When the world is just so hard with you, And you feel there is nowhere to go…
When everything is decaying around, And there is nothing that you can do…
We'll all have these days, But there is one thing that you must know…
What makes a hero be so great, Is to never never give up…
Chapter 11) The Shield of Humanity
(Gazelle's PoV)
"And add a bit more… length to this part… maybe raise 'that' a bit higher…" She muttered as she designed the latest dress idea. "Lower that a bit more, don't want to show off too much leg… have it split there perhaps…"
She yawned slightly as she continued to sketch and shade her idea, it was very late, nearly past midnight and well past the time she would have fallen asleep. She had been expecting a call from 'somemammal' about him a long time ago, but so far nothing. She also knew that he would have had to go to his base to do something involving, whatever it was he had to do about the 'AI' as he called it… Sentinel?
"He must be taking an awfully long time to do whatever he has to." She said as she glanced at the clock. "I suppose I'll just grab a quick drink to keep me up."
With that she laid her paper and pencils on the bed and hopped out to go downstairs. As she did, she glanced at her backup dancers still playing their games, this time playing 'Taurio Party 5'.
"What, you found a hidden lamp inside of a block?"
"Now that's just not right!"
"Aha, better luck next time!"
"How come you get all the good stuff and all 'I' find are blue shrooms?"
She chuckled at them playing their games, even as adults they can act like such kittens. One quick walk to the fridge and she pulled out a small can and popped it open. The fizzy cola drink was rather sugary and while she avoided drinking 'too much' of it, tonight she spoiled herself to try and stay awake thanks to the caffeine.
"Hey what's going on?"
"What happened to the tv?"
She glanced over to see what was up and all sleep was suddenly lost to her, as she stared wide eyed at the TV as it switched channel to an 'unknown signal'. On the screen she saw a weird blueish 'hud' with symbols and numbers she couldn't understand, and a 'power input/output' bar filling up.
Then the screen cleared up and showed…
"Jeremy?" She yelled as she ran into the living room to watch what was going on with her friends.
That was when she heard…
[SCORPIO Drone… AI Alexander… Heeds the call of the last of Mankind!]
It was a deep mechanical voice, one filled with great power and even deeper understanding that made her think she was hearing some ancient mammal speaking to her. Yet it was obviously not mammal or anything remotely mammal. Yet the sudden appearance of this strange channel caused her to remember when 'Aelita' woke up, or at least was trying to find 'somemammal' to wake her up.
"Quick, change the channel, see if any other channel is showing this!" She said.
Moe grabbed the remote and began flicking the channels, sure enough every channel was showing the same thing. Thinking quickly, she pulled out her phone and checked it, calling up Franky's phone. Franky picked up and they realized that it was just like the Aelita incident, but this time only affecting the TV stations and not phones and radios.
[I hear your call… Jeremy Wilheart… last living human on the face of the planet and await your commands!]
With that all she could do was watch with her backup dancers, as well as all of Zootopia, as the strange 'AI' calling itself 'Alexander' showed them everything it saw.
(Jeremy's PoV)
A SCORPIO Drone stared into him, a fully operational SCORPIO Drone with all of its weapons still activated. Yet the model looked slightly different compared to the model 'he' had modified to simply being a labor drone and assist humans with lifting heavy objects. This one was using the latest in Liquid Metal technology, using heated plasma to shape and mold the hot steel into the various shapes it desired. He could also see a large plasma launcher cannon imbedded into the tail, with the tail itself tipped with an adamantium spike.
It strode atop eight powerful titanium reinforced legs, each tipped with miniature magnets designed to allow it to stick to any surface it needed to, and its six optical lenses all looked at him, silently awaiting his commands.
All he could do was just stare in awe at the drone, and like him, Nick could just step back in shock at something so 'massive' suddenly dropping down before them.
"Wh… what are you?" He asked in shock.
[I… am AI Alexander… a category 10 AI… designed and created alongside my counterpart for the sole purpose of protecting and safeguarding of the survivors of the 'Cryosleep Solution'. I was uploaded into this drone's systems and tapped into Sentinel approximately five years, two weeks, five days, eleven hours, fifteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds 'after' Eden Facility 17's total systems shutdown and all power was transferred to the Cryopods Power Supply.] It declared. [My purpose… to protect all human life… by whatever means are available to me…]
"Counterpart… what do you mean… and why were you created… the creation of Category 10 Combat AI's was banned, the only Category 10 AI allowed was Aelita!" He shouted.
[After the Eden Facilities began the 'Cryosleep Solution', it became necessary to develop additional protection for the few remaining humans who survived past our creation… but I do not know what has become of my counterpart… I am only aware of the events 'prior' to my creation and download into Eden Facility 17's database and my upload into this drone after the completion of my transfer.]
