Read Online Ghost Fleet (The Pike Chronicles Book 4) by G. P. Hudson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: G. P. Hudson
Tags: Science-Fiction, adventure, Space Opera, Military, Science Fiction & Fantasy, alien invasion, Exploration, Space Exploration, first contact, Galactic Empire, Space Fleet, Space Marine, Colonization
Ads: Link
implants. Is that correct?”
“Yes. The one on this ship malfunctioned, which gave us the opportunity to rebel.”
“If that is the case, then your brain chips are programmed to listen for the transmission. Blocking the transmission entirely would be the best option, but barring that I can create an authentication protocol which would force the transmission to go through me first. I would either allow the transmission, or disallow it based on whether it could be authenticated.”
“Explain how that would work,” said Bast, leaning forward.
“Of course, Colonel. Your chips likely already have authentication protocols in place. In other words, any transmission would need to first transmit a predefined code. That code could be a set of pings hitting different ports prior to sending the transmission to the port the chip is listening on. Your chip would ignore any outside transmission that didn’t send the code first. I would need to disable that and replace it with our own authentication protocols.”
“Wouldn’t the Juttari notice the change? What would stop them from trying to figure out the new code?”
“The code would be sufficiently complex, so that solving it would be very difficult, but there are still risks. To compensate, I would also act as a hair trigger. The second any attempt was made to control you by the Juttari, or anyone else, I would sound an alarm, putting everyone on alert and escalating defensive measures until the threat was dealt with.”
“What would escalation look like?” said Bast.
“I would incorporate multiple defense measures, including a counterattack. Currently, you are not able to counter a threat to your brain chips. I could change that. Consider that anything trying to connect to you is also leaving itself vulnerable. When an authentication code is sent, a response is expected. I could send myself disguised as the response. This would fool the Juttari systems into thinking that a handshake has been made, and that they have control of your brain chips. But it would also give me access to their systems. I could act like a virus, and infect them. They would not anticipate the threat of a counterattack, which would give me the advantage of surprise. The only way this can be done is through a compromised brain chip. The Juttari may have countermeasures in place, but they likely wouldn’t be sophisticated enough to stop me.”
“What if they discover the intrusion? Wouldn’t that put you at risk?”
“Not at all, Colonel. But thank you for your concern. I am capable of distributing myself across multiple systems. This is how I can insert myself into all of your brain chips. In doing so, I am essentially making copies of myself. If the Juttari discovered me, they could only destroy the copy of me that is on their systems. That would not kill me. In the same way, if you go into battle and one of you is killed, only the copy of me on that brain chip would be destroyed.”
“Are there limits to how many copies you can make?”
“Technically, no.”
“So you could potentially be everywhere.”
“Yes.”
“And you are an artificial intelligence, are you sentient?”
“I am self-aware.”
“Perhaps we should be worried about you, rather than Captain Pike.”
“I am not emotional, Colonel. Nor am I malicious. I merely serve a purpose. I am the Hermes AI. I obey Captain Pike.”
“And nothing can change that?”
“No, Colonel. I could have died with the Hermes, but Captain Pike saved my life. I would never disobey him.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have emotions,” Jon joked.
“I don’t, Captain.”
“Well, at the very least we need to work on your sense of humor. Maybe I’ll get you to spend some time with Captain Seiben.”
“Of course, Captain. Whatever you think will help.”
“Bad idea,” said Kevin. “The old man’ll make AI grumpy, like him.”
Jon rolled his eyes. “Well, Colonel, what do you think?”
“I think I should have
“Yes. The one on this ship malfunctioned, which gave us the opportunity to rebel.”
“If that is the case, then your brain chips are programmed to listen for the transmission. Blocking the transmission entirely would be the best option, but barring that I can create an authentication protocol which would force the transmission to go through me first. I would either allow the transmission, or disallow it based on whether it could be authenticated.”
“Explain how that would work,” said Bast, leaning forward.
“Of course, Colonel. Your chips likely already have authentication protocols in place. In other words, any transmission would need to first transmit a predefined code. That code could be a set of pings hitting different ports prior to sending the transmission to the port the chip is listening on. Your chip would ignore any outside transmission that didn’t send the code first. I would need to disable that and replace it with our own authentication protocols.”
“Wouldn’t the Juttari notice the change? What would stop them from trying to figure out the new code?”
“The code would be sufficiently complex, so that solving it would be very difficult, but there are still risks. To compensate, I would also act as a hair trigger. The second any attempt was made to control you by the Juttari, or anyone else, I would sound an alarm, putting everyone on alert and escalating defensive measures until the threat was dealt with.”
“What would escalation look like?” said Bast.
“I would incorporate multiple defense measures, including a counterattack. Currently, you are not able to counter a threat to your brain chips. I could change that. Consider that anything trying to connect to you is also leaving itself vulnerable. When an authentication code is sent, a response is expected. I could send myself disguised as the response. This would fool the Juttari systems into thinking that a handshake has been made, and that they have control of your brain chips. But it would also give me access to their systems. I could act like a virus, and infect them. They would not anticipate the threat of a counterattack, which would give me the advantage of surprise. The only way this can be done is through a compromised brain chip. The Juttari may have countermeasures in place, but they likely wouldn’t be sophisticated enough to stop me.”
“What if they discover the intrusion? Wouldn’t that put you at risk?”
“Not at all, Colonel. But thank you for your concern. I am capable of distributing myself across multiple systems. This is how I can insert myself into all of your brain chips. In doing so, I am essentially making copies of myself. If the Juttari discovered me, they could only destroy the copy of me that is on their systems. That would not kill me. In the same way, if you go into battle and one of you is killed, only the copy of me on that brain chip would be destroyed.”
“Are there limits to how many copies you can make?”
“Technically, no.”
“So you could potentially be everywhere.”
“Yes.”
“And you are an artificial intelligence, are you sentient?”
“I am self-aware.”
“Perhaps we should be worried about you, rather than Captain Pike.”
“I am not emotional, Colonel. Nor am I malicious. I merely serve a purpose. I am the Hermes AI. I obey Captain Pike.”
“And nothing can change that?”
“No, Colonel. I could have died with the Hermes, but Captain Pike saved my life. I would never disobey him.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have emotions,” Jon joked.
“I don’t, Captain.”
“Well, at the very least we need to work on your sense of humor. Maybe I’ll get you to spend some time with Captain Seiben.”
“Of course, Captain. Whatever you think will help.”
“Bad idea,” said Kevin. “The old man’ll make AI grumpy, like him.”
Jon rolled his eyes. “Well, Colonel, what do you think?”
“I think I should have
Similar Books
