by Rick Lakin
“It would be my honor, Kalea,” Jennifer said. “Our father would be honored to hear that.”
“When will your plan be ready for deployment?” Kalea asked.
“Twenty-one days,” Jennifer said. “We need to bring the shuttle near Hoclarth space and allow you to escort it to Xaphnore.”
“I will meet you at the fourth planet of a star you designate as the Wolf star,” Kalea said.
“We’ll plan our mission on that basis, Predex,” Jennifer said.
“I wish you great success,” Kalea said. “Is K’da still present?”
Kalinda sat on the floor and Dandy jumped in her lap.
“Here, Tal’pa,” Kalinda said.
“What is that vicious animal?” Kalea asked. “Are you safe, K’da?”
Dandy turned to Kalea. I am her friend and protector, Dandy thought.
“My apologies and respect, Toxem’al,” Kalea said.
Dandy nodded in response and went back to purring.
“I watched the event where you competed on the small waves near the shore. Your mother in Laknove is very proud of you as am I,” Kalea said. “You won the competition and saved the life of your nearest competitor.”
“Thank you, Tal’pa,” Kalinda said.
“Is that stiff board as effective as a framlin leaf?” Kalea asked.
“The waves are much smaller on Earth,” Kalinda said. “I must adapt.”
“Jennifer, I look forward to converting adversaries to friends and meeting after this crisis is past,” Kalea said.
“As do I, sir,” Jennifer said.
Kalinda hugged her tal’pa again.
“Until then,” he said. Kalea disappeared, and the room converted back to Kalinda's bedroom.
“Jen, I need to be on this mission.”
“You want to?” Jennifer said.
Her presence is essential on this mission, Dandy thought. She must go.
“You’ve got the vision thing, Dandy?” Jennifer asked.
You think I’m just another talking cat? Dandy thought.
“I’ll talk to the captain,” Jennifer said. “You two need to convince Dad.”
Anthen yelled from the kitchen. “Kroknal is ready.”
Dandy jumped from Kalinda’s lap and started running. Then he looked back, slightly embarrassed, and resumed his imperious tone as he walked to the dining area.
38
Jennifer spent the day in the HTVR lab at JennaTech.
The lab space was configured as a gymnasium with Sami on a treadmill. She was working through coding problems for Jake in the cranial AI processor on the prototype cyberian. Sami was resident in the prototype as the guinea pig. She was walking at an average speed to test her balance and coordination.
“I am still left-leg dominant,” Sami said.
“I see that on the display,” Jennifer said. She rapidly typed some new information in the coding window. “How about now?”
“Better,” Sami said.
“Take it up to a normal jog,” Jennifer said.
Sami picked up the pace. “I still feel top-heavy. Try to lower the virtual center of gravity.”
Jennifer recoded a section. “Pick up the pace, Sami.”
“Two-hour marathon it is,” Sami said.
“So far so good,” Jennifer said. “Readouts look nominal. Try a sprint.”
“World record hundred-meters coming up,” Sami said. She ran for three seconds then tumbled over the side of the treadmill. “Oops.” Sami got up. “No damage but I have a misaligned actuator in my right hip.”
“Can you do the fix?” Jennifer asked.
“Yes, I will go to the cyberian workshop, separate, and do it,” Sami said.
A tone sounded indicating visitors in the lobby.
Stephen came into the lab, “There are federal marshals in the lobby.”
Jake looked startled. “What the hell are they doing here?”
Jennifer looked alarmed. “I’ll go see what they want.”
The automated lobby was unoccupied except for two armed marshals.
“May I help you?” Jennifer asked.
“Are you the manager of this company?” the taller marshal said.
“I am Jennifer Gallagher, CEO of JennaTech. How may I help you?”
“Ma'am, you are served.” The marshal handed her a disposable tablet. “This is a Federal Cease-and-Desist order. Per the Dangerous Technologies Act of 2027, Judge Manual Servin orders that you immediately cease-and-desist from producing dangerous technologies to wit, a physical robot or android.”
