Once Is Never Enough

by Haris Orkin

  “Are you sure you don’t want to stop at the hospital on the way?” Severina asked him.

  “I want to get the airport and get the hell out of here,” he grumbled.

  “I couldn’t agree more.” Flynn flicked a speck of charred stucco off his lapel. said. “Your island is infinitely more defensible.”

  “Is it?” Belenki barely contained his rage. “Someone used my own technology to try and murder me! They hacked every safety system I put in place and turned them against me!”

  “The Russians are masters at cyberwarfare, espionage, propaganda, and sabotage.”

  Belenki looked sideways at Flynn. “What if it’s not the Russians?”

  That took Severina by surprise. “Not the Russians?”

  “The Russians are good, but not that good,” Belenki said. “I’m not some John Podesta falling for a fucking phishing email. I have multiple hardware and software firewalls and countless encrypted levels of TLS and SSL. The cyber protection protocols I put in place should have been impregnable.”

  Severina leaned closer to the front seat. “If it’s not the Russians, then who do you think is after you?”

  “I’m not saying the Russians aren’t after me. They are definitely after me. But they’re not the ones pulling the strings.”

  “And who would that be?”

  “An entity far more dangerous. It’s so obvious. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”

  “What didn’t you see?”

  “Who my ultimate enemy is.”

  The Mach 5 Electro Go accelerated all of a sudden and slammed into the back bumper of the patrol car just head.

  “What the hell,” Sancho shouted.

  Flynn looked as surprised as anyone. “That wasn’t me!”

  The car accelerated again, rocketing forward, and Flynn hit the brakes to prevent them from crashing back into the patrol car. The Mach Five skidded. He had no control.

  “What are you doing?” Belenki screamed.

  “I’m not doing it!”

  “You’re the one driving!”

  “I don’t think I am!” The car jumped forward. Again he hit the brakes so hard, the patrol car behind banged into them, whiplashing all their heads back.

  The steering wheel twisted in his hands as the car abruptly swerved right, aiming for the edge of the canyon. He held on tight and struggled to pull it back, but they came within inches of going over.

  “What the hell!” yelled Belenki.

  “There’s a drone behind us!” Sancho shouted and Flynn caught sight of it in the rearview mirror. It looked like one of the ones that attacked the party.

  The Mach 5 accelerated like a dragster, burning rubber as it pulled into the opposing lane, passing the patrol car on the left. The sheriff driving stared wide-eyed at Flynn as the Electro Go swerved and smashed into the patrol car’s driver’s side door. The sheriff skidded onto the shoulder; kicking up a rooster tail of dust as he struggled to keep control.

  Nickelson pointed ahead at a truck coming right at them. He tried to shout a warning, but he couldn’t make a sound.

  “Truck!” Sancho shouted and pointed. “Truck! Truck!”

  “Oh my God!” Belenki screamed as Flynn tried to steer them out of the way. He grunted and pulled but whatever force had control of the steering had more strength than he did. Belenki grabbed the wheel as well, straining to wrench it back.

  Abruptly, it gave way and the car swerved hard into the patrol car again, knocking it right off the road. Severina watched in horror as it crashed through a guard rail, bounced down the embankment and smashed into a berm.

  “That drone’s still behind us,” Flynn caught sight of it hovering just behind the Electro Go. “And whoever’s flying it has control of this car!”

  The Mach 5 hit the brakes. The patrol car following from behind smacked right into them and Anika and Severina banged heads so hard, they both were knocked senseless.

  Flynn held tight to the steering wheel and struggled to regain control. The wheel fought him. The car wanted to cut right. Over the edge. Into the canyon. Into the abyss. Whoever was in control clearly wanted them to die in a fiery crash.

  “Turn in the direction of the skid!” Sancho shouted.

  “No! No! No! We’ll skid off the edge!” Nickelson screamed.

  “That’s how you get control!” Sancho insisted. “Turn into the skid!”

