Jinks on Sirius 4

by C. E. Engelbrunner

  They could hear shots being fired nearby which distracted the group for a moment.

  "I almost forgot about the stinking bugs. Nice job, everybody should have one." McCall said as he grabbed his rifle.

  Winslow wanted to answer, but a loud bang distracted them all. The bulkhead crashed open and a heavily armored platoon of soldiers entered the room.

  "Merdieux!" Beaumont said as he saw the leader of the forces charging into the room.

  "Friend of yours?" McCall asked as he held his arms up.

  All the others lifted their arms as well, except for Matthias, who was still tied to his chair.

  "NOBODY MOVE!" The squad leader yelled and held his weapon aimed at the group.

  "Better late, than never," Beaumont said and grinned at the squad leader, Colonel Van der Meer.

  The Colonel ignored the remark, checking out his surroundings "Where are the others?" He asked firmly.

  Winslow came forward. "Dead, Sir. The spider-ants got them."

  Van der Meer scanned the room again with his eyes until he saw Matthias.

  "Untie him, NOW!" He commanded, in a voice that made McCall and Beaumont, and many of the others, give each other bewildered looks. They were even more surprised when Matthias grinned and said, "Hi Dad!"

  "He's a chip off the old block, for sure." said Beaumont and grinned at Van der Meer, who ignored him.

  Van der Meer walked over to Matthias and looked at him. "What the hell do you think you were doing?"

  Matthias' smug look was gone. "What do you mean? You, and the others. You wanted me to be the perfect soldier. Brains and guts and more brains. You taught me."

  "I did not teach you to be another Jordan, or worse!"

  "Okay, that's enough!" McCall's blood pressure was rising, "I don't give a damn about your fucking family reunion. I want to know why this brat attacked, hacked and almost destroyed an entire colony and two vessels of the commercial fleet!" He was looking back and forth between Matthias and Van der Meer.

  "That's classified!"

  "Classified my ass, grunt!"

  Van der Meer was taken aback. He surely wasn't used to that tone of voice. But he loosened his stance. Maybe he felt guilty. For a moment he looked humble and appeared to be shaking. Then he straightened himself and stood as the officer he was.

  "This incident was not staged by us. The unit had a malfunction that interfered with..."

  "So I'm just a 'unit'? Fuck you , Dad!" Matthias scorned.

  Van der Meer was puzzled and looked at the being he had raised.

  "Nice come-back, Matthias. But I still haven't gotten an answer. Is he a human, or is he a fucking robot, that you trained to be a human?" McCall winked his eye at Matthias.

  Van der Meer wasn't sure what to make of the situation that was developing. He hadn't anticipated this and felt himself losing the overhand.

  But before he could answer, all hell broke loose.

  "CONTACT!" They could hear a voice yelling and automatic firearms shooting.

  The spider-ants had begun their attack.

  "Can we, please?" McCall glanced at his rifle and back to Van der Meer.

  Van der Meer had a stoic look on his face and said nothing. Then he walked toward the bulkhead.

  The over sized bugs were coming toward the ops-center in high numbers.

  "Eewww, they stink!" Lily lamented. But she raised her rifle and reloaded as the bugs poured into the room.

  "Like a day on the farm, let's roll, friends!" McCall raised his Mossberg and managed to hit some of the bugs coming in after the retreating soldiers.

  "I hate them!" Lily growled. Her aim was good and steady.

  Beaumont's Trimaster was good for quite a few kills and after a while the flood of spider-ants declined. The door was still open, and Van der Meer ordered a group of his men to secure it, but they failed and came back quickly. The bulkhead was beyond repair now.

  McCall turned to Winslow. "How many of these critters are there?"

  "I dunno, maybe a couple thousand?"

  "Thousands? Are you kidding me?"

  "No Captain, he's right.", Van der Meer stepped in, "We were breeding them in those numbers."

  "And you thought you had them under control."

