by Mel Odom
We followed his lead to a small room next to the room behind the receptionist’s desk and Racter took a seat at a public computer terminal. “If you don’t mind, I’ll handle this.”
I handed him the datachip I’d made with the information Kindly Cheng had provided. He worked the keyboard as quickly as Is0bel did.
Welcome to Ares Asia Holdings. Please note, all activity on public terminals is logged and recorded for security purposes.
With luck, we’d be gone before any recordings were checked.
Please state your query.
Racter input the information from the datachip, and the logs changed, showing that Golden Fong had visited several times in the past. Then he started a search for Dr. Taylor.
Dr. Taylor, P.
[email protected]
Drone Automation Division, Floor 27.
Biography:
Dr. Taylor has transferred to the Hong Kong offices of Ares Asia Holdings from his previous post with Ares Europe in London. His research focuses primarily on drone weapons technology, although previous work has centered on cryogenics technology and the impact of the Matrix on social structures and human development.
Dr. Taylor is joint chair of the Ares Asia Drone Research Laboratories with Dr. Ian Hardingham. Current projects include expansion of the Hangzhou Bay tidal power system, a proposal to expand the Hong Kong MTR maintenance program, and further research into machine learning.
Racter smiled coldly. “That checks out with what I had. I’ll soon have those thieves.” He entered a request for Dr. Hardingham’s info.
Dr. Hardingham, I.
[email protected].
Advanced Drone Weaponry Division, Floor 27.
Biography.
Dr. Hardingham has transferred to the Hong Kong offices of Ares Asia Holdings from his previous post with Ares Europe in London. Dr. Hardingham holds advanced degrees in weapons design and mechanical engineering, and holds several patents in the field of artificial intelligence research.
As joint chair of the Ares Asia Drone Research Laboratories, Dr. Hardingham’s duties are primarily related to the research and development of new artificial intelligence solutions that will keep Ares Macrotechnology competitive in this rapidly changing world. While the specific work of the Drone Research Laboratories is classified, previous efforts have been centered around self-repairing machinery, robotic game theory, and collective machine learning.
Racter logged out from the computer and got up. “Now, let’s go find those stairs, shall we?”
Chapter 69
Projects
A pair of sec men stood waiting for us when the elevator doors opened. They checked our badges, looked irritated, and grumbled that the security readers were acting up. Racter was good at playing the disgruntled scientist called out of bed by a new idea. Evidently the guards had their marching orders regarding dealing with surly scientists who brought in the big nuyen.
They stepped aside and we entered the main area of the lab. The floor was laid out around a central hub, with small offices spinning off of it. Racter led us to the center hub and settled himself at another computer.
“We’ll upload the worm and the faked camera footage through this one,” he said as he booted the datachip and set to work.
Duncan stood by calmly, searching for all the available cover in the big room the same way I did. Both of us noted the freestanding safe against one wall. Gobbet scattered her little friends out as additional security, and they raced across the floor and took up hiding places.
Racter actually hummed while he worked. I didn’t recognize the tune, but it sounded happy. “That task is done. Now let’s see what we can find on those thieves.”
He tapped the keyboard again, and I watched as screen after screen of information popped up.
Ares Asia Directed Energy Weapons Laboratory Annex
“Aut viam invenian aut faciam”
Please direct your query.
“The auto-repair project, if you please,” Racter said to the computer. He tapped more keys.
Auto-Repair Project
Attention: all information contained herein is considered SECRET/ORCON. Duplication of files is forbidden. Authorized eyes only.
Select file.
A memo popped up.
Congratulations, everyone!
Ares Europe’s given us the go-ahead to enter the Griffin drone prototypes into this season of Desert Wars. Between the auto-repair circuitry, the MP laser prototypes, and the self-organizing threat assessment programs, I think we’ve got a great chance at being one of the standout stars this season. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do between now and the kickoff event, so I’m expecting plenty of crunch time.
I know each and every one of you wants this as much as I do. It’s hard for me to express how proud I am of this team and all the hard work you’ve put in over the past year. If we can pull this off, we’re positioned to be one of the biggest teams in security drone hardware in the past ten years. If we buckle down and put in the hours required, I know we can do it.
Glenlivet’s in my office. Come get some.
—Dr. Taylor
Racter shook his head sadly. “Taylor, how far you’ve fallen. When we worked together, he’d never have written this kind of limp corporate missive. We all cared enough about our work that we never had to motivate the team like this. He’s become a management tool of Ares Macrotech. I doubt there’s much left of the passionate young researcher I once knew.”
“You think he’s lost his edge?” I asked, drawn in despite our risky situation. Racter was a puzzle to me. I liked the insight I was getting, and I knew I might not get it again.
“Not as such,” he replied. “I believe he’s still quite capable as a researcher. But when you spend all of your time managing a budget or organizing your team, what time is left to do the actual work? The reason you got into the field in the first place?” He shook his head. “No, thank you. That is a disgusting world.”
