Red Light!

chapter1.txt

AN: This is a fanfic inspired by With This Ring, which is a fanfic based on Young Justice. However, this is not based on any particular DC universe. The protagonist is different (not a direct SI), and it's a red power ring.

Space is terrifying. I love it, but it is terrifying.

Waking up further than you've ever been from any human being, without a spacesuit, even more so.

I was trying to scream, but there wasn't any air in my lungs. I was vomiting blood. At first I assumed it was just the vacuum of space yanking my insides out, but then I realized a ring on the fourth digit of my right hand was streaming a red glowing substance up my hand.

//Extreme anguish detected. Repairing body and adjusting to the effects of red napalm.

Suddenly, I was feeling warm and invincible. The cause of my anguish, the weakness of my body to the conditions of space, had been annihilated.

//Bonding complete. Air supply normal. Body adapted to cosmic conditions. Ring charge at 95%.

I could breathe now.

No longer distracted by the rancid blood geyser, I began to calm down. I noticed something disturbing: My heart was no longer beating. It didn't feel like it was even there.

I examined my body. It was the same general shape, but extremely gaunt, lacking fat, and covered with a red uniform.

>>Ring, what's up with my body?

//Upon bonding with this ring, your blood has been replaced with a synthetic femtonanotechnological plasma with powerful defensive and offensive capabilities. The majority of your cells are still present and intact. Your heart has been removed entirely, as the plasma's high viscosity triggered mechanical failure, and it is no longer needed. Most of your adipose tissues have been eliminated as well, as you no longer need them to store energy. By the standards of many cultures, you are technically a corpse. You are now dependent on this ring for survival.

A picture formed in my mind's eye of my body. I could see it from all angles, inside and out. I had been reengineered considerably. I zoomed out mentally to the external view.

>>Can you make me look good? I mean, like a normal good looking human?

I was mostly just curious. The weight loss effect had me pretty excited.

//You seem to dislike your body. I will now resolve your deep-seated body image issues by making cosmetic changes.

I chuckled a little at that. My body started to shift. More muscle, smoother skin. The red glow disappeared. I still looked a bit gaunt, but in a cool way. I could pass for normal human again.

//Bodily imperfections annihilated. Ring charge at 85%.

Holy crud. Need to do something about that.

>>Is there a way you can recharge?

//A red power battery would normally be used to rapidly restore my charge. However, intense feelings of hatred, including anguish, despair, and contempt, can restore my charge more slowly.

Okay, without a battery I would still be able to recharge. I would just need to think about something I hated very intensely.

>>Would sarcasm charge the ring?

//Yes.

I wasn't sure if it was sincere or not.

>>Political opinions?

//Yes, typically.

>>I hate the fact that I'm going to die of old age. How fast can I recharge while thinking about that?

//As indicated, you are not going to die of old age any time soon while bonded to a red power ring. Nonetheless, you apparently hate the concept enough to recharge at a rate of one percent over the course of three hours, assuming there is no load due to maintaining constructs.

Well, that would be a pain. But I could survive.

>>Are you sentient?

//I am a nonsentient artificial intelligence. My directive is to serve your needs and amplify your hatred. My responses are essentially a pattern-matching algorithm with limited reasoning abilities. I have access to your subconscious thoughts, which grants me a crude sense of intuition. I do have the capacity to express humor.

>>Can you alter my thoughts and feelings?

//I am unable to alter them without your consent. But I can alter them with your consent. Would you like me to increase your feelings of rage so that you can go on a rampage and kill people? This would achieve my directive quite satisfactorily.

>>NO!

//What about bad people? I could find you some very bad people.

>>Not even bad people. Please steer away from options that make me likely to kill anyone. Also, don't bait me like that.

//Your anger at the thought of being manipulated is satisfying. Thank you for that. I will avoid baiting you in the future, per your request. Ring charge at 87%.

>>*sarcasm* You're welcome.

//Ring charge at 88%.

Oh. That wasn't a joke about sarcasm. Good to know.

>>You mentioned people. Do you know where I am? Is the earth nearby?

//Planet described as Earth is two light-minutes away. Travel to this planet is possible.

I hated the loneliness I was feeling. But I wasn't ready to be around people just yet.

>>Can you please take me to a safe place there where I won't be visible to anyone? I don't want to freak anyone out with my cosmetic changes.

A quick blink of red light, and I was in orbit around the earth, moving feet first towards an island. Then I was standing on a beach.

//Destination reached. No humans are present on this island.

Deep breath. I needed to think. What was I doing here? Who was I? I hadn't the foggiest. Amnesia, that's what this is called. Either that, or I was actually a clone who hadn't ever had memories to begin with. But I seemed to grasp concepts. I was thinking in language, about some pretty complicated topics -- personal identity, that sort of thing.

>>How likely are we to be detected?

//Negligible. This island is uninhabited. Would you like a secret island base?

>>Later. I need to find a reliable way to recharge.

//I can connect you to the news networks and show you terrible things.

>>Yes, but go slowly and tell me what you are doing. Don't manipulate me.

//Reinforcing prior commitment not to manipulate you. Connecting to internet. Showing you an infuriating news story.