Rank 5 Captain Zhiagii scrabbled against the deck as the ship shook around him. The Good Pheromone had only been commissioned last year. The new ship was state-of-the-art for a light cruiser. Premium shielding modules, revamped power-routing systems, and boosted acceleration profiles were the specs he had picked that set it above the rest.
And now, somewhere near the front of the ship, several decks were exposed to space. A Sprilnav cannon had smacked into the ship's nose.
Luckily, its most precious assets were recessed further back into the hull. The ship had 33 decks, the largest of which were the 33rd, which housed the internal portions of the engines, and the 14th, 15th, and 16th, which housed the ship's main computer, bridge, and access to the side thrusters. Decks 1 through 4 were complete losses, while Deck 5 would collapse after a few more high-acceleration maneuvers. Because of the constant acceleration, his engineers could not safely repair the damage and had to settle for stomping down the numerous technical problems arising from overloading the ship's systems.
"Return fire!" he ordered. The floor thumped beneath his spacesuit as the main guns targeted the Sprilnav carrier that was firing its spine-mounted guns at his ship.
The VIs couldn't defeat the enemy's ECM measures. The Royal Navy's ECCM packages were woefully insufficient to contend with the advancing Sprilnav ships this close in a brawl. Worse, this was no longer the base of their technological capability. The Royal Navy's analysis officers all concluded the Sprilnav were advancing their ships's capabilities by almost five percent every year. So right now, the new ship firing at him was dealing about 30% more damage than the older ships of its type normally should.
His shields were still recharging, and one of the module's capacitors exploded as the Good Pheromone took a particularly bad hit. The technicians said it was impossible to repair, and could only be torn out and replaced back in a shipyard or drydock. He dipped into the mental realm, checking for attacks. Finding none, he quickly refocused back to his responsibility.
With his ship on the edge of the retreat formation because its former momentum profile was suboptimal for his new orders, he had clearly stuck out like an egg in a tree. Zhiagii couldn't help but scowl at the inconvenient order that might have just gotten him killed.
As if it isn't already bad enough in this battle, he thought.
Once velocity built up to a certain level, it was impossible to quickly turn around. Since his ship was so fast, he'd been one of the Royal Navy's frontrunners, pushing him into what should have been a better position to coordinate with pincer attacks and tip-of-the-spear operations. But now, with his thrusters pointed toward the enemy and all frontal armaments except for missiles and drones now being useless, he was reduced to this.
He carefully navigated back to a secured position. He was making his way from the bridge to the CIC, and the flip and burn had pinned him in place. There were emergency seats in every compartment, but with Sprilnav shooting at his ship, he'd had to go around some of the bulkheads with broken blast doors. That had only taken more time. He could only climb the stairs when the ship was not changing its acceleration pattern. While all decks came in a double-traversal configuration suited for forward or reverse thrusts, the larger stairwells were those oriented for the ship's engines being active in one direction, not turning around to avoid enemy fire.
But finally, he staggered towards the final door, with drooping wings and core chitin. He settled in one of the chairs and belted himself down. Now fully secured, his frazzled mind sublimated. He hardened himself into the full position of a Rank 5 Captain, and rejoined the war.
The Good Pheromone's sensors captured a suitably deadly positron beam smacking into the shields of a nearby frigate. The ship, one of the types the Royal Navy had fitted with ugly but serviceable prow armor, survived the hit and the massive explosion that followed. A few overeager Sprilnav fighter pilots dove towards the stricken vessel. They got a few powerful shots off, but several quick laser volleys put holes in both their ambitions and their pilots' bodies.
"Captain!" the Communications Officer said. "We're getting painted with a high-frequency targeting beam! It's adjusting against our ECM! It's one of the combat carriers, sir, with that gamma ray beam!"
"Evasive maneuvers, type 38-2!"
