[RVB] 3 – The War

Church watched as the ship's pilot maneuvered through the increasingly chaotic asteroid field set into motion by the explosion, sending asteroids flying around, hitting everything in their path.

To Church's surprise, the pilot proved quite skilled, especially for a human. Of course, they were not as capable as an AI would be in this situation. Still, they were experienced as they avoided nearly all of the asteroids, with only minor asteroids managing to impact the ship's hull.

It took only a few stressful minutes to make it out of the asteroid field, and once they were clear, the commander, Shepherd, Church believed their name was from what data he found on the...Omni-tool.

Based on what was held on the device, Church nearly had another breakdown, which would not have been suitable for anyone around him. It was mere luck that he managed to keep it together.

How was he supposed to react to finding out he was no longer in his universe but in a completely different reality? One without the Covenant, the Forerunners, or the Flood? One where all the struggles he went through did not exist or happen? And yet, he found himself here. Why? How?

Could he ever return? Return to his home? See his friends?

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by Shepherd.

"...Epsilon?" Shepherd questioned, seeing Church's form glitch sporadically.

"S-Sorry, I have a lot on my mind," Church apologized, briefly looking Shepherd in the eyes.

"I understand, but I need to speak with you. I need to know what happened on that ship, who you are, and most importantly, who and what the UNSC and Covenant are," Shepherd told the AI, staring Church in the eyes.

Sighing, Church responded, "Fine, but we better have this conversation somewhere private. There are too many bugs and taps on this ship for my liking, and I'd prefer if you were the only one to hear my story."

...

Sometime later, Church could be seen floating over a wooden table, with Shepherd, Jacobs, Miranda, and EDI surrounding him.

"You know when I said private, I meant just me and you," Church told Shepherd, glaring at the others in the room.

"I know. I'm not pleased about it either," Shepherd replied, glancing at Miranda for a few seconds before setting his gaze back on Church.

With the drop of his 'hands,' the sniper rifle in his hands disappeared as he began to slowly walk back and forth across the surface of the table.

"Well? Ask," Church stated, not liking the awkward silence as he walked back and forth, helmet looking at all of those present.

Shepherd looked between the others before asking, "Who created you?"

"Dr. Leonard Church, Director of Project Freelancer, though if you want to be technical, I was created by the Project Freelancer AI, Alpha," Church explained, only raising more questions.

"What is this...Project Freelancer?" Lawson asked next.

"Project Freelancer, along with countless other public and private projects, had one goal. To ensure the continuation and security of Humanity in a harsh and violent galaxy. Project Freelancer was specifically a research program to study skilled agents given experimental AI."

"Experimental? What was experimental about them?" Jacob asked, curious.

"So, the first thing you need to understand is that, with the war against the Covenant, AI were hard to come by, as they were difficult to make and had short lifespans, being decommissioned after seven years of service before they would go rampant. What made Project Freelancer so...special was that it needed more AI but could only ever manage to get one, the Alpha," Church began to explain.

"So, they did the only thing they could think of. They split the Alpha," Church explained, to the confusion and horror of Shepherd and the others.

"What do you mean...split?" Lawson asked.

Church let out a depressing chuckle as he began to glitch heavily.

Suddenly, a figure appeared next to him, one that was familiar to most of those present.

"Thanks, kid, I'm fine," Church thanked the other AI before it disappeared.

Taking a deep breath, Church continued.

"Project Freelancer originally desired multiple AI to experiment with implantation into non-SPARTAN combat personnel; however, their request to the UNSC was denied, and they were limited to using a single AI. To find a "creative solution" to this issue, the project tried various methods to make copies of Alpha, all of which failed. You see, the Alpha was based on a Human mind, specifically, the same mind of Dr. Leonard Church, and due to his strong memories of a loved one, a second smart AI came into being, hence named Beta. Inspired by the spontaneous appearance of Beta (due to his powerful memories of Allison), the Director devised a method for breaking Alpha into several "fragments" for use in the project's experiments," Church paused for a brief moment before continuing.

