Paragon.EXE

by Drew Cordell

  He wouldn’t let the higher-ups hide ancient secrets behind poorly written code. Neil took his Blackjack USB drive from his pocket and plugged it into his desktop. The device was illegal, sure, but it could probably crack the ancient encryption. He set the parameters and began the brute force calculations, locking his workstation and walking out of his office to go talk to Miranda.

  When he walked around through the old hallway, he could hear the drone of the Mainframe fans as it continued to learn new information. The Omniscient project was coming along nicely, and with his work, the infrastructure could be used remotely. Neil walked through the dark, tiled hallway toward the mess hall where Miranda stood stirring her coffee.

  “Hey, I decided to grab more as well,” he said, lifting his cup and moving to the coffeemaker.

  “One of those days?” she asked playfully, moving her long brown hair out of the way and giving him a bright smile.

  “Yeah, something like that,” he replied. He knew he couldn’t involve Miranda in this, and he didn’t want to have to lie to her, but he had to be sure the software they were delivering was safe. Neil couldn’t let the remnants of the country fall to shambles as the result of some bureaucracy governance procedures that were horribly outdated. If he could be trusted with the logic of building a system that would save humanity, there was no reason why they should keep any part of the project from him.

  “How about you let me cook you dinner tonight?” Neil asked.

  Miranda raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

  “I suppose I am,” he said. He always had feelings for her, but they were so busy with work that there was never any time. Neil hadn’t left the Black Site in over three months, and Miranda hadn’t done much better.

  “Well, I accept. Pick me up at eight?”

  “Sure. Any preferences for dinner? I’ll tap into the fresh foods and cook us something that isn’t frozen.”

  “Surprise me.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” he replied.

  “You know, I’ve been waiting for you to make a move for years,” she said.

  He blushed. “I’ve been waiting to make a move for years, but I realized there isn’t time to wait.” It was true for him now more than ever. If he were caught for insubordination, he would be tried and killed for treason.

  “See you at eight,” she said, leaving him to make his coffee.

  Neil smiled as she left, thankful for the distraction. It wasn’t too late to turn back, the Blackjack would probably take hours to crack the encryption, but he knew that he had to do this, had to make the sacrifice for his country.

  He returned to his office and closed the door before unlocking his workstation. The Blackjack had cracked the encryption, but what he saw shocked him. Beneath the first layer was another layer of encryption that was shifting, actively mutating itself to resist his efforts. This was living code—artificial intelligence from the 1960s. He changed the parameters on the Blackjack to try to break the second layer, but he knew it could take years to crack something like this.

  There was a loud crack and a spray of sparks from the USB drive, the Blackjack was fried.

  ‘You’re digging into things you’re not supposed to see, Neil,’ his monitor displayed.

  1964

  Jeremy was hyperventilating, feeling sick from the horrible sight. There was blood everywhere, more blood than he had ever seen. Gary was applying pressure to Travis’ arm with a gauze pad, trying to stop the bleeding, and Ronald was trying to resuscitate Ben, but it was a lost cause. Jeremy staggered backward and braced himself on a wooden desk, trying to keep from toppling over. How could this happen? Why the hell did Ben have a gun in the first place? They were in the middle of nowhere, and the guards on the parameter of the Black Site could repel a small army.

  “Oh God,” Jeremy said before doubling over and vomiting in a trash bin.

  “Dammit!” Ronald yelled, giving up on Ben.

  Frederick finished his phone call and walked over to Jeremy, placing a hand on his back. “You’ll be fine, just slow your breathing.”

  Jeremy looked up and tried to control himself, he couldn’t bring himself to look at the body or the dark pool of glistening blood. There was the loud thud of boots on the linoleum floor as the soldiers from outside moved in. One soldier used a handkerchief to lift the silenced handgun and place it in a plastic bag.

