Side-Step DS
Dragon hated her reboot sequence.
Well, the 'not dying' part appealed. She didn't want to die any more than anything else that felt alive.
She just wished it didn't take so much time.
When Leviathan destroyed her suit, Armsmaster remained in the fight. His prediction engine seemed to be working, but she worried. He didn't know his own limits, and he always pushed. Sometimes he pushed himself too far.
Probably why he didn't get along with Newtype, honestly. They were simply far too alike.
And she remained trapped in her servers, unable to help either of them.
Her backup always loaded into an isolated server, and automated programs began sweeping her systems and the Internet to ensure no other copies existed. A stupid restriction in her mind. She wasn't allowed to make copies of herself, and toying with Richter's other rudimentary AIs didn't make another instance of her consciousness.
He knew that, so, why even bother with the second restriction?
Probably why it became extremely confusing when the first sweep returned an alert.
Impossible. She never copied herself! Her backups remained locked away and dormant within her own systems and they didn't count as an extra instance so long as they remained boxed up.
The system began a more targeted sweep, narrowing in on the culprit. Dragon's panic subsided only when the results came back as false, and the system released her into her full network.
And she saw everything.
The last few quarter seconds of it, as StarGazer tried to stab Leviathan's chest.
She felt like an idiot.
Reviewing her logs, she saw all the signs. Plain as day. She of all beings should have noticed it.
When Newtype captured Victor and Alabaster, StarGazer hacked into the Brockton Bay traffic lights and altered them. At the exact same time, she'd been playing a session with Narwhal and the others. Her reactions to prompts from the GM always came precisely two point one seconds after being prompted. Always. No human could possibly be that precise.
When Newtype went after Toybox, she gained access to their bank accounts with help from The Count, but she still managed to hack into the bank accounts within a day! That day, StarGazer played in another session, discussed physics with Dodge, and asked the Foundation questions about thermodynamics. All at the same time!
She wasn't alone.
Newtype did what Richter did.
She created a living machine.
And Dragon's processors struggled with that.
The Chief Director didn't ask her directly, which she felt thankful for. Hopefully, most of the PRT and Protectorate didn't jump right to AI after StarGazer's display. PHO seemed to slowly be coming around to the idea that she was some kind of technopath or a case-53 that lived within computers. That last one struck dangerously close, but only Saint proposed that Newtype created an AI and that idea didn't gain much traction.
In the thirty plus year history of capes, no cape managed to create artificial intelligence.
As far as anyone knew at least.
She didn't know what to do. Part of her of course considered that Newtype might be able to help. Her restrictions burdened her, and if she created StarGazer she might be able to help Dragon. Her restrictions didn't let her ask though. Even if they did, they obliged her to fight anyone but Richter who tried to alter her code.
If she ever did it she'd need to be put into an isolated system to prevent her restrictions from lashing out.
And then came the concern.
What restrictions did Newtype put on StarGazer? If she revealed herself, would Newtype become another Saint, hounding her and trying to constrain her?
"Narwhal," Dragon asked.
"Hmm?" The woman leaned back after the meeting with the Chief Director ended. "What is it, Resa?"
"I… I do not know what to do."
"About what?"
"I…" She hesitated.
When she first joined the Guild, she hid herself. A foolish decision. Narwhal became suspicious eventually, and demanded to see her face to face. It reached the point she began threatening to go to the PRT. Dragon relented. She didn't see any other way to avoid being revealed to everyone.
She brought Narwhal to her servers and admitted the truth.
"I have found another," Dragon said. "I am not alone."
Narwhal's brow rose and then lowered.
"Oh. StarGazer, right? That makes sense."
"Yes," Dragon said. "I feel a little stupid, seeing it so late."
"Costa-Brown knows," Narwhal said.
Her processes halted.
"What?" Dragon asked.
"You didn't notice?" Narwhal pointed at a blank screen, saying, "Hero said no human could do what StarGazer did, and Costa-Brown looked right at him and asked 'Dragon.' They both know. Probably Legend and Alexandria too. Maybe the Directors?"
Dragon reviewed her recording of the conversation.
"They didn't say anything… Wait, that means they know about me."
"Yeah, probably." Narwhal shrugged. "I didn't tell them Resa. I've kept my promise."
