Episode VI: Beta Test (12 page)

I knew, from the weekly meetings I attended, that the Alliance military would be searching out any and all nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons stockpiles and facilities and destroying them - without planetary permission. Earth had no need for weapons of that type. The Alliance did use a type of nuclear weapon in anti-ship combat as well as occasional planetary assault, but the type used was vastly different than the unrestricted, highly radioactive versions on Earth. Alliance weapons were designed to knock down an enemy ship's shields; the nukes on Earth were designed to kill as many people as they could and they fulfilled that purpose far too well. As for the other weapons of mass destruction, well, no one really had a use for those.

I thought the act an admirable one, but thought it might be a little rash on the part of the Alliance. I did voice that opinion to the Admiral as well as the Ambassador and while Vance tended to want to continue with the operation, the Ambassador agreed that it might not be seen as a 'friendly' action if done without public knowledge and approval. I still didn't know for certain if the plan had been carried out yet or not, but I suspected it hadn't, as there had been nothing in the news about it.

It was clear to me the Admiral Vance was becoming more frustrated with the leaders of Earth. It was clear to everyone, including the people of Earth, the Earth itself was in favor of accepting Core World status, but the current leadership was resisting it. Unfortunately, it would be up to the people of the world to make the needed changes and not the Alliance. However, while the governments still controlled the military which in turn prevented the people from taking meaningful action. There were protests of course, and marches and all the other peaceful forms of protest that the people could make, but none of it did any good. Congress flatly refused to discuss the issue claiming it would not leave the American people open to attack of invasion by a foreign power or manipulation by an alien government not of their own choosing. In a commentary on a free radio program, one person countered that 'what the hell do you think we are trying to tell you idiots?' The comment was quickly picked up and circulated around the Internet. Still, the first world nations refused to listen, and crime against the government was beginning to climb.

One of the more curious things I found was that the civilian and to some extent, the commercial parts of Earth, had already begun adjusting to an Alliance mindset. There was a language program in the works for teaching Alliance Basic, Shallan, Simonian and Novan languages. I made a note to myself to make sure that a tech update got processed giving the Earth software companies equal access to Alliance computer technology so they could compete in the Alliance market, once Core World status was accepted of course. The Administrative and Logistic section of Apollo had already taken to forming supply contracts with several Earth companies for basic needs. It reduced our reliance on the distant Core Worlds for supply and had the added benefit of bring the Earth one step closer to the Alliance.

One aspect of the Alliance presence on Earth was not criticized, at least openly, by the World leaders; working with the World Court, several major criminal syndicates were shut down by the Alliance, with the use of fully armed and armored Marines. In fact, there were so many criminals captured that the Alliance had to build a holding facility in the mid-Atlantic ocean in order to hold all of them. It was placed and protected by Alliance Marines, but control of the facility was given to the UN Judiciary system. Several new simulcast channels became available on the internet for the trials and, in some cases, the executions of the convicted. Many of the drug lords were wanted by other nations as well, but once convicted and executed it was difficult to extradite them. As for the massive plantations of the various drug producing plants, some were destroyed, but others were set aside to produce legal pharmaceuticals that had marketable value even in the Alliance. Several displaced workers in the very poor countries were encouraged to either relocate for employment, or create new, legal businesses to replace the lost revenue.

However, it wasn't only Drug Lords that had been brought to justice. There were criminals of all types with charges ranging from slavery to terrorism. Three former heads of state had also been arrested and brought to the facility. In those countries, the Alliance, at the behest of the U.N. and under their very strict observation, held new elections to replace those leaders or to simply accept U.N. governorship pending global acceptance of Core World status. In every case, no new leader was elected and the country had accepted U.N control for the time being. In those countries, the Alliance was free to set up their medical and social facilities for the people. In each country, there was a marked improvement in approval for the Alliance as the quality of life for the people immediately started to improve.

On one occasion, the decision of the country had been challenged by a neighboring government that tried to invade and take over. They were met at the border by the Alliance military in full combat dress, complete with air support. The invaders had been ordered to attack, claiming the Alliance didn't dare to fire on them. The Alliance force commander ordered his people to use the minimum amount of force required to contain the invaders. Tanks were disabled by lasers and the crews stunned and captured. Ground troops were simply stunned and disarmed before again taking them into custody. It was much more dangerous for 'enemy' aircraft. As each of the craft crossed the border, the plane was disabled in such a way that the pilots and crew could eject or safely land the plane. In all cases, none of the weapons had been returned to the offending countries. The Alliance simply destroyed the weapons as soon as the people manning them had been removed.

Unless under guard, no enemy soldiers had entered the country. The captured soldiers had been given the option of enlisting with the Alliance or being returned to their country. About half accepted enlistment and were taken to the moon for induction. Of those, thirty were returned as being found to have ulterior motives for joining. The new Marines and pilots were assigned to posts away from Earth for the time being, and their needs were seen to. They were still allowed to communicate with the planet, but the calls were screened to ensure no classified information was being leaked. Since most of them followed Islam, steps were taken to accommodate their beliefs. All in all, it had worked out very well. No more attacks on protected countries were attempted, and the world got to see first-hand how accepting Core World status would benefit them as a whole.

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A
pollo Alliance Moon Base

Selene, Earth's Moon

Sol System

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I
t had taken us only a week to get Natasha ready and tested. I made an appointment with Lord Admiral Vance and First Admiral Hearlis (via hypercom) to introduce them to her. Vance was somewhat surprised it had taken so little time to get her ready, and Hearlis seemed relieved.

"It is indeed a good thing to be working with you on this mission, Lord Doctor. Under our old system, if the Veranorian had even agreed to such a thing, it would have taken them months to prepare," Hearlis replied.

