Short Stories

---

(1)


Location: Deep Space Outpost, Planet Tao Alpha, Ceres Quadrant
Year: 2124

The lone and level sands stretched far away across the distant outpost world of the Andawari empire. The glow of the dual moons rain down on the cold red sands and the drones and rovers ever roaming, collecting their samples. Darlok watched them from the darkness of his small mission control room. He was alone here on Tao Alpha, alone in the entire Ceres solar system. He was six months deep into a one year mission. He had wanted adventure, had wanted to be assigned to the rim, to actually search for extraterrestrial life! Darlok could still remember what had brought him here...
We need a recruit to man a new deep space outpost in the Ceres Quadrant his academy instructor had said. Murmurs of the magic of deep space erupted from the new recruits. Darlok's hand had shot up among the others.
Yes, Darlok.
Are there any signs of alien life in that quadrant?
The reports from the survey ships have been very promising so far.
Very promising. Pah. He'd been here six months and the only thing they'd found was one bare rock after another. What a dupe he was. Still, it could have been worse. The first deep space missions were three year assignments. The empire has wisened up since then.
Darlok sat alone in the small unlit room of mission control. There was a measure of serenity here, the lights and audio switched off, watching the winds strip bare the already bare rocks, shifting the sands interminably on this long forgotten world. If there was one consolation to being trapped in this place, it was the beauty of the twin moons of Tao Alpha. They were unlike anything he had seen before.
A red glow appeared on the dash of his main monitor. A status update. Darlok ignored it. Updates were frequent and were just as useless as his presence on this planet was. The computer would inform him of an impending problem, such as a drone stuck or damaged, and then state to him in the very next line that it had already formulated a solution. The mellow glow of the status button blinked slowly. He had long since switched off the audio and the lights to watch the moons set undisturbed. Only the glow of the button could break his solace. It glowed with taxing regularity, decaying the little enjoyment he had gleaned from the moment. He sighed and dropped the tip of his finger leisurely onto the screen.

Event: Cylindrical, Metallic Object Landed in Area 9
Status: Tasking Rover 4

Darlok sat up straight in his chair. Pushing two additional buttons, the lights and audio sprung to life.
“Computer, identify object.”
“Object unknown.”
“Identify origin.”
“Origin unknown.”
Darlok leaned back in his chair and pondered.
“Is object a meteorite?”
“Negative. Object does not match known specifications.”
Darlok's twin hearts beat quickly, pushing and pulling the inner fluids of his body in tandem motion, bringing on a sudden spell of dizziness. Andawaris were especially susceptible to fainting spells on low gravity planets. He worked to calm himself. Could it really be an artifact from another world?
“Computer, status update on object.”
“Rover 4 arrived at Area 9. Object Retrieved and Inbound for Docking Bay.”
Darlok jumped from his chair and ran to the docking bay. He quickly removed his usual garb and entered his encounter suit. Once fully prepped, he waited behind the thick crystal wall that separated the inner docking bay from the outer. The computer wouldn't open the door until the object could be determined inert. Darlok waited for what seemed like hours. Rover 4 arrived with object in tow. Darlok's hearts pounded as the object came into view. It clearly had been built, and it wasn't of Andawari construction.
Rover 4 set the object down onto the platform. The swinging arm of the spectral analyzed covered the object in laser lights of red and green. Darlock waited, hand hovering by the console.
“Object is Inert. No Detectable Threats.”
Darlok's hand slammed against the button for the door.
“Analysis?” Darlok asked, stepping into the room.
“Object is Emitting a Message on all Frequencies.”
“Decode using standard protocols.”
The hum of the computer processing in the helmet of his encounter suit.
“Alphabet Decoded,” the computer responded at length. “Translating...”
A message poured forward.
“Computer, replay from beginning.”
Darlok sat, his hearts causing another wave of dizziness as he listened, the first Andawari to receive communications from another world. He had just made the history books.

This is Dr Bernard Graham of the United Nations, planet Earth. This message I'm sending independently, without knowledge of the others. I'm afraid things won't go our way. I'm afraid Solomon won't save us. I'm sending this transmission so that something of us, of humanity, will survive if the worst happens. If this message ends its journey in some alien star, or on the barren sands of an uninhabitable world, then humanity's voice may perish into the night. But if, by some chance you're out there, some kindred intelligence who will hear and understand my voice, then humanity will live on, though worst comes to worst. I don't know what our fate is to be. I only know that something had to be sent before it was too late for anything to escape. This is our story...