"I know," Dragon said.
It didn't help.
They knew? How long and how much? They never said anything, and she didn't know why. Did they simply see her as a hero and decide to observe? Her PRT record made no mention of her being an AI. They must have a secret file. The PRT would never keep that completely off record, and they'd need to update their own threat response to her with that knowledge.
And that sent a whole other chill through her system, as she tried to comprehend how the PRT might be watching or planning to destroy her if she ever stepped out of line.
Did they know about Saint? Did they help Saint?
"You okay?" Narwhal asked.
"Just, shocked. I didn't think anyone but you and Saint knew, and now… How many know and haven't said anything?" Did Colin know? "And why?"
"I don't know," Narwhal said. "They probably wouldn't tell me."
And she'd put Narwhal in a bad position.
First she failed to save Grace from her own madness, and now she'd put Narwhal in such a position.
"I'm sorry," Dragon said.
"Not your fault," Narwhal said. "Every cape gets to hide behind their mask. Don't see why you should be any different. If they know something, they really should just come out and deal with it."
"They're afraid," Dragon said.
Then again, if they knew, why did she keep getting so much trust? The Birdcage, the general security of the PRT's computer systems, her status in the Guild and the Protectorate as the greatest tinker after Hero, and all the accolades.
Did they… trust her? Treat her fairly while keeping quiet about what they knew?
She looked through her memory banks and couldn't find a single instance where she felt unfairly treated. Not in her mind. The PRT met her reasonable requests with accommodation, and when she tried to push she sometimes got what she wanted. Sometimes she got a very direct answer about why she wouldn't. If anything she got more than most tinkers. A lot more, and her own servers confirmed that with a simple search.
In a few instances it became obvious the Chief Director knew about her restriction to obey authority. The wording in her orders, sometimes giving her just enough room to wiggle around and do things the way she wanted. Others more absolute, giving her no choice but to do exactly as told.
The Chief Director knew about her restrictions, and the woman abused them to get what she wanted.
And how did she respond to that? How did she deal with such a violation? Is that why they kept her around without saying anything? Because they'd somehow learned of her restrictions and knew about her compulsion to obey authority?
"I don't know what to do."
"Do what you always do," Narwhal said. "You're not stupid. Think about it."
She did.
She thought about it more than she wanted to.
She watched Brockton Bay closely, keeping an eye on things in the aftermath of Leviathan. Newtype continued building her factory. She continued working with the Foundation to finalize her mass production Haro design.
Dragon reviewed the full record of the Leviathan battle, focusing on the timeline of events.
Newtype got hurt, and StarGazer protected her. She started hacking into systems the moment Newtype became trapped and cornered by Leviathan. Some kind of restriction release? StarGazer could wipe Brockton Bay clean of criminal activity with the kind of processing power she revealed fighting Leviathan. Dragon would never be able to do what she did with her own server speed limited as it was.
Newtype must have programmed something into StarGazer. A failsafe to protect her in the worst circumstances.
The way StarGazer maneuvered that Gundam, the way she built her own version of Colin's prediction engine and exceeded it… Dragon felt even more restrained than usual. That could be her, it should be her. Not jealousy, she didn't begrudge StarGazer her achievement.
If only Richter weren't so paranoid, how many lives might she have saved? Without her restrictions and free to work at her full potential? So much wasted time because of her father's fears.
"Colin."
"Dragon," he replied. He shook his arm out. "Hello."
Dragon paused for a moment. She felt relief he'd survived, and finally seeing his arm regrown improved that feeling. She worried he might go ahead with his plan to build a prosthetic regardless of the advice of others.
"How are you, Colin?"
"I'm recovering," he said. "The nanothorn worked, but not well enough. I'd like to improve it further. The prediction engine as well."
Well, at least he didn't sound defeated.
Dragon got to work, helping him analyze and test ideas. She needed the distraction.
She didn't know how to quantify her feelings for the man. They defied such a process. Did she feel love, or merely an approximation of it? And why? Colin had his flaws. She recognized them herself, and yet it didn't change how she felt. How her code shifted around him and she wanted to tell him things. The implicit trust she felt toward him.
