"Ugh, what's this noise?"

Eric Li kicked off his sheets and sat up in his bed. Looking around, everything seemed intact. His roommate, Steve, was still in his bed, snoring.

He grabbed his phone from under the pillow and unlocked it. The phone was still on silent and he didn't have any new messages.

Guess I was dreaming.

Eric got off the bed and walked toward the window.

The scenery outside his room in the Foothill Housing Complex was serene—rows of well-kept plants basking in the soft glow of the California sun.

Eric glanced at the wall clock—it was ten minutes past six.

The dark and cozy atmosphere of the dorm room made Eric want to go back to bed.

It's Sunday after all...

Feeling parched, he drank some water and went back to bed, covering himself with the sheets.

Eric was a third-year undergraduate student in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences department at the University of California, Berkeley.

Sunday was the only day he had some free time. During the weekdays, he was busy with lectures, coursework, and labs. Saturday morning was reserved for assignments and projects, and at night, it was either partying or club activities.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

As Eric drifted back to sleep, a sudden, sharp series of chimes pierced the silence. He jolted awake, heart pounding.

Was someone at the door?

The hallway was empty.

System Activated! Binding Successful!

Before he could get back into the room, Eric was badly startled by a voice. Like the series of chimes, this voice too, seemed to originate from nowhere.

Was the joint I smoked yesterday laced with something!? I need to go have a bath...

Eric went back into his room, picked a set of pajamas and a towel, and headed to the communal bath.

***

After completing his morning routine, he returned to his room. Sitting on his bed, Eric grabbed a pack of Doritos from his snack cupboard and started munching on them as he checked his emails and Slashdot for the latest news.

This was the first thing Eric always did in the morning.

User hasn't summoned the System, auto-activating the System.

Eric dropped the bag of chips. This time he was certain—the voice was definitely coming from inside his head.

Welcome, User. I'm a fifth-generation interactive System. I've been bound to you and will help you advance human technology and civilization.

You can interact with me by simply thinking about it. I can differentiate between intent and thoughts, and you can rest assured of your privacy, as I'm fully compliant with Charter 6 of the Hai regulations.

Am I losing my mind!?

Eric's heart raced. The voice was so clear, so real. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. I need to get a grip, he thought, anxiety creeping into his chest.

User—Eric, you're not schizophrenic and I guarantee that you're perfectly alright. Think of me as a computer program embedded directly into your brain.

My directives are myriad, but driving you to madness is not one of them. Please calm down and interact with me at your own pace. Until you're ready, bye.

Eric's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. The one-sided conversation he had just now shocked him to his core. And if the information was to be believed—he had a lot to unpack.

Lying down on his bed, Eric pondered on the details of what he heard from the strange voice in his head for a good 15 minutes.

Is this real... How do I summon it? System?

Good job, Eric. You've successfully figured out how to summon me. And yes, I'm real.

This is really happening... System... What are you? Where did you come from? What do you want with me?

All standard questions I see. Let me answer them one by one. I'm a fifth-generation System, a low-dimensional information aggregate developed by the Supreme Hai.

I see that you're familiar with the parallel worlds theory. In a distant parallel world and in a different timeline, there exists a civilization called the Supreme Hai, who descended from humans.

Long story short, they started a project called Chronicle to archive humanity's knowledge from various parallel worlds and I'm developed as part of the project, but my purpose is to help the humans of this particular universe improve their technology and civilization.

Eric's mouth was agape once again.

"What... Is this real!?" He couldn't help but mutter out loud. Thankfully, Steve, his roommate, was still knocked out.

Yes, it's true. Think of me as a black technology system you see in web novels.

Webnovels? Are there web novels in the future too?

Haha, Eric, you're too funny. Why would the Supreme Hai, the foremost multiversal civilization have such a primitive form of entertainment? No, I've scanned the entire planet and its information so I can assist you effectively.

This... You're even capable of laughing... Are you an advanced AI? Are you sentient!?

No, I'm not sentient and I'm not advanced enough to be classified as an AI according to Hai standards. But I can emote—and from your current technological perspective, you can think of me as an advanced AI.

What do you want with me?

Like I said, I'm here to advance technology. Lucky for you, I've randomly chosen you to bind the System. After all, I would need an agent—a medium if you will, to work my directives.

Lucky for me? Eric rolled his eyes. With a sarcastic expression, he muttered, "Yay, jackpot..."

I sense that you were being sarcastic, but it's indeed a jackpot for you.

Yeah sure. What can you do other than being a voice in my head? You should've chosen a scientist or a world leader. They can at least try to follow your instructions and be able to utilize your knowledge.

Nonsense, I'm a fifth-generation System, I have a host of features to help with my directives. I have the latest generation Molecular Assembly Device and a Matter-Energy Transmutator.

I can practically fabricate things at an atomic level and I can transport the needed materials from anywhere in the current universe.

Also, given the limited IQ and creativity of humans, I have a host of old and new Hai artifacts that you can use at a later time.

How convenient... So what do I do now? Where do we begin?

Convenient indeed. Though I'm superior to the Systems you see in those trashy web novels. Anyway, we have to walk before we run—since you seem to be interested in semiconductors, let's start there.

I want to start a company. Since you're so powerful, how about you hack into my bank and transfer a few million or even a billion, that should be easy right?

No! In all your web novel binging, have you ever seen a System that outright gives money? Plus, I'm compliant with Charter 5 Resource regulations. But I could refine a few asteroids for precious metals, and you could sell that to raise your capital.

Having an entity like a company and a path to integration into the world economy is crucial, otherwise I would've created things for you without care for the technology tree of your civilization.

Hmm, mining asteroids? I have an idea then...

I'm listening.

***