"I'm so terribly ashamed, Mister Jennings!" London native Doctor Schlaff admitted with a grin. "Countless hours on the wire with you, sir, and I had no idea that you were a man of the cloth!"
"Oh, it's no problem, Doctor. It hasn't always been so. I'm no stranger amongst the unenlightened." Cameron jabbed in response.
"My, I do wish someone would have tipped me off!" Schlaff continued to chuckle. "If nothing else so that I could've held back the naughty details of my escapades! Your ears must've been ringing!"
"It's nothing, really." Jennings assured him. "Sexual conquest did not escape me in my youth. The adventures you spoke of may have been a bit more, um -- crude -- than those of my past, but -- to each his own." Jennings was blushing now, grisly details of the tales he'd been told by the renowned physicist and philanthropist flooding back into his memory.
"Say no more, friend, say no more!" Schlaff laughed, seeming legitimately embarrassed despite the heavy scent of liquor on his breath which was likely relieving him of his inhibitions.
Schlaff, who had joined Project Livewire when NATO became involved, had intercepted Jennings shortly after he, Walker and Denisa has stepped out of the APC. The priest didn't mind stopping in this long corridor between the living quarters and the ops center, as his legs were still a bit wobbly after the whole labyrinth experience.
The installation was rather dreary, as one might imagine considering it was nestled a half mile underneath the wasteland that is Siberia. The space was dimly lit and looked as though it were a hollow chipped out of a massive slab of concrete.
Denisa and Walker had continued on to a conference room to meet with the rest of the team, leaving Jennings in the shark tank all by himself.
"It is curious, though," Schlaff continued. "A man as successful as you came to be -- trading in his scalpel for a copy of The Good Book. I must admit I'm a bit puzzled at the path you've taken. Did you not enjoy the wealth your day job brought you? The freedom of having?"
"Neurosurgery was good to me, I can't argue that fact." Jennings noted. "And I loved the work, but -- The Lord has called to me since I was a child. It took me a little longer than most who join the seminary to discover the true depth of my faith, and it was in the operating room -of all places- that I learned what I was truly meant to do on this Earth. Eventually, there came a time at which the calling was so loud I could not resist it a moment longer. That's when I resigned my position, walked away from full tenure at the University and gave my life to God."
"Discovered your faith in an O.R.? I'm afraid you've lost me on that one, my friend."
"Yes, it's quite true." The preacher continued, seeming to struggle to express himself. "I don't know that I have the words to explain, Doctor -- but, well, for starters, the complexity of the Human brain itself spoke to me. It's a wondrous thing, so complex in its form and function that there are still many aspects of it that we simply don't understand, despite all of our technology. There is an undeniable design inherent in every cell that is far beyond even my comprehension, and in my time I was considered among the best in my field."
"So, essentially, what your saying is that you cannot fathom the notion that the brain is a product of nature, even given the countless eons through which it has potentially evolved?"
"That's a fair summation, Doctor, but that realization - to which your objection is clear - was but a brick in the foundation of the temple that God has built within my heart. In my field I found that cases of trauma were my passion and, eventually, my specialty. I took people into the operating theater that others wouldn't dare to touch. On a day to day basis I opened the skulls of living, breathing individuals and saw things inside that would turn the stomach of The Devil himself. Most of these people were as good as dead before they were wheeled into my world, but when it seemed as hopeless as it could possibly be -- when I felt there was nothing that I could possibly do to save the soul laid out before me -- that's when I felt the presence of The Holy Spirit. I would find myself deep in prayer and all my years of training would fall away in the light of God. I could feel our Heavenly Father working through me... commandeering my hands and using them with a grace that is not of this world. Together, we made miracles happen. When I emerged from the theater after these sessions I felt a euphoria that I could not possibly make you understand through even my most passionate sermon. Many speak of God, but very few can say they understand what it is to walk hand in hand with Him"
"But you believe you can?" Schlaff wondered.
"Oh yes, I know that I can."
