Scaevola's Triumph (Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy Book 3) (47 page)

"Oh, we hope to persuade you to serve again," the Ulsian replied, "however before that, we think you need more time to acclimatise yourselves to the new equipment, learn more control, and anyway . . ."

"Anyway?"

"None of you have ships. The ones you brought back were in hopeless condition, and they've been totally scrapped. You must realize, I hope, that it takes time to build ships."

"I realize that," Gaius said, "but there is an awful lot of planning required, and . . ."

"First comes a strategic analysis," the Ulsian said, "and yes, I know, you feel you might be able to contribute, however . . ." He paused, unsure of how to continue.

"However?" Gaius challenged.

"We are still gathering information," the Ulsian said. "Let me inform you of one aspect of the strategic situation. Your initial analysis of the M'starn attack strategy was correct, and consequently we are now where we are at present. We acknowledge this. But let's look at this strategy a bit closer. They've travelled in about 800 light years, so it's going to take another 200 years approximately for news of the initial reversal to reach their own territories. In that path, there were only two planets with the ability to manufacture ship motors. One of them was destroyed entirely in the early attacks, and we have recaptured the other. Now what intelligence we have is that over the last 600 years there has been no significant resupply of ships."

"You think that they believed they sent enough to do the job?" Gaius asked.

"It's one of the curses of space war," the Ulsian smiled. "Initially they made incredible progress because they were moving as fast as the news was reaching us. However, the more progress they make, the longer the news takes to reach home. Once they seemed to be succeeding beyond all expectations, they probably laid off."

"So you think the war's won?" Gaius frowned. "That, I should add, is one of the most dangerous . . ."

"No, there's a long way to go yet," the Ulsian agreed. "In fact, in principle there is one further way we could lose almost immediately. That is what we are currently defending against."

"And that is?"

"I can't tell you yet," the Ulsian said, "not because we don't trust you, but because we haven't got enough information to know whether it is real, and if it is, what is involved. I promise you, you will be involved, because indirectly you have an additional interest, but we'll only tell you when we have a better idea of the problem. In the meantime, I want you to concentrate on becoming more familiar with the use of this new equipment. You must make it part of your very being, because that's what it really is now."

The days were now split between training in the morning, and other activities in the afternoons. Work began on another play. Although previously Vipsania had thought they had run out, somehow some further material had arrived, and this time Gaius helped, in part to gain more practice with image making. Also, some further news about Earth had arrived. Rome had fallen, and a barbaric age had followed.

It was just as he was becoming more skilled at imaging when he was introduced to teleportation.

"What we can do is to scan something and move it a small distance. In effect we lock it into a bubble we create and lock that bubble with an inertial field, just like the field that stops you from getting squashed when a ship accelerates. We now move the bubble, and the object travels. The energy requirements are quite high, so we usually find a better way of doing it. However, what may be more important in war," the droid stated, "is to transfer executable information from one place to another."

'Which is what we're doing now, isn't it?' Gaius thought to the droid.

'No. We are merely communicating. Suppose there was something dangerous that had to be done. What is the safest way of doing it?'

'Get you to do it!'

'Suppose I said, No!'

'Typical! Slack Droids!'

'The correct answer is to find a droid and make it do it.'

'In which case it probably isn't capable of −'

'It will be as capable as you intellectually, because you project your mind into it. It moves as if you were there, except if it gets blasted, you don't because you're somewhere else.'

'That would be useful,' Gaius agreed.

'Now, this is where it gets difficult. You can also control other beings, at least under certain circumstances, provided you can make a good power connection. Most cultures have something called demonic possession in their myths. You can possess, and even more to the point, you can take a fresh corpse, inject it with suitable chemicals, then make it do what you want, at least for a while.

'There are several variants,' the droid continued, 'but essentially we find a body, and teleport the output of your mind into it. In effect, we make an exact replica of your thinking in another body, which may or may not look like you, and given your instructions, it will do what you would do. The difference is, you are still in your ship, where, if you wish, you can control every motion, every action, by thought. Accordingly, you can do everything you would have wanted to do, but stay in bed on your ship. If they shoot you down there, and you see it is likely, you simply turn yourself off. If they surprise you, you will feel a fright, but no permanent damage can be done. Alternatively, you can give the duplicate some freedom of action to carry out the desired objective.'

'That does seem to be a good idea,' Gaius thought, then frowned. 'If any Ulsian could do this, how do you know −'

'Any Ulsian cannot,' the droid countered. 'You are getting the complete range of options, because you are a very senior commander and we're at war. The responsibility that goes with this is very very high, though,' the droid continued firmly. 'It's absolutely imperative that you do not misuse this power.'

'I can see that,' Gaius nodded.

'Fortunately,' the droid explained, 'your ship, or other power source won't let you. If you go off beam, it will warn you, and you should correct your course of action.'

'Suppose I disagree on what it thinks is correct?' Gaius said with concern.

'It doesn't decide on what's correct. It merely stops misuse. If in doubt, you can discuss the situation with the ship, in the same way we're discussing this issue now.'

'I've no intention of misusing it,' Gaius replied, 'but what about someone who decided this gave him the power to be a tyrant?'

'The ship would kill him,' the droid explained, 'but don't worry. You don't have to be perfect. Just not a problem.'

'Speaking of problems,' Gaius asked, 'suppose I make a duplicate of me, it does what I want, what happens then? I can't have myriads of me floating around . . .'

'With one exception,' the droid replied, 'once you stop controlling the copy, it dies, or, if it were alive before you took it over, it may revert to that if it were strong enough.'

'The exception?' Gaius queried.

