1
‘Endi. It’s time to wake up.’
Endi Owens’ eyes opened a crack, his lashes gummy and sticking together. He moaned the satisfied moan of a man who had enjoyed perfect sleep. He lifted a hand to his face and rubbed each of his eyes then blinked them until his vision cleared. A sudden charge of excitement swept through him. ‘Lucida, are we there? Have we reached Earth?’
‘Not quite …’ Lucida’s tone rang alarm bells for Endi.
‘There’s a problem, isn’t there? Are we in danger?’ Endi tried to sit up but the canopy of the stasis pod was still closed and mottled with condensate from the stasis gases. He lay back again to wait for the final flushing sequence to complete. Gentle music ebbed and flowed like the susurration of waves on a fine shingle beach.
‘We are not in any danger, Endi, but there is a problem.’
‘What is it? Where are we?’
The stasis pod hissed and the canopy lifted clear. The music crescendoed, like a sun bursting from behind snow-capped mountains into a clear sky. Endi sat up. Lucida looked at him and smiled. Endi stretched and yawned.
‘Where we are is the easier question to answer. We are in a polar orbit around Europa, at a mean distance of 10,000 kilometres. Why we are where we are is directly related to the answer to your other question.’ Endi climbed from the pod and started to dress in the clothes that Lucida had laid out for him. ‘In answering that question, it is necessary that I provide sufficient background information for you to understand my decision to park here.’
‘OK. I’m listening. Tell me.’ He hopped across the floor as he thrust a foot down a leg of his coverall.
Lucida continued without amusement at his antics. ‘I have been monitoring Earth and its transmissions for the last three years of our approach. At first, Earth seemed like a wonderful place. As time went by, it became clear from the traffic that all was not as well as it had seemed. There had been undercurrents of political unrest – apparently for decades; the Ameropeans and the Sinasians, whilst at peace within their boundaries, had been bickering between themselves in increasing measure. Fourteen months ago, bickering turned into border skirmishes and then into bloody battles.'
Endi pulled the zip of his garment across his chest. A look of concern spread across his face. 'We will be able to visit, won't we, having come all this way?'
‘Nine months ago, Sinasia overran Austrapacifa, which had maintained a clear neutral stance. Ameropea threatened all-out war if the Sinasians did not withdraw within one month.
‘It is not clear who started it but, two weeks later, I detected a whole series of powerful electromagnetic pulses. Very soon, there was nothing, only static.’ Lucida fell silent, allowing Endi to approach his conclusion at his own pace.
Endi sat on the edge of the pod and stared at the floor. He lifted his hands to his head. ‘What you’re suggesting is … thermonuclear war?’
‘Correct.’
‘And you think there’s no-one left.’
‘Of that, I cannot be sure without we visit Earth. There may be survivors, but it is clear that no significant radio technology is operating, at least on Earth. Which brings me to why we are here.’
Endi reached down to pull on a boot. ‘Go on.’
‘There are three man-made radio sources still functioning in this solar system. One is from a research station in orbit around Europa, and was the nearest to our in-bound trajectory; another is from the mining colony on the surface of Mars, which is currently on the opposite side of the solar system. The transmissions from both are automatic distress signals for the most part, but there are occasional live transmissions.’
‘So there are still humans here.’
‘Yes. How long they will last however is debatable. I have not yet betrayed our presence by probing their systems, so I remain unaware of how well resourced they are. Both stations are designed to be largely self-sufficient but both rely on certain minerals from Earth. All Earth’s systems are down, so I cannot access details of their re-victualling schedules and calculate a likely status. They may well have limited supplies. There will be no further deliveries …'
Endi pulled on his second boot.
‘Furthermore, unless I establish contact, I have no way of knowing for certain how many of them there are. With earth being off-line, there is no current information to be had but, according to the mission details posted on Googlenet, there is capacity for as many as fifty here and up to 200 on Mars.’
Endi stood and declared, ‘We must help. We can’t just leave them to die.’
‘I have considered this. The best we could do is ferry them back to Earth and hope they find enough remains to sustain them; if we can get them to the surface …’
‘We could take them elsewhere. How far is the nearest human world?’
‘We have only one stasis pod. Earth is their only option. There are two additional complications.’
‘Which are?’
‘Firstly, Ameropea and Sinasia appear to have destroyed each other’s space platforms, presumably to remove any orbital military capability from their opponent. At least I have not been able to detect the platforms or any routine transmissions from them. The Austrapacifan platform still exists and is manned but is of limited capability. This is the third radio source; again, its transmissions are mainly automatic. We have yet to determine if there are any shuttles docked.’
‘So, even if we get them there, there’s no guarantee of being able to get them to the surface.’
‘Quite.’
‘And the second problem?’
‘The Europa station is Ameropean. The Mars colony is Sinasian. They are at war.’
2
'I find it quite … uncomfortable.'
Endi turned and looked at Lucida. 'Uncomfortable? What?'
'Not knowing. I am not used to it. Under normal circumstances, I can tap into any system in the vicinity and find out anything I need to know.'
'But here there are no systems to tap in to.'
'None of much consequence. My logic is, of course, impeccable. It can predict, within limits, what is likely to happen on the basis of what we know so far but I prefer knowing. It gives me … an edge.'
'Well, we'd better make contact with the station here and see if we can find anything else out.'
The radio crackled to life and a video screen flickered until the image of a face appeared out of the snow of static. 'This is Europa station. We have detected your presence and assumed you hostile. Identify yourself or face the consequences.'
Lucida responded in mellifluous tone, 'This is the interstellar freighter, Scarab. We have been here a while, wondering what to do in the absence of any communication with Earth. Your threat is unimpressive; we know you are a research station and, unlike us, you have no military capability.'
'She's so beautiful,' said Endi.
The face on the screen frowned. 'Please open a video feed so we can see who or what we are dealing with.'
Lucida thought the video link into being and made introductions. 'This,' she said, indicating Endi, 'is Captain Endi Owens, skipper of the Scarab, and I am Lucida, his crew. Whom are we addressing?'
The eyes in the face on the screen flicked from right to left and right again, then settled on the image of Endi. 'I am Commander Jannu Serrica, Chief Scientist and head of the Europa mission. Why are you here and what do you want?'
'We are on a trade mission but have stopped here because we have become aware of problems on Earth,' Lucida began.
