Nick Fury stared at the Tesseract resting at the center of the metallic device...
In his mind, this small cube had always been one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s foundational cornerstones.
During World War II, the Red Skull, leader of HYDRA, had retrieved it from a church in Norway. Legend has it that the Tesseract was the most precious gem in Odin's vault, possessing unimaginable power.
Schmidt had used it to develop energy weapons that nearly turned the tide of the war against the Allies. Had it not been for Captain America leading the Howling Commandos to destroy HYDRA's stronghold, creating an opportunity for victory, the wheels of history might have rolled onto a completely different path.
Later, when Captain America crashed his plane into the Arctic, the Tesseract was recovered from the depths by Howard Stark and entrusted to the Strategic Scientific Reserve, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s predecessor.
It remained in their custody until Nick Fury took over as director and decided to restart research on the Tesseract.
"Did you see what activated it?" The director remained skeptical of Dr. Selvig's explanation.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had safeguarded the cube for years, and such bizarre phenomena had never occurred before. According to the computer's calculations, the Tesseract was emitting interference and radiation, with values steadily climbing toward a peak.
In Dr. Selvig's view, this was not a good sign. Worse, they had no effective means to shut it down, only observe and wait.
"No one entered or exited. The doctor is clean." Hawkeye (Clint Barton) slid down a rope from his vantage point above.
He was the facility's security, tasked with monitoring everyone.
The ever-suspicious Fury would never blindly trust others with the Tesseract. He had a nagging feeling that S.H.I.E.L.D. harbored an undercurrent; a lingering specter of their old enemy, the Third Reich.
After their defeat in World War II, HYDRA had splintered. Some factions infiltrated the rising Soviet Union, lying dormant until its collapse. Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. (which was still the SSR back then) absorbed the Third Reich's cutting-edge technology and resources, but in doing so, left itself vulnerable.
Despite Fury's efforts to enforce strict clearance levels and airtight secrecy since taking office, it seemed impossible to root out those persistent Nazi remnants...
"If there's a problem, it's not on our end, sir." Barton said earnestly, "Dr. Selvig mentioned that the Tesseract is a doorway to the other side. What if that door swings both ways?"
His subordinate's words gave Fury pause. He had been solely focused on harnessing the Tesseract's infinite energy to develop advanced technology, much like the Red Skull had. But he had overlooked the risks.
The director touched his eyepatch, a grim reminder of the devastating lessons learned from the Secret Invasion.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had been crippled, and they had lost a reliable comrade... a fearless heroine.
"Dr. Selvig, do whatever it takes to shut the Tesseract down!" Fury barked before turning to Barton, "Speed up the evacuation. If we're still in this situation in forty minutes, destroy it!"
His gaze hardened, devoid of hesitation as he looked at the Tesseract. He couldn't allow it to attract unknown threats.
Long before becoming director, Fury had known that Earth was not the only civilization in the vast cosmos. He knew that humanity was not alone.
But before he could react, the Tesseract's energy surged past its peak. A dazzling blue light erupted, shaking the entire underground facility.
A spatial vortex expanded like a whirlpool, its violent fluctuations rippling outward. Within it, the silhouette of a kneeling figure flickered into view.
....
~Stark Mansion~
Tony Stark exhaled deeply, stretching his stiff limbs after hours of being hunched over his workbench and refining Ultron...
After days of nonstop collaboration with Reed, Tony had finally designed a near-perfect AI framework, using J.A.R.V.I.S. as a foundation and the Red Queen (courtesy of Sean) as a reference.
In Tony's vision, Ultron would possess unparalleled computational power. It will be linked to the planet's digital networks, and should be capable of absorbing knowledge from the internet in real-time.
In short, it would have human-like learning capabilities. Not just comprehension, but application.
For artificial intelligence, this was a monumental breakthrough. Conventional AI operated on rigid mechanical logic, and lacked genuine human perception. Hence the necessity of the Turing Test.
As early as the last century, Alan Turing, the father of AI, introduced the concept of 'machine thinking'. In his landmark 1950 paper, 'Can Machines Think?', he proposed the famous Turing Test...
A human interrogates a computer while another, unaware participant tries to distinguish between human and machine responses. If the computer remains undetected, it passes the test.
On the surface, this seemed simple. But no matter how sophisticated a program was, it lacked true human understanding. Under sustained questioning, its flaws would emerge, especially when faced with creative or nuanced queries.
For example: "The cat sat on the mat because it was warm. What was warm?"
A typical AI would stumble into a logical trap, unable to correctly parse pronouns or associate 'it' with the cat, the mat, or the warmth.
What Stark aimed to create was an AI capable of genuine thought, one that could not only answer such questions, but also develop independent reasoning.
Rubbing his tired eyes, Tony leaned back, admiring the intricate virtual projections before him. A vast stream of data gradually coalesced into a blurred face.
This was the embodiment of perfection in Tony's mind... Ultron.
He and Reed wanted to transcend binary computation, to break free from mechanical thinking and create an AI that could truly think like a human.
Thus, these two world-class geniuses not only built the computational framework, but also wove an elaborate logic web, allowing Ultron to evolve self-awareness through continuous data processing.
"You'll be the shield that protects the world." Tony murmured softly, his gaze tender, as if looking at his own child.
To put it more precisely, Ultron was his and Dr. Richards' newborn creation.
Though still in its infancy like a toddler taking its first steps, Tony was confident that given time, it would grow to fulfill its destined purpose.
"Goodnight." With a wave of his hand, the countless projections vanished.
The lab lights dimmed, leaving only a single computer that tirelessly processed data at the center.
In the darkness, the machine's red indicator blinked rhythmically like a waking eye...