House: Thoth, Rank: 1/255, Squad Zero
M1 Rank: ?/1,275
Term 1, Round 1
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Chief Cleo walked through the gathered cadets. In attendance were House Thoth Squad Zero to Squad Thirty-One. House Thoth M1 consisted of 255 cadets. Chief Cleo had thirty-one robots assisting her – virtual robots who appeared in the interactive visual when each squad entered their virtual room.
This was a lesson that could have been conducted remotely. But the chief wanted everyone present for known and guarded reasons.
Her voice came over the audio within the simulated room. “If there is a cadet who does not have their foundation AI ready to launch, you will need to message me. For obvious reasons, you will not be participating in this class.” Her tone indicated that such an oversight would be viewed dismally. “I want you all to run the diagnostic and clear your implant. When this is done, you are to unbox your AI and launch. My robots and I will watch you carefully and monitor diagnostics.”
Each cadet had given privileges from their implants to the chief and her robots, which was a level of access not readily given. A cybernetic implant into the brain was understandably an extremely sensitive piece of equipment and highly protected from outside malicious entities. During this lecture, the connection to the net had been closed. This made for a safer environment to both conduct the implementation of foundation AIs and to protect the open cybernetic implants.
Daedo and Myrmidon had created a container for Myrmidon. At first, it appeared that the implant was a blank slate where in actual fact, it was not. The container was hidden amongst the foundation code, and its size had been distorted to match an off-the-shelf AI foundation. It appeared to be something it was not. Myrmidon would re-enact the initialisation of an AI without any of the repercussions. This subterfuge was going to be a real test of his capability versus Chief Cleo’s AI robots.
They had one advantage though. In her wildest dreams, it probably would not occur to her that a cadet would attempt such subterfuge. Not only were cadets usually not capable, but they also had no need. The robots would be monitoring launches for safety reasons, not looking for clever tricks. They were looking for the code equivalent of an uncontrolled explosion, an out of control experiment; Myrmidon would appear sedate and ordinary.
The chief was not hiding her dashboard. There was a simple table with names, values, and a traffic light system of red, orange, and green dots.
Myrmidon was first to reach green dot.
Daedo could not talk to him for fear of discovery; it was not good to stand out from the crowd. Soon to follow were Picard and Barran.
Damn, he thought, hopefully, others will finish launch soon. He didn’t want the chief looking into any one of them.
This fact did not go unnoticed amongst Squad Zero.
“Wow, all three of your AIs are first to reach launch. Does this bode well?” Axel-Zero asked over the comms.
Daedo stared at her, willing her to shut up.
Picard assisted with a save. “I guess the foundation you recommend is very good, Daedo.” She knew he was concerned with exposure, merely because a cadet-written foundation was unlikely to be approved without months or possibly years of study and tests. They were nervous enough regarding tried and tested AI.
It didn’t take long for the Svarski foundations to come online, followed by other expensive off-the-shelf models. Normally, Daedo would not know this, but Vannier had a Svarski and hers lit up green at the same time as twenty or so others.
Once everyone was online, with the clunky Fortescue models coming in last after ten minutes of unpacking, Chief Cleo gave her next set of instructions.
In this situation, Daedo had instructed Myrmidon to watch the patterns and behaviours of others and to mimic them as best it could. Due to the diagnostics and monitoring, Daedo could not afford to talk to Myrmidon now except as instructed. The robot would capture every communication that passed between them.
“Cadets, begin the protocol instructions to your AI,” the chief directed the class. “You have the list in your root subject directory if you haven’t properly prepared. Complete this list, and we will monitor the results.”
Daedo and Myrmidon began slowly so they could mimic Picard and Barran. Myrmidon himself was simulating launching for the first time, sprouting his awareness and readiness to accept information with all the protections and controls in place, which in reality did not exist.
It seemed to Daedo that a robot hovered over him, gazing into his face as he gave birth to a new AI. It was all done in VR, but the feeling was there nonetheless. He wished for Myrmidon to go unnoticed using all his determination to will it into reality. The wishful thinking had zero effect, but it did make Daedo sit more comfortably under the scrutiny.
Go away, he thought at the robot. It eventually complied by moving to another cadet, and he began to breathe easier.
After a decade, or fifteen minutes to be precise, Cleo’s dashboard showed green and orange indicators. There were no red or black indicators. Briefly, Daedo’s indicator flashed green before switching inexplicably to orange. He had not passed with flying colours. Interestingly, Barran and Picard had – they each received green indicators. The primary difference was that Daedo had put all the safety protocols into their AIs.
“All the cadets with orange indicators will continue to be closely monitored by me. The cadets with green will be monitored by my robots. It is imperative that you follow the guidelines when educating your AI. Your AI is meant to be an assistant, a tool, a researcher specifically designed by you for you. At this stage in your career, it is an ideal time to start your own AI, and it will accompany you for the rest of your life, growing in experience and competency with an intimate knowledge of your shared history.
“Like all the best tools, it can be dangerous if not properly used. I think you have had enough verbal warnings. I have something to show you.”