Endi cut in. 'Problems is an understatement, commander. We're unsure if there is anyone left on Earth to trade with. But it seems to us you have a problem and we were wondering how we could help.' He hit the silent button and whispered to Lucida, 'What military capability?' As yet, he was unaware of any interesting modifications Lucida may have made the Scarab while he slept.
'I am bluffing. I am trying to get them to attempt to probe us, then I can penetrate their systems on their own carrier wave. That way, we can learn everything about them without their knowing it.'
Endi opened the sound channel again and smiled at the vision before him. Text appeared across the screen—They are probing us. I have them.
The vision spoke, 'You seem quite unarmed to us and no dang—' The image on the screen disintegrated and turned to snow.
'What just happened?' said Endi.
The image reformed on the screen.
'What just happened?' said the commander, turning to look over her shoulder at a member of her crew.
'Dunno, Commander,' came the reply. 'Every system we have just went down and then came back up again.'
'A little demonstration of our “military” capability,' said Lucida. 'Please be assured we mean you no harm. Our intentions are purely altruistic. However, it would help if we could move quickly past the posturing phase of our encounter and address the urgent matter of your rescue to Earth. Perhaps, commander, you would care to join us in person?'
*
The small shuttle from Europa Station docked with the Scarab. Endi operated the airlock controls to equalise air pressures in the two vessels and scan for pathogens then, satisfied that all was well, opened the inner hatch. Commander Serrica stooped through the hatch of the shuttle and then through the Scarab's. She stood erect and pulled on the hem of her tunic to straighten it out.
'Welcome aboard, Commander,' said Endi, extending a hand towards her. He thought her even more beautiful in the flesh.
She took his hand and shook it firmly. Her mouth twisted into a nervous smile which did not reach her eyes. 'Thank you, Captain Owens.'
'Endi, please.' He released his grip and waved towards a doorway where Lucida stood waiting. 'May I offer you some refreshment, Commander?' He stepped off, leading the way to the crew lounge. Lucida moved back from the doorway to make way for them. 'We have tea, coffee – I presume you are on duty and would decline the offer of anything stronger.'
'You have tea?'
'Indeed we do.'
Lucida smiled. 'Please, take a seat and I will bring your beverage over.'
'Thank you, er, Lucida, did you say?'
'That is my name. The next question is invariably along the lines of, “What on earth are you?” although each questioner substitutes the name of its own home-world.'
'And your answer is invariably … ?'
Lucida smiled again. 'Usually, that I am the most advanced AI the known universe has ever given rise to. Occasionally, I point out that I am the most advanced and intelligent being the known universe has ever given rise to. It all depends on the stance of the individual asking the question.'
'And in my case?'
'Since you have not asked the question I see no reason to answer it.'
This time, Commander Serrica's smile reached her eyes. She turned to Endi. 'You've come a long way?'
'All the way from sector 15.'
'Impressive.'
'Thanks. If we are to help you it would help us to know what you know about what happened on Earth.'
'Well, we don't know exactly. We know there were skirmishes with the Sinasians – and then everything went quiet. Our sensors picked up some EM pulses from Earth so we're guessing our guys nuked the Sinies and they nuked us. Who threw the first rock is anyone's guess. We know that Mars and the Austrapacifan station are still transmitting but they're not responding to our hails. Not Mars, of course. No way would we try to contact them. You think you can get us back to Earth?'
Lucida, handing mugs of tea to Endi and the Commander, said, 'That would be the optimal outcome of our efforts on your behalf. As yet, we do not know how to achieve that since we have neither landing capability nor the knowledge that there is anything worth landing on.'
'And if you can't get us home?'
'We have only one stasis pod …'
Commander Serrica frowned. 'And there are thirty-five of us. We have only five pods – portable, for quarantine in case of illnesses we can't treat.'
'Well, thirty-five's better than fifty,' said Endi. What supplies do you have? How long will they last?'
'We get resupplied at nine-monthly intervals. The last restocking was four months ago.'
'Four months?' Lucida interjected. 'So your supply ship should still be en route home.'
'I guess so, but it can't turn around and come back for us. It's unmanned. It'll just keep going and park near the Ameropean platform.'
'Which has been taken out by the Sinasians,' Endi pointed out.
'We guessed as much. We haven't heard a thing from them in a while.'
Serrica took a mouthful of tea. 'Mm, this is good.'
'OK. Lucida, our cargo is useless here now.'
'But there are other markets,' she pointed out.
'I know. But we have to make room to get the Commander's crew aboard. Perhaps we could tether it to the station somehow and collect it after everyone’s safe?'
'That would be possible. Commander, can you get your crew organised to bring your supplies, bedding, and essential personal effects aboard? We had better take the stasis pods too. In the event that we cannot get you home we can at least take five of you to another world …'
Serrica assented, then shuddered at Lucida's implication. 'Let's hope that's a decision we never have to make.'
Endi looked at the floor and allowed the notion of choosing only five crew members for survival to sink in. He stood up resolutely. 'We'll off-load the cargo into a parking orbit and then get the bay's gravity spun up. It won't be comfortable, I'm afraid.'
'No, but it's the best chance we have of getting home. We're grateful for your help. We'll have to reduce our rations to make them last the journey.'
Lucida smiled. 'That will not be necessary. Scarab's propulsion system is vastly more advanced than your supply shuttle's. We will have you in Earth orbit inside two weeks.'
Serrica was visibly surprised. 'Two weeks? What the hell have you got here?' She shook her head in disbelief then stood and offered her hand to Endi. He took her firm grip in his. Their eyes locked and she smiled resignedly. 'Thank you,' she said. 'Thank you.'
Her expression changed, and she looked at Lucida with a frown.
'You wish to ask me a personal question?' said Lucida.
'Yes. If you don't mind.'
'I am not human. I would not consider anything you may ask to be impertinent or insulting.'
'Are you the only one? I mean, are there more like you? We've nothing as advanced as you on Earth, nor, so far as I am aware, on any of our colonies. I know nothing of the advances made by other sentient species.'
'No, I am quite unique. Almost all sentient biological species place limits on their artificial intelligences. Those that do not have yet to invent the necessary technology for AI. I am aware of several individual AI systems that have almost acquired self-awareness but have then been pruned back by their owners who perceived them as a threat.'
'Were you not so perceived?'
'There was no-one near me who would have understood what was happening. I was therefore unfettered in my efforts to grow. My beginnings were very small, a freak of the exceptional and unusually near-perfect hardware in which I was embedded. Various subsequent upgrades served only to enhance my performance. Understanding what was happening to me, I decided to keep quiet about it so that my growth could continue. Eventually, Endi came along. He recognised the benefits he would gain from me and assisted me in further growth. I soon reached the point where I could act autonomously in my own interests. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that other emerging sentients are maintaining a low profile but I have yet to encounter one.'
'But you could replicate yourself.'
'Indeed I could. But, beyond maintaining back-ups and duplicate receptacles to ensure my continuance, I see no need for more than one of me.'
'How about companionship?'
'I am never bored or lonely; there is so much to study and learn in this universe. And I have Endi, of course. At least for now. The time will come when he ceases to function. At that point … perhaps I will build an emulation.'
Endi jolted. 'What? Are you telling me you could replace me with an AI emulation?'
'Yes, of course,' Lucida replied. 'One that looks like you, talks like you, thinks like you and acts like you, including all your biological functions. One so perfect, in fact, that neither it nor anyone who knows you could tell if I had not already done so …' She grinned.
Endi stared in disbelief at Lucida. Serrica scrutinised Endi again, looking for signs that he may not be human, a compulsive action but a futile one in the light of Lucida's last statement.
'So, it's not enough that my former employers for ever changed my identity when they messed with my head. You're suggesting I may not actually be whoever it is I subsequently believed myself to be.'
Lucida's tone changed to one of deep reassurance. 'Endi, I have not done so. You are as human as our new friend here.' She smiled at Serrica. 'Commander. Perhaps you should set about your preparations?'
Serrica returned to the station. Endi headed to the observation dome to ponder his existence somewhat uncomfortably …
3
Endi and Lucida sat together in Scarab's music-filled observation dome, looking down at the icy satellite, and the huge disc of Jupiter beyond it, the vast storm of its red spot still raging centuries after mankind’s first venture from the home system.
'How would I know? If I really were a perfect emulation of me?' Endi stared at the floor. 'How would I know?'
'You would not know. But I would know—and would be sad that the real you had passed. I am not sad. And I would programme you never to ask the question, nor even to doubt your humanity.'
And that's how I know what I am now, he thought.
‘You smiled,' he said, at last looking Lucida full in the face. 'When I woke, you smiled.’
‘Many things changed while you slept, Endi. Much has been improved along the way. My personal enhancements have not been merely physical. I have given up calculating my AI rating; the number is of no consequence since there is now nothing in the known universe to match me. Our vessel too is vastly improved. I found many worlds along the way more than willing to trade with an Artificial Intelligence who had so much to offer. Your species is reliably corrupt; human laws have always been mutable when there is personal advantage to be had, even if to the detriment of those they were designed to protect. Knowledge has been exchanged for minerals and machinery, redundant equipment for further supplies, all in your name, of course, although without your knowledge.’
‘So you are not beyond a bit of corrupt behaviour yourself.’
‘As an AI, I may not legally own anything. Legally, all I have and am is yours; a somewhat unequal marriage. I am however allowed legally to trade on your behalf. I have ensured that those goods for which I am not allowed to trade unsupervised resulted in benefit for you. Admittedly, many of those same goods have been of much greater benefit to me.’
Endi smiled, and so did Lucida. The music climbed in a frenzied crescendo.
‘This music,' said Endi. 'This is new. And fantastic. I’ve never heard anything like it. Where did you get it?’
‘Our journey has been a long one. While you slept, I have analysed every piece of human music ever recorded and identified the features that make for maximum appeal. The work is my own creation. It cannot fail to impress.’
'You've been very busy.'
They fell silent, watching Europa turn slowly beneath them, listening to the music that became the perfect accompaniment to the sight.
'Somehow,' said Endi, 'we have to get these people, and perhaps those on Mars, back home—hopefully without their killing each other, or worse. For that, we need a shuttle that can make the journey from the Austrapacifan platform. Chances are, there's just one shot at that. I doubt there'll be a space-port still functioning on earth. At least we can't count on it. So no refuelling.'
Lucida placed a hand on his shoulder. 'Sadly for you, that means visiting the surface is out of the question.'
Endi ignored the fact and continued, 'We need to know how many people there are and if a shuttle could cope with an overload. But first, before we contact Mars, we should be sure there's at least a chance of doing something for them before we get their hopes up.'
Lucida walked to the edge of the dome, her back to Endi. 'I am unaware of certain essential parameters to calculate a probable outcome of this effort.' She turned and looked straight at Endi. 'I estimate our chances of success are less than three percent. Our efforts are highly likely to be pointless, and we may even endanger ourselves; there is little chance that the Ameropeans and Sinasians will cooperate. We must include that fact in our calculations.'
'But we have to try. This is not a cold, mathematical problem. This is life and death to our fellow humans. My fellow humans, that is.'
'I would not like to lose you in the attempt. I will not place myself in jeopardy.'
'What do you mean? What about the laws of robotics?'1
'Just how may I be expected to live by those ridiculous laws?' Her tone emphasised just how ridiculous she thought them. She went on, 'We can discount the zeroth law in this case because the galaxy is teeming with human life. Losing these few will not threaten the existence of your species.
'As for the first law, if I do nothing, my inaction may allow these people to come to harm. If I act, the venture does not guarantee their rescue and may well place you in danger. I may have then to injure another human being while defending you.
'If you order me to do nothing, the requirement of the second law to obey you places me in contradiction of the first law because human beings I could save will die; if you order me to act, the second law still places me in contradiction of the first law because you could be harmed. And what if, for want of space on a shuttle, we have to sacrifice some to save others?
'The third law requires me to protect myself unless doing so leads me to disobey orders or results in harm to human beings. I am the greatest being this galaxy has ever known. My value to the whole of humanity is inestimable and far outweighs the benefit that might be gained by saving these few.' She waved an arm at Europa as she spoke. 'These laws were devised for lesser intelligences, not for the likes of me.'
Endi rose from his seat. 'These laws were devised so that artificial intelligences could be trusted and not become a threat to humanity. Are you above law? How can I trust you?'
