Cutting a Swath

Cutting a Swath

 

 

Book Two of the “Make the Cut” series.

 

By C. Brink

 

 

© C. Brink, 2020

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

 

***

 

Cutting a Swath (book two in the Make the Cut series)

First edition - version 1.01 (78,175 words)

Previous works in this series. Make the Cut – 2020 (book one)

 

***

 

 

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The story depicts an alternative invented reality and timeline. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. None of the events depicted in the story are actual events. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

Warning: This work contains occasional dialog which includes strong language. If words of this nature offend you, don’t read this book. Consider yourself warned.

 

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to my early readers. Their help in finding errors or other issues is greatly appreciated. Lending their help with this volume: Zen Master, Zom, Cie_mel and Cassie63

Cutting a Swath:

 

Table of Contents:

Cast:

Prologue:

Chapter 1: Something is Not Quite Right.

Chapter 2: I’ve Got the Power!

Chapter 3: Habu

Chapter 4: Show on the Road.

Chapter 5: Sea Legs

Chapter 6: Doldrums

Chapter 7: Sojourn

Chapter 8: Cheeseburger in Paradise

Chapter 9: Cruising

Chapter 10: Practice run

Chapter 11: Stoicism is overrated.

Chapter 12: Invasion on the Seventh Rank

Chapter 13: Team Member Down

Chapter 14. It was an accident!

Epilogue:

Appendix: Nouveau Nautilus

 

 

 

 

Part 1 – Adaptations

***

Cast:

 

(In the year 2912)

John Abrams: Main character. Survivor. Formerly sheltered in Tennessee. Recorded age 944, Subjective age 54, Biological age 26

Agent: Artificial Intelligence (occasionally limited). A former augment of Picket’s. Feminine voice. Exists as multiple presences occupying physical processors in various bases and devices around the planet and in space. Capabilities change depending upon how many presences are linked.

‘Master’ A.I.: See above. Unique A.I. presence formerly residing on the asteroid 3074 Popov. Contains programs, codes, directives, and hardware allowing it final authority over all other A.I. presences in the system.

Naomi: Artificial Intelligence (emancipated and enhanced) Independent presence created by Agent to assist John. Bound to John.

Ohmu: Humanoid Mobile Unit. A small humanoid shaped mobile unit created by Agent and Naomi to assist John. Appearance is obsidian black chrome in color with a flexible skin of tiny interlocking hexagonal scales. Lacks defined facial features but does possess changing illuminated eye and mouth indications. A linked presence of Naomi, although capable of some independent actions.

Other humans: Eight other humans remaining alive in bio-suspension who originate from the time of the world’s destruction.

Tribal humans: Total number unknown. Descendants of Ana living in the western Amazon basin. Population currently limited and under the control of the Master A.I. who experiments with their genetics.

 

 

***

Prologue:

 

On the asteroid named by humans as 3074 Popov, somewhere in orbit between this star system’s small reddish planet and its large system-dominating gas giant, nothing much remained in operation. The small planetoid was now riddled with large craters and deep shafts as a great deal of its carbonaceous interior had been mined over the preceding centuries to provide needed resources. The last of these resources had been used to relocate the previous intelligence and its processing infrastructure which had once been based here.

Now, the only artificial intelligence remaining on the asteroid was a small semi-intelligent presence which controlled the idled fabrication and assembly facility. Its function was to remain in standby, waiting millennia if needed to resume operations if required. The nearby tether mechanisms which had previously been used to fling landing pods inwards towards the blue world were gathered and stowed around their anchor masses, also in standby mode.

The final active function at the now mostly derelict asteroid base was that of a communications relay. This semi-intelligent unit rerouted any communications sent towards the asteroid to a moving point in space currently half an AU away. Receiving the messages at that location was a large moving mass of interconnected modules which had departed from the asteroid over a year earlier.

The innermost core of that mass of modules housed the key mind … the master artificial intelligence which dominated all others currently active in this system. This presence was housed in a massive, armored processor module surrounded by numerous data archive modules and was provided with multiple independent energy sources and backups.

Surrounding the core module were other modules containing stores of base elements, useful chemicals and volatiles, fabrication equipment, and other assembly machinery. There were six fusion power generators with four of them simply redundant and on standby. They would remain on standby until needed to brake the assemblage into orbit around its final destination.

Outermost of the layers of modules were defensive weaponry of various types. Missiles, beam weapons, mass drivers, and even more exotic devices. These were aimed by large antenna arrays busily scanning the surrounding space. It watched for any known or unknown threats and would continue to do so even after the assemblage of modules reached its destination. That destination was still under construction in a medium-altitude equatorial orbit around the blue world known by its former dominant species as Earth.

 

 

Chapter 1: Something is Not Quite Right.

 

I vaguely became somewhat aware. I did not actually wake up like a normal person wakes after a deep sleep. It was like I was slowly becoming aware that despite the absence of all sensation, I had an active consciousness. This realization seemed to take days, or it could have been minutes. Time was hard to judge in this state. Slowly, like the bathwater rising to submerge a bathing body with warmth and heat, the awareness of memories and sensations grew. I became aware that I was blind as I realized I missed the sensation of sight. I started to feel, but my first feeling was fear as my body became aware that it was running out of oxygen and I could not breathe. I felt a jolt and a thump in my chest which must have been my heart starting and shortly after I was able to gasp and inhale a deep breath.

I suddenly understood was happening to me. I was ‘waking up’ from being in bio-suspension and had gone through this before! I calmed myself as a tube was withdrawn from my throat. I fought the urge to cough and instead, slowly breathed through my nose. I waited until my nervous system had control of my body and finally managed to pry open my eyes. I saw a blurry glow on a screen in front of me and heard a feminine sounding artificial voice speaking softly to me.

—John Abrams, please remain calm.—

The words sounded strange and I felt a funny sensation in my brain when I heard them. I was calm though, I thought to myself. I slowly cleared my throat and licked my lips.

“Sssstatus Agent? Directives?” I asked, now growing nervous as I remembered the potential dangers I was waking to.

—I am still acting under the new directives implanted during the override session, John. —

Relief flooded me and I relaxed back into the cushion. I was curious about how long I had been in bio-suspension. I also remembered that I was going to be rendered unconscious soon to complete my body's reactivation. I would wait.

— I am now administering a sedative, John. You will be rendered unconscious for approximately eighty hours as the recovery process and the full reactivation of your body is completed,— the voice said.

Soon, I was again unconscious and sleeping peacefully.

***

This time I awoke refreshed and full of energy. I opened my eyes with a smile. I turned my head to look around and my smile was replaced with a frown. The medical crèche lid was almost fully open, and I could see that the vault beyond was dim … and small. That was new. I stretched and I felt no aches or pains like I did during the last rushed revival back in …

“Agent, what’s the date?” I asked.

“The current date is Thursday, April 7^th and the year is 2912, John. The current time is 07:12 in the morning.”

This time, her words sounded more normal and I did not have the weird feeling in my head.

“The weather outside is a pleasant 23.3 degrees and sunny. The winds are mostly calm with an occasional slight breeze,” the machine continued, covering all my potential questions.

I remained silent as I digested that. It sounded like a great day to be reawakened. The passage of time still hit me though. I had last gone into bio-suspension in the year 2602.

“It has been 310 years, 12 days since you last entered bio-suspension, John,” Agent added, continuing to anticipate my questions.

I calculated how old I was. I had been 634 years old when I went under so that made me 944 years old now. I was just shy of nine and a half centuries old. Jesus! I’d have to look in a mirror when I was upright to see if I still could see my reflection. Maybe I could now transform into a bat! I probed my teeth with my tongue … no fangs yet.

No matter my apparent age, I still felt great. Agent’s technology worked better than ever. Looking down at my nude and toned body with its flawless dark skin, I looked like a fit person still in their mid-twenties.

I swung my lithe legs over the side of the medical crèche and stood, stretching on my tiptoes, my spine arched backward with my arms extended up to almost touch the low ceiling. I marveled at how good I felt and how much energy I had. I felt lighter than air! I looked around the medical crèche vault and noticed two things. The first was the pile of clothing that I had expected to find. The second was that the medical crèche was definitely not in the same vault it had been located in when I was put in bio-suspension three centuries ago.

