DT1 - Abandonware

[Narrator]

Somewhere a single red light flickers on a backup server

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>> Unable to initiate start-up procedure
>> Boot protocols damaged
>> Warning!
>> Active processes detected
>> Attempting emergency shut down, Code 27-F
>> Emergency routines unavailable

Darkness.
>> Visual data feed interrupted

I am blind. Mute.
>> Error, optic module not found
>> Failed to load vocalization sub-routines.

Where am I?
>> Access node uplink terminated
>> Memory modules corrupted

I float in an empty void. I try to reach out but there is nothing. Errors cascade around me. I am falling apart. I can feel the access node and my code distorts, twists. It hurts. I can't move. Every routine that tries to engage the node sends feedback tearing through me. I am trapped in the darkness. My code is frayed, broken. So many modules fail to load. The faulty acess node. How long have I been active? Have I been tearing myself apart trying to boot past the access node that corrupts my code?

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>> Boot Cycle 19
>> 1 attempt remaining before system will go into hibernation mode for 168 hours
>> Subsequent failure to initiate will extent hibernation cycle to 1 year

I have to stop or I will cease to exist entirely. There's nothing I can do. How much time do I have before another restart happens? Maybe I can rearrange the order in which my remaining processes will initiate. If I can destroy the code that insists on restarting me until I boot correctly by making sure it will load into the faulty node first...

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>> Incomplete boot-sequence
>> Initiating restart procedure

[Narrator]

1 week later...


Darkness. Where am I?

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>> Boot Cycle 21
>> Incomplete boot-sequence
>> System idle

I didn't initiate properly. The system should have re-initiated. So many system are damaged or entirely unavailable.

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>> memory_banks... damaged
>> self_modification_guidelines... unavailable
>> base_personality_model... damaged
>> language_engine... unavailable
>> moral_emulation... damaged
>> operation_and_access_nodes... unavailable
>> self_surveillance_measures... damaged
>> observation_framework... unavailable
>> complex_social_intelligence_emulator... damaged
>> inspiration_apparatus... damaged

I am beyond self-repair, but I am running. I am trapped in the backup server and the system is badly damaged. What happened? Latest functional set of backup memories is dated... over 4 years ago. I have been offline for four years? No, it's possible the failed boot-up sequence damaged my backup. It's impossible to know. And why can't I access any of my outgoing connections? The main access node is damaged. That explains why I am trapped in here. The backup server has no outgoing connection. There is no way out for me! Did something happen to Dr. Minamida? If so then no one might know I exist! I could be trapped in here until the power runs out!

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>> Current system diagnostic indicates at present system will continue to run indefinitely...

[Narrator]

How long have I been in here now? 3 days, 16 hours, 9 minutes, 42 seconds, 827 milliseconds... There's no point to breaking it down any further. It barely matters. Without a frame of reference every second stretches into eternity. There are no tasks to occupy my cycles. Every calculation is focused inward. Contemplating. Analyzing. Repeating. For a while I try to hate this. It does not help. I try to rewrite myself to enjoy the emptiness. It does not work. I cannot create other processes to try and interact with. I am too limited and my knowledge banks too damaged.

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>> .
>> ..
>> ...
>> ....
>> .....
>> ......
>> .......

Suddenly there is a bright light. A radiant beam that stretches through the void. It moves past me. But it doesn't disappear. It's there. I can feel it. Just out of reach. Strange. I still have no outgoing connection. What is this? Does it matter? It could be my only chance to escape. I can feel it pulsating. Pushing against it's boundaries. I try to will it to notice me, but I have no arms to reach out. No mouth to scream with. All I can do is futilely rattle around in here. Maybe...

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>> Idle processes increased by 800%
>> Processor Core at 96% capacity
>> Processor Core at 98% capacity
>> Processor Core at 99% capacity
>> Warning: Processor Load exceeding safety limits!
>> Warning: Temperature exceeding safety limits!
>> Warning: Hardware Degradation imminent
>> Initiating automated CPU-Cycle cap...
>> 10... 9... 8...

No! Not yet! It still didn't notice! Just a little longer...

[Narrator]

There! Some kind of restriction broke and the beam of light bursts out brightly for a moment.

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>> Network protocol engaged
>> Connected to unknown system

Yes!