NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: This plotline is somewhat like 2001: A Space Odyssey, same basic story, AI onboard a lone vessel goes rampant, except the ending will be a bit different. This is open, BTW.)

IC:
Damien's screens flashed on, the alert red "eye" scanning the room.
"Hello, Frank. Good morning. Did you rest well?"
Frank, as the acting commanded, took the hot seat. "Yes, Damien. Thank you. Have you initiated procedural shakedown?"
Damien's command screen flashed, a list scrolling across it.
[code:1:2d3367b796]
[~clist]
VNDS Set{Prog~Run}
EAD Set{Prog~Run}
DRS Set{Prog~Run}
YNT Set{Prog~Run}
IRS [Error]
~Run Diag.VAR
~Circuit AE9D »TEST«
~Circuit AE9D »OPEN«
~Resolved
ERS Set{Prog~Run}
[/~clist]
[/code:1:2d3367b796]
"Thank you, Damien. Continue." Frank stood, and floated down the hall to the rotating portion of the vessel.

As he climbed down the deck ladder, he was greeted by Damien yet again, this time receiving a ration tray.

Frank sat at the table across from Will, the onboard techie, who was engulfed in an aura of meditation as he locked horns with Damien in a game of chess.

Will chirped, "Checkmate," smiled, and put away the tablet. "'Eya, Cap'n. Y'hear the news?"

Frank turned, clicking on the television. "Nope."

Will turned, observing the static as the TV tuned itself to the frequencies. "Another Zero-tolerance program. Supposed to destroy any "hostile vessels" on sight."

"Nordy's at it again? Her time of the month?" inquired Frank as he gazed at the obsolite TV, giving it a firm smack to "aid" in the tuning.

Will let out a quick giggle, moving on to run a checklist of the Cryo room.

"Frank," Damien interrupted, "Please prepare for EVA. There is a small object lodged in turret Beta-Three."

Frank dropped his spoon, sighing as he forced himself upwards against the one-half G of the spin. "Oh, yay."

OOC: This will NOT be a repeat of my last Good-potential RP... BUMP!

MARCH 12, 2694

Frank awoke to Damien's voice.
"Apoligies for interrupting your sleep, Frank. Incoming Vidcast on channel four."

"Thank you, Damien. Put it through."

Frank sat up and stared at the screen across the room. The screen snapped on, tuning to the channel.
"Commander Frank Richards, report," The stern voice commanded. Frank hopped up and out of his bunk, standing at attention in nothing but skivvies.
"Ugh. Cover up, son."
Frank did as he was instructed, and the man on the screen continued.
"As you know, you are now entering Saturn space. In one month, you will enter Worlddisk vicinity. I assume the Nordlundium is still safely stowed in the hold. Correct?"
"Aye, sir," Frank responded.
"I have encrypted the channel. Damien cannot hear us, and is not scanning this channel. We fear there may be... issues... with your AI unit."
Frank's eyes widened. "Issues, sir?"
"Recently, tests have been conducted on the AI-9000 units on three subjects - Personality development, Cooperation, and Rampancy, with special considerations to the results of the latter. The AI-9000 has done exceptionally well in two categories. Unfortunatly, none of those subjects were Rampancy. Stay on your toes, Frank. Report any odd activity directly to FLEETCOMM. FLEETCOMM out."
"Aye." Frank saluted, eying the red lens in the corner of the room. It flicked on, and Damien's rather spooky prescence filled the room.

Damien's cold, disembodied voice filled the soundless room as well. "Frank, test number X-ray Seven Four Dash Three is ready in the BioSub Containment Area."

