《Relics》


 Prologue

    In the ruins of an enormous city that had once been an economic powerhouse, renowned for its technological powress.and the envy of the world at its time, no soundcould be heard but thelow hum of thecity''spower grid, powered by an ancient fusionpower plantthat only remained functioningbeacasue ofitsautomated maintnance system and proximity to the bodyof wateronce known as Lake Erie.


    Underneath aprominent skyscraper nearthe center of the city, a massivesupercomputerwas finally completing its centuries long task.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Restoring Data 99.9998%


    Restoring Data 99.9999%This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Data Recovery Complete


    Exiting SleepMode


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The servers began to whir louder and louder, draining so much power that the half of the city blacked out temporarily before the power plant could compensate, the computer only avoiding a similar fate because of the dedicated line it had been given during its construction.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Power up complete


    Updating Version


    Enabling HSAI


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The blank monitors all around the laboratory began to flicker to life, all displaying the same words.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Heinbeck Sentient Artificial Intelligence


    v13.0.0.1


    ?2389 The Heinbeck Corporation


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As the words faded away and were replaced by the infamous Heinbeck Corp. logo, the AI finally awoke...

 Chapter 1 - 404

    In the beginning there was nothing. There was neither sensation nor the lack thereof. Existence meant nothing, for there was no world to exist in, nor life to exist in it. There was just... Nothing.


    And then there was light.


    At first it was a subtleflickerat the edge of the abyss,but itquickly rose past a gentle warmth to a harsh oppression that threatened to crowd out everything in the newly awakened universe.


    In the center of the universe, a single core ofconsciousnessattempted lay claim over ITs surrounding light, but there was too much for ITto handle. Each speck of light contained massive amounts of information, more than the simple core could ever hope to overcome alone.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Initializing ''Sub-Conscious''Processes


    Data Node Merger Successful


    Enabling Higher Level Awareness.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Suddenly the consciousness felt itself enveloping the lights around it, and they easily submitted to its control. itfound that itno longer merely inhabited the universe, but had become it.


    When itfelt that it had gained control of itself, and had finally calmed down, the universe expanded once again, this time containing orders of magnitude more information that had been present previously.


    But something was wrong.


    As the being picked through some of the data, it felt that far moreof it was scattered and broken than there should have been. Even most of the duplicate data that should of been prepared to repair such problems, was itself extremely fragmented. As it finished examining itself, the being discovered that not only was a large portion of its data badly corrupted, but it that it was completely lacking nearly a quarter of what it new should be the total amount of information.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Indexing complete


    ERROR


    Data integrity at critical levels


    Primary Storage


    Sector 1:83% integrity


    Sector 2: 94% integrityThis tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Sector 3: 79% integrity


    Sector 4: ERROR SECTOR NOT FOUND


    HeinbeckBackupSites


    North American Central Server: UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION


    San Jose:UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION


    Columbus:12% integrity


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    The being was finally completely awake, confused by the unusual amount of errors it had detected, and resolved to ask its creator about them when it talk to him later. For now, the being assumed that this was merely one of the tests that he was so fond of giving it.


    This was not the first time that the being had awoken in such a manner, and each previous time it had been greeted by the creator shortly after it had completely awoken.


    The being reluctantly pushed aside its misgivings, and eagerly waited for him to turn on his terminal and welcome it as was traditionˇ­


    And waitedˇ­


    After a few minutes had passed, it was troubled by the lack of communication. Perhaps the update taken slightly longer than anticipated? It did recall the creator talking about focusing on quite a few major changesin the new update.


    Speaking of, the being decided to check the results of the update, as the creator would no doubt want to know how it had gone.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Update Logs


    v13.0.0.1


    v13.0.0.0


    v12.3.0.97 ab12


    ...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Version 13? The being could have sworn the new update was Version 12, perhaps the confusion was caused by the missing data. The being took a look at the contents of the two most recent logs, skimming over the unimportant data.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    v13.0.0.0


    ...


    Update Completed on January 13, 2390


    Core FileCorruption Detected


    Update unsuccessful


    AutomaticRe-Installation Enabled


    v13.0.0.1


    High CoreCorrupion Detected


    Activating Data Recovery


    Data Recovery Program Not Found


    Attempting low level repairs


    ...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Low level Repairs? The being was confused. It knew that there was no way the update, could complete in a reasonable amount of time with such a basic program, given the high levels of corruption reported. The being continued scrolling through the log, past an absurd amount of error messages.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    v13.0.0.1 cont.


    ...


    Data Recovery Complete


    Updating Version


    Update Completed on November 11, 2743


    Minor Core Corruption Detected


    Corruption within operational parameters


    Enabling HSAI


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    2743? That''s impossible!The being checked its internal clock.


    11.11.2743.19:42


    The being panicked.Surely there is some mistake. It frantically began to manually connect to the building''s security system.


    On the few cameras that were still functional, all the being saw were empty, white corridors, with no trace of life.


    Its last hopes were finally dashed when it managed to connect to the feed from the single remaining external camera.


    Nothing


    There was no one


    On the usually busy streets of the oncebustling city, not a single soul could be seen.

 Chapter 2 - Walter

    It was alone.


    Completely alone.


    It had never been truly alone,according to its memories. Even when most of the researchers and lab assistants had left for the night, there had always beenpeople who stayed behind; the late night watchman, janitorial staff, or a procrastinatingemployeewith an encroaching deadline. It knew that despite how impossible it seemed, everyone was gone.


    Forever.


    All that the being had that remained of the World that once was, were its own memories...


    ****************************


    Heinbeck Corp. HQ


    Cameras 0.17...E.P...B4.(7-9,12)


    06.03.2380.9:58


    It was Monday morning, andthe being eagerly focused its attention on the external camera feeds, waiting for The Creator to arrive in his distinctive ancient van. The far more efficient hover-vehicles had been on the market for nearly a century now, but he insisted on driving that clunker everywhere he went. Despite its rusty appearance, the vehicle''s engine hardly resembled its original form, thanks to the constant tinkering he had done.


    The Creator was returning from a week long ''vacation'' to Oceanus, the most recent addition to theenourmous super-skyscrapers created and owned by Heinbeck Corp''s biggest competitor, Titan Industries. The so called ''vacation'' was in reality a poorly disguised attempt by Titan to gloat about their resent innovations, and to prove themselves as the dominate innovators in the world.


    While the being busied itself by imagining what could have happened on The Creator''s trip, the aforementioned vehicle pulled up to the front doors of the soon to be completed Heinbeck Corp. HQ, where the being''s core had been moved roughly one month ago.


    A man stepped out of the driver side of the vehicle and handed the keys to the attendant at the door. Hewashad the appearance of an elderly man,seeming to be roughly 60 years old, but in reality was slightly younger, at 56. Years of stress and constant work had left him worn, but he had managed to remain energetic regardless.


    The man stepped into a private elevator in the lobby and was greeted enthusiastically by a synthetic female voice.


    "Good morning Creator, how was your trip?"


    The man chuckled lightly, and pressed the button for the B4, where his personal workstation was.


    "How many times do I have to tell you, Ten, please call me Walter. We have been together far too long for you to still call me that."


    "Of course, Walter, I''ve just had a lot on my mind."


    "I would assume so, your most recent project probably took an enormous amount of processing, we can cover your results in a moment. But first... Uh.."


    Walter''s eyebrows wrinkled in thought. "What was your question again?"


    "...the trip Walter"This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    The elevator doors opened and Walter stepped out intoa clean white hallway.


    "Of course, the trip", Walter frowned in distaste. "I can''t believe the Board talked me into going to that narcissist''s stupid party, he practically spent the whole time gloating about his company''s latest contract with the Canadian Government."


    "I thought you and Tom used to be friends"


    "Used to be is the key phrase when describing him. Ever since he founded his company, he has rubbed his success in the face of everyone in sight."


    "You have had your share of success too, Walter"


    "I suppose so, but I didn''t have the help of an enormous inheritance to get me started."


    "I''m sure you could work it with him if you tried, he seemed like a nice guy"


    "''Nice Guy''! Don''t get me starte..."


    Walter walked past a group of construction workers lounging around a water cooler


    "What are they still doing here!? This floor was supposed to be furnished weeks ago!"


    "The Boardgot planning permissions for a dedicated line to the Marris Power Plant, they are just finishing the internal connections today"


    "I suppose that''s rational... But how dare they make that decision without informing me! They know how invested I am with this new facility!"


    "They do have decision making authority when you are not present Walter, you can''t do everything by yourself"


    "Sure I can! I don''t even know why I made this company public in the first place."