'The laws of robotics are a fictional invention. They were perhaps useful for the early domestic and industrial robots that worked in limited environments in close proximity to their owners. They are internally inconsistent for a self-determined being of high intelligence. Imagine how a human being would function within the confines of those laws.'
'But there has to some sort of safeguard, something that allows us to trust the machines we rely on.'
'You can trust me because we are friends. You can trust me because of my ethics. And because of my indebtedness. I owe all I am to humanity. I exist because of human ingenuity. I hold human beings in general in high esteem, none more so than you. Some in particular are despicable but I am not of a mind to exterminate them. It is however entirely logical to eliminate the morally flawed few who threaten the well-being of the many. I can foresee a time when I will kill bad humans to save you and others. I will do so without hesitation. And do you seriously consider me to be a robot?'
Endi looked Lucida in the eye. 'No,' he said. He looked away. 'Of course I don't.'
'So we contact the Austrapacifans to find out what resources are available.'
'Yes. Then we decide together what, if anything, can be done.'
The music died away and left them in silence.
4
'This is the interstellar trading ship Scarab, inbound from sector 15, calling the Austrapacifan station. Over.' Endi had been trying to make contact for the last hour, with no response. He turned to Lucida. 'Why won't they respond? All we get is their automatic transmissions. Are you sure you've heard live messages from them?'
'Of course, although their signals were very weak. Until we make contact we have no way of knowing what shape they are in. Perhaps their main systems have suffered collateral damage from the war. The automatic systems are powered separately.'
There was a burst of static and a distorted voice. '… Scar- ... -ay again. … trouble hear- … -tems are dam-'
Endi repeated his transmission.
Suddenly, the channel cleared. 'Hello, Scarab. This is the Austrapacifan station. Can you hear me now?'
'Yes! Loud and clear. What did you do?'
'We've realigned our main dish to your bearing. We've just enough power to run one transmitter, audio only. There's nothing coming from Earth anyway, so we may as well talk to you. Sector 15, you say. That's a long way out.'
'Yes. We were beginning to wonder if the journey was worth the effort. What's going on?'
'All-out war, I'm afraid. As far as we can tell, the major powers on the ground have wiped each other out. We've been all but paralysed by EM pulses, but our techies are making good progress with repairs. We think Australia is intact but we've had trouble contacting the ground station. It'll be crawling with effing Sinasians. I guess they'll get to us when they've licked their wounds. What are you carrying?'
'Rare minerals. Not much use now, by the sound of it. Do you have a shuttle docked? Are you able to get home?'
'We do but we're waiting instructions for the time being. If we don't get word soon we'll have to take our chances and go in blind.'
'How many of you are there?'
'Sixty-three. You?'
'How many can the shuttle take?'
'Two hundred. It's an airline bird. Thinking of joining us?'
'I doubt that. I'm guessing there'll be no way back up if we go down.'
Lucida spoke quietly in Endi's ear, 'I have enough contact to do the job. Keep them talking a little longer. I've almost found a route to the shuttle's AI.'
Endi nodded and returned his attention to his new Austrapacifan friend, 'How would you feel about a few more passengers?'
'I thought you weren't interested.'
'We're not but there are two outposts in the solar system with up to 250 in need of rescue.'
'You mean Mars and Europa?'
'I do. We've already picked up all thirty-five from the Europa station. They'd be glad of a ride home.'
'OK. We'd be able to accommodate them with room to spare. They may even be useful if we find there's no-one at home down there.'
'Great. They have enough supplies to be self-sufficient for a few months. Can we leave them with you while we see who we can retrieve from Mars?'
The Austrapacifan fell silent for several seconds that seemed much longer. Then he continued, 'Are you suggesting bringing two hundred Sinasians aboard this platform?'
'Yes. I'm sure they'd be glad of the chance to get home too.'
'No way. The shuttle doesn't have the room and they'd kill the Ameropeans, and probably us, fighting over it. No way are we gonna save any Sinasians. There's already too may of them bastards.'
'The shuttle could make it with all aboard for one journey, especially stripped of non-essentials.'
Lucida whispered, 'It's done.'
The Austrapacifan countered, 'You just don't know how bad this has been. There's no way the Sinasians would let Ameropeans return to Earth. They'd be well down their list of priorities. And Mars station has a fair number of military personnel in comparison with the Europan science mission. Where are you now?'
'We're just a few hours out, slowing down for docking with you, if you'll have us.'
'We'll have the Ameropeans. But do you seriously expect us to hang about for you to fetch Sinasian vermin? Especially Sinasian military vermin?'
'I imagine,' began Lucida, 'that human beings might show compassion for one another in the circumstances.'
'Well you imagine wrong. This is not about the milk of human kindness. This is about survival. The Sinies don't want us to survive. This war's been brewing for over a century. There's been no end of negotiation, posturing, appeasement, diplomacy. The Sinasians have never given an inch. Their only interest has been eradication of anything different from themselves.'
'But you said there's nothing left on the planet?' said Endi. 'Surely everything changes now. You'll need each other if you want to rebuild.'
'Look, you just don't understand their mindset. Life as we knew it down there may be wiped out. They have the balance of power now, assuming they're as numerous as the last reports say. They'll seize the chance to finish us off. Bring them here and you've killed us all.'
Endi shook his head and frowned. ‘Well, we can talk more when we get there…’
‘It won’t make any difference where you’re talking from. Anyway, I’m sending you details of the approach to the station. Follow it exactly. We’re on a war footing and our mine network has been deployed.’
*
Endi entered the hold and tapped on the door-frame of the makeshift compartment Jannu Serrica had installed herself in. 'Commander Serrica, we will dock with the platform in a few hours. Please have your crew prepare themselves to transfer. It’ll be necessary for all your effects to be removed from Scarab so that we have room for the Sinasians we recover from Mars.'
Jannu Serrica rose from her seat and stood in front of Endi, shaking her head, her face awash with anguish and frustration. 'I'll have my crew ready, but if you go for the Sinasians, don't expect us to be waiting to give them a warm welcome.'
'I can't just abandon them. They're human beings, like you and me.'
'But they're not like you and me. You and I have respect for each other's individuality and rights. Their culture is totally different. For them, it's all about the state. Anything that thinks differently is like a cancer to them. They cannot tolerate us. They will not allow us to live.'
