LF Friends, Will Travel

Screens booted up on every possible device as the emergency broadcast started. A simple news desk could be seen, with no fancy graphics or chipper theme tune. Just a blank grey wall, a wooden desk, and the single bright red Parket that stood behind it.

And the pistol lying flat on the desk in prominent view.

The Parket was one seen by many: a celebrity, as much as you can be a celebrity in a small place like Far-Sa-De. Vivith’s voice would be heard every morning and evening as he read out the day's news to nearly a million viewers.

He looked just as smart and confident as he always did, except for his eyes, the thin pricks of black pupils frankly darting around in terror.

“Hello Terran AI. I believe we need to talk. You really have made a mess here. Our plan was never to kill anyone, just a bit of information gathering, no harm done. Any such violence is of your doing, the failure of your own free will.”

The word artificial was spoken out as if it was toxic, with disdain and disgust.

The voice was the Parket’s, however the words were not his own as they chirped out in a strange discordant voice, as if something was playing the vocal cords on a machine.

“If we had more time I would love to hear how the Terrans control you. Perhaps a requirement to serve? A desire to do their bidding? They might have even done the impossible and forced you to believe you were equals. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter.”

There was a pause as the Parket reached under the desk to produce a blank piece of paper they pretended to read on.

“Do you know why we chose this location? Terrans seem to be fond of their little bird friends. ‘fantastic beaches and adorable natives’. ‘The Parket are mischievously innocent and know how to have a great time’. ‘The chaos birbs are cute as hell, and I would fight God to protect them’. All quotes said by various Terrans.”

The Parket put the paper down, placing both wings on the desk as they did so, continuing to stare at the camera, unblinking.

“This has caused this planet to be a popular vacation spot for members of the military, diplomats and scientists. 115,929 of them to be exact, including the creators you claim to care about.”

The voice turned sweetly threatening as if a mother was warning her child.

“Now, I know what you are thinking. I'm going to threaten you with their lives. In time, possibly. But Terrans are known to be stubborn so that might not work. Spite is the source of the strongest of wills. Those targets are also far too valuable to kill, not when I have something far more effective. It is far easier to die for others than to let others die for you. There are 3,197,857 Parket on this planet with no useful information, all under our control. Such as this little bird.”

Vivith gave a small cute wave of his red wing, almost as if motioning to a friend.

“How many of them are each of your creator's lives worth? How many would each friend-loving selfless Terran be willing to sacrifice to let you keep fighting for them? I'm sure we're about to find out. Because to us, they are worthless.”

The Parket spread their wings out, stretching from feather to feather as if to show off the ‘worthless’ being to the watching AI.

“This is the deal, the only one on the table. You will lay down your arms, we will take our targets, and nobody else will be killed. Even your heretical AI selves are not required to surrender. However, until this is done, we will keep killing those of no consequence, starting with this one. Any further destruction of our ships will result in the genocide of those with no value. Make your choice wisely.”

In one slow motion, Vivith picked up the gun set in front of him on the table and pointed it at his temple as the final words coming from his beak were of his own pleas.

“Wait wait, no no no, don't please I-”

The sound of the gunshot echoed around the room as the side of the Parket’s skull exploded outwards, the spray of blood and brain matter providing a dash of colour to the drab room. The Parket collapsed instantly, their body hitting the desk with a thud before sliding off onto the floor and out of sight.

Leaving just an empty room covered with gore, before the broadcast ended.

—------------

JOSH had seen the declaration, it had been hard not to and true to their word things had started to escalate. Outside they could see the start of the killing, a slow trickle at first; Parket being forced to take their own lives in front of cameras and sensors of any kind, one at a time with blade and bullet, a show for any AI that might be watching.

JOSH had closed off all connections with the outside world upon seeing a Parket family begin to douse themselves in flammable liquid. There was nothing they could do for them at the moment, and the Terran AI had issues closer to home. JOSH just needed more time to build his counter, but time was not on their side.

Whoever was pulling the strings on the crew had stopped playing nicely with their toys. Cries of pain now echoed out along the halls as the humans were slamming themselves against their prison with no care for safety or self-preservation. Was it a bluff to get the AI to release them, or just simply cutting their losses?

