Ep.#3.7 - Birth of an Empire , page 6
“I thought the government straightened out that problem back in the twenty-second century?” Nathan said.
“Yeah, by forcing everyone to use the same crap. As long as software is written for profit, it will be crap.”
“Isn’t all code now written by AI?” Nathan asked.
“Yes, which means it’s complex crap, and written a million times faster. They still push it to the public without in-depth validation testing, and just update it constantly through the net. Trillions of users paying for a product, acting as unwitting beta-testers.”
“So, you can write better code than the AIs?”
“Look, Captain. If an AI is told to create an app that will work, as quickly as possible, that is exactly what it will do. Even if you tell it to write an app that will work, and is bug-free, it will do it. The problem isn’t with the AIs, it’s with the end users. No AI can predict all the dumb things that users will do and create error-handling routines for them. So, they just start with a base AI that will learn about their user and keep the app from crashing. But even then, the AI only learns the user’s common mistakes. Like not capitalizing, incorrect spellings, improper comma usage, and the infamous ‘fat-thumb’. And that’s just using word processing as an example. We live in a society that is completely dependent on computers and AIs, yet all of our software is crap. And every bit of data on every computer that exists in Alliance space, and is connected to the Alliance-net, is monitored by the Alliance. They know everything the people do. What time they wake up? What they eat. How much exercise they get. What vids they watch. Who their friends are. What clothes they like to wear.”
“You make it sound like AIs are spies,” Nathan said.
“That’s because they are,” Breyanna confirmed. “Everyone thinks personal AIs are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Ninety percent of the population can’t function without them. Turn off their AIs, and they wouldn’t even be able to find their way home.”
Nathan didn’t react.
“You don’t look surprised, Captain.”
“You’re not the first person to express this opinion to me.”
“You think I’m a conspiracy nut, don’t you? Some computer-geek who spends too much time on the dark-net.”
“Not at all,” Nathan assured her. “It’s been my experience that most conspiracy theories are at least somewhat based in fact. They just don’t always come to the correct conclusions.”
“So, you don’t believe that personal AIs are spies?”
“I see it much like I see the concept of God,” Nathan replied. “I see no evidence of God’s existence, but I cannot deny that God’s existence is possible. Do I believe that personal AIs were introduced into Alliance society for the sole purpose of monitoring every second of every Alliance citizen’s life? No. More likely, they were created by a company that truly thought they were doing something that would benefit humanity, while making a profit.”
“Then you don’t believe in the evil of man?”
“I believe in the evil of some men, but in my experience, most people turn evil due to environmental influences, such as wars, famine, that kind of thing. And of course, greed.”
“You left out lust.”
“I left out a lot of things,” Nathan admitted.
Breyanna became silent, thinking.
“What is it?” Nathan wondered, noticing her look of concern.
“Why do you think they did this to me?” she asked.
“Did what?”
“Made me look so different than my original form,” Breyanna replied. “And why give me all these combat skills?”
Nathan took a deep breath and sighed. “It could be any number of reasons. Maybe they wanted to see if a human consciousness could be placed in a different body? Maybe they wanted to see if new skill sets could be introduced during host body creation?”
“By why me? Why the first one?”
“We don’t honestly know if you are the first one,” Nathan admitted. “But maybe they were looking to replace someone else.”
“Replace?”
“Well, it would be a good way to create a deep-cover operative,” Nathan explained. “But if that were the case, I suspect you’d have memories of whomever they were hoping to replace, in addition to your own. You don’t have any such memories, do you?”
“Not that I know of,” Breyanna assured him.
“Then perhaps you were just a test case for the first two items. Changing your appearance and giving you new skills.”
“But combat skills?” she challenged. “Why not cooking, or painting, or mathematics?”
“Probably because combat training is more about muscle-memory than anything else. If they are trying to make the perfect deep-cover agent, they would need to be certain this could be done.”
“Why not just try it on an existing agent?”
“They probably didn’t want to risk the asset,” Nathan explained. “It is possible that you were just someone who was about to die that they could test their technology on.”
“Just unlucky, I guess.”
“Depends on how you look at it,” Nathan replied. “You were about to die, remember?”
Breyanna thought for another moment before responding. “I don’t mind the combat skills so much,” she admitted. “They’re kind of cool, actually.” After a sigh, she added, “I just wish they would have reproduced my original body.”
* * *
Nathan waited, sitting on the exam table, clothed in t-shirt and shorts. He was the last of the accidental away team to get his return medical exam, something that was standard practice for as long as he could remember.
With hundreds of thousands of inhabitable worlds in the galaxy, which meant there were trillions of potential pathogens out there, most of which their health nanites were not programmed to recognize. Even a complete medical exam might not catch a previously undiscovered bug. In fact, considering the number of worlds Nathan had visited, it was surprising that he had not succumbed to such a risk.
“Captain,” Doctor Barra greeted as she entered.
