After some time, she returned the device.
“I see what you mean. The program terms seem to be switched to allow the Sent-5 initiative to be used in lieu of the Sentinel program, instead of disallowing it.”
“Correct, doctor. I specifically did not want any A.I. work higher than a level five to be used in the Sentinel program. Antiquity is a level seven and Kayleon, a full sentient being, is a–”
“Level ten,” she finished his statement.
“Yes.”
“I had no idea. I thought these were the guidelines I was given.”
“Antiquity was supposed to stay in your care here, in the science labs, after the Sent-5 initiative was shut down on my order. You could have her assist you in your work to improve our A.I. within our security systems, but she was never allowed to go beyond the research phase like Kayleon.”
“I didn’t change this. I was following your order.”
“I need assurance that the A.I. programs can go no further than level five as we had agreed.”
She feared the words the commander spoke.
Her heart raced.
Her pulse quickened at his statement to not allow A.I. to proceed past the level five ban.
Was he speaking about Antiquity?
Did he want to deactivate her neural core?
“Commander, you’re not thinking about deactivating Antiquity, are you?”
“No, doctor.”
She sighed in relief.
Relieved, but now she was confused.
“I don’t understand. I thought you believed that artificial sentient beings were a threat to Human survivability? Why allow her core unit to exist then?”
“Antiquity is not fully sentient. She has no emotions. She is not aware of her own self-existence. Still, she is worthy of your mother’s legacy. I see the value with this line of advancement in our technology. The risk is not with Antiquity.”
She began to tear up at the thought of her mother and the discoveries she’d made for science and the advancement of the Human species.
She was glad the commander understood, but something was still missing.
Why the security risk, then?
If he’s not going to deactivate Antiquity who has a level 7 A.I. and Kayleon is a conscience being, then what was the threat?
“I’m still not following you, commander. You were asking if I knew who altered the report for the Sentinel program. You said you didn’t want A.I. in the program to be higher than level five, which Antiquity is, but are allowing her to function under the program you drew suspicion to. Do I have this correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then my question to you is this: what A.I were you speaking of then?”
She could sense the commander’s pause and contemplation before he spoke the words.
“I’m sorry, Araleen. I’m speaking of the main Neurolox core unit.”
Data Cell 32
She walked the corridor with the commander by her side.
Her mind was on her mother’s work, the Neurolox core unit.
Their stroll within the facility was silent.
Neither spoke as they headed to their destination, the loc-vault ahead.
The dim corridor was vacant at this late hour. The footsteps of the two occupants resounded within the lab walls.
Doctor Solome was deep in thought regarding what Commander Parejas wanted done to the last core unit for their master A.I. architecture.
She couldn’t comprehend it.
Her emotions ran back to her mother.
It was the breakthrough that had advanced her career all those years ago.
Her mother had broken the artificial barrier with making inanimate objects conscious, fulfilling the goal of going beyond transhumanism, such as the Reavers.
They came to a stop at the end of the corridor. A large ceramite alloy wall faced them.
Solome looked down at the black floor, not wanting to continue with what the commander brought her here to do.
“Araleen,” the commander said in quiet voice.
She was in a somber mood. Not wanting to answer.
She stared away at the cold metal grate at her feet. She heard the commander, but her thoughts were still on her mother.
“Araleen. It’s time,” Parejas repeated.
“I know. I was just hoping there was another way. Another course we could take.” She turned to face Parejas. “Why? Why does this have to be done? We’ve learned so much from the Neurolox core and it’s stayed locked away for all these years. No one has entered or done any further research on it beyond what I have. It’s harmless,” she said, doing her best to keep her emotions out of her voice.
“I know how you feel, but we need to be sure this ancient Gashnee tech doesn’t affect us in any way that may be detrimental to our race.”
“How can it? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Araleen.” Parejas placed his hands at the side of her shoulders. “You won’t understand why I made my decision, but please understand the circumstances around it in regards with what’s going on. I can’t fill you in on matters of security, but rest assured there are many unknowns going on with these Gashnee prophecies, and I can’t take any chances. Not one.”
“Don’t you trust me?” she asked, looking deep into the commander’s eyes, trying to elicit some empathy and understanding with her passion and purpose in advancing human technology. “Can’t you give me this one thing left over from my mother’s work?”
The commander’s brow furrowed in thought. “I respect your mother, her work, and her legacy, but I cannot risk any movable Gashnee tech lying around no matter how secure it is. Whether it is behind blast layers or sentinel fields, I’m not willing to take the chance.”
Her sorrow turned to irritation. “You can’t just give me a speech about safety and security and expect me to move aside and let you destroy my mother’s legacy.”
She wasn’t sure if she had overstepped her bounds, but she was about to find out.
“You’re right, Araleen. I owe you more than a lofty ideal regarding refuge for the colony.”
Now she was unsure if she even wanted to hear it.