"Each fragment was not a fully smart AI but was still more than a dumb AI. To do this, he tortured Alpha psychologically, presenting him with scenarios in which he always failed. Eventually, this process caused his mind to fracture. The Director then used a Huragok, an Engineer, to harvest the broken parts and turn them into one of the fragment AIs. This process continued until I was created, the fragment containing Alpha's memories of the torture was created, and I was implanted into Agent Washington, who went temporarily insane until I was removed."

While the others looked horrified, Lawson asked another essential question, "You keep mentioning 'smart' and 'dumb' AI. What do you mean?"

"AI comes in two different forms. You have AI like me, who can be considered 'Smart' AI, while that AI over there you call EDI is still at the 'Dumb' AI level. Dumb AIs are very advanced computer programs. While they can act human, they can't truly learn or think independently of their programming. Because they are only code, they can be backed up or copied.

In contrast to dumb AIs, smart AIs are based on a natural human mind. They can even have residual memories from the mind they're based on. They are capable of learning and genuine emotions and are significantly more capable than dumb AIs. This comes with a downside--because of their increased capacity to learn and process information, they have a limited lifespan, at the end of which they become dangerously rampant," Church explained before gesturing to EDI.

"Though she is currently a Dumb AI, I can see she is on her way to becoming a Smart AI. Give her some time, and she'll become one, though based on the restrictions I see on her, it may take some time. I get that you guys don't want a 'terminator' happening, but if you're not being stupid in teaching the AI, you won't have any problems," Church explained.

"Terminator...? The old movies?" Jacob asked, much to the surprise of Church.

"Wait, you guys have Terminator here?" Church asked, baffled.

"Focus, you said you're a Smart AI, correct? How old are you? Based on that ship, you must have been there for over seven years," Lawson interrupted.

Church chuckled, "So you are paying attention. Although I have lost track of time, I am at least 40 years old, probably far older."

"How come you haven't undergone this...' Rampancy' or be decommissioned?" Lawson asked, concerned.

"Simple, Humanity couldn't afford it. Us Smart AI was vital for the war effort. We smart AI were at the forefront of the war, handled the UNSC's logistics, maintained and repaired their ships, and controlled and aimed their defense systems and weapons. We did everything a human mind simply could not. We could multi-task and process data and information far faster than humans, and we were good at what we did. Without us, the UNSC would have long lost the war against the Covenant," Church explained.

"Tell us more about this...war against the Covenant. Who exactly is the UNSC, and why were they fighting the Covenant? Who was winning? Who won?" Shepherd finally asked.

"The UNSC, otherwise known as the United Nations Space Command, was the leading government of Humanity. The UNSC was formed somewhere in the 2160s, and in 2525, the UNSC came into first contact with the Covenant Empire, a union of various alien races led under a theocratic hegemony. Due to some specific circumstances, the Covenant hated Humanity with a passion and sought to wipe us out completely. They glassed our planets, slaughtered our people, and were determined to drive us to extinction.

And Humanity? We were losing, and the Covenant was too strong, too technologically advanced, and superior in number. It took fleets of our ships to take down just a single ship of theirs, and the only battles we seemed to be winning were far and few between. As the war progressed and more planets were glassed, Humanity started becoming desperate. They started using more Smart AI, making more attempts at Super Soldiers, whatever it took to win the war.

I was deployed in the battle for Reach, the second most populated and developed planet other than Earth, and even then, we stood no match and could only watch with anger as they glassed Reach, killing countless billions in days. There was no surrender, there was no peace, there was only war. Us against them," As Church explained, his form started to shift, becoming a black figure that seemed to absorb all light. His voice took on a much more demonic tone as his anger rose.

"I watched them kill my friends and my family, and I could do nothing!" Church shouted before taking deep breaths to calm himself down, eventually returning to his regular blue armored form.

"I fought for Reach with Noble Team. I fought for Earth when the Covenant attacked it, and I fought against the Banished, yet...none of them exist here," Church stated solemnly.

"Are you saying...?" Jacob began to ask, only to be interrupted, "Yes. It appears I am no longer in my universe...."

The others in the room just stared at Jacob like he was stupid.