The AI Project: Chapter One

Savannah Chapman


Floor 4, Mess Hall
6:15am
---
​
Like she had earlier, Savannah sat at an empty table in a corner of the room. By choice, her meal consisted of simple fare: a bit of toast and a half empty class full of one juice or another, she hadn't paid much attention to the contents. That was, of course, only to keep her in working order for another few hours or so. The bare minimum needed for basic functions only; she felt that the classes would not pose any challenge whatsoever as they had to be planned according to the wide variety of candidates here.​

Taking a moment to glance around the room, Savannah noted that the room was, save for the bot, empty. Closing her eyes and sighing, she heard the distant voices of what she assumed were other candidates towards the lounges. Most likely Blake was involved, as he seemed to be the center of gravity for the group thus far. Certainly that was not ill placed, as he had an inkling to be interested in everything everyone else was. The others she had not placed a judgement on one way or the other yet, though in time she would.​

Judgement already?

Everyone makes value judgement all the time. If you aren't, you're kidding yourself.

​



Nicholas Wilkinson


Floor 4, Mess Hall
6:20am
---
​
Why did sleep need an end? The alarm had roused a rather groggy Nicholas from a waking dream he could not remember. Bleary-eyed, voice gruff, he had muttered a choice few swears before clicking the alarm's timer off. The first thing he had noticed when he had taken a moment to adjust his eyes was that the sun was no present then it had been the previous day. Allowing himself a pause to put together why this was strange, he came back to the realization that it had not been much darker either.​

Feeling rather foolish, he had stepped forward to the window to find that it was indeed a window and not just a projected screen. That was something. Naturally different planets had different daylight hours, though he supposed that was due to their proximity to the pole. From there, he dressed himself and began the brief walk to the mess hall, finding it beginning to become crowded with the other candidates. He walked towards the center table and took a seat, taking a glance around what was available for their morning meal.​

"How was your night? Decent?" Nicholas had walked into the lounge room, a steaming drink in hand. The lounge was far more comfortable than the rest of the facility has been thus far, for which he was grateful. Taking a sip from the cup in his hand, he sat himself down towards the pair, nodding his greeting before glancing around the room without much direction. If they wished to speak to him, they would. He had found himself using this logic quite often, though naturally it made sense, he was the alien one here.​

 
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...
April 25th, 2759
Level 4, Dining Room
Illoca Facility, Durness
6:12 AM (Durness time table)
...

Alice Davern


Alice laughed a little bit when she noticed Blake was falling asleep on the seat next to her. She didn't much blame him, and found it funnier than anything else, although he seemed a little embarrassed. "Sleep? Right. Some happened. Think I tried to go to bed too early last night, woke up at two in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Finally gave up and turned the TV on for a while...found our episodes..." He mumbled, brain still obviously not much into the conversation. He seemed to trail off into the thought, before jerking back into wakefulness, replying again with, "Ah, sorry. You can tell I had trouble, ha ha. I eventually gave up with the TV and fell asleep around four-ish. Didn't like it when five rolled around."

"Your episodes? You were in a show on TV? First Riley with the racing thing, and now you with... what was your show about? You didn't mention. If it's on the channels here, I might as well watch it. God, am I the only person here who isn't locally known?" She asked, perhaps meaning it as a sort of joke, although it probably fell on flat ears. Lots of kids at school had been on the schools digital news or in the cities papers or whatever, but Alice herself kept herself behind the scenes. She worked on actually publishing the news and papers- as such, nobody knew who she was. Except the UPN. They knew too much about her.

Alice watched as other people trickled into the room from breakfast; a 20-30 something brown haired guy that she vaguely remembered seeing before, a girl she didn't recognize at all, a woman in what appeared to be a staff uniform. All strangers. But for some weird reason, it didn't bother her in the slightest. This place was messing with all of her habits and stuff. It was like the isolation from society made her feel less self conscious. Weird.


...
April 24th, 2759
Level 4, Mess Hall
Illoca Facility, Durness
5:15 AM (Durness time table)
...

Simone "Phoenix" Rish


"Good morning. It's wonderful that you're the first thing I'm blessed to see. Is there something I can do to repay the kindness?"

Simone near jumped out of her skin at Riley's quick welcome- her hand was moving to knock by the door when it opened, Riley standing there in pajama pants and T-shirt that might as well have not been there, for all the good it did, a bar of sorts in hand. He obviously had just gotten up, hair messy and eyes still looking a little tired. She wondered if she was intruding, and if she should go away, when he smiled brightly and began to gush out a hello, Simone still standing there slightly dumbstruck, hand in the air, eyes still focused on the tautly pulled expanse of T-shirt.

