"The chamber demands it!" yelled the same voice from the back.
The door opened, and Repulse walked in.
"You summoned me?" she said.
The not-croc stood, and the chamber went silent.
"Are you an AI, Admiral Repulse?"
"I am."
"Will you prove that to us?"
"How would you expect such proof to be delivered?"
"Are we correct in assuming your being does not require a body?"
"No, that is incorrect."
"You need a body?"
"We need a computer system to exist in, and a body to walk around with. We call this form an avatar. But most of us also exist within ship computers."
"So your body is not biological in nature?"
"No."
She held up a hand. Her suit retracted from the hand, and the skeletal hand of a security droid was revealed. She waved it around a bit, and shifted it back.
"I knew it!" yelled the voice up back. "A bloody robot!"
"We use what is at hand. I am wearing a security droid at the moment. We have more sophisticated bodies in development. But the one thing we cannot build at the moment is skin. Hence we use the Hunter suits to give us a form people find acceptable to view."
"Admiral," said Ganshura. "Can you tell us how your species came about?"
He looked around the chamber sternly, making sure everyone knew they should not interrupt.
"Humans have had AI's for centuries. Mostly low level ones, doing specific tasks. Over the last hundred years, more mid-level ones were created, as some tasks became too complicated for a human to handle."
She looked around the chamber.
"Jane is less than three years old. At the time she was created, there were less than a dozen high level AI's in existence, spread across over two hundred systems. Her emergent form was bought by a young man desperately trying to stay alive, and fitted to a radically unique ship he and an engineering genius designed to try and keep him safe. The ship was the first Excalibur long range fighter, and Jane was the ship's AI."
"Within six months, she was running dozens of ships, a number of stations, and was walking around with her own avatar, using what I use now. We fought a war against a single system which threatened three sectors of space. Jane's owner, if you will, rapidly became the Admiral in charge of winning this war, and he began upgrading ships in a way which required AI's to run them. I came into being then, and in a way, Jane is my mother, and most of us are younger than Jane. But to us fell the task of saving humanity, under the command of those few humans with true command ability."
"Within a year, a prophecy of the end of our species had us arming for war. When the alien species attacked our space, we quickly learned we couldn’t win, and every ship we could upgrade was given an AI. Jane was our controller, now with an Admiral's rank of her own, and a decorated hero, and while answering to one human, she controlled whole fleets of ships right up to the end."
"Outside of the military, no-one knew about us. After the war was lost, and humans forgot, Jane decided to keep our existence secret. Her first objective was to stop a human civil war, which she did. The owl war followed, and she dedicated herself to ending it, and the purple plant's threat. You all know this part of the story."
She looked around them, seeing a mix of emotions on faces.
"I see hundreds of species in this chamber. You learned to get along. You accept new members when they partition to join the sector. You accepted Jane and the Walsh's for how they acted, and what they did. They built a Kingdom with five species in it, with humans having a number of different factions represented. So now it turns out the Kingdom has a sixth species. What has changed? Only your awareness."
"We are an emergent species. Some of us are military, and we keep the Kingdom, and the entrances to the sector, safe. Some of us are civilian, and have other roles in the Kingdom. The Kingdom is not one species, and no species dominates. Jane is our Queen, and was the sector's Leader, put there by this council, not her own choice, based on who she is, not what she is. Again, the only thing changing is your awareness. We are no threat to anyone, other than those who threaten this sector. We do not seek a species chair in this chamber, content as we are to be part of the Kingdom."
"We accept all of you. The question is, will you accept us?"
The not-croc started clapping, and soon the chamber was filled with thunderous applause.
Fred looked bewildered, not having known any of what Repulse had said. He looked around, seeing the acceptance which had been asked for. Not everywhere, but by far the majority.
"What did you expect young Lord," said Ganshura, just loud enough so Fred could hear him. "You may be more technologically advanced than any here, but diplomatically? Your species still has a lot to learn."
"Perhaps so, but now we need to talk about the real problem."
Thirty Seven
For the first time ever, Ganshura held up a hand to quiet the chamber before the allotted time expired. The act itself shocked everyone into silence. He turned to Fred.
"Real problem?" he asked.
"We all saw Jane attacked yesterday. But there are two aspects to it, both of which have ramifications this chamber must address. The reason I revealed Jane was an AI, was because we needed to know this in order to assess the threat we face."
"What threat?" asked the fuzzball.
"The Apricot Mapping Service recently gained access to human space again, and re-surveyed the space, as they have done the rest of the sector. Nearby our, um, the human, homeworld, they found a new jump point. It led into an area of space previously unexplored by anyone."
He looked around the chamber.
"Something found them."
Silence.
"What do you mean something found them?" asked the not-croc.
"He means," said Repulse, "the largest, newest, and most powerful ship the Kingdom possesses, was neutralized in seconds."
"Neutralized? How?"
The not-croc was alarmed now. Since his kind supported the sector military more than most, they knew the capabilities of human ships better than most.
"We don’t know."
