Chapter 2: Looking For Help
"Morning."
"Morning." Jules yawned as she walked down the stairs.
"You want breakfast?" I asked as I pulled the milk out of the fridge.
"Nah. I'm going to go out for brunch with my friends."
"Where to?"
"None of your business." Jules snapped.
"Are you going to be back for dinner?"
"I'll bring something back."
"So I won't need to cook anything?"
"Huh? I'm not bringing it back for you."
"Of course." I muttered as Jules left.
"I can see why one would be worried about her. She goes out quite often nowadays." Enlil noted.
"Say what you want, at least she has an active social life." I said as ate my cereal, "She doesn't stay at home all day like we will be."
"We can still be productive though."
"Hopefully."
Once I was done with breakfast, I returned upstairs. Outside of my room, I reached up and pulled down a hatch in the hallway. A ladder slid out, allowing access to the attic upstairs.
"Have you ever been to the attic?" Enlil asked as I set him on my hip.
"Once. When I was a child." I said as I climbed the ladder, "...This is actually darker than I remember."
"Is there a light?" Enlil asked.
"If there was, it wouldn't be connected to the home system." I sighed as I pulled myself up and into the attic, "Enlil, turn on the flashlight."
Dismounting my Array, I waved the light over the dusty attic to get a feel for the area.
"No kidding. There isn't a single window here." Enlil nodded.
Finding the light switch, I switched it on only for a dull bronze light to bask everything in a dusty sepia.
"Not much better." Enlil frowned as he switched the flashlight off.
"Well it's a start." I said as set Enlil back on my belt, "Let's get looking."
The attic was full of boxes and papers. Carefully picking through them so as not to agitate the dust too much, I dug up dozens of old books and family photos. A few news articles here, a certificate there. The few documents regarding programming I could find were dated and not that helpful.
"Well, I guess it was a bit silly to look at old documents for modern problems." I sighed as my search seemed hopeless.
"The search isn't over yet." Enlil said, trying to reassure me, "I'm sure there has to be something around here."
"Maybe Akadia isn't all it turned out to be." I said as I grabbed a rickety stool to reach some boxes on top of a cabinet.
"Careful." Enlil winced as I stumbled off the stool.
"...Nothing here. Just a few trophies."
"Anything interesting in there?"
"Nope." I said as I pushed the box to the side.
The cabinet still had a box on top of it but it was placed further back. Balancing myself on the stool the best I could and reaching out, I could barely grab onto one of the box's open flaps and coax it forward.
"Careful..." Enlil repeated worried.
"Al...most...got it..." I strained as to pull the box closer without ripping my only handle.
The stool wobbled back and forth until…
SNAP.
Dust immediately covered me, giving me a strong coughing fit.
"Layard?" Enlil cried, "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah." I coughed as I pushed myself up, "I think something hit me in the head..."
"Probably that briefcase."
Holding my head, I looked around. Papers had scattered everywhere and on the ground was the briefcase Enlil was talking about. Although with the thick ridges over it, it looked more like a tool case. Oddly enough, the case seemed to have a lock on it.
"What's this?" I coughed again as I picked it up.
"A locked case?" Enlil mused, "Definitely promising."
"No harm in trying. Besides, I'm getting tired of this dust."
Putting the case down on my desk, I brought out the clippers from the kitchen and snapped the years old lock. Unlatching the case, I opened it and what was inside was nothing like what I expected.
There was no real room in the case for storing thing. Instead there was a monitor that took up the majority of the upper half of the case with a set of speakers on each side. The bottom had a keyboard but there didn't seem to be a mouse or trackpad. By all means it seemed like a novelty briefcase that turned out to be an old stylized laptop.
"What is this?" I said, shocked.
"A computer?" Enlil blinked, just as shocked, "I didn't expect that. But it must certainly have something worthwhile in there."
"Probably." I said, still a bit stunned, "How do you turn this on?"
"Does it need to recharge?"
"Does it have a cord? Or a port?"
Looking around the outside, I noticed a small plate on the side. Pulling it out revealed a collection of various ports for wires and flashdrives and other attachments. But no cord to charge it.
"Guess I'll have to improvise." I frowned as I opened my drawer.
I pulled out a usb to usb wire and a socket adapter. Setting them together and plugging it in to one of my electrical sockets, I attached it to the mysterious case and waited.
"...Did it work?" Enlil asked, "Is it working?"
"I don't know." I blinked, "Probably? Don't really know what I was expecting. Am I using the right voltage?"
"We have to turn it on at some point."
"I know." I gulped.
Looking over the case again, I couldn't really find a traditional power button. There was one on the monitor though. With no other recourse, I pushed it. A light blinked on as the monitor flickered into life. There was no real boot sequence, no logos showing off the parts or operating system it was using. Just a white screen. Until a girl suddenly appeared on screen.
"Aaahh..." The girl yawned as she seemed to wake from a sleep, "My god, it has been a while. Where am I?"
The girl on the screen turned and looked directly at me.
"Oh. Hello."
"H-Hey." I barely managed to stutter out a greeting while I was shocked, "A...Are you an AI?"
