Detention Center
Abbey and Alex sat quietly eating their breakfast and drinking coffee. “I wonder what today will bring,” said Alex.
“I dread to think,” replied Abbey, looking over the top of her coffee cup as she held it to her lips. “I’d like to talk to 2 today without a room full of people. I’d like to see if there’s a chance they can be reasoned with. I think if they’re that advanced, close to being sentient beings, we should be able to reason with them.”
“Oh, here we go again!” interrupted Alex. “Please don’t start this again. Did you forget how much trouble we’re in with this line of thinking? I don’t want to hear this type of talk anymore.” He rose from the table and took his cup to his cot and sat.
“Just let me finish explaining my thoughts; then I won’t say another word.”
There was silence from Alex—no comment, no eye contact—nothing.
Abbey took that as assent. “If we can persuade 2 and 3 to cooperate, we could save a tremendous amount of time and money, not to mention maybe gain our freedom. 2 and 3 are self-aware. They think very much as we do.”
That got a look from Alex; just a look.
“We can deal with them. We don’t know why they want to return to Earth. We only know they do. What if we could find out what it is they want and find or produce the same thing somewhere else? Explain to them that they are special; that they were not designed to live on Earth. Show them that there are other worlds out there much more suited to their kind. Where they could flourish.”
“How would we get them there?” inquired Alex, almost as if he was contemplating Abbey’s plan.
“We would have to send a separate Lander for them with takeoff capabilities.”
Alex suddenly perked up, and his eyes lit up too. “So once we get them on the Lander, we take control and fire it into deep dark space at light speed?”
“No! We keep true to our word and send them to a planet of their own with all the elements and resources as similar to Earth’s. It wouldn’t have to have a full atmosphere like Earth. They don’t need air,” she said as she refilled Alex’s cup with coffee and sat back at the table to fill her own.
“You think you can get this past ISA?”
“I don’t know, but what do they have to lose? We are in a no-win situation right now, and the ‘robots’ have all the cards.”
Alex nodded his head slowly. “We have nothing to lose. If it helps our situation, I say you spread your idea out in front of Stryker and Addison.”
“Don’t you think we should do a little research first? Maybe find them a home before we offer them something, then find out it isn’t feasible. We’ve already lost their trust once. If we lose it again, we won’t get another chance.”
“No! I don’t think like you. Just lay your plan out on the table and get it out there. See if it flies. Why waste time? They might just shoot it down from the get-go!”
With that, Alex stood up and walked into the bathroom and locked the door. His way of telling Abbey he was done talking.
CHAPTER 14
ISA Headquarters
RAIDA Project
Conference Room
Abbey and Alex walked into the room escorted by the security guard. He watched them seat themselves, then left the room. Just a constant reminder that they were still under arrest.
Stryker was standing at the head of the table next to a noticeably empty chair. “Addison has authorized the robots we’re sending to Lunar 3097 to be weaponized.” There were only fifteen people at this meeting, but the volume of the gasps was that of fifty.
“Does he know the ramifications of his actions?” asked the propulsion engineer from the Lander lab.
“I did make it clear to him that I would take this to the top, and it would all fall on his head.”
The redheaded lab tech from the AI robotics lab raised her hand for permission to speak.
Stryker pointed to her. “Yes, ah, sorry, I never asked your name when we met yesterday.”
“My name is Star Light, but I’m known by most as Red,” she replied, ruffling her red locks with her fingers in emphasis. “I would like to explain what I’m trying to accomplish with the weapons aspect of this mission, if I may.”
“Go ahead. I’m sure we all would like to hear this,” answered Stryker.
“I’m attempting to design the hardware and write the software to be as safe as it possibly could be, given the circumstances.”
Red stood and walked to the front of the room and picked up the remote to the vid screen and turned it on, but this time, the image appeared over the conference room table in a full 3-D holographic image.
There it was, Lunar 3097 slowly orbiting its planet, which, in turn, was orbiting the dwarf star. A complete solar system. Red proceeded.
“When the AIs are complete, they will be fitted with the limbs that the existing AIs have, normal arms with hands. These will be locked mechanically and electronically in place the entire time they are on Earth.”
“How can you guarantee that?” said the tall tech who always wore his white lab coat.
“I was getting to that,” said Red with a hint of aggravation in her voice. “The Earth and the Lander have a magnetic field generating all the time, the Earth with its iron core and the Lander with all the electronics. Whenever there’s a magnetic field present, the arms are locked and cannot be removed. Should the AI decide to remove the arm forcibly, the connecting point is designed to rupture and therefore, render itself useless.
“Now,” she turned to the hologram, “as you can see, the planet has a very weak magnetic field.” Red lines emanated from its poles and arced around to the opposite pole. “But LUNAR 3097 does not; no iron core, no magnetic field. So, the AIs will not be able to arm themselves until they step out of the Lander.” Red turned to the people in the room and said, “In the unlikely event that the AIs made it back to Earth with weapons attached, the program will render the weapons useless as soon as Earth’s magnetic field is detected.” She sat down. “If anyone can think of a better, more effective way to safeguard us against AIs with weapons, please tell me.”
The tall tech spoke up. “Yeah, don’t build robots; don’t send robots to other worlds. Oh yeah, don’t give robots goddamn guns!” A loud round of applause erupted with that statement.
LUNAR 3097
2 and 3 had returned to the crater and were harvesting the sky-blue rocks relentlessly, filling the trams once more. Every ten minutes, 2 would look up and surveil the rim of the crater, then return to the task at hand. Methodically, they harvested the rocks, and each time they filled the trams, they would haul them to the new location. This would continue for months, 2 always watching the horizon.
ISA Headquarters
Stryker’s Office
“What! Are you freaking crazy! First off, where the hell would we find an Earth-like planet at the drop of a hat? And if we found one, why the hell would we give it to some out-of-control robots? That’s not a plan—that’s a disaster waiting to happen. I won’t even give that another second of my time.” Stryker turned to the pair of them. “Go to flight control and see if you can talk some sense into those bastards. The techs have integrated your control center with ISA flight. You have eight hours to work with before they are out of communication vector See what you can do.”
Abbey and Alex left her office. “I told you it wouldn’t fly. It was a crazy idea.”
“You’re probably right, but you don’t know what you can have if you don’t ask.”
They both sat at their respective stations and began to contact the AIs.
ISA Headquarters
Addison’s Office
“My name is Ingrid Sokolov. I am the head engineer working on the light speed propulsion unit.”
Addison was sitting behind his desk staring straight at her. “I understand that you are hesitant to release the engine to have it placed in the Lander. Why?” he asked.
“This is the first time an engine is
being installed and commissioned into space without even so much as a test run. Wouldn’t you be a little hesitant?”
“Not if I was confident in my abilities to perform my job. That’s what you get paid for—to bring all your knowledge to the table and produce what the design engineers draw,” replied Addison. He paused and then, “Well, are you confident in your work? Will this thing work or not? Now is the time to speak up!”
Ingrid took a deep breath and spoke very softly. “We have done all we can in the last five months to get this as ready as we can. We can only hope that all goes well the first time the engine is fired. Yes, I think it will work.”
“Good. So release the damn thing so we can get this project moving. We only have three weeks. Send me your full report and all the analysis for the mission feasibility, thank you.”
Ingrid stood and left the office somewhat flustered. You don’t fluster Russians easily.
Addison had a way of alienating everyone he made contact with. Especially people that worked under him. He enjoys being a bully.
Detention Center
Abbey and Alex were walking down the corridor to their rooms. “Well, they finally gave us our own rooms,” he said.
“Yeah and no more prison guards following our every move,” replied Abbey. We should feel lucky not to be in a real cell by now.”
“Yeah, I wonder who gets to make the final call on that?” asked Alex. “I’m taking a shower. Ariana’s coming to have lunch with me today, and I want to look my best.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that you had settled your differences with her. Good for you,” Abbey said, genuinely relieved that that part of his life wasn’t screwed up by her.
“Nothing’s settled. This is the first time I will have seen her since … since, you know.”
“Doesn’t it feel like a lifetime ago?” asked Abbey with a faraway look in her eyes.
“Almost like another life entirely,” admitted Alex with that same faraway look. “If you could go back, would you change what you did that night?”
The faraway look changed to a look of despair. “I have gone over this, and over it, time and time again, and even knowing what I know now, I think I would still do it,” she replied, almost ashamed of her answer.
“The only thing I would have changed would be involving you in it. You’re an innocent bystander in all of this.”
“Don’t blame yourself too much. I had plenty of chances to back out of the whole situation, but I didn’t. Some of it was stupidity, some of it was the hero, ‘maiden in distress,’ and some was just the adrenalin rush,” he said with a smile. “Especially when I broke you out.”
“Oh, so now you’re the knight in shining armor, are you?” laughed Abbey as she closed the door to her room.
Alex realized that that’s was the first time in forever he had seen her laugh. He hated living in limbo, not knowing what might happen at any minute. He knew the ISA wanted them on the mission flight desks, as they had on the original RAIDA mission … But what then?
LUNAR 3097
AZURE239 Impact Crater
2 and 3 continued on their quest, harvesting and loading the trams. Suddenly, 3 stood and pointed to the rim of the crater. 2 looked in the same direction. Although 2 and 3 can communicate audibly, there is no real atmosphere, so sound won’t travel. They communicate through their neural link, using thought patterns. 3’s optical sensors had picked up movement on the outer edge of the rim, on the opposite side of the crater from them. Both of them started to walk toward the movement, all the time watching the rim.
Their pace quickened; then they were at full speed. No human could run that fast. They moved so fast that if a human were there to observe it, the robots would be just a blur.
