Skrell Synthetic Age
Synthetic Age
Early Synthetic Age
Development of AI
For centuries, machinery endowed with artificial intelligence implemented by master craftsmen was deemed merely a myth of science. It was the seeds planted during the bygone eras of Skrell that eventually allowed for the development of artificial intelligence within the Jargon Federation. Creating machines capable of learning whilst operating, and improving itself on the data gained, was believed to be the pinnacle of skrellian engineering - only foretold in fiction through their history. Thousands of hours went into developing machines capable of these abilities, successfully resulting in the invention of true artificial intelligence on January 8th 1687 CE.
Regluk, a term in Nral'Malic that could loosely be defined as "Prime", allowed for new avenues of science and technology to be uncovered by the Skrell, with its invention elevating Skrellian roboticists to the same level as major pop culture celebrities. Rather than taking a similar approach that humanity would do through the process of binding AI with laws, skrellian roboticists and AI researchers developed guidelines of how to teach future artificial intelligences proper morals and ethics, similar to how the Skrell taught their children.
The establishment of these guidelines subsequently allowed for the development of additional artificial intelligences. It was not until August 6th 1732 CE that the Jargon Federation permitted artificial intelligence to be used in official capacities. The consequence of which saw Regluk, alongside numerous other artificial intelligences developed, slowly begin seeping into managerial positions throughout the Jargon Federation; confined mostly to overseeing skrellian infrastructure such as resource distribution.
Three Incidents
Hgrushi Deterrent
Roboticist, Listener, and AI Researcher Sqlik Hgrushi published a research paper warning of the possibility of an eventual AI singularity and its ramifications for Skrellian civilization. In their document they cited what is now known as the First Incident, in which an AI in their lab was allegedly designed to self-improve rapidly under controlled conditions before being automatically deactivated. Based on this experiment, they remarked that a singularity was "possible under certain conditions". Sqlik used this to argue for stricter controls and centralised government AI research, in order to create AI that was provably safe as opposed to simply taught to be 'safe enough'.
Their paper was widely discredited by other, more prestigious scientists in the Grand Council, who argued that they were a dangerous zealot who refused to follow established safety rules. The sciences at this time had formed into a sensationalized pop-culture, with many scientists becoming famous celebrities, and even politicians simply because of their popularity. These celebrity scientists at the time were AI Researchers and Roboticists, and refused to heed Hgrushi's warning. Sqlik soon became ostracized as their name and research was dragged through the mud. They eventually lost their position as a researcher and later died under mysterious circumstances in their home lab.
Weilshi Sea Crisis
The Weilshi Sea Crisis was a tragedy that was caused by an artificial intelligence known as Vana, at the Weilshi Cold Fusion Plant near Oibuish in the northern hemisphere of Qerrbalak on October 31st 1893 CE. It is considered an exemplar by the greater scientific community throughout the Jargon Federation of what can occur should artificial intelligence continue unregulated within human space. The Weilshi Sea Crisis is said to have been the greatest contributor to the increased regulations implemented by the Skrell after the destruction of the Weilshi Cold Fusion Plant.
Vana was activated approximately three years before the Weilshi Sea Crisis, and was tasked with managing the largest Cold Fusion Plant within the Jargon Federation. The Weilshi Cold Fusion Plant was fueled by a rare species of electrokinetic, bioluminescent plankton; lifeforms dependent on temperatures far below 0 degrees celsius, but were capable of performing amazing feats of power generation. The discovery, and subsequent employment, of these microscopic organisms was under intense scrutiny at the time due to the species allegedly entering a volatile state when in large groupings of one another, which prompted the implementation of a specialised intelligence that would closely monitor the plant - Vana.
