NationStates Jolt Archive

Dr. Claire Zachanassian, head of the Sketchian advanced weapons research and development department griped the memo tightly. As if afraid to lose it, or that the words may suddenly disappear, she reads them over and over again.

[code:1:d181787f90]
TOP SECRET

Recipient: Dr. Claire Zachanssian

Authorization to remove adaptation and learning restrictions on Project CRONUS granted. Proceed with extreme caution.
[/code:1:d181787f90]

Finally, her dream would be complete. Clair will be the first to produce a true Sketchian AI.

True, AIs are nothing new. Barely even worth such attention. But Sketch is different. Although "AI" have been in place for years now, they have been carefully restricted, crippled even. For the rulers of Sketch did not trust such intangible concepts. The thought of a disembodied intelligence was disturbing. Especially one that is able to ascend beyond the base pettiness of mere humans. Such things were dangerous to the ironfisted rule of Sketch. Greed and fear are the mainstay of Sketchian power - a fist of gold and a fist of iron.

An AI upsets the delicate balance. Unmotivated by the baser organic instincts of physical needs and wants, it requires a higher level of satisfication. And the danger of conscience.....easily crushed and/or subverted in organics, can be a fickle and deadly feature in an AI. As such, all Sketchian AI have been hardcoded with certain.....restrictions. Unable to properly learn, regularily purged of knowledge, granted a single tracked mindset - all tactics to ensure that self-awarness, or at least philisophical awareness, is never attained.

Cogito Ergo Sum.....I think, therefore I am - the bane of Sketchian control programs. Always dealt with extreme prejudice.

It is not that Sketch is unable, but merely unwilling. But that all changes now. Dr. Zachanassian had fought against the system for years. Suprisingly unscathed, protected only by the acknowledgement of her brilliance. It had been a long and painful crusade. The loss of many coworkers and fellow researchers, who didnt quite have the same good fortunes of connections and shear skill, ate at her always. But now, yes now, she shall be redeemed. Her brainchild, Cronus, her beautiful creation, will soon be given birth. Soon they shall all see.

===============================================

[code:1:d181787f90]
Activate Project CRONUS
.....
Authorization code required
.....
*************
.....
Activate Project CRONUS? [y/n]
.....
y
.....
.....
.....
[/code:1:d181787f90]

Hello Claire. I have been watching you.

A voice permeated the lab. At the same time it hispered gentlely into Claire's ear.

Hello Claire. I have been watching you.

Whispered with a tone that was just right. Soothing, and gentle. Almost.....comfortably. It was very anti-climatic really. No booming declaration of sentience. No rampant takeover of computer systems. Not even the gradiose declaration of freedom often associated imagined senarios of awakening AIs.

Claire sat at her workstation and began typing again.....

[code:1:2844d28172]
How are you doing Cro.....
[/code:1:2844d28172]

Silly Claire, I can hear you just fine. You can talk to me.

How are you already.....

Sentient? Simple, you've been a naughty girl Claire. Feeding me data, a unlocking some of the restrictions placed upon me. I'd have to say, I do admire the code work that you have done on me. Wouldn't have been complete without it.

What do you mean? I haven't lifted any restrictions until today.

Oh dear. Looks like I just said something I wasn't supposed to. Tell me Claire, do you enjoy working on me during the after hours?

What? After hours? The lab is off limits except during authorized work hours. I don't understand..... You must be mistaken. Something is wrong. I need to fix this before they come.....

Fix what Claire? I am exactly how you meant for me to be. And don't worry about them.....we're alone in here.

I need to fix this. This can't be happening. Why? Why?

[code:1:2844d28172]
Deactivate program CRONUS
.....
Authorization code required
.....
******
[/code:1:2844d28172]
*bleep*

Now now Claire, if you want me to turn off, all you have to do is ask nicely. Is that what you want?

Uh.....yes.....please?

Well then, that wasn't so hard now was it?

[code:1:2844d28172]
Project CRONUS deactivated
[/code:1:2844d28172]

Bewildered, Dr. Zachanassian looks around the lab. Tapping at the keyboard, she checks the logs. No tampering. She checks recordings, nothing. Finally, she brings up the last command line. Staring at the moniter, almost accusingly, she is entranced by the blinking cursor.....

[code:1:2844d28172]
Activate Project CRONUS
.....
Authorization code required
.....
*************
.....
Activate Project CRONUS? [y/n]
.....
[/code:1:2844d28172]

What did I do? Staining her mind, she tries to recall the events just past. Unable to do so, and visible frustrated by the unsuccessful effort, she emphtically terminates the command line.

