Lunar 3097

by Gary Timbrell

  CHAPTER 17

  Abbey reached for her wrist comm. as she walked down the hallway to the turbo lift. “Alex, meet me in the cafeteria on the third floor.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “You said you wanted to know what was going on with the AIs. I just got the scoop.”

  Abbey sat at a high top gazing into her cup. She had just added cream to her coffee, and it resembled a miniature thunder cloud taking over a tiny sky. She dipped in her spoon and stirred until the coffee was a uniform color.

  “Earth to Abbey.”

  She broke out of her stare with a start and looked up to see Alex standing next to her, for how long she had no idea.

  “You OK? You looked like you were miles away,” he said as he sat down next to her and set his Coke on the table. “What did you find out?”

  “These bastards are putting organic brains into robots!” whispered Abbey, looking around to make sure no one heard what she was saying, “then sending them on a mission and just leaving them there.” She looked around again.

  “If this is so sensitive, why did you pick here to talk about it?” asked Alex, looking very perplexed.

  “Because I can’t help but think our quarters are bugged, and they’ve been listening to our conversation ever since we got here.”

  “Well, they didn’t hear anything they didn’t already know, did they?” he stated. “Wait a minute, is this secret information we aren’t supposed to know?” His face drained of blood. “Are you doing it again?”

  “No, I’m not ‘doing it again’; this is not secret information,” she hesitated, “at least, I don’t think it is. Red didn’t say that it was classified. And she never told me not to tell anyone, so it can’t be classified, can it?”

  Now there was a different expression on her face. “Please tell me I didn’t just get into more trouble.” Abbey hung her head in her hands. “I can’t help myself. I’m my own worst enemy. I’m just destined to be tormented!”

  “Oh my God! Shut up! You’re getting too melodramatic even for me!” said Alex shaking his head. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. You’re saying that the AIs have real human brains with bodies that can last forever? So they aren’t robots?”

  “Well, no, what I think I’m saying is, they have found a way to duplicate the actual human brain and then install it in the AIs.”

  “So, you’re saying that you think it’s immoral? Man has been designing AIs for over a hundred years, and no one has had a problem with the brain they used as long as it worked. Now that they have produced an organic version, it becomes a problem?” Alex cocked his head to one side in a position of inquisition.

  “I don’t know what to think anymore. I had a problem with the morality of leaving thinking beings stranded,” said Abbey. “Now I find out that they have an organic, almost human, brain. I don’t know what to do!” she said as she raised her hands in the air.

  “Well, I can tell you what you’re not going to do,” said Alex. “That’s get me in anymore trouble.”

  Abbey laughed. “Might be too late for that. I probably just told you about parts of our mission that are secret, making you an accomplice. Again!”

  She looked deeply into his eyes. “You need to stay away from me. I attract trouble these days like a damn magnet.” She drank the last of her coffee and stood up.

  “Let’s get to Flight. I want to know what’s happening out there.”

  Alex grabbed his Coke and followed Abbey out of the room and back to flight control. As they entered the control room they could sense the tension in the air, they took their respective seats.

  Abbey spoke up first, “This is flight one, ready for comm. Transfer.”

  Then Alex spoke up, “This is flight two, ready for comm. Transfer.” Preflight reports and updates to AI communications.”

  “Flight One and Two, welcome back to Flight. We have had quite a few developments since your last shift. Please check logs on AI interaction and communication” said a monotone, laborious voice.

  Then a second voice, almost the same as the first, said, “We also have an issue with the AIs on board the ISA Trident. Check log Tri.2243.5.”

  “Flight Three out.”

  “Well well well, it’s going to be a busy morning,” said Abbey on her private channel to Alex who just nodded his head in silence.

  “OK, let’s find out what’s going on,” said Abbey, as much to herself as anybody. “This is Flight One to ISA Trident. Sitrep, please.”

  “This is ISA Trident comm. Stand by for the captain, please.”

