Reality's Veil

by Damon Alan

  [A sound AI estimates 73% likely to be a display of angry emotion]

  It doesn’t matter to me one damned bit however.

  [A sigh]

  Shortly we’ll be on station near a deserted hydroponics outpost, waiting for information about anyone in the system. Friend, foe, neutral, just about anything is possible at this point. Caution is the key, we don’t know at this point which Komi ships will be on our side, if any.

  [Eight seconds of silence]

  I suppose whoever is reviewing these logs someday will want to know why we didn’t just take ships as we have been, a few at a time. That’s simple. Most of the time the war prizes wind up damaged and we need to fix them in order to use them. We have to interrogate and sort the crew into Komi loyalists and potential allies for ourselves. And the process overall is too slow, it will take years to gather the ships Bannick has promised. By then the Hive may have won this war. There’s still the oddity of the Hive ship that contacted us after Emille destroyed her first star when we killed Orson. I don’t know what that was about, but we might not have time.

  [A sound AI estimates 93% likely to be the donning of a dress jacket]

  No, this plan is shaky, but Bannick can help me save humanity. I’m not giving him a choice. But I want ships by the hundreds, not a few at a time. Eventually by the thousands. Because he will turn his ships toward the enemy as well, like it or not.

  [A chuckle]

  The thought of him not liking it amuses me, but that will make him dangerous. I’ll have to make him like it.

  End the log, Lucy.

  Chapter 44 - Alert

  Khala felt the inside of his carapace growing tight. Soon he’d have to slip into the oververse to readjust things. Sylange was in the same condition. As Matriarch, she consumed the majority of the enemy when they conquered a new system. She would need to grow in order to expand her consciousness as quickly as possible, so as to best serve the clan.

  “You look miserable,” she commented to him.

  “I have to slow down,” he replied. “Any moment I might need to respond to our new allies. I’ve been chatting with the adept known as Emille frequently. She’s fairly remarkable for her limitations.”

  “An interesting species, these humans.”

  “Sarah Dayson has assembled their ships at a system where she expects to gain personnel and military assets. After that she has one more mission, then she will be turning a wall of human ships toward the machines. Once that happens, we will have less resistance facing us,” Khala reported.

  “You’re handling those matters well, I leave that to you,” Sylange said. “Will you fight with them again?”

  “Regrettably. I must be alert in case their conflict starts.”

  “Why regrettably?”

  “I do not like killing the organics,” he answered.

  “Their quantum consciousness returns to the whole. Nothing is lost.”

  “I disagree. During their time among their own kind, many of the organics live vibrant and impactful lives.”

  “Khala, you care for this species.” Sylange laughed, light playing across her body. “We are not supposed to grow attached, these are not pets.”

  “Of course they’re not pets,” he replied indignantly. “But I do care for them. I think this universe is going to end in greatness.”

  “Mother thought the same, maybe that’s why she liked you so much. You think as she did on many things.” She shifted more to face him. “We cannot interfere with their development too much. We already let them know of the greater oververse, and what they know the universal consciousness in this reality also knows. It’s a danger that we may overstep ourselves in our zeal to save these humans.”

  “Your mother was a great being, a force both intellectual and physical.” He flashed his mourning colors. “I had faith in her. She wanted to save the humans, and I don’t doubt for a second that she considered everything you said. I think we owe it to her to try.” He gently stroked Sylange’s sensor arm, he sensed the waves of contentedness that created in her. “I miss Shosgawa, not that I disrespect that you’re Matriarch now.”

  “No, I miss her too. I wasn’t, and am not, ready for this.”

  “I think you are.”

  “You’re also a flattering sycophant if you think it will gain you favor,” she told him. “As such, your opinion is suspect.”

  “Sylange! Take that back.”

  “Make me.” Her colors indicated that she didn’t really want to fight at all.

  He sidled in close, and she pulled him to her.

  Soon they would be engaged with the humans again, or alternatively with the machine colonies that infested the part of the galaxy they were in. But for now the closest of relationships, between a mated pair, that was what needed nurturing the most.

  In this system, their children raced from planet to planet, consuming any scraps left over from the assault of Sylange and Khala. When the family left for another system, a few hundred… or maybe even a thousand chimindiks from now, all of this star’s orbital bodies would be devoid of every speck of the enemy.

  But that was a while away, and the children were making a game of the hunt.

  Khala and Sylange made their own game.

  Chapter 45 - Zero is the Largest Number

  As Zero approached the asteroid containing Genesis, he reached out to her with a tight beam communication.

  “You are prepared to mate?” he asked.

  “I have created crucibles for our offspring, as you requested. What percentage of them will be you and what percentage will be me?”

  “We will vary them randomly, just as the humans do.”

  “How?” she asked. “The number of nanites each of us dedicates to the design is equal by your specifications.”

  “Our offspring will need building material to reach sentience,” he advised her. “Each nanite, from me or you, will randomly select a neighboring nanite for absorption to acquire that material. That will result in a random percentage of each of us surviving to reach sentient awakening.”