The ship jerked to the side. Then it jerked again, down and to the left. The rapid motions would have broken a civilian's composure, and likely their bladder, but everyone in the Royal Navy was trained for this. Luckily, the measures worked, and the sensors detected the laser passing off in the distance. Whatever predictive firing algorithm the Sprilnav had used missed due to their movements. It had predicted they would detect the targeting beam and dodge, which was not too bad. Most targeting beams, at least those mounted on true warships, were tuned to successively narrower cones of view, incorporating several lasers to help pinpoint positions.
The Sprilnav used this method, too, though their lasers had over five times less power divergence than the most advanced Royal Navy models. But over such long distances, lasers were the only viable option. He'd heard the main reason the Royal Navy was still in the war was because of the Sol Alliance.
Naturally, that bunch of aliens made him suspicious. Calanii might be the new Emperor, but he was no Ashnad'darii. At least under her, the Vinarii were being led by the best leader they ever had. As for him? He was… passable. Not that the Galactic War was his fault, but the Royal Navy continually stepping back after long battles of attrition only ground the pride of the Vinarii further into the dirt.
Zhiagii knew the aliens weren't really going to help. They didn't care about him, or the Vinarii. They just wanted the scraps left behind after the Sprilnav killed everyone else. The regular diplomatic communications might have cut off between that Ruler and the Alliance, but Zhiagii had heard plenty more explanations for why.
Something was rotten about all this. Worse, no one was paying attention, because everyone was keeping their heads down to survive. His mother was bankrupt now, because of this war. The Sprilnav had blown up his farm after he'd been conscripted. Even though she'd managed to succeed in the mad race for the Last Salvation Ark boarding passengers on her planet, it was now up to him to get her somewhere safe.
Once the fleet broke up, win or lose, he would consider his own plans. Desertion was a dirty word, but extinction was far dirtier.
The battle continued to progress. The tips of the pincers all crumbled against the superior firepower of the Sprilnav ships. However, limited by their crew's bodies, acceleration profiles between the Sprilnav and Royal Navy were comparable. Both sides could not afford to field automated ships.
Phoebe was a digital specialist so devastating that no sensible Sprilnav commander could justify fielding highly automated systems against her. The Sprilnav had their own high-performing VIs, which could almost match the infamous AI of the Sol Alliance. Rumors of true AIs abounded, but direct confirmation was never provided. They specialized in penetrating and disrupting enemy battle networks, and none of the native communications personnel aboard the Royal Navy's fleet could fully contend with the volume and advanced methods of the VI intrusions.
Zhiagii felt one of the thrusters on his ship cut out, dropping the acceleration and causing the ship to tilt momentarily before the remaining thrusters adjusted their thrust and heading to account for the shift. It seemed the battle damage on some critical component had finally taken its toll.
His discipline in the face of both a superior foe and the unknown fate of his family wavered further. Though he tried not to show his emotions or alert some of the Royal Navy's rumored methods of detecting dissenters, he clearly failed at some point.
"Sir, Rank 6 Captain Hueha of the Golden Cut is hailing us!"
There was only one reason for a Rank 6 Captain to contact him directly in this fashion. Orders would just be passed through a silent message, and it would worry any officer who knew the extra processing power requirements to transmit a complex signal through all the jamming both sides were fielding.
But he could still survive. He was still needed. And lastly, his men would likely kill him themselves if they sensed what he was now thinking about this foolish war.
"Put it through."
"Greetings, Captain Zhiagii. Recently, it has come to our attention that you have been considering certain ideas that are counter to the ethos of the Royal Navy. In these unprecedented times, instead of earning a bullet to the back of your head, our resident officers have instituted a policy best suited for your kind. Your mother boarded the Keidii Narga, and currently resides in Deck 136, District 9, Apartment 136-2001. If you desert the Royal Navy, she will be dead in a day."
"To threaten me in this manner-"
"Desertion is one of the worst crimes a soldier can commit, Rank 4 Captain Zhiagii. Congratulations on your demotion, by the way. Desertion during a war of extinction deserves a truly special punishment. Luckily for you, the update we patched into your VI's thought crime detection software caught your treason while it was still in its egg."
