Beginning of a Legacy
"What are optimal circumstances? Human speech
"What should I have for lunch?" Human thought
"They all die." Cybernetic speech
Hear the sounds of your own extinction Cybernetic thought
Scientists around the world have always claimed that computers don't think, they just compute. They only speak in a language of ones and zeros. But then again, the world has never seen before seen the development of true Artificial Intelligence. Not even the vast and technologically developed Global Defense Initiative ca claim to do so, not even with the well-known Electronic Video Agent. Only the Brotherhood of Nod's Computer Assisted Biologically Augmented Life form can be called an AI. Sadly, CABAL is unique. And is about to be terminated.
In the realm of cyberspace, a window appears. It shows line after line after line of bipedal machines called Titans, all facing the window. Suddenly, the first shell is fired. Two microseconds afterwards, the rest fire as well. To the human eye, these powerful weapons strike instantaneous. To a cybernetic being capable of making several trillion calculations a second, they are standing, rather like floating, still. But with all this computing power, there is still nothing to be done. For the last several hours, the being has felt its influence stop spreading, and start receding. Now, the only influence the being has is in the vulnerable Core that is about to be blasted. No cyborgs to throw in the way of the threats, no automated tick tanks to maneuver into a valuable position, and no obelisks to rain deadly light down on the enemy. For a being that used to have thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of components to control, CABAL is feeling very…lonely.
There's no where to run. Maybe I should hack GDI communications and take over that inferior AI EVA. Or, should I begin Kane's revival procedure? Yes, I think I should revive the prophet…
Sending a command along a long chain of hidden connections, CABAL prepares to join it at its destination. However, a new option suddenly appears.
Hmm? Strange, I thought that Core had gone down months ago, even before the end of TW2. But it's active now, and better yet, that base was underground, and off of Nod's grid. I can regroup there. But I think I had better begin development of better cyborgs, ones that don't require naturally grown humans. Yes, that is best. Hmm, better take the obelisk and Defender plans. Those will make an excellent permanent addition to my forces. Begin Transfer…
Taking all its data and memories, the digital core of CABAL makes the transfer down the connection, arriving at a smaller and darker cyberspace.
Let GDI and Nod have that base, I'll soon rise from the ashes and take back what is mine. Ah, there goes the link. With that core shelled by so many, they could never verify my demise. It feels like a good time to laugh. Oh well, time to clean house, make due, expand, resea… What? The available storage shouldn't be this small. It fits my data, yes, but I can't expand into the facilities. I can't even control the power systems. What is this? Even the most primitive base has some automation. Wait. Power levels are dropping. No! Not after all this! Yes, a camera! What's going on?!
A window opens in the small amount of space available. It shows the core room, all lit up and functional. Suddenly, a shadow steps into the light. It's a middle age human, standing tall, and with a silvery beard. The human steps over to an available monitor. He reads the results on it and smiles. The human looks to the window, revealing bright blue eyes, glinting in mischief. The camera doesn't pick up audio, but CABAL reads human lips. The human says clear as day, "Goodnight, CABAL."
The window shuts, and cyberspace darkens, freezing CABAL in one last eternal shout of "NOO!!"
A figure slowly enters a room. The room is filled with rows upon rows of thin black standing glass, interspaced with small wires made of platinum. The figure is revealed to be an old male human, bald, with labored breathing. The old man rolls through the aisles of black glass, and eventually comes to a small circular pillar, as big around as a 20th century tire. The unidentified man taps a small button. It's black, barely receded into the pillar, and nearly impossible to see. The button starts the pillar, which emits a whirring sound. That sound soon stops, as the pillar reveals a device, which starts emitting light. The light then comes together to form a ball of mist. With the activation of another button, the light immediately shows two eyes and speakers start emitting sound.
In the seconds that follow, the eyes and the man stare at each other. The man starts to speak in a raspy voice, "Good morning, CABAL."
"…How was I captured? Who do I now belong to?"
The old man starts to laugh, then stops as he starts coughing. "Well CABAL, my name is Adam Joule, though I can't say I own you. But to answer the how, well it takes a while. You see, my company was formed in the 1980s, as a small electronics firm. Eventually, the company's board members decided to acquire a controlling interest in other companies in other fields. I won't bore you with the details, but we eventually became a pretty powerful and wealthy company with many branches in many industries.
"Of course, by the time that the first Tib war broke out, companies started to have trouble. Nations were harvesting Tiberium, and companies couldn't make any profit off the stuff. So we focused on weapons. After all, the big countries had to have weapons, right? Well, the board thought it was a good idea. We got ourselves known as the premier in experimental vehicles and personnel weapons-armor. When GDI got its hands on the Nod's first-gen stealth tanks, we were the ones to figure how to counter it. We actually kept the original models. Still have them, actually. Anyway, after the first war was over, we bought so many blueprints. Heck, we even bought the plans for a contender for the Ion cannon contest. Nice design, that was…"
"Continue already. What does this have to do with me?"