The commander relaxed his arms, clasping his hands behind his back. “We had an incident on Earth with a cargo ship being sent to Mydian with some ancient Gashnee tech found in the historical vaults there. We do not know who sent it. It has also led to a death of one of the mission’s members.”
“Oh no,” She gasped. “Who?”
“Captain Ronclar.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t mind telling you later, but I must refrain until we have all the information pertaining to the incident.”
Araleen felt the inevitability of her situation in keeping the piece of Gashnee tech.
“The manifest that was sent by Director Bowlan shows several items of Gashnee tech aboard the ship, including a second Neurolox unit.”
“A second one?” Doctor Solome asked in wonder.
Her eyes lit up at the notion.
Parejas brought her back to reality. “Araleen, I have several security issues I’m dealing with here, and they each have something to do with this Gashnee race. The cargo ship with unknown and unauthorized artifacts, the First Fleet returning from a Gashnee wormhole, and individuals consumed with Gashnee lore and technology. Each is a possible threat to what may come if these prophecies are even the slightest bit true. Do you understand what I ask?”
“I do,” she said, turning to face the wall. “Computer, entry access…Doctor Araleen Solome. Foxtrot-alpha, four-niner-six, foxtrot-kilo.”
The commander stepped up.
He could see in her posture that she still didn’t want to do this.
“Computer,” he said. “Entry access…Commander Shenta Parejas. Two-seven-one, sierra-sierra, bravo- whiskey.”
[Confirmed. Please stand still,] a female voice said.
The walls to either side of them slid open.
A gree
n radiant beam flashed out from both sides, moving across their motionless bodies.
Just as quick as the beams came, they were gone.
[Access granted.]
A section of wall before them began descending downward, just enough for a person to walk through.
The length of the wall section moving into the floor was ten meters long.
Both the doctor and the commander entered the passage, with the doctor leading the way within the tight space.
As they entered, the floor rose and closed behind them with each passing step
They made their way to the center of a circular room, also about ten meters in circumference, but stopped short from a warning on the ground.
A blue ring etched in a three-meter section was on the black floor before them.
Solome took a deep breath. “I guess this is it.”
Parejas nodded.
The doctor cleared her dry throat. “Computer. Authorization…Solome…tango-six, Araleen, Bravo-three, life from no life, echo two-seven.”
She looked over at the commander for his piece of the code.
“Parejas, delta-eight, Shenta, alpha-five, no life to life, November-one.”
[Access codes granted. Bio scans complete.]
The center of the room flickered as an invisible energy field dispersed.
A round center plate on the floor slid open and a pillar rose from beneath.
It came to a stop about waist-high to the two visitors to the inner chamber.
Doctor Solome approached the round column in the floor.
She opened the top housing.
There, on two metal supports, was a glowing glass cylinder.
She took it in her hands. “Well, here it is. The Neurolox core unit.
“I haven’t seen it since its concealment,” Parejas said.
The doctor held it in her hand like a newborn infant. “I can remember my mother explaining its value to her work in the A.I. field. She said the pinkish solution here reminded her of amniotic fluid.” Solome laughed at the memory. “Which wasn’t far off, because this is where the synthetic nanite-neurons live.”
She turned the cylinder, looking at the pink goo roll around inside the bright yellow centerpiece.
Araleen searched out the commander’s eyes. “They’re living in there, commander. The energy source there feeds them. I understand this is Gashnee technology; but, without further development into a grid stabilization matrix, they cannot grow and become functioning artificial brain matter. They are harmless here in the vault.”
“This isn’t easy for me. I know what it means to you.”
She held out the cylinder to him. “Then you take it. You can guard it and oversee its use for future generations. Let’s not take one of the greatest items this race had given us upon first contact on Earth and throw it away like a worn-out tool.”
Her plea didn’t find the ears she wanted.
“It has to be destroyed.”
“I won’t do it.”
Without hesitation, before Solome could retract her hand and the device, Parejas took the cylinder from her.
She was taken aback by the commander’s quick action.
Parejas activated a side panel on the center pillar in which the cylinder came from.
It slid out.
The commander opened a top panel on the extended arm and placed the core unit inside.
He closed the lid.
Her eyes welled up as she watched the quick flashes of intense light that emanated from within the box that held the cylinder.
Parejas open the lid and the cylinder had been reduced to dust particles.
“My apologies again, doctor. It had to be done.”
A tear ran down her cheek.
Her lips quivered.
“You never cared for progress of the sciences have you, Commander Parejas?”
“Araleen–”
“No. I am tired of your decisions for the sake of absolute security. I’ve witnessed my mother’s life’s work end when you terminated the Sent-5 initiative, while leaving Kayleon the way she is. You have no right to make such assumptions based on mere speculation. How could you destroy something that has brought us so far in our understanding of the universe we live in? Your paranoid world is yours to exist in, commander. Don’t push it on others when they don’t need to be included in such nonsensical chaos.” Solome took in a shaky breath, gathering her composure as she raised her chin and met his eyes in defiance. “You can find your own way out.”
