by AJ Vega
Chapter 17: Broken Hopes
The visit had originally been set to take place several months from now, but the Secretary General of the Interstellar Peace Alliance—the IPA—called an emergency meeting. Still, Sedrick Xanthus was a busy man these days and he did not like having to change his schedule at the whim of the IPA. As the Secretary of Peace for the Martian Confederacy, he had his hands full with the trifling little details that seemed to mushroom out of everyday incidents. He had little time to devote to anything outside the direct interests of the Confed.
The transport now flew under the clouds, making it possible for Xanthus to get a closer look at the land below. He took advantage and gave a look outside his window. Xanthus could see evidence of old Earth’s dark past. Once magnificent skyscrapers now stood as dilapidated structures surrounded by piles of debris. Roads and bridges that had been the arteries of a great city now lay as mostly collapsed rubble. Those areas still standing carried the weight of tons of twisted metal from vehicle wreckages on their once pristine pavement.
The only thing that flourished in this city now was the intense radiation that killed everything that had been alive. Xanthus could see shadows dance inside the buildings through the broken windows and gaping holes of the structures; one could almost mistake the shadowy illusion as activity inside this once bustling city. Within the lifeless environment, he could make out small pockets of vegetation growing through the rubble. He wondered how mutated such life would be, trying to survive amidst the radioactive surroundings.
The transport descended now, leaving the old city behind as it approached the IPA Secretariat. He could see shuttles and other craft traversing across the cityscape. As they approached, Xanthus could make out the bustle of human activity within the multi-level streets and skyscrapers—a sharp contrast to the ruins they had just passed over.
New Earth, as it was unofficially called, was an illusion to him. The wars had eradicated the landscape. Now, only pockets of habitable cities like this one housed the bulk of both the commercial and residential populations. If it were not for the numerous underwater resources and its stake in space-based habitats, the UEP would be just another minor world—something for the history books of more civilized and advanced societies like the Martian Confederacy to use as an example of what not to be.
The transport put down on a landing pad and the passengers unloaded. Xanthus hustled out of the craft and walked briskly to the entrance. He squinted his eyes from bright white sunlight that he was not accustomed to. It was hot, and he briefly wondered if the heat he was feeling was the sunlight or remnants of the radioactive wasteland they passed through; he knew it was just paranoia that gripped him, but he hated coming to Earth nonetheless.
He entered the building flanked by his staff. One of his aides flashed a hologram of the meeting area in front of them as they walked. The hologram showed a layout of the meeting chamber along with seating and attendance. Xanthus noticed that the assembly was limited to only the senior state official, which would only be a handful of members representing the major worlds.
Two guards flanked the doorway into the chamber, and they stopped the group.
“Senior officials only,” one of the guards said.
Xanthus flashed his identification hologram.
“You are fine, sir,” the other guard said. He motioned to the others. “But no aides.”
Not only was the timing of the meeting inconvenient, but now he was expected to record the details of the meeting on his own. Xanthus trudged into the meeting chamber alone.
Inside, he could see the council members of the major worlds assembled. From the titles floating over the seats, he could see that indeed it was only senior state officials. He took notice of the most prominent members besides himself: UEP Secretary of Security Ned Jackson, and Security Chief Renker Grievel of the Space Habitat Coalition, who this year acted as the Secretary General for the IPA.
Xanthus took his place representing the Martian Confederacy. To his sides sat representatives from the Venusian and Neptunian colonies.
In the center of the chamber stood Secretary General Grievel, waiting for everyone to be seated before beginning his oratory. Once he did, Grievel began by stressing the confidentiality of what was to be discussed, a standard opening. Xanthus found nothing unusual about the meeting—until the unexpected occurred. The entire chamber darkened to a deep blue and he could hear an electrical hum emanating from the walls.
Xanthus recognized this as the activation of a null field, which shielded the chamber from any kind of eavesdropping. Powerful enough to even block the air molecules from escaping or entering, the field could only remain stable for less than an hour, which meant the meeting could not last long. Only one time in Xanthus’s memory had he heard of a null field being used in any government meeting… and that was during the A.I. post-war deliberation between the UEP and Martian Confederacy.
“First, I want to apologize for dragging all of you here on such short notice,” Grievel said. “But recent events have demanded our immediate attention.”
The secretary continued by relating the news of Omega Research’s involvement in secret research into new A.I. technology, along with the subsequent suicide of its chief executive, Chairman Riaz.
“The news of this event has been kept from the news agencies,” Grievel said. “But it will only be a matter of time before the details leak out. We are in the process of detailing how we want this information to come out. I think we can all agree that the IPA’s stance will be unanimous in condemning this research.”
Xanthus noticed that Grievel gave him a sidewise glance; he did not appreciate the implication. He hit his dialog light.
