“We could probably destroy it.” Wiley was digging in the back of the jeep again, pulling out packs.
“You think we should?” Aaron said.
“No. We destroy it and we’ll have MPs out here in killer-bee swarms. Same thing if they find that splice. We’ve located the channel they’re backing up the AIs on, and its only a few hours until they do their evening backups. We could have what we came for by tonight.”
“I’m listening,” Aaron said.
“Why don’t you take the jeep and lead that thing off on a wild goose chase, and Savina and I will circle back with a laptop and some MSDs and capture the data. From there we’ll head toward the enclave and you can catch up to us tomorrow.”
“Along the perimeter?”
“Right down the old highway.”
“Okay.” Aaron lowered his spotters and walked around to the jeep. “It’s definitely following the tracks, and it’s coming fast.
I’d go off that way and get in one of those ruins if I were you.”
He climbed into the jeep. “Got everything?”
Wiley handed Savina a heavy pack. “Yeah. Be careful.”
“You too. See you tomorrow.” Aaron put the jeep in gear and sent it bouncing away through the grass.
Wiley ducked his head and disappeared into the brush to the west. Savina copied him and followed, wincing as branches scraped her arms and irritated scratches she’d already gotten from the blackberry bushes. They ducked and dodged brush and rubble for 40
meters then turned north and continued until they had a free line-of-sight angle where they could watch the distant drone. It had stopped where Aaron had dropped them off, and was again prodding at the ground with its sensors.
“You don’t think it’ll follow us instead of Aaron, do you?”
Wiley asked.
Savina gave him a strange look. “You’re the expert, you tell me.”
“In all honesty, I know nothing about that drone.” Wiley raised his spotters and watched it. “It’s definitely looking at our footprints. God knows what logic is guiding that thing. If it has anything to do with CoGen, there’s a good chance it’ll figure you and I are circling around.”
“It would know?”
“Aaron and I put every stratagem known by man or beast into the thing.” He lowered the spotters. “It’s going after Aaron.
We’ll wait here for a little while until it’s out of sight, then we’ll haul ass back over to the camp.”
“It’s not part of CoGen, then.”
“Who knows. Programs are copied and stored all over. AIs are built upon AIs by other AIs. Bits and pieces of code are scattered everywhere. But CoGen’s strategy and deduction engine is the most ruthless thing you’ll ever see. The heart of it is imbedded in practically every security AI system the USFMC has.”
“JTV is using it, too?”
“Yeah, in a big way.” He hung the spotters over his shoulder by the strap and said, “Let’s go.”
They made their way back to camp just before dusk, the sun sinking below the tree line. Birds were making a racket, settling in flocks looking for a place to spend the night. Wiley wordlessly handed Savina the spotters as he pulled the branches away from the optic cable and reconnected it to his laptop. He took the heavy pack from Savina and pulled out a thick connection, plugging it in next to the optic. The heavy pack was a group of MSDs, Savina knew. Whatever Wiley hoped to capture from the data line would be stored in these.
Savina scanned the horizon for anything threatening with the spotters. Meanwhile the sun sank over the horizon and the stars became visible. Some planes crossed from north to south but this time Savina ignored them; she wouldn’t bother Wiley unless they were losing altitude.
Wiley called out, “I got you, you bastard!”
“We’re finished? You got CoGen?”
“No, but my software has recognized part of his code. He’s being backed up now. This will still take a while.”
Savina stood over him, staring over his shoulder at the laptop’s softly glowing screen. It didn’t tell her a thing. Savina walked away, scanning the horizon with the spotters.
The moon rose, and the night matured. Tonight there was a slight northern breeze and it was starting to get chilly. Savina was at the top of the crumbled mound that used to be a large building, sitting on a horizontal slab and shivering. All the heavy clothes Evelyn Sunrunner had given her was in the jeep with Aaron. She was also getting tired; the running and tension during the day had taken most of her energy, and she was starting to nod off. He’s got to be done by now, Savina thought. One more look around and I’ll go back down there.
The first place she looked was north, and brackets flashed upon something dark and large. The spotters were accessing it’s ROM database, and came up with “VTOL PK238 Troop Assault Carrier.”
Savina slid off the mound and tumbled down the rubble pile, scrambling to her feet and running into the trees. “Wiley!” she called, a loud whisper. “Wiley!”
“What?”
“Troop assault carrier! It’s almost on top of us!”
They hid at the base of a large oak, right beside his laptop and the optic cable leading into the ground. “If we stay low and still, their scanners will only pick up the motion of our hearts,”
Wiley whispered. “They’ll look like small animals, and they won’t pay any attention.”
Savina thought, I was in full view when I was on top of the rubble. They must have seen me run. She held onto Wiley in fear, clinging and concentrating on controlling her breathing. Forcing herself to remain still as stone. Wiley was hugging the ground like it was his mother.
“They won’t see the computer stuff, will they?” she whispered.
“Shhhh!”
Savina held her breath. The plane glided ominously into view.
It stood out like a shadow creature in the moonlight, long, dark, hovering. It had wings but was flying way too slow for them to be supporting it. There was a deep, deep throbbing that penetrated through her body and resonated in the earth. Large, powerful gravity engines. It moved with a sureness and grace that was frightening in itself. It passed them without slowing, then veered to the west and rose just above the tree tops. Savina felt Wiley move as he turned his head to look at it.
“Damn,” he said.
“What?”
“Aaron must have engaged that stupid drone. He was just dying to, I could tell. He wants to be like Danny Marauder, and it’s going to get him killed.”
They stood up and brushed themselves off, getting rid of the clinging twigs and ants. Savina resumed her watch with the spotters, and Wiley resumed his monitoring of the data interception. A half hour later Wiley announced that they were through, and disconnected and hid the optic cable. Hefting the packs, they headed west looking for a suitable place to spend the rest of the night.
27. TOBY
Toby Whitehouse felt the pressure building in his bladder, pushing its way out, but he grimaced and held it back, squirming in his seat. Jesus was on television delivering a sermon from the golden temple. His halo pulsated through wonderful pastel colors, swirling; his voice was soft but strong, causing tingles to run up and down Toby’s back. “Praise Jesus,” he was muttering. “Praise Jesus …”
“… therefor I tell you,” Jesus was saying, “it is good to worry about life, about what you eat and drink; about your body, what clothes to wear. What is life without good, nourishing food?
What is your body without fine, tasteful clothes? Look at the birds in the air; do they not gather food and precious colored strings and pieces of cloth for their nests? It is important even to them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by being careless about life will truly enjoy the time your heavenly Father has given you?
“And why do some of you not worry about your clothes, your manner of dress? See how the flowers in the parks grow? They must be tended and maintained, or they will not come to blossom. It is this way for you; did not your Father give you a body to be tended, to be adorned? You are living in an age where even the lowliest of peasants can be adorned beyond the dreams of ancient kings! Our Father loves His children, He loves you, and He expects you to love yourself even as He loves you. Do not deprive yourself of things God has made available to you.” Jesus paused a moment, staring directly through the screen, directly into the eyes of the viewers.
“Praise, praise Jesus,” Toby mumbled. “Praise you Jesus …”
“Ask,” Jesus said, “and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone in this society who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.