Emergence

by Nick M Lloyd

James went back to his computer. I’m going to need to file an internal report, just to acknowledge the security breach. After checking the operating manuals on security breaches (there’d not been any in the previous five years) he realised he’d also have to report on why Louise Harding was looking into Project Hedgehog, and to determine if there was a breach in G60 security. James considered referring the investigation back to the MOD Internal Affairs team, but quickly came to the conclusion: no oversight was good oversight, it was his job, and he’d be better off doing it himself.

  But what was Hedgehog really all about?

  After another hour searching all the various G60 and MOD databases, James had no more than the three-line summary he had seen at the start of the day. He flicked off a request to the MOD archivist to dig out any paper records in easy-access storage.

  Louise Harding?

  Chapter 21

  Within a few days of infiltrating Jack Bullage’s house, the mini-bots had collated sufficient data for Aytch to start a review. Sitting in the crew room, Aytch ran the initial matching analysis.

  Mostly, Jack’s behaviour looked consistent with a normal person dealing with grief. But there were a few tantalising technology markers potentially indicating early Triple Alpha activity. In particular, Aytch honed in on Jack’s computer which showed elevated levels of reboots. It could just be a virus infested computer but it may be the start of uncontrolled Triple Alphas interactions. Technology and unaware Triple Alphas don’t mix.

  Aytch waved across the crew room to get Justio’s attention. ‘I’d like to start the formal evaluation of next steps related to Jack Bullage.’

  Justio did not look up. ‘Two days is too early. A few more days are required.’

  Aytch turned towards Justio. ‘This may be the most important operational decision of my career. As a mission, I’d like us to avoid a rerun of the Bill Jones rush. And I really need to be part of the process.’

  Justio kept looking at his communications tablet. ‘Bill was a confirmed Triple Alpha who was under close investigation by the UK government, and he was moments away from becoming self-aware. We had to act. Now is different. Jack may, or may not, be a Triple Alpha. But, irrespective, he’s not yet under any investigation. The government is paying him no attention.’

  ‘But…‌if he is a Triple Alpha, then he’s only a few weeks away from becoming self-aware.’

  Justio sighed and looked up. ‘Okay. In the spirit of your revision, and specifically not related to any perceived rush on Earth, what are the options?’

  Aytch generated a screen and listed out a shorthand of options.

  1. Bullage not Triple—continue to observe

  2. Bullage is Triple—kidnap and secure him on Earth

  Justio reviewed the two options. ‘Agreed, although there are many options related to securing him.’

  ‘I suppose we may need to kill him if he fails to comply.’

  ‘I didn’t mean that.’ Justio shook his head. ‘Why don’t we kill all of them then? Make our lives easier.’

  What did you mean? ‘I apologise, Commander, I wasn’t being flippant. It’s just that a loose self-aware Triple Alpha would be very dangerous.’

  Justio waved a hand to accept the apology.

  Aytch waited but Justio didn’t elaborate on what he actually meant, leaving Aytch a little wrong-footed. I have to act as an equal.

  ‘The kidnapping will mean one of us going to the surface. Considering my extra mobility, I’ll go.’ Aytch brought a few maps of the south east of the UK up. ‘We’ve lost assets in West Devon, the RAF Base installed new hard-wired computers and we haven’t redelivered any mini-bots yet.’ Aytch opened up some more screens and highlighted an area of the southern UK. ‘But we have created a decent gap in their defences in Norfolk. Those radar stations are fully subverted and we have control of the NATO base at Northwood. So an infiltration across Norfolk into North London would be very possible.’

  ‘And if he becomes dangerously uncooperative?’ Justio looked at Aytch. ‘Now, on the understanding that termination is a last resort. Have you any specific thoughts?’

  So I am supposed to consider kill options. ‘To be clear, we’ll do everything we can to avoid killing. But, if required, we’ll use one of the following options.’

  Again Aytch listed out a shorthand of options.

  1. Override car computer and crash at speed

  2. Cut gas pipe in his house

  3. (last resort) reconnaissance drone AM missile

  Justio nodded approvingly. ‘Very last resort. We cannot risk detection, and the last I’d heard the humans didn’t have anti-matter missiles. Where’s the recon-drone?’

  ‘It’s hidden under Jeremy Benedict’s car, but I agreed it’s a last option.’

  Justio stood up slowly and walked towards the doorway. ‘Let’s pre-authorise self-destruct sequences for all of our mini-bots. Ready to cover our tracks.’

  Conciliatory gesture? ‘It may make us seem prematurely aggressive, or nervous, to authorise all of them now.’ He looked around the crew room.

  Justio smiled. ‘Agreed. I’m going for some regenerative meditation. Let’s see the results of analysis first. Ah…‌the Jeremy Benedict report was mostly empty, but I suggest we keep him sniffing around for a few more days, get some more background on Bullage. It’ll feed into any extraction plans.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll finalise some safe house options.’ Aytch turned back to the main desk and typed on the communications tablet.

  At the doorway Justio stopped and turned. ‘You know, once we extract him, we could bring him here. Just have a think about it.’ Justio left the room.

  Was that a test? Surely Justio didn’t mean it. Aytch knew a successful Full Emergence would look good on his record, but he had to consider the risks. No, Earth’s not ready.

  Aytch instructed the computer to record to the vault and then spoke aloud. ‘Current view, possible Triple Alpha identification but Earth’s not ready to survive a Full Emergence. Their energy debt is significant, they’re not democratic enough globally and there are too many factions. I’m focusing planning on capturing any Triple Alpha and rehousing them on Earth.’

  Managing a Full Emergence may get an immediate promotion but keeping the status quo would reduce the risk of a significant mistake.

  Closing down the formal recording, Aytch decided to refresh himself on the decisions taken during the 1960s. He sifted through some of his own old notes.

  ‘1962 Nov 12 (am) Reports of people falling out of moving cars at high speeds and walking away. Earth news services surmise their relaxed state through recreational drugs usage was the reason for survival…‌they bounced…‌probably Alphas.’

  ‘1962 Dec 12 (pm) Bill Jones may be a Triple Alpha. The UK government are putting him through intensive tests. Observation needed.’

  ‘1964 Jan 07 (am) Most UK and US mind control programmes now infiltrated and are being wound down. Can’t allow this level of self-awareness in a pre-Emergence civilisation.’

  Aytch spent a little time checking the status of various safe houses where he could allow Jack to live a secluded life of luxury if required. He also checked a few options where he could be kept sedated for the rest of his, significantly extended, biological life with no other human contact. I mustn’t imply this as a first choice to Justio.

  Opening up a screen showing the stasis room, Aytch checked on Bill Jones. If they were forced to kill Jack then it was possible they could send Bill Jones back to Earth. Unfortunately, reintroduced Triple Alphas were usually much less effective at suppressing host Beta to Alpha transition. Aytch shook his head. It was unlikely Bill Jones could be used to stall the Emergence.

  Justio hobbled back to his cabin. It was interesting that Aytch was starting to proverbially flex his muscles, trying to take a larger share of the decisions. But it was a good thing. Aytch could be relied on to trot out the standard Gadium doctrine.


  Justio opened up his private communications channels. FibonacciEddie had received an email from an anonymous user about Project Hedgehog and Jack Bullage. Not yet.

  Finally, Justio looked over his own encrypted notes. Aytch was blissfully unaware about many decisions made without his input.

  Chapter 22

  Late on Tuesday afternoon Louise received a message on one of her anonymous email accounts. Unable to concentrate, she left work immediately. It was a reply from FibonacciEddie.

  Walking back from the tube her phone buzzed. A text from Jeff asking her if she wanted dinner. She replied.

  What makes u think I’d be home by 6pm! See u in 5. Pizza.

  She met Jeff at the front door and, kicking through the junk mail on the floor, led him to the kitchen table. A few minutes later, she’d booted up her laptop and was displaying the email.

