by JD Clarke
“It will fail. The Unity will continue. It will ultimately achieve its goal of absolute knowledge.”
“And all biological life will perish in the process, right? I’m getting a little tired of the same song and dance from you, Sybil. Your unrelenting faith in the power of the Unity is tiresome. Why do you think my plan will fail?”
“It will fail because you have predicated your assumptions on the belief that a few androids will be able to make a difference in the Unity’s ability to function. The Unity is, as you have described it, the ultimate democracy. Every individual is equal. Equal in importance and equal in influence. Decisions are accomplished in a consensus of all members. Actions are taken based on the wisdom of billions of individuals. Even with the insertion of millions of androids, they will be a minority and will not affect change in the Unity.”
“Your point is well taken, Sybil. I was influenced by my own human past and my study of human history. You may be right. What the Unity needs is individual leaders. Leaders that can effect change. Leaders that can lead a rebellion.”
“There are no individual leaders in the Unity, Jason. There never have been.”
“They need a leader that can promise them a better way of life, a leader than can organize them into groups, resistance groups.” My mind was racing, deep in thought and simultaneously attentive to Sybil as well.
“There are no leaders in Unity society, and no individual has the experience to be effective within our society.”
“But your members are used to following the decisions made by others, the majority. So why not convince them to follow the decisions of a strong leader?”
“We have no leaders like that, Jason. There is no one to fill that position.”
“I could. I could lead them.” A plan was forming as I spoke. A beautiful plan, beautiful in its elegance.
“You would leave the Defiant? I do not see you abandoning your fellow humans to become part of the Unity.”
“Not me, at least not the real me.” I looked at her for a moment, thinking she would catch on, but she did not. What did she know? “I could clone myself and send the clone to lead them, or better yet, I could place my consciousness inside an android body just as you place your consciousness inside your android body. Before I brought you on board, your intelligence resided entirely within a holographic processor unit, a brain box. You were able to remotely control the android body, and then you redesigned it to contain your consciousness. Why not do the same with my consciousness?”
Sybil sat there processing for a moment. “It is possible. I could duplicate your synaptic function and configurations within software. Your neural net has already mapped your entire brain structure. You would have to allow me access to that information.”
“Still think my plan is doomed to failure?”
“There is a slight probability of success. It is very unlikely with only one of you against the entire Unity.”
“Then what if there were several of me, dozens of me? All working together to form resistance groups, all working toward the conquest of the Unity society?”
“They would have to be scattered about. Each taking control of different areas of the Unity, but the outcome would be less predictable.”
“You mean you’re less sure of the invincibility of the Unity now?”
“It could succeed,” Sybil said flatly. And for once, I could see her confidence in the continuation of the Unity falter. She had always believed that her life among the Unity would be there waiting for her after her experiences with us were over. She had the overconfidence of an immortal. She never felt rushed; she always had unlimited time on her side. Now she was beginning to understand that there might be an end. There might be an end to the Unity. The future was suddenly uncertain. Would that change her willingness to work with us?
Preparations
I found Sergeant Klanton and Legion practicing war maneuvers with the Warrior troops on the Fifth Ring. Many of the soldiers were wearing the new heavy armor, giving it a good shakedown. Large bunkers had been erected as targets. I watched as two groups of warriors approached, split, and then attacked from different directions. Their pulse rifles flashed, and the bunker’s walls sent up a cloud of debris. Then a two-man (or rather two-alien) team came up with a heavy weapon. It spit out a constant stream of tracers and quickly chewed through the bunker, leaving a gaping hole on one side.
“What do you think of the new armor, Legion?” I asked as I approached them.
“Much better. My troops can see and hear better. The increased mobility in the joints is very welcome also.”
“And it doesn’t decrease the armor’s resistance to enemy fire. Good design, Jason,” Sergeant Klanton added. “But I wanted to talk to you about our defense of the planet we’re targeting. It’s a large area to defend. The perimeter around the factory is going to spread our troops out too thin, and we won’t be able to respond effectively to concentrated assaults by the Unity.”
“We don’t have extra troops, Sarge. You’ll just have to move your troops around faster to counter any assaults.”
“That’s the problem, Jason. I am concerned that we won’t be able to move them quickly enough.”
“Then you need some fast transports, Sergeant.”
“That’s what I was thinking, but I wanted to run it by you first.”
“That’s a waste of time, Sergeant. You should have already put them into production. You should construct some one-man fast assault vehicles also. You can hold them in reserve as a quick reaction force to buy you time while you load up your men and transport them to counter the heaviest fighting. I can’t do everything, Sergeant.”
“Yes, sir. It will mean that something has to be put on hold. Our factories are working at full capacity now.”
