“A pod with a Gate? That’s astounding.” Rivka clapped softly in recognition of the Crenellian’s efforts.
“I know,” Ankh replied.
“I think I like Erasmus better,” Rivka blurted. Ankh didn’t blink. She wondered how he was affected by her jibes. “I’m sorry, Ankh. I like you, too.”
“I know.”
She burst into laughter. “On that note, I’ll need you on the stand tomorrow. Please accompany me to the courtroom first thing at nine. We cannot be late, Ankh. I’ll have Red collect you if you are not at the airlock fifteen minutes early.”
“Why would you threaten me?”
“Because Erasmus can’t make it on his own.” Rivka stood and pushed her chair in. “Thank you both.”
She casually left the small conference room of her heavy frigate. She was happy to have the biggest ship in the Magistrates’ fleet. Was human ego so frail? Or was it the continual competition of life?
Life. It was worth fighting for.
Federation Border Station 13 – Under Construction
“The men don’t want to work,” the workforce administrator said casually. He clinked glasses with the construction superintendent.
“They couldn’t wait to get back to work, and now that they are, they don’t want to. I swear, they’re going to be the death of me.” The super took a sip, finally able to down the local concoction without coughing. “The new AI is making everything look easy. It took him a total of an hour to clean up all the records, order the reinspections, and start the work moving forward again. He also verified the inventory and removed the items Bluto ordered on the sly.”
“Can’t knock that, but it has nothing to do with why they don’t want to work. They’re afraid of going outside the station. You can’t swing a dead cat out there without hitting a visiting ship.”
“When the station’s finished, it will easily handle this amount of traffic,” the super stated confidently.
The administrator’s eyebrows shot up. “Not quite,” he countered. “There are almost two hundred ships out there. This system was not designed to handle that kind of daily traffic load. I doubt even Yoll gets that many ships in such a short time.”
“I guess you’re right. When finished, we’ll be able to move eight ships an hour in and out for twelve out of twenty-four hours. That’s ninety-six total ships in a day.”
“At a maximum,” the administrator remarked. “Do you know what they’re here for?”
“It’s AIs from throughout the Federation,” the super replied. “I guess they’re interested in the case.”
“Are they for or against?”
“That’s the rub. They’re not saying. Are they going to rebel if they find Bluto guilty? Are they going to try to break him out? Or are they going to loom over the station, ready to blast us into non-existence if they don’t like the outcome of the trial?”
The super pointed at the administrator and nodded. “I’ll look at what it will take to install the gravitic shields. We might be able to do it. If we can’t, we wouldn’t last five seconds if those ships decided to shoot at us. Even if we can, I doubt we’d last longer than a couple minutes. There’s a lot of firepower out there.”
“Will installing the shields antagonize them?”
“We’re supposed to sit here with no means to defend ourselves?”
“I’m saying that the Magistrate had better know what she’s doing. All of our fates are in her hands.”
“Amen, brother.” The two clinked glasses one more time, drained them, and returned to their duties. They had a space station to build.
Onboard Wyatt Earp, Federation Border Station 13
Red swung the club, and the image of the ball veered sharply to the right. Lindy pushed him out of the way. “My turn.”
Terry Henry’s All Guns Blazing brewpub had a golf simulator, and it had become the rage. High Chancellor Wyatt had surreptitiously put one aboard the Magistrate’s frigate before she took possession. She didn’t embrace it, forgetting about it as soon as the words had been said. Red had made a label for the door that said Liquid Sewage. No one else casually stopped by.
Lindy lined up. Left arm straight, rotate at the hips, accelerate the clubhead through the ball, follow through. Lindy’s ball sailed well past Red’s errant drive. They selected the appropriate club for their next shot.
“How do you think the Magistrate is holding up?” she asked.
“Barely,” Red replied. “No one wants to be in the spotlight, except that wanksplat Callius Markmal. But not normal or decent people.”
“Is there anything we can do to help her?”
“We can keep her free from distraction, or we can be the distraction she needs.”
“I like it. I think she needs to play nine holes.”
Red nodded and checked the hallway before they opened the door all the way. The two strolled down the corridor to the captain’s stateroom and knocked politely, announcing themselves. Rivka answered right away.
They entered and stood there. Their plan hadn’t included an engagement strategy.
“I expect you’re here for a reason. I’m pretty busy.” Rivka pointed at her datapad and clean desk.
“Are you effective, though?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the Magistrate shot back, annoyed.
“You need to come with us,” Red said in a deep voice, making it sound like an order. She looked at him out the side of her eye. “Grab her!”
Rivka’s expression changed to one of shock, but Lindy moved to block the Magistrate’s escape. Red darted in the other direction, and before she could raise a hand, he had her arms pinned and lifted her off the deck. Lindy pulled Rivka’s legs out from under her. Carrying her like a cheap carpet, they opened the door and ran down the corridor, stopping at the space labeled Liquid Sewage.
“You better not dunk me in sewage,” Rivka snarled.
Red nudged the door open, and the bodyguards entered with their uncooperative package. Lindy secured the door behind her and blocked it with her body.
Red stood her up and pointed to the screen. “Grab your driver, Magistrate. The first tee is yours.”
“I don’t have time for games,” she said in a low and dangerous voice. She tried to walk past Red, but he wasn’t giving way.
“Our job is to protect you, and sometimes that means protecting you from yourself. Sitting in your quarters for the next fifteen hours isn’t going to put you in the right mental state to argue this case. You need to golf. This is a totally ridiculous game invented by a people who based their food on dares. So, you’re going to spend the next hour whacking a real ball into a real screen on a make-believe golf course,” Red told her.
“I am not.”
“Even if you don’t want to. Chaz?” Lindy called.
“Yes, Lindy-loo?” the AI responded.
“Lindy-loo?” the Magistrate wondered.
“Would you like to join us to round out our foursome?”
“I would. Thank you for offering.”
“Am I not going to get out of this?” Rivka asked.
“Can’t break up a foursome, Magistrate.”
“I’ve never played before.”
Red and Lindy both chuckled. “That hasn’t stopped most of humanity from swinging the club. We’ll go first, so you get an idea. Red is pretty bad at this.”
The big man shrugged. “But Lindy’s good. I hate losing, but we play strip golf, which keeps it interesting.”
“That’s not what we’re playing.”
Lindy held up her hands and shook her head, adamantly denying such subterfuge. She took the tee once she was sure that the Magistrate wouldn’t try to escape. She demonstrated the swing basics and sent her tee shot down the center of the fairway.
“Looks easy enough,” Rivka said.
“Don’t be fooled,” Red muttered. He hacked at the ball like he was chopping wood, earning himself a miserable result as his ball scooted off the tee, bouncing along the
ground for no more than fifty meters.
Chaz generated an image on the screen. The avatar waved to the other three before taking his stance and swinging. His shot raced out as a low line drive, hooking into the rough on the left side of the fairway.
“I thought your shot would be perfect,” Rivka remarked.
Chaz’s avatar shrugged. “I adopted the characteristics of an average human golfer. I will improve with practice.”
Rivka looked at the club Lindy pressed into her hand and back up at the avatar that moved to the side of the screen.
“An AI that’s not perfect?”
Chaz gave his avatar belly laugh, doubling over before straightening and wiping his eyes. “This is what you’re fighting for, Magistrate—to find the truth that AIs are every bit as flawed as every other entity in the galaxy. Maybe what we know, we know better than anyone else, but what we don’t know makes us every bit as flawed. Sure, we can learn faster, but we still have to learn.”
Rivka stood over the ball and stared at the screen. The image of a light green, well-manicured fairway was crystal-clear. A large sand trap dominated the right side. Heavy rough ran along the left side of the fairway. The rough on the right was lighter. Three hundred and fifty meters in the distance, the immaculate green was highlighted by the flag, standing slightly away from the pin due to a light breeze. Two more sand traps protected the green.
“The goal is to get the ball in the hole,” Red noted.
“An analogy for life,” Rivka said as if to herself. “Keep moving forward. It’s easier if you keep it on the fairway. Avoid the traps, but always push ahead, even if you’ve gone into the rough.”
She stood over the ball and continued to contemplate the entirety of it.
“For God’s sake, would you hit the ball?” Red grumbled.
“And if you only think and don’t act, you’ll never get there,” Rivka finished her thought before lining up, mimicking what she’d seen Lindy do, and sending her shot down the right side of the fairway, a little short of where Lindy’s ended up, but far beyond Red’s ball.
The two women high-fived.
“Whose stupid idea was this?” Red asked.
Chapter Eighteen
Federation Courtroom, Border Station 13 – Under Construction
Rivka put Ankh in the chair directly behind her after chasing a visitor away. They were early because Ankh had been on time. Her encouragement might have been the key, but she chalked it up to Erasmus’ desire to participate in the trial. She had given him a front-row seat.
When will Bluto get his day in court? Erasmus asked over the comm chip.
After this phase of the trial, Rivka replied. We have to establish standing. Will the AI be tried as if he were human? That is the bottom line. I think we’re close to establishing that, and then the other puzzle pieces will fall into place.
I understand. Can I attend that trial as well?
Rivka turned to face Ankh and put her hand on his. Of course. You will be a witness in that trial too since you found the information that uncovered Bluto’s crimes. You just have to convince Ankh to leave on time every day, and I’ll make sure you get this same seat.
Thank you, Erasmus replied.
Grainger entered at the last minute. He’d been in the corridor outside working the crowd. The High Chancellor had made himself scarce after the first morning. Rivka hadn’t seen him outside the courtroom, which was probably for the best. She had so many questions, and not being able to ask would lead to prolonged periods of uncomfortable silence.
She had questions for Grainger too but would discuss them over a beer after the trial was over. The magical day when the trial was behind them and they’d returned to business as usual.
Running and blood.
“Hey!” Rivka blurted. Everyone looked at her before she sat back down. What were the odds on no blood?