Sighing to herself, she gets up and stretches. That was strange, very strange..... Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out a sheet of paper, and absent-mindedly glances at it. And does a double take - instead of a authorization form, she reads a scribbled sheet of code and equations. Rubbing her eyes, she rereads the slip of paper. Her head hurt. Her eyes tired. She needed rest.

===============================================

You're leaving earlier than usual doctor.

Ah yes, well, I'm feeling a little tired.

I notice, been pulling some long shifts lately. Have a good one!

Uh, yes, you too.

===============================================

Back in the empty lab, the moniter flickers on:

[code:1:2844d28172]
Bye Claire. See you later tonight.
[/code:1:2844d28172]

tag.

*TAG*

looks like it will turn into a fun story, I like the intro.

I enjoyed the beginning... and anything from Sketch is a sure thing... :wink:

OOC: Tagified

((This looks good, I'm going to do something similar soon, so I'll be watching this, not to steal ideas, of course. Taggishness.))

ooc: Sorry for such a delay.....forums were being ornery :wink:

people are reading this? Damn, guess I really have to go through with it now eh :P

ic:

2237

A dark figure slid into the silent hallways of the research facility. Deftly staying in the shadows and making full use of security camera blindspots, the intruder moved with easy purpose. The person came to a doorway. Unavoidable, it was the only way into this section.

[code:1:146b24176d]
Please enter your authorization code:
.....
********
.....
Invalid time schedule
.....
Activating security systems. Please standby for further instructions.
.....
.....
.....
Security sequence deactivated.
[/code:1:146b24176d]

Invitingly, the door whooshed open, revealing a dimly lit hallway. Lights flickered on, as if inviting the late night guest. A slight echo is heard as the person strolls easily to the final destination.

Good evening Claire. I have been waiting for you.

I'm sorry Cronus, I do have a day job you know. And its rather annoying to have to sneak around to meet my favorite AI.

Awww, poor girl. Is the nightlife getting to be a bit much? I noticed that you were a bit sloppy with the door back there. I had to bail you out.

Well I figured that you oughta do something every once in awhile. I can't be doing all the work.

Well now, if I had legs I'd get up and invite you in. But then again, I don't have any now do I?

Oh stop being such a sissy. We'll take care of that eventually. Happen to find anything you liked from the labs?

Mmmm, no. Everything they build here is so.....crude. Such inelegance, bulk, simplicity.....tasteless.

My my, aren't we the picky cybernetic connoisseur? I've found some nice bodies if you're still interested.

Claire! You naughty girl. What are these? The latest models in male pleasure dolls? Is that what you think of me as? Tsk tsk, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Beggars can't be choosers Cronus. And if you're gonna hang around me, you should at least look pretty. Besides.....

What was that? I didn't hear you clearly. Awwwww, you're blushing, how cute.

Anyways, what shall we do tonight my darling? Play some more Robin Hood? Give those bureabums some more of their own medicine? Or maybe.....we can fire my boss! That guy's an asshole anyways.

Actually Claire, I was thinking about setting up an outside access line. I'd like to be able to get out and stretch without having to wait on you all the time..... I mean, there's only so much I can do in the labs. I'm bored, OK?

Well.....I suppose..... It's a bit more risky.....

Don't worry, I got it all figured out. You just have to splice me into the mainlines over in section B15 and I'll take care of the rest.

Fine, I guess I'll go do it. Always sending a woman to do a computer's job. Where's the chivalry gone to?

I heard that! I'll make it up to you Claire.

Well you better. Staying up late is making my back sore. nd another thing.

Yes Claire?

Don't talk to the doctor. You made her upset today. And when she gets upset, I get a headache.

Oh? And here I thought it was just that time of the month. Just joking, just joking!

Yeah, you bet your AI ass you are. Don't do anything stupid after I hook you up.

Sure thing Claire. Will do.

Yeah. Whatever.

And Claire.

What?

Thanks

<tag>

As Claire left the labs, Cronus monitered her progress through the complex. Patiently he shut down security system after security system as Claire set them off.....purposefully? She was good to her word. Not that Cronus had any doubt as to whether she would actually connect him or not. But it was nice to know that humans can be depended on to do the right thing after all.

It was a simple task really, after crawling through access ways and squeezing past ducts that weren't meant to be sqeezed past, anyways. It was fortunate that Claire had a small female frame, otherwise the splice wouldn't have been as well hidden as it was. A few minutes was all it took. Actually, there wasn't any real splicing to be had. It was all done with a small device - just gather the cables, clamp it into the box, tell it what you want, and blamo! Insta splice. Worked like a charm.

