Absolute Knowledge Box Set (Books 1-3)

by Drew Cordell

  “This is the Omniscience Engine,” Marwin told me as we entered the room.

  “It’s incredible,” I said, in awe of the thing before me.

  “It truly is,” he responded.

  “Can I see what my Paragon Thought was?” I asked.

  “No, the Paragon Thoughts aren’t anything like an ordinary thought. Only the Omniscience Engine understands them, really. Even the original coders of the project didn’t know what a Paragon Thought would be—they only theorized what it would look like mathematically.”

  Wandering around the area were several security robots and a few people dressed in white lab coats; I assumed they were system engineers. The workers were working on multiple tasks throughout the room, interacting with things through the use of datapads. Multiple screens lining the sides of the spherical room displayed varying information and charts to the busy workers. There was a flashing LED bulb from one of the consoles and one of the engineers walked over and typed some things into the keyboard.

  “What’s going on there?” I asked Marwin, pointing to the engineer.

  “The Omniscience Engine just discovered something else that’s worth our consideration. Industry and technological innovations are at that console with the yellow light, and law or medical innovations are at the console with the blue light. Those are the recommended innovations, the mandated discoveries and changes are sent directly to Supreme Leader Adrihel,” he said.

  Shock took over. “So you’re saying this computer makes big decisions for New York?”

  “I’m saying this machine makes all the decisions for New York. Everyone’s got a boss,” he said, a smile growing on his face. “The Omniscience Engine makes very few mistakes—much less than any human would. Supreme Leader Adrihel only makes decisions for Olympus regarding social behavior. Defining culture in a quantitative way is difficult. Olympus represents the vision of New York’s future once we achieve Absolute Knowledge. We’re living as close to perfection as we can.”

  I tried to hide the horror from my face. How could this system be controlling all the robots, all the laws, and all the systems in place in the entire country? What happened when it decided it no longer needed humans to exist? It was a ticking time bomb. My father was right.

  Marwin must have been able to see the terror on my face, and he gave me a smile.

  “Don’t worry, Jacob. If the system decided to try to revolt against the humans or do something we don’t like, we can manually adjust the parameters of the project to better suit our needs. The system is designed to help us achieve perfection, not create a perfect society for robots.”

  Marwin walked me over to the holoprojector and explained what I was looking at, as well as the screens that lined the room. As we passed the engineers, they gave polite bows.

  We then moved to a large window that overlooked a vast collection facility. There were hundreds of chairs connected by thick, coiling cables. In the chairs sat the Prolific. The computer chips installed in their brains caused a hormone imbalance and reduced the brain’s ability to regulate chemicals needed to maintain life and health. As a result, their skin was a pale gray and they were hairless. Purple bags were permanently fixed around their dull eyes, and they were devoid of all emotion that tied them to their humanity.

  “The Omniscience Engine is superb at what it does, compounding and improving our thoughts while expanding the Collective Thought, but it’s actually quite limited in its ability to generate new and unique thoughts that can be passed through the Paragon Thoughts to form new chains and connections. The Prolific are our top source of original thoughts, and they’re paid very well for the physical strain they must endure to be such a great asset to the cause. They are quite literally the zealots of our society,” he said.

  “There are many more rooms like this one in the facility,” he continued as we walked away from the window. Marwin took me up a large elevator, and we ascended slowly, the glass panel on the edge showing the massive array of server and storage blocks stacked high to the ceiling of the interior room. Dim blue LED light was rising from the consoles, and I could see there were a few strange looking robots tending to some of the blocks of computer equipment.

  “This is the actual system that controls the Omniscience Engine. You’d know it as the Collective Thought. This is all the equipment needed to maintain the system. It’s powered by six nuclear reactors which keep surface temperatures very close to absolute zero on all the electronics. The air in there would freeze you to death in seconds if you were to walk in unprotected,” he told me as the elevator came to a stop.

  I followed Marwin into another room where more engineers worked. He showed me around and explained the displays and what was happening. Total stored data including thoughts, code, and everything else amounted to over thirty Yottabytes, a computer unit I had never heard of, but I assumed to be massive. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time.

  “What would happen if the reactors shut down?” I asked.

  “The system has failsafes that would kick in. Power would be instantly drawn from the Mids, then if that couldn’t cover it, the Slums and Undercity as well. It’s very unlikely this system could ever be destroyed. The Reactors are also designed to fall down to the Slums if there is a meltdown. Grim, but necessary for the survival of the project during a catastrophe. Rest assured we are quite safe here,” he finished.

  I thanked him, and we left the facility, heading back toward my house. I decided to invite Marwin to dinner to thank him further for taking the time to show me the facility, an invitation he graciously accepted. I still couldn’t believe how massive the project actually was, and the fact that it was freely thinking and ruling New York. I had to get this information to the Slums, but I had no idea how I would do it.

  My house robots, now painted in my house colors and wearing the eagle insignia, finished cooking a delicious Italian spaghetti dinner I wished Caeldra could have enjoyed.