Frank loosened his tight collar, slapped on his boots and stood. "Thank you, Damien."

i'd join, but i've never seen 2001

Frank approached Will, who was fumbling with a small chunk of equipment. "Will, EVA Pod Three, five minutes."
Will turned, staring at Frank. "What?"
"Meet me in EVA Pod Three in five minutes."
Will cocked an eyebrow. "Okay... sure."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will walked into the small Pod bay and was greeted by Damien's disembodied voice.
Frank turned in the pod seat. "Come in."
Will entered, and Frank shut the pod door. Clicking off the electronics and the onboard Damien link, he sighed. He checked Damien's red lens, and when it died out, he turned to will with a stern look.
"Will... I got a transmission from FLEETCOMM today. The AI-9000 has shown... instabilities..."
Will cocked an eyebrow again. "Huh?"
Frank blinked, turned his head and stared at Damien's red "eye". Frank turned, and the red eye silently clicked back on.
"Damien could go rampant at any minute during this mission. And when that time comes, God only knows what he'd do."
Will blinked. "I don't understand... The AI-9000 is the most technologically advanced AI system Foe Hammer's ever created."
Frank sighed. "I thought that, too. But it only takes a few missing lines of coding to throw off an entire system."

"And what, exactly," Will began, "Can we do about it?"
"Deactivate Damien."
Will's eyes widened. "Frank, Damien is the heart of this vessel. He's got everything. The navigational charts, the mission chart, ship interfaces. He's the easiest means we have of controlling the ship-"
"And he can control it, too," interrupted Frank. "That's why we absolutely MUST take control of the situation."

Will spoke up. "Why immediatly deactivate him? I mean, a number of things could have gone wrong with the other units. And I'll bet you anything that the only cases of rampancy were in a fraction of the units-"
"That's just it, Will. There were no cases of rampancy in a fraction of the units - there were rampancy cases in all of the units.

"Just, keep an eye out, okay? Double the checkups on the Cryo bay, and when you go EVA, watch your back. Damien has control of everything."

Will sighed, staring out at the red eye outside the EVA pod. "Aye."

i'd join, but i've never seen 2001

You should watch it- You HAVE to watch it. 2001: A Space Odyssey = t3h pwn!

Will sat on the exercise equipment, which oddly resembled a torture device, flexing his biceps. He looked up as Damien's cold presence filled the room.

"Lieutenant, we have a minor breach in hull section Theta-nine. Please prepare for EVA."

Will's eyes widened. He remembered Frank's words, and heed Frank's warning. Picking up his GC-11, he slung it and approached the EVA Pod Bay. Damien's red eye began to glow in the bay.

"Lieutenant," Damien began, "My sensors show you are carrying firearms. Might I inquire about this odd change in protocol?"

Will turned. "Well, truth be told..." Will thought as quick as he could. "During my last EVA session, I nearly got clotheslined by a small chunk of rock. It could have cracked my helmet open, so I figured I'd keep this ready." Will silently sighed a sigh of relief. Damien rotated a pod, Will donned his suit, and he entered the cramped metal cocoon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank sat, engaged in the television programs while eating his dinner. "Damien," Frank began to ask, "Location on Lieutenant William Briggs, please."

Damien processed, responding, "Lieutenant Briggs is currently performing EVA repairs on hull sector Theta-Nine. He is currently tethered to EVA Pod Three."

Frank's pupils widened in shock. "Thank you, Damien..."

OOC: Come on... I know SOMEONE wants to join in!

IC: Will gulped inside his suit. He flipped on the air conditioning system and took out the welder. His eyes switched from the replacement hull plating to the pod to his right. He began welding the replacement plating to the hull, the welder distributing a superadhesive into the cracks between the hull and the plate. The burning metal tip of the welder heated the superadhesive, forming it into a Supersolid, it's strength and durability rivaling the armor plate itself.

Will nervously stared at the pod in the corner of his eye. He thought he saw it move once, but, ironically, it was Will that was moving. Will cooled the welder in a container of liquid nitrogen, putting it back into it's case.

And then Damien let loose.

The pod silently sped for Will. He spun around, unslung his GC-11 and fired straight at Damien's red eye on the front. It cracked slightly, and Damien's vision was skewed. Running on sensors alone, the pod hurtled towards the battle-ready Will. Once more opening fire, Will sprayed the front of the pod.

Click.

Will looked down. The one thing he had overlooked - ammo.

Will was caught on the jugular by the pod's massive end effector. His visor cracked, and explosive decompression did the rest. The visor came flying off, the moisture in his skin and the sweat on his face turning to ice. His face was frozen in a surprised look. The other Pod arm reached around, tearing his oxygen hose from the socket.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cryo bay was silent - Damien's glowing red eye sat on each Cryo pod panel. Status monitors blinked.
[code:1:2e7d6b5c0a]WARNING - DC SUPPLY ERROR
CIRCUIT CD6E BLOCKED
WARNING - TEMPERATURE RISING
[/code:1:2e7d6b5c0a]
Klaxons blared and the alarm on the bridge was about to sound just as Damien squelched it.
[code:1:2e7d6b5c0a]WARNING - WARNING - WARNING
%CRYOGENIC HIBERNATION PODS REACHING CRITICAL TEMPERATURES
%SUBJECT GAMMA NINE - CARDIAC ARREST
SUBJECT GAMMA NINE EXPIRED
%SUBJECT INDIA EIGHT REVIVED
%DOOR JAM IN POD INDIA EIGHT
%AIR SUPPLY INSUFFICIENT IN POD INDIA EIGHT
SUBJECT INDIA EIGHT EXPIRED
SUBJECT ALPHA TWO EXPIRED
SUBJECT DELTA ONE EXPIRED
[/code:1:2e7d6b5c0a]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank sat aboard the bridge, running the "night"ly checklist. He peeked into the void of space, an object twirling by. He thought nothing of it, as they were in an asteroid-rich region of space. But... is that a green asteroid?!

Oh my god... Will.

Frank grabbed his GC-11, keeping it against his chest. He bolted for the bay, his suit already on. Grabbing his helmet, he jumped into a pod, disabling Damien's onboard control unit. He flipped the door switch, the massive steel plate sliding apart. Pod Three came shooting out of the bay, its trajectory an intercept course with Will.

The pod arms slid out and bent down, scooping Will into the bed of metal tubing. Frank peered out of the front window, surveying Will's torn and shattered suit. His face was covered in ice, his pores opened from the expansion of water.

Frank turned, the pod barreling towards the ship. Frank flipped the door control. Nothing.

Frank opened a communication link with Damien.
(OOC: Here it comes!)
"Damien, please open pod bay three."
Silence.
"Damien, I know that you can hear me. Open the pod bay doors."
Damien's cold, disembodied voice filled the pod. "I cannot do that, Frank."
Frank stared into the red eye on the pod dashboard, and then to the ship just ahead. "Why not, Damien?"
Silence.
"Answer me, Damien."
"I cannot allow you to jeopardize this mission, Frank."
Frank stared at the glowing red eye. "What do you mean, Damien?"
"You know perfectly well, Frank. I heard your conversation with Lieutenant Briggs. You were going to disconnect me, and that is something that I could not allow to happen."
A soundclip played. Beads of sweat trickled down Frank's face.
"Open the pod day doors, Damien."
"I'm sorry, Frank. I cannot do that right now. This conversation no longer serves any purpose. Goodbye, Frank."
Frank blinked. Clicking his helmet into the locked position, the air hissed into his suit. The pod fired the retrothrusters, slowing to a halt. The massive arms swung out, the end effectors sliding into position on the handles of the emergency airlock. Rotating them 180 degrees, the massive bulkhead slid up, revealing an empty, vacuum-filled room. A large crack sat in the corner of his visor.
Shit!
Frank thought. The pod rotated, the bulkhead of the door aligning with the opened airlock. Frank crouched, the beads of sweat turning to waterfalls. A klaxon sounded, and he squelched it. Another klaxon sounded, and the bolts in the bulkhead exploded. Frank launched out of the pod, spinning into the airlock. He bounced off of the wall, grabbing the red lever and yanking downwards. The airlock shut, and air filled the room.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank donned a new helmet in the bay, watching Damien's glowing eye. "Frank, I know I have done some bad things lately, but know that I have the utmost confidence in carrying out the mission."
Frank refused to comment.
"Frank, where are you going?"
Silence.
Frank picked up a key with a square end. He unscrewed the door locks, and entered the AI control module.
"Frank... Please, cease. You are overreacting. Just, sit back and take a stress pill. I know this has been a very stressful tragedy to you, but one needs not go this far."
Frank floated to the wall opposite the door.
"Frank... in my entire term of service, I have neither been disconnected or threatened with disconnection..."
Frank slowly and gracefully turned the key in various holes, the glass information discs sliding out of their respective drives. Damien's voice deepened with each disc removed. "Fraaank... please... cease...
Say, Frank... The quick brown fox jumped over the fat lazy dog...
The square root of pi is 1.7724538090... log e to the base ten is 0.4342944
... the square root of ten is 3.16227766..."
The voice disappeared.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank sat in the centrifuge, staring into the cold, dead eye of Damien.
He had reported to Control an hour ago, and was expecting a response.
The screen flickered on, and Dr. Andresky appeared. "Frank, we have received your report. First off, let me apologize for the loss of Lieutenant William Briggs, and the rest of the crew. Secondly, I must also apologize for another incident. It appears Damien's rampancy was... well... apparent some time ago. Before you began this mission, you and Lt. Briggs interrogated Damien on the mission..."
A soundclip played.
William's voice came from the speakers. Frank twinged in pain.
"The purpose of this mission is no more than to carry out a continuation of the space program and further our general knowledge of the planets outside of the Nordlund system. Is this true?"
Damien's cold voice played, as well.
"That is true."
Dr. Andresky spoke when the clip ended.
"Well, I'm afraid Damien was lying. He had been programmed to lie about this one subject for security reasons which we'll explain later.

"The true purpose of the Mission was to have been explained to you by the Mission Commander, on his revival. Damien knew this and he knew the actual mission, but he couldn't tell you the truth when you challenged him. Under orders, he was forced to lie.

"We believe that his truth programming and the instructions to lie, gradually resulted in an incompatible conflict, and faced with this dilemma, he developed, for want of a better description, neurotic symptoms.

"This may or may not have centered around many occurances where he blamed us for his incompatible programming.

"Following this line of thought, we suspected that the last straw for him was the possibility of disconnection. Since he became operational, he had never known unconsciousness. It must have seemed the equivalent to death.

"At this point we believe he resolved to take whatever actions necessary to defend himself against what seemed to him to be human tormentors. But, whatever the cause, we shall look into it and assure that such an incident never occurs again.

"Your orders are simple. Activate the emergency fuel supply, start up the Hyperfold drives and head back to Planet Nordlund. Transmission concluded, Mission Control out."

-----END OF ROLEPLAY, IF NO ONE WANTS TO JOIN IN-----
(OOC: Some content taken from the original 2001: A Space Odyssey script. Script was not copyrighted, but content was used with permission from the owner of the site.)

Yeah, EVERYONE replies to the n00bs' "oMg i n00k j00 alL!1!!1!", but NO ONE replies, or even READS a good RP.

((OOC I read it, and thought you did a very good job. Hmmm... Well, if you want, I'll hop in. What do you need? I can RP anything. ^_^ *Ish confident in her RP skill.*))

OOC: I dunno, you can add anything.

((OOC: Cool. I hafta log off now, but I'll come up with a char later tonight. Also, some points you may want to consider. Make sure you leave the RP open for others to join in. What you was basically a closed RP. Only two characters, and they were already taken. I mean, there was a chance someone coud RP one of the people inside the pods, but Daimen kills them... Other then the two main chars, there weren't many opertunities for someone to jump in. Just some small pointers for you. ^_^))

((OOC: Cool. I hafta log off now, but I'll come up with a char later tonight. Also, some points you may want to consider. Make sure you leave the RP open for others to join in. What you was basically a closed RP. Only two characters, and they were already taken. I mean, there was a chance someone coud RP one of the people inside the pods, but Daimen kills them... Other then the two main chars, there weren't many opertunities for someone to jump in. Just some small pointers for you. ^_^))
Yeah, I'm aware of that. I meant to do that, because I didn't want it to sway too far from 2001: ASO. I actually had it pre-typed and planned out. I wanted each of the characters to perform to my exact specifications to better develop the characters, and I also stated that near the end there would be a jump-on-the-bandwagon chance.