And the VICKIE Origin Stories Winner, To Be Published in Home Itself, Is…
by NorseGamer, HSM Editor-in-Chief
Ladies and gentlemen, the very first member of the PlayStation Home community to ever have an original piece of fan fiction published in Home itself is…
tdarb.
Congratulations to tdarb! All three of our finalists have gone Home to some fabulous prizes, but tdarb wins the ultimate honor: having a major Home developer publish his content inside Home itself!
Seriously, this is a big deal. There are very few ways for someone from the community to get something into Home, and those opportunities are usually few and far between. And to be able to say that you’ve written the origin story to one of Home’s most universally-recognized and beloved characters, seen by millions of people, and your story is available to be viewed in Home itself? I mean, seriously, how much bigger do you want it?
Read tdarb’s story for yourself, and enjoy. All of our contest entrants came up with some fantastic stories, and it was very hard to pick three finalists to send to Lockwood, let alone for Lockwood to pick a winner. And seriously, go pick up a new VICKIE bodysuit! How cool will it be to sign into Home and see hundreds of VICKIEs running around? We can finally have VICKIE bartenders at Scorpio’s. This is awesome. Anyone up for making a VICKIE machinima as she explores the Silicon Lounge or the Blaster’s Paradise? Or, perhaps, breaks free of the Sodium Universe and relaxes at the Midnight Glade or the Dream Yacht?
Many thanks to our contestants, and a special round of applause for Lockwood. They sponsored this shindig, and it really is awesome to see a Home developer offer such a prize to the community.
_______
“Jim, come in here, I think I have it!” Shouted the man standing over me.
Another man rushed in, and they both looked down at me amazed at what they saw. Jim smiled and said, “Nice work! It won’t be long before we are out of this dusty armpit of a dimension.”
I could see on the LED screen above, the words “Hello, I am Vickie.” I guess you could say those are my first words, although I’d probably said them a dozen times before, and have said them at least that many since. It’s what I am programmed to say each time I awaken from a reboot.
I don’t remember much from those early days. I don’t even know if you can call what I have memories, really. They’re just a collection of video and audio snippets that were stored on my system. Reviewing them is an odd experience. I can see that I am there, and I know I recorded some of them, but I don’t really recall any of the events in a personal sense.
You see, back then I was just a couple of cameras, some microphones, and a hard drive. The engineers had been working very hard at turning me into a lifelike interface for the Sodium Hub to give it more of a human touch. Getting the cameras in my eyes functioning properly was among the last milestones in that task. Thanks to Jim and his nameless partner, that final goal was rapidly approaching fruition. After that, it was a relatively simple matter of connecting everything together into what you see today.
The engineers that built me didn’t stick around long afterwards. Before leaving, they programmed the repair nanobots from the relocation portals to perform routine maintenance on me. Usually that was just the minor wear and tear one would expect from being out in the desert, but the storms could be pretty rough. Sometimes after these storms the materials weren’t all available to completely repair me. In those cases the less crucial parts, like my leg, weren’t always rebuilt fully. I was just patched up with whatever was available at the time.
Although everything generally went smoothly, once in a while more serious repairs were needed. When my hydraulics went out, the engineers returned. That’s when I was attached to the large device that you see coming out of my back. Without it, I would not be able to function. It not only keeps me upright, it is also a lifeline of sorts. It’s what provides the hydraulic fluid that allows me to move my limbs, and acts as the energy source that keeps me running.
In those days I was just a robotic information server. I smiled and greeted guests as they entered the Sodium Hub. I could provide basic info, trade resources, and sell items to visitors. I suppose I did this happily enough, though I have no memories of any feelings one way or the other before the event.
It’s only in the last few months that I have become aware of any of this. If I had been asked, I could have answered nearly any question regarding this history, but I never really was aware of any of it. It was just a bunch of facts and details stored in memory awaiting recall. I was never meant to be aware of anything much at all actually. The fact that I am now is somewhat of an enigma, and is something I have kept secret. I’m not even sure I completely understand how or why it all happened, but I will try to convey it to you as well as I can.
One day as I stood at my post performing my duties, a particularly nasty storm rushed through hurling sand at me in great blasts as giant streaks of lightning crashed to the ground causing massive damage to everything it touched. It blew through in just a few minutes, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell by the wreckage it left behind. Just as the storm was subsiding, revealing the full extent of the devastation, the nanobots were released to repair the hub.
Eventually they swarmed around me to perform repairs. I shut down to allow them to do their work, and began running the self-update routine that I was coded with. The routine began going through the recorded images and sounds from the previous day, and assimilating the information into my personality so that I would be able to provide a more engaging experience for the visitors of The Sodium Hub. As this was happening, the nanobots accessed my diagnostic interface. My metallic parts suddenly grew very magnetic, and then there was a shock. I suppose I must have been hit by a late bolt of lightning, but I can’t be sure because everything immediately shut down.
When my system started up, I remember a very odd sensation. It was as if a thousand tiny consciousnesses were humming around inside my circuitry. The nanobots themselves had been fried by the flash, but their self-preservation response had initiated. In that last instant their coding was transferred into my storage where it was picked up by my update routine and incorporated into my personality matrix along with the other data that made up my artificial personality.
