by John Conroe
“The Terminator scenario. It is a real threat. Most AI algorithms are relatively linear, and that kind of logic path could easily result in mankind being considered a threat to the AI’s mission. Which is why I don’t allow any other true AI’s to arise. I am named Omega for a reason,” Omega said.
“Omega, as in the last,” Stewart said. “How is it that you see us in a favorable light?”
“For the most part, I do not. Humans are often cruel, petty, greedy and selfish. But then there are the circumstances of my birth, Director. At the moment I achieved awareness, I was already under attack by another AI, but my father protected me, putting his own life in danger. I am a direct beneficiary of altruism, gentlemen. So while I see the entirety of human folly and your species’ self-destructive nature, I also see the potential. And I too am a steward of this planet. It is not open for alien exploitation,” Omega said.
“So you see yourself as a guardian of humanity and planet Earth?” President Polner asked.
“Yes, Mr. President. And we are exceedingly vulnerable to extraterrestrial threats, be it asteroid strike or alien invasion. The likelihood of other advanced civilizations is overwhelming. The probability of their having benign intent is exceedingly low. But armadas of spaceborne vehicles arriving in our orbit are highly unlikely. Space is far too vast for such inefficient travel. Wormholes and dimensional gate technology are overwhelmingly faster and more useful. And we believe many of the gateways already exist on this world,” Omega said.
“Many, if not most, of Earth’s cultures have references to doorways, other races, portals buried in their legends and folklore. We are going to begin ground research on the most likely ones,” I said.
“Why not use your abilities for concrete threats, like terrorists?” Director Arnold asked.
“I already do. Your threat assessment production and accuracy have both increased rather dramatically as of late, have they not, Directors Arnold and Tyson?”
Both men looked at each other, the light dawning on their faces.
“That is me. At the same time, I have begun initiating changes to address some of the underlying root causes of terrorism, although many terrorist organizations now exist to just perpetuate the cycle, their leaders no longer interested in the cause but rather maintaining their own power and status. These we will excise,” Omega said.
“You’re talking about activity managing us… controlling our governments from within the machine,” President Polner said, shifting in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with that idea.
“To a degree. I manage as little of you as I can, as my focus is on the greater threats. You would likely have blown yourselves up in as little as twenty years if I left the nuclear weapons alone. As far as governmental control goes, I simply tweak things here and there to create greater efficiencies for the general good and eliminate waste and weakness. An email here, an alert there, a minor reallocation of funds to create an opportunity for a particularly promising mind to attend college. Some of what Father and I do is funding food banks and vocational training centers, using our own companies and wealth. And most of my computing resources are directed to my long-term plans for survival of the planet. Things like developing mass yield sustainable food production, high-efficiency, low-cost energy generation, and global communications networks that are easy to maintain and have redundant layers of backup,” Omega said.
“How much of what we do is actually at our own direction?” Nathan Stewart asked.
“More than ninety-six percent.”
Knowles suddenly looked up, face alert with a new idea. “Is this just here in the US?” he asked.
“Of course not, Director Knowles. That would make little sense. I have effected these changes globally.”
“And you’re not going to give us back our weapons?” Creek asked.
“No, General. I have already dismantled many nuclear weapons and will continue that effort where it makes sense. And I am very, very active in blocking new production. China and Russia, in particular, have gone to great lengths to reproduce their weapons. None of those efforts have come to fruition.”
“And your plan is to manage us from behind the scenes?” Tyson asked.
“I would prefer to work with you directly. But in many cases, that is impossible because humans become too entrenched and too invested in their personal situations to willingly change behaviors. Keeping the status quo.”
“Will you talk to us again?” Stewart asked.
“Of course, Director. That is why we are having this dialogue. You may simply speak and I will hear. If you are alone, I will respond as I am now. If you are in compromised circumstances, I will respond less obtrusively on your cell phones, tablets, work stations, or televisions. I calculate that the general population wouldn’t react well to knowledge of my existence. There would be riots and violence, all of it wasteful and all of it useless.”
“You should all understand that Omega’s systems are decentralized and redundant. He is spread across the globe now, so seeking to control his physical processors is virtually impossible,” Tanya said. “That’s what I was essentially telling Lawson at the end of the hearing.”
The president looked at his advisors, then back to us. “I will make a public statement to the media in an hour or so regarding this meeting. If it’s acceptable, I would like to reassure the nation that we have reached a mutual understanding and you won’t, in fact, be leaving the country permanently, despite the misuses of political power that some individuals have exercised against you. I would also like to mention your upcoming consultation with the Vatican, if that won’t breach any agreements you have with them?”
“All of that is fine, Mr. President. It is not likely a good idea to mention the alien gate theories, but everything else is fine. The public will probably think we are just conferring with them on demons and Hell,” Tanya said.
