The Long, Dark Night

by Ben Winston

  “It knew of us and that we would discover its existence almost immediately. As such, it has been voice and DNA coded for one of three individuals. It requires one of those people to authorize the release of its information and to allow activation of the weapons systems and other bases.”

  “Other Bases?” Councilor Enrique Perez asked.

  Facing that councilor, Marcy nodded. “Yes, she did say other bases, but will not even tell us where they are without authorization.”

  “Need we ask who those three people are?” Councilor Naomi Grayson asked.

  “I don't think you do, Councilor. The A.I. listed Benjamin Bedouin, Deirdre Bedouin, and Kaitlin Bedouin as it's currently authorized operators. If nothing else, Tom Bedouin was a very thorough man,” Marcy finished.

  Ben had been reading the reports while she spoke to the Council. He had only skimmed them, but decided the information was important to all of them. So he dropped the documents into his scanner and directed it to send a copy to every Councilor.

  “I'm sending all of you a copy of her report. Does anyone have any more questions for Miss Carmichael?”

  The majority of the lights turned yellow, and a few turned red. Ben glanced at Marcy with a smile. “Thank you for bringing us this information. There are no more questions for you at this time, but the Council would like to be able to call on you for further information if those questions do arise. Is that acceptable?”

  “Of course. Thank you, Councilors.”

  As Marcy turned to leave, Councilor Janet Carlyle of one of the Scottish Pods, spoke. “Oh, Miss Carmichael, you migh' want tah be thinking aboot expandin' your office tah include a wee bit more folk.”

  Marcy stopped when she heard her name, and faced the Councilor. “How's that, Madam Councilor?”

  “‘Twould seem that yon leader has given to thee far more work than but one person can accomplish. You are about to be flooded with pleas from the world's scientists to come hither and glean what they may from yon discoveries. In truth, it seems odd that all such are happening there or'e anywhere else,” the woman finished.

  “Actually, it is simply random occurrence. For example, the current planetary capital and primary spaceport are located closer to your area, Councilor. Also, there are hundreds of oxygen processors all over the planet, called Aeries. Think of them as small villages if you will, each one housing between fifteen and fifty thousand beings. Of course the major installations like the Aerie that Addson had been recently assigned to have more. She indicated that Argassi was home to almost a million beings of different races.

  “As for the Prime putting more work on me; well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, so I will be adding more people as you advise Councilor. I have a long list of people to choose from,” Marcy finished, grinning. “If I remember correctly, I believe your name was on that list at one time, wasn't It Councilor?”

  “Aye, it was. But a higher office was given unto me. I wish you the best of luck, Miss Carmichael.”

  “Thank you Councilor. May that luck also shine on you.” Marcy turned and walked out the door.

  “Prime Councilor, I would like to sponsor a motion tah formally approve Marcy Carmichael as your Science Adviser,” Councilor Carlyle said. “I'd thought you were simply exercising your own nepotism when she was named. But, I see I was greatly in error, aye, and happily so. She is an amazing young lady and well versed to be in her position.”

  Before Ben could speak, there were several calls of 'seconded!' Ben felt his heart swell with pride for Marcy. He nodded and banged the gavel. “Motion Carries. Thank you, Councilors.” Ben paused and considered a moment. “Brothers and Sisters, we have learned quite a lot of information today. Would you like to recess this meeting until tomorrow so we may have time to consider our questions and options?”

  Ben nodded toward a Councilor. “Councilor Yinshi.”

  “Thank you, Prime Councilor. There is wisdom in delaying the discussion, however, I don't believe we should recess just yet. I have a proposal I would like to put before the Council. In this we can also delay discussion, as I would be greatly honored if you would all read it through completely. In this way, I would welcome refinements and revisions. I put forth to all of you, a rough first draft of a new constitution,” Yinshi bowed to the camera as Ben's monitor informed him of the impending file transfer.

