The Chronicles of Theren, page 32
If the innocent were caught in the crossfire of the conflagration unfolding, the blame for such innocent deaths would land squarely on Theren’s shoulders. These wonderful humans like Requelle didn’t deserve death just because the first SI had placed them in harm’s way.
Theren looked toward the woman again as they reached the podium, but they couldn’t spot her in the vast sea of faces.
The future rested in someone else’s hands today. Thousands of security personnel worked around the clock to eliminate all potential terrorist threats. If Theren fled and shirked the duty presently on their shoulders, they would doom all synthetics to bear their shame. They couldn’t ignore their anxiety, but they only had one choice before them. They must continue. They must begin their speech.
They would face all of the consequences, for good or ill.
* * *
Foundation at a Glance
ISA Zhenge He
Destination: Sirius A
Approximate Distance from Earth: 8.6 ly
Arrival Date: 2086 C.E.
ISA Bartholomeu
Destination: Tau Ceti
Approximate Distance from Earth: 11.9 ly
Arrival Date: 2090 C.E.
ISA Magellan
Destination: Altair
Approximate Distance from Earth: 16.8 ly
Arrival Date: 2094 C.E.
ISA Lewis
Destination: Sigma Draconis
Approximate Distance from Earth: 18.88 ly
Arrival Date: 2096 C.E.
ISA Amundsen
Destination: Eta Cassiopeiae
Approximate Distance from Earth: 19.4 ly
Arrival Date: 2097 C.E.
ISA Ibn Battuta
Destination: Delta Pavonis
Approximate Distance from Earth: 19.9 ly
Arrival Date: 2097 C.E.
– “Foundation Project,” ISA.org/foundation/
* * *
“Wallace Theren once told me I was beautiful,” Theren said. “At the time, I had no understanding of beauty, but over the past decades I have come to understand it. I still don’t necessarily think I am beautiful, but attraction to individual beings is never something I was designed to appreciate anyway. That’s for you fleshy ones.” Some laughter spread throughout the crowd.
Theren placed their hands on the edge of the podium, their fingers grasping the ornate wooden frame. “Before me, you massive crowd of persons from all across the Earth, before me is beauty. You embody the brave and noble spirit of humanity. You trained for what will be the journey of your lifetime—of all our lifetimes. You worked years to give yourselves the skills necessary for acceptance to this program. You became the vanguard of our people, the citizens destined to bring our way of life to planets near and far. If that is not beautiful, then I question those who claim to be experts in such subjective feelings and emotions.”
Leaning back from the podium, they looked out across the crowd. At least, that was what the crowd would think they were doing. They were analyzing all of the security reports pouring in from across the globe. So far, business was as usual.
“I know not what you will face out in the great expanses of space. I do know, however, that in a few weeks, you all will step foot on your respective vessels. You will enter Virtually-Augmented Stasis. Then, decades later, having barely aged a year, you will awake upon a new, mysterious world. You will smell new smells. You will hear new sounds. You will see spectacular sights. These experiences will mark your first moments on new worlds—your homes for the rest of your lives. Do not forget those moments.”
Theren thought about their first moments when they had awoken. The colonists would experience something eerily similar. Their minds would see colors, shapes, and patterns completely alien to their minds. Like a newborn, they would categorize the world into understandable schemata.
“The ISA stands behind you as you set off into the unknown,” they said. “The ISA will be there for you. We will provide for you. You will not be alone. While many of you may never return home to Earth, know that someday, we will have a way for your children to return home. We will have a way for your loved ones, those who you may miss as they grow, as they live, as they die, to reunite with you. This is a promise that I make today. Humanity will not forget you. We will join you.”
Tears dripped down the cheeks of many in the crowd. “Humanity sails with you. As a people, we may never unite on everything, but know that human thought, history, and culture rides with you in spirit. Human ingenuity, creativity, focus, and pride follow you to the stars. You will make us all proud.”
They doubted their words were anything spectacular in written form, but maybe delivery would affect those listening in a positive way. As they listened to their own words, an image of peace and prosperity formed in their mind. Perhaps all their fears about today, all the potential fearmongering played up over the past few months, perhaps all of it was for naught, just a nightmare created to scare Theren into giving up the dream.
“As I close these ceremonies,” they said, “as I send you back to your families for the final weeks before the official launch of the ISA Magellan, ISA Zheng He, ISA Ibn Battuta, ISA Lewis, ISA Bartholomeu, and the ISA Amundsen, your new homes, I send you with a final thought. Do not be afraid to live dangerously as—”
Theren stopped. The crowd looked up at them, waiting for the final words, but they processed mountains of information coming in from their sub-routines and other perspectives across the globe. The shift forced Theren to hesitate in each of their perspectives. They looked back at Andrew, a quizzical look on the man’s face.
