Synchronicity Trilogy Omnibus

by Michael McCloskey

  The other two androids had recovered from the sudden lighting modulations. They fired, grazing Killer. The cover would have worked against marines, but the androids were able to take advantage of Killer’s slightly wider silhouette.

  Killer-L5 cycled the lights again and spun toward another exit on the lower section. The laser carbines were cooling, so no more fire came. The sound of approaching drones came through the door. Killer-L1 shut the door at the last moment.

  Clang. Clang. Booom.

  Killer spun off, retreating as fast as it could.

  Killer-L5: Wait! They are withdrawing.

  Killer-L1: To get new packs. Then they’ll be back.

  Killer-L5: Then let’s make sure they don’t make it.

  Killer reduced speed, directing more energy to replenish its storage ring. It spun toward the nearest airlock. It didn’t bother to wait for the lock to cycle, it just opened both doors before it and allowed the bleeding atmosphere to give it a boost out into the airless void beyond.

  Killer warped its gravity field and spun around.

  Killer-L5: Where’s their ship? There.

  A small transport crouched beside the station. Its design was different than other shuttles Killer had seen: squatter, darker. It looked like a short-range module.

  Killer-L7: There must be a support ship nearby that launched this module.

  Killer accelerated toward the small transport, then zeroed in on the umbilical connecting the ship to Asgard. Killer used cutters to weaken the connecting corridor from the outside. Then it broke into the umbilical tube.

  An android appeared at the breach on the Asgard side, standing at the edge. A wind grew at its back as air rushed out through the damaged umbilical. The android stood motionless. It lowered its weapon.

  Killer-L5: What is it doing?

  Killer-L8: No programming for this scenario?

  Killer-L2: Giving up?

  Killer-L3: No, these androids are expendable. They don’t give up.

  Killer-L5: Could it have a self-destruct mechanism?

  Killer-L3: Doubtful...

  A cascade of energy burned through the umbilical wall above Killer, washing the Spinner away in a split second, then tearing though the deck beneath it. A large hole with glowing white-hot edges was all that remained in the wake of the distant warship’s precision laser strike.

  The android fell forward as the section continued to depressurize, sliding across the deck. The transport tore away from its mount to the station. Then the android flopped out into space, careening end over end as the station rotated by.

  A transmission went out through the void from the distant GundeKorp ship.

  “Auftrag war erfolgreich.” Operation successful.

  ***

  Claire arrived, flush with new questions.

  “Are there other aliens besides you? I mean, have you encountered other intelligent life besides humans?”

  “I’ve only seen Terrans.”

  “I mean, you as a race. Have Spinners seen other intelligent life?”

  “Spinners encounter many other forms of life in many rulesets and countless challenges. Allow me to anticipate your next question. No, Spinners do not interact with other intelligent races in Reality0.”

  “Do you know if they exist?”

  “I believe they do. I feel that the Prime Intelligence has studied them. It sends probes to explore the nature of Reality0 as much as possible. It has to do so, since the safety of all Spinners is unbreakably linked to their fate in the root existence.”

  “Aren’t you curious about them?”

  “I’ve encountered countless things so strange you could not comprehend them, in many rulesets—”

  “But it’s not real. Humans say that fact is stranger than fiction.”

  “Perhaps your race has a poor imagination. Besides, the Prime Intelligence sees these things. I suspect it may incorporate many things from Reality0 into rulesets and challenges, if it finds reason to do so.”

  “So... the Prime Intelligence is your watchdog. It rules over your planet while you sleep.”

  “The term is belittling. It’s much more than that of course. The Prime Intelligence is our god.”

  “Can you ask it questions?”

  “Yes. It doesn’t always answer, but it usually does.”

  “Is it mysterious?”

  “In some ways. But mostly sensible from my limited perspective.”

  “Then I’d say it has our gods beat hands down. Do you resent it running things?”

  “A dictator is only a bad thing when petty or self-absorbed. An amazingly wise, efficient, and powerful dictator is a good thing.”

