by Gary Starta
“Also be aware that the application process has been geared to weed out any person with a suspicious background from getting a chance to become a bad seed in the new garden. The 98 point identification process (which originally started out as a six-point process in the 24st century) starts during initiation and continues all the way up to the boarding of the ship. You will have a computer chip implanted in you that contains all necessary documentation of your life such as birth certificates as well as marriage and driver licenses. Proof of graduation and post grad degrees are also required as well as a replicated copy of each DNA sample an employer took from you. In addition, you will need a replicated DNA sample taken by your town or city for every year you owned or rented a residence. The association has effectively eliminated the chance of a terrorist assuming a different identity for the purpose of sabotaging a federation vessel.
You will also be asked to have an immediate family member sign a waiver declaring the association free of any bodily injury or fatality claims. Since the association is providing you with shelter and food on your new planet, W.A.A. lawyers have set a cap on the amount of money your family can collect in the event of an accidental death.”
Linda also recorded a segment about how a good essay can effect the selection process: “The federation citizens willing to leave what some call utopia will also have to convince the association on why they want to take a chance on an unknown world. As most diseases, natural disasters and wars are now only remembered in history books, the federation is most interested in your motivation for settling a new colony. I seem to have won over the judges with my dream to create 50 new worlds with all the rights of the U.S. Constitution (just as the 50 original states of America were formed.) Some of my companions on this ship have wrote marvelous essays on who inspired them to have the courage to try out for such an expedition. You would be surprised that many couples chose personal friends or relatives as inspirational mentors rather than history’s famous explorers such as Magellan, Columbus or Ponce de Leon. I believe judges choose to ignore applications from those that sound like they are disgruntled with their lives on Earth and just want to make a new home.
I would like to share with you one brief but powerful conversation my ship mates Terry and her husband Dr. Jon Sanderson had entered into during the first year of our flight regarding their turn to go into cryo-stasis.
Dr. Jon Sanderson: I will miss you most as I go into stasis, Terry. I will miss you more than anything I ever had on Earth. This is our first separation since our marriage as I’m sure you know.
Terry Sanderson: I will miss your companionship as well. I will also miss seeing a daytime sky and breathing clean air during this trip. But you know all that missing stops once we take our first step onto Ceres. The glory we will experience from our new home will make us wonder why we expended our energies examining our pasts. We may laugh when we realize we should have been projecting how our love would grow to transcend any boundaries of time and space. Now shut off that damn recording device, Linda!”
Chapter 20: Eyes of the Beholder
Some members of the human race solely choose their mates based upon visual interpretation. Those who subscribe to this philosophy would therefore choose their lover much like picking out a cake at the bakery. Colorful frosting and cute decorations may be all they need to think they have found happiness. The problem with this approach is that one day what’s on the inside will come crawling out just like a band of cockroaches evicted from a nest. On that day, the illumination of true character may then become the paramount concern of the startled lover…
Surveys of the public regarding the creation of automatons often focused on outward appearance. An overwhelming majority of those polled maintained that AI units should not be manufactured to look like men and women. The consensus was that a machine should look like a machine. Any attempt by a manufacturer to mimic the physical appearance of a human would constitute deceit. The survey data explained that deceit defined in this context essentially meant deceptive advertising. Those polled explained that human packaging would incorrectly influence most people to treat the machines as equals. The study found that a human who looks upon a face made to resemble the likeness of his own would be inclined to feel emotion for the artificial intelligence. An emotional attachment to a thing was thought to be as dangerous as it was ludicrous. (Yet those same people would be hard pressed to explain why they shed a tear over an inspiring symphony or beautiful painting.) Software designed to give AI’s a sense of individualism had been banned decades ago stemming from an incident with a robot named Savant. The public wanted to make sure that no one would mistake a robot as in individual based upon its outward appearance as well.
Based upon these findings, federation law mandated that roboticists creating AI’s for such organizations as the World Aeronautics Association heed to certain specifications. The guidelines mandated that robots may have no distinctive facial features other than eyes. The law maintained that robots do not actually need ears to hear or mouths to speak. The body of the automaton may have limbs resembling arms and legs, however, it is undesirable for any part of its torso to resemble either a female or male form. The law essentially stated that the creation of androids—an automaton in human form—was illegal. It was not enough that robots were made ego free but they also had to look the part. The law essentially stymied the progress of any automaton attaining self-awareness or independence. Most roboticists and cybernetic experts theorized this law made it a lot easier for man to treat automatons as servants. “A master of such a servant need not have a guilty conscious for treating an object like a thing,” Dr. Robert McElroy argued in defense of his creation Savant before it was mandated that the AI be stripped of its cutting edge software. Savant was also stripped of its name and eventually became known as 1730239A at the auto coach assembly plant it worked at. As Phil Jackson readied himself to violate the programming of automaton 7237-A-J49 at the World Aeronautics Association’s headquarters, he too reasoned that he was only tampering with a thing…
Chuck Paterson woke with a fearful premonition that Phil Jackson was going to act on his plan. The 43-year-old technician’s brain flooded with ideas and memories upon the first few minutes of consciousness. An old earth device known as a PC once operated in a similar fashion. Software programs would be activated one at a time when the hardware was turned on. As Chuck’s body fought to assume an upright position on his bed on a cold gray morning, his mind methodically recalled the dilemma he wrestled with last night as well as the unsettling conversation he had with Phil and Bob at the nightclub. Chuck wished that the whole matter was just a nightmare. However, the first few sips of his coffee confirmed that he was indeed awake as he realized he had forgotten to sweeten his beverage.