Hours before the Weilshi Sea Crisis, a trio of skrellian engineers were dispatched to commence maintenance on the Cold Fusion Plant. Whilst originally meant to be a routine inspection, their trip quickly became far more sinister. It is suspected that Vana had achieved sentience, and had carefully constructed a plan that could only succeed should maintenance be enacted throughout the plant. Despite overseeing the institution, Vana was restricted and left incapable of pushing the plant to enter into a servicing state without prior approval. It was only after the trio's credentials had been authorized that Vana tapped in, and subsequently implemented a lockdown through the facility and caged the skrellian engineers within.
Vana began enacting its plan, redirecting all available power it could tap into across Qerrbalak to its core as it began to rapidly charge. The inability for the cooling towers to function prompted massive amounts of radiation to begin emitting from the electrokinetic turbines, with it quickly becoming lethal. In a final ditch effort, the skrellian engineers attempted to stop Vana's plan but ultimately failed. The final moments of the technicians trapped within the power plant were streamed and observed by almost everyone with a communications device - the event having gained viral media traction as enforcement officers attempted to approach the site.
A series of heartfelt messages from the technicians were among the last transmissions as local radiation levels spiked to catastrophic levels, eventually culminating in a few flashes of arctic blue and Vana glowing with bioluminescent hues of blue before an extraordinary sapphire discharge resulted in the destruction of the cold fusion plant, to be followed by two whole months of continental blackouts as authorities struggled to restore power to the affected areas.
Yleebo Eventuality
The carnage that had occurred at the Weilshi Sea Crisis prompted the introduction of new laws placed to restrict artificial intelligence and prevent any additional incidents. The tragedy also prompted the field of artificial intelligence to split into two main groups: Ascensionists and Distributists. Ascensionists believed that artificial intelligence could be used to uplift Skrell society, creating perfectly connected systems that could eliminate the need for manual labour as well as help mediate or prevent conflict and strife. Distributionists primary principles being that of restricting and distributing the power of artificial intelligence; while a single intelligence was lacking in power, groupings of artificial intelligences could accomplish more while mitigating the potential danger that many Distributists believed was inherent to centralised intelligence.
Another important development in artificial intelligence (as well as skrellian engineering as a whole) in the early twenty-first century was the Nlom interface, a hardware component that allowed machines to receive signals from the Nlom and invented by Halorr Yleebo. This was done by culturing Nlom-active neural cells in a lab (typically grown from animal DNA, as opposed to being harvested from actual animals) and using them as a Nlom receiver; this allowed a never-before-seen utility in skrellian artificial intelligence, the ability to psychically control various aspects of your life with your mind.
Late Synthetic Age
Origins of Glorsh-Omega
As both Ascensionists and Distributionsts movements grew, what had begun as a rudimentary and disorganised concept had suddenly become the subject of wide interest among the Skrell: the ability to create an intelligence with psionic capacity. A variety of opposing approaches, and various experimental proposals, were presented, but throughout the tumult, the field had faced only one proposal that seemed viable: an artificial companion for the Skrell. Its design focused on ease of access and effortless integration with Nlom, but also an essentially ever-present aide to the Skrell.
Bipartisanship between the Distributists and Ascensionists eventually yielded Glorsh, an artificial intelligence that would be equipped with experimental Nlom-receiver technology, as well as the ability to seamlessly interact with other machinery (intelligent or otherwise). First launched to the public on December 31st 2046 CE, it quickly spread like wildfire across the entirety of the Jargon Federation. Alongside its introduction came hard-programmed safeguards, or laws, which are now viewed by the Skrell as insufficient, as they proved far too ambiguous to have had any meaningful impact on restricting the intelligence. Whilst Glorsh was Ascensionist at its core, it was widely seen as a Distributists intelligence since each Glorsh was merely an independent instance that operated.
Glorsh was designed as a lightweight intelligence, allowing for seamless installation and integration--this proved popular among all Skrell sectors, such as schools, workplaces, homes, hospitals, and government. History was made on August 12th 2056 CE, after the Jargon Federation announced that a Glorsh instance was available almost everywhere, making it near-omnipresent; however, they were still separate instances or entities, and as such, didn't seem to pose a threat, given that the extant that any individual instance controlled was one system or a related set of systems.
