Chapter 106: Security Settings Were Set to Genocide By Default
Karl and the others stared at the small robot for a full fifteen seconds. The silence was thick, broken only by the low hum of the Cerberus units. The robot, sensing their confusion, became visibly flustered, its digital eyes cycling through a series of nervous expressions.
"I... I guess I should introduce myself," it finally said, its synthetic voice wavering slightly. "My designation is E-D179. I am a maintenance automatoid."
"Uhh... okay," Karl responded, a slight tone of surprise in his voice. "My name is Karl, and these are my, uhh... subordinates."
Rook stepped forward, his senses on high alert. "My lord," he said, his voice a low rumble. "Is this also an undead? I sense no life from it. Only a mechanical husk."
The robot’s digital eyes instantly changed to a sad expression [ ╥﹏╥ ], a little droplet of light appearing as a tear. It let out a small, whirring noise of dejection.
Karl felt a surprising pang of sympathy. "Well, it kinda is," he said, turning back to the robot. "Can I just call you Eddie?"
The robot’s sad face immediately brightened, its digital eyes forming a satisfied, simple smile [ ─‿‿─ ]. "Eddie would be good," it chirped.
"Alright, Eddie," Karl said, feeling a sense of familiarity with the little droid. "Can you guide me to the main console or something?"
"Sure, Admin," the robot responded, as it began to roll forward.
Karl turned to his men. "You guys stay here for a second, wait for my command. I just have to check on something so one of these doesn’t attack us as soon as it activates." Leo slightly bowed in understanding.
As he followed the robot, Karl was in awe. The wing had the same futuristic, alien vibe as the Mana distribution room, but with a different purpose. Glowing light blue circuits ran along the walls, but the space was minimalist, almost too empty. The air was filled with a low, ambient hum, and the dim lighting created long, inky shadows that danced with his movements.
"Where are the people who lived in this place?" Karl asked, his voice echoing slightly in the vastness.
Eddie rolled its head, its digital eyes blinking. "I’m afraid I have no data to answer your inquiries," it said, its expression turning to one of resignation [ ´･ω･｀ ]. "You see, my old memory has degraded and corrupted so I replaced it with a new one. I only have basic information on operations and security maintenance."
"Well, fair enough," Karl conceded. The logic was sound; a corrupted memory could be a security risk.
They arrived at a small, circular hall. In the center was a single pedestal table and a floating, ergonomic chair made of some kind of silvery steel. The minimalist design was so extreme it was almost disappointing.
"Here we are, Admin," Eddie announced, coming to a halt. "I believe you may find something there. But who knows,"
it added, its eyes displaying a shrugging emoticon [ ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ ].
Karl’s shoulders slumped slightly in a moment of disappointment. "I thought the room was going to be grand, like something out of a sci-fi movie. Space-ships, or maybe even advanced laser rifles, or plasma guns or light sabers, because you know ’security’." he muttered, gesturing vaguely with a skeletal hand.
Eddie’s digital eyes changed to a disgruntled expression [ ｀ε´ ]. "Sorry to pop your bubbles, but I only do the maintenance. I believe you have to explore those stuff yourself."
Karl exhaled, a small, white cloud of vapor leaving his mouth. "Alright, fair. Thanks, Eddie."
"No problem, boss [ d–(^ ‿ ^ )z ]," the robot said, its happy expression returning. "And can you fix my designation location? I seem to be stuck in this place.
I’ve been stuck for a very long time [ ╯︵╰, ] and I’m happy to have seen someone other than me."
Karl scoffed, a smile on his skeletal face. "Alright, alright, but can you help my subordinates replace the core onto one of the Cerberus units? Make sure nothing goes awry."
"Yes, boss! [ ∠(･`_´･ ) ]" Eddie said with a salute, before zipping off towards Leo and the others.
Karl shook his head, a smile still on his face. "What a fun fellow." He muttered as he sat down, the chair smoothly adjusted to his frame, a minor but surprising comfort. He then touched the pedestal, and with a soft chime, holographic controls appeared. A curved keyboard and a glowing square for a touchpad materialized in the air, followed by a series of holographic monitors that popped up around him.
[ Authorization Link Confirmed. ]
[ Welcome, Administrator Karl_Leech ].
[ Advisory: Please Update the Access configuration. ]
[ This will update all security features in recognized floors. ]
"Nice, this is much more convenient than I expected," Karl said with a surprised expression. The system was intuitive and easy to use. The holographic display then shifted, showing a wide selection of commands.
███ SUBTERRANEAN UTILITY CONTROL NODE ███
System Kernel v12.4.993 Monitoring & Security
System Terminal Interface - Subsystem 1 (Floors 1-10)
Logged in as: Admin_Karl_Leech
~$ help
Available commands:
status - Display real-time system status.
security - Manage Cerberus anti-intruder units.
access - Control and monitor door systems.
utility - Operate utility platform elevators.
egress - Initiate main egress elevator sequence.
maintenance - Configure and deploy maintenance droids.
logs - View message logs.
clear - Clear the terminal screen.
exit - Log out of the system.
help - Display this help message.
Karl then saw Eddie just spinning around in the distance, in a joyful circle as if waiting. Karl smiled and then typed:
~$ maintenance
The console responded.
~$ maintenance
Maintenance Droid Management Module
Designation: E-D-XXXX
Commands:
maintenance list - List all maintenance droids and their status.
maintenance status [designation] - Get detailed status of a specific droid.
maintenance deploy [designation] - Deploy a specific droid to a task.
maintenance recall [designation] - Recall a specific droid to its station.
maintenance shutdown [designation] - Initiate emergency shutdown of a specific droid.
He then typed list, and a list showed up. ~$ maintenance list
Designation | Status | Automated Time | Last Deployed
E-D179 | Idle | 01:23:45 AM | 4503-09-02 14:30
Designation: E-D179
Status: Deployed
Current Task: Spinning, Idle, Bored, Waiting
Automated Schedule: Routine Maintenance, Having Fun
Designation Location: Monitoring & Security Wing Current Location: Floor 10, Monitoring & Security Wing Energy Level: 87% Last Service Date: 9103-09-21.
Karl then adjusted the designation location to "auto".
As soon as he did, Eddie let out a triumphant scream, "WooooHoooo! I’m freeee!!" The little robot began doing donuts on the spot, its tires squealing with pure joy.
Karl shook his head, a genuine smile on his face. He then went back to the home menu and selected "access," where he could update the security parameters and control access to each floor’s facilities and doors.
~$ access
Access Control Management Module
Clearance levels are auto-detected via unique bio-signatures.
Commands:
access configure - Configure clearance levels for floors and visitors.
access list-entities - List all recognized entities and their clearance.
access status - Display the current status of all floor access.
access override [floor] [level] - Manually set clearance for a specific floor.
Karl stretched his hands and cracked his neck. "Alright, let’s get to work," he muttered. He then typed access status, which showed him the current clearance levels of each floor.
~$ access status
Floor Access Status:
--------------------------------------------------
Floor 1: Open Access (Visitor)
Floor 2: Clearance Level 1
Floor 3: Clearance Level 2
Floor 4-7: Clearance Level 3
Floor 8: No Power (Access Denied)
Floor 9: Clearance Level 4
Floor 10: Clearance Level 4
Karl scanned the list and muttered, "Hmmm... doesn’t seem to be a problem there, of course floor 8 is unavailable." The hierarchy seemed logical, with clearance levels increasing with each floor’s depth. "Seems there’s no need these to be configured."
He then switched back, and a confirmation window popped up.
[ Save the parameters to default setting? ]
[ Yes ] [ No ]
He typed yes and said, "Alright, that’s updated. Now for the Cerberus units." He went back to the home menu and typed security.
~$ security
Security Module - Cerberus Anti-Intruder Units
Default Threat Response: Immobilize and Capture (Level 2)
Commands:
security arm [floor] - Arm Cerberus units on a specified floor.
security disarm [floor] - Disarm Cerberus units on a specified floor.
security status - Display Cerberus deployment status.
security config [unit-ID] - Configure a specific unit’s settings.
security set-global-response - Change default threat response.
security lockdown - Initiate full-system security lockdown.
Karl scanned each option. He saw the Default Threat Response and a shiver went down his spine. "Oh shit, that one we just took down wasn’t even seriously trying to kill us?
It was just Level 2? Immobilize and capture. I wonder if we would have been able to take it down if it was set to Level 3."
The thought sent a cold dread through him. The single Cerberus had almost wiped them out, and that was just a "non-lethal" setting. He didn’t even want to imagine what a lethal Cerberus would be capable of.
He typed status to check the current deployment.
~$ security status
Cerberus Unit Status (Floors 1-10):
Unit-ID | Status | Location | Core Status | Vessel Integrity
C-UN-025 | Offline | Floor 4 | MISSING | 53%
C-UN-025 | Offline | Floor 10 | DEGRADED | 95%
C-UN-026 | Offline | Floor 10 | DEGRADED | 95%
C-UN-027 | Offline | Floor 10 | DEGRADED | 95%
C-UN-028 | Offline | Floor 10 | DEGRADED | 95%
C-UN-029 | Offline | Floor 10 | DEGRADED | 95%
C-UN-030 | Offline | Floor 10 | DEGRADED | 95%
C-UN-031 | Offline | Floor 10 | DEGRADED | 95%
C-UN-032 | Offline | Floor 10 | DEGRADED | 95%
C-UN-033 | Offline | Floor 10 | DEGRADED | 95%
C-UN-034 | Offline | Floor 10 | DEGRADED | 95%
Karl scanned the list and muttered, "The vessel integrity is okay, but the cores are kinda disappointing."
His gaze then landed on the top of the list. "Ahh... that must be the Cerberus unit we just took down," he chuckled. "Core missing, yeah right."
It was a good thing the system hadn’t flagged the core as fully destroyed, which meant it was still working. "Now for the behavior," he said to himself.
He went back and typed ~$ security config. "Set to global," he muttered, then entered. He scanned the current options. The task was okay; he wanted them to patrol. But then he read the next text. The behavior was set to Aggressive (Lethal).
"Sheeesh," he muttered, a chill running down his spine. "I’m glad I stumbled on this. Anytime these bad boys are activated, they’re gonna kill. Let’s change that to passive. Aggressive behavior might be a bit too much to handle at the moment."
As for the deployment, he changed that to Floors 4 through 10. He then reviewed the final options.
~$ security config Global
Configuring Unit: All
Current Task: Patrol
Current Behavior: Passive (Non-Lethal)
Deployment Zone: Floor 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
"Alright, that’s set and done. There should be no problem with their activation," he said. He then went back to the home screen and scanned the options. "Before I log out, let’s check..."
His eyes then found the logs, which said "View message logs." His eye sockets widened. "Oh shit," he said, a sense of foreboding washing over him. "There might be something on these I can find out about this place. And I hope it’s not sexting or fucking memes."
As he viewed the first one, it led to a specific website he was familiar with, he was getting suspicious.
the link showed was: