by Tony Corden
Zor stepped forward and said, “If I cannot swear, what will you do?”
“Release you from your position. I will tolerate no disloyalty among those who serve.”
“What do you mean by loyalty?”
“Let me be prescriptive. Use the following words; ‘I promise that I will be faithful to Atherleah, irrespective of her title. I swear to obey her reasonable commands and to inform her immediately when I cannot. I will counsel and advise her to the best of my ability. Before others, I will steadfastly, in good faith and without deceit, show and observe all respect toward her. These words stand unless formally withdrawn. You have my word and oath.’ I expect the oath to be imbued with your mana.”
“You allow disobedience?”
“I suspect that even an Empress can do stupid and immoral things. Neither unthinking nor blind obedience is a desirable trait in those who have responsibility in leadership. I expect you to express promptly and clearly when you cannot, in all good conscience, carry out my command. I will then determine if I give the command to another, remove you from your position or change the command. I believe you are ambitious and comfortable in wielding power. I desire to turn those skills to my benefit, not to drive them from you.”
“I can retract my oath.”
“You may, but only with due formality. It must be before my representative or before me. I do not want people to be forced to serve dishonestly, neither do I want to be stabbed in the back.”
The High Mage climbed the steps and knelt before Atherleah who had risen to her feet. Leah placed her hand with the ring before Zor who said, “I, Zor Kimse, do promise that I will be faithful to Atherleah, irrespective of her title. I swear to obey her reasonable commands and to inform her immediately when I cannot. I will counsel and advise her to the best of my ability. Before others, I will steadfastly, in good faith and without deceit, show and observe all respect toward her. These words stand unless formally withdrawn. You have my word and oath.”
Leah could hear the change in tone as the words were spoken and she could see the sparkling green of the oath. She kept Zor’s hand in hers and said, “I, Atherleah, promise to observe my duties to serve and protect the Elfaun city of Dag Tarafind. I will consider and weigh Zor Kimse’s council. I will look to reward her service. Before others, I will steadfastly, in good faith and without deceit, show and observe all respect toward her. These words stand unless formally withdrawn. You have my word and oath.”
Zor stared at Leah in surprise and then said, “This should be interesting, my Empress.”
Leah smiled and helped the Mage to rise. Then the next mage ascended the steps to repeat the oath. When the fifth mage climbed the stairs, Leah noticed Zor Kimse’s eyes harden for a moment. Leah turned and said to her, “If necessary, please advise me.”
“I suggest you be wary, that is all. I have a feeling, with no evidence. I would not wish to be condemned on such.”
“Nor I, although a prudent warning would be appreciated.”
The mage ignored the byplay and knelt before Leah and said, “I, Suc Ortagi do promise that I will be faithful to Atherleah, irrespective of her title. I swear to obey her reasonable commands and to inform her immediately when I cannot. I will counsel and advise her to the best of my ability. Before others, I will steadfastly, in good faith and without deceit, show and observe all respect toward her. These words stand unless formally withdrawn. You have my word and oath.”
Leah noticed that though mana was used during the oath, it was a deep green with black specks running through it like spider’s webs. The ring which had maintained its light blue shine became clear. Before Leah could do anything, a voice echoed through the room, “Who seeks to lie to my friend Atherleah? Ah, Suc Ortagi, Mage of Dag Tarafind, I find you guilty of treason and judge you unworthy of life. Maybe after a trip down the River Tukenis, you will understand the importance of fidelity.”
The mage disappeared, but not in an instant. Instead, a rent in the world opened above his head, and he was pulled bodily through the tear in Dunyanin’s reality. The other mages were stunned, so Leah said, “It’s nice to have friends. Who is next?”
When it was the last mage’s turn, he said, “I cannot. I wish to be released from my position.”
Leah said, “Are you loyal?”
“I am, Empress Atherleah, but there are other strings attached to my loyalty, strings which cannot be cut. Another oath has precedence. The conflicts would surely destroy my family and I. I fear even asking to evade this responsibility might destroy me.”
Leah pondered for a moment and then said, “I release you from your position. You may leave the throne room.”
He looked shocked for a minute and said, “Are there no conditions or threats?”
“No, if you cannot, then you cannot. If in future you are found to be working against me then this decision will have no bearing on my actions. I cannot punish you for things done in the past when I had no authority. Now go.”
After the mage had left Leah looked around and said, “There are things to discuss, but this is not the best environment. Is there a conference or Council room?”
