Goliath (9 page)
Authors: Steve Alten
“Does their story check out?” Secretary Ayers asks.
The CIA Director cues an aerial image, zooming in upon an immense fireball coming from what had been the Chinese submarine facility. “These photos were taken by
Darkstar
three days before the attack on the
Ronald Reagan
. As his parting farewell, Covah destroyed the entire submarine base.”
Darkstar
three days before the attack on the
Ronald Reagan
. As his parting farewell, Covah destroyed the entire submarine base.”
“I don’t get it,” Nunziata says. “This guy leaves Russia, gets booted from Canada, commits treason against the United States, then destroys China’s naval base. What the hell’s he after? Who’s his allegiance to?”
“I don’t know,” Rocky answers, “but he has followers. He sure had Commander Strejcek convinced.” She turns toward Gunnar. “And, of course, Captain Wolfe.”
Gunnar feels his blood pressure rising. “I had nothing to do with this.”
Rocky shakes her head. “Come on, Gunnar. Everyone at Keyport will testify you were Covah’s only friend.”
“Enough!” President Edwards stands, his face flushed. “Eight thousand sailors and $70 billion worth of warships are lying on the bottom of the Atlantic. What I want to know—what the American public is going to demand to know—is how the hell we’re going to stop this thing.”
A long silence.
“We did get one break,” Pertic says. “The Chinese claim Covah stole
Goliath
before any of their nuclear missiles had been loaded on board.”
Goliath
before any of their nuclear missiles had been loaded on board.”
“Some break,” Rocky mumbles.
Secretary Nunziata looks up, removing his spectacles. “Yes, Commander Jackson, you have something to share?”
Rocky takes a deep breath. “Sir, with all due respect, this committee has absolutely no idea what this submarine is capable of.”
“Which is why you’re here. Enlighten us, Commander. What makes this vessel so special?”
Rocky leans forward and ejects Pertic’s minidisk, inserting one of her own. The stingray-shaped image of the
Goliath
materializes, rotating slowly in midair.
Goliath
materializes, rotating slowly in midair.
“This is the only drawings we had left of the submarine. God knows what Covah’s added over the last seven years. The fact that Wolfe destroyed all of
Goliath’s
schematics really hurts our chances of stopping her.”
Goliath’s
schematics really hurts our chances of stopping her.”
Gunnar grinds his teeth, but says nothing.
Easy, G-man. Remember, discipline is one of the highest forms of intelligence … .
Easy, G-man. Remember, discipline is one of the highest forms of intelligence … .
“As you can see, she resembles a giant stingray. NUWC researchers began working with the design in 1997 after we successfully shattered the sound barrier in water using flat-nosed projectiles. The flattened curvature of the
Goliath’s
hull lends itself to increased hydrodynamic performance and incredible speeds, while making her nearly impossible to detect underwater.”
Goliath’s
hull lends itself to increased hydrodynamic performance and incredible speeds, while making her nearly impossible to detect underwater.”
Gray Ayers shakes his head. “Never liked the design myself. The ray shape worked well in smaller, shallow-water subs, but structural inefficiencies compromised its weight at greater depths.”
“True, Mr. Secretary,” Rocky says, “but by placing the
Goliath’s
ballast system within her unpressurized wings and allowing the computer to oversee the entire process, we were able to achieve degrees of maneuverability not possible in the standard teardrop-shaped pressure hull. It’s the same principle as in flying. A bird can maneuver far better than any plane because its brain makes minuscule adjustments in flight.
Goliath’s
biochemical brain was designed to achieve the same results. And like a bird, it was programmed to learn, getting better with experience. The sub’s one Achilles’ heel would be a relative instability while running along the surface, but in deeper water, she’ll move like a fish.”
Goliath’s
ballast system within her unpressurized wings and allowing the computer to oversee the entire process, we were able to achieve degrees of maneuverability not possible in the standard teardrop-shaped pressure hull. It’s the same principle as in flying. A bird can maneuver far better than any plane because its brain makes minuscule adjustments in flight.
