by Tori Harris
“That being the case, how will the older vessels manage the final portion of their journey?” White asked. “Clearly, they will need to be much closer than two light years in order to make their attack run using sublight engines.”
“Indeed. When attacking, they will endeavor to transition as close to Terra as they possibly can. This will be accomplished by coupling the navigation systems across multiple vessels. Although this still diminishes the tactical surprise capabilities of newer warships such as the Gresav-class, the task force should still be able to transition out of hyperspace within a few million kilometers of Terra. From there, they will approach as closely as possible from multiple directions, saturating whatever defensive systems you have in place with a barrage of missile and kinetic energy weapons fire. In order to achieve this level of navigational accuracy, their rally point will most likely be less than five light years distant.”
“If I understand you correctly, we’re still talking about the space between two concentric spheres with a radius of two and five light years, respectively, Admiral Naftur. That still sounds like an awfully large volume of space to search for potential staging areas,” Sexton observed.
“Impossibly large, given the time we have available,” Naftur agreed. “Before leaving the Gresav, however, I tasked our AI with simulating the area within five light years of Sol to look for the most likely staging areas. Although the analysis was incomplete when I departed, it was still able to narrow the list to three hundred thirty-six of the most likely locations.”
“That still sounds like a pretty daunting challenge, Admiral,” White sighed.
“It does, but we have Fleet assets that might be able to work through the list pretty quickly as long as they don’t have to remain at each location very long,” Sexton interjected, careful to avoid revealing additional classified information in spite of what he knew Admiral Naftur had already observed for himself firsthand. “Let’s cover your remaining topics at a high level before I start issuing any orders, but time is of the essence where our search is concerned.”
“Very well,” Naftur continued. “The second item is one of long-term strategy. There are no doubt many within the Sajeth Collective Governing Council who would deem my actions and continued presence here as nothing short of open rebellion and treason. Fortunately for me,” he grinned,” the classified nature of my mission prevents my whereabouts from being generally known. In any event, I strongly believe that I am still acting within the bounds of the orders I was given when originally dispatched to the Sol System several months ago. One of the Council’s objectives was to establish contact with your world, hopefully leading to formalized diplomatic relations. This was to be accomplished in spite of any interference the Pelaran spacecraft chose to employ. Accordingly, another significant part of my mission was to continue developing tactics to overcome some of its technological advantages. Ultimately, as you can well imagine, we hoped to discover a way to destroy the Guardian ship entirely, even with the knowledge that doing so might well undermine our relations with your world.”
“It might at that, Admiral,” Sexton chuckled. “Now that we are acquainted, I hope you will seek our counsel before you attempt such a thing. I also recommend that we keep that particular piece of information to ourselves, for now. There are members of our Leadership Council, notably the chairwoman herself, who seem to be in favor of Earth rushing headlong into membership in the Pelaran Alliance. Personally, I have a hard time understanding that position, since we don’t yet have any idea what membership in such an alliance would entail.”
“Humph,” Naftur grunted. “I believe I might be able to shed some light on that question as well, in just a moment. And yes, if I have any say in the matter, Sajeth Collective forces will not attempt an attack on the Guardian without your prior knowledge. Returning now to the topic of charting a path forward, we must develop some sort of contingency plan for how we will proceed over the coming days and weeks. If, for example, I am either unable to locate the Resistance task force or unable to stop their attack on Earth even after locating their vessels, the manner in which we mount our defense of your world could have grave consequences for relations with the Sajeth Collective.”
“Forgive me, Admiral Naftur, but I’m not sure I follow. Since we are the ones being attacked, why should the method of our defense be a concern for us?” Sexton asked under raised eyebrows.
“Your question is one of justice and fairness, Admiral Sexton, which is understandable. Unfortunately, such concepts have little bearing on the outcome of the current situation. Although the Resistance task force is not officially sanctioned by the Sajeth Collective, I fear the Governing Council has reached a tipping point — one that will determine their official stance towards relations with Terra going forward. I can assure you that both the Resistance and its sympathizers within the Sajeth Collective do not anticipate that their task force will encounter any Human military resistance during their attack on Earth. They believe the Guardian spacecraft itself represents the planet’s only significant defense, which they hope to decoy and/or avoid altogether during their attack. Furthermore, during the battle at Gliese 667, we did not detect the launch of any communications drones before the Resistance ships were destroyed. So I believe we can safely assume that they were unable to warn the task force of Ingenuity’s offensive capabilities.” Naftur paused, drawing in a deep breath and exhaling slowly before continuing. “Having witnessed Ingenuity in battle for myself, as well as some of the forces preparing to defend your world, I now believe that Terran Fleet Command might well be capable of destroying the Resistance forces outright. My fear is that such a victory will do little more than serve as a pretext for a wider war.”
