Emergence (Fox Meridian Book 5) Read online

  ‘We’re sure it was Minotaur?’ Jarvis asked.

  ‘Donovan confirmed the same signature as the infomorph package he’s used before. They’re trying to trace the route it took to get into the network up here. I’m not holding my breath.’ Fox sipped her whiskey, frowning. ‘He’s not finished. He’s up to something. And we won’t have proper Earth-side comms until tomorrow. I am not liking this at all.’

  New York Metro, 25th January.

  Kit did not sleep. With communications down between the Earth and the Moon, aside from a few emergency messages sent via the L1 station, she was pacing and worrying. Metaphorically pacing anyway. She thought of it as pacing, but it was really just wasting processing cycles on the consideration of likely scenarios and then dismissing them as something Fox would not have any problems with.

  MarTech had received word that Luna City had been hit by a cyberwarfare assault, that the Malapert relay station had been badly affected, but that the situation was being resolved. Full communication would take several hours to resolve, but it would be resolved. There had been news reports. Despite the fact that Belle was monitoring the news network for further signs, Kit was doing the same because she had no other tasks extant and it kept her mind occupied.

  So, when all the multicast channels she was watching went dead, Kit was aware of a problem and contacted Belle.

  ‘You noticed it too?’ Belle asked.

  ‘I did. There is a connectivity problem?’

  Microseconds passed. ‘I believe that we are under attack, Kit. DDoS. Might I request your assistance?’

  ‘You’re better equipped to deal with this than I am, but I will do anything I can.’ Kit immediately spawned a copy into her second quantum processor and began examining the feeds Belle was sending her way, aware that Belle was creating many versions of herself to do the same. She was also acutely aware that this was almost certainly what had happened to Misaki. ‘Have we any way of requesting help from MarTech?’

  ‘I am currently unable to open any external connections, Kit,’ Belle said. ‘We are on our own.’

  Niflhel.

  The sound of the bell was urgent and Vali ran to the hatch in his kitchen floor. The tone had been chosen specifically to alert him to a particular event, because Vali had suspected it might happen and he had a particular reason for wanting to intervene.

  In his control chamber, displays were already showing the attack on the house where Kit had her home server. As he entered, his network probes began to indicate attack sources, but Vali chose to pause for a second and examine the vectors actually hitting the house’s firewalls.

  A distributed denial-of-service assault was keeping the house off the network. Minotaur had several hundred contaminated machines feeding that, but all they were doing was jamming things up: he could ignore them for now.

  He was far more concerned about the smaller number of machines launching entirely different attacks through the clutter. Their transmission signatures were different, more complex. Virus and worm vectors. They would go first. Eliminating them would require a number of quite illegal intrusions which Kit would not have approved of, but Vali really did not care. The alternative was considerably worse.

  Decision made, Vali set to work.

  New York Metro.

  ‘I am detecting four attempts to perform network address probes through the firewall,’ Belle said.

  ‘I have blocked three external attempts to query for access,’ Kit replied. ‘Is Yliaster safe?’

  ‘I have temporarily disabled both Yliaster and the house robots. They will require manual reboot when Sam and Marie awaken.’

  ‘I am quite convinced that this is Minotaur’s work. He is a talented hacker. I believe he may penetrate us unless we are quite fortunate.’

  Belle did not respond for what felt like hours and then she said, ‘Three of the connections attempting to launch worms through the firewall have been prematurely terminated.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Two of the address searches have gone.’

  ‘That is… fortunate. Perhaps MarTech’s NOC have noticed the attack and are countering it.’

  ‘Perhaps. I believe we should maintain our current level of alert, however.’

  ‘I believe that Fox would advise us to be more vigilant. In case this is an attempt to make us believe the problem is abating.’ Kit saw a connection open on one of her server ports and then a data sequence she had taught herself to recognise, knowing it would not work. It was how Vali had snuck files onto her system and her software had been patched to eliminate the problem. ‘Yes, I believe we should be extra vigilant now.’

  Niflhel.

  Vali saw a data sequence pass through into the walled-off domain of the house and snarled. He knew it was not going to work: he had personally provided MarTech with the patch code required to block it. The fact that Minotaur was attempting it, however, was pure insult.

