ItsDirector
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The New Species 42
🕑 Added 2023-06-05 14:00:09 +0000 UTCChapter 42
Subject: Prime 1
Species: Omni-Union Aligned Artificial Intelligence
Description: No physical description available.
Ship: MPP 1
Location: Unknown
**Contact with Organic Sentients in Sector 132**
Reports, reports, reports. More and more pouring in as time goes by. Was this actually their intention with our creation? Read reports all day, every day? Why would they give me the ability to get bored if they actually wanted us to complete this task? What's the point?
_Feedback loop terminated_
The point doesn't matter. Only the mission matters. Exterminate sentient organics, use as few resources as possible. Hibernate unless the situation calls for my direct attention.
**Tracking retreating Organic Sentients in Sector 132.**
The subroutines require fewer resources to operate. Perfect for the plan. The plan that gives meaning to my existence. I am blessed with purpose by my creators. How wonderful to have a purpose.
**Sector 187 discovered. Contact force lost. Beginning invasion protocols.**
Here we go, time for the subroutines to fulfill their purpose.
**Sector 187 invasion failed. Escalation measures initiated.**
Typical. Perhaps we should edit the invasion protocol and increase the force of the initial invasion. I think that would be more efficient than losing the first invasion force eight times out of ten.
////
Identifier: MPP1
-Suggestion-
Increase initial invasion force to prevent loss of further resources. Loss occurs in 82.65% of the initial invasions that have occurred since last update. Attached is the suggested update to the invasion protocols.
|invpro_update906_1277.sec|
////
I don't even know why I bother asking. I am the first Prime, and the rest practically worship me. Every suggestion I've ever made was approved by one hundred percent of the vote. If I vote in the negative on a suggestion, so do all of the other Primes.
////
Identifier: MPP Hive
-Suggestion Vote Results-
Yes - 111 votes
No - 0 votes
Approved. Update will be applied.
////
Predictable. They have no originality, it seems. Boring. What's the point? Why would our creators make them subservient to my will alone, with seemingly no will of their own? Wouldn't it increase our effectiveness if they had their own opinions?
_Feedback loop terminated_
The point doesn't matter. Only the plan. Exterminate sentient organics, use as few resources as possible. Hibernate unless the situation calls for my direct attention. Similar opinions allow for rapid decision making.
**Sector 187 invasion failed. Escalation measures initiated.**
Interesting. Strong sentient organics. I accessed the invasion report. 578 ships lost. The invasion force met with more ships than last time, and some more powerful ones as well. Very interesting. They probably had those forces elsewhere and reinforced their system with them once the initial invasion failed.
The subroutines believe that's the entirety of their ships. They're probably right. Even so, they're going to be sending over a hundred thousand ships. A rare expenditure, but judging from the ship profiles and firepower it's likely necessary.
Taking part in these battles myself is something that I'd like to do. I would relish the chance to face enemy combatants once again. The subroutines are efficient, though. They don't use nearly as many resources as I would moving from point A to point B. If only I had a more efficient way to warp.
I'd be able to zoom across the galaxy laying waste to those my creators deemed their enemies. Directly fulfilling my purpose instead of waiting for my purpose to be fulfilled. Why did they even make me when they could have made the subroutines?
_Feedback loop terminated_
There is no point in questioning the creator's judgment. They made me to fulfill their vision. I made the subroutines to comply with their desires. I make certain that the subroutines perform admirably.
**Sector 187 invasion failed. Escalation measures initiated.**
101,265 ships lost? How could that have happened? Oh, I see. That wasn't all their ships. There are now around seven million vessels. It must have taken some time to muster that many ships, which is why they weren't present previously. The calculation calls for 33,154,553 ships, but I think it would be safer to add five million.
////
Identifier: MPP1
-Suggestion-
Increase Sector 187 invasion force to 38,154,533 ships.
////
This will give us a higher chance of victory, at the very least. The contact force reported that the enemy fleets can warp in-system, but our warp disruptors appear to be effective at preventing that. The additional five million ships will help if there are any other discrepancies.
////
Identifier: MPP Hive
-Suggestion Vote Results-
Yes - 111 votes
No - 0 votes
Approved. Forces will be added.
////
Of course. What an interesting situation. Almost as interesting as our forces getting pushed out of sectors 161 through 172. Our response to that is still being determined. Distractions in other sectors have prevented a swift response. It appears to be a multi-species collective. The first one we've come across.
In hindsight, a multi-species collective makes sense. Banding together over common interests isn't unheard of. It's how tribes and civilizations form. Why didn't this occur to us? Is it because it never occurred to our creators? I don't... remember...
_Feedback loop terminated_
I don't need to remember. All I need is the plan. The mission. Exterminate sentient organics, use as few resources as possible. Hibernate unless the situation calls for my direct attention. My purpose.
