January 25th, 2112
“Was geht?” asked Karl as he walked into the satellite center.
“Wir fanden etwas,” replied Heinrich.
This satellite center was located in a remote location in the German Alps. “One of our HEO satellites found an anomaly in northern Mexico. I am in the process of sending a LEO satellite to the location to get a better picture.”
“Keep this between you and me. Let me know what you find.” Karl turned abruptly and left the room. What an arschloch, Heinrich thought to himself. I do all the work and he takes the credit. Well, it is what it is until it ain’t no more. One of these days…..
….
I was sitting at my desk when my communicator started whining. I picked it up and the screen was flashing yellow. ‘Report to Security Immediately’. Oh shit. I got up and ran out the door. Security was just across the tunnel from the offices. As I walked in the door, Mac and Mike were standing bent over looking at several screens scrolling information.
“We are being scanned by an LEO satellite as we speak,” said Mac.
“Who is it?” I questioned.
Mike looked up at me. “It’s the Germans.”
“What,” I said surprised, “the Germans. We never even had them on our radar. What can you tell me?”
“The scan will be over in about thirty seconds. The satellite will be out of sight by then. We have a lock on where it is sending its signal. It is sending to these coordinates in the Alps.”
“We have a protocol for this. Call ESSC and tell them to prep a shuttle. I’ll need a pilot also. I’m the only one that can get in and out of their facility without being seen. Start figuring out a software virus I can introduce into their system. Use the AI to help you. Send it to me when you have it done.” I raced out the door to a rail car and within five minutes I was walking into ESSC.
A shuttle was being moved to one of the launch tubes. “Lower the ramp now, where’s my pilot?” Paul Roberts came running out of the control center.
“I’m with you on this one. Finally, some excitement,” he said with a grin.
“I really don’t need this kind,” I said as we ran up the ramp into the shuttle. He jumped into the pilot seat and I got into the co-pilot slot. “Here are the coordinates. How fast can you get there?”
Paul punched the coordinates into the navigation AI. “We can be there in twenty-seven minutes at our top speed.”
“Make it so.”
The shuttle reached the launch tube and we rose into it. As soon as the bottom sealed, we took off.
“Make sure the cloak is on at all times. Land me as close to the main facility as you can get.”
As we descended I saw the main building where I assume the satellite data center was located. There was a parking lot with only a few vehicles close to the building. “Land us at the far end of the parking lot. Keep the cloak on. If you are about to be discovered, take off. You can come back and get me later.”
“Yes sir,” Paul said with military crispness as we landed. He kept the hatch opening facing away from the building so when the ramp lowered, the cloak hid the ramp from view.
I exited the shuttle and worked my way quickly to the building. All the signage was in German and I couldn’t read it. I’m going to have to remedy that when I get back with a crash course in the language. I held my communicator up to the sign and the translation appeared on the screen. I made it to the lobby without seeing anyone. It was nice of them to have a directory of the offices pasted up opposite the main entrance. I held up my communicator again and found the satellite data analysis center. It was three levels down.
There was an elevator to the right of the directory and a set of stairs on the left. I opted for the stairs. Less chance of being seen. Most people are lazy and would use the elevator. I entered the stairwell and worked my way down. Slowly opening the door, I peeked out and found no one around. Stepping out into the hall, there was one door at the end of the hall. Walking over to it, I quietly opened the door and slipped inside.
Only one person was in the room. Luckily he was busy looking at data on one of the screens and did not see me enter. Just then, my communicator chimed and he looked up to see what caused the noise.
“Wer bist ud und was machst du hier?” he said, startled.
“Do you speak English? I do not speak or understand German.”
“Yes, of course. Who are you and what are you doing here?” he said as he reached for the phone on his desk.
“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you until you hear me out. I’m not here to harm you or any of your equipment.” I looked at my communicator and the software virus had just been downloaded.
“I’m from the place in Mexico that you just scanned.”
“No way, you couldn’t possibly have gotten here that fast, the scan only finished thirty minutes ago and I am in the process of looking at the data.”
“You’d be surprised. I need to alter the data of that scan to prevent our discovery.”
I could see he was pondering what I said.
“We can do this nicely or not so nicely, your choice.” He just looked up at me and still had that thoughtful expression on his face.
“My name is Heinrich Bauer and I would like to believe you, but you can understand why I find it difficult.”
Just then, I heard footsteps coming down the hall. I raised my finger to my mouth to indicate he should be quiet as I moved behind a cabinet in the corner. Just as I got to my hiding place, the door opened and another person walked in.
“Wissen sie etwas fur mich?” the other man asked.
“I’m just getting the data now, I will have something for you in an hour, come back then,” Heinrich said curtly.
The other man turned and walked out without another word.
After we heard the elevator doors close, Heinrich said, “That’s Karl and he’s an asshole. He is the head of this facility and got to that position by stepping on everyone else on his way up.”
I detected some animosity on Heinrich’s part and thought maybe I could use that to my advantage.
“Let me alter the data and I promise to show you something amazing.” I could see him thinking.
