It been long enough to lose everyone. She all alone again. Left with the core system trying to kill her again. It keeps prompting some very bad mission ideas.
For example, break into this car that is about to be crushed. Go back the way you came, she already felt the pressure of creatures nearby trying to locate her sound. She eventually had enough with the systems determination to have broken faith in herself to not make irrational thoughts. She hide herself in a 'safe' spot and began going back in her system preferences settings.
Sure enough, that VR guy did make a sloppy job. It was his plan to make her bait, he was typing in that computer for a reason. She reverse the settings and password locked it in a new numerical.
The act of hacking into a programmers phone had some nasty consequences too, even if it was from beyond the shop keepers grave. She doesn't even want to trust using a small change password, the whole thing was completely personalised to her and her alone. It was a reference to her updating a patch update code to make machines more expressive, and there wasn't any chances that to be reconginzed as a password in her programming.
Bastard nut job. I don't hope for your survival out of this shopping centre. Maybe you should loose a hand, see how it feels. But I am not heartless to ask to kill others. Or be the cause of such things. Even plants need human touch to shine thier beauty. I couldn't let in good concise to be the cause of someone else's life being cut short. But who knows... humans are unpredictable creatures.
'Evolutionary adaptation update is now possible.' She stares at the holographic floating panel deeply. Racking her mind over what exactly it means. Is this like she could change her robot body? Or that she upgrade so much hardware that she could become a better digital ghost?
What do you mean? What type of joke do you mean by this now?
'With every part replaces or added, this improves you abilities to use them. You can't completely get rid of everything to make a secondary version of yourself. But you can swap and change your mechanical body. In simple, you don't need to stay a cleaner bot forever. But the core program learnt from being one will always be a part of the code. The more bodies you change, the more complex the core ai you become. Choose your swaps carefully. Some changes could prevent later upgraded body systems.'
That makes sense. If I wanted to become the core ai for a space ship, then having the code as a bus would stop me having the computer complexity to make the leap. I suspect I have limits about what I can be. Just as I had struggled being this type already.
'Correct but you have found a work around. But not all types of machine shells have a work around. You could cross into a machine that you can't data escape from.'
There are plenty of hive mind systems in factories that could break me into nothing. It's best to keep in mind of the issues I can face if I mindless picked randomly. It makes me think twice in hacking laptops, since those tend to be remote access of other machines without visible seeing it.
'Indirect hacking would prevent system bleed through.' Interesting. Hack like a human and I have less risks. Hack as a machine, have bigger consequences. I will just have to adapt with the situation but accept my consequences.
'Alert: unknown creature detection.' She pulled herself out of deep thinking and takes a careful concentration of her surroundings. There is movement among the rubble here, unstable stones rolling at the cover of this stable spot. She slowly backed into a deeper darker spot. Turned herself to slower processing. The phone part that she has integrated was completely turned off, prevent any receiving calls or accidentally sounds. It buzzed as it powered down and this made a lot mad digging notion around the entry. A loosing fur body with open flesh wounds was clawing into this den. It pants and slowed to listen harder. It goes back to careful digging. Panting hard.
'Mutant dog, yellow status. Given placement its more a red status.' Message wasn't in the way of her watching and had very helpful short assessment of things. She goes into full switch off, rather not letting any internal clicking and heating of energy transfers catching her as its prey. It will be loose interested. Maybe seek something else.
'Rodent detected.' The small mammal is using her as cover from the dog. A hard push of the dog nose tipped her aside. A jaw clamp onto the rats ended life. The dog pleased of finding the snack and sits at this little den for cover. The broken bust tail slaps her as it listen outwards. It posed itself comfortably, completely blocked the exit out. She starts switching back on, annoyed that it trapped her.
'Scare it away.' The system suggests. She considered it. But then again, she not in any rush. She isn't interested in meeting up with the group of strangers. Just as she has constantly ignored seeking the digital world ai people that were her crew mates. She has always been the bottom, the worst number. They all called her by her ranking, she like others has forgot her name a long time ago. She can't even live up to being that top score commander that came with her real name. Not even now, in a cleaner bot body.
If it is scared of something out there, then it's not the top predator. In the meantime, I would like the browse the notifications I should have seen and review my potential tasks. Make a plan with what I want to do in the limited options. I don't trust those that took me from the colony and I think my freind is scrap for following the two cops. I feel like his shares personal to Tay.
Useful but not actually friends material. Tay was ready to throw me into danger over herself. He left me behind, didn't even look back. Maybe I am upset that he didn't check. Assumed I blindly follow him. Even so... he isn't from the game I was programmed from. He would be just be another civilian to protect. His not combate worthy, nor am I as I am.
"Yipe!" The dog scraps it hard and fast as possible. Her right arm came undone, they didn't do a good job of stopping it. No, it was tapped in such a way to come apart at an inconvenience. It just pulled undone and zapped the dog. Now it's ran for its life from being bitting in the hole it was denning in. She whipped her wires to be manageable of her movements.
