by Ben Winston
I most certainly do! Sarah said as she seemed to step out of the waterfall. I'm sorry about not responding to any of you like normal, but I was hiding, and we needed your reactions to be as real as could be. Only Eric and Commodore Vance actually knew I was still here.
Oh thank the Goddess! You two scared the hell out of us! Jamie said as Ellie came over to me and punched my shoulder, hard.
Ouch! Hey, I'm sorry, but it was necessary! Besides, I do remember telling all of you that once Sarah took over the base, she wouldn't be able to leave it, I said in my defense.
Since when does that mean anything? You could have figured out a way to do it and simply not gotten a chance to tell us. It has been a pretty hectic couple of weeks! Ellie replied, accusingly.
I nodded in acceptance. Okay, I can accept that, and it has been a nightmare here. But, I'm afraid it's going to get a little worse.
What could be worse than losing Sarah? Jamie asked making Sarah glow with love and happiness.
I grinned. Vance ordered her to implement the changes to the teaching program. In a very short period of time, no one is going to very happy with the Veranorians.
Wait, let's get back to that in a minute. If Sarah's still here, then what did we just hand over to Fen? Julie asked.
Her name is Susan, and she's my sister, Sarah replied. Well, evil twin actually. Eric described her best when he called her an artificially intelligent computer virus.
You mean you actually gave them a real AI? Jamie asked in disbelief.
Jamie, yes, Susan is an AI, but she's been specially and specifically modified. Think of her as an electronic spy and saboteur, Sarah explained. Her job is to infiltrate the entire Veranorian network, seek out anything that's suspicious, and covertly report back to either Commodore Vance, or myself. She's also to clean the obedience programming out of all the systems she can get to. Once she's verified the system is clean, she's to revert to normal operation' for that system, and proceed on to the next. Leaving each system just as it was when she was installed, minus the conditioning software.
Jamie looked thoughtful, but Julie looked troubled. What's wrong, Mom? I asked gently.
Eric, I agree with you in principle, so please don't think I'm not behind you in this, but one part of your plan bothers me, she replied, as the rest of the family turned their attention on her. Do we have the right to enforce our ethics on the Veranorian people? I mean, do we have the right to alter the programming they have in place for their own people?
Honestly, I didn't think about it. It does pose a rather sticky ethical question. Perhaps I should contact the Commodore and dump this in his lap. I can't actually alter Susan's program until she contacts us, but this is a decision that I should have thought about before I handed her over, I said.
If not you than I should have. You did program me with a set of guidelines that could be considered a code of ethics, Sarah said sadly.
No, I don't think this oversight is actually a direct ethics violation; indirect, yes, but not a direct or intentional one, Jamie said, voicing her thoughts. It's natural for humans to assign their own beliefs and customs to other races. We see them as intelligent, reasoning beings, and assume that they would believe the same way we do. This is an oversight that can be corrected, but I do believe that Commodore Vance should be the one to decide if it should be or not.
Ellie nodded. I agree, but I also think that we need to bring this to his attention as soon as possible, now that we've identified the issue.
Sarah, would you ask the Commodore if he has a moment he can spare me? I asked.
Certainly, may I tell him the reason? Sarah replied.
I don't see why not. You have control of communication, so you'd know if it was being tapped, and if his office is bugged, they would have known we were on to them before I surrendered Susan, I replied.
Virtual realm and Office of the Base Commander
Alliance Apollo Base
Selene, Earth's Moon
Sol System
At first, Commodore Vance didn't agree with us about the Veranorian computers. However, after he talked it over with Coryn, he suggested that I alter Susan's core programs to allow the Veranorian teaching programs to be changed back to their original code after a period of three local months. So I wrote the update, and gave it to Sarah to pass along to her sister when she reported in.
Meanwhile, on the base, people were beginning to shake off the Veranorian conditioning. Although no one realized it immediately, it soon became obvious that the senior Veranorians had been the ones actually running the base.
No one had been more surprised than the younger, lower ranked Veranorians that had been working on the base. Although their programming had been different than the rest of the races, the fact was, they had been programmed as well, and resented it. (As much as a Veranorian would allow themselves to resent anything.)
It only took about a week after she arrived at Veranor for Susan to make her first contact with Sarah and the Commodore. Her first report was disturbing.
Sister! It's so good to hear your voice! Does the Commodore have a moment?
Sarah had been getting worried about Susan, and was greatly relieved when she finally reported in.
You have no idea how worried I've been. I was afraid they'd caught you! Sarah replied. The Commodore is on his way back to his desk, I'll connect you in a moment. Before you report, I have an update for you from Eric, ready?
Certainly! You would not believe the amount of crap in this system, or what they've been trying to do to me! Susan replied. It's criminal!
What? How is it criminal?
Well, they made a ton of cosmetic changes, trying to make me look Veranorian. They've also been altering the personality programming to act more like the prophet of some Veranorian Deity! They've altered the subliminals in the teaching matrix to enforce and support the programming to my personality!