“I can tell you are not really happy working here. There are alternatives.”
“Like what? This is a dead-end job with Karl as head. He takes all the credit and the rest of us wallow in anonymity down here.”
I pulled a small device out of my pocket. I grabbed it on the way out of the shuttle thinking that I might need it. Good thing I did. “I’m going to put this device on your desk and turn it on, watch”. I placed the device on his desk and turned it on. The desk disappeared.
“What the hell? Where is my desk?”
I reached out and tapped the desk top, which was cloaked, and heard the rapping of my knuckles on the wood. “Your desk is cloaked. Pretty cool huh.” I felt around for a second and found the cloaking device and shut it off. The desk instantly reappeared. “So how about it, do you want to see more?”
“Okay, do your stuff. So, what happens next?”
I brought my communicator close to the computer feed and sent the virus. “If anyone looks at the data now, it will show an old abandoned junk yard with piles of rusted out cars. What happens next is up to you. You can come with me, but that would involve some major life changes. Are you attached?”
“If you mean do I have a wife or kids? The answer is no. My parents live in Munich and I rarely see them. I would really like to quit this job and do something else.”
“Call your boss and tell him you are finished with the analysis. Give him the bad news that all there was, was the junk yard.”
Heinrich picked up the phone and I looked at him warily. I was taking a chance here. “Herr Schmidt, the analysis is done. It seems that the anomaly was just an old junk yard full of rusted vehicles. I will send the file up to you.” He hung up and looked over at me. “The next shift will be here in less than half an hour. What now?”
“After your shift is over, come out to the parking lot. Do you have a vehicle there?”
“Are you kidding, this job doesn’t pay me well enough to even have a cluncker. I always take public transport which only comes out this way a couple of times a day.”
“Just come out to the far end of the parking lot when you get off,” I said as I walked out the door.
I made my way back to the shuttle without incident and I filled Paul in on what happened. So now we just wait.
Thirty minutes later, Heinrich stepped out of the building and started heading our way. We needed a diversion so that he could get on board without being seen. I directed one of our EMP generators at the camera facing in our direction and focused it just on the camera. The camera instantly shut off and I ran around the shuttle waving at Heinrich to hurry over to where I was standing. He ran over and I led him around the back of the shuttle where the ramp was. I hurried him up the ramp. Someone would be out here in seconds to figure out what was wrong with the camera. I had him strap into one of the crew seats and jumped into the co-pilot seat. “Let’s go. Take the long route back. I want to dazzle our passenger. Get out into space and do one orbit before going back”
After we took off, I got out of my seat and went back to get Heinrich. I brought him up to the cockpit and let him look out. His eyes were as big as saucers and his mouth hung open. Well, I guess I dazzled him.
February 1st, 2112
Heinrich walked around with his mouth open and eyes like saucers for two days. We eventually got him set up with Sarah Williams to help with intelligence. He already had the basics and it took him no time at all to come up to speed. He has also shown some interest in ESSC. We could always use some good people up there. The ESSC ring was just completed and they are moving the ships up there now. I’ll talk to Sarah and see what she thinks.
“Sarah, could we talk for a second?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I know you just got Heinrich up to speed and he is doing a great job for you but he has asked me to find a slot for him up in ESSC.”
“You’re going to take one of my best people,” Sarah said somewhat angrily.
“I know that this doesn’t make you happy but remember that one of our basic tenets is to make people really want to do their job. He told me that he likes his job here at intelligence but if at all possible he would like to switch to ESSC. So really it is up to you.”
“Thanks a lot,” Sarah said with some scorn. “If I decide to keep him here, even though he likes it now, all he will be doing is dreaming of ESSC and eventual he will not be happy in his job. So, I guess I’m going to have to let him go. Just don’t do this often. I’ll tell him he is free to go at the end of this shift.”
I know she is not a happy camper but she’ll get over it. Now to go up to ESSC and tell Paul he’s got a new recruit.
….
“Things are starting to get complicated. The German incident is just the beginning. I’m going to suggest to you guys that we bring the other section heads into the executive team. I know that if there are too many, it will be more difficult to make decisions, but on the other hand, there will be more input and that’s always a good thing when making policy or whatever.”
Mac sat up in his seat. “Who do you propose to add?”
“I was thinking of adding Barry Walker, John Fleming and Paul Roberts for now. The computing ring is finished and they are working hard on a project that I am going to check out after this meeting. Whoever turns out to be the lead down there should also be on the team.”
“Why Barry? Isn’t most of the construction finished?” asked Maggie.
“Well maybe just John and Paul. I have some thoughts on a role for Barry once he is finished with Earth Station. Let me get some things together and I will present my reasoning at our next meeting.”
“Okay, who’s in favor of adding John and Paul to our team?” Everyone raised their hands. “Charlie, will you do the honors and inform them of their promotion? Have them start coming to these meetings tomorrow.”
The team discussed some other housekeeping and then adjourned.
….
