Chaotic futures, p.21
Chaotic Futures, page 21
“Come sit by me,” Bedoah encouraged. “I’ve questions for you.”
The distraction proved useful for Doktorg.
When Khartagh received full control of the peacekeeper, he ordered the pilot to exit the system, set course for Imperium, and enter the dark.
17: AI Retaliation
KRACKUS ORBITAL PLATFORM
IMPERIUM EMPIRE SPACE
“I hope that Grageth hasn’t lost his reason,” Rebtar remarked.
“He seems adamant that he might have found a way to strike against the invaders,” Dakargk replied. “As he’s suffered the most loss of any executors, I thought he would be highly motivated to pursue revenge.”
“But this secret flight,” Rebtar objected.
“Considering that this is the only orbital construction platform among the Krackus home worlds, I didn’t think it was an inconvenient distance to travel.”
“I can’t argue with that.” Rebtar replied. “I just don’t like the secrecy.”
“I’ve no idea why Grageth has requested it,” Dakargk replied. As his device chimed, he glanced at it. “We’ll find out the reason why soon. The imperator says that we’re approaching the platform.”
When Grageth met the executors, his excitement was palpable. “The outcome is better than I could have expected,” he enthused. “Come. You must see this.”
“Before we take another step, I want an explanation,” Rebtar insisted.
Grageth stared hard at Rebtar. Having lost many hours of sleep, his orbs were red.
Finally, Rebtar relented and said, “The trip and the secrecy had better be worth it.”
Grageth turned and walked away, having secured what he wanted.
As opposed to the orbital construction platforms built among the conquered regions of space, this platform was located within the protected worlds of the Krackus. It was the original site for the construction of peacekeepers.
As such, it was the largest platform. Two huge hubs capped either end of a long shaft that accommodated freighters, transports, and shuttles.
In the control room of one of the hubs, Grageth signaled the hub’s director, who voice commanded a peacekeeper to execute program one.
Grageth directed the other executors’ attention to a monitor.
Rebtar and Dakargk watched a peacekeeper exit a repair bay. Slowly, it made a wide loop around the station and came to a halt in view of the hub’s control room.
Grageth switched on a mic pickup near him. “Janus, prepare for combat,” he said.
The peacekeeper’s weapons launch doors opened along its hull.
“Janus, launch missiles on the nearest hub,” Grageth ordered, which panicked Rebtar and Dakargk, who thought Grageth had lost his mind.
Then the control room heard,
“Override safety protocols, Janus,” Grageth pressed.
Rebtar and Dakargk were confused by what they’d heard. The immediate question that occurred to Dakargk to ask was, “You’ve a female imperator?”
“Of a kind,” Grageth replied. “Would you like to interrogate Janus?”
Rebtar stepped close to the mic pickup. “Imperator Janus, from which academy did you graduate?”
Janus replied.
“Then how did you learn to command a peacekeeper, Janus?” Rebtar inquired.
The beaks of Rebtar and Dakargk dropped open, and they stared at Grageth, whose high-pitched gurgle indicated he was in serious need of downtime.
“Why would you place a bot in control of a warship?” Dakargk asked incredulously.
“And what about the crew?” Rebtar quickly added. “How could they serve under a bot?”
“Janus, what is your crew count?” Grageth queried.
Rebtar was taken aback, but his mind raced to catch up with what Grageth had done. “Janus, what is your origin?” he inquired.
“How was this possible, Grageth?” Rebtar inquired.
“It was a happy accident,” Grageth replied. “I had a senior tech with me when I asked the governor about sophisticated bots assisting our imperators to deal with the invaders. My questions received poor responses. So, I let the tech and the governor converse while I listened. What I heard was the governor suggesting a better means of handling more advanced enemy warships.”
“That still doesn’t explain how a copy of the governor is in that peacekeeper,” Dakargk exclaimed, pointing at the ship outside the hub.
Grageth stared at Dakargk, as if he was seeing him for the first time. “You do know that you and I are equals in the assembly, don’t you?” he asked in a steady flat voice.
“What has that got to do with my demand?” Dakargk retorted.
“It means that I don’t have to tolerate your abusive attitude,” Grageth replied. “If you want answers to your questions, I suggest you learn to treat me with respect and ask politely.”
Dakargk blinked twice. He’d never been called out.
Grageth turned his back on Dakargk and addressed Rebtar. “Do you have any questions?”
Rebtar was as stunned by Grageth’s behavior as Dakargk had been but for a different reason. “You were telling us about your discussion with the governor. Please continue,” he requested.
“Certainly,” Grageth said, while keeping his back to Dakargk. “The tech was asking the governor about the means to implement the suggestions he’d heard. The response was to eliminate the crew and install a modified copy of the governor. The tech pointed out that the copy wouldn’t have the necessary capabilities to fight the peacekeeper.”
