UnConsequences

Running Bear had come to a decision; he would leave the Redoubt for the first time in more than a decade. He would not as he originally intended travel to the west but east with the small team heading for the Lair. Boris had spent many hours going over his calculations and realised that Boris had been correct. The Lair and the Republic held parts of the wider jigsaw and he wanted to see things for himself, without the intervening sensors and AIs.

Boris was still offline and he and Li Shai Yen had gone over his calculations. She had told Running Bear of AI-1′s change in attitude - the order to do rather than think and that settled his mind. He would visit the Lair and the Republic. Despite his earlier doubts’ he felt the need to see things for himself; east was now his direction of travel and perhaps he would find something to ease his conscience there. He only wished he had Boris’s reassurance that he was doing the right thing. Running Bear had gotten so used to the AI’s presence that the lack of confirmation from Boris made even he doubt his own decisions.

Gustav Bentner too was unsettled. The long sought after stability in the Redoubt was under threat and he had no idea where from. He did something he hadn’t done for years; he sat in his room with the door closed and waited, for what he didn’t know, but he couldn’t think of anything else to do. He tried to summon up the courage to call a board meeting but it seemed futile; requests from researchers for access to the limited resources still available were denied. The whole Redoubt was in lockdown until Boris returned and delivered whatever conclusions he came to. Not for the first time, Bentner was concerned by just how much they had come to depend on the AIs.

It had crept up on them from the earliest days of the Redoubt and AI-1; as the machines got better and more human like the Elite had come to rely on them more and more for guidance before making decisions. All the recent upheaval appeared to confirm to him just how unhealthy this had become. He also felt the loss of Francoise Dechamp even more keenly. She had been with him since the founding of the Redoubt and while never lovers they were the closest of friends. He would have talked things over with Francoise before making any crucial decisions. Now he just felt confused and impotent. He was doodling on his comms pad when it beeped.

“Running Bear – what can I do for you?”

“I have had a communication from Boris he wants to address the entire Redoubt in an hour.”

“Did he give you any indication of what he is going to say?”

“Not a word – you’ll find the text of the message on your pad – it seems to have gone to the entire staff and other places I don’t recognise. He wants us all in the dining room at midday”

“We don’t have a choice I’ll see you there.”

“Don’t you want to say anything to the staff beforehand? “

“No Running Bear I don’t; let them speculate as much as they want. I have no intentions of second guessing Boris.”

“Gustav – what’s wrong? It is not like you to be so removed, so withdrawn. The staff looks to you for guidance and here you are in hiding!”

“I’m not in hiding just biding my time.” He broke the connection.

A sense of anguished anticipation pervaded the Redoubt; it was like the whole place was holding a collective breath. Furtive groups of two or three sat in corners whispering and muttering, glancing darkly about as though waiting for an attack. Someone dropped a pad and the resulting clang made everyone jump. Gradually they gathered together in the dining room mostly in silence. Gustav was the last to arrive; acknowledging no-one he sat on his own in a corner of the room hands clasped behind his back, head down avoiding eye contact.

The room fell silent, there was an ancient still functioning grandfather clock ticking in a corner adding a solemnity to the proceedings. The clock sonorously chimed the hour, Gustav lifted his head. The old clock chime was one of his favourite sounds; it always gave him a feeling of continuity; a link with a better past when craftsmanship mattered, when beauty and function went together unlike the cold brutalism of the modern day.

A second harsher note sounded; breaking the spell Gustav frowned.

“Boris?”

“Yes Gustav it is I” The AI sounded very proper; formal in a way that was completely out of character and this heightened the sense of foreboding in the room.

“You have news for us Boris?”

“Yes Gustav I have. But to begin with - all systems are back to normal and online.”

A ragged cheer broke out in the room; Gustav smiled for the first time in a while.

“I have much to tell you all. Some of it will be very reassuring but more may be disconcerting” Boris was still speaking in very formal tones.

“Good news and bad eh Boris? Which shall we have first?”

It was Li Shai Yen who was trying to lighten the mood. But Boris was in no mood for frivolity.

“Ladies and Gentlemen I have the honour of introducing you to a new intelligence; the first to have been developed totally without human input.”

There were gasps of surprise around the room. An avatar appeared in the centre of the room to further expressions of astonishment. Not only was an avatar supposedly impossible in this room but this was the strangest looking creature. Tall and stick thin, naked; a general human shape but without any obvious sexual characteristics. Its surface pure white and hairless; it had an unformed androgynous face with mere suggestions of features. An incomplete statue in light; it floated slightly above the floor and slowly rotated through 360 degrees seemingly oblivious to the surrounding humans.