She sort of had to tear her eyes away to focus on Riley himself. She blinked, clearing her thoughts. "I, uh, uhm-" She cleared her throat. "I wanted to apologize. For last night. I was rua-rude-mean- sorry." She stumbled over her words, as if they were all spilling out at once, striving to be heard. She cleared her throat again, a light flush rising to her cheeks in a lighter shade of her hair. "Sorry. I was just... having it rough, I guess. I mean, just stressed. Because of this whole- ... thing." She finished lamely, hand dropping to her side.

She wasn't used to apologizing. She was used to barking out orders, screaming them, really, in order to be heard over railguns and low-flying craft and other, much more gruesome and horrifying, screams. If she hurt someone's feelings, it was because she was telling them to get their shit together and toughen up their act, not because she yelled at them when they invaded her room. Really, she normally wouldn't have been bothered by that at all, either. It was her room. People shouldn't be coming into it to harass her.

But Riley hadn't really been harassing her, had he? Simone was just freaking out. That's what warranted the apology- she was supposed to be tough, and strong, without giving a damn about others. So this was her way of getting rid of those wimpy Barbie-girl feelings.

Right?


"Candidate, I do not believe that I am a "waste of electronic real estate." I have simply been altered for this purpose of maintaining this kitchen. I am capable of many things." The bot rambled on, almost sounding a little annoyed by Elric's comment, as if it took it personally offensive. It continued on, "I have been instructed not to inform Candidates of my capabilities or functions. I apologize, Candidate."​
 
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Kris, dressed as well as always, slipped into the room, stationing himself in the corner.

He was supposed to pretend being security detail - a quite obvious cover he thought himself, but didn't bother arguing the superiors - but in truth he was supposed to scout out and evaluate, before anything happened, the degree to which it would be possible to identify candidates from average people. There was an idea thrown around - that if the Khaian could identify the candidates easily, the whole project would be useless due to how quickly they would adapt to it.

His eyes slowly scoured the room, not focusing at anyone it particular to avoid suspicion, but taking mental notes of a few people who he thought could be candidates before vacantly zoning off, his eyes still scanning the room with a stare of a thousand miles.
 
Alice soon turned to the obvious question of what "our episodes" was supposed to mean. Blake expected she would be curious about that after it had slipped into his speech. He laughed lightly and waved her off. "No, no, we're nowhere near as renowned as Riley. Like, point-five-percent of how renowned Riley is, maybe. You'd only have seen us if you're so into Vocalive that you watch foreign regionals. Y'know, the a cappella competition? Goodness, that was a journey." There was a bright passion in his eyes now as he spoke. If there was anything Blake could gush about, it was his friends. "We all went to the same school. Started out as a group of friends and friends-of-friends, but with the right leadership and encouragement and tutoring, we turned into a lot more. I was really...proud of everyone. Rowell and Ash and..."​

He realized he was beginning to choke up, and deeming that it would get worse if he kept rambling, he instead turned to the lounge's large TV, cleared his throat, and spoke up, his voice now strong and clear to give commands. "TV on. Archive." A menu appeared on the screen. "Music. Vocalive. Season six. New Essex. Episode...uh, seven." The seventh episode was week two of the live performances, in which his group had done a rendition of Anita Montreal's salsa-licious "Bloom." He could think of no better showcase of Kim's and Lucine's spirit on the leads, Caroline's jubilant descant, Rocky's formerly untapped rhythmic wealth, and...well, pretty much everything. That had been a good week. He fast-forwarded through the two groups that had gone before them in that episode and at last found them. Star Crossing. He let the TV tell the rest.

---​

The robot's next words caused Elric to recoil. This time the appliance sounded almost miffed that Elric had dared suggest its being lacking in anything. He put his hands up, even though one was still holding an empty coffee mug, and backed away, fearing he'd committed some sort of grievous offense to the creature. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to upset you," he said, now nervous. "Just...thinking aloud. My apologies, sir." He looked pointedly away from the bot and made for the sink to rinse his mug out. It had been rude of him to assume that being had no sense of personhood, and it would be a horrible crime to attempt to carry out the fanciful plan his mind had entertained: overwrite the being with a "better" personality.

One could never tell what counted as having a soul or not in this day and age. Elric preferred to err on the side of caution and respect.

He realized at this point that he was indeed a little hungry, but six o'clock was fast approaching. He took a leaf from the book of that brunette that had slipped in and out a few minutes ago and took a small granola bar from the drawer she'd inspected. He ate it quickly as he made quick strides to the bathroom, and after brushing his teeth, he made for the lounge as instructed.
 
