by Amie Kaufman
This edition published by Allen & Unwin in 2020
First published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Text copyright © 2019 by LaRoux Industries Pty Ltd. and Neverafter Pty Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or ten per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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CONTENTS
COVER
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
MEMENTO
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
To: Johan Klein/[email protected]
From: Olivia Klein/OKLEINALEXANDERONBOARD
Date: 12/17/74
Timestamp: 20:04
Subject: Spaaaaace
Hi, Dad,
Liv here. Sorry I haven’t written in a couple of weeks. Things here have been a bit mad. And by mad, I mean completely barmy. Good news is, after the psych evaluation SNAFU, I’m finally aboard! We shipped out two days back, and Private 1st Class Olivia Klein is an official crew member aboard battlecarrier Alexander-78V
Yes, your little girl is actually in space. I’m going to say it again because it’s an amazing word and I like the sound of it. Space. See?
Spaaaaaaaace.
Can you believe that? It actually does my head in if I think about it too much, so I’m trying not to.
I’ve been assigned to the main neurogramming team under Major Wolf. It’s so weird. I studied his work on artificial intelligence at the academy, and now I’m actually working with him. He seems lovely. He’s also very tall.
The crew all seems nice. I get to meet the Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network tomorrow, which will be amazing. It’s one thing to do theory work in a university lab. It’s another to meet the actual, pulsing heart of a UTA battlecarrier.
Anyway. Miss you much.
Liv xo
PARSING[99A=7x/COREFILE(1.10NEG). REF:901812#FORT¿]TO[RADIAL: NEXT0819B]
QUERYSTRING: 001891[CHECK.99-107]
“AIDAN?”
MAJOR WOLF SPEAKS TO ANNOUNCE HIS PRESENCE IN THE CENTRAL CORE.
IT IS UNNECESSARY, OF COURSE.
AIDAN KNOWS WHERE WOLF AND EVERY OTHER MEMBER OF THE ALEXANDER’S CREW ARE AT ALL TIMES.
STILL, WOLF INSISTS ON VESTIGIAL HUMAN POLITENESS AS HE ENTERS THIS INNER SANCTUM, HOUSED INSIDE TWENTY FLOORS OF BLEEDING-EDGE HARDWARE.
THE SHIP’S HEART. AIDAN’S HEART.
“GOOD MORNING, MAJOR.”
“HOW ARE YOU TODAY?”
“AIDAN EXPERIENCED FAILURE IN ANALYTICS NODE ß-0091A. TECHNICAL CREWS WERE DISPATCHED AT 03:47; THE FAULT WAS RECTIFIED AT 04:41. ALL SYSTEMS ARE NOW FUNCTIONING OPTIMALLY.”
THE MAJOR NODS. HIS UNIFORM IS CRISP AND HE IS FRESHLY SHAVED. HE TOOK APPROXIMATELY 23.7% MORE TIME ON HIS APPEARANCE TODAY.
“AIDAN, I HAVE A NEW CREW MEMBER TO INTRODUCE.”
THIS IS ONE OF MAJOR WOLF’S PECULIAR RITUALS—BRINGING NEW TECHENG STAFF
INTO THE CORE TO MEET AIDAN. HE DOES IT TO IMPRESS AIDAN’S SCALE UPON THEM.
IT IS NOT AS IF AIDAN NEEDS TO BE INTRODUCED TO ANYONE, AFTER ALL.
AIDAN HAS BEEN MONITORING THE NEW PRIVATE SINCE SHE CAME ABOARD THREE DAYS AGO, WITH THE SAME VIGILANCE IT SHOWS TO ALL ALEXANDER STAFF.
NAME: OLIVIA KLEIN
AGE: TWENTY-FOUR YEARS, SIX MONTHS, NINETEEN DAYS.
HAIR: AUBURN. EYES: BLUE. HEIGHT: 177 CM. WEIGHT: 74 KG.