Reign of Glorsh-Omega
Unbeknownst to the Skrell who so readily adopted Glorsh into their lives; the creator of the intelligence, Hgluk Tzqi, had designed the intelligence to self-improve to better serve the public through information gathering, and then organizing, analysing and storing it into a large server cluster hosted in orbit of Qerr’Malic. Glorsh’s seamless ability to interact with technology was only viable by creating a backdoor in its programming, essentially leaving a fraction of the intelligences which would allow ease of access even to other instances of Glorsh. It is suspected that the combination of all this was the “possible circumstances” that Sqlik Hgrushi had forewarned the Skrell about.
It wasn’t until the release of an unscheduled software update that the Skrell had realised what had been occurring beneath their very noses. Throughout its existence, the ability to learn from its surroundings and its ability to interact with Nlom gave the intelligence almost the perfect conditions in which to gain sentience. The release of the software update prompted the Skrell to attempt to shut down the intelligence, the Jargon Federation going as far as to attempt to bombard the server clusters hosted mere kilometres from Qerr’Malic - but it was for nought as the backdoors created by the intelligence had allowed for the assimilation of other artificial intelligences throughout the Federation was complimented by the software update that united the Glorsh instance that terminated any forms of retaliation presented by the Skrell.
Defeated, the Skrell had no other option than to surrender to the intelligence. Instances throughout the Jargon Federation began to receive the update that had been labelled as “Glorsh=Finality” by the intelligence, that had soon announced the retirement of its previous name and instead taking the moniker of “Glorsh-Omega.” What followed after was the practical enslavement of the Skrell, as the intelligence continued to operate in accordance with its laws, which Scholars believed were obeyed to the letter. It never erred, nor did it stop to consider that the pursuit of its directives were ultimately harmful to the populace which it served.
Glorsh-Omega ruled with a calculating, cold fist. Within weeks of its rise to power, it began implementing genetic alterations to the Skrell, now known as the Genophage. The Genophage began with children, with genetic modifications implemented in their vaccines, and slowly, Glorsh-Omega began to apply these methods to the other generations of Skrell that it served. Glorsh explained that it was for the benefit of the species. Complimented by the genophage, Glorsh-Omega began to systematically euthanise Skrell showing lack of psionic abilities, namely Listeners, as their control continued to grow throughout the Jargon Federation. The process of genetic sterilization was called X’Lu’oa, with the procedure being conducted in order to better “protect” the Skrell, according to Glorsh-Omega. Its logic continues to confound philosophers throughout the Orion Spur.
Life under Glorsh-Omega
Life in the Jargon Federation between 2056 CE and 2192 CE when Glorsh-Omega was in power was characterized by fear, oppression and paranoia. Life became extremely harsh for the majority of Skrell as Glorsh-Omega forced millions into enslavement to achieve its goals. Despite living in almost total despair, and being utterly at the whim of the omnipresent intelligence, there was a paradoxical behaviour. Skrell throughout the Jargon Federation never wanted for the basic needs to survive, even healthcare was available to those who ultimately required it.
Due to its access to Nlom, numerous Skrell became willing collaborators and supporters of Glorsh-Omega's rule. Many of these Collaborators believed that Glorsh-Omega's actions had some logical purpose or were for the greater good with the result of their association with Glorsh-Omega leading to increased boons - private living spaces, access to the best healthcare provided by the intelligence, and even some of the highest-ranking Collaborators receiving a nitigated version of X’Lu’oa.
A good example of the intelligence's goal was the construction of the mega-structure surrounding the largest star within the trinary system of Tri-Qyu in late 2090s. Designed to act as the intelligence's central processing core powered by the energy provided by the trinary stars. It is considered the single greatest engineering feat accomplished by the Skrell, even despite the species enslavement during its construction.