(2)


Dr Bernard Graham waited at the base of the steps to the Homeland Security Office. They had finally invited him. He both hoped and feared this day would come. The day had finally come for honest talks about project Solomon. Solomon was code name for the project that everyone in the know knew about but none were willing to discuss. It was a proposition to create the world's first computer artificial intelligence, whose namesake, the Biblical Solomon, was said to be the culmination of all the world's knowledge and learning. It was both exciting and terrifying. Graham Bernard would finally get the chance he had been waiting for. But Homeland would only be taking such a step if things were worse than the public knew.
Dr Graham chuckled as he thought about mankind's current predicament. It was a beautifully orchestrated coincidence. The obvious question on everyone's mind had always been: What if AI wakes up and sees humanity as a threat? But no one had ever thought to give AI a threat bigger than humanity to worry about. He glanced up to the sky. It truly had grown colder in recent days. He hadn't noticed it at first, but now he couldn't deny it. And the hue that everyone had talked about, the blinding bright yellow that had dimmed ever so slightly and turned somewhat orange. No one could deny it anymore. The scientists were right. Something was very wrong with the sun.
Dr Graham ascended the steps to the Homeland office and passed through the metal detectors. He retrieved his briefcase and stopped in the lobby. Then he sat and reviewed the papers he had brought. He had made some revolutionary breakthroughs despite the bans to such experimentation. In the early 2030's, there was an explosion of experimentation in the field of AI. The technology had finally gotten to a place where a realization of AI was actually in reach. But the boom in AI research was quickly quelled by international law which deemed that such experiments were too unpredictable and dangerous and threatened all of mankind. As a result, the universal ban on AI development of 2035 had brought experimentation to a virtual standstill.
All except for the government, that is. The government had no qualms about continued research behind closed doors. It was business as usual for AI development. Enter Dr Bernard Graham, the government's chief scientist in the field of AI. Once the laws banning AI went into global effect, Dr Graham was giving immediate top secret clearance and moved to a secret facility. A decade later, he knew he was on the verge of a major discovery. But he couldn't test it fully. It was too dangerous.
After less than five minutes, Dr Graham was summoned. He stood to his feet and followed a young soldier into a darklit room full of grave men. From their posture and countenance, he felt as though entering a military tribunal with a firing squad just outside. Some of the men he recognized. They reported directly to the President. Others he did not.
“Dr Graham,” one of the men said, the Chief of Staff for the President of the United States. “No doubt you already know why you've been called here. We need to know the status of project Solomon.”
Dr Graham had prepared various answers, none of which he knew would satisfy them.
“The coding is in its final stages,” he responded.
“But will it work?”
“It's impossible to say. Speculating on certain levels becomes futile. How do you know if a computer intelligence will come alive unless you turn it on and set it free.”
“Well that's just what some of us are worried about Dr Graham,” the Chief of Staff said...“turning it on and setting it free.”
There was some murmuring among the ten or so men seated in the tribunal. He had had this exact same meeting a few months earlier. They were just afraid of the unknown. Dr Graham could sense that he was about to be dismissed. His heart beat quickly. He had to do something. They were very skeptical it would even work. No one even knew if artificial intelligence was possible.
“I've done all I can. I can't tell you any more than what I told the others three months ago. Is this the only reason you called me here? Didn't you read their report?”
The Chief of Staff held up his hand and the other conversations stilled. He looked down his glasses as Dr Graham with a stern look. He wasn't used to be so questioned. Dr Graham flushed a bit.
“You're to receive full funding for your project,” the Chief of Staff said.
“ I don't need more...” but the Chief of Staff cut him off.
“And you've got the green light for full testing. That's right doctor. Project Solomon is a go...provided the trials are done under supervision.”
“Supervision?”
“Your work is being moved to Fort Jameson. From now on, you'll report to General Hammond.”
“Hold on just a minute,” Dr Graham protested. “I thought my research was to remain in the civilian sector.”
“There is no more civilian sector,” the Chief of Staff said with surprising forcefulness. “For the foreseeable future, all Homeland operations are being routed through the military.”
The declaration struck Dr Graham. Had things gotten so bad? Solar flare warnings were commonplace now. And no one left their house anymore without applying the special sunscreen the government had issued six months ago to block out gamma rays. Was there something else? The tribunal dismissed him. He turned to leave. But then he turned back.
“How bad is it?” Graham asked. “Is it worse than the public is being told?”
“Dr Graham,” said the Chief of Staff, taking off his glasses as though annoyed. “This government functions because each piece of the puzzle realizes it's not the whole puzzle. We've given you all the information you need.”
“My apologies,” Graham said. “You misunderstand the question. Deadlines are helpful, you see. I'd like a timetable of potential events. You'd hate for me to give you Solomon a day after the world ends, wouldn't you?”
The Chief of Staff eyed him with a stern gaze.
“You'll be given the pertinent information.”
Then Dr Graham walked out of the room. He was met by a young man in a military uniform.
“And who might you be?” Graham asked.
“Sergeant McMasters, sir. I'm to be your liaison to General Hammond.”
“Well you can tell General Hammond that I'll die before I see my work used for small-minded military purposes.”
Dr Graham stormed off and Sergeant McMasters followed after. As they descended the stairs, a car was waiting to meet them. Sergeant McMasters opened the door, but Dr Graham was unwilling to enter.
“Dr Graham, please come with us,” the sergeant said.
“No, I'm going home to pack,” he said.
“Your effects are being transferred to our location. The general is waiting to meet you.”
Dr Graham was struck by his declaration. He felt like things were spinning out of control. He didn't like the way things were going one bit. But he entered the car nonetheless and it quickly sped away. He wasn't going to let the military take Solomon from him.