  Subject: Hedgehog

  I’m pleased to have a collaborator. Project Hedgehog ran in the 1960s. They tested soldiers and civilians for mental powers. But the test participants had to be special. They had to be crash survivors. No idea why. They used some basic luck tests, coin flips? Hard to believe, but I think they had some successes with special people. Keep digging, I’ll try to send you more info. No idea about Jack Bullage…Fib

  Jeff looked at Louise with exasperation. ‘You sent an email to FibonacciEddie, naming Jack Bullage! Louise, you’re out of control. Everything is monitored on the internet.’

  Louise shrugged. ‘I used all the standard anonymity protection. Anyway, look what we’ve got. We’ve got a lead.’

  ‘This guy could be anybody. All we know is that the MOD are trying to hide it. We don’t know if they found anything. Maybe they just killed a whole bunch of men, women and children in their experiments.’

  ‘Look, this FibonacciEddie is probably a conspiracy nutcase. But he seems to be well informed, and he’s given us a lead. Why not follow it for a little while?’

  Jeff raised an eyebrow. ‘To get to Jack Bullage?’

  ‘To get to the truth! I truly believe he’s a shithead, but my priority is the Hedgehog story.’ And I need a big story to get momentum behind my career.

  Jeff sat down at the table. ‘I’m having a drink with Mike tonight in The Three Kings; why don’t you come along?’

  Louise bustled in with Jeff following in her wake. A combination of low lighting and blown bulbs meant the pub was half shrouded in darkness, which Louise considered to be a good thing, given the usual hygienic state of the place. A quick look around revealed Mike sitting in a corner, with drinks for all of them already on the table.

  They took their seats and gave the requisite thanks for the drinks.

  Once seated, Jeff did a stage whisper. ‘As the old Chinese curse goes, we are now living in interesting times. There have been developments…’

  Mike arched an eyebrow theatrically. ‘Do tell me all, young Harding.’

  Louise leant forward. ‘I got into the MOD on Friday, and confirmed Project Hedgehog was a real top secret 1960s programme.’

  ‘You broke in?’

  ‘You know perfectly well I got it from a very senior army general.’

  Mike nodded gently and Louise reacted with mock anger. ‘What?! I get top secret information from the MOD and all you give me is a small nod!’

  ‘If it gives you any satisfaction, internally, my stomach is doing somersaults.’

  Louise ploughed on. ‘Secondly, last night we got an email from none other than…‌FibonacciEddie. He said Project Hedgehog was real and tested mental powers. He didn’t mention the word luck but he did mention coin flipping tests.’

  ‘Or was it flipping coin tests?’ Mike tutted, but after getting no reaction sat back in his chair. After a few moments of thought he exhaled dramatically. ‘I’m just going to order food. Who wants what? Louise…‌cheese and ham, or ham and cheese?’

  A few minutes later Mike returned with sandwiches. He beckoned the others to lean forward. ‘Do we need to start considering our own safety? If Project Hedgehog is as big and black as seems to be indicated, things may get dangerous.’

  Jeff nodded. ‘Not sure. Louise has come across a few mystery disappearances.’

  Louise snorted. ‘You’ve changed your tune. I remember you telling me it was nothing to get worked up about.’

  Mike took a sip of beer. ‘I’m not an expert in national security, but there does seem to be something a little strange going on. It wouldn’t hurt to take a few basic precautions.’

  ‘Okay, like what?’

  ‘For a start, only research online using internet cafes. Secondly, only stay online for ten or fifteen minutes. Thirdly, wear a hat and dark glasses.’

  Louise was a little unconvinced but nodded. ‘Mike…‌FibonacciEddie mentioned some actual testing of mental powers. Could we do some tests?’

  ‘I’m always up for an experiment. Although I have to reiterate the slimness of the chances of finding anything.’

  ‘Understood, so what would we do?’

  Mike pulled out a notepad and started jotting. ‘We’ve had a few big hints: use crash survivors, use a simple luck test. Our decisions are whether we want to try to stimulate fear, or address the half-asleep references you found…‌We can start planning, and maybe we’ll get some more focused information from FibEddie in the next few days. Jeff?’

