Chapter 25: Mental AI - Aizra.

Before Zyro could even look, the entirety of the Mine rumbled, it's unmoving walls began shaking. Dust and debris fell, while the dreadful sound of collosal stones moving assaulted his ears.

Despite all this, Zyro just stood there with a composed expression staring upward. Not even attempting to scape. A small chunk of stone fell from above him, Zyro simply step aside. Letting it fall to where his standing a second ago.

Zyro didn't bother running because the earthquake lack the multitude to collapse the Mine. Even if it somehow managed, his foots wouldn't save him either way due to the cave's size. It's strange, days ago, his been so hellbent to keep his life. Now his brazenly accepting deaths offer.

Zyro didn't know why, for his mind is already broken.

After a few moments of rumblings, the monetary earthquake had finally died. Returning caves tranquility.

Zyro yawned. The fatigue of the day was finally catching up to him. However, he have one last task to do.

Heading to Pert's door, Zyro leaned forward and took a peer through the fabric. What Zyro saw made his eyes widened.

Because the room was no longer empty. At some point in time, one of its walls cracked and broke, It's shards fall down the floor. Unsealing a hidden wooden cage sticking to the wall. Inside that cage...

'What the heck is that?' He thought, seeing a slime, oblong creature with soft jelly skin jailed behind wooden bars.

Zyro never seen an animal like that before. But what bothered him the most, is that. Why Pert, an Aster and a young slave would be keeping that creature. Hiding it within his room encaged and covered in rocks? Furthermore, it's late at night and even after an earthquake. The kid haven't returned yet.

He tried to hypothesize possible answers but was too tired. If it were necessity in dire situations, Zyro would've push himself.

'Damned it, I'm to tired for this'

With that, Zyro loss interest and turn around, heading out to sleep. No matter the reason are, his thankful the kid wasn't home. Or else he won't hear the end of the brat's complains.

Zyro found a rather comfortable spot to rest and headed to Dreamland. He slept like a baby despite the rough stone bed. After all, his trained to adapt to any environment and situations.

Early morning, however. He was greeted by a nightmare.

A gentle, feminine electronic voice resounded within his head.

[System mental transfer completed]

Zyro woke up with wide eyes. That short words was enough to jolt him fully awake.

'Oh, Duck!, you kidding me right? I must have heard wrongly.'

He hastily got up and thought.

'Aizra! You bi...' His internal words was cut, as the feminine electronic voice resounded once again.

[Aizra, is back online. Trooper number 0000 of the onyx unit. I, Aizra greeted the great retard]

'You piece off...' Zyro retrained himself. And took a deep breath, calming down his mind.

'Just tell me your status right now'

Zyro gritted his teeth. Praying that it's not what he think it is.

[Name: Aizra. ID: 0383737646. Type: G-Mil AI, 180th generation Artificial Intelligence belongings to Trooper 0000 of the onyx unit. Current state: Mental AI]

Humans had long abandoned the use of hand held devises and switched to psycotronics micro chips. By planting a devise in the spinal cord, a part of human nervous system connecting to the brain. It let them use virtual system by thoughts, functioning similar to devices but more convenient. However, they still needed portable visual screens to view the network.

Troopers of STELLAR had military grade implanted psycotronics chips with their own personal artificial intelligence to aid their knowledge and memory in every situations. Packed with thousands of data humanities had recorded.

Having one in an unidentified planet was truly a great boon for Zyro... If it was normal that is.

This creation had been around for many years and remain an extension, limited to a chip inside a human body. Until it's inventor taken his creation to another level.

Zyro, who's a young homeless brat back then will never forget that tragedy. No human in earth will.

The psychopath did the unimaginable and uploaded the system to the brain itself. Wanting to merge the humans fully into the network. Knowing it'll be rejected, he hid these feature and release the update. Fooling the masses to inject the harmful program to their biological networks.

That's when hell broke loss.

Those who got the update got their system uploaded to their brain, malfunctioning. Turning billions of sane peoples into mentally broken and crazy rampager, wrecking havoc everywhere.

Thankfully, Zyro was too poor to afford a device back then, let alone an implant. So, his one of the sane human that struggle to survive the tragedy of "Crazy Nation". People died, car crashed, infrastructures burned and collapse in the entire world. But no one care, for they are all mad.

That hellish tragedy lasted for months, none of the victims was saved. Claiming 3 billion lives in the entire world, all damage included.

The young Zyro back then barely scaped the crazy city. The gruesome sight that no child should see, let alone experience was burned in his mind, traumatizing him. Zyro wanted to forget that memory, just thinking about it shaken him to the core.

And now, the same thing that cause that tragedy, the thing that madden those people... Was inside him.

A mental AI.

Aizra, his personal virtual assistant had uploaded itself into his mind. No wonder his mind was so unstable lately, back in the root-cage. He thought death is deserving, but a moment later changed his mind in reverse. He wanted to live. Yet when an earthquake strike, threatening to ruin the cave, burying him under thousands of rubbles, he brazenly accepted death without fear. Added the strange thoughts he've been having.

A heavy sighed escape form his lips.

