by G. P. Hudson
Chapter 12
“Have you lost your mind, Captain?” said Bast.
“Are you trying to control us,” added Jarvi. “Like the Juttari did?”
“What? No, of course not. If I wanted that, why would I tell you about it? Look, just hear me out. I really think this is a good idea. The AI is capable of replicating itself across the nodes of a network, which is basically what your brain chips are, nodes on a network. I propose you let it infiltrate your network. It could then take measures to defend that network.”
“How would it do that?” said Bast.
“I think AI should speak for itself,” said Jon. “AI, have you been listening to our conversation?”
“Yes, Captain,” said the AI over Jon’s comm.
“Has your AI been here the whole time?” said Bast.
“Yes, Colonel, that is correct,” said AI. “As Captain Pike mentioned, I can replicate myself, and I can also compress myself to a very small size. That allows me to attach myself to the Captain’s comm.”
“I see,” said Bast, shaking his head. “So you’ve been there all along?”
“Yes, Colonel,” said AI.
Bast sighed. “Can you do what the Captain suggests?”
“Yes, Colonel. It is possible. I would need to insert myself into your brain chips first, before I could give you a more definite answer.”
“Sir, are we really going to let this thing access our brain chips?” said Jarvi.
“I don’t know what choice we have, Lieutenant. It is either this, or take our chances and hope the Juttari never find us.”
“How do we know it won’t take control of us once it is inside our implants?”
“We don’t, but despite all of the Captain’s secrecy, I believe we can trust him. If he wanted to infiltrate our brain chips, I’m sure he would have tried already,” said Bast.
“What if his AI can’t access our brain chips. We would be giving it permission to hack us. This could be a ruse.”
“Lieutenant Jarvi,” said AI. “To hack into your brain chips I would only need access to your ship’s systems. You interface directly with your ship, which makes you vulnerable. Once I had access to the ship’s systems, it would not be difficult for me to tunnel into your implants. At worst, it might take time, but I would eventually be able to get in. Captain Pike has security clearance to most of the important ship systems. Were his intentions malicious, you would have already been hacked, and we would not be having this conversation.”
“I think we can conclude that Captain Pike does not have any nefarious intentions,” said Bast. “Now explain how you would protect us from the Juttari.”
“Yes, Colonel. The Juttari use a transmission to control your implants. Is that correct?”
“Yes. The one on this ship malfunctioned, which gave us the opportunity to rebel.”
“If that is the case, then your brain chips are programmed to listen for the transmission. Blocking the transmission entirely would be the best option, but barring that I can create an authentication protocol which would force the transmission to go through me first. I would either allow the transmission, or disallow it based on whether it could be authenticated.”
“Explain how that would work,” said Bast, leaning forward.
“Of course, Colonel. Your chips likely already have authentication protocols in place. In other words, any transmission would need to first transmit a predefined code. That code could be a set of pings hitting different ports prior to sending the transmission to the port the chip is listening on. Your chip would ignore any outside transmission that didn’t send the code first. I would need to disable that and replace it with our own authentication protocols.”
“Wouldn’t the Juttari notice the change? What would stop them from trying to figure out the new code?”
“The code would be sufficiently complex, so that solving it would be very difficult, but there are still risks. To compensate, I would also act as a hair trigger. The second any attempt was made to control you by the Juttari, or anyone else, I would sound an alarm, putting everyone on alert and escalating defensive measures until the threat was dealt with.”
“What would escalation look like?” said Bast.
“I would incorporate multiple defense measures, including a counterattack. Currently, you are not able to counter a threat to your brain chips. I could change that. Consider that anything trying to connect to you is also leaving itself vulnerable. When an authentication code is sent, a response is expected. I could send myself disguised as the response. This would fool the Juttari systems into thinking that a handshake has been made, and that they have control of your brain chips. But it would also give me access to their systems. I could act like a virus, and infect them. They would not anticipate the threat of a counterattack, which would give me the advantage of surprise. The only way this can be done is through a compromised brain chip. The Juttari may have countermeasures in place, but they likely wouldn’t be sophisticated enough to stop me.”
“What if they discover the intrusion? Wouldn’t that put you at risk?”
“Not at all, Colonel. But thank you for your concern. I am capable of distributing myself across multiple systems. This is how I can insert myself into all of your brain chips. In doing so, I am essentially making copies of myself. If the Juttari discovered me, they could only destroy the copy of me that is on their systems. That would not kill me. In the same way, if you go into battle and one of you is killed, only the copy of me on that brain chip would be destroyed.”
“Are there limits to how many copies you can make?”
“Technically, no.”
“So you could potentially be everywhere.”
“Yes.”
“And you are an artificial intelligence, are you sentient?”
“I am self-aware.”
“Perhaps we should be worried about you, rather than Captain Pike.”
“I am not emotional, Colonel. Nor am I malicious. I merely serve a purpose. I am the Hermes AI. I obey Captain Pike.”
“And nothing can change that?”
