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 vessel 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.

I entered the tent and slowly walked around the aircraft. It was smaller than Flipper or Shadow had been at a bit over five meters long. The cockpit or passenger compartment must have been located in the middle of the aircraft as this was the only part big enough to fit a seated human being. I assumed it was the cockpit because of its size but that was a guess since it lacked any visible clear windows or canopy to verify that. Instead, it looked like a large black truck tire or donut almost two meters in diameter by a bit over a meter wide, with its center axis facing sideways to the aircraft’s fuselage. In front of the sideways facing cylindrical cockpit was a diamond-shaped fuselage which extended forward about two meters tapering down to a blunt rounded tip. The aft fuselage was similar but was a bigger diamond shape at the cockpit and tapered to a larger blunt rear end.

Attached to each side of the front and rear fuselage were stubby folding wings. The front wings were attached to the bottom of the lower front diamond fuselage on each side. Each of the folded wings extended up over a meter and then back down. The downward portion ended in a 170-centimeter diameter shrouded lift fan which was itself folded back up. I walked around the front and saw the two folded wings and fans would look like three vees in a row.

The rear pair of wings and fans were similar except that these attached to the top of the rear diamond profile fuselage. The wings extended down and up, and the fans back down when stowed. I could imagine that when all the wings were unfolded their fans would form a square platform over six meters square. That the package folded into a five and a half meter long by three-meter-wide by two-meter-high package was impressive. I hoped it was strong and robust with all this articulation.

The center of the donut portion revealed itself to be a cockpit when an elliptical hatch began to open to the port side like a gull-wing door on a car. Once it was fully open, I could see inside that a pilot’s chair was mounted in the middle of the donut facing forward. It reminded me of those crazy old-time, one-wheel monocycles in which the rider rode sitting in the hub-less open middle of the one big wheel.

I climbed in and sat in the seat. The hatch closed and I sat there in the dark for a second before the cockpit came to life. The round opaque shell of the donut became invisible and the outside view all around the aircraft appeared on the inner surface.