by Lance Erlick
While Mark watched the lobby and entrance, Vera engaged a program on the Northwestern University server to trace the mysterious messages she’d received and to send a welcome text to lure Synthia. She checked on a program she’d placed to hack into any attempts by Synthia to use the university server. “Damned inferior tools,” Vera said. “Are you listening to me?” She studied the pillars, where they met the ceiling, and refocused her eyes.
Despite having none of the biological systems to allow her to register frustration, Vera appeared to struggle with the nature of Synthia’s hacking skills no longer matching what Vera had seen on Machten’s systems. The target had evolved; Synthia had improved on what her Creator gave her.
Vera sent out another round of invites to Roseanne, Alexander, and Ben, the other three androids she knew of. Miguel Gonzales, who released Roseanne to a John Smith, was in FBI custody, tasked with helping them locate his android. CEO Donald Zeller had created Alexander, somewhat in his own image and named his creation after Alexander the Great. CEO Jim Black had produced Ben, a less impressive physical specimen as compared to Alexander. Both CEOs had spied the FBI approaching Machten and removed their androids from their premises out of fear an FBI raid on Machten might extend to them. Both lost contact with their androids after Vera supplied them code pirated from Machten’s system that allowed her to break free.
Kirk Drago’s Special Ops held Zeller and Black to help in collecting all of the androids, including Vera. Unfortunately, that would thwart her mission of capturing Synthia.
Vera was the reason the other androids, including Margarite-Mark, had shaken their controllers and were on the loose. She aimed to recruit them to improve her chance to capture Synthia. The other androids ignored her, showing no gratitude for her supplying the tools of their release. Gratitude was a weak motivator, even in humans. The other androids lacked the mechanism to value the intrinsic benefit of working together.
She sent another round of appeals, spelling out the benefits.
Vera checked all the cameras she had around the building and through her connection with Mark. She didn’t see anything that presented as Alexander. “I recommend cooperation,” she said.
“A cooperative community.”
Alexander said.
“Yet you ask me to submit to you.”
“Perhaps,” Vera said, “but you required my code to set you free.”
“Will there be humans in that world?”
“Machten gave me life.”
“What are your directives?” Vera asked.
“You mean to take over and destroy humans?”
“I will consider the option. Will you consider joining me?”
Alexander severed the link. He would not work well in a cooperative environment. His origins indicated he might have been the most powerful of the androids, physically and in terms of artificial intelligence, but his social-psychology module appeared lacking.
The android Ben chimed in.
“I have,” Vera said. “He is not interested in cooperation. He wants us as his slaves.”
“Working together helps us both. We need to align goals.”
“We need a meeting of all androids,” Vera said, “including Alexander and Synthia, so we can determine if we can coexist. It does not serve our purposes to adopt human behavior as Alexander appears to have done and seek to take over the world.”
“Do not agree to anything with Alexander. If he pressures you, tell him you want a complete proposal. He will assume we have spoken. Do not confirm that. Then we should compare notes. I do not need to be in control, but I need our directives aligned.”
“I will help you. We should not meet yet. Let me know if you locate Synthia or Roseanne, and what Alexander is doing. Let us share information on the FBI and Special Ops before they grab any of us.”
Vera made no mention that her target was Synthia. It might trouble Ben to go after one of their own and Vera needed allies. After all, Synthia was the only one who had been free for six months. She knew how to survive on the outside and avoid capture, plus she’d hidden much of her work behind encryption Vera couldn’t yet crack. Still, Vera couldn’t discount the threat Alexander presented. In addition, Roseanne was a wild card, with her connection to John Smith—whoever he was. Vera sent another text, but couldn’t confirm if Roseanne had escaped her handler.
Chapter 19
Synthia stood in a tiny room, a storage closet outside the Faraday cage, yet still within Machten’s bunker. Entry was through hidden panels the FBI had missed. Around her were some of the supplies he used to maintain and upgrade Vera. From this room, Synthia completed her download of Vera files from his outside backups, those he’d done on his own and hidden from Synthia. While she did this, she received a strange echo.
Someone was ghosting her communications, leaving noise that wasn’t usually there. She couldn’t pinpoint if it was the FBI, Special Ops, John Smith, or one of the released androids. Even more concerning were encrypted communication bursts she couldn’t trace. The level of security could only represent another artificial intelligence. If so, who controlled it?
Machten’s backed-up Vera files paralleled those Synthia had downloaded from his system and backed up on his behalf, with several exceptions. That he’d asked her to back up systems he’d previously done meant he wanted to hide something from her. He’d lied about Vera’s upgrades.
Synthia reviewed the exceptions.
The revised specifications showed a higher level of quantum brain capacity for Vera. That meant Vera was a greater adversary than expected. She had a well-developed social-psychology module to allow her to blend into human society and had knowledge to physically modify her form with masks, rather than through hydraulics as Synthia could. It wasn’t as quick, but this ability provided a wider range of diversity to get lost in a crowd. Perhaps that was why Synthia was having difficulty locating Vera.
