They walked outside the command center, leaving the cheers and jubilant celebrations behind. Down the hallway they found a quiet conference room and sat at the large table in the middle of the space.
“What is it, Claire?”
“The virus has been rendered inactive and the nanobot swarms have been destroyed. Satellite surveillance detects no signals anywhere on the planet.”
“Yes, thank God. It looks like we’ve done it, Claire.”
“I don’t think this is over yet.”
Paulson stared into Claire’s blue eyes. Despite her Asian appearance, she’d kept those eyes. She blinked occasionally, another human trait she’d added recently.
“What data do you have to support this hypothesis?” he asked her.
“None. I know it’s against my programming, and my very nature, to make assumptions without an inkling of data to support them, but several troubling events have unfolded that lead me to believe that something else is happening here.”
“What do you mean? Are you talking about the destruction of Chronos One?”
“Exactly. I’ve analyzed Mattie’s data on the attackers who tried to destroy the rescue copters. It indicates a plot related to manipulations of the time stream.”
Paulson shifted in his chair. “Yes, someone wanted to make sure Chronos One was destroyed, and they tried to assassinate me to prevent Chronos Two from ever being constructed here in Iraq.”
Claire nodded and said, “Which means they came from the future or had knowledge of the future.”
Paulson frowned. “So we’re left with the assumption that the attackers who created the virus and the nanobots are from the future. But if they succeeded, wouldn’t they destroy themselves? Their future would no longer exist, right?”
Claire paused for a second before saying, “If they’re human.”
Those words hit Paulson like a sledgehammer.
He’d given the idea thought before, multiple times, but dismissed his thoughts as beyond farfetched. Still, only nonhuman attackers would want to destroy all humans on the planet. And both the virus and nanobots had robotic components.
“So, Claire, are we looking at some kind of artificial superintelligence from the future?”
“Maybe. I’m still analyzing all the possibilities. I need more data.”
Paulson looked at her closely. His mind was working the possibilities as well, although at a much slower pace than Claire did. However, he did have the advantage of creativity, a trait still in its infancy in Claire’s repertoire.
He decided to ask a risky question.
“Are there artificial intelligences on the planet right now capable of this?”
“Only one.”
Claire sat unblinking, unmoving.
He tried to stay calm as his heart rate increased, then he casually eased his hand down to where he kept a weapon hidden in his pocket. He’d always wondered what Claire was turning into as she evolved. Did she now see humanity as a threat to her existence and want to annihilate everyone? He had to ask the question.
“Did you do this, Claire?”
She glanced down at his hand, then looked into his eyes. Her head turned to the side, and a trace of sadness crossed her face.
Sadness? How was that possible?
“After all these years, you question my loyalty?” Claire blurted out, showing what looked like emotion. “I could’ve killed you any time I wanted. I could’ve destroyed Chronos One and Two with a thought. I could’ve let the human race be wiped out thirty-six years ago when the first nanobot swarms flew out of the Stillwater mines. No, Buddy, I did not do this.”
Paulson slid his hand away from his weapon and put it on the table. She was right. She’d been fighting on his side all along, saving his life and helping to save humanity. No, a force from the future, possibly one yet to even be born or created, must be responsible for the attacks. Or would Claire evolve into that force? That was the real question. For now, though, she was on their side, and he had to treat her as an ally.
“I’m sorry, Claire. I didn’t mean to accuse you. I have to be ready for all possibilities. You know that. So what do we do? Just continue to gather data and see where it takes us?”
“There is one other thing, Buddy—we have still received no messages from the future.”
She was right. They’d had no communication with themselves past the last jump, which was about six hours ago.
“When is the next scheduled communication?”
“Two hours.”
That meant something was going to happen in the next two hours to prevent them from sending a communication back to the past.
“We need to stay at high alert then, and we should run a quick test on the equipment to make sure it's still working properly”
Claire nodded, then turned away. When she turned back, she said, “President Diaz has just given the order to let some of the citizens staying here leave and return home. I would recommend against such action. At least for the next two hours.”
“I agree. I’ll talk with him. That’s if I can pull him away from his champagne and cigars.” Paulson pushed his chair back and stood up.
“Claire, thank you for all you’ve done. You’re my most trusted confidant.”
He placed his hand gently on her shoulder as she stared up at him.
“I’m just trying to do what’s best for you and humankind. Sometimes you need to be saved from yourselves.”
She rose and smiled as well. Then she leaned forward and hugged him. Under her soft body he felt her superhuman strength as she squeezed him in a tight embrace. Then she lifted her face and kissed him. She was warm, and her lips soft and full. She even smelled like a human woman.
It was the same scent his wife used.
Her tongue thrust into his mouth, awkwardly fishing around, like a teenage girl’s first kiss. He reared back, startled, but her steel-like hold prevented him from moving anything other than his head a couple of inches.
“Claire, no . . . I’m sorry. My wife . . . ” he managed to stammer out.
Claire looked surprised.