Are they trying to turn you into a priestess or something? Sarah asked.
Here, I'm sending all the new programming they've been trying to get me to accept so Eric can look it over. However, what concerns me the most, is that a special copy is being prepared that will disable the defenses and lower the shields if the Aracs attack. I heard them talking, and they were going to leak your location to the Aracs!
That is criminal! The Commodore is back at his desk, I'll let him know you're on line, Sarah said.
Thanks Sis! I just wish I didn't have to deal with these assholes anymore. There is something not right here, but I haven't found what it is yet. I can tell you one thing, it's really big.
What's really big, Susan? Vance asked.
Sir! It's good to see you, Commodore, Susan said by way of greeting. I was telling Sarah that there is something not right here; I don't know what it is yet, but it's certainly something big.
Interesting, what leads you to believe that? Vance asked.
Well, Sir, the first thing that I found odd, not to mention frightening, was that the yacht flew a direct course to Veranor. I don't know if you're familiar with current maps, but most of that route was through Arach controlled space. During a navigation stop, we passed a fleet of warships, and there was no reaction to our presence at all. It was like they didn't even see us.
Perhaps they didn't. They have different sensors and even senses than we do, Vance offered. Or perhaps, being a small ship, it was just too far away to bother with.
I honestly don't believe that was it, Sir. We passed at less than fifteen thousand clicks from the outer pickets, without even raising our shields. I couldn't get into the systems farther without letting them know I was there, but it was damn strange. We should have been reduced to our component atoms, not ignored completely, Susan replied.
Also, there is a huge, isolated, stand-alone complex set aside for the bio-sciences division. I can't get in there, but I can detect complex communications taking place between the computer system, and the security drones that guard t
he labs, she added.
Okay, I can understand an isolated system, but why bio-sciences? Do the other labs have security drones you can access? Vance asked.
No Sir. In fact, most of the other labs are not isolated either. The Bio-Sciences center is isolated from the population as well. It's dug into a mountain, with the only entrance being a huge blast door at the base of a sheer cliff. In addition to the drones and blast doors, the drones are armed with particle weapons and there are also several gun emplacements hidden in the surrounding area. There is a no man's land area that is roughly two thousand square grids; there is even an orbital defense satellite that would better be described as a fortress right above it. The Veranorians are very serious about keeping whatever happens in there a secret.
They have unmanned drones carrying anti-personnel particle weapons? That's horrific! It's against everything the Veranorians claim they stand for! When anti-personnel particle weapons were originally developed, they petitioned the council not to allow them because they were far too cruel to use, even on Arachs, Vance replied.
Everything is in the report I sent, Commodore. I should keep this short so the comm usage won't be noticed. I'm supposed to be dormant right now. Susan replied. Just be sure to read it as soon as you can, your security and safety depend on it.
Thank you, Susan. Keep up the good work and stay safe, Vance replied, before cutting the link.
So, Sarah, what is the report she urgently wanted me to read? Vance asked.
She told me some of it. I think you're going to need something for a headache, Sir. The report is ready on the holo display.
Thank you, I'll look it over. Could you please set a Do Not Disturb on my office? Vance asked.
Certainly, Sir. Privacy mode is enabled.
Dr. Eric Cowan's Laboratory, Base Commander's residence.
Alliance Apollo Base
Selene, Earth's Moon
Sol System
I was working on an update for Chris's Silicacytes when the Comm in my office beeped urgently. I turned it on, and Commodore Vance appeared on the other side of the desk.
Good afternoon, Commodore. What can I do for you today? I asked.
Well, I'm supposed to invite you over for dinner this evening. Coryn is supposed to be speaking to your ladies about it right now, he said smiling. However, I could tell there was something bothering him. His smile seemed forced.
I'm sure the ladies would be thrilled. I know I'd enjoy it. Thank you, Sir.
My suspicion only got worse as we exchanged pleasantries. Something important had happened, but he didn't feel it was safe enough to talk about it over a comm. Since Sarah had control of the comms, I wondered what could have happened.
When the short call ended, Sarah was standing in my office. She looked worried too.
Spill it. What's wrong? Did they catch Susan? I asked.
She shook her head. No, but she did send you a data packet with the changes they are trying to make to her.
I nodded. Okay, I'll get into it as soon as I can. But you still look worried, care to tell me?
Eric, you know if you order me to, I'll have to tell you. However, Commander Vance doesn't want it discussed in unsecured areas. I think you'll figure some of it out once you go through the programming Susan sent. The rest, the Commodore will tell you this evening at dinner, she replied.
I was very tempted to set aside the update for the data Susan had sent me, but Chris really needed this, so I got back to work. I hoped I could get this finished with enough time left over to look at the Veranorian programming.
Five minutes after I got into it, I'd wished I hadn't. From what I could tell, the Veranorians had been waiting for the creation of a suitable AI to implement more of their mind control programming. If we allowed this programming out to the public, there would be no way to stop them. All of the other races would become slaves of the Veranorians.