“Surely you don’t mean to imply that we don’t have the right to defend ourselves against this unprovoked aggression,” Sexton asked, beginning to feel frustrated at where the conversation seemed to be heading.
“Not at all. Indeed, it is your duty to do so. What I believe we must consider, however, is how the complete destruction of Resistance forces might actually serve to strengthen their cause within the Sajeth Collective. Some within the Governing Council will see Earth’s unexpected military capabilities, and their willingness to use those capabilities to destroy Sajeth Collective vessels,” Naftur held up his hand, anticipating Sexton’s objection, “ — even though they were used in a defensive role — as proof that the Pelarans will soon begin their domination of this region of the galaxy.”
“Using Earth as their proxy,” Admiral White observed.
“Just so. Those members of the Governing Council who were previously unsure of their position might then be easily swayed to join those supporting the Resistance. The history of both your world and mine is replete with examples of criminals and traitors who were transformed by circumstance into heroes and martyrs.”
“That depends on who is writing the history books, I suppose,” Sexton replied, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling as the implications of this latest complication raced through his mind.
“It is invariably the victors who do so,” Naftur said gravely. “In any event, the outright destruction of the Resistance task force may well push the Sajeth Collective in the direction of an outright declaration of war against Terra.”
“I hope you have some ideas regarding how we might go about overcoming that particular challenge, Admiral Naftur, because this sounds like what we commonly refer to as a ‘no-win situation’ to me.”
“That concept is … unfamiliar to me,” Naftur replied with a tilt of his head, “but the strategy I believe most likely to yield an outcome beneficial to both sides is to locate those ships and do what we must to prevent the attack altogether. Failing that, there may be few, if any, options available other than defending your world by whatever means necessary. If that occurs, we must then be prepared to move quickly to intervene with the more reasonable members of the Governing Council in hopes of avoiding an all-out war.”
“V
ery well. Although I am reluctant to ask for more bad news at this point, please continue to your third topic.”
Naftur looked at his Terran hosts in turn, as if to assess whether they possessed the mettle to deal effectively with the potentially world-altering decisions now facing them. “Unfortunately, my friends,” he sighed, “the last piece of information I have for you also has potentially grave consequences, but it is unclear what, if anything, we can do to address it. As you know, the Sajeth Collective has amassed a significant amount of data regarding the Pelarans and their cultivation program. Although the process has some variation, depending on the species involved, it does appear to proceed along a somewhat predictable path. We have also been able to identify certain tools and tactics used consistently by the Pelarans. Our assumption, of course, is that the program has been implemented so many times that it has become routine to some extent. We have noted, for example, that the Guardian spacecraft will occasionally intervene when unexpected events threaten to derail the process. Otherwise, it tends to remain largely passive. One notable exception involves the communications devices that are used to disseminate highly sensitive information. I trust these devices are being used on Terra as well?”
Admiral White glanced at the Commander in Chief for confirmation that discussing such highly classified information, even in general terms, was something they were prepared to do with a high-ranking military officer from another world. Sexton furrowed his brow, then nodded his tacit approval, keenly aware that they were unlikely to reveal anything about the cultivation program that the Wek officer didn’t already know. White smiled politely at Naftur before continuing, “The devices to which you refer are informally called ‘talkies’ on Earth. The Pelarans have used them as a means of compartmentalizing the most classified information. They are also used as a means of ensuring multinational cooperation, since key pieces of data are communicated only to specific individuals located in different countries.”
“The devices are genetically coded to the intended recipient,” Sexton added. “We don’t really understand how the biometric scan works in any detail. Unlike most of the other technology shared by the Pelarans, the schematics for building these devices provided only enough information to complete their assembly. I can also tell you that they are damned effective at preventing anyone else from accessing them or eavesdropping on the data streams — and I can promise you it’s not for lack of trying,” he said, smiling wanly.
“Yes,” Naftur nodded, “this is indeed consistent with what has been observed on other cultivated worlds. Are you aware that the devices are capable of two-way communication?”
“We considered that it might be possible. In fact, I believe the original plans included what our engineers thought to be a type of transmitter. We, of course, attempted to use it a number of times without success, and then omitted the transmitter from the final design, based on security concerns. No one was comfortable with the idea that individuals might somehow end up in unilateral discussions with the Pelarans.”
“My guess is that the component your engineers removed was indeed a transmitter, Admiral Sexton,” Naftur replied, “one that they were intended to find and remove. Unfortunately, there is another — one of such cunning design that it was clearly intended to be unwittingly included when the devices are manufactured.”
There was silence in the room while both Terran admirals took a moment to process this latest revelation. “I don’t like where I think this is going at all,” White remarked. “So you are telling us that there have been recorded cases where the Pelarans initiated direct contact with the individuals who were in possession of one of these devices?”
