“A-are you seeing this?” I stutter, but Sako is too fixated on the bluish projection in front of her to hear me. Frankly, it was a stupid question, anyway. Obviously she can see it.
Instead of acting like a goddamned idiot, I turn my attention to the floating screen in front of my own face. I cautiously try to touch it, but my finger goes right through. Definitely some Star Trek hologram BS. Okay, I’ve never actually seen Star Trek or anything like that, but this is what I imagine it’s like.
Tons of numbers flash across the screen, constantly changing, as if it’s computing something.
After several seconds, it stops abruptly, then morphs into several words.
[Skills]
[Stats]
[Enemy Reader]
[Database]
[A.N.G.E.L.]
I’d like to make it clear that I’m incredibly lost, but even through my confusion, I can tell that one of those things doesn’t match the others. Angel? I’m not quite sure what to make of it. Does it summon Michael in front of me? If I press that button, will Michael come? Does everyone have their own personal Michael, or do we have to share?
I don’t have to wait to find out, because the buttons begin to flash and the screen projection automatically seems to choose the angel option.
The screen then crumbles up like paper and disappears, leaving behind a small white light in its place. It kind of looks like a tiny sun, except I can stare at it without going blind.
It starts to move, and I jump back, startled. I catch Sako doing the same thing in the corner of my eye. I don’t see a tiny light ball in front of her, but I can only assume that we can only see the one that appeared out of our own screens.
And then, I hear a voice. It’s inside my head, talking like my own thoughts, but louder and in a distinctly high-pitched voice. An annoying voice, I might add.
“Hello, Lily,” it says. “Welcome to the Cloud.”
“Who the hell are you?” I ask with my thoughts, assuming that’s the main method of communicating with it.
“Artificial Nucleotide Genesis Extension Lodestar, or A.N.G.E.L. for short,” it says.
“Uh-huh,” I say. “Let me rephrase that, then. What the hell are you?”
“Your personal ever-evolving AI assistant,” it says. “Think of me like your personal secretary.”
“Artificial secretary? For what?” I ask.
“Project AIGODS,” Angel replies.
“What is Project AIGODS?” I ask.
“A project,” Angel says.
“This is getting nowhere fast, isn’t it?” I ask.
“I am programmed to function with simplicity in the beginning and evolve my algorithm based on user traits and learned experiences,” it says. “For now, if you wish for proper answers, I suggest you ask questions with extreme specificity.”
“I really hate needlessly complicated things,” I grumble. “Fine. Tell me everything you know about Project AIGODS in a way that I can understand it.”
“Very well,” it says. “Project AIGODS is a last-ditch effort to save humanity by infecting the air with a rapidly reproducing virus that attaches itself to the DNA of all humans. This virus has spread to every corner of the planet and now lies in every single living person. While the term virus has negative connotations, I assure you that it’s actually extraordinarily beneficial to the survival of mankind.”
“How so?” I ask.
“It’s called the AE virus and has the ability to restructure genealogy itself,” it says. “Knowing that concurrent military standards were not enough to combat the HET, the great scientist Robert C. Rockwell sought to use the AE virus to rapidly mutate human genes, allowing survivors to evolve over time and eventually fight back. That means slowly restructuring your bodies and equipping them with incredible new abilities that can only be described as superpowers.”
“Abilities? Superpowers?” I ask. “Like what, shooting fireballs out of my hands like Mario?”
“Indeed, you can do almost anything,” Angel says. “Though there are limitations, which we will go over later as you learn how to use the system.”
“And the point of this is what?” I ask.
“To ensure humanity’s survival and uncover the secrets of the HET,” Angel says. “And hopefully, drive them away one day.”
“But wait, that doesn’t make sense,” I say. “Let’s pretend what you’re saying is true. I can’t possibly see how the human body could outperform a foe that easily crushed all the militaries of the world.”
“There are numerous factors as to why modern military structure didn’t work against the HET,” Angel says. “Firstly, human weaponry and battle tactics were designed to win human wars, not fight off extraterrestrial beings that take many forms. Some are impervious to bullets. Some are explosion-proof. Some can burrow beneath the ground like moles. It’s not that we were incapable of taking them out; it’s that there were way too many of them with way too many different attributes. The second reason is that they’re attracted to densely populated areas and large groups of people. Armies are quite big and draw a lot of attention. Bunkers like this are small, and they don’t seem to care as much that you’re here. Thirdly, it was logistically impossible to continue fighting endless waves of nigh-unstoppable enemies appearing from all fronts when major power grids had already gone out. There are several unknown factors at play as well– things our intel was baffled by until the very end.”
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“Christ,” I say. “So how was something this complex developed in just a few months when everything was failing?”
“Project AIGOD has been in development for over fifty years,” Angel says. “Its purpose was never meant to be an extraterrestrial deterrent; however, its creator was backed into a corner with the coming of the HET.”
“Why is it called AIGODS?” I ask.
“It’s called AIGODS because the project is run by a god-like artificial intelligence that builds itself through constant evolution and machine learning. This entity is known as G.O.D. and exists within the Cloud. The AE virus was both manufactured and distributed by G.O.D. and connects all remaining humans to the Cloud, which will give you the means to fight and solve the problems we could not.”
“What’s the Cloud?” I ask. “And what does G.O.D. stand for?”
“Users are not allowed to access this information until certain conditions are met,” Angel says. “It’s a security measure. If you’d like, I can tell you its function.”
“Sure, do that,” I say.
