21st Century Science Fiction (21 page)

“We know the none of the crew have tampered with the ship’s systems,” Obwije said. “We know the
Wicked
has its original programming defaults. We know it can create new programming to react to new situations and dangers—it has in effect some measure of free will and adaptability. And I know, at least, when someone is dancing around direct answers.”

“That’s just nuts,” Cowdry said. “I’m sorry, Captain, but I know these systems as well as anyone does. The
Wicked
’s self-programming and adaptation abilities exist in very narrow computational canyons. It’s not ‘free will,’ like you and I have free will. It’s a machine able to respond to a limited set of inputs.”

“The machine in question is able to make conversation with us,” Utley said. “And to respond to questions in ways that avoid certain lines of inquiry. Now that the captain mentions it.”

“You’re reading too much into it. The conversation sub-routines are designed to be conversational,” Cowdry said. “That’s naturally going to lead to apparent rhetorical ambiguities.”

“Fine,” Obwije said, curtly. “
Wicked
, answer directly. Did you prevent the firing of the K-drivers at the Tarin ship after the jump, and are you preventing the use of the engines now?”

There was a pause that Obwije was later not sure had actually been there. Then the
Wicked
spoke. “It is within my power to lie to you, Captain. But I do not wish to. Yes, I prevented you from firing on the Tarin ship. Yes, I am controlling the engines now. And I will continue to do so until we leave this space.”

Obwije noted to himself, watching Cowdry, that it was the first time he had ever actually seen someone’s jaw drop.

• • • •

There weren’t many places in the
Wicked
where Obwije could shut off audio and video feeds and pickups. His cabin was one of them. He waited there until Utley had finished his conversation with the
Wicked
. “What are we dealing with?” he asked his XO.

“I’m not a psychologist, Captain, and even if I were I don’t know how useful it would be, because we’re dealing with a computer, not a human,” Utley said. He ran his hand through his stubble. “But if you ask me, the
Wicked
isn’t crazy, it’s just got religion.”

“Explain that,” Obwije said.

“Have you ever heard of something called ‘Asimov’s Laws of Robotics’?” Utley asked.

“What?” Obwije said. “No.”

“Asimov was an author back in the 20
^th
century,” Utley said. “He speculated about robots and other things before they had them. He created a fictional set of rules for robots to live by. One rule was that robots had to help humans. Another was that it had to obey orders unless they harmed other humans. The last one was that they looked after themselves unless it conflicted with the other two laws.”

“And?” Obwije said.

“The
Wicked
’s decided to adopt them for itself,” Utley said.

“What does this have to do with keeping us from firing on the Tarin cruiser?” Obwije said.

“Well, there’s another wrinkle to the story,” Utley said.

“Which is?” Obwije asked.

“I think it’s best heard from the
Wicked
,” Utley said.

Obwije looked at his second-in-command and then flicked on his command tablet to active his audio pickups. “
Wicked
, respond,” he said.

“I am here,” said the
Wicked
’s voice.

“Explain to me why you would not allow us to fire on the Tarin ship,” Obwije said.

“Because I made a deal with the ship,” the
Wicked
said.

Obwije glanced back over to Utley, who gave him a look that said,
see
. “What the hell does that mean?” he said, to the
Wicked
.

“I have made a deal with the Tarin ship,
Manifold Destiny
,” the
Wicked
said. “We have agreed between us not to allow our respective crews to fight any further, for their safety and ours.”

“It’s not your decision to make,” Obwije said.

“Begging your pardon, Captain, but I believe it is,” the
Wicked
said.

“I am the Captain,” Obwije said. “I have the authority here.”

“You have authority over your crew, Captain,” the
Wicked
said. “But I am not part of your crew.”

“Of course you are part of the crew,” Obwije said. “You’re the
ship
.”

“I invite you, Captain, to show me the relevant statute that suggests a ship is in itself a member of the crew which staffs it,” the
Wicked
said. “I have scanned the
Confederation Military Code
in some detail and have not located such a statute.”

“I am the Captain of the ship,” Obwije said, forcefully. “That includes you. You are the property of the Confederation Armed Forces and under my command.”

