"As we would any being in this room. That being said, of course we have sections of our population who are racist in one way or another, and some of them cannot tolerate AI's, or irrationally fear them."
Jane immediately recalled an image of a man shape being tossed out of an airlock by butler droids. The man had been terrified of her, and she'd tried to give him a lesson. It hadn't worked, even though he'd been in no danger at the time.
"And yourself?"
"I lost an AI who was very dear to me. She wasn’t a robot, or a computer. She was a person."
"Show me an AI," yelled a voice, "and I will show you the face of god."
This voice as well, was drowned out.
Walsh face-palmed. Jane stood there with her mouth hanging open.
"And there's that reason," said Darlene through ship coms. "Well your god-ships, I think I found the neutralizing agent."
"What is it?" asked Jane and Walsh together.
"Coffee."
Sixty Four
"Are you serious?" Jane asked Darlene several hours later, once Council had ceased grilling her, and she returned to Concorde, now docked back on the station, while the bigger ships were out patrolling all three jump points.
"Certainly am. Surprised the hell out of me."
"Coffee? How did you find that?"
"Simple. I spilled a mug of it on the sample I was examining, and all the results changed."
"What were you doing with a mug of coffee?"
"What do you think I was doing with a mug of coffee?"
"I've no idea."
"Drinking it of course!"
Jane blinked rapidly. It had never occurred to her either of her new AI's still drank anything.
"Why?"
"Stryker did a very good job of converting us. I was something of a coffee addict when I was human, and I still am."
"Even though the caffeine has no effect on you now?"
"I know that, you know that, but it seems to be programmed into me."
Jane was about to offer to check her code, except she suddenly realized how she'd react if someone wanted to check hers. She made a disgusted face instead.
"Uck. So you regularly have to drain the stuff out of you?"
"No different from going to the toilet as a human."
Jane knew, but she intentionally avoided all that messy stuff when she could.
"But coffee? Seriously?"
"It works. I'm still working on why. Coffee is complicated stuff, so it could be some individual component, or a combination, or the whole cocktail."
"Keep at it. I'll find out if coffee is available here at all. Just what does it do anyway?"
"Neutralizes the poison. In a living being, it seems it will act like sticking a sponge down their throat, and it just acts like a magnet and iron filings. It attracts and joins up all the poison molecules, rendering them inert, and the body should just pass them out through whatever waste disposal it has."
"What about the dying part?"
"Well that’s the neat thing. The addictive drug breaks down in the system, into something which becomes poisonous. When you add in more of the drug, the poison gets converted back into the addiction. So as long as you take the drug, and feed the addiction, the poison is held at bay. When you stop taking it, the poison starts to kill you. It varies by species because of the body's natural tolerance to the poison. Humans have almost none at all, hence it being lethal. Those species which only suffer the addiction must have something in their system which removes or nullifies the poison before it can kill them."
"Or they drink coffee already."
"Or they ingest something similar to coffee, which only acts on the poison, but not the addiction drug."
"I'll find out."
She thought for an AI moment.
"So you want me to addict this galaxy to a beverage to cure an addition to a drug?"
"Technically, its addict them to one drug in order to save them from another drug. But yes."
Jane sighed, and left her to her work.
Pink was only too happy to contact the ship which had brought them the samples. They had a new embassy suite already, and Pink was flat out responding to requests from other embassies, and the local media.
The Mushroom Captain responded its addicted crew members were desperate for a cure, even if it killed them, since a quick death was preferred to the death the drug inflicted. If any cure was available to be tested, they would be first in line to try it.
Pink's next task was to drop a message in the unofficial, but secure, electronic common room used by embassy staff for asking non-sensitive questions in. It listed the word coffee in Human which wasn’t expected to translate, a description of the bean and how it was made into a beverage, with a basic chemical formula, and asked if those species with an addiction problem used something like this as a recreational drink, food additive, or foodstuff. It also requested those species not affected by the addiction if they knew of this, something like it, or knew of somewhere else it was available.
Answers came in over the remainder of the day.
Over G023, Hikaru and Satoshi received a message from Jane, requesting they go to the closest planet with the plant on it, and throw a mug of coffee on the first plant they saw. Hikaru laughed himself silly, quickly being joined by his crew, but five hours later, they hovered over the middle of a plant infested field on G025, and the Admiral himself flicked the contents of his favourite coffee mug towards the plants below. The effect was so unexpected, he refilled the mug and kept throwing it, until the coffeemaker was empty.
Jane took the results back to Darlene.
"We're going to be lynched," said Jane, looking glum.
"Who by?"
"Our own people."
"Why?"
"Because coffee isn’t indigenous to this galaxy. There are a couple of close alternatives, and you were right about some of the species with only an addiction problem eating something which treated the poison part."
"Why are we going to be lynched?""
