POD (The Pattern Universe) (4 page)

Scanning the deep rock bed beneath it, Pod selected a suitable location. Then, it used its D-Field to scoop a rectangular chunk of rock from beneath the mountain, within the shield but below the existing habitats.

It dropped the extracted material into the generator room, from ceiling height, making sure the rock crushed the operational controls for the generators. This sent the personnel in there scattering as the huge slab of Swiss mountain was deposited in their workspace with no warning and no idea where it came from.

It then placed an additional chunk inside the airlock entrance in the same manner. Each of these rectangular chunks measured approximately twelve square metres and weighed several tons. Alarms all over the complex went off, whether from the disabling of systems from the wrecked console, or the general quarters alarm from security, Pod didn't bother to check.

The focus of their attention changed to one of internal panic as engineers could not now reach their control panels, or the generators. Some ran around wondering if the place was caving in, while others stood totally bemused, unable to explain the arrival of large slabs of granite in their midst. Vehicles in and out were blocked and many workers were already trying to break down the slabs with NRG weapons and Tractor beams.

Pod jumped into the newly vacated space under the mountain which could now house it comfortably. It settled and analysed its situation; how could it best extract itself from this without compromising its own security? While it did so, it refined and integrated Zeke's recovered Pheson Alacite into three more of its processors. When they came back on-line, it felt an immediate improvement and noted via diagnostics that it was now operating at ninety percent optimum efficiency.

From the security of its rock haven, Pod surveyed the ground around the complex. There was nothing of note and it was considering how to cloak the Alacite when it noticed that an underground river, which fed the inhabitants with their water supply, continued on downward until eventually exiting the mountainside a few kilometres away.

Pod scanned carefully along the passage of the water until it found what it was looking for. Its exit route was a nullifier array carefully placed to allow the water to vacate the mountain. The water should disperse through the shield anyway, but there might well be flood issues with the shield in place. The nullifiers were obviously there as a safety feature.

It D-Jumped to a pool area beyond the habitat zone, where there appeared to be a cleared area, and from there negotiated its way through the ice cold waters. Its own shield protected it from the raging torrent being forced through the narrow fissures until it was finally able to eject itself out with the fierce waterfall situated well below the shielded area of the Fortress.

It was free and without wishing to provide the Fortress with any additional data, Pod D-Jumped directly into space and secured itself deep amongst asteroids to ensure it couldn’t be scanned by Fortress sensors.

- 3 -

Pod now used its new level of processing power to reconsider its last conversation with Zeke. It decided its so-called developing sentience was a human label for what was a simple matter of increased intelligence. The artificial ‘brain’ arrived at a point in its development where it gained the ability to think for itself.

The more powerful the processor, the more it could handle, meaning quicker analysis which equated to faster results. The rest was matching this speed to retained memory to give probable outcomes to a particular situation. The more scenarios in the mix, the fewer possibilities, until finally it was reasonable to expect a given set of responses.

When following humans, Pod had noted that, when in familiar scenarios, they behaved predictably according to their memories and habits. If placed into a fresh situation, the introduction of the personal shield a good case in point, where fear was slowly replaced with confidence, the person introduced new memories and practices to deal with their new situation. Pod decided this was just the same way that it analysed situations and resolved means of managing them.

It recollected an Earth saying that implied sentience, “I think; therefore, I am” and considered that to be no more or less, than Ship and itself had achieved with Alacite processors. The more efficient and powerful they were, the better able they were to ‘think’ in human terms. In actuality they were just processing data, applying it to patterns of previously recorded behaviour, then extrapolating likely scenarios.

Pod, satisfied it had the basics of sentience resolved, decided to move onto its next objective.

It began to think about what it wanted to do, or achieve, without realising that this was, in itself, the result of a developing individual mind. Pod hadn't considered that this attitude was representative of its growing awareness of 'self'.

It analysed the computer files in Ferris’ laboratory, and quickly recognised the impending threat to Space Island and the projects the Makers had initiated. It did not recognise that Zeke was also at the heart of its concern. Neither did it realise that it was also subconsciously avoiding the human 'Maker'. It reasoned its programming was still in place to support its Makers so decided to continue the work that Zirkos and Ship had begun. However, Pod had no intention of going back to being Zeke’s AI

It had analysed their last conversation and understood that Zeke considered it was no longer bound by such limitations. It needed to strike out on its own, but reasoned that it had to have a point to its existence, something to replace the lack of programmed instruction.

Whilst gathering these new thoughts and concepts into its mind, it also saw that its processors were sitting idle, thirsting for new projects. Its introspection over, Pod decided that its recent experience at the Fortress had given it cause for concern that it needed to fully analyse.

It began reading the files and data retrieved from the laboratory computers. At the end of its processing run, it knew two things. Firstly, that there was definitely going to be an attack on Space Island. Secondly, there was another secret Fortress on Earth, which was developing space technology. This led it to refresh the notes from its unexpected visit to the inside of the Fortress.

The discovery it had uncovered, while in the laboratory, was that Ferris intended to build space platforms which the human intended to utilise to control the planet below. It had advanced patterns and structures for attack and defence. It was an excellent blueprint. Pod decided it would develop this itself, a project not beyond its own skills in patterning especially with the additional Alacite power it now wielded. First though, it needed to warn Space Island of the coming invasion. It jumped.

Osbourne sat at his console wallowing in the depths of dejected confusion. He had spent three days looking at the screen without so much as a clue as to what was wrong with his equations. The drive should work, but there was an error, or design flaw somewhere and he couldn’t find it. He was about to turn away and take pen to paper in an effort to work it out in his head when his chat-box popped up on the screen and flashed at him.

