Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection (135 page)

C
AVARE

The security guard—or agent, or officer, Alex wasn’t exactly sure—completed their quick tour of the safe house, deposited them back in the sitting room and vanished.

Having now seen ninety percent of the facility, she doubted they’d need to use anything not on the main floor. There were several bedrooms upstairs, but if they were here long enough to sleep they would sleep on the
Siyane
for no other reason than added security. And the ability to execute a hasty getaway. And privacy. On second thought, there were several reasons to sleep on the ship. Still, she hoped to be underway once more before it became an issue.

Free of onlookers for the moment, she took the opportunity to settle next to Caleb on the couch he had claimed.

“I just realized—I missed my birthday while we were in the time warp on the other side of the portal. Does that mean it didn’t happen?”

He chuckled softly as his hand wrapped around hers to tease her palm with his thumb. “I don’t think so. When this is over, we’ll celebrate.”

“No, I wasn’t fishing for special—”

“When this is over, we will
celebrate
. No grousing.”

She dropped her head to his shoulder. The lull in activity after so much running was allowing weariness to creep into her bones; she hoped it wasn’t planning on getting comfortable. “Director Delavasi seems like quite a character. You’ve really never met him until now?”

“Nope. Passed him in the hallway once or twice and exchanged nods, but that’s it. I don’t spend much time in the office, so it’s not too surprising. He does have a notable reputation, though.”

“As?”

“A renegade wielding a grandiose and often abrasive personality, but he’s also known to be a straight shooter.”

“I would’ve paid money to see him and Richard working together. I bet it—”

The Director rejoined them then, almost as if he had deduced he was the topic of conversation and didn’t want to encourage the habit.

“Okay, I got in touch with Navick. He can meet us on Pandora and will try to bring Admiral Solovy along as well. I was secretive and taciturn, just as you asked. I’ve also arranged for accommodations on Pandora which meet our needs—radically discreet and probably even more secure than this bunker. The wheels are in motion. So now it’s about time you tell me what exactly is going on here.”

She nodded faintly at Caleb, affirming he should take the lead here. This was his planet, his home, his agency and his boss, after all. It was with some interest she had noticed the slight adjustment in his demeanor upon their arrival. His bearing became more restrained and professional, casual yet guarded. The transformation was subtle but outwardly complete. He was on the job now.

He indicated for Delavasi to sit opposite them. “Director, the simple fact is the aliens have the ability to determine where we are at all times, except when we’re on the ship and the cloaking shield is active. We can also assume they know whatever we say and do—and there’s no guarantee even the shield will hide those details from them.”

“What, did they implant surveillance trackers in you or something? I can get a top-flight military doctor here in under an hour to—”

“It’s nothing like that.” Caleb took a measured breath and dove in. “I recognize this will sound a bit insane, but the aliens can see everything which occurs…let’s say ‘in this galaxy’ for ease of reference. They possess the capability to know everything everyone says and does. Now we think there’s a delay, which works in our favor, though we don’t know how long of one. And just because they can see everything, it doesn’t mean they do see everything. But we need to err on the side of caution, because the aliens
will
be hunting us.”

Delavasi arched an eyebrow at the window to his left, then back at them. “And how the bloody fuck do they do that?”

Alex shrugged. She actually appreciated his blunt manner; this was not the time or place for bureaucratic pussyfooting. “Can’t say. We didn’t get a glimpse at the inner workings of this particular technology. But I witnessed it in action first-hand, and trust me when I tell you their observation of humanity is
extensive
.

“Now clearly there will come a point where we can no longer hide what we’re doing. We’re going to have to talk, then we’re going to have to act. But we need to maintain secrecy for as long as it’s feasible to do so.”

“Because you have a plan to defeat them.”

“We have…ideas on how to significantly strengthen our capabilities against them on the field of battle. I must say, I was thrilled to find out you guys and the Alliance stopped trying to kill each other, but rather surprised to discover how forcefully you’re combating the aliens.”

