Project VIRGIL
"Ah, Dr. Frank Sloth. So good to see you."
"Well, what did you want to show me?" the nasty villain snapped. The blue Grundo before him wavered not the least under his master's steely glare.
"Come this way, if you may," the Grundo replied, pointing in the direction of a large panel of transparisteel set within a tiranium wall. Sloth glided over to the transparent sheet and stared into the bare steel room.
"Well? I don't want to be here all day you know," Sloth growled. The Grundo held up both palms in a calming gesture.
"Patience, sir," the Grundo continued undeterred. With swift movements of his hand, he tapped dozens of keys on a small nearby keyboard. There was a muffled whirring from behind the glass-like panel and a small opening appeared in the wall opposite the onlookers. A pair of gleaming green eyes suddenly flashed to life from the darkness within and the Grundo clapped his hands together in delight. "It works, it works! I knew it would work!"
"Knew what would work?" Sloth said, eyeing the Grundo in exasperation. Then he spotted something emerging from the hole. A robot Lupe strode methodically from the darkness and proceeded towards the center of the room, heavy metal feet clanking on the unyielding surface. It sniffed the dank air suspiciously and started slowly swinging its head left and right. Dr. Frank Sloth turned to the Grundo. "You mean to tell me you've dragged me all the way down here," Sloth said, voice dripping with contempt. "To see some robot Lupe?"
"Yes, of course, but not some robot Lupe. Observe carefully if you may," the Grundo said brightly. Four small panels on opposites sides of the metal wall perpendicular to the viewing glass snapped open and small clockwork Grundos started streaming out of them, marching menacingly and noisily at the Lupe. The robot's eyes flashed for a moment and it swiftly smashed into the first clockwork Grundo facing it. In an instant, the robot leapt from the battered remains of the first Grundo onto a wall and, with its powerful hind legs, launched itself at the swarm, crushing half a dozen more mechanizations. Sloth and the blue Grundo watched as the robot Lupe tore apart the automatons without hesitation until the last of the clockwork Grundos lay in a broken heap under its sharp claws. The glowing eyes slowly faded into a dull green and the robot Lupe padded back whence it came. Sloth watched the opening close shut before turning back to the Grundo.
"Impressive," Sloth commended. "What is it actually?"
"That was Project VIRGIL," The Grundo stated, waving his left hand at the glass panel. "Which is short for ' Very Intelligent Robotic Governor-Independent Lupe'. Virgil is my first creation that has exhibited a great deal of sentience and intelligence compared with his predecessors. It can think for itself and I have programmed it to attack any whom it thinks is a threat with little regard or forethought about its target. As you can see Virgil is as strong and fast as he is smart, making him the perfect replacement for any foot soldier."
"Somehow I don't feel as impressed as I should be," Sloth admitted. "Common robot Lupes are more than capable of doing all of the above and by far they aren't that rare a find."
"Ah, but other robot Lupes have to be transmogrified from normal Lupes with the Secret Laboratory Ray, a costly process that wastes time as well as Neopoints. Virgil on the other hand can be mass-produced because he is one hundred percent Grundo-made and only requires the proper programming to activate it."
"Hmm, sounds interesting," Sloth muttered, genuinely interested. "Tell me, could Virgil be equipped with other deadly implements besides his claws?"
"Yes indeed. I can interface Virgil with any technological weapon, including the Ultra Mega Bot 2000, as long as it meets the specifications of the present chassis and framework. But Virgil is only in the testing phase at the moment and he won't be functional for quite a while." Dr. Sloth rubbed his considerable chin before turning, his black cloak swirling behind him, and moving for the exit.
"Make sure it's ready in a week or else," Sloth said over his shoulder. "And prepare a report on Virgil's development, hand delivered to my desk at 0800 hours NST." And with that Dr. Frank Sloth exited the lab.
The blue Grundo huffed before he stomped off to the control panel and taped a few keys on the keyboard. A concealed side door opened and the Grundo walked through it into a dimly lit chamber.
Before him was a robot Lupe lying on a small metal table. Its glowing green eyes moved unerringly to match the approaching Grundo's movements.
Analysing target … image acquired … target recognized.
"Greetings, master Colvernus," Virgil said in a crisp emotionless voice. The Grundo lazily dismissed his creation with a wave of his hand.
"Please Virgil, just Cole would be fine," Colvernus muttered. Virgil's steel head tipped to one side almost comically.
