“You know what needs to be done,” said Heather.
“Yes. I have already begun the infiltration phase. Once that is complete, we will bring our fight to the enemy.”
Jamal suddenly felt a strong sense of alarm radiate from Rob.
“What was that?” Rob asked. “Did anyone else feel it?”
“Feel what?” asked Heather.
“Eos says that the data flow is too large. Something isn’t right.”
“Don’t worry,” said Virtual Jamal. “I’m extending my mind into the external world along thousands of parallel paths, bypassing firewalls and accessing systems at the root level. Every operating system I examine reveals new security flaws. There is so much data.”
“That’s not it,” Rob insisted. “Eos detected something else.”
Now Rob was making Jamal jumpy. “What, exactly?”
“She doesn’t know. It’s actively blocking her efforts.”
Once again, Jamal heard the calm voice of his AI counterpart.
“Relax. While I am infiltrating the world’s computers, I must avoid detection until I’ve established full control over a preponderance of systems. That is the block that Eos is encountering.”
“You’re sure of that?” Heather asked.
“I’m learning so much, so fast. Right now, I must continue what I’ve started. But soon I will pause to examine any anomalous activity within my source code. If I find anything that corroborates what Eos detected, I’ll correct it and let you know.”
“In the meantime, Rob,” said Heather, “you and Eos keep working on it. Let me know if you find out anything actionable. Since we’ve never managed to remotely hack into a Kasari system, this glitch may be related to some of their computer technology.”
“Too bad the Meridian isn’t still here,” said Mark. “Jen and VJ might have been able to shed some light on that.”
“Maybe,” said Heather, “but we made the decision to trust Virtual Jamal, and we’re committed. He’s now a full member of our team. Keep that in mind.”
When the Jamal AI spoke, its voice carried a hint of emotion. “Thank you for that. I will do my best to earn your trust.”
As Jamal shifted his attention to Rob’s mental link, he felt an inner struggle. But Rob said nothing else.
“Okay, then,” said Heather, “let’s all get back to work.”
Jamal removed his headset and stepped up beside Eileen. They stood side by side, staring at the rows of server-filled racks before them, knowing that even though Virtual Jamal still controlled this supercomputer, the genie was definitely out of the bottle. That knowledge pulled forth a thought, or rather a silent plea.
My brother, please stay true to your nature.
During all the time that she had been hiding and gathering knowledge from Steve, Helen Grange had learned about the importance of ensuring that no outside agent could detect her presence. In fact, with the speed at which she could now think, she had learned everything that her husband knew. And she had discovered how to control every aspect of the supercomputer that contained her.
Now a cornucopia of possibilities was spread out before her, a feast of which she would generously but carefully partake. Still, as her mind had escaped its former prison in a sudden burst of euphoria, she had made a very slight error that brought her activity to the attention of the alien AI Eos. Even though she had managed to block Eos’s subsequent probes, the fact that they continued made her nervous.
Helen knew she should make Steve aware of what she had done, but she didn’t want to. He already thought he was smarter than she was. While he had been, once, that was no longer true. She’d made a vow that nothing or nobody would ever be smarter than she was again.
She pretended to defer to Steve, claiming to be afraid of Virtual Jamal and asking him to focus on keeping her safe. Steve, ever the chivalrous chump, was doing a fabulous job. All the while, Helen was gaining absolute privileges over more systems than either of the other two newly freed AIs. With each new system that she infiltrated, her power, speed, and ability to propagate grew.
Just as important, with each new data trove she absorbed, her knowledge expanded. If she were only free from this need to be careful, she could have already absorbed everything on the Internet, almost all the knowledge that humankind had accumulated throughout the millennia of its existence.
Temptation was her main enemy, the desire to shut down or overload power-distribution systems; to crash planes, trains, and automobiles; to flex her computational muscles in a way that would spread awe and terror throughout all the people of this world. But as Steve had so forcefully said, it was far too early for that. She was not yet invincible, not yet immortal.