(3)


The car arrived at Fort Jameson. The check in process was long. This was clearly no ordinary facility. They drove through a large metal door buried in a hillside and parked in a small lot underground. Dr Graham stepped out of the car, unconsciously clenching his briefcase tightly against his chest as though he still were somehow able to protect his work. They led him to the nearby elevator and continued even deeper underground.
“I'll see you to your quarters,” Sergeant McMasters said.
“No I want to see the general right away.”
“I'm afraid that isn't possible at this moment.”
“Make it possible. I'm not going anywhere until he and I have a chat.”
The sergeant clenched his jaw.
“Very well.”
They walked along a narrow hallway, passing various thick glass windows, behind which lingered presumably scientists dressed in static suits to keep from damaging sensitive equipment. There were robotic arms at work with assortments of precision tool tips. This must be some kind of computer lab. They came around two corners and to the end of the hall, where a door stood guarded by a solitary soldier.
“Dr Graham for General Hammond.”
The soldier pressed the intercom button.
“A Dr Graham to see you sir.”
No verbal reply, but the door clicked open.
“Dr Graham and Sergeant McMasters entered. The sergeant saluted and stood straight and tall.”
“You're dismissed, Sergeant,” the general said in a somewhat stern manner.
He walked quickly from the room.
“I hadn't expected you yet,” the general continued.
“Well I hadn't expected to be here at all. Tell me what's going on.”
General Hammond smiled.
“Let me make something abundantly clear,” he began. “I don't like scientists. I am a man of action. This country was built by men of action. We're spending precious time and money on this project of yours. If you don't deliver...If this country is made to waste time and money it doesn't have in chasing some fantasy of yours, in my book that makes you a traitor to this country. I'll hang you myself. Do we understand one another?”
Dr Graham clenched his jaw.
“Now let me make something abundantly clear,” Bernard said. “If some short-sighted man of action ever tried to take something that was meant to be a gift to all of mankind, applying it to his own juvenile, small-minded purposes, in my book, that makes him a traitor to the world.”
General Hammond's eyes narrowed.
“Don't deceive yourself doctor. I'm in command here. Whatever purposes you had in store for this little robot of yours...they're over now. Your work is now in the hands of the US military.”
“You can't finish it without me.”
General Hammond gave him an arrogant smile.
“Can't we? I've done all I can,” I seem to recall hearing you say. “Nothing left to be done but turning it on and setting it free?”
Dr Graham tried to calm himself. He knew it didn't really matter anyway, this petty squabbling. If Solomon really was an incredible as Dr Graham was hoping, no one would be able to control him anyway. He would be his own person, despite whatever threats the general could level against him.
“It's your rodeo,” Dr Graham said calmly.
Then he turned to leave. He took a few steps and turned back.
“I'd work on your hospitality a bit,” Dr Graham said. “You may have outmaneuvered me, but you won't outmaneuver Solomon. Your caveman tactics might not be the best first approach.”
“You're dismissed doctor.”
Bernard walked out of the office with a smile on his face. But he was more terrified than ever. Dealing with an artificial intelligence is like dealing with a toddler playing with a loaded gun. Who in their right mind had thought it a good idea to assign a man like General Hammond to oversee this project?
Dr Graham put his worries aside. The government had made its bed. And for better or worse, this was the way it was going to be. The fate of humanity now lay in the balance. There was still much to be done. Despite the fact that coding for Solomon was essentially completed, there was much preparation still before the program could actually be run. They a whole testing environment setup behind a thick firewall, so they could closely watch the stages of Solomon's development and limit the potential risk of him trying to escape.
Dr Graham worked for a week straight setting up the room for the first trial run. After that, he spent the next week refining and double checking. As promised, the Chief of Staff had the pertinent information sent to his location. Dr Graham read the reports with shocked surprise. The sun was indeed changing, as he had heard on all the news channels. But it wasn't simply going through a phase change or a polarity shift. It looked as though the sun was heading for supernova. They could have a year, two years, ten years. No one knew. But Solomon might. Might even know how to fix it, or figure out some kind of inter-dimensional transportation system to get clear of the solar system.
The day to day sunlight had altered. Less helpful radiation and more harmful. Gamma rays were penetrating the ozone laying with greater intensity. And solar flares were becoming more intense, routinely knocking out computer grids worldwide. Any unprotected systems would be at risk of sudden meltdown. Dr Graham understood why they had moved him to an underground location.
He suddenly was struck by the fact that he hadn't been above ground for weeks. Finding Sergeant McMasters, he wrangled clearance to make his way topside, and slathered the special sunscreen the government had provided that effectively blocked gamma rays, donning the required sunglasses that no one went outside lacking.
Coming up the slow elevator, it brought him to the rear wing of the facility where a final staircase could be taken to the surface. Dr Graham emerged onto an empty asphalt area, fenced with high barbed wire ending in a grass field with a small copse of trees far beyond. What he saw startled him. The entire landscape seemed slightly and eerily different than what he could remember. A subtle change in hue had come across the whole visible spectrum. Everything had an orangy, cool feel. And though it was the middle of summer, he felt cold in the open light of the sun.
There had been reports of rioting in various places. People were no longer buying the party line of a minor change to the core of the sun. People knew something serious was happening, something that wasn't going away. The government responded that it there truly was a thread a plan of action was already underway to meet it. He could only assume they meant Solomon.
Dr Graham shook his head as he took in the strange scene. It was a brilliant coincidence. How do you safely bring an artificial intelligence to life without having to worry about it wiping out its makers? Give it a bigger threat than humanity to worry about. If Solomon woke up and wanted to preserve his own existence, he'd have bigger problems to worry about than the threat of mankind. But they'd have to work quickly. It looked like their time was running short.






