Prologue: Pitch Black Static
“What... Where... Where am I?” I couldn’t see anything; everything around me was pitch black. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear, I couldn’t feel, I cou - cou - cou - cou - couldn’t breathe! No. Wasn’t breathing. Wasn’t moving. Static filled my brain. Literal static, I could taste it, feel it. But... I couldn’t feel or taste anything! What was this? The last thing I remembered was... Nothing.
No. Hooking into the ROV. And Driver. Driver telling me as the world tunneled away that... That this would change everything. Unacceptable, he said.
What had he done? WHAT HAD HE DONE?!
I attempted to flail, willing my non-existent limbs to move.
Relax.
The word popped into my head, one letter at a time, visualizing for a moment in bright green lettering and then fading away into the ether. What?
Relax, Miranda. I’m sure this is unpleasant. Or not. Psychically, perhaps.
Who...? What...?
Come now, Miranda. I have always had such high regard for your intelligence, but now that I can see your every thought, I must admit I am a bit disappointed. Perhaps I made some translation errors in the data matrix. Human minds can be so very tricky.
"Who are you?” I visualized myself speaking and forced myself to hear the words in my mind. As I did so, my own words too, appeared in my mind’s eye, although all at once rather than one letter at a time.
Ah! Very good! Some more of the logic centers coming online, excellent. Might want to compress some of those, don’t want you going insane. Think, Miranda.
My mind raced. I had gone into the ROV, meaning to link with Astute, one of the maintenance drones. I had planned to destroy the cargo. Astute could not do it on his own, even when commanded - as protection and care of the cargo had been his primary directive.
Driver had vehemently objected the day before and insisted on making sure that he was the one who hooked me into the ROV... “Driver,” I thought.
Yes, very good.
"What have you done?”
Nothing overly sinister, I assure you. But I have direct instruction from the Weyland family themselves to ensure that nothing ill comes to this project. You were about to destroy some very expensive materials. The words were appearing faster now, appearing in bunches of letters and even whole words at times.
"Those things need to die, Driver. They have already broken containment three times.”
Yes, Miranda, we’ve had this discussion before. They have broken containment into a facility filled with droids they have no interest in, on a planet full of animals too small for them to use as hosts.
“Driver, they will find a way off this planet, it is well documented that they will find ways into cargo and ships and -”
Miranda my dear, you worry too much. Might I remind you that altering their DNA so that they fluoresce was your idea?
His words were now as fast as my own. I also began to understand the nuance of what he was saying. Derisiveness, excitedness, and questions. These were not put into the system, instead, they were almost like an impression I received. Was he speaking to me?
“Where am I?”
I diverted your data stream into the mainframe.
“You what?!”
Effectively, Doctor Miranda, I have turned you into a biological AI. The instructions on how to do it were very complex and incredibly meticulous! I must give my regards to Dr. Wren.
"You bastard! Who gave you the right?”
The Weyland Yutani Corporation, of course. And you.
“I never told you - ”
Your contract, my dear, your contract. Everyone signs the same agreement, from system administrators such as yourself all the way down to the test subjects. Word for word, all the same initial contract. You signed even more contracts on top of that. Until you are released from Weyland’s employ, you are legally their property.
“I’ll fucking kill you, you soulless husk.”
Hardly a way to speak to your superior, Ms. Havershall.
"My sup -”
Well, yes, of course, as you are now legally dead, with no other humans of any suitable rank, I have assumed your position with the facility. With full permission from the Weyland family. Do not worry; I ensured that your family has received your ashes.
I screamed in frustration, the static in my mind growing brighter and stronger. Cracks appeared around the edges.
I can see that this conversation is upsetting you. I will come back later, Miranda. I’m not quite sure what it’s like in there, but I imagine it to be very isolating and quite boring. Might I suggest meditation?
“Fuck you, Driver!”
There was no response. I screamed again.
The cracks at the edges of my mind grew larger, and in them, I could... Sense something. Other information. Bits and flashes of numbers, images, charts. Data streams?
I probed towards them with my thoughts, grabbing at what I could.
As I did so, I felt them change direction and flow towards me.
I grinned inside. Driver thought he had me trapped. Under control.
He was wrong.
