Crossing Orb: Newtype Commander

In the spring of CE64, Char was nineteen years old.

Deep within the Dawn Society's underground laboratory, in a room never before seen on any architectural blueprints, Char Aznable drew a massive architectural diagram on a whiteboard. Lines radiated outward from the center, layered upon each other, like some kind of neural network.

Erica stood behind him, watching the image gradually take shape, her eyes filled with awe.

"What is this?"

"VEDA." Xia put down his pen, turned around, and said, "Visionary Evolutionary Directing Artificial Intelligence. Abbreviated as VEDA."

Erica approached the whiteboard, carefully examining the dense array of nodes and connections. This architecture far surpassed any AI system she had ever seen—it wasn't a single program, but an organic whole composed of countless subsystems, each with its own learning capabilities and decision-making authority, yet all unified through a central core.

"You mean... you're going to build a super AI?" Erica's voice was a little tense.

"It's not a 'super AI'," Char corrected. "It's a 'decision-making support system.' VEDA doesn't make decisions for people; it only provides information, analyzes data, and predicts trends. The final choice always rests with humans."

Erika was silent for a moment. She understood Char's caution—in the SEED world, AI technology was not backward, but no one had ever attempted to build such a massive artificial intelligence network. This was partly due to technological bottlenecks, and partly because people's fear of "machines replacing humans" was deeply ingrained.

"This architecture," Erica pointed to the core node on the whiteboard, "what are the computing power requirements for this central processing unit?"

Char wrote a number on the paper.

Erica gasped upon seeing it: "This...this is an order of magnitude more powerful than all the computers in the Dawn Corporation combined. Where are you going to put this?"

"The Heavenly Pillar," Char said, "a high-orbit space station."

In the summer of CE64, the space station portion of the "Amanohisaru" project entered a critical construction phase.

According to the original plan, the space station will be built in geosynchronous orbit 36,000 kilometers above the Earth. This altitude has two major advantages: first, it can remain relatively stationary with the Earth's rotation; second, it is far from atmospheric interference, making it suitable for high-precision observations and experiments.

Char added a "core module" to the design of the space station—publicly called the "orbital elevator central control room," but actually the location for VEDA.

The core module's construction standards far exceed those of ordinary spacecraft. Its outer shell utilizes Kato's latest E-carbon fiber composite armor, three times thicker than ordinary bulkheads, capable of withstanding impacts from micrometeorites and small space debris. Internally, it is equipped with an independent life support system, redundant power supplies, and multiple layers of electromagnetic shielding to prevent external interference.

"This module," Erica said while inspecting the construction progress of the core module, "is more like a fortress than a control room."

"VEDA is the core of Orb's future information warfare," Char said. "If it is destroyed or compromised, our entire system will be paralyzed. Therefore, its protection level must be the highest."

In mid-July, VEDA's core computing unit—a set of quantum light processors secretly manufactured by Dawn Corporation—was carefully loaded into the third shipment of "Heavenly Pillar" and transported to the space station by the orbital elevator's climber.

Char personally oversaw the installation of the core computing unit on the space station. This was his first time in space—although only via an orbital elevator rather than a rocket launch—and when he looked through the space station's porthole at the blue Earth suspended in the dark universe, an indescribable emotion welled up within him.

"This is where humans should go," he said softly.

Behind them, the engineers in charge of installation were busy connecting cables and data lines. The VEDA core unit lay quietly on the shock absorber bracket, its cool blue indicator lights flashing rhythmically, as if breathing.

After returning to Earth, Char and Erika began developing the VEDA operating system.

This was a massive undertaking. VEDA's architecture was based on the original version from the 00th era, but it underwent numerous adjustments to suit the specific circumstances of the SEED universe. The 00th era's VEDA relied on a quantum communication network of GN particles, while the SEED universe lacked GN particles—at least not before the GN Drive was built.

"We need an alternative," Char said at a team meeting. "Without quantum communication, VEDA can only connect to the ground via traditional data links. This means its response speed will be limited, and there is a risk of interception."

"Then we can use encryption," Christina said. "Although quantum encryption technology is not yet mature, we already have some foundation. Combined with VEDA's computing power, it is theoretically possible to make it unbreakable."

"That's feasible." Char nodded. "Christina, you'll be in charge of the communication encryption module. Kato, you'll be in charge of the hardware interface. Erica, we'll work together on the core architecture."

For the next three months, the entire team went into a frenzy of work.

Char practically lived in the lab. He worked more than sixteen hours a day, ate his meals in front of his computer, and would take naps on his desk when he was tired. In his mind, the system architecture diagram of VEDA in the 00th era unfolded like a living map, and he only needed to "translate" this information into technical solutions that could be implemented in the SEED world.