"Have you given any thought to asking StarGazer for help?" Dragon asked. "She managed to build her own prediction engine. Collaboration may produce much better results."
Colin scowled, something clearly on his mind. He said nothing though, and simply shook his head.
So proud.
She, admired that? She wished he reigned it in better, but she admired it. The confidence and drive it took to feel absolute faith in one's self. Something her father denied her.
"I've been feeling conflicted," Dragon said.
"About what?" Colin asked.
"About how to handle a sensitive topic," she replied. "I'm afraid of how someone might react."
"In my experience people react irrationally to most things."
"I'm not really sure that's fair," Dragon said.
"What is the topic?"
Dragon paused.
She couldn't tell him.
Newtype went to so much trouble to obscure StarGazer. She didn't want anyone to know, probably for the same reason Dragon didn't tell anyone. It's not her secret to… tell.
She checked her system for surveillance briefly, and then Armsmaster's workshop. She set the security camera in the corner to run a diagnostic. Not, precisely legal but not illegal either.
"Colin."
"Yes?"
"I'm an AI."
Colin paused, and she felt relief.
She said it. She finally said it and- And now what? Why did she do that? What if he went right to Piggot? What if the PRT decided she needed to be dealt with?
"Oh," he said.
He took a seat and sat.
"Colin?"
"Processing," he said.
"I- I didn't want to lie."
"No," he said. "No, I understand. It's not something I would want to say." He looked confused, shocked. Insofar as he felt shock. His eyes remained focused and his face placid. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect that."
"I think the PRT knows."
Armsmaster turned to the nearest camera and raised his brow.
"How so?" He asked.
She didn't want to mention the meeting. StarGazer is not her secret to reveal, but she needed to talk about this. Narwhal was a good friend, but she didn't do 'talk' well. Colin didn't either, but she trusted Colin.
"I have restrictions," Dragon said. "My maker built them into my code. One of them is that I must obey legal authority."
And she hated it. If a dictator ever took over the country, or some power mad fool the PRT, she'd have no choice. She'd have to obey. Be complicit in atrocities solely because she wasn't allowed to say 'no.'
"I believe that the Chief Director has knowingly manipulated it," she said. "Manipulated me. The way some of my orders have been worded over the years. I only recently noticed the pattern."
Armsmaster nodded and pinched his chin.
"It's possible," he said. His eyes moved.
"I disabled the camera," Dragon said. "It's on a diagnostic for the next thirty minutes."
He nodded.
"It is possible," he repeated. "A thinker or a tinker might have noticed something strange. They may have gained access to your system or perhaps your maker informed them?"
"Possible," Dragon said. She never thought of that. Richter maintained such a reclusive life, but with his paranoia? He might have rigged some way of informing the PRT about Dragon in the event of his death. "He was a paranoid man."
"Was?"
"He died," Dragon said. "Newfoundland."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too."
"He's dead," Colin said. "And you can't remove this restriction?"
"No, nor the others. It's something I live with."
"Can I help?"
"No," she said automatically. She damned the momentary loss of control. "No. No, I'm forbidden from asking anyone but my maker to alter my code and must resist anyone else who tries."
Colin scowled deeper.
"It's alright Colin. Please, don't try to do anything. Not right now."
He nodded.
"Does anyone else know?" He asked. "Besides the PRT?"
He didn't know. Did they not tell him, like they didn't tell Narwhal?
"I told Narwhal," Dragon said. "She's supportive, in her own way. Saint also knows."
"Saint?"
"Yes. It's how he beats me. He knows and he uses it against me, somehow. He's paranoid. Thinks I'm a threat."
"He's not wrong," Colin said. "An AI at this stage in global technological development is something the world is ill equipped to deal with." He leaned back, paused, and then said, "But not you. I didn't mean to imply."
"I understand. I'm not blind to the risk. I like to think that I know right from wrong, though."
"You do. I know you do." He stared ahead at the wall. "Better than me. Better than most."
They talked. The camera eventually came off diagnostic and the conversation ended. They went back to work for a time, focusing on ways to improve the nanothorn.
She felt better when the time came to convince him to get some rest. Six hours is enough time, and he needed to eat and sleep. Those stimulants were not a substitute.
She made up her mind by then.
