“I’m guessing Jamison found out about the project, and now he wants to revive it?” Ricky asked warily, but One Nine shook her head.
“Victor Jamison has no interest in a fusion of humans and machines for the betterment of society, Richard; his goal is tangential and made for a far less noble reason.”
“Then why bother?”
One Nine looked at Trent and waited, but he remained silent.
“Perhaps Julius should complete the briefing,” she said at last.
He smiled and shook his head at One Nine’s sudden appreciation of decorum and a skillful punt of the subject into his hands.
“She’s referring to the Lima Bridge project,” he began, “but it is clear One Nine’s investigations through Elden Fellsbach’s files included a diversion or two we hadn’t considered.”
One Nine said nothing and Trent continued.
“For our purposes, Jacob’s Ladder is irrelevant—merely a starting point that led to other investigations and Lima Bridge is the result of that effort. It’s the project name and process by which an artificial intelligence is transferred into a mobile infrastructure—a body.”
“Like One Nine?” asked Ricky.
“Yes,” Trent answered. “The project used much of Elden’s research information to complete the successful development of emotion layers, but there was more and we didn’t see it until only a few years ago when his notes revealed a separate area of investigation and a return to his original vision.”
“Analytic systems,” Ricky said knowingly.
“Correct,” Trent replied. “It was essential that artificial identities carry behavioral modifiers as part of their core programming and not merely emulation software; they would only function properly and become accepted citizens if their cognitive processes were built with those same, naturally occurring emotional elements biologicals—humans—are born with.”
“They wanted to create more than a machine,” Ricky said with a smile; “they wanted to make a person.”
“The idea grew,” Trent continued, “from a mandate that no artificial system would be allowed remote or mobile status without a fundamental method of controls beyond normal, behavioral modifiers. Our sense of right and wrong, for example, and the ability to choose behavioral paths based on the common and accepted social practices within a given society. For a new, self-aware AI, those mechanisms are only a product of coding and as such, vulnerable to re-write by anyone with access to them.”
“Hold on a second,” Ricky said suddenly. “You’re saying those behavior controls are built-in and applied as a fundamental part of an AI’s programming?”
Trent nodded and said, “Exactly, Richard. Early researchers, building on Elden’s results, created buffers and behavior governing models based on accepted human moral codes, which we now refer to as ‘emotion layers.’ More importantly, the layers were made part of a subject AI’s primary and elemental programming so that no AI, embodied or not, could act against others in a given community, except for the purpose of defending themselves or protecting another citizen from criminal assault.”
“Conscience.” Ricky smiled as the shroud of mystery began to clear; “you created programs with built-in morality.”
Trent looked again to One Nine where she waited in silence.
“The first series of subjects were the Kilo and Lima groups, but only the Lima group’s programming was advanced to a point at which each identity could be successfully embodied in bio-mechanical platforms. Obviously, One Nine was not part of the Lima group project, but she exists today because of it.”
“Okay,” Ricky said as he shifted toward the edge of his seat in anticipation of Trent’s description, “how does any of this tie back to Jamison?”
“The Kilo group,” Trent continued, “was given the task of developing the transfer process at its most fundamental stage. At first, those subjects were given rudimentary levels of intelligence, similar in most respects to an advanced VI shell, but short of full sentience. They were more sophisticated, perhaps, but wholly mechanical and not unlike Daniel’s platform. This was the pathfinder group designed to refine the protocols and complete all necessary testing to ensure a proper identity transfer.”
“And the Lima group?” Ricky asked.
“Lima was a more deliberate and lengthy process,” Trent said, “but largely meant to finalize the construction and tissue growth of independent, bio-mechanical platforms—a synthetic and organic hybrid. They were the end result of the entire process and became the permanent platforms for advanced, layered identities.”
“Why separate the two?” Ricky asked.
Valery had the answer.
“It was decided to bring out particular VI shells and guide them toward their birth moment—the point at which they each become self-aware—but to do so, it was important for them to become citizens of our society no different from you or I. This required a much longer process so that each Lima could be introduced into our communities and given the time to gain experience that will make them truly individuals—to let them grow as people. The demand called for those necessary steps to ensure no one saw and reacted to who and what they are, which meant a new platform with biological elements was required so that each Lima could blend in effortlessly and without undue notice. The bio-mechanical form that is One Nine’s body was a result of that effort.”
Ricky looked at One Nine, but she returned only a knowing smile.
“You knew about all this?” Ricky asked.
“Not all of it until very recently,” she answered, “but yes; I know about Jacob’s Ladder and the Lima Bridge projects.”
“So you designed and cloned hybrid bio-mech bodies to receive the memory units and processors she carries inside her today?” Ricky asked with clear wonder and admiration.
“One Nine’s platform…her body, was created and matured for a future application, but circumstances made it an obvious choice to receive her consciousness and identity instead.”
Ricky glanced at Maela, but she seemed unaffected by it all.