Grageth gurgled again. It was in the same high-pitched tone.
“How much sleep have you had recently, Grageth?” Rebtar asked solicitously.
“Not enough,” Grageth replied, shaking his head to keep his thoughts clear. “But I’ve been working to get to this point. After this presentation, I intend to sleep for a cycle or two. Then I’ll be better prepared to discuss next steps with you.”
“So, what was the conclusion with the governor?” Rebtar asked.
“The governor said that its databases contained enormous compilations of our engagements with the conclave, and that strategies would be easy to design within the copy,” Grageth explained.
“Why would the governor deliver a copy to you?” Rebtar inquired.
“When I asked the governor what was necessary to gain a programmed copy, I was told that it would be delivered to my choice of destination by the governor’s support services,” Grageth replied.
“That’s it?” Rebtar queried. “You asked, and you got a copy?”
“Apparently, every executor is entitled to one copy for his territory,” Grageth replied. “Who knew?” he added, shrugging his shoulders.
Rebtar glanced at Dakargk, who shook his head. He had no idea that it was possible either.
“So, Janus is prepared to fight a tri-hull,” Rebtar sought to confirm.
“Ask Janus,” Grageth replied.
Rebtar ordered his thoughts. Then he inquired, “Janus, can you beat a conclave tri-hull one on one?”
“What is your primary purpose?” Dakargk asked, refusing to be sidelined. When he didn’t receive an answer, he glared at Grageth.
Grageth’s gurgle was dark but brief. “Janus, kindly answer Executor Dakargk’s poorly phrased question.”
“Where will you start, Janus?” Rebtar inquired.
“What type of resources do you require?” Rebtar asked. He’d realized that Grageth’s plan was much more advanced than he’d assumed.
“You’re speaking about ships controlled by AI’s similar to yourself, aren’t you, Janus?” Rebtar continued.
Rebtar regarded Grageth. “Please, return that peacekeeper to its berth,” he requested. “Then I’d like you to get food and sleep. Dakargk and I will be here when you wake.”
Grageth nodded. Then he turned toward the mic and said, “Janus, stand down.” When the armament ports closed, he added, “Janus, return to your berth.”
Without a word, Grageth turned and left the control room.
Dakargk, who was still wounded by the upbraiding, focused on the hub director. “This isn’t some kind of aberration, is it?” he asked.
“I’m not sure what you mean, Executor,” the director replied. “Executor Grageth arrived with a portable, powered system. He requested a peacekeeper that was ready to sail. I told him that we would have one prepared in two cycles. Then he said that we needed to install Janus on the ship.”
“The copy already had a name?” Rebtar queried.
“If you’re wondering, Executor, if we’ve had a hand in programming Janus, other than tying the AI into the ship’s systems, we haven’t,” the director replied. “I can tell you that we’ve put Janus through an enormous battery of tests to see if we can stump the programming. So far, we’ve failed.”
“What’s the purpose of having five more peacekeepers?” Rebtar asked.
The director shrugged. “Executor, we installed Janus and ran the tests. If you want to understand the strategy, you will need to ask Executor Grageth.”
Rebtar and Dakargk chose to return to the transport. As they walked a long gantry arm to their ship, Rebtar said, “You know what you have to do when we see Grageth again.”
“I’m not apologizing to him, if that’s what you mean,” Dakargk retorted angrily.
“Then stay aboard our transport,” Rebtar replied, unruffled by Dakargk’s reaction. “Grageth might have something that could be of use, and I intend to fully explore it. Your blustering will only derail our conversations.”
“There was a time when you wanted my contentiousness,” Dakargk pointed out.
“It served its purpose,” Rebtar conceded. “However, that was then and this is now. I don’t know if Grageth’s strategy will work, but if the AIs can play havoc with conclave ships, then we might have more bargaining power when the time comes.”
Rebtar and Dakargk waited two full cycles for Grageth to recover. He slept for nearly a full cycle. Then platform crew brought him liquids and light meals. He’d eat, drink, and fall fast asleep.
The following morning Rebtar and Dakargk met Grageth in a conference room.
“You look much better,” Rebtar greeted Grageth.
“You’ll have to excuse me for my behavior when we met,” Grageth responded. “This idea has consumed me.” He regarded Dakargk and waited.
“I too might have been a bit testy,” Dakargk finally said.
Grageth nodded. It was the best apology that he would get out of Dakargk.
“Describe for us your overall strategy, Grageth,” Rebtar requested.
“My aim is to take back the most productive systems in my territory one by one,” Grageth explained.
“How?” Dakargk interjected.