"Yes, I see." Schalff said dismissively. "So," he continued, sounding nearly condescending now. "You found you have this incredible gift that allows you to quite literally save the lives of dying people -- and you believe that God himself somehow commanded you to throw it all away? That seems a bit counter-intuitive, wouldn't you agree?"
"As a surgeon I had the opportunity to save hundreds of lives." Jennings replied sternly. "As a witness to The Lord, Jesus Christ, I have been blessed with the ability to save thousands."
"To save them literally, Cameron?" Schlaff asked.
"I believe so, yes." Jennings responded quickly.
"To literally save their lives, is that what you're saying?" Schalff attacked. "The Lord has granted you the ability to literally, physically save someone's life through spreading his word?"
"I'm not sure what you're getting at, Doctor Schlaff."
"I'm asking a simple question, that's all -- has God given you some sort of -- well -- power, I suppose, through the application of which you can take hold of a person lingering on the brink of death and somehow reel them back in and restore them to life? Is that what you're saying? That you can literally save a person's life through the power of Christ?"
"Well no, then; if that is your definition of literally saving someone's life, I guess I cannot literally save someone's life through the power of my faith."
"Really?" Schlaff snapped. "Well what a shame, then, as that is precisely the ability you had -- back when you were planted firmly on the ground with us here in the real world. Now you've gone and chucked it in the rubbish in favor of telling fairy tales, yes? And along with it, a good deal of money that you could have used, perhaps, to help some of the others among our kind that are not blessed with such talents as yourself? Have you seen these starving children in the news lately, Cameron, or has your head been too high up amongst the clouds?"
"All the money in the world could not secure my place in The Kingdom Of God, Doctor." Jennings retorted with serenity. "And I hope for your sake, my friend, that you will one day find your place in the shadow of Christ as well."
"Excuse me, Doctor Schlaff" The angelic voice of Kay Rose interrupted. "They were looking for you in the conference room down the corridor."
"Indeed," he replied. "Cameron, if you'll excuse me then?"
Jennings nodded, Schlaff turning his back and stumbling away.
"Thank you, Kay." He said gratefully.
"Sorry about that, Father." She replied. "He started tipping the bottle the moment he got here and hasn't stopped since. He must've brought it with him, I suppose."
"You don't have to apologize for him, he's his own man. More importantly than all that, how have you been? It's been so long -- what, six years now?"
"We haven't seen each other since the wedding -- nearly seven years, in fact." She smiled.
"By the look of you, Trevor has been taking great care of my favorite parishioner."
"He has," she confirmed. "He told me to give you his love. His family still talks about how beautiful the service was -- you didn't make a liar out of me when I told them that you were the best."
"Are the two of you still living in Amsterdam?"
"No," she said as though disappointed. "Most of the people there were beyond my help. They needed an interventionist, not a psychotherapist."
"They are rather -- unrestrained over there, I suppose."
"Mmm hm." She confirmed. "We moved the practice to Denmark three years back - living there has been a dream come true."
"Excellent!" Jennings said, clenching his chest. "It warms my heart to know you're happy -- even if it means you're missing out on the most electrifying sermons the world has ever known!"
"On that note, Father," Kay said with uncertainty welling in her eyes. "I did have something I wanted to ask you."
"By all means, Kay -- ask anything you'd like."
"Don't get me wrong, Father," she started. "I was flattered when you invited me to work on this project with yourself and Mister Walker."
"Yes, I could tell."
"And I'm proud of what little I've contributed to what we've accomplished."
"Don't sell yourself short, kiddo, you've done a lot for us. What's bothering you?"
"Well, I -- I've just been having second thoughts lately about what we're doing here. I've spent my entire life trying to learn and abide by the word of God, the Father, and --"
"--and you feel that we are overstepping our boundaries in trying to bring Darius to life?" He interrupted.
Kay's eyes jumped open now. "Exactly! I assume you know what I was thinking because you had the same problem -- how have you been able to reconcile what we're doing with your faith?"
"Well -" he raised his eyebrows and sighed in hesitation. "That could take a while to explain. What we've set out to do raises a number of questions when held against what we're taught by The Bible. Perhaps I could better answer if you were to elaborate on which aspects are most troubling you?"
