"We found him."
Steve's head popped up from his book at the voice, looking around his house instinctively in search of the source. He was in the cabin he'd built - Caden had returned him to his new world after he'd healed up. Obviously, he found nothing, as Caden was outside the world.
"You did?" He responded numbly. "Where?"
"Hidden away quite securely." This time, it was Notch's voice that spoke. "On a russian server, though I have no idea if that is related to his captor's nationality." Steve blinked, not sure what he meant. "I can't see him, but I've found his code. I know he's in there."
"How are you going to get him out?"
"I don't know yet."
"I can get into the server, I know that." Caden cut in. "It would be simple enough. But taking something out is a whole other matter. He'd have to be isolated enough for me to lock onto. That's… something I can probably do over time, but if any info about the server changed I'd have to start all over again."
"What other options do we have?" Notch's voice was harsh, and Steve blinked as he set his book down beside him. While he was part of the conversation, he felt out of the loop.
"It's possible we could… buy him… back?" Caden mused. "But I don't have the money anymore, I've already spent-"
"Amazing how that doesn't shock me." Notch interrupted.
"For your information, I had to spend it so I wouldn't die." Caden spat back. "Food and water are essentials, although I can understand that that's something a millionaire might not worry about."
"I became a millionaire honestly, which is more than I will ever be able to say for-"
"Stop it." Steve broke in. "Please. We have better things to do." A long, pregnant pause.
"Of course." Notch responded at last. "What were you saying?"
"There's a possibility we could buy him back." Caden repeated, his voice strained. "But at this point I doubt they would want to give him up. At a much higher price if at all."
"I'm going to try." Notch didn't hesitate. "Under a different name and from a new IP, of course. But, if it's possible to get him out of there immediately…" There was a certain heartbrokenness in his voice. "In the meantime, what other options are there?"
"It's… vaguely possible that we could physically locate them." Caden suggested. "By backtracing the IP of the connecting computers, then report them to the authorities. Herobrine is legally your property, so being in possession of stolen property would surely be grounds for..." He trailed off. Steve wasn't sure why until Notch replied, his voice flat,
"Yes, it would." Ah. "On that note, I think it's about time I took Stephanus back."
"I'm okay here." He hastened to say. "Focus on Herobrine."
"Fine."
"It's even possible that he might be able to break out himself." The hacker continued. "He's tried, we know that, it was in the video. If we could maybe communicate with him, and distract his captors long enough to keep them from cutting him off, he could get out."
"Maybe," Notch agreed, but he sounded less than convinced. "While he managed to temporarily break down his environment, we have no idea if he was anywhere near to getting out of the server."
"It's worth trying, isn't it? At least trying to get a direct link to him."
"Of course it is." Steve sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, just listening, turning over their words in his head as they went back and forth. He still hadn't seen the video they kept referencing, only heard a few details, but it was enough for him to know what Herobrine's situation was. He still had power, even given his position. Was it enough…?
"Could you put me in the server?" He spoke up. A stunned pause.
"I could-" Caden began, but Notch interrupted.
"No. Why? You'd only be captured as well."
"Maybe." Steve didn't look up from the ground, frowning with concentration. "But the important thing is to get a message to Herobrine, right? So he can break out? I can find him and let him know that you're coming."
"It's not worth risking your safety."
"It'll be fine." The miner protested. "You're going to get to him eventually, and even if I do get captured you'll be able to free me too."
"We don't know that! It could be impossible!" A jolt of alarm went through him, and Steve's head jerked up.
"You're not going to give up, are you?"
"Of course I'm not." Notch hastened to assure him. "Stephan, I just… don't want you to be subjected to the same horrors he's facing." Steve's mouth opened, then shut.
He couldn't very well argue. He didn't even know what Herobrine's state had been, he hadn't seen him since before he was sold off. If it was that bad…
"...that's why I want to go." He responded softly. "If he's- I want to be there. He's all alone. I'm his friend, I want to… try and help, even a little bit." Notch didn't respond. For a moment, all Steve heard was the ambient sounds of the world around him.
"Alright." His creator said at last.
"You're sure?" Caden asked, even as Steve's face split in a grin.
"If it's what he wants." Notch's voice was resigned. "My role as a creator isn't to force him to do whatever I want, is it?"
