//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Contact 
// Story: Digital Love 
// by Closer-To-The-Sun 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 3: Contact

The hours continued to tick by as Twilight finished up her setting up of the computer. The hard drive was standing tall next to the monitor. In front of the screen, the keyboard was hooked up, ready for the input of commands.

The pony looked at the computer she finished putting together. The next logical step was for her to turn it on. However, she felt uneasy about doing so. A few moral questions were raised in her mind.

“If I turn the computer on and activate the program….am I creating life? Some sort of artificial life?” she mumbled to herself as she stared at the computer setup.

Raising her hoof, she reached forward to turn the machine on. Yet, she paused and hesitated just a few centimeters from the button. She tried to push herself forward, but closer she came to turning the computer on, the more uncomfortable she felt. 

Closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, she pushed the button, causing the computer to come to life. The whirring of the machine started softly and then suddenly roared from within. Parts of the machinery seemed to rotate and flash in a rhythmic fashion, signifying that the computer was alive.

The start up of the computer seemed to last an eternity for the alicorn. She waited impatiently for the machine to accept her command. However, as the machine whirred and came to life, the unsettling feeling seemed to grow within the purple pony.

Finally, the racket that the computer was making came to an end and the only sound left was a soft hum of the computer. The monitor turned on and a familiar screen welcomed her: a black screen with in the top left corner, the 'a' next to the acute angle bracket with the opening to the left with a flashing rectangle. This meant the computer was ready for any input orders that Twilight wished.

Looking at the keyboard in front of her, Twilight sighed, “Alright, the computer successfully turned on without a problem. Now….to start up the program.”

She was still hesitant. She knew exactly what to begin the artificial intelligence program. She did take notes after all when Celestia explained what she was to do. But what bothered Twilight was the moral implications of this task. Could she, with no objections, create life by simply typing a few keys and hitting the enter key? To her, it would feel as if she would be playing god with the artificial intelligence. And by that question, what exactly constituted life? Does one have to breath and have blood flowing through their body to be considered alive, or does simply having intelligence make one alive?

As she continued to struggle with these questions, the flashing rectangle patiently waited for an input.

Finally, Twilight raised her hooves up to the keyboard and began to type. The monitor registered these keystrokes as ‘artificial_pony_intelligence_program.exe’. However, the purple alicorn didn’t hit the enter key immediately. Instead, she waited.

After a few moments of hesitation, she broke the silence in the library, “Here it goes….I-I’m going to make contact….with a new type of life.” Her hoof hit the final key.

The computer rushed to life again, this time with the monitor flashing a large amount of text on the screen, seemingly to fly by without giving Twilight a chance to read what it had to say. This went on for a few seconds until the left facing bracket appeared again, this time with a phrase next to it, reading ‘artificial_pony_intelligence_program.exe awaiting input’.

Staring at the monitor, Twilight spoke to herself, “Did it work?”

The flashing rectangle was present again, waiting for her to type on the keyboard.

With a deep inhale and a small prayer to Celestia, Twilight typed a message and hit enter: “Greetings.”

A faint whirring sound from the computer chassis, the computer responded with text: “Greetings. I am the Artificial Pony Intelligence Program, or APIP for short. To whom am I communicating with?”

With a sudden surge of surprise and excitement, Twilight replied quickly: “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the computer responded, “one of the four major royal figures in Equestria, along with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, an Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

This response caught Twilight off guard. She was not expect such a response from the program. She typed: “That’s correct. But how did you know such?”

The program replied: “It is installed in my programming, along with a vast amounts of other information, such as a number of written works that have been written through out all of pony history.”

Twilight typed what she verbal said, “Astounding.”

“It’s just one of the many attributes that I possess, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

The purple pony snickered slightly at reading her formal name: “Please, you don’t need to address me in such a formal way. Twilight Sparkle is fine.”

The program was a little delayed in it’s response: “Understood. I have saved the new data into my programming.” The text stopped for a moment before continuing, “My internal clock indicates that it is close to three in the morning and that Celestia’s sunrise will be in three hours. Should you not be in bed? It is customary that ponies should get eight hours of sleep per day.”

“That is correct,” Twilight typed, “however I was so caught up in assembling your hard drive, which Princess Celestia gave to me earlier this evening, that I lost track of time.”

The program responded back: “So it is you I have to credit for my activation. For that, I thank you.”

A little bashful at the comment, Twilight typed: “Oh, I just assembled the pieces that make you. I had no part in creating your programming or such.”

“Yet, I have no knowledge of prior activation of my program. So, due to the circumstances, I stand by my thankfulness, Twilight Sparkle.” The sound of the computer processing echoed through the empty library.

Twilight smiled: “Well, you are most certainly welcome.” She took a moment to think after submitting the statement, then she typed again: “I should get some rest after all. What should I do for you, shut the computer off?”

She was not met with a response right away. After about ten seconds of processing the question, the program replied: “If I may request, could you leave my program active? I wish to further explore both my programming and hard drive.”

“Can do. I will check on you in the morning. Good night,” Twilight finished typing on the keyboard as she stood up from the desk.

“Rest well, Twilight Sparkle.”

The computer continued to whir as the purple pony trotted away. Turning off the lights, Twilight Sparkle looked toward the glow of the computer monitor, lighting up the dark library. Finally dragging herself up the staircase and into her bed, she rested her head down upon her pillow and smiled.

“Today,” she whispered to herself, “I have helped create a new type of life.”