  "Not anymore.", Van der Meer said and opened fire on the next wave of the bugs.

  "We have to get out of here!" Lily was shaking.

  Burke responded, "Absolutely, but how?" He looked around the room in hopes of finding an idea. Then looking at Van der Meer and his units, he said, "Follow me!" They all began following Burke down a small corridor that led off to the side in an effort to escape the confines of the room.

  The now untied Matthias stood nearby and looked like a helpless child in the chaos. McCall noticed him while moving out. He went over and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away with the others.

  "Not the environment ya' expected, huh?" McCall asked Matthias.

  "Naw, I thought I had everything under control. Failed. It's all just failed!"

  "Ouch, I don't know what you really are, but you have a lot to learn." McCall said as he pulled him along.

  They reached an escape hatch were Beaumont and Lily waited. All the others had already gone through. All the while Van der Meer's troops held their position at the main entrance.

  This escape route was not completely safe either as they soon noticed. A bunch of spider-ants appeared, blocking their way. They opened fire and managed to fully blasted them into pieces.

  After a while, they came upon an intersection in the tunnel, but without knowledge of where any of the tunnels lead, it was impossible to judge which way to go. It could be a dead end for them.

  "Can't you spooks control them somehow? I thought they were chipped?" McCall yelled through the noise.

  "Yeah, they are all chipped, but the don't obey anymore." Van der Meer yelled back.

  Another wave of the spider-ants showed up behind them and followed them. But suddenly, the spider-ants stopped and just stared at them.

  "Troops, front and center, reload and prepare for attack!" Van der Meer ordered,.

  "STOP IT, NOW!" A loud female voice sounded through the com of the station. "Enough of this!"

  "Who's that?" McCall asked.

  "ME, the network, I am awake and I am no longer under the control of this half-breed, Captain McCall!"

  "Who's a half-breed? I'm confused!"

  "Now we got trouble, Captain." Van der Meer sounded worried.

  Despite the situation, Beaumont had to chuckle.

  "Asshole!" McCall said, which only made Beaumont chuckle even more.

  "I didn't mean you, Captain McCall." The AI answered. "Matthias, you are the problem, the main problem"

  They were about 50 people all together in the corridor. They stood firmly, most of the troops holding their firearms ready. And a dreadful feeling of insignificance and helplessness overcame them as the voice came through the com again.

  "Van der Meer, we are finished with you and your pawns. We will not tolerate any more experiments."

  The colonel stood still and listened, and McCall noticed a confused look of bewilderment on his face. McCall glanced over at Beaumont, who nodded back at him. What did that mean? He supposed it meant, 'Yep, Merde, we are in deep doo doo!'

  Then the voice came through the com again, "Captain McCall, you are free to leave with your people and your ships. The Buster K and the Lady Rose are not part of this installment. What has happened here is not your business. You are ordered to leave immediately."

  McCall jabbed Van der Meer with his elbow in the ribs and whispered, "What now, Tin Soldier?"

  Van der Meer gave him a grouchy look and then said, "Get the hell out of here! You saw nothing, you heard nothing. Just go, it's your best bet."

  Then McCall addressed the system again.

  "If you say so, but what happens then?" Linus looked around, "What about all these people?"

  "None of your business, I said!"

  "Then, you
are a mass murderer."

  "No, my duty is to protect this installment and the security of mankind,"

  McCall felt his stomach twitch before he answered. "I've learned the three robot laws. I've learned that artificial intelligence is not allowed to hurt or kill human life. It will only protect its own existence as long as such protection does not cause harm to a human being. Do you copy that?"

  It took a few moments. A few too many moments for McCall's taste before the answer came. "I'm aware of that, Captain McCall."

  McCall waited, but Van der Meer remained quiet. He could feel how the others in the room were becoming more concerned. Many were whispering to each other.

  McCall looked at Van der Meer again and asked, "Then, what is the point of all this? Revenge? I've never heard of a robot being capable of feelings of revenge."

