Winger had to concede the point. “He may be right, Doc. Can you config ANAD to look and act like that Shavindra bot?”
Frost was thoughtful. “Given time, yes. It’s a question not only of basic architecture but of operations, different modes, too, Johnny. ANAD would have to not only look like them, he’d have to behave like them as well. That may take some doing, and some clever programming. In principle, though, I suppose it’s doable.”
***ANAD proposes additional scenario*** The ‘voice’ of the master assembler had a tone of urgency to it that caught both their attention.
“What’s that, ANAD?”
***ANAD has developed a higher risk scenario…but analysis indicates the scenario also has greater success probability. Masquerade as Red Hammer operative and defeat prime adversary from inside organization***
Winger looked at Frost. Their eyes met but they said nothing. They didn’t have to.
What had ANAD turned into? What was happening?
“Er…ANAD…how exactly did you arrive at these conclusions?” Winger asked. He watched Doc Frost scribbling furiously on his tablet. Neither wanted ANAD to know what they were saying. Frost showed the tablet screen to Winger:
First evidence of evolutionary growth in core processor routines…extra qubits provide processing power…master assembler has developed new analytical routines beyond my programming…we must see how this deviation plays out…
In other words, humor him, Winger thought. It was like raising a five-year old and one day, learning that he could speak Greek.
“ANAD, what you’re suggesting…infiltrating Red Hammer…that’s pretty risky. We have no intel from Q2 on where their operations are controlled from, now that the Paryang monastery is destroyed. Where would we even start?”
***ANAD will transmit full scenario details…do you request tactical summary?***
“Later, ANAD. I’m just curious…how did you come up with such a plan? What else have you got in that quantum processor of yours?”
The voice, when it came, was like an exasperated child, begging to be understood.
***ANAD analysis indicates Red Hammer operations are dispersed--***
Winger agreed. “I thought so…you’ve been linking up with SOFIE, haven’t you? You know that’s a security violation. Swarms aren’t supposed to access intelligence nets without authorization.”
***ANAD fully supports the mission of the battalion. ANAD—ANAD desired only to show…initiative***
Desired? Both Winger and Doc Frost had the same reaction at the same time. Nanoscale assembler swarms weren’t programmed to have desires, at least not beyond the Four Rules.
Frost encouraged the atomgrabber to keep humoring him. “ANAD…what else does your…er, analysis indicate?”
The master assembler swarm throbbed noticeably, with coruscating lights twinkling on and off as it rounded out its visible structure. The Doc Frost-like image of its ghostly face shifted into a crude simulation of relief…or what ANAD’s processor executed as a human facial expression of relief.
Frost openly marveled at the configuration control of so many countless assemblers able to pull off such detail.
***ANAD recommends more detailed reconnaissance of Kolkata region…ANAD analysis indicates that local fab lords may provide additional intelligence on Red Hammer operations***
“A reasonable idea,” Winger admitted. “What else have you come up with?”
Both of them saw the translucent Doc Frost image shift again, this time to a more thoughtful look, its eyes narrowing ever so slightly. It was clear that, somehow, ANAD had developed or altered a complex algorithm that permitted the swarm to portray very subtle effects…not perfectly, but with startling clarity nonetheless.
Remarkable…just remarkable, Frost nodded to Winger, who agreed. ANAD seemed not to notice and went on.
***ANAD proposes a new tactical approach…detaching swarm elements to reconfigure as ‘normal-seeming’ humans, with programmed ability to interact with other humans who may be working with or working for fab lords of Kolkata***
“It’s an intriguing idea you’ve got there--” Winger had to admit. If you have the programming and config algorithms to pull it off, he thought but didn’t say. “—but it will require higher approval for this kind of special mission.”
Doc Frost added, “We’d have to check his config pattern buffers very carefully, just to make sure he can re-config into as human a pattern as possible.”
And maybe learn some human manners too, Winger thought. “I’ll work up a tactical plan this afternoon for Colonel Kraft. Let’s head over to the officers’ wardroom. I want to bounce this off Dana Tallant and the others.”
