by Tony Corden
“N: Do you have a team?”
“I obviously haven’t done enough research yet, as I’m not sure what you mean.”
“N: It doesn’t matter how good you can drive. That’s only one part of winning. You have to match the car with the race, with the other drivers and it all has to be tuned just right to match your style. If you don’t do this, you’ll never save those hundredths of a second which separate Tier Four and Five drivers from those who race at Tier One. Every single one of those winning drivers has a team of AI and other advisors who get everything set just right to set up the win. The driver wins the race, but regardless of how most of them act, they wouldn’t make the cut except for their team.
“For most of the races the cars are equivalent for all drivers, but the drivers have over fifty-thousand options they can choose from for every race. Most never make those choices because making them takes too much time. To win a Tier Three usually means understanding how to tune the car perfectly. Tier One and Two races also allow drivers to customise their vehicles.
“There are strict guidelines, but the number of options jumps ten-fold. Those racers who stay at the top long enough to get a placing are paying tens of millions of Virtual Credits every month to employ the best ‘mechanics’ and AI researchers they can. They compile more than tens of thousands of profiles of up-and-coming racers and tune the cars to match every race. To win in TRAX is probably even more expensive than for racers who drive in the professional racing series. When they win, the rewards are also much higher than the professional circuit. Many drivers race in both.”
“Thank you for telling me that. I guess I’ll need to think about things a bit more. While I enjoyed today very much, I’m not sure it’s something I’ll pour millions of VCr into, considering everything else I have going on.”
Danika nodded slowly then said, “N: Has this got something to do with the attack on you?”
“I’m sorry, but I really can’t answer that.”
“N: Fair enough, I know that was nosy, but I have so many questions and no answers. Audrey’s interview and her choice of instructor and car came across my desk marked for a priority review. Jesse Hood is a good friend of mine. He and my husband went to college together, and we’ve moved in many of the same circles over the years. He wouldn’t talk about how he knew you, but he said if I could do anything to help you, he would count it as a personal favour. He then paused and looked me in the eye and said ‘Danika, don’t ask me to explain but I suspect you already owe her a debt you can’t meet. Help her in whatever way you can.’
“Needless to say, I have no idea what he meant. I called my husband and asked if he would do a more in-depth evaluation of you. That’s all legal, and he does it for me every now and then. He’s a lawyer and knows people in all sorts of places. They have a kind of old boys network. Usually, the answer takes a week or so to filter back down, but just before you arrived here at the end of your lesson, he contacted me and said he got two almost instant and conflicting replies.
“One was from a friend who works in a firm known as the Emerald Trustees. These guys have their finger on who is and who isn’t someone you want to do business with. Kurt, that’s my husband, said he got a call from his friend ten minutes after the query and was quizzed about it. His friend was with one of the Emerald Trustee’s directors. Neither was happy about the query. After my husband explained why he’d sent the query, the director, a Mr Schulte, suggested I do anything I could to help you. He said if my help was limited by either funds or influence, then he would personally cover what was needed. This puts you on the side of the angels, if not the archangels.
“Kurt also asked a friend who works in law enforcement. I won’t say who with, but she’s a top-level analyst and has access to some of the best intelligence on the planet. Her speciality is organised crime. The racing world has been burnt time and again by the mafia, the tongs, and every other group wanting to have a share of the money. She called back and said, ‘Stay away from Atherleah. We don’t know how or why, but the word on the street is she is not to be touched. Every group has disavowed any knowledge of who attacked her, and they all have a bounty on information proving who did. Whoever that person is will be declared untouchable, a pariah in every syndicate. They are to be designated as the sole property of Atherleah.’ This puts you on the side of the devil himself.”
Leah sat there stunned for a moment, then said, “That was really nice of Jesse and Ernst, but you owe me nothing, well, nothing that I’m aware of. As for the organised crime thing, well that is a bit more complicated. I’m not really involved with them at all, but then I sort of am. It’s more a case of I threatened to destroy them if they pissed me off and they believe it. I am glad they do, but not if the authorities take it the wrong way. I do promise though that I have no interest in connecting organised crime with my racing interests. All I want is to best a particular racer in five events.”
“T: Which ones?”
“Project Cars, four-wheeled Off-road Rally, the two-wheeled Time and Gate Attack, open class Fantasy and Sci-fi Circuits, and two-player Fantasy and Sci-fi Last-One-Standing.”
“T: So, five of the most prestigious and probably the five hardest. Can you ride a motorcycle?”
“Not yet.”
“T: The open class fantasy and sci-fi races have thousands of additional options, and in the top five tiers, you can purchase add-ons. The two-player LOS is brutal and you need an exceptional partner. Who did you have in mind?”
“No one yet. I was going to ask if any of my friends wanted to play.”
“T: You have the raw skill, but you need someone as good or better as a partner. Preferably someone who has played before.”
“I see. I’m realising I bit off more than I could chew. I’ll need to rethink.”
