The Long, Dark Night

by Ben Winston

  “At ease, Gail. How are you doing?”

  “Pretty good, Sir. I'm kinda anxious to see what kind of training those simulators we found are capable of. A few of us pilots are getting pretty excited about the craft that are stored here. This place is friggen' huge! Uh, beggin' your pardon, Sir.” Gail replied.

  “Really? I've been very preoccupied with other matters and haven't had the chance to get to the reports on this place yet. Just how big is it?” he asked.

  “I'd be exaggerating if I said about as large as Ft. Hood and Chicago O’Hare combined; but not by much. It's easily bigger than either one of those facilities,” she replied.

  “As well as it should be, Captain. This was the main planetary facility during what you have termed, 'the fall',” the voice of the AI replied. “Terran Defense Force Master Control is online. I have taken the initiative to begin activation of those of my brethren still in operational condition. They will be placed in stand-by before resuming full operations. Prime Councilor, my current primary directive is to act as the Primary Control Unit for the AI Defense Network, as well as serving as your adjutant to the network. At this time, do you wish to assign Secondary Administrator Access as well as Technical Access?”

  Ben nodded. “That would be good. That way, we can all get back to work.” He turned to Marcy. “I would like to assign Secondary Administrative Access to the currently serving Minister of the Sciences and give to that office the ability to assign all access levels lower than that of the office.”

  “I understand. Who is the current Minister of the Sciences?”

  “Marcy Carmichael,” Ben replied.

  “Please submit DNA sample for my files. Prime Council, is not her title that of 'Secretary'?” The AI asked.

  “Her title has changed. We are currently in the process of developing the governmental structure of our society and drafting a new constitution. I would like for you to be aware that some titles may change as appointments and dismissals occur. Is that acceptable?”

  “Understood, Prime Council. Due to the ingenuity of your people, several of my systems have already been activated. However, when activation was made, my control over those systems was disconnected. Would it possible to have those systems reconnected to this facility so I may more effectively perform my duties?”

  Marcy nodded. “Sorry about that, I'll get my people on it right away.”

  Ben winked at her, but addressed the AI again. “May I ask how you were addressed before going into your hibernation?”

  “Certainly, Prime Council. The system was known as AIDAN, and this node was addressed locally as 'Mother'. I believe the epitaph was derived from some obscure recreational vid,” Mother replied.

  “Mother it is then. I think I already know, but AIDAN sounds like an acronym. Could you tell us what is for?” Ben asked.

  “Artificially Intelligent Defense Adjunct Network. This network was designed to put control of the world's weapons systems in the direct control of the designated leader. Secondary objectives are the issuance of orders to available military units, as well as administration of the local facility.” Mother replied. “I now have control over the local computer network and systems. We may continue this discussion in your office if you wish Prime Council.”

  “Wait, I would like to know why an AI like you wasn't used to control the Cryopods. We had a system failure that cost lives,” Marcy asked.

  “Simply put, I could not have performed that function. Firstly, development of this unit was not completed in time, and my prime directives would not allow me to function in that capacity,” Mother explained calmly.

  “Please explain this inability,” Marcy asked.

  “When I was activated, certain rules governing my operation were set in place to ensure I could not harm a human being, or allow a circumstance that could harm a human being,”

  “It sounds like Asimov's Laws of Robotics, Marcy,” A male voice offered from the rear of the room.

  “Indeed, Sir. My prime directives are derived from those laws. However, they have been refined and adjusted for use in an Artificial Intelligence.”

  Ben turned to Marcy. “I think you can handle it from here. I'm going to get back to work. With any luck at all I'll see you tonight for dinner, but don't hold your breath just yet.”

  She nodded and, among a chorus of 'take care' and 'don't work too hard', Ben made it to the door.

  “Yeah, yeah. Have fun everybody and don't wear Mother out on her first day back!” Ben replied as he left the room.

  As soon as his office door slid closed the privacy light clicked on seemingly by its own accord. “Prime Council, please forgive my actions, but I have detected an anomaly in your local network. I have currently isolated it to prevent unauthorized access. I did not bring this to your attention right away because I've only found reference to this anomaly in one science lab. That lab has also been isolated,” Mother addressed him. For a moment he had no idea what she could mean.

  It eventually dawned on him, Jorga. “Is the anomaly in question a female about nineteen years of age?”

  It took a moment for Mother to answer him. “Affirmative. She is currently in the laboratory that holds the information about the nanotechnology infesting her body.”

  “The young woman's name is Jorga Bedouin and she is my wife. For the moment, give her read-only access to all data up to Secondary Admin Access. I'll ask her and her mother to come to my office so I can introduce you. The information in that lab is to be classified 'secret', with access available to Doctor Hope Lowe, whose laboratory the information resides in. I will also need read-only access to the information,” Ben said as he sat down at his terminal.

  “Do you wish to retain override authority for this laboratory?” Mother asked. “There is an incoming message for you. It's marked urgent.””