He toggled on DESERT WARS FIELD TESTING and another screen opened.
Hey Ian,
I’ve been encountering a worrying bug in the latest multi-drone mesh network tests. After checking on it, I’m pretty sure it originates in the self-organization subroutines.
When the Griffin drones go into self-diagnostic mode and start sharing their telemetry data after field activity, they stop responding to external commands. Even kicking the debugger over to admin mode won’t stop them.
It looks like they’re not responding to outside commands because they’re identifying activity orders as non-critical in comparison to their attempts to share and learn from each other’s telemetry.
It’s downright spooky. They even tried to push me out of the room during one of the tests, because one starting firing the onShareCleanupBasecamp function, and the rest picked up on it. They identified me as an object to be removed from their secure space—and the worst part is that the trigger condition was me trying to shut down the mesh network.
I don’t know, Ian. I don’t like the idea of drones making value judgments about administrator orders. I’d like to strip out the self-organization code for future tests until I can debug it. I understand that we’re trying to play catchup with Renraku on the pseudo-intelligence front, but the fallout if this bug spreads could be pretty catastrophic.
—Dr. Yan
Racter opened a file on RE: SELF-ORGANIZATION SUBROUTINE BUGS.
Just a heads up for the team—hold on further self-organization tests until you get the all clear from me, Hardingham, or Yan.
There’s a bug where the drone network refuses external orders while they’re pursuing their self-generated directives: data sharing, learning, battle examination, et cetera.
It’s nothing critical, but it’s going to make debugging other systems a pain in the ass until we get it sorted out. General tests are still a go.
—Dr. Taylor
“Ten to one,” Racter said, “the
y’re still using my old code. It sounds like the same kind of bug I encountered during my early tests in Moscow.” He ran a hand through his hair and squinted at the screen. “The problem is that they’re trying to give orders to the drones, while the drones themselves have prioritized their own desires over those of the end-user. They’ll never respond so long as they’re in group reflection mode.”
“Drones don’t have desires,” I said, feeling uncomfortable that the thought even had to be voiced. Drones were tools, nothing more.
“Perhaps desire is not the best word. But they have priorities. Terminating a threat is a higher priority than retreating to recharge at a base station, for instance. The drones are rejecting external orders because they’re a lower priority than finishing the data sharing sequence. The key is to ensure that they want to do your work, by weighting external commands so that they mesh with internal priorities. I ordered the drone to recharge while attacking, for instance. I would accept both commands. A terribly simple solution.”
I just looked at him.
Racter sighed. “I do not expect you to understand, my friend, but trust me when I say that while it may not work for you, it does for me. Koschei is the single most effective solitary drone in the world when it comes to independent planning and threat control. It got that way through my love and respect for science. It may unnerve you, but it’s a very effective process.”
He moved on and opened up another screen, pulling up another email about the cancellation of the Olympics, which none of us cared about, and then only an email to someone named Xia.
Xia,
I was hoping to take a look at your power output test data sometime soon. I’m going to be in and out of the office all day, so just let yourself in and put them on my desk. The code is 98144.
—Dr. Taylor
“Let’s have a look in Taylor’s office, shall we?” Racter closed down the computer and headed to the back of the lab.
Chapter 70
Gassed!
The code worked fine, and the door clicked open.
Taylor’s office was neat and orderly, everything in its place. A lot of drone prototypes and proofs of concept occupied his shelves.
Duncan, Koschei, and Gobbet set up on the door while I followed Racter to Taylor’s computer. Racter brought the device online easily enough.
User: Dr. Taylor, P.
Ares Asia Holdings wishes you a productive day.
“Plant the financial data,” I told Racter.
He booted up the datachip and did just that in seconds. It went off without a hitch.
“Care to take a look at his project records?” Racter asked. Then he hit the keypad before I could answer. “I would.”
The screen blossomed with a new image.
“Redline” Prototype directory active. Authorized users only.
Remember: security is everyone’s business.
Enter query.
Racter toggled the first one.
Attention: Ares Asia Holdings employees and residents.
Last week, Knight Errant officers responsible for the security of this facility received several reports of suspicious activity in the public area of the building. At 13:31 last Tuesday, security footage showed a male ork, approximately 20-28 years of age, entering the public mezzanine areas of the building. The subject was seen attempting to gain access to restricted areas.
The subject exited the facility before Knight Errant could intercept and question him. Reports from Ares citizenry indicates the subject was asking about research labs working on directed energy weapons.
Several hours later, the subject was seen re-entering the building from a side entrance, wearing a custodial uniform. Knight Errant guards attempted to detain the subject, but during their arrest attempt both guards were severely injured.
Any employee or resident should contact security immediately if they see this ork. Do not attempt to detain him or interact with him in any way. The subject is considered highly dangerous.
“I suppose,” Racter said, “that is one of the other shadowrunner teams Ms. Cheng mentioned.”
“Yeah.”
Racter opened another file.
From: Knight Errant Security
Dr. Taylor,
It’s come to our attention that you have not been treating this threat with the seriousness we believe it deserves. Please remember that the safety of your person and your research is not solely your concern—a strike against you is a strike again all of Ares Macrotechnology. When engaging in off-site entertainment from now on, we would request that you travel with a group.
Thank you.
There were other entries regarding tech stuff that made my head spin. I urged Racter to open the email folder. We got lucky on one of them.
They changed your door code while you were on vacation. The chips got a little fried when someone forgot to close the shutters in the laser lab when they were testing one of the new emitters. It’s 23847.
“Excellent.” Racter looked up at me. “I suppose there’s no problem with acquiring the laser prototype before we go.”
“Let’s be quick,” I said.
He led the way and I followed him to a small hallway to the right. A Knight Errant officer in full armor stood in a sec checkpoint off to the right.
“Hey!” he shouted. “You can’t go back there!”
Gobbet glanced at me, and I nodded. She waved a hand and a gust of wind blew the guard off his feet into the wall behind him. I darted him with a DMSO sleep pellet before he hit the ground. His eyes rolled back up into his head and he lay there, unconscious.
The code let us through the lab door. I glanced around, making certain no one else was around, then walked to the back of the room where the prototype sat on a table. If I hadn’t seen an image of it in Taylor’s files, I wouldn’t have known what to look for. Racter reached it before I did, and he lifted it up like a kid picking up a new toy.
He turned to us. “This—”
A sudden explosion cut him off, followed immediately by dozens of alarms screaming to life. Green gas spewed into the room. I didn’t know if it was lethal or not, but at this point even anesthesia gas would have cost us our lives. I swapped out the trank gun for my pistol. Duncan and Gobbet armed themselves as well.
“It wasn’t me!” Racter shouted over the din.
Behind him, through tempered transplas panels, a section of the ceiling in the other lab dropped to the floor. Four figures stumbled through the wreckage and the cloud of dust that swirled around them. I remembered the security reports about the ork and Kindly Cheng’s warning about other shadowrunners trying for the prototype.
Our competition had arrived.
Chapter 71
Bargaining
“Slotting amateurs!” Duncan roared, staring through the transplas. “We had this sewn up till they arrived on the scene!”
The four people on the other side of the glass wore mismatched gear and heavy armor. They looked low-rent, but moved like they knew what they were doing. In addition to the ork, one of the guys sported a full beard and messy hair, another was a woman with long blue hair, and the fourth member of the team wore big glasses and a van dyke.
“Christ on a crutch,” the big ork swore. “That was nasty. Jarl, is that the last of them?”
The guy with the wild hair nodded and coughed as the dust choked him. “Looks like it, Bull. My C-12 wrecked the stairwell, so we’re safe from backup via that route.” He turned to the blue-haired woman. “Dizzy, how are you doing?”
“Remind me again why we went to the executive level before getting to the lab? I’m all for a brawl, but pulling four Knight Errant adepts off Opti isn’t my idea of a party.” She glared at the guy with glasses and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You, sir, need to practice your martial arts.”
Opti raised his hands in supplication. “We had to go up there, Dizzy. Without the keycards to get into the lab, we’re as good as dead. Bull could’ve hacked the door, but his deck go
t slagged after you threw that guard into him.”
“Okay, okay!” Bull roared. “We’ll have plenty of blame to place later. Right now, we have to get the hell out of here, nab that prototype, and clear out before they get more soldiers down to this level.” He racked the slide on his rifle. “We’ve got a job to do, people, so let’s get cracking.”
The wild-haired guy, Jarl, glanced up at the transplas and locked eyes with me. Instead of ducking for cover, however, he stood his ground. “Hey, Bull? Looks like we’ve got some company in the lab.”
Bull spun around and scanned us. “Son of a bitch. Guess you guys got here first. Tell you what, we’ll come in there and we can talk this over.” He took a fresh grip on his assault rifle and waved an RFID card at the door.
The door buzzed in denial.
He tried again with the same result. Then he looked sheepish. “Uh…hey, would you mind letting us in? I’d rather not be trapped in here when the Knight Errant backup arrives.”
“Not till you tell us what you’re doing here,” I said. The last thing I wanted to do was open the door to people who’d waste us as soon as they got the chance.
“Probably the same thing as you.” Opti focused his glasses on me. “That lab has a laser prototype, yeah? That’s what we’re here for. It just looks like you got to it first.” He glanced nervously over his shoulder. “Do you think we could have this conversation inside?”
“In a minute,” Gobbet replied. “How hot on your ass is Knight Errant anyway? It sucks that you’re trapped out there, but I don’t want guards crawling all over us either.”