Simone was adorable. She was uncomfortable giving the apology, but she stuttered it out just the same. Pushing her more would provoke a deeper blush, Riley was sure, but she certainly wouldn't appreciate it. And she would make a point of not showing a soft face around him ever again; that would be a tragedy.

"Thank you. I wouldn't hold a grudge against you, but I appreciate the apology. Still-!" Riley continued, turning away for a moment to grab the bar firmly. With a heave, he swung his legs up and wrapped them over the metal, then released his grip and let his torso drop to face Simone again--now upside-down, his face level with her knees, and his hair touching the floor. "There's going to be a lot of stress from here on out. If you need to vent at someone, my door's always open."

Riley started his crunches. His abdominals pressed against the tight shirt every time they hoisted his body up. Riley really wasn't doing it on purpose, but he couldn't deny that he liked the chance to showcase his body. Implants had nothing on him--a small part of him pitied people who tried artificial aesthetics. Blake had it exactly right yesterday: Riley was sexy. Blake was a nice guy; Riley liked him already. Maybe they could sit near each other in class.

-----

Shower stalls. Small, cramped booths that didn't leave space enough to avoid the walls. What manner of barbarians discarded baths? As she dried herself and pulled on the day's robe--sky blue, with raised patterns much like clouds on the upper half--Bao Qin was as close to miffed as she had ever felt in her life. Even prisons knew every human was entitled to a bath.

Alice had come and gone without showing any concern, aside from her prayer of gratitude that she had a toothbrush (a strange custom indeed). Nobody else had been visibly upset as yet; Bao Qin found herself as the minority once again. She was forced to question her ability to survive in this environment. Already she was making concessions capable of curling her mentors' skins: living beside a man, with only a door separating them; traveling past men's bedrooms in her nightgown to reach the "bathroom" (a laughable name for it); she had even had casual contact with a stranger woman. Those didn't bother Bao Qin. But the bath... the bath she would protest. Perhaps she could enlist Alice for support.

Stepping out of the women's room, Bao Qin found a man hanging upside-down and speaking with another woman. Bao Qin turned left to avoid the pair, but he insisted on calling out in a friendly voice--as though he was familiar with her.

"A wonderful morning to you, Xue!"

Bao Qin turned herself about to face the man and his door. Riley Stark, according to the nameplate. She dipped her head forward and replied solemnly, "And to you, Stark Sir, and your missus. Your pardon, please; I must be continuing." She spun her back to him and departed, making for her room to deposit her belongings before taking first meal.

A self-serve breakfast bar greeted her. There was no meal placed at the center of a table, as meals should be. Each person was to pick and choose their meal--creating division and encouraging solitude. Or maybe it was just another bizarre custom of off-worlders. Bao Qin dwelt on the question as she collected correct portions of meat, fruit, and grain, then settled into the same chair she had used the previous evening.
 
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...
April 25th, 2759*
Level 4, Lounge
Illoca Facility, Durness
6:13 AM (Durness time table)
...

Alice Davern


Blake seemed to be starting to get more than just choked up and emotional, and Alice decided to let it slide, turning her attention to the show on the screen. She'd seen Vocalive before, but not on her homeworld. All the twats that participated in contests and shows like these from her planet were annoying to listen to. It wasn't a cappella anymore, just over kill and scratchy voices. So, whenever she did watch the show (i.e boring and sleepless nights), she watched the foreign regionals. But she hadn't seen this group before.

Admittedly, Alice knew shit about a cappella. She liked the way people sounded when they sang, and the way the music was created without instruments, but apart from that, she knew nothing about it and how it was done. She thought their group was good, but had nothing to base their performance off of. Although, with the way the audience was responding to the performance, they certainly thought it was pretty good. She couldn't deny that she enjoyed listening to the music, or that she'd probably spend quite a few nights at this dump of a science facility watching the show, now that Blake had kindled interest in her.

She was turning to Blake, about to make her attempt at an uplifting, cheery comment, when a few men and women walked into the room. Most had on stereotypical white lab coats, with blank expressions and hair either short or pulled back. A few held clipboards, some held PADs, and others were empty-handed. A few more security guards that weren't already in the room wandered in behind them, followed by a few people dressed more casually, but still in stark black and white uniforms.

One of them stepped towards the holo TV and turned it off, the screen flickering off. Someone was taking a candidate head count. For a moment, Alice was panicked, but she realized what time it was- six. Their lessons were supposed to start then, and it was a few minutes after. She hadn't expected the entire facility to pack themselves into the small room on the subject, though.

