[The Last Hope for Mankind] 6 – Digital Mother

Yet another two months have passed, and I leveled up yet another three times, raising my level to seven in number. 30 skill points went into Computers, while my latest level up today saw the fifteen skill points going straight into engineering, raising it to 25. I was well on my way to maxing Computers as my first skill, as I was actually making progress with my pet project. Said project was my attempt at making a new generation of computers with what I had available to me in the Institute, which was far less than one would expect, as the Institute had a shortage of raw materials, food, water, and even electricity. 

It made sense now why the Institute was so...active with their plan of making a Fusion Reactor in the events of Fallout 4; they needed the energy. However, that does make me question how the Insitute even made it as far as it has. There are hundreds of people down here. How in the hell do we even grow enough food to feed everyone? Let alone have the materials and ingredients necessary to make the medicine we use daily in the Clinic and for personal care.

I needed to look at BioScience and take a peek at the hydroponic farms. If they wanted to make enough food to feed everyone here, then surely they would have to have a rather large hydroponic farm that grew throughout the years. Whatever they used as crops was ultimately made into a paste that served as the main thing we ate, and to be frank, it was disgusting. Even our water was filtered over and over, with very little purified water coming from the surface, leaving the water taste incredibly artificial and just plain wrong.

But enough about the Institute's weaknesses and failures. With my three new levels, I, of course, had the option of selecting three new perks! When I hit skill level 75 in Computers, I was given some new choices, as well as a few more when it came to Engineering; what I chose, in the end, were skills that I thought would be useful or valuable, choosing one engineering perk, a perk from Computers, and a perk that came when I hit level five.

[Comprehension], the perk I got at level five that didn't belong to or have any skill requirement and was offered as soon as I hit level five. This perk was simple in function, but overall, it would be a sort of 'slice of life' upgrade that would be useful in multiple ways. First, as its name suggested, it greatly boosted my comprehension of...well, everything, I guess. It was much easier to process and absorb information, making studying much easier, as well as my absorption of the skill knowledge that floods me with each level, making it far less painful. Speaking of [Comprehension], I took a month to study as much as possible, and I was now just a 'Grade' away from graduation.

I could have graduated if I wanted to, but that would have required me to take a specialized test to get into one of the branches. That was not my plan. However, I wanted and needed the attention of the higher-ups, so my plan could only be described as crazy. I wanted to take all of these 'Graduation Tests' and be qualified to join every branch of the Institute. I knew I was already attracting attention due to my rapid rise in grades, but I knew it would not be enough for my plans.

The second perk I chose was something that I wanted but didn't necessarily need. [Digital Mother] What did the perk do? Other than supplying me with the knowledge necessary to make my own Virtual and Artificial Intelligence and so much more, it means that so long as I had the hardware, I could create an AI that rivaled or surpassed the human mind. It means that given some time to practice what I learned, I could put myself into the Robotics team and prove my value that way.

As for VI, Virtual Intelligence, I could create a 'Dumb' AI that would respond to data based on the data it was given, basically allowing for the creation of an interactive program that could only answer simple questions but not much else. A good example is a hologram designed to act like a historical figure, such as Abraham Lincoln, and it includes mannerisms and beliefs based on the data it was given. It would be able to answer questions according to the data it had but would struggle to answer questions beyond the data it was given, such as asking Abraham Lincoln about the modern era. The VI would instead get an 'Error' and be unable to answer a question. However, if the VI was asked about his political career, he could answer so long as it had data on the topic.

Lastly, [Electrical Engineer], a perk that I unlocked at 25 Engineering, which essentially helped me with designing, testing, creating, and managing electrical systems and grids and taught me how to create some simple machines and electrical devices that would surely come in handy, such as Radios, basic household appliances, and a lot more commercial devices that were common in the Fallout world. So, if I wished, I could make my own fridge, toaster, microwave, and other stuff, not that I needed or wanted to.

The three perks would, without a doubt, help, and I couldn't wait to try them out extensively. 

[Comprehension] I was already making extensive use of studying the archives. [Electrical Engineer] was also being put through extensive use as the Institute was constantly needing repairs and fixes to keep everything running. Speaking of which, Old Man Ben and his daughter, Allie, completely trusted me. They really wanted me to come to join Facilities once I graduated, as they were seriously lacking in manpower. It was just them and one other guy in charge of keeping the institute operational. I did not know why they didn't use the Synths to help.

However, if I were to make a guess, I would assume it's a software issue. Only the 3rd Generation Synth would be capable of complex tasks and thinking, but they were too valuable for such 'mundane' work, or so I would assume is going through the heads of the other departments of the Insitute. There were first- and second-generation synths that worked as janitors and servers across the concourse, but their tasks obviously did not go past that. 

Perhaps If I could get my hands on one of the second-gen synths, I could try to modify its programming and see if I could make any improvements. Though I doubt I'd be able to do much, as literal generations of scientists worked together to make the Synths, I was willing to bet that I'd still be able to clean up the programming a bit to make everything at least a bit more efficient.

However, if that wasn't an option, perhaps I could find a cheap solution for the hardware that would allow for better and more robust software to be installed. There was so much I could do, yet I felt like I would not have the time to do any of it.

Getting back on topic, Old Man Ben and Allie have been...helping me with my pet project to improve the terminals and computers available in the Institute, whether it be by helping me with privacy, as I moved my pet project into the Facilities Workshop, to prevent it from being found by random people going into the Archives. They also helped me by...looking away sometimes when I needed certain materials. Of course, to get their help, I helped them. However, that was something I was already doing.

They also wanted proof that I was making progress, something that I was easily able to do, as I was one of the best programmers in the Institute at this very moment, seeing as those interested in programming were already in Robotics and only really did any programming when it came to the synths, though I don't know that for sure or just how...skilled they were compared to me. 

Either way, I was making progress, so the father-daughter duo continued to help me, and I helped them, though even if they didn't help me, I would continue helping them. Not only did I get daily 'tasks' that involved helping them in some way, but also because I wanted to. They took care of the entire Institute and were the main reason everyone was still breathing and not suffocating from a lack of oxygen.

Leaning into my chair, I couldn't help but imagine how Allie would even be able to do all of that work by herself in the future. I remembered in the game that she and maybe one or two others were the sole ones responsible for keeping the Insitute operational, which was a miracle, as seeing how dilapidated the Insitute was already, I could hardly imagine how much worse it would be by the events of the game as the situation continued to get worse, and it will get worse. The fact that everything needed to be constantly repaired, replaced, fixed, or reset meant that eventually, either there would be nothing that could be fixed or replaced, or a fatal error would occur. Everyone down here died from suffocation before they knew it.

It was certainly worrying, which added yet another reason why I had no problem helping Ben and Allie. Hopefully, we can eventually do something that will make our situation much more manageable, but for that to happen, a miracle would have to occur.