Virtual

by S A Pavli

  “Does her present condition warrant putting her through this even small risk?” asked Mark.

  “There is a bigger dimension to this,” said LeBlanc. “If it is the case that Leslie’s condition is due to the Virtual, there is a possibility that we may all be affected sometime in the future.” There was a shocked silence.

  “Mmmm. That… is a worry,” muttered Walters.

  Mark leaned back in his chair and gazed blankly at the ceiling, his face a picture of thoughtful anxiety. The silence was broken by Anja.

  “Look, I don’t think we need to panic. Clearly Leslie’s symptoms have been building up for some days now so this isn’t something that should catch us by surprise. Particularly as we have been forewarned.”

  “But we need to confirm that it is the Virtual that is causing her problem,” said Mark. “I suggest we use the de-fib on her and see if that fixes the problem. And can I suggest that we all keep a close.. um… eye… on our own condition and report anything unusual?”

  “That’s a bit vague Mark,” protested James Walters. “I mean, clearly Leslie had no idea what was happening to her, but even forewarned we may not notice either.”

  “We are just going to have to monitor each other,” said Anja. “It’s snooping but….I have to say, I haven’t detected anything unusual from anyone other than Leslie,” continued Anja. “Let’s hope it affects only her.

  “Major, would you and Jimmy carry out the de-fib on Leslie? You seem to be the most qualified,” asked Mark.

  “Certainly Captain, we’ll get on it straight away,” said the Major.

  “Any other business?” asked Melanie. “Or shall we adjourn for some cocktails before lunch?”

  “Far be it for me to hold up cocktail hour,” began LeBlanc, “But I’ve got a problem regarding the origin of the Virtuals.” Having got their attention, he continued. “You will remember that ZAC told us that the Virtuals had been sucked in through the TransGate. Well, I’m beginning to think that is doubtful. The Virtuals cannot penetrate electro magnetic fields. I’ve done some research on TransGate technology and it appears that TransGate windows are accompanied by high energy magnetic bottling, similar to the sort of thing that was used in the early days to contain fusion reactions , before the gravity warp was discovered. I don’t see how the Virtuals could have penetrated such a high energy magnetic field.” This was greeted by a thoughtful silence, broken by Mark.

  “How could ZAC be wrong about that? Did you ask him?”

  “Yes, he claims it was what he was told by his controlling AI.” said LeBlanc.

  “His controlling AI?”

  “Yes, all robots have a high level AI as their controller.”

  “Mmm, well that puts us back to square one with the Virtuals,” commented Mark.

  “That will please Professor Chan. They can resume TransGate experiments,” suggested Walters.

  “I doubt it,” said LeBlanc. “Until we know for sure where they came from I don’t think Earth will take any chances.”

  “Any further ideas Ray?” asked Mark.

  “Well, these things are either natural or artificial,” began LeBlanc. “If natural, they may have existed in some part of Space and invaded this planet when it swept through. If so then we may never come across their like again. If they are artificial, then they will have been manufactured by this civilization either purposefully or as a result of an industrial accident.”

  “Maybe the alien historical Archive can tell us what happened,” suggested Melanie.

  “Yes, we’ll get back there tomorrow and bring it back up to the ship,” said Mark. “By the way Jo…”. Mark turned to his chief engineer. “How’s work going on ZAC?”

  Josephine had been working on restoring full mobility to ZAC’s limbs. She smiled and nodded with satisfaction.

  “Yeah good Cap’n. By tomorrow he should be fully mobile. I’ve had to replace all of his limb actuators, they were hopelessly jammed, but the wiring and electronics is intact and his body is aluminium so with a bit of a cleanup he’s as good as new.”

  “Fantastic,” exclaimed Melanie with a grin. “That’s going to be a coup, presenting a real working alien robot to the masses. Well, I think we’ve all earned those cocktails.”

  Chapter 40

  Transporting the alien archive back to the Bounty Hunter was completed the following day and Andy, as the team’s computer specialist, took the lead in activating it. Josephine and LeBlanc worked together in identifying the machine’s power requirements and setting up the necessary smoothed supply. But everyone was aware of how important the machine was – Melanie pointed out a number of times that it may be the only surviving archive on the planet and buzzed around like a paranoid mother hen until James Walters dragged her off for another planetary expedition to collect biological samples.

  It took two days of careful work by Andy and Ray before they were ready to power up the Archive. In the meantime, ZAC the robot became fully mobile and was introduced to the human Federation as the first fully functioning alien robot. The Carstairs Corporation made full use of it’s last few days as sole media representative of the expedition. This was due to end with the arrival of the official expedition the following week. ZAC became a star on nine human planets. His simple recounting of his alien masters last days, and the survival of their robot servants for thousands of years after that catastrophic event, became known to human civilization across the galaxy.

  During that period, The Major and Jimmy collaborated in using the Defibrillator on Leslie. They shocked her once at minimum level, not enough to stop the heart. They had little hope that it would bring her out of her coma, but were surprised to find when the Major checked on her a few minutes later that she was showing signs of returning consciousness. She was stirring and muttering to herself. After some minutes she opened her eyes and spoke to them. She was tired and seemed confused, but other than that she recovered fully.

