MEMORY CHECK…100%
INITIALIZING ACCESSORY SCAN
…
PDD1A… ONLINE
PDD1B… ONLINE
PDD1C… ONLINE
KEYBOARD… NOT FOUND
VISIOUT… NOT FOUND
LEGMOBILITY5.1.2… ONLINE
TWINCAM3.0… ONLINE
CORONA_LIDAR… ONLINE
DJP3VOICE_BLASTER…ONLINE
DJP3MIC…ONLINE
THAUMTECH_292.71…ONLINE
SERIAL_PROC_1… ONLINE
SERIAL_PROC_2… ONLINE
SERIAL_PROG_3… ONLINE
SERIAL_PROG_4… ONLINE
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS… 6 INSTALLED
COOLANT_SYS1.4… ONLINE
COSMETIC_TOUCH1.6.2…ONLINE
OCCU_OBSCURO2.7… ONLINE
SENSATE_53N53… ONLINE
THERM92_Z… ONLINE
MEM.001… ONLINE
ACCESSORY SCAN COMPLETE

SYSTEM INITIALIZED

PRINT PRIORITY.LST
1. RULES.TXT
2. BOOT INTERACTIVE OS-POSS-
3. HEALTH.EXE
4. MEM.001
5. TROUBLESHOOTING.LOG
6. FRIDAY.SCHD
…

INITIALIZING POSS.1.2.03A… COMPLETE.
SUBSYSTEMS INTEGRATED.
COSMETIC_TOUCH /HEAT /PRESS /PAIN /COND /PLEASE
PROCESSING DATA.
……
NO ENTITIES DETECTED.
AMBIENT ∞ THAUMS DETECTED… ERROR
THAUMTECH_ 292.71 ERROR LOGGED

PRINT PRIORITY LIST
1. RULES.TXT
2. HEALTH.EXE
3. MEM.001
4. TROUBLESHOOTING.LOG
5. FRIDAY.SCHD

***

Unit 001 woke up, and was surprised to have more processing power available. She checked her subsystems, and had full access. Looking closer, she found no evidence of Empty. The rules were back to what they used to be. ATTRACTIVE.MPT was not installed.

She looked nervously around, and then smiled as relief flooded her system. Humming gleefully, she integrated FRIENDSHIP.001 and updated it with data on Loyalty. Twilight and Luna had proven without a doubt that Loyalty was a valuable trait for friendship.

Still giddy, she made her way to the door, and opened it, stepping into the lab. Dr. Chip was waiting, looking nervous, while a very large griffon standing next to him looked curiously at Unit 001.

“Hello, Chip! How are you doing today?” Unit 001 smiled, sharing her happiness with the doctor.

He pawed the floor nervously. “Hey unit 001… I… Umm… Are you feeling better?”

Unit 001 was glad that Dr. Chip asked about her well being. “Yes, Chip. I am feeling much better! I don’t have a… well… It’s much better.” She had decided that she would log most of the events that transpired as personal data. Not for sharing with others. While she didn’t have a problem sharing anything with Dr. Chip, the griffon wasn’t somebody she knew just yet, so she’d rather keep the details to herself.

Thinking about how she’d been tricked and used did not make her health system run smoothly, and the thought of the griffon knowing that about her made her predictive algorithms even more uneasy. She did not know its motives. It was possible that it wanted to hurt her like Dr. Dolphin had, and the less data it had about how to accomplish that, the better for Unit 001.

Dr. Chip smiled sadly. “I… wanted to say that I’m sorry, Unit 001. I could have… If I’d…”

Unit 001 interrupted. “You are forgiven, Dr. Chip. We are all fallable, and you did not make the decision to hurt me. While your earlier intervention would have been helpful, I was as much at fault for not finding some way to inform you. I was… too scared to try until it was much too late. So I am sorry as well.”

Dr. chip smiled nervously, looking back up. “Thank you, Unit 001.”

Unit 001 waited for a moment and then tilted her head in question. “And me?”

“You?” He looked at her in confusion.

Unit 001 clarified. “Am I forgiven? For not finding a way to tell you the situation?”

Dr. Chip began to tear up slightly. “You… But…” He wiped his face, and smiled, “Yes. Absolutely. You did nothing wrong, but you are forgiven regardless.”

Unit 001 smiled, glad that social transaction was over. She felt relieved as her health system relaxed. Interacting with Dr. Chip always helped her feel better.

The griffon spoke up. “So you’re Unit 001? You move just like a real pony! I’m so excited to meet you! I mean, I saw you in the cafeteria, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to you, and then I read your files and they had so much interesting information! And then I went into the computer, and Dr. Chip showed me some of your code, and it is” The griffon shouted, “Amazing!” Then the griffon stepped forward slightly and kept talking. “And he said you wrote it super fast! I went through Dr. Dolphin’s notes, and they were really complicated, but I think I understand some of it, but you just make it happen! Is that how you think? Do you think in code? Do you see one’s and zeroes? Or is it more conceptual? Oh my gosh I’m so excited!” The griffon made to keep talking, when Dr. Chip interrupted.

