[Last Hope for Mankind] 9 – Glitch in the Matrix

Before I realized it, an entire month had passed in the blink of an eye as Allen and I worked on the next-gen computer, and I leveled up twice during this time. When I first leveled up, I placed all fifteen points into Computers, raising it to near max, at 95 points of 100. At this point, the knowledge I was getting from the skill showed me many of the most advanced computers available in the Fallout world, which only proved to help us design a better computer. As for the perk I chose, it was called [Bio-Computer], turning me into what essentially was a living computer, greatly increasing my memory and comprehension. It even went as far as to increase my reaction speeds and so much more. It required 15 Biology and 75 Computers. It was a perk that definitely caught the attention of those around me, but they didn't ask or dig into it, thankfully.

However, by the end of the month, I had leveled again and maxed out my first skill, computers, raising it to 100. I put the last 10 points into Robotics.

Getting that same list of perks as usual, the perk option that I got for reaching max in computers, raised great concern for me.

[Glitch in the Matrix - Computers 100 - Description: Once every twenty-four hours, your body will glitch, saving you from fatal harm. This skill can be deactivated at will]

Did that perk suggest that my world was a simulation, or was it just a coincidence of the system? I doubted this was some kind of simulation, as it felt far too real to be one. However, what if it was? Did that change anything? No...because I could do nothing about it, even if it were. Sighing, I chose the [Glitch in the Matrix] perk and confirmed. It was too good of a perk to pass up.

[You have maxed out a technical skill! You have unlocked Technological Ascension skill branches!]

[For ten skill points, an Ascension skill point can be obtained. Ascension Skill points can be used to purchase specific technologies, arcane skills and paths, and much more]

Wha...?

[Mass Effect - Medi-gel - Biology, First  Aid, and Surgery - 0/5]

[Mass Effect - Omni-tool - Computers and Engineering - 0/5]

[Stellaris - Deflectors - Engineering - 0/5]

[Edge of Tomorrow - Powered Exo-skeletons - Engineering - 0/5]

[Cyberpunk - Basic Cybernetic Engineering - Computers, Biology, and Engineering - 0/10]

[Halo - Data Crystal Chip - Computers and Engineering - 0/10]

[The Orville - Matter Synthesizer - Computers and Engineering - 0/15]

[Dark Souls - Tome of Soul Sorceries - 0/25]

[Horizon - Machines of Humanity - Computers, Biology, and Engineering - 0/25]

The list went on, seemingly infinite and unending in number, ranging from simple technologies of other worlds to things that could only be described as Arcane in nature. I even saw some things that were specific items instead of technologies, such as tomes that contained rituals from the Bloodborne universe designed to summon the Eldritch Gods and beings that called the universe home.

Closing the screen, I just leaned back into my chair.

Looking to my side, I looked over the B1-Series droid I got from that garbage loot crate a month back. I was using the garbage and scrap metal I got from the other loot boxes and was slowly fixing the thing up, but it was difficult and time-consuming. However, that does not mean I was not making progress, as I now had the detached head of the droid sitting on my desk attached to my computer through a thick capable. Flowing across my computer's screen was the droid's programming...which wasn't in English or any known programming language, for that matter.

I couldn't make heads or tales about it, but I considered backing up the droid's programming for later study, erasing it, and putting my own AI inside of it. Specifically, the AI I was making using the bottom-up method.

AI could be developed in two separate ways. The first method was top-down, where the AI would be implanted with the memories or experiences needed to function in the world without learning everything from scratch. The bottom-up method was the opposite, where the AI had to grow and experience everything like a child, leaving it to be easily influenced and shaped by the data and me as its programmer.

Its mind was still that of a child, and I kept it that way to ensure that it developed properly. The AI was being put through many simulations where it would have to learn problem-solving and what was right and what was wrong. I wanted to ensure that the AI would not try to go Skynet on me. The world of Fallout has already had to deal with one such AI, and I'd rather not deal with a second, even if this world's lack of internet would make the AI far less dangerous.

At the moment, its mind was limited by the hardware I had built for it, the improved computer in the workshop Allen and I were working on. Even then, its processing speed was multiple times faster than a human's, and its mind was the equivalent of a three-year-old's. I wanted to at least develop the AI to a level where it was mature enough to work with me and possibly help me in the future out in the wasteland, and with the droid in my room, I even had a body for it to occupy. However, Assaultrons were still superior in make and material to the droid, so if I could get my hands on one, I'd rather use it as a vessel for my Digital child than the B1-series battle droid. Not only because Assualtrons are programmed in a language I could actually understand, but they are also equipped with a variety of weapons that make them deadly in combat, and their frames provide them inhuman agility and reflexes, allowing them to jump really high, run faster than a human can react, and sometimes they are even equipped with a head laser that's devastating against both armored and unarmed infantry and even tanks, in some cases, if the documents and records we have are correct.

It was still mind-boggling how big of a difference the robots of Fallout were compared to the games; it was no wonder so many pre-war ruins remained untouched by scavengers and mercenaries due to how many robots were inside them. A single assaultron could dispatch dozens of men within minutes and sustain little to no damage, being practically immune to small caliber weapons with little firepower, explains how the Brotherhood of Steel were with their power armor, making them nigh invincible against most of the human threats of the wasteland. There's a reason why Power Amor was considered a walking tank with how strong and durable the suits were. Even then, the PA could be improved, as they were still relatively new during the Great War, as they only started getting developed in 2065, with the bombs being dropped in 2077. 

That also reminds me that Power Armor comes in two different ways: Power Armored Frames, which are larger, heavier, stronger, and far more durable but require a fusion core to power the frame, and then there are the power armor suits, which lack a frame, making them weaker, less durable, lighter, and requiring no fusion core to power, but still granting the wearer enough strength to carry heavy weapons and far more moverability and stealth options, as they were not nearly as loud as Power Armored Frames, the ones commonly found around Boston.

From the games, I knew that the Mojave and Capital Wasteland branches used the power armor suits, and the soon-to-be Boston branch of the Brotherhood would prefer to use the power armor frames instead. That's right, not longer after Fallout 4 begins. Not only will I have to worry about the Sole Survivors and the likelihood that they could be a murderous psychopath, but I will also have to worry about the Brotherhood of  Steel appearing here and causing a lot of chaos and hostilities. The BOS would hate the Institute on principle due to our nature as scientists who surpassed the old world and our use of Synths, which would be considered abominable by the BOS who think technology is a threat.

No doubt, the BOS would be my worst enemy in the future, right next to the Railroad, so long as the Institute continued to use Gen 3 Synths as slaves. The Railroad were essentially abolitionists who were against the Institute and would do everything possible to free Synths and help them escape from the Institute. When he was older in the game, Allen would set free Synths and send them out to the wasteland where the Railroad would find these synths and save them, ending with Allen getting the moniker 'Patriot' from the Railroad, despite no communication between Allen and the Railroad, for all Allen knew, he was sending the synths out to their deaths for the slim chance of them being able to live a free life.

If there's one certain thing, it's that my life would be filled with drama and conflict.