Some Things Cannot Be Artificial

Cool, here’s chapter 1. And now we get the ball rolling along, eh? Hopefully this fic won’t confuse any of you readers, either. I suggest doing research on artificial intelligence or of the concept of the “ghost in the shell;” it’s some very interesting stuff. Kinda philosophical. :)

Also, I’d like to apologize ahead of time as this first chapter is kinda slow…. (sweatdrops) But, I need to set up everything, ya know? I mean, can’t just jump right into it or I’ll totally lose all you guys…. XP

And many thanks to those who left reviews! You guys are awesome:D

(does imitation of Super Mario) Anyway, here we go. :D

Disclaimer: I don’t own Star Ocean nor any of its characters, items, etc. I do own my own creations, though, so no stealing; I’ll sic my attack quail on you if you try. XP

Chapter 1

It was a cold day. Snowflakes fell from the heavens and gently blanketed the ground. The trees in the vicinity were either bare or covered in the white powder, and there was a lack of song from the birds; they had all flown away to escape the chill’s wrath. The few creatures that did stay in the mountainous region were deer, squirrels, rabbits, and other mammals, however, they were few and far between.

Well, it was November after all. November 9th, 2085 to be exact; a Friday, and a day that a certain girl loved best. It was the starting point of the two days she got off from work, a time to relax blissfully in the comfort of her home.

Actually, her idea of relaxing would be another’s idea of work. For you see, she was busy with a little project she had spent several years upon.

She was creating an android.

Sure, androids already existed. Simple robots used to do simple chores that no humans wanted to do. Nowadays these androids were mail carriers, hotel cleaners, and even bartenders. Issued by the Federal Government—now called the United Federation—androids were very much a staple in today’s society.

The first androids were created and released back in 2043. Through massive experimentation, these androids have gone though major renovations to make them almost perfect. However, man has still been unable to create real intelligence, and the androids are nothing more than interactive computers. There have been several attempts to create real intelligence, but all have failed.

The androids still think too literally, and are not capable of true, rational thought, nor can they grasp the concept of thinking freely. They are flat, emotionless mechanical slaves to the humans.

But one girl decided to try her hand at this game, to prove that artificial intelligence was nothing more than a sorry excuse for failure at creating real intelligence. After all, she believed that intelligence was not artificial in any sense; the body may be synthetic, but the mind was not.

The girl’s name? Rebecca Hansen. A twenty-four year old, her and both of her parents worked for the United Federation in the robotics field. An exceptionally bright child, she graduated high school at the age of sixteen and was trained by the UF in the same field as her parents for she showed a keen interest in the subject. However, if one were to look at her, they would not think of her as a hard, dedicated worker who focused upon creating synthetic beings and their programming. She looked too innocent for her age, and her brown hair that she tied into a messy ponytail while she worked only added to her youthful look. She had sky-blue eyes that always seemed calculating, yet not threatening in any way. Her casual attire usually consisted of a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers as she did not want to ‘flaunt’ her looks. (She was not into dating as her career was one of the most important things to her, so she had never had to worry about trying to hook up with a guy; she preferred the single life.) She was also fairly thin, but that was due to her irregular eating habits. Sometimes she went without meals because she was too wrapped up in her work. In addition, she was of average height, standing at about five feet, six inches.

Rebecca pulled into the driveway in her automated car. It was sleek and silver in color, and the computer ran it completely, allowing there to not be any accidents or problems while driving.

“Destination reached,” the computer declared to the driver in a computerized woman’s voice. “Please watch your step as you exit the vehicle.” The driver-side door slid back, allowing Rebecca to get out. Once vacated, the door slid shut, and at the young woman’s command, the car locked itself and shut off.

Rebecca hurried up to the front steps of her house. It was two stories and even had a basement. Luckily, despite living in the mountains, the house was situated on a flat plot of land, and the threat of landslides wasn’t such a big deal because of it. The house was blue-grey in color with white trim, a white front door, and a white garage door. Various evergreen trees were scattered here and there around the house, covered in snow.

Rebecca hurried on to the front door, wanting to get out of the cold and out of the snowfall. As she approached, she placed her hand upon a small terminal on the right side of the door. As her hand touched the panel, it began to glow.

“Scanning…” it said, and then after a few moments, “scanning complete. Welcome home, Rebecca Hansen.”

An audible click resounded from within the house and the girl turned the doorknob and entered her home.

“Phew,” she said as she entered the house, closing the door behind her. “What a day.”