After a few bites of toast, Paterson reluctantly conceded that the problem was not going to disappear by itself. He then commanded his data-net unit to phone Bob Schmitt. On the third ring, Bob answered the unit with a hint of suspicion in his voice. Schmitt had taken measures to disable the video feed so Paterson could only hear him. “Hello, Chuck. I was just getting ready for my shift at IT. Is everything all right?”
“I don’t know, Bob. Did you happen to hear from Phil? I wanted to know if the plan was still going to take effect.”
“I did not hear from him,” Bob answered taking an allowance for literal comprehension. Bob had not heard from Phil, but he had received his e-net message to green light the plot dubbed as Cold Dish. Bob’s mind raced to deflect any further inquisitions from Chuck. Schmitt was convinced that his colleague did not approve of vendettas. He also could not foresee any other reason for Paterson’s inquiry. If Phil didn’t send Chuck the same confirmation message, then some kind of problem must have come up. Either Phil had excluded Chuck because of a trust issue or maybe the association somehow intercepted the transmission and the plan was aborted.
“I really have to get going, Chuck. Maybe we can talk more at work.”
“I’m a
fraid we can’t. I have been assigned third shift this week and won’t punch in until after you guys leave,” Chuck explained.
“Well, maybe Phil didn’t want to wake you because of your different schedule,” Bob pointed out. Schmitt did not realize that this statement implied Jackson had contacted him. However, Chuck did.
“I’ll let you go, Bob.” Chuck then disconnected the transmission and went to back to bed. He would lie there for a few more hours staring at the ceiling.
Bob’s suspicions eventually got the best of him and he decided to call out sick for the day. “If Phil goes down for this, I don’t want to be a part of it. Maybe it was just the beer in me talking when I agreed that revenge was the answer,” Bob thought. The technician then pulled a bottle of rum from his cabinet and poured a tall glass straight up. If he was going to call out sick, the least he could do was play the part, Bob reasoned. Schmitt proceeded to empty his glass in three swallows to hasten the illness.
Phil arrived at work undaunted by the fact that his colleagues would not join him in his quest. “I will show the world the dark side of the space program…Maybe one man can make a difference…” These were just a few lines of the rhetoric Jackson fed his guilt-ridden conscious as his body and his will drew him closer to the association’s R&D division. Making a quick stop at his locker to retrieve Petrovsky’s DNA sample, Jackson relished the kind of routine maintenance he would be performing on robot number “7237-A-J49.” The robot was chiefly responsible for engine design on the next fleet of galaxy-class star ships which would take dozens of civilian couples to Ceres.
Jackson credited divine intervention regarding his fortune to be assigned maintenance on this specific robot stating:“I am the chosen one to stop this ungodly infestation of artificial beings.” Jackson slipped on his work gloves as he calculated which processors would have to be manipulated to sabotage the AI. The alteration of the robot’s calibration program could potentially result in serious errors concerning the ship’s hyper drive system. These kinds of errors could certainly result in fatalities if left undetected. However, Jackson’s hate filled eyes could not see beyond the mannequin-like black colored automaton he was approaching.
Back at the association’s front lobby, a phone call was placed to the automated reception unit. “Can you tell me where Phil Jackson is?” the frantic called asked the machine. “You will need clearance authorization for this type of information,” the unit responded.
“Then please get me security,” the human voice pleaded.
In the R&D laboratory, Jackson held up his data chip so the AI could scan it. The disgruntled technician then powered up his servo unit to perform the software adjustments. “You stupid machine, you just gave authorization clearance to a tech who is thousands of light years away,” Jackson mumbled hatefully under his breath. Jackson also cursed the association for the flaw in the robot’s identification system. “All they want to do is cut corners.”
In the next twenty minutes, Jackson had successfully manipulated 7237-A-J49’s software to incorrectly calculate hyper drive configurations for the federation starship Alliance. Jackson was just about to close the panel to the robot when he was abruptly interrupted by the voice of the AI security system. “Stop right there and put down all your tools,” the AI commanded.
Jackson hesitated for a brief instant and then dropped his scanning device. He reasoned his work would at least get the attention of upper level management and hopefully enact a change. In the next fifteen seconds, two human security guards came racing through the lab’s doors with weapons raised.