Delavasi ran a hand through unkempt salt-and-pepper hair. “As I hear it, the aliens offered us a truce. We turned them down.”

“Bullshit.”

“No bullshit. The terms were too onerous, and your government and mine jointly decided to fight.”

She laughed. “I never would have thought the politicians had it in them.”

“You can ask your mother all about it when you see her, since she was there. Speaking of…Ms. Solovy, I understand why you’re reluctant to discuss these ideas of yours with the Federation government prior to vetting them through your own leadership, but given the urgency of the situation shouldn’t we take advantage of location? Agent Marano, perhaps you could debrief—”

Caleb shook his head firmly before Delavasi was able to fully voice the suggestion. “This is Alex’s show. And for various reasons we can’t go into yet, I agree it’s better we start with the Alliance. But since you’re coming to Pandora with us, I can assure you a seat at the table when the time comes.”

Delavasi sank deeper into the cushion behind him. “All right. We don’t need to leave for an hour or so. If there’s anyone you want to contact, an encryption field over the whole building masks your location and scrambles the content. The passcode is HKTK#47421.”

Alex was already climbing to her feet. “Excellent, because I have a very important comm to make.”

4

SAGAN

I
NDEPENDENT
C
OLONY

“
A
BIGAIL,
I
AM DETECTING THE PRESENCE
of 104 Earth Alliance vessels arriving 4.2 megameters above the planet. The presence of seven carriers suggests the force includes a minimum of 1,200 fighter craft as well.”

Dr. Abigail Canivon looked up from the inventory list in surprise. “They actually kept their word and showed up? Interesting. Inform me when the aliens arrive, if you would, Valkyrie.”

“Of course, Abigail.”

She had planned to leave Sagan days ago. Her work at the Druyan Institute was important to her; still, it could be continued elsewhere. Sagan had made for a pleasant residence and she expected to miss it, but she had not intended to remain here simply to be killed by the aliens—and make no mistake, that would have been her fate. Sagan possessed no military force. Beyond two purely defensive orbital arrays and civilian police it possessed no capability whatsoever to protect itself.

Valkyrie was even more important to her, but relocating the Artificial was a difficult task made impossible by the looming invasion. All the space on the evacuation transports was being allotted to people, after all. While it pained her greatly to do so, she had finally accepted the necessity of leaving Valkyrie behind.

Then the Earth Alliance had informed Sagan’s governor it would be defending the independent colony against the aliens. An elated leadership had alerted the residents to the ‘good news.’

Abigail was skeptical, to say the least. Forty years working within the Alliance infrastructure had rendered her disgusted at the sheer stupidity endemic to the bureaucracy. It had eventually caused her to lose all faith in the system and the government she had devoted her professional career to, sending her to Sagan jaded and disillusioned. So suffice it to say when she had been told the Alliance was flying to their rescue, she had her doubts.

She’d nevertheless agreed to stay and help protect the hardware and data of the Institute—then proceeded to regret the decision approximately every half hour since.

“Twelve Metigen superdreadnoughts have exited superluminal and launched an offensive against the Earth Alliance fleet.”

“Nothing like cutting it close. Thank you, Valkyrie.”

“I will monitor the battle and keep you informed of noteworthy events. It should be exciting.”

“That’s one word among many for it.” She frowned at the screen and willed the reports containing her research to transmit faster. The Alliance’s provision of a method to circumvent the aliens’ exanet interference was proving most useful, she had to concede. In an act of moderate desperation she was sending all her data to Biosynth Frontiers in Rome. They were the most advanced cybernetics company on Earth, and two doctors she trusted to both understand and continue her research worked there.

The Institute wasn’t aware of her actions, and technically the information was proprietary. But some things mattered more than patents.

Her frown deepened as a holo-comm request flashed in her eVi. She couldn’t get any work done if she was always meeting to discuss work needing to get done…but it wasn’t anyone from the Institute.

