Ep.#3 - Liberty and Truth Peace and Prosperity Read online

  Nathan felt his stomach turn with guilt.

  “You couldn’t have seen this coming,” Cameron assured him, noticing his change in expression from the opposite end of the table.

  “You did.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Cameron objected. “If I had, I wouldn’t have allowed it to happen. I only worried about their motives at the time.”

  “Without SilTek, the Alliance never would have survived,” Jakome told them. “For all its faults—and there are many—the Alliance has provided a quality of life for quadrillions of people that would not have been possible. Some even argue that an oligarchy is the only structure that can do so, other than a dictatorship.”

  “Then why do so many people choose to leave the Alliance and settle in places like the fringe and even the badlands?” Nathan asked.

  “Every person must choose which freedoms they are willing to sacrifice in exchange for the level of peace and security they require to be happy,” Jakome stated. “One of the things the Alliance has done that I agree with, is the provision of assistance to those who wish to settle outside Alliance space.”

  “Historically, socialism can only survive when everyone being ruled by it agrees with its principals,” Nathan stated. “In early pre-plague history, leaders simply executed or jailed the opposition. Later, they used propaganda to force believers to mock and ridicule those who publicly opposed them, causing the rest to keep their opposition silent in order to survive.”

  “Precisely,” Jakome agreed. “The Alliance found a way around that, at least on the surface.”

  “On the surface?” Cameron asked.

  “Since the Alliance controls the flow of goods via the gate network, they can prevent worlds beyond their borders from ever achieving the same quality of life for their citizens.”

  “Thus preventing any other worlds from becoming true competition for them,” Nathan surmised.

  “Over time, border worlds slowly adopt Alliance ways to the point where they are not much different than their neighbors on the Alliance side of the border. Sooner or later, border worlds join the Alliance in order to obtain their own jump gate, which gives them the quality of life their citizens are lacking. This results in a gradual expansion of Alliance boundaries.”

  “Which is exactly what drives people from fringe worlds, out into the badlands,” Dominic added. “Take your Doctor Symyri, for example.”

  “Is he the same Doctor Symyri?” Nathan asked Jakome.

  “He is. Nikolori Symyri began cloning himself every twenty years, not long after your disappearance. He had become enthralled with the idea of immortality through cloning, and ran one of the leading cloning clinics for several centuries. In fact, he invented the method of rapid clone growth, as well as the ability to grow a clone to a precise age. His process led to an unprecedented boom in cloning, with the wealthy cloning themselves regularly in order to stay young. This boom was one of the reasons the Alliance was able to grow so quickly. New worlds had to be settled to accommodate such a rapid growth in population.”

  “It’s also one of the reasons the Alliance put restrictions on cloning, eventually making it illegal,” Dominic added.

  “But, if growth and profit were the goals, why limit your population?” Cameron wondered.

  “Too many wanted new worlds to be created within Alliance space. There were only so many hospitable worlds available, and only so many worlds that could be terraformed. Terraforming takes decades. Banning cloning forced people to move to the fringe, slowing the demand for more hospitable worlds within Alliance space.”

  “The biggest killer of business is too much success,” Nathan mused. “The Alliance is thinking long-term.”

  “The Alliance always thinks long-term,” Jakome said.

  “Few humans are able to do that,” Nathan pointed out.

  “That’s because humans generally think in terms of their own lifespans which, without cloning, is currently around three hundred years, if one has the financial resources. This is why the Central Alliance Council relies on artificial intelligence to analyze all matters, make recommendations, and project the outcomes of all possible solutions. In essence, artificial intelligence is controlling humanity. And not just at the upper levels of government, but at every level, right down to the individual. AI is so ubiquitous in Alliance society that human consciousness is shaped by its influences. The majority of people let their AIs make their decisions for them, freeing themselves of both responsibility and accountability for their actions. And the AI system is quite adept at hiding this dependence from its citizens, just as it hides the central control of all AIs from them.”

  “You’re saying, all AIs are centrally controlled?” Cameron asked.

  “I never did like AIs,” Jessica grumbled.

  “Not all, and not directly,” Jakome explained. “But they are all created by SilTek, and therefore produce similar results.”

  “Why would people give up their freedom like that?” Aiden wondered.

  “How many bad decisions have you made in your life?” Jakome asked Aiden. “Dated the wrong person, chosen the wrong meal at a restaurant, taken the wrong job? Personal AIs are always with their owners. They experience everything their owner experiences. All the senses, all the emotions. They monitor your vital signs. They even control your health nanites. They know everything about you, inside and out.”

  “That’s insane,” Nathan commented.

  “Again, why would anyone want that?” Aiden repeated.

  “Personal AIs learn so much about you so quickly that they can list your options, predict the likely results of each option, and recommend the best choice. The idea is that by eliminating bad choices, their owner experiences a better life.”

  “Sounds to me like they become slaves to the AI,” Jessica argued.