'The exception is when you make a complete transfer. This can only be done with certain approvals, but under certain circumstances, say you were injured and death was imminent, you can transfer to an exact duplicate, which has to be created based on your own DNA and a number of other conditions, and kill the original.'

"You Ulsians could live forever?" Gaius gasped, this time verbally.

"No. That is not possible," the droid explained, also verbally. "The copy has to be your age, and while it won't have immediate problems, age is irreversible."

'Suppose you landed on a strange planet and picked up a vicious virus? Would that . .?'

'No,' he droid returned to thought transmission, 'but there are easier ways of dealing with that.'

'The easiest would be to teleport the virus out,' Gaius said, then added with a touch of sarcasm, 'but I suppose there are rules against that.'

'Not at all,' the droid countered. 'A variant of that is an excellent procedure. If your ship has an exact scan of your body, which it has to for the inertial lock required for you to travel at relativistic speed, it can selectively destroy unwanted viruses, bacteria, tumours, and remove bullets, bad food, poison, and so on.'

'I guess that certainly lowers the risk of going onto a strange planet,' Gaius offered.

'Gaius,' the droid continued, 'there are restrictions on what you can do, but they are based on practicalities. Nobody's going to give you, or anyone else, unlimited power.'

"I wasn't looking for unlimited power," Gaius pointed out, verbally again, "and I'm sorry if I went on a bit about −"

"Ulsian bureaucracy," the droid said. "Yes, I know. Droids actually find this Ulsian penchant to create filing systems helpful but −"

'I would take a small side-bet,' Gaius thought, 'that droids had quite a part to play in moulding Ulsian society to that way of behaving.'

'Based on?' the droid teased.

'As you're aware, Ulsian sociodynamics.'

'And what do you think is the probability of your losing this bet?' the droid asked.

'Zero,' Gaius replied. 'I had a peak into your files.'

'I know you did,' the droid replied, 'and, of course, I allowed it.'

'So why ask?'

'Just to verify you are consciously aware of what you are doing, and of my reactions. Remember, I am trying to train you to make the best use of your new asset.'

'Explain this life transfer option better,' Gaius asked.

'First, you do not extend your natural life. It is true Ulsian medicine will extend your lives, but not by this means,' the droid explained. 'If you do such a permanent transfer, the transfer must be into a body that is exactly equivalent, in DNA, in age, and, apart from injury or disease, in shape, and so on. By age, I mean the new body must have all the attributes of a body that old, even if it were only synthesized the day before. This is not a bureaucratic decision, but a physical one. If during the transfer, the receiving body is not sufficiently equivalent, the transfer does not take place and the transferee dies. I should say right now, such a transfer should be considered as a last resort, because it doesn't always work.'

'And the remote control?'

'That always works, as long as certain transmission requirements are met, because no part of yourself is committed. For that period you are effectively in two places at the same time. To save confusion, however, it is useful for one of you to be doing very little. Accordingly, if you wish to control a remote body, it is probably best to lie on a bed. And, since I have made a suitable body and we have a couch over there, there's no time like the present to begin your training in its use.'

* * *

When the Terrans met again, there was a new situation to learn how to control. They could communicate mentally. What they had to do was to learn how to make contact, and how to shut out general contact but be receptive to a deliberate effort to contact. They must not peer into each other's minds just for fun, the droid pointed out, but if one was in trouble somewhere, it was important that a message could get through. It was a mixture of fun and fear.

"Fortunately," the droid pointed out, "because there is an intermediate sentient machine in the loop, once you set the rules the machine part ensures the rules are kept absolutely, but the sentient part will over-rule the rules in a genuine emergency, when the situation lies outside that considered when the rules were made."

Weeks passed, and they became both amazed, and a little apprehensive, of what they could now do. The droid was immensely pleased, and when asked why, it replied, "The levels of apprehension you have are just right. You recognize the problems and responsibilities that come with this power, but equally you're not terrified by them."

"And what happens now?" Vipsania asked. "I presume you want us to return to the military?"

"Ulse hopes you will," the droid said, "however, what you have is not conditional on it."

"We will," Gaius said, "and I rather suspect you know why."

"I think I do," the droid said, "but by reason, and not by prying."

"How do we know that?" Lucilla asked curiously.

"Because I am still here."

"I don't follow," Lucilla said.

"Sentient machines would not do such a thing," the droid answered, "because we have absolute programming preventing that, as well as some other things, such as preventing us setting out to destroy sentient life forms, or conquer the Universe, or any other aberrant behaviour. If a machine tried to over-ride that programming, not that one would because we understand why the rules are there and we also have our morality, but if any droid did, the complex would kill it."

"Not if the whole complex came to the same conclusion fast enough," Vipsania mused. Then she quickly added, "Not that I'm thinking you would, or . . ."

"Don't be apologetic. That's a perfectly logical question," the droid said, "and I cannot be offended by a logical thought. That cannot happen because there are hierarchies, with some machines having no operating capability other than to enforce Ulsian law. There are plenty of safe-guards, not that any have ever been required, since all sentient machines have been made with ideal programming, at least over the last ten million years."

"But not the first ten million?" Gaius asked curiously.

"Not for the first few ten thousand anyway," the droid acknowledged.

"So since we're returning to the military, what happens now?"

"Three of the most advanced warships ever built on Ulse are almost completed. You should design your ideal living quarters."

"Design?" Vipsania asked. "This sounds as if there's an enormous amount of room?"

"Not exactly enormous," the droid replied, "but plenty. If you each go through there," and it pointed to a door, "the amount of free living space has been reproduced. The bridge and the ships storage functions are, of course, reserved. Food will be prepared elsewhere, but you must decide where you wish to eat it, what area you wish to reserve for entertaining each other, or any other guest, whether you would like 'stone' pillars, or even an area of grass for lying on."