When they reached the lip of the crater, they looked over and could see nothing. Then suddenly, there it was again … out on the horizon, two small iridescent blue dots of light. 3 reached down and touched the small panel on its thigh. It slid open, and 3 reached in and removed the small scrap of metal retrieved from the blast site at the cavern. Both 2 and 3 looked at it and then out to the horizon.
They both stood and stared at the horizon until the blue dots vanished. Then they turned and walked back to the other side of the crater to resume picking up the last section of rocks. After that, their mission would be complete.
This stage of it anyway.
CHAPTER 15
ISA Headquarters
Flight Center
“ISA Trident, do you copy?” Abbey waited for the reply.
“This is Trident, go ahead, Flight.”
“We are in safe mode prelaunch. We are waiting on feedback from Loading Bays Two and Three before we continue. Please start mock preflight procedures up to engine ignition. Lander One, you’re cleared to ascend to the upper stratosphere and wait for further orders.”
“Lander One, copy that, Flight.”
The Landers were standing on space elevator platforms. These will carry them up from ground level, and out of Earth’s gravity, to thirty miles up, the upper stratosphere. The Landers’ thrusters are only designed for minimal gravity, but once the Lander is elevated to the upper stratosphere, it has enough power to project itself up to the thermosphere, where the ISA Trident is in geosynchronous orbit.
“Lander Two, please hold on launching pad for further instructions.”
“Copy, Flight.”
“Trident, have Loading Bay crews Two and Three checked in yet?” asked Abbey.
“Flight, Three did, but nothing from Two. Copy.”
“Flight Two, could you try to raise Two? We need to get these Landers on board as soon as possible.”
“Copy, Flight One, will do.”
“Trident Loading Bay Two, do you copy?”
“This is Bay Two.”
“Are you at yellow status, Two?”
“We are now,” replied Unit Two. “We had a problem with the loading bay doors. Flight One, Trident Bay Two is ready to receive Lander.”
“Thank you, Flight Two. Lander One, you are to proceed to Loading Bay Two and prepare to complete a live docking procedure.”
Lander One used its thrusters to lift off the launch assist pad that had helped it into a lower orbit. It then moved on toward the cruiser.
“Copy, Flight; Loading Bay Two, live docking.”
“Lander Two, you are cleared for ascent to upper stratosphere. Hold at Mark 207. Wait for further instructions.”
The launch assist platform started to ascend.
Abbey wiped her brow. It had been a long time since there was this much action in flight control. Most of the time, it’s quite calm, but not on launches and planetary arrivals. Then it’s all hands on deck.
“Flight, Lander One. We have docked and secure.”
“Copy, Lander One. Lander Two, you are cleared to proceed to Dock One. Prepare for live docking.”
“Copy that, Flight.”
On the various screens around flight control, small blips could be seen moving from the surface up to the cruiser. These were shuttles carrying the supplies needed for the trip to LUNAR 3097 and the trip back.
They were flown by retired fighter pilots and the like, not controlled by Flight, so as the Landers moved to the cruiser, the small blips could be seen swerving to change their course to avoid them. Anything under flight control had the right of way.
“Flight, Lander Two has docked and secure.”
“Copy, Lander Two,” replied Abbey.
“Flight, ISA Trident, we have completed pre-check procedures up to engine ignition; standing by for further instructions.”
“Copy, Trident, please stand by. Flight Two, do you have green lights on all Trident feedback sensors?”
“Affirmative. Green across the screen. Trident is ready for flight,” replied Alex.
“This is Flight One calling the mock prelaunch. All stations stand down and complete your preflight reports and send them to flight control before the end of the shift. Flight Control out.”
Abbey leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head and stayed that way for what seemed an eternity. Then she relaxed after relieving the pent-up stress in her body from this morning’s exercises. It was always stressful, even the mock launches.
“That went well,” said Alex.
“Yeah, not sure that we shouldn’t send someone to check that bay door, though. I guess we can wait and see what Unit Two’s report has to say about it. Let’s grab something to eat, and you can tell me all about your lunch with Ariana,” said Abbey playfully. She stood, and they proceeded to the cafeteria as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
They rounded a hallway corner and came face-to-face with three seven-foot AIs. Both Alex and Abbey froze for what seemed like forever, staring.
The AI closest to Alex held out its hand. “Hello, I am RAIDA5.” Turning to its left, it said, “This is 4 and 6.” Still holding out its hand, Alex slowly reached out and took 5’s hand and shook it.
“I’m Alex LeGrange, and this is Abbey Skyler. We work with the RAIDA project.”
“Ah, yes,” said 5, “we have read up on the two of you. Fascinating stories.”
“Are you coming on the mission with us?” asked 6.
“No, we stay on the ground. We work better from here,” replied Abbey.
“Well, we look forward to working with you,” said 6, and then in unison, all three of them said, “Good day” and continued down the hallway like three students you would see in any high school today.
If high school students were seven feet tall, that is.
Abbey turned to Alex. “They just let them wander around the complex without supervision?”
“Looks to me like they have more freedom than we do,” replied Alex.
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