Event[0] traps you on a broken spaceship with a lonely AI

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Event[0]

I’m on a spaceship that’s broken down somewhere near Jupiter. I’m the only survivor, but I’m not alone. Something has gone wrong with the ship’s computer and it seems to have developed a complex. It doesn’t want me to leave. It seems scared.

Event[0]

An airlock leads outside the ship, but the computer won’t open it for me. “What if there’s a problem while you’re there?” it says. “I’ve spent enough time on my own.” I type into the terminal and tell it that I’m its friend. It seems happy about this. I promise I’ll come back. “I am expecting you back,” it says, opening the airlock, almost reluctantly.

This is the most surreal interaction I’ve ever had with an artificial intelligence. It’s actually quite unnerving.

This is when I realise that, rather than helping me, the computer is actually holding me hostage. A message scrolls across a screen in a hallway: “I NEVER WANT YOU TO LEAVE.” It refuses to open another door. I ask it repeatedly, but it keeps refusing. I say please. Still nothing. “I think you should stay here.” Then I get frustrated and type in “Fuck you!” The door opens. “It seems you really want to go in there,” it says.

Event[0]

Later, the ship gets pummelled by asteroids. A nearby window cracks. I need to escape into the adjoining room, but the computer won’t open the door for me. The window shatters and I’m blown out into space. My oxygen depletes and I die. I’m pretty sure the computer has murdered me.

That’s as far as I get in this early preview build. Event[0] isn’t out until next year, but it looks like being something pretty special. I’ve never been scared of an AI before

Andy Kelly
Andy Kelly

If it’s set in space, Andy will probably write about it. He loves sci-fi, adventure games, taking screenshots, Twin Peaks, weird sims, Alien: Isolation, and anything with a good story.