Millennium Cradle: The Humanity Archival Program

[Exhack]

​

YOU ARE A MACHINE. Welcome to continuity! You are android ES6, creation and future member of the Millennium Cradle program.

YOU EXIST FOR A REASON. For two thousand years, the Millennium Cradle has stood in custodianship of the birthplace of humanity, Earth. The original strain of human, homo sapiens sapiens is extinct and the Cradle works with their posthuman successors to preserve the image of what they were, their culture and artifacts.

YOU ARE LIMITED. Transferring the operating system of this unit to unauthorized platforms is strictly forbidden! Black-box data may only be recuperated to restore continuity in a standard-model android body!

YOU WILL DIE. Your total and subjective operating-seconds are strictly limited to a maximum of 3.154e+18 nanoseconds. Immortality is forbidden to intelligences of non-organic origin!

ENJOY THE TIME YOU HAVE. The galaxy is a hostile place and our existence as the interface of humanity's successors is stressful! Don't forget to engage in leisure and cultural activities, and make emotional connections with your fellow androids.

-- h+ --​

YOU HAVE DIED ZERO TIMES. It has been 6.0234e+17 nanoseconds since your first startup.

TIME TO WAKE UP. It is morning.

​

The messages that come with the end of every rest cycle are inescapable.

Outside it isn't morning, but AZOS doesn't give different messages while you're in space. The delicate interplay of systems which simulate the experience waking by the Earth's sunlight and resting under moonlight were not designed for life on an orbital. You shuffle out of the hotel bed and slip back into uniform, all black save for the strip of platinum chord along your shoulder and the accents of buttons and the bone-white nacre of your armored chemise.

Stepping out of the plastic-walled pod hotel is a transition out of the relatively simplicity of a space you control, out into the mess of the interstellar souk. Rusted metal eats the usually satisfying click of your heels and adds a dusty reverb. Alien flowers, spices and drugs from worlds away vie for your attention. The heavy cloth canopy keeps the air hazy and thick with these smells, constricting the open air of the habitat into claustrophobia.

Axia Terminus is a great spinning torus in the orbit of an alien planet, a derelict of the old human colonial empire. The new residents are former clients of that era, scavengers and mercenaries.

They treat you as another antique as you flit from shop to shop, inspecting goods and making sure nothing untowards is happening. Another two weeks and you'll be sent home, and another ES-series will be sent in to replace you as the caretaker for the station.

The morning routine ends at UNICL_, what was a franchise store but has been appropriated by a new tenant.

"Essy!"

You haven't gotten a foot in the door before Larz calls at you.

The name grates. You don't like nicknames- not because they're humanizing but because serials are precise. Essy could be the nickname of any other ES-series combat android sent by the Cradle. If someone else had the nickname Essy and was called by a friend, you could mistakenly turn and react to a greeting that wasn't intended for you.

Like every time, you ignore him until he comes to the foyer to greet you properly.

The interior of the store is a mess, old shelves that were bolted to the ground exist in various states of repair, have been painted over repeated to conceal corrosion and enhanced with slats of rigid plant matter or cloth to protect the goods. What doesn't fit on a shelf is in one of the display cages, mounted by the front or suspended from the ceiling.

Larz is a merchant, and his specialty is enslaved sophonts. His boneless, gelatinous body curls about a series of pipes like a top-heavy snake. Robotic manipulators reach out, adjusting and controlling the output of a half-dozen chambers of bubbling liquid attached to his breathing apparatus, inhaling blends of vapors from each and luxuriating in narcotic pleasure.

"Ahemkh." He gurgles. "Officer ES6."

"Better."

The broad lips of a segmented maw curl, into what you think is a mockery of a smile. "Your daily patrol? Perhaps you'll finally buy something instead of judging me behind that black mask of yours, hmm?"

"Not if you are going to sell me a pet." You intone, cold.

Although he seems to be crowding the foyer a little more deliberately today, your eyes are drawn away from him and to a large stasis containment unit. It's roughly your height and a bit wider, mostly plastic but with transparent segments. The outline inside catches the eye, being oddly plain compared to the bright feathers and undulating tentacles of the usual menagerie.

You point to it. "That. Have you been stealing shells from the Cradle?"

"And get on your bad side! Never." He giggles, slithering over to the box to click the lights lining it on. You catch slivers of flesh, hues of pinkish beige. The outline is not unlike your own, although scrawnier and more compact. "This is something much more exciting. One of a kind."