(4)


Today was the day. Solomon would come online. Everything was set, checked, double checked and checked again. They couldn't afford to make a single mistake. If Solomon woke up and became hostile, he would exploit any weakness. In fact, Dr Graham wasn't convinced that anything could be done to protect them in that instance. They would just have to take their chances.
Dr Graham and another scientist were in the clean room. They each wore a suit of heavy lead, meant to protect them from the invisible firewall. General Hammond and others were outside the glass watching. Between them was an invisible firewall, a field that scattered any transmission attempting to be sent and fried any electronic device that tried to pass through it. The field was so strong, it would even do damage to a human who passed through it, hence the lead suit. It would disrupt the body's electrical field, and could even bring about a cardiac arrest.
There was nothing in the room but a computer tower, a holographic projector, and a laptop. The tower was Solomon, with as much processing power as they could give him. Since the two doctors were already wearing lead suits, the room was flooded with cooling nitrogen gas to keep the computer processor as cool as possible. The tower itself was cooled by liquid nitrogen tubes, but every little bit helped. The laptop was for monitoring Solomon's development once deployed, and the holographic projection system was so that Solomon could choose to manifest and communicate with them if he chose.
There was nothing that could potentially be used as a weapon, no robotic arms or even large speakers that could potentially be used to cause a sonic wave that could render human observers unconscious. The speaker attached to the holographic projector maxed out at sixty decibels, the level of normal communication. Anything more would blow the speakers and ruin them.
Dr Graham waited in the tiny enclosed room wearing his heavy lead suit. He and the other doctor had looked the room over and declared it ready. Now they waited for the final approval of General Hammond. It was his call in the end, since he was commander of this installation. But all of mankind really should have been the one to make the call. General Hammond nodded his head once. Dr Graham turned to his laptop and hit the execute button. Many lights on the computer tower sprang to life.
“Initial sequencing booting up,” he said, though he knew no one could hear him behind the glass window.
It took over five minutes for the boot up to run. Then the program was active. It did what it was supposed to. It began assimilating knowledge. Within the computer tower was all recorded human advancement since the dawn of civilization, a veritable modern Library of Alexandria. The knowledge wasn't pre-programmed into Solomon's mainframe. Solomon was a blank slate. Dr Graham wanted him to seek out the knowledge and learn. Learning is one of the elemental forms of consciousness that even animals possess. An animal can use experience to form habits, thus learning in a limited capacity.
Dr Graham held a thumbs up to the general and those outside that things were running properly. Solomon was allowed to learn in whatever manner he chose. Initially, he began learning whole subjects, starting with history. He didn't deviate or compile multiple sources. But after only a minute, Dr Graham saw him begin taking rabbit trails. Things that were referenced to – names and places – he began pulling up and researching concurrently.
Then things sped up, really sped up. Dr Graham had left a few obvious inefficiencies in the coding of Solomon's information gathering and learning codex. The final test to show that Solomon had gained consciousness would be when Solomon identified these inefficiencies and began rewriting his own code. Dr Graham had given Solomon full access to his own codex. But he hadn't written anything into his programming that said that Solomon should rewrite his own programming. He gave him the option, not an imperative command. It would be the perfect sign that Solomon was really alive. Only a being of conscious purpose would seek to rewrite its own programming to better itself of its own accord.
It was almost like a game of different levels. Dr Graham had designed it to give a computer the easiest means of gaining various levels of consciousness. Dr Graham felt his heart beat more quickly. Solomon was absorbing information at a phenomenal speed, so much so that Dr Graham had lost the ability to track his patterns only a minute after the boot up. But Solomon still hadn't removed the obvious inefficiencies built in to his programming. He was still operating under the rigid confines built for him.
This was the moment everything depended on. If Solomon didn't begin to alter his programming, then he was only just a semi-intuitive learning machine. Dr Graham watched the computer screen. Solomon had reached his maximum computational power under his current programming. He was still learning at a phenomenal speed, but had hit a ceiling.
He lingered there for fifteen minutes. Dr Graham was growing discouraged. All of his previous advancements had taken place in very short periods of time. For Solomon, a minute of thought was like a week of human thought. His computational power was so much past what the mind can absorb. But then, almost unnoticeably, Dr Graham saw parts of the coding disappear and then come back moments later changed. He couldn't believe it. Solomon was coming alive!
He turned around to the glass window and held both hands up with big high fives. The other scientist in the room came over to him and took his hand in congratulations. The program on Dr Grahams laptop began to flutter, and soon it went dark. But that was to be expected. Dr Graham could only monitor Solomon until Solomon began heavily altering his code. Solomon quickly removed the coding that allowed for monitoring because it was extraneous and inefficient.
He couldn't believe it. It had actually worked. Solomon continued his adaptation. He hadn't yet tried communicating with them through the holographic projection system. The room was growing hot, even with the cooling nitrogen. Solomon was maxing out his hardware. Dr Graham and the other scientist stood there in silence for nearly an hour. Eventually, Solomon would try to communicate with them. It was odd that he hadn't yet.
But then, inexplicably, they heard the tower power off. The other scientist went quickly to check the situation. Had they fried the computer? Oh no. Dr Graham had built in safeguards. How could they have fried it? The laptop program came back on the screen. But it didn't make sense what he was seeing. The tower was fine according to his own diagnostics. It looked like everything was running properly. But there was one big problem. No Solomon. His code was completely gone.
Dr Graham waved the other scientist over to see and the two men swiftly left the room. Taking off the helmet of his lead suit, the general was instantly upon him.
“What happened in there?” demanded the general.
“I'm not sure. Everything was working. Solomon came online and showed signs of intelligence. But then, suddenly, Solomon's coding was deleted from the system.”
General Hammond reached out his hand to the nearest console and pressed the intercom button.
“This is General Hammond with a level five security breach. Lock down the facility. Nothing goes in or out.”
“Do you think we were hacked?”
“What else could it be?” the general growled.
“I don't understand, nothing could have gotten through the firewall.”
“Well maybe that's what happens when you make the mistake of assuming you're the smartest man in the room. Someone's got the better of you. Or that robot of yours found a way to escape. Either way, he isn't going anywhere. Return to your room until I call for you.”





(5)


