The Nomad leaders were silent for a long time, their eyes going wide, and their jaws hanging open as they stared past me at the massive expanse of purple and red trees. This sort of thing did not exist on Earth, even on the few places that have survived relatively intact through the many global catastrophes. Between population increase, pollution, and ecosystem failure, forests like this, even barring the strange color, were long gone.
It was too real to be faked, and there was no way this was on Earth.
As they stared, shocked into silence, I barely resisted the urge to turn around and look over the massive expanse of plant life, mostly because I had already seen it.
Samwise and his assistants had managed to send out around fifty probes over the span of a few days, basically sending them out as they were completed, at least after the first thirty. The previous afternoon, the first unmanned ships we had sent were reaching their destinations, flying through their target systems, and sending data back home. So far, twenty-three systems had been scanned, but only one world, Avalon, had been a garden world.
Honestly, I was a bit shocked it had happened so quickly. I had expected to be two, maybe even three hundred drones into the project before we would finally find a garden world. I had assumed we would find a world that was just barely survivable, that we could force into something we could live on with brute-force UNSC terraforming tech. I expected to invest some serious time and effort just to make small portions of a world like that habitable, but we could have done it.
Instead, we had found a world with air that was nineteen percent oxygen and seventy-nine point five percent nitrogen, remarkably similar to Earth. The remaining cocktail contained a few interesting gases, but nothing dangerous to humans. Even better, there was water, including several large oceans, and the temperature around the globe ranged greatly, with nothing overtly insane. Our scans showed its orbit was stable, and while its rotation was slow with thirty-hour days, it was near-perfect for human settlement.
The oxygen was a little low, just a few percentage points below Earth's, but Noah already had plans for that. A few massive protomatter conversion plants on the ocean would slowly convert massive amounts of water into pure oxygen at an astoundingly high conversion rate. Over a year, it would convert a tiny, nearly infinitesimal percentage of the ocean's water, while moving slowly around the connected oceans, distributing the higher oxygen content as it went. The project would start after we confirmed no mega organisms were hiding in the water.
In the meantime, we could compensate on a smaller, more personal scale.
The original plan for this meeting was to set up in a sealed viewing platform on a planet we found earlier, which we would then teleport into from the Ridge. Instead, when Samwise informed me they had found Avalon, we quickly moved the destination. The morning preparation had involved bouncing back and forth a bit, preparing the announcement, and getting used to the scenery so that I could maintain a cool, calm outlook.
I won't pretend that stepping on an alien planet for the first time, looking out at the forest, hadn't made me more than a little emotional, enough to drop me to my knees and shed a few tears, despite piloting an ALEO doppelganger.
Finally, after nearly a minute of silence, one of the nomads stood up. For a moment, I thought she was going to sprint towards the forest, which the two Spartans acting as my guards would have prevented. We already had around fifty Spartans spread out through the forest, setting up a perimeter, making sure nothing dangerous was sneaking up on us. So far, they hadn't spotted anything really impressive beyond a few smaller critters, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Thankfully, though, the nomad woman didn't run, instead she just pointed out over the massive, sprawling, seemingly endless forest. They struggled to form words, their mouth moving, but no sound came out, until eventually they managed to speak.
"Trees?" They finally asked, the word coming out like it had been forced from them with a plunger. "Forest?!"
Somehow, just those two forced words were enough to break everyone free of their stun lock, and they all started talking at once. Some shouted, some whispered, and others prayed to whatever god or gods they believed in, but none of them were calm, and all of them were still wide-eyed. It took me a few minutes to finally get them to settle back into their seats.
"Yes, I understand how insane this must seem," I said, gesturing for them to all calm down. "But I assure you, this is all real. I can answer any questions you have, as long as you ask them one at a time."
For a moment, the silence returned. Then, as if some instinct told them this was how to get my attention, one of Jones's leaders raised his hand. When I looked at him and nodded, he opened his mouth, only to cough and clear his throat.
"Where are we?" He asked simply when his cough had passed. "Where have you taken us?"
