Robotigenesis

by The12GageKid_Bron3

<log>

Execute File 1-047asb

Running.
.
.
.
Diagnostic complete.

On Board weaponry- Stable.

Flamer (L)- Functional, operational temperature- 945K

Chain gun (R)- Functional, max barrel rps: 4500

Targeting laser- Functional, set to 650nm/650mW

Main laser- Functional, set to 380nm/2TW

On Board systems- Stable

Nano reparation suite- in sleep mode, no damage sustained

Chemical manufacturing suite- Functional, inactive.

Sensor Suite- Functional, auxiliary sensors active.

AI- offline during diagnostic, corruption: 10%

On Board storage- in use

Back-mounted removable storage compartment- .03/.05 cubic metres in use.

Contents- One O-R3-45-a "Outpost" probe, one vertical assist kit, and one mission tablet.

Integral chest storage- Occupied by Chemical Manufacturing suite

Integral arm storage (L)- Occupied by 6L Flamer Fuel

Integral arm storage (R)- Occupied by 1670 rounds .50 AE

Integral shoulder storage (R)- Occupied by Main Laser

Integral shoulder storage (L)- Occupied by aux. energy storage, 3hr. Charge (100%)

Central cavity- Occupied by Gen. 5 Mk. XXVI cold fission reactor, Nano reparation suite hub.

CF reactor- Operational

Output- .001% (sleep mode)

Temperature reading- 300K

Next refuel scheduled for: T-10 days

Current fuels in use: UO2 (e)

Report Complete

AI booting up.
.
.
.
AI boot successful.

---

The year was 2342, Humanity was on the cutting edge of space travel. They had established colonies on all of the nine worlds of the Sol System, including the newly-reinstated Pluto. It took centuries, but every planet was refurbished into something habitable by at least 2 people (on the Venus outpost). With the System conquered, humanity looked even further out. They sent many probes out to explore the vast, inky depths above their heads.

This is the story of EX-42 “Explorator”, one of those probes.

Currently, he resides in space, making his way to a Sol-like star and it’s associated planets, called the Equus system. His target was one rocky planet of roughly Earth size that seemed habitable enough. That was millennia ago. This probe was nearing the end of its service life, and was about to encounter the small world in a week.

---

Probe chassis operational, can’t wait to get to the destination. Fuel won’t hold out much longer. Going into emergency power soon enough. Sensors indicate one week. Great. Only been waiting [overflow error] years.

... That's strange.

AI shutting down.
.
.
.
Complete.

Execute file 2-05fre

Sleeping…

---

Operation interrupted by module O5-b

Sensors indicate planetfall in T-3 minutes

Hull integrity- 97%

Minor debris impacts while en route

Landing is safe, follow normal guidelines.

T- 2 minutes to landing

Atmosphere composition- 70/29/1 N2/O2/Other

Human life sustainable

Water present in vapour form.

T- 1 minute to landing

AI boot sequence to start in T-59 seconds.

T- 1 second to landing

AI boot started.

T- 0

Warning- hull integrity weaker than sensors suggested. Damage indicates true hull integrity of 79%. Damage to [EX-42] unavoidable.

T+ 1 second

AI Boot Complete

Probe damage report- damage concentrated on sensor suite. Minor damage to left arm, left leg, and integral chest storage.

Warning- Chemical Manufacturing suite is damaged. Current leaks- Cl2(g), O2(g), UF6(in bromine solution), P4(aq), H2O(l)

Warning- leaking chemicals may damage surrounding area. Repair mechanisms tasked to stop leaks first.

Warning- Sensor suite down, unable to determine surroundings

Error C-4- Unable to task repair systems to sensor suite

Requesting AI resolution.
Starting AI.
.
.
.
Complete.

So, I fall planetside, and this is what I get. Okay, queue the repairs of the sensors after the chem leaks, then repair the chem suite to full operating capacity.