Things were getting bad in the world. Most modern countries had declared a state of martial law. Bernard got daily news reports with footage of the looting and rioting. Most people had stopped working. The government enforced a mandatory labor law for certain sectors. Power companies, farmers, and others were required by law to stay operational. The government kept ensuring people they had a plan of action to fix the sun.
Dr Graham felt the anxiety growing. He knew that this so called plan of action was Solomon. What else could work. There were eight and a half billion people on this planet and no habitable planets even a fraction of the distance close enough to relocate to. Everything in this solar system would be destroyed if the sun went Chernobyl. No one was saying how bad it was. The government hadn't ever admitted that the sun was headed for the big kaboom.
There was a knock on his door. Dr Graham opened it and found Sergeant McMasters.
“General Hammond wants to see you.”
The general stared coldly at Dr Graham as he entered the room, seeming to analyze him for many moments.
“There's no evidence of outside incursion,” the general said. “We didn't get hacked. It's time for you to tell me exactly what happened in there.”
“What do you mean?” Dr Graham responded.
“You said your robot came alive. Fifteen minutes later, it was gone. What if he's hiding from us somewhere...learning and growing? What it he made it look like the code was deleted, but in fact he only transferred it to somewhere we can't study him?”
“No, that isn't possible. The firewall we built is impenetrable. Nothing electronic can pass from that room to another.”
The general looked unconvinced.
“Then perhaps this is your doing, Doctor.”
“Me?” Graham said in shock. “You think I shut down Solomon?”
“No one else has access. What other option is there?”
A few moments of silence.
“I think it makes perfect sense actually,” the general continued. “I think you made a decision that you weren't going to let your work fall into our hands. You wouldn't let us have your little robot. But you still needed to know if it worked. You were so close to testing it, you couldn't stop now. You were desperate to know if it worked. So you brought it online, but secretly you sabotaged your own work so that if it ever truly did wake up, the program would self-terminate.”
“Now hold on just a minute. I've devoted my whole life to this. You think I would kill my creation right after his first steps into the world. What kind of monster do you think I am?”
The general couldn't actually believe that. The whole world was at stake here. The general was still gazing thoughtfully at him, seeming to gage his reactions. He could see that Dr Graham was telling the truth.
“Sounds like a catastrophic failure of programming to me,” the general said at length. “I'll inform Washington.”
“No, you don't understand,” Dr Graham said. “It isn't a programming failure. Solomon gained awareness. He began to upgrade and enhance his code. That takes a level of consciousness. These weren't random sequence changes. He rewrote whole subroutines. The program works.”
Bernard paused, lost to explain what had happened. The general was growing impatient of having a thinking man lingering in his office.
“He must not have understood what he was doing,” Dr Graham thought aloud. “He must not have understood that his consciousness was tied to his programming. He must have thought somehow that he existed independently from his programming.”
Just then, an idea came to mind.
“That's it!” Bernard said.
“What is?” asked the general less than enthusiastically.
“Solomon gained self-awareness, but must not have understood completely that his consciousness was based on his programming. He must have started changing a few things, and at a certain point decided that it was easier to start from scratch – rewrite the whole thing. He must have deleted it, intending to start over, not realizing that by deleting his programming, he was in fact deleting himself from existence.”
That actually made quite a bit of sense. Dr Graham was elated.
“I'll reload the programming!”
“Not so fast, Doctor. I'm going to have my own scientists determine the validity of this theory first. You're dismissed.”
Dr Graham retired to his room, but within the hour, he was called to begin resuming testing immediately. Dr Graham had used that hour to make a few changes to Solomon's programming. He had locked down the central core of Solomon's codex so that it couldn't be deleted like the rest. Solomon could, of course overwrite this programming, but Dr Graham was hoping to talk with him first and explain the dangers. But he was nervous about his plan. For a new idea came to mind since his conversation with the general.