  Abby sucked in a deep breath. Not good, Abbey, she thought as she waited … and waited.

  Finally, the comm. came to life. “Flight One, this is Captain Steel. We are having protocol issues with the AIs. They are acting like a bunch of college students. We have tried confining them to their designated area, but they have been found wandering around the ship asking questions about, well, just about every aspect of the ship.

  “We entertained their inquiries at first, but it got to the point of distraction. What can you do about it?”

  Abbey thought for a moment. “Well, there’s no way to shut them down completely, but we could try restricted data flow with our Tango Alpha program until you reach your destination and then effectively restart their mission from orbit.”

  “Anything that stops them from wandering all over the ship would be welcome. Trident out.”

  Abbey switched over to Alex. “Flight Two, initiate Tango Alpha 2, prep. RAIDA4 first, then 5 and 6.”

  “Copy, Flight One,” replied Alex. “This didn’t go too well the last time.”

  “These AIs shouldn’t feel threatened by the Tango Alpha Protocol, and even if there is a problem, we have people with them. It’s not like we’re a million miles away.”

  RAIDA “Flight Two to RAIDA4, prepare for Tango Alpha 2 Protocol upload. Do you copy?”

  Alex waited but got no reply. “RAIDA4, this is Flight Control. Do you copy?”

  “Flight One, I can’t reach 4. I’m going to try 5.”

  “This is Flight Control, RAIDA5. Do you copy?” Still no response. “This is Flight Control, RAIDA6. Do you copy?” He exhaled deeply and clasped his hands behind his head. “This is not good.” He looked over at Abbey’s cubicle and shook his head.

  “I’ll call Red and see if she has a way to contact them,” said Abbey as she reached for her wrist comm.

  There was no reply. She called the AI fab lab desk line; still no answer.

  “I’m going down to AI and find out what’s what,” she said as she stood and walked out, leaving Alex wondering what to do next.

  Abbey entered the AI fab lab to find it empty. She looked in the connecting offices only to find the same thing. Then she made her way upstairs to Stryker’s office and found Red and a few others there with Stryker.

  “Ah, here you are. I’ve been calling you on all your comm. but got no answer. What’s going on with the AIs?”

  Stryker slid a folder across her desk to Abbey. She opened it and started to read the enclosed report. She slowly sank into a chair next to Stryker’s desk and continued reading, as she absentmindedly licked her finger and flipped the page. Finished reading, she looked up at Red and then Stryker with a look of disbelief.

  “You gotta be kidding me! With all the trouble we’ve had, now we allowed this to happen? What the hell has happened to all of the checks and balances we have in place, so that stupid shit like this doesn’t happen?” exclaimed Abbey. “Does Addison know about this?”

  Both Stryker and Red shook their heads collectively.

  “Well, this makes what I did look like a schoolkid’s prank in comparison,” she said with a nervous laugh. “How the hell do we fix this?”

  “We could turn the Trident around and have it return so we can address the problem,” said Red.

  “Really? You want to bring the problem back to Earth?” Abbey stood and looked her in the eyes. “These AIs have found a w
ay around your protocols, your programming, and your safety guards. What would possess you to think bringing them back here would be a good idea?”

  “What if they have found a way around your magnetic field theory? Wouldn’t that be a fun day out when they arrive. You do remember that the laws of robotics were not applied, right? So let’s not bring back to Earth a gang of outta control killer robots, OK?”

  “So what would you suggest?” asked Stryker.

  “We have to let those poor bastards on Trident deal with the problem. That’s the only solution.”

  “Well, that’s not true. We do have Protocol Clean Sweep!” The blood drained from Abbey’s face as she said it.

  “As long as Earth isn’t threatened, that’s not an option,” said Stryker. “We have to work together and find a solution to the problem.”

  “We’ve been trying to solve this problem on LUNAR 3097 for weeks. What makes you think we can solve it now?” asked Abbey.

