He was senior to her, and if something did happen, between her, Paul and Danislav there was still a solid leadership cadre available. Throw in Shen and Alecta, and you had a Leadership Council for all aspects of the community that was being built.
Janna especially disliked that he was placing himself as the most expendable. However, she grudgingly stayed in the village well away from the cave when Boris and Gyada were to enter the Faraday cage. She would still be able to watch what was happening by video link, and communicate with Shen any concerns or requests for action. It had been decided that as Janna, Paul and Alecta were the only other known Wechselbalg derived from Gyada’s type of nanites, steps needed to be taken to protect them. It was possible that anything that might occur once the cage was opened could affect them as well.
Therefore, it would be best that they are kept at a safe distance.
Gyada was almost eager to enter the Faraday cage. It was as if she missed the contact she had with the intelligence that was contained within. Boris was significantly more cautious. At least with TOM’s dictionary having had significant time to transmit and repeat its information, it should be possible to communicate with the intelligence more easily. Although he didn’t show it outwardly, it was with some significant trepidation that he entered the Faraday cage.
They entered the Faraday cage, and nothing happened. At least not immediately. Slowly, Boris heard what seemed to be a louder version of the whisper from months before. Then he heard in a singsong tone in his head
<Who is it that I am speaking to?>
He replied, “Boris, representative of Bethany Anne, Tzarina of my people, Savior of the White from forces bent on its destruction.”
<Please, Boris, now I have a link with you. It is not necessary for you to speak the words. It will slow our communications significantly for you to speak. It also produces an echo for me that reduces clarity.>
Boris blinked. The fact that it could make requests on something as significant, at least according to ADAM, as asking him to think the words rather than speak them, raised the probability that it was an AI rather than EI or higher. There was still some argument as to whether it be called a KI of greater or lesser ability between TOM and ADAM last time they spoke.
Boris couldn’t give a shit. AI and EI were terms better suited to the purpose he was here for today anyway.
Boris said, We wish to understand the history of how you ended up here. And of who you ended up here with. Also whether you and your companions encountered the nanites on other worlds first or here. What your purpose might have been in modifying humans so they could change into the form of a creature that had long been extinct on this planet.
There was a sharp intake of breath from Gyada next to him. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her body shook with paroxysms, and whimpers of pain escaped her mouth. Boris looked at the box with fear, and anger. If it were going to torture her, to threaten or make an example to him of its power, he would have none of. He rose from the squat he’d been in and slowly moved towards the box hoping that it was unable to do the same thing to him either from the changes to his nanites programming that TOM had instituted or because it was too focused on Gyada.
Before he reached the box, he heard a hoarse whisper from Gyada, “Stop, Boris. She wanted more… something. Information? Context maybe? She doesn’t want to be misunderstood.”
Boris paused where he was, but remained standing. He did not move back towards where he had been previously. “Couldn’t she have warned me? Or asked you? I assume she has a fair idea of how volatile Weres can be. Especially considering she was both present in one form or another when you killed one of her companions and that she was responsible for creating both my ancestors and you.”
The voice in his head replied in a flat, mechanical, almost crystalline and cutting tone.
<I asked you to think rather than speak. It was necessary for me to find out what been going on in the time I have lost contact with all outside this rocky enclosed formation.>
Boris twitched at that. He was a little confused. By using over specific terminology, his estimate of her capabilities lowered. He knew Cave had to be in the dictionary provided, but she had gone to precise language. It seemed possible now that she could be simply a very capable EI. That was something he would have to continue doing throughout this conversation. Raising and lowering his estimates of her capabilities. Especially whether she was capable of forming a moral distinction for her actions.
We wish to know the history of your vessel and how it came to its end here.
<Accessing files… Please wait>
Boris sat there, waiting. He glanced at Gyada, she was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Here and there it collected formed droplets her face and arms. “Are you okay, Gyada? “He asked in a quiet voice, filled with concern. She nodded.
“She was far more gentle than when the devil asked her to rip information about what the region was like from my mind when he first brought me here. “She shuddered in memory. “I was in pain for weeks. I think it was because that creature had wanted the information so fast. I was twitching on the floor for at least a day even after the pain stopped. Later he had told me that he accidentally stripped my neurons. I had no idea what he was trying to say at the time. He used the threat of doing it again to stop me from attacking him when he brought my children here. Once they were out of his power I risked it. Any pain was acceptable to me to prevent him inflicting that on my children.”
Both of them twitched when the computer said <Integrating Subject 143971 Alpha Rho into communications network> Boris missed Gyada’s startled blink at the term. <Brief summary as follows. Note that exact translation for some specific terms are not possible, and therefore approximations are substituted instead. The ship was stolen five Earth solar centuries after implementation of the ‘Shepherd’ program. Small groups of dissidents had come to the conclusion that the ultimate manifestation of said program was genetically manipulating galactic races to speed up their development. The conflict was likely in this case between the Shepherded races. Dissidents concluded it was more desirable to speed up genetics alone rather than use unspecified energies on societal modification attempts that would inevitably be wasted.>
<Stealing a newly retrofitted ship, a group of Twenty-three Kurtherians embarked on the ship to do what they could to expedite the evolution of species a planet at a time. They were limited to viral genetic insertions at the time they left. Nanite technology was discovered on the 14th planet they visited. By this time eight of the crew were dead, three had remained behind on previous planets to watch races they found interesting for one reason or another. Those three and seven of the remaining crew had mastered the Etheric to the point they no longer required cryogenic capsules during time in between planets or while computer cycles were compiling research.>
There are possibly, what, fifteen odd other from this ship on Earth?
<Negative. After completing a survey of the 29th planet to be explored by the group, there was an unexpected power failure in the Etheric generator. It had been designed for a minimum of three centuries further use under standard power draw. It failed early. Unfortunately for the crew, this happened as the vessel was in flight. While six attempted to channel the Etheric into the Gravitic Drive, the seventh and the original leader, called ‘Chaos is in Limited Options,’ formed an Etheric field around himself, this unit, the Laboratory, and the maintenance workshop. This was to ensure survival in the case of a catastrophic landing. Such a landing occurred. Five of the six Etheric masters died on impact, the sixth was fatally injured. None of those individuals unable to draw on the Etheric survived the initial failure due to sudden power loss to their Cryogenic pods>