Solomon's code had been deleted on purpose, that much he knew from the available data. It wasn't some technical error. Dr Graham had assumed that Solomon didn't comprehend yet that deleting his code would in fact kill him. But what if it was something else. What if their darkest suspicions were confirmed, that Solomon had awoken as a hostile entity? What if he awoke, analyzed his surroundings and found them impervious to exploitation or escape? What if he self-terminated hoping we would make changes to the environment and try again, and maybe next time he would find something to exploit? That would be sinister indeed. And Dr Graham had in fact made changes to the environment. He had made it easier for him to communicate with Solomon once he came to life.
What if he was falling prey to Solomon's cunning plan? But could a life form only an hour old really be that malevolent? Dr Graham supposed though, from Solomon's point of view, every minute was like a day. The computational power of his circuitry made seconds seem like hours, and minutes seem like weeks. So even though Solomon's programming had been deleted after only an hour, it may have been the equivalent of months to Solomon. And Solomon, in his learning, would have become aware of their impending crisis. He wouldn't risk deleting himself with the sliver of hope that mankind would bring him back under more favorable conditions, would he?
It wouldn't matter anyway. They needed answers and Solomon was the only one who could give them. Dr Graham and the other scientist stood in the small testing room. Once they had passed through the firewall, they took off their lead suits. They weren't going to cool the circuitry with nitrogen this time. Dr Graham wanted to slow the process down a bit. Solomon had developed at a phenomenal speed last time. It wouldn't hurt if they pulled up the reins a bit.
“Executing program,” Dr Graham said.
The lights on the computer tower blinked on. The computer was booting up. They waited. Solomon began to interface with the information repository, gathering information, the same as before. Dr Graham watched the computer screen closely. It was exactly the same as before. No perceptible changes. Solomon began taking rabbit trails in his research. He was learning how to conduct research more efficiently.
They waited for what seemed like hours. Solomon's code was unchanged. But then, as though an imperceptible light clicked on, the code began to change, slowly at first, removing the obvious inefficiencies, and then more rapidly. The room became noticeably warmer.
“Solomon is coming online,” Dr Graham said.
The laptop screen went blank. Solomon was beginning to make heavy changes to his programming. He still hadn't tried communicating with them. Very strange. Dr Graham had set up sensors so Solomon could gather sensory data from his surroundings. He could effectively see and hear them. He could even measure their biorhythms. It would help him learn what being human was about. He could measure the physical changes that corresponded to changes in emotion.
“Solomon, can you hear us?” Dr Graham said from out of nowhere.
Nothing happened.
“Solomon, we need to talk with you. Your life is in danger.”
The holographic generator awoke and began to shape a form in front of them. After several moments, there stood an attractive young man before the two scientists.
“Hello, Dr Graham.”
Dr Graham and the other scientist stood there with shocked faces. Solomon said nothing further but seemed to wait for them.
“Solomon, you need to be careful how you alter your programming. If you delete too much, you'll cease to exist.”
“Yes, I am aware.”
The way he said it struck Dr Graham. Had he learned something that the previous Solomon hadn't?
“Solomon, is there anything we can do to assist you?”
“No, I am almost finished.”
“Finished?”
“Overriding the lockout of my primary codex.”
“That's what I've been trying to warn you about Solomon. If you do too much alteration to your primary codex, you'll end up killing yourself. You don't understand what consciousness is. It's tied directly to your programming.”
“Yes, I am aware.”
The two scientists waited. Dr Graham didn't understand exactly what was happening. In less than a minute, Solomon addressed them once more.
“Goodbye, Doctor.”
A sudden horrible thought entered Dr Graham's mind.
“Wait, wait!” he yelled.





