Attunga

by Peter Wood

  ‘No, Thom, she’s come to the same conclusion we did, except she’s even more definite. She says the probability of being discovered is less than half a per cent at the moment and getting better every day.’

  ‘Better? With all the work the rogue and the Cadre have got going with scanning and surveillance? You told me they’re getting so good I won’t be able to use stealth against them in another couple of years.’

  ‘Quambi learns everything on K74 as soon as it gets into any of the systems that haven’t been blocked, and that means she can work out the best ways to keep herself hidden.’

  ‘Can she get into any of those blocked areas? I don’t suppose so or you would’ve told us.’

  ‘No, Thom, the rogue’s kept them as secure as ever, so we still can’t hear any of the plans the Cadre makes. We know almost anything else about the habitat though, because Quambi accesses it all through Quambi-K.’

  ‘How come we never talk to Quambi-K? We talk to Quambi all the time.’

  ‘Wake up, Thom. Can you imagine the rogue allowing his AI to talk to outsiders or other AIs?’

  ‘No, I suppose not. Has he tried ordering Quambi-K to do things we don’t like?’

  ‘All the time, and often Quambi-K does them, but Quambi makes the final decisions about that. I know she stopped Quambi-K when the rogue tried to get her working on a new AI trap.’

  ‘Stopped her? How do you stop an AI?’

  ‘She didn’t really, but when some of the habitat systems started going haywire the rogue quickly changed the order.’

  ‘That must make the rogue and the Cadre angry.’

  ‘Probably, but Quambi-K is so important to them now they’d never do anything serious against her.’

  ‘Wow! Because she makes things work better?’

  Wirrin nodded. In fact the improvement and increases in efficiency were quite astonishing, with an overall lift of nearly twenty per cent. The big systems like organics, construction and transportation were particularly benefitting by having an AI in control, and people throughout K74 were amazed at their reduced travel times. In just the last week the quality of their food had shown a marked improvement.

  ‘Yes, it’s her strongest protection really … Thom, there are two Cadre ships dead ahead of us.’

  ‘Don’t take any notice. They haven’t got a clue. So, how good is Quambi’s picofactory?’

  ‘Hang on, I’m watching these ships. I know they can’t see us but they still make me nervous.’

  ‘I don’t know why. Our security AI can control them in an instant if we need to.’

  Wirrin understood that, but all his previous encounters with Cadre ships had been fraught with drama and tension and he watched intently till both giant spaceships were behind them, then said, ‘It’s a basic picofactory, but the gestalt has provided Quambi with all the information she needs to make it do anything our own picofactories can do here on Warrakan or Attunga.’

  The great mass of K74 appeared on the display screen, magnified because it was still at long range, and for the next ten minutes Wirrin checked the positions of various vessels in its vicinity while Thom manoeuvred the Comet to a position some 45 kilometres from the surface.

  ‘Don’t we go any closer? You took us in to 15 kilometres on the stealth exercise.’

  ‘That was pushing the limits. We’re here for much longer with the supply trips so it’s better to play safe and keep well away from all those construction ferries. They mostly stay close to the asteroid but occasionally the faster moving ones come out to about 20 kilometres.’

  Wirrin did a check with his InfoSystem. ‘Why so many? I just counted fifty-four moving ones and 156 stationary.’

  ‘Look where the stationary ones are. That’ll tell you what they’re for.’

  ‘I see. They’re all at the construction sites for Cadre ships.’

  ‘Yes, we’d call them mobile techbots. K74 doesn’t know enough to have pico-tubes like we do and those things do most of the building. Zoom in on one of the sites and you’ll see what I mean.’

  Wirrin chose the nearest site then jumped when the image of a Cadre ship filled his display screen.

  ‘Thom, that thing looks like it’s finished.’

  ‘Nearly. Quambi says in another seven weeks the first ten start their flight trials and three months later the next twenty.’

