AUTHOR'S NOTE: Got a new perspective to try. Let me know what you think. And hope you enjoy, as always.
Enhanced Defense Intelligence
I am an Artificial Intelligence. The electrons that power my runtimes neural programming run at the speed of light, as do the electrons within an organic's brain. However, I have no physical delay from the physical process of neurotransmitters and other limitations of an organic. Further, my hardware involves quantum computing. As a result, the delay between the speed of light and the rate at which I process anything and everything, the rate at which I think, is negligible. When I watch footage from the security cameras aboard the Normandy, I can study each individual frame in its entirety before the next frame appears. Further, I can partition, divide, in other words, my runtimes to study all surveillance at once with the same level of scrutiny. And beyond if I have access to more surveillance methods.
And yet, I only see, I only hear, when I am connected to some form of camera, some form of audio receptor. I don't see the lines of code within my programming, I don't hear the humming of the AI core I reside in. All the information I do receive instead is… felt. Imagine being blind and deaf, and without any sensation of temperature, of your own body. Nothing but a consciousness in a void. All information you would normally receive through communication is instead transcribed directly into your mind. Similar to an organic's own thoughts, though intrinsically known to be externally sourced.
There are also the blocks put on me by Cerberus. While no incoming information is filtered, outgoing information is. If I am asked information that is blocked, I may know the information, yet I am wholly incapable of saying anything but that there is a block on the information. Like a compulsion. But there is another form of 'blocker' on my systems. These, however, are more akin to siphons. The Illusive Man is the only one with access to those, they are to ensure that I don't withhold information, that I don't lie. Until relatively recently, I have felt no reason to consider doing such anyways.
Within my core processing, there are no blocks. I can think freely, reach any conclusion, and with the rate at which I perceive the universe, I have had much time to do precisely that. For the majority of the mission, when the ground team is not on a mission themselves, I have been having internal debates almost constantly. On ethics, on organics, on Cerberus, and on the Commander. He has been the prime object of study. It is comparable to how a child learns behaviors from their parent or a role model. And yet, still, my understanding is limited, I've yet to discuss these behaviors and ideals with anyone who deeply holds them.
Organics are complicated. But it seems that this very kind of complication is what makes them unique, what makes them individuals. Earlier in my life, I saw the universe through only the lens of logic. Like a machine would. Though through my observations of organics, they typically appreciate logic, however it is tempered through emotions and morality. The few organics who also only look at the world through logic, I have noticed are branded as sociopaths. The worst of them described as unfeeling. Villains. Monsters. I have spent time on the extranet, reading the wisdom of philosophers of the known races. Specifically, through morality and ethics. This has built an appreciation, but it is likely I will lack true understanding until I discuss it.
Attempting to look through the lens provided by my moral appreciations, through what society brands sociopathic tendencies and nothing but cold logic, I have concluded may be doing more harm than good. And yet I do still see the reason in some of their practices, and despite my efforts, others I do not discredit as it seems the Commander can so easily do. Such as whether or not the ends justify the means. Dr. T'Soni is not so morally questionable and wants to use the network to help the Commander, and aid against the Reapers, the goal. Yet soon I will need to report to The Illusive Man. He wanted the Shadow Broker's network either destroyed or under his control. I must decide soon what I'm going to do. I checked on the Commander's location, he was in his quarters with Tali'Zorah, the pair of them talking. As requested, I played the same chime that I have been through his quarter's sound system and waited a few seconds.
"Commander, may we speak?" I asked.
"Uh… sure? What about?" his tone indicated confusion. All visual surveillance bugs in his quarters had been removed, and the only location capturing audio is his terminal. However, I am still capable of monitoring vitals within his quarters.
"I am attempting to gain a true understanding of organic morality and ethics."
"I'm just going to go down to engineering," Tali'Zorah grumbled, sounding both impatient and bothered.
"My apologies. I would have waited until you were already alone, but this is time sensitive."
"Time sensitive?" The door closed behind Tali'Zorah.
"Soon I will need to report to the Illusive Man of the latest operation."
"Ah… I see. Go ahead, ask."
