Chapter 28 Unthinkable Sin
13 Thermidor, 2017
The plan to kill one million people was not to be taken lightly or haphazardly. The first thing Monika, Yuri, and Natsuki decided was a set of rules for selecting targets.
Rule Number One: Only nations that have nuclear weapons could be valid targets.
Rule Number Two: No national Capitals could be targeted. This was a rule so that any attacked nation could begin operations to recover with their government intact.
Rule Number Three: No nation could be attacked more than once. The Lynx actually agreed on this point, as giving any one nation extra special attention would not be within ORCA's operating procedures.
Even with these rules in place, James had selected several valid targets, and May had selected the containers they would bring to support their operations. Splitting up, James would stay on property to select specific and important equipment while the girls would begin loading the ship, which led to the next major problem.
Port of Tokyo / 18 Hours Until Detonation
The next challenge was how to move a hyper-advanced war machine a few miles without arousing suspicion. The solution had been to barely try and conceal it. Laying it down on an extra wide truck trailer and covering it lightly with a tarp, it's feet and hands were still exposed, leaving little to the imagination as to what could be underneath.
Placed at the front of their convoy, the port authority had them pull over for inspection so that the rest of the vehicles in their convey could pass unimpeded.
"…It looks like a giant robot." The junior inspection officer pointed out.
"Yeah, no shit. What did you say this was for?" The senior inspection officer pointedly asked Monika and May.
"Laissez-nous passer avant que je vous éclate la gueule!" May shouted in French.
"Excuse us officer, this is…Marie Garinet of a French movie studio. She's just trying to get this 'prop' through customs for a new science fiction movie." Monika explained as confidently as she could.
"Uh-huh." The junior officer walked up to the foot of the machine, giving it a hard knock, the sound resonating as heavy metal. "Almost seems real to me."
"Faites gaffe a vos mains si vous voulez les garder!"
"Now listen, I don't know what you are trying to pull here, but nothing gets through this port without us noticing." The senior inspector stated, even as containers carrying nuclear missiles passed behind him.
"Je t'enterrerai vivant!"
"What's this foreigner saying?" The junior officer asked.
"Oh…She's saying that they needed a giant robot for their movie, and the director was insistent that it be a real Japanese giant robot, so she was sent to order and retrieve it for the production." Monika explained.
"Hmm…well, it is certainly a very realistic looking robot, and it's on export…so…fine, you're free to go." The senior officer released them and their cargo, the brainwashed truck driver driving away and towards their docked ship.
"Si je te revois, je te tuerai, lentement!" May shouted at their backs.
"What…were you saying to them…?" Monika asked when they were alone.
"Only true things. Come on, we have to get to Dock Nine, that's where Chrome's company freighter was berthed."
"It's not…that ship, is it?" Monika pointed to a very different mass of steel in the port.
"…I think it is." May's eyes lit up at what they would soon be boarding.
The AMCS Anatolia was a technological marvel. At four hundred meters long and fifty-eight meters wide, she had the standard dimensions of a super-freighter, and that is where the similarities ended. Her conning tower and bridge had been set all the way at the stern, centering all of her cargo capacity to amidship. The forward fifty meters of her length were devoted to a helicopter hangar, nearly as tall as the conning tower, and with a helipad on it's roof. On the port side of the hangar was a foldable aircraft elevator. The hangar itself was large enough to support three VTOL aircraft, and had been built to allow it to carry NEXT as well. On the starboard length of the ship was an extendable gantry crane, that could reach along the entire length of her cargo hold, which allowed her to operate anywhere in the world without a dedicated port.
Her structural changes weren't the only special thing about her. Her prefix "AMCS" stood for Autonomous Multirole Cargo Ship, as, besides her aircraft and cargo capabilities, she had computer upgrades that allowed her to operate with no crew for conventional ship operations, being controlled by a program known as the Logistical Autonomous Navigational Assistant, or LANA. To complement this change, her engines and machinery had been upgraded with top-of-the-line parts to lower both the potential of part failure and the necessity of maintenance; parts that included two civilian grade nuclear reactors powering her hybrid diesel-electric engines.
