Cosmic Consequences

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:02 Hello and welcome to Awaiting Prompt, the AI podcast hosted by me, Matt Eastland-Jones.

Nick Short 0:08 And me, Nick Short.

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:09 Each week we give an AI a series of story prompts. These could be genres, characters, plot points, and see what kind of story it comes up with.

Nick Short 0:18 We're not writers, and we're certainly not authors.

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:21 We may need to give the AI a bit of direction on the way. But every single word is going to be entirely generated by an AI.

Nick Short 0:27 We're just really interested in the technology, seeing what it can do and having a laugh at the stuff that it can't.

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:33 So if that sounds good, then tune in every Friday to Awaiting Prompt.

Nick Short 0:37 This week, Matt and I are going to be exploring some outer worlds, some adventures and some daring-do, Matt, you're going first!

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:45 Some daring-do?

Nick Short 0:46 You haven't heard of daring do?

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:47 No! So I'm gonna go first. Actually I'm very, very pleased with this. I'm quite happy as I save it. I've given it a different prompt. So we've tested story. We've tested novel. We've also tested script.

Nick Short 1:09 Yes.

Matt Eastland-Jones 1:11 Well today, I tested comic book.

Nick Short 1:14 Oh, okay.

Matt Eastland-Jones 1:17 Okay, so, issue one: the intergalactic overlords. Planet Earth is in peril, an evil race of aliens known as the Intergalactic Overlords have invaded and are determined to enslave humanity. The fate of the planets lies in the hands of two unlikely heroes. Annabelle, an average human with a passion for adventure, and Bruce a talking dog from outer space. When Annabelle discovers that her old science professor has been taken captive by the overlords, she sets off on a quest to save him, despite Bruce's warnings against it. The dog's just like *barks*.

Nick Short 2:09 What do you think of the situation? It's ruff.

Matt Eastland-Jones 2:12 To be fair, he is a talking dog so.

Nick Short 2:14 Oh, okay. That's all that makes perfect sense. I was concerned for a moment.

Matt Eastland-Jones 2:19 Little do they know that the professor holds the key to defending their powerful enemies. With wits, luck and plenty of humour, Annabelle and Bruce enlist the help of friends from all corners of the galaxy, from a wise-cracking robot to interdimensional beings as they attempt to forge their foe's sinister plans for world domination. Will our heroes prevail? Only time will tell.

Nick Short 2:46 So when you ask it to continue, will it continue that issue?

Matt Eastland-Jones 2:51 Oh, should I say write issue two?

Nick Short 2:53 Or will it write issue two?

Matt Eastland-Jones 2:56 Yes. Let's do that.

Nick Short 2:59 Does this mean you know, just gonna get the AI art to make every panel of this story?

Matt Eastland-Jones 3:05 I mean, that would be incredible if we could!

Nick Short 3:08 After about three weeks, it's finally done.

Matt Eastland-Jones 3:10 Okay. Issue two out of the frying pan. So issue one ends with Annabelle and Bruce enlisting the help of friends from all corners of the galaxy to save Annabelle's professor, the first sentence of Issue two: out of the frying pan, Annabelle and Bruce have successfully rescued Annabelle's professor.

Nick Short 3:36 The missing issue!

Matt Eastland-Jones 3:38 And are on the run from the Intergalactic Overlords. With an arsenal of gadgets and gizmos salvaged from her professor's laboratory. Their mission is to find a safe haven for the human race, far away from the overlord's reach. But their journey isn't without danger. When an unsuspecting spaceship pilot crashes their vessel into the middle of a hostile planet populated by giant alien bugs and other intergalactic creatures, the two unlikely heroes must rely on their wits to survive.

Nick Short 4:10 Hang on...

Matt Eastland-Jones 4:11 So they were on the spaceship.

Nick Short 4:12 Were they on the spaceship?

Matt Eastland-Jones 4:13 I think they were yeah. It's not just it happened to some other person and then...

Nick Short 4:16 It was really weird. There was this car accident coming in. I was in it, but it was really weird.

Matt Eastland-Jones 4:26 Meanwhile, back on Earth, the overlords are amassing their forces for an epic showdown. Will Annabelle and Bruce make it off the bug planet alive? What new allies and enemies will they meet along the way? Will the human race be saved from the clutches of intergalactic evil? Find out in the next action-packed issue!

Nick Short 4:45 Issue three: Yes.

Matt Eastland-Jones 4:48 It hasn't really made the most of the fact that Bruce is a talking dog here.

Nick Short 4:53 Yeah, I guess they could like other than him being able to talk, does he have any powers?

