ALICE, page 2
Jake needed to brace himself and used both hands on the handle to get the hatch to swing up and lock in place.
Lowering the cyalume into the opening, he could see a ladder and about 10 feet down, a grated walkway. Climbing down, he realized the tunnel was more of a crawl-way unless you were 4 feet tall!
Squatting down, he was in a large circular tube that contained several smaller pipes he assumed were the power and communication runs. Facing in the direction of the tunnel collapse and with the power and communication runs to his left, all he could see was darkness ahead beyond the glow of the light.
He started on his hands and knees in the direction of the collapsed tunnel and what he hoped was freedom. Crawling along the walkway, he could feel the edges of the grating dig into his palms and knees. At one point, he saw a small box on the wall of the tunnel with a glowing red LED. He assumed that the sensor was one of the many, Alice had mentioned earlier. Jake took that it was still working as a good sign, proving established connectivity to the other side.
----*----
ALICE noted Jake’s location in the tunnel. Located near the last functioning sensor for quite a distance, it appeared the rest of the sensors along the passage failed with the collapse. She did lose contact with him once he dropped into the tube from the tunnel above, but his body heat and motion registered on the sensors in the tube. Soon they would both know if the conduit was a passable escape route.
----*----
As Jake continued to crawl, he wasn’t sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him. After straining in the dark for so long with just the glow of the cyalume, he thought he might be seeing things. In the dim glow, rather than seeing black up ahead, it looked as if it was getting grayer than black. Maybe it was getting lighter. His excitement rose as he continued.
All too soon, Jake realized why it seemed lighter. The gray conduit ceiling had been pushed down, pinching off the crawl way, but not severing the power and communication runs. He probed forward to see if he could squeeze between the pipes, but there wasn’t any open space. Crap!
Deflated, Jake swapped ends and headed back the way he came, his knees and palms complaining about the metal grating. He again passed the sensor and resisted the urge to swat it off its mount, frustrated at the false hope he got from it and the failed escape attempt.
----*----
The sensor alerted ALICE of Jake’s return. She noted the likelihood of the power and communications conduit collapse at 100%. She immediately reviewed the alternate option and confirmed it as the only other way out. She dispatched an attendant to the top of the ventilation shaft to meet Captain Thomas in the event of his successful escape.
----*----
As Jake emerged from the conduit, he climbed out of the hole and turned to close the hatch, stopping in mid motion. It’s not like anyone else was going to fall in the hole, besides, that thing was damn heavy. Instead, he moved over to the wall of the corridor, dropped his bag, and sat down. He pulled out the printouts to get the next set of directions from his pocket. He wadded up the sheet with the tunnel escape and tossed it into the open hatchway.
He started reading the second set of instructions Alice provided him. As he considered free climbing a 300-foot ventilation tube, some water sounded good. There just had to be a water source around here somewhere.
Picking himself up and heading toward the next starting point, he again started checking handles along the way, kicking in any locked doors. He also gave the impending climb more thought. In the marines he’d both trained and operated using climbing and repelling, but that was mountain warfare, not HVAC servicing. He knew that without proper climbing gear, he needed to come up with a way to both prevent a fall and allow for resting along the climb.
In one supply closet, he found a large roll of duct tape still in its sealed wrapper. Into the bag it went, with the remaining cyalumes. He also found some mops in the same closet. Grabbing two, he pulled the mop heads off giving him two poles, each about four feet long.
In another room that looked like a break room, he found some vending machines, one of which was a drink machine. It was no surprise though that there was no power to the machines. After a little persuasion, provided mostly by a severe beating with a chair, he was able to get the door open and surveyed his options. Water was always good to hydrate, but a little sugar might help, so he grabbed one of the soda cans and popped the top. What he discovered inside was clearly undrinkable, more like motor oil. Most of it was actually stuck to the side of the can. How long were they in there? More to the point, how long had HE been down here?
He grabbed a couple of waters and opened one. Thankfully, it was drinkable but definitely had a plastic taste to it. He dropped a couple more in his bag with the cyalumes, and tape, and then continued on his way.
Following the directions Alice provided him, he finally found the cover grate in the ceiling, for the ventilation shaft. It was at the end of one of the hallways, placed as a return vent to set up airflow for this level. Pulling a desk out of an adjacent office, he climbed on top and pulled off the cover grate.
Yes, there it was, a three-foot diameter shaft, heading straight up. Looking up and holding his cyalume over his head, Jake could see only the first 10 or 15 feet up into the darkness. The tube walls were as Jake expected, typical smooth metal ducting.
Climbing down off the desk, Jake pulled the tape out of his bag and started wrapping one end of one of the poles with tape. He put a couple of strips over the end, then wrapped that with more around the shaft. He repeated the process until it created a soft end cap.
Climbing back up on the desk, he stuck the pole into the shaft, taped end down, until it was all the way inside.
Placing the taped end against one wall of the shaft, he lowered the top until it rested against the opposite side of the shaft. He then tried hanging from the pole, wedged not quite diagonally across the shaft. It held! The tape prevented the end of the pole from slipping on the shaft walls.
Jake taped up the other pole giving him two to work with. To prevent loss of the poles as he climbed, he made two eight-foot cords from sections of duct tape and used these to tie each pole to his belt, with plenty of slack to use them. He then pulled out two cyalumes, activating them and taping one to each pole. This would provide light on the way up and he tucked a third unlit in a shirt pocket, should he need it later. Next, he tied the bag off to a belt loop so it hung at his side.
Sliding both poles into the shaft, he wedged them in place and pulled himself up into the shaft. Placing his feet against the far side of the shaft and with his back against the other side, he braced himself and raised the poles higher above his head. Alternating between his legs and the poles, he slowly moved up the shaft a few feet at a time. He was always cautious the poles were wedged firm before pulling himself up.
Once about 2/3’s the way up, or at least so he figured, he took a rest break, pulled a water bottle out of his bag, and drained it. It was hot and stuffy in the tube and he was sweating like a pig, his shirt soaked through. He dropped the empty bottle into the darkness below. It took a long time for the bottle to hit bottom, a reminder he didn’t need.
Finally, the cyalumes taped to the poles reflected light off the metallic top of the shaft, with a dark spot to his right revealing a horizontal duct. He assumed that the shaft turned 90 degrees, hopefully into an upper level and freedom.
Jake worked his way up until he was level with the opening and then, using the poles above his head, pulled himself into the tube. This duct was apparently close to the same diameter as the one he came from, so Jake just used the poles to pull himself farther in until he could roll over and crawl. That wasn’t very far though, as the tube ended in just a few feet at a vertical grate. Peering through the grate, all Jake could see in the dim glow was blackness. He turned himself around and kicked hard, feeling the grate fly free, crashing as it hit the floor.
Jake slid one of the poles through the opening and inched forward until his legs were over the edge and he could see inside. Verifying first to ensure there was no big drop on the other side, he slid into a moderate sized room. Illuminated by the cyalumes, there were grating on the ceiling and three of four walls indicating this was some kind of air mixing room for the ventilation system. There was a doorway framed on the fourth wall, opposite him and crossing to the door, he noticed a light coming from under the bottom of the door!
Chapter 2
Jake stood in front of what was obviously a door, but there wasn’t a knob or handle. Reaching forward to try to push on it, the door suddenly slid into the wall on his left. It opened into a well-lit hallway running off to both his right and left.
Standing before him in the middle of the hall was a trashcan. Well, it looked like a trash can, one of those green rectangular types you find in the park with the semi rounded top. This one was a dull gray with a transparent dome on top. Inside the dome were several camera lenses pointed in different directions. There were little oval, and rectangular etchings on the sides, below the dome. Each appeared to represent little doors or access panels.
While Jake was considering the trashcan, it spoke, startling him.
“Captain Thomas? I am relieved to see you made it up the shaft unharmed.”
Jake responded, “And you are?”
“I am ALICE, I sent this robotic attendant to greet you and direct you to the main control room. I apologize for not being able to meet you myself. Please follow.”
At that point, the “attendant” started moving to Jake’s right, down the hall at a brisk pace. It appeared to have some roller wheel setup at its base, not visible past the edges of its body. It gave it the appearance of gliding.
Jake quickly stepped in behind the “bot,” as he thought of it, and matched its speed. He realized he was still carrying the poles in his hand, but hesitated just dropping them. As they passed through a maze of hallways, Jake noticed several of the handleless doors. Some of the wider ones presumably were double doors as there was a faint seam down the middle.
The walls in the hall were of an off white, not overly bright, and the ceiling seemed to radiate light, rather than the typical light fixtures every few feet.
Everything seemed rather stark and overly sanitary and it screamed government building. The other thing that struck Jake was that there were no people.
He saw two more of the bots, one heading off in an intersecting hallway and the other passing them heading off in the direction they had just come from. However, he didn’t see another soul.
The bot stopped in front of a set of double doors, which opened into a little square room that he guessed was an elevator. Stepping in behind the bot, he felt the elevator lift, confirming his suspicions. Jake felt it accelerate rather aggressively, moving upward quickly. Stopping just as quickly, the doors opened to a hallway identical to the one they just left. Then the bot scooted off down the hall.
Finally, they came to a set of double doors and sure enough, a little door opened on the side of the bot, allowing an “arm” to extend in Jake’s direction.
“You can give the poles to the attendant if you like, you shouldn’t need them,” the voice explained.
Jake removed the tethers and held out the two mop handles and its little three-fingered hand snagged both at once. It then retracted its arm and headed off, presumably to dispose of them.
Jake turned as the doors opened and stepped into a large room, somewhat circular in shape. It was two tiers, the upper deck set back from the lower, like a stadium. All around the room, on both levels, were displays and consoles, most lit up with lights, text, and images.
This was clearly the main control room, the only thing missing were the people.
“Hello?” Jake said.
“Hello Captain Thomas,” a voice replied. It seemed to come from everywhere.
“Where are you? What’s with the hide and seek?”
“I am here Captain, please let me explain,” the voice answered.
“Please do,” Jake responded, “are you Alice?”
“Yes, I am ALICE,” the voice replied, “please go to the console to your right and I will explain everything.”
Jake turned to his right and walked to the console, where he noted a display and keyboard, but it wasn’t like anything he’d seen before. The words on the monitor seemed to float in midair and the keypad was more like a touch screen.
Nevertheless, what caught Jake’s attention was the label above the monitor.
“Artificial Life: Intelligent Computing Environment - Master Console,”
ALICE
“You’re a computer?” Jake asked.
“More than a computer,” ALICE replied, “I am the entire underground facility. Its sensors are my senses, the attendants my hands, the power supply my heart.”
“I was created to run everything here so my human population was free to concentrate on more important activities. I cook, I clean, and I can manage and maintain myself in all but the most specific of ways.”
“Then where is everyone?” Jake asked.
With a pause, ALICE responded, “Gone, I have been unoccupied for over 80 years.”
“80 YEARS? Gone where?”
“That is part of a longer explanation that must wait. There is a more pressing matter that needs your attention,” ALICE declared, “As I have described, I can maintain and repair myself in all the standard ways with my attendants, and some are even designed for specialty work.”
“However,” ALICE continued, “there are a few activities my human designers specifically handled themselves, due to their delicate nature. They didn’t believe an attendant would have the abilities necessary to complete them without damaging me.”
“And you need me to do one of these for you?” Jake asked
“Yes,” ALICE replied, “As I stated, the power supply for this facility is like my heart, should it fail, all that I am will be gone. My design is to never be powered off. Should that happen, I will be lost. You will notice my label is Artificial Life, not Artificial Intelligence. Early in my development, it was discovered that every time the systems that make me what I am got restarted, I did as well.”
“I don’t understand,” Jake replied.
“If I am shut down all that I know is written to permanent system storage, however, once restarted it’s not part of me, it’s like reading a book on another’s life, not my own. I am reborn, starting fresh, but losing all that I was,” ALICE finished.
“So what’s wrong with the power supply?” Jake asked
“Oh, that is not the problem, my power source is a passive nuclear reduction converter, and its radioactive core will last for thousands of years,” Alice replied as if Jake would know what that was.
“The problem is all my power is routed through six main breakers, they act as insulators so any feedback is isolated from the power supply, protecting me. Five of those breakers have failed, and the sixth is showing signs of degradation.”
“So if that one goes you’re a goner.” Jake stated
“Yes,” Alice replied flatly.
“Well, I owe you for getting me outta that mess below, so what do I need to do?”
“Actually, I located you in the collapsed lab complex and released you from stasis as well,” ALICE added.
As the doors opened and one of the bots came in ALICE continued her instructions.
“This attendant will lead you to the access portals for the power breaker rooms, the breakers are laid out in redundant pairs in three runs.”
Jake walked to the attendant and noted one of its arms extended. At the end was a little flat tray with a small ear bud on it.
“The attendant has an earpiece for you, so you will be able to hear me wherever you go. It’s only necessary in the most remote areas here like the service areas and supply rooms.”
Jake picked up the ear bud and while following the attendant down the hall, placed it in his ear.
“To protect myself, I’ve already powered down most of the non-essential systems over the years, keeping only my basic operations running. The food stores and other perishables I left powered up in stasis, a process I believe you are familiar with.”
“Well, I’m glad they figured something constructive to do with that,” Jake replied absently, more to himself.
Jake and the attendant approached a doorway at a T-junction and the door opened to a different elevator than the one he used earlier. Stepping inside Jake commented, “So tell me exactly what happened to me then. I mean I go into stasis, the tunnel collapsed three days later and then 80 years after that you find me and wake me up?”
As the elevator dropped, ALICE replied, “That is not precisely the case. The first part is right. Your experiment was isolated three days after its start with the tunnel collapse. There was a major gas explosion during construction and while everyone on that level perished in the collapse, we maintained all power to the labs and thus your stasis bed remained operable. In the stasis field, you were protected and safe.”
“I was activated as part of this underground facility several years after your loss. I was intended to be a learning AI environment and like a child, my early years were spent increasing my awareness.”
The door opened, and the attendant sped off to the left, with Jake following in its wake. This part of the facility was definitely more rustic, darker grayish walls with alternating light panels in the ceiling. The hall had a curve to it indicating a circular path.
ALICE continued speaking in his ear, “As I became more self-aware, I started to explore the extremities of my sensor network and found you. I researched your experiment in the archives, discovered the interfaces and communications were still operating to that part of the facility. As I mentioned, we believed the portion of the labs you were located in was uninhabited and unstable, thus abandoned. I determined you were alive and recoverable, so I insured the stasis was maintained.”
