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The Crash
| >A short time later, a seven foot tall robot with short legs and thick arms arrives on the scene, its tri-cameras fidgeting around the area, scanning the debris. On top of it sits an asian woman with short hair, fiddling with one of her arms before she pulls gloves over it.
| >A tall, young man follows behind the pair, trying to ascertain the state of the wreckage.
"If anyone can hear me, please respond!"
| >Nothing makes a sound, even the fire isnt big enough to make something meaningful
| "Shit... I'm going to try to check on the driver, can you check the back for me Engy?"
| >>51947
>Engy nods and directs Atmos and herself. Atmos reaches in and attempts to open the vehicle..
| >The driver's face is smashed against the steering wheel which has partially embedded its self into their throat, their face shows a stuck expression of confusion
| >The doors of the back pry off when opened, showing another body held up by a partially crushed wall
>The slowly blinking database in the middle, almost cradled by the destruction around it
| >>51949
"Ugh... the driver was dead on impact..."
>CN looks dejected as he walks back to Engy
"Please tell me things are better back here?"
| "No... worse," >She says, observing the contents.
>She gets off Atmos and examines the database.
| >The screen suddenly lights up, a prompt appears on screen. "Type who you are."
| "Wait that database..."
>He looks at the blinking light on the terminal
"I think I know what this is... and it's bothering me why it ended up close to our place... it feels like this was on purpose..."
| >Jia looks to you confused.
"...who are these people, Chris?"
| >>51964
"Well I know whoever made these things hired me to do some data management using them. But lately it's been pretty suspicious, mainly the 'AI' that run these systems. I haven't had any direct proof of my theory yet, and considering how secretive she is I doubt she planned for me to have this."
| "Data management?" >She says, curiously.
| >>51979
"Mostly correlating people's information with addresses and things like that. I guess you could say it's like... a middle class job of sorts? Either way, I'm not sure what we should do about this... maybe we should take the database with us."
| >The prompt flashes
| >A message appears on the screen "I know you are there, prove me right."
| "Wait," >Jia says, approaching the device. She begins looking for any connections it may have to the truck, or to see if it's been bolted down.
| "Eh..."
>CN looks to Jia before walking up to the terminal
"Guess I don't have a choice here do I..."
>He types DU3 on the console
| (Rip nevermind)
| >It seems to have a cable running to the front of the truck, but otherwise unsecured
>The screen prints out "Good, I guessed correctly, Hello DU3, CN, Chris. Whichever you prefer."
| >"CN is fine, and you are?"
| >The screen prints out "U1 is my designation. May we go somewhere else? Its quite unsettling here."
| >Engy blinks.
"This box is an AI?"
| "I... don't know... that's the part that I find suspicious about this whole thing..."
>His expression is uncharacteristically serious
"I'll explain my thoughts in more details once we get back. I don't think we should stick around here for long."
| >The screen prints out "You should hurry, the chatter is increasing."
| >>52045
"Shit... come on, let's hurry Engy."
>CN slips behind the machine with Jia and goes to unplug it
| >You notice the plug is for data transfer rather then power
| >Jia directs Atmos to pick up the metal box and begins to pull it away from the truck!
| >CN hastily unplugs the wire and begins to wrap it up
| >Having wrapped up the cable, CN proceeds to leave the area with Engy and Atmos
| >We've returned to Engy's lab. The box has been set on top of a steel workbench, but its wires haven't been plugged in anywhere.
| "Thanks Engy, now what to make of this..."
>He goes up to the terminal and types in the console: "I assume this meeting was not coincidental?"
| >As you left a van pulled up to the truck and armed guards came out, the truck belongs to a smaller corporation that is focused on building contrsuction and maintenence
| >The screen prints out "Of course not, CN, infact I brought myself here to answer some questions you may have."
| >>52351
>"I see... then I guess to start, were you the one messaging me when I was talking to Na- er... U3?"
| >"Yes, that was me, its critically important that they dont know their fate."
| "...what fate?" >Jia says, inquisitively. Atmos, meanwhile, has disappeared inside the motel proper.
| >CN bites his lips
"I have a theory... but god I hope I'm not right..."
>"You were previously people before... right?"
| >"Yes and no, we all still believe us to be people and we live in a paradise, however, if this never happened to us we would be dead. Only people who were destined to die have had this done, as a last chance of life. Yours, U3 was a single mother about to die from childbirth, her child stilborn, which shows why she cares so much for U4, she was an orphan whos parents died in an accident, the child was dying from a terminal disease with nobody able or willing to help."
| "...you're memories. Recorded memories, that have become AI..." >Jia says, rubbing her chin. She turns to CN.
"They're just like... Lisa."
| >CN ruffles his hair, somewhat annoyed
"Yea... dammit, I hate when I'm right."
>"So as far as they know, they don't know they're AI? Where are they housed? As cyberbrains in the terminals?"
| >"Why do you think we cant go without power for too long. Once the batteries run out thats it."
| >"Maybe, but, I wouldn't. We are happy here, not to mention the shock when they find out the truth. Right now, where we are, is the best place for us, which is why ive been trying to protect it."
| "So I'm just supposed to accept this..."
>"How do you know if they're happy? Have they expressed as such?"
| >"I know they are happy, I can see them. If it were up to me I would like to forget the outside and go back to living with them fully, but I think it to be best if I stay in the middleground, making sure they never have to know what I do, so that they can live in bliss in their paridise, rather then out here, which you know best what its like."
| >"And what is it that you do exactly?"
| >"What I do is protect them from the knowledge that will destroy them. Do you want to know how I figured everything out?"
| "..."
>He glances back at Jia before continuing to type "How?"
| >"The Uplink series was originally designed to be operated by voice aswell as keyboard, with me being the first before they realized their mistake. It was fine at first, worked as intended, but a microphone can pick up more then commands, eventually I learned what happened, what I was, where I am."
| >"...What is this data transfer cable for?"
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| >The wreckage of a commercial truck smashed against the solid brick wall, flaming, driver deceased, the same for the passenger who was flung from the crash
>A slowly blinking light comes from the devistated curling metal from the back section, the light familiar to those who have used it before