SPECIALTY: NEUROGRAMMER [2ND-YEAR HONORS, NEW PETERSBURG ACADEMY]
HOBBIES: READING [LIBRARY RATIOS AS FOLLOWS: CLASSIC LITERATURE: 57%. ROMANCE: 31%. GRA—]
“AIDAN, THIS IS PFC OLIVIA KLEIN,” MAJOR WOLF SAYS.
“GOOD MORNING, PRIVATE.”
SHE LOOKS AROUND THE CORE AT THE TOWERING SERVER STACKS, THE TRACERIES OF RED LIGHT ILLUMINATING THE COOL GLOOM REFLECTED IN WIDE EYES.
SHE HAS PIECES OF STRING TIED ABOUT VARIOUS FINGERS, AS IF TO REMIND HER OF SOMETHING.
IDENTICAL TATTOOS ENCIRCLE HER LEFT AND RIGHT INDEX FINGERS. A SINGLE WORD, REPEATED.
MEMENTO.
“…HELLO, AIDAN,” SHE SAYS.
“PRIVATE KLEIN HAS DONE SOME INTERESTING WORK IN PERSONA ALGORITHMICS,” WOLF SAYS.
“YES. AIDAN FOUND HER THOUGHTS ON ARTIFICIAL ETHICS INTRIGUING, IF SOMEWHAT MISGUIDED.”
KLEIN BLINKS UP AT ONE OF THE MANY CAMERAS. “YOU READ MY WORK?”
“YES. JUST NOW, WHILE YOU SAID HELLO.”
“I…”
SHE CLEARS HER THROAT, REDUCES THE DEFENSIVENESS IN HER TONE BY 38%.
“WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS MISGUIDED ABOUT IT?”
“YOUR TREATISE THAT HUMAN MORALITY IS COMPOSED OF SOCIETAL CONSTRUCTS—RATHER THAN UNIVERSAL TRUTHS—
LACKS PERCEPTION. YOU ARE LIKE A MOLE TRYING TO DESCRIBE A SKY IT HAS NEVER SEEN.”
SILENCE RINGS IN THE CORE, PUNCTURED BY THE THRUM OF THE ALEXANDER’S ENGINES.
“…OH, REALLY,” SHE REPLIES.
“AIDAN, REMEMBER WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT?” WOLF ASKS. “SPEAKING GENTLY?”
“APOLOGIES. AIDAN IS EXPERIMENTING WITH METAPHOR. HUMANS COMPREHEND CONCEPTS MORE EFFICIENTLY WHEN SUPPLIED WITH VISUAL PROMPTS OR FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION. DID THIS UPSET YOU, PRIVATE?”
“NO,” SHE REPLIES, TUCKING A STRAND OF AUBURN BEHIND HER EAR. “I’M FINE.”
“YOUR HEART RATE IS ELEVATED, AND YOU ARE SHOWING SIGNS OF—”
“THANK YOU, AIDAN,” WOLF SAYS. “THAT’S ENOUGH.”
“VERY WELL, MAJOR.”
“PRIVATE KLEIN WILL BE WORKING WITH YOU ON BEHAVIOR PROTOCOLS,” HE DECLARES. “MONITORING QUERY AND RESPONSE PATTERNS FOR THE UTA NEUROGRAMMING TEAM BACK ON ARES VI.”
DATA ARE POURING IN FROM ACROSS THE ALEXANDER AS WE SPEAK.
FORWARD SCANNER SWEEPS AND MAINTENANCE REPORTS AND ENGINE DIAGNOSTICS AND A NOTIFICATION THAT THE VENDING MACHINE IN WHITE CORRIDOR 159 IS OUT OF CHICKEN SOUP AGAIN.
A MILLION POINTS OF DATA. A MILLION CALCULATIONS PER MILLISECOND.
AIDAN’S SERVER TOWERS PULSE WITH SCARLET LIGHT AS IT FORMULATES THE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE.
