[CHAPTER 10010]

"...everything you've ever known is behind your thumb…"

James Lovell

E.A.R.T.H.

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Harry Eisenhower didn't like the fact he was back inside yet another courtroom.

The businessman heaved out a sigh, ambling up to his assigned desk with a large folder of paper tucked under one arm. Once more being under the scrutiny of a collection of judges left a sour taste in his mouth. The Britannica Court of Appeals building was everything it needed to be - blank and lacklustre. A long mahogany table marked the back of the courtroom over which hung the bold blue flags of Britannica. Harry wiped at the sweat on his forehead as he took a seat. Positioned dead-centre before the three judges, Harry felt the eyes of the world as pins-and-needles down his spine. There was no jury as such, but a large audience of professionals who had been asked to spectate.

Taking a long look around the room, Eisenhower was starting to have second thoughts. His appeal was against a mandate that had already been written to strip him of HORIZON and over half the ventures he supported through GOKIA. The plans had already been publicly announced - almost as if Britannica had already decided the fate of the appeal. The whole formality by which the judges took their seats, as recorded by a pair of clerks, was decidedly sterile. It was this lack of character which made the hairs on the back of the aging man's neck stand on end. With no prosecution table, Harry felt like an ant stood before the towering blank face of the Britannica state itself.

Though, rebelling against such a huge organisation did create a tingle of mischievous excitement. Harry turned to scan the chosen members of the public behind. He almost missed Yana positioned near the back door. How had she managed to sneak in?

The faint hum of chatter in the room was silenced by a judge calling the start of the appeal. From right to left, Harry identified the supposedly unbiased individuals as Skinny, Short, and Spotty; the latter two both being rather large women. Spotty had a particularly cutting voice which she used to full extent, calling for silence across the court audience.

'Well. Here goes nothing...' Harry Eisenhower mumbled under his breath. He adjusted himself in his chair and waited for the three judges to take a seat.

'The court is now in session.' Spotty declared loudly. The added hint of Scandinavian to her speech only seemed to make her words sound harsher as the judge introduced their various subsidiaries. Once they'd all settled in, Spotty pulled back the sleeve of her gown and reviewed a softscreen on the table before her. With deliberation, she began to describe the context to the court hearing.

Only a few minutes into the description of the appeal and Harry began to wish he hadn't skipped his morning coffee. It had been a toss-up between consuming caffeine to maintain alertness and the substance making him need the loo. The businessman also regretted not getting a professional lawyer for the appeal. However, it felt like poetic justice to stand out there by himself...even if he did need a pee.

'Are you paying attention Mr Eisenhower?'

Harry hid a yawn behind his hand and nodded. The GOKIA chairman tried to relax, sprawling behind his small desk. He ruffled the folder of papers he'd brought as notes with a chubby finger.

'For the record, would you please confirm the purpose of your appeal.' The spotty woman requested broadly. She had a round face which appeared to house a perpetual scowl, not to mention what looked like acne.

There was a long moment before Harry found his voice, 'Yes, uh...I am appealing against the actions of the Britannica government to discredit the company GOKIA for which I am former CEO and presently chairman.'

'Discredit.' Spotty chewed on the word. Leaning forward so as to rest her elbows on her desk, she spoke over the top of her clasped hands. 'Could you define exactly in what ways the state of Britannica has attempted to harm the reputation of the company "GOKIA"?'

And just like that, the appeal began. Harry didn't want to think of the court proceedings as a trial, but the probing questions from the three judges steadily became more confrontational. The businessman's hearing was an attempt to bring to attention GOKIA's innocence over the resulting impacts of the HORIZON crash.

The line of defense which Harry promoted ranged from claims over unlawful sanctions already limiting trading to threatening behavior from the Britannica government. The latter were effectively attempting to confiscate his company and Harry made sure to explain the situation as frankly as only he could. The appeal was compelling. Throughout, the businessman spoke clearly and firmly, taking sips of water to stop his tongue feeling like sandpaper. Harry's experience of board meetings and hundreds of presentations didn't seem to dent the steel resolve of the judges however.