Taking her work coat off and hanging it on the coat rack, Rebecca rolled her head on her shoulders. Heading into the spacious living room, she pulled the drapes shut. Looking over the area to make sure everything was organized, she switched on the lamps on the end tables on either end of the couch. Satisfied that it was clean and ready for when her parents came home, (she lived with them as she felt no need to move out), she left the living room and headed to her room to change clothes from professional to casual.

Heading down the hall, she entered her room and quickly changed into a dark blue T-Shirt with an emerald green sweater over it and thick, heavy jeans. Brushing her hair and trying it up into a messy ponytail, she began to head down the hall and opened the door leading to the basement. Upon sensing an entity opening the door, the lights flicked on by themselves.

As Rebecca descended the stairs, the cluttered, busy atmosphere of the basement replaced the warm, friendly environment of the house. Workbenches along the four walls were littered with various robot parts, tools, and machinery. However, the main focus was the large, stainless steel table in the middle of the room.

Lying on its stomach upon the table was an android.

“I’m back,” Rebecca declared to the synthetic being, despite the fact it was offline and could not respond. However, it made her feel comfortable to speak to it from time to time as she worked upon it. “And I believe that today is the day.”

She walked the parameter of the table, looking over the android.

It had the appearance of a young male, around her age of twenty-four. He had messy, semi-long black-and-yellow synthetic hair with two ‘lion tail’ ponytails that reached down almost to his knees. And even though his eyes were not open, she knew they were blood red in color, a chilling trait that could strike fear into anyone who dared to gaze upon them. His attire was that of a purple, skin-tight half-shirt and a purple skirt with yellow trim that was slit on the left side. He also wore matching purple leggings and arm socks and regular black shoes. Around his neck was a metal shackle in which a few links of chain dangled in the front, and on each shoulder were metal shoulder plates. On his right arm he wore a metal wrist bracer, but his most prominent feature, though, was the clawed, metal gauntlet on his left arm.

Who was this android and why was he dressed the way he was?

He was none other than Albel Nox, a character from a very old video game called Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. Having received such an old classic from her mother, (who received it from her mother, who in turn received it from her mother), she had played it when she was younger and had become attached to the semi-sadistic young man. She had decided at a young age that when she got into the robotics field, she would design a robot after him.

Looking over the android with awe, she brushed some strands of imitation hair out of his face. If one were not to notice the open panel upon his back, one could almost mistaken him for a sleeping human.

Rebecca couldn’t wait to bring the robot ‘to life.’ She had been working upon him for three years, and now it was time to finally bring her vision to light.

It was time to break through the walls of impossibility and show that it was feasible to create real intelligence in a synthetic being.

After doing a diagnostic check on the android and making sure the wiring was in place, the young woman strolled over to pick up the two battery cells, but hesitated.

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

While a part of her enjoyed her work immensely, another part of her kept nagging away in her brain, and that nagging turned into a little bubble of fear. What if the attempt was a complete failure? Or… what if the android turned on her? Sure, she had taken safety measures, but who knew if they were foolproof?

Shaking her head to rid of her negative thoughts, Rebecca picked up the two, brick-sized battery cells and walked back over to the synthetic. She stood there a moment, contemplating her actions. Sighing, she slowly lowered the battery cells into place and hooked them up inside the android. When satisfied, she closed the panel and pulled his half shirt down to cover it.

Taking a few steps back, she looked over him again.

It was now or never.

“Computer,” she spoke, her voice flat and emotionless. “Activate. Model number is 5742-06349. Pass code number is 81462. Given name,” she paused, licking her dry lips and taking a shaky breath, “Albel Nox.”

And suddenly, the android’s red eyes opened and focused upon her.

She froze. Obviously the robot was functional… but would it be like a human? Or another mindless artificial being?

Surprisingly, the android shot up and jumped off the table, his eyes darting about to look over his surroundings. He turned about and examined everything in a very human-like nature before resting his eyes back upon the young woman.

“Where am I? And who are you?”

Simple questions; it didn’t mean he had any real intelligence just yet. Most robots who were not programmed with such information usually asked the same questions.

“You’re in the basement of my house,” Rebecca explained calmly. “And my name is Rebecca Hansen.”

“What am I doing here?” He looked around again and then looked over himself when a look of surprise flashed across his face. “And where’s my sword?!” He glared at the girl, practically towering over her. “Give me my sword, maggot!”

This caught the girl completely by surprise.

Incredible! He has the same personality as the game character and his cognitive ability is so life-like. I think I may have succeeded!

