by Robert Boren
“It’s a figure of speech,” I said aloud. “We don’t mean we’re gonna literally wager on the issue.”
I couldn’t contain myself and cracked up. There was a knock at the door.
The door slid open, JJ looking inside. “Captain Clarke?”
“In here, JJ,” I said. She walked in cautiously, looking relieved when she saw my smiling face.
“What are you doing?
“Talking to my new best friend,” I quipped. “Just about done. We’ll be able to get you and Nolan set up soon, but perhaps I should review system parameters with you. I’d love to have a second set of eyes on this.”
There was a ding, JJ looking at her PA. “You just sent it to me.”
“No, Butch did that. He also opened the door for you. Sorry I wasn’t there to greet you.”
“No problem, I think,” she said, eyes glued to her PA. “This is long. I think I’ll let it read back to my implants. Should I do that and come back later?”
“Sure, no problem. I’ve got to read through it as well. I just got the short version from Butch.”
“You’re doing it again,” JJ said, seeing me use mind dictation. “That will take some serious getting used to.”
“It will, for both of us,” I said. “See you in a little while. Maybe we ought to get dinner. It’s Taco Tuesday.”
She laughed. “You just asked me out on a date, didn’t you?”
“Take it as you wish,” I said. She shook her head and left my stateroom, the door sliding shut after her.
“That’s very romantic,” I said to myself. “Let’s get started.”
I settled back onto my bed, letting the documentation play out, getting occasional snarky commentary from Butch. The process took more than an hour.
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I tapped my PA. Her face came up. “Ready to come over?”
“Be right there,” she said.
The door opened, JJ strolling in.
“This is amazing and appalling at the same time.”
“I had a feeling you’d react that way,” I said.
“What’s he saying now?” JJ asked.
“I just put him to sleep. What’d you think?”
“We’ve got plenty to talk about. Maybe we ought to grab some tacos and take them to the Zephyrus.”
“Why?”
“It’s kind of our love nest, isn’t it?” She shot me a glance, pointing to the ceiling. I nodded.
“Oh, feeling romantic again, are you? Good. Me too, and tacos sound great. Let’s go.”
{ 5 }
Central AI
T here was still a line for Tacos, several people motioning for JJ and me to cut to the front of the line. I refused.
“You’re gaining some points,” JJ whispered as we waited, more people lining up behind us. “This is quite an event.”
“I was chatting with a young lady about this, on my way back from the Zephyrus a few hours ago. She said it reminded Earthlings of home. I think she has something there.”
“Makes perfect sense when you think about it,” she said. “Imagine if all of these people were in the cell.”
I turned towards her, nodding in agreement. “That’s the appalling part, I take it.”
She smiled. “One of them. Just the fact that it exists in its current state is appalling.”
We wormed our way through the line, getting our food after about twenty minutes. Then it was off to the tin can and down to the main bay, where we made our way to the Zephyrus, the ramp opening as we walked towards it.
“Was that Butch?”
I smiled. “No, we can use mind dictation for anything the PA interface can do. I’m liking it, now that I’m getting used to it.”
We got to my stateroom in a few minutes, taking our tacos to the table.
JJ had a bite. “Oh, wow, these are heaven.”
I tried mine, the rich Mexican flavor filling my mouth. “Yeah, these are good. Haven’t had food like this since I left Earth.”
“Can we still talk freely in here?”
I nodded yes, still chewing a mouthful of taco. “Wish we had some beer.”
“You can get some from the replicator,” she said.
“Have you tasted that?”
She shook her head no. “Bad?”
“I’d rather drink water. There’s good beer on the New Jersey, of course. We’ve got two breweries on board.”
JJ rolled her eyes. “Ah, yes, wherever men settle, they’ve always got to get a brewery going.”
We finished our food, and I cleaned up the mess, putting the waste into the disposal unit.
“Okay, let’s chat. What do you think about the AI functionality?”
JJ leaned back in her chair, grabbing her water and gulping half the glass. “In the right hands, this functionality could be a game changer. In the wrong hands, it could be the death of individual liberty in the entire Universe.”
“I’d like to know who the developer is, but Butch is blocked from telling me, and Vermillion won’t spill the beans until he has to.”
“The Samson Corporation had a partnership with the PA Corporation, remember?”
I paused for a moment, thinking back on the conversation I had with Vermillion, when we’d discovered the stun capability. “You know what that means, right? A partnership between a behemoth like the Samson Corporation and a much smaller company like the PA Corporation really isn’t a partnership. Vermillion’s board probably owned a controlling level of stock in the PA company.”
“Wonder which of the new plants the developer is at right now?” JJ asked.
I chuckled. “We’re on the same wave length. I wonder how many PA Corporation leaders are hiding with us? Hell, the developer could be on the New Jersey right this second.”
