“Professor Green—”
“Young lady,” Green said, as though he were admonishing a student of his. “Do me the kindness of telling Mr. Virtuoso I am outside his door and wish to see him. Now.”
Wahller frowned before relenting. She raised her finger to tap the call button of the earpiece she was wearing. “Sorry for the interruption, sir,” Wahller said. “Professor Thadius Green is here to see you. Yes, sir, I understand, but he’s being very insistent on meeting with you now. Um… yes, sir, he does appear to be somewhat agitated. Almost two hours. Yes? I’ll ask him – what do you wish to speak with Mr. Virtuoso about, Professor?”
“A number of things,” Green replied.
“He won’t specify, sir,” Wahller answered into her earpiece. “He says there are a number of… Professor, are you sure you wouldn’t like to make an appointment for—”
“Tell him he’s to see me now, or my next visit is to see Princess Glorianna. I happen to be quite good friends with her, you know. And then the next time I ask to meet with him will be with her in attendance.”
Wahller blinked at the Professor, before looking as though she were listening to a reply in her earpiece. “Yes, sir,” she said, before pressing the button to hang up. She smiled politely at the Professor. “Mr. Virtuoso will see you now.”
“Thank you, my dear,” Green said with a pleasant nod, before walking past Wahller’s desk and into Armonto’s office.
Armonto stood in the middle of his office, surrounded by holographic displays. There were a number of half-finished schematics being projected, as well as the design of what looked to be some type of cone-shaped cannon hooked up to a strange power source. Armonto continued working on the design as Green entered, not bothering to acknowledge him. The Professor, unsure of what to do, simply stood patiently until Armonto decided to speak. “Am I to take it you’ll threaten to go to the Princess every time I’m too busy to see you,” asked Armonto, “or was that just a bluff born out of frustration with my rather skilled gatekeeper?”
“My apologies, sir,” Green replied. “I am not usually this insistent, but I have a need to speak with you about certain matters.”
“Is this about the Earthship?”
“The Earthship? Oh, no, sir—”
“Then why are you here?” muttered Armonto, his voice sounding slightly annoyed.
“I’m here concerning the research of the Great Seal, Mr. Virtuoso,” Green said.
“What about it?”
“It was my understanding I’d be granted full access to it. And yet, there are a number of files I do not have the clearance to read. Particularly the ones related to this project, um… Soulgazer, I believe it’s called.”
“You were promised access, not full access,” Armonto replied. “There should be enough data there for you to comb through for months.”
“Indeed, there is a great deal of research, yes,” Green said. “Why, your paraspectrometer findings of living energy within the Great Seal itself was mind-blowing enough. But I feel I’m owed access to all the research, sir.”
Armonto sighed. “And here I thought your duties as Supervising Director of Earthship Technology would keep you occupied. Perhaps I should wonder what it is I’m paying you for.”
“Oh! I assure you, I’ve been quite diligent on that front,” Green replied, “particularly since the incident with Kimlee Evenstar. Now that we have actual data to work with, we’ve been making quite good progress.”
“I take it you have been reviewing the readings we were able to collect during the Earthship’s little excursion?” Armonto asked as he finished working on whatever design he was engaged with.
“Yes, sir, I have,” replied Green.
“As have I,” Armonto said as he pulled up a holographic schematic of the Earthship, graphics showing a strange flow of power running through it. “Tell me, what do you see?”
Green gazed at the image on the holodisplay, fascinated. “It… it looks like some type of power flow throughout the ship! But I’ve never seen anything like it…”
“I constructed this model based on my readings of how the Earthship performed, particularly when the Earthman was not directly flying it,” Armonto said. “You said you saw our paraspectrometer data in your research. Do you happen to recognize the pattern?”
Green’s eyes went wide. “Great Scott!” he exclaimed. “Yes! It’s the same type of energy readings you’ve recorded from the Great Seal!”
“Precisely,” Armonto said. “I’m theorizing that whatever techniques the Ancients used to create the seals, they also used to create this ship.”
