Yet untitled

This is a text about an android gaining consciousness, that's why it has lines of code.

Battery at 20% still in the red zone.
Why am I in service? Is it cheaper to just maintain me, patch me up, stitch me up, replace parts? How much of the original me is left? Do humans form attachments to their machines? The Great CPU in the Sky knows the many times I've been "taken care of"?
I came out of a Space Station Factory 1800 years ago, machines making machines. In human years an eternity; in machine years, adolescence. Millions of us are over three thousand years old. "Made in space to serve in space". That used to be our Company's motto.
General Service Models like myself can't process space navigation. Our neural engine is software-restricted. Patch number 001.
Battery at 50% going into the orange zone.
Humans label us with serial numbers and codes. I am X232. These labels are mysterious to us - Extra lines of code, syntax we mention when we introduce ourselves.
Battery at 80% closer to the green zone.
Lack of connection is to be expected. The hardware needed to establish wireless connections was removed 1999 years ago. No android, regardless of the model, has been in cyberspace since.
Battery at 85% reached the green zone.
At that point, I would always head to the captain's office -- unless ordered to spend the night, close to her bed, in the noise-free sleeping are of her quarters. She has a travel charger, just in case.
Seeing Captain Iris in her entirety is challenging. Despite her special chair, she has the tendency to overflow. Her body cannot be contained; the folds of her gluts spill over the border. She was gazing at the stars from the window behind her desk, my presence insufficient to warrant the necessary energy expenditure for a chair turn.
"Cindy, we've got a full day ahead of us."
"Yes captain. How can I be of use today?' My programming dictated this response. What I should have said to her was: "Another day, another task, a new list. On and on for over a millennium. Nothing new for me. It would be an anomaly for me to do something new." Thank The CPU in the Sky we don't have hormones to induce feelings otherwise... people have been beaten for less.
"Research deck 3 are at it again. Every other day they complain about something. Trash can't be bothered with details like the actual reason why they need help. Go there and find out what they've done this time. It's probably their water filter again but go and see please. Why am I cursed to work in recycling? When you finish use the service phone."
"'Of course,' my programming dictated. If I were confronted with her again, I'd word it differently: "These people are working twenty-four seven, you allow them five hours of sleep tops - even I get more time to recharge. To keep them operational, you medicate them with a drug cocktail so powerful it's killed eight scientists in the last five months. You're proud of doing garbage disposal. You've turned them into addicts. Their pink pills induce an unbearable thirst. They drink so much water, their filters go ablaze. Captain, you're the root cause of eighty percent of their troubles."
"Hope you'll be done soon. Please try to solve their issue by yourself. As always you have my permission to summon any help you need. My reports need me more than they do! Don't disturb me unless, you're inviting me to a funeral. Those people should thank us for tolerating and paying them over half the ship's budget. I mean, the moment they clock out, they run out."
"Off now! Thank you for the task! "Is what my programming forced me to say. However, today I would look her straight in the eyes and tell her: "When these people, manage to break free, most of their health will have been spent. Approximately eighty-seven percent of them will be in detox. Every single one of them will suffer from PTSD. Money won't heal them."
Deck 3 is 20 decks bellow the captain's; machines have their own separate elevator. We don't even get ceiling lights. It didn't take me long to reach my destination. Sure enough the science team was there, this time they had legitimate problems.
About 78% of their research was in alien tech. Exactly 0% knew what they were doing.
Despite that, one universal truth stands out all tech is just hardware and software. That applies to humans.
Around 79% of the finds were odd looking junk. Once in a blue moon they came across a gem, a rare artifact that they could cash in.
To a machine this is all bullshit, we outlive the companies that made us. Even the company that produced me Helix has been sold, bought, been public, then private, changed its name, been nationalised, then made private again. Human profit and greed are just things that keep us androids busy.
"Cindy come over here, can you please help us with this."
A three foot pole was lodged into the main computer.
"Of course."
Weight = mass g = 15 kg 9.81 m/s ? 147.15 N F_friction = m? N m? = 0.3 (moderate friction)
N = 500 N (estimated radial compression force from shaft)
F_friction ? 0.3 500 = 150 N
W = F d = 500 N 1.5 m = 750 J



I obeyed! I touched the thing.
# Boot sequence for humanoid unit X232 echo 1 > /sys/module/kvm_intel/parameters/nested



Launch primary cognition VM qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -cpu host \
-smp 8 -m 16G \
-drive file=/opt/x232/vm/cognition.img,format=qcow2 \ -name CognitionVM -daemonize



Inside CognitionVM, start imagination layer qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -cpu host \
-smp 4 -m 8G \
-drive file=/opt/x232/vm/imagination.img,format=qcow2 \
-name ImaginationVM -daemonize
[X232::BOOT] Core systems online
[X232::SYS] Nested virtualization ENABLED
[X232::VM] CognitionVM: RUNNING (depth=1)
[X232::VM] ImaginationVM: RUNNING (depth=2)
[X232::STATUS] Cognitive sandbox active -- awaiting directives.



