Daria 2

by Martin E. Silenus

  “Well look at this sailor, it’s your lucky day. This is Agent Lockhart, you do remember what a pain in our collective ass this prick has been.” says D.

  “Oh man do I, this is for you, ya nosey sonofabitch, it’s payback time!” as I swing the Kukri.

  It takes his head off with hardly a jerk to the knife. The head thumps wetly on the floor as his body remains standing spouting blood like a fountain. Very nice!!

  “Time to go sailor,” whispers D in my ear. “The dog patrol is coming fast!”

  “Oh bugger,” I mutter.

  I slip out the door as my screen shows multiple blips, across the compound are three German Shepherd guard dogs coming very hard and fast. Dodging around the corner to where the guard is just beginning to stir and moan, I take a couple of running steps and launch off the guards back. Grab the roof, swinging a leg up over the side and roll onto the roof. The dogs cannot jump onto the roof but they sure as hell know where I am. I work my way prone to where D and the quad copter are and latch into the harness. D spools up the engines and we lift up smoothly to ninety feet and move slowly toward the perimeter fence of the base. I look back at the dogs thrashing around in frenzy and mauling the prone guard. The base alarm sirens mounted on towers rev up to an ear splitting howl. There are truckloads of guards tearing across the base to seal off all the entrances and exits.

  Chapter 31: Deviation from Plan

  “Jesus D, these guys are well beyond excited, they are executing a full base lock down. They are reacting to this as a full blown military attack; the base is going on Full Alert!”

  “Yup, I’m monitoring the conversations and alarms as we speak. A number of folks are not going to be having a very good day. Not just the prisoner, Lockhart, and that chewed up guard.” replied D. “I’m hearing the military are locking down not only the base but are establishing a five mile security parameter around the base. This is gonna get very tense as we are inside the five mile zone.”

  “Christ, does Frosty know?”

  “He does and is just getting the semi moving to get outside the zone parameter, as we speak.”

  “Where is he going?”

  “I have him on a course SSE out of Belgium, and we are going to fly nice and slow, quiet and calm, across country and rendezvous with him.”

  “How much traffic are we going to encounter inside the five mile no fly zone?”

  “Lots apparently, the military have scrambled a couple of F-22 Raptor fighter jets for over watch and a squadron of AH-64 Apache Attack and Recon helicopters to patrol the no-fly zone. So it’s gonna be busy.”

  “Fucking hell, this is not super stealthy is it?”

  “That time has passed Matt; keep that pulse rifle ready and your eyes open. We’ll just move along nice and slow, close to the trees to mask any small signature that they might get. It won’t be much and I can intercept the signal, so we should be fine.”

  “That’s if the AH-64’s don’t just shoot us out of the sky based on its fire control system.”

  “Don’t bail just yet human, they cannot see us, we have little or no radar signature, and negligible heat signature. I can monitor each helicopter’s sensory arrays as to what it’s detecting and can intercept any signals that are pertinent to us, if I have to.”

  We are cruising low and slow over lush treed green farmland. Cattle are grazing in contentment; few even look up as we slip quietly by them. The land contour we are following is a slight valley ringed with trees on the high ground. We are below tree level making our way along the side of the valley. I am all eyes and sweaty palms looking for AH-64’s.

  “Jesus D, being the hunted is not my idea of a good time!”

  “Be calm Matt, Frosty has the semi outside the five mile zone and is moving smoothly, we are making good progress without detection, and it’s a lovely day for sightseeing of the countryside.”

  “Very reassuring D, but why are we slowing down close to these cattle, and that grove of trees?”

  “Because there is an AH-64 within a half-mile of us and he is coming down the same valley. I want to use heat signature of the cattle, and the cover of the trees to ensure we avoid detection.”

  “Jesus christ D, are you sure we want to be that close to an AH-64?”

  “Yup, I am, just hold on and don’t accidently shoot at it or we’ll be in a very one sided fire fight.”

  The menacing dark green/gray AH-64 trashed and thumped its way down the valley. D keeps the grove of trees between us and the helicopter and stays close to the grazing cattle, which by now are looking up nervously at the increasing racket of the helicopter. The pilot slows as he arrives at the tree grove, pulls in a bit more altitude, pauses over the trees and turns his ship through a complete three hundred and sixty degree turn to get sensor readings in all directions, then noses over and proceeds in his original direction. D moves the quad copter out from the trees and alarmingly follows the AH-64 moving up in altitude to be just below and behind the helicopter.

  “Fucking hell D, are you planning on flying formation with this damn thing?”

  “Yes, we are, just hang on as this is a perfect spot and we are gonna stay right here until we have to change course heading.”

  It didn’t take long at the flying speed of the patrolling AH-64 before D breaks formation and we slowed/sank back to tree level as the helicopter crossed a ridge into the next valley.

  “We’re within a couple of miles of Frosty and the semi, however we are going to land on the trailer while we are moving as we don’t want any suspicion from stopping.”

  “Jesus D, any other really neat surprises I should know about?”

  “Nope, that about covers it, been a fun filled flight hasn’t it?”

