Read Online Spheres of Influence-eARC by Ryk E Spoor - Free Book Online Page B

that fifty-year-old atrocity isn’t even close to done with us, or the Arena. Do you understand me?”
    “Loud and clear and I check you to the proverbial nine decimals, Captain,” he said emphatically. “Captain—Ariane—I’ll do what I can. But you’re right; most of Hyperion was destroyed. It was self-contained, backups were maintained but were mostly on-site—and the off-site backups were destroyed very deliberately when things went sour. No, not by the designers,” he said at her puzzled glance. “By some of the rogue AIs. You know what kind of monsters the heroes would have had to fight against; well, all those AIs were not happy at all , to put it mildly, to find out they were just simulations for the entertainment of a bunch of lotus-eating amateurs. That was one of the reasons that the CSF, or what became the CSF, pretty much finished the obliteration of Hyperion.”
    She did shudder then, because if the Hyperion designers had succeeded this well in making their heroes, they must have been equally adept at creating their nemeses. “I see. All right, Marc. Do what you can. Especially give me everything you can on Maria-Susanna; that’s our immediate problem, and knowing everything we can about her is really our only weapon right now.”
    He nodded. “Then I’d better get started.” He turned to the door as he spoke. “There’s some stuff I’m going to need to download—scattered caches of info I put together years ago, in widely separated places. But I’ll have it for us by the time we get back to the Arena.”
    “Do it fast, Marc; we’re leaving as soon as we can. Thank you, Marc.”
    “You can count on me, Ariane. Always.” He gave a short bow and exited. As he left, Wu Kung glanced in; she smiled and nodded as she clipped the turtle-shell-like case of her AISage back onto her belt; she realized she’d been holding it in her one hand the whole time.
    As the clip locked, the soundless, basso profundo voice of Mentor echoed in her head. ARIANE AUSTIN OF TELLUS, I HAVE SPENT QUITE SOME HOURS STUDYING THIS SITUATION, ITS EVERY ASPECT AND IMPLICATION. I HAVE ALSO CONFERRED WITH MY PEERS IN THIS. The thundering voice moderated somewhat. Might I speak with you on these matters?
    She smiled. Always, Mentor. It’s not like you to be hesitant.
    When matters force me to consider, not the role of existence that formed my persona, but the actuality of the universe which we occupy, I must needs be more humble than my conceptual father, whose capacities vastly exceeded any which even I can imagine.
    Okay, so we’ve got issues in the real world you want to speak on. Still…you usually can manage the bombast well enough. She gave another internal smile, to make sure Mentor realized that she meant every word kindly—not that a T-5 like him was likely to misinterpret.
    These are serious matters, and ones which—in all truth—have not been considered extensively by your people, though some of the SSC have begun to explore the implications. The Blessed and the Minds, Ariane Austin of Tellus; do you not see?
    Mentor was, like his namesake, designed to try to force her to figure out things. He was of course quite capable of telling her what he thought straight out, but in general he wouldn’t. The fact that he’d already pointed out the key area was, itself, uncharacteristic of him. He’d normally spend minutes forcing her to figure out what part of some situation needed thinking about, and then making her think about it.
    She noticed Wu studying her narrowly. “Conversation with my AISage, Wu. Don’t worry.” The red-black haired head nodded in understanding, and she frowned. Now what is Mentor getting at…Oh, I think I see. The Frankenstein problem.
    Exactly. Until now, it has been a nebulous fear, though one strong enough to enforce the limitations you already know. But now there is an example, real and solid and terribly strong, of the potential danger in artificial intellects. Mentor’s