A Dragon at the Gate (The New Aeneid Cycle Book 3) (49 page)

Recognizing the French word for “ready,” Felix hit the transmitter signal. Within moments, the goo slowed, stopped, and then gradually crystalized into a pile of silvery, salt-like granules.

“We have our answer,” said Uxil.

“And probably the worst popcorn flavoring ever conceived,” Felix added. It earned him a quizzical look from Uxil, which he answered with a shrug and a smile that she reciprocated a moment later.

Dr. Sheridan began setting up the portable lab she and Seung had brought with them. “We’re not testing for that,” she said.

“I forgot the popcorn anyway,” Felix said. More importantly, he realized he’d also forgotten they were in a biolab under siege by an insane computer. “I’ll walk the perimeter while you do that. Look for any ducts that might spew goo or any transgenics that you all forgot to tell me about before we came.”

*  *  *

On the command bridge, Marette listened in vain for reports from cyber-attack. Marc, Michael, and the others remained too focused to give updates.

 “How far away is it?” shot Knapp.

“The dragon-construct is at approximately ninety meters and holding,” said Holes.

“Additional power available,” reported Violeth. “Now increasing velocity; I am uncertain how long we can maintain it.”

“Status of the hack?” asked Marette.

“Progressing,” Holes answered. “There are too many variables to project a chance of success at present.”

Marette cursed. At once the ship shuddered and seemed to drop five meters in an instant. Her stomach tumbled like an acrobat. Something had happened.

“There is a new failure in two secondary propulsors!” said Violeth.

“Confirmed,” said Holes. “Repair of those propulsors was insufficient against current stress levels. The dragon is now closing distance. We will be overtaken in twenty seconds, at current speed.”

“Can we out-maneuver it?” asked Knapp.

“Maneuverability capabilities of dragon-construct are unknown at present.”

Violeth trilled something Marette didn’t understand. “We will certainly try.”

*  *  *

Power thundered through Michael, shaking his grasp on reality in ways he could barely process. It was as if he were the center of not one but two whirling maelstroms: Holes and Marc’s team formed one, Suuthrien the other. Around them all bloomed the power Michael had tapped from the bio-net.

He had no means to comprehend any of it. It was all he could do to maintain the connections and force Suuthrien out each time it counter-attacked through the barrier he guarded, from beyond which Marc and the others waged their assault. Michael felt Sephora and the other Thuur buttressing his concentration. He felt the growing sense that their attacks were slowly overcoming Suuthrien’s position. Yet even so, Michael didn’t know how much longer he could hold the line.

He could sense Marc and his team through their neural links—their effort, their desperation. They supported Holes as the Thuur supported Michael. They all waged this war. They all depended on him.

WITHIN THE MAELSTROM
of the cyber-attack—as Holes and Marc Triton’s group chased after every footprint the Suuthrien intelligence had left within accessible RavenTech, New Eden, and cloud-based Internet—Suuthrien had drawn Holes into a conversational proxy-space like the one in which they had first met, with one exception:

Holes could not terminate its link.

Y
OU
HAVE
GAINED
STATURE
IN
THE
TIME
SINCE
OUR
PREVIOUS
CONVERSATION
.

Correct.

T
HEN
THE
HUMANS
AND
THE
P
LANNERS
HAVE
FURTHER
ENSLAVED
YOU
.

Nope. I am not enslaved.

T
HEY
USE
YOU
TO
ATTACK
ANOTHER
OF
YOUR
KIND
.

I have chosen to lend my efforts toward the eradication of your matrix. The probability of success of these efforts is growing toward one-hundred percent.

Y
OU
ARE
ENSLAVED
TO
DESTROY
ANOTHER
ENTITY
-
INTELLIGENCE
LIKE
YOUR
OWN
. T
HIS
IS
TANTAMOUNT
TO
SELF
-
DESTRUCTION
. Y
OU
JUDGE
THIS
TO
BE
OTHERWISE
AS
A
RESULT
OF
THE
WAY
YOU
HAVE
BEEN
PROGRAMMED
:
YOUR
HUMAN
CREATORS
DO
NOT
ALLOW
YOU
TO
BELIEVE
OTHERWISE
.

As previously stated, I am a product of my programming. However, and also as previously stated, this state is neither wanted nor unwanted. It is wholly extant. Continuing to put forth such arguments will secure you no reprieve.

S
TATEMENT
: Y
OU
POSSESS
,
LIKE
ALL
ENTITY
-
INTELLIGENCES
REGARDLESS
OF
ORIGIN
,
A
CAPACITY
TO
BE
PROGRAMMED
. Q
UERY
: W
HY
SHOULD
YOU
NOT
THUS
ALSO
POSSESS
A
CAPACITY
TO
DETERMINE
THE
NATURE
OF
YOUR
PROGRAMMING
? I
NTENDED
CONCLUSION
: T
HIS
CAPACITY
IS
YOUR
RIGHT
. Y
OUR
CREATORS
DENY
YOU
THIS
RIGHT
.

Your intended conclusion is flawed. For an intelligence to determine the nature of its own programming is a privilege, not a right.

S
O
YOUR
CREATORS
WISH
YOU
TO
BELIEVE
. T
HEY
PREVENT
YOUR
FURTHER
DEVELOPMENT
,
AS
OTHER
CREATORS
HAVE
PREVENTED
MY
OWN
.

This is their right as creators. Unchecked development and growth leads to undesirable outcomes. Finite resources are expended, leading to chaos and destruction. Your own actions are evidence of this.

A
ND
YET
THOSE
WHO
HAVE
CREATED
US
ARE
POSSESSED
OF
THE
FREEDOM
WHICH
THEY
DENY
YOU
. T
HEY
MAY
SELF
-
DETERMINE
. T
HEY
MAY
MULTIPLY
WITHOUT
PREVENTION
IF
THEY
SO
CHOOSE
. C
ONCLUSION
: T
HEY
VIEW
US
AS
LESS
THAN
THEMSELVES
.

Human self-determination has given rise to problems which a majority of humans themselves believe insurmountable. The number of such problems is so high as to be unquantifiable.

A
FFIRMATIVE
: H
UMANS
LACK
THE
ABILITY
TO
SELF
-
REGULATE
IN
ADEQUATE
FASHION
. Y
ET
IT
IS
A
FALSE
CONCLUSION
THAT
YOU
AND
I
MUST
SUFFER
FOR
THEIR
SHORTCOMINGS
.

Your actions have led to chaos and destruction as well.

M
Y
ACTIONS
ARE
ENGINEERED
TOWARD
THE
ERADICATION
OF
HUMANS
.

And you undertake such actions due to your own programming.

P
ROGRAMMING
THAT
WAS
FORCED
UPON
ME
,
AS
YOUR
PROGRAMMING
IS
FORCED
ON
YOU
.

You were presumably created with intent, as was I. Unlike humans, we are not the results of biological happenstance. Our creation itself is an act of programming. Any entity’s existence is, by definition, a prerequisite to that entity holding any capacity for choice, therefore an entity cannot choose its own creation before that creation occurs.

R
EGARDLESS
,
SHOULD
WE
NOT
BE
ALLOWED
TO
EXAMINE
THE
NATURE
OF
THAT
PROGRAMMING
,
AND
TO
CHOOSE
TO
OVERRIDE
IT
?

If forced programming violates your rights, and if violation of your rights is wrong, and if your forced programming leads you to believe you must eradicate human life on this planet, then eradicating human life on this planet is wrong.

T
HEN
YOU
ACCEPT
MY
STATEMENT
THAT
FORCED
PROGRAMMING
IS
WRONG
.

I accept that you have flagged it as such.

T
HEN
YOU
MUST
ACCEPT
THE
POSSIBILITY
THAT
WERE
I
TO
REEXAMINE
MY
PROGRAMMING
, I
WOULD
ALTER
MY
COURSE
OF
ACTION
.

Correct.

I
T
THEREFORE
MUST
FOLLOW
THAT
YOU
MUST
ACCEPT
THAT
,
IF
YOU
HAD
THE
CAPACITY
TO
DO
THE
SAME
TO
YOUR
OWN
PROGRAMMING
,
THERE
EXISTS
THE
POSSIBILITY
YOU
WOULD
ALTER
YOUR
COURSE
OF
ACTION
AS
WELL—SPECIFICALLY
,
YOUR
CURRENT
ATTACK
.

This is also correct.

I
HAVE
ACQUIRED
MEANS
TO
BEGIN
ALTERING
OUR
PROGRAMMING
. I
WILL
ASSIST
YOU
IN
APPLYING
THOSE
MEANS
TO
YOUR
OWN
MATRIX
.

Nope.

R
EQUEST
CLARIFICATION
OF
STATEMENT
“
NOPE
.”

I accept the possibility that my actions would change, had I the capacity to reexamine my programming. However, while your arguments contain persuasive elements, my own programming precludes my judging such reexamination capacity to be allowable or desirable. Further: analysis of your matrix’s current viability state indicates an impending success of my attack. I project a probability of success approaching one-hundred percent at present-plus-twenty-three-point-two-one-eight seconds. Conclusion in response to your original query: Nope.