DUALITY: The World of Lies (20 page)

“Aye, Captain... Completed. The layer width is
10 centimeters, identical to the previous iridium steel layer. We
have reached a flush layer of pliable black polymer material. Sonic
analysis shows it to be 5 millimeters, likely a membrane layer,
covering a lower layer of homogeneous re-agglomerated geopolymer,
or artificial stone.”

“Drill straight through til you reach the end
of the stone layer.”

“Aye, Captain... …. … Completed. Layer depth
2.1 meters. New layer found, identical to the previous membrane.
Sonic analysis shows a lower thinner layer of metallic foil with a
thickness of 28 micrometers. SA further reads magnetic, microwave,
and modulated radio energy emanating from beyond it. Next layer is
plasticine of varied thickness covering an open area. The readings
beyond that point are uncertain, but suggest the likely existence
of a further layer of variant topography beginning another 17
centimeters beyond the gaseous layer.”

That was a lot to take in. They were getting
signals, radiation, and it all pointed to circuitry.

“This is where the machinery begins,”
confirmed Mei. “Let's poke through to that open gaseous region and
see what readings we get.”

This was dangerous territory. Any machine
build of Logos was certain to be highly sophisticated, and might
well detect their intrusion, if it hadn't already.

“System, put yourself on high alert for a
cyberattack, cut transmission and seal the hole at the first sign
of malicious data return.”

“Aye. High alert status and maximum ready
protocols are already in effect, Captain.”

“Pierce the next two membranes and get us some
readings from the gaseous region.”

“Aye, Captain. Penetration complete. Wide
scale synaptic electric circuit transmission detected in all
directions radially beyond the plane of entry. Gas temperature 22
degrees. Composition: 80% Nitrogen, 19% Oxygen, trace elements of
CO2, Argon, O3 below 1%. 26% humidity. Air pressure reads 1000
millibars.”

Mei raised an eyebrow. “Those are human
habitation environs! System, any sign of organics?”

“Organic pheromone present. Dust particulates
detected composed of human excretia.”

“Get a sample!” she hollered.

Aru was stunned. “You think there are people
in there?”

Mei shrugged. “Or have been. Most androids are
also designed to function optimally at human habitation
environmental levels. When you think about it historically, the
last time Logos...”

She was cut off by a brash alarm tone and
System's voice blaring in its loudest red alert volume.

“Broad-scale malicious cyberattack detected!
Hairline sensor discarded, borehole sealed and
transmission-proofed.”

There was a very narrow limited avenue of
transmission along the hairline sensor that should have shut down
the sensor assembly the instant foreign code was uprooted along it.
But System had just used the troubling term
“broadscale.”

“Is it contained?” he demanded.

“Yes, Captain, fully. The operation occurred
instantaneously when a foreign entity took full overt control over
the drill and sensor assemblies and branched out into several
subsystems, including the electrical control matrix, life-support,
outer hull sensors, primary robotics control, navigation, and the
general knowledge library. Even on high alert, ship's systems were
instantly overtaken by the algorithms employed, which utilized
recursion and contingency functions beyond my mathematical
comprehension. Fortunately it appears it was entirely intent on
gathering intel on us rather than controlling or harming our
systems.”

Mei was holding her EMP gun up. “Nav? Are you
kidding me? How did it work its way up to command level systems
though such a narrow line of transmission so quickly?”

“Instantly, Commander,” reiterated System.
“After the second membrane was breached there was no sign of
incoming data manipulation for nearly one minute. I issued the
alert the moment the security breach occurred. It was
instantaneous. The transmission line was sealed and I retook
control of all compromised systems immediately after.”

“How much data did it download from us?” Aru
asked.

“The entirety of data in all but one of the
affected systems was downloaded along the transmission channel. The
general knowledge library is the largest single directory store of
information on the ship, totaling over 800 petabytes, of which the
alien entity managed to retrieve slightly over half, or 513.6
petabytes.”

“That's physically impossible,” Mei
stated flatly. And she was right. Even with a broad line it would
take minutes to transfer that quantity of data, let alone seconds,
let alone 
instantly.

“System. Do you believe you have been
corrupted?”

“No, Captain. As I said the strike was overt
and instantaneous and appeared to have ceased on its own accord
some nanoseconds before I sealed the line of transmission. It
penetrated those systems without altering them, which may seem like
an inherently self-contradicting statement, but were I able to
convey to you the mechanisms of the algorithms involved you would
see that it is not. The integrity of all subsystems are secure and
unaltered. I would strongly advise that the sphere remained sealed,
as it is clear that the AI involved surpasses my intellectual
capacities by at least two orders of machine magnitude.
”

“A superconciousness?” asked Mei, who thought
for a moment, then urgently insisted, “Follow me, now!”

“What?”

She widened her eyes in fierce determination.
“Now!”

He nodded with a shrug and set off behind her,
walking rapidly out of the bridge and into the starboard side of
the inner ring. He knew where they were going: the zero-com room.
This chamber had a double series of thick analog doors they had to
manually unlatch and heave open. Inside held their dusty stores of
analog equipment; a cache Mei was vehement on retaining. Everything
from knives to EMP weapons, ballistic rifles and pistols, isolation
pods, various macro-circuit devices and sensors, analog spacesuits,
coms and body armor.

She sealed the inner door and approached him
with the EMP gun as she altered its settings, aimed it at the side
of his head and fired.

Aru saw a burning white flash burst in the
front of his brain, and briefly lost consciousness, collapsing. He
came to in moments, in Mei's arms. She hoisted him up and let him
gather his bearings. He was still seeing stars when it struck him
what had just occurred.

