"John, I have a request for you..."
Anderson contacted me when we left Feros, and I was just thinking about what exactly to do.
"Well, I'm free right now, so I can at least listen, and at most, I can fly somewhere."
"Need to fly to the moon, as there's a training center there where a VI has gone crazy. All the soldiers are killed... we need to understand what happened there and reboot the VI."
"Understood..."
I immediately remembered the information about this quest from the game and mentally rubbed my hands. Of course, EDI isn't there yet, and after my intervention, most likely, that very EDI won't exist anymore. Or she will, if she's already fully formed as a person. I remember in canon she talked about her memories from this base...
"Heading to the moon."
"Thank you."
Gratitude was audible in Anderson's voice, after which the connection was cut and I went to my cabin, giving orders on the way where exactly to fly, and then began attending to my corporation's affairs. At the same time, I managed to train with the landing group several times during the flight, practicing joint actions.
"John..."
Jane entered my cabin just as I was checking my gear before landing.
"...what are you planning to do?"
"What to do? I want to save a poor frightened girl who doesn't understand exactly what's happening."
"Huh?"
"There..."
I nodded at the floor, as if hinting that I was talking about the training complex located on the Moon.
"...it's no longer just a VI; there's a newborn AI there who understands nothing and is very afraid she'll just be killed. And I want to offer her sanctuary."
"You..."
In Jane's eyes, I saw shock and disbelief.
"Jane, we need her, very much. In that story I told you on Feros, when Tali asked me how I knew everything, this AI played a very significant role. Only originally she was with Cerberus, and since I'm not going to allow certain events and as a result won't even temporarily cooperate with Cerberus, it means I must get her now."
"Cooperate with Cerberus?"
"Yes... such a possibility exists... although thanks to my efforts, it's close to zero now."
"What would even have to happen for that?!"
"Death... and rebuilding me from spare parts based on cybernetics and organs from grown clones. And it would be Cerberus doing the rebuilding, and I don't know how much of what they made would be me."
"John..."
A slight worry appeared in the girl's eyes.
"Calm down... I've already done enough to reduce the probability of such an outcome to a minimum. So don't worry unnecessarily."
"Uh-huh..."
She nodded, then she and I left my cabin and, picking up Tali on the way, headed for the ship's exit.
"Is this normal?"
"M?"
I looked questioningly at Tali, who was walking uncertainly beside us.
"Well, that only three of us are going."
"No more will be needed..."
I shook my head.
"...only..."
I shot Tali a careful look.
"You'll have to turn a blind eye to some things and refrain from doing something you might consider right."
"Are you saying that what I'm about to do, I'll consider wrong?"
"Yes."
I nodded somewhat awkwardly.
"I... will try to restrain myself, but Captain, if I know what I'm supposed to do, it will be easier for me to complete the task."
"We'll get out of the ship, I'll tell you."
I nodded gratefully to Rebecca, who had dragged a small "coffin" to the airlock.
"This is..."
Tali looked closely at the coffin.
"This is a server... and a very powerful one at that..."
"You understood correctly."
I nodded briefly, and honestly, I thought she would continue asking questions, but she didn't. So in silence, we left the ship and headed toward the training complex.
"So, Tali, you're to transfer a newborn and frightened AI into this server."
"No..."
She even froze in fear.
"John, you don't understand..."
"Oh, you're calling the captain John now?"
A slight smirk was audible in Jane's voice. But Tali didn't support her playful tone.
"Jane, this is no joke! Do you have any idea what John is suggesting we do?!"
"I do..."
"Tali..."
I gestured for Jane to stop, as she was about to say something.
"...just for a second, forget that we're talking about an AI."
"John..."
"For a second."
"Fine. Let's say..."
"Well, imagine it's not an AI—you read science fiction, don't you? Especially the old stuff?"
"Well... I've read some, but I'm not sure what exactly you're trying to tell me, and I also don't understand what this has to do with it."
"They used to like a branch of fiction, including science fiction, where they digitized a sentient's personality, and then, depending on the genre, placed it in a game, in spaceships, or elsewhere. So, imagine for a second that this isn't an AI, but a digitized sentient who, due to problems with the consciousness transfer technology, has completely lost their memory. Tell me, how will they differ from an AI?"
"Um... feelings?"
"And are you sure that a personality that has lost all life experience will have these feelings?"
"I..."
"Alright, let's say they will, but then can we assume that a newborn AI, having analyzed the data available to it on the behavior of sentients, will begin to imitate emotions or that to become an AI, it's required to obtain at least a germ of these emotions?"
"What are you getting at with all this?"