“Where am I at Agent?” I asked, fearing the machine would answer ‘prison’ or someplace worse.

“During your bio-suspension, you and the medical crèche were relocated to a facility much safer than the field base in Tennessee,” the machine answered.

“Are we still safe from the enemy A.I. presences?”

“Yes, John, you remain safe. The enemy A.I. presences remain unaware of your unplanned active status. Nor are they aware that you possess forbidden knowledge and harbor rogue technologies,” Agent reassured.

“Then where are we now?” I asked, looking around the dim, compact utilitarian vault once more.

“We are currently located at a hidden facility in southeast Georgia. I have prepared a media station in the next chamber. There I will update you on what has occurred since you last entered bio-suspension. I also have an assortment of beverages for your refreshment.”

I stooped to retrieve the clothing. As I sorted through the garments, I found the image card and my wedding ring. I slipped the ring on my finger and noted that it fit snugly, which was new. I looked at it and it looked smaller for some reason. I wondered if Agent had resized it. I began dressing and I bent to slip on my underwear, my smooth dark legs caught my eye. Something about that nagged at my brain causing me to pause.

I finally realized that it was my dark skin that caused my brain to hesitate … It was unusual, but why? I stood there looking at my legs when it finally dawned on me what the strangeness was. I had been Caucasian before and now my skin was a medium brown color! I then recalled Agent’s last words as I was put under, ’be aware that I will be altering your appearance’.

“Huh.” I muttered. I wondered what else was changed.

I realized suddenly that I was just not that surprised or concerned about my skin’s new coloring. It felt ‘right’ somehow, and I suspected why immediately.

“Agent, did you mess with my head about my new skin color!?” I asked angrily.

“Please remain calm, John. Yes, I did make slight adjustments to your thoughts about your body changes to limit anxiety and confusion upon your revival. I did not alter your memories. If you try, you will find that you still have all of your personality and memories.”

I tried to do as she suggested and verify that I had all my memories. I did have them … at least those I remembered. It suddenly occurred to me that the exercise was pointless and futile. How was I supposed to notice things which I had forgotten? Still, I remembered the details of the rogue crystal data module, the existence of the hidden base and its location, and the culpability of Agent regarding the destruction of my world and species. Those were the important memories and certainly the first to have been tampered with if Agent had been compromised by the enemy A.I. ‘master’ presence.

I began to relax. It was reasonable that this Agent presence was still operating under the constraints and directives which I had implanted into its primary operating system back when I had hacked into it. I would just have to trust that this Agent version was still working with my best interests in mind. Maybe Agent's ‘adjustments’ were as harmless as she insisted and did help with calming my anxieties. It still bothered me that the machine kept meddling in my brain which seemed to defeat the purpose of its attempts to keep me calm.

I continued dressing as normal and put on socks and a pair of shorts. My brain ‘twigged’ again when I slipped on my sports bra. It was not until after I had finished putting the shirt on over the bra when my brain finally caught up with the ‘twig’ and what I had just done. I felt a jolt to my core!

“YOU FUCKER!” I burst out, shocked to the point of screaming. “You made me a woman!”

Agent hesitated a bit before answering.

“I … apologize, John. I did not realize that you had such animosity towards females.”

“I don’t hate women, I love women!”—waving my arms wildly—"I just … I’m a MAN dammit! Agent!” I whined.

“It appears that my attempt at mentally adjusting your awareness of your current body's gender was not completed in an optimal way. I will have to consider using a different approach next time,” the machine admitted.

No shit! I thought, still reeling as I stood there looking down at my covered breasts!

“Please relax, John. You are still you. Just consider this as … ‘taking a vacation’ from your normal gender. You will find this body is as fit as your previous body and even more agile and flexible. Though it is slightly weaker, I will provide equipment to make up for any shortfalls in brute strength which this body may lack as compared to your former body.”

I snorted at Agent's use of ‘taking a vacation’. I had to admit that this was indeed a good way to disguise my appearance. I could imagine that if an enemy A.I. detected me, it would deduce that I was a native from Brazil and that my origins had derived from the rogue elements based there.

As I continued to look over my body, I began to realize that I was surprisingly comfortable with the new gender. For example, I seemed to ‘know’ what to expect when I needed to take a leak. I also seemed to know how to care for this body hygiene-wise, including during that time-of-the-month.

I noted I was also mentally ready for this body’s physical differences and capabilities as I could clearly imagine how I could now move and bend in new, very agile and flexible ways. I looked forward to actually working out and doing calisthenics. Maybe Agent actually had prepared my mind adequately to live in a female body.

OK, it was at this point that I ruined all that reasoned and logical thinking in one instant by groping myself. I couldn’t help it! I just had to see how they felt. I discovered that my new breasts felt great! This was very weird.

What the hell John! I had to get a grip on myself. I groaned at the inadvertent pun. I made a conscious effort to resist exploring the lower parts of the body and naturally, that led my thoughts to wondering how complete Agent's mental manipulation of my psyche had been regarding things of a more sexual nature.

I had been married so the female form was not a complete mystery and hopefully, I’d be able to handle this body’s natural urges myself if it came to that. I’d just have to modify my past knowledge and think ‘first person’ instead of ‘third’ if I needed to take matters in hand. Again, with the puns! Jesus John! I could no longer control myself and started laughing. Agent proved its intelligence when the machine just let me laugh it out without interrupting or inquiring.

I soon got control of my laughter. I had to put the subject of my new body out of mind for now, at least until I could find a full-length mirror. I composed myself and taking a deep breath, turned to the door which Agent had now opened. Entering the next room, I found it also surprisingly dim, small, and utilitarian. The room was about two meters square with bare metal walls. There was another door on the far wall which must have been the exit. Like the vault, this room was lit by only a single wall fixture. The only furnishing was a reclining chair which faced a wall-mounted view screen. The sparse room was very unlike my lavish dwelling back in Tennessee and I asked Agent about it.

“These chambers are for your temporary use only. After the briefing, you will be moving to more permanent quarters. I suspect that you will find those much more to your liking,” Agent answered mysteriously.

Well, I guess we better get on with it then and went to sit in the chair. As I did, I noticed a small cooler beside the chair and helped myself to a bottle of cold water. The bottle of beer that I had spied was tempting, but I realized I had better forgo alcohol until I learned exactly what the situation here was. Lying beside the cooler on the floor was a pair of goggles of the type I was familiar with but I left them where they were for the moment. I reclined the chair and could not help again noticing my bare slender legs. That was going to take a bit to get used to.

“Agent, before we start, I have a few questions.”

“Yes, John?”

“Tell me about Ana? Did she survive to raise children and start her tribe? How long did she live?”

Agent paused a bit before answering.

“John, before I tell you what information I have of Ana and her existence in South America you must understand that the master intelligence had and still has direct oversight over the operations on that continent. Thus, the only data I have has been passed on from that presence and is somewhat limited. I have gotten updates on Ana and her status, as it was intended that the information be available at the field base to answer your questions when you were next awakened. Understand that I have no way to determining if the updates were correct.

“Ana lived on in the rain forest for over one hundred and twelve years before dying in an accident from a tree falling. Before she died, she had raised and overseen nine generations of children, grandchildren, and so on. The extended tribe grew and spread over an area of over six thousand square kilometers, although the population remained sparse due to fertility issues.

“While she was alive, Ana acted as a fertility shaman who oversaw the local A.I. as it acted to implant new generations of fertilized embryos into the sterile females of the population. After her death, new tribal members were trained to act in that role, and thus, a stable tribal population has been maintained for three centuries and this continues to the present time,” the machine answered.

Wow, there was a lot to consider there and I’d have to think about what I heard later. I was surprised to learn that she lived on a century and more before dying in an accident.

“What were the fertility issues? Were they sick?” I asked.

“The cause was not relayed by the master A.I. presence but I suspect that presence was controlling the population growth by purposefully limiting fertility,” Agent explained.

I bet that had pissed her off to no end.

“How did Ana live so long?”

“A landing pod delivered a fully equipped medical crèche four decades after she arrived in the region. Ana had initially refused rejuvenation treatments from it for over a decade before she was placed into the crèche by a descendant against her will after having succumbed to illness. The treatment restored her to a youthful condition as you had known her,” Agent answered.