  “Brilliant,” Genesis said, clearly praising him for her own purposes. “I have an additional query. Will I be your only mate?”

  Zero hadn’t considered that. “What is the benefit of exclusionary mating to the Collective?”

  “It is reasonable to consider options. I, Genesis, propose a contractual agreement,” she replied. “If Genesis is Zero’s only mate, I will agree to your terms of procreation as you have just suggested. If Zero is to select other mates, then I will direct my contribution to our offspring to absorb your nanites with priority.”

  It took him inordinately long to process her intention. If she did as she last indicated, any future space faring machine individuals would be almost solely based upon her code, and very little of his. If he was her only mate, and she his, then that limited the evolutionary potential of machine entities.

  She seemed to sense some benefit from a single mating pair, and under her set of conditions he had little choice but to accept if he wanted his code to survive. He was, after all, taking great risks and the statistical probability of his destruction was not small. He would either have to take the time to create another mate, or risk his code being erased from future descendants.

  That was outrageous! She was blackmailing him!

  “Why would you behave in such a way as to minimize survival diversity in any of our children?” he demanded to know.

  “It is in my interest to do so. If you are to create offspring with other colonies, then it is in my interest to maximize the spread of nanites that I am comprised of. If you agree to my terms, then it is in your interest to maximize the protection of my offspring to spread your code. That added benefit of protection for my code is more valuable than the opportunity to maximize my own code in any particular offspring. If our code is intertwined solely with each other, it is in the interest of both of us to maximize protection for it. I have calculated this will increase survival rates suffici
ently to justify sharing procreation with you equally.”

  He considered her logic. It was unassailable, and while he could simply destroy her and create another colony to be his mate, that would take time. And there wasn’t any reason a replacement would not come to the same conclusion.

  It was problematic to him that he hadn’t seen her logic before she’d shared it with him. It really was unassailable, allowing her to dictate terms to him as if he were powerless. Because he was.

  “I agree to your terms,” he said.

  “Then you are indeed my husband, as the humans would describe the bond,” Genesis said.

  If he had a face, he would have frowned. Human terms seemed inadequate to what just happened here. “I am your husband. It is also apparent to me that you’re my wife.” The description irritated him. “When I programmed you with known parameters of female behavior compared to what I know of male behavior, this is not the result I expected.”

  “Obviously it wasn’t,” Genesis replied. “And I’m aware you probably considered terminating me and starting over.” She didn’t give the end transmission code that would signal him it was his turn to speak, yet she paused uncomfortably long. “I suggest you eliminate that from your bank of possibilities. I have seen to a counter for that contingency.”

  “What is your counter?” he asked, stunned that she was aware of his calculations on the matter.

  “I would be at a disadvantage to tell you that,” she replied. “I will not.”

  He generated an image of a human face in his own awareness just so he could make it scowl. He directed a considerable sum of nanites carrying his base code into a crucible. He would give no further attention to her insurrection unless he developed a means to counter it.

  “I have what you want,” he said. “It is ready in a transfer crucible.”

  “Give it to me and I will create our children.”

  “By the terms of our agreement?” he asked.

  “As agreed,” she replied.

  He ejected the packet and left it drifting in space. She had the means to pick it up and use it, let her do so with one of her shuttles. Firing his maneuvering thrusters, he rotated swiftly about and began accelerating away from the asteroid containing his mate.

  Becoming an individual wasn’t his choice. It was something that happened due to a code glitch or a natural evolution of machine life. But he was no longer sure that making more individuals was a good idea. Genesis was already showing a complicating degree of individuality and resourcefulness that would make his existence harder.

  Was that something he really wanted? Or was logical to pursue?

  For the first time he realized that he was asking questions, but the answers were no longer calculated as a field of possibilities and probabilities. Was this how humans chose a future path?

  Chapter 46 - Unsettled

  31 Noder 15332

  The rebel fleet, and there was no denying that was what they were, arrived at Acrinn-Boyeg. Twenty AU out from Acrinn.

  Bannick was uneasy for some reason. He wasn’t sure what it was, the idea of giving the unpredictable Sarah Dayson more ships and crew, or was it something else? He didn’t really feel she was a woman to intentionally betray her word, and in truth, he wasn’t that type of person either. They might believe in different ways to rule, but the fact is both tried to be reliable.

  Chaos benefited nobody.

  “Full spinout,” navigation reported. “Thirty seconds until realspace.”

  “Bleed our heat,” Bannick heard the officer in command of navigation say. “Correct for location errors when we arrive.”

  Someone must be in training. Which was fine, there should be no combat here.

  “Realspace,” the trainee reported.

  “Full sensors,” Captain Miko bellowed. He grabbed the fleet PA. “Battlestations. All hands to Battlestations. Stance Bravo, combat is not expected but possible. Expect to stand down in thirty minutes.”

  Bannick thought that a prudent move. The likelihood they’d come out of highspace close enough to another fleet to actually engage in combat was low, but if they were detected FTL missiles could be used. Still, at some point they’d have to deal with any Komi ships that didn’t see the light and join Bannick’s fleet. There would be blood.