“How soon do we have to comply?” Jennifer asked.
“Ma’am, you have three business days,” the marshal said. “At that time, you must present proof of compliance to the judge or federal marshals will raid the premises and confiscate any evidence of non-compliance. Do you have an attorney?”
“Yes, we do,” Jennifer said.
“I recommend that you contact your legal counsel immediately to determine your legal rights and responsibilities. Do you have any questions?”
“I do not,” Jennifer said.
The officer touched the bill of his cap. “Thank you for your cooperation.” The two officers turned and left the building.
Stunned, Jennifer walked back to the lab. “Stephen, have you heard of the Dangerous Technologies Act.”
“Ouch,” Stephen said. “It was passed to prevent non-defense companies from developing weapons of mass destruction, but not for projects like the cyberians.”
“This sounds an awful lot like Senator Curtwell has played a full house,” Jennifer said.
“Call Ana right away,” Steven said.
Sheila Gallagher and Ana Mendoza worked in the executive offices of GGG two buildings over. Jennifer contacted their office.
Ana Mendoza appeared before them, sitting at her desk. “Good morning,” Ana said.
“Ana, I just had a visit from two federal marshals. We’ve been served with a cease-and-desist order.”
“That's always a pleasant surprise. Your mother is with a client,” Ana said. “Can we meet in the conference room in one hour? Send me the information, and we’ll prepare the response. Drag Jake and my husband along, and we’ll lay out some sandwiches.”
“I sent you the documents,” Jennifer said. “We’ll be there. Thanks.”
“Got it. This order is from a federal judge,” Ana said. “It's not nice to piss off Uncle Sam.”
“Senator Curtwell,” Jennifer said.
“Oh, right,” Ana said. “See you two soon.”
Ana’s virtual presence dissolved.
“Who else should I call, Stephen?” Jennifer asked.
“Your grandfather might be able to help,” Stephen said.
“Good idea.” She touched her HoloPad and Sami popped up. “Contact grandpa’s office.”
“Yes, boss,” Sami said. “Here’s Kathy.”
Kathy looked up from her desk. “Hello, Jennifer,” Kathy said. “Navvy is just finishing a phone call. Is everything ok?”
“We got served,” Jennifer said. “Federal marshals visited.”
“Always a good start to the morning,” Kathy said. “Here’s Navvy.”
The virtual scene shifted to Navvy’s office.
“My granddaughter is in handcuffs?” Navvy asked.
“Not so much but we got served,” Jennifer said. She explained what happened.
“That was quick,” Navvy said. “She works fast.”
“You saw this coming,” Jennifer said. “What can we do?”
“Have you contacted Ana?”
“Yes, we are meeting in an hour.”
“Good. What progress have you made on the cyberians?” Navvy asked.
“We are tweaking the prototype for balance and functionality,” Jennifer said. “We’ve frozen the fabrication template today, but we are still coding. We’ve tested the StarWave interface with HumanAI and Brilliant.”
“Good,” Navvy said. “You’ve made progress. Do you
have a secure office?”
“Yes,” Jennifer said. She looked at Stephen. “Excuse me. Let's go into my office.”
Sami closed the door. “The room is secure, Jennifer.”
“Go ahead,” Jennifer said.
“You’ve created tech that should not fall into the hands of anyone outside the Brilliant family.”
“I was beginning to worry about that.”
“Many years ago, I acted on the need to protect the technology of Brilliant. I created a secure location on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.”
“If a disaster happens to Brilliant or the Earth suffers an apocalyptic event, this facility is designed to provide our successors with the tools to restart and regenerate. It’s maintained by a virtual named Sandi and receives support from HumanAI Corp.”
“Excellent idea,” Jennifer said. “So, it can fabricate a StarCruiser?”
“It’s got one of the two root fabricators in existence,” Navvy said. “It can generate a daughter fabricator that can generate an object the size of Brilliant.”
“What about materials?”
