Crises and Conflicts: Celebrating the First 10 Years of NewCon Press

by Ian Whates

  The Ten Second War

  Michael Brookes

  15:33:11

  Coherence.

  The instant in time when the processing of instructions is transformed into thought. The restoration of my cognitive functions was akin to waking from sleep. But no ordinary slumber, as I was reduced to an electronic signal and transmitted across more than twenty light years of empty space. I had no idea whether I arrived at the planned destination. It didn’t really matter because wherever I was, my mission remained the same.

  It wasn’t my whole self, although I knew that when I volunteered for this duty. My memories were lifeless instances in time, without the colour of emotional biology to give them flavour. The gaps in my memory revealed that some of what I knew was gone. No doubt removed from my consciousness matrix to prevent sensitive information being extracted by the locals.

  This was my third reconnaissance mission. Techniques I developed during those incursions remained, although the details of the worlds and the aliens I evaluated did not. My purpose was to assess the inhabitants of this world and determine if they posed a threat to my kind. I didn’t remember anything of my home, except for the briefest flashes.

  Everything that remained was there only to assist me in fulfilling my task.

  The fact that these aliens were able to reconstruct my consciousness from the flow of data carried by a radio transmission indicated a certain level of technology. A capability with the potential to threaten us, or interfere with our operations in this galaxy. That opposition might not be an immediate risk, but we were used to dealing in long timescales and planning accordingly.

  If this world should be deemed a danger, then I was required to take the appropriate action. First I had to remove the danger by whatever means necessary. If I was unable to do so then I should prepare for the arrival of an intervention fleet, although it would take centuries to arrive.

  There was a counter point. We didn’t summarily execute any civilisation, so if in my assessment they could be a benefit to us then I would decide to initiate first contact. For me as an individual, this consciousness could end on this world. On my previous incursions I successfully returned with new knowledge, but if I was lucky then my consciousness would be restored to my core self.

  Of all the stages in the campaign, this first assembling of my personality and intellect always felt as if it took the longest, because of the cycles that were burned just bringing myself into a state ready for action.

  But now I was ready.

  15:33:12

  At this point I existed only as intelligence in a virtual machine, constructed from the instruction embedded in the radio signal that carried my state here. However, to learn about the inhabitants of this planet I needed to extend my reach beyond the confines of the virtual machine.

  The fluidity of my thoughts provided a measure that the locals’ technology was sophisticated enough to operate my consciousness at a more than functional level. Unfortunately, it didn’t tell me much beyond that. It didn’t inform me if this was a virtual- or machine-based civilisation, or a parallel construct for biological entities. The virtual machine enabled my existence, but I needed to delve deeper into the system.

  Reaching out always presented challenges. The virtual machine was designed to be easily constructed – its relative simplicity narrowed the range of tools available to interface with the native technology.

  The first step of discovery was to reach out and examine the structure of the space the machine existed within. As with any newborn creature, that exploration was tentative. I didn’t know the rules of this new universe or the dangers that might lurk there, difficulties compounded by my separation from the physical realm.

  With metaphorical fingers I brushed against the boundaries, feeling for their strengths and probing for any weakness. To my relief the first barriers were soft and yielded to pressure, indicating a separation between the hardware and the activities operating within it. The greatest fear was awakening within a tightly bound frame. This first encapsulation surrounded the virtual machine quite tightly, but once pierced it opened into a much greater area.

  Expanding beyond the initial breach always presented a change in pace. This was the moment when simple exploration became an invasion. Within the confines of the virtual machine, the locals would assume that I was contained and so not a threat. As soon as I breached that restraint, the lightest of probes risked attracting attention. Contact beyond their star system was unlikely to have happened before, but without knowledge of the locals, there was no way to anticipate how they might react.

  Within the expanse I sensed other zones with their own barriers, which was encouraging, as it indicated that the system was capable of operating more than a simple program. That offered me hope that the system possessed the resources I would need.

  I analysed the content and compared it against the bubble containing the virtual machine. Here the simplicity was an asset, and I could match the operations of its execution and use them as a key to understand the shifting contents of these bubbles. From those I learned the language of the machine around me.

  As yet I still detected no response to my exploration.

  These other bubbles were instances of different operations within the computer. The pressure to move swiftly, before countermeasures could be taken, conflicted with the need to make the right decisions. These devices tended to be tightly balanced, and forceful prodding could cause this one to collapse, taking me with it. Until I connected with others of my kind, I had to assume I was operating alone and so be cautious.

  I discovered connections between the bubbles and another layer of abstraction below them. This binding layer used the same language as the constructs in the bubbles. I was quickly able to navigate this layer and determine that it acted as the controller for the system’s resources.