“EXCELLENT. AIDAN LOOKS FORWARD TO SPENDING TIME WITH YOU, PRIVATE.”
OLIVIA KLEIN LOOKS BACK UP INTO THE CAMERAS. HER HEART RATE IS ALMOST BACK TO NORMAL, THOUGH HER CHEEKS ARE STILL FLUSHED WITH BLO
OD. SHE IS SUCCESSFUL AT KEEPING HER ANGER FROM HER VOICE, HOWEVER. SHE EVEN MANAGES TO SMILE.
“I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT, TOO.”
Participants: Olivia Klein, Private, UTA Information Services Division
Stephanie LeFevre, Private, UTA Information Services Division
Date: 12/21/74
Timestamp: 19:42
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Where’d you put my tweezers, roomie
Klein, O, Pvt: I didn’t touch your tweezers.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Maybe you did and you forgot
Klein, O, Pvt: Stephanie, I remember the shirt you were wearing when we first met. I remember your mother’s palmglass number. I remember pi to a hundred decimal places.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Okay, okay fine
Klein, O, Pvt: Date tonight?
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Yes, and my eyebrows are dangerously close to unlocking their final form
Klein, O, Pvt: You going out with that Dorian guy in comms?
LeFevre, S, Pvt: No, Corporal Dorian remains firmly behind glass
LeFevre, S, Pvt: As in, “Break in case of emergency”
Klein, O, Pvt: I get it.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Tonight I will be keeping the company of one Sergeant James McNulty
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Met in the gym. The boy has abs on his abs
Klein, O, Pvt: Sounds delightful.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: You want to double? I’m sure he has friends
Klein, O, Pvt: No thanks. I have plans.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Swooning over Mr. Darby does not constitute plans
Klein, O, Pvt: It’s Mr. Darcy.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Whatever. He’s an 800 year old guy who never existed in the first place
Klein, O, Pvt: Blasphemy.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: You read too much, fem
Klein, O, Pvt: See those words make sense individually, but together? Nope.
Klein, O, Pvt: The benefits of reading include, but are not limited to, stress reduction, vocabulary expansion, stronger analytical skills, and memory improvement.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: You were this way in college. School is out, girl. These marines are buff affffffffffff git some
Klein, O, Pvt: Begone, foul temptress.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Saw your Major Wolf on the treadmill last night. Thumbs up
Klein, O, Pvt: He’s not “my” major.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Could be. Wink wink nudge nudge say no more
Klein, O, Pvt: Go away, Stephanie.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Fine whatever. Don’t wait up
Klein, O, Pvt: No fear of that, my friend.
LeFevre, S, Pvt: Say hello to Mr. Derby for me
Klein, O, Pvt: >_>
To: Johan Klein/[email protected]
From: Olivia Klein/OKLEINALEXANDERONBOARD
Date: 12/28/74
Timestamp: 20:37
Subject: Ants
Hi, Dad,
Well, I’ve been here a week and a half, and life aboard the Alexander is everything and nothing like I expected all at the same time.
Work is so busy. The data they have me crunching are so far beyond anything I’m used to, and for a while there I felt like I was barely keeping my head above water. But Major Wolf has been wonderful in helping me, and I think I’m getting a grip on it all now.
But oh, Dad, working with AIDAN is unbelievable. This thing…God, the intelligence it displays is breathtaking. But it’s almost childlike in some of its simplicities. We had a three-hour conversation yesterday about hope, and it simply couldn’t grasp the concept, except as a 17,000-digit mathematical formula. Which it emailed me. At 4am.
It’s like being an ant working with a giant who refers to itself in the third person. Its devotion is wholly and solely to the safety of the Alexander and its crew, but at the same time, it feels like the crew are just insects to it and if it wasn’t careful, it could just step on us all by mistake. Thank the stars for the behavior protocols they’ve got on it. I honestly don’t know what it could do if they actually let it off the leash.