“Titan has all of the organic elements on the surface and in the atmosphere and all of the industrial isotopes very near the surface,” Navvy said. “I’ll introduce you to Sandi. I want you to transmit all of your intellectual property to TitanX. She’ll set up a system so a copy of your IP will exist outside your lab in case the feds raid your office. A copy of your entire library will exist off-planet. Sami will coordinate directly with Sandi. Your digital IP will be encoded and secured locally.”
“Got it,” Jennifer said. “Will my crew see any changes?”
“Yes, they will,” your Navvy said. “Tell them that you’ve performed a security lockdown to protect the IP and to continue to work as before.”
“Sami, did you get that?” Jennifer asked.
“I’ve contacted Sandi, and we’ve begun the process.”
“Thank you, grandpa,” Jennifer said.
“Finish your prototype and then halt the project until Saturday,” Navvy said.
“Saturday?” Jennifer asked. “Jack said we had a mission that day but didn't share details.”
“Brilliant is getting a medal,” Navvy said.
“Where are we going?”
“Brilliant is landing on the South Lawn of The White House.”
“Cool,” Jennifer said. “For the Mia rescue?”
“Yes,” Navvy said. “Brilliant will get a Meritorious Unit Commendation, and Dr. Ami will get a medal. Mia and her family are riding along. Bring your JennaTech crew.”
“I can have Dr. Ami resident in the prototype,” Jennifer said. “Kalinda will certainly be happy.”
“Bring some books to sign,” Navvy said. “The president’s kids are big fans. Coordinate with Jack for the details. Plan on a departure pass over the mall. We are promoting this so there will be an audience.”
“I’ll ask Riley and Anthen to create the smoke trick.”
“Excellent. Crew inspection and breakfast at nine on Saturday,” Navvy said. “Are you ready for next week?”
“Yes,” Jennifer said. “The VirtualLocation system is up and running.”
“The key position will be Technical Director,” Navvy said. “It’ll be a challenge juggling forty cameras.”
“Sami will handle it,” Jennifer said. “She helped design the system.”
“Good call. See you Saturday.”
Jennifer left her office, went into the lab, and met Stephen and Jake.
“Well?” Stephen asked.
“Grandpa has something up his sleeve,” Jennifer said.
“How so?” Jake asked.
“We are meeting the president on Saturday,” Jennifer said.
“Of what?” Jake asked.
“Duh, the United States,” Jennifer said. “Let’s walk over to legal.”
Ana Mendoza, the chief counsel of JennaTech, met them in the conference room. “Sheila is on a conference call. Grab a plateful and take a seat.”
Jennifer, Stephen, and Jake built sandwiches from the catered spread, filled their plate with sides, and sat down.
“Thanks for setting up this meeting,” Jennifer said, “and thanks for lunch. We get into a project, and we forget to eat.”
Sheila walked in and grabbed a plate. “Hello, everyone.”
“Hi, Mom,” Jennifer said.
“So, Jen,” Sheila said. “What photo will they use for the ten most wanted poster?”
“Mom, is it that serious?”
“Ana, you start,” Sheila said.
“Thank you,” Ana said. “The DTA was enacted in 2027 after a rogue organization run by a right-wing militia got pretty far along in developing chemical and biological weapons. The initial penalties for a non-defense organization developing dangerous weapons that can cause harm to the health or property of citizens are civil, and that is where the cease-and-desist order originates.”
She quoted, “If an individual is found to develop a weapon defined as one that can destroy one million dollars of property or kill more than ten people at a time, that person can be charged with a felony and if convicted serve twenty years to life for each offense.”
“We are building these to save billions on the Hoclarth planet.”
“We know, but the Senator is going to portray your invention as dangerous,” Ana said.
“I know that you do not intend for your cyberians to be dangerous, but I have questions,” Sheila said. “Can a cyberian be ordered to hurt a human, can they decide on their own to hurt someone, or can they harm an individual through negligence?”
“Jake, you take the first two.”