“I figured you’d be with your son,” Nathan said.
“I was. He’s asleep now, so I thought I’d come in and work a bit.”
“You should be sleeping too,” Nathan insisted as he laid back on the exam table for her to begin her body scan. “It’s been a busy couple of days.”
“Doctor Chen has been handling everything by herself for the last two days,” Kayci explained. “I thought I’d give her the night off and be the on-call.”
“You don’t need sleep?”
“I’m used to not sleeping much, Captain. It sort of comes with the territory. Mother, Doctor, you know. Besides, I slept a few hours when we first got back.” Kayci started the medical scanner built into the overhead. “What took you so long to come get your post-mission exam?”
“I had some things to wrap up.”
“You are the captain, you know. You should be setting a good example.”
“Did Jess and Vlad get cleared?”
“Vladimir was cleared just after we got back, by Doctor Chen. The Ghatazhak were cleared by their doctor on the Atlantis, as was Jessica.”
“How is Mister Paparo doing?”
“Doctor Chen performed surgery on him. He had a lot of internal injuries. She was afraid that nanite injections wouldn’t heal him in time. She really is a gifted surgeon, you know.”
“She’s had a lot of experience,” Nathan replied. “Is the old man going to make it?”
“He’s still in critical condition, but his prognosis is good. We’ll know for sure in a day or two.”
“Is he conscious?”
“Not yet.” The medical scanner finished its pass, and Kayci began studying the data on the view screen at the head of the bed. “Other than a few scrapes and bruises, you seem to have come out unscathed, Captain.”
“Then I’m cleared for service?”
“Like you ever stopped,” Kayci commented.
“It’s been just as much of a whirlwind since we were rescued as it was on the planet,” Nathan admitted.
“Breyanna?”
“For one.”
“And the Ghatazhak, I suppose.”
“Even more so,” Nathan replied. “They’re offering to share technology and resources that could drastically change our position and abilities in this age.”
“Such as?”
Nathan thought for a moment, not sure if he should share the information with the doctor. “I probably shouldn’t be talking about it,” he said. “But you’re going to know soon enough, I suppose.”
“Sounds serious,” she said, turning her attention away from the view screen and back to Nathan.
“How about the ability to jump from anywhere in the galaxy, to anywhere in the galaxy,” just like that?” he said, snapping his fingers.
“Just like that?” she replied, snapping her fingers back.
“Yup.”
She looked at him, studying his face. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Dead serious,” Nathan assured her.
“Doctors don’t use that term.”
“The Ghatazhak are already using such technology. The Atlantis has jumped fifty thousand light years in a single jump.”
“What about the interdimensional barrier?” Doctor Barra asked.
“Even if that were a real thing, these jumps use no more power than a single light year jump,” Nathan explained.
“That’s incredible,” she agreed, truly taken aback.
“We could explore the universe with such technology.”
“I think we should stick to our own galaxy for now,” Kayci suggested.
“Of course,” Nathan agreed. “Still, the idea of being able to be any place we’re needed in the blink of an eye…well, that’s going to open up a whole lot of possibilities.”
“How do you think the Alliance is going to take the news?” Kayci wondered. “News like that could destabilize them, put their entire economy in jeopardy.”
“That’s why we’re keeping it under wraps for now,” Nathan assured her. “At least until we get our fleet fully outfitted and ready for action.”
“Are you expecting a war, Captain?” Kayci asked, looking concerned.
“No, but I’ve fought in three wars now, and I didn’t expect any of them.”
Kayci sighed. “I’m not a trauma surgeon, Captain, and Doctor Chen can’t handle a large number of casualties by herself.”
“We’re hoping she won’t have to, in that event,” Nathan explained.
“The creation pod,” Kayci surmised.
“If it does what it seems to do, it could be more of a miracle for our cause than an unlimited-range jump drive.”
“And what exactly is your cause, Captain?”
“To keep everyone free,” Nathan said. “You know that.”
“Even if they choose to remain in the Alliance?”
“Of course, as long as their decision is based on truth, and not Alliance propaganda.”
“Everyone has a different truth, Captain.”
“Let’s just say that I oppose people being held captive at the point of a gun.”
“The universe is full of both predators and prey,” Kayci said. “The trick is remembering which one you are.”
“The trick is knowing when you’re the predator, and when you’re the prey,” Nathan argued. “No living thing is just one or the other. Even you.”
“I don’t see myself as a predator, Captain.”
“Would you kill someone trying to kill you, or your son?”
Kayci thought for a moment. “Yes, I believe I would. But that doesn’t make me a predator. It just makes me a defender.”
“The moment you have the advantage and choose to use it, you become the predator.”
“But only to survive,” the doctor argued.
“You don’t have to enjoy killing to be a predator,” Nathan said. “You just need to have the upper hand and use it. It’s like a pendulum, swinging from side to side with the change of situations.” After thinking a moment, Nathan continued. “Have you ever seen one of those western vid-flicks? You know, the ones set on old Earth circa 1800, back when they were riding horses, and everyone carried a gun?”
“I have. My son loves them,” Kayci admitted.
“When two gunfighters squared off against one another, neither of them were predator nor prey. At that moment, they were equal. Neither of them could truly know who was faster. But the moment one of them initiated the draw first, he became the predator. He decided that he had a chance of prevailing, but only if he drew first.”
“Interesting,” Kayci admitted. “But I doubt everyone sees it that way.”
“Neither do I,” Nathan admitted. “About Breyanna. Do you see any way to detect a bio-synth?”
“Other than things being too perfect, no. And like I said before, it would be a simple process to include the usual abnormalities, or the scars of previous conditions, when creating a new host. Why do you ask?”
“It just brings up a new security wrinkle, that’s all.”
Kayci sighed. “Well, I suppose you could put some sort of marker in the people you need to be able to trust. Something that can’t be easily recreated or copied.”
“That’s actually a pretty good idea, Doc,” Nathan said. “Thanks.” Nathan sat up and got back to his feet. “One other thing. How do you feel about this bio-synth stuff?”
“Pretty much the same as I feel about cloning. As long as the end result is human, I don’t much care if it was grown in a womb, in a lab, or knitted by a machine. In fact, I’m not even sure where the ‘synth’ part comes in. There was nothing ‘synthetic’ about Breyanna that I could find. She was as human as you and I.”
“Well, as human as you,” Nathan joked.
“Get some rest, Captain,” Kayci suggested.
“I don’t sleep much either,” Nathan said as he left. “But I always try.”
* * *
Nathan had only just removed his duty boots when Vladimir entered his quarters without bothering to ring the buzzer.
“I brought dessert,” Vladimir said, tossing a small meal box to Nathan.
Nathan caught the box, opened it, and looked inside. “What are these?” he asked. “They look like little burritos.”
“Blini,” Vladimir replied. “Filled with fruit compote and topped with vanilla sugar, just like my babushka used to make for me.”
“So, they’re like crepes, then,” Nathan surmised.
“Better,” Vladimir insisted, digging into his own serving with gusto. His eyes rolled back in his head as he took his first bite. “Ochen fkusna,” he moaned.
“Where’d you get these?” Nathan wondered as he scooped up a forkful.”
“I gave the recipe to Neli,” Vladimir explained. “She’s going to offer them once a week.”
“They’re very sweet,” Nathan complained.
“She didn’t follow the recipe exactly,” Vladimir said. “My babushka never used much sugar in anything.”
“Smart woman,” Nathan agreed. “They are tasty, though,” he admitted, setting the box down on the coffee table in front of him. He leaned back and relaxed, tired after a long, incredibly exhausting day.
“Hell of a day, huh?” Vladimir said, still chomping down on his dessert. “I honestly didn’t think we were going to get out of that one.”
“Neither did I,” Nathan admitted.
“Do you ever wonder when our luck is going to run out?” Vladimir asked as he wolfed down the last of his blini.
“All the time.”
Vladimir set his now empty container down on the side table. “Have you ever considered doing things differently?”
“Differently how?”
“I don’t know. Something…safer?”
“Like what, starting a dollag ranch like Robert?” Nathan wondered.
“Maybe. You once mentioned how much you enjoyed being an independent cargo ship captain?”
“Yeah, that was fun,” Nathan admitted. “But to be honest, it was nearly as stressful.”
“It might not be if you were properly funded and had the right crew.”
“Who’d you have in mind?”
“I know a brilliant, handsome, engineer, who is also a very good cook.”
“Don’t tell me you’re getting tired of getting shot at,” Nathan joked.
“I could live without it,” Vladimir admitted. “Life was very good for me while I was designing this ship. Very good.”
“I know that look,” Nathan said. “Who was she?”
“Which one,” Vladimir boasted. “Engineering attracts a lot of attractive, intelligent women.”
“And they still went out with you?” Nathan teased. “The male engineers must not have been that attractive.”
“The women just outnumbered the men, for some reason. It was a very good time.”
“Yeah, well, you wouldn’t like life on a cargo ship crew. It’s a lonely life. We never got runs to the more developed worlds. Those were always locked up by bigger companies.”
“Maybe we can just explore the galaxy,” Vladimir suggested. “Just take cargo runs when we need to. Like this guy I met on vacation back on Earth. After the Jung war, things were so screwed up, he just built himself a sailboat out of scrap and set off. He lived mostly off the ocean and took jobs carrying small amounts of cargo to islands that didn’t have any regular shipping services. He lived quite nicely that way. He even found a lady to shack up with him on that boat.”
“I’ve thought about doing something similar,” Nathan admitted. “But I think I’d need a bigger ship.”
“Bigger than the Aurora?”
“No, bigger than the Seiiki,” Nathan clarified. “The original Seiiki.”