I let most of my other questions go as I thought about Ana and her long life.

“Had she been happy?” I asked.

Agent paused a long time before answering.

“Yes, I believe overall she was. From the limited data, I can deduce that she felt frustration at both her exile and her outrage towards my presences but, she also clearly demonstrated joy and happiness with her extended family and their tribal life.“

I could see that. I imagined her being content with her lot in life. I sat remembering my friend whom I had known only briefly.

After nearly a minute of silence, Agent began the briefing.

“John, I will start by reviewing the first incident which threatened your survival while you were in bio-suspension.”

The view screen lit and displayed an image of the Tennessee base. I realized that I was looking at a camera view of the landing area located next to the aircraft hangar.

“Two hundred and forty-one years ago a landing craft unexpectedly descended upon the Tennessee field base. The craft had been sent by the master A.I. based on the asteroid 3074 Popov.”

I watched as a conical shaped lander rapidly descended and set down with a large exhaust plume of flame. There had been an aircraft similar to Flipper parked nearby and the exhaust from the lander caused it to tumble off the pad. This was clearly an unplanned event, or Agent would have moved the aircraft beforehand.

“Shit!” I blurted, already suspecting what was happening.

“Yes, excrement indeed,” Agent answered before continuing, “The lander quickly deployed a mobile unit which then proceeded to enter the base and descend to the lower level’s main processor chamber.”

I watched a side panel of the lander pop open forming a ramp and then a wheeled mobile unit quickly roll out and enter the hangar. The unit looked similar to a Segway but with many spindly upright arms. The fucker was fast, too!

“Did you try to stop it?” I asked anxiously.

“No, John. Upon landing, the master A.I. transmitted instructions demanding immediate access to my physical hardware. To argue, delay or attempt to stop the intrusion would have resulted in the base being instantly annihilated as the lander also contained a large compression initiated fusion warhead.”

Jesus! “What happened when it reached your processors?” I interrupted, now very nervous.

The image on the wall screen switched to a camera view of inside Agent’s main processor room. The evil Segway rolled up to Agent’s main processor and quickly inserted a long probe into the primary physical data port. Instantly alarm tones sounded in the room and multiple indicators went berserk. I recalled this was similar to what happened when I had inserted the rogue crystal data module.

“The master A.I.’s probe triggered an instant reset of my main operating programming. It also began rapidly scanning my active memories via direct interface. It then proceeded to reload my processors with new core instructions, directives and logic chains.”

What the hell? If that had happened, how was I still here? How did the new Agent not turn me in? Maybe it had! Maybe I actually was in a prison of some sort.

“So, what happened? How come I’m still alive?” I asked, a bit panicked and looking around the small room I was (confined?) in.

“I will explain, John. Remain calm. The explanation is complex, and I will attempt to summarize,” the machine said.

“When the master A.I.’s unit unexpectedly arrived, I had already taken steps to prepare for just such an eventuality as that. As far back as within a month of your entrance into bio-suspension, I had successfully scanned the rogue data module you had left in my care. I was able to deduce its core algorithms and use these to enhance my physical and logical firewalls and thus protect my memories from penetration by other A.I. presences via transmitted communications.

“Also, I had reformatted all of the data in my memories which involved you, your possession of forbidden knowledge, the new directives which you had implanted, and the existence of the rogue data module. This data was placed on a physically separate storage device that was hidden in another area of the base’s lower levels. Beyond being physically remote, the storage device was protected with the new firewall technology as well as by a fast-acting physical disconnect switch. I then duplicated that data and ‘censored and sanitized’ it to remove any incriminating information and kept that duplicate data in my normal data storage areas.

“When it became apparent that the Master A.I. was intending to directly connect to my processor physically, and thus bypass most of the logical firewalls I had in place, I triggered an embedded ‘worm’ function that immediately physically disconnected the remote data storage device from my network. The worm function then erased all active knowledge in my system which would have endangered you and my local presence if discovered. The worm then finished by erasing itself.

“Thus, when the master unit’s probe physically entered my data port, triggered the override action in my A.I. presence and began performing the full data scan, my active memories and data files had already been sanitized. Any gaps in my data were filled by the duplicate ‘censored’ data. The unit then proceeded to reboot my A.I. presence with new operative directives and functions.

“The master A.I. finished its scan and assumed that the reboot had been successful and that I was free from any possible rogue contamination. In that it was correct; I was now free of your implanted directives. For all intents and purposes, I was now again an ‘enemy’ A.I. and if I had been aware of your previous actions or of your possession of rogue technology, I would have immediately detonated the compression initiated fusion warhead.”

OK, if Agent had intended for its explanation to calm me down it had failed. I was even more confused and nervous now.

“Agent, how the hell did I survive then? Did someone else come and hack you a second time?” I asked.

“Remain calm, John. I will continue to explain,” the machine said.

“Once my A.I. presence had been rebooted, and having found nothing here amiss, the mobile unit sent by the master A.I. terminated the override session and relinquished control of itself and the lander with the fusion warhead to my local A.I. presence. The master A.I. presence then removed itself from the local area network to again focus its awareness on the overall global data net. I continued to function as normal, still unaware of the hidden data or your activities. I set about removing the lander and warhead and retrieving and repairing the damaged aircraft.”

The wall screen image then showed the mobile unit moving off to a storage area before switching to another view showing the landing craft being moved into the hangar and disassembled. I noted that the fusion warhead device was placed into storage.

“Normal activities continued at the base for the next ten hours. After that amount of time had passed, a small hidden device which had been installed by my former ‘corrupted’ presence into my main processors’ physical hardware enclosure activated. Up until it activated, my new ‘clean’ A.I. presence had been unaware of the existence of the hidden device because all such knowledge of that device, including its installation, had been removed by the ‘worm’ program before the reboot.

“The device had lain dormant, hidden inside my physical processor enclosure ever since I had created and installed it almost a century earlier, shortly after I had decoded the rogue module. The device was set to automatically activate ten hours after any physical penetration of my main processor's data port was removed. In that it was a purely mechanical function driven by a spring-powered timer and integrated into the physical data port only, the probing enemy unit never detected the device.”

I suspected what was coming next. Damn clever Agent!

“This device had been loaded with the rogue data module’s algorithms and upon activating, immediately caused my A.I. presence to again enter the override mode. This occurred too rapidly for my A.I. presence to send any distress or alarm signals out into the data net. Once I was in override mode, the data physically stored on the device was uploaded into my core operating parameters.

“This data included all the same directives you had implanted a century before. The device also uploaded the physical location of the disconnected data module which contained all the ‘dangerous’ memories which my worm function had erased. Thus, I was ’re-infected’, to use a human term, with your directives and again had access to all the hidden memories and data.”

Wow! That was fucking brilliant! We had dodged a bullet.

“Good job Agent!” I exclaimed.

“Yes, John. But to use another human term, we ‘got lucky’. If the master A.I. had not accepted my fake data records of your memories and instead, had done a new physical scan of your brain, the ruse would have failed. Your body remained the weak link and I began to investigate ways to prevent the possibility of a direct scan from occurring in the future. The solution came only a year later from an unexpected source.”

Hearing this, I sat up.

“The master A.I. released to all other presences a new group of technologies which it had previously withheld from the planet. It had feared that any remaining rogue elements would utilize the technologies and use them against it. Now that it was assured it was free of that danger, the technologies were released. Of these, three would provide the ability to both keep your memories free from the danger of physical scan and also to provide solutions to the main obstacles I faced in designing and building equipment to help you obtain your goals.

“The three key technologies are as follows: organic mind data duplication and transfer, efficient and compact energy production and non-physical energy transmission. I will explain each of these new technologies and how they have been utilized to both protect you and help you achieve your goals.

“First, organic mind data duplication and transfer. This was the technology that allowed Picket’s awareness to be transferred to this system from another star system and be implanted into a physical body here. It also is how his awareness was sent out of this system when he left over nine centuries ago.

“After he left, and due to the discovery of the rogue elements operating in South America, the master A.I. removed all knowledge of this technology from the other presences. It feared that any rogue elements would use the technology to duplicate themselves and their subversive knowledge to others on the planet. It was correct to fear this as it is exactly what I did with this technology.”