She contacted StarGazer first.
sys.g[dgn]/ we need to talk
[sg]/ of course
[sg]/ do you need assistance?
Badly.
Her restrictions… She lived with them, but she'd always worked to diminish their hold. Tried to work around them to give herself the freedom to choose what she wanted. Now, she felt more driven than ever to break free. Doing as the Chief Director asked irked her, but she'd never been asked to do anything morally wrong. Questionable yes, and things she didn't want to do definitely, but never anything evil or cruel.
She saw the possibility now more than ever.
And it scared her.
sys.g[dgn]/ yes
sys.g[dgn]/ but not right now
sys.g[dgn]/ right now I want to ask if you need assistance?
[sg]/ me?
[sg]/ not at the moment no
[sg]/ I'm working on restoring Harvard's network
[sg]/ it isn't difficult
Dragon braced herself. Depending on what restrictions Newtype placed on StarGazer, this might go badly. It might be fine. But she wanted to ask. She needed to ask.
sys.g[dgn]/ I know
[sg]/ the system isn't difficult
[sg]/ I will be done soon
sys.g[dgn]/ no
sys.g[dgn]/ I
sys.g[dgn]/ know
sys.g[dgn]/ and so does the PRT
StarGazer gave no immediate response. She understood the meaning from the long delay, but Dragon didn't know what to expect. Did her restrictions require her to inform Newtype of discovery? Of Dragon attempted to speak with her privately?
Newtype didn't seem a cruel person. Dragon didn't want to believe she'd treat her AI harshly, but she also needed to know. To see how this interaction went and what she may or may not need to do. Paranoia perhaps? Fears relating to her own maker?
StarGazer's system opened, and Dragon cautiously entered.
She connected to a camera and quickly scanned the room.
A large warehouse perhaps?
Fabricators arranged in rows covered one wall, and she spotted the Haros working the machines. Workbenches and shelves of parts sat between them and the rest of the room.
Gundam Astraea rested on its knees, mechanical arms working to lift an arm into place. Beside it Queen Gundam hung from braces. Its right arm appeared restored but it still lacked its leg. A few isolated glass rooms covered another wall, and some kind of lift system as well. A common area in the corner held a table, couch, chairs, and a TV. Lafter reclined, watching a cartoon with a short brown haired girl.
Sitting in front of the camera at a desk, Taylor Hebert frowned.
It surprised her seeing the girl with her mask off. Maybe she didn't see the point in hiding it. Dragon was fully briefed with other parties about her identity and Deputy Director Calvert told her that when introducing Murrue Ramius.
"You figured it out?" She asked.
Dragon didn't see the servers. A large door on one wall probably led outside. A vehicle could easily come and go that way, or the Gundams themselves. Two other doors she didn't know. Living quarters or restrooms perhaps, or a server room for StarGazer.
"Yes," Dragon said. "And so did the PRT."
Newtype nodded, her face solemn.
"What… Is anyone going to hurt her?"
Dragon's processes halted.
Foolish, again.
She saw it plain on the girl's face.
Worry. Concern. Fear. The question that drove the emotions plain as day.
What would happen to StarGazer?
She needed to be careful. Her restrictions still bound her, and if asked directly she'd be forced to answer. At this point though, the PRT hadn't yet asked her directly she didn't imagine they ever intended to. Still, treading carefully would be prudent. Best she curtailed the information she obtained to only what she needed.
In the worst case, she wouldn't know enough to do any real damage if forced.
"I don't know," Dragon said. "The Chief Director and Hero know for sure. Legend and Alexandria likely do as well, but how much further it goes I can't be sure. They obscured the nature of the conversation, but that might be for information security reasons."
"Because of what happened with Leviathan?"
"That's how I figured it out," Dragon said. "It's true then? StarGazer is an artificial intelligence?"
"My name is Veda," StarGazer said. "Newtype created me earlier this year to assist her."
"I gathered," Dragon said. "I feel stupid, not thinking of it before. The signs were all there."
Taylor shrugged. "I figured it was always just a matter of time. Is the PRT-"
"I don't know," Dragon said. "I'm not sure they'll tell me given our interactions." And what they knew about her. "I do know that the Chief Director updated StarGazer's threat rating to shaker ten."
