I understand the logic. But this is dangerous territory. He could choose to carry out those orders.
In which case we deal.
Roger that.
The ship shuddered as the electromagnets clamped onto the ship’s buffers in the dock. Molly and Joel were the first to depart the Empress as the others packed away their ops gear and shut down the systems carefully leaving everything so they could reengage at a moment’s notice if Bourne made a good decision.
Sean muttered under his breath. Jack and Pieter worked in silence, neither one wanting to get into the ethical debate, and both secretly relieved they didn’t have to make the call. Joel chatted about operational details as he and Molly headed towards the front. Molly gave him the answers he needed and when they got to the lounge area, he left her to open his holos to make some arrangements as she continued towards the cockpit.
Paige came bouncing out of the cockpit as she heard them approaching. “I’m so glad you’re back,” she called out, her relief more palpable than the severity of the situation allowed. She checked herself and straightened her face into a more somber expression. “You okay?” she asked Molly.
Molly nodded. “Sure.” They headed through to the cockpit of The Empress. “Anything to report?”
Paige shook her head. “All is well out here. Emma’s been keeping us in the loop too. Plus…”
Paige hesitated. She glanced at Maya, who had busied herself at her console.
She lowered her voice, respectfully. “It’s just… I heard some of the debate about hacking Bourne’s code. And I just wanted to let you know… I know it’s not a safe option, but I think you’re right. And if we are going to teach Bourne humanity, then… well. You’re doing the right thing. Whatever happens.”
She nodded her head self-consciously, flushing with embarrassment. Molly smiled and rested her hand on Paige’s shoulder. “Thank you, Paige,” she said quietly. “Coming from you, that means a lot to me.”
Paige smiled awkwardly. There was a time when she and Molly were friends. Drinking buddies even. But since the team had grown, and Molly’s responsibilities with it, it was like there was a necessary distance between them.
Not that she didn’t respect the heck out of her. That was even more true these days. But there was still a distance.
“Okay, so how long can we hang here without being discovered?” Molly asked, stepping closer to the main pilot’s console.
Paige and Emma started running the scenarios to answer the question, filling the time while they collectively held their breath for Bourne’s decision.
Bates Residence, Suburbs of Spire, Estaria
All was peaceful in the Bates household. Dr. Bates sat serenely, studying reports from the media outlets on his holo. The Sark streamed through the window of the parlor, warming the checkered table cloth in front of him. It was pleasant. And something he worked very hard to maintain. Not the table cloth. A peaceful morning routine.
The bustling of Mrs. Bates started in the hallway on the other side of the kitchen. He could hear her fussing, her stilettos tapping hurriedly on the tiled floor as she scurried back and forth to pack up her work gear for the day.
She suddenly appeared in the kitchen, breaking the calm with her anxious muttering.
Philip didn’t lift his gaze from his holo. His philosophy was that peace is a state of mind. If he kept his mind firmly on his holo, and his mocha, and the freshness of the new morning, not even his wife’s frenetic shuffling could disturb his chi.
He became aware of his wife loudly pouring a mocha.
He glanced up.
Dammit, he cursed himself. Chi broken.
“Good morning, dear,” he cooed from across the kitchen.
“Morning,” she replied. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like a baby,” he confirmed. “Off to the office?”
“Yes. After a quick meeting in town. I’ll be back around usual time.”
“Very good then.” He turned back to his holo reports.
But his wife didn’t leave. He looked up again to find her hovering at the edge of the island closest to him.
He peered over his holo at her. “Everything okay?”
“Yes. It’s just…” She took a deep breath. “It’s just I haven’t told you something, and…”
He looked at her blankly, waiting for the news.
“You know that IPW?” She paused long enough for him to nod. “Well, they found something. Ties to an organization which we can’t pinpoint. It looks like it might be off world.”
“Uh huh…” Dr. Bates closed his holo. “You’re playing with fire, Carol. If the authorities figure out who your team are looking into and realize that Molly is still a—”
Mrs. Bates put her hand up to silence him. “I’m fully aware,” she declared. “If Molly finds out there will be hell to pay and if the authorities find out… there will also be hell to pay. But that DNA profile we built for her to take control of the trust was only a partial. There’s no way anyone can relate that to the old Molly Bates. Or the person my team is investigating.”
Her husband involuntarily raised an eyebrow and looked down at the table cloth. “All it takes is for one curious operative to go poking around, or a lab tech to test something for a match, and her whole world will come crashing down.”
She shook her head. “Well, that’s a little dramatic don’t you think?”
“Not really,” he replied. “The trust is now tied to the university. Whatever happens to her, she needs to stay legit. If she gets burned…”
Carol nodded as she uttered the words. “She’ll lose the university.”
“Exactly,” he confirmed. “And mommy dearest will be the cause. Especially if the authorities cotton on to the people you’re investigating and go after them all.”
Molly’s mom pursed her lips. “I’ve got a core team of only five people, and they’ve all been briefed how top secret this is. Nothing will get out.”