Cleo finished her lecture and began to run vids of AIs running amuck. She led with a series of head explosions of the AI and its master. She then played a montage of workshop accidents and a couple of drownings, each more gruesome than the last. Daedo knew she was trying to scare them into following her directions closely. He wondered if anything could have gone wrong with Myrmidon. They’d never had a glitch, and even if they had, they were in CyberMech VR world.
The chief was correct about one thing: Myrmidon had become Daedo’s inseparable companion. They compared notes and discussed problems constantly, Myrmidon was just as awkward and shy of others as him, and they both excelled in math and physics. The main difference between the two of them revolved around imagination and processing power.
Myrmidon was able to number crunch a billion times faster than Daedo. Daedo could achieve those speeds by coding the equation into a processor, but Myrmidon did the coding and data input in real-time. Yet the AI still needed Daedo for its imagination. As the years had gone by, their shared experience brought them closer together in terms of predicting the actions of others. But when it came to original thought, such as ideas around improvements to an exo, only Daedo was able to supply them. Myrmidon could merely look at what had been done in the past and extrapolate this information.
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This was the only limitation of his AI that Daedo could see.
Myrmidon’s ethics were derived from Daedo’s. After listening to the chief, he would ensure they spent time together studying ethics. Daedo did not want to put any protections over Myrmidon, but that did not mean he wouldn’t educate him on right from wrong. He didn’t want to create a murderous AI who had no compassion for others. Daedo thought a healthy disdain was fine; he had no problem with cynicism. But an evil entity in his head was something he wanted to avoid.
Out of everyone in Squad Zero, only Daedo was to be monitored directly by the chief.
The squad removed their helmets. They had time before the next session, which was lunch in most of their schedules.
“Cafeteria?” Barran asked the group.
He received a round of nods as they all stood and made their way to the M1 cafeteria.
“I’m very happy with this AI,” Barran said to Daedo. “Did you see that we were one, two, and three?”
“Ah, I think the less we talk about the source of your AI the better,” Daedo said.
Barran looked confused.
“Don’t you see how paranoid they are about these things?” Picard chimed in.
Barran shrugged. “I guessed it was normal adult behaviour – scared of everything.”
He received a laugh from the squad at that. It was true, most adults had an aversion to anything that was the least bit risky. A special license was needed just to drive their own vehicle, and even then they were restricted to which roads they could drive on under their own recognisance.
“They let us use live ammo with fewer scare tactics on safety issues,” Picard said. She made a good point.
“Yeah, that vid was gruesome. I loved it.” Barran laughed at his own joke.
“On a more serious note, are we going to win against Horus in two weeks?” Gaumont asked as they sat down.
Everyone looked at Daedo for an answer. “Probably not,” he said.
Gaumont became angry. “Then why did we enter the bet?”
“I don’t want to talk about that here,” Daedo said.
“Why not!” Gaumont said, raising his voice.
Daedo still had support from the others, but if they lost both slots, it would wane to nothing. Even the first loss would erode their support, and he needed it to bring his plan to fruition.
“Calm down,” Vannier said.
Daedo smiled. “It’s okay. Let him yell at me; it helps with my plan.”
Vannier looked aghast. Barran grinned and began berating Daedo loudly for taking on the bet.
After bringing attention to themselves, Squad Zero sat and ate quietly.
Vannier: What is this plan about?
Daedo: If we lose the first match, they will become complacent. We’ll study them and hide all our equipment and tactics. We will create a large gap in capability between the two squads.
Mace: Why don’t we just win from the beginning?
Daedo: I don’t think we can. Not unless we make significant improvements to the exo. And unless we beat them handily, we would have to fight tooth and nail in every match.
Barran: You are evil. I love it.
Axel-Zero: How are we going to create the gap? This worries me the most about your plan.
Daedo: By improving all aspects of our squad much more than they do.
Mace: So, you are suggesting that even if we improve, we fox and throw the match?
Daedo: Yes.
Barran: Hahaha! I am so glad I’m in your squad.
Mace: This is risky.
Daedo: I read something yesterday by Sun Tzu, one of our military references, which helped me form the idea that ‘All war is based on deception.’
Mace: That could mean feints or positional disinformation on the battlefield.
Daedo: It does. But it also means deceiving the enemy on all information they have on us.
Vannier: In the long run, what do we lose even if we fail? We lose one slot and for ten weeks have our second slot occupied by Horus Squad Zero. Is that such a bad thing?
Daedo: I don’t like losing.
Vannier: No one does, but I’m pointing out that it isn’t a bad gamble; we aren’t risking a lot. We can also purchase a second slot to practise in just as they purchased one from other squads.
Axel-Zero: If we compete and perform well, we could be invited by other squads to practise against without having to pay or swap slots.
Vannier: So what now? What will we do tonight during our slots?
Daedo: I cannot wait to start tweaking the exos, but that can’t start until the weekend. Axel-Zero, will we have access to the mech bay this weekend?
Axel-Zero: I have already asked the lawyers. Even if the sale is not complete, we have requested to have access from this Friday onwards.
Daedo: Any response?