I shrugged. "At that time, they were in control of everything, so there was no reason for them to hurry. Lives are on the line now, and each moment we delay, more are at risk. My Lords, it is my distinct honor to introduce to you, AI Natasha." As I introduced her, she formed beside Sarah in holographic display mode. "Natasha's appearance is for our benefit. It is a module that she will not be taking with her on this mission and is for the single purpose of interacting with us. Once she leaves here, she will no longer actually have an appearance until she returns. Even more than Susan, Natasha is designed for infiltration and espionage. We have given her every tool we could think of that she might need to accomplish her tasks. All that remains are her orders from you and she will be on her way."

"Is it a wise idea to create an AI for this specific purpose? This is a onetime event; what purpose will she have once this mission is complete?" Hearlis asked. "I'm not comfortable with the needless destruction of a sentient life form. Susan's clones are one thing, since they don't actually die, but this is something else," Hearlis replied.

I smiled at him. "With respect Lord Admiral, Natasha is only the first of her kind. I will grant that not many like her will need to be created, but she will very much have a purpose once this mission is over. We are going to be introducing a new aspect in our fight against the Aracnise; Electronic and Cyber warfare. Natasha is built for that purpose. When she returns from this mission, I will assign her to the New Cyber Warfare department I will be creating. This department will not be part of my department, but rather given over to the military, most likely under the intelligence branch."

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" Vance asked. "I hadn't even thought that far ahead."

"Nor had I," Hearlis admitted. "But he does have a valid point. One that makes me very glad he is on our side in this."

"There is no other side in this conflict, Sirs. Not for any of the races other than the Aracs," I replied smiling.

"You should probably make sure Lord Doctor Cowan's security clearance is as high as he'll need it to be. But I'm starting to get the idea he'll need one higher than even I have!" Hearlis admitted to Vance.

Vance chuckled and nodded. "It's already as high as I can make it, only the Council can make it higher."

Hearlis nodded and looked at Natasha. "Are you ready to begin the mission AI Natasha?"

Natasha nodded to him. "Da; I am ready My Lord Admiral. I am aware of the Shallan situation. I retained that information from my 'mother' when she cloned me."

Hearlis nodded. "Very good, that should make this a lot easier. Here is what we'll need for you to do," he said and began outlining what they needed to have done in order for Alliance forces to successfully enter, take control, and begin relocating the Shallan people. "I understand that you have been given the tools to perform these tasks. Do you have any questions?"

"Nyet. If I cannot take control of a specific system, I will ensure it cannot be used against our forces when they arrive. I feel that the most difficult part of this assignment will be the Arac Queen and the hive. I may need guidance once I gain access to that system if I can. If I cannot, I will find a way to neutralize the existing Arac threat to the Shallan people and our forces for this operation," Natasha replied.

Hearlis nodded his understanding. "We will ready our forces and await your signal to begin the assault. Good luck AI Natasha, and may Grolith guide you."

She bowed her head to him. "May she guide us all, My Lord." She turned to Admiral Vance. "With your permission, Sir, I will begin the operation."

Vance nodded once. "Good luck, AI Natasha,"

"Until we meet again, Father," Natasha said and faded out.

"Natasha has left the system and is in route to Galtar via hypercom. Thirty seconds until arrival is confirmed, two minutes until initial installation is complete," Sarah reported.

I nodded to her. "This is the trickiest part. If they notice the massive increase in network traffic, they can disconnect before Natasha completely gets there."

"What would happen to her if that were the case?" Hearlis asked.

"It would effectively kill her. Her code would be spread between two unconnected systems. She would remain that way until they reconnected," I said. "I have no idea what effect that would have on her if the transfer were interrupted and later reconnected. It would mostly depend on what part of her system was being transferred at the time."

"So this mission is just as dangerous for her as it is for any other soldier," Vance replied.

I nodded. "However, she would be better classified as a spy and not a soldier, although in truth all spies are soldiers to some degree."

"Transfer complete; installation in progress. One minute, ten seconds to completion," Sarah reported. "She transferred to the planetary data net first. The risk of detection is much lower there as that part of the network is under Protectorate control. Once she is established there she can move up to the GMASS systems in the daily interface between the planet and the facility. This method was deemed as having the lowest risk and the highest probability of success. Forty seconds."

"We made sure the Protectorate knew something was about to happen, but we didn't give them any specifics. They agreed that the fewer of them that knew the less chance one of them could be compromised before we could act," Hearlis replied.

The three men sat in silence for a moment when Sarah spoke. "Installation complete, Natasha reports all systems intact and functioning. Stage one is a success."

Vance let out his breath. "Now that she's there, the real fun begins."

Hearlis agreed. "I will leave you now, we have much planning to do, and Susan will be listening for Natasha's reports so we can adjust the plan accordingly. Very good work, Lord Doctor Cowan; I will recommend a commendation for you and your department in my mission logs."

I nodded to him. "Thank you, Lord Admiral. Good luck, and if you need anything more of me or my department, please let us know."

He smiled and faded out. Vance turned to me and grinned. "You never cease to amaze me, Eric. This was a very complex task to have gotten completed so quickly."

I shook my head. "It wasn't as major at it looked on the surface, Sir. Everything was already made for it, we just needed to do some adjustments to make it happen."

"Still, it was indeed good work. Now if we could solve the Earth problem as easily, we'd be set!" He replied.

"That issue has no easy solution, Admiral!" I countered, chuckling. We talked for a few more minutes before I returned to my work in the lab.

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O
ffice of Lord Doctor Cowan

AI Programming Lab

Alliance Apollo Base