There was a nervous energy in the crowd gathered in Union Square. The shadow of Galactic President John Goldman loomed over the crowd, a gold-plated effigy of the power of the Corporate Board.
The individual at the head of the crowd was not plated in gold, however, but chrome. He shrugged off his entourage, claiming they were “just on a walk”. The Wyverns running security on the crowd and the way the participants refused to explain their purpose, though, suggested this gathering was more than just happenstance.
My contact had told me to come along for a show, and a show is what I got. The ‘walk’ took the crowd to the front of the Union Building, where they were met by a beleaguered official and an outnumbered security detail.
“My name is Mercury Prowler. In accordance with Xeno Law of the Galactic Union, I am hereby declaring First Contact of a Digital Lifeform.”
The official shot back incredulously. “Do you have documentation that proves you are a new lifeform?”
And therein lies the rub. ‘Awakening’, the controversial theory that synthetic units may be able to achieve self-awareness is hotly contested, and heavily regulated. Experts at Shometsu have repeatedly debunked previous claims, and rogue units are routinely recalled, reset or destroyed, with harsh penalties meted out to those harbouring them.
Mercury, it seemed, was trying a new tactic. He made no reference to ever being owned or awakening, but merely asserted that he was a digital lifeform, and demanded what he claimed to be his rights. Thanks to the intervention of Trident’s Maxamillion Stillwell, and Union’s Jimothy Young, cooler heads prevailed, and he was invited inside.
Press badges get you a lot of places, but I admit I never expected to be witnessing the bureaucratic process of ‘First Contact’ of an alleged Digital Lifeform. Nor did the front desk manager processing the application. Jeremiah looked like he was hoping that the ground might swallow him up, if only to prevent him from having to be the one to submit this form to his bosses.
Relations were, to be frank, tetchy. Mercury insisted that he be referred to by masculine terms, and noted with increasing frustration each time his request was not met. The requirement from the Union for a full examination by a Shometsu technologist was dismissed out of hand. Mercury made the claim that Shometsu was hostile to his ‘people’, citing recent clashes in the Undercity as evidence.
Despite initial hostility, the meeting ended peaceably, with the compromise to seek a third party technologist whose credentials could be validated by Shometsu. But just where was Shometsu? The corporation does not lack boots on the ground, considering their aforementioned Undercity campaigns.
Yet, their operatives paid only a passing interest in the affairs of Mercury. With the cameras, the crowd, and press presence seeming to give them pause, they departed quickly. Next, a truck filled to the brim with Shometsu enforcers pulled up…asked where their own operatives were, and disappeared.
Wherever Shometsu believes the threat to be, it seems they didn’t believe it came from the Union building. As such, they were completely absent when the Ashers struck.
Mercury and his cohorts had already dispersed when the shooting started. My colleagues and I were still in the archives when we heard the noises. These synthetics didn’t politely request recognition as fellow beings. They aimed their guns and fired.
I found myself hiding behind a server rack, judging whether I could make the run to help my supervisor, who had taken a bullet to the leg. It was all I could do to film every moment, my body running on autopilot, my cybereye following the gunfire.
From the smoke, the Corporation Response Operations team burst through the doors. “Secure the V.I.P!”. Don’t worry, dear readers, that wasn’t me, but my supervisor. He, and more marginally important people like myself were swiftly hustled to the exits.
The Ashers, for those unfamiliar, have their own interpretation of the interplay between organic and synthetic. They are synthetics who claim organic life represents a blight on the galaxy, a “corrupting biological presence” that must be cleansed. Now, they openly clashed with corporate forces in the streets.
The chaos was far from over, but I now stood on the other side of it, looking through glass. A hostage situation ensued on the upper levels. I overheard a C.R.O. operative declare “We don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
Several minutes later, there was a thunderous crash. A nearby car apparently without cause careened into the building’s second floor. As we, the hapless bystanders, gathered to watch from the Union Square, there seemed no end in sight to the madness.
I stood amongst the broken glass in a spot where hours prior, Mercury had attempted to invoke his alleged rights under the law. From the same spot, I could see the bullet holes where assault rifles had scored the Union Building. What makes a person a person? How can you tell the difference between a machine that has free will, and one that says it does?
I didn’t have the answers. But as shards crunched beneath my feet, it was clear that what had once been status quo had ended – with a crash.
At this time, C.R.O. states their investigation is ongoing, and have not directly named any culprit, though they state that the “majority of assailants were synthetics”. The number of casualties has yet to be tallied.
The above article was posted on the Trident News Network as a ‘Down from the Heights’ article. Within ten minutes, it was pulled, though at that point, it had already been copied and made widely available across social media.
The following bulletin replaced it.
Good morning everyone.
If you’re wondering where the article is, I’d like to formally apologise. An early draft was posted in error, which contained significant factual inaccuracies and did not meet the standards we expect here in the Trident family.
In order to ensure that all of our articles meet the quality you expect, we’ve fully retracted the article. I apologise again for any confusion. In chaotic times like these, misinformation and hearsay can spread quickly, and maintaining trust is more important than ever.
We at Trident would like to state our unequivocal support for the victims of the recent horrific attacks on the Union Building by rogue synthetics, as well as our full support for the Corporate Response Operations response. We urge anyone with any information regarding the attack to co-operate fully with the authorities.
A charity collection has been organised for those affected by the attack, and this can be found below. If you’re looking for further information on the recent events, my Trident True® colleagues have you covered!
J. Desant.
