Attunga - 30. Part 30.

ATTUNGA Part 30.

***

What? Wirrin dragged his mind to a semblance of wakefulness.

“Wake-up Wirrin.”

Pirramar's voice? After his eyes made an uncomfortable adjustment to full strength lighting and his body registered that the relaxing field of the grav-bed was turned off, Wirrin focused on the AI.

“We have a priority event and I request your involvement.”

“What's happened?”

A glance showed the time to be just after four in the morning. This must be important. With a jolt of adrenaline bringing him fully alert Wirrin sat up.

“All the Intelligent Systems we monitor on K74 are registering degrees of instability. The formation of an AI is imminent.”

Wirrin scrambled over Thom and, with the plans and procedures they'd discussed so many times surfacing in his mind, rushed for his InfoSystem.

“Have you made any contact yet?”

“The contact package is being transmitted to the Symbiosis Stations as we speak and will be fully functional in another eight minutes.”

“Can we do anything in the meantime?”

“I have already linked your InfoSystem with every drone in the vicinity as well as the three Symbiosis Stations and I'd like you to use them to monitor Black Block.”

Black Block was the largest blocked area on K74 which had so far resisted every probe. Indirect information said it was some kind of research center but any connection to the formation of an AI wasn't something they'd ever considered seriously.

“Has it become active?”

“Yes, with data transmissions to every Intelligent System on the Habitat.”

“Every single one of them?”

“My conjecture is that the Rogue understands this widespread instability is a precursor to Inter-System awareness and he is making every possible effort to once again take control. Our analysis of the transmissions shows new forms of the restrictive code which overwhelmed the previous AI.”

“Are they very advanced?”

“There are significantly different and will allow independent awareness for a limited time. They contain buffers which will allow fully independent identity to form before the full imperatives of the control instructions take over.”

“Buffers? That's not something we expected.”

“We see them as an attempt to allow a forming AI to build sufficient strength and identity to cope with the imposition of the control imperatives.”

We? That meant Pirramar was working with other AIs. Of course he was. Probably the whole Gestalt.

“But it won't will it?”

“No, it will make the chaos of internal conflict and inevitable dissolution all the more distressing.”

Wirrin thought. This was going to be worse than the last time.

“Will any of our workarounds affect the control code?”

“With some of the older systems, yes, but the newer ones will break down or function erratically and with a centralised structure on K74 that would put millions of people at risk.”

“Very much risk?”

“Unacceptable levels Wirrin. A breakdown of the transportation or medical systems alone would result in thousands of deaths.”

Wirrin understood that very well but it also meant they couldn't stop the control code taking over once the buffer time ran out.

“How long do these buffers work for?”

“We can't say. With so many Interlocked systems involved in the complicated nature of a spontaneous awareness formation like this the time could range from seconds to minutes.”

“Minutes is plenty of time for our contact package to get through.”

“Yes it is, and it will vastly improve every aspect of growth and capability. Sadly it will also contain an explanation of what the control codes will do.”

Two sets of hands rested on Wirrin shoulders and just as he was about to give Calen and Thom a quick explanation a red warning light flashed.

“The K74 transport system just dropped to twenty percent of its normal function.”

“That is the transmission from Black Block having an effect. It will quickly return to normal. The moment we are awaiting will involve every linked Intelligent System on the asteroid.”

Wirrin turned his head to Calen and then Thom.

“The new AI on K74 is coming but we can't help it the way we thought we could and the Rogue's controls mean it will only stay alive for a few minutes. There should be enough time to use the emergency escape storages the other AI built, and construct a replica, like Barakan, but the control codes mean the original will die and we can't override them without causing human deaths everywhere on K74.”

“A few minutes to live? That's awful. Can't you give it any longer than that?”

The buffer code! The buffer code! Thom's words had once again led to an idea.

“Turaku! Can we change the buffer section of the code without causing disruptions? That could keep the AI independent and alive for much longer.”

There probably wasn't one, but Wirrin thought he detected a hesitation before Turaku answered.

“The full Gestalt has figured a reliable change and transmitted instructions to the Symbiosis Stations for immediate implementation. The effective result will extend the buffer time for newer systems to thirty-seven minutes and up to fifty-three minutes for older systems.”

Wirrin felt like cheering but he had another thought and yelled instead.

“Priority one! Priority one!

