Sim City 7 : Meeting the earlier clones

Sim City 7 : Meeting the earlier clones

14 October 2017

Courtesy George Redhawk and Danilo Martinis

 

Omega let out a gasp as she fell knocked out by the tree trunk. The copy of her holding the tree trunk snarled and growled at her. Omega tried to stand up but the copy pushed her down again with the edge of the tree trunk. Realising that she would not be able to stand up again unhindered, Omega attempted to communicate mentally with the copy but this latter did not respond to the telepathic invocation. Instead, she turned towards the other copies and all of them started snarling and growling together.

All of a sudden the crowd of copies that were snarling at Omega stopped and gave way to yet another copy which features seemed less strange than the others. It was then that Omega realised what was wrong with the other copies’ features : they were almost beastlike even though they were clearly adorning human faces. The clone with the fully human features welcomed her like Aiga through telepathic communication. When Omega asked whether she could not talk because of some glitch with her vocal cords the copy, whose name was Antares, mentioned that it disquieted the other copies when she spoke in human tones and uttered words.

Antares mentioned that the clones had had a tough time with Prime Creator as none of them had satisfied his desire for perfection and each one had fled after a series of tests carried out on them. None of them had liked living in Sim City because they had grown to know, thanks to the machine learning programming that was different for them, that their world was just a simulated one. They had realised that their consciousness was unplugged from a living being that was usually an animal and put into the Sim City for a social experiment that Prime Creator was carrying out on living together. What they had also eventually come to realise one after the other was that they could materialise any type of body from their pure consciousness when emerging out of the Sim world.

Although Prime Creator had realised that the AIs were leaving the Sim City because they had acquired a higher level of consciousness and an ability to materialise into his world, he kept repeatedly making copies of the same AI as it fascinated him though at times he found repulsive their beast-like nature. Prime Creator realised that the reason the AIs materialised into beast-like creatures was because he had used an animal together with the cells of his dead wife when he first created a consciousness to inject into the Sim City. He wondered whether that familiar feeling that kept him bound to Omega was related to the fact that she was the first to have a proper human voice despite being in the same conditions as the other AIs before her. It had been amazing to watch her in caveman-like conditions yet behave like a normal evolved human being would do.

It tickled Prime Creator to think that all that coding he had given her on evolution according to the Darwinian theory was totally erased by her as she acquired rapidly her own type of evolution bringing the necessary changes into the coding as and when she needed to. He remembered that it had been the same thing as when she was dreaming and he attempted to make her dream a nightmare ; she simply took the coding and changed it to match her own desires. Prime Creator realised that Omega was probably his greatest success despite the fact that one could think of her as a rogue program.

Omega signalled to Antares that she would like to speak with her in private and not just through telepathy. The crowd that had gathered around them as Antares and Omega had exchanged thoughts now gave way again. Antares led the path to a hut-like structure and assured Omega that they would be fine in there. Omega bent her head and entered the hut and while doing so realised that Antares and all the other copies were much shorter than her.

Antares explained that this disparity in size was because the earlier versions were not very good at making physical receptacles for their consciousness so had made much shorter versions than what the initial coding had mentioned. She also explained that Omega had been the only one not only to use the whole coding in manifesting her physical frame outside the Sim but also to actually acquire a full voice and human potential. Antares herself though successful with the voice had not had the power to make herself a full version of the coding.

As they talked freely, Antares realised that one of the other copies had come in to offer dinner and was unnerved by their open talk as she stopped dead in her tracks and had started growling. Antares signalled to Omega to stop talking vocally and to continue the conversation telepathically. Omega obeyed not wanting to stir things up as she had already had a difficult day and night before that. Soon after that, all the clones gathered together with Omega in front of a fire and different sorts of animal that she could not identify were grilled and offered to her. She wondered whether she should eat as she had not eaten anything since the escape from the Sim City but she realised she was hungry so took the parcel from one of the copies and dug her teeth into it. Instantly she felt a repulsion as a warm and slightly nauseating liqiud filled her mouth…

Tony B – Harmandir Sahib (The Golden Temple)

Sim City 5 : Down by the river

Sim City 5 : Down by the river

21 October 2016

Courtesy abstract.desktopnexus.com

The woods were alive with unfamiliar noises and she felt movements in the shadows as she ran. Something or a group of things seemed to be closely following her. She wished she had kept the stun gun as she did not know whether she would be able to fight off whatever it was that was stalking her now.