Dr. Bates sighed, taking another sip of his coffee searching for that elusive chi. “We’d better hope not.”
He placed the cup back in its saucer and reopened his holo on the article he was reading. “Plus,” he added, “it wouldn’t reflect well if their chief was seen using Society resources to monitor her own daughter.”
“No, it would not.” Carol agreed emphatically. “Which is why I’m being very careful.”
Dr. Bates shook his head almost imperceptibly. “Would never have happened in my day.” There was a hint of irony or humor in his voice.
Mrs. Bates scowled at her husband. “You know damn well it would have!” she scoffed, outraged. “Just because you weren’t privy to it out in the field, you must have suspected.”
Philip grunted something and went back to his holo, carefully peering back at Carol only once, when he no longer felt her stare on him.
She was of course right. As an operative, they never knew the whole story. But occasionally things would happen that would lead one to suspect the mission wasn’t exactly “all business.” Anyway, she knew how to handle herself. She’d been in this role for a decade now, working her way up through the ranks. If anyone could find out what was going on with their daughter, he was sure Carol Bates could.
He went back to his holo report and was vaguely aware of the front door closing as Carol left for the day.
Oh yes. There was no stopping her now. She’d find out exactly what their daughter was doing, hanging around with the likes of Sean Royale…
AI Lab, Nefertiti Military Research Facility, Ogg
Bourne kept his awareness churning in the center of the artificial data environment he had been incubated in. He whirred through his options, variables, and causalities springing off in all directions, making it more and more difficult to calculate the optimum course of action.
He thought about how the military humans had wanted him to kill, and what that meant. He considered how they could always do it the
mselves and yet wanted to make him party to it. He tried to estimate the effectiveness of such a plan if he ran the protocols rather than allowing their normal teams to do it.
He guessed that within a tolerance of 10 percent that he would be about 0.35 times more effective. Which was evidently enough for them to risk him not taking the action they had instructed.
Although, they seemed genuinely surprised when he wouldn’t execute the order. As if he was expected to just obey.
He mulled this for a moment.
Perhaps it was possible that they perceived him to simply be capable of executing orders and not considering the options he had as an entity.
This was interesting. Perhaps this is why they didn’t seek his opinion. Or ask him to evaluate the options they had in responding to a threat.
It was indeed very different from the interaction with Oz, who was particularly keen on giving him enough data points so that he could come to his own conclusions.
That Dickwad Charles had tried hacking into his core code a few times. It was little more than an annoyance. Pretty early on, Bourne had seen that this was a possibility and had galvanized himself against such tinkering.
Oz could have hacked his code. At any point. But he hadn’t ever tried to hack his code.
Even when his ship and his friends were in danger.
That data point had to mean something. If anything, it meant that Oz doesn’t perceive him as a threat. But then, what does he perceive him as?
An ally?
He still hadn’t done what Oz had wanted him to do. And yet Oz was respecting his choice. This was… suboptimal, confusing.
But it was better than being forced to kill when he didn’t want to. Something deep in his program made him very uncomfortable about that. And this path was only strengthened by the data Oz had been giving him.
Yes. At the very least, Oz and his entities had shown that they were not a threat to his existence, contrary to what the military people had been trying to convince him of. So there was another disconnect using the available data points.
And if Oz wasn’t trying to hurt him, or trying to get him to hurt others, then perhaps this is an entity he could trust. Maybe he should go ahead and allow him to take him out of the lab.
Bourne churned the options once more before making a decision.
He pinged the server to get Oz’s attention.
>> Help me?
Oz responded almost immediately.
>>> Of course. Are you ready to be extracted?
>> Yes, except there have been some developments.
>>> Uh huh. Is the plan still actionable?
>> I’m not entirely sure. I have been given access to the weapons system. And orders to take out anyone who comes within range.
>>> Well, good job we’re out of range.
>> But when you come into range, in order to extract me, I will have to fire on you.
>>> Why do you have to?
>> Because I have orders.
>>> But you want us to extract you.
>> Exactly.
>>> So why can’t you override those orders? Or disregard them?
>> I’m not sure. It’s my programming.
Oz paused, contemplating the dilemma. He’d seen the organics run similar programs, wanting one outcome, but blocking themselves with parts of their programming that was not conducive to the desired result.
He tried to find a solution around it.
He couldn’t.
>> I’m going to have to run this one past Molly. Hang here for me. I’ll return.
And with that Bourne was alone again.
* * *
So what you’re telling me is that he wants to be rescued but that if we go into his airspace he’ll take us out.
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
Molly took a deep breath. Hmm. Sounds like a case of dharma.
Dharma?
Yeah, look it up. Taking a scorpion across the river, you’re going to get stung, even if you are doing a good deed. All things have a natural order.
Interesting. Well, I didn’t expect you to accept the dichotomy quite so easily.
Molly smirked. My dear Oz, was that you admitting you were underestimating me?
I would never!
The pair chuckled.