Surprised, but also pleased at the interruption, anything to take his mind away from his failure, he moved his hand to touch the screen. The box opened to reveal a new message.

Expect attack on Space Island by Fortress soon.

Patterns of latest weapons show primarily aimed at breaching shield.

Fortress has an independent space programme. Technology based on current blueprints from Space Island.

It is unlikely you would have released these?

The computer model you are working on is correct. Human error is only possibility.

Osbourne knew immediately that it was a message from Pod. It hadn’t yet learned that humans had no means to identify the sender of a communication across the system. This one hadn't even gone through his mail queue.

He hadn’t heard from it for ages, and now this, right out of the blue. Where had Pod been and where had it gone now? He really wanted to know, but there was no reply possible, the information had been typed on his computer.

He read it again, this time properly taking in its contents.

As it finally dawned on him, his jaw dropped. The end of the dentine stick he was chewing, fell off and landed on the keyboard.

“Oh, crap!”

Zeke was in the USA somewhere and Osbourne didn’t dare send him a message about this, in case communications were being intercepted. He cleared down the screen, removing the message. That was when he noticed a new folder on his desktop. Opening it up, he found hundreds of folders, each filled with files, research notes and blueprints. Looking briefly through them, he recognised some things, others were new technology and ideas. He would have been more excited, but Pod's words had really scared him. Hurriedly, he moved them all into a personal log-file which had his personal encryption codes to secure it. He didn’t need to do more as his workstation was connected to his shield bio.

Then, leaping out of his chair, he grabbed his lab coat and shot out of his door. His hover globe, resting in its slot by the door, launched itself into the air right behind him, its reactions fast enough not get caught in the closing door which auto locked behind him. He was in a safe area, but his security was higher than most, as the leader of his scientific community, so his doors had both physical locks and bio-locks.

He slipped out through reception, the security globes monitoring every move, and ran across the compound with his own personal orb in hot pursuit. The compound had grown considerably since he had been D-Jumped here by Pod. His task was to run the science labs until more senior people were taken on with better qualifications for a large multi-faceted science laboratory.

Now, where there had originally been several single storey constructions laid out, there were four large, ten storey buildings with as many floors below ground, as above. All the laboratories were housed underground, all the admin and management above ground.

The top four levels were linked together with each building providing sixteen floors for the Space Council to manage the Island’s affairs. It was quicker for Osbourne to run to the building nearest his destination and use the lifts, than it was to go straight to his own building and work his way around the linked floors above.

When he got to Frank’s office, Annie was sitting guard patrol, as usual, in front of his door. Nobody, not even Osbourne himself, could get past her, she was his protector. He reached her desk and used the lowest voice he could muster so others waiting couldn’t hear.

“I need to see Frank now. We have big trouble coming and he needs to know,” he muttered.

“What are you... oh.. I see, well...” for the benefit of the others still waiting to see Space Island’s President, she put up a show.

“He’s busy, Mr. Osbourne, he has a tight schedule ahead today. Are you sure it's that important?” Annie said, loud enough to be heard by the others.

“Yes. Remember the inauguration day event in Washington?” he quietly reminded her of the previous attack on Frank.

Annie blanched, she remembered it clearly. It was the most terrifying time of her life. The day she thought the President was going to be assassinated.

“I will go and tell him you are here,” she said and stood, turning to the door just as it opened and Frank came out glad handing the representative from some country that was part of the Council.

“Mr...” Annie began, but Frank waved at her not to worry. He took one look at Osbourne and waved him in silently.

His globe, as per standing procedure, parked itself outside the door. All communications within the President’s office were deemed confidential, for ‘eyes and ears’ only. This made sure there were no external records of what went on inside.

Frank walked back to his desk, not bothering to make Osbourne welcome. They knew each other well enough to dispense with chitchat when necessary. As he plonked himself into his chair, Osbourne pulled up a stool and sat opposite him, elbows on the large desk.

“Osbourne, perhaps you would be good enough to tell me why my appointment schedule just pinged an early end to my meeting and slotted you into place when you evidently have only just arrived. Are you hacking into my systems again?”

“Err! I think Pod is around somewhere, Sir. It’s playing coy though, it sent me a chat message.”

Frank’s view-screen that he couldn’t see from where he was seated, pinged.

He turned to look at it. Osbourne didn’t need telling from the thunderous expression on his face that he had just received a copy of the same message. Pod must be either anticipating or eavesdropping. He didn’t care, he was just glad his friend was still about. Yes, he realised, he was strange calling an AI a friend, but that was just the way of it.

“What the hell is this?” Frank bellowed at nobody in particular.

“Delete it, Frank,” Osbourne told him.

“What? why? I need this to...” he muttered confused at the request.

“My message informed me that our spaceship plans are in the hands of the Fortress. It also said my equations were fine. I’m assuming it means I have someone sabotaging the nanite trials.”

“Crap! We don’t need this right now, we have so much going on in the council; I’m thinking of getting your lot to forget designing spaceships and start cloning. Just give me a sec to think about this,” he said.

Frank leaned back, his elbows on the arms of his chair, his hands together with fingers steepled, and swung around to gaze out the window. The complex he had striven to build around him and the Space Council was taking shape and close to achieving its aim, to place Earth in a position to enter Space in a committed way. Frank knew that trouble was coming, and the last thing they needed right now, was a concerted effort to disrupt the programme of getting a defence platform built to protect Earth from invasion.

He turned back to Osbourne, still a young man at thirty one, who was shouldering a lot of responsibility himself heading up the technical and design teams for the Space programme. Nevertheless, Osbourne would have to manage the new problem of a spy in his midst while he tried to prepare for an invasion.