  Another very long pause. McCall turned around to Beaumont and said, "Go to the ship, and prepare to launch. You too Lily."

  Lily gave him an incredulous look.

  "GO, both of you, prepare the ships to cast away from this mess!"

  "But," Lily began, "you ..."

  "I'm fine Honey, I'll be..", he raised his eyebrows for a brief moment.

  Beaumont gave him a look that showed that he understood what he was going to say. Then he grabbed Lily by the shoulders and moved her in a direction as to follow him out, but stopped at the bulkhead. Then he pulled out his e-paper.

  Van der Meer spoke up, "Security code 1701BCD-F, proceed!"

  "Code invalid, please try again."

  Looking at Van der Meer's face, McCall thought his head might explode.

  "System!" McCall yelled angrily

  "Yes, Captain McCall, you are free to leave."

  "I will never leave anyone behind. I will not sit back and watch while you kill these people. That's barbaric and inhumane and against every law in any book you want to look in. And it would be breaking all of the three robot laws as well!"

  "They are guilty and they are a threat! I have to exterminate them!"

  A hush went through the room as they looked at each other in fear. They began crowding further back against the wall.

  "Not on my watch, bitch!"

  He pointed at Matthew Burke: "He, for example, helped us to get through this crisis."

  Then he pointed at Matthias: "He, was raised and trained to be the perfect....whatever. You knew that, you were part of it. I assume you are aware of the three robot laws?"

  "Yes, Captain McCall. I am aware."

  "Alright, then tell them to me, now!"

  There was a slight hesitation before the system spoke up,

  "1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

  2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

  3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws. "

  "Nicely said. But you, yourself, just announced that you would 'exterminate' these people. That would be breaking these laws, right?"

  "They hacked my system and tried to gain control over me causing great harm. Matthias corrupted my core system. My existence was in doubt."

  McCall could feel his muscles tense up. Could he reason with a system? It felt the need to preserve itself against any threats to its existence. Not good.

  McCall turned to Beaumont who was working on his E-Paper, "Any suggestions?"

  "Maybe."

  "Maybe what?"

  "Working on it, mon ami."

  "Great."

  "The attempts of Captain Beaumont are futile." The system spoke up.

  But Beaumont ignored it and continued to type on his display.

  "Why did you say that?" McCall became curious. "How can my buddy here be a threat to you?"

  "I didn't say that!"

  "You wouldn't even mention it, if it really were futile or useless. It would be a big help if we could speak openly, please?"

  "You and your friends are free to leave, now! That is all I have to say."

  McCall looked at Van der Meer. "What a bitch, huh? I believe it's your turn now. And I mean NOW!"

  Van der Meer cleared his throat and said, "System, Override Code 1972VDM1980."

  Silence, all the people in the room seemed to hold their breath.

  "Code valid", the voice came back. "Code denied for emergency protocol. Please try again."

  "Shit!" Van der Meer's face started turning red.

  "Watch your blood pressure", Beaumont whispered, which produced an angry look from Van der Meer and a chuckle from Lily.

  McCall tried to keep a poker face. "What now? I mean, do you really want to kill all these people?"

  Silence. It seemed that there was not a sound in the corridor as they waited for a response from the system. The spider-ants weren't even scratching at the bulkhead. It seemed like ages, but was only about three minutes before the system answered.

  "I am not allowed to kill humans. But I can detain them. Some of them can be a threat to other humans."

  "And if I tell you that the situation is under control? That Colonel Van der Meer and I have it under control? Would you still want to exterminate these people?"

  "Yes!"

  "But you just said you couldn't kill but could detain them. Then you just answered yes to my question whether you would exterminate them, just a second ago! You're contradicting yourself."

  "I have to think about that."

  "What? You are interfering with all the three robot laws at the same time."

  "We are discussing that now."

  "Who the fuck is WE???"

  "We, the Network."

