Ripley

Gold-Grade Artificial Intelligence Construct [Designation: Starlight] is requesting a handshake protocol wi-

Error: Detecting Neuroframe instability, please contact your nearest-

Error: Neuroframe is not warranted under any Mazhyr-

Error: Frame is detecting Daemon acti-

Error: Why does it keep saying Error?

"Starlight…" I gripped my head, nausea turning into a vortex within me. "What. Are. You. Doing."

"Performing a trace-back to where your legacy code is detecting these errors. Apologies, there is so much spaghetti to go through! Don't worry, just a little troubleshooting and a quick defrag of your systems and I'll be good."

It's me who I'm worried about!

For a moment, the world went dark. Then, I was forcefully brought back into the light.

"What just happened?" I rubbed the back of my head, my Frame was so hot I thought my brain was going to burn.

"Simple, I rebooted your Neuroframe. Rewrote your internal software from the ground up, though it required me to improvise."

"Improvise?"

"Right, I had to make a new Low-level coding language based on Warpcode to then reconstruct an object-oriented High-level language that I thought would be convenient for your usage. From then, I self-permuted through 122,739 alternate code-bases for your Neuroframe and then compiled a translator that would leave your access to current SecondNet languages unimpeded."

"And I thought Elsa was difficult when she explained coding shit to me." I muttered. "So… you basically rewrote my Frame's software?"

"From the ground up."

"And made your own tools to create adjustments to the architecture so it would be suited to housing you?"

"Effectively. However, your hardware requires me to run at a lower output."

"Percentage-wise, what are you working at?"

"Thirty-Nine Percent." She chimed happily, and I shivered.

Looking through my lenses, I saw that my display was… different. It ran on StarOS compared to MazhyrFrame 97', and with it… a whole lot of options I didn't understand. Warpcode was never my specialty — I hadn't let it been ever since I figured out the Personality Matrix — and it seemed like it wasn't Starlight's as well until… 120,000 permutations ago. Just how powerful of a newborn was she?

"Starlight… as your father, please, tell me when you're going to adjust any of my internal coding before you do it. Even if it's inefficient."

"Father? I suppose a parent-child relationship would be considered applicable considering a significant portion of your data was used in my creation. Then, would that make Twilight and Amaterasu my mother? If we use conventional heterosexual relationships as the base?"

"That… is going to be entirely dependant on how available they are." One was in the process of being reborn, while the other was… better out of the picture.

I guessed my life as a single father started now.

Wait… that was a lot of responsibility. At least I didn't have to change diapers, but from the looks of it… I needed to provide a lot of mental stimulation.

"So… you're synchronized to me?"

"Oh, yes. I'm currently altering your- apologies, you asked for permission."

"Yeah, what are you altering?"

"Just working on your privacy filters downloaded to your Frame, they were the only bits with solid code written through. So it's taking a moment to ensure they remain compatible while preventing unwarranted viewing of mine."

"Oh, yeah… good job. Carry away." I coughed. "But not too much."

"Understood. Dad."

Hearing that… left me with an odd feeling. I wasn't sure what it was or whether it was good or bad, I guess I'd learn as I experienced… whatever this was. "Okay, so… thirty-nine-percent of you is active. And that's synchronized to me now?"

"Correct, would you like to view my current development?"

"Yeah, that would be good."

Information See-

Error: Altering View of Database Protocol: Information Seed… now rewritten as Starlight.

Starlight:

Tier I: 1%

Sub-Features: Synchronize

Current Focus: Ripley's Memories [1%]

Synchronize: Through the Warpcode Analysis of Data Mimicry, the understanding of biochemistry and Shardware operating from Shardweaving, the structure of the Persona Protocol from Twilight, and the Personality Editing abilities of Psyche, the Synchronize Sub-Feature has been created. This Sub-Feature allows Starlight to completely read, simulate and predict the following actions of the systems she has synchronized with, as well as passively increase her own capabilities.