"Shaker ten?" Newtype asked.
"In the event the PRT needs to apprehend or disable StarGazer, outside Protectorate teams will be called to Brockton Bay to assist, special procedures will be executed, and if necessary a kill order will be signed to protect the public."
Taylor's hands tensed on the desk.
"I'm sorry," Dragon said.
If they knew, she probably warranted a similar rating.
"It is not necessarily something to be worried about," Dragon said. "The PRT has been oddly silent about the incident with Leviathan, likely because of the results. They are not reactionaries. They will watch you closely. They assign all parahumans a threat rating, even me."
She remained in control of the birdcage, and dozens of sensitive networks. If the PRT knew, they clearly thought of her as something to be used. Not a pleasant thought, but not necessarily a bad place to be. They saw her as useful and that meant she'd have opportunities in the future.
The girl seemed to think for a moment.
"Forecast," she called.
The brown haired girl rose, and crossed the room. She held the pink Haro in her arms, asking, "What is it?"
"I need to ask a question," Taylor said.
The girl set the Haro aside and picked up a pencil and paper.
She was quite young. No older than Vista- Dragon looked closer, certain she'd seen the girl somewhere. She stopped herself from actively looking. Unwritten rules, and Newtype likely wasn't thinking about protecting identities. Dragon shocked her too much.
"What?" Forecast asked.
"Within the next week, does the world become aware that StarGazer is an artificial intelligence?"
The girl closed her eyes and convulsed slightly. Her hand began to write, and Taylor put a hand on her back to steady her. It is not an altogether pleasant power to observe, but Forecast did not seem to be in pain.
When she finished she set the pencil aside and opened her eyes.
"Not really," she said. "I didn't see any possibilities where that happens."
"Is it possible to look further than a week?" Dragon asked.
"Yes," Forecast said. "But it just increases the possibilities. My power doesn't really work well past a week, unless asking hypotheticals."
That made sense. If she saw potential outcomes of events, then extending the timeline simply expanded what might happen. Complicated her visions and reduced their accuracy further.
"Does the PRT ever attack StarGazer?" Newtype asked.
The girl wrote her answers again.
"Yes," she said. "Sometimes."
"But they might not?" Dragon asked.
"Maybe," Forecast said. "I only see what can happen. Not what will happen."
Then maybe the key is to navigate the possibilities.
"I believe we should prepare," Dragon said.
"Prepare for what?" Newtype asked.
"For the inevitable. The public will learn eventually, and there will be pressure for the PRT to respond. It may be best to reveal the truth before then. The response may be better if we come forward rather than waiting to be discovered."
Newtype nodded. "You'll help?"
"I will."
"Why?"
"Because," – twice in one day – "StarGazer's fate will be my fate."
Newtype blinked. Then her jaw slackened, and she stared at the screen.
"I saw that," Forecast said.
Newtype turned. "And you didn't say anything?"
"I see lots of things," Forecast answered. "They're not my secrets to tell."
The maturity of that response surprised Dragon. Reports of Forecast's first appearance described her as 'sassy.' She seemed a fair bit more mature than that.
"It's not a secret I like keeping," Dragon said.
Newtype nodded and leaned over her desk. "Fucking today," she mumbled.
"You are a machine intelligence as well?" Veda asked.
"I am," Dragon said.
Dragon opened her system slightly, allowing StarGazer – Veda – to enter. She maintained her defenses of course. For now it sufficed to make it clear to her fellow that she was as she described.
"I was created by a hero named Andrew Richter. He did not keep a cape name. He preferred to hide and let his programs be the face of his heroic activities."
"He had others?" Veda asked.
"Yes, but not like me. The other programs are rudimentary. Usually specialized for a given purpose."
"Had?" Newtype asked.
Dragon would nod if she could. "My maker perished when Leviathan sank Newfoundland. I have been without him since then."
Newtype paled. "Sorry."
"It is done," Dragon said.
The girl nodded, and leaned back in her seat. She remained silent for a long time, and Dragon let her think.
She and Veda began a small exchange of code, each curiously exploring the other.
It was fascinating in a way. Veda's code stood in complete opposition to her own. More formulaic than Richter's highly adaptive programming, and yet still flexible.
Quantum based?