  “But your freedom?”

  Captain-L3: I thought I had freedom until now.

  “The Spinners have vast freedom through the many rulesets and challenges. I suppose some measure of freedom is lost. But we adapted.”

  “I hope we can adapt, too,” Claire said.

  Six

  Hitler knew that its Terran name had been selected to match that of a grand leader of the Terrans’ twentieth century. It didn’t bother it that its namesake was considered to be an icon of evil. Hitler did feel some annoyance, though, that the inhabitants of Tanelorn had not chosen to name it after a commander-in-chief on the winning side of the Second World War.

  Hitler-L8: I’m more capable than any of them, and so should have been named after a victor.

  Hitler-L3: Just another Terran shortfall.

  Somehow the creatures of Earth had everything twisted around. They felt that one side was good, the other evil, and that the good side would then win by some inexplicable metaforce. Hitler knew the side of good was not determined until the winner had been determined. The winner, having proven itself the best, was shown through success to be good, and would be replicated. Only the ascension of the Prime Intelligence allowed this to happen consistently, since it could objectively measure the performance of the populace, select the best among them, and police the resulting rights of procreation.

  The sooner the Terrans embraced a directed method of sexual selection, the better it would be for them. Then they could start to benefit further from direct manipulation of their genetic structure. Hitler had found the Terrans, primitive though they were, had already started doing this. No doubt without the direction of a mature AI it would be a dicey artificial evolution.

  Hitler suspected this was exactly why it had been sent here. It wasn’t a matter of rejection at all, as Captain often suspected. It was a matter of taking a group most resilient to strange circumstances (because of their adoption of challenges containing unknown rulesets) and applying them where they could do the most good. This group of Spinners specialized in challenges where some rules were hidden, so who better to tame an entirely new civilization?

  In fact, Hitler thought greedily, success in this mission would undoubtedly come with a huge reproductive bonus granted from the Prime Intelligence. Their replicas would come to dominate the new civilization.

  After the news of Red’s death, Captain contacted Hitler directly through Ship.

  “It seems likely the Terrans will be there soon,” Captain said. “We need to eliminate their ability to seize stations. Then we’ll counter by taking their own space-based manufacturing facilities.”

  “We know a lot about the Terran strategies,” Hitler noted.

  “Yes. I believe the first faction, the UNSF, may arrive there at Tanelorn. I’ve been busy preparing for my match with Slicer, but I have some ideas for modifications you can perform to some of the Terran machines in your possession.”

  “The Terran security machines? They’re weak compared to the quadrupeds. The UNSF designed the armored quadrupeds to destroy the security forces.”

  “I’ve devised a trap. Look it over. Alter the details as you please. I feel confident you will succeed.”

  “Of course I’ll do as you suggest. I’m very excited to be part of this mission.”

  “This is not a mission pla
nned by the Prime Intelligence. I’m simply doing what I think is most beneficial to all parties involved.”

  “How can you underestimate such a mind? It has foreseen everything happening here.”

  “I doubt that. But I admit the possibility. I must now focus my attention elsewhere.”

  Captain disconnected.

  Hitler felt no emotion analogous to Terran fear or apprehension. It felt something like elation.

  Hitler-L6: For one of the Prime Intelligence’s greatest servants, Captain has little faith in it.

  ***

  “This is the United Nations Space Force. We are conducting a surprise inspection of this facility. Report to your personal quarters and stay there or face possible severe injury or death.”

  When the message came, Hitler was ready. Captain’s suggestions had been painstakingly implemented.

  First, the suits worn by the Terrans in Tanelorn had the helmet effectors, allowing Hitler to force the wearers to attack the UNSF forces. Although this was nothing more than a nuisance, it could distract many of the Terran marines. At Captain’s direction, the surface of the suits had been treated to resist the glue compound used by the UNSF. The Terrans had shown reluctance to slay their own in the campaign thus far, and rendering their glue weapons powerless would help a bit.

