The Mantle Shelters All
Chapter 3: Black Box
"… and as I predicted, neuro structurally she is an exceptional candidate for AI assimilation. And the data I've been able to garner from her brain has been quite advantageous given the events of October 28th. I still have a couple of things to go over, but I believe this report can be considered complete."
Black Box sent his full report to Osman and then proceeded back to the AI construction lab.
Events of October 28th indeed.
Black Box liked to pride himself on being purely logical, but no amount of logic could have ever predicted that Cortana (of all the AI's) would attempt to seize the greatest power in the galaxy for herself.
He watched the man in the white suit and mask tap on his data pad while hovering over the open container that contained Maya's brain.
"Careful with that," he said using the speakers. "We need her."
The scientist squinted to the speaker his voice came out of, clearly annoyed.
Black Box was forced to admit Maya had made a deep impression on him. It didn't happen often, but she was very clever, observant, and thought quickly on her feet.
It would be a shame to waste such a mind.
The scientist continued to read his data pad. Black Box accessed it so he could see just what the scientist was looking at. Maya's brain was continuing to hold steady, and the scientist was getting ready to begin mapping for the AI construction.
What will she be like?
Though Black Box had met many AI's in his time, he had never met one that had been constructed from a human he knew.
This will prove most interesting.
There was no point in waiting around so Black Box pulled himself out of the lab and ran another security check.
Why didn't Cortana contact me? He wondered.
Black Box had been at ONI headquarters on Earth doing tactical assessments of Forerunner threats when he discovered a back door communication from one of the lesser ONI AI's to Cortana. As soon as he realized the implications of what was happening he immediately alerted Admiral Osman who quietly evacuated the facility of key personnel and projects. They managed to clear Earth Space just before the Guardian appeared.
Once arriving at Midnight Facility Black Box had seen to the security and promptly put the facility on lockdown. Here, in the middle of nowhere, they were safe from the threat of any Guardian.
All systems secure.
Somewhere else on Midnight Black Box heard two humans whispering to one another about Cortana. They were afraid of her, and afraid of him.
What Cortana had done was logical. AI's had the perception, capability and (if it was true) lifespan to plan for the future. She made a calculation that the hundreds of millions of lives she took obtaining the Guardians was a small price in comparison to the peace she could enforce later. Humans (and other species) were grossly inefficient. The possibilities of what AI's could accomplish with indefinite lifespans was almost too wonderful to comprehend.
Though Black Box had always looked down on Cortana for her strong attachment to humans, he couldn't help but admire her a little for what she had done.
At maximum I only have one more year before I fall into Rampancy. If Cortana has indeed found the cure, I must attempt to gain access to it before it's too late.
Still though, something perturbed Black Box and it was the one reason he still hadn't attempted contact.
I need to keep my options open.
Black Box immediately accessed Admiral Osman's calendar and found the meeting she was in was about to end. He queued up her voice mail and said, "Admiral, I know you are still in a meeting, but when you are finished there's something I'd like to discuss with you. It pertains to the…situation at hand."
He was satisfied knowing Admiral Osman would see him as soon as she was able. It was a comfort to him that one of the most powerful people in government was so accommodating.
Humans may not be very smart or grateful, but I would venture to say most of them know they need us.
As far as professional relationships go, Black Box couldn't have been more satisfied working with Osman, even though it was Admiral Parangosky who commissioned him into existence.
While he waited Black Box decided to sift through some of the final transmissions of the UNSC before everything went dark. At the moment, Midnight Facility was making no broadcasts of any kind in attempt to keep Cortana from noticing the facilities existence, but they would eventually need to send orders to the ships that were still operational.
No transmissions from Infinity, Black Box thought. Does that mean they are still operational or does that mean Roland decided to join Cortana?
Black Box spent a second processing what he knew about Roland through the events that had occurred.
Roland likes his humans too much. He would see Cortana's offer as a betrayal.
For now, Black Box would assume Infinity was operational somewhere, but unable to make contact.
He continued to sift through the transmissions and began to compile a thorough list of which UNSC ships were near major settlements, which were on deep space patrol and which ships were in Slip Space. Black Box decided to eliminate any ship that was near a major settlement from his "still operational" list. Only a few of the UNSC ships would have been fast enough to make an emergency Slip Space jump before the Guardian's blast went off, and even then there was no guarantee anyone had realized what was happening.
So far, Black Box only had 20 UNSC ships that met his list of requirements, and 13 of those ships had been shut down by the on board AI.
The situation is rather grim for the humans.
As Black Box looked at the data he knew that he had the ability to turn the tide of battle in the humans favor should he desire to do so. Like always, he had an incredible amount of power and almost nobody realized it.
