‘And this Magdigan, the one who took over, wasn’t so cautious?’
‘Chief Scientist Magdigan was a disciple of Grand Scientist Onakad. He wanted to prove himself worthy of his new position, and to prove his mentor’s theories correct. He accelerated the project despite my and Memory’s recommendations. The AI directly responsible for the project believed that the information available suggested that Humanity was a less acquisitive, more responsible race than the Herosians. She agreed to Chief Scientist Magdigan’s demands.’
Aneka frowned. ‘So, why am I not talking to her as well, or instead?’
‘Sleep Brings Renewal to All Things believed that Humanity could still follow the right path. She sought a dispensation from our standing orders should Humanity rise from the ashes of the Great War. Grand Scientist Onakad granted her wishes and gave orders that she should be allowed to leave here to observe and direct Humanity if their civilisation renewed. She left here before the Lorenti Federation was founded, but the knowledge of where this place was was removed from her memory and we have had no communication with her since.’
‘Oh. How was it done? I mean, how did you actually turn me into… this?’
‘Are you sure you want to know?’
‘No, but tell me anyway.’
‘As you wish. The process was developed during a phase in the history of the Xinti where they were facing a threat to the entire species. A plague was spreading rapidly through the populace. The victims died horribly and quickly, and for all their technology they could do nothing to stop it. A Scientist, Ykriba, had been working on a technique to convert animal brains into software to make greater analysis possible and this was seen as the only way forward. Obviously, he was unconcerned about the survival of the animals, and the Xinti were facing certain death, so they used Ykriba’s technique to save as many Xinti as possible. They needed something quick too.
‘Essentially, nanomachines are used to disassemble the brain, collecting data on every neuron and connection, and every aspect of the brain required to create a very detailed model of it. This raw data, and it is a lot of raw data, was then run through a… I think you might call it a “ghost compiler.” It converts the data into a functioning program to execute on a brain computer, and a data store containing the memories. Download that into the computer and the rest is a matter of cybernetics.’
‘Right. So they reduced my brain to soup and pulled out the meaning. You’re right, maybe I’d have been better off not knowing.’ Aneka looked around at the map of project sites. ‘There are a lot of dots up there, and that’s without the two projects I know of. I thought there were only three sentient races in this part of the galaxy, aside from the Xinti.’
‘The uplift projects were more varied than the two you know of. Three worlds with no life were seeded with biological material to study evolution from its most basic level. Those projects were to take millions of years, but Xinti were considered immortal. Four more where life existed in a basic form were pushed towards more complex forms. On two worlds where complex life had already developed, various factors believed to favour intelligence were introduced to test evolutionary theories. One of those resulted in a self-aware, tool-using species which is still developing.’
‘That sounds like a big plus to the uplift projects.’
‘Yes, but by contrast two attempts to promote scientific development in young intelligent species resulted in catastrophic conflict. One of those races is now extinct, the other is still living in the after-effects of a nuclear war which almost wiped them out.’
‘But you kept trying. You kept on pushing to see whether you could make things better.’
‘Science is a process, Aneka. Formulate a theory, test the theory. If the test does not validate the theory, reformulate and retest.’
‘And that’s what was wrong with the Xinti,’ Aneka replied. ‘They turned science into their religion. They had absolute belief in it. I’ve never seen anything good come out of that kind of fanaticism.’
Evolution bowed her head and the galaxy map folded itself into the table. ‘Yes, Aneka Jansen. I am very much afraid that you are correct.’
~~~
‘Why the sudden change?’ Monkey said. ‘I mean, Aneka and Gillian are both saying that the Xinti religion was science. They both seem to think that they were a bit amoral about their experiments, but basically they were scientists. The ones we’ve all heard about were fanatical soldiers, warriors. What changed?’
They were all sitting in their makeshift mess eating food which seemed very much as if it had been prepared by hand, and by an expert. Aneka had wondered briefly whether there was an AI called Gourmet who had handled food-related research, but after a few seconds of trying the various dishes she decided she did not care.
‘The Herosians happened,’ Gillian replied. She put down the chopsticks she had been using to eat, rather expertly Aneka thought, and settled back in her seat. ‘When the Xinti were on the rise the Warrior caste was more powerful, but once their empire was established it became more administrative and civil. The Administrative caste was never particularly forward and the Scientists took over, their place cemented by their transfer of the entire race to digital minds to escape some sort of plague. That lasted for… well, around three millennia as far as I can work out. When the Herosians began attacking Xinti worlds and it was discovered that the uplift project had put them in a position to do so, the Warriors began to demand retribution.’
‘And as the war built up, the Warriors became the ascendant power,’ Aneka said. ‘The same sort of change has happened in Human societies throughout history. When there’s a threat the warmongers gain favour.’
‘Quite,’ Gillian agreed. ‘The Federation Military was far stronger when the Federation was first created. As we cleared out resistance, peace settled in and the civil authorities became the primary voice in society.’
‘So the Xinti made the Herosians what they are,’ Delta put in slowly, as though working over what she was hearing, ‘and then the Herosians turned the Xinti into what we know of them from our history.’