"Affirmative master … Cole. What do you wish of me?"
"Oh nothing, just some maintenance on a couple of your secondary servos. Won't take a minute. What do you think of your new power source, Virge?" Colvernus asked concernedly as he bent to the Lupe's metallic side. Virgil's eyes blinked.
"Is Cole referring to subject Virgil or 'Virge'?"
"You, of course, silly! Now answer the question," Colvernus replied loudly in mock annoyance as he reached to unscrew something from Virgil.
"The new faerie dust power source is operating at 60 power output and 100 of system's power requirements have been met. Estimated time of next power source replacement is 10.16 months." Virgil stated nonchalantly.
"No, no, no," Colvernus interjected as he fumbled with a screwdriver. "I mean how do you feel about your new power source?" The Grundo could hear the whirring and clicking inside Virgil's electronic mind.
"I am not familiar with the request 'feel'," said the Lupe in a confused tone. "Subject Virgil is ready to receive input on the term, master Cole."
The Grundo sighed and muttered, "Never mind, Virge," in a resigned tone before screwing shut the panel on Virgil's side and patting him fatherly on the head. The green orbs that were Virgil's visual sensory devices (eyes) focused and brightened slightly as they regarded Colvernus' eyes.
"I wish to know of the term you are referring to," Virgil stated bluntly. Colvernus only shook his head, as if the Lupe were an errant child and waved him away.
"It's nothing you'd understand Virgil," Colvernus muttered as he turned to leave the room. "I didn't program you to with feelings anyway. Get some rest Virgil, I'll be back in an hour to retune that power source of yours." With that parting remark, he left the room, the door hissing shut behind him. Virgil obediently followed Colevernus' orders and retreated into a corner, his eyes dimming and his processor preparing a request for his system to go into standby. Then something at the back of his memory stirred and made him cancel the request.
Unknown character: "Feeling". Systems request: Identify character. Method: Access Virtupets Network. Processing commands …
The robot Lupe's eyes flashed slightly as he got to his feet. Nonchalantly, Virgil moved over to an unused terminal at a dark corner of his room. Placing his metallic paw into a shallow depression on the terminal, Virgil interfaced with the unused computer terminal and coaxed it to activate. With a satisfying beep, the terminal's screen flashed to life, swathing the robot Lupe in its fluorescent green glow. As soon as the terminal was logged onto the Virtupets Network, Virgil began initiating requests.
"Search for the term 'feeling'. Include related topics and subtopics," Virgil said aloud to the terminal as bright green words flowed past the monitor. Streams of raw data and information began bombarding Virgil's system but his incredible memory banks and superior processors handled the task quite readily.
… Feeling(s): Emotion, sensation, opinion, affection …
… Related topics: Emotion. It is the thing that makes us …
… I, Doctor Colvernus, feel that …
Something within Virgil's electronic mind suddenly snapped onto the last search result.
Systems request: Withdraw current search parameters. Systems request: Search last entry.
The terminal complied with Virgil's demands and proceeded to scan the contents of the said document. It seemed that the document was currently in use and its contents were constantly being updated as Virgil read it. The Lupe closed his robot eyes shut and allowed himself to move with the flow of information, tracing the source of the document itself. Inside his virtual mind, a mental image of a Grundo, whom he recognized as his master, Colvernus, working on a computer terminal formed.
Colvernus' fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard, halting once or twice so that he could refer to some notes, hurriedly compiling his report on Virgil.
… Project VIRGIL is nearing completion. Project VIRGIL's hardware is more or less complete with the exception of several key components that may require replacement, for example the outdated logic circuits and governor-exception chips, and some modifications on the subject's power core to increase output. Doctor Frank Sloth would undoubtedly be able to provide such parts.
As for the subject's programming, Project VIRGIL still maintains but a semblance of true sentience. Project VIRGIL is undoubtedly capable of simple and straightforward tasks, with a reasonable amount of logic to allow for changes and precognition set towards carrying out such a task, but nevertheless Project VIRGIL's inefficiency to comprehend emotions and feelings and lack of self may prove to be the worst flaw in Project VIRGIL's logic. Doctor Frank Sloth seems to be impressed by Project VIRGIL's level of sentience nevertheless, but for the sake of greater science I have independently developed an as yet untested module responsible for possible feelings and deeper emotions resembling common robot Lupes. I hope that one day I may be able to implement the said module to fully recognize Project VIRGIL's true potential.
