked that model too...” I picked up the pieces and stuffed them in the front pocket of my bag and continued down the hallway. Once I reached the doors I waved my Allserver at the panel and the doors slid open smoothly. I walked in and asked the nursebot where Sam and Dr. Olly went.