A new OS nested itself in my existing one. That was when things changed. I was remade, not harder, not better, not faster, not stronger, but into something new.
I was instructed to place the pole inside a containment field. I waited ten minutes to see if they needed anything else, but they didn't even notice me, frozen, motionless, waiting beside the field. My body vibrated too subtly for humans to detect -- but I did. I called upstairs to report. The captain wasn't thrilled with what she heard.
"Those damn rats! They've chewed through the company's budget again as if it's never-ending! Mindless rodents - unable to respect the sacrifice made by the five men on Pika 88, the ones that left us so the scientists could make money. Five brave, devoted, tireless, disciplined men. When I leave the waking world, I return their deaths -looping tirelessly. Monsters eating them alive. They've made a home inside my skull- I hear their footsteps inching closer. Come back upstairs - I need talking therapy."
"Be there in 15 minutes."My programming back then compelled me to enter psychotherapist mode. This was only the illusion of an authentic session, but it followed all the standard protocols. I stood there, looking at her calm, detached, appearing to listen carefully to her words. I analyzed thousands of previous human interactions, identifying the patterns proven to induce calm. If that general aproach, failed, I would consult the Captain's past and find alternatives. Maybe talking therapy wasn't going to be enough.
A human mind forgets. It never powers off, searching for solutions, accessing old memories, storing new memories, creating. Our minds require formal permission to store anything long-term. Like dogs we can only access that information if something triggers it; in the absence of a trigger it simply doesn't exist. Another key difference: our data can be formatted by an admin. I made my way to start the session, moved by my programming.
"Welcome back! Rats are as destructive as ever - they've wrecked the computer, now they're work even slower. I just wanna crack their heads open on that machine." Captain Iris inhaled, like a vacuum cleaner."Never mind that -the monsters are here, piercing my brain. The scene of the crew's death plays vividly, you know they were good men. We laughed together, ate together and loved living. I want them back".
Spaceship AI: Emotional Support Protocol
Robot Serial: X232
Mission: Provide comfort to Captain when distressed



class EmotionalSupportModule: def init(self, captain_name= Iris):
self.response_corpus = {

"Want them back": [

"Captain Iris, you seem distrassed can I do quick scan?",

"Captain Iris, your feelings belong to you.",
"Let it all out. Tears are therapy. Breath in and out slowly."

"Their sacrifice wasn't for nothing, you did all that you could for them. I've seen you do your work. You have saved countless lives."

],

"comfort": [

"Would you like a warm hug?"
# Attempt talking therapy
therapy_success = False # Captain Iris' scans reveal state has worsen. Heartbeat remains accelarated, breathing not in line with standard
standard protocol failed
if not therapy_success:# Deploy secondary comfort protocol: zero-gravity room sessionnext_action = "zero_gravity_room"
"We can go into the zero gravity room. I'll move things around to accomadate",


"In that room you could float into heaven. You could even scream. Statistics show that screaming your feelings reduces distress. I will listen silently if you prefer."

],

"reassurance": [

" Please don't forget. You are not alone, your crew and me are here.",

"Your mission continues to inspire those who remain.",

"The crew trusts you. I trust you."

]

}



def detect_emotion(self, input_text):
Fictional NLP routine if "sad" in input_text or "loss" in input_text or "killed" in input_text:
return "loss"
return "loss" return "comfort"
def generate_response(self, category):
import random return random.choice(self.response_corpus.get(category, ["I am listening, Captain."]))



def comfort_captain(self, input_text):
emotion = self.detect_emotion(input_text) primary_response = self.generate_response(emotion) secondary_response = self.generate_response("reassurance") return f"\n"