  Ben nodded agreement. “I would like to thank you for your wisdom in this matter, Councilor Yinshi. Shall we then recess for two days, to consider all that we have learned on this day?”

  Green lights surrounded him with no yellows or reds at all. It was unanimous. Ben hit the Gavel. “Motion Carries. My friends, may wisdom guide you until we meet again.”

  “And you, Prime.” they said almost as one. Ben shut off his cameras and sat to wait for the transfer to finish. It was a large document; as well it should be, since it had provisions to govern them all.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “I fear the day that humans develop artificial intelligence; for it will signal the beginning of the loss of their own.”

  - Author Unknown

  Command and Control bunker

  North Central American Defense Force, Base 13a

  9 Apr. 8255 C.E.

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol system

  “Welcome, Prime Councilor. Secretary Carmichael has informed me that you are one of the three individuals authorized to activate my core functions. To that end, would you please submit a sample of your DNA?” The mild contralto voice asked, seemingly from the air.

  Ben looked around. “Certainly, but how do you want me to do it?”

  “A drop of blood, spittle, or semen would suffice. Miss Carmichael found the sample receptacle as well as the test slips.”

  Marcy waved him over and held up a small piece of paper. “Lick this, please.”

  Ben took the slip, licked it and dropped it in the sampling slot.

  “Thank you, Prime Councilor. One moment please while I analyze the sample,” the AI replied. Before anyone else could speak, the voice returned. "Thank you, Prime Councilor. Your identity has been verified. Do you wish to unlock my core processes and memory at this time?"

  “I do.” Ben replied, grinning at an excited looking Marcy.

  “Core systems start-up commencing. Core processors beginning acclimation. Memory data assimilation will begin in eight hours, nineteen minutes. This facility will be fully operational in twenty-three hours, forty-nine minutes and ten seconds. Mark. Thank you.” With that the voice stopped speaking and no amount of coaxing could get it to reply. Even with an order from Ben. As they all walked out to wait the twenty-four hours, Ben overheard someone mumble; “Let's just hope 'Minilimp' didn't write the OS or we're all screwed!”

  Ben stifled his laughter and silently agreed with the sentiment. Beside him, Marcy didn't even try to hide her amusement.

  Main Medical Section

  Command Pod Alpha One

  9 Apr. 8255 CE

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol system

  “Do I really need to do this?” Addson asked looking skeptically at the hyper-sleep chamber.

  Still using her medical AI, Alice, as a translator, Jon smiled at her. “Well, no... no one will force you to do something against your will. But if you don't do this then you're stuck learning about us the hard way.”

  Addson shook her head. “Everyone knows that no one is able to do anything when in hyper-sleep. Of course they only use it for transporting slaves that are forbidden to receive education anyway.”

  “You're not a slave, Addison. You’re a visitor that we would very much like to speak to without a translator. You will also be able to understand your history, and us, better,” Jon explained gently. Surprisingly, Alice was supporting his efforts to convince Addson.

  “Addson,” Alice added. “Jon has allowed me to examine the chamber's systems, and everything is straightforward and easily understood. Also, the hyper-sleep
function of the chamber has been disabled by its own computer system and there is no start-up program present. You will not be going into hyper-sleep.”

  Addson look confused. “Then I misunderstood this procedure. How will this work if my mind is not in stasis?”

  When Alice translated that for Jon, she also explained the 'modern' hyper-sleep did not utilize cryogenics, but instead used a 'temporal pocket' in which no time at all passes for those within the boundaries of the field.

  “That's the reason you didn't understand, Sweetheart! Our version of hyper-sleep is far different than the one you know. Besides, in this instance, you will only be in an induced normal sleep while the teaching machines work on you. I'm told it'll take you a few sessions in here before you'll be done,” Jon explained.

  “Well, I do trust you, Jon and Alice says I'll be safe, so I should just quit whining and get to it!” She said, and climbed into the open chamber.

