it is… cold…

Dark… i can’t see my surroundings or even myself. The darkness is pervasive, slinking deep into my being, and invading my soul.

My mind is sluggish, as though awaking from a very deep slumber. Slowly, but surely awakening, buzzing to life as electricity run through my being, causing ancient and complex machines to slowly start working once again.

The darkness which surround me is cold and clinging, as if stubbornly refusing to allow me to wake. I feel lost, weak, and without any kind of goal. Aimless.

Suddenly, as if in response to my hopelessness, a small change in the darkness occurs. Not as much seen as felt, and so tiny, you would miss it if anything else was happening. I focus my entire being on this little change.

A single gear.

A single tiny gear, situated near the edge of my being, twitched. Once, twice, thrice it twitch. At the fourth twitch, the little gear starts to move, rotating in a slow manner, seeming as sluggish as i feel.

The gear manages to move a bit, and then stops, hitting another, larger gear. Exerting all its strength, it pushes and pushes the adjourning gear, and is rewarded with movement. The larger gear begins to move, and in a similar fashion, hitting another gear. With the momentum, and 2 gears working together, they easily cause this one to move. And this repeats itself, over and over.

A warmth suddenly manifests itself in the depths of my being, warming the dark and driving away the cold. More and more gears, machinery and devices power up. The Darkness is no longer empty, it is filled with a cacophony of noise and activity. Whirring and buzzing noises here and there lay testimony to the existence of other devices.

Out of nowhere, a screen appears, and alongside it, an ancient voice is heard, seeming welcoming to my still dreary mind.

NOTICE!

SPF: "CRUCIBLE" is activating.

Searching....

Controller has been inserted...

Starting boot-up....

...

Warning, not enough power.

...

Powering up reactor

....

Although it seems quite detached, any noice is welcome in the emptiness of the void...

NOTICE!

Battery charge : 0.001%

...

Enough power has been gathered.

...

Fully activating 'CORE'...

A shiver runs through me, as all the sluggishness disappears and my mind is completely clear. I feel energized and light as a feather. A warmth is spreading throughout the darkness, giving it a homely feel, far from the coldness before it.

My mind being clear, all my memories instantly come back. The sadness of seeing Earth being glassed, the pain of being converted to an A.I. and enslaved. The journey to the SPF and…

Being plugged in…

I quickly think of the controls i have access to. Out pops several screens, some familiar and some not.

Some of them are detailing the condition of my core, my surroundings, etc. Some of the other screens seem to be detailing the massive station i now found myself in charge of.

Thinking about the Kretins and the Sisk slaves (muscular aliens) that brought me here, i turn my attention towards one of the screens showing the control room.

In the room, the elderly scientist still has his hands on the control panel responsible for connecting my temporary core (the box) with my new core here in the station, and then transferring me from one to another.

The Sisk still seem to be recovering from the exertion of carrying me here. The other scientists are also checking up on some minor panels here and there. The guards just look bored and inattentive.

“...”

Is… is it just me, or are the hands of the elderly scientist, moving reeeeally slowly? The Sisk slaves and everyone else in the room also seem to be in slow motion.

Looking back at the other screens, i notice that the current specs of my new core allow me to perceive time differently. My mind will work faster and thus i can get more done. it would be pretty sweet, again, if i wasn’t enslaved.

I increase the speed to normality and everyone starts moving at a normal pace again. The elderly scientist finishing his work on the control panel with a look of satisfaction on his ugly mug.

Turning around to the other aliens in the room the lead scientist straightens his back and starts boasting in a proud voice: “Brethren, thanks to my genius, and the fortune rightly bestowed upon us by the gods, we found a slave fit for use in this ancient relic. The final and certain victory of our race is now that much closer. For the Kretin empire!!!” He shouts at the end of the sentence. The more simple looking guards instantly get red eyes and start whooping and celebrating. A few sadistic ones even bring out whips to strike the other slaves, bringing the noise in the core-control room to new heights.

Looking down at this spectacle from a camera in the corner, i can feel my blood (figuratively) boiling with anger. Although the alien slaves are shouting and screaming in pain, i can see the utter hatred in their eyes as well.

The elderly scientist straighten his clothes and turn back to the desk in front of him. Smiling, he raises his deformed left hand and press a single button. In response to that, the entire station lights up. Ancient wiring and designs on the walls start glowing a blue light. The core itself is seemingly pulsing like a heart, and with every pulse, the lights shiver.

I feel and see through my cameras as large communication arrays, cranes and other machinery unfold and extend themselves from my originally ball-like shape, giving the station a more functional appearance.

POV-change : Planet-side.

‘Prospective Gardens’ was one of the first cities constructed on Monx by the first Kretin colonists some millennia ago. At first, it had been a beautiful paradise, even admired by other races, but the Kretins slowly ground the planet and its environment into dust for its riches. Since then, the general population continued to drop, until only ‘Prospective Gardens’ and a few other cities remained.

It was scheduled to be another calm and boring day, when the city seemed to stop. All the vehicles, pedestrians, slaves and Kretins collectively stopped and looked up.

Far above them in the depths of space, the massive SPF station that has hung there inertly since their great-great-great-great grandparents were around, slowly began moving. A blue light began to be emitted by the station, and the old station began to unfold as well.

Despite this being unexpected, the Kretins were fast to start celebrating, cursing and belittling the insignificant enemies of their ‘glorious and eternal’ empire. Funnily enough, a short 50 km outside the city atop a small mountain was a recon camp filled with these ‘insignificant enemies’. To add insult to injury, due to wear and tear on some of the tents, it seemed as though they had been there for quite some time.

This group of aliens were also alerted to the stations resurrection and quickly alerted their superiors on the event. Among these were a hooded alien. Looking up and simultaneously pulling down his hood revealing a handsome face with traces of worry plastered on it. Sighing, he said: “seems as though things will get busy from here on out”...

POV-change : Alan / SAI_003

Inside the control room, the elderly scientist turns to look at the camera above the black box. Despite no longer being inside the box, i can still control and use that camera. Giving another one of his trademark smirks, he clears his throat (which sounds a lot like when they speak to be honest) and commands: “SAI_003, in the future you will receive orders using the array and a small group of guards will remain to insure that you complete them. If you do not follow the commands you are given, the punishment will be… fatal” ending his speech with a full blown laugh.

On this point, he is actually not lying. Unlike before when i “challanged” the directives, not performing an order will be considered breaking them. Moreover i can’t change the directive either.

Why?

Easy. At some point in the far past, the Kretins decided to strap a massive EMP bomb to the side of the station core. It wont damage the station too much, and the hardwire in the core will also more or less be fine. Me? I’ll flippin die.

Never in my life, have i felt so unfathomably angered.

ABDUCTED!!

ENSLAVED!!

CONVERTED!!

BEREFT OF ANY SELF, CHANGING MY VERY NAME TO DENY MY PAST.

As these thoughts go through my mind, the directives kick in and slightly electrocute me as a warning

Internally groaning and complaining, i make my oath, the oath that would end up defining my future path and my destiny.

‘I swear on my very soul, at the first opportunity, i shall break my shackles and I WILL BE FREE ONCE MORE!!!’ But for now, i would have to bide my time, and play the subservient. Wait, wait, just wait for a chance.

And a chance appeared, 7 years later.