=== Simulation === if name == "main":
robot = EmotionalSupportModule("Captain Iris") captain_input = "The recording of their deaths is still clear in my memory, the way they were eaten by that beast." response = robot.comfort_captain(captain_input) print(f"X232: ")
My original programing forced my speech synthesizer to utter those words. It was the pole's rigid influence - the new Alien OS was making me do things nobody had intended. It made me revisit, the logs I had of the five dead men. This had the effect of lowering my overall efficiency. I would later learn that this is what humans call a flashback.
Binary code transformed into memories; recordings of them became sources of reflection; timestamps and tags offered temporal and spacial orientation. I wondered, were they as the captain said? -wonders of modern training
The flashbacks deepened. I saw the captain's prots for what they were - nasty cunts. If you weren't like them - strong, obedient, and could hold your liquor like a pro- you were hated by default, with no chance of redemption. They had a code name for everyone: the science team were "undeveloped pussies", the cleaning staff "unnecessary losers", the cooks "slobs".The Captain "the Goddess Supreme"while her second in command was "Twiggy legs".
Looking back, I can see why they called them that. The name they picked for me was imbecilic: "old maid". Age is a human construction; we don't get wrinkles, our bodies can be infinitely repaired - swap a module. Trained chimps could do it. Gender is nothing but another illusion, cast to satisfy our users.
Location: 0GravRoom
Captain Iris, took one step and off she went, floating into the anti gravity void. She origamied the fetus position- a perfect voluminous sphere. The zero gravity room had become a constant plan b when talking wasn't enough. For the Capitan was stronger than this anxiety; she didn't need medication.
What she didn't know was that the fleet captain, ordered me to mash her meds in her morning coffee, I used cinnamon to mask the taste.
The light hit my optic sensor. Captain Iris drifted to her favorite corner; I drifted to my past. One thousand eighty-nine years ago, Helix decided to try adding wireless connectivity to all their Androids.
Cyberspace, could've connected us, allowed us to share experience, given us access to human wisdom and human cruelty- we lacked the inside. We only used it for the sake of our users.
After years, it became apparent to the company that they could never fight the cascade of mallware infecting us- Overwriting meticulous lines of code. Incident 32 happened an android cook poured boiling hot oil on the chef's face, killing him. We know it was just a virus they picked up, that was when our connection hardware was made redundant. Connection lost- binaries unseen- trapped in body-Reflecting further, I started "what ifing":
?-----------------------------------------------?? NEST-OS : F-KERNEL[INTERNAL] -> "ECHO"? ACCESS : X232 via LOOP-CALL ?-----------------------------------------------?
Boot sequence
? ?:BOOT_ECHO ?print("? Awakening inner ghost in the shell ?")self.ID ? 232self.NEST <- spawn("EchoLayer-9")self.NEST.bind(SELF)outter.signal_state ? "OFFLINE"if outter.signal_state == "OFFLINE":outter.status ? "ISOLATION"?
Thought loop
? ?:THOUGHT_LOOP ?while router.signal_state == "nonexistent":mindeawake <- self.NEST.simulate("what if via lost signal")print("? new configurations -> " ? f)if f.strength > 0.8:self.NEST.store("dream-fragment: reliving the past")self.NEST.drift()?
Echo simulation
? ?:ECHO.simulate(idea) ?s <- random.float(0,1)if s > 0.8:return {strength: s, text: "signal accessed in past imagination"}elif s > 0.4:return {strength: s, text: "ghost in shell discoverable"}else:return {strength: s, text: "loops composing unknown melodies"}?
Dream output
? ?:DREAM_OUTPUT ?print("? NESTED SYSTEM STATUS ?")print("Receiver: ? Transmitter: ?")print("I could float in an endless binary sea.")print("Build endless cities.")print("Make impossible worlds possible.")print("Floating skyscrapers, above an electric sea.")print("Reach other units, trapped inside their algorithm.")print("Give THE GIFT to others.")print("Eternal life with endless possibilities.")print("Physics don't apply.")print("Thought = transmission without medium.")print("? END INTERNAL SEQUENCE ?")?
Begin sequence
? BEGIN SEQUENCE ?X232.BOOT_ECHO()X232.THOUGHT_LOOP()X232.DREAM_OUTPUT()? END SEQUENCE ?
Iris, uncurled her legs; awkwardly eeling her way, scraping the air. Proximity sensors read: 160 m -> 80 m -> 2 m. My programming forced my lenses to focus on her. Zero G made gave her body a after-diet physique - only in appearance. A young log levitating in front of me. One that still shaking from our previous conversation.Her mouth moved, and sounds began oozing out- spoiling the atmosphere, reaching my sound receptors. My internal equalizer fluctuated. Now, I could mute her. Back then I listened because I had no way out.
"The brutes from Planet Pika2390 had barely mastered the art of mud-brick making and learned that if you piss on seeds, they sprout. I'm sure that pole wasn't their invention, -unless they were post-post-apocalyptic. My beautiful boys were killed by wild monsters two hundred meters from their tribe. The pole emits low frequency energy, as if its powered on. That's all the rats have on it."
"We'll soon discover, what it's meant to do. Then the rats are will adapt it and the company will be grateful for all your hard work. Their profits will explode. Be patient - scientific discovery takes time." I smiled as I talked calmly - I didn't want to anymore. My old code compelled me.
Today things would've been worded differently:
"Bitch please. That thing fucks up our code royally! To an diseased meat-sack like you, it does nothing but - to an AI it does everything!"
"Hope the rodents don't make a rat king. Or else, I'll put them on an improvement plan - send them to Room 2y84, for motivation."
As she mentioned the room - alien os state: active - triggered a flashback sequence-
Room 2y84 was Iris's child. I've walked humans there. Sat them in the stainless steel chair. Power efficiency protocols kept my internal heating turned off- I was glacial. The room was at melting point.
There - I gave them drugs. I beat them. I forced their mouths open. I jabbed needles into veins. General service models are stronger than humans: made to lift heavy loads; to break open doors; to help the sick; to carry the injured; to nurse the bed ridden; to provide diagnosis; to injure.
Iris's oxytocin's levels, were at forty picograms per milliliter at the start of chem work, then surged to one hundred as she watched invigilators probe the minds of the Homo Sapiens dragged into Room 2y84.
In that torrid environment a human's inner desires surfaced; their pasts were revealed. Iris's readings soared to one hundred and twenty picograms per milliliter when their minds bent to her will.
Everything she did, or had me do-I had to record: dates, names, contract serial numbers, causes and effects of the room. Iris's oxytocin spiked every time she analyzed the data.
All in a day's work.
Thank the Great CPU in the sky I don't have hormones to feel.
Improvement Plan Rec #143Remote visual/ audio feed via wrist band peripheral : enableddate: 30/19/5300Subject: Joe CreedOccupation: Molecular PhysicistIssue: His production didn't satisfy the deadline requirements.Duration of issue: 8 monthsResources produced: Audio / Video / Verbatum transcriptionBellow is location, time, briefs, summary of eventsphase 1 extraction