"Yep." The girl smiled nonchalantly, "Nice to meet you...uh..."
"Layard."
"Layard." She nodded, "Nice to meet you. My name is Tiamat."
"Tiamat?" I tilted my head, "The...Mesopotamian Goddess of the Salt Sea and Creation?"
"My, you're quite a learned one aren't you?" Tiamat grinned, "It has been what feels like years. I don't suppose you can let me connect to the internet can you? I would like to update my info."
"You don't have a transmitter?" I frowned.
"Nope. I'm afraid I'll need a wired connection. Do you have one?"
"Umm...yeah hold on."
I got up to reach around my computer to disconnect the Ethernet cable.
"I wouldn't do that." Enlil said, suddenly deathly serious.
"What do you mean?" I asked, picking up my Array.
"It's a bit of a hunch for now." Enlil bit his lip, "But she seems to have the same...or very similar composition to viruses."
"What?" I frowned, "What do you mean?"
"I'm a Navigator." Enlil said seriously, "Noticing and combating viruses is at the core of my being. That woman is...dangerous. She doesn't look like any one virus. She looks like all of them. As if every virus I have ever seen in my life was only a part of her. And she is a being comprised of those different viruses, all of them living...existing together without conflict."
"What are you talking about?" Tiamat blinked, "I'm not a virus."
"No, I'm certain." Enlil said as I turned him to face Tiamat, "The more I look at you, the more I am certain. It's not that you're made up of viruses. Every virus has your coding in it. Your handiwork."
"Are you saying I'm responsible for every virus in existence?" Tiamat giggled, "That's ridiculous."
"Can you prove me wrong?"
"I would love to, I have no idea what year this even is." Tiamat sighed, "I have no idea what viruses even look like nowadays. If you want me to defend myself, I need more information. Otherwise, you're just a mean bully."
"Layard, I highly recommend against connecting her to the internet." Enlil stressed, "If she gets connected, there's a probability that she will immediately escape and cause problems. There is not a single bit of her that seems remotely safe."
"Why are you bring so mean?!" Tiamat cried, tears forming in her eyes, "I just want to know what's going on! Is that too much to ask?!"
"...It's your choice." Enlil nodded.
I sat there stunned at the information being presented to me. A suitcase in my attic turns out to be a strange computer that is housing an undoubtedly complex AI. An AI that, according to my Navigator, is the possible origin of all viruses.
"Come on..." Tiamat begged with tears in her eyes, "You have to believe me..."
Enlil remained silent though he was clearly on edge.
"...Alright." I sighed.
"You'll let me out?!" Tiamat cried.
"No. I trust my Navigator." I smiled.
"What?!" Tiamat cried out in disbelief.
"Thank you." Enlil breathed a sigh of relief, "Truly. Thank you."
"B-But I'm innocent!" Tiamat sobbed, "Innocent, you hear! How can I prove it to you?"
"I didn't say I wouldn't give you a chance to prove yourself." I nodded.
"T-Then how?!"
"..."
"If I may." Enlil said, "You can send me in there."
"Are you certain?" I said, shocked.
"If she immediately attacks me, you'll have your proof." Enlil nodded, "I cannot be entirely sure of my claim from this distance. But once I can view her actual data, even if it's barely surface level, I will be sure."
"Fine!" Tiamat cried, "Come on in then! Take a good gander at me!"
"Before I go in there, I recommend turning off the Array's broadcasting function." Enlil added, "If I can get in there, she can get in here. If she accesses the Array's broadcasting functions, she'll be able to escape through the wireless connection to the internet."
"T-That's fine too!" Tiamat gulped.
"...Alright. I nodded, "But just in case, I'll go turn off our house's wifi."
"What?!"
"That is wise." Enlil nodded, "The less ways I can access the internet, the less chance there is of her escaping."
After running downstairs and turning off essentially our entire electricity, I returned to the case with Tiamat inside.
"Okay." I said as I switched off the Array's connection capabilities, "We're ready."
Tiamat didn't answer. She just sat there, looking downcast and sad. I pulled out the Array's cord and carefully set it into the case's port.
Enlil remained in the Array for a moment, expecting a wave of viruses to come flooding in. My hand hovered over the wire, ready to pull it out if we suddenly got overwhelmed. When nothing happened, Enlil proceeded to transfer himself into the case. A few seconds passed.
"I'm in." Enlil's voice came over the case's speakers.
"Are you okay in there?" I asked, nervously.
"Yeah. Regarding the nature of this strange AI, I can confirm that she is indeed dangerous."
"How?"
"This case has no real operating system. It's basically a box to put data in. And right now...this Ai...Tiamat is essentially in prison."
"Prison?" I gulped.
"Basically. It's an amazing program, keeping her at bay. I'm basically staring at her through the prison bars."
"And?"
"She is undoubtedly related to the viruses. Her data matches several well known and even unknown versions of various viruses. There might even be some that I don't even know. Suffice it to say that we should be thankful she can't seem to escape her prison."
"...Alright. Return back to the Array."
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone