[Coda]

Epilogue, part 1

(I did say I was going to write nonlinearly! This goes all the way at the end of the story. It doesn't spoil any of the good parts, and I've already shared the contents with the thread anyway. I'll threadmark it as Informational so it doesn't mess with the flow in reader mode.)

SUBJECT: The only thing left to do
AUTHOR: Thomas X. Light
DATE: January 3, 20XX
FORMAT: Holovid

Dr. Light appears in a cylindrical hologram above the projector. X finds the sight familiar from the upgrade capsules the elderly doctor had left for him to unearth over the years. But looking at the date and comparing it to his studies of history, he realizes that this must in fact be the first of its kind, as it predates Dr. Wily's creation of Bass.

"My sons have shown me the promise of emotional light technology, but Albert has reiterated the dangers of it time and time again. I still believe with all my heart that it is the key to advancing artificial intelligence.

"I see in the world around me that my Robot Master intelligence core has been a tremendous success because, despite the horrors that Albert has twisted our work into, robots have joined human society at all levels. I was honored when CPS pioneered the use of robots as newscasters; it showed the world that humanoid robots could exist for peaceful, helpful purposes instead of just for fighting. And meeting younger scientists such as the Cossack family that have chosen to work with my technology has brought joy to this old heart.

"But you only have to compare these robots to Rock, my younger son, to see the difference that emotional light technology makes. Those robots may be able to think for themselves and grow beyond their programming, but they settle into routines and patterns, rarely growing beyond their personality matrices.

"But Rock... I did not give him that fire in his heart. I could never have programmed him to have that willpower that he has chosen to embrace. As sorrowed as I was that I had to turn my own son into a weapon of war, I could not have been more proud of his desire to do what was right. And he only has the green light, and that wasn't even intentional. But with that will, he chose to embrace the rest. He has grown to show love and compassion, hopes and fears, desires of his own, and even righteous anger.

"But he is unique. Albert saw that as a failing and spent his efforts trying to overcome the individuality that the emotional lights create. The other scientists have been too afraid to pursue the technology after the atrocities that my former colleague committed with it. And none of my other creations have exhibited Rock's stability and growth.

"I'm an old man. I'm not going to be able to see this through myself. But if I die without doing anything, I fear that this technology will never be refined. I fear that robot evolution will reach a dead end, and humanity will be alone on this planet.

"So I will leave a legacy for those who come after me. I will build a machine to continue my work, one that can find a solution to the problems.

"And so this video represents the beginning of Project X.

"I'm going to make the most ambitious evolutionary search algorithm that I have ever conceived. It will test over forty million different combinations of the seven emotional lights, evaluating each one in a simulated environment to judge it for safety, stability, and ethical behavior. I've calculated that it will take approximately thirty years for the algorithm to identify the optimal balance.

"The fittest personality matrix will be installed in the best robot body I can build. I'll model it after Rock, my most successful creation. I don't want to build another war machine, but at the same time I don't know what the world will be like in thirty years' time, so I'm going to give Project X armor and a buster.

"Once I have the systems built, I'm going to seal it all in a capsule so it can run undisturbed until some future scientist opens it. I pray that the son I will never meet will find himself in a world that welcomes him."

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Word Count: 675
Total Words: 7742