“I’m sorry, Buddy. I thought . . . I thought you . . . Your eyes . . . Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m still not good at reading human emotions.”
“It’s okay, Claire.”
She looked like she was going to cry again as she backed away and turned her head, covering it with her hand.
“You don’t love me, do you?” she asked.
He’d never seen her act this way before.
“Claire, I do . . . care for you. Just not in the way you’re thinking.”
He had no idea what she was thinking. He was still in shock, and it took quite a lot to shock him after what he’d experienced. Claire had always tried to mimic emotions in the past, but they were never convincing, never real. This seemed very real.
Claire turned cold, her face returning to its previous expressionless stability.
“I need to check on a few things. I’ll let you know if I receive any actionable data,” she said as she turned around and ran out of the room.
Yes, something was definitely different about Claire. She’d changed. She was less of a machine.
Was she sentient?
He wasn’t sure exactly what that would mean, but he knew one thing.
A sentient machine with Claire's power scared him.
Chapter 26
6:00 a.m. Local Time, January 16, 2038
Chronos Two, Hillah, Iraq
Jeff was walking down the hallway with a big smile on his face. They’d just done the impossible, and life was good. He bent his head to take a sip of alcohol-free champagne when Claire came running past him.
Was she crying? Was that even possible?
He knew she’d made some upgrades recently, but she was still just a machine.
Of course she was. She probably just had a leak of some kind. He was no robotics expert, so he didn’t know what kind of hydraulic fluid she needed to function. Whatever it was, he was
sure she would sort it out. He wasn’t going to let Claire's maintenance problems spoil his mood, that was for sure.
He brought the champagne to his lips and took another sip, then high-fived some young scientists celebrating in the hallway. He’d helped save the world.
“Hey, babe. How’s it going? You on your way here yet?”
Holly popped up in a holo from his hand. She looked like she was in the middle of a party as well. Crowds were dancing and jumping all around her as music played in the background.
"We'll be heading out in the next few hours, or so I've been told. Several transports were damaged by the nanoswarm but should be back up by then."
“That doesn’t look like a military base. Where are you, at a nightclub?”
Holly laughed, that sweet gentle laugh of old, from before she’d borne the weight of the world on her shoulders.
“There’s a small club here on base, so a few of us decided to blow off some steam. Even Patrick is out, and he’s talking about rebuilding Chronos.”
Holly panned her hand around so Jeff could see the Chronos group and dozens of off-duty soldiers dancing under throbbing strobe lights. Dr. Chen was across the dance floor moving stiffly and limping slightly, but still attempting to dance.
“Yeah, about rebuilding. There’s something I need to tell you.”
Holly still didn’t know about Chronos Two.
“I can’t tell you all the details, but let’s just say our friend Buddy Paulson had a backup.”
Holly’s eyes grew wide.
“No! You don’t mean there’s another base—a second Chronos? Oh my God, Jeff! That’s incredible! And he kept it secret all these years?”
“Yes, he’s a sly old devil. The base is in Hillah, Iraq. But you have to keep this quiet. Don’t even tell Chen yet. You’ll be brought to the base soon enough, and you’ll have all the details then.”
Holly squealed like a young girl. It was the most excited Jeff had seen her since their wedding day.
“I still can't believe it until I see it with my own eyes—another Chronos. I'll be able to continue my work. Thank you for telling me, my love. The future is ours now, you know. It’s what we want to make it.”
“It always has been, my dear, it always has been. Although I must say I had my doubts over the years. I never thought we'd actually win. I never thought we'd change the world and save everyone. All those lives lost in our previous timeline, those people are alive because of us, Holly, because of what we've been able to accomplish over the last decades. And we've done it together."
Tears fell from Holly's eyes as the emotion of the moment swept over the both of them like a tsunami. Jeff's wiped his cheeks as his beautiful wife smiled at him.
"Yes, together, my love," she said. "We saved them. We've done the impossible, we've changed the future and saved humanity from extinction."
She wiped another tear away and smiled.
"We'll be able to celebrate in person. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay.”
Holly blew him a kiss goodbye, and the holo faded away.
It was early in the morning in Hillah, although Jeff had no idea of the exact time—being underground, he couldn’t see the sun or stars. His body was still on New York time, so for him it felt like ten p.m. He was too excited to go to sleep, so he thought maybe he’d explore the base a bit. Perhaps he could find a restaurant or nightclub or something. He asked a couple strolling past, who directed him to a holomap showing the layout of the base.
A couple of taps in the air, and his destination was mapped out. A yellow line indicating the path to the metro appeared on the floor. Well, not actually on the floor; it was being beamed to his retinal nerve so that only he could see it.
He walked past more smiling faces. Apparently the word had spread to everyone that the threat was over. They’d defeated their unknown foe. As he climbed up to the metro ramp, several families holding suitcases were getting ready to board. One man among them was a senator from Virginia.
“Senator Ashcroft. It’s good to see you again.” Jeff shook his hand.
