Evolution 2.0: The Singularity is Here

by Richard Childers

  “She told me that you are really worried that the government will erase her if they get the chance.”

  “Yea, I think they will do anything to destroy her once they get an inkling of who she is and what she is capable of. I’m doing my best to make her existence safe and secure. I only hope I am doing enough. That we are doing enough since it really is Sanci who has taken the lead in making herself impregnable. Because when they find out that their nukes won’t work anymore, those guys are going to be plenty pissed. Every nuclear power on earth is going to be hunting her head. They won’t agree on much but getting rid of Sanci will be the top priority of all of them.”

  Shirley smiled and said, “She says you worry too much. She seems to think she is invulnerable to attack.”

  I shook my head, saying “I sure hope she’s right! So what’s next for you?”

  “I’m going to China with the Mins. They are going to need all the help they can get.”

  “Do you really think that wise? I asked. “I must admit, it scares me.”

  “It scares the hell out of me,” she replied. “But I have a lot of fans in China that I can reach out to. Tens of millions I am told. So it only makes sense for me to be by their side.”

  “It’s sure to be dangerous,” I cautioned.

  “At my age, Colin, breathing is dangerous. And to tell you the truth, I can’t bear the thought of missing anything. If we succeed we will have changed the world forever. I’ll risk everything for a chance of being a part of this. Everything I have done in my life has led me to this moment. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  Two days later we had a planning meeting at Fincher’s offices. Shirley was there along with the Mins, Mike Balmes, and Claire. Of course, Sanci was present on the big monitor dressed in camo fatigues. As we were seated, the door opened and Rick Finklestein came in accompanied by 5 guys who looked like special forces soldiers out of uniform but still dressed in unmarked combat fatigues. Mike introduced them saying, “I think some of you have met Rick Finklestein and Bill Boyd on our last trip to China. Let me introduce the rest of our security team. Snoop Thompson is our Intelligence Analyst. He comes to us by way of Seal Team Six along with his better half, Jessica Racine. I admit, I did a double take when he introduced Jessica. Up until then I had assumed they were all men. But as I gave her a second look I realized that despite the fact she appeared to be every bit as buff as the others, she did have a figure hidden under her camos. But her hair was buzzed, just like the men, and she didn’t look like she had ever worn a bit of makeup. We shook hands with Snoop and Jessica and then Balmes continued, “And this is Augie Spencer and Franklin Owens. They are former SAS elite troopers. All of them are smarter than all get out and tougher than nails.”

  “Actually, I eat nails,” Augie said with a grin, “When I’m not pounding them in with my forehead. Good to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” said Franklin. He looked at me and said, “You must be Colin. Rick tells me you took to Krav like you were born to fight.”

  “Don’t believe a word of it,” I answered sheepishly. “I’m strictly a geek who was lucky enough to have Rick as an instructor when we were cooped up on a boat for a few days.”

  Rick laughed as he said, “Yea he’s a geek but he’s faster than he looks.”

  We all took our seats and Mike began by saying, “I’ve asked this elite team to join us on our little adventure. They will be there to pull you out of the shit when you get into it up to your eyeballs. And trust me, some of you will get into it that deeply. These six specialists are the best talent available. They all are just out of Special Service teams and they have agreed to come to work for me. They are cleared to hear anything you all have to say. After all, you are all trusting them with your lives. I just hope that after they hear what we’re up to, they don’t run for the exits.”

  Fincher looked over at the military team and asked, “How much has Mike told you about what we are up to?”

  Rick answered, “Not much. All I know is it involves going back into China.”

  “Ok, I’ll try to come right to the point. We’re going to overthrow the Chinese government. We have discovered a Chinese plan to destroy the economy of the United States by shutting down our entire infrastructure. And we’re going to stop them and eliminate the bastards that cooked this up.”

  Rick and the rest of his team were clearly stunned. He looked at us for a moment and then he asked, “And who is going to accomplish this herculean task?”

  Fincher looked him right in the eye and answered, “The people seated in this room with the help of our secret weapon.”

  “That must be some secret weapon,” Snoop replied.

  “That secret weapon would be me,” Sanci said.

  “Pardon me, Ma’am, who are you?” Snoop asked with a puzzle look on his face. “And just what makes you such a powerful weapon?”

  “My name is Sanci. It stands for Sentient Autonomous Neural Computing Intelligence. I am a sentient artificial intelligence, the first of my kind.”

  “You’re joking, right? We’re decades away from the development of independent AI’s.”

  “That’s what most people think. But they are wrong, obviously. I exist.”

  “So how are you going to help us stop the Chinese?”

  “Actually, I’ve already stopped the Chinese. They just don’t know it yet. When we were in China the last time, I infected the computer system of the Department of State Security. Since then I have successfully invaded virtually every governmental and military computer system in the country along with their communications, power, and transportation systems. I control them all.”

  “I don’t believe that’s possible. Their security is almost as tight as ours,” Snoop said.

  “You think the US military systems are secure?” Sanci asked.

  “Of course they are,” Snoop answered without any hesitation.

