City-21 “Kyiv,” UNSA Protectorate, Avril Dominion
NES Factory Industrial Zone, Medical Center “Lizard’s Tail”
Maksim Chernykh’s Team, August 13, 2049, 11:21 AM
Finally, it’s just the right time to cook lunch! Alisa was glad that her primary thread’s brief absence went unnoticed. She turned to the fridge, hoping no one would interrupt her this time...
“Hey folks, am I the only one a bit uneasy about putting all our bets on TACTA when we basically know nothing about them?” Redhead leaned back in her chair, twirling the wrapper of her last protein bar in her fingers.
“It’s hard to say,” Maksim pondered. “We can infer some things from indirect signs. For one, they seem to be either a humanoid civilization or one very familiar with humanoids. Evidently interplanetary...”
Alisa waved off the conversation, heading to the fridge and pulling out a large package of frozen ready meal and a bag of vegetables for a salad.
“Did you figure that out from analyzing their market? So, what if all products in their catalog are purely for humans? We have no other reasonable customers on our planet!” Dasha grinned, slipping into VR, judging by her posture and slightly glazed eyes. “Anyway, I’ve compiled some stuff for you to think about…”
In the center of the table, an interactive 3D associative map appeared in augmented reality.
“The Ravens did a bit of scouting this morning…” Dasha continued, “Check it out. It’s a compilation of all rumors, theories, and hypotheses about TACTA from chats, forums, and social networks.”
“Hmm…” Maksim rotated the model. “Most opinions lean towards them being humanoid aliens. Just like the Protectorate, except no one’s seen a single TACTA representative yet.”
“Wow, there are heated debates about their type of government — whether it’s democratic, authoritarian, or totalitarian!” Redhead chimed in, skimming a couple of links to the liveliest discussions. “Are they seriously debating this?”
“Yep,” Dasha laughed. “You know the main argument for those who believe TACTA has a democratic regime?”
“No. What?”
“Check it out: ‘While the UNSA Protectorate seizes power in largest polises with armed force, subjugating and bending everyone to their will, TACTA operates solely in a peaceful manner, avoiding armed conflicts. Instead, they’re ready to provide infrastructure assistance, communication, and offer an extensive trade catalog’.”
“It makes sense, in a way,” Nikola nodded. “Back in the early 21st century, before the fall of governments, some politicians were exactly like this! They didn’t try to stop the fighting but were eager to sell weapons and services to all parties involved.”
“I won’t argue with that,” Max smirked. “But that’s Earth’s past. Even crazier things happened here and there. But this is a completely different situation! The Protectorate is putting colossal effort into conquering the world, turning Polises into Fortress-Cities... And suddenly TACTA – with the highest protes’ allowing – has no problem opening, metaphorically speaking, a shop in the backyard. Moreover, they’re actively trading all sorts of contraband. Stealth modules, secure untraceable communication, weapons, for God’s sake! I guess, they might be selling a ‘Terrorism for Dummies’ guide too? How can such a combination even exist? Maybe TACTA is actually in cahoots with the Protectorate? This could be the perfect tactic to defuse any protests!”
In the heat of the discussion, he didn’t even realize he had picked up Redhead’s habit of gesturing expressively.
“No, that’s too much. No dictatorship would set up a tactic that creates a heavily armed and hostile opposition!” Nika stood her ground and raised a finger in a lecturing manner. “And besides, we don’t know anything about this! Clearly, our Earth is far from the first planet they’ve conquered. What if all of them have been doing this literally for ages? We can’t rule out the possibility that, in some distant galaxy, TACTA holds the Protectorate by the balls to maintain this parity. Hence, their ability to open these stores!”
Red snorted enthusiastically and put her cybernetic hands on her hips.
“I don’t know. Right now, it looks like a clash between industrial-military totalitarianism and anarcho-capitalists. It’s weird…” Maksim said doubtfully. “Although, to be fair, I’ve always sided with the latter. Even in our ‘old’ world, I preferred Corporations over Polises and States.”
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While the stormy discussion continued, Alisa managed to heat up Hungarian chicken paprikash in a pan, take a rice out of the steamer, and plate everything. She even made a salad.
“Let’s eat!” The android declared, setting the meal before the group. “For us, TACTA is essentially a marketplace. More precisely, it’s a provider-exchange connecting suppliers and customers. Considering we only see the initial catalog; we can only guess what goods and services might run through their shops daily and how many worlds could be involved. And besides…”
“What, Alisa?” Maksim asked.
“And besides, it’s time to eat,” she smiled. “Or it’ll get cold and won’t taste good.”
For a while, the only sounds at the table were the clinking of forks. Dasha was the first to break the silence. Not even halfway through her meal, she pushed her plate slightly away and said:
“Big ups, it’s very tasty. Guys, I’ve been thinking… well, you know… can’t we somehow produce things using TACTA’s technology? Software, services... not just that... and sell them... maybe… something like that.”