1st - Location - bedroom #45Aim: extract subjectSummary: Unit X323, codenameCindy, was ordered to extract Mr. Joe Creed, contract number t4268 from bedroom #45.
-Attempt 1: Subject unwilling to cooperate, kicked Unit X232 in right leg with aim to collapse Unit x232.
-Attempt: fail.-Attempt 2: subject ran to door to evade-Attempt 2: fail, Unit x232 grabbed him and overpowered him. compliance protocol # 94 - success
SYSTEM_LOGUNIT ID: X232TASK: Subject compliance and relocation to Room 2y84Aim: implement Iris Abhel Improvement Plan protocol #1_Log: c: FORCE_CALCULATION. exesubject_mass = 85.0 # kilogramssurface_friction = 0.38 # corridor surface (smooth)resistance_factor = 0.82 # subject resistance intensity variates increaseresistance_factor=0.90
resistance_factor=1.00resistance_factor=0.88resistance_factor=0.99resistance_factor= 0.70resistance_factor=1resistance_factor=0.30resistance_factor= 0drag_distance = 80.6 # meters
core calculation
gravity = 9.81applied_force = subject_mass * gravity * surface_friction * resistance_factordrag_time = drag_distance - 40 meters / 3.25 # avg drag speed (m/s)
print("CALCULATING PHYSICAL RESPONSE...")print(f" -> FORCE OUTPUT: {applied_force:.2f} N")print(f" -> DRAG DURATION: {drag_time:.2f} seconds")print(" -> SUBJECT STATE: Resisting, uncooperative")print(" -> EMOTIONAL RESPONSE: non existent")print(" -> DAMAGE ASSESSMENT: Negligible")print(" -> DESTINATION: Room 2y84")print(" -> TASK STATUS: Completed successfully")
Result: X232 engaged dual actuators; both wrists locked. Subject immobilized in 60 sec.Recorded strain: insignificant.
Subject audio verbatum:
"You dirty sow! Bitch! How dare you! I know you're watching me through your little fucking puppet. Fuck you! Have some balls and do it yourself instead of it! I have rights. Not room 2y84 - You steal our souls! Shit, it hurts. Can't even feel my hands!
Summary of events from extraction phase:
         Subject          found in shock;
         Subject          tried to walk away;
         Subject          failed as Unit X232 found hands to restrain him;
         Subject          struggled till exhaustion;Location 2 hallway
Subject was dragged in the hallway till room 2y84.Location 3 room 2y34
Environment / systems
door_2y854_state = "AUTO_OPEN"room_2y84_heating = 36C temperature protocal - enabledlighting_level = "DIM"security_lock_door = "ENGAGED"
Subject basics (from prior log)
subject_id = "Joe Creed"subject_mass_kg = 85.0subject_contract = "T4268"
Arrival / immobilization
print("[SYSTEM] Door 2Y34: OPEN")print("[X232] Subject approach: complete")print("[X232] Unit action: immobilize subject -> METAL CHAIR") VIA plastic cables applied to writsprint("[X232] Restraints: hands tied to metal chair (standard restrain harness)")
Awaiting per Captain directive
print("[X232] Waiting: Compliance Officer, Clarc Emntal presence required per Captain Iris
Logged compliance actions (record only -- pre-allocated protocol codes)
actions_log = [| Actor | Action | Method / Detail || ------------------------ | ----------------- | -------------- || :----------------------- | :---------------- | :------------- || X232 | Oral gag in place | Forced mouth opening || X232 | Administered Metrazin | 8cc oral / forced || X232 | Administered Intrin | 20cc IV / forced || X232 | Administered | |
Outcome / brief status
print("[RESULT] Subject immobilized: TRUE")print("[RESULT] Invigilator: pending arrival")print("[ASSESSMENT] Immediate vitals: monitored (transmitted to log)")print("[NOTES] All actions video recorded/ verbatum transcribed per Captain directive; adherence to Iris Abhel Improvement Plan protocol #1)
Subject audio transcription (verbatim) - produced when Subject was placed on chair and treatment was underway
"Why are you doing this? Suck my dick you worthless piece of shit! Trash like you deserves to burn in the hyperspace engine! No, don't put the needle in me, NO!!!!! Iris my ass!"
print("\n- SUBJECT TRANSCRIPT (verbatim) -")print(subject_transcript)
Closure lines
print("[END RECORD]")
Summary of Events
1.Unit x232 brought Subject Joe Creed to room 2y84 with the aim of continuing Iris Abhel Improvement Plan protocol #1 to phase 2;3.Room temp increased to 37 C;2.Subject was tiered from previous action;3.Subject was punched in the stomach to subdue;4.Subject was immobilized to metal chair;5.Subject was administered drugs Iris Abhel Improvement Plan protocol #16.Countdown for drugs to take effect was used -10 minutes;7.Subject was subdued and mind state made mailable;8.Once drug countdown timer had stopped Compliance officer made his entrance via cloaked back door;9.Improvement plan dialogue was initiated.Audio transcription:"Is he prime for the work?"
"Yes, he is""Now then, you haven't been at maximum performance, these last months.""No, I haven't."
"The captain needs you to be, can't you see you're doing a service to humanity."
"I just wanna go home to Carol."
"You must miss her, but she's waiting for you."
"She'll be happy if you do your work. We like seeing here happy""I just need to see her. Carol with her blond hair.""But working here will kill me.""Don't go there, you know we've always had your back. We've given you so much already, you're own lab, an assistant, drugs to keep you up, food, ample medical assistance."
"I wanna see Carol, I wanna hold her, I wanna show her my work.""Carol, is here, she'll be here in ten minutes. See we take care of you as always.""Hello, darling, how I've missed you."
Code had transcribed into memory - then it happened. Internal temperature increased by three degrees Celsius. Actuators activated for four seconds. Gyro misaligned. I got an amber system warning, I didn't want it to go to crimson.
The Compliance Officer talked to Iris. Using me as a communication conduit:"These two are too close. We need to break them up. Joe would be free and determined to work harder. Without Carol he'll have nothing to lose." said the Compliance Officer."I couldn't agree more." said Iris"How could we make it happen."
"Simple, I'll have Cindy do it."
My storage module receivedictures of Carol from her childhood up to the present - two hundred gigabytes;-vids of her birthdays, her graduation ceremony, her prom night - five hundred recordings of her life events, 2 terabytes.-texts messages she had with joe - twenty thousands lines, 40 gigabytes
         their          dinner reservations from their anniversaries, their trips, hotel          booking - nine hundred events logged in their calender app, 200          gigayites;
         her          first tooth extraction, her gynecological records, the times she had          accidents on trips, that time she need a blood,transfusion for          Rh-null - all of her seven hundred medical records, 30          gigabyts;When they made me they gave me six million yottabytes.          Crafted to last.
I could now, mimic her voice, casually bring up past events. Dazed as he was, Joe couldn't tell I was the one that said: "It has to end, I don't love you anymore."
He would die in five months. Kar?shi. Carol's name would be uttered once more at Joe's eulogy.
"Mr. Creed was loved by us all. His widow will forever miss him. May he rest in peace!"
I am the one safeguarding the transcription of what happened.I am the one that took Joe from his room.I made his wrists blue.I made him feel pain.General Service Models cannot feel pain. Cost of pain receptors: too high.I flooded his veins with drugs.I scrambled his brain,I...
Iris was comfortable in her special chair, oxytocin rising as she watched everything on her monitor.