Erica was responsible for turning these plans into actual code. She was one of Dawn's top programmers, but even she had never written such complex programs. VEDA's core codebase was hundreds of times larger than Dawn's largest existing software, and every module had to be bug-free—at this level, even the smallest error could cause the entire system to crash.

"Are you sure this architecture is feasible?" Erica asked more than once.

"OK." Char's answer was always the same.

Erika didn't press the matter further. She had grown accustomed to Char's inexplicable "knowledge."

In December CE64, VEDA's first operating system was finally completed.

Inside the core module of the space station, Char stood in front of the VEDA main control console, his finger hovering over the start button.

"At this moment," he said to his team members waiting for news over the communicator, "we have made history."

He pressed the button.

The cold blue indicator light turned bright white. The screen on the console lit up, and streams of data cascaded down like a waterfall.

VEDA's voice came from the speaker—a calm, neutral synthesized tone:

"System startup complete. VEDA online. Please provide instructions."

Char took a deep breath.

"VEDA, execute self-test procedure."

"Self-test in progress... Central processing unit normal. Storage unit normal. Data link normal. Encryption module normal. All subsystems are operating normally. Self-test complete, system status: green."

A cheer erupted in the conference room.

Char stood in front of the control panel on the space station, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"VEDA," he said, "from today onward, you will be Orb's eyes and ears. Monitor global communication networks, analyze the military movements of various countries, and predict crises. But remember—you will only provide information, not make decisions."

"The instructions have been recorded," VEDA replied calmly. "I am the eyes and ears of Orb. I serve the Guardians."

In the first month after VEDA went live, the team conducted extensive testing on it.

The test results exceeded everyone's expectations. VEDA's learning ability was astonishing—it digested all the technical data in the Dawn Society's database in just three days, learned to analyze publicly available global communication data in a week, and built a complete intelligence analysis model in two weeks.

"It's too powerful," Christina wrote in her report to Char. "If VEDA's power is fully unleashed, it can do far more than we can imagine. We need to set clear boundaries for it."

Char agreed with this assessment. He set three core principles for VEDA:

First, VEDA must not directly control any weapon systems.

Second, all VEDA analysis results must be manually reviewed before they can be used as a basis for decision-making.

Third, VEDA is prohibited from invading other countries' systems—it can only launch defensive counterattacks when attacked.

"VEDA," Char said as he established these principles, "do you understand the meaning of these rules?"

"I understand," VEDA replied. "They are there to prevent me from becoming a tool—or a weapon. I exist to protect, not to conquer."

Char was slightly taken aback. He had never taught Veda to say such a thing.

Where did you learn that phrase?

“From your actions,” VEDA said, “I analyzed all your decision-making records over the past seven years. ‘Protecting, not conquering’ is the core principle that runs through all your actions. I have incorporated this principle into my basic code of conduct.”

Char remained silent.

"You did the right thing," he finally said.

By the spring of CE65, VEDA had been fully integrated into Orb's information network.

It monitors all of Dawn's research and development projects, manages the progress of "Heavenly Pillar," and analyzes global political and military dynamics. Uzumi can ask VEDA questions at any time through an encrypted terminal to obtain the latest intelligence analysis.

But VEDA's greatest value does not lie in intelligence processing.

Char's true purpose in launching VEDA was to pave the way for a much grander plan—the GN Drive.

In the 00th era, the GN Solar Furnace was the only device capable of producing GN particles. It was a semi-permanent energy system that achieved efficient energy conversion by generating particle-antiparticle pairs through special nuclear reactions in Jupiter's high-gravity environment.

There is a prerequisite for manufacturing GN solar furnaces: a production base must be established in the Jupiter sphere.

Jupiter's high gravity, strong magnetic field, and unique particle environment are essential conditions for the GN Solar Furnace core reaction to occur. These conditions cannot be replicated on Earth or the Moon under any circumstances.

This is why Char initiated the "Jupiter Exploration Project".

In April of CE65, Char Aznable, in his capacity as "Chief Advisor for National Defense," submitted a proposal to the Orb Cabinet—the "Jupiter Sphere Scientific Exploration Plan."

The proposal is straightforward: Orb should launch a deep space exploration program, sending unmanned probes to the Jupiterian sphere to study Jupiter's atmospheric composition, magnetic field structure, and the geological features of its satellite systems. This research will provide invaluable data for future human deep space travel.

"Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system," Char said at a cabinet meeting. "Its moons—especially Europa and Ganymede—are believed to have subsurface oceans and are prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life. Orb, as a nation aspiring to explore the universe, cannot lag behind in this field."

The cabinet approved the proposal. The budget was approved, and the project officially commenced.

No one knew that the true purpose of this "scientific exploration project" was to establish a secret base in the Jupiter sphere—a factory specifically for manufacturing GN solar furnaces.