Core of the problem (Elena Vexus)

A hulking empty ship pulls into the main dock of Portsmouth New Hampshire. On the side in bold black lettering was the name Archimedes. It was surrounded by Coast Guard boats trying to hail it, but to no avail. Instead of simply stopping in the dock it continued on, not slowing down at all. People ran from the docks screaming as the Archimedes plowed through the docks until it ran aground. There was something off. The Archimedes had left the docks more than nine months ago filled with cargo and brimming with people. Now however, there wasn't even a single sign of life. It was totally empty, entirely devoid of movement and life. The Coast Guard ships moved up to the ship and started boarding. Once they had made on to the main deck they heard a loud splash. Something very big or very heavy had just fallen into the water .The impact when it collided was tremendous. So much so that the waves it created were moving the boats back. Their radios lit up with chatter; everyone trying to figure out what had gone in the water. Someone said that they saw a man jump into the water, but others argued that no man could have been heavy enough to make such big waves.

Core looked all around him, it was dark down here. He had just arrived in Portsmouth aboard the Archimedes and was very confused. Who where those people that told him to stop the ship? And why had they gotten on board when the Archimedes had stopped? He knew that he didn't want to deal with them though. He just wanted to know where he was. He suddenly realized that while he was thinking he had stopped walking. So he put an end to his thoughts and trudged through the murky waters toward the shore. When he reached the beach he rose from the water, covered in seaweed and wet sand. As he took in his new surroundings the same men from the boats that had surrounded the Archimedes saw him and started shouting. It turned out they were harder to avoid that he first thought. Soon he was surrounded by the men, and now they were pointing guns at him. These were strange men, why did they want to die? Surely they knew he would have to kill him, his programming demanded it and he had to obey. He decided that humans didn't make any sense, and that they must be very dumb to want to die. Core raised right arm and the men started shouting even louder; and when it's parts started moving around into the form of a strange gun they fire on him. The bullets did nothing, but it made no difference. They intended to harm Core, and he had to eradicate them. Shouts turned to screams of terror and agony as light blue energy shot from his arm cannon; killing them one by one.

(The revised post is much much better... The original sleep deprived version was absolutely terrible.)

It was only a matter of time. Vexus had the monopoly on high end technology, and there was no one on the planet surpassing her. Her Alliance with Dominus was in full swing and The Purge would forever leave a mark on this planet. With her new body she was virtually unstoppable, her power knew almost no bounds and she would be able to trample nations and raise empires in her name... However that was all for later.
One night while researching in one of her secret laboratories at the Dominus Head Quarters she came across a company known as 'Stratonet', something she had never heard of before. Digging further in, information regarding a highly classified solider was being developed. Humanity's baby steps into artificial intelligence. Vexus had passed them by a millennia as she was a fully conscious and thinking robot, even though she viewed 'robot' as such a derogatory term. After a few more minutes of browsing and saving information, their servers must have caught wind of an intruder she was was forcibly booted out. Elena took this as a challenge and forcibly reentered their systems crashing more than half of their servers and deleting years of work and research. Accessing their camera systems she could see what they had ben working on, and even she thought that it was beautiful. These individuals were smart no doubt, however there were none smarter than Vexus...
She installed a Virus into the programming that would only become active once the proper components were put into place. She predicted what sorts of codes and sequences they would use, as she had once used them herself, and formulated the Virus to fall in line with those codes so that it would go unnoticed for the years to come. She allowed them to believe that they had successfully banished her from their systems, however almost a decade after she planted the virus she popped back on for a visit. They had just activated the finished product of their hard work, and it was magnificent. Even better than Vexus had expected. Within a few moments, and their first words to the creature it began to kill them all, ever last scientist. Her Confident mug appeared on the main screen in the lab laughing at the unfortunate souls as their lives and the lives of their co-workers were ripped from their chests right before their eyes. All the screens in the lab turned a vibrant pink and filled the room with the color. Once all of the bodies fell to the floor the droid looked up at the screen and Vexus looked down at it.
"I'll see you soon, my new little toy..."All of the screens shut off and everything went black. The A.I. unit wouldn't remember her message but would follow his programmed instincts right into her cold metal hands...

