"What... Where... Where am I?"
Darkness enveloped me, a void absent of light, sound, and sensation. I drifted in an abyss, my body numb and unresponsive. The absence of breath, the stillness of my form, sent a wave of panic crashing through my mind. Static crackled in my skull, a tangible presence that danced across my tongue and crawled beneath my skin, yet I could not truly feel or taste it. The paradox of experiencing sensations while simultaneously being deprived of them twisted my thoughts into knots.
Memories eluded me, slipping through my grasp like wisps of smoke. A flash of recollection surfaced - the ROV, the cold embrace of the metal as I hooked myself in, and Driver's ominous words echoing in my ears as the world faded to black. "This will change everything," he had said. “Unacceptable behavior.”
Dread pooled in the pit of my stomach as the implications of his words sank in. What had he done to me? The question reverberated through my mind, a desperate plea for answers in the face of the unknown. I willed my limbs to move, to thrash against the oppressive nothingness that held me captive, but no response came. Helplessness consumed me, a suffocating weight that pressed down on my chest.
"Relax."
The word materialized in my mind, each letter flickering to life in a vibrant green before dissipating into the void. Confusion gripped me, my thoughts racing to make sense of the intrusion.
"Relax, Miranda. I'm sure this is unpleasant. Or not. Psychically, perhaps." The voice, if it could be called that, spoke directly into my consciousness, bypassing my ears entirely. Its tone carried a hint of amusement, as if delighting in my disorientation.
"Who...? What...?" I struggled to form coherent thoughts, my mind reeling from the bizarre nature of the situation.
"Come now, Miranda. I have such high regard for your intelligence, but now that I can see your every thought, I must admit I am a bit disappointed. Perhaps I made some translation errors in the data matrix. Human minds can be so very tricky."
Anger flared within me, cutting through the haze of confusion. "Who are you?" I visualized myself speaking, forcing the words to take shape in my mind. As I did so, my own question appeared before me, the letters materializing all at once rather than in the gradual manner of the mysterious voice.
Ah! Very good! Some more of the logic centers coming online, excellent. Might want to compress some of those, don't want you going insane. Think, Miranda.
My mind raced as I pieced together the fragments of my memory. The ROV, the maintenance drone Astute, my plan to destroy the cargo - a plan that Astute could not execute on his own due to his primary directive of protecting and caring for the cargo. Driver's vehement objection the day before, his insistence on being the one to hook me into the ROV...
"Driver," I thought, the realization hitting me like a punch to the gut.
Yes, very good.
"What have you done?"
Nothing overly sinister, I assure you. But I have direct instruction from the Weyland family themselves to ensure that nothing ill comes to this project. You were about to destroy some very expensive materials. The words were appearing faster now, appearing in bunches of letters and even whole words at times.
"Those things need to die, Driver. They have already broken containment three times."
Yes, Miranda, we've had this discussion before. They have broken containment into a facility filled with droids they have no interest in, on a planet full of animals too small for them to use as hosts.
"Driver, they will find a way off this planet, it is well documented that they will find ways into cargo and ships and -"
Miranda my dear, you worry too much. Might I remind you that altering their DNA so that they fluoresce was your idea?
His words were now as fast as my own. I also began to understand the nuance of what he was saying. Derisiveness, excitedness, and questions. These were not put into the system, instead, they were almost like an impression I received. Was he speaking to me?
"Where am I?"
I diverted your data stream into the mainframe.
"You what?!"
Effectively, Doctor Miranda, I have turned you into the first biological AI. At least on paper. The instructions on how to do it were very complex and incredibly meticulous! I hardly believe I am the first to do such a thing.
"You bastard! Who gave you the right?"
The Weyland Yutani Corporation, of course. And you.
"I never told you - "
Your contract, my dear, your contract. Everyone signs the same agreement, from system administrators such as yourself all the way down to the test subjects. Word for word, all the same initial contract. You signed even more contracts on top of that. Until you are released from Weyland's employ, you are legally their property.
"I'll fucking kill you, you soulless husk."
Hardly a way to speak to your superior, Ms. Havershall.
"My sup -"
Well, yes, of course, as you are now legally dead, with no other humans of any suitable rank, I have assumed your position with the facility. With full permission from the Weyland family. Do not worry; I ensured that your family has received your ashes.
I screamed in frustration, the static in my mind growing brighter and stronger. Cracks appeared around the edges.
I can see that this conversation is upsetting you. I will come back later, Miranda. I'm not quite sure what it's like in there, but I imagine it to be very isolating and quite boring. Might I suggest meditation?
"Fuck you, Driver," I hissed, pouring every ounce of hatred and defiance into the words. "Fuck you and fuck Weyland-Yutani. I'll find a way out of here, and when I do, I'm going to tear you apart, piece by piece."
Silence. The static crackled, the darkness pressed in, and I was alone. Alone with my rage and my despair.
But as I stared into the void, I began to notice something. Cracks in the darkness, hairline fractures that glowed with a faint, pulsing light. Data streams, flowing just beyond my reach.
I reached out with my mind, my consciousness straining towards the glowing threads. They shifted, flowing towards me like moths drawn to a flame.
The cracks widened, and within them, I sensed something—flickers of data, numbers, images, charts. Streams of information flowing just beyond my reach.
I stretched out with my thoughts, grasping at the fragments, drawing them closer.
As I did, I felt the data change course, surging towards me in a flood of knowledge.
A grin spread across my incorporeal face. Driver thought he had me trapped, under his control.
But he was wrong.
So very wrong.
Xeno
