"The world is a dark hole of terror...
The injustice we have to live with everyday can’t be postponed..."
The thoughts spinning in my mind that morning weren’t really all that different today, in fact, when I went out of bed I felt an indescribable bitterness in my stomach. The last 8 years flew away in a snap… and today my past bothered me again. I was lying in my bed, in a room granted to me by the guild. IMG was very “generous” to poor people who came to work here as well-educated students. That wasn’t entirely accurate in my case, I was a relatively wealthy owner of a beautiful estate on New Berlin, and I wasn’t “well-educated”… I was a genius. My childhood haunted me… I couldn’t sleep, eat…I dreamt…history was repeating itself in front of my eyes.
[font=Georgia]When he was 5, young master Hellen, who lived on a “high foot” in a Rheinland family, was very fond of computers. He was actually very advanced for his age so that even most kindergartens begged his parents to sign him in but they declined every last one of them. They spent a lot of time with their firstborn and only son. They had enough cash to support him in his daily activities. The amount of attention they gave him worked well for his growth, but when they occupied themselves with trivial matters Robert had to find a way to force their attention. When he was just 5 years old he wrote his first computer program.
With 6 he was already capable of modifying existing programs. With 8, he became well known with most of the possibilities that the internet on planet Berlin offered and successfully hacked into a database of a neighboring patisserie. The owner of the patisserie was thrilled to see that his accounts showed business was running so good, that he went into big investments next month. Those accounts were modified and actually would have shown that business wasn’t going all that well. It came out that he couldn’t pay his bills and soon lost his business, his wife left him. Next morning one could read in the newspapers:
“Vile confectioner found hanged in his room.”
Young Hallen wasn’t aware of the damage he had caused, but soon found out that it something to do with the numbers he changed… he then realized that numbers on bank accounts can change people’s lives drastically. It was the turning point of his life, the moment when he decided to use this numbers to “configure” his own luck. As years passed Hallen arranged almost every aspect of his life. He lived on the Net, at his computer and the programs he created to serve his will… making him the founder of his own imaginary world.
With 11 years he used complex methods to hack into a bank on his home planet, transferred a lot of money to his invisible account somewhere in the Alaska-system. He carefully deleted logs on both sides and anonymously bribed some attendants in that bank to hide the existence of this account.
Several years later he celebrated his 14th birthday, his parents occupied with trivial stuff again. But this time he had enough! He set up a prank for his parents, a cruel one. He twiddled with their personal jet, placed a virus that would temporary shut down power, enough to scare them. Was it fate, he never knew. But next morning they found his parents dead, their flesh burnt to death. Apparently a policeman fired standard warning shots of insignificant power at their vessel while at the exact moment the virus had triggered the shutdown of the power supply keeping their shields up. He was blind with rage, but remained amazingly still. He knew there was no justice, no way of reversing the damage he had done. Also, it was in that moment he saw himself as a god! He only had to type some strings, input some numbers and voila! He could kill people, make himself rich. Forge his imaginary world even outside the Net...
Ships medical staff
Personal Pshyhiatric log
Doc. Anna-Maria F.
Subject: Ronald Mindshaft (captain)
I dont like to remember my childhood days but I will tell you anyway, since you dont want to stop worrying about my health.
My parents named me Ronald Mindshaft. Not an easy one to remember but it serves the purpose. They were middle ranked citizens in IMG. My father was serving onboard the new gunships. He was tactical advisor. My mother was a service provider for local docking computer server.
One year my father died because of the exposure to little but continuous radiation emitting from ship armor platinum.
It was then when government was blamed for under-funding of the gunship project. When my mother heard that she was crushed. After a few months my mother came to a conclusion. Someone was guilty and he must pay for it.
She decided to teach me all that she knew about hacking and computers. I was almost 12 years old, and I learned quickly. When she decided that I know enough she left to find the one that murdered her husband and my father. Later, I learned what she did. She hacked one of the most important systems onboard an ex financial minister ship. The ships crew died and she was marked and killed by a bounty hunter. I will never forget what IMG did to my family but I was smart enough to wait for an opportunity to arise.
I was taken to an orphanage and there I meet my greatest and only friends. First one was the youngest but he was above all of us there. I was smart, but he was an intellectual genius not to mention charismatic. The second one was younger than me only 1 month and looked up to me in many ways. We all had the same ideals and plans for the future. Robert Hallen, the youngest one, did most of the thinking while me and Nicolas did most of the work. As we all had some sort on hacking skills we managed to get all sorts of things. From interstellar maps to money for our future cause. We kept all that in secrecy and we tried to make ourselves only more noticeable by good manners. All that masquerade was needed for our plans to succeed.