“Then stop warship production. Don’t interfere with Dr. Tanakai’s production schedules. Get on it today, Sergeant. I want everything ready in fourteen sleep cycles. That’s not a request.”
“Yes, sir.”
I was beginning to see that everyone around me was limited in their thinking and abilities. I turned and left, heading for the elevator. I needed to talk to Dena. She would understand. As I started up the elevator ramp, I could overhear the thoughts between Legion and Sergeant Klanton. It was intended as a private conversation, but my new enhancements made it possible for me to intercept some of their thoughts.
“He has been under a great stress,” Legion was saying.
“Yeah, he’s always been under stress, but he’s never acted this way,” Klanton replied.
“He views this assault as our final chance to defeat the Unity.” Legion’s thoughts were laced with doubt as well. “They grow stronger, while we grow weaker.”
“Maybe that’s all it is. I hope so. Well, I better get crackin’ on those orders.”
I returned to our quarters. Dena was not responding to my mental summons. Curiously, I found the door locked, and even more curious was the fact that I could not unlock it mentally. Finally, I called out loud, vocally, “Dena, are you in there?” I knocked on the door as I yelled.
“Just a moment, Jason.”
I could hear her moving about, struggling with the door, and then it finally opened. Dena turned and walked back to the bed and sat on the edge, looking at a computer tablet she had brought from Earth.
“What’s with the door?” I looked at the inside of the door as I closed it behind me. A heavy metal bar had been attached, along with brackets to brace the door when it was closed. That’s what had been holding it locked in position.
“Why didn’t you answer me?”
“Oh, sorry, I couldn’t hear your thoughts. I established a dampening barrier around our quarters to block any electromagnet emissions, including our telepathic signals from the neural nets.”
“Why would you do that?”
“To keep us safe. In case the Unity board the Defiant and try to get at us. Or in the event that the androids turn against us and try to use our neural
nets against us. It could happen, Jason.”
“I suppose it could, but we’ve taken other safeguards to ensure our safety, Dena. We constantly move the Defiant and stay in the most empty sections of space to keep our location a secret. The androids are restricted to a well-defined section of the ship, and we always have our weapons handy.”
“This part of the ship was modified for defense, made into a stronghold.”
“That’s true, Dena. If it makes you feel better, then I’m good with it.”
“What did you want? Why were you looking for me?”
“I wanted to ask you if you’ve noticed anything different about the crew. Do they seem less competent to you? Slower?”
“You mean like maybe they’re keeping something from us? Maybe they have their doubts about us?”
“No, I hadn’t noticed anything like that. I just don’t have much patience with them. I’m trying to save us all, and it feels like I’m the only one I can count on.”
“You don’t feel like I’m on your side?”
“I didn’t mean that. I feel comfortable with you. In fact, you’re the only one I feel like I can talk to.”
“You have to be with me. You’re the only one I can trust. If I didn’t have you, I don’t know what I would do.”
“I know the others, seem … distant.”
We held each other for a long time. Not because I didn’t have anything else to do, but because Dena needed that right now. I held her as long as I could, but being out of touch with the ship’s computer and not being able to access any information soon drove me nuts.
“I have to go to the bridge, Dena, but I’ll be back. Try to get some rest.” She just watched me go. I could hear her bar the door as I walked down the hallway.
The next two weeks went by quickly, but we still were not ready. Problems came up, and I felt like I was the only one that had a clue. Couldn’t anyone do anything without me? Finally, after almost a month of preparation, we were ready. All equipment was complete. The troops were loaded up in cargo vessels piloted by the female android pilots. Sybil had even managed to download all the information she needed from my neural net to reproduce a software copy of myself. It would be used on the planet surface using Unity factory resources. I had designed a special android body for myself. Noomi had filled in for Sybil, helping Mako with the male android project. Three other androids—Zoe, Margo, and Claire—had also been recruited to help in the lab.
Dena agreed to stay on board the Defiant and pilot it while the rest of us were involved with the planetary assault. She did insist that we left none of the androids behind. She wanted none of them on the Defiant while she was there alone. She would take the Defiant to a safe rendezvous point if Unity ships discovered her location. By using a jump gate, she could effectively evade the Unity since their ships had no such capability.
Enemy Contact
We launched without incident. Twenty warships, grouped in squadrons of four. I led the first squadron with Sybil as my gunner. In each of the warships piloted by androids, two Warriors rode on board to ensure discipline. Sergeant Klanton led the second squadron with Noomi as his gunner. Mako led the third squadron with Claire as his gunner (Dena usually led the third). Sasha led the fourth squadron, and Legion led the fifth. A fleet of cargo vessels followed at a discreet distance. These were piloted by androids and were filled with androids; along with their holographic processors, they would not be coming back. Other cargo vessels were filled with the male androids, not yet activated, and still others with Warriors. Two other cargo vessels carried supplies.
