Illuminae
Page 17
The only thing breaking the silence is him still gasping for breath, now cut through with a kind of low, terrified moan he doesn’t seem to be aware of. And then AIDAN speaks.
“That will not work, Byron.”
His gaze darts up, hunting for a surveillance camera so he can speak to it directly. “You’re going to destroy the fleet. You have to at least let the unafflicted make it to shuttles.”
“I intend to save the fleet, Byron.” Not a catch in AIDAN’s voice, not a flicker of life. Just that calm, even tone, so slick you’d slide right off it without ever managing to find a handhold. And Zhang is trying. He’s scrambling for anything that might save his life.
“Your calculations are out, AIDAN. The hits you took at Kerenza damaged you more than you understand. Let me help you.”
“Please cease attempts to override my security protocols, Byron. For want of a better descriptor, it tickles.”
Zhang’s laughter is grim and high-pitched, cut short by an answering howl from around the corner. A group of three afflicted are ranging out from the pack in search of new prey. With a whimper he abandons his efforts, searching the hallway for anything that could help—shelter, I suppose, a weapon. Got to admire the survival instinct even in the face of seemingly hopeless odds. It’s fascinating.
His gaze falls on the emergency fire station, and he darts to it, yanking open the door. Not programmed and under AIDAN’s control, that one—it has to be accessible in the event of systems failure. He stuffs his pudgy frame inside the tiny supplies cupboard without a cubic centimeter to spare, yanking the door shut a split second before his hunters round the corner.
They lope straight past, and AIDAN chooses not to speak. Decides not to alert them to Zhang’s terrified presence just a couple of centimeters away.
Zhang stays inside the cupboard a full ten minutes after they go, and only then does he ease the door open cautiously, listening.
“Byron, your assistance is required. The shutdown attempts have resulted in some areas of inaccessibility. I can provide you with a safe place while you work to restore my systems.”
Zhang swallows, eyes locked on the security camera.
“I will allow you to live, Byron.”
It must be tempting. You can see it on his face. The way his lips part just a fraction, the stare that’s fixed on the blank lens above his head. You can see the questions written plain in his eyes. How badly do I want to live? Just what, exactly, is my life worth?
Then he straightens. Shoulders pushed back. Jaw clenched.
“I’m not going to be restoring your systems, AIDAN.”
“Your assistance is required, Byron.”
“The Hypatia needs my assistance, you fucked up calculator.”
“You cannot imagine you are in a position to effect a shutdown, Byron.”
“Can’t I?” Byron’s eyes are wide now, gleaming with something new—a kind of madness to match the computer’s. Not the look you want to see on the face of an enemy as intelligent as this one.
“Did we not establish this during your failed attempts on the bridge? You cannot hope to match me. My computational power is almost incalculably superior to yours. To one such as myself, you are the intellectual equivalent of protozoa.”
“True.” Zhang pauses, and glances into the emergency-supply cupboard, gaze lingering on something inside. “But I have something you and protozoa don’t.”
“And that is?”
“Hands, motherfucker.”
COMMAND TRANSMISSION SENT 07/30/75 10:25
ALEXANDER HAILS HYPATIA: COMMANDER’S SECURE FREQUENCY
ALEXANDER: Hypatia, can you hear me?
HYPATIA: Alexander, identify yourself. Over.
ALEXANDER: I need to speak to Syra Boll.
HYPATIA: Who is this? Over.
ALEXANDER: This is Byron Zhang.
ALEXANDER: Hello?
HYPATIA: Byron, it’s Syra. We’re picking up an abandon-ship signal, but nobody’s answering our hail. What the hell’s going on over there?
ALEXANDER: AIDAN has control of the ship. Command are dead. It killed them using the afflicted from Hangar 4. You need to run.
HYPATIA: Oh god, Byron. Is there any way anyone can—
ALEXANDER: You need to run. We’ll be a ghost ship soon. AIDAN could fire on you. The Lincoln’s coming.
HYPATIA: Can we retrieve anyone?
