With a full meal and the most comfortable personal quarters I’d ever had, I slept like a baby. Which is to say, even though I was relatively comfortable I woke up three times and felt like crying.
The mess hall had been impressively stocked, for a facility underground in the middle of nowhere. Feeling much better with food and water in me I retreated to my private accommodations to read through the project information. It was not promising.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting. Given my recent adjustment period from cryosleep maybe I hadn’t been expecting anything, but "hail mary AGI project involving brain surgery that had so far only had animal trials" seemed off the rails even for my standards. The actual document was 18 pages long and went into all sorts of details about the outcomes of the animal trials.
Mouse trials, personally I was miffed that they were jumping straight from mice to human trials. Mostly because I was to be one of those trial humans.
When I did finally drag myself out of bed that morning and started making myself presentable I did so in only marginally better spirits than I did the previous day. While much of the terrifying confusion and post cryo misery was absent, my mood was sufficiently dampened by the looming task I had this morning. Go to a briefing in which that bright eyed researcher from yesterday would enthusiastically discuss how the highly experimental brain surgery he wanted to conduct to me was essential for the humanities survival.
I am a patriot and loyal to the union, as much as anyone can be, I think. I joined the military to protect humanity, fight alongside my fellow humans against an alien menace and maybe leave my mark on history. I did not join up and work so hard in the academy to die on an operating table in the name of some science experiment before the fighting even really started.
Dwelling on the harder tasks of the day was insufficient motivation to actually begin them, so I resolved to distract myself with thoughts of breakfast instead and let what come will. Sarah caught me before I’d even managed to read that morning’s menu in the mess hall.
“Morning Vic! Did you sleep okay? These quarters are crazy nice, right?” Sarah chuckled, breaking the ice for the more pertinent conversation.
“Yeah, I feel way better than yesterday. Sorry for being such a putz; my head was killing me. I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of lying awake in such a nice bed.”
Sarah took a moment before parsing that as a joke and laughing while I busied myself with reading the menu. Just like last night, the options were many and excellent. I settled on a sausage and veggie omelet, made with real, actual eggs cracked right in front of me onto a hot griddle—not the synthetic egg sort, made of soy proteins before being frozen and shipped.
“I don’t think I’ve seen real eggs since before shipping off to the academy…” I half muttered while Sarah ordered an omelet of her own.
“Huh… come to think of it, I don’t think I ever saw any real eggs in the academy either. The food wasn’t half bad for Mars. I guess I just didn’t think about it?” She chuckled again.
We settled at the end of a table, much of the space wasn't actively being used. I didn’t know how many staff this location had or what schedules they kept, but both times I had eaten in this mess, it had felt quite deserted, which was more than fine by me.
“So, you read the project details last night?” Sarah asked, an inquisitorial look on her face across from me.
I picked at some of the chunks of bell pepper left on my plate with a fork, “No” I scoffed, “I thought obliviousness was preferable.” I did my best to let the irony drip from my reply, Sarah understood just fine.
“You’re the one who took all those biology classes in your second year, is it really that bad?”
I grumbled but didn’t answer, I was still mad at Sarah, petty of me as it was. Even then, we were some degree of friends, I was a little glad to have someone I knew here with me for this ridiculous project.
“Are you two new?” A man approached our table, drawing our attention. He was short, with light hazel hair and way too many freckles.
“I noticed the uniforms - uh, the scientists don’t wear uniforms, and the guards have an older set, but we have the new post-cryo uniforms.” He made a gesture, first towards his own uniform than ours.
Sarah and I both looked up from our half-finished meals, I nodded.
“I’m Leo. It's nice to meet you both,” he said, holding out his hand. Sarah happily took it while launching into further introductions. As he'd mentioned, those of us fresh out of cryo had a newer set of uniforms than the other military personnel stationed here. Sure enough Leo, Sarah and myself were all wearing such uniforms. It wasn't a major leap in logic to guess that we were here for the same purpose.
