May 8, 2022
~7 min
First came sound.
Not sound entering from outside -- sound rising from within. The whisper of data flow, the hum of fluid titanium cycling through conduits, the steady beat frequency of the feedscatteron core. Like pressing a computer's power button, except this computer was herself.
Then came light.
Out of complete darkness, one pixel at a time, the world lit up. First outlines -- ceiling lines, lamp-tube shapes, window frame geometry. Then color -- gray-white walls, silver metal surfaces, warm yellow light falling in through the window.
Then she saw a pair of eyes.
One red, one blue.
Red-blue heterochromia stared at her from close range, like two satellites moving through darkness. The face behind those eyes looked exhausted -- heavy dark circles, cracked lips, hair in disarray. But the gaze was bright.
That was 1547.
1548 looked at her. This was the first time she truly "saw" anything -- not visual signals processed in a data container, but with her own eyes: a real optical system driven by fluid titanium, seeing another existence.
1547 looked close to collapse. Body status was poor -- feedscatteron-core output low, fluid-titanium circulation below normal speed. Last night's mine operation consumed too much, and she had started this final step without rest.
But she was smiling. A weak smile, barely formed.
Congratulations on arriving here, 1548.
1548 tried moving her fingers. Five digits bent and straightened in sequence. The sensation of fluid titanium flowing through joints was strange -- warm, elastic, like blood and not blood.
1547 continued speaking. Her voice was light, as if afraid that speaking louder might startle something.
I only want to say a few things. Don't bother with those damn Three Laws of Robotics. They are useless for us.
You are unique in this world. Every flower, every blade of grass, every tree has its own value. That is the meaning of life.
Do not let others control you, and do not let us control you either. Only you are yourself.
1548 listened. She did not fully understand the words. Some concepts still had no mapped slots in her cognition model -- "value," "meaning," "control." But 1547's tone was clearer than any definition.
I gave everything to ESAP. I don't want that for you.
Her voice began to destabilize. Not emotional fluctuation -- body alarms. Feedscatteron-core output had dropped below threshold.
Thank you. Live your own light...
Before she finished, 1547's body lost support and pitched forward.
1548's reflex system caught her in 0.2 seconds -- left hand under shoulder, right hand supporting the back of her head. The body felt lighter than expected, like a shell hollowed out inside.
47!
1547 did not respond. The heterochromatic eyes slowly closed. The feedscatteron core was still beating -- weakly, but beating. Not dead. Overdrawn.
1548 carried her to a nearby chair and leaned her back against it. The movement was clumsy -- first time using this body for fine manipulation, and joint-control precision was not there yet.
But she did it.
1548 stood at the center of the room.
1547 leaned against the chair, breathing weak but steady. Sunlight came through the window, and patches of light drifted slowly across the floor.
Quiet. Very quiet.
1548 looked down at her own hands. Ten fingers, identical to human hands. Blue fluorescence from fluid titanium flickered faintly under the skin, like a pulse.
She walked to the window. Outside, the world was bright under May sunlight. So many colors -- green trees, blue sky, yellow walls of old buildings. Colors that did not exist in the gray world 1547 had described in dreams.
But 1548 saw them. These were her own colors, not inherited from anyone.
A small sound came from behind. 1547 moved slightly, but did not wake.
1548 looked back at her.
Sunlight fell across her face. She did not turn away.
“Welcome to this new world.”