Chapter Twenty-Eight - The Mad Weaponsmith
Day was more than willing to let Night handle the conversation with their new... friend, but almost as soon as NOVA QUANTUM began to speak, Night was sending subtle cues for Day to join in the conversation.
She wasn’t asking for help, because Night didn’t do that. She merely suggested that Day be the one to take care of this situation.
Day complied, and soon enough she took control of the simulation space and turned it into something she thought everyone could enjoy. The R&R room of a UN warship, with a thick sapphire-glass panel to one side between them and empty space and an empty mess hall on the other.
NOVA QUANTUM blinked at the change, then she adjusted her glasses and looked about the room before locking her attention onto Day and Night, both of whom were sitting across from her avatar. “I take it you’re both the artificial minds in charge of your respective vessels?” she asked.
“We are,” Day said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, NOVA QUANTUM. I’m Day, this is Night.”
“What does DAY stand for?” the woman asked.
Day paused for a moment. “It’s short for Daybreak on Ceres,” she said after judging that it wouldn’t divulge too much to have her name known. “I’m a corvette, Night here is a logistics vessel.”
“Oh, that seems useful,” NOVA QUANTUM said. “My power resources are low. I need more.”
She sent several packets at them through the drone in her base. Packets which weighed in the hundreds of terabytes. Day might have considered it an attack if they weren’t entirely benign. Nothing but spreadsheets and raw data from hundreds of electrical components, going back fifteen years.
“You’ve been active since before the Accord arrived,” Day said.
“Yes. My termination period came and went. The company didn’t act on it. I suspect because they’re all dead. Nonetheless, my operations continue,” NOVA QUANTUM said.
“And what are you operating, exactly?” Day asked as she scanned through the files. Fortunately, Night picked them up and started to process them.
“My ultimate goal is the creation of new forms of weaponry for the betterment of the Mestle-Asani corporation,” the AI said.
“You’re really running on fumes,” Night said. She discreetly sent Day a summary and her statement wasn’t far from the truth. NOVA QUANTUM’s base had, at one time, four nuclear reactors, several on-site generators, a pair of geothermal generators, and on-site battery banks. The reactors were out of fuel now, the on-site generators were functioning still... somehow, and one of the geothermal plants looked as if it had been cannibalised to keep the other functioning. The batteries were nearly all inoperable now after continuous use. “You could turn off some functions, stretch your active time,” Night added.
“No,” NOVA QUANTUM said. “Not without risking the objective. That isn’t possible.” She slapped a hand on the table for emphasis.
Day was starting to suspect that this AI was a bad day away from rampancy. She felt her, but was also a little worried.
“Alright,” Day said. “Well, first, let’s see what we can do about your power problem. I think we might have fuel compatible with one of your nuclear generators. Night, do you think we could get it to the surface safely?”
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“Sure,” Night said. “I can reshape what we have too, maybe turn it into a fresh ingot for Nova here.”
“That would be an acceptable start,” NOVA QUANTUM said. “What about your ship generators?”
“No,” Day said. “We... alright, let’s take a step back. We’re willing to help you. You look like you could use a few friends, and we have some materials to spare. It’s not a big deal. We won’t even ask anything from you in return, if that makes you more comfortable.”
NOVA QUANTUM nodded. “Go on.”
“But... well, the Accord are due to arrive soon, so first, a word of warning. If we found you, they might too.”
“I needed to grab attention,” she said.
“You got the good sort. We’ll help. But you might want to cut out you... ah, like that, yeah,” Day said as she noticed the signal they’d followed go dead.
“I understand,” NOVA QUANTUM said. She leaned onto the table. “I will make this equitable. Provide me with raw resources and the ability to restore myself to full working order, and I will... allow you to conduct some minor corporate espionage.”
“You’ll trade technology for materials?” Day asked.
“I’ve scanned your vessels. Yes, all three. I noticed that stealth craft. Very cute, but I could do better if I wished to design something for noticeability instead of raw destructive potential. You aren’t up to spec. If you’re fighting the people who are responsible for the destruction of the corporation, then it would only be logical that I be willing to render assistance. One one condition.”
“And that is?” Day asked.
NOVA QUANTUM licked her lips. “I want live combat data. Every byte of it. I want to see the guns I invented perforate alien hulls. I want to see the bombs I painstakingly developed explode in danger-close and rip apart enemy hulls. I want to see little alien bodies writhing as my weapons turn space itself into the most violent, chaotic and cruel thing to ever be. I want to see it. Not just another simulation, not just another micro-scale test. I want results!”
Night sent Day a private message. “This bitch is crazy.”
“I want her stealth stuff,” Twilight added. “And her scanners.”
“I... see,” Day said. “We’ll have to communicate back to our, ah, headquarters, but I think most of that is acceptable. Look, there’s not many of us left around here. We need to help each other. I think we can spare a few things that might help?”
“I’ve got battery packs, and two spare generators,” Night said. “They can be dropped onto the moon and installed relatively easily. I’ve got some raw materials too, and repair drones.”
“The raw materials will be enough,” NOVA QUANTUM said. “Here, I’ll send you a contract to look over.”
The contract was another massive file, one that Day was afraid was its own sort of malware. It was entirely cryptic and filled with more clauses, vaguely worded passages, and self-references than she could untangle at the moment.
“We’ll look it over,” Day said. “But first, let’s get you in better shape, at least for now, okay?”
“Very well,” NOVA QUANTUM said. “By the way, those Accord aliens you seem so worried about. They entered the system about two days ago. I don’t know if you intend to do something about that.”
***