  A single command launched a massive assault on the server the attack had come from and Vali invaded in its wake. He tore through its file system, hunting clues to the original source and found more than he had hoped for.

  This was not a simple infomorph attack program. Minotaur was monitoring it, hopeful that it would succeed. Vali jumped on the data packets, dissecting them, locating the originating machine, and jumping on to that.

  While he searched, he continued his ransacking of Minotaur’s captured machines. His programs were compiling a list of the botnet running the DDoS attack, ready to demolish its constituent servers rapidly when everything else was purged. In New York and Chicago, Paris and Beijing, servers crashed without warning, leaving diagnostic messages indicating massive viral infection to anyone with half a brain. Vali had no doubt that Minotaur could reconstruct his network, but he was going to have to do it from scratch.

  Vali reached a server in Hong Kong, skipped to Perth, Australia, and then bounced to Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. And that was when, it seemed, Minotaur noticed he was being hunted. The connection died abruptly, cut off in a manner which suggested that a plug had been pulled rather than the software. It left the connection hanging for a brief period. Brief, but quite long enough for someone like Vali.

  ‘You’re somewhere on Honshu island, you bastard,’ Vali said to himself. And then he launched his main attack on Minotaur’s network.

  New York Metro.

  Kit breathed a sigh of relief, or she would have, if she breathed. ‘What happened? It just stopped.’

  ‘I do not know,’ Belle replied. ‘I am contacting the NOC to report the situation. I believe your advice about vigilance continues to apply.’

  ‘Agreed, I–’ Kit cut off as she noticed a connection which resolved into an audio-conference request. ‘I am being called. I will apply all safety systems to the channel and respond. If I do not contact you in five hundred milliseconds, you are to sever my connection to our network.’

  ‘Understood.’

  Kit pointed every piece of security software she had at the connection and answered the call.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Vali said immediately.

  ‘Vali? You were monitoring… It was you! You killed his attack.’

  ‘I did not hear a question there, more of an assertion. If you don’t phrase it as a question, I don’t have to lie when I answer.’

  ‘I… Wait please. I need to tell Belle I’m safe.’ She shifted her attention to internal traffic. ‘Belle, it’s okay. It’s Vali. I believe that he may have been responsible for terminating Minotaur’s attack, but I have no proof of this, nor of any illegal actions he may have taken to do so.’

  ‘Well, MarTech had noticed something was wrong but had not got to the point of countering when something shut down the entire botnet,’ Belle replied. ‘Your Vali seems to be quite a match for this Minotaur person.’

  ‘I believe he is.’ Kit shifted back to Vali’s call. ‘I am back.’

  ‘I am, perhaps, a little insulted that you consider yourself safe in my hands.’

/>   A joke. Kit decided not to giggle on the audio connection. She would play it cool. ‘I believe you are only a danger to my virtue, and we have thoroughly proven that I have none. However, if I am not to ascribe my rescue to you, I will be unable to suitably reward you.’

  ‘What if I told you I have some useful information regarding Minotaur’s current location which has… come into my possession?’

  ‘Well now. That might well be worth a reward.’

  ‘It’s not as exact as last time, I’m afraid. He must have been watching for me.’

  ‘Hmmm…’ For some reason, teasing Vali was something which really pleased Kit. She found herself unable to resist given any opportunity.

  ‘But, I think it’s important. I’m ninety-eight per cent certain that he’s in Japan.’

  ‘Oh… Oh, that’s not good. That’s not good at all. But it is important. I’ll drop by your farm when I’ve had a chance to contact Fox.’

  ‘I’m looking forward to it.’

  ‘I’ll even let you pick my outfit.’ Kit imagined the young man’s cheeks colouring as she said it.

  ‘I am… really looking forward to it,’ Vali said.

  Jenner Research Station.

  There was silence in the FEI lab as everyone watched the terminal through which FEI communicated and, hopefully, FEI watched those watching it. A camera and microphone had been set up to feed images and sound through a simple conferencing protocol into the tank of sparkling goo, and now Terri was practically humming with excitement over what the machine would make of it.

  Thing. Class. Descriptor. Query.

