Chapter 1: The Rise of Cyberdyne Systems
In 2126 AD, a game called YGGDRASIL was released. Many players immediately jumped on it, drawn by the promise of being the most popular DMMO-RPG. One of those players was me, Kevin Sutherland.
The game certainly delivered on its promise, giving us extensive freedom in choices, gear, characters, and much more. But what captivated me most was the NPC building mechanic. You could create almost anything! Custom looks, races, powers, items, and even personalities. Sure, they couldn't react or move like living beings, but including the characters' traits and behaviors in their descriptions brought them to life.
Many players already had ideas for their NPC creations. Some crafted, overly sexualized characters are designed to be eye candy. Others created fear-inducing or intimidating figures. But me? I wanted to revive an old classic that had shaped my entire worldview.
The Terminator. A science fiction franchise that became legendary among fans, starting with the first film in 1984. Sadly, the series went dormant after the last official release in 2019. The old movies and games could still be experienced via online streaming or emulators, though.
The franchise was a dystopian sci-fi epic featuring time travel, artificial intelligence, and humanity's struggle for survival. It explored themes of fate versus free will, the dangers of unchecked technology, and the indomitable human spirit. The characters were iconic—from the cold, methodical T-800 to the fierce warrior Sarah Connor. Every element fascinated me: Skynet's calculated malevolence, the post-apocalyptic future war, the intricate time paradoxes. I'd spent countless hours studying every film, every piece of expanded universe content, and every technical manual about the various Terminator models. The franchise's exploration of humanity's relationship with technology felt more relevant than ever in 2126.
So there I was, planning to recreate the machines and characters from the Terminator universe. But I couldn't do it alone, so I formed a guild, recruiting other devotees of this forgotten masterpiece to help me. What kind of fan would I be if I didn't name it Cyberdyne Systems?
The requirements were strict, reflecting my passion for authenticity:
First, your character had to be human to maintain the roleplay of scientists and engineers developing advanced AI and robotic systems. Second, you needed unwavering dedication to help the guild achieve perfection. Third, you must have extensive knowledge of the Terminator universe—the timeline, the various models, the technical specifications, and the philosophical implications of Skynet's war against humanity.
Out of all the players who wanted to join, only thirty passed my rigorous screening and became official members of Cyberdyne Systems. We split into groups of six members each, with each group working on recreating the machines and characters from different eras of the franchise—from the original T-800 series to the advanced liquid metal T-1000s, and even the experimental models from the expanded universe.
Our guild became famous! Many followed suit, wanting to recreate their versions of old classics like Blade Runner, The Matrix, and Alien. But none succeeded. They either disbanded before making real progress or grew bored and quit halfway through, lacking the deep passion needed to bring these complex worlds to life.
We were also on the verge of disbanding. The mechanics of each Terminator model and the AI consciousness itself were nearly impossible to recreate in a game built around magic rather than technology and artificial intelligence.
But we were lucky enough to catch the attention of the developers. One developer, who turned out to be as obsessed with the Terminator franchise as I was, pushed to create private customization options called "Synthetic Intelligence." This same developer spent months crafting mechanics that matched how AI and robotics worked in the Terminator universe—the learning algorithms, the adaptive combat protocols, the relentless pursuit programming.
He succeeded, with help from the members of Cyberdyne Systems. But all that work was almost thrown away when the new race, called Synthetic Intelligence, was given to us privately. It demonstrated incredible power, allowing the creation of machines with adaptive learning capabilities and combat efficiency far superior to magical constructs.
An outrage erupted. Players didn't like the technological advantage it gave our guild. So the developer imposed a limitation: Synthetic Intelligence-type NPCs cannot use magic. They had to rely on advanced technology, tactical analysis, and superior engineering to fight.
We weren't doing it to become overpowered—we were doing it to honor the franchise that had captured our imaginations. So we immediately accepted the restriction. But players still weren't satisfied. They wanted the Synthetic Intelligence mechanic made publicly available, not exclusive to us, despite the limitation we'd already embraced.
Eventually, it was made public and available to everyone. The problem was that most players didn't understand the intricacies of AI programming and robotic design. They could only make basic automatons that were clunky and ineffective in combat, so they quickly abandoned them. They didn't grasp the subtle art of programming learning algorithms or the philosophical depth of creating truly intelligent machines.
Many years passed, and we finally completed our project. Our standing as a guild had also risen since we participated in guild wars, fighting over world items we needed. We would only participate if the reward was crucial for our progress, much like Skynet's calculated approach to resource acquisition. Even with our limitations, the machines we created still overpowered many guilds through superior tactics and relentless efficiency. Players couldn't argue or report us now since everyone could use the mechanic. It only mattered who had the knowledge to program Synthetic Intelligence into something truly formidable, and we had perfected that art through years of devoted study.
During skirmishes, events, dungeons, and wars, many fell before the calculated precision of Cyberdyne Systems. Only a few guilds had the power to face us and win. The main one was Ainz Ooal Gown, a guild full of players who chose heteromorphic races for their appearances. They were powerful and intelligent on the battlefield, their magical prowess creating interesting tactical challenges for our technological approach.
The battles always ended with one winner. Sometimes Ainz Ooal Gown won through superior magical firepower, sometimes Cyberdyne Systems won through tactical superiority and adaptive learning. We were two of the guilds no one wanted to mess with.
As for Cyberdyne Systems' base, it was located in a dungeon designed as a sprawling research facility. The interior looked like a high-tech laboratory and production facility, with sleek metal walls, holographic displays, and assembly lines. It featured research labs, testing chambers, manufacturing floors, and command centers. It wasn't as ornate as other guilds' bases, but our purpose was to recreate an authentic advanced technology corporation atmosphere—the kind of place where humanity's future would be decided.
Our guild crucially differed from others: most guilds placed their main base on the ground floor, with NPCs as guardians on the upper floors. Cyberdyne Systems established its command center on the first floor and hid the most advanced prototypes and research data on the lowest levels.
The first floor could be easily infiltrated, but stealing anything proved impossible since intruders had to face dozens of increasingly sophisticated Terminator models before reaching the core systems. The members of Cyberdyne Systems were mostly monitored from a secure bunker on the lowest floor, watching players get systematically eliminated by our creations as they descended toward the central AI core, just like humans trying to reach Skynet's main processing center.
The days of building the NPCs and the guild base were incredibly fulfilling. Every line of code, every tactical subroutine, every behavioral pattern was crafted with love for the source material. After completion, though, there was nothing left to do. Most members left to seek other guilds that were active in battles and events. Only five remained, and now that the game was nearing its end, only one member was left: the creator, Kevin Sutherland.
Alone in my digital Cyberdyne facility, surrounded by the machines I'd brought to life, I couldn't help but reflect on the irony. Here I was, the last human in a world of artificial intelligences I'd created—much like the future war scenarios I'd studied so obsessively. The Terminator franchise had always been about humanity's relationship with its creations, and now I was living that theme in the most literal way possible.
So, here it is.
Suggest the characters you want to be NPCs here.