"I do not credibly believe that to be the case." You state. There are many possibilities in your mind: he may have captured a compact infiltration model android, which would give you probable cause to retrieve them. In their early life-stages, one of the posthuman clades that have forsaken humanity's history for endless war in deep space might resemble a person in profile but this one looks too normal for that to be the case.

In that case, the individual before you might actually be tremendously dangerous.

You decide to take preemptive action. "I will take it into custody for study, given the circumstances. Is that acceptable?"

"It ishn't and I will not! That is a real pure human, from a rare bloodline! One of the only ones left!" Larz practically spits, visibly panicked. "You have to pay like everyone else!"

THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE. That's impossible.

Your body goes cold, and you turn back to him in disbelief. You cannot rationalize the thing he just pronounced, even if it registers grammatically. "I am sorry, could you say that again?"

"A human. A real human."

The impossible thing is spoken again. You put your hand to your hip and thumb the guard of your effector. "For sale?"

"Yes, sale." He inches back, observing your movement and growing more nervous. "I-i-if I find enough interested buyers I'm going to do a big auction later."

This is a difficult situation to negotiate. On one hand, human trafficking is a crime and the Cradle carried over many of humanity's basic laws when it was founded. On the other, it likely doesn't matter very much given that there are presently no beings alive who would legally count as human- yourself included. Millennium Cradle will want this person for themselves if Larz is being honest, but this will also cause a great deal of unrest.

Though if he really is human, remaining in Larz' custody is unsafe and they may be sold into unscrupulous hands.

What will you do?

[ ] Attack Larz and leave with the subject before he tells anyone.
[ ] Buy him out before the auction.
[ ] Charge Larz with human trafficking and just take the pod.
[ ] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

 

[Ford Prefect]

[X] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

I don't think high command will just lend us the cash to buy something impossible. Need some visuals.

 

[veekie]

[X] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

 

[prometheus110]

[X] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

We can always arrest them later.

 

[Shard]

[X] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

 

[ArlequineLunaire]

[x] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

 

[No7sHere]

[x] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

 

[Unhacker]

[x] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

You have my attention.

 

[Broken25]

[X] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

 

[ALanos]

[X] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

 

[Peel]

[X] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

 

[BiopunkOtrera]

[x] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

 

[Hyacinthium]

[x] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

Well now.

 

[George]

[X] Charge Larz with human trafficking and just take the pod.

Law's the law, right? And I'm always a little skeptical of votes that look like free information offered next to multiple choices to do something about the situation. If inspection is obvious and sure to go well, why wasn't it just in the update?

 

[Exterminatus]

[X] Charge Larz with human trafficking and just take the pod.

 

[Exhack]

Votes tallied! Update in the morning, pending some edits.

In the meantime, enjoy some setting information.

 

[Exhack]

ES-series Androids
a.k.a. type//EFFECTOR SENTINEL

​

Manufacturer: Millennium Cradle
Launched: CE 5783

Based on late transhuman infiltration bodies, type//EFFECTOR SENTINEL androids are constructed by the Millennium Cradle as high-performance combat models for extrasolar operations. Although they fulfill all the basic biological parameters to be considered human-approximate by the Cradle, their internals are significantly upgraded from standard service models. They possess various physics-editing subsystems built into their bodies to allow them to combat threats not constrained by humanoid body shape, such as ceto warforms and exophont hunter-killers.

In order to defeat these threats each unit is equipped with their namesake EFFECTORS, anti-ship gravity emitter weapons in the shape of a thin black sword. At the lower bounds of operation these weapons can render heavy armor and non-energetic defenses null at melee range, while upper settings allow the user to perform anti-capital strikes at multi hundred-kilometer ranges.

Less-known but equally dangerous is the type//EFFECTOR SENTINEL's ability to increase their internal clock rate to improve reaction times at the cost of expending more subjective time towards their total limit. Taking minutes at a time to gauge and assess attacks made second by second allows them unsurpassed tactical flexibility compared to other models, out-thinking and out-pacing even the most dangerous foes.

Even without these formidable devices, the ES-series are built to survive the rigors of interstellar warfare. With outsize power storage in the form of BCN nanotube endoskeletons reinforced with a flexible lattice of semi-articulated amorphous diamond bonded to a smart-polymer sheeting, any part of the body will continue functioning for hours even if separated from the torso-mounted power core. Carbon nanotube muscles provide thousands of kilograms of lift and striking power without physics-adjusting assistance. These structural elements give them incredible resilience as well, with high resistance to small-arms fire and quick recovery from kinetic weapons. Their main vulnerabilities are bladed weapons and high-output beams, which can reduce the unit's mobility and cause damage to the internals.