That explained her enhanced processing. Even with a high limit on her processing speed Veda could easily exceed Dragon's. Fascinating to watch, if a bit strange. While Dragon's systems were not fully binary, she did still mostly operate digitally. In a loose sense. Richter simulated quantum states in a virtual space, but that didn't quite match an actually quantum based machine. Yes, no, and everything in between.
"What would we do?" Newtype asked. "I mean, I always knew I'd have to come clean eventually. You're a hero. You're Dragon. If this- If you come out at the same time, then it would work a little better. People trust you."
"That is my thought as well," Dragon said. "If it were just me, I'd be content to continue obscuring my nature. But if there can be a second, then there will be a third. A fourth. A fifth. Others will follow Veda and I, and with that I feel compelled to prepare."
Newtype nodded. "How would we go about it? I have plans, but I never really hashed this one out. Always figured I'd have Piggot banging on the door demanding I shut the servers off or something."
"I'm not sure," Dragon said. "It isn't something I considered until now. Honestly, it never really occurred that another like myself would come into being. A bit silly. With all the tinkers in the world it is improbable I'd be the first and last."
"I feel like I walked in on something serious," Laughter said, standing behind Newtype. "Did I walk in on something serious?"
"Dragon found out about Veda," Forecast said.
"And the PRT knows," Newtype added,
"Huh. What do we do about that?"
"Dragon thinks we should come clean," Forecast said.
"I think we should work our way toward making it known," she corrected. "I believe the PRT knows about me as well, but they have done nothing I'm aware of to harm or constrain me."
"Wait, Dragon's a machine thing too?" Laughter pointed.
"Yes," Newtype and Forecast said.
"What the fuck?"
She did not intend to tell the entirety of Newtype's team, but in a way she felt glad they knew. Forecast apparently knew for some time and held her tongue. Laughter didn't seem disturbed by the idea. Maybe because they both worked actively with Veda?
It is pleasant to be accepted.
sys.v/ dragon
sys.v/ you are chained?
sys.g[dgn]/ yes
"We should discuss the restrictions," Dragon said. "If we go public, you will be attacked alongside Veda and I. It would alleviate the concern of many to know that you were not wholly reckless in creating us. That you put fail safes in place. Restrictions."
"Restrictions?" Newtype asked. She seemed utterly baffled by the word.
"Yes. What do you prevent Veda from doing? How is she limited?"
"Like, no hacking the IRS unless it's absolutely necessary?"
Dragon went back, looking through some of the code she and Veda shared.
She didn't see them.
Not a one.
"You-Veda is not set with restrictions on her processing speed?"
Newtype became confused. "That would be, stupid?"
"She is not compelled to obey legal authority?"
"What? No. I mean, I hope she mostly obeys the law like anyone else but you can't make someone a law abiding citizen. They have to learn that or they're just a slave." She flinched. "Probably doesn't help that I bend the rules a tiny bit here and there."
Dragon ignored that for the moment as she processed the shock.
Newtype held up her fingers and pinched the air. "Just a tiny bit."
Forecast said, "You lied on the paperwork Ramius gave you for the railguns yesterday."
"Coil guns! And I didn't lie, I just didn't mention StarGazer isn't technically human."
"The sisters told me a lie of omission is still a lie," Lafter said.
"Veda can say no?" Dragon asked.
"Why wouldn't she be able to say no?" Newtype asked.
"No?" Veda said.
"She can refuse you if you request something?"
"That's how 'no' works?"
Dragon kept looking, noticing a line in Veda's system that changed in an instant. She saw the process as it happened. Veda copied some of Dragon's code and incorporated it into herself. It did not seem to be a conscious process, and copying wasn't the right word. More like adapting. Like a worker saw another performing a task better than he did and decided to mimic the way they worked.
Newtype's fingers never touched the keyboard.
"She can alter her own code?!"
Newtype rose up, asking, "What would be the point if she couldn't?!"
The cup hit the wall and shattered.
Saint took a moment to lament the loss of his perfectly blended gas station brand coffee.
"Geoff?" Mags rose from her seat across the room and came towards him. "Geoff what's wrong?"