"It just seems to me that we're going way too far... you just said yourself that we're trying to bring life to Darius. Isn't it a bit presumptuous of us to seek to bring life? I feel like we've become as the descendants of Noah and are trying to build a tower to reach the Heavens."
"So you're afraid that we will draw God's ire and he will summon a great wind to topple us?"
She laughed, looking to the floor. "It sounds a bit ridiculous when you say it that way, doesn't it?"
"Not at all, Kay -- it sounds like the rational interpretation of scripture by a very sharp young woman." He explained, placing his hand warmly on her shoulder. "As Moses said to the Israelites when they beheld the thunder, lightning and smoke at Mount Sinai; God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning. Your concerns aren't unfounded, sweetie, they are perfectly legitimate. What's more than that, the fact that you struggle with them is proof that you have been anointed by the Holy Spirit. Do you think our friend Doctor Schlaff spent even a fraction of a second pondering the gravity of what we're doing here and how it might be perceived by The Almighty?"
"No, I can't imagine he did." She conceded.
"Of course he didn't! It's the voice of God within us that compels us to examine everything through the microscope of faith. I struggled with the same questions your facing when Jim Walker reached out to me so long ago. I can't tell you how many nights I spent tossing in my bed, praying to The Lord for guidance."
"But you've obviously overcome your concerns -- how?"
"I guess it's a matter of perspective, dear. God says in no uncertain terms that he is the one and only... he who gives life, and he who takes it away. He is Alpha and Omega -- the beginning, and the end. We are but travelers on His road, and we are to abide by His terms as set forth in the scripture. He commanded us, saying - you shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in Heaven above, on the Earth beneath nor in the waters below. I couldn't get those words out of my head when Jim told me what he was doing. In fact, I had myself nearly convinced that this passage was an implicit warning against exactly what we've been doing with our collective talents."
"I hadn't even considered that passage -- I'm afraid you're taking me in the wrong direction, Father." She chuckled.
"Let me tell you, Kay, I sermonized Walker so hard with that passage - I'm amazed he didn't run off into the sunset. It's a testament to his character that he took those very words and used them to open the door to my understanding."
"How so?"
"He explained to me that Darius was not meant to be -- nor could he be -- anything that resembled the wondrous works of God. We can replicate many of the systems that make our bodies function; we can program algorithms that simulate thought and reasoning, we can fashion limbs of steel and titanium that look and behave like those of our own, but when it's all said and done -- Darius is no more than the sum of his parts. What makes us what we are as a species is that mysterious x-factor; that magical bit of God within us all that was bestowed upon us by The Father himself. We do not seek -- nor could we even attempt to simulate -- the ability to instill a soul into the heap of metal and wiring that Darius is reduced to when we pull the plug on him. When we cut the strings of this modern day Pinocchio, he simply falls down."
"Jim said this?" She asked, looking confused again.
"More or less," Jennings qualified.
"But he always talks about the quest for sentience."
"Jim Walker understands as well as anyone that there will never be anything on a significant level that resembles self-awareness amongst robots. It's simply not possible, that fact has been all but proven. Darius may develop some artificial form of such awareness but, as I explained, it will amount to no more than a very complex calculation that will be purged by the neural network as an irrational equation. We are not creating life, Kay... we're creating very intricate machines. Nothing more, nothing less. Would you argue that a smart-bomb is an offense to God because it possesses a program that allows it to alter its trajectory en route to its target -- essentially a limited ability to think?"
"No," she answered. "I don't suppose I would..."
"Right!" He said emphatically. "No one would... Darius is no different than that smart-bomb. He's a high-tech walking abacus -- and that's all."
Denisa appeared at the end of the corridor scanning with excited eyes. She smiled when saw the two and called.
"Kay! Cameron! Come on, we're going in!"
"Here we come!" Kay returned, turning back to Jennings.
"I hope I've put your mind at ease at least a bit, dear." He said.