The young woman put up her hands in a peaceful manner, trying to calm him down. “It’s okay, Albel. The reason why you’re here is because I just brought you online. And your sword is in my room. I didn’t feel comfortable with giving it to you when you became functional in case you tried anything.”

Albel titled his head slightly in confusion. “‘Online?’ ‘Functional?’ What do you mean, worm?”

He doesn’t know…? I programmed him not to think literally and whatnot, but he doesn’t realize what he is? How did that happen?

“You don’t know? Albel,” she said, “you’re an android, a synthetic being. I created you.”

A heavy silence filled the air, the tension so thick it was almost hard to breathe.

Finally, the robot spoke.

“So it’s just like that Luther said? I’m nothing more than a ‘program,’ whatever that is?” He laughed, a strange sound that did not sound friendly or lighthearted in any way. “You’re a fool. Luther was defeated, and the illusions he had created were destroyed along with him.”

He doesn’t believe me. And how he speaks and his actions and the way he responds… remarkable! I may have just finally created real intelligence!

Rebecca decided to see how much he could think into the matter and test his cognitive abilities. “Okay then, where do you think you are? And what do you think you are?”

“That’s for me to ask you, fool,” he responded, glaring, his arms crossed. “And I’m human. Do your eyes not work properly?”

Rebecca shook her head. “But you’re not human. You’re an android, a robot. I created you here in this basement, which I consider my lab.”

The synthetic’s eyes danced around briefly, taking in his surroundings. “And just where is this place located? It doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen in Airyglyph or Aquaria,” he mused, almost spitting the last word out of his mouth as if it left a bad taste. “This can’t be the ‘4D Space’ those other fools spoke of—Luther destroyed the connection.” He looked back over at the girl. “Am I in Greeton?”

Rebecca shook her head. “No, this is not 4D Space or Greeton. You’re on the planet Earth.”

The information seemed to make him hesitate, to calculate his next retort. He narrowed his eyes, finally responding with, “You’re lying. Earth was destroyed by Luther and his programs.” He took a threatening step towards her. “I was there on that celestial ship with the other maggots and saw it myself. I don’t like being lied to, worm.”

Rebecca had a feeling this was going to happen and took a small step backwards. “Then you’ll have to learn the hard way.”

Albel lunged for her, but she ducked under him and rolled under the table, putting it between herself and him.

“Initiate immobilization. Authorization code 9424173. Now!” the girl yelled at the android, sidestepping back and forth trying to keep the table between them.

And suddenly, Albel’s eyes widened as his legs gave way under him and he collapsed unto the stone floor with an audible thud, his body completely limp. However, he could still speak.

“What? What have you done to me?!” he demanded, furious, his pupils mere pinpricks in his rage.

“A safety precaution,” Rebecca explained, strolling around the table to kneel beside the downed robot. “I disabled your movement so you wouldn’t be able to get to me.” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Still believe you’re human?”

Albel merely snarled in frustration at the young robotics scientist. “Arg, it doesn’t prove anything, you maggot!”

Rebecca stood. “Wow, I’m surprised at the way you’re acting. Not at all like the other androids.” She headed over to one of the workbenches and picked up a laser scalpel. Turning it on, a small blue laser came out of one end. “I may have finally done the impossible, and that is creating real intelligence in an artificial being.” She turned back to him. “But, for some reason, you don’t believe me. So,” she started, kneeling next to him again, “I’ll have to prove it to you.”

Picking up his limp right arm, she pulled down his arm sock, laser scalpel in hand.

“What are you doing?”

…was that a hint of fear in his voice?

“Giving you proof.”

And then she brought the tool to his arm and began to cut the false flesh.

Albel had shut his eyes rather forcefully, bracing himself to experience shooting pain… but he felt nothing. He did feel the laser cut through him… but no pain.

As he opened his eyes in confusion, he watched as the girl gently peeled back some of his flesh—

—and exposed metal and wires.

Albel was at a loss for words.

“You see?” the girl said. “Your whole body is like this, composed of nothing but hardware. Your mind is computer software—a program—like Luther said. I created you as an experiment to prove to the world that creating real intelligence in a robot was possible, as no one can seem to create anything but artificial intelligence, which can only go so far.”

Rebecca flicked the laser off on the one end and twirled it in her hand, flicking a green laser light on at the other end. Pinching Albel’s imitation flesh back together, she grazed the cut with the green light, and the ‘skin’ melted back together almost seamlessly. She then pulled his arm sock back up over his arm.

“Do you believe me now?” she questioned the android.

“…yes.”

