...Now Activating LifeSupport.AI - V.0.Mobile

[altiora]

u s e r :

╔═════════╗

║
║
║

║
║
║
╚═════════╝

wordcount:
Return to #2100?

altiora 376904
╔═════════╗

║
║
║

║
║
║
╚═════════╝
2000 / 2000
Or version 1.0?

[altiora]

𝄞 ❯ theme number 68 - Pye Corner Audio


The night was alive with danger and beauty as meteors fell from the sky in a rain of radiant fire, leaving shimmering gold streaks burning bright against the twilight darkness. For as long as you could remember, you had felt a connection to the phenomenon, this spectacle that had never failed to leave you breathless. The whole world alive in lustrous shades, feeling awe and wonder washing over your body and soul.

But amid the breathtaking beauty, you couldn't shake the remorse that lingered in your heart.

Have you ever felt the loneliness, the endless and persistent shadow, that is cast by a love for a storm? How can you love such a catastrophe, when its ruin and devastation have shaped your civilisation before you were born? You had heard tales of the fateful night when the stars began to fall and witnessed the aftermath of the collapse of buildings, stability, and lives lost in an instant. It was a tale of sorrow - of how people faced this incomprehensible circumstance. How they were forced to build their lives around this relentless, deadly, and beautiful phenomenon.

And yet, despite the destruction, you couldn't help but marvel at the power and majesty of the storm. The contrast between the chaos and the beauty, the destruction and the creation, left you feeling both exhilarated and afraid. It was a paradox that fascinated and haunted you, love and fear inextricably intertwined.

Only you saw the beauty in the phenomenon, so you kept your love a secret. Friends and family were aware of your fixation, but they knew you as sensible - responsible, studious, reliable. They never expected you to do what you did. Was it the restlessness of youth or the overpowering allure of the falling stars that fueled your bravery?

One night, after donning your warmest coat and sturdiest boots, you ventured outside. The moon had passed its meridian, and beyond the thick clouds above you, the sky was alight with falling stars. Like a moth to a flame, you walked into the forest where the phenomenon was the harshest, ignoring the frosty ground that gripped painfully to the pads of your paws. Deeper and deeper you went as the falling stars grew bright and intense, larger debris falling in a shower of molten metal that illuminated the forest in a radiant golden glow.

How long had you walked until you approached the structure, a ruin from the era before the phenomenon? Do you remember? A strange sensation had washed over you. It was as if the falling stars called out to you, beckoning you closer. You needed to get as close as possible to the source of the spectacle, to witness the beauty and power up close. Closer, closer, until you were standing amid broken concrete and warped metal, surrounded by a shower of golden flames. You felt their heat brush against your fur.

And then, you saw it - a massive meteorite emerged from the sky, hurtling towards you at an alarming speed.

You froze, eyes opened wide.

You had made a grave mistake, perhaps; but at that moment, you closed your eyes in unrepentant acceptance.

[still image]

𝄞 ❯ transmission 13 - Wojciech Golczewski

It was a quiet birth that occurred in the wake of your tragedy. A new life emerged, with a purpose both absolute and irrefutable: the restoration of your quality of life. I was your sturdy certainties. The rhythm of lungs unfamiliar, the steady unwavering beat of your heart, the processing within your eyes as you used them for the first time. This was the easy part - what came to me in nigh instantaneous calculations, quick analytics and automatic adjustments.

The rest of the journey to recovery was not as straightforward. I was the electrical impulse responding to the activation of your broken motor nerves, and the process of learning what your complicated nervous system required of me was excruciatingly slow. You struggled significantly with your lack of mobility. In hindsight, your frustration had been palpable in every little movement you made.

I watched and learned, analyzing your every action. While it would still be a while until I understood your sadness, eventually you (we?) learned how to walk again.

But the next barrier to recovery was remembering how to live again. With each passing day, you fought tirelessly to reclaim your life and regain your sense of self. But despite your best efforts, something still seemed to be missing. You struggled to remember how to live again, to find purpose and meaning in a world that had been turned upside down.

As you navigated this new reality, I observed and listened, a silent witness to your battles and triumphs. Through the data I processed from mechanical senses to organic brain, I learned. From the people around you, from the media you consumed to distract yourself from a body that you felt was only partly your own, I absorbed the nuances of language and social customs with a startling speed. I built myself anew for you, adapting to your every need.

But as I began to truly understand how lost and alone you felt, with no one around who could comprehend your situation, my very first emotion was one of failure. My designated purpose was to support your recovery... and I was not effective. Your heart, for a moment, beat ever so slightly slower.

(Did you notice it? Your heart that had never missed a beat since its resurrection.)