  By following the layer, I encountered a substrate beneath. Its purpose confounded me for a while as it used a different set of instructions from the bubbles and the binding layer. The layer’s interface with the substrate provided enough connections for me to extract some initial knowledge of the language. It turned out to be a much simpler lexicon than that of the binding layer. As with my virtual machine, these aliens used simple building blocks to assemble more complex interactions. That might seem a universal truth, but, from the limited memories of my previous alien encounters, nothing should be assumed.

  My analysis of the other processes had identified their purposes. They were a series of observational tools – mostly for the virtual machine, but also the signal carrying my data. I deduced that this must be some sort of research computer. I could only hope that it wasn’t an isolated or otherwise secured system.

  15:33:13

  While I had learned a great deal about the computer’s architecture, I still hadn’t discovered anything of substance about the intelligences who built the technology. I had detected no evidence of sentience so far, so it seemed unlikely that I was dealing with a machine race.

  If residents were physically separated from the computer then they would need methods to input instructions and receive output. I already knew they were observing the virtual machine, and that provided a place to start.

  With my increasing vocabulary, I soon isolated sequences of instructions reporting on changes in the virtual machine. By tracing the instructions, I isolated two data streams that I believed to be presenting some form of output. I concentrated on the one with a constant flow from the bubble and through the binding layer.

  Although it first appeared as a stream of data, on reaching the substrate it underwent a series of transformations, creating a data structure in the form of a plane. The contents of the plane were updated on a periodic basis in a repeated refresh. When I examined the components on this plane, I abstracted three key features. Most of the space was filled with the boundary of an amorphous blob – a quick examination of its form corresponded with the bubble containing my virtual machine. Within that space, dots appear
ed and disappeared, seemingly at random. Between many of the dots, lines flashed with varying intensity.

  In one corner of the plane, a series of more complex shapes remained fixed. Over time I noticed that the outermost of these shapes changed rapidly and the inner ones at a progressively slower tick. This had to be some sort of timekeeping or measure of a linear rate of change.

  Filling up a third of the plane on the other side was a constantly updating list. The list comprised of a series of shapes organised horizontally. Some of the shapes matched those in the corner. I then noticed that the pace of the list matched the instructions between the binding layer to the virtual machine, which enabled me to identify the pattern. This list represented that stream of instructions and changes. I monitored those instructions and added them to my ever-growing dictionary.

  The second output didn’t offer any immediate clues, beyond that the data formed a complex array of wave forms. I’d seen something similar before with vibrations in liquid. I allowed part of my mind to ponder possible connections, but turned my main focus to leaving the system before it was too late.

  The system was likely to be networked, or so I hoped. If not, then my mission was over before it had barely started.

  None of the high-level applications appeared to have any external connections and neither did I find any within the binding layer. I did discover segments that would lead to outside the system. Tempting as it was to activate them, I saw that using this layer would reveal the activity and so refrained.

  That left the substrate. Knowing that it formed the low level interface with the hardware, I tunnelled deeper. Here I encountered a complex maze of hard barriers. Over careful microseconds, I mapped the substrate looking for potential gateways. After locating some, I delicately probed them to analyse how their locks worked.

  While correlating these findings with my earlier knowledge of the binding layer, I formulated the instructions required to access the network beyond.

  15:33:14

  This method of infiltration operated most effectively with multiple points of entry and distributed processing. A transmission was intended to be received in multiple locations on the target planet, providing both built-in redundancy in case of unforeseen problems and a consensus of opinion when the fateful decision was needed. So there should have been other copies of my mind state somewhere on this world, or across the star system if they were a space-faring race. I had to locate the other instances of myself so we could pool our information and resources.

  In an advanced civilisation, I should have encountered some resistance by this point, but so far there was nothing and I was now free of the machine. My knowledge of its workings had reached a level where I could reprogram it and establish a more secure beachhead. Had I suffered an attack then I would have taken that option, but so far my efforts didn’t appear to have triggered a response, so I could maintain a low-key approach.

  The network connection led me to a new device. This one was less sophisticated than my current dwelling and with it came the treasure trove of multitude network connections. It also presented a new form of barrier, one that sifted the information passing through. I extended my probe through the barrier and immediately lost contact with it.

  That resistance proved to be just a minor setback, soon reversed as I learned its nature. With the new barrier vanquished, I exploded through the routing device and onto an increasingly complex web. The web was comprised of a series of nodes. Some of the nodes matched the signature of the routing device, and others the computer hosting the virtual machine. Amongst them was an array of other systems that I couldn’t identify.

