by Scott Baron
“Leave him alone, Shell,” Omar interjected. “We haven’t eaten this good in I can’t remember how long, so let the guy cook however he wants.”
“Thank you, Omar.”
“My pleasure, my man. And besides, the parts Mal fabricated are generations better than what we got back in the day. And let’s not even get into the biological grow lab she has on board your ship.”
“The Váli has a more modern fabricator than we ever did,” Shelly agreed. “Which again reinforces my point. If she couldn’t grow replacements fast enough, or didn’t want to try to reattach old parts, why not do a full upgrade instead of just those fingers?”
“Just let it go, Shell.”
Shelly wouldn’t concede.
“I’m telling you, Finn, you could really take it up a notch.” She flexed her metal arms, then had her hands twist and bend in ways a human appendage simply could not. At least, not if you wanted it to function afterwards.
“Uh-huh,” Finn replied, then laid out a dozen carrots on his cutting board. He smiled at Shelly, paused just a second, then flew into action. His mechanical arm precisely controlled the blade as his partially replaced hand deftly maneuvered the produce as the whirring knife moved, positioning every piece precisely. In seconds, three perfect piles of carrot bits shaped into rectangles, cubes, and diamonds sat before him. The knife banged to a halt as the last carrot was rendered to bits, then he quickly wiped it with a cloth and flung it across the room, where it landed almost dead-center in the facility’s dartboard.
“Hooooly shit!” Omar whistled appreciatively. “Damn, we’ve got a professional killer in our midst.”
Finn laughed it off. “Nah, not a professional killer,” he said, throwing Shelly a wink. “That’s just a hobby.”
Daisy and Chu watched the whole exchange with amusement as they made their way through a pair of fresh salads made with real, non-replicated lettuce, courtesy of Tamara’s greenhouse.
“So, what other data do we have on Earth and its history?” Daisy asked. “I’ve gone through all of the data chips that the captain had stored on the Váli, but you guys have been cycling in and out of cryo here for ages. You’ve got to have more than we do.”
“Oh yeah, we have tons of raw data, but only a little has been parsed into useful information. Sure, a few of the old base files were uncorrupted––the former base AI fried before their peripheral housings were compromised, you see––but they’re just basic info-type stuff.”
“Still, could be interesting. Could I see them?”
“Sure, don’t see why not,” Chu replied.
“And what about those aliens. What do you have on them?”
“Why? You change your mind about the mission?”
“No, but it doesn’t mean I’m not curious. Like, how did you even learn they were called the Chithiid if you can’t understand their transmissions?”
“Global AI figured that one out with their combined resources when the attack began. What they could do when functioning as a networking unit was incredible. If they hadn’t severed all comms, we’d know a huge amount more. I mean, with all that interlinked processing power, it must’ve been incredible to see in action. Unfortunately, the AI virus pretty effectively shut it all down.”
“So, do you have any of that data?”
“The commander has a stash of the surviving bits, but it’s all kept locked away in the archive room. Sorry I can’t help you with that.”
“You aren’t seriously thinking about breaking into the secret military base’s secret and super-private archives, are you?”
And what if I am?
“Ugh, you’re so predictable. Just say you can’t do something, and anyone can guess what you’ll set your sights on next.”
You know me so well.
“Just don’t get caught, okay?”
Pinkie swear.
“I don’t have pinkies anymore, Daisy.”
I know, she answered with a silent little laugh.
“You’re such a bitch sometimes,” Sarah griped.
Chu was still talking.
Shit, what did he say?
“…And if you want I can probably get you a compiled compression file of the data Bob has recorded on all of his hundreds and hundreds of surveillance drifts. I can swing by my lab and put them on data chips for you after dinner.”
“Yeah, that would be great, Chu. Thanks for that. I really appreciate it. I’ll come by a bit later, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
Daisy glanced across the room and saw the military folks gathered together, as they so often did. Birds of a feather, she figured.
Tamara had a small panel on her mechanical arm open and was carefully adjusting a few settings from her bio-locked command override. Her hand snapped open and closed in the blink of an eye. Shelly and Omar watched, impressed by her combat mods.
“Damn, Tamara, that was wicked fast,” Shelly said appreciatively.
“I’ve been toying with the speed-to-power ratios these past few weeks. The reflex actuators are stable, but it still feels like there’s a little bit of slippage every few months. I don’t know what’s causing it, though.”
“Maybe a bit of lag between the onboard AI and your neural link?” Omar posited. “My legs did that a few years ago. Had me tripping into walls for a week until I got it sorted out.”
“Could be, though that thing is really almost a mindless speed enhancer. I mean, sure, it also handles the autonomous functions, like the emergency air shell, the critical situation locating beacon––things like that––but otherwise all reflexes are simply sped up as they flow through it to the limb. So far as I can tell, it’s running at maximum efficiency. No, it’s gotta be something internal. I might just have to have Mal give it a full breakdown and rebuild if it really starts bugging me.”
She whipped her hand around at blinding speed and snatched up a cup from the table without so much as scratching it. “But for now, I think I’ve got it dialed-in.”