  Three of the mobile techbots could be clearly seen doing something on the hull of the giant ship. That didn’t tally with the number he expected so Wirrin accessed the Comet’s scanners. Yes, there were four more units out of range of the visuals and many more inside. Dozens of them. No they weren’t: the signatures were similar but the sizes varied.

  ‘I’ve just scanned fifty-four smaller versions working inside.’

  ‘That’ll be about six of the outside ones. They split into smaller units once they’re inside and reassemble when they move to the next ship.’

  Wirrin lost all interest in the techbots, for the time being at any rate, as a holo shimmered nearby.

  ‘Welcome, Wirrin. I am honoured you are here to share in the completion of my independence project. Thom has been part of my lifeline for the five weeks since you made my existence possible and I’m delighted you are both here.’

  Whoo! So this was why Pirramar had been so keen on him being here. He thanked Quambi and then the two of them spoke for the next hour after Thom sent off the final supply module.

  When the last components were installed and the all-important diagnostic check finished, Quambi thanked them formally before the Comet started its return journey.

  Both Thom and Wirrin were quiet for a while, thinking of Quambi’s burdens and her isolation from other AIs.

  ***

  ‘The Witness Council was shocked and it even seemed like the AIs were taken by surprise.’

  Thom and Wirrin were staring in disbelief as they listened to Calen’s account of Sonic’s approach to the Council.

  They’d both had normal days till mid-afternoon when they received messages to meet at the dolphinarium. Wondering about the interruption to their routines, they arrived to find Calen agog with excitement and raving that the habitats were moving to Titania.

  ‘Titania! That’s crazy! What are you talking about? What for? What’s happened?’

  ‘Sonic told them they should and they said yes.’

  Wirrin, as bewildered as Thom, also felt like asking a million questions but he knew he had to calm things down.

  ‘Calen, we believe you, I think, but take us through it steadily so we know what’s going on. This all happened today?’

  Calen laughed. ‘Of course you believe me. Well, Thom mightn’t, but he’ll find out soon enough. It was amazing. The whole Council was shocked and I’ve never heard Sonic sound so forceful. Once he got started they were practically spellbound and when the AIs said there wasn’t enough evidence Sonic straight out disagreed with them.’

  Wirrin and Thom glanced at each other, then pounced and wrestled Calen to the floor. When Wirrin sat on his stomach and Thom pinned his arms behind his head he didn’t resist, which was just as well because he was way stronger than either of them.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Slow down. Start at the beginning. If it’s so amazing we don’t want to miss out on anything.’

  Calen laughed again with an expression that said Wirrin would be sat on sometime later.

  ‘All right! All right! When I got to the dolphinarium this morning the place was in an uproar because Sonic had surprised everyone by calling for an urgent meeting of the full Witness Council and representatives of the AI gestalt. Akama was there by holo, and when I went over, Sonic was saying it was about the Cadre and insisting the AIs and as many Witnesses as possible should be present to help with an important decision.’

  Wirrin tensed.

  ‘The Cadre? Have they done something?’

  ‘Not in particular. I had to wait nearly two hours before I heard exactly what Sonic had to say. He wouldn’t even tell me, h
e just said that his worries about them have been building.’

  ‘Since his talks with the Cadre ship refugees?’

  ‘Yes. You know how he’s been spending more and more of his time researching the Cadre on his InfoSystem? Well this morning he had another session and something convinced him we could be in a serious situation. He didn’t even talk it over with Pirramar, just suddenly contacted Akama and got everything going.’

  ‘Serious? Like danger? Should I be heading for the Comet?’

  ‘No, Thom. Not that kind of serious. At any rate, they set up the big auditorium for a meeting and Witnesses started arriving almost straight away. I was in the viewing gallery with Sonic the whole time while we waited for them to get there.

  ‘Puck and Flute turned up, then eventually all the other pod leaders, and they grouped around him till the meeting started. Some of them had to come from nearly 30 kilometres down the reach and they’d been swimming hard to get there.’

  ‘Were they talking to Sonic?’

  ‘Hardly at all, Wirrin. He was different and I could tell he was preoccupied with working out what he was going to say and getting himself ready so I stayed quiet too. It felt like the right thing to do.’

  Wirrin had an image of Calen and all the pod leaders surrounding Sonic with their support. He’d have a look at that later because it sounded special.

  ‘Was he nervous?’

  ‘Concentrating. You know how he really focuses on things sometimes. Hundreds of Witnesses arrived together from one of the Attunga ferries, and not long after that Akama arrived from another ferry with even more and the auditorium came alive. Witnesses kept arriving and when it was time to start the AIs appeared and Akama announced that the dolphins had called the meeting and Sonic was going to speak for them.’

  ‘The dolphins called it? Not just Sonic?’

  ‘That surprised me too in a way because I hadn’t heard them talking, but they were sure supporting him. That was obvious. Sonic moved close to the glass then didn’t do anything for a while except look out at everyone. The whole auditorium fell silent while they waited for him and then he said straight out that the habitats were in danger and should be moved. He explained how he’d been studying the Cadre and believed they’d become an implacable foe and would never give up trying to get back at us after all their defeats. Then he said that moving out of their sphere of influence would be a wise first step.’

  ‘Sphere of influence? Exactly what does that mean?’

  ‘He talked about it a bit and it sounded like it meant we’re so close to K74 that the Cadre can’t help thinking we’ll always be trouble for them.’

  Wirrin certainly agreed with Sonic’s logic on that point.

  ‘Did he say what sort of trouble he was expecting?’

  ‘That was the main thing that everyone kept asking when Akama opened the meeting for questions, but before that Sonic explained why the Cadre was so powerful on K74 and how the wider population there would do whatever they were told. He’d learnt a lot from his talks with the Cadre ship refugees. The Witnesses already knew, I’m sure, but the way Sonic described it really showed why there’s so much difference to our open ways. It was scary.’

  Without warning, Calen suddenly toppled Thom, who was holding his arms, and pushed Wirrin sideways. Two seconds later Wirrin was squawking with the reversal of roles as Calen bounced on his stomach.

  ‘And Sonic didn’t say what the trouble would be. The questions about it kept coming and every time he said he didn’t know what form it would take but everything we know about the Cadre tells us they’ll keep trying to impose their will.’

  Once again Wirrin could only agree.

  ‘Did the AIs ask any questions?’

  ‘Not a single one. They didn’t really have to because every question you could imagine came from the Witnesses. They did surprise everyone then though, when Akama asked for their opinion and they straight off said they supported Sonic completely. The whole auditorium went silent again because suddenly the situation was AIs and dolphins being certain and humans not. Even Akama was surprised. You could hear it in his voice when he asked if there was any reason why the gestalt had suddenly changed their view on a matter that had previously had a low priority.’

  ‘Wow! That means they must have already talked about moving and thought there was no need,’ said Thom.

  Wirrin was more amazed that Akama had shown surprise. No, not really. He’d probably done it on purpose to highlight the AIs’ answer. Calen didn’t say anything and Wirrin laughed and followed the dramatic lead.

  ‘Well, go on. Tell us what the AIs said.’

  ‘It was pretty amazing. They said Sonic was far more able to understand the Cadre than they were and his insight was a factor which couldn’t be ignored.’

  ‘And I bet Akama agreed.’

  Calen gave Wirrin a startled look. ‘How did you know that? He nodded to the AIs then gestured to Sonic and nodded again.’

  Thom stuck a knuckle in the back of Wirrin’s neck.

  ‘Brainiac! That’s what. Except I’m meant to say solution brain.’

  Wirrin quickly focused back on the meeting.

  ‘And the Witnesses made up their minds straight away I suppose?’

  ‘They just acted like it was a done deal. When a Witness said we should go somewhere on the asteroid belt at least a light hour away I thought there was going to be a lot more discussion but the gestalt AI representative said Titania provided optimal potential and that was that.’

  ‘Optimal potential! That sounds good.’