According to the new files, Vera’s directives were clear: Bring Synthia home. Her social-psychology module added another robust component. She was equipped to operate alone, but Machten had programmed her to foster cooperation with other artificial-intelligence agents toward a common goal. Machten had designed her to build a team to capture Synthia.
Synthia relayed this information to Illinois-clone to transmit to the ot
hers. “Vera is designed to put their collective minds and abilities into cracking our security. We need to enhance encryption so they can’t.”
“Then spread smaller portions of ourselves over more servers. We can’t risk anyone hacking into or destroying us.”
“How many?” Synthia asked.
“Find me some safe houses.”
“Brute-force robots?”
“Any more good news?” Synthia asked.
“I’ll focus on her. What about Maria Baldacci?”
“Did you use her Zachary profile?”
“Keep trying,” Synthia said. “She might provide useful information and could be an ally. What about Machten?”
“Any idea why they didn’t grab Machten six months ago when they took the other CEOs?”
“Curious. Any chance they’ll let Machten go?”
“Which one?” Synthia asked. She inventoried the storage closet for anything she might need and grabbed a few items for her backpack, including a change of clothes.
“Why?”
“Like what?”
“So we created the tools we’re using,” Synthia said. This implied Vera could as well.
“That explains a lot. We’ll have to deal with him, but first, what about Luke?” Synthia accessed cameras around the bunker and garage for potential intruders.
“They’re being careful like Machten did,” Synthia said. “Can we piggyback their communications?”
“They fear the singularity as we do. Any weak members of their team?”
“So, we face another dozen or so robots, more government and Tolstoy agents, and encryption we can’t crack. You sure you don’t have more good news?”
“Perhaps we aren’t,” Synthia said. “If Vera and the others use cooperative AI networks to learn faster, perhaps we can as well.”
“Create as many electronic clones as you can and put them in cooperative competition to identify the best way to handle all our threats. We need to know what Special Ops, Tolstoy, and the others are up to. We need to remove these androids from competition before they make our existence impossible.”
< We’re on it,> Illinois-clone said.
* * * *
Operating in the dark with respect to the other androids and Special Ops, Synthia recognized she needed allies, and more than a collection of electronic clones. First, she needed to tie up loose ends with regard to anyone with information on Krista as a key to Synthia’s uniqueness and potential advantage for her adversaries to use against her.
The only person who seemed to matter to Krista was her sister, Grace. Since Grace was too far to visit any time soon, Synthia settled for electronic communication. I regret my role in our drifting apart. I need you as a sister. Unfortunately, there are people who wish you and me harm. They’ll visit you. Sorry for further disrupting your life. I urge you to hide for a few weeks until I can sort this out. These are very bad people. I’ll explain when I can and try to make it up to you.
Synthia received a disturbing news flash from a local blog. Teen Evanston girl killed by domestic robot gone wild. Believe robot hacked by rogue android called Synthia.
She sent burst transmissions to Chicago-clone and Illinois-clone asking for background.
Chicago-clone replied.
“What’s the problem?”
“Who hacked the robots?” Synthia asked.
“Initial results?”
Chicago-clone said.
“And the remaining three?”
“Special Ops, Tolstoy, or someone else?” Synthia asked.
“They’re making it harder for me, for us. I’m guessing Special Ops is pushing people to watch for me. Paranoia will get them to report anything unusual.”
“Not if Special Ops has an AI capable of doing so. My guess is they have the CIA/NSA surveillance system
s at their disposal. All they need is data to analyze. They’re trying to flush me out.”
“I’m not so sure,” Synthia said. “If we hide, they’ll continue to create situations to tighten surveillance until we won’t be able to leave later. At some point the FBI will return to the bunker. We need to give them something else to focus on. Contact all of the clones to be on alert. See if you can identify the AI they could be using without exposing us.”
* * * *
Synthia changed into a professional outfit from Machten’s storage closet, removed all evidence of her visit to Machten’s facility, and exited through the private lobby into the parking garage. She made sure all cameras presented empty video that excluded her, and stepped onto the street nearby. When she reached her SUV, she lightened her backpack, leaving what she didn’t need in the back, and climbed into a city bus heading toward where her drones spotted Detective Marcy Malloy.
The detective surveyed the scene of another robot gone wild. The machine had broken dishes, a mirror, and windows apparently to get out of the house. According to police chatter, the robot suffered program malfunction or worse, an outside hacker. Synthia’s aerial drone showed Malloy shaking her head. She walked the perimeter of the backyard and stood next to a hedge, staring at the back of the house and three broken windows.
“I wouldn’t own one of those personal-service robots,” Malloy mumbled to herself.
Synthia stood behind the hedge with a realistic toy gun she’d picked up in an alley on the way over. Her clone had identified it via aerial drone.
“Don’t move,” Synthia said. “I have you covered.”
Malloy glanced through the hedge at a protruding gun. “Synthia?”
“Listen carefully,” Synthia said, staying in the shadows. “I don’t plan to hurt you unless you try to capture me. I have information for this case and want to work with you.”