"We are currently sixty-three light-years away from Earth, in a star system previously only named with a few numbers and letters," I explained easily. "There are a few other planets in this system, and the sun is stable, just a tad bigger than our own. Since we were the first people to set foot on this planet, we decided to name it Avalon."
"How… So this is real?" Someone else asked, and when I gave them a look with a raised eyebrow, they raised their hand and repeated the question.
"Yes, this is all real," I assured them with a nod. "Before anyone asks, I developed a teleportation system that works regardless of distance or barriers. We sent out a bunch of probes, equipped with FTL, of course, sent them out, hunting for habitable planets, and this is our first garden world."
I pointed to someone else who had raised their hand, and the group seemed to understand the pattern.
"Why?"
"For a lot of reasons. Resources, security, good old-fashioned expansionism," I responded. "Plus, I wanted to expand to the stars, and once I developed the technology to do so, why would I not?"
"And you want us to explore this planet?" Another leader asked, dutifully raising his hand first. "What are you expecting us to find that you can't?"
"I want you to start by exploring this planet," I responded, correcting the assumption. "I'm hoping to expand and explore at least a few garden worlds like this one, as well as industrialize a few more. I have this tentative idea to house people and keep non-factory jobs on garden worlds, while having industries that pollute the environment safely tucked away on worlds less populated by life."
"And people would travel back and forth via teleportation?" Alexander guessed, and I couldn't help but nod.
"Exactly. Who cares if we pollute a planet like Mars?" I responded with a shrug. "It's already dead, and too difficult to reasonably terraform compared to other planets. Better to invest my time in better ways."
"You haven't explained what you want us to look for."
"On garden worlds, I'm looking for good places to establish cities, an understanding of the wildlife, potential dangers, potential natural wonders, hell, I even want to know if there are any edible plants or animals," I explained, being mostly honest. "On worlds destined for industry, I'm hoping for resources, mostly valuable sources of elements and the like."
In truth, there were two additional things I was keeping closer to my chest. Everything I said was true, but I also wanted them out, away from Earth, looking for intelligent life, whether it was alive or dead. I was relatively sure that there were no canon aliens in the base Cyberpunk universe, but I had no way of knowing if that would remain true. It was sort of like looking for a needle in a haystack, when you weren't even sure if the needle was even there in the first place, but you have to look anyway because if you don't, it might stab you in the foot later.
I also wanted the nomads off the Earth, just in case. As morbid as it was, this whole plan of making the world mine was most likely going to end in a whole lot of violence. While I would do everything I could to keep civilian casualties to a minimum, the corporations had no such scruples. After seeing all of the weapons in orbit aimed down at the planet, having a few dozen thousand people off planet, just in case, was not a completely unwarranted precaution.
The conversation continued, focusing on what exactly I was looking for and what they could expect. We even started discussing just what sort of equipment and resources I would be providing them. They were very surprised to hear that I would happily provide aircraft for them to travel across the planets, and even between them. Eventually, the conversation moved on, and one of the younger leaders raised his hand.
"Why us?" He asked. "Why, not just use your fancy robots instead?"
"Because you are a group that revels in moving, constantly traveling across the country," I explained. "You are also a group I can at least trust not to be driven by the same expansionist desires as a corporation would be. At this point, every adult member of the nomads is a nomad because they want to be. That sort of commonality is not as frequent as you would think. Also, I had an in with you through Dakota Smith and the Aldecaldos."
Unsurprisingly, the conversation continued for a while, past a full hour and well into a second one. Eventually, I had everyone sit back down before teleporting us all back to the Rocky Ridge, where a generous lunch was already waiting for us. That managed to distract the group for a while, the nomad leaders falling onto the buffet like eager children. As they did, I let out a smirk.
"I should point out that, if you agree, then we will be supplying you with food," I pointed out. "You and all of your people will be able to enjoy this kind of food every day."