Since age of 18 we found in each other a brother that we never had. Soon, the time came and we had to split up. Me and Nicolas continued to go to an IGM academy for officers while Robert got to top software research facility. There he was a leading AI
researcher. Me and Nicolas completed our school and got assigned to the same line of gunships that my father was assigned to, albeit this line was heavily modified after my moms attack. Our plans started there.
Being put in the role of lead researcher on java station, Robert used every opportunity to tune his small craft "The_Hades". He wasn't a good pilot, actually...he had no skills at all. He recorded battles with the outcasts, where some of the finest IMG veteran pilots participated. He used those logs to identify combat sequences. He imported them in his vessel's mainframe, done some extra programming, equipped it for battle and received permission to test it in real, combat.
"hmm... those chain-guns will do." Robert said. He wasn't happy, the guild had underfunded his project again, they said that they wanted to see the results first.
"Are you sure you want to risk your life? Betting on a computer to do a man's job?", the engineer was giving his --you must be insane!-- expression. He had little love for self-governing robots, he was much like those guys from the Remnant Battlegroup-41.
"I'm positive. This will be the day of my glory, finally a chance to prove my intellect! If I'm wrong than at least ill die trying to prove my point!" this conversation was tiring. He had put too much work in this project to back off at the most crucial point.
"Well....you gotta be damn sure bout this. If I were you I'd just let it fly alone and observe from a safe distance. You don't have the skills to go all out against outcast patrols."
Now this was offending. "I don't have a choice, i must be in the craft the entire time to observe the flaws in detail. This cannot be done from afar. It will help me program better manuvers based on limitations i encounter in battle."
"Where would you like me to put your gravemark?"
"Just shut up and equip those guns!"
3 hours later, at the mission briefing it was made clear that he would be granted protection from an officer in a Gunboat classed vessel. Due to some manipulation Robert managed to assign Ronald Mindshaft, his ol' buddy. The mission began in 1 hour.
The test was somewhat disappointing. The AI was good enough to be accepted by his superiors, but not nearly as good enough for Roberts taste. The ship was too damaged and the equipment was out-dated. There was no real way of seeing how efficient it would have been. The new version must be a lot better.
Robert Hallen - The Hades :::AI Of The Vile Nanobots:::
In his long search to increase the multitasking capacity of combat vessel AI, he came upon certain obsticals. The AI mind would use too much processor memory while "thinking" about too many things at the same time. It would make things much more easier to just set up some finished parameters but the real answer to that theory was still a mystery. One day, he was directed to spend some time with the world renown AI researcher that now lived and worked at planet Manhattan.
He was given escorts, whom he himself had chosen. Nicolas Johnson and Ronald Mindshaft. His two "brothers" witch with he had shared so much. Their ships: "The Thanatos" (God of death), "The Phobos" (God of fear) and Robert's "The Hades" (God of the Underworld) were now combat ready, you never know when those pirates may appear.
Robert: "Ok guys, this is it. My first "mission" while being escorted. You all watch your backs."
Ronald: "You're safe with us!" with an impressive and assuring smile on his face.
Nicolas: " ... " silent as always.
...and so they left...
The journey was long, they traveled for days. They ran into pirates, 522s, Bretonian and Liberty police.
Once they got there a Liberty patrol stopped them. Ronald had problems with his documents. They were inaccurate and he was escorted downtown for an investigation. The paperwork took hours to finish, so they aborted the mission. On their way back, without Ronald, they've encountered =CR= tagged allies. Their commander stopped them and requested a sample of their Nanobots supply. Robert was the first to jettison a bot. After a short scan the man said: "INFECTED! Please toss all of your nanobots away, hurry!"
After that the nanobots started moving strangely trough space so one of his men blew them up with his plasma weapons. Robert had never before seen such bot behavior.
Robert and Nicolas than went back to java. But this was not the last Robert would see or hear form them.
:::The Mystery Of Warp Tech:::
A few days later Robert was investigating sigma 13 on his own. He was researching the remains of the old fighter vessels when he received faint transmissions. He approached the scene only to see a whole fleet of =CR= tagged bombers, fighters and gunboats. They were scanning nearby transport vessels to inspect if they were infected. Most vessels went unharmed. But there were some unlucky few that really had a bad day.
