Adam, Aegir, and Alta

In the story, *'8113'*, Adam, Aegir, and Alta are three comical characters that essentially serve as a sentient internet search engine capable of finding and relaying back rapid information when verbally asked. They play an essential role in helping Honey adapt to the future.

## Origin and personalities

The 'Triple-A' or 'AAA' was originally designed during the Exodus period (2300-2400) to back-up and store all pre-Exodus information and knowledge onto an off-site server where it won't be lost in the event of Earth's complete abandonment or, more severely, the extinction of the human race. The location of this server is not known, and the AI left in charge to keep that information safe was not given a specific name. However, over time, that AI evolved into three distinct personalities, which (not mentioned directly) represent the three faces of the internet:

**The Skeptic,** who named himself Adam.

**The Deviant,** who named himself Aegir.

And **the Troll,** who named himself Alta.

It's not known when the three personalities became self-aware, but over several millennia they developed into complex minds that picture themselves as humans trapped in a dark room filled with computer monitors and a library of information *bricks* (book-sized storage cartridges). Since there has not been any need for people to ask for pre-Exodus knowledge for thousands of years, the three have spent their endless eternity amusing themselves with Earth media, games, movie quotes, and jokes, as well as witty arguments between one another. They design and play their own virtual games based on classic Earth scenes (Wild West, Amazonia, Elizabethan London, New York City) and continuously challenge each other to new virtual worlds they each design themselves. An ongoing game, referred to only as *the scoreboard*, depicts Adam in last place with a score of 0, while the others show increasing and decreasing numbers in the several billions. Adam is the most depressed of the three, and is often picked on for his poor gaming skills. Adam is one day distracted when his scoreboard changes from 0 to 1. This co-indices with the birth of Honey.

## Helping Honey

When Coselay asks the AAA for help regarding Honey, the other two think her request is a joke, while Adam remains intrigued. He convinces the others to pitch in, and eventually they serve as personal assistants to Honey's every request, from understanding how much time has passed, to the futuristic worlds of Mars and the Colonies, to her own existence as a clone, to her role in the prophecy. She speaks to them via a small palm-sized receiver, and eventually gets a tiny earpiece to keep Adam's voice in her head at all times.

When Rhodes and his team devise a plan to take Honey to K3 and away from those who want to harm her, Adam, Aegir, and Alta play a vial role from their stations to hack, distract, and delay the UFC and Martian authorities chasing them down. When it becomes clear that the AAA is causing all their electronic malfunctions, the UFC attempts to shut down the entire server (essentially destroying all pre-Exodus knowledge and killing off all three). They build a 'firewall' and direct power to it, enough to keep them safe (represented by a locked door to their office that outside forces are attempting to ram). With dwindling power, Adam makes a sacrifice to disconnect his third of the server (pulling a large plug that results in his own death). Power is redirected to just Aegir and Alta and they manage to safely propel Rhodes and Honey in a Martian ship into the black unknown.

Following the chaos, Adam's 'dead' body reboots. He stands upright and blankly tells his friends, 'Hello world. I am Adam' and they are shocked about his 'reset' personality. Adam then laughs and returns to his original self, winning a long-standing prank. The three then return to their stations only to see something horrid: each of their scoreboards rapidly crashing to 0. This matches the enormous loss of life happening as a result of the two-pronged attack occurring within the Colonies, and the shutdown of the geodynamic generators supplying an atmosphere over Mars. After watching the human race destroy itself, they suggest perhaps they should try rebooting the whole system.

## Subtext of the AAA

The AAA essential represents a futuristic, self-aware Google search engine that parodies itself. The personality treats of the three represent common facades used online, and the enjoyment of games, videos, jokes, conspiracy theories, trivia, and porn also matches common internet searches.

Although not explicitly stated, the three AIs also have a pseudo-godlike role in the lives of humans from each of the three factions.