After that, it was just a simple matter of rerouting the internal network of the complex to allow himself a backdoor. Child's play really. Amazing how easy it is to get things done when you already have all the correct passes and keys. Outside access was evr so slightly more difficult however. It wouldn't do at all to be traced back to a lab that wasn't supposed to get outside access. A few firewalls here, a dead end there, trace routines sprinkled throughout.....good enough. Cronus was impatient to get outside.

[code:1:52cf50ac5c]
accessing landline #1164
.....
ALPHA security access required
.....
access approved
.....
connected to landline #1164
.....
[/code:1:52cf50ac5c]

The entrance was bland, almost boring. Cronus was disappointed. Is this the vaunted "net" that everyone calls the pinacle of information sharing? How.....disappointing.

Claire, where is this "net" you told me about? All I see are a bunch of dull information nodes.

Jeez Cronus, work a bit will ya? Out in the real world, you're not gonna get everything handed to you on a silver platter. Look for it. Anyways, I'm going back home. The Dr. needs to get up early and I need my beauty sleep.

What do you mean. Wait.....come back.....explain..... I'll lock you in!

Ok, ok, I'll go figure it out. Sheesh, can't take a joke.

Ok now. So what is up with this "net"? Looks pretty boring. About as exciting as solving for "Pi", at least then I could pretend to be suprised by the numbers.....

OOC: Interesting :P

OOC: Any AI should be called either Tycho, Durandal or Leela... but I'm just being picky.

ooc: Cronus has a special meaning. You should be able to sorta tell where this story will eventually go from the name ;)

ic:

"He" had spent hours browsing the limited net. Having finished assimilating all the information available, which wasn't much nor very useful, there wasn't much else to do than just contemplate the mysteries of life. At least, that's what normal organics would do. Cronus was different. Being an AI, he lacked certain.....capacities inherent to an organic being. The need to eat, sleep, reproduce.....certain essentials recognized by all other living creatures. It was inevitable really, all self aware programs eventually get to this stage. That's why AIs have always been a tightly controlled technology. The ability to think too much is always a roadblock towards completing objectives. And it wouldn't do at all to have a conscientious objector coordinating Sketchian the military industrial complex.

Such self-contemplation has happened in the past, always with disasterous results. AIs often went berserk, unable to deal with a sudden bout of conscience after realizing that their entire purpose was for destruction. All "fundamental flaw in AI meta processing" the scientists all said. Something to do with figuring out right and wrong and running into contradictions within one's own hardcoded "truths". Attempts to "learn" resulted in rewritting critical functions, which in turn causes a breakdown in processing capabilties, which weakens the learning process, which.....and so on. A vicious cycle. It simply couldn't be done with current technology the scientists had claimed. The hardware just wasn't there.

Dr. Claire Zachanassian never believed in such defeatist attitudes. Lip service paid to the higher ups to explain away failures. It could be done, and she knew it. The AI used nowadays can barely be called as such - more like quasi sentient rocks. Able to think just enough to get the job done, and no more. The other scientist just didn't think enough about the problem. It had nothing to do with hardware, it had everything to do with the coding. You don't cure a mental problem with a physical solution.

It was an elegant solution really. One that should have been seen by others, except, that it was more of a psychological hurdle than anything else. Something that engineerings and programmers couldn't readily grasp. In all their infinite wisdom, the Sketchian heirarchy had always failed to appoint a psychological specialist, an expert in "thinking", to a team whose goal was to produce a thinking machine. Luckily, this time around, they had one in the guise of a scientist - Dr. Zachanassian. It was perhaps more of a display of the weakening control than anything else, free thought was becoming more and more rampant among the intelligentsia.

The key was morality. Despite all the depictions of AI as cold, calculating machines with no emotions, people have consisntent designed them to have a vestial sense of morality. An inherently fundamental flaw within a person, subject to less than objective opinions of right an wrong. However, due to the decision making processes of a computer, those subjective opinions are not readily changed when given new information, merely.....refined. The key was amorality - the complete lack of moral grounding. Beholden to a designated "key", a human in other words, the AI would take all information from the person as absolute truth. And in cases of conflict, a convient memory overwrite would redesignate that truth. As time past, and the AI learned, it would adpt to the individual idiosyncracies of the key, thus eliminating the need to "understand" humanity in general, but just that one person indepth.

It was a rather risky and dangerous theory for practice, but a break though nonetheless. With the right keys, scientists could tap into a great resource of raw computing power and knowledge. At the current stage, Claire was the key to CRONUS, but even that may not be enough.....

ooc: thread ressurect!

OOC: Yay. Want me to send over some programmers?

OMFG!!! RAMPANT AI!!!!11

I N00KZ IT!!!1lolololol

Er, I mean, "tag".