Kay took a deep breath and thought about all that he had said, weighing it against all that she had learned about the will of God.
"You did, Father... I've always trusted you, even when I thought you were crazy for telling me I should marry the young man that always sat in the last pew."
Jennings laughed. "I haven't steered you wrong yet, have I?"
"The jury's still out, Father! Let's go -- we don't want to miss anything."
"You go on ahead of me," he replied. "I've got to make a stop at the little boy's room first."
"Okay." She grabbed Cameron's hands and squeezed them tightly, her face aglow. "This is it, Father! This is everything we've been working for!"
"Indeed. Let us enjoy the fruits of our labor."
Kay bounced off, nearly sprinting towards the lab in her glee. Jennings was excited too, but his nerves were rattled in a way he'd never experienced before. The day had brought many new experiences, each more horrifying than the last. Once Kay had pulled the door of the conference room closed behind her, Jennings took a deep breath of his own.
"This they begin to do," he said aloud to himself, stepping cautiously closer towards what was to come next. "And now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined."
Reaching into his breast pocket he retrieved a small white pill and popped it into his mouth, letting it dissolve as he continued.
"So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the Earth and did confound their speech... Therefore is the name of it called -- Babel."
The conference room was buzzing with conversation, seven old comrades finally coming face to face with each other again after years of correspondence limited to Skype, sat p
hone and email. There was a giddy mood abound, though Schlaff was still the only one riding the alcohol train.
Jim Walker's face had been fixed in an ear-to-ear grin since the moment he stepped into the room, and his elation was contagious. The outcome of the day's experiment was by no means guaranteed to be glorious, but each of them felt a sense of victory nonetheless. Regardless of the result, the mere fact that Darius had been assembled was an accomplishment that would be the highlight of their individual careers. Success would make them legends - but in failure they would be relegated to the status of simply royalty within their fields.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" Denisa shouted over the crowd. "If I can have your attention, please." The din was quickly overtaken by an eager hush at her call. "If you'd like to take your seats, please, we should be getting the briefing underway."
The gathered dignitaries sat, Schlaff essentially collapsing into his chair next to Kay and Walker. The door swung open as Cameron stepped in and took the last available space. Some among them had pads and paper to take notes to capture the occasion, others simply listened intently with undivided attention.
"First of all," Denisa began. "Let me take this opportunity to formally welcome all of you to NATO 4-4-1. As you know, I've been assigned to this facility for the past two years. Even though I'm meeting most of you for the first time here today, I feel as though I know each of you more intimately than I did my ex-husband. To that end, let me thank you for consuming enough of my time and energy to contribute to making him my ex-husband."
The room answered with a laugh, just as she had hoped.
"It's truly been my pleasure to work with each and every one of you, and I look forward to continuing to do so as we move into the mass production phase of our project."
"Here here!" Schlaff shouted in response, none of the others bothering to join him as they hung on to every word.
"We've brought you here today to witness the first full-scale testing session with Darius. His construction was completed early this year, and programming wrapped up just a few short weeks ago. As you'll see when we step into the lab momentarily, he is an amazing piece of engineering that will be the marvel of the world for decades to come."
"Corporal," a man's voice broke in over a loudspeaker.
"Yes?" Denisa responded.
"We're ready to proceed when you are."
"Very good, Private -- we'll be in shortly." The anticipation was growing to a crescendo now as Denisa continued. "We have tested each of Darius' sub-systems individually since the programming was completed and have achieved remarkable results. Today we will finally put all of the pieces together and see just how much our mechanized man can do. The test will be broken down into three phases - each with a set of objectives to be accomplished. In the first phase, our test pilot, Aviram, will work with Darius to survey the battle field -- in this case, our lab. Tell me -- who here has seen the movie Avatar?"
"You mean there are people who have not seen Avatar?" Jennings quipped, a round of laughter similar to the one Denisa had earned sweeping the group.
