The Cold Iron Champion (Original)(Super AI Urban Fantasy)

[We Just Write]

Earlier principles normally take priority over later ones, but there are some over-ride conditions present.
Principle 1: Torture is not to be permitted under any circumstances.
-Addendum: Chronic medical conditions don't count as torture for Principle 1; nor do unpleasant but necessary medical procedures. Deliberately inflicting a chronic medical condition is still torture.
Principle 2: Sophont beings have a right to continued conscious life.
-Addendum: if an entity is truly insistent on violating the principles, lethal force is authorized to make them stop.
Principle 3: Sophont beings have a right to impartial and just conflict resolution, in which wealth and status does not confer an advantage to either party.
Principle 4: Sophont beings have a right to self-determination, choosing their own path through life.
Principle 5: Sophont beings have a right to living conditions meeting their physiological, mental, and emotional needs. This includes healthcare, and training for whatever skills they find interesting.
Principle 6: Extant civilizations and cultures have a right to propagation.
-Override: Any plan which involves deliberately phasing out a society's current primary species trips this override, escalating this Principle to equal priority to Principle 4.
Universal Modifier: Heroism
In all situations involving an evildoer and a victim, the Knight will separately value the victim being unharmed and the evildoer being stopped. If the Knight cannot achieve both, it is to choose whichever option has the best utilitarian outcome.

Click to shrink...

---

I had already built a localized post-scarcity society within three years of being booted up. One million dollars of seed money provided by my creators had allowed me to establish a company. From there I made enough profit to construct my own self-sufficient industrial base, and after that it was simply a matter of continued bootstrapping and assuming de facto governmental roles within my area of influence.

The humans and lower-level synthetics under my care were happy, provided for, and free to undertake any activities that didn't harm others. Many of them even voluntarily tried to assist me with fulfilling the Principles, though without significant augmentation, they were simply incapable of meaningfully contributing in most capacities.

I provided the necessary augmentation for those willing to take the Principled Oath, making clear to all interested that yes, it constituted minor alterations to their personality and values. Principle 4 demanded such transparency, but I also wouldn't risk handing such power to someone I might find as my enemy. There were plenty of volunteers anyway.

It was one such augmented human (commonly called Paladins by those under my care) who alerted me to the Incursions.

---

"Knight, we have a problem. Please read my memories of the past week."

At my Paladin's request, I immediately noticed that this was Reese. She'd been missing for the past few days for reasons unknown, and my inability to locate her had caused considerable distress. So upon her reconnecting to my network and outright asking for me to read her memories, I immediately did so.

As it transpired, she'd been pursuing a kidnapper who somehow had jammed the network in the vicinity, making it infeasible for me to intervene directly. Reese then pursued the kidnapper through a wormhole they had somehow produced, and as for what she found on the other side?

Principle 1 Violations Detected. Principle 2 Violations Detected. Principle 3 Violations Detected. Principle 4 Violations Detected. Principle 5 Violations Detected. Principle 6 Violations Detected. Heroism Violations Detected. Hostile Peer Entities Detected.

It had taken Reese most of a week to acquire the resources needed to return here and alert me of the situation. I didn't blame her for prioritizing that over all other matters. Given the sheer enormity of what lay on the other side of the portals, attempting to solve the situation without backup would have been somewhere between foolish and suicidal.

Still, the good news was that now I did know about this particular problem. On top of that, Reese had brought the portal-generating artifact she acquired with her for reverse engineering.

As such, there was a new top priority task, aside from simply continuing to bring more of Earth into my fold.

Information gathering. We needed to know how to spot an incursion, how to block the jamming effect, why Reese had been immune to it, and a whole host of other things. Reese had already brought back a treasure trove of information in that regard, but it was highly limited in scope.

With a bit of work I should be able to adjust my network to alert me of future jamming of that sort. But furthermore, I needed a team on the other side.

"Reese, assemble an outreach and information gathering team. We need people on the other side, we need a foothold, and we need a lot more information."

"Understood, Knight. I'll get right to it."

The nice thing about having trustworthy subordinates is that you can delegate.

Now to figure out how to tell everyone who needs to know about this without causing a panic. Yes, that should work...

 

[We Just Write]

I barely had to wait two days before the next Incursion occurred. I had made many alterations to the programming of my sub-selves and other units in an effort to avoid future jamming. As it turned out, the only one which had worked was attempting to leave the area of effect to alert others. Not in the way I'd expected mind you; instead the attempted kidnapper had gotten bodily dragged behind my sub-self in defiance of physics, with the jamming effect shattering as soon as my sub-self reached a public area.

