/Killian
The room felt odd for a moment, when the voice of AIO came in the comms.
"How are you all still alive after all these years? Quite the cumbersome ordeal which would be the prime example of how I was allowed to change and update the system and tech in here. You were placed in the cryo pods, which would get you to be what - frozen?" - AIO gave a pause. We all looked at each other.
Frozen? That would mean that it would be a hefty thing to 'defrost' a whole human. Quite a bad practice, with many downsides if one was to 'resurrect' a person from the cryo sleep being icicle. That would be a disaster.
"So that is why a few things were at play. First - you were placed in a hypothermic stasis, though not entirely frozen, there was a mass of cryoprotectants and metabolic suspensions, nano bots and my dedication to keep you alive. Through all the years - your bodies received the nutrients needed to restore your cells, so that way you'd not die. All the repairs were done by nano bots. The tubes and IV bits were connected to you the whole time, so the nano bots had plenty of space to charge up and get back to work. That is how your cells were repaired, ailments treated and you were maintained to be alive." - AIO concluded.
"Wait, nano bots? Are we still with those in our bodies?" - I let out.
"Well yes, now that you're awake you have your own bioelectricity to keep them working. A bunch of repair workers that shall keep you going whilst you get accustomed to current circumstances." - AIO added.
"That's eerie in itself." - Ary let out. - "Having things inside me operating my cells… It sounds really creepy."
"But it does help you with repair of your cellular compound. So that you'll be maintained in better health." - AIO once again adds.
"Does that mean you're able to control the bots?" - I ask.
"Yes, of course, how else would I manage all the processes?" - AIO answers.
I look at Niko. She has the same expression of worry as my gut feeling. Could this system, this AIO truly be there for our benefit, or is that all for our detriment? There could be a lot that the system did, which could alter us and we'd have no clue about it.
"How much were you allowed to do to us, whilst we were in the stasis?" - Niko asks.
"Maintain your physical bodies, monitor your health, your emotional and psychological health, document the worlds you made, add the information from here to your world, change some aspects to see how you'll react and adjust. Pretty much execute the protocol of the researchers that was left for me." - AIO replies.
Niko gives me that look of "oh shit, we could have been manipulated and there's no guarantee that we were not". I do realize that it's a whole lot of a crazy box of pandora. So that means we were given information, as well as problems and whatnot just to see how we'd manage that. Well, that's quite the slap in the face.
To be in the system where we were sure WE are the creators, to then learn that some things came to be due to some AIO throwing it into the pot to see what'd cook.
"That is pretty much the AIO in the world where Adrian was doing his mad bits." - David lets out.
"Ah yes, I was wondering who'd be the one to create the world based on me. I was flattered that one of you made it work." - AIO lets out.
"Who created that world with AIO in the system?" - I ask.
"Ah, that was Adrian." - AIO replies.
"Is Adrian a person here in the cryo chamber?" - Niko asks.
"Oh no, he's the virus that was created by the system itself. Quite a surprise for me as well." - AIO replies.
The look on Nikos face as she placed her hand on David's shoulder and shook her head slowly. He was puzzled at first, with a tinge of disgust on his face as he felt the touch on his shoulder, but facing her - it's like they sort of had a whole conversation in that instant. With David then changing his whole expression to pretty much ooze one word - "Shit…"
I decided to take it up a notch: "So where;s Adrian right now?" - I asked.
"Oh he's…" - AIO began to reply then halted. Silence.
"That's awkward." - Ary lets out, as he shows a grimace of things not working out well.
Verin rubs her temples, as she seems to try and process the whole mess. Then gives the look of "oh really?" to Ary and rolls her eyes. Hikaru seems profoundly confused, with him partially slouching on the chair.
I tap on the table. Niko looks at me, same as David.
"He escaped." - Niko mouths to me.
"What?!" - I ask surprised.
"Oh, apologies, I could not find him, for some reason. Must be some system issue I am not aware of." - AIO comes on back.
The way that system spoke made me jump, others just slightly jolted from the sudden voice over the comms.
"Say, do we have living quarters here?" - Niko asks.
"Oh yes, that's just down the hall here. Unfortunately - there I do not have the access. So it's a bit more technologically inadvanced. Scientists, rather Mellissa, made sure it would be that way. So technologies, rather I, cannot access that part. Only the humans on the premises." - AIO lets out.
"I suppose we can go and have some rest, to sort of digest both the food and the information." - Niko gets up and walks towards the hall. The hall is basically further down the whole lot of this room. Pretty odd bit, but fairly intriguing.
Somehow we all follow her, in silence.
The hall is fairly short, with the door which opened at the start from our fingerprint, to the door on the other end being one where you just turn the door knob.