“Will you listen to what I have to say if I enable your motor abilities? Or will you try to attack me again?”

The android blinked a few times before responding with, “I can’t guarantee it, but I would like a pretty damn good explanation of what’s going on.”

“And you shall get one,” Rebecca agreed, standing and stepping back. “Disable immobilization. Authorization code 408173.”

The android’s hands and legs twitched as the override was disabled. Climbing to his feet, Albel glared at the woman, obviously annoyed, but now wary of her. If she could literally make him lose control of his body with just a simple command, who knew what else she was capable of.

Rebecca leaned back against the table, arms crossed and head tilted slightly to the side, studying her project before her. “Ready to listen now?”

Albel was rather annoyed; the thought of lunging for the girl again seemed rather appeasing at the moment. However, instead he crossed his arms, eyes narrowed, glaring. He was more than annoyed, actually, and made no attempt to hide it. “Yes. Hurry up and amuse me, maggot.”

Rebecca sighed, shaking her head. “You know, it’s rude to call people names. But anyway, on to the point of the matter.” She twirled the laser scalpel in her hand, the delicate tool a blur in her fingers. She kept her eyes upon it as she spoke to the android. “As I said, you are an android, a synthetic or fake being made of hardware and software. I created you as a way of proving that real intelligence can be created and replicated.” She stopped twirling the laser and looked up at Albel. “And it appears I have succeeded.”

Albel closed his eyes in thought. He kept them closed as he spoke. “So I’m nothing than a machine, like those created in Greeton, huh?” He opened his ruby eyes, staring down at the scientist before him. “So then tell me, how can I be on Earth if Luther destroyed it?”

“Well, that’s kind of complicated to explain,” Rebecca replied, setting the scalpel down on the table. “You see, this Earth is different from the one Fayt came from. For one thing, it’s only the year 2085; Fayt was from a time period in the future. For another thing….” She licked her lips and took a shaky breath. “I guess you could call this an alternate dimension? For you see, in this world, your world is nothing more than a video game. It’s somewhat like the Eternal Sphere… but isn’t. See, this isn’t 4D Space, just an alternate version of the world you came from, I guess. However, we lack many things, such as magic and whatnot. Similar, yet different. Maybe not an alternate world at all, I don’t know—I’m not much one for philosophy.” She shrugged. “The point is, I wanted to create real intelligence and I used you as the model.”

Albel merely stared at the girl, his mind trying to comprehend all the information that was presented to him. Groaning at the effort, he rubbed his forehead with his good hand. “So I’m in another place and in another body,” he finally spoke. He then glared at the girl again. “But why me, fool? Why not that maggot of a boy with the blue hair?”

Rebecca shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess because I thought your personality would prove more of a challenge when replicating intelligence.”

Albel shook his head, growing in frustration. “Ugh, you sound just like that one girl who was in charge of that celestial ship….”

“Who? Maria?”

“Yes. You two speak the same—it’s hard for me to understand. Why can’t you put it in simpler terms, worm?”

Now it was Rebecca who narrowed her eyes. “You can stop insulting me, you know.”

“I’d rather not.”

Fascinating…. He’s so lifelike…. I have to show this to the United Federation as soon as I can! I’ll be promoted for sure! A new era will be born because of me!

Rebecca sighed. “You know what? Just forget it. Come on, let’s get out of this basement. And no funny stuff behind my back,” she said, glaring.

Albel glared back. “I’m not promising anything, fool.”

Reaching her point of snapping, the scientist stepped up to the android, trying her best to curb her anger. “I’ll tell you right now: you do anything and I’ll disable your motor functions again and set you up for manual commands, you hear me?”

Albel met her glare with an unwavering, passive stare—just by looking at her and knowing what she was capable of, some part of him knew she was right. He didn’t like it, but he knew it nonetheless.

Fuming, the girl turned around and started for the stairs. On the way up, she called back to the android, “And don’t insult me. My name is Rebecca. If you want, you can call me Becca for short.”

“Humph,” was the synthetic’s only reply as he climbed the stairs after his creator.

As silence reigned in the basement and the life that was in it had gone, the lights turned off by themselves, bathing the area in utter darkness.

Okay, yeah, I know, it wasn’t very interesting. And sorry for lack of updates—work and college is very demanding, so yeah…. Anyway, I hope this picks up. I still have some ideas running through my head, so yeah. Well, please leave reviews! (Also, sorry if Albel seems a little OOC—it’s been a while since I had the chance to play SO3 in a while, so I’m going by memory….)