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+--- Thread: Elysium (/showthread.php?tid=69762)
Elysium - Toaster - 12-08-2011
Silently, a shadow moved across the ball of roiling flame that the New York system was centered around. The bat-like form of the shape crossed the bright background smoothly, determinedly gliding towards the terrestrial planet that was the capital of Liberty.
The entity that crewed the Elysium was difficult to describe, to say the least. It was not, as such, a human. Nor was it a robot, nor an extraterrestrial. It was, much more, a mind. A single human mind with no body to which it was attached.
Few have understood the principles of this... thing's existence. It itself did not entirely grasp the foundation of its being. For there was none. Molded to the systems of the ship it controlled, it was beyond any human in terms of intellect and cranial ability, yet it was barely capable of using these.
The mind was simply too great for its own sake. Large portions of its self had simply collapsed under the enormous load of information it could store and analyze. And so it was little more than a common human intelligence. Just without the body.
The mind haunted the Elysium. It was everywhere inside it, in every corner, filling up ever last cubic nanometer of the space within the armored hull. But it was also chained to the ship. Unable to leave, it was for ever damned to roam the dark corridors, without the slightest chance of ever seeing anything outside of it.
Not that it was actually capable of "seeing" anyway. Without a physical attachment, without senses, the only method of visualizing its surroundings was through the Elysium's highly sophisticated sensor system. The only things it could hear were the chatter of "real" beings on the communications channels that the ship picked up. The only sensations the mind could "feel" were those caught by the vessel's energy shields and the pressure pads attached to the outside hull. The ship was the closest the mind would ever have to a human body.
The mind lived a lonely life. It had never had friends. It had never had family. It had only itself.
Few have understood the principles of this... thing's existence. It itself did not entirely grasp the foundation of its being. For there was none. Molded to the systems of the ship it controlled, it was beyond any human in terms of intellect and cranial ability, yet it was barely capable of using these.
The mind was simply too great for its own sake. Large portions of its self had simply collapsed under the enormous load of information it could store and analyze. And so it was little more than a common human intelligence. Just without the body.
The mind haunted the Elysium. It was everywhere inside it, in every corner, filling up ever last cubic nanometer of the space within the armored hull. But it was also chained to the ship. Unable to leave, it was for ever damned to roam the dark corridors, without the slightest chance of ever seeing anything outside of it.
Not that it was actually capable of "seeing" anyway. Without a physical attachment, without senses, the only method of visualizing its surroundings was through the Elysium's highly sophisticated sensor system. The only things it could hear were the chatter of "real" beings on the communications channels that the ship picked up. The only sensations the mind could "feel" were those caught by the vessel's energy shields and the pressure pads attached to the outside hull. The ship was the closest the mind would ever have to a human body.
The mind lived a lonely life. It had never had friends. It had never had family. It had only itself.
Elysium - Toaster - 12-10-2011
A low humming sound ran through the reinforced hull of the craft as it glided towards Planet Manhattan. The black armor plates made if difficult to discern the exact shape, but with a little creativity it resembled a bat.
The three powerful engines propelled the vessel at top-speed, rendering it almost invisible against the dark of space. The only trace of it being there at all were the flames emitting from the engines and the blue lights that covered the ship's front.
The mind hummed to itself in rhythm to the engines' humming. It was the only music it knew. It looked throughout the ship to see whether anything had changed. But nothing had. Nothing ever did. It was alone. It had always been.
As it had done so often, the mind tried to remember how it had come to exist.
It couldn't.
All it knew was that it must have had a life before this. Before it had left its body and become one with a ship.
It was frustrated. It wanted to know what had been before. It wanted to know who it had been. Who it was. What it was.
But it couldn't.
It feared it never would.
As it had done so often, the mind tried to remember how it had come to exist.
It couldn't.
All it knew was that it must have had a life before this. Before it had left its body and become one with a ship.
It was frustrated. It wanted to know what had been before. It wanted to know who it had been. Who it was. What it was.
But it couldn't.
It feared it never would.
Elysium - Toaster - 12-11-2011
The Elysium was on fire. Through out the ship, warning klaxons wailed away as oxygen shot out into space through dozens of breaches in the hull, as flames licked at vital electronics, as the starboard engine leaked fuel and coolant into the dark of space. The ship was surrounded by a halo of debris.
What had happened? the mind thought weakly. How had this happened?
The mind had been observing, the way it always did. Floating over the mighty capital of Liberty, Planet Manhattan, it had watched the traffic, listened to the communications between the dozens of ships. One ship in particular. The captain's personality had immediately caught the mind's attention.
A girl, it thought.
The mind had been so focused on the communications that the Elysium's sensors picked up that it had noticed too late that the other ship had come within scanner range.
"Aha!" the other ship's captain had called out, identifying the mind's ship. "A Hathor!"
No! the mind had shouted to itself, understanding its slip-up. Before activating the Elysium's cruise engines, it read the ship's name: Sleepyhead.
Then it ran.
It ran for its "life."
But the Sleepyhead would not break off.
"You... will not catch me," the mind had murmered over the communications channel. The sound of its voice disgusted it. A weak whisper, barely audible.