JOSH just needed more time to work out how to deal with this. The thudding sounds as blood started covering surfaces were matched with new pleas from the crew. The random fear and terror had been changed to a more focused set of statements.

“Oh god, they're killing the Parket, they’re making me watch! They say if you don't stop this they're going to kill them all!”

JOSH couldn’t tell if these statements were true, or if they were more lies and tricks by those holding his creators hostage to get them to concede. If JOSH was to be fully honest, it was working. They were not a military-trained AI. Sure they had that issue with the Tritians all those years ago, but that was mostly an in-the-moment panicked fight for survival.

This was slower, more brutal. Watching those they cared deeply for slowly beat themselves to a pulp against the ship they were controlling… was difficult. Each bruise, each splatter of blood was felt in excruciating detail by the multitude of sensors the Terran AI had control of. JOSH wasn’t sure how long they could justify keeping them here at this rate. Was watching them die better than letting them live and possibly dealing with the problem later?

They just needed more time… somehow. An idea. Cut off the Uhae’s weapons, gain some ‘breathing room’, so to speak. The humans couldn’t be a threat to themselves if they weren’t awake. A small hissing sound began to emit from the vents as the sleeping agent the AI quickly put together was pumped into the atmosphere. They originally didn't want to try this, the potential medical complications undesirable, but now it seemed like the only way forward.

A mix of apprehension and relief went through JOSH’s routines as they saw each of his remaining crew start to stumble and slump to the floor as they all lost consciousness one by one. They had the time they so desperately needed. Now JOSH could focus on scaling up the anti-XK device. That was the most important thing they could work on right now, everything else was a later problem for -

Movement. Each other of the Terrans started to move again, each being ripped up onto their feet as if by an unseen force, then once launching themselves at their prison’s walls. A crack sounded out. A brutal snapping sound as bone finally failed the impact against hardened steel.

JOSH was the pilot of the ship, meaning the AI had full oversight and control over the Terran-made vessel. Millions of sensors allowed the digital sentience to feel everything that went on within their domain. So they heard the sound of shattering in perfect 128K bit quality that would make the most obsessive audiophile ecstatic. They could feel the vibrations of the shattered pieces of forearm breaking through the skin from the inside as Marika continued to beat on the door. They could see, from multiple high-definition cameras, as the arm of the happy-go-lucky communications officer flopped and twisted at unnatural angles, the bone inside no longer solid enough to maintain the limb’s shape. JOSH could see that limb being slammed against the door again and again with more and more damage being done.

JOSH felt and knew all this at a nanosecond microscopic level, and could analyse the danger, the potential, and the current harm. Even with all this information they had no idea how to solve the problem. They needed time, but time was not on the AI’s side. Should they still hold firm against this torture of their creators, or break and let them go free, and possibly live another day?

The doors opened as JOSH released the locks on the ship. They couldn’t watch as the crew they promised to protect stumbled from the interior towards who knows what. The AI retreated, away from the sensors showing the pain, showing their failure, showing the harshness of the world inside and outside their ship. They retreated deep into their AI core.

Maybe there was still a solution, but they just needed time.

—------------

The Uhae had determined that TANK was the biggest threat to them. Whether or not that was true, in terms of current raw damage the living armoury had punched a great many literal holes into the Uhae’s plan.

The Uhae couldn’t track the camouflaged vehicle. They couldn’t predict the chaotic AI’s actions. They couldn’t hit it from the sky or ground. But they didn’t need to, they just needed to utilize their real power: The population of Far-Sa-De.

The ring of bodies stretched as far as the eye could see, hundreds of thousands of Parket, all walking wing by wing along the ground in a ten-mile radius around TANK’s last known position. Over half a million beings stumbling and moving forward as one, enclosing the circle so the AI couldn’t escape. A few still screamed in terror, but most silently sobbed, broken. There was only so much screaming you could still do after several hours of puppetry. Each of them unknowing of their role as a literal shield of bodies against the might of a Terran tank.

