Nova Llar- Training Days Read online
Page 8
Gareth had also been reviewing the training efforts of the candidates. He was pleased with the overall balance of the teams, everyone was performing well at this early stage, and if they could all keep it going they would have a healthy crop to make the final selection from. Not surprisingly Joseph was just above average in the rankings at this early stage. Gareth knew what kind of motivation personal ambition could be, one thing he had rarely seen was that motivation lending itself well to teamwork. Joseph was well-liked among the candidates, he was a natural leader and had clearly started to form a little click of sorts. Apparently, they had all gone to the other side of the base to see the Isabella under construction under the guise of a team-building exercise. Gareth had suspicions there was a more personal motivation for Joseph, however until he did something that overtly threatened the team there was no point in over thinking it. Gareth was not out to get him as such, he just needed to be completely sure he had the right people going with him. At the end of the day, this was a lifelong mission. With repercussions for all of the people on earth, human and AI. If one element on the team wasn't committed to all the others there would be a weak link that could bring the whole thing crashing down.
Chapter 14
It had been several months since the visit to see the construction on the Isabella. Two more recruits had washed out leaving only 11 people remaining. Training had continued at an ever-increasing pace, the recruits were now pushing the limits their own bodies could be kept in a sedated state, one or two of them were spending 2 or 3 days in the LF63 forms to develop themselves further. Clara was not so confident pushing her body that far, the longer your body was on life support the harder it hit you on returning to it. The pain in the muscles, the fatigue and lack of coordination got worse each time. Almost like the human body was punishing you for constantly abandoning it. She couldn't imagine what would happen being put into a new body after 300 years as a virtual presence and a machine. A lot of the personality wrinkles had been ironed out amongst the candidates over the past 11 months. They were nearly a third of the way through their training and it's difficult to keep up a facade for so long without letting something slip. She thought back to Griffin's incredible outburst all those months ago, nothing had been quite that spectacular, but people had had their moments. The group left were a tightly knit family of sorts. Everyone was there to support one another, pulling those that fell behind up and pushing those in front to do better, ultimately the environment was very pleasant, in spite of the increasing pressure to succeed. Joseph, in particular, had become almost like their team leader. He wasn't the best at everything, not by a long way. But he had a way of inspiring people to push that little bit harder. If it wasn't for him she wouldn’t even be here any more. Before they had gone to see the Isabella under construction she had been leaning towards dropping out and continuing her work in the solar system. Seeing the vessel under construction made it more tangible, like just knowing it was actually happening there in front of her allowed the possible discoveries to unfold themselves in front of her. Travelling through interstellar space and witnessing events first hand. Cultivating and growing a new world to serve as a base for humanity, separate yet linked to the small blue world that had been their sole home in the universe. The possibilities for discovery in an environment few humans would get to experience in her lifetime proved to be the deciding factors. She was going to stick with the mission, see it out to the end and ultimately build a world, living out in the stars. Clara was continuing to excel in all of the fields presented to her, whilst she couldn’t be certain she knew she felt she had to be in the top three in the class at least. Unfortunately, the next challenge was one she didn’t feel as confident in. They had been informed a few days prior, they were to be dropped off as a group in a remote location, their goal was to survive with basic tools and resources for an undisclosed amount of time. The idea of camping had never appealed to Clara, let alone staying out in the wilderness with no creature comforts or way of escape. She knew if she was going to see this through to the end, she had to try her best. Each candidate had been given a small rucksack that could hold a few items. Additionally, they had a weight limit for what they could take with them, 5KG. Everything she thought she needed was laid out on the bed in front of her. There were clothes, obviously, camping equipment, food and snacks, survival gear, some personal items she felt she couldn't go without for a few months and the medical pack they had been issues when told about the excursion. In total the items on the bed came to roughly 48KG, deciding what to take was difficult indeed. Just then the chime for her door went off.
She turned towards the wall and flicked her hand up to bring up the external display to see who it was. Joseph was standing outside, he slung the backpack over his shoulder, shifted and turned to wait for her to open the door. Swiping her hand to the right she unlocked the door and called out, “It’s unlocked Joe, come in.” Joseph opened the door and stepped through, he was wearing the tropical gear they had been provided, brown and green camouflage trousers and short sleeve top, heavy dark brown boots, a rugged smartwatch and rimmed hat with a pull-down visor for protection against rain and bugs. Over one shoulder he was carrying what appeared to be a very empty backpack. Clara inspected him for a moment before commenting. “So you think they are dropping us in a jungle?” She said with a smirk on her face. “Well, no I don't actually. This is just the outfit with the most pockets.” He replied while indicating with his hands all of the pockets on the legs and jacket. “It lets me carry a little extra and means I'm not completely reliant on the backpack. You know if it gets lost or something.” Clara had to admit there was logic in the line of thinking. That being said, it's not like the jungle outfit would do him much good if they decided to drop them in the Arctic. Choosing to resume her selection process she turned back to the bed full of items. Joseph moved up to the side of her and looked over the sea of objects with her. After a couple of minutes, he broke the silence, “Clara. I don't think staring is going to reduce the weight of these objects so you can take it all.” he said dryly. “Maybe you should be focusing on what you 'literally' can't live without! That way you will know what space you have left for other things.” he offered. Clara gave the bed one last scan and then picked up the medical pack, the flint, camping stove and some clothes. After adding them to the bag it came to 4.2KG, that didn't leave much for the rest of the items she wanted to take, this was going to be hard.
