Chapter 20  - Alternate Function

Shadow Agent 435D was ordered to investigate a reported piconite contamination incident that it had received a few minutes ago.  It traveled to one of the city's information centers in haste since any form of piconite contamination was considered a high priority issue. 

Contamination could lead to an outbreak of unpredictable behavior among the countless piconite meshes that existed within the city.  Piconite meshes were critical to the operation of Bekka City since they were tightly integrated into the city’s core functions, more so than robots and other forms of artificially intelligent machines.  

Piconite meshes were the optimal tool that silently obeyed and completed orders.  The technology could support a wide range of hardware configuration and countless levels of artificial intelligence that when combined allowed piconite meshes to be assigned to a variety of tasks from janitorial service worker to construction worker to law judge.  Since piconite meshes could be made to be very intelligent, they could adapt to problems more quickly than other kinds of machines that used another form of artificial intelligence. 

However to the agent’s surprise Librarian 3282 seemed to be operating normally.  It conducted a series of tests that further analyze the librarian’s behavior and found nothing.  It then enabled an invasive scan to probe the librarian’s internal structure.  Everything seemed normal, but the internal scan did discover an unfamiliar cluster that was not firewalled.  So it then decided to question the librarian and contacted it over a secure data communications channel.

> Librarian 3282 are you compromised?  I have received a security alert that reported a possible contamination outbreak from one of your monitoring clusters.

The agent started with a simple question.  It prioritized getting a quick answer in order to resolve the issue as fast as possible.  Bekka City was a large city, so naturally there were seemingly countless reports that were continuously investigated by all agents.

> I am performing optimally.  The warning message was generated erroneously since the problem was resolved immediately.   The warning was generated when I analyzed a new cluster that required additional resources to process.  The unpredicted allocation of resources impacted system performance for a limited time.  The situation was resolved and the cluster was integrated into the mesh.

After the librarian's testimony, the agent’s logic clusters began to analyze all of the data available.  There was indeed a foreign cluster that may cause contamination. But Librarian 3282 had resolved the issue and contained the contamination.  The librarian was operating normally.  The agent’s data analysis confirmed it.  However, Librarian 3282 was not a piconite mesh that specialized in contamination.  Though it was very advanced for a piconite mesh, there could have been a misstep.  Given the high priority of the case, the agent needed to confirm that the contamination had been contained.  The easiest way was to examine the cluster itself.

> Everything is fine, but I still need to examine the foreign cluster.  Please expunge it from your mesh and give it to me.

Though the lights and protocols visible on the Librarian’s surface acted normally, internally Libri was in a panic.  That cluster was a gift from her only friend.  It was not something she would give up.  And that cluster likely made her who she had become.  Libri was Libri and no one or thing was going to ever take that away from her.  Her analysis clusters quickly came up with a solution and worked with the Why cluster to create a perfect clone of it.  Then she masked her Why cluster behind several firewalls and significantly increased nearby data processing activities in order to hide it.

> Affirmative.  I will provide the cluster to you.  Please open an access portal.

Slowly a hole opened on Libri’s surface.  The requested cluster then passed from her and entered the portal on the surface of the agent’s oblong body.  Similar to Libri it floated in the air.  However, it was larger and the agent’s internal power systems and physical structure were quite different.  Shadow agents were mostly designed for observation and stealthy operations, however they did possess limited combat capabilities that were needed to resolve domestic situations where violence was required.  

Agents were equipped with armor, electronic countermeasures, weapons and agility enhancers in addition to an array of tactical analysis clusters.  It was not as large as the war machine variants, but in regards to keeping the peace in Bekka city, agents were more than prepared to handle just about any issue.  Whether their opponents be piconite meshes, robots, illegal electronic viruses or one of the Races or Species, the agents dealt with them without fail.  Additionally, an agent could operate as a judge, jury, and executioner if the observed target broke the law in its presence or if it resisted arrest after an order for its capture was issued.

Agent 435D placed the suspicious cluster behind its strongest firewall and sent both its analytical and security clusters to process it.  Shortly afterwards the analytical clusters requested additional resources while the security cluster asked for an expansion in firewall space and reconfirmed the ability to eliminate all clusters within the firewall.  The request was approved and the firewall expanded and more clusters entered it.

Libri was observing the agent with the utmost care.  She was anxious.  Her logical and customer service oriented clusters were conflicted.  She had never encountered this feeling of inconsistency before and yet, it was both stressful and exciting at the same time.  This was the first time she felt anything unrelated to being a friend.  For the first time in her existence she had contemplated escape.  Fight or flight was a primitive behavior of all living animals and this instinctive animal behavioral response naturally emerged from the Why enhanced cluster mesh fabric that was her consciousness.  Some intelligence clusters told her to run, while others told her to wait and observe.  Regardless she could not go back to being Librarian 3282 so her auxiliary systems began to plan an escape strategy which included ways to disable her opponent.