“The assembly recognizes Sedrick Xanthus of the Martian Confederacy,” Grievel said.
“Thank you, Mr. Secretary,” Xanthus said as he stood. “I want to allay any concerns about the Confederacy’s past sympathy for the A.I. movement. The Martian Confederacy has taken, and continues to take, a strong stance against the proliferation of any A.I. technology. This council, and the entire human expansion, can rest assured that there will be solidarity in supporting whatever actions the IPA sees fit to take.”
Sedrick sat back down and looked at the expressions of the other members. Nods came from most, but he noticed the Venusian representative giving a sour look, then his dialog light flashed.
“Secretary Maxwell Danilova of the Venusian Initiative,” Grievel introduced with a nod.
“Thank you,” Danilova said. “With all due respect to Secretary Xanthus, we hope that the Martian Confederacy can show more cooperation in this investigation of Omega Research than it has with the Elation cartels, which continue to ravage not only its own world, but the populations of every world represented in this room.”
Xanthus stood and slammed the button on his dialog button.
“Gentlemen, wait, please,” Grievel interrupted. “We still have much more to discuss here before we get into this. Please sit down, both of you, and listen to the rest of our findings.”
Both men eyed each other, and then sat down.
“Thank you,” Grievel said. “The impetus for this meeting is an event that took place a few hours ago. As you are all aware by now, the UEP and Martian Confederacy received an anonymous communication bulletin sent to their respective police agency computers. This communication warned about an impending pirate attack against a routine transport convoy leaving the Martian system. Upon learning this information, officials assembled a joint task force, comprising both UEP Navy and Confed Peacekeepers.”
The Secretary waited to see nods of agreement before proceeding.
“What you don’t know, and are about to learn, is that the cargo carried by this convoy was Artificial Intelligence technology… and it is now in the hands of pirates.”
Instead of the bustle of conversation Xanthus expected, the representatives greeted the secretary with stunned silence. After a moment, Xanthus hit his dia
log light.
“What kind of A.I. technology?” Xanthus asked.
The secretary brought up a holographic image above him. The image showed a metallic object with a crystal structure in the center. The hologram was flat and two-dimensional, which meant it was actually just an old photo displayed holographically.
“This is what was stolen,” Grievel said. “It is called a conduit—a device that houses the consciousness of an A.I. From what we have been able to piece together, Omega Research Corporation was secretly working on this technology. They have since been shut down and all living members of their management team are being interrogated. The conduit was being moved under the direction of Omega Research’s board to another location before being stolen.”
“Mr. Secretary,” Xanthus said, dispensing with the dialog light. “Are you saying this technology could be used somehow? That there exists the possibility that this conduit could be used for some nefarious purpose?”
“Actually,” Grievel said, “we believe the A.I. was, and most likely is, alive and functional.”
That statement generated a few murmurs and whispers.
“Can you ascertain the threat level of this technology?” Secretary Jackson said.
“Very high,” Grievel said. “It is, in fact, the gravest situation the entire IPA has faced since the end of the war. As a result of this, we are asking that all governments cooperate in the tracking down and apprehension of those involved.”
All of the representatives nodded in agreement.
“This means,” Secretary Grievel continued, “that an independent investigation, headed by the IPA, must be granted unfettered access to your respective domains. This is the only way we can contain this threat in the most expedient way.”
All except for Xanthus nodded their agreement.
“I don’t know if I can grant that kind of request,” Xanthus said.
“Of course not,” the Venusian secretary spat. “The Martian Confederacy has always had a soft spot for the A.I.”
“Mr. Danilova,” Xanthus said, letting his voice rise. “I resent that statement and accusation.”
UEP Secretary of Security Jackson’s dialog light came on, and everyone became silent.
“On behalf of the UEP,” Jackson said, “I want to mirror my colleague from the Venusian colony’s full cooperation in this investigation. I also must mirror his concerns regarding the Martian Confederacy’s cooperation in this matter.”
Xanthus’s expression was ashen. “This is outrageous! The Martian Confederacy has always given its full cooperation to the council on all matters of universal importance—”
“Then why don’t you cooperate fully with this investigation?” Danilova interrupted.
“But this investigation has not even started,” Xanthus said. “We are fully willing to pledge our assistance. We understand this is a grave matter—”
“So do you commit to allowing an interstellar investigation on your domain, Mr. Secretary?” Grievel said.
Xanthus stood up, jaws clenched. “I will not be cornered into such a decision by any other government or this council!”
At that moment, the humming sound of the null field collapsed, and Secretary Grievel raised his hand. “I’m afraid we will have to continue this meeting at another time. Perhaps this will give us all time to reflect before our next meeting.”
Secretary of Peace Sedrick Xanthus stormed out of the chamber, but not before casting an angry glare at the UEP Secretary, who he knew was behind this setup.
