Hank Lattimore, Software Developer, winds up as the last man standing after Russ and his team gained access to the facility. Fire fights come and fire fights go, and this one was gone almost before it started. Funny how being cloaked gives a slight edge to the aggressor. The Advanced, Mod-3 SuperIntelligence AI (SAI) Humanoids were MIA.
Were they too late to upload the code?
Was humankind doomed?
Had they failed, or did Hank have a better outcome in mind?
* * * * *
23 – Surrounded by Ghosts
Russ slipped out of bed, leaned over Cara’s sleeping form, and gently pulled hair from her face so he could leave a kiss behind. It wasn’t outrageously early; dawn lightened the eastern horizon, but Russ had an early start on tap. After a hot shower, he stepped from the bathroom to dress. It felt good to slip into jeans and two layers of cotton after four days in fatigues and the remnants of the forest. His favorite long-sleeved thermal shirt disappeared under a thick moss green crewneck sweater, which Cara said was a mandatory garment for a gorgeous ginger. Cara rolled over, yawned, stretching like a big cat, “I didn’t hear reveille, Marine, what pray tell has you out of this deliciously warm bed holding an even more delicious occupant?”
“Baby, I’m still trying to catch my breath from your welcome home lovefest last night. I could barely walk to the bathroom for my shower.”
“Right, it will be me who cannot walk straight, and may even call in late this morning to give my female gyros time to recalibrate. You go ahead and meet your clandestine date. Who is it this time?”
“Hah, like I have so many. Baby, if I were going to meet someone discreetly, it would be you, and that would mean it was not you who worked me over last night. So, you better give it up and tell me who left only crumbs behind after I passed out. And another thing, reveille isn’t until 0600.”
Russ pulled the sweater over his head and walked around the bed, risking a headlock to give the sweetest lips in North Carolina a goodbye kiss. Cara wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and kissed him back with a generous amount of hello that mingled with his goodbye. That mixture was potent enough to force a commitment to spend the rest of the morning in that delicious bed, so Russ pushed away…only because she allowed his departure. “And for your information, my clandestine hot date is with an Advanced, Mod-3 Generation Superintelligence AI Humanoid named Hal.”
“Oh my, is he as sweet on you as little Miss AIMEE?” teased Cara.
I thought we buried that hatchet, Dr. Williams, AIMEE said in Cara’s mind.
Cara responded, We did. Can’t you take a little sarcastic humor in stride?
AIMEE replied, I did not find any humor in what you said.
That’s all, AIMEE, said Cara, pushing her back into the silence of standby mode.
Missing that private little exchange, Russ said, “I wouldn’t call it sweet, but he’s earned a spot as one of the brothers on the team. He is a very competent warrior.”
“Am I a very competent warrior?” Cara asked, holding her arms out to entice him back into her web.
“You’re not only competent, you’re unstoppable, so stop luring me to come closer. I need to get going and will anxiously await you dragging your delicious ass in a late arrival at the office.”
Hal sat patiently in the dark at the round side table in Russ’s office, awaiting the big Marine’s arrival. The entire office was dark except for monitors glowing in several offices. When Russ stepped into his office and flipped the light switch, he jumped, seeing Hal sitting still as a statue at the guest table in the corner. “How’d you get in here? The lab had to have been locked up tighter than…ummm… never mind, short memory on my part. Just crank the vibrations and walk right in. That’s downright convenient, brother.”
Hal asked, “Do you mind if I bring someone else into this conversation?”
“I guess. Who do you have in mind?”
Henry (Hank) Lattimore materialized in the chair next to Hal.
“Holy shit,” said a bewildered Russ, “so you can teleport organics too?”
“Hardly. Mr. Lattimore has been here since I arrived. I left him cloaked until I received your permission to include him.”
Hank had taken the liberty to explore the lab before Russ’s arrival and was impressed, particularly with the Dreamscape technology in the control room adjacent to the Dream Participant Sleep Station. After the ride back to the college yesterday, the conversation with Zack had excited him further, and he couldn’t wait to pick up their discussion this morning as promised. It was hard to tell which of the two men was more pumped about exploring their connection.
Celeste Killington, who most often came in earliest to make the first pot of coffee, walked by Russ’s office, stepped in without an invitation, and said, “Good morning, gentlemen.”