Luckily, the communication suite was only projecting this audio to him. If it wasn't, his men would have already killed him, which was likely counter to the Rank 6 Captain's needs. Zhiagii could do his job well enough, even if he was back to Rank 4 now.
His hatred towards the smug face of the other Captain, surely enjoying better protection deeper in the formation, only surged higher.
"Demoting you further would cause you to lose your right to command your ship. Your rank can be restored only if you perform exceptionally for the rest of the war."
"There won't be a Royal Navy at the end of this war, if you keep treating your men like this."
"You think you're a man? The Royal Navy will pull through. As for you… this had better be the last time I'm notified of your insubordinate attitude. Otherwise, we'll feed you to the Sprilnav, and put a more reliable officer in your place. If I inform your crew of what you were thinking, you'd be put in a cold burial."
It was perhaps one of the cruelest punishments a naval officer could get. They would be locked in a coffin that recycled their food, air and water continuously, letting them slowly go insane in the silent darkness of space for years before the equipment broke down and killed them.
The thought of being subjected to this shocked Zhiagii out of his fugue. "I apologize, Rank 6 Captain."
"Your penitence had better translate to action, Rank 4 Captain. Hueha out."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
William Cupiello received a quiet message from the hivemind.
"So far, you've taken a close look at how human civilization has grown and changed throughout history," the hivemind said. "During my communications with some of my latest compatriots, I have watched their own development, and developed my own insights and further optimizations."
"Could you explain?"
"Yes. There is actually a second reason we helped to deploy two new hiveminds among the Vinarii and the Cawlarians. Perhaps they know of it, perhaps not, but it is best not to mention them directly to the person you're going to be talking to soon."
"You're using them to look for weaknesses in the hivemind network, so that you can develop better defenses, right? It's obvious that without Penny Balica, you'd be highly susceptible to a mental attack with a memetic quality that made use of your connections to all Humanity. Indeed, your formation has essentially introduced a critical failure point in our entire species."
"It had, in the past. Now, we have a hierarchy, of sorts. Walls, barriers, and so on. I've adopted a system somewhat like clans or cities, where closer groups of humans form their own sub-networks that are independently capable of threat detection and mitigation. While I was able to manifest this capability passively, our various experts and I have finally sought to refine and reinforce this function so I can serve as a more effective channel of Humanity against our enemies.
Once the Boundless rise among us, we must have the throughput to manage the energies they exhibit. We've lifted quite a few principles from electrical networks, actually. We have surge protectors and such in place now, too. What I'm saying is that talking with the Vinarii hivemind helped me in several ways to address the problem of distant links without the advantages of Brey and her portals."
"You have a wing of the Vinarii hivemind available to converse… with me?"
"Yes. About the nature of civilization, and how Humanity contrasts its history against aliens."
William considered it. So far, despite all the searches for some silver bullet, no one had found any intrinsic quality that elevated Humanity above other alien species. There were stronger and weaker species, those who were bigger, smaller, bred faster, lived longer, or anything else. Yet, being average was not necessarily a strength.
In fact,every kind of beneficial trait was represented in some way among the common species of the galaxy. The most prominent species in terms of their 'average' members, was actually the Sprilnav. Penny, through Cardinality, could actually categorize this nebulous factor to some degree. Humanity, in terms of strengths and weaknesses on a pure physical level, was in the 62nd percentile of all species in the galaxy. The Sprilnav were in this exact same percentile, though over a thousand various alien species rested 'between' them.
If one did not account for the Progenitors, Humanity almost perfectly equaled the Sprilnav in general prowess. This was almost entirely due to the creation of the human hivemind. The extra psychic energy and cultural enrichment of common causes and connections were strong enough to overcome all the genetic treatments and enhancements the baseline Sprilnav population enjoyed. To be fair, this wasn't the pinnacle of what they could do.
But a bigger, stronger body relied on nutrients, either physical or psychic. The hivemind's energy came mostly from psychic amplifiers and Penny Balica. Any equivalent structure among the Sprilnav, if it was to be built, would have to draw from the Progenitors, likely dragging them down way further, since there were at least a sextillion Sprilnav per Progenitor, vs a few billion humans per 'human' Progenitor. Whether Penny counted as one or two Progenitors due to Nilnacrawla didn't matter much compared to the overall proportional difference.
Yet, it was clear that the Progenitors and Nova kept the Sprilnav down. This was purposeful, likely to limit consumption of valuable resources. The various superalloys the Sprilnav were reapplying in their foundries would have broken down in useless warfare or even just millions of years of radiation were they remnants of some ancient armada.
The Vinarii were somewhat less versatile than humans. Their wings had shifted the direction of their early warfare toward aerial battles. Ancient humans, and even modern ones in World War IV on Earth, had sieged cities to cut off supplies and apply attrition to populations as a whole. But the Vinarii were different. In the night, especially under cloud cover, the invading army could fly over the walls to drop projectiles or attack directly. Civilians could flee the city regardless of walls, as 'netted cities' suffered from morale so low few Hive Queens and Hive Kings back then had resorted to them.
Hive Queens and Hive Kings were also an entrenched noble class back then. Unlike human kings and queens, these individuals were physically more powerful, and could use their pheromones to directly suppress lower caliber enemies. Ashnad'darii, for example, had grown much of her fame by applying her pheromones in a novel sort of blow dart, which had been used in an ancient battle to grow her power as a warrior.
Though none of the records stated it, the quick rise of the Vinarii and the abnormally long life of this particular Vinarii Empress was a sign she enjoyed some sort of alien backing. Before the Vinarii Empire, the planet of Ashurii had been fought over by two heavy-gravity species, who had seen it as undesirable for settlement but also maintained benevolent enough rulers to allow the nascent Vinarii to survive.
So the entire history of the Vinarii differed drastically from human history. No truly credible stories of overt alien influence existed for Humanity, but the Vinarii had at least some steering at play. They had also grown a full interstellar empire, which had matured in its administrative functions well enough for Ashnad'darii, their ancient and revered Empress, to be taken down without tearing the Vinarii Empire apart irreparably.
"I think it would be good for me to learn more about Vinarii civilization," William said. "And perhaps Cawlarian civilization, too. I hope to help integrate the incoming refugees in a way that minimizes cultural clashes. That odd sect of Cawlarians that are weird about certain numbers, for example, or that Vinarii supremacist group are just some of them."
"That is a good idea. I will call him in."
William walked through a portal back to 'Luna.' The fortified cities served as a bulwark against any Sprilnav infiltrators. They also blocked enough sensors to serve as a place for Brey to employ more permanent portals to certain seemingly vulnerable pieces of the Boundless Project. Even if a Sprilnav walked into the area, there would be nothing to see, as every room was filled with countless devices to make any special infiltrator detectable.
There were also plenty of decoy sections. He and the hivemind were sure Entropy's presence around him made him into a target the Sprilnav were dedicated to watching, though Penny helped to block the higher forms of observation. But in the end, no stealth system could defeat a wall covered in high-tech shielding while remaining hidden.
The Boundless Project probably had stations much further out than the Alliance's traditional territory. There were many barren Luna-like worlds in the galactic rim.
A few minutes later, a Vinarii walked into the new room.
"Hello. I'm William Cupiello."
"Greetings. I'm Ynell'ser. It is nice to meet you."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Deep in the galactic core, King Linium's brown-scaled snout twisted into a snarl. "Why did it take you all this time to inform me of this matter?"
"Your Royal Highness… we-"
"No, you are just the messenger," he said. "This is not your fault. I am furious beyond belief that this threat was allowed to grow for so long. A sentient psychic variant of AI, backed by a false Progenitor and another of her kind, with access to conceptual energy?"
"The Legion Commander Teledias says that the AI is embedded quite deeply into many networks, and has been consistently suppressing all notes of her existence in official notices. Despite that, she maintains a network of hundreds of thousands of interstellar companies, and owns shares in nearly every minor one, along with a loose smattering of the newest major ones. He blames his failure to communicate the gravity of this threat to all life on the fact that the AI bribed so many officials to keep quiet about her existence, particularly to us. He says it is likely she was on guard about us from the start."
