Jack Campbell - Leviathan

“Exactly, sir.”

Geary looked back at Seaman Door. “What about confidence in the people who work for you, Master Chief? Is that important, too?”

“Very important, Admiral,” Gioninni agreed. “Even new recruits like this fellow here. He won’t let you down, sir.”

“I know.” Geary met the eyes of Door and smiled with the best confidence he could project, then nodded to both the sailor and Gioninni, and continued on his way.

There wasn’t anything wrong with Gioninni’s advice. In fact, Geary had already employed tactics like that at places like Heradao. The question was whether the dark ships could recognize tactics like that, and whether they could be manipulated into seeing what they wanted to see in the way a person could be.

That led to a string of thoughts that ended with questions that only Lieutenant Iger might be able to answer.

The hatch controlling access to the intelligence compartments offered few clues to the secrets it guarded. The compartment codes on the hatch indicated only that inside it lay Crewed Equipment—Sensor Integration, Analysis, Communications. But the scanners and access controls on the hatch were considerably more robust than those elsewhere on the ship. Geary could have walked right in anyway, but out of courtesy he always called in first, waiting until Lieutenant Iger or one of his subordinates came to escort him inside.

This time it was a fairly junior technician who led Geary into where Iger and his other techs were fussing over a variety of equipment. Lieutenant Iger saluted with a grimace. “No luck so far with the dark ships, Admiral.”

“What are we trying?” Geary asked.

“All of the usual and then some.” Iger indicated the men and women frowning intently as they watched virtual screens, occasionally reaching to enter commands. “We’re trying to analyze the comm patterns and codes being used by the dark ships, but they keep altering in ways we haven’t been able to predict, and their codes keep changing in ways designed to frustrate our equipment.”

“We’ll get it anyway, Lieutenant,” a female chief said, her voice angry and determined. “They can outthink the algorithms, but they can’t outthink me .”

Iger nodded to her. “Stay on it. If anyone can break into their net, you can.” Then he turned back to Geary. “The problem is,” Iger said in a very low voice, “it is obvious the dark ships know everything about our gear and our procedures. They were designed to be as impervious as possible to our intelligence collection and intrusion methods.”

“Lieutenant,” Geary said, “something has occurred to me. From all I have seen and experienced, you, your people, your equipment, are all among the best.”

Iger smiled slightly, looking embarrassed. “Thank you, sir.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for. I’m only saying what I’ve seen. But—” Geary paused, looking around at the intent workers and the screens they were studying. “If we can’t break in, could anyone else?”

Iger hesitated. “With enough resources, anything is possible, sir. Do you mean the Syndics?”

“I mean anyone trying to get access to the dark ships’ comms or controls. If the AIs running the dark ships tried to block any countermanding signals coming in, could they do it? Even if the people trying to break in had the codes they needed?”

This time, Iger took several seconds to reply. “I’ll need to speak to my people, sir.”

“What’s your gut feeling right now?”

“I think the dark ships could block it, sir.” Iger gestured in the direction the dark ships were. “I am guessing that whoever built and programmed them was focused on ensuring that no one who was unauthorized could break in, and gave the dark ships the very best means available to defend themselves against intrusions. But if the AIs can block us, they can block anybody, if they mistakenly categorize an authorized source as an unauthorized source. Or, if some malware got through and recategorized authorized sources as unauthorized, the defenses would then stop any corrective measures from getting in.”

“Admiral?” the female chief said, glancing away from her display for a moment to look at him. “From what we’re seeing of this stuff, the dark ships have had some really excellent defenses programmed in. And if their programming is biased toward defense against intrusions, they’re going to start seeing intrusions. Software is like people that way. It sees what it expects to see, it spots what it was told to look for.”

“Thank you,” Geary said.

“Do you think they’re totally out of control, Admiral?” Iger asked.

“I think they are trying to follow what they believe to be their orders,” Geary said. “And based on what you’re telling me, I think they may be blocking any attempts to regain full control of them. Maybe they’re misidentifying the source of the legitimate signals, maybe some malware got into them and is blocking any signals that counter it, maybe it’s just bugs in the software.” He thought about Master Chief Gioninni’s suggestions again. “But without the ability to question what they believe to be true, they can’t correct the problem themselves. Speaking of which, what about our agent friends? Have they bent at all?”

“No, sir.” Lieutenant Iger led the way into another compartment, then activated virtual windows that showed the views of the high-security cells in the brig where the two agents were being held separately. The woman was lying on her bunk gazing upward at nothing, the man sitting on his bunk, his gaze also unfocused. Their suits, the sort of civilian clothing that would have aroused no comment in almost any setting, were a bit more rumpled, but otherwise, they looked like they had when arrested on Ambaru. “They’re very well trained on resisting interrogation,” Iger said. “We can’t get anything out of them. Sir, I am still concerned about holding in custody agents whose credentials check out.”

“Lieutenant, I’ve sent a report to the government that includes everything we have on those two. If the government disagrees with what we’re doing, they can tell me. Orders to release them could have come back on the same courier ship that brought Captain Geary from Unity. But, so far, we haven’t heard anything from any organization claiming to own those two. Their official credentials look fine, but no office is stepping up to ask for their release. I still wonder exactly who those two are taking orders from. We’re not mistreating them. We’re not hurting them. We’re trying to find out who they really are and what they know about the dark ships.”

“I understand, sir,” Iger said.

“Do you? If you thought I was wrong, would you file an official report on my actions that stated your concerns?”

Iger paused, looking uncomfortable, then nodded, looking directly at Geary. “Yes, Admiral, I would.”

“Good. The more power someone has, the more they need people around them who are willing to speak up when they think that person is wrong. Continue asking questions, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, sir,” Iger replied with a relieved grin. “If I may say so, Admiral, I’ve met some senior officers who do not share your philosophy.”

“I’ve met many myself,” Geary said. “I had to work for some of them. That’s why I try hard not to be like them.” He gestured toward the prisoners. “Let them see and hear me.” He waited until Iger gave him a thumbs-up. “There is something I’ve wanted to ask both of you.” He waited again as the two agents turned to look toward the image of Geary that would be visible in their cells. “Let’s assume you actually are working for some part of the Alliance government, you both are convinced of the rightness of what you’re doing, and are absolutely certain that it is in the best interests of the Alliance.”