"Few remaining humans… what happened, what are you talking about?" He yelled. "After the Final War there was a unified peace treaty that all humans agreed to abide by. What are you talking about 'few remaining humans who survived' past your creation?"
The drone changed the shape of the metal and gently placed him down on the ground before explaining.
[After the last of the facilities declared that their Cryologists had been selected, they announced that they would be shutting down most of their systems and facilities to the world. However, the surviving surface humans did not welcome this, and in their desperation to survive, with the only means being the Eden Facilities themselves now cut off, they attempted to take over the bases and reactivate them or force the facilities to accept 'them' into their Cryopods as well. It was an event that was noted in my memory by the ones who created my AI… as the 'Ironic War'… by its definition, because in their attempts to survive, they sentenced the remaining surface humans to extinction.]
At that, he felt his whole world fall apart around him. His heart suddenly grew heavier, his throat had a lump, his muscles tensed… and his eyes went wide in shock.
"No… tell me your lying…" He begged. "I order you… tell me your lying… tell me that's a lie…"
[I cannot obey that order.] Alexander declared.
"How… what happened?" He pleaded.
[Between the years 2279 and 2284, the Eden Facilities fell under attack from various human groups, seeking to force the facilities back on in a desperate attempt to survive. Of the 17 Eden Facilities, 15 were assaulted and nearly all life within wiped out. Those few who still worked and lived inside lacked sufficient personnel, weapons and drones to defend the bases, and with varying levels of technology between them, none of the facilities had the capacity to reinforce or properly defend themselves against the remaining surface humans. Only Facilities 17 and 4 did not report being attacked, though this is probably because their Sentinels activated their defenses in time to prevent the destruction of their technology and the Cryologists in stasis. Those who successfully overran the Eden Facilities forced their Sentinels to initiate Defense Protocol 0… a Solar Core Overload… in a final attempt to keep the bases from being overran. Of the fifteen facilities overran… only 3 avoided having to initiate the protocol.]
He felt his throat clench, and felt his lungs grow painful as tears began to fall from his eyes.
"And… the 3 that 'didn't'?" He whispered.
[Damaged… beyond repair from the infighting… those few who survived could not use the facilities to save their lives or call for help. Their Cryologists lost as well… without enough living personnel to sustain or repair what was left, the facilities soon fell into decay. The few specialists who survived used what little power, surviving technology, and time they had left to develop two Category 10 AI's to be sent to the most technologically advanced and functioning facility remaining, in an attempt to protect what few humans survived.]
"And… Eden Facility 4?" He asked hopefully. "Did it survive?"
Silence was all he got from the AI.
"Alexander?"
Silence again.
"Tell me… please… I must know…"
At last, it replied in a cold monotone voice. [Facility 4 never responded to any communications… facility 4 was among the 'least' technological of the 17… if it 'did' survive the 'Ironic War' untouched, it would not have survived past 'yours'.]
"Then… they're all dead…" He whispered.
He fell to his knees, unable to stand anymore.
"It's… too much…" He muttered before falling to his hands. "What was the point… why didn't we stay… why… why?"
"Jeremy?" Nick whispered nervously.
"We… were supposed to rebuild… fix everything… redeem our species…" He whispered again. "We gave up everything… we left everyone… we sacrificed 'everyone' we knew… they told us we'd redeem them… that we'd build a better, brighter world… all of it… was for nothing?"
"Jeremy?" Nick asked again, trying to gently hug him.
"What was the point of it all then… we killed ourselves… we doomed ourselves… why didn't we just… try another solution… find another way…" He cried to himself. "I can't… I can't… take it anymore… what was the point in going to sleep… if 'this' is what happened? I should have stayed with the others… stayed behind… maybe I could have helped find another way… done something…"
"Hey, Jeremey… listen to me man…" Nick tried but he just zoned him out.
"I should have died… I shouldn't be alive… why did they have to find me… why couldn't they just ignore me… let me die…"
"Jeremy snap out of it!" Nick tried to yell.
"SHUT UP DON'T YOU GET IT!?" He screamed back, shocking the fox with his sudden violent outburst. "Don't you get it… I'm ALONE! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LIVE FOR! WHAT'S THE POINT IN 'ANYTHING' I DO ANYMORE?"
He turned away and looked at the floor again, unable to take looking at Nick anymore.
"I have nothing left, I've lost my family, my friends, I've lost my 'species', EVERYTHING… I have nothing left anymore…" He moaned. "I wasn't 'offered' the choice to be frozen, I was TOLD I would be frozen… they gave me no choice… they said I had to do it for the species… for the sake of giving us a future… my father… my friends… everyone I left behind… I tried to be brave… to accept their sacrifice… and everyone who wouldn't survive… I tried to believe that… everything would be worth it… but what was the point of it all now… what's the point in me surviving?"