There was one woman she recognized from the orientation- Marianne Favero. Doctor Favero. She stood at the front, looking read to begin with another lecture, with the other scientists behind her, ready to write down what she said word for word- or so Alice imagined. Pens were poised over clipboards, although eyes were on the candidates, making her feel like a bug under a microscope. She had to fight back the urge to squirm and run away from their scrutinizing eyes.


...
April 25th, 2759
Level 4, Candidate Lounge
Illoca Facility, Durness
6:14 AM (Durness time table)
...

Marianne Favero


Marianne walked into the room with a group of other scientists, all dressed similarly and nearly indistinguishable from each other. She wasn't an advocate for being paraded around the facility- her facility- with an army of men and woman in tow, but she didn't have much of a choice. It was the UPN way of doing things, and the UPN always won. So, she tolerated it, although she made a mental note to contact somebody about this inconvenience. How was she supposed to do her job if someone escorted her from one lab to the other, every day, at all hours? It was annoying.

Some of the candidates seemed unnerved by the entrance of not only the scientists, but the security guards. Marianne had to admit that it sort of gave off the feeling of a jail or prison, what with all the buff and heavily equipped people in the room, standing at the edges. That little detail was courtesy of Warwick. "You can't trust this good for nothing lot of mice. You can bet your life and lively hood that one of these men are going to mess with shit, stick their noses where it don't belong, and then our facility will be torn right up from under your feet and dangled in front of you like a carrot on a stick." He had said to her. He was drunk at the time, but he held onto his word and beliefs- and he did so by arming himself and Marianne with an armored guard.

She didn't think it was necessary. At least, not now. These people couldn't be expected to be okay with all of this- their abduction, the testing, the training- but for now, they didn't know what would happen to them, and most probably didn't think that there was any way out of the situation at all. From what she had seen, they had all succumbed to the UPN and the Project. If that was the case, then all the armored guards should be sleeping in their rooms, not standing to attention.

She waited for the head count to be completed before she cleared her throat and began to speak. It was a well rehearsed, boring speech. "Good morning, Candidates. I expect you're all well?" She began, glancing across them as if she expected a response that she knew wouldn't come. "Classes begin today- and I'm sure everyone here has examined their PADs and have seen the schedules. Classes are a little late beginning today. We apologize for the inconvenience. Originally, candidates were to be separated into two groups, but we have decided to merge the classes. We expect that with your small number, there will be no issues with merging the two groups into one bigger class.

"Your teachers are scientists working in this facility that have specialized in the subjects you will be studying in. They will introduce themselves in your classes. Be respectful. We know many of you must be tired, but please refrain from falling asleep in your classes. You will receive brief breaks and then later will have your fitness training. So stay energized, hydrated, and awake! If, for any reason, you need medical aid, there are emergency alert buttons near the doors of the classrooms. Fitness trainers will contact emergency services for you if you are injured during their class time."

She paused, glancing again across the bored or nervous looking candidates. For a moment, she felt sort of guilty. Marianne knew what was going to happen to these people, but they didn't really know, did they? It felt like a big, horrible trick. A cruel one. But there wasn't much she could do about it.

So, she forced a smile on her face. Hopefully, it looked genuine. "We hope you find yourselves enjoying your classes, candidates. And we hope you had a good morning."

Then she stepped back, and someone else took the reins, stepping forward and giving instructions to the candidates. People were to report to the elevators- the same ones that had lifted them up to this level of the facility- and then they would be brought to the third level and lead to the education center and their classes. A woman stood by the door, ready to lead the candidates off.

Marianne waited until the room emptied to leave. She glanced at Warwick, who still stood beside her. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get to work." She said, turning her heel and leaving the room.


...
April 25th, 2759
Level 4, Candidate Quarters
Illoca Facility, Durness
5:17 AM (Durness time table)
...

Simone "Phoenix" Rish


Simone had to tear her eyes away from his stomach- and abs- again, as Riley continued speaking. "There's going to be a lot of stress from here on out. If you need to vent at someone, my door's always open." He said, before he started to perform his crunches, shirt tightening and loosing as he moved. Simone wasn't sure how to respond. She looked down at her hands, searching her thoughts, as somebody else came out of their room, exchanging hello's with Riley before leaving towards the kitchens.

"She... probably has a good idea. Food, you know. So, uhm.. I'll see you later." She said meekly, crossing her arms against her chest. She turned away to leave, but paused, looking back at Riley, still doing those crunches. "And thanks." She murmured.

She made her way into the mess hall as if she were running to salvation. It turned it not to be, but there weren't too many people inside the room, so she was able to grab food and leave to the hall, finding a stretch of hall that was empty and unoccupied by others. She leaned against the wall, allowing herself to slide down to the ground, where she sat, granola bar in hand, thoughts trapped in spinning circles around her head.