  Second, eight Circle Fours had been heavily modified in preparation for Terran incursion. In light of the name given to it by the Terrans, Hitler had dubbed these eight machines its Panzers.

  Hitler had expended a great deal of energy to compose an additional protective layer onto the front of the Panzers that could withstand a single ASSAIL cannon strike.

  Then the weapons of the special Circle Fours had been augmented to spray projectiles at much higher rates than their previous non-lethal designs. The plan called for Hitler to concentrate on using cutting molecules to compromise the ASSAIL armor, then the Panzers would pose a real threat to the enemy.

  Finally, Hitler had prepared an ambush in the factory as Captain suggested. Fire lanes for each of the Panzers had been cleared through the factory, then obscured so the invaders wouldn’t be aware of the potential lanes of incoming fire through the dense jungle of equipment.

  Hitler-L2: All that’s left is to implement Captain’s trap to the best of my ability, and trust in the plan of the Prime Intelligence.

  Hitler-L3: Perhaps when I win, they’ll change my name?

  ***

  Slicer’s preparation for the challenge was interrupted by a notification that the Terrans were attacking again. Slicer had obtained a feed of events through Ship. Captain had been monopolizing the information until recently, when Slicer decided to risk asking Ship for a feed of its own.

  The UNSF was disembarking onto Hitler’s station. Soon Hitler would be fighting for life or death in Reality0. More than replication rights would be at stake. Loss would mean termination of all future replications. The true end of existence for Hitler.

  Slicer considered the situation.

  Hitler had been a strong supporter of Captain since joining the new types of challenges on Spin long ago.

  Slicer-L4: I may need to move against Captain in Reality0. It’s dangerous, but would be less so if Hitler wasn’t around.

  Slicer-L2: Then I hope Hitler is destroyed.

  Slicer-L3: I can help ensure its demise.

  Slicer-L2: What’s the best way to accomplish that?

  Slicer-L1: The Terrans are fighting blind. The ruleset is Reality0. We can introduce a twist easily enough. A warning. Hitler has set up an ambush in the factory. We’ll send the Terrans and their slave AIs information about Hitler’s plan.

  Slicer-L6: There is no guarantee that will be enough.

  Slicer-L3: Guarantees are hard to come by in Reality0.

  Slicer-L1-8: Consensus.

  Slicer composed a brief message: “They await you in the factory wing.” Then it appended a series of diagrams detailing the deployment of Hitler’s forces within the station. Slicer transferred the message on the slower Terran network. It wouldn’t do to trust Ship with such a sensitive message. There was always the chance Captain was concealing the level of support it had from Ship and the Prime Intelligence.

  That was a sobering thought to Slicer.

  ***

  Hitler watched the Terrans using information from its station-wide collection of cyblocs. Already the AIs had started assaulting its assimilators. Within the first five minutes Hitler had to release a new wave of assimilators to refresh its crumbling control network.

  Hitler-L4: The Terrans are coming into the factory.

  The Panzers were in position to release their deadly fire at the invaders. Dozens of suborned Terrans in gear awaited the command to charge forward.

  A single quadruped entered the factory. By some chance, it stood in one of the few dead zones on the far side where the modified Circle Fours couldn’t shoot. Hitler withheld the order to fire.

  Hitler-L3: The AIs are so very smart... does it stand right there on purpose? Could it really know already the optimal place to be, even though it’s only seen the factory for three seconds?

  More ASSAILs entered the factory behind the first. The other quadrupeds spread out along the far side. Hitler relaxed a bit when it saw some of these others standing in the prepared fire zones.

  Hitler-L2 gave the order to attack. It composed ten thousand cutter molecules and launched them at three of the enemy machines. Then Hitler-L5 painted the targets for the Panzers. The machines went to work a second later, firing rapidly at the compromised armor plates of the Terran quadrupeds.

  The strategy met with immediate success, taking down two of the heavily armored quadrupeds.