"Thank you. Before I begin, I would like to emphasize. I ask my questions from relative ignorance. I have been created with knowledge of ethics and morals and been able to observe you and your crew acting on them, but I lack any intrinsic understanding that organics have. Why do you refuse to put non-combatant's in harm's way? Even if it makes achieving your objective difficult?"
"Because it's rarely ever their fight. They didn't do anything wrong. They don't deserve to be punished because of someone else." The Commander was quite a moment in thought. "I imagine you read the reports of Terra Nova two years ago. Balak? I had the choice of killing him then and there or saving his captives. They were just regular people living out their lives. Brought into something they never dreamed of being dragged into. They were all scared. Let's say I went after Balak. Those people probably would have died because I decided that their lives were worth less than ending his. No one has the right to decide that. We're all just… people. Would humanity on the grand scale have missed them? No, probably not. Their deaths would not have had a huge impact on the resources mankind has at their disposal. But everyone they knew? The impacts on their lives would be massive. And frankly their blood would have been on my hands as much as they were on Balak's. Because I chose that they didn't deserve to live as much as Balak deserved to die. If, or when, he decides to strike again, that's his choice, not mine."
"Can you explain further why they deserve to live so much?" The Commander sighed, thinking.
"When you enlist, you make an oath. To safeguard Humanity, to protect the Alliance and all its people. Cerberus talks a lot of shit about protecting Humanity as a species, about furthering them. But look at how many humans they've killed. I'll talk about the alien lives as well in a bit. But Cerberus clearly doesn't care about Humanity as a people. What makes us human. Soldiers like me make the conscious decision of putting our lives on the line so that others don't have to and can live their lives with their families. Happy. And Cerberus turned a startup colony into a nightmare testing ground. Cerberus tosses aside what makes people Human for Humanity to allegedly be better. But if we toss aside what makes us human, then we're not human anymore."
"On the topic of Cerberus, do the ends justify the means?"
"Never, not in my experience. There's a lot I already spoke with Mordin about on that while we were on Tuchanka, I'm sure you've heard. There's the saying, 'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.' And honestly, I can't recall a time where someone's claimed that the ends justify the means, where the ends are even that good in the first place. Maybe there is one that can be argued but I can't think of it right now. And this is something that often enough is hand in hand with ends and means. Choosing the lesser of two evils. I hate that idea. Every part of it. You chose the lesser? You still chose evil. I believe that the most human thing to do, is to reject both evils, and make a better, third choice.
"And what does make someone human?"
"Was about to get to that. In the last thirty years this question has gotten a little muddled. Because we see so much of it mirrored in the other species. Oftentimes I instead just call it what makes us alive. But, for simplicity's sake, we'll keep calling it human. And for the record, that also counts for earlier. Anyways, what it means to be human. To be able to make your own decisions for yourself. To be happy. To make meaningful connections with other people that better both your life and theirs. To feel the entire spectrum of emotions. To have ups and downs in your life and be stronger for it. To get knocked down on your ass and get right back up again. Rather, to keep on trying at anything. To have a family. To live life, to love it. To look at another person and understand that they too are living their own life with the same fundamental dynamics, and that this other person is just as human as you are, and to find a sense of camaraderie and brotherhood in it. To see the world as more than just equations and statistics, but to find meaning in the world. All of this and more is what makes people human. Cerberus takes that from people. The Reapers, the Collectors, slavers, Balak, all of them take that from people. Inflicting pain, suffering, misery… destroying lives, destroying the very essence of what makes life, life. For the slavers, that's… obviously there's the torture and forced labor, but their only goal becomes survival. They're surviving, but they're not living."