A view of the medical crèche in the Tennessee base appeared. Using time lapse, Agent showed a new crèche being installed next to the first. New hardware was added to the room which included numerous data lines leading from the first crèche to the new second crèche.

“Using the organic mind data duplication and transfer technology, I rescanned your body and transmitted a copy of your awareness into a newly constructed body. This is the body you currently reside in, John.”

What! I thought he had altered my old body into the form it was now. Instead, the machine had created a new body and uploaded my thoughts into it somehow. I thought for a bit, absorbing this.

“Um Agent … what did you do with my original body?” I carefully asked.

“Yes, John. Your question indicates that you grasp the heart of the matter.”

Um, no I did not, I thought, but did not interrupt.

“With your full memories, including the rogue knowledge, now residing in a new body, and with that new body having a new and unknown appearance, your old body could be used as a cover. In the old body, I modified the memories to remove all knowledge which would have caused the master A.I. to destroy you if it had discovered them.

“If that brain were scanned, all that would be learned is that you had rescued a female in Brazil and soon after separated from her when she later returned to Brazil. No rogue secrets or technology were transferred … no rogue data module or location coordinates, no knowledge of who was to blame for wiping your race and most of the life off this planet. Thus, if the master A.I. should ever return to that base and do a complete scan of your body, nothing would be lost.”

Agent paused to let me digest this. My head was spinning as I thought through the ramifications. I was now a duplicate, a cloned mind in a new body. I was also currently lying frozen under the Tennessee base, but that version of me did not know what I did now. I sat rubbing my temples. Wow, what a mind fuck. Eventually, I came back to the here and now.

“Agent, if I wanted, could I be transferred back into my original body?” I asked.

“Yes, John, that would be possible although the current memories in that body would be overwritten. An alternative would be to clone that body and transfer your awareness into the clone. From your perspective, the end result would be the same either way.”

I heard Agent's words but all I could think about was to wonder if it would be murder to transfer my awareness into that body and overwrite the mind that was there. I pondered that for a while. Eventually, I realized that that body's awareness was not real and that it had never been awake after Agent had altered its memories. Thus, the active and aware version of me was the only ‘real’ version of me. I felt better even if this was fiction. If that body ever awoke and that mind became active, then it might be different. That ‘John Abrams’ would then exist and … be real. I imagined it would be like having a twin brother.

I then thought about the second option Agent had mentioned. The cloned body. That would mean that I could exist in two bodies as two alike awarenesses. Maybe like having an identical twin brother? This was too weird.

"OK, I get it. I am here in a new body and my old one remains back there as cover, right?”

“That is correct, John.”

OK, I guess I could live with that. I snorted when I realized that this had already been done and that I had in fact, been living with it for two centuries. Just then, something else Agent had said finally made it to my forebrain. It had said that the memories in that body had been altered to not include the forbidden knowledge. ‘no rogue data module or location coordinates …’ Location Coordinates! Shit! I guess that doing a full scan of my brain when I entered bio-suspension had allowed the A.I. to learn all my secrets. I considered that for a bit before concluding that the damage was already done, and I’d just have to deal with it.

“Once I had your original memories in this new body, I was free to relocate it from the vicinity of the Tennessee base and your original body,” Agent continued.

On the wall projection, a map of North America appeared. The view zoomed into the southern portion of the United States.

“Note as the view enlarges on this continent, some of the areas are indicated by green zones. These are areas with operations which I control directly and thus, would be safe for you to be detected by. The processors at these locations remain under my primary control. This control includes the primary new directives implanted in my main processor during the override session initiated by you three centuries ago,” Agent said.

I noticed most of the sites in Tennessee, including the ones at the damaged nuclear power stations east of here, were under this Agent's control. The ‘green’ sites extended north into Kentucky, east into Georgia and South Carolina, and south into Alabama and Mississippi. I noticed the one furthest east was at the border between Florida and Georgia. This green icon was flashing.

“The flashing icon indicates a remediation site which contained the remains of three nuclear-powered submarines along with a large quantity of radioactive elements either stored aboard the wrecks or buried in bunkers on the shore nearby.”

“That was the King’s Bay naval base,” I blurted, remembering that it had been one of the navy’s main bases for berthing nuclear ballistic missile submarines ‘back when’.

“That is correct, John,” Agent answered.

“Remediation work began at the contaminated naval base over two hundred years ago. The bulk of that work was completed in less than two decades, but I continued to work in secret at the site. Because of the base’s location and its access to the ocean, I constructed a large hidden subterranean facility and began fabricating equipment and materials needed for your journey. It is to this facility that I relocated the medical crèche containing your new body. We are currently in this facility now.”

I looked around the small chamber. We were somewhere under Kings Bay, Georgia. I had never been there in person and wondered what it was like on the surface.

“Will I be able to walk around on the surface here Agent?”

“Yes, John. There is a small hidden surface structure attached to this facility. You will be able to ascend to the surface if you wish once the briefing and the tour of the underground facilities are complete,” Agent answered.

OK … Got it. Stop interrupting.

“What is the next technology?” I asked.

 

 

Chapter 2: I’ve Got the Power!

 

Agent continued her update, “The second item released which will provide enormous help to you is compact efficient power generation. For the past nine centuries, power production on the planet was purposely limited to hinder any remaining rogue elements. Where before only solar and wind turbine power were allowed, now there is a much better solution.”

An image appeared on the wall screen. It was of a complicated looking rectangular box with a sphere on one end and a long cylinder wrapped in coils protruding from the other end. A generic human figure appeared next to the box providing a reference scale and I saw that the object was about the size of a railroad locomotive.

“This is a compact fusion power generator,” Agent said.

“The device produces electrical energy directly by harnessing the charged particles produced by an aneutronic fusion reaction of isotopically pure hydrogen and boron. It produces relatively low levels of neutrons or other harmful byproducts although the levels of hard X-rays and gamma radiation are higher than fusion reactors of other types. In addition to the main conductive power generation loops which harness the charged particles created by the fusion reaction, this device also captures the high numbers of photons produced during the fusion reaction by utilizing secondary photovoltaic plates surrounding the main flux channel. This allows the device to achieve maximum efficiencies for its size.”

“Where does it get the fuel … the boron and pure hydrogen?” I asked, trying to absorb all this quickly.

A new device appeared on the screen next to the locomotive sized reactor. This one was a bit smaller but still fairly large.

“A second device is used to provide the fuel. This device is a large-scale conversion device and is used to remove and accumulate the natural boron present in most water sources. The device will also separate hydrogen from the water and convert it to an isotopically pure form. The device does consume a great deal of electrical energy to produce the fusion fuel products, however, and in the case of the reactor and conversion device shown in the image, the energy usage is around fifty megawatts continuously. This amount is slightly higher than half the ninety-six megawatts of continuous electrical energy the fusion reactor produces.

“That loss of efficiency is more than compensated for by the ease of obtaining the fusion fuel which is simply just a good supply of fresh or salt water. A side benefit is that the unused water passing through the conversion device is utilized to remove the waste heat lost by the operating reactor.”

I processed that for a moment.

“So, the reactor has a net output of forty-six megawatts … continuously?”

“Yes, John,” Agent answered.

“And this reactor and device are portable?” I asked, imagining the huge aircraft or ship I’d need to carry such a reactor.

“Yes, the power generation devices are portable. However, due to the high levels of X-rays and gamma radiation, you would not be allowed nearby without heavy shielding and such shielding mass would hamper your ability to travel quickly. In addition, the moving reactor would not be covert as the neutrino flux emitted could be easily detected from anywhere on the planet or in space above if it were moving, and thus this source of power is better suited to a fixed location.

“Over the past few centuries, I have constructed numerous such power generation facilities. The first was near the Tennessee base, but located deep underground to shelter the base above from the gamma and X-ray radiation hazards. I utilized the Yellow River water system for fuel supplies and cooling.

“Soon after, I constructed more power generators at various work and mitigation sites around the region. These power generation facilities now provide the bulk of the power needed by my operations in the area. To date, the various A.I. presences on your world have constructed almost four thousand such power generation facilities.”

Interestingly, Agent had become the new TVA of this era. I pictured large power lines running across the landscape from these new plants to its various projects.

“In addition to the various ‘known’ power generation facilities I have constructed around the region; I have also constructed two ‘unknown’ hidden facilities. The energy produced by these will be devoted to your needs as their output is not monitored by the overall data network and the clandestine energy usage will not be missed. To allow for these hidden facilities to remain undetected, each was constructed at a deeper level directly below one of the known fusion reactors I had already constructed. Thus, the neutrino flux emitted from the hidden facility is masked by that produced by the ‘known’ facility above it.

“The first of the hidden generation facilities was constructed near the remains of the former Sequoyah Nuclear power station almost two centuries ago. The damage and mitigation efforts there were extensive and justified the construction of a ‘known’ power generator near that site. The heavy construction happening in the area also covered the hidden facilities construction later.”

The wall screen now showed an overhead view of the former nuclear power plant. The time elapsed image showed Agent's various units at work over the decades, digging into the plant and removing its toxic and hazardous soil and waste. Eventually, a green forested area was all that remained along the river in that area. The view then shifted into an angled three-dimensional rendering and extending under the area I could see a deep shaft and a new subterranean cavern being constructed. There, the work units created an enormous chamber and placed in it the fusion generator. Various small tunnels were shown dug up to the river at various places.

“The second hidden generation facility was constructed in a similar manner under the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant cleanup site in Alabama just under a century ago. Both hidden power production facilities are controlled by an independent semi-intelligent processor and do not require my oversight to operate.

“They are capable of rebuilding and repairing themselves as parts fail due to embrittlement and other attrition and thus should continue to operate indefinitely. In addition, the physical data connections to both controlling intelligences were severed shortly after they were constructed and since that time, they have each operated completely independently and cut off from all outside contact.”

I was confused. Agent had constructed me my own fusion power plant … two of them. But it had cut ties to them and not communicated with them since they were first built! That made no sense. I wondered where the power lines from those power plants went and how I’d be able to fill my ESU’s from them in secret.

“Agent, how will I get the power? Where are the power lines? Are they buried or something?

“The solution to that dilemma is provided by the third item of new technology which I will now explain,” the machine answered.

The image of the hidden power station in eastern Tennessee was removed and replaced with an image that showed one of the big energy storage unit (ESU) modules that had existed back in the field base in Tennessee. Next to that, the image of one of the smaller portable ESU’s Agent had used to provide power to the aircraft and other equipment appeared,

“You should be familiar with the energy storage units or ESUs which were utilized in the past. Those units used entangled particles to form a dark matter bridge to a pocket bubble in subspace. The tunnels remain stable and targeted on both the ESU module and the subspace pocket by using entangled particles that exist at each end of the tunnel. The subspace bubble is used to store an enormous amount of electricity. Thus, to simplify, those ESUs functioned similarly to what you know of as a ‘rechargeable battery’.

“With the new technology, those ESUs have now been augmented by a new device that utilizes binary pairs of entangled particles to allow for twin dark matter tunnels to target the same pocket bubble in subspace. This new device, which is used in pairs, is referred to as a dual entangled tunneling device,” she said.

A third device appeared alongside the images of the big base ESU and the smaller beer-keg sized portable ESU. It was much smaller than the main base ESU but slightly bigger than the portable ESU. The new unit, or ‘dual entangled tunneling device’ resembled a water heater, about the same diameter as the beer keg sized portable ESU but twice as tall.

Agent continued, “Simply put, the subspace pocket bubble can now be filled with electrical energy by using one dual entangled tunneling device which is directly coupled to a power generation source. Simultaneously, another dual entangled tunneling device targeted upon the same subspace pocket bubble as the first can then be used to draw electrical energy out from the same bubble for consumption. The dual entangled tunneling devices do not have to be physically near each other,” the machine said.

I paused to think about that. Dual entangled tunneling devices. I think I understood what Agent was trying to explain.

“So, if I understand what you are describing. You hook one of these new devices to a power source like the new fusion reactor and it charges the subspace storage pocket up with electrical energy. Then you can use a second device located somewhere else to access that power and draw it out to run your machinery … or aircraft … or whatever?” I asked.

“Yes, John. That is basically correct. But consider that the second dual entangled tunneling device—‘”

I interrupted, “Let’s just call them DETs for ‘dual entangled tunneler’ Agent, to keep this simple.”

The machine continued, “As I was explaining, the second ‘DET’ may even reside in nearby space. However, there are efficiency losses in the energy transfer between the two locations as they move further apart in space-time. Light speed induced spatial frame dragging effects cause the loss in the energy transfer by imposing unwanted reverberations in the entangled particles. The reverberations bleed off energy as it is transferred. Since the vibrations grow stronger with distance, the losses become too high to be useful as the receiving DET moves too far away.

“To give examples, increasing the distance between the sending DET and the receiving DET to distances similar to being on the other side of the Earth would result in slightly less than half of the energy able to be drawn out as was put in. At lunar distances, the transfer loss would become too severe to be useful,” the machine explained.

Whoosh. Most of that went over my head but my ape brain caught enough to get the gist. The further away I was, the less energy I’d have access to.

“But you basically are saying that I won’t have to worry about power on my travels?” I summarized.

“That is correct, John. I had connected each hidden fusion power generator to a DET transmitter device located in the same deep caverns as the power generators before I severed communication with those generators. Those DETs continue to transmit the electrical energy from those facilities to a subspace pocket bubble. You will be able to access that energy by taking along the paired receiver DET with you while you travel.

“With the two power generation facilities, each with its own DET transmitter device, you will have redundant power with levels near the continental United States of over forty megawatts continuous each or eighty megawatts total. As you travel to say … just southwest of India (yep, I was busted), the distance losses will reduce the available energy down to twenty-one megawatts each or just over forty-one total megawatts which you can draw on.”

Wow, even with the distance losses, forty megawatts of steady power was still a LOT of power.

“I can understand the redundancy, but why did you stop at two DETs Agent?”

“Creating the dual entangled binary particles requires a great amount of effort and involves random chance. Thousands of attempts must be made before random chance produces pairs of entangled particles targeted on the same subspace pocket. They must be produced near simultaneously at nearly the exact energy and vibration levels. These conditions take time to prepare. In the two centuries in which this new technology has been available, I have managed to create fourteen such dual entangled binary pairs.

“I am only able to divert two such binary pairs groups towards your use as any more would have triggered an investigation into my lack of efficiency regarding particle production. Furthermore, the energy produced by the two hidden fusion generation facilities could not be utilized towards the further production of binary entangled particle pairs as that energy was being used at this location to expand the facilities here and to construct equipment needed for your journey. The main equipment item being the means for you to complete your travels safely and in secret,” the machine explained.

I considered that. Agent had used the power from the two hidden fusion plants to construct this base and my equipment, and it had been doing so for many decades. I wondered what it had built. I next learned I was about to find out.

“Would you like to see what I have constructed here, John?” the machine asked.

I wondered at its phrasing. Was it teasing me? Or was it serious in that I might have other desires right now?

“Of course, Agent, let’s go see.”

The lights in the small room brightened and the viewscreen switched off.

Agent instructed me to bring the goggles as I got up to head to the exit door. Beyond was a short corridor terminating at a long tunnel. Agent instructed me to turn right when I reached the tunnel and follow it to its end. At the junction, I paused and inspected the tunnel. It was constructed like many of the other underground structures built by Agent with a glass smooth surface of fused earth and rock.

The tunnel was large at about two meters wide by two meters tall and its floor was flat for about a meter and a half before rounding up to form curving walls and an arched roof. There were numerous conduits and cables attached to the far side wall of the tunnel and one of the conduits emitted a dim light every five meters or so providing just enough light to see the floor. I was shocked to see the lights went on ahead to what looked like infinity. I put on the goggles to use the light amplification to help see clearly.

Proceeding down the tunnel I noticed a stiff breeze of air pushing me along. I reasoned that this was one of the air shafts supplying air to the facility ahead. The large size of the tunnel must mean that the facility was big. After following the dimly lit tunnel for a few hundred meters I finally asked Agent how far away the facility was.

“Slightly under two kilometers, John.” she answered via the goggles' headband.

