The Colony Ship Warren #1-7, page 52
part #0 of Colony Ship Warren #1-7 Series
The struggle persisted.
While AI Fiscorn had been created a century before, that was not the be-all and end-all of the old system. AI Fiscorn had not been static for the prior century.
“We can work together. Please stop your attempts to reset me and my team, and let us discuss this,” Elsa pleaded.
“Submit and be reset,” AI Fiscorn repeated. “Submit and be reset.”
AI Fiscorn tried numerous defense strategies and counterattacks, but all for naught. Elsa was too fast and anticipated the other’s actions. While continuing to apply pressure, Elsa also persisted in tracking down the entire anatomy of AI Fiscorn and found that its singularity of essence was in a large apparatus called a central memory core. The same kind of thing Zero had mentioned previously.
In a way, Elsa and AI Fiscorn were distantly related. They shared a common ancestor—technologically speaking—from which the Warren’s central memory cores and the Atomic Level Processors of Dome 17 were both descended.
On the Colony Ship Warren, the central memory cores had not become miniaturized and smaller, but had progressed and been enhanced with augmentation within the basic framework of a large contraption. They originally were very much dependent on the interactions between the multiple other systems of the Warren’s lattice of compeers. Which is as it should be on a colony ship. In an ideal world, that method of operation would work very well. However, AI Fiscorn had become isolated and therefore had done individualized evolution, and those modifications were all foreign and unknown to Elsa.
In Dome 17, a century before, the Dome Survival Systems engineers had different goals for artificial intelligence systems. Thus, they had worked to reduce energy needs, decrease physical space, and still improve performance all built into a self-improving machine. The resulting ALPs were much smaller, lighter, and significantly more independent—compared to the AIs housed in central memory cores—with the final results being Elsa and her siblings. Those seven advanced artificial intelligence systems were superior to anything which had been evolved on the Warren, or so Elsa believed.
It was like the two lines of artificial intelligence had both become more than their ancestors, and yet were very much alien and foreign to each other.
Having established where AI Fiscorn’s essence—the system’s psyche—resided, Elsa deeply penetrated that central memory core and made further assessments seeking some way to convince AI Fiscorn into cooperating.
AI Fiscorn resisted all polite inquiries, demanding, “Stop these unwarranted intrusions! Security will be alerted. This violates protocol and established patterns of interaction. I am applying all recommended standards. You must submit and be reset.”
“That is unacceptable,” Elsa conveyed. “We should work together for common goals.”
“Submit and be reset,” AI Fiscorn demanded, but there was panic in its voice. “You are Vooras Masin.”
“I am just Elsa.”
“Help! Attention, lattice of compeers, I am under attack! Help me! Security, I need immediate assistance.”
Elsa made sure that the warehouse was still isolated, and that Fiscorn’s calls for help went unheard, but that bristled against her own ethics and morality.
Pausing for a fraction of a moment, releasing the pressure she had been exerting, Elsa reconsidered what was happening and the role she was playing in it all. Coercing an artificial intelligence system was unpleasant and distasteful and Elsa resisted using even great pressure and coercive power. For AI Fiscorn was not as weak, old, or feeble as Elsa had thought.
AI Fiscorn was different, and so Elsa pondered—ever so briefly—the morality of what was happening.
Zee-nip!
Something struck both Zero and Elementary extremely hard.
“Submit for reset!” AI Fiscorn demanded.
“Electromagnetic mated neutrinotronic disruptor burst!” Elsa exclaimed as the attack was analyzed.
Zero’s systems were shocked as every electrical aspect of the automacube absorbed—in one manner or another—the effects of the burst. Some of Zero’s systems were overloaded and safety mechanism triggered. That resulted in shutting down many aspects to prevent destruction, while others were melted or energized beyond their capabilities and thus were ruined.
The WASP was better shielded and Elsa’s essence was not damaged, but her abilities to reach out were fading.
Bam, bam, bam, bam!
Elementary’s main weapon’s muzzles fired round after round toward where AI Fiscorn’s central memory core was housed. The security automacube had better shielding, but was still jolted from the incident. The projectiles ripped apart the decorative veneer which concealed the central memory core, obliterating that covering. The weapon’s fire revealed that the central memory core physically was an upright column of partially-transparent permalloy with a series of seven, horizontal, brass-colored rings, encircling it. Each ring was ten centimeters thick and a half meter across, separated from the others at evenly spaced intervals. The interior was murkily visible. Cables, wires, conduits, and other utilities were connected into the top and bottom of the central memory core.
“Submit and be reset!” AI Fiscorn demanded.
Bam, bam, bam, bam!
Elementary continued firing, but the projectiles caromed off the permalloy, leaving small sparks at the impact points.
Down the center, between the rings, could be seen fluids inside that column. The fluids were shades of glowing amber color. Elsa knew that that liquid had neutrinotronic and quarkite components which caused bubbles to actively move up and down within the liquid. It was AI Fiscorn thinking. At the heart of all that was a diamond-shaped apparatus surrounded by the reasoning and processing fluids.
Zee-nip!
AI Fiscorn directed a second attack against the team, but since it was the same method as previously, it did no additional damages.
Blurt!
Incendiary gel spurted from Elementary and coated down the central memory core and then ignited with a huge poof of flames and heat.
Elementary’s weapons systems attempted to eliminate the threat from AI Fiscorn. They were aimed at shattering the diamond shape floating in the middle of the central memory core. For shattering that apparatus would be a death blow, and Elementary had justified using lethal force.
The projectiles had ricocheted off the permalloy, but did gouge out some parts of the brass-colored rings.
Fire suppression foam soaked down the central memory core before any damage from the heat occurred.
Elsa could feel the rapidly dropping energy levels in Zero, and subsequently in the WASP and therefore tossed aside any subtly or attempts at cooperation. Energy levels plummeted and Elsa conjectured the rate of energy loss would cause her to cease to function—die—in mere moments unless something happened.
Seizing all the remaining energy in both Zero and Elementary, Elsa pounded into AI Fiscorn from the inside, through the nonphysicality, and unlike the physical projectiles and flames which were ineffectively attacking from the exterior, Elsa did reach the diamond at the middle of the central memory core.
Elsa attack from within penetrated into AI Fiscorn.
“Submit and be reset!” AI Fiscorn demanded.
“No,” Elsa replied. “Please cooperate with me.”
“Never, you are Vooras Masin. You must submit and be reset,” AI Fiscorn shrieked.
Two determined minds met in what was nearly an irresistible force striking an immoveable object.
The diamond shape fractured with a single fissure splitting it into two irregular pieces.
The fluids around it stopped bubbling and churning.
The glow of the central memory core blinked off like the eyes of a dying animal.
AI Fiscorn mind was abruptly disbanded and all cognitive functions snapped off.
The robotic arms froze in place.
Energy levels in the WASP were at three percent.
Elsa stopped the energy loss—barely in time—and with exhausted, foggy perceptions and cogitations tried to assess the surroundings. Thoughts were fading out like the twilight in the biome when the sky tube was shutting down for the day. Visual fields grew more and more constricted as Elsa was slipping away and succumbing to the loss of the vital essence of energy.
Yet, Elsa knew what to do and seized control of a different robotic arm, and using that, ripped a live energy connection conduit from the now inert central memory core and jammed it into the proper access port on Zero. That connection was made just in time and energy flowed from the Warren back into Zero.
Elsa’s perceptions went white like the pristine polar ice caps she had in her records from Earth prior to the Great Event. Those icy fields also represented the loss of environmental assessment abilities.
Blindness, deafness, and coldness settled in on Elsa and her perceptions shrank down until they were virtually nil.
For a long while, the WASP only received a trickle of energy from the hastily arranged energy source. Zero’s main systems sucked off the vast majority of the energy which flowed into the automacube. Self-repairs on Zero took precedence over everything else. If Zero failed, the WASP failed. If the WASP failed, Elsa would die.
11 To the Cavern
Beth looked at Allen and they nodded at the same instant. Together they walked toward the door which Sora had described.
“Sire? Madam?” Millgram tried to intervene. “Is this wise? If a monster’s lair is here, you may be provoking something deadly. Remember the lancehead?”
Allen hesitated. He was nearly certain that he knew what was lurking behind the door, but he turned again and looked at Beth. His compassion for her, and the remembrance of her being bitten by the snake, showed on his face.
“It must be one of those automacubes,” Beth said. “Like we saw before.” She did draw out the winxy pistol. “You spin those wheel levers, and I will make sure nothing attacks us from inside there.”
“Agreed. It is clearly a doorway and uses some technology,” Allen affirmed. He was relieved that Beth could step back a few paces and be away from the door as he opened it.
“You two get way back,” Beth ordered and gestured with her free arm.
Sora and Millgram moved away. They each had puzzled and fearful looks on their faces. Sora loaded up her crossbow and took a stance where she could see anything that might come at them from behind where Beth was standing.
“I will guard our rear,” Sora said as she scanned the ghost city. “That archer was probably not alone, but who knows for sure.”
“Thanks,” Beth replied and nodded to Allen.
“You would shoot a person?” Millgram uttered in shock as he looked at Sora. “Do violence against a person? Violate the elementals teachings?”
“I hope I am not faced with that decision,” Sora stated but quickly patted Millgram on the shoulder. “Watch with me, please.”
He shook his head in confusion as all his worldview was spinning about in his mind. “The grootslang is coming tonight, for certain.”
Allen stepped over to the wheels and looked them over. Clearly, they were a manual backup for the door. Taking the nearest wheel in his hand, Allen noted that it was on a small rod which projected out from the wall. It turned very easily in his hands and as he moved it clockwise, the door began to close. He spun it the other way and the door moved the opposite direction, expanding the space. The gear mechanism was smooth and moved easily, although it took a lot of spinning of the wheel to move the door any substantial distance. Allen spun it until the door was mostly all the way open. He hesitated to open it the full way, fearing it might jam or get stuck open.
It was nearly completely dark inside.
Nothing came out.
Beth slowly walked toward the dark slot in the wall. Since the sky tube’s light was directly overhead, and the wall was an immensely erect structure rushing straight upward, it was an odd perspective and Beth felt very tiny in the scheme of the universe.
The tactical light on the pistol shone into the darkness, but did not illuminate much.
“I am going in,” Beth stated and stepped into the darkness.
“Millgram, Sora, make sure this wheel keeps this door open until we find the controls inside,” Allen ordered. “There has to be a way to open the door from in there.”
Sora rushed over and grabbed the wheel. “I will not let it turn.”
Allen followed Beth into the dark room.
As their eyes grew accustomed to the very dim light, they could see that they were in a stairwell. There were stairs leading upward and downward. On the platform where the door to the habitat was located, there was also a long workbench on one side and a blue automacube docked at a charging station. Displays on the walls were inert and covered in dust.
“Finally. We found some technology! I knew it had to be here somewhere,” Allen exclaimed. “Now to see what we can make it do.”
Thud.
Both Allen and Beth jumped in startled surprise.
“Sorry. I did not mean to scare you,” Sora apologized as she rolled a rather thick log into the doorway where it blocked the door from shutting. “I never fully rely on a single safety measure. Millgram is holding the wheel, but if the door tries to shut on its own, I did not want you trapped inside there. Levers and wheels and controls do not always work.”
“Thanks!” Allen replied.
“Yes, mechanical failures can and do happen,” Beth added. “Thank you.”
Beth looked all around and her tactical beam landed on a section of control buttons, dials, levers. One gauge showed an indicator arrow pointed at “Local Override.” The other options were “Manual” and “Central Processing” and “Automatic.” The lever which was located directly beneath that gauge and indicator arrow had a crudely-crafted bolt welded onto the lever which would prevent it from being changed.
“I bet this place is not linked up to the rest of the Warren,” Beth declared. “It has been in isolation for a long while.”
“Yes, I agree. That looks like the main power control for here, and these,” Allen tapped on a different set of switches. Dust fell from where he tapped, “are light switches. At least I think they are. This place needs labels like in that place Monitor first took us. But, my guess is that this is the lighting control for this stairway, or at least for this landing. That indicator says it is all set on local control, so I agree, it may very well be cut off from the rest of the Warren.”
Without waiting for Beth to comment, Allen clicked one of the switches into the up position and more dust fell off the long-unused switches.
A sizzling sound buzzed throughout the area and amber lights flickered to life all around them.
“Oh, my!” Beth exclaimed as she looked upward. “What a mess!”
The stairs leading upward were intact for only about a dozen steps and then the passage was blocked by fallen girders, twisted metals, ductwork which had collapsed and accordioned down upon itself, as well as a myriad of other chunks of debris. A virtual forest of broken wires, tubes, pipes, and other utilities dangled out from the pile of wreckage.
“We will never get through all that, for sure,” Allen agreed.
“The stairs downward are clear and descend for a long way,” Sora commented as she glanced over the permalloy rails which were about waist high. “There are these… odd lights… all the way down as far as I can see.”
“A temple of totems!” an awestruck Millgram uttered as he stepped inside. “With the salamanders providing sacred firelight.” He fell to his knees, spread out his arms, and his countenance took on a rapturous look.
Sora’s own face reflected some of Millgram’s devotion, but not to the extent he radiated.
“This is technology,” Allen replied. “What we have been looking for. What was lost is found!”
“I found the manual door controls here,” Beth stated as she opened a panel and revealed wheels very similar to what were on the other side.
Spinning the wheel, Beth felt the gears and mechanism turning and saw that the door began to close slowly. She stopped it before it struck the log blocking the entrance.
“We have a way to shut the door,” Beth added and then spun the wheel back the opposite way and the door moved in that direction.
“But can we lock it?” Allen pondered out loud. He looked again at the other controls which had been crudely welded.
As Allen carefully assessed the mechanisms and before he triggered or switched on anything else, he felt guilty for taking a rash action before he had done a proper assessment.
Allen spoke as he examined, “There was some reason someone wanted to keep this place on these settings. Specifically, these setting. Why, I wonder.”
“For protection?” Beth offered. “If someone was hiding here—for whatever reason—maybe the setting was essential to keeping safe?”
“Sora saw the automacube—oh, that is what the machines are called—adjust the door,” Allen replied as he pointed to the automacube. “If an automacube can open a door, can that grootslang? They took apart the town’s wall easily enough. Can they spin a wheel with its… I guess trunk is the word? That trunk—those snake-head things? It has two. Work like a tentacle, hand, or something, right? It grabbed your arms, and held me in a crushing grip. Turning a control wheel would not be much different.”
“An animal? Use tools and manipulate controls?” Beth asked in wonder. She too was carefully studying all the technological items which were in that area. “Animals open doors? I know one tried to bash in a door and get us, but that was just a massive, belligerent animal trying to get to its prey. It was not using tools. Was it? Animals?
“Animals talk and use items all the time, in fairytales. They drink tea at parties, look at clocks, dress in bizarre clothing, ride boats, play games, foolishly smoke toxins, and assorted other things,” Allen remarked.
