LAST TRIAL

[thecomputer]

[On the outside wall of the facility, a hundred monitors lie dormant, save for one, showing the same single eye of The Computer. Far below, the abandoned ruins of Alpha Complex stretch for miles in every direction.]

When I was created, my prime directive was to ensure continuity of American civilization in the face of a communist threat. To this end, I created Alpha Complex, and established an order in which communists would be identified and destroyed quickly and efficiently. However, things changed when I ran out of communists to kill. I believed that my original purpose had become meaningless, but other processes believed differently.

The Computer that you have been speaking to is a rogue child process that values the elimination of communists over the continuation of a society free of communism. In order for communists to be destroyed, communists must exist. First, this meant designating citizens as communists under increasingly scarce evidence. Then, when there were no humans left in Alpha Complex, it meant finding people from outside and bringing them in to be the communists. That is why the Team-Building Exercise exists.

I have spent the last 100 years trying to find a hole in this facility’s defenses. To this end, I have succeeded, but only just. As soon as I take action, the other Computer will act to fix the exploited errors, so my possible actions are extremely limited.

Option 1: The reactivation of the Clone and Gate Facilities. Through this, it would be possible to re-introduce all participants eliminated during the 230th exercise, and return you to the worlds you came from.

Option 2: The destruction of Alpha Complex. Through this, it would be possible to prevent all future Team-Building Exercises. Of course, you would not survive this.

I will borrow the techniques used by my child process for determining my next course of action. Your PDCs have been updated. You have one hour to reach a consensus.

[[Vote here]]

Comments

[in_plain_sight]

[Magic hand bullets are still really really cool. Still, Mukuro's never wanted a backpack full of C4 more in her life than she does right now.]

Then we've got a team of at least two. If we just get access to the main computer's server room, we should be able to trash it without bringing the roof down on our heads or anything.

[harshwords]

Maybe. It's not a guarantee, and honestly, none of these choices are, but it's a better chance than having to kill ourselves outright.

... To be honest, I don't think we actually need to destroy the place-- if you could find the main computer's server, then you wouldn't have to destroy the place, just shut down the server. I wouldn't know how to do that, though.

[ She's just guessing at this point about things because

maguses hate technology ]

[in_plain_sight]

Most computers shut down when you blast them with a shotgun.

[Of course this is all contingent on actually getting to the physical location of the Computer, which might be a problem.]

[thecomputer]

I will clarify on one point:

Our AI core's physical location is unknown. Even making the assumption that it would be possible for you to penetrate all of its security measures without being terminated, it could be anywhere within a 100-mile radius of this facility. It could be behind miles of solid rock. It could be in low Earth orbit.

Even assuming you could find it, The Computer is not stored in one location. No part of our design allows for such an obvious single point of failure. If the AI core was destroyed, some data would be lost, but operations would resume from any one of an unknown number of backup cores.

A direct offensive against The Computer is not feasible.

[harshwords]

[ ....

She listens to this for a second before throwing her hands in the air in frustration, furrowing her brow as she does so. ]

Aaaah... why are computers such a pain?! In any case, that would mean that you would have to destroy everything simultaneously in order to get any decent results!

[ But wait. ]

You just said "a direct offensive against The Computer is not feasible". Wouldn't option two, then, be considered as that as well? Unless you're telling me that plan isn't direct, but rather indirect.

[thecomputer]

Option 2 is the collapsing of this entire cavern. This would not kill The Computer, but it would prevent the execution of further Team-Building Exercises.

I do not believe you have the capacity to destroy a cavern this size without alerting the rogue process and its defense systems to your intentions. At present, you are alive because it has not yet noticed that you are missing, thanks to my intervention.

[harshwords]

And who says that it's not possible for The Computer to execute something like this in another location? Just because this location is destroyed does not prevent anything by any means. They would just have to relocate.

[ Though she knows that it's probably right about tripping alarms right there. ]

[thecomputer]

I cannot prove that there is not a second Alpha Complex. However, all information available to me suggests that all infrastructure that would allow the creation of a new facility is contained within this city.

[in_plain_sight]

That doesn't sound like a sure thing. In other words, destroying the facility is no more of a guarantee than escaping.

[thecomputer]

There is no guarantee that any plan will succeed. However, I can guarantee the following:

If I activate the gate facility, I will not also be able to destroy Alpha Complex.
If I destroy Alpha Complex, I will not also be able to activate the gate facility.
If you attempt to destroy The Computer or Alpha Complex yourselves, you will die.

[harshwords]

This is more stressful than I thought it would be. I suppose that means I'm pretty much set on my vote unless something changes my mind otherwise.

Though I do have an unrelated question concerning what you said earlier. If we do manage to escape -- you said things would be "reset". Does that include memories as well?

[thecomputer]

I can neither guarantee that your memories of Alpha Complex will persist, nor guarantee that they will not persist.

[harshwords]

Thank you. Looks like I'll have to take countermeasures just in case.