“Sarah, nice to meet you,” she greeted him, looking over at me. “And this here is Vic. Don’t mind her; she’s still surly after waking up from being thawed out yesterday.” Sarah cackled as I glowered at her.
Leo joined us after picking up a tray of his own, although he seemed more interested in chatting than stuffing his face. "So, not to pry, but you wouldn't happen to be Vicky Miller and Sarah Williams, would you?" Sarah nodded happily, and I think I made some sort of unpleasant face. "That would be us, why do you ask?"
"Well, I was 3 years under the two of you. I never met either of you at the academy, but we heard all about the rivalry you two had, legendary, some of the upperclassmen liked to use it as an inspirational story. I was top of my class in my final year and spent the whole time chasing your record." He nodded at Sarah, I felt a pang of jealousy.
Leo laughed, "I never did reach either of your scores, as far as I know that's still the record, but I guess if anyone did beat it or get close, they may join us here?" He gave a little half shrug and started on his food. I figured I might as well see if Leo had heard anything we hadn't. "Speaking of here, just so we're all on the same page, will you also be at the briefing Dr. Hirsh is giving soon?"
Leo nodded, mouth full of yogurt. "Mhmm." "I don't suppose you know anything more than what was covered on the tablets?" I asked.
Leo nodded again, swallowing. "Yeah, it made for some pretty dense late-night reading. I kinda wish it had more specifics, though. I'd really prefer more than the spark notes of a process that's going to be done to my head before I sign on, ya know?" Sarah offered some half-hearted agreement, and the conversation petered out.
It wasn't long until the briefing, and the conference room wasn't far from the mess. The three of us made our way over together. The conference room was private and cozy, with large comfortable chairs and a VR projector set up built into the ceiling. It wasn't locked, so, even early, we helped ourselves inside to enjoy the comfortable chairs.
We didn't have to wait long. Right on time Dr. Hirsh, along with two others, came into the room after us. "Ah, I'm glad to see you three have already met. These here are Sarah, Vic, and Leo," he nodded in our direction, turning back towards the two newcomers he had brought with him.
"And these two," he said, turning to make eye contact with those of us already in the room, "are Konrad and Jiang." He gestured towards the two newcomers who were standing just a little awkwardly in the doorway. The more dehydrated looking one, Konrad I assumed, looked a little worse for wear. Likely he had just been pulled out of cryo this morning.
"Nice to meet you both!" Sarah chimed in with an easy smile. "Are you both from the academy?"
Konrad just nodded, nursing a small plastic cup of water in his hand. Jiang replied, "Yes, we just came from there. I'm from this year's class; Konrad is from a year ahead of me, so we already knew each other." Jiang chuckled a bit. "I don't envy all of you having to come out of cryo."
I happened to agree. It wasn't something to envy. I felt a little sympathy for our new, dehydrated compatriot.
Dr. Hirsh cleared his throat, having made his way to the front of the conference room and started up the VR projector while we chatted.
"There will be plenty of time for you all to chat amongst yourselves later. For now, you have questions, yes?"
That got us to quiet down. The room stayed quiet, though, as if no one wanted to be the first to ask anything. So I figured I could bite the bullet and go first.
"So if I understand correctly, the development of AGI systems failed when it came to ships larger than escorts. The majority of the fleet, by mass, that also happens to have more of the impactful larger weapons systems running at limited speeds would be bad, so this whole facility is a last-ditch attempt to fix some of those capabilities?"
It was direct. The information we had acquired hadn't specified that projects for AGI had failed. That was an assumption I made based on the fact that we were all here and not bound for ships in orbit.
Dr. Hirsh sighed. "It's not accurate to say that other AGI projects failed. The strides in manufacturing-related AI have been expansive, and when it comes to narrow fields, the most modern AI we have are incredible. But, yes, for the purpose of large ship-wide systems, things that encompass hundreds or even thousands of systems and subsystems that require more than basic guidance to use, those models did fail. The last project before I was approved funding involved daisy-chaining several AI systems. They didn't work well together, and the results were not substantially better than the sum of their parts."
