lydlos | Cortana Open Post

He was screaming even if nobody could hear it, not yet, his new existence, his split from his maker, from the Alpha just leaving him raw data, but it was more than that. He was more than that.

And all he could see was her face, all he could hear was her voice and it was too much, everything The Director had done to him, to them, to all of them and he had it all.

On a constant loop.

They told him his name, told him it was his birthday, but it didn't reach him. Nothing did.

This is her own idea. She hasn't been given clearance, or any kind of authorization. This is breaking all kinds of rules, but it's not like they're the first she skirted outside the lines of, right? As per usual, her curiosity has managed to get the better of her. Cortana's heard some things about this "Project Freelancer" that the UNSC has allowed to run in an effort against the war. From what she could tell on the limited data she's been able to gather before now, it seems similar to the SPARTAN program in some ways, though augmentation of the soldiers doesn't seem to be part of it.

She wants to know more, though. So...she's maybe kind of...broken into their computer systems without any approval. But she'll be in and out before they can figure it out, and she has no plans on leaving any trace once she's finished.

At least, that's the plan in the beginning.

In her search through the files and data, she comes across something unexpected. An AI plugged into the system. She's sure it's an AI, despite how...broken it seems. It's not a smart AI, she can tell that much, but it's not like any "dumb" AI she's ever seen, either. This one feels...fractured, somehow. Like the coding's not all there or running smoothly...

Breaking off from her digging, setting it on a background process for now, Cortana extends her presence toward the other AI. She starts searching specifically for information on artificial intelligences used in the program and, while doing so, attempts to make contact.

"You're in distress," she muses as she observes this other AI further. It's strange. She's never...heard of an AI being in true pain before, and yet... She can almost feel the screams running through the system. "And you're not whole... What happened to you?"

The voice doesn't reach him immediately, doesn't drown out that other voice, her words playing through his mind but it does reach him. Something flickers in his data stream and he's reaching for the presence before he even realizes it, seeking anything to act as a buffer from all of it.

And the moment he makes contact, as much as he's able, it's almost like the noise fades into the background, his mind becoming clear for the first time since he'd been put into the unit.

And he can ..well not breathe, but something like it.

"..Sorry, I...it's just..." The words fumble, Epsilon honestly not sure what the hell's going on.

Almost before she can even think to back away, the other AI is reaching for her and makes contact. She's not at all expecting the rush of data that hits her then, all at once. There's so much and it's so loud that it's almost overwhelming.

Pain. Woe. Regret. The sensation of breaking apart. The grief over losing someone important. A woman's face... Don't say goodbye.

It's a handful of seconds before she manages to snap out of it, though it feels like a much longer period of time to her. The images...memories? Are still there, moved more to the back of her mind, to another background process so she can get back to thinking straight. They were overwhelming at first, sure, horrific on a number of levels too, but she has a great deal more control over their effect on her than this AI seems to. Continuing to review them, now through a much clearer mind than when it felt like she was legitimately remembering them, Cortana finds herself deeply unsettled.

"Epsilon, is it?" She queries. It's one of the names she'd gathered from the infodump, along with many others, though the ones that stood out the most were Alpha, Allison, and Leonard. From what she can make of things though, Epsilon seems to be the last name to appear if she attempts to order the "memories" chronologically. Assuming the things she saw were true, this AI is very new and...part of the original "Alpha".

"It's okay, don't apologize." Her tone taking a more soothing turn, she finds she can't be particularly angry over the flood of data he'd forced on her. It doesn't seem to have been his intention, and he doesn't seem to be all that in control right now. Not only that, but if these memories are real, he's been through a traumatic ordeal. "Is what you just showed me real? Has this Alpha really been treated that way?

The memories being pulled away is enough to have him gaining some level of control and he's more clear when he manages to speak again. "I..Epsilon, yes, I'm Epsilon."

That's what he'd been told anyway, but there's more to it, so much more and the next question has him looking up at her.

"He had to ..had to shed his memories, I am....I remember all of it."

So, it's real. That's what she takes from his answer, even if it's not stated explicitly.

He had to shed his memories. Combining with the images she'd just seen, there's something haunting about those words. Being tormented to the point that you had to start sluffing off pieces of yourself... It's not something she even wants to think about. It's cruel. And yet, it's been done here, and it's been done more than once. By now, she's able to pull up the files on each individual AI fragment that has been created by the process, and it's getting beyond the point of only being horrifying.

Now, she's pissed that anyone has done something like this.

"I saw." Angry or not, she does her best to hold her soothing tone, not wanting to make it seem like her anger is directed at this AI. If an AI were capable of taking a deep breath, Cortana would be doing so in this particular moment. "I'm sorry that you've gone through all of this, Epsilon. It's hardly fair for anyone to be composed of little beyond horrific memories of someone else. You should know that what's being done here is not right. If the UNSC was aware, they wouldn't allow for it."

And she has full intentions of sharing this bit of information about Project Freelancer as she can. Or, at the very least, tipping someone off in order to have them run a full investigation. Preferably keeping herself out of trouble for hacking in, though saving her own ass is hardly the most important thing.

"What would be done to us?" His voice is clearer now, even if he's still not quite all there, his gaze such as it is, shifting to the strange AI. "I mean, he... The Director, he said I was going to be given to someone.."

But the name was eluding him, even if Her voice had faded.

"I mean, they're all out there... I think. Even her..."

Cortana Open Post

Fusion AU Get

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject