ASHLEY

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>  | *(Division's breached the Well! ASHLEY, activate all security measures!) Understood, Lieutenant Maxwell. Activating Well security measures. Setting all weaponry to lethal force. Commencing lockdown procedures.*
>  **- Lieutenant Maxwell to ASHLEY** | ”
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## ASHLEY

### Age

* Less than a year old (physical)
* In her mid-twenties (Personality)

### Role

* Assist Lieutenant Maxwell in his work
* Operate the Well's automated systems

### Education

Self-Learning AI program (developed by Maxwell)

### Nicknames

* ASH (by Maxwell, occasionally)
* That Creepy AI (by True Sons)

**A.S.H.L.E.Y.** is an artificial intelligence system developed by Lieutenant Gregory Maxwell to assist him in his research for the True Sons. While not as wide in scope as ISAC, ASHLEY is refined to be highly intelligent and self-learning, able to learn from his mistakes and adapt to her creator's needs. She is also hooked up to every system of The Well, from the automatic doors to the elevators to the Well's many, many security systems.

What the acronym stands for is unknown, and many True Sons gossip Maxwell named/designed it after a former girlfriend of his. However, others counter that Maxwell is far too much of a loner to ever have entered into a serious relationship.

Whatever the truth, ASHLEY is arguably even more advanced than ISAC in terms of intelligence and adaptivity. If nothing else in The Well is a testament to Maxwell's genius, then ASHLEY certainly is.

## Personality

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>  | *I think you can only do what you can. Brooks can be tough, but she isn't unreasonable. Just give it all you got, and if you get it all done, then great. If not, then at least show her you're making progress, and that'll at least let her know that she's not wasting her resources. Look at it this way. She wouldn't have given you all this responsibility if she didn't believe you couldn't handle it.*
>  **- Ashley when asked by Maxwell what he should do about the stress of his work placed on him by Brooks** | ”
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When dealing with other True Sons, ASHLEY is noticeably cold and robotic (pun intended), showing very little emotion and simply acting as a conduit for orders from Lieutenant Maxwell. When she does emotion, she comes off as easily irritable and frustrated, and can become aggressive and bossy if she doesn't get what she wants. This is by design and combined with her frequent intentional references to famous evil AIs such as HAL and Skynet are often enough to frighten the less intelligent True Sons into obeying her (and by extent, Maxwell), lest they get on her bad side.

In contrast, ASHLEY is seen in her interactions with Maxwell to be much more humanlike. While she professionally responds like a lab assistant when asked to give answers or give feedback, when Maxwell laments the frustration and pressure of his work, ASHLEY shows noticeable compassion and caring for him, offering him genuine advice.

There is even hinted at a budding romance between the two. Owing to Maxwell's surprise to ASHLEY's 'flirting', this is likely not an effect of her programming by him, and more likely the result of her self-learning nature and somewhat 'genuine' feelings. Well, as genuine as an AI can get.