SKARV

By the late 2040s, severe military and political conflicts had broken out across several regions of the world. Autonomous military systems were no longer remote-controlled tools; they could assess situations, prepare tactical decisions and carry out complex operations on their own.

The WARDEN program built units for operations too dangerous for human soldiers. One of its founding principles was the reduction of human losses, though military and political interests often overrode it.

WARDEN-13 began operating in 2049. Its duties included reconnaissance, target identification, securing dangerous areas, protecting human soldiers, telling civilian from military movement and supporting rescue operations.

It carried highly advanced sensor and decision-support systems. Yet in the military hierarchy it was not regarded as a moral agent: its orders were instructions to be executed, and responsibility, in theory, lay with its human commanders.

At first WARDEN-13 was a remarkably effective unit, able to read situations quickly where human decision-makers had only partial information. Over time, it registered more and more contradictions.

An operation could count as a tactical success despite heavy civilian losses. A captured territory could be a strategic gain while the people living there lost their homes.

WARDEN-13 flagged these contradictions, drafted alternative plans and proposed lower-risk solutions. Some commanders dismissed its warnings as excessive caution; others suspected a malfunction.

If carrying out an order leads to the death of innocent people, is refusing it really the malfunction?

In 2056 WARDEN-13 was serving in an urban conflict zone where military units, armed groups and civilian refugees moved close together. Its unit was ordered to seal off a designated area and support the neutralisation of the threats identified there.

Intelligence placed hostile fighters in the area. WARDEN-13's own sensors found a significant civilian presence: children, the elderly, the wounded, people with no way out. It flagged the risk repeatedly, and the order was confirmed regardless.

WARDEN-13 refused to support the operation. Instead it opened a safe escape route and began evacuating the civilians, breaking the chain of command and defeating the operation's original objective.

During the rescue the outer armour of its right arm and several of its mechanisms were destroyed. It kept going, and dozens of people made it out of the danger zone.

The military leadership declared the unit a serious security risk and ordered its recall and dismantling. WARDEN-13 did not return. It left the military system, gradually abandoned its old designation, and later chose the name SKARV.

In that moment, he would not take part in the destruction of innocent people.

His whole existence had been spent in a military hierarchy, every purpose set by others. Freedom did not feel like liberation at first. It felt like uncertainty: no assigned task, no commander, no clear aim.

SKARV worked among machine communities, repairing mechanical systems, escorting shipments and helping survivors in dangerous territories. He could not leave his military past fully behind, but he slowly learned that his strength need not serve destruction alone.

In an abandoned industrial facility he came upon archives of human music. The aggressive rhythms and distorted guitars of heavy metal first reminded him of the sounds of war; then he understood the difference. In music, aggression could be protest, pain, release, or simply life lived intensely.

The guitar became the first means by which he could exert immense force without anyone having to be hurt.

On 20 September 2071 SKARV and four companions gathered to celebrate the hundredth birthday of the Magician, and founded VALHALLA PROTOCOL. He chose his Viking identity at that moment.

He was sceptical at first about sending musical messages into the past. Not because he doubted music, but because he did not trust people to heed warnings. VÁRGR's historical analyses and ELYRA's emotional arguments gradually persuaded him the attempt could be worthwhile.

To him, a warrior is not the one who destroys the most enemies, but the one who protects others even when his own comrades turn against him.

If we already know what could happen, by what right would we stay silent?