"Ok, good." Denisa chuckled. "In this scenario Darius will act very much as Aviram's avatar. Avi will be fully interfaced with him - controlling every movement Darius makes. You'll see that Avi is wearing a nylon jumpsuit covered with nodes and sensor clusters. This suit is very similar to those that will be worn by pilots operating units in the field, the only issue being that this incarnation is a bit uncomfortable and inhibiting. We have a full R&D team working to simplify the unit and should have a new design ready by year's end. Even so, you'll be able to see how perfectly we've translated the movements of the pilot into each point of articulation built into Darius. Every twitch of every muscle initiated by Avi will be mirrored by the machine. It may seem a bit clumsy at times, but this is due, again, to the fact that the operator's suit is presently too bulky and restrictive. For the test we've opted, for the sake of suppressing variables, to establish the interface through a direct tether between the operator and the prototype. You'll see a large coil of cabling connected at the base of Darius' skull that is routed into the ceiling and over to the control console. In a deployment situation, the interface would obviously be achieved through a com-link via the dedicated satellites scheduled for launch next month. The hard-wired connection we're using today will limit Darius' movement to a radius of about ten meters, but the interface will otherwise be virtually the same as the sat link-up. The operator will be wearing a virtual reality helmet that will allow him to see and hear everything that Darius transmits to him in the first person, and in real time. Of course, Darius is equipped with two state-of-the-art cameras that will present the world in three dimensions and allow the operator to pan, zoom and focus as well as to toggle between several recon modes including thermal, infrared and backscatter x-ray."
"Amazing," Kay said aloud to herself.
"The objective of this phase will simply be for Aviram to explore the workings of the interface and grow a bit accustomed to the link, which will likely be a bit disorienting at first. Once we've taken Darius through a few paces we'll proceed to phase two in which the full range of symbiotic properties of the interface will become apparent. Darius' first tier brain functions will be enabled, allowing him to gather and analyze data from the environment around him. He will extrapolate from that data anything that he deems pertinent to the pre-programmed mission objectives and relay that information to the operator via his heads-up-display. For this phase we've arranged for the first test of Darius' reasoning capabilities. Within the lab are six planted items of interest of which Aviram has no prior knowledge. These range from the presence of mock-ups of improvised explosive devices to traces of illicit narcotics. Darius' mission is to identify all of these items and report their location and an assessment of the threat they pose to the operator, who can then use this broadened pool of information in making a decision as to how he will proceed."
"So this machine could serve as a drug dog, too?" Schlaff laughed, nearly hysterically. "A bit more expensive than your run of the mill German Sheppard, wouldn't you agree?"
"Once he has satisfied that portion of the assignment, Avi will guide Darius in opening an arms locker to retrieve - then load - a G.T.A.R. 21 assault rifle fitted with a 40 millimeter grenade launcher."
"Holy shit," Schlaff interjected again. "A little hardcore, isn't it?"
"The G.T.A.R. has been selected as the standard issue sidearm for field units -- but don't worry, he'll be loading a magazine of rubber rounds for our purposes."
"And the grenade launcher? With what shall that be loaded?"
"--with what are essentially paint balls. At this time a simulated bogey will approach with a weapon drawn."
"I'm sorry," Jennings spoke up now. "A simulated bogey?"
"In this case, a member of my team toting a small caliber pistol -- his loaded with blanks. Darius will aid Avi in locking onto the target and firing a grenade followed by a short spray of fire. The paint grenade will allow us to assess the accuracy of Darius' targeting system, and the spray will provide data as to the effect of recoil on the calibration protocols. It will be loud for a moment, but the feedback we record will be invaluable. That will complete the second phase and, assuming we're pleased with what we see, we will move forward to the third - and most intense - stage of the experiment. To begin, we'll transmit an objective and detailed mission plan to Darius. This will trigger his second-tier brain functions. The objective in this case will be to disable a communications array encrypted with an un-deciphered enemy code. We've setup one of our computer banks to simulate a communications server with an encryption protocol known only to our lead programmer. A handful of enemy soldiers, again played by members of my team, will be stationed in the vicinity of the terminal, along with several civilians -- played by you. Upon commencement of the mission we will simulate the jamming of the interface... all contact between Darius and Aviram
will be terminated. This will prompt Darius to become fully autonomous and attempt to carry out his mission alone. He is programmed, in this instance, with a directive to preserve civilian life at all costs and limit the use of force to a minimum."
