Titan/Counter Case

## [Record] FAW Internal Meeting

> *The minutes of a secret internal meeting held at Future-at-War.*
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Professor Sergei Chernova complains about the impracticality of Titan—pointing its massive weight and bipedal structure in particular—and criticizes Director Ember for giving it such a flawed design, but Ember argues that they must try every conceivable option in order to win against Corrupted Objects. She is confident that the Titan can take down a Category 3 or even 4 C.O. by itself due to its tactical machine-learning A.I.

On a separate note, Ember reports that shipyard workers observed that the Eternium drive of a Dimensional Ship they were building produced a residual anti-gravity field after they did a test run of it, causing their tools to levitate; she wants Chernova to develpo a way to offset the Titan's weight using that technology. With Operation North Pole coming up soon, Chernova says he'll schedule a meeting with that research team, and Ember wishes him the best of luck.

## [Appendix] P-type Test Case 1

> *The drone was destroyed while filming, and thus failed to record the combat scene.*
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During the Battle of the North Pole, a group of soldiers were being overrun by C.O.s while protecting a civilian protection zone when their commander received a call from Director Ember, who requested his permission to deploy the prototype Titan. The commander, though skeptical of the weapon, desperately agreed, and the Titan arrived shortly afterwards and astonishes the soldiers with its combat capabilities. It was ultimately able to save the squadron and the civilians from the C.O.s.

Later in an interview, the commander narrated the battle and recalled finding out that Ember had forged the paperwork to have the Titan deployed, which purportedly lead to her dismissal. He said he wants to thank her for saving his and his men's lives if he ever meets her again.

## Titan

> *The record of a conversation between a Titan and a core researcher.*
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Sergei notices the Titan prototype outside and rhetorically asks if he's counting the stars in the sky, and the Titan replies matter-of-factly that counting stars is unnecessary as they are not a threat. Sergei jokes jests that he should speak in a more domineering manner like a "real Ultimate Doomsday Weapon," but the Titan is not very amused by the romanticized title. Sergei tells him that he'll realize the importance romances in life someday since Ember developed his AI to evolve with experience.

The Titan, having never actually met his most prominent creator, asks where is Ember is, and Sergei answers she was expelled from the Future-at-War project for illicitly releasing classified information— no one has been able to make contact with her since then. When Sergei asks if he misses her, the Titan becomes confused and says he failed to get an answer.

Sergei then introduces his baby daughter, Anastasia, to the Titan and says he's grateful both to him for saving her and the others at the battle earlier and to Ember for making him apart of the Titan project. He reminds him that, while he may be a weapon, he was created to protect people. The Titan acknowledges his words.

## [Material] Press Release #42

> *A record of media coverage of the FAW attack.*
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One early morning, a group of heavily-armed suspects raid a research center operated by Future-at-War. They had shut down the building's security system, infiltrated its main computing center, and downloaded and transferred top secret data to an unknown party. Seven guards were killed in the process. Police arrived and engaged the attackers but were unable to capture all of them. A investigation into the raid was conducted while FAW contended that a foreign country was behind the attack.

On the news, an expert on international politics postulates that the raid was politically motivated, emphasizing that the FAW project lacks transparency even between its participating countries— though weapons systems are typically shared, development of these technologies is rarely disclosed, causing some to fear that an arms race will ensue. The Titan is singled out as an example of the weapons produced, and it is revealed that the stolen data reportedly contained information on one of its powerful weapon modules.

The expert agrees with the possibility that the raid was plotted by one or member states of FAW. When asked if the incident could lead to an international conflict, he answers it is unlikely given the current situation and that countries might instead use diplomatic pressure to gain economic advantages.

## [Record] FAW Attack

> *CCTV records of the FAW attack have secured.*
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Sergei is gravely injured from the attack and struggles to release the locks on the prototype Titan, knowing that the intruders are after the mech. Before he dies, he makes the Titan promise to keep on protecting people.

After the attack, the raiders arrive at the building and secure the Titan. Suddenly, a level 3 CSE breaks out three kilometers away from the site, prompting the Titan to activate and head to the disaster area. The raiders use hijacked control-authorization codes to stop it, but the Titan overrides the command and resumes its new primary directive: protect mankind. He ignores the raiders and proceeds to rescue people from the disaster. Afterwards, the raiders are arrested while the Titan is quarantined for its failure to follow orders. FAW later put the mech up for sale.

Sound Alpha and Beta review the report on the attack on the FAW research center. Alpha expresses concern that the Titan's AI is capable of insubordination even if the intent was to save people. Although she agrees with his statement, Beta argues they need to purchase the prototype Titan right away as its mainframe based on a specific technology of the Old Administration (this bit of information was redacted but is likely referring to Chronos); a sentient AI like the Titan's, according to her, is required to ensure that it functions properly.