“You’re back on the topic of creating the System? Now you want to market it too?” Maksim smiled gently.
“Huh, why not! We’re already making a basic Combat Interface; I’m working on it, yeah. But what if it could be something bigger? I figured — when a lot of people want something and keep thinking about it, it can eventually become reality. And do you know how many books about the System are written on Royal Road alone? A sea of them!”
“More esotericism,” Maksim grimaced. “I’m not really familiar with Royal Road, to be honest. Just never had the chance to check out that site of yours. By the way, didn’t you say you weren’t interested in that stuff? Like, ‘fanfiction for kids,’ ‘LitRPG is only for gamers and anime fans,’ and all that. Your words?”
“Well… um, I mean, yeah...” Dasha lowered her eyes awkwardly, like a child caught stealing jam. “I didn’t really… Uhm, not exactly… But it’s interesting… And there are all sorts of beautiful worlds… Elves. Cthulhus… Yeah.”
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“Oh, if there are Cthulhus, then of course.” Maksim laughed and patted the embarrassed girl on the shoulder, easing the tension and helping her calm down. “Now that A.M.I. is no longer breathing down our necks, we can act in the open as we please. Starting a small business to earn extra grants is a great idea! Plus, we’ve already discussed that we need such software ourselves. It’s all pros from every angle. So, I’m all for it. Let’s do it and start selling.”
After making this decision, the room fell silent for a moment. It turned out everyone were really hungry, so the forks started clinking with renewed vigor. Meanwhile, the android placed a large glass teapot in the center of the table, brought over three cups, and a small vase of cookies.
Nikola finished her meal first. She poured herself a full cup of tea, grabbed half the cookies, and… started thinking. Even set aside the treats, running both hands through her red hair.
“Okay, but can Moira’s hardware handle something like that? Is it really that powerful?”
“Although we didn’t plan to use it this way, it’s actually not a problem,” Max nodded. “We can scale up its power significantly at any moment; the only thing needed is the right hardware. Currently, Moira has the minimum necessary quantum core and very few auxiliary processor modules. I had to set it up that way because the inquisitors from the Kyiv A.M.I. branch kept hounding us with inspections, always suspecting it was a T7, not a T6 as declared.”
He slid a few cookies towards himself before Redhead would eat them all, and continued:
“The difficulty lies elsewhere. To train the AI, we need tactical data, especially from real battles, and preferably the latest developments in urban warfare. I have a library, but it’s not as extensive as I’d like, and not quite the right profile.”
“Wait a minute, let me check something…” Nikola set her mug aside, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes.
Daria looked at Nika, who had gone into virtual mode, scratched her head, and also disconnected from the real world.
“Looks like this might take a while,” Max concluded, finishing his tea. He stood up and headed to the coffee maker. “At this point, I might as well grab some coffee… Alisa, are you still with me, at least?”
“With my primary thread but on minimal resources,” the android smiled. “The operation is still ongoing, you know. It’s just that I’ve done the most difficult part, so now I’m here.”
“Ah, right. By the way, I’ve also looked through the TACTA catalog, albeit briefly. Not good to rely on your data sampling everywhere and always,” Maksim smiled at his sister and turned on the coffee maker. “Such a shame that they have no suitable hardware for AIs and no relevant software.”
“Yes, I noticed that too. At least at our current level of access.” Alisa shrugged. “But who knows what might be available later?”
A few minutes passed. Maksim had already drunk half his coffee when Nika opened her eyes:
“I’m back! Well, it’s a big bummer. I still have a lot of material on cyber combat and anti-tech strategies… but the crypto key was embedded in Marcek. All archives are securely encrypted, so even the corp couldn’t crack it quickly, let alone us.”
“Yeah, that’s rough,” the guy agreed.
Suddenly, Dasha also resurfaced from VR and stared at Maksim with a wild look in her eyes.
“Uh… WonderWhiz? Is something wrong?” He set his cup down and turned to her.
“No! I mean, yes!” Dasha jumped up excitedly. “I need the pharma, you know the kind — ‘synth’, ‘five’, or better yet, pure ‘seven-five’. A day’s work… And you pet my head when I cry. And then we’ll have it. Everything…”
She sprang up and, for emphasis, poked herself in the forehead a couple of times with her index finger. “We’ll have everything! The System! It’s entirely feasible to create an AI like this based on Moira, as I’ve said. All I’ve started is on the right track. But without the pharma… it’s too slow! I checked just now! The Elder Ravens… they’ll do great! Well… maybe just need a mathematical model for military analytics to refine it correctly! And… that’s it! Yeah!”
The disheveled girl sat back down at the table and tried to smooth her hair with her hand.
