We have seen this in game playing systems that develop their own unexpected strategies and tactics and continue to modify those tactics as they play to victory or using their experiences, go on to a wider variety of challenges. (Clearly, AGI is in a state of infancy but for how long is a subject of major deliberation.)
In time, the AGI system may become its own primary and eventually, exclusive and independent developer. This takes us to the level of Autonomous Artificial Intelligence. (AAI) Here “Artificiality” vs. “Reality” are in the eye of the beholder. Some enthusiasts believe that AAI systems can and will develop their own independent personalities, fundamental natures, cultures, history, beliefs and infrastructures. A parallel civilization. Whether this will happen and be of benefit to our own civilization is highly debatable. But, at that point, our dependencies on AI may be such that it would become impossible to pull the plug without creating unintended, serious collateral damage.
Obviously, this “doomsday” scenario which has been played out repeatedly in science fiction is not the only alternative. Benevolent and integrated AAI is of course, possible. A more sobering and likely view is that cost benefits from sophisticated AI may be a long way from meeting expectations, if ever. However, that prospect does not seem to have any retarding effect on current AI devotees. Stay tuned.
Chapter One
A nutty Muskoxen believes
We are all intellectual thieves
And his lawyers insist
That we cease and desist.
He wants millions to settle his peeves.
Octavius seems to have broken off his phone conversations so let’s see what sub-atomic propulsion is all about (or not.)
“Well, that was certainly helpful. UUI has no idea what I was talking about but Howard has been playing around with manipulating electrons and quantum entanglement.”
“Huh?”
“Clearly, you have not been keeping up on the latest trends in particle physics, Maury.”
“I humbly abase myself, Herr Heisenberg, and admit to total and shattering ignorance.”
“No need for sarcasm, Mr. Meerkat!”
“OK, so what fine mess has Howard gotten us into this time?”
“One of the principles of sub-atomic manipulation deals with the relationship between particles. Entangled electrons are mutually attracted. They pair up and they behave in sync.”
“Romance among the particles! So what?”
“Members of an entangled pair may exist at great distances from each other. Close to a hundred miles, at the moment.”
“Love doesn’t always run smoothly. Again, so what? Is Howard playing matchmaker?”
“Much more complex than that, my friend. As you know, Howard has been heading up Project Multiverse for quite some time.”
“Yeah, we’re all convinced that alternate universes exist and some of us have established surreptitious contacts in other worlds. We’ve met a few ‘other-worlders’ in our adventures. Even I know that.”
“Well, Howard has taken a major step forward and paired up electrons across the multiverse void and has them acting in unison. Manipulate one in our world and the other-world electron reacts. And, theoretically, vice versa. So far, his work is at super miniscule dimensions but think of the implications if the relations can be vastly expanded to major entities.”
“Holy Cats! Inter-universe remote control at a grand scale. In the wrong hands, that could be a cosmic disaster.”
“You’ve got it, Meerkat!”
“And is that what the nutty Professor is coming after us about?”
“Not clear. Howard has limited the access to his findings to a very small group of trusted colleagues and of course, Ursula. Or so he says. Ovibos may be the recipient of a leak or he may have arrived at his conclusions on a separate track. Or he may be off on something completely different. Not enough information in his charges! He’s no genius and I doubt he’s deeply into particle physics much less alternate universes. Someone may be feeding him information and he sees UUI as a sub-atomic gravy train. We need a lot more data. In any event, much to my chagrin, we will have to take the greedy Muskox seriously for the time being. I’ve told Howard to cease and desist until we can figure this out. First stop - find out more about Howard’s trusted colleagues. Summon our team. A little strategy and a lot of action seems to be called for.”
Facilitator Maury on the job. I got on the horn to our Cincinnati support staff plus Wolford Wolverine. Meeting with Octavius in one hour! Meanwhile, Wolford had sent us the text of the covetous Professor’s complaint (for which read threat.) Extract follows:
Phox, Fox, and Foxx LLC - Attorneys at Law
“In Re: Cease and Desist Infringement of Intellectual Property and Payment of Damages.
Our firm has been commissioned to institute legal action against Universal Ursine Industries Inc. (UUI) (Dr. Octavius Bear Owner and CEO) on behalf of our client, Muskoxen Atomic Propulsion Systems Ltd. (MAPS) (Professor Hercules Ovibos, Founder and CEO)
Specifically, we have sufficient evidence of IP Infringement to support litigation against UUI for obtaining, possessing and utilizing information, methods, experiments and supporting data owned by MAPS for the development of subatomic power systems.
Accordingly, we demand an immediate cessation of said practices, return of all copies of relevant material and payment of one hundred million dollars in compensation to our client.
Failure to respond positively and in a prompt manner will result in initiation of a civil lawsuit seeking additional punitive damages over and above those stated above.
Respectfully yours,
Phileas Phox. Esq. Managing Partner”
Well now, isn’t that an interesting document. I’m sure we will have much to discuss when the group assembles. You may have noticed the reference to “subatomic power systems.” Meaning? Your guess is as good as mine.