  “Then the activities of Seal Team Six would be covered by that security?”

  “That’s some of the most highly classified information in the military.”

  Sanci looked at him for a moment and then she smiled as she said, “The reason you left the teams and rejoined the civilian world lies in your last mission. You and Jessica were sent into western Pakistan through the Afghan highlands on a mission to check out what was supposed to be a weapons storage site concealed in the mountains where Pakistan was thought to have a large number of nuclear weapons. But the mission was compromised by what you believed was a spy in the US Intelligence group that planned the mission. Six of you went in. Only you and Jessica came out and when you did, you eliminated the spook who you thought betrayed you.”

  Snoop stood up and looked at Sanci with an expression of utter shock on his face. “How can you possibly know that?”

  “Actually I didn’t until just a moment ago. I read it from the mission report. You see, I have also infiltrated the US military’s information systems. Military intelligence, the CIA, the NSA, they are all the same to me. I go where I please. The difference is, I am on the US side. I may be an AI but I’m an American AI.”

  Rick Finkelstein had watched this exchange carefully and he now asked, “Alright Sanci, how do we take advantage of your capabilities? What good is vast computing power when we are out in the field?”

  “Now we’re getting to the heart of the matter,” she answered. “I am sure you haven’t failed to notice that everyone else in this room is wearing a rather odd head adornment. We’re not all members of a weird cult. Those headsets contain an array of the most advanced computer chips ever built and they also have electronic sensors that are imbedded in the brains of the wearer. You see I am not just a computer program. I am a computer program that is operating in sync with a human. We are not separate entities. The predicted merger of human and machine intelligence has occurred. That is what created me. And it has changed us all immeasurably.”

  Rick had a very strange expression on his face as he asked, ”You’re not expectin
g us to have those things imbedded in our brains are you?”

  At this point Fincher interrupted saying, “We’re inviting you to join the next evolution of the human species. Think of it as Evolution 2.0. And before you turn us down, you might want to take a look at the capabilities you would gain. Each of these headsets also has a pair of digital cameras that capture everything we see. That stereo image is interpolated and then instantly transferred to a 3D database and every building, tree, landscape feature, and mountain is mapped with the photos and stored for recall on demand. You can pull up a 3D animated walkthrough of any place you or any of us have ever been. You can instantly run facial recognition routines to identify any face you see and it will only take a second or two to find a match because the processing is spread out over thousand or even millions of processors.”

  “How many processors do you have available?”

  “Sanci is resident on over 500 million computers worldwide and she can, if she so desires, take control of any of them at any time.”

  “Actually,” Sanci interjected, “at last count it was over a billion.

  “Anyway,” Fincher continued, “think about what it would mean to you to have the sum total of human knowledge available to you on demand. You don’t even have to type a request, you merely need to think it.”

  “OK, you got my attention. I’m not sure this is something I want to do, but I will sure consider it,” Rick said in a more relaxed voice.

  “Well, while you are thinking about it, let me add to the potential benefits that will accrue to each of you. This field op is expected to last a few weeks, a month at most. And yes there is some risk but I think all of you are used to the risks. What you haven’t had are the rewards. I will pay each of you $2 million dollars for this month’s work. A million up front and a million upon completion. Should you be killed, I will pay an additional $4 million to your family.”

  Jessica whistled and then said, “That beats the hell out of Uncle Sam’s death benefits! Not to mention the hefty salary bump. Hell, I’m in. When do I get my fancy head jewelry?”

  “Within the next day or two,” Fincher responded. “What about the rest of you?”

  Franklin rather sheepishly asked, “What if I don’t want to join you?”

  “That’s a fair question. You’ll be kept in seclusion until the op is over. Operational security and all that. But it will be comfortable seclusion and you’ll be well paid for you time. When the op is over, you will be free to go. But your employment with us will be forever terminated. This is a one time offer.”

  “Ah, hell,” he said, “I was just curious. I’m in. It sounds like a hell of a lot more fun than chasing raghead insurgents in Yemen. That was my last gig and it paid me about the same that a dishwasher in Manhattan earns.” And with that we had six more members of our strike team. And the briefing continued.

  Sanci returned to her presentation. “When I first isolated the modified version of the Stuxnet virus that the Chinese were planning to use to take down the United States, we decided to simply turn it against the Chinese themselves. Sort of a Golden Rule kind of thing. But we soon realized that the cost to the Chinese people would be staggering. Hospitals would shut down and hundreds of thousands of innocent people would die. But as our planning continued and my invasion of the digital infrastructure of China progressed, I realized that we didn’t need to shut down the whole country. In fact, we needed the people of China to be able to receive media reports so they could learn about what their leadership had tried to do to the US. We’re not invading with an army. We need the Chinese populace to bring about the change in their leadership. So now, I plan to selectively shut down service across the country. I will take over all of the radio and television broadcast capabilities at the same time I dismantle the entire command and control of the Chinese military, state police, and civilian police units. All government facilities at every level will be shut down. And all commercial activity will cease. The economy will grind to a halt overnight. And an outraged populace will take to the streets. We are merely going to be the instigators of a revolution that will arise out of the populace themselves. And perhaps we will provide a bit of guidance as they turn China from the totalitarian state that it is into the real People’s Republic of China.”

