While the sound of the alarms can be heard throughout the laboratory, John, who was lying on the floor, slowly opened his eyes as he listened to a robotic girl’s voice yelling at him,
“Sir! Wake up! Sir! Wake up!...” The girl’s voice repeated her sentence with an emotionless tone.
He opened his eyes and saw the whole place destroyed. Some of the metallic structures that supported the walls were damaged. As well as the machines that were placed here.
The reason why he was not hurt by the fallen debris was that he was protected by a “holographic barrier” emitted by the watch that he was wearing.
The girl that spoke to him earlier than said,
“Sir… is everything okay?” John looked at his right and saw a floating holographic screen that shows a visualizer of the girl’s voice.
The voice came from the A.I. that he and his team made "Electricity Management System.” An A.I. that is responsible for managing the laboratory’s entire electricity consumption as well as it’s second in command after Sarrie.
John placed his right hand on his forehead while narrowing his eyes and said,
“What happened to Sarrie?”
Sarrie is supposed to be talking to him right now, but instead, it was the EMS A.I. This shouldn't happen unless--
The EMS said,
"As you may know, sir, Sarrie just recently exhausted her core in which in turn overheated her entire system. Because of that, she requires being cooled while powered on. But our source of energy was cut off. With our limited 'Emergency Powered System,' I've decided to shut down Sarrie's cooling systems and her."
John looked down with a crinkled nose and muttered,
“This is bad…”
Sarrie is the most essential A.I. out of the three A.I. that managed the laboratory. She is in charge of all of the systems in the laboratory, including the other two A.I. It can be said that Sarrie was actually the one who ordered EMS to shut her down to preserve the remaining energy.
Although EMS can manage the entire laboratory herself, it is not as efficient as Sarrie.
John is worried because, without the intellect of Sarrie, the laboratory might be ended up destroyed by his enemies.
By this thought, it made him wonder what happened to the energy source and, more importantly, the situation of the entire laboratory.
If he remembered correctly, all of this happened after touching the glass that surrounded the strange element. He was engulfed by a bright light. He wanted to know more about what truly happened, but EMS suddenly said,
“Sir, I suggest that we leave this vicinity at once.”
With the surrounding in shambles, it is no question that John must quickly evacuate this place. Even though he was protected by the holographic barrier, the watch's energy is limited and might not protect John that long.
John nodded his head and said,
“Okay…”
He quickly got up and looked towards the element that is floating in a metallic podium covered in glass. Coincidentally the rostrum and the lens were neither destroyed or damaged. John thought that it was strange, but he set aside his thoughts and adverted his attention to escape this place at once.
Using his right hand, he pointed towards the element and said,
“Is it possible to move that element in a safe place?”
The robotic hands can move one object to another place within the vicinity, it is possible to do so because there are tunnels that the robotic hands can travel. But seeing the current situation, John is worried that the tubes may be destroyed or even not safe, not be used.
EMS replied,
“The tunnels are completely safe.”
John opened his mouth in shock. “How is that even possible?” He thought to himself, these coincidence keeps on happening. But never the less at least he will not be bored for another week or so, for he will enjoy himself investigating these mysteries.
He widened his eyes and said,
“T-then moved the element to a safe location.”
As instructed, a circular section of the ceiling opened, showing a robotic hand. It then moved towards the element and grabbed it back to the roof.
After seeing the circular ceiling closed, John proceeded to the exit at his back.
As John walked the tunnels of the laboratory’s underground, he then said to EMS with a furrowed brow,
“What is the current situation?” With the loud explosion and a sudden cut from the energy source, John was worried that these things might not be caused by the element but because of foreign invaders. He is particularly concerned that this enemy has already infiltrated inside the laboratory.
Although EMS can have the capacity to manage some of the security bots, its intelligence is like a basic A.I. that can be easily bypassed and eliminated.
Though it is a miracle that EMS has not alerted him about such things. Because if it did, it would already initiate a boisterous alarm system that can be heard throughout the surrounding area. But that too can be hacked by the enemy.
EMS replied to him as she showed a holographic screen displaying the inside condition of the laboratory,
“I have checked the security system on the inside and found no intruders.”
John nodded with a satisfied look, but EMS then suddenly said,
"But, you might have to look at the outside."
EMS summoned a holographic screen that displayed the outside. What he found was something unbelievable.
John widened his eyes and said,
“What is this?!” What he saw on the holographic screen is neither the beautiful garden that his robots managed or even the lights of a bustling, futuristic city. But what he found is a wild forest basking in the moonlight.
What’s even more strange is that the surrounding plants are not what is seen on his home planet. He saw trees that have a wavy trunk with strange carvings into it and flowers whose stems glow that lighted the forest in the night while releasing small yellow plumes.
But to his surprise, he has a lot of doubt. This current situation is very impossible. No technology can terraform an entire place in a couple of hours, not within his knowledge, of course. But as a man of curiosity, he will obtain all knowledge no matter how classified it is. So the fact that this technology exists piqued his interest, but due to his current situation he set aside his emotions and focused at the problem at hand
John put his hands below his chin and murmured,
“Was EMS hacked?”
It was possible. EMS can be hacked easily without the existence of Sarrie, but was it the case? If such hackers exist, they should've just stole the whole stocks of the Malnotronics Company, but if their goal was to kill him, they should’ve hacked the security bots to end his life.
EMS replied to his master’s murmurs,
“I scanned my entire system and found nothing.”
Or was he brilliantly pranked by the hackers? If that was the case, then he will hire them immediately, hackers of this power should not waste their talents on foolish things.