  “More like slaves to the Alliance,” Jakome corrected. “Humans are like cattle to the Alliance. We exist to continually create wealth and power for the corporations and the government pawns they control.”

  “But people can choose not to follow the advice of their AIs, right?” Cameron asked.

  “Yes, but when those choices result in outcomes that have a negative impact on society, the individual is held accountable for those choices. Sometimes with criminal charges.”

  “Seems a bit extreme,” Jessica commented.

  “It depends on how you look at it,” Jakome replied. “Some believe that personal AIs are what keeps humanity from making the poor choices which contribute to the problems that generally plague civilizations. Others believe that they remove the very reason for life itself. Our knowledge, experience, and perspective is gained by the mistakes we make. Without them, we do not mature as a species.

  “Where do you sit on the issue?” Nathan wondered.

  “I believe that AIs have their use, but those uses are limited. Humans thrive on adversity. Fear of failure is what drives us. It is why we prepare, study, train, and plan. Wandering through life following the recommendations of an AI, regardless of how beneficial those recommendations may be, is not living. It is just existing.”

  Nathan exchanged glances with both Cameron and Jessica. “Well, I think it’s safe to say we’re not going to be making contact with the Alliance any time soon.”

  “If they started the war, and used us to do so, they’d hunt us down and kill us,” Jessica surmised. “They’d have to.”

  “Yes, and no,” Jakome told her. “While I am certain that they would prefer you all dead, by now they have such complete control of their population that they could convince them of anything. I would expect any move they made to be covert.”

  “Well, if you became aware of us, then the Alliance probably did as well,” Kit surmised.

  “Actually, my contact took care of the alert generated by the facial recognition of your people. They were all marked as false matches. Fortu
nately, it happens often enough that the matches will likely go unnoticed.”

  “Then they don’t yet know that we survived?” Jessica asked.

  “I do not believe so,” Jakome assured her.

  “We are in your debt,” Nathan said.

  “Not at all,” Jakome replied. “As Deliza said, we are all in your debt. Again, that is why we are here. To help you.”

  “Help us with what?” Cameron asked.

  “Perhaps we should start with repairing your ship?”

  Vladimir’s eyes lit up. “You can help us with that?”

  Nathan looked at Vlad. “You haven’t already talked to him about this?”

  “I just woke up an hour ago,” Vladimir defended.

  “Yes, we can help you repair the Aurora. In fact, we can provide you with whatever you need. The challenge will be doing so without raising suspicion. The Alliance monitors all transactions. It would be best if we had a cover story to explain our activities. Especially for the sudden increase in exporting items out of Alliance space.”

  “How about establishing a new settlement?” Robert suggested to Jakome. “Perhaps someplace beyond the reach of the Alliance?”

  Jakome seemed intrigued. “That might work. There is no limitation to settlements beyond Alliance space, and Ranni Enterprises would just be one of many corporations that have done so.”

  Nathan looked to Robert, smiling. “Looks like you just got your own world to settle.”

  “I should warn you that we will have to be discreet about the movement of materials and supplies from Takara to here. The Alliance monitors the movement of all vessels, even in the fringe. We would have to, how do you say, ‘cover our tracks’?”

  “But it can be done?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes,” Jakome confirmed. “For now, the Bonaventura will remain in orbit to provide support and protection, until the Aurora is space worthy once again. I can also transfer some of her crew to your command to assist with repairs.”

  “We could use some troops, if you have them,” Kit suggested.

  Jakome looked curious.

  “We’ve created a bit of a situation,” Nathan explained.

  Jakome grinned. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “We’ve recently ran a load of medical supplies into the Vernay region.”

  “The Vernay region is in the badlands,” Jakome cautioned.

  “We are aware. On the way in, we ran off some pirates. Shortly after, they sent a couple shuttles looking for us, and our Dragons had to take them out. We’re currently providing security for the six worlds there, using half of our Dragons and half of our Ghatazhak. But we fear it’s only a matter of time until the pirates come in force.”

  “If you don’t mind my asking, why did you feel the need to run cargo into the badlands?”

  “We ran up some debt getting Vladimir to Pyru, and that’s how we’re repaying it,” Nathan explained.

  “Debt to whom?”

  “A trader named Chiqua Kimbro,” Nathan replied.

  “I can pay that debt for you.”

  “It’s a big debt,” Nathan warned.

  “I’m sure I can afford it,” Jakome assured him.

  “That would be great, but we can’t just abandon those worlds,” Nathan argued. “We’ve made promises to them.”

  “Of course.” Jakome took a deep breath, letting it out in measured form. “I would recommend that you commit all of your forces to protecting the Vernay worlds, while the Bonaventura provides security for the Aurora.”

  “Why not just send the Bonaventura to the Vernay region?” Jessica suggested.

