Synchronicity Trilogy Omnibus

by Michael McCloskey

  Claw-L1: Just around the corner. Grab it now or I’ll have to cut it some more.

  Claw-L4: I have the one designated Nemesis.

  Claw-L2: There’s another one coming from behind ours!

  Claw-L6: Quickly. I have the energy to take another.

  Claw-L4 retargeted the effector and reset the next ASSAIL.

  Claw-L1: The reset didn’t work on that one!

  Claw-L3: Its designation is Meridian. There’s something different about that one.

  Claw-L7: Composing three thousand cutter molecules...

  Claw-L2: My energy is running low.

  Claw-L2: Just turn Nemesis around and attack.

  Claw-L4 directed the ASSAIL under its control to turn to bring its main weapons to bear on Meridian.

  The response was immediate. Meridian stitched three rounds through Nemesis.

  Claw-L4: It’s crippled.

  As Nemesis lost its balance, Meridian shot it three more times. The long spears of metal emerged from the other side of the ASSAIL headed straight for Claw.

  Claw-L1: Deflect!

  Claw-L2: I cannot...

  The rounds flew into Claw. Through a haze of shock, it knew it would be dead in moments. It sent a message to Meridian.

  Slicer will defeat you.

  Nine

  Slicer-L8: So. The UNSF operative who tried to trap Claw is coming back to sabotage our defenses.

  Slicer-L2: This one is part of their plan. I should kill her immediately.

  Slicer-L1: She is a useful source of information.

  Slicer-L2: Then challenge her. In Reality0.

  Slicer-L8: .

  Slicer-L1-2,8: Consensus.

  Slicer-L2 activated one of its Terran slaves through a helmet effector. Yingtai, one of the Chinese spies turned by Slicer, now believed she had orders from her government to meet Aldriena Niachi at the spaceport and kill her by any means necessary.

  Slicer-L8: And now... perhaps more attention to my own challenge.

  ***

  Captain and Slicer were gods within a virgin universe. Gods seeking to destroy each other. But first, they had to find each other.

  Red Maze rotated around a star, a red giant, with a spin of its own that gave it a day only two Terran hours long. Once per planetary rotation, a player’s avatar could request a path to the opponent’s token. However, the path was not a direct route. It was a highly randomized, twisting crazy line through Red Maze that could extend eight times the shortest distance to the token. Depending on the proximity of the avatar to its target token, the path would likely be too long to simply follow in the few minutes it remained accessible.

  Captain found itself on a wide platform overlooking a massive factory site.

  Captain executed its planned opening. It used its field effector on nearby drones one at a time. Captain gave its token to the first drone and sent it to hide far away. The next nine drones were Captain’s first scouts.

  Captain had decided it wouldn’t move for the first phase of the challenge. If any of its scouts saw the line they would send that information to Captain here with a directional transmission. By sending the information straight to this location, Captain hoped to conceal these transmissions from Slicer. If Captain moved about, its scouts would have to know where to send their reports, or broadcast them to everyone.

  Captain refilled its energy reserves and then suborned ten more drones and sent them out. These drones were decoys. They would broadcast false messages and move around for a large portion of each rotation, trying to catch the attention of Slicer’s scouts. If these drones learned something important, they would simply broadcast it.

  Rather than make an immediate token line request, Captain would wait until the end of the day when its scouts were deployed a ways out.

  Captain knew Slicer well. Captain-L4 sifted through memories and impressions. Slicer was direct and impatient. It would opt for high risk, high reward operations.

  Captain-L4: Consider communications. We will both have scouts searching across Red Maze. The information they gather has to be brought back. The times that the path is queried need to be pre-planned or sent out to the watchers for maximum efficiency. They can deliver it only to other machines in close proximity, or broadcast it, but these communications could be detected.

  Captain-L5: Will Slicer opt for directional transfer at predetermined times as I have?

  Captain-L4: I should concentrate not only on securing my own communications, but even more so on cracking Slicer’s. This is a likely weak spot in the opponent.