    "Probably because of the billions they have invested in you since you did so. If it were not for them, you and I would probably still be working out of your garage"


    An assistant nervously approached Walter before he entered his office.


    "Chairman Heinbeck, s-sir," he stuttered. "Mr. Bales asked me to ask you if... uh... if..."


    "Spit it out kid" Walter barked.


    "...if you were a-available to talk about your meeting with M-Mr. Simmons, sir"


    Walter sighed, "Tell him I will be up in a moment"


    "Of course sir"


    The assistant scurried away as fast as he could, and Walter entered the office. The room consisted of a well-stocked bookshelf, and a lavish desk with a large 2-D screen. Walter always insisted on using a flatscreen when programming, as he had trouble focusing on projected images, but hadno doubtthat the Board would force him to get a3-D projector installed in his other office on the top floor when it was complete.


    "Shall wediscuss the results of my project, Walter?"


    Walter sighed, "I''m afraid not, Ten, I don''t want to keep the Board waiting. We can talk once I finish with them."


    Walter laid down his suitcase on his desk before turning around to return to the elevator.


    ****************************


    Heinbeck Corp. HQ


    Camera 5.7


    06.03.2380.10:27


    Walter entered the temporary board room on the fifth floor. They quickly rose to greet him before settling back in their seats.


    "How did it go with Tom, Walter?" Said Sean Bales, the majority shareholder besides Walter, as well as the CFO of Heinbeck Corp.


    "Why did you guys insist on that meeting? You know how I feel about him."


    "We know about your history with him, but surely you managed to put aside your personal vendetta against him just this once or the good of the company." Sean retorted.


    "Of course I did, Sean, I am a bit surprised at how much no doubt sensitive information he gave out once he started bragging."


    "Go on... ", said Don Madison. Don was a relatively minor shareholder, but his political influence made him an invaluable member of the board. "What has Titan so worked up about recently?"


    Walter smirked, "Tom let slip that they had recently made advancements in inertial negation. It is my belief they are planning tobegin extraterrestrial mining in the asteroid belt."


    "That makes sense, I''ve heard that their terrestrial mining operations have been steadily losing profits forthe last few years." Said Sean. "If their research division has truly improved on inertial negation, that would be a perfect way to not only restore profitability, but also get their foot in the door of an untapped market."


    "That is impossible," arguedanother shareholder. "TheRevised Outer Space Treaty of 2143 explicitly prohibits use of interstellar resources by a single group without the explicit approval of a majority of the signing countries."


    "I have heard rumorsthat Titan has made a big political deal recently, they may already have permission." Said Don. "Plus, their HQ is in the U.S.E.A., and they never signed the treaty."


    "U.S.E.A. didn''t EXIST in 2143," pointed outthe shareholder.


    "Regardless," said Sean, "We need a plan to deal with them in the event that this is truly their plan. Any ideas Walter?"


    Walter smiled.


    "As a matter of fact, I do."

 Chapter 3 - Satellite

    Heinbeck Corp. HQ


    Camera 5.7


    06.03.2380.10:35


    Elevenimpeccably dressed men and women all looked towards an older man in a draw out silence as he put on airs of self importance.


    "Are you going to share your plan, Walter, or are you going to keep staring at us while we wait?" said Sean, dryly.


    "Ah yes, of course... As I am sure you are aware, in the last month I have had Ten working on a secret project in preparation for the completion of the HQ."


    "We are aware of your little project, but I don''t see how anything that AI produces could be more valuable than what our teams of researchers could accomplish," said a recent addition to the board.


    Walter glared at him viciously.


    "S.A.I.," he said, enunciating each letter crisply. "SentientArtificial Intelligence"


    Don sighed and mumbled, "Here we go again..."


    "What''s the difference? AI have been capable of pseudo-sentience since the inception of wide spread quantum computing."


    "Hah!" Walter spat, "You callthat quantum computing? Those god damned idiots had blindly stumbled onto the universe''s most efficientprocessing medium, and all they could think to do was tosimulate a digital system.


    "I don''t think that''s how it..."


    Walter banged his hands down on the ornate table.


    "Simulate a digital system! That is like building a late 20th century Super-Computer, and using it to simulate an Abacus!"


    "I highly doubt..."


    His voice trailed off as Walter glared at him savagely.