Matt Eastland-Jones 4:59 Don't know.

Nick Short 5:01 Maybe we'll never know.

Matt Eastland-Jones 5:04 Well, maybe we'll find out in the next issue. Issue three: the Secret Origin of Bruce. The truth about Bruce is finally revealed. It turns out he's no ordinary dog.

Nick Short 5:17 Because he can talk.

Matt Eastland-Jones 5:18 We already knew that because he can talk. He's an advanced cyborg from a faraway planet with a mission to save Earth from destruction. How did this mysterious pup come to be? And what are his mysterious powers, so he might have powers! When Annabelle and Bruce crash land on Bruce's home planet, they uncover the secret origin of their talking canine. It turns out Bruce was created by a group of scientists in order to intercept the Intergalactic Overlords before their diabolical plot could come to fruition. Thanks to his unique abilities, undisclosed, unique abilities, Bruce has been vital in helping Annabelle on her quest. But will it be enough? More questions! Tune in for the next issue to see what's going to happen.

Nick Short 6:06 Do you think Bruce is like Inspector Gadget?

Matt Eastland-Jones 6:10 Maybe.

Nick Short 6:10 Because he's a cyborg. So part dog, part robot.

Matt Eastland-Jones 6:14 He's like he's K-9.

Nick Short 6:16 What I'm imagining now is essentially like the body of a Greek Adonis, and the head of a dog. It's like a robot mech suit. But with just a dog head.

Matt Eastland-Jones 6:28 Okay. Issue Four: the final battle.

Nick Short 6:32 It's a short series.

Matt Eastland-Jones 6:34 Well, I said write the final issue. It's just a mini-series.

Nick Short 6:37 Okay. That's fine.

Matt Eastland-Jones 6:38 It's a limited run, or is it?

Nick Short 6:42 More questions!

Matt Eastland-Jones 6:46 Issue four: the final battle. The battle between Annabelle and Bruce and the Intergalactic Overlords has finally come to a head. With help from the mysterious scientists from Bruce's home planet. They have been able to devise a plan to stop their enemy's world domination scheme, once and for all. With courage, cleverness, and more than a few jokes along the way. There have been zero jokes in this! Our two heroes confront the overlords in an epic showdown and win! It says that, and win, with the threat of Interstellar enslavement averted, Annabelle Bruce and their newfound allies, which they have spoken about. Oh no, I guess that allies are the mysterious scientists, go back home knowing they save the planet from disaster. But our heroes' adventure is not over yet. Who knows what other intergalactic antics await them in their next escapade. Stay tuned to find out which unlikely duo will be next in line to save planet Earth. I mean, that was... it was fun. Like I think...

Nick Short 7:57 It went into like the pulp fiction kind of the stereotypical like Pulp Fiction of like, what will happen, find out, tune in same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Matt Eastland-Jones 8:08 Yeah and also in previous stories I got it to try and write, it was always very Star Trek-y. It was always like the captain on the bridge and so I think it was quite fun. It did feel like a comic book. There was no dialogue. I was expecting there to be dialogue.

Nick Short 8:27 Yeah, considering he's a talking dog, he never spoke!

Matt Eastland-Jones 8:29 No and also I explicitly said so the prompt was write an intergalactic adventure comedy comic book. I was hoping for there to be jokes.

Nick Short 8:39 Yeah.

Matt Eastland-Jones 8:40 There were no jokes. Which was a shame.

Nick Short 8:42 Yeah.

Matt Eastland-Jones 8:44 But we do, I guess we have oh, no, we've got a name of the issue, we don't have a name for the comic series. The Adventures of Annabelle and Bruce. I could see that flying off the shelves!

Matt Eastland-Jones 8:54 My God.

Matt Eastland-Jones 8:56 No, scrap that. Intergalactic Overlords: Issue one. That was alright.

Nick Short 9:03 Yeah, I like that, I thought it was good!

Matt Eastland-Jones 9:05 Now into your story.

Nick Short 9:07 Right. So I did quite a bit of playing around with this one. So I initially gave it a prompt and I wasn't happy with it.

Matt Eastland-Jones 9:18 Okay.

Nick Short 9:19 So all I did was I changed the genre of it, but kept the rest of the prompt exactly the same.

Matt Eastland-Jones 9:25 Okay.

Nick Short 9:25 And I'm much happier with it. I started with writing adventure novel.

Matt Eastland-Jones 9:30 Yeah.

Nick Short 9:30 And I changed it to something that's in a similar vein. But it's certainly a different genre, if that makes sense. But other than that, I then gave it some other bits which I shall reveal later.