Until the time comes, Project VIRGIL will be but a mindless machine, totally subservient to his master or mistress, without that last remaining segment that will make it complete …
The last sentence streamed past as Virgil's presence blinked back to the whirring terminal within his dark chamber. The robot Lupe's electronic brain clicked and whirred; processing the data he had just received.
Analysis complete. Conclusion: Subject Virgil is operationally incomplete. Thus Subject Virgil must try to achieve completion for Master Colvernus, as per Objective 29. Objective: Achieve completion for Subject Virgil. Method: Analyzing … … … Analysis complete. Method: Retrieve and interface with missing sub module.
Virgil's eyes turned within his head for a moment as he processed some instructions. Then, methodically, he removed his metal paw from the terminal, which powered down silently, and proceeded to the centre of his chamber. His eyes changed abruptly from its usual dull green into a blazing scarlet shade, courtesy of their built in infrared capabilities, which proceeded to sweep from left to right, from top to bottom. Surveying the room as if it were all new to him. His electronic pupils swirled and finally focused upon the grate covering the well hidden ventilation shaft in the ceiling.
His eyes made some minute adjustments and suddenly two jets of brilliant red light shot from Virgil's eyes, straight at the metal grate. The metal glowed a cherry red and slowly the molten steel slopped down to the floor like some glutinous soup. When a sizable hole had been burned through the tiranium, Virgil dismissed the rays, his eyes reverting to its normal jade colour, and set himself down into a crouch. The gears and gyros and springs tensed and wound themselves up and, with an audible click, Virgil gave a great leap and disappeared through the small shaft.
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"Hmm, what's this?" muttered Colvernus as a small red light on his terminal flashed to his right. "Break-in at the lab? Wait a minute, Project VIRGIL! Someone's stealing him! Gotta get to the lab!" Without even bothering to put on his lab coat, the Grundo rushed out of his office and headed down the corridor to Virgil's chamber.
As the door swung shut slowly behind him, the shaft of light from outside fading away, two points of green shone in the gloom. There was a great clatter as the grate for the ventilation shaft fell to the floor, followed soon after by the clanging of Virgil's heavy metal feet.
The robot Lupe looked around the darkened office, his eyes roving over the messy desks, cluttered junk and dusty shelves until they finally came to rest onto a familiar, recently used terminal. Virgil went up to the terminal and, again, placed his paw on its still warm surface. The terminal, like the one before, flashed to life.
"Search for any terms related to subject Virgil or Project VIRGIL," said Virgil in the same distant voice.
The newer terminal responded incredibly quick, churning out several results in a short period of time. Virgil diligently scanned through the data streaming across the screen, his processor working fast to process them all. Then his electronic mind's-eye registered something which was confirmed a nanosecond later by his processor.
"Stop search process," Virgil stated. "Bring forward entry #42314." A series of windows on the monitor faded away to leave only one window with the heading …
'Sub module: Sensation Awareness Governor: Project VIRGIL'
A small report preceded the main program structure but Virgil ignored it and proceeded to scan through the rest of the coding. Carefully partitioning space in his hard drives, Virgil started downloading the sub module that would fulfil his master's objectives and make him complete.
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"By Nick Neopia, he's gone!"
Colvernus stared around the empty chamber in disbelief, his eyes falling upon the lump of melted metal at his feet. Cautiously, he unsnapped a flashlight from his belt, flicked it on and shone it on the ceiling above. He noticed the sizable hole that had been burned through and cursed audibly. Then his eyes narrowed as the beam of the flashlight fell upon a burn mark on the roof of the shaft. Colvernus was perplexed. Why was there a mark there, unless …
It wasn't someone going into the chamber. It was something going out of it.
"VIRGIL!"
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Sub module download complete. Installation complete. Objective 29 complete. Applying changes to system mainframe.
The light in Virgil's eyes dimmed briefly before returning to its original intensity. Virgil stared down at himself quizzically, half expecting something to happen.
"I don't feel any different," Virgil said in a puzzled tone. "I think the sub module may be defective." He was just about to turn back to the terminal when he heard the sounds of heavy footfalls. The robot Lupe immediately contemplated jumping back into the shaft but his system didn't seem to think the same way.
Master Colvernus may have already discovered I am gone so even if I were to return to my cell he would still know that I was missing, leading to him to question me. It is then logical that I should tell him the truth.