“We have not been able to determine whether direct communications have ever taken place with an actual member of the Pelaran race, whatever that might be, or if the spacecraft itself was responsible for the contact. In fact, we have very little intelligence regarding the nature of whatever communication took place. We believe, however, that these Guardian spacecraft are so sophisticated that they have achieved some level of self-awareness. If you were to engage one in conversation, it would most likely be difficult to perceive that you were speaking to a thinking machine.”
Human engineers had demonstrated something of an inherent talent for computer science since its advent on Earth in the early twentieth century, so the idea of a “sentient” machine wasn’t particularly surprising to the TFC admirals. For well over three hundred years, Earth’s processing power had continued to increase at the rate predicted by the so-called “Moore’s Law,” roughly doubling every two to three years. Although Gordon Moore himself predicted in 2015 that the pace would slow significantly within ten years, the exponential growth had continued unabated. The relentless progress was due in part to occasional quantum leaps in integrated circuit design inspired by the study of “Grey-enhanced” artifacts (which Moore, understandably, did not factor into his projections), but the primary driver had always been a natural Human aptitude for the field. As a result, Earth’s computing power continued to grow at a rate more than double that of most post-industrial civilizations. Modern artificial intelligence systems represented the crowning achievement of over three centuries of such progress. As powerful as Human computing systems had become, however, none had reached a level that was considered “self-aware.” The systems were capable of self-improvement on a number of levels and perhaps even what might be considered rudimentary consciousness. Self-awareness, on the other hand, implied not only an awareness of oneself as an individual, but also an introspective understanding of what was implied by that awareness. While seemingly a minor, even academic distinction, it still represented a thus far unbridgeable gap between man and machine.
“Let me make sure I understand. You have evidence that the Guardian spacecraft were somehow engaged in direct communications with these individuals, but you have not been able to determine the purpose of these conversations?” Sexton asked.
“Once again, what I can offer along those lines is based more on speculation than hard intelligence. We do know that the devices seem to be intended more for data acquisition than direct contact. Each device maintains a continuous data stream with the Guardian spacecraft. We really have no way of knowing how much information they are capable of gathering, but we can infer that they are incredibly effective. The biometric scans you mention, for example, do much more than simply identify the intended user. They seem to provide a sophisticated biological and psychological profile of every individual within its operating range. We believe it is this data that ultimately allows the Pelarans to exert the level of influence required to persuade a world into joining their alliance.”
“The Pelaran equivalent of a Trojan horse,” Sexton remarked. “In our defense, Admiral Naftur, I feel obligated to tell you that we have been extremely careful with these devices. Even though they are keyed to a single individual, they are only accessed in the company of others, and always within the confines of a highly secured facility.”
“I have no doubt that you have taken the precautions you deemed appropriate, and I assure you that there is no implied criticism in my revealing this information to you. The Pelarans, of course, correctly assumed that such security measures would be undertaken, so the technology built into the devices is more than sophisticated enough to hide their intended purpose. Our chief concern is that they would not have gone to so much trouble unless they were attempting to conceal some sort of espionage. At the very least, their behavior seems to indicate the pursuit of an agenda they would prefer to shelter from the light of public scrutiny.”
“Possibly,” White replied. “Although our first contact protocols emphasize the idea that an alien race is likely to have very different notions of what they consider appropriate. The fact that the Pelarans went to such lengths to hide the true purpose of these devices is troubling, however. Most of the individuals the Guardian selected to receive them are members of the scientific and engineering community, in addition to a few military an
d government representatives. I believe we always made the assumption that their selection was based solely on their role in working with Pelaran technology, but clearly there was much more to it than that.”
“We made similar assumptions on Graca concerning how we believed ‘alien’ races would behave during a first contact situation, Admiral White. Over time, we learned that most species intelligent enough to cross interstellar space and visit another world have remarkably similar ideas regarding what is and is not considered appropriate,” Naftur smiled. “I do not believe, for example, that any species seeking a transparent, open dialog with another would hide their intentions in this manner. I will say, however, that we have seen no evidence that the Pelarans have engaged in any overt acts of espionage. The intent of the devices seems a bit more subtle. Apparently, the Pelarans seek to develop a level of influence sufficient to ensure their success before any formal communications ever take place. Accordingly, there are always a few individuals who become instrumental in assisting the Pelaran effort to induct their world into the Alliance.”
“So let me see if I can sum up this final point,” Sexton said. “The Guardian spacecraft has most likely developed highly detailed information that allows it to wield significant influence over individuals in positions of technological, governmental, and military leadership around the world. These individuals could very well be in some kind of contact with the spacecraft, but we do not know the nature of that contact, nor do we know exactly how this influence is being used to further the Pelaran agenda.” Sexton paused, shaking his head while staring at the floor in thought. “I’m sorry, Admiral Naftur, I’m afraid I am at a loss as to what we are supposed to do with this information.”
