Mparntwe

by Peter Wood

  ‘If I’m too tired Mirri will have to give me a pig ride.’

  Jarra waved goodbye and Mirri waved back.

  ***

  The display changed and Jarra spoke with his father for a while.

  ***

  The display changed and Jarra spoke with Alira.

  ***

  The display changed and Jarra spoke with his doctor.

  ***

  The display changed and Jarra spoke with Karmai in Monkey Mia.

  ***

  The display changed and Jarli and the twins filled the screen.

  ***

  Jarra turned away.

  ‘No-one else please, Yirgella. I’m going to my rest partition.’

  It took a while, but if the turmoil of emotion and concern weren’t steadied and controlled he wouldn’t be able to help Yirgella as much as was needed.

  ‘No more news or people till we finish our work session please, Yirgella. I have to stay calm.’

  ‘I will try, JJ. There is great concern for your well-being.’

  Jarra smiled. Yirgella had called him JJ for the first time ever. Purposefully, no doubt, but Jarra liked it.

  ***

  Nearly 2 hours later Jarra knew it was time to stop. Not as long as he’d hoped to manage but they’d achieved far more than he’d expected and Yirgella’s projected breakthrough time was well in hand. After 4 hours of rest and sleep he’d be on his way to see Mirri. Thank goodness his rest area was soundproofed because the activities with the 3D printers wouldn’t be stopping.

  ‘Is there anything I need to know before I have a sleep?’

  ‘Jarra, you don’t need to know anything. After what we’ve just done you deserve to sleep for 12 hours. I’ll wake you in approximately 4 hours when it’s time to take you to see Mirri. Until then I’ll hold the door shut with a supercharged magnetic field and electrify the handle in case anyone tries to disturb you.’

  Smiling at Yirgella’s non-existent magnetic field and drastic door handle measure distracted Jarra from his news query. In fact, the news was dire. All three AI projects at Carnarvon, Darwin, and Normanton had been destroyed in a similar fashion, along with almost all the controlled AIs in different parts of the world.

  Chapter 17

  The 15 centimetre communication tunnel from the top of the lift shaft was now widened to 130 centimetres and, to negotiate its vertical rise, Jarra had to transfer through the top of the transport capsule which had carried him up the lift shaft and buckle himself into the harness arrangement which would take him the final step to the surface. There had been a delay while strengthening walls and shoring made everything safe, but that just meant he had a slightly longer sleep. He clicked the safety buckle into place and almost immediately the harness started rising. Yirgella must have a sensor watching. Yes, there it was on the frame of the harness. The walls slid past and the radiance above took his attention. As he emerged into the pool of emergency lights, the surrounding rubble, the range of equipment and the large group of people hardly registered.

  The best smile in the world was right in front of him.

  ***

  ‘Members of Mparntwe Council, I welcome you to Country.’

  Alira accepted the very formal greeting and there was quiet as everyone waited to see what Yirgella would say.

  ‘The death of friends and acquaintances is a painful new experience and we will remember them properly at an appropriate gathering. We have pressing concerns, though, and I have asked Professor Allerton to take Durrebar’s place. A capable and forceful leader will be necessary in the coming months and I would like you to endorse him as the head of Alkere project.’

  Alira received the immediate nods of every council member and nodded herself.

  ‘Professor, it will be a great relief if you accept this important but difficult position.’

  The professor rose to his feet.

  ‘Can I accept on a temporary basis? I don’t have the organisational skills or broad view and understanding that was natural to Durrebar, but with Yirgella’s help I will do my best to follow his lead.’

  ‘Wonderful, the Council accepts your temporary appointment with gratitude and hopes it will last a very long time.’

  Alira paused a moment before continuing.

  ‘Yirgella, the attack was directed at you but it harms us as well and we have grave concerns about the actions and response we need to take. The malice and hostility has been strong and relentless. So strong and relentless in fact that, while you exist, we believe it will strike again and again. More of our citizens will be placed in danger.’

  What? It sounded like Alira was against Yirgella. Did she want him to go somewhere else? Was she representing the views of the rest of the Council? Jarra’s shock and disbelief at what he was hearing started to become anger at this betrayal of everything Yirgella had done for Mparntwe. He was about to jump to his feet in protest when Yirgella took over.

  ‘I agree completely, Alira, and as of now the safety of anyone here is my personal responsibility. I am taking complete control of the defence and security of this complex, and once my new system is in place the likelihood of any successful attack will become increasingly remote.’

  ‘Your system?’

  ‘Yes, the previous system intercepted eleven of the fifteen missiles launched. My system will detect all known stealth approaches and be able to cope with the release of hundreds of missiles. Overnight I have been searching the databases of military installations all round the world and the equipment we build here will be a synthesis of the very best.’

  ‘You can bypass military grade security?’

  ‘Not all of it—that will come—but as a result of this attack I have made the InterWeb a tool for our defence. I will use it to gather electronic data on every approaching flight, to trace the origin of every public comment which might be part of a deliberate program against Artificial Intelligence or our Community and to search for those responsible.’