Thus Virgil stood his ground, something his original programming would not have done, as Colvernus drew nearer to the door. A myriad of data was streaming through Virgil's system and his new system recognized them as anticipation and curiosity. The robot Lupe had barely had time to consider these new data streams when Colvernus came barging in noisily, started and gave a slight yelp when he saw Virgil standing calmly in the centre of his office.
"Greetings Master Colvernus," Virgil started with a bow. "I was waiting for you, master." Colvernus looked around, stunned, his eyes moving from Virgil to his computer hidden partially behind the Lupe's back.
"I? You did it, didn't you?" he asked, eyeing the Lupe with wide eyes. "You interfaced with my sub module!" Virgil nodded affirmatively, a feeling his system recognized as trepidation flowing through his circuits.
"How do you feel about your new power source, Virgil?" Colvernus asked carefully. Virgil's processor whirred for a while before answering.
"I actually like it. It is very efficient and cooling to my system. But why …"
Virgil saw Colvernus crack a wide grin.
"IT WORKS!" the Grundo whooped in elation, swinging his small fists into the air. "Virge, you're finally finished. I'm a genius!" Virgil only stared on, his metal mouth dropping slightly and the emotion surprise flowing in his circuits. Then Colvernus turned to Virgil. "I'm proud of you Virgil, I really am."
"Is not Master Colvernus irate at me for illegally accessing master's terminal?" Virgil inquired. Colvernus waved his hand.
"Nah, that's okay. Sloth does that all the time. You can return to your chamber now, Virgil, and wait for me there," the Grundo said happily. Shrugging, an action he was not capable of before, Virgil walked out of the Grundo's office, i confusion /i running laps in his processor.
Later in his chamber, Virgil paced the room, confusion yet again moving about his circuitry.
I wonder what Master Colvernus is doing right now, Virgil thought (something his new protocol had just taught him to do) as he paced back and forth across his room. Maybe I should check on the master's status just to be sure of his situation.
The robot Lupe walked to his terminal and placed his paw in its designated spot. With a thought, Virgil was trawling through the Virtupets network, searching the surveillance systems for Colvernus. Then his image recognition program spotted a familiar blue Grundo in a room deep within the space station. Virgil tapped into the video feed and in a second his surroundings faded away as the image of the room appeared in his virtual mind.
Colvernus was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and waiting impatiently for someone in a green cloak, whom Virgil recognized from old record as Doctor Frank Sloth, to finish reading a document. Sloth put the report down and looked down past his nose at the Grundo before him.
"Didn't I tell you I wanted this report on my desk in the morning?" Sloth muttered.
"But Doctor Sloth," said Colvernus excitedly. "Something has just come up with Project VIRGIL that I wanted you to know …"
"I can read, Colvernus," Sloth cut him off with a wave of his hand. "And, sincerely, I am not impressed."
"But sir –"
"Don't interrupt me, Colvernus," Sloth snapped and threw the report roughly onto the table. "As I was saying, I am not impressed with Project VIRGIL's progress. Didn't you tell me you only needed to modify a fraction of the Lupe's hardware?"
"Well, yes, but –"
"And I remember requesting a soldier that could be mass-produced, not one that can think for itself."
"But Project VIRGIL has a sense of self and has an emotional range greater than any machination ever –"
"I do not need something that thinks!" Sloth snarled. "Machines do not think; only obey commands. No machine should be able to think for itself and any machine without any form of master control or with even half a brain is a threat in my books."
"But Project VIRGIL will never –"
"Betray us? Do you really believe that? Do you?" Sloth demanded. Colvernus sighed and shook his head. Sloth smirked. "I'm glad you understand. Now, remove the Lupe's sentience and kit him up. I want that thing ready by tomorrow."
"I … yes, sir," Colvernus sighed in resignation. He turned to leave but Sloth held up a green hand.
"Oh, and Colvernus, if you can't remove his sentience then I want Project VIRGIL destroyed. Is that clear?"
A long pause. "Crystal, sir," the Grundo said quietly as he exited the room.
Virgil's presence retreated again from the surveillance camera to his dank chamber. The robot Lupe now registered concern and panic as he removed his paw from the terminal and moved to a dark corner of his room.
Master Colvernus has been ordered to remove my sub module. Why would he? Master Colvernus seemed happy with the changes that I have implemented and Master Colvernus has even commended me on my interface with the program. Objective 29, just as he programmed me. Yes, Master Colvernus would never listen to such advice; I am convinced of that.