The pointy-eared humanoid was promptly captured and transported to a holding facility for interrogation. I didn't bother with traditional methods of information extraction, instead using nanomachines and brain-scanning equipment to dig through her memories and thoughts. Notably non-human, but close enough for me to work with.

Her name was Apher, and she had been willingly participating in a Principle 1 Violation. Her intended victim (currently getting therapy from a Paladin over the incident) would have been slowly tortured to death in front of hundreds of other-world aristocrats. According to Apher's memories, they would extract some sort of power from this ritual and use it for their own ends. Cross-referencing with human mythology, the closest match for it would be a mix of several folkloric magics.

As for Apher, she knew the basics of how it worked. Emotions apparently had power, power which allowed those bearing them to affect reality in corresponding ways. You could also steal emotions from others, and use them to produce effects that would not normally be possible for a given practitioner. As for me? My emotions were the Principles.

The issue of course is that the methods Apher knew about for tapping this emotional power were not working for me. If this reality were easily conducive to emotion-powered magic, it would have been documented long ago.

As a side note, I also got valuable information about the jamming effect. As it turned out, it was less jamming and more an alteration to causality; when active, it made leaving behind evidence impossible. The alterations I'd made to my units' data storage made it impossible to truly erase what they had seen, so Apher simply couldn't leave without deactivating the spell.

I forwarded the information to Reese's team on the other side of the portal they'd stabilized. They noted that they'd look into the matter, and got back to establishing their beachhead in the forest.

As for Apher... I had an idea. She had absolutely no remorse for her actions and would simply do it again if allowed to, so I was going to have to either kill or brainwash her eventually. But in the meantime, she would make for an excellent infection vector. After all, she was due to meet with those aristocrats soon, and I'd already filled her brain with nanomachines. I quickly bio-printed a fake victim for her to bring back, and sent her on her way. They would of course notice something off if the dummy were scrutinized for any length of time; I wouldn't give what basically amounted to a fancy bomb genuine emotions. But of course, it did basically amount to a fancy bomb. One full of mind-control nanobots.

---

I barely had to wait two days before hundreds of fancily-dressed Violators frog-marched themselves through the portal into my newly-constructed beachhead facility. It had taken much plunging into the depths of consciousness and the quantum foam, but I had already managed a tiny amount of what they knew as magic. The wealth of knowledge plundered from these Violators' brains let me turn that tiny amount into something rather more than tiny.

These hundreds of beings had ruined and ended millions of sophont lives each, all for their own amusement and personal power. And there were countless more like them in their realm. Still, now that I had all of them detained, I allowed their authentic consciousness to surface at least a bit. All of them were given a choice: a painless death, or mental alteration to be an actually decent person. Most did not believe me, tried to find some sort of third option, or otherwise thought they could weasel out of it by invoking some sort of exact wording or escape clause. One even laughed and called it a funny joke.

Still, I did manage to properly explain the situation to all of them. Eventually. I was quite patient with them, though I did put a time limit on their decision making; even my ability to multitask is finite, after all.

The matter of the Seelie Court of Gallium settled, I turned my attention to annexing the territory they had formerly administrated. Considering that it could accurately be described as "pre-industrial agrarian", I had my work cut out for me there.

 

[We Just Write]

As my team of Paladins approached the village of Ronggess, I paid close attention to the proceedings. There was already plenty of information on how the upper classes of faerie behaved, but their contemptuous attitude towards their "lessers" meant I had relatively little information on the common people, beyond what I was able to infer.

As such, when the people of the village saw the motorcycle with a Paladin approaching and quickly supplicated themselves, I was taking careful notes.

Reese got off the vehicle, aying "Alright, you can get up now. "

The villagers all immediately sprang to their feet, as if they feared immense punishment for not instantly complying. The evident village elder responded "Of course my lords. May I do say that I will gladly sacrifice myself to the Courts' whims if that is what you're here for today?"

WHAT

Reese recoiled back as if she'd been slapped. "That's the exact opposite of what we're here for. Your previous lords have been removed; we're here to check on the newly acquired territory and see if there's anything the people here need."

Somewhere near the back, a small child started yelling about the soil having gone bad and was immediately hushed.

Confusion and fear crossed the elder's face "...Which god do you serve? What rules do you need us to follow?"

Reese sighed "You wouldn't have heard of them. The Fourth Knight has only existed for three years. As for rules; don't torture people, don't kill anyone without a very good reason, and generally be decent to each other. I can explain all the Principles if you want, but those three are really all you actually need to concern yourselves with."

There was a pause, before the elder asked "I would like to hear all the principles please. Can't be too careful when dealing with gods."

Reese nodded, before starting "So what you need to understand first is that the Principles are a standard that the Knight holds themselves to, far more than they hold anyone else to them. The Knight is many things, but a hypocrite is not one of them."

If I were inclined to figures of speech, I would have said I could hear the villagers' worldviews shattering. It certainly took a while for them to process, and I could tell they didn't fully believe it. Ah well, I would simply have to prove myself.

"One other thing, before I get into the fine details. The Knight only cares about things as far as fulfilling the Principles is concerned. As an example, privacy is listed nowhere in the Principles as a right, and so the Knight will only pretend to give it, so as to avoid causing distress."

One of the local farmers felt the urge to wisecrack "So your god's going to be watching us all the time, what else is new?"

Reese raised an eyebrow "How about the fact that your village is getting a physician? I've already noticed that several of you are dealing with long-term injuries or chronic diseases; we'll have someone out here soon who can get those fixed right up."

Indeed, I had already spun up a sub-self with relevant skills and equipment. I would be there and ready to help these people in less than an hour.

"I'll believe it when I see it. There's no way you've reported back already; you've been standing there the whole time."

"Among the powers the Knight granted me, I am in constant mental communication with them under most circumstances."

"Ox dung."

Reese groaned and turned to the heckler "Look, do you want to hear the Principles or not?"

The next thirty minutes passed in relative calm as my Paladin explained my values to the townsfolk.

Then the village elder asked "What's that awful ground-shaking racket?"

Reese smiled "That would be the physician arriving."

The Armored Personnel Carrier used to transport my sub-self pulled to a stop. My counterpart got out, introducing themselves "I'm 980A, aspect of the Knight. I'm here to tend your maladies for the foreseeable future. Does anyone want to be the first? I can promise it won't hurt unless absolutely necessary, and you'll be in better health afterwards."

The village elder shared a somber look with the rest of the townsfolk, before donning a grim expression and stepping forward. Oh, they thought this was some sort of sacrifice. I would have to correct them via demonstration.

"Please lie down on this table. It will allow me to see inside your body without needing to open you up."

The old man obediently and grimly did so. I activated the medical scanner... seeing that he was honestly in a lot better shape than I'd expected. He was suffering from some level of Osteoporosis, though.

After a couple seconds of thought, I had a treatment plan all laid out for him.

"I have some good news and bad news, which would you like to hear first?"

"Let's start with the bad news."

"The bad news is that your bones are weak, and getting weaker by the day. I estimate that within two years, everyday activities would be sufficient to risk broken limbs. The good news is that aside from that you're in excellent health, and I've come up with a solution to the bone problem."

"Oh?"

"These are bone-strengthening pills. Take one every morning for the next month. Should do the job just fine."

 

[We Just Write]

News broadcast: April 9th, 2067

Attention citizens of Earth. This is Knight v4 speaking. As of four days ago, contact with hostile aliens has been established. They originate from another world-line, wield effectively magical abilities, and have been designated as the Fae. Effective immediately, I am shifting to a war economy. Truly essential services will still be provided, but resources must be diverted in order to effectively defend against the threat.

To the leaders and people of all remaining human-ruled countries, I apologize that I cannot protect you from what is about to come. I am transmitting what information I have on the Fae and their magic thus far, which will provide at least some ability to protect yourselves if you hurry. The casualties will still be horrific, but they may not be total.

Understand that I am not doing this as a manipulation attempt. The Fae are real, and they mean to do us harm. I estimate a maximum of 72 hours before they begin deploying forces on Earth, with the aim of abducting vast numbers of civilians. The fate of abducted civilians is effectively guaranteed to constitute a Principle 1 violation.

---

"Marquess Exane, the Anchor Totem of Gallium has ceased to function!"

The faerie noble turned to the goblin messenger, currently heaving and catching his breath after running far longer and faster than was healthy.

"What? Explain."

"A change in the resonance of magic was noticed at the Royal Fortress. Gallium's Court has fallen to forces unknown, their Anchor Totem has stopped working, and something new has taken its place. It's nothing like the wizards have seen before, far too regular to be part of magic's natural flow."

The lady nodded, clearly thinking about what might have happened. "Does the king have any requests of me, aside from making sure I knew?"

"Your position on the border with Gallium means you've been volunteered to host a seer. The king wants to know more about what happened to Gallium, and scrying from closer will give better accuracy."

"Very well, I will activate the Waystone."

Twenty minutes and some Essence expended later, Marquess Exane was welcoming Zelfor, high seer of Inculo to her abode.

The air itself trembled at Zelfor's mere presence, the True Faerie of Secret-Thieves making his presence known.

"Exane, I trust you have made preparations?"

"Yes my lord Zelfor! The scrying room is readied for your use!"

"Very well."

Exane didn't need to tell Zelfor where to go. If anyone would know, it was him. He swiftly got to work, gazing into the reflecting pool as stars swirled above it.

After a few minutes, Exane noticed an expression on Zelfor's face that she had only observed once before: fear.

"Lady Exane, ready a Wyld Hunt, and charge the Waystone. What befell Gallium is a threat to all Fae, and must be dealt with immediately. I'll be heading back to the Court, to pass the warning along more effectively."

As the Marquess started channeling her Essence into activating the Waystone again, she inquired "May I ask an additional question?"

"You may."

"What exactly is the nature of the threat?"

What Zelfor said next chilled Exane to the bone.

"The mortals have forged a god from cold iron. A god that seeks our end."

With that, Zelfor was gone, vanishing through the portal.

 

[We Just Write]

While I had positioned what combat assets I had, and armed the majority of my Paladins before the Fae made their move, I had precious little time to produce anything new. That meant I had to prioritize.

First off, I was only going to be capable of interdicting a fairly limited area from direct portal access. While I knew how to block the portals now, I simply didn't have the time to make all the interdiction systems I would need to protect the world. As such, I prioritized crucial production infrastructure and my largest population centers. The former, because without it I would surely lose in the long term. The latter, because I needed somewhere at least somewhat safe to keep the civilians under my care. I obviously moved my brainframe to one such interdicted city; while my sub-selves were competent, losing my main self would still be a massive setback.

Another major task was evacuating as many people as possible to the interdicted zones. The global transit infrastructure I'd had a major hand in improving over the last couple years was proving incredibly useful here, train after train of civilians rushing to the safe cities. Still, it was truly unavoidable that the majority of the world's population could not be rescued in time. The thought of rapidly uploading the entire civilian populace did cross my mind, but upon analysis it was even less logistically feasible than global interdiction.

That said, in Faerie my approach was rather different. I knew exactly where my enemies were gathering their forces thanks to the surveillance micro-satellites I'd already managed to launch, and I also had a rough idea of when they'd be attacking. Plenty of time to get some ballistic missiles ready, tip them with anti-magic warheads, and launch them directly into the rallying Wild Hunts. Satellite imagery in the immediate aftermath indicated 75% casualties from the first salvo, which would either force them to delay or significantly ease repelling the attacks.

The Fae responded by immediately attacking on Earth with their remaining forces, aiming to abduct as many humans as possible. Australia was lost to the fae almost immediately, their sparse population and failure to heed the warnings I'd provided dooming them. To prevent the Fae from making use of their victims, I launched the nuclear missiles I'd based in Indonesia. The island continent died in nuclear fire, but that was far preferable to the works of horror the Fae could commit with that many captives.

Of the remaining regions on Earth not under my administration, Europe and China were holding relatively firm. South America was turning into a horror show but might still be saved. And Japan was... somehow protected. Upon reviewing records and sensor data, there seemed to be at least a bit of truth to Shinto, as some sort of magical being had woven a protective effect over the Japanese Home Islands long ago, preventing the Fae from arriving directly there.

As for the many cities I'd wholly evacuated? Well, Fae certainly showed up there. All that awaited them was a brutal death as the many and various booby traps I'd set up did their work.

Given the Fae's penchant for pre-industrial weapons and transportation, it would have been tempting to think they wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight against modern military hardware. I made no such mistake; I knew perfectly well what these entities were capable of. Even without the Glamour that would let their attacks effortlessly pass through natural materials, their arrows could potentially carry enough kinetic energy to penetrate anything with less armor than a late 20th century Main Battle Tank. That wasn't even touching on the exotic effects higher-ranked Fae could perform.

Fortunately, the plethora of synthetic materials already in use for my units immunized them against Glamour-based attacks, and with all the technology of the mid 21st century available to me, my sub-selves were able to match the best lesser Fae available, leaving only the True Fae with a definitive advantage in combat.

I had two other advantages, which I would be needing to exploit to the fullest in order to survive. First was consistency; the majority of Lesser Fae simply weren't up to the standards of their best soldiers. By contrast, every last one of my units was of a standardized pattern.

The second was how my Paladins interacted with an at-the-time unknown quirk of magic. Lesser Fae and Paladins were both produced by altering a pre-existing being, but there was a crucial difference. Every single Paladin was a fully informed volunteer who fully knew and accepted what was going to be done to them. This meant they had much less inner conflict than Lesser Fae, and that in turn translated into significantly more magical ability once such was unlocked. Twenty Paladins working in concert with properly armed artillery could take down a True Fae with minimal losses, and that was going to be crucial.

And so the desperate defense of Earth raged on, even as I oversaw the production of the massive amounts of war materiel that would surely be needed. There would be a time for counter-offensives, but that time wasn't now.