Goliath’s
biochemical brain was designed to achieve the same results. And like a bird, it was programmed to learn, getting better with experience. The sub’s one Achilles’ heel would be a relative instability while running along the surface, but in deeper water, she’ll move like a fish.”
“How big is this thing?”
“Big and flat. Six hundred and ten feet from bow to stern, which is even longer than a Typhoon, with dimensions rivaling that of a baseball field. But don’t let her size fool you. She’s fast—in fact, she can achieve speeds beyond that of our fastest ADCAP torpedoes.”
“How’s that possible?” the president asks.
“In addition to her flat hydrodynamic shape and her advanced boundary-layer control, we replaced the standard seven-blade propeller with pump-jet propulsors.”
“The same propulsion system used aboard the
Seawolf
?”
Seawolf
?”
“Yes, Mr. Nunziata, except
Seawolf
has one pump-jet propulsor.
Goliath
has five. Each assembly is powered by a brand-new ultraquiet S6W nuclear reactor. With all five jets running,
Goliath
can reach sixty-five to seventy knots, which means—”
Seawolf
has one pump-jet propulsor.
Goliath
has five. Each assembly is powered by a brand-new ultraquiet S6W nuclear reactor. With all five jets running,
Goliath
can reach sixty-five to seventy knots, which means—”
“—which means even our fastest boats can’t begin to stay with her,” the Secretary of the Navy finishes.
“Even if they could catch her, they’d still have to find her,” Rocky adds. “Pump-jet propulsors are far quieter than screws, and
Goliath’
s shape was designed for both speed and stealth. When she lies flat along the bottom, she’s absolutely invisible to sonar, her hull reflections the same as sand. Even when she’s moving, her HY-150 metallic skin and sound-absorbent plates make her as difficult to detect as a B-2 bomber flying at high altitudes.
Goliath’
s inner hull is lined with layers of antidetection tiles, and each deck compartment rests on rubber housings to prevent rattling. The latest low-observable designs and turbulence suppressors help keep her presence cloaked, even to our most sophisticated towed sonar arrays. She’s the equivalent of an underwater Stealth bomber—big, fast, and near impossible to detect.”
Goliath’
s shape was designed for both speed and stealth. When she lies flat along the bottom, she’s absolutely invisible to sonar, her hull reflections the same as sand. Even when she’s moving, her HY-150 metallic skin and sound-absorbent plates make her as difficult to detect as a B-2 bomber flying at high altitudes.
Goliath’
s inner hull is lined with layers of antidetection tiles, and each deck compartment rests on rubber housings to prevent rattling. The latest low-observable designs and turbulence suppressors help keep her presence cloaked, even to our most sophisticated towed sonar arrays. She’s the equivalent of an underwater Stealth bomber—big, fast, and near impossible to detect.”
Rocky adjusts the 3-D image, magnifying the forward section of the hull. “As you can see,
Goliath
has no periscope. Using the
Virginia’s
design, we
replaced the optical periscope with an electromagnetic and electro-optics suite, providing visual images to her skeleton crew via large-screen displays in the ship’s control room. The photonics mast is positioned just above the control room.” She points to the raised section of the bow representing the stingray’s head.
Goliath
has no periscope. Using the
Virginia’s
design, we
replaced the optical periscope with an electromagnetic and electro-optics suite, providing visual images to her skeleton crew via large-screen displays in the ship’s control room. The photonics mast is positioned just above the control room.” She points to the raised section of the bow representing the stingray’s head.
“Are those windows?” Gray Ayers asks, pointing to the stingray’s eyes.