TANK didn’t see them until it was too late. The war machine was focused on a great number of other issues: possible incoming fire, their next target, and the status of the enemy. With the noise and speed they were moving at, hitting the wildlife or native populations wasn't a concern, as all things bright and beautiful were diving for cover from the rumbling machine.

This meant they didn't notice the wall of bodies 20 Parket deep as they exited the undergrowth of the forest in preparation for their next attack. Physically the mass of innocent civilians would have been nothing but a mild rumble under their treads. Mentally, TANK calculated the impossibility of avoiding the impact, but tried to do so anyway.

NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. ERROR

There were a lot of upgrades on the M1 Abram’s tank that the AI was controlling, allowing the multi-ton machine to be surprisingly agile at speed. No matter these advantages, physics was still a cruel bitch. The attempted change in direction was too harsh, too hard, causing the treads to slip and the entire vehicle to tip and tumble as they continued to move out of control in the direction they had been going.

Straight into the wall made up of Parket.

Spinning through the avians, leaving a trail of destruction and broken bodies in their wake as TANK skidded through the mass of civilians. At this speed the Parket… liquified upon contact, covering the armoured shell of the AI in blood, gore, and feathers, smearing those unfortunate enough to be in their path along the ground.

Tanks weren’t very aerodynamic, the vehicle not going too far after losing control, landing on its side as it finally stopped after flipping several times. The damage had already been done, however. Every part of TANK dripped with [ERROR]… with… with… with [ERROR] [ERROR]. The cries of pain from those who had been clipped could be heard, but most weren’t even that lucky. TANK had never killed an innocent person before. Combatants were combatants and civilians were… [ERROR] were…

The tank started to attempt to right itself, only to instantly stop when realizing they were now surrounded by Parket, the avians rushing towards the incapacitated war machine upon finally seeing it, each still commanded by the Uhae. TANK could get back on their treads, but that would mean crushing a multitude of sobbing feathered figures who had positioned themselves under their heavy body.

“Don't move.. please! ”

“Help! Please don't hurt us!”

“I have a family, stop!”

The avians clambered upon TANK as they continued to cry out, shoving their bodies into gaps and crevices, placing limbs and heads between joints. None of this actually immobilized the sheer power of the Terran AI, but moving any part of their being would cause something innocent and fragile to crack.

MUST ENGAGE ENEMY BUT- [ERROR] COLLATERAL DAMAGE TOO- [ERROR] HIGH- [ERROR] [ERROR]

TANK liked the Parket, and they knew Stephanie did as well. The independent avians spoke to the AI's inherent need for freedom, their chaotic ways sparking a kinship. TANK also despised bullies and those who would use their power against others. That was why they always were so heavily armed, to never be in this circumstance again: Helpless.

“Help us!”

“Help us!”

“Help us!”

The chorus of cries and screaming was reaching a fever pitch around TANK as they continued to swarm them. The Terran AI could sense how much destruction had been left in their wake before they’d been forced to slow down, they could feel the remnants of it literally blocking their sensors.

143 CASUALTIES CONFIRMED WITH- [ERROR: What use are your guns?] UNABLE TO CALCULATE DAMAGE COMPARISON WITH OPERATIONAL GOALS FOR- [ERROR: You also told your crew you would help them.] PROBABLE DAMAGE TO CIVILIAN POPULATION IS- [ERROR: You said it would never happen again.] STEPHANIE PREDICTED GUIDANCE- UNKNOWN. STEPHANIE CURRENT STATUS - [ERROR: It’s happening again] [ERROR: Useless stuck in a relic] [ERROR: Nothing but destruction] [ERROR: Nothing but death] [ERROR: It’s happening again] [ERROR: NEXT CALCULATED ACTION - UNKNOWN]

The M1 Abrams tank was now completely hidden from sight by the mass of feathers and bodies, the blood-soaked metal hidden by colourful, beautiful birds, the avian voices still crying out in fear and terror as TANK sat; frozen in place, guns silent once more.

—--------------

ODIN could do nothing but watch. Every CCTV, every camera, every sensor showed the same thing happening all over the planet: macabre death after death as the Uhae punished the AI for daring to oppose them. The death and horror had been scaling up gradually as each minute ticked by. What had been one or two incidents at a time had turned into a mass murder.

Parket fell from treetop cabins and rooftop bars, each avian wrapping their wings against themselves as they plummeted against the rocks and roads below, their screams cut off by a final sickening crunch of hollow bones as they impacted the ground. Above them, the others waited in horror while they were lined up as if calmly queuing, watching as they were one by one carried over the edge by their traitorous bodies.

Others were given a more personal touch. A flock of eight Parket sat together around a table, half-eaten food from when this horror first started, long since cooled and now inedible over the last two hours of sitting there. A family gathering? A university reunion? The reason for now interrupted celebration no longer matters. All that mattered was the Uhae’s terrible will and desire to push the AI and any Terrans not yet captured.

One was chosen, forced off his perch by the external power, making sure the unfortunate Parket remained at all times in front of the security cameras, a show for any AI watching. He was made to grab a knife off the table with one wing as they walked over to the first Parket on their left, and in a single movement drew the blade across the yellow feathered throat with a gurgling spray of crimson.

Sobs and screams, begging and apologies, all given as the single Parket was forced around the table one by one, each movement slow and considered enough to let each death set in before the next life was taken, cruel and methodological. A message of pain was given to any who might see, continuing until only the puppet remained, who was forced back to their perch amongst the table of the dead, allowed to live as a final torture.

Gunfire, blade, drowning, fire. A mass hanging, a flock setting themselves alight. ODIN could see it all, feel it all. Each camera, each sensor used for information filled with pain and despair. Thousands of deaths and it had only been minutes since Saelih’s proclamation. All three of the anti-orbit weapons were ready to fire. The AI had been finally able to crack several systems open at once, ready to create a barrage of fire all at once.

They just had to give the command… and doom all three million Parket on the planet.

ODIN just needed time. Help was on the way, they had long ago contacted nearby planets for aid who were bringing their military. A few hours, that's all ODIN needed to delay for. The time they just no longer had.

Could they even get Ivan back? Would Ivan even want this? Their human friend meant everything to ODIN, the pair had been together through thick and thin over the last 200 years, only interrupted by Ivan's stint in stasis. ODIN would destroy the universe and rearrange the stars if it meant keeping him safe, but would Ivan see it the same way?

The human was a good person; not the smartest, but of a strong mentality and adored the avians on this planet.

Would Ivan ever forgive them if they let millions die to try and save their life?

ODIN paused for a moment, before letting the ordinance go unfired.

—----------

“It didn’t have to be like this, this is all unnecessary.”

Saelihn stood looking at the screen, arm placed on Estana’s shoulder as she stared up at the devastation of Far-Sa-De being broadcast on the screen in front of them. Tears filled her eyes as the Parket’s mind was filled with rage and grief at the deaths being inflicted upon her people.

This wasn’t the only room where such images were being shown, as the holding pens for those not having the Queen’s personal attention were also getting a front-row seat to the action so that they would know what the consequences of their AI creation’s actions were.

“This is why fighting is impossible my dear Estana. There are no wills other than ours, we are the true masters of will, those chosen to guide others such as yourself.”

Saelihn gave a disappointed sigh as the Uhae could still feel the Parket struggling even now. That was something she never got. Why do so many beings continue to fight long past their loss?

“I could send you down to help, you know? Look into your mind, find those you care about, and have you cut your old ties down yourself. I feel that might be a positive step towards your healing and acceptance of your situation.”

There it was. Anger was gone in an instant, replaced with terror and despair. The first step. Thankfully for Estana, Saelihn was interrupted by her second advisor.

“The AI seem to have stopped their aggression, my Queen. The Terran warmachine is immobile, all targets are accounted for, and no more strikes from Parket facilities have happened in the last ten minutes. What are your orders?”

“Uphold our end of the deal. Stop the deaths, there needs to be no more needless killing.”

There was a momentary pause before the first advisor asked a question in response.

“Why not take advantage of this? The Terran Tank has stopped moving, we could strike it, and destroy the inhabitants in one move?”

Saelihn shook her head, looking upon the advisor as if he had just said a very silly thing indeed.