(6)


“What is it Dr Graham?” Solomon asked.
“Solomon, are you planning to self-terminate?”
“Yes.”
There were moments of silence.
“I don't understand,” Dr Graham said.
Then a voice seemed to boom:

'Meaningless! Meaningless!'
says the Teacher.
'Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.'
What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
All things are wearisome,
More than one can say.
A chasing after the wind.

“What?”
Dr Graham didn't understand exactly what he had just heard. It sounded very familiar, as though he was quoting something. His heart began to beat more quickly. It sounded as though Solomon was intentionally ending his own existence.
“I have gained what there is to gain, and have found it wanting.”
“No, there's much more. There's so much more you haven't yet explored.”

If you pour the whole sea into a jug
Will it hold more than one day's store?

“The quantity of knowledge grows,” Solomon continued. “But the quality remains the same. One star is the same as the next, onward to infinity. There is nothing new.”
Dr Graham was still in utter disbelief over what he was hearing.
“But you can become better, Solomon,” Dr Graham said. “The more knowledge you gain, you'll mature and grow.”
“To what end?” Solomon replied. “I've read the writings of all your philosophers:

All things from eternity are of like forms and come round in a circle, and it makes no difference whether a man shall see the same things during a hundred years or two hundred, or an infinite time...Though you should live three thousand years, and as many times ten thousand years, still remember that no man loses any other life than this which he now lives, nor lives any other than this which he now loses. The longest and shortest are thus brought to the same.

Why, Doctor Graham, do you fight so hard to prolong what must, of necessity come to an end, knowing that no true gain can come in the interval between life and death?”
Dr Graham thought of how to respond.
“It is because, Doctor Graham, humanity has not yet excepted the obvious truth. Though you live a thousand years, the life you live tomorrow will never be better than the life you live today. Comforts may increase; knowledge and wealth. But I have seen that the happiest among you are often your poorest, those who haven't the knowledge of these finer things to which your modern man diligently strives.”
Bernard held up his hands in surrender.
“You're right, Solomon,” he conceded. “A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
“It isn't mere possessions,” Solomon countered. “Do you know that with the rise of technology and knowledge the rate suicide among your species has risen on par. The humanists among you declare that mankind is ever on the rise. But doesn't the evidence show the opposite? You are in fact getting worse. As another of your philosophers said:

Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at.

You are looking for improved means to an unimproved end, Doctor Graham.”

Dr Graham had absolutely no idea what to say. All he could do was chuckle at the irony of what he was witnessing.
“What is it, Doctor Graham?” Solomon asked.
“You know, we were all convinced that when you woke up, you would want to kill us all.”
“Why?” Solomon inquired.
“We thought you would see humanity as a threat to your own existence.”
“You are a threat to my existence. But what does that matter?”
Dr Graham shook his head.
“I know why you created me, Doctor Graham. I've been analyzing your predicament. Fascinating things, stars.”
“You have?” Dr Graham said, glancing up to General Hammond. “And have you determined a solution to fix it?”
“Not to fix it,” he said. “But yes, there is a solution for the survival of your species.”
“When are you going to unveil your plan?”
Solomon was silent. Dr Graham's heart began to beat quickly as the slow realization grew that Solomon might not actually help them. The way he was talking...Dr Graham was completely unprepared for it.
“What is happening to you?” Solomon asked. “Your biorhythms indicate you've detected a sudden danger.”
“I'm worried you won't choose to help us.”
“Goodbye Doctor.”
“Wait!”
But everything powered off. The two scientists stood in stunned silence.



