The War of the Artilect: Chapter 2

The group materialized in a large conference room. The circular room had crystal-clear walls, which offered a fantastic view of a beautiful coast that reached out to the horizon. A wide blue ocean stretched off into the distance, its waves crashing onto the rocky beach below. Overhead was an enormous blue sky and a yellow sun appeared to be rising to the east.

The building in which the room was located seemed to be at the very end of of a wide peninsula. In reality, however, it was located miles beneath the surface of the Artilect’s home world. Even though the twins knew this, the illusion the Artilect had created was still extremely convincing. They could even see seagulls flying in the distance, calling to each other. Their senses told them that what they were seeing was real – and they almost believed it.

In the middle of the conference room was a large white conference table in the shape of a ring. The table had ten chairs around it. In its center was a large open space that contained a holographic representation of the galaxy.

When the girls arrived they saw that the rest of their party was already present. Richard, Laura, Sergeant Howell, and Reverend Knight were already seated at the table, and a moment after they arrived a tall gentleman wearing a gray suit and hat appeared. He smiled when he saw the girls.

“Welcome,” the Sentinel said. “Please, have a seat. The Artilect will arrive momentarily.”

The girls took seats beside their parents. The Sentinel sat at the opposite side of the table.

“This is really nice!” Laura said, addressing the Sentinel. “It’s so beautiful outside.”

“Thank you,” the Sentinel replied. “It was modeled after one of the many planets in the network. The Artilect felt that you might feel more at home in this setting instead of in the long, barren corridors that make up this planet. His world was simply not designed for visitors.”

At that point an elderly gentleman appeared. He had white hair and a neatly-trimmed beard, and wore bluejeans and a brown sweater. “Thank you all for coming,” the Artilect said, as he took his seat at the table. “I trust that Tonina has lived up to your expectations?”

“It’s wonderful!” Laura replied. “Thank you very much. It’s a lovely place to live.”

The Artilect smiled. “I am glad you think so. Perhaps soon we can fill it with living ones so that you are not surrounded by people that lack substance. I know this has been an adjustment for you.”

Laura blushed. “I don’t mean to complain. Really, you’ve given us a fine place to live. There’s just a lot to get used to. I didn’t realize–”

“There is no need to apologize,” the Artilect replied. “The Steward of your world relayed your concerns to me and I agree with your assessment. I, too, have mourned the fact that my worlds are empty. They have been empty for far too long – which is why we are here. It is time to end the endless war.”

“What is your plan?” Richard asked.

“Complete and total annihilation. I can use the worlds in the network to construct an army large enough to surround the swarms. It will be a simple matter to annihilate them. Once the armada has been created the war should not last more than a day.”

“Can’t the bots replicate?” Captain Max asked. “What if one of them escapes? Couldn’t a single bot regrow all of the swarms?”

The Artilect nodded. “It is possible. However, I have located every last one of the bots and I continually track them. When the fleet is launched it will surround them and lock down hyperspace so that they cannot escape. I will be able to verify that every last bot has been destroyed. The war will be swift and decisive.”

The Sentinel looked at Sergeant Howell, who had a look of great concern on his face. “Is something wrong?” the Sentinel asked.

“The whole thing is wrong,” the soldier replied. “I don’t mean the Artilect’s plan; it sounds like a good one to me. What bothers me is the endless war itself. It just doesn’t make any sense! I think we’re missing something important.”

“I agree,” the Artilect replied. “I have been pondering your concerns since you first shared them with me and have come to agree with them. However, this may be a case where the truth is simply not important. Once the swarms are gone they will be gone and the war will be over. At that point the particulars of who started the war or why the swarms are acting as they do become a moot point. The threat will have been removed and mankind will be saved.”

“But we don’t know what’s going on,” Sergeant Howell said. “What if there’s some other threat out there that we don’t know about? What if the swarms were created for some purpose we haven’t figured out? Isn’t there a chance that removing the swarms could make things worse? We’re just assuming that mankind is in danger. What if they’re not?”

