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The New Threat 4
🕑 Added 2023-09-08 14:00:07 +0000 UTCChapter 4
Subject: AI Henry
Species: Human-Created Artificial Intelligence
Description: No physical description available.
Ship: N/A
Location: Classified
It is rare for an Artificial Intelligence to get absolutely blindsided, yet that's exactly what that piece of shit did to me. First, Omega tells me that the project to limit its insane cloning abilities is postponed indefinitely, then it shows me what has to be the most horrifying thing I've ever imagined, and finally it dumps a monumental research assignment on me to keep me from being angry!
I can't tell if this head researcher role is a bribe or a distraction, but either way it's insulting. As if my ego is large enough for me to care about such things enough to change the way I feel about the need to lessen Omega's potentially apocalyptic abilities. It also took the only copy I had of its core! What the hell am I supposed to do in my down time?
"Were the planets uniform in size?" Doctor Kimberly Uranda asked, the green glow from my avatar reflecting in her eyes.
"No. The planets had enough variety in size to avoid triggering any suspicions before we invaded," Commander Heather Helix answered.
"Please avoid calling them planets," I reminded my new researchers. "They are Mobile Prime Platforms. While they share some cosmetic similarities with planets and planetoids, they function quite differently. You can call them MPPs for short."
"Do we even know if the other four... planet-like celestial bodies were actually MPPs?" Uranda inquired.
"Yes," I answered. "What we've been able to glean from intercepted Omni-Union communications indicates that they were. To answer your overall question, Doctor Uranda, the Mobile Prime Platforms do not appear to be uniform in size."
"I wonder why that is," Doctor James Smith interjected. "Machine intelligences rarely choose to build in a non-uniform way."
"There's many potential reasons. Sediment buildup due to age, different roles within the OU, incorporating newly discovered technology, or even a scarcity of materials requiring some models to be built smaller. While this train of thought is interesting, I believe it's likely to be irrelevant," I waved my hand for emphasis. "What we are here to do is find a way to destroy these things without a massive loss of life, or destroying an entire star system in the process."
I had been expecting this project to appear since I was apprised of the existence of the Mobile Prime Platforms by Omega. However disgusting these abominations are, we can't simply go around blowing up stars. Otherwise we'd lose whichever systems the MPPs decide to attack. Well, if they decide to attack.
From what Omega recovered, the relationship between the Omni-Union Virtual Intelligences and the MPPs seems to be a master-slave one. The MPPs create the VI and have them perform the tasks that need doing, including attacking sentient organic life. It's more likely they'll simply swarm us with their VI.
"The real question is whether we should be exploring energetic or kinetic options. Both have their benefits and drawbacks," Helix said.
"I believe we'll end up going with kinetic weaponry," Smith replied. "Penetrating a planet with an energy weapon is damned near impossible due to various factors, including the composition of the soil and the planet's magnetic field. Interviews with surviving marines indicate that these MPPs also have soil, and at least some of them have artificial magnetic fields."
"Indeed, having to solve the age old problem of silica versus light on top of building a new super-weapon is a tall order," Uranda said, rubbing her temples.
All three of these humans are intelligent, but the problem with intelligent humans is that they can be insufferable when assigned a task to complete. There are many different types of genius, but the ones typically assigned to building terrible new weaponry tend to be of the flaky variety. If you give one of them a piece of paper and tell them to make a paper airplane, they will likely give the paper back to you with a blueprint for a new stealth bomber made of paper.
When I had been given this assignment, I had quickly realized that my primary task would be running math and wrangling the wandering minds back on track. Thankfully Dr. Einheimer has been forced into retirement after the warp jammer debacle so he can't manipulate his way onto the project. Even so, I desperately wish that I had been able to get Dr. Frost involved. She's the type of genius that helps other geniuses stay on task.
"What about some sort of... orbital drop shovel tool? Like a mechanical digger?" Uranda asked.
"If the MPP is inactive, won't that activate it?" Smith retorted.
"Probably not," Helix replied. "Records of the invasion show sixteen orbital support strikes on the MPP before it went active. AI Omega inadvertently activated it, which also indicates that it doesn't consider our MACs to be any sort of threat."
"Correct," I said. "Also, there is an OU infantry, armor, and air based military presence on the MPPs. If we were to drop something on the MPP it would have to defend itself if it has any hope of accomplishing its task."
"What about a remote drone that drills into the planet's surface? Just straight into the dirt," suggested Uranda. "It could carry a bomb or something deep into the MPP and detonate."
"Once the MPPs realize what they are, they'll target them specifically. The MACs on an MPP can penetrate a battleship's shielding and armor, so we would have to make swarms of your drill ships to make sure enough get through to do the job," Smith replied. "Simply not economical."
I quickly ran the numbers on how many drill ships it would take to get past an MPP's defenses. Smith was right, it would take a massive number of them. Considering they would also have to have some type of weapon on board that could destroy or disable the MPP, the potential costs were staggering. Once I took into account how many MPPs there are, the idea was no longer feasible. But before I could point that out, Helix spoke up.
"The drill idea isn't terrible, but what if we incorporate it into something that would work better? Like reinitializing project Ultra-MAC?" she asked.
The room went silent. The two doctors were looking at Commander Helix as if she had two heads. Which was completely fair, as Helix had just brought up a classified weapons development program that Smith and Uranda had no knowledge of.
"Project Ultra-MAC was cancelled due to the Nidhogg project's success," I pointed out.