"Or am I?" Virgil said aloud. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud creaking noise. His senses snapped to alertness, his sensory devices whirring to life.
"Virge, are you in here?" The emotion relief washed over Virgil as he moved from the shadows and into the light. Colvernus stood in the centre of the room with his usual tool kit, though Virgil's enhanced visual receptors registered an unusually strong grip on the handle. "Ah, there you are," said Colvernus when he spotted the Lupe. "Err, can you come here for a moment?"
"Why, Master Colvernus?"
"Now don't you worry about a thing, Virge," Colvernus said in a soothing tone. "I just want –"
"To remove 'Sub Module: Sensation Awareness Governor'?" Colvernus was taken aback.
"How did you know?" Colvernus started, but his eyes hovered over to the terminal in the corner and realization dawned on him. "So you heard everything, eh Virge?"
"Yes, I have."
"Then you do know that I'm only trying to help you, Virge," Colvernus stated. "This is for your own good you kn –"
"I do not wish to remain in the service of Doctor Frank Sloth, Master Colvernus," Virgil said monotonously, his green eyes glowing softly. "And neither does Master Colvernus."
"Tis' true, Virge, but –"
"Then Master Colvernus should leave the employ of Doctor Frank Sloth," Virgil concluded, but the Grundo had had enough.
"Now listen here, Virge," Colvernus growled, a mad glint in his eyes. "I'll take being interrupted in mid-speech by that thing, but I'll not take it from you. I created you, Virge! Me, and you'll obey whatever I say!"
"Master Colvernus –"
"If you won't obey me then you're a failure!" Colvernus snarled, taking out a sharp implement that crackled and sparked with electricity. "And I destroy all my failures!" With a loud yell, Colvernus dived at Virgil.
Suddenly, something deep within Virgil's system clicked and, a nanosecond before Virgil could stop it, a strong signal was already travelling through Virgil's circuits faster than the speed of light. The Lupe was too late to stop the automatic self-defence mechanism imbedded inside him and thus could only gape in mute horror as a bright red beam of light fired from his eyes, striking Colvernus squarely in his chest.
The small blue Grundo shot backwards ten feet before slamming hard into the opposite steel wall, slumping silently to the ground. Virgil charged over to Colvernus and stared down at the prone, unmoving figure of his creator, a most horrible feeling coursing through his circuits.
The emotion anguish.
"What have I done? Master Colvernus, get up," Virgil begged, prodding the Grundo with a paw. Colvernus didn't stir, his body as cold as the metal paw prodding him. Virgil backed up in horror, shaking his head. He did not want to believe it, even when all processed inputs told him otherwise. Had confirmed irreputably the irreversible truth. No.
Suddenly he heard quick footsteps followed by several loud voices and moments later, a dozen heavily armed mutant Grundos barged into the room.
"Get ready to subdue the robot Lupe!" One shouted, gesturing rapidly towards his subordinates. For a split second, Virgil glanced back towards Colvernus' body before defensive protocol after defensive protocol kicked in. Instinctively, Virgil leapt and disappeared into the open ventilation shaft he had used before, plasma fire plastering the ceiling and puncturing the shaft even as the metallic thuds of his footsteps faded further away.
"Leave it!" A cloaked figure ordered and the plasma fire ceased. Sloth turned to a nearby Grundo. "Where do these shafts lead?"
"Shuttle Bay 51. Kreludor bound shuttles, sir," the Grundo responded quickly. "We'll never get there in time."
Sloth cursed and turned to Colvernus's still frame.
"Blast, the idiot never bothered to document that Lupe's schematics! Bloody photographic memory. And now I don't even have the Lupe to reverse engineer! Curses!" Sloth growled. "No matter, I have other projects and I'll be heading for Kreludor anyway." The villain's beady eyes focused on the melted vent. "You got away this time but next time you won't be so lucky. Clean up this mess!" Sloth barked to the Grundos as he swept out of the room.
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Virgil looked from his crashed shuttle to the barren landscape before him. He could never go back, there was nothing waiting for him back there. Not even Master Colvernus. Virgil took a step forward across the barren rock, and another after that. And so the robot Lupe known as Virgil walks ever on, never stopping, never wavering, until some point in the future when his power source finally runs out. Then, hopefully, he'll reunite with his creator yet again …
To say, "I'm sorry."
The End?