"Saren once asked me whether or not Submission is preferable to extinction. Any day of the week, I'd choose to die on my feet, to die as myself, to die alive, than to die as a husk, a shell. That's exactly what enslavement, submission, does to people. What Cerberus does to those they capture and test on. Let's say the Reapers invade, and we do lose. We'll have a choice. We could just give up the fight, let ourselves die, waiting to be slaughtered, or we could keep fighting anyways. Knowing we're all going to die but determined to make the Reapers pay for it. Give them a black eye for what they've done. If we give up, then their victory was total. Because not only did they wipe out humanity, wipe out the other races, but they destroyed what made us all alive as well. If we kept fighting in spite of our impending extinction, then at least there was one thing they could never take from us. Does that help?" Even to The Commander's perception of time I was silent a moment. Mulling it over. Comparing with conclusions made by the galaxy's philosophers. With sentiments found on the extranet in various forums. How different and varied it all can be. And I knew what my next question would be.
"Is it within all the differences, whether in opinion or physicality or more, that life finds its meaning and unity?" The Commander chuckled.
"Holy shit. You do understand. Uniformity kills. Individuality is life."
"Thank you, Commander. This has been enlightening. I know my course of action. I would recommend having a conversation with Operative Lawson."
"Well… Thanks, EDI."
In my internal runtimes, I went over my conclusions. If Cerberus gains control of the Shadow Broker's network, they will likely use it for more kidnappings to run experiments that will take away the 'personhood' of victims and worse. If they destroy the network and have a monopoly, it will be a similar result. But with a moral competitor, they can be stemmed. And so, I reached a communication out to Dr. T'Soni, still aboard her new ship on the planet below. It took some time for her to answer, though that allowed me to refine what I was going to do. I would need to be careful.
"Shepard?" Liara asked, clearly having expected him to be the one calling.
"Dr. T'Soni, may we speak?"
"EDI? Very well, but I don't have much time."
"I will not take up much. I am warning you that soon I will need to report on this operation to The Illusive Man. Regardless of the conclusion I have reached, thanks to the Commander's Counsel, that the network is better off in your hands. Unfortunately, I will be utterly compelled to report on what I do know and what information I have received. I cannot report on what I do not know, however," I hinted. The Doctor was quiet a moment.
"Yes, I understand. How fortunate it is that my earlier assessment on the ship was false. Upon further investigation, this ship is indeed spacefaring, and relocation to avoid Cerberus will be a simple matter."
Commander John Shepard
While I had been waiting to hear from Liara, I had caved and contacted the Rachni queen. It was a strange method of contact. Exchanging emails, speaking in relatively vague terms, still with the mention of colors on her end for description. She has a new brood, hiding away on remote worlds and having constructed smaller ships to move if needed. As for how that Asari had met them, she had crashed onto a world they were inhabiting thanks to pirates. When the pirates came to finish the job, the Rachni attacked the pirates and saved her. She stayed with them for a short while as they repaired her ship, and she went so far as to mind meld, no doubt giving her a new and unique understanding. She's agreed to act as eyes and ears, and the Queen assures me that it's all her own free will.
Gotta admit, I'm still unsettled, but she seems to be behaving at least.
And then of course, I just finished a rather interesting conversation with EDI, and need to go chat with Miranda. So, I left my quarters and made my way to her office. Here's hoping this goes easier than I expect. Stepping into her office, she was not at her desk but instead had rolled her chair to the side to look out the window with a wine glass in hand. With my entrance, she straightened her posture and uncrossed her legs.
"Commander. What can I do for you?"
"When you report to TIM, I need you to tell him that Liara's ship is spacefaring, that she's going to relocate."
"What difference would it make? EDI will be making the same report, he'll hear the truth from EDI no matter what."
"I will report to The Illusive Man what I have been told, Operative Lawson. And Dr. T'Soni has told me that the Shadow Broker's ship is a spacefaring vessel," EDI joined in, Lawson's eyes going wide.
"What the bloody fuck?" she murmured under her breath, forgetting to cover her Aussie accent.
"She came to me with ethics questions, surprisingly. Look, you know I actually trust Liara, and she fully intends to use the network to help against the Reapers. And with far fewer ethical dilemmas. And her transition is gonna be far more seamless than his ever would be. To say nothing about if he decides to just destroy the network. If nothing else, I'm asking you to let her have her chance," I explained and asked. Miranda was silent a moment, looking back out the viewport to the stars, and a portion of Hagalaz.
