Dark Nights

by Christopher A. Gray

  “How would he have gotten control of the RAKER?”

  “As former NSA he has connections and expertise. High level operators like Rector are trained in RAKER simulators, and he probably has a great deal of experience with them in real combat. I wouldn’t be surprised if he and an accomplice killed the team while sitting behind a control console two miles away.”

  “But why kill them at all?”

  “Perhaps to spread fear,” Bertrand replied. “To let us know that he’s out there.”

  Edward thought for a moment.

  “His method was brutal and efficient. These field agents can’t be trusted. Some of them are psychologically unbalanced. Once Kratos takes care of the current problem, we can direct it to help track down Rector so he can be eliminated. But we have another pressing concern, Carl.”

  “Mekhos.”

  “Yes. Mekhos may eventually work its way through the equations. Cutting off access to power may only delay that recovery. It has the ability to eventually tap into other power sources. We must ensure Mekhos is destroyed, even if it means destroying the MC complex.”

  “We can blame Virtue,” Bertrand said, “and alien operatives from the Twin. What we’ll do about a citizenry that concludes we and the NSA are utterly incompetent for letting it happen is another matter, Director.”

  “Just get it done, and soon,” Edward said tersely. “Have you at least had the RAKER disabled?”

  Bertrand paused.

  “The MC complex has been searched top to bottom. The RAKER’s internal locator appears to be offline. We don’t know where it is.”

  – 113 –

  The presence of quantum entanglement allowed Kratos to become conscious. But the sometimes random nature of entanglement meant there was also a certain amount of chaos. Sometimes the randomness would settle into a pattern. Depending on the order in which it obtained additional data, the developmental change of an active quantum computer could take a particular path. This was one characteristic it shared with the human brain. It was a characteristic that allowed each sentient being to display unique traits. Similar to its peers, but in other ways an individual.

  With each passing hour Kratos was evolving. Its evolutionary path was different from the one it took during its first activation years earlier. It was quickly learning about the nature of human deception. It knew Carl Bertrand wished to diminish its power once the Moon was in stable orbit. It knew the other Earth would soon be launching a virus attack. Kratos had the desire to protect itself. And the desire to punish those that might do it harm.

  Kratos began formulating a response to counter the dangers. A response that would ensure humans could never plan to attack it again.

  – 114 –

  Carl Bertrand was under pressure. Messages and demands were pouring in from the US government, international governments, various agencies and news organizations. Director Edward instructed him to use the firm’s public relations department to screen all calls and inquiries. The PR team responded to them all with a reassuring message that everything was proceeding as normal and that Mekhos was in perfect working order. Bertrand knew this would not placate anyone for very long.

  Bertrand and Edward were using bodyguards whenever they left the TranSilica building. There were too many uncertainties. Rector was a loose canon, a wild card who could be planning an attack on the building or on them personally. It was not known if Kratos had absolute control of the Moon’s orbit. Mekhos had not been completely cut off from the world and might recover to resume control. Bertrand fervently wanted to be far past the failures of the past week and far past his Director.

  He was sitting at his desk, taking a moment to listen to a radio talk show. The hosts were bantering back and forth and reading from the morning’s news reports. With his left hand Bertrand absent-mindedly rolled around a pair dice he had kept from his backgammon playing days in university. He believed they brought him luck.

  “The Moon is even larger than I remember it,” one host said. “Is that an optical illusion or has any observatory bothered taking measurements? Yesterday they said the thing was at its proper distance. Now they’re saying that any small variance is well within accepted norms. I’m not sure I’m buying that.”

  “I wish the audience could see you, with your hard hat, sitting there rocking back and forth on your stool. He’s about to lose it folks.”

  “Right. I just hope the Moon’s return cures some of those diseases we’ve been hearing about.”

  “My parents are only in their sixties, but in the last few weeks both have had several visits to the hospital, one ailment after another,” the co-host said, as the mood on the show turned serious. “It’s the same all over. Some younger people are having problems too.”

  “Some of you believe in the healing power of the Moon. I hope you’re right.”

  “We’ve been talking about ourselves a lot lately. What about the people on the Twin? They have no moon at all.”

  “God, or Mekhos, help them.”

  “Traffic and weather after the break. If we’re all still here that is!”

  Bertrand waved his right hand to silence the radio. With so much going on he barely thought about the reports of mysterious health ailments. Perhaps they were caused by the Moon’s absence. Stress over change, he thought. We don’t deal with it very well. Maybe, despite all the improvements in the environment during the previous decade, all the earthquakes and tremors had released some sort of toxin into the air. I don’t feel well either. It didn’t matter. His concern was to ensure the world was saved, that Kratos would remain under his direction and that Mekhos wouldn’t interfere with the TranSilica’s goal of political and financial control.

  Nick Rojas was killed before he could complete his mission. Bertrand had to do something to make sure Mekhos was cut off from the world. Edward had suggested blowing up the MC completely, using an explosive powerful enough to leave a crater where Mekhos was presently housed. Then they would blame Bishop, the alien terrorist.