Doctor Solome turned and left Parejas in the chamber to himself.
“Doctor Solome, one last thing,” he called out.
She stopped without turning back.
“When I take something away from someone, I will always give them something in return. I never make these decisions without understanding the intended or unintended consequences, so…I want you to continue your work with Antiquity. I will allow her A.I. to be brought up to level eight, but no further. You may continue your work with her here in the lab. I am allowing phase three of the Sentinel program be instated. Her A.I. is now in the Adytum and will be integrated at the Facility on Awanon in a few short days. I want you to head her assimilation with the Orion’s Rage mainframe as well. Do you accept what I propose?”
Doctor Solome stood in silence for a long moment.
“Yes,” she said just loud enough for him to hear, vanishing in the long darkness of the hallway.
Data Cell 33
The Sol’s Edge pulled into her berth at the Ceres Station above the planet, Janus.
As the mighty ship slowed, three long loading trestles rotated out to meet her.
They connected at mid-point of the three thousand meter ship, each latching onto the outer hull around the surface bulk doors.
The trestles settled and sealed.
The doors opened and the crew began their leave from their first shakedown cruise.
Following the throng of people exiting the great ship, Lieutenant Commander Droe Temin departed with her officers.
As they came up the main ramp to the station, Droe spotted the Reaver in his black command officer’s uniform.
“I’ll catch up with all of you at debrief,” she said to her officers before approaching Kason. “Well, what’s the occasion, Reaver Bender?”
Kason smiled. “I wanted to congratulate you on your first mission, Lieutenant Commander Temin.”
“I see. Well, thank you. I appreciate that.”
They walked the concourse towards the main transfer hub of the station.
The large crystal window panels of the trestle gave way to spectacular views of space and the planet below.
“I saw the initial report from the Cuukzen homeworld,” Kason said.
“So, what’d you think?”
“Sounds like the Kryth magistrate was a real jackerwag.”
Droe laughed, “Yes. Yes, he was. I haven’t heard that term in a while, but it’s accurate.”
They continued their walk until they made their way to the center hub, where interstellar shuttle flights were constantly arriving and departing.
“Anything exciting I miss while I was gone, besides the Deus feeds and updates?” Droe quarried.
Kason hesitated.
“…We may have found Jens.”
Droe’s eyes widened. “Is he alive?”
“That, we don’t know. We do know his whereabouts, where they’re holding him, but his bio readouts aren’t confirmed, just his marker.”
“I assume a rescue mission is being worked on?”
“One is. We are going to brief on it soon.”
“I would like to be in on that briefing.”
Kason smiled. “I don’t think that will be a problem, Lieutenant Commander. I kind of know the guy giving it.”
Droe returned the Reaver’s smile. “Anything else worth noting while I was away?”
“Your father…”
Droe gave a sharp glance to Kason upon the reference.
&n
bsp; “I mean…the Assemblyman decided to have a hearing and vote regarding Martial Law.”
“I figured he would. He’s obsessed with it. That is the one event I won’t be attending and I can tell you that now. He won’t be getting Parejas’ vote, so he’s going to have a tough time passing anything.”
Kason stopped walking. “He doesn’t need it if Rels Sentel doesn’t show up.”
She froze, turning in disbelief. “Rels is still missing?”
“Yes. We haven’t heard from him.”
“That gives him the duress clause. He can use that to remove Martial Law…but that’s still going to be a stretch.”
“We think that’s his plan.”
“What does the commander think?”
“He thinks it’s a low move, but nothing is beneath Tallis.”
“He’s right. He is low,” she said, walking around in place with her hands on her hips. “That’s a sleck move for you. A real sleck move. Although, as long as you don’t file Rels as deceased, he’s going to have a tough time passing it.”
“We just filed. Tallis plans the vote soon.”
“Of course, he does. That man used me.”
“How?”
“When we had lunch before I left, he wanted my vote to influence Parejas on this. He knew I would be against him and tell the commander of his plans.”
“And?”
“And he knew that Parejas would file the decease record on Rels so he could call a vote.”
“But he has the duress clause so he could do it anytime, with or without Sentel listed as deceased, correct?”
“No. You don’t understand. Once you filed, Rels’ second-in-command, Sub-Marshall Otel, will take his position as Provost Marshall. Tallis wanted extra insurance that the vote would pass…and guess who sides with lifting of Marshall Law?”
“Otel.”
“And there you have it. Without the decease listing, Otel would not have the position or the vote. He would be one off from those who would vote to keep the law in place.”
“Interesting.”
“And people still ask why I changed my name,” Droe said in bafflement with her hand to her head.
“You okay?” Kason inquired.
“I’m fine. I just…I need a drink.”
Annals of the Keepers - Rage Page 21
