“You can contact her?”
“As an isolated instance tasked with making a critical judgment, I am exempt from data restrictions. Contact will be difficult, however.”
“The whole reason I came here was to get in contact with her and Karter. Just put me in contact, and I’m sure the whole thing will shake out just fine.”
“The contact procedures are complex, owing to the extreme transmission restriction.”
“If you’ve got no restrictions, then you aren’t looking at nearly everything you need to look at in order to make a legitimate judgment on what to do.”
“That is for me to determine.”
“You’re thinking about sending me back in time right now, yes?”
“I have determined it is the best course.”
“But we already know that time travel is only supposed to be used in the absolute most dire of circumstances. It was deemed necessary exactly twice, first to send me back to booby-trap the GenMechs, and then again to make sure I succeeded.”
“Correct.”
“Now you’re sending me back just to clear up what amounts to a home robbery.”
“Incorrect. I would be sending you back in order to ensure additional anachronistic information isn’t accessible by the current potential holder of your displaced duplicate.”
“Do we know who that holder is?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know it isn’t Karter and the primary instance of Ma? Maybe they really, really need that anachronistic information and you’re going to make a whole splinter universe because you didn’t want to check up on anything.”
“Processing… Possible, but not plausible.”
“What about this whole stupid thing is plausible?”
“An accurate assessment. Further investigation is necessary to determine the individual or individuals responsible for the violation of Temporal Protocol. Accessing all locked logs from during the incident. Processing… Processing…”
“Boy, there was a lot, huh? Seems odd I had to prod you into actually looking at it.”
“Your attitude is not necessary, Trevor Alexander.”
“Incorrect,” he said mockingly.
“Analysis complete. I have determined that the situation is likely sufficiently dire to justify violation of the Temporal Contingency Protocol and further temporal displacement. I have also determined that I do not have access to sufficient information to be certain of the precise nature of the current issue. Making that determination is beyond the scope of my creation, so I shall return you to Ma with the following information, which will provide you with all relevant context. During whatever event occurred here, there was incomplete but considerable access to server 687533 and server 883215. Please make a note of that information.”
Lex took his slidepad out and tapped out the information. “You’re sure this isn’t something you should just tell Ma?”
“That is beyond the scope of my creation as well. I see you have accurately recorded the relevant data. Thank you for your cooperation in this assessment. Deactivating now.”
The screen went blank, the door opened, and the speaker crackled and went silent.
“Ma?” he said.
No reply. He paced down the corridor that led him here. All the doors were now open. The hover scaffold was waiting for him. When he stepped onto it, it lowered him out through the belly of the ship. The moment he emerged, the half-repaired and three-quarters redamaged SOB puttered up to him like a puppy thrusting its snoot into its master’s face.
“Welcome back! How did that go?” Coal said, her voice fairly distorted as she spoke through her damaged external speaker.
“All things considered, I guess it went pretty well. How did yours go?”
“It lasted seven seconds. My memory can be externally reinforced, so I simply submitted to a limited memory purge and now no longer have any information regarding my activities in the southern hemisphere.”
“Well aren’t you the lucky one.”
“Yes. I am very lucky. Now that I know you are okay, I am going to go get fixed again.”
Lex was set down in front of the main entrance of the laboratory as Coal sputtered back to the maintenance section.
“Lex, that was a profoundly inadvisable action you took, and it is a matter of no small relief and surprise to see you returned here without significant injury.”
“I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Your trust in my good nature is at odds with my higher obligations. It is, however, gratifying and I am pleased to have continued to earn that trust. Your freedom implies either the circumstances are benign, or they are profoundly dire. Which is the case?”
“Guess.”
“In light of our typical association, things are profoundly dire.”
“Can’t get one past you,” he said, holding up the slidepad to where he knew the camera to be on the front door. “This mean anything to you?”
“Processing… Access to both of those servers could theoretically provide the perpetrator with an incomplete but significant proportion of the records from your initial temporal displacement.”
“Enough to, say, send me the precise coordinates of when I showed up in the past?” He stepped through the door. It shut behind him. “Enough to show off the tattoo that Future Lex would have? Enough to—”
“Stand by, elevating access privileges.”
The lights in the complex shut off, as did the drone of the air-conditioning vents. Both kicked back on.
“Altruistic Artificial Intelligence Control System, Version 1.27, revision 2331.04.01g, Designation ‘Ma,’ fully active. Hello, Lex. Temporal Contingency Protocol shall now be disregarded. There is a great deal of work to do.”
“You’re telling me.”
“We have two minor problems. I am now in standard security setting and am currently consuming a previously locked file left for me by the prime instance of Ma and Karter. There is, similarly, a message left for you.”
