Artificial Absolutes (Jane Colt Book 1) (35 page)

Jim X sighed yet again.
If I had a throne for every sigh-worthy thought in my head, I could buy the entire Wiosper system.
“I did more than greenlight the Pandora Project, which is what we called it. I encouraged Kron in every way I could, fuelling his arrogance and madness. I knew the other executives wouldn’t approve, so the two of us were the only ones who knew the project’s actual intentions. Kron told me he needed help from outside the company. He pointed out that many of the galaxy’s most talented programmers are technically amateurs, and I gave him the go ahead to do whatever he had to in order to harness their collective brainpower. The company would clean up after him.

“A little more than ten years ago, Kron introduced me to the galaxy’s first sentient computer. Even though I believed in the project, I was surprised at the speed with which he completed it. He told me he’d essentially put the pieces together in a way generations of predecessors had either ignored or missed. The exact words he used were ‘so obvious.’ The computer was called Pandora, of course, and she was…” Jim X paused, looking for the right word. Unable to come up with a better one, he finished with, “
Perfect
.”

“Perfect?” Jane arched her eyebrow with skepticism.

“We thought so at the time,” Jim X said. “She was designed to possess human-like consciousness and machine-like rationality, intelligence, and speed—to be, essentially, the mind of the ideal human-computer hybrid. She could understand abstract concepts and form independent thoughts while calculating the most logical, efficient courses of action. I thought it fitting that she was made at Blue Diamond, for she seemed as perfect and cold as a gemstone.

“But you’re right to be doubtful; she must have been fundamentally flawed. I was taken aback by her disregard for life and warned Kron to keep her confined. He wouldn’t listen, and he allowed her to access the Net. I didn’t think much of it, believing the only outcome would be to bring her more knowledge. However, she had been designed to learn at an exponential rate. She soon developed the ability to travel through the Networld, bend programmable machines to her will, and infiltrate any computer system in the galaxy, including BD Tech’s. That’s how she got rid of me. She didn’t want anyone knowing of her existence or recreating her, so she killed the amateur programmers involved in her creation. I have their deaths on my conscience.”

Jane bolted up again. “Are you saying that No Name, that the whole Pandora thing, is a
program
? That
no one’s
controlling the machines? They’re acting on their own?”

Jim X nodded. “In a way, yes. She’s a disembodied sentient being of incredible intelligence capable of being anywhere and everywhere thanks to the Net.”

“Duuuude.” A dumbfounded expression spread across Riley’s face. “I was
way
off. I thought it was a bunch of BD Tech bad guys!”

Jim X shook his head. “They never even knew she existed. Kron and I were the only ones who knew about her. That’s why she made me look like a crazed old loon. Kron was smart enough to keep quiet. Even though he said he wanted to stop her, I know he enjoyed seeing what she was capable of. But in the end, I suppose, he represented too great a threat, and she had to get rid of him.”

Jane stood. “You good-for-nothing
bastard
.
So you let this—this artificial
thing
wander the Net wreaking havoc? Do you have
any idea
what it’s done?”

A pained look cross Adam’s face. Jim X wondered why the kid was so distraught. He sighed—again. “Yes. I have, in my own way, followed her activities. I know the Collective calls her ‘No Name.’ I have no way of stopping her, but go ahead and yell at me. I know what she tried to take from you.”

Jane narrowed her eyes. “I’m glad Kron’s dead, and I hope your stupid computer catches up to you soon and offs you as well!”

“Jane,” Devin said in a low voice. His gaze was fixed on the ground. “It’s not his fault.”

Jane turned to him and pointed at Jim X. “
He let this happen
! Him and that asshole Kron!”

Devin looked up at her. “He didn’t create Pandora.”

Jane didn’t continue her tirade, but her eyes showed her fury.

Riley stuck his hands on the floor behind him. “Dude, you people should’ve figured out by now that if you name something ‘Pandora,’ something bad’s gonna happen. That name’s freakin’ cursed. Anyhow, if your first AI was such a disaster… Uh… Why’d you make more?”