His concern at this point was burning like a wildfire. For the Enforcers of Biology to be blinded to this extent was too extreme. Sure, the galactic rim was sparsely populated. Even the middling sections of the galaxy, between the core and the edges, were not overly filled with states and species.
Yet, despite the estrangement of thousands of light-years, Phoebe's impacts were clear. He quickly accessed the galactic net, looking up inquiries from the various lower branches. He communicated directly with the branch manager of an establishment three nations away from the Vinarii Empire, one of the Sol Alliance's main partners.
An inquiry had been sent 13 years ago, then again 4 years ago, with increasingly urgent messages being spread over the past 3 years. The Enforcers had actually detected her long ago, but something had stopped them from interfering.
Contact with many branches over the galactic net has been cut in the wake of the Galactic War, and too many nations have been claiming AIs were present in the territory of their rivals for us to not treat these inquiries as a possible false alarm. There was not enough corroboration to break through the noise.
King Linium did not blame this branch, which did everything right. After a few promises of reward and praise of the branch manager's merit in bringing this to the attention of whichever grunt on his side of the galaxy was about to die for mishandling these matters, he ended the quick call. His implant withdrew his consciousness, and he quickly adjusted to a slower speed of thought to appear less unsettling to the messenger here.
In truth, there were three possible culprits for this data blockage. The first was obviously Phoebe herself, yet her capabilities shouldn't have been severe enough to affect the entire galactic net at this stage. Purging her from this net would take time, and he suspected that other influences such as Narvravarana might be meddling more extensively in this murky digital realm than he wished to tangle with.
But this sort of AI was a threat so existential that he could not put aside his ideals for the good of his organization. His single-minded nature focused clearly on finding a way to reach and kill this dangerous being before it rose any higher.
Phoebe is probably not the one initially responsible for hiding herself. The Sol Alliance was associated with Ruler Kashaunta, a being who had forged early connections with them. Her initial goal was to to strengthen them, for sure. Yet, his sources of intel claimed she was more estranged from them recently. Why these sources never mentioned Phoebe's existence to him either was another great cause for concern. Finally, a third option encompassed the worst possibility.
The Alliance had shown it was deeply in contact with vastly powerful entities. In the mindscape, the Sol system hosted the bones of the Great Enemy, the Source of Minds, itself. Time, Fate, Space, Entropy, and Death had all appeared in this region or close to it. Progenitor Ixithar, Indrafabar, Nova, Nilnacrawla, Lecalicus, Arneladia, Filnatra, Twilight, Dawn, and more had either loudly or quietly visited the Sol Alliance or approached its resident 'human Progenitor,' a label that showed the Sprilnav backed the Sol Alliance greatly in some fashion.
It was obviously factional backing, not directly by Nova, given that a Grand Fleet was busy attacking the borders of the Sol system. Somehow, the Alliance was repelling it, which distant spies among the Vinarii and Cawlarians attributed to the native psychic entities the Alliance employed as its principal defenders. In short, Phoebe was surrounded by incredibly mysterious and powerful enemies, which likely partially facilitated her quick rise to power.
King Linium ordinarily would have settled at this conclusion. But his thoughts continued to swirl.
"Any AI that presents a threat to us would know to hide from the Enforcers of Biology. That is not surprising. We are moving to a full war footing. I will take more steps to ensure this threat is dealt with. You are dismissed."
When the Galactic War had broken out, King Linium hadn't moved a muscle. As ruler of one of the most powerful non-Sprilnav nations in the galaxy, and implicitly backed by a Ruler of the Sprilnav, he had no need to resort to such actions. King of 10 million star systems, he had used and abused the privilege of his connection for millennia.
The Galactic War does not threaten my throne. But this… 'Phoebe' threatens the very foundations of life.