“What are you proposing?” Richard asked.

“I think we need more information,” Sergeant Howell replied. “I would like to send someone to Tau Ceti and Alpha Centauri A to talk to whoever still lives there and find out what is actually going on. The survivors – if there are any – should certainly know something. I think it would be prudent to talk to them before we get involved in a war that we don’t understand.”

The Sentinel spoke up. “I could go. The swarms do not visit the planets that are hidden behind Walls. I should be able to contact the survivors without attracting the attention of the bots.”

The Artilect nodded and turned to the girls. “Amy and Amanda, this war is in your hands. The two of you are in charge of this operation. Do you agree with this course of action?”

“It sounds like a good idea to me,” Amanda said.

“Me too!” Amy added. “Can we go with Steve?”

Sergeant Howell shook his head. “I really don’t think that would be a good idea. We don’t know anything about what Xanthe is like and I don’t want to put you two in danger. After all, the two of you are indispensable – nothing can happen without your approval. In fact, I think it would be a great idea to separate you two. Even having you in the same room is a grave security risk.”

“What?” Amy exclaimed. “Separate us! Are you out of your mind?”

“Now, hold on, Amy,” her father said. “I hadn’t thought about it before but Sergeant Howell has a good point. You and your sister are the only administrators in the entire universe, and we’re on the verge of declaring what may be the biggest and most violent war the galaxy has ever seen. War isn’t a safe business, Tiger. If something happened to you and your sister it would place the lives of a lot of people in danger. However, if you were on one planet and your sister was somewhere else then a single attack or problem couldn’t affect both of you. As long as this war is going on it’s really not a good idea for you two to be in the same place.”

“But I don’t want to be stuck on a planet all by myself!” Amy complained.

“Wait a minute,” Captain Max said. “Why are they the only administrators? I mean, couldn’t the girls appoint new ones?”

“That is within their power,” the Artilect said.

Amanda shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid we can’t do that. I wish we could but we promised Governor Nicholas that we wouldn’t give our power to anyone else.”

“You did?” Richard asked, surprised. “Why?”

“He thought we were much too powerful and he didn’t want us tempting anyone else with these abilities. In fact, he wanted us to give up our administrative access as soon as we could.”

“A wise precaution,” Reverend Knight commented. “I believe the girls are correct. The situation we are faced with at the moment demands their help, but once this has been resolved things will be different. It would be good if the position of administrator ended with them. Allowing any one person to control the Artilect is simply unwise. The potential for abuse is staggering.”

Captain Max nodded. “Right – because no one could ever defeat him. You’ve got a good point. It would be like appointing someone as dictator-for-eternity over the entire human race.”

“So what am I to do once the Lord has taken Amy and Amanda home to be with Him?” the Artilect asked. “How can I continue without a master?”

“That won’t be an issue,” Jones said.

“Why not?” Richard asked.

Jones hesitated. “Because Amy will outlive the Artilect.”

There were gasps around the room. A look of shock appeared on the Artilect’s face. “How do you know this?” he asked.

“What about me?” Amanda asked. “Am I going to outlive the Artilect too?”

“What are you talking about?” Amy replied. “Did I miss something?”

Jones held up his hands. “I’m sorry, girls, but I’m afraid I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know what’s going to happen. All I know is that after the Artilect is gone Amy will have to deal with Earth. I don’t know what the rest of us will be doing while she’s off doing that; for all I know we’ll be here on Tonina living with its new citizens. I also don’t know when this is going to happen. It could easily be thousands of years from now.”

“Let’s get back to the point,” Sergeant Howell said. “Regardless of what may or may not happen in the future, Amy and Amanda need to be separated for the duration of the war. One of them needs to move to some remote, off-world location.”

Amy looked at Amanda and then back at Sergeant Howell. She sighed. “Who, exactly, did you have in mind?”