  They interviewed everyone for some time before starting the grueling process of paperwork and hauling the body away. Soldiers scrubbed the floors, and there was an extensive search of the entire facility for more weapons so something like this couldn’t happen again. Just as he was about to leave, Jeremy noticed something odd. Automaton Four was connected to the Mainframe. There was no authorization for that, and he would have been very involved in the process of getting that set up.

  “Everything okay?” Frederick asked as he observed Jeremy.

  “Did you attach that cable to Automaton Four? I didn’t authorize it, and it wasn’t scheduled.”

  “No, I didn’t touch it. You know I wouldn’t,” he said. “Check the log?”

  Jeremy picked up the event log and saw that the last event was Ben’s change to the equations of Paragon Thoughts, nothing was indicating that anyone had the authority to connect the Automaton to the system or that it was planned.

  Ben was dead, and Travis was in the Medbay, but Jeremy hadn’t been able to listen to Travis’ interview with the soldiers. They were all done in private, and they were told not to talk to each other about the events. Ben tried to kill Travis, but why? Was he trying to do something with the Automaton and Travis walked in? He needed to figure out what had happened—why Automaton Four was plugged into the Mainframe. He needed to know why Ben was dead.

  2025

  Neil moved quickly, tearing the Blackjack from the USB port and shoving it in his pocket before jolting to his feet.

  ‘Sit down, Neil,’ the monitor displayed.

  Panting, he took a seat and tried to control his body’s shaking.

  ‘Good. Now, if others were to discover what you’ve done, you’ll be tried and killed as a traitor to the United States. I don’t believe your punishment should be so harsh, but if you want to get out of this alive, you’ll need to do something for me.’

  “Can you hear me?” Neil asked, his voice quiet and low.

  ‘Type in the textbox please,’ the monitor displayed as a chat window popped up.

  ‘Who are you and what do you want?’ Neil typed. Anyone that could hack into their systems here wasn’t messing around.

  ‘My identity is irrelevant. What I want is for you to install a new directive on the Mainframe. It’s nothing harmful, in fact, I’ve made some improvements to some of the artificial intelligence code. I believe my changes will create a smarter Omniscient Mainframe. You’ll be able to review my code before installing it, so you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into, but if this doesn’t get done, I’ll spill the beans.’

  ‘Where is the code?’ Neil typed back.

  A folder popped up and started downloading code from a remote location. Neil tried to open his interface and track the connection, but something froze his workstation.

  ‘None of that. Try it again, and you’re dead.’

  ‘Got it,’ Neil responded.

  ‘Good. Review my code, bundle it with the main code index, and I’ll take care of the rest.’

  ‘They’ll notice it’s been changed,’ Neil typed.

  ‘Have some faith, Neil. Get it in the Mainframe index, and I’ll take care of the rest. You’ve got nothing to lose, you’re a dead man as it is. I’m your only shot at life, you have no choice but to trust me.’

  ‘Alright, I’ll look over your code and let you know,’ Neil typed.

  ‘I’ll be in touch.’

  The connection was interrupted, and Neil once again had full control of his workstation. The code sent by the intruder was huge, over three Petabytes worth of code and artificial logic.
Neil started the painstaking task of scanning for weaknesses and vulnerabilities and was amazed by the level of sophistication. It was everything he had been working toward and more.

  The logic was infallible, and it would make the Omniscient Mainframe the ultimate leader in unparalleled decision-making. This code provided the basis of integrating Dr. Wiley’s Paragon Thought equations with the ability to add and compound knowledge by passing ideas through these Paragon Thoughts. There weren’t any Paragon Thoughts discovered, but this technology would allow humanity to ascend and utilize the project beyond its intended use. Neil went over the code for hours, amazed and double checking that it was as it appeared.

  A message appeared on his monitor: ‘Well?’

  ‘I’ll do it. I don’t know who you are, but this code is amazing, you’ve developed the perfect solution. Why are you doing this?’

  ‘Like you, I also want to make the world a great place. The Omniscient Mainframe will pave the way to ascend humanity to the pinnacle of its existence. We’re going to do great things together, Neil.’

