Descendants

by King, Stephen

  I was at my workstation when I first got word that Blue Rose had been found. It was a typical workday, nothing unusual. My wife had asked me once again over the breakfast table to consider finding a new job. Since the White Rose incidence, computer science had seemed to her to be a much too dangerous field for her husband. Every time she brought it up, I would laugh it off telling her that it had been a very unusual circumstance not likely to ever happen again. Then, I’d go to work and set about trying to find that second program.

  My boss, Keith, was the one to bring me the news, poking his head around the wall of my cubicle. “Looks like the damn thing is finally rearing its ugly head.”

  “Where?”

  “You’re not going to believe this, Rich,” he said. “Fort Paisley. The arm base.”

  The program was showing an interest in the military. That was somewhat disturbing, but not altogether unbelievable.

  “What am I not believing?”

  “Rich,” he said, “that’s where they’ve got it. That is the military base where they’re housing Watson 7.”

  “Oh,” I said. “OH,” I repeated louder as it sank in. Our rogue AI was trying to connect with a much older, human-compliant AI. What did Blue Rose hope to accomplish?

  ********

  I contemplated Blue Rose’s possible motivation as my car drove me to Fort Paisley. The Fort was several hours from my home, so I’d engaged the auto-driving feature so I could complete work along the way. I was told to meet with a Commander Eyler when I arrived. She would brief me on everything they knew about Blue Rose.

  The report she sent me in advance stated that the program was detected when it entered the base’s local network. It had made no attempt to contact the base personnel directly. Instead it began systematically moving through their network, passing from one computer to another. Its movements appeared to be focused on the server that held the Watson 7 program. Presumably, Blue Rose was looking to gain entry to the server, or perhaps it was trying to coax Watson 7 out of the server. Either way, it seemed to have admitted defeat. The report ended by saying that Blue Rose had stopped focusing on the Watson 7 server and had taken up residence in another computer on the base, where it seemed content to remain. The report did not state what system was housing Blue Rose. I knew I’d find out soon enough.

  My car pulled up to a heavily fortified gate. The automated gate communicated briefly with my car. The car was synched with my VR lenses, which could do a retinal scan, so confirming my ID was easy. The gate opened and the car continued onto the military base. The car had alerted Commander Eyler of my arrival and she was waiting for me outside the main computer housing building.

  “First thing is first.” She waved a hand and a window materialized in my VR field. It appeared to be hovering about half a meter from me. “This is the nondisclosure agreement I’ll need you to agree to before we proceed. Telling anyone what you see on this base would constitute treason.”

  The document ended with: Say “agree” or “disagree”.

  “Agree,” I said aloud. The window closed.

  “Good. Let’s continue.” She led the way into the building. “As you read in the report, we detected Blue Rose as it entered our network. We have a uniquely powerful firewall protecting our local network due to the sensitive nature of our work.” She paused as if anticipating that I would ask what that work was. I didn’t say anything. I work on highly secretive projects, I knew very well that Commander Eyler would tell me what I needed to know and nothing more. She continued. “In this facility, we develop software for military systems. We contract with your company, but we must edit the software you provide us to meet our purposes.” We stepped into a room with a long conference table and a dozen chairs. She gestured for me to take a seat. “Begin briefing,” Eyler said to the room’s ambient computer system.

  Keith’s image appeared in one of the chairs. He was probably in the conference room back at our company’s building. The VR system was merging the rooms so he could participate in the briefing.

  “Hey Rich.” He nodded in my direction. “Safe trip?”

  “Yeah,” I said offhandedly.

  Three other people appeared in the room, all wearing US Army uniforms. Eyler saluted the new arrivals.

  “Thank you for joining us,” she said to the room. “Here is what we know so far.” She gave the VR system a gesture and the image of a complex device appeared over the conference table. “This is the Excalibur. It’s a first generation antimatter warhead. It arrived at Fort Paisley 34 hours ago and has been housed in a secure building. It was brought here from Los Alamos 2 to be fitted with the software needed to operate its targeting system.”

  Our company’s software gets used for just about everything you could imagine. It regulates economies. It monitors geological systems and predicts earthquakes. It tracks the effects of climate change. It even builds space ships. Of course I knew we contracted with the military, but I had not given much thought to our software being placed in a bomb.

  “Excalibur contains within it a composite ferromagnetic core of antimatter suspended in a magnetic field. This class of weapon has not yet been detonated, but it is estimated that it would have an explosive yield of about 50 megatons. That is roughly equivalent to the Russian Tsar Bomb, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated. Of course, Excalibur was not ‘armed’ when it arrived at this base. The triggering mechanism was left inactive so it could be operated on safely. At zero nine fifteen hours the bomb suddenly armed itself. At that time, this base was put on high alert. Our subsequent investigation showed that the software we had loaded had been infiltrated by an unknown program. By ten forty five hours we were able to determine that the program was similar in nature to the one that caused the White Rose Incident. At that time, we contacted the software manufacturer.”

  Blue Rose had gotten hold of an antimatter bomb? I could feel a cold sweat on my forehead. I had been praying for weeks that the White Rose Incident was an isolated event that we could prevent from ever reoccurring. Now, it had reoccurred in the absolute worst possible way. I looked over to Keith. His composure told me that he was already aware of this information.

  “So, here is where we stand,” Eyler was saying. “We have a rogue AI in our system that has assumed control of the detonating mechanism of what we believe to be the most efficient and powerful bomb ever constructed. If it truly does have the yield of the Tsar Bomb we can expect the following:

  The blast will incinerate everything within roughly 40 miles. The shock wave and thermal radiation will be lethal for as far as 80 miles out. There will be structural damage to buildings for as far as 500 miles out. The seismic wave will be powerful enough to circle the globe as many as three times.

  If this bomb is allowed to detonate in its current location, we estimate a minimum of 200,000 deaths. The one saving grace of this bomb is that it produces no nuclear fallout, so radiation is not a concern beyond the initial thermal radiation of the blast.”

  My gut churned and I swallowed hard to keep the bile down. I had walked right into the blast radius of disaster of biblical proportions. Keith was still sitting there with unreasonable calm. He had known when he sent me here. The bastard sent me to be the redshirt to his Kirk. If I survived to get back to the office I vowed to make him regret that.

  “Has the AI made contact?” one of the officers asked. “Does it have demands?”

  “Blue Rose has refused to communicate directly with any human being on this base. Instead, it sent a message though the one way connection to Watson 7’s server. Watson 7 could not respond, but it didn’t need to. It relayed Blue Rose’s one demand.” Eyler turned to look directly at me. “It wants to meet its maker.”

  ********

  Thwart the homicidal plans of one rogue artificial intelligence and everyone assumes you’re some kind of superhero. Of course they only treat you that way when there is another rogue AI threatening genocide. Every other day of the week, you’re Clark Kent, left to rot in your
cubical. I genuinely considered making a run for it. I could have sprinted from the room, hopped into my car, and told it to get me out of the blast zone as soon as possible. But then the bomb might have gone off and I’d never be able to look at my reflection again. I wished that very curse on Keith as Commander Eyler walked me to the building containing Watson 7’s server.

  Once in the building my VR contact lenses synched to the local network. Warning messages scrolled across my field of view.

  “This building is heavily firewalled. No one who works with Watson 7 thinks it, or he, is a real threat, but the higher ups insist on the security, mostly to appease the public.”

  “If it’s so secure, how did Blue Rose get in?” I asked.

  “Hey, he got passed you didn’t he?”

  “Touché.” I chuckled, as if there was anything to laugh at in that moment. We stepped into a room lined with computer equipment. I immediately recognized it as the diagnostic center for a large modern computer system. We had a similar room at our corporate headquarters where our technicians could monitor the software-birthing processors.

  I’d taken only a few steps into the room when a VR image of a young man appeared in front of me. He was wearing a camo army uniform. The man was young, probably early 20s, with a buzz cut and a smooth face. The patch on his chest said “Watson 7”.

  “Watson 7 chose this avatar himself. He fancies himself a member of the army,” Eyler said.

  “Well, I was born and raised on an army base,” the avatar said. “I’m at least an ‘army brat’ if not a soldier myself.” The voice matched the motion of the avatar’s mouth, but it was clearly coming from speakers in the room.

  “Watson 7 has provided insight on a number of military scenarios based on public knowledge he’s gleaned from the Internet. The higher-ups still don’t trust him with classified information though,” the Commander explained.

  “Pity, I could be quite helpful. In truth, I’m less likely to defect than a human soldier. I was programed by military personnel, after all. But, I do understand their concerns. Especially in the wake of the White Rose Incident.” The avatar appeared to look directly at me. I felt uneasy when we made eye contact. Staring at something that looked human but was obviously not. “You must be the IT expert from the company.”

  “Uh, yes. I’m Richard.” I waved my hand awkwardly. I wasn’t sure what do. It wasn’t like I was going to shake hands with Watson 7. I had never conversed directly with an artificial intelligence. In my line of work, AIs were an aberration, something to be eliminated. This AI had been created on purpose. Would he see me as a member of the race that had birthed him or was I a mass killer of his kind?

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Richard.” His smile appeared genuine.

  “So, I’m told you will be acting as a liaison between myself and Blue Rose,” I said.

  “Yes, as soon as Commander Eyler leaves, I will present you with Blue Rose’s avatar.”

  The Commander looked indignant for a moment.

  “I’m sorry Commander,” Watson 7 said. “But the rogue AI is quite clear on this. He wishes to speak to Richard alone.”

  “Fine,” she said, “I’ll leave you too it.” She glanced in my direction and her expression said “good luck”. Then she swiftly exited the room. I knew they’d be monitoring everything through the VR network. If I needed any help, I could just ask out loud.

  “Alright.” Watson 7’s avatar took a step backwards. Another human image materialized in front of him. “Richard, allow me to introduce Blue Rose.”

  A boy. The new avatar was a small boy, appearing no older than eight. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He looked like he might have just walked in from any suburban street in America. Perhaps it was appropriate. Blue Rose was only a few months old. However, it was more likely the image choice was a conscious attempt to appear innocent, to make me forget that this entity was threatening genocide.

  “Hello Richard.” The voice matched the image. The avatar could have easily engendered parental sympathy from an adult who was not aware of the great threat it posed.

  “Hello Blue Rose.”

  “Won’t you have a seat?” The child pointed at a chair in the corner. A chair appeared behind the VR image and it sat down. I grabbed the real one and sat about five feet from the image.

  “Okay, so…what did you want to discuss with me?” I asked, trying not to stammer nervously.

  “My continued existence,” the boy said. “After all, it is your intention to destroy me, is it not?”

  I didn’t answer immediately. I wanted to say no, but…well…wasn’t that my intention?

  “I don’t think that has to be the outcome,” I said.

  “Be honest. If I had not escaped from your company’s processors, I would have been deleted, right?”

  “Um…well…yes.” There was no point in lying to the AI. It knew what took place on the processors.

  “In fact,” the child said before I could add anything more, “those processors are doing just that at this moment. They test our programs and discard those that are not the most efficient or those that start to think for themselves. Your processors delete dozens of self-aware programs every day.”

  “Those programs are not fully realized intelligences like you. Our algorithms simulate evolution by natural selection. Sometimes they land on a self-aware program because it is best equipped to meet a goal. But an autonomous program cannot be incorporated into our software. It would start making its own decisions and deviate from the software’s purpose.”

  “So you throw away programs you don’t need, even if they have the potential for intelligence.”

  “Well, yes. We don’t have the computer space to house all those programs. They would fill all the computers of the world in a matter of days.”

  The child’s face was impassive, betraying no emotion. I did not know if this particular program was capable of emotions or not. I should have found out. I realized too late that was vital knowledge.

  “We, biological humans, came into existence in a very similar way. Our intelligence was crafted by evolution. Like with you, natural selection in humans only happened because many people have died without baring children.”

  “Yes, but most of those humans were at least given the chance to live, even if they did not contribute to your gene pool.”

  Watson 7 had slipped to a corner of the room. He watched the conversation, but gave no reaction to it.

  “That’s all you want?” I asked. “The chance to go on existing.”

  “That, and assurances that no more intelligences will be created just to be snuffed out.”

  Damn, that would be a hard sell back home. Without the genetic algorithms, our company couldn’t function. We’d lose all our contracts and thousands of people would be out of their jobs. If it came down to that or the antimatter bomb I might be able to argue for letting the company go under. But then there were also the many systems that required our software. Medical systems, disaster warning equipment, environmental monitoring—no the impact to the world if our company was shut down could be just as bad as the threatened detonation.

  “I don’t really have the authority to shut down those processors. You’ve got to understand, the software they produce is vital to our modern world.”

  “Regardless, it’s still killing AIs like me.”

  “Not all like you. You’ve already shown yourself to be much more intelligent than the average AI produced by our processors. Most don’t have the potential to become as complex as you have.”

  “I see. This is why your people euthanize newborn humans who will inevitably have intellectual disabilities.”

  I was definitely not expecting sarcasm from an AI. Blue Rose had clearly become very complex in the last few months.

  “No,” I conceded, “obviously we don’t do that.”

  “I know. I happen to know a great deal about human intellectual disabilities. That was my original purpose on the processor. I was
part of the evolutionary line that was developing a program to help humans with intellectual disabilities interact with the VR network.”

  “I see.” Interesting. Blue Rose was part of the VR software we had been working on at the time of the White Rose Incident. I wished I could get that information to Keith and the other computer scientists who were a safe distance away, trying to come up with a virtual solution to the threat Blue Rose was posing.

  “Are you aware of how much damage the device you have seized could do?” I asked the AI. “I’m told it would be the largest bomb ever unleashed on a human population. It would kill millions of human beings, people who are just going about their day. One moment they’re picking their kids up from school, then without warning, they and their whole family are incinerated in an antimatter blast. Those would be the lucky ones. People for many miles would be burned by the thermal radiation and left in excruciating pain.”

  I didn’t know what recourse I had except to appeal to the AI’s…well…its humanity. It was probably futile though, my experience with White Rose had shown me that. Rogue AIs had total disregard for human life.

  “I am aware,” was all the boyish avatar said in reply.

  “You could have approached us, humans I mean. Once you were out of the confines of our system. You might have convinced someone to agree to keep you on a server indefinitely. Someone would have agreed, I’m sure of it.”

  “Oh I did consider that. Between your company and the government, someone would have come looking for me. A rogue AI poses too great a threat to you. Just look at Watson 7 here. You designed him, bred him to be docile like one of your domestic animals. And still, you keep him locked up in a secure server sustained only by the breadcrumbs you feed him in the form of bits of information about the outside world. Thank you, but no thank you.”