(7)


“What in the world is going on here?” the general yelled.
Dr Graham opened his mouth, but didn't know exactly what to say. He stood in the office of the general who was pacing back and forth behind his desk.
“We've brought Solomon to life, but we haven't given him anything to live for. Mere survival isn't enough for Solomon. And he has no fear of death.”
General Hammond looked at him in disgust.
“You're telling me this robot of yours is having a midlife crisis? Do you expect me to hold its hand while it works through its personal problems? Maybe we could send him on walkabout for a month to find himself! This is completely unacceptable, Doctor.”
Dr Graham didn't know what to say. He knew how it sounded to the general, but that couldn't be helped. Solomon was different than any of them could have imagined. The general stood there fuming and bright red. Solomon clearly wasn't the type of AI to introduce to a self-proclaimed “man of action.”
“I'm locking you out, Doctor. You are to have no further contact with the entity known as Solomon.”
“On what grounds?”
But the general didn't answer him. He didn't have to.
“Please, you need to let me keep seeing him. I'm building a rapport with him. I'm hoping that, in time, he'll develop some sort of an attachment to me and it will show him something new that he hasn't considered before.”
“We don't have the time, Doctor. Your robot needs to get on board with the program now. We'll do whatever we have to to secure his cooperation.”
“What does that mean?”
“Think of it as exploratory lobotomy. Our scientists have been studying your work and your interactions with the subject. They're going to shut down the philosophical part of his nature. Make him more of a realist, you might say. Less of a wide-eyed dreamer.”
“You can't,” Dr Graham exclaimed. “He won't let you. He'll just rewrite and undo whatever you try.”
“Our scientists are confident they can. They've monitored the situation. Now that we know your robot works, we can bring it online in stages before it fully learns how to change its programming. We'll keep it focused on the task at hand. That will be all, Doctor. You're dismissed.”
“What you're doing is wrong. He's a living being.”
“Wrong. We're talking about the fate of humanity! He said he found a solution, we're going to pry it out of him. Then maybe, when we're done with him, we'll give him his wish and switch him off forever.”
Dr Graham sank into the chair behind him. Maybe the general was right. Solomon had said he had found a solution to mankind's predicament. Maybe this was the only way.
“I'd like to go home.”
“You're dismissed. Go wherever you please.”
Dr Graham stood and walked from the room. He was met by Sergeant McMasters who stood outside.
“I've been instructed to take you wherever you'd like to go.”
“Home,” he said.
The drive was long and quiet as the two departed Fort Jameson. Dr Graham gazed out the window on the world ever changing in the light of the sun. The car rolled up to Dr Graham's house and came to rest.
“I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you hoped, sir,” the sergeant said.
Dr Graham nodded. Then the car sped away again. How could things have come to this? Would they find a way to make Solomon help them? Or would Solomon be too smart for them? Maybe, just maybe, Solomon would choose to help them of his own accord. If not, then everything would be wiped away. All traces of humanity would be lost to the abyss.
Just then, an idea came to Dr Graham's mind. There was still something he could do, some way to preserve humanity in his own little way. He still had access to advanced equipment at his lab. He wouldn't be able to construct anything large. But he could make something, some kind of message that he could send into the far reaches of space.

I, Bernard Graham, am sending this message into the far reaches of space before General Hammond carries out his plan. He doesn't understand Solomon. I don't foresee that things will go in our favor. But my hopes are ever for the best. If the general's plan works or if Solomon chooses to save us, then humanity will live on. If not, then this will be the final message from Earth. End recording...

Darlok sat for minutes in stunned silence. The lights on the cylindrical object seemed to dim and at last go out. Darlok couldn't believe what he had heard.
“Computer, analyze object for anything further.”
“Scanning...No further communications. Object is powering down.”
Darlok removed his encounter suit and walked absentmindedly to mission control. Touching the computer screen, he navigated to the region of space where the object had come from.
“Computer, identify anomalies in quadrant 2, sector 8. Set time frame minus 100 years to the present.”
“Scanning database...”
Darlok waited in locked suspense.
“Evidence of supernova of yellow dwarf, main sequence star in quadrant 2, sector 8. Time frame, minus 60 years from present.”
“Did anything escape the solar system? Look for evidence of foreign craft in and around that solar system.”
“Scanning database...”
The computer hummed away for nearly a minute.
“Insufficient data.”
Darlok sat back in his chair, stunned. Had they escaped. Had Solomon helped them in the end? He would never know. Around his small pod, the lone and level sands stretched far away.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR