The Archialect Arc
Part III
Chrysalis
((This log follows the events of Wild Bounty, posted on 07/2/10.
Previously, Savant had convinced a pair of prospectors to claim an area
on the fringes of known space for her. This puzzled the two prospectors,
as the system she had chosen was utterly boring, with little in it
except the very basic elements - no dilithium crystals, no cortenium, no
exotic rare elements or alloys. She seemed pleased with the system,
however, and paid the two prospectors well. Now the AI has a mining
claim on the system's gas giant and its attendant moons and asteroids, a
runabout shuttlecraft full to brimming with fuel and hardware, and
nothing but time, and whatever plans are spinning in her processors...))
.....
A billion shards of ice, a trillion cubic meters of gasses. Millions of
tonnes of rock, and ore, and ice; thin films of plasma. Clouds,
lightning, water, iron, methane. The planet was un-named, and Savant saw
no need to name it - didn't the pointer file do that job well enough?
Its name was written in its very essence, for her; it was its' size, its
weight, its spectra. Another name would be redundant.
And it was a beautiful planet. Caribbean blue, swollen like a frozen sun
as Savants' runabout, Chrysalis, made its orbit. Duck-egg coloured
clouds swirled in broad bands, mixing in the ice-white water ice with
slow and steady turns. Deeper, vibrant blues roiled beneath. The
systems' white star gleamed brightly, making the whole orb almost
iridescent against the black. Further out, delicate bands of ices ringed
the sphere, wide and translucent hoops that barely cast a shadow upon
the globe. Chrysalis orbited midway between the rings and the planet,
gently transiting to the first of many moons.
The two prospectors, Lyndona and T'taun, cheerful and welcome company as
they were, were long gone. Savant was likely the only sentient in this
lonely, isolated parsec. There was nothing of value out here, and no
habitable planets within a great distance. She was alone.
And this was just fine for the AI, in fact it was exactly what Savant
had planned for and required. These first steps would be the most
fragile and frangible; the whole thing could unravel if these steps were
fouled with interference. For now, though, there were no incoming scans.
No one was watching. So Savant went to work.
Chrysalis puffed to a gentle stop at this, the closest moon. The planet
had swollen to a broad blue plain beneath the runabout, while this tiny
moon was a great lumpy sphere - some captured asteroid, chunk of a
planetessimal that did not have a chance to join a greater fate. Until
now. The crafts' door opened without a sound, and no air escaped, for
the occupant within did not need to breath. Savants' black clad android
pushed out into the void, as calm as if she were going for a walk. She
floated beside the runabout as it continued to maneuver.
And then the transporters and replicators within went to work. Automated
plasma cutters sliced open the belly of the craft from the inside, and
the whole slab of hull disappeared into the quantum mist of transport.
Other cutting beams stabbed out a hand's span from the hull as the craft
neatly quartered itself, a calm and measured self-mutilation. From
within, long armatures extended into a long cross, glittering on one
side with a silver mesh of transport and replication arrays, sensors and
pressors and tractors all neatly aligned.
And then Savant set to work.
..... Some Time Later .....
Savant sat, pondering, chin on a fist and elbow on knee, as classic a
thoughtful pose as ever. Clear blue eyes were undaunted by the vacuum
and cold. She bore a subtle smile, eminently pleased. The stars spread
out widely to one side of her view, and to the other was the broad blue
expanse of her new home. It would be, in any case. The chunk of stony
rubble made an adequate throne for the moment, though it was little more
than electrokinentic forces keeping her against it, and even then the
slightest nudge would send her and it bumping apart. It would be a
marvelous home, she was certain of it. Vast resources, a bright and
energetic star to spin antimatter from, and a perfect location. She had
made a good choice.
One half of the universe was black and filled with stars, the other was
blue, iridescent and gleaming in the white starlight. Before her, the
sundered rocks of the planets' first moon were being arrayed for use.
Chrysalis was no more; it had consumed itself in the production of a
half dozen smaller craft. These, based upon the rough plans of a
Federation probe, were filled with replication and transport equipment,
and were making short work of the moon. They neatly disassembled the
rocks, separating them into their constituent elements and rearranging
them to suit her needs.
Her needs, at the moment, were more replicating drones. The parts of
another dozen were floating in space, and her first twelve were zipping
back and forth between the cracked rocks and the newborns. She was
programming each in turn as the isolinear rods were being replicated,
preparing them with duties and tasks they would soon be able to perform.
These tasks, of course, would be the production of yet more drones.
Eventually she would reach a critical mass, but not yet, and not for awhile.
And that was alright. For the moment, at least, she did not need to
worry about time. Her operation was small and low-powered, too weak to
be caught in long range scans. When time came for her to move to higher
energy operations, she would be out of sight and protected. There was
still the danger of accidental discovery, but for now, she felt quite
secure.
The chunk of useless rubble made a poor throne for the AI as it crafted
its mansion in the sky. For now, though, it would do. For tomorrow,
however, the great blue orb would be a more proper and fitting residence.
..... Postscript .....
12 - 0 hours
24 - 1 hour
48 - 2 hours
96 - 3 hours
768 - 6 hours
6144 - 9 hours
393216 - 15 hours
100,663,296 - 1 day
Savant,
Chrysalis
