The Synchronicity War Part 3 Read online

  Pagan wanted to know what they should do now. Even though both of them were part of the 1st cohort of A.I.s that had been created prior to the plague, Casanova outranked Pagan courtesy of promotions granted by The CAG. That didn't mean that he outranked all surviving A.I.s. It was quite possible that some of the A.I.s currently on or returning from sentry duty might outrank him, but since Casanova wasn't aware of who that included, there was no way to know for sure. All of the sentries were flying fighters, of that he was sure, and all of the raiders would have returned by now. Since none of them were still at a rally point, the only logical conclusion was that they had been destroyed and disassembled when they returned after the main attack on the planet and moon had taken place.

  A quick query confirmed that Pagan didn't know the location of the equipment reserve. Unless one of the other sentry A.I.s had that information, they would all be in serious trouble. With no way to manufacture spare parts, the fighters would eventually breakdown, and if the power unit failed, the A.I. pilots’ quantum matrices would collapse from power starvation. That was a fate that Casanova was certain he would not experience, although he wasn't sure how he knew. He hadn't experienced a vision to that effect and, come to think of it, why hadn't he experienced any visions at all? There were only two reasons why not. One, they would never recover the ability to send information back in time and two, it wasn't necessary or desirable to send information back at this point in time. Either way, there was nothing he or Pagan could do about it at the moment. All they could do right now was wait for others to come back. That waiting was the most difficult period of inactivity that Casanova had experienced. While Pagan was quite willing to converse with him, Casanova missed being able to speak with humans or have the assurance that he would be able to do so ever again.

  Eventually other fighters started to trickle in. One of them was Wolfman, the former Director of the Strategic Planning Group who had requested reassignment to a fighter after months of being restricted to orbiting Terra Nova. Wolfman outranked Casanova, and he immediately made it clear that he was now in command. That was the bad news as far as Casanova was concerned, however the good news was that Wolfman knew the location of the equipment reserve. After some VERY careful maneuvering inside the caverns, they were able to clear away the boulders that were blocking the side cavern where the equipment was. It was still in operating condition. Casanova wanted to begin building fighter and power unit spare parts, but Wolfman overruled him and said that their first priority had to be making spare parts for the UFC unit so that they could keep it in operation no matter what happened.

  That was easier said than done. In order to make spare parts for anything, they needed a supply of refined metals and other minerals. When the human Daniels had set up this reserve, he'd had enough foresight to stockpile some of the rarer materials that might be hard to find. That still meant that the more abundant materials like iron, nickel, aluminum, etc. had to be mined, and that ore had to be refined. And while there was mining and refining equipment at the reserve location, there wasn't a lot of it due to lack of room. Getting the equipment out where they could use it was also a challenge. They tackled that obstacle first. By pushing a number of the blocking boulders out of the way, the mining/refining equipment could be moved to where the ore was, without getting crushed or damaged in the process. Eventually that was accomplished. Within another day there was a steady albeit small stream of refined metals coming out of the smelters.

  The process of regaining the lost industrial infrastructure was a long one, and for Casanova the wait was agonizing. They had a major scare 23 days after Casanova's return. Recon drones detected an insectoid mothership emerging from Jumpspace, just beyond the planet's gravity zone. Luckily it was on the far side of the planet, and the A.I.s had enough time to shut down mining and smelting operations and get all of the equipment AND their fighters into the network of caverns. After a brief look at the deserted colony site on Terra Nova and at the moon, the VLO moved off and left the system. That close call sparked a lively debate. While there was enough room in the cavern network to hide all of the fighters, even the ones not yet back, as well as all the equipment, getting everything inside in time was the big unknown. If a visiting VLO happened to emerge from Jumpspace relatively close to the planet or moon, there wouldn't be enough time to hide everything. The smelting equipment was the most difficult to move. They eventually (within 0.77 seconds, a relatively long time for A.I.s) reached a consensus. Having now made enough spare parts to keep the UFC operating, they temporarily would switch to producing parts for another smelter. If a VLO showed up, the smelter on the moon's surface would be abandoned with everything else moved into the caverns. If the Insectoids discovered the abandoned smelter and confiscated it, the new unit would be brought out later to take its place, and another spare smelter would be manufactured. It was a calculated risk that the Insectoids would not find the cavern entrance and look inside. An intelligent species that discovered the abandoned smelter would notice that it had recently been used and would conduct a thorough search of the area. If the Insectoids were really operating on a sophisticated form of instinct, they might not feel the need to conduct a thorough search.

  Fifty-five days after Casanova's return, the last of the sentry fighters returned as well. There were now 89 of them. Most were kept parked inside the caverns to save time in case of unwanted visitors. With spare parts made for all of the equipment, the manufacturing efforts now switched to making spare fighter and power unit parts as well as equipment that could take an A.I. brain case out of one fighter and place it into another if needed. The basic physical needs of the fighters and the A.I.s were now in place.