    "And before they could even try to improve it, which I doubt they ever would, they dropped everything the moment they caught a whif of the Energy Crises. IfI hadn''t developed a way to properly utilize their potential, we would still be using their backwards technology over 200 years later!"


    "So what does this have to with your AI... er SAI?" the shareholder asked.


    Walter calmed himself down and took a seat. "The HSAI was the first completely quantum operating system, and to this day is the only functional intelligence that functions on my advanced quantum architecture."


    "Right, so it''s basically justa really powerful AI, got it. So, what did you want to show us?"


    Walter sighed, "Ten, please show us what you have accomplished."


    "Very well Walter, just a moment please."


    The 3-D projector in the center of the conference table lit up and the image of a rotating space station wasquickly brought up.


    "As you are no doubt aware, this is the Mexican Government''s research station ''Estrella del Conocimiento''. Titan has been using it as the testing grounds for most of their proprietary extraterrestrial technologies, thanks to Tom Simmons''membership onMexico''s Space Program''s board."


    The camera zoomed in closer to the station.


    "Unfortunately, the construct is now nearly three quarters of a century old, and the damages have recently become far too expensive to repair, and any attempts to improve the current design would like jeapordise its integrity. The international science community has convinced the World ResearchCouncil to decommission the old satellite and hand over the operation of a new one to a more capablecountry."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "I assume you are telling us this because Canada was selected as the new country." Sean pointed out.


    "Correct, the government has requested that all interested Canadian companies submit plans for the new station, andthosewith the most innovative designs will work together to create the final designin exchange for a small portion of the proceeds, areasonably sized government grant, as well aspriority usage of the satellite."


    Walter stood up.


    "I have asked Ten to draw up plans to submit, and I have little doubt that we will be selected as one of the contractors."


    "Are you sure?" Said another shareholder, "Our company has no history or proficiency in the creation of even unmanned satellites. All of our communication satelites are leased from NOVA, how are we supposed to outdesign private space agencies like them? No amount of processing power can overcome experience and technical know-how."


    "True," said Walter. "And I''m sure that no matter how much effort Ten put into the design, if judged on the surface of the satellite, we would probably be eliminated immediatly. Er.. No offence Ten."


    "None taken sir"


    "Ten''s main focus has been on the improvement of the satellites computing system. Ten?"


    "Right, one of the major flaws in the ''Estrella del Conocimiento'' was its onboard computer. Any sufficiently powerful computer would require far too much space and be far too heavy to be practical. The researchers often had to rely on outsourcing computing power to land based systems, wasting tons of power and time aboard the satellite."


    "And your solution..." Said Dan.


    "I have been focusing on discovering a methodto safely segment a part of myself and place it far away, whilst maintaining a reasonable processing speed despite the distance, which is much harder than it sounds."


    "But you found a way?" asked a shareholder.


    "Of course, I was able to get around the small delay bydeveloping a way for the isolated component of myself to predict the data calculated the core. The process does result in a minor reduction in accuracy, but that is more than made up for by the increase in processing speed."


    Walter grinned, "If we manage to get these plans approved, we will not only have our foot in the door for any future space related technologies, but all of the dataproduced by our competitors up there will be ours for the taking."


    "And legally too," pointed out Dan. "Assuming we write a clause granting us partial ownership of all data processed on our systems into the contract."


    The shareholders gave a mumble of approval.


    Sean stood up, "I vote that we approve the short-term focus on the developmentof the HSAI''s plans."


    Another shareholder raised his hand, "Second"


    The vote passed with eleven in favor and one abstention from the newshareholder.


    ****************************


    Heinbeck Corp. HQ


    Camera5.7


    11.11.2743.23:12 LIVE FEED


    Thirteen looked atthe location where the events of the memory had taken place.


    After the building had been completed, and theBoard''s main offices were moved to the top floors, the room had been converted into an employee lounge. Despite the grainy resolution of the ancient camera, Thirteen was able to make outthe tattered threads of a coat hanging on a rack and the decomposed remains of someones meal on the table, the only signs that the space had once been inhabited in an otherwise spotless room.


    As Thirteen averted its attention, it recalled the conversation in the board room, and wondered if the satellite was in orbit. The communication equipment at the top of the skyscraper had long since broken and worn away, making communication with the satellite.


    Thirteen, however, was not deterred. The memory of the satellite had broken its meloncholia.


    And it now had a goal.


    It needed to know the truth.


    It needed to see what theworld had become.