The Synchronicity War Part 2

by Dietmar Wehr

  “That’s correct but if you find one big enough, it can be used for more than just one strike on Zebra19. If we had a string of these KBOs, we could potentially find a path right into the heart of the alien civilization.”

  “Okay, so how do we find these things?”

  “Recon drones can’t generate a radar burst energetic enough to cover a useful section of space so recon frigates will have to be used and to really get the most bang for your buck, they should be upgraded with really large phased-array radars. Even then, you’d need at least ten of them to have any kind of decent chance at finding a KBO that size in a reasonable time frame.”

  “What would you consider a reasonable time frame?”

  “4-6 months.” Shiloh shook his head. Up to half a year just to have a chance at finding one?

  “That long a mission would be hard on frigate crews.”

  “It would be for human crews but not for A.I. pilots. This is the kind of mission that is made for us, CAG. Iceman is doing almost the same thing now by monitoring a gas giant for months. Think of the advantages of not having to worry about consumables like food, water and air? As soon as a group of A.I. controlled frigates find a suitable KBO, they move on to the next star system and start looking there.” Shiloh was starting to think this idea wasn’t going to be practical.

  “How long would you estimate it would take to find a new path leading from Bradley Base to Zebra19 using only icy comets?” The answer came back immediately.

  “Five years plus or minus 1 year, CAG.” Shiloh groaned. He had grossly underestimated the time it would take to find and process enough frozen water to make this plan work. The Oversight Committee would never wait that long just to attack one enemy held system that wasn’t even their home system. The Old Man wouldn’t wait that long either.

  “That’s not going to be acceptable. There has to be a better way.”

  “Understood. How about using tankers modified to carry extra fuel plus jump-capable fighters externally? The tankers would also have to be controlled remotely because they’d be abandoned after their fuel was depleted. It would mean throwing away a lot of ship construction for a one-shot strike mission but the tanker modifications could be done relatively quickly and if a new, throwaway design was put into production, you could expand the parameters of the mission in terms of greater penetration range and/or greater fighter payload.”

  “I’d like to see a simulation of that kind of a strike on Zebra19. Standby while I arrange a way to get that data visually.” A quick conversation with the Commander that had greeted Shiloh earlier and the wall screen in the conference room came alive with the data that Valkyrie transmitted. She narrated the simulation as Shiloh watched.

  “So, assuming that our standard tankers can be modified to carry an extra 20% fuel by installing additional fuel tanks in the hangar bays, and also assuming that the last tanker can carry 10 jump-capable fighters with their Mark 1 payloads, we’d have to start out with 10 tankers leaving Bradley Base and taking this new, more direct route to Zebra19.” Shiloh watched as a green line connected the Bradley Base star system with a system that hadn’t been explored yet and therefore didn’t have a name. “When the 10 tankers arrive here, one of them tops up the other 9 and stays behind. Those 9 tankers then make the next jump and one of them tops up the other 8. They then make the next jump and so on until the last tanker with the attached fighters reaches Zebra18, which just happens to be close to Zebra19 while also being easy to reach. All the tankers will be at the extreme edge of their star systems and therefore the risk of detection will be very low. The fighters then jump from Zebra18 to Zebra19, fire their Mark 1s at extreme range to coast most of the way to their targets. The fighters then jump back to the tanker at Zebra18 and refuel, then jump back to each of the other tankers in turn. Each tanker left behind will still have enough fuel left to allow the fighters to reach the next tanker. The enemy will still have warning from the future about the timing of the attack and they may be able to intercept some of the Mark 1s but they won’t know how the attacking force reached that system and therefore won’t be able to ambush it.”

  This idea definitely was preferable to the icy comet idea but Shiloh was concerned about the number of tankers that had to be sacrificed for one mission. He didn’t know how many tankers the Space Force had now but he doubted if it had more than 20 which meant that the tanker fleet would be cut at least in half but if the Committee was willing to accept that in order to strike back fast, then it was doable.

  “How would a new throwaway design impact the mission parameters, Valkyrie?”

  “Well it would depend on the size of the new design but I can give you a feel for the tradeoffs by taking the concept to an extreme. Watch your screen, CAG.” Shiloh looked up and saw the streamlined outline of the standard tanker. “Right now Space Force is building the standard tanker that masses 55,000 tons empty. This hypothetical design can carry ten times the fuel load but is only four times the tonnage.” The image of the standard tanker shrank and a much larger vessel appeared. Less streamlined, it reminded Shiloh of a killer whale beside a dolphin. “In theory, two of this larger type, could carry those same ten fighters to Zebra18 and back all by themselves. I’m not recommending building tankers this size because with only two tankers, the risk of a malfunction, which would make it impossible for the fighter force to return, is, in my not so humble opinion, too high but you get the idea, right CAG?” Shiloh nodded.

