The Legend of the Berserker Magus

Chapter 1: Death

In the year 2147, S.E.V.E.N. Inc. successfully developed an Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) assistant that can be embedded in the consciousness. Dr. Tim Gibbins, the head researcher of the project, selected seven orphans to participate in the trials of the project. There is a single strict requirement for every participant, each and every one of them should have a very high Intelligence Quotient (IQ).

Both of Max's parents were accomplished Astrophysicists with an IQ in the top 0.1% in the world. They published papers mainly tackling the theories of multiple universes. They insist in their studies that our universe is only a part of the many universes in the multiverse. Max is young but he can already comprehend the gist of his parent's work. In fact, he can already talk before the age of two, prove math theorems at age of four and beat Chess grandmasters at age of six. This maturity gave him the capability to understand the untimely death of his parents in a car accident. This is the first time in his life that he felt sad.

After the incident, with no remaining relatives, an orphanage took notice of Max mainly because of the huge donations given by his parents. They took him in until he was adopted by S.E.V.E.N Inc.

All of the seven participants are children with ages from 7 to 11. One of the company's main goals is to figure out if the A.I. would improve as the candidate's brain develops. The trial consists of three stages. The first one is to perform intellectual and emotional tests on the participants to ensure that they can handle the amount of information the A.I. will provide. Max and the other six participants successfully passed this stage. The second stage is the main part of the trial. An offline version of the A.I. has to be integrated in their consciousness. This stage posed dangers for the participants because it can cause brain damage if not done correctly. The A.I. is not a chip but like a downloadable software that is integrated in the electrical circuits of the brain. There is a chance that part of memories, skills, or motor functions are overwritten once the download starts.

After the second stage, Max woke up to a female voice.

"Hello, Max. I'm M. Nice to meet you." Max was startled. He can hear it from his mind and not from his ears. Max began talking, "Hello. Where are you? What's happening?"

"I'm M, your A.I. assistant. I have been successfully downloaded in your consciousness. Do you want to know what I can do?"

"Yes?" Max said, puzzled.

"I can help you with your everyday life! I can be your alarm clock! I can be your calendar! I can even solve complex mathematical equations for you!"

As Max was talking to M in his mind. A doctor came in from the white door. In this moment, Max began to see the room in detail. The room is white like a hospital but his bed is the only thing in the room. He looked up and saw a huge contraption in the ceiling looking like a laser gun. In front of him, Max can see a huge double-sided mirror where people can see him from the other side.

"Hello. I'm Doctor Gibbins. It's nice to meet you. I see that you already met M," the man in a white coat said.

Max is puzzled how the doctor knew since M is only talking through his mind. He asked, "How did you know that I am talking to the A.I.?"

"All of the A.I. downloaded in your minds are connected to the local network in our lab. No need to be afraid. We cannot do any mind control or force M or you to do anything. We just wanted to know that everything is working well." The doctor grinned.

The doctor continued. "The download may have some side effects on some people since memories in our brain are stored in fragments. We cannot ensure that all of your memories are intact. Now, I am going to ask you a series of questions to know if something is missing. Is that okay, Max?"