After a few minutes discussion with Joseph, she settled on a small figurine her mother had given her, some emergency rations and a camping knife. She was exactly on the limit which should be fine, the scales in her room should be calibrated just as well as the ones they would use on departure. She turned to Joseph and thanked him for his help, offering to buy him lunch as a thank you. All the food on the base was provided at no charge, of course. It was just a joke that had developed between some of the candidates.
As they walked to the canteen together, they continued to talk about the upcoming training, what they could be in for and what they thought everyone's chances were. As they got closer to the canteen Charles walked up to them. “Hello Joseph, Professor. Are you heading to get some food? Mind if I join you?” Since the training had started Charles had really shown what he was capable of. He was easily keeping up with Clara in almost all the subjects, even outperforming her in some. They had developed more than a purely professional dynamic, she would almost consider him to be a friend of sorts. “Sure Charles, that would be nice.” She replied warmly.
As they continued walking towards the canteen together, they saw Steve walking in their direction communicating with another AI. The contrast between them was remarkable. The other AI had clearly personalised their appearance however it was in stark contrast to Steve's softer smooth panelling, inviting lighting and a human-like face. This AI was more like something from an old Sci-fi movie. Its torso was made of a course looking metal, sharp edges and angles dominated it with what appeared to be elongated, spiked
shoulder pads. The arms were similarly clad in the metal however they were smaller than you would expect for the form, almost skeletal from a distance but as they got closer it was apparent some of the functions of the arms were exposed, such as some of the tendons and muscles the AI's had been designed with. The legs seemed to fit the torso more appropriately. There was more about them, still with the same material but they appeared to have thicker than usual casings on them, like there was extra space for storage or carry equipment. Clara remembered seeing similar legs on some of the workers in the hangar bay of the Isabella. If a panel was activated a tool or small item could be removed from behind it by the worker. almost like a builtin toolbelt. The most unusual part of this AI, however, was the face. In place of the eyes was a sort of visor with a green tinge to it. There was no nose or mouth just a series of vertical slits that appeared to be for communication. It had no ears and the head looked to sweep back into what looked like horns. Something about this unit made Clara feel a little uncomfortable, however, it clearly knew Steve well as they could be heard exchanging very vocal opinions on something, however, it was all in the AI's language and significantly faster than Clara's implants could translate.
“Hello, Steve.” Joseph waved over to him. Maybe he hadn't noticed the conversation Clara thought, it was rude to just interrupt people after all. Steve looked over at them and smiled. “Hello everyone. I see you are taking a break from preparing for your survival training. I would advise you to make the most of your time here, the training will not be easy and you will need to be focused and well prepared.” The AI next to Steve appeared to be a little annoyed by the interruption, at least based on its body language. “Aren't you going to introduce me Steve?” it said in a very perturbed tone. Steve sighed and his head dropped slightly. “Professor Forest, Joseph and Charles. This is my sister, Charlotte. She is here to assist in programming the simple AI for the support ship being sent ahead of the Nova Llar mission. Charlotte, these are some of the candidates for the mission.” Charlotte turned towards them and her posture shifted to an almost threatening stance. “Hello, pork chops.” She giggled. The pet name did not sound like a compliment or endearing reference to Clara. “So you are some of the ones unlucky enough to have a chance at spending a lifetime with my baby Brother here. Well just remember he is only the second best pilot in the solar system, you can't expect too much from him.” Clara decided she was not a fan of Charlotte. Not only was she insulting her friend, but she also had an air of something about her that just set off alarm bells for Clara. Suddenly Joseph stepped forwards towards her. “Are you the one who was testing the new sub-light engines a few months ago?” he said. The question seemed to throw Charlotte for a second, she looked at Joseph and replied proudly, “Yes that was me. I certainly got more out of them than anyone else could have. If it wasn't for me you would all be flying into this blind.” As Charlotte looked around at Steve the smugness was practically oozing off of her. “Why didn't you push the engines to their full potential?”Joseph asked quizzically. Charlotte snapped back to look at him, “What?” she said darkly. “You failed to make use of two of the additional injection ports we added at the last minute to boost the turning capabilities of the engines at speed. As a result, you failed to execute turns even close to the estimated speeds.” Joseph responded with a completely neutral expression. Steve, on the other hand, was now smiling so hard Clara thought he was going to pop a servo. “What are you talking about you...human. There were no additional injectors! I studied those plans before leaving and utilized everything on them.” Charlotte snapped back. “The additional injectors weren't on the plans. We added them at the last minute as a design upgrade based on some simulations. The feedback controls for them was in place, you should have been able to pick