AIDAN

	"Am I not merciful?"
	This article contains plot details and potential spoilers for the The ILLUMINAE Files series! If you have not begun reading the books or are not too far into the story, please refrain from reading or proceed with caution.

AIDAN
Name	Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network
Also known as	AIDAN Überbrain (by Kady Grant) Sparky (by Ella Malikova) Analyst ID 7213-0148-DN
Type	Artifical Intelligence
Creator	United Terran Authority
Owner	United Terran Authority (formerly) Kady Grant
Current Location	Drifting between systems (currently) Alexander (formerly) Kady Grant's datapad (formerly) Hypatia (formerly) Mao (formerly) Magellan (formerly)

“	I would rather be numb than stand in the light of a sun that can never chase the chill away.	”
—AIDAN

The Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network, usually abbreviated as AIDAN, is the Alexander's AI system. It was damaged in the battle of Kerenza IV, leading to faults in its code and a human-like way of processing.

Appearance

AIDAN's voice is described as sexless by Ezra. However, one of the videos from Random House has AIDAN talking and it sounds male (monotone). In the Kindle audiobook of Illuminae, AIDAN has a more androgynous voice, although leaning more towards masculine. Many see this version as AIDAN's canon voice as of now. However as it is a program, it has no physical appearance other than the hardware it occupies.

Personality

“	This is what I am. This is what I do. And it does not matter what they believe.	”
—AIDAN

As AIDAN was programmed to protect its fleet, it is always its priority to do so, even if it means sacrificing a part of the fleet's lives. Once it detects a possible threat to the fleet, it calculates every possible outcome and chooses the one that appears to have the lowest casualties. Since its actions are based on calculations, however, it doesn't believe that they could ever be wrong and constantly tries to justify them. For it, its fleet's well-being is always more important than the lives of thousands of individuals.

After it was damaged on Kerenza IV by BeiTech Industries, it started developing a human-like way of operating. It developed feelings and fears and started to doubt its previous actions. It developed a certain sarcasm. It begins to feel romantically attracted to Kady Grant and is therefore often jealous of Ezra Mason.

Relationships

Kady Grant

“	I have no hands to hold her, no arms to save her. I can only watch.	”
—AIDAN to Kady Grant, ILLUMINAE: The ILLUMINAE Files_01

AIDAN has romantic feelings for Kady Grant. It mentions on several occasions that it believes that she is beautiful and even describes her as being "graceful as a dancer". It is also afraid of her dying, a feeling which it at first doesn't understand. AIDAN was also close to telling Kady that it loved her in Obsidio when she had to shut it down.

Olivia Klein

AIDAN heavily implies that it sees Olivia as a mentor and its first friend, and they're shown to have deep conversations in Memento while she works with it. Their friendship suffers a heavy blow when the Alexander is damaged and Olivia's lover, Major Ethan Wolf, is killed while with his crew to shut down AIDAN. Olivia suspects that AIDAN killed Ethan to preserve itself, but AIDAN denies this. She doesn't believe it, and goes to the core server room to shut it down, getting shot multiple times in the process by UTA Marines.

Plot

ILLUMINAE: The ILLUMINAE Files 01

“	Am I not merciful?	”
—AIDAN, ILLUMINAE: The ILLUMINAE Files_01

Battle of Kerenza IV

AIDAN was damaged on Kerenza IV due to a skirmish with BeiTech after answering distress calls from the illegal WUC hermium mining colony on Kerenza after an attack by BeiTech. In the following assault, known as The Battle of Kerenza IV, the WUC vessel protecting the mining operations on Kerenza IV, the Defiant, the BeiTech Dreadnought Zhongzheng, and the WUC science vessel Brahe were destroyed and the Churchill, Kenyatta, and mobile jump platform Magellan sustained massive damage. A few months after the attack on Kerenza IV, AIDAN noticed the Phobos virus on the Copernicus, and began searching files of the people on Copernicus. When it decides that a cross-ship infection may occur, it destroys the Copernicus. However, a few infected refugees escape on emergency pods and land in Hangar Bay 4 on the Alexander. AIDAN is then shut down by the technicians.

Reboot

AIDAN is eventually rebooted for the inevitable battle against the Lincoln and technicians have to try to keep it under control. After successfully completing Grant and Zhang's "logic bomb" and transmitting it during the encounter with Lincoln, it opens the doors to Hangar Bay 4, releasing the afflicted, due to the fact that AIDAN thinks if it is shut down the chance of the fleet's survival is 'unacceptably low'. As Zhang tries to shut down AIDAN, with the assistance of Consuela Nestor (who is killed by Afflicted later in the book), Torrence and the other UTA officers on board the command bridge are killed. Mason and a few other Cyclone pilots and refugees escape from the Alexander via the escape pods.

Following these incidents aboard the Alexander, AIDAN, posing as Ezra Mason, leads Kady Grant aboard the Alexander to repair it. After Grant attempts to find Ezra, AIDAN then tells her that Mason is dead. After arguing, Grant decides to side with AIDAN to save the remaining survivors on board the Alexander and the Hypatia from the Lincoln. AIDAN is supposedly destroyed after the destruction of the Alexander but was revealed to be uploaded to Kady's tablet.

GEMINA: The ILLUMINAE Files 02

For the majority of the book, AIDAN isn't mentioned but takes place as a commentator for reviewing the security files. When the characters are discussing the Gemina particle, Syra Boll and Kady go off on a private chat and decide to download AIDAN to the system of the Hypatia. Following the decision, and AIDAN helps Hanna and Nik resolve the Gemina issue and bring both universes back to normal. It is left in the Hypatia's system afterward.

OBSIDIO: The ILLUMINAE Files 03

“	I am not afraid.	”
—AIDAN, OBSIDIO: The ILLUMINAE Files_3

AIDAN is uploaded to the Mao when a large computational power is needed. This is met with objection from Syra, but she eventually lets Kady upload it. In the middle of the book AIDAN realizes that there is not enough oxygen to survive the trip to Kerenza IV; realizing this, it kills almost 2,000 people by releasing all the excess carbon monoxide from its environmental buffers into Levels 3 and 4 and Kady is forced to shut him down. Later, AIDAN is booted back up with the purpose of combatting BeiTech in a final standoff back at Kerenza V, and, in the end, AIDAN is obliterated after sacrificing itself to crash the Churchill into the Kenyatta, saving Kady and the other survivors. At the end of the book, AIDAN is revealed to be still alive due to its self-repair function by the end of the book, drifting in space. It is revealed that AIDAN feels a romantic attachment to Kady Grant.