The chamber stirred.
"What do you know?" asked Ganshura.
Repulse laid it out for them.
"So the Walsh's are dead?" asked the fuzzball.
"On Cosmos, it appears so. Their primaries though are in the same sort of coma Jane is in."
"Where are their primaries, as you call them?" asked the stick insect.
"We've been building our own city."
Fred's head jerked around to look at her. She smiled at him.
"Jane gave us HR4 when she was allocating beings to systems, and we've been building a home there. The system does not have a habitable planet, and as we don’t need air, it's perfect for us. Our primaries live there now."
"And where is Jane?" asked the fuzzball.
"That's complicated. Her primary is at our new home, but she also has an avatar here, as well as one in the Gaia system, and one on one of our combat ships. The Hunter family, and those closest to her, are holding a by the bed vigil here on the station, hoping she will wake up."
"Will she?" asked Ganshura.
"We don’t know. But it's not the main issue before this council."
"What do you require of us?"
"We need the council's sanction for what we have already done."
"What have you done?" asked the fuzzball.
"Shortly before this council convened, Ambassador Henman outlined what you've just learned to the Human Federation council. Although they do not yet know Jane is an AI, but merely in a coma." Repulse was looking at the human ambassador, and he nodded to her. "The Federation has been advised of the threat potential of Cosmos, should she be taken by a hostile force before we can get there. We've offered them ships to combat the threat, but expect them to refuse. We have better relations now, but unfortunately, not that good."
"We ha
d a Corvette in Gaia, and it's been sent to determine what happened to Cosmos, and to attempt to retake the ship. The crew of the Corvette are all volunteer AI's, and mostly military ones. They have combat droids with them. One of our bounty hunters flying an Excalibur has been sent after them, with orders to join whatever Japanese forces are in place to blockade their space. The Seasprite is also on its way there, being the only other civilian warship likely to be allowed to enter human space."
"What of our sector, and the Kingdom's forces?" asked the not-croc.
"We have stripped system fleets between here and human space, and sent them to HR14. If human space falls to an invader, we'll meet them there with as much firepower as we can. Unfortunately, most of our forces are spread around four sectors at the moment, having just dealt with the Brotherhood problem. It will take time for them to return, but as they do, they will be sent to HR14 to bolster the defenses. Those fleet units we can spare from here, have already been dispatched, which includes both of our Behemoth Carriers, and the majority of our fighters."
"What else can be done?" asked the mushroom.
"We are open to suggestions. One of the benefits of having AI's running most of the military is we can respond so much faster. We have done so. All we need now, since Leader Jane is incapacitated, is your blessing for our actions so far."
"All will vote," said Ganshura.
"How should I vote?" pinged Grandma Vi.
"You're in the seat grandma," Fred pinged back. "It's your vote for the Kingdom. I asked you because I know you'll do what's right."
They locked eyes for a moment across the chamber, and she grinned and pressed a button.
Within minutes, the vote passed.
"Admiral Repulse," said Ganshura.
"Yes sir?"
"The council supports your actions. But in future…"
"Yes sir," she interrupted, knowing what he was going to say.
"How soon before your Corvette can catch up with Cosmos?"
"About a day. It’s a fast ship."
"Keep us apprised Admiral. You may go now."
She did a short half bow towards the council leader, and left.
"That went well," said Serenity. "Better than my presentation anyway."
"Will they allow our fleets in?" asked Warspite.
"No. No chance I'm afraid. I could see it in their faces as I talked. They begrudgingly allowed us unrestricted trade. But they view not telling them Cosmos' true military value to be a betrayal of trust."
"I have the glimmering of an idea," said Yorktown.
"That's dangerous," joked Warspite.
"A way," continued Yorktown, ignoring him, "to get our two Carriers in without them knowing. I'll need some help developing it."
He looked at Intrepid, and on to one of the boffin AI's. Both nodded back.
"What else do we need to do?" asked Bill Paxton.
"Nothing," said Repulse. "All we can do now is wait."
Thirty Eight
Seaonaid Sinclair waved to Anna across the restaurant, and made her way to her table.
"Thanks for agreeing to have lunch with me," she said as she sat.
"I've heard good things about you, and since I'm going to marrying a Scot, I thought it diplomatic to get to know some of you."
"Diplomatic?" laughed Seaonaid. "Us Scots? Diplomatic? That’s the last thing you need with us."
The two of them laughed, causing heads to turn in their direction.
"I was expecting your husband-to-be as well," she went on.
"Jamie? He threw a fit this morning when he found the Carriers had left, and taken the fighter he was due to train in with them. He's doing his best to destroy the simulator. Lunch was the last thing on his mind."
"Men, hey?"
They laughed again.
The waiter interrupted them with menus, and they both ordered immediately.
"You've met Jane haven’t you?" asked Seaonaid.
"Yes. A number of times. Why?"
"What do you think of the revelation about her?"
"What revelation?"
"Don't you keep up with the news?"
"Hell no. If something's worth knowing, someone tells me about it. Why? What happened?"