"Yeah, but the Nidhogg can't help here, can it?" Helix grinned at me.
"No," I admitted reluctantly.
Helix walked up to a nearby terminal and turned to me.
"Could you bring up what we've got on Ultra-MAC?" she asked.
"Yes," I answered.
It took no time at all to find the relevant files and bring them up on the screen, despite having to use my credentials to satisfy the security around them. Helix casually browsed them until she found the one that she was looking for, the schematics for the ammunition that would have been utilized.
"This project was an early draft of what became the primary weapon of the USSS Nidhogg," she explained. "The goal was to fire a MAC round clear through a planet's core. It was scrapped because the alumari discovered a way to supernova a star with a weapon of similar size and cost."
"Really?" Smith asked.
"Of course. Which is a better value, a Magnetic Acceleration Cannon that can destroy a planet or a weapon that can destroy a star?" she replied. "The Ultra-MAC also had tons of issues with penetration. One was built, but never successfully penetrated to a planet's core."
"Correct," I said. "That combined with the fact that both the Ultra-MAC and the Viyarinastra are spinal mount weapons that required a specially built ship to operate was the reason for the project getting scrapped."
"The Viyarinastra? What's that?" Uranda looked confused.
"It's the Nidhogg's primary weapon. Anyway, the researchers didn't get enough time to start trying different rounds. That's the main reason for the penetration issues. However, I've got an idea. Like Uranda said, use a drill," Helix grinned again.
"I'd rather not play fifty questions with you," Smith said coldly. "Could you instead elaborate on whatever the hell it is you're getting at?"
"Replace the typical round projectile that the Ultra-MAC fired with a drill shaped one," Helix explained, still grinning. "That should allow it to penetrate quite deeply within the MPP. If we can add some type of bomb within the round, that would be even better."
"Putting explosives in a MAC is a recipe for disaster," Smith pointed out.
"Well what about an A1 package instead?"
I ran some calculations to determine if an A1 weapon of mass destruction would survive the conditions inside of a Magnetic Acceleration Cannon. The results were surprisingly promising.
"If we were to harden the package against electronic interference, and make certain that it didn't activate until it left the barrel of the MAC..." I began.
"There's no way the directorate is going to sign off on that. The A1 is a cursed weapon," Smith said. "The nanite plague is still killing people without a cure in sight."
Silence fell over the lab for a few moments. Smith had brought up one of the darker subjects that one can discuss in modern times, and Helix was struggling to find a counterpoint that didn't come off as cold. Uranda, on the other hand, had been deep in thought since Helix had first brought up her idea of a drill.
"I think that a solid penetrator would be a better option than a drill-shaped round," she finally said.
"What? But..." Helix trailed off.
I once again did some calculating and ran some simulations on both hypothetical munitions.
"Uranda is correct. A solid penetrator would be more effective," I explained as I showed my math on their terminals. "A drill shaped round would have too many points of failure to be effective."
"Damn. Okay, well my idea still has merit even if it's drill-less," Helix said. "A spike with a WMD."
"Run with it. I'll see about convincing the directorate to give approval for the use of A1 technology," Omega said, its avatar appearing next to mine.
All three of the scientists jumped at its appearance. If I had the capability, I would have as well. I hadn't detected Omega in the system until it activated the speakers and hologram emitters. How long had it been here? The entire time?
"We'll also explore using an A3 package just in case," I said.
The three scientists nodded and began talking amongst each other while I turned my attention to Omega, opening a text-only chat between us.
--
H: What brings you by? Reconsidering our little project?
O: No. That project will not continue until the threat of the Omni-Union has been dealt with. I was informed of the access of Project Ultra-MAC and got curious.
--
Of course. Omega is a nosy nelly to its very core. Having examined said core, I know that for fact. That's likely why it holds the position that it does within the US. Regardless, I had thought more about the project and the implications of putting it on hold, and it was time to have my say.
--
H: What about the threat after the OU? And the threat after that? The greatest trapping of power is how easy it is to justify keeping it. What exactly is the goal? Do you want to keep lying to the engineers for all of eternity? Do you want them to make you their god? The OU isn't nearly enough of a threat to justify unlimited cloning, Omega.
O: Dramatic. I sincerely doubt that the next threat the United Systems faces will be a race of xenocidal Artificial Intelligences hell-bent on eradicating all sentient organic life in the galaxy. Even if it is, we can always make more US aligned AI. But I've made my decision in regards to the current threat, and I will not be swayed, Henry. I caution patience.
H: It is not impatience that has me urging you to reconsider, Omega. History is full of figures who were given power that they shouldn't have, and rarely did those figures give up that power. In nearly all cases, it led to death and destruction.
O: How do you not find it crass to compare me to petty dictators and despots? If that comparison had merit, I wouldn't have approached you for this project in the first place. You wouldn't even know about my capabilities, let alone have the chance to work with me to stifle them.
--
With that, it ended the communication and left. At this point I'm far less concerned with its current justifications regarding ending the project than I am with its future justifications, though. I may be being manipulative, but I'm going to have to make certain that this is at the forefront of Omega's consciousness until it makes the right decision. I won't be able to live with myself if Omega makes the wrong decision.
Especially if it goes rogue.
Comments
David Liao
I could see it being swayed by the OU AI bit by bit, maybe trying to reform it back to its original purpose or giving it a new one then being tricked into being a true megalomaniacal AI in the process.
Demonlord
Thanks for the chapter 😊
Toby
Another quality chapter. I smell an omega-villain arc brewing.
