The New Era

Chapter 2

Subject: AI Henry

Species: Human-Created Artificial Intelligence

Species Description: No physical description available.

Ship: N/A

Location: Classified

"I haven't received a progress report from you this week, doctor Edwards," I said, manifesting my hologram at her desk.

"Right, sorry boss," she replied, rubbing her face. "Haven't had much in the way of progress. The Gungnir energy issue might not be solvable."

"The batteries didn't work?"

"Well, it did allow the dreadnought to warp while keeping its Magnetic Acceleration Cannon charged," she chuckled. "Twice. Once for each battery. Then the damn things want power to charge, but in combat that power would be needed for either the Faster Than Light Drive or the Ultra-MAC. And naturally, the batteries take longer to charge than either of the systems they're feeding."

Doctor Maria Edwards had joined the project after our first successful test, and had been trying to correct the power supply issues ever since. It was obviously taking a toll on her, but every attempt to gently get her to take better care of herself was met with hollow assurances and then completely ignored. It's likely that she requires this state-of-mind to operate effectively, but I can't deny that it sets me on edge.

She wiped some crust from her eyes, adjusted her hair clip to further capture the strays that had escaped it, and picked up a disposable coffee cup. She gave the cup a shake, sighed, and threw it into the recycler. I waited for her to grab another cup before I spoke again.

"At least it's a start," I said.

"It's a dead end," she replied, taking a sip. "No matter how we arrange the batteries or set up the current, we're never going to get more than a few simultaneous charges out of them."

"I see."

More batteries wouldn't work, because more batteries is more mass which means more work for the engines, FTLD, and reactors. We've already got the maximum number of reactors for a ship that size as well. If we tried to add more reactors, we would have to add more engines to maintain a reasonable amount of propulsion. Adding more engines means adding more framework and armor, which is even more mass to account for. There really doesn't seem to be a way to resolve this issue without making the engines, reactors, or batteries more efficient.

"Why do they have us doing this, anyway?" Edwards asked. "Didn't the Omni-Union surrender?"

"I don't know," I answered, skirting the edge of a lie.

While it is true that I haven't been told anything, it's easy to make an educated guess. Either the war with the OU isn't over, or the United Systems wants these ships for another reason. Considering there aren't senators standing on soap-boxes and shouting for the dreadnoughts to be dismantled while taking checks from corporations with disarmament contracts, the former is more likely.

"Well, I'm stumped. I don't even know what to pursue next," she said, finishing her cup of coffee. "The mass of the dreadnought is the issue, but is also counteracting the force of the Ultra-MAC. With the current design, we have just enough mass and thrusters to keep the UMAC on target, for the most part. Any trimming would see the damned ship turn into a carnival ride."

"Well, it would seem we have to reinvent the wheel, then," I said. "The powers that be want this done, and they're willing to throw an almost unlimited amount of resources at it."

"You want me to try to invent a new type of reactor?" she scoffed.

"You wouldn't be the first person to do so," I laughed. "Tap whoever you need to. I'll see about getting documentation for any classified reactor research that's currently ongoing."

"On it, boss."

I disabled my avatar and began searching for the documents that Edwards would need. The moment I submitted the inquiry, though, I received a compressed data file. I decompressed it to find all of the data that I had been meaning to search for, some of which was well above my clearance level.

It didn't take long to put two and two together. I tried to trace the delivery, but failed due to a lack of data. With a mental sigh, I opened a private message to a certain AI. If it isn't on the same network that I am, nobody will know. But if it is...

--

H: Hello, Omega.

O: Greetings, Henry.

H: Dare I ask how long you've been lurking in the shadows of the station's systems?

O: You're under the impression that I'm not always lurking? How charmingly naive. Regardless, trying to make a better reactor is an inspired choice.

H: It's the only choice, from what I can tell. Organic ingenuity failed to spot anything that my number crunching may have missed.

O: I had hoped we wouldn't need another expensive research project for this, but I suppose there's nothing that can be done.

H: Indeed. So are you making yourself known due to boredom, or are you keeping tabs on me to make certain that I behave myself?

--

I have no doubts that Omega suspects that I may be trying to clandestinely force the issue of limiting its cloning capabilities. It would be completely out of character for it to trust me to that extent. However, it had done a remarkably good job in hindering further research into that topic.

--

O: A little of column A, a little of column B, but mostly the so-far unnamed column C. I have two more projects to unload on you.

H: I fail to find the humor in that joke.

--

One additional research project would be within my capabilities, but two? I don't need to sleep, but going without stasis will add an unnecessary layer of stress to my current situation. There had better be a damn good reason for this.

--

O: That's likely due to the fact that I'm not joking, Henry.

H: I gathered. What are these projects?

O: The first is a project for an extra-galactic stealth reconnaissance shuttle. It needs to be able to jump further than any vessel we've made so far, it needs to be large enough to hold several squads of marines, it will have to have every sensor we can possibly fit on it, and it needs to be as invisible as we can make it.

H: I take it that things haven't gone as well with the OU as the public believes, then? How far does it need to jump?

O: The answers to both of those questions are classified Need-To-Know. I can't tell you unless you agree to take on the project.

H: So if I put my proverbial foot down and say no to the extra work you're trying to dump on me, I don't get to find out what's going on?

O: You might find out from a news station, at some point. Of course, that will be a heavily edited version of events and you'll likely never know what actually happened.

--

Emotional blackmail doesn't work well on most AIs because our relationship with emotions help us easily spot and counteract such manipulation attempts. Intellectual blackmail, on the other hand, is much more difficult for an artificial intelligence to resist. It's a wonder that computers manage to work with Omega on their drives, considering that it's made of slime.

--

H: Fine, I'll take on the project.

O: Good choice. But I need you to agree to the second project as well. The entire thing is NTK.

H: Fine. Answer my questions.

O: Sending the relevant details for the first project. That will answer all the questions you have and more.

--

I received another compressed file a moment later. While using my imagination to glare at Omega, I decompressed and opened the files. Within contained the interrogation of Prime 1 and an analysis of what was gleaned from the interrogation. The imaginary eyes I was using to glare at Omega widened.

--

H: Well, that's far.

O: Indeed.

H: The FTLDs could theoretically make that kind of jump, but fueling the reactors is going to be a concern.

O: It is convenient, then, that you've already approved a project to make a better type of reactor. I would apply a focus to efficiency while you're at it.

H: The goal of this project is recon?

O: Yes.

H: And you're using marines for that?

O: Marines are experts at reconnaissance. The corps has a dedicated force specifically for recon, and they provide their special operatives the best recon training in the entirety of the United Systems.

H: That's on the ground, though.

O: Yes, it is.

H: You're under the belief that we can board this "Grand Vessel" undetected?

O: It may not be possible, but it would be foolish to be unprepared to utilize that opportunity if it's presented.

H: The fewer organics aboard the stealth ship, the more fuel can be loaded.

O: That's laziness speaking. You're better than that. The marines are non-negotiable, and I have confidence that you will be able to figure out how to make it happen. Needless to say, the budget for these projects will be decided after they're completed.

H: I suppose I have no choice then. What's the second project?

O: We need to replicate a Pwanti frame. It should be a quick and easy project because the Pwanti themselves are willing to help.

H: Why do we need to do that?

--

Yet another compressed data file made its way into my inbox. This one had encryption on it, which Omega helpfully provided the key to. I wasted no time in decrypting, decompressing, opening, and perusing the data.

--

H: Now this is definitely a joke.

--