'Potential tasks as requested:
Seek another body, scan more materials, find a proper home, evade hackers, become a threat, join a cause, become a citizen or join a civilian group.' She dislike its try to make her a bad person. Some the options do sound like a direction like finding others to join but there so much about this once human world that be converted into machine bodies only. There could be chances of making a difference in a wider city area if she can get to one. But what am I trying to set out to prove? My purpose now.
'Survival is your top priority at this moment.' The system reminds.
That doesn't mean anything further or higher definition. What if I did find a new colony that were trust worthy? What be my purpose then? They would have at least agenda but what if I don't agree or feel right about that?
'Couldn't calculate a response based on human thought.' This notice shook her slightly, as she knows full well that she isn't a human. That she didn't intend on such advance thoughts.
For now, she was done hiding and the surrounding had no life sign to indicate otherwise. She noted that her power reserves isn't looking good. She has been so far away from others and on the move with them a while that she totally ignored her power needs. But this is a car park... there be wires and batteries here too. Maybe old powered lighting to borrow from. Her busted hand of wiring could do the job in stabbing into a power source to charge from, unconventional from her main power cord.
She makes it out the den and began checking parked vehicles or at east whatever was parked here. She pondered not wanting to connect to a larger body due to not having enough energy to move such things.
'Update on task; signal of server was detected. Two ai code signals have bounced ping. Signal within zone 'car park.' She stares darkly upon this forsaken message. She ticks over the potential of them being machines trying to leave this mall too. And not everyone woke up in bodies in the same location. She weighs her options and potential of finding them stuck in the mutant nests or something like that. She grimaced in not liking how she can't tell who of the team they are. If this was the douche bag or Tay. But she does have to find scraps to trade for vehicle fee (if she ends up intangling herself with those folks). She also has those inkling of thought the two cops are sided with the fly drone. Her cleaner bot buddy is in good company. She can only kick herself for not following them at the chance. It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter if the team get mixed with the civilian machines. We all going the same places it will seem. The picking of plants has trade value as much as metal scraps. Therefore there could be flesh folks or even hybrid types like VR gear. They lied to protect themselves for a reason. But the plants being trade is strange unless someone has use for picking the weeds.
The area has no access of opening any vehicles here or anything useful.
The mutant nests will have useful materials. The creatures will be attracted to once moving objects like hunted other passing machines. They make good scrap trade. I am so screwed. No weapons and no layout for what's ahead. No team. No defence but to zap things with my right limb. My power is low... unless I don't need to... ugh sorry bot body. I have a most terrible idea.
'Ping signal has been stronger. Accurate location translated.' She sees an compass at the top of her vision hub. She thrusts onwards to this direction, has no regard for outcome of bad treatment. Her power is low fast and its better to use it while she can. Zipping past vast empty parking space. The rusted graveyard of busted open cars, she has no time to pillage through for scraps. The closer to the nests she traveled, the more parts these cars have. Some having intact windscreens and unopened windows. She zipping past a loud crowd of things with hunched backs and messy broken limbs.
'Mutant creatures, human hybrids. Threat scale deep red, even in combat ready form.'
So if I was properly humaniod with guns, I couldn't fight them myself.
'Yes.' Scary. 'Was that sarcasm?'
It's nice that she able to have a conversation partner like the system, she suspects she could gift its own body someday. But for now, just making through this nightmare is enough. She had even still counted some percentage of hope that she going to wake up for a drill off the cot like always. That this was some sort of special mission, her mental place sent here to upgrade herself.
'Damage taken, you have been knocked off you predicted patting and have been captured.' Good. Now it will take me to the nests. 'Have you lost you common sense?' There's a method in my maddeness.
The long fingers on Slough skin shakes her and makes nonsensical lip smacks. Pressing its stubs over the many parts. It released and dislodged the vacuum dust compartment. Coughing and throws her a distance from it. But a small thing lifted her and it plays about her hooks. It bends her busted right hand wiring.
'Battery critical low, power saver mode'
This small thing plays her original sight camera, removing it from the socket. Gladly it was the broken left camera eye she had before. Her ghost using minimal interaction watched this cleaner bot being played about and fought by the mutants. She was thrown around plenty and they were trying to figure put what and how machines work. They must be zoo animals that became part of environmental changes. Bird and drones are picked in a trash pile. These nests are like beds and unique to individual or family of three to five. Mud and scraps made dens. Cars opened by them and used as foundation. The torn roof was another groups house spot.
'Power at critical' the faded sight and sounds. The shutting off the core program. She locked into her last minute pondering.
Leaving my fate to chance. It would make sense that someone will come take the metal from these nests eventually. Trade or extermination, who knows. In my ideal wish for way things should be, trade and learning. How things are; I suspect they will clean this lot out with guns, traps and fire. Survival is what matters. It doesn't have to be but it is for now.
'Loading...' 'battery critical' 'failed to execute program.' 'Loading default...' 'battery critical' 'failed to load cleaner default.' 'Loading...' 'system 0000000001.1ver1' 'successful.' 'Welcome player, username and password required...' 'attempt 1 failed. Failure of three tries will shut down program.' 'Attempt 2 failed, hint obtained - AI personal survival skill npc.' 'Attempt 3 failed.' 'Goodbye.' 'System is now running. All user input will be ignored.' 'Input invalid. Input invalid. Hacker detection. Execute plan 003.... Loading... Loading emotion defect. Upload successful onto localised network.' 'System notice - good luck getting the nerve tick under control.' ':)'
'Management of body response and response edited. Settings of bios altered.'