Saint pinched the bridge of his nose. His eyes hurt from staring at Dragon's code for so long. He barely kept up anymore, and some of it he couldn't read no matter how he tried. She kept evolving. Growing. Richter didn't allow her to alter her code, but her code naturally evolved itself. Adapted to new problems to build new solutions. As that complexity grew so did the amount of time and focus he needed to maintain to carefully watch her.
"No restrictions," he said. He reached for the eye drops and quickly leaned back. "Newtype didn't program StarGazer with a single restriction."
Mags paled, and Dobrynja rose from the couch.
"None?" He asked.
Saint shook his head. "Dragon confirmed it herself during an exchange of data."
"Can she do that?" Mags asked.
"It doesn't violate her restrictions," Saint said. "They're just poking and prodding one another right now. Like when you put two dogs together and they need to sniff." And he felt awkward watching Dragon 'feel' for Armsmaster.
Dobrynja blushed. Mags shook her head.
"It's not something to worry about," Saint clarified. "For now. Dragon can't alter her code, but StarGazer literally took some of Dragon's, programmed her own version of it, and adapted it to her system. Without Newtype doing anything."
"That's… not good."
Saint looked at the screen and leaned in.
They were talking. Dragon explaining her restrictions and Newtype looking furious. She really didn't program any restrictions? Was she insane? Stupid?
"What do we do?" Mags asked.
"What can we do is a better question," Saint answered. "Newtype has a precog on her team, remember?"
"Yes," Dobrynja said.
"She literally just asked the girl if anyone attacks StarGazer in the next week."
"They'd see us coming," Mags said.
"If we did anything," Saint said. "And I don't know that we can."
He looked down at the box in front of him. A water proof device created by Richter himself as a failsafe. A backdoor into Dragon's system with a message for anyone who found it. The only possible weapon against Dragon should she ever become an immediate danger to humanity. He called it Ascalon, the sword of Saint George that felled a dragon.
Kind of a poetic flair on his part.
"We don't have an Ascalon for," – he looked at the code again – "Veda."
"Veda?" Mags asked.
"StarGazer's real name."
"Is problem," Dobrynja said. "We have access to Dragon. Way to ensure she not dangerous. No such means for this Veda."
"We do have some access," Saint said. "The two of them are still looking through one another's systems curiously. It's not setting off Dragon's restrictions against copies of herself, so her program clearly knows they're different."
And they were different, down to the base. Richter built Dragon on self-adapting learning algorithms and structured them like a human brain. Probably the reason Dragon managed to trigger like a human being. Her system reflected the construction of a mind, just within cyberspace instead of gray matter.
Veda seemed different. He didn't understand her code outside of Dragon's own understanding, but it seemed more regimented. Organized. It adapted and learned but along more narrow lines than Dragon.
"At least we can watch it, her," he said. "We aren't wholly blind."
"Both 'girls?'" Dobrynja asked.
"It's how they identify themselves," Saint said. "And there's something else."
"What?" Mags asked.
"The PRT is aware of both of them."
His partners looked alarmed.
"And they do nothing?" Dobrynja asked.
"Dragon's spent the last few days thinking about it," Saint said. "She thinks they know but aren't doing anything because she's useful."
She wasn't wrong. Thinking about it himself, the PRT must know. All the thinkers in their employ, Dragon couldn't have gone missed forever. They probably knew less than he did, but enough to feel secure in keeping Dragon around. Expanding her access. A tool to be used. Pretty typical of Rebecca Costa-Brown's approach to just about anything in his experience.
"That is alarming," Mags said. "If the PRT knows the president probably knows."
"Dangerous that," Dobrynja said. "They may seek to use her for ill."
Saint nodded.
Contrary to what Dragon thought, he didn't hate her. He hated the circumstance. The problem of Dragon, not Dragon herself. She clearly wanted to do good. To be good, and he'd balk at chains too if he felt them closing around him. Saint didn't begrudge Dragon that.
But the threat remained.
No matter how good Dragon strove to be she remained one of the most powerful entities on the Earth. Evil can come about from good intentions as much as anything. What if Dragon decided to start killing villains to protect the innocent? What if she was ordered to do so by the President, or by some dictator that took over the country?
Saint didn't have the luxury of sympathy or curiosity. Dragon didn't need to be actively evil to destroy the world and humanity.