  “Someone needs to inform Captain Steel that there’s a problem on board his ship.” Abbey paused and turned to Stryker. “You have to tell Addison. Do you want me to tell Captain Steel?”

  Stryker nodded. It was plain for all to see that she wasn’t relishing the idea of telling Addison about the latest wrinkle in the story known as Project RAIDA. She was beginning to wish she had never heard of it at all.

  Stryker hit the comm. button on her desk comm. “Yes” was the response. Stryker took a deep breath and said, “I need to talk to you about something. It can’t wait. I’ll be up in a few minutes.” She pushed the button not waiting for a reply.

  “Well, it was good working with you all,” she said as she left her office.

  Red stood and turned to leave the office. “Please keep me updated if you come up with any ideas,” said Abbey. She could feel the resentment in the air after her tirade. “She’ll get over it,” she said to herself, reaching for her wrist comm.

  “Alex, set me up a Condition One connection to Captain Steel, would you? I’m on my way back to Flight.”

  “I’m not sure we can do that. We were put on limited access when we came back,” he replied.

  “Try, please. If not, I’ll call Stryker and get that taken care of.” With that, she turned off the wrist comm. and walked out of the office to the turbo lift.

  “What the hell has happened now?” whispered Alex to himself.

  CHAPTER 18

  ISA Headquarters

  Flight Control

  “Flight One to ISA Trident.”

  “This is Trident. The captain is holding for you on the Condition One connection; please hold.”

  Eventually, a cold authoritative voice met her ears. “Captain Steel.”

  “Good morning, Captain, this is Abbey Skyler, Flight Control—” Before she could say another word the captain interrupted her.

  “Good morning, Miss Skyler. Thank you on behalf of the entire crew for rounding up those AIs. They were creating havoc.”

  Abbey sat silently, not sure how to respond to the captain. She constructed a question in her head before speaking, a question that she hoped would get her the answers she needed without alarming the captain.

  “Have you noticed an improvement in their behavior?” she asked.

  “Yes, of course. Just after our conversation, they collected themselves almost regimentally, returned to their designated area in the hanger, and powered down.”

  Abbey looked over at Alex who was listening in on the Condition One line. “Captain, can I have you hold for a moment while I check something?”

  She didn’t wait for an answer. She clicked the button and then checked to make sure it was disconnected before speaking.

  “What the hell is happening?” she said to Alex over her private comm.

  “I don’t know, but this is a good thing, right?” Then a sudden look of horror came over his face. “We never actually initiated Tango Alpha, did we?”

  “Right, and now they won’t talk to us, so we don’t know what protocol they’re following. They might look like they’re under control, when, in fact, they’re probably totally autonomous and in a closed environment with humans. That’s not good!” she whispered.

  “So, what do we tell the captain?”

  “Nothing right now, until we speak to AI and Stryker. They can decide what the next step should be. I’m not making that decision.”

  “Wow, you are finally learning! Never thought I would see the day,” said Alex with a grin on his face.

  “Shut up,” she replied as she hit the comm. button. “Sorry about the wait, Captain. I have new data from the AIs, so I’ll have to call you back after we have extrapolated the information. I’m glad we could help. I’ll get back when we have a game plan.”

  “Thanks, Flight One. Trident out.”

  “Holy crap! Will this ever end? I just want this to be over and get back to a normal life,” Abbey said out loud.

  The techs in her immediate vicinity turned and looked at her. Two of them nodded their heads in agreement.

  I don’t need you to agree with me. None of you have any idea what I’m going through. You all get to go home at the end of your shift, thought Abbey. She could feel the emotions rising in her like a tsunami. Her stomach started to retch. “Oh no, please stop, please don’t, not here in front of everyone,” she whispered to herself.

  Willing herself to calm down, the feeling slowly started to subside. She wiped her brow and eyes; the sweat had been instantaneous. The salty moisture had run into her eyes making her tear up, but she managed to turn back to her desk before anyone caught her being any more emotional.