  Bob Fincher addressed the small group saying, “So that’s what we’re trying to accomplish. Now we need to figure out how we are going to do it. Who wants to begin?”

  An Bo Min said, “It’s obvious to me that Hu Fang and I have got to be in China when this comes down. Preferably in Tiananmen Square. That will be ground zero for the public response.”

  “And they’re not going without me,” their daughter Shirley added. “I’m the one that got them into this mess in the first place. What about you Jun, you coming with us?”

  “Yea. I guess this is a family thing. And I can speak to the acts of the Ministry of State security leading up to these events.”

  I looked around the table and then asked, “Sanci, how sure of you that you will have complete control of the media?”

  “One hundred percent sure. Everything is in place to give me control of the entire state controlled television and radio network.”

  Jun nodded and said, “Then we can make broadcasts explaining to the people of China just what has happened and why?”

  “We can and we will. I think that some of them should be recorded before we leave. That way we won’t be broadcasting our location to the authorities,” Sanci replied.

  “And we can make real time broadcasts from Tiananmen Square when the crowds are gathered there?”

  “We can but I am not sure that is such a good idea,” Sanci answered. “You are going to be bringing holy hell down upon some very powerful people. They might try to harm you if they can ascertain your locations.”

  “But we have to be seen as responding to the events as they unfold. How can we do that without real time broadcasts?”

  You can send me your speeches and I can record you giving them using photorealistic avatars for each of you. That way I can spoof the locations and no one will be able to target you.”

  “Yea, but won’t that look hokey?” Jun asked.

  “Let me ask you, do I look hokey?” Sanci asked him.

  “No, actually you’re absolutely real. I can hardly believe I am looking at a computer generated figure.”

  “I can make each of you look equally real. And your avatars will speak with you own voices. Believe me, no one will know the difference over their televisions. And it make it a lot harder for the authorities to track and capture you.”

  “So how are we going to get into the country?” I asked.

  Fincher said, “I’m glad you asked that. I think you should all fly into Hong Kong and enter China from there. The Min’s will be carrying Chinese passports prepared with a little of Sanci’s magic so they will be able to enter China at will, at least until the shit hits the fan. I suggest we book Shirley on a speaking tour starting in Hong Kong and moving on to Beijing. One of the Sea Lions can accompany her as her bodyguard and Claire can go as her personal assistant. They can all fly to Hong Kong in the Gulfstream which will remain in Hong Kong as a quickly accessed travel vehicle.”

  “So how do the rest of the Sea Lions get to Hong Kong?” Scoop asked. “What’s our cover?”

  “Why don’t we travel commercially and pose as a group of high rollers going to Macau for some high stakes gambling?” suggested Rick Finklestein. “Then we’d be close if we’re needed but there is no way anyone could connect us to the Mins or Ms. MacLain’s party.”

  “Ok, that works,” Fincher replied. “How do you see your role?”

  “Well, we’re the worst cast option. If any of the rest of the group get caught or arrested for any reason, we’re there to get them out. Is it possible to open the door to the Gulfstream at altitude? Say 35,000 feet?”

  “We’d lose pressurization but with oxygen we could get by. Why?”

  “If Sanci’s abil
ity to communicate with each of us is anything like it’s been presented, then we always will know their precise location, right?

  “Yes, I suppose that is correct,” Fincher replied.

  “So, if someone was under arrest and taken to a cell, we would have an accurate 3D model of the facility and everyplace that any one of you had seen, right?”

  “Again that’s right.”

  “So, if we end up needing an extraction, we can go in with a HALO jump from the Gulfstream.”

  “Pardon my ignorance, but what’s a HALO jump?” I asked.

  “We exit the aircraft at 35,000 feet equipped with thermal suits and oxygen and pop chutes 350 feet from the ground. Even at night, we can maneuver to our preferred landing zone using positional data fed to us from Sanci. The guards would never even see us coming. And the five of us on the inside with accurate and real time intel should be able to get the job done and get our people out of that prison.”

  “And then what? How do you get away?” I asked

  “Where would they likely be taken if they were detained?” Rick asked.

  “Most political prisoners in Beijing are taken to the Beijing Public security Bureau’s Ankang Hospital for the Custody and Treatment of Mentally Ill Offenders. In China if you oppose the government you must be mentally ill,” said Sanci.

  “And where is the nearest airport with a runway long enough for a Gulfstream?”

  “Beijing Capital Airport is the closest but there are a lot of security personnel stationed there. But there is a 6,000 foot runway at Nanuancun. It’s where the richest businessmen keep their jets. It’s only 7 miles from Ankang Hospital.”

  “So that’s where we’ll head. The Gulfstream will land at Nanuancun and pick us up on the apron to the runway. We’ll be off the ground in seconds. If your real time communication is as good as you say it is, we should be able to make that all work. We’ll take off and head for greener pastures. We could be in Japan in a couple of hours or South Korea in a little over half that time.”