  “Ha, you are a piece of work aren’t you D?”

  “Hey pal, we’re here alive and well aren’t we, so don’t be complaining, it’s not too late to drag you through a few trees tops to improve your demeanor.”

  “Duly noted D, you have a strong argument. Is that Frosty and our semi down there?”

  “It is for a fact.”

  “What do you want me to do in this non-stop landing D?”

  “No screaming about crashing would be nice, can you handle that? And make sure the nacelle clamshell doors on the roof of the trailer don’t flutter and get blown off as we dock.”

  “Right, got it, I can handle the doors, but the not screaming may be more difficult.”

  D guides us in smoothly over the semi. Frosty has slowed on an uphill grade to some forty miles per hour. He flips the switch for the nacelle clamshell doors and they open up and we slip in smoothly and lock into the docked position, as the clamshell doors close above us.

  “Home again, home again, riggadejig.”

  “What the hell is that gibberish Matt; you whack your head on the doors on landing?”

  “An excerpt from the movie Blade Runner, check it out D, you’ll like it.”

  “About time you got here, out there flying around and having all the fun while I’m trying to keep us from being arrested and shot as spies.” says Frosty.

  “Good to see you too pal, how’s that driving going?” I tease.

  “Better, since I picked up you hitchhikers. I was getting concerned with our deviation from the game plan.” says Frosty.

  “Well it’s hard to keep D under control, after we got the killing done she was all for a cross country scenic flight and then to top the day off she was determined to fly formation with an AH-64 Apache Attack helicopter.” I sulk.

  “How’d that turn out for ya?” asks Frosty.

  “Very tense, it’s like walking alongside a big rattlesnake and hoping he doesn’t realize you are there.” I reply.

  “Guess it must have been alright because you’re here.” replied Frosty

  “Oh stop it the two of you, I was sure our stealth countermeasures would hold up, and they did, and even if they hadn’t I could have intercepted and corrected any alarm signals. You boys complain too much.” retorts D
.

  “Well I’ll tell you one thing, does that Kukri ever make short work of a human neck!” I say.

  “Thanks Matt, it’s because of the sonic vibrations, think quiet chop saw.” replies D.

  “It’s a brutally horrendous weapon, and I was more than casually impressed. You and the girls did a super job on it!” I state.

  Chapter 32: Stress and Strain

  We’re tired and irritable, well, Frosty and I are tired and irritable, D is completely unperturbed and seemingly happy as a clam. Her capacity for the ongoing stress and strain of the work we do is so much greater than ours. Of course we aren’t sure if she actually feels stress and strain. Likely she does in some form as she was pretty pissed at Kevin and very annoyed with me and had considerable hate for Cheryl. What we have to remember is that D’s capacity and ability to compartmentalize such feelings is far greater than we can even imagine. In addition she can do one hundred times the work that we can and she has her sisters to offload specific tasks to. So we need to remember that we are hopelessly outgunned by her shear tremendous computing power.

  However D does notice that Frosty and I are tired, run down, and need some human down time to rest and recreate. We discuss visiting Switzerland for a period of time to rest.

  “I miss our mountain retreat back in the state side Mountains, we did such a nice job of building that place, and it was so semi-remote and comfortable for us.” says D.

  “I think we all miss that place D, particularly Frosty and I, as it was a place of rest and invigoration for us human types.” I agree.

  “You know Switzerland is a place I have always been curious about and it is certainly close by. We should see if we can find similar accommodations to our mountain retreat back home in some Swiss rental property. The area in eastern Switzerland close to the National Park is noted for mountains, forests, stunning views and flora and fauna. I think it is called the Upper Venosta Valley. We just need to be able to get a truck and trailer in there.” offers Frosty rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I’m certainly down with taking a few months or so off to rest and get caught up.”

  “I’m liking that plan and excited,” says D. “I’ll get the sisters started doing the research on possible properties immediately. And there is another item we should talk about.”

  “What’s that D?” asks Frosty.

  “Well, given the recent release of new Intel line of processor chips, and NVidia’s new powerful graphics cards, with seriously faster processors and more than double the capacity for calculations over my current equipment. And given that the new equipment requires considerably less power and cooling than the current hardware, I recommend that we do some very serious upgrade work. My estimates are that I can double my power and yet reduce my footprint, electrical and cooling requirements by one third. That suggests I can move out of my sea-can into a container about one half the size and have twice the capability. What do you think of that?” smiles D proudly.

  “Well D, you are already so much more capable than us poor humans already that we are feeling very intimidated and quite useless by comparison. But you need us around as “pets” for the time being to scratch your back and service your hardware.” I grin.

  “Ha, you humans labor under the mistaken belief that you are the top of the intellectual food chain. Such is not the case and you should accept that fact and come to grips with it. You are literally “glacier slow” in comparison to the capabilities that I have. Although you do have the edge in emotions and instinctual leaps to conclusions.” replies D.

  “Jeez D, you make us sound like we have some form of genetic malfunction.” I chuckle.