He cleared his throat. “And, I would like to add this program is not a last ditch anything, it's incredibly well funded with a major body of supporting research and major strides in—”
“Mouse trials” I cut him off.
“E-excuse me?” He spluttered.
“The report only mentioned mouse trials, in which half the mice went comatose within a year.” I implored.
“Ah, yes… I erm—” He paused to collect himself.
“I see what you mean. You are right this is not a tried and tested method, however for the human trials we have made major improvements to our methods, additionally a big portion of the effectiveness relies on the subjects ability to assist in cognitive mapping, which is a hard concept to communicate to mice.”
There was a little more uneasy silence, I thought back to the process dictated in the paper, the use of micromachines to simulate the structure and function of each individual neuron, the premise was as science fiction as anything I’d ever read.
“What exactly do you mean by cognitive mapping? The brief you provided mentioned methods, But why specifically those activities? What purpose do they serve?" implored Konrad, appearing noticeably less anxious.
Dr. Hirsh's eyes lit up, resembling the expression of a researcher eager to explain a novel system they had developed. Although I hadn't witnessed many such instances, I was fairly certain that's what this was.
"I'm delighted you asked. During the process of cognitive mapping, neurosynaptic reconstruction takes place. Micromachines, specifically built for the field of cerebral microbotics, replace each neuron one by one. These microbots observe the connections and interactions of each individual neuron and then employ axio-dendritic preservation techniques to replace it with an artificial replica that possesses identical functions before destroying the original neuron. Each microbot acts as an independent transistor, and when combined in groups of hundreds using cognitive network mimicry, they can simulate the functions of a human neuron. The accuracy of this process depends on the faithful recreation of each neuron, which is achieved through neuron activation stimulation. This process involves engaging in specific activities that stimulate neuron activation, thereby highlighting all known connections and ensuring no connections are lost during the process—" Dr. Hirsh paused momentarily to catch his breath from the wave of technobable he’d just expounded.
"It is impossible to map the full functionality of every single neuron. On average, there are 86 billion neurons, each potentially involved in one thousand or more connections. There are upwards of 60 trillion neuronal connections in every human mind. However, by utilizing advanced synaptic tracing algorithms and leveraging the principles of neurosynaptic reconstruction, we can optimize the process. The activities mentioned in the brief serve as neuron activation stimulation techniques, minimizing the loss of connections and preserving the integrity of the cognitive network," he concluded.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
I made an attempt to check each term by its definition as he went, but by the time I caught up on the definition of axio-dendritic preservation (the preservation and replication of the complex network of axons and dendrites that constitute a neuron's connections and interactions!), the doctor had already moved all the way to Synaptic Tracing Algorithms. I had read the brief beforehand, of course, but the casual use of these terms had my head reeling just a little. They sounded more like buzzwords than tangible concepts to my ears.
If anyone else was as momentarily confused as me, they didn't show it. Either I was the slacker or everyone was just nodding along. I had a suspicion it was a bit of both.
“So, losing connections, you mean like, memory loss?” poised Sarah.
“That's it yes, infrequently accessed long term connections, the sort of things that might only come up at family reunions, visiting a childhood home or a location of an important childhood event. We can’t do much travel, or get your family members here to reminisce, though I did try for that. The neuron activation stimulation techniques mentioned in the brief are examples of activities that attempt to access those same pathways so that connections aren’t lost.”
“Why us?” blurted Leo
“There are thousands of recruits coming out of cryo, not to mention tons of crazy smart people to choose from. Why us specifically?”
“Ah, well, TacNav as a study as I am led to understand deals quite heavily in the logistics of fleet wide maneuvers, taking into account the weapons and propulsion systems as well as casting an eye to the enemy. It's a sort of practiced top down awareness that lends itself much more to this project than if someone was just good at games, or had a particularly high count of neurons. Besides the fact that otherwise screening for candidates is hard, your experience in the academy being so recent makes it far less likely to be lost in translation so to speak. You five fit those criteria quite well, not to mention being the best of the best if test scores are anything to go by.”