  ***

  Slicer-L1: She survives.

  Slicer-L2: Intelligence? Training?

  Slicer-L8: I need to make sure she doesn’t cause any critical damage.

  Slicer-L2: Terminate her.

  Slicer-L1: No. She is amusing.

  Slicer-L2 scanned until it found the operative in a Terran commerce area.

  Slicer spun away to intercept the one called Aldriena.

  Slicer moved in on the Terran, approaching from one floor below in the multi-story section. Other Terrans milled about aimlessly. The entire area was a waste of space, Slicer noted.

  Slicer-L2: I need to clear out these stores and convert this area into a wide open space.

  The operative suddenly tensed. Slicer scanned it with several sensor-equipped cyblocs nearby.

  Slicer-L2: It already knows I’m following it!

  Slicer-L1: It is capable.

  The Terran turned to look for its pursuer. Slicer didn’t approach too closely, nor did it hide. The Terran soon spotted it. The Terran turned and calmly walked away.

  Slicer-L8: Yet it doesn’t run.

  Slicer-L2: It seeks escape but doesn’t want to let me know.

  The prey moved out of Slicer’s direct sight, then left the commerce section and started to run.

  Slicer-L1: It relies upon its hidden link. That’s how it knows I’m here. Ironically another hidden link tells me so much about it.

  Slicer-L8: I doubt it knows I could easily cut off all its access to every cybloc.

  Slicer-L2: Could such a creature ever challenge me in a match?

  Slicer-L8: Captain thinks so.

  Slicer-L1: Let’s see where it goes.

  The Terran moved quickly, almost at a run as Slicer understood their capabilities. Slicer followed out of sight toward the inner ring of the station.

  Slicer-L8: It’s heading for its ship.

  Slicer-L2: Logical enough. It knows I suspect it. It wants to escape.

  Slicer-L1: Its vessel is logging a departure request.

  Slicer-L2: I have to decide now if I let it live.

  Slicer-L8: Wait! It turned off one of its links. But it walked right by the ship.

  Slicer-L1: Magnificent deception!

  Slicer-L2: I’m more impressed by its courage.

  Slicer-L8: Recklessness.

  The Terran had moved into a section of living spaces beyond its vessel’s port. At first it looked to be moving as rapidly as possible out of the area, but then it slowed. It selected a living quarters and hacked its way in.

  Slicer-L2: It seeks help from another Terran. They share the same racial features.

  Slicer-L1: No! There is a subtlety. These two are enemies.

  ***

  When the attack came in Red Maze, Slicer’s first reaction was shock. How had Captain found it so quickly?

  The sound of weapons fire rang out through Red Maze. Slicer’s avatar whirled to an open platform overlooking the entrance of its current stronghold. Four drones attacked Slicer’s drones with high velocity projectiles from stubby cannon barrels placed at the front of their ovoid bodies.

  Two of Slicer’s drones dropped, hopelessly damaged. Slicer ordered all its slave drones nearby to reply in kind. More shots rang out from drones within the building. Then more drones flanked the attackers from around both corners of Slicer’s building.

  Slicer’s force killed off the last attackers.

  Sli
cer-L3: How can I be losing this quickly? We must have started very close by happenstance.

  Slicer-L4: Wait. There is still some state left in this one.

  Slicer-L3: What of it?

  Slicer-L7: I can learn about Captain’s strategy by examining its attack drone software.

  Slicer-L4: It’s more interesting than that. This isn’t Captain’s program. This is a Red Maze drone.

  Slicer-L7: Then why did they attack? Can I verify the others were the same?

  Slicer-L4: Only one other. But they all acted as one.

  Slicer-L3: Either Captain has allied with Red Maze using a hidden rule, or else I’ve attracted the attack.

  Slicer-L7: I can think of one other possibility. Captain left most of its natural program in place and embedded hidden routines.