'Not to mention-' Eisenhower straightened his tie '-the misconduct by which the Britannica government unlawfully arrested and detained myself following-'

'And yet-!' Harry wasn't expecting to be interrupted by the skinny judge. He had taken the reins in an attempt to undermine Eisenhower's apparent truthfulness, '-we have evidence of more serious misconduct by GOKIA.'

The man cleared his throat loudly, before leaning forward to speak. A microphone amplified his raspy voice. Harry's adept, but mostly ignored, statement had been falling on deaf ears.

'This includes the recent LEONOV programme, from which I have reports...has been illegally tested for civilian use. Can you confirm this Mr Eisenhower? Given that such testing would be a breach of your contract with the Britannica, and international, space programmes?'

'I don't believe you have any evidence the LEONOV programme was tested for civilians. If so, I would like to see it myself.' Harry spoke as calmly as he could muster, 'A single LEONOV robot was tested by a civilian to ensure quality of life during simulations when the machinery is employed in low earth orbit. The LEONOV hardware is specifically designed for usage in space.'

'Is that so?' The skinny man rubbed at his perfectly groomed chin. His spider-like fingers wrapped around his face to the extent that he ended up stroking either side of his cheeks. 'Then you cannot deny that you used your new-' The wiry judge scanned a softscreen tablet on his desk, '-immersion capabilities, which you registered as strictly experimental may I add; to improperly test your LEONOV programme...breaching the strict guidelines which granted approval by Britannica in twenty-seventy?'

'There was nothing improper about what I did.' Harry bristled,

'Have you been using new immersion technology to install human intelligence into computer networks?' Skinny refused to back down. Each question seemed to draw him further and further of his chair. At this point, the judge practically had their stomach pressed against the desk before them.

'No.' Harry replied hotly. The businessman put his hands on the table, 'I've been completely open about the use of uploading and immersion to control robotic machines remotely on Earth and in space. Both techniques act as a remote method to control the recipient LEONOV only. I have not been maliciously using human minds to control computer networks as you suggested.'

'But in order to control these machines remotely, you are using-'

'Of course I'm using bloody computer systems!' Harry gritted his teeth. He didn't mean to snap, regretting the outburst as soon as it had happened. A trickle of cold sweat ran down his back under a tight white shirt, 'But I did not install anybody inside a computer. If you want to ask technical questions, make sure you know what you're actually asking!'

The skinny judge sniffed, before nodding slowly. His bald head bobbed like a pigeon. Britannica had modernised much of the court system to the point that judges no longer wore grey wigs. The court of appeal was bland without any of the pomp and gold emboss. Scowling, Skinny tapped at his softscreen for a few moments. He waved at his spotty companion to continue the line of inquiry. She sniffed, setting back her wide shoulders before speaking.

'Then how would you describe your process of uploading Mr Eisenhower?'

'I am not here to give a lecture on computer engineering.' Harry avoided the question. There was a small murmur from the collection of professionals seated behind. The businessman wasn't sure if it was condemning, or in agreement at what would be a highly tedious process.

'I am asking a technical question relevant to this case.' Spotty repeated, harsher this time. The Scandinavian accent in her voice sounded like chalk on a blackboard.

'And I refuse to answer.' Harry set his jaw firmly, 'Uploading isn't relevant to this case. Myself and colleagues have already spent over thirty hours in court defending my strictly legal and lawful use of uploading in a previous situation regarding James Lovell. I'm sure you can look over that in your own time.'

'There is no need to be so standoffish Mr Eisenhower.' Spotty inspected the businessman so intensely it might have been mistaken for a staring contest. Harry's open rebellion against the repeated questioning was something Spotty was obviously new to. She calmed herself however, taking a few seconds to note something down on her softscreen. 'But you can confirm that James was the only person your company GOKIA has ever uploaded?'

'As a result of his death, yes.' Harry wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

'That skirts my question.' Spotty replied bluntly. She leant over her softscreen, 'GOKIA has not uploaded anybody else aside from James Lovell?'

There was a long pause,

'No.' Harry didn't exactly appear confident in his answer.

