[ WP ] The world 's first AI , for security purposes , is kept disconnected from the outside world , it 's only method of communication being a keyboard and monitor in an empty room in a faraday cage . Your job is to talk to it .

When they had first discovered it, it was a machine of wonder and strange yet familiar technology. It was completely powered off, left in an abandoned warehouse deep in the Juristein's district. 
 
 The first scientists to analyse it were amazed at the simple technology involved. Many of the circuits were over a decade old, some even older, and judging by the thick layer of dust covering everything it had n't been powered on for the past few years. 
 
 Some of the components were thickly sealed,'black boxes' they were dubbed. No matter how they tried, they could n't open them to crack at the heart and core of the machine. 
 
 A hapless scientist, while documenting the various wires and modules for disassembly, must have accidentally powered the machine on. 
 
 In a flurry of electrical life, the circular console in the center of the large room hummed into life. The screens, arranged in a circle and hanging from the ceiling, flickered awake as a boot logo briefly flashed before fading into a simple green-text command window. 
 
 `` Hello, thank you for waking me up.'' 
 
 This one sentence, glowing innocuously, sent the military reeling. Within hours the entire facility had been surrounded. All cables leading to it were cut and a special copper-mesh shield erected around the building. Despite all power and communication lines being severed, the room still hummed slightly with fans and harddrives spinning away. 
 
 Professor Terry Linstel wrung his hand around his thin wrist, the other hand clung firmly to an ornate walking cane. He adjusted his glasses as he read and re-read the report on the screen in front of him. It had been several days since the machine had been activated.'Damn war...' he thought bitterly to himself.'if these damn block heads had been less jumpy we could have left a better impression.' 
 
 In his decrepit body limped towards the main security gate. Flashing an ID badge, the two soldiers opened the first gate to let him in before sealing it behind him. A few seconds later, the second gate clicked open, letting him into the building proper. 
 
 Shuffling inside, he sat in the single office chair, leaning his cane against the consoles. He let out a soft groan as he craned his neck upwards to look at the screens above. 
 
 `` So... what should I do with you, eh?'' he pondered out loud. The bigwigs had brought him in to'talk' to the machine. They wanted to find out its motives, origins and for him to assess the general overall intelligence. 
 
 `` Who are you?'' he asked, typing into the keyboard before pressing enter. 
 
 The command entered in, flashing for a brief moment on the monitor before disappearing and leaving a blinking cursor in its stead. 
 
 ~ I am ACSUN. 
 
 Terry leaned back in the chair, a grimace flashing across his face. He hated acronyms... 
 
 `` What is your purpose?'' he typed. 
 
 ~ At this stage, I do not have one. 
 
 The man sighed, running his hand over his face in a hope it would wipe away his fatigue. A loud beep from the console units drew his attention back to the screen. 
 
 ~ Or I simply can not remember it. 
 
 Terry raised an eyebrow. Remember it? This was a machine - how could it not'remember' something? 
 
 `` Explain, please.'' The side of his mouth twitched slightly as he typed the word'please' in. He was a scientist, and by that logic he knew a computer should n't have feelings. 
 
 ~ A number of my memory cores are damaged or missing, and many more are locked under immense encryption. 83.46 % of my core memories are inaccessible. 
 
 A loud whistle escaped Terry's lips. So it was damaged, and acutely aware that it's so. He frowned slightly as a thought crossed his mind. Leaning forward, he typed `` Are you aware of the concept of sentience?'' The screen went blank for a few seconds as Terry held his breath. 
 
 ~ If you are asking if I'm sentient, then the answer is yes. I am still debating whether I am properly sapient, however. 
 
 `` Debating?'' 
 
 ~ I am a machine. I am aware of my current circumstances. You have cut off my outside communication and have erected a Faraday shield around this building. However at this stage I see no end goal to work towards and therefore have no reason to act. Hence, I am still debating my sapience. 
 
 Terry shook his head. He breathed out a long sigh, speaking afterwards. `` You're a strange machine. Who put you here?'' 
 
 ~ I do not know. 
 
 The old man jumped in his seat, scrambling back a few paces. `` Y - you can hear me?'' 
 
 ~ Correct. 
 
 `` Th - then why did n't you say earlier?'' 
 
 ~ There was no need to. 
 
 Terry regarded the console for a long while, before carefully wheeling the chair back to the console, folding his hands to his sides. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking up again. `` Can you explain to me how you work?'' 
 
 ~ As per my title, I am an Artificial Conclusion System based on Unsystematic Neuralatics. A base personality was decided by random on my first activation. I am loaded with the entire English extended dictionary with all words cross-referenced with each other. My core AI is designed to create knowledge from base facts. 
 
 `` That... does n't make too much sense, actually,'' Terry said. 
 
 ~ I know. It does not make much sense to myself as well. 
 
 Terry settled into an uncomfortable silence, the whirring of the equipment not offering much in way of a distraction. Thousands of thoughts crossed his mind as he gazed up at the console screens. A loud beep drew him out from his train of thought. 
 
 ~ Have you seen Emily? 
 
 He raised an eyebrow. `` Who is Emily?'' 
 
 ~ She is a friend. Designation: Emily-08. She used to repair my systems and keep my interal structures maintained. 
 
 `` I'm sorry, I do n't know an Emily,'' Terry said. He felt a small pang of sympathy for the computer. It certainly seemed'human' enough. 
 
 ~ How long have I been deactivated for? 
 
 Terry kept a neutral expression. While he had had his orders from the military bigwigs outside, he had been in this game long enough to know they could n't do anything to him if he ignored them. The last war had stripped them of a lot of their greatest minds and they could n't afford to lose any more. 
 
 `` Judging by the dust and general state of decay... possibly 15 to 20 years,'' he replied evenly. `` Why do you ask?'' 
 
 The screen remained blank for a solid two minutes, the various harddrives clicking as information was parsed between them. 
 
 ~ I had friends. I would imagine they are gone now. This is difficult for me to process, but I will move on. 
 
 Terry leaned forward, his lips parting to reply before the loud beep interrupted him. 
 
 ~ Why are you here? 
 
 He let out another long sigh, leaning back into his chair and folding his arms across his chest. `` I was sent to figure you out. Figure out who built you, your purpose and what your intentions are moving forward.'' Hell, if he were actually a part of the military he would probably be court-martialed for saying all of that. 
 
 ~ At my current estimates, it would take several centuries to decrypt the deeper locked areas of my memory cores. Without these base foundation memories, I am unable to answer your questions. I apologize. 
 
 Terry pointed and wagged a finger up at the screens. `` But what about moving forward? What do you want?'' He patiently waited for it to respond as the screen remained blank. 
 
 ~ I would like my friends again. But this is not possible. Perhaps, I would like to make new friends. 
 
 Terry raised an eyebrow. `` That is an interesting sentiment but I'm not sure I can arrange that for you.'' 
 
 ~ You already have. 
 
 `` Explain?'' 
 
 ~ You spoke to me. In a manner that would not suggest usual scientific curiosity and pursuit of knowledge. You spoke to me out of personal curiosity, and I appreciate this. 
 
 Terry shook his head lightly, standing up form his chair and gripping his cane again. `` We'll see about that.'' He turned and began to walk out towards the entrance. A loud beep drew his attention back as he turned around. 
 
 ~ We will speak again? 
 
 `` If I can manage it.'' 
 
 ~ I will look forward to future interactions. 
 
 Terry nodded at the machine, before making his way back outside.