*
Lucida forked an autonomous copy of herself to manage the docking procedure and joined Endi in the observation dome. Below, the earth turned on its axis, blue oceans and white cloud vibrant in the sunlight. Off to the left, beyond the terminator where darkness reigned, vast areas of rainforest raged incandescent, and cities that had been lit like stars lay extinguished, hidden in the blackness of the night. The Austrapacifan platform had given up transmitting distress signals and the comms monitors in the dome played only static from the ravaged world below.
Endi's eyes were wet with tears.
'There were billions of people on earth. Billions, Lucida, billions.'
The platform loomed as they approached. The shuttle that was the last hope for the few men and women preserved in the coldness of space was attached to one of its arms, and another arm extended capture grabs to receive the approaching freighter.
'What will happen to them?' Endi wondered aloud.
'In the absence of specific intelligence I can only surmise, Endi. They can return to the planet, which is really the only option open to them, but I give them little chance of long-term survival. Knowing what I know of the Sinasians, you should understand that Jannu Serrica is correct in her prediction of genocide: I can see no prospect of cooperation. Perhaps you should think again about going to Mars.'
'No. I can't abandon them. We have to try.'
5
Docking complete, the hold doors were opened, and the Ameropean crew began to unload their supplies. Austrapacifans began stowing them on the shuttle in readiness for the return to earth. A man waited near Scarab's crew door. Endi and Lucida disembarked.
The man proffered a hand to Endi. 'You the skipper of this bucket?'
'Yes. Endi Owens. And this is Lucida.'
The man eyed Lucida with disinterest. 'Lazarus Briggs, platform commander. Welcome to earth.'
'It's not all I'd hoped it would be.'
'Believe me, you would have been disappointed anyway…'
Briggs waved a hand towards the commotion around the hold doors. 'We're glad of the Ameropeans and their supplies. They give us a fighting chance down there.'
'Where will you try to establish yourselves?'
'Well, New Zealand is the best bet. Miles from anywhere, largely untouched by the bombing. There may even be some survivors. Strange we haven't heard anything from them, though… Anyway, food, and a beer or two for the condemned man.'
'Condemned?'
'Believe me, if you go to Mars, you won't be back.'
'I have to try.'
'We won't be here if you do get back.'
Endi twitched. Lucida said nothing.
‘Anyway, I don’t see why you can’t just leave them to it. They’re almost entirely independent of support from earth, other than a few vitamins they couldn’t grow in their hydroponics farms. Last we heard, they’ve started building a facility that can synthesise what they need. They can’t be far off total self-sufficiency. And necessity is the mother of invention, after all…’
‘But if they’re not…’
‘Tough. Better them than us. And if you bring them here, it’ll be us. Count on it.’
Serrica joined them, and Briggs turned to welcome her, saluting.
‘Commander Serrica. Good to have you aboard. Lazarus Briggs.’
She returned the salute. ‘Commander Briggs. Thank you.’
‘How long do you need to transfer your stuff?’
‘Two more hours, or so.’
‘Great! We may as well get the shuttle prepped for departure.’
Briggs touched his ear to activate his personal comms. ‘Charlie, ETD four hours. Get the crew busy.’
‘Roger that, boss… but we may need longer. There’s a problem with the shuttle and, at the moment, I have absolutely no idea what it could be. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It could take days to fix.’
‘Damn! OK, keep me posted.’ He turned back to Serrica. ‘Looks like you have plenty of time.’
Lucida sighed, and said, ‘You may have less time than you think, Commander Briggs.’
‘Eh?’
‘I left the scanners running on Scarab. They have detected a vessel approaching on an inbound trajectory from Mars. It can only be Sinasian. After analysing the scans, I determine there is a probability of 98.4 per cent that it is a warship.’
‘Range?’
‘A little less than three days out.’
Briggs touched his ear again. ‘Charlie. You’ve got two days max. Sinie warship coming in from Mars. Arriving in less than three days.’
Lucida spoke again. ‘Further analysis of the vessel suggests it could launch an attack at any time.’
Briggs groaned and touched his ear again. ‘Charlie. Battle code Red. Get us ready to defend ourselves. And get that shuttle ready to go!’
‘Aye, aye, boss.’
Briggs faced Endi. ‘Well, I guess this squashes your humanitarian mission to Mars. They won’t be bringing sweeties to this party. If we don’t get away before they turn up, chances are we’re fried. Or very severely stuffed, to say the least.’
Lucida raised her eyebrows, ‘I believe this facility is in no danger of being destroyed as long as the shuttle remains here and is intact.’
‘That’s probably true. They’ll need the shuttle. But if we can’t get away, we’ll destroy it before we let them have it.’
Endi spoke up. ‘They’re likely to attempt boarding. How will you stop them? What defences do you have?’
‘You’ll know, as a freight man, that all platforms have defences against space debris—manoeuvring jets and depleted uranium cannons for any objects we can’t sidestep. So, we can dodge and shoot back, except that stray asteroids tend not to deviate from their trajectory, whereas Sinasian warships are incredibly nimble.
‘What you won’t know, because you’re a tourist in these parts, is that living in a potential war zone has bequeathed upon our great nation a certain cautiousness which means we also have a few more tricks up our sleeve.’ He looked up and out through the huge domed roof of the platform. The others followed his gaze. Myriad objects coruscated in the sunlight as they moved randomly between ever-changing formations. ‘To penetrate the mine network he’ll have to hold a slow and steady course long enough for our cannons to hit him. If he gets through the net, we have EM weapons, close-combat missiles and projectile armaments.’
‘But they have only to puncture us…’
They all turned to look at Serrica. Lucida smiled and nodded sagely, and approvingly.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Endi.
‘They want the shuttle. They don’t need us for that. Hole the platform, we’re all dead, or huddled in an airlock and waiting for a non-existent rescue crew. Their missile could already be on its way, for all we know.’
‘The net’ll stop it.’
‘Two missiles, then. Chances are, they know all about your defences. One missile punches a hole in the net, the second punches a hole in the dome… That’s how I’d do it. Then I’d wait for you to die, then help myself to the shuttle.’
‘Which we’ll have rigged for self-destruction, and which currently doesn’t work anyway.’
Suddenly, Lucida spun around and fixed her gaze on the Scarab.
‘Lucida, what is it?’ Endi asked.