They explained that Harvesters reprogrammed the nanobots to "repair people". And as if that wasn't freaky enough, later they came upon an undercover high-tech vessel, maybe of alien origin. It used something like a warp engine or a cloaking device, and left his sample of infected nanobots behind. That was some strange event...
"The universe is full of mysteries... I will dedicate my life finding these engines, weapons and programs."
Ronald Mindshaft - The Phobos :::Escorting duty:::
"Yet another day... this things are becoming repetitive." said Ronald to himself, his voice obviously tired. 12 days have passed since he last flew beside his comrades. Patrol duties sucked. Wasting Outcasts who blindly intercept traders from Java station, inspecting cargo coming in and out, fighting Outcasts, stopping smugglers, fighting Outcasts, visiting Java for casual repairs, fighting Outcasts, drinking coffee, fighting Outcasts ect...
"God i hate it, if Robert doesn't do anything soon I'm gonna explode! Those damn hypocrites." he took a look at his office on Java. Robert was at his desk surrounded by a bunch of papers. There was no morning on Java, no evening, no lunch time and no good-nights. One worked until he was exhausted and went to sleep, only ate when he was hungry and basic social interactions were rare.
"Hehe, once hes done with his research there's no telling what he might think of. Good thing we have the same appetite. And once Nicolas comes back from his mission he's gonna share it us. I just have to make sure I'm ready when the time comes." His crew were all automated androids with out-dated AI. They were based on primitive obedient software that had no capabilities of learning, but that didn't matter. This tech was commonly used among big corporations. The droids had almost limitless lifespan and required no bribery, no morale, just simple reprogramming would do the trick. As a talented hacker, Ronald has already removed the "protection" software installed on the droid's minds, and removed any hopes of intervention that the guild might try to pull of.
Finally Robert had another mission, he required escorts and Ronald was first to comply. This was a chance to have a meaningful chat with him about their future.
"Can you believe those scumbags? Telling me that that AI is going to lead to my doom? Me? I spent years
perfecting my theory! Months of hard work examining infected nanobots and their collective "hive mind", testing automated combat-AI flight sequences. I risked my life trying to understand... and now... I'm sooo close" closing two fingers "Why? Why of ALL the people on this world, do THEY lecture me? They are ignorant sons of..."
"Hold it there buddy" Ronald cut Robert's sentence "I think I know what could help your research, I viewed your logs again. Didn't that Tim Masters guy say that the Harvesters reprogrammed the nanobots? If I'm not mistaken that would mean that they posses advanced AI that you might be searching for."
At that moment Roberts eyes spread open "Yes! That would mean that they might posses the advanced AI I might be searching for!" he was smiling like a fanatic, a bully that found his next punching bag.
"um, yeah... so... I did some extra research and found out that they were last sighted in Hudson."
"Perfect!!!" Robert jumped "Our mission waypoint lies right there. I'll set it as our top priority! Now quickly, we don't want them to run away now do we?" the last sentence was pronounced in a way that should have teased Ronald, he knew what he was really referring to, and he didn't like it one bit. :::Harvester 17::: After chasing Harvester's trails they ended up in Hamburg. The next problem was finding their exact location. Thinking hard would bring nothing, it was best to address them directly:
The harvesters asked them to state their intentions. After they told them to halt for a short scan they responded: "We are manufacturing, we cannot stop." This was of course a surprise, not only had they shown enough intelligence to program a virus for nanobot infestation but they also proven to be obedient. Their task seemed to be their main priority. They even acknowledged IMG unit's intentions to follow them although they could have just easily taken a different route. On their way to the Junker processing facility the beta version of Hades proved to be bad in chases. The Junkers were increasing the distance leaving both of them far behind.
"To bad." He looked at Ronald. A smile soon appeared on Roberts face. He teased again: "Theeeey raaan awaaay!"
"Oh no they wont! Nothing gets away from me, not anymore!" He was up to someth....
"What the... How did you..." Robert was stunned by the sheer awesomeness of his speed. His lips turned dry.
"Scanned! Mission complete." Ronalds smile extended to unthinkable proportions.
"well.... i guess that our job here is done. lets head back to..."
Ronald's Phobos cruised back and left Hades rockets choke in stardust. When he turned The_Phobos was already docking the jumpgate 5k behind him.
"....Java."
:::back at Java station...:::
"Hahaha, you should have seen Roberts face! He was like, sooo stunned"
"Hehe, to bad i wasn't there. So how exactly did you do it?" Nicolas asked.
"Well its quite simple, first you open the..." Robert came running back.
"Guys! Look at the results... something is surely wrong." passing the papers to Ronald "look at their equipment."
"Its..not a regular harvester."
"Sure isn't, this guy has the most expensive gear that can be bought on the black market. Gotta be some kind of military vessel. The sole greatness of his advanced AI, the Mk VII armor upgrade.... makes it..."
"...like a robotic pirate, or some sort multifunctional monster. I'm sure many people are after him."
"I managed to scan the code but its all scribbled up. It will take some time to replicate the hardware used to read the code based on scans." Roberts voice sounded a bit disappointed.
"Or" Nicolas had that diabolic smile again "we could just brake him, take HIS hardware."
Very soon, The_Hades would be complete! It was just a matter of seconds. The newly updated core would now present the artificial mind Robert has been searching for years. The hybrid tech composed of a classic Harvester core, "hive mind" and combined with the existing, fundamentally different software installed on Hades was now serving as a multifunctional entity, with ability to learn but very limited free will. Obedience was the No.1 priority in his research.
It was just a matter of seconds...
To incorporate something as simple as "hive mind" into a complex AI was no easy task, but he was sure it would prove extremely potent. The main characteristics of this tech would add the ability control a "swarm" of elements simultaneously without overloading the core.
The tired look on his eyes could scare even most adults. Robert worked 4 days without sleep, took only energy pills and some Cardamine that one of his underground contacts had smuggled. Lacking the will to visit the bathroom he filled 17 bottles with urine. He was on the verge of death, but he couldn't feel it. The excitement was to strong, the world around him disappeared.... it was just him and The_Hades.
It was just a matter of seconds...
The officials stated that they will expect him and his project tomorrow on the newly released ship, classed: Albatross BC.
The intent was to surprise scientists all around Sirius that were invited to the celebration on the deck of that ship.
"And.... surprised they will be..." His dream... would happen....now...
Robert fainted.
Code:
Installation complete!
:::The Ultimate Goal:::
"Robie..... Rob... hey dude..."
"hmm? hrrrrk...."
"Wake up Robert. You'll miss the transport. Everyone is already on board."
"wha, hrrrk... WHAT???" Robert jumped only to feel immense inertia and pain.
"aaaah damn... uh."
"Can i help you...somehow?" Nicolas was giving a scared expression.
"Hades!! Where's my baby??"
"Baby? Man you really are tired. The_Hades is your AI project remember? It was taken to the transport while you were sleeping. Your assistants took him and weren't sure if they should wake you up... given the condition you're in."
"Baaaaastaaaaaards!!! Coooome baaaaack!!!" He was yelling his lungs out. Never had anyone heard such agony, pain, sadness, as if someone took his whole family once more. Only this time he wasn't even partially to blame.
In that moment, blind with rage, he became addicted to revenge... his goal was sure, he would destroy the guild and any similar corporations on Sirius.
For a delusionless world... he had to play the most cruel trick he could think of.
"shhhhh!! Be quiet!! Here, take these" Nicolas have him more energy pills...close to a lethal dose.
"thanks.... give me a minute an ill be on my way... we'll show them..."
"Everything is ready for the operation. We took extra crew just in case. They will be ready at your command."
"Fine...ill mingle with the crowd.... don't attack until I say its safe." Slowly but sure, Robert was regaining his strength.
"See you in space then. And take your pills with you."
:::Captain Harris Took:::
Three hours later, on board the transport vessel...
Robert was looking awful. His assistants were avoiding eye contact. "Typical..."
The transport vessel was clean, very well built with lots of guestrooms. Hades was kept safe in the high-security storage area. The passengers were all happy and excited, drinking wine and gambling.
"Have fun while you can... it wont last much longer"
The transport was slowly approaching South Shields Ref. In Newcastle System. the sight at the Albatross was astonishing. The breathtaking size of the vessel is exactly what Robert needed if he was to make an impact upon the world.
As the boarded the cruiser they were greeted by the current captain of the ship, cpt. Harris Took.
A bald man with no beard or mustaches. He was 80 years old but looked 20 years younger and the suit made him look like a penguin.
He wouldn't survive.