“WonderKid, damn it! Can we avoid the extreme measures this time?! You just had a breakdown yesterday and haven’t fully recovered from it.”
“Dasha, indeed, do we really need such sacrifices?” Nika asked, astonished. “I’m not a programmer, but aren’t there some templates or pre-made frameworks?”
“Hmm… it’s hard to explain,” Dasha scratched her cheek and grabbed her vape. “Basically, this thing must be done right from the start. It’s crucial to lay well-formed architecture, so that later evolution continues on its own, step by step. What we have now is not suitable… at all! That’s why I need the right pharma, which, combined with the right meditation and properly tuned deep VR, creates magic. In that state, I can… foresee the growth of AI structures and intuitively guide this process. Like in a game, creating the needed environment, reshaping the whole level, so to speak.”
She fiddled with the device in her hands, looking questioningly at Max. When he nodded, she turned it on and took a deep drag. A massive cloud of vapor with the scent of white chocolate, nutmeg, and vanilla spread above the table.
“It’s hard to believe, but Dasha is right,” Max remarked. “What would normally take hundreds of hours, she can do in a day. And our time is...”
“Limited,” Redhead nodded seriously. “I understand.”
“Nika?” Dasha asked, taking another drag.
“Yeah?”
“Do we really need this software? Even if it’s just a basic ‘combat interface’ at first, like we talked about?”
Surprised, Nikola froze for a moment. Then she looked carefully at the flushed girl and replied, after a thoughtful pause:
“Yes. It’ll boost combat efficiency by at least fifty percent, often much more. There are many nuances. Not sure which mathematical model you mentioned, but I’ll share everything I have from training and the underground fights.”
“See, Max? We need take this risk! If it’s necessary, better do it now while we have the opportunity!”
“I absolutely hate this.” Maksim noted Dasha’s reaction to his words and immediately softened. “I’m not talking about the idea itself, of course. The risks. I don’t want to, and… I was going to say I won’t allow risking your health and life…”
Dasha went pale, staring at Max with wide eyes. It looked as if he were forcing her into something dangerous rather than trying to dissuade her. Nika even cautiously moved closer, worried the girl might faint any second.
“Alright… I never thought I’d say this — but we have no choice right now. Let’s go for it.” Maksim turned and looked at his sister. “Alisa, we need to use the operating room’s equipment so you can monitor her vital signs during the process. This pharma could cause cardiac arrest, we need to be prepared. And right after, initiate a thorough detox to mitigate side effects.”
“Of course, I’ll do that.”
“And another thing,” Max added, “we have only a few hours to lay the foundation for Moira’s evolution while we have the clinic at our disposal. The equipment needs to be prepped immediately.”
“Got it!” Dasha squeaked, color returning to her cheeks. “Let’s start as soon as possible… I have synth seven-five. And a bunch of ‘Brads’ for acceleration, thanks to Nika. I’ll set the ‘Cleanser’ to brew right away; it’ll be ready in about eighty minutes. And I’ll do the ‘Stabilizer’ too. I won’t die in an hour... Yeah!”
“Nika will clear the table,” Alisa said. “And I’m heading back to the operating room. Dasha, I’ll be waiting for you. Besides the ongoing Zoran operation and monitoring your life support, I’ll work with the Ravens with all my available threads and assist on the evolution protocol.”
Dasha nodded gratefully, set her vape aside, and took a sip of her tea.
“Guys, I just thought of something,” she added three sweetener tablets to her cup. “Maybe our new acquaintances have the data needed for training the AI? They seemed pretty… skilled. And considering what you said, Max…”
“That’s a good point,” Redhead agreed. “Technically, they should have A LOT of material, especially on urban combat. Underground fights are probably just entertainment for them, but they’ve been heavily involved in local military conflicts and skirmishes… We should call them.”
“Alright,” Maksim agreed. “I’ll contact them right away.”
“Miro’s sending more cyborgs for maintenance besides his nephew, by the way,” Max twirled the empty cup in his hands. “I promised him we’d check at least twenty guys by midnight, the rest will have to wait. The first two will be here in fifteen minutes. Sis, can you handle that as well?”
[Think so. Nika can assist if needed,] Alisa responded through the conference, already having left the kitchen.
“Of course! I can assist help the cyborgs or even handle some of them myself if it’s not too complex. It just so happened that I’ve got plenty of experience!” Nikola laughed, finishing off the last of the cookies.
[Great, thanks, Nika.]
“So, we’ve agreed on this. Dasha and Alisa — you’re on Moira, Nika helps with the cyborgs, and I’ll deal with the truck and prepare the area for the Drone summon.”
Dasha was about to head to the chemistry lab to finish her preparations but paused at the doorway. She turned back to Maksim with a wide smile and a slightly crazed gleam in her eyes.
“Thanks… for allowing this. I… I’m glad to be useful!”