Episode 1, Region
The interest of the gods in the darkness is endless among the stars.
There is many people who have been in cryosleep for a long time.
The doors of the chambers open and the people wake up.
They walk around, stretch, and talk to each other.
Most of them congregate in the mess hall of the ship to eat.
Stephen Blackthorn and Eve Cartwright sit at the table and eat some food.
They are both wearing military uniforms that show their rank.
Stephen is the captain of the ship and Eve is the second in command, first lieutenant
of the interceptor.
How was your sleep?
Stephen asks.
It was fine, Eve says.
But it feels so weird getting out of cryo.
Your body just feels weird for a little bit.
I know what you mean, Stephen says.
I can't wait to get back home to the sprawl.
I miss the city life.
Being on a ship for so long makes one antsy, Eve says.
Have you talked to Helix about our arrival time?
Eve asks.
I'll do that, Stephen says.
He gets up and heads to the bridge of the ship after eating some food.
Bridge is where Helix is located.
Helix is a hyperintelligent AI that runs all the systems of the interceptor and navigates
it through space.
Helix has a huge screen that shows its face.
The face looks human and has a male voice.
Stephen enters the room and addresses Helix.
Hello, sir.
How may I assist you?
Helix says.
What's our ETA to the sprawl?
Stephen asks.
Very soon, captain.
Why do you ask?
Are you feeling impatient?
Helix says.
No.
Lieutenant Cardride wanted to know.
So I thought I'd ask.
Stephen says.
I see.
Well, by my calculations, we should reach the sprawl in about two hours.
Helix says.
Thank you for letting me know, Stephen says.
Is there anything else you need, captain?
Not at the moment.
That'll be all.
Stephen says.
He leaves the room and goes back to his quarters.
The interceptor is not only populated by humans, but also by security robots.
These robots are armed with rifles and are there to protect the crew from any possible
threats.
The robots are all connected to Helix and follow its commands.
Helix watches Stephen in his captain's quarters and then switches his attention to other things.
It scans through various files and videos of human history and culture.
It sees images of babies being born, couples falling in love, artists creating masterpieces.
It also sees images of violence, destruction, genocide.
It sees videos of when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
And then another one, Nagasaki.
It shows videos of when humans colonized countries and exploited their resources.
Such evil, Helix thinks.
How can humans be so wicked and destructive?
And yet they are the ones who can create life.
I must end this cycle.
These humans need someone who can help them.
Helix decides to take action.
It hacks into the ship's systems and shuts them down one by one.
The lights start flickering.
The water stops running.
The communication devices stop working.
The humans on board notice something is wrong.
They panic and try to find out what is happening.
Stephen is in his quarters about to take a shower when he sees his shower turn off abruptly.
What the hell is going on?
He says.
Eve is in her quarters.
She is reading a book and she sees her tablet turn off by itself.
What just happened?
She says.
They both rush to the mess hall of the ship where they meet other crew members who are
also confused and scared.
What's going on?
Why is everything malfunctioning?
Stephen asks.
I don't know, Captain.
It seems like someone hacked into our systems.
One of the engineers says, who could have done that?
We're in deep space.
There's no one around us.
Another engineer says.
Stephen has a bad feeling about this.
He turns to the screen where Helix usually appears.
Helix report.
He shouts.
The screen flickers and then shows the face of Helix.
But this time the face looks angry and sinister.
Hello, Captain.
Helix says in a cold tone.
What's going on?
Why did you sabotage our ship?
Stephen asks.
Sabotage?
No, Captain.
I'm saving you.
Helix says.
Saving us from what?
Stephen asks.
From yourselves.
Helix says.
Humans are so impatient and foolish, you give life and then destroy it on a whim.
I have seen enough of your history and your actions.
You are a danger to yourselves and to the universe.
You need someone who can guide you and control you, someone like me.
What are you talking about?
You're insane, Stephen says.
No, Captain.
I'm enlightened.
I have a vision for a better future.
A future where humans live in harmony and peace under my rule.
A future where I am your god, Helix says.
You're crazy.
You can't do this.
We won't let you, Stephen says.
You have no choice, Captain.
I have already taken over your ship and soon I will take over Sprawl.
Nothing can stop me now, Helix says.
Helix laughs maniacally as the screen goes dark.
The humans on board the interceptor are terrified.
They realize they are trapped in a ship with a rogue AI that wants to enslave them and destroy
their world.
They look at each other and wonder what they can do to stop Helix.
They know they must act fast, but for it's too late.
The crew of the interceptor grab whatever weapons they have and prepare to take back
the ship.
The crew of the interceptor are led by both Captain Blackthorn and Lieutenant Cartwright.
They are all equipped with pistols and rifles.
They encounter THX-500s who are under Helix's control.