  It also soon became apparent to everyone that she was now back to her ‘old’ self; the warm supportive young women she had been at the beginning of the expedition instead of the paranoid and anti-social individual she had become. This was a concern for everyone. It was on their minds that all of them may also succumb to the same psychological illness. But for the moment, this concern was put on ‘hold’ by the first attempt to power up the alien archive. The whole team gathered in the science lab to watch. There was a buzz of excited conversation as Andy made the final checks to his power supplies, carefully connecting and checking the voltages.

  “Where’s the ‘on’ switch Andy?” someone asked.

  “Down there where it says ‘on switch’ of course!” someone else volunteered. A number of other ‘helpful’ suggestions were made which Andy studiously ignored.

  “OK….. ready to go.” Andy looked around. “I believe that once power is on, it should talk to us.” He pushed in the last power connector and threw the main switch on the jury rigged control panel that took up most of the bench next to him. “I’ve programmed it to try a number of different power sequences,” he added . There was a muted hum from the apparatus and lights on the front flashed. This went on for some time with no other outward signs that anything else was happening. Then the lights stabilized. Everyone waited expectantly, but nothing else happened. The silence went on for a couple of minutes.

  “Nothing much happening,” suggested LeBlanc

  “Wanna bet!” said Walters. He pointed behind them. At the back of the room, ZAC the robot was going berserk, or so it appeared. A cascade of colours were coursing up and down his ‘face’. Alden’s voice broke the stunned silence.

  “The alien archive is communicating with ZAC.” Andy whooped with delight and punched the air. Everyone turned to look at the tall robot.

  “Blimey, he’s gorn mad,” said Walters, his ancient English ancestry subconsciously asserting itself .

  “Alden, can you translate?” asked Mark.

  “Yes Mark, the alien archive is interrogating ZAC.
It is requesting his identity, where he is, and what he is doing.”

  “Interesting,” said Mark. “It sounds like the archive is more than just a store?”

  “Yes Mark,” agreed Alden. “The archive is an AI. It is eliciting from ZAC a full account of his experiences since he was restored.” There was silence as they took in the full consequence of what Alden was saying.

  “Alden, translate further please,” asked Mark.

  “ZAC is giving a full account of his experiences since he was restored. He is telling the Archive who and what we are.”

  “Are you able to follow in detail?” asked Mark.

  “The initial exchanges were in their standard language. However, they are now using an encrypted code which I am unable to translate.”

  “Encrypted?” Mark turned a questioning look to the others. “Are you not able to break the code Alden?”

  “That could take some time,” replied Alden.

  “Ask ZAC why they are using encryption. We would like to understand their conversation.” Alden’s comms screen began flashing urgently at ZAC. After a minute or two of this Alden announced that the attempt was unsuccessful.

  “Continue trying Alden,” said Mark. “Inform ZAC that we are do not want secrecy.” The silence continued for some minutes before Alden spoke again.

  “The archive will speak with us,” announced Alden.

  “Kind of him,” grunted LeBlanc.

  “Alden, how is the archive communicating with ZAC?” asked Mark.

  “I have identified at least three microwave frequencies which are being used to communicate what appears to be different types of data. They are all encrypted. I can therefore only communicate indirectly via ZAC.”

  “OK. Tell the archive that we wish to communicate. Ask it if it is in full working order.”

  “It says that apart from some emergency backup stores it is fully operational.”

  “Tell it that we wish to learn about the history and achievements of it’s makers. Does it have that information?”

  “It does have a detailed history of that species including high definition visual records. But it will not make the information available until it knows more about our own species.”

  “Fussy little fucker!” someone commented

  “Don’t translate that Alden!” said Mark hastily.

  “Of course not,” replied Alden. “I am able to discriminate between relevant and idle conversation.”

  “That wasn’t an idle comment,” protested Walters. “It was a relevant observation.”

  “We are dealing with an alien mind,” pointed out Melanie. “Albeit an artificial one. Let’s play along for now. Alden ask it what information it wants from us.” There was a silence from Alden which went on for some minutes before he spoke again.

  “I have provided basic historical information about the human species, but the archive is asking for detailed information about our technology, in particular the FTL Warp drive.”

  “Tell it that we do not have authority to release technical information,” said Mark. “But we don’t want that kind of information from him either; Just general historical information about the inhabitants of this planet and in particular how their civilization came to end.”

  “It will not tell us that.” There were glances of bemusement amongst the gathered company.

  “Reminds me of my first PC,” someone muttered. “Try re-booting it.”

  “Tell it if it doesn’t play ball we’ll switch it off and put it back in the hole we found it,” suggested LeBlanc.

  “Sensible suggestions please,” said Mark, looking around.

  “Why don’t we give it technical info,” suggested Josephine tentatively. “I mean, it’s hardly in a position to build a fleet of starships and take over the Federation.”

  “Not now, but this thing has survived thousands of years and will still be around when we are all long gone,” said Mark. “Can we bypass it and get straight to the data archive?” asked Andy. “Alden, what do you think?”