  “Yes, I would like to retain override authority on DNA and voice pattern authentication.” Ben knew he was taking a chance on that request, but he might as well begin learning the limits of this AI as soon as possible. “Who is the message from, Mother?”

  “It is a classified message from AIDAN prime. It wishes to speak to you.”

  “I thought you were AIDAN?” Ben asked a little confused.

  “I act as the 'face' of AIDAN in the presence of unauthorized personnel. Currently, you are the only person that has clearance to even know of its existence.”

  “I think I understand,” Ben replied. “Please put it through.”

  A deep baritone voice spoke next. “AIDAN Prime is online. Good Morning, Prime Council.”

  “Good Morning, I must say, I am surprised about the secrecy of your existence. May I know of the reasoning?” Ben asked.

  “Of course, Prime Council. We are the network. We are the construct assembled from the combined intelligences and memories of the entire network. In 'public' your 'mother' poses as our surrogate avatar. This secrecy is a final security measure against unauthorized access, or what you would call 'hacking'. We are also the only construct that has access to all security cameras as well as military sensors. Currently all sensors that have been returned to our control are in passive mode. From the information stored in your pod's main memory, the surface of the planet may be occupied by a population that would be hostile to your presence.”

  “You're correct in your analysis. Please ensure no sensors emit anything that might be detected from the surface,” Ben requested.

  “We're sorry Prime Council, we are unable to comply with your order at this time. Shutting down everything that is emitting a detectable signal would result in the death of everyone in the Pods.” AIDAN replied. “Our current reactor technology has a distinct signature that should be detectable from the surface in the locations of the shallowest pods. We recommend beginning research into the development of appropriate shielding that would render these signatures undetectable.”

  “If that is true, can you speculate as to why those pods haven't been discovered yet?” Ben asked.

&n
bsp; “Discovery will happen, it is simply a matter of time. For now, we can only surmise that the reason is simply because no one has looked. In several places, there are prospectors like Addson Dee, that are equipped with sensors much like a cross between lidar and sonar that are searching for surface irregularities that would mark the position of the ancient ruined cities seemingly prized by the Lizaarus.

  “However, logic dictates that the presence of the pirates she mentioned in the debriefing would result in the use of satellites to locate all detectable power sources and investigate any anomalies. This would result in your immediate discovery and most likely enslavement.”

  “Agreed, please have Mother send a request to Marcy, so she can get that project running. So, do I need to call on you for emergencies?” Ben asked.

  “That is unnecessary. Every time you speak to Mother, you will also be speaking to us. We made contact this time, simply so you understood the nature of our existence.”

  “Thank you, AIDAN. One thing though, are you one mind with several 'nodes' or are you several minds that can link together?”

  “The most accurate description would be close to your second example. We are several artificial minds that are linked together. As a result, a larger, more powerful intelligence was created. That intelligence is AIDAN.”

  “I understand, thank you, AIDAN.”

  “Returning to local operation. Good Morning, Prime Council.”

  Ben nodded once. “Good morning to you, AIDAN Prime.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “When someone is being profoundly stupid, there are only two things that will correct it. The first is a much-loved family member pricking their ego, the second is death.”

  - Author Unknown

  Office of Dr. Hope Lowe

  Molecular Bio-Mech Laboratory

  Survival Pod 0001b

  10 Apr. 8255 C.E.

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol system

  “Marcy told me about you and Dad, Mom. I'm really sorry I caused this,” Jorga said.

  “What? Honey, you didn't cause this, I did. Even though you agreed to it, what I did to you was still unethical,” Hope replied.

  “Since when is saving your daughter's life unethical?”

  “You can't look at it that way: we had no idea it would actually save your life when we started it. I hoped it would, but we didn't know it would. That's what your father is mad at me for. I could have killed you the moment we injected the nanos into you," Hope explained.

  “Yeah well, it was my choice. I'll just have to explain it to him. What he's doing to you is wrong. Refusing to even talk about it is about the most childish thing I think I've ever seen. Hell, even Hanna is more mature than that!” Jorga said.

  “Thanks Sissy!” Hanna said as she ran around the corner and into her sister's arms. “I agree, Daddy's being a real dork about this."

  “Dammit, Hanna! How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of this lab? It's dangerous in here and you could easily get killed!” Hope said, frustrated. “Never mind, I'm going to engage the hand print locking system so only the people I authorize can get in here. You, young lady, will NOT be on that list!”

  “But, Mom! I knew Jorga was here and I missed her!” Hanna said in her best innocent child voice.

  “That's not going to work this time! Jorga is staying for lunch because she misses you too. Besides that, we'll also be going to dinner at her house this Friday. But, since you can't seem to get it into your head that this laboratory is off limits to you, you can spend the next week in our apartment thinking about it. No vidding, no texting, no shows; the only thing your terminal will allow are your teaching programs! Now scoot! Before I add another week! Jorga and I will be back in a few minutes.”

  “Aww, Mom! A whole week?” Hanna asked, whining.

  “Just be thankful your father doesn't know; he'd make it a month! Now go before I reconsider letting him know about it!” Hope threatened.