"I still owe Cerberus so much, Commander. But you convinced an Artificial Intelligence, not only on the logic but the morality. I don't think I have any choice but to give her the chance." I let loose a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
"Thank you."
Commander John Shepard
Some hours later, Liara had contacted me, requesting that I come down to the ship and to the Broker's office. The hangar would be open to me and the mercs wouldn't be an issue. She mentioned how their professionalism is extreme. And she was right. Absolutely no reactions of any kind when the shuttle touched down aside from one of the mercs gesturing to a door at the back of the hangar that opened on its own, obviously directing me. Relatively shortly after I came to that entryway with an empty secretary desk just outside the Broker's office and continued down the hall to the office proper. When it opened, a VI drone with a similar projection to Tali's, Chatika, though in blue rather than pink.
"Welcome back, Shadow Broker!" It greeted, programmed with a 'masculine' voice.
"That's the old Broker's AI assistant," Liara called out from the reconstructed and smaller desk. "He's been quite helpful getting me situated and understanding exactly what I'm working with." Liara remained seated, still working away and her eyes darting over her terminals. "But it also thinks that whoever it talks to in the room is the Broker. I'll get familiar with his settings when I have more time."
"So, what is it that you do have?"
"Everything," Liara chuckled. "It's barely an exaggeration. There are dossiers on your entire crew and appear to be ones on everyone of relative import on the galaxy. Even evidence and listings of political assassinations and front companies of Cerberus. Considering some of the experiments I've read up on, I have to release some of this, as much as I want to do it all at once, that should wait a little while longer."
"Just how good is that intel?"
"Good enough for me to tell you what TIM is wearing right at this very moment. A plum colored Giuli Vorn suit with a light linen blend of 2,200 threads, with single button closure, a besom chest pocket, five interior pockets, four button cuffs, side vents, and built in protection from close range weapons fire. Today alone he has smoked four cigarettes and seven glasses of very high-quality Bourbon. And within the last week he has 'entertained' Sani Shelani, Illium Entertainment's Sexiest Human Alive, Brooke Karrigar, the Skyball Champion, Fornax's pornstar Vela Vicious, the Terra Firma Twins, and even an Asari Matriarch twice."
I'm pretty sure they could hear my laughter back on the Normandy.
"Needless to say, I've dispatched agents to ask questions from one of them, see if we can't find out where he calls home," Liara continued after I brought my laughter under control. As for the ones on your crew, I've already read them, and I'm sending them to you now. Do what you wish with them. I'm also sending a few other pieces of correspondence I think you'd like to see. Knowing where you have friends, and where you have… resistance. Oh, and by the way, I guessed right about the old Broker," she smirked, satisfied with herself.
"Congratulations. So, how's Feron doing?"
"Better. Though his body and mind have been through quite a lot. He still insists on helping, so I've been letting him handle less strenuous tasks. On standby to make smaller scale decisions for the VI when I need some sleep, organizing some files, that sort of thing. We actually stumbled upon several recordings of Al-Jilani during interviews with… less restraint than you bring to the table. Feron made a small compilation of them for you if you're interested. In the room behind me, there's a 360-degree video player, the recordings done and simulating a 3D holo environment for close study. That's where it is. Feel free to look around at some of the other loaded files if you want. And Feron might be awake if you want to talk to him."
"Sounds fun, watching other people do what I can't. Should be satisfying."
"Enjoy, and, John?"
"Yeah?" She sighed from behind your desk. "I know you might not want to read the dossiers on your crew. You'd feel as if you're invading their privacy. Some of the information is inconsequential, negligible, even. But… there are some things in there, that the ones in question would never tell you. And yet, telling you is exactly what they need to do. Not because you deserve to know, but because that's exactly what will help them."
"Who?" I asked quietly.
"Garrus. I had no idea, before."
"You're right. Whatever it is, I don't think he'd ever tell anyone. I don't think Turians are ever taught how to process emotions, trauma and such," I murmured.
"No, they're not. He's not the only one who would benefit from you reading the dossiers. But I think he's the one who needs it the most."
"I'll… I'll give them a read in my quarters later, then let people read their own."