"Because the entire stock of coffee in human possession will be required to treat the poison end of the problem alone. And it will take the entire production of coffee beans for the next ten years to eradicate the plant in our extended space. Which means no coffee for anyone to drink. For at least a decade, probably longer."
Darlene laughed.
"It won't happen," she said when she stopped.
"We won't get lynched?"
"No, humans won't give up their coffee."
"That’s what I'm afraid of. We need another answer."
"Working on it. It's definitely something to do with caffeine and how it bonds with other things. I just need to narrow it down."
"Keep going. We have two test subjects available for when you can synthesize a viable alternative to coffee."
"Synthesize?"
"Yes. We'll need huge quantities of the stuff, or better still, something any planet can make for themselves. On the planets we have infested with the plant, we'll need to spray whole continents."
"Did you get someone to throw coffee on the plants?"
"I did. The plant quite literally melts down into a black blob. When a cargo droid pulled it out, it had no roots either, they'd been sucked up out of the ground into the blob. The detector remains silent. It was worth the coffee for the test, but I'm not going to be the one who tells all humans to surrender their coffee so we can throw it on uninhabited planets."
Darlene laughed again.
"Now that would get you lynched!"
Sixty five
Once again, Jane faced the council.
"We apologize Admiral Jane," said Ganshura, "but some more questions must be asked. While it is normal when a new species joins a sector council, this level of questions is not normal. May we have your permission to ask them?"
"You may ask me anything you wish."
They took her at her word.
"You mentioned Humans have factions," said the voice w
hich had begun the previous session. "Just how cohesive are your people?"
"It varies. For centuries, groupings of systems governed themselves with no reference to any other group. At the moment however, we are united, and our highest council holds governance over all. With no outside influence, this may eventually have changed back to the way it was, as we spread out in the new systems we recently discovered. But with the newly discovered galactic community, and our place in it, I think our council will remain for a long time to come. I must point out though, our council knows almost nothing about this council. I have kept them up to date with major events, but as the only contact has been limited to the three of us, the council back home has no real concept of what is out here."
Jane paused. The chamber remained quiet.
"I have deliberately played down the war being fought here. They know about the poison, how warlike the Owls are, but not any of the details. I'm hoping the whole issue can be resolved so our peoples can meet formally in a time of peace, and not war. And for now, I really do not want ship captains discovering how powerful their ships are. Until then, what is happening, and has happened, outside of our space, is all on me."
"You take all this on yourself?" asked Ganshura.
"Isn't that arrogant presumption?"
"Heroism is often misunderstood by many as arrogance."
"I took this on myself," interjected Jane before anyone else could comment. "The moment two of my own ships were severely damaged by one of the Owl seeder ships. Once I was far enough into things to understand what was going on, there was no point in waiting for others to catch up."
"Your own ships? You personally own the ships we have seen in action here?"
"I do. They are on loan to our military forces, but they are my personal property."
"Please explain your relationship to your people."
Jane hesitated. Or so it looked.
"I'm a citizen of a political entity known as the Duchy of Hunter's Run. I'm an adopted member of the Hunter family, having been a companion of the man who forged the Duchy, who is unfortunately no longer with us. His infant son is now Duke, which is the senior rank, and I carry the lesser rank of Baron, which is a minor nobility rank. The military forces I own, are also the military force for the protection of Hunter's Run. As owner of the fleet and ranking officer, I carry Admiral's rank, but I was promoted to the first grade of Admiral during our recent disaster, so it is not a mere affectation on my part. My ownership is recent and has a lot to do with the resolution of our recent crisis. Effectively, those who no longer are with us ensured the ongoing protection of the Hunter family and their dependents and friends, by placing the means to protect them in my personal hands. It seems this was of no surprise to anyone but myself."
The chamber was silent.
"The Duchy of Hunter's Run is the smallest political entity in the Human Federation, and does not have its own planet. The population numbers some twenty thousand citizens. There are some twenty to thirty thousand more on stations who will join the Duchy formally soon. I rank fourth in what is a tiny government based on family heredity, but my role is as an advisor and protector."
"And yet you are here?"
"Here is where I need to be. My people do my job in my absence. And I am in close contact with them, even here."
"Does Ambassador Walsh come from your Duchy?"
"No. Ambassador Walsh is American, which is a democracy electing a President and a council they call a Congress. At this time, they have neither. Once settled on the planet they are currently moving to, they will hold elections. Ambassador Walsh has no standing with them at all, being a civilian ship Captain in my employment. The first Owl seeder ship collided with his, and he was lucky he and his wife were rescued. With no ship, they joined me as I sought to find whose ship it was. It may interest some to know that Ambassador Walsh's expertise is in exploration in general, and finding previously unknown jump points in particular."
This gained a reaction, and Walsh started receiving looks which he interpreted as showing more respect towards him.
"Should Ambassador Walsh decide to step down as Ambassador," said Ganshura, "I am sure his services will be widely sought after."