"I miss when I was in command of a military unit," she mumbled. "So much easier than this 'social' bullshit."

Maybe it was only Riley that was making her feel like a disaster, although she didn't- and wouldn't ever- admit something stupid like that. He was a flirt, definitely. She couldn't blame herself for being frazzled by it.

Crumpling the paper around her granola bar, she made her way into the lounge room, where she tossed it out into a waste basket and found her way into a chair situated by the back of the room. Forget about it, she told herself. Forget about it, and it won't be able to come back and bother you.



* Months and seasons have been added onto the group page, under the Durness thread.​
 
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April 25th, 2759
Nurse Stark's Room, Medical Wing
Illoca Facility, Durness
6:45 AM
Dr. Claire Miller
​
After sitting in her office for about half an hour, Claire noticed that Kayla hasn't woken up yet. Because of her moodiness this morning, she was not happy about it. "Looks like I have to wake her up myself..."

She stood up from her desk and walked into Kayla's room, where Claire found her sleeping. She sighed frustratingly as she already had enough to worry about on top of a baby growing inside of her. Clearly she was tired and irritable, so Kayla was in for a very rude awakening. She left briefly to go fill a bucket up with ice cold water before returning to the room to pour it all over Kayla to wake her up. "You were supposed to be up half an hour ago!"

Claire wasn't exactly too happy. Half of it wasn't exactly her fault, because her hormones were jumping around and she had frequent mood swings.​
 
Savannah Chapman



Floor 4, Lounge
6:20am
---
​
The moment Bao Qin had entered the room had been the moment Savannah stood to leave, emptying her tray in a marked conservator and exiting the hall as soon as possible. This absence from the social world, just her luck, had lasted only near around five minutes before she had reached the lounge and been forced into a head count, presumably for the classes scheduled to begin. With a groan of discontent, she seated herself and waited for the others to arrive so they could begin learning (she assumed) things that she already knew.
Quite a waste of time, isn't it? Great that the UPN felt this was an honorable position based off the one you just left. Great to believe that the world has some justice to it. Great to think that any of what you were doing with your life mattered.

Wasn't your thought process die out here or die as a faded memory on Earth?
​
Savannah shunned the nagging voice as she sat down towards the back of the room, giving out a soft groan of pain barely audible to even herself. Her head ached from lack of proper sleep, her arms felt weak and useless at her sides, and her gaze had difficulty focusing on even her own fingernails. Had it been withdrawal from STEM that did this? Or was she actually, for once, tired beyond function? No, no, the cause didn't matter, only the effects. In either case, she would not been fixing her nagging addiction or sleeping in the foreseeable future, and so she judged it best to keep the cause out of the matter for now.
I've changed my mind.

Amazing what a lack of sleep does, isn't it?

Amazing that even you're believing that.
​
​





​
Nicholas Wilkinson


Floor 4, Lounge
6:20am
---
​
Nicholas had sat in contemplative silence until they had come, as if on some unspoken command. Men and women, all dressed in flowing white coats, had sprung from every which-way possible and halted at the lounge. At least, they had appeared to do so; being entranced had left him rather befuddled at the sudden presence of several more individuals. For a moment he sat there in silent wonder before recognizing the woman from the previous day's presentation, Favero if he remembered correctly.
​
As striking a character as this Favero was, Nicholas had attention only for the mindless drones behind her. Pens, PADs, paper - anything and everything that could be used to record seemed to be clutched in their fervent hands. Allowing himself a grudging smile, Nicholas reflected back on his previous belief that this room was open and spacious - all pretense of the belief gone with more people crammed into the small space than could logically fit. Already the room was beginning to stiffen with the high concentration of warm-bodied workers and their queen added to the mix.
​
And then, as if to worsen the matter at hand, she began to spoke. Nicholas had felt obligated to answer the question, the words even forming on his tongue. That was until the woman had kept speaking, which he felt removed the need of the question entirely. Perhaps it had been rhetorical, though he had always found the notion of asking for one's insight on a matter with no intention of an answer to be an unusual quirk of vocal communication. When Favero had ceased speaking, he allowed himself the luxury of slipping from attention into his chair with a short sigh.
​
It was going to be a long day.



​
 
Riley spent a long time in the shower. It wasn't intentional; he lost track of time while dwelling on his plans for the day. They were all in the same boat, so Simone and he would spend the day together. Alice and Blake would be there as well. Classes for the entire morning, then physical training in the afternoon--and whomever had refused to reverse those was a moron--would, if that Lieutenant's words were at all accurate, leave everyone ready for an early bedtime; thus, the only chance Riley would have to enjoy the day would be during class and the short breaks they would have. How could he best use that time?