“Johnny, I’m not through with the re-gen process. If you tax the master assembler too much at this stage, it’ll affect his core processor stability.”
“I do need ANAD whole and hearty, Doc. How long will it take?”
Frost checked some instruments on the containment control panel. “Another two hours, maybe less.”
Winger wanted to see how the rest of the battalion would react to a full swarm out of containment, configged to look like another human being. They’ll probably pee in their pants, he decided. “I’ll be back in two hours, Doc. ANAD, you do what the Doc says, understand? When the re-gen is done and you’re all checked out, I’m pulling you out of containment and we’re going over to the canteen…I don’t care what the regs say. If you’re going to operate like a human being, it’s time you learn a few tricks of the trade.”
The ghostly simulated Doc Frost image brightened perceptibly and something resembling a smile tugged at the corners of its simulated lips.
***ANAD will test all config parameters and execute compression routines to be ready, Base…all swarms function at maximum efficiency when not in containment…new configs will test core processor but ANAD will be prepared***
“Doc,” Winger said as he headed for the door. “I think the little guy’s so excited he may wet his pants.”
The officers’ wardroom occupied the southern end of the M & O building, Missions and Ordnance. Johnny Winger escorted the ANAD swarm across the leafy quadrangle to uneasy looks and stares and smirks from passing troopers and officers.
Now I know how celebrities feel, Winger thought.
From the containment facility all the way to M & O, a wide swath of open ground was hurriedly cleared. Security troopers stood in doorways dumbfounded at the sight. Even at Table Top, uncontained ANAD swarms were a sight to behold.
For his first excursion, ANAD had elected to assume a para-human config, a sort of ethereal radiance in the approximate shape and form of General Wolfus Linx himself. Winger had tried to persuade the swarm to pick another image, but ANAD was insistent. As the atomgrabber and the nanobotic formation moved across the quadrangle together, a nervous murmur rippled through the knots of troopers gathered outside.
ANAD had never come to the wardroom and canteen before. As they entered the M & O building by the side door and found their way to the canteen, a large room filled with tables and steaming coffee pots, a tense hush descended over the room.
Winger and the ANAD swarm eased past the checkout line into the seating area.
It was readily apparent that an uncontained swarm made even seasoned nanotroopers uneasy.
Both sides had a lot to learn about each other.
The ANAD swarm subtly changed config as it swelled in behind Winger, who had just sighted Dana Tallant, the c/o of 2nd Nano, and a few other recognizable faces. Winger could see the pattern of lights shifting out of the corner of his eye. ANAD was giving up the Wolfus Linx config for a friendlier countenance, taking a cue from the contours of nearby faces. Soon enough, the swarm had assumed the bland look of a Quantum Corps nog officer, fresh out of Basic.
Good thinking, Winger told himself, then realized the swarm had assumed a config exactly matching a Quantum Corps recruiting poster from twenty years ag
o, hung on the wall over the dessert table. One thing this swarm could do was re-config quick, like a chameleon, and assume a pattern that reflected its surroundings.
Doc Frost must have really been tinkering under ANAD’s hood.
“Wings—“ it was Tallant, eyeing their approach over a steaming mug, “—looks like you brought along some kind of newbie there…Doc Frost approve of this little unexpected expedition?”
Sitting with Major Dana Tallant were several others: Corporal “Mighty Mite” Barnes, Sheila Reaves, and Taj Singh. All three were attached to 1st Nano but Dana Tallant had come by to trade scuttlebutt on upcoming missions.
Winger and the swarm surrounded the table. Other troopers at nearby tables eased away.
“We’re just checking out a few new configs. Doc said it was okay to air out ANAD a little.”
Tallant snorted, eyeing the nervous faces around them. “You sure picked a helluva a place to take the little guy for a walk. Jeez, Wings, what are you trying to do: scare off the whole wardroom? We come here to unwind, kick our feet up, not drive everybody off.”