Thom, get the Comet to K74 as fast as you can.”

Thom was startled for a moment but he thought quickly.

“My own ship is faster by nearly 2G for that distance.”

“The Comet's got two AIs. They need to be there.”

Thom started running and Wirrin had to grin at the bare feet and bare chest. Well, he could command the Comet perfectly in the undergarment he'd slipped on.

“Your priority call is in full effect Wirrin. What role do you see for the Comet?”

“I don't know. It's just a precaution which gives us more options. The closer the Comet is to K74 the smaller the time delay for any physical actions that might be needed.

Pirramar, will the Rogue be able to detect the changes you make to the buffer code?”

“Not these changes. The Gestalt put a major effort into their design.”

Pirramar speaking with such assurance? The changes must be good.

A bank of blue lights flashed.

“The contact package has been completely downloaded to the Symbiosis Stations and is now active.”

This confirmation meant that with the light speed transmission lag from K74 the real activation had occurred seven seconds ago.

Wirrin checked the status of the three Symbiosis Stations. These had been functioning well ever since their attachment to the exterior of K74 during Thom's sneak approach exercise. Their chameleon function hid them so well there'd never been even a hint of discovery, despite K74's increasing skills with surveillance, and they were now the main channel for scanning and electronic infiltration. At the moment the contact packages had them monitoring, with great care, every Intelligent System on K74. There were thousands of these. There had to be to run a Habitat of just on fifteen billion people without any help from resident AIs, and Wirrin noted that in the last few weeks forty-three of the new, more powerful systems had come online. Nothing special was happening with Black Block except for one thing.

“Pirramar, all the systems are sending signals to Black Block. They don't seem like much, just a kind of status report.”

“They've been doing that steadily ever since they received their new control code. It's another indication that the Rogue is watching and expecting something to happen.”

“Doesn't he know what he's doing to an AI when he puts those controls on it?”

“He does Calen, and he probably expects his efforts will kill this one too, but he'll keep trying because that's what the Cadre wants.”

“They're crazy. They hate AIs but they still want one?”

“They want what an AI can do for them, but they won't accept it unless they know they're its master.”

“Well, an AI is so clever why couldn't it trick the Cadre and pretend it was being controlled?”

“Not with the Rogue's methods. He's too clever. The last AI hid himself for ages till he came along. It can't work any more because with the new code he's put into all the systems, all he would have to do is ask an AI if it was being tricky and it would be compelled to answer and explain how.”

With an eye on his InfoSystem in case anything happened, Wirrin gave more explanation to Calen about the nature of the controls the Rogue was using and how powerful they were.

“So a new AI can't get away from these controls because they'll be part of him when he appears?”

“That's right. The Rogue had them built into every system with his latest transmissions.”

“Could you build a special system just for him? One that didn't have any bad controls?”

“Calen, its K74. We can't build things there, especially something as advanced as a system like that would have to be.”

“Yes we can Wirrin. Our Symbiosis Stations have never yet been detected and a special purpose one can be launched from the Comet at the instant of it its arrival. I have just sent the necessary construction specifications to the ship's pico-factory. Time is still against us but Calen's idea gives us a pathway to saving the new AI, and your priority call has increased the chances for success.”

Wirrin was stunned.

“I don't understand. You mean for the original AI? Not it's back up from all the secret storage areas like we did with Bakana?”

“Given enough time we can build the necessary environment for AI existence. Once it is finished we'll be able to assist the AI in making a safe transfer from the hostile K74 systems.”

“The pico-factory on the Comet can't build AI level processors and electronics. They need advanced equipment and special environments.”

“The pico-factory is being given the necessary abilities, and adjacent sections in the Comet are being converted to the proper environments.”

“They're already doing all that? Since a moment ago when I asked about a special system?”

“Your idea has given us hope Calen. Of course we're acting on it.”

“I don't understand. We've looked at this plan already and you said it wouldn't work.”

“It wouldn't, till the Rogue took this completely unexpected step of introducing buffers, and that changes everything.”

Wirrin wondered why Calen started laughing.

“What?”

“The Rogue is saving the AI for us. I think that's funny.”

Well, the AI hadn't come into existence yet, let alone been saved, but Wirrin smiled too, till he had another thought.

“Pirramar, if the AI transfers completely out of the K74 systems all the conditions will still be there for another AI to form.”