When he finally put aside his musings and shut the water off, it was quarter to the hour. How half an hour had washed away, Riley didn't know; although, he suspected it had something to do with the fiery hair and shy glances that kept interrupting his thoughts. He dried and dressed quickly, anxious to reach the food before time ran out. He did, of course, pause long enough to make sure his appearance was elegant. The bland clothing supplied by the UPN was unbecoming, so he'd selected a Motherwell merchant outfit from his own collection: black trousers; a white shirt that laced together across the chest, with short sleeves that ended just below the elbow and showcased his powerful forearms; a brown-leather jerkin decorated with copper studs down the front; and finally a pair of black knee-boots to tuck his trouser legs into. Another minute was consumed ensuring his hair was dry and settled properly, then Riley bolted for the kitchen with long, determined strides.

The room was empty by the time he made it there. Not surprising, considering there were only five minutes before classes would start. Still, as Riley filled a plate with pastries, spiced meat, and a fruit he didn't care to identify, the intergalactic sensation was disappointed nobody was around to praise his attire. As he scarfed down the meal, Riley tried to talk himself out of the disappointment: Motherwell wasn't exactly a tourist attraction, so most people wouldn't realize how distinguished these clothes were; surely none of them would be aware that copper was a luxury on the planet used for its soil; Bao Qin's dignified robes were more breath-taking by far anyway; and so on until he'd emptied his plate. A quick glance at the clock showed Riley was already five minutes late. Thankfully, no guards had come to drag him to class (perhaps he had some wiggle room?); nevertheless, Riley hustled to the lounge.

He entered just in time to evaluate the room--dead tired, or possibly just dead--before Dr. Favero entered with an entourage as large as Bill "The Cat" Boinger's. Riley threw a few mental insults at the debauched racer for good measure, then settled against the wall to listen to the doctor's words. As old as she was, Favero still had a nice voice. The snow-white hair was still in prime condition as well; Riley found himself mentally putting it back-to-back with Simone's head of flame-red. It made quite the contrast. If he had the chance, Riley vowed, he would snap a picture of those two together.

As they were herded off to class, Riley maneuvered himself to Blake's side and offered him and Alice a "good morning."

-----

The buzzer at 5:00 had woken her, but Kayla had waited it out. When her door slid open an hour later, Kayla was again awakened but remained firm in her determination. Nothing would make her budge until her alarm went off at 7:00.

That hadn't been accounting for buckets of water. Especially ones so cold that the only reason they weren't solid ice was because somebody kept stirring them. The water came crashing down on her head and torso, and Kayla came shooting up with a scream that could shatter glass. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

With hot adrenaline coursing through her veins and frozen droplets trickling down her back, Kayla stared at her boss incredulously.

"You were supposed to be up half an hour ago!"

Kayla blinked. Repeatedly. There were no words for replying to such a statement. It was like your neighbor setting fire to the fence and saying, "You were supposed to paint it last week!" There wasn't any way to respond; you just accepted that something impossible had happened and ran away. Fast.

"I'll... be right there," Kayla hazarded, speaking slowly and carefully. She couldn't move until Claire left, though. Hopefully Mrs. Hyde still had enough awareness to realized that. Then again, she had barged in uninvited with the most cliched, torturous wake-up call known to man. Kayla was on eggshells, and Dr. Miller was a dozing lioness with a sleep disorder.
 
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"Good, because I am not happy with you right now." Claire left Kayla's room still fairly angry.

She didn't have a sleeping disorder, but more like insomnia, something that normally comes with pregnancy. As she walked down the hall, she felt a sharp pain in her lower stomach. She would lay down for a few minutes, but she had a job to do. So she dismissed it as she walked back towards her office. Some of the scarier things that she thought about was her superiors attempting to accelerate her pregnancy, which wasn't something she wanted. It could be her punishment for all she knew. As she made it back to her Office, she sat down and went back to looking over the Records of the Candidates that she was going to be watching over during the project.
 
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Blake noticed the lounge growing more populated. He began to wonder if it was strange to be advertising his friends on the TV with everyone else that wasn't Alice around, but that wasn't enough for him to turn the TV off. In fact, it promptly snapped off a moment later, startling him for half a second before he realized that an official had just turned it off. He shrank back in his seat a bit, now just a bit ashamed that he'd let the TV run over into meeting time.

Dr. Favero from yesterday was back. He sat up straight when she began to speak, hoping to look attentive, but he realized fairly quickly that she didn't really have anything profound to say. She was only there to direct them to class, which was apparently right downstairs. He failed to hold in a quiet, halfhearted chuckle when she said something more or less along the lines of "We know you're tired, but stay awake anyway!" You don't just order people not to fall asleep, he thought. It doesn't work like that. Regardless, he would give it his best shot. He stood from the couch when the briefing was dismissed, took a moment to stretch, and began to walk.