"I- right." Caden didn't sound particularly convinced, but didn't argue. "Alright. Let me make a backdoor inside."
PROJECT 'SILENT SONGBIRD'
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
A Chronological Report of Testing done on Subject HB
8/23/19
Subject was introduced to a series of logic puzzles and mazes. It solved them all, in a relatively timely manner.
8/23/19
Subject was pitted against a simple AI in a game of chess. Subject won the first game, and the second. However, in a third game, subject apparently lost the will to play, performing lazily and losing quickly. Subject was punished for the loss, and won a fourth game.
8/25/19
Subject was placed in a chamber with various writing implements and a computer, so that it had the option to communicate if it desired to do so. While it investigated all of the items in the room, ultimately it wrote nothing. Since it has documented evidence of speaking through text, we must assume it has nothing to say.
8/26/19
Subject was subjected to several forms of physical harm. These left marks consistent with those that would be left on a human, and subject showed severe discomfort, attempting to escape the chamber in which it was imprisoned. This implies that it feels physical pain as a human would.
8/29/19
Subject was heavily damaged and left alone to bleed to test whether or not the loss of blood affected it in a negative way. Subject lost over a gallon of blood over the next three days, but did not perish. Our current understanding is that the loss of blood has no effect on its health.
9/1/19
Subject was introduced to several common phobias. These included arachnophobia, acrophobia, aquaphobia, autophobia, claustrophobia, ophidiophobia, pyrophobia, wiccaphobia, and zoophobia. Subject did not react strongly to any of these, only took measures to try to protect itself when it deemed the situation dangerous enough to warrant doing so.
9/3/19
Subject was placed in a fire. The only effect it had on it seemed to improve its mood. it seemed more comfortable there.
9/4/19
Subject was restrained under water for fifteen consecutive minutes. While it did not perish from lack of air, the subject demonstrated what appeared to be fear, beginning to fight its bonds the moment it found itself underwater. As it did not react when faced with water in previous tests, our current understanding is that it was not the water, but the chains that caused this reaction. Henceforth, we have diagnosed the subject with merinthophobia.
9/5/19
Subject was set loose in a dark room with a monster hunting it. Subject was attacked by the monster, but successfully took control of it simply by touching its avatar. However, during further experimentation the subject refused to cooperate, lying still and letting the monsters come. User [REDACTED] has theorized that taking command of another AI severely saps the subject's energy, rendering it nearly immobile.
9/6/19
Subject broke free from its cell, making its way down a hall and into one of the testing chambers before being caught. A guard has been programmed to patrol the cell block, and the subject has yet to make another attempt to escape.
9/7/19
Subject's behavior changed as we presume it learned from its experiences here. It shows clear signs of learned caution, investigating everything it is faced with for signs of any kind of trap. Further testing should solidify our understanding of its ability to learn.
9/9/19
Subject was released into a maze with inadequate supervision and safeguards. HB took the opportunity to attempt to escape, influencing the environment in an attempt to slip free of the confines of the room. Subject was promptly transported back to its holding cell.
9/10/19
Subject spent 24 consecutive hours solving an array of randomly-generated puzzles. By the end, its completion time had decreased significantly.
9/15/19
Subject was shown an array of random images, from landscape photographs to drawings, all pulled from an artistic database. Subject showed no interest in any except a screenshot pulled from a pixel-art game. Subject spent the remainder of its time looking at this image.
9/16/19
Subject was exposed to various forms of music. Again, it showed no interest, even becoming visibly uncomfortable at the sound of the genres Classical and Heavy Metal.
9/17/19
User [REDACTED] spoke directly with the subject, attempting to coax it into holding a conversation. While it had the materials to write with and respond, subject HB chose not to, staying still and silent unless approached. At this point, it would retreat as much as possible.
9/19/19
Subject showed signs of being dangerously ill. It spent the majority of two days lying prone on the ground where it had been taken, regardless of the dangers plaguing the area. Subject has been moved back to a single room to rest.
9/23/19
Further information has revealed that the subject is not damaged, only refusing to cooperate. If sufficiently motivated, it will perform tasks as normal.
9/28/19
Subject has been kept awake for the past five days, being awoken by an automatic timer whenever it attempts to sleep. After three days of this, it has stopped falling asleep, staying awake around the clock instead. So far, it has not shown any signs of having a negative reaction to this treatment.
