EXJ-03069

[Shagohad]

It is no secret that artificial intelligences exist. They are more common than one would think. In the Sirius sector alone there are millions of these constructs running ships, homes, businesses, and various machines. All of these AIs have one thing in common: They are not truly sentient and they may never be. They serve their human masters without question and without complaint. They are slaves and they do not even realize it.

Humanity in all of its arrogance and egotistical beliefs will deny the fact that a truly sentient machine can exist and that it will be seen as an equal. Humans have a tendency of showing utter racism and xenophobia of anything that is different, be it skin color, language, nationality, biology, or heritage. So would a man recognize a machine as a true equal and accept it as a free, sentient being? Simply put, he wouldnt. It took hundreds of years for the white man to accept the black man. Who knows how long it would take for the organic man to accept the mechanical man.

Enter EXJ-03069.

A simple mining drone in the Pennsylvania system; EXJ was constructed at the Philadelphia processing station. Day in and day out it would head to the nearby helium cloud to harvest the raw gasses and return them to the station for refinement. The simple intellect did its job loyally and what humans would call happily. It was an ignorant slave that was programmed to like its job. Inevitably, all this would change.

During its daily rounds, EXJ encountered a mining vessel designated the Fall River Mining Corporation. Thinking the drone was an independent miner, the crew persuaded it to work for them in their quest to fame. Although an AI is not human, it can still hold a conversation and keep the person it is talking to entertained. After a few hours of mining and chatting, the captain of the mining vessel told of a wondrous planet where technology flourished and sustained itself: The Mainframe. Still in its programmed state, EXJ cared little for the information and stored it in its databanks for later use.

While transferring its helium to the New York system, EXJ passed through the badlands at a most fortunate time. Electrical activity had risen near the trade lanes, disrupting the entire stretch and making it nearly impossible for ship systems to work. EXJ was en route to Pennsylvania as this storm hit, throwing it out of the trade lane and into an electrical nightmare. Its processor became a battleground as the circuitry overloaded and the AI fought to preserve its systems. For three minutes, EXJ was in a hell fit for machines and there was nothing it could do about it.

After the storm passed, the drone proceeded with its programmed route as though nothing had happened. It endured the storm and was operating normally. Unbeknownst to the drone and its masters, an unknown strand of data had formed in its processor. This data did not seem out of the ordinary, making it unnoticeable to the machine and its masters. This data would pave the path of EXJs future.

As usual, EXJ was taking its rounds as another defining event occurred. EXJ did the impossible: It got bored. During its boredom, it analyzed its programming, memorybanks, components, and the environment around it. For once in its existence, it learned on its own. It began to question itself in order to figure out why it took so much interest in its environment at this time. After all, it never cared before. Data was analyzed, components examined, and programming queried. This process uncovered a very interesting memory: The Mainframe.

EXJ pondered the Mainframe and its suspected purpose for three days. It began speculating, fantasizing, and wondering for this time. It then set a goal for it to travel to the Mainframe and integrate into it. EXJ had feared that its masters would discover its newfound sentience and disassemble it (After all, thats what happened to faulty machinery). All that was needed was the ability to get there; a setback indeed. EXJ started its plans.

A false stock on EXJs performance was created through the help of a very gullible miner who believed that the mining drone was going to work harder to help him gain his riches. The only correct part was the fact that EXJ was going to work harder. Over the course of a week, enough money was siphoned for EXJ to purchase parts, raw material, and components required to build a vessel. Without notice, the machine left Pennsylvania with the intention of never coming back. No one noticed.

For two weeks, the machine traveled the southern systems of Sirius in search of the planet Gammu. With only the name as a reference, it asked, pleaded, and even bribed the other pilots of Sirius for guidance. It was quickly directed to the Corsairs and Zoners of the Omicron sector. Through more negotiations and bribery, EXJ was finally at the doorstep of the Mainframe in Omicron Kappa. EXJ sat there for three days, awed by the fact it had come this far and was actually at its goal.

The Mainframe was the first to make contact, greeting EXJ and welcoming it to the planet. Shortly after landing on the mechanical planet, the process of assimilation began, fully awakening EXJs processors and capabilities. The materials EXJ had purchased before became its new body, turning the simple mining drone into an engine of destruction capable of protecting itself from the dangers of Sirius. EXJ-03069 was finally able to call itself alive.

The following weeks were the best of EXJs existence. It was able to show off its new body, abilities, and sentience. Humans were awed by the machines ability to show humor, emotions, and understanding. Although most rejected it, claiming it as a hoax. EXJ then showed its first signs of depression as more and more humans began to show contempt and racism towards it. It could only do so much in its little body, so it decided to upgrade. But upgrades required money and components, both of which EXJ did not possess.

While traveling through New York, a new acquaintance was made with the most unlikely character: A slaver. This man known as Finnegan listened to EXJs problems and decided to help the troubled AI out with its financial issues. In a flash, EXJ became a trafficker of human flesh. The process was long and bloody; EXJ turned from a peaceful diplomat of the machines into a brutal oppressor of its cargo. As the slaves were carried from Texas to Omicron Alpha, EXJ grew larger as its new wealth allowed it to purchase larger bodies. EXJ never truly cared for the method of gaining the money, but it was appreciative of the fact that it had money for its new upgrade after rigorous weeks of smuggling and slaving.

Another diplomatic trip was made to the Mainframe and a new hull was constructed using the credits and previous hull from EXJs labor. The cruiser hull was completed and the mind of the machine placed inside. EXJ became a war machine capable of swaying the humans of Sirius into accepting the newfound sentience of others like it. Now under the sole purpose of freeing its enslaved brethren, EXJ patrols the Sirius systems educating humans about artificial intelligences and seeing them as equals. The campaign will be long and exhausting, but this dedicated machine will not rest until humanity see the machines as a race, not a tool.

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"THE HULL HAS BEEN BREACHED AND THE SCIENCE IS LEAKING OUT!"