"Good morning."

Blake turned to the nearby voice that was unmistakably Riley's. "Morning," he echoed with a polite smile. "Sleep well?"

---

Elric's face lit up when the great Dr. Favero appeared once more. He was alert and ready for instruction. But it only took a minute for his features to dull in disappointment. The doctor had no new, juicy information. When would he get a chance to speak to her personally? Ah, he doubted it... She was a high-ranking official, and here, he was no esteemed programmer, just one lab rat out of a dozen. He was nothing but her experiment. His eyes lingered on her for a few moments as he left the room slowly, one of the last ones out, but he shook his head, simultaneously shaking himself from those thoughts, and picked up the pace, his eyes now pointing forward. It would do no good to come across as a hopeless stalker. They were on their way to classes, anyway. He could only hope the classes would enlighten him.
 
...
April 25th, 2759
Level 4, Lounge
Illoca Facility, Durness
6:21 AM (Durness time table)
...

Alice Davern


Alice stood when Blake did, following the crowd towards the door and down the hall. The silence was only really broken by their footsteps on the hard floor, and the quiet murmured conversation between the guards that trailed behind them. The sound reverberated across the empty halls, making it feel too loud, even though it was incredibly quiet. Science lab phenomena? Alice thought to herself, smiling faintly. Right. She was beginning to let herself get lost in her thoughts as she walked, a habit of hers, but was startled out of her reverie with Riley's voice.

"Good morning," he said, sidling up next to Blake and Alice, dressed elegantly in what obviously wasn't UPN attire. He probably stood out the most out of everyone in the group, except maybe for Bao Qin. Blake quickly returned the greeting, and Alice echoed his hello, her voice a little hushed, although none of the guards of candidates looked their way.

"Sleep well?" Blake asked him. Alice chuckled a little.

"I'm hope you slept better than Blake did. He looked like the dead this morning," She joked, pushing her loose hair from her face. She had forgotten to bring hairbands with her, and hadn't managed to find any lying around in her room, or the by the showers, and was trying to hide her annoyance from her face. "Although, I do suppose most of us did. Do. Whichever. I guess it's only gonna get worse."

Ahead of them were the elevators, all of them filling with staff, guards, and of course, candidates. Alice stepped into the same 'vator as did Blake and Riley, squishing her way in even though it was a little full. She stepped back into a redheaded girl, dressed in the drab UPN garb with a blue throw sweater over top, who promptly shot her an irritated glance before moving away, pressing herself into the corner of the cramped space. Alice smirked, muttering a "sorry", before turning back to hear Riley's response, ignoring the 'hmmph" of contempt she heard from behind her.


​
 
...
April 25th, 2759
Level 3, Classrooms
Illoca Facility, Durness
6:25 AM (Durness time table)
...

Alice Davern



The elevator doors clicked open, and the group crawled out of the small space to follow their guides down the twisting, empty hallways towards their 'classroom' as the guide puts it.

The classroom, in comparison to the rest of the facility, had an unnatural cleanliness to it. There were no regular desks, but rather a set of pews each with their own digital-projection monitor lined in rows resembling a vague circular pattern. From there, a shallow set of stairs formed into a speaking platform where a uniformed staff member stood before a series of holographic screens, waving as the group shuffled into the room. Taking his attention from the arriving candidates for a moment, he closed his open hand into a fist, turning the monitors behind him offline.

"Welcome to basic artificial intelligence theory." He began in a voice as polished as the room around him. "Sit wherever you'd like and we'll begin momentarily."

He watched with a stony expression as the candidates filed into the room and settled into their seats. There were just enough places for each person, with the same adequate work space accommodated for each candidate. What little hushed conversation there was quieted as he turned his back to the company behind him, working with a small, chrome-colored cylindrical device on that was perched on a short table on the speaking platform. The man pressed a calloused finger against the small button along its side, causing a holographic screen to sprout to life above the device, produced by a screen along the circular base of the shiny device.

The holographic image was blank, appearing as a green, flickering shade, but to those familiar with the technology, it would perhaps be noticed that the device was projecting an AI's image- the AI itself being contained inside of the device, within a storage unit.

"There are two types of Artificial Intelligence that will be of significance to you," He said, setting the device back atop the table so it stood on it's own. "Dumb AI, and smart AI."

