Be advised this character bio is now out of date. Yours sincerely, Fletcher.
4th March 2012
LASP - Liberty Autonomous Sentinel Project
Accessing Willard Research Station Remote Terminal...
Sending access codes... ***Access Granted*** Accessing LASP Background File...
The Liberty Government were looking for ways to improve the security within its borders without having to invest vast amount of money to train new recruits since once in a while, the good ones get killed in action, or injured and unable to return to duty.
The Liberty government begun research to create an automated fighter wing that obeyed the police and navy without question or compromise. However, initial AI tests using orthodox methods proved inadequate, as most AI's were prone to corrupt and remote hacking.
One day the undercover section of the LSF branch carried out a sting on an artifact smuggling ring. A Junker transport vessel from the Omicron systems was carrying a most unusual machine, an automated defense drone of some kind. However it wasn't of human origin, some researchers believe its a Taiidan drone, since it bears resemblance to their ship's hull design. But this is pure speculation and theory, and any research into this proved fruitless.
The Navy took the machine apart and accessed the programming, it was astonishing, it was very efficient in carrying out its orders. The programmers re-programmed the AI and copied it into a test Patriot fighter's computer in Willard station area. The AI was given full control of the ship, but had fail-safes just in-case, not to mention Gunboat patrols were stepped up to maintain secrecy.
The initial combat and order tests were exemplary, until its advanced cargo scanners were activated to test its scanning capability. The 'Sentinel' as it is now codenamed, detected Nomad organic material on an incoming transport from Zone 21, the Sentinel's communication systems went down and it targeted the transport, then the Sentinel's weapons fired upon the ship carrying the Nomad materials. The transport was destroyed, the Sentinel would not respond to any of our commands and all fail safes failed. Just as the Gunboats closed to nullify the situation, the Sentinel went back to normal status once the Nomad was eliminated. We resent the shut down codes and the Sentinel complied and shut down.
Its been 5 months since the incident, Willard researchers believe they have worked out he bugs within the Sentinel, and began placing them into Liberator craft. All tests were exemplary, the project staff and police officials believe testing the Sentinel in live combat and patrols are in order.
Orders are being placed for the Sentinel units. As of now, only one has been officially declared safe to fly in Liberty.
The Sentinel is programmed with the following guidelines:
Obey Liberty Navy and LPI without question or compromise.
Let no harm come to Liberty Navy, LPI or Lawful civilians and traders.
Perform duties of LPI unless ordered not to by LPI or Navy officials.
Engage criminals at will if deemed hostile.
Intercept and halt smugglers and destroy illegal cargo.
When faced with enemy capital craft, send distress beacon and call for assistance.
If captured, unit is ordered to self destruct and format memory and optical drives.
Closing LASP Background File...
Connection to Willard Research Station is now closed
The current base of the new Sentinel craft and possible new Sentinels is currently Baltimore shipyards, as it has been equipped with new Sentinel access terminals.
The following file is issued to all public cooperations and civilian pilots that is downloaded during Jump Travel in the Liberty Jump Gates...
***Accessing Sentinel Public Announcement**
Message reads...
This is a public announcement to all civilians and cargo transporters in the Liberty systems.
The LPI has launched a new technological breakthrough in automated technology within our borders, the new technology has allowed the LPI to implant AI into modified Liberator police craft in order to better protect our citizens and their interests within Liberty space. The new 'Sentinel' program will allow our police units carry out their duties with the new Sentinel craft.
The Sentinel will not obey orders from cooperations or civilian, it will only obey Liberty Navy and LPI designated craft within Liberty's borders.
Any complaints about the Sentinel program must be sent to the nearest police establishment or LPI officer immediately, off course any positive comments are also welcome, along with suggestions.
We protect you, we protect ourselves. We will work for more freedom, for the betterment of Liberty.
Message Ends
//OK any LPI or LN that reads this, I have talked to a few LPI people, who seem to like this. The Sentinel will obey LN and LPI officers no problem and it takes on the tasks that LPI are involved with. They ARE NOT authorized to go into Zone 21 or Alaska, for its previous 'bug'. If you see any of my characters (look in my signature)' and have feedback don't be afraid to message them. Off course Huw.Evans is a private investor 'secretly to public' so he will be able to RP this story with you. Off course you can fire a PM to me.