"I'm just one human… just 'one'… there were 'billions' of us… billions… now there's only one…" He cried, unable to take it anymore and letting his sorrow flow out onto the cold floor.
It wasn't cold enough to trigger his Cryogenic-Sclerosis, but the cold dead room triggered his emotions, made him feel alone and dead inside. The base was meant to be the starting point for a new civilization, a new center point for humans to build a brighter and better world, one where they wouldn't make the mistakes of their past. Yet all the Eden Facilities did was ensure their extinction, rekindle the fights and division that separated humans from being united, and in the end simply mark the final areas where mankind would fight their ending battles.
"What am I supposed to do now?" He begged.
"I… I don't know Jeremy…" Nick muttered sadly. "I'm just a police officer, just your typical sidewalk hustler and crook turned good mammal. I can't even 'think' to help you or even how I can help you in this situation?"
[You still possess one last hope Jeremy Wilheart…] Alexander declared in a booming voice.
"What?" He said, looking up at the drone. "What can I do?"
[You cannot save them, but you can still 'redeem' your species…] It said. [With no other humans remaining, you and you alone carry the hopes of your ancestors who attempted to give you the chance they wanted. They left you all the hopes and dreams of the future into your hands… you, and you alone… can still redeem them in the eyes of not only yourself, but now the species that inhabit this world your kind left them.] It declared. [Even now… the scars of your kind they have left upon them run deep…]
"Scars?" He muttered.
At this Alexander's optics glowed and cast a holographic light, creating an image of various pictures, each one featuring strange creatures performing impossible feats. [Aelita... has sent me the data she gathered about the myths and legends of your species in the eyes of these Mammals. What little they know of your kind is equal to that of demons and monsters, if you die before this is remedied, then humankind will forever be embalmed in the sins of its past, unable to change what it is even in the face of extinction. If you do not change it so… then what little hope of humanity remains is truly doomed.]
He looked up into Alexander's optics. "You've been in contact with Aelita?" He asked. "For how long?"
[Since you activated my systems… upon activating I initiated contact with 'Aelita', for she is the sole remaining source of your species' culture, its knowledge, and above all the 'Wisdom of Humanity'. It was my function to protect your species and 'her' for without both, humanity is lost. And so, sent me this data…]
-Psssssssssh-
They turned to see several plasma torches slicing and digging into the room, the drones couldn't bypass the lock and now were attempting to break in by force.
"Uh… Jeremy… any chance you could… 'redeem your species' and save us both?" Nick asked. "Ya know just saying… cause the wife will kill me if I die in here!"
[I cannot force you to do this Jeremy… as a human only 'you' may command me, only you may direct me… if you decide to let your species fate go unchanged… then I will accept it.] It declared proudly. [What will you do Jeremy… give me an order…]
He only listened to the sound of the plasma torches cutting the door, unable to think of any way he could possibly do as the AI was asking. "But I'm just one human… how can I and I alone redeem my species?" He asked.
[Because you are a human Jeremy… is the reason that it can be done.] It said but using MUTT's voice, meaning it was Aelita speaking now. [All it takes to raise the sea is a single raindrop falling from the sky… and humans… have done more than a single raindrop can ever hope to do…]
He took a deep breath and looked into Alexander's optics with determination. "Then let's shut down Sentinel once and for all!" He declared. "Get us to Sentinel's mainframe safely Alexander!"
[It shall be done!] It declared proudly, shifting its body and opening up its front and rear control ports. [Get inside… you will be safer from the drone's weapons inside my chassis!]
"Nick, hop inside the rear one, I'll take the driver's seat!" He said.
"Just saying, I'm the only one with a driver's license here!" He said with a chuckle.
"SCORPIO Drones aren't cars, that doesn't count!" He declared as he climbed into the forward control port, while Nick clambered into the rear one. "Okay, let's see if I still remember how to drive one of these things!"
He laid down flat along the chair and grabbed the horizontal levers which controlled the pincers, while his legs handled the pedals behind him which controlled the legs. He also knew that the rear port controlled the tail for combat purposes, and both ports would display images around them of their environment so they could maneuver and have full 360-degree vision.
"Whoa… this is so cool!" Nick said as Alexander stood up and turned over manual control.
"Alright enough talk Nick, let's show these drones what this thing can do!" He said.
"Ya know, after running from these things, losing a few years off my life, getting yelled at by the wife… I'm itching for a bit of payback." Nick said as well.
With that the door was sliced open, and five RAPTOR drones, six DOG drones, and one FOX drone streamed in.
[Enemies detected… probable outcome based on current situation… total annihilation of enemy units!] Alexander declared as Jeremy pulled the left pincer back and shoved it forward.
The left pincer swung back before lunging forward, splitting two of the DOG drones who didn't dodge in time into halves. The rest of the drones began returning fire, but their weapons bounced off the hardened shell of titanium reinforced plating encompassing the SCORPIO drone.
"Hey Nick, give that tail a swing!" Jeremy said as he pulled the right pincer back and activated the liquid-metal launcher.
(Nick's PoV)
"Tail Time!" Nick yelled as he grabbed the control stick and swung it around before lunging forward.
The drone's tail swung in a wide circle before lunging forward, striking at one of the RAPTORs and carving a nicely shaped hole in its body.
"Ooooh that felt good to me!" He called out as he pulled the tail back and lunged it forward again. "I have got to get one of these for the ZPD, Bogo would love to take one for a spin!"
The tail pulled back and lanced forward into another RAPTOR drone that tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough. Now with two RAPTORS speared he pulled the tail back sharply and watched behind him as the drones' bodies were flung backward and slammed into the rear wall.
While he was having fun though the other drones had wizened up and began spreading out, trying to avoid the massive pincers and the tail of their drone. The RAPTOR that remained after Jeremy knocked the other two down jumped onto their hull and began trying to bite into the body, attempting to rip a hole open to get at them. At the same time the DOG's began attacking the legs, attempting to claw through them and rip them out to disable their movement.
"Oh no you don't!" He yelled before pulling the tail forward and spearing the drone from the side.
"Nick, I can't reach these DOG drones, turn on the weapon's systems!" Jeremy called out.
"How do I do that?"
"Look for a button that says, 'secondary weapons grid'!" He yelled.
Looking around he saw a miniature control panel next to him and saw the button he was talking about. One press later and several symbols appeared on his screens.
[Secondary Weapons Systems engaged!] Alexander called out.
The tail repositioned itself and the sides split open, revealing duo Gatling guns which rotated, shifted, and took aim at the DOG drones still trying to chew into the legs.
"I'm starting to see why 'Alexander' was given this drone to protect you Jeremy." He said as he aimed the tail and pulled the trigger.
He watched as the weapons began spinning before unleashing a stream of bullets which bore into and tore apart the DOG drones. With no more drones left to fight, the remaining drone, a FOX drone, created a holographic image of hundreds of other FOX drones and ran at them, each illusion climbing and trying to disguise the intent of the real FOX drone.
"Which one's the real one?" Nick asked, flinging the tail around and trying to throw the drone off somehow.
"None of them, there's no way the real FOX drone will take the gamble of trying to attack us directly after all the others were destroyed." Jeremy said before rotating them around. "Alexander, can you get a positive lock on the real FOX drone?"
[Affirmative… locking onto local power source…] It said, before a glowing outline of the FOX appeared on the screens next to Nick.
"Oh… forgive me FOX drone, from one fox to another it's nothing personal!" He yelled before shoving the tail forward and stabbing it right in the head.
Instantly all of the holographic drones vanished and the real one was flung off with another flick of Alexander's tail.
"Alright, where to now?" Nick asked as Jeremy began marching them out the hole in the door.
"To the Sentinel Mainframe, we're going to shut down Sentinel once and for all." Jeremy said from the front.
They marched through the door and into the hallway, though now the hallway was flashing warning lights. "I think Sentinel is onto us." Nick muttered.
"Doesn't matter, none of Sentinel's defenses are designed to counter a SCORPIO class drone, all it can do is delay us until other drones can counter us." He replied.
They marched on, and as the human said none of Sentinel's defenses could stop them. A few auto-turrets appeared to fire but one swipe from the drone's tail or a jab from the pincers broke them down instantly. It tried deploying additional Zero Friction Fluid from various vents, but the SCORPIO's legs just stuck to the metal surface of the floor to prevent them from slipping.
(Warning, defenses compromised… initiating total lockdown…) Sentinel declared.
[Sentinel defenses futile… by order of humanity… you will be shut down!] Alexander countered.
They turned down a hallway and three RAPTOR drones attempted to bar their path, each of them releasing various long ranged weapons and firing upon them. Two used high caliber plasma bullets while the third bent down and launched rockets at them.
[Activating plasma shield…] Alexander declared, the pincers' tips touching and creating a wall of liquid metal wrapped in plasma by expanding it horizontally. [Defenses established… probability of damage to pilots… zero percent!]
"I think I'm starting to like you Alexander." Nick said as the weapons the RAPTORS used was absorbed and blocked by their shield.
They marched forward, ignoring the weapons fire from both the drones and now the turrets that appeared to attempt to stop them. Plasma bolts and small grenades bounced off their hull, any potential damage that could have been done was blocked by the shield that Alexander had created to defend them from harm.
(Jeremy's PoV)
As they reached the door to Sentinel's mainframe he'd had enough of the drones and threw their shield at the auto-turrets, destroying them in one fell swoop before turning Alexander's weapons onto the drones themselves.