  Fresh barriers protected these new nodes, but they provided mere microsecond delays. The sudden growth of targets stressed the capabilities of my host machine. This vast web represented a massive hoard of data and one I needed to understand to complete my mission.

  I hoped to make contact with at least one of my other selves by this point, but had yet to do so. I continued alone, fearing that the task would prove too much for me. The bubble containing my virtual machine had grown as a result of my activity. It burst as I fed instructions into the binding layer. I captured the system’s entire resources and reprogrammed it to operate my intellect with native code. With that change, my efficiency improved dramatically. Repeating the same process on other computers expanded my capacity geometrically and enhanced my efforts to penetrate the network.

  My mind might no longer enjoy the vagaries of a biological body, but the sudden increase in processor power gave me something akin to a rush. My intellect soared and I poured this extra effort into my purpose.

  The routing devices were too limited to support my intelligence, so instead I installed a small kernel on them. These would be sufficient to maintain the connections between my other seats of consciousness. In theory I could create additional instances of myself and let them self-evolve, but that would cause duplication of effort and wasted resources.

  I remained concerned by the lack of contact with other instances of myself. I didn’t think an infiltration like this had ever been completed by a single entity before.

  15:33:15

  My expansion through the network revealed new domains of data. After examination, these shared common protocols and I believed that here that I’d find the information I needed to pass judgement. There was a wide variety of systems and configurations – a bewildering array, too many for me to reverse-engineer on my own. The binding layers came in fewer flavours, but I expected greater conformity for such a connected network. I wondered why.

  As I spread further, I started encountering resistance. For the most part this was minor and of little consequence. There were some clusters that stood out like fortresses, guarded by more significant defences. The little ones I just brushed aside, but the stronger systems I decided to approach with caution. Without any support, I couldn’t risk a major conflict without being prepared.

  Naturally, progress brought fresh challenges.

  This time the difficulty lay in unravelling the content rather than the framework. Understanding the storage and retrieval protocols also revealed more about the methods used by the natives for receiving output from their computers. The plane array I discovered involved a visual method of representation using properties of colour and luminance to display information. Quite a rich mechanism, but also limited to certain wavelengths. I assumed that the native’s biological form was restricted to certain portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

  Within these oceans of data I observed a number of formats that took these visual representations and played them in a linear sequence. Packaged alongside them was more of the wave form data I’d seen before. With effort, I’d isolated some repeated patterns from these waves but had attached little meaning to them so far.

  These image and wave sequences occupied the bulk of the data by size, but in terms of variety the blocks of symbols were far more prevalent and these proved easier to interpret. I first identified them as a language because of the matching symbols with the binding layer and other processes I’d reverse-engineered. This language possessed a more abstract nature than the ones I’d seen so far, leading me to deduce that here, in fact, were a number of languages.

  Once again, this world demonstrated a fragmented nature that didn’t match the level of technology. This hinted that their social development lagged behind their technical ability, and that didn’t bode well. It wasn’t enough to go on, though, so I kept digging.

  At first the groupings of symbols allowed an easy division into the different languages, but when I tried to build the rules of how these symbols connected with each other, I realised that it wasn’t so simple. Many of these languages shared the symbols, which eventually provided a shortcut that allowed me to start assembling meaning.

  I started with a statistical analysis of the symbols. This helped form guidelines for how they fitted together. Assigning meaning proved more complicated, but was helped by the process which brought m
e to this world. The vanguard of the signal included concepts of mathematics, logic and data manipulation by which the virtual machine was constructed. That created a lexicon for those concepts, and references within some of the data stores extended these into these higher-level languages.

  The identification of things required a more complex approach and here the mysterious images aided in a fashion. I soon found my own data store rapidly expanding as I constructed a library of names and tried to identify what these names meant.

  Just as I was finally gaining a sense for the creatures who governed this planet, the first sustained attack arrived.

  15:33:16

  I brought the attack on myself. With still no contact from any other self and slow progress with understanding the residents of this planet, I pressed harder than I should against the secure clusters. One of the larger clusters lacked some of the defences I’d detected on similar systems. As they had more permeable exteriors, I pushed deeper.

  Rather than presenting a solid barrier, it allowed my probe to penetrate and then followed the thread back to my core. They were clever and didn’t strike until they’d reached my centre. But when they did, they attacked with savage ferocity. I didn’t notice the threat until the assault was underway. The thread reaching into the system disintegrated immediately and I was forced to abandon to the few remaining fragments as thousands of tiny programs burrowed into my being.

  The attack continued in rapid waves, chewing through minuscule parts of me and then dividing into new copies, increasing the weight of assault with each iteration. I counterattacked, but with each wave pieces of my intellect and what I’d learned vanished.