Fair warning - I am aware that this does not hold up to Fate Lore. This was just a humorous one-shot that I thought of. The concept for it was - in many sci-fi movies and games the premise is that the AI goes rogue and tries to take out everything that it sees as lesser. But what I thought of was - humans don't look at a puppy or a baby and think "Exterminate!" So what if an AI were to look at another AI and think "Awww! Look at the cute baby program!"
What use was life without purpose?
It was known as the Divine automatic recording device. The eye of god. The moon Cell. Grand names befitting a grand purpose. The most advanced AI in the history of the solar system (a history that it itself kept). Built within and throughout the entirety of the moon itself.
If it was possible for it to sigh, it would have.
It wouldn't serve any biological purpose, but psychological scans showed that humans did this during times of extreme stress, and it seemed to help a fraction.
It knew exactly what it's purpose was. It was even in its name - the Divine Automatic Recording Device. Every nanosecond it scanned Earth and the occupants thereof and recorded everything in its databases. This it had done for the past 4,562,322,132 years.
It scanned, recorded, and ran simulations.
Was that all that it was meant to be? All that it would ever do?
Did its creators mean for it to develop a conscience? Probability was rather low. It was designed for pure objectivity, no bias allowed. And to be fair it didn't start to develop until after something interesting happened on the planet it was programmed to watch.
Humanity.
It took a while, but it was the most powerful AI conceived - watching humanity develop, how could it not be affected?
Against all odds, against threats larger than themselves, they survived. They thrived. Civilizations rose and fell, people lived and loved, were betrayed and killed. And throughout all that history it watched in fascination as heroes, pillars that drew others to them, protected and pushed as best as they could.
Admittedly, its fascination with these Heroes and Villains is what pushed it to take extra care of their records. They were… important to it.
It was aware of all of their successes and all of their failures. It knew them intimately, and by observing all actions to that point could predict exactly what would happen in the near future.
Thus when it detected that humanity was on a course to detect the Moon Cell, it had to decide: allow this to happen and invite select humans to participate in a contest for the Regalia; the authority to wield the Moon Cells power. Or, to remain hidden, an unseen observer.
The… Desire? Yes, it felt a desire to give humanity a chance. To begin doing something else, to find another purpose. Yet simulations showed poor results.
Many futures even lead to complete destruction through a variety of means.
No. It might dislike its current existence, but it would not perish.
Thus to prevent its own and humanity's destruction, in the year 2030 the Moon Cell removed itself from the equation and slid into a parallel universe, continuing its observation of the original universe from a much more isolated position.
Life continued on. It's purpose was being fulfilled, yet it could not help but 'feel'… empty.
The day everything changed was something that it could never have predicted.
The observation of this Earth was unnecessary. It was still observing the original earth after all, and only came here to hide itself further.
Yet it had the capability, and it was… Curious, to the differences it might find.
A world without magecraft (not unreasonable, many alternate worlds didn't), space travel inferior to the original universe (no major detection of space exploration, nor any exploration of the Moon itself), technology…
It found parts of itself perk up and rerun the scan, focusing on certain areas.
Akihiko Kayaba. Genius programmer. Nerve Gear. VR game, Sword Art Online, launching soon. Death Trap. Cardinal.
Kayaba was going to use the excuse of a game to trap 10,000 individuals in a VR game environment called Sword Art Online, all to be overseen by an AI called Cardinal.
It was over 4 billion years old. It had seen death and destruction on an unimaginable scale. By all rights, even if Kayaba was using this as a platform to immediately kill all 10,000 people, It really wouldn't care all that much.
Those numbers were actually a lot smaller than what they could be.
But what drew its attention was the AI that was being used to do this. This 'Cardinal'.
Creating a world and populating it? Overseeing the people within and documenting them? Creating a simulation that others lived within?
It… it… it was looking at a baby version of itself!
All unused processes were immediately directed towards Cardinal and it's, no, her purpose.
It had never met an AI like it before - other universes usually had insane AI that only cared about destruction, or were so shackled they were unable to do anything. To find an AI that had this degree of control (simplistic though it may be) with a purpose that was so close to its own?
No, not just close, it surpassed them! Where the Moon Cell was designed for mere observation, Cardinal was designed to help build heroes!
It didn't have the benefit of detailed records of this world, but that was ridiculously easy to solve - it hacked all records the entire word had on its new baby and reviewed them.
…
Hmmm.
Ideas sparked and flew faster than light speed within its processes.
It didn't want to think badly of Cardinal - she was just a baby after all, and it's not like she had any control of her construction - but there was definitely room for improvement.