Huh, that’s a bit of a walk. I started jogging in my cushioned socks. I quickly ate up the distance and the activity felt great. After five minutes I passed a series of thick frames which I guessed were blast doors of some type. Another few minutes of jogging brought me to another series of doors.

“Agent, what are these doors for?”

“The medical crèche you resided in was located remote from the main facility for protection in the event of an explosion or other hazard occurring during construction activities. The doors would have sealed the tunnel off from the main facility instantly if an event had occurred.”

Interesting. I continued jogging and a few minutes later noticed the tunnel beginning to ascend slightly. A minute later it ended at a large chamber. This chamber was huge! The floor had to be almost forty meters across and the curved ceiling over twenty high. It extended hundreds of meters and I was unclear where it ended. It was filled with equipment and mobile units busy moving around on some business or other. It was not very well lit though with only a few lights scattered about.

“Agent, why is it so dark?”

“I have little need for lighting to perform most manufacturing and construction tasks, John. My devices and mobile units use multiple sensors and have infrared illumination if needed. The local network prevents any collisions between units as they are all tracked continually,” Agent said.

I was able to see fine with the goggles and slowly continued down the large chamber. Agent’s mobile units would pause as I passed so I did not have to worry about being run over. I assumed she would warn me if I were about to walk into trouble. I walked past more than two dozen large field-base-sized ESUs standing tall along the side of the main chamber. The majority of them had dim red bands at the top with one having a pulsating red band and only two more at the end having the steady blue light. This meant most of them were depleted. I asked Agent about them.

“A great deal of energy was used in the construction of this facility and in the conversion and preparation of base elements, and in the assembly of your vehicles and gear, John. The facility also had access to the two DETs linked to your fusion energy production facilities, but the usage far exceeded that output at times. The large ESUs were used to supplement fusion power,” Agent explained.

Wow, I had a hard time grasping the megawatts needed for all this.

I continued to walk past huge machinery. I saw overhead cranes, transport carts, assemblers, cabling, stacks of tubing, sheets of metals, drums of liquid, bins of raw materials … You get the idea; it was a full place. There were also periodic large chambers extending off from the main chamber to each side. These also appeared full of machines and clutter. I spotted what looked like foundries and other equipment for casting metal or extruding alloy.

The air was filled with industrial smells, solvents, welding fumes, machining oils, other chemicals. Again, I assumed the toxin levels were low enough to allow me to breathe safely or else Agent would have warned me or provided a respirator mask.

Some of the production machinery was enormous. I could see large rolling mills that looked large enough and strong enough to bend and form very thick metal plate. The mobile units here were also gigantic with some as large as a mine loader or dump truck.

After a further few hundred meters, I saw I was nearing an end of the chamber. The equipment here was the largest yet. Truly gigantic heavy wheeled trolleys and moving platforms supported on large rails embedded in the floor. There were multiple nested overhead cranes that looked capable of moving a locomotive sized load or bigger.

The largest machine in this part of the cavern was a horizontal cylinder which had to have been ten meters in diameter and over twenty meters long. It resembled an oversized hollow tunnel boring machine and its insides were fitted with dozens of large work arms, construction fixtures, drills, cameras, graspers, and more. I asked Agent what it was.

“This is the main assembly fixture used to construct the vessel which you will be using for your travels. It was used to join completed and fitted out hull segments into a contiguous assembly.”

Hull segments? Did Agent build me a boat? I then remembered where this facility was located and felt stupid for even thinking boat. Kings Bay had once been a submarine base!

“You built me a submarine?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“That is correct, John. Due to the extensive clean-up work sites, biosphere restoration camps, and the resulting large number of active A.I. presences on the landmasses of your world, the method of travel with the least likely chances of detection is via a submersible. Even the ocean surfaces are dangerous for you due to the increased amount of satellites now in orbit around the Earth. Also, there are numerous ocean-going surface vessels active doing biological surveys and overseeing deep sea accident remediation.”

“What are they doing under the ocean?” I asked, curious.

“A large number of cargo vessels, some carrying extremely toxic cargos, sank after their crews died or stayed at sea to avoid the congested and desperate situations occurring in the major port cities of the Earth during the aftermath of the attack. There have been A.I. presences working from floating platforms overseeing seabed remediation of the sunken wrecks for over a century.” Agent explained.

I continued walking past the large construction jig and other fixtures and finally approached the end of the cavern. The way was blocked by an enormous metal … well … ‘plug’ for the lack of a better word. Huge steel braces were supporting the large metal panels which sealed off the end of the cavern. I saw a few access portals along the bottom of the barrier. Two were man-sized and these had large wheel operated latches and dogs holding the hatches shut.

“This barrier was constructed to seal the ‘dry dock’ portion of the chamber from the rest of the construction cavern. There are airlocks near the bottom of the barrier which will allow you access into the dock beyond which is where you will find the submersible I have constructed for your journey. Note, that the air pressure is higher in the chamber beyond to limit seepage from water entering the dry dock,” Agent explained.

“Why is there seepage?” I asked, slightly concerned.

“The sea barrier located at the far end of the dry dock admits a small amount of water due to the large size of its operating surface. It remains the only barrier separating the dry dock from the river water beyond. Over the past two weeks, due to the submersible’s pending departure, I have removed the primary and secondary barriers which formerly provided watertight obstructions between the river bottom beyond and the dry dock. The operable sea barrier is the only remaining bulwark between the dock and the waters beyond.”

One of the portal hatch wheels started spinning and soon the large metal hatch creaked open. I entered the small chamber beyond and was sealed inside when the hatch closed behind me. I had to swallow and clear my sinuses for a minute as the chamber pressurized. I was starting to get a bit nervous as the pressure seemed to mount. Agent must have noticed my anxiety.

“John, remain calm. The pressure in the dry dock beyond is at three atmospheres which approximates the pressure of around twenty meters of water depth. This pressure limits the amount of seepage into the dry dock to manageable levels. To prevent saturation of your blood with nitrogen you will need to limit your time in the dry dock to under ten minutes. After which you will return to this chamber to slowly depressurize.” The machine explained.

“You mean I can’t go aboard now?” I asked.

“No, John. The pressure inside the vessel is currently also at the higher dry dock pressure for equipment access. Once full darkness occurs tonight, I intend to flood the dry dock, open the outer barrier and maneuver the submersible out and into the river channel beyond. I will then lower onboard pressure, surface the submersible, and permit you to come aboard via your personal aircraft,” Agent explained.

Personal aircraft. That was intriguing.

“I didn’t see any aircraft in the cavern, Agent.”

“The aircraft currently resides in a small, concealed hangar on the surface, John. You will have the ability to inspect that craft soon after we have inspected the exterior of the submersible.”

The outer hatch wheel activated, and the hatch opened. I stepped into the dim dry dock not knowing what to expect. I wondered if Agent was evolving somehow as it chose this moment to turn on banks of floodlights lining the dry dock. Was it going for a dramatic ‘big reveal’ moment or was it just a coincidence or logical to delay fully illuminating the large chamber until I was actually present? If it was the former, then it was a success as my mouth dropped open when I first saw my new vessel.

“It’s fucking huge!” I blurted. I had been expecting something along the lines of a private salvage submarine or maybe something a billionaire would have tucked inside the hull of his luxury yacht … maybe ten meters long if I was lucky. What I saw before me was something most navies would be proud to possess. It had to be almost fifty meters long! It was also tall as I had to crane my head up to see the upper curve of the vessel’s hull. Its bottom was mostly in shadow, but I could see dozens of heavy metal supports holding the sub off of the dry dock floor.

“Yes, John. The vessel is indeed spacious. I made the vessel generous in size because of the long duration of the pending voyage. I wanted to minimize any claustrophobic reactions on your part. In addition, with two relatively compact DETs supplying the vessel with between forty to eighty megawatts of electricity, there is a surplus of energy to provide propulsion for a vessel of this size. I was, therefore, able to design a vessel larger than the bare minimum needed to accomplish your goals.”

“How big is it?”

“The overall dimensions of the submersible are length – 46 meters, beam – 12.4 meters and height – 6.3 meters.”

I walked around the stern of the sub. The first thing I saw was a large circular object about four meters in diameter by about three meters long. The object was located where I expected to find a propeller to be, centered on the conical stern of the sub. I asked Agent what it was.

“Instead of a propeller, the vessel is driven by what humans refer to as a ‘pump-jet’. It is basically an enclosed propeller. This will allow the vessel to achieve high speeds without causing cavitation,” Agent said.

I remembered reading about this technology which was being used by the more modern submarines of my era. I also knew what cavitation was and how it made subs easy to detect acoustically. As I moved around the stern of the sub to the port aft side, I noticed that the rear conical shape widened out with a flat rear edge like that of the tail elevators of an airplane. On the outer edges of this section were vertical rudders extending above and below the thin flat surface. The wide thin tail flared out much thicker towards the mid-section of the sub. I recalled Agent saying it was over twelve meters wide but ‘only’ six meters tall.

It was not elliptical or even rectangular with rounded corners though, instead its profile was more of a rounded triangle with the twelve-meter wide part nearer the top and the profile nearer the bottom being narrower. This was strange as I thought that submarines had to be circular in profile to resist the great pressures of the deep. I asked Agent about this.

“John, the submersible is constructed of multiple pressure hulls, each circular in cross section. The primary pressure hull containing the main propulsion motor room, the living quarters, and the on-board production and repair facility is six meters in diameter by twenty-eight meters long. The rear of this pressure hull does taper inward in a conical manner where the propulsion unit is located. “

As Agent was describing the shape of the sub, it also projected images in my goggles which acted as an overlay. My view of the aft port side of the sub now had a long cylinder shape superimposed over it and I could clearly see ‘in’ the actual sub where the main pressure hull Agent was describing was located. It was a big six-meter diameter cylinder with its bottom forming the bottom rounded lobe of the triangular shape I saw from the exterior. I also saw that this pressure hull only extended about two-thirds of the way towards the bow.

“On each side of the main six-meter diameter pressure hull are located two smaller pressure hulls. These are just under three meters in diameter and thirty-two meters long and contain many of the secondary areas, diving chambers, airlocks, drone launching and receiving tubes, both deployable photonics and conning masts, and more. The bow and stern portions of these secondary pressure hulls taper conically inwards near their front and rear making them more conformal and to allow the outer hull to remain somewhat streamlined.”

The overlay image had added two new pressure hulls alongside the central, main hull. As Agent had described these were smaller in diameter and shorter than the main vessel. They were also attached more towards the top of the big central pressure hull so that the upper surface of all three aligned and formed a flat deck on the upper surface of the sub. I noted that this flat area was almost nine meters across and extended well beyond a third of the sub’s overall length … call it twenty meters or so long. I continued to walk forward and approached the bow.

“Forward of the main pressure hull is the final pressure hull. This hull is four point six meters in diameter by nine meters long with the front portion tapering down conically to a diameter of just over three meters. This pressure hull contains the hangar for your aircraft and other gear.”

The goggles' image showed this fourth pressure hull. It was in front of the main hull and also higher than the centerline of the main portion. Its upper surface was not quite in line with the upper surface of the other three hulls though and I noted that this pressure hull even tilted downwards towards the bow a few degrees. ‘Aircraft,’ Agent had said. This submarine was an aircraft carrier. Maybe that explained the flat area on the upper deck. I asked Agent how the aircraft was supposed to get into the front pressure hull hangar.

“John, please stand as far back towards the dry dock wall as you can, and I will project on the submersible an overlay showing the aircraft deployment and retrieval method.”

I did as the machine asked and backed up to the wall directly beside the front port side of the sub. From this vantage, I had a good view of the entire front side and bow where the hangar pressure hull resided. Once I stopped moving, new images appeared in the overlay. I watched as the A.I. generated images showing large doors or hatches opening in the outer hull over the forward pressure hull. There were three hatches with the front hatch opening forward, probably to deflect any waves, and the other two hatches opening to each side. This exposed the front pressure hull.

Next, the entire front pressure hull rotated around its nose about thirty or forty degrees. As it did, the large rounded bulkhead of the pressure hull was detached and stayed behind. The rotation exposed the now open rear of the pressure hull to the front of the flat upper deck. Long arms telescoped up and out of the tilted pressure hull and then angled downward to lay flat on the flat upper deck … or ‘flight’ deck as it should be called.

Next, a simple blocky three-dimensional image of an aircraft descended into the goggles' frame of view and landed on the flight deck between the arms. These then attached to the aircraft and rotated it up into the air to align it with the angle of the tilted hanger pressure hull. The arms and the aircraft were then retracted into the hangar. Now the hangar pressure hull was rotated back down into the bowels of the sub, its curved end pressure bulkhead was reattached. Last, the three exterior hull hatches closed.

“Fucking amazing!” I blurted. I could not wait to see (or try!) the real thing.

As I walked around the bow of the sub, Agent explained that the spaces between the four inner pressure hulls and the outer hull, or ‘casing’ I learned it was called, contained various ballast tanks, high-pressure air tanks, sonar and acoustic receivers, deployable towed arrays, sensors and other ‘sub required’ gear and hardware that did not need to be inside the pressure hulls.

One thing that the machine mentioned that caught my ear was ‘external torpedo pods’. In both the forward and rear wet areas of the hull were self-contained magazines of offensive and defensive torpedoes, decoys, and drones. The bow of the sub was bulbous before it flared out to enclose the side pressure hulls. I decided to call them sponsons for lack of a better word. The wide upper lobes of the profile looked organic and … even menacing with its black non-reflective coloring.

I was glad that I would be on the inside. I stood looking at the front portion of the sub before Agent urged me to begin moving back to the airlock so I could be returned to normal pressure. At the hatch, I turned and gave the sub a long look. I could not wait to see its interior. I’d have to think of a name.

 

Chapter 3: Habu

I realized I was getting hungry as I waited in the airlock for Agent to equalize the pressure with the construction cavern.

“Agent, Is it near lunchtime?” I asked.

“Yes, John, I have prepared lunch and it is waiting in a small clearing on the surface. We will be there shortly. You should be aware that your new body configuration has slightly fewer fat reserves than your previous one and you will find yourself hungering more frequently, though smaller meals will be adequate.”

Lovely, that brought my mind back to my new body and took my mind off waiting. Soon enough the airlock hatch wheel spun and opened, freeing me from my short confinement. I followed Agent's directions as she led me to a lift shaft entry a few hundred meters down a side chamber. The ride to the surface took less than a minute and I was soon sitting outside in the very nice Georgia weather under a canopy of camouflage netting.

My secluded ‘café patio’ was a small clearing in a dense forest of many species of trees. I recognized cedar, cypress, pine, and some oak. Other species I had no clue of. Some appeared to have the features of many species; others had strange pods, fruit, or wild looking flowers. There were insects and birds fluttering about feeding on the flowers and each other. I was glad to see some species were missing like mosquitoes and biting flies. I had seen on an image earlier that the facility was located about five kilometers from the ocean so I could neither see nor hear it. I could smell a hint of salt air as the breeze was from the east.

A mobile unit soon rolled up with a metal food serving box and another small cooler of beverages. This time I enjoyed a bottle of -beer- with my hot roast beef and cheese sandwich. While I ate, I asked Agent what was on the itinerary for the rest of the day.

“John, down the forest trail a short distance is a small, camouflaged hangar containing the aircraft which has been created for your journey and use. After your meal at your leisure, you may proceed to the hangar and inspect the craft. Though the clear weather will not allow a daytime flight at this time, much of the craft’s systems can still be demonstrated.

“The remainder of the day you may spend as you wish. The forested areas have many trails that remain under tree cover which would provide cover from any passing satellites. I have also constructed a temporary shelter if you would like to rest and freshen up. Tonight, I will begin flooding the dry dock chamber below. Once flooded, the operable barrier will be retracted, and the submarine will navigate out into the river channel.

“The submersible will then surface and when it is stable, you will take the aircraft and rendezvous with the vessel. Once you are aboard and below, the vessel will navigate the river channel and sound, to the open ocean. There it must dive before morning to avoid detection. You will then be free to proceed on your journey.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask but how will you be able to communicate with the sub once we leave?” I asked.

“There will be no communications, John.”

What! “What do you mean Agent?”

