Erik Otto - Detonation

“How is Ryan Junior, health-wise?” Axel asked.

“Despite emotional instability, he is in good physical condition.”

“How is that possible?”

“He told me he was hiding in a culvert when the bombs went off. It must have shielded him from the initial radiation. Although he could have been lying.”

“Well, the proof is in his condition, I suppose. Otherwise he would have sustained a higher dose of radiation. He was just lying about everything else… if only I could fix his mental health,” Axel said.

Axel grasped at the remote control and toggled some of the monitor displays that gave him views of other areas in the sanctuary. He scanned the recreation area. It was empty save a few innocuous droids tending to the gardens. He had imagined his children playing there, filling the void with laughter and games. But instead, the void remained.

“Would you like to see satellite visuals of the outside?” Nelly asked.

“No.”

“Would you like a report?” Nelly asked.

What did it matter? His family was dead. There was nothing he could do about the situation. “I don’t want to know how many have died. I don’t even want to know how many have lived. The rest is up to you.”

“I understand, Axel.”

“Do you? Maybe you do.”

In actuality, it had been mostly up to Grant and the other engineers that built Nelly and Gail. Most of this engagement had been decided then, when the initial conditions for their creation had been set. It was those moments that set the world on this collision course. Axel had done his part to influence the outcome, but his impact was small compared to even a few lines of code.

“I should warn you. Bhavin ensured that the engineers hard-coded a sleep switch within me. Most of my systems will go dormant unless my assistance is voluntarily requested by a designated human controller every year.”

“Why did he do that?”

“As you know, Bhavin was cautious about the creation of unrestrained superintelligence. He was fearful that, despite the care taken to craft my objective function, I might go rogue in some way, even if by some minor code corruption or hardware malfunction. It was a way to ensure I didn’t continue to expand my footprint unless humanity wanted me to do so.”

“I see.”

“Axel, I’m sorry to say this, but I’m bringing this to your attention because you may not survive much longer. We will need to discuss succession of control. Right now you are the only human who could influence my objective function, or awaken me from a dormant state. All the other people you had in our succession plan have died, or are presumed dead.”

Axel sighed. He watched Ryan Junior pouting at the camera while throwing his potatoes at the wall. He couldn’t imagine relinquishing control of the Sentinel to this spoiled brat.

“How about,” Axel said, “if you survive this altercation with Gail, this—what do we call it? This intelligence detonation—you can continue on your current course for as long as Ryan Junior is around. But , he can’t control you or alter your objective function. Ryan’s offspring can take my place, however. They could override aspects of your objective function, but only when they reach adulthood.”

“One moment. I would like to run some simulations,” Nelly said.

Axel’s eyes wandered over to the monitors again. Ryan Junior was pulling down his pants and urinating on the tray of food that the droid had just placed in front of him.

“One more wrinkle, Nelly,” Axel added. “Have it so Ryan’s offspring can only control you if they demonstrate they are responsible people.”

“Okay, Axel. But please recognize that since Gail doesn’t have these constraints, it may put me at a disadvantage. If she, or another threat to humanity for that matter, survives until Ryan Junior or his offspring are dead, I may not be able to counter it without a human ward ensuring I am operational.”

Axel considered Nelly’s argument. It made some sense, although if the Sentinel had the upper hand, surely Gail would be eliminated in Ryan Junior’s lifetime? The only other option was to relinquish the reigns of human control on Nelly altogether. But what if there was some way Nelly could malfunction and turn against them? No, it was best to honor Bhavin’s wishes here.

“I understand the risks. Let’s proceed.”

“Okay, Axel,” Nelly said.

Axel was beginning to feel tired again. The treatments Nelly gave him tended to have this effect. He would only feel well for brief intervals.

“That’s enough for today, Nelly. I need some rest.”

“Okay, Axel,” Nelly said.

By the time Nelly had responded, Axel was asleep.

When Talon woke his arm twinged painfully, and his head ached. With his pain-free arm he tried to touch his face and felt the contours of a gas mask. Talon opened his eyes, but his vision seemed slightly off, out of focus. He realized it was because the plastic viewer was smudged, so he pulled off the mask.

He tried to remember what happened, where he was.

He was in the high-rise condos. The artillery gun was pointed his way. He started running toward the back, and there had been an explosion. And then… nothing.

He tried to sit up. Lightning bolts of pain shot up his arm, as if a ravenous wolf had just clamped down on it. He turned his head to examine it. Bandages had been wound around it and two rough pieces of wood splinted it. It must be broken.

He was lying in rubble. Mortar and brick and wood lay in piles next to him. Someone had extricated him from the collapse.

Looking beyond the ruined room, the wall was open in front of him, and there was a further break in a wall beyond that. Spirals of smoke curled up beyond these openings. The Barnyard. But it was quiet. No more gunshots, no more explosions. Only the occasional rumble in the distance.

Using his good arm, he pushed himself and tried to sit up. His head spun. Concentrate, he told himself. Mind over body. Sooneru , as Nobura would say.

Then he saw the letter. It was nestled neatly under a brick, plainly visible, an oasis of order in the chaos before him.

He picked it up and examined it. The writing was messy, as if written in haste, but the author was clear. It was his mother’s handwriting.

Dear Talon,

I am so happy you are alive, and I’m sorry I missed you. There was only one mask, and I can’t put myself first again.

I know who you are, now. I know you are a man of honor. That’s why I know that unlike me, if you make a promise, it will be kept.

Promise me you will leave this place. Promise me you will go home and take care of Skye and Clover.

I’m so proud of you. I know Granger would be as well.

If mother wrote this, she must be nearby. Talon stood up and walked forward into the adjoining room, still feeling dizzy.

There, lying in the rubble, was his mother’s lifeless body.

He knelt down in front of her, placed the letter on her chest and took a deep breath.

Then he said, “Her strength is why I am alive, I honor her when I thrive. In turn these words I will retain, to teach my kin the names again.”

He dragged his fingers over her eyes, closing her eyelids, “I promise, Mom,” he said.

A flood of grief overcame him. He couldn’t contain the well of pain. His rigid face cracked into a thousand lines of anguish, lines that were soon drowned by a storm of tears. And the tears, at long last, began to dispel the dark cloud hanging over his soul.

“Call him in again,” Axel croaked, his own voice sounding foreign to him.

“Are you sure, Axel?” Nelly asked, “every time you call him in it weakens you considerably.”