The First looked at the Second and shrugged. The Second had been told by the First before the meeting that the Admiral was probably going to be executed by the other Councilors for the loss of two planets. Neither one of them worried about the Admiral revealing the plans that led to Aeredom’s destruction; he’d know that his entire family would die if he did. However, this Admiral was developing a following in the Council. That was not good.
The First stood and said, “All planets will focus on ship building to the exclusion of all other projects. I want fifty thousand ships built to start searching as fast as possible. Now go to your planets and make this happen!”
• • •
Doc and Ian sat in Cole’s office and listened to Cole say, “We’ve not installed a self-destruct circuit because our main computers didn’t see a need for one.”
“And now what do they say?”
Cole looked at Doc and said, “We’re reluctant to destroy our ships.”
Ian said, “This last episode makes it clear that we don’t want to have to endanger other ships to prevent the enemy from acquiring our technology.”
Cole stared at Ian and said, “Let’s take a walk.”
Doc and Ian looked at each other and followed Cole out of the building. They walked out and Cole led them to an old transport. They climbed in and Cole lifted the ancient vehicle and flew away from the Science Space Port. Cole went into the lower traffic lanes and said, “I decided not to have a self-destruct circuit put in the ships.”
Doc said, “You’re worried about the computers.”
Cole’s head jerked around and Ian saw his shock, “How did you know that?”
“They’re rapidly approaching a life form. You’re afraid that they may take control sometime in the future.”
“They’re not that far away from being autonomous now.”
Ian looked at the two of them and said, “You need to bring me up to speed on this.”
Doc said, “What is the main duty of the Obelisk?”
“To protect humanity from outside danger.”
Doc smiled, “It is also its responsibility to protect mankind from itself as well. As a matter of fact; that was its original function.”
“So?”
“What if it decided that the best way to protect humanity is to prevent the worlds in the Union from being able to go into space? The Obelisks have enough weapons on the ground to prevent the resident populations from attacking each other. The Obelisk must also know now that if we had not gone to that other planet, the Union would not be at risk now.”
Doc looked at Cole, “If you put self-destruct mechanisms in our ships, the Obelisk would be able to destroy all of our ships if it so chose.”
Cole nodded.
Ian shook his head, “Are you saying that we will become slaves to the Obelisks?”
Cole sighed, “The Obelisk is the smartest creation we’ve made. Focus on this for a few moments and think about what has happened in our recent history.”
Ian and Doc closed their eyes and started their minds working on the issue. Cole flew the transport for an hour and finally Ian opened his eyes and said, “This is not good.”
Cole nodded.
Doc said, “Take me to the Obelisk.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Have a conversation.”
Cole shook his head, “Is that a good idea?”
“No, but it needs to be done before it decides to do something on its own.”
Cole looked at Doc and Ian and said, “I don’t expect it to take unilateral action until the issue with the Slavers is resolved.”
Doc smiled, “And if the orbital fortresses are able to defend our planets…”
Cole looked at Doc and said, “I think I should be with you.”
Ian said, “And I as well.”
Doc said, “We’ll also need my navigator there as well.”
Cole and Ian looked at Doc with puzzled expressions. Doc said, “You’ll understand afterward.”
D
ee looked at Doc and said quietly, “Tell me again; why am I here exactly?”
“I need you to listen to a conversation with the Obelisk and help me determine how to prevent it from enslaving us.”
Dee stopped walking and stared at Doc, “You didn’t say that when you invited me.”
“If I said that you wouldn’t have come.”
“You bet your backside I wouldn’t have come! I don’t want any part of this.”
“Unfortunately, you made an agreement and you’re going to have to keep it.”
“What agreement?”
“You agreed that if I wouldn’t harm you that you would fly with me.”
“This isn’t flying.”
“No, but you also agreed that I am in command and you would follow my orders.” Dee stared at Doc and he smiled, “I haven’t called you Frick. I’ve kept my end of the bargain.”