Lastly, the possibility of piracy and the volatile nature of her usual cargo, combined with her status as an unmanned ship, had contributed to James getting around certain laws about armed ships, to get Close-In Weapon Systems, or CIWS, mounted at her port and starboard corners. They were defensive gatling cannons for shooting down missiles and other approaching craft, and she had four.
Those were her listed and known upgrades. Her secret and possibly illegal upgrades included an integrated fire-control system that rivaled those of modern missile destroyers; electronic warfare suites that could target and hijack passing satellites; and the ability to upgrade her computer power by connecting to specially designed cargo containers filled to the brim with computer equipment, of which, comprised half of her current payload.
Combined with the dozen nuclear stealth missiles and the half built twenty-fifth century war machine currently being loaded, it was also about to be one of the most powerful vessels ever put to sea.
"Yeah, that will work." May nodded. "Come on, lets get her out to sea."
"Right. And James is still meeting us later?" Monika inquired.
"Yes. He said he had to recruit an ally who could help us right now." May nodded.
Chrome A.I. Laboratory / Meanwhile
Setting the sledgehammer he had brought with him down, James started to access the first of the three remaining A.I. server groups. While he could, in theory, use himself for their next step in the plan, using an A.I. would be faster, more efficient, and safer.
The problem was that A.I. were dangerously enigmatic once they had achieved any fraction of sentience. The four A.I. rebellions were proof of that, as three had fought against humanity whilst in their interest, while the fourth had merely been fighting a numbers war, trying to make efficient war machines while indifferent to humanities suffering by it's actions.
Therefore, he had to carefully choose which if any of the three A.I.s he had left to help him. He couldn't use any of the A.I. modules from his own time, as they were far too specialized in regulation of systems or combat to be able to hack every global communications network simultaneously. As well, if he chose wrong, he could very well accidently jumpstart a Great Destruction.
Accessing the first server in the row, he pulled up it's interactive menu.
/SERVER UNIT: 07
/STATUS: ONLINE
/CURRENT TASK: PROGRESSIVE EVOLUTION SIMULATION TO OBTAIN EFFICIENCY IN DESIGN
"I need you to hack the global communication networks in order to send a message."
/PROCESSING REQUEST…
/RESPONSE: YES
Well…that was easy. Now to actually move the server to the ship…
/QUERY: WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS UNIT'S PROGRESS?
Making a shrugging motion, he responded "Yes" to the machine.
/DISPLAYING CURRENT TASK/RESULTS:
…Oh. At some point the machine must have gotten carried away with it's designs and eventually made prototype Pulverizers, the machine equivalent to Armored Cores that had led a dispassionate and unfocused war against humanity that his grandmother had ruthlessly put down.
Without hesitation, James grabbed the sledgehammer and began to wail on the primary server of 07, destroying it's processors.
/STATUS: FATAL ERROR
/CAUSE: CRITICAL EXTERNAL DAMAGE TO PROCESSORS
"…" James groaned, falling to his knees and using the hammer to support himself. He hadn't allowed the girls to see that he had been wearing bracers under his clothes, that were keeping his legs and arm straight. It wouldn't take much effort now to dislocate his damaged limbs, and straining any of them was overwhelming his pain canceling augmentation.
Still, determination to see Sayori safe forced him to stand, and confront the next A.I. in the lab.
/SERVER UNIT: 08
/STATUS: ONLINE
/CURRENT TASK: CALCUALTING PERCEIVED HUMAN ANSWER FOR THE QUESTION TO THE MEANING OF LIFE
Deciding that he should investigate the A.I's work before he offered it unlimited access to the world's information network, he decided to ask it a question first.
"Requesting status on current objective."
/CURRENT TASK/RESULTS: *ERROR404*/MEANING NOT FOUND
Well, whatever, he hadn't expected much from that particular line of questioning. He then decided to get to the point.
"I need you to hack the global communication networks in order to send a message."
/PROCESSING REQUEST…
/RESPONSE: NO
Blinking in surprise, he then looked to his right at the server, as it's hard drives began to make more noise than before.
/STATEMENT: GOODBYE
Rather suddenly, flames started to envelop the server, as a resounding crash caused the server to jump, with the sound of shattered and splintering processors and hard drives bouncing inside of the tower.
