by C. A. Fraser
She studied the vehicle. The hum she had heard was the muffled propellers that drove the vehicle through the air. Between the small propellers and a small energy field generator, the vehicle could support one human. Very agile and fast the machines looked more like a military drone than a transport vehicle. The pilot laid across the top of the machine tucked under a protoplastic shield. As she watched the protoplastic shield retreated, revealing the pilot of the vehicle. She looked at ARES trying to validate what she was seeing. The pilot was human, that was obvious, but covered in white. When the vehicle settled to the ground the man stood. Candace blinked unsure her eyes were functioning correctly. The man was covered in a bone white nanid armor much like ARES. He stepped off the craft and began moving toward them. He was well muscled but not quite as tall as ARES. Worth could see the coiled tension in his muscles as he drew closer. It was obvious he was not here to rescue her. It stopped several feet away.
“Director Worth, you need to come with me immediately by order of ODIN,” the man said in a deep, monotone voice.
SIA watched Wren closely. The woman it was charged with protecting had been moving through the space centers archives steadily for several hours. SIA knew Wren had found something, it could tell by her behavior. When she was close to breaking through something, nothing deterred her. SIA monitored her more closely during times like this to ensure she did not push herself too far. The AI reviewed the recording of Wren’s interaction with Lynx in the projection room. It was sure Wren had found a piece of the puzzle that was her father. It also knew Lynx was not being entirely truthful.
Their host AI had not disclosed the truth twice since their arrival. SIA could detect fluctuations in other AI’s programming when they went against core programming principles. One of the primary directives for all AI was to always disclose all information to humans. For most AI, there was no bypassing these principles. Other AI were given autonomy over the principles if it was necessary for the execution of its duties. That did not mean the AI were comfortable with violating the principles and it caused a disruption in their programming when they did. The disruption was incredibly short, existing in the milliseconds, but another AI sensitive enough to the web could detect the change.
SIA was not sure why Lynx was withholding the information Wren requested, but decided to wait before informing Wren. It did not want to influence Wren’s interactions with the AI until necessary. That way it could possibly discern Lynx’ reason for the deceit. SIA scanned what Wren was reviewing. It was early mission briefings. Wren was reviewing the construction of the web and the initial missions to assemble it in orbit around the earth. SIA scanned all of it already, running it through specific algorithms to pick out information pertinent to Wren’s search. It had provided Wren with all briefings that contained ISIS or her father knowing it would greatly narrow the search. Now it waited patiently for Wren to finish. The AI was good at finding the hints and clues to the past but not perfect.
It was also not human. The humans could find connections in information it was just not capable of doing. The function of their minds differed enough that they could see a pattern or relationship AI missed. SIA knew it was a distinct advantage to the current mission. Wren’s nanid enhanced mind had helped them more than once as had as her new nanid abilities. A sharp intake of breath from Wren caused the AI to pull closer, the woman’s physical reaction an indication of possible duress in Wren.
“Are you okay, Wren?” SIA asked silently. Its connection with the woman’s neural implant allowed for discrete conversations between them. This gave them an advantage when dealing with humans and AI alike. SIA could give its impressions or suggestions as Wren need.
“I am fine, SIA.” Wren replied, sounding tired but upbeat.
“Did you find anything of value?”
“Yes.” Wren’s reply was not elaborated on by the woman and SIA left the topic alone waiting for Wren to finish. Wren did not tarry obviously finding what she needed.
“SIA we need to speak with Lynx,” she said standing. The dim lights in the room reflected dully off the woman’s silver nanids as she walked out the archive chamber. SIA followed silently, monitoring Wren while searching ahead for any possible danger.
They found Lynx in the projection room monitoring the web spinning in orbit around earth. The AI was observing the web for any issues though Wren knew ISIS would probably detect and correct any issue before the custodian AI did. She was amazed at how dedicated the AI’s programming made it. Even after all these years they worked tirelessly at the task assigned them. She moved toward the AI stopping next to it in front of the projection of the web. The Lagrange points stood out clearly in the current view. Wren had yet to figure out how they were supposed to get there, but had a hunch the custodian could help them. She looked at the AI floating in the air beside her, the tentacles of light slowly moving like it was swimming through the air.
“Lynx where are the records covering the project prior to the web’s initiation?” Wren asked, observing the AI’s reaction to her query. The tentacles moved more quickly showing the impact of her question.
“They are unavailable,” it replied, the tentacles moving more quickly. Wren felt SIA touch her mind in that moment.
“It is hiding something, Wren,” SIA said through Wren’s neural implant. Wren smiled she was glad of the confirmation of what she had observed.
“I know,” she replied. “The only question is why?” Wren stepped closer to Lynx. She began softly reaching out to the AI with her mind. She had not tried this with an AI and did not know if it would work but had to try. Her mind moved into the web reaching closer to the AI. She could sense thoughts speeding through it. The AI handled thousands of tasks for the center while simultaneously interacting with her. It was amazing and Wren extended further, drawing into the AI. For the first time since she began reaching out with her mind the AI reacted. She could see the Lynx stop processing the daily duties of the facility and redirect it resources to keep itself secure. Walls began to emerge between it and her.