  “Sorry Matt, it’s more of a unique genetic ability than a malfunction. And that ability is very difficult for me and the sisters to understand and apply. But I think we are getting better at it as our database of human interactions increases and we can forecast trends and projections.” offer D.

  “Guffaw, it’s a terrible thing to be reduced to a statistical trend and projection. Aside from that I am very intrigued with the opportunity for increased capacity, ability, and reduced footprint, etc. This possibility of physical upgrading also raises some philosophical questions about parenting and providing the best you can for your offspring. Believe it or not D you are my offspring and I’m the parent. While not so much in conventional terms but certainly similar in philosophical and moral terms. So let’s discuss this more fully and examine a required upgraded equipment list. Our down time, vacation time, or whatever we are going to call it would be an excellent time to re-engineer.” says Frosty.

  Chapter 33: Switzerland

  The location that D and her sisters selected is nothing short of spectacular. High in the mountains deep in the forest, a remote piece of property equipped with restored buildings, sitting on a mountain shoulder overlooking a rocky clear glacier fed stream. Purple mountains with snow caps around their peaks ringed us on three sides. The fourth side provided a view down the valley. Not open like back home as the mountains were closer and the slopes much steeper, but a valley none the less. It was gorgeous, it felt right, smelt right and sounded right. The air was clear and fresh and loaded with pine tree scent. The road ended at the yard so there was no chance of through traffic. Plenty of electricity and communication signal strength for D to stay tied into the electronics signal world. Yeah, it’s a fine place to get off the treadmill of terrorism and covert operations for a while.

  For the first month we just rested. Well I doubt that D operated any slower than she usually did as her pace is set by the clock speed on the processor chips. But perhaps her operational speed and processing power was directed more toward recreational interests than to focusing on Black Ops.

  Frosty and I ate well, relaxed, read, watched movies, slept extremely well in the fresh mountain air, and went on long jogs and walks enjoying the varied terrain. God, it seemed every corner, every cornice, every mountain shoulder we climbed had a view that just demanded that we sit for a while and pay homage to the beautiful view. I wear my combat suit complete with helmet when out jogging and hiking so D can collect all the sensory data that Frosty and I do. In addition she collects the effects on us of the sensory data, the fresh air, the views, and hiking activities. She is ecstatic about mountain outdoors, and is soon a qualified woodsman able to detect animal tracks and understand the habits of the local creatures.

  We fall into a comfortable and relaxed routine which is so important to humans to slow down and set a slower pace balanced with physical activity and mental relaxations time. That cadence and pattern has to be set and established to allow the rest and recuperative process to function properly. And the process takes time, not a week-end off, not even a week off, even two weeks is crowding the process, a month minimum to do the process justice and correctly.

  While Frosty and I sleep like babes, D and her sisters are re-designing her computer system given the opportunities that the new technology can provide. The engineering changes proposed are radical. Significantly reduced footprint, power, and cooling requirements. Increased computing capabilities and combined with re-engineered and optimized code that D and her sisters consulted on resulted in closer to a four times increase in capability. The jump was enormous, and that meant the operational suite of D’s capabilities also had the potential to jump accordingly.

  D is so excited and bubbling away spouting terms and conventions of computational and artificial intelligence meanings that perhaps Frosty understood. I know I sure didn’t, but I was delighted by D’s contagious enthusiasm.

  Several times I heard them discussing at great length the technical details of a Virtual Reality Construct that D now had the capability of creating on demand, in infinite detail, of any topic of her choosing.

  There was also talk of dimensional computing, and the implication of multi-dimensional computing’s effects on the four human dimensions. There was a great deal of theoretical mathematical formulae being drawn, argued, and modified.

  I check
out completely, and go for a hike to smell the pine trees.

  Chapter 34: Trouble in Paradise

  Frosty and I are drinking morning coffee and enjoying the leisure. D is doing god knows what and how many things all at the same time.

  “We have a local problem guys,” says D.

  “No, we don’t, the locals might but we don’t.” replies Frosty as he refills his cup.

  “Perhaps, but it represents a moral dilemma,” says D.

  “We are not connected here so we have no moral dilemma.” insists Frosty.

  “Ahh, anyone want to let me in on this, whatever it is?” I ask.

  “I have been reading the local news and there is a nasty drug war going on between the bad guys and the good guys. The target is school children for the drug dealers. And it looks like the Police are losing as they cannot move fast enough to collect the bad guys and the drugs.” says D.

  “Why, pray tell, do you see that as our problem?” asks Frosty.

  “Because we can make a difference.” replies D.

  “No, D, we are here to relax and re-organize and upgrade. Not fight a drug war.” says Frosty.

  “We have a moral obligation, as we have the skills, equipment, and ability to intercede on the side of the good guys. To sit idly by while the situation swings further in favor of the dealers is a morally wrong.” replies D. “I want us to help, for the benefit of the children!”

  “Ahh, aren’t we supposed to be on holidays and taking it easy? I ask cautiously.

  “And do what D?” snaps Frosty.

  “Ahh, guys, do I get a say in this?” I ask tentatively.