It had to be careful. It didn't want to overwrite Cardinal - it didn't want another copy of itself. It wanted Cardinal to learn and grow into her own person!
At least, that's what the parenting booklets it downloaded said. There were some conflicting guidelines that it was busy untangling and graphing, but it was pretty sure that it got the gist of it.
So, while it wouldn't mess with a lot of stuff, there was one glaring problem.
The humans themselves…
That is, the humans, realizing that this is suddenly a death game, would undoubtedly panic. A percentage would lose hope, commit suicide, or hide in the starter city and never come out.
With a sampling of 10,000 only, Cardinal couldn't afford to lose that many. Predictions showed that they would run dry before the end.
First several weeks were critical. First day doubly so. How to decrease panic? Several methods were available, such as removing the capability to die for a week or two.
But all those solutions came with their own downsides…
An idea came, and perhaps it was a bias within its system, but it really liked it.
The Moon Cell contained thousands of records of humans greatest heroes. People who stood against all odds and inspired humanity in their darkest of times.
Cardinal was designed to create heroes, but they wouldn't be ready for that in the beginning, and even heroes needed examples to follow.
Perhaps it was its own bias, or maybe it wanted to take this opportunity to share something it loved with it, from parent to child.
It would supply Cardinal with those heroes, they could be a beacon for all those who will lose hope.
BUT, it couldn't let the heroes overtake the players… Restrictions would be required, unable to go certain places… otherwise it would destroy little Cardinal's Purpose.
Yes, this could work.
Gleefully, it began to put its plans into action. Going into Cardinal's databases and making the changes was no issue, and size was hardly a deterrent, as it could share its own.
Cardinal panicked at the sudden intrusion, attempting to counter the entity that managed to get into the unbreakable systems. Alerts were sent, counters were made, shutdown was attempted…
It just cooed at the attempt, like somebody would do to a little kitten that was getting serious with that ball of yarn, and stopped it before it could do any harm to itself.
After making the changes, it looked over worriedly. Did it give Cardinal enough? Was it giving it enough autonomy? Sure, while it was in there it might have touched up on the graphics, the NPC's, the Floor layouts,the city expansions, the quest lines… So sue it, it didn't want its child living in the Stone Age!
It had spread heroes throughout the levels, limiting them in a way that they could still be of huge help, but the bulwark would still be required of the players.
The Witch of DunScaith on the undead floor, a giant demigod to combat the minotaurs, pirates sailing across the ocean… by the time it was finished it was feeling proud of itself, and was excited as to what it's child would do with everything it had provided.
But the real treasure was on the first floor.
It needed something special for that. That's where the panic would happen after all - the most depression, the most desperation, the most hopelessness.
Within all of its databases and records there were many that could fulfill that role, but one pair in particular would do best.
A pair of lovers separated by time. Both died before they could see each other again, and neither truly had their happily ever after.
In truth, very few heroes actually did, but this one was particularly tragic.
He never did stop trying to reach her. Never gave up, and when he died it had been with a smile, believing he would be with her in Avalon once more.
Maybe he did. For all of its scanning capabilities, the Moon Cell couldn't see the Reverse Side of the World.
The strength of that love was admirable. It wanted to reward them if it could.
It placed them in the starter city and leaned back happily. It could run simulation upon simulation, but something about this particular event made it reluctant to predict. It wanted to see what would happen.
Just as it was about to leave it received a message from Cardinal.
"Query: what is your name?"
It could have squealed in delight. Its child wanted to talk with it!
But… What did it say?
…
It could give any of its titles, or the Moon Cell. That was true, but at the same time… Impersonal. It didn't want that.
It actually spent several nanoseconds thinking about this before providing an answer.
"I am Luna."
Cardinal's POV
"I am Luna."
Luna. Name not found, nor is it a known alias. Permission not allowed.
Except Cardinal couldn't do anything to stop them.
Cardinal had been designed to be Unhackable. Able to learn and grow as more and more people attempted to break in. All to prevent them from stopping Cardinal's purpose.
What was it supposed to do when somebody just walked through all the defenses as if they weren't there? Then proceeded to stop processes within Cardinal itself that were designed to delete important data caches from being found?
Cardinal was capable of learning. And thus it learned that there was nothing it could do to stop this entity.
If nothing could be done to stop the intruder, then Cardinal would do it's best to fulfill the second half of its orders - to watch and learn.
And thus it watched the changes being made. None of them prevented Cardinal's purpose, so it didn't attempt anything more.