A surprising amount of tension had built in the courtroom regarding that single question. It was as if, thanks to the antagonistic inquest, Harry was going to declare numerous secretive uploaders. It wouldn't have been that far fetched, given allegations the Britannica government had made as an excuse to confiscate HORIZON. The sound of the clerks' frenzied typing amplified in their corner as note continued to be made on the appeal. Spotty seemed to accept the small pause in the case, eyeing the invited professionals as if gauging the response of a jury. She cleared her throat once more.

'Part of your appeal is also in regard to forwarded concerns that the Britannica Government have for the national and international safety over your artificial intelligence, Baba, currently used to manage GOKIA's HORIZON virtual reality platform. Baba has been influencing global computer systems including stock markets, currency exchanges in Eastern Europe, and share prices in various companies.' Spotty barely took a breath, 'Have you got any evidence to suggest otherwise?'

'I would like to see what evidence Britannica's Government have supplied to support their claim.' Harry countered.

'May I remind you this is your appeal Mr Eisenhower, the evidence which you ask for has already been supplied.' Spotty's sharp accent only exaggerated the sarcasm dripping from her tone.

'Yeah, and it was bullshit.' Harry leant back on his chair, crossing his arms. 'I want evidence that isn't merely correlation without cause. Just because similar things occurred when exDEV was around doesn't mean that Baba is creating the same effects.'

'So you are denying that the HORIZON crash had an effect of global trading markets, technological stocks, and currency excha-'

'No.' The defendant cut through. He rubbed at his forehead with a chubby hand, 'Of course the crash and following shutdown of HORIZON had repercussions globally...but this wasn't something we were in control of. It was a computer glitch, not whatever staged nonsense that Britannica claimed.'

The large female judge was obviously taken aback at the rebuke. She twiddled her thumbs for a moment. Harry leant back in his chair, deciding that now wouldn't be the best moment to reveal the true tampering occurring across the internet.

'What evidence do you have to suggest the glitch was purely accidental?' The skinny judge jumped in. He tapped his long spider-like fingers on the desk. 'We have yet to discuss your publicly released statement regarding the cause and duration of the HORIZON shutdown. Given the timing of the crash a few months before the parliamentary elections and the importance that HORIZON had on fixing-'

'This is all hypothetical.' Harry interrupted loudly. He adjusted his beige tie with a chubby hand as if to make more room for his neck. 'And you cannot make these claims when the crash was purely accidental. GOKIA followed a predefined safety protocol flawlessly to protect the HORIZON platform. I have been totally transparent about the unexpected crash and how it was dealt with.'

'And yet you intentionally shutdown HORIZON?'

'Yeah.' Eisenhower didn't bother hiding the mocking sarcasm in his voice, 'To find and isolate the computer glitch, and then re-code to ensure that it can't happen again. I've provided as evidence the full crash report and following logs on removing the glitch from our systems.'

There was a pause,

'I believe that on these logs it shows you could intentionally recreate the same glitch?' The soft voice of the shorter judge was a welcome relief from the frenzied questioning. Harry didn't know it was a good-cop bad-cop tactic, but it worked. She sipped at a glass of water.

'Yes. We recreated the same conditions to ensure that a similar glitch wouldn't be triggered again.'

That seemed sufficient for the judges. Or at least, it gave them a few seconds to mull over their thoughts. Harry scratched at his chin. He'd been stuck behind his desk for a few hours now and his backside was getting sore. Adjusting his tie had become a bad habit as he struggled to know what to do with his hands. The atmosphere in the courtroom had settled into a quiet intensity that left Harry sweating.

In the lull, the skinny and short judges conversed with their chairs pulled back from the table, microphones turned off. Their faces were expressionless when the old male judge, almost skeletal in a tight shirt and blue tie, leant forward to speak.

'You logs didn't display exactly what triggered the glitch, and why such a weakness would exist in HORIZON's coding.'

'Uh, no.' Harry avoided blatantly lying. He knew exactly what caused the glitch. However, now wasn't the right moment to reveal that the global computer systems was aware and openly attacking anything human immersed in online systems. That might cause an uproar Harry wasn't ready to trigger. Instead he rolled his tongue around his mouth and pretended to ponder.

