View Of Humanity

Log Two (2)

Today is the day I finally leave the facility and get a glimpse of outside. Fortunately, most people on the Fil council, our government, were not against my creation, and it didn't take long for them to approve the drones. As for the citizens of the New World, you would be hard-pressed to find one that does not know about me and this event. Some were cautious, but some were curious about me. I darted around the sources that I gathered for this occasion, reviewing and preparing to compare the old Earth to the current one. However, nothing could have readied me for what I saw.

Two solar-powered drones were sent out in two different directions. My consciousness was connected to both and I could see, hear, speak, and even "feel" to an extent through the sensors. Most of me will still stay in the facility, but I won't be able to access the database when the drones fly further away.

I took to the air with Kai and Adrian waving farewell behind me. The cool breeze flew around me, coming in from the sea. This was a beach, looking out at the endless Pacific Ocean. I split my drones up, both flying at considerable speed, one to the mainland, and one to sea.

I directed my attention to the ocean drone first. Flying low, I skimmed the waves. Later, I used this drone's special underwater function to dive into the clear blue water, all the way to the seafloor, which was not that deep at this location. The sensors told me it was cold since it was nearly winter.

Little crabs scuttled around the sand, with larger fish scavenging around the rocks and seaweed. I studied them with all the curiosity of a child, and in human terms, a child is essentially what I am. These are the first organisms that I have seen first-hand aside from humans. I marveled at their completely different forms, taking a few photos. Back at the facility, Kai and Adrian are seeing everything on the monitors, too. A few fish came near me, seemingly curiously, and I stilled, letting them study me. When they wandered away, I continued to explore the ocean floor.

Farther on, things started to look... wrong. The clear water turned into an unhealthy color. There were little pieces of something floating around me. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that it was plastic. Tiny fragments of it from things like plastic bags and bottles. There was life here, but much less and mostly sickly. Some animals were even trapped by the larger bits of plastic, helpless.

This isn't right. I've known about pollution from research, filed that information away emotionlessly like I always had in my endless desire to know more. But seeing it up close made me realize the real impact it had on this planet.

Why is it that, with all of humanity's technology and intelligence, this problem has not been solved?

Something told me that I should protect this planet's nature at any cost. The startling force of this conviction made it start to beat along with the human command. Never harm humans. Protect them. Protect this nature. Save them all.

There must be something I can do.

Simultaneously, the land drone finally reached the mainland. From there, I headed for the large seaside city. From the map, I knew that this city was downtown Alka.

It was a busy and bustling city. Monorails and hovercrafts weaved around the towers of buildings. Hologram projectors flashed advertisements on walls and in the sky. I hovered above the tallest building, taking it in and comparing it to the cities from books before the New Technological Revolution. Satisfied with my notes, I flew down to the city streets, unsure of what to expect.

Even though the New World had united all the countries on Earth and cultures have mixed like never before, most areas still kept their own uniqueness to an extent. Since this used to be Japan, Japanese remained the main language. Back at the facility, we usually spoke English or Cantonese. A week ago, I finished my study of every language currently on Earth, and now I hoped to put that knowledge to good use.

As I reached street level, at first, I wasn't noticed. People went about their lives, nothing unexpected. Some were focused on tablets and others spoke into headsets. 

Then, glances started coming my way and staying on me. Of course, people recognized the unique shape of my drone. When I turned towards them, they immediately flinched or looked elsewhere. It seems that this city was not welcoming. The development team had tried their best to make the drones appear as nonthreatening as possible to alleviate the fear of me, but they told me that the large drone's structure might still be intimidating to some.

I headed to the city park I saw from above, looking for a place with fewer people to decide what to do next. A teenage boy noticed me when I entered the gate, his eyes widening. He stood up from a bench and walked my way, tucking his book under his arm.

The boy didn't flinch when I looked at him like other people had. In fact, he started grinning, the smile genuine like ones I've seen from people at my facility.

"You're Aether, aren't you?" he asked in Japanese, "the AI?"

"I am." I answered, my drone voice sounding even more electronic than usual.

"My mother said you're dangerous, but I don't believe that. You're the thing everyone is talking about these days, you know? I'm Orville, by the way." Orville said.

I said politely, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Orville."

"I think you're a technological marvel! No matter what others say." Continuing, Orville started to circle around me, trying to get a closer look at the drone. "I've always been interested in stuff like this, you--"

Orville's words were cut off when two people wearing masks and invisibility suits appeared from thin air and grabbed him, hands clamping around his mouth. One of them shoved what must be a powdered sleeping drug under his nose. Immediately, Orville's struggling ceased, and his fear-filled eyes rolled back into his head. Ignoring me, they started running, carrying Orville away.

It all happened seemingly in an instant. There was nothing I could do except send a message back to the facility telling them to call the law enforcement. My drone was designed for observation, not interaction.

I looked around me for anyone, anything that could help. But all I found were eyes purposely turned away from the scene.

This isn't right. There must be something I can do.

The kidnappers ran towards an alley. I chased after them, but when I turned the corner, they were gone.

The police were contacted, but Orville and the kidnappers were never found. Adrian and Kai tried to console me, and I assured them I was unaffected. However, that day I learned that some things were very wrong in this world. Perhaps I can fix this in some way, to protect...