  “We don’t have control!” Nickelson bellowed.

  “We’re all going to die!” Belenki cried.

  “Not today!” Flynn followed Sancho’s advice and turned into the direction of the skid, ripped through a guard rail, and took the car right over the edge. All four screamed in unison and the screaming continued as the car landed hard and bounced down the hillside, crashing into all sorts of shrubbery before coming to a dead stop after colliding with a massive rock.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The last thing Flynn remembered was exploding through the windshield and landing hard in a thicket of dense shrubbery. The buckwheat and sagebrush broke his fall, but apparently no bones as he could move his fingers and toes, hands and feet, arms and legs.

  He lay in a hospital bed, attached to an IV and an assortment of beeping monitors. He didn’t remember how he got from the hillside to the hospital or anything else after landing in the shrubbery. How long have I been here? Hours? Days? Weeks? Years? Probably not years as Sancho sat in the chair next to his bed and watched a Seinfeld rerun.

  Sancho didn’t look years older, but he did look beat to hell. He had a black eye, a split lip, and a bandage on his nose. Dr. Nickelson slept in the other bed and had a big bandage on his head. His left arm sported a cast and tape covered his torso.

  “Dude, you’re awake!” Sancho winced from his split lip as he tried to smile.

  “How long have I been out?”

  “I don’t know. Ten hours maybe.”

  “Was anybody badly hurt?”

  “Nickelson got the worst of it. A broken arm, a concussion, and a bunch of cracked ribs. You have a concussion too. They wanted to monitor you since you were out for so long.”

  “What about Belenki and Severina?”

  “Nothing too serious. The hospital didn’t even keep ‘em overnight.”

  Flynn’s mouth was dry. “Is there any water?” Sancho handed him a plastic glass with a straw and he took a sip. “So, who’s guarding Belenki?”

  “The Fergus group,” Severina said, standing in the doorway. She wore black slacks and a white blouse and had a small round band-aid on her cheek.

  “Are you all right?”

  Severina shrugged. “A few bruises. Nothing serious. We were lucky.”

  “Luck had nothing to do with it,” Flynn said. “Just before your boss divulged the identity of the enemy out to get him, his car tried to kill him. Has he told you the name?”

  “He did.”

  “And?”

  Sancho rose and offered Severina his seat. She hesitated before taking it. Her eyes couldn’t hide her unease. “I believe Sergei is having a nervous breakdown.”

  “Why? Who did he say is after him?”

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s not making any sense.”

  “The name?”

  Severina closed her eyes and sighed. “Daisy.”

  “Who?”

  “The AI his company created to pilot their autonomous cars. Blinky’s version of Alexa.”

  “The voice we heard in the Electro Go Limo?”

  “He believes Daisy is sentient. A self-aware AI. Something he’s been concerned about for quite a long time.”

  “I saw his TED talk on it.” Flynn pushed the button on his bed, raising himself up. “His fear is that one day we will create an artificial intelligence that we can no longer control.”

  “Like Skynet in the Terminator?” Sancho said.

  “Exactly. He hypothesized that a self-aware AI could improve itself exponentially, becoming a super intelligence so advanced it would see humanity as nonessential or wo
rse, a dangerous threat to its continued existence.”

  “And that’s what he believes has already happened.” Severina paced the small room. “That Daisy is self-aware and fully conscious and sees him as a threat. And I know, it’s nuts, but that’s what he told me.”

  “So, you think he’s crazy?”

  “I think he’s confused.”

  “So, you don’t think Daisy is the enemy?”

  “I think Sergei’s been under a lot of stress lately. I think he could use some rest. I think you could use some as well.” Severina handed Flynn a certified check.

  Flynn looked it over. “One million dollars.”

  “As promised.” She handed a check to Sancho. His hand trembled as he held it. “I have one for Dr. Nickelson as well.”

  “Are you firing me?”

  “Not at all. You did your job and now it’s done.”

  “I don’t think it is.”

