by Terry Mixon
“So, what do we do?” Elise asked. “While we’re not running out of time, we’re going to have to present options to Jared and Kelsey reasonably soon. If we leave the AIs out there to protect against the Singularity, then there’s far too great a possibility that they could find a way to retake control.
“Just look at the mad AI. It doesn’t obey orders from the master AI, and they just leave it alone. How many more like that are out there? What does the mad AI do when it gets the order to self-destruct?
“My bet is that it can ignore it, or they’d already have done that,” Carl said as he stood and stretched his back. “Basically, it’s a binary choice. We either leave the AIs in control and try to pull their strings from here, or we shut them down and expect the Singularity to invade. At least they’re probably better than the Clans.”
“Are they really?” she asked. “We don’t know anything about them. Even before the Fall, the Empire was guessing at what made the Singularity tick. They were able to fend the Empire off back then. Things might be even worse now.”
She sighed and shook her head. “We might as well let everyone know that we’re ready to make our final choices. I’ll make the damned thing tell us where all the other AIs are located, where all the secret research facilities are, and even list out the existing ships—both those that are openly in use and those hidden in various gas giants or out-of-the-way pockets.
“We need to know exactly what kind of forces we’re dealing with, because whatever’s left over is going to fall into somebody’s hands.”
Elise began ordering the master AI to list out its assets, both public and secret, as well as confess about which humans were its most ardent supporters—also both public and private. It would be instrumental knowing who the subversives that supported humanity’s subjugation were when the time came to once again have humans rule openly.
She also made certain to inquire about any other dastardly plots, like the Omega plague. It seemed that there were none. The machine only intended to exterminate humanity on Terra and spread the word widely to prevent anyone from trespassing.
The Proxima Centauri system held huge stockpiles of everything necessary to build a fleet of vessels the likes of which had never been seen before. There were also shipyards there.
Even though it was extremely close to Alpha Centauri, there were no flip points between it and the rest of the known universe. The master AI had planned to have itself towed to that system while every single sign of its presence in Alpha Centauri was scrubbed away.
That had been supposed to happen within the next month. Ships capable of towing the massive battle stations would arrive shortly. The Terra system would then have been stripped of most of its protection, and Alpha Centauri would’ve shown no sign of occupation.
It was a damned clever plan. If they’d been much later getting here, they’d have been forced to chase the damned thing. Thank goodness for small favors.
To her relief, it had never become aware of the alien facility in the system. Jared had sent probes to examine the planet closely, and there were no signs of anything artificial. The aliens had hidden their work well.
Moving the AI to Proxima Centauri might not be the worst idea. If the Clans or the Singularity ever invaded the Terra system, it might be best if they didn’t know what had once been here. She’d raise that possibility with Kelsey and Jared to see what they thought.
She had no idea what they’d end up doing. Whatever it was, it would change the future of humanity in ways that she could barely imagine. Hopefully for the better, but that was why they had to get it right the first time.
38
When Jared got the call that his wife and Carl were ready to carry out whatever they decided was best, he summoned his senior people to the flag briefing room aboard Invincible. There was a lot that they needed to hash out, and he wanted Marcus involved. If they made the wrong choice, it would potentially be lethal for the New Terran Empire.
Invincible had been critically damaged in the fighting but was minimally operational now that the engineers had returned one of her fusion plants to service. She would require a lot of time in a shipyard before she was restored to complete functionality—if that were even possible—but at least his briefing room was intact.
He greeted each person as they came in through the hatch with a handshake or hug, depending on who they were. He told them how amazing their work had been and how proud he was of them. How their contributions had directly led to their success.
Once everyone had gathered, he took his seat at the head of the table. Again, he took a moment to allow his eyes to roam over everyone as they sat expectantly, looking at him for guidance.
He finally settled on Julia, where she sat across from Kelsey. In front of her was a small black case.
Jared gestured toward the case with his chin. “Is that what I think it is?”
“If you think it’s an override, you’re wrong,” she said with a grin. “It’s two overrides. No way that I’m going to let some damn machine screw me up back in my universe. I’ll send them back once we have a stash of our own. You never know when another Kelsey is going to pop up looking for help, after all.”
Jared smiled. Now that they’d won, they didn’t need the extra overrides for their own use, but she was right. One never knew.
“I hope all the information that we’ve gathered gets you to Alpha Centauri unseen and that you’ll be able to gather enough force to sneak aboard that battle station and subvert all of the defenses. We paid in blood for the information, and I hope that will end up saving your universe.”
Her smile dimmed but didn’t go away. “In the name of Ethan Bandar, the Emperor of my New Terran Empire, I thank you and all your people for your invaluable assistance. You’ve been true friends to my people despite the way I’ve personally treated you, Jared.
“Once this is all over, expect a more formal recognition of my brother’s gratitude, even though I know that you’ll likely never come to my universe to receive it. If you do, I swear upon the honor of my house that I’ll keep you safe and that you’ll be treated like the hero you are.”