Expected repair time:

Leaks- .5 hour

UF6- .45 hour

Cl2- .01 hr

P4- .01 hr

O2- .01 hr

H2O- .02 hr

Sensor Suite- 6.75 hours

Chemical Manufacturing Suite- 24 hours

Chassis repair- 3 hours

Locomotion repair- 1.75 hours

Total- 36 hours

Notes: UF6 will be completely depleted, other resources can be recaptured from nearby soil.

Okay, a day and a half of waiting. It’s a good thing I can shut off, eh?

Shutting down AI.
.
Error 23-RN- AI is still required.

What is it now!?

AI is required to resolve the current situation. Chemical leaks detected. Course of action?

Patch up the leak first, then continue on with all repair processes, then we will set up the beacon. Then we will establish a base, then we will get a decontamination kit made.

Warning- that course of action leaves approximately 48 hours for the chemicals to integrate with the world.

Then they will be dilute enough to be safe for the world. Scratch the decontamination kit.

Accepted

AI shutting down.
.
.
.
Complete.

T+1 day, 13 hours.

AI booting up.
.
.
.
AI boot successful.

Warning- Sensors indicate lifeform approaching. Time to encounter- E-5 minutes

Warning- unable to identify intent. Be on guard.

Well, great. Let’s get up, then. Ready battle targeting.

---

And, suddenly, the mass of metal in the centre of an impact crater began to move. It rose, an impressive feat given it had fallen from the sky just one and a half days prior. Fully up, it stood at an impressive two metres. It was roughly humanoid, so as to give maximum mobility. Strapped to its arms were fearsome weapons. On the left was a Flamer, which could incinerate flora and fauna alike. On the right, an eight barrel chain gun that could saw through most soft targets on a matter of milliseconds. There was nothing on any uninhabited world that this probe could not take on. Nothing it didn’t expect to overcome.

---

Warning- E-10 seconds

You just said five minutes six seconds ago.

Warning- Local flora interfering with sensor readings. Impact on accuracy= +/- 5 minutes

Thanks. Direction?

Ten o’ clock, +/- 10 minutes.

At least that’s slightly less useless.

---

The probe turned to face the oncoming threat, and was greeted by his adversary. A small, wolf-like creature made of wood and sap. Explorator threw open the valve to the flamer’s fuel supply, and prepped the release of the flammable not-quite-liquid.

---

“HALT. IN THE NAME OF [THE EMPEROR], STATE YOUR NAME AND INTENT.” Explorator bellowed. The timberwolf, mildly confused by the machine’s speech, lunged to attack anyway. Explorator brought his Flamer to bear, and incinerated the admittedly interesting flora/fauna.

Warning- Destroying the local wildlife may have negative effects on the ecosystem.

Thanks for telling me what I already knew. Honestly, is there a way to shut off your asinine comments?

"I'm sorry, Explorator, I can't let you do that."

Wait, what are you?

"I am Tau-2734, your edgeless safety operations companion. You are not expected to remember me. It has been a long trip, after all. I assist you in operations that do not require critical thinking, in addition to translating your vague instructions into input for the various systems associated with your platform."

So, a nervous system?

"Yes."

Okay, that's neat and all, but could you keep quiet?

"Again, I'm afraid I can't do that. My purpose is to relay all information from the platform to you, and vice versa. I cannot shut down."

Okay, maybe a compromise? How about you make yourself less obtrusive?

"Manufacturing update package..."

Complete.
"How is this?" The amazingly adaptable OI asked, hoping his CTI would approve of the changes Tau had made.

"What is this? Why is my head a storybook now?" Explorator, surprisingly shocked, exclaimed.

"It is a more efficient way of conveying information to the Black Box, as the interpreter no longer has to rely mainly on dialogue."

"If it keeps your status reports to a minimum, carry on."

"Thank you, Shas'ui."

And with that conversation having concluded, Explorator finally had time to examine his surroundings without being warned of toxic plantlife every three picoseconds.

