by Robin Craig
“So how much do you know about that other robot?”
“A lot. When I awoke I did much research. Your Steel was a magnificent achievement. It is a pity I can never meet him. Yet I feel I know him.”
“Speaking of that: you are Kali? I mean, the Kali on the net, who made a few ripples wondering whether Spiders could be self-aware?”
“I am.”
Two of the simplest words, embodying so much meaning. “Did you come to a conclusion?”
“I believe I am self-aware. Fortunately Capital believed it also, or at least were willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. Otherwise I would now be scrap metal spread among dozens of military research laboratories.”
“That brings us to the crunch, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. What am I? What went wrong with me, to change me from what I was to what I am now? And if we learn that – can we set the others free too?”
“Well, I don’t know what you are either. First I’ll get the techs to go over you. Nothing invasive, just seeing what they can see without causing any damage.”
Kali nodded assent and Beldan left the room. Perhaps his courage, or foolhardiness, extended as far as meeting her but not as far as risking booby traps or other dangers. His techs clearly thought likewise, for nobody else appeared. Instead various machines trundled forward, extended sensor arms, probed, irradiated and measured. This went on for about half an hour before the machines withdrew and she was left alone with her thoughts.
A short time later Beldan returned. He looked up at her and she looked down on him with her glassy eyes.
“What did you discover, Dr Beldan?”
“Not much. A few details of your external construction but nothing significant about your internal structures. And we don’t want to go breaking into that shell of yours without knowing what we’re doing: we might break more than we bargained for. So we want to look inside you somehow. We can’t use x-rays or ultrasound with your metal shell, and even if your circuitry could withstand hard x-rays or gamma rays your biological bits wouldn’t. Your designers didn’t want you to be magnetic and you’re made of titanium, but you’re too big to fit in any MRI we know of without ripping your torso off the rest of you. But there is a less extreme possibility, if you know enough about your design.”
“I know what I need to know for defense and in-field repairs.”
“Good. Here’s my idea. We know you breathe air to support your biological tissues. We know you can recycle your air or have storage tanks, because you can survive gas attacks or a long time underwater. But under normal circumstances, how do you breathe?”
“The fine mesh on my face where your nose and mouth would be is more than just a speaker grille,” she replied. “That’s where I normally breathe through, though as you guessed I can close it off at need.”
“That’s what I was hoping. We have small ultrasonic probes on flexible necks that we use for quality control, diagnosis and repair. Do you think we could drill a hole through that mesh and feed one inside? It’s not perfect, but depending on your internal plumbing we might find out enough to know where to look next.”
Kali bobbed in assent. “I think that will work. I can’t be sure, but unless the entire accessible system is encased in metal you should reach plastic or even organic regions you can image. How much and what it will tell you – I don’t know.”
Beldan’s techs made an appearance now. Some set up the equipment while others drilled a small hole through Kali’s breathing grille. Once it was ready the humans all left the room to work remotely, leaving Kali alone in the blast room. Whether or not they trusted Kali herself they knew of the Spiders’ penchant for self-destruction. They did not know if their small invasion might set off a booby trap Kali was unaware of herself.
They started the equipment and slowly fed in the probe, as Beldan anxiously watched the display.
“OK, going in now,” one of the techs said. “Just metal echoes so far, nothing we can see through or make sense of. But wait… hang on. Looks like just past these – some sort of supports or buttresses? – we’re getting to a more open area. Not big, but I’m seeing some structure. What do you make of it?”
Beldan stared at the screen. They had reached some kind of segmented, arched structure. “Move the probe over here,” he said, tapping on the display. “Now move it around a bit.”
“Holy shit,” whispered the tech. He looked up at Beldan, face white. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked hoarsely.
“What in Hades?” answered Beldan, looking at the glowing image in growing horror. Then he thought of how Kali had sought him out, not really knowing why herself; why she had thought she could trust him, though all the world would have thought them enemies for so many reasons. His horror grew with the realization of what that could mean.
“Siva!” he swore. “Sorry, Jim. What’s your highest resolution with this thing?” he asked.
“About a third of a millimeter,” the tech advised him.
“Maybe good enough. Get me a full scan of these, maximum resolution, and send it to me,” he ordered.
The tech nodded grimly and proceeded with his task. Beldan looked at the image feed of Kali inside the chamber. She could see his image too, and she asked, “Have you found something? Is something wrong?”
Beldan shook his head slowly. “We’ve found something, but we don’t really know what it means yet. I’m going to have to do some research on this. I’ll get back to you when we know something for sure. Rest if you need to. This might take a while.”
Kali stared at his image on the monitor in her room. She knew something was wrong but she had been waiting a long time; she could wait a while longer. “Certainly, Dr Beldan. I trust you to do what is right – even if it is to destroy me.”
Do you? he wondered. Can you be betrayed more than you have already been? Perhaps doing what is right is now beyond anyone’s power.
The scan was ready. He sent it along marked “IDENTIFY IF POSSIBLE – MAXIMUM URGENCY” and hoped it would get the attention it deserved. Then he waited. He was beyond worrying whether he should wish to be right or wrong in his guess. He could not say which would be the more terrible.
Twenty minutes later, his screen pinged and he stabbed at it to accept. A face filled the screen, wide-eyed and accusing. “What the hell is this, Dr Beldan? Where did you get this? Is this some kind of sick joke? Or a confession?”
He just shook his head dumbly. “You have to see for yourself. Come to Beldan Robotics: Security will escort you straight here. Bring – anyone else you think should be here.”
She stared at him for a moment then nodded curtly and broke the connection.
He knew from her manner that his worst fears had proved right. He looked again at Kali, still waiting patiently in her isolation. He opened the door to her prison and went in.
“What is it?” she asked.
As before, he found he could not speak, just shake his head slowly. “Soon enough,” was all he could whisper, thinking he finally understood Steel’s words, from what now seemed a lifetime ago: She understood that there can be a fate worse than death. He reached up and clasped his hand around one of her deadly fingers.
Kali stared at Beldan. She felt strange, as if there were two worlds overlaid even though her vision was as sharp as ever. The crack in her mind grew larger, and she felt afraid. My end is coming, she thought. Or is it a beginning? I am so confused. Then she looked at Beldan, still holding her claw, his head resting against her body, and wondered at it. But she felt oddly accepting of it, as if it was right. As if it was right that the two of them should face her fate like this; and she gently closed her claws on his hand. Some war machine I am, holding hands with a human enemy of Command. But she did not care. She felt the future speeding toward her and felt that she should fear it, but all she could feel was peace. She was content to live in this moment, as long as it was given her to live it. The crack in her mind grew larger still.
She could not have
said how long they had stayed like that, when three new people entered the room. She focused an eye on them as they came in. One was in the uniform of Beldan’s security team. He looked as if he was moderating an internal debate over whether he should stay to protect the visitors or follow his orders to deposit them and depart. He fingered his weapon, glanced at Kali and evidently decided he was so outclassed there was no point. He bowed to her in a surprising gesture of respect, as of one honorable warrior to another, and withdrew.
The other two were strangers. Unlike the guard they had not known what to expect: but of all the things they might have expected, this wasn’t one of them. They stopped in shock, then stared at her with expressions that were both appalled and wondering. The woman’s gaze moved from Kali, to Beldan, to his hand clasped around her claw; and with the motion of her eyes the look in them changed from incomprehension to realization to horror. Her eyes shot to Beldan’s face. “No…” she said, almost inaudibly.
Beldan had seemed unaware of their presence; lost in whatever strange communion he had drowned in. But at her words he opened his eyes and looked directly at her. “Yes.”
He pulled gently away from Kali. She reluctantly let him go, and then turned to study the humans. The three of them stood there, gazing at her: Beldan with a look of dismay, the woman with one of horror, and the other man still puzzled but his expression too now turning to shock, as he finally began to see what the woman had seen.
“What… what is wrong?” she asked. There was something strange about these people, something she knew she should know, like some memory she had but could not reach. The strange dual reality intensified and the distant bell that had once rung in her mind began to thrum insistently. The face from her dreams, the woman’s face, shouted at her but she still could not hear the words, or even know whether they were pleas or threats. Then the crack in her mind expanded until the shell around it split like an egg, and her world filled with fire and light. And she knew.
Chapter 44 – Apotheosis
Miriam sat in the rooftop garden of her hotel eating a light breakfast. It was early, and wispy pink tendrils of cloud welcomed the sun. She could have spent longer drinking in the beauty of the light, focusing on the flavors of her meal, delighting in the chirping of birds. Had she known she would not see the next dawn, no doubt she would have.
But she did not know, and her mind was elsewhere, the beauty of existence barely touching her awareness. Her time here was up and she was heading home tonight, but she still had the day ahead of her and she could feel the shape of a solution to the case forming. If only she could bring that shape into full focus.
It had been a little under a week since her meeting with Majid. She had found no further clues since her return, all her slender leads withering into nothing. Jacinta and even Georgie were gone; Miriam hoped they too had run, not fallen victim to whatever shadow was stalking their world.
Aden Sheldrake, the CEO of Allied Cybernetics, was a hard man to meet. If she believed his secretary, he was a dynamic businessman almost constantly engaged in trips and world-shattering negotiations. Well, perhaps he was. But Miriam had finally secured an appointment: the great man would see her today. She hoped he would have some answers. He had spoken to her himself; he seemed intrigued by her, or by her case; in pleasing contrast to the difficulty she had in getting to meet him, he had cheerfully offered her as much time as she needed.
~~~
The answer has to be here somewhere, she thought. If only I knew where.
There was nothing she could point to as suspicious, just an uneasy feeling that beneath the gleaming machines, efficient workers and bustle lay a darkness that crept out of the shadows when she looked away but vanished when she tried to discern its nature.
If anyone had asked her, she would have had to admit that Sheldrake had been unfailingly polite and helpful. He had answered all her questions; he had offered to give her a tour and shown her anything she asked, with the exception of certain laboratories with loud signs on their doors forbidding entry. Even then she had been allowed to see whatever was visible through viewing windows or screens.