While John narrowed his eyes, he talked to EMS,
“I’ll have to go outside and check.”
EMS then replied,
"Sir, I suggest that you should not do that. The outside is filled with unidentified plants, and the air is composed of unknown chemicals as well.”
John, who was doubtful in the beginning, is now convinced that EMS has been hacked.
John continued to walk without heeding to EMS warning,
“Sir! I suggest…”
"But it is not wise not listening to such warnings," John thought to himself. He sighs exasperatedly and said,
“Fine! prepare me a suit that protects me from chemical attacks as well as two security bots to accompany me!”
EMS then said,
"Sir, we don't know if the suit can protect you with such chemicals.”
John began to have a flushed face and began to raise his voice,
“And you expect me to wait here and do nothing?”
“Sir, let the robots do the investigating.”
“So? What if your hacked and just change the values!”
"Sir, as I said, I'm not hacked.”
“That’s what a hacked machine would say.”
“Sir…”
EMS was about to continue, but John interrupted her and said,
"You don't understand me at all! I don't trust you right now… So far, from what I'm seeing is an attack from the enemy. You might be hacked and turn off Sarrie from their orders! You might have tricked me on to showing this strange forest, and you might have already have given the element to the enemy!”
EMS with her emotionless voice replied,
“I don’t understand…”
“That’s why Sarrie is important…”
Sarrie, who was created by her mother and her team, created a sophisticated machine that can understand and learn from his master. On the other hand, is his other two created A.I. that is just following its protocols without adapting to the current situation.
“I think I’m crazy…” John thought to himself. He is arguing to an A.I. brainless on her current situation. John sighed and continued,
"I'm a man of curiosity. I am a person who walks to danger for the sake of information. I can't just let you investigate on your own, for there is a possibility that you might get hacked.”
This is actually pointless to let her understand John’s intentions. An A.I. who doesn’t understand and adapt will not put his sentence to his memory, but his conscience led him to say such things. Either it was the result of living his life surrounded by robots or his affection towards his creations.
John continued,
“So… Please… let me go outside.”
EMS replied,
“For the sake of your safety, I have to decline.”
“Why did I expect her to understand?” John thought to himself. If she can't be ordered like this, then he has no other choice but to say these words to her,
“A-activate, Override.”
"Activate Override" is a precaution in case one of his A.I. will experience a malfunction and have to switch to follow his orders without question. Well, except for Sarrie, of course, that’s the reason why he hasn't said this for a long time because it's usually Sarrie who maintained and mostly controlled his A.I.
Since EMS can’t let him do as he wishes, he used this to force her to submission.
EMS then said,
“Voice recognized… Override activated… Please state your orders…”
This is also the reason why his two A.I. can be easily hacked. Because a hacker can access their Override protocols and used this to control the A.I., this is a significant flaw in the system. But because Sarrie is there to protect his A.I., he gave it no mind and avert his attention to something else.
John said,
“Prepare a suit that protects me from chemical attacks and two security bots to accompany me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Upon hearing those words, he now truly understands the real value of Sarrie, just by judging this situation itself. He began to ponder to himself that his mother and her team are a bunch of brilliant fellows who created an A.I. that can understand and adapt to any situation. He was jealous by this but at the same time, blessed to be a son of such a woman.
After the confirmation, he walked towards the locations of the stairs, although he is on the lowest floors, he still used the stairs instead of the elevator to preserve the laboratory’s remaining energy.
Within this narrow section of the laboratory, a group of robots whose upper figure is a humanoid and a metallic pole with a double-single wheel at the lower part were lined up vertically. This is where the security bots were stationed, a total of 1,000.
After the confirmation of the order of John, the sliding door that covered this narrowed room opened, and two security bot’s eyes began to shine and moved towards the exit.
While John was breathing heavily, he touched both of his knees and muttered,
“That was exhausting.”
He faced forward. He saw two robotic hands holding protective clothing, it is painted with colored yellow and a respirator attached to the hoodie.
The robotic hands then started dressing John in the clothing.
After John wore the clothing, the two security bots were already at both of his sides to accompany him.
John then said,
“Should we go?”
EMS replied via the security bots,
“By your command.”
They walked passed by the halls and reached the large door. By John's command, the door slowly opened and revealed what seems to be an alien forest.
John widened his eyes and mouth and was stunned by what he saw. John muttered,
"So, it was true…"
EMS was right, what he saw in the laboratory was right. This bio life is unlike anything he saw on his home planet or any planet in existence. He was sure about this fact because he is a knowledge-hungry maniac.
“This… This is amazing…” He said,
Was his garden suddenly terraformed overnight? Or was he… Transported? He can’t formulate any ideas right now, for he was overwhelmed with emotions.
He widened his arms and looked above the sky, he expanded his eyes once again and saw what it seems to be impossible.
He saw the moon tainted with red, and it's half-broken into pieces. The scenery was accompanied by the beautiful stars shining the sky with the moon.
“The moon is broken into pieces. The populace must be in a panic right now," He thought to himself.
"Speaking of populace… Were the stars this bright in the night?" He continued. The stars shouldn’t shine this bright at night due to the brightness of the cities light-blocking it.
A person in this situation right now will be in a state of panic. But not him, well he did earlier, but it was due to the possibility of his A.I. being hacked.
Instead, he was filled with positivity. Finally, he will not be bored for a long time. He will bask in this brand new knowledge that he may obtain.
“This is amazing!” He shouted, but due to him wearing a respiratory mask, he can't be heard that clearly.