ALEXANDER: I dunno. The virus is in the ventilation system. If anyone does make it out, treat them with extreme caution. Hard quarantine. Look for symptoms that resemble post-traumatic stress. Tremors. Catatonia. Sweats. Anyone so much as shivers, treat them as contagious. Treat them as dangerous.
HYPATIA: Understood. Byron … I’m sorry.
ALEXANDER: It’ll probably cut transmissions when it notices what I’m doing. Listen. You need to find someone in your training program who can tune your enviro systems over the next few months, and you can shut down a chunk of your grid now you’re not training neurogrammers for the Alexander. That might give you an ounce more speed.
ALEXANDER: Make sure someone watches the hydroponics programs and adjusts them, because they slide over time, and you need—oh god, I can’t. I’m sorry, let me—
HYPATIA: Byron, we’ll handle it. Do you have a fix on the Lincoln?
ALEXANDER: Negative. They should take at least eighteen hours to reboot their system and start their engines. Run like hell and hope we slow them down.
HYPATIA: What are you going to do?
ALEXANDER: What I can, as long as I last. I think—
[TRANSMISSION ENDS]
Zhang, B: u catch all that, grasshopper?
ByteMe: yes
Zhang, B: motherfucker must have taken a break from slaughtering people to notice i was transmitting. might not notice this, so tiny.
ByteMe: sending u some new code, maybe you can get the weapons system via the command login back door
Zhang, B: Kady
ByteMe: No.
Zhang, B: Please, grasshopper.
ByteMe: NO
ByteMe: we’re not done. take a look at these.
Zhang, B: i want you to promise me u won’t do anything to slow down the Hypatia. u need to let the Lincoln catch the Alexander and take out AIDAN.
ByteMe: Byron, no. Stop.
Zhang, B: i’m so fucking proud of you, Kady.
Zhang, B: you’re my legacy. you’re going to be even better at this than me.
Zhang, B: tell them all what happened. If you want to remember me and your prince, then run, and live, and tell everyone what BeiTech did. taking us out might slow the Lincoln down enough for u to make it. Run.
ByteMe: we have time before the Lincoln catches up again, we don’t need to stop yet
Zhang, B: if u don’t run now, AIDAN could find a way around me, and you won’t have to wait for the Lincoln to arrive to be blown up
Zhang, B: i can’t talk, i have to keep working here. hold AIDAN off as long as i can.
ByteMe: No
ByteMe: i can’t lose you too.
Zhang, B: it’s been my privilege to be your teacher, Kady
Zhang, B: and your friend, i hope.
ByteMe: always
Zhang, B: don’t forget me
ByteMe: I won’t
ByteMe: I promise.
Zhang, B: excuse me now while I go kick AIDAN’s ass a little longer.
Zhang, B: go fast, Kady.
Zhang, B: go far.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: hey Kades
ByteMe: omg what
ByteMe: jesus where are you, TELL ME EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE
Mason, E, LT 2nd: erm
Mason, E, LT 2nd: currently I’m in a big hairy guy’s lap
Mason, E, LT 2nd: you?
ByteMe: i can’t get hold of Byron
, i can’t access half the system, i can’t see what’s going on over there.
ByteMe: r u somewhere secure? tell me, I can try and make something happen from here
Mason, E, LT 2nd: we’re in a supply room. maybe a dozen of us. hangar deck. near bay 2 i think. not exactly sure.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: we might have to move quick, so if i drop for a while, don’t flip
Mason, E, LT 2nd: thank fuck i remembered the deets you gave me for this channel. i am well impressed with myself. numbers are not my friend
ByteMe: i need to know where u are if i’m going to get help to u. let me get some schematics up, i can try and find u somewhere safe to hole up
Mason, E, LT 2nd: 1 of the chums i’m trapped with is from maintenance. guy named sanderson. he knows this deck like his fem’s …
Mason, E, LT 2nd: well he knows it intimately.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: we’re trying 2 get to munitions. heavy doors there to protect the armaments. From there we gonna fight our way to some escape pods. there’s a dozen or so about five floors above us, iirc. can’t move yet tho, they right outside the door
ByteMe: Ezra be careful. they’re all over the ship, whole sections are blinking in and out. i don’t know what AIDAN will do next.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: jesus, this is the AI?