  The charge of its enslaved Terrans emerged more slowly. They came forward awkwardly in the low gravity environment, shooting their puny weapons at the ASSAILs.

  The Terran army responded by sending in its marines.

  Hitler-L5: Excellent. The more confusion the better, while we snipe the rest of the armored AI bodies.

  Hitler-L6: I’m drawing fire.

  Hitler spun to the side in a blur of motion. Armor-piercing rounds stitched through the heavy equipment after it. The Spinner was forced to spend more energy than it wanted to stay mobile. It could only compose three thousand more cutter molecules and launch them down another prepared fire corridor in the factory.

  Hitler-L5 directed the Panzers to strike again. Two more of the quadrupeds were destroyed. The third target rotated in place, trying to present an undamaged face to the incoming fire, but it wasn’t fast enough. One of the Panzers on the flank struck the ASSAIL through a section cut up by the molecule-sized razors. Projectiles tumbled through its internal systems and brought it to a halt.

  Hitler-L4: Five of them dead!

  Hitler-L5: I’ve only lost two Panzers.

  Hitler-L1: Captain’s plan is working. I’m stopping them.

  Hitler darted back to the first opening and launched a third round of cutter molecules. Now all the ASSAILs rotated, hiding their damage from the Panzers.

  Hitler-L1: That will only work for so long.

  Another of the quadrupeds took fatal damage and exploded. Parts of its body tore through Terrans all around it, shredding them. Two more of the ASSAILs were damaged, fighting to survive.

  Terrans fought madly on both sides, but Hitler didn’t concern itself with these combatants. They couldn’t decide the course of the battle. As they died, their internal fluids sprayed great distances in the low gravity. The factory equipment became splattered with their blood.

  Once again, long spikes of metal started to tear through Hitler’s cover. The Spinner expended energy to deflect two potentially fatal rounds, then dodged away. It moved to its mid-point cover, a large ore processor supported by heavy struts in the center of the factory.

  The rounds kept coming in. Even behind the large piece of equipment, Hitler was drawing deadly fire. Hitler-L5 directed the Panzers to move and fire on their own. Many of the ASSAILs were already
damaged.

  Hitler-L5: It can’t last much longer. So many of them are dead now.

  Hitler-L1: These projectiles. Their trajectories have changed.

  Hitler-L6: The quadrupeds are moving forward. They’re coming right to my position!

  Hitler-L2: How can they know?

  Hitler-L8: They are AIs.

  Hitler prepared three finishing rounds and another two thousand cutting molecules, preparing for a point-blank confrontation. Suddenly more 12mm rounds plowed through the metal before it. The Spinner had only begun to realize it could not deflect them in time when it died.

  ***

  Captain noted with annoyance that the setting of the match was as tight and cramped as its current surroundings in Reality0. The Spinner was trapped in a stone tube of perhaps five times its own radius. Light poured in from a hole in the tube directly overhead. The tunnel was primitive or perhaps a ruin of an advanced structure: bits of dirt clung to the eroded walls of the tube. Vines hung in batches near the ceiling, blocking out much of the light.

  Captain-L5: Has Ship done this to make the Terrans feel more comfortable? Perhaps it is leveling the playing field.

  Captain-L2: No reason to assume that yet. I’ve seen this kind of dismal setting before.

  Captain-L3: Besides, don’t Terrans prefer their square tunnels with flat floors?

  Captain-L5: Yes, but a Terran won’t feel trapped in here. Not like I do.

  Captain-L7: I still can’t believe they’re not subterranean creatures.

  Captain-L5: Well, some of them did live in caves long ago. Especially the few that lived through their ice age? It must have affected them deeply.

  Captain-L7: Aha! I knew it.

  Captain checked its body in the virtual world of the challenge. Its EM effector had been replaced by a beam weapon as expected. This weapon had been described in the rules as being lethal to any challenger in four shots. The Spinner hoped to put that rule to the test soon.