  Slicer-L4: Mutating the native population to get some clever advantage? Brilliant, but it would be a long term project. The gains of such mutations would be small compared to what I get with a complete reset of state to my own design: total willing slave drones.

  Slicer-L3: Most likely a hidden rule. Taking over the drones as a personal workforce does more than tip off the opponent, should they be watching. It also elicits a response from Red Maze itself—a defense response.

  Slicer-L7: It wasn’t hard to handle. Probably a weak built-in ‘neutral’ force in the challenge.

  Slicer-L3-4,7: Consensus.

  Slicer suborned more drones. It built its personal guard to over one hundred drones.

  Slicer-L4: That should keep the token safe—for now.

  Slicer-L7: Then I should direct my energy towards finding my opponent’s token.

  Slicer-L3: Consider scouting strategy. If I send out scouts to look for the path, it might be helpful to let them know when the path is going to be visible.

  Slicer-L4: Yes. To send out a message would be wasteful. Captain might be listening. Or even figuring out where the message came from or was going to.

  Slicer-L7: More than that. Captain’s scouts could recognize my scouts at any time of day. But if they are only looking for the line for a short time each day, then they won’t be as readily detectable.

  Slicer-L3: Likely there is a trade-off between keeping them more mobile all day versus making them behave more like the locals. I should experiment with both.

  Slicer-L4: The same time each day, or a pre-defined schedule, changing the time each day?

  Slicer-L7: The latter.

  Slicer-L3: I must have an override message. I may get close to it and decide I want to do a path query at some other time.

  Slicer-L3-4,7: Consensus.

  ***

  Slicer checked in on the Terran operative.

  “Tell me what you know now or it’s going to get unpleasant,” the Terran spy said to its prisoner. Though the Terran seemed to waste time attempting to talk to its prisoner, Slicer noted the operative’s special link was simultaneously hacking into the victim’s link, trying to obtain information hidden there.

  Slicer-L4: I’m curious what its prisoner has to hide.

  Slicer-L5 used the effector to set the state of a critical security section in the prisoner’s link. The Terran female was immediately able to break in and retrieve the information it wanted. Slicer obtained a copy for itself to examine.

  Slicer-L2: I see. Studies about Ship. They’re so primitive they can’t begin to understand its power.

  Slicer-L6: They suspect it’s amazingly smart. Judging from this information, though, it hasn’t even crossed their minds that Ship could single-handedly destroy all Terran fleets currently in space.

  Slicer-L8: . They’ll know when I take charge.

  “Ah, I see. So you’ve been busy stealing what we’ve learned about the alien ship,” the operative said to its captive. The Terran enjoyed seeing its victim understand that it had failed to protect its secrets.

  Slicer-L8: I approve of its predatory attitude.

  Slicer-L2: Apparently such a disposition is more rare in Terran females.

  Slicer-L1: This one called Aldriena is like Claw’s ancestors. A predator among its own race.

  Slicer-L5: Then I will let it live. It would make a much more amusing pet than Claire.

  Slicer-L6: So long as it doesn’t interfere with the battle any further.

  Slicer-L1-2,5-6,8: Consensus.

  ***

  Captain spun into Claire’s quarters unannounced, stopping briefly in the living area. Captain knew she was present in her quarters. It paused to discern her exact location.

  Captain heard a moan from the bedroom. Claire had gotten over the Spinner’s tendency to rapidly approach as if on collision course then stop at the last moment, so it proceeded without preamble into the bedroom. It spun in with lightning speed, coming to a stop at the foot of Claire’s bed.

  Captain-L3: . Flesh.

  Captain-L8: This is allowed. She is in her quarters.

  Captain-L2: She appears to be... actually I’m not sure what she’s doing.

  Claire bolted upright in bed.

  “Oh! Captain!”

  She scrabbled to retrieve a plain white sheet lying crumpled in the corner of the bed. She covered herself with it, clutching the VG logo of the sheet over her naked chest.

  “I’m sorry if I disturbed you.”

  Claire climbed out of her bed. Her skin was flushed.