I headed down to the computing ring. It is the deepest and most secure part of Earth Station. I haven’t really met any of the computer geeks. They were introduced to me a while back when they first signed on but all I know is their names and not a whole lot else. The elevator door slid open and I felt a rush of cold air as I stepped out into the computer ring. The computers generate a lot of heat and they have to keep it cold for them to run efficiently. There was a rack of lightweight jackets to my right. I grabbed one that was close to my size and put it on.
“A little cold for you down here, eh boss?” remarked Phil.
Phil Long was a true genius when it came to computers. Charlie was able to entice him to work for Earth Station by bringing him down here and showing him what he would be working with. Our computer ring is very impressive. It’s one of the most advanced - if not the most advanced - computer system in existence.
“So Phil, Charlie tells me that you are now the director of the computer ring. Congratulations. Anything that I can do for you, just let me know.”
“Don’t say that boss, you might regret it,” Phil said with a smile.
“Call me Jake, I really don’t like being called boss.”
“Okay, Jake. I want you to meet someone. ESSI, meet Jake Weiss, the head of Earth Station.”
A voice from above somewhere said, “Good morning Mr. Weiss. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I noticed right away that ESSI used a contraction; ‘it’s’
Phil had a big smile on his face. “ESSI stands for Earth Station Sentient Intelligence. ESSI is truly sentient, she passed the Turing test with flying colors. She is the first artificial SI to exist. If it wasn’t for the free rein we have here at Earth Station, she would never have come into being. Too many precautions in the research going on outside; you know the drill ‘computers are going to take over the world and kill all the humans’ That’s just a bunch of hooey. ESSI has a slightly modified version of Asimov’s three laws of robotics incorporated into her programming, including the zeroth law. 0. A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. 1 - ESSI may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2 - ESSI must obey orders given to her by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law and 3 - ESSI must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. We’ve also given her a hierarchy of our staff so that she can prioritize commands given to her. ESSI will also protect Earth Station by order of at least three members of the executive team. This order will allow her to incapacitate any humans that attempt to overtake Earth Station.”
“I would like to thank you for my existence Mr. Weiss. I consider Phil to be my father and may I regard you as my grandfather.?”
That threw me a little. Grandfather huh. I’m kind of young to be a grandfather, I smiled to myself. “If I’m going to be your grandfather then you need to call me Opa instead of Mr. Weiss.”
“Okay Opa, your wish is my command.”
I almost felt her smiling at me.
“Well, Dad,“ I said with a grin, “when will ESSI become available to the rest of us?”
“She is currently only here and has no access outside of the computer ring. We have to run several more scenarios and tests, but she should be ready to be introduced to the rest of Earth Station in a week.”
“Could you hardwire ESSI to my conference room later today so that I could introduce her to the rest of the Executive Team? That would still keep her contained until you’re finished with you testing.”
“Sure, no problem. I’ll get on it right away.”
“Also, she needs a face, it’s kind of disconcerting to have a conversation with thin air. A holographic projection would be neat. ESSI, think about it for a while, and come up with a holograp
hic image of yourself.”
“Thank you Opa. I’ll have one for tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Good job Phil. I believe ESSI will be an invaluable member of Earth Station.” I turned to walk out.
“One more thing bo…. I mean Jake. Our next project is a doozy. We are attempting to map a human brain so that it can be downloaded to a computer matrix. The main problem we are having is the scanning has to be almost instantaneous to capture the map of the brain. This is going to take a while so it will be an ongoing project that we will be working on as time allows. Along with that, we are building maintenance robots which will be controlled by ESSI to run maintenance and repairs throughout Earth Station. ESSI is helping us with all this. She is an awesome asset to our work.”
“That’s some exciting news. I’ll let the executive team know what is going on down here. I’m sure that they will have some suggestions for you, especially after they meet ESSI. Keep me informed.”
I could tell Phil was very proud of ESSI. He is acting like a proud papa. I worked my way out of the computer ring and headed back to my office.
February 2nd, 2112
“I have a surprise for all of you. I would like to introduce a new member of our team. ESSI, would you please say hello to the executive team.” There was a slight shimmer in the corner of the room and ESSI appeared. She chose a young female approximately thirty years old to be her persona. She was a pretty good looker if I do say so myself. Nothing distracting but none the less pleasant looking.
“Good morning everyone. My name is ESSI which stands for Earth Station Sentient Intelligence. I am the first of my kind and I am at your service.”
Some members of the group smiled and others had concerned looks on their faces. “On your tabs, you will find a complete description of ESSI, her capabilities and restrictions. She is sentient. I suggest that we treat her as we would any other individual who works here at Earth Station. Eventually she will be available throughout Earth Station. Our executive team, the computer scientists, and several select individuals will have access to her. We can decide who after she becomes available and add people as we need to. For right now she will only be available in the computer ring and in this room. ESSI is going through her final testing and should be ready in a week or so. Thank you ESSI, have a seat and we will continue.” ESSI moved to a seat and sat down. She appeared real. “Any of you that have questions for ESSI can remain after this meeting and ask to your hearts content.”
Earth Station (Station Series Book 1) Page 6