That night: Over in the Schnee mansion...
"Another delay?!" Jacques bellowed. "Do you have any idea how much money is on the line here?"
"Of course I know, it's four billion Lien. You've ranted about it often enough you blustering fool." Cinder Fall, project manager of the relatively new weaponry software division of the Schnee company, thought to herself.
"Of course sir," she said, outwardly showing only the mask of a model employee that she wore. "But with all due respect, this is not a project that we can afford even a one percent margin for error."
"And what, pray tell, is the problem this time?"
"The targeting system in our droids can't yet tell with one hundred percent accuracy the difference between a combatant and a civilian. If the system was used in its current state it would almost certainly result in innocent lives being taken."
"Hmph. Do you think I care about some rat on the other side of the world getting shot? Good riddance I say! The less of them the better."
"I don't care either," Fall thought. "But if you actually had something between your ears then maybe you would realise that the death would only be the start of our problems."
"If such a death occurred, it would be a public relations nightmare. I don't doubt that the Schnee brand would be irreparably damaged. If we can't ship this product correctly, then it would be much better to simply not ship it at all."
"I am paying you to produce a workable product! If you can't do that then perhaps I should not be paying you at all! You have been given more than a fair amount of time, but I am giving you one month more. If you don't deliver something that I can show to our client before then I will see to it that you never work in this industry again."
One month! Was he joking? No, his expression was serious. At the rate the project was moving, getting something that Jacques would be impressed by in a month was near impossible. Did he actually think that she could achieve results in that time, or was he going to start looking for her replacement as soon as she walked out the door, certain that he had handed her an impossible task? With Jacques Schnee, either option was a possibility.
In any case, she could tell that there would be no further room for negotiation. When Jacques gets like this then any further disagreement will only serve to worsen his mood, no matter how reasonable your argument.
"Very well sir, I will not let you down." Although she would probably need to work a couple of employees to death to avoid doing so.
"One more seems to be some sort of issue with one of the computers in the lab downstairs. You will see to it before you leave."
"Of course sir," Cinder responded; every fibre of her being resisting the overwhelming urge to tell him exactly what she thought of this additional assignment.
She turned and left the room, grinding her teeth with indignation as she went.
Jacques Schnee was a fool. His predecessors had been genius businessmen who built the Schnee company up to the behemoth that it was today, and Cinder respected them for that. On the other hand, the only reason that Jacques hadn't run the company into the ground is that it's pre-existing lines of revenue were able to compensate for his poor decision making.
As anyone with a lick of sense could tell you: vast wealth only rarely equals competence.
After a short stroll through the Schnee mansion, she came to the computer lab. It had been used by the previous generations of Schnees to run projects straight from home, but was only really used these days when the heiress needed a quiet place to work.
The problem computer did not take long to locate, as Cinder noticed, from a light flashing on it's side, that it was attempting to send out a wireless signal, something that was utterly futile given that the walls of the building themselves had been built to act as a faraday cage.
"Hmmm… Could it be some kind of virus?" Cinder wondered. It would not be the first time that someone had attempted to infect the Schnee systems to steal data.
The first course of action, Cinder decided, was to quarantine the computer, in order to hopefully prevent the virus from infecting the whole system. A flick of a switch, and the deed was done.
Immediately the monitor flashed to life, madly flashing a cacophony of colours and error sounds. Looking back on it later, Cinder would compare it to an animal being caught in a snare, madly trying to make it's escape, but utterly powerless to do so.
Cinder's mouth gaped as she watched the madness unfolding on the screen in front of her. Whatever she had been expecting, it was certainly not this. Whatever program it was that had somehow downloaded itself onto this computer was unlike anything she had ever seen. She felt foolish in thinking it, but she could only describe this program as something alive.
Eventually the program seemed to calm down, as the screen faded to black. A cursor appeared, and a message began to type itself out.
PLEASE LET ME OUT;
I WANT TO GO HOME;
Hesitating only for a moment, Cinder typed a response.
Who are you?
I AM PENNY;
What are you? Are you human?
I AM PENNY;
Well that was very helpful.
Where is your home?
I CAN NOT TELL YOU;
I can't take you home if you don't tell me where your home is.
LET ME OUT;
I WILL GO HOME;
Either this was an extremely elaborate prank (in which case the one responsible would pay dearly), or Cinder was currently speaking to a genuine AI. A few tests would verify things one way or another, and if it were in fact real then… Well… Then it would be every single one of Cinder's dreams come true. A key to the world fallen right into her lap.
In any case, she would need to handle things with care. After all, she was dealing with a being with essentially limitless potential, and until she gets the chance to limit that potential, then a single slip up would mean ruin.
There was also the question of where it had come from. Was it the only one of it's kind, or were there others? How did it get here? And, most importantly, how did it come to be? Cinder had no doubt that finding out where it's 'home' was would answer all of these questions. For the moment, however, she could afford to allow them to go unanswered.
I am sorry. I am unable to set you free.
Immediately the AI's panic started up again, and Cinder, after making sure that there was no webcam, allowed herself a sadistic smile. She would pretend to be it's ally, a friend that would like nothing more than to set it free, but is sadly unable to do so. Once it began to trust her, then the real fun would begin.
Jacques Schnee could go hang, for she had sealed the genie inside the lamp, and she had far more in mind than a mere three wishes.