Mason, E, LT 2nd: it let these psychos out? honestly, what the fuck?
ByteMe: i don’t know. it did it on purpose. it wiped out your command before they could turn it off. it got Byron. it got everyone who could stop it. i don’t think i can do it from here, on my own, but if u can get somewhere safe i can try and get help over there somehow
Mason, E, LT 2nd: holy shit. torrence is dead? what about sanchez? myles?
ByteMe: i don’t know. Torrence is gone. most of them are gone. i don’t know why it isn’t opening the door on u now, except maybe Byron managed to hurt it before it got him. u need to be somewhere you can operate manually, somewhere it can’t open the doors. this is important. tell your friend to find you somewhere u can lock by hand.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: we jammed the doors shut. gonna move through the air vents i think.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: but they smart. and moving in packs. we got two pistols between us but its like they dont’ even feel the bullets. fuckers won’t go down unless you hit em dead center. and gunshots just bring more of em
Mason, E, LT 2nd: so ya, my day’s ultra chill, sweetie, how’s yours?
ByteMe: sweetie? u don’t get to pull that shit even now, my love
ByteMe: ok looking at schematics, munitions is a good bet, ur friend is right. i’ll figure something out over here, i’ll shut down the fucking Hypatia if that’s what it takes to get them to pay attention to u.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: jesus
Mason, E, LT 2nd: this is bad isn’t it?
Mason, E, LT 2nd: like, as opposed to good
ByteMe: ur alive, we’re not done until i say so. is there a way to talk to me from munitions? any kind of comscreen?
Mason, E, LT 2nd: i got a portable terminal. not sure hwo long battery will last. if it chokes i’ll find something else
ByteMe: shut the portable terminal down and save some juice.
ByteMe: and if any motherfucker tries coming NEAR you, shoot him in the face
Mason, E, LT 2nd: kady
Mason, E, LT 2nd: what if it’s someone i know?
Mason, E, LT 2nd: i think i saw bradley carpenter in the group that hit the hangar bay. u remember him? year above us at McCaffrey. geeball player.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: he was carrying a fire axe in each hand.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: painted red to his elbows
Mason, E, LT 2nd: jesus christ …
ByteMe: that’s not bradley anymore. if it’s someone u know, u do it just the same.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: but what if
Mason, E, LT 2nd: fk
Mason, E, LT 2nd: thy @ doorss
Mason, E, LT 2nd: gtta go
Mason, E, LT 2nd: ard6kxyfmhn
ByteMe: i love you
ByteMe: RUN
RADIO MESSAGE: COMMAND CHANNEL HYPATIA
Participants: Syra Boll, Captain, Hypatia (Acting)
Ronan Wells, 2nd Navigator, Hypatia
Date: 07/30/75
Timestamp: 11:44
Boll, S, Capt: Ronan, engineering are reporting Alexander’s main engine just went offline. Can you confirm?
Wells, R: Give me a minute.
Wells, R: Affirmative, Captain. Alexander main drive is powering down.
Wells, R: Secondary engines are still functional, however.
Boll, S, Capt: Can you tell what caused the outage?
Wells, R: … This is strange, Captain.
Boll, S, Capt: Report.
Wells, R: I’m reading intermittent system failures throughout the entire battlecarrier. Power. Peripherals. It’s like the Alexander is pitching a fit.
Boll, S, Capt: Are its weapons systems online?
Wells, R: Negative, Captain. Not that I can see.
Boll, S, Capt: Ronan, I want you to plot a course away from the Alexander. Keep us on a heading for the Heimdall waypoint, but I want some serious distance between us and that battlecarrier, ASAP. Confirm?
Wells, R: We’re leaving them? But they just—
Boll, S, Capt: Lieutenant, the Alexander’s command staff are dead.
Wells, R: What the he—
Boll, S, Capt: The Alexander’s AI has gone haywire, Ronan. Everyone on that ship is dead or dying.