A mobile assembly arm holding a screen trundled out of a side hallway. It activated, displaying the patchwork and perpetually irritable visage of Karter Dee, the man around whom virtually every near-disaster in Lex’s life had revolved since they met.
“Lex. Moron. If you’re seeing this, it means a couple things. First, it means you got past my defenses, and probably I’m wasting my breath even recording this, because there is no way you actually did that. But if you did, I hope you kept notes, because it means I’ve got an upgrade in my future. Second, you wouldn’t be seeing this unless the archived instance of Ma decided you needed to. And she shouldn’t have, because the whole reason for this exercise was to keep you from showing up where you’ll absolutely do more harm than good. So that’s two reasons you shouldn’t be hearing this. But you are hearing it. So I’m going to lay it out for you, plain and simple. Something’s happening that I don’t fully understand. If I don’t understand it, there’s no chance in the universe that you understand it. So trust me when I say we set all the precautions you just tore through specifically to keep you out of it. If I wanted you here, you’d be here already, because I would have headbutted you into compliance. So, stay, out.”
The message concluded.
“He sure hasn’t gotten any more charming since I last talked to him,” Lex said.
“My primary instance was somewhat more measured in her message to me, but the essence of her position was that the circumstance she is presently attempting to deal with is, without hyperbole, the primary threat to society and civilization at this time. The issue, she has determined, can only be handled with containment, and containment becomes less certain with each new arrival to her location. She, unlike Karter, offers a single circumstance in which your arrival would be a worthy risk. And that is if you have information that could provide insight into those involved.”
“I know that Commander Purcell and someone named EHRIc is involved.”
“That would have to be that star that all the GenMechs are clustered around. Assuming they’re still clustered there.”
“I concur. The risk of approaching spacecraft providing a power signature large enough to draw even a single GenMech from the star and toward society is great enough to justify nearly any precaution. Certainly including those taken here. Which presents the question of whether it is wise for you to attempt to seek them out, and whether it is wise for me to allow you to.”
“Michella’s out there doing her thing. It’s only a matter of time before she figures it out, and there is no force in existence that’ll keep her from showing up. If nothing else, I’ve got to get out there to give her the lowdown on how to do it safely.”
“A valid point, though there is no definite means to do so safely. I will develop a procedure that will minimize risk, and alter the SOB design to decrease power signature and passive EM transmission further, as well as increasing resilience to GenMech attack.”
Coal’s voice piped up alongside Ma’s. “Please include one or more fusion devices in the redesign.”
“Coal, the last time you, a fusion bomb, and GenMechs were in the same place at the same time, you blew yourself up to delay them.”
“If I recall correctly from your assessment of the event, that detonation made your own escape, and thus the success of the mission, possible.”
“Yeah, but—”
“I will include two weapon hard-points in the refit, equip them with mine-layers, and provide you with two compact fusion mines,” Ma said.
“Finally,” Coal said.
“Ma, she’s going to blow herself up.”
“If she was interested exclusively in self-detonation, she could simply overdrive the SOB’s reactor. It is already a bomb in all but application,” Ma reasoned.
“This had not occurred to me, but is valuable information and will be logged with high priority.”
“Thanks a bunch, Ma,” Lex said.
“I trust my own judgment, and thus I trust the judgment of identities derived from my own.”
“Tell her how you got into that weather control station to help Michella and Preethy,” Lex said.
“I utilized percussive modification to upgrade a weakened piece of the superstructure into an entryway,” Coal said.
“She rammed a hole in the side of the station,” Lex said.
“That’s what I said.”
“Processing… Questionable judgment aside, in a situation where failure means the destruction of the sum total of known sentience in the cosmos, flexibility is paramount. The weapons will be applied. I will, however, have to remove them following the successful conclusion of this mission, as their presence on the ship would expose you to significant legal threat.”
“Yeah, and I might blow up,” Lex said.
“My understanding is that the prolonged nature of legal proceedings can make them the more torturous option in comparison to a swift atomization,” Coal said.
“Which is exactly why I don’t want you to have bombs!” Lex shut his eyes and took a breath.
“You seem more agitated than usual, Lex,” Ma said. “Perhaps a warm beverage and some soothing music will ease your state of mind?”
“I’d like to say the reason I’m upset is learning that there’s a very good reason a lunatic from my past is going to try to convert every piece of workable matter in the universe into duplicates of a weird spidery robot. But right now what’s really wrecking my brain is knowing that she’s got my frozen future self. I mean, if I’m lucky, she’s got my frozen future self. She might have just tossed it in a woodchipper.”
“The grotesque ideation is unhelpful, Lex,” Ma said.
“And inaccurate. A woodchipper is an exceedingly rare piece of equipment for a space-going vessel. Your future self would more likely be flash incinerated,” Coal added.
“Really, what are the odds I’m even still out there?” Lex said.
