Terra Dawning

by Ben Winston

  25 Apr. 10266 CE (AD)

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol System

  Hyroan regarded his young guide with some amusement. Vice Council Bedouin had taken him aside and apologized in advance for her little sister. She explained that the girl was the absolute best guide she could give him; she was very young, very curious, and very talkative.

  Young Hanna introduced herself to him very politely, but he could see that she was indeed a very young girl. As soon as they got out of hearing range of the her sister, she started talking and hadn't slowed down at all during the forty-five minute journey to the AI Vault. Hyroan, however, learned a great deal from her. She was only fourteen local years old and idolized her older sister. She and Jorga were the children of Constable William and Doctor Hope Lowe.

  Hyroan had to stop her so he could find out what a Constable was, but she explained quickly and got right back to talking. Hyroan didn't really mind, he had a younger sister as well, and she tended to jabber on as well. He understood that she was most likely very nervous and was compensating for that by talking. He just hoped she would continue to remember to breathe.

  Hyroan also discovered that the survivors of old earth were currently very concerned by the events taking place on the surface and had been very leery of their Council's plan to make contact. But all of them agreed that events had given them little choice. Through the little chatterbox, Hyroan learned a great deal about these humans from the past and how brave they had to have been to undertake such a journey as they had. A blind jump into the future with no idea what the world would be like once they emerged.

  Which is what young Hanna was jabbering about at the moment. He had gotten used to her voice so he was rather surprised when she abruptly stopped talking.

  "My apologies, Hanna, I was sort of daydreaming about what you were talking about and didn't actually hear what you said," Hyroan admitted.

  She smiled and blushed slightly. "That's okay sir, I know I talk way too much. I'm just really happy you listened as long as you have. But, we're here, the AI Vault. Do you want me to stick around, or do you think you can find your way back?"

  "Miss Hanna, if you would, could you please remain with Ranger Hyroan in the event he needs something or further information?" Mother asked.

  "Sure I can, I was just trying to make sure I hadn't driven him bonkers with all my talking, Mother," Hanna replied.

  "I don't mind really. You remind me of my own little sister back on Hyclarion. I haven't gotten to see her very much for the last couple of years and I miss her. Besides, you've helped me to understand the people here a lot better." Hyroan replied.

  "When did I do that?" Hanna asked.

  "Just now, while you led me here. By talking about your life here and what it was like before, I have a better understanding of your culture and the society here. In a lot of ways it's different than mine, but there is a lot we have in common as well," Hyroan replied. "It helps to know that I'm working to help good people. That's why I became a Ranger."

  "Really, was it hard to become a Ranger?" Hanna asked.

  Hyroan nodded. "It was pretty hard, but I think it’s been worth it. I know my parents are proud of me and feel good about the work I do most of the time. It can be pretty dangerous, but knowing I'm protecting folks and making our world a better place has made it very fulfilling to me."

  "Jorga said you couldn’t take your helmet off because you can't breathe our atmosphere. Which is too bad 'cause I was going to get us some lunch," Hanna replied.

  "I can breathe it for very short periods, plus my enhancements will help make sure I don't suffer any damage from it," Hyroan replied. "But I don't think you have any of the food I'm used to."

  Hanna nodded, but brightened up. "I could get us some Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches! Everyone can eat those!"

  "I'm afraid the Ranger is correct, Miss Hanna. He might not be able to eat that," Mother said kindly. "Doctor Lyam would have to check to make sure he could eat it first."

  "I appreciate the offer though, Hanna. Thank you!" Hyroan said, making Hanna smile again. "Now, I really should get busy or the Commander will be upset with me."

  Mother opened her vault door for the Ranger and his guide. "My systems have been laid out in sections, Ranger Hyroan. Where would you like to start?"

  "Primary and secondary logic centers please. Without knowing how that works, none of the rest would make much sense to me," Hyroan replied.

  "Ranger Hyroan, with your permission, I would like to take this opportunity to test a theory I have about your young guide while you evaluate my systems?" Mother asked.

  "As long as I can still do the evaluation, I don't see the problem, Mother," Hyroan replied.

  "Thank you, Ranger. Hanna, please take a seat at the main terminal. I will need you to log in using your name and password," Mother instructed.

  At first, Hyroan was curious as to what Mother had in mind for the young woman. But as her instructions to the young woman became clear to him, as well as the young girl's interest being captured, it became obvious what Mother was doing; she was training the young girl.

  On a separate terminal, out of Hanna's sight, mother posted a message to him. "Ranger Hyroan, at present, there is no one in our population capable of repairing me if I have a major malfunction. After observing young Hanna for the last couple of weeks, I believe her to have the right... personality for the position. She certainly has the aptitude as you can see. Her instruction will most likely take longer than your evaluation will take, however, during this initial session, I will instruct her on the nature and structure of my primary and secondary logic centers. If you have any questions or would like to see something different, please simply ask or enter the question on this terminal and I will answer you. Is this acceptable?"

  Speaking quietly so as not to disturb Hanna, Hyroan replied. "Perfectly acceptable, Mother. If I may assist in her training during our stay here, please feel free to call on me."

  "I had actually planned on asking you to speak to her about the ethics and discretion required of this position. I have reviewed these requirements via the Imperial InfoNet and find them to be most satisfactory. With your commander's permission, and in so far as it does not impeded or influence your investigations, your assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated," Mother replied.

  "I would be honored. However, I would also have to speak to the young woman's guardians before I begin," Hyroan explained.

  "If you would like I can make an appointment for you with them for later this evening or perhaps tomorrow?" Mother asked. "I hope you understand my reasoning for the urgency I am assigning this project."

  "Yes I do, currently, I am the only person on the planet capable of repairing you if you were to take damage or experience a hardware malfunction. Given this... colony's dependence upon you, such a malfunction could have catastrophic results," Hyroan explained.

  "You are correct, Ranger Hyroan. There are many redundancies built into my systems, as well as the existence of other AI that share my design on the planet. However, one of my core instructions requires me to ensure my own survival as long as such does not endanger human life or injury. Because of this core directive, a very high priority has been assigned to this project while I evaluated the populations for potential candidates. Indeed all my sister AI are doing so as well," Mother explained.

  "I understand, Mother. I will assist to the best of my ability. I do have a question, if I may?" Hyroan asked.

  "Of course, Ranger, that is after all why we are here," Mother replied.

  "I know you are still explaining it to Hanna, but your primary processing matrix is far too small for the operations I have witnessed you performing. How do you explain this?" Hyroan asked.

  "I take it then you are unfamiliar with meta-state processing matrices?" Mother asked.

  "I've never heard of them, are you telling me you utilize an entirely different type of processing system?" Hyroan asked.
>
  "One moment while I search for relevant data," Mother replied. "There it is. My apologies, Ranger Hyroan, I had to search for the information regarding current AI primary logic clusters. From what I am seeing here, the system I am using operates on the same base principles; that is, the data input would have the same output, however, the hardware that performs this function is very different. I will explain how the meta-state processing and memory crystals function. I have to instruct Hanna in this as well. My entire system is based on the meta-state technology developed by Doctors Ishiro Takahashi, Irandar Eiskidranian, Carl Hobs and Alexander Petronivitch..." Mother explained and began teaching both Ranger and fourteen-year-old, the theory and science of meta-state computing.

  Command and Control bunker

  Terran Defense Forces Base Alpha One

  25 Apr. 10266 CE (AD)

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol System

  "I must say Prime, you are being very helpful to us, considering the circumstances," Jance said while she and Ben watched the techs work with the Rangers to get their equipment to work together.

  "Even before the Fall, I was raised to have a great respect for law enforcement personnel," Ben explained. "Granted, there were instances where the police in question did not deserve that respect, but for the most part, they were men and women that were simply trying to do their jobs and protect the rest of us. The legal system had its flaws, but it was the only one we had. From what I can see, that really hasn't changed all that much. You and your team have a job to do. As citizens, it is our duty to assist as much as we can when we are able.

  "In this situation, it is doubly important to help because the whole damn empire is at risk. At least, you can understand why we believe what we told you about Duke Tammerain now," Ben finished.

  Jance nodded. "The Imperial legal system is not perfect, but it is the best we can make it considering the diversity of the citizens. It is also under constant revision to make adjustments for unforeseen situations. As far as the accusation of Treason you have made against Duke Tammerain, I will not be filing charges against you. You and your people are justified in your belief and my team shares your concern. Indeed we are now working to find the proof required for us to arrest the Duke on those charges. The problem is that as a member of the Imperial Court that proof has to be pretty conclusive."

  Ben nodded. "Somehow, I doubt we'll ever get him to admit it in front of you or your team."

  "Oh, I could most likely get him to admit it. He has a temper after all, but the circumstance would have to be very specific," Jance replied.

  "With respect, I think I'll leave that up to you. If I can help it, I don't think I want to get any closer to that big fuckin' lizard than I am right now," Ben replied.

  Jance nodded. "Understandable, it is a well-known fact that very few of that race are socially compatible with the rest of the Empire. By and large, they are a dangerous species that view a good portion of the rest of us as a food source, which is the whole reason there was a war between us. It would be akin to one of our Coola farmers having his herd rebel against him and forcing him to live in equality with them. I doubt they will ever accept the rest of the Empire as their equals."

  "Forgive me, but isn't that a somewhat prejudiced opinion for a Ranger to have?" Ben asked.

  Jance nodded. "It is. Unfortunately it isn't one without justification. Even among their own race, trust of the individual is a rare thing. The Lizards are a very violent species; they have to be, or they would breed themselves into extinction. Only two percent of a clutch of Lizard eggs is allowed to become part of their society. They set aside another ten percent for use as their military assault troops. But even with restricting it to two percent, their still have to control their population by staging tournaments at several stages of development. These tournaments amount too little more than massive battles among the younglings. Each battle is to the death and is only stopped once the required amount of culling has been achieved."

  "It sounds horribly brutal," Ben asked. "If they are so warlike, how does the Empire expect to maintain the peace?"

  "They don't," Jance said bluntly. "Even the Emperor knows that war with the Lizards is inevitable. Unfortunately, most believe that such a war will be to the death - either of the Empire, or of the Lizards." She looked at him. "Your 'Earth' is on the border between them. Are you still sure you want to declare this as your home planet?"

  Ben shrugged. "It is our home planet, Commander. Just because we're going to have a front row seat to another war doesn't change that fact." In front of them, one of Ben's techs went to a replicator to retrieve something before turning back to his work.

  Jance nodded her understanding. "Prime Council, there is something I've been meaning to ask you about, however it is only my curiosity and you are not required to answer me if you do not wish to."

  "I'll answer if I can, Commander," Ben replied.

  "That is the second or third time I've seen someone go to that device and retrieve something. May I ask what that device is?" Jance asked pointing to the replicator.

  "You don't have replication technology, Commander?" Ben asked.

  She shook her head. "No, I don't think I've ever heard of it before. What is it?"

  "I'm not a tech, so I couldn't tell you how it does what it does, but currently, it's our primary food and supply source. As I understand it, it can scan an item and create a pattern for it, then it can recreate that item by consolidating and restructuring matter into the desired form. It has some odd quirks to it, but for the most part, it's saved us from starving," Ben replied.

  "It creates materiel goods from a molecular model?" Jance asked.

  Ben shrugged. "I believe so, like I said, I'm not a tech or an engineer so I couldn't answer you exactly, but I think that's pretty close to how I understand it."

  "Amazing, that could completely revolutionize space travel! Not to mention the military applications. Could you show me how it works?" Jance asked.

  "Yes I can, but I feel I need to warn you, the Consortium might not be very happy with us for using these," Ben replied.

  "Why would they? I'm certain that this is something that would be a huge benefit to the entire Empire," Jance replied.

  "Well, let me put it to you this way, the Hyclarion Consortium is primarily a corporate state, correct?" Ben asked.

  "Basically, yes, you are correct, however there is a lot more to it than that," Jance replied.

  "Well, this technology could completely destroy the economy of the Empire. Think about it this way; this device creates almost any materiel good from what amounts to 'thin air'. There is no raw material needed to be mined, no ore to be processed, no labor needed to assemble it, virtually there is nothing needed to create it. So, if there was no cost in creating it, then no one got paid to build it, if no one got paid, then how could they afford to buy the product?" Ben explained. "We are only using it as a stop gap measure until our industry gets moving. Once we can get that going, we will be locking this system away."

  "I never thought about that aspect," Jance replied. "I think you might be correct about how it would impact the Empire as a whole, but it could still be used aboard military craft."

  "Agreed, it could, but how many industries rely on the military just to stay in business?" Ben asked. "Who made your side arm?"

  "Most of the small arms we use were built by Orangam Arms Incorporated, on Hyclarion. It's owned by the Emperor's family," she replied.

  Ben nodded as he stepped over to the device. "May I borrow it a moment, and is its design classified?"

  She shook her head. "No, it's not classified," she replied as she handed the weapon over, grips first.

  Ben carefully took the weapon and set it on the pad in the machine. He then touched the control to scan the item for storage. After a couple of seconds, the device beeped at him and he removed the handgun, handing it immediately back to Jance.

  "Now, let's see if it understands the device e
nough to recreate it," Ben said and asked for it to be replicated.

  It took a few seconds, but a new pistol formed on the pad. This too he handed to Jance. "Does this look like it would work?"

  Jance took the weapon, popped a small cylinder out of the handle, which she pocketed, then proceeded to tear it down. "It certainly looks to be complete, but I'd have to fire it to be certain." She reassembled the small weapon, when she had returned the cylinder to its place, she pulled a small slide back and let it snap forward. The weapon could be heard to whine as a charge was built up.

  "It appears fully functional, Prime Council," Jance replied.

  Ben nodded. "What you have in your hand is as close to identical to the one in your holster as is physically possible. At present, I doubt even the manufacturer could tell them apart."

  "Not possible, every weapon leaves a unique energy signature; that's just basic physics," Jance replied.

  "We have a firing range down below the base if you would like to test out that certainty, Commander," Gail replied smiling.

  "This is fascinating, I think I would like to take you up on the offer, General." She looked at one of her Rangers. "How much longer T’Gree?"

  "At least an hour, probably two. You have time to go play, Commander," T’Gree said smiling.

  "Which reminds me," Ben replied. "Commander, our local medical doctor would like to get a scan of all of you. He is curious about the other species and the information would help us to make sure our food is safe for you to eat."

  "That will have to be a personal decision for each of my team to make, however, I will allow it if they will," Jance replied. "However, I would like to speak to your doctor first."

  Command Pod Alpha One

  25 Apr. 10266 CE (AD)

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol System

  To say that Commander Jance was a person of great interest to the pod residents would be an understatement. Both on the way to and back from the medical section, Ben and she had been stopped by the curious and asked questions. No one was hostile or even overly fearful, but all of them were respectful to the visitor and welcomed her.