* * *
After he left the admiral’s office, Gallant found Lieutenant McCall waiting for him.
“Please follow me,” she said and led him to the second floor of the building and into the Mars Fleet Command’s CIC.
McCall said, “The news you brought to Mars has been electric. It has changed the outlook of the people and the fleet. In fact, we’ve been more than a little overwhelmed in the intelligence community. Things can’t stay static much longer. Nevertheless, Admiral Collingsworth hasn't released his final decision on fleet plans.”
Gallant frowned.
“We’ve just received a data dump from a drone we recently sent to Ceres,” said McCall. “I’d like you to compare its information against the data you collected. In addition, your mental image of the Titan base could prove helpful.”
Gallant nodded in agreement, as he took a seat at a computer station. He began a painstaking comparison of his collected data against the new information. What he found was that the Titan disposition hadn’t changed significantly from the time he was at Ceres.
He said, “I imagine that the Titan leadership must be confused about UP intentions. They must be wondering why the Mars Fleet is taking so long to come to the aid of Jupiter.”
“Admiral Collingsworth has received reinforcements from Earth. He has calculated what minimal strength must remain to safeguard Mars and how many ships he can safely take into battle. First, he’s going to establish a line of communications to support his fleet’s movements. Then, he expects to move deep into the asteroid field before he turns toward Ceres in order to minimize any warning to the Titans,” said McCall.
She added, “He wants you to verify the battle cruisers, fortresses, and supply stations within the asteroid cluster. How sure are you of the plots and details that you provided about methane production?"
Gallant said, "Midshipman Mitchell and I were careful to get an exact account of the deposition and numbers of enemy ships, as well as positions of fortresses and support facilities."
McCall said, “That’s still not a guarantee that you saw the entire base. The tempo of war is quickening. We are preparing to facilitate fleet movements including our fuel and supplies. No detail is too minor for evaluation. Thanks to you, we may be able to exploit the vulnerability in the Titan deployment.”
Gallant worked hard to analyze the data.
McCall added, “The biological cells that you collected from the crippled Titan destroyer are also proving invaluable information about the biology of this methane-based life-form. All in all, the collected information is proving a treasure trove to SAI.”
After a while she was satisfied, so they moved on to consider the AI CPU device that Gallant had recovered from the Titan destroyer.
McCall explained, “The human brain is composed of billions of tiny interconnected neurons. The average human can think up to eighty thousand thoughts a day. Each thought creates a miniscule electrical discharge that can be measured by EEG (electroencephalogram) machines. Each math calculation, or word, forms a unique wave pattern. The brain state produced by each thought results in different patterns of neural interaction. These patterns of waves are characterized by different amplitudes and frequencies. Neurons constantly create new connections between each other and sever old ones. When humans learn to associate things, it causes neurons to fire together in a pattern. They produce a brainwave that with the help of a neural interface can control a device. This makes it easier to reproduce the mental state at will.”
Gallant waited patiently as McCall continued, “As you’re aware, your neural interface allows the AI to read your thought patterns and make your fighter perform actions accordingly. Each order you give to the Eagle’s controls is a unique wave pattern for the AI to interpret. The result is that the neural interface interprets your brain waves and controls the ships systems.”
Gallant said, “Midshipman Mitchel thought that the Titan device showed telepathic capabilities not found in our neural interface.”
McCall said, “She was right. I’ve reviewed the preliminary analysis of the alien AI CPU that you captured. It indicates that the aliens have a rudimentary form of telepathy. It’s a combination of telepathic communication and collective pattern recognition. This allows many individual Titans to create a single combined wave pattern for the AI to interpret. Their limited telepathy means that they normally act individually, but their thought processes can also be collective. The result is very different behavior than humans. Their approach to problems and strategies should also be very different.”
Gallant said, “Could this also explain why they have no small fighter craft?”
McCall asked, “What do you mean?”
Gallant said, “They may need several minds working in unison to form useful patterns for the neural interface and AI to interpret.”
“I hadn’t thought of that, but it makes sense,” concluded McCall. She asked, “Would you mind if I ask something for my own curiosity?”
“Not at all,” said Gallant.
“What does it feel like? I mean, when you’re mentally visualizing all the ships and planets and everything, right in the middle of a battle?”
“The best illustration I can think of is that it’s like being a quarterback on the football field. You think about what the opposing team may do and then call a play. The ball is hiked and you fade back into a pocket protected by your linemen. You sense where the pressure is on that line and avoid being sacked. As you watch the receivers run down field, you analyze the defenders' coverage. Finally, you throw the ball to the open receiver. If you’ve had a clear mental image of the defense and your own players, you should hit the receiver in stride, and he runs for a touchdown.”
“You men and your sport’s analogies,” snickered McCall.
Gallant was anxious to learn what role he would play in any future fleet operations. He expressed his concerns to Lieutenant McCall.
She said, “Before Admiral Collingsworth decides on your role in future actions, he has ordered that your neural interface ability be evaluated in detail.”
She pressed a button on her desk. Lieutenant Rudman came into the room. Rudman was an SAI officer with training in evaluating a pilot’s ability to use a neural interface. He began setting up his apparatus on the table before them. He explained the evaluation process to Gallant. He set up an elaborate neural interface connected to an AI simulation apparatus for testing Gallant’s responses to various stimuli.
The AI simulated a huge area of space with many natural obstacles and an increasing number of friendly and enemy ships conducting maneuvers. The AI stimulation tests were connected to a neural interface that Gallant wore for several intense hours. When they were done, his brain felt like a spent dishrag.
Rudman and McCall looked at each other with stunned expressions as they analyzed the results. Finally, they left to report to Admiral Collingsworth.
Gallant waited, nursing a cup of coffee until McCall returned. She asked him to sit across the table from her. She licked her lips and took a deep breath, clearly nervous about what she was to say. “Even though you’re the product of natural selection, without any genetic engineering, you were born with the enhanced enzymes necessary for a fighter pilot. Before you, only genetically engineered humans had these enzymes in sufficient quantities to operate the neural interface.”
Gallant looked directly into McCall’s eyes reading her troubled emotions. She said, “The admiral was anxious for SAI to evaluate your talents and get a more complete picture of your limitations. The tests that Lieutenant Rudman completed, along with the AI log of your Eagle, have given us a pretty good picture of your current capabilities.”
Gallant’s curiosity mounted as he waited for the results.
McCall said, “You appear to be vastly superior to both our strong-AI avatars, as well as the best of our genetically engineered pilots. Not only that, but you may be stronger than the collective pattern recognition of the Titans. You have a gre
ater range of vision over the battlefield. You have a greater capacity to visualize and evaluate more individual ships and objects. In short, you may be one or more orders of magnitude superior to any other fighter pilot.”
Gallant was stunned by the scale of her assessment.
“The admiral is assigning you to his staff aboard Superb. He intends to commit you to special missions as he sees fit. A new Eagle fighter is ready and an astrogator will be assigned when you report to Superb’s Squadron 801.”
“Would it be possible for Midshipman Sam Wellman to be my astrogator? I know him, and it will be easier for us to act as a team,” said Gallant.
“That should be no problem.”