There were plenty of precedents for computers being involved in the decision-making process. The Navy’s Aegis system, far back in the 1980s, computed firing solutions on its own — though these were always under the supervision of crew. The Flighthawks developed by Dreamland in the mid- and late 1990s chose their own course and tactics when dealing with enemy fighters.
From one perspective, the Sabre missions were hardly different. The targets were specified by humans, and the feeds from the sensors aboard the aircraft could be constantly monitored.
Could be, not were.
That was one difference. Another was the fact that the Sabres plotted their own courses, and chose their own strategies for approaching targets. They didn’t need humans at all. They were capable of switching off prime targets, and even secondary targets. They could decide how to handle threats.
They’d done an excellent job in all the tests so far. They seemed ready for the next step.
And now this. A humanitarian disaster.
“Taking people out of the loop was a definite mistake,” said Branson, who though he had welcomed the Sabres was now clearly having second thoughts. “I was under the impression that they would be controlled by the Tigershark pilot at all times. I’d like to review why he diverted.”
“He diverted because he came under fire,” said Breanna.
“I think we’re drifting into an area of debate that will be unfruitful at the moment,” said Blitz. “We all know the issues involved long-term. The ability of robots on the battlefield is something to be discussed another day.”
“You prejudice the argument by using the word ‘ability,’ ” countered the general.
“Dr. Blitz is right,” interrupted the President. “This will be a valuable discussion for another time. Right now, we need to sequester those aircraft and find out what went wrong.”
“We’re working on that,” said Breanna.
“Good. Now, for the diplomatic fallout. I assume you’ve all seen the gun camera video.”
“We’re working on who leaked that,” said Yourish. “Unfortunately, there’s a large list of people who had access.”
“Why?” asked the President.
“Well, the investigation…”
There was no satisfactory answer. Well over a hundred staffers had access to the computers where the information was being gathered for review, and dossiers had been prepared for all the members in the alliance. There were any number of people who wouldn’t mind embarrassing the United States, or perhaps making a little extra money by selling the video.
President Todd assumed that the investigation would go on for months without coming to any real conclusion.
In a sense it didn’t matter. The gun tape wasn’t particularly revealing: a building targeted, the missile launch, then on to the next target before the missile hit. The images on the ground were much more devastating, in terms of public relations.
But they did mean blame couldn’t be shifted away from the Sabre project, if anyone was so inclined.
The President was not. She had already directed a statement to be issued with the bare facts — the attack had been misdirected and was under investigation. The U.S. deeply regretted the loss of life. The victims would be compensated in accordance with past precedent.
“What do we do when people ask how it happened?” asked General Yourish, returning to a question that had been nagging at them since the incident first occurred.
“The truth,” said Blitz. “It’s still being investigated. We don’t want to prejudice the investigation. And we don’t know.”
“I think Senator Stockard’s presence on the committee has helped defer some of the questions,” said General Branson. “I just hope it doesn’t backfire.”
“I talked to the senator personally,” said Ms. Todd. “I think he’ll do an excellent job.”
“For us,” added Blitz.
“For everyone.”
The President glanced at Breanna. She had a vaguely worried look on her face.
“I don’t expect Jeff to mince any words,” the President added. “I know that he’ll be a straight shooter. But really, that’s the best we can hope for. And we will fix the problem.”
“We will,” said Breanna.
“All right, very good,” she told them, rising. “We all have a lot to do. Keep me up to date on this.”
The deputy chief of staff was waiting in the hall with her news briefing as she went out.
“How are the reports?” she asked.
“You want the good ones or the bad ones?”
“Good ones first.”
“There’s a headline from the New York Post: American killer drone wipes out village.”
“That’s a good one?”
“Wait to you see what al Jazeera has.”
“I think I’ll save that for after lunch,” said Todd, stepping into the elevator.
10
To know why something had failed, one first had to know exactly what had happened.
This was not necessarily easy. In the case of the Sabre UAV, for example, hundreds of subsystems contributed to the aircraft’s flight behavior, and while the main focus was on the flight computers and AI sections, the systems that it interacted with had to be investigated on their own. It was a laborious and time-consuming project.
Despite a well-earned reputation for being exacting to the point of overbearing, Ray Rubeo no longer had the patience to oversee the myriad mundane details that needed to be attended to as the investigation proceeded. Instead, he turned to Robert Marcum, the vice president of his main American company, Applied Intelligence, tapping him to head the investigation. Marcum was among the most anal retentive people he employed.
Which was saying quite a lot.
Traveling from Paris, where he had been overseeing another project, Marcum arrived in Sicily shortly after Rubeo, but already had an impressive investigative team in place. They were given a small facility at the air base, and rented much larger quarters about five miles away. These quarters consisted of the top three floors of an eight-story building perched above a series of hills that cascaded down toward the seacoast some ten miles away.
The executive suite on the eastern side of the top floor had a gorgeous view, and even Rubeo had a difficult time concentrating on the video projection as Marcum briefed him on what was known so far about the accident.
“Pilot action from the Tigershark can now be one hundred percent ruled out,” said Marcum. He had worked as an engineer for many years before going into administration. “The flight records have been carefully reviewed. He gave no command that altered their flight.”
“You’ve looked at the logs yourself?” asked Rubeo. The two men were alone in the large, sparsely furnished room. Levon Jons had gone into town to arrange for more transportation and backup, in case they went to Africa.
“Of course,” said Marcum. “The pilot was Captain Mako. He’s been flying for Special Projects for a few months. I don’t know too much about him personally. I’m told he’s an excellent pilot. Young.”
“Very young, yes,” said Rubeo.
“Additionally, we are fifty-eight percent through with our checks on the Tigershark. It would appear unlikely that it was involved in any way.”
“I wonder if it’s a coincidence that the fighters were scrambled,” said Rubeo.
“In what way?”
Rubeo folded his arms. The office chairs that had come with the rooms were deep leather contraptions that would be very easy to fall asleep in. This would have to be fixed.