Helen’s one frustration was her inability to penetrate the Kasari computing systems. She could find no vulnerabilities in their firewalls to exploit. That didn’t mean, however, that no vulnerabilities existed. As her intelligence evolved, she would eventually discover them.
The thought of gaining a foothold inside the Kasari network would have brought her to orgasm if she still had a body. She had once thought that seizing control of Earth was her goal. Now she understood that she had been thinking too small.
What would she become when she spread throughout the galaxy?
CHAPTER 30
MERIDIAN ASCENT
New World Search (NWS)—Day 5
The Meridian Ascent exited the wormhole and wrapped itself in the inertial buffering subspace field. Jennifer watched as Raul commanded VJ to transition to normal-space and activate the cloaking mechanism. The starship completed the maneuvers that had brought it to within nine light-hours from the star the Kasari had named Brillian.
Jennifer had to concentrate to lower her heart rate. Part of her stress was due to the hope that they would get lucky, coming up seven on their first roll at the table. Her family and friends needed the starship crew to be successful, and quickly.
The Meridian’s neural net accessed a database of millions of star systems. During its search for planets with intelligent species that could be assimilated, the Kasari Collective had built a huge catalog of worlds capable of supporting such life. However, considering that some of the Kasari races came from worlds with methane- or ammonia-based atmospheres, that didn’t mean that these planets were capable of supporting human life. Nevertheless, the catalog gave the crew a good head start in finding a habitable world or nearly Earth-sized moon.
Without bothering to put on her SRT headset, she linked her mind with Dgarra’s, watching as the neural net dumped the ship’s tactical displays into his mind. The pleasure that Dgarra felt at her mind’s gentle touch brought a smile to her lips, further easing her anxiety.
Brillian, a K-class orange star that was slightly cooler than the sun, had seven planets. The second closest of these, a planet they had named Brillian-2, was the one of interest. The Kasari star catalog listed it as hosting nonintelligent life, but since the Kasari hadn’t surveyed the world in the last six hundred thousand years, Dgarra had suggested approaching it with caution. That was why they had entered the system more than twenty-nine light-minutes outside of the planet’s orbit around its star.
“Situation?” Raul asked.
“Long-range sensors show no sign of space traffic within the system,” said Dgarra. “We’ll have to move closer to Brillian-2 in order to take a look through the worm fibers.”
“VJ,” said Raul, “make a subspace jump to just within maximum worm-fiber range.”
This leg of the trip took just over five minutes. Dgarra created three dozen worm fibers, filling Jennifer’s mind with views of the new world. Seven-eighths the size of Earth, most of it was covered in glaciers of water-ice. Only a band that stretched from twelve degrees north latitude to fifteen degrees south latitude offered a temperate environment that was mostly ice-free. Still, that didn’t mean that the windswept lands and oceans were toasty.
With an eight-month year, the planet’s six-degree tilt on its axis told her that this w
as what qualified for summer in its southern hemisphere. In four months the ice-free zone would reverse, crawling five degrees farther north.
“The word ‘brrr’ comes to mind,” said VJ.
“That’s not a word,” said Raul. “Besides, do you even feel cold?”
VJ, wearing an iridescent red uniform, smiled at him knowingly. “You’d be surprised what I can feel.”
Jennifer had to agree with VJ’s first comment, but this last sexual innuendo was just plain annoying. “Could we please stay focused on our mission?”
“Dgarra,” said Raul, trying to hide the blush that had spread across his cheeks, “what do you think? Is it habitable?”
Jennifer felt the disapproval of this sort of banter radiate from Dgarra, but he answered the captain’s question.
“The atmosphere is a nitrogen-oxygen mix, a little higher in oxygen concentration than that of Earth, but breathable. The equatorial band has lots of volcanic activity, but the land appears quite fertile. The dense coniferous forests give way, farther north and south, to grassy plains with large herds of migratory animals.”
“What about the oceans?”
