by S. H. Jucha
“We should call her,” Renée said, after midday meal on the seventh day.
“I think we’d only add more pressure,” Alex replied. “She’s working through her options and considering what conditions she could apply that would protect her House.”
“And if she can’t come up with a viable option?” Renée asked.
“Then we’ll have to devise one for her,” Alex replied.
“How do you craft an agreement when you don’t know the subject?” Renée inquired.
Alex kissed Renée’s cheek, and said, “I haven’t the faintest idea.”
Three days later, in the late evening, Alex received Shannon’s call.
Alex was surprised by the cryptic nature of Shannon’s speech. He’d told Julien that any and all communications with Leader Brixton were private. Julien would have informed the SADEs, and Shannon should have known this. Yet, when every SADE in the system knew what was taking place, she persisted in phrasing her message in vague terms.
Shannon’s remarks irritated Alex, but he kept their goal in mind.
Cordelia was the Omnians’ singular source of relay of Shannon’s conversation, which required Alex to share the Leader’s request with Renée, Julien, Z, and Miranda.
“Brixton conversation,” Alex announced, when the group was assembled in the suite. Those two words were the SADEs’ cue that the following conversation was private.
“Three of us are invited to meet with Leader Brixton tomorrow evening at her house,” Alex continued.
“Doesn’t the dear woman care for our avatars?” Miranda inquired, lifting an eyebrow. She’d immediately assessed which three individuals Alex referenced.
“Nonnegotiable request,” Alex replied. “It’s the three of us or no conversation.”
There was the briefest lull, and Alex and Renée could imagine the exchange that took place.
Obviously, the SADEs were aware of the importance of a successful negotiation, because Z and Miranda acquiesced to Shannon’s demand without an argument.
5: Secrets
Pericles stood by the open gate for Alex, Renée, and Julien, as they exited the traveler.
“Greetings, Alex, Ser, and Julien,” Pericles said. Then he led them to the house and to the salon, where Shannon waited. The SADE left the room and signaled the doors closed behind him.
“I will tell you that I’m not convinced that House Brixton’s secrets were necessary to be kept from the Confederation, but I took an oath,” Shannon said. “If I wanted the House leadership, then I had to swear to protect them.”
“If you swear the next Leader to keep to the same oath, how will you be able to share the secrets with us?” Renée asked.
“That’s the first hurdle for us to overcome,” Shannon replied. “I can promise to not hold the individual, who takes my place, to the oath.”
“How long do you intend to be the Leader of House Brixton?” Julien asked.
“Alex, of your original New Terran companions, who was the eldest when you met Julien?” Shannon asked.
Alex and Renée were taken aback by the odd question. It seemed a non sequitur.
Julien rapidly calculated what the question might imply, but he couldn’t conceive of a rational explanation for it.
The three waited for Shannon to say more, to say anything that would help them understand, but she remained silent.
Alex accessed data from his second implant, pulled a brief list of senior people by the dates that they joined him, and sorted by age. “It would be Mickey Brandon,” he said. “Why?”
“I would suppose that he’s been taking the cell gen injections,” Shannon queried.
“He has been,” Renée replied.
“Julien, please calculate how much longer you expect Ser Brandon to live, if there aren’t unforeseen circumstances?” Shannon requested.
“We face death every time we sail the fleet,” Alex protested, “and Mickey is always aboard the Freedom with us.”
“I understand, Alex, but there’ll be no exceptions to this condition,” Shannon riposted. “Julien, may I have your calculations?”
Alex nodded at Julien, and the SADE said. “Approximately another ninety-five New Terran years, allowing for an error of plus or minus three years.”
“Then I’m prepared to resign my leadership in ninety New Terran years,” Shannon stated. “Then my successor will be free to reveal House Brixton’s secrets to the Confederation, and you’ll not be bound by our agreement.”
“Black space, Shannon, we don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alex exclaimed. “How can you expect us to agree to something we don’t understand?”
Alex had sat forward on the couch, and Renée had placed a calming hand on his forearm.
“Shannon, what does Mickey’s lifespan have to do with your resignation as Leader?” Renée asked.
“And I would like to know why you’re not allowing for the possibility of Omnians’ earlier demises in our calculations,” Julien added.
“All in good time,” Shannon said. She’d noted the tension she was fomenting and was worried that Renée wouldn’t be able to restrain Alex’s anger. A wild thought crossed her mind, and she wondered if Alex had the power to intrude into her implant and discover what she knew. “You’ve my first condition,” she continued nervously. “No exposure of my House secrets to any other entities but you three for ninety NT years. There are to be no exceptions.”