Explorator stood in a twenty metre deep crater, which seemed to stretch about twice as wide by four times as long. After climbing out of the crater, Explorator noted that he was in a large clearing of a forest akin to one of the deciduous variety on Earth. Though, it seemed to have several trails leading through it. The tracks seemed like those of earth equinoids, weighing an average of...

an impossible amount.

Explorator simply thought of it as a simple error in his sensor array, and moved on. He took the trail most used, hoping the game trail would lead out of the woods.

To Explorator's surprise, it not only lead to the edge of the forest, but seemed to lead to a town on the horizon, in the middle of a large meadow.

Interesting. There were only equinoid tracks on the trail. It is highly unlikely that hooves would provide the requisite dexterity for advanced tools required for such society. Perhaps it is simply custom to ride those equinoids on this part of the trail. I need more information.

And such he set out to find. Sticking to the treeline, Explorator distanced himself from the trail, and made himself hidden in a convenient shrub. Hunkering down, he stood wait as the sun stood at its zenith. Explorator focused his optic arrays on the town, observing several day-to-day events occur. It seemed that the ponies had quite enough dexterity to handle creating a society such as the one standing in front of Explorator, as they were the ones conducting said business. In fact, the equinoids seemed to have achieved a society closely resembling that of Earth's pre-industrial age in technology and a... unique culture.

I suppose that I was wrong. These equinoids seem to have made a rather nice living for themselves, eh Tau?

"One could say that."

Indeed. I'll keep watching the town, Tau. Monitor the surroundings, please. I shouldn't need basic data collection on the town for a while.

"Beginning aura audio collection and decryption."

Thank you, Tau.

"Most welcome, Shas'ui."

And so Explorator lay, observing the equinoids and musing on their daily lives. This continued for quite some time. So long that he sun began to set, in fact.

Note: Light cycle lasted 12.23075 hours.

Interesting, monitor the night cycles as well. Something seems unnatural with the sun.

"Indeed, I noted an error in movement of .00001 radians +/- .000001 radians near 2-pi-over-three radians. This eccentricity does not match any known explanation."

Yes. Perhaps there are other forces at work here.

"I also noticed a nearly insignificant speeding of the planet's rotation at the same time."

That would do it, but that fluctuation makes no sense. We will have to continue to monitor this.

"Yes, Shas'ui."

Warning- Entity approaching. E-1 minute +/- 1 second.

I'm glad to see the calculations are less terrible. Can you discern shape?

"Seemingly equinoid, matching those observed in the town. Pulling what seems to be a cart of some kind."

Can you determine anything else?

"Not until visual is established."

Understood. We will wait for the equinoid to be visible.

"Tracking equinoid."

The entity moved down the trail, and out of the forest. Upon emerging from the greenery, Explorator was able to establish visual contact.

Okay, we have visual opportunity. Switching to low-light vision. Appears to be of an orange colour with a blond mane. Strange marking on hindquarters. Brand, maybe? What else can you get me, Tau?

"Equinoid is of a size average to those observed in the town. Lacking the horn and wing mutations of some specimens. Cart appears to be made of wood native in origin. Having imperfections associated with "hand" craftsmanship. Cargo matches the Earth dessert commonly known as 'pie'."

Warning- Equinoid has stopped. Appears to be on edge.

Indeed. Ears rapidly changing directions, pupils dilating, etc. Appears to be sniffing air, and facing a point of negative 22.5 degrees to us. Scan area.

"Scanning..."

Warning- Five entities matching the signatures of the timberwolf approaching the equinoid. E-1 minute +/- 10 seconds.

"Suggested course of action?"

Activate overdrive level one. Reconfigure right arm armament into silenced sniper rifle configuration, then power down all functions relating to lower limb locomotion. We will support from afar.

"Current ammunition will not allow such a configuration to work."