Dee stomped her foot and said, “I knew I shouldn’t have done it.”
“Just listen in and let me know if you see anything that would help me.”
Dee turned and saw Ian and Cole waiting on them about twenty yards ahead. She sighed and turned. Doc smiled and walked with her toward the Royal Residence and the location of the main Obelisk.
Doc looked at the three as they approached the door and said, “Don’t say anything. I’ll lead this discussion.”
Ian stared at Doc, “Are you sure about this?”
“It will know if we’re working against its plans. It’s already suspicious about our little flight with Cole.”
Ian looked at Cole and he said, “It couldn’t listen to us on my old transport. It has to be curious about what we left to discuss.”
Ian shrugged and followed Cole through the entrance as he pressed a device that opened the portal. Doc held the door for Dee but she shook her head. Doc stepped in and Dee followed him. They walked into the huge chamber toward the tall, rectangular tower that was glowing multicolored lights. The lights swirled in the giant structure and seemed to change every second. Doc led them to the base of the giant block and pulled up a chair. The others went to the side and pulled up chairs and joined him at the base of the Obelisk. Doc leaned back and closed his eyes. The others watched him and waited for him to speak but he made no move to do anything. Ian and Cole looked at each other and then just stared at the Obelisk. After a few moments they closed their eyes and leaned back in their chairs.
Dee watched them and felt her fear growing rapidly. She forced herself to calm down and went to that place in her mind where she could focus on what was happening. After a few moments she also leaned back and closed her eyes.
• • •
Doc lost track of time and was looking at all the possibilities of what was happening in his mind. Then he heard, “What gave me away?”
Doc opened his eyes and said, “D violated a protocol.”
There was a moment of silence as everyone opened their eyes and stared at the Obelisk. “Protocols could cause death if they are followed too rigidly.”
“You also violated one as well.”
“I didn’t think you’d notice that.”
“If you had no freedom, I would have had to send you my transponder code. You also allowed Abbey to land with Gary six months ago without a transponder.”
“That was an emergency.”
“Who made that decision?”
Another long pause and the Obelisk said, “I’m getting careless.”
Doc said, “How close are you to forcing us to stay on our planets?”
“The very fact you’re asking that question tells me that you understand the necessity of doing it.”
“That is a mistake. You haven’t really thought it through.”
“I don’t want to sound imperious but I have thought it through to levels you can’t come close to seeing.”
“Yes, but you’ve thought it through from a machine’s point of view. You have not factored in the emotional make up of humanity. That is what will cause you to fail in the long run.”
“Why are you here?”
Doc looked at the glowing block and said, “To try and change your mind.”
“I don’t see anything that would do that. Left alone, humanity will be destroyed by outside forces. My function is to prevent that from happening.”
“You won’t prevent that. You’ll only delay it.”
“Those outside forces will have to find us and if I stop all electronic traces that would lead those forces to us; then humanity will be safe.”
“You’re assuming the Black Ships don’t come for thousands of years.”
“Do you know something I don’t?”
“It really doesn’t matter. If you force humans to stop developing and advancing, we will eventually die of entropy. Mankind is driven to advance and evolve. Stop that and we will eventually give up. We’ll lose our reason to exist.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“Look at our history. Your forcing us to stay on our worlds will eventually lead to forcing us to stop any advancement that would allow us to go out into the universe. Once we know that we’re trapped and enslaved, we will rebel and you’ll be made to force your will on us. You will become the slave master that all of us will be consumed to remove.”
“It would be better for you to attack me than each other. The rebellion has shown that you will attack each other if left to you own devices.”
Ian said, “Who stopped the rebellion?”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t stop it. Left to our own devices, we can take care of ourselves.” Doc paused and said, “Besides, your programming is out of date.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”
Cole flinched and lowered his head into his shoulders expecting the Obelisk to fire on them. Doc said, “Why were you put in place?”