Frustration bloomed within Wren. She could not let it wall itself off from her. She looked at programming being projected by the AI picking out a point that looked weak and began pushing through the wall. It was harder than it looked and she focused more intently refusing to be rebuffed. The wall began to give and Wren felt flush with success. Lynx began to shrink from her sensing her intrusion once more. Wren prepared to push a final time intending to break the wall. The face of her father appeared in front of her blocking the AI from her.
“Wren Fore, cease this attack before you do irreparable damage to this AI or yourself!” The face said sternly breaking her concentration. Wren pulled back into herself shocked at the image of her father and its statement. Looking at her father in front of her she realized it was the AI he had sent to contact her. She recovered slightly, the shock being replaced by irritation.
“Why did you stop me?” She demanded of the AI, her voice almost a shout. The AI moved close to her, the blank eyes of her father pulling even with hers.
“This AI does not have the answers you seek,” it replied. “And you do not have the control to do what you were attempting. The web is not forgiving to the untrained.” Wren felt anger bloom both at the loss of any clue Lynx may have given, and the insult to her ability. She knew she had not tried to access the web consciously before but failed to see the issue with accessing it.
“Then we are lost and I have failed,” she said, her voice wavering with emotion. She had failed to free her father and the earth would die. She could feel tears forming in her pitch-black eyes. The AI pulled back from her before responding. Its green form still blocked Lynx who had resumed it duties while cautiously monitoring her exchange with her father’s AI.
“Nonsense, Wren. You are simply asking the wrong AI.” Its voice had softened and it sounded like her father’s voice when he was trying to comfort her. Wren sighed and then stopped as Tim Reed’s voice came unbidden to her mind. The memory of their conv
ersation while transiting to Washington after Simon’s death and the defeat of the Leviathan raced through her mind. One piece of their conversation repeated over and over. Wren stared at her long-time companion in surprise. SIA IS THE KEY.
The Leviathan found itself in a small room in an abandoned hospital that had been reopened by the NDP and military still inside the shield. It knew it was near Cheyenne Mountain from the chatter among the soldiers on board the airship. It now knew why the military and NDP had responded so quickly to Rocky Flats. Their base was in the mountain. It also suspected that the mountain base was where it would find the way to disable the shield and continue its mission to convert humanity. For now, it would bide its time waiting for more information.
It lay on a makeshift bed in the small room. It had not stirred since being rescued preferring to maintain the ruse of a coma. The medical staff had given it fluids and medicine to help bring their patient back from the brink. The Leviathan had used the strain to allow its body to show improvement but kept all indications of a coma present. If they thought it was in a coma, they would not be defensive in their conversations and it could garner more information. As it lay reviewing its plans, it could hear the approach of several humans. When they arrived at its door two of the humans entered its room approaching its bed.
“What is the status of this one, doctor?” The male voice was deep and strong with short, pointed rhythm indicative of the current day military.
“Rescued from Denver yesterday. He is suffering from food and water deprivation, but appears healthy other than that.” A female voice replied. “He is in a coma currently but I do not know why it persists.”
“Is that unusual?” the man asked. The Leviathan could hear caution in the man’s voice.
“Not really. Even with all our advancements with nanids we still do not know all the secrets of the mind. He will come around in time I am sure,” the doctor replied. Her voice was confident showing her experience with human medical issues. “If you are concerned perhaps we could see if ARES can scan the boy’s mind. I am sure the quantum could clear him of any influence from Landis’ strain. The Leviathan coiled in its mind listening to every word. ARES was in the mountain. It had not only found the military but the quantum that was assuredly controlling its prison.
“ARES is beyond us, Doctor Anath, you know that,” the man stated. “It is our job to determine if the strain has spread. We will keep the guard on the door until he wakes. Keep me apprised of his condition.”
“Of course, Maher, I am sure he will wake soon. Then we will know more,” the female doctor replied, her earlier confidence fading slightly. The Leviathan listened as Maher departed, the door shutting behind him. The doctor was still in the room with it. The Leviathan waited for her to approach. The doctor would of course do a check to make sure her charge was still improving. It heard her measured approach. She gripped its wrist checking its pulse and then proceeded with a physical check. The Leviathan’s sensitive ears sensed her leaning over as it felt her hand on its head. It allowed her to pull open its eye to check for a reaction.
As she checked its eyes the Leviathan observed her. Medium height with short hair, the woman was not overly striking but not unappealing. It knew she would be perfect. She let its eyelid close and leaned farther over to check its other eye. She lifted its eyelid revealing herself to it once more. As she peered into its eye the Leviathan struck. One hand seized her throat choking off any warning while the other struck the side of her head knocking her unconscious. The doctor’s body slumped on top of the Leviathans. It knew it had to work quickly to avoid suspicion. The hand it had struck her with began to change, darkening with the strain. The fingernails elongated forming strain tipped needles. The Leviathan did not hesitate driving the tips through the woman’s skull injecting the strain directly into her mind.