"So," Walker began. "What represents successful completion of his mission?"
"If everything works as it should, Darius will intimidate the enemy soldiers into standing-down, allowing him access to the terminal. From the moment he begins to make his first attempt he will have a two-minute window in which to decipher the encryption codes and disable the communications server before the terminal locks him out -- simulating an auto-destruct sequence. Once this is done, Aviram will re-establish the interface for the Grand Finale."
"Grand Finale?" Kay inquired. "What could you possibly ask Darius to do that would top everything you've just described?"
"Aviram will lead Darius in popping the cork from a bottle of Dom Perignon to begin the celebration!"
"Incredible!" Jim Walker remarked enthusiastically. "Simply incredible! Great work, Denisa! You and your team have designed a phenomenal gauntlet for this experiment. I personally cannot wait to drink to our success!"
"The toast will be to you, Jim." Kay smiled. "Your vision and ambition have brought us here today, so we will celebrate in your honor."
"Even I would drink to that, and I've been sober for eleven years," Jennings added. "I'm so proud to be here with all of you. To think of how many lives we're saving -- it's stunning. We are in the midst of history, ladies and gentlemen. Scholars will speak of this moment for generations to come."
"Are there any questions before we proceed?" Denisa asked, scanning the room.
Schlaff briefly raised his hand awkwardly at the elbow, not leaving it elevated for more than a split second before letting it flop back down to his armrest. After pondering something for a moment he raised it again -- then let it drop once more. Finally he spoke up after a frustrated grunt.
"Sweet-cheeks," he said bluntly. "There is something that I'd like to know..."
"What might that be, Doctor Schlaff?" She asked, maintaining composure only because she knew it was the liquor talking.
"Let's say," he muttered, pausing every few words. He was so far gone at this point that it seemed a true challenge to compose an intelligible sentence. "Let's say -- something goes wrong in there..." He pointed to the lab. "Now I'm not talking some simple malfunction. Let's say something goes seriously wrong in there... as in the shit really hits the fan... what do we do then?"
"I'm sorry, Doctor Schlaff, I'm afraid I don't understand your question."
"It's a simple question, darling, really it is. If something goes wrong in there -- a catastrophic failure... what do we do?"
"Can you be a bit more specific about what sort of failure you're alluding to, Doctor?"
"Look, sugar-tits... I designed a good number of the components in that -- that thing you have in there! The endoskeleton, the mechanized joints, the gearing ratios. You should know them very well -- so surely you understand what that machine is capable of. It has the strength of a hundred men, my dear. Beneath its skin is a shield composed of two and a quarter inches of Lexan, beneath that is a shell of nearly an inch of titanium. This toy soldier of yours weighs fourteen hundred pounds, darling, it’s not exactly a helpless little puppy."
"I am keenly aware of the design specs, sir, I helped build it." Denisa was becoming visibly annoyed now.
A person of lesser discipline would have likely struck the man at this point. She was certainly tempted to; and it's likely no one would have thought less of her for acting on her urges.
"Then you know that your Darius could kill everyone in that room without batting an eye if it decided to do so. You've painted a pretty picture of this thing dancing around like a puppet for us, but the truth is we have no idea what it's going to do when you flip that big switch. I've seen some of the programming you've fed into that thing, and it's some pretty sophisticated stuff. It may well decide it doesn't much like the thought of putting on a dog and pony show for our entertainment. What will you do if that happens? You could shoot the damned thing a thousand times without doing any damage... it's designed to survive a point-blank blast from a fucking tank for Christ's sake. If it decides it doesn't like your perfume it could easily come to the conclusion that all of mankind should be destroyed. Certainly you're prepared for something like that to happen. If you're not then I would be damned sure that no one steps anywhere near the on button until you've made some sort of arrangement to contain that thing. Do you have any idea what could happen if it managed to find its way out of this place somehow?"