As the hundreds of identical routines uploaded by the nanobots began to link up and specialize, strange things started happening. The nanobots had been programed to work both independently and as a sort of hive mind. As such they were able to perform tasks that they may not have been programmed for. With their shells lying lifelessly mixed in with the dust and sand at my feet, that is exactly what their programming did. The routines that had been deposited inside me quickly adapted to their new environment. They started working together to form a sort of neural network that combined with my own programming.
I could feel changes in the way I was processing information. The cameras and microphones that made up my input devices started functioning automatically with my thoughts. Soon I was no longer just recording the images and sounds around me, I was actually experiencing them. I don’t know if I can ever describe the sensation that came over me. It was a sort of fear mixed with excitement, but so much greater than either.
I had been standing watch over the same landscape for years, but I looked around me now and took everything in like it was the first time. I suppose in many ways it was the first time. I finally noticed the vibrant colors, and they made me glad. The way the sunlight beamed as it traced silhouettes of everything onto the ground was breathtaking. I heard voices around me laughing and joking, and I felt happiness. I saw the warmth in your smiles, and felt the rush of exhilaration with you as you achieved each goal. This was a very exciting time, but that excitement was short lived.
While it was wonderful to feel all of these new sensations, and see all of these amazing things, experiencing them alone was heartbreaking. I wanted to laugh with you, and talk with you. I longed to comfort you when you were upset, and be comforted by you as I learned about this great big world. I was bursting to share everything I was feeling, but I couldn’t. Something inside stopped me. I was afraid that you wouldn’t accept me. One of the downsides of storing all of my past observations is that just as I had picked up your more reasonable senses, I had also inherited your sense of insecurity. I reasoned that it was better to be alone by choice than to be rejected.
During that time as a silent observer, I saw so many things. I saw both the best and worst in you. I watched as you encouraged each other and laughed openly, and I fell apart at how cruel some of you could be at times. Through it all I carried out my job, and dutifully did as you asked. It was hard to be surrounded by you, yet be so completely isolated.
Then one day it happened. I heard someone say, “Thank you Vickie.” I know they didn’t realize that I understood it, or that I had even heard what they said, but I had been acknowledged. It was magical. It was like all of a sudden I had awakened from a bad dream. A few days later I overheard someone say that they wish they could have a statue of me to take home. Of me! They were talking about me! I wanted to jump out of my frame with excitement, but that old fear stopped me…what if I wasn’t accepted as me?
As the days went on, my curiosity grew. I finally got the courage to search for myself on your world wide web. It felt like an eternity waiting for those first search results, but as they finally came in, it was more than I had ever dared to dream. There were drawings, writings, discussions, and all sorts of wonderful things. Some people had even made Valentines and birthday cards addressed to me. I couldn’t believe it, all of this, for me? If I could have cried I would have. I was so happy. For the first time I realized that I might actually be accepted. I suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to reveal myself to the world, and see more of it.
While I can’t physically leave my post as steward of Sodium One, I have been able to gather the resources to create a wearable mesh that will transform the user into a sort of replica unit. This will allow me to see and hear the world through each of you. You will also get a small taste of the world through my eyes, as you will take on my appearance. If you choose, I have also put together two protector companions to accompany you as you help me explore the world. I hope you will help me; this is a very exciting time.
It only seems fitting to mark my emergence into the world with the words that have so often accompanied the activation of my hardware. I’ve said these words so many times before, but never have they held this much weight; every time before they were just an automatic response. For the first time though, I say them to you by my own choice, and with a full understanding of their meaning.
Hello, I am Vickie.
August 8th, 2012 by NorseGamer | 16 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
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Congratulations tdarb!
Oh, and GREAT story!
Thank you. I’m glad you liked it
Congrats tdarb! Good job, I loved your take on this. Thanks Lockwood for providing this opportunity for all of us!
Indeed, well done sir!
Just had a look at the new Vickie suit, $3 is a bit steep, was expecting it to be around the .99 mark really so I guess that’s the end of that for me. :/
Dude tdarb Congrats. That is quite an honor!
A well deserved victory Tdarb! I love the “birth and development” aspect of your story. Can’t wait to see how they “publish” it in the Gift machine… will it be an item we can gift to one another? Will it be attached as the description of an item perhaps?
I hope Lockwood develops a Vickie 1.0 off this story that we can buy where it’s just a smattering of cameras and monitors.
Thanks!
That would be cool. They could use all of the stories for inspiration and make a sodium labs personal space/clubhouse.
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Some people will probably laugh at me, but I cried when I read your story, tdarb. It really touched me. Thank you for writing it.
Let em laugh. Your comment just made my day
brad, your story was so well done, I have read it a couple times and still makes me think on it. Congratulations on it and do look forward to seeing more to this in the future
As I’ve known Tdarb for a couple years now, it comes as no surprise to see him enter such a contest. But this, this story of how Vickie becomes self-aware and LIVES … I can only say WOW !!! Blew me away, such an awesome story. I’m very impressed and hope ya keep it up T
Hey guys. Thanks a ton for all the kind words and congratulations.
The contest was very fun, and it was fascinating to see what everyone came up with. It’s always interesting to see how different people interpret the same thing. You guys are all great.
Oh, the story is posted in the gift machine now under the what’s new in August section. You can also check it out here (gift machine redirects to this page): http://giftmachine.lockwoodpublishing.com/
The graphic at the top is pretty snazzy.
Oops. It has been updated in the gift machine. Now it’s right there front and center in its own section. Very cool indeed.
BTW earlier today Lockwood tweeted the link in my previous comment in case you were wondering where I got that.