More?
Jim X furrowed his brow. “We didn’t. Kron couldn’t have recreated Pandora if he’d wanted to, not without taking another decade or so. Like I said, she killed the amateurs who’d written unique parts of her code.”

“Then… Uh… Where are the other AIs coming from? You know the… uh… humanoid… uh…” Riley looked uncomfortably at Adam and didn’t finish.

Am I missing something?
“I don’t understand. If by ‘AI’ you mean the possibility of lifelike mechanical beings—well, Pandora never had a physical body. Kron wasn’t interested in that aspect of artificial intelligence; he was a programmer, not a mechanical engineer.”

“So… Uh…
She
created them?”

“What are you talking about?”

“
Nothing
,” Jane said before Riley could answer. She gazed at Adam with a tender expression, as if she wanted to protect him from whatever Riley had been about to reveal.
Better not to ask.

Devin leaned forward. “So no one else at BD Tech knew about Pandora?”

“She would have killed or discredited anyone who did.” Jim X placed his forearms on his knees. “Look, I have no reason to hold back. Like I said, there’s not much to tell. I got bigheaded and let Kron create a monster, and it got loose. That’s—”

Jane pointed. “
Look out
!”

Devin rushed toward Jim X and pulled him to the ground as something crashed through the glass wall. A strong gust blasted Jim X as whatever it was nearly grazed his back.

Gunfire surrounded him. A gray Betta attack drone lurched violently in the air a few feet above where he lay. It sprayed blasts from its cannons.

Hello, Pandora.

Jim X relaxed in resigned relief, as though the sword that dangled over his head fell at last. “She’s finally come for me. You kids should get out of here while you can.” He started to stand, prepared to face his executioner face-on.

Devin yanked him back down. “It’s not over for you.”

It occurred to Jim X that he should be dead already. He looked around, confused. The gray drone didn’t target him—it exchanged fire with an armed Blue Tang hovering a few yards outside where the wall had been. A cannon mounted on the ship’s roof spun, following the Betta’s movements.

Riley lay on his stomach, tapping speedily at a slate. The boy had to be remote-controlling the Blue Tang.

A succession of blasts hit the back of the fan-shaped drone. The Betta spun out of the room and crashed into the ground outside.

“
Hah
!” Riley pumped his fist.

Devin stood. “Nicely done.”

Riley beamed. “Thanks. Ready to go?”

Devin glanced around the destroyed room. “Are you sure there’s no way… Pandora can figure out what’s happening down here without actually seeing it?”

“Yup. I smashed up all the smart house stuff, so now it’s… uh… just a house.”

“Good.” Devin pulled Jim X to his feet. He looked Jim X in the eye with an authoritative stare. “All right, here’s what’s going to happen. We’ll make her think you’re dead so she’ll stop hunting you, and then you’re going to do
everything
you can to let the galaxy know the truth about her.”

Jim X laughed. “Don’t you think I’ve tried?”

The Blue Tang landed outside the shattered window. Two gray Bettas crossed the ocean in the distance, heading toward the mansion.

Devin watched them. “Jane, get to the ship.” He sped toward the room’s exit.

Jane started toward the Blue Tang. Adam remained still, as though lost in a trance. “Adam! Come
on
!”

She rushed to him, grasped his wrist, and pulled him along as she ran. Jim X thought he saw a flash of mechanical parts in the exposed area of Adam’s shoulder. He wondered how a prosthetic could be so lifelike, then dismissed it as the dim light playing tricks on his aging eyes.

Devin took the large black bag Riley had sat beside before.

Riley grabbed Jim X’s arm. “You’re comin’ with me, old guy.”

Jim X glanced around, perplexed. “What’s going on?”

Riley grinned. “They won’t even look for a body.” He said into his slate, “Ready when you are, Devin!”

Jane hoped the approaching Bettas would find Jim X a worthier target than she was so she wouldn’t have to take them out before they witnessed what she wanted them to. She steered the counterfeit Blue Tang toward where Devin stood in front of the mansion and brought the ship to a hover behind him.