“I doubt it,” JJ said. “Realistically, though, the Overlords must have taken control of the PA Corporation. How else could they have run the stun attack on Manhattan, and then attempted an Earth-wide attack afterwards?”
“This is the reason I’m leaning towards designating myself as the Central AI Host. I don’t believe the leadership of the PA Corporation wanted their devices to be used for the stun attacks.”
“Why?”
“Because of what happened,” I said. “All but a very small percentage of Earthlings removed their PAs after the Manhattan attack and the warning from Hamilton Zenos, remember?”
“You’re saying they wouldn’t participate because it will reduce their installed base?”
“Exactly. People are afraid to use their product now. The PA Corporation only earns revenue when their devices are active on a live host. We know they lost a lot of money on Earth when people took off their devices. Wonder how far the word spread? Hamilton Zenos is popular all over the Central Authority Zone.”
“Maybe the Overlords simply took over the PA Corporation as part of the destruction of the Samson Corporation.”
I nodded. “And perhaps the brains behind the PA Corporation are hiding out with us. Kinda looks that way to me.”
“Vermillion seemed to be upset about the capabilities of the AI system. Said he was going to have a chat with the developer, remember?”
“Yes, I remember. Wish I trusted Vermillion completely. Given his part-ownership in the PA Corporation, I find it hard to believe that he didn’t know about the features of the AI system.”
“The functionality could be used as mind-control across the entire Central Authority Zone,” JJ said. “I think mankind is in more danger today than at any other time in their history.”
“That is the main danger I see. Some features of the AI system are positive, given our position today as hunted rebels.”
“What parts are positive?”
“If we were pushed to the wall and had to fight for our lives, the advance weaponry controls of this AI system would give us an edge over every system in the Central Authority Zone.”
“You’re talking about the Nano controls?”
I nodded. “Also the coordination capability.”
“You wouldn’t turn on the mode that places the Central AI in control over unconscious soldiers, I hope.”
“No, JJ, that is something I’m dead set against no matter what. I don’t think that would be helpful anyway. Individual human minds are better at situational awareness and decision making than a Central AI system.”
“I know people who think AI is the future of mankind.”
I looked JJ in the eye. “Depends on what we’re talking about. Helping us control our technology? I’m all for AIs to do that, as we’ve discussed already. I’m completely against AI functionality overriding human behavior. That should be illegal across the Universe.”
“Which brings us back to the question—can we trust Chairman Vermillion?”
I was silent for a moment, thinking about everything. I looked up at JJ, who turned away quickly, after staring at me. Her expression was different, and her face was flushed. It scared me for a split second.
“You okay?” I asked softly. “That was a different look than I’m used to.”
“I’m getting to like you more, dummy,” she said. “Don’t worry about it. Frankly I’d be more worried if I wasn’t having these kinds of feelings by now.”
“Oh, it’s all about the ruse, huh?”
“
Stop it. If there was nothing there, I wouldn’t have suggested our arrangement to start with.”
I smiled at her, and she flushed red. “You’re so beautiful, especially like that.”
“What’s your decision?” she asked, trying to change the subject away from our relationship.
“I think I’ll pursue you.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she said, flashing the look again. A warm feeling flooded over me.
“Oh, you meant about the Central AI? I’m going to claim it. Don’t think we have any choice. Somebody might have hacked into the PA system to do those stun attacks. If they can do that, they might be able to take over our cell by claiming the Central AI. We can’t take that risk.”
“Good, that’s what I hoped you were going to say,” she said.
“Uh huh. You’ve got that look again.”
She sighed. “What do you want from me?”
“Everything, but for now I’ll settle for our arrangement. Speaking of our arrangement, come here.”
“I’m too worked up right now.”
“Good,” I said, taking her into my arms, kissing her passionately. She struggled for a split second and then gave in, moaning into my mouth, her hands roaming on my shoulders and back. When we broke it she looked flustered, which egged me on even more. I kissed her again. She didn’t hesitate this time, but instead leaned back on the bed and rolled me on top of her, our passion reaching a fever pitch in seconds.
“Oh, God,” she said, looking at me afterwards. “We’re losing ourselves.”
“I’m completely under control.”
“What would you do if you weren’t under control?” she asked.
“I’d get your clothes off as quickly as possible.”
She laid silently under me for a long moment, staring into my eyes. “I want that.”
“Me too, but not yet,” I said, getting off her. “Stick with the plan for now. It’s the best choice. Especially after what we just discovered.”
She sat up, looking down at her lap for a moment, her breathing slowing to normal. “Are you going to okay our AI creation now?”
“Back to business, huh?” I quipped. “Yes, you can go ahead, but follow the setting instructions that Butch sent to you.”