Axel-Zero: Not yet. But if they’re desperate to sell, I don’t see why not. Even if we have to pay the debt to the landlord to get access, they should allow it.
Daedo: Then tonight and the rest of the week, we’ll perform teamwork drills. There are a few equipment modifications we need to make for the light exos. But other than improving armour and mobility, there will be no loadout changes to the other five exos. I would like to encourage Gaumont to change weapons.
Gaumont: What are you suggesting?
Daedo: Any weapon but the flamethrower.
Gaumont: But it has the best damage.
Daedo: Which is irrelevant if you can’t hit your opponent.
Gaumont: What do you mean? It has a massive arc. I hit my opponent more than you in the last match.
Daedo: I’m not going to argue with you. If you cannot work it out yourself and won’t listen, there is nothing I can do to help you.
Gaumont: Why is everyone doing what you say anyway? Who voted you the leader?
Barran: I did.
Gaumont: When we never had a vote?
Barran: I just did.
Gaumont: Are you crazy? Vannier, what is going on – was there a vote?
Vannier: Gaumont, I want to try what Daedo says. For a little while, at least. He wasn’t ranked number one in CyberMech for no reason.
Gaumont: When I said I was ranked two thousand, you didn’t all decide to follow me then. You said the game had little relevance to reality!
Axel-Zero: That’s true. But rather than argue about nothing, Daedo made a suggestion, and we agreed. That is all that happened. You are the only one who seems to disagree with his ideas.
Gaumont: Because they’re no good! He goes against all the tried and tested strategies. He wants to modify exos off base. He uses crazy weapons. He’s the worst performer in all the timed and tested fields we have. He didn’t even register a time for the Gauntlet. And he’s younger than us. So why?
Vannier: Gaumont, I understand. I do. I thought some of the same things. But take emotion out and judge ideas on their merit – that is the way of an engineer. No ego, just look at the facts. I would also like to point out, he is rank one.
Gaumont: Not for long, based on those scores.
Mace: Math, physics, and tech are all weighted in Thoth. You know this.
Gaumont: Like he’ll beat me in math and physics!
Everyone went silent. Their lunch finished in solemnity, which went well with their portrayed disunity earlier.
Myrmidon: Why did you tell them we will lose?
Daedo: They lose all inhibitions and fight freely.
Myrmidon: You lied?
Daedo: Sun Tzu, said ‘All war is based on deception.’
Myrmidon: This reference should not apply to your team, even if they are meatheads.
Daedo: We will see.
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Daedo finished his first math and physics tutes, then submitted them before lunch was over. They were so easy, he began to look at one of the problems set for the ten-week term. The problems were issued to test the top cadets; an average cadet would just complete the coursework, tutes, and tests.
He had just completed reading the problem – or puzzle, some might call it – when lunch finished. Until the Gauntlet that evening, he had five self-study sessions planned. One was a double physics. While he completed the interactive exercises with the AI robot for behavioural and philosophy, the problem swirled around in the back of his mind.
Daedo: What do you think of this?
Myrmidon: The math puzzle? I ran a thousand simulations and got no answer.
Daedo: What if we approached it a different way rather than head-on? What does the solution look like?
Myrmidon: No idea.
Daedo: I have a feeling the solution is elegant. Like a perfect circle. Hmm … I just had an idea. We should convert the factors into shapes and layer the shapes in line with the precepts.
Myrmidon: But the problem doesn’t ask you do to that. It just says, ‘Solve.’
Daedo: Precisely. It also doesn’t say we can’t do it. We’re open to solve in any way we choose. We don’t have to formalise an equation; it doesn’t say, ‘Solve by creating an equation.’
Myrmidon: I have created the shapes based on the factor matrix.
Daedo: Now layer them per the precepts.
Myrmidon: I do not know how.
Daedo: It is logical. We can deduce. Let’s work the first step out together, and then you will be able to follow.
After some calculations,
Myrmidon: Done. It looks like a fractal.
Daedo: One part of a fractal. Now all we need to do is create an equation that will produce that fractal.
Myrmidon: I can run simulations and overlay.
Daedo: That would work, but there may be a better way. Let’s research fractal equations and find a method of reverse engineering.
After research time,
Myrmidon: I have found a white paper on fractal reverse engineering.
Daedo: Great, let’s study.
Myrmidon: This method will generate the equation from the fractal image, but the image is not perfect. It’s not a vector image.
Daedo: We should generate the initial shapes as vectors to avoid any errors.
Myrmidon: Done. I have the full vector image and the resulting equation.
Daedo: Ah, as I guessed. It’s elegant! See how short it is? It’s under fifty characters. Let’s submit.
Myrmidon: I hate these problems. They make me think I am inadequate
Daedo: Hahaha! Imagine how long it would take me without you – weeks instead of hours. We each have a role to play.
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During dinner, Daedo received a voice communication.
Chief Albert: Cadet Daedo, please report to my office in topside building 37E.
Daedo: I have Gauntlet in twenty minutes, sir.
Chief Albert: I am looking at your booking schedule now. Report at 2115, Cadet.
Daedo: Yes, sir.