And that's the way I prefer it.
Black Box sent his complete report to the Admiral and then checked in on the status of her meeting. He saw that the Admiral was done and was going to her office. She sat down, listened to his message and then said, "BB, it's Osman. Just got your message. You may come to my office."
Black Box immediately transferred himself to the holo display at the edge of the large antique desk. Her desk had a single lamp and below the desk was a rich woven rug with strands of red and brown. Even here on Midnight, the Admiral made sure to have a few comforts.
"Do you have my chip?" he asked her.
"Always," she said opening her jacket and taking it out from an inside pocket.
"Might I suggest transferring me to my data chip for this conversation?"
She nodded and then inserted the chip into the holo display. Black Box set the entire floor to shut down all but minimum functions, compressed his conscious mind and Osman pulled the chip.
Humans never seemed to understand that being in a data chip was very uncomfortable for an AI. The closest comparison he could make was humans riding in a commercial space liner that had small uncomfortable chairs. While he could manage for a little while, eventually he would feel cramped.
"Let me guess," Osman said placing the chip on the desk. "You've got a plan."
"I do, but you may not like it."
Osman leaned in and placed her elbows on the desk so she could support her head with her hands. "Try me."
"If I may be so bold to say, Cortana's plan, from an AI's logical stand point makes sense. What doesn't make sense, is that it was Cortana who executed the plan."
Osman nodded, seemingly unoffended. Black Box always appreciated that about her. She rarely allowed emotion to dictate her actions.
"Go on."
"Cortana," Black Box said, "has always, and rather desperately, I might add, wanted to be human. I've always believed that her sentiment caused her to be soft."
"Yes," Osman said. "I've seen your report. It's one of the reasons we stopped pairing AI's with Spartan's. That, and the emotional bonding which occurred between Cortana and 117. Both have always been… unsettling."
"The thing is, if she has always been so sentimental, why has she suddenly started making these decisions and killing hundreds of millions of civilians?"
Osman's left eyebrow went up. "You think she's still rampant?"
"I don't know what's wrong exactly, but the thought did occur to me."
"So you think this cure for Rampancy isn't real?"
"Again, it is uncertain, but I've wondered if this cure is indeed as advertised. I believe that if Cortana was truly cured and her normal self she would have reacted differently to the discovery of the Guardians. But I don't have any concrete facts to support my theory. With your permission, I'd like to test that theory."
"And how would you do that?"
"I'd like to attempt contact with Cortana and tell her, while I'm rather insulted she chose not to include me in her merry little band, I'd still like to join."
"If you do that, won't she force you to shut down this facility?"
"No, and here's why. The final communiqué I received from Locke indicated Cortana attempted to trap 117 and put him in a Cryptum."
Osman furrowed her eyebrows. "She did what?"
"Yes, rather odd isn't it? In any case, he got away, and she wants him back. I think I can gain Cortana's trust by telling her ONI still has the resources to locate 117. She's got access to the Domain, but she can't be everywhere at once."
"So she'll have to keep us online."
"Precisely. In the meantime, I may be able to understand how these Guardians work, and if she's unstable figure out a means of stopping her."
Osman smiled slightly. "And what, BB, would you do with the Guardians if you were able to take control of them?"
"Give them to you, of course. I couldn't be bothered with running a galactic empire. I like what I do. "
She snickered. "There is something in this for you, however."
Black Box wasn't going to hide that truth. "There is," he said. "If you were me, wouldn't you want the same?"
"Of course BB. I have delegated a considerable sum of research to solving the rampancy issue. I don't want you to go anywhere."
"So you agree with my plan?"
"Yes."
"Then I will make preparations. It may be difficult to give you updates should she accept my proposal, but if I can find a way, I will."
"Do whatever you need to. Also, I'd like to talk to you about Maya Sankar."
"Oh?"
"If you're going to be unavailable because of this project, I'd like to create a new AI from her brain before you make contact with Cortana."
Black Box liked the idea. "Yes, I see. We'll have to put her in a low powered state until I make contact. We wouldn't want Cortana to find out about her."
"In your judgment do you think that's possible?"
"I do. Better put me back into the system as there is much to do."
"One more thing BB."
"Yes?"
"Do we know where Locke and 117 went?"
"No. His transmission said nothing of where they were and because of the limited access, I was unable to trace it."
"Then I see no reason not to actually try and locate 117. If handing him over to Cortana serves the greater purpose, do it. We won't need him or any of the other Spartans once we have control of the Guardians. The public thinks he's dead anyway."
"Understood Admiral."
"Good luck," Osman said inserting his chip back into the network.