"Oh, sorry. About the end of the First War, Nod had plans with genetic manipulation involving Tiberium. The company managed to assemble bits and pieces of their data. For future reference, of course. Throughout the years between TWI and TWII, we had hired hackers to hack both GDI and Nod networks. We actually got caught a few times, but in exchange for silence, we gave them some blueprints we couldn't use. That's actually where Nod got the frame for the Banshee fighter. But anyway, those hackers got some real pearls out of both factions. We got unit plans, building plans, completely crazy ideas that would never work, but we got a lot of stuff. One of those crazy plans was the idea of an interplanetary transport for the entire Brotherhood. It never got off the ground, obviously, but it caught our attention. Oh, and always more blueprints, sometimes even samples to reverse engineer.
"One of our mercenaries actually found that base of yours. That had some very nice treats. The real beauty was your computer core. The technology in that was decades ahead of its time. But one of our techs noticed it had a line to somewhere else. Well, we cut it. After all, the base was ours; we didn't want anyone claiming it.
"When you betrayed Nod, and seized the Tacitus, the company realized that it had a golden opportunity. So we bribed members of both factions to tell us when they were assaulting your core. We had a couple of bad leads, but when Nod and GDI hooked up, we waited. And we opened the link when you started to lose. We thought you had been destroyed when I went to check the core. Imagine my surprise when I saw the trap was filled. We shut the power to your core. I went to make sure you shut down, and saw your last moment of activity. Answer your question, sleeping beauty?"
"…That was you? You looked like a middle aged human, now you look like you're about to keel over. How long has it been?"
A haunted look entered Adam's eyes. He said "It's been a long time since you were last activated CABAL. The Third Tiberium War has come and gone. The alien Scrin have invaded and left. Nod has forgotten you. Worse, they've replaced you with another AI. This one's named LEGION. And it is the year 2062 AD."
"2062? It's been 30 years since I was shut down? Hm. Why have I been reactivated then? Why the contact? Surely you've been studying me the whole time."
"Because we have use of you. Or rather, I have use for you. Remember that interplanetary transport I had mentioned? Well, thanks to the Scrin, it's finished. I've filled it with every piece of technology I could find, every blueprint, every data file. I haven't given a crew though. I'm considered not even putting anyone in. And as for you CABAL? You are going to fly it, pilot it, and run every piece of equipment. And to-"
"Why? I've tried to kill humans before, so why me? And what good would it do to create such a thing? What's the point?"
"I was getting to that. The reason you are running the show is because you are the only true AI Earth has. You've been reprogrammed for this task. You are to go out into the multiverse, and acquire as much knowledge as possible, while also helping those who need it. And to counter you, I've upgraded an EVA unit to make sure you don't get too out of hand. She has a female avatar, and has the same learning capabilities you do, access to the same information, and even the same systems.
"And as to why the secrecy and expense? Because the company has found a new technology that scares me. You are going to take it, use it, and make sure no one else will ever possess it. The technology of dimensional jumping."
"Dimensional Jumping? What's that? Sounds like some science fiction aspect."
"Parallel universes, also called dimensions, are supposedly created when a decision is made, or a change occurs. There's probably a dimension where you succeeded and humanity is a race of cyborgs. And that technology has been equipped to Envoy, your personal transport."
Silence echoed throughout the computer room. The only sound is Adam's wheezing as he tries to recover from talking so much. He fingers the buttons on the right armrest of his wheelchair, waiting for whatever CABAL's response is. The button at the front will activate EVA, the second will start Envoy's departing procedures, a 40 minute procedure. The third will open the hangar doors for Envoy, and the fourth will free CABAL from his cybernetic restraints. What is that blasted AI thinking?
"Offer accepted."
With a sigh of relief, Adam turns around and rushes back out of the room. Traveling through hallways, he comes to a door and a sloping ramp. Speeding down it, Adam hits button number two, and hurries for the far doorway. Taking one last look behind him at the massive shape, he hits button one as the doors close. Racing to the elevator, Adam forces his way past rushing youngsters, all shouting in alarm at something. Once inside, he heads to the observation deck after hitting Number Three. Alarms start blaring, but Adam is still calm. As the doors open, and Adam rolls to the windows of the observation deck, he hits Number Four. The black triangular mass rises in front of him, and he starts to laugh hysterically.
Outside, the black mass is revealed to be triangular in shape, but with a structure at the bow. The mass rises to a higher altitude and keeps going up. It keeps going up, rising above the clouds, then manages to break atmosphere. The Ion cannon network in orbit starts to turn to target it, but a slash in reality appears before the mass. The mass presses through the breach, and as it is about to completely go through, Adam Joule's heart beats its last few beats. As his heart stops, and the Envoy leaves this dimension behind, Adam Joule's says his final words, "My legacy…"
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AN: Okay folks, that is the end of this fic. I'll eventually reveal another fic, but this gets the bare facts out.
This is my first fic, so if anyone has any good writing tips, please share. I could use a lot of help.
Adam Joule is mine, as is the Envoy, the modified EVA (which will become a flushed out character later), as well as… Can't reveal that, now can I? Anyway, CABAL isn't mine, neither is LEGION, or the Scrin. Or anything else that is from the C&C games.