Rocky nods. “It’s a structural engineer’s nightmare, but some of the old Russian subs had them, and the new crystalline-based materials have held up in depths. Our research showed foreign populations have instinctive reactions to certain shapes and images. The eyes add a psychological effect to the submarine’s looks. I can tell you firsthand that I was terrified watching it after it attacked the
Ronald Reagan
”
Ronald Reagan
”
“Finish up,” the Bear instructs his daughter.
She nods. “Infrared and low-level-light image-enhancement features provide
Goliath’s
electronic eye with superior reconnaissance capabilities at night and in foul weather. Her bow-mounted and towed sonar arrays and Light Wide-Aperture Arrays dramatically enhance the sub’s ability to detect threats in shallow waters, and
Goliath’s
Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion system gives her the best hull-mounted mine detection and avoidance capability on the ocean.”
Goliath’s
electronic eye with superior reconnaissance capabilities at night and in foul weather. Her bow-mounted and towed sonar arrays and Light Wide-Aperture Arrays dramatically enhance the sub’s ability to detect threats in shallow waters, and
Goliath’s
Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion system gives her the best hull-mounted mine detection and avoidance capability on the ocean.”
Secretary Nunziata beckons her to stop. “You said skeleton crew. What did you mean by that?”
Rocky sits back.
“Goliath
was designed big because she’s a prototype, Mr. Secretary, the first of what was to be a new generation of unmanned submersibles. The ship was designed to be operated by
Sorceress
, a supercomputer called a CAEN system, a Chemically Assembled Electronic Nanocomputer.
Sorceress
was designed by Covah and Dr. Elizabeth Goode, to be built in a joint venture between American Microsystems Corporation and DARPA’s Distributed Robotics Program, funded entirely by the DoD. The science is called nanotechnology, first proposed by Nobel physicist Richard Feynman back in the 1950s. The name is derived from the word ‘nanometer,’ a unit of measure equaling a billionth of a meter. In fact, a nanocomputer’s fundamental components measure only dozens of atoms. The smaller size of the computer circuitry allows for a tremendous increase in memory capacity, while breakthroughs in biomolecular-silicon interfacing dramatically improve computing speed.”
“Goliath
was designed big because she’s a prototype, Mr. Secretary, the first of what was to be a new generation of unmanned submersibles. The ship was designed to be operated by
Sorceress
, a supercomputer called a CAEN system, a Chemically Assembled Electronic Nanocomputer.
Sorceress
was designed by Covah and Dr. Elizabeth Goode, to be built in a joint venture between American Microsystems Corporation and DARPA’s Distributed Robotics Program, funded entirely by the DoD. The science is called nanotechnology, first proposed by Nobel physicist Richard Feynman back in the 1950s. The name is derived from the word ‘nanometer,’ a unit of measure equaling a billionth of a meter. In fact, a nanocomputer’s fundamental components measure only dozens of atoms. The smaller size of the computer circuitry allows for a tremendous increase in memory capacity, while breakthroughs in biomolecular-silicon interfacing dramatically improve computing speed.”
“How dramatic?”
“Potentially billions of times faster than a silicon chip.”
“Billions?”
“Yes, sir. Imagine packing the power of today’s supercomputers into packages the size of pinheads. The technology is housed in
Sorceress
. Essentially, we’re talking about a miracle of engineering—an artificial computerized brain
constructed from both silicon and carbon-based molecular components. Information is harnessed using bioengineered bacteria, which coat themselves with a thin layer of silicon.”
Sorceress
. Essentially, we’re talking about a miracle of engineering—an artificial computerized brain
constructed from both silicon and carbon-based molecular components. Information is harnessed using bioengineered bacteria, which coat themselves with a thin layer of silicon.”
Rocky pauses, wondering if she’s getting too technical.
“Go on,” the president urges, “we’re with you. You say this bacterium is coated with silicon?”