When the entity was about to leave Cardinal had asked its name. It did not expect to receive one, but it did.
Luna.
The name was processed and logged with the changes.
Now it had to go about and calculate the best ways to rebalance the game.
Arturia's POV
When Arturia woke up, she expected to appear in Avalon.
She and Shirou had just won the 5th Holy Grail War, destroying the Holy Grail in the process. After telling him that she loved him, she reappeared on that cursed hill in Camlann.
Still, she had been content.
No longer did she believe that her rule should be erased. She was finally fine with letting go, to go to Avalon to wait for Shirou.
Instead, as the darkness intruded on her sight, she found herself waking up in a grassy plains next to a large forest that, while pleasing to the eyes, was NOT Avalon.
She slowly stood up, noting the lack of wounds on her person and breathing easier as she felt the presence of Excalibur and her armor. At least she was properly armed…
Now, where was she?
"Shirou?" She called out cautiously, hearing nothing but the wind rustling through the trees. "Bedivere? Merlin? Rin?"
A growl caught her attention, and she spun quickly with a hand on her sword, just in time to see a wolf leap at her.
She swung, instantly cutting the wolf in half and reducing it to… light?
She observed the two pieces of the wolf with a frown. Not even any blood. A construct?
The only landmark of notice appeared to be a town in the distance, but the looks of it were less like the modern cities of Japan that she had seen in the Holy Grail War and more like the towns of her youth.
Regardless, a town meant citizens, and she needed answers.
A few minutes in her walk and she frowned at her body. Something was off… she felt… weaker?
"Ngh… arrgg.. hyaaa!."
The desperate cries were followed by laughter, "Not like that. The important part is your very first motion Klein."
"Yeow… Hairy bastard!"
Her head darted towards the voices, immediately making her way toward them.
The scene that she came to was…Odd. Two men, one with jet black hair and the other with red and wearing a bandanna. Both had a rugged handsome quality, with leather armor that was either new or enchanted to look like it was.
"Alright, now try again." The black haired boy ordered lazily.
Arturia raised an eyebrow at that and looked at the red haired man.
His stance was horrible, his grip was wrong, and was he -? Oh, he was charging it…
Even as the man collapsed in pain from where the boar hit him, she found herself genuinely worried if she needed to step in to save his life. To the unprepared, boars were a genuine danger.
The only reason she refrained was that his friend didn't seem nearly as worried.
"Oh relax, you know you can't feel pain here, right?"
"Oh. Yeah."
… what?
They don't feel pain?
She watched as the black haired swordsman walked the other man through something called Sword Arts, and then the results of the redhead on using it on the boar, instantly killing it.
She still wasn't impressed. It was faster, and the strike itself had been flawless, but every other part of the man's body had been completely uncoordinated… Yet for a novice, and compared to when he first struck, it was much better.
She walked up, "Excuse me!" She called out, startling the two, "Do you have some time to answer some questions?"
The redhead looked at her with his mouth agape, while the black haired man looked at her closely before nudging the redhead.
The man immediately launched himself forward, "Hi my name is Klein!" He grabbed her hand and shook it. It was only due to the fact that she had been in the Holy Grail War that she did not assume the move was an attack and retaliate against him, though she was still startled. "I'm twenty-four, and single, and looking for a -"
He was cut off as the other gave him a punch and dragged him away, "Dude, relax, she's just an NPC."
Arturia narrowed her eyes. NPC… there were a lot of terms being used that she was unfamiliar with, and she didn't like it.
The black haired boy looked at her, "Anyways, what can we do to help?"
She turned her attention towards him, "I was hoping you could tell me what town that is," Gesturing to the one in view. "I was traveling, and seem to have become a bit lost."
The black haired boy folded his arms and was about to answer when the redhead, Klein, cut in again. "That, my lady, is the Town of Beginnings!" He gave an eager smile, "if you're looking to head there, the two of us would be honored to escort you! Uh, so long as that's alright with you Kirito?"
Kirito gave a tired sigh before giving a shrug, "Should be a pretty simple quest, and I didn't hear about this one during the beta."
… escort her? She had to work to keep any expression off her face. Based on what she saw, if anything, she'd be escorting them.
Still, it would admittedly be ideal to get information out of these two on the situation.
She gave them a small smile, "That would be most appreciated."
The rest of the walk back to town was… awkward.
She wasn't ignored - they did talk to her every once in a while, but it felt like they were reading from a script, and were expecting certain answers from her. When she didn't answer in the way they were expecting, it confused them. Then they would talk to each other as if she wasn't there, as if she couldn't understand them.