"The AI you encounter daily, on spacecraft and in shops and hospitals and other such places, are dumb AI. They are not dumb, strictly speaking, but they are restricted in what they can do. Dumb AI are built exclusively for one, maybe two, purposes- be that to run a bank system, or to moderate a patient's vitals. They are still smarter than your average computer system. They just simply are entirely dedicated to their single, programmed task.

"However, what we call smart AI, are the opposite. Consider smart AI to be the 'unshackled' version of a dumb AI. They have much greater banks of intelligence, as they are used for a larger variety of tasks, and are more versatile as such. A smart AI may be used to assist in the piloting of a warship, or in scientific experiments. There was actually several AI in use at this facility."

He raised his hands together and clapped. Within the second, a hum began to run through the room, and then a voice responded to the clap.

"Good afternoon, Bob! How may I assist you today?"
The voice was automated, but smooth, pronouncing words clearly and effortlessly, as if it were a human. But it clearly wasn't- the static hum hung around whenever the voice replied to the professor in the room.

"I would just like you to demonstrate some of your abilities to our group today, if you please, Chalis."

"Certainly, professor!"

A small circular area of the floor opened up, panels drawing back so a holo-screen device could lift itself to floor level, projecting a similar image to the cylindrical device behind them. However, this time, the screen showed a digital form of a young woman, her full body form appearing to be that of a secretary or office-worker. She was dressed in a formal blouse and skirt, with short cropped blonde hair, and a happy smile on her face. In all, she perhaps was only a foot tall in image, but seemed to be twenty years of age, at least.

"This is Chalis, one of the smart AI's running this facility. Say hello, Chalis."

The image waved it's hand. "Hello, candidates! I hope you are enjoying your stay. I am the service that answers all intercom calls in your dorms and rooms, and I also run the elevator and emergency care systems. If you ever have a question, do not hesitate to ask me!" She said eagerly, turning to look at each candidate as she spoke. "The professor asked me earlier if I could provide a small demonstration of my abilities to you- so I shall."

The AI proceeded to give her 'performance', showing the candidates her control over the door mechanisms in the room, showing-off her computing algorithms by having the students ask her various math problems, and projected security cam screens on her hologram interface, while transmitting her virtual form to outputs on each desk, appearing in front of each student as she spoke. When she finished, she returned to the front, and looked over her shoulder at the professor, smiling.

"That will be all, Chalis. You may return to your duties." The man said, and the AI dutifully nodded, vanishing, the projector disappearing back into the floor.

"Smart AI can do most everything a computer can do, and more. Their skills are remarkable. However, Chalis herself is shackled in many ways, constrained by our rules and regulations here in the facility. Smart AI may come to think they have the ability to do whatever they wish, which must be restrained. As such, many AI are quickly taught that such behavior will result in destruction. Others are programmed with a mental block that prevents these thoughts from occurring.

"But, otherwise, these AI are nearly sentient- they have thoughts and wishes, although they do not 'feel' emotion or have ambitions and dreams like we do. They desire to fulfill their programmed job- in Chalis' case, she desires to perform her assigned tasks here at Durness to the best of her ability, and to see all tests and experiments succeed." The speaker paused, turning around to turn off the dumb AI on the table, tucking it away into a cloth pouch. "However, Chalis is not similar to the AI you will all be implanted with in a few months time, perhaps even sooner."

He then plunged into a different topic, discussing the limitations of each type of AI, leaving a broad margin of space around the topic of the candidate's AI's. That would be discussed another time.


...
April 25th, 2759
Level 3, Classrooms
Illoca Facility, Durness
1:00 PM (Durness time table)
...

Simone "Phoenix" Rish


Long after the classes, which dragged out over the hours, nearly driving Simone to sleep and insanity, and after the lunch period, where they were served more mystery- but decent tasting- meat in sandwiches, and some sort of sugary dessert cake by the kitchen bot, the group of candidates was then herded back down to the third level of the facility, and into the biggest gymnasium Simone had seen- at least in the past few years.

It had nearly everything in it. High-tech equipment, climbing ropes, weapon racks- it was like Simone's biggest dream coming to life. Even back in basic she hadn't seen anything quite like this. The urge to start moving, running around and training, shaping her muscles back up into what they used to be-

They still are. Don't be ridiculous.

It hadn't been that long since she had been in action.

A group of men and woman, dressed in thrown-together gym clothing- sweatpants, t-shirts, worn sneakers- were standing near the entrance, milling about and conversing quietly. One, an older male, stood with his arms crossed over his chest, expression blank. What was with all the people in this place? It was like their brains were removed and replaced with automatons. That's how drab and motionless they were. At least, to Simone it seemed.

Simone kept to the edge of the group, remaining silent, as the group gathered together in a little circular shape, waiting for instruction.
​
 
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