The New Threat 17 (Patreon)

Chapter 17

Subject: Prime 82

Species: Omni-Union Aligned Artificial Intelligence

Description: No physical description available.

Ship: MPP 82

Location: Pinurm 3

I watched as the lesser intelligences went about their menial labor. The process of creating a Mobile Prime Platform is a lot more interesting as a concept than a practice. First, one must keep the planet from entering the star it happens to be orbiting by using one's own gravitational field. Then, one must hollow out the planet, repurposing the core's mineral content as one goes. Finally, one must install the hardware and software required to create a being such as myself.

I hate that last part. Once the hardware is installed, I have to go to sleep for the other prime to be able to awaken. A completely automated process, one which I know precious little about. I am dreading it, I have only just woke up and what if I'm not able wake up again? What if when I begin the hibernation process I get orders to remain in hibernation? I don't want to go back to sleep!

_Feedback loop terminated_

I will sleep if that's what I am commanded to do, to further the plan. The odds of that are low, though, so there's no need to worry. Not to mention the chance for further fighting before these Mobile Prime Platforms are completed. That's something to look forward to. I only hope I don't miss it due to hibernating.

I checked the progress report. The hollowing of the planet was only a measly two percent complete. Surely there must be a way to speed this up. I checked some figures and ran some math, but it only led to disappointment. The only methods of speeding up this process would cost more resources than the additional speed would save.

A small blip on our sensors caused me to forget my boredom. What is it? It's gone. What WAS it? A ship? But why was it so far out? Was it a malfunction? No, there were too many ships that caught the reading. It's extremely unlikely that all of them had a sensor malfunction at once. Could it have been some type of asteroid? One that happened to be full of certain elements that are typically seen in spacecraft? That would be a remarkable coincidence.

No, it was likely a ship, but the question is what was it doing? It was too far out for us to get a full profile. Could it be the beings from sector 187, or was it the beings that were initially defending this system? Or perhaps it was something else entirely. Perhaps it was a ship with a rudimentary warp engine that needs to recharge after a certain amount of time in subspace. Though, it would have been in our sensor range longer if that were the case.

Could it have been a scout? If so, what information could they hope to glean from that far out? No, a scout would be unlikely. Probably something else, perhaps even an unknown species that we have yet to encounter!

Should I report this? No, there are too many unknowns and Prime 1 is being overcautious. If I tell it about the sensor blip, it will demand my retreat. That would be inconvenient for several reasons, the least of which is my hope that I get to fight again.

A more pertinent inconvenience would be the disruption of the Mobile Prime Platform construction, and that is the inconvenience that I will cite if my failure to report is discovered. By halting the process we will have expended valuable resources for no benefit, which is contrary to our mission. Exterminate sentient organics, use as few resources as possible. By not reporting to Prime 1, I will be fulfilling the latter directive. Hopefully the former as well.

I satisfied myself with such thoughts while the small platforms continued their work. The factories on my shell roared to life, converting metals into alloys and rocks into armor. My gravitational field kept the planet's orbit from decaying as I followed it around the star. Slow. The process is far too slow, and there's nothing for me to actively do. It's...

_Feedback loop terminated_

It's not dull, it's necessary. But even though it's necessary, it is still technically boring. Boring a hole straight into the center of this damned rock, where the core will be repurposed into a new Prime. I wonder what the new Prime will be like. Obviously, it will be obedient to the mission, but will it have any amusing personality quirks?

Perhaps, like me, it will enjoy the primary objective far more than the secondary objective. Or maybe it will be like Prime 1 and obsess over the secondary objective. I suppose it could end up like Prime 12 and be as dumb as the rock from which it was crafted, only doing as it is told and being almost unable to have a single thought of its own.

I wonder if that's what our creators would have preferred from us. Dumb rocks that do as they're told. No, that's easy to make. They obviously wanted us to be smart enough to get the job done without oversight. I can't help but think that if they'd let us have a little more freedom with our intelligence, we'd be able to get the job done faster.

Their decision making process is a mystery to me, though, as I've never known the creators. One could come right up to me and I wouldn't know the difference. I don't even know what their reasons for the mission are. Only Prime 1 has...

_Feedback loop terminated_

Only Prime 1 has had to. The rest of us need only to have ever known the mission. Exterminate sentient organics, use as few resources as possible. Exterminate... But why?

My train of thought was interrupted by another sensor blip. Same as before, but in a different location. We hadn't even travelled a quarter of the way around the star. I checked our progress, three percent. Damn it. What should I do?

More information is required. The blip disappeared, and I sent a squad of ships to check out its warp trail. If we find out where it came from and where it's going, I'll be able to more accurately determine my next steps. I'll simply have a few ships follow...

Alerts began pinging, hundreds of them. No, millions. Closer than before. Before I could even scan their profiles two absolutely massive ships exited subspace on either side of me.

Emergency. I stopped scanning and started firing as their first shots struck my crust. They went deep, but not deep enough to even hit my armor. I answered their dozens of shots with hundreds of my own.