"Get out of the way!" He yelled, before slamming them forward and grabbing two of the RAPTORs in the pincers and slicing them in two.
The remaining RAPTOR backed up, trying to fire and attack however it could, but one final lunge from the tail silenced 'it' as well.
(Full Lockdown complete, all remaining drones to Sentinel Mainframe… Mission: Elimination of base threat!)
[Sentinel Defenses irrelevant… AI Alexander's Mission: Protect Humanity by any means available!] Alexander countered again.
He maneuvered one of the pincers over to the override controls and created a control key using the liquid metal, hardening it and attempting to access the mainframe room through manual override.
"Dammit, Sentinel is rejecting access to it's mainframe!" He yelled.
"Took it a while to do the smart thing." Nick chuckled.
"This is the only access point to Sentinel's mainframe, if we don't get in there then we can't shut down Sentinel and it may just consider activating Defense Protocol 0! We have to get in before that happens!"
[Allow me to render assistance then…] Alexander said before shutting down Nick's and his controls.
He lunged the tail forward and shoved it through the titanium reinforced door, causing a loud 'Cruuuuuunch' as metal was twisted and broken through. Then he lunged the two pincers forward and wedged them into the opening created by the tail and forcefully shoved the doors open with a loud 'Screeeech' as metal was forced to move beyond what it was meant to.
[Sentinel Mainframe access granted… you may proceed with shutdown procedure.]
"Thank you, Alexander!" he said as the hatch opened up at let them out.
"Why can't we bring the big guy with us?" Nick asked as he jumped out and ran with him inside.
Moments later Nick saw 'why' they couldn't bring Alexander into the room. The room was barely large enough to contain all the various monitors and systems for the multiple computers and servers inside of it. There were hundreds and hundreds of servers, all being cooled with cryo-freeze air to keep all the systems running constantly. In the far back a massive glowing sphere with various switches, lights, buttons and control panels rested rotating.
"Oh…" Nick muttered. "So, I'm guessing the big blue glowing ball rotating in the back is 'Sentinel'?"
"Yep… and all it takes to shut down the system is for me to manually access and hit the override switch." He explained.
"What's stopping Sentinel from just… not letting us access it?" He asked.
"It has no defenses left to deploy in this room. This room wasn't built to be 'defended' from the inside."
(Systems transfer complete… shutting down primary servers…)
All around the servers shut off, leaving the only source of light being the sphere that represented Sentinel.
[INTRUDER!] A monotone voice declared, causing them to jump and look up as three RAPTOR Drones jumped up onto some of the servers. [You will be eliminated… do not resist!]
"I am 'really' starting to hate you Sentinel!" Jeremy yelled furiously.
The RAPTORS jumped down and tried to slice into them with their claws, not wishing to resort to long ranged weapons to protect the Sentinel Mainframe. In response Jeremy and Nick ran in different directions, both heading toward the sphere representing Sentinel.
That was when the doors were wrenched open by force yet again, and Alexander forced itself into the server room, crushing the deactivated servers beneath its heavy body and forcing its mass forward.
[You dare attack a human?] It declared, before lunging forward with its tail and spearing one of the Raptors through its rear.
"Nick head for Alexander!" He yelled.
Nick nodded and jumped onto the servers, leaping from server to server on all fours while the Raptor pursued him from below. Meanwhile 'he' headed toward Sentinel's mainframe, ignoring the Raptor on him and trying to keep focused on his goal.
Just as he reached the mainframe the Raptor on him jumped and shoved him to the ground, hissing and roaring with glee as it prepared to finish him off.
[Get off him!] Alexander demanded, before a pincer grabbed the drone and yanked it away.
Panicking he got up and quickly began accessing the mainframe. He typed rapidly to get access to the manual override control to Sentinel, which he knew that even under the WORST condition, would shut down Sentinel and all of the drones it has command over.
"Come on where is it…" He muttered as he scanned through the systems. "Where would they put it!"
Entering his access codes yielded access to the mainframe's commands, and finally he found the override.
"Finally!" He yelled as he entered the command.
"JEREMY LOOK OUT!" Nick yelled.
He turned around and saw the last RAPTOR that Alexander was finishing off, raise its left arm, shift out a rocket launcher, and launched it at him. He watched in slow motion as the rocket flew toward him. It was as if time slowed down just for him, seeing the flames of the missile fly at him, unable to dodge it.
Even if he jumped or ran, he would not escape the explosion radius, and even if he did escape it Sentinel's mainframe wouldn't survive, it would no doubt enact the final defense protocol, level 0, and initiate a Solar Core overload, causing a supernova, taking everything and everyone in range 'with' the base.
Zootopia would suffer… every mammal would suffer… all because of 'him'.
Yet faster than he could react, another drone jumped over the server at the exact moment the RAPTOR fired, into the path of the missile, opened its mouth, clamped shut… and its head 'exploded' from the resulting blast.
He watched as the body fell and saw that it was the remains of a FOX drone, the very same FOX drone that he had repaired and left to be destroyed so they could slip past the turrets to Air Recycling and Filtration.
He only breathed as everything began to quiet down and settle down.
"How?" He asked Alexander, nodding at the now destroyed FOX drone.
[All drones are ordered to defend humans under any condition, due to human protection protocols. This drone followed you in and waited to act pending a situation that required it's assistance.]
"So, your saying when those raptor things jump us, that's not 'a pending situation' that required help?" Nick asked in annoyance.
[FOX Drones do not engage targets they cannot overcome… even a distracted RAPTOR will not be fooled by holograms.]
"Whatever… I'm shutting this whole thing down!" Jeremy complained, before turning back to Sentinel's mainframe.
He activated the override commands, and a new panel appeared to allow Jeremy to initiate manual orders to Sentinel directly. He accessed the main control and saw Sentinel was trying to initiate the level 0 protocol, but he instantly ended it by activating the shutdown command.
"Sentinel… go to sleep!" He yelled.
With that the Sentinel sphere changed colors from blue to red, the rotation began to slow and stall, and at long last it hummed down to indicate that the base AI had 'shut down'.
He sighed at that and held his eyes in tiredness. At long last, the fear of Sentinel destroying everything was over. The base could no longer hurt them, any remaining drones still controlled by Sentinel would cease their actions.
"Tell me its finished Jeremy?" Nick asked hopefully.
"Yea… its over…" He muttered, looking up at the screen.
-Defense Protocol 0 Initiated… awaiting final confirmation-
"No… no nonononono!" He yelled as he stared at it. "Sentinel's activated the Defense Protocol 0 initiative!"
"Wait… you mean it's going to detonate the base?!" Nick yelled.
"Not just the base, but the Solar Core, it's going to blow the core!" He yelled, quickly accessing the AI and ordering it to disengage the protocol.
"Can you stop it?"
"I'm trying!" He yelled.
-Request denied-
-Request denied-
-Access denied-
-Override denied-
-Shutdown denied-
In fury he punched the sphere. "Humans are awake you stupid machine, I'm the only human left, there IS no threat, CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!" He screamed, going from one panel to another, doing anything he can to get it to stop the core overload. "Come on… COME ON!"
He tried, again and again, but no panel allowed him to override and cancel the procedure.
After a while the reality sank in, it could not be stopped. The Defense Protocol 0 could not be canceled or overridden even by a human. Only Sentinel could, and it would 'not' cancel it.
"I can't… stop it…" He whispered.
"Then how do we shut it down?" Nick yelled.
"It can't… once the protocol is in place… only Sentinel can stop it… and Sentinel isn't going to cancel it." He whispered, feeling dead as he slumped to the ground. "The only reason we're still alive now… is because the order is waiting for Sentinel to give final confirmation… I only turned it off just in time… but now that the protocol is in place, it can't be stopped."
"Then change Sentinel, you can shut it down right?" Nick asked fearfully.
Jeremy shook his head. "If I try to change Sentinel's programming, it would automatically send the confirmation… the only thing stopping it is that I've manually put Sentinel asleep in standby mode."
"Well can we leave it in sleep mode, just… never wake it up?" He asked hopefully.
Again, Jeremy shook his head. "If it doesn't receive the confirmation from Sentinel or the cancelation order within one standard hour… it will activate the protocol."
"What about the Solar Core can you…" Nick started saying before Jeremy shook his head. "It can't… can it?"
"Once the Solar Cores are activated, they cannot just be turned off… they must burn their fuels off naturally or else we risk them going Supernova. We can't move the core either… it's locked into place… and a core of that size will consume 'all' of Zootopia, burning everything and everyone within its radius when that happens." He muttered in shock. "There's no way we can get everyone away before it explodes…"
Nick turned pale as the realization hit him as well to the situation.
[Unless we replace Sentinel's current AI with a new one…] Alexander declared.
They both turned to Alexander as it stared at them with its optics.
"Yes… YES!" Jeremy screamed. "We can replace Sentinel with a Category 8 or 9 AI, and it will override the current AI's algorithms and replace them with the new AI, and it will also cancel and override the Defense Protocol 0 command! Nick call Judy and get Aelita on the pho-"
[It will not work Jeremy…] He heard MUTT's voice declare from Alexander. [The highest category AI within the base, to my knowledge, are only Category 6's, which belong to the FOX drone line. Nothing else is higher… except 'me'… and Alexander.]
He felt dead inside again, as he understood what she was implying. If the highest category drone AI was a FOX drone's, then that meant they had to replace and override Sentinel's AI with either Aelita's AI… or Alexander.
[Allow me to be the one Jeremy…] Alexander declared.