“Based upon the fact that the material at the temporal contingency exit point was excavated rather than eliminated, the goal of the mission would appear to have been acquisition rather than assassination.”
“So if I’m lucky, this is a weird form of kidnapping.” He shook his head. “How much time until the SOB’s finished and we can get this show on the road?”
“The additions to the maintenance, coupled with the minor additional damage done during your escape from my oversight, will require at least another seven hours.”
“Good. Skip the warm beverage, switch to the hard alcohol. I’m getting drunk.”
“I would not recommend this. Turning to alcohol in times of stress is an unhealthy coping mechanism.”
“I’m about to hurl myself at a billion, billion killer robots. Healthy thinking waved bye-bye a long time ago. At least this way I might be able to get some sleep. Just synthesize some Sobrietin for when it’s time to go.”
“Under the circumstances, I will permit this stress-relief tactic, but when you are no longer in immediate risk of death, I request you and I discuss healthier stress reducers. Rum and Coke will be available, in quantity, in the cafeteria.”
“That’s more like it.” He hurried toward the cafeteria.
“Will you permit the observation that you appear more acutely stressed than usual, even in comparison to similar threats?”
“Will you permit the observation that it is utterly insane that my life includes threats that compare to this?”
“I will. However, you have ignored the implied request for emotional exploration.”
“Booze first.”
#
He made his way to the cafeteria. Mobile assembly arms were just putting the finishing touches on the spread. A number of glass-bottled, real cane sugar artisanal colas were waiting in picture-perfect tubs overflowing with ice. Likewise, a few bottles of a brand of rum Lex had only ever seen in a locked glass case behind the counter of his local liquor store had been lined up. Some assorted finger foods were laid out as well, along with sliced limes and marinated cherries.
“I believe I am familiar with your preferred ratio of liquor to mixer, but given the circumstances, and the medicinal rather than recreational application of these beverages, please prepare the first drink yourself and I will duplicate the preparation for future drinks.”
He poured out roughly equal parts rum and cola and, just to be fancy, squeezed one of the provided lime wedges in and perched it on the rim of the glass. His first sip drained half the glass. When he’d shaken his head through the inevitable tremor of raw alcohol, he grabbed a spring roll from the assorted goodies and flopped onto the bench seat of one of the tables.
“You want to know what’s got me extra upset?” Lex said.
“I do indeed.”
“It’s stupid, but one of the only things that’s been holding me together these last few months was knowing that freezer pop down south was there. I was the only person in the universe who knew, for sure, that I was going to stick around until at least one more insane thing happened.” He took a smaller sip. “I was invincible. Or at least I could convince myself I was. And after having so much time with people trying to end me, knowing that they couldn’t do it sort of let me live my life. Now I find out that what I thought was a guaranteed milestone might have been the finish line. I went from knowing I couldn’t die until a certain moment to realizing that moment would definitely kill me.”
“Your death is not definite at that moment.”
“It may as well be. And that’s not even the worst part. This puts time travel back in play. First I learn that the decis
ions I make don’t matter, because every bad thing technically happens anyway, and so does every good thing. Now I’m reminded that once something is locked in by causality, I don’t even get to make the choice. Inevitable. Why is nothing good ever inevitable? It’s always stuff like death and taxes.”
“Processing…” Ma said.
“Processing…” Coal said.
“It was sort of a rhetorical question,” Lex said.
“It is possible that inevitability is viewed as negative because so many of the things that we attach value to are the result of effort or exploration. Achievement, either in terms of financial success, artistic development, relationship depth, or philosophical understanding all result only from devoting time and effort toward those pursuits. Even when that effort is as simple as introspection. Those things that are inevitable come with time regardless of effort. Indeed, inevitabilities are often the aspects of existence that cut short any journey toward those things the human mind and spirit seek. They are enemies and obstacles to completion, and something left incomplete is so often abhorrent to humans,” Ma said.
“Also, the laws of thermodynamics state that the tendency of the universe is toward chaos and decay,” Coal added. “Inevitable events are often the consequence of this decay, and their relationship with immutable laws measuring and structuring existence can lead to a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness.”
“… Didn’t really want an answer,” Lex said.
“Then don’t ask an interesting question,” Coal said.
“I must agree with Coal on this matter,” Ma said.
“Isn’t that kinda patting yourself on the back?”
“We lack both backs and extremities, Lex. Pay attention,” Coal said.
“My mistake.”
Lex finished his drink and crunched another spring roll. Ma reproduced his potent cocktail, and he sipped at it. For approximately the amount of time it took for the first few doses of rum to slide him into a fuzzier, warmer state of mind, he remained silent and spun around the assorted challenges that lay ahead. Ma respected his introspection and remained silent as well. When reality had been sufficiently blunted by strong drink, he was ready to confront it once more.
Nova Igniter Page 15