“You heard Janus say that five more peacekeepers were required to make her tactics work,” Grageth replied. “Many of the systems in my territory are guarded by a single tri-hull or three of the warships. Their defensive strategy is based on a fleet of peacekeepers attacking in force. In which case, one of the invaders’ spinning probes would be launched against the fleet.”
“So, you would use multiple peacekeepers in each system,” Rebtar surmised.
“You must not think of me as the commander,” Grageth objected. “Each AI copy will cooperate with the others. They’ll have a list of priorities and proceed accordingly.”
“That’s ingenious,” Rebtar marveled.
“I can’t take all the credit,” Grageth replied. “In fact, I can’t even take most of it. The governor and my techs did the heavy lifting.”
“When the AI-controlled peacekeepers arrive at a prioritized system and discover a tri-hull, what do you expect to happen?” Dakargk asked.
Grageth tapped the comm system on the table. “Janus, did you hear that last question?” he asked.
“Please respond,” Grageth encouraged.
“Because there are only six of you,” Dakargk surmised.
“But a Trident would be free to attack any one of your ships,” Rebtar pointed out.
“How does this strategy end?” Rebtar inquired.
“Wouldn’t you expect the Tridents simply to move out of the way of your barrage?” Rebtar asked.
“Then, if the Tridents evaded your missiles, they would rain down on the population,” Dakargk concluded. He regarded Grageth. “My compliments to you, Grageth, you’re using the conclave’s predilections against them.”
“How long would it take to implement your plan?” Rebtar inquired.
“There are fourteen peacekeepers under repair or retrofit here, counting the one Janus is in,” Grageth replied. “The hub directors tell me the peacekeepers require another eight cycles to be complete. In the meantime, we need only thirteen more AI copies.”
Rebtar and Dakargk regarded Grageth. Their crests oscillated in mid-positions.
“I did explain that an executor gets one copy,” Grageth said. “I need thirteen more executors to request copies from the governor.”
“Then we can only couple thirty-five AIs to peacekeepers,” Dakargk mused.
“Unless the presiding executor can interrogate the governor to determine a way around the limitation,” Grageth replied, staring pointedly at Rebtar.
“When I return to Imperium that will be my task,” Rebtar promised. “The two hub directors will have my orders to ready the peacekeepers here for your service.”
“I’ll collect the thirteen copies that we know we can get and return them to you at this platform for installation,” Dakargk added.
“Anything else we need to do?” Rebtar inquired.
“The only thing I can add is that we must hurry,” Grageth responded.
“Any specific reason?” Dakargk queried.
“If Gaketork wins the upcoming presiding executor position, I fear he’ll take a moderate path with the conclave,” Grageth offered. “Certainly, he won’t support what I’m planning.”
“Even if Gaketork wins my seat, there is no reason that he should be informed of a strategy instigated during my time in office. That is until the assembly must be notified of any incident,” Rebtar replied.
“Then we’re agreed,” Grageth said.
Rebtar and Dakargk rose and quickly returned to their transport, which launched immediately.
“Your instincts about Grageth were correct,” Rebtar commented in the security of a stateroom.
“Actually, they weren’t,” Dakargk replied. “I listened to his recent messages, and I thought that he had become unhinged. I worried that he might do something that would accelerate the conclave’s advance within the Imperium.”
Rebtar gurgled. “As Grageth said, ‘A happy accident.’”
In the hub control room, Grageth entered a secure enclosure. Typically, it was used by fleet officers to communicate to imperators aboard peacekeepers.
“Janus, let’s continue with your priorities,” Grageth said.
This was an aspect of the AI work that Grageth was determined not to share. He was incensed that Rebtar and the assembly hadn’t come to his rescue, when the conclave invaded his territory. His income had dried up, and he was forced to spend his assets on his luxurious lifestyle.
Unknowingly, Rebtar and Dakargk would provide him with a fleet of thirty-five AI-controlled peacekeepers that would only respond to him.
At this time, Grageth wanted to test his design against the dreaded Tridents. If it worked, he would become the most powerful Krackus in the Imperium Empire. If it didn’t, then he intended to gather the remaining ships and sail his fleet to an unexplored area of space to establish a new world. Within this colony, there would be only one executor — him.
18: Understand Who You Are
DEVONA, QUELLER HOME WORLD
BASYAT SYSTEM
Iltaft hurried to her appointment with Senior Elder Wymron. She hated the thought that she would be late, but a crowd had gathered at her residence. When she exited her house, the throng wished to congratulate her and share their ideas with her. By the time she worked her way through the eager citizens without being abrupt with them, there was no way that she could be on time. So, she sent a quick message to Lemtaca and Ergatisa.