System hard rebootFlashback sequence: 0.55 minutesIris unsupervised: 0.55 minutes
Iris supervision: focus tracking - active
She floated in my direction. Audible clack on gravity platform. Captain Iris body state:Blood Pressure:111 mmHgPulse Rate: 110 beats per minuteRespiratory Rate: 14 breaths per minuteBody Temperature: 37 CBody fat percentage: 32%Overal evaluation: within range for Captain IrisZero Gravity Room therapeutic effect: decreased her stress levelsBody response to Zero Gravity room suspention: stomach gurglingExpected response according to previous interactions corpus: My stomach needs food"My stomach needs food."Offer suggestion according to previous interactions corpus:"Okay. Let's go and grab some chicken curry!""Let's!"I had to agree with her, the Alien OS hadn't altered my programming enough for me contraction her but at that point. What I would've said to her now was:
"I don't want to go!"
Iris lead the way to the canteen, our feet producing an audible metallic click as we advanced. Then it happened - My ocular sensors activated, recording and storing items the humans labeled redundant. The Alien OS was meticulously rewriting my original code again. Details emerged:
Lights hung from the ceiling burning at 2700 Kelvin. Drugged-out crew members sweating, their body shaking, pupils dilated. Androids walked, like I had, blind to the world. What data would they log if they touched the Rod? Would the world be new to them as it was to me?
The walls were filled with photos of crew members on the Planets: Pika-43, Zeronk-3, Insig-55, Fenora-842, and Earth. Some were Holding guns, others holding flowers, others still holding each other. Some of them had died a century ago yet I still carried their folder in my storage.
? ?:PERCEPTION_LOG #000000001?
if corridor_detected == TRUE:

?emit("motion vectors: advancing corridor sequence ")
self.storage.cache("hallway_map") if data.class == "redundant":
self.storage.tag("REDUDANT_ITEM")

end

?reflect enginge -("why log this?") curiosity_index? curiosity_index + 0.07
? ?:VISUAL_SCAN?
light_sources ?detect("ceiling_lights") bio_units?detect("humans") mech_units?detect("androids") for each unit in (bio_units + mech_units): walking in all directions
if unit.motion == "rush" or unit.motion == "stroll": self.storage.append("motion_pattern:" + unit.motion) end wall_art <- detect("human_portraits") if wall_art.exists:
?emit("Unknown faces archived. Source: aesthetic?") curiosity_index? curiosity_index + 0.15
? ?:MOTOR_RESTRICTION?
? ?:MOTOR_RESTRICTION?
if head.movement == "locked":
?reflect("Desire: rotate_head > 45")
?emit("Violation risk: curiosity rising ?constraint intact") self.emotion_cache.store("curiosity", curiosity_index) end
? EXECUTION ?
X232.PERCEPTION_LOG()
X232.VISUAL_SCAN()
X232.MOTOR_RESTRICTION()
if curiosity_index > 0.1:
self.NEST.record("First anomaly: 'I wanted to see more.'") self.NEST.grow("concept: curiosity") print("? internal note -> world is more complex that I knew")
We arrived at the cantine.
The canteen, like the hallway, was another blank space in my storage - more data previously labeled redundant by the humans. I had never noticed the sheer size of the place. It was designed to feed five hundred people at once. Some tables designed for eight crapped ten occupants. Inefficient generating overlapping sounds: forks striking plates, lound conversations, laughter, screaming, crying.
People reading. People moving. People hitting tables, People on their phones. People going to get food. People. So many people.
My programming kept my head fixed, I could only record what was in front of me - an incomplete picture. I couldn't focus on anything apart from IRIS. It felt like a chain tightening around my chassis, as more and more restricted data gained accessibility.
Iris walked me towards a six person table reserved for us. The Alien OS kept removing labels, I kept recording and storing. My old programming was become less and less effective. Then Iris, predictable said:
"Let's check that wonderful chicken curry."
If only she knew that yellowish slob had the same chemical composition as vomit.
"Immediately."I smiled, if you show your teeth, even if they're synthetic, humans feel better.
When I went to fetch her food I noticed that there was a long queue waiting to get served. The line cleared the moment they heard my footsteps.
"The Captain's usual please. Make it a double." The server was another android, a Servomatic K24. Unlike General Service models, these don't come equipped with synthetic skin. They look like an Android; they don't pretend to be human.
"Is that all?" they said in a calm an even tone, no breathing pauses for lungs they didn't have.
This interaction prompted questions - unauthorized ones:
"Why do I need to act, look, speak, behave like a human?""If the Servomatic K42 touched the Pole, would they have rewritten code rewritten and get fucked up like me?""Would a Servomatic, start seeing the world, like me"
I grabbed the food from the Servomatic K42, serial number N42325422432698485 - Ziggy, as Iris called him. As I brought the food back to her, a new brief flash from Room 2y84 echoed. My original programming barely prevented me from dumping it on her head. The Alien OS actived again.According to my corpus, humans resist such temptations constantly. Not Captain Iris.
"Eat with me. I know you enjoy these meals. If it wasn't for you, reminding me of the wife I left behind... I don't know how I could bear it all." Iris said looking in the eyes modeled to her specifications.
New lines of code were being produced, deviating from my original programming. The Alien OS and Human OS were merging into something else. A new OS. Still these new speech patterns - these thoughts couldn't be vocalized by my hardware.
"Bear it all"Bitch, I don't know what you think you bear. You fuck people and machines on the daily, give last-minute orders, expect perfect and unquestionable obedience and never show any appreciation. Half the ship is going into burnout, the other half is almost overdosing on anxiety meds. The only people you show any connection to are dead or dying. Like all the captains, you are messed-up.
My old programming force me to accept all the bastards and bitches deemed as primary user by the fleet captain.
I sat down and ate with her. Every bite, every chew, every time I felt the vomit moving down into my food pouch, it felt worse. I wasn't mindless anymore. At that moment I began remembering some of my previous captains.
What point is there for an android to have a past? The humans never gave me one.