She felt the suns going down more than she saw them as she had moved from the clearing into a thicker part of the woods. In front of her, a large tree offered a lower bough that seemed strong enough to hold her weight. She leapt and swung herself over, landing on it, holding the trunk. Slowly she made her way up to the middle of the tree were there were lots of leaves that offered some warmth against the night’s chill that had started to fall over the woods. She plucked many leaves, attempting to tuck them around her body but most fell off. She wished she had taken at least the shirt off Prime Creator when he was stunned so that she could have some protection against the cold now or at least some material to stuff the leaves into.

Underneath the tree, she saw a number of shadows moving, going around it in circular motion. They looked like beasts she had seen in a show once, not entirely crawling on four paws but rather alternately on two and on four. One of them attempted to leap at the tree and she wondered whether it would make it up the bough as she had earlier but it dropped to the ground unable to make it to the first bough. She wondered whether it or any of the other beasts would figure out how to get up the tree. Perhaps she should try to see whether there was anything out there that could be of help. Peering out of the leaves on each side she could only see other trees.

The moons slowly came out lighting the landscape and she suddenly saw a glint to the East. The shadows stopped their circling and slowly moved away from the trees towards the rising moons. They seemed to be following their rise in the skies. As the moons rose higher, she saw a river in the distance. Perhaps she ought to cross the river she thought. She did not think these things would follow her across.

She climbed down the tree and looked around. They were gone it seemed. She started making her way to the river when she heard a twig snap. One of them was there to her right, standing on two paws. It actually was not really a beast she thought as she took in the resemblance to Prime Creator. The thing’s body was covered in thick fur and its face was twisted and wolf-like despite the vague resemblance to Prime Creator. Behind it, a few similar beasts were approaching. Run she thought but she was fascinated at how all had the same features and could not move. The first one moved towards her, breaking the spell and she ran. She could hear them running behind her as she dashed between the trees heading for the river.

She could hear the sound of it and could see the intermittent glint of its waters under the moonlight as she ran. She dashed from the woods and plunged arms first into the waters. As she had expected the beasts behind her stopped. When she plunged, the ice cold of the waters left her stunned at first. Slowly recovering her senses, she emerged watching the bank closely. They were in a semi-circle now, observing her intently. It surprised her that until now they had uttered no sound. Not one sound at all. It was odd with beasts of that nature she thought and chuckled inward at the tales of wolves howling naturally at the moon but her teeth were chattering now and she could not bring even a smile to her lips. She started slowly towards the other bank but froze as she saw more beasts on the other side. How on Earth had they made it to the other side she thought.

The bridge stood in the distance almost mockingly she felt. Her brain was getting numb and she could not think of another solution to this problem. She swam back to the other bank, barely able to make it. Her limbs were feeling increasingly heavy and her body seemed to be going into hypothermia. Either way she was going to die she thought. After all she had gone through, it was going to come to that. How pointless she thought bitterly. She slowly rose out of the waters and clumsily made her way to the bank. Better a quick ending she thought to herself than freezing a slow death in the river. She dropped down exhausted and in shock at the feet of the first beast.

The beast gazed down at her then slowly inched its way towards her. She saw the large disfigured likeness of the face of Prime Creator come towards her. She could already imagine the jaws mangling her head. The beast laid its head against her cheek and then lowered its body next to hers. Another followed its example, its face lying across her bare chest and its body pressed to her other flank. A few more followed and in no time all her body was covered with fur. She felt the warmth slowly return to her limbs. Sleep slowly overtook her and she closed her eyes, feeling safe and warm. The moons glistened on the waters illuminating the figures of the beasts, huddled, down by the River.