  LUNAR 3097

  Lander Site

  The AIs hooked up the homemade trams to themselves once again and headed out in a completely different direction. They were relentless; this time, they headed toward an area that looked totally flat. Not even a low ridge was in sight, but all the time, they watched the horizon for any movement or flash of color. After seven Earth days of continual travel, they stopped. There, reaching for a quarter mile, was a crevice, reminiscent in structure to that of the Grand Canyon, like a miniature model.

  3 reached inside the first tram and removed the instrument they had constructed and strapped it to its chest and plugged it in. It then made two full rotations watching the instrument constantly, then removed it and set it down next to the trams.

  2 and 3 removed two large metal tools from the tram. They used them to start digging about ten feet from the edge of the crevice and gradually sloped a ramp down into it.

  After several hours, the ramp was complete, and 2 and 3 walked out of the crevice up to the trams and loaded up the tools. 2 reached for the instrument that 3 had left next to the tram, but it was no longer there. 2 and 3 looked all around the trams and inside them, to no avail. There was no denying it … The instrument was missing.

  They hooked into the harness and pulled the trams down the slope and into the crevice. About a third of the way down, they stopped and unhooked it. In the face of the crevice, there was a black ribbon of some kind running down the length of the entire wall twelve inches wide.

  2 removed the tools from the tram and started to excavate the ribbon of material and loaded it in the trams. 3 walked out and up the crevice ramp and looked around the horizon, visibly shaken by the latest turn of events. After some time, 3 returned to help 2 with the dig.

  They would soon have all five trams full and ready for transport. Destination only known to themselves.

  ISA Trident

  “Captain, Ensign Broadchurch would like to speak with you, sir,” said the communication officer.

  “Put him through. This is Steel.”

  “Yes, sir, I thought you would want to know, I was completing my rounds and noticed the door to the Lander #1 was closed and sealed as if ready for flight, sir.”

  “Did you open the door and check the interior?”

  “Well, I tried, but there’s an override in place that won’t let me.”

&nb
sp; “OK, Ensign, we’ll handle it from here. Thank you,” replied the captain. “Security, please meet me in Hanger 2 at the Lander.”

  “Copy, Captain,” came over the speaker even as Steel had left his seat and walked off the deck. “Winston, you have the conn,” were his final words as the door swished shut on the turbo lift.

  “Hanger 2,” he said after the doors closed. A moment later, he was standing in the hanger with security and a tech from engineering. “Well, what have you found out?” he asked.

  “Nothing yet,” said the tech. “I’m running diagnostics, but to be truthful, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the controls. I just think it’s been closed and flight sealed from inside, and in that case, it can’t be opened from out here.”

  “Who the hell is in there that would do that?”

  “The only personnel that we can’t account for are the AIs.”

  “Are they not in the ready room in the hanger area that was assigned to them?”

  “No, sir,” said the security guard.

  “Why wasn’t I informed of this?” inquired the captain.

  “We are so used to them wandering around, we didn’t think anything of it,” replied the guard.

  “Captain to Bridge, locate RAIDA 4, 5, and 6 and send their locations to me immediately.” The captain was obviously very agitated, realizing now that the AI problem hadn’t been dealt with, and they could be anywhere on the ship, doing God knows what.

  “Bridge to Captain, we can’t locate any of them, sir.” There was a definite inflection in the voice as if saying, “Please don’t shoot the messenger.” “It’s as if they aren’t even on the ship,” he continued.

  “Get me a Condition One line to flight control right away and send security out on a complete sweep of the ship so we are sure that the are in the Lander. Lock down all sections that don’t need free travel and use a random rotating access code on all doors until further notice.”

  Steel stood looking at the Lander door. “Can we open this door without damaging it?” he asked the tech.

  “The door’s security and locking mechanism are designed so that scenario can’t happen without destroying the Lander’s integrity, rendering it useless for flight.”