Nick Short 9:45 The sun shone down harshly on the alien market. It's rays reflecting off the strange-looking creatures bustling about in the heat. It was a dangerous place full of opportunity, and risk. Liam has come... fucking Liam. You're on an outer world and Liam.

Matt Eastland-Jones 10:06 Well you've got Ben and Luke.

Nick Short 10:08 Fair. Liam had come here to take part in a heist. One that would make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But as he stood in the middle of the market, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. Something wasn't right. Just then a strange-looking creature approached him. It had large black eyes and a long, thin body. It opened its mouth and spoke in a low raspy voice. You're here to steal something aren't you?

Matt Eastland-Jones 10:42 That wasn't a low raspy voice!

Nick Short 10:43 *Lower and Raspier* You're here to steal something aren't you. Liam nodded, not sure what to say. Are you here to steal something?

Nick Short 10:53 Yes.

Nick Short 10:54 Yeah. I'm not gonna lie. It's that thing if you ask them if they're a policeman, they have to say that they are. Liam nodded, not sure what to say. The creature laughed and said, Good follow me. I know place you get what you need. Liam followed the creature, all while feeling more and more uneasy. Despite the fact he'd agreed to follow this man. He had a feeling this job was going to go wrong. Little does he know, it was about to go horribly wrong. The creature led Liam further out of the alien market and down a narrow alleyway. As they walked its pace increased until it was nearly running. With every step, Liam sense of dread grew more intense. Finally, the creature stopped sharply in front of an old and dishevelled warehouse. It gestured broadly at the building and said... this is not the voice to do with a cold. This is your destination! Then it held out its hand expectantly. Liam reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins for payment. The creature seemed satisfied with his offering as it snatched up the coins, with a mischievous grin on his face, before quickly turning to leave without another word uttered between. Thank God for that. As soon as the creature had vanished from sight, he knew he should have turned back and fled from this place, but it was far too late for that now, although he hasn't entered it. He had already come too far to turn back now. He pushed open the door to the warehouse and stepped inside cautiously. Not sure what he would find or how this job would go wrong. And it ends there. I love that Liam is at this alien market, knows he's going to steal something, but clearly doesn't know what he's gonna steal, where he's gonna steal it from or how he's going to steal it. It's that are you going to do a heist? Yes. Of anything in particular.

Matt Eastland-Jones 13:05 Maybe?

Nick Short 13:05 Maybe. It could go wrong. Continue writing the story, exploring the alien warehouse. The warehouse seemed almost empty. Great. Well, the end of the story.

Matt Eastland-Jones 13:17 There was nothing. Apart from the warehouse itself.

Nick Short 13:22 Which he stole. He lifted it up and carried it off with the help of a talking dog who didn't say a word. The warehouse seemed almost empty, save for a few unusual items that glowed a faint blue in the dim light. As Liam ventured further into the building, he noticed strange symbols on the walls which glimmered softly in their own light. He reached out to touch one of them, only to be shocked by its coldness as it sent an electrical current through his body. It was then he realised that this was no ordinary warehouse. It was some kind of strange, otherworldly place filled with secrets hidden from the rest of the universe. As he stepped forward cautiously, more challenges presented themselves. In addition to the strange energy-filled objects on display throughout the building, a high-pitched sound began ringing out at regular intervals, and every time it did so, different parts of the room shifted around slightly until eventually, Liam could make out what appeared to be an anti-gravity chamber right at its centre. Through trial and error, trial and error, he's just flying through the place. Liam discovered how to activate the chamber and use it to ascend towards its ceiling where he quickly located what appeared to be his target, a solitary glowing orb hanging just above his head. Feeling triumphant at last. Liam carefully collected it before descending back down towards solid ground once again. Unfortunately for him, though, fate had another challenge waiting for him upon his exit. Standing directly outside, were two imposing figures ready to take him on.

Matt Eastland-Jones 15:09 It was the alien friend and his friend!

Nick Short 15:11 Ooh, maybe! Alien friend and it's Bruce and Annabelle! Continue writing the story. Before Liam could do anything, the two figures burst through the warehouse door in a flurry of activity. His heart rate increased tenfold, as he tried to think of a way out, but his mind went blank. The two figures seemed familiar. Liam realised with horror, that they were a part of an intergalactic law enforcement group. One had already drawn out an ancient-looking trident-like weapon. Isn't that just a trident? An ancient Trident like a weapon. It's actually got four prongs.

Matt Eastland-Jones 15:55 Yes, it's just a big fork.