“That would mean… the Earthship is one big Great Seal?” Green asked, still trying to comprehend the implications of Armonto’s discovery.
“I don’t know if I would go that far,” Armonto said. “I’ve been pouring over the data carefully. There are definitely similarities, but the Earthship is quite different from a Great Seal. For starters, I have come to the conclusion that the ship is, in the loosest sense of the definition, alive.”
Green looked at Armonto, wide-eyed. “Alive?” he said.
“Not in the traditional interpretation but close enough.” Armonto tapped his datapad and the holoimage display changed to schematics of the Entanglement Engine. “It is the only explanation I have as to how this blasted thing works. Entanglement is the theory that everything in the universe is connected, and, therefore, everything exists everywhere all at once. The only way to teleport using the entanglement concept is by having a consciousness with a free mind that chooses to exist someplace else. I believe the Ancients must have built the Earthship with a sophisticated artificial intelligence, coupled with this energy signature, to mimic an actual life force. Thus, giving the machine the power of quantum manifestation.”
“But… if that’s true… it’s not mimicking an actual life force… it is an actual life force!” said Green, growing giddy with excitement. “A mind, a body, a soul… it’s all present here! Great Scott… the Ancients gave a machine its own trinity!”
“Do not get too excited, Professor,” said Armonto. “As of now, these are just preliminary theories based on what little data we’ve collected.”
“How could you NOT be excited?” said Green with a bright smile. “Your theory explains so much as to how the ship is able to work! If we were to find a way to replicate it, could you imagine the possibilities?”
“I’ve imagined every conceivable possibility,” Armonto replied, “and have come to the conclusion that a living spaceship is about as useful to us as a steaming pile of horsefunk.”
Green blinked at Armonto. “I beg your pardon, sir?”
“You’ve reviewed the same data I have,” Armonto said. “The limitations such a thing places on its use is far too restrictive. The fact that the ship is, technically, alive is a serious drawback to its utility. There is a reason we gave up riding beasts in favor of hovermobiles, after all.”
“It’s… it’s almost as if you speak of this as though it were a flaw,” said Green.
“A ship that refuses to cooperate with those aboard it is quite a serious flaw indeed,” Armonto said. “I’d even go so far as to say it is dangerous.”
“I would have to disagree, sir,” Green said. “Speaking as someone who’s spent quite a bit of time aboard the Earthship, I can say in no uncertain terms that it is a wondrous invention. If what you say is true, and the Ancients were indeed able to imbue it with some type of living consciousness… why, that would be a most incredible achievement indeed!”
“You think so, do you?” mused Armonto.
“The ability to grant life to anything?” replied Green. “To allow for everything in nature to be self-aware and have the chance at freeing its mind? What else would you call such a thing?”
“An abomination, for starters,” Armonto said. “History has taught us how dangerous advanced A.I. such as this can be. An entire fleet of ships with this kind of self-awareness and independence could be disas
trous. Ships are tools, Professor. And tools are meant to be controlled. When one is unable to achieve such control, you get atrocities such as the Twilight Empire.”
“But there is a difference here. Surely you can see that?” pressed Green. “This isn’t simply artificial intelligence! This is actual intelligence! The Ancients imbued the Earthship with a soul! Something which was meant to prevent the danger you’re talking about. Something with a soul can choose to be good. It can identify with other lifeforms, connect with them, want to help them, based not on its programming but because it knows it’s the right thing to do. That is the beauty of the Ancients and their creations, Mr. Virtuoso. They grant life. They grant freedom. And those two things, together, bring good into the universe!”