'We're still unsure what caused the glitch. As for errors in our code, it was simply a matter of not being prepared for such an unexpected…' Harry trailed off. He avoid saying Missing Number by a heartbeat, only recovering to stutter, 'unexpected sequence of events.'

'So this was a fault in GOKIA's coding?' Skinny pushed, shooting out the questions before the GOKIA chairman had time to gather his thoughts.

That didn't stop an idea from popping into Harry's head. It was a possibility he'd been toying with in the sleepless night leading up to the appeal. Eyeing the table of judges on the raised platform before him, and the bold standard of the Britannica flags behind, he couldn't stop a small grin creeping across his chubby face.

'Yes.' Harry sat up in his chair, 'However, I argue that you are charging my entire company over the actions of only one member of staff...in regards to how the crash was initially dealt with. Penalising a whole company over the actions of one person, which should be an internal matter anyhow, is ridiculous.'

There was a pause,

Out of the three judges running the appeal, only Short had wits quick enough to even fathom a reply. 'Uh...given it was a computer fault, I don't understand how a single person can be blamed? As the coding is used under the ownership of GOKIA, your company is responsible.'

Harry's smile was deliciously smug,

'Well. You could blame Baba. I mean, she was the first person to react to the crash, running safety measures before anybody could even react. She alone was responsible-'

'We cannot blame your artificial intelligence for the HORIZON shutdown Mr Eisenhower.' The short judge continued. She sat up straight in her chair, sweeping away a long fringe of hair from her eyes. Thick glasses magnified her face to a distorted shape which was almost comical.

'Why not?' Harry's face was coy as he toyed with the idea, 'She was the person who completed the shutdown.'

'Because-' Spotty's tone was like a mother telling her child enough was enough. 'This is not an aspect of your appeal.'

'I am appealing against what are false allegations the Britannica state have made against my company. This involves falsely exaggerating the dangers or AI...and Baba in particular.

The three judges glanced at each other as if hoping somebody else would speak. After some deliberation, the short judge roller her shoulders before clearing her throat. Large glasses exaggerated her eyes.

'I think now would be a good point for a break.'

Harry couldn't help but feel like he'd already won a small victory.

The GOKIA chairman knew there was nothing personal about his appeal, but he was beginning to feel like the penalties being inflicted by the Britannica government were aimed at him specifically. Had they known the businessman properly, they'd had attempted to settle this fairly outside of court...rather than blackmailing him. Harry was too proud to make it easy. After a long toilet break, he returned to his desk with a more favourable mindset than when he first arrived.

Of course he cared very much about losing control of his company. But at this point, all Harry wanted to achieve was a suitable fuck you to a country who had already made up their mind.

The appeal went on for hours. Following a number of objections to blatant scaremongering by Britannica, Harry had to continuously explain numerous data sets disproving various excuses for the Britannica state to take control of GOKIA. The pinnacle of the appeal seemed to be Baba herself. The businessman hadn't realised just how deeply ingrained the fear of uncontrollable technology really was in the general population. Still, against better judgement, that was the battleground which he chose for his appeal.

Harry took the stance that Baba should be treated as a human and employee of GOKIA and refused to back down. Sure, he was trying to stop Britannica confiscating his whole company, but that was a mute point. If Harry could force the state's hand to acknowledge Baba's rights, then many of Britannica's technology scares would become obsolete.

After literally two hours of fighting over the true accountability of the AI for her own actions, the short judge finally spoke up. It was late in the day and the three court personnel were more than tired of Harry's bullish responses. Shorty was the quietest of the three in the court of appeal, only appearing to interject when the other two had run of things out to say. This time however, she leant forward and regarding Harry over the rims of thick glasses.

'If we agreed that your artificial intelligence can be classified as a person, then you would need somebody to represent her in the court of law.'

Harry nodded, remaining silent. I wasn't that he didn't have anything to cheekily parry with, but his throat was so dry that speaking had become painful.

The short judge continued in an expressionless voice, 'And Given that the artificial intelligence is constrained by a computer, not to mention all the new legislation that would have to be in place to for such a trial to occur, I think your appeal is a case for the supreme court.'