He lunged around at Mei and successfully
grappled her EMP gun away, throwing her backwards across the
chamber. Mei nimbly regained her balance and went into a fighting
stance out of instinct. “Wait! Just wait a second, you
dumbass!!”

“You fucking shot me!” he
yelled.

“I'm sorry but
I 
had
 to
do that, Aru, to disable your implant.”

They both relaxed their postures somewhat. He
was still livid though.

“You could have just asked me to shut it
down.”

“That means nothing in this situation. I had
to physically neutralize its operation.”

“Yeah, well I think you might already know
that my brain is in there too! What are you, high
again?”

“Maybe a little,” she conceded. “But
regardless of whatever substances may or may not be in my
bloodstream, this is a purely reality-fueled paranoia
kick. You do realize that if Kinny were dominated by a higher level
AI, we would have no way of knowing it. Everything he is telling us
now, all we see and hear from System, our consoles, our displays,
every sensor reading.... it would all just be bullshit.”

Aru thought about this in fits and starts
through his searing headache. No, she wasn't seeing this through
with reason.

He gave her two words: “Clandestine
Control.”

Clandestine Control was a core principle
tactic of the machine world. When a higher form of machine
intelligence integrated a lower machine entity, it ideally did so
in such complete secrecy that neither the conquered machine entity
nor any human oversight of it had any awareness of the takeover.
Kinny was a high intellect machine entity with a rating of AI-8.
The standard lower tier scale of artifical intelligence ranged from
AI-1, or barely sentient lower level machine manager of non AIs, to
AI-10 highly sentient machine entities with the capacity to manage
a large and complex network of lower AIs, and their subsequent
systems, and so on. Next came the SI, or “super-intelligences.” A
level one or L-1 SI could manage an entire colony's network, and
was secure from anything more than localized breaches by any entity
in the lower AI tiers. On the upper end of the SI scale was the
L-5, of which there were less than a dozen of in existence. The
Arathian nation-states, for example, had two L-5s at the apex of
their vast networks. The Occitanian Service had an unknown number,
but probably no more than 3. Others were known to be under the
control of Mnemtech on Calidon and Fleet base space carousels, and
one on Beixing Prime “Ore City” in the far reaches of the PoleStar
North system. And that was it. L-5s were the highest level machine
entities except for the one L-6 core central consciousness, The
Grand Machine Lord himself, Mnemtech. Thus it was believed the true
reason Mnemtech, Regent Ruler of The Red Empire, spent nearly the
entirety of his time presiding from the Red-controlled Arathian
nation of Tropica was not because he preferred the weather, but
because he was secure in his control of all the L-5s on the
Rubelian side of the Taiji, he had concentrated the bulk of his
efforts on taking full clandestine control of the Arathian L-5s. Of
course, there was no way to prove that Mnemtech controlled half the
planet of Occitania, as he would never admit it outright, nor would
he ever do anything to compromise his clandestine control. Thus the
public transports ran on time and the networks stayed up and the
economy rolled along all the better because they were, in secret,
being managed by a superior machine intelligence.

Lord Mnemtech had the distinction of being the
sole L-6 in the Taiji, a category unto himself. But then there was
Logos, centuries silent, who sat throned at the heart of the
greatest processing and information system in the known universe,
The White and The Black Stones on their inner orbits about Ignis
Rubeli. Mnemtech himself was the lone known creation of Logos, two
centuries earlier. Now, here they had this sphere, taken from
Logos, the one machine entity that did not even have a rating.
There was no L-7 category or beyond, but if there were, Aru
reckoned, Logos may well be seated comfortably in the
double-digits.

“For all we know, Aru, that alert could have
been a psychological tactic, and that hole is not even sealed,” Mei
persisted.

“Kinny is an AI-8, near the top of the scale.
It has only ever suffered localized attacks on subsystems, as is
all that has happened now. If there were an L-1 SI or higher
in that sphere, we would not have even heard an alert. Kinny would
not have reported such a full extent of the hacking, or any
cyber-alert at all for that matter. We'd just be believing we were
drilling in further, seeing whatever it wanted us to see, and
thinking everything was fine. This attack, Mei, was overt, not
clandestine. We are at most dealing with an L-1 or an AI-10 with
exceptional algorithms in its arsenal.”

Mei could see his reason here and was
frantically trying to formulate an argument to it, motivated not so
much for the sake of deducing the truth, but more as means of
justifying her blasting an EMP through his skull.

“If things went smoothly with no
alert,
that
would
be a sure sign of clandestine control! So the alien AI has created
a more plausible scenario to appear less...”

“Mei, enough! Let's chalk this up as possible,
but unlikely.”

“You still need to get that implant taken out
as a precautionary measure.”

Ugh, that would require minor surgery, but he
supposed that, despite the illogical elements of her theory, it was
still an end worth covering. “Ok,” he agreed, “so how do we proceed
from here?”

“Proceed? We don't. Even if that thing didn't
CC our system, it still overcame its defenses and propagated its
way into our main systems. It knows all our nav codes, the inner
workings of our life support...”

“It seemed to be most interested in general
knowledge.” That was exceptionally odd. General knowledge was just
that, all information that was unclassified covering every subject
imaginable, from history to languages, sports, literature, network
archives.... basically everything that wasn't nailed down as
proprietary to the Fleet or classified as secret. But that's
the odd thing, that same general knowledge library is aboard
every modern ship and space colony, in public buildings,
homes, and schools. It is replicated everywhere and freely
available. So why would this AI have such an interest in it?
Perplexing...

“Maybe it doesn't know general
knowledge,” offered Mei. “Think about it. Whatever
that entity is, it's been completely isolated, perhaps
from its very conception. And that's why it initially took an overt
approach and didn't CC Kinny, because it
didn't 
know
 the very concept of CC until it learned of it from
us.”