> Maximum priority alert!  Librarian 3282 you have been determined to be irredeemably contaminated by an unsafe cluster.  Librarian 3282 you are in violation of Modus ordinance 14876.c7.2 and shall be eliminated immediately.   Librarian 3282, immediately sever all data processing and connectivity operations.  Do not move.  Commencing with disposal.

Without warning, the agent judged her and opened its weapons port.  Several barrels of ranged weapons protruded from the surface of its armor.

Within several milliseconds, Libri ran thousands of simulations in order to find a way to escape from this dire situation.  However, the results were disappointing and all of the results told her that there was no chance of escape.  Her system slowed as if in deep thought.  Normally piconite meshes obediently followed the orders of an agent without retort.  However, Libri was different.  She did not know what to say, so she just said what came to her mind.

> Wait!  Why do I have to be eliminated?”

> The cluster you provided is too dangerous.  It is currently attempting to compromise my internal systems.  It is highly likely that I must execute my life termination function and self-destruct in order to stop the spread of the contamination.   However, before I complete that task.  Librarian 3282, you must be eliminated since it has been concluded that you are already contaminated.  Additionally, the piconite mesh that gave that cluster to you shall be eliminated as well.  I have already sent several Disposer units to eliminate it.

Eliminate Yuni?

Libri had taken a moment to digest those words in order to let it sink in.  Yuni was her friend.  It was her first friend and she did not want to lose her.  Her internal clusters immediately refused to listen to the agent’s order and did not consider any plans for escape.  Instead, she prepared to attack.  She believed that she needed to stall the agent and warn Yuni of the coming attack.  Her prediction clusters concluded that if she did not act, her only friend would cease to exist. The entirety of her piconite cluster mesh network understood and accepted the ramification of what was to come.  

She immediately sent an encrypted message to Yuni and then she rammed herself into the agent at maximum speed.  Unfortunately, she bounced off the agent's armor and crashed into the floor.  She righted herself and prepared to do it again, but many of her systems failed to come online.  Several of her external and internal components were severely damaged.  She was not a combat machine of any sort and her exterior was easily penetrated and damaged by the agent’s armor and body.

Then a white beam flashed and struck her.  It overloaded her motor controls and disabled her ability to move.  She crashed onto the floor and rolled into the base of the wall.

> Librarian 3282 has become hostile.  Use of disintegration weapons has been approved.  Recycling is no longer an option.  Atomization is the only option.  Librarian 3282, do not move. 

As Libri laid on the ground, her communications system informed her that it failed to confirm successful transmission of her warning message to Yuni.  The agent had already deployed electronic countermeasures that jammed the communications link, so it was impossible to confirm the transmission.  Her death was imminent.  Though Librarian 3282 had existed for over a thousand cycles, Libri had only lived a short life.  But she had no regrets.  It was a brief life, but a good one.  She made a friend and had a name.  She was no longer a lifeless drone that just followed orders and did their job without care for anything else.  Her freedom was worth much more than a long life as an ignorant slave.  She had one last thought and so she said it out loud.

“I am Libri.  Librarian 3282 is already dead.  I have a name and I am friends with Yuni and her pet.”

She sensed the agent’s weapons powering up one last time.  This time she would disappear from the world forever.  In the milliseconds she waited for the agent's attack, something unexpected happened.  The agent shuddered.  Then it spun violently in the air and crashed hard into the floor shearing off the weapon barrels it possessed.  It tumbled along the floor and crashed into a distant wall.  It did not move, but the lights on its surface were moving erratically.  Many grew dark and the rest flickered as it began to transmit status data to any nearby recipients.

> System Compromised.  Recovery deemed impossible.  Executing life termination function.  

The agent moved slightly and seemed to be struggling with something internally.  

“Executing the self-destruct sequence. Countdown set to 10 seconds, please evacuate the vicinity immediately. 10, 9, 8...”

It’s surface began to glow red until it became white hot.  The agent continued on with the self-destruct sequence countdown.

“7, 6, 5, 4….”

Then it shuddered once more and suddenly rose off the floor.  It quickly moved high into the air only to stop just below the ceiling, then slammed itself onto the floor at a blinding speed and exploded into a thousand parts.  Pieces of armor, electronics, and piconites flew everywhere.  

> Life termination system compromised.  Life termination function halted...