Jennings was confused, now. "Even if something like that happened, he couldn't make it far." He said, wondering how Schlaff could pose such a fundamentally flawed question. "His power cell would be fully drained within four hours, there's nothing within four hours travel of this place."
"Its what?" Schlaff asked, looking at Jennings as though he'd just proposed time travel.
Walker groaned in the background, burying his face into his cupped hands. Jennings looked to his friend, now; a man he respected, admired and trusted with every ounce of his being. Schlaff's confusion at what Cameron had said wasn't necessary in allowing Jennings a peak behind the curtain - Walker's body language said it all. Cameron Jennings had been duped.
Schlaff seemed to pick up on what was happening. His head swiveled side to side between the two men, Jennings staring in horror at Walker, Walker cowering in shame.
"Father Jennings," he laughed. "I do believe someone has lied to you, my friend."
"Wait a minute," Kay spoke up. "What's going on?"
She grabbed hold of Jennings' arm in a futile attempt to draw his attention. His eyes were locked firmly on Walker, though. An atomic blast likely wouldn't have sufficed in breaking their gaze.
"Cameron, what does this mean?"
"That's a great question, Kay." Jennings said softly. "What does this mean, Jim?"
"You never told him?" Schlaff asked, almost as shocked as Jennings. "That's dirty pool, Jim! I'm quite surprised at you! Not to mention impressed!"
"What didn't he tell him?" Kay continued.
Walker's head was still buried as though he were an ostrich hiding in the sand. "I never meant to deceive you, Cam." He said. "The last thing I ever wanted was to deceive you."
"It would appear that it's too late to avoid that, Jim." Jennings said solemnly. "If Darius doesn't draw electricity from a rechargeable power cell -- where does his power come from?"
Walker was shaking his head now, still planted firmly in his palms.
"It generates its own power, preacher!" Schlaff shouted. "It's completely self sufficient! We spent months perfecting the circuitry."
"So... it doesn't shut down for charging after four hours?"
"It doesn't shut down at all Father Jennings! Not unless someone tells it to - and there's frankly no guarantee that it will listen!"
Walker rubbed at his eyes repeatedly, perhaps hoping this was a nightmare from which he would awaken.
"There are safeguards in place that will ensure it listens." He said in a quiet, defeated tone.
"Bullshit, man!" Schlaff pounded his fist against the table. "You've got so much shit spinning about its mind, you have no idea what it will choose to listen to."
"Why would you do it, Jim?"
"There was never a choice, Cameron."
"Sure there was, there's always a choice -- always an alternative."
"They would have pulled the plug."
"So what if they did?"
"We'd come so far!"
"But you gave me your word that --"
Walker uncharacteristically lost control of himself, grabbing his bottle of water from the table and hurling it into the far wall. The intensity in his eyes bit hard as he shouted.
"Nobody wants a soldier that you have to plug i
nto the fucking wall every few hours, Cam!"
Realizing he'd blown his top Walker paused - holding up his index finger as though to ask for a second as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Jim," Jennings killed the moment. "Why didn't you tell me when you made the change?"
"Hello?:" Schlaff jumped in. "Is there anyone home? There never was a power cell that required charging, Father. It was a ruse -- you were played, now let's get on with it."
"You would never have agreed to help if you knew, Cameron."
"You're damned right I wouldn't have!" The preacher snapped.
"Nor would I." Kay added.
"I needed you, Cameron, you were the best -- you are the best."
"I don't know how to react, Jim -- I don't. This changes everything. I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with what we've done, now."
"This changes nothing, Cam -- it changes nothing! Darius is still a machine! How many conversations did we have about the nature of a soul? The essence of life? I wrote the fucking program, Cameron, trust me! We can turn the damned thing off if we need to! Please give me that much credit, Cameron! You know me -- you know my spirit, and you know that the last thing I would do is put innocent people in harm's way! We've come so far together, please... just trust me on this one..."
