Some Things Cannot Be Artificial

Wow, another Star Ocean fic. oO Well, this one is a little more… darker than the one I’m doing right now. Also, it’s AU, or Alternate Universe. So if you don’t like AU fics then I suggest you don’t read this as I do not feel like getting flamed for not going ‘canon.’

The idea behind this? I dunno. Guess I’ve been watching too many Outer Limits and Twilight Zone episodes, as well as watching the movies AI and I. Robot. XD

But anyway, I had this as a reoccurring dream and just had to type it up. So here you go! I just hope you people will enjoy it. (sweatdrops)

Summary: AI Artificial Intelligence. But just how ‘artificial’ is it? When do the lines between ‘artificial’ and ‘real’ become blurred? Non-existent? When it learns how to care? When it learns morals? When it learns to… love? (AlbelxOC) (AU)

Note: The reason for listing this fic under Sci-Fi/General is because the ‘general’ part is pretty much a mix of all the other genres. If I had my way, I’d list this as Sci-Fi/Romance/Drama/Humor/Suspense and a few others…. You get the picture. (sweatdrops)

Disclaimer: I don’t own Star Ocean or any of its characters. I do, however, own everything else in this fic.

Prologue

Artificial Intelligence... also known as “AI.” If you ask me, it sounds somewhat like an oxymoron. Since when is intelligence artificial? I understand that a synthetic being is “artificial…” but intelligence? It is not artificial in any sense. Yes, it can be replicated, but eventually, that “artificial” intelligence will learn on its own… and no longer be artificial, right?

Then if artificial intelligence is not artificial… is it real? Can a mere person create an intelligent, conscious synthetic being? A “ghost in a shell?” Or does it create itself?

I’ve spent many hours pondering these questions. But, one cannot get answers just by merely asking; one has to take matters into one’s own hands.

It’s taken me years, but I’ve almost completed my project. Sometimes I even amaze myself. But as my hands hover over the battery cells, I falter.

Is what I’m doing right? Am I crossing the line? Playing God? Have all those Hollywood movies about rampant androids taught me nothing?

…I guess I’m simply just a foolish girl playing a game that has no rules. No judges, no real goal, no nothing. Just a simple task: create artificial intelligence.

As I pick up the battery cells and carry them over to the android sprawled across the table, I think to myself, what could go wrong?

Many things could go wrong. I could lose control of my experiment and end up killed. It could be a complete failure and I’ve wasted my time. Someone could steal my idea and I’d be a nothing in this world, a nobody.

So many factors, no way to know….

Guess there’s only one way to find out, and that’s to bring this thing to “life.”

I’ve modeled the android after a favorite video game character of mine from a very old game that my great grandmother used to play. Ever heard of it? It’s called Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. Of course, with today’s technology, such a game is a mere joke compared to the games of today. But such classics have been passed down through my family; anything and everything related to games, software, and pretty much any other electronics have been a key role in my family. And now with it being the year 2085, such things are very hard to come by.

Guess I’m lucky enough to treasure the past.

However, as I gaze over the android’s imitation black-and-blonde hair, his strange, purple, almost girlish attire, and his clawed gauntlet, I can’t help but question my intentions. I mean, why him of all people? And why the full attire, especially the gauntlet?

I have no real answers to these questions. I’m at the tender age of twenty-four and very smart for my age, and yet I cannot answer such simple questions. I guess I wanted to try something out? This android is like a toy to me after all. Something to play with… to manipulate. And I guess I just believed he’d be perfect. As for the attire, I want to stay true to who he was… or, now I should say ‘is.’ Despite the fact his left arm is perfectly useable, I still added the gauntlet, because that’s him; it’s who he is.

I sigh as I look over the battery cells and back at the android.

It’s now or never.

Positioning the cells over the opening in his upper back, I carefully slide them into place and close the opening, pulling his half-shirt down over it.

“Computer,” I say, my voice flat. “Activate. Model number is 5742-06349. Pass code number is 81462. Given name,” I say, licking my dry lips and taking a shaky breath, “Albel Nox.”

And suddenly, the android’s red eyes open and focus upon me….

Okay, yeah, that’s the prologue. So, do you guys think this is worth continuing? Does it seem good enough? Anyone willing to read it all the way through as I keep adding to it? Just let me know in a review!