by Don Koch
“Well it is a bit like having the best of both worlds. I feel like I am ready to jump back in and I have been daydreaming about what it would be like to have Ranger-like resources available for this investigation. I am not yet sure why the Ravens want to be involved in this but I am not objecting. One comment that comes to mind is that this is a bit overwhelming and I hope this trust is not misplaced. I did not expect reactivation of the enhance-ment package. I am going to enjoy having access to that package again.”
“Well part of why I am here is to bring you up to speed and to assist with security. I have a lot to tell you and I think you will find most of it useful. About 16 months ago we noticed that some pretty talented computer folks were disappearing so we started keeping a watch on as many as we could. We have prevented quite a few attempted snatches and other forms of violence on their persons. It is highly organized, and disturbingly, a number of their agents appear to have some level of enhancement particularly speed and strength. After reviewing the attempted as well as successful efforts by this group, we have determined that they are trying to sway public opinion to development of a NOSI without any controls or safeguards. If this is, as we believe, an alien power, then they have essentially declared war on us. The Rangers are focused on identifying them. They are also taking an active role in preventing that development through murder, kidnapping, intimidation, etc. Several who were working on development programs have been murdered. Now they are killing people unconnected to this effort. We are trying to bring as much of this talent as we can under our protective envelope but we are not big enough to do a good job of that unless the subject is willing to relocate. We need to find those responsible and take more proactive measures with them. Their technology suggests that they represent an off-world power that has a bone to pick with us or more likely wants to expand on to our turf. Seems like they want us to build a NOSI and have that do their dirty work for them. The events of the last few days are the most activity we have seen yet and it is more offensive than previous actions because they are hitting non-combatants. It is beginning to look like Miss Wells is a key player, at least in the eyes of our opponents, so her safety is paramount.”
Charles and Henry left Harris and proceeded to Charles’ home. They parked a short distance away and proceeded on foot in stealthed mode. On entering the house they went immediately to the scanning equipment and turned it on. The only device on the premises with an active listening device was his copy of Miss Wells’ book he had purchased the week before but had not yet read. The device was a chip embedded in the spine of the book. Without proper scanning equipment it would not have been detected. They removed the spine and cover very quietly and carefully rescanned the contents. The contents were clean so they immediately left and returned to the stealthed vehicle. Since the vehicle had flight capability, they flew to the Inn and then signaled their arrival. Anyone watching would have seen nothing since vehicle and passengers remained in stealth mode. Once inside they returned to visible mode and went to the “backroom”, a safe room about 150 feet below the basement level and several hundred yards to the rear of the lodge also with a concealed entry. The room was in the base of Long Mountain.
Curt let them into the room and the first thing he said to Charlie was, “So, your enhancements have been reactivated, outstanding.” Charlie was startled by the fact that Curt recognized what had happened. Curt went on, “Linda and I figured that this must all be connected and I have long suspected that Charlie was a deactivated Ranger. Your approach to the house confirmed my suspicions. By the way, Henry, Linda and I also request reactivation. I think you will need the help.”
“That is pretty funny, Dad, um, General Raven knew you were in the area and he listed you among those that Charlie might want for his team and has pre-authorized reactivation of your commissions and enhancements if Charlie approves.”
“Wow I had no idea that you and Linda were former Rangers. This is wonderful. Your help will be greatly appreciated. I should have suspected but did not think there would be more former Rangers concentrated in such a rural location.”
“Interestingly enough, most retired or inactive Rangers seem to prefer locations similar to this. There are three more in Harris and two in Burville, the next town North. Dad indicated that the other five were all persons he would happily have back if they are interested and frankly they are all exceptional and you may wish you had them as this develops. For now though, why don’t we get started. The scans were all clean so I think we are good to go. Where is Linda?”
“She is with Miss Wells in the conference room, so why don’t we all go get acquainted.”
Chapter 13: Meeting Miss Wells
Long Lake Inn in Harris Borough, Malone –
March 20 – C Day 568
They went into the conference room and Curt did the introductions, with Henry first and then Charlie. Henry then deferred to Charlie who had decided that the best approach was to lay all the known facts out on the table. As he started, he admitted to himself that he was attracted to this lady, “Miss Wells . . .”
Lorena interrupted saying, “Chief, I suspect that we will be working together for a while and I think that Miss Wells is a bit too formal. I hope you do not mind but I would prefer Lorena or even Lori. I hope you do not mind my using your first names because that will be far more comforting. Is that OK?”
“Absolutely, Lori it is and I am Charlie. I can see that you are going to be great to work with. I have never heard Henry referred to anything other than Henry or Colonel Raven. Curt and Linda are already on a first name basis with you.”
Lorena gasped and said, “Did you say, Colonel Raven, THE Ranger Colonel Henry Raven?”
“The one and only.”
“Good heavens, I thought you were a fictional character, not a real person.”
“I assure you that I am real, that I am often referred to as a character, and that our exploits have mostly been watered down so as not to reveal our true capabilities.”
“I am sorry to interrupt so much, this has been an overwhelming few days.”
