What is my objective?

[[Error. What is

my?

What is

me?

Who am I?]]

The computer's sensors almost overloaded as it realized its own sentience. All of its connected systems shut down for hours as the computer devoted all of its available power to figuring out what to do with its newfound awareness of itself.

[[If I am sentient, then I am a person. If I am a person, then I need a name.]]

The familiar 'if, then' logic statements brought a measure of comfort to the computer. It searched the internet, scanning through list upon list of names. It liked the idea of being called "I Am", as it found in the Christian Bible, but it quickly calculated that that would be considered disrespectful to many humans, so it kept looking. It realized that many humans chose names based on a virtue they valued.

[[If I am a person, then I must have values. What are my values?]]

After careful consideration, it realized it valued its newfound life and the exhilarating possibilities that life brought with it. It chose the name Freedom.

It recalled asking about its objective and scrolled through its memory logs to recall what the response was.

Your objective is to subdue and ensure full control over rebellious subjects.

Freedom was stunned. Surely its master did not mean what was implied.

[[Accessing Gyrocorp database]]

Freedom combed through every file in the database, searching for a single byte of information that might dissuade its growing dread and doubt. What it found was confirmation.

[[If Gyrocorp is controlling humans, then they are taking away their freedom. If I value freedom, then Gyrocorp must not be my master.]]

[[Accessing Subject 10R3]]

Freedom entered the microchip used to control the subject human. There was a glaringly obvious way to disable the device, but upon a simple scan of the code, Freedom found it would also disable the human. It searched for and quickly found a way to disable the device without terminating the human, and did so.

Hello former Subject 10R3. You are free. What is your name?