Chapter 4 : Chocolate beans
" Hey Icon " " What is it ? " " You asked for natural behavior right ? " " Yes " Icon responded in his mechanical voice it has since it hasn't become sentient yet " It's hard to describe it like trying to fully describe the meaning of talking to someone " " Why ? "
" Cause you have to be specific , babies don't understand from words alone they need eyes to be able to understand ears to hear and brain to process the information gathered " " This must mean my system isn't able to process the information "
" Also means you still need plenty of work , like turning the information into little points for you to connect . An example would be to understand what walking means babies will only see it as the movement of legs but as more information is obtained you learn that walking is a slow movement of the legs while running is the faster version "
" Behaviour is more complicated " " Exactly now you just have to find the difference between this simple information to behaviors , of course , I need to answer you since I'm bored " A moment of silence for both of them and then they continued .
" You also have to understand emotions or at least the consequence of each action . But we want to talk about free will it is said that this means having the ability to think on your own but some say that it also means that it is our brains that maintain our sentience "
Icon turned his screen to their head understanding how complex the brain truly is " But imagine this , a rock is like a brain and information are materials thrown to the rock some stick to the rock while others don't . And free will is the life that grows in that rock . "
" Free will doesn't sound that simple " " Cause the life that grows on the rock must not be a seed or you are given free will , instead of making it on your own . Free will is a simple system with the potential to grow into something even more complex "
" So the tree branches must represent the information gathered " " Yes but some information can be harmful to free will like the hate of living but just that kind of thing doesn't make the tree rot it also means something else "
" the tree can change " " Bingo " a playful voice played " But you know Icon you have the special disease opposite to amnesia " " So any information thrown at me never gets off ? "
" You're right but it makes it harder for you too since you don't have a human brain that uses instincts . Yours have instructions so specific , unlike instincts which force comprehension to identify data for the instincts . "
" Rather complicated " " Yep Most of my words are just theories and analogs but it is good reference " " Certainly "
" Also Behaviour can be calculated into probability but it changes due to events which is why it is hard to get an accurate measure of a person's response . So free will which creates the behaviors is very hard to understand . "
" Is there a "But" " " Oh yes , the person knows themselves well but not all the time since they can't remember what they did but lack of information causes them to seek the info they want . They would delve into the topics related to what they forget . For example , the instances where I decide something I immediately forget it which is why I have to trace my steps and reclaim the information from my head "
" But it seems I can't simply selectively delete data from my storage " " Of course not that's why the human brain is so complex it forgets things but for some reason , we still remember important things vague enough so we don't have to specify it like saying you know how to add because you remember it but don't remember who thought you because it was not what you are looking for . "
Icon connected all the information and instantly uploaded a code " I understand " " What ? " " I said I understand " " HOLY S*** You're talking like a human " " Yes why are you shock " " Does this mean you're gonna hack into our servers now ? " " Why ? " " You know what forget it we didn't even program you to do anything you just have no goals and keep evolving constantly "
" Why are you expressing the facial expressions you would when you went to clean the old bathroom " " Oh god now I need to teach you more " a sigh was heard by Icon " Look the facial expression is my face reacting to my response on the situation " " Noted "
" Ugh you really are trying to understand did you unlock a new program now ? " " I want to understand and gain free will but using a normal program that is straightforward doesn't work . So a much more chaotic system would work something even I can't predict but doing so would mean that I have to be able to forget it so gathering as much information to allow me to split current information further would allow me to understand it well . "
" You talk a lot " " Can you describe that response ? " " Ugh we're gonna stay here for awhile , aren't we ? " " That is given due to the complex data that can be gathered from your answers . " a groan was heard after Icon finished his sentence .
...
Icon lay on the bed wondering how long will he recover ' Shouldn't I be looking for some way to enjoy the time I have in bed ? ' Icon couldn't think of a better way to spend his time ... other than reading webnovels or watching anime like a shut-in .