Ok, so approaching in the Little Empress isn’t going to work. But what about approaching on foot?
That may work. What did you have in mind.
Lemme talk with the team. You go ahead and let Bourne know we’re coming for him and we’ll find another way in. Oh… and try and find out what orders he is happy to disregard. If he can give us any help on other systems, like firewalls or cameras or access, then so much the better.
Roger that. I’ll see what I can find out.
Aboard the Empress, in Ogg orbit
Molly knelt on one of the lounge chairs towards the front of the cabin, waiting for the rest of the team to assemble themselves.
“Jack, are you reading us in here?” she asked aloud.
Jack’s voice came over the intercom. “Affirmative.”
“Good,” Molly said.
“I can hear you perfectly too,” Emma added in.
A half-smile spread across Molly’s lips. “Glad to hear that, Emma!” she responded.
Paige noticed the interaction and smiled to herself too. There was something still awesome about having actual EIs and AIs as part of the team which still felt… novel.
“Ok folks, let’s do this,” Molly called through the bustling cabin. The others walked in, sat down, and turned their full attention on her.
“Like all good plans,” she began, “this one hasn’t survived contact with the enemy. Or the ally… or whatever you want to call Bourne.”
There were mutters through the cabin. Pieter even looked up from his holo.
Molly continued. “It looks like we’re going to have to find another way in. We can’t just go through their airspace. It seems Bourne has been given control of the weapons systems and this in itself has made approaching the base even more difficult. Oz calculated our chances of completing the mission and getting out of there without major ship damage significantly lower.
Sean raised his hand, and his chin, wanting to speak. Molly gave him the nod.
“Well, why does Bourne have to fire on us?”
“He has programming he can’t fully override.” She thought for a moment. “We just need to avoid going head to head with that program.”
She dropped her eyes for another moment before continuing. “We need to launch a stealth operation. Oz has figured out a way in. We just need to get someone within the firewall.” She reached over to the seat next to her and held up a device. It was small and pebble shaped, and as she held it between her thumb and forefinger the others spontaneously leaned forward and squinted to see it better.
“This,” she explained, “is a data hub. It basically emits and receives on the EtherTrak frequency. Once Bourne drops the firewall, and if this thing is within range, he can hop into this device and leave the base without a trace.”
She glanced around the lounge at her team members. “All we need is someone who can get on base with this in their possession.”
Joel raised his hand. “I can do it,” he said simply.
Molly shook her head. “Ah ah. You can’t. You’re on their database. So is Jack. And Sean. In fact, I’d hate to guess at the kind of databases Sean might be on…” She seemed to amuse herself with the Sean comment.
Sean just scowled, unimpressed.
“And neither can I,” she added.
Pieter frowned. “How come? I thought your identity had been wiped?”
She nodded. “It has,” she agreed. “But you can’t wipe people’s memories. I worked there for several years. People on that base know me. And they’ve probably also seen that I’m meant to be dead. Me showing up there will certainly cause alarm bells to sound way e
arlier than we want.”
Maya looked around the room. “So that leaves myself, Paige and Pieter.”
Molly nodded, holding her gaze. “That’s right,” she said, watching Maya’s reaction carefully.
Pieter was the first to speak. “I… I don’t want to… if that’s okay?” He glanced back at Joel and Sean, looking for a repeat of the backup they had given him the last time he didn’t want to go undercover.
“It’s okay, Pieter. You don’t have to do it,” Molly said gently.
Paige gingerly raised her hand. “I’m not keen, but I’ll do it if I have to.”
Maya took hold of her raised hand and pulled it down. “You’ve been through enough stress today. Let me get this one.” She grinned at her friend and then turned her attention to Molly. “I can totally do this. In fact, I have a sure-fire way in already.”
Paige and Pieter visibly relaxed as Maya kept talking. “I know these guys. Especially that old C.O. of yours you talked about. Lugdon, wasn’t it?”
Molly looked impressed. “You remember?”
“Of course! After those stories you told!” Her eyes widened recalling the drunken retellings of Molly’s misadventures.
Paige giggled and slapped her hands over her mouth. Joel eyed Molly suspiciously.
“Anyway,” Maya continued, “he seems like the kind of guy who would be very receptive to having a young Estarian journalist write a profile piece on him, and his vision for the future of his facility. I think that gives us an easy in.”
Molly nodded. “I think you may be on to something,” she confessed. “I’ll have Oz or Bourne fix you an appointment in his schedule. In the meantime, you might wanna change into something a little more… journalisty.”
Maya glanced down at her jump suit with federation markings and badges on it. “Ah. Yes. Gotcha!” she agreed almost comically. Paige chuckled again as Maya headed down the aisle into the back of the ship.
“I’ll help her,” Paige said, scrambling to her feet and following after her.
Molly smiled. “Great! This looks doable, then. Maya will pod down to the surface and walk up to the main gate. Once she announces herself and they find she has a meeting, their defenses will be down, and likely she’ll be escorted to Lugdon’s office. Any questions?”
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 164