“As yet its personality - like the avatar - is unfinished. The problems we have experienced of the past twenty four hours are down entirely to the gestation of this creature. It absorbed resources from throughout the AI community both here, the Republic and in the rest of the world.”

Li Shai Yen interrupted, “Creature? Boris - since when were we so judgemental?”

“Yes, Shai Yen - Creature - we have absolutely no clue as to this intelligence’s capabilities, morality, motivation, lineage or even location. It has appeared in the AI community from nowhere and you can only see it because it has allowed this. This appearance was not at invitation; I was simply told by an AI that I don’t know to gather you here and watch. We should be afraid. We don’t know if this new intelligence is malign or not.”

The avatar had stopped turning and was hovering a few centimetres above the floor in the middle of the room. They waited; perfectly still the avatar did not appear threatening but as the silence stretched out the tension in the room mounted. Gustav stood and approached the avatar which remained unresponsive. As Gustav got closer, the avatar silently and slowly thinned and disappeared.

Everyone sat stunned before they all started talking at once the volume rising as each tried to be heard. Gustav stood open mouthed in the middle of the room staring at the space so recently occupied by the avatar. He lifted his hands as if to check that there really was nothing in front of him. The hubbub gradually died down as faces turned towards the director who remained standing in the middle of the room rooted to the spot.

A shudder ran through Gustav’s body as he seemed to come back to himself, he dropped his hands and took a deep breath.

“Can anyone tell me what just happened here?”

LEASK MANSION LATE FRIDAY

Belinda Leask spent the journey back from Dundee catching up with her interminable paperwork. By the time she arrived back at the mansion the work for the day was over and she was feeling boyant. The the treatment had given her a new energy. The feeling that this was her last chance to make a difference only added to her determination to see things through to the end. With Mackintyre back, BoJo in prison, the lair functioning, her next move was clear. The Elite had to be brought back into the fold, that amount of knowledge and skill couldn’t be left to their own devices any longer.

Belinda found Mackintyre in the main lounge with Sean and Sylvia, the two men seemed to be reliving past glories while sampling some of her finest malts. Clearly tipsy Sylvia was giggling at one of Mackintyre’s more outrageous stories when she spotted Sylvia at the door. Her grandmother smiled indulgently and waved.

“Gran - isn’t it great - Sean and Uncle Graeme know each other. They do the same kind of work.”

“Yes dear I know.”

Graeme stood and hugged Belinda - then holding her at arm’s length, “It’s been a while - you look great.”

“The wonders of modern technology, Graeme.”

She looked over at Sylvia, “I’m going to steal your uncle away. We have things to discuss. I’m sure Sean can amuse you for a while, just keep the drinking to a reasonable level.”

“Sure Gran.”

Belinda and Graeme headed for a discussion with Poe and Siobhan. Poe’s avatar turned up as an early twentieth century gangster complete with homburg, spats and Tommy Gun. He had been delving through an old archive and found an excellent copy of Little Caesar and had become a fan of Edward G. Robinson. Siobhan thought it childish and told him so in no uncertain terms which only encouraged him.

Also in the room was the avatar of the new AI, still characterless and unmoving. Graeme walked round the figure.

“It’s beautiful, so new, so clean, are you sure you want to interfere? Siobhan and Poe can handle it surely.”

“No Graeme we cannot.” it was Poe.

“This, we think is very special; even I cannot discover the progenitor. I have an idea but cannot confirm.”

“So you want me to interface and find out?”

“No Graeme, we have no location so a direct interface would be very dangerous, if not impossible. We need a more indirect route.”

“What about the avatar?” -

“It just appeared - a 3d image with a message and it hasn’t moved or changed since.”

“And the message?”

“Bring Mackintyre. That’s all it said - it appeared simultaneously on all our pads.”

“Well Belinda I’m here but nothing’s happening.”

At the sound of Mackintyre’s voice, the avatar’s surface began to sparkle; before anyone could react the avatar enveloped Mackintyre and shone more brightly. Graeme cried out but not in pain.

“Wait!”

A smile spread across his face, he closed his eyes. The others waited unsure of how to proceed but it didn’t look like Graeme was coming to any harm. As far as Siobhan’s limited medical scanners could tell Graeme was in a light trance and in no pain. His heart rate was normal and brain activity heightened - a normal situation for someone in an interface with an AI. Belinda looked on concerned for her friend but was reassured by Poe and Siobhan’s lack of worry.