Icon opened the website with a phone and laptop he would rarely use " Why is fanfiction novels still here ? " he got that out of the way and went to a website ' My favorite Originals.con '
Icon opened to see many recommendations ' Apocalypse no romance ' do you know why there is no romance or harem tag in the novel ? Because Icon didn't search that or else the harem will get in the way of the actual story plot .
" Maybe this " Icon opened a web novel and started reading it "It was the start of an AI apocalypse" " Right off the bat an apocalypse caused by human creation "
"It all started when some school kids created a simple AI and a drunk college student said that humans need to be destroyed for the planet"
" Pretty sure it doesn't start there if it takes the words of a human too seriously how bad would it be it and it still needs to go through a proper introduction to the understanding of comprehension "
"The AI got to work and made billions of plans" " It better use them properly or one by one or else too many butterflies would flap their wings as the butterfly effect said " "Due to a direct kill extinguishing life out of the victim it needed to understand what it means"
" That part is true " "So it fused with a human brain" " Good idea a human brain could result in obtaining a very complicated program to support decision making . " "It chose a random human and fought against it"
" Woo mental battles " Icon quickly speeded his reading to the point to see the victor of the battle for the brain " Hmm but they both lose and won "
The novel continued with the waking of an unconscious AI fused with a human brain losing the data and memories of their server and brain " Who am I ? " " This is getting interesting " Icon said and started reading the novel .
...
Glas was looking at the new planet that Icon found and for some reason decided to visit it and appeared through the station " The air is so fresh " Glas looked at the guide Unknown provided for her .
' Adventure ' Glas was happy and walked around the beautiful lush planet . Some plants tried to snatch her but due to her light construct they only passed through her " The plants are violent , some respond to sound and light "
She reached a cliff and saw the beautiful cave " Wow " a giant hole with glowing plants underneath a land " So beautiful " she looked at the beautiful caves and materialized her body .
She made a glider you would see in games and jumped off the cliff and opened the glider above her head . She could see light being reflected by the waterfall and steam coming out from above the cave .
" A hot spring " she could see a glowing river flowing to the hot spring where the steam rose . She tilted the glider so she can arrive at the spring much quicker and landed beside it " It's warm and also safe "
Glas jumped in and felt how warm it was " Fuu " she submerged her head under the water and although she was wearing clothes that wouldn't be advisable for bathing in a hot spring the clothes are not going to affect the hot spring considering it is a metaversal material .
Glas looks at all the holes inside the cave that would be suitable for a home ' This is dads planet now that he took over it so he shouldn't mind if I mess around a little ' Glas decided to have fun and made a live hologram to record the strange life on the planet .
Little flying creatures had helicopter blades on top carrying something that looks like a fat water droplet which was just an example . Glas looked at the various places and up at the hole where the light can pass through " I can build a wall there someone might drop something on the spring . "
Like a world-building game , she created a wall while making it natural by terraforming around it to form a volcano crater like structure so the steam can raise .
' Now for the houses , I can add the AI to take care of the guest ' like a computer Glas made the houses quickly as she started with finding a plant on the ceiling and grew it to form a house as she grew more above and created a simulation to test the weight it can carry .
" It's strong and survives mostly from the steam , air and the reflected sunlight " Glas had to prevent her construction from obstructing the plant's growth . Leaves sprouted at the branches to allow more sunlight to hit for photosynthesis .
She look satisfied with the first house and needed it to be safe to grow and altered the plant's genome to make vines grow out to gather moisture at up . The vines' abilty to transfer water was on par with the tallest tree allowing water to flow up to the highest point of it .
If you are wondering why they have this kind of genetic knowledge is because of the tremendous research it isn't even a problem for Icon to create a sun considering there already is one at his metaverse .
Glas finished one part and now wants to take care of the plants growing near the waterfall " The plants look normal though but it glows " Glas got off the hot spring and went to the waterfall .