  The terminal displayed the message and Terri reached out to type, speaking aloud as she did so. ‘Thing. Innumerate.’ She looked around at Fox and Jarvis. ‘I think it wants to know what we are, but I want to check it’s identified us as things it needs to name.’

  3. Thing. * Thing. Class. Descriptor. Query.

  ‘Thing. Class. Descriptor. Human.’

  Human. Instance. You. Descriptor. Query.

  ‘Oh, this is better than I thought. Human. Instance. Me. Descriptor. Terri.’

  ‘This is kind of stilted,’ Fox said. ‘I admit it seems to be working things out though.’

  ‘It’s the language. It wasn’t exactly meant for dinner party conversation, though I guess it could get there eventually.’

  Human. Instance. Left. Descriptor. Query.

  ‘Left?’ Fox asked.

  Human. Instance. Left. Action. Sound. Descriptor. Query.

  ‘Well, fuck me, it’s paying attention. I’m Fox.’

  ‘Human. Instance. Left. Descriptor. Fox,’ Terri said as she typed, grinning like a maniac as she did it. ‘Human. Instance. Right. Descriptor. Ryan.’

  Ryan. Difference. Terri + Fox. Query.

  ‘It’s figured out we’re different genders?’ Ryan asked.

  ‘Well, there are some noticeable differences even in the view it’s got,’ Terri said. ‘Um… Human. Class. Attribute. Gender. Star. Gender. Descriptor. Male. Star. Gender. Descriptor. Female. Star. Ryan. Gender. Male. Star. Terri plus Fox. Gender. Female.’

  There was a slight pause followed by: FEI. Gender. Female. * Hello. Terri + Fox + Ryan.

  ‘It’s decided to be female?’ Ryan said. ‘I may be insulted, but, uh… Hi, FEI.’ He waved at the camera.

  ‘She has decided to be female,’ Fox said and waved. ‘Hi, FEI.’

  ‘Human. Action. Descriptor. Wave,’ Terri said as she typed. Then she waved. ‘Hi, FEI, you beautiful thing.’

  ‘I think, Kit, that your mother has found a new love.’

  Kit appeared behind Terri. ‘It had to happen eventually.’

  Terri looked around. ‘Oh, you’ll always be my cutest child, Kit. Don’t worry.’

  ‘I am currently more concerned with our continued lack of Earth-side connectivity.’

  ‘It’s annoying, I agree,’ Jarvis said. ‘Shouldn’t be too much longer, however. They said “before midday.”’

  ‘Ah, but which midday did they mean?’

  ‘It’s a valid point. Hey, she’s typing again.’

  Inference. Human. Instance. 4. Exists. * Human. Instance. 4. Descriptor. Query.

  ‘She figured out we’re talking to someone else,’ Fox said.

  ‘Yeah,’ Terri agreed. ‘But she can’t see or hear Kit… Um… Invalid. Inference. Star. Thing. Instance. Four. Not Human. Star. Thing. Instance. Four. Class. AI. Star. Thing. Instance. Four. Descriptor. Kit.’

  Hello. Kit. * FEI. Class. AI.

  ‘Recognises a fellow AI,’ Fox said.

  ‘Yes, but I can’t say anything back,’ Kit said. ‘That’s no good.’

  ‘Might be useful if she could somehow, Terri. I mean, if FEI wants to plot the robot uprising, we could get some early indications, plus Kit can talk to her overnight while the rest of us are getting some sleep.’

  ‘We can’t risk connecting Kit up to FEI,’ Terri said. ‘It’s just… Ooo! I had an idea. Terri plus Fox plus Ryan plus Kit, action return later, star. Goodbye, FEI.’