  “A ship the size of the Bonaventura would draw considerable attention. If we use your Ghatazhak and your Dragon fighters, you would appear to be mercenaries, or better yet, a rival pirate gang looking to take over new territories. This is common in the badlands, and the Alliance rarely gets involved in such matters.”

  “The best way to ensure your own security is to keep those around you unstable,” Nathan stated.

  “I see you haven’t forgotten history,” Jakome commented.

  “Perhaps I should bring the Bonaventura’s chief engineer down to get a better understanding of your needs?” Jakome suggested.

  “I can help with that,” Dominic offered.

  Jakome glanced at Dominic, unfamiliar with him.

  “My apologies,” Nathan said. “Jakome, this is Dominic. He is an engineer from the current time, and has been helping us during Vladimir’s absence.”

  “An honor to meet you, sir,” Jakome greeted.

  “I’ve got a pretty good idea of this ship’s repair needs, as well as how we might be able to integrate current technology into this ship.”

  “I would advise against that,” Jakome insisted.

  “Why?” Nathan wondered.

  “One of the Aurora’s strengths will be that she is not using current technology. Particularly, those that require an AI to function. This makes her immune to the type of cyber attacks that opposing forces would likely attempt.”

  “Like when we first battled Caius’ forces,” Jessica said. “Their shields were designed to protect against energy weapons, not kinetic weapons like the original Aurora’s rail guns.”

  “Your jump range will also be a big advantage,” Jakome added. “Not even the Alliance has ships that can jump that far.”

  “Just how far can this ship jump?” Dominic wondered.

  “You don’t know?” Nathan asked, surprised by the engineer’s question.

  “Such specifications were never made public knowledge,” Jakome explained.

  “Single-jump, one thousand light years,” Vladimir bragged. “One-minute range of two thousand. And she can be fitted with additional energy banks to double that.”

  “My God,” Dominic exclaimed. “You could travel across the galaxy in a matter of weeks.”

  “Days, actually,” Vladimir boasted. “She recharges in only two hours.”

  “Which makes this ship a threat to the Alliance as long as it is not under their control,” Jakome added.

  Nathan considered that for a moment. “It’s only a matter of time before they know about this ship.”

  “I don’t know that it’s the ship they’re likely to be concerned about,” Jakome told him.

  “Meaning it’s me they would be worried about,” Nathan surmised.

  “You, and your senior staff,” Jakome replied. “The Aurora is not the only expedition-class ship that was lost without a trace. Four others disappeared. There are also three of them on display on Alliance worlds.”

  “Like, museum exhibits?” Vladimir asked.

  “The expedition-class ships won the war and started the expansion of the Alliance.”

  Vladimir looked quite pleased with himself. “Imagine that.”

  “We’ll have to cross all these bridges when we come to them,” Nathan decided. “For now, I’d just like to focus on getting this ship back into space. We’ll figure out what to do with her after that.”

  “As you wish,” Jakome agreed. “If you will provide me with a list of your immediate needs, I will send one of my shuttles back to Takara to get things started. “I only ask that you keep the list small for the moment, preferably limited to items that are difficult to acquire in the fringe. It will take time to put together a legitimate deep space settlement mission.”

  “I can provide you that list,” Dominic told him.

  “Vlad, do you feel up to reviewing that list?” Nathan asked.

  “I feel fine,” Vladimir assured him.

  “Great. Dominic, you and Commander Kamenetskiy review the list, and submit it to Jakome, as soon as possible.”

  “It would be my honor,” Dominic replied.

  “Cam, you, Jess, and Kit see to getting more forces up and operating o
n Kataoka,” Nathan continued. “Abby, I’d suggest you spend some time with your son before he departs.”

  “I plan to,” Abby agreed. “But I would also like to help you as much as possible.”

  “Trust me, I plan to utilize your expertise in any way I can,” Nathan assured her. “Robert, you and Aiden put your heads together and begin preparing for a scouting mission. I want a destination for our new settlement as soon as possible.”

  “Will do,” Robert replied.

  “Doc, I’m sure you’ve got patients that have missed your expertise,” Nathan said.

  “Captain, the Bonaventura’s CMO has offered to install some of their advanced diagnostic equipment in our medical department.”

  “Can they spare it?”

  “We can make do without it,” Jakome insisted. “We will include replacements with the first shipments from Takara.”

  “Very well. Let’s get to work everyone.” Nathan stood along with everyone else. “Jakome, may we speak alone?”

  “Of course, Captain.”

  * * *

  Jakome followed Nathan into the ready room, taking a seat as Nathan closed the door and perched on the corner of his desk.

  “I get the feeling that something is on your mind,” Jakome stated, feeling the tension in the room.

  “Despite your familiarity, we’ve only just met. We know very little about the state of the Alliance, but we know even less about you. And that frightens me.”

  “I have offered to get your ship back in the air and to support you in whatever endeavor you undertake,” Jakome reminded him. “Why would that frighten you?”