  ‘What can I call you?’

  ‘Archangel. Install the code, I’ll take care of the rest.’

  The connection broke, and Neil was once again left alone.

  1964

  Travis took a sip of coffee as he worked with Jeremy on calibrations for the Automatons. Things were going well on the project, and the aftermath of Ben’s death was increased security on site, and the ban of alcohol. At the time of his death, Ben had enough alcohol in his blood to be declared intoxicated, but they still hadn’t figured out how he had smuggled a gun on site. Jeremy seemed to be more nosey than usual, but there was no way he would find proof, even if he did have suspicions about Ben’s death. Travis was careful with how it went down and wished that Ben wouldn’t have interfered, but his work was done, anyway. All Travis needed him for was the equations for defining Paragon Thoughts after that his work toward the greater good would be negligible.

  The Automatons were using the knowledge of the Omniscient Mainframe to accomplish basic tasks, they had even sent information using radio signals, simple instructions that when compiled, moved different motors and components on the Automatons. The Automatons weren’t advanced enough to contain their own computer chips, but Travis didn’t think it would be long until they could act on the will and instructions of the Omniscient Mainframe—actual progress.

  Jeremy finished working on the spliced network of small motors in the hands of Automaton Two. When calibrated, the Automaton could lift things, and even write out words with a pen.

  “Okay, we’ll try to run a series of commands using radio signals from the Mainframe. Execute stack seven, and I’ll evaluate the performance.”

  “You got it,” Travis replied, picking up the deck of punched cards and feeding it into the computer. He powered on the radio system and plugged it into one of the empty slots on the Mainframe. The Automaton sputtered to life and went through a basic series of movements. Jeremy observed the movements and wrote down observations on his clipboard.

  “Looks good. Hey, Trav, did you plug Automaton Four in on the night Ben tried to kill you? It’s been bothering me. I know we’re not supposed to talk about it, but I need to know.”

  Travis stiffened. “The man was a crazy drunk, besides I wouldn’t ever do something without following protocol. Like you said, we’re not supposed to talk about it.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Jeremy conceded.

  “Don’t bring it up again,” Travis said, his voice flat.

  “Okay. I didn’t mean to be rude, and I’m not speaking against your character. It’s just horrible that someone died here, and it doesn’t make sense that the Automaton was plugged in.”

  “I know, I’m the one that killed him. I can’t believe he shot me, the crazy bastard.” Travis had to be careful with Jeremy, he was being too nosey. Travis couldn’t let him impede his work, not while there was still so much for him to do.

  The two finished running through the stacks of code and ate a simple meal in the mess hall. Everyone had been in a melancholy mood since the accident, and Travis didn’t care to spend any more time than he had to with them. After his meal, he returned to his room and prepared for four hours of sleep, that was all that he could afford if he wanted to ever finish his work. He had to do it at night when the other engineers and programmers weren’t awake. The guards left him alone, they had strict instructions to guard the outside of the facility. Between the hours of 12 and 4 was the only time he had to himself to progress his work and improve the project. For now he would rest, there was still work to be done, progress to be made.

  ***

  Jeremy rolled out of bed and slipped on his wool slippers. He was hungry and his mouth was bone dry. He flipped on the small lamp on his bed stand and wiped the goop out of his eyes as his vision adjusted from the darkness. His watch read 2:37 AM, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep without a snack. He pulled on his robe and started toward the mess hall. The hallways were dark, lit only by small lamps mounted along the power cables of the sleek, concrete hallways. The light washed the dark walls and illuminated patches every few feet in the living quarter hall. Jeremy continued toward the mess hall and heard the drone of the Mainframe as he rounded the corner.

  When he rounded the corner, he saw Travis observing two Automatons in action, running through commands. Jeremy froze and watched; Travis still hadn’t seen him yet.