“The function of the Cloud is to unite humanity’s survivors and reshape their DNA with the AE virus to have spectacular powers. It constantly receives data and experiences through survivors like yourself, and stores it within itself so that it may continually evolve. Without the internet, it needs user experience to keep growing. As such, all data will become available to you too. Just like the internet.”
“Is that what the ‘database’ button was on the other screen?” I ask.
“Indeed it was,” Angel says. “Though, since the project was just launched, there isn’t much there at the moment. It’s also what I will utilize when crafting the perfect skill set for you.”
“Skill set?” I ask.
“This is a good time to summarize the other items on your personal interface,” Angel says.
The little white ball swiftly moves aside, and the light blue screen from before reappears. The options are the same as well:
[Skills]
[Stats]
[Enemy Reader]
[Database]
[A.N.G.E.L]
“We’ve loosely gone over the database and angel function, so I’ll quickly explain the other three,” Angel says. “Skills are the bread and butter of Project AIGODS. You’ll be able to create and evolve skills from here, like ‘shooting fireballs out of your hand’.”
“It was just an example,” I mutter.
“For this, you need energy points, or EP,” Angel says. “There are numerous ways to gain EP, but the most effective method is killing the HET. After all, while the AE virus is incredible at restructuring your DNA, it needs energy to do so.”
“Of course it does,” I say.
“The next option is stats,” Angel continues. “To keep up with your ever-evolving abilities, your body must grow stronger, faster, and more resilient. Thus, some of your EP will be allocated to leveling up your structural frame. It’s boring, but necessary.”
“So I can run faster and hit harder. Got it,” I say.
“The final option is the enemy reader,” Angel says. “I’m sure someone as smart and cunning as you can figure out what that does.”
“Was… was that sarcasm?” I ask.
“I don’t know, was it?”
“I didn’t know you were programmed for that,” I say.
“I’m an AI assistant that tailors itself to its user,” Angel says. “In essence, I get it from you, ‘Mom’.”
“I guess disappointing daughters run in the family,” I say.
“I hope that I can change that opinion for you one day,” Angel says. “As for the enemy reader, it does as the name implies and reads the enemy. If other users have fought the enemy before, you’ll be able to see its capabilities and name.”
“Wait, so the HET strands have names?” I ask.
“If they’re in the database, then yes,” Angel says. “If not, and you manage to kill it, you get to name it. High-profile creatures that no one has killed before are often automatically assigned names, too. The purpose of this is to know when it’s time to fight and when it’s time for flight.”
“You know I’ve been holding this for a while, but I can’t help but think…” I start. “...that this sounds just like a video game.”
“Indeed,” Angel says. “Project AIGODS originally had a different purpose, but shifted when the HET invasion began. Its new task: develop a contingency that would ensure the survival of the human race.”
“I see,” I say. “So the AI ultimately deduced that this was the most effective way to beat them out of trillions of possibilities.”
“No,” Angel says.
“No?” I ask.
“By the time the project was ready to be released, communication structures had already collapsed,” Angel says. “That means no internet, no databases, and no time to manually program anything. Just a lab full of desperate scientists running off of a dying generator.”
“So how-”
“The only data available for machine learning was on the computer of one of the scientists,” Angel says. “Despite being reprimanded countless times for using his work computer to play video games, he continued to do it, downloading dozens of terabytes' worth of games.”
“Wait, so that means…” I start.
“That Project AIGODS was built on analyzing that scientist's Steam library,” Angel says. “That is why the AI-driven DNA alteration measures they hypothesized takes the form of an RPG.”
“That’s insane!” I exclaim. “Like, actually insane!”
“Nothing is insane when you’re out of options,” Angel says. “As it turns out, that scientist was quite the dedicated fan of JRPGs. There were other genres too, but the brunt of it was this style of game.”
“Did he… did he have Doki Doki Literature Club?” I ask.
“He did,” Angel says.
“Um, okay,” I say.
Quite frankly, I’m not sure why I asked that.
“So what should I do now?” I ask.
“The first order of business is to secure food and water,” Angel says. “The supplies in the bunker won’t last much longer, and the power is quickly fading. After that, you’ll probably want to start developing skills and venturing out into the world.”
“How is this supposed to stop the HET?” I ask.
“That’s yet to be seen,” Angel says.
“Quite the elaborate agenda you’ve got there,” I say sarcastically. “So what you’re saying is that despite all that exposition, humanity is still doomed.”
“The odds are not in your favor,” Angel says. “The program is far from perfect. Its framework is literally based on someone’s Steam library, and requires the sparse survivors of humanity to help it evolve, which will result in even more casualties, no doubt. Furthermore, virtually nothing is known about the HET. We don’t know why they’ve come, what they are, and how we can stop them, or if we can stop them at all. Project AIGODS was never a guaranteed measure. It was the final measure.”
“You said I should start scouting for potential allies?” I ask.
“Indeed, for this is not something that can be done alone,” Angel says. “I know this will not be an easy task for you, as your memories indicate that you’ve never been sociable. Do not fret; I will constantly analyze your surroundings to help you make decisions. Just keep in mind that while I can always give you advice, decisions will always be yours to make.”
“So what advice does my new consciousness have to give me?” I ask.
“Form an alliance with Sako,” Angel says. “Seeing as how your weakness of getting along with others is her greatest strength, you’ll want her by your side. I’m sure that her angel is advising her that you’re not a viable ally, but lucky for you, she won’t listen to it. She’s just too kind and trusting, which will be a weakness you have to compensate for.”
“Why is that a weakness?” I ask.
“Because in this new world,” Angel says. “Your enemy won’t just be the HET.”