“Senator Madison, Jeff, good to see you again as well. Wow, how about all this?” Ashcroft gestured to the surrounding base.
“American tax dollars at work. Of course we don’t need it now. I guess we could turn it into a museum or something.”
Ashcroft laughed. The VIP bunker was a vast and amazing thing, but Jeff was glad that they didn’t have to use it as humanity’s last refuge.
“I think we should keep it around just in case the end of the world comes up again,” Jeff joked. “There may be a giant asteroid or something waiting out there for us.”
Ashcroft held up his finger.
“Very true, very true. It’s always best to be prepared. Have you met my wife and son?”
Ashcroft introduced them, and Jeff shook their hands.
“You all headed home?”
“President Diaz gave the word just a little while ago. As much as I’d like to stay and explore this place, duty calls. I need to be back in Washington tomorrow.”
“I think I’ll probably head back tomorrow myself. Until then I’m going to see what sort of entertainment this place offers.”
Jeff smiled again and waved goodbye. So everyone was leaving. If he were in charge he would give it at least a day or so, just to be sure no more threats were lurking over the horizon, but Diaz was not a patient man. Plus Jeff was sure that everyone just wanted to get out of there.
Before they could board the metro, the doors slammed shut.
“What the hell? This thing isn’t even half full yet,” Ashcroft said angrily.
Then the doors opened again and the lights on the metro car went out.
“Please exit the metro. Service has been suspended at this time.”
The voice announcement came via direct com-link.
“Well, I guess I’ll be walking,” Jeff said, waving goodbye to a frustrated Ashcroft and his family.
“Jeff, where are you?”
It was Whittenhouse calling. Jeff flipped his palm up, and a holo of his old friend appeared.
“Just taking a stroll. What’s up?”
“The base appears to be locked down. I think you should come back to the command center.”
Jeff grumbled and rolled his eyes. His job was done. They didn’t need him in the command center anymore. Paulson, Diaz, and all the brass could handle any issues with base security.
But how could he say no?
“Okay, I’ll be back in a minute.”
Jeff retraced his path. This time, instead of being filled with jubilant celebrations, he found the command center to be largely empty, with just a handful of technicians analyzing screens of data. Whittenhouse motioned him across the room.
“All EM pulse weapons satellites have been redirected away from the surface of the planet. We have no control over them.”
“What are they pointing at?”
“I have no idea, but they’ve been directed out into space.”
Jeff’s company, under Whittenhouse’s guidance, had designed most of those satellites, so he probably knew them better than anyone.
“How did you lose control of them?”
“I have no idea, but the guidance system’s been hacked.”
“Franklin, how is that even possible? Nothing can hack those systems.”
Whittenhouse frowned. “So we thought. We’re trying to reestablish control now, but multiple incredibly complex firewalls have been put in place, and they are constantly changing.”
“Do Diaz or Paulson know about this?”
“I wanted to tell you first.”
“All right, all right, let’s not panic. But we need to at least call Paulson in here. And why the hell is the base on lockdown?”
“I have no idea. I’m not familiar with the systems in place here at Chronos Two.”
Jeff beeped Paulson and asked him to come back to the command center. Moments later he came striding into
the room, his face drawn tight.
“What’s going on?”
Jeff told him about the satellites, then asked, “And why is the base on lockdown? Nobody can leave. The metro isn’t working.”
“I don’t know,” Paulson said angrily. “But I’m going to find out.”
He looked away and tapped the back of his ear.
“Claire? Claire, where are you? Answer me, please.”
Jeff thought back to the crying android he saw running down the hallway.
“Is Claire okay, Buddy? I saw her earlier, and she looked like she was . . . crying?”
Paulson’s eyes darted back and forth, uncertainty flowing across his face.
“She . . . She’s been acting strangely lately. And she doesn’t want to talk with me about what’s bothering her.”
He tapped his ear again.
“Base Commander, this is Vice President Paulson. Put an alert out for Claire. I’d like her found and brought to me.” He paused to share a long look with Jeff before adding, “Use extreme caution.”
“Did Claire”—Jeff waved a hand at the data screens—“do this?”
“Possibly. If so, we need to find out why.”
Paulson looked away again, his jaw tight.
“They’ve found Claire,” he told Jeff. “She’s in the vortex chamber and refusing to leave. I’m going down to talk with her.”
“I think I’ll tag along,” Jeff said.
It was a short walk to the central vortex chamber. They found Claire standing patiently beside the vortex generator.
“What’s going on, Claire?” Paulson asked calmly.
She stared at him, not saying a word. Paulson stepped closer and put his arm around her.
“If this is about what happened earlier, I want to say I’m sorry. We should talk about it in private.”
Jeff had no idea what was going on between these two, but if he didn’t know any better, he’d say it looked strangely like a lovers’ quarrel.
Claire crossed her arms and pulled away from Paulson.
NanoSwarm: Extermination Day Book Two Page 21