When a virtual system uploaded to the brain, turning into Mental AI. It function like a special man-made mental disease, that cause precise hallucinations to communicate with the host. But meddling inside the brain like this was high risk and may cause numerous mental problems. Like what happened to billions of people from earth. Although some with stronger willpower resisted the maddening effect for some time. In the end, all succumb to madness.

In summary, Zyro are mentally ill. And it's incurable. There's nothing he could do to save himself from going insane.

Zyro's heart was heavy, how could it not? After knowing the severity of his condition that could end his life. Rather, much worse. Loss his sanity and becoming crazy before dying.

'Damned it...'

He leaned his back against the wall, gritting his teeth.

Zyro stayed like that for an unknown amount of time, trying to accept the cruelness of reality. It had always been merciless for Zyro, so it didn't take long for him to recover.

Zyro took a deep breath, calming himself down. He need to think things clearly... that is, if he still can. Fortunately, it seems that his mind are still fine.

Zyro heave a sigh of relief. Now that he think about it, why did Aizra became a mental AI even though she's a virtual system relying on micro chip that didn't support nerve upload. Because that program is considered a high-risk technology and was banned all over the world.

Answering his thoughts, Aizra voiced.

[As miltech command. When a virtual chip energy reserve reached critical level in code black situations. All AI's are to engage the 375th-stage cerebral program with verified stability of 67.855%]

'Those mustards!'

They had planted a hidden command to transfer AI from nerve chips to the brain without permission. But only if certain conditions are meet. Which is code black situations - The most dire situations. This accounted to when STELLAR was destroyed, leaving Zyro in hibernation state, drifting in the vast galaxy. However, due to how much time had past, the AI power source decrease to the point of draining, shutting down Aizra in the process. But was saved by the hidden nerve upload command with 67.855% stability.

Zyro could only grit his teeth and suppress his frustration. The government treat them as tools, nothing more. So what if they secretly implanted high-risk program without permission that may endanger them. Nothing new, really. What's done is done, there's nothing he could do anyway.

The last sentence though made Zyro felt mixed emotions. He was relieved, as if a heavy weight was lifted in his heart. Knowing it didn't use the old route to invade his brain to become a mental Artificial intelligence. Using innovated way with 67.855% stability. So his chances of becoming insane and suffering the negative side effects was less than half. However, he also felt disgusted.

It also means the government didn't abandoned the mad invention, and even modified it to lessen the maddening affect. Zyro could guess the cost, experiments done and lives sacrificed to bring the program to this level.

After a while, Zyro sighed. No matter how he hated it, the past is in the past. He better to focus in the future.

'Well, I guess my brain is ducked up. There's no saving it. Might as well look at the bright side.' He cheered himself up.

Modern artificial intelligence were invaluable helpers. With it, he basically have perfect memory and can recording everything through his senses. The artificial intelligence had merge to his mind after all, so it can use his hearing, sight, etc... To perceive and store data in his brain. Furthermore, the old data was saved. Thousands of blueprints and military tactics, products creation procedures, as well as entertainment files and more.

'Now were talking'

Furthermore, as a mental AI. Aizra didn't need portable visual gears for her host to access this data's. She could utilize precise hallucinations for communication.

Curious, Zyro tried it. To his surprise, he could see a virtual screen Infront of him showing countless lines of data, blueprints, videos without any use of devises. Unease creeps in him, knowing what his viewing were mere delusions created by a mental illness.

'So, I'm delusional now?' he smirked.

Still, Zyro could already imagine all the things he could do with this data. He could skip thousands years of innovation to civilization advancement and monopolize business with astronomical profits.

However, the current problem remain. No matter how knowledgeable he is, as a mine-slave at the bottom of societies hierarchy, no one would listen to him. He didn't even know how long his puny human body could survive.

Deep in reverie, a young cheery voice called out to him.

"I finally found you! Eh, why do you look like sh*t? What happened to you?" Ask Pert.

Zyro look a him with listless eyes. Remembering Pert secret he discovered yesterday. He was compelled to directly ask the kid and satisfy his curiosity but decided against it after some thinking.

"Nothing, I just found out my head is broken" Said Zyro in a flat tone.

Pert pause for a moment in confusion, trying to comprehend what Zyro just said. But gave up and shrugged.

"Anyway, wanna come with me?"

Zyro stood up, and stretch his body. Warming up for work.

"Where?"

"They're gathering helpers to deliver the magic stones to the village. I managed to secure a slot, and they'll be paying 5 red coins!"

Hearing the word "village" and "coins", his interest was piqued. An opportunity to earn coins was rare, so as being allowed to visit the village. He rejoice internally, as the opportunity he've waiting for had come.

Pleased, Zyro dismissed his plan of scolding Pert's stinginess on knowledge about all races there is.

Zyro agreed and followed Pert.

Soon, they're outside. Numerous wooden carriages filled with magic stones line up in a chained order. Slaves and guards surround the long caravan. Due to insufficient number of available mine-guards, slaves were also sent to protect and unload the carriers.

As the caravan began moving, Pert turn to Zyro who's walking among the slaves and said with a smile.

"Did I tell you that there's monsters ahead?"

Zyro's expression froze.

'I swear, this kid will be my death!'