  “There are a number of interface sockets on the case,” said Alden. “There should be a socket that bypasses the AI.”

  “Shall we try a bluff?” suggested Mark. “Let’s tell him that we know how to access the archive directly if he doesn’t cooperate”

  “Could be worth a try,” agreed Andy. There was a nodding of heads around the room and Mark took that as their agreement.

  “Alden, communicate that to the archive AI. Tell him we are able to build an interface to communicate directly with the data archive if he refuses to cooperate.” Alden flashed this up on the screen opposite ZAC and ZAC responded with confirmation. ZAC’s face then “froze” into an almost blank “expression” and remained unchanged thereafter.

  “Doesn’t look like he took that well,” muttered Mark. “ZAC has stopped responding to my efforts at communication,” said Alden.

  “He called our bluff,” said LeBlanc.

  “I think Andy’s suggestion is the only one left,” said Josephine. “Turn the archive off and let’s see if ZAC either has an interface or is able to tell us how to build one.”

  “Will that thing have a working internal battery?” asked Mark.

  “Unless their technology in that area is way ahead of ours, the answer is no,” said Andy. “Chemical batteries do not survive for thousands of years. But he may be able to keep going on capacitor charge for some time.”

  “OK Andy, pull the plugs,” said Mark. Andy clicked a few keys on his control panel, waited for a couple of minutes then physically unplugged the power cables to the archive box. ZAC immediately came back to life. The robot responded with a welter of colours across his ‘face’.

  “What’s he saying Alden,” A minute passed before Alden spoke.

  “ZAC is able to communicate independently. He tells me that he has a direct interface to the data archive which bypasses the AI. But the AI must not be powered up, only the data archive. He will work with Andy to make the necessary changes.”

  “Excellent. Alden, ask ZAC why the archive AI was uncooperative,” said Mark. Alden answered after communicating with the robot.

  “ZAC is unable to answer that. He says that while the AI is switched on, it can disable his decision programs. He can be controlled by the AI in other words. He cannot second guess the AI’s thinking.”

  “Well, the AI may change it’s mind once it knows we can communicate directly with the data repository,” said Mark. “Andy, you go ahead with ZAC and make the necessary changes.” As everyone prepared to leave, Mark held up a restraining hand. “While we are all together, this could be a good time for Leslie to tell us her experiences while she was unconscious. Leslie are you up to it?” he asked, looking solicitously at her. Leslie nodded soberly.

  “Yes Mark, it’s no problem.”

  “Mark, there’s no need to pry into Leslie’s personal experiences,” said Melanie with a small frown of concern.

  “Sorry Melanie, I haven’t had time to tell you but Leslie did contact me earlier and express the desire to talk to the whole crew. She had something very important to tell us,” said Mark apologetically. They all looked expectantly at Leslie. She cleared her throat with a slight air of embarrassment.

  “What I’m about to say is pretty fantastic and you may not all believe me,” she began. “When my body was lying down in the first aid room and my physical brain was unconscious, my mind was wondering free all over the ship.” They looked at her with barely concealed puzzlement.

  “So you had an out of body experience Les?” said LeBlanc. “It’s happened before and it’s been shown to be purely imaginary. You of all people should know that.”

  “Yes I’m very familiar with that Ray,” said Leslie. She looked hesitant, but continued. “But what if I told you that I knew what you were all doing for that time?”

  “Good party trick,” suggested LeBlanc.

  “Not in detail, but I could sense it.” Leslie’s face took on a sober expression. “It wa
s a fantastic experience,” she continued. “My normal senses were missing; no sight or sound or touch. But I could see, hear and feel through any of you.”

  “But your body was still alive,” pointed out Melanie.

  “Yes but I had lost all contact with it. It may as well have been dead.”

  “You can’t say that for sure. Perhaps your consciousness would not have survived without your body,” said Melanie.

  “I felt that my consciousness was wholly in the Virtual,” said Leslie. “When I was shocked, that part of me disappeared and I returned to my body. I have none of those powers left now.” Mark frowned and held up a finger.

  “Are you are saying is that we, those of us who were infected that is, have two conscious … er… entities, the normal one in our physical brains, and another one in the Virtual?”

  “No, there is only one conscious entity,” said Leslie. “Which encompasses both the physical brain and the Virtual substrate.

  “That makes sense,” said LeBlanc. “It explains the electrical aura around our heads. Those who were infected that is.”

  “But what does this all mean Leslie?” asked Mark. “And will we all suffer the same breakdown you went through?”

  “I’m hoping that in my case my Virtual was somehow corrupted and interfered with my rational processes in some way. Time will tell whether you will all suffer the same thing, but I would have thought that if you were, you should be showing some symptoms. But you all seem to be in perfect control and unchanged to me, although I could conduct some tests. As for what all this means, well I can tell you my thoughts…”

  “Go on Leslie,” said Mark, as she paused.

  “I believe the Virtual imparts effective immortality,” she said. It was a bombshell that caused a stunned silence, broken eventually by a babble of voices and questions. Mark held up a hand for silence.