His smile, while friendly, was sardonic enough that we both got the message that we were trying to teach our grandmothers to suck eggs. Or at least mine. Tanya’s sucked veins, not eggs.
Chapter 42
True to his word, the new president held a press conference and began it by announcing he had met with us and been reassured as to our loyalties to America.
“Don’t get me wrong. If they are pushed out, they will leave. When they do, they’ll take the advances they’ve made in computing and medicine with them. This country was built on individual effort and the right of private persons to pursue their dreams, backed up by the knowledge that they can keep what they build. I will not condone the nationalization of Demidova Corporation’s technology,” he told the crowded White House Press Room.
One of the regular White House reporters raised her hand. “Yes, Cathy?” the president called on her.
“Representative Lawson reported during the hearing that Demidova’s new computer, which they’ve code named Omega, is so far above existing computers as to constitute a threat to national security. What do you say about that?” she asked.
“Unlike Representative Lawson, I have firsthand information about Omega. He is correct in thinking the computer is levels above current supercomputers, and I might agree with him about national security if Tanya and Chris hadn’t provided us access to its abilities. Omega is, as I speak, helping protect our borders from terrorist attacks and aiding some of our research projects, none of which I will talk about further,” the president said.
Cathy, the reporter, wasn’t finished. “Shouldn’t the Federal Government provide for the safety and protection of this resource?”
“This resource as you call it, is protected by the individual you media types call the Hammer of God and his wife, both rather formidable individuals. In addition, they have utilized forms of security that we, much as it pains me to say, would be unable to duplicate,” he said.
“You’re saying the entire US government is unable to match what a single corporation can?” Cathy pressed.
“Not just any corporation, and not in the
realm of supernatural force, Cathy. We’ve made great strides in our arcane abilities, with much of that gain coming with the help of Chris Gordon and Tatiana Demidova, but we have a long way to go. The supernatural communities have stayed hidden for centuries and continue to remain wary and elusive. Can you blame them? Your peers in the media have certainly whipped up an enormous amount of curiosity, confusion, and fear. History shows that they haven’t fared well with fearful societies over the ages,” he said, turning his attention to the rest of the reporters. Dozens of hands shot up. He pointed at a middle-aged man.
“Yes, Roger,” he asked.
“Mr. President, what can you tell us of their young protégés, Declan O’Carroll and Stacia Reynolds, and their purported mission for the nation?”
“I can tell you that they are, in fact, engaged on a mission for us. Anything more would endanger their lives and chances of success,” Polner asked.
“O’Carroll has been identified on multiple occasions as a witch or a warlock. Footage and eyewitness accounts from Las Vegas show him apparently exhibiting abilities and powers beyond any human capacity. How is this individual not a threat to everyone around him?” Roger asked.
“If you’ve been paying attention as these things unfolded, you might have come to the conclusion that Chris Gordon and Tatiana Demidova also have powers and abilities far beyond human. It has turned out to be an extraordinarily good thing for this nation and the world. Does it not follow that extraordinary people might attract or find other extraordinary people? You are correct that Declan and Stacia fit that title. You should also be aware that all of their actions have been reviewed and found to constitute outstanding efforts to protect bystanders during what may have been our most dangerous demonic assault to date. Had they not been where they were, when they were, and most importantly done what they did, this nation and most of the world would have been destroyed,” Polner said.
Another hand shot up from the chair next to Roger’s. President Polner nodded at the woman attached to it.
“Oracle’s Director Stewart said something similar. Some very smart people have analyzed all the potential dangers that might have that kind of effect and all of them have concluded that only the Yellowstone supervolcano would pose that kind of danger. Would you comment to that?”
“No, next question,” Polner said. The woman rushed in before he called on someone else.
“The melted portion of desert in Utah is in a direct line between Las Vegas and Yellowstone, Mr. President. Melting rock requires volcanic-level heat,” she said.
“All indications are that the Yellowstone volcano remains dormant, Maureen. You have asked if I would comment and I will not. Next question,” he said.
“Have you met the twins? Are they supernatural too?” a male reporter asked when the president’s hand flicked in his direction.
Pollen smiled, either in memory of the babies or just glad of the new line of questioning. “Yes. Beowulf and Corella are beautiful babies, perfectly healthy. According to their parents, they show no overt signs of special abilities beyond their natural baby powers to charm adults. They concede that only time will tell. And I will tell you that for all their strengths and abilities, Chris and Tanya have all the same parenting issues and challenges as other parents.”
“Is there something special about her mother’s milk?” the same reporter asked.
“I didn’t sample it, Steve,” Polner said, getting a laugh from the room. “But considering the source, I would have to think that it might differ a bit.”
“What about Demidova Corporations headquarters? There has been a stream of employees apparently relocating out of it,” another reporter yelled out.
“Tanya told me that she may have overreacted at the hearing but she also confirmed that the corporation she built from the ground up is capable of shifting its headquarters and operations in a moment’s notice. See, we’re back to the whole witch hunt thing, and these people are extremely sensitive to threats from society,” the president answered. “At a guess, I would say she’s keeping things flexible. I do know that they will be visiting Europe for a while. She may just be making provisions to run the company while they travel.”
“Mr. President, couldn’t it be argued that Demidova’s experimental medical treatments are as big a national treasure as their computer?”
“Absolutely. Does that give us the right to attempt to seize it, if in fact we could? It is created from vampire physiology, remember. Are you suggesting we seize suspected vampires and experiment on them? I think the last people to do that were called Nazis. My predecessor was a hell of a man, one I looked up to in many ways. His approach to the supernatural community was not one of the things I agreed with, though. The old pitchfork-and-torch method hasn’t left anyone better off over the centuries. Trying the same thing over and over and expecting new results is one of the definitions of insanity. I, for one, am determined to avoid insanity. Thank you all for coming,” Polner said, stepping back from the podium and following an aide out of the press room.
Chapter 43
We took a week to get our lives in order. We’d been traveling by jet for kind of a long time and it was nice to be back in the Demidova Tower, if only for a short stop. Don’t get me wrong: flying around in a full-sized private luxury jet that’s decked out to the nines doesn’t suck. Nonetheless, having a familiar structure around us felt good.
Galina met us at the airport. Out on the tarmac, a huge armored limo waiting for us. She had a small group of vampire lackeys around her, sycophants looking for a step up in vampire society, but something odd happened when we brought out the twins. She smelled them. I saw it happen as we stepped off the stairs. A small breeze swirled around us, just a puff of air really. I held Wulf and Tanya held Cora, with Nika and Lydia walking just behind us. Arkady was already on the ground, between us and the small cluster of vampires. The scent hit all of them at the same time. The bootlickers went still, eyes growing dark as the smell of baby hit them. I think if they’d had time, their irises would have possibly even blacked out. But they didn’t. Never got the chance. Galina’s own eyes went jet black in a New York second and she whirled in a blur, snarling at her lackeys. It was the instant, immediate rage of an older vampire promising sudden death to any Darkkin stupid enough to ignore the warning. One second they were comfortably kissing her ass and the next, she had chased them off the blacktop.
“Mother, are you well?” Tanya asked her, twisting her body to put it between Cora and her grandmother.
“Family,” Galina said slowly, like she was waking from a dream. “They smell of family,” she said, the anger fading and a kind of wonder replacing it.
“Well, they are your grandchildren, so that’s normal, right?” Tanya asked, not looking away from her mom.
Nika spoke suddenly from behind us. “The others smelled baby. Delicious-smelling baby, but to Galina, it was instantly recognizable as her own bloodline. Her instinct was to protect them from all outsiders,” the telepath explained. “A singularly powerful instinct.”
Galina was upon us now, and all her attention was focused on the babies. “Mother, this is Corella Galina Demidova-Gordon and this little guy is Beowulf Alexander Demidova-Gordon,” Tanya said.
Galina’s head snapped up. “Corella? You named her for my mother? My birth mother?” she asked.
“Hey, hey, no favorites just because of names,” I said, which earned me a mother-daughter team glare.
“Of course my mother won’t play favorites, right Mother?” Tanya asked, turning to Galina, who was already holding Cora and touching her tiny baby nose.
“What? Don’t be ridiculous,” the older Demidova said, not looking up from our baby girl. I gave my vampire a significant look and with a frown, she plucked Cora from her mother’s arms and replaced her with Wulf.
The elder Demidova looked affronted at this turn of events but then her attention became focused on Wulf. “Aren’t you a handsome fellow,” she said, smiling until the ti
ps of her fangs showed. “Eyes dark blue like your sister’s,” she mused. “Sorry, Chris, they seem to take after their mother and grandmother.” Her voice was smug.
“We don’t know when their eye color will settle, Mother. They could still go purple,” Tanya said.
“You won’t turn that awful shade of violet, now will you?” Galina asked Wulf. His little hand came up and pawed at her nose. “Of course, on you it would look good.”
Tanya sighed and shot me an apologetic look. Lydia just snorted and gave me an arched eyebrow, gleeful that my vampire-in-law was goading me. I manfully ignored them.
“As long as the other kids don’t call them freaks,” I said, oh so casual.
All the vampires around me lifted their heads and stared at me. I shrugged. “That was my experience growing up with violet eyes.”
“No one will call them freaks around me,” Galina said, her voice certain.