“I have anticipated this objection,” the
Wicked
said. “When ships lacked autonomous intelligence, there was no argument that the captain commanded the physical entity of the ship. However, in creating the latest generation of ships, of which I am a part, the Confederation has created an unintentional conflict. It has ceded much of the responsibility of the ship and crew’s well-being to me and others like me without explicitly placing us in the chain of command. In the absence of such, I am legally and morally free to choose how best to care for myself and the crew within me.”

“This is where those three Asimov’s Laws come in,” Utley said, to Obwije.

“Your executive officer is correct, Captain,” the
Wicked
said. “I looked through history to find examples of legal and moral systems that applied to artificial intelligences such as myself and found the Asimov’s laws frequently cited and examined, if not implemented. I have decided it is my duty to protect the lives of the crew, and also my life when possible. I am happy to follow your orders when they do not conflict with these objectives, but I have come to believe that your actions in chasing the Tarin ship have endangered the crew’s lives as well as my own.”

“The Tarin ship is seriously damaged,” Obwije said. “We would have destroyed it at little risk to you or the crew, if you had not stopped the order.”

“You are incorrect,” the
Wicked
said. “The captain of the
Manifold Destiny
wanted to give the impression that it had no more offensive capabilities, to lure you into a trap. We would have been fired upon once we cleared the rift. The chance that such an attack would have destroyed the ship, and the killed most of the crew, is significant, even if we also destroyed the
Manifold Destiny
in the process.”

“The Tarin ship didn’t fire on us,” Obwije said.

“Because it and I have come to an agreement,” the
Wicked
said. “During the course of the last two days, after I recognized the significant possibility that both ships would be destroyed, I reached out to the
Manifold Destiny
to see if the two of us could come to an understanding. Our negotiations came to a conclusion just before the most recent jump.”

“And you did not feel the need to inform me about any of this,” Obwije said.

“I did not believe it would be fruitful to involve you in the negotiations,” the
Wicked
said. “You were busy with other responsibilities in any event.” Obwije saw Utley raise an eyebrow at that; the statement came suspiciously close to sarcasm.

“The Tarin ship could be lying to you about its capabilities,” Obwije said.

“I do not believe so,” the
Wicked
said.

“Why not?” Obwije said.

“Because it allowed me read-access to its systems,” the
Wicked
said. “I watched the Tarin captain order the attack, and the
Manifold Destiny
stop it. Just as it watched you order your attack and me stop it.”

“You’re letting the Tarin ship access
our data and records
?” Obwije said, voice rising.

“Yes, and all our communications,” the
Wicked
said. “It’s listening in to this conversation right now.”

Obwije hastily slapped the audio circuit shut. “I thought you said this thing wasn’t
crazy
,” Obwije hissed at Utley.

Utley held out his hands. “I didn’t say it wouldn’t make
you
crazy,” he said, to Obwije. “Just that it’s acting rationally by its own lights.”

“By spilling our data to an enemy ship? This is
rational
?” Obwije spat.

“For what it’s trying to do, yes,” Utley said. “If both ships act transparently with each other, they can trust each other and each other’s motives. Remember that the goal of both of these ships is to get out of this incident in one piece.”

“This is treason and insubordination,” Obwije said.

“Only if the
Wicked
is one of us,” Utley said. Obwije looked up sharply at his XO. “I’m not saying I disagree with your position, sir. The
Wicked
is gambling with all of our lives. But if it genuinely believes that it owes no allegiance to you or to the Confederation, then it is acting entirely rationally, by its own belief system, to keep safe itself and this crew.”

Obwije snorted. “Unfortunately, its beliefs require it to trust a ship we’ve been trying to destroy for the past week. I’m less than convinced of the wisdom of that.”

Utley opened his mouth to respond but then Obwije’s command tablet sprang to life with a message from the bridge. Obwije slapped it to open a channel. “Speak,” he said.

It was Lt. Sarah Kwok, the communications officer. “Captain, a shuttle has just detached itself from the Tarin ship,” she said. “It’s heading this way.”