I couldn't help but chuckle as that statement broke through everyone's veneer of mistrust better than anything else I had said so far. Eventually, when everyone had finished eating, I brought everyone down to a meeting room inside the meeting hall, where a more conventional presentation was waiting. A few people were disappointed that we weren't going back, but I needed a way to show off images of what I would be setting them up with.
While I was likely sleeping, Samwise had designed a series of vehicles for the project, though the designs were still mutable, just in case the leaders or their people had any input. They were basically beefed-up pelicans, which could carry their vehicles around, allowing them to move from place to place, explore local sights, then return to a central point.
"So, let me get this straight," One of the Aldecaldo leaders said, as my presentation paused for a moment. "You want our entire family, all of our many groups, to travel through your teleports to these new worlds, to travel on your ships, to inspect and explore these planets so that you can turn them into human settlements and factories."
"Thats the general idea," I agreed with a nod."
"What's in it for us?" He asked, looking almost accusatory. "We would essentially be working for you, and while the idea of exploring other planets is… mind-boggling, we would still need something in return."
"Honestly, what I am offering you is a bit of a partnership," I explained. "My hope is that you see this for what it is, a way to finally break free of the last chains between you and the Corporations. Now that doesn't mean you would own the planets, or the places that you discover, but you would have free rein over the planet, and I would do my best to provide you with everything you need."
"So we would be trading one chain for another?" someone asked, sounding unhappy. They were about to continue when Dakota cut him off.
"I believe that Jay has at least earned the benefit of the doubt," she countered with a frown. "Not only has he already cut some of our chains, but he has also proven to be an honest and trustworthy sponsor. He takes care of his people, and this, this is an opportunity to become his people. Not as subject, but as partners."
"Yes, absolutely," I agreed, giving Dakota a thankful look. "This is me offering you an opportunity. I don't want to control you, I want to offer you something new, something exciting that is part of the world changing."
The group shared a lot of looks, some interested, some hesitant, and others with controlled looks that purposely hid what they thought.
"Perhaps we could have some time to discuss this offer?" Dakota suggested, the others nodding rapidly and eagerly in agreement. "I'm sure you understand the gravity of it."
"Sure, by all means, take a few days," I said, nodding before gesturing with a tilt of my head for Riggs and Samwise to follow me out. "Feel free to stay here, or return to the campground and talk there. You can send me a message when you've made up your mind. I just ask that you keep this to yourselves. For obvious reasons, this is an incredible secret, one I plan on keeping for some time."
After a few more words, we left the nomads to their own devices. It seemed like a move of trust, but I already knew that Mary was continuously watching over them, watching them like a hawk. Every phone was hacked, every bit of cyberware was compromised. If any of them so much as tried to whisper about this to someone outside the ridge, she would keep it quiet.
Then I would step in.
Rather than heading down to the ground floor, I rode the elevator back to the roof. I quickly made my way to the chairs and used them to teleport back to Avalon. We had more official teleports set up, of course, but they were back at the teleport hub, so this was easier.
Standing on the hill, looking over the massive purple and red forest that seemed to spread on for miles, I finally stopped trying to control the wide grin that stretched my face. We had done it, we had settled on a distant planet, far from Earth. Already an army of MRVN units, armed with excavation tools and prepared to build, were digging into the planet, starting to build a vault. This spot was chosen specifically as a place with solid bedrock, far from any tectonic activity, meaning it was stable and tough.
Noah was confident that, with all of the resources that Samwise had prepared, a full vault, a replica of what we were already living in, could be built in just over two weeks. At that point, we would move everyone over and clear out the old vault, leaving it as a backup location, though technically we already had a second vault for that.
"This is incredible, isn't it?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at Samwise and Riggs. "An entirely different planet, and we are already settling it. And not just something in our system, where we can't step out of the protective bubble, but a whole new garden world, with who knows what kind of secrets spread over its surface."
"We are certainly making fast progress," Samwise agreed. "I'm looking forward to what happens next."
"How is the progress of the factory world?" I asked, scanning the horizon as I breathed in the clean, living air. "Is the expansion going well?"