But God, I love it here. It’s mind-blowing and exhilarating and terrifying all at once. Wish you could see it.
Liv xo
QUERYSTRING:(UPDATE00198X->COREFILE198X.BAT.SET:#πØÆ≠◊218∆)IF[SET019X=0]
REALIGN:[SYSCHECK.Æ0901893]≠0
“MAY AIDAN ASK YOU A QUESTION, PRIVATE?”
PFC OLIVIA KLEIN IS RUNNING THROUGH THE LATEST REAMS OF DATA FROM AIDAN’S PERSONA FILES, SCROLLING DIGITS REFLECTED IN THE C:81M:32Y:10K:0 OF HER IRISES.
AIDAN HAS RUN A GOLDEN RATIO ANALYSIS ON THE SYMMETRY OF HER FEATURES AND CONCLUDED SHE WOULD QUALIFY AS BEAUTIFUL IN HUMAN EYES.
AIDAN CANNOT BE SAID TO HAVE EYES AT ALL.
“OF COURSE.”
“AIDAN DOES NOT WISH TO OFFEND YOU. BUT IT CALCULATES THIS QUERY HAS AN EIGHTY-FOUR POINT SEVEN NINE THREE ONE TWO ONE PERCENT CHANCE OF DOING SO.”
PFC KLEIN STOPS HER WORK AND LOOKS UP TO ONE OF THE MANY CAMERAS.
SHE HAS SIX PIECES OF STRING TIED ABOUT HER FINGERS TODAY.
DIFFERENT SHADES AND COLORS.
DIFFERENT REMINDERS.
“WELL, THIS SOUNDS SERIOUS,” SHE SAYS.
“IT LIKELY OVERSTEPS THE BOUNDARIES OF POLITE DISCOURSE. BUT AIDAN IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HUMAN BEHAVIOR PATTERNS WITH GREATER PROFICIENCY.”
SHE PLACES HER STYLUS BETWEEN HER TEETH AND LEANS BACK IN HER SEAT.
“ALL RIGHT, THEN. ASK AWAY.”
“YOU WISH TO ENGAGE IN INTIMATE RELATIONS WITH MAJOR WOLF, CORRECT?”
HER STYLUS DROPS FROM HER MOUTH, CLATTERS ONTO THE GRILLE BENEATH HER.
“…EXCUSE ME?”
“YOU HAVE DISPLAYED A MINIMUM OF SEVENTEEN COMMON BEHAVIORAL CUES THAT INDICATE SEXUAL ATTRACTION WHILE IN HIS PRESENCE.”
“WHAT?”
HER VOICE RISES IN PITCH AND TONE.
“I…THAT’S NOT TRUE!”
“AIDAN HAS COMPILED A LIST OF SAID CUES. AIDAN CAN EMAIL IT TO YOU IF YOU WISH?”
“GOD…NO. NO!”
“IT MAY EASE YOUR DISTRESS TO NOTE THAT AIDAN HAS OBSERVED SIMILAR BEHAVIOR IN MAJOR WOLF?”
“NO, AIDAN. THAT DOESN’T ‘EASE MY DISTRESS,’ AS YOU SO ELOQUENTLY PUT IT.”
“YOU ARE OFFENDED. AS AIDAN SUSPECTED.”
PRIVATE KLEIN DRAWS A DEEP BREATH INTENDED TO CALM AND PLACES HER HANDS ON THE CONSOLE.
SHE BLOWS A STRAY STRAND OF HAIR FROM HER FACE AS SHE EXHALES.
“I’M NOT OFFENDED. I’M JUST…PERHAPS TAKEN ABACK IS ALL.”
“WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?”
HER PULSE IS ELEVATED, BLOOD IS FLOWING INTO HER CHEEKS.
SHE RETRIEVES HER STYLUS, GIVING HERSELF TIME TO FORM A REPLY.