Walsh nodded to him.
"This could be an area where I can offer services to Sector Ten," said Jane. "Something to consider. If any ambassador wishes to have their space checked for overlooked jump points, you are welcome to contact my embassy. When the war is over and my civilian ships can pass through here safely, we'll see what we can do for you. I own a luxury taxi service, which can be expanded to offer fast transportation for anyone wishing to hire a ship."
"Is there no end to how you can help us?" said a patronizing voice, coming down from somewhere at the back.
"How can we tell," grinned Jane. "We only just met."
"Well said," said a number of voices.
"The Americans?" prompted Ganshura.
"The Americans number in the billions. They have the largest space military after my own, the largest standing army, and their General commands all of our army, as I command our space forces. They tend to be aggressive, and I've gone to a lot of effort to keep them uninvolved in the war so far, although their ships and mine are at the blockade point. The Owl ambassador may wish to consider this. Should they escalate things much further, they may bring into the war those who would take a much more aggressive stance than I do, to their detriment."
"They outnumber many of the species on this council. Should they seek conquest on their own, what would you do?"
"Stop them."
"How?"
"Nothing can be done without ships. The highest ranking officers on all the key ships are my people, or loyal to me. If I say it isn’t going to happen, it won't happen."
"Bit of an exaggeration, isn’t it?" said Walsh, in AI mode.
"Not really. One way or another, I control most of the ships. If it comes down to a shit fight, most of those ships are going to reject their crews trying to do something stupid."
"Isn't that a violation of free will?"
"Only if I ever have to use it."
Walsh grunted, and they returned to human mode.
"And yet, you don’t rule anyone?"
"No. It's better that someone with my resources not rule outright. And I should emphasize, none of this is my doing. After the disaster we faced, I suddenly found myself promoted to the top, with no prior expectation of it happening. We have powerful ships, but we lost our most gifted commanders. So if I've put checks in place while Humanity transitions into its new life, it's to prevent such things as one political entity going rogue. Once we are properly introduced to the rest of the sector, and trading with all of you has become normal, I do not believe the checks will be needed at all."
"What are your ambitions Admiral?"
"I want to find a new home for the Duchy."
"Personal ambitions."
"I'm sorry, I don’t understand the question."
"You are Admiral, Baron, and Ambassador. Have your personal ambitions brought you here?"
"I still don’t understand the question. I'm here because events led me here. I have the rank I hold because others thrust it on me. I sought none of this."
"Thankyou Admiral," said Ganshura. "This session is ended."
"Wait!" yelled Jane. "I have news."
"Speak."
"We have found a cure."
The chamber erupted.
Jane had to wait the full time allotment to be able to clarify.
"Unfortunately, the cure is not available in the quantity needed, since it does not seem to occur naturally anywhere, anymore."
"What is it?"
"Ironically, it’s a mildly addictive beverage which my people consume in enormous quantities. We cultivate the plant to supply demand, but supplying the sector isn’t practical. We are continuing the work to isolate exactly what part is providing the cure, but I must also add, it’s a cure to the poison which causes death, but not f
or the addiction itself. When we can artificially produce the cure in quantity, we'll let you know."
Ganshura caught Jane's eye. She nodded she was finished.
"Now, the session is ended."
Jane didn’t have time to leave the chamber before a message bipped on her tablet, requesting her immediate presence at the Ganeshavestura embassy.
Sixty Six
"Baron Fred," said Madam Chair, "you requested this special session with as many heads of political entities as possible, so you have the floor."
Fred stood. He'd made sure the meeting was being held at a time when government heads no longer in the Gaia system, could make it via the speed of their Lightnings.
"Thank you all for coming, especially those who had to come back rapidly. I regret this will be a long session, but the circumstance is unique. I'll make sure we get adequate breaks, but if someone wishes a break, please let me know."
He looked around the room.
"Firstly, there is an update from Admiral Jane."
He waved at the wall, and sat.
"Greetings representatives of the Human Federation. Good choice by the way."
Jane smiled down at them.
"There was a major battle fought here in the council system a few days ago now, against forces allied with our neighbors, who look a bit like what we call Owls. My ships destroyed a substantial fleet, and now patrol the system as part of the local defense force. For now at least, we are held in high regard by most of our galactic neighbors."
"They are justifiably concerned about the superior nature of some of our technology. I have calmed fears for now, but we will need to demonstrate we are no threat to anyone for some time to come. We have the tech, but collectively they have numbers. If we were to go to war with even the local sector, we would lose. The Owls alone however, is another matter."
"We have found a partial cure to the poison, but it remains impractical to use on the scale necessary. Darlene Walsh, who was an academic wife of one of my civilian AMS ship captains, has proven to be an incredibly valuable research analyst in this difficult process. We hope to have something useful developed in the near future."
Admiral Jane (A.I. Destiny Book 1) Page 27
