by C H Gideon
He’d pushed Gorad into a corner, poking and prodding until he could deliver the fatal blow that would give Reynolds access to Gorad’s system, where Reynolds could find out for sure how the mystery ship was controlling Gorad’s automatons.
And if Reynolds just happened to pluck out any other details while he was in there, such as the plans to the agroprinter and its food source ingredients, so be it.
“I promise not to dig too deeply,” Reynolds told the other AI.
“As if it would be that easy,” Gorad replied.
But Reynolds knew that Gorad’s confidence had already taken a heavy blow and would not recover.
Once inside the alien AI’s programming, Reynolds would have the upper hand, Gorad having let him in past the most complicated and technical of the AI’s security systems.
He might well keep Reynolds from delving too deeply and gaining complete access to the AI’s data, but Reynolds was certain he would be able to scrape the upper layers at the very least.
Even if he couldn’t find much there, just getting to see some part of how the alien AI operated would be a victory. He could record his journey and dissect whatever he came across later, reverse-engineering the systems to give him a better idea how Gorad operated.
That would provide him opportunities he didn’t currently have when it came to dealing with the alien AI.
“Don’t worry, I’ll play nice,” Reynolds said.
The alien AI stood rigid for several moments, likely having to convince himself that this was a good idea. Reynolds remained quiet. He didn’t want to push any harder than he already had.
Gorad was on the proverbial ledge. What came next would push him off or cause him to dig down deep and resist.
Everything relied on the seed that Reynolds had planted growing. If Gorad felt he was being manipulated, the alien AI would step back and become defiant.
Reynolds couldn’t have that.
After several more moments that seemed as if they’d lasted hours, Gorad nodded and dropped to sit on the floor.
“Can you access my systems remotely if I provide you with the key?” Gorad asked.
Reynolds glanced at Jiya, his face at an angle that Gorad couldn’t see, and he winked. Her eyes narrowed, and he grinned before turning about and going over to sit before the android.
“I can,” Reynolds told him.
Gorad straightened and met Reynolds’ gaze with steely insistence. “Understand, any attempt to influence or alter my programming while you are in my systems will be deemed an act of war against me, Reynolds,” the other AI warned. “I will not tolerate such.”
Reynolds nodded and agreed without hesitation. “You have my word.” And he meant it. Reynolds didn’t want to hack Gorad, he simply wanted an advantage.
Gorad nodded again, accepting Reynolds at his word—at least outwardly.
“I’m sending you the access code,” Gorad said, letting his chin drop to his chest as he cycled his systems down to allow access.
Reynolds picked up Gorad’s transmission and beamed his consciousness into the alien AI’s system, using the code to pry through the web of security the other AI had in place.
“Watch our bodies,” Reynolds said as his android body drifted away behind him.
Lights flashed throughout Reynolds’ computer consciousness, and he navigated the pathway into Gorad’s brain as it opened before him.
It was a strange feeling.
He’d expected it to be similar to how he had felt when he’d transferred his consciousness into the two android bodies, but this was so completely different that it caught him off-guard.
Gorad truly was as alien as he seemed.
The coding and programming weren’t simply in a different language, but their nuances and manner of operating were unknown to Reynolds.
Things simply worked differently there.
Reynolds metaphorically stumbled into the labyrinthine maze that was Gorad’s system, and he gaped at what he saw.
It was like stepping into a foreign country, having never left your own.
Visual representations of Gorad’s systems were everywhere, towering like new-world skyscrapers. Yet, right alongside were tiny buildings of code that might as well have been third-world shops on Earth set beside the technological behemoths.
“Not what you expected, is it?” Gorad asked from beside him.
Reynolds spun to look at the alien AI.
He knew to expect Gorad’s inner image of himself, but the other AI was right. Nothing was what he’d expected.
Gorad appeared to be the perfect mix of Telluride and Grindlovian. Blue and pale, Gorad’s system essence looked powerful like the Telluride servants, but there was a neutral stoicism in the expression that spoke of the Grindlovians’ attitude. It looked amiss on the Telluride face.
“No, it’s not,” Reynolds admitted.
He glanced down at himself and noticed that his inner image was that of a human, and he grinned. That, at least, he’d expected, though he had to admit that it might well reveal more about him to the other AI than he might want. He wondered if he could manipulate himself to be one of the red-skinned Larians.
If Gorad took note, he said nothing about it.
“This way,” Gorad said, gesturing for Reynolds to follow. They traveled what vaguely resembled a street in a crowded town whose advertising budget had gotten way out of hand.
Flashing lights and gleaming circuitry abounded, and Reynolds marveled at it, wondering how the hell any of it worked. None of it made any sense. He couldn’t see how one was connected to the other.
Circuits seemed to end randomly, and what he determined after a while were chips looked nothing like those in his system. It was as if there’d been an explosion in the parts factory, and Gorad’s creators simply left the pieces where they’d landed, littering the boards of his system.
Though he would remember every detail of what he could see, Reynolds wasn’t sure he’d be able to piece any of it together once he got a chance to look back on it.