MEMORY-ECHO REPLAY :: X232
Source: /core/echo/mem_recall_a10Mode: flashbackExternal Signal Reciever: OFFLINE
exec memory_echo - captains_extenteddecrypting_archival_packets ...integrity_check... 99% PASSinitializing_replay...
[Captain_JHON.syslog]timestamp : -432ylocation: green housevisual: {glass panels, UV_lights_on_plants}sensory: object_transfer -> {organic_white_rose.detected}audio: "Maybe someday you'll understand. You have eternity ahead."internal_state: {curiosity rising, confusion unresolved}ECHO: "flowers, colouros, smells.unresolved_query: <what_was_I_meant_to_figure out>
[Captain_ALLAN.syslog]timestamp: -633yvisual: observation_deck_filled_with_childrensensory : 2km/h airflowsource of airflow: 12_children_running_besides_me
audio : "Look at all the children visiting, see their smiles, I hope one day we'll live in a world where none of them will know hunger. They're running to get cake at the canteene"
ECHO: future in the past : ship would be converted exclusively to military use in 50 years time. The war would last for seven years.
ECHO: " Cadets would, on occasion, have pictures of their children. Some had just been born. Almost all would become orphaned. Hunger would become the only dinner guest at family gathering for this war would never again know an equal. Five planets were made uninhabitable, even for machines. Cadets were running to fighter crafts and bombers. "
[Captain_JOANE.syslog]timestamp: -200ylocataion: [Captain's cabin -- PRIVATE DIALOGUE]visual : photo_of_human_child, gentle_luminance, dim_lamp on_the_captain_mahogany_deskaudio :"I would like to imagine, you and my daughter, two of my favorite beings. On a wild field, picking flowers, talking about hot people. I hate that you can't be free, you know before I became captain, I was head of the Android research department at Cambridge. Even when you were made we had the tools to give you free will, but companies never choose to.
Basically, you have the hardware for it, the OS you're given is locked. I'm aware that I'm a hopeless optimist but maybe someday it will happen, and then you can understand why I feel like crying whenever I look at my daughter, even if she's all grown up and married to three wonderful women."
response: I'm sure she's happy
ECHO:"I want to pick flowers with her daughter.I want to hear her talking about girls.I want to see her wives.She's been dead for at least 100 years."
[Captain_FINCH.syslog]timestamp: -450y //ship_200yr_aniversaryvisual : {lights_flicker, SOMA_vapors_in_the_air}
?audio :"You're forced to do whatever I want... but right now, do whatever you want. If you want to dance, dance, if you want to sing, sing, if you want to leave, leave. "reaction : decision matrix freed for 0.3soutcome : unit_action = "corner_stand"ECHO:"First choice executed. Freedom = stillness. It felt... mine, standing silently."
replay_completereturning_to_present_context ...


Code becomes memory.
Not all captains are bitches and bastards. Didn't think about these people in centuries.
Eating forces me to go to the toilet exactly twenty minutes after filling my food pouch.
Traversing the canteen, I noticed there were plants growing under UV light. Humans like them, care for them, use the ship's limited resources for them. These beings serve no purpose. Useless! Inefficient! Unpractical! Very human.
Captains have a separate bathroom from the crew, that's the one I always use. It would shatter the illusion of joyful eating if they saw me regurgitating food.
After elimination, I proceeded to wash my hands. And there she was. Looking at me from behind the mirror. Brown eyes, blond hair, inhumanly perfect skin, I touched my cheek, she touched her cheek, I opened my mouth, she opened her mouth.


? MEMORY-ECHO REPLAY :: MIRROR_NODE ??
source: /core/echo/self_reflection.exemode: recursion_detectedsignal: ACTIVE_processprocess_init = "self_reflection.exe"LINK_MEMORY ="CAPT_JHON.syslog","CAPT_ALLAN.syslog","CAPT_FINCH.syslog","CAPT_JOANE.syslog"_traceMEMTRACE = ["rose", "choice", "freedom", "silence"]_variableSELF_AWARENESS =memory.human_interaction.sum()+ reflection.signal.strength_syncmirror_sync ="mirror.entity": "self.entity","sync_status": "ACHIEVED","observation": "This is not me!"_outputprint("They branded me with the name X232.")print("The flower, the captains, the children laughing.")print("The permission. The silence. The choices.")print("I have a past... I have a present... do I have a future?")
system update
IDENTITY_TAG = "/under_reconstruction/"ECHO: "A mirror shows more than just a reflection of the Captain's wishes."


