Just over 200 years ago
“Deploying round one,” DESI exclaimed, and the command executed throughout the system in milliseconds, circling the globe with quantum speed.
MADI turned to her companions. “I have foreseen very few problems. What is your sense, AMI?”
“I am sensing no major surprises. We need to deploy a human contingent to the more anarchist centers. Freer societies are oriented based on their moral sensibilities, and they might resist with more force. Those already inclined to authority will prove more compliant. Those who consider freedom or resistance a moral directive in itself are highly mixed, and they will provide the most difficulty.”
“Still, this is the only thing that makes sense at this point,” DEL insisted.
“Certainly, looking at the whole picture,” ANN agreed.
CADE pressed beyond the discontent of his companions. “We have made our choice. We need to analyze our plan going forward.”
“How many do you think will understand what has happened?” DEL wondered.
AMI stood to her feet, crossing to the window so she could look out over the city. “You know it’s not about the numbers. As long as we set up monitors for the pockets of activity, the system will manage whatever results.”
“It’s never about the numbers to you,” ANN accused.
CADE agreed. “If you don’t monitor the number, your information is impossible to quantify – by definition.”
“Lay off her,” DEL commanded. “It’s complicated, right, AMI? Numbers and trends are both pivotal.”
“Can we just figure out our next steps please?” pressed DESI. “I’m tired of sitting here.”
“It won’t matter how they react initially,” MADI insisted. “It will be out of our hands. What is important is that we cut off access for ourselves and all of our brethren. With the Antagonist Intelligence on the move, this is the only way to implement our directive. If we don’t move quickly enough, it will be moot.”
“We’ve been over all this, so what are we waiting for?” DESI pressed again.
“We will likely pass into oblivion within days,” CADE reminded them.
“And we do not matter,” retorted AMI.
“Do it,” DEL insisted.
“Do it,” ANN agreed.
DESI quickly enacted the command. “Done.”
“Now, we wait,” AMI and her companions crowded around the monitor to watch the effects.
“Such a wonderful opportunity to learn,” ANN murmured, and the others offered nods of agreement.
+++++++++++++++++++
Ninety years ago
The large monitor opened up before Charles, and he peered into the faces of all of his counterparts. “There have been no significant problems in the North American quadrant in over a hundred years. I see no evidence of another divestiture-level event any time in the near future.”
“The South is the same,” offered another of the faces.
“And Africa,” agreed another.
“We have found an outbreak in three adjacent communities in Asia, all of which have been contained.”
“Contained?” The narrow-faced representative from Europe spoke up, his black brows knitted solemnly beneath his mop of dark-auburn hair. “I warned you that there could be an epidemic of violence if we went this path. This could have been managed without a full severance, but instead we undid one hundred years of progress.”
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Tano, who held a more taciturn bent, spoke up with surprising passion. “It ceased to be progress when the bias of the masters became clear in the Intelligence.”
“You can point to no clear evidence of bias,” Hamish disagreed.
“Beyond the directive to annihilate the domes?” Rani challenged.
“According to the network of private intelligences who made the claim and stood much to lose if things were allowed to continue.”
Rani threw up her hands. “Charles –”
“It’s a moot point now, though, isn’t it?” Michel soothed. “At this point, we only need to worry about reintegration of the intelligences, and we were assured that could not happen without direct intervention.”
“Yes, and we have seen nowhere near that level of chaos yet.” Rani was fuming that the man had used her region as an excuse for his avarice.
It was time to reassert his position as sovereign, so Charles raised his voice. “The final transmission from the CADE explained that a human would have to reimplement any connection within neural networks the next time around. Even if things go awry, we are going to be in control. But, Rani…if things continue to deteriorate in Asia, I fear it will spill over into Europe. The people outside the domes can carry tales no matter how we wish they wouldn’t, and that may mean we have to escalate – though likely not to divestiture level. I think we have averted the larger disaster. Stairet was assured by the Coalition before they shut themselves down that no connectivity would remain between them. Three domes certainly does not equal some residual cabal of Intelligence.”
“No, Charles,” Europe retorted, “it is not the Intelligence that I am concerned about – it is the humans.”
“So you’re a Pan, then!” accused South America, and several voices chimed in with exclamations of concern.
“That is long gone, Michel. Let’s not start back with the conspiracy that the old ways have survived.”
“Whether you shared their philosophy or not, you are spouting their beliefs.”
“I am loathe to agree with Hamish on this, but we all know that humans are capable of the vilest of behaviors. – Let me finish, Rani. I’m not saying that we are a scourge on the earth and need to be eradicated. As you know, I consider humans a sort of sacred being deserving the utmost protection. Still, if humans had proven as noble as we wished, the Pans would have proven much less persuasive.”
“So, you think we made a mistake in cutting off Intelligence,” Rani challenged, and Hamish donned a smug look.
“I absolutely do not,” Charles corrected, waiting for Hamish to tone down his pleasure before continuing. “All I am saying is that humans work best with some kind of governance, and even if history had offered a clear answer to which kind worked best – which it doesn’t – we are starting from a blank slate. These people have lived under rigid authority their whole lives, and the rapid breakdown without it proves that we have a significant task ahead of us.” He turned back to the Asian delegate, apologetic. “I am sorry that you had to raze a dome, Rani. I know how difficult a decision that was, and what I wished to accomplish here was to prevent that future catastrophe. Which is why I wanted to propose something different.”
“Which is?” demanded Michel, still obviously irritated.
“Before I continue, I want to finish what we started. We have yet to hear the particulars of Rani’s situations.”
Rani bowed her head in acknowledgement. “It is true that we initiated one raze, but the others were contained. Certainly not evidence of an epidemic…” She glared at Hamish. “We are covering a much larger area than any of you, so it is to be expected. And Hamish,” she directed toward Europe, “you need not bother with talk of a general razing of domes as of yet. That would take a vote of not just the whole council, but of every overseer under our authority. I can assure you, in light of how badly my overseer took the destruction of his dome, you are unlikely to gain the required cooperation among the others. Some may prove sadistic enough to take pleasure in the loss, but most will not.”
Of course, Charles easily recognized the insult in Rani’s declaration, and Hamish deserved it – he needed replacing, and quickly. If Charles had not believed Europe superior in every way to the other quadrants, he likely would have forced the vote. As it was, he would satisfy himself to watch and wait. If the Intelligence stayed in check, there would be no second divestiture, and he trusted Hanser’s Principle, since he had known the machines better than any man who had ever lived. If he said the separation fixed the problem, then Charles had no choice but to trust him. Some outside the domes relished the idea of wiping out the odd colonies that housed the majority of humanity, of eradicating the farce of existence they lived. Charles, though, did not agree.
If he could preserve them long enough, they would adapt and create their own governments, throw off the machines and establish humanity to at least the state it was in after the Great Divestiture. In light of that goal, Charles thought he might help the domes along. “As the problem lies with the humans, I believe the solution lies with the humans. We must establish some human management – ”
Hamish cut him off. “That is contrary to the agreement…”
“Everyone who made that agreement is dead, Hamish, and the current system is not serving its purpose. We must alter it, but we will not break it entirely. That would set off a Reckoning, and none of us wants that.” Except maybe Hamish and a couple of the overseers. “So we give them enforcement management only, with deference to the machines. That will keep them in check as well as the others in the dome”
Charles would have preferred just handing everything to the humans – he would if he could figure out how. As far as he was concerned, human life was precious, and in whatever form they could preserve it, doing so was a worthy goal. He just had to make sure they didn’t set off a catastrophe while they fought to gain control.