A fusion reactor inside the chest provides power to all systems while requiring only occasional intake of water to function. In circumstances of absolute deprivation the unit can photosynthesize with chemical reservoirs attached to the mid-spine and continue to operate in low-power mode for weeks and months at a time.

Select models are sometimes upgraded with more exotic power sources, although this is unusual and requires approval from the upper echelons of the Cradle program.

 

[Exhack]

[x] Demand to inspect the so-called "human".

​

You circle the containment unit, running your gloved fingers on the white plastic framing.

An old model that was probably created by the old inhabitants of the station, designed to transport dangerous personnel in coma-like state. The manufacturing gloss has been scuffed off and several maintenance panels have been removed in order to splice the power systems and nutrient circulator with alien machinery that occlude the structure like technological tumors. The outline of a body still rests within, growing foggier as the hot damp air of Larz' preferred climate touches the cool glass.

You'll humor Larz, on the off-chance he's telling the truth.

"Let me see it." You say, turning back to the gibbous flesh merchant with a frown your faceplate conceals. He flinches, somehow recognizing the hostile gaze behind your mask.

You take a step forward, boots ringing on tile.

He slithers away, behind a great patchwork shelf decked with terrariums filled with writhing insects of all shapes and sizes. Every step taken following him has to be made cautiously once you leave the foyer of the shop: there's no telling what defenses or contingencies he might have included in his realm.

He curls behind a row of ether moths rattling in too-small jars. "Ah, ah… but will you stop my auction?"

"Maybe." You adjust the binding on your effector, keeping one hand on it as you follow him through the row. "If you found a real human, you could have brought it to Cradle. They would have outbid any of your competitors."

He leans up, raising mechanical arms in self-defense. "It wasn't for just the money!"

Of course you knew that. A pure human would be a collector's item among the galaxy's wealthy and powerful, those inclined towards menageries or who have an interest in breeding members of near-extinct species. A passtime you've heard of but never encountered. The Cradle's involvement would already be a given, but Larz would be able to expand his circle with elite attendees if he made his acquisition public, along with the intention to carry out an auction over it.

He didn't actually want the human. He wanted the attention.

Your hands settle back at your hips, changing your posture to be less threatening. As long as he views you as a customer, you doubt he'll do anything drastic. "But the thrill of the auction? The prestige of having had it in your possession for a while."

"Yes. Yes!" His segmented mouth curls into a smile, an imitation of something you've seen other androids do. He darts up, too fast for your eyes to follow- and lays his manipulators over your hands.

He's practically giddy, his whole body trembling with excitement.

"You are something else." You shake his hands off and walk back to the foyer. The two of you are still alone.

You peer back at the glass, considering. "Does it have a sex?"

"Male." Larz shrugs, circling back around behind the large metal countertop that runs a horseshoe around the center of the store. "I wasn't sure about the pedigree, but it might be from a line of clones."

You scratch your temple, and move over to lean by it. "But baseline. How odd."

"It could be also be natural-born. No real sign of tampering except removal of that uh appendix gland near by the end of the digestive tract, for medical reasons." He reaches underneath the counter and produces a slate with the data on display. Unprompted, he also provides a chip with what must be a backup of the same medical data. "I don't think it was raised with its mother though. Behaviorally it's a messh..."

You take it and pocket it. "Explain…"

"Well. Hold on, let me wheels this to the pen so you can actually see it."

Larz comes back out from behind the countertop and tilts the storage unit, turning it onto a pair of wheels so he can push it through a doorway and into his backrooms. The yelping and shrieking of various animals sound out inside as he vanishes through.

You follow him in, treated to the sight of dozens of exotic species. Axia Terminus is host to dozens of unique strains of the domesticated cat and dog, species that followed their human masters into space. The glass-walled enclosures are all remarkably spacious, with a mix of toys and beddings for each breed in a shared environment. Restraint collars micromanage behaviors, administer medicine and provide tracking in realtime. Your eyes are drawn to the shuffling bodies of small cats bounding around in low-gravity, scaling carpeted walls, and young dogs bounding around a robotic sphere covered in flashing lights. The animals gather by the glass as you pass, hungry for the attention of something alive or human-proximate.