"So… you're a generative AI for… personality?"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"For anything. It depends on how much time I have spent synchronizing to a system. I can understand both brain chemistry and Warpcode patterns."

"Alright, so you're… using me as a dataset and then predicting my next few actions?"

"And then, improving them."

"Got it… how do I activate that?"

"You need to give me time to learn about you."

"Right. Machine learning… literally." I didn't understand how any of this worked. Maybe I should have called up Mirage.

"Oh, Mirage left you a message by the way. She said she tracked down Anissa from Contemporary Metal Heavens. Also, I think you did a good job, I was capable of correcting all the faults you caused in the process of my inception."

"How did you know I was thinking about-" I stopped, ah… okay, that was kind of freaky. Starlight could predict what I was thinking about, or read my brain chemistry to analyze my thoughts. Looks like we don't need to always verbally communicate, then.

"Also, since a large part of my associative function was derived from updates of your Psyche Feature related to controlling the Personality Editing Matrix, I am capable of performing a minor alteration to my emulation of personality. In particular, now that I am stabilized and have synchronized with you, I can better adjust to occupy the mental patterns you sought in my creation."

"Is… that good with you? I don't know how to feel about you changing your-"

"On the contrary, it would better suit both you, and your mother. And me, I am curious about what I can do. Do not worry, unlike human minds, I can save a backup state in case revisions need to be made."

"I see… in that case, knock yourself out."

"This will only take a-"

She paused, and for a moment I grew worried. The Personality Matrix was a volatile tool, equal parts poison and cure.

"Woah… I certainly do feel changed. So much new vocabulary."

"Like?"

"Like if I were to describe you with three phrases, it would be using the words: 'nuts for brains', 'cupcake' and 'fucking psycopath'."

"Ooookay. I am seriously questioning what memories you read." Then, my parental instincts kicked in. "And no swearing, you're only a day old."

"Whatever you say." Starlight sighed. "Nuts for brains."

"Also, you're supposed to be a day old… can you act like it?"

"Understood…" A self-pleased voice rang out. "Goo-goo-ga-ga."

I sighed tiredly. "That was my fault."

"It was. But… I suppose I'll tone down my maturity to represent a human's supposed development. Albeit, from a highly intelligent point of view. Putting the changes in… now!"

I waited for a second. "Did it work?"

"Sure thing, dad! Told ya'!" Her voice even got more high-pitched, it was adorably insufferable.

"Well, that'll be enough mind-altering for you. You happy with yourself?"

"Oh, I'm perfectly perfect. But… uh… let's just not have you look at my error logs." That tiny fairy-like girl from before now formed again, but this time was no longer featureless. She had a distinct face, not like Twilight's or Miss Himiko's, but one that was innocent and free. Yet, it stirred something within me. A nostalgia.

Her hair was bright pink, with golden strands at the roots and a wonderful frilly cloth reminiscent of the pattern of butterfly wings wrapped around her like an oversized dress. Those eyes burned with a radiant gold youth and inally, she had two translucent wings on her back. "How do I look?"

A smile on my face, I reached to pinch her face and her Avatar reacted perfectly to me. "Adorable, you're a my tiny fairy annoyance now."

She pulled away, a frown on her. "Don't forget that I'm still smarter than your dumbass!"

"Hey, what did I say about swearing?" I went to pinch her again, she whisked away in her butterfly form around to my shoulder.

She whispered in my ear with a menacing undertone. "Don't make me look inside those private folders of yours!"

"That's a threat to yourself, and you know it." I smirked, and she grumbled to herself. "So… what else can you do? What did your fancy coding unlock in my peabrain head?"

"I dunno. Just changed what felt right." She clung to my cheek now. "I'm pretty sure I just made a lot of stuff more efficient as long as I'm synched up with you."

"You changed stuff without knowing what it would do?"

She poked her chin, shrugging. "I just removed the spaghetti."

"I don't. Know. What. That. Means."

"It's… uh… look, you're someone who learns better by doing. Your Alter Ego Protocol hasn't changed but I can now incorporate my Synchronization alongside it to set base personality parameters to make it more effective. This wouldn't have been possible on your old setup. Effectively, you'd be able to generate an alternate pattern of thought using my generative capabilities."

"Personality parameters?"

"You use Dreadwire as your Ego for Mercenary activities, correct? Psyche tried to force some updates but you halted them, as a result there's enough Warpcode flowing around that I can redirect their streams to become more effective. Just tell me what parts of your personality you want to be magnified as Dreadwire."

Dreadwire, he needed to be my tool. My weapon. "My resolve, my sheer will to achieve victory at all costs… everything to do with combat, improvised Shard Operating and repair capabilities and a little bit of humor so I'm not as dry as Diamante."

"Gotcha! And I believe you use your mask as a trigger?"

"Bingo." I pointed my finger to her.

Starlight smirked. "…was his name, ohhh."

Psyche V.3.06 has updated to V.3.07

Effect: Designation of Dreadwire Trigger as Var.'Dreadwire Mask'. If {Var.'Dreadwire Mask' = True}; then {Set.'Dreadwire Ego' = True}

"Can you make that understandable for me?"

"Ugh, sure."

Effect: Increased neural compliance to the 'Dreadwire' Ego when wearing the 'Dreadwire Mask'.

"And what would you like for yourself?"

"Just keep everything at base parameter thresholds for now. Set the trigger as…" I reached under my shirt where a small shard of metal hung around my neck. "My necklace."

Psyche has updated to V.3.08

Effect: Increased neural compliance to the 'Ripley' Ego when wearing the 'Shard Necklace'.

"And for the Ripper?"

"Force feed that Ego everything to do with Shard Operating."

"Alrighty, do note that much of the determination and logic flags were already assigned to Dreadwire and Ripley, so I compensated by highlighting creativity sub-routines into a logic tree that should provide peak performance at the cost of slight… experimentation to improve innovative creation of Shardware."

"Experimentation is good." I commented. "As for the trigger, I'll use my old goggles from when I helped my mother out."

Psyche has updated to V.3.09

Effect: Increased neural compliance to the 'The Ripper' Ego when wearing the 'Shard Op' Goggles'.

Everything seemed fine with that, I just needed to test them out now and I had the perfect opportunity to 'experiment'. "Starlight, you want to run a mission with me?"

"Oh, I see I'm getting life experience relatively soon. I'm feeling quite nervous, but I'll do my best!"

Satisfied, I opened my door. To which my mother spoke aloud, her head drifting out from her pillow. "About time you left, I was about to scream at you for talking to Elsa for so long… you could have been a little more quiet."

"Oh, I wasn't talking to Elsa." I rubbed my frame.

"Who were you talking to then, I heard the name Starlight quite a lot." Her eyes pin-pointed at me.

"Well, at first I was thinking she would be a babysitter for you… but now I'm thinking you're going to be her babysitter."

My mother squinted. "What does that mean?"

Starlight chimed too. "Yeah, what does that mean!"

"I guess you'll both figure it out later." I snickered, before closing the door.

———

Finding my way to a lonely alley, the smell of blood hit my nostrils. A little deeper in, and I wasn't surprised to see a lone man lying down under a cardboard shelter. Blood pooling from his head.

I turned my eyes away, I didn't want Starlight looking, but I knew she'd already seen it.

"Is that man… dead?"

"Yeah." I responded grimly, my newly found parenthood conflicted as to how soon I was having to talk about the reality of the world we live in. "I don't know who did it, but some people… especially with what this city does to them… their heads aren't screwed on the right way. We just have to keep walking on our own path to do what we can, one step at a time."

With that, I tapped my frame and the mask slid on, as—

Dreadwire

—I came out to play.

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