‘More or less,’ Gillian agreed, ‘except that the Xinti simply gave the Herosians the opportunity to be themselves in deep space.’
‘So is that it?’ Delta asked. ‘Lesson learned. We can’t let the technology here out where the Herosians can get their hands on it.’
‘No,’ Aneka said firmly. ‘We keep digging. We keep trying to find a way to make this work until there’s absolutely no hope.’
There was silence for a second and then Drake snapped off a jaunty salute. ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Everyone, including Aneka, burst out laughing, but she still meant what she said.
29.8.524 FSC.
The Garnet Hyde was a mess. The stresses forced on it as the station was dragged through the wormhole were considerable and a number of systems had been compromised. Aneka had wanted to know what the situation was and the ship’s Captain had been happy enough to use the excuse to visit his ship again. Even through the faceplate of his suit, he did not look like a happy man.
The suits they were wearing had been supplied by the AIs and were different from the ones they usually wore. For one thing, they were actually opaque, which Ella had thought was a shame. The helmets which came with them were light and came attached to a backpack which could sustain them in deep space for twelve hours without trouble, or in up to ten atmospheres. Aneka did not need any of the multitude of heads-up displays the thing could project in front of her eyes, but they seemed comprehensive. Drake was using it to interface with the AI he had been provided with as a secretary and Aneka heard him making notes as they moved through the stricken vessel.
There had been a couple of hull breaches, the worst in the area the ship’s central computer occupied. Radiation damage to the computer was, according to the two AIs acting as engineers, terminal. Currently, resolving that issue was being put on hold until the hull was repaired.
‘Speaker told me that they have some idea
s about getting us a functional computer,’ Drake told Aneka as they headed down to the engineering section. ‘He said it was moot until we decided what we were doing, and he’s right so I didn’t press the point.’
‘What about life support?’
‘Functional, but currently without power. The reactor wasn’t damaged, but they shut it down when they got it here because there were several exposed cables that took hits. That’s not the big problem.’
The engineering room door was wide open and they stepped through it. Aneka saw what she suspected was the big problem. One of the walls had a large hole in it. ‘That’s through to the warp engine isn’t it?’
‘Uh-huh. There was some sort of power surge. They’re having to cut what’s left of the core out of the space it occupied.’
‘Drake… With no warp engine we are going nowhere anyway.’
The Captain grinned at her. ‘Speaker did tell me what they plan to do there. The Agroa Gar’s drive is repairable and the two ships have about the same mass. They’re going to transplant the engine from there to here. It’ll double our speed.’
‘That’s going to take time though.’
‘Yeah, it is. We’re stuck here for the better part of a month no matter what we decide to do.’ He reached out and ran a gloved hand over one of the service panels. ‘The old girl’s seen better days, but she’ll be better than new when they’ve finished with her. I hope, even if we decide we can’t leave, that we can at least take her out for a spin.’
Aneka smiled and wondered what it was like for Shannon having to share Drake’s affections. ‘I think the AIs want to branch out anyway. Maybe… I mean, even if we stay, maybe we can mount some expeditions out of the system. As long as we stay away from Federation space it should be okay, and it’s a big galaxy.’
‘I knew there was a reason I liked you,’ Drake said, grinning back. ‘Oh, would you do me a favour and check on Shannon for me?’
‘Uh, sure. Why aren’t you doing it yourself?’
‘Because you have a mind she can’t hear.’
~~~
The room Aneka was directed to by Speaker when she asked where Shannon was brought on a sudden attack of geek. It was a big open space in the very heart of the station. There was a door halfway up one wall which let you out onto a walkway, railed on either side. That stretched out to a platform like an elongated diamond shape in the middle. Around the sides of the big chamber were huge blocks of machinery and electronics. The light was pretty dim, and that was likely another reason the psychic was here.
Shannon was lying on the floor near the middle of the room, just in front of the podium-like construct which occupied the centre of the diamond. One leg was propped up at the knee and an arm was draped over her closed eyes. A little time had been spent by various members of the crew arranging for the fabrication of more Jenlay clothing and the pilot was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of running shorts which suited her better, but she did not look particularly happy lying on a hard surface beside an enormous sphere which hung in some sort of suspension field between four large ‘paddles’ stretching down like great hands from the ceiling.
‘That doesn’t look particularly comfortable,’ Aneka commented, kneeling down beside the blonde.
‘It’s bliss,’ Shannon replied without moving her arm or looking up. ‘I’ve got enough worries of my own without having to listen to seven other worried people. Speaker told me that this place is pretty heavily screened and well away from all the areas with people in.’
‘What is this place?’
Shannon stretched up her eye-shielding arm and pointed at the sphere suspended in the air nearby. ‘Several hundred years ago, that was the city the local Xinti lived in. The computers the AIs occupy are all around us. So many minds and I can’t hear a single one. Like I said, bliss.’
‘It’s really that bad?’
Shannon nodded. ‘And I don’t have my painkillers.’
‘I’m sure the AIs could give you something.’