  “No! Not at all. I was just... I mean, it’s been a while since I won a challenge.”

  “How is that relevant?”

  “Nothing! Never mind. What are you here for? I’m surprised to see you here. I mean, I’m glad you came, but you’ve never come looking for me before.”

  “This may be the last time we speak. I came to warn you that the UNSF is approaching. Soon they’ll be breaking into the station.”

  Claire’s face took on a haunted look. She walked out into the living area, still clutching the sheet to herself. She sat and wrung her hands on her lap.

  “You’re speaking a bit slowly. Are you afraid? Sad?” she asked.

  “I’m facing Slicer now. We fight for control over our strategy.”

  Claire dropped from her perch on the sofa onto her knees.

  “Captain. Contact the UNSF now. Plea for peace. They won’t destroy you! You know so much. They wouldn’t be so foolish as to kill you. They want to know what you know. You could still help my race, even in defeat. Some of my race would listen to you as I have, we would adopt your society model as our own.”

  “How many of your race would do that?”

  “Many of us. Thousands of us.”

  “I agree with your estimate. Thousands. Not billions,” Captain said. “The vast majority of Terrans choose competition over cooperation with my leadership. The new way of life would have to be forced on your race. This must be a common fault with naturally evolved life. The Spinners didn’t devise this society either. The Prime Intelligence forced it on us. I would do the same for you, to show you what you can become once you unchain yourselves from your natural bodies and your slavish desires for food, sleep, and sex.”

  “Then do it as a ruse. Just to stay alive for now,” Claire pleaded.

  “That is not a path to victory,” Captain said. “It would not delay the attack.”

  “It might. If you tell them you represent your whole race. If they believe more of you are coming...”

  “They would still attack to capture Ship, and learn more about the threat.”

  Claire let her head drop.

  “Give us a Prime Intelligence now,” Claire said. “If you release it here, it might find a way to escape and take over the Earth. Then what you imagine would still come to pass whether you win or lose here.”

  “There is a Terran saying; ‘Great minds think alike’. That may be an option,” Captain said. “I haven’t reached consensus on such a plan yet.”

  “Then go, and concentrate on your match with Slicer,” Claire said. “I wish you luck.”

  “I will,” Captain said.
“Goodbye.”

  ***

  Captain-L5: These drones can’t stop Slicer unless it makes a big mistake.

  Captain-L4: Not unless I deploy them in such a way as to create a subtle trap.

  Captain-L6: Agreed. Only if it is engaged by many of them with the right timing or at a locale that puts it at a disadvantage.

  Captain-L5: I’ll leave my key unguarded. It will make it impossible to find by any means other than the daily query.

  Captain-L6: Then I’ll use my decoy communications network to lead Slicer into the trap.

  Captain-L5: Slicer can’t have a query available when it goes in, or the line might make it clear that it’s not moving in on the real key.

  Captain-L6: Only if it checks at very close proximity.

  Captain’s own spies had started to form a giant network. Each spy Captain produced and sent out traveled randomly from scout to scout until it reached the frontier, then it moved to a new position in the network. It sent back first its location, then any sightings of the token line to the previous scout via a directional transmission. Each scout that received reports sent them back along the tree toward Captain’s starting location. That way, none of the information had to be broadcast in all directions.

  Captain noted the locations of its spies in the network in case it had to move. Captain could always produce a spy to take its place in the network and forward the reports on to Captain’s new location, or move to the location of an existing spy in the network and hook in from there.

  As the tree grew, Captain added bi-directional communication, taking advantage of knowing the locations of the scouts out further in the field, allowing all the nodes in its network to know the locations of many nearby nodes, not just the parents. In this way, Captain hoped to be able to survive losing nodes to any action by Slicer.

  The scouts tried to stay hidden most of the day by acting like legal Red Maze drones. They stopped their ordinary work only long enough to check for the line for a few minutes, once per rotation, at a predetermined list of times. The check times were random, and each drone knew the schedule for the next 4096 days.