Winger sat down, nodded to Barnes and the rest. He fingered a roll off Tallant’s plate and wolfed it down. “Look, Dana—“ he lowered his voice, “we’ve got a lot of work to do making ANAD part of the battalion. You know that. And we’ve got to try new tactics with that temple in Kolkata…ANAD got his ass kicked the first time he ran up against those new bots.”
Tallant smiled faintly. “Wouldn’t have happened if 2nd Nano had been there.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. The task force was taken from the whole battalion.”
Tallant sucked loudly on a lemon. “So what’s the deal, Wings? What are you trying to prove bringing a live swarm in here like this?”
“It’s like a sim, Dana. Actually, it was ANAD’s idea. Doc Frost has really jazzed up his config engine. If ANAD can configure as something like a human, something that walks, talks and acts like a human, he may be able to infiltrate a fab lab in Kolkata, get some intelligence on who or what we’re dealing with. Those bots at the temple have to have a weakness somewhere. ANAD’s way may be our best shot, maybe our last shot, at finding it.”
Dana Tallant studied the swarm critically and considered what Winger had said.
The loose formation of nanoscale assemblers bore a vague resemblance to a typical Quantum Corps nog. There was a translucent, almost ethereal quality to the config, with faint sparkling along the edges of the swarm as it struggled to maintain itself.
“Not bad, actually,” she decided. “Could be a little more solid. Looks like an apparition now, almost like a ghost.”
“Or a bad dream,” said Mighty Mite Barnes. “Skipper, are we really going to see more of this…I mean, ANAD swarms floating around outside containment…trying to look like us? Why can’t they just look like themselves?”
“General Linx ordered us to do whatever we have to,” Winger said. “This was ANAD’s idea.”
***ANAD can assume configurations that emulate any solid structure…in only a few minutes***
The tinny, somewhat nasal voice tinkled across the table, startling the troopers. Conversations at nearby tables suddenly evaporated into stunned quiet.
“How’d he do that?” Sheila Reaves asked.
“Doc Frost juiced his processor with some new routines. ANAD uses some of his config to generate sound waves, simulating a human voice.”
“Sounds like he’s talking from inside a barrel,” Tallant said. “Can he hear us too?”
***ANAD receives acoustic waves that are interpreted as voice communication…ANAD interprets an interrogative statement***
“He thinks you’ve asked a question,” Winger explained.
Tallant shook her head. “Jeez, this is creepy. ANAD, if you hear and understand me, answer this: why do you want to leave containment? Why do you want to come around here, trying to look like us?”
***ANAD finds containment interferes with natural swarm configurations…swarms are free-flow entities…swarms fill all available spaces…natural formations exceed boundaries of containment***
As the swarm responded, it twinkled around the edges, like some kind of apparition.
Barnes sniffed. “Natural formations, my ass. It’s still a machine, isn’t it? Programmed to do what we say. Looks like some kind of program flaw to me.”
Winger had once thought the same way. “Mighty Mite, there was a time when I would have agreed with you. But Doc Frost says the swarms have acquired enough processing power in their quantum cores to show emerging properties like sentience. No one assembler exhibits this. But as a swarm, the bots exhibit something like intelligence.”
“And all this is something like too creepy for me,” Reaves told them. She shuddered and finished off her drink in one swig.
The swarm then began shifting, away from a human-like config. The recruiting poster face dissolved and all of them watched as the formation collapsed into an amorphous shapeless fog, still twinkling but now resembling nothing human.
***ANAD wishes only conditions suitable for conformance to its natural configurations…this concept is parsed and offered as equal to your concept self-determination. Secondary parsing generates concept equals freedom…these concepts are familiar to humans?***
It seemed as if ANAD was asking the questions now.
“Now, he’s a philosopher,” said Dana Tallant. “Wings, what the hell are we supposed to do with this? I mean…look around you! Troopers are leaving, for Chrissakes! It’s like we’ve got a dangerous disease.”
“Skipper, with all due respects,” said Barnes, eyeing the rapidly emptying wardroom, “—ANADs and humans are different. Too different to mix like this.”