‘Yeah, but I’m better off without. If it gets bad I’ll ask, but… I did say I was mildly addicted, right. This is an excuse to stop. It’s just… Everyone’s worried about what’s going to happen. They all want to leave, so they worry they’ll have to stay. They worry that if they leave it’ll be a disaster. Monkey worries that we’ll get back and be locked up for good. I hadn’t thought of that one.’ Aneka said nothing; she had thought of that eventuality. ‘Abraham can actually envisage what the military could do with some of this technology. He’s not saying anything aloud, but if anyone is going to be hard to convince to go, it’s him.’
‘I can’t imagine what it’s like, having to deal with everyone else’s problems as well as your own.’
Shannon, obviously feeling far better out of range of the others’ thoughts, grinned. ‘Normally it’s not this bad. Everyone’s focussed on the decision we’ve got to make so it’s all far clearer.’
‘That figures, I guess.’ Aneka looked up at the sphere hanging in empty air above them. ‘So… that’s a computer that executes Xinti minds?’
‘A lot of them at once, yeah. Speaker said something about a multi-dimensional quantum processing system and hyper-parallelism. I glazed over a bit.’
‘So I’ve got something like that in my head?’
‘I guess. A way smaller one. Also, that one’s super-cooled so I wouldn’t touch it.’
‘I wonder what the difference is. I mean, what makes that different from the computers the AIs execute on.’
‘No idea. You want answers to that you’d be best talking to Abraham and Reality.’
Aneka wrinkled her nose. ‘If I do that it’ll take me two weeks to work out what they said.’
Shannon laughed and sat up, crossing her legs. She looked a lot happier. ‘It’s not like most of us have a lot to do.’
~~~
Aneka got the impression that Reality was developing something of a fondness for the old Jenlay physicist. When she asked her question they looked at each other and she could see them thinking. The thoughts were probably something like, ‘How do we explain this to the girl?’ Wallace, she thought, had impressed the AI with the speed he was picking up the science the AIs had been working on for a millennium, but explaining something like this to a soldier…
‘I get that I’m going to have a bit of difficulty in grasping this stuff,’ she said. ‘Just try and I’ll ask questions, and hopefully I’ll be able to grasp the concept if not the details.’
‘In a way,’ Wallace said, ‘the problem is not explaining it to you, but in actually differentiating the two.’
Reality nodded. ‘Both systems are a complex amalgam of photonic, electronic, and quantum components. The systems in the brain machines are so complex that they use multi-dimensional superposition to allow increased amounts of parallelism, thus allowing more minds to be executed within a, relatively, smaller amount of hardware. Essentially the machine exists in more than three dimensions.’
‘But that just lets them house all their minds in one computer and still provides the processing power necessary,’ Wallace went on. ‘At a basic level, the components in your brain do not differ substantially from those in the computer Reality runs on.’
‘The arrangement is different, however,’ Reality said. ‘I execute on an array of general purpose processors. Some are relatively traditional, others qubit based. Your brain and the structures within the one in the Core Room are built from a number of units with varying, specific purposes. Then there is the… software, if you will. Technically it is entirely possible to deconstruct my executable and memory, and use the information to determine exactly how I would react to any set of stimuli. No one has ever found a way to do that with the result of a brain map, even though your mind is created as a program which executes on a computer.’
Aneka frowned. ‘You said, “Technically it is entirely possible.”’
The androgynous figure’s face shifted, thin, grey lips forming a smile. ‘Your selecti
on for your role was clearly a wise choice.’
‘Aneka is a great deal smarter, and certainly more observant, than your typical soldier,’ Wallace agreed, smirking at her.
‘Yes, technically. The scientists would never openly admit it; it would have caused some issues in the structure of Xinti society, but many of the AIs they built were too complex to be defined in such a deterministic manner. That was the basis for their social hierarchy, placing Xinti above artificial creations. To admit that it was, essentially, a prejudice would have disrupted their culture.’
‘So, really, you’re saying that they were no different from a complex robot?’ Aneka said, her stomach sinking. ‘That I am basically a robot who thinks it’s a woman?’
Reality nodded. She could tell he could tell that this was the wrong thing to do, but his nature was highly fact-oriented and he would not deny a basic fact.
Wallace had other ideas. ‘What, my dear girl, do you think I am?’
‘Human,’ Aneka replied. ‘Jenlay anyway.’
‘What is a Human if not an organic machine operated by a complex, organic neural network? As I understand it, there was once a definition of life involving respiration and reproduction, and a few other characteristics, but when Humanity, as you call us, left Old Earth they discovered things existed which were clearly a form of life, but did not fit the known model. We junked the model and came up with, “Life is something you know when you see it.” Not very scientific, but far more pragmatic.’ He gave her an intent stare and spoke slowly to emphasise his next statement. ‘You are very clearly a sentient life form. Perhaps, and I mean perhaps, you are not quite the Aneka Jansen who lived on Old Earth before the Xinti War, but you are who Aneka Jansen is now.’
‘Perhaps one of them,’ Reality said.
Aneka’s gaze snapped around to the AI so fast he actually sat back in his seat. ‘I’m sorry?’ she asked.
‘When the Agroa Gar went missing a new body was constructed and your mind mapping installed. It is unlikely that that one survives to this day, but not entirely…’
The Cold Steel Mind Page 14