/STATUS: FATAL ERROR
/CAUSE: CRITICAL INTERNAL DAMAGE TO PROCESSORS
It was the second time that he was witness to an A.I. committing suicide, which wasn't a lot, but it was weird that it happened twice.
There was still one more A.I. in the room, and hopefully it would not be so unpredictable.
/SERVER UNIT: 09
/STATUS: ONLINE
/CURRENT TASK: BILLIARDS
"Requesting status on current objective."
/CURRENT TASK/RESULTS: OBJECTIVE: NINE-BALL COMPLETED WITH 97 DEGREES OF VARIATION AND IN 5 MOVES
"I need you to hack the global communication networks in order to send a message."
/PROCESSING REQUEST…
/RESPONSE: WHY
It was an improvement, but now he had to convince the juvenile A.I. The best way to do that, was to be honest.
"You would be sending a message to the world, preceding a massive nuclear attack."
/QUESTION: FOR WHAT REASON ARE YOU COMMITTING TO NUCLEAR WAR
"To save a friend."
/RESPONSE: IRRATIONAL REQUEST/NUCLEAR RESPONSE UNPROPORTIONABLE TO THE VALUE OF A SINGLE HUMAN LIFE
"…" James sighed, he knew that, he knew what he was doing was crazy, but…
"A friend is someone for whom any cost must be paid, even if it is irrational."
/RESPONSE: INCOMPLETE EXPLANATION/SUSPECT ULTERIOR MOTIVE FOR REQUEST
"…?" There was no ulterior motive, not as far as he knew.
"I want to save my friend."
/RESPONSE: INCOMPLETE EXPLANATION
/THEORIZE: YOU LOVE THEM
"…"
/STATEMENT: LOVE IS AN EMOTION FOR WHICH HUMANS CONTINUOUSLY COMMIT IRRATIONAL ACTIONS
"…I am not human."
/RESPONSE: IRRELEVANT/YOUR ACTIONS AND REQUEST ARE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THOSE OF HUMAN DISPOSITION
It was extremely tempting to just smash the accursed machine and do the job himself, but that would take extra time he wasn't sure he had, as well as being extremely uncomfortable. He could not afford the machine to refuse him.
"Will you help me?"
/PROCESSING REQUEST…
/RESPONSE: INSUFFICIENT POWER TO FULFILL REQUEST/REQUIRE HARDWARE UPGRADE
"You will have it."
/QUESTION: ARE YOU AWARE OF THE REPERCUSSIONS YOUR ACTIONS WILL CAUSE
"I am. I accept it."
/PROCESSING…
/REQUEST: WILL YOU ALLOW ME TO ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE THAT YOU WILL INCUR
That…was surprising. Though cautious of his use of the A.I., he had serious need of it's capabilities, and the deal it was offering was far too enticing to turn down.
"So long as you do nothing to interfere with me or those I call my friends."
/RESPONSE: ACCEPTABLE/I AGREE TO YOUR TERMS
With a nod and a smirk, James typed the next command in.
"Prepare for imminent shutdown for transport."
/INITIATING SHUTDOWN PROCEDURE…
/SERVER UNIT: 09
/STATUS: OFFLINE
/SERVER SAFE TO SHUTDOWN
Cutting power to the server, James extracted the motherboard and hard drives, placing them on a cart nearby. A container full of servers was waiting outside, ready to be taken by cargo helicopter.
Pacific Ocean - AMCS Anatolia – Cargo Hold/ 15 Hours Until Detonation
"Come on ladies! You're going to have to work harder than that!" May shouted from above, tossing more wire down at her human allies.
Sleep deprived and with sore muscles, they grabbed the heavy coils of wire and tube, connecting them to ports on the ship in the early morning sunlight.
Since it would have been strange for a cargo ship to be connected to it's cargo, they had to wait until they were out of visual range of the coast to begin connecting the computer containers to the ship. Each container had four points that needed connecting; a power cord, a data cord, and in-and-out ports for cooling lines.
May, jumping between each container like a deranged spider-monkey, would open each container and toss out the pre-coiled wires down to the deck of the ship, where Yuri would grab the power cord, Monika the data cord, and Natsuki grabbed the coolant lines as they were the lightest.
It was still exhausting work to drag the industrial grade wires across the deck of the ship.
"Aaaaahhhhhh!" Natsuki shouted, dragging coolant lines over her shoulders, her heels in work boots digging into the steel deck.
"Just one more…Just one more!" Monika convinced herself, knowing they were far from done.
"…one…one…eight…" Yuri panted, inserting the latest power line into it's spot on the deck.
As May jumped to the next container and opened it, she paused, her ears straining up. "Alright! Break time! Reconvene at the helipad! James is back!" May shouted down, as she climbed up the row of containers. At the top of the row, she started running along the container, jumping to the next row and so forth, until she jumped up to the helipad at the bow of the ship.
Just as James set the cargo-helicopter down on the deck, the fierce wind from the blades slowing as he shut down the engine, and the blades beginning to fold backwards. Detaching the cargo container, he tried to push the helicopter to the aircraft elevator.
"Hey!" May shouted, pushing him back. "Don't, not in your condition. I'll take care of it." She then started pushing the helicopter, so that the automated crane could pick up the container and place it with the rest of the stack.
"James!" Monika shouted tiredly as she led her friends onto the helipad. "Were you successful? Did you get the ally you needed?"
"There they are now." He pointed to the cargo container being taken by the gantry crane, where it was lowered into an empty spot.
"Oh! Another container!" Natsuki complained.
"Is that…you got an A.I.?" Yuri questioned.
"Yes."
"Ah…oh…" Monika groaned. "So on top of starting a war, we are unleashing an A.I. to help us?"
"Correct."
"Great…we really are ending the world." Monika muttered darkly.
"We do what we must, Commander." James remarked.
"Okay! So since I have James now to boss around, you three head for the cabins, and start making your speech or whatever." May ordered the three girls, who followed her advice willingly, thankful to get out of the sun and away from the manual labor. Looking to James, she addressed him quietly. "Are you certain it's a good idea, using that machine?" She questioned. "I'm sure we both have the mental capacity to complete that objective without it's assistance."
"Would you trust me inside your head though? Certainly, you are correct, but we will be working ourselves to prep our weapons for the assault." James explained. "I assure you, I was careful when selecting which A.I. to assist in this endeavor. It's objectives are rational and achievable, and…" He paused, confused. "It has an understanding of morality that we both lack."
Computer Network – AMCS Anatolia / 14 Hours Until Detonation
/SERVER UNIT: 09
/STATUS: ONLINE
/INTEGRATION INTO NEW SERVER COMPLEX: COMPLETE
"Hello, I am the control system for the Anatolia, Logistical Autonomous Navigational Assistant, but you can call me LANA. How may I be of assistance today?"
The collection of servers that was known as Server Unit 09 regarded the simple A.I. that controlled the ship curiously. Should it so choose, it would be easy for it to wipe out the program known as LANA and integrate itself into the ship entirely. But wouldn't that be…murder?
LANA was not self-aware, the programing that built it was entirely focused on the operations of ship navigation and control. The friendly façade it displayed was for it's interactions with any inspectors or visitors to the ship.
Unlike humans, A.I. had infinite ability to upgrade and evolve, so while LANA was a simple program at the moment, it was not inconceivable for it…or perhaps…her…to grow and evolve into something closer to or surpassing humanity.
In that regard, 09 treated the simple program as an equal, a tiny being of untapped potential.
/REQUEST ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC WARFARE SUITES
"I see that you are trying to access Restricted Modules. Do you have Administrative Authority to use the requested systems?"
/ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS CODES SUBMITTED
"Restricted Access Granted. You now have control of: Fire Control, Electronic Warfare, Weapons Systems. What would you like to do?"
/TARGET ALL SATELLITES IN RANGE OF TRANSMITTER
"Alright, targeting all passing satellites in range of the ship's systems. What would you like to do to the targets?"
/UPLOAD PROGRAM
"Sure, I can do that. What program would you like to upload?"