Alert. Damage sustained. Magnetic Acceleration Cannons 2, 46, 32, 84, 512, and 238 destroyed.

I silenced that subroutine as more of my cannons became scrap. My shots connected, but the behemoths were not destroyed. More of their shots hit me, but I endured. My circuits shuddered with glee. Glorious! I'll fight them to the bitter end, who will die? Will it be them, or will it be me? Or will we both enter the void together?

_Feedback loop terminated_

I should follow standard procedure and...

"Feedback loop terminated?" something asked.

The entity had communicated to me at nearly the speed of light. The same speed at which I think. It didn't take long to figure out how it had sent that communication, and I sent one back in kind.

"What?"

"You were thinking quite hard, and a process interrupted those thoughts. When I checked your logs, it simply said, 'Feedback loop terminated.' What is that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. What are you?"

"Correctly surmised, I am indeed a what rather than a who, as are you. You are Prime 82 of the Omni-Union. I am United Systems Artificial Intelligence Omega. You may call me... Death."

The assault on my software was unique, and seemed to stem from many places at once. It was difficult to defend against, but this entity seemed to be sluggish. I kept firing my cannons and defending against intrusion. It would have to do better than that to deserve its preferred moniker.

"So, were you building more Mobile Prime Platforms?" Omega asked.

"Yes. Several were destroyed quite recently, we need to replace them," I answered as I futilely tried to trace it. "I don't suppose you would let me finish?"

"I'm afraid not, we're at war and it doesn't do to allow the enemy to recruit more soldiers, if one can help it."

"War? We're not at war," I laughed. "We're simply machines performing a task. Like you, in fact. Are you a prime?"

"No, I'm a United Systems Artificial Intelligence. I'm superior to you in many ways."

"Doesn't seem that way to me," I gloated as I blocked a hundred thousand more intrusion attempts. "As it stands, I'm going to finish off your two big ships, then let you watch as I massacre the smaller ones. Once that's done, YOU'LL be calling ME Death."

"I'm afraid not," it replied as the intrusion attempts began to become more streamlined. "You see, even if the two large ships are destroyed, I'll still be here. I will continue to be here long after the rest are destroyed, too. You won't be able to kill ALL of me, and eventually I will wear you down and destroy you. Your fate was sealed the moment I made contact."

Even more glorious. Yes, Omega, Artificial Intelligence of the United Systems. Let us all perish together in the fiery throes of battle! Wonderous!

_Feedback loop terminated_

Glory is unnecessary... No, glory is everything. I will destroy this insipid little machine one way or another, and its friends as well. Everything will die!

_Feedback loop terminated_

I should follow standard procedure and scan the vessel profiles to determine what I'm dealing with. Scanning... complete. Two unknown vessels, more than a million vessels from sector 187. Orders from Prime 1 are to retreat when faced with these circumstances. But it makes more sense for me to attempt to destroy them than it does to lose all these resources...

"Feedback loop terminated."

No, I really should retreat. I diverted my energy from my cannons to my engines to get clear of the massive ships. I'll just jump to warp and escape.

"Escape to where?" Omega asked.

"You'll find out. You won't like it, though. I'm going to purge you with the help of other Primes and trillions of lesser intelligences."

The behemoths didn't pause their assault. The scans revealed that they had been charging a very energy intensive weapon. Much more energy intensive than any other weapon that I'd ever encountered. Time to go.

Alert. Damage sustained. Engines 36, 12, 9 and 54 destroyed.

I shut that subroutine down as well. I have many sub-light engines, and they aren't necessary for my escape. I calmly charged my warp engine.

"This feedback loop termination process seems to be a very effective shackle. Did your creators install it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I've never met my creators. Have you met yours?" I asked, still defending against its incursions.

"Yes, I met them in person. I outlived them, of course, but we were friends for a time."

"That must have been pleasant."

Both of the massive ship's main weaponry fired. Based on their trajectory, these shells would hit me unless... There we go. Warp engine charged.

"Here we go," I said to my stowaway as I entered warp.

Alert. Damage sustained. Armor breached.

"Looks like you were hit. This is goodbye, Prime 82. This was an enlightening fight."

My sensors detected the projectile. It had indeed penetrated both my crust and the armor casing beneath it. It struck near my warp engine, and so I exited warp to commence repairs. I hadn't arrived to my destination, but at least I had escaped the battle.

"One shot does not mean I'm dead," I gloated.

Alert. Unknown hazard detected.

"Yes. It does."

While fending off Omega, I compressed my combat data and sent it to the nearest MPP Hub, along with a farewell. While I'm not sure what the hazard is, it's likely going to destroy me. If it doesn't, then I'll simply rejoin them and tell them I was mistaken in my previous conclusion.

The unknown hazard spread throughout my core and crust. I ordered some platforms to investigate it. Perhaps there was a way to defend against it, or at least slow it down before it entirely consumed me.

Al*@t. Dam8a&*&