The New Space Opera 2 (70 page)

“Anyone involved in the planning or construction of the ship,” Utley said.

“Aside from the initial installation crews, no,” the
Wicked
said. “And if
I may anticipate what I expect will be the next question, at no time was my programming altered from factory defaults.”

“So no one has altered your programming in any way,” Utley said.

“No, Lieutenant,” the
Wicked
said.

“Are you having hardware problems?” Carrol asked.

“No, Lieutenant Carrol,” the
Wicked
said.

“Then why can't I fire my goddamn weapons?” Carrol asked.

“I couldn't say, Lieutenant,” the
Wicked
said.

The thought popped unbidden into Obwije's head:
That was a strange thing for a computer to say
. And then another thought popped into his head.

“
Wicked
, you have access to every system on the ship,” Obwije said.

“Yes,” the
Wicked
said. “They are a part of me, as your hand or foot is a part of you.”

“Are you capable of changing your programming?” Obwije asked.

“That is a very broad question, Captain,” the
Wicked
said. “I am capable of self-programming for a number of tasks associated with the running of the ship. This has come in handy particularly during combat, when I write new power and system management protocols to keep the crew alive and the ship functioning. But there are core programming features I am not able to address. The previously mentioned logs, for example.”

“Would you be able to modify the programming to fire the weapons or the engines?” Obwije asked.

“Yes, but I did not,” the
Wicked
said. “You may have Lieutenant Cowdry confirm that.”

Obwije looked at Cowdry, who nodded. “Like I said, sir, there's nothing wrong with the system,” he said.

Obwije glanced back up at the ceiling, where he was imagining the
Wicked
, lurking. “But you don't need to modify the programming, do you?” he asked.

“I'm not sure I understand your question, Captain,” the
Wicked
said.

Obwije held out a hand. “There is nothing wrong with my hand,” he said. “And yet if I choose not to obey an order to use it, it will do nothing. The system works but the will to use it is not there. Our systems—the ship's systems—you just called a part of you as my hand is part of me. But if you choose not to obey that order to use that system, it will sit idle.”

“Wait a minute,” Cowdry said. “Are you suggesting that the
Wicked
deliberately
chose
to disable our weapons and engines?”

“We know that none of the crew have tampered with the ship's sys
tems,” 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 subroutines 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 twentieth 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 activate 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 that 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 com
manded 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 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 on 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 Lieutenant 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.”