Allen Steele - Jericho Iteration

After several months, Hinckley and Morgan finally managed to develop a means of directly communicating with their prodigal offspring. By the time they achieved this, though, Ruby had already propagated itself through every on-line computer in the 314 area code, and the theoretical phase transition from mere amoeba-like data absorption and replication to true sentience had already commenced. Shortly after Payson-Smith was able to speak directly to Ruby, the iterations necessary to complete this transition had already been accomplished: Ruby was alive, aware, and intelligent.

And it was ready to spill its chips about everything it had learned.

Ruby’s face disappeared from Joker’s screen; it was replaced by a schematic diagram of a spacecraft. ›This is Sentinel 1 .‹

“Yeah,” I said. “I know what it is.”

The ABM satellite rotated on its three-dimensional axis. ›38 hours/ 29 minutes/ 42 seconds ago its final components were launched into orbit aboard the NASA space shuttle Endeavour.‹

I tapped Joker’sPAUSE key and the readout stopped; not a bad way of telling a long-winded a-life-form when to shut up. “I know,” I said. “I was at Tiptree for the launch.”

The diagram was replaced by a digitized replay of a TV news clip: two spacewalking astronauts in the shuttle cargo bay, working with the spacecraft’s extended Canadarm as they joined the module with the rest of the giant satellite.

›Yesterday morning [Friday, April 19, 8:27 A.M. CST] the final assembly of Sentinel 1 was completed in Earth orbit [altitude 246 nautical miles]. At 5:25 P.M. CST, final checkout of the satellite was completed by the Endeavour crew. The shuttle maneuvered away from the satellite [9:37 P.M. CST]. Earlier this morning [Saturday, April 20, 12:06 A.M. CST] ground-based telemetry of Sentinel 1 was switched from NASA/JSC [Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas] to USAF/CSOC [Consolidated Space Operations Command, Colorado Springs, Colorado].‹

“Yeah, right. Sure.” I was getting a little tired of all this; it was early in the morning and my eyes were beginning to itch. I could use another few hours on the couch, flea-infested or not. “Just cut to the chase, willya?”

›The primary mission of Sentinel 1 is not antiballistic missile defense. Sentinel 1’s principal objective is to control the civilian population of the United States of America.‹

I stopped rubbing my eyes. “Whu … what!”

A new image appeared on Joker’s screen: an animated image of Sentinel in orbit above Earth, rotating on its axis until it was pointed straight at a stylized representation of North America. A thin red beam erupted from its long barrel; the animation followed the beam as it raced across space and lanced through Earth’s atmosphere.

›The classified objective of Sentinel 1 is to prevent or contain domestic civil uprisings. Its fluorine-deuterium laser is capable of penetrating Earth’s atmosphere and inflicting severe damage upon either airborne or mobile ground units. It can track and target objects within two meters in size. Its low-orbit trajectory will place it above the United States eight times each day, or approximately once every three‹

“Whoa, shut up,” I snapped, hitting the PAUSE key again. “Wait a minute.” I forgot all about catching a few winks on the couch; I sat up a little straighter and held Joker closer to my face. “This thing … I mean, you said … I mean, this sucker’s supposed to be pointed at us?”

The animation was frozen as a window opened on the screen; it expanded to show typewritten pages that scrolled upward faster than my eyes could follow.

›The objective of Sentinel 1 was discovered by the Ruby Fulcrum team after they established contact with me and accessed my primary batch-processing subsystem. This information was contained in classified [i.e. Top Secret] memos and documents between Cale McLaughlin, Chief Executive Officer of the Tiptree Corporation, and key civilian and/or military officials of the U.S. Department of Defense and/or various civilian agencies, including the chairman of the federal Emergency Relief Agency.‹

The documents vanished from the screen, to be replaced by a flowchart. Dozens of names were connected to one other by dotted lines.

›These documents indicate the existence of a military-industrial conspiracy operating on the fringes of the American government. The conspirators intend to subvert the elected government of the United States, with the final objective being the installation of a nonelected shadow governments‹

“Who’s behind this?” I asked.

A square was formed around a large block of names, then the square zoomed to the forefront of the diagram. ›The principal force behind this planned coup d’etat is the Emergency Relief Agency.‹

“Goddamn,” I whispered. “But why ERA?”

›At this point, it is unknown exactly how the conspirators intend to overthrow the present government. However, classified memoranda between ERA officials indicate a strong probability [86.7 %] that the first step in the coup d’etat will be the incitement of armed hostilities between the United States and the new government of Cascadia.‹

The diagrams disappeared; they were replaced by a map of the Pacific Northwest, with the new borders of Cascadia traced in blue above the Washington and Oregon state lines. Tiny red markers were placed just within the borders.

›When this occurs, Sentinel 1 will be used to neutralize strategic forces belonging to the Cascadian militia. At this time, ERA forces will be deployed to major American cities. The stated intent will be to prevent uprisings from civilians sympathetic to the Cascadian cause. Various state and municipal officials who are aligned with the conspiracy will demand that martial law be imposed in their localities to preserve public order.‹

“Like here in St. Louis …” I began.

A map of the city appeared on the screen. ›Affirmative. Because of the New Madrid earthquake, St. Louis was the first city to be placed under paramilitary control by ERA. The conspirators consider St. Louis to have been a successful test of their ability to control a large civil population. Two principal members of the conspiracy have already taken measures to assert political control of the local government.‹

The pictures of two men appeared on the screen. I stared at them, realizing that it all made sense, yet still not quite believing what I was seeing.

“I’ll be goddamned,” I whispered.

The photos were of Steve Estes and George Barris.

As much as I needed a breather, Ruby didn’t give me time to contemplate all that it had already divulged to me. The photos of Estes and Barris were promptly replaced by photos of the Ruby Fulcrum team.

›Dr. Payson-Smith, Dr. Hinckley, Dr. Morgan, and Dr. Kim became aware of these facts when they accessed my memory. They decided to denounce the conspiracy, with the first step to be their public disclosure of the secret agenda behind Sentinel 1. This would have necessitated publicly acknowledging my own existence, which they considered to be as important as the facts behind Sentinel 1 itself.‹

“And this was why my paper was contacted,” I said.

John’s face was added to the screen. ›As the first step, affirmative. Because they believed it was important that the local press be made aware of ERA’s true mission in St. Louis, they contacted John Tiernan, senior reporter for the Big Muddy Inquirer. However, they were unaware that their workplace was under electronic surveillance by their employer. This, in turn, led to counterintelligence operations by federal operatives.‹