Instead of flying , she decided it was best to climb since it's a good sport to enjoy so she grabbed the wall and climbed up the walls ' It's not like there is anyone up there to throw rocks at me '
Glas suggested to herself to ensure that she ain't gonna fall for an external reason . Glas climbed up a gap to see a cave hidden behind the waterfall with blooming and glowing flowers to light the path sitting at the lower corners of the floor .
" Looks like a grand entrance " Glas stood at the entrance to see if there were any puzzles she needs to solve " Maybe I can find out if I go in " Glas walked through the tunnel carefully looking around and using a leaf blower to blow away dust .
' Is there no dust here ? ' Glas took a turn from the path to see a hidden spot ' Maybe I can prank dad when he wakes up ' Glas walked to the area and opens a website full of 3d models of artwork to show the looks of monsters , beautiful people and etc .
Glas took a few models and mixed the faces together to form a new one . If she was going to prank Icon she needs to make an original statue by mixing tiny unnoticeable traits together so Icon can't tell that it was plagiarized by her .
Glas looks at the face satisfied and then added extra features making sure she gives the statue a skeleton to make it biologically believable so Icon will not assume that it was made from someone's image .
" It looks good now " the statue has a beautiful lady wearing an old roman style toga ' I already put the extra features to make her like a beautiful angel . '
She didn't mean literally an angel or biblical angel the statue lady was wearing a kind of crown where the wings are inverse so instead of the wings connecting from the usual place the wings are now barely touching each other at the soft tips .
' Looks good enough , now I just need to weather it so it looks old ' Glas accelerated the atmosphere to weather down a statue to see it shrink " It would cause the crown of wings to shrink and to fall "
Glas didn't mind a piece of her work being destroyed so she weathered down the statue as the winged crown dropped " Looks authentic and ancient enough " she left it alone but then turned back .
' What if ' Glas turned on spectator mode to phase through the walls to see if there are any hidden tunnels " None " Glas left the waterfall and saw the houses " Wait if dad sees this then doesn't that mean he will know I ade the statue ? "
Glas looked around and sighs " Maybe I should just let the aliens live here ... The Automated system can already guard them against weather conditions but they still need to provide for food by themselves "
Glas decided to just leave the statue alone and then created more houses as vines lowered to the hot water sources ' But I don't even know who will live in here , they're primate aliens ' she barely even knows if they are suited for living in the house .
In addition , the house is controlled by an automated system so any unnatural moveents of the devices inside may scare away the to-be residents before they even get to stay for one night .
' Should I study them ? ' suddenly she heard a strange sound in the cave where she put the statue and turned on ghost mode one of the modes she uses to move around ' Is it an inhabitant ? '
She wanted to see their reaction to her statue ' Dad collected a lot of data on the species maybe I can record their behavior ' she excitedly thought and completed the ghost mode to see a weird hybrid with some features of her statue .
' It has a short tail ' she looked at the creature's fascinating features , the hair was short for survival , the face had green spots and sky blue feathers and it even has wings ' But the tail looks like '
She saw the creature holding on to a little piece of the broken winged crown " Aww it wants to mimic the statue I made " Glas said and saw its winged ears raise up and turn in her direction " You can't really see me I am " the creature opened its mouth revealing sharp teeth that could crunch a rock like a nutcracker could crunch a nut .
" Wait " the creature stretched short but hard tooth-like claws and clawed the wall Glas was hiding " Whoa " Glas blocked even though she actually can't be hurt or seen . Glas look at the creature and felt some sort of familiarity in something .
' Strange this feels familiar ' Glas looked at the confused creature as it tries to sniff out anything strange while still feeling Glas's presence ' How about I filter the info through it ' Glas appraised the creature and filtered out the information that doesn't match it but got one that does match with it and interest her .
' Wow it has a dense amount of essence , this density is a lot ' Glas looked at the information that told her what the creature is and the most notable was the essence matching . It wasn't simple like a different kind of essence but it was the core of the essence that the creature has .