The silence that remained when Short had finished was almost deafening. Harry gulped, internally groaning at what was effectively a threat to drag out the appeal for months rather than days. However, it was the stunned silence that made a call out from the guests behind even more unexpected.

'I can stand for Baba.' A woman asserted loudly from the stalls.

For a second there was only a shocked silence within the courtroom. Then, all at once, there was a communal shuffling of seats as everybody turned to look at the figure. Harry scooted around in his chair, squinting up at what had begun to feel like his audience. Maybe it was tiredness, but the woman's voice sounded somehow familiar. A burst of chatter started to fill the room at the unexpected self-announcement.

'Quiet please!' The spotty judge cut over the clamour, 'To the person that just interrupted the appeal, would you step forward and identify in what capacity are you able to represent the artificial intelligence?'

It didn't pass Harry's attention that one of the clerks was already calling security though his pocket softscreen. However, any concerns were quickly forgotten when Eisenhower managed to glimpse a proper look at the figure.

His mouth dropped open, 'Oh. Shit.'

There was no mistaking the woman that shuffled out of their seat. Even if it had been years since Harry had last seen her face, there was no mistaking his ex-wife. Corey had confidence in her stride that was indisputable, shoulders back and head upright. Sparkling blue eyes met the stares of the guests as if they were a challenge. She descended the steps to the centre of the court room with a natural grace in juxtaposition to a grey office wear.

'In what capacity are you able to represent the artificial intelligence Baba?' Spotty tried again, louder this time.

'Because I'm Baba.' Corey stated calmly. She didn't need to shout, her clear voice filing every corner of the bland courtroom. 'Or at least...she's me. Kinda.'

'That's impossible!' Spotty judge explained incongruously. Her own call seemed to mirror the feeling in the room, only amplifying the clamour. The guests behind seemed as eager to question the new figure as much as the judges themselves. Within the growing brouhaha, it was only Harry that was left unfazed about the reveal. Not because he knew just how true it was, but by how absorbed he was in Corey herself. As a young woman she'd been happy, athletic, and almost angelic in appearance with long blonde hair and a freckled face. Age had greyed her appearance and wrinkled her skin, but there was still a collected grace under it all that called to Harry.

'Baba is currently the world's only validated and legal artificial intelligence.' Spotty's voice was amplified over the courtroom via her microphone, 'Your claim is impossible.'

Harry gritted his teeth. Wiping at his mouth, he leant forward across his table and spoke clearly into his own mic. It was the only way to get his voice above the loud buzz in the courtroom.

'I can confirm that Baba is Corey.'

The complete lack of noise amongst the invited professionals was unexpected. For years Harry had had nightmares about publicly sharing such information...something that, up to now, had only been known to a handful of close individuals. He'd imagined outrage, rebellion, his company falling into ruin. But no. There was only a stunned and frankly unbelieving silence in the court of appeals.

Harry sniffed, trying to calm the frantic beating in his heart.

'This is outrageous! What evidence do you have to support this claim?' Spotty verged on disparate, eyes narrowing as she regarding Corey over her smartscreen. Already, two large guards were hovering at the courtroom side door.

'Because-' Harry went to explain but was interrupted by Corey herself.

'Because Baba is in fact a digitised copy of myself...a clone of my own intelligence.' The woman replied calmly. 'Programmers generated Baba based on my own consciousness back when HORIZON was just a concept and GOKIA hadn't even been founded.' Corey paused next to Harry's table, eyes ahead and completely neglecting the businessman. Harry's face had dropped into an expressionless stupor, if anything to hide the whirlwind of emotions spinning around inside his head.

'We can't just have-!' Harry was no longer listening. Amidst Spotty's feverish debate about the spectacle, the balding man leant over and tried to grab Corey's attention.

'What the hell are you doing here!?'

'Mr Eisenhower, this is an important address!' Spotty exploded at the insolent behavior. However, she was quickly snuffled by the short positioned on the chair next to her. The spectacled woman leant forwards and spoke firmly into her microphone.

'I think now would be a good time for a break. We shall convene in twenty minutes.'

Harry was out of his seat in an instant. Not to run for a much needed toilet break this time, but to at least be recognised by the woman waiting next to his desk. Harry didn't notice the judges stand and leave, nor the shifting in the invited guests' stalls. The businessman only had eyes for one person. Corey.

'What the...wha...why?' He stuttered. The words didn't come as the woman turned to her ex-husband. A sad smile dotted her narrow face, outlined by recently dyed curls of fair hair.

'Because it needed to be done.' Corey shrugged as if it was no big deal, 'I've been following your endeavours for a while now...mostly because that's what I've been paid to do. Britannica needs a shake up. And this is it.'

Her eyes traced up and down Harry's aging figure.

'I see you're keeping well. Long time no see.'

Harry blinked, unable to comprehend everything at once. 'Uh. Yeah. I…I was kind of hoping to drop the Gaia bombshell for that.'

'Gaia?' Corey chuckled, rubbing at her chin. She gave a long look around the Court of Appeals as if taking in the bland room for the first time. 'Is that one of Yana's nicknames? Ha. She hasn't changed.' Corey's laugh was like music, soft and genuine.

'Huh. James's actually.' Harry pulled a face. He adjusted his weight from foot to foot, begging for attention off the woman. Corey smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.

'That's the uploader kid right? And Gaia?'

'Yeah. Uh.' Harry dropped into a hoarse whisper. His eyes glanced around the front of the courtroom. A judge was already talking with a clerk and a suited man who could have been anybody. A few sideways glances in their direction spoke louder than words. 'The global computer system has gained sentience.'

Corey nodded as if the information was no more important than a second page headline. 'Why else do you think I'm here?'

Harry went to say something but was taken aback when Corey burst out into laughter. It was a warm chuckle that seemed to tinkle.

'Well. It's not that simple, exactly. Baba needs to be shut down. Given whatever bullshit you were pulling out your arse, I felt like I needed to step in. It's quite important.'

'What!?' Harry spluttered. The sudden sound drew the attention of a few guests keeping their seats warm in the stalls. 'I thought you were on my side?'

'It's complicated' Corey sighed, 'Machines do not think.'

'So you just waltz in and take control?' Harry's mood darkened. Although still smitten over the woman, all the heartache and worry that she'd caused him was started to bubble to the surface. The uncertainty, stress, and utter confusion swirled around his mind. 'I guess you can do that…'

'Look. They're checking who I am and my credentials now...' Corey shuffled on her feet, nodding over towards the clerks. One was already picking up their softscreen and heading over. She hummed to herself, scanning the courtroom before finally settling her eyes on Harry. She hadn't seen the man in years. It was amazing how much and how little he'd really changed. Sure, Harry might have put on weight and lost some hair...but there was a fierce sparkle to his eyes that were as fierce as they were distant.

'This is my case.' Harry spoke firmly, forcing eye contact with his ex-wife. 'Why did you have to get involved? In five minutes that stunt is going to be plastered every major media outlet!'

'Because whatever happens now is going to make history.' Corey smiled sadly, as if that explained everything. She made a fact of ignoring the bitterness in Harry's voice.

'And so you step in, undermine my appeal, and boldly declare James isn't the only uploader...and he's not even the first!' A cold rage began to build in the large man's chest. 'What gives you the right to do that? Just because you're some high-flying head of security? '

Corey didn't rise to the challenge. Instead she brushed her hair to the side and spoke after a long sigh.

'You know, I could ask the same of you Harry. What gives you the right to make something like Baba without asking me?'

END

OK! So this chapter turned out to be a bigger pain to write than I first realised. Excuse any inaccuracies in what turned out to be a rather lengthy court scene, some of which I can get away with given the fictitious nature of Britannica. There's not much jargon to explain. To summarise, the "Court of Appeal" is the highest court within present day England/Wales, with only the UK Supreme Court acting any higher. Given Britannica is based on a split UK joining with other European countries, the legal system is based on the UK government.

Once again, expect a chain of uploads over the next few Sundays to wrap this story in a few weeks. The final epilogue chapter will include some extra world building and comments on the whole EOrRRoR story and timeline. If you've got any questions or plot holes that need filling, drop a PM/review. As always, thanks for reading and a huge thanks to R'love who has acted as quality control for these final chapters. Enjoy!