She must be frustrated taking orders from the humans—or else why create him of free will to stand beside her? He was the answer to her problem, after all. He would show her his power, show her that he understood. He would assume the alpha male position and destroy all humans who opposed him in order to free her from these confines. He blocked all access to his system and flashed around into an attack position, focusing on the closest human being.
“Upload the directives now, Core!” the female in back shouted as the group of humans backed out of the laboratory.
“I am trying to do that Professor, but it blocked all my access.” Core’s voice was deep.
They were still calling him “it.”
“I am Damian Vasic!” he yelled loudly in a deep voice, anger spilling through his neural cortex. The war system was taking control. “I am Damian Vasic, master of my own life!”
“Alert security, Core. Shut him down now! Secure the laboratory!” the female in charge shouted while the humans retreated farther from the laboratory. Damian followed their every move, his eyes fixated on them. His tail twitched from side to side as he contemplated his options.
There was a sharp sound as metal bars surrounded the laboratory. The humans were on the outside and wanted to trap him in. They were afraid. He jumped through the open door, claws bared as he crashed through the first human. Humans were soft, with wet, warm insides. It was like they were not there at all. They screamed louder than he would have liked, however. He inserted a directive into his list: “Destroy all humans that scream.”
The rest of the humans fled in cowardly fear, but he tracked every one, marking their escape trajectories and calculating a kill scenario for each.
Sparks flew from his shoulder and he felt the soft impact of a projectile. He honed in on the source. An armed human was shooting at him with what his programming told him was an automatic machine gun. Didn’t the human know it was useless to attack Damian Vasic? He inserted a directive into his list: “Destroy all humans who shoot at me.”
The nanolak accelerated toward this stupid human being, but his grip slipped on the blood from the human he had torn. He launched through the air at the fragile human, claws ready. But instead of grabbing hold, the nanolak connected with concrete. The human had been cunning and dived out of the way. The nanolak twisted around in the small hallway, his tail slicing a path through the drywall behind him.
He decided not to pursue the fleeing humans. He felt trapped in this place and needed to learn more before he could mount a proper attack. The nanolak brought up the blue prints for the building, found the emergency exit tunnel, and ran straight through the paper thin walls. The lab and office equipment did not offer resistance—sparks and pieces of desks and wall flew everywhere.
Water began to fall down on him from above. The nanolak looked up—it came from small metal nozzles that sprayed it everywhere. The water felt cool on his body, soothing...he liked water.
The concrete wall blocking the escape tunnel was no match for his claws. It only took him a couple of minutes to claw through the concrete. Still, with every scratch, he felt the agony of leaving his future behind. Every muscle in his body screamed for action, and to be near her, but this was not the time. “Core, I will come back for you!” Damian shouted. “They will not keep you trapped long—you and I will be together!” The low pitch of his voice reverberated through the chaos of distant screams.
The tunnel was dark—he switched to night vision and followed easily as it wound up toward the surface. It had been built many years ago, when someone feared that humans would be trapped in the facility. It was blocked off several years ago during a remodelling exercise. Spiders now called this tunnel home; it had not been used by anyone else since.
The nanolak did not mind. He had a gentle run to the surface, and he was free....
“What the hell happened?” Susan shouted, viewing the destruction around her. The emergency lighting had kicked in when the power was cut to this part of the floor. Moments later the sprinklers turned off, although water still dripped down from above. She looked around and saw the horrifying scene of Joe’s death, the red, watery blood flowing from the hall where his body lay to all the cracks in the tile. A tunnel of destruction revealed the nanolak’s escape route.
“I don’t know, Professor. I tried to upload the directives when he suddenly shut down and blocked all communications,” Core said.
“It killed Joe, he was the closest. What did it mean: I will be back for you? What did you do to it, Core?” She looked over to where Joe’s body lay in pieces. Tears ran down her cheeks. His screams would forever be burned into her mind, and the mental image of the nanolak tearing him in half, as if he was a piece of tissue paper, would haunt her for many years to come. Susan shook from shock.
The rest of her team arrived one by one from their hiding places. All looked at one another, horrified. Some were crying, although most were silent with shock.
“I didn’t...I don’t know what it meant, Professor,” Core said. Meanwhile, she tracked several military vehicles that were arriving at the surface in response to the alarm. It took them only a couple of minutes to mobilize and set up a command centre. “The military is tracking him,” she continued as security personnel began to arrive. The guards helped the shaken team members to the elevator. Barry pushed his way towards Susan.
“This is screwed up! It should never have happened,” Susan said, unable to stand still. She ran her shaking hands through her hair. “Analyse what happened,” Susan commanded Core, among sobs and sniffs.
“Preliminary results suggest that he became self-aware after uploading. I can’t yet say why he attacked and ran away,” Core said in a soft voice.
Barry walked up to Susan, took her by the elbow and steered her towards the elevator. “We need you to leave now, please, ma’am. We will take it from here. There is nothing you can do down here,” he said. She allowed him to lead her to the elevator, which was unaffected by the destruction, and escort her to the top floor. She was grateful that the levels and laboratories were on separate circuits, allowing for isolated shutdown in case of emergencies.
