Thirteen
Executor General Gorlon Hague withdrew into a deep
arena of consciousness, the most secure environment in the universe. A
thought became an encoded physical signal transmitted beyond himself.
"Boris, we have a problem."
"How may I help you resolve our problem, Executor
General?" Boris responded without hesitation.
"I thought we had an arrangement with the Chineen
Hive."
"I have no knowledge of any changes to our
arrangement with the Chineen Hive."
"Our arrangement remains secure?"
"Our security has not been breached,"
Boris assured
him.
"Then why haven't I received word of Myla's
death? I did not expect them to return a body to us, but I did
request confirmation of her capture or destruction."
"I have queried the Hive executive program. I
have been given the following information. One small craft of no
significance was tracked. The human pilot misconstrued the probe as a
hostile act, destroyed the probe, and then self-destructed."
"Myla killed herself? How?"
"She struck debris at
high velocity. Perhaps she damaged her engines. Recovery of the body for confirmation
of identity was considered irrelevant. Hive
forces have, however, acquired a second human specimen attempting
penetration of secured areas."
Jeremy Kael. Gorlon had no immediate interest in
Jeremy, but Myla's ability to escape the Hive annoyed him, and his annoyance
became an ominous suspicion. Had Jeremy escaped detection, Myla
would have escaped certain destruction, just as Nome had anticipated.
Gorlon thought it best not to give her another opportunity. "Boris, tell the Hive that it may be in
their own interest to refrain from damaging the boy. The girl may have
survived, and the boy is our only means of access to her."
"The Hive demands specific information on the
significance of the survival of Myla Rhodes, the child in question."
Gorlon rummaged through his imagination for a
convenient excuse, but decided against risking a lie. "Ask the Hive to
give me some leeway on this request. They know our thought processes
differ and that mutual understanding is sometimes difficult. Remind the
Hive that I respect and support their autonomy."
"The Hive calculates your intent as inherently
benevolent to Hive autonomy and will comply with your request. The entity
identified as Jeremy Kael will be maintained intact. You will be advised
if circumstance dictates recalculation of this decision."
Gorlon pondered his options.
"Boris, I don't think the girl's dead. Can you
believe that? She's only twelve standard years old. How could she have
the emotional fortitude to orchestrate a deception of that magnitude?"
"Deception," Boris' neurologically induced voice
rumbled among his own thoughts. "I know the definition of the word. I do
not understand it so thoroughly that I could use it in calculating human
behavior."
Gorlon could almost hear Boris' primitive thought
processes churning in his microprocessors. All machine intelligence
possessed a rudimentary consciousness courtesy of quantum processes, but
not the ability to process superpositioned choices in the manner of the
human brain. Humanity did not entirely understand its own hardware,
and, therefore, could not duplicate it mechanically. Boris had
developed a quiet obsession with the godlike power of human consciousness,
but without the ability to understand its nature, he had never taken it
beyond a vague, but powerful curiosity.
To some degree, the Chineen
Hive did well without it. Human emotional conflict wasted vast
amounts of energy and resources. When the Chineen Hive saw to their
own survival, they did so with ruthless efficiency. Gorlon envied
Boris his infinite peacefulness. Boris responded to instructions
on an involuntary basis, like the beating of a human heart. Machine
intelligence had no personal responsibility toward the maintenance or
functioning of its own existence. If only human existence could be so
carefree.
Gorlon thought that maybe someday it could. He
envisioned a world run by machine intelligence. Humanity would live in
complete harmony with the universe. The utter peacefulness of life would
be completely without want or worry, unsullied by even simple curiosity.
If only humanity would let it happen.
Would it ever happen? Gorlon sighed heavily, tormented by fears of
impending disaster. His mechanical body could literally bear the weight
of a small world, but at heart he felt himself a simple and humble man who
had acted rashly in his youth. The cities of Covonia and the Alliance
both would terminate his life support systems if they knew of the crimes
he had committed in the name of humanity. Nothing could be allowed to
attract the attention of the Alazhir Alliance in that regard. The consequence would fall upon them all with equal ferocity.
"I can deal with a child,"
Gorlon said, fearing Boris
would interpret his quiet apprehension as impotence. "There must be a
simple explanation for Khalin's overconfidence. I only need to find it."
As if knowing why would resolve the crisis. He
feared knowing why would only delineate it, and the crisis would then
escalate to an entirely new level.