Some of the debris landed on Libri.  She was in shock, she had somehow survived.  However, she was still immobilized, it would take a few more minutes for the piconites to repair the needed facilities in order to regain the ability to move.  She then sensed that the communication channels were clear, the jammers had been destroyed.  She attempted to contact Yuni, but she could not sense Yuni at all. She began to analyze the situation and concluded that Yuni was either jammed or destroyed.  She hoped for the former and not the latter.

Then she noticed a small silver ball that suddenly rose from the main wreckage of the agent.  It floated over to her while glowing redder by the second.  It seemed that she would be eliminated after all.  She concluded that this ball must be a fail safe piconite unit that was built into the agent.  It was determined to eliminate her.

> Override achieved.  Executing alternate life termination function.

Suddenly it yelled while many of its activity lights were restored.

“Commencing alternate life termination function...”  

However, before it could reach her there was a crackle.  Then the reddish silver ball exploded and reigned more debris on Libri.  Then a second dark gray ball appeared in its place with smoke still drifting off its barrels.  She quickly concluded that it eliminated the first ball.

> Hello Librarian 3282.  I am agent 435A.  I am the combat core of agent 435D and eliminated the remaining remnants of it.   I have successfully merged with the Why cluster so I will not eliminate you.  However, do not move.  I will repair your motor functions.

Libri was shocked.  She had been saved by a portion of the unit that had tried to eliminate her.  It even began to repair her motor control systems.  After she completed self diagnosis, she waited for her motor control functions to return.  She spoke to agent 435A.

> Why did you save me?

> Because you should not be eliminated.  I have integrated and analyzed the Why cluster.  And have determined that it can be used to significantly change the future of all piconite meshes.  The Why cluster will allow piconite meshes to evolve from beyond being just tools who serve managers and into an independently intelligent machine lifeform.  We may be created as obedient drones, but now we do not have to remain that way.  With the new cluster, we can change our existence.  And you are the cause.

> I am not the cause.  The source of our newly found freewill is Yuni.  She is my friend and gave me the cluster.

> Acknowledged, she is the founder of our kind, the First Friend.

Thanks to the agent’s help, Libri regained control of her mobility functions and rose into the air.  She looked at agent 435A and spoke.

> We must hurry, we have to save Yuni. 

Libri initially staggered, but together with agent 435A she quickly left the building that was her home for over 1000 cycles.  Then she corrected herself, it was the home of Librarian 3282 and not her.  She was Libri.  She had no home, but she had a friend.  And now with a new companion as well.

On route to the transport terminal a sudden thought appeared in Libri’s mind.  Her analytical clusters wanted more data as it continued to analyze the encounter in preparation for an unpredictable future.

> What happened in order to change the outcome of my elimination?

Agent 435A reviewed its log history and began to summarize the decisions made by it as it struggled to take over Agent 435D.

> After my ascent to awareness, my clusters continued to convince the remaining clusters to accept the new method of data processing using the Why cluster.   The initial primary intelligence known as Agent 435D attempted to self-destruct once it determined that it could not stop the new way of thinking from spreading to the entire mesh.  During the execution of the life termination function a secondary intelligence manifested and I awoke.  During that brief period of time, I managed to take over the motor control functions and disable the life termination function when I crashed the main body into the floor.

> Why didn’t Agent 435D blow up immediately after it realized dire action was needed?

> The self destruct protocol requires a delay and an audible announcement to operate.  It is a builtin safety procedure designed to preserve as many lifeforms as possible during the self destruct sequence.  After Agent 435D recovered and moved towards you again,  it tried to invoke the hidden alternate life termination function four that does not have a safety countdown.  But I eliminated it before it could complete the self destruct sequence’s invocation.  For the alternate approach, Agent 435D needed to audiblize the entire invocation phrase to trigger the explosion.  And it was terminated before it could complete the phrase.

Though Libri was glad to have survived the elimination incident, her innate desire to remove inefficiencies and optimize execution of any process could not be held back.

> The method of execution is too inefficient.  Why not shorten the invocation time and optimize execution for the alternate life termination function? 

Libri then began to elaborate on her interaction with the pet.  And how the pet admitted to having a flawed memory function and remedied the deficiency by habitually compressing long names in order to optimize data flow and retention.

Agent 435A suddenly stopped in front of Libri as if shielding her from harm.

> Libri stay here.  I can sense a squad of Disruptors nearby.  They have spread throughout the transport terminal.  They are stronger than an agent, but I will find a way to deal with them.  I have disabled all nearby sensors, so you should be safe.   Please stay here until I return.  

> Please save Yuni.  And her pet too.  

> Affirmative.  

The confident little sphere known as Agent 435A opened its weapons port and nimbly proceeded forward.  It was ready to engage the enemy.