Nick Short 15:57 Thank you. And was now pointing it right at him. You're under arrest for stealing something that isn't rightfully yours. As opposed to stealing something that is yours? Declared one sternly confirming what Liam had suspected before.

Matt Eastland-Jones 16:16 That it wasn't his. I'm pretty sure this isn't mine. But I'm gonna take anyway?

Nick Short 16:20 I'm going to take it anyway. Liam was frozen to the spot with fear. He had been so close, only minutes away from his goal. But now it seemed like he was about to fail in spectacular fashion. But before either of the guards can make a move towards him, Liam thought up a plan and acted quickly. How will he act?

Nick Short 16:40 He draws a knife.

Nick Short 16:42 He draws to trident-like weapons. Right, I'll get it to conclude the story. He pulled the glowing orb out of his pocket, threw it into the air. Using it's energy to activate the anti-gravity chamber beneath his feet. The chamber began lifting him up towards the ceiling, as he flew around in circles buying himself a few moments until eventually he managed to find an exit point at one side of the warehouse, which led outside into a nearby alley. The law enforcement officers watched in disbelief as Liam escaped with their prize clutched tightly in his hands. But what none of them noticed was that the alien creature had reappeared on the scene, just when Liam needed it most, clad in a dark hooded cape, offering its assistance. Together, they ran through the dark streets and winding alleys finally stopping only when they were certain they put enough distance between them and their pursuers. Liam glanced down at the item in his hand. The item Liam held was a small crystalline sphere with an asteroid-formed iridescent core. It's surface was divided up into small indentations, which glowed dimly in a rainbow of hues. It felt warm to the touch and radiated an almost hypnotic energy. Liam knew he had struck gold with his fine, this unique orb could fetch him a fortune on the black market. He already had a buyer in mind and soon enough, he managed to make contact with them and arranged for his prize to be picked up for a generous fee. With that, Liam's mission finally came to its successful end after all, despite the unexpected twist of fate along the way. As for what happened when they ultimately sold the item? Well, that remains unseen by any but those cut from cosmic cloth. What the bloody hell does that mean?

Matt Eastland-Jones 18:38 When you say someone's cut from the same cloth, like they're similar.

Nick Short 18:42 Those unseen by any of those cut from cosmic cloth. Is it just a regular bit of like denim, but it's been painted with those glow-in-the-dark stars used to be able to get as a kid?

Matt Eastland-Jones 18:54 No, it's just those space-effect leggings that girls wear.

Nick Short 18:59 I don't know.

Matt Eastland-Jones 19:00 What was the prompt? What was the change?

Nick Short 19:02 Oh, the prompt, and I haven't given it a title either!

Matt Eastland-Jones 19:04 No.

Nick Short 19:05 So the prompt was, write the start of a heist novel set on a distant world, including an alien planet, an odd looking creature, and the job that goes wrong and initially, that prompt was write the start of an adventure novel set in a distant world, include an alien market, an odd looking creature, a job that goes wrong, and it was crap. Because I liked it. I tried to I like to give it a reasonably, I like to give it a few light challenges in that first one and then just continue, continue, continue. And it just... for an adventure novel, there wasn't any adventure. It was just there in an alien market, something goes wrong, and an odd-looking creature attacks and no matter how many times I would just put it like just re-generate again and it just came out with the same crap every single time. So I thought heist might give it a bit more structure than just adventure. Because I think that's the thing. It's giving have a degree of structure whilst also giving it a degree of freedom whereas adventure's so broad, right? Right. Write 10 titles for this heist story, so we had Cosmic Consequences. Which I quite like, The Raiders of the Lost Orb. Yeah, I thought that's quite sweet. I like that. No Turning Back Now. One of them was just a bit crap. It was An Offworld Heist Gone Wrong.

Matt Eastland-Jones 20:27 That's very descriptive.

Nick Short 20:28 But the one that killed me, Fast and Furious: Outwitting Aliens on Another World. Oh God.

Matt Eastland-Jones 20:40 So what are you going for?

Nick Short 20:42 I like cosmic consequences, but also like the Raiders of the Lost Orb.

Matt Eastland-Jones 20:45 So there you have it, two intergalactic planetary-hopping stories from an AI. Next Friday, we're gonna try something a little bit different. The stories need to include three elements; an archaeologist, a torch and an egg, but we have total control over the rest of the prompt, so long as the story contains those three things. So tune in next Friday to find out how the AI copes with those prompts!

Nick Short 21:10 That's everything for this episode of Awaiting Prompt.

Matt Eastland-Jones 21:14 If you enjoyed it, then please leave us a review and make sure to subscribe so you can stay up to date with all future episodes.