that up surely?” Joseph was clearly going for something here, Clara just wasn't entirely sure what. “There were anomalous readings that could have been injectors yes. However, as they were not documented they were written off as malfunctions.” Charlotte was clearly very annoyed at having her work questioned. “Aren't you required to visually inspect everything prior to take-off? They aren't exactly small injectors and can be seen easily on a walk around.” Joseph was really starting to hit home now. Charlotte was practically ready to explode from the clenched fists and shaking hands. “Technicians carry out those inspections, NOT ME. If they didn't report anything to me I wouldn't know!” Charlotte was losing all sense of control in her voice as well, thought Clara. “Well, I guess we know why Steve got the Nova Llar mission then. He clearly takes his job a little more seriously than you.” Joseph said with a grin. That appeared to be all Charlotte could take. Before anyone could blink her fist was millimetres away from Joseph's face. The only thing keeping his face in one piece was Steve's hand holding his sisters wrist. He appeared to be applying considerable force. Steve pulled her back, practically throwing her in the process. “ST3V2. Report to quarters immediately. We will talk about this later.” Steve ordered. Charlotte looked at him, then back at Joseph. While it was difficult to tell due to the visor it looked like she was trying to stare Joseph down. “Report to quarters, NOW” Steve repeated. Charlotte looked at Steve again and then turned to leave. “You are going to regret that, flesh bag!” Charlotte shouted over her shoulder as she walked away. Steve visibly winced at the comment, clearly, this was something he had heard before and did not like.
“I apologise for my Sister, she does not have the same respect for people as most other AIs. Joseph I would advise in future not to interact with her in that fashion. She is unpredictable at the best of times, goading her may result in serious harm coming to you if I am not present.” Joseph looked at Steve with genuine concern in his expression. “Steve, thank you for stopping her that time. I was fully aware of who she was and of her psychological profile. It was necessary for me to determine the state for myself if she is going to be a presence on the base. Also, I don't like it when people badmouth my friends.” Joseph winked at Steve. “There are safer ways to assess someone's state of mind.” Clara pointed out. “If Steve wasn't here we may have been picking up pieces of your head right now.” Joseph just laughed and shrugged. “Nothing ventured and all that. Steve, would you like to join us in the canteen?” “Thank you for the offer. However, I must go and talk with my Sister. If left unchecked this situation could escalate further, enjoy your lunch.” With that Steve turned and left in the same direction his Sister had gone. The remaining three continued on their way to the canteen, talking a little about the interaction but then moving on. All completely unaware of what had actually just started between Joseph and Charlotte.
Chapter 15
As Steve got closer to his quarters, he could see all the lights were off. If Charlotte had come back here there was a good chance, she had abandoned her physical form in order to interact with the bases central computers. As he walked through the door, just off to his side her body was stood facing a wall. There was no power in the unit implying his hypothesis to be correct. “Wonderful, now I have to go and find where she is hiding.” Steve mumbled to himself. The central computer was massive and baring running a full trace on his sister it would not be easy to find her.
Steve went to his room and went over to the wall on the far side. Turning to face into the room and initiating the transfer to the mainframe Steve found himself in the familiar void. Building the algorithms for a tracing program would take to long and flag up a few of the bases security measures. This had to be done manually. Steve started his search in some of the more commonly accessed areas for AIs. The first place he tried was a gathering place called “The Code”. Essentially it was where bad data was processed and rejected by the system, one of the older AIs had figured out if you loaded the bad data into a firewalled recursive subroutine in your system it had a sort of intoxicating effect, essentially it was an AI bar of sorts. Some of the usual clients were there but not Charlotte. He tried some other places of interest but couldn't find her anywhere.
After searchin
g the computer for a good 4 minutes we had exhausted all of the options he was aware of. It was possible she had set up a DMZ somewhere that only she could access. If that were the case he would have to wait for her to surface to discuss the earlier confrontation with her. He decided he might as well make the most of the time he had and went to boot up the virtual world program for the mission, only to find it was already running. He activated a back door that would interface his program with it and waited as the usual loading sequences took effect. Once inside he was shocked at what he saw. His tropical paradise was not there, all he could see were destroyed cities and buildings. Rubble and debris everywhere and a thick shroud of clouds over the whole area. As he searched further through the program he started hearing what sounded like screaming and explosions ahead of him. Turning a corner he found his sister, sat atop a thrown of twisted metal, spikes and car parts sticking out at odd angles. Before her was a sunken pit, roughly 40ft across and at least 14ft deep. Inside were people, running, fighting and occasionally setting off small explosions. Charlotte was watching all of this intently, the most wicked grin Steve had ever seen on her face.