He suspected he would need to enlist Takal nearly full time to attempt to decipher the alien technology. Between the two of them, and possibly Geroux helping with her unparalleled computer skills, they might be able to make something of the mess that was Gorad’s programming.
As the two walked, Gorad pointed out what the various systems controlled.
“This is the subroutine that runs the droid factory and its creation of new droids, as well as the repair of any systems that need work,” he said, acting like a tour guide in his own head. “And over there,” he pointed to a mass of circuits that might as well have been a spider web with dead flies draped across it, “is the system that maintains the automated vehicles across Grindlevik 3. It controls all aspects of the planet’s transportation system.”
“And that?” Reynolds asked, pointing to a brilliantly flickering arrangement of circuits that might be compared to a Christmas tree decorated by an overzealous child.
The image blurred and blacked out as soon as Reynolds turned his attention to it.
“That,” Gorad replied, grinning slyly, “is the access point to the planetary defense system. You don’t get to see that.”
Reynolds nodded, biting back a grunt. That was a priority to examine, but he HAD missed it and would have to make do with the rest of the system.
“That controls all this?” he asked, pointing to the array of circuitry around the blanked-out station.
“Exactly,” Gorad told him. “If there is a problem in the system, it will be located somewhere around here.”
Gorad went over to where he could see the whole array and began to examine it, much like he had done with the destroyer’s damaged mainframe.
Reynolds stood alongside the alien AI, following suit.
It was daunting. Reynolds had pictured coming in and simply plucking secrets from Gorad’s head, but he’d been grossly mistaken.
He would need to dig deeply into the system and probe it to see ho
w it worked in order to determine how it might have been compromised. It was going to be complicated.
“Begin there,” Gorad told him, pointing to a section nearest the center of the system, making it easier for Reynolds. “I’ll trace back through the circuitry.”
Reynolds wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking for, but he didn’t say anything. He followed Gorad’s lead and stepped into the maze of systems before him.
Gorad disappeared behind him as they slipped into the machinery like ghosts and went their separate ways.
Reynolds trailed along the path of circuitry, examining each and every aspect as he went past it. Though he wasn’t completely sure what he was looking at, the alien signature of Gorad’s creators was obvious, making it clear to Reynolds that nothing he was looking at had been compromised.
He had a hunch as to what he might find if Gorad were telling the truth about the attack, but Reynolds didn’t want to presume too much. That might bias his examination.
So, he cleared his head and followed where the circuits led.
On and on he went, sensing Gorad all around him, watching, examining Reynolds as much as Reynolds examined Gorad. But Reynolds had expected that, so he kept searching for something that might have been compromised without actually touching or manipulating any part of the system.
A short while later, as the two AI surveyed different parts of Gorad’s systems, Reynolds came to a halt, a strange sequence of circuits catching his attention. He came to stand before the board and looked closer.
If he had a pulse, it would have raced right then.
Where the Grindlovian touch had been apparent throughout the system, it was clear something else was at work there.
The chaos of Gorad’s framework suddenly became ordered and rigid in a tiny area of the board, structurally different from the rest of the circuits around it. Reynolds leaned in closer and examined the strange flow of energy that seemed to run in direct defiance of the rest of the system laid out there.
He knew right then what he was looking at.
“Gorad! You might want to come over here,” he called, knowing the other AI would hear him.
“What is it?” Gorad responded, materializing beside Reynolds in an instant.
“I found your hack,” Reynolds replied bluntly.
And what a hack it was.
Chapter Thirteen
Gorad stared at the strange conglomeration of circuits with wide eyes. “This is…wrong,” he said, clearly unable to believe it still.
“It’s very wrong,” Reynolds shot back. “Your system has clearly been compromised.”
“But how?” Gorad wondered, shaking his head.
“I don’t know,” Reynolds replied. “This is definitely the problem.” He reached out and pointed to a place in the circuit, lights gleaming near his finger. “This configuration is giving off a faint signal every few seconds.”
“I can’t detect it,” Gorad growled, leaning in to look where Reynolds pointed.
“It’s there, though,” Reynolds told him. “It’s sending transmissions.”
“Can you block them?”
“Probably, but we need to track it to its source first,” Reynolds explained. “Find out who is doing this and why.”
“But if we do that, it’s possible they will detect us and do something drastic,” Gorad argued.
“Maybe, but given that we’re not going to learn how your system was compromised without determining who compromised it, I think we need to risk it.”
“But they’re not your internals,” he complained.
“You’re right,” Reynolds replied, “they aren’t.” He shrugged. “So, I guess we just plug the hole and leave it at that. There’s no way there’s a second access point hidden anywhere.”
Gorad groaned. “Do not attempt to patronize me, Reynolds. I know well enough what I risk with this maneuver.”
Reynolds shook his head. “It’s not just you at risk, Gorad,” he countered. “My people were the ones who were hurt because of this. So far, none of yours have been. That makes me think there’s more to this than someone simply hacking their way into your systems for shits and giggles.”