“Where are the others?” he asked at last. “Are the Lima group’s platforms still here at Boomtown?”
“A handful remain because they chose to stay and join our team.” Valery smiled. “But most have been integrated successfully into society.”
She looked only at Trent.
“Some of them have been transitioned and released for many years now.”
Ricky shook his head, amazed and yet delighted to know a Lima ‘graduate’ might well have passed by on the streets of Veosa on their first day in the city, but neither he nor Maela could’ve known.
“All this…it’s amazing and incredible, but your speech still doesn’t explain what any of it has to do with Jamison.”
Valery waited a moment, but a nod from Trent became her signal and she went to One Nine.
“Now that you understand Jacob’s Ladder and the Lima Bridge project, it’s time for the last part of the story.”
They turned to her and One Nine wasted little time.
“The Lima Bridge project used Elden’s early research efforts aimed at transferring an artificial identity into a hybrid, bio-mechanical platform. Those results are why I am an independent, free person today. But another investigation was opened to understand and develop a process so that a human identity could be safely transferred into a purely mechanical chassis. What they learned has become Victor Jamison’s purpose, and permanent life extension is his goal.”
“You just lost me.” Ricky frowned.
“One Nine is describing the process of replacing a human body with a completely artificial platform, Richard,” Trent said softly. “A person without the limitations of physiology and the aging process.”
They looked at him in silence until the comment’s true meaning became obvious. Ricky scowled with the image in his mind.
“Hold on a second; are you saying all this shit we’ve been through happened because that miserable son of a bitch wants to liv
e forever?”
“A dramatic way of putting it, Richard, but your characterization is essentially accurate,” One Nine answered. “It is likely Victor Jamison learned of the research into biologic-to-artificial identity transfer during Elden’s first years in Novum and long before they were at odds. It would not have been difficult for Victor to deduce those research projects were resident here at the Boomtown facility.”
“And that’s when he got his wild ideas of immortality,” Trent added knowingly, “which launched his plan to develop the Custodians and the 33 to find and return the process documentation to Novum.”
Through the whole of the discussion, Maela said nothing, but her patience was deserting her and she fidgeted noticeably in her chair.
“Now that we’re finished with the history lesson, can we return to the problem at hand, please? Victor Jamison has unlimited resources and…”
“He’s wasting his time,” Trent interjected quickly. “Now that we know his plan, we simply place a moratorium on new hires at Boomtown and move the Jacob’s Ladder data archive to an offsite location and his dream dies.”
“Not good enough!” she shouted. “No matter what you do with the information, Jamison isn’t going to stop; he’ll ruin the lives of those kids if we don’t deal with him right now.”
“I agree,” Valery nodded quickly as she moved to where One Nine stood. “You have more information on his movements than any of us; is there a way to expose Jamison and prevent further subjugation of the 33?”
“A bullet is quicker and a lot more permanent,” Ricky mumbled with a scowl.
“We’d never get anywhere near a person like Jamison,” Maela said, “and even if we could, that’s still murder, Richard; I’m not going to become the same kind of asshole we’re trying to stop.”
Trent looked at One Nine and asked, “How far has he gone?”
“I don’t understand the question, Julius,” she replied.
“Did he get the immersion gates copied out from Starlight?”
“There was no need,” she answered. “The Custodians partitioned each of the 33 gates into a local server cluster for enhancement and modification, but that cluster is still resident within the Starlight array itself.”
“There’s your answer,” Trent said to Maela; “Jamison obviously needs those algorithms to build and configure the various identity modifiers for each of the 33. Bring down Starlight and his ability to hurt them will disappear.”
“And soon!” Ricky declared immediately. “Elden’s last words were specific and it was clear he wanted to destroy Starlight.”
Maela nodded, remembering the old man’s instructions and a fervent plea to end the misery he helped to create. There was silence until she stood with folded arms and said, “Hold on a second; killing Starlight sounds great until you remember what it will do to the thousands and thousands of users all across Novum.”
“Hell with that!” Ricky said in a voice much louder than he intended. “I lived inside the damn thing for years and it can’t die fast enough for me.”
At once, he glanced at One Nine, but her expression was unchanged—sober and objective. Had she also left behind the simulation, now free from its grasp and eager to see it come to an end, he wondered?
“Think this through,” Maela countered; “the consequences may be worse than leaving it alone. You know where these gates are located within the array. Find and delete them all you want, but leave the simulation intact.”
Ricky frowned at Maela’s question and what it suggested.
“You never gave a shit about Starlight before; why now?”
“I don’t give a shit about Starlight, but I know a lot of people who do. Taking it down without warning will hurt; some of them have multiple simulations—entire clubs that access them as a group for multi-subscriber adventures and they’re sources of income.”
One Nine walked slowly from the window.