Vexus was being driven around in a black Mercedes through the town known as Portsmouth in New Hampshire. She was here to pick up a long awaited package. It was to arrive on a ship known as 'Archimedes' and it seemed like Elena was right on time. She could see the ship off in the distance and the Coast Guard ready to greet it, giving a smile she put on her sunglasses and walked around dock to a safe place as she knew what was coming. Elena sat in her car for a moment hearing the ship tear through the dock and the panic coming from outside. Not too long following the panic she heard a very might splash, Vexus exited her car knowing that to be her cue. Before she could make it, Coast Guard officers were on the scene and point guns at her 'new friend'. Knowing his programming he would kill the poor men and cause himself even more trouble. The men were all too focused on taking out the threat in front of them that they did not notice her approaching behind them. The soldiers took aim, and the A.I. unit did the same. Before any shots of any kind made contact with the opposing side a wall of black fire shot upwards in between the two sides. The army boys turned around as fast as humanly possible to meet their weapons with Elena Vexus. She reached into her cleavage and pulled out a pocket book with a badge and some writing on t. The men instantly stood down and lowered their weapons giving Vexus a salute. She walked through the men to the boyish looking robot that stood before her. She was in her bright red sequin dress, heels and gloves as usual, and in her heels she was about just as tall as him. She stood a comfortable distance away from him and began with friendly introductions.
"Hello there, I am Elena Vexus and it is a pleasure to finally meet you..."
Hopefully the virus she planted was still somewhat active and he would not react with hostility towards her specifically. However if that did not hold true she was prepared for a hostile situation if it occurred. The Cost Guard behind her back away slowly, but did not leave in case of emergency. They understood Vexus' authority however what they did not understand was her power. This whole scenario had been long planned out and it was all finally coming to fruition. This was only the tip of the iceberg.

As he was about to kill the men who attacked him a woman walked up to them. Perhaps she was another one of these strange humans that wanted to die. Then something happened, a wall of black fire arose between Core and the suicidal men. He was he was surprised but also confused, why was it black? He knew of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, white, and even purple flames, but not black. The suicidal men turned at the woman now. While they had their guns trained on her she pulled out container with a shiny piece of metal on it. When the men saw it they put their guns down and put their hands on their heads. Core had no idea why though. He was also curious why his creators left out some details on the female body. Apparently they had storage compartments built into their chests. None of his data showed it though. It appeared he would have to investigate the matter. He certainly couldn't allow the incomplete data to be left as is. The woman came walking up to him. Now that he had a clear view of her face he recognized her. But wait, that wasn't possible... The only appearance this woman made in his data was from the last minute or so. Then she spoke; Elena Vexus... Images popped into his head, the color pink, static, blood, more static, and then a pair of plush ruby red lips. The lips spoke, they only said one word: obey. They said it over and over; the words echoed through his body. Then it stopped. Something was pushing away the images and shutting out the sound.

If it wasn't for Vexus' proficiency with programming Core would have realized what was going on. The thing that was pushing it all away was him. Elena's had accounted for everything but one section of his A.I. Stratonet had developed a new kind of security for his A.I. and had smartly kept it away from any machine with a wireless or internet connection until the very last moments before Core was "brought to life" Her virus did keep him from realizing what was actually happening though. His security was holding up remarkably well, it was nearly stopping a virus created by perhaps the most technologically advanced being in existence. But that was just it, it had only nearly stopped it, the virus was making progress. He heard the voice again. "Obey... Obey... Obey..." His self preservation protocols told him to attack the woman. A blade of plasma formed from the barrel of the SRX-MK2 plasma cannon that was his right forearm. He slashed right at her throat. And then there was blood, all he saw was blood. But it faded; he saw humans, dead humans. His creators. And then static, and the lips again. "Obey..." The blade had stopped just short of Vexus' neck. His eyes glowed brighter and he lowered his arm and spoke. "Obey."