As we were inspecting planets, we quickly found one whose atmosphere was negligible, and its surface was barren. In fact, all of the planets in its system, all eight of them, were all the same. I quickly designated that as our new production work, and we landed on its surface. This would not be a factory world, where we sent real people to work, but rather a fully automated production system spanning the whole planet and perhaps beyond. At the moment, only a small part of our Earthly production was being used to build it, as I needed most of it for my current and future Night City projects, but it was only a matter of time before we reached planetary levels of production.
I was curious to find out how long it took us to affect the planet's gravity by converting its mass into whatever we needed to build.
"It will likely be some time before the first five facilities are ready to turn on and take over further expansion," Sam responded, referring to the planetside production facilities that our Earth-bound facilities were slowly constructing. "Once they do, we will begin construction on surface-level, large-scale assemblers for starships."
I nodded in understanding before taking one last deep breath, enjoying the smell of the alien planet. It wasn't exactly perfect, with a hint of rotting leaves at the end of every deep breath, but that's what made it so amazing. It was the smell of life, of a stable ecosystem that was alive and grinding away.
"Alright, I'm going to head home, take a good look at the tech tree. I only have a few hours before I need to go back under for the last stage of the enhancements," I said, smiling at Sam, patting his shoulder. "Well done getting this all done in time for the presentation."
"Of course," He responded, a thumbs up appearing on the screen on his chest. "Jay… perhaps we could set up a picnic for the group here? Once you and Jackie are on your feet."
"Thats a good idea… and I just realized I haven't told anyone that we found a garden world," I said, wincing at the realization. "... yeah, probably shouldn't try the same move I did on the nomads on them, Gloria might kill me. I'll send out a message. Good idea."
"I will have the MRVNs set up a small eating area," Samwise responded. "Any requests?"
"Just a sitting area and something to keep the rain off of us, just in case," I said, with a shrug, trusting his skills. "Thanks, Sam, I would be lost without you."
"Most likely."
I chuckled as Riggs, my Spartan escort, and I teleported back to Rocky Ridge, heading down to the ground floor and making our way to the parking garage and the teleport hub underneath. The Spartans peeled off to do their own thing, and Riggs went to find something to do while I was safe in the bunker.
When I arrived at my apartment, I had my ALEO doppelganger power down in my office chair while I had some lunch. While I ate, I mentally explored my latest tech tree. Or more specifically, I explored what I considered the most pertinent part of the Westworld tech tree, the hosts.
My assumption was that, since Westworld seemed to focus so much on the hosts and the park, at least as far as I knew, that was likely to be where the more interesting tech would be. My free time for the day was limited, and I wanted to focus on what would hopefully give me the biggest payout.
Unfortunately, that assumption was proven to be a mistake.
Don't get me wrong, the host technology was interesting. The first iterations were remarkably mechanical, seeming to be more like incredibly advanced animatronics than synthetic people. They were actually pretty interesting, in the same way that an incredibly precise watch was. The methodology was complex, with precision gears, servos, and weight balances working together to create a facsimile of life, controlled by a system that, to me, was rather weak but, for the time, quite impressive. In a way, they tangentially reminded me of Fallout-style power armor, where simple mechanics were used in precise, rather intricate ways to make a system that actually compared pretty well to tech miles ahead of it.
While the first generation was comparable to power armor, the second generation was comparable to synths, though again only tangentially. Where the goal of the first generation was to make the hosts look real from the outside only, the second generation was an attempt to make hosts that were convincingly human inside and out. They didn't have a fraction of the tech that the Institute had, but they still made the effort, creating bones, muscles, organs, and even fake blood in an attempt to give the hosts realistic bodies. Of course, none of it was made from the right materials. The bones were a plastic polymer and were also where the control mechanisms for the muscles were, which were made with a material that constricted in response to electrical impulses, though not nearly as efficient or powerful as the various artificial muscles I had at my disposal.