Danika had been thinking through everything and had started nodding when she suddenly sat up straight and said, “N: You said you threatened to destroy them if they pissed you off. Have you ever been pissed off by them before?”
“I’m sorry, Ms Dufault, but I can’t answer that. I really shouldn’t have said anything, and I’d appreciate it if you’d try and forget it.”
“N: I won’t ever mention it again, and please call me Danika. I want to make you an offer, but first I have a story to tell you. Courtney here is the eldest of my seven grandchildren. I had three children, two boys and a girl. My eldest son had Courtney and her two siblings. My daughter is the youngest and is only ten years older than Courtney. She has three children. My middle child was the most like me, he was a rebel.
“One day, twenty years ago, my son disappeared. We knew he’d had some dealings with the mob, but there was nothing we could find that linked them and him. We spent hundreds of thousands on private investigators but there was no evidence of Will or of any crime. I’d given up hope of finding out what happened. Eight days ago, I had a visit from the American Union Marshalls. It appears they have new evidence that Will was killed by a member of the Castelli Crime Family.
“Apparently, Will had been sleeping with the girlfriend of one of their high-level enforcers. The girl got pregnant, and as soon as the child was born, the enforcer knew it wasn’t his. The mother was convinced to tell all, and both she and Will were killed. The child, a girl, was left on the hospital steps. The enforcer apparently became very big in the organisation. Anyway, he had kept evidence of the killings, and he’d kept an eye on the girl, who although she was put up for adoption, he made sure she ended up in foster care. He kept her bouncing from home to home.
“Just last week, I met my granddaughter, Francine, for the first time. She’s had a really brutal life, but we are hoping for it to be so much better and brighter from now on. The Marshalls wouldn’t say how they came by the information, just that it had been anonymously given to one of their officers. I suspect that’s what Jesse meant when he said I owe you, and if that’s true, then I do. I owe more than I can ever pay.”
Leah didn’t know what to sa
y, so she didn’t respond initially. She could feel Courtney staring at her but ignored it. Finally, she said, “Thank you for sharing your story. I do hope Francine finds a place in your family. I’m sorry, but I should head off.”
“N: I understand, and I will not mention that story or connect it to you in any setting. My offer is to manage your racing career for the next week at least. I have the AI and the experience to help prepare for each of the races. If you have the skill to win, I’ll give you the right vehicles. I’ll look for someone to partner with you in the LOS race, or I’ll help train your friend. I make no promises about winning or even reaching the upper tiers, but I promise you will have the support you need if you can get there. I’ll work for free and will fund the support regardless of if you win or not. Will you accept?”
Leah wished she could look Danika in the eyes but couldn’t. Finally, she shook her head and said, “No. I won’t accept that. I will accept the offer if we can agree that the costs come out of the winnings, which we’ll split if there are any. If there are no winnings, we split the costs the same way we agree to split the winnings if it happens.”
Danika smiled and said, “N: We have a deal then. I suggest I see if Jesse or this Mr Schulte want shares in the new team. To let us work together and make sure there are no misunderstandings from the authorities, we need this deal drawn up by lawyers, and we need to give you a name and logo.”
“I was just going to drive as Atherleah.”
“N: This is why you need a manager. If you are planning to defeat someone then part of the battle is psyching them out, and branding is important if you want people to know you are hunting them. Any racer knows that a big part of the race is set up beforehand. Who is Atherleah? I know you have some idea, because I’ve seen the choices you make in clothing.”
Leah shook her head and said, “I may have an idea, but I leave all that stuff to my best friend and designer. I could put you in touch with her if you like? Her name is Paige.”
“N: The Paige, I knew you knew her because she did the Seraph outfit, but I had no idea she was a friend. OK, that will be good. When you get back, you have your lawyer contact me, and I’ll do the work. I know you have other stuff to do, but if you are serious, we need to schedule some heavy-duty practice. As soon as the agreement is signed, I’ll organise for you to do a Tier Twelve.”
Leah nodded, and after saying “goodbye”, she logged out.
Diary - 26 December, 2073
What makes someone so hate their father that they would torture them until they go insane? I’m pretty sure I hated Earl, and I’ve felt no remorse at killing him, but I couldn’t have tortured him. Or could I? If he’d been successful in what he planned, would I want him to suffer before he died? Maybe. Probably. Does the potential for real evil sit in my heart just waiting for the right conditions to set it loose?
Regardless of what I said to Mum, how do I separate justice and vengeance? How do I ‘hate the sin, love the sinner’ like the pastor teaches? Who people are and what they do seem too intrinsically interconnected to separate so casually. Is it even possible to isolate someone’s actions, words, and thoughts from who they are? What of Louise, or Fowoke for that matter, does the fact that they’re almost certainly crazy make their actions any less a true reflection of who they are? Just because they can’t help it, doesn’t mean they didn’t want to do it.
What about Jackson? How culpable is he with a wicked father and a psycho step-mother? I doubt he had any positive role models growing up. Then again, he’s seen the effect of his actions. How can you see suffering and not feel that something is wrong? Do I see it only because of my parents? Both Thad and Kate grew up in the same sort of environment, and they are lovely. They reject their family’s behaviour. I guess it all comes back to the nature/nurture debate.
Either way, people like these need to be stopped. I pray I don’t become like them while trying to stop them.
67
December 26 2073 - 6
QXUR
After taking a break from the Pod, Leah had an hour of NREM3 before walking to the portal Three had set up for her to visit the Director of Special Projects at QXUR (Quark eXternal Utility Resources). This was a small Maltese company which specialised in work-related shell design and manufacture. Leah arrived in a small alcove set aside for visitor arrivals in the main administrative world for the company.
As she stepped forward, Leah was met by Kaiden Spiteri, the Director of Special Projects. After the usual greetings, Kaiden said, “K: Thank you for your queries. I was impressed with some of what you suggested, but I still have numerous function and design questions.”
“I understand, and I’ve worked with a colleague on fleshing out the ideas. Would it be OK to give a small but more detailed overview and see if that deals with the questions in a logical order?”
“K: That would be helpful. Do you need anything?”
“If I could have access to project into the space here that would be fine.”
“K: My AI has sent permission.”
Leah nodded and using both hands, initiated a full virtual keyboard and three-dimensional braille controller that came with the SNAIL module. Using models constructed by Gèng, Leah described the main machinery she would need to be able to use and explained the functions she wanted the shells to have. After twenty minutes, as she finished the presentation, Kaiden looked up from the notes he’d made and said, “K: That answered most of my questions. I suppose three major ones remain. They are on the three fundamental changes. One, why can’t an AI be used to do the work? It would be faster and more accurate. You could do the design virtually.”
“Maybe, but I’m planning on using the shells in experimental real-world design. By the time I explain it to an AI and make all the various corrections, I think I wouldn’t save that much time. The main reason has to do with the experimental process. Even with the small amount I’ve done already, I know I get new insights and ideas as I put the pieces together myself. Finally, a small part of me also knows that many discoveries have been a result of serendipity or even luck. Most research is tested and retested in the virtual worlds. Hundreds and thousands of experiments are discarded every day when they don’t provide the outcome expected. The results are considered failures because they’re based on known theory and data. If those same ‘mistakes’ were made in the real world, who knows what real theories may have been formulated and what practical and beneficial processes or products may have been invented.”
“K: OK, I understand. I’m not sure if I agree or not, but it is something I will be thinking about. The second question has to do with speed. Almost all shells are designed to operate in real-time. You want them designed to operate at virtual speeds?”
“Yes. I can’t see any reason why I would want to weld in real-life at a human speed when an AI can weld at three to ten times the speed. Using a shell, I should also be able to weld at three times the speed and reposition things on the fly. I can do the same when tightening nuts and moving from one place to another. With a variable time dilation, the shell could even be used at ten times real speed for the recommended super-dilation limits.”
“K: Why do you want the shell designed specifically? Wouldn’t it be easier to use an AI-controlled humanoid robot and change the programming to allow for human control?”
“It’s feasible, but when I did the research, I’d need to get five or more different robots. They all look the same, but their design parameters are focussed on a specific range of applications.”
“K: That is true, and I hadn’t worked through the entire range of motions and functions you’d asked for. I don’t think what you are asking would be that difficult to put together as we already have most of the engineering and programming available. It would mostly be a matter of putting the packages together in a new way. That brings me to the last question, size. You’ve suggested models from eight metres in height down to less than one millimetre. Besides being expensive, I’m not sure we can get t
hat small. You’re wanting to be able to work with individual nanoparticles.”
Leah nodded and used the projector again and put up a design she’d worked on. She said, “I was thinking of something like this. I understand it won’t get me the same dexterity as say, the centimetre-high shell. However, I should still be able to manoeuvre a nanoparticle into a precise location and set it in place. I do think I may need these smaller shells designed with set functions in mind, and maybe five models will cover the range of uses I can see at the moment.”
Kaiden stepped into the projection and began expanding and manipulating the various components. When he was done, he said, “Some of these individual parts are new. I haven’t seen them before. If they work like the model here, then I imagine we could do what you want. Who sells these?”
“No one that I know of. My friend and I designed them to try and visualise what I wanted.”
Kaiden sat down and said, “K: I hope you’ve got the idea timestamped. You need to get them patented. Do you know a good patent lawyer?”
“No, but I can find one, and I’m open to suggestions.”
“I’ll have my AI send you a couple of people we recommend. We don’t use these people as we have in-house counsel. The design is elegant, and even if we can’t make what you want, I can see how those components will solve a few issues we’ve been having with the miniaturisation of certain components. If your lawyer agrees, then please send me a copy as soon as the patent has been applied for. Attach a non-disclosure agreement, and I’ll have QXUR sign off on that then get it to the design teams.
“We don’t manufacture components like that, but I will send a list of companies who do. I’ll also send an invoice for what we could possibly use it for, and that should help sell it. I don’t understand everything you said about different dimensions but a few more components like that, and you’ll be set financially.”