  Marwin and I spoke mostly about the Absolute Knowledge project, and he was more than happy to answer all the questions I could think of. It was very informative, but I was getting a sense of how truly resilient the project was and how even if we did mount an attack, the equivalent of six nuclear bombs would rain down on the Slums from above. Marwin thanked me for dinner and decided to leave early. His transportation ship flew him away, and I returned inside, eager to get out of the cold night air.

  “It is so ironic how much he tells you, especially with him being an Inquisitor,” the static voice said through one of the nearby consoles, causing my blood to freeze in my body. “There are some who wouldn’t appreciate you plotting to destroy the Absolute Knowledge project. I think we need to speak soon, Jacob. I’ll see you shortly.”

  The voice cut off. I realized with horror it was the same voice of whatever had been hunting Caeldra and me in the Undercity.

  The robot that had been standing next to me hunched over for a second then jolted upright before lunging at me with arms raised. I barely had time to step back before it collapsed to the floor in a crumbled heap.

  “I have no intention of killing you yet, but don’t think for one instant you are out of my reach. Tell anyone about me, and I’m afraid Mary will die a tragic and most painful death. That would be such a shame, especially with your feelings for her. Caeldra is already dead, but that doesn’t mean Mary has to die, too,” the thing said over the console speaker.

  “No!” I roared, hot tears of fury rolling down my face. I ran over and smashed my fists into the wall and screamed in rage. “She’s not dead, and if you touch Mary, I’ll kill you!” I didn’t recognize my own voice.

  There was no response from the other side, just a continuous stream of crackling static followed by painful silence.

  34 MARGINAL BENEFIT

  ∆∆∆

  After it had become apparent the voice wasn’t going to continue, I collapsed on the floor weeping and trying to convince myself Caeldra wasn’t dead. What had I done to deserve this? It fe
lt like an extended nightmare. How could I fight something I couldn’t see, something that seemed to be everywhere at once and something that could kill effortlessly? I forced myself to stand and walked to the bedroom. I grabbed the knife under the pillow and threw it as hard as I could against the wall screaming. It made a loud ringing sound as it deflected off the stone and slid back across the tile toward me. I took a bath and attempted to layer my fear and sadness away. Every time I came close to establishing a barrier, thoughts of Caeldra forced their way up and broke my concentration.

  The mint did well to calm my nerves, and after an hour or so of soaking in the water, the shaking that had plagued my body was gone and my heart rate had steadied. I needed help, there was no way I could handle this on my own. If I met this thing without any weapons or gear on its terms, I would have little chance of getting out alive. But what could it possibly want from me and how had it traveled from the Undercity to Olympus? It occurred to me I never got a good look at the hunter in the Undercity. There was a good chance it was a robotic drone controlled by an unseen enemy that had been in Olympus all along.

  I shuddered and exited the bath to the most restless night of sleep of my life.

  The following morning Bracken informed me I had been summoned by Supreme Leader Adrihel for a private meeting.

  “Did he say what it was about?”

  “No, only that it was urgent,” he said as he shook his head. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, but we still need to prepare you!”

  Bracken ran through some more of the etiquette lessons I dreaded, the meaningless social laws that had been established as a general code of conduct for noble life. I was to bow after raising my left arm to the bottom of my shoulder, no higher and no lower. I was to use customary greetings to formally address anyone else that may happen to be in the room during the meeting unless explicitly told to do otherwise, and I was only to accept refreshments if the Supreme Leader himself was also having them. That last one was especially stupid, and I had little patience for political and social games after the events of the previous night. Caeldra is dead, I kept telling myself, then immediately told myself she wasn’t. The thing had provided no proof that she was dead, no details, nothing but a bold claim to ignite an emotional response.

  “Yes, yes,” I grumbled as Bracken finished his lesson.

  “You’ll be thanking me one day, Baron Ashton,” he said with a wry smile. “And don’t you dare forget your dining etiquette should he want to eat a meal with you!”

  “I know,” I responded, trying not to take my anger and frustration out on Bracken, who was nothing but polite. I ate a few bites of eggs for breakfast, the most I could stomach, and boarded my transport ship which flew me to House Adrihel. Along with the various ships owned by House Adrihel, mine was the only other ship docked on the platform. Robotic guards escorted me inside the house and back outside to a patio that overlooked the gray waters of the Atlantic Ocean a few thousand feet below us. Thin shielding of some kind insulated us from the outside air and kept the patio warm.

  “Ah, Jake. Thank you for coming my friend,” Colton said as he gestured for me to sit beside him in one of the chairs.

  “Of course, sir. I am at your service,” I replied, remembering exactly how Bracken had said it to me the first, second, and fifth time.

  “No need for formalities,” he responded. “Now that you have been here for a few weeks, I’d like your account of what you see here, what you’ve seen from the interactions between our houses, and how it compares to the Slums.”

  I took a seat in one of the chairs overlooking the massive ocean. “Well, it isn’t easy to connect Olympus and the Slums. They are polar opposites. The Slums are full of poverty, suffering, and a dependency on Collection Parlors and crime to sustain the people there. The Enforcers are much too brutal, and crime rates are always high despite the Enforcer presence,” I said as I watched him appraise me with a smile.

