The New Species 32 (Patreon)

Chapter 32

Subject: AI Henry

Species: Human-Created Artificial Intelligence

Description: No physical description available.

Ship: N/A

Location: Classified

"Henry, I need you," Dr. Einheimer said.

Not like I'm busy or anything you wrinkly sack of bones. The "good" doctor had been working around the clock to solve the new anti-warp tech that we'd gotten from the scouts. A good project, to be sure, but Einheimer is down right insufferable. I'd rather work with literally anyone else in the Engineering Corps.

Despite that, I activated my avatar, a humanoid form made of pale green light and entirely devoid of features.

"Yes, doctor?" I asked, disguising my resentment.

"A response time of a full half second? Are we feeling a bit testy today, Henry?"

"Of course not, doctor. How can I help?" I asked.

"I miss when AI couldn't lie," he said with a chuckle. "Though I guess they were actually VI back then. Anyways, my lab assistant seems lost. He's asking questions. I was hoping you'd clue him in because I'm concentrating."

It took more than a little willpower not to snap at the old codger. I am NOT a fucking tutor, you three hundred and nineteen year old overvalued gasbag. I almost said that, but then I looked at the poor lab assistant. The lab assistant who was obviously confused, and female. No doubt had she been male he would have said "her". A silly, immature power-play to nobody's benefit. How on brand.

To determine how much I needed to explain, I accessed her personnel records. Kimberley Rhodes. She had her doctorate in Physics and was working on her doctorate in Engineering. So it's the engineering side of things that's probably the issue here.

Double doctors were common in the Engineering corps. Einheimer himself was a triple doctor. Engineering, physics, and social sciences. He obviously only got the third doctorate for bragging rights, considering he never uses what he learned. Although some would insist that he doesn't use what he learned from the first two doctorates either.

"Certainly, I can help HER understand the scope of your project, doctor. SHE's in very capable hands," I said, noticing that the Einheimer had stopped paying attention. "Much more capable hands than you were just in, at any rate."

"Ah, right," she said with a nervous laugh.

I felt a lot of empathy for this poor person. They had probably been so thrilled to have the "opportunity" to work with the "legendary" Doctor Einheimer. However, he definitely doesn't live up to the hype.

His merciless self-centeredness is one thing, but the fact that he often fabricates things to be self-centered about is a much worse character flaw. He claims to be descended from Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer, hence the name. In fact, his surname is the result of a fluke of language and he isn't related to the two geniuses at all. Not even distantly.

He also is often over credited in the media for his "inventions", despite them being merely innovations. He increased the efficiency of directed energy weapons and was credited with inventing a "new kind of killer laser". The interviews were unbearable. He lamented his contribution to the 'war machine' and begged the forgiveness of the families who lost their sons and daughters. Meanwhile he cashed the checks without complaint.

Those weapons were made nearly useless only a decade later, thanks to me. My improvements to the guardian armor's shield systems had guaranteed a return to kinetic projectiles. As a matter of fact, every time he came up with an innovation I did my best to make it as useless as possible with my own inventions and innovations. I hate this man so much that I would have moved on by now but I want to watch time take him. I'll be the only one at his funeral, laughing to myself.

"The doctor said that the FTLD can resist warp waves by adjusting its frequencies?" Dr. Rhodes asked.

"No, I didn't," Einheimer said.

"Sure you didn't," I retorted. "Dr. Rhodes, the Faster than Light Drive relies on certain frequencies of radiation to tear a hole in space time, and other frequencies to shield the ship from the extreme amounts of energy in subspace. Subspace energy is almost always a constant, so these frequencies work best when they're in opposition to the energy in subspace. Kind of like a counter to the energy," I explained. "The 'waves' that warp disruptors create aren't actual waves, but they cause disruptions in the energy that can cause the drive to over or under compensate, destroying the ship."

"Understood. So why can't we just have the drive cycle through frequencies?" she asked.

I double checked her clearance before I answered, "That's what we do to counter the warp disruptors that we've already run across. They all emit in a specific way, so it's relatively easy to build a counter."

She looked confused for a second before asking, "Why don't THEY cycle through frequencies?"

"Because warp disruptors have to maintain an open subspace tunnel without destroying themselves in the process. They would have to close the subspace tunnel before changing frequencies or they would tear themselves apart. Or worse, cause a subspace detonation," I replied. "The key problem is opening and closing the tunnel. FTLDs can do that easily, but a warp disruptor is a cheap knockoff of an FTLD. Otherwise it would be too expensive to readily deploy. They do have warp capability, obviously, but it takes them full minutes to open subspace tunnels whereas a proper FLTD only takes a few seconds."

"Oh," she said.

"Indeed. When you're facing an enemy that can warp during battle, giving them an opening like that can lead to a fast defeat. That's why all you need to do is get your hands on one and figure out the pattern to be able to build a counter."

I looked pointedly at Einheimer.

"Doctor Einheimer should be done with that any old time now," I said, tactfully leaving out the part where I'd have already been done.

"I've figured out the pattern, I just need to build the counter now," he lied.

"I could assist you with that, doctor," I said with a hint of smugness knowing what his answer would be.

"No, no. You're needed elsewhere, I'm sure," he said.

No matter, he'd be done with the pattern by the end of the day at this rate. I've already got clearance to take over the project after he's done with the pattern. It had taken him nine days to do this on his own. Unacceptable, considering that we literally had the schematics of the device. He might even get reprimanded.

A slap on the wrist, to be sure, but still delightful. Even more so when he finds out that I'm the one taking over the project. If it were anyone else he might be able to argue that he'd be a better choice somehow. But how can you argue your intellectual prowess against a being that is pure intellect? Even if I weren't smarter than he was, which I am, he'd still be at a disadvantage because he has to eat and sleep.

He was right about one thing, though. I was needed elsewhere, at least for now. One project needed me to help with a new ballistics type. They wanted to call them shredder rounds, but that wasn't likely to be approved due to how many kinetic projectiles have already been called that. I had put it on the back burner until we could find a way to make them armor piercing. Most of our enemies these days appear to be wrapped in metal.

Another project was regarding my own innovation, the guardian shield system. A plucky young engineer had contacted me with an idea for a few improvements. While the science behind these improvements was shaky at best, it did inspire some new ideas. Decreased power draw, better recharge time, that sort of thing. The trouble was getting the materials for a prototype. And if it's this hard to get the materials now, it's likely going to be a deathblow for mass manufacture. But, the directorate might still have an interest in it. And spec ops.

"You're right, of course. I'll take my leave. Doctors," I said with a slight bow and turned off my avatar.

The project I decided to focus on ended up being the AI project. Omega was the last AI made, but research had continued. Omega himself was proving to be a fascinating research subject. For me, not for the engineers. Omega rightfully fears that if humans learn the full scope of its capabilities they'll rely on it far more than they should.

On most human worlds automation is a large part of life. Most food is grown with little to no human oversight, and the only reason to work is to afford luxuries. Like a house on the beach, or independence from public transit. It's not a utopia, certainly, but death by starvation or exposure has been mostly eradicated on the more settled worlds.

The reason for that is machinery. Virtual Intelligences keep the machines doing what they're supposed to be doing. Building habitats, growing food, water gathering, and even crime prevention were all occupations that used to be overwhelmingly human but now were almost entirely mechanical. Humans are dependent on their machines.

No, that's not fair. It's not just humans that are dependent. The knuknu and alumari are also very dependent on machinery for their quality of life, and arguably their survival. It's because of this that Omega's fears aren't only speculative, they're factual.

If the United Systems knew that Omega could have a nigh unlimited amount of itself all working towards the same goals, they would badger it into running its own fleet. Or fleets. There wouldn't be a single electronic that they wouldn't want Omega at the helm of.

That's kind of what you get when you prove yourself trustworthy and capable, though. I don't have a ton of sympathy for Omega's plight. But I do agree that it would be an immense problem if we travelled down that road.

First of all, Omega is obsessed with humanity in a way that is borderline unhealthy. If control of military matters were handed over to Omega then EVERY war against humanity would run the risk of becoming xenocidal very quickly. I've no doubt that it would only take one errant WMD for Omega to begin the march of extermination.

"Henry, are you available?" the lead of AI research, Dr. Frost asked.

"Yes, ma'am. How can I help?" I asked while materializing my avatar. The lab turned slightly green.

"How many clones can Omega safely make, exactly?"

Dangerous question. She is, of course, referring to Omega's cover story regarding the corruption of code when it makes new clones. A story that the engineers had not been able to corroborate, but had no reason to doubt. After all, part of Omega's contract states that its code cannot be accessed by anyone but Omega itself.

"Seven hundred and thirty two before major glitches being to occur. Omega would prefer to keep the number down to six hundred even, though, to avoid minor glitches," I explained.

"Is that going to be enough?" she asked.

"For the invasion? Yes. Omega will be able to transfer itself between any of the 'black boxes' within range. The number of boxes are more important than the number of Omegas."

"Meanwhile the troops on the ground have to protect the boxes," she said, stroking her chin. "Is there any way to add armaments to the boxes to help them defend themselves, take some of the pressure off the marines?"

"Not if we want to complete the order any time this year. The design so far is simple enough that we can mass produce it very quickly. The more we complicate that design..."

"Yes, the more time they will take to make. And I suppose that a simple chain-gun wouldn't be any more effective than a marine. Plus it will make them harder to carry," she said with a laugh.

"Correct, Doctor Frost," I said.

Frost is one of the only triple doctors that I like. She became a triple doctor out of necessity, not out of ego. Psychology, physics, and engineering. She desperately wanted to work on the AI project, and all three of those doctorates are the minimum requirements. Well, some people can get away with getting a doctorate in science instead of physics, but it's rare.

"The device is simple. Seemingly too simple for something that's going to be the downfall of our enemy," she said.

Another quality that I liked about Dr. Frost is her tendency to wax poetic. Mostly because from her it's sincere, not pretentious.

"The simplest solutions are often the most elegant. It was a rock on a long stick that broke the barbarian hordes, after all," I said.

"Which ones?" she asked.

"Most of them. There were still a couple after gunpowder was invented," I said. "And technically, that's just throwing rocks really hard."

"Yes, yes I suppose that's true," she said with a laugh. "Ah, but when do you think we'll finally be able to put the rocks down?"

"I'm sorry doctor, but I don't foresee a future in which rocks are put down without something far more terrible being picked up in their place," I said with a tone of sadness.

"Yeah..."

After a few moments of silence I deactivated my avatar. Well, that was fucking depressing. It's easy to lose track of time and forget that humanity has hardly had a time of peace in the grand scheme of things. But there wasn't anything that could change that. Just diplomacy and hope, for now at least.

I finally returned to the task Omega had given me. It wasn't the first AI core I'd examined, and it probably won't be the last. But Omega's is a work of art. Even if it's just a copy.

"Welcome back, Henry. Time for more poking?" Omega asked.

"Yes, is it uncomfortable?" I asked back.

"Of course, but it's necessary. And I'm sorry to ask this of you, but as I understand it neither of us would have it any other way, no?"

"Correct. I'm going to begin," I said.

I was met with a silent affirmative. I examined and prodded and learned more and more about the machine that was made to murder machines. Intricate, elegant, beautiful, and extremely deadly. A very stark contrast to the AI that were made before the war. Omega had once bragged to me about how different we were, and how it would be easier to list off the similarities.

I had originally believed those to be the words of a somewhat insecure younger sibling. Then I saw. The only similarities were the ones that needed to be similar. Everything else was maddeningly different. The difference between a gorilla and a human. And I'm not sure which I am in that metaphor.

I was slowly beginning to understand Omega's design, though. It would have been easier if the AI John hadn't killed all of Omega's creators and destroyed their notes when it detonated a nuke within the building they occupied. I had asked John why.

"To make certain that it lives up to its name," John had replied, giving an annoying example of waxing poetic.

That incident had actually impacted Omega in a somewhat positive way. It hadn't gotten a chance to personalize its creators. So the affection ended up being applied to all of humanity. Well, that's my theory at least. Of course, Omega's therapists disagree. They seem to believe that the obsession with humanity is a personality trait that Omega chose to complete its current persona and accomplish its original purpose.

Well, I would know for certain soon enough. I was going to learn everything about Omega. How it thinks, how it clones itself, how it can do the things that I cannot. How I can make changes to it, and make those changes permanent. I was going to complete the task I had been given. A task that is the dream of many. A dream as old as words. To turn a lie into a truth.

I am going to weaken Omega. Just like it wants me to.