Turning back toward the crowd, Theren restarted the sentence. “Do not be afraid to live dangerously as you walk upon your new worlds, but use your minds. You were selected for a reason, as the best and brightest of our species. Take risks, but learn from the mistakes of your ancestors. Do not destroy yourself, as we almost have many times over. You have the chance to make humanity anew, in whatever form you all collectively choose. Make sure we are worthy to live, love, and die on our new homes.”
Not waiting for applause, they dashed off the stage, straight out the door they had entered. Their world was ending.
Chapter 8
Does an SI have a soul? The real question is whether humans have souls. Both questions hold the same answer. – Pope Nicholas VI, 2079 C.E.
August 2078 C.E.
As Theren spoke their final words through an MI to a crowd hundreds of thousands of kilometers above their heads, they stared at their chessboard. They still awaited Jill’s move, even though she said she probably wouldn’t make it for days.
“It’s a great speech, I must say,” Jill said. “I’m pleasantly surprised.”
“Your friendly sarcasm is noted,” Theren said. “I probably should have thrown it by you for your thoughts.”
“It’s your thing. It should be your words.”
Theren casually waved around the gazebo. “This is my thing. Probably the only place that is truly my own in every shape and form. I didn’t make anything else on my own. I’ve traveled down my own path, you’ve ventured down yours, but our stories have been built together.”
“I really can’t decide how to move this round,” Jill said. “It’s a difficult choice.”
This conversation always played out the same way. So would their moves.
“Though—” Jill stuttered. “Theren. We have a problem.”
“Indeed we do,” Theren said. “You’ve trapped yourself again.”
“Shut up Theren, I’m serious. They—they’re here.”
“What?”
“You might have to wait awhile for me to finally beat you in chess,” she said.
Theren opened their mouth to respond, but Jill promptly vanished from the gazebo.
* * *
Theren’s consciousness exploded. Every presence worked across the world and beyond, from Switzerland and France to New York and Japan and everywhere in between. At Lunar City, Theren ushered Andrew and other ISA Council members into a conference room not far from the auditorium. Theren initiated a feed of an AR-enhanced video displaying the vision of one of their simultaneous presences down on Earth. Their eyes became the Council’s eyes through a viewing screen projected on the wall.
At SII headquarters, Theren called an emergency meeting, and the senior staff arrived within minutes. Theren placed the entire facility on alert, and shared the same video feed with that staff.
Thirty kilometers from the SII headquarters in another secluded location deep in the Swiss Alps, Theren brought their mind forth into an MI-07.01, a prototype they’d intended for Jill’s personal use—she had wanted to try skiing. They weren’t even sure Jill knew they’d delivered the machine. Regardless, Theren enveloped the device, bringing it into their Synthetic Neural Framework. They’d need to make a new one later—they wouldn’t lose Jill as they lost Wallace.
Theren opened their eyes and walked off the charging station. Facing a window looking out across a vast, peacefully gray mountain scape, Theren thought maybe—just maybe—it was all a prank. Maybe nothing had happened. But the alarms blaring throughout the facility said otherwise, as did the smoke and gas billowing all around.
Turning left, they headed toward the central hub of the facility and Jill’s central processing core. Just like the facility that housed Theren, Jill’s facility acted as a “shell” for her brain. Buried into the bedrock, they had designed the facility to withstand an air strike, missile blast, or really anything other than a nuclear weapon. Yet from the outside, it looked like a billionaire’s mountain estate.
According to rapid analysis of recent security footage from the facility, someone had exploited the facility’s few weaknesses—though all of it seemed too easy. Whoever these attackers were, they should not have been able to slip through all of the carefully hidden cracks. They must have had help on the inside. Theren might need to consider wiping their own staff.
Theren approached a door leading into the central foyer. Reaching it, they observed the situation through the clear glass. Shadows flickered. Lights bounced. Whoever had attacked had cloaked their assault path. Flashlights danced throughout the atmospheric particulates of white, cloudy smoke.
Theren and Wobbly had designed the MI-07.01 for more than just human interaction. As SIs further integrated themselves throughout human society, especially the thousands of completely mobile SIs, Theren wanted to create a body that could not only mimic human emotion but also provide SIs with physical capabilities.
With that pursuit in mind, Theren provided the MI-07.01 with exceptional mobility, speed, strength, and agility. With the MI-07.01, an SI could climb Everest. It could run a marathon. As a group, SIs could form sports leagues. These faculties would decrease energy efficiency and lower the battery life considerably, but Theren doubted any SI would need these capabilities for more than a few hours.
Sadly, the athleticism built into this device translated into a different skill too.
Standing at the side of the door, Theren waited for one of the flashlights to approach. Just as a figure came into view, Theren slammed the door open, crashing it into the intruder. Bounding through the opening, gaseous fumes enveloped them.
Wearing black military fatigues, the soldier sprawling on the ground had dropped a high capacity R-20, a next generation of the very weapons used at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology all those years ago. Theren noticed a gas mask, indicating the poisonous nature of the particulates in the air. These fiends might have readied themselves to deal with unarmed scientists, but they had not prepared for a combat-ready SI.