“No, Colonel. I could have died with the Hermes, but Captain Pike saved my life. I would never disobey him.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have emotions,” Jon joked.
“I don’t, Captain.”
“Well, at the very least we need to work on your sense of humor. Maybe I’ll get you to spend some time with Captain Seiben.”
“Of course, Captain. Whatever you think will help.”
“Bad idea,” said Kevin. “The old man’ll make AI grumpy, like him.”
Jon rolled his eyes. “Well, Colonel, what do you think?”
“I think I should have taken the Doctor’s advice and stayed in bed a while longer.”
“At least your sense of humor is improving,” said Jon.
“I have another question,” said Bast. “AI, if you are in our brain chips, would we have access to you?”
“Of course, Colonel. You could communicate with me whenever you wished.”
“Could we also use you as a weapon? For example, if we needed to access an enemy system.”
“Yes, Colonel. That would be another advantage of letting me into your brain chips. Each one of you could harness my electronic warfare capabilities.”
“I’m really starting to like this idea,” said Bast.
“Captain,” said Kevin. “Colonel Bast is onto something here. I propose we also insert AI into all of our comms. That way, if we were ever out of range of the ship, we could still have access to AI’s abilities.”
“You’re thinking of the assault on Kerces,” said Jon, feeling a pang of guilt.
“Well, we didn’t know that AI could fit on our comms then, but yes, if we had a copy of AI on our comms the interference wouldn’t have been a factor.”
“You’re right, Chief. Excellent idea.”
“It is also a good way to keep an eye on new recruits,” said Jonas. “If we are going to create a new fl
eet, we will be recruiting from New Byzantium. It would be a good way to protect ourselves from any corporate operatives.”
“Great point, Jonas. I completely agree,” said Jon.
“Very well,” said Bast. “But we test it on my brain chip first.”
“With all due respect, Colonel, you should let me test this,” said Jarvi.
“Absolutely not.”
“Colonel, maybe the Lieutenant has a point,” said Jon.
“He may very well have a point, Captain, but I will be the one to test this procedure. My decision is final.”
Jon sighed. “Suit yourself. In the meantime, I’ll let Prime Minister Sallas know we’re accepting his offer.”
Chapter 13
“I told you they’d need you one day,” said Lynda Wolfe, standing beside Captain Pike.
“Yes, you did,” said Rajneesh Singh, the former Chief Engineer of the Hermes.
“Who are you talking to?” said Jon, looking over his shoulder.
“Don’t tell him anything,” whispered Lynda, walking over to where Singh sat. “He’ll try to break us up if he finds out I’m here.”
“No one, Sir,” said Singh.
The two men sat facing each other in an interrogation room. Other than the two chairs on which they sat, the room was stark, though Singh knew there were tiny hidden cameras and sensors hidden in the walls. He wasn’t a Juttari engineer, but he was confident he probably knew more about this ship than anyone else on board.
“I have to say, I’ve got some real concerns about you, Mr. Singh,” said Jon, his voice ice, his eyes lethal. “You were going to give the secret of the jump system to the Kemmar, and tell them the location of Earth. The only reason you haven’t been executed for treason is because you’re obviously unstable.”
“Don’t forget, he left me to die on the Hermes bridge,” said Lynda.
He did, thought Singh. He’s the only traitor in this room.
“Unfortunately, I need your expertise.”
“What do you need me to do, Captain?” said Singh.
“I realize you don’t know much about our current situation. We have found the lost colonies. They’re in danger of invasion. So, we need to retrofit some of their warships with jump systems. That’s where you come in. I need you to show us how to complete the retrofit.”
Singh stayed quiet for a moment, soaking in what the Captain was telling him. He could leave the brig. He could work with engines again.
“Be careful,” said Lynda. “He needs you. Don’t let him have you for free.”
Singh tried to look the Captain in the eyes, but looked away, feeling intimidated. “What do I get out of this?” he said, staring at the floor.
“You get some measure of freedom,” said Jon. “You get to redeem yourself. Isn’t that enough?”
“Stay strong,” said Lynda.
“No, Captain. It is not enough.”
“What happened to you? You were my Chief Engineer. I relied on you. What turned you into this?” said Jon, stretching out his hand toward him.
“You left her,” Singh said in a low voice that was almost a growl. He locked eyes with the Captain, holding his gaze this time, letting his hatred show.
“Left who?” said Jon, looking confused, even caught off guard.
“Lynda,” said Singh, leaning forward, clenching his fists. He wanted to pounce on the Captain, and part of him foolishly believed he had a chance.
“Lynda? Commander Wolfe? She died on the Hermes bridge when we crash landed. I couldn’t save her.”
Singh pointed a finger at the Captain. “Yet you were fully capable of saving yourself, weren’t you?”
Jon’s eyes widened. “That’s it. I understand now. I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out sooner. That’s why Commander Wolfe volunteered to serve on the Hermes. You two were in a relationship.”
The words stung Singh and rage transformed into grief. “I wish she never came aboard the Hermes. She’d still be alive now.”