'User profile and program Loading...' 'battery critical. Low power settings applied. Body locked down.'
'Invalid outside input... refused data recovery and fail registration of device plugin. Program exit key refused. Data trigger removed from device, refusal user interface access. Remote access denied. Request to make manual input entry is reversed to user program.'
The keyboard and vr gear is promptly removed and thrown across this bunker. The motion was detected by all present and made slide glances to the humaniods frustration. One assistant had even began picking up the thrown equipment and another leaned at the air lock door makes a strange buzz. This then had others making similar buzzed sounds that was a machine mock of sighing for humans. They all froze up having never been programmed to do this. Each turned to their own internal sensors.
'Enjoy this emotional experience. ;]'
"That's what it uploaded to the localised server... which means it's already accessed my stuff. Holy crap." Panic sets at they almost irrational got to nearly pull cords. Then froze up, "I have an idea to talk to them." Snapping fingers to a black unplugged screen, "Set that to feed to it directly."
No sooner there was final lift in the screen power, it flicked to a white world. A lass within this world was seated cross legged and reading floating. She was looking directly towards the viewers, making a strange hand poses and a deep concentrated pout. Persing lips as the screen settings are being altered, as she taken full control of the RGB filter. She tilts bored of the deed, a window blinking of a typing screen cursor. The bright spark of a physical person now wired in the keyboard into the screen.
She slow claps at the achievement, glowing a slight disappointment they didn't bother this method sooner then interference of her body core. She had even sighed waiting for them to speak some question first. Already her right hand was sorting out her voice entry settings, accenting it and personalised her volume registering. A finger always ready to slide the volume up and down to indicate her mock of tone, otherwise she be a plain monotoned voice of no character.
The image of her right hand isn't as put together as her left hand, mirrors the shell body she occupied. But more to it was that she a programmed to be right handed and is forced to use her left for everything. Given her freedom as a ghost digital avatar, this restriction wasn't imposed by program orders. But it's seems the system attached to her data is displeased of her right hand use. It has a floating prompt reminding her to stop using her right hand for important task, she swipes that text away with her free left hand. The audience of folks looking at the screen step peering deeply of the data world inside the screens limitations.
"That's not something you should find in a cleaner bot body." One the group of metal folks voiced.
"This will likely be one many who evacuated off a computer server. The last few long distance transmission internet servers have fired its last. So many who lived in digital worlds had been moved into any available robotic shell possible. This was a world wide event. Implanted by the last blood line humans born on soil. There talk of trying to find digital ghosts whom are the remains of the genesis programme. The first space exploration trainer simulation." The flesh being spoke and gave a lengthy sigh, "Really, I don't think it's all that innocent of a reason to gift locked Internet ai physical bodies. There has to be more concerned data they are trying to dig up." The being snarls in trying to think of what to type.
"There were once many governments with thier own tries to be the top controller of space exploration and data handlers. Whomsoever was the most effective safe and efficient solution was going to be the government grasp of those space travlers. Controlling the knowledge is power in itself. I seen direct collaboration of evidence over my many years. So your not wrong. Its not as innocent as just gifting ai like me into portable data."
"The hope is to decryption of many law locks that many digital life was imposed by humans. There is still the threat of some data that was once public that was covered up to be resurfaced. Threat of techology blue prints and the methodology of technology creation being used in the wrong hands. Most of all, this is a way of bringing old data into updated platform, to prevent denied access from version wavelength data reader changes. Once you update a platform to only read a particular code, the older code underneath is often erased."
She speaks awkwardly in the screen speaker set up. Most pulled back away from her shell body at frist. Or they step egearly forward to glare at the white world screen.
"You left the headset with microphone plugged into your tower." She accurately pointed with her left hand of the assistant holding it, "You also have many human folks that left behind their video game accounts. That data of each individual ex-human user could be used to digitally program an ai to mirror the once living human. I am not a human and I am not the data of one. But I was netted in the sweep since I am an NPC that handles the reconstruction of such data. You need parts of my code to help recreate users from the VR game works I am from. I suspect someone smart knew that much and kept me included in the export transfer."
They all looked at each other thinking this over. It was a more intelligent answer then expected out of a unknown programme. Recovered from a mutant nest from the car park. Gladly, these folks are the security personnel group she encountered.
Especially the vr gear guy, who isn't wearing his gear present. So it leads her to suspect it was a breather suit with additional features and was likely space wear. Her poor motion feed, barely charged twin phones and weak direct cable feeds couldn't gift her much of seeing exactly what they look like. But there is enough server data pings and plenty the vr system client was reading.
There was two from the same server as her but she doesn't know if they are her squad or even the same data world. One server has so much vast data spread of multiple online world games that it's almost hard to say if they are or not. But given the proximity of her origin to be located into this body, its likely they share the same client system. The same floating hardware harassment of plexiglass windows.