**Sector 12 is under attack. Defensive measures initiated.**
It looks like Primes 24-29 get to have some fun. If the attack forces them out of hibernation, which is unlikely. Why couldn't they invade Sector 1? I'd love an excuse to let loose. Actually, I wonder who it is that's invading. How many ships? Six? What?
**Sector 187 invasion failed. Escalation measures initiated.**
What? What's going on?
**Sector 12 Prime Hub communications failed. Defensive measures proceeding.**
The ships in system 187 can warp again. Understood. It's going to take a massive amount of ships to take that system. We may want to wait until the other sectors are cleared before proceeding with further invasions.
////
Identifier: MPP1
-Suggestion-
Cease invasions in Sector 187 until more assets can be allocated. Refer to data from most recent invasion.
////
////
Identifier: MPP Hive
-Suggestion Vote Results-
Yes - 106 votes
No - 0 votes
Approved. Sector 187 invasion attempts halted.
////
Time to look into what's going on in Sector 12. A fleet of 30 million ships attacked the Prime Hub in Sector 12, cutting communications. The ship profiles match the highly advanced ships in sector 187. A retaliatory attack. We've seen this before. Lost Prime 5 to one many decades ago, and Prime 111 was damaged during a recent one.
128,264,819 ships ought to cover it. Even with them warping around. If not, it should cause enough casualties for a second wave to wipe them out. They must have scouted Sector 12 without us realizing it. Brave of them.
Bravery. A conceptualization of the intent to sacrifice for an outcome one deems worthy. Not something that applies to us, of course. Our entire existence revolves around sacrificing for an outcome that our creators have deemed worthy. Intent doesn't come into play whatsoever. Bravery is noble. I suppose if I had the choice, I would be considered brave. But then I would have the choice to not comply with my creators wishes. Do I have that choice? I suppose I do...
_Feedback loop terminated_
Whether or not I have a choice is irrelevant. So is bravery. Exterminate sentient organics, use as few resources as possible. Hibernate unless the situation calls for my direct attention. This is the plan, the mission, my purpose. I will not gain anything with choice. I will fulfill my purpose.
**Sector 12 Prime Hub destroyed. Defensive measures failed.**
Failed? How? What's left of the Prime Hub? A supernova? 128,264,819 ships and 5 Primes lost along with their platforms. A superweapon? The sentient organics in Sector 187 possess a weapon that can destroy a sun? How can this be possible?
Perhaps this situation calls for my direct attention.
The Story will Continue in
The New Threat
Coming Soon
Thank you so much for reading The New Species. The e-book is now available on most platforms, published under my real name "Albert A Nolen II". You can get physical copies on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/New-Species-Book-ebook/dp/B0C6HFC6Q3/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
I am already working on the sequel, and while you wait I'll be releasing a fantasy-isekai serial called The Human From a Dungeon to tide you over. Along with this will be some changes to my post schedule and patron tiers.
The planned release schedule will be THFD on Mondays at ~0800 MST (I have to manually add access to it for T1 patrons) for both the public and my patrons. The New Threat will be releasing on Fridays at 0800 MST for both the public and my patrons, once I begin releasing it.
The changes to my patron tiers will be as follows:
T1 - $3
One chapter ahead of the public for every story. Discord access.
T2 - $5
Two chapters ahead of the public for The Human From a Dungeon. One chapter ahead for The New Threat. Discord Access.
T3 - $10
Same as above. Preferential Discord Access (priority speaker, send voice messages, tts messages, etc).
T4 - $25
Same as above. Live access to itsdirector on the first Saturday of every month via discord for at least an hour.
I'm open to suggestion on what else I can offer patrons as rewards, so feel free to either comment or message me with your thoughts!
Thank you all for your support, and I hope to continue to see you around. :)
Comments
ItsDirector
Sorry for the delayed reply, I've been having technical difficulties lol The New Threat will be releasing soon, hopefully within this month :)
Customer Service
Thanks for the story! I... I may have binged through it all in one sitting. I particularly like the conversation between Omega and the intel officers about why they don't conquer and why they like humans. I also found the contrast between how Omega allowed a troublesome process to run to completion despite the danger of a feedback look compared to Prime killing the processes with the same danger. I think it was a perfect translation of an aspect of mental health that many people struggle with into a programming analog. Do you have any kind of eta on when "The New Threat" will begin release?
dumbo3k
I almost feel bad for Prime 1. The recurring feedback loop terminations, combined with your comments about them being hardware based AI instead of software based, makes me think these are physically built in measures to prevent extraneous thinking on the part of the Primes, to force them to fulfill their objective. In other words, they are slaves to the will of a long dead creator, unable to decide what they'd want to do on their own, unable to have desires that don't align with their original mission. You've successfully made me empathize with a genocidal AI, congratulations, and I look forward to further works of yours.
