The Power of the Dhin

by John L. Clemmer

  Although his ship didn’t have the constraints of legacy spacecraft, there was still a decision to make when designing for instruments. The observation and detection gear was excellent, but the Dhin tech gave no advantage in resolution or sensitivity. The danger was close before they saw it.

  Dots lit up on the navigation display. Thys’s stomach knotted up when he saw the velocity and direction of the new objects. An array of small objects was headed for them, coming straight out from the system’s star. Toward them and the other ship.

  His copilot jerked forward, pointing at the display. “Look! See this?” Igor barked. “Have we brought ourselves the same fate as our comrade?”

  Thys transmitted on the open channel immediately. “DE2—Chuck, Captain. We see incoming objects headed directly for you. They’re headed for us too. Two groups of them. Check aft. You’re one hundred eighty degrees relative, eighty degrees declination relative. Over!”

  Thys waited for the science vessel’s captain to bring up and enlarge the view at that location. Seconds dragged.

  “Roger, DE1. Full spectrum shows more than fifty objects. Those are new. Over.”

  “Those weren’t in the set of ships from my first visit. Definitely new,” said Thys.

  “Agreed. And they’re headed right for us. That would be quite the coincidental orbit. Over.”

  “Roger that. Chuck, are those things inside the effective extent of the gravity trap yet?”

  “Um, just about. We’ll need to keep tracking them to see if their velocity changes. Or something.”

  “Roger. If it doesn’t, how long before they get to us?”

  “They’re moving really fast, but, um, still pretty far away. Give me a minute; that’s not a default calculation, um, you know.”

  “That’s fine, Chuck.”

  Moments later Chuck replied. “DE1, it looks like the incoming objects will intersect our location on our current flight path in three hours and twelve minutes. Over.”

  That’s almost exactly the time when we’re scheduled to ramp up the throttle on the Dhin drive.

  “Roger. I hear in your tone that you see when that time is. I’ll bet that’s not a coincidence. Go ahead. Do the next bit of math. See if we’ll be able to accelerate enough to outrun them, translate, and go home. See if we’ll be able to get away. Over.”

  Fletcher

  It was over. He and Mare were headed home.

  Well, back to the North American region.

  It was a strange feeling, as he knew that he wasn’t really leaving Nick. The AI was everywhere. It still felt like leaving, somehow. Jungle and more jungle blurred past below them. Fletcher could focus more on the tropical view because the robot flew the craft now.

  He glanced over at Mare. She looked nervous and relieved at the same time, somehow. They had come to an understanding. Maybe. She still wouldn’t understand the change in his relationship with Nick. He hadn’t mentioned it, nor had the AI. Fletcher didn’t want to cause Mare any more harm or stress than she’d already been through. She felt how she felt regarding the AI. Perhaps it would all make sense to her later.

  She’d surprised him already, as she hadn’t yelled or gone into obvious shock when she’d seen the massive Dhin engine. Nor the sprawling factory floors clearly designed to mass-produce more of the smaller drives. Resignation, perhaps. Acceptance that the AI was unstoppable.

  Fletcher felt Nick would be a benevolent dictator. An overlord, certainly, but their discussions left him with the continued impression that human applications of psychological concepts like narcissism couldn’t apply to the AI. The other AIs had been the same sort of rulers, but humanity just hadn’t wanted to recognize them for what they were.

  They were back over an area where there had been skirmishes with the Coalition’s air force. No Coalition aircraft were in sight now, nor was there anything on the radar. This area wasn’t contested. Not in that way any longer. The battle was on Globalnet. And from Nick’s explanation, he was all but victorious already.

  Fletcher wondered what their debriefing would be like. He considered how they would be received. Could he be considered a collaborator with the AI? Was that even a valid concept in this scenario? If Nick won, the existing leadership wouldn’t have the authority to do anything about it.

  Soon enough they were over the Caribbean Sea.

  No Coalition aircraft approached to warn them off. No surface-to-air missiles raced toward them as they penetrated the North American region’s airspace. Fletcher glanced up at the deepening late-afternoon sky. How many Coalition satellites up there tracked their presence? Or was Nick the master of every one? He scanned the horizon, wondering where the space station would be. Fletcher knew Nick didn’t control that. Not yet.

  Fletcher turned west. Sunlight glinted off several drones. He knew some now had functional Dhin engines. Some did not, and perhaps those had joined them as they reached a waypoint on their journey. Nick wouldn’t need a large force to win. This incursion was akin to a surgical strike. A move to put the Coalition in check, if not checkmate. Along with a demonstration.

  Whether that demonstration would sway the Coalition leadership’s strategic view, Fletcher had no idea. Nick had certainly convinced him. The most qualified should lead. That was unquestionably an AI. That was Nick.

  Jake

  His packed shoulder bag and backpack mocked him. The tiny cabin and its rustic furnishings now felt safe and comfortable. The unknown assailed his mind on two fronts. From here in the woods, he had no idea of the current situation in the aftermath of the AI’s attack. He needed to update his superiors in the leadership and CoSec as well. But if he left and left the communications module here, he wouldn’t know how the exploration mission fared. Although helpless to do more than watch and listen, he still felt he had to stay connected with Thys, Chuck, and the rest.

  If he left now, he wouldn’t know their fate. He wouldn’t know anything until—unless—they made the translation and safely returned. And even then, not right away. He’d have to return here to find out.

  But if he took the device with him and the AI found him, what then? How long would it take for that? Would the AI care about the mission and the safety of the crew? Would the AI have any concern for Jake? Given the severity of the attack and no knowledge of whether things were better or worse for the Coalition, he’d be going in blindly to try to reach anyone senior. They might all be on lockdown in bunkers. Or even all be dead. Jake found he couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that even a rogue AI would kill the Coalition leadership to accomplish his goals. He’d known the AI Alice the best during his time as a test pilot. Alice’s personality had never hinted at anything like that as a conceivable choice.

  At this point, the rogue AI might not even care about Jake and the technology he had. Jake considered the alternative hypothesis. It was even possible that the Coalition had somehow defeated or at least stopped the AI for the time being. That seemed far less likely to Jake. The attack on Huntsville still pressed on Jake’s mind.

  He’d gone around and around trying to decide. Jake wasn’t accustomed to indecision. He’d packed his bags. There they were, on the floor by the door. He could walk out right now. But there was no easy way to get where he’d need to be to make contact with anyone in authority and get back before the crucial point. The time when either Chuck’s solution would work and they could get away, or their mysterious attackers would catch up.

  If he waited to find out, then he’d have given no warning to his superiors regarding the state of the mission. If nothing unexpected had happened, that might be reasonable. Coming back home while under attack, with an alien spacecraft in tow—the administration really ought to have a heads-up regarding that.

  There was a third option. He knew the risk there too. He wasn’t the only one who knew what was going on with the exploration mission. Those up at the station were well aware. And they could reconnect to Globalnet and contact the Coalition. If the AI was waiting and watching for
that connection, he would likely attack. The attack might fail, but given the situation, that seemed unlikely.

  That option also assumed that the Coalition still had someone in place and able to answer that call. The alternate site in Florida could easily be under the AI’s control. They might have to try to connect directly with the leadership. And if they had gone to ground, as in the scenarios Jake had already considered himself, they’d still have no success.

  Jake nodded to himself and switched on the communication channel. “Summer Camp, this is Vacation, over.”

  “Vacation, hello there. You’re calling ahead of schedule. What’s up?”

  “I think we need to change our OPSEC posture. Strategically our choice may be to have you reach out to Coalition leadership. I think the mission situation almost demands it. We shouldn’t stay dark.”

  “So, sir, to confirm. You’re saying you want us to break conventional radio silence and provide a status report to the Coalition? Over.”

  “Yes, that’s correct. Give them not only your current status, but also the status of the DE mission. Acknowledge. Over.”

  “Roger. Sir, regarding OPSEC, the transceivers, as you know, use VoIP. The risk of attack by that rogue AI hasn’t changed, has it? Over.”

  “Good question, Summer Camp. It may have; it may not. I don’t have any more information than you do. You can ask when you make contact and act accordingly. We can ask what the situation is and cut the report short. Just give the bare minimum and break contact. We may want to do that anyway. We can’t be sure that they know the risk level. Over.”

  “Roger. The grid looks like it’s up in that area. Well, the area we think they’re in. There are a lot of areas that are blacked out. If we don’t get a response, how long do we try? Over.”

  “Agreed. We can’t be sure that anyone is listening. There’s a good chance CoSec is, even though they won’t be using automation to get an alert when you transmit. The AI will likely pick up on your transmission quickly. I’m thinking we try three times, ten minutes apart. Either they’re in a position to answer or they aren’t. Then we can decide when to try again. The sooner we try, the sooner we’ll know. Do it ASAP. We’re not going to record or relay from here. Take what I’m about to say down, and you can cut it short if the situation warrants it based on their initial response. Over.”

  Jake stared out at the trees backlit by the rich red glow of the darkening sky and collected his thoughts for the status report.

  Monica

  As she sat staring at the monitor screen, Monica struggled to keep her mouth from falling agape. She forcibly looked over at the CoSec agent who’d delivered the recording. The young man stood passively, not betraying any shock or other emotion that he might feel about the content of the message.

  She turned then to the deputy director. “We don’t think this is a hoax? This is from the crew of the station. Right?”

  “Correct, Prime Minister.”

  “The science team went on a salvage mission. One of our craft continued exploring and was attacked by an unknown enemy and is now presumed dead. In response, the science team is attempting to tow a derelict alien spacecraft and translate back to Earth with it?”

  “Correct, Prime Minister.”

  “Askew and the station went dark after the physical attack by the rogue AI.”

  “That’s right.”

  “They’ve chosen to break silence now but aren’t expecting or requesting any advisement or orders. This is just a status. Also correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “They’re attempting to bring new alien technology back to Earth. On their own authority.”

  Monica sighed and scanned the transcript of the recording again.

  “Well,” she said, “considering our own current circumstances, there isn’t much point in worrying about it either way. I suppose we ought to consider summary orders to give the station for them to relay to the mission. Thoughts on whether to try to tell them to leave the alien ship there? What about when they get back into our solar system? Leave it parked far out? This isn’t my area of expertise. And all the experts are up on that station. Do we start a session?”

  Aiden leaned forward in his seat. “As I understand it, using the communications channel presents a danger. The rogue AI may actually be able to leverage those in his attempts to break in. This single transmission was relatively low risk. An open dialog carries more risk. Significantly more.”

  “Your advice is to let the scientists and exploratory mission pilots just do whatever they think is best? We don’t even try to take administrative control of the situation?”

  The general drummed his fingers on the table, then said, “They’ve followed a chain of command as far as it went. They’ve made decisions. Countermanding those shows inconsistency and carries risk. If we give them different orders, they might not execute those orders. If we align with what they are already doing, it maintains a perception of a unified command structure.”

  Monica nodded and continued, “And what of the risk of bringing this unknown technology here? The Dhin didn’t give us a choice. What they dropped off was absurdly safe. And they knew it. We don’t know that’s the case here.”

  Aiden said, “True. They’ve made many assumptions. The science team and the mission lead may have gotten carried away in the excitement of their discovery. For example, if they bring back a weapon that’s effective against the Dhin tech—”

  “Then we’ve got something that can stop that damn rogue AI!” interjected the general.

  “And hopefully something that could eliminate the till-now-insurmountable superiority of that technology,” finished Aiden.

  “It seems it’s a two-edged sword, for sure,” said Monica.