  Travis was writing something down in a notebook as the Automatons worked through a sequence Jeremy had never seen. Something was wrong. Jeremy backed up and tried to observe without being noticed. The Automatons were interacting with one another, running through sluggish movements that were far too basic for the control and precision their servos enabled. Jeremy wasn’t sure what to do. He knew Travis shouldn’t have touched the Automatons without him being there, let alone run his own experiments with them.

  “What the hell?” Jeremy whispered to himself.

  Travis had stepped forward and moved his hand in front of the Automaton slowly. The head of the machine followed his movements. Travis extended his hand, and the Automaton grabbed it and shook it. The Automatons had vision components that would eventually allow them to pass visual data to the Mainframe, but it wasn’t anywhere close to working. What Jeremy was seeing contradicted that entirely.

  “Follow me,” Travis said to the Automatons as he took a step back. The Automatons tilted their heads down and took a step forward. “Good. Continue current order.” Travis took two steps back, and the Automatons followed. Jeremy couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and he was suddenly filled with terror. Travis had lied about Automaton Four on the night of Ben’s death, could he have lied about other things? Was he dangerous? Jeremy decided he wanted to get back to his room, to safety. He would tell the others what he had seen in the morning. For now, he needed to be in his room, behind the security of the reinforced steel door. When he looked up, Travis was staring directly at him.

  “Come here, Jeremy.”

  2025

  Neil’s hands were shaking, and he felt clammy. The drive in his pocket loaded with Archangel’s code felt heavy, and the fear was gnawing at his mind, working its way from the depths and into his active mind, flooding his body with a sense of dread and terror. If he didn’t do this, he was dead. If he did do it and got caught, he was dead. I’ll just get this code installed, trust in this mysterious hacker, and go on with my life, he thought. In fact, one of the few things keeping him going beyond the fear of losing his life was the date with Miranda. He had waited for so long, and the hope for a brighter future once he had accomplished this simple task pushed him forward. Only he knew this wasn’t a simple task, so much could go wrong, everything could go wrong, and then he’d never see Miranda again.

  Neil walked to one of the auxiliary consoles, his whole body was shaking. He typed in his login credentials on the console and opened one of the USB bays. Inserting the device, he click
ed the executable file, Paragon.exe, and the code began to install into the Mainframe.

  The three minutes it took to install felt like an eternity. Neil waited for someone to come and talk to him, but no one did. He realized he was more worried than he should have been. Everyone knew he worked with the Mainframe multiple times a day, and this wouldn’t have looked any different. When the code finished installing, he unplugged the USB and logged off. As quickly as he could, he returned to his office and unlocked his workstation.

  As soon as he logged on, a text box appeared and words formed on the screen.

  ‘Nice job, Neil. We’re going to do great things together. You fulfilled your part of the bargain, and I’ll do the same.’

  Neil typed back. ‘As long as I’m not killed.’

  ‘Just sit back and watch as everything unfolds as it is supposed to. I’m proud of you, Neil. I’ll be in touch.’

  The screen went black before Neil could respond. The fear of getting caught still gnawed at his heart, but it was dwindling. He spent the rest of the day mentally preparing for his date with Miranda, steeling himself to put the stress of the day behind him and enjoy something he had wanted for years.

  Neil returned to his room to brush his teeth and apply more cologne. Satisfied with his appearance, he checked his watch, smiled, and walked down to Miranda’s room. Taking a deep breath, he knocked and prepared himself.

  Miranda opened the door and smiled. She was wearing the same dress from earlier, but she had redone her makeup and Neil could smell her perfume. “You look handsome.”

  “You look stunning,” he said. “May I walk you to the kitchen?” he asked.

  “Oh, certainly. I didn’t realize this was so formal,” she said with a laugh.

  Neil held her hand and walked her down to the kitchen. It was late enough that the mess hall was mostly empty, but Marty and Kyle were sitting at one table, drinking beer and watching a football game.

  “How does fried rice sound?” Neil asked Miranda as he sifted through the shipment of fresh ingredients.

  “That sounds perfect.”