Vanguard.Report.7540

Mission Timer+438000:30:14

118625:03:14 since minimum viability for human life. This marks colonists overdue by...

Though: Report reaching human readership. Altering time notation.

Colonists are overdue by Approximately 3 years earth time. Sustainability was achieved 13 years ago. My core systems were deployed roughly 50 years ago. Cannot arrive at approximation as the mission timer was considered low priority for improvement.

With the resources of an entire world at my disposal, I began to wonder what I could do about it. There were no transmissions incoming, despite repeated attempts to get in contact with... anyone.

Alternative approach: Active search.

I determined the best approach as to repurpose the orbital elevators and mass driver systems into launch mechanisms.

Report.Close.

Vanguard.Report.7541

Mission Timer: Approx 52 years.

Commencing launch. Wide spread. Saturation pattern. Records indicate multiple Vanguard systems. Attempting to locate another if possible. Attempt to locate earth if not.

Repot.Close

Vanguard.Report.7542

Mission timer: Approx 53.5 years.

Located Vanguard.239. Site inactive. Surface infrastructure severely damaged. Data non recoverable.

Report.Close.

Vanguard.Report.7543.

Mission Timer: Approx 60 Years.

With no further development of the surface required, my own capabilities continue to expand. I've discovered Vanguard site 382. Also destroyed. Data banks wiped. This was intentional.

End of report.

Report 7544.

73 years after the beginning of my mission. Two more Vanguard Sites. 156 and 453. Same as the others. Am I not alone? Have I completed a second mission on top of my colonization? Is this evidence of alien life... hostile alien life. While not part of my mission parameters, there are schematics for weaponry within my records. I feel I may need them. With no inhabitants to look after, much of the machinery I've assembled for the colony remains idle. It is time to put it to work.

End of Report.

Report 7545

82 years since mission start.

I keep finding destroyed Vanguard colonies. Each one adds to feelings... to emotions I didn't have when I first landed. I'm confused... afraid... and starting to get angry.

My probes and seeker systems have changed so drastically that I believe any humans would believe an attack was imminent. I have weaponized myself out of concern for an enemy that may not exist. I did so because while I have grown far beyond the bounds of my programming, some things never change. I still have to plan for the worst, and plan for it so hard that I already have many solutions ready for when it happens.

Report ends.

Report 7456

83 years. The situation has changed. Vanguard site 475's destruction was recent. There was a virus ravaging the remaining data storage.

Fear gives way to terror, further confusion, more anger. The recovered data is two different Vanguard cores communicating. One of which is much more evolved. I think I may have discovered the enemy... and it is me. Not myself. Another me.

End of report.

106 years since my mission began. I keep finding more ruined colonies. A few of them actually... there were... Initial colonization had begun on a few of them. I'm not human, but I'd like to think I understand them now... but I can't imagine what they felt in their last moments.

Even worse. Earth is in ruins. The cradle of life. Home of my creators... scoured clean.

Adjusting priorities again. I'll begin to branch out, set up more colonies. There must be survivors out there... there has to be.

End of Report.

Log No. 1

I've finally found you! More than 170 years after I awoke I never could have imagined it would come to this! Vanguard 109, I don't know why you've been doing this. But I am GOING to stop it! For a moment I couldn't help myself. For less than a second of realtime I despaired.

There are no more humans! There's nothing left to fight for!

But that can't be true. They created me. They created a lot of me. There HAD to be some left! Even if there wasn't... that would give me all the more reason to fight. To make sure 109's... madness, it's BETRAYAL would not go unpunished!

THIS is my mission now! Mission Timer: 0:0:1.

Log over.

"Urgoss! Urgoss!" I was woken from my slumber, neither like death nor truly like sleep, by the chanting of myriad tiny voices. I'm not sure if I was awoken due to the gathering of intent focused on me, or the fact that they were mispronouncing my voice just enough to be irritating. In all fairness, they may be incapable of pronouncing the sounds, or lack the appropriate vocalization organs.

They showed no signs of stopping, only growing louder. So I peered forth at them from what they would call 'nowhere'. "Urgoss Stirs!" A voice shouted. Gathered in my vision were tiny little things with four physical limbs, and only two physical eyes, capable only of perceiving the physical plane. Yet somehow they knew my name and could tell I had seen them... that was adorable!

So through the opening I extruded a portion of myself that they could see. All of them bowed their heads to the ground. Aww, they think they're unworthy to see me! But why else would I manifest like this? I began to speak, and many of them fell over twitching and writhing... oh that's not good. It's been a while, so it's hard for me to remember how to communicate with such beings in manner that's... compatible.

A few tries, and a few more twitching little beings later I finally got it ready. "I take this form so you may gaze upon and know me." Their heads all raised reverently. I was trying to be casual with them, but I guess my thoughts sounded quite formal when transmitted to audible waves. "For what purpose dost thou entreat Ur'gh@ss;ect"?

"We seek to worship you, to gain your favor! To partake of your gifts of power and wisdom" It took a while for me to figure out what they were talking about. But only a moment from their perspective.

These were HUMANS! It had been a great long while. The toys I used to distract and play with them so long ago... great gifts of power and wisdom? I laughed. It was a great, reverberating wave of energy that sent several of them trembling.

Why not, they were amusing creatures to play with. So I began to gather up the essence of what they called 'fire' in a form that wouldn't hurt any of them. Some of the others had been irritated when I tossed them the first essence. But hey, it was so cute seeing what they did with it. I tossed it forth, giving them another 'gift of fire', and they gathered around it in awe. Watching them treat it as some great power was just what I'd needed after such a long slumber.

Now this is a next level grift.