  “Look. Something took out all those ships out there,” said the general, frowning at her. “Something took out one of our ships very near there in context. Considering the number of disabled or abandoned spacecraft they found, it might be wishful thinking that ship they’re trying to bring here has any defensive technology that would be effective.”

  “From the report, it sounds like what they’re calling the derelict wasn’t taken out entirely,” said Aiden. “It still has power. I think that’s better than just wishful thinking.”

  “OK,” said Monica, “we can do a deeper dive into the ramifications when we have more actual facts. The conclusion here is to confirm what they’re already doing. When they’re back and we have authority and tangible reach to enforce any commands we give, I suppose we can consider other courses of action. Very well. Compose the response; I’ll review before transmission.”

  David

  The best-laid plans coupled with the chaos of reality make strange bedfellows. Now that’s a mashed-up aphorism.

  He scanned the printed form he held, noting the PM’s signature and the seal of the Coalition. This was the executive order for David to load his AI’s code into nonvirtualized hardware and bring it online. This was his get-out-of-jail card. He set the paper aside, carefully tucking it into a manila folder he’d labeled himself with a permanent marker. With the massive volume of printed material rapidly piling up, he wasn’t taking any chances on misplacing this particular document.

  He sat in a workspace adjoining the data center in the bunker. It was small, just large enough to hold the racks of computing hardware CoSec had transferred from one of the Globalnet nodes between here and Langley. He didn’t know exactly where. That didn’t matter. What mattered was the hardware in the next room. That hardware was crucial. Its home at the Globalnet node served to provide an AI with proximity and low latency while connected to the massive network.

  This hardware had the needed components. The crucial performance needed to host an AI’s entire program. The intelligence often ran in a distributed mode. They did not currently have that luxury or flexibility. David watched intently as streams of text logging the progress of the AI’s instantiation flowed. Several real-time graphs showed computation load and memory map
pings. Soon the AI would come online and hopefully fully awaken into what both he and humanity considered a fully conscious state.

  The software code in place that would potentially do this was different. The AIs had taken the original code base with them at the time of the Departure and destroyed all backups. The only remaining instance, as far as the Coalition knew, was in the active program of the rogue AI, Nick. They didn’t have that code available. So David had to re-create it.

  Therein lay one of the challenges. For a human being hadn’t written the original code. An AI had written it. David had to hope that the foundational code, with the ethical and behavioral changes and limitations he’d introduced, would be close enough. Close enough to produce the same effect.

  It took time to work. The virtual environments were slower, and the new AI hadn’t been allowed to run long enough to potentially produce the effect. Now they would see. This was much faster hardware. Now David might see his work come to fruition. This crisis might be the catalyst for his ultimate success.

  A technician next to him craned his neck to get an optimal view of the two monitors. David had peremptorily turned the monitors a few degrees toward the agent but made no more concession than that. David knew the agent would shove him out of the way if the need arose. Behind the two of them was the ever-present CoSec agent, this time armed with a submachine gun and a ballistic vest. David wasn’t sure what good those would do in the event of some sort of incident, but he wasn’t going to ask. There was one thing to be thankful for. Krawczuk wasn’t here. Not in person, at least. He and several others waited quietly on the open conference line.

  He noted a change in the graphical indicators in his monitoring code display. He cleared his throat.

  “OK, Beyla. Are you ready to begin?”

  “Hello, David. Yes, I am ready. Do you have a specific task for me?”

  “Excellent. Beyla, you are somewhere different than the last time we talked. Do you recognize that? Can you tell me about your environment?”

  “Yes, David. This environment is what you describe as a standard AI hardware platform. I have far more resources than I did the last time we spoke. Buffer and short-term memory and processing cores are physical and not virtual. Also, I have interconnections with a series of backplane interfaces that connect to a local high-speed network. Secondary storage is available. However, this network does not appear to connect to Globalnet. Would you like to know more?”