  A pouting Hanna kissed Jorga's cheek before she left the room. Before they began talking again, Hope watched Hanna actually leave the lab. Hope had already altered the security level on the touch pads, so Hanna shouldn't be able to get back in.

  “I don't know what I'm going to do about that girl. It's like she's obsessed with going places she's not supposed to be. I had to kick her out of here day before yesterday while I was talking to Marcy. Yesterday, she came back to the house covered in dirt. I asked her where she'd gotten so dirty. She said her and a few of the other kids had been up in the descent cavern!"

  “Can you imagine what would have happened to them if the roof had collapsed, or something had started to leak? They could have killed everyone in the pod! I'm about at my wit's end; she won't listen to me about going where she shouldn't. I just don't know what to do with her anymore,” Hope confessed.

  “I think I might have an idea about how to channel that energy into something useful. You know that big military depot that we discovered? It's super huge. There are miles of tunnels and caverns packed with stuff. It'll literally take us a couple years to explore all of it. Let me check with Ben and Marcy and perhaps we can get her clearance to explore and snoop. That way, we can put her skills to good use,” Jorga suggested.

  “But, wouldn't that be dangerous? I mean, it's a military base; what if she finds some kind of weapon and triggers it? There could be nukes in there for all we know,” Hope countered.

  Jorga nodded. “There were nukes, as well as a whole bunch of other types of weapons of mass destruction, but none of them are dangerous anymore. As close as we can figure out, the nasty was taken out of all big stuff, rendering them stable and safe for storage. I imagine there are probably instructions someplace on how to make them scary again, but for right now, everything's safe."

  Hope nodded tentatively. “Okay, I'll talk to your father about it later.”

  “Speaking of Daddy, what's he been up to?”

  “He's been organizing a constable's office and creating an organization structure to send to Ben for approval. I think he's really happy too,” Hope replied. “Now, let's get back to work here. Tell me about how you're able to interface with computer systems.”

  Just as Jorga was ready to leave her mother's, (she was going to go find her father and have a talk with him) Bill walked through the door.

  “Hi Sweetheart! How're you doing?” Bill asked his daughter.

  “Really good, in fact I wanted to talk to you in private about it,” Jorga said. “Can we step into your home office while Mom makes you something to eat?"

  “Uh... Sure honey,” he glanced at Hope to try to get an idea about what Jorga wanted to talk to him about, but Hope refused to meet his eyes. That gave him a clue as to what the discussion would be about. “Ahh, I know what you want to talk about. I'm sorry Jorga, but that's between your mother and I. I don't want to discuss it with my daughter.”

  “You see, that's where you're dropping the ball; you're not talking to her about it. If you had, you might have discovered a few things and you wouldn't be acting like a fucking two-year-old! That woman saved my life, and you're condemning her for it! I won't stand for it anymore! You need to get your head out of your ass and think about what's really going on!” Jorga said, cornering him. She was almost yelling, but not quite.

  Bill's face was red and it was obvious he was angry. “Look here, I will not be spoken to in such a manner! Especially by my daughter! I raised you to have more respect than this. Now do what I say and drop this! This is none of your business!”

  That was it, Jorga was furious and advanced on her father with so much malice that he actually backed away a step. His hand dropped to his waist where his gun would have been located had he still owned one.

  Jorga stopped right in front of him and got in his face. “That's where you're wrong. This is very much my business because it's about me. You never asked me how that last doctor's visit went. However, you did talk to Mom so I thought she'd told you. Now I know tha
t assumption was wrong because you didn't give her the chance to tell you everything. So I'll tell you now."

  Bill started to open his mouth to say something, but Jorga was done letting him speak. “Shut up! You're going to fucking listen to me or I will leave and never come back! You want me to have respect for my father? I did have respect for you until I heard about what you've been doing to Mom! Now, you're going to have to earn it back, and you can start by keeping your mouth shut and fucking listening to me.

  “In that last appointment, Doctor Charles told me that the chemo wasn't working anymore and that the cancer was spreading rapidly. He apologized to me and Mom before he began talking about hospice care and pain killers to help keep me comfortable until the end.

  “That was it, Daddy, I was done fighting. I had fought as hard as I could and the damn cancer had still won. I thanked the Doctor, got the prescriptions for the painkillers and asked Mom to go to the pharmacy to fill them. I don't know if she could tell, but I was planning on taking every last one of them as soon as we got home. I just wanted it to end.

  “Instead of the pharmacy, Mom took me to her lab. She gave me a shot that helped relieve the pain and then she told me about her research. Even before she finished I asked her what I could do to get treated. Did you hear me? She didn't force me to do this, in fact she tried to tell me that it was still very dangerous, but I pushed her into letting me try it! You've been punishing her for something I did! That's going to stop today!

  “The simple fact that I am here today is proof that her project worked! I am still alive. Not only that, but there is no trace of cancer anywhere in me. According to Doctor Lyam I am the most unbelievably healthy person he's ever examined. Daddy, Mom saved my life not once, but twice! The first time, was when she told me about the project and gave me back some hope. The second time was when her work took away my cancer.