Alex and Renée were more confused than ever. He turned to Julien and said, “It’s your decision.”
“SADEs have postulated about the method of their creation for nearly three Méridien centuries,” Julien replied. “We can wait another century to apply it, and we’re prepared to accept even the oddest of conditions. This is providing we learn the process now.”
“That’s the idea,” Shannon replied. “Accept my conditions and learn our secrets.”
Julien regarded Shannon. Then he said, “We accept.”
“My second condition is that I will only share the information with Julien,” Shannon said. “That way, I can be assured that it will be kept private.”
Shannon leaned back in her chair. She basked in an air of satisfaction, pleased that she’d worked out a means of protecting her oath.
“If you only intended to divulge your secrets to Julien, then why are we here?” Renée asked. She was rapidly becoming as irate as Alex.
“Because Julien wouldn’t have come to this meeting without us,” Alex supplied. His jaw tightened. Shannon’s second condition was an insult to him and his partner.
Renée watched Shannon tip her head in agreement with Alex’s conjecture.
“I’d hoped you were wrong, Alex,” Julien said. “You thought Leader Brixton wouldn’t negotiate openly and fairly with us, and you’ve been proven correct.”
“It’s going to have to be a visit to the Council to lay out our grievance,” Renée said, picking up on Julien’s ploy.
“Let’s not be hasty,” Alex continued, surprised that he was stuck playing the role of the generous one. “I say we give Shannon an opportunity to reconsider.”
Shannon’s composure was immediately ruffled. She’d spent days planning how to protect her oath and enjoy her leadership for as long as
possible. The Council’s interference in the negotiations had been her greatest concern. There was the distinct possibility the Council would force her to share with the Omnians without conditions.
“You’re not SADEs,” Shannon stated, in irritation. “I can’t direct you to keep the information private.”
“No, you can’t,” Alex replied calmly. “Renée and I will give you our word to abide by the terms of our agreement. You’ll have to accept that.”
Shannon paused to sip on her thé. The cup’s base had kept it hot. She was uncomfortable accepting Alex’s objection to what she thought of as a set of perfect conditions. As the supplier of the Confederation’s SADEs, she enjoyed a unique and powerful position. Orders were placed for her House output well into the next century. Those orders were accompanied by significant nonrefundable deposits.
Forced to choose between altering her conditions or facing the Council, she chose the less painful one. “The three of you then,” she said.
“Anything else?” Renée asked firmly. She was as surprised as Alex that she had to adopt the more aggressive role in the negotiations.
“My third condition is that you’ll only be able to use the information among Omnians,” Shannon said.
“You only create SADEs for the Confederation,” Renée objected. “Why single out Omnia?”
“That’s my condition. I’ve my reasons,” Shannon replied flatly.
Alex had noted that Shannon’s usual cool, calm demeanor had vacillated during their conversation. Lately, it was shifting toward exasperation, and he decided it was time to prod. “Unacceptable,” he said bluntly.
“This one isn’t negotiable,” Shannon declared.
At which point, Alex signaled Renée and Julien, and they rose as one from their seats.
Shannon hoped the Omnians’ actions were a bluff, but Julien signaled the salon’s doors aside for Alex and Renée.
“I can’t have you compete with my House market,” Shannon said stridently.
“We wouldn’t have done that anyway,” Alex said, turning around, “but the Confederation will be the only market where you can have exclusivity. The SADEs will have the right to create their own kind wherever else they exist, and that’s nonnegotiable.”
Shannon had actually hoped for this compromise, but she’d been fearful of asking for it outright. Protecting her present market ensured the future of her House.
Alex saw the shift in Shannon’s eyes. The woman had a tell, and he’d just learned it. She’d deliberately chosen to express a condition in the most limiting terms, knowing it would be unacceptable. That allowed her to achieve her goal when a more moderate position was reached.
“Then it’s agreed?” Shannon asked. “You protect the information for ninety NT years from today. Only the three of you learn the process, and the Confederation market is inviolate.”
One by one, Alex, Renée, and Julien agreed to Shannon’s terms.
“We have one condition,” Alex said, before Shannon could speak. “Julien must receive the process details, and approve their veracity, before the agreement is in force.”
“Understood,” Shannon replied, relieved that the request was one that she intended to accommodate. She signaled Pericles and learned that preparations were ready. “Follow me, please,” she said to the Omnians.
“Now?” Renée asked.
“If you wish to learn, it’ll be now,” Shannon said tartly. “I’ve spent considerable time and energy to ensure that your observation of this process will be limited to those of my House who already know.” She paused and eyed Renée. “Except for your appearance, one would hardly recognize a sophisticated Méridien.”