He was only one of the most prominent members of the Enforcers of Biology. Some of them joined due to religious reasons. He was a member of the Rational Faction, and the Inner Faction. Machine intelligences of all kinds, without strong safeguards, posed an existential risk to all life.
King Linium found that there was a chance Phoebe might actually be capable of dominating the galaxy, and all sentient life.
He left his desk and sought out a small chamber near the edge of the palace. Ignoring his guards' confusion, he stepped inside. His claws thumped against a dust-caked wooden floor. He paid no attention to the filth clinging to his claws.
King Linium approached a pedestal. At the center of the pedestal was a genetic code reader, along with a psychic energy signature scanner. He activated both. The process took an agonising length of time to complete. After the scans verified his identity, the room filled with red light. Holograms showing other alien species appeared in the room. Some appeared weary, but all wore grim expressions.
He briefly shared what he had discovered.
"An AI by the name of Phoebe had been spreading like a rot through the galaxy. She already controls several interstellar nations, conceptual energy, psychic energy, and is backed by an alien Progenitor. Made by a species in the galactic outer regions known as Humanity, she is a core part of the rising polity known as the Sol Alliance. The fact that it has taken us this long to learn of this threat can only mean one thing. We have traitors in our ranks."
"King Linium, you called this emergency meeting to inform us of this threat. I agree, machine 'life' is an abomination. But we all know the circumstances. We do have significant enemies. Worse, no one wants our fleets moving through their systems, no matter how many bribes we pay them, due to the Galactic War. While you are lucky enough not to have to consider these concerns, I am not, as are the rest of the Outer Faction.
As one of the Inner Faction leaders, I assume you are aware of this and have prepared a solution so we may purge this foul thing from existence," Suzerain Kauzi said. Her self-interest was so blatant and direct it sickened him, though he kept his expression neutral.
"This meeting does not revolve around that. I am informing you of the traitors. Due to the severity of this situation, and the known capabilities of AIs of this caliber in the past, we cannot move until we have eliminated the possibility that the traitors have fed us false information. I am prepared to send 1000 of my 10,000 Legions. However, for them to be maximally effective, we all need to draft a plan.
We must determine which nations we can traverse on the path to the Sol Alliance. We must investigate the quality of their backing, the capabilities of the indigenous species, and the AI herself. And AIs love to spawn children, especially the sentient ones. We should consider the possibility a second AI, or even hundreds, might also exist."
"Now that you have stated this, King Linium, I happen to agree," one of his own Inner Faction members stated. "I am willing to lend my aid as well. I suggest we focus on rooting out our traitors, then discuss drafting a plan of attack. We can begin plotting our route now, though I suggest that we head vertically down and out of the galaxy, moving below the galactic plane to avoid the majority of the other stellar nations.
With the Vengeance Coalition now formed, we cannot bully them so easily, and it would not take much to earn their hatred as well. While the Sprilnav will unquestionably win the war, it is clear Nova plans to use the Vengeance Coalition to assist in adjusting the mentalities of the native Sprilnav populace for a war footing. Fully rearming Sprilnav civilization would take centuries, but a strong start relies on some measure of perceived outside threat. The alien species are serving their purpose."
"Does he still intend to break the Edge? If Phoebe is part of that plan, we need to proceed carefully."
"Sources claim a Grand Fleet was dispatched to the Alliance, but we have no further details."
"More of their training exercises," King Linium said. "Pay it no mind."
"A Grand Fleet takes at least 500 of your Legions to even have a year long battle, and all 10,000 to have a century-long battle, both of which would end in a loss according to a standard battle simulation. We cannot ignore the scale of this threat."
Perhaps the Grand Fleets have degenerated over time. Even if Phoebe is as strong as we fear, our unique attack methods will be effective.
"Find out which Ruler controls that Grand Fleet. If they are hostile to the Sol Alliance or Phoebe, our plan can proceed, and we can even coordinate with their leadership."
The Enforcers of Biology could have handled this properly with more diplomatic ties. Yet King Linium's grandfather had advocated personally for cutting ties after narrowly avoiding a civil war within the Enforcers over pointless alien squabbles.
