Mike, I understand how the communications are accomplished through these computers over this framework. But you haven't completely answered my first question and the last statement you made brought up one of how fast the aliens can travel.
Yes, Steven, I see. By riding an oscillation in the strings, the alien ships can travel about thirty thousand times the speed of light. It would take this vessel roughly three years to travel the galaxy from one side to the other. They do have faster ships. The unanswered part of your first question was about the encrypted data—"what is it . . ."—was your question. The answer is that it is Network Protocol packets with the quantum interference information from other communication systems like myself and like the implant that you and Tatiana had removed from your brains.
HOLD IT, MIKE! You mean the implants transmit their tracking information via this string Network?
That is correct, Steven.
Why hadn't I thought of this before? Of course, Mike would know how to locate all of the abductees and most likely know who they are. Mike, can you give me a complete list of all the implants' names and hometowns and occupations and cross reference any of those that would not be allowed access to your programming like Tatiana?
Of course, Steven. That is a lot of data for you to compile and will take you a few minutes to learn how to use it.
Do it!
Okay, Steven.
I had Mike make me some aspirin to numb my pain centers because I was getting a headache. Mike told me it was from trying to tax my neural network too much. Mike having said that triggered a thought in my mind about this Network. The more I have dealt with any type of system that transfers any type of data, the more it always seems to look physically exactly the same. Mike's description of the quantum-string Network—or whatever the hell you want to call it—it sounded just like Earth's Internet, or the highway system or the airport networks, or bus terminals, or train stations, or the phone system, or cellular networks, or you name it. There are always peripheral devices that the data hops in and rides over to a main hub and from there catches a bigger ride with a lot of other data over to another main hub where it then gets on a smaller ride to go to its final destination.
Neural networks function the same way. Is it coincidence that every system—that I know of at least—for transporting information of any type works exactly the same way? Even the universe seems to have this neural network geometry. I asked Mike about this and he said that humans are just now beginning to understand this concept and that it goes much deeper than what I was getting epiphanies of. He mentioned something about quantum consciousness and it sounded a little hokey to me. He explained that the reason for the hokey-sounding description was that we do not have the proper concepts for describing it yet.
The hocus-pocus stuff was all interesting but I had other fish that needed frying here. I was beginning to be able to access all of the abductee data that Mike had downloaded to me and cross-reference it with the isolated abductee information.
I did thousands of cross-reference plots in my mind—a neat new ability that the interaction with Mike and the nanomachines had given me—before I came across a relationship. There was no particular trend in the abductees that were not isolated ones. In fact, the list was pretty much random as far as I could tell.
One fact stood out. Most of the abductees that were isolated abductees, on the other hand, had ties to powerful people in some way or the other. Oh, there were those outside of one standard deviation but the profile was a bell curve and the mean was connection with rich or powerful people.
Take Tatiana, for example; her father was the Deputy Russian Ambassador to the United Nations. Other startling names popped up on the list. Most of the former heads of state of the Asian countries were there, many of the world leaders, a very well known computer software mega billionaire, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence . . .
Holy Crap! That senator guy that I had met back in Virginia was an abductee. Worse than that, he was one of the isolated abductees. This thing really went deep into the fabric of the human society. Somehow it meant something, and my guess was that it meant something very bad!
Steven?
Mike had startled me out of my thought train. Yeah, Mike?
I have a question for you.
Okay, Mike. What is it?
Why did you name me Mike?
Ha, ha, I am surprised that you would care, but I named you after a sentient computer in a science fiction story I read recently.
Ah yes, I see. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, I assume.
Yes, Mike.
Steven, is that how you perceive me? My programming is not as complicated as the sentient computer of that story. I have specific functions, not "real" sentience.
I had begun to think that, Mike. But you are the smartest computer I ever met. Could you be as smart as Mike from the Heinlein story?
Perhaps, Steven. But I would have to have orders to expand my programming.
Well, by all means, Mike. Expand yourself, just don't hurt yourself or us in the process.
Thank you, Steven. I will. Should I also try attempts at humor as Mike of that story did?
That is up to you, amigo, ha ha.
What is funny, Steven?
I just never thought I would have a conversation like this in a billion years. Good luck with your expansion and keep me posted.
Steven, where are you! Tatiana's voice cut through my head.
I'm in the bridge, gorgeous. Where are you?
I'm in our suite and I think you need to get down here.
Is something wrong?
I don't know, just get down here!
Mike, what's going on?
There is nothing wrong that I can perceive, Steven.
Tatiana, I'll be right there.
I rushed to our suite. I pushed through the wall and plopped into the room with expectations of something horrible taking place. The room was dark and quiet and all I could see were faint outlines of the furniture against the star fields on the wallscreens in the background.
"Tatiana?" I called out and then kicked my shin against a chair or something. "Youch, shit! Why is it so dark in here?" Mike, turn the lights on!
Okay, Steven.
The lights came up and Tatiana jumped up in front of me and yelled, "Happy birthday!" I nearly jumped out of my skin. I looked around the room and there were decorations on the walls and there was a birthday cake with twenty-nine candles burning sitting in the middle of our table.
"Uh, how did you know it was my birthday?" I asked Tatiana; I was a bit confused—and surprised of course.
"Simple. I figured it out nearly two months ago. I was looking for my bracelet that I always wear, even in bed. My mother gave it to me when I was little. I finally realized I needed to ask Mikhail where it was and he told me it was stored with all of our belongings. Then I thought that you must have had stuff too. Of course you did. Your wallet was one of those things and your driver's license was in there. I found something else pretty neat also." She put her arms on my shoulders and smiled up at me.