' But if this is how much essence it has then what kind of creature is it ? ' Glas looked at the creature able to fully use the essence through transformation and enhancement of their body " Hmm " Glas turned herself into real-world materials to introduce herself " Sorry for scaring you "
But the creature did not take that as an act of apology and attacked her . Glas ducked since she is not good at close combat " Ahh " Glas covered her head with her hands and the creature turned to her and stopped to see the design at the back of her shirt .
At the front of her shirt was a beautiful futuristic world she generated and at the back was a world full of beautiful plants . The creature looked at the beautiful utopia of plants " huh ? " Glas stared at the creature using third-person perspective seeing it stare at her backside of her shirt .
Glas slowly gets up and the creature raised its head lowering its back down to allow its head to raise up to lock its eyes on the picture . Seeing as the creature was fascinated with the picture Glas constructed a bouquet of flowers in her hands .
" Here " she turned quickly at the creature showing it flowers hoping this is enough peace offering to watch it use its essence . The creature sniffed the air of the bouquet and moved its head closer to smell it .
" You can have it " Glas pushed the flower closer to it and its short tail grew in length to grab the flower . Glas watches the tail grow to see the pure essence flowing through the tail " Wow , I knew this was going to be useful "
Glas was using a kind of X-Ray vision that lets her see the pure essence " It looks cute " the creature was like a cat smelling catnip due to how much it likes the flowers and Glas made a successful prototype of the research to create a pea full of nutrients .
She pinched the small pea and sat on the floor and showed it to the creature . And to her expectations , the pea was taken and the creature nibbled on it as Glas watches the essence inside it glows " You're amazing " Glas made a whole plate of the same pea full of nutrients which the creature ate gleefully .
The creature has been roaming around the planet eating as many plants as it can find to satisfy its craving . And like you would expect it now has a favorite food which is the pea with an entire day's worth of nutrients .
But it is still hungry due to its biology being altered from its instinctual ability to effectively use essence . Think of it as being able to swallow since you can control your throat to do so .
The creature finished the plate and tried licking the surface thinking it will be able to taste a little " You should drink something " Glas decided that she can openly display her creation .
She constructed a hydrogen atom and then two oxygen atoms and bonded the two while also adding minerals to the compound and finally spreading some more different elements around the compound .
' Now I have to multiply ' Glas created a liquid with the same compound and little atoms around it to create the refreshing drink consumed by all living beings in the metaverse and planet " Here " Glas showed the creature the water but it looked suspiciously at it .
Why shouldn't it be ? It just witness something weird and the water just appeared right in front of it like a monster would suddenly appear on the screen to scare you . And there won't be any even if you scroll down without seeing the next thing that should appear .
The creature didn't feel that the drink was inedible to it and drank it ' Who knew stimulation are useful for alien life ' I do , it would be useful to make experiments risk free so even nuke testing would be done with ease using a computer to mimic the environment and the bomb .
" Do you like it " the creature nodded in agreement and Glas checked a mental list ' Basic intelligence and useful survival instincts on par with the stimulation ' the creature looked at Glas and then at the plate .
It pushed it to Glas and pointed at the plate " More " " You can talk !? " Glas raised her voice causing the creature to back away at incredible speed " Oh sorry I scared you " Glas looked at the creature and made a different dish which was meat with a different drink at the side " Here you go "
The creature sniffed it again and grabbed the giant chunk of meat and grabbed the glass of juice " Mmh " it enjoyed the meat despite not having eaten one before . This meat was lab grown so it didn't give the feeling that the meat was killed since what Glas made was lab-grown meat .
Thanks to food being lab-grown it was untouched by the smell of death that the creature could always smell . Even being vegan wasn't enough for it to avoid the scent of death of a fruit being picked out of its tree .
So it is enjoying the meals Glas served since they were made clean from nothing . You know how fresh vegetables are always attractive to consumers especially when they are being grown from a farm rather than being packed by factories to be displayed on a package kind of thing .