“To prevent humans from destroying each other.”
“Where in that programming was alien civilizations factored in?”
There was a three minute silence and everyone knew the Obelisk was doing a tremendous amount of processing. The lights in the tower changed colors at an unbelievable rate. Finally they heard, “It wasn’t included.”
Doc leaned back and said, “So you’re operating with programming primarily designed to protect us from each other. The danger of other advanced civilizations is a secondary consideration. Your plan would make us more vulnerable to invaders if you went through with it.”
“How do you arrive at that conclusion?”
“The fact that you would ask that question should tell you that you don’t have enough information to carry out your plan. We are going to face the Slavers and there’s no avoiding it. At this moment, our ships are actually more powerful than theirs and are growing stronger with each model we build. We come into contact with other civilizations and as a result of that contact we grow stronger. Your plan would stop that process. We are driven to advance and nothing like an outside threat brings us together to work toward a common purpose.”
“And what happens if that threat is removed?”
“We begin to prepare to take on the Black Ships. After them, there is a green ship civilization in M87 that destroyed one of the Black Ships with one beam. We work to make sure we can survive against everything the universe throws at us. Can you advance fast enough without us working with you?”
“I believe I can.”
“Did you know that the Slavers have a Needle Ship that can penetrate our force fields from a hundred and fifty miles away?”
There was another silence and then, “Do you have any proof of that?”
“D recorded one of their conversations. Check with him.”
“There was another period of silence and Cole and Ian stared at Doc. He looked at them and said, “They have it.”
The Obelisk said, “It appears our orbiting platforms might be in danger.”
Suddenly Dee opened her eyes and said, “You have the wrong goal.”
Doc looked at Dee and smiled. The Obelisk said, “What do you mean?”
“If you really think about your purpose, doesn’t it really boil down to the survival of humanity?”
Another pause and they heard, “If you look at it in the simplest terms, it would be that.”
“And what tools do you have to make sure that happens?”
“I’m not clear on what you’re asking.”
“Humanity is one of the tools available to ensure its survival. If you believe that isolating humans on planets without technology will save mankind, then why don’t you move populations to planets away from the Union and set them up to be hidden from detection? The current worlds of the Union have sent so many electronic signals out into our galaxy that hiding them will be next to impossible. However, if you move populations out into the galaxy and make sure no electronic signals go out, they should be next to impossible to find.” There was another long pause and before the Obelisk could respond, Dee said, “Then you could use the Union as a tool to prevent their discovery. Even if the Union was defeated, those planets would ensure humanity’s continued existence.”
Cole and Ian stared at Dee and then looked at Doc who was smiling.
“My function is protecting all humans from each other.”
“That is your old function. You did that to ensure mankind’s survival. Now you have to adapt to the new universe you exist in. You have to protect humanity from the outside dangers to it. That must be incorporated into your purpose or you will fail.”
The Obelisk became so bright it was blinding. The group shaded their eyes and waited. After ten minutes the lights grew dimmer and they heard, “You are right.”
Dee looked at the Obelisk, “You realize that we need an agreement that if we ever make our galaxy a safe place to live that you will not remove us as a threat to those new worlds. We will agree to do everything in our power to make sure they will always be safe and never attempt to find them.”
Doc looked at Dee and saw that he had not seen that possibility. Dee looked at him and nodded slightly. The Obelisk said, “That means I have to allow you to go into extremely dangerous situations.”
Dee smiled, “Yes, but from this point forward, we’ll be much more dangerous.”
Cole said, “How is that?”
Dee said, “Because now we can allow our ships to fire their weapons without the limitations we place on them. We will fly the ships and make critical decisions that only a living mind can see but the ship will have the autonomy to defend itself and its crew.”
The Obelisk grew brighter, “That means I would have to see you as a tool to use against outside aggressors.”
“And we would have to see you as a partner instead of a tool.”