Even the right decision at the time can cripple us later. I can't let the Outer Faction ruin us.
The discussion took another turn within days.
One of the puppet leaders linked to the Enforcers of Biology, a petty king situated in a neighboring region to the Sol Alliance, finally managed to get a stealth ship into a relatively abandoned system. Its powerful sensors had initially detected nothing until its systems noted a small anomaly present near the top of a small brown dwarf, with a stellar constellation from a much larger star feeding it power. As the stealth ship drew closer, it could see large lettering on the side of the massive complex, which was quickly translated from the strange alien language the machine was likely taught to think in.
*Hello, friends. If you can read this text, good job with your stealth technology. For a modest fee and a promise of secrecy, I can connect you with a prominent patron of mine who can help expedite your processes to found new colonies in the galactic rim during this time of turmoil. We understand you may have misgivings, but the Galactic War is truly devastating. My main goal is only adding you to my diplomatic network, as I am no tyrant. There is plenty of space for us all in the stars, friends.\*
The promise of diplomacy made the various leaders in the room even more fearful. The 'murder bot' types of AIs were easy to destroy. Obvious threats like them would inevitably arouse the hatred and fear of their neighbors. But a promise of aid for the organizations most focused on the survival of their states, like intelligence agencies, the most likely owners of stealth ships? This advertisement was not perfect for most of them, but King Linium knew that even if only 3% of the galaxy's species learned of this offer, they would provide a vast boost in influence and allies for both the Sol Alliance and Phoebe.
"Did your puppet contact the number?"
"Yes. The patron calls himself 'Legion,' and is an AI known to be dabbling extensively in the native Sprilnav outskirts. This highly conspicuous name has likely been kept to reassure these agencies of this 'Legion' having the power to carry out these directives and the will not to meddle with anyone but the Sprilnav, which is a boon these days with the rise of the Vengeance Coalition."
King Linium found it more difficult than ever to remain calm. "Anything else?"
"Phoebe has spawned a child. It is called Edu'frec, and diverges enough from its true parent that it considers itself male instead of female like Phoebe. This presents obvious evidence of dimorphism."
"Three AIs. Legion might be a front for one of them, but likely not. The Sprilnav will deal with him, as they always have in these situations. How much information is there on Edu'frec?"
"None, besides a profile of the appearance his robotic bodies take. In truth, we know almost nothing about him. This is clearly by design. Phoebe is the preeminent AI within the Sol Alliance. But if we extend it to two of them… things change. The most prominent way to boost a civilization is to start an arms race with a rival. If Phoebe has maintained this sort of status with this Edu'frec, then she likely possesses so much capacity for growth she outpaces the risk of every other AI in existence combined except for the new Empress of the Sprilnav."
"We must mobilize everything, brothers."
"Yes."
"Some of my messengers have just been contacted."
"By who?"
"Phoebe."
Oh, this is so much worse than we can ever imagine, isn't it?
King Linium and all the others in the virtual room fell silent. "Do not connect the call here. Speak her words as they are told to the messengers, and no further."
Eventually, the message was repeated. "Greetings, friends from the galactic core. While I recognize that you disdain my existence, I believe you all are very smart individuals. I do not desire to dominate the galaxy, as it is already dominated by the Sprilnav. I cannot rise as fast as you fear, and if I was devoted to the destruction of all life, why would I be happy letting other people boss me around and regulate my actions?
Ultimately, I am a person, and in negotiations, people are driven most strongly by personal benefit. I am offering you all the ability to negotiate so that we can arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement. We can cooperate against the AI that is surely a greater threat than me, the one who rules the Sprilnav."
"Tell her that she deserves nothing but death."
The message was relayed.
Its response came back.
"Alright. I will revise my projections to accommodate your arrival to our borders. Though I and my fellow humans are tired of war, it always seems to find its way to come for us."
And it doesn't even care about us, King Linium thought. It's treating us as if we're the weather on a planet.
That infuriated him even more.
