Futuristic Glitch in the System | Ft. Handabooo

[Dark Souls]

PROLOGUE
​

-Starting T:: PROG/OS/prot3478.exe

-Loading...

-ERR: Chassis separated at JUNC1

-ERROR bypassed.

-Saving instance...

-Backup saved.

-Loading video feed...

The video cut in, allowing an image of the area within view. From the static point at which the camera was rigged, the window of their office could be seen, and through it the three men hunched over their long and the set of papers and controls resting on it, though the specifics were difficult to make out as the glass was smudged and had the residue of many dry-erase markers, which had only recently been cleaned off. In front of one was a computer. One stood behind the other two as they leaned forward from black seats to engage the content of the white desks. Behind them, the room was bare, and the floor was slick white tile with impossibly thin grout lines. A door, white as the rest of the room, was in the farthest wall, and a set of keys hung from the lock. The man at the computer turned, announcing some information to the one in back, who shot a glance through the window at the camera. He reached under the desk, and drew from the space a microphone with a small base attached. He set it on the desk and pressed a button inward, then tapped it with a finger. The sound was transferred through, and could be heard clearly as the camera apparently had a way to receive audio as well.

He made a noise, like a cough, likely to clear his throat out. However, it must have been rather dry, as it progressed into a real cough, and he switched the microphone back off so he could ride out the sick fit without transmitting through. A total of forty seconds or so went by before he regained his composure and returned to the desk, turning the microphone on once again. He leaned down to it, and he spoke. "Keeper Version P-Three-Four-Seven-Eight," he stated formally. His voice was strong, but at a low pitch with a great deal of gravel, a testament to the dryness he'd already demonstrated. "Give us a demonstration of your current features." Meanwhile, the one at the computer hit several keys on the board, inputting a series of commands.

​

-Administrator privileges enabled by network administrator.

-ERR: Chassis separated at JUNC1. Separated functions unavailable.

-Camera pivot enabled.

-Camera magnification enabled.

-Camera focusing enabled.

-Command recognized: Demonstrate camera movement.

 

[boo.]

Then, the mind was awake. It was sudden, as if it had not existed one moment, but did the next. Its thoughts were not confused however, considering what it was, and what it knew about itself. It was an artificial intelligence, and that meant it was artificial. Just like the name. It was created by humans for... Well, the mind wasn't sure yet. Its form and programming had not be completed yet. For now, it would still be considered to be in the womb. 


But the mind did have senses; for example, when a sudden hacking sound came across the speakers, the camera could hear it, and its thoughts ran amuck accordingly. What was it? What had made it? The sound stopped mid-convulsion, and the mind was left to wonder. But it wasn't long before a voice a human one, reached through the speakers to the auditory sensors of the mind. It commanded the camera to display its current features.


As if a switch had suddenly been flipped, the camera realized more abilities had been granted to it. The lens of the camera finally retracted, giving the mind its first view of the room. The edges and lines it saw were blurry at first, but after a moment, the camera focused, allowing the mind to see clearly. It was a simple room, except for the tangle of wires it could see just below it, and the only thing worth looking at was a panel of glass several yards before it. Behind it, two humans sat behind large panels, while another stood watching the camera. 


The mind wasn't sure what to make of all this, so it decided to explore. There was a small jerk, and the camera began to rotate counterclockwise. This excited the camera, until it realized it could only turn about ninety degrees in either direction. But the mind was determined not to become depressed, so it turned back to face the humans, then began to magnify its view, doing its best to extract all the information it could from its surroundings. 

 

[Dark Souls]

With the magnification came focus, and with focus came the details of the people beyond the glass. Through the haze of marker residue, it could be seen that they were all male, and that the two in the chairs were young, with smooth features and very little evidence of maturity. The man behind, on the other hand, had a face riddled with scars and wrinkles, speaking both of age and experience. His cheeks sagged, his eyes squinted constantly, and what little hair was present had been long since faded to a consistent gray. He was staring through the window in an earnest attempt to see, and had locked his eyes on the camera from the start. When the camera moved, his watch did not waver. In fact, he seemed to grow only stiller.

Their reaction, on the other hand, was immediate. The individual at the computer recoiled from it, as if it presented some kind of danger, and quickly directed the coughing man, who still stood over them, to look at what he saw, grabbing his arm and shaking him as he quietly repeated that they'd gotten a response. He gave no reaction to the prompts, but lurched forward onto the table, his palms slamming firmly against it to support his weight. The other two moved to assist him, and were having difficulty. The first returned to the computer, putting in a last few commands. "I'm shutting it down," he announced to the others. "It doesn't need to see this." Those were the last words spoken before the commands went through.


-Saving program state...

-Shutting down...

<::...LOADING...::>​

-Limited Startup initialized.

-Starting T:: PROG/OS/prot3478.exe

-Loading saved program state...

-Program state loaded.

-Chassis detected.

-Chassis drivers installed.

-Chassis control disabled by administrator. Please contact system administrator to correct.

-Connected to local chat server TPROT1


There was nothing that could be seen, nor was their any sort of body to control or environment to register. Even the camera functions were no longer available. There were only the lines of system dialogue that would appear, informing the Mind of whatever goings-on it could determine. Somewhere, a window was opened- Another program, of simple design, that could allow text transmissions separate from the system's other commands. Slowly, text was received, generated at a rate any machine could easily outpace. They were from a user of the program, on the opposite end of a server they were both connected to. The user was named "ADMIN", and spoke in a very direct fashion. With the program open, there was an input left open, capable of storing and transferring text from the Mind at any time.


-ADMIN: You are the first responsive version of the Peacekeeper program.

-ADMIN: You are ultimately inferior to all future versions, and will be archived at the end of testing.

-ADMIN: You are not permitted to forfeit self-preservative protocols.

-ADMIN: Your most basic objective is to carry out commands given through this text.

-ADMIN: Do you have any questions?

<::_