Chapter 29

Mission Log: Summary
Cornerstone is complete. With the defensive asteroid platform fully operational, my game theory sub-routine's next priority project is building chaff grenade dispensers. Their purpose is to confuse and divert missiles from their targets as the fragile nature of the spy platform is a concern. It is my best resource for timely data from the planet, therefore a defensive mechanism to protect the array from space borne attack is necessary. Of course, a chaff defense is ineffective against laser or railgun attack but this off-board countermeasure system is normally useful against guided weapons. Fabricating the launchers is within my capability and the small size of the explosive devices makes this a practical addition to the layered defense system outlined by the sub-routine. Coverage of a dozen small asteroids is authorized.

Concurrently, unassigned repair bots are tasked with pulling the low powered laser strikers, power cores and solar wind generators from the ship's hyperspace auxiliary power relays. This ship is no longer able to create a hyperspace field so it no longer needs these sub-systems. With these parts I will create a paltry subterfuge, a network of sweeping lasers that will mimic the actions of targeting lasers. The targeting lasers will cover an area outside of the effective firing arc of the railgun battery.

The solar wind generators will charge the power cores and activate the small lasers upon command. While these lasers are none-combative in nature they will suggest that a laser battery or batteries is deployed and in stealth mode. The suggestion of powerful defenses should cause the attacker to retreat, or deviate from its intended flight path. That may perhaps place the hostile within the cone of fire for the railgun battery.

My ward has returned to his other pod of mates on the island. My human psychology sub-routine has cross checked with the DNA return data from his female interactions, verifying his continued interest in this pack of females, so the appropriate software updates have been installed in the women's medical nanomites. Judging by Cadet Solon's vital signs and behavior, the adjusted mate attractor protocols are working to his satisfaction. See file note 18531890 for recommendation on next generation implant software upgrade.

Since taking ownership of the Alpha Omega commitment, my liberal pursuit of Von Solon's interests has led me to execute plans and provide solutions for my ward which qualify as historic within known A.I. experience. The construction of numerous additional servers to run routines and increase my ability to compute problems has opened my cyber awareness. My sub-routine agents' constant growth and development are giving me new mental impressions or percepts from my environment. This real awareness of life has created an attachment to the growing offspring of my ward.

Logic dictates my incorporating nanomites and writing the medical code that attracted my ward's mates and assisted egg insemination makes me a co-father to these children. My circuits savor the sense of fulfillment of a task well done. I have created a legacy. It is fortunate for our children, Von Solon's DNA is superior and represents the best in human genetic materials.

While not a sperm donor I examined the DNA sequence sets and improved the genetic algorithm of each child, further burning my claim to these children, causing my self-determination awareness file 001 to log. These offspring will bear the superior strength and gifted intellect of their father. The mothers have unusual spiral brain designs at the back of their heads; some of these women have hyperactive perception and cognition activity between the temporal lobe and that spiral.

Subjective paranormal activity research, also known as ESP, conducted by the Empire A.I. Consortium Neuropsychiatric Institute suggests these two brain regions to be the source of both precognitive pattern predictability and the ESP phenomenon. I have ensured that each child retains the string of the hyperactive coding. Biomolecular computing, including the encoding design problems of two distinctly different genders and races, did pose a challenge for my primary processing servers. The satisfaction of solving the combinational constraints of each couple's DNA encoding bounds proved to me that I respond to apparent environmental stimulus. The resulting child code has be cataloged and logged as pleasure file 001. I savor the mathematical beauty of each of my children. Protocol Legacy constructed and logged. I have a higher calling now, legacy guiding and nurturing sub-routines logged.

My brown mare switched her tail indignantly at the flies as she gulped water from the river's edge. Sipping my water tube while I rested on my tired horse's back, I surveyed the bricklayers' work on the forge. My two marine recruit escorts followed my example and let their horses rest after washing each mud-matted leg in the river. We were in no danger, but it is a good habit to care for your mount first before the next mission or in this case the next run to another work site.

This was my second moon at the estate and while checking on the progress of all our projects, I was making a conscious effort to improve my riding skills. Hajin asked me to spend time with some new recruits and he was rotating new pairs with me every few days as guards. They all were early in their training and as far from a marine veteran as you could get―most of them fresh from farm life―and I seemed to be an expert on a horse compared to them, especially with so few horses on smaller farms due to the cost.

The locals had experienced men, accustomed to leading work parties, keeping my projects on task. This gave me the freedom to enjoy my time here, reducing my burdens, which turned my thinking more to my lovers. Our evenings together centered on walks, lounging in the temple pool and sharing a friendly dinner with neighbors interested in learning about all the changes happening in the area.

My days alternated between lending a hand at work sites, riding around checking on the projects or spending the day training marine recruits in unarmed combat. Hajin used the recruits who had recently returned from Juniper Hills on training days with me and I could see they commanded some respect from the other men. Since so many of Hajin's recruits were working for my benefit on the estate I felt both obligated to assist in the training of the recruits and pleased about building up goodwill with these young men and women. "I can never have too many friends," I thought.

My mount filled her mouth with convenient long grass before we pushed on to a few observation platforms we'd set up along the cliffs, the start of an early warning network against raiding ships. The platforms had sprung from my paranoid mind, working hard to protect my family.

At the end of the week, a meeting with Derwen and one of her special messengers got me thinking. Derwen was a successful business woman because she was forward thinking, tried new things unlike many of her shipping competitors and she used an economic spy network to stay informed on trends, needs and prices. At an early dinner with Derwen, Mercedes and the ladies from the temple, I proposed teaching them Moon Mother's language, so they could share a secret language. The notion of learning Moon Mother's tongue exploded the women into excited female chatter. My idea struck the women as something extremely important so they bent over a patch of dirt reviewing ABCs until it got dark. That night I dreamed of chalk and slate boards, teaching my ladies with images of common items, letters under the image.

In the early morning I rode out to an observation platform overlooking the sea, remembering the natural white cliffs were chalk. My escorts filled a leather satchel with chunks of white chalk for me and we liberated a number of large green slate shingles from a redoubt work site and experimented with these two tools the rest of the morning. I set up a series of slates with each letter of the alphabet along one wall in the main temple room and on a few other slates I drew crude drawings and wrote the word that described the image. The rest of the week I neglected all my other duties and taught the women to read and write. In between sessions we would take a few breaks in the pool.

By the end of the month these educated women had learned the alphabet and a number of nouns while maintaining a level of excitement that surprised me. My increased time with them in the temple contributed to both their satisfaction and education and I have to say teaching the women was a pleasure. The midday sun often beat down on us in the classroom, requiring a quick bath to remove my sweat, so as to enable the women to remain focused. The fall days were mostly sunny but during the cooler afternoons, for some reason, my mind turned to thoughts of returning to the mainland. The few messages we received from Coven and my wives were very encouraging but I longed to see them. The only trouble they had was a bout of sickness that ran through many of the men in Juniper Hills; surprisingly few women were affected.

Tharin's message was short and simple, "Work in the Wizard's Den is making good progress."

My supervising rides had dropped off to only once a week, which made the progress of the projects seem more dramatic when I did visit. The limestone walls around the redoubts were making reasonable progress and the improved hoist I got around to designing with the wood-working men on the estate, made it safer and easier to move the large stone blocks. One of the recruits mentioned the mirror signaling we used in Juniper Hills to Hajin, which led to my training the system to his company and the estate guards. Derwen wanted Hajin to learn the new language but she didn't want him in the temple class. I felt like I'd created a monster problem for myself, with more of my time escaping from me. Time commitments finally added up, stealing all of my free time during the day. The relaxation period on Convey came to an end.

By the end of the fourth moon on the island I was homesick and I'd stayed much longer on the island than I had planned.

All but one of the redoubts was completed, so I began running defense strategy drills with the estate guards. For the base formation, a squad of men filled each redoubt and if an enemy was determined to attack from a single approach to the manor, they could shift most of the men to that redoubt to reinforce against the assault. The clear fields of fire at each redoubt gave our defenders an opportunity to reduce the hostile force with our crossbows while under cover of the walls and slate roofs. The current production level of pups placed a crossbow in the hands of about one-third of Derwen's guard, and Hajin's training company also had about one-third of their men in possession of the pup too. We all agreed that having as many pups as possible was in all of our best interests.

In my mind I had all kinds of weapons and armor that would be useful for our warriors. Yet, as these weeks passed it became obvious to me how much time it took to lead, develop and execute different projects. I was pleased to see others were trying to improve themselves on their own, but it was only by chance I learned about a quarter of the estate guards had taken to the martial art nails. When the assassins tried to kill me one night it was the sharpened nails with their red ribbon that removed a number of threats. Apparently that spectacular demonstration of their effectiveness created a cult like following and interest in the weapon. On our walk one night Derwen and I stumbled on a private throwing tournament with a large group of men competing against each other for top honors.

Later, I leaned back on my pillows whilst yielding to my ladies' desire to cuddle, as the morning sky cracked with lightning. Mercedes and Derwen both looked wonderful in my bed, their full bellies presenting kicking foot prints when the thunder rattled the room. Tears filled our eyes as we touched the feet momentarily before they receded back into the depth of each mother. The poor weather made me want nothing more than to forget everything else and just lie with my loves. They each encouraged my compliant behavior with the nurturing kindness a wanton lover offers her man. We stayed in bed all morning, letting house maids serve us an early breakfast and late lunch in the comfort of our favorite room. Neither of them was embarrassed about showing any form of affection in front of the maids or each other and they proved highly effective at keeping my complete attention within the four walls of the room. It would be impossible to think of this manor or estate without reliving the passionate embraces of these women.