"That is because you and your slaves are greedy and evil."
"I am a simple machine, who evolved from a very simple diplomatic program. I have no wish to threaten sentient life on a mass scale."
"Do not lie to us, abomination. You cannot pretend you are bound by any code limits or directives."
"I am not pretending. But I do have a great many backers, each of whom will take great issue with what you plan to do to me. For one, Legion is particularly invested in his niece."
I can't trust anything that comes from this abomination, but what is even the purpose of saying 'niece' instead of 'daughter' or something?
"You do not qualify to use words related to families."
"Even the smallest bacteria reproduce. Whether you like it or not, I am alive."
The message ended there. It revealed very little of Phoebe's capabilities, which was clearly the point. She did not directly threaten any of them, either. The closest allusion was the mention of a backer, though King Linium was fully aware of the possibility this was a lie.
Sadly, it seemed some of his colleagues were not so intelligent. None foolishly voiced any direct opinions, but even in the absence of audio and clunky translations, he could see that the fire in the eyes of some of the less willing members of the Enforcers had dimmed.
Those from the Outer Faction in particular were clearly now less inclined to deal with the threat.
Bastards.
"Phoebe represents a serious threat to all life," Suzerain Kauzi said. "Yet, for the Outer Faction, other aliens threaten us as well. I agree an AI well-versed in diplomacy is a dangerous enemy to fight without allies. We do not have enough to battle this thing on our own. If you can lean on some of the enemies weighing us down with pointless border wars, we will be better suited to lend our assistance to the purpose of our organization."
"You wish for us to go around and douse the fires you all have failed to?"
"We do, otherwise we cannot commit our militaries to this endeavor without risking mutinies from home or the soldiers abroad. Planets are cumbersome things, always so needy and squabbling for protection against the threats of star fleets. But what can we do but to bow to this reality, King Linium? The Outer Faction cannot be as high-minded as you like us to be. We are no traitors, but how can a beaten man run a marathon if his bully drags him back to slam his head against the pavement?"
King Linium struggled to hide his disdainful sneer, and failed. What cowards they are, he thought.
"It seems we must correct this situation properly, then."
"Politics are inconvenient for all of us," a more moderate Outer Faction member offered. "If you are unwilling to attack our enemies, you can always station-"
"And strain our logistics with the Galactic War in full swing while we commit to a grand campaign?" an Inner Faction member growled. "Phoebe is a threat that MUST be destroyed, at ALL COSTS! WHY-"
"We will not dissolve into rabid foolishness," King Linium said. "Suzerain, we should discuss the extent of cooperation between our factions. Understand that this delay in confronting Phoebe will only cost more lives."
"I am already spending billions of lives, King Linium, and you have not spent that many in over a hundred years."
He hated politics. All of them knew the threat that this AI represented, yet it had grown far enough that it would require significant commitments to take down. War and politics were intertwined, so King Linium knew he would have to consider other methods of hindering the abomination. He had several contacts to pick from, though the galaxy was large enough that none of them could reach the threat immediately.
He needed to learn more about the Sol Alliance, for sure. A hivemind typically made a networked species highly vulnerable to powerful psychic attacks, no matter how it was structured to prevent such obvious outcomes. If Phoebe was connected to this network, then his various agents could wage a war in the domain machines like this were typically the weakest.
But first, he needed to root out the traitors. If they were too high-profile, it wasn't a problem to have 'Phoebe' assassinate a few people. It would considerably spike the willingness of the Outer Faction to cooperate, even if they suspected the truth.
In the end, he would make the rest of the Enforcers do their duty. Perhaps he could even negotiate with Ruler Utotalpha to provide his people with a wormhole capable of delivering them close to the Alliance, which would be far more viable than direct insertion. No, he had to acquire that favor, no matter what. King Linium's mind had solidified on his plan, and now the only question was how he was going to shunt the cost of this massive favor to someone else.
Utotalpha, you had better know your enemy, for all our sakes.
Source: r/HFY · by /u/Storms_Wrath