It was Alex Solovy.

Under the circumstances she should dismiss the request, but she was both surprised and a little curious—surprised the woman was alive and, given the woman’s involvement in recent events, curious what Alex wanted of her.

“Ms. Solovy, this is unexpected. You were quite the sensation for a few weeks there, then vanished. Been busy I take it?”

The holo solidified to reveal the woman she recalled from four years earlier, yet indefinably changed. Rather than bound tightly back, her hair spilled freely over one shoulder and down her back, and her striking eyes blazed with intensity rather than wariness. “You could say that. And it’s Alex, remember?”

“Very well, Alex. What can I do for you?”

“How has your research into using neural imprints with Artificials progressed?”

Abigail hid a flare of annoyance at the seemingly random question. “Fairly well. You’ll be happy to know the results suggest the Artificial doesn’t ‘become’ the person, but it is able to predict how the person will react to a given situation with near perfect accuracy. Importantly, the experiences and personality of the individual have a measurable impact on the Artificial’s independent decision-making and reactions to data. I’m afraid the research has stalled at this point, however, as thus far the bureaucrats are unwilling to use the findings in any tangible way.”

“Terrific. I have another question for you. Is it possible—”

“Ms. So—Alex, I’m afraid now is not the best time for an idle chat. Sagan has come under attack by the aliens, and I’m trying to save as much of my and the Institute’s work as I can should the worst happen. If I survive the invasion, I’ll be happy to engage in a leisurely discussion about my research at a later time.”

“The aliens are at Sagan already? Okay, we’ll…we’ll deal with that in a minute. Dr. Canivon, my questions are vitality important to the continuation of the human species, so I’d ask you to indulge me.”

Grandiose declaration, but also interesting. What
had
the woman been up to? “All right, you’ve piqued my interest. I can spare a few minutes, but please keep it brief. What do you want to know?”

“Thank you. Is it possible to create a more symbiotic and fulsome connection between an individual and an Artificial than the one generated by a remote interface? Can you remove most of the buffers and barriers without frying the person’s brain?”

Abigail tilted her head to the side. It was an obstacle she’d spent countless hours working to overcome. “In a very precise and limited set of circumstances? Yes, I believe it can be done. The Artificial would require a neural imprint from the person involved—I assume you suspected this since you asked the first question.

“Once familiar with the manner in which the individual’s brain operates, it will be able to modulate its own signals to be harmonious and not conflict with those brain wave patterns—the kind of conflict which otherwise will cause stroke and often death. Even so, the person’s cybernetics will have to be highly advanced in order to not overload from the data flow alone. There are other considerations, but why don’t you tell me what you have in mind?”

Alex was roving in front of a row of unlit windows which gave no clue as to her location. “I’ll tell you what I need: a human and an Artificial thinking and working together, using the data provided by the Artificial to make decisions and take actions at an accelerated rate. I need them to act as one, using all the capabilities of the Artificial—data comprehension, analysis, processing power and speed—while remaining subject to the judgment and control of the human. The person needs to be able to override any decision of the Artificial, but it sounds like a neural imprint enables it to recognize when the person is likely to override them and act accordingly.”

Abigail sank back in her chair. What Alex was asking for was nothing less than the culmination of her life’s work, the vision that had guided her for over five decades as she worked to bring it about one painstaking innovation at a time. Of course it could be done, because she had devoted years to creating the technology and biosynthetic interfaces necessary to allow it to be done.

But no one would dare allow it to be done.

She tried not to let her growing excitement show. “I don’t see how such a venture can be accomplished given the existing restrictions, security constraints and communication blocks imposed on Artificials.”

“Well the Artificial would be unshackled, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Abigail laughed in spite of her dire circumstances.
Just wave your hands and erase two centuries worth of restrictions, will you?
“This has been an entertaining theoretical discussion, but what did you envision might result from it? The aliens are breaking down the gates as we speak.”