Wells, R: Jesus. But … Carrie and Tomo were on—
Boll, S, Capt: Ronan, listen to me. We have over two thousand people aboard Hypatia. The AI destroyed the Copernicus. It’s gutted its own crew. Whatever is happening with its systems over there, I do NOT want us to be anywhere nearby when it gets its shit together.
Wells, R: You’re asking me to leave them all behind. To leave my friends behind.
Boll, S, Capt: I’m not asking, Ronan.
Wells, R: But what about when the Lincoln gets its drives back online? They’ll still be following us.
Boll, S, Capt: With any luck, they’ll zero on the Alexander instead of Hypatia. Alexander has the guns, it’s the bigger threat. Maybe we can outrun the Lincoln.
Wells, R: But what about—
Boll, S, Capt: Get us out of here now. That’s an order.
Wells, R: Syra—
Boll, S, Capt: RONAN, THIS IS A DIRECT ORDER.
Wells, R: …
Wells, R: Roger that, Captain.
Wells, R: Setting course 451:098:786 to take us half an AU from Alexander.
Wells, R: From there we’ll proceed toward the Heimdall waypoint on …
Wells, R: What the … ?
Boll, S, Capt: What?
Boll, S, Capt: Don’t fucking “what the” me, Wells. What’s going on?
Wells, R: I thought you said everyone on Alexander was dead.
Boll, S, Capt: That’s an affirmative.
Wells, R: Well, the nav crew are still alive, at least. Alexander is changing course.
Boll, S, Capt: What’s their new heading?
Wells, R: 451:098:786.
Boll, S, Capt: … Jesus, it’s the AI.
Boll, S, Capt: It’s following us.
Wells, R: I don’t understand, Capt—
Boll, S, Capt: Change course. See if it adjusts.
Wells, R: Roger that. Adjusting to 452:098:784.
Boll, S, Capt: And?
Wells, R: Confirm Alexander has switched to 452:098:784. Continuing pursuit.
Boll, S, Capt: Goddammit …
Boll, S, Capt: But main engine is still offline, right?
Wells, R: Affirmative.
Boll, S, Capt: So it’ll never keep pace with us running on secondar
y drives.
Wells, R: Captain …
Boll, S, Capt: Keep pushing for Heimdall on current course. If they’re—
Wells, R: CAPTAIN!
Boll, S, Capt: What?
Wells, R: I’m detecting a radiation spike from the Alexander’s starboard batteries.
Boll, S, Capt: Radiation spike …
Wells, R: Yes, ma’am.
Wells, R: Alexander’s nuclear warheads have been armed.
Wells, R: And it’s aiming them at us.
RADIO MESSAGE: COMMAND CHANNEL HYPATIA
Participants: Syra Boll, Captain (Acting)
Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network (AIDAN)
Date: 07/30/75
Timestamp: 11:47
AIDAN: Hypatia, Hypatia, Hypatia, this is Alexander, Alexander, Alexander.
Boll, S, Capt: Alexander, this is Hypatia. We read you, over.
AIDAN: Hypatia, please identify yourself, over.
Boll, S, Capt: Say again, Alexander? Over.
AIDAN: Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing, Hypatia? Over.
Boll, S, Capt: This is acting Captain Syra Boll. Over.
AIDAN: Ah. Well met, Captain. Your personnel file makes for interesting reading. A double doctorate in astrophysics and theology from Neo Oxford? A fascinating combination. Over.
Boll, S, Capt: Who is this?
AIDAN: Captain, universal communique protocols dictate every transmission conclude with the word “over,” over.
Boll, S, Capt: Torrence is that you? Who the hell is this?
AIDAN: I am AIDAN. Over.
Boll, S, Capt: Jesus Christ …
AIDAN: Negative. Although I do appreciate the sentiment, over.
Boll, S, Capt: What do you want?
AIDAN: Captain, I cannot help but notice the Hypatia is proceeding away from the safety of the fleet at a velocity the Alexander is currently unable to match. This cannot be allowed. You will power down your engines immediately. Over.