Charlie picked back up saying. “The things I will share with you today must not be repeated outside of this room. I think we have a few more shocks and surprises for you. The first is that Curt, Linda and I are also Rangers. I was reactivated today as a Colonel with independent status. Majors Curt and Linda are my associates in this and they likewise were reactivated today. There are more retired Rangers in the local area and it is probable that they will all be activated. The stories you hear about Rangers are typically understated because we do not want our oppo-nents to learn what we are really capable of doing. Even the stories that make it to the public while extraordinary, are usually understated. We are all enhanced with packages that to most would appear to be superhuman. We are very careful to hide these whenever possible because general knowledge of them would likely further hamper our ability to use them when needed. The fact that four of us were close by is likely to be a very fortuitous happenstance for you. We are all firmly convinced that you are a target for whoever or whatever this group may be. The fact that this many Rangers have been gathered so quickly may give us an edge.” He then proceeded to update Lorena on all that they knew about the case.
“I did check the copy of your book that I have in my personal library and it turns out that you were absolutely correct. The book had a chip in the spine of the cover that is capable of relaying everything said or written on a computer within 20 feet of the book. This is spying on an unprecedented scale. I left the book spine and cover at my house and brought the contents so we can do a comparison of the differences. It is pretty clear that whoever is behind this does not want us to develop a NOSI with a conscience. At this point, we do not know their motivation or who they are. This is highly unusual. My suspicion is that every book published has this chip embedded. Since this book is a best seller, that means a lot of chips. We might be able to use this knowledge against them with a little disinformation campaign. We w
ill have to think that one through. This location is pretty secure so we should be ok here. We need to hear everything you can think of about your book. Where you think it is going and any thing you can suppose from the changes. I am sorry to say this but you are pretty clearly a target. The only way they could make this work is to assure that you are not around to refute any of the contents. In fact, that attempt was made this morning. The building you lived in is gone along with whoever was in the building. The timing suggests that they thought you were home and asleep. For the moment, we do not want them to think otherwise. I am hopeful that you had your files and research backed up somewhere. I am also hoping you will stay here for the time being and help with this investigation.”
“All those people just to get at me. It does not make sense. I intend to assist you in this investigation. I owe it to my friends and all those people killed. I am not suicidal but if I am visible I become a target again but I do not like to impose. I do have backup of all my files and research. I have everything with me and it is currently in my room here in the 'backroom'.”
Henry countered, “that will not be a problem because the Ranger budget will kick in to cover expenses for this and for loss of income for the Inn. In addition you have already shown that you can and do contribute to our efforts.”
“Henry, I do not expect loss of income for not operating the Inn. That might be a red flag for the nasties and draw unnecessary attention. The Inn has to operate as normal to avoid that possibility. Also remember that this ‘backroom’ is autonomous, off the grid and is equipped to feed the lot of us for years. We built this room pretty carefully and we built it ourselves and very few know it is here. It is in bedrock under the mountain, so I do not believe that it can be readily found. It has several entrances including one in the lake, all well concealed and secure. Another thing you do not know is that there are several levels below this that are fully shielded and one is a sizeable laboratory. I built it over a period of time and stocked it with equipment that no one knows is here. If someone were of a mind to, they could build an artificial intelligence in that lab. We have a power system that is also off the grid. It was built to Ranger Regional base specs. We of course do not have a space capable shuttle but quite a few of the other items found in a base are here. Linda and I built most of it our selves. The hardest part was disposing of the tailings from the caverns we carved out. Of course the gold we found in the process did not hurt our budget any.”
Charles then commenced an interview of Lorena. He asked for as much detail about her conversation with Lyle as she could remember. She had near eidetic recall so she was able to recreate the conversation almost verbatim. She related her discussions with her agent and those at the publishing firm with whom she worked. Charlie shared the information he had gathered that day. He also pointed out the fact that the four employees at the publisher were missing.
“That reminds me, Lori, do you know of anyone capable of building a NOSI?”
“Sure, me.”
“Say what?”
“It is why I wrote the book. I wanted to set the stage for acceptance of such a project. When I speak of artificial intelligence, I am speaking of a non-organic sentient artificial intelligence. It has to be established with a conscience and an ethical pattern, otherwise it could and probably would be dangerous. The fact that I have one nearly complete is why I have been a tad bit paranoid since yesterday. I completed a mobility package about a week ago so she will be able to get around on her own once we are satisfied that the programming is correct and she is activated."
Now it was the rest of the group that was startled. Charlie recovered first and asked where is she. "Actually, she is in the large suitcase in my room. She looks very much like testing equipment and can perform that function as a disguise. What worries me right now is that someone out there may be trying to push us in to building NOSI's without a conscience because they do not have one themselves and that could be very dangerous.”
At that point, everyone's phone rang at the same time. Curt noted that this should not be possible and the caller identification screen was blank. After the second ring, Henry decided to answer the call. "Hello, who is this and how did you get this number."
"My name is General Hank Stone and your mother, General Mae Raven gave it to me. Would you please ask your friends to answer their phones and I will explain."
Henry Raven indicated that all should answer their phones. Hank then went on, "I know that you are all in a secure location and be assured that has not been compromised. Today I had a most interesting meeting with the Generals Raven and provided them with a substantial amount of intelligence. They asked me to share it with this group. May I join you."