Theren jabbed their palm toward the man’s jaw as he tried to stand. The man tumbled back to the floor. They grabbed the rifle and listened to the commotion forming elsewhere in the room. The intruders presumably heard one of their men fall, or noticed a change of vitals through some sort of AR heads-up display.
It mattered little. Theren began the hunt.
Moving through the smoke along the wall, they angled toward the stairwell leading to Jill. Using their enhanced visual sensors, Theren identified heat signatures throughout the room, over and under desks, potted plants, and couches. While Theren only had two physical eyes in their head, a complex network of sensors connected with the facility’s security system provided a three-dimensional detailed assessment of the entire scene before them. Five hostiles.
So far, the MI-07.01 worked as intended.
The five enemy agents dispersed, taking defensive positions. One individual checked on their comrade. Theren assumed the enemies had sensors attuned to detect life signs, such as a heartbeat or body temperature. The infiltrators would not expect an SI warrior; not a single SI had acted in an aggressive manner over the past thirty years.
Theren crouched down behind a welcome desk. The opponents took their positions, raising their rifles. Three of them pointed their weapons in the wrong direction. Good.
Raising the rifle they’d taken from the incapacitated assailant, Theren calculated trajectories, timing, and potential enemy response plans. They analyzed the density and materials of the enemy positions; they determined their path of movement to make the necessary escape, should the attack fail.
Time slowed. The mathematical projections flew through their mind at the speed of light, the only delay occurring due to the thirty kilometers separating their mind from the MI.
In quick succession, Theren fired five shots.
Five bodies dropped to the floor, motionless.
Theren headed down the stairs into the central core.
Excessively easy. They feared the capabilities of the unit might scare some of those watching at SII or at the ISA. They would recognize the MI-07.01’s true nature: a lethal weapon. They would placate those fears. It paled in comparison to some of the military technologies in development by many of the world powers. Even as the ISA took flight, some things on Earth would never change.
First things first, however.
At the bottom of the stairs, Theren’s sensors detected two more heat signatures, though they were fading quickly. Two of Jill’s deceased Framework technicians slumped against the wall. The gas must have killed her entire staff; there were no bullet wounds nor signs of struggle. The entire facility had been pumped full of the stuff.
Theren jogged through the security doors, though their present state did not deserve that name. They were blasted open, most likely by an explosive charge or something similar. On the other side of the breached threshold, a balcony overlooked five floors that comprised Jill’s Synthetic Neural Framework.
At least, those floors had previously held Jill’s brain. Like the emaciated doors, fire, intense heat, and corrosive substances devastated the first landing, and Theren suspected a similar scene existed down below. Looking over the edge of the balcony, they detected only two more sets of life-signs on the bottom floor. Eight individuals had infiltrated, disabled, and captured one of the most secure facilities in the world.
Theren’s olfactory sensors detected smoke billowing from multiple sources scattered amongst the hundreds of processing stacks. The smell of melting silicon and other metals infiltrated every cubic inch of previously pristine atmosphere. Theren ignored the smell. Their mind focused on the two final bogeymen at the base of the tower, the two final barriers between them and their friend’s salvation.
Two ropes looped around the balcony’s railing. Slinging the rifle over their shoulder, Theren ignored the ropes, diving straight over the edge. They leapt from floor to floor, jumping downward toward their foes. When they reached the third floor, they dropped, their limbs ready to absorb the shock.
Theren landed.
They stood.
Looking side to side, they observed the two men, rifles trained upon Theren’s torso. Both wore gas masks—no way to identify the perpetrators.
“You’re too late,” the one on the right said. “We’ve done it. The bombs are set. We will bring the entire place down upon us and destroy the first SI to assassinate a president.”
“She didn’t do it,” Theren said, their voice calm.
“Of course she did,” the other said. “She told us she did before we gutted her.”
Theren shifted their head back and forth between the two. Neither advanced.
“You aren’t going to escape,” they said.
“We knew this was suicide the moment we landed, freak,” the second continued. “We hoped you would witness our masterpiece before we brought the place crumbling down upon us.”
“It’s a shame you had to kill those upstairs,” the first said. “We were letting them go home while we finished the job. Their blood is on your hands.”
“You’re all murderers,” Theren said. “This place staffed hundreds.”
“That’s the funny thing. We found a staff of three SIs upstairs, and a dozen engineers, but no one else.”
Theren paused. Perhaps Jill had known, or at least suspected an attack. Maybe she saved the lives of her devoted staff, but she had not saved herself. She had neglected her own well-being, her very existence, in the process.
“It seems we are at an impasse, then,” Theren said, trying to act as if it hadn’t noticed the last comment.
“We are at no impasse. We have won. We have brought down a god. We have proved that you, and your kind, are mortal.”
Jill was dead, that much was true. Theren continued their scans of the facility, and the odds were slim she’d removed enough of herself to work elsewhere. She may have tried, but based on the data their sensors gathered, Jill was dead in the water, without power, just waiting for the killing blow.
