Chapter 12: After the Bomb

“No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.”

- Ronald Reagan

They made their way the next morning to Empire AI and Computing Systems CC. Security was tight and they were required to identify themselves before entry. They were directed to see Tania Biech. The damage had extended beyond their room and into the corporate area which was a chaotic mess. They gingerly made their way to Tania’s office. Jason waited outside with the groups while Julia and Razza went into meet with Tania.

She welcomed them into her office but seemed shaken. “You can see that this whole floor is a mess and your office is destroyed. The police believe the Coven was responsible and bombed your office. We lost nine of our best technicians who were in your office. Was there a bomb in the cube?” Tania asked.

“Tania, I promise you none of us put a bomb in the cube. We don’t know what happened, but it doesn’t look like we can get back to work today. Can you let us know when we can return?” Razza asked. “I’m very sorry about what has happened and particularly the sad loss of the technicians. We have a project that we have to finish regardless of what is going on. We will try and work elsewhere to the best of our abilities, perhaps at the University. There is a war on and who knows for sure who put a bomb in our room,” said Julia. “I cannot see any reason why we would be a target. How is Etta?”

“Someone hacked into our system. Now we have a bomb. I don’t know what to make of all of this. Etta is quite shaken as well; the whole company is. We have never had a bomb at any of our facilities. We don’t do the kind of work that would put us at risk. I think it would be best if you stay away in the short term. We will do our repairs and I will call you.” Tania said holding her head in her hands and looking quite pitiful.

Beth met both groups outside the office of the data systems professor, Ignatius Sperring-Knox. They waited half an hour after the interview time for the professor to return to his office. He ushered them in.

“I assume that you are having problems with the project at Empire AI and Computing Systems CC. Every group seems to have had problems there. They blame the company when they have not been able to achieve the results that are required. I have spoken to them and they just simply do not give us enough terminals.” Prof. Ignatius Sperring-Knox said disparagingly. “Your group were said to be such hotshots. What is the problem?”

“My name is Col. Beth Orange Blossom and I work with Imperial intelligence. I have been working together with these groups on intelligence matters independent of their work on the databases. As you are well aware this project is the subject of a series of wagers between you and your colleagues in the Collective. Professor you did agree the artificial intelligence known as Porquenta would arbitrate in this matter?” Col. Beth Orange Blossom asked.

“It is obviously far too early for any such arbitration to occur. I cannot see what Porquenta would have to offer at the best of times, but I have to say that I did agree to his arbitration. I also do not see what you have to do with any of this. Your intrusion in University matters is not necessary nor is it required nor is it invited,” said Prof. Sperring-Knox peevishly.

“For your perusal I have a letter signed by the Emperor and a second later signed by the Chancellor to authorize my involvement in this project and my oversight of the issues that could result from successful queries. Prof. you are no doubt aware of the implications of such work?” Beth asked.

“What do you take me for, a fool? Of course I am aware of the implications. It is for that reason I set the task. We do not have the capacity to undertake the necessary queries, but I will judge the students on their ability to frame the necessary questions and I will accept their plan as to how they would deal with the data. Why are you asking me these questions?” Prof. Sperring-Knox asked in a very irritated tone.

“What if the students did as you asked, but also completed the entire task. I understand the issues of contention between yourself and your colleagues in the Collective have been around the ability to undertake an ongoing analysis of the data. If this was shown to be successfully completed how would you regard the students?” Beth asked completely calmly.

The professor thought for a while. “Let us say it was a thousand years in the future or perhaps ten thousand years in the future. Let us say that for the first time a group of students was able launch one single integrated query I would give them a hundred percent. I have spent some time in the Collective and I have had the opportunity to look at their data base programming and also their AI capacity. As I said to my counterpart, I do not believe that we or they have the ability to undertake the task. If we were able to do so then we would, as they would be able to track those who have infiltrated into the Empire and those who have infiltrated into the Collective. The datasets are simply too large and the task cannot be done. My counterpart alleges that he has a computer that can do this task. I do not believe that that is the case, but I allowed him to supply that computer with its attached AI capacity that facilitates the programming.

“Can you tell me where all of this is going?” Prof. Ignatius Sperring-Knox asked.

“What would be the results of such an integrated query?” Beth asked curiously.

This question gave the professor the opportunity to launch into a lecture. He explained that a successful query would allow for the tracking of the entry of illegals into the Empire and with each illegal entry, the system of entry would allow for further queries which would find further illegals. With each illegal found further illegals could be found. The ability to find discrepancies between births and deaths, medical records, applications for travel documentation, entries and exits from the Empire, work records, employment histories, school records and school histories would produce a wealth of potentially useful information.

“It is for that reason that I give that task to at least one group every year. They are generally a group of young people with excellent potential who need a dose of humility. They need to discover the limitations of our current technology and they need to be humbled by the realities of massive databases and huge numbers.” Prof. Sperring-Knox said arrogantly.

“Prof. what would you think if the students created the appropriate queries, combined them into the complex queries, acquired all the data and produced a list of likely infiltrators to the Empire?” Beth asked carefully.

The professor sat and thought for a few moments. “Let us assume that students presented that list ten thousand years hence. I would give them outstanding marks and recommend them for employment to the best of the employers, but that is not going to happen for a very long time.” Sperring-Knox said confidently.

“You’re so wrong Professor, you have not assessed the situation appropriately. Your name appears on the list as do a few other interesting people,” said Beth as she placed the professor into stasis. She called in her team to take him away and then they returned to their usual meeting space.

“Now that is done,” Beth said with satisfaction in her voice, “and Jason your professor in the Collective wins his bet against both Mr. Stasis and also against Porquenta. His computer spat out the list shortly before Porquenta’s dedicated AI and even Porquenta himself. Mind you the difference between them all was only a few thousandths of a second. In the computer world that is a lifetime I believe!” Beth continued, laughing. “Sheila tells me, Porquenta is not a happy chappie!”

“I always felt that a dose of humility would help Porquenta!” Razza said.

“We have a direct link to Porquenta and he has been speaking to us a few times a day,” said Beth.

“Porquenta said processes initiated in Empire AI and Computing Systems CC started to mangle the data. He believes there were automated systems in place to detect queries in action and they make sure that the data is not recovered or if it is recovered only a small portion is recovered intact. Despite that one thousand seven hundred and sixty names were spat out of the computer and our professor over here was the last to be arrested. Interrogations confirm that all of them are Coven and they are all a late generation of Cockroach. We do not know how they have managed to evade detection. Porquenta is convinced there is only one possible explanation. He says that each of them must have a clone. The clone does not have any traces of Cockroach DNA but has the consciousness of the Cockroach and can act for the Cockroach. We have not found a single one of these clones. They must be stored in some central location. We don’t know how they are activated and how the Cockroaches contact them.

“At the same time as you did this exercise here, your software was used in the Collective by both the professor you know there as well as Porquenta. There is much more data in the Collective. Your professor again outperformed Porquenta but now by a bigger margin. He says he did not use his most powerful machine in order to give Porquenta a chance and to show him he could be fair! He found it very amusing how frustrated Porquenta was, particularly as he had boasted how wonderful his algorithms were and how superior his computing was in comparison to the Collective. In this case they produced a list that was exactly the same size and then the data began to fragment again.

“Both the professor and Porquenta say the most likely explanation is that there are Coven AIs that are busy at work and there is also likely to be corrupted programming. Porquenta has been invited to start using his spy detection algorithms and the professor and his colleagues are in the process of developing the same.

“Porquenta has sent us an AI that has been attached directly to all the agencies. It was activated an hour ago. The AI will start searching for the rogue AIs and it will do the searches as previously on an ongoing basis. The AIs do not catch the search quickly and each separate search will mine further information and each search forces the rogue AIs to intervene and expose themselves.” Beth said with satisfaction manifest in her voice.

“Porquenta has also made sure it appears as if all of this is coming out of Empire AI and Computing Systems CC. The data run was tagged and tapped a hundred yards away from the company. Etta Panella has been contacted by her clients as all of their machines are showing they are being utilized by processes other than their own. They are also distressed as intelligence services sent in agents to arrest people yesterday. We arrested four from Empire AI and Computing Systems CC, who were working in low-level administrative areas. Empire AI and Computing Systems CC is being worked the hardest. Etta is hard-pressed by both external as well as internal demands. Unfortunately for us she is a very clever woman and she is progressively isolating parts of AI system and has technicians roaming the building looking for points of data leakage. She is shutting Porquenta down. Not only that she has launched a series of very powerful cyberwarfare attacks against Porquenta and now also our Porquenta agency based AI.

“We still have functioning data taps within the company, but they are slow. Porquenta has continued to work and use the AIs you carry in the pockets. Your computers are processing and reprocessing a colossal tranche of data that was collected the first night. It was a window on everything that was happening at that time and was every piece of data that could be collected. As each Cockroach is interrogated and we clarify their pathway of entry and pathways of registration within our system that information is fed back again for the AIs to go over the entire data on the basis of what has been discovered. It is a laborious but fruitful activity. We have arrested two Coven programmers that were found on the list.

“Prof Kareg Grikolok, the Bug Database professor has now been sent to join the team on Porquenta. He has taken many of his staff with him. They are working together on the ultimate AI dedicated to this kind of data mining application,” said Beth.

“The gate between the Collective, specifically between Charassa and Porquenta is operational, and that means it is very easy for people to move backwards and forwards. The biggest delay is the tight security on both sides. Did you know the gate is also operational between here and Earth? Once the ship gates are fully operational, they will start on smaller portals on the planets.” Beth said. “And now for the bad news; Abel Satora is in a bad mood and when he is in a bad mood everyone is in a bad mood. His paranoia has expanded in leaps and bounds and you Jason are in his sights.

“The room has been repaired and is under intense surveillance. We managed to infiltrate one of our own technicians as a contractor. He has inserted our own surveillance as well and refreshed surveillance in some areas of the company that you have not been in.

“Abel Satora has spoken to the Coven Emissary twice a day updating him on what is going on. The Emissary told him he has lost several of his best people. We were very pleased to hear that one of the team that was involved in the hostage taking of Cyril’s parents and then took them to a transfer point, where the pirates took over, has ‘disappeared’ and we have her in our hands. The Emissary is concerned there will be a link to the transfer point. Abel Satora will not tell him how close the transfer point is to where the pirates are holding the hostages. Cyril’s parents are being held where Abel Satora keeps his people who are to be sent to the Coven!” Beth said.

“The Coven handed them over to the pirates. The pirates moved Cyril’s parents to a holding area for hostages. They will be handed back to the Coven for their ultimate clients who are the Ghouls. That much we have learned. The Coven never intended to hand Cyril’s parents back, they possibly know too much. It doesn’t make much sense to me at all, as to why the Coven handed them to the pirates, unless they want to divert attention away from themselves or they do not have the resource to hold them.”

“When you return you can expect a very hostile dangerous environment. They are sweeping every office every day looking for surveillance. The executive offices are swept twice-daily at random times. They found all the Empire surveillance equipment, but so far none of the Bug stuff.

“Now let us plan what we do next,” said Beth.

They worked on their plan with her after lunch and continued for part of the afternoon.

Both groups went to Julia’s house for the remainder of the afternoon and for dinner. Late in the afternoon Jason received a message from Tania to say that they could return in the morning.

“Jason that woman, Etta Panella is a witch. I am under constant attack and the attacks are vicious. We can achieve nothing with any of our database searches,” Porquenta said sounding frustrated. “She should not be able do what she is doing. This is a very clever, cunning and nasty person and she has a big team that is getting bigger, she is also using the experts of her clients.”

“Have you managed to find any of the rogue Coven AIs?” Jason asked.

“In the Collective we have made very much more progress than we have made in the Empire and that is solely due to Etta Panella. We have found hundreds of rogue AIs in the Collective, but we have only been able to locate six in the Empire. I have been cut off from all data access. Somehow she has found a way to bypass the intelligence tap into the data run. I don’t know how she is doing this but I am completely stymied as are the intelligence people who are pulling out their hair. I understand from Beth our surveillance has fallen in a hole, the enemy has neutralized it all. They are taking no chances. The Coven must have given them some new detection and protection devices. Beth saw them and sent me the images her technician provided and she saw before all her equipment went dead. They look like micro-EMP projectors.

“There is more bad news. Young Chuck and his AI disappeared this afternoon. Lauren is investigating, but no doubt will call you shortly,” Porquenta said.

“Isn’t your AI in constant contact with you?” Jason asked.

“Yes, usually he communicates with me, but he said he was not communicating as there was a surprise planned. I have not heard from him for six hours and seven and a half minutes.” Porquenta said sounding concerned.

Five minutes later Lauren paged Jason and she appeared in front of him on the holo-communicator.

“Dad, we have searched everywhere for young Chuck he seems to have disappeared together with his AI. The shuttle has gone.” Lauren said sounding desperate.