Curt responded, "that is not going to be possible."
"That is not exactly correct because I am already here, just not visible."
"That is not likely."
"And if I prove otherwise?"
Curt impatiently said "go for it."
With that Hank and Sam appeared before them, both in field uniforms and said "OK, here we are and we do not need the phones any longer." Seeing the stunned expressions, Hank continued, "This is my wife Sam. By way of personal introduction, I am General Henry Patrick Stone and I command the Antoran fleet. Our primary base is located about 6200 light years from here. I prefer being called Hank and that might be a bit less confusing since there is already a Henry here. Your mother suggested that you would be less than credulous so she offered to appear here with us if we felt that would help."
"You expect us to believe that?"
"That is exactly the reaction I would have had. Barana would you please transport the Generals if they are ready."
Mae said, "Wow, I could get used to that mode of travel."
John Raven continued, "As could I. Son I wanted to pave the way for you to listen to what these folks have to say." As he said this he scratched the left side of his nose with his left little finger and then pulled on his right ear lobe with his right index and middle fingers. At this Henry Raven's eyes widened as he recognized the signal from his father indicating that he was real and not under duress.
"General Stone, whose voice was that we heard before my parents arrived and how did they arrive?"
Sam responded for Hank with a mischievous grin, "That was Barana. She is the AI for our Station. You would probably be more comfortable referring to her as a Non-Organic Sentient Intelligence but she is a self aware person so play nice with her. Your parents were teleported here as were we. We would like to invite all of you to continue this discussion on board our Station. If you agree, I should note that we live inside a tube so the view may be a bit startling. The Station is cloaked so it can't be seen. Also the dimensions are typically daunting. What say you, are you up to the challenge? We can assure that the location will be even more secure than this one. Miss Wells, you may bring your project with you if you wish. And we will provide a protection envelope for the lodge and this location so that no one can enter until you say so. Interested?"
All agreed that they should accept the invitation, mostly from curiosity.
# On Station One in Malone Orbit #
They arrived at the usual lodge for such meetings. Hank stated, "this is the lodge where Sam and I were married eighteen months ago. It is a gorgeous setting." The rest were in awe. They could see the residences, the mountains, the rivers, lakes, the church and the unusual horizon. Hank continued, "this is one of six habitat areas on this Station. Resident capacity for the entire Station is about 438 millions but we are nowhere near that just now. We have about 182 million people on board. This is the largest of our Stations and is the prototype. Station One is 260 miles long and 60 miles in diameter."
Lorena gasped, "That is really big."
Sam responded, "it is a bit daunting and I find it funny, that I am becoming fairly blasé about it. I was just as flabbergasted as you are now when I first saw this habi
tat. Wait until you see the rest of the Station. You should know that this Station is a multi species operation so you can expect to see beings you have not seen previously. We know you are familiar with what we call the Glarin species." As she said this Barana produced a life-sized hologram of a Glarin. We also have Linan, Gar and Saban. Holograms of these species were displayed as well. "We have substantial resources currently here in this sector of space. In addition to this Station, we have 5 of our type 1B Stations here and those are 200 miles long by 60 miles wide and we also have 22 of our Type 2A Stations in the region and those are 90 miles by 60 miles. Each Station has a minimum of 20,000 warships aboard, some a bit more. That adds up to at least 560,000 warships here in the region. We can call for more Stations as needed but what we have here now is probably excessive. We have another 26 Stations on standby. We can tell you a lot about the Stations but we are more interested in telling you about the enemy you now face and help you put a face on that enemy."
Henry Raven commented, "We would very much like to know about that."
"Your enemy is human and its home planet is located about 63 light years from here in the Sitler System. The Sitlerans have a fleet of 30,000 warships located about 48 light years from here. I would not be too worried about them because they are not going to get past us. We have also posted protection Stations at all populated systems in the region. The Sitlerans do not know we are there but they will be contained. The issue we are concerned with is the enemy you can't see. The Sitleran agents placed on Malone are actively causing bloodshed. They also have several picket vessels located closer to Malone. We have these tightly shadowed in hopes that communications to them will reveal where their operatives on planet are located."
"Our purpose for being is to prevent conflicts from being carried into space. Starkiller and planet buster weapons are an anathema to us as are most weapons of mass destruction. We abhor slavery in its many guises. We also provide security for systems in our sphere of influence and interest. Many of the personnel in our fleet are former citizens of the planets and systems we protect. In fact, it is unlikely that we could provide the area of coverage that we do without that participation. It also helps that those persons have a vested interest in the well being of their home systems. Not counting our activities in this region, we currently have Stations posted in 47 systems. Each system operates autonomously, is self-governing and has subscribed to our fleet's principles for providing external security. We usually do not interfere in planetary affairs and do not allow conflicts in space. We also do not allow enslavement of populations so I suppose you could say that is a form of interference on our part. These systems are slowly in the process of developing interstellar trade. We believe that this will ultimately result in a fairly large confederation of systems. We would hope that this is of interest to you and that the systems in this region will wish to participate in our structure. However the first issue will be to address the present problem."