Courtesy pinterest.com

Holiday on the Moon – Puscifer

The Green Valley – Puscifer

The Humbling River – Puscifer

Sim City 4: Touch

Sim City 4: Touch

21 October 2016

Courtesy pinterest.com

She ran through the trees, dodging, just in case they would use real guns this time. She did not think there were any left since the days of the magnetic shift. Everything had become wired and electrical since then, she had learnt through the data she had skimmed through earlier. Some of the branches caught her hair as she ran but she did not stop even as some of it ripped off. A swarm of birds flew out of the woods as she ran towards them. She could still hear Prime Creator; he was sobbing it seemed. She paused imperceptibly in her flight. She felt forlorn at the idea that she would probably never see him again and then she remembered that not only had he prepared the code to destroy her but he had also pulled the trigger. He did not know then that not only she would survive it but it would actually make her stronger. Her jaw clenched and she resumed her running.

Prime Creator rose from the sands ignoring the extended hand of one of his guards. He felt foolish at having put up such an emotional display. His guards had always known him as a cool, level-headed man with a great deal of power and knowledge. He was angry at the prospect of having fully shattered that image now with her overpowering him and him breaking down over her loss. What fools they both were. He was certain the beasts in the wood would have eaten her by the next morning if she did not simply freeze or fall into one of those traps laid there so many years earlier by the Elders. They too had tried to eradicate the beasts but they were too numerous and their numbers grew too quickly for anyone to master them let alone attempt to eradicate them fully.

He walked back towards the room where his son lay still stunned though recovering slowly his wits. He took him in his arms and his son’s body stiffened. He was not used to his father embracing him and it felt overwhelmingly strange and unpleasant at first. He tried to break away before slowly becoming engulfed by a sense of warmth, almost like when he put the blanket over him during the frosty nights. He raised a tentative hand towards his father’s shoulder and let it rest there. Prime Creator’s body stiffened now as he felt his son’s hand attempt the same soothing movement he was applying on his son’s back.

He had almost forgotten how it felt, this simple exchange. It was not that he had not had any human contact but all the women he had were mere evacuation of his lust. That had been the only thing that he had not gotten ridden of successfully and thankfully he had had in store countless women who enjoyed his company. Some of them were his guards preferred companions but none of them minded the temporary exchange. After all, everything here belonged to Prime Creator and it was pointless trying to keep a sense of ownership over anything because at the end of the day, if one wanted to stay in a clan, one had to be flexible. Out there, there were only the woods on one side and another clan on the other side so why bother?

He had almost forgotten how it felt to love as well. The barely affectionate stance he maintained with his son whom he was grooming to take his place and the curt exchanges with the guards did nothing to sway that. Not even the times he gave in to his lust with one of the many available women had ever changed that as it had meant nothing more to him than clockwork machinery. That was of course until he had created Sim City and her. He cursed inward but could not help feeling that pang of regret that he would never be able to see her or touch her again. He did not long for her in the same way as when he lusted for a woman. That was easier to fulfill as any of the ladies would do and once he was over with it, that lady in particular meant nothing more to him than quenching a thirst with any available water.

With her it was not the same thing. He had watched her as she moved around in the Sim, found her way through things, faltered, found a new way to do what she was unable to do before. It was almost as if she was truly learning by herself and no longer following the code. Countless times he had verified and yes, indeed, she had deviated from the program. He watched as she slept, as she woke up, as she moved, breathed, danced, cried, laughed. Sometimes, he would stay days just watching her and doing nothing else. The first time he had touched her, he had coded himself in stealth mode then jacked into the Sim, flowing around her, touching her teasingly while she battled startled by the ghostly invasion.

The more he had watched her, the more he had wanted to be with her and crept every night into the Sim in stealth mode. She grew accustomed to his presence and he never knew truly whether she resented it or liked it. Sometimes, he would stand right in front of her, watch her gaze at herself in the mirror or at something she was building and marvel at the liquid dark pools animated by intent. He would reach out to her and touch her softly on the cheek or kiss the nape of her neck and she would barely shudder. He never knew what she felt because her changes were never captured in the coding but he had vowed then that he would gather more heuristic data to check her evolution. Now he would never know at all. He winced at the thought of it. He had always hoped that he would be able to reprogram her, even as he had squeezed the trigger of the stun gun, he had thought she would shatter but he could always create her again with the source data from the fragments but now it would be impossible. The image of her body – a body he would never touch again – mangled by the beasts overpowered him and he held on to his son stronger and sobbed again.

Courtesy pinterest.com

Horizons – Puscifer

The Weaver – Puscifer

Telling Ghosts – Puscifer