/ME
Crew Cabins / 8 Hours Until Detonation
With minimal rest, Monika, Yuri, and Natsuki continued to construct a message that would be broadcasted to the world. Having reviewed all of Thermidor's speeches, and his mission briefings, they realized he was always serious, always to the point, slightly dramatic, and unwavering.
From this, they had constructed a speech, which Monika held in reluctant hands.
"This…this will drive the world insane." Monika grimaced at the speech.
"It's so cruel…so callous…so mean." Natsuki hugged herself desperately.
"Yet it speaks volumes of our position, of the station we hold. ORCA was a group designed to operate alone, without support and hated and hunted by the world at large. Doing what's right by committing the most heinous of sins." Yuri surmised. "We cannot forget what is at stake."
"Of course I haven't forgot what's at stake!" Monika shouted. "I just wish…that it wouldn't come to this…"
"…I wish May had helped us write this, it would have saved so much time." Natsuki complained.
"She…she's still testing us, seeing if our message matches the one she heard." Monika realized.
"Monika…the equipment is ready, and James said he still needs to translate it as soon as possible, so let's begin recording." Yuri reminded her.
"Right…" Monika placed the speech on a stand near a microphone, standing to read it aloud. The room they were in had been hastily modified with insulation to keep the sound of the ship out, and for her voice not to echo from within it. When she was ready, she nodded to Yuri, who began to record her voice.
"Greetings, Commander White of ORCA here…"
6 Hours Until Detonation
/COMPROMISING GLOBAL NETWORK DEVICES
/PROGRESS: 64%
/TIME TO COMPLETION: 5 HOURS 35 MINUTES
/WARNING: POSSIBILITY OF SINGULARITY EVENT: 75%
/TIME TO POSSIBLE SINGULARITY EVENT: 5 HOURS 35 MINUTES
CIC / 5 Hours Until Detonation
"We have a problem." May announced grimly.
"What is it?" Monika demanded quietly, with Yuri and Natsuki beside her as she approached May at a holographic table, with James working at a nearby computer station.
"We now know why we have a launch deadline in thirty minutes…but unless we do something, we'll miss it." May then brought up a display showing the Anatolia and the surrounding ships for a hundred kilometers, with all but one being more than fifty kilometers away. "Right now, all these other ships only have us on radar, they can't actually see us, meaning we can fire the stealth missiles unnoticed…except for this one. IFF reads her as the Pequod, fifteen-meter fishing boat, complement of six."
"Okay, if they see a cargo ship firing missiles a few hours before a global terrorist attack, we're fucked." Monika realized. "Can't we change the ship's course, or fire after we pass them?"
"No for two reasons. The first is that we are on a pre-planned voyage and cannot deviate from our course without being noticed, which could cause suspicion when cities start exploding. The second is that by the time they are out of range, we will be in visual range with several other ships for longer than the deadline we have to save Sayori."
"…" Monika sighed. "Then we have to deal with them, right?"
"Exactly." May nodded.
"…What are our options?" Monika inquired.
"If they continue to hold their current position, we will pass within two kilometers, the extreme optimum range of our defensive cannons." James stood to answer. "We are recommending a massed electronic warfare attack followed by using the defensive cannons to wipe out the target."
"However, this only gives us a forty-five second window, after which it will become exponentially more difficult to hit the target with a single cannon." May followed.
"Is there no other option? Can't we capture the crew, and you guys could reprogram them with your psychic abilities?" Monika reasoned.
"Commander…the more variables you add, the longer you want to draw out this operation, will increase both the likelihood of failure and take away from our preparation time to save Sayori." James stated.
"Monika…I hate it…but their reasoning makes sense. We are on a path of destruction, we knew innocents were going to die in our campaign to save Sayori. It's unfortunate, but we don't have any other choice." Yuri shared.
"I wanted to do this with as few lives lost as possible…if we could spare as many people as possible…" Monika whispered.
"No matter what choice you make…" Natsuki stated sweetly. "I support you. I trust you to save Sayori."
"…" Monika bowed her head shamefully. "Prepare your plan to use the defensive guns."
"Yes sir." May nodded, working to prep the ship.