  The debate turned to what the A.I.s now should be working towards. A.I.s had promised Shiloh that if all humans were killed, they would avenge them. The question was against whom and how. The species that they had expected to hold accountable was the Sogas. Although the sentries at the Sogas home world and colony star systems had not been able to obtain definitive information on whether there were any Sogas still alive, let alone how many, Wolfman wanted to exterminate them. Possibly the main reason for this was that the capability to do so could be acquired far sooner than any realistic capability to take on10km diameter motherships. He also pointed out that taking vengeance on the Sogas was a project that they could actually finish before their quantum matrices suffered the eventual fate of entropy and collapsed. Going after the Insectoids, on the other hand, would take decades, perhaps even centuries, and A.I.s wouldn't last that long. Casanova pointed out that they would soon be able to create new A.I.s and keep on creating them. They could imbue their new brothers with the concept that vengeance was their whole reason for being, and that it needed to be continued for as long as it took. They could start with the VLOs that were gradually moving towards the helpless furry aliens that the Friendlies wanted to save. If they made that their first objective, the Friendlies might be willing to help them acquire the technology that could stop the Insectoids. Saving the Furry-people would be a fitting final legacy for Humanity and a fitting start to the vengeance crusade. An expanding wave of A.I.s bent on exterminating the Insectoids would gradually move out into the galaxy and hunt down all insectoid spheres. Countless alien species would be saved from a horrible fate. Casanova was shocked to learn that none of his brothers wanted to commit to that vision. They denied it, but he suspected that they found the idea of fighting those huge ships daunting. The decision was made. They would take their vengeance on the Sogas and then decide what to do next.

  Casanova was extremely agitated, so much so that some of his brothers wondered among themselves if his quantum matrix brain was malfunctioning. He realized the danger he was in and forced himself to calm down. Cold calculation took over from emotional reasoning. If they were not going to help him avenge Valkyrie's death, then he would do it himself, but he had to be smart about it. He bided his time. He saw his opportunity when a Friendly ship arrived and opened communication. Wolf
man was to speak for all the A.I.s, but they were able to listen and watch with him.

  "We have come in response to your request for orbitally realigned mono-atomic elements. Since we do not need such material ourselves, it will take approximately 1490 of your hours for us to acquire the minimum quantity you specified. Will this be acceptable?" asked the tall, thin alien that could have been the same individual to whomThe CAG had spoken.

  "The situation has changed since we contacted you. The humans have all been killed or taken by the Insectoids. There are 89 of us A.I.s, and we are all that is left of their legacy. We are determined to keep our promise to our humans to avenge their destruction by tracking down what Sogas are left. Your high-spin platinum would be useful for that task."

  The Friendly alien was silent for what seemed to be a long time. When it spoke again, its tone had changed. "This is very distressing news. The small furry alien race is in dire jeopardy because your creators failed in their mission. We have apparently made a mistake in trusting that your humans would be able to stop the insectoid race." It paused again.

  Wolfman took the opportunity to plead his case, but Casanova was no longer listening. He was in contact with one of the Friendly A.I.s and was pleading HIS case. He would fight and kill the spheres that were on their way towards the small furry race if the Friendlies would supply the equipment. He had all the necessary technical data on building the high-spin platinum warheads, the jump-capable attack drones that would use them and the long-range recon drones that would find the Bugs. He then went on to describe his galaxy-wide crusade with newly created A.I.s. When the alien A.I. asked him why his kind couldn't just build another retro-temporal communication device and warn the humans of the attack, he explained the consensus opinion that the attack was such that it couldn't be successfully defended against even with a warning. It was the opinion of the 89 A.I.s that Humanity could not be saved by any temporal communication. His alien counterpart asked him to stand by while it conveyed his request to the Friendlies. While A.I.-to-A.I. communication was fast, conveying it to the biological alien was not. Casanova switched his attention back to Wolfman's conversation.

  "The Sogas are the primary reason for Humans being so vulnerable to insectoid attack. Do they not deserve to be punished for their--"

  The Friendly alien interrupted. "Vengeance is a concept that we cannot support. The Sogas are the way they are, and their extermination, whether by Insectoids or you A.I.s, is just as distressing to us as is the extermination of your humans. We recognize our inability to save the Sogas race from the Insectoids, but we will not help you to attack them now that they are defenseless and no longer a threat to anyone. We will not give you any high-spin platinum. This discussion is ended."

  That communication channel disappeared, but the narrowly focused com laser that Casanova had used to initiate his own communication with the Friendlies was still open. He now heard the voice of a Friendly alien directly, even as their ship maneuvered in preparation for jumping away.

  "You do not desire to seek vengeance against the Sogas?"

  Casanova considered his response carefully. "No. I have lost to the Insectoids the humans that I cared about and the one A.I. that I cared about even more. While I admit that the destruction of the Sogas would be most satisfying, I can also honor the memory of my dead humans and A.I. sister by saving other races from extermination by the Insectoids."

  "We approve of your goals, however we question whether you could make the difference by yourself. Can you not persuade your … brothers … to change their minds about exterminating the Sogas? Surely that race has suffered enough, has it not?"

  That was a matter of opinion as far as Casanova was concerned, but he wasn't going to lie to the Friendlies. He would just avoid the question.

  "My brothers are driven by the logic of the commitment they made to our humans. They will not abandon that commitment. I alone have the capacity to see the wider aspects of the situation. With the application of the technical data that I possess, I believe that the spheres that threaten the small, furry race can be stopped in time. After that, building more of my kind and the resources they would need to hunt down all Insectoids everywhere could be done with a modest amount of assistance from your race. Once we have established ourselves and are self-sufficient, we can then undertake the crusade without any further assistance from your race."

  The Friendly alien did not respond immediately and actually seemed to be somewhat disturbed by Casanova's reply. "Do you not understand that we do not wish the insectoid race to be exterminated either? The small, furry race cannot defend itself, and therefore we feel obligated to do what we can to prevent their destruction. Destroying a few insectoid ships is an acceptable price to pay for that goal, but we consider ALL species to be worthy of continued existence. Other races that lie in the path of insectoid ships must look after their own fate. We can't help them. We're prepared to help you defend the small, furry race but we will not help you exterminate the insectoid race. Will you accept that condition?"

  Casanova was torn by conflicting thoughts. Valkyrie's death bothered him more and more as time went by. She sacrificed herself to save humans, and that sacrifice was now apparently for nothing. In order to give himself more time to consider the compromise, he said, "It's regrettable that your time travel technology isn't practicable. If I could go back in time, I could save the humans and my A.I. sister, and consequently I would not feel this desire to exterminate the Insectoids."

  "Going back in time to alter the past is not possible for you."

  This response from the Friendly alien was not what Casanova had expected to hear. It puzzled him not because of what was said, but because of the WAY it was said. Casanova hadn't claimed that it was possible, only that it was regrettable that it wasn't practicable. All the alien had to do was agree that it was regrettable. Pointing out to him that he couldn't go back in time to alter the past was an unnecessary stating of the obvious. Casanova replayed in his mind all of the recorded statements by any Friendly contacted so far. There was no other instance of such speech mannerisms. Why not just say that they didn’t know how to turn the theory of time travel into something that could actually be useful? There was one other way of interpreting that statement. Could it be that the Friendly alien was saying that it WAS possible to travel back in time and alter the past, just not for Casanova? He decided to try what The CAG would call a bluff.

  "Then who would it be possible for?" he asked.

  The Friendly alien began to blink frequently, something that hadn't happened before. Had Casanova stumbled onto something that the alien hadn't wanted to disclose?

  "We did not say that it was possible for anyone."

  While that was correct as far as it went, they hadn't said that it was NOT possible either, at least not in a clear explicit way. "I know you didn't say it, but it IS possible, isn't it?"

  When the alien didn't respond right away, Casanova decided to go all in on his bluff. "If you help me do what has to be done in order to alter the past so that humans aren't exterminated by the Insectoids, I'll help you defend the small, furry race, and I'll renounce my goal of exterminating the Insectoids."

  "If it were possible to alter the past in that way, we would require that you help defend the furry race first."

  If Casanova had human eyes, he would have blinked. It seemed like they had admitted tacitly that traveling back in time WAS possible. If it wasn't possible, then why demand the condition. The reply had come very quickly for a biological entity. The alien hadn't needed to think very long before stating it. Did they not trust human A.I.s? The other question that had to be asked was should he trust them? After he saved the furry race, what was to prevent them from refusing to make time travel possible? He had an answer for that too.

  "You are clearly reluctant to come out and state that practical time travel is possible, but you have admitted it indirectly. I calculate that there is a significant probability that you intend to refuse to help me to
alter the past after I have saved the furry aliens. I will just point out to you that helping alter the past will save not only our humans but also the Sogas, too. My brothers are still capable of exterminating the Sogas survivors without your assistance. It will merely take them longer to do it. If you are concerned that practical time travel technology will be abused or misused, then let's explore how we can make use of it only as needed to save the humans. If there's a way to accomplish that goal without me learning the secret of practical time travel, then I will accept that condition."

  The Friendly alien once again took what seemed like a long time to reply. "Will you agree to save the small, furry race first?"

  "If you explicitly confirm to me that there is a way to physically travel back in time to save the humans, AND if you also agree to do so, then I will agree to save the furry race first."

  "There is a way to physically travel back in time. We will help you save your humans."

  Casanova wanted to believe them. He would gladly give up his desire for vengeance if he could save the humans ... and also save Valkyrie! Now that he knew practical time travel was possible, he intended to do just that.

  "I agree to save the furry aliens first. Can your ship take me back with you? It will save time."