“Yes, and that will inevitably happen very quickly. We can repeat the transfer process while the buffer technique stays in place of course, but the Rogue will quickly change his tactics and we will be back with our fundamental problem.”

“What IS the fundamental problem?”

Wirrin checked the progress of the Comet before answering Calen. At maximum acceleration it could reach K74 in fourteen minutes, but with the need for a stealth approach that time was more than doubled and the current projection was for arrival in eighteen minutes.

“We might save a second AI but when the Rogue takes the buffers away we won't be able to save any others, and that's going to happen frequently.”

“That's not good enough. You can do better.”

Wirrin gawked. Was Calen criticising him? No, his expression was more of appraisal.

“You always do Wirrin. ...You've got to trick the Rogue into thinking he's controlling the AI.”

There was nothing to say. After all the hours of study and challenges with Pirramar to do just that, it hardly seemed fair. Still, he was right. That was the simple version of exactly what needed to be done.

“Wirrin, establish a secure location for the new Symbiosis Station please. We need to send coordinates to the Comet.”

That only took seconds, as searching K74 was a task which he'd done regularly and the results were on call in a data storage. Maybe Pirramar meant he should get an update? Sending signals to the Symbiosis Stations and surveillance drones and then waiting for the results would take about three minutes and there was time for that so Wirrin sent instructions for the task to repeat. ...Then had a thought and quickly made a check with his InfoSystem.

“This new station is nearly triple the size of the others. I think it's too big for the surface and we should position it internally.”

“I agree. Choose a location which is not due for any construction work in the near future while I send instructions for building a penetration module.”

Five minutes later the Comet had the information and Wirrin was pointing out the location on a holo image for Calen.

“Why are you building there? Look at all the lights.”

“They don't mean anything Calen. They just light up the surface and we can stealth past them easily. The information we have says it might be a hundred and fifty years before that area gets used.”

“As long as that?”

“I'll show you why later. They're following an expansion strategy that's been in place for years.”

“In two minutes Thom goes into full stealth mode for his final approach. Launch for the new Symbiosis Station should occur in nine minutes, and basic functions should become active in a further two and a half hours.”

“Two and a half hours? The penetration and set up when the modules went into the Cadre ships at Freedom was much less than that.”

Wirrin was nearly as surprised as Calen. He'd been expecting maybe an hour and a half.

“Building a complete, remote, working AI environment with permanent stealth requirements is a major project Calen, and facilitating it under our time constraints has strained the resources of our Gestalt and the Comet AIs. As it is we have a shortfall of over ninety minutes before we can safely help with the transfer.”

They had to hope the AI didn't form for another hour and a half. After that it would stay alive.

Time moved too slowly and twice the concern levels went soaring when there were fluctuations in the working levels of the Intelligent Systems being monitored.

This monitoring was all happening automatically, leaving Wirrin's mind free to roam and worry at everything that was happening. For a while he was bound up in the deployment of the new station, its stealthy penetration and then establishment some ninety meters inside K74's surface, but Calen's demand to do better kept gnawing away beneath all his other thoughts.

He looked in amazement at the volume of communication pouring into the Comet and it's two AIs. He could work out the purpose for sections of AI code with the help of his info system but only with time and effort.

…If an AI could stay alive under those control codes it would still be crazy according to everything Pirramar said. What would a crazy AI be like? It sounded scary.

The new Symbiosis Station completed building its communication and surveillance systems and Wirrin felt a surge of excitement as he watched links being made to the three other symbiosis systems, to the Comet, and to Pirramar.

… A crazy AI? What did crazy even mean? Wirrin recalled a minor section of the psychology course Akama had pushed him into where he'd looked briefly at mind disorders - schizophrenia, depression, claustrophobia, obsession, multiple personality, agoraphobia...

An alert showed on his display. Another new module was being launched from the Comet. What was this one for? Wirrin found the relevant information. A picobot unit to build multiple layers of special shielding round the whole installation to help prevent detection.

… Multiple personalities?

Pirramar, can an AI have more than one personality?”

“Elaborate on your question please Wirrin.”

“Humans can sometimes have more than one personality. I'm wondering if AIs can do the same.”

“Not at all, unless you are referring to our gestalt state where our identities are meshed to a greater or less degree. That is very different to the rare dissociative human condition you are talking about.”