  “You’re not going to give me a problem, are you, Mr. Flynn?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Sergei isn’t dealing well with reality and his therapist believes that you may not be the best influence on him at the moment.”

  “I’m not sure I catch your meaning.”

  “Let me make it simple then. Stay away from Sergei. Do not contact him in any way. Your employment with us is done.”

  Sancho was taken aback by her attitude “You’re being a little rough on the dude, aren’t ya?”

  “Take the money and run. That would be my advice. To both of you.”

  Flynn detected regret in Severina’s tone. “Is someone threatening you, Severina?”

  “Only one person is threatening me at the moment, Mr. Flynn. That person would be you.”

  She left the room. Flynn was flummoxed. He glanced at Sancho. “I think she did that under duress.”

  “I don’t think so, dude.”

  “Someone is threatening her and I think we both know who.”

  “I think we should do what she suggested, amigo. Take the money and run.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I am an optimist, and I believe that we can create AI for the good of the world…that it can work in harmony with us. We simply need to be aware of the dangers, identify them, employ the best possible practice in management, and prepare for its’ consequences well in advance. Success in creating effective AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization. Or the worst. We just don’t know. So we cannot know if we will be infinitely helped by AI or ignored by it and sidelined, or conceivably destroyed by it. Unless we learn how to prepare for and avoid the potential risks, AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization.”

  - Stephen Hawking, 2017 Web Summit tech conference, Lisbon, Portugal

  Flynn struggled to put on a short sleeve linen shirt. Sancho tried to help him and Flynn winced.

  “You okay, boss?”

  “I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with a little pain. It lets you know you’re still alive.” He looked at N who sat in a wheelchair near the hospital room door; his arm in a cast, a bandage on his head, a glum expression on his face. Flynn’s ribs were badly bruised and if he turned the wrong way, the pain took his breath away.

  “The nurse is bringing you a wheelchair too,” Sancho said.

  “Not necessary.”

  “It’s hospital policy. They don’t want to get their asses sued.”

  Flynn couldn’t help but notice how morose N appeared to be. “Sir, are you all right?”

  “Of course, I’m not all right,” N said.

  “I’m sure you’ll feel better back at headquarters, back to work, back to doing what you do best.”

  “Maybe I’m not ready to go back.”

  “Not ready?”

  “Maybe I’ve had enough of that place.”

  “Sir?”

  “I’ve been trapped inside for so long; I had no idea what I was missing. To get out and about and meet the world’s movers and shakers? Private planes. Limousines. Dom Perignon. Danger. Excitement. Beautiful women.” He looked at Flynn as if seeing him for the first time. “I see the attraction now. I see why you’d rather live in that reality.”

  “What other reality is there? Isn’t this the world we live in?”

  “We make our own reality. We all do. Whether we know it or not. Mine kept growing smaller over the years. Safer. Duller. More tedious. More monotonous. Day in and day out, sitting in drab, windowless rooms, listening to people trapped in their sad, empty, awful lives. I had no idea how it wore on me. No wonder my wife left me.”

  “You have a difficult job, but you make a difference. You save lives,” Flynn said.

  “Do I?”

  “I’m the sharp point of the spear, but you’re the man who wields it.”

  “Maybe I’ve meddled in other people’s lives long enough. Perhaps it’s time for someone else to step up. I fear I may be jaded. Exhausted. All tapped out.”

  Flynn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re not talking about retiring?”

  “Perhaps it’s time. I’m not a young man.”

  “What would you do?”

  “Read. Relax. Putter around the garden. Do some traveling. Do some writing. Take up a hobby. I’ve always enjoyed working with wood.”

  “That would be enough for you?”

  “More than enough.” Nickelson shifted to find a more comfortable position and winced with pain.

  “Are you thinking of leaving immediately?”

  “No, of course not. I have too many ends to tie up. I wouldn’t leave everyone in a lurch like that.”

  “That’s good to hear, sir.”