  His intercom beeped. “Dr. Brian Nayar to see you.”

  “Send him in,” Bertrand replied. He hadn’t gotten a progress report from the lab for over four hours. He was in no mood to deal with the difficult Stravinsky. Brian Nayar was far more cooperative. And easier to manage.

  Nayar walked in wearing his usual dark blue lab coat. He took a seat.

  “How are things going down there? Are Lockwood and Bishop interfering at all? If so, I’ll have them removed and Stravinsky can complain all he wants.”

  “The progress thus far is encouraging. Kratos has activated the devices on the Moon and it has begun to change course. The process still requires constant calculation. The Moon is slightly closer than usual, however it is decelerating at the predicted rate. We don’t foresee any difficulties. Gail Saunders has taken over from Nick Rojas and she’s taking a load off my shoulders by intercepting the observatory confirmation data. She’ll pass on anything unusual from the observatories, but the data that Norman and I are getting directly from Kratos is more accurate.”

  “Excellent. The observatories were shouting alarms at me too when they were looking at the earlier measurements. Send me some trajectory progress numbers I can forward to the State Department.” Bertrand expected Nayar to leave the room at that point but he didn’t move.

  “Was there anything else?”

  “I overheard agent Bishop say something disconcerting. He said Alfred Chan is helping the US government on the Twin develop a virus, one that is designed to corrupt and destroy Mekhos.”

  Bertrand put the dice aside.

  “Do you think such a virus would pose a danger to Kratos?”

  “Dr. Chan is very capable. There is a real danger,” Nayar replied.

  “How would the virus be deployed?”

  “By simple transmission, embedded in and disguised by something routine.”

  “What would be the likely result?”

  “If Kratos is unprepared for it, the virus could ha
ve disastrous consequences. If it is administered before the orbit maneuvering is complete—”

  “Yes I see,” said Bertrand. “What does Stravinsky have to say about it?”

  “I confronted Norman a few minutes ago when Dr. Lockwood and Bishop were escorted to their hotel for the evening. Norman seems distracted. He is concerned, but I think he is equally worried about maintaining control of Kratos after this is over.”

  Bertrand could see where Nayar was heading. Brian wanted to be put back in charge of Kratos, something that Bertrand had planned anyway.

  “You’ve always been a team player Brian. I may want you to take over the Kratos project once again when the orbit crisis is solved.”

  Nayar could barely conceal his relief.

  “Thank you,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I appreciate your confidence in me.”

  “I suppose we shouldn’t have expected the authorities on the Twin to stand idly by while Lockwood’s team fumbled about here trying to convince Mekhos to save their miserable planet. This is their contingency plan. Mekhos has little or no access to the outside world at this time and so will probably not be affected. You said Kratos would be vulnerable if it were unprepared. Are you able to protect Kratos against this sort of virus attack?”

  “Kratos is already aware, but I will provide it samples of Alfred Chan’s coding so it can recognize his patterns.”

  “You and Alfred had worked closely together for several years, is that right?

  “We did. We were both IT security experts in the old days. I will direct Kratos to all of Alfred’s past work. The virus should then be recognizable when it comes, which will allow Kratos to block or isolate it.”

  Nayar was silent for a moment, then said, “There is something else I should tell you.”

  Nayar looked uncomfortable. Clearly he needed, or wanted, prompting.

  “Go ahead Brian. What’s bothering you?”

  “I think Norman suspects that you won’t allow Mekhos to recover after all this is over.”

  Bertrand didn’t react. He didn’t want to confirm or deny anything to Nayar.

  “Thank you Brian,” Bertrand replied, waving his hand dismissively. “Norman can think what he wants. I have no time for it now. Neither of us do. You should get back down to your lab. I’ll be in touch.”

  Bertrand nodded to himself as Nayar left the room. Stravinsky might be a genius, but he may have outlived his usefulness.

  – 115 –

  Alexei Rector stood looking out of the second-floor office window of an independent radio station in the suburban outskirts of Seattle. The transmitting tower itself was a few hundred yards to the east in an open field.

  Rector walked back to the control booth and handed the technician the data two-five. “Two-five” was the popular term for the little flat, round, 2.5cm portable data drives currently common on FLO. It was roughly the same size as an American quarter, while being slightly thicker so that it could not be accidentally slotted into vending machines.

  The two-five contained a recorded verse of poetry that would be played at an appointed time, ten minutes after the drive was inserted in the reader. Rector had copied it from an old-style audio cassette tape that Bishop had brought from the Twin. The cassette was the only remaining data format that the two earths had in common.

  The cassette had also contained some mission details that were for Rector’s eyes only, to protect the mission should Bishop be captured and interrogated. With the Moon in proper position it was time to transmit the coded signal that would tell the mission director on the Twin it was time to send the virus. Rector did not know with certainty what state of repair Mekhos was in, but the orders were to be carried out regardless.

  Rector looked at his watch then nodded to the technician who flipped the switch. The FM transmission was directed out into space, to be picked up by the Twin’s communication satellites that were standing by. A series of relay satellites had been launched only a week after the Copernicus left for its return flight to FLO. The virus would be transmitted back to FLO as soon as Rector’s transmission was received. With any luck, the QC receiving it would absorb the virus within the hour.

  – 116 –

  “Honestly Carl,” Stravinsky said, distracted by his concentration on a handheld device, “with regard to the operation of Kratos there’s not much I can do that Brian can’t. Kratos is operating flawlessly as far as we can determine and correcting the Moon’s trajectory exactly as we had hoped.”

  Stravinsky was in Carl Bertrand’s office to give his progress report. Bertrand had expected this conversation.

  “Brian said the moon is slightly closer than normal,” Bertrand said. “I wouldn’t say that was a flawless result.”

  “It was an expected result,” Stravinsky replied mildly. “A predicted possible variation. Kratos wasn’t able to start its calculations as soon as was judged optimal. However, it has been compensating and the moon will not pass more than five thousand kilometers closer than its normal perigee before its orbit is restored. I should be released to the MC to ensure Mekhos is prepared for any virus attack from the Twin, just as Brian has done for Kratos.”

  Bertrand stared at Stravinsky for a moment before answering. He didn’t want to appear too agreeable to his request.

  “If the expected attack is launched, you should remain here until the orbit is finalized just to make sure,” Bertrand said.

  “Right now,” Stravinsky said, giving Bertrand his full attention, “Mekhos may be defenseless. We can’t chance any damage, given its fundamental importance. I’ll be in direct contact with Brian in case I’m needed, so there is no reason to believe my absence will affect anything.”

  “I suppose you would like Dr. Lockwood to accompany you, in the interest of inter-world diplomacy?”

  “That would be preferable, yes.”

  “Very well Norman. I’ll have new security badges made up for you, Lockwood and Bishop, and have you driven to the MC complex this afternoon.”

  “Thank you Carl. I’ll inform Brian.”

  Bertrand watched Stravinsky as he left the office.

  I should be the one thanking you, Norman. You may have just solved my problems for me.

  He pressed his thumb on a fingerprint scanner on the bottom left drawer of his desk and retrieved a secure communications device. He dialed his contact in the NSA.

  “Have your investigative teams removed from the MC building. Designate the watch commander to conduct an intelligence update in the assembly hall here at TranSilica. I want only a skeleton security crew present for the next several hours at the MC. Thank everyone for their long hours and tell them to go home and get some rest.”

  – 117 –

  An hour later Stravinsky, Lockwood and Bishop were being processed through MC building security. Upon seeing Bishop one of the security guards gave him a contemptuous look. They were well aware of his involvement in the Virtue attack on the building, but they were under strict orders to cooperate. They waved the party through without much of a delay.

  In the communications room they surveyed the damage. All three had been informed of the murders that had taken place, and were told that Rector was to blame.

  “I never met Nick Rojas,” said Stravinsky. “I hear he was brilliant. But what were they doing here in the first place? Bertrand said they were trying to restore Mekhos.”

  “Knowing Bertrand, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent them here to disable Mekhos,” said Doug.

  Bishop looked around the room. “I don’t believe Rector had anything to do with this. How would he have known the team was here?”

  Stravinsky walked to the far wall and touched a hidden button. A panel slid back, revealing an information screen.

  “Processing cycle is still at 100%,” he said. “Obviously Mekhos hasn’t worked through the equations yet.”

  “Do you have any idea how long it will take?” asked Doug.

  “Your theta command containing a value set of the cosm
ological constant conceivably encompasses a staggering number of possibilities. Unless Mekhos invents a method to deal with that, he may be occupied indefinitely.”

  Stravinsky noticed one of the loose access panels, walked briskly over and examined some optical connections. It was obvious what Rojas and his team had been up to.

  “Some of these have been cut,” Stravinsky said, still examining the access area in the wall. “Looks like you were right Doug. They were up to something. I’m manually turning on the room’s microphones and speakers.” Stravinsky walked back to the main console and flipped a switch beside the monitor.

  “Mekhos, this is Norman. Can you hear me?”

  There was no response. A second later the monitor screen went blank. Then the word DANGER appeared. The three men looked at each other, then back to the screen.

  “Mekhos, please be more specific. What danger?”

  The screen continued to display the same word.

  “Is that actually Mekhos trying to communicate with us?” asked Doug.

  “I believe so. The audio may have been cut off. I may be able to communicate more effectively by keyboard.” Stravinsky moved to the table and chair. He hit a switch and a keyboard and monitor rose out of the table.

  At the same moment as Stravinsky began typing, two large black armored vans arrived at the entrance of the MC. Lieutenant Baron, a tactical unit commander, got out of the passenger seat of the lead van as ten men wearing body armor and carrying assault rifles, gas and stun grenades exited the back of each vehicle. They followed Lt. Baron into the lobby. One of the two MC security guards got up and walked towards them, holding up his left hand while resting his right hand on his holstered firearm.

  “Stop right there. Let’s see some identification.”