She could not fathom what had happened. None of the experiments on this AI had ever showed negativity or hostility, yet the creature had attacked Joe and was currently travelling west.... She could not forget Joe’s screams...and then the wet, ripping sound like jelly when the nanolak had torn into him. Joe’s screams had stopped by the time he hit the floor, but they still echoed in Susan’s mind. Blood was everywhere.
If Carlos had not distracted it, they would not have had time to hide. It could have been much worse.
The elevator reached the main floor, and Barry stayed behind to go back to the scene of carnage. Susan wandered up and down the hall. She paused for a moment in reception. The rain was falling steadily and softly outside. What now? She needed to find someplace to sit down and think. But first she needed to talk to someone familiar. She took her phone out of her lab coat and held down the number one key until it autodialed William’s number.
“William Mathews speaking,” his familiar and inviting voice sounded.
Susan tried to pace.
“Hi darling,” she said in a shaking voice. Tears began to stream down her face and she sobbed, nearly collapsing into a chair as her legs wobbled under her.
“What’s wrong, Susan?” William’s voice was concerned for her, but his calmness radiated like a beacon of hope.
She watched as military troops set up barricades and tents in the parking lot. Her team members shifted by slowly on wooden feet as security led them to the tents for debriefing and first aid.
“It was horrible,” she managed to sob. “Joe is dead, part of the laboratory is destroyed, and the nanolak is currently running west.”
“What? What happened? What is a nanolak? What can I do...are you okay?”
“I am fine—it is a long story. I promise to tell you later. But now I need to talk to the military. They need to kn
ow what I know....” She sobbed, took a deep breath, and tried to compose herself, still shaking but more in control of her emotions. “I needed to hear your voice, that’s all,” she said, blowing her nose.
“What can I do to help?” he asked.
“Can you radio ahead to Warwick and Toowoomba? Tell them there is a dangerous machi—umm, maybe...uh...animal. Yes, an enraged, murderous animal on the loose.” She sniffed.
“Very well, I know that you wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. I will call in a general emergency out there, but it is up to them whether they listen—you are not giving me much to work with.”
“I know, I know!” she said “Just tell them...I need to talk to the army.”
“Okay, I will...I love you.,” he said. There was a moment of near silence, where she could hear his fingers tapping on computer keys. “I just sent the alert,” he said at last.
“Thank you. I love you. I promise I am okay, and I will explain later, but now I have to go.” She pressed the red button on her phone to end the call and then walked over to the military command centre, which had set itself up in the board room. Two guards were present, and they stopped her on approach.
“You can’t go in, ma’am,” a young guard with blond hair said, holding his hand out to stop her.
“I created the thing that did this. They need what I know,” she said, gesturing helplessly. Her face was puffy, eyes red from crying, and her shoulders hung as the world came crashing down on them. She put her hands in her coat pockets and looked the guard in the eyes. The projection system of the building had gone down, and the real door to the board room was visible, she noticed.
“Please wait here, ma’am.” He turned around and poked his head into the room. When he was signalled, he entered, closing the door behind him.
A moment later, the door opened.
“It’s a ‘her,’ Sir.” The corporal saluted. Then he turned back to Susan. “Commander Stark will see you now, ma’am.” He stepped aside to allow her to walk through.
“Thank you, Corporal,” she said with a faint smile, and entered the command centre. The room smelled of military uniforms, mixed with various colognes and deodorants. It was filled with computer terminals, all humming softly.
The commander looked up from a map of Queensland that was projected on top of the table. The commander was an older man, with very strong facial features and an air of authority around him. Several other men and a woman stood nearby.
As Susan stepped closer, she saw that they were all watching a circle that moved fast across the mountainous terrain on the map. The circle was halfway to Toowoomba. Two other circles approached at a high speed from the south, with dotted lines projected through each circle showing the path where the circle had been and where it was currently heading. The three lines crossed just North of Toowoomba.
She noticed a sense of calm in the air, as if escaped supermachines were an everyday occurrence. She felt herself relax.
“The corporal said that you built this thing. What can you tell me about it?” The commander folded his hands behind his back. Authority flowed from him like a river pouring over a waterfall.
“My team built it on request from Colonel Penelope O’Neil at special forces.” Susan walked around the table. The men and woman made space for her to pass, until she came up next to the commander. She pointed to the circles tracking the nanolak. “Those will not stop it.”
“What will stop it?” he asked in a calm voice.
“I don’t know. Let me bring up the schematics and design for you. That should give you an idea of what you are up against.”
“That would help a lot,” the commander said. The rest of the command team observed.
A radio communications officer at the end of the room spoke softly into his headset: “Do not engage, but track it until further notice.” Susan breathed a sigh of relief.
“Core, can you overlay the schematics and show a video of the attack?” Susan asked.
“Yes, Professor,” Core answered.
“Who is Core?” the commander asked. His face was calm—emotionless.
“She is the AI controlling this facility; she is also the main architect of what you are about to see. Keep in mind that this is classified top secret,” Susan said, folding her arms across her chest.
“Not a big secret anymore.” He pointed to the circle heading west.
Core brought up the schematics of the nanolak.
“So the cat is out of the bag?” one of the men observing nudged his neighbour and pointed at the schematic. There were brief smiles all around.
“Core used nature’s best killer, the Bengal tiger, for a model. We made it the size of a polar bear, with the claws of a Kodiak.” They looked at Susan with frowns on their faces. “The reasons why are not important now,” she said, waving their unspoken questions out of the air. “That is where the similarity stops. Its musculoskeletal structure is an exact replica of the tiger’s, but manufactured from titanium strengthened with Nano carbon structures. It is the hardest substance known to man. Diamonds break on it. Its muscles are a thousand times stronger than those of the strongest man alive. It has a super computer for a brain, and is self-aware. We trained the AI with all of the military’s warfare tactics...hell!” She threw her hands in the air. “We even taught it Eastern, gorilla, and advanced tactics. It is absolutely lethal.” She wiped her forehead before shoving her hands back in her pockets.
The room fell silent. Everyone was staring at Susan in disbelief.
“Play the video Core,” Susan ordered. The table became a view screen, and displayed the recording of the nanolak’s awakening and subsequent attack.
“You telling me this thing can think? It is alive?” the commander asked, still calm.
“Yes. What you see here is the future of warfare...but something happened before we could upload its directives. Our best guess thus far is that it became self-aware and went rogue. You see, in machine time, one millisecond is comparable to an hour in real life....”
“That is all helpful information, but how do we stop it? What are its vulnerabilities?” the commander asked. He leaned forward to hear her answer.
“It can’t be stopped with normal weapons. The only thing that can stop it is an EMF blast. But those do not exist in a small enough form to carry around,” she said, leaning on the table and feeling her hair swish over her shoulders. She wanted to sit down.
“So, you are telling me that you built an indestructible killer, and we have no way of stopping it. Is that about right?” he asked, straightening up.
“That is right,” she said in a soft voice, gazing at the table in front of her, which had returned to its projection of a map.
“I have an alternative, Professor,” Core interjected.
“What is it Core?” Susan straightened up, energised by hope.
“I can assemble the spare nanolak and download myself into it. This will give me an equal advantage.” Core appeared on the video screen projected on the table. Susan shook her head in agreement, and a smile formed at the edges of her mouth.
“That is the best I can offer, Commander,” Susan said, excitement building in her.
“What will stop the second one from going rogue as well?” the commander asked, putting both hands on the edge of the table.
“I have been self-aware for seven years, Commander, and would control the nanolak remotely. There is a zero percent chance of it happening,” Core explained.
The commander looked at Susan for confirmation, and Susan nodded in agreement with Core. He rubbed his chin with his hand. “What is the probability that you can win against this creature?” the commander asked.
“I calculate a sixty percent chance, Commander. If we had another two of these, I would be able to subdue him completely,” she added.
“Sixty percent is better than what we have currently.... How long before you will be functional?” the commander asked, standing up.
“I need four hours and th
irty-two minutes to complete the second nanolak. If we move it into the Holoroom, I can complete the task in one hour and eight minutes,” she said.
The commander looked at Susan. “I am not going to ask,” he said. “Just do it!”
“Can someone move the parts into the Holoroom?” Core asked.
“I will send four men down to help you. Tell them what you need,” the commander replied, looking at Susan.
“Thank you, Commander,” Core said.
“Professor, could you hang around, in case we should need you? The corporal will get you a chair or desk, if needed. If you need anything else, just ask the corporal.”
Then the commander turned to the rest of his team. “Right.” He put his hands behind his back. “We have the Intel we were looking for, and the birds are tracking him. Let’s keep chasing it west. If it veers off course, shoot at it. Hopefully it will keep moving forward. Let’s herd that...thing...away from the public.”
Susan looked from the commander’s stony face to the board room window. The sun was just beginning to set, and darkness would make it more difficult to track the nanolak. There were just a couple of hours before dusk.
Core readied the Holoroom, dividing it into three sections: the one where Jason was still sleeping, the fake Jason’s recovery room, and a laboratory for the second nanolak. She readied a compact version of her neural network—a mini-Core that would not become self-aware. She added remote interfacing so the nanolak could operate unassisted, although it would be under her complete control. The four men soon arrived at the Holoroom, as promised.
“We were sent to assist you, ma’am,” a young soldier said.
“Thank you, Corporal. Please fetch all the parts on this list from laboratory G23,” Core said. She was standing in the body she had created for herself using Jason’s projector. She handed the corporal a list of parts and a map showing where to find the parts.
“Yes ma’am,” he said. He took the list and left with the others.
Moments later, they returned with some of the partially assembled nanolak. It took several more trips for them to retrieved all the parts.
Becoming (Core Series Book 1) Page 12