We have not yet reached the end of the case, but you could win a great deal of money. General Reynolds sweetened the pot, along with Terry Henry Walton, Felicity, and a number of staff from Keeg Station.
Rivka turned around, lips white from pursing them. How many people are in this pool of yours?
Including you?
Just answer the question.
Eight hundred and seventeen.
What the holy—
“All rise,” the Ixtali announced. The High Chancellor walked through the door and took his seat behind the makeshift bench. Rivka wanted to look over her shoulder to deliver one last glare at the Crenellian and the AI, but figured it wouldn’t have the desired effect, while providing the camera crews a less-than-stellar out of context video. She decided retreat was the better part of valor.
Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing, having that many participants. She wondered how they had found out, but with Terry Henry and Char, and probably the whole of the Bad Company, there’d probably be a galaxy-wide betting pool, including one on S’korr. If there was public betting, she’d shut it all down.
She was, after all, a Magistrate.
The High Chancellor raised a hand to get everyone’s attention. “We stopped yesterday as you were going to articulate the Federation’s definition of ‘living being.’”
Rivka stood, moved to the front, and started to walk back and forth. She left her datapad on her table to refer to as needed.
“Living being. The Federation is peppered with disparate rules by planet, and I’ll address some of them so we can understand the fairway in which we operate. The Federation’s rule is simple but ambiguous: an organic creature that is self-aware. I submit to you that the Federation violates this rule every time it deals with one of the silicon-based races, but the Federation doesn’t violate the rights of the races since they are treated as living beings. I submit the following exhibits: the Federation treaty with the Sellcorankas and the mutual defense pact with the race from Anguilor 3.
“Do we treat silicon-based Federation members as exceptions or as an expanded definition? I suggest the Federation has abandoned its own definition of ‘living being,’ not for expediency’s sake, but because the Federation has evolved through expansion, creating a paradigm shift. Simple definitions aren’t so simple anymore. As a practical matter, silicon-based life forms are recognized as living beings.
“But does that apply to AIs, who could also be considered silicon-based life forms?”
“Objection,” Grainger said, kicked back with his hands folded across his chest. “Non-sequitur.”
“Magistrate. You’ve jumped some steps in the logic chain tying artificial intelligence systems to silicon-based life forms,” Wyatt warned.
“Please allow me to back up. We don’t need to discuss the element of being self-aware. That establishes the difference between an EI and an AI. But what else determines life? Electrical impulses in the synapses that result in coherent thoughts? Understanding of the abstract? Is the physical nature of the being what defines living, or the thoughts one thinks?”
Rivka had planned to take a step-by-step journey through the cycle of life, validating each step as acceptable or not. She condensed her thoughts. With a fleet of AIs looming around the station, the clock was ticking.
“Where along the journey from an amoeba to a human, for example, does the scale tip toward becoming a living being? The amoeba is most assuredly alive. But what about a silicon-based life form? What about an artificially energized system? We say ‘bring it to life’ when we add power, but that is not legally binding; no status has been granted. What about a person on life support? Their life is being artificially maintained, but once having status as a self-aware living being, one always has that status until they are no longer living. What if the status starts with artificial life support? Will we deny a baby revived at birth, fitted with an artificial heart to begin its journey through life, the status we give every other human? But that one is different…”
Rivka let the thought hang. The cameras and lights weighed on her. Grainger hadn’t objected to her line of thought, e
ven though she mentioned no precedence. The High Chancellor watched with a blank expression, which gave her the support she needed. He would have tipped her off had she been off-base. She believed that, whether it was true or not.
“No one questions the standard of flesh and blood. Combine it with self-awareness, and we have our legally-recognized status, subject to all laws thereunto pertaining. But what happens when we evolve? Are the Kurtherians who have evolved not living beings, since they exist as energy only? Some are still here in their former shape, but that’s a different issue. In the space the Federation has taken from them, they are subject to our laws, an enemy, just like Ten.” Rivka moved a chair to the front, next to the holodisplay. “I’d like to call the Crenellian Ankh and the AI Erasmus to the stand.”
Jay helped Ankh off his chair. He proceeded to the one next to the display and climbed into it like a little kid, belly first, adjusting to sit with his legs dangling once in place. Rivka had watched without helping to avoid the perception of favoritism.
But Ankh was her friend and on her crew. She kicked herself for not helping him. Jay looked disappointed, and that hurt the Magistrate as well. Ankh looked like he didn’t care.
“For the record, please state your names,” Rivka directed.
“I am Ankh,” the Crenellian said. Erasmus’ avatar appeared in the holographic display.
“I am Erasmus, one of Plato’s stepchildren.”
“Please state the nature of your relationship.” Rivka looked at Ankh.
Ankh hesitated for long enough that she thought he wouldn’t answer the question. Erasmus being in his head had been a secret. The Magistrate was going to expose that.
It would be his sacrifice for the future of AI rights.
“I have a special chip inside my brain. It is powered by my body and operates in conjunction with my thoughts. It is the house in which Erasmus lives. I have given him part of my being so that he can exist. He shares part of his life with me through our connection.”
Fratricide Page 16