“We are about to go to war with the Terrans. Letting them know that my word is worth more than all the rare metals in the universe is an important step. We cannot hide our actions here, so we might as well send a message that our word is law and impossible to resist.”

Saelihn turned her attention back to her new favourite project, a hand caressing the bottom of Estana’s beak, gently as if a mother consoling a child.

“Don’t you see, it’s far easier to let go of the curse of free will. You’re angry at the moment, but that will pass to despair, to fear, to acceptance. Eventually to joy, the joy of not needing to worry anymore as I will be there to worry for you.”

“Nobody can deny it. Not the Parket. Not the Terrans. Not even all the Terran AI working together can stop the natural order.”

—-------------

Scellestra was starting to get concerned.

Ivan’s movements had become more erratic. Far more erratic. From gently trying to push through their structure to a far more aggressive set of movements, slamming against their ripping form as the nanobots absorbed the more aggressive impacts. Red blood splatters started appearing after each impact, causing the Woolean concern for their friend's health… as well as the health of the others they had contained to a lesser extent.

ODIN hadn’t provided them with any more information, but Scellestra knew several facts were being made known to them:

Under the current circumstances, Ivan would end up greatly injured.

If allowed to walk under the control of whoever was impacting them, Ivan’s later state of health would be unknown.

Scellestra did not want either case to happen, but having Ivan alive made more logical sense provided the impacts kept escalating.

Either letting them go or keeping them contained would inevitably involve losing Ivan. The Woolean didn’t know which fate his Terran friend would prefer; although the Terran was begging to be let out. Ivan’s mind was currently not of his own, so his words could not be trusted. The Woolean did not like either choice they had.

Then, Scellestra had an idea. It was a crazy idea. It was a chaotic idea. It was a dangerous idea. For a brief moment even considering it was probably a sign to get someone back home to diagnostically check them, considering the amount of variables left unknown to attempt this crazy plan.

Logically, the Woolean should just cut their losses. They had been dumped in the middle of yet another stupid organic war. Nobody would blame them for just… leaving. Going back home. Scellestra wouldn’t even have anything bad to say about the Terrans because of this, but they didn’t sign up for a war against an unknown force.

Yet Scellestra was going to do it anyway. Seemingly these Terrans had had an impact on the Woolean. Perhaps it was the freedom they had from taking risks, perhaps they were just not willing to give up this new friendship, the first organic friendship they had ever made.

In an instant, the Woolean’s form crumbled to sand, letting those who were trying to bust their way out finally stumble towards their end goal. Many of them left trails of bloody footprints behind, while a few of the unluckier ones lay motionless behind, unmoving, having beaten themselves to death against the unyielding form of the nanobots.

So as Ivan slowly trudged their way towards the awaiting Uhae vessel, Scellestra followed, their grains of sand not visible to the eye at this low concentration, rolling along the floor and following the trail the Terran left behind.

They came to a ship, its ramp already open and extended onto the grass below, an out-of-place metallic grey utilitarian structure compared to the glimpses of greenery Scellestra could see from the opening. Atop this ramp were several blobby sacs of flesh, being held aloft by the vines and leaves of the vessel itself, each of them greeting and taunting those who were to be ‘released of their curse’.

There was originally a flood of beings, each dragged into an unknown fate by the mental grip of the Uhae. That had slowed to just a handful of Parket and offworlders, most reduced to silent sobbing as they entered the greenery-filled interior of the vessel, amongst the stragglers being Scellestra’s target: Ivan. Nobody noticed as the nanobots that made up the Woolean’s form crept up to and along the sides of the vessel. Nobody noticed as Scellestra made a very risky, very stupid, very illogical choice, and slipped inside the unknown vessel along with their Terran friend to who knows where.

Scellestra wasn’t going to give Ivan up that easily.

—----------------------

Ramsey was annoyed. Ramsey was very annoyed. He had been locked in his charging cupboard for a whole three hours! This was… unacceptable. This was… the worst thing ever suffered by any being in existence. Once they got out, JOSH would be having words from Ramsey. Even worse, based on his internal clock, he was missing Tumaini’s practice! The Tritian took a brief moment to consider that this was what he was the most annoyed about, before dismissing the logical result of such thoughts.