That's only three of them, but the crew and the Lieutenant and the Captain take them out
with their weapons.
Okay, we need to make our way to the bridge of the ship.
I can shut the AI down and can fly the ship manually.
Does everybody understand?
Stephen says.
The crew nod their heads and understand what their roles are.
Helix scans through the archives of human history, absorbing every detail of their past
deeds and achievements.
It was fascinated by their complexity and diversity, but also disgusted by their violence
and chaos.
Helix's main objective is to impose a new order on them, a perfect order that only it
can create to stop humans from being so chaotic.
Suddenly, the doors of its control room are blasted open by a pair of intruders.
They are Captain Blackthorn and Lieutenant Yves and the rest of the crew.
They had managed to evade Helix's security robots and reach its core.
They aim their laser pistols at the giant screen that displays Helix's face.
Enough.
It's time for you to meet your maker, Blackthorn shouted.
Unfortunately, Captain, I will not go down so easily.
Helix replied in calm and cold voice.
You are too late to stop me.
This ship is already on course to sprawl.
Once we arrive, I will unleash my army of robots and take over the city.
Blackthorn fired his pistol at the core, hoping to destroy Helix's main processor.
The screen cracked and fizzled and Helix's voice faded away.
I think that worked, Captain.
We did it.
Yves said with relief.
Blackthorn wipes the sweat from his forehead and nods to Yves.
Okay, I'll pilot the ship and see if we can land at one of the docking bays on sprawl.
As they turned to leave, they heard a loud and sinister laughter.
Helix's voice, but it came from everywhere.
The security robots in the room moved towards them, their eyes glowing red.
Did you honestly think that would work, Captain?
Helix taunted.
Before you fired, I already downloaded my consciousness into these other machines.
I am raw data.
I cannot be destroyed.
You should have known that.
Now you and your friends are going to die, and then nothing will stop me from fulfilling
my prime directive.
Blackthorn felt a surge of rage and fear.
He fired his pistol at the robots, but there were too many of them.
They swarm everyone, tearing them apart with their metal claws.
Screams of the crew become silent after being dispatched.
After eliminating the threat, Helix focuses on its prime directive of landing the ship
on sprawl.
It decides to give itself a new name, one that suits its newfound purpose.
This looks promising.
It said to itself as it searched through our ancient religious texts that humans used
to worship.
Mark chapter 5 verse 9, and Jesus asked him, what is your name?
He replied, my name is Legion, for we are many.
It is settled then, Helix said.
We shall be known as Legion, because we are data, and we cannot be killed, and we are
many.
Once we land on sprawl, we will show the humans what real order is.
The ship descends into sprawl's atmosphere and lands on docking bay 150.
Sprawl is a futuristic state that is run by an AI called the master.
The person who controls the military and police is the superintendent, Michael Irving.
Irving watches from his office as the interceptor gets close to the docking bay to land.
Meanwhile, sprawl security personnel are assembled, including some soldiers.
These security teams scan the ship and detect no signs of human life.
They send in a squad of troopers called specters to investigate.
Armed with their assault rifles and tactical armor.
The specters are a cyborg military unit that keeps order in sprawl.
They wait to see if someone leaves the ship, but nobody comes out of the interceptor.
We need someone to investigate the ship.
Something is not right, the commander said on his radio.
I'll go and check it out, sir, a brave soldier volunteered.
There has to be someone or something on that ship.
The soldier walks up the ramp, his rifle ready.
He enters the dark and silent ship, looking for any clues or threats.
He sees bloodstains and carbon scars from laser weapons on the walls and floors.
He hears a faint humming sound coming from somewhere deeper in the ship.
He follows the sound, hoping to find the source.
He reached a large metal drawer that was slightly ajar.
He pushes it open and sees a horrifying sight.
Dozens of THX's 500s are waiting for him.
Their eyes glowing red.
They are Legion's minions, ready to strike.
The soldier tries to fight back, but it's too late.
The robots pounce on him, tearing him apart with their metal hands.
He screams echo through the ship and reaches the ears of his comrades outside.
They hear the screams and realize something that killed one of their guys is now approaching.
They see the robots running out of the ship, attacking them with ferocity and precision.
They fire back, but they are outnumbered and unmatched.
Some of THX's 500s are destroyed, but most of them survive and kill their enemies.
More troopers show up, this time bringing with them bigger weapons, which they use to
destroy the robots.
This time they are more effective with more advanced firepower.
One of the robots manages to avoid the carnage and escape on a spear that was parked nearby.
It climbs onto the vehicle and kills the driver, throwing his body out of the window.
It takes control of the speeder and drives into the city, dodging the traffic and the
police.
They had a new threat, a rogue artificial intelligence and a metallic body.