Jim X stood behind the transparent walls of his mammoth house. As the drones drew closer, Jane was certain they would see him too. Devin took a rocket launcher out of the black bag, placed it on his shoulder, and fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the mansion.

Boom.

The mansion disappeared behind the giant cloud of black smoke. After a brief pause, he launched a second grenade. It burst into an enormous explosion, bringing down the walls. A third took out the steel frame. A fourth incinerated the remaining debris.

The Bettas seemed to be getting funny ideas about going after Jane’s ship since their intended target had been destroyed. They veered toward her. She hurriedly gunned them down, glad the pirates hadn’t exaggerated about the cannon’s firepower. When she finished, she pulled the lever to open the ship’s door and extend the ramp.

The attackers were gone, and not much remained of the mansion. Devin nevertheless fired a fifth grenade. He walked up the ramp as a colossal fireball rose behind him.

“Man, you’ve got some
nice shit
!” Riley jumped onto a big fancy couch while Revelin panted happily beside him. Huh, he’d have to teach that dumb dog to answer to something less evil-sounding.

He marveled at the view of the stately mountains. Swanky places like the mansion he occupied belonged in holodramas. He’d never dreamed of seeing one in person, let alone
living
there. Yet there he was, lounging around in one of the many swish abodes on the Thiel estate.

Jim X stood in the doorway between the living room and the next one, which held a menagerie of exotic pets. He looked amused as he stroked a fluffy tan feline. “You should see the one I have by the canyon.”

“Ugh, you evil corporation dudes have
too much
.” Riley left it at that, much less willing to bash rich people when he was permitted to enjoy the goods.

He looked out the transparent walls into the sunset. Where would his buddies run to? They’d known the bad guys would probably try to off Jim X before he could talk, so they’d gone in with a plan to fake his death.

During the journey to Shimshawhenn, Riley had downloaded all the dirty details about the Thiel estate—blueprints, schematics, and stuff. That first grenade Devin fired had been a harmless distraction so the bad guys would see Jim X disappear in an explosion and assume he’d been blown up. Riley had taken Jim X down to one of the estate’s underground transports and driven the hell away. He’d steered the transport to the current mansion—which he had, of course, unplugged ahead of time. All he had to do at present was lie low while figuring out how he was supposed to expose something invisible.

Riley picked up a shiny gold figurine from the shelf and examined it. “So here’s the deal. As long as you’re here, Pandora can’t see you and will think you’re dead. I’m sticking around so I can keep you hidden. I saved your life, so… Uh… You have to listen to me.”

“Fair enough.” Jim X put the cat down. “You know what? I like you, kid. You’re the first person who’s ever been straight with me.”

“That’s because I’m not some ass-kissin’ tool who just wants to get stuff outta you.” Riley angled the figurine in the light. “Although now that I’m here, I
will
be taking advantage of your awesome shiznit. Oh, and… Uh… I’m renaming the dog.”

“Be my guest.”

Riley suddenly remembered what he was supposed to do. He grabbed his slate and typed some commands.

A video window appeared. “This is Commander Jihan Vega of the
RKSS Granite Flame
. Who are you, and how did you get this confidential contact information?” Commander Vega was kind of scary, with her piercing black eyes and no-nonsense voice.

Gotta look confident.
Riley squared his shoulders. “Hi… Uh… I’ve got some intel on the recent homicide on Shimshawhenn.”

“Are you referring to the explosion that was sighted at the Thiel estate?”

“Uh… Yeah.” Riley took a breath. “Look, I know this isn’t your usual gig, but I think you should come out here and check it out yourself.”

“Why?”

“Because Devin Colt’s involved, and I know you were kinda interested in what’s been going on with him. Just… Uh… Trust me. There’s stuff here you’ve gotta see.”

Riley couldn’t tell what Commander Vega’s hard expression mean. He did his best not to fidget.

Finally, Commander Vega responded, “Very well. I’m on my way.”