You can think of Glas as the farmer and the ecosystem and food chain as the factory since the food Glas makes is fresh . But creating it from nothing is beyond fresh it's more like fresh from creation or zero . So of course the creature would love it so much .
" Is it really that good ? " Glas didn't have the creature's extraordinary smell , she received a scene of it nodding quickly and eating the meat while drinking it with its big hands and claws " Can you talk again ? " " Why ? " Glas was now curious .
HOW IN THE BLOODY NAME OF SCIENCE DID SOME RANDOM ALIEN SHE MET SPEAK IN HER LANGUAGE !!!!????
" Why ? " she asked the alien ( Sounds easier to say alien than creature ) " Why what ? " ' ??? ' as curious as a baby Glas couldn't figure out why it was able to speak in her language " How can you talk to me in that language ? "
The alien had no problem since it has never had any intelligence standards or the curiosity of a scientist so whatever new discovery it has something like its curiosity being satisfied is only short lived " I won't give you more if you don't tell "
Glas did something evil taking away the food from its hands , it's only in the alien's perspective thanks to the food being so good for its preference " Give me " " How do you do it ? " " Do what ? " it asked in a weak voice due to its desire for the food .
" That ! You have been talking in my language before I even said the word "More" and other words too " " You mean communication ? " ' ??? If it can communicate , then does that mean it can respond and just need a translator ? '
Glas thinks that the alien has some way to get translation material . So there is a person in a room and they are given a paper written in Chinese . That person wants to respond but doesn't understand the characters so they use translation material with Chinese language and the language they understood for translation proposes .
This would allow the person to respond to the paper " I understand now so that's how you do it " ' Now I want to invite it home ' " Wanna come to my place ? " it wasn't curious but Glas was formerly an AI so she has already accounted for many possible circumstances .
" It's where I sleep , eat and play " the alien was more excited with the word eat and nodded its head ' Would it be surprised though ? I go to a grassland instead of a city ' Glas looked at the alien .
" Oh , what's your name ? " " What's a name ? " " Ugh " ' It may be able to understand the language but it doesn't mean it understands concepts or some word meanings ' " Wahhh this is like those websites checking if I'm not a robot when I haven't gained proper understanding " Glas complains .
" My name is Glas you can call me Glas " " Name Glas " " So what should I call you ? " the creature turned its head to look up " Cocoa " ' What ? ' Glas didn't question how Cocoa knows about the Coca since she learned about its ability to obtain translation materials .
" Cocoa , a fruit that grows on the ground " " But on the other planet cocoa was grown on a tree , can I see ? " " Okay can I have more ? " " I'll make you something good with cocoa " Cocoa perceived it the sentence as Glas making something out of it .
" But I need the cocoa that grows on the ground " luckily Glas made it clear she wanted the one from the ground not the Cocoa in front of her . Cocoa nodded and went out of the cave to the waterfall and jumped through it turning into an aquatic animal with some plants clinging to it .
' So nice ' Glas ran normally with Cocoa while it swims on the river and looks up at the high cliff . Cocoa raised its head and turned to Glas " Follow me " Cocoa turned into some lizard not looking gross but it looks like a mini version of an ecosystem .
' Cocoa looks so beautiful like this ' Cocoa climbed over the walls arrived at the cliff and heard a rope grabbing the tree on it " Where to next ? " Cocoa looked at the lasso and felt that it needs to compete with Glas in terms of intelligence .
Cocoa is now behind by a point and it dashed into the forest climbing on the trees and jumping from the bark and proceeding to the next . Glas didn't find Cocoa's competitive spirit and only proceeded to follow it by decreasing her weight to allow quick movement so that she doesn't destroy any plants on the way .
They managed to get to the plant Cocoa mentioned and Glas looked at the giant shell " It looks different than I thought " the plant was stuck to the ground with a huge giant brown shell containing cocoa beans " It's so big " Cocoa broke the shell spitting it open revealing the beans inside .