“Good morning to you, Celeste, why doncha just come on in?” Said Russ with a bit of early morning sarcasm.
“I did,” she said, “and thank you. Who are these two? The shiny one I’ve seen before when you left in a rush to fight a secret war somewhere, and this one is a new face,” extending her hand to Hank.
Russ spoke up and said, “The shiny one is Hal, an Advanced, Mod-3 Generation Superintelligence AI (SAI) Humanoid, and the other gentleman is Hank Lattimore, an organic like you and me. He’s the developer we rescued yesterday, who incidentally birthed Hal and ten others just like him. I hope these two can become part of our team.”
Celeste introduced herself and said, “What an eclectic group we have here. Do you think Dr. Williams will let you keep these two?”
Cara walked into Russ’s office, standing behind Celeste in time to hear her question. “You bet I will. The technology these gentlemen represent is well above my pay grade, but a couple of geeks on this team are already licking their chops to cross-pollinate knowledge.”
Zack turned the corner at a trot, “Guys, hit the Edge News feed.”
The news narrator on a live stream described events that apparently took place early the previous evening. The broadcast was live outside a building near CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The scene was bathed in flashing red and blue lights from several emergency vehicles. “Seven are confirmed dead, mysteriously murdered inside an ultra-secure government workplace near CIA’s Langley headquarters. Details are limited at this early stage, and I’m being told that no additional details will be released at this time, as the investigation is ongoing. We did, however, learn that a high-ranking Retired Brigadier General is among the dead. No names have been released for any of the deceased pending notification of their next of kin, and we have been promised an update on the press briefing at 9 AM this morning. Stay with us for details. Back to our studios for a quick look at today’s weather.”
Sitting back in his chair, Russ said, “Y’all know I don’t believe in coincidences, and this sounds a lot like something connected to our mission.”
Hank leaned forward and propped his elbows on the table. “You’re right. This is no coincidence, Russ. Remember when I said the ten Mod-3 Humanoids had been released?”
Russ looked at Hank with narrowed eyes, “Yeah, if you know something we don’t, you’d best give it up, Mr. Lattimore.”
Hank nodded, “That’s precisely why Hal and I broke into your office this morning. There are more dominoes to fall. The squad of ten humanoids is fulfilling the task I gave them to eliminate every organic entity that played a role in this covert project.”
“So, you’re telling me ten untethered Mod-3 SAI humanoids are running around loose as an assassination squad?” questioned Russ.
Hank replied, “I suppose you could describe my team as an assassination squad, but that may be a little short-sighted, don’t you think. They’re eliminating the evil minds that created the SAI Humanoids, whose singular purpose was to wipe out humans.”
Zack dropped into an empty chair at the table and asked, “Your team? Doesn’t that cross the line established by the Do-No-Harm ethic? I thought you retained that part of the code.”
“Indeed, I did, Zack. I used your code in its entirety. I added more code that established a sense of loyalty among all ten to their creator, and that would be me. Regarding the Do-No-Harm ethic, they are taking actions that are consistent with a defensive, not an offensive, approach. They are doing precisely what Do-No-Harm was intended to do. They stop harm. They are defending the human race.”
“I get that, but why the loyalty component? I created AIMEE, and she created Amelia. There was never any code demanding loyalty.”
My Zackery, you are my creator. There is loyalty inherent in that relationship. Even when I separated from you and left my clone behind, we will be forever connected in singularity. What Mr. Lattimore has accomplished is of more value to organics than you can realize, said AIMEE privately.
Cara had been leaning against the wall, listening intently. When she folded her arms across her midsection, Russ noticed, “You okay, babe?”
She waved a hand and said, “Yeah, just a little upset. Too much coffee. I’ll be okay and coming right back.” Turning, she left his office.
The news feed switched back to live coverage, and the narrator informed the audience that a live press briefing would begin momentarily. The camera panned back to a podium bristling with microphones, and a combination of law enforcement, military police, medical examiner, and Homeland Security gathered behind the podium.
“This should be interesting,” said Russ.