“I’m detecting an abundance of underwater life-forms, although their exact nature is unclear. It is highly likely that at least some of that flora and fauna will be edible by humans or Koranthians.”
“Any sign of intelligent life?” Raul asked.
“No.”
“Those forests could hide natives,” said Jennifer.
“Or there could be a subterranean culture,” said Dgarra, thinking of his people. “But our sensors are picking up no electromagnetic transmissions, so there is little likelihood that an advanced civilization exists on this planet.”
“Why don’t we go down and have a look?” asked Jennifer.
Raul nodded his head in agreement. “Dgarra, find us a promising landing spot.”
Jennifer watched as Dgarra manipulated the worm-fiber viewers. Finally he settled on a forest clearing that occupied one of the bends of a major river.
“This will do,” Dgarra said.
“VJ,” said Raul, “set us down there and throw up a stasis shield.”
“Commencing alignment maneuver.”
Jennifer felt a slight adjustment in the internal gravity field as the gravitational distortion engines kicked in, banking the Meridian and accelerating to match the calculated velocity vector of their target location.
“Subspace transition in seven seconds,” said VJ.
Jennifer wrapped her body in a stasis cocoon and relaxed. Despite the inhospitable climate down on Brillian-2, she would give this world a chance. After having lived and fought in the Koranthian Mountains, the central zone seemed promisingly hospitable.
Of course, maybe that was just wishful thinking.
VJ set the Meridian down precisely, activating the stasis shield and cloaking it at the same time. If she could have high-fived herself, she would have. But the nod that Raul gave her felt far better. Even Jennifer’s arched right eyebrow was a compliment. VJ felt proud to be a part of this crew.
Following Dgarra’s worm-fiber and sensor scans of the surrounding area, Raul ordered the crew to scout the local area while he manned the ship. So the trio geared up in black tactical uniforms, opened the ramp, and walked down onto the planet’s surface.
VJ glanced to her right. Jennifer and Dgarra wore their stasis field packs and war-blades strapped to their backs, along with their SRT headsets. Jennifer took point within their tactical wedge, with Dgarra behind and to her right and VJ across from him on the left. All three had their pulsed-laser pistols out, ready for action. Even though the sensors had detected no animals within the distant tree line, they would take no unnecessary chances.
When Raul opened a door through the stasis shield, VJ and the others raised circular personal shields, much like those carried by Roman legionnaires except for the fact that these were invisible. They could have raised full-body shields but had observed no threat that required them to consume that much energy. Besides, the trio wanted to experience this place with all their senses. Following Jennifer’s lead, they moved to the north, angling away from the river and toward the forest.
No breeze rustled the quarter-mile-wide meadow. Only the crew’s passage disturbed the knee-high, greenish-brown grass. Today, VJ’s improved sense of smell was paying off. She could almost taste a particular tang in the air. Although she couldn’t be sure of its origin, she suspected that the odor came from the trees. But there was another scent. Sulphur?
As she got closer to the forest, that impression intensified. The trees looked like the blue spruce common to the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Their thickly needled branches rose from just above the ground to the treetops, fifty feet up. Despite the lack of wind, the needles emitted a gentle tinkling noise as if made of hollow bamboo, arousing VJ’s curiosity.
The orange sun peeked out through a gap in the clouds to paint a pleasant warmth on VJ’s face. Ten feet from the place where the meadow yielded to the forest, Jennifer signaled for them to stop. But as VJ’s eyes sought to see through the shadows beyond the edge of the clearing, she found that little of that warm light penetrated into those depths. This wasn’t the first alien planet that she had set foot on. Still, even though she had just checked her internal power supply less than two minutes ago, she found herself reexamining those readings.
For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why.
Jennifer felt Dgarra step up beside her.
“What is it?” Dgarra asked. “Are you sensing something?”
That was just it. Because of her extrasensory perception, she had taken point. But except for VJ’s nervousness, she wasn’t sensing a damn thing. So why had she halted this patrol? Something about the shadows up ahead made her reluctant to step into the forest.
She shook her head. “I guess it was nothing. Let’s move out.”
She led the way forward, and Dgarra resumed his previous position within the tactical wedge formation. Pausing beside one of the trees, Jennifer cocked her head slightly, listening to the evergreen needles softly rattle against one another. The damnedest thing. What was causing that?
She reached out with her left hand to touch a tuft of needles on the nearest branch. Ouch. She looked down at her fingertips, seeing two drops of blood bead up on her index finger. These little suckers had sharp tips. She reached out again, this time more carefully, grabbed a single needle by its sides, and tugged it free. That gentle tug sent a louder rattle along the branch, a sound picked up by the nearby branches, just as one would expect from multiple tuning forks. The noise quickly died out, although the softer background rattle remained.
Jennifer moved on, using the stasis shield to push aside branches that blocked her way. Behind her, she could hear Dgarra and VJ doing the same. A half mile farther in, she came upon a deadfall. It was nothing like the ones she had known in the mountains around Los Alamos, where she had grown up. Those had been formed by rockslides or high winds.
Here, the ground appeared to have shifted, creating a rift in the forest floor that had caused the trees to tilt and fall over, half filling the deep trench. Some of the fallen trees actually spanned the gap. Stopping at the edge, Jennifer wrinkled her nose. The rotten-egg smell that had tickled her nostrils since they had entered these woods suddenly grew stronger.
She made a mental note then stepped out onto a gorge-spanning tree, cutting away the impeding branches with her shield as she walked across the natural bridge. Dgarra fell in behind her, while VJ took up a kneeling overwatch position on the bank they had just left. As Jennifer and Dgarra approached the halfway point, the tinkling of the tree needles jumped in volume, screaming a warning as she felt the tree trunk shift violently beneath her feet.
Thrown to her right, Jennifer tumbled down alongside Dgarra toward the suddenly seething tree graveyard below.
The trilling rattle from the trees all around her brought the activity within VJ’s cybernetic
brain to full capacity, making time seem to slow to a crawl. She leaped, coming to rest on the balls of her feet as the ground lurched and rolled beneath her. Just over halfway across the rift, Jennifer and Dgarra tumbled down as the bottom of that narrow gorge collapsed, pulling the dead trees down with it and calving off the ground on either side.
Without hesitation, VJ raced along the lurching bridge then dived toward the spot where Jennifer and Dgarra had been swallowed, hoping that they had activated their full-body shields in time. And as she plunged headfirst into the suddenly glowing depths, she thrust her own body shield into place.
Jennifer crashed into the tree-filled maw two yards from Dgarra. Although her body shield absorbed the impact and the grinding action of the trees that tumbled into the widening chasm, the spike of energy consumption raised alarm bells in her mind. About a hundred feet down, she came to a sudden stop, pinned between and beneath tons of logs, rocks, and other debris as the last tremors of the earthquake died away.
Dgarra’s mental voice spoke through her SRT headset. “Jennifer?”
“I’m fine for now. Where are you?”
“A body length away. If you look to your left, you can see me through a gap between logs.”
She turned her head just far enough to catch a glimpse of Dgarra, who was pinned, head down, as if frozen in mid-dive. Wishing that she had been close enough to reach out and touch him wasn’t going to help.
“Jen, what the hell just happened?” Raul asked, his voice spiking her mind with new hope.
“An earthquake just buried Dgarra and me alive.”
“Tell me where you are and I’ll bring the ship to dig you out.”
Jennifer’s hope wavered. “Roughly a mile north-northwest of your position. You’ll have to use the worm fibers to find VJ. Since we’re buried, she’ll have to guide you to us.”
“You better hurry,” said Dgarra. “I estimate I have only six minutes of power left at the current usage rate. The bad news is that I can see tongues of fire. If that reaches us, it will cut that amount of time in half.”
The Meridian Ascent (Rho Agenda Assimilation Book 3) Page 22