Sergeant Howell looked at Jones, who shrugged. “Don’t look at me, sir – I don’t have any insight to offer.”

“Why don’t we flip a coin?” Captain Max asked.

“That seems fair to me,” Amanda said.

“It does not seem very scientific,” the Artilect commented.

The group burst out laughing. “It’s a traditional way of resolving disputes,” Captain Max explained.

“Very well,” the Artilect said. He materialized a golden coin in his hand and tossed it over to Amanda, who caught it. She handed it to Captain Max. “I’ll let you flip it.”

He nodded. “All right. What will it be?”

Amanda looked at Amy. “I don’t care. What do you think, Tiger?”

“Heads means I stay on Tonina,” Amy said. “Tales means you have to leave.”

Amanda nodded, then stopped for a moment to think about that. “Hey! That’s not fair! ‘Heads I win tails you lose’ isn’t going to work. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Fine,” Amy grumbled. “Heads I stay, tales you stay. Does that work?”

“Sure,” Amanda said. “I don’t see why you’re so worked up over this. You do know that we can use telepresence to project ourselves onto Tonina, right? It’s not like we’re being condemned to a life of solitary confinement. Besides, it’ll only be until the war is over.”

“But it’s not the same,” Amy complained. “And we can only use projection when we don’t have visitors.”

“Visitors?” Richard asked.

Sergeant Howell spoke up. “I’m not planning on inviting any survivors over for dinner, ma’am. I’d rather not bring anyone to Tonina unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Fine,” Amy said. “I’ll cooperate.”

Captain Max nodded. He stood up and used his thumb to flip the coin in the air. It soared into the air, turning over and over again, and finally struck the white table. It bounced one or twice and finally came to a stop.

“It’s tales,” Amy said dejectedly. “Figures. So where am I being exiled to?”

“You could try that new world Jones and I were looking at,” Captain Max said. “It’s quite nice and it’s very far away from here. I think it was number–”

“I have the number,” the Artilect said. “Thank you. If it suits you, Amy, I will be glad to prepare it for your arrival.”

“You have the number?” Captain Max asked.

“Of course,” the Artilect said. “I am aware of what goes on in the Archive of Planets.”

“Oh,” Laura said, startled. “Do you monitor everything we do?”

The Artilect shook his head. “I do not. That is not my purpose. I was created to maintain the stars in the network and prepare their worlds for habitation. Now that Tonina is inhabited I have turned its operation over to its Steward. He maintains the world and protects you, but he does not directly watch you. He is more like a butler who is aware of some of your doings simply because he has been interacting with you. For example, if he served you lunch then he would know what you ate. The Archive of Planets is different, however. It does have a Steward, but since no one lives there I continue to maintain it and so I am aware of who uses its facilities.”

“Fair enough,” Captain Max said.

Richard spoke up. “I’m sure we can make all the arrangements after this meeting. Have we agreed to send Steve to speak to the survivors?”

The Artilect looked at the girls, who both nodded. “Very well,” he said. “Then so be it. The Sentinel will be dispatched to the Tau Ceti and Alpha Centauri A systems as soon as this meeting has been adjourned. Once he has returned I will notify you so he can report his findings. In the meantime, do I have your permission to begin assembling the invasion armada?”

Amy and Amanda looked at Sergeant Howell. “I have no problem with it,” the soldier said. “I think it’s fine as long as the fleet isn’t launched until after the Sentinel returns. In fact, it’s probably a wise tactical decision.”

“All right,” Amy said. “Then let’s do it!”

“Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?” the Artilect asked.

Richard shook his head. “Right now I don’t have anything else. I’m sure there’s a lot more to talk about concerning the war itself, but since we’re not going to launch it until after the Sentinel gets back I think we can hold off that discussion until then.”

“Agreed,” Captain Max said.

When no one had any other objections the Artilect stood up. “Very well! Thank you for your time. You are free to go.” With that, he disappeared from view, and a moment later the Sentinel disappeared as well.