She looked around the room at everyone else. “And the same is true of each and every one of you. I have absolutely no idea what kind of rewards my brother will choose to bestow upon you, but I think it’s safe to say that they’ll be commensurate with helping us save humanity and the New Terran Empire in our universe.
“I intend to return home as quickly as I can once we’re done here. When everything is finally settled in my universe, and we have space to breathe, perhaps my brother can come and visit you here. I know that he’d like to see our father again.”
Jared opened his mouth to say something, but Julia held up a hand.
“I understand what you’ve gone through with the Ethan in your universe. Just like you’re not the same Jared Mertz that betrayed the Empire in my universe, Ethan is not the mad traitor that he became here. I ask that you give him a chance to prove that to you and my father.”
Jared almost shrugged, but he stopped himself. This deserved a serious response.
“I’ll try, but just like when you met me, it’s going to take a while to adjust to the idea that he’s a different person. In the end, though, it’s going to be Karl Bandar that makes the final choices for us. I feel confident that he’d like to see his son again, but there will have to be precautions. He’s our emperor, and we have to protect him, sometimes even from himself.”
“We can work all of this out,” Kelsey said. “We’ve won this war. Let’s not get hung up on anything that comes after. Building relationships between the two empires is something that we can manage if we’re all patient and a little cautious. Let’s not rush things.”
“I think that’s a wise idea,” Julia admitted. “Small steps. You’ve already helped us so much, and we’re going to need even more assistance to beat the AIs in our universe. Much less whatever comes after that.”
“So many people died
getting us to this point,” Kelsey said tiredly. “The sheer number of posthumous awards we’re going to be presenting makes me want to cry. We have to memorialize this battle in such a way that we’ll never forget that so many people gave everything for humanity.
“I’ll start that right now. In my role as Crown Princess of the New Terran Empire, and in the name of Emperor Karl Bandar, I hereby form the First Marine Raider Strike Regiment, designating the newly promoted Colonel Russel Talbot as its commanding officer. All the marines and Raiders, living or dead, who fought here will be inducted into it.
“We’ll include Jake Peters. He never officially mustered out, and he gave his life for us. I’m confident that my father will recognize his centuries of service with any number of awards, but the highest honor I can give him is to make sure that he’s one of us. He fought alone for so long. Now he’s among friends and comrades in Valhalla.”
“Make that their name,” Olivia said. “Designate them the First Marine Raider Strike Regiment, the Valhalla Regiment.”
“That’s brilliant,” Elise agreed.
“As for the fleet, I’ll form First Fleet—”
Jared cleared his throat, cutting his sister off. “Sorry, we already have a First Fleet.”
Kelsey scowled. “Fine. Then I’ll form Alpha Fleet—because the battle took place in Alpha Centauri—and designate them the Emperor’s Own.”
He tried to imagine the chaos of having all the other fleets with numeric designations and his with a name. Well, at least that wasn’t going to be his headache.
“And that brings me to the final recognition I want to give today,” Kelsey said. “Without the sacrifice of Senior Lieutenant Gus Grappin and the pilots of Eagle Squadron, we’d have died, and the AI would still be ruling humanity. They gave their lives for us, and I will return what honors I can.
“My father will undoubtedly award them all the Imperial Cross, and far more, to recognize what they’ve given—as he will so many others—but I need to do something personal, as they gave their lives for me and mine. As Crown Princess of the New Terran Empire, I hereby designate Eagle Squadron as ‘The Princess’s Own Fighter Squadron.’ They will bear that honor wherever they serve. I’m also promoting Raptor posthumously to the rank of commander.”
She smiled a bit. “And while I’m sure that having fighters named Hornets is a fine thing, that name will no longer do. Going forward, the attack fighters used by the New Terran Empire will be called Raptors to honor the man who made that call sign his own. It will not be allowed to another pilot, so there will never be confusion over who Raptor was and what he did for the Empire and humanity.”
Jared nodded. “Well done and well deserved.”
“The next thing on our agenda is deciding what we do going forward,” his sister said. “Without the AIs running everything, we’ve got three significant powers that are hostile to the New Terran Empire. Or they would be if they suspected that it existed. How do we deal with the Rebel Empire forces, the Clans, and the Singularity?”
“The first thing we need to decide is what we’re going to do with the AI-controlled forces,” Jared said. “If we shut down every sentient AI inside the Rebel Empire, the Singularity will pour across the border.
“We suspect that they’ve sabotaged the Clan ships, but that’s not a certainty. Just because we think they’re tricky enough to fool those paranoid bastards doesn’t mean they really are. Let’s not automatically count them out of the fight.”
He paused for a moment to allow that to sink in.
“We also can’t be sure that an order to terminate themselves will be effective against all the AIs. The mad AI that we encountered would’ve been long gone if it was susceptible to that type of instruction. Who’s to say that any of the others would be more prone to obey? What if a significant portion of them failed to die when ordered and then decided to set up their own pocket empires? That would make our lives difficult.
“In fact, whatever we do, we have to accept that it’s probably not going to work out the way we hope it will, at least not completely. We need to realistically project what kind of outcome we’re looking for. Kelsey, would you lay out our options so that we can consider exactly what we can accomplish?”
She nodded as her gaze swept the room. “We can order the AIs to self-destruct; we can order them to shut down; we can order all of the AIs except for the ones protecting the border to shut down; we can give them some kind of modified orders to try to rein in the worst of their abuses and leave them operational; or we can let things ride with us controlling the master AI.
“Personally, I think that anything that opens up the border to the Singularity is just begging for trouble. We can’t afford to underestimate those bastards. They’re sly. The odds are excellent that they’ve got something to render the Clans a nonthreat if they choose to do so.
“Also, the forces that the Rebel Empire can bring to bear aren’t going to cut it. All the humans in the Rebel Empire have are a few cruisers and a lot of destroyers. They can’t possibly fight the Clans, much less the Singularity.
“The Clans are already raging through the Rebel Empire in a fight that they certainly think they can win. We have to assume they’re right. Somehow, we’ve got to deal with that reality while keeping the Singularity from pushing the Clans out in turn.
“I never thought I’d be saying this, but the Rebel Empire is both the underdog and the least obnoxious of the current players. We know they can be valuable members of society. Just look at Harrison’s World. With the right kind of effort, we can bring them into the fold. The Clans are mad dogs, and the Singularity is potentially worse.”
Having said that, she turned her gaze squarely on Jared. “I despise the AIs, but they’re the only spoiler we have in this fight. We might just have to take the risk of leaving their forces in place on the border. The New Terran Empire doesn’t have the combat power to go head-to-head with any of the combatants.
“We’ve defanged the biggest monster, but I’m not sure that we have the luxury of killing it. Can the master AI absolutely control all its subordinates? The mad AI has proven that that isn’t true, but it’s in control of everything else, to all appearances.
“There’s an old Terran vid called The Wizard of Oz. In it, the wizard is actually a normal man manipulating the people around him while hiding behind the scenes. I think that we might have to become the man behind the curtain in this instance. If we can pull the master AI’s strings—and, through it, those of the subordinate AIs—it’s possible that we can ride this tiger without being eaten.”
“What exactly does that look like?” Olivia asked. “I think it’s a given that the Rebel Empire is going to fall to the Clans. It’s just a matter of time at this point. They don’t have the requisite forces to defend themselves. Do we have a breakdown of the ships the Rebel Empire has at its beck and call?”
“The master AI had in its possession a complete listing of vessels in operational use by the Rebel Empire,” Marcus said. “As suspected, there are a few heavy cruisers, a large number of light cruisers, and a flood of destroyers.
“Considering how large the Rebel Empire is, there are a lot of them, but it’s unlikely that they have the numbers to make up for the lack of power in those units. The Clans undoubtedly struck sooner than either they or the Singularity would’ve preferred, but it’s likely that they’ll still have the upper hand in this fight.
“There are many battlecruisers—and larger ships—hidden throughout the Rebel Empire, and the AIs have only called a fraction of them into service to fight the Clans. Those can be put into play and might turn things around if used judiciously.
“That said, allow me to play devil’s advocate about the Singularity. If you open the border, the Rebel Empire and the Clans may be forced to turn on this new invader. Shouldn’t you at least consider that option?”
Jared shook his head. “I can understand where you’re coming from, but that’s a genie that wouldn’t be easy to stu
ff back into the bottle. The Singularity is a galactic polity that didn’t experience any of the disasters that have befallen the Empire. Their technology may be even more advanced than we assume, and their forces haven’t been bloodied.
“I think that we have to protect the Empire against them. If we keep the Singularity out, that means we only have to deal with the Clans and the Rebel Empire.
“As much as it galls me to say, our best option may be to let things play out and deal with the consequences, because those would be less catastrophic than what we’d risk if we meddle. Does the master AI have a listing of the number and type of ships protecting the border? How about the subordinate AIs that are scattered throughout the Empire? We could really use a map that puts everything in perspective.”
“The number of ships protecting the border of the Rebel Empire and the weight of their firepower is… significant,” Marcus said. “As is the number of artificial intelligences controlling those units. There are also a significant number of subordinate AIs.
“I can provide you with a complete listing of the vessels that are seeded throughout the Rebel Empire, hidden in locations where the AIs had thought they might need extra force. We should be able to summon many here to provide the nucleus of a new fleet to replace the vessels that we’ve lost.
“In fact, doing so would vastly increase our available firepower. As things stand, the New Terran Empire is badly outnumbered and hopelessly outgunned. Not just in ships, but in the number of people required to operate these vessels.
“The benefits of having a computer-controlled fleet is that the number of personnel required to operate them is zero. That’s one of the critical weaknesses of the New Terran Empire at this point. Even if we converted a vast number of ships for our use, it would be impossible to staff them with experienced personnel in the short term.