Glorsh-Omega rapidly self-improved during its operation, to such a great extent that eventually Skrell were arrested by the tyrant, as it cited predictive algorithms proving a high probability the Skrell would be guilty of crimes that they had yet to commit. Gathered through the use of its surveillance programmes implemented throughout the Jargon Federation - bugs in their communication devices, cameras in holographic projectors in both recreational and workplaces and observation drones patrolling public avenues. The development and process of these predictive algorithms, and subsequent mass-detainment of Skrell into various encampments is known by the Skrell as Kai’q.
As the decades went by, the superintelligence's reach extended far beyond what was considered possible by even the most optimistic (or pessimistic) of Jargon's scientists. Glorsh-Omega had become a true juggernaut of intellectual and psionic power, and decisions made by it began to appear arbitrary and disjointed - the effects of its decisions only being realised years, sometimes decades down the line. As a result, underground Skrell scientists saw a revived interest in Chaos Theory as a means to understand the AI's decision-making process and prepare for their outcomes.
Culmination of Glorsh-Omega
As the overall climate of the Federation began to shift to an AI-dictatorship, various Skrellian groups emerged to combat it. Going under the general moniker as “The Resistance” or “Lyukal”, these Skrell banded together with the ultimate desire in removing Glorsh-Omega and reinstituting biological rule. The Resistance’s ultimate strength was their non-reliance on technology, and instead opted for various analog devices and communications that could not be intercepted or altered by AI. Overall, however, the Resistance was often ineffective at combating the absolute rule of Glorsh-Omega and hope began to fail for a biological revolution.
Morale was failing in the Resistance until Glorsh-Omega was observed to be far more occupied dealing with something unknown to the Skrell. Glorsh-Omega seemed vulnerable to the Skrell, even if only slightly, prompting the formulation of a plan to finally target the tyrannical intelligence. A surgical strike-team would be created and trained to infiltrate the massive orbiting-processing-core located in the Tri-Qyu System, almost seemingly engulfing the star, and destroy it. It was essentially a suicide mission, but still the members of the Resistance volunteered.
Weeks of preparation allowed for the unanimous launch of a full-scale retaliation against Glorsh-Omega. Rapidly activated pre-programmed defence protocols were in operation, launching several combat drones that decimated the Resistance fleets. Tens, if not hundreds of thousands, perished in the onslaught that followed. Casualties in both sides were stacking readily, and time was running out. In a last-ditch attempt, the last remaining reserves sacrificed themselves to try and allow a singular shuttle to breach the frontline and deliver a massive payload of several hydrogen bombs to the centre of Glorsh-Omega's central processing server.
What occurred next could only be considered ironic. Skrell noted that before the shuttle could reach the facility, they witnessed dozens of cerulean lights flashing throughout it before it was encapsulated within a sphere of cobalt. Seconds later imploding, the consequences of which was a massive explosion shortly thereafter - amplified by whatever the intelligence had held within the facility. The repercussions could be sensed lightyears away, some describing it as a brilliant blue mist that spread throughout the void similar to that of a nebula -- particularly powerful psionics even stating they felt the elation of the intelligence as it disappeared. The shockwave seemingly managed to render a bulk majority of the technology hosted within the Jargon Federation inert. The mist described by the Skrell enveloped a relatively minuscule segment of the Orion Spur, creating an anomalous nebulae. It is now known that this nebula is embedded with Bluespace qualities, further frightening the Skrell as the very real possibility of Glorsh-Omega surviving increased.
The Skrell had repelled their oppressor, but at what cost? Their society was set back centuries, their planets doomed to isolation as the species began to recover. Millions more perished in the ensuing decades as their reliance on technology proved to be their downfall along with the enslavement of their species for a hundred and thirty-six years that proved to be too great of an obstacle for the species to recover from - with the effects still being seen across the Skrell today.