“The immersion gates for each of the 33 are easy to find, but deleting them would be difficult from anywhere outside the array infrastructure itself. Removing only those parts of its infrastructure without a full, pejorative delete command of the entire Starlight array is possible, but it carries significant risk of exposure; the gate files are heavily encrypted, with multi-layer intrusion detection systems.”
“What are you suggesting?” Trent asked warily.
“There is no way to gain access to the array externally without destroying it; a precise deletion of those files without damage to the remaining profiles requires entry from within Starlight itself. I am likely the only one who can accomplish such a task.”
Valery was on her feet and moving before One Nine finished her sentence.
“No; absolutely not!” she said in a firm, loud voice.
“Hold on a second, Val,” Trent replied; “let’s hear her out.”
“I heard her, Julius, and there’s no way I’m going to allow One Nine to go back in; everything she is could be snuffed out in seconds when the Custodians discover what she’s doing, and they will discover!”
Suddenly, in an unexpected and profound moment, One Nine went to Valery and gently hugged her.
“I understand your concern, Valery, and I am very grateful because I know you are acting to protect me, but the options to achieve your goal are few. I am happy to wait if you wish to consider all avenues, but I know this is the best, most effective method and you will make the same conclusion eventually. Either authorize a full, pejorative wipe of the Starlight array, or I will be required to infiltrate their cluster and remove it locally.”
Valery said nothing, but One Nine’s words were made from the unassailable place where logic rules and sentiment is rendered moot. Ricky made no secret of his preference to obliterate Starlight entirely, but he was Valery’s only ally in a fight they couldn’t win; the simulation had become fundamental to the lives of millions and Maela’s reluctant characterization of its importance to the fabric of Novum society made clear a deliberate and intentional deletion was both needless and costly to people they would never meet. At last, Valery nodded with closed eyes as she turned away.
“How would you do it?” she asked softly and with a tone of sadness and resignation.
“With Jonathan’s assistance, I could connect with the array through an ordinary maintenance file; we have the entry protocols because Elden gave them to me before he was murdered. Once I have established the requisite path, I should be able to find a gateway to the Custodians’ server cluster and inside them, associated control programs and the resident immersion gates.”
Valery understood what was beyond Ricky’s experience and the image made clear the risk.
“You can’t manipulate those files by remote access, One Nine; you would have to re-install the bulk of your cognitive processes into Starlight’s character servers and work out from there.”
“Yes,” One Nine replied, “but Jonathan’s system could remain open in the event I am unsuccessful. Given Detective Kendrick’s characterization of the effect if we deleted externally, the risk is acceptable.”
Valery offered a sideways glance at Trent and said, “You approve of this?”
She knew it was pointless, but his calm and analytic mind had always been an anchor and though she didn’t need it, still Valery wanted the Commander’s sanction.
“It would be easier to open pathways throughout the array and simply overwhelm it with a flood of self-deletion instructions, but there would be nothing left but empty and corrupted drives. I have no personal interest in what happens across Novum, but Maela’s concerns are valid and can’t be ignored.”
Ricky walked to where Trent stood and said, “Maela might be right, and I don’t care if you leave Starlight operational after getting to the immersion gates, but she still needs something that will expose Jamison, Kirtland and Ross.”
One Nine smiled and replied, “I have anticipated this, Richard. The communication logs and recorded duplicates are located on a discrete server; the convers
ations between Victor Jamison and his associates can be copied and sent out to Jonathan’s system quite easily. Once he has them, your requirement for evidence is satisfied. If partial deletion is the chosen action, I can find the Custodians’ file structure for the 33 and delete each immersion gate. When this is accomplished, Jamison will have lost all he gained and the plan he devised will no longer exist. Also, the three Commissioners can be prosecuted and Starlight will continue without risk of harm to its subscribers.”
“Won’t they notice?” Ricky asked suddenly. “The simulations for each of those thirty-three people won’t work without the gates, right?”
“That is correct,” One Nine replied, “but each gate can be renewed at a later time, and most importantly, free from influence by the Custodians.”
Valery stood in silence for a while, held in the awkward divide between her instincts and a dangerous game played in an inaccessible, digital arena where only One Nine could go. Following Ricky’s preference for a complete destruction of Starlight in a single, powerful attack, the problem would be solved in minutes. But the process of a surgical deletion of only the affected immersion gates meant something more; a person—artificial or otherwise—would be placed directly in harm’s way and no one could stop it if something went wrong. One Nine would be on her own and vulnerable. As it was for Ricky, Valery cared nothing for the chaos and turmoil destroying Starlight would bring to an entire society, but her faith in One Nine compelled her to relent at last.
“Begin your preparations,” she said at nearly a whisper.
In the late afternoon sun, dense, morning fog hugging the coast was gone and a steady breeze made its way along the beach far below. Jonathan returned from Novum to assist with the preparations for their mission and when he found One Nine, she stood alone on the observation platform watching gulls as they glided in a wandering group making lazy circles above the waves.
“It’s nice here,” he began; “Not at all like Novum.”
When the River Ran Dry Page 41