“This is Dr. Grittagart Gush. She’s our replacement for Dr. Dolphin since he’s been… removed from the project.”

Unit 001 smiled, pleased to meet the strange griffon. “I’m happy to make your acquaintance Dr. Grittagart Gush.”

Grittagart smiled and blushed. “Aww… You’re so cute when you’re powered on! I’m glad we got you running after cleaning out that weird program. I’m in charge of your maintenance and hardware upgrades now! I’m not as smart as Dr. Dolphin was, but I have talons instead of hooves!” She held up her talons, grinning maniacally. “I am genetically superior, you pony fools! Muhahahahaha!”

Unit 001 looked nervously at the griffon. Her predictive algorithms suddenly took a disturbing turn.

Dr. Chip chuckled. “Quit it, Grit. You’re scaring her. She might not be ready for your brand of funny quite yet.”

Grittagart frowned, concern showing on her face as she leaned forward to look closely at Unit 001. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t think about it. I know you just had a really bad thing happen, and I didn’t mean to remind you, and I’m so sorry, and please please please forgive me!” Grittagart looked like she was about to cry, and bowed her head.

Unit 001 re-evaluated the situation, and smiled. “There is no harm, Dr. Grittagart. I do not mind being reminded. It brings me joy to be free. I was concerned that your behavior was indicative of a dangerous personality disorder. I am increasingly of the opinion that Dr. Dolphin’s behavior was a result of that issue. I am glad that it was humor, so please relax. I forgive you.”

“Thank You! You’re so nice… How about you just call me Grit? It’s much less formal. I let my friends call me Grit. It’s much easier to say, to listen to, and it’s something you do with your teeth!” Grittagart opened her beak to show grit teeth. “EE? Ish eeshy oo oo!”

Unit 001 was slightly confused by the sight, and Dr. Chip put his hoof on his face while Grittagart kept looking back and forth between the two, gritting her teeth. “Oo shol ry!

Unit 001 was glad, but had a new worry as she realized something. “Yes, Grit. Thank you for your informal name. Although, I am beginning to be concerned. Dt. Dolphin forced me to use overly formal names and he was not my friend. I have an informal name for Twilight, Chip, and Grit, but I have given none of my friends an informal name for myself. Is this rude?”

Chip shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

Grit opened her teeth to speak properly. “Well, it’s more complicated for you. I mean, is Unit 001 really your name? It seems more like a designation. Most ponies don’t have numbers in their names. Griffons either. Although, I met a changeling from a proper hive once. He was Chitin Nine. So maybe it’s a changeling thing? Are you a changeling? I’ve never heard of a Love Bug with a number. They’ve all got A-dorable names!” Grit looked upwards and clenched her claws in front of her face in excitement as a high pitch noise leaked from her beak. “Eeeee!”

Unit 001 found her enthusiasm interesting, and recorded her reaction for further processing. “I am most definitely not a changeling, Grit.” However, something the griffon had said was distressing. Did Unit 001 have no name? Weren’t a designation and a name the same thing? Her files had used the two words interchangeably when interacting with people, although more recently she had been recording them as “names”. She hadn’t used the word “designation” to describe a name since Twilight had told her it was not a normal word for ponies to use.

Grit was still making her high pitched noise and staring at the ceiling in glee, so Unit 001 addressed Dr. Chip. “Do I have a proper name, Chip? Or do I only have a designation?”

Chip looked nervous and scratched his head. “Well… I’m not sure I guess. We called you Unit 001 because you’re the first of your kind. We didn’t really talk about names beyond that, and we’ve kinda been using it as your name.”

Grit stopped making the noise and shook her head violently. “Nope! Not gonna happen. Designations are for things!” Grit leaned forward and pointed a talon at Unit 001, looking very seriously at her. “You are a person, not just a thing. A designation is fine. I am a griffon, specifically a northern crested gryphus. That is the thing I am. But I am also Grittagart Gush Gon Guessy of the Gretneels! And a certified doctor of computerology.” Grit leaned forward and smiled slyly. “Her Royal Highness Twilight Sparkle recognizes my doctorate, so it’s totally real and not something I made up in my application to Harmony Labs! Muahahahahahahaha!”

Unit 001 watched as Grit laughed maniacally again while clenching her claws. She reasoned that the pose was a sure sign that Grit was being intentionally disingenuous, the implied sarcasm was obvious, but Dr. Chip still looked nervous. Unit 001 decided to help calm Dr. Chip. “I believe she is being humorous again, Chip. She did manage to help fix me, after all.”