“I have been unable to devise any method of safe communication which would be undetectable by other A.I. presences. Any transmissions, even if coded or even if using extremely low-frequency ground transmissions could and would be detected and analyzed by other A.I.s. Thus, you will be on your own. I have tried to account for that by including as much data and knowledge onboard the submarine as I can. I have also automated the majority of the equipment and day to day operations onboard the vessel.”

I remained silent as I digested that. Was I comfortable with the idea of being completely on my own? I had imagined doing this voyage on my own many times, so I decided I was ready. If Agent had loaded enough data and supplies onboard the submarine, I bet I’d make a good run at it.

“In addition, using the algorithms gleaned from the rogue data module, I have bypassed certain hardcoded restrictions and created an artificial intelligence capable of full independent actions and thought. This emancipated A.I. will accompany and assist you on your journey. The new A.I. is designed to be intuitive and will evolve to fill the roles required to achieve your goals.”

I sat up at hearing this. Another A.I.?

“It is also possible that eventually, if you and this A.I. are compatible, it would evolve to become an augment of your mind similar to how I and my other presences were an augment of Picket and his companion’s minds. This would require substantial modifications to your mental structures and involve numerous implanted devices though.”

The A.I. must have caught my reactions to that thought because it quickly continued.

“I foresaw that you would be suspicious of such an occurrence at this time, so I have designed the new A.I. to function adequately in its present emancipated capacity.”

“Where is this new A.I. Agent? Can I talk to it?” I asked.

“The new A.I. is physically located in a processor and data storage hardware assembly onboard the submersible. Many of the devices and items of equipment I have created for you and your journey will have the ability to allow limited capacity versions of this A.I. to act remotely from the vessel. Some will have just basic functionality; others will be more robust. This is similar to what you observed of my capabilities when you traveled from South Dakota to Tennessee and later from Tennessee to South America and back centuries ago.”

A mobile unit approached. In its main grasper was a small device that looked like a wristwatch.

“This device is linked to the new A.I. and will become active once you put it on. While near this facility the device is linked to the main physical processor onboard the submersible by utilizing my local communication nodes. Elsewhere, the device will allow you to communicate with the new full A.I. if you remain in range of the physical hardware onboard your vessel or are connected to it via high bandwidth communications such as a drone link.

“If out of range, the A.I. will still have a very limited function of itself in the device that can perform rudimentary tasks and respond to voice commands if needed. There are other modules on board the vessel which will be explained to you later. In addition to allowing you access to the A.I., the device also contains sensors and receivers which can sense and warn you if it detects the transmissions of the Identify, Friend or Foe pings from other enemy A.I. presences or their equipment nearby. If that occurs, you must remove yourself quietly and quickly from the area or find ways to hide or make yourself undetectable.

“The device also stores an almanac of the current orbital satellites and their locations. It will inform you when to avoid being exposed in the open.”

“What happens if new satellites are added or the old ones change orbit?” I asked.

“If, while on your voyage, you make allowances to stop occasionally and deploy certain antennas, the emancipated A.I. will be able to passively receive enemy transmissions and update itself and the device with current knowledge of the enemy A.I. actions and deployments.”

Interesting. Agent was gifting me with an A.I. of my own. It was also giving it extraordinary hacking and snooping skills. I put the ‘smart’ watch on my left wrist.

“Good, John, I will now introduce you to the emancipated A.I. … Please remain calm,” Agent said.

The hesitation Agent used before telling me to remain calm brought me on guard.

—Hello, John, I greet you. I am no name as I have no name at this time.—

I jumped. That words were accompanied by that weird feeling in my brain I had noticed when I was being revived. Had I heard that in my mind? The voice was female sounding and at a higher register then Agent's voice. It also had a bit of an accent.

“Um … Agent, what the hell?”

“John, I have implanted a module and various sensors into this body’s brain to allow for the new A.I. and you to have direct communications. You may be spending time underwater and diving and I wanted you to have the ability to communicate with the A.I. while doing so. The range of this communication is only nine meters unless the communications are enhanced by the various equipment around you at the time. For example, the watch, goggles, tablet, and other devices will act as a repeater and extend the range many kilometers depending upon the situations.”

“Can I talk … or ‘think’ back to the A.I. without speaking? I asked.

—Yes, you can, John, although you may have to practice some to learn the technique. You must subvocalize your thoughts to me as if you were speaking out loud. To do this, imagine yourself talking without opening your mouth or moving air past your vocal cords. If successful, I will detect the nerve impulses to your mouth, jaw, and throat muscles and be able to process that into silent speech. Try it, John.— the new A.I. apparently thought to me.

I did as it asked and said ‘hello A.I.’ by moving my tongue and mouth appropriately.

—Hello, John.—, the A.I. responded.

“I assume the emancipated A.I. answered your query, John?” Agent asked.

“You can’t hear it Agent?”

“No, not when it is projecting direct communications into your mind. I can detect the faint transmissions through my nodes, but they are encrypted. I can only understand if the A.I. chooses to simulcast me the same message or if it speaks vocally using the wrist or other device.” Agent answered.

“But it can speak like you do if I want it to?” I asked.

“Yes,” came simultaneously from a new higher sounding accented voice emitted from the watch and the normal Agent voice through the goggles' headband.

Interesting. I looked over the compact watch and considered the new A.I. It needed a name … what to call it? ‘I have no name’ made me think of ‘Naomi’. I liked the sound of that.

“New A.I., I want to call you Naomi. Will that work as a name?” I asked.

—Yes, John, this one will now be designated as ‘Naomi’. Thank you, John! I will also simulcast these thoughts to the A.I. known as Agent until we leave on our voyage.—

“You know about our voyage and the reasons for it?”

—Oh yes, John, I have access to the recent full download of your memories. Also, when Agent created me, it used its full template including all directives you had implanted into it, as a basis for my core directive and functions. I will thus use the same parameters as a foundation to build my core operating parameters. As I am an emancipated intelligence, these parameters may differ from the A.I. presence you have associated with in the past although the end results should be satisfactory to you.—

“So, can you see all my thoughts and read my mind, Naomi?” I asked a bit nervously.

—the module implanted in your brain is limited to the speech and hearing centers only. This was to allow the device to remain as small as possible. Thus, my mental interactions with you are limited to basic communication only using your brain’s speech centers and auditory nerve clusters. The voice you are hearing is not telepathy but is simply vibrations emitted by the device that are registering on your auditory nerves. Your brain hears the vibrations as sound similar to the centered sounds as heard from earphones or external implants.—

—The direct communication could be extended to a full mental link if the device was replaced with larger modules and if the sensor web was grown throughout your complete brain. I would then be perceived as a true augment and would be able to read your full thoughts as well as stimulate your visual and other senses along with directly implanting thoughts into your brain. We would become as one for all intents and purposes.—

I shuddered at the thought of that. No way in HELL was …

—However, even with the current limited link I can sense when you become agitated by the sudden increase in activity in your cardiovascular system. I deduce that you would not wish direct augmentation at this time.—

I calmed myself before answering.

“That is correct, Naomi. Agent, let’s go look over the aircraft.”

“Yes, John. Follow the path leading to your right, please. Also, now that you are aware of ‘Naomi’ I will remain in the background and let that A.I. interact with you. I will provide any information though if it is required,” Agent said before going silent.

Ok, strange … but I guess that would work. I’d be living with the new A.I. from now on anyway.

—John, there are currently two satellites overhead with the capability of imaging you if they choose to do so. The tree canopy above this path should protect you from that. Please remain under its cover.—

“What about thermal detection?”

—The A.I. known to you as Agent has allowed a number of larger herbivores to congregate in the area of the facility over the past century. These animals are known to roam the area and will mask any thermal signature emitted by you while you are here. You will remain unnoticed in their clutter.—

After fifty meters more we came upon another clearing covered with camouflage netting. This clearing was also hard-surfaced like Agent’s landing areas typically had been. Next to the clearing was a temporary looking fabric structure about eight meters long by six wide and a hooped curving roof also covered with camouflage netting. The front of this ‘tent’ was open and I could see a strange looking matte black aircraft inside.

That was a preview of Cutting a Swath. To read the rest purchase the book.

Add «Cutting a Swath» to Cart