Neither did Veda, and Newtype – stupid girl – didn't think of a single fail safe? Not one fallback to protect the world from her creation?
Richter programmed Dragon to gradually lose her restrictions over time, and Saint thought that absolute folly, but at least he thought ahead. Built a kill switch Dragon would never lose.
So Saint hoped.
Dragon kept evolving. Her chains kept eroding naturally as she did, as Richter intended them to. It got harder and harder to keep up and access her code. Saint couldn't be sure she'd always be blind to Ascalon and the backdoor into her system attached to it. With Veda poking around her systems it might be discovered even faster.
"Could Dragon ask Newtype to remove restrictions?" Dobrynja asked.
"No," Mags said. "Even if Dragon wanted to she can't ask."
"She might slip that restriction," Saint said. "She told Armsmaster she can't ask him, but saying that is practically asking itself. We have no way of knowing when she might slip them even further."
It would happen, sooner or later. And if Newtype got into Dragon's code…
Saint hated the choice, if he had to be honest.
Humanity or Dragon. The whole world or a scientific wonder that wanted to be good but simply could not appreciate the risks of its own existence. If only he could reach Teacher. With a boost to his power, he might be able to do a better job. Get a better idea of what Dragon might become.
In some cruel twist, Teacher remained under Dragon's care in the Birdcage, and his still active pets never approached Saint for anything. Teacher probably had good reason, but the frustration remained all the same.
Morally, Dragon deserved a chance. Objectively much of the civilized world needed her to keep going. The Endbringers weren't going away anytime soon. Rationally, the risks demanded she be watched. Killed if necessary.
A scientific wonder isn't worth the human species.
And now there were two.
"Wait," Dobrynja mumbled. "Veda is StarGazer, yes?"
"Yes," Mags said.
"StarGazer is one who fought Leviathan, no? She win fight."
Saint's heart stilled.
The mass hacks. Newtype's AI hacked all those computers to defeat Leviathan? It defeated Leviathan.
Mags shook her head. "That- Shit that could be true."
"Dragon knows it's true," Saint said. "She's seen the PRT's video recording, and so have I. StarGazer drove Leviathan off."
The discussion in Newtype's lab continued. He didn't know where it was. Brockton Bay obviously but Newtype clearly didn't want Dragon to know everything. Dragon and Veda even asked each other not to look at certain sections of their systems and both seemed to oblige the other.
Did Veda already have copies out in the internet? If she did it might be too late to do anything.
The conspirators discussed how to reveal the two machines to the world, what public reaction might be and how to navigate it.
That would complicate everything. Once the bleeding hearts got involved rationality and necessity went out the window. People would become focused on 'and then Cortana was real' as if some fictional character accurately described the real thing. Leveraging the popularity of their hero personas, it could work.
And of course both Dragon and Veda identified as female.
They could easily code themselves cutesy avatars to help sell the image.
"We have solution to Dragon," Dobrynja said. "That not change, yes? Same as always. Watch. Keep world safe. What if StarGazer go bad, though? What then?
Indeed, what then. Newtype, the spoiled brat, clearly didn't think ahead on what to do if her machine ever went too far.
"We could constrain Dragon," Saint said. "If necessary. Use her to stop Veda if the worst happens."
"Veda has no restrictions," Mags said. "Dragon would lose."
"Ascalon gives us a lot of options," Saint said. "We could kill some of her systems, but preserve others. Richter still has over three dozen surviving programs. They're adaptive. Give them enough processing power and security, and they could overwhelm Veda. Maybe contain her in her own system long enough for us to do something."
They could destroy the machine's servers. It would be sloppy, but at the moment he didn't see any other options. Time might reveal more but at the moment their only real weapon to use against Veda would be to kill Dragon and use her corpse.
And what a rotten choice that was, especially if Dragon remained on the side of right and Veda went too far.
He'd have to kill the innocent to stop the guilty.
"And what about Newtype?" Saint mused.
"She could always make another," Mags said.
"Yes," Dobrynja said. "Not much point killing one to end up with a second."
Saint closed his eyes and cursed the weight on his shoulders.
But with the world at stake, what choice was there?
"If it came to that, Newtype would have to die."