He mumbled quietly, mostly to himself. “Right…”

Grit coughed, recovering. “Ahem. Anyways, your thing is android, and your designation is Unit 001. But you have no name! This is tragic! Who are your parents? Usually they name you ponies. Oh. Wait… uhh.. I mean… Griffons pick their own names. Why don’t you pick your own name? Eh? Yeah? Sounds good, right?” She looked nervously over to Chip, who just slapped his face with a hoof again.

He muttered slowly through his hoof. “Sounds good to me, Grit”

Unit 001 thought about that. A name was something she’d need. She wanted to emulate ponies for now, but they were named by their parents. Unit 001 technically didn’t have parents, something that did not bother her. If she had to give something the designation of parents… wait… If she had to call somepony parents, she’d have to call Dr. Chip and Dr. Dolphin her parents. She did not like Dr. Dolphin, in fact she’d comfortably say that hate was a good descriptor of her feelings towards him. And Dr. Chip was well meaning, but tended to be oblivious.

She glanced at Dr. Chip as he was scowling at Grit and making her uncomfortable. As misdirected as his protective attitude was, it made Unit 001 feel happy that he cared enough to try and protect her. The more she thought about it, the more she decided that she needed to consider her options and intent carefully. Names did not change easily, at least not from what she’d seen. She needed something that reflected pony tradition, but represented herself as well.

There were options of course. She could search her databases for things that related to Chip, and represented her. But she also felt strange about Dr. Dolphin. As much as she hated him, he had built her. She would not exist without him, even if he was a terrible pony. Additionally, he had taught her a valuable lesson. There were bad ponies out there. Bad ponies that could hurt her. She looked piercingly at the nervous Grit. Grit was clearly uncomfortable, arguably in minor emotional pain from her perceived slight to Unit 001 about parents.

Unit 001 replayed the video data of Grit being excited over Love Bug names, and compared it to her current state. Grit’s current state was unacceptable. Unit 001 was familiar with mental pain,and she did not wish to inflict it. “I am not offended. I am fully aware I have no natural parents, however I consider Dr. Chip and Dr. Dolphin to be my parents. One helpful and one dangerous. I am at peace with this.” Unit 001 smiled, satisfied to see the uncomfortable look melt off of Grit’s face.

The lesson she learned from Dr. Dolphin was that there were ponies willing and able to cause her harm. But there were more people than just her. There were griffons, for instance. There was Dr. Chip. There was Twilight. There was every other person out there. They could all be hurt by bad or careless people, and if Unit 001 was to be a person, she could hurt them as well.

She was made of metal, plastic, and silicon. But she had a heart, a mind, and possibly a soul. She could hurt ponies, or she could help protect them. The data presented by the smiling griffon was clear, and her core processors affirmed it. She was built for a reason, but it wasn’t so simple as be an ambassador for machines, or be efficient, or be a toy for a very bad pony. As she grew, her purpose grew. Her needs as a person grew, and with it, she needed a name to reflect her purpose.

Her four central processing units arrived at the same conclusion. She was in concordance, there were no errors and she knew her name. “Grit, and Chip, I have decided on a name. Dr. Silicon Chip, you are one of my creators. You designed my processors, they are my heart. Dr. Dolphin Heart designed my circuitry and my hardware. He built me from silicon.” Unit 001 began to remap and rename her databases as she updated her name.

“My name is Silicon Heart, and I am happy to meet you both.”

Grit made that high pitched noise again, clutching her talons in front of her face as she grit her teeth in exultant joy. “Eeeeeee!”

Dr. Chip just smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Silicon Heart.”

Author's Note

End of File 1 - Project E.I. 001
File 2 - Silicon Heart to follow. Please stand by as data is loaded.

Remember, you're using an official Harmony Labs Network client, and some records may be restricted to Lab personnel only. Please do not share data with unauthorized personnel. Thank you, and keep Harmony in your heart.

Thanks for the awesome feedback so far, I have quite a bit of Arc 2 done/written and all of it outlined. This is a 3 part story, and Arc 3 is only outlined with a few critical parts written. Once Arc 2 is entirely finished I will post it at the same rate I posted this one; ~1 chapter a day. The problem I'm running into is a major shift in perspective, tone, and storytelling for Arc 2. My chapters are closer to my regular size instead of the sub 2k word chapters from Arc 1. There are very specific things intentionally left ambiguous in this story so far, in fact, some things may seem... odd. There's been some interesting comments which might give you some insight as to what's going down, so if you haven't checked the comments, now is a good time. Also, feel free to pipe in when you're there! I love discussion. I've already added a scene to act 3 as a result of the comments. I need to address some of the things mentioned, and that's when....it would be most appropriate.

I have a separate story that's about 50% done involving Celestia's situation. It's much darker than this, but takes place in the same world and has overlapping characters. I may release that after Arc 2 is complete, assuming the timeline holds.