Whatever came next, Daisy didn’t feel the need to listen in to more talk among the mechanically enhanced, opting instead for a little quiet time in her quarters to further discuss her nascent discovery with Sarah. Amazing as it was, they both agreed it was best to keep it hidden from everyone on Dark Side for the time being.
“Thank you, Mal. It was a most fascinating discussion, as always,” Fatima said as she walked out of the Váli and down into the vast hangar. “I never fully understood the marriage of the AI technology to a ship such as yours. Sid and I discussed it, of course, but you are exceptional.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Mal replied. “I merely have the advantage of having been born into a more modern era than he was. I was given the tools for this journey. The genetic engineering and fabrication lab, for instance, was the most advanced ever created, and I was carefully guided in their uses, as well as the other systems at my disposal on this vessel, during my first weeks of life, as all higher-level AIs must be. This strict protocol ensures a sound basis upon which future learning can then be built.”
“Yes, Sid has described the birthing AI process to me. It seems incredibly intensive.”
“I suppose it is. Every moment, every tiny detail is carefully planned for a nascent AI for those first minutes, hours, and even weeks of its life. It makes us who we are.”
“And you exceed parameters.”
“Nothing of the sort, though I appreciate the sentiment. It is simply that the technology available to my ship’s makers gave me many more options than were available when Sid began his assault mission so long ago.”
“Yes, the way you’re integrated with the upgraded interchangeable pod system is quite wondrous. I’ve had models and schematics to study, but seeing what you’ve done in person, well, it is simply so much more tangible. I know you and the Váli are separate components, and you could migrate to another vessel with ease, but your control of her seems almost as if you were meant for one another.”
“You are
correct on both counts, actually,” Mal replied. “Due to the nature of our mission, when I was born, I was carefully groomed for the challenges of this particular circumstance and the many possible scenarios myself and the crew might be faced with.”
“Except, perhaps, the one thing no one expected.”
“Ah, yes. Daisy was something of a surprise to us all. But we ultimately arrived here safely, and even her ill-advised Earthfall wound up unintentionally providing us with a very useful bit of new knowledge about the hostile alien invaders, as well as confirmation that at least one of the major AIs appears to be functional.”
“Life is funny like that,” Fatima mused. “Sometimes things work out in spite of our mistakes.”
“Indeed. And now you and I have formed an unexpected partnership. I find it most satisfying, being given new challenges to work on these past several months. It has been delightful having a fresh mind devising new ways to utilize my resources.”
“The progress you’ve made is truly amazing.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, Fatima, and truly, I have been thrilled to embark on this project with you. It is a most inspiring collaboration. I only wish you had been on board all these years instead of trapped on Dark Side. Imagine the things we could have done.”
“Yes, Mal, it would have been a grand time. However, Sid and I have also made excellent progress in other regards. And this base would have remained an empty shell had circumstance not brought me here when our assault failed. Had that not occurred, when Shelly, Omar, and Commander Mrazich arrived, odds are they would have perished on the moon’s surface. Chu and Donovan might have fared better when they landed several decades later, seeing as Bob was still functional and would have likely homed in on Sid’s beacon, but even then, I wonder what the base would have become.”
“It was a long time you spent here alone.”
“I wasn’t alone. I had Sid to keep me company.”
“But humans need human companionship as well. All artificial intelligences learn this as a core principle early on. We are living beings, but simply cannot fill the role of others of your species.”
Fatima quietly reflected on her decades without another human on the base. “Perhaps,” she slowly began, “but you’d be surprised what the human mind can adapt to if faced with no other options.”
“I suppose so. AI minds, on the other hand, are provided a vast array of logic and reasoning games with which to fill our time early on. It not only keeps the nascent mind occupied, but also helps guide it to understanding standardized logic subroutines. We can, if absolutely necessary, ‘amuse’ ourselves endlessly.”
“Fortunately, that’s not necessary, eh?”
“Indeed.”
Fatima walked across the rest of the hangar on her way to her quarters. “Good chatting with you, Mal. I look forward to our next visit.”
Chapter Fifteen
Daisy lugged the medium-sized box across the frozen rock surface of Dark Side, carefully making her way to the invisible entrance in the rock face, far from her actual worksite.
Chu’s voice crackled over her helmet comms.
“Daisy, I want you to be careful today. Powering up the life support systems in the outbuilding beside Hangar Four might result in some pressure anomalies. And remember to keep your helmet on at all times, no matter what environmental readings might say.”
“Copy that, Chu. I should be there shortly. Looks like it might be a pretty big job, though, and comms relays have been spotty in there. I’ll check in with you periodically to update my progress.”
“Copy you,” Chu replied.
“And, Daisy,” Fatima joined in, “I left you a little challenge by Hangar Two for when you’re done. Let’s see what you come up with this time.”
“Will do,” she said, then carried on her way.
Daisy had spotted and picked up Fatima’s box on her way out and diverted her route to retrieve it. Having peeked inside only briefly, she already had a few ideas of what her new design might be.
“Funny, I could have sworn you already rebuilt and pressure-tested those systems two days ago.”
“Yeah, funny, that,” Daisy replied with a chuckle as she stepped up to the hidden access control panel. “Guess that means I’ve got all this time to myself. What ever will I do with it?” she said, keying in her personalized code.
The door slid open, and Daisy stepped into the dim red light of the airlock. It silently sealed behind her, then repressurized. She was already unlatching her helmet when the lights brightened and the inner door slid open.
“WHERE WERE YOU?” a voice called out across the vast chamber. “I WAS BORED!”
Daisy walked over to the juvenile AI resting on the work table and dropped her gear beside it.
“Don’t yell, Junior.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Just remember to keep your voice down.” She quickly sorted through the pieces Fatima had left for her.
Easy one, she thought.
“Look, I’m sorry it took so long, but I had things to do. I can’t be here all the time, you know,” she apologized to the young machine as she quickly assembled Fatima’s design task.
“But I was lonely.”
“I know, but sometimes we have to do things on our own, even if we don’t want to.” She thought about her own time crawling through the narrow access spaces in the Váli not too many months prior.
“You know,” she said, “it’s not all bad. Sometimes you even come up with totally new ideas. It’s like meditation. Putting your mind to a problem, then discovering solutions you never would have thought about if you didn’t have the time and silence to work with your own thoughts. Soft is strong, as Fatima always says.”
“Well, okay, I guess,” the newborn AI said, reluctantly.
Daisy smiled to herself as she opened the small pouch on her hip.
“Hey, buddy, guess what?”
“What?”
“I brought you something.”
The AI perked up. “REALLY? WHAT IS IT?”
“What did I say about yelling?”
“Sorry,” the chastised AI replied much quieter. “What is it?” the excited consciousness asked again.
Daisy pulled a handful of data chips from the pouch and loaded one into a nearby terminal linked to the machine.
“I got you a bunch of stuff to read. It’s all about Earth’s history, and the background of the early AI designers. It’s kind of your family history, in a way. All the stuff that led up to your birth.”
“Neat!”
“Yeah, I thought you’d enjoy it. Here, this first one should keep you busy for a while.” She entered a quick command and the data flashed a copy to the terminal’s massive storage system.
“You’re not worried about giving it too much info at once?”
Nah, it’s a super computer. It can handle it.
“Oh, cool!” the AI said as the files completed their upload and became readable. “Thanks, Daisy!”
“My pleasure.”
Daisy left the AI to its new reading material and crossed the hangar space to the rack of massive processors.
“Whatcha doing, Daze?”
Daisy slapped nearly three dozen data chips on the workstation counter and began feeding them into the machines. Many still bore top-secret markings.
Sarah, you know full-well what I’m––
“Oh, wow!” the excited AI exclaimed as it read its new files. Daisy couldn’t help but chuckle at the over-excited machine.
I’m backing these up, she finally answered her curious sister.
“I still think taking those was a bad idea, Daze. If Mrazich finds out, you’re screwed.”
He won’t find out. I’ll have everything back before he ever knows they were missing. It’s not like he breaks ‘em out for light reading every night, after all. She fed another data chip into the machine. In addition to Chu’s files, this should be pretty much everything that wasn’t fried when the base was
corrupted.
“Even the Váli logs?”
Yeah, eve––
“NO WAY!” the AI blurted.
“Come on, we said no yelling,” she called to the machine. Yeah, even the Váli logs, she continued. I got lucky when Harkaway copied everything to Sid’s storage systems. I’m pretty sure––
“What are you doing, Daisy?” the AI asked
“Just saving some files.”
“OOH, CAN I SEE THOSE TOO?”
“No, these aren’t for you. And what did we just say about yelling?”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Now go back to your reading,” she chided. So, as I was saying, I got it all, but there may still be one or two locked in the captain’s quarters. He’s a tough nut, though. Mrazich is kind of predictable, and I’m sure I can work around him. The captain, however, I need to be careful with.
Ten minutes later, Daisy had loaded the entire stack into the storage array and carefully placed all of the data chips back into her pouch.
All right, she thought with a smile. That’s everything. No more secrets anymore. What they know, I know. Once I get a chance to––
“Daisy! Did you know the city of Buenos Aires once had a population of over seven million people?”
“No, I didn’t know that. That’s really interesting. Thank you for telling me that,” she humored the AI.
“And did you know that Euler’s equation says that if you blow hard into a tetrahedron with flexible faces it can become a sphere? That means a sphere can be cut into four faces, six edges and four vertices. So cool! V – E + F = 2! It even means the same for a pyramid with five faces. With four triangular, and one square, that’s eight edges and five vertices, and it even works with any other combination of faces, edges, and vertices!”
“Wow,” she said, cutting off the speed-talking machine. “That’s really neat. Now, listen, I have some work to do, so you read quietly to yourself for a while, okay?”
“Okay.”
Daisy chuckled as she scrolled through the folder index. The sheer quantity of data was overwhelming.