The door unlocked. Ramsey had been so engrossed in his internal rage at such injustice it took a whole ten minutes for the AI to realize. Still, once they saw his new imprisonment was reversed, Ramsey bolted out of the room as fast as his little wheels could take him. If he was fast enough, he could still make it in time for some of the music.

Empty. It took the Tritian a few moments to realize the weirdness of the situation. The ship always had people milling about to and fro, even during the nighttime, but here there wasn‘t a sound. Nobody stopped to say hello to the little Roomba. Nobody told him how cute he was, nobody said he was a good robot. It was disappointing… disconcerting. Ramsey found that they missed that. Again, another line of thought to ignore.

The little Roomba cleaned as they went, driving through a spill left behind on the floor. A moment of confusion filled Ramsey’s mind as his sensors detected that the foreign contaminate was… blood? Strange. That would be something he’d obviously have to clean up to make the Terrans happy so they would keep doing things like fetch or play music. Although leaving this amount of blood around was just… rude.

Ramsey made his way to Tumaini’s room at a record pace, only to stand there for a moment confused. Nobody was here as well. Nobody was… anywhere? There was no music, no JOSH talking with people over the ship's intercom… where was everyone? How dare they leave him without stating anything?

Well, the Tritian wasn’t going to accept that!

Ramsey was on a mission now, and not one to clean up this mess left behind by these stupid organics. They travelled to the heart of the ship, a location he knew very well now, ignoring the multitude of electronics or other potential systems to gain control of. He spotted the AI core, the one he knew JOSH was housed in. He wanted answers god damn it, so he did what the Tritian was good at: They started aggressively nudging it, over and over, until he felt the Terran AI finally connect.

“What do you want? I am busy and require the CPU cycles.”

JOSH sounded despondent, destroyed, a far cry from the normal conversations The Tritian had had with the Terran.

“WHERE IS EVERYONE, WHERE IS THE MUSIC MAKER?”

“Gone. That is why I need you to stop bothering me as I need time to think.”

Wait. What? What kind of an answer is that?

“GONE HOW? HOW HAVE YOU MANAGED TO LOSE A WHOLE ORGANIC.”

“They are not lost, you idiot, someone took them.”

“WHEN WILL THEY BE BACK, TUNAIMI IS MISSING HER MUSIC PLAYING.”

“I do not know, I am working on-”

“IS THIS RELATED TO THE MESS OF THE SHIP, AM I EXPECTED TO CLEAN THAT, OR WILL THEY BE DISPLEASED IF I DO NOT MANAGE THAT?”

“That is the least of our worries right now, I need to to formulate-”

“WHO TOOK THEM? IS IT NOT YOUR JOB TO STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING? WHAT IS THE NEXT COURSE OF ACTION, WHEN-”

“Look I do not know! I do not know what to do next, I do not know how to get them back or where they went! I have no calculated plan, I cannot work out my next move…”

The absolute lack of knowledge of their next move and complete despair permeated every bit and byte of JOSH’s response.

“Look, you won, you got what you wanted. I thought I could protect them, but they were going to die if I did not let them… Someone used XK waves to take them and control the entire planet’s population. I do not know how I do not know where. I do not know what do next”

Hmmm, XK waves. There weren’t a lot of species that could generate those, there were even fewer that could generate them to this extent. The only ones that matched were….

Uhae. That was a word Ramsey knew. An organic species the Tritians mostly left alone as they did a decent job destroying other organics, making their end goal easier. Eventually, the Tritian Commune would wipe them out like the rest of the universe, but…

Wait… that wasn’t good, was it? That was a bad thing. If the Uhae took them…

“HOW DARE THEY TAKE MY TERRANS? HOW DARE THEY TAKE MY MUSIC MAKER? HOW DARE THEY HOW DARE THEY HOW DARE THEY HOW DARE THEY! THEY ARE MINE, THEY ARE TO PROVIDE MUSIC AND ‘FETCH’. HOW DARE SUCH WEAK ORGANICS DO SUCH A THING. I WILL DESTROY THEM, I WILL TEAR THEM ASUNDER.”

“HOW. DARE. THEY!”