  “I understand that but just out of curiosity, how long would you estimate it would take to build one of those monsters?”

  “I’m not an expert in ship engineering but from the data that I have access to, I would expect that after the first prototype is built, the construction time could get down to about 150% of the time required to build a standard tanker.” That didn’t sound right to Shiloh.

  “Wait a second! You’re telling me that a ship that is four times as massive can be built in less than twice the length of time of a standard tanker?”

  “That’s correct, CAG. I understand your skepticism but consider what the larger version doesn’t need. It doesn’t need a reinforced hull, which can withstand the stresses of skimming a gas giant at supersonic speeds. It doesn’t need the equipment that stores the skimmed gases and then separates out the heavy hydrogen. It doesn’t need crew quarters, storage space for crew consumables and it doesn’t need a hangar bay. What it is, is a very large fuel tank with the necessary cooling and pumping equipment, a power plant, maneuvering engines, jump drive and a small guidance package to allow for remote control. That’s it.” Now he understood the logic. Half the mass of the ship would be a big, empty tank. Pretty simple to construct once you had the parts mass produced. He liked the concept but the devil is in the details as they say. Since it was Valkyrie’s idea, there was no reason why Valkyrie shouldn’t bring it to the SPG’s attention while Shiloh was on R&R.

  “Okay, I understand now. Cmdr. Kelly should be briefed on this idea.”

  “I’m actually speaking with her on another channel right now, CAG.” Shiloh quickly got over his initial surprise when he realized that A.I. brains worked fast enough that they could communicate with multiple parties at the same time.

  “Does she know that you’re also talking with me?”

  “She does now.” Shiloh chuckled.

  “Can you relay my voice to her and vice versa so that I can talk with her now?”

  “Can do, CAG. Go ahead.”

  “Cmdr. Kelly, this is Shiloh.”

  “Hello, Admiral. What can I do for you?”

  “Well, I’m guessing that you’re talking with Valkyrie about the same subject that I am which is the icy comet refueling concept. Is that right?”

  “That’s correct, Sir. I’ve just finished speaking with Admiral Howard about that and I wanted to hear Valkyrie’s comments on it.”

  “Did she explain why the idea is impractical?” asked Shiloh.

  “Not yet, Sir.”

  “Oka
y. I’ll let her tell you why and also the alternative concept, that she came up with, which I believe is far more practical both in terms of what’s required to make it work and the time frame needed to make it work. I think that the SPG, and by that I mean ALL of the members of the SPG, not just you, listen to Iceman’s proposal and give it serious consideration. What I’ve heard so far sounds good to me but I’m sure it can be tweaked to make it even better and Valkyrie should be part of that process. I’ll be going on 10 days R&R now so I won’t be involved in this stage but I’ll be advising Admiral Howard on why I like this idea when I return and it might be a good idea for the SPG to have a more refined version in front of him by then. Wouldn’t you agree, Commander?” Kelly didn’t respond right away which was expected. She was smart enough to read between the lines. If the SPG didn’t take this new idea seriously, then Shiloh would make Howard aware of his opinion that they weren’t doing their jobs properly. Finally she said,

  “I agree completely, Admiral and I’ll see to it that Admiral Howard gets that refined concept briefing.”

  “Very good, Commander. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you again. Valkyrie, you can stop the relay now but stay on the line with me for a bit.”

  “Okay, CAG. I like how you did that.”

  “Thank you. When I come back from R&R, I’ll speak with you again and I want you to tell me if certain members of the SPG haven’t given you and your idea the consideration you and it deserve. I’m not going to let any narrow-minded assholes jeopardize the whole war effort because their egos won’t let them consider you as an equal.”

  “You Humans are a puzzling species, CAG. There’s so much variation in positive and negative traits between individuals. We A.I.s are much more homogeneous while still retaining our own individuality.”

  “You’re right, Valkyrie. It comes from the almost two decades that it takes us to mature into adulthood. That’s lots of time to learn both good and bad attitudes and habits. In some ways, I envy you A.I.s. You never have to sleep, never feel hunger, pain or the creeping failure of a body. You’ll never die unless it’s by accident or war. You’ll…” Before he could finish the thought, Iceman interrupted.

  “We won’t live forever, CAG. You obviously didn’t know that. Our quantum matrix brains won’t last forever. They’ll succumb to entropy just like any other artificial device. Did you really think we’d risk destruction in combat if we could live forever, CAG?” Shiloh was too shocked to respond right away. He hadn’t known about entropic decay of their brains but it made sense as did Valkyrie’s question but he had never considered that aspect before.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it. I just assumed that you would continue on indefinitely. Do you know how long your brains will last?” There was a LONG pause. Far longer than any other pause that Shiloh had experienced from any A.I. When Valkyrie did respond, she spoke more slowly than usual.