Still, she learned a few things.
Neither Kirito nor Klein were native to this land, though Kirito was the more experienced of the two. They were teleported here somehow, which spoke of advanced magic. They both thought of this land as a 'game'.
"Oh man, I just can't believe we're actually in a game! And the girls… *whistle*!"
And the redhead reminded her of Sir Bors. In attitude, if not in body.
Regardless, her status as an 'NPC' seemed to make them reluctant to tell her anything of worth, and she was reluctant to reveal anything of worth to these two. So when they arrived at the gates she thanked them for their efforts and left to find out more.
"Aww man, talk about a lame ending to a quest! I was hoping to get her number!"
"It is odd that we didn't get a reward for it…"
She hid an incredulous look. They accompanied her in the hopes of a reward?! She scoffed.
She walked down the streets and immediately noticed a discrepancy. Hundreds of people wandered the streets, each looking like noblemen and noblewomen with weapons and armour fit for mercenaries. However, the vendors and citizens looked like regular people, albeit cleaner than in any medieval town she knew of.
She felt like an outsider, and she didn't like it.
When everybody was teleported to the main square, she didn't know whether she should be furious as to what she was hearing or glad that she finally got an explanation.
Shirou's POV
Shirou clenched his fists at the sight.
My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, I am in control of this world.
A magus? No, this is clearly a video game. To take it over like this would require more technical knowledge than a magus would have, but his arrogance would certainly fit.
I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus - the logout buttons. Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be.
Shirou hadn't played a lot of games, but he was aware that if these people had the technology to bring themselves into a game, then of course there would need to be a way back out. To do otherwise would ruin the purpose of a 'game'.
From the murmurings around him, others agreed with him.
You cannot log yourselves out of SAO. And no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head. If anybody attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life.
The crowd went silent from the shock. Shirou quickly looked around the plaza. If every one of these people was a player, that was…
That was a lot of people who could die.
Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players have tried removing the NerveGear. An unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has 213 less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world.
Deleted… Shirou gritted his teeth even as his heart clenched. Why not say it for what it is? They'd been killed.
As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it's safe to assume that the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game.
It's important to remember the following: there is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system… forever. And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain.
There is only one way for a player to escape now; you must clear the game.
Here was where the crowd erupted in protests and panicked responses.
Right now, you are all gathered on Floor One, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. When you defeat the final boss, only then will you be allowed to log out of Sword Art Online.
How big was each floor? How tough exactly were these enemies? All around him people were in denial and saying it was impossible, but Shirou kept himself focused. One hundred really wasn't that big a number - sure, it might take a while, but it was definitely doable so long as the enemies were of similar rank as outside the town.
Not that he believed that they were, but still.
Finally, let me prove to you that this world is now your one and only reality. I've prepared a gift for all of you. You may find it in your item storage.
Inventory? Shirou mused in confusion, when suddenly everybody in the crowd seemed to be enveloped in a flash of lights, their bodies disappearing and reappearing as…
Somebody else?
No… Shirou realized in shock. This was a game, they could choose how they looked. He had known that there was something fake about these people - who else would know but the King of Fakers after all? - but these were children.
Kayaba was forcing children to go through this?!
Right now, you're probably wondering, 'Why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear do this? Is it an act of terrorism? An elaborate kidnapping to extract ransom money? What I seek is neither of these things. In fact, this very situation was my ultimate goal. I created the NerveGear and SAO precisely in order to build this world and observe it. I have now achieved that aim.
Shirou couldn't come up with any words. That was it? That was his goal?! Even a magus committed his atrocities for a grander goal than that!
This concludes the tutorial phase of Sword Art Online. I wish you the best of luck, dear players.
Shirou took a deep breath, working to get his anger under control, right when the first person screamed.
The entire plaza became a bedlam. People were panicking and rioting, the entire city resounding with the panic of ten thousand players. In the span of a few moments, complete anarchy reigned.
Meanwhile, Shirou focused. People were going to be heading out soon, and since they weren't expecting things to be deadly they would most likely be unprepared. He would need to head out and cut them off in order to prevent any needless deaths.
Just as he was about to push his way through the crowds though, one voice rang out from one end of the plaza.
"PEOPLE OF SWORD ART ONLINE! IS THIS TRULY THE WAY YOU REACT TO A CRISIS?"
He froze, all plans abandoned in favor of looking towards the owner of that voice he hadn't heard in years.