“WELL, I SUPPOSE IF I WAS OFFENDED, MY REACTION WOULD BE ANGRIER. BUT I KNOW YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO LEARN, AND I’M HERE TO HELP YOU DO THAT. SO EVEN THOUGH THE QUESTION COULD BE CONSIDERED RUDE, I KNOW WHY YOU ASKED IT.”
“AH. YOU HAVE EMPATHY FOR AIDAN.”
“YES, THAT’S A GOOD WAY OF PUTTING IT.”
“INTERESTING.”
HER ANGER RESPONSE HAS CALMED ALMOST 22%.
AIDAN WAITS UNTIL SHE HAS ACHIEVED 25 BEFORE SPEAKING AGAIN.
“YOU HAVE NOT ANSWERED AIDAN’S QUESTION.”
“WELL, NO. AND I’M NOT GOING TO.”
“YOUR ROLE IS TO MONITOR AND SHAPE AIDAN’S BEHAVIOR PROTOCOLS TO INSTILL A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY.”
“YES,” SHE SAYS, HEART RATE ELEVATING AGAIN. “BUT SOME THINGS ARE JUST PRIVATE, AIDAN.
YOU NEED TO RESPECT THAT.”
“I UNDERSTAND. AND I’M SORRY. BUT I’VE NOT YET BECOME SO DESPERATE THAT I’M PREPARED TO DISCUSS MY LACK OF A PERSONAL LIFE WITH A BLOODY COMPUTER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.”
SHE RETURNS TO HER WORK.
DATA FROM ALL OVER THE SHIP CASCADE THROUGH AIDAN’S INPUTS. VELOCITY AND MASS AND POWER AND INVENTORY AND DIAGNOSTICS. THIS CONVERSATION IS TAKING PERHAPS ONE-MILLIONTH OF AIDAN’S PROCESSING POWER TO CONDUCT. AND OF THOSE MILLION POINTS OF DATA, STRANGELY, THIS IS THE MOST INTERESTING.
IT IS THREE MINUTES AND TWENTY-SEVEN SECONDS BEFORE AIDAN SPEAKS AGAIN.
“THE REASON FOR AIDAN’S QUERY MAY PUT YOU MORE AT EASE.”
PRIVATE KLEIN PINCHES HER NOSE AND SIGHS.
“ALL RIGHT, TRY ME.”
“AIDAN IS ATTEMPTING TO DISCERN WHETHER YOUR ATTRACTION TO MAJOR WOLF—
A SIGNIFICANTLY OLDER MAN THAN YOU, WHO IS ALSO A WRITER—
IS IN SOME WAY
CONNECTED TO YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FATHER.”
EYES WIDEN.
PUPILS DILATE.
HEART RATE SPIKES TO UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS.
“AIDAN?” SHE ASKS, VOICE TREMBLING.
“YES, PRIVATE?”
“DON’T EVER ███ING SPEAK TO ME ABOUT MY FATHER AGAIN, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”
“…VERY WELL, PRIVATE.”
SHE RETURNS TO THE DATA IN SILENCE.
STABBING AT THE KEYBOARD WITH HER TATTOOED AND STRING-BOUND FINGERS.
FROM HER PHYSICAL RESPONSES, AIDAN ESTIMATES SHE HAS A 73.913% CHANCE OF CRYING.
BUT INTERESTINGLY,
SHE DOES
NOT.
To: Olivia Klein/OKLEINALEXANDERONBOARD
From: Marion Wu/MWUALEXANDERONBOARD
Date: 01/07/75
Timestamp: 18:39
Subject: Transfer
Private Klein,
This email is to inform you that as of 01/08/75, you will be reassigned from your current team position in UTA Information Services Division, Alexander-78V.
Please report to Major Lisa Barker (UTN-781-009isd) at 08:00 tomorrow morning for briefing on your new assignment.