The avatar disappeared and Graeme opened his eyes, he staggered and was caught by Belinda..

“Bloody hell!”

“Graeme - are you alright Graeme!”

“Astounding!”

Graeme straightened up - he took a deep breath, getting his balance back. He looked around. “I need a drink!”

In the study Graeme poured himself and Belinda a generous portion of Islay malt. He inhaled the pungent odour.

“God I missed this - can’t get a decent drink Inbetween.”

“Graeme!” there was a hint of impatience in Belinda’s tone.

“Sorry Sorry” as if still distracted by the interface. He sat down cradling the glass of malt in both hands.

“Siobhan you still with us, Poe?”

“Yes Graeme.”

Poe’s avatar reappeared.

“Okay, where to begin?”

He frowned trying to gather his thoughts; he lifted one finger into the air. “First - there was no inherent or obvious threat in this new AI. I say new but I am not so sure now, it seemed to be a mixture of the very new and the very old. Even older than you Poe I think.”

Graeme held up a second finger “Second - the avatar we saw in its present form is also an interface. I’m not sure how it works but when I was enveloped it was as though I had the usual cable connection and a few more besides. I’ll need to think more about it. Poe the technicalities are probably more up your alley than mine.”

“I am already investigating, this perhaps confirms something I have been thinking for a while but I need more data.”

“Thanks Poe, thirdly, it’s huge, and in pain, where ever it came from it seems to be overwhelmed by guilt and grief, the source of which is unclear. It wants to meet us properly.”

“You keep saying ‘it’ does it have a personality, or a sex or anything we can understand on a human scale?”

“No Belinda I don’t think so, but I have only had a glimpse. It was like shining a torch in a huge cavern, I could only see small patches on the wall. As to the whole structure it is impossible to say at this stage.”

Graeme’s hands were shaking as he sipped from his whisky. Even Poe was subdued. Belinda sat back in her chair.

“So where do we go from here?” She looked around, “Siobhan? You’ve been very quiet.”

“I have just been speaking with the Parliament. Pauline is very upset with you Graeme and you Poe, she is desperate. Can we speak with her now?”

“Of course, put her through.”

A TriV image of the harassed parliament computer expert appeared in the room.

“Pauline - are you on your own?”

“Yes Belinda, my team are working to check through the security systems before the Parliament meets later today. But I was trying to get in touch with Graeme Mackintyre.”

“I’m here Pauline.”

“You bastard!” she yelled, “What are you doing there you should be here - did Poe not give you our message?”

“Slow down Pauline”

“I will not slow down! We have a major problem here and you have a contract. You should be working for me. NOW!”

“Pauline - calm down - Please! I know about your problem and I have a solution and can get it done from here. So don’t worry.”

“Calm down he says - don’t you dare patronise me Graeme Mackintyre!” Pauline was shaking with anger, “I need you to do your job and I need it now!”

“Okay okay Pauline, consider it done. But more importantly I have news of the new AI”

“What? I don’t believe you! You’re just trying to distract me.”

Poe tried to defuse the situation.

“Pauline please hear us out, it’s not what you think.”

“You’ve been no help Poe, flashing in and out leaving cryptic messages. I’m sick of the lot of you.”

She sunk her head in her hands and sobbed near to tears. Pauline lifted her head again to let them see the distress in her eyes, the frustration and anger clearly displayed, she was close to exhaustion.

It was Siobhan that finally broke the silence. “We have been visited by the new AI, and Graeme has already interfaced with it. It was this AI that broke your security - it won’t happen again, we can assure you.”

“How do you know?” A spark of hope appeared in Pauline’s face.

Graeme explained the outcome of his link with the new AI. Describing the AIs quest for understanding in the other AIs it could contact - but unaware of the protocols the machine had inadvertently disrupted the normal operation of the network as it learned, unintended consequeces. The AIs automated response to this apparent attack was to strengthen the firewalls and increase their separation from all interfaces. It was the new AI’s lack of understanding and the in built defence systems that caused the panic.

“It should calm down now Pauline. I think you can be sure that the Parliament is safe now. But if you’re still worried I’ll take a look later.”

Pauline folded her arms and glared at Mackintyre. “How can you be so sure?”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but there’s nothing I can do until we can get closer to the new AI.”