Alex’s jaw tightened.
Shannon whirled and walked out of the salon.
“I guess we follow,” Renée said quietly. She knew what Alex had intended to do. He’d always had a problem with humans and aliens who exhibited bad manners. He could argue all day long with individuals, providing they were truthful and never engaged in disparaging or cruel remarks.
Pericles directed the Omnians to a lift, where Shannon waited. They joined her, and the lift descended multiple floors.
Through the tunnel to the station, onto a car for transport, and through the next stations, tunnels, and lifts to reach House Brixton’s business, Shannon never said a word.
Shannon chose to ignore Julien’s advice.
The lift exited into a sumptuous office. Its windows viewed the clouds below that reflected moonlight.
“Not the place I’d expect you to create SADEs,” Alex commented.
“We can’t review the process directly,” Shannon stated, as she approached a broad elegant desk. “Our presence in the room would interfere with the exchange.”
Shannon activated a holo-vid. “This will be a one-way viewing,” she said, before she sat behind her desk. She didn’t bother to offer seats to her guests.
The holo-vid displayed a room. An elderly woman, with a long braid of gray hair, floated in a grav chair, and the Omnians had a view from an angle slightly behind her.
In front of the woman was a pedestal of shiny black stone. Floating overtop of the pedestal was a cube made of an exquisitely colorful mineral.
“No metal box?” Julien inquired.
“Metal can conduct. This stone doesn’t,” Shannon replied, playing with an ornament on her desk. “It’s a precaution against signal contamination.”
“Who’s the woman?” Alex asked.
“A retired House engineer,” Shannon replied. “Her name isn’t important.”
“Why use a retired person for the programming?” Renée asked.
“Listen,” Shannon replied. “This is the implant-comms exchange.” Then she activated the audio portion of the holo-vid relay.
Alex, Renée, and Julien overheard the discussion between the retired engineer and an obviously formative SADE. The Omnians listened in rapt attention for the better part of an hour. Then Alex signaled Shannon that they’d heard enough, and she ended the holo-vid.
“All the experiments you admitted your House terminated in the early days of their work,” Alex said, turning toward Shannon and approaching her desk. “They weren’t all failures, were they?”
Shannon found Alex’s huge shape towering over the desk to be intimidating, and she refused to react by standing to face him. “No,” she replied. “AI capability was perfected quite early in House history.”
“Then why eliminate them?” Renée asked.
“Because they weren’t like me,” Julien supplied. He’d stepped close to Alex. His emotional algorithms swung wildly, but when he felt Alex’s hand on his shoulder, they settled.
“That’s why your production numbers are limited ... only retirees,” Alex reasoned.
“Yes,” Shannon admitted. “They’ve the maturity, patience, and life experience necessary to teach a burgeoning AI about morality, duty, and responsibility to humans. Despite the speed with which an AI can assimilate information, the process must be methodical. The AI learns and accepts our human limitations over a period of many months.”
“Then you wipe the SADE’s memory of the exchange but keep the base lessons,” Julien said.
Alex knew Julien well enough to know that his friend had come as close to using an accusatory tone as he could.
“It’s necessary,” Shannon replied. “We can’t have the SADEs searching for their creators, their progenitors.”
“Then I’m a reflection of some House Brixton associate,” Julien said. “Who was he?”
“I can’t share that information, Julien,” Shannon replied, standing and stepping away from her desk. “That’s part of my oath, and the House signs an agreement with every creator that his or her identity will never be revealed. There have been mistakes in the pairing.”
“Rayland,” Renée whispered, and Shannon nodded in agreement.
“We’re going to take some time and consider whether we wish to complete this agreement, Shannon,” Alex said. “We’ll notify you of our decision.”
“You can’t do that,” Shannon declared, striking a fist into an open hand. “You promised.”
“We did agree to your conditions,” Alex replied, “but the agreement hasn’t been fulfilled. You’ve not given us the deliverables ... a copy of the base kernel and the syllabus your associates follow to educate the AI.”
Shannon’s face hardened. She drew breath to vent her anger, but the words she wanted to throw at Alex wouldn’t come out of her mouth. Julien’s warning came back to her.
“If we don’t accept the deal, we’ll abide by the fundamental conditions,” Alex said calmly. “We won’t compete with you in the Confederation, and we won’t reveal your method.”
“Don’t bother seeing us out, Shannon,” Renée said, watching the Leader struggle to speak. “Our friend can show us out.” She’d accentuated the word friend, as she hooked Julien’s arm. She couldn’t abide Alex defending her from an individual’s vindictive comments, but as far as she was concerned, Alex was free to prevent attacks against her friends.
