“Friendly losses were limited to damage to four ships and a loss of ten aircraft, as follows: six fighter, two strike, two helicopters. Also, significant losses were experienced in drones and autonomous vehicles. Overall, though, lower own-force erosion than was forecast, mainly due to the absence, so far, of a nuclear response, which was predicted by some staff officers.”
The briefer paused, but none of the admirals or generals spoke. He went on. “Advance elements are withdrawing under cover of the carrier groups. PaCom recommends recovering damaged units and continuing search-and-rescue efforts, then transiting the combined force southward, after refueling and rearming, to cover continuing action in the northern Philippines.”
The Chiefs questioned him closely on details. The captain seemed to have the answers, and after thanking him, Vincenzo let him go. As the door closed he said, “Any necessity for deliberation?”
Shaken heads. Niles glanced at her, then away. She inspected her yellow pad. DAN DAN DAN was written on it in increasingly jagged cursive.
“Next agenda item: Mandible,” Vincenzo said.
A Marine general briefed on the landings on Itbayat. Blair kept her head down, but registered that fighting was continuing and casualties were heavy. Computers and electronics had been taken down by sectorwide cyberattacks. A lot of dead on the beach. More as the Marines moved inland. Severe losses, too, among the Navy units getting them ashore. She realized that those must be the other calls the casualty team had said they had to make this morning.
“The island’s been cut in half,” the general said. “But the enemy has regrouped to the north and is counterattacking. All our reserves have been committed,” he concluded. “The major shortage is ammunition. Expenditure has been heavier than planned and due to the nature of the beaches and the loss of ship-to-shore transport, resupply is difficult.
“To be blunt, the issue’s still in doubt. Additional support from the northern strike group will be greatly welcome.”
“Deliberations?” Vincenzo asked again, leaning back.
The Air Force deputy chief of staff: “How soon can the airfield be made operational?”
“We’ll staff you an answer on that,” the chairman said, scribbling a note, tearing the paper off, and handing it to an aide. “Other comments? All right, then I have a quick update.
“Our global security overwatch has been preempted by responding to China. But the New Caliphate is threatening Israel. Russia’s infiltrating Latvia and Belarus, a replay of the destabilization tactics used in Ukraine. NATO and the EU are debating their response, but we can’t help. All our forces are either in the Pacific or en route there, except for the advisers left in the Mideast.
“Basically, we’re still weak — mobilization is far behind schedule — and we’re facing a long, grim war. I presented our options to the heads of state conference in Sydney. The strategy agreed on there is to tighten the encirclement, aid those currently fighting the common enemy, and open two new theaters of war, as well as to stir up internal dissent. That will be a CIA mission, mainly. We’ll also be taking steps against Iran.
“In the middle of the conference, we received disheartening news. The Vietnamese lines were penetrated by armored forces. The People’s Liberation Army is surging toward Hanoi amid bitter fighting and massive casualties on both sides. We had to offer increased logistic and air support, or risk having Vietnam knocked out of the alliance.”
The Air Force deputy said, “They’ve invited us to establish a forward base at Da Nang. We’ve identified a bomb wing and initiated forward movement and initial security.”
Vincenzo nodded heavily. “All right. Now, I’m going to ask that the room be cleared. Principals only.”
“Deputies?” one of the generals asked. The chairman hesitated, then nodded, reluctantly, Blair thought.
When the doors were resealed, Vincenzo turned to her. “All right, Blair. Tell us about Jade Emperor.”
She took a breath, composing herself. “We actually know very little. A lot is inference, gleaned from traffic between the mainland and an island outpost.
“The Jade Emperor was a legendary figure in Chinese history. He overthrew an army of evil demons through his wisdom, and became the supreme sovereign of men and gods.”
Vincenzo gestured impatiently; she cut to the chase. “‘Jade Emperor’ is a massively capable artificial intelligence being built in western China. Even in a partially completed state, it can infiltrate and degrade any Internet data packet anywhere in the world. It’s behind the brownouts on the West Coast, the nuclear-power-plant scrams, the disruptions in satellite communications, the fires at our refineries, the banking-network takedowns. There are indications it can penetrate our most secure high-side command networks.
“As its capabilities increase — as it learns—it will be able not just to degrade, but actually to take control of industrial processes, financial networks, and communications and power nodes.”
“Can we bomb it?” someone asked.
“Anything can be bombed,” the Air Force general said. “The question is, what losses you’re willing to take.”
Vincenzo said, “Now tell us about Battle Eagle.”
Blair nodded. “Battle Eagle began building three years ago, in secret, of course. A DARPA-chartered joint venture of eight software developers, known as Archipelago. Dr. Hui here probably knows more about it than I do, since one of its earliest outputs was a hitherto unsuspected way to degrade North Korean ballistic missile guidance. Denson?”
“I’m constrained by classification,” Hui said, a bit stiffly.
“Even in front of the Joint Chiefs?” Vincenzo frowned. “Doctor?”
Hui inclined his head. “All I can say is that the way Ms. Titus describes the enemy AI more or less resembles Battle Eagle as well. The architectures differ. But they’re both massive self-programming neural networks, designed to dispute digital infrastructure with peer competitors.”
“I’m having difficulty buying this,” said Niles, unwrapping a peppermint. He examined it doubtfully, then popped it into his mouth. “Are you serious?”
“Every war brings technologies forward,” Blair told him. “Bombing aircraft were a fantasy in 1913. Atomic weapons were science fiction in 1939. Now, instead of teams of human hackers or code breakers, we’ll have two massive programs locked in combat in cyberspace. And whichever wins, I’m sorry to say, may determine the course of this war, whatever we do on the ground.”
The officers looked disbelieving. A tap came at the door. “Come in. We’re done here,” Vincenzo called.
The captain who’d given the opening briefing came in. “New developments, General. The Chinese are finally buckling on Itbayat. Marines report accepting surrenders at the company level.”
“That’s good news,” said a National Guard general.
“Also, the Philippines have announced they’ll send a force to take over the occupation.”