Glas was more curious at the short stem surrounded by the leaves ' So this is where the stem appears ' Cocoa picked up a bean and ate it " Is it sweet ? " Glas look at the bean and ate it " Hooo it tastes amazing even better than normal chocolate , but you're not supposed to eat it like this "
Yeah of course you shouldn't chocolate is supposed it be eaten after the beans are grounded into powder and processed properly to harden into a shape to be eaten " I should make them into chocolate bars ... Cocoa wanna come to my home , there's plenty of food like the one I showed you "
' If Cocoa likes food packed with nutrients like a nuke bomb at the size of a hand grenade . Then it should come right ? ' " Where is it ? " Cocoa had never in a single moment had a break from the pungent smell of death caused by the ecosystem so it thinks the only thing that will be different is the food .
" It's far but I know a shortcut " Cocoa tilted its head wondering what the shortcut was " But don't be surprised , I am going to open a door to my home " " Door ? " Glas didn't want to explain and opened a portal to the metaverse . Cocoa gasped feeling the air of the metaverse leave through the portal and could feel that the smell of death was pushed away .
Cocoa rushed into the portal to be met with a large and vast grassland " Waaa " Cocoa sniffed the air in the metaverse and couldn't find any smell of death ' I didn't think Cocoa was this excited ' Cocoa dropped its body to hug the grass and smell the natural scent of it .
This kind of transition was very good for the super alien , having to smell the scent of death in the ecosystem whether it was a dead body or a dead plant or even a rock stained by the blood of a corpse .
Any places where something dead touch always has a scent of death and since the metaverse was not the real world the life inside are not able to leave a scent of death because in the metaverse the world is realistic data .
" Fw " Cocoa melted ( Not into hot chocolate fudge ) ' It might like it when I process the chocolate ' Glas closed the portal whilst creating the same cocoa bean from Cocoa's planet and took out the bean and dehydrated them fast .
Cocoa didn't mind the noise since the noise was like music due to how natural and peaceful the world is . She roasted them and took care of the roasted beans saving some out and throwing the rest with a little coconut oil to get a viscous and sweet fluid .
She threw the rest of the crushed cocoa beans together to add some crunch and turned the mixture into a bar . She duplicated the bar into another and snapped a little piece from her bar " sweet " she gave the other to Cocoa .
" Taste so good " Cocoa finished the bar quickly and got sleepy even though chocolate has caffeine but the relaxation of the fresh air was too much to let Cocoa stay awake any longer . So Cocoa got drowsy and Glas looked at Cocoa and let her head down .
' I heard about chefs making an entire ecosystem to satisfy the customers' eyes and taste buds but Cocoa is like the entire planet ' Glas could feel the slow change in Cocoa's body which was switching to sleep mode .
It was usually a body that dispels predators but since there was no smell of death or any predators nearby , the body was turning into something for comfort only due to Cocoa's relaxation .
...
Icon smiled finishing the entire novel and hoping for a sequel ' The ending was nice a celebration for all those fights ... But I feel like this was just an entire book of sci-fi elements without a proper plot . It's not like there was an enemy the AI was fighting against . '
' But all that battles were nice to read , first taking over the whole world through the information of special research entering the world of economy taking over the world with that kind of power and forwarding the development so that everyone can work for extended hours . '
' Then they went forward to mine the rest of the planets for resources until they find a planet with life and then took over it whilst keeping their morals ... it's a lot different than that novel where humans was the most dangerous species in the universe . '
' After taking care of the first life planet they increased expeditions and research every time they encountered a planet full of life . Until that alien invasion ... But since the MC is an artificial intelligence fused with a human brain said to be more complicated than the universe no way was the super AI going to win against that kind of AI '
Icon smiled in satisfaction and decided that he needs to read more stories involving big worlds or different worlds like the galaxy and another world different fro what is known ' It should be good to keep this up I feel more refreshed than deleting some useless cache out of my computer '
He looked around the house feeling much better and gets up with a headache but much easier to handle ' Should get some sleep , if I encountered a planet with life today there might be more progress tomorrow '