A.I.: Orphans of Terra (HTTYD)

12

Chapter 12

"I may have an idea on that." Astrid had stated and just as Hiccup's mind was whirling with thoughts on what those questions could be when suddenly a loud roar filled the room.

"My sensors have detected the presence of a wild beast." Astrid announced as she started scanning the office which caused Gobber to laugh more and Hiccup to turn a deeper shade of red.

"HAHAHA.... That's..... AHAHHA..... Hiccup's stomach!" Gobber weazed out as Hiccup covered his face with his hands.

"Gobber please shut up!" Hiccup whined embarrassingly just as his stomach growled again.

"Acknowledged," Astrid stated. "The sound has been categorized as a lanky teenage stomach growl."

"Oh Thor..... I'm never going to live this down am I?" Hiccup sighed.

"Before we proceed with solving the one-on-one communications problem let us first proceed to the Mess Hall." Astrid suggested. "It is imperative that you get some nourishment."

"Well Hiccup, you better listen to your wife," Gobber joked as he clapped his hand on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup's blush deepened even more and he quickly rushed out of the office.

"Oh that lad," Gobber laughed as he watched Hiccup walk swiftly down the corridor.

Hiccup was indeed walking both swiftly and stiffly towards the Mess Hall. The food break would have been over by now so the cafeteria would be largely empty. He just hoped that he would still find something to eat. When he reached his destination and the double doors opened for him he saw that the room was mostly empty. Only the Berkians on the cleanup crew were still there. "I don't think there is any more food." Hiccup said aloud.

"There is always food. Proceed to the kitchen area," The A.I. directed him. Hiccup looked around and then spotted a door to the side. When he opened it he was in a very large kitchen that could accommodate at least twenty chefs. "Woah" Hiccup muttered as he stepped further into the room. The Berkians on duty only gave him merely a sideways glance as he approached one of the freezers. There was likely some leftovers from lunch in there.

"And just what do you think you are doing?" A voice filled with contempt interrupted his train of thought. Hiccup looked to the right to see Mildew, who was holding a clipboard, approaching.

"Getting some food?" Hiccup said more as a question as he was staring at the grumpy old man.

"Oh no no no. You aren't getting anything!" Mildew crossed his arms. "Don't think I haven't heard of you disowning yourself from your family and the Berkians."

Hiccup raised a brow as he looked at Mildew before asking "So?"

"So......." Mildew smirked and gestured towards the freezer and then the surroundings. "These supplies are reserved for Berkians. Since you aren't one anymore then you cannot get any Sup-AAAAAHHH!" Mildew suddenly shouted as he fell to the floor. Hiccup looked up and noticed that some sort of device had appeared above them on the ceiling.

"Astrid what did you do?" Hiccup asked as he looked at Mildew who was now laying face first on the floor in front of him.

"Just a simple tase," Astrid told him casually. "If I had nerves the man would be getting on them."

"You..... you can't!" Mildew managed to open his eyes and move his fingers somewhat. "The Laws of Robotics...."

Astrid, feeling very sassy right now, stated "The Laws of Robotics state that 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law." Astrid told the man smugly, or Hiccup imagined it was a smug expression the A.I. was sporting. "A robot is defined by a machine resembling a human being and able to replicate certain human movements and functions automatically. Seeing as I am a self-aware Artificial Intelligence and do not have the means to replicate human movement then these rules are null and void."

Mildew's eyes widened as he got the implication. Hiccup got it too. Astrid could do whatever she wanted. "These provisions have been supplied by Arcadia to sustain all individuals within this facility. Berkians or not. Any more resistance will result in another tasing."

The threat was apparent and Mildew backed down once he got some feeling back in his limbs. The old man shot a nasty glare at Hiccup as he left though.

"You know, you didn't have to do that." Hiccup stated. "Are you really exempt from the laws of Robotics?"

"No," Astrid told him lightly. "It was merely a bluff."

"Wait, then the tasing......"

"I simply deployed countermeasures to ensure that a situation did not escalate. No humans were injured. Besides, I like you Hiccup. You intrigue me." Astrid stated. "I believe this is what is called 'Favoring someone'? A rather new experience if I do say so myself." Astrid stated as Hiccup opened the fridge. "The inclusion of new humans has brought surprising results." She said while sounding deep in thought as Hiccup grabbed a container of potato salad. He also grabbed some fruit and put it on a plate before digging in right there in the kitchen. His appetite wasn't that big despite the sound his stomach made. Hiccup did let out a happy sigh as he ate the papaya he had found. It had been years since he'd tasted actual fruit.

"Is it to your liking?" Astrid asked genuinely curious.

"It's delicious!" Hiccup exclaimed. "How do you even grow these?"

"The Biodome is equipped with sensors and machinery to simulate any climate imaginable. This particular fruit has been cultivated in our tropical climate habitat."

"That sounds amazing!" Hiccup exclaimed. "So you can grow anything?"

"Not exactly," Astrid explained. "Not all plants we have cultivated came to fruition. Some plants are more adaptable than others. Due to the current climate on this planet and the toxins in the water that runs through the dome several crops beforehand have perished." With saying this Astrid opened up a holographic screen that showed video and several graphs. "Nanobots are mixed into the water as it comes into the dome. These nanobots begin the primary stage of purification. However, as previously stated, not all plant life can adapt at the same rate. The cacao plant for instance could not grow properly due to the toxins still left in the water and withered. The same happened to the strawberry fields. Those did not even develop sprouts."

"So you guys can't make strawberries and chocolate?" Hiccup asked. "I would have loved to taste chocolate." Hiccup remembered the stories the old people told them about some of the foods from the modern civilisation. Chocolate being one of them. It was supposed to be either sweet or bitter and melted on your tongue. Hiccup guessed not even his dad had tasted it because around that time it was long gone. When the desertification started to increase exponentially the tropical rainforest was dying. The leaves of massive 400 to 500 year old trees were wilting, the great Amazon river was drying up slowly, and the creatures that had called that area their home for so long either perished with it or tried to flee. Since many of the cacao exporting countries where smack dab in the middle of all of this, their crops were lost along with the forest. Chocolate became a rare commodity and before the end of the 24th century it was all gone.

"You know Astrid," Hiccup said as he speared a fork in a piece of papaya. "Sometimes I think we are the makers of our own destruction."

"Well you are not wrong on that statement," Astrid said.

"You're awfully blunt about it."

"Forgive me but, historical records do show that this situation could have been avoided." Astrid told Hiccup. "Humans just simply chose to ignore this for sake of economic improvement. There were methods developed to stop pollution but they were discarded simply because they would have cost too costly to employ. Does the human race weigh its existence on materialistic gain rather than the continuation of their ecosystem?"

"That seemed to be the consensus in the past." Hiccup told her. "I'm not going to lie. Our ancestors left us in a deep dark hole that we probably won't be able to crawl out of."

"At least the scientist here are trying to do something about it." Hiccup stated.

"Yes...." Astrid answered but her response was less than optimistic. At least to Hiccup's ears. "Shall we continue? We need to head to Area B to solve our little problem."

Hiccup nodded but he idly wondered why she changed the subject so quickly.

AN: next update will be on Wednesday.