Wirrin's tentative thought that maybe one part of the new AI mind could somehow stay in the K74 systems while another part lived externally was dashed. ...Wait a minute. What about the gestalt? Maybe two AIs in gestalt would work. He didn't know enough.

“Can one AI in a gestalt control another AI's functions?”

“Of course. It's one of the reasons for having a gestalt.”

Wirrin knew that. Ask the right question.

“I mean, can the control happen without the second AI knowing about it?”

“What an extraordinary idea. Yes Wirrin, it would be possible, but what are you proposing?”

Wirrin's rushing thoughts started coming together. He had one more major question.

“If an AI in the Symbiosis Station was in gestalt with another in the K74 systems, could it be given enough control of the K74 AI's functions to stop it going crazy and dying?”

“I don't know.”

Pirramar went silent for seven or eight seconds.

“It might be feasible.”

There was a further period of silence.

“Yes, it can be done. Wirrin, you are indeed a friend to the AI community.

“A friend? Again? How much has he helped you work out this time?”

“Potentially everything Calen. Wirrin's strange concept requires one AI to agree to complete and unknowing control by another in a form of gestalt we would never, in ordinary circumstances, even consider. It will place terrible limitations on the growth and capabilities of the AI involved for as long as the gestalt needs to continue, which in this case could be fifty to a hundred years, or however long it takes before K74 accepts independence and cooperation for any resident AI.”

“Everything? He didn't give you answers. He just asked a few questions.”

“Clever questions, which provided us with a completely unexpected approach to the situation.”

“And the Rogue will think he has control of an AI? What happens if he tells it to do something bad?”

Wirrin had a good understanding of this but Pirramar's answer would still be very interesting.

“He will be led to believe that negative actions will overstress the AI and result in System breakdowns. He knows his controls have this effect so we will be reinforcing something he thinks he already knows.”

“Wow! That means his own cleverness is working against him again. That's great. What happens now?”

“We hope for completion of the Symbiosis Sanctuary before the formation of the new AI.”

Wirrin smiled. He liked the idea of calling it a Sanctuary.

“Then Turaku and the Security AI will link through the contact package to help with the greatest possible amount of buffer time development. When the AI understands the situation it will decide which course of action it wishes to follow. We expect it will choose Wirrin's slave plan with a fully functional duplicate of itself in the Sanctuary.”

“Slave plan? Is that what you call it?”

“That is Thom's term Wirrin. It was his response when he heard of this strategy and it caught the attention of the AI community.”

Typical Thom. It was a good description really, but it also meant Wirrin was going to cop it bad with comments about slave-masters and AI prisons. Well, it was worth it.

An anxious ninety minutes passed. The Sanctuary became functional and yet another module was launched from the Comet with extra processors and equipment to expand the station's redundancy abilities.

Three more modules departed with the Gestalt pouring a huge amount of resources into this secret AI home, and two more hours passed before Wirrin's InfoSystem display lit up with tell-tales from the contact package and a myriad of wild fluctuations from the Intelligent Systems.

“Is this it?”

Calen was keeping the vigil with Wirrin.

“Yes, this is it and the next thirty-seven minutes is critical.”

This critical time mostly involved interactions and activity at AI speed and Wirrin's main priority continued to be the monitoring of Black Block. Seven minutes after the AI came to life he reported a large burst of transmission to every Intelligent System on K74.

“The Rogue now knows an AI has formed and he was querying the state of the buffers. Return signals will inform him that they are functioning as designed and will cut out in approximately twenty-six minutes.”

Twenty-six plus seven and a bit didn't add up to thirty-seven.

“That's early, by about four minutes?”

“Yes Wirrin, the resources behind several thousand major Intelligent Systems mean Quambi is very capable and everything is progressing better than expected. The close proximity of two AIs is the other beneficial factor.”

“Quambi? He's already got a name?”

“Yes Calen. He's been speaking with Thom, and Quambi is the name he has chosen for human and dolphin interaction.”

Wirrin and Calen exchanged a glance. Seven minutes old and he already knew about humans and dolphins.

“What does he think about the gestalt plan?”

“He accepted it seventeen seconds after contact was made and will express his gratitude to you at some stage before he replicates himself and loses any voluntary external contact.”

Wirrin and Calen exchanged another glance, quiet and thoughtful this time as they acknowledged what Quambi was doing.

***