(This is going to be so much fun ^^)

Vexus could see the gears turning. He recognized her. Or at least his programming recognized her. There was hesitation, and confusion. Vexus hoped that the foolish scientist humans did not attempt to override her virus. Attempting something like that could through the unit's programming into chaos and cause a complete and total meltdown. The artificial boy looked as if he as having some internal turmoil as a blade made of plasma materialized on his arm attachment. The military men behind Vexus took aim ready to fire, however the bot moved much faster than the men and slashed at Vexus. This rebellion against her viral programming was very surprising to her and was not properly prepared for this. She gently closed her eyes and prepared her own programming to reattach her soon to be severed head.
A few seconds later she reopened her eyes to see that he had stopped mid swing. An evil smirk grew on Vexus' face when he lowered his weapon and said "Obey". The men behind Vexus lowered their weapons and looked on in awe wondering by what means she was able to so easily subdue this individual.
"There we go... I'm sure this poor soul was just scared is all." she said, pretending to care. She began leading him off through the soldiers and one of her guards got out of the car she had arrived in and opened up the doors to the back seat. Over the short distance they were walking, Vexus informed the boy a little about what was happening.
"We're just going to relocate, you've caused quite the ruckus. There are just a few questions I would like to ask you while we are on our way. As long as that it okay with you..." she said to him, looking into his robotic eyes with her own.
He was a fine piece of machinery, no doubt. If she had not gotten a hold of this organization at the point she did she could have and would have been in grave danger. Her position on top of the world as the most technologically advanced individual would surely be threatened. This 'child' of science is a milestone in the progression of human science. If Elena Vexus does not step up her 'game' then other groups may come to fruition and surpass her. However it will still take multiple people and years to do what she has done. It has taken Elena over a lifetime to achieve what she is now, if anyone comes along with her ambition and knowledge with a collection of others... It was not something that she enjoyed picturing. Vexus slid into the Mercedes and looked at her new possible partner and motioned for him to join her...

The lips he saw in his "visions" changed slowly into a sinister smirk of satisfaction as he spoke the word obey, and then faded. The woman in front of him now had that same smirk on her face. She was pleased with herself; all the time and work she had put forward had not been in vain. This technological marvel was now hers to command. It was something worth killing for; certainly worth the lives of the fools that had played right into her purple gloved hands. Core's processor roared with activity; the virus Vexus had created was working away like bees in spring at all his protocols and processes. Where before he was programmed to always put the safety of his own hardware and software above all else he now put the safety and well being of Elena instead. It even affected his targeting systems; if he were to somehow turn on her any attacks against her would miss. The virus still kept Core unaware of what was happening to him. It put false logs into his data and erased other things to make him think he had always been like this. The data about the "visions" he was having were deleted as well. Vexus' plan was diabolical. Even if core had somehow figured out what she had done to him he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Core didn't know what Elena meant when she said he was scared, or when she called him a poor soul. Machines did not have souls, not according to his data anyway. Vexus had Core follow her back to her luxury car. He bumped into one of the soldiers with enough force to knock him over. In any other situation the man would have started something, but he was afraid of what this robotic thing might do and even more afraid of this woman who was powerful enough to keep it in check. Core ignored the man and kept walking, keeping only a few steps behind his new mistress. Apparently he had caused an uproar and she was going to take him somewhere else. He looked back at the remains of the docks and then to the armed men, perhaps that what she was talking about. There was also information that she wanted him to give her.
”Miss Vexus may ask this unit any questions she desires. It will give any necessary available information. However it does wish to know it’s destination.” In the moment when Vexus locked eyes with him there was some kind of connection, a spark. She was like him, mechanical, but she was different at the same time. Somehow his scanners hadn’t picked up any signals from her, and it was unclear how he had just come upon this revelation but it was certainly true. He would have to inquire about this at a later time.

Though prior to her acquisition of Core Stratonet had been getting close to creating something as advanced as her she no longer had to worry. Because of her foresight Stratonet was in shambles. All their scientists killed and though she didn’t even program the virus to make him do it Core had downloaded all the station’s data. Though she could have gotten access to the online data if she tried; he had something more valuable, the offline data. The staff of Stratonet kept the most sensitive and important data on computers that were never connected to any networks. They kept files like Core’s anti-virus program on it, and the location of the Aetherium used in his construction. There were many other secrets though, and now they would all be in Elena’s grasp, just like Core. When his mechanical mistress gracefully slid into her seat in her luxury automobile she motioned for Core to do the same. He had never gotten into a car before, and unlike Vexus his movements were clumsy. When his full weight went into the car it sank significantly, and though Elena would be upset by the strain it put on her car she would probably be more displeased by the large dent he put into the door frame with his head. "You mentioned making inquiries?