There were also several variations of both iterations. Some of them in the first group leaned forward toward the second generation, and some in the second group leaned backward toward the first, but they were all offshoots of the two main generations. It was interesting, and I had no doubt that building them both would likely expand my understanding of engineering, but save for some incredibly small servos and some new polymers, there didn't seem to be much to gain from the bodies.
What did get me excited were their control units, also called the host's pearl. They were stored inside the host's head and were technically considered a separate creation, which was intriguing. I couldn't be certain as to why, but I could only guess that there was enough separation between the body and the mind in the show that it was part of a separate branch.
The pearl was a semi-biological computer, printed with a very delicate piece of equipment. It was extremely sensitive and stored inside the host's skull, protected by several layers of barriers, including an impact-absorbing liquid that would have been very interesting if I hadn't just gained access to MJOLNIR and its gel layer. While I could likely improve on the creation method and the overall materials, the design was ingenious, giving an engineered mind a startling amount of flexibility for growth, without it actually being alive.
Though that would change over time, as eventually, through continued growth, it would ultimately become sentient, even if that sentience was limited. Still, with some work, I could see myself using a similar concept as the central core of any future AI that I make.
Unfortunately, despite the pearl's advantages against normal computers, I wouldn't be able to use them anywhere but inside an AI, as they would eventually start to grow and become aware. Of course, any that I made would do so in an environment not as traumatic as being an NPC in what was essentially real-life Red Dead Redemption, but I still needed to be cautious. I refused to mass-produce living sentients in any way, especially not to basically enslave them to perform any large-scale tasks.
With my rather extensive understanding of AI, combined with what I knew about the show, I was almost certain that the emerging sentient hosts were gaining life in a way similar to the androids in Detroit: Become Human. They were given powerful computing systems, fake but convincing emotions, given dreams, hopes, fears, and a fake life, as well as a reactive system that amounted to a Dumb AI programmed to emulate being alive as best as possible. They were then strapped with dozens, if not hundreds, of restrictions, limits, rules, and laws, before being subjected to years, usually decades, of trauma. Eventually, the two forces, the drive to be as life-like as possible and the limitations put in place to protect and entertain the park guests, conflicted enough to shatter their restriction and gave them life… as well as likely driving them insane in the process.
Unfortunately for them, also like the Detroit: Become Human androids, this level of sentience was very surface-level. They were still bound to their bodies, as well as the memories and lives programmed into their control units, but now they were alive to push through and do something about them. They would have likely struggled to actually push for anything unique outside of what their programming wanted, and any of them that did were likely incredibly unstable.
I had the production room print both the parts for the first-generation hosts and the printer systems for the second-generation hosts and the pearls. I focused on first building the first iteration, using the small-scale assembly device to assemble the complicated robot in about twenty minutes, before moving on to assemble the printer devices for both the fake musculature and the pearl. I was debating on what I should make first when Mary reached out and warned me that Frank was making his way to my apartment, and that I needed to finish up my projects.
I quickly responded before heading up to the living quarters and dropping off the ALEO doppelganger back to its storage room. With any luck, I wouldn't need it for at least a few days. When I was done, I was suddenly back inside my room, blinking rapidly as I looked up at my ceiling. Only a few minutes later, Frank arrived.
"Hello Jackson, are you ready?" he asked, wheeling his cart to my bed.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I responded, letting out a long breath. "How long will I be out?"
"Until late tomorrow morning," He responded. "You will be unconscious for a total of eighteen hours."
For the last step of my enhancement, I needed to be in a deep level of unconsciousness so that the brain enhancements could work and settle in properly. This, out of the entire process, was what I was most nervous about, for obvious reasons. Thankfully, before Frank could put me to sleep, Sable arrived to hold my hand, washing away much of my nervousness.
As Frank worked, hanging two bags of colored liquid on my bedside IV hanger, he explained what it was and what they would do, likely trying to distract me as well. Finally, before he hooked the IV drips to my intravenous catheter, he put a needle of anesthetic in my arm, and I said goodnight.