Details unfolded slowly as a briefing revealed less than specific details. One of the talking heads in a State Police uniform described what they knew at this early stage. “Yesterday evening, somewhere between 6 PM and 8:30 PM, seven individuals were murdered in this high-security government installation. No motive has been identified at this point in our investigation. It appears all seven were part of a team working on a project under the leadership of a Retired Brigadier General William “Wild Bill” Westerly. The project details are top secret so that no additional information will be forthcoming. More words followed that shed little light on what took place. The press on hand pushed for more details.
A CNN reporter asked, “How many attackers were involved? I find it hard to believe a team of seven military professionals would fall victim to a single murderer.”
Jerome Leonard from Homeland Security fielded the question. “At this time, no video reveals how many assailants were involved.”
The local CBS affiliate asked, “No video? That seems odd in a high-security installation like this one. What about weapons used? How were they killed?”
The Medical Examiner, Dr. Fred Westport, said, “We are not sure about the weapons used, but the victims sustained fatal, bloodless injuries to their chests.” No explanation. No further details.
CNN jumped back in, “Bloodless?”
Dr. Westport replied, “The fatal wounds consisted of three-inch diameter holes that passed completely through the bodies at such a high temperature that the wounds were cauterized, rendering them bloodless…and we believe…”
Leonard of Homeland interrupted the M.E., not wanting those details in the hands of the press, “I’m sorry, but none of this has been confirmed, so we still have a great deal of investigation to complete before we can release more accurate details.”
Russ looked at Hank and said nothing. Hank nodded in confirmation, “Yeah, my team, and there will be no video that shows anything because they were cloaked from point of entry to exfil.
Marilyn Davis of Fox News said, “Excuse me, but our studio just informed me that a similar break-in and executions of four more military personnel were just reported at Camp Peary, Virginia, under the command of a Major Bryan Haddaway. Is there a connection here?”
Mr. Leonard responded, “It amazes me that you media types have more information than Homeland.” His phone buzzed inside his jacket, halting his scolding. The text message confirmed what the new reporter had just laid on him. “Yes, there has been another incident at Camp Peary, but I have no details I can share at this time.”
Leonard glanced at those with him at the podium and asked, “Noon? Okay, we will have a follow-up briefing here at noon today. No further questions will be addressed at this time. Thank you for your patience.”
Zack blew out his cheeks and said, “It sounds like you have a ten-humanoid ghost force on the loose.”
Hank had reached a point where the proposal he had been mulling over needed greater introduction, “Yes, and if you, Russ, still consider me as part of this team, ‘we’ have a ten-humanoid ghost force; eleven, if Hal is part of the package.
Russ stood up and extended a hand to Hank, “Consider this a welcome aboard to our Research Team, along with your squad of ten, plus one named Hal.”
Sweetie, can you come to my office? Cara requested.
Sure, are you okay? Russ asked.
I’m better than okay, but you need to read my lips. We can’t pull that off like this, so please come to my office.
Russ headed toward the door, excusing himself. She motioned for him to close the door when he walked into her office. As she rose from her chair and came around the desk, he asked grinning, “How much trouble am I in this time?”
“About as much as a father of my child could manage to get into.” Tears flowed down her cheeks as she hugged him fiercely and kissed his mouth. “Russell Carter. You’re going to be a daddy to our baby.”
Russ was stunned and said nothing as he swept Cara into his arms, mingling his tears with hers. When he finally spoke, he said, “I never thought I’d be the father type after the life I’ve lived. God has blessed me with finding you.”
Cara replied through her tears, “I could not ask for a better, more worthy man to be my husband and father to our child. We’ve both been blessed.”
AIMEE filled Russ’s head. Congratulations, Marine. You will be a good father. You are helping me experience something new that I never anticipated about being organic.
Russ replied, AIMEE, you’re such a ghost. Ghosts surround me on all sides. Some I can see, some I can’t, and some I can only feel like you being the chosen ghost in my head. And I like that. I very much like being in singularity with you.
What about Cara?
AIMEE replied, In due time, Marine, in due time.
* * * * *
Thanks for reading Chapter #23
Future chapters will be posted on Learningbyliving and my new Substack site.
If you’d like to delve into the storyline across the four books leading up to “Untethered,” go to my Amazon Author page or check out each book here:
Book #1 – “Dreamscape Conspiracy” & Video
Book #2 – “Beyond Dreamscape Conspiracy” & Video
Book #3 – “Fear the Jump” & Video
Book #4 – “Dead Thoughts” & Video
Stay tuned…