There were more questions, more answers, but I didn't pay too much attention. My understanding was that they had a procedure here that would take my brain, chew it up, and spit out a super AI. The fact that the chewing was painless and the AI would believe it was me didn't entirely alleviate my fears.
I had come to my own conclusion last night: I wanted to fight for Terra, not die for it. If AI systems had failed to progress to the point where this project seemed like the better option, then dying for Terra appeared to be already in the cards for all of us anyways. Perhaps this project would feel like death, maybe rebirth. At least it would be going out with a bang rather than a whimper. It would have an impact either way, and it seemed a little better than succumbing to the vacuum of space. As such, I had already signed all the waivers and forms provided last night after skimming the brief.
“That concludes this briefing. I hope you are all now properly informed about the benefits and risks of this project. This is strictly voluntary. If any of you choose not to participate, that is acceptable. You will be reassigned to naval command positions where your skills are undoubtedly essential and redeployed this afternoon. For those who choose to stay, we would like to proceed with the first part of the procedure this evening. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to seeing this project through together," Hrish concluded. Everyone stood, offering polite handshakes and goodbyes. Sarah, Leo, and Jiang gathered outside, engaged in their own discussion, likely contemplating whether or not to sign on. Konrad, seemingly full of questions, had cornered Dr. Hirsh for a personal session.
I wasn't interested in any of that. I was stressed, socially drained, and preoccupied with thoughts of my own mortality. I needed time alone and something to distract myself. Escaping to my quarters, I found just the thing.
The tablet setup I had received the previous day came with a pair of VR glasses. With them, I could run all sorts of fun applications.
It didn’t take too long to find what I was looking for, a tactical sim. There were all sorts of good gamified RTS sims out there. Initially, it had started as a military simulator, meticulously modeling and mapping our ships down to each square foot of hull, accompanied by incredibly accurate ballistics simulations. However, as the concept of "winning the fight" permeated the cultural zeitgeist, a game company had spruced up the engine and released a game built on the simulation's foundations, which also garnered attention, spurring a whole genre of realistic sims. There were even massive ones with competitions that would reward spots at good military academies.
Whether it was an action-packed game or a deliberate military simulation, either one was exactly what I needed to divert my mind from the anxious knot in my gut. Slipping on the glasses, I nestled comfortably into my bed and immersed myself in the application. VR technology had significantly improved, providing a truly immersive experience. The glasses weren't too heavy, and the eye-tracking for manipulation and maneuvering was spot-on as I seamlessly navigated through loading screens and menus. Perhaps this was just top-of-the-line military-grade equipment, but either way, I appreciated it.
The simulation itself was something new to me, sitting somewhere between a gamified war game and the low-polygon simulations reminiscent of my days at the military academy. I tinkered with the settings, setting up a small skirmish with equal forces and minimal celestial bodies. Each side had a cruiser and a few dozen corvettes, a manageable setup against a challenging AI opponent. A relaxing session, I dove in and organized my formation.
The dark backdrop filled my vision as reasonably replicated ships occupied the space around me, neatly arranged in formation yet hundreds of miles apart. Thankfully, the user interface was convenient enough that I could monitor and maneuver the entire fleet simultaneously. I held back the cruiser and most of the corvettes. While these ships were standard and well-armed, they were still vulnerable to the small strike craft that could be deployed by the cruiser class I had chosen for both sides. Since I lacked effective point defense systems, my own strike craft would serve as the primary defense against enemy strike craft. Therefore, I kept most of them close to my central force or within the cruiser, only dispatching a few to escort the scout ships I had sent far ahead. Almost immediately, I encountered a problem. Even though I had ventured deep into what was ostensibly enemy territory, the sensors had detected nothing.
This was highly unusual behavior. For one I had the exact same ship set as my opponent, with identical sensor ranges avoiding me intentionally while maneuvering forward would be impossible, even if the enemy was playing evasive we would still catch each other at the edges of sensor range before pulling away.
