The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Steadfast (42 page)

“No, sir. They didn’t. They are all, at least all of the ones we destroyed, completely robotic, controlled by artificial-intelligence routines.”

Iger nodded, his eyes downcast. “That may explain what happened here at Atalia, sir. The AIs may have suffered a malfunction, a problem with threat identification, a misinterpretation of their attack orders, any number of things that afflict automated systems at random, unpredictable times, and that human crews intervene to stop when they occur on a normal ship.”

“That may explain a great deal,” Geary agreed, feeling numb inside. “Thank you. That’s a critically important thing to know. Well done.”

He ended the call and looked at Desjani, who was staring back at him with a horrified expression.

“You heard?”

“I heard,” she said. “Fully robotic ships controlled by AIs? Sent out to operate totally independently with no human oversight? No one could be stupid enough to do that.”

“They thought they were being smart.” The answers had come clearly to him, as plain as if they were spelled out in large letters in the air before his face. “That’s why they built the secret fleet and gave command to Bloch. Someone convinced them that this time the AI software was infallible, this time the software wouldn’t ever fail or have glitches or perform oddly or in unexpected ways.”

“They all use computers,” Desjani said, anger replacing her earlier shock. “They must know that’s impossible. Things go wrong. They’re not magic. They’re electronics and other pieces of equipment and software, and they break or malfunction or screw up because they’re not magic. And the more complicated they are, the more things can go wrong. I’m just a damned battle cruiser captain, and I know that! How could they not know it?”

“Because it seemed like a perfect solution,” Geary said. “Bloch in command, because he was the one fleet officer of sufficient seniority who seemed capable enough to lead the robot fleet and could be certain to follow orders against me. And, with a tactical AI built on a simulation of me, Bloch would be able to beat me if anyone could. But the AI would have safeguards built in to keep Bloch from using the robotic fleet against the Alliance government. The most powerful fleet out there, as close to zero personnel costs as possible, guaranteed loyal, and able to counter the ambitions of me, Bloch, or anyone else, as well as ultimately take over defense of the Alliance. That’s why enough of the Grand Council voted for the program. It seemed to have every answer they needed. It seemed foolproof.”

Desjani’s hand clenched as if seeking a weapon. “Only fools would think that was foolproof. AIs that will never malfunction? Did they also get promised visits by the Tooth Fairy?

“Don’t those idiots know what they’ve done?” she demanded. “In the name of protecting the Alliance, they’ve created the means to destroy it! What happens if those dark ships slip their leashes again and shoot up some Alliance star systems the way they did Atalia? The Alliance will collapse like a house of cards on the surface of a neutron star, and no one will ever be able to rebuild it. They’ve—” Desjani struggled for words. “How could they think creating the means for the Alliance to commit suicide would preserve the Alliance?”

“I don’t know, Tanya. All I know is that their plan is blowing up in their faces and our faces and in the faces of a lot of innocent people.” He remembered the words of the woman on Old Earth, as she looked toward the crumbling remains of the ancient, autonomous, robotic ground war machines. “They chose to entrust our safety to something incapable of loyalty, morality, or wisdom. The same folly as the ancients pursued. How has humanity survived when we fail to learn from even our greatest mistakes?”

“We’ve survived because people like you and me pick up the pieces. When we can.” She lowered her voice, speaking with almost violent intensity. “We’re going to try to follow those dark ships home? Find out where they are based?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you tell me the construction program for this secret fleet called for twenty battleships, twenty battle cruisers, and an appropriate number of escorts for that many capital ships?”

“Yes.”

“Based on our experience here, all of them more heavily armed than our comparable warships, and all of them able to maneuver and accelerate better than our ships can?”

“Yes,” Geary said again.

“With a tactical AI that is designed to match you. It can’t, but it’s tough as all hell. If it has a good learning curve, it’s going to get tougher. You know I’m not afraid to go into battle,” Desjani said. “You know I will follow you into the mouth of hell if you tell me to. So will the rest of this fleet. But how in the name of all ancestors can we beat that secret fleet?”

“I don’t know, yet. But we have to find its base, and we may have to beat it if the government can’t shut down the monster it created. If we don’t destroy it, the Alliance won’t survive.”