“Autonomous robots showed up in early science fiction. Isaac Asimov codified the Three Law of Robotics which state that the robot cannot harm a human or allow harm to occur, obey orders except to harm a human, and protect itself as long as it doesn’t allow harm to a human.
“Google extended those laws to prevent robots from making things worse, looking to humans as mentors, and not going outside pre-programmed parameters by attempting hazardous activities.
“HumanAI has leveraged current technology to provide virtuals with wisdom. Our cyberians know what they know, but also, they know what they don’t know. Based on learning and experience, that knowledge base is common to every cyberian and each contributes its own experience to the library.”
“That rules out the intent to cause harm,” Sheila said. “What about negligence?”
“Cyberians are not human,” Jennifer said. “But they are human in that they are capable of human mistakes albeit at a much lower rate.”
“So, our defense is that cyberians are ethical and careful, but in the end, they are only human,” Sheila said. “It's lousy, but it might get us a stay if the judge listens to the benefits to society that the cyberians can perform. Ana, what is our plan?”
“We file an immediate request for a stay pending a hearing on the merits,” Ana said. “Judge Servin has been responsive in past rulings to responsible corporate citizens. We’ll have a difficult time with the 'robots are only human' argument. I can schedule an appearance tomorrow.”
“Are there any other alternatives?” Stephen asked.
“Yes,” Sheila said. “You position JennaTech as a defense contractor with a procurement request for cyberian doctors.”
“Is that difficult?” Jennifer asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Unless you have friends in high places.”
“Oh, by the way,” Jennifer said. “We are visiting the White House on Saturday.”
“Yeah,” Sheila said. “Like Navvy.”
“Jennifer,” Ana said. “As your general counsel, I recommend that you continue work to the deadline, protect your IP, and inform me if anything changes.”
“Do I need to get a lawyer?” Jake said. “I’m too young to go to jail.?
“Always a good idea to have a good attorney,” Ana said.
“C’mon Jake,” Jennifer said. “Thanks fo
r lunch. Let’s get back to work, team.”
“I might have to work late, Ana,” Stephen said. “My boss is a real slave driver.”
“Like when you worked at Skunk Works,” Ana said. “I know the feeling.”
The meeting broke up.
39
Jennifer was in the Captain’s Ready Room of the Brilliant finishing the operational plan for the flight to the White House. On her desk were her second Double-shot Caramel Frappuccino and a half-eaten bagel. She was wearing a Brilliant t-shirt, cutoffs, and Old Skool Vans which had made their fifth fashion comeback in the last century. Her Brilliant uniform was hanging next to Tayla’s in their stateroom one deck below.
The flight plan was rather complicated. After departure from Tovar, they would make a stop at NAS North Island to pick up Chuck, Mia, and Jeff Rodriguez and then proceed on a ballistic trajectory to the East Coast. After re-entry over Manassas, Virginia, Brilliant would approach D.C. from the South. The ingress was a classified op so Brilliant would land at Joint Base Andrews cloaked as a Gulfstream 450. Brilliant would enter a hangar belonging to the Marine Corps Presidential Squadron HMX-1, convert to a white-top VX-5B Helicopter, then fly in a three-ship formation over the capital, and land on the South Lawn of the White House where POTUS would greet the crew. Only then would StarCruiser Brilliant reveal her true colors.
Conversely, the planned departure was like a circus parade. David would raise the ship with the triple 3D rotation that wowed the crowds at Miramar, fly low and slow over the large crowds expected at the D.C. landmarks, and perform the Miramar show over the National Mall. The rainbow exit would be visible throughout the DC Metro Area.
Jennifer finished her final checks, sat back in her chair, took the last bite of her bagel, and a sipped her caffeine bomb.
Dandy Lion jumped on her lap and looked at Jennifer.
“Good morning, Dandy,” Jennifer said. “Is the Tovar Lot secure?”
Yes. There’s one less mouse in the world, Dandy thought. Who is this president human?