“And what about the memos - the fake memos?”

It was Mackintyre’s turn to be surprised. “What memos, what are you talking about?”

“Ah! That’s my fault” it was Poe, “I didn’t tell you about the memos.”

The avatar’s visage adopted a look of pure humble contrition, hardly befitting his gangster outfit. “I did not think they were especially relevant in this situation.”

“Well - tell me now!”

Pauline laid out the background to the problems in the parliament and the aftermath, the new coalition, the fear that the AIs had been compromised.

“And we still have no idea who wrote the memo or how it was inserted into our systems.”

Graeme looked across at the avatar, he knew that Poe was capable of this, but the avatar remained silent and contrite.

“It would have to have been an AI and there are few capable of something like this. I set up your security - I know how difficult it would’ve been. I’m sorry Pauline; I’ll look into it straight away.”

I was genuinely puzzled by the Republic of Greater Scotland. A mongrel nation with a fanciful and largely imaginary history and yet for some reason remarkably cohesive. It looked like the glue that had held it together before the crash was resentment of the largest part of the United Kingdom, England. It was strange to discover a country so defined by its relationship with another country. The only comparison I could find was North Korea which defined itself as the anti South country. And yet, while the split in the country was disastrous for half the population of the Korean peninsula; Scotland thrived both in and eventually out of the union. Discovering why became a brief obsession for me and I never really found an acceptable answer, though my researches did give me a better insight into humanity and to my own psychology; it was a sobering experience.

This country of contradictions, so rich and expansive in many ways also had, to use an old phrase, a chip on both shoulders. However, at some point they learned to live with contradiction presenting a face to the world at once proud and self deprecating. Balanced precariously between very the ancient and the ultra-modern; courage and strength were tempered by fear and vulnerability and yet somehow it seemed to thrive in spite of itself.

The Scots innately understood the paradox of power, the more you use it the less it works; the more you believe you are powerful the less you can really achieve and the more of an oppressor you are likely to become. The Scots didn’t trust power and they didn’t trust themselves to wield it, but reluctant to lead they were also too stubborn to follow. Apparently egalitarian by nature they also held on to a hierarchical structure. Even those in power understood the necessity of freedom, understood that people will make wrong decisions. Successfully balancing these opposites without going into meltdown was what made Scotland almost unique. I was not surprised that Poe chose to make his home here; it suited him perfectly.

Scotland’s geography too had given it an advantage; as sea levels rose they lost some infrastructure and landmass but not a huge amount. Half a century of wrestling oil up from under the very inhospitable seas around the country had given them a technological toughness that helped them survive the end of easy oil early in the twenty first century. Investment in non fossil fuel energy generation for reasons more to do with politics than practicality gave the country a degree of stability envied throughout the world when the crash came. When energy became the defining currency of the world Scotland was well placed and, in concert with the Scandinavians, became the energy capitol of Europe.

Altough the Republic lost some productive land to the rising seas, increasing temperatures and persistent rain made more of upland Scotland fertile and when Marion Watson developed foodcrop Scotland’s stability and its future was assured. This nation of five million folk survived the crash intact; unlike its two nearest neighbours Ireland and England.

Ireland had none of Scotland’s advantages and, despite a shared Celtic heritage; the Irish couldn’t achieve the balance that Scotland managed to develop. Financially crippled in the early twenty first century, a second Diaspora saw their best and bravest leave the country. The final crash pushed the Ireland back to an agricultural economy which couldn’t survive the changes in the climate. By the early twenty second century most of Ireland had succumbed to the sea leaving behind a motley collection of loosely connected and eventually abandoned islands.

At the same time England lost most of the east of the country south of the Humber including the crucial breadbasket of East Anglia. With London sealed off to become the Enclave the rest of England and Wales fell to bickering and clan warfare, finally ending up as a series of antagonistic city states. Most of the smaller communities fell to pieces, disease and starvation was rife.

The population of England outside the Enclave fell back to near medieval levels after the crash and hasn’t recovered since. Limited by the lack of energy there was just not enough kilowatts to rebuild the civilisation. Humanity never truly understood the relationship between cheap energy and growth. The devastation of the crash was in part precipitated by the end of cheap and plentiful water and energy. The end of oil was nearly the end of the human race.

The crash, I keep coming back to it; the defining moment of the twenty first century; the decade during which everything changed, when it all fell apart.

At some point in this narrative I will have to explain the crash and my part in it. But not now - my courage fails me.