Michael Crichton - The Andromeda Evolution

“We can’t confirm what the Chinese were experimenting with on that space station,” Hopper added.

“But we have a pretty good guess, don’t we?” responded Stern, the data on his screen.

This problem had just moved into a sphere of his thinking that outranked meals. It was an area that concerned not only national defense but the defense of the species.

The general’s mouth moved as if to speak, and then it closed.

“Good work, Colonel. We’ll take on your feeds and any information you’ve collected. I’m … why, I can’t believe I’m saying this …

“I am now issuing a Wildfire Alert.”

IT IS A little-known fact that human logistics experts have not independently planned or executed a major military endeavor for the United States of America since early in the Vietnam War. Every operation, from single-element transports to coordination of an entire operating theater, is at least partially computer generated under the umbrella of a sprawling and complex collection of algorithms known as automated logistics and decision analysis (ALDA).

In this aspect, the Andromeda response was no different than any other complex military response—it was machine generated.

Given General Stern’s initial data, ALDA activated the Percheron supercomputing cluster located in the chilled depths of the Air Force Research Laboratories beneath Wright-Patterson AFB in western Ohio. Kicking or delaying thousands of other lower-priority computing threads, ALDA connected to a massive, constantly refreshed data set of personnel and resources, coming back with a full mission loadout within fifteen minutes.

Yet even with its unprecedented level of processing power and data, ALDA had always been wisely deployed with an 80/20 rule—which holds that an algorithm should be depended upon to reach only 80 percent of the solution, with human common sense and intuition applied to the final 20 percent.

In this case, General Stern saw no technical flaws with the default loadout, which read as follows (still in partial machine code):

PROJECT WILDFIRE V2—CREW DOSSIER

NIDHI VEDALA, MD-PHD(AGE: 42)

Wildfire Clearance (FULL)

Designated : Command, 001 ***

Location: Massachusetts, Amherst >>> Travel Duration: ~12H ***

Specialization: Nanotechnology; materials science; Andromeda Strain: AS-1, AS-2 ***

Misc: Leadership quality; domain expert ***

HAROLD ODHIAMBO, PHD(AGE: 68) ***

Wildfire Clearance (ACADEMIC) ***

Designated : Lead Field Scientist, 002 ***

Location: Nairobi, Kenya >>> Travel Duration: ~15H ***

Specialization: Xenogeology; geology; anthropology; biology; physical sciences; …

Misc : Broad knowledge base ***

PENG WU, PLA Air Force, Major (AGE: 37) ***

Wildfire Clearance (PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC JOINT ALLIANCE) ***

Designated : Field Scientist, 003 ***

Location: Shanghai, China >>> Travel Duration: ~18H ***

Specialization: Taikonaut; soldier; medical doctor: pathologist ***

Misc : Combat training; survival training; possible domain knowledge [REDACTED] ***

ZACHARY GORDON, US Army, Sergeant First Class (AGE: 28)

Wildfire Clearance (PRELIMINARY) ***

Designated : Field Medic, 004 ***

Location: Fort Benning, Georgia *** Travel Duration: ~14H ***

Specialization: Ranger elite light infantry; battalion senior medic ***

Misc : Trauma surgeon ***

SOPHIE KLINE, PHD(AGE: 32)

Wildfire Clearance (NASA) ***

Designated : Remote Scientist, 005 ***

Location: International Space Station *** Travel Duration: N/A ***

Specialization: Nanorobotics, nanobiology, microgravity research ***

Misc : AS-1, AS-2 EXPERT ***

*** END DOSSIER ***

Stern paused at the inclusion of Major Peng Wu, a Chinese national who normally would have been excluded as a security concern. Then he shook his head, cracking a wry smile. The ALDA algorithm was relentlessly logical yet had often proven itself capable of nonintuitive decision-making. Given the situation with Heavenly Palace, it was a stroke of genius to bring in a Chinese military candidate who had been waiting, preapproved, in the Wildfire candidate pool.

Peng Wu was not just any taikonaut—she had actually participated in the first manned voyage to the Tiangong-1 space station. Stern knew she wouldn’t divulge any Chinese military secrets—they’d already tried discerning that—but her knowledge of what had happened up there could still save lives.

At this point, General Stern’s only duty was to give a verbal confirmation. However, a final exchange took place in the seconds before the go order was passed on—both upward to the president of the United States and down to the enlisted men and women immediately dispatched to execute first steps.

The following is a partial transcript of the last-minute exchange between General Stern and one of his most trusted officers:

< … >

0–10 GEN

Strike the last field candidate. I have a replacement.

S-OP-001

Zack Gordon? Are you sure, General?

0–10 GEN

Send Stone.

S-OP-001

I’m sorry, sir?

0–10 GEN

James Stone. Out of Palo Alto. You’ll find him on the standby list.

S-OP-001

[short pause] Sir, do you mean the son of Dr. Jeremy Stone? From the first Andromeda incident? This guy hasn’t got the clearance. His prep work is also out of date. I believe he was always a tangential candidate, too special-purpose.

0–10 GEN

I know. Send him anyway.

S-OP-001

There will be a delay while we wait for his security clearance.

0–10 GEN

Understood. Scramble my personal C-40 transport and go get him. That’ll help mitigate the delay.

S-OP-001

[long pause] You were close friends with Dr. Jeremy Stone, weren’t you?

0–10 GEN

Your point?

S-OP-001

I’m just afraid … you should consider the optics on this.

0–10 GEN

Listen, son. It’s not your career on the line. I’m invoking directive 7–12, citing top-secret situational knowledge that must remain opaque. My voice is my clearance, and I am General Rand L. Stern.

S-OP-001

Acknowledged, sir. Dossier approved and … the mission is live.

[typing sounds]

S-OP-001

Enlisted liaisons are being dispatched now to retrieve our field team. You are advised to report to local command and control to assume overwatch duties. Good luck, sir.

0–10 GEN

Roger that. And thank you.

S-OP-001

Sir?

[brief pause]

S-OP-001

Sir. If you don’t mind my asking. Off the record …

0–10 GEN

Nothing is off the record. You know that.

S-OP-001

Well then, on the record, but between us.

0–10 GEN

All right. Shoot.

S-OP-001

Why James Stone?

[long pause]

0–10 GEN

It’s just a hunch. Nothing more.

[end transmission]

Conservative estimates from the DC-based Nova America think tank conclude that Stern’s hunch likely saved three to four billion lives.

Day 1: Terra Indigena Emergency Debris Avoidance Maneuver Heavenly Palace Code Name Andromeda Boots on the Ground Noon Field Briefing Manifest Day 2: Wildfire Dawn Discovery Twenty-Mile Perimeter A Higher Analysis Incomplete Information Second Camp Day 3: Anomaly Night Ambush Alpha and Omega In the Morning Light Outcomes Indios Bravos First Contact Plan B The Anomaly Fail-Safe Day 4: Breach Operation Scorched Earth Dawn Strike Entry Primary Descent Evolutions Forensics Fight or Flight State of Emergency The Tunnel Best-Laid Plans Inundation Activation Day 5: Ascent A New Paradigm Finger of God Realignment Z-Axis Mission Preparation Destination ISS Docking Procedure Stone’s Theory Reunited Goodbyes Intercepted Transmission Super-Terminal Velocity Resolution Out of Eden Epilogue Footnotes References Keep Reading … About the Authors Also by Michael Crichton About the Publisher