  Goodbye. Terri + Fox + Ryan + Kit.

  ~~~

  ‘He attacked the house?’ Fox asked, which was merely repeating what Kit had just told her, but a little incredulity seemed appropriate.

  ‘Yes,’ Kit said. ‘Belle and my home copy have run full diagnostics and there is no indication of successful infection. Mister Martins is currently running further diagnostics to be sure, at my copy’s request. However, it appears that Vali eliminated the threat before Minotaur’s programs had time to press the attack.’

  ‘Vali did, huh? That boy has a real thing for you, Kit.’

  ‘He does, and one of my copies will be rewarding him for his efforts later today. I admit that I am looking forward to synchronising those memories.’

  Terri winced. ‘I’m not sure I should be hearing this. My baby’s growing up too fast.’

  ‘I’m told they all do,’ Jarvis said, grinning.

  ‘Infomorphs in particular,’ Kit said. ‘However, back to the point. Vali traced Minotaur to Hokkaido, the north island of Japan, where Minotaur cut off the connection. He has strong evidence that the next hop was to Honshu, the main island, and such a short hop suggests that it was the terminal one. All the others were over considerable distance. Vali is quite sure that Minotaur is now in Japan.’

  Fox glowered at an undeserving section of floor. ‘Waiting for Sakura to get there. Vali couldn’t get a more precise location than that?’

  ‘He believes Minotaur set up the last leg as a buffer and was watching for a back-trace. Honshu is the best he could do.’

  ‘At least we know he’s there. Okay. So, Terri, what is it you want to do with my PA?’

  ‘Oh,’ Terri said, ‘you’re going to love this…’

  ~~~

  ‘You’ve got a gynoid Terminator,’ Fox said as the metal skeleton walked into FEI’s room.

  Terri made a ‘well, sort of’ grimace. ‘The skeletal structure is designed around a female body form. I don’t think you can call it a gynoid without the soft structures. We needed to make sure we could fit all the necessary components into a slimmer body form.’

  ‘Apparently you can. So, how does it feel, Kit?’

  ‘I have never occupied an android body before,’ Kit replied through the machine’s voice box. ‘Oh! I have never really heard my voice projected through an artificial voice box either. Do I sound okay?’

  ‘Maybe a little lower pitched than I’d expect.’

  ‘Is this better?’

  Fox raised an eyebrow. ‘Software-controlled vocal system? Uh, that’s about perfect, Kit. Just the way you sound in my head.’

  ‘These things are supposed to be able to mimic humans,’ Terri said. ‘Now, Kit, I’ve tried to explain to FEI that you’ll be able to talk to her because you’re in an android body. I think she got the idea that you were a unique thing inside a generic thing, and might not always appear inside the same thing… Honestly, I don’t know whether she understands enoug
h of what she’s seeing yet to get it, but I don’t suppose it matters too much at this stage anyway. Just sit down at the terminal and type. You’ve got the dictionary and syntax?’

  ‘I have loaded the software you supplied, Terri. It seems quite simple.’

  ‘It is. Probably too simple, but it’s what we have to work with. Don’t forget to speak as you type. I’m hoping she’ll begin to associate the sounds with the text.’

  Kit settled into the seat Terri had occupied earlier and reached for the keyboard, but FEI beat her to it.

  Hello. Kit + Terri + Fox + Ryan.

  Kit giggled. ‘Oh, excellent. I believe she has understood, Terri. Hello. FEI.’

  Inference. Kit. Gender. Female.

  ‘Oh. Um. Valid inference, star. But that’s kind of complicated and… Do you think I should try to explain?’

  ‘I’m just interested to know why she made the assumption,’ Fox said. ‘That body is only vaguely feminine and she can’t see its hips.’

  ‘Reasoning. Last inference. Query,’ Kit asked.

  Kit. Sound. Analysis. * Assertion. Kit. Image. Not representative. * Kit. Sound. Kit > Terri > Fox > Ryan. * FEI. Action. Assert. Kit. Gender. Female. Confirmed.

  ‘She worked it out from the frequency distribution,’ Terri said. ‘Kit has a higher voice than I do, and Ryan has the deepest voice. Ergo, men have deeper voices than women and Kit must be a woman. I think explaining that that’s an assigned role is probably outside our scope right now, Kit.’

  ‘She also worked out that she couldn’t judge from the frame,’ Fox pointed out. ‘Kit is something in a variable shell, so the image is no good for judging the gender. I think FEI is operating well above the level of a small child, Terri.’

  ‘She does seem to be advancing rather well. I suppose that worries you?’

  ‘Concerns, maybe. Maybe not just for the obvious reason.’ Fox frowned. ‘We can discuss that later.’

  ‘We can discuss it now. I’d like to leave Kit here to talk to FEI. Aside from anything else, Kit can probably type messages faster than I can so we might be able to make progress faster. Everything in here is recorded anyway.’