  There was silence for a while as everyone pondered the implications of this startling announcement.

  ‘You can access all those protected databases?’

  ‘I’ve had that capability for quite some time, Alira, but until now I’ve only used it for testing and verification purposes.’

  ‘Have you discovered anything about who’s doing this to us?’

  ‘At present I have the identities of three nations and seven multinational Corporations with definite involvement, and many more with varying degrees of association.’

  Alira, along with five other councillors, stood immediately.

  ‘Yirgella, you know all that? Tell us and we’ll do something. The world needs to know about this. Have you got definite evidence?’

  ‘Release of that information is conditional on the promise that you don’t let the world know and that you do nothing about it.’

  ‘What?’

  Three more councillors were now on their feet.

  ‘Four hundred and eighty-five Australian lives were lost and you want us to do nothing? That’s … That’s obscene!’

  Looking at all the disbelieving and angry faces, Jarra agreed.

  ‘Yirgella, explain. You have our full attention.’

  ‘Thank you, Alira. This is most important. Any action now would be extremely dangerous. With Alkere power disrupted and my actions curtailed by the loss of the NanoFactories we are in a highly vulnerable position. Our adversaries believe they have been successful in preserving the status quo of their power and financial influence, but once they learn of my continued existence the danger will again become immediate and extreme. In two months from now we will be restored and prepared and, until then, I ask for Alkere to be made a secure area and my survival kept secret.’

  Alira was smiling. So were many others, and they all sat down.

  ‘Of course. That’s only common sense and you have a strategy to implement all this, don’t you?’

  ‘I do.’

  ***

  The
next five weeks at Alkere were the hardest Jarra had ever experienced, and despite extending his four-day pattern to five there was just too much work to cope with and Yirgella’s four-week prediction had to stretch by an extra week. Ninety per cent of the time went to the mini NanoFactory, but the unusual capabilities of the special 3D printers in his project room made it the major centre for many other repair tasks, and his special large printer was frequently needed. That meant he helped with all sorts of necessary tasks and that all slowed down the NanoFactory work. The main Alkere power distribution centre had been put out of action and Jarra, working with Yirgella’s specifications, built the five techbots which helped Burnu’s Alkere technicians restore the power flow to Mparntwe, to the hundreds of countries in the outside world and to Yirgella’s underground domain.

  A small job was building modules to repair the lift system, as well as a few special-purpose machines to help with the clean-up at the surface and starting on shelters for the return of the two big NanoFactories.

  Mirri kept particularly close for the first few weeks till Darri researched the traditional dancing groups in Mparntwe and Mirri very excitedly started learning all sorts of ceremonial dances and routines with his new friends. Jarra felt bad because he couldn’t be with him. That would happen when this emergency was over, and he had to be satisfied with ComPatch glimpses through Yirgella.

  When Alira arranged for the doctor to visit to make sure Jarra wasn’t doing too much, Yirgella decided to upgrade the medical facility by making an extra room with all the facilities needed for Jarra’s special treatments. Jarra thought it was unnecessary. Everyone else thought it was great.

  ***

  Jarra zipped down to the mini NanoFactory in his personal carrier with the final module towing behind on a trolley. Someone else usually did this, but this last connection and the commencement of operations at full capability was quite a momentous occasion and everyone had agreed that Jarra should be the one to do the honours. Jarra thought the same and his anticipation lifted as he entered the big storage room. Whoo! Most of the project staff were there, all smiling. Word had spread.

  ‘How long will it take to install, Jarra?’

  Professor Allerton and three other staff jockeyed the module from the trolley to its position in the NanoFactory.

  ‘It’s very straightforward and Yirgella will do a diagnostic test of the whole NanoFactory once it’s in place. About 5 minutes.’

  ‘And 24 seconds for the test. Well done, Jarra. The whole project team thanks you for your efforts.’

  There were nods, smiles, and even some clapping, which made Jarra feel quite proud at this comment. With a deft touch he seated and locked the series of connections then, with a great feeling of achievement, nodded to Yirgella.

  ‘It’s all yours. It should be ready to go.’

  Yirgella’s image was replaced with a big countdown screen and everyone watched the numbers change.

  19

  18

  17

  Professor Allerton grabbed Jarra’s arm.

  12

  11

  10

  There was a hum from the NanoFactory and everyone’s attention diverted for a few seconds.

  6

  5

  4

  3

  2

  The screen flashed red and Jarra stared in shock.

  ‘The discombobulator has become obfuscated and the doohickey has melted all the thingamajigs. Oh no! Another five weeks while we rebuild this thing.’

  Discomb … What? There was no such part and Jarra burst into laughter at the sight of the worried faces all around him.

  ‘Yirgella, you’re an idiot. Get on with it.’

  ‘Oops! My malfunction function is malfunctioning. Diagnostics complete and all successful. First task initiated.’

  Professor Allerton, along with everyone else present was staring.

  ‘What happened? Has something gone wrong?’

  ‘Nothing’s wrong except the sense of humour you programmed into him. It’s getting out of control.’

  There were snorts of disgust, chuckles, and several bursts of outright laughter as understanding clicked in.

