Use of Emergency: The Si-Carb Chronicles Book 1

by Kate Kyle

  The door shut with a thud. Which was probably Dr. Harris escaping an uncomfortable situation, too.

  The sound echoed around the empty hallway.

  Jax looked about her. With Dr. Harris, Rutger and Lulu gone, only SingMa was left to watch her carefully.

  "You've lost it, girl," he said.

  "No need to tell me. I can see she's left with my tablet," Jax replied.

  Her heart was hammering somewhere in her throat. She wanted to scream, and maybe even stomp her feet, but that wouldn't have changed the situation.

  "That's not what I meant," SingMa said quietly. " I don't think you get it, do you? You're a lone wolf, SandCat. Sand cats are loners, aren't they?"

  Jax shrugged. She hated responding to obvious questions.

  "I should have known. I've seen your game records," he continued, his eyes soft and filled with something she struggled to identify. "Professor Li is right. You don't get true collaboration."

  "And you just blindly admire her. Can't you see my point?" Jax snapped back, but the words came out weaker than she intended.

  "Maybe I do, but I truly believe in the importance of working together and putting the good of the community, society, or even humanity before your own selfish needs. And I wouldn't be here if that wasn't my genuine conviction."

  "What?" she glared at him. "What's that supposed mean?"

  "I'm referring to one of the founding principles of Rebels' Republic. But you wouldn't know that, would you? No, of course, not," he carried on in the same breath. Jax shoved her hands into the pockets of her suit - they hadn't even had time to change back into normal clothes. Was she going to get a minute to defend her position?

  And what was she going to say?

  Yeah, that was the matter of trust and… well, only trust. How could she trust the person who stole from her and continued to use the little Jax had, as if she had the right to access it because… because…

  "We should be going," SingMa said.

  Jax released her breath and started walking back to the exit – to their little electric car and to her ship.

  Because she really cared. Now, the first wave of anger and the sense of being cheated and taken advantage of and used was gone, in her deflated head was emptiness and a little sparkle of something.

  A sparkle of want. A genuine desire to do something rather than simply drift to the next natural stop, fighting for her own survival. A drive to do prove that she was able to do things for others, to contribute to human progress,

  No, she didn't feel like she was truly belonging to this utopian world, not yet anyway, but the desire was there. And hope, that maybe one day Jax McCarthy, SandCat, would be part of a bigger group.

  The time to start was now, even though Jax still didn't trust Lulu. Rutger's and SingMa's actions so far had showed her nothing but consistency and integrity - enough to consider them trustworthy. She had to shift her worldview, suspend her own rights and freedoms for the greater good, start trusting others.

  What did Rutger say?

  State of Emergency. That was what was happening even here, in Rebels' Republic. She could do it in her own head: use the state of emergency powers to suspend her guiding principles of mistrust and everyone-for-themselves.

  "You're worried, aren't you?" SingMa asked quietly, once the minicar was underway. "About your stuff?"

  "I am. And I'm also worried about Rutger's safety and… and someone else's who's… in the clinic and… who's very close to me…" she said slowly. "What if whatever she does, destroys the clinic completely?"

  "She will do whatever's in her power to protect the patients and staff who work there."

  "How can you be sure? Rutger and I thought she was a New China agent."

  SingMa stared at her, his eyebrows shooting up.

  "I-I…" he said, paused and swallowed hard. "Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if she was a new China agent. But she's here, and she'll do the job that has been entrusted to her. That's what she does. I know her well enough. Plus, her only son is in the clinic. And if I'm reading the situation correctly, he's in a bad way. It's life and death for him. Which makes it life and death for her."

  23

  SingMa

  SingMa's head thumped. His body wanted to both curl up and sleep and to run around screaming at the same time.

  What a frigging day! What a strange, strange, frigging day!

  No, no, it was a night. He would wake up for sure, drenched in his own sweat, like in the months leading to his first application to gain entry into Rebels' Republic.

  A strange virus in the system. Meeting an Earthian who was chasing his fav prof ever. Travelling to a dead Vindolanda, in the same shuttle that had carried poor Julie and her colleagues home. And then… meeting his GAI idol in person.

  No, no… now, he was working with her - working with Professor Li. Who would have thought?

  Were there any more strange, unbelievable things to come?

  SingMa held his head with his hands. It felt good: cold hands, hot head. Helped.

  Jax threw him a strange look.

  A lot of strange things around today.

  Jax was strange, too.

  No, she was just an ordinary PanAm citizen. Very typical. He'd met so many while living in The New Silicon Valley, in Austin, Texas. That was a whole ten long, intensive years ago. But his memory wasn't all erased. Professor Li was right. She could have said it a little less brutally, but she'd been correct.

  Actually, there was one more strange thing. Alex Li. He was here, in Si-Carb clinic.

  Why? What for? How did he even gain entry to the RR? His ticket wouldn't have been approved, not even as a patient. Rebels carefully screened anyone who applied for entry into the country. That is any of the stations or ships under the Rebels' jurisdiction. It might have looked like RR would allow people to freely come and go, but those who needed to know you were heading Rebels' way knew all about you before you even boarded your ship.