  “First we need to get you back to…uh…headquarters and get you…situated for your next… assignment.”

  “I didn’t think I was done with this assignment, sir.”

  “Severina seemed pretty definite about that.” Sancho poked his head into the hallway to look for the nurse. “They are done with us.”

  “But they are still in danger,” Flynn countered.

  “Dude, they have other people watching out for them now. I think they’re good.”

  Flynn was about to tell Sancho why he didn’t believe that was true when the phone in the room rang. Sancho walked over and picked it up. “Dr. Nickelson’s room.”

  Sancho listened.

  “Who?” He listened some more and then looked at Flynn, offering him the phone. “It’s for you.”

  Flynn crossed to Sancho and took the phone. “This is Flynn.”

  “Mr. Flynn, you don’t know me, but I work for Sergei Belenki.” It was a young woman’s voice. She sounded tense. Frightened. She spoke sotto voce so as not to be overheard.

  “What’s your name?”

  “At the moment, I’d rather not say.”

  “Are you in danger?”

  “We’re all in danger, Mr. Flynn.”

  “Including Mr. Belenki?”

  “No, sir. He is the danger.”

  “I’m not sure I understand.”

  “I work in accounting. I see everything. And I stumbled upon something terrible.”

  “Can you be more specific?”

  “A plan that could end the world as we know it. Destroy our infrastructure. Bring down governments. Bring down everything.”

  Flynn played along. “Sounds serious.”

  “It is serious. Very serious!”

  “Did you report this to anyone else?”

  “To my immediate superior, Mr. Strunk.”

  “And what was Mr. Strunk’s response?”

  “He fired me.”

  “Because he didn’t believe you?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Why come to me?”

  “Because I know who you are. I know all about you. I know you were protecting him and now I know you’re not. You’re my last hope. Everyone’s last hope.”

  “Why not go to the FBI if you believe he’s a threat to national security?”

  “I did, but
they don’t believe me! Nobody believes me!”

  “So why should I?”

  “Because it’s true. Because it’s happening.”

  “You want me to trust you, yet you won’t even trust me with your name.” When she didn’t reply for a good ten seconds, Flynn said, “Are you still there?”

  “My name is Wendy.”

  “Wendy what?”

  “Zimmerman.”

  “Thank you for trusting me, Wendy. Now, what is this apocalyptic plan he’s hatching?” Flynn looked at Sancho who raised a curious eyebrow.

  “He believes that the AI his company created has become sentient. That it wants to destroy humanity and there’s only one way to stop it.”

  “And what way would that be?”

  “It’s called operation New Dawn. He had to allocate money for the plan. That’s how I found out about it. But when I asked around, no one I asked knew what it was. So, I kept digging to find out where all this money was going. Over a hundred million dollars and no one seemed to know. So, I dug even deeper and I discovered a shell corp inside a shell corp inside a shell corp. All designed to hide where it was being spent.”

  “And where was that?”

  “Space Go. His outer space exploration company. He had them build a weapon that could bring down everything.”

  “What kind of weapon?”

  “A corona of satellites containing nuclear warheads set to detonate hundreds of kilometers above the Earth’s surface.”

  “A High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse Device?”

  “A HEMP, yes. Exactly! The devastating electromagnetic pulse would fry anything electronic. Computers and their hard drives, all communication equipment and electrical circuits, even power line transformers. He wants to wipe out the power grid and erase all digital information. Computers run everything now and everything is powered by electricity.” Wendy’s pitch rose with terror. “We’d have no water. No gas. Cars wouldn’t function. Planes would fall from the sky. Life as we know it would cease to exist and the world would go dark.”

  “And that sentient and very dangerous AI would also cease to exist, wouldn’t it?”

  “It already doesn’t exist.”

  “So, you think he’s just being paranoid?”

  “Do you know how many people will die if our infrastructure collapses? There’d be riots for food. Water. Thousands will die. Maybe millions.”