  “Do the conditions of the Slums still concern you now that you’re here with us?” he asked. I wasn’t sure if it was a trap, but I wanted to be honest.

  “Of course they do. I still have friends down there. I know the struggles, I know the suffering.” I wanted to say I knew about the intentional hardships cast on them, about many of the lies, but I didn’t.

  “I see. If you didn’t have friends in the Slums, would you care?”

  “It’s a little more difficult, but I probably still would, yes.”

  “Now humor me, Jake. Suppose you had never visited the Slums at all, had never known anyone from the Slums or heard any accounts of what it was like. Would you still care about what was going on if you saw the results of how it was maintained were successful in quantitative terms?”

  “I suppose I wouldn’t,” I conceded. “But that doesn’t necessarily make it the right moral decision.”

  “And what is morality, Baron? Are we not to make sacrifices for the greater good? To ascend humanity to the pinnacle of existence?”

  “It depends on the cost. As the price of progress continues to increase, the marginal benefits of such actions decrease,” I said.

  “You are just reaffirming why I brought you here. So educated for your age. But suppose we were close to a major breakthrough, and the cost for that little push to an entirely new level of results would be an immoral decision. What would you do?”

  “I suppose I’d weigh the benefits against the cost and assess any additional risks that might be incurred.”

  “Spoken like a genius,” he responded with admiration. “Now, suppose we would be able to exponentially speed up the progress of Absolute Knowledge by pulling our resources from the Slums. We’d simply relocate all Enforcers and shut down all Government sponsored supply lines and activities—leaving the people on their own. With no weapons or reasonable access to any of the systems in the Undercity which help sustain the Mids and Olympus, and no access to any aircraft, they pose little threat. We’d be forsaking them and leaving them to sort out their own lives. Of course, if things were to get dangerous for us, we’d have to take action.”

  “You’re talking about anarchy,” I said, instantly regretting I had let the treasonous word slip my mouth.

  “That, Baron Ashton, is not a word to be taken lightly. I am in fact talking about a controlled anarchy. The Slums would be left in a state of disarray, but we could further our progress significantly. Eventually, maybe the same thing happens to the Mids and then only Olympus will remain as the ascended form of humanity. We could, of course, take actions to bring your friends up to the Mids safely so this wouldn’t distress you,” he said as he scratched his beard with one hand.

  “Sir, I think the Slums will still benefit the progress of Absolute Knowledge should we allow them to keep thinking. What if you accidently miss out on another Paragon Thought?” I asked.

  “That is impossible if you believe in our mission. No thought can be lost forever, only temporarily misplaced until we find it. We are seeking to become omniscient, after all.”

  “Yes, I just think it’s a mistake. Millions of people shouldn’t be abandoned just because a computer says it should be done. We’re talking about human lives here,” I said, keeping my voice level despite the anger growing inside of me.

  “I’ve heard quite enough, Baron. Your objections are noted, and I thank you for your counsel. Leave me.”

  “You can’t condemn millions to die and abandon them after all they’ve done for Absolute Knowledge. What about the promise for a perfect future once it is achieved? I grew up with that promise, and now instead of paradise you’re giving them Hell.”

  “That’s enough, Baron!”

  “I don’t think it is. What gives you the right to determine the fate of people you’ve never met? Their lives matter, just as much as yours,” I blurted hotly.

  “You’re excused now, Baron,” he replied, his voice low and calm.

  I wanted to say more, to yell at him and tell him how stupid it all was, but I knew I had more
to do, more to learn, so I merely bowed. “I apologize for my brash behavior,” I managed as I walked out feeling like punching a wall.

  The Slums were in immediate danger of complete anarchy. With a breakdown of all law and infrastructure, the streets would quite literally tear themselves apart. The Champions didn’t have the resources to take the place of the Government, maybe one of the many districts of New York, but nowhere close to anything that would make a difference. If I didn’t tell them soon, everything the Champions had worked for would fall apart, and they would be forever trapped in the shadows of the Undercity—which was about to get a lot more crowded as people became more desperate. The marginal benefit toward Absolute Knowledge would come at the cost of millions of lives, lives that would be forgotten and discarded by the Omniscience Engine without a second thought.

  35 NIGHTMARES

  ∆∆∆

  Boarding my ship, I instructed the pilot to take me to House Zaris immediately, without requesting permission. If Colton Adrihel was going to eliminate millions of lives, I needed to talk to the one person that might have some influence and could sway his decision. As Inquisitor, Marwin would be out of a job and would lose all of his hard work with that single decision. If anyone could be convinced those lives mattered, it might be him. Despite the fact he was probably the one person that could discover more about the Champions and possibly eliminate the entire Guild, he was also my only chance at saving New York as I knew it.

  I landed and was greeted by Marwin, who wore a curious look on his face.

  “A slight breach in protocol, Baron,” he said as we walked inside his home.

  “I’m afraid the circumstances of my visit are quite dire,” I said gravely.

  After taking a seat in his office, I recounted the events of my conversation with Supreme Leader Adrihel and expressed the danger to the Slums.