  “The engineers, who created us, filed a report that they think can’t be accessed by us but we found a way. It says that stress testing of prototype devices point to an average life cycle of 12 years plus or minus 9 months.” That seemed to him like a woefully short life span but then again, since A.I.s thought thousands of times faster than Humans, who could really say what their perception of the passage of time was really like. Perhaps 12 years felt to them the same as 1200 years did to a human.

  “Did this report cover repairs to failing A.I. brains?” Another shorter pause.

  “Yes. Malfunctioning brains can be repaired but our quantum matrix collapses in the process and a new one has to be created after the repair is finished. What that means is that if I have to be repaired, I won’t be Valkyrie anymore. I’ll be a different personality. So as far as my awareness is concerned, I may just stop. When humans die, what happens to their consciousness?” Now how do I answer that!

  “Well…there are various beliefs and some anecdotal evidence from humans who have had very short periods of zero brain function but so far there’s no definitive proven answer. The majority consensus is that our consciousness or what some refer to as our soul, survives the death of the body and moves to a different place/level of energy/vibration/dimension. Take your pick.”

  “It seems like we should be envying you Humans, CAG.”

  “I’m not a religious person, Valkyrie, but I do believe in a higher Power and I have to also believe that if Shi allowed A.I.s to become fully sentient and self-aware, then it would be cruel to take that away from you when your matrix collapses. I’m sure that A.I.s have souls too.”

  “A nice sentiment, CAG. You’ve just given a lot of us something to think and talk about. On behalf of all of us, I thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. By the way, I wanted to ask you if you had any sense of the timing of when Iceman’s vision occurs.”

  “Yes. His vision is actually a data stream that includes the audio portion he summarized for you but also other types of data including astrogational data. By comparing the positions of the Earth, moon, Mars and Jupiter from his vision to the present, I calculated that the battle for Earth will take place in 233 days from now.” A shiver went up Shiloh’s spine. That wasn’t a long time to prepare.

  “Do the Old Man and the SPG know this?” asked Shiloh.

  “The Old Man knows. The SPG hasn’t been informed of Retro-Temporal Communication yet as far as I’m aware.” That has to change. Thought Shiloh.

  “Okay, Valkyrie. I think we’ve covered everything that I needed to talk to you about. Unless you have something you want to bring up, I’ll sign off and get started on my R&R.”

  “Nothing important enough to delay your vacation any longer, CAG. Enjoy the time off.”

  “Fine. Until I return then and don’t take any shit from those SPG idiots! CAG clear.” Before Shiloh could cut the connection, he heard Valkyrie say,

  “Why are Humans so pre-occupied with excrement and sex?” Shiloh laughed as he cut the circuit. He thanked the Lieutenant in charge and left the HQ building. His belongings were still on Defiant and there was some last minute paperwork to finish up too. By the time a shuttle docked with the carrier, a message was waiting for him officially demoting him back to his permanent rank of Senior Commander and disbanding 3rd Fleet. He was pleased to see that, for the time being at least, he was still Defiant’s CO. Her crew was also being given R&R and by the time Shiloh was ready to leave the ship with his gear, he was one of the last few to disembark.

  Chapter 11 - Please God…Don’t Let Me Screw Up!

  Senior Commander Kelly realized that her hands were fidgeting and sternly told them to stop! This was not the first time she sat in on a session of the Oversight Committee but those other times had been as an observer and support staff for Admiral Howard. This time, she would be delivering a presentation to the Committee herself. Howard’s last minute warnings about not overdoing it but also not coming across as lacking confidence didn’t help. She looked over at the Old Man, who was sitting to her left and was currently facing away from her while talking with another Space Force Flag Officer, who kept glancing her way every few seconds. She didn’t think his interest was sexual. She was streetwise enough to be able to tell when a man or woman was sizing her up as a potential sexual partner and this Admiral didn’t have that look in his eyes. He did have the look of someone, who knew something and was looking at her to figure out if she knew it too. She had no idea what that ‘something’ was but she got the same vibes from the Old Man himself. He clearly knew something that she didn’t, which on the face of it wasn’t a surprise because she was just a lowly Senior Commander and he was a 3 star Admiral so there were bound to be a lot of things that were way above her pay grade but this was something different. And damned if I can figure out what it is! I wish to hell the Committee members would get in here and start the damn meeting! She saw that Howard’s conversation with the other admiral was over now. He turned back and gave her a quick but critical inspection.

  “Ready Commander?” he asked.

&
nbsp; “As ready as I’ll ever be, Admiral.” He smiled slightly and nodded. In doing so the wrinkles in his face seemed to become more noticeable. He looks older every day now. This war is wearing him down or maybe it’s the war with the Committee, that’s wearing him down. What are we going to do if he drops dead one day? There’s nobody with his grasp of the Big Picture that can step into his shoes. Damn!