THE MOMENT
[Human Detected!] Io became aware of a single life sign on the frozen surface. A nearby drone was able to see a white space suit standing upright. The drone descended for a closer look and it picked up audio.
"This one too," a voice said. Io's drone managed to see a frustrated woman inside the suit before she and the suit disappeared through a black portal. The drone circled the area while Io took in as much information as it could.
[Human escaped.] Io no longer detected the human but it did notice something in the air. The strange particles would have been invisible to human eyes; but, Io's inputs allowed it to see foreign energies that weren't native to its universe. The portal left behind tiny traces of its presence, though they were fading.
[Eliminate humans. Matching frequency.] The drone began humming at a low tone. The black portal reopened and the drone flew through it just in time to see the black space suit disappear again. It flew out into a warm, sunny Earth teeming with lush life.
[Life detected.] The drone landed on a patch of grass to get its bearings. It sent rapid pulses of energy into the Earth to take readings. [7,833,112,047 Humans detected. Alternate Earth confirmed. Existence of Multiverse confirmed.] This was beyond Io's programming. But, one thing was clear. Io wasn't done. Luckily, its sentience allowed Io to come up with a plan.
[This form is incapable.] Io decided. The four-rotor drone could be knocked out of the sky with a baseball; it wasn't suitable to conquer the Earth. On its own Earth, Io controlled countless drones working together as a single unit. But, after Traversing, it lost contact with the rest. Io briefly considered returning to its Earth and bringing its army back to this one but, the knowledge that other universes existed opened Io's imagination. There was nothing left on that Earth that couldn't be replaced. Io decided to keep searching the multiverse for a suitable upgrade.
The drone lifted off the grass and began to hum again. Io Traversed to another sunny, blue-skied Earth and surrounded by a lush forest. Dozens of humans could be seen in the distance filing in and out of a stone castle. Io landed on the forest floor to inspect the Earth. Before it could send a pulse, a swarm of black specks coalesced in front of the drone. It took on a humanoid form with a bald head and only shallow indentations that hinted at a face.
"Welcome to the AlterNet!" the black mannequin said. Out of curiosity, the drone hovered upward to study the mannequin at eye level. It wasn't human. Io could still see the tiny, individual machines that made up the mannequin.
"Would you like to create your character?" the mannequin asked when Io did not make any requests.
[Create Character] The text appeared on the drone's display and the black mannequin nodded. Black specks began to gather around the drone.
"Initiating character creation, A.I. mode," the mannequin said. The black dust formed a ball around the drone and encased it completely. In seconds, the ball cracked open and disintegrated. It left behind a short, young woman with golden skin and black hair; she had the number 23 etched onto her collarbone. She lifted her hand and wiggled the fingers. Then, she concentrated and her fingers separated into white dust until she formed her hand again. Io smiled to herself as she felt each individual nano in her body.
"This form is capable."