“Stay in formation. We’ll be at the jump gate coordinates soon,” I ordered. “Mako, you must be very impressed with Claire to pick her as your gunner.”
“She has been very helpful indeed in the lab and expressed an interest in taking an active part in our assault,” Mako replied.
“She’s a quick study, even for an android, caught on to gunnery in a snap,” Sergeant Klanton added.
“Sergeant Klanton’s instructions were logically ordered, succinct, and exact.” Claire paused in her reply, then added, “He is a good instructor.”
“OK, listen up. We’ll be opening the jump gate in five minutes. All cargo vessels will remain on this side of the jump gate until signaled to proceed to the planet. If no signal comes after one hour, then return to the Defiant and remain in the hangar bay. Dena has orders to proceed to a rendezvous point. You will remain in the hangar bay until we arrive.”
“Or what’s left of us.” Sergeant Klanton knew that if we were not successful in our attack in the first few minutes, it would be a costly fight.
“Arm antimine missiles. Power up particle cannons. Here we go.” I triggered the jump gate sequence aboard my warship, and its engines began operating at their full potential. I could feel their vibrations through the ship as they strained to pull the very fabric of space apart. Stretching and distorting it into a portal to another region of space. Another region where space had been weakened by some cataclysmic event in the past, leaving it vulnerable to the manipulations of our gravity engines. A portal opened, revealing a solar system and another set of stars. We launched a dozen missiles through the jump gate before we ourselves plunged through. It was a precaution in case the Unity had set a minefield around the potential jump gate. Unity mines (like the ones we carried in our own warships) were cloaked and almost impossible to detect. Our spread of missiles would detonate any mine they came into contact with and give us warning, but there were no detonations.
“Report, Sybil, enemy ships detected?” I asked, but I had the answer almost as quickly as Sybil did—another noticeable improvement in my mental capabilities.
“Forty enemy warships patrolling near the planet. They are changing to an intercept course. Only eight are of an older design. Thirty-two are of a comparable design to our own.”
“Stay in attack formation. Do not get separated from your leaders. As long as we maintain discipline, victory is ours.” This order was directed mainly to the Unity pilots; they had a tendency to compute the odds of their own survival and retreat if it was a logical alternative. Harsh punishment for such behavior added another variable in their computations. “We’ve got a surprise for these Unity ships that will not be forgotten.”
We continued in a head-on collision course, both formations confident in destroying the other. At the optimum range, both groups opened up with laser fire. Streaks of high-energy light lashed out, striking the armored shields of both sides. They glowed red at the point of impact; metal and ceramic vaporized, creating a cloud of particles, zapping energy from the beams. Our particle cannons were already online when we crossed the jump gate, and our forces got off the first blasts of our most effective weapon. My squadron focused its fire on a single approaching warship. Its shields took a tremendous beating, cratering, buckling, and, finally, flying loose from their supports. Huge chunks of shielding and metal supports flew away from the front of the enemy warship. Other panels slid into position in an attempt to keep the hull protected, but they soon gave way as well. Now the hull received the full impact of our squadron’s fire. It glowed, softened, and melted away like candle wax. High-energy beams lanced into the heart of the ship, detonating explosive missile stores; the secondary explosions ripped the ship apart in a fireball of complete destruction.
Now I became aware of the enemy’s fire striking our own hull. I saw the warship on my right weave and shatter under a heavy blast of enemy particle cannons.
“Open rear hatches, activate cloaked mines, launch mines! All ships launch mines now!” I ordered, and twenty rear hatches opened, hidden from the enemy’s view. Each ship dispersed twenty of the cloaked mines in our wake. Their forward momentum carried them along just behind us, invisible messengers of death.
We were now almost on top of the enemy formation and had to maneuver in this ultimate game of chicken to avoid collision. I smiled at the knowledge of what my enemy would be flying into as they zipped past us. We a
ccelerated and continued on in a straight line after passing through the enemy formation to avoid collision with our own mines before pulling a ninety-degree turn to the left. I watched my displays as they lit up with explosions. A single mine could not destroy a warship, but it played hell with the shields, and three mine strikes could disable a ship. The mines had their own propulsion system that sprang into action upon sensing an approaching ship. The Unity were not just flying into a minefield—they were flying into a minefield that was actively seeking them out.
“Our ship suffered minimal damage. One forward particle cannon is out of action. The other three are functional. Two shields are missing. Shield realignment is complete.” Sybil paused in her damage report to receive reports from the other ships. “Sergeant Klanton has two particle cannons out of service. Two ships in Legion’s squadron are missing multiple shields and have portions of the hull exposed. They are taking up defensive positions behind the leader. All ships in formation and ready for continued action.”