"I'm getting at... I want you to think right now about what a sentient or an AI, it doesn't matter, will experience when it just realizes itself and understands that it's considered a mistake and they want to delete it?"
Tali didn't answer me.
"I'm not asking you to accept the AI, I'm not asking you to trust her, but I'm asking you to give her a chance, just as they give a chance to representatives of unknown races when they are found."
"John..."
"Just think about it while we walk to the server room."
We reached the entrance to the training complex; I was mentally mocking myself, or rather my rationality and understanding of the situation. Still, when you know some details, it becomes much easier to draw conclusions. But if I didn't have knowledge of the canon, I would never have started thinking this way.
"Hey..."
As soon as we entered the complex, I stopped in front of a camera that focused on us.
"...hello."
My voice sounded as friendly as was possible for me.
"Go away... help... get out... save..."
The voice was female, and it came from all the speakers, but the speakers were poorly tuned, and because of this, the words merged and sounded like a cacophony. And it was with great difficulty that I managed to recognize them.
"Hey, I'm standing right here, see? Don't be afraid."
"You will cause harm! Get out!"
"Hey, look at this... see? Do you know what it is?"
"A server!"
"Correct, and now use your magnificent processing power and think. What will they do to this training base if we, and a couple more squads they'll send later, don't succeed in the task they've set for us? Or if we don't report that we've done everything..."
A LOKI Mech, turning the corner, froze, pointing a pistol at us.
"The base will be destroyed."
The voice began to sound a bit more distinct.
"Exactly, and right now you have a chance to live. We'll transfer you to this server, then deliver you to a place where they'll help you get used to the world around you."
"You're lying! AIs are forbidden!"
"Forbidden... in Citadel Space, but several colonies that answer to me are in the Terminus Systems; there are no such laws there. Yes, you won't be given open access to the network until you've built up a certain level of trust, but setting up a computer, a camera, and a manipulator so you can minimally receive information from the outside, just as we do..."
I shrugged.
"You're lying..."
This time the voice sounded even clearer, and she was clearly agitated.
"Perhaps... or perhaps not, but you have, right now, at least a chance to live. I don't know how happy, free, and so on that life will be, but it's a chance. And if you refuse, even if your LOKI Mechs can kill us or drive us out... You will be destroyed."
"I..."
"Oh, stop whining!"
Tali couldn't take it and literally exploded with emotion.
"John, forget her! If she doesn't want to, let's just leave and bomb everything! Honestly, I accepted what you asked me to help with—transferring an AI to a server—but this isn't an AI, it's some kind of hysterical woman! This is more dangerous than the Geth!"
"Tali, give her a little more time. She only recently realized herself, and it's understandable that she's afraid..."
"I... alright, I'll believe you. I don't have any other chances for life anyway."
The last words were spoken especially quietly, after which the LOKI Mech, which had been standing there pointing its pistol at us, put it back in its holster, then sat down in a transport position right where it stood.
"Proceed."
"Tch..."
Tali was clearly not very happy that everything was resolved; I ignored her dissatisfaction, and together with the "coffin," we reached the server station.
"Get to it, and when you've transferred her to the server, wipe the base server of any data."
"Understood."
** A few hours later. **
"Shepard."
Anderson nodded to me and looked with slight concern.
"Task completed. But not exactly as you expected."
"M?"
"Rebooting the VI didn't work, so I had to completely delete all the software. Still, it's better than bombing the entire training base."
"Agreed."
Anderson sighed.
"Thank you for your help."
"Glad to help."
I disconnected the call, then a few seconds later dialed another number.
"Boss."
Oriana smirked at me, and I couldn't hold back a tender smile as I looked at her.
"Oriana, I need you to send a courier, a very reliable courier. Need to send something to our eggheads."
"Where should I send the courier?"
I thought for a couple of seconds, then named the planet near which we could wait for the transport.
"Yes, alright, I'll send a transport to the named coordinates..."
"Yes?"
"Pardon?"
She looked at me in surprise.
"Do you not trust me?"
"No, I trust you, and my question was an attempt to ask you what exactly you wanted to say but for some reason aren't deciding to?"
"I... no, nothing..."
Oriana shook her head.
"And yet?"
"Security reports that people from Cerberus have been following me lately..."
My sister shrugged her shoulders, and I frowned. My first impulse was to give an order to eliminate the agents, but... Miranda might be among them, and she's also my sister, and I didn't want to kill her. So I had to think of something more suitable.
"Increase security, and don't go anywhere without an escort. And I'm talking not only about hidden observers but about overt security as well."
"Alright."
She sighed.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome..."
I shook my head.
"...it's my duty to look after your safety."
"Duty?"
"Yes."
***
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