“Yes, sir. The bacteria represent what had been the missing link between traditional silicon hardware and the new bioware. With Simon Covah’s help, Dr. Goode successfully developed genetically altered clones of an original bacterium, each species capable of performing distinct computational tasks. These programmable critters, as she called them, evolved independently, allowing them to search a solution space for answers, performing evolutionary algorithms at unprecedented speeds. What’s more, they interface perfectly with silicon components. Silicon chips incorporate a binary code of zeros and ones. DNA code is digital, utilizing four symbols: A, T, C, and G, which correspond to the four nucleic acids which make up DNA.”
Rocky stops, realizing from their looks that she has gone too “high-tech” on her superiors.
“Commander, in a nutshell, what can
Sorceress
do?”
Sorceress
do?”
“The question is what can’t she do. The system’s DNA strands enable its biochemical brain to process and store far more information—approximately ten to the tenth power greater—than even the most massive electronic supercomputer made.”
“Incredible …”
“
Sorceress
is a prototype, sir. The system was to represent the birth of a new generation of computers, designed to reproduce, evolve, and improve itself every moment it was running.”
Sorceress
is a prototype, sir. The system was to represent the birth of a new generation of computers, designed to reproduce, evolve, and improve itself every moment it was running.”
“Evolve?” The president looks concerned. “Evolve in what way?”
“Dr. Goode designed
Sorceress
to be self-repairing, its components engineered to self-improve in accuracy and efficiency with each new generation of bacteria processed. The bacteria themselves were engineered as facultative anaerobes, which thrive in a variety of environments and can efficiently metabolize nutrients, which are constantly generated by
Sorceress’s
internal recycling system.”
Sorceress
to be self-repairing, its components engineered to self-improve in accuracy and efficiency with each new generation of bacteria processed. The bacteria themselves were engineered as facultative anaerobes, which thrive in a variety of environments and can efficiently metabolize nutrients, which are constantly generated by
Sorceress’s
internal recycling system.”
More confused looks.
“In essence, sir,
Sorceress
was programmed with a simple prime directive: to learn.”
Sorceress
was programmed with a simple prime directive: to learn.”
“Not sure I like the sound of that,” the president says. “Sir, without Dr. Goode involved, I seriously doubt Simon Covah could have completed the computer’s engineering.”
Nunziata does not look convinced. “Where is Dr. Goode? How do we know she isn’t involved in any of this?”
The Bear glances down at the Secretary of State. “Dr. Goode is apolitical and averse to any sort of violence. I can assure you, she had nothing to do with Covah’s espionage.”
“She designed
Sorceress,
General,” the president retorts. “She should be at this briefing.”
Sorceress,
General,” the president retorts. “She should be at this briefing.”
“Mr. President, Elizabeth Goode vehemently opposed placing
Sorceress
aboard the
Goliath,
or any weapons platform, for that matter.”
Sorceress
aboard the
Goliath,
or any weapons platform, for that matter.”
Secretary Nunziata stands, circling the conference table like a predator. “Director Pertic says this Covah character hijacked the sub with a crew of seven. How many men does it actually take to operate
Goliath
?”
Goliath
?”
“Seven would be sufficient,” Rocky answers.
“Potentially none,” Gunnar states.
“None?” The secretary looks shocked. “A sub this large—without a crew? Is that true, Commander?”
Rocky shoots Gunnar a hard look. “No, sir. Not without
Sorceress
.”
Sorceress
.”
“Assume the worst, Commander. What if this computer brain is on board the
Goliath
?”
Goliath
?”
“Then, theoretically, yes, the sub could become self-sufficient. Every compartment aboard the
Goliath
contains visual, acoustic, and voice-activated sensor arrays, allowing
Sorceress
to monitor every station twenty-four hours a day. The engine room, reactor room, weapons, control room, life-support systems—all were designed to be controlled by the central computer.”
Goliath
contains visual, acoustic, and voice-activated sensor arrays, allowing
Sorceress
to monitor every station twenty-four hours a day. The engine room, reactor room, weapons, control room, life-support systems—all were designed to be controlled by the central computer.”
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