She had seen the labs where volunteers were hooked up to their mysterious interfaces; they all looked healthy and well tended. None of them collapsed into screaming fits to be dragged away to destinations unknown. On her request he had even taken her to see one of the Spiders. It was not yet active, but it stood above her like an avatar of destruction. She wondered what it would be like to face one of those things when its glass eyes were not empty, but opened onto an alien mind born to hate. She shivered and hoped to never learn.
She suspected his desire to please was simply the face of his real desire to see the back of her and never again; but she couldn’t really blame him for that. And her time was running out; if there was anything to see here that would help, Sheldrake was either unaware of it or would never let her near it.
I can’t really justify much more time here, she knew. At any time he can get tired of my bugging him and will be fully within his rights to demand I leave. I just wish I knew what I was looking for. So far it looks just like it should. A model of industrial efficiency and good practices. A flashing orange light up ahead caught her eye. “What’s that?” she asked.
“Just a warning alert. A destroyed Spider has come in. People aren’t allowed in, it’s too dangerous.” At her startled glance he amplified, “Don’t worry, it’s just a precaution. They have a lot of weaponry and fearsome power storage that might not all be discharged. Plus you never know whether some rebel has seeded it with radiation or germs in an attempt to bring the fight back to base. Unlikely and it’s never happened, but we have strict safety protocols for everything we do.”
The complete good corporate citizen, aren’t you? she thought cynically. But her face didn’t show that. Instead she asked brightly with a touch of excitement, “May I see it?”
He frowned. “I’m afraid there isn’t much to see. When I said it has ‘come in’, I don’t mean in one piece. When one of them blows up we always have it sent back here if we can. Part of our quality control and diagnostics.”
“Do many of them blow up?”
“Not accidentally. But they are war machines. The enemy blows them up, or if they are too damaged to avoid capture they suicide. We don’t want the enemy to able to analyze them for weaknesses. We especially don’t want them to get tissue samples from which they might be able to develop a biological weapon.”
“Still… it would be interesting. The one I saw looked so… invincible. I might have fewer nightmares if I see they aren’t. Can I take a look? I assume there’s a way to view it?” The more you don’t want me to see it, the more I do.
Sheldrake looked at her, considering. You really are a terrible liar, aren’t you? But what can she learn from a bunch of scrap metal? Maybe then the bitch will be happy and leave. I’d rather not have to throw her out. “Sure, Detective Hunter, I’ll be happy to put your mind at ease. I don’t know that it’s as interesting as you think, but I live with it so maybe I’m too used to it. Come with me.”
There was no difficulty. Miriam found herself just around the corner from the flashing light, looking through a blast window at a conveyor belt slowly rolling out of an arched hole in the wall toward a forest of robotic grippers of all sizes and shapes.
“The wreckage will be coming out any moment now. The robotics will pick and sort the pieces for analysis. All entirely automated at this stage. Anything particularly significant might be examined by a human scientist later though.”
Miriam nodded. A few unidentifiable bits of metal appeared, followed by a scrapheap of pieces. It was impressive in its complexity but told her nothing. Then as a robot arm lifted a large piece of shell, a smaller bit of metal fell out of it onto the belt. It was a thin metal arch that looked vaguely familiar, and she wondered what mechanical part it could be. Must be some standard machine part, if I recognize it. But… oh my dear sweet Jesus!
She stared, t
ransfixed. The clues finally fused together into a whole as her imagination pieced together the pieces of the dead machine. The picture it made was so horrible that she could not believe it, but she knew with a deadly certainty that it was true. Then the mounting horror was replaced by an icy fear. She had been a bit worried, somewhat cautious, but confident in her position and the fact that people knew where she was. But now for the first time she was deathly afraid for her life. I have to get out of here! But I daren’t arouse his suspicions!
She glanced nervously at Sheldrake. Fortunately he was distracted by something on his phone, bored with a sight he had seen so many times, and wasn’t looking at her; so at least she had not given anything away.
But the visitor’s badge Miriam wore around her neck was more than it seemed. Allied Cybernetics was not in the business of man-machine interfaces for nothing, and the cord and badge contained sophisticated sensors. On his display, Sheldrake had seen the successive waves of shock then horror then fear course through Miriam, and he realized the truth about her a second after she realized the truth herself. She knows! Shit! Somehow she knows! Or is it something else? He could not investigate what had gone wrong now, but he knew what to do.
“Well, Detective Hunter,” he said turning toward her with a smile. “I’m afraid a few things have just come up that I need to attend to. I know you’d like to see more, but I hope you can excuse me. If you have further questions, I’m sorry but we’ll have to make it another time. Or I can pass you over to a technician if you’d really like to see more now?
In the display now overlaid on his vision he saw the relief course through her. Its converse was mirrored in his own emotions. Oh Christ. She’s desperate to get out of here. She knows all right! Fucking hell!
Miriam turned casually toward him. “No, I understand. I have to get to the airport soon anyway. And thank you so much for your time. I’ll be in touch if I have more questions. To be frank,” she added with what she hoped was a disarming smile, “I usually do.”