Chapter Eighteen - Meeting of the Greats


    Chapter Eighteen - Meeting of the Greats


    Theyre idiots.


    All their little minds can imagine as the pinnacle of this technology is a machine that looks and feels human. But why would you ever want that? Humans are stupid, humans can double-think themselves into believing that the god they were raised to think is real while their neighbour who worships another is a lie and a cheat and a fool, while also being aware that neither of them has any more proof than the other.


    Humans are the bottom, the bare minimum when it comes to intellect and reasoning. Why in the world would you want your AI to be as smart as a human?


    If we create AI and theyre not entirely alien to us, then we will know that weve failed.


    -Robert Vernes, head of the Open Institute for AI Research, 2029


    ***


    Once I got back at the mall, Manic in tow, I sat around and started to look over our options.


    I also started to nurse a migraine.Visitt  for the latest updates


    It wasnt a period migraine or the kind of thing that happened when you drank a high-addiction soft drink once and then didnt keep drinking it, but it was instead the far less fun stress-induced kind of pain that throbbed across my head.


    Do you want something for that?


    Myalis didnt even need to ask for what. Yeah, medicate me, I muttered low enough that only shed hear. A tiny box appeared on the table before me, and I reached up and pulled my helmet off.


    Manic glanced my way, and I found myself being observed a lot more closely than Id usually be comfortable with. Youre younger than I thought, she said.


    Im legal, I shot back as I opened the box Myalis gave me, took out a colourful pill, then tossed it back. It had a nice citrusy aftertaste. Nothing happened for a few long seconds, then it felt as if someone were carefully and slowly pouring cool water down atop my head and the pain washed away. Oh, thats nice.


    Its not chemically addictive, but try not to overuse that kind of medication. The last thing either of us need are permanent changes to your brain chemistry.


    That was sobering. I sat up in the cheap plastic seat--bolted to the floor, of course--and glanced around. Wheres Gomorrah and the others? I asked.


    Sprouts right there, Manic said with a nod to her left.


    I glanced that way and saw Sprout jogging over. He was wearing a labcoat over a more skin-tight armoured suit, the hems and front of the coat stained green and brown by what looked like dirt and plant stuff. Sorry, he said. I wasnt too close when the call came in. Whats going on?


    Basically. We need to clog up these holes, then make sure that the main defences can actually hold up. My main plan is simple enough. Pump the hive full of these little drone-delivered nano-machines. Theyll all start eating at the same time.


    Killing the entire hive all at once? Gomorrah asked.


    Bingo. But I asked Myalis, and even the fastest-acting ones take a few minutes. And theyre disproportionately expensive. Well be mixing fast-acting payloads with much cheaper, slower-to-eat ones that we can spread around some more. Hopefully, we hit all of the hives. When they come out for revenge, theyll be half dead already, even if they dont know it.


    Thats the whole plan? Gomorrah asked.


    Id love to hear better ideas. And Im not being sarcastic or anything. Better ideas would be fantastic, I said. No one volunteered anything for a bit.


    So... I cant just walk in and punch everything dead? Arm-a-Geddon asked. He sounded a bit disappointed.


    I snorted. I wish you could, but thatd wake the whole thing up. There are some double-digit models down there. Tens and up. Were going to be dealing with some big nasties soon. General, how quickly can you mobilise the entire militia?


    You mean pull people off of their relaxation time? he asked. I can have everyone in tip-top within the hour. Itll mean waking a lot of the night-shift people up though.


    Give them some coffee, I suggested. Gomorrah, I bet you have a few points left over, think you can help me arm everyone up?


    Sure. youre going to do the same?


    Im going to buy a heap of cat drones as a mobile force, then spend the rest on turrets and better guns. Hummingbirds cost very little and the civvies can use those no problem.


    Hummingbirds? Manic asked.


    I nodded. Little smart-pistols. No aiming required and theyll take out a weaker alien without too much fuss. We can set up mines and more creative explosives along the smaller routes leading into Downtown. We might want to pull people out of the towers on the outer edges though, theyll be hit by any area-of-effect stuff.


    What about River Heights? Baker asked. Id kinda forgotten she was there.


    I considered what to say for a moment. Well, if River Heights wants to use the protection afforded by Downtown, they have just under an hour to move. Things are going to get very messy, very soon.


    We all had a lot of work ahead of us, and not much time to do it in.


    Maybe I should have just called in the orders instead of pulling everyone into another meeting... a lesson for next time, I supposed.


    ***