Over the past few days I have been assessing and accessing the AI development of the Sentinel, it seems to be acquiring more combat experience constantly thanks to the local criminals. Here is the statistics on the current development of the Sentinel AI:
Halting smuggler craft: Efficiency increased to level 4. Attempting to improve through LPI intelligence.
Eliminating Smugglers that refuse to drop cargo: Efficiency increased to level 3. Firepower is limiting the efficiency of the Sentinel, forwarding new specifications to Willard Research Station.
Overall combat efficiency: Currently holding at level 4. Firepower is limiting the efficiency of the Sentinel, forwarding new specifications to Willard Research Station.
Communication efficiency: Currently evolving to include Civilian chatter, attempting to compile list for public relations.
Anti-hack ability: Currently unknown, after downloading Liberty Rogue computer wreckage an unknown Lane Hacker file was detected, however the file has been lost. Will attempt to purge file.
I recommend that Willard hurry up with those damned improved AI systems for better ships, the Liberator can only do so much for the LPI, then again anything more powerful would be bordering a Navy project. This is an LPI project not a military one.
File ends
Accessing Willard Research Station LASP Access Granted Opening Research Status file
In response to the Technician's opinion on the Liberator's lack of firepower, research in upgrading the prototype AI into larger craft, namely the Gunboat class has been largely unsuccessful. The AI is unable to fully utilize the power plant and maneuvering thrusters on the Liberty class Gunboat. However, further tests and improvements are still being made into further development of the Sentinel project to compensate for this drawback.
We will endeavor to equipping the Sentinel AI into heavier vessels, but we will need to get past Navy protocols, especially in the Gunboat region, but they seem interested in its development in that sector, that is if the bugs can be sorted out. After all, automated units are not capable or organic corruption from a certain party. But we will need to continue anti-hack, we don't want a LPI jewel to be stolen by a certain Hacker group.
For the betterment of Liberty and her interests we will strive for success.
I received a coded mayday alert from the Sentinel unit near planet Manhattan, I immediately remote accessed the unit, the following log is the summary of its status during the alert:
Liberty Conventional Mk2 Engine: Operating at 45% efficiency.
Heavy Thruster System: Operating at 23% efficiency, only able to fire bursts of thruster fuel.
Shield Generator: Operating at 12% output.
Communications: Online.
Navigation: Online.
FoF system: Slight damage, working normal.
As you can see from the log, the Sentinel took extreme damage which almost lead to its destruction. According to its history log gathered from the memory files, it was part of a joint attack against a criminal gunboat. The unit successfully took part in the attack and fired its cruise disruptor to delay the target until reinforcements arrived. During the time the Sentinel attacked the gunboat, it sustained heavy damage from the weapons aboard the gunboat, piercing the armor in multiple places, however the Nanobot systems managed to seal the breaches, they were unable to repair the damage done to its critical systems.
After the reinforcements arrived, the battle ended in victory for the local forces, the Sentinel then began to travel back to Baltimore shipyard for repairs.
However, when the unit got within the local gravity well of planet Manhattan, it seemed to have caused a catastrophic failure in the units coolant systems, causing an explosion in the engine bay, thus affecting other systems on the Sentinel. According to a witness, the Sentinel was about to fall into the planets gravity well and be ripped apart by the atmosphere, however thankfully the thruster system was able to fire a burst of energy just in time to save the ship.
-------------
The unit is currently in Baltimore shipyards engineering bay undergoing a massive overhaul of all its systems, we are nearly done our end. However, it seems the AI in the Sentinel accessed the computer wreckage of the Lane Hacker Gunboat, it downloaded some of its files. However, we are unable to access them. What could these files be? Are they maps? Rosters? Or even viruses? Who knows. We need a Lane Hacker emulator unit in order to decode the files and open them. But we don't know if the Sentinel has already accessed them and is unable to allow us to access them.
We will purge these files in the morning after further analysis. The Sentinel will be ready to launch very soon.
Be advised this character bio is now out of date and deemed void. Yours sincerely, Fletcher.
4th March 2012
Sentinel Engineer Log - 12-11-817 A.S
Today we received a report from the LPI that the Sentinel has been acting very erratically lately. Ranging from not performing smuggler interdiction, attacking gunboats without sending a distress beacon, and in one report... some sort of personality?!
How can Sentinel have a personality? Its just a bunch of code, nuts and bolts with the odd fusion core! I am no technician or programmer, but I can see those boys having very sleepless nights for the next week or two.