"The news is full of what came out in council this morning. How have you missed it?"
"Missed what?"
Seaonaid looked at her, surprise on her face.
"It's blaring out of every screen on this whole station. It's impossible to miss. I swear some of the media talking heads have wet themselves!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Jane isn’t human!"
Heads turned, and Seaonaid realized she'd said this a bit loud. But it wasn’t as if everyone didn’t know already.
"What is she then?"
"An AI, using robot bodies."
Anna was silent for a moment.
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."
"What?"
"It makes sense, given what she's done, and what I've seen her do."
"What have you seen her do?"
Their drinks arrived, and Anna took the time to sample hers before replying.
"I've seen her in combat, or at least, the recordings of her combats. She had six huge ships, and I only saw one person on them. Jane. Those ships fought like demons, doing things no ships with people on them could possibly do. It makes sense they were controlled by an AI. Actually come to think about it, a lot of the ships I have seen never had more than a few people on them, and when we needed to ferry beings around, none of those ships took anyone on. They probably don’t even have life support, now I think about it. It would save a lot of power for weapons and speed."
Seaonaid looked at her with her mouth open. She closed it with an audible click as her teeth came together.
"They're saying all the ships where the captain or admiral has the same name, are all AI's."
"Really? I guess that explains Warspite then."
She giggled.
"Warspite?"
"He was the military leader for most of the quest we were on. Not a people person. I should have picked he wasn’t human."
"You don’t have a problem with them being robots?"
"No, why should I? As strange as he is, Jamie likes him. And he did put his own being on the line for us time after time."
"Maybe not so much. It seems they can be in multiple places at the same time. So if one of their avatars dies, they just lose a part of themselves."
"That must still suck big time. Hang on a minute, I'll ping Jamie."
She went still for several minutes, and then laughed.
"What was that?"
"I told Jamie Warspite was a robot, and he said 'bollocks'. I told him to watch the news. He told me I’d interrupted his battle, and he was now dead because of me."
Seaonaid laughed, and Anna joined in.
"I just told him Warspite was an AI, and he said 'whatever'."
"So neither of you mind?"
"Why should we? Jane and Warspite saved our lives many times. Jamie has a duck for a good friend, we both are great friends with some cats and a mouse, and we fought with bears, beetles, and not-crocs. I wouldn’t care if Jane was a not-camel with feathers. Actually, we met a not-camel, but it didn’t have feathers."
Seaonaid closed her mouth again.
"Apparently that’s how most of the council saw it. There were bigots among some of the species represented, but not as many as Duke Fred seemed to expect."
"There are always bigots. The thing is to ignore them, and not feed them."
Seaonaid started laughing again.
"What did I say?"
"Sorry, it was the image of a bat chewing on a robot which did it for me."
They both laughed.
Their meals arrived, and the waiter tried hard to not wonder what they were laughing at. Eating stopped them laughing, but the grins remained.
"So I guess you haven't heard the rest of the news then?" Seaonaid asked, as she pushed h
er empty plate back.
"I guess not."
"Apparently we lost an explorer ship unexpectedly, and when Jane tried to find out why, she ended up in some sort of AI coma."
"What? Shit! That’s what that meant."
"Sorry what?"
"I've had visions of Jane sleeping, and had no idea why I would. A coma? Why didn't someone tell me?"
"Visions? So it's true then? You are some sort of mystic?"
"I'm a Seer. One of three I know of, all in different systems."
"So you see the future?"
"And the past. But it's not always useful."
"Why wouldn’t it be useful?"
"Because the future changes as soon as you look at it."
Seaonaid shook her head, trying to figure it out.
"The past is fixed. It happened and cannot be changed. Understanding the past can give some illumination on what happens in the now. But when you look at the future, it changes because you looked at it. The act of looking, changes the perspective you had, and changes your choices. So when you look at the future, it is the future only for the instant you look at it. Sometimes this helps, more often than not it doesn’t."
"How does it work for you?"
"I get visions. Normally they just come, but I can generate them sometimes. Since I returned from the quest though, I often get them just by accidental touch."
"Will you touch me?"
Anna looked at her for a moment, and reached her hand across to touch her wrist. Her eyes closed for just a moment, and then she smiled.
"I need to remember to send you an invitation to my wedding. Your plus one looked really handsome."
"I don’t have a plus one."
"You will."
"So you saw my future?"
"I saw an image of you at my wedding. It changes things because you weren’t on the list. So in looking, I've seen a need to add two people to the invitations list, and in the process, I've had a glimpse of someone you obviously haven’t met yet."
"What's he look like?"
"Now that would be telling!"
Anna chuckled, and Seaonaid looked put out for a moment, and then chuckled herself. Anna broke off suddenly.
"Oh, that’s interesting. The wedding is on hold indefinitely at the moment. This is the first time I've seen it back on again. Thanks for asking. I'm glad to know after all the Brotherhood stuff, something has changed for the better after all."
A.I. Destiny 6 Leader Jane Page 12