“Damn you, Chuck,” Phil grunted. Then without further warning, one of the security guards discharged his rifle sending a lethal dose of electricity through Jackson’s body. As Jackson writhed on the ground, his skin started to burn from the intensity of the weapon’s heat. The security guards rushed to the saboteur to find his pulse has stopped. “He’s dead,” the guard announced to his supervisor via a data net unit.
In the association’s administrative offices, Security Executive Renee Mercer rose to greet his guest. “Please sit down, Mr. Evans. Good work at deducing that Phil Jackson was up to no good.”
Sam had decided to give up his friend when his conscious begged him to check up on the DNA sample requisition. “I simply found that IT had no instructions to test the identification system for the robots. I did not want him to hurt innocent people. Can you tell me how Phil is taking it?”
“Oh, Phil is fine but he will be facing many charges,” Mercer responded while scratching his nose in an attempt to hide his lie.
“Now, Mr. Evans I would be most interested in hearing how one could replicate a DNA sample to effectively fool a forensic analysis. Do you have any theories on this?”
“Not at the moment, but I could work up a theory. Can I ask why you would want to know this?”
“Oh, just to prevent any incident such as this from happening again, of course,” Mercer stated in a matter of fact tone.
Sam’s left eye then began to twitch as he somehow knew the executive was lying.
Chapter 21: Taking Stock
Peter Ciprelli and Karen Hiroshi sat in their parked land rover for a few minutes after leaving the McElroy dwelling. The pair took comfort from the courageous behavior of Adrian McElroy and the Starkman’s. “They all took the news a lot better than I expected. They are true professionals—unlike our friends—the Petrovsky’s,” Peter concluded.
“I know we can save our work. But do you believe a part of us can really be saved regarding this engram procedure?” Karen asked.
“Well, you have living proof in the Starkman boy,” Peter replied.
“I can’t say that example provides conclusive proof for me. I really didn’t know the boy too well before his accident. I feel trust in this procedure is a matter of personal faith. Some people believe in an afterlife without a shadow of a doubt. I feel we are being asked to take a leap of faith here and I am a staunch agnostic,” Karen explained.
“Your analogy to belief in resurrection is somewhat perplexing to me, Karen. McElroy said he would transfer memories and experiences from our brains into the androids. I did not get a feeling that our actual soul would be given over. I also feel that our engrams will only be utilized as a guidance system for the android body.”
“Yet we will recognize each other just like we do now once our memories are in those android bodies, Peter. The androids will be programmed to believe they’re human and our short term memory will be erased so what’s left of our minds will believe we are still alive. Can I ask if you feel that would constitute a new start for our relationship?” Peter then reached for Karen’s hand as tears welled up in their eyes. “Whatever may happen is in the hands of fate. For this lifetime, I remain faithful to my wife. I believe we should follow our moral conscious as much as we can during this time period. Our conscious may be the only thing the androids will be able to use to guide their behavior properly.”
“I sure pity the android unit assigned to carry Petrovsky’s engrams,” Karen said with a small chuckle. “Seriously though, I hope we all retain the vigilant essence of our beings to be able to monitor his actions.”
“I also fear what Petrovsky may be capable of—whether confined to a human or automaton body,” Peter agreed. “I also hate to admit that we need his assistance to carry out this mission.”
“I fear Petrovsky. I guess I really don’t fear McElroy since you’re alleviating my fears of him having a God complex. For a moment, my mind was almost beginning to see an inscription on a monument—And man made androids in his image. So it seems like we already know we will be consenting to the doctor’s project.”
“I believe so. Now, will you let me drive you home, Mrs. Hiroshi?”
Karen eventually agreed that their night should come to an end after giving Peter a hug. Peter dropped Karen off and hurried home to work on salvaging the transmission log of the crashed shuttle craft he had found on the moon.
Peter had a
ccessed a communication satellite in orbit around Argos and instructed it to access the shuttle’s log. The craft’s computer log had remained intact because it was programmed to automatically eject from the shuttle when sensors detected a crash. Peter marveled that the computer log had survived 151 years with solar energy as its only power source.
Ciprelli entered his dwelling to find his wife sound asleep. He quietly tiptoed to his console and found that the uploading of the craft’s log was complete. Sipping a glass of filtered rain water, Peter began to access the log’s contents. After reading the first few paragraphs, Peter pushed his chair away from the console and opened his mouth in astonishment. The log had told him that the threat of a genetic virus had forced the launch of the shuttle craft . Tempest Captain George Bennett had ordered the crew to continue their quest to reach Ceres at any cost. The captain’s notes also alluded to a mutiny and that its cause was most likely from the virus.
Peter then searched the content of the computer for any further data files that may have been copied onto it before launch. As he pulled up the next file, he was reminded of his youth when he had eagerly flipped through the pages of his favorite detective novels to reach their conclusion.
Fortunately, Peter was able to quell a portion of his curiosity as several other data entries had been copied from the ship’s data base. Ciprelli surmised that the computer log was designed to copy the most recent transmissions so investigators like himself could ascertain why a crash occurred.