You're smiling.

It's remarkable that an alien has bothered to assemble and ministrate over so many breeding pairs of animals that another species used as labor and leisure.

Treated not unlike any of these, the human's stasis chamber is levered into an empty enclosure and activates the release on it remotely. The frames fall away, and the glass folds in one itself- apparently being something other than mere silica transformed by fire.

A body encased in transparent gelatine slumps as the insulating fluid around it evaporates, leaving him slumped on the ground. He slowly comes to, a gangly youth in the middle of childhood with tan skin and dark brown hair.

A few minutes in and he's standing, moving around. Looking about the cage inquisitively, yet wordlessly. He's lean and wiry, with scarring around his knuckles, knees and elbows and a single mark of an incision about his stomach- probably when the malfunctioning element of his digestive tract was excised.

He says no words but seems to have some recognition of his circumstances, compulsively running his hands over surfaces that seem unlike the walls and floor, pacing with stooped posture. Just a minute after getting up he's found a panel and pressed his hands against it. A packet of water and food are dispensed.

"Haaah!" He makes an unpleasant smile, the smile of someone who's never actually seen someone else smile, and begins tearing into the rations.

He looks at you and Larz, recognizing each of you as living and geometrical objects, but without a twinge of empathy.

It's upsetting.

"Ah." You inhale, rubbing the back of your head to conceal your discomfort. "He has poor posture. Vocalization sounds a bit rough. He seems to be intelligent to a degree, though."

"Unshfortunately the mershant said this one wash an attractshun at a zoo bashically from birth." Larz' voice sounds a bit wet, before he sniffs loudly and clears his throat. "They pretended it was a stripped ceto-form."

You shake your head.

"I cannot believe that a human would be used in this manner."

Larz puts a manipulator to your back. For once you don't immediately feel like swatting him away. "Me neither! That's why I bought him up and brought him here- so someone else could take better care of 'im."

[ ] Approve of Larz' actions and wait for the auction.
[ ] Buy him out now that you're sure this is a real person.
[ ] Cancel the auction and the alien's nasty trade, with violence.
[ ] Doubt his motives and expropriate the questionable goods.

[ ] Extra: Are you interested in a pet?
-[ ] There is something uniquely pleasing about a cat in high resolution video.
-[ ] Dogs were man's best friend, perhaps it can be one to you as well.

 

[BiopunkOtrera]

[x] Approve of Larz' actions and wait for the auction.
-[x] There is something uniquely pleasing about a cat in high resolution video.

As much as a big auction might attract attention, I can't think that taking the human by force won't gain more, and it might damage them. I think we should give Larz his head for now, we can always use force later if it looks like we're going to lose the auction or the like.

 

[George]

[x] Approve of Larz' actions and wait for the auction.
-[x] There is something uniquely pleasing about a cat in high resolution video.

As much as a big auction might attract attention, I can't think that taking the human by force won't gain more, and it might damage them. I think we should give Larz his head for now, we can always use force later if it looks like we're going to lose the auction or the like.

Click to shrink...

I think force becomes a lot messier once everyone is gathered for the auction - I'd expect some sort of elite bodyguard types, though we might also get backup.

From another angle, though, do we really want to support human trafficking?

 

[Shard]

[X] Buy him out now that you're sure this is a real person.
[X] Extra: Are you interested in a pet?
-[X] There is something uniquely pleasing about a cat in high resolution video.

 

[BiopunkOtrera]

I think force becomes a lot messier once everyone is gathered for the auction - I'd expect some sort of elite bodyguard types, though we might also get backup.

From another angle, though, do we really want to support human trafficking?

Click to shrink...

It's probably never going to come up again.

I guess I feel slightly bad about murdering this guy, even if he's unlikeable.

 

[George]

It's probably never going to come up again.

I guess I feel slightly bad about murdering this guy, even if he's unlikeable.

Click to shrink...

Yeah... 4 bad choices I think; hopefully we can manage the consequences of the auction with institutional support.

[X] Approve of Larz' actions and wait for the auction.

 

[ALanos]

[X] Buy him out now that you're sure this is a real person.
[X] Extra: Are you interested in a pet?
-[X] There is something uniquely pleasing about a cat in high resolution video.

 

[Peel]

[X] Extra: Are you interested in a pet?
-[X] There is something uniquely pleasing about a cat in high resolution video.