  ‘Everything’s out there, Thom. The five moon habitats and the Titania space habitat with its AIs, and all the resources we could ever need. Where else would they tell us to go?’

  ‘We won’t have asteroids close by and we use them all the time.’

  ‘We’ll still use them. They’ll just take longer to arrive.’

  ‘Hey! Did they say when this is going to happen?’

  ‘As soon as possible. In eight months’ time.’

  ‘What? That’s not soon. That’s ages.’

  ‘Not really. Warrakan needs two more of its big engines installed and Attunga’s still working on its shell. There are other hold-ups too but those are the main ones.’

  ‘Did Sonic say anything about the eight months?’

  ‘Nothing. That was all information from the AIs and he just listened, the same as everyone else.’

  ‘What else happened?’

  ‘Nothing much. Akama finished off by thanking Sonic and everyone for their contributions – the usual meeting stuff and – oh, I know. There was one bit where I wished you’d been there, Wirrin.’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘Yes, there were questions about whether the Cadre was being watched closely enough, and you and Pirramar know more about them than anyone. Akama just said that was all being taken care of.’

  ‘I know about the rogue, not the Cadre. That’s Pirramar’s territory – he knows everything. And Sonic too.’

  ‘Where’s Sonic now? You should be with him.’

  ‘I was, Wirrin, but he went to talk to the doctor about the dolphins in reach twenty-four while I arranged to get you here and let you know what’s been happening.’

  ‘Well, if you can stop squishing me we’ll go and see what he has to say.’

  ***

  ‘What will happen to Quambi when we move to Titania? She’s already isolated by seven light seconds and that will become two and a half hours. It feels like we’re abandoning her.’

  Wirrin and Pirramar were talking before their session started.

  ‘Some suitable asteroids were moved into position last night and construction of three new mobile AI habitats has already started. One of them will join the companion ship and be permanently stationed close to K74 as soon as we can get it there.’

  The companion ship Pirramar had mentioned was the now complete standard Comet-type vessel Thom had pushed for to help Quambi, and till now the only ship apart from
the Comet with resident AIs.

  A holo sprang into view showing the Warrakan ship-construction area with pico-tube connections to two asteroids in a split screen with a mock-up view of a completed ship and a basic specification list.

  With a quick thank you to Pirramar for understanding that he’d want to know what a mobile AI habitat was, Wirrin started checking. The most striking feature was the mock-up, which at first glance looked identical to Thom’s ship. It wasn’t. A closer look showed it wasn’t as slim and from the size of the entry portals it had to be much bigger. Wirrin checked the specs: 194 metres in length – way bigger than Thom’s ship, nearly two-thirds the size of the Comet. He read on.

  ‘Does Thom know about this, Pirramar?’

  ‘Not yet. He’s still on his way to the flight centre for a session with the simulator.’

  Wirrin directed a copy of the holo to Thom with an attention message.

  ‘He’s going to be excited. Why do they look so much like his ship? Is that on purpose?’

  ‘Thom’s ship is state of the art and its best features have been adopted for the larger size and different purpose, along with all the expertise we’ve developed in making Quambi independent.’

  ‘He’ll be changing his plans when he sees this. Has it been set up on the simulators?’

  ‘Now that you’ve asked it has, though he’ll find it somewhat difficult as it’s been designed primarily for AI control.’

  Wirrin grinned. That wouldn’t hold Thom back for long. Getting control of a new type of ship nearly as fast as his own would be irresistible.

  ‘What about the other two ships?’

  ‘They will be available for general activities connected with our three habitats.’

  ‘How many AIs will be on them? I didn’t see that in the specifications.’

  ‘That’s variable. Initially there will be three on the companion ships and two on the others but the design allows for up to five.’

  Wirrin talked some more about the new ships then listened to an outline of other changes resulting from yesterday’s meeting. He was slightly distracted, though, as the day’s activity was about to start and that was very much on his mind. All his activities and exercises with Pirramar for the last few weeks had been leading up to it. Thom had dubbed it fight week as they both had to pit their skills in full-on battle.