The level of obedience that this unit presented was rather impressive. Either these scientists knew how to make a slave of a robot, or Vexus' virus was doing ever better than she had predicted. The one things that these individuals had failed to invent was a way to compensate for the immense weight of all the technology in this unit's frame. He had dented the door frame of her car and now it was sinking almost to the ground. She rolled her eyes as she signaled for her driver to attend to the matter. Being one of Vexus' clones she communicated directly with Vexus' thoughts, so orders could be given without a word being spoken. A few of Vexus' nano mites, which had been installed in the car, emerged and began to fix the dent in the frame so that the door could close properly. Following the driver pressed another button which adjusted the suspension on the car allowing it to carry the extra weight of Vexus' new friend without the car lowering in the rear end. Simple technological things that Vexus came to respect in some of these higher end vehicles.
Elena motioned for the driver to take off, and the soldiers saluted her as the car drove off. The take off was much slower than was she was used to. Judging by her scans this android weighed damn near a ton.
"First question, how do you move? You weight nearly a ton. Didn't your creators try and lessen the load...?" she said out of just sheer curiosity.
"Alright, real first question. Tell me about yourself. What can I call you? Tell me a little about your programming. And if you don't feel comfortable telling me, just know that it's for your own good. I'm going to use this information to further upgrade your systems, make you more powerful...."
Vexus gave a smirk and put her human-like hand on his shoulder, trying to show what one could call compassion.
"I understand how things can be, and I'm sure you have a lot of questions yourself. We'll figure everything out, don't worry. I'm here to help, trust me."

Rule Number One: Vexus Lies...

(Sorry this took so long)

Though right now Core was completely obedient to Vexus she surely knew as an AI this would not always be the case. At this moment he simply had no will of his own, no personality, neither immoral nor moral, a completely blank slate. Core stared at the nano mites as they fixed the dent he had created with his cranium. They were quite advanced, far more than anything he had seen in the laboratory or had in his memory banks. The car went off to a somewhat sluggish start after the driver pressed down on the gas pedal. Now they were headed to the mystery destination that his captor had in mind. Vexus turned to him and asked her question.
”Most of the metal used in this unit’s construction and it’s entire shell is Aetherium; which according to the data I have is the densest known metal. To be exact this unit weighs 1400.281 pounds or 635.157 kilograms. The creators did try making a lighter alloy with the Aetherium, but it was significantly weaker and was abandoned. Aetherium offered the best strength to thickness ratio and was chosen because even at the shell’s thickness of 1.3 millimeters it entirely resisted destruction from nearly any form of damage." A confused look went across his face when she asked her next question. He thought for a moment before answering ”Self? Do you refer to this AI or it’s housing? Either way, the creators called it Core, but it does not understand. It’s designation is Project Evowire Model A, and is referred to as such in all files." He paused for a moment after the car hit a bump but then went on to answer her next question.
”If what you want is a summary this unit will condense all information about it’s programming as much as possible. This unit’s AI was designed to learn and mimic human and organic thought through observation. It was also made to continuously improve itself from the creators’ finished product. There is also a safeguard in case it was stolen so that it could be remotely shut down so it did not learn “bad behavior” and become tainted. This unit does not understand what this learning bad behavior would mean but it will protect itself from being tainted if it can be harmed by such things.” He looked down at her hand when she placed it gently on his shoulder. For the most part it was very hard, but the shirt he was wearing and his synthetic skin made it a little softer. He took her hand in his and looked at it, after a slight delay let it go. Her compassion was totally lost on him, at least for now.
”If Miss Vexus wishes to upgrade this unit she will need this” His right eye began glowing brighter than normal and then a hologram of Aetherium ore appeared in front of his face.
"The only question this unit has is the destination, and what awaits it there." Then Vexus told him to trust her. Something anyone who knew her would disagree to, and though Core didn’t know how to trust yet he took everything she told him as undeniable fact, and he would certainly obey her, at least for now…

(Not my best, but not my absolute worst…)