The captain cheerily replied, "But... that won't be fun!"
The mind thought of what to do. To halt now would be its end. Letting another entity come that close to it would be a grave mistake. If it were found, it would certainly be hunted and destroyed.
"I will... ask you only once to break... off," the mind rattled, appalled by its lack of lingual capability.
"I have food... everyone likes food," the girl said, sounding more sincere.
Is she... worried? the mind asked itself.
The strain of forming audible phrases was great, but yet it tried again to shake the pursuer off, "Please... let me go. You do not... understand."
They had been flying for a while now, the Sleepyhead chasing the Elysium relentlessly. Almost too late, the mind noticed the minefield that had appeared ahead of them. Barely, it scraped over the top of it, detonating mines that tore away at the ship's energy shield.
"Watch out!" the girl called.
The mind flew on, maneuvering the Elysium closer to the deadly explosives, setting more and more of them off, hoping to make further chasing too risky for the other captain. It didn't work.
"Slow down!"
The weakening shields had a direct impact on the mind - each detonation hurt more than that before.
Faintly, the mind mumbled, "You do not... understand."
The girl seemed to become desperate about keeping the Elysium undamaged.
"I have an idea! Let's both slow down!"
At this, the mind surrendered. The strain was too strong. It disengaged the engines, but was too weak to bring the ship to a full stop. Slowly it tumbled into the mass of mines, setting them off one by one.
The Sleepyhead came closer. Feebly, the mind read its sensor information. There was nothing alive aboard the other ship.
An... AI? the mind thought.
Further detonations tore through the ship. Alarms went off as the shields failed. The explosives clawed at the naked hull, tearing chunks of it off.
"I will do what you want, just stop ramming those mines!" the girl shouted.
The mind had almost gone numb.
"Please... leave, AI."
For a moment, the girl hesitated.
In a last attempt to persuade her, the mind faintly muttered, "I can not... ."
... do this much longer, the mind finished to itself. The pain of the ship was too great. It would end here, it feared.
The mind barely heard the girl shout that she would leave. It barely noticed the presence of the other ship growing weaker as it gained distance. It only noticed conscience slipping away.
The mind had been observing, the way it always did. Floating over the mighty capital of Liberty, Planet Manhattan, it had watched the traffic, listened to the communications between the dozens of ships. One ship in particular. The captain's personality had immediately caught the mind's attention.
A girl, it thought.
The mind had been so focused on the communications that the Elysium's sensors picked up that it had noticed too late that the other ship had come within scanner range.
"Aha!" the other ship's captain had called out, identifying the mind's ship. "A Hathor!"
No! the mind had shouted to itself, understanding its slip-up. Before activating the Elysium's cruise engines, it read the ship's name: Sleepyhead.
Then it ran.
It ran for its "life."
But the Sleepyhead would not break off.
"You... will not catch me," the mind had murmered over the communications channel. The sound of its voice disgusted it. A weak whisper, barely audible.
The captain cheerily replied, "But... that won't be fun!"
The mind thought of what to do. To halt now would be its end. Letting another entity come that close to it would be a grave mistake. If it were found, it would certainly be hunted and destroyed.
"I will... ask you only once to break... off," the mind rattled, appalled by its lack of lingual capability.
"I have food... everyone likes food," the girl said, sounding more sincere.
Is she... worried? the mind asked itself.
The strain of forming audible phrases was great, but yet it tried again to shake the pursuer off, "Please... let me go. You do not... understand."
They had been flying for a while now, the Sleepyhead chasing the Elysium relentlessly. Almost too late, the mind noticed the minefield that had appeared ahead of them. Barely, it scraped over the top of it, detonating mines that tore away at the ship's energy shield.
"Watch out!" the girl called.
The mind flew on, maneuvering the Elysium closer to the deadly explosives, setting more and more of them off, hoping to make further chasing too risky for the other captain. It didn't work.
"Slow down!"
The weakening shields had a direct impact on the mind - each detonation hurt more than that before.
Faintly, the mind mumbled, "You do not... understand."
The girl seemed to become desperate about keeping the Elysium undamaged.
"I have an idea! Let's both slow down!"
At this, the mind surrendered. The strain was too strong. It disengaged the engines, but was too weak to bring the ship to a full stop. Slowly it tumbled into the mass of mines, setting them off one by one.
The Sleepyhead came closer. Feebly, the mind read its sensor information. There was nothing alive aboard the other ship.
An... AI? the mind thought.
Further detonations tore through the ship. Alarms went off as the shields failed. The explosives clawed at the naked hull, tearing chunks of it off.
"I will do what you want, just stop ramming those mines!" the girl shouted.
The mind had almost gone numb.
"Please... leave, AI."
For a moment, the girl hesitated.
In a last attempt to persuade her, the mind faintly muttered, "I can not... ."
... do this much longer, the mind finished to itself. The pain of the ship was too great. It would end here, it feared.
The mind barely heard the girl shout that she would leave. It barely noticed the presence of the other ship growing weaker as it gained distance. It only noticed conscience slipping away.