Winger was thinking of the mission that ANAD had proposed. “Maybe so, Mighty Mite. Maybe you’re right, for now. But there’s a giant rock headed right for Earth and we don’t have a lot of time to debate differences. If ANAD can penetrate that temple in Kolkata disguised as a human and shut down those quantum generators, I’m all for it.” He watched the swarm for a few moments. It was swelling and contracting like a living, breathing entity. The question was…was it living?
“Maybe ANAD can’t fool us,” Winger went on. “but he might be able to pull off a disguise against a fab lord. He might just gain us some critical intelligence, give us something we can attack to put those generators out of action.”
“Why not just bomb the place?” Reaves offered. “Turn loose a few killsats and fry ‘em…that’s what I say.”
“Remember Paryang, Sheila?” Winger reminded them all of the assault on the Himalayan monastery. “That was a quantum generator too. We slammed it with everything we had: ANAD swarms, laser, coilgun, HERF, you name it. The damned thing kept changing state, winking in and out of existence. We could never figure out if we’d hit anything or not. Did we blast it to atom fluff or did it just zap itself into another dimension? Hell of a device, Sheila. Normal tactics didn’t work. And this one at Kolkata seems just as slippery.”
“So ANAD configs as a human and turns spy…is that what you’re saying?”
“We’ve already proposed it to General Linx and gotten the go-ahead. It may work. It may not. But we’ve got to try…before UNIFORCE shuts us down…you know dismantling Quantum Corps is part of Red Hammer’s demands.”
The troopers glared at Winger for a few moments, not really convinced, but unable to offer any counter-arguments.
Tallant put into words what everyone else was feeling. “ANADs and humans have a long way to go, Wings. Working together on operations and missions is one thing. Living together in society…” She shrugged, unable to find the right words.
“It’s going to take time, “ Winger acknowledged. “I only hope we have that time.” He stood up abruptly. “ANAD, you and I better get over to Colonel Kraft’s office. He wanted mission details by 0800 hours.”
As before, Winger an
d the swarm made their way across the quadrangle to the Ops center. Nanotroopers crossing the grounds gave them a wide berth.
Winger felt like a leper. This is what an outcast feels like, he told himself.
He found Jurgen Kraft at his desk, distractedly rifling through papers. The Colonel looked up, his eyes growing wide at the sight of the loose swarm filling in behind Winger in the doorway.
“I see you don’t waste any time, Winger. That is ANAD, I presume.”
“It is, sir. We’ve just come from the wardroom. I have a mission plan worked out. Me and ANAD worked on it together.”
Kraft was grim and tightlipped as he watched ANAD change config. The formation of assemblers gathered tighter and began to take on the look of General Wolfus Linx again. Like a ghost, the stern Teutonic visage of CINCQUANT glared down at them.
Kraft had to admit to himself that the likeness, though ragged at the perimeter and ever-shifting, bore an eerie resemblance to Linx.
“Winger, one thing I don’t understand about this config business—who decides what config ANAD takes nowadays? Does he just decide this on his own?”
Winger knew that Kraft was uneasy with ANAD assuming the form of a superior officer. “ANAD runs his own program, most of the time. I can force a config change with the right command. Any of us with the link can do that. Beyond that, I’m thinking that ANAD picks whatever config he thinks is most appropriate.”
Kraft hmmphed. “Tell him that configging like CINCQUANT is never appropriate.”
At that moment, ANAD ‘spoke.’
***ANAD configures according to detected parameter values…when parameters equal set values, a config is called from memory and executed…ANAD can change stored values to add or remove a configuration***
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Sir, I think it means that he runs configs based on his analysis of the situation. Doc Frost has given him the software to detect and analyze his environment, like any of us. He responds to that environment by selecting a certain configuration.”
Kraft was dubious. “I’d say he needs a little fine-tuning. Let’s see this mission plan of yours.”
Winger handed over the disk and Kraft ran it. The plan showed simulations of the swarm configured to look like a human, interacting with simulated fab lords near the Howrath Bridge bazaar in Kolkata, then assaulting the Shavindra temple again, with scores of para-human troopers created by detached elements of a larger swarm scurrying around and across the temple grounds.