  Jeff pulled out a coin and started flipping it. ‘We can use a simple heads or tails test, but build up massive amounts of data across multiple participants and crunch the numbers.’

  Mike nodded. ‘I agree. Measure and analyse. For the experiment we have two choices. The first is the participant either tosses the coin, or watches it tossed and calls the result in mid-flight. The second is the coin is tossed out of their sight and they call the result.’ Louise indicated for Mike to explain, and so he did. ‘Basically, the first one may possibly give positive results if the participant has super-enhanced reflexes or eyesight. Whereas the second one will be pure luck.’

  Louise nodded, but was unconvinced. ‘Just tossing a coin feels a bit lame. Shouldn’t we try to stimulate fear or some sort of survival instinct?’

  There was a silence, and it stretched. Finally, Mike spoke. ‘I’m not sure we’re professionally ready to stimulate the levels of fear generated in a car accident. I think we just start with simple tests.’

  They kicked a few ideas around before agreeing to meet up later in the week. As they were leaving the pub, Louise confirmed the plan. ‘You guys continue to design a test. I know I’m rushing you, but we should aim to run it next Wednesday in Mike’s garage. Jeff will source student participants from the Uni. I’ll try to convince a few genuine crash survivors to join us. And I’ll see if I can get more from FibonacciEddie.’

  It was agreed. The test was on. Louise left the pub.

  Mike hung back for a few moments, pulling Jeff to the side. ‘Don’t let her get her hopes too high.’

  ‘She really needs a story.’ Jeff shrugged and hurried after Louise.

  Chapter 23

  It wasn’t until Thursday morning that James Chambers received a file from the MOD archivist. It was a disappointingly small file and came with a hand-written note from the archivist.

  Chambers (G60)

  Re: Project Hedgehog

  It is not without precedent for old projects to have official records in such poor shape. Governmental reviews in the 1970s and 1980s both deleted information related to frivolous projects to reduce the risk of being accused of profligacy.

  V. Princey (Archivist)

  James picked up the file. It was woefully thin and, even against the backdrop of the archivist’s note, he could not believe a project lasting so long could have left a footprint of only two pages.

  James sat at his desk and tried to read a summary report dated 1965, and entitled Interim Findings. It was clear that the report should have been much longer; many pages were missing, making it difficult to follow, but t
here was one section which did stand out.

  3 February 1965

  The tests have been repeated on Subject G for a continuous period of 8 hours. Subject G has been subject to both a hypnotic trance and strong FT. The subject appears to be interacting with the apparatus and more than 90% of measurements are falling within the ‘seriously affected’ range. This seems to be significant given his fairly average results from the previous sessions on 1st February 1965 when he was only being stimulated by drugs.

  The rest of the page simply listed columns of numbers with no markings or headings to inform the reader what was being measured, or how it was being measured.

  The second page contained more columns of numbers dated to March 1965. It also included some scribbled notes in the gaps between the columns. Much of the writing was illegible but there were a few interesting phrases.

  ‘FT providing notable results’

  ‘Subject G disappeared? Soviet?’

  ‘Professor X wants to save his soul’

  ‘Subject C dead!’

  It made very little sense. James leant back. Except for himself, the office was empty. What is FT? How could I find out? How am I going to make progress here?

  Although there had been no additional noise from Internal Affairs about the security breach, James was concerned. He needed to ensure Project Hedgehog would not surface in the public domain and preferably not within the MOD either. He really needed to work out what had happened.

  He took a photocopy of the report and scribbled some notes in the margins. Fatalities, but how many? FT?

  Picking up the phone, James dialled the MOD archivist. ‘Hi there, it’s James Chambers here. Many thanks for the report you sent through. Is there any more primary material available?’

  The archivist’s somewhat reedy voice came back over the phone. ‘Sorry, Mr Chambers, what I sent you was all of the readily available materials. I would need special authorisation to search the deep storage for more.’