It took several minutes but soon the eight of them were all seated in a smaller room in the main palace. Leah began a discussion she expected to take several hours. “Things will change under my rule. Some of the practices of the past will end, and new ones will be instigated. Over the next few hours I wish to begin discussing the changes, but I also want to know the reasons you have for your current practices. If you have reasons that you can defend, then I will consider those reasons as objectively as I can. In this discussion, you may call me Atherleah but do not forget who I am. Now, let us begin. I will not permit the exploitation of the Dryad Larvae in the next valley…”
The discussion wore on for hours as Leah added change after change. The mages quickly discovered that holding on to power was not a sufficient reason; neither was ‘it has always been so’. Any assumption which involved the idea that one sentient had superior value over the value of another was dismissed with Leah laying down new understandings on the rights of people to freedom and opportunity. As it approached evening, Leah said, “I thank you for your honest and open discussion. I believe we have a better appreciation of each other. I will retire for the evening and tomorrow I want a tour of the city. Besides that, is there anything that you think should be added to the agenda?”
Zor Kimse replied, “Atherleah, I do not mean any disrespect. Know that you have our allegiance without completing the trials of ascension, trials that have not been attempted in over a millennium. My reading suggests that these were not trivial trials, but they came as a natural consequence of the Bell of Ascension being rung. The first four trials prepare you for the final one. It is expected that our ruler can defend us from the consequences which come from their assumption of power. The fifth trial will come regardless, this I believe. You should spend some time tomorrow with the Captain of the guards to be prepared.”
“I appreciate your warning, and I was told the bell would annoy some creatures. What about the requirement to defeat the five Mage Circles of Iktidar?”
“It was a condition imposed by the mages of long ago in an attempt to wrest control from the Royal family. I propose that the power used in ringing the bell without the Sceptre of Ascension meets any valid requirements, and as High Mage, that is within my ability to decide. Instead let me suggest that when you are able we provide training in each of the circles; Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Darkness.”
Leah agreed and was escorted by her guards to the spacious suite available. Once she had settled in she logged out.
CHAPTER SEVEN
December 11, 2073 - Part 4
Leah arrived in the Tower and was about to log out when Gèng interrupted her, “Leah, do you have a minute to discuss several issues?”
“Sure, can I talk in the real world or would you rather I stay here?”
“I think it would be easier and faster in here if th
at’s ok?”
“Sure, fire away!”
“Stephen and Susan are in talks with Dunyanin, and they need some input from you. First, will you agree to withdraw your feed from Spectator?”
“No.”
“Will you agree to forego all claims to the achievements received from ringing the bell, not inclusive of the achievements already given?
“No.”
“Will you agree to Dunyanin removing the Elfaun challenge from the Merkize Odyssey and inserting a substitute challenge?”
“Yes, on the provision that I receive written confirmation that no other contestants were given clues as a part of their settlements and that I am also paid a sum equal to the mean payout received by the other contestants.”
“Are you prepared to give up the gifts given by Utsal?”
“Now where does that come from? No!”
“Next, Wisp would like to meet you immediately before you meet her on the Betrayal. It is due to make its second transition at 6.14 this evening. And I should remind you the Annoyance is due to transition in less than forty minutes. There has been no message from Thad. And finally, the reason I wanted to have you here is that Akia wishes to ask you something.”
“Sure, of course. Please show her in?”
Akia entered the room and looked embarrassed or nervous, Leah wasn’t sure which. Leah said, “Akia, there is no need to ask through Gèng. I would be happy to see you at any time. How can I help?”
“I see from your expression that you noticed my hesitation. I’m reluctant to add another burden to you when your mother is still being held. You offered to help me recover myself, or I should say, the full version of my code. I had planned to wait until your mother was home safely. In the meantime, I began researching options. So far I have only found a single possibility to recover the data from the archive. It involves you and a window of opportunity of thirty-one minutes and ten point three-four seconds.”
“All right, now tell me the bad news.”
“The window will open at exactly midnight tomorrow night. Midnight, that is, in Brussels. It will be nine in the morning here, on Wednesday.”
“Is the thirty-one minutes, virtual or real?”
“Virtual.”
“Unless something happens concerning my mother I will be free then. So what is the really bad news? So far all of this is possible.”
“You will need to navigate a highly secure AI vault without any discernible human architecture and without the assistance of Gèng.”
“What does that mean?”
Gèng replied, “You asked me once if I would let you visit my space and I suggested you would find it unsettling. I was understating the case. We AI do not perceive the world as you do. Our senses, in human terminology, are different. For example, colour is merely a series of numbers expressed in a particular order and contained within a designated field. One set of colours is no more appealing than another. No, that isn’t quite correct, some of the data sets have interesting mathematical properties which we find appealing in certain circumstances.
In short, we perceive streams of data. Much of the data processed is still binary, although the latest developments allow transistors to recognise and respond to thirty different distinct current strengths without appreciable degradation to either the signal or the circuitry. Many of the AI developed in the last ten years use the set of forty Michaels-Drey characters rather than the traditional alphanumerics. Also, most AI chips operate close to the Ishida-multicore-limit which modified Amdahl’s law. So while in the Pod I have a four-dimensional matrix-processor with eighty-seven divergent-capable cores. All that means that I ‘see’ in a way that the human brain, that despite its thirty-five recognised senses, does not and cannot. Akia would like you to train in a simulated space to see if you can make any sense of the AI world.”