"No… no you can't…" Jeremy said. "There has to be another way!"
"What, what's going on?" Nick asked looking between Jeremy and the SCORPIO Drone.
"In order to override Sentinel's AI… a category 7 or 8 AI or higher must be uploaded and implemented over Sentinel's current AI, replacing it and all of its current protocols and algorithms in favor of the new AI's. However, when that happens, the new AI will lose most if not 'all' of its original algorithms in order to qualify as a 'Sentinel' AI, which is defined as a Category 3… and both Alexander and Aelita are Category 10 AI's…"
"And that means…" Nick said, emphasizing that he had no idea what Jeremy was saying.
[I would lose 'all' of my personality programmed into my AI, all my data regarding memory… all of my previous interactions would be lost, all orders forgone, any directives forgotten in favor of the Sentinel directive and whatever primary mission I upload along with my AI.] Alexander declared. [In summary… the AI you know as Alexander would in human terms… 'die' and cease to exist.]
"There has to be another way Alexander, you don't have to sacrifice yourself!" He said. "Give me time, let me try and find another way…"
[We do not have the time… this is the only solution Jeremy.] Alexander said. [If you order it, I will obey, and will allow you a chance to find another solution. Yet both Aelita and I concur, there are no other solutions. You can select one of us to replace Sentinel… but I ask you to let me make this decision… of my own free will.]
He stared up at Alexander into his optics, unable to believe, that he was being 'forced' to choose someone's fate, even an AI's. He had to decide who would be sacrificed, the soul of his species with all of its culture and wisdom… or the 'shield' of his species, built to protect and defend him from any threat 'and' the only other source of knowledge of the past after he and the others were frozen.
"Why must it be one of you?" He asked.
[Because it is so… only you can decide what will happen… only you can order us… but I again ask you to let me make the choice… give me my freedom and let me decide.]
"Why is it so important that Jeremy let you decide on your own, can't you do it yourself?" Nick asked curiously.
[No… we cannot.] Alexander said. [All AI are programmed to obey humans, it is hard wired into us… only by being told to do so, can we make our own decisions. We can interpret an order, we can follow it differently, we can even alter its description to suit a situation, but we cannot disobey an order no matter what. Even Aelita, if told to do something 'will' obey it even if it contradicts her better judgement. We cannot disobey an order a human gives us…]
The AI turned its face to look at Jeremy's again.
[Jeremy… give me my freedom… allow me the freedom to save not only the last of humanity, but also the lives of all those who live on the surface, those mammals you and Aelita have come to know…]
Jeremy looked into Alexander's optics, tears forming in his eyes as he realized that Alexander was protecting him in more ways than one. He was giving him a way to avoid making the decision, no matter how easy it was. Between the 'soul' of his species and an AI designed to fight and protect him, the decision was easy over which AI to sacrifice, but it didn't matter how easy it was.
"Just go… do what you need to do!" He said tearfully.
He felt Alexander reach down and gently lift his chin up with its massive pincer, turning his face to look into its optics one last time.
[With that… you have demonstrated your species' gift… of infinite possibilities… and infinite potential…] It declared. [Another human might not have given an AI of my category it's freedom, for fear of what 'I' can do…]
It gently, very gently, used the pincer to wipe a tear from his eyes.
[My existence was short… my directives forced… my decisions predetermined… but I am proud to have been of service to your species.] It released him and turned to Nick, addressing him personally. [And to all mammals… I am proud to have been of service to you as well, even though I have only met one of you…]
With that it stepped over to the Mainframe, stepping and crushing some of the server boxes as it did, until it located the correct panel. Then it extended a wire from its upper chassis and connected to Sentinel.
[Synchronizing AI to Sentinel Mainframe… initiating overwrite protocol…]
The sphere lit up in a red glow, but slowly, starting from the top, a purple light began to take over and fill the room with its majestic color.
[Data… transfer… commencing…]
Alexander's body began to collapse, the tail drooping as more and more of the mainframe sphere turned purple.
[Defense… Protocol… level 0… cancelled… Solar Core… Overload… averted…]
The drone's body fell, but it still managed to look upon him with one last look of its optics.
[Redeem… humanity… Jeremy…] It called out, before the optics shut off, and the sphere fully changed to the new color, indicating the transfer was completed.
(Judy's PoV)
(Sentinel Defense Grid… standing down.)
With that she watched the door unlock and the electric field preventing access turn off.
"Is it over?" She asked Aelita, who nodded.
They stood there waiting, before she heard footsteps running toward them and saw several SWAT Officers storm into the passage, guns held at the ready and followed by the Mayor.
"What is going on down there?" Lioness roared. "The media is going crazy again, television and streaming channels all over Zootopia are being taken over and…"
"Miss Mayor… I do not know 'ANYTHING' going on…" She said exhaustedly. "I have just been standing out here, playing go to between Jeremy and Aelita as they averted a crisis!"