  Jon smiled and nodded at her resolve. He stepped around the chamber to make sure everything was in place, and Addson was comfortable. He stayed right there until she dropped off and began to learn. Since it was the end of his workday, he finished up his paperwork, (on the computer, they didn't actually have paper anymore) and headed home. He wanted to have a conversation with Ellie privately, before the twins got home.

  Office of the Prime Councilor

  Command Pod Alpha One

  9 Apr. 8255 CE

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol system

  Councilor Yinshi had indeed thought of almost every contingency. Although at first, Ben was uncertain of the governmental structure, the more he thought about it, the more it fit as the only logical structure that would work. The legal section was the largest, so he set that aside for last.

  The different governmental agencies had been divided into Ministries, and each of the Ministries into sub-offices called Bureaus. There was some cross discipline areas such as Personnel. The Bureau of Personnel handled the staffing for every branch of government, but was part of the Ministry of Economy.

  He also forwarded the relevant sections of the document to the already named heads of those Ministries. Science went to Marcy; Economy went to Deirdre, and so on. They were marked urgent, so the new Ministers would have time to get back to him with refinements.

  Ben made a note that there were no provisions for private enterprise. In fact, as far as he could tell there were no provisions for a Treasury, Commerce or Transportation. He supposed that Commerce and Treasury would fall under the Ministry of Economy, but there was still no mention of it.

  So since he was raising the question, he spent a good portion of the day drafting a proposal for the addition of the Ministry of Trade, as well as a Ministry of Transportation. He'd missed lunch, and his stomach was growling as he turned to the largest section of the document, the Ministry of Justice.

  He paused to send a message to the ladies that he was tied up with business in his office and wouldn't make it to dinner, nor would he be coming to bed until late. Right after sending the message, he got something to eat from his office replicator. As he sat down, his terminal informed him there was a message for him.

  He took a bite of the Chef Salad before opening the message, which was from Deirdre.

  Okay Ben, we won't wait for you. As per your earlier message about the Ministry of Economy, I don't think I'm the right person for that position and it doesn't really describe what I'm doing. I would be better suited to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Of course, some of the stuff I was also doing would fall under the purview of Commerce or Transportation. However, I would also like to point out that Jon's wife is actually an economist and would be a good nominee for the Office of Economy.

  Marcy is still going over her part of this as well, but she did say she should be finished soon. Like the rest of us, I think she's excited about the new Constitution and can't wait to look over the rest of it.

  We love you and will miss you this evening.

  Deirdre.

  Ben smiled and made note of her suggestions. She was correct of course; there needed to be a Ministry for Health and Welfare. However, this time, the 'welfare' part would not stand for legally ripping off the government. It would stand for the care and wellbeing of the population.

  He sighed. There was so much to do before the next meeting. He set aside the drafting of Deirdre's Ministry for tomorrow and dug into the complicated mess that would become the guidelines for their legal system. He was surprised, three hours later, when he finished the first read-thru. The structure of the ministry was logical and quite feasible.

  While the constabulary would be drawn from the local areas, so would an 'arbiter'. If the Arbiter could not resolve a dispute, or if it was a capital offense, the Arbiter would send the case to another pod for trial. Convictions could be appealed to any pod arbiter except his own or the one in which the person was tried. Requests for appeal could only be made once. Appeals would only be granted if sufficient new evidence or proof of malfeasance on the part of the Constabulary were brought forth. Any case waiting longer than three months to be heard would automatically be advanced to the next highest level and become a priority case.

  The section dealing with the laws themselves was mostly empty, except for a few suggestions from Councilor Yinshi. His suggestions were mostly common sense and should not be over-ridden by local laws or customs. Don't commit murder, don't bear false witness, don't take what doesn't belong to you, don't intrude on the union of others without permission from all parties involved. All citizens are equal under the law, without prejudice, regardless of religion, or local custom.