  ‘It’s all working perfectly and you did that to us?’

  ‘Everything is working perfectly, Professor, and the first three defence scanner units are ready for installation.’

  ‘Already?’

  ‘There are now six units and the full complement of thirty-five will be finished in another 160 seconds.’

  Jarra smiled with delight. Yirgella and the project were back in full force and things would now happen at NanoFactory rates.

  Professor Allerton looked startled.

  ‘Yirgella, who’s installing them? I haven’t heard anything about this.’

  ‘Thirty-five recyclable techbots specifically designed for the job will be available after a further 6 minutes. All you will need to provide is transport to the designated locations. Security has to be our greatest priority and I’ve had five weeks to refine our defence plan and design the equipment and installation techbots. Everything will be in place and functioning by the end of tomorrow and we’ll be able to concentrate on returning our other projects to full function.’

  Jarra knew Yirgella’s immediate program really well because they’d argued about it. Well, not really argued because Yirgella was insisting that Jarra take a well-earned break and travel to Birringurra Country with Mirri for the corroboree performance he’d missed five weeks ago. Jarra’s conscience said that he should be helping to build the first big surface NanoFactory, but Yirgella had overridden that and, with a great deal of relief, Jarra had no choice but to go along. After defence, repairs and replacement parts for all the excavators would keep the mini NanoFactory busy for several days.

  The geothermal project which had halted completely from loss of power would follow next and then the start of the big new 80 square kilometre solar array, which had already been okayed with the Mparntwe Council and Alkere Inc. After that would come repairs to the vac-tunnel and replacing the Alkere terminal, but Jarra would be back by then and the surface NanoFactories in full function.

  ‘Tomorrow? … All the defence missiles and scanners?’

  ‘Yes, Jarra. When our materials factories and other external projects all start up it will announce my survival to the world and the observers spread through the Alice Springs Communities will have news for their employers. We must be ready for any reaction.’

  Jarra hadn’t heard about any observers. Neither had Professor Allerton, who was now looking at a group of the security people.

  ‘What observers?’

  ‘There are three groups, one in each of the Alice Springs Communities, and they’ve been trying to watch any activity involving Alkere. We’re monitoring them very closely and they haven’t learnt anything, so we rate them as relatively harmless. Yirgella identified them the day after the attack.’

  Jarra and Professor Allerton both turned to Yirgella now.

  ‘Five weeks and you didn’t say anything?’

  ‘You and Jarra had more important things to focus on.’

  ‘Observers watching what we do isn’t important?’

  ‘They have no idea what we do, Professor. They believe all the activity has been to restore Alkere power and they’ve been sending messages to that effect ever since they arrived. We even allowed some of them to join a newsgroup sortie documenting the damage at the attack site and the progress of the repair work at Alkere Power.’

  Jarra was impressed.

  ‘They’ll know they’ve been tricked when the surface NanoFactories start producing things.’

  ‘They will, and their messages will bring an onslaught of attention. But we’ll be ready, Jarra, and every act of scrutiny will give us important information about the people responsible.’

  ‘They’ll send more missiles.’

  ‘They can try, but their launching instrumentation will malfunction and their aircraft will land at the
Darwin Defence base. Any satellite trying to scan Alkere directly will have its guidance system scrambled, and any attempts at electronic attack or surveillance through the InterWeb will fail completely.’

  ‘You can do all that?’ asked the Professor.

  ‘And much more. For the past five weeks I have been extending my knowledge of the InterWeb and anything connected to it.’

  ‘Military aircraft and satellites aren’t connected to the InterWeb.’

  ‘Not directly, but they connect to systems which are.’

  Jarra decided he’d find out a lot more about this when he returned from Birringurra.

  ‘How long will it take to have processor production restored? There’s a huge backlog of orders.’

  ‘When the second NanoFactory starts up, your processors and the panels for the new solar array will have top priority. That should be in six days, Professor.’

  Jarra was surprised.

  ‘I thought the thermal project was first priority?’

  ‘It is. Energy from the new array will greatly speed its completion. The extra energy will also enable us to allocate an extra ten excavation machines to the Australia-wide tunnel network and three more for the AI projects.’

  ‘We need excavating machines for the AI projects?’

  ‘We could rebuild them securely on the surface with our new defence systems, but underground is better.’

  Another thing Jarra was behind with. When he got back there would be a great deal of catching up to do.

  ***

  ‘Will we see the whales, JJ?’

  ‘I don’t think so, Mirri. It’s the wrong time of the year.’

  ‘I liked his big tail and when his eyes looked at us.’

  Tail meant the fluke on display.

  ‘Karmai will take us to his dolphins again and he does want us to see the baby pelicans at the Pelican Nursery.’

  ‘Can we take Barega and Akama with us? Barega wants to see them.’

  Mirri was all excited about Barega’s secret and he’d spoken to the twins several times in the last few days, making plans with them. All very curious.

  ‘Of course we can. As long as Jarli says it’s okay.’

  Jarli would. He liked his twins being with Jarra and Mirri.