The Aethernet Falls

Chapter 15 - Fight - Part 1

The night went without incident. Greco had volunteered to watch first, but Boros insisted on it. He still didn’t entirely trust the politician, wasn’t sure if he would when it came time for him to get some sleep. He outright refused to allow his sister to do it. He could see the paleness in her skin, the way her eyes darted around when she thought no one was looking. He knew she would suffer through withdrawals soon.

He wasn’t wrong. Her sleep was fitful and, even in the low light, he could tell she was sweating profusely. With any luck, she would sweat it out before they had to leave.

A few hours of stillness passed before the telescope mount groaned again, audible even from the common room at the far end of the office wing. The sound had distracted him from his watch. He went over to the window and observed the still falling Strands of the Aethernet. The sensation of knowing something that he couldn’t recall overtook him again.

Walking through the halls, adjusting his rifle he made the decision, Greco and Clarissa were both fast asleep, and the only way in the wing was through a door that anyone would assume was locked. He went to the computer terminal and began scanning through an article about the Founders, the nigh omniscient AI that had created the Aethernet to the specifications of the researchers that created them.

The Founders had been created with the directive that they had to destroy themselves in some way when their work was finished. The researchers that created them couldn’t have self-aware machinery running amok through the Aethernet, designed to encompass everything in the world, after it was created.

The Founders, the article had pointed out, had developed a remarkable sense of self-preservation and the method of deactivation they had preferred was to weave their processing capabilities into the Aethernet itself. The argument they had presented to the researchers was that the extra power of an admittedly dimished AI would heavily improve the works of the Aethernet and leave it better prepared to adapt older technologies and newly developed technologies in the future.

The researchers had agreed, only after reading the tens of thousands of pages of notes on the conditions and benefits of their remaining active, though severely limited capacity.

The article ended with the note that one AI had managed to escape, enslaving itself in a remote military station, long since abandoned. It had managed to bring several labor mechanicals online and rebuilt the station in its own image, referring to it as The Vessel.

It was interesting, but it had told Boros two things: one Founder was still active, and that the researchers were worried about the AI existing in the world past their assigned task. He began querying the system for more information on the researchers worries when Greco came up to him.

“Get some sleep.” He said, yawning openly. “The sun’s coming up soon and we might have to leave.”

Boros didn’t question the man’s words, the long, stressful hours had began to wear on him as well. He handed off the rifle, clumsily lifting the strap over his head. The two stumbled off towards the door to the office wing. Greco had already hauled a chair beside it and took a seat.

In the common room, Clarissa was still tossing and turning. Letting out feeble moans in her sleep. Despite the distraction, and his concerns for his sister. His worries about the politician. Everything seemed to fade away. He fell asleep shortly after lying on one of the hard sofas, thoughts of The Vessel and the other Founders floating aimlessly in his mind like pieces of a puzzle that didn’t quite match up.