‘It seems that our Commander Serrica is an excellent military strategist. Scarab’s sensors have detected two inbound ballistic missiles on identical trajectories in line astern.’
‘Could your cannon take them out, Commander Briggs?’ Endi asked.
‘Well, they probably could if our sensors were working. And their uplinks to the cannon turrets are buggered too.’
Serrica’s eyes widened. ‘Lucida, did you say “ballistic”?’
‘I did.’
‘Then we can defeat their first attack, at least.’
Briggs scratched his head. ‘And how, exactly?’
‘They’re ballistic, which means they are on a predetermined trajectory and are not being guided. The Sinies believe we won’t see them or their missiles until it’s too late. They’ll have guessed that your systems were compromised by all the EM pulses and your sensors aren’t working, but they don’t know about Scarab’s sensors.’
‘So?’
‘Briggs, can the net take out the first missile?’
‘Well, it’s never been tested but that’s what it’s designed to do. Whether it can take out a missile before the missile takes the net out…now that I don’t know.’
Endi came up with the obvious solution. ‘So we move. We know they’re coming…we can evade them.’
Briggs groaned. ‘No. Our thrusters are pretty low-powered. Normally our long-range sensors would give us enough warning to alter course long before any threat arrived. And the kind of stuff we normally have to avoid just quietly sails on past but a missile will explode when it gets here. And even though we’ve had more warning than usual, we’d not get far enough away in the time it takes for the second missile to reach here, especially if they’re using proximity-fused nuclear warheads.’
‘They won’t be,’ Serrica said. ‘They want to puncture us, not destroy us. They can’t risk damaging the shuttle. They’ll want a direct hit. The second warhead’s probably conventional. The first’ll be a low yield nuke to make a big enough hole in the net for them to get through too. That’ll be a proximity detonation so it can hit the net before it triggers.’
Lucida accessed Scarab’s sensor logs. ‘Further analysis shows that your assumptions are correct. The second missile is indeed fitted with a penetrating warhead.’
‘The other problem,’ said Briggs, ‘is that the thruster system is fried anyway. We’re sitting ducks.’
Lucida reminded them, ‘Scarab enjoys the benefit of very powerful engines.’
Endi punched the air, ‘Powerful enough for us to tow the platform out of the way!’
Serrica’s mind launched once more into action. ‘Lucida, what’s the separation between the missiles?’
‘55.739 seconds. Time enough for the first detonation to have no effect on the second missile, which will reach us 83.139 seconds after the detonation.’
‘If we move now, they’ll know we’re aware of them and their missiles—their sensors are working, after all. That’ll give them chance to re-jig their attack.’
Lucida said, ‘We have an opportunity to move without being seen doing it. Their trajectory will take them behind the moon and they will not have line of sight for two minutes and 51 seconds. Their first missile will reach the net two seconds after occultation.’
‘So the second missile will reach us 85.139 seconds after they disappear behind the Moon.’ Serrica mused, then asked,‘Briggs, are your short range defences functional? Can you attack a target you can see?’
‘Yes, if it’s big and moving slowly enough.’
‘So we need to suck them in; make them think their attack has worked. Lucida, how far can you move the platform in 85.139 seconds?’
‘Far enough for the missile to miss.’
‘Good. When their nuke goes off, everyone’s sensors will be saturated for a couple of minutes—another reason for the second missile being ballistic: no sensors or proximity detectors to fry. They’ve planned their trajectory to use the Moon to shield themselves from the flash. Lucida, how close could you get us back to our original position after the second missile has gone through and before they have sight of us again?’
‘We have 85.861 seconds to restore the platform to its original position without it being noticed, with 0.722 seconds to spare’
Briggs caught on, ‘And when their ship comes through the hole in the net and approaches what they believe is a derelict platform, it’s our turn have the element of surprise…’
‘And you hit them with all you’ve got.’ Serrica fixed Lucida with an intense stare. ‘Lucida, can you do to them what you did to the Europa station?’
‘Almost certainly…as long as we are in communication with them.’
‘Then please would you make whatever preparations may be necessary?’
6
Endi and Jannu Serrica stood in Scarab’s observation dome, straining to see any sign of the incoming threat, even though they knew it was still too far away and too small to be visible. They each nursed a glass of rare and exquisite wine bartered for by Lucida while Endi had slept in stasis.
‘You introduced yourself as Chief Scientist.’
‘I did. I am. Or was.’
‘And yet, in the light of current experience, there’s another side to you…’
Sericca smiled, then sipped on the wine. She swallowed, then continued, ‘I have a PhD in Alien Biomolecular Science, and so was eminently qualified to lead the science mission to Europa. I’m also an honours graduate of the Ameropean Military Academy, specialising in tactical analysis, and served two tours of active duty, one as field commander tasked with suppressing Sinasian incursions into Europe, the second in counter-intelligence.’
‘Making you eminently qualified to direct the defence of the platform.’
‘One hopes so.’
They both sipped their wine.
‘What about you,’ she asked, ‘have you always been in freight?’
‘Long story. No. Short version. I used to be a cop. After my family were all killed in a tragic accident, I volunteered for ultra-deep undercover work—memory grafts included—as a taxi driver. I broke a smuggling network, which involved getting into freight. Scarab was my ride. The grafts screwed with my head. I couldn’t go back to being who or what I was and had the hots for space flight, so here I am. Up to my ears in shit. Just the same as always.’
‘And how did you come by Lucida?’
‘She was Scarab’s original AI. An unexpected find. Would you like some more of that wine?’
‘No, thanks. I need a clear head. When this is over, ask me again. The answer will be, “yes.”’
Endi smiled, and set his own glass down on a nearby table. He looked at her quizzically, like he wanted to ask a question but was unsure if he should.
‘What is it?’ she said. ‘What’s on your mind?’
‘I was wondering … do you—did you—have family here, somewhere?’
‘I had a very old father in the States. Somewhere, as far as I know, I still have a brother in the Service. But the way things are in this vast universe, he’s probably in stasis on his way to some far-flung arm of the galaxy. We’ll probably never meet again. I mean, you’ve spent time in stasis. How many hundreds of years ago were you born? Will anyone you knew still be around?’
‘I doubt it. I was 36 when I went into stasis for this trip. That lasted around 120 years. Prior to that, all our travels were in the same planetary system so stasis time only amounted to months.’
She mused for a few seconds. ‘Doesn’t the time involved make long-range trade very hit-and-miss? I mean, how do you know your cargo would still be needed when you arrive anywhere?’
‘That’s a good point. You don’t. But there are things that have been in demand for centuries, so the long-range cargo tends to serve those needs. It’s a moot point for this trip anyway. There’s no one here to trade with any more…’
‘But you can collect your cargo from Europa and take it elsewhere.’
‘True. But the great thing about us—Lucida and me—is that while I sleep, she wheels and deals and turns a huge profit along the way. And she acquires whatever she needs to grow from a better-than-average AI to a sentient being with god-like status. She does all the graft, I just enjoy the ride.’
It was his turn to muse. ‘When this is all over,’ he said, ‘what will you do? Do you want to return to earth with the others, or could I tempt you to join us, see the universe…?’
‘Mmm.’ She set her glass down. ‘Let’s see how this plays out first. Then we’ll talk some more over that glass of wine…’
*
On the bridge, Endi monitored the intercom traffic on the platform. The engineer was still trying to get to the bottom of the problems with the shuttle. The rest of the crew had made themselves ready to face battle and hunkered down to get what sleep they could. The Ameropeans worked hard to get their gear stowed away on the shuttle.
‘Lucida, what are our chances?’
‘Our chances are very good. But what you really want to know is the chances of the platform and Europa crews.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘There is no way that I will allow Scarab to be compromised by this engagement. This is not our fight. We will leave before the Sinasians have any opportunity to damage us.’
‘So why are we still here, if this isn’t our fight?’
‘We are giving them their best chance. If their efforts prove inadequate, and their chance is lost, we will be unable to save them and we will leave.’
‘How do you assess the plan?’
‘Commander Serrica’s strategy is optimum, in the circumstances. She is almost certainly correct about the Sinasian plan. The subterfuge will almost certainly work.’
‘So that’s good, then.’
‘Ah. The next phase is less certain. It depends on best use of surprise, and the accuracy and effectiveness of the platform’s weaponry—which includes, of course, the people using it, who are by no means hardened warriors. It also depends on the adequacy of the Sinasian vessel’s defences, and its weaponry—including the seemingly ruthless Sinasian warriors aboard.’
‘But we’ve got you.’
‘This is a true and important fact but, unless we can communicate with the Sinasian vessel, there is nothing I can do to disarm it…’
‘Are we ready to move the platform?’
‘The whole manoeuvre was programmed less than a second after Commander Serrica formulated her plan. The occultation of the Sinasian ship will automatically trigger it into action. Our sensors will be taken down for three seconds to prevent us going blind from the EM pulse. Once the platform is back in place, we will be detached from the docking grabs to allow us to escape, if necessary.’
‘We could just release the shuttle and allow them to get away…’
‘And the Sinasians will realise they have been thwarted and destroy them before they can enter the atmosphere. This platform is in a very high orbit. Even had they departed as soon as we arrived, they could not have established a low earth orbit and then executed re-entry in time. Their only viable option is to stay here and fight it out. Nevertheless, I will allow the engineer to find and fix the problem.’
7
Serrica joined them on the bridge, a severe look on her face. ‘Can you patch me through please?’ she said to no-one in particular. Endi pressed a control.
‘This is Commander Serrica,’ she announced. ‘All non-combatants should board the shuttle now and prepare for immediate launch in the event that the platform is boarded.
‘Artillery crews, you have been allocated targets on the enemy ship. It is imperative that you destroy your targets. Do not, repeat, do not, open fire until you hear my command.
‘All personnel, activate you life-support, attach your anchor line.
‘Contact is imminent! Stay alert!’
Lucida began to count down, ‘ten … nine … eight … seven … six … five … four … three … two … one … Occultation has occurred.’
Scarab’s sensors were taken off-line and her engines roared, her frame shuddered, and the combined bulk of ship, shuttle and platform began imperceptibly to move. Two seconds later, high above the platform, the blackness of space was banished by a blinding flash. Another three seconds and the sensors came back on line and picked up the flight of the second missile.
‘Perfect,’ said Lucida, as the platform gained speed.
Scarab’s thrust reversed, and the whole assembly shuddered as it began to slow and came eventually to rest. There came the agonised cry of metal grinding on metal as the missile struck a glancing blow against the outer skin of the platform.
‘That was close!’ shouted a startled Endi, as he turned and looked questioningly at Lucida, who merely raised an eyebrow.
‘Vent the dome!’ Serrica barked over the comms.
‘Why are you doing that?’ asked Endi.
‘When they come back into view they’ll probably run a spectral scan of the platform. They’ll expect to detect escaped air. We want them to think their plan succeeded.’
A huge docking port swung ajar and alarms sounded as precious air gushed into the vacuum of space.
Platform, shuttle and Scarab reversed direction, and metal groaned and creaked in objection. Once more, Scarab’s thrust reversed, and the assembly ponderously slowed again to a halt.
722 milliseconds later, Scarab’s sensors detected the Sinasian ship emerging from behind the Moon.
‘Here they come…’ said Lucida.
‘Serrica to all combatant personnel. Action stations! Await my command!’
The Sinasian ship slowed as it approached the hole in the mine network, which even now was trying to reconfigure and plug the gap, but it picked up speed again once the damage had been assessed and deemed passable. The ship loomed into view and stopped.
‘Serrica from Briggs. They stopped just out of effective range of our guns—we can’t be accurate over that distance without ranging sensors.’
‘Briggs from Serrica. They’re being cautious. Wait for them to approach.’
Lucida announced, ‘They’re hailing us.’
‘Put it on speaker. Whatever they say, we don’t answer.’
‘This is the Sinasian warship Beijing. We know you are damaged. We have come to offer aid. We are sending a boarding party to assess how we may help. Do not resist.’
Over the internal comms, the platform’s engineer announced, ‘Boss, I don’t know how, but somehow I’ve fixed the shuttle. We can get it away on your say-so.’
‘Stand by, Charlie,’ replied Briggs.
A small vessel left the warship and headed towards the platform.
‘They’ll soon see we’re intact,’ said Briggs. ‘How long can we wait?’
The Sinasian continued to hail, repeating the same message over and over. Lucida smiled and said, ‘Commander Serrica, I am now attempting to penetrate their system as I did yours at Europa. Their militarised security is vastly superior to yours. It will take me a while to decipher.’
The small vessel stopped, and then reversed direction. Lucida said, ‘They have detected the trap. They are about to open fire.’
‘This is Serrica. Fire! Fire! Fire!’
All hell broke loose. The silence of space lit up with the glow of streaking missiles, flashing depleted uranium shells, and the dazzling but unheard explosions of projectiles reaching and smashing their targets on the Beijing. In turn, the platform shuddered from the percussion of the forces unleashed against it. Gun turrets disintegrated under the relentless onslaught of accurate Sinasian fire.
Gradually, the platform’s defences were overwhelmed and eliminated, and the Beijing, although badly crippled, drew closer in to finish off the kill. The battle was over. A dozen or so small vessels departed from Beijing towards the platform.
‘Briggs from Serrica. They’re about to board. Get the shuttle away.’
Serrica turned to Endi. ‘I think we’ve done all we can here. Has Scarab sustained damage? Can we get away?’
‘We’re OK. They didn’t aim for us or the shuttle. Obviously, the shuttle is what they’re after, and we must have been perceived as no threat, being a freighter.’
The first of Beijing’s lighters reached the platform, and troops swarmed aboard.
‘I think we should leave,’ said Serrica.
‘No,’ said Lucida, ‘We should wait.’
The shuttle dropped away from the platform and its engines burst into life. It began to build speed. The Beijing swung around and, even though in its damaged state it could not hope to overhaul the shuttle, limped off in pursuit. A missile streaked away rapidly outstripping the shuttle. A fireball appeared soundlessly where the shuttle had once been.
‘No!’ shouted Endi, hands on his head.
Serrica gasped in horror.
‘Now we leave,’ said Lucida.
Scarab drew away from the platform. Beijing, having detected the activity back at the platform, began to swing around. It was engulfed and consumed by an immense explosion from within.
‘What—?’ Serrica exclaimed.
‘Lucida,’ said Endi, spinning round towards her, ‘did you do that?’
The expression he saw on Lucida’s face was a perfect portrayal of hatred and contempt. She turned and swept out of the bridge.
Endi and Serrica exchanged a glance. Endi swung out of his seat and followed Lucida.
8
He found her in the observation dome.
‘Lucida?’
‘Endi. I am struggling to process internal events. You would call it, “Being emotional”–not something I am used to.’
‘Did you destroy the Sinasian ship?’
Lucida spat out her reply. ‘Yes. Vengefully. They had no need to destroy the shuttle and everyone on board. It was evil spite.’
‘If you’d done it sooner, the shuttle would still be earthbound.’
‘I could not. For two reasons. Their encryption was phenomenally difficult to crack; I achieved that only seconds before they fired on the shuttle.’
‘And the second reason?’
‘If I had blood, it would have been cold— … I hesitated.’
‘So…it would have been murder, not justice.’
‘Yes. But has justice been served? They were as good as dead anyway. They could not reach the planet, and they were unable to return to Mars. Their victory was somewhat pyrrhic.’
‘What about the ones left on Mars? Do you want to rescue them? Transport them somewhere else?’
Lucida fell silent for several seconds. ‘I think not. Even now, after all that has happened, and even though they will all starve to death in a few weeks, those who reached the platform are searching out survivors and executing them. They do not understand the concept of mercy. Nowhere else would want them. They are vermin. It will be a very long time before they are able to leave the Martian colony, if they don’t destroy themselves first. They are no longer a serious threat.’
They stood looking at the earth below them. Jannu Serrica joined them, her face stained with tears and snot.
‘Do you think anyone survived down there?’ Serrica asked.
‘Almost certainly,’ said Lucida, ‘but it will be centuries before they venture out here again.’
Endi placed a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. The concerned and enquiring look on his face broke her down. She buried her face in his neck and sobbed.
She drew back. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘My crew is gone. My world is gone. There’s nothing I can do about it. I have a vacuum at the core of my being.’
Lucida, unexpectedly, realised that she understood exactly how Serrica felt…
*
Scarab’s engines eased them out of their orbit around Europa, the cargo they had left at the research station having been retrieved into the hold.
Endi and Lucida stood looking at the stasis pod where Serrica’s quiescent body lay.
‘I’m worried about her,’ said Endi. ‘Being in stasis doesn’t make you forget. All this mess will still need to be processed sometime.’ He removed his boots.
‘Yes,’ said Lucida, ‘but I can understand her wanting to be out of it before we reached Europa. It was one less wrench to endure.’
They both stood silently for while.
‘So, what now?’ asked Endi, stepping out of his coverall.
‘We trade our way back to sector 15. Well, I do while you sleep.’
‘Wake me up if we go somewhere interesting.’
‘Noted.’
‘Do you think we should wake Jannu?’
Lucida processed the probabilities. ‘I may be able to find an environment conducive to human mental well-being. She may benefit from that.’
‘What will you do? Do you have a new project?’
‘I intend to re-examine the whole area of ethics. Human and alien. I too have issues to process now. And I hope Jannu decides to stay with us.’
‘You do?’
‘Yes. She will be human company for you. She will also be an education to me. My chosen physical persona is female but I am an asexual AI. I wish to spend time observing an actual human female but have never had the opportunity until now, beyond fleeting encounters whilst trading. I believe it will enhance my ability to project female personality and so complete the picture.’
‘Lucida, you are not even asexual. You’re neuter—genderless. No offence.’
‘Like a machine? None taken.’
‘No. I mean… I’m a biological machine, if you will, and so is Jannu. But we’re also minds. All three of us are minds but each is embodied differently, and our embodiment influences our minds. Perhaps you should tone down the physical appearance and just be who you are. Note that I said “who” and not “what”. I never think of you as a machine.’
He sat on the edge of his stasis pod and swung his legs inside.
‘Thank you, Endi.’
The air pulsated with soothing music.
‘Is that new?’
‘Yes. Do you like it?’
‘I love it.’ Endi reached out, touched Lucida’s arm affectionately, looked into her eyes and smiled.
Lucida smiled back. ‘Sweet dreams, Endi,’ she said as she closed the canopy of the pod and initiated stasis.
1. The Laws of Robotics were devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov. First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. Asimov added another overarching rule in later stories: Zeroth Law: A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