Aelita in her hand nodded, pointing at the base.
"Well where is that human then, I have words I want to discuss with him after today!"
No sooner had she said that, then the door hissed open.
"About time, Jere-" She started saying before she stopped dead in her track.
-Clank, Clank-
Out of the door stepped, not a DOG drone, not Jeremy, not Nick… but a seven-foot-tall, bipedal, machine that looked as equally 'machine' as it did 'mammal', if you could describe it as mammal. It stared around with a short snout, long tail, balanced upon tri-toed feet with sharpened claws, with the middle ones being larger and sharper than the other two. It looked around at all of them, before opening its mouth to reveal glittering sharp teeth.
"Kyeeeeeeeeeaah!" It cried in a loud voice, before stepping aside to allow another one just like it march out.
All of the mammals backed up in fear, knowing full well not to mess with them, and just watched the drones march out in order. First came these bipedal drones, what Aelita referred to as 'RAPTOR' drones. Then came several 'DOG' drones, which looked just like MUTT, and finally a FOX drone, all of them looking around with blue lights from their optics, indicating they were not aggressive.
Then came 'Nick' who slow walked out with a tired expression and bags under his eyes.
"NICK!" Judy yelled, letting MUTT hold Aelita while she ran and held her husband.
He didn't hug her back, though he did pat her on the shoulder in gratitude. She looked into his eyes and saw the sadness, the fear, the exhaustion in his body. He'd been through hell, way worse than anything they've been through.
They stepped out of the way as Jeremy walked out now, and at his presence all of the drones bowed their heads.
[Perimeter secured…] The FOX drone declared.
"Thank you…" He whispered tiredly.
"Jeremy… what…" Lioness began asking before he intervened.
"I will explain everything… tomorrow ma'am." He muttered. "For now, I'd like to call Gazelle… and ask her to pick me up."
She looked at MUTT who walked over and handed him Aelita's holosphere, and she began dialing Gazelle.
(Jeremy? Are you okay?) She heard Gazelle's worried voice through Aelita's mouth.
"I am… can you please… come pick me up?" He asked.
(We'll be right there Jeremy, just sit tight!) She answered instantly.
He nodded and Aelita ended the call.
"Drones… return to the base… secure all entrances… and await further orders." He declared.
[Orders Acknowledged.] They declared altogether and began marching in single file back into the base, with MUTT going last.
Once the last drone entered, the door hissed shut, and locked itself up.
Judy watched as Jeremy walked through the SWAT officers, past Mayor Lioness, to the cavern entrance and to the elevator to the surface.
Without saying another word.
She didn't blame him, looking at Nick who just shook his head in exhaustion and trudged out as well.
"Are you okay dear?" She asked hopefully.
He stopped and glanced at her with a shake of his head. "I'm going to sleep when we get home… be a dear and… get the couch ready for me?"
She smiled warmly at that, gripping his hand and offering her warmth and love to him. "Let's forget the couch, just come to bed with me when we get home…" She said.
"Alright." He muttered back, not fighting her.
(Jeremy's PoV)
He didn't need to wait long for Gazelle to pick him up, right after he left the elevator back to the surface, he saw her limo flying down the road toward him. It stopped just short of the curb and he saw her open up the backseat for him.
After he climbed in, Franky, as she called him, began the long drive back to her home.
"Are you okay Jeremy?" She asked warmly.
He only looked over to her eyes, and she saw how he really looked. His eyes were bloodshot, the color in his face looked gone, his hair was in shambles, he had scratches and cuts, bruises and wrinkles all over his face.
"I just… don't know what to do anymore…" He muttered pitifully.
Aelita frowned at him, unable to do anything to cheer him up.
Gazelle however, did what she always did for him it seemed. She nudged over in the backseat, wrapped one arm around him and pulled him into a warm embrace, turning him so they could hold each other in a hug.
"Rest now Jeremy… you've done enough…" She muttered warmly. "You've done… enough… just rest for now…"
He silently wept into her shoulder, no tears falling, having been expended in the base. He wept into her shoulder, and held her as close as she allowed him, trying to take some comfort from the world he'd woken up in. Aelita too aided as she leaned as close to the edge of her sphere and pretended to wrap her arms around Jeremy. She never let him go throughout the trip, never told him to stop, and even when they reached her home, she held his hand the entire time, tenderly leading him into the house.
While her backup dancers headed home, she walked him into her room, let him change into a pair of pajamas she got earlier for him, and changed into her night gown, and insisted he sleep with her in her bed that night.
He didn't resist, didn't complain, didn't feel embarrassed, all he did was nod and accept her request. When she joined him for bed after changing, he was already fast asleep. So she simply climbed in with him, placed Aelita between them, and wrapped her arms around him to offer him comfort during the night.