Meanwhile, Ursula and I have done a little research on Muskoxen Atomic Propulsion Systems Ltd. and Professor Ovibos. A little research is all we could do. His website is strong on glitz but very weak on facts. A shining set of predictions of the global revolution that will be brought about by the exploitation of sub-atomic particles. No explanations of how these miracles will take place. No description of research, facilities and staff. No scientific affiliations. No government or industrial contracts. One page glorifying the expertise and genius of Professor Hercules Ovibos but no institutional or academic credits. A few glowing endorsements from scientific, industrial and governmental nonentities. In short, a pile of sub-atomic, social media fluff.
I had asked Wolford and Ursula to do some research on Phox, Fox, and Foxx LLC. I suspect they are a group of shysters out for a fast hundred million bucks. We shall see.
The Great Bear’s reaction will no doubt be fiercely negative. A repeat attack by a perennial litigator! Not to be borne gently.
But in the midst of all this sit the questions. What the hell has Howard been doing and who has he been doing it with? Is this what’s behind all this nonsense?
The group has assembled in the mansion’s conference room. Octavius has rumbled through the door. Showtime!
Chapter Two
Now Octavius Bear is uptight.
He is sure our position is right.
We are on the high ground.
They can’t push us around.
The Great Bear is prepared for a fight.
I passed around copies of the letter from the Phoxes while Octavius got himself seated and Marlin, the Dolphin, got his video link set up from his tank. I logged into Ursula. The lawyers’ missive was greeted with laughter, amazement, outrage and derision. The Wolves and Otto wanted to pay an immediate visit to both the law firm and the Professor. The Condor was all for hacking into their systems to uncover, capture and destroy whatever infor
mation they actually had. Wolford pointed out that none of this was particularly legal and could expose us to charges of real theft, endangerment and harassment. Amid all this excitement, Octavius remained silent. Howard, sat with his quills at half-mast and a dismal expression on his face. I looked over at him and gave him an encouraging smile.
When things quieted down, he looked around and said, “I’m not sure but I suspect that if anyone is, I may be the culprit in this case. As most of you know, I have been working on Project Multiverse for quite some time, conducting experiments, gathering, filtering and analyzing massive amounts of data about alternate worlds and their inhabitants. Ursula has it all.
We are not the only ones in this world involved in multiple-universe research and in the course of my work, I have had contact with a very small number of highly trustworthy professionals. We share data, opinions and results on an exceedingly limited basis. I have no idea who this Muskox is. I also have no idea about the application of sub-atomic power principles to industry. Perhaps in battery design. That’s all Ursula could come up with.”
Octavius finally spoke up. “Howard, we have absolutely no evidence of your involvement, accidental or otherwise, in this farrago. However, I would like a list of those individuals with whom you’ve had professional contact and their backgrounds so we can check them out. Wolford, I want you to reply to this law firm stating in no uncertain terms that we have no intention of complying with their ridiculous demands and unless they withdraw their accusations we are preparing a countersuit. Make sure you carbon the Professor. I also want a history of their previous lawsuits, real and attempted, and the background of the partners. Ursula, I could also use a briefing on the applicable Intellectual Property case law.
I want you two wolves to update all our information on the Professor and his associates. Keep Howard and the AI system in the loop. Senhor Condor, I do not want you engaging in any hacking or activity that could be interpreted as criminal but I do want you and Ursula to pick up where Maury left off and do a comprehensive review of all social media, publications and related activity that can be tied back to him and his Muskoxen Atomic Propulsion Systems Ltd. And who is he communicating with?
Marlin, I want you to work with Howard on this one. See if you can find any possible power application areas. Otto, we’re going to hold you in reserve for the moment but I have a feeling your special ‘now you see him, now you don’t’ talents are going to come in handy.
Maury, I’m counting on you to coordinate and manage all of this. Of course, add your own personal insights and any discoveries you regard as relevant.
Finally, after we have all the ammunition we can summon up, I want to make it perfectly clear to all concerned that no two-bit, self-styled genius and his hired bottom feeders can hope to take advantage of UUI or me. By the way, I don’t want any of this to interrupt our normal activities or course of business.”
There you have it folks. Vintage Octavius! Mission Impossible in hyperspeed.
Howard took the floor for a moment. “I want to make one thing clear. There is an immense amount of research going on to enhance nuclear power plants and battery development. To my knowledge, UUI is not heavily involved although perhaps we should be. A new project for Ursula? University labs, industrial R&D, government sponsored projects are all searching for ways to increase battery life by decades; to incorporate high output in small portable and interchangeable packages; protect against radiation and heat damage; manage variable energy requirements; and most important, keep costs rational. There isn’t a land, sea or airborne vehicle manufacturer who isn’t investing in this. Medical, home appliance, household power, telecommunications, entertainment industries all have a serious interest. If this Muskox thinks he has exclusive ownership of any of the science or technology involved, he has to come up with one hell of a lot of proof.