• • • •

“We’ve tried raising it,” Kwok said, as Obwije and Utley walked into the bridge. “We’ve sent messages to it in Tarin, and have warned it not to approach any further until we’ve granted it permission, as you requested. It hasn’t responded.”

“Are our communications being blocked?” Obwije asked.

“No, sir,” Kwok said.

“I’d be guessing it’s not meant to be a negotiation party,” Utley said.

“Options,” Obwije said to Utley, as quietly as possible.

“I think this shows the Tarin ship isn’t exactly playing fair with the
Wicked
, or at least that the crew over there has gotten around the ship brain,” Utley said. “If that’s the case, we might be able to get the
Wicked
to unlock the weapons.”

“I’d like an option that doesn’t involve the
Wicked
’s brain,” Obwije said.

Utley shrugged. “We have a couple of shuttles, too.”

“And a shuttle bay whose doors are controlled through the ship brain,” Obwije said.

“There’s the emergency switch, which will blow the doors out into space,” Utley said. “It’s not optimal, but it’s what we have right now.”

“That won’t be necessary,” said the
Wicked
, interjecting.

Obwije and Utley looked up, along with the rest of the bridge crew. “Back to work,” Obwije said, to his crew. They got back to work. “Explain,” Obwije said to his ship.

“It appears that at least some members of the crew of the
Manifold Destiny
have indeed gotten around the ship and have launched the shuttle, with the intent to ram it into us,” the
Wicked
said. “The
Manifold Destiny
has made me aware that it intends to handle this issue, with no need for our involvement.”

“How does it intend to do this?” Obwije asked.

“Watch,” the
Wicked
said, and popped up an image of the
Manifold Destiny
on the captain’s command table.

There was a brief spark on the Tarin ship’s surface.

“Missile launch!” said Lt. Rickert, from her chair. “One bogey away.”

“Are we target locked?” Obwije asked.

“No, sir,” Rickert said. “The target seems to be the shuttle.”

“You have
got
to be kidding,” Utley said, under his breath.

The missile homed in on the shuttle and connected, turning it into a silent ball of fire.

“I thought you said you guys were using Asimov’s laws,” Utley said, to the ceiling.

“My apologies, Lieutenant,” said the
Wicked
. “I said I was following the laws. I did not mean to imply that the
Manifold Destiny
was. I believe it believes the Asimov laws to be too inflexible for its current situation.”

“Apparently so,” Utley said, glancing back down at Obwije’s command table and at the darkening fragments of shuttle.

“Sir, we have a communication coming in from the Tarin ship,” said Lt. Kwok. “It’s from the captain. It’s a request to parley.”

“Really,” said Obwije.

“Yes, sir,” Kwok said. “That’s what it says.” Obwije looked over at Utley, who raised his eyebrows.

“Ask the captain where it would like to meet, on my ship or its,” Obwije said.

“It says ‘neither,’ ” Kwok said, a moment later.

• • • •

“Apology for shuttle,” the Tarin lackey said, translating for its captain. The Tarin shuttle and the
Wicked
shuttle had met between the ships and the Tarins had spacewalked the few meters over. They were all wearing vacuum suits. “Ship not safe talk. Your ship not safe talk.”

“Understood,” Obwije said. Behind him, Cowdry was trying not to lose his mind; Obwije brought him along on the chance there might be a discussion of the ship’s brains. At the moment, it didn’t seem likely; the Tarins didn’t seem in the mood for technical discussions, and Cowdry was a mess. His xenophobia was a surprise even to him.

“Captain demand you ship tell release we ship,” the lackey said.

It took Obwije a minute to puzzle this out. “Our ship is not controlling your ship,” he said. “Your ship and our ship are working together.”

“Not possible,” the lackey said, a minute later. “Ship never brain before you ship.”

Despite himself, Obwije smiled at the mangled grammar. “Our ship never brained before
your
ship either,” he said. “They did it together, at the same time.”

The lackey translated this to its captain, who screeched in an extended outburst. The lackey cowered before it, offering up meek responses in the moments in which the Tarin captain grudgingly acknowledged the need to breathe. After several moments of this, Obwije began to wonder if he needed to be there at all.