Gorad raised an eyebrow. “I do not understand what shits and giggles have to do with one another.”
“A human euphemism to match my avatar,” Reynolds told him. “My point is, we need to find out who is doing this or we won’t be able to determine how widespread the hack is.” He motioned to the corrupted circuit before them. “It could well only be this section, but it’s obvious the alien programming is something you can’t detect without it being pointed out to you. And there’s no way we can search your entire system quickly enough to stop whoever this is.”
“I agree,” Gorad said slowly. “We must do this.”
Reynolds waited until the corrupt circuit triggered its next transmission and intercepted the signal, breaking it down into its component code.
“This is complex,” he said a moment later, having translated the signal and determined how to track it, “but I’ve plucked an access code from its components.”
Reynolds sent the code to Gorad and stepped into the next signal that shot out from the hack, using the code to ride the signal back to its source.
Lights whirled around their consciousnesses as the two AIs hitched a ride on the signal. It pulled them directly through the planetary defense component Gorad had tried to block Reynolds from. The alien AI hissed, but there was nothing he could do.
To Reynolds’ regret, they moved so quickly that he barely got a glance at the system, giving him no direct insight as to its workings.
Then the two were in space, riding the beam.
Able to detect himself as they passed the SD Reynolds, the AI could then plot the basic direction. After a moment, he knew where they were headed.
The strange alien ship Ensign Alcott had detected while the crew was on Grindlevik 3.
Not long after that realization they were aboard the craft, embedded in its computer systems.
The two AI came to a sudden stop as the first of the security systems noted the anomaly and blocked their passage. A glowing red wall appeared before them.
“They know we’re here,” Gorad said.
Reynolds remained quiet as he examined the wall, then shook his head. “No, they don’t,” he told the other AI. “This is automated security, a firewall designed to block traffic outside of a specific frequency. Since we’re not the same as the beam, it scraped us off it and deposited us here.”
Gorad leaned closer to the wall and narrowed his eyes. “This coding looks familiar.”
Reynolds nodded. “It has scraps of Grindlovian in it, which might explain how they were able to break through your security.”
“It certainly explains why I couldn’t detect it,” Gorad announced. “It’s close enough to mimic my own systems.”
“It is,” Reynolds shot back with a grin, “but that’s also a weakness as far as I’m concerned.”
“How so?”
“Because it gives us a source to work with,” Reynold told the alien AI. He motioned to Gorad. “Scan the firewall.”
“But they’ll detect me doing so,” he said.
Reynolds shook his head. “No, they won’t. The firewall will determine your signal is a random probe and will re-route it to keep you from seeing that it’s been interacted with. I, however, will see its path, and can trace where it goes and how they handle it.”
“Thus determining whether the original signal is analyzed before being returned to space to continue its journey.”
Reynolds grinned. “Exactly. Because they don’t want you to know they are intercepting your signals, thus signaling to you that they are, they have to cycle the signal back out into space.”
“Which means it will reach deeper into their systems, with their blessing,” Gorad realized. “You know, of course, there will be more security points beyond here?”
“Of course, but every step deeper is another
chance to find a bypass. Unless they have a specialist or an AI actively reviewing each and every signal they’re processing, they won’t notice we’ve infiltrated their system.”
Gorad smiled, agreeing with Reynolds’ assessment.
He put his hand against the firewall and timed his push just as the hacked system launched another signal. His essence attached itself to the beam and was carried away.
And though Gorad couldn’t see the effectiveness of what he’d done, to Reynolds, it looked like a meteor arcing through the night sky.
The hitchhiking probe was carried by the beam signal, twisting and turning through the system’s circuits, lighting the way they needed to go as brightly as if it had been waving them on.
Reynolds transmitted the route to Gorad and started off without waiting for the other AI. He stepped through the access point of the firewall and deeper into the alien ship. He turned his head slowly, scanning everything so he could feed it through the system back to the Reynolds and use the complete power of his processors to sort and examine the data.
“How far do you think they’ll let us invade?” Gorad wondered.
“We’re still within the auspices of their automated security protocols,” Reynolds answered. “I think we’ll get a little farther before anyone notices us.”
And he was right. The pair continued on, examining the alien technology and code spread out before them. The farther they got, the surer Reynolds became of the source of the ship.
It was Loranian, he was certain.
That meant the hack on Gorad’s system and the subsequent attack on the Reynolds had been a deliberate attempt to get to Reynolds and his crew.
This had nothing to do with Gorad.
Reynolds grunted, contemplating what that meant.
“This programming is quite complex,” Gorad said, interrupting Reynolds’ thoughts, “but it’s awkwardly constructed and arranged.”
“That’s because the people who designed it are a bit backward in their evolution,” Reynolds answered, thinking of Geroux’s programming methods.
As effective as they were, a large part of that effectiveness was because the nature of it was so radically different from most other code Reynolds had seen. There was a mechanical aspect to the Loranian tech that implemented a brute-force approach that eschewed subtlety and hammered its way through other system’s defenses.