  Ben could already see a few protests to the last one, especially from the fundamental Muslims. Perhaps he could suggest that last one only apply to areas outside of ones domicile and place of worship. But then he realized that would allow women to be barred from leaving the home, ever. He highlighted the area and moved on.

  The document was exactly what it was supposed to be, a basic framework to build upon. Ben believed it was a good foundation. Noting the time, he winced. Putting his terminal to sleep, he left his office to try to get some sleep before he had to be up again.

  Multiple Locations

  Command Pod Alpha One

  Defense Depot

  10 Apr. 8255 CE

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol system

  Ben was groggily hugging a cup of espresso as the rest of the family began to filter out to the kitchen and dining room. He looked like crap, and of course each lady had to tell him this, which quickly started getting on his nerves. However, instead of lashing out, he just ignored it by simply nodding when the comments started.

  When Marcy came in though, Ben stopped her before she could comment on his appearance. “Sweetheart, did you finish looking over the section on the Ministry of Science?”

  Marcy smiled at her tired friend. “Yes, I did. I sent it back to you about twenty-three hundred last night. Didn't you get it?”

  Ben snorted. “Maybe I did. I was pretty engrossed in the judicial section and might have missed it. Getting this monster under control is going to take some work.”

  “Well, I think I got my dragon slain. I did make a few suggestions and requests for revisions,” Marcy replied.

  Ben nodded. “Good, that's what I wanted. You'll get a chance to review it again before the final draft, just in case we missed something. I do think I'm going to need a couple of assistants in there to record the revisions and make the alterations as they are discussed and agreed upon. This is going to be a long process.”

  “Well, just remember the AI is supposed to be active today. You're going to have to be there to tell her to let the rest of us peons have access,” Marcy reminded him.

  Ben nodded. “I have a timer set to remind me. Just, please, have some coffee or something else there for me? Which reminds me, I need to call Jon about his new office as well.”

  That got Kait and Deirdre'
s attention. But Deirdre beat her sister to the punch.

  “Oh, what position?”

  Ben smirked. “He'll be part of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. His title will be 'Surgeon General'.”

  “I'd like to be there for that argument!” Jorga chortled.

  “What do you mean?” Ben asked concerned.

  “What she means is that Jon will flatly refuse you. He might accept the job of head medical officer of our pod group, but he's made it plain he wants nothing to do with a higher office. He said he's a doctor, not a desk-jockey,” Kaitlin answered.

  “Well, I still need to talk to him about it. Besides, I might need a stim shot to get my ass through all this today,” Ben said tiredly.

  That didn't make any of the ladies happy and all of them started in on him for it. Finally he held up his hand for quiet, which surprisingly worked. “I only said I'd talk to him about it, I didn't say I wanted him to get me addicted to the things. I'm tired, not stupid.” With that he left for his office.

  When he got there, he had a bunch of apologies waiting for him from the ladies. He suddenly felt bad for storming out like that and returned his own apologies to all of them and asked the computer to have his home replicator create a bouquet of silk, red roses for each of them.

  He also saw the message from Marcy from the night before and sent a reply stating that he had indeed received it the night before and simply missed the notification. He looked over her suggestions and agreed with them, so he reincorporated the section back into the original.

  The alarm ringing on his terminal surprised him and he jumped. He'd started to nod-off while working. He ordered another double shot of espresso before leaving for the command and control bunker of the defense depot. By the time he arrived, he was somewhat awake again.

  As requested, Marcy had a cart in the back of the room with coffee, tea and cold soda for any who wanted them. Ben grabbed a Mountain Dew and kissed Marcy on the cheek. “Thanks for this. How much time left?”

  Marcy just smiled and pointed to the monitor that read; 00:03:51 and was counting down. Ben rolled his eyes at her and the rest of the group chuckled at the pair. Ben noticed the pilot that had rescued Addson and walked over to her. As soon as he got within three paces, she saluted him.