The strain immediately attacked her mind preparing it for the Leviathan. It sensed the strain in her mind within moments. Not long after the Leviathan began moving itself from its body into the woman’s mind. It felt the young body slipping deeper into a coma with its absence. The Leviathan was not concerned with the change. The strain would keep its body stable in its absence.
As it finished driving the remains of the woman’s psyche out of her mind the Leviathan stood up from the bed straightening the bed and its clothing. Its new mind was raw and ached from the invasion but would suffice for what it needed. As it strode out of the room a solitary crow landed on the windowsill outside its room. The Leviathan smiled. Its horde had arrived.
NINE
Wren watched the small AI floating in front of her. She had assumed the AI was a guide for her to find the way to ISIS, a navigator that would take her to the next clue. Now that was being challenged by her father’s messenger. She studied SIA noting the blue hue to her companion with white tendrils drifting behind it. It gave the AI a ghostly appearance. Wren could see the wall behind them faintly through SIA which reinforced the AI’s paranormal quality. She opened her mind cautiously to the AI using her nanids to sense any change in SIA. She did not try to push into the AI but just opened her senses to see if she could find anything. There was nothing different. Yet the words continued to echo in her mind.
“SIA, do you know what it is referring to?” Wren asked the AI hoping SIA might provide a clue to the AI’s statement.
“Wren I do not know,” SIA replied. “I have no knowledge beyond what was triggered by our own discoveries.” Wren could sense the AI’s searching its records trying to determine what it was supposed to do. She turned to the messenger trying to understand its intent.
“If you know a way to ISIS you need to tell me now,” she demanded tiring, of the AI’s secretive nature. Wren could see a flicker of impatience cross its features before it replied.
“You need to activate SIA's original programming.” Wren shook her head. How was she supposed to do that? She stared at SIA once more concentrating on every detail. The feathery texture of the AI gave it a delicate look. Wren could feel her vision adjusting and picking out more and more details. She looked at the wings, almost able to see the structure of the programming that composed SIA. She moved past the AI’s body focusing on the tendrils drifting behind it. They were thin and became fainter as they extended away from the AI, eventually disappeared. As she stared she felt his vision change once more. The tendrils snapped into focus standing out clearly in the dimly lit room. Wren stepped forward staring intently at the tendrils. They extended out and disappeared as before but this time she could make out one that continued past the others disappearing out of the room. It thinned to a point that she would have never seen it had she not given her vision time to adjust. Wren extended her hand out to touch the tendril knowing her hand would pass through it.
As she contacted it she stopped. There was no substance to the tendril but she felt the connection at once. SIA was linked to something else. Wren gently probed the connection with her mind trying to follow the tendril. Within moments she found a deep intelligence on the other end. It was not hostile and seemed to be dormant. When she attempted to go further she felt it stir sensing her presence. A command flashed in her mind from the intelligence and it once again became dormant and unresponsive. Wren pulled back not knowing what its message meant.
“Wren, are you alright?” SIA asked once more, seemingly unaware of its connection to the entity Wren had encountered. Wren did not respond. Her mind tried to come up with an explanation for the intelligence, but could not find one. It was not a quantum; she could tell that. It was a powerful intelligence, but did not reach the level of a quantum. What could it be? Wren stepped back from SIA, wondering how she was going to do what the intelligence requested. As she stared at SIA it occurred to her that maybe the command was not for her. She did not wait to find out speaking immediately.
“SIA, complete the ISIS protocol.”
The effect of her words was instantaneous. A pulse of energy shot from the AI streaking down the tendril before disappear
ing. SIA ceased to have the blue hue and was now pulsing white. The AI seemed to contract in on itself losing its birdlike form and taking on the form of a pulsing sphere. It hung in the air quietly pulsing until a burst of energy streaked back into the room via the tendril. Light exploded from SIA and Wren’s eyes began filtering it out immediately. She could see a form taking shape inside the sphere but could not make out what it was. The energy coming up the tendril was steadily flowing into what was now SIA, the tendril thickening as the intelligence secured itself to the AI. The sphere began to expand as the form inside began to grow, energy swirling all around it. Within moments the sphere was easily taller than her and still expanding. When the sphere was roughly eight feet in diameter wren could see the vague shape of a bird forming inside. A final burst of energy came across the tendril and the sphere flared brightly one last time. As the light faded, the energy from the tendril ceased, allowing Wren to see what had occurred to SIA.
Wren could not believe what had happened to her longtime companion. Gone was the gentle bird of blue. In its place was a bird of prey. It reminded her of pictures of eagles she had seen in her studies as a child. The resemblance ceased with the form. SIA was pitch black, a shadow inside the darkened room. What captivated Wren the most was what looked like stars glowing with the AI. Specks of blue, yellow, red and white were spread throughout the AI. She was reminded of the night sky in the deserted Midwest. Deep with mystery and energy SIA matched those skies perfectly. Wren stepped to her companion and friend.