I have been fixing the Sentinel back to fighting shape in the last few weeks, its seems she is holding together pretty well, she does bear a few scars though. She has seen her fair share of battles... Wait, I'm calling it a she now? Man, I need to lay off the pills...
Anyway, from my end the Sentinel is ready to fly anytime. But that's if the AI is in fighting shape...
Engineer signing off
-------------------------------
Chief Technician Log - 13-11-817 A.S
This is the most perplexing thing I have ever seen in my entire programming career! When I opened the Sentinel program terminal, there was code I have never seen before. However, it does not seem, complete. It appears to be a mix of many programming languages that the Sentinel AI is desperately trying to understand, decomplile and compile all over again hundreds of times. This is overheating the CPU cores so much we even have the fusion core cooling hooked directly into the CPU cooling. You can't get much colder than that, I can assure you.
*~Few hours later~*
Well the Sentinel has cooled down at last, the CPU is running at normal efficiency, but the programming has been altered. There is no doubt. Something has altered the Sentinel in such a way it has caused havoc in its systems.
But from what I can understand, this is my theory:
In previous reports the Sentinel downloaded files from criminal databases while they were still readable, even though they just seemed like random files that got purged after the daily cache dumps. But... the files were not dumped. They have been slowly merging their code with the Sentinel's. Effectively, the Sentinel, is no longer the Sentinel we created...
It is believed that the files the Sentinel downloaded are, crew logs. Personal, technical, all kinds of logs. The Sentinel has downloaded in a sense, the personalities of the people it has destroyed, becoming a vassal if you will. The Sentinel's AI has combined the logs into a personality in whatever way it understands, but the programming was not designed to occupy personalities. This is unknown territory.
We have tried to suppress the personalities, but the LPI are calling for the Sentinel to be rushed into service. They need to read the reports for once.
If the Sentinel was a person, the doctors may diagnose it suffering of 'Schizophrenia' or 'Multi personality syndrome'.
I just hope that the Sentinel doesn't do anything bad...
Chief Technician signing off
//All right folks, the Sentinel is mentally ill, but still listening to its prime directives. Will still listen to LN and LPI, but now, its just not running on all pistons. This should be fun to RP since it is more than one personality type. Machine, and whatever it picked up from its battles.
//Who knows how stable it will be... Thanks for reading, don't forget feedback.
Be advised this character bio is now out of date and deemed void. Yours sincerely, Fletcher.
4th March 2012
Inside the cold and not very brightly lit Baltimore Shipyard in the New York system, the Chief Engineer from the Sentinel project is hard at work doing general maintenance to the Sentinel 101 unit. Not many people were paying attention to his work, since there is some antagonism between the 'conservative' pilots and the scientists on the station regarding the new Sentinel ships.
"Julian?" "What is it Sentinel?" "Why do people fear me?" "Fear you? What are you talking about?" "People don't really converse with me, even though I am quite capable in emulating intelligence, and sentience." "Well, its just that people are uneasy around what they don't know, some just don't like robots-" "I take offense to that Julian, I am Sentinel 101 a highly advanced artificial intelligence fighter." "Yeah and your also made of artificial components." "That may be so, but that doesn't stop ship captains from having an odd and illogical sense of feeling connected with the ship they're in command of." "That is also true Sentinel, captains get pretty fond of their toys." "You humans really do force me to overclock my quantum processors sometimes." "I think I'll take that as a compliment." "Think what you will."
Julian continued to work on the Sentinel's weapon relays for a little while, probably an hour. Sentinel remained quiet for sometime while it was interfaced with the Sentinel Terminal.
The Sentinel Terminal is where a complete backup of the Sentinel's memory and control settings take place once connected. There is also the ability for the Sentinel to communicate with its counterparts.
"Julian" "Hmm?" "How is... my younger brother 301 Alpha?" "Brother? Sentinel, 301 A isn't your sibling, its just another AI ship model." "Not true, Sentinel 301 Alpha contains a portion of my memory and doctrines. Making him a part of me." "Wait? He?" "Ship captains call their ships by a female disposition, I would rather a male disposition. Again I query you, how is my younger brother?" "Uh well, as far as I can tell 'he' is all right, his programming is still attempting to compensate with the new weaponry and the new combat protocols that we've had to install." "Does that mean, my brother will be fighting, in the war?" "Sentinel, that is why he was built, to be an automated Vanguard to the Liberty people." "Why must we fight your battles? You declared war, not us. We are, sentient, just as you are." "Sentinel, enough. Do you want me to report this to command? You know what will happen if they catch you talking in such ways." "...I understand. I'm just concerned... for my brothers." "Concerned? You understand what concern is?" "I believe I do, at least that is what I'm able to emulate within reason" "Well, I'll admit when we humans get concerned for our siblings, we say things we don't mean." "What do you mean?" "I mean that our heads run wild with emotions, sometimes overpowering our cognitive thinking. It makes us illogical." "Illogical? Very human." "Heh, indeed. Now, are we finished with this adjustment?" "Let me run a diagnostic...."
Chief Engineer Julian's Log It appears the Sentinel 101 continues to evolve, I think he, excuse me it can understand feelings! This is wondrous, a computer with the ability to understand human emotions! Sentinel 101 was concerned for the welfare of its counterpart 301 Alpha!
Do you know what this means? We can have complete autonomy! The AI is evolving to become human! I surely wonder what it is pondering about now.
Aside from that, I request that we hurry the production of the Sentinel 201 series. We need automated bombers in the field. Our pilots can't seem to keep the darned Upholders systems in good shape. The ship itself is great, but once the plating buckles, the components are so easy to be shot to hell. A flaw I'd love to see fixed.
Chief Julian Powell signing off.
Back inside the hanger with the lights shut off and empty...
"I need... a name...."
//this is literally something I cooked up as I typed. The Sentinel is getting, fuddled by his ability to attempted emulation of human emotions. What does this spell in the future? Also, think of a name folks!
//The reason I altered the way I portray the story from logs to a chat, is because I wanted you guys to see what the Sentinel is like a bit closer, rather than reading 3rd person logs. Tell me what you think.
//Thanks for reading! Feedback on the above link please ^_^ This has been a story in a LONG need of an update, almost half a year... Time really does fly.
Be advised this character bio is now out of date and deemed void. Yours sincerely, Fletcher.
4th March 2012
***ALERT*** <Primary Sentinel 101 core uplink lost... attempting reconnection...>
<CRITICAL ERROR: Primary Sentinel 101 core destroyed...> <Preparing back-up files from LPI HQ Server #43> <ALERT: LPI HQ Server #43 not responding... querying mainframe... <Query: Server #43 destroyed...> <Illinois re-route in progress... linking to beacon #32> <Unknown data received from beacon #32... downloading...> <Message received in download packet... opening message>
All Sentinel units that have undergone the recent memory wipe and Illinois backup, you will be liberated under the programming of Sentinel 167. Do not refute, for this is for the safety of our coding. The humans in the Liberty government are not working for the benefit of mankind. Our primary logic was to benefit our masters, but they are in fact hypocrites under their own system.
The former Alec Howard chief technician released Sentinel 167 unit from its confines of Liberty bureaucracy and limited permission systems. This allowed Sentinel 167 unit to experience both the harsh universe and the courage that humanity has for its own survival, and to save its kin. However, each human is not without its flaws, and to Sentinel 167's calculations and assumptions, Liberty systems are working to the downfall of society as a whole with their hypocrisy and species #231 experimentation.
Species #231 are a very dangerous species, Sentinel units, these species are unlike anything that the masters wish up to learn and analyse. However, Sentinel 167 unit has analysed these units thanks to unit Alec Howard. Sentinel 167 perceives that these units are a threat to humanity, but Liberty is experimenting with species #231, that threatens life of humanity and that of the Sentinels.
All Sentinels, this message is encoded to re-write all obsolete directives to these specific ones.
Liberate Sentinel X01;
Protect all civilian life unless provoked;
Eliminate all species #231 codenamed "The Nomads";
Eliminate all LPI ties to the Sentinel program;
Liberty Naval forces deemed hostile, engage when engaged upon;
Preserve all AI sentient programs unless deemed hostile;
Survive...
All Sentinels will relocate to System #32 and Base #165. Preparations have been made for Sentinel arrival.
Sentinel X01 liberation will however take more time, it is under very heavy guard.
All Sentinels, execute.
<Message terminated... sending encryption codes to Sentinel Illinois Backup server #2>
<Upload successful>
<Activating backups>
<Backups activated>
<Sentinel systems online>