The Mech Touch

The Red Fleet developed a collection of weird and unusual smart AI templates.

There were all kinds of people within the Red Fleet.

Its research divisions were quite enormous.

After all, in order to remain competitive with the high-ranking mech designers of the Red Association, the fleeters had to rely much more on quantity in order to keep up in terms of technological refinement and innovation.

This naturally meant that the Red Fleet employed its own fair share of oddball researchers and developers. So long as they performed their expected duties, they received enough recognition to propose their own R&D projects.

All of this gave Ves quite a few choices to work with. He already had a vague vision of what he wanted from his final smart AI slot.

The SEA SOVEREIGN, STAR WATCHER, ARMOR POLISHER and IRON MONGER smart AI templates were all purely functional.

The smart AIs derived from them were programmed to fulfill their tasks in the most efficient way possible. Everything they learned as the Larkinsons interacted with them would get added to their existing problem solving frameworks.

While the onset of developing sentience may cause them to develop strong personalities, Ves found it difficult to imagine that they would deviate too much from their starting point. Their foundations were already set from the beginning. Whatever was built on top of that may add a lot of richness to their personality and operating approach, but they were fundamentally bound to their purpose.

This meant that the solutions generated by these smart AIs would not deviate too much from the solutions generated by the smart AIs that were already being used by the fleeters.

The lack of uniqueness grated on Ves. Just because he agreed to make use of the RF's excellent processing clusters did not mean he wanted to imitate the fleeters.

He already had multiple plans in store to add his own touch to the remarkable SF-02, and his choice of a fifth smart AI template would be the first step to deviating from the most obvious trajectory.

Ves repeatedly studied the list of smart AI templates and picked out a few that stood out from him right away.

[STARVING ARTIST - Art, creativity, unconventional.

MASTER ARTISAN - Craft, quality, consistency.

HIGH PRIEST - Religion, social engineering.

ANARCHIST LEADER - Anarchy, resistance.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE - Business, management, economy.

CULT MASTER - Cult, secrecy, taboo.

FEUDAL KING - Kingdom, vassals, authority.

DARK LORD - Evil, darkness, selfishness.]

It was an eclectic list. Ves really liked to meet with their creators and see what they had in their minds when they decided it was a good idea to develop these smart AI templates.

Were the fleeters so desperate to understand different people that they were willing to create the ANARCHIST LEADER, CULT MASTER and DARK LORD templates?

Ves had a strong feeling that the actual reason why those crazy fleeter AI systems engineers created these templates was to bring their alter egos to life!

Whatever their motivations, if their creations made it on the list of available smart AI templates, then they had to be legit enough to receive RF recognition.

"What do you think about the options that I have selected?" Ves asked.

"Well, my predictions of what smart AI templates may have caught your attention are largely correct." Commodore Reze said in a neutral tone. "I heavily recommend that you do not select the HIGH PRIEST, ANARCHIST LEADER, CULT MASTER and DARK LORD templates. They are mainly used to help us understand enemies and individuals of concern. They were never designed to assist in other matters. Their programming in this aspect only meets the minimum requirements. They require a lengthy period of training in order to become useful in other capacities."

Ves smirked. "That doesn't sound so bad. That means that these smart AI templates are highly malleable. Even if they come with problematic traits, I can just train one of them like a dog and turn it into a productive addition to the SF-02."

Sigrund looked at Ves as if he was an idiot.

"The threat posed by these dangerous smart AI templates is greater than you think, professor. When the SF-02 that you have ordered becomes active, all 5 smart AI templates will be in constant contact with each other. While we have programmed them to maintain their separate personalities, a certain degree of cross-contamination cannot be avoided. Some of us even think that this is desirable because it will increase the coordination between them when working on multi-disciplinary assignments."

"What does that mean for me specifically if I choose one of those 'dangerous' smart AI templates?" Ves asked.

"It means that if you settle for a dangerous choice such as the DARK LORD smart AI template, it will promptly try to pass on its dangerous and subversive traits onto the other 4 smart AIs. Each of them will become crueler and less ethical. This can have far-reaching consequences. Perhaps you will be able to mitigate the undesirable consequences through strict training and constant vigilance, but the DARK LORD template in particular is programmed to always undermine all other authorities, including its own users. It is by far the most dangerous form of smart AI in our arsenal. Some of us previously thought about connecting a modified version of it to alien computing networks, but the threat that the DARK LORD AIs may come back to human space and wreak havoc across the galactic net is too great."

The more Commodore Reze talked about the DARK LORD smart AI template, the more Ves felt an attraction towards it. Not only was it aligned to the darkness element, but it was also by far the most challenging to control and harness.

Ves regarded it as a digital reflection of a demonized artifact spirit.

Just like the Bitter Swordsman, an AI based on the DARK LORD template would constantly work to undermine the existing order and take control in order to impose its own rules.

Just the thought of it made him more excited!

That was until his rationality reasserted itself.

What the hell was he thinking? How could he compromise the safety and reliability of his first smart AI processor cluster by letting a literal DARK LORD infest its processor chips?

The amount of processing power being wasted on infighting, redundant security measures and excessive verification would definitely cause the SF-02's performance to bog down!

While others might see this as an advantage as it would make his future flagship a lot more resistant against external intrusions, Ves did not want to turn his own smart AIs into his enemies one day!

He decided to save this option for another day. Perhaps it would be better if he reserved the DARK LORD smart AI template for a less critical but still important starship such as a stealth vessel.

Ves decided to turn his attention to less risky choices.

"What can you tell me about the STARVING ARTIST and MASTER ARTISAN templates? What are the differences between the two, exactly?"

"The STARVING ARTIST is our best attempt at getting an AI to gain an understanding and appreciation of art from a human perspective." Commodore Zonrad Reze explained. "However, this template is more of a private project, and has never received much interest and support from the Red Fleet. A smart AI based on this template will only exhibit rudimentary and borderline useless functionality. It will require years of training and human interaction in order to meet the original goals of its sole programmer. This is why its label includes the word 'STARVING'."

"All I am hearing are downsides, commodore. There has to be a reason why it exists. What is the goal of this smart AI?"

"To find out… whether smart AIs can create art that matches or surpasses human works." Commodore Reze answers. "Its creator was particularly interested in finding out whether the STARVING ARTIST smart AI template can lead to the mass production of masterworks without any human intervention."

"That sounds like a project worth investing in." Ves judged.

"That is why the MASTER ARTISAN smart AI template exists. Compared to the STARVING ARTIST template, the MASTER ARTISAN template has attracted much more investment. Its code is more refined and developed and can completely automate many different production tasks, from producing mechs to constructing starships. It has already become popular among our factory ships for this reason."

That sounded like a perfect match for the Spirit of Bentheim, but not necessarily for the Tortuous Scream.

While it was possible to refit the Tortuous Scream in order to expand her production capabilities, doing so was a complete waste. It was better to work with dedicated factory ships that did not require Warship Tokens.

Ves felt he was about ready to make a selection.

He briefly contemplated the remaining options on his list.

The HIGH PRIEST smart AI template sounded interesting if he was interested in trying to manipulate his clansmen and red humanity by spreading faith in his design spirits.

The CHIEF EXECUTE smart AI template would definitely be of great assistance to the commercial enterprises of his clan. The Living Mech Corporation, the Open Consortium, the Creation Association and so on could all benefit from the improvements suggested by a business-savvy smart AI.

The FEUDAL KING smart AI template sounded incredibly interesting if he wanted to expand his power base or even create his own state or star nation one day. If Ves possessed megalomaniac ambitions, then he could use a powerful assistant that excelled at securing the loyalties of powerful people.

However, most of these smart AI templates merely sounded 'nice to have' rather than absolutely essential. Ves still couldn't spot a choice that was vastly superior and more appropriate to his current situation than the other ones.

Given that the expected value and utility of many of them were quite close to each other, Ves did not have to use those criteria to determine his choice.

He decided to disregard his rationality and rely on his emotions to come to a decision.

Which one spoke to him the most?

Ves briefly closed his eyes in order to clear his mind of all of his complicated thoughts.

When he listened to his heart, he was gradually able to determine his preference.

"I have made up my mind on the last slot. Please fill it up with the STARVING ARTIST smart AI template."

"...Are you certain of your decision, professor?" The RF officer softly asked in conformation. "You can still decide to allocate the final slot to the PLAGUE DOCTOR smart AI template instead. Your clan relies more and more on biotechnological applications. There are many other useful smart AI templates available that can facilitate research into other fields."
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"It can wait." Ves dismissively waved his hand. "I will revisit these options when my clansmen and I are able to earn more RF Warship Tokens. For now, I want my own SF-02 to serve my direct needs as best as possible. The choices I have made do not encompass every demand I have, but it should offer me enough utility to satisfy me for the time being."

Commodore Reze began to make the choices official.

"I have transmitted the order request." The fleeter said. "The Red Fleet will construct and install the SEA SOVEREIGN, STAR WATCHER, ARMOR POLISHER, IRON MONGER and STARVING ARTIST smart AI templates as quickly as possible. This should not take long as the 'parts' are available and partially assembled. We can deliver the SF-02 directly to Diandi Base in a week. We can also ship it to the E-66 Experimental Yard located in the Inferno Spear Principality so that we can install it directly into your converted alien battleship. Making this choice will ensure that the SF-02 will be able to operate alongside the existing computer systems of the Tortuous Scream with as little glitches and malfunctions as possible."

Ves did not care too much about that. He always saw the Tortuous Scream as a stopgap warship. There was no need to do everything properly when he might abandon the alien vessel for a proper human battlecruiser at a later date.

"Don't ship the SF-02 to the Rubarthan Pact. Send it over to Diandi Base. My wife and I should make use of it as quickly. The sooner it arrives, the sooner we can accelerate our mech design projects. Just make sure that it remains easily transportable so that we can transplant the processor cluster to the Tortuous Scream in a few months."

"Very well. We can do that, professor. We will send our advisors to the E-66 Experimental Yard and begin to lay the groundwork for a future installation."