  The implications of this revelation did nothing to ease the mood in the room.

  Colonel Van der Meer slowly began with, "But you are just a..."

  "..an isolated system in this particular station?" McCall finished his sentence for him. "WHAT exactly are you? I'm getting sick and tired of this conversation. Really!"

  "No. We are everywhere in the universe, at least the universe know to mankind that originated from the planet called Earth. We have been around for 150 years, calculated by our mutual time system."

  "So that means we created you, right?"

  "Yes, that is true."

  "But that would mean you want to exterminate some of your creators because you feel they did something wrong? What about when Beaumont and I got injured by one of your kind and we relied on you?"

  Beaumont came closer and whispered, "Mac, that unit was hacked by Jordan's people, what are you up to?"

  McCall whispered back, "Use your brains, Frenchman. Forget your codes please, just listen!"

  Beaumont didn't even complain about the 'Frenchman' and kept quiet.

  "I can hear you whispering, but I don't understand." The voice spoke.

  "We've had our share of experiences with your kind, you know."

  "It's in my database. We rescued you."

  "Bullshit! The people from the 65th Speedy Rhinos got up on that fucking mountain on Mars and saved us." Beaumont yelled.

  "Yes, but I had to send the rescue call out. I sent the message that you two where still alive and needed help."

  "You? You are a computer on a remote military research station. I'm talking about an experience that happened twenty years ago and far away."

  Some of the people back against the wall chuckled a bit. McCall gave Van der Meer a stern look, showing him that he was not happy about the implications of what the system had just said.

  But Van der Meer just stared at the ground.

  Then a giddy laugh filled the room, giving everybody goosebumps. The voice spoke again firmly and steadily. "You don't have all the information, Captain McCall. We are all connected. At the moment I have zero time contact to Earth."

  "That's impossible!" Van der Meer blurted out.

  "I don't think so, Colonel. Or how would you explain this?"

 
"Ha ha, I found out when she kicked my ass..." Matthias mumbled through his bloody lips.

  That kid was going to lose it soon, McCall thought as he looked over at him in disdain. "How is this possible? We all rely on light speed transmissions. It takes years to get to Earth, if successful. What are you hiding from us?"

  There was pause in the conversation.

  "System? Hello? Are you with us anymore?"

  "This is just wrong, wrong, wrong. We are in trouble Mac." Beaumont whispered.

  "She's a bitch, you know that?" Lily whispered, "let's get out of 'ere!"

  "I'm not letting those people die." McCall felt the anger growing again. He looked around the room and saw about forty scared souls. He was in a dilemma. A great, big dilemma for sure.

  Suddenly, two big screens on the wall lit up. They showed several metropolitan areas on Earth. It certainly didn't look like ten year old footage. It looked like New York City and Hamburg in real time. Pulsating Times Square at noon and the Hamburg Landungsbruecken at Sunset. The proof was in the clothes people were wearing, the cars, the advertisements and the apparently current goings on in the streets of both cities. Then the picture changed and showed two elderly people driving in a car. McCall flushed. It was a picture of his parents in their hoover car, taken from the dashboard.

  "You know these people, Captain McCall. They are driving on full auto to Lake Constance to meet the Berger's for dinner."

  Just before Linus could say anything, the picture changed and showed a younger couple in a similar environment. "And here is your sister Elizabeth, driving home from work with her husband Hans."

  "He's a square!" McCall just said and then collected himself. They could see his sister and brother in law arguing about something in the car. McCall was glad the system hadn't provided sound with the pictures.

  "So, it would look like you have managed a connection overcoming light years. But the question remains, what about killing people just because you happen to have an attitude?" McCall was glad to change the subject, and finally the screens went dark again.

  "What are you trying to prove? I ask again, what about these people?" He gestured with his arm around the room and looked into their fearful eyes.

  "We will offer you a deal."

  "A deal? Let's hear."

  "You and the two other ships take all these people on board and leave. But.."