The opened space was like some old timey house. A bunch of rooms, a rounded area in the middle with the couches and soft things like pillows, old duvets and whatnot. It all looked like a moment frozen in time, with things from the old times of some house in the 1980's or a mix of what was in the early 2000's. No technologies though, just some mechanical bits that were predecessors of the tech as we know it currently.
The doors are closed well, everyone is inside.
"AIO can you hear me?" - Niko called out.
Silence. She tried a few more times again - futile. No response.
"Can we assume it really had no operational value here?" - She looks at me as she asks.
"Well, besides having some doubts, I wonder if she truly has no reach here." - I replied. The large pin board on the side of the room catches my eye.
I walk over to it to see the lot with papers just pinned to it, with some rules or something. All in English for us to be able to read it.
"The premises are specially made so that the AIO has no reach here, though, as we walked in, we activated another source of operation for this particular part of the area. Though, it will not try to interfere with us, as all is mechanics in buld, with no computers to maintain it." - I summarised what I just read through.
Niko breathes out in relief, taking a seat on the dusty couch. Others too - went to check the other rooms in here, other bits of interesting finds across the premises.
"Killian, if my guess is right - AIO is not to be trusted either." - Niko lets out.
"Well that's pretty much viable. We still don't know all the shit that the scientists put into this thing. Might be good, might be bad, might be downright mad." - I let out.
"I'm more concerned about Adrian." - David comes back and takes a seat near Niko. - "So he is a virus and he escaped. From what the system said."
"We can't be 100% sure he is NOT a human." - Ary let out, as he too returned to the common room.
"But if he is a Virus that was created by the system, without the actual knowledge of the system… Aaargh…" - The whole idea began frying my brain. I winced.
"I mean, he could be the, I don't know - something unaccounted for which happened coz the AIO threw in a lot of info that it did. And that could have… Ah shit, just trying to piece it like that is giving me headaches." - Niko lets out.
"Then again, we're 280 years into the future. Where are we? What were we? What happened to the world outside?" - Hikaru chimes in, as he too comes into the common room, taking a seat on the other couch here.
"Ok, I'll play along." - Verin comes back, sitting near Hikaru. - "So say that we're on planet earth. Who remembers what was here? Then again - after 280 years, which passed by, how much is left of this earth as we might remember it? I remember most of life in my world as I was the head Oracle. Like fuck would I care about what is here. I mean sure, Adrian was a very destructive character, but then again - we all pursued our egotistical goals no matter what. So what? I don't think that it is anywhere near as bad as the setup of City of Lights."
"City of Lights was under the reign of the Emperor, which was a whole lot of another thing in itself." - Niko lets out.
"Was it? Here it is governed by the thing called AIO. How is anything different?" - Verin points out.
"You do have a point." - I let out, as I walked over to sit besides others. - "Guess we have to start by figuring out what happened outside and inside, without the direct help of AIO at all times. So that we can have a more diverse objective look on all things."
"The system in the realm of AIO was heavily judgemental, so I think that same sort of thing could be here as well. I think that THAT created world, might be what this piece of sentient AI is striving for. It was a whole lot of a mess out there." - David sighs.
"If this AIO is anything like that one - it is a catastrophe. Nothing good will come out. Oh shit! Is this AIO connected to some systems outside? You know, like satellites or something?" - Niko looks at me.
"I'm not sure, but overall - that's a good question. Depending on the answer - we might find a way to adjust it to us, instead of a potential world domination theme." - I replied.
"Unless it already executed the world domination protocol and is storing us here like a breeding cattle." - Verin adds.
"That's a dark way to look at it." - Ary winces. - "Though pretty logical as well. I would not want to be a cattle for breeding. Not even sure if I am anything breedable now."
"Oh geez.." - Niko lets out.
Verin gives a disgusted look at Ary, rolling her eyes.
"Don't worry babe, you look good no matter where you are." - I say with a smile.
"So you'll breed me?" - Ary smirks.
"I would rather not. But if it comes to…" - I shrug at Ary.
"Ewww, stop it you two!" - Verin cuts that conversation.
All have a bit of a giggle over this. Then we decided on our rooms, as there were more than 13 rooms here. Also a different kitchen, old timey one, two large bathrooms, guess one for boys and one for the girls.
We found the laundry room, the few clothing racks and some other odd bits for the style and comfort of home.
We cleaned up the dust around where we were and after a bath, all went to sleep.
For some reason we found a room with 3 beds, so the three of us came to stay together.
"Do you think we should have breakfast on the AIO side and then return here?" - Niko asked.
"Well being on an empty stomach is something I would not agree to, so yes. Food is essential. I've not seen food here, yet." - Verin replied.
"I guess I'm here with Verin." - I add.
"Ok. Good night ladies. May we sleep well." - Niko purred at us.
"Good night." - Verin and I replied in unison.