[Doctor Vahlen’s POV]

*Beep. Beep. Beep. Be- slam* “Ugh, why does it have to be so early, God damn Mondays!” With this cheerful exclamation I ram my head back into the pillow. ‘Ah, so warm and comfy you complete me bed~’ Suddenly remembering the importance of today I bolt upright and rush towards the shower practically ripping my sleepwear off. I toss my clothes backwards and as they land on the floor a small robot takes them away to be cleaned.

Briefly glancing at the mirror I had to chuckle at what I saw. Staring back at me was a girl with serious bedhead hair. Even though it only came down to my shoulders today it seemed to have a mind of its own as the light brown hair was sticking out in every direction. Below the chaotic hair there was a cute face with the most striking feature being her deep sapphire blue eyes that radiated intelligence.

She had her father and mother to thank for her Germanic/French heritage which resulted in a face and figure most would find pleasing to the eye. Unfortunately, at least from her viewpoint, both of her parents were on the short side and she was no exception at 5’3”. ‘No not short petite’ I frowned and stepped into the shower.

“Normal wash,” I said as the shower began running whilst removing unwanted hair and completely cleansing my body. Refreshed, I stepped out of the shower and put on my nanite jumpsuit with my lab coat on top. Done with my morning routine I step outside of my apartment after grabbing a SN (sufficient nutrients) bar, one bar for one meal, it tastes like shit but it’s cheap and has all the nutrients you need.

Walking towards the lab I take a bite of the shit stic- SN bar, and grimace, while checking the news on my Econnect, which is a small supercomputer directly attached to your brain. The most striking news was from yesterday when a small mining post, on an asteroid, had experienced explosive decompression after a valve failure killing 12. I shudder at the thought of being sucked into space and finally arrive at the lab where if everything goes right today, we will make history.

Normally people that work with me would call me hardworking or perhaps even bordering on stoic but today I can’t help but smile at this momentous occasion. As the door slides open I immediately spot the head researcher Dr. Dave Zhal. What to say about Dave? Well let’s start off with the positives shall we. First of all you must understand that Dave is a genius amongst geniuses, a savant if you will. Compared to him some of the greatest minds on Gaia seem handicapped. Unfortunately, for all his intellect he has some “quirks” that make dealing with him hard.

For example, even though he’s only 22 years old asian male he dyed his hair completely white while letting it stick out in any direction. In addition no one has ever seen him wear shoes and the amount of sugar he eats is horrendous as he literally eats whole sugar cubes straight from the box. He also sits oddly with his knees against his chest. It really just looks plain uncomfortable if you ask me.

Spotting me as I walk in Dave waves which would be normal except for the fact he’s spinning in a swivel chair. ‘Actually there’s a thought why do we still have swivel chairs? Could no one think of anything better?’[I certainly can’t.] Shaking off the stray thought I look away from the eccentric genius and instead look towards the project that has consumed the last 3 years of my life.

Floating inside a glass tube a mass of tissue and machinery could be seen. It almost resembled a brain in a way and hopefully after today it would house the first sentient AI every created by man. In the past there had been many programs that almost passed the threshold but, for all their complexity, they still couldn’t take the initiative to think for themselves.

Walking past everyone else as they hustled around finishing the final touches to our project, or in one case playing tetris, I stopped next to Dave. “So is everything ready then?” I ask the still spinning Dave. “Basically, all I was waiting for was for you to show up. I mean this is your project as much as it is mine.” ‘Huh, he’s actually being considerate of others he must be really excited.’ As he finishes speaking he stops the chair and reaches under the desk to draw out a cane. Walking forward while almost casually twirling the cane he flips the switch next to the tube thereby initiating the startup sequence.

‘Why does he have a cane anyways? Oh, well.’ I sigh then focus on the tube as small jolts of electricity can be seen in the machinery intertwined within the mass of organic material. The jolts get stronger and more frequent until finally a steady light flows from the tube. The tube then lowers itself into the ground and with a final click locks into place.

“It’s finally online, mankind’s greatest achievement a fully sentient AI.” Dave shouts out startling me and everyone else in the room. “You should be able to manifest yourself outside your core now.” I watch anxiously with everyone else. It seems to take forever, but really it was only a few seconds, then suddenly an image formed above where the tube was. I held my breath waiting for its first words.

“So, could anyone please explain where I am?”

It passed the test I, and the rest of the room, let out a sigh of relief and then started cheering. It can think and form questions for itself. It has passed the test and can now be considered a sentient being. I can’t help it as a single tear rolls down my cheek as I see the culmination of all those hard years of work come become reality in front of me.

“Is no one going to answer me?” The question snapped Dave and I out of our daze while the rest of the room seemed determined to celebrate. I focus back on the AI’s form but Dave’s reply was lost to me as I quickly looked away again. I could feel my cheeks heat up and I could only think one thing.

‘Why is he naked?’