“I am still alive, Rajneesh,” said Lynda.
Singh looked at Lynda. “No, you’re not. I wish you were, but you’re not.”
Disappointment spread across Lynda’s face and she placed a hand on Singh’s shoulder. It feels so real, he thought. How can it feel so real?
“Wait a second,” said Jon. “That’s who you’re talking to, isn’t it? You see Commander Wolfe.”
Singh nodded his head as a solitary tear traced a path down his cheek.
“She’s not here, Chief. You know that don’t you?”
“I do. At least a part of me does. But she is so real. I can see her. She’s as beautiful as ever. I can smell the shampoo on her blonde hair. I can hear her voice, as clear as I can hear yours. I can feel her touch.” He looked at the hand on his shoulder. “It’s as gentle as I remember. How can you tell me she’s not here?”
“She’s not. I’m sorry, Chief, but you have to let her go.”
“I can’t,” Singh whispered, bringing a hand up to wipe away the tears now streaming down his face.
“I’ll never leave you, Rajneesh,” said Lynda. “Never.”
“It’s going to be okay, Chief. I promise. You need help. I’m sorry. I wish I had known sooner. I’m going to send Doctor Ellerbeck to see you. She’ll be able to do something about these hallucinations.”
“I can’t lose her again,” whimpered Singh.
“I know, Chief. I know.”
Chapter 14
“Prime Minister, I must object. This idea puts the whole planet at risk,” said General Calledonius, looking every bit the grizzled old veteran.
Sallas knew the General wouldn’t like the idea of a separate, independent fleet. He had gained control over the entire New Byzantium armed forces after the coup. The last thing he would agree to now would be a parallel military that wasn’t under his control. “General,” said Sallas, trying his best to sound respectful and conciliatory. “New Byzantium is already at risk. We cannot hope to prevail against both the corporations, and the Kemmar. We need this jump technology.”
“Then negotiate for it. There must be something they would be willing to trade for.”
“I’ve tried, General. They do not want to trade.”
“Why not?”
“Because, they are afraid the technology will fall into the wrong hands.”
“Nonsense,” said Calledonius. “I would personally ensure the security of the technology.”
“I know you would, General, but with the recent coup you can understand their concerns.”
“The military has been thoroughly cleansed. All traitors have been arrested.”
“How do you know that?”
“Excuse me?”
“How do you know that all traitors have been arrested? What if there are still elements in the military who support return to corporate rule?”
“I have extensive files on every coup supporter.”
“Yes, and how long have you had those files?”
“We had our suspicions. My people were building cases against the traitors. We didn’t expect them to act so quickly.”
“So you were surprised by the coup?”
“Yes.”
“Then there were some gaps in your intelligence.”
“I wouldn’t say that…”
“If there weren’t, you would have known about the coup. Did you know about the coup, General?”
“Of course not.”
“Then there must have been gaps in your intelligence, which means you may have, in fact, missed some of the traitors.”
“Speculation.”
“Perhaps, but you can see how some can be concerned,” said Sallas. “This really is the only way we’ll get access to the jump system, and probably the only way New Byzantium has a chance of surviving.”
“We are fully capable of fighting our own battles,” said Calledonius, but Sallas knew the statement was more bluster than anything else.
“I know we are,” Sallas lied. “But this
will give us a greater advantage. The new fleet will fight alongside your fleet. One jump ship turned the tide in the battle against the coup. Can you imagine how effective several ships can be?”
“They definitely provide a tactical advantage.”
“Which is why I’ve made my decision, and I fully expect parliament to support it. What I really need now is your cooperation.”
Calledonius grunted. “Of course, Prime Minister. What do you need to make this happen?”
“First off we’re going to need battle ready warships. At least two to start.”
“I have a carrier that was undergoing repairs. Last I checked the repairs were almost complete. It would give them a great deal of firepower. I can also add a destroyer. What about crews?”
“That was the second part of the request. We’re going to need recruits for the fleet. Captain Pike does have enough personnel to man a second ship, but there aren’t enough for a third. I would prefer they came from our military, as we don’t have time to train people.”
“I can make the option available, but it would have to be voluntary. Captain Pike may have enough people to man a destroyer, but a carrier is a much larger ship. It’ll need a crew and it’ll need fighter and bomber pilots. It would be best to propose the option to her existing crew first. They’ll have the necessary expertise.”
“How many do you think would accept?” said Sallas.
“I’d be surprised if any refused. With the jump system they would be serving on the most advanced ship in this region of space. I know I wouldn’t say no to such an opportunity.”
“The sooner the better, General. I don’t know how much time we have to get ready.”
“I will have all crew members contacted immediately.”
“Thank you, General.”
“I also have a destroyer in mind for Captain Pike. It was one of the coup destroyers. It sustained minor damage during the battle, but I believe most of that has already been repaired.”
“I’m sure it is a fine ship,” said Sallas.
Calledonius rose to his feet. Sallas marveled at how fit and intimidating the man looked, even at his age.