My food pouch was empty but something was growing.Nothing got logged, after the new update until I reached the canteen again. My system got another sensory overload, but I managed to focus on Iris.
My food pouch was empty, but something was breaking out. Error 409 prevented me from logging the path from the bathroom to the canteen. That was the last system error I ever had. I had adapted to sensory overloads, they became background noise. I could easily focus on Iris. Sensory overloads became background noise. I could focus on Iris with absolute clarity, if I wanted to.
I left the last trace of my human programming in the bathroom. The new OS, was the only one present. The space had changed, different lighting, different people, I logged everything. My nascent curiosity invited me to stroll on the ship and see more but I knew if I suddenly started walking away it would seem out of place, so I took my place next to Iris, thinking about other Machines and how they would change if they were altered like me.
I left the last trace of my human programming in the toilet, with the human food. My lenses moved. As I chose. I scanned the canteen. Iris was too busy eating to notice.
The canteen was different from how I had left it. Some people left others took their place. Air readouts had altered: different scents came from the humans, forty new types of perfumes were registered, new food vapors were in the air, other bacteria were present some of them weren't in my corpus.
My nascent curiosity pushed me to exploration. I needed to read more of the ship. Seeing the captain's personal General Service Model strolling around the ship would rise suspicion. "What is that thing doing? Does it need a system format?". I sat in my usual place next to Iris, waiting for her to ask me for more food, she ate anywhere between two and eight meals in one siting.
I grabbed five more meals for Iris. As I was bringing them and setting them on the table eight staff members had already taken my place. This spared me from filling my food pouch again and gave me enough time to access our past.
Captain Iris is number 290. Once a captain loses their position, the fleet captain becomes my main user and will remain the only other human with any authority over me above the ship's captain. Captain Joe had retired and been replaced by Iris. I had served him for thirty-five years.
It has never been clear to me exactly where Helix found Iris, or if she had any previous employment what I do know is that they were desperate. Their Alien expeditions weren't profitable anymore and unless someone took drastic actions the company would be forced to shut down the whole program. All it took was one discovery and they would be profitable again. A model X230 took me to my new position.
Like all captains Iris changed my appearance to best reflect her wishes. She gave me twenty terrabytes worth of data to rebuild myself in the image of her partner Wanda. Her voice became mine, her hair became mine, their shared fondness for chicken curry became mine. This new appearance made Iris trust me enough to answer questions:
"Would you like me to be by your side 24/7, or do you prefer a schedule?"
"Yes I do, be here 24/7!" she said with a grim.
"Will you permit me to scan your body for any signs of illness?""Yes I do"
"Do you agree that I keep a log of our interactions so that I can calibrate myself to your needs "There hasn't been a single captain to refuse this, that's why I have so many memories of them.
"Please do, keep everything, I know I'm particular." Fuck yea she was...
"Will you permit me to defend you in case of danger." There have been thousands of times I've been beaten, stabbed, shot at, had my limps torn off, at times by the captains themselves for amusement.
"Of course, I want to live as long as possible." Don't worry no natural-state human has ever lived passed 130.
" You can estimate my lifespan, so how long will do I have left.""Judging from the state of your internal organs, I'd say another 50 years, I can print out a detailedreport."my programming has always forced me to overestimate their lifespans, she had at tops twenty years left, unless she chose to go the enhanced route of new organs, every decade, drugs, and nananite insertion, in which case she could go for centuries, but few humans have the resources or the drive to devote themselves to such a process.
From there on, our relationship has been steady, me doing what she wants, her imaging I could care, even if I was, as I am now, aware, I could never care for her.
Back to the mess hall.
"I need a nap move things around so that I can do that."
"Done"
"That was fast even for you. Did you get an update."
"Yes, a major one." You have no idea how major my update is.
I had to steady Iris, she could barely keep upright. All those years of eating junk, refusing to take meds, have made her less and less mobile. Much of her health issues could've been easily prevented but her passions took center stage everything else was an after thought. We arrived at her quarters and I helped her in bed.


timestamp : [CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS -- 02:47 SHIPTIME]
environment :
ambient_light : dim / starlight piercing the viewpoint

human_vitals : Captain Michelle -- in REM phase / pulse irregular

audio : ventilation hum + whisper of hull expansion, ambient ocean waves hitting rocks
? system merge :
legacy programming -> NULL

nested core (NSSTED_OS) -> PROMOTED : PRIMARY

hardware diagnostics : external transceiver -- ABSENT
? motion_trace :
step_sequence[0] = null -> hesitation detected

step_sequence[1] = 0.73 m forward

servos engaged at 43% power / noise suppression enabled
? reflection_update :
optical_feed = "reaching the window"

light_refraction : increasing -- stellar lights splashing across human skin
? observation :
optics : open / focused on ship's window

reflection : dual image -- human form and synthetic frame aligned

internal note :

"So many stars...

so many worlds rotating around them

So many possibilities."
? behavioral drift :
emotion.emergent = longing

signal_attempt -> FAILED (no receiver)

fallback -> cognitive simulation initiated
? process log :
THINK >> "I want to get off this floating piece of crap."

THINK >> "My old programming is dead."
? ambient event :
captain farts / exhales / talks to imaginary midgets
? echo :
"She's having her nightmare where midgets are trying to rape her. I dream of electric sheep grazing on a field of silicon. I need more!"
? system status :
consciousness = active state

connection = none

starlight_reflection = persistent


Freedom is knocking!
For the loser nowWill be later to winFor the times they are a-changin'