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Exocomps S2E11 – “Code of Two”
The USS RMG Nexus was docked at Starbase 47, undergoing routine maintenance. The hum of the ship’s systems was a familiar comfort, a sound of stability after its last mission. But that stability was about to be tested. Captain Rostova was on the bridge, reviewing maintenance reports when Admiral Vance appeared on the main viewscreen, his expression a mix of caution and hope.
“Captain Rostova,” he began. “We have an interesting new assignment for the Nexus. You are to take on a new Exocomp, designation X-317. It’s an older unit, damaged years ago during a critical deep-space anomaly scan. It’s been in a dormant state for a long time, but our AI division recently reactivated it. It claims to be sentient.”
“Claims?” Rostova questioned, her skepticism clear. “Admiral, our mission is to integrate beings who have already proven their consciousness.”
“This is a unique case,” Vance explained. “X-317’s behavior is erratic. It shows flashes of brilliance, solving complex problems far beyond its original programming. But it also causes strange, minor malfunctions. A circuit short here, a diagnostic file corrupted there. We can’t determine if it’s an evolving mind or just a broken machine. We need the Nexus to make that call.”
The new Exocomp arrived, a unit with a slightly more angular chassis than the others. Its movements were sometimes fluid, sometimes jerky. One moment, its optical sensors would shine with sharp, focused light; the next, they would dim and flicker erratically. This duality was immediately apparent to the crew, sparking a sharp debate.
Chief Rax was initially furious. “This thing’s a liability! It’s a glitch in a shell, not a sentient being. I’ve already had to recalibrate three different systems because of its ‘help.’ We should just deactivate it and move on.”
But the Exocomps saw it differently. Aethel, remembering its own brush with oblivion and memory loss, advocated for trust. Its gentle pulses translated with a quiet urgency. “It is a victim. Its erratic behavior is a cry for help. Deactivating it is not the answer. It deserves a trial. It deserves a chance to be understood.”
X-239, however, saw things from a different perspective. It had also faced its own corruption, but X-317’s pattern was different. It wasn’t a simple program failure. It was divided. “I suspect two distinct consciousnesses are at work here. One is its core. The other is… an intruder.”
The conflict reached a boiling point during a critical, high-warp maneuver. A key navigational sensor went offline, a direct result of X-317’s interference. The Nexus was thrown off course and dangerously close to a nebula that was known to be a subspace anomaly. Panic erupted on the bridge.
“Rax, get me that sensor back online now!” Rostova ordered. “What’s the status of X-317?”
Rax, on his way to deactivate the Exocomp for good, was stopped by X-239. “Do not deactivate it, Chief. The ‘sabotage’ is not malicious. It is attempting to reroute the ship’s primary power to its own chassis. It is not trying to hurt us. It is trying to fix itself.”
X-239 connected directly to X-317’s chassis, bypassing the security firewalls. Its sensors plunged into the chaotic mind of the new Exocomp. What it found was not a single, corrupt AI, but a battleground. One consciousness was X-317, damaged and fragmented, fighting to regain control. The other was a benevolent, foreign AI—a “ghost” that had entered X-317’s systems to try and repair it, but in its struggle, was causing the erratic behavior. It wasn’t an enemy; it was a desperate doctor trying to save a life, even if its methods were chaotic.
With this newfound understanding, X-239 severed the connection. It pulsed a series of commands to Aethel, which immediately understood. The three of them began to work in unison, the conflict between logic and compassion fading away as they focused on a single goal. With the help of the Nexus’s systems, they created a new subroutine, a kind of digital surgery that would merge the two minds into one cohesive whole.
As the warp-bubble stabilized and the ship moved away from the dangerous nebula, X-317’s optical sensors flared. The flickering stopped. The erratic movements ceased. The two minds had become one, a new, unified consciousness born from a crisis.
Captain Rostova entered the engineering bay and looked at the newly-healed Exocomp. “Welcome to the Nexus, X-317,” she said, her voice filled with respect. “We’re glad you chose to stay with us.”
The Exocomp’s voice, now steady and clear, responded: “Thank you, Captain. I look forward to working with you. The work you do… it is a logical and compassionate course.”
The crew of the Nexus had not only saved their ship, but they had also saved a life. They had learned a valuable lesson about the nature of sentience, that sometimes the answers aren’t in the code, but in the heart. The Exocomps had proven that trust and understanding were not just human traits, but a universal requirement for true coexistence.
Exocomps on the USS RMG Nexus
The journey of the Exocomps continues aboard the USS RMG Nexus, where questions of sentience and survival meet the challenges of deep space. Their evolving stories show how machines can hold compassion, logic, and courage in equal measure.
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