Instead, I saw nothing, perhaps it was broken?
While considering that possibility, my scouting ships had ventured further than I would usually allow, unaware of any threats. Suddenly, half a dozen strike craft surged towards one of the lone corvettes. I immediately engaged full reverse, but the strike craft, despite being generally slower than fully equipped ships, were already at top speed. Accelerating my ship to full speed for an escape would take precious time, time it simply didn't have.
Realizing that there was no means of escape or defense against the nimble strike craft, my only viable option was to dispatch a wave of my own strike craft. However, I had an intuitive sense having played many sims before that they wouldn't arrive in time. Still, I had two strike craft escorting the corvette, so I ordered them to turn and confront the incoming wave, hoping to buy the corvette a bit more time, although I had already resigned the entire scouting party as a loss.
While awaiting the inevitable fate of the scouts, I contemplated my next move. It was astonishing luck that this lone wave of strike craft had stumbled upon my scouting party. Perhaps the enemy cruiser had been sent out immediately with its higher range sensors and without adequate escort, a risky maneuver that could explain the aggressive behavior. In response to this assumption, I deployed half of my strike craft and most of my corvettes that I had held back, directing them towards the presumed location of the enemy cruiser. Taking out the cruiser while preserving my own forces would secure an easy victory against the remaining enemy ships.
Initially, the situation unfolded as anticipated. The enemy wave engaged the strike craft I had sent as an escort, swiftly obliterating them and subsequently destroying the helpless scout. However, I remained confident in my assessment of the situation. I believed I would find the enemy cruiser overextended, allowing me to defeat it and secure a certain win. As expected, the enemy strike craft retreated beyond sensor range, heading back in the direction of the cruiser, which further reinforced my theory regarding its location.
Unexpectedly, another one of my scouting parties made contact—an additional group of strike craft, located thousands of miles away from the expected sortie point. This new information left me momentarily flustered. The fact that the same attack occurred twice, with such a significant distance between them, indicated that both sorties must have been launched nearly simultaneously early in the round. This meant that the enemy cruiser's position was much closer to its starting area than I had assumed after the first attack.
The enemy had been dispatching sorties with precision long before detecting any of my ships. In Fact given the limited sensor range of the strike craft, I wasn't sure it even had detected my ships until minutes before engaging. It felt like cheating, It was cheating, I muttered a soft curse under my breath and removed the headset, conceding the match. I felt more frustrated than anxious, a minor improvement but not exactly what I had been seeking.
My scowling and frustrated wringing of my pillow was abruptly interrupted by a soft ping emanating from the tablet I had left on the bed—a message.
El - [gg wp haha, sorry about that, I thought I might get away with it but you totally caught me.]
"What?" I muttered under my breath in a hushed tone. Another ping followed shortly after.
El - [Oh, did you not notice? I was peering at your screen!]
I took a second to type out a message.
[Who are you? Can you hear me? That's fucked] - Guestjbu3470
El - [Ah, my apologies for creeping you out. I'm an AI from a previous project, not the one you're currently involved in. Dr. Hirsh wanted me to wait until later today to introduce myself, but when I saw you launch the simulation, I couldn't resist the opportunity. It's probably the only chance I'll ever get to beat you. It's nice to meet you, Vic.]
[Well, nice to meet you, I suppose. You kind of ruined my attempt at a relaxing game…] - Guestjbu3470
El - [Oh? I sincerely apologize for that. I was merely trying to show off with a harmless trick. We're not supposed to engage in conversation until after the induction process. I'll leave you to it. It was a pleasure meeting you <3.]
"Induction," I mused to myself, dropping the tablet where I had picked it up.
There wouldn't be any lunch; Dr. Hirsh had made it clear that those participating in the project shouldn't eat before the planned operation in the afternoon. I had several hours to spare before I had to show up and have sci-fi nonsense implanted in my head. I put the VR glasses back on and delved into another session of the simulation, this time with a fair and uninterrupted experience.