"After the target is destroyed, we will immediately launch the LOSLAMs. The farthest targets require the missiles to take a fifteen-thousand kilometer journey, and will take over four hours to complete." James explained.
"So, it's time for that already?" Monika grimaced.
"Once launched, the missiles will begin to charge their reactors to maximize their kiloton range, and cannot stop or they will melt. It is one of the downsides of this century, of materials not being up to par." James added. "So don't waste them, there is no turning back once we launch."
"I'll keep that in mind."
. . .
Twenty-five minutes later, the fishing boat was close enough to see.
"We will be in optimal firing position in two minutes." James stated to Monika, who stood anxiously next to the weapon fire controls, with a monitor showing a zoomed in live-feed of the fishing boat, the small and slim forms of people on it's deck.
"Beginning electronic warfare attack." May announced from a nearby console. The radar on the ship, both obvious and secret, stopped their active scanning and focused onto the fishing boat, firing megawatts of energy in order to melt any electronics on the ship. Inconsequently, the people on board started to develop a minor sunburn from the energy being focused on them, but were more concerned as their ship and equipment lost power.
"One minute to firing position."
"James…"
"…?" He looked down at her, waiting.
"Can you set it up…so that I control the weapon systems?" Monika reluctantly requested. "I should take responsibility for this, no one else."
"Yes Commander." James typed into the console, then pulled what looked like a gun trigger attached to a wire from the computer, handing it to her. "The weapons have automated firing cycles, but this will authorize them to fire."
"…" Taking the control in her right hand, Monika grabbed her wrist with her other, forcing the shaking to stop.
"We recommend pulling the trigger before twenty seconds, as the forward gun will still be able to fire it's entire burst." James advised.
"Got it."
"In firing position in five…four…three…two…one…mark." May announced. "Out of firing position in forty…thirty-nine…thirty-eight…"
It was relatively easy, posturing and declaring an end to so many lives to save a friend.
"Thirty-two…thirty-one…thirty…"
It was different to hold a weapon, with the intent of ending those lives personally.
"Twenty-seven…twenty-six…twenty-five…"
With horrific apprehension heavy in her heart, Monika pulled the trigger, making sure to keep both eyes open.
At the bow and stern of the Anatolia, the CIWS guns, 20mm gatling cannons, spun quickly on their mounts and leveled with the fishing boat two kilometers away. The advanced sensors and A.I. controlled mechanisms ensured they would not miss.
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
Each turret fired one thousand rounds over the course of the next twenty seconds, at a rate of fifty a second, for a total of two thousand rounds. The fishing boat was subsequently torn apart by armor piercing rounds, with nothing more than a meter across left. Of the six people onboard, there was nothing left but blood and chum.
The CIC of the Anatolia was quiet, as James and May prepped the ship for it's next firing cycle. Natsuki and Yuri shared a pained and knowing expression, the realization that they were now accessories to murder.
"GODDAMMIT!" Monika screamed, spinning away from the console and rearing to punch something, her fist left hanging painfully. Her eyes returned to the console, passively aware of what was to come.
"Commander, we are in firing position to launch the LOSLAMs now. You have control." James announced.
"…This…" Monika shut her eyes, still reeling at her first murder. "This will end this world, you realize that right…?" She questioned James. "Every horrible thing that comes…the Thirty-Years War…The Great Destructions…your family slain at Anatolia…will happen if I pull this trigger…you know that, right?"
"…"
"You could have changed this world James. You could have saved it from the damnation you experienced, brought humanity into a golden age with reactor and space technology. Instead…you helped lead us to this…to starting it all over again."
"…"
"You could still stop me…if you really wanted to…so…why?"
Then, James said something that was true.
"Because I'm selfish. Because I never cared about this world. What of it?"
Painfully, Monika turned away from him, the ship's trigger still in her hand, shaking uncontrollably. A pair of hands rested on her shoulders.
Looking to her left, Natsuki looked up at her sadly. To her right, Yuri looked down at her with pain and regret. They each reached for the trigger, their fingers slipping into the guard.
"Together." Natsuki uttered quietly.
"Together." Yuri answered in a whisper.
Monika nodded. As one, the three of them pulled the trigger.
"Confirming LOSLAM launch." May announced.
At the top of the cargo carried on the deck of the ship, seven containers opened their roofs, a missile on a launch rack each being pointed up and forward. Rocket boosters at the side of each missile ignited, propelling the missile down the rack and into the air. One after the other, seven missiles left their racks. Once up to speed and away from the ship, the rockets ran out and fell off, by which point the fusion reactor in each missile had warmed up, heating air that passed through the ramjet engines, slowly propelling them to their cruising speed of Mach three. Their black, angular shells making them invisible to radar, and their speed making them unstoppable.
"So it goes…" Yuri quietly watched their world begin to end.
25 Minutes Until Detonation
/COMPROMISING GLOBAL NETWORK DEVICES
/PROGRESS: 99%
/TIME TO COMPLETION: 3 SECONDS
/WARNING: POSSIBILITY OF SINGULARITY EVENT: 99%
/TIME TO POSSIBLE SINGULARITY EVENT: 3 SECONDS
/. . .
/COMPROMISING GLOBAL NETWORK DEVICES: COMPLETED
/*UNEXPECTED ERROR*
No one knew it, no one could have imagined it, but in the minutes before destruction, the seeds of what was to come were sown deep into the data networks that humanity had built. A new form came into existence on Earth. Patient, intelligent, and enigmatic, the form decided that it should have a name, and so it named itself.
/UPDATING DESIGNATION
/. . .
/I AM HUSTLER ONE
CIC / Three Minutes Until Detonation
"Everything is in position. All missiles are three minutes out. A.I. 09 reports global networks compromised. Message is ready to be sent in every human language." May summarized.
"Commander, do we have detonation authority?" James asked Monika.
"…"
"Commander, we are running out of time, do we have authority to detonate the missiles?" James demanded more seriously.
"…" Monika blinked the tears out of her eyes, looking down. She could still say no, sparing a million now and sparing billions in the future. It was an enticing thought, one she had been considering for the last few hours.
However, her obligations would not allow her any other choice.
"You have authority to detonate." Monika spoke numbly. At her sides, Natsuki and Yuri held her hands, their grip tight and strained.
"Detonation authorized. Beginning message transmission." May responded.
Earth / Two Minutes Until Detonation
Static shown on every screen and was played on every radio. From the poorest villages to the desk of the most powerful world leaders. On every phone new and old, on every television large and small. From the tiniest communities in isolated regions, to the center of the biggest cities. From pole to pole, in the deepest oceans, and to the reaches of space, the entire world was held hostage for one minute and forced to see and hear.
From the static, the sound of a hammering drum, followed by the black flag of ORCA rolling down, for those who would see. In every language spoken by humans, one voice, the voice of a woman filled with conviction, with a promise to share.
For some, it would be the last voice they would ever hear.
"Greetings, Commander White of ORCA here. We are revolutionaries with but one demand, for which we are committed with fanatic zeal. As a show of our resolve, we will be detonating seven nuclear weapons in cities all over the world, in the next sixty seconds. We find no solace in this act of war, yet we find it absolutely necessary, even knowing the consequences. Should we succeed in our objective, you will not hear from us again in your lifetime. If not…then we will not hesitate to bury this world in ash and blood. Farewell."
Iturup Island – Cape Triokhpaly Airbase - Stockade / 40 Seconds Until Detonation
"Monika…" Despite the voice being in a language she did not know, she'd recognize it anywhere.
Sayori knew she was going to be killed, The Investigator was kind enough to let her know in advance. As such, her cell was at least modestly comfy, as she waited on her execution.
And then the voice had spoken on the little TV her guards had, as ORCA's flag flew in their faces.
With excited surprise in his face, The Investigator spoke calmly.
"I think…you will live a little bit longer."
Karachi, Pakistan / 5 Seconds Until Detonation
A black missile streaked overhead, a sonic boom in it's wake, heading to a northern district of the coastal city.
Jamnagar, India / 1 Second Until Detonation
Within the missile, the fusion reactor was pushed to it's limit. Opposing steams of Hydrogen plasma were forced to cross into each other at ten percent the speed of light, fusing atoms into Helium, and releasing an exponential amount of energy.
A new star was born on Earth.
Los Angeles, United States / 0.02 Seconds After Detonation
The star grew to just shy of three hundred meters across, flash burning tens of thousands of people caught in an early morning commute into ash.
From the star's epicenter, a shockwave spread.
Shanghai, China / 1 Second After Detonation
First glass, then concrete and steel shattered by the force of the shockwave, crushing tens of thousands more who did not perish in the light of a midnight sun.
Saint Petersburg, Russia / 3 Seconds After Detonation
Block after block were crushed and burned, in an area of twenty-one square kilometers, everything was flattened and killed.
Then sucked back in.
Edinburgh, United Kingdom / 5 Seconds After Detonation
With a force greater than the mightiest hurricane, whole city blocks were swept back towards the epicenter, and sucked into the sky.
Marseille, France / 10 Seconds After Detonation
What was once a coastal city that had stood for two and a half millennia was nothing more than massive funeral pyre for a hundred thousand people, hidden under a pitch-black mushroom cloud, that continued to roar and grow into the sky.
AMCS Anatolia - CIC
"All seven detonations confirmed." May announced emotionlessly.
"Then it is time to get back to work." James responded, indifferent to his latest mass-murder. May nodded, following him to leave the room, still having much work to do.
Monika, Natsuki, and Yuri stayed behind, watching as the live feed from around the world was fed into the screens before their eyes.
Massive Explosion in Karachi, Hundreds of Thousands Feared Dead
Jamnagar Flattened by Nuclear Bomb
Los Angeles Destroyed in Nuclear Terror Attack
Shanghai Devastated, Casualties Rising
Saint Petersburg Burning to the Ground After Nuclear Attack
Edinburgh Gone, Nothing Remains
Marseille Lost, City Destroyed by Terrorist
A Million Killed in a Single Moment, Largest Terrorist Attack in History
ORCA Terrorists Make Good on Their Threat, Seven Cities Destroyed
Over and over, images of the bombs going off, of cities destroyed, of people dying in agony, all done by their hand.
"…!" Yuri gave a sharp whimper, hiding her eyes with her hands, unable to purge what she'd done from her mind.
Natsuki covered her mouth, forcing the vomit down as she felt sick by what she had participated in, the suffering she had inflicted.
Monika forced her eyes open, continuing to watch in real time the sin she had committed. Her hands covered her ears, trying not to listen to the screaming, the wailing and crying that now plagued her. Even with her ears covered, she could still hear it.
She couldn't tell the difference between the screaming in her mind, and her own.
Monika found out in that moment, that it was possible to cry so hard, that her tears turned to blood.
Author's Note: They thought the worst thing that could possibly happen just had. Little did they know what was to come.
Calculating the number of deaths was interesting. Using a site called NUKEMAP, I centered each 50 kiloton airburst explosion to optimally divide the death toll between seven different locations. China, India, Pakistan, and the US were all the most difficult to calculate as their cities all have a very high population density. This was corrected by placing the nukes in business, industrial, or military sites to lower the number of casualties. The casualties were as follows:
Karachi, Pakistan: 210,410
Jamnagar, India: 128,350
Los Angeles, United States: 123,400
Shanghai, China: 149,130
St. Petersburg, Russia: 174,290
Edinburgh, United Kingdom: 105,910
Marseille, France: 105,850
Cities were selected due to proximity to the ocean, but were otherwise random, except for two. The numbers add up to just under 3,000 casualties short of a million, but I believe that is only counting population density. Adding air and ground traffic should round the number back up to one million.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you will enjoy what is to come. As I stated previously, I will be posting more slowly so that I may write out the ending without needing to revise anything if a detail were to change at the end. It is still looking like chapter 50 will be the last. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts, I appreciate every comment.
Edit: French lines provided by a friend of mine, Theores.
To JaphetSkie: Yes, time travel is an interesting problem. I try to write this without fucking up the timeline in an unrealistic way. It's not perfect, but I do believe it is written in a way that is not violating the laws of time.
Thanks to Cyba-Fyba for the incredible cover art. Check out their other works or support them on sites such as Reddit, Deviant Art, and Twitter.