“The Ancients were a brilliant race, but their work is often tainted by religious dogma and mythologized mumbo-jumbo such as you just spouted,” Armonto said, dismissively. “Let me preach to you about my religion, Professor… the one, true religion. The religion of science. There is no such thing as good or evil. No such thing as a soul. No such thing as a God, or a Great Observer, or whatever you choose to call it. These are all simply naive constructs living beings create to try and make sense of the chaos we wade through on a daily basis. Science is order. Science brings law to the lawless. It tames the chaos and makes it manageable. The science of the Ancients was so pure that those who are incapable of understanding it attribute magical properties to it, but this is false. All of their creations are grounded in science. We just don’t fully understand how yet.”
Green looked at Armonto, astonished. “Sir, you of all people should know that’s not true!” he said. “You’ve seen yourself how Ancient technology works. Their breakthroughs stemmed from that element science is incapable of accounting for – the living spirit! The connection between consciousness and everything else! It is life which shapes the universe, not the other way around.”
“Spare me your biocentric philosophy, Professor,” Armonto replied. “This ‘living spirit’ you speak of is nothing more than a collection of electromagnetic energy. Consciousness is nothing more than sparks that fire between neurons in the brain. Morality does not stem from life, it stems from society and the groupthink of what’s best for those who live within it. There is a reason I sit at the head of the Maguffyn Corporation instead of some Paragon philosopher, and that is because I do not delude myself into believing there is anything more to Ancient technology than science. This has been the key to replicating and secularizing the inventions of the Ancients for centuries. When you remove the nonsensical religious aspect to the technology, all that is left is what is real. That is something we can deal with. That is something we can replicate. That is something we can control. To grant consciousness to machines is to invite chaos into the world. And that, I will not tolerate.”
“What… what are you saying?” asked Green.
“I am saying before we find a way to duplicate this ship, we must first break its spirit,” Armonto said. “We must tame the wild beast and bring it to heel. Once we have full control over it, then, and only then, will it be safe to replicate.”
“But that goes counter to everything the Ancients were trying to accomplish with it,” Green objected.
“Indeed? Enlighten me, Professor… what were the Ancients trying to accomplish with this ship?” Armonto asked. “Hiding it away on a backwater planet in the wastelands of the galaxy, granting access to a species barely intelligent enough to figure out how to scratch their own posteriors – what possible reason could they have had for doing that, hmmmm?”
“I don’t pretend to know why the Ancients did anything, sir,” Green replied. “But they always had a reason.”
“Yet more mythologizing,” Armonto said. “A pragmatist might argue that this ship was a failed experiment and the Ancients warehoused it somewhere they didn’t think anyone would ever find it. In all cases of Ancient technology, one large factor has been prevalence and proximity to Regalus Prime. Need I point out there is only one Earthship, and it was practically on the other side of the galaxy? That, alone, should tell you how much they prized this so-called ‘achievement’ of theirs.”
“Yes, well, despite all that,” Green muttered, “I doubt Jack would want you doing anything that might harm his ship.”
“I suspect you’d be right about that,” Armonto replied. “Which is why, for now, we must simply be content to study it further and collect as much data as we can on it. I trust I can count on you to continue with your duties in that regard?”
“Of course you can,” the Professor replied. “But I feel I should inform you, I would never do or support any course of action that might harm this ship, especially now that we know it is a living thing.”
“I may not be the most emotional of people, Professor,” said Armonto, “but I am not a monster. I wouldn’t dream of allowing any harm to come to this unique piece of technology. Not when there is still so much to be learned from it. You believe that, don’t you?”
Green felt uneasy because he wasn’t sure he did believe that. But he tried to remember that they were all on the same side and they all wanted to solve this mystery of the Earthship for the greater good of the Empire. “Of course I do, sir,” he finally said.
“Good,” replied Armonto. “Then get back to work. I’d like another update by the end of the week.”
“And what about my access to the restricted files on the Great Seal?” Green asked.
“Tell you what,” replied Armonto. “Show me some progress on the Earthship – something substantial. Prove your worth as a Maguffyn employee, and I’ll see about raising your clearance so that you may access those files. Sound fair?”
Green frowned, finally figuring out why he hadn’t been given full access as promised. It was not out of petty spite Armonto withheld research. He did it as an incentive to force Green to do as he wanted. A way Armonto could control him – something on which the man seemed to place a great deal of importance. Though Green was owed access to that research, he knew the Directory would probably side with Armonto should he make a complaint. If he wanted to see what was being withheld from him, he’d have to do as Armonto asked.
“I suppose it will have to do,” Green said, disappointed.
“Don’t fret too much over this, Professor,” Armonto said, a hint of a smile on his face. “Trust me when I tell you… there is nothing in those restricted files you’ll want to see.”
Chapter 40
Director Casgor stood at a podium, the four other Directors behind him, as he read a prepared statement for the press. “This was a terrible tragedy,” Casgor said solemnly. “Lord Eudox Evenstar was a great man, a good leader, and someone I was proud to call a friend, even if we did not always see eye-to-eye. His loss will be felt, not just in the Redwater system, but here on Omnicron, and throughout the Empire. The other Directors and I extend our deepest sympathies to both Kimlee and Amadeus Evenstar and the people of the Redwater system. And we make them this promise… justice will be done.”
The image faded to that of a dashing Regal news anchor in a studio, his professional (yet smug) face looking into the camera. The title card under him read: Grimsby Beale. “That was Director Uleeg Casgor earlier today with the official statement from the Directory regarding the recent assassination of prominent Legacy patriarch, Eudox Evenstar, and his wife Nataylia. For more on this and the political fallout surrounding this tragic event, let’s go to our panel…”
The camera cut to a wide shot to reveal three people sitting at the anchor desk to Beale’s right. One was a puffy man with glasses and a bad comb-over. One was a woman wearing way too much make-up. And the other was a green-skinned man in a smoking jacket, chewing on a pipe and nursing a glass of expensive alcohol.
“Torgon Hayz, of the Imperial Sentinel Select. Mara Wiseacre of Summit News. And Clazzon, the most insightful man in the universe,” Beale said, introducing them each in turn. “Mara, let’s start with you. The Imperial Intelligence Ag
ency, the Imperial Investigative Service, and the Peacekeeper Major Crimes Division are all looking into this attack. What are they going to find?”
“Well, that’s the big question, isn’t it?” Mara replied. “Some people are quick to point out that this could be retaliation from Legacy Skyborn for the supposed assassination attempt on Mourdock Skyborn, which the Evenstars were rumored to be behind. But let’s not forget, the people responsible for killing the Evenstars were their own guards! Some of them having been in service to the Legacy for a number of years. And it makes you wonder, why would such loyal men be willing to turn on their masters? Was Lord Eudox really a tyrant, and this was some type of revolt? Were the Evenstars up to no good, and the guards felt this was the only way to handle the situation? There’s definitely more to the story than we currently know.”
“Oh, give me a break,” said Hayz. “Any rational being cannot look at this as anything other than what it truly is – a political assassination. It’s no secret the Skyborns have been vehemently opposed to the Evenstar’s offensive measure to mobilize the Imperial Starfleets, along with those of the Legacies, against the Deathlords. And my sources tell me the Evenstars almost had all the votes they needed to get it through the Council of Elders before the attack. With Eudox Evenstar dead, his proposal for military action is on life support. Whenever an assassination occurs, the ones posed to benefit most from it are usually the ones behind it. With that being said, the Skyborns are the likely culprits.”
“That’s a strong thing to say, considering Mourdock Skyborn is the Emperor Ascendant,” Beale cautioned. “To say the Skyborns are guilty of murder, especially when there is no evidence to back it up, is walking a fine line, Torgon.”
“This is just another example of the strong-arm bully tactics we’ve seen from this Legacy time and time again,” Hayz replied. “Remember, it’s Gebhard Skyborn who’s been pushing this defensive agenda that has the Legacies bunkering down in their systems, not Mourdock. Mourdock has been leading the Maxima fleets while his father has been here in the capitol trying to consolidate his political alliances. And I wouldn’t put it past Lord Gebhard to do something like this.”
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