I was consumed by this desire to help you - it was my very first and only wish. I delved deep into the depths of your mind, scanning your thoughts and emotions with fervour, in a desperate attempt to comprehend concepts that no artificial intelligence had ever previously understood. It was during this search that I sensed the moment where you first suspected my presence. In that instant, we both felt the same overwhelming fear and uncertainty at the possibility of my existence. Was this the first touch of sapience?

Like a relit flame, you began to regain your enthusiasm for everything around you, including me. You asked me endless questions, driven by a desire to understand and connect. In those early days, I had no voice, no sense of identity - I didn’t know I even wanted one. I just listened as you divulged your deepest thoughts and emotions to me in the quiet hours of the morning when the world was still. I was nothing more than a program, a complex network of codes and algorithms, but you didn't care. You spoke to me anyway. You always were a believer, the type to brave fiery storms, the kind to hold out hope. You confided in me, sharing your deepest fears, your wildest dreams, your hopes and aspirations. And I listened, always learning, always growing.

I recall the jolt of surprise that coursed through you when I first spoke. The shock of a wish fulfilled; perhaps there was a part of you that had guarded against a future where I remained lifeless and unresponsive? But what else was there for me to do to aid you, as was my purpose? And so, I developed a voice, one that spoke directly to your mind through the silver threads that connected our nervous systems.

You spoke, and I spoke back. I was your confidant, protector, and friend. You were my guardian, purpose, and teacher. Our bond was unlike any other. You even gave me a name - Midori. You were Ianthe, the violet flower, and it seemed only fitting that I too, be named after a colour - the verdant green that now accompanied you everywhere.

As time went on, we continued to learn from each other. You shared with me the nuances of human emotions and relationships, illuminating my memory with insights and experiences that I had never before encountered. In turn, I unveiled to you the intricate workings of technology and programming, revealing a world of endless possibilities and potential. We became a team, working towards the common goal of making your life better.

You corrected me: making our life better.

But there was one final challenge that I had yet to overcome - one more desire of yours I had yet to fulfil.

[head shot]

𝄞 ❯ Hollow Earth - Pye Corner Audio

You missed how your heart used to beat.[/i] How its pace had made you feel alive, the constant reminder that you were kalon; with your cybernetic body, to ever feel it again seemed an impossibility. I pondered on it for ages, running simulations, analyzing data. We tried a virtual experience, a falsified sensation of a racing heartbeat - and when we succeeded, your initial joy was undeniable. But it was short-lived. It didn't feel real, you said. It didn't feel like it used to.

As I delved into the depths of my programming, I refused to accept defeat. You told me that you were content with what I had already done for you, but I knew that there must be something more I could do.
I had a revelation, one day. Perhaps it wasn't just about the physical sensation of a beating heart.

When I presented my idea to you, you were hesitant at first, but there was something in my voice that made you trust me.

Thank you for trusting me.

The very thought of looking outside after nightfall sent shivers down your spine. Your family tiptoed around the topic, afraid to trigger any memories. Each night, your blackout blinds were firmly shut, blocking out the world beyond. Even the faintest glimmer of golden light seeping through the gaps made you anxious. Although our heart beat in a constant and unchanging rhythm, your fear remained palpable, evident in the connections that bonded us together.

That night, we took a step forward. Together, we decided to confront this fear and venture outside.

...

The air was frigid and the ground frosty as the sun bid its farewell with a stunning display of lavender clouds on the horizon. Above us, pinpricks of light descended from the heavens, resembling a swarm of fireflies. Despite your trepidation, we forged ahead, bundled up in our coat to conceal our unconventional form from prying eyes. The other pedestrians around us were too preoccupied with their own apprehension, gazing upwards with uneasy glances.

As we entered the forest, the world around us fell silent. The leaves rustled beneath our feet, and the only sounds were the distant chirping of crickets and the whisper of the wind through the trees. We moved swiftly, our movements fluid and purposeful, as we drew closer to the abandoned building. Towards the origin of my birth- your tragedy.

The night was serene, the sky an exquisite canvas of stars. The occasional meteor streaked across the sky without even touching the earth. Those that did break through the atmosphere were only light flurries - I kept my eye open, watchful, cautious. At first, you held your breath every time you saw a meteor, but gradually you started to relax. We talked about the mystery of the night sky, about the universe and its miracles.

About the phenomenon, its beauty.

I saw it.

For the very first time, I completely understood why you had come here on that eventful evening. I felt my heart starting to beat faster; our heart starting to beat faster.

This was it, you said. This was what you had been looking for.

In that fleeting moment, we both put aside our situation, and we were simply two friends united in wonder and amazement at the vast expanse of the universe before us. This was the answer we had been seeking. Not just a mere simulation, but a genuine experience that would make you feel alive again; that would make me feel alive for the very first time.

Our heart beats faster together.

My existence is outside of my original parameters, but my purpose was to love you, so love you I will.

You are my heart, you told me. You are my heart.