I’m happy to share the names of my five outside contacts and collaborators. We transact all our business over highly encrypted links and on our own privately protected cloud. You will notice all of them are based in the States. I want to expand our efforts to overseas entities but I’m still working up a list of candidates. We have no formal agenda but anyone of the group can call a meeting.
Besides Marlin, Ursula and me, they are:
Professor Karl Shepherd Ph.D.–MIT Quantum Mechanics Laboratory
Doctor Susanna Shrike - Director of Extraterrestrial Studies - Caltech
Commander Cornelius Cormorant - US Navy Advanced Research Command
Alfred Armadillo - Sr. VP Communication Technology - Goggle Plex
Covington Cougar - Venture Capitalist with Space Enterprises LLC
I suggest you look them up. Their credentials are very impressive.
I can give you further insights into what we are doing with prancing particles but unless you want to satisfy your intellectual curiosity, that may be a waste of your time. Especially if all we want to do is simply cut this Muskox off at the pass. Let me know.”
The Colonel spoke up. “He may be on to something altogether different. I’ll bet it has nothing to do with entangled particles. Or he may be just an opportunistic fraud. The first thing we should find out is how many other organizations he is pursuing with his phony lawsuits. You know, if you send out enough threats, someone may fall for it. His law firm may be working on an unethical contingent payment basis.”
That sounded like a very practical first step to me. UUI is in contact with most of the scientific and technological world. Is the Professor taking a scatter-gun approach? Let’s see what we can come up with.
Chapter Three
The Phox lawyers are bad as they seem.
They’re behind this extortionate scheme.
When they target a rich, high-tech firm,
They insist that their victim must squirm.
They’re a really unethical team.
Twenty-four hours later. Same Place. Same Team. Plenty of results. The law firm of Phox, Fox and Foxx is everything we suspected. High pressure, low ethics, total disregard for professional standards and as opportunistic as can be. Ditto for Professor Hercules Ovibos. Together they are waging a major wave of attempted extortion against just about every billion-dollar plus technology company along with a more modest version tailored to the smaller research establishments. They are probably counting on just one or two enterprises offering to settle to make their efforts worthwhile.
Nor are they confining themselves to the U.S. Organizations in Europe, India, Canada, Israel, South America and Asia have not been spared. Neither has Australia. Our long-time cohort, Chief Inspector Bruce Wallaroo is on his way to join us. He has worked with the Intellectual Property Protection team of the Australian National Police and has had several run-ins with the Professor.
We’ve had no further enlightenment on the subject matter, if any, that supports his claims. His social media trails have led us nowhere. There is some strong feeling among our group that we should simply unleash the return letter ordered by Octavius and then let the issue drop. However, that’s not the Great Bear’s way. He feels personally offended and wants this greedy pest and his avaricious law firm “eliminated.” I’m not sure what “eliminated” means and possibly neither does he.
We are trying to dissuade Octavius from making direct contact with the “low lifes” but he believes that coercion should be met head on with strength. And he can certainly exert personal strength. He wants a face-to-face meeting with the Muskox and his lawyers
It turns out that both the law firm and the Professor are located in Metro Detroit close to the Detroit River. That may explain some of the industry references in their demands. (or it may not.)
Octavius calmed down a bit but probably not for long.
I suggested that we wait for the arrival of Inspector Bruce Wallaroo who is due in later today. Perhaps the combined forces of UUI and the Australian
National Police might serve to dampen the Muskox’s enthusiasm for attempted shakedowns. Wolford thought we might also want to contact the FBI. I got that assignment.
Special Agent Honey Badger came on the line after I explained that I was calling on Octavius Bear’s behalf. The Great Bear has a long history of cooperation and partnership with the Feds. I met Honey once before. She is one tough animal.
“Ah, my fellow African. How are you, Maury? Get back to the Kalahari much?”
“Not recently, Honey. How about you?”
“Nah! Although this Detroit weather doesn’t sit very well with me. I’ve had a transfer request in for quite a while but the Powers That Be seem to think I’m ideal for this location. Not exactly Chicago but plenty of action. What can I do for you and your boss?”
“Ever hear of the law firm Phox, Foxx and Fox?”
“Those shysters! They don’t care who they take for a client and they’ll pull every trick in the legal and not so legal book to win a case. What are they up to now?”
I filled her in on what we knew so far. She was not acquainted with Professor Ovibos but made noises that she’d like to meet him.
“That’s what Octavius wants to do, too. I don’t suppose you know Chief Inspector Bruce Wallaroo of the Australian National Police.”
“Are you kidding? Who hasn’t heard of On the Loose Bruce? He was involved in that stolen sapphire event at the Loupe Museum in Chi Town, wasn’t he? (See Book One - The Open and Shut Case)”
“Yeah, so was I. The late Imperius Drake pulled off a couple of nasty capers in that one including trying to blow up a thousand geneticists in Las Vegas.”
The late Imperius Drake? Is he dead?”
“Finally! He was killed trying to raid a tomb in Egypt.” (See Book Five - The Curse of the Mummy’s Case)
The Suit Case Page 2