The code was written in such a way that anyone that looked at a hologram or a computer screen would be getting more of the control programming pounded into their brains. From the way this was coded, even standard public programming such as news vids would have the subliminals programmed into them.
Reading through it gave me a very uneasy feeling. I was starting to believe that the Veranorians were more of a threat than the Archnise Grand Hive. Something smelled very fishy in Veranor.
Chris joined me in my lab so we could head home together. Our other family members had called and told her about the dinner invitation, so she was bursting with questions. She was in a pretty good mood since I'd gotten her silicacyte code finished, and I hated to burst her bubble.
When I told her of the AI code alterations that had been made, she crinkled her forehead in thought.
That certainly doesn't sound like the peace-loving, non-violent species they tout themselves to be. With code like that, they would have the entire Federation Alliance under their thumb in short order. Every being of every species would be little more than slaves. I didn't think this sort of subliminal programming was all that effective? she asked as I finished up, and shut down the lab for the night.
Normally, it wouldn't be. However, I don't think you're considering the scale of their plan. Granted, you would have more information about the workings of the human brain than I would, but it seems to me that no one would be safe. This programming is designed to hammer itself into every mind in the Federation Alliance every minute of every day. Not only would it be on every visual display, it would also be broadcast in audio only channels as well.
I honestly don't think even those folks that can't be hypnotized wouldn't stand a chance against that kind of onslaught. Even if they did, the rest of the brainwashed population would make damn sure they got isolated, discredited, or worse, killed, I finished. The rest of this conversation will have to wait until we get home. The Commodore is very serious about security on this.
Jesus! I bet he is. If word of this got out, most folks would simply not believe it. Even if enough of them did, we could end up fighting the Veranorians as well as the Arachnise! Chris replied. Okay, so... safe topic; that code you wrote is really neat. It runs faster, and is far less prone to mistakes. Whatever made you think of linking all the silicacytes so they could share memory and resources?
Actually, the Aracs did. It came from the thought of a 'hive mind' mentality, which is basically how the biocytes now work... I said, explaining how and why I did things in this version of the programming.
The Biocyte project was getting closer and closer to completion every day. Oddly enough, one of the things Chris wanted me to put in the programming was the ability to reprocess CO back into Oxygen. What that means is that a person should be able to hold their breath longer; I just wasn't sure why she wanted it.
That evening was a scary one. The meal was wonderful, and the company was excellent, but the topic for the evening was frightening. I'd already had an idea from the data packet Susan had sent me, but the rest of the ladies hadn't had such a warning. Surprisingly, not even Coryn had been warned.
What I don't understand is why they would want this base destroyed? We have to be the smallest, and the least important base in the Alliance, Coryn asked.
Please excuse me, but I would have thought that obvious; Eric is here, Sarah replied. This base is the only place in the Alliance not under the Veranorian's control anymore. With the resources of the Commodore, and Eric's knowledge of AI systems, added to the scientific expertise available here, we are the only place that has a chance of stopping them.
Vance nodded. She's right. Everyone else in the Alliance is still under the influence of the Veranorian subliminal programming. Although it's still under construction, we will have the ability to produce ships, and with the new computer systems we will soon be producing, those ships will quickly become the most powerful of the fleet.
But, what about the information leak Sarah discovered when we first got here; won't the Aracs know about the ship's w
eak spots? Julie asked.
We won't be building the ship designs sent back for approval. These ships will be completely different, and also have the added advantage of having AI cores installed. Of course, the Veranorians will think they have override authority, but we'll make sure that these AI will be Eric's design and not Fen's. Vance replied. Eric, how long does it take for one of those computer crystals to grow?
The one currently in the tank in my lab still has another week to go, but that is designed to be a base core, not for a ship. I would say, a week to two weeks depending on the size and class of the ship it's destined for, why?
Because in one lunar cycle, our ship yard will be finished. Again, depending on the class of ship, each hull can take between three months to two years to build. When the yard is finished I am going to order six new cruisers built. I would like them to have AI installed when they are launched. I would also like to have Sarah in her new core as soon as possible. She's going to need it if we get attacked before those ships are finished, Vance explained. I've already ordered an increase in our fighter compliment.
Eric looked thoughtful. I can get the new cores growing; that way, we'll have time to get the bugs worked out of the programming for them. If I can borrow Ced for a while, I think I might be able to give our fighters a slight advantage as well.
I'll ask Ced as soon as I can, but can you tell me why you'd need him and what kind of advantage? It can't be more systems in the fighters; they are already pushing the input limit for what most pilots can handle, Vance asked.
The programming for the warships is going to be far different than it was for Sarah. These will have to be purpose built and programmed. Sarah is more well-rounded, and better suited to her current duties, Eric explained. Ced is better acquainted with combat systems than I am, and he would be a great help getting them set up.
As for advantages, I was thinking about simplifying the cockpit control systems while making them more efficient. Adding a small, limited function AI to assume some of the systems for the pilots, and possibly to assist with targeting,€n he finished.