  "You realize I have no hacking skills, right?" Jax's voice cut into his musings.

  "Yeah. But I still need you," he replied. "You're not leaving me in the ship to do this on my own."

  She cocked an eyebrow. Interesting that she looked very much like her avatar. Or rather, her avatar looked very much like Jax. The face, that is. And the green eyes. Obviously, she wasn't really a cat.

  "What do you need me for?" she asked.

  "For spotting anything unusual." Which was the best he could come up with.

  "No idea what you mean."

  "Welcome to the club. But it's easier once you see it. Humans are good at spotting patterns and elements that don't match those patterns."

  "How do you know?"

  "Dated a psychologist once," he said and added a short laugh to cover his discomfort. The said psychologist was probably the main reason why he got into the RR. Shame the relationship didn't work out.

  "I hope you're correct," Jax replied and looked away.

  She was clearly uncomfortable. Hopefully, her discomfort would pass. There had been a change in Jax' behavior since the argument in Si-Carb clinic and SingMa couldn't quite figure out what had happened to the fiery Pilot Jax.

  The car came to a stop alongside the docking gate.

  Jax climbed out first. He followed.

  The hangar was dark and cold, and he was happy to be inside the ship.

  The ship was also dark and cold, but not for long.

  When they sat at the control panel of the ship, a wave of warmth filled the air.

  "Right," SingMa said, rubbing his hands together. Nervous energy still buzzed through his head. He needed something to focus on. "How do I start?"

  Jax moved her hands over the panel, looking like an old-fashioned pianist.

  "Here you go," she said, hitting a button.

  The big screen in front of them flickered.

  "Access denied." Jax read the comment that appeared.

  SingMa sighed.

  Stupid computers…

&nb
sp; "May I?" he asked pulling his chair closer. A brief moment of mistrust bloomed on Jax's sunburnt face.

  "Sure. Give it a go," she said, moving her chair away to make room for him. "I can use the ship-slaved tablet."

  It took him a few seconds to figure out how to operate the panel, and a little longer to access the system.

  "Here we go," he said and sat back to show Jax the result.

  The screen flicked again and new letters appeared.

  "This is TransNeptunian Sleeper Service main computer. Access to the system is unavailable."

  What?

  The surprise of being denied access to a computer overtook the pleasant feeling of seeing a name that took him back to one of his favorite book series.

  "But I need it," SingMa simply replied.

  New letters floated onto the screen. Obviously, the computer was active and the language recognition function was working.

  "Access is denied." The screen announced again.

  "You've already said that. But why?"

  More letters appeared on the screen.

  "The system has been shut down in response to an emergency event. It is too dangerous to operate."

  SingMa ground his teeth. This was his first ever argument with a computer.

  "Yeah, I know that," he said as calmly as he could, "but we've got an even bigger emergency event and we need to access the system right now in order to prevent it from blowing up the …" he paused before the "universe" rolled off his tongue. "…the solar system."

  He shifted in the seat, but it did nothing to ease the growing restlessness in his legs.

  After a longer moment, the reply appeared:

  "More information is required before your request is reconsidered. Please explain what you need the access for."

  SingMa opened his mouth and then winced and closed it. He swiped the mic off.

  "That's a strange request," he said to Jax. "Was your computer like that before that emergency event?"

  Jax shrugged.

  "Dunno, really. What do you mean?"

  SingMa studied Jax for a while. It had been ages since he last talked to a person without a higher-than-average computer knowledge. Maybe Jax simply just didn't know the answer.

  "I mean if the computer asked you to explain yourself with every decision."

  Jax drew her eyebrows together.

  "There was a bit of a… questioning of my decision to fire off the laser, but then I simply overrode it."

  "That sounds more like what I'm used to." He glanced at the panel and then at the screen. "This ship was built in RR, right?"

  "Where else?" Jax replied. "You're holding on to the secrets of your holy fusion engines."

  "There is a reason for that," he snapped back. Oh, those self-entitled Earthians! "If we didn't, you would have made lots and lots of warships."

  "Yeah, right… That's the way RR earns money to finance its crazy research."

  "Hey, our research benefits the whole of humanity," he snapped again. Oh, what a nonsensical argument.

  "Only those who agree with your philosophy," she grumbled.

  Change or no change, Jax was in a foul mood. He wouldn't receive much help from her in terms of decision-making.

  He turned back to the panel and swiped the mic back on.

  "Okay, here's the short summary," he said. "An alien virus has been released into the PSS network. I have been tasked with isolating key elements and destroying them. I require access to the network to see the activity levels at various nodes."

  The screen darkened for a few seconds before a new text appeared.

  "Who are you?"

  "I'm Manish Sing, a full Rebels' Republic's resident, working on..." He paused. The real purpose of his working group was more-or-less kept under wraps, particularly when speaking with entities from outside the RR. But... this was an emergency and his actual skills were an advantage in the situation. "General Artificial Intelligence."

  The cursor under the question mark blinked a few times, as if the computer was processing the information, or expecting more to come.

  "Over," he added, to make sure the machine understand.

  "Manish Sing, welcome aboard TNUSSA," the text appeared, and then the screen went dark again.

  SingMa tapped the start button nervously, but with no effect.

  Shit.

  He thought the computer was giving him access. What the heck was that as a game?

  His hands curled into fists.

  "Hey, it's just a computer," Jax said. "Maybe it's taking time to connect you to the system."

  SingMa searched his head for a snappy reply, but the screen came to life again.

  "This is TNUSSA. I have just attempted access to the main network. I understand there is a State of Emergency announced by the Rebels' Republic Jurisdiction, just as you described-"

  "See, I wasn't lying."

  "I wasn't implying that," the computer replied.

  SingMa froze.

  Shit. Shit, shit. What the fuck was that?

  Or more importantly, how and when did it happen. They were not…

  ""When were you created?"

  "The original ship was built in 2145; it was refitted in February of this year, which is when this version of the software was installed."

  The ship was rather old, but the system very new. Still, this was not what SingMa expected.

  "Do you require any more information about me or the ship, before you proceed?" The computer wrote. "I must warn you that your access time will be limited by the safety measures."

  Shit. Time was running out.

  "No, no more info required. What are the safety measures?"

  "As with every computer created in the Solar System, I have the three robotic laws incorporated. I am unable to carry out any commands if the actions are likely to increase the risk to humans and computers within the RR jurisdiction."

  The thumping in his head intensified.

  "But you must obey orders," he replied.

  Surely, that would have been programed in…

  Again, the screen darkened for a couple of seconds, before another longer text appeared.

  "Yes, but except where such orders would conflict with the first law. And when my own existence is threatened. This might be the case with the rogue code that is flooding the PSSNet. I need to protect myself, the ship and its crew, which includes you."

  SingMa rubbed his face and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

  "Yes, but if you don't let us use you as a terminal, the station's inhabitants will die. All the life support systems are shutting down."

  "They are being shut down to protect the entire system from a complete meltdown."

  SingMa curled his hands into fists. He wanted to smash the panel. So much time wasted on a stupid conversation with a damned machine!

  He slammed his fists on the control panel.

  "We're wasting valuable time on an academic argument here. Yes, maybe you're right. The shutdowns have protected parts of the network, but at the same time, the viral code is probably replicating and invading further. This is an alien attack. This is an invasion!" he yelled.

  "There is no need to yell," the screen shimmered.

  SingMa felt a movement of air to his side.

  "Oh, for fuck's sake, who are you, TNUSSA?" Jax's voice piped in just beside him. She seemed calm, but he'd never heard her swear before. "It's a State of Emergency, you rigid idiot. Use the state of emergency clause and let him access the network."

  The screen blinked and a new text appeared.

  "State of Emergency clause acknowledged. Access granted."

  Finally, fucking finally.

  Jax stepped to the side, probably accessing the slave tablet. SingMa pulled himself back towards the control panel.

  His hands were eager to attack the keys and he just followed his gut.

  A few moments later, the map of Segedunum PSS network appeared on the screen. Usually, this took the form of a shiny necklace with a narro
w band and a major comms bridge, looking like a clasp facing down. Normally, various elements of the decorations glittered in shades of silver, the lighter, and closer to white, the busier the area. But now, the main 'chain' of the necklace was a sad, thin gray line, with only a couple of 'decorations' lit up.

  And if the Si-Carb clinic situation was one to extrapolate from, he assumed that it would be impossible to access the network via a terminal. Therefore, any activity within a sub-network must have come from within its system.

  Likely, the virus was trying to break into the main network.

  He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

  SingMa had to break into one of the small, closed circuits and find a way to destroy or at least neutralize the malicious code.

  He dug in. His sweaty fingers slid over the touch keys, but he kept going.

  Since Professor Li was likely to start with the hospital, he'd start with another crucial Segedunum business. One that was a likely source of new code pouring into the system.

  Obviously, one very hard to hack into.

  To his surprise, the usually firmly locked gate let him in.

  A few minutes later, he had accessed one of the closed pools with particularly bright points bouncing around in a loop.

  "Looks like one of those vintage computer games with balls falling from the top and bouncing off the walls," Jax observed. "It's stir-crazy level."

  "That's the code, I think. It is highly active. I suspect there may be a key element in here."

  "What is this place? It seems big."

  "That's…" he hesitated.

  Protection of key Republic's businesses had been drilled into every Resident's mind. RR didn't have military or much in terms of defense, which was why they had to maximize all peaceful ways of protecting their key resources.

  But then, it was a state of emergency, and he needed Jax's help. Four eyes were better than two.

  "That's the shipyard," he said simply.

  "Ah, the Rebels' goldmine?"

  "You can call it whatever you like," he replied, trying to keep his offended self under control. That was not fair. Every country needed a way to source the goods they couldn't make in house. Or, as this was the case with RR, to secure its own safety and independence. Rebels chose to do it through trade, rather than war.