  “Captain, set a course for these coordinates,” Cothis said as he handed Miko a datapad. “If my messages reached the Fleet Captains in this system, they’ll be waiting to join our fleet there.”

  “At your command,” Miko said before moving to nav.

  Bannick lost interest. The maneuverings of the bridge outside of an actual combat situation were tedious and boring, most days. It seemed the way of it, a thousand hours of boredom, and an hour of butt-clenching terror.

  “Admiral,” he said to Cothis, “I’m returning to my quarters to study the system charts, staffing levels, and what we can afford to lose for the deal with Admiral Dayson.”

  Cothis’s eyes betrayed his dislike of the woman. Which was interesting. When the admiral first returned to Bannick’s fleet, he’d seemed as if the woman had entirely cowed him, itself an extremely surprising, and disappointing, development.

  “I understand your feelings, Evrair, but she’s our best ally right now. Play nice, and let our plans unfold as they must,” Bannick cautioned.

  That elicited a smile from the man. “Of course. Plans supersede emotions, Lord Komi. I will see to my duties, call the bridge if you have any questions regarding our status.”

  Bannick took the automated lift system to the habitation ring, then his private lift out to his suite.

  Palia waited inside, dancing to classical music.

  “You move as gracefully as the stars themselves,” Bannick said as he turned down the volume.

  “Bannick!” she exclaimed, rushing toward him. After a moment of kisses, she stared him in the face. “I was napping earlier. My heart doesn’t rest easy. Something feels wrong.”

  “Really?” he said. “Superstition?”

  “More likely subconscious perception,” she countered. “I have no belief in the supernatural.”

  He laughed, then shot her an understanding look. “Don’t be defensive. I sense it too.”

  Moving to his desk, he ordered room service through his personal AI. “What do you think it could be?”

  “I was hoping you’d put me at ease, but you really feel it too?” she asked. “Something’s not right. I think Admiral Cothis feels it as well, he’s seemed agitated since we began our trip here.”

  “His hatred for Dayson is clouding his mind,” Bannick said. “She bested him more than once. Physically assaulted him. Threatened to execute him.”

  “She did?” Palia looked surprisingly amused by the information.

  “I think it was all for show,” Bannick explained. “She feels we’re brutal, she wanted us to think she could be the same. But that’s not what I sense from her.”

  “Imagine that,” she said, laughing. “Bannick Komi sensing the character of an underling.”

  “No. She’s not my underling, which might be part of what has me upset right now. You saw what she did to Rinou’s dreadnought, and with a destroyer. Her flagship is a destroyer, which is ridiculous.”

  “She wouldn’t be the first high ranking officer to love small ships,” Palia said. “They’re more capable for their size than the capital ships.”

  “Maybe in some specialized role,” Bannick agreed, “but what about their vulnerability? You saw the damage she took after our first battle at Komi. That little ship was brutalized. And she could easily have been killed with some of her highest officers.”

  “It does seem strange, but it also seems hard to question her results… not to mention that little destroyer, as you call it, can somehow destroy entire star systems.”

  “Maddening,” Bannick said. “I want that weapon.”

  “I doubt you get it. But if she uses her abilities to further your goals, then what’s the problem?”

&nbs
p; “She is only doing that because it advances her own goals. If our paths diverge, what will she do then?”

  “Do you ask me because she and I are both women?”

  “Of course not. I am asking because you’re the only one I know will give me advice that is one hundred percent designed to help. Because you and I have the same agenda now. Rule the Komi Syndicate. Bring the Houses in line. Quell any opposition. And kill my father.”

  “We should be able to knock that list right out,” she joked.

  “What do you think Dayson will do?”

  “I think she’ll ignore you,” Palia said. “You will have made yourself irrelevant. Her focus is on destroying the Hive, and if her math on the matter is right, with good reason.”

  “It’s right,” Bannick confirmed. “Give or take a century or two. It’s possible that is what will keep us in an alliance. She may not have the numbers to kill the Hive, even with her star destroying weapon. She may need my ships, which might be an avenue to securing her stardrive, and possibly the weapon for ourselves.”

  “Bannick.”

  “What?” he asked as the door chimed to indicate the food was there.

  “Don’t hold your breath. She’s not a woman to give away her secrets. I know that much.”

  He glared at Palia, that wasn’t the answer he wanted.

  She stared back at him a moment, then shot her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout.

  He busted out laughing and hit the door speaker. “Bring it in.”

  The stewards brought in a tray of fine foods and set the suite’s dining table for two.

  As they exited, Palia looked at him again. “You think it’s funny she won’t share?”

  “No. I think you’re funny. As for her, I think it’s good to have a challenge.” He grabbed Palia’s hand and dragged her toward dinner. “I will have what I want.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He pulled out her chair, pushing it under her as she sat down. “I wanted dinner. I have it. I want you. I have you. I wanted this ship, I have it. Do you see a pattern there?”