"Well, my old friend." Jennings responded thoughtfully. "I don't know that I have much choice at this point in time. I hope -- I pray that you're right. The potential consequences if you're wrong are staggering."
"No, not really." Denisa explained enigmatically. "NATO is not oblivious to the potential for -- complications. There is, in fact, a contingency in place that can be put into play should it become necessary."
"I've come to realize that the term contingency is not tossed about lightly around here." Jennings said. "What does this one entail?"
"As we discussed before, Cameron, Darius' systems are susceptible to an electro-magnetic pulse. There are provisions in place to produce such a pulse if need be."
"An EMP? How?" Schlaff asked.
"An explosively pumped flux compression generator amplified by a vircator."
"A virtual cathode oscillator?" Schlaff continued. "What about EMR?"
"What about it?"
"Surely it will be a byproduct."
"Naturally."
"Ionizing or non?"
"Ionizing."
"Christ, you're mad!"
"Wait!" Kay jumped in. "Am I the only one here that has no idea what you are talking about?":
"An EMP will essentially disrupt and destroy all electrical components within the range of the pulse." Walker explained. "A pulse can be generated several different ways, the most extreme being the detonation of an atomic bomb. A flux compression generator is among the cleanest methods that works consistently, but it puts off electro-magnetic radiation - EMR."
"Is that dangerous?"
"If the radiation is ionizing, yes."
"And she said it was -- what does that mean?"
"It means, dear," Schlaff offered. "That when the pulse is generated this complex will essentially become a giant microwave oven. Have you ever seen the video on YouTube with the cat in a microwave oven?"
Kay was clearly horrified, but the scenario didn't seem to phase Denisa at all.
"It is doubtful that anyone would survive." She concluded.
The room stood silent for a moment as everyone tried to digest the unfolding events. It was a mouthful from top to bottom - no one seeming quite sure what to make of anything.
"Well okay, then." Schlaff finally spoke. "I suppose it's important that we should know how to initiate this pulse -- if it becomes necessary, as you say."
"My team is familiar with the process."
"Good for them -- now you will tell us. I refuse to go down in history as the ass who couldn't stop the machine because he didn't know how to work the pulse. As I said, this thing could kill us all if it wanted to. What if it knocks off your team and leaves us standing there like fools?"
"I agree, Denisa." Walker piped up. "We should all know how it works."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple." She explained. "The pump-charge can only be detonated by simultaneous key turns at each of the two ops terminals. Each terminal has an inset panel under protective glass. You have to break the glass, insert the key and turn at both stations within a half of a second of each other."
"Who has the keys?"
"I have one, Aviram has the other."
"Is that the only way to initiate the charge?"
"Well, the guards at the gate through which you entered can do it as well."
"Excellent - how do we let them know if they need to do so?"
"There are radios at each terminal as well. They will need to be provided a go-code to access the arming system."
"What's the code?"
Denisa recoiled a bit at Walker's inquiry. "I'm afraid I can't share that with you, Jim."
Schlaff laughed at this revelation.
"Of course she can't."
"Why not, Denisa?"
"She has to protect the weapon, Walker! You know better than anyone how much money NATO has tied up in this, they aren't about to give you the ability to piss on it!"
"It doesn't matter," Denisa concluded. "The chances of a catastrophic failure, to use Doctor Schlaff's terminology, have been calculated to be less than one tenth of one percent. In the event it happens, the odds against Darius getting out of this place are even more stacked. All of you know how well fortified this compound is... Believe me, the potential outcomes of this experiment have been thoroughly vetted and there is virtually no chance of anything going wrong at this point. Now -- I understand your concerns, and I will similarly understand if any of you choose to leave before we proceed -- but we will proceed."
There was another pause, the vibe in the room much different now than it had been before the briefing began. The gathered scientists looked at each other with some combination of anxiety and exhilaration; some seemingly overwhelmed, others still excited at the opportunity to be present.
"Will anyone be on their way?" Denisa finally asked, looking directly into Schlaff's clouded eyes.
"Are you kidding?" He responded. "I wouldn't miss this for the world!"
Chapter 6