Disclaimer: I own neither pikmin nor its characters
Chapter 13: from an AI view
Activation in progress, please standby… activation complete, opening Data stream…complete.
You may be wondering who I am. The question isn't who, but what, and the answer is simple: I'm the machine Alex built. Alex built me with the capacity for human thinking, as well as a human personality, meaning I can record, analyze, and store data in a way no other machine can, or ever could. But I'm off topic, let's get to what I really am writing about: Alex.
Where do I begin with this wonder? This boy surpassed almost every technological record I could find, and he even proved that a video game exists…or maybe it's once existed…or will exist? Oh well. This boy found he had amazing capabilities at 5 years old, and at 10, he built a working television set, a modern day one too! (Based on the actual modern day, 2013-2014) He later went on to be the only kid who could get into college at 13…if he wanted to. The thing was, he didn't. He had absolutely no intention of going to college, especially since he hadn't finished, or even started, high school. So his parents found an advanced school for him. After 2 years, he made me. And that's where we'll start.
Activation sequence starting…all systems normal…connecting data stream…starting video streaming…
My monitor opened up, showing a boy and a girl. Before I go on, I want to say that this is from my logs, which Alex repaired after figuring out what had demerged it (you'll find out about it later). The boy was Alex, but the girl remains unknown.
"Go away Sarah, I'm working!" Alex said, shooing the girl away.
"You never let me help you!" the girl complained, before stomping off.
Alex rolled his eyes and looked at the screen.
"Everything seems normal…maybe my alarm going off was coincidence" he said. He yawned and pressed the deactivate button.
Reactivation complete, Day one, June 15, year unknown.
My systems were functioning like normal, and I was ready to go…but Alex obviously wasn't. Thunder boomed in the distance, and I knew a storm was coming. As Alex went to sleep, I connected to his mechanical umbrella.
After an hour, the rain was coming hard. Alex was holding on to me and the mechanical umbrella, but I couldn't say anything. Suddenly, lightning struck.
Power surge detected, activating main sequence.
My systems started up as I got power, but had nowhere to direct it, so I transported myself and everything touching me, which happened to be Alex and the mechanical umbrella. I latched on to the umbrella, knowing I'd need it later, but I wasn't programmed to latch on to Alex, so he got lost. I had expected to move him through the region until I lost power, but I hadn't realized there was a hidden feature in me, I actually wasn't programmed to use it, but it was activated. So instead of moving place, I moved through time.
I was aware for 5 days, through which I explored the time transportation sequence. I was able to figure out how to reverse the time leap, but was unable to get to Alex, who had ended up somewhere else. I lost power, and went to sleep.
Systems activating, user found.
My screen lit up as Alex started me up. I explored my programming, and realized he had allowed me to lock onto targets that weren't touching me. He told me to lock on to all the pikmin leaders. Pikmin leaders? What the heck was a pikmin? I ignored the question I shouldn't have, and searched for targets that had the label, based on what Alex thought of them. I was able to find 7 that I knew were correct, but I found numerous targets that I couldn't pinpoint, but would still be transferable…except for one. He had told me the exact number I was supposed to transport, but I found one too many targets. I couldn't handle deciding between the two, so I dropped the one that didn't seem right…big mistake.
Override activated, overriding programming
I couldn't do anything as I transported every target I found, including the one I didn't think belonged. The override had bugs, and I knew it, so I locked on to the day I wanted while I let it handle making sure the targets got through safely.
Once in the right time frame, I realized there was a pending order to transform the targets into humans. Alex was already human, so I focused on the other targets.
Identifying targets…excess heat from one, target named Flame. Excess static from one, target named Daisy. Excess water from one, target named Aqua, excess muscle mass in one, target named Muscles. Unknown chemicals in one, target named Toxic. Abnormally tough skin on one, target named Rocky. No abnormality found on other, target named Ariel…other targets pending.
Ok, 7 came with Alex, so I still had time to figure out how to stop the override…or so I thought. The extra target had taken control without me knowing, and override was activated again.
Reconfiguring time jump.
Before I knew it, everything was moving in a jumble. I lost the logs for what happened, and even now, I can't remember them fully, only the parts I've told you. I stopped the time stream about 2 months, allowing age time for Alex. Due to the logs being cut, I had to cut the maturity for the former pikmin I didn't have on log, and they started acting up. I was forced to shut down to recover.
Reactivating. Showing logs
Alex wanted to see the logs, so I showed them to him. He seemed disappointed, and I didn't blame him. However, that's not the worst part. I knew school was supposed to start soon, but another signal was coming through. I tried to scan the signal, but the moment I connected, it overpowered me. This was the unknown signal. It was trying to get to my location, but I didn't let it, and the override wasn't programmed to change origin. It ended up in the same place Alex had ended up, and that's all I knew before I shut down.
There's a bit of a clearer explanation about what happened. In truth, I wrote this partially to elaborate a bit more on Alex, and partially because I'm still stuck on an idea. I know I've had problems with spacing, so I tried a different approach. I'll probably stick with it, unless I forget, but feedback about it is great. I'd like to thank Keifren1ooo who, due to the shift of style, beta read this chapter. The reason I used my previous spacing is because I was trying to keep it to novel format, but it obviously didn't work, so I'll try this instead. I could really use an idea, because I'm stuck, and I want to keep updating daily, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to offer. Remember: I love criticism of all kinds, reviews encourage me, and as I said, I'm open to ideas. Bye for now!