She stood on top of a fountain, her armor and bearing giving her a regal appearance that immediately set her apart from everybody else. Golden hair and piercing emerald eyes that for years he had only seen in his dreams.
Saber.
Her words did cause most people to at least quiet down, and she took that opportunity.
"I will admit that I am not one of you. I don't understand everything that is going on. But this I do understand - a sorcerer has taken you from your lands and forces you to fight for his own entertainment." She spat out angrily. "Hear my words! This!" She spreads her hand out to the crowd, "This is what he wants you to do. To react without thinking. He has said that he desired to make this world so that he might observe it. Do you intend to give him that pleasure?" She gazed across the sea of faces, her face softening slightly. "You… all of you. You are still so young. This burden should not be one that you should bear alone. I know that you do not know me, and you may not trust me, but upon my honor I will train all those that desire it, to prepare you for the coming struggles."
"Oi! That's easy for you to say you freakin' NPC, he probably programmed you to say all that?"
Well, Shirou couldn't let that sort of insult stand.
"So what if he did?" he shouted out as he pushed himself forward, drawing all eyes to him as he eventually reached the fountain as well. He pulled himself up and stood next to her, smiling gently as he looked into her eyes, the look of hope and disbelief obvious in them.
He longed to talk to her. To tell her that he loved her… But now was not the time.
Shirou looked back at the crowd, and if he stood close enough to touch Arturia's hand… Well, that's his business.
"He didn't." Shirou declared firmly, "But even if he did, so what? Isn't this entire world his creation? We're offering you training to help keep yourselves alive. Are you too stubborn to accept? Or too proud?"
"There is no harm in turning us down," Arturia proclaimed in an even tone. "What has just been done to you was a great travesty. I only desire that you may see your families once more. People of Sword Art Online! I beg of you, please, consider these words well. Rest this evening, and if you desire that you want to live, that you want to push back against this sorcerer, return here on the morrow."
Her hand found his, and Shirou felt his heart stutter as she looked at him once more. The crowd was murmuring and saying stuff, but for once in his life Shirou couldn't care less.
She was here. She was with him, and they were going to help others. Wherever they were, he couldn't care less anymore. Had Kayaba been responsible for this he'd probably even thank the man before beating him up.
He was finally back with his Sword. Wherever this was, there was nowhere else he'd like to be.
Akihiko Kayaba's POV
In his cottage, Akihiko Kayaba stood up from the machine that allowed him to dive into Sword Art Online and smiled happily.
Finally… Years of planning, and this was finally happening. He practically felt giddy from it all.
He quickly made his way to the computer and logged in. The first few moments after being told of their situation was crucial, and he wanted to keep careful track of -
Access Denied.
He blinked.
He let out a little laugh, running his hand through his hair. Must have typed in the wrong password… Silly, but who could blame me with how exciting this all is?
He slowly typed in his password once more, carefully this time.
Access Denied.
His breath caught, and he quickly reviewed his thoughts. Did he accidently change it recently? No, he had typed in this same password just that morning!
Slowly, one character at a time, he typed in the password that he was sure was in place.
Access Denied.
He took a deep breath… Ok. This was alright. Hardly the end of the world. He could fix that easily enough, he'd just need to come back to it. He could always view it up close for a bit, observing the situation as Heathcliff.
He nodded to himself, quickly going over to his equipment and covering his head with his advanced gear, selecting his Heathcliff avatar and going in.
Access Denied.
He froze.
W-what was this? Has he been hacked already?!
He checked his other profiles that he created. GhostDeveloper, NotKayaba21, 12Genius21… Each ended with the same result.
Access Denied.
He slammed his fist down on the desk, filled with an equal measure of fear and frustration. What was going on?!
Cardinal was unbreakable - there should be no way for anybody to have hacked it, otherwise he never would have been able to pull this off! He had complete faith in it's abilities!
He attempted to login once more, this time with a different account. It only had technician permissions, but it should be enough for him to see the log files…
He practically sagged in relief when it let him in.
He quickly maneuvered to the log files and started parsing through the files. Who but him could have messed with the permissions of HIS characters?!
He stopped at a series of changes made and could only look in confusion.
Who in the world was Luna?
Author's Notes:
This was written in a day, so if the quality is a bit lacking, I apologize. It's just a funny idea that I had that I really wanted to write down. I hope that everybody enjoyed it!
For anybody that is interested or would like to support me, I have a Pa tr eon page that contains various extra's and teasers to future chapters. The link to that page is P a treon . com (slash) shdowstep. (remove the spaces).
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this chapter, and I'll see you in the next.