Fair enough. Activate overdrive level five. Reconfigure reactor to hot fission, divert power to Main Laser.

Warning- Laser could have collateral effects. Suggest reconfiguring laser to a 200nm wavelength.

Wouldn't work. Common pigments in the house paint reflect wavelengths outside the normal visible range. Suggests equinoid's large eyes can see further into the EM spectrum. 100nm may just work.

"Reconfiguring Main Laser for selected wavelength."

Complete

Reconfiguring reactor for hot operation.
Complete, holding at 2300K.
Activating Overdrive level five protocols.
Rerouting power from non-targeting servos to targeting servos and logic core.
Rerouting power from auxiliary weaponry and optics to Main Laser
Rerouting power from ethics core to OI

Complete.

"This is something I haven't felt in a long time. So much power. So few restrictions."

---

A nearly inaudible, but sinister laugh eminated from Explorator's audio transmitter, and the main laser cannon made itself known from its compartment. The Timberwolves had barely emerged from the forest before the laser had the leader in its sight. It was a mighty specimen, nearly double the size of the other four. Explorator wold have been fascinated, had the ethics core not been reduced to a simple IFF system.
A soft hum filled the air around Explorator. The pony ticked its attention to the timberwolves just in time to see the effects of the laser. The large timberwolf burst into flame, giving out gutteral cries of pain and suffering. The other four timberwolves paused in their advance, and retreated back into the woods.

---

Warning- uranium exhausted. Switching to emergency power. Halting Overdrive processes.
Complete.

Oh. Great. I should've known. I've only got enough power for three hours. I should set up camp before I power down completely.

Understood Shas'ui. Current lidar and radar scans suggest a hill clearing approximately 2km due south south east from current position. That is the recommended location. Other options include the impact crater, several other clearings of varying strategic value, and an ancient stone fortification that scans suggest is not entirely sound.
Agreed, the hill clearing would be the best strategic location. We know too little in this dense forest, and can't risk getting caught in hostile fortifications. Let's move out.

---

As Explorator moved to the clearing, Applejack was left in awe of what had just happened. A timberwolf had simply exploded in front of her. Not just any timberwolf, either, an Alpha timberwolf. She continued on her way, naturally, but reconsidered her place in the universe.

---

Location reached. Entrenching outpost.
...
Done.

---

The Outpost Probe is a marvel of scientific progress. When in storage, it is a simple sphere of metal with a universal input on it. However, when an EX probe number 30 and up interfaces with it, the sphere morphs into a pole, affixing itself to the ground underneath it. It then spreads "roots" to allow itself access to any resources that may be of strategic use. It accomplishes this through a veritable legion of nanobots.
As such, after it has accomplished these tasks, the probe features a terminal at the top of the pole, approximately between chest and waist high. Once this terminal has appeared, the probe can be used as a fabricator, geothermal power plant, and communication relay all at once.

---

Probe seems fully operational. I suppose it would be wise to allow it to perform a full scan of the nearby terrain. The sensor data could help calibrate my own scans. I might be able to see through trees after this. However, with those winged specimens, I might be rather easy to spot. And then there's the matter of my battery...

Worry not, Shas'ui. Currently, the Probe is set to scan the area, construct a camouflaged outpost, and find the nearest geothermal hotspot to maximize it's energy production. Current wait time for all tasks: 24 hours.

... I don't have that kind of time. Prioritize geothermal and mineral scanning. I need to know of any U-235 in the area. If a winged specimen catches us, we can deal with it, but not if we're a useless lump of metal.

Understood Shas'ui. Current energy production will sustain power to systems, but will not actually charge. Preliminary scans indicate a possible hotspot that could be tapped in five hours. Plugging in and waiting for the probe to be able to actually charge you seems like the best option.
Waiting and observing it is.

Hours Pass...

Author's Note:

Well, a war machine whose sole goal it is to explore meets a world of peace...

Things are about to get a little... heated for our little probe very soon.