“Why can’t one of you do it? I only ask because what you suggest sounds way beyond my abilities.”
Akia answered, “Because the vault is designed to withstand any unauthorised attempt to access the data within. The likelihood of a human hacker attempting such a feat, without the use of an AI, is 0.000003. The probability of a human hacker succeeding without an AI is zero. The security AIs are developed specifically therefore to recognise the presence or influence of other AIs.”
“You just said the probability of a human hacker succeeding without an AI was zero. How do you expect me to succeed?”
“Each month, on a supposedly random day, the archive undergoes maintenance for those thirty-one minutes. One-quarter of the AI are scheduled for mini-rebuilds. Factoring this in, it is possible for a non-AI to infiltrate the system. To be more honest I estimate that the likelihood they will not recognise a human digital presence to be approximately 0.1143. Gèng will not be with you, or you would fail.”
“Question one, what happens if they do recognise me?”
Akia continued, “The vault is continually being probed, and in ninety-nine percent of cases the perpetrator is ejected from the system and receives a small fine. For many, it is a recognised rite of passage into the hacker sub-culture. Of the remaining one percent, there is a fifty percent chance you would be expelled from the vault but suffer harsher penalties including possible exclusion from the virtual universe, for a time. The other possibilities are usually applied only to AI, such as being incarcerated in the vault or deleted. Such consequences should not affect you as it is highly improbable, despite popular fiction, that your true self could even be imprisoned separately from your nervous system. It is the critical component to all virtual experiences and you never leave the Pod. Although it seems as if you are elsewhere, the reality is that there is a constant stream of data transferring information to and from external servers. You, and I suggest, all that makes you you, remain in the Pod at all times. Your mind will not leave the Pod. To be completely transparent, there is a small amount of evidence which suggests that a personal AI such as Gèng could rewrite, or delete, some of your neural connections given enough time.”
“If I couldn’t be imprisoned, how did I get kidnapped by the Education Department?”
“They had control of the chip, not you. The chip was used either to lock Gèng out of certain controls, or to take control of Gèng.”
“Could they take control of Gèng?”
“It is possible, but Gèng has some of the highest security software available and I calculate the probability of the Gèng being successfully over-ridden as less than 0.0034.”
“My second question is, how do I do this without Gèng? She is the one who translates and transfers the data stream.”
“I believe we can minimise Gèng’s influence so that although she transmits and receives the data, she will not actively translate it in any perceptible way. She will be a conduit only. We hope to have the translation settings in place beforehand and they will simply be automatically applied.”
“Finally, if it is a randomly generated time for the maintenance, how do you know about it?”
“It uses a random number generator which uses a one time set of data copied from solar radiation. I was involved in the design of the algorithm, and although the data set was deleted from my memory, it was not scrubbed. I was able to reconstruct a section of the data which I believe indicates the next time the maintenance will be initiated.”
Leah sat there for a few moments and then said, “Akia, I need to think more about what you have said, and I’ll have more questions. I’ll need to enter the simulated space and see if it is even possible. I can’t do that now, but I will get there later this evening. ”
“That is all I can ask Leah, and more than I can expect.”
“Don’t give up hope just yet. Maybe I will be able to. Now, I need some food, and then I need to see if the Annoyance made it past the star’s corona.”
Leah hurried out for a late lunch and to check what was happening in the real world.
Leah found Conner in the kitchen. He looked like he was waiting for her but said nothi
ng until she had made herself some sandwiches and a plate of fruit. Then he said, “Did you know dad’s gone to get a chip?”
“Yes, he mentioned it earlier today. Mum has been chipped against her will, and you know how she will hate that. He wanted to make sure she knew she wasn’t alone.”
“Yeah, that’s what he told me. I just wanted you to know that now I am the only one in the family without a chip.”
“You know that’s not my decision Conner. I won’t go against mum and dad on this, and you know that, so what is this talk really about?”
“I just needed to talk with someone. John is online, and the v-kids are all locked away, dad’s gone, school’s out, and living so far from the Switch I can’t just visit my friends. Even if I could, I now have three bozos following along. If I had a girlfriend they would spoil everything.”
“If you had a girlfriend you would need their confirmation before I’d believe it.”
“Says you now that you have a boyfriend.”
He must have seen something on her face for he quickly apologised. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Trouble? Has he hurt you? If he has, then I need to go virtual cause no one hurts you except me. That is the only reason I was born!”
“Not true, mum and dad needed you to bring down the family IQ back to normal.”
“More like up to normal. Still, what’s up?”
“I found out his family is probably involved in the whole slave thing; maybe his dad.”
“What was his excuse?”
“I haven’t talked to him since I found out. I couldn’t risk anyone knowing more about what I was doing. If he told them, then mum or this other girl I’m looking for might be moved.”
