Friday, 29 February 2008
-
Star Wars Galaxies: The Turning of the Tide
Chapter 13
“Jackson, you can’t bring that in here, this is a sterile environment and who knows what that droid is carrying!” Priest exclaimed as Jackson burst through the portal.
The grease covered engineer ignored the admonishment and heaved the maglift unceremoniously through the door, scraping deep grooves on the threshold.
“you’ve got to check this out. I was beginning to open the primary diagnostic panel to check the logic chips when I found this.” Jackson tossed a small chip to priest who turned it over in his hands.
“What is this Jackson? I put people back together, not droids, I don’t know what in the name of Ragnos this is.”
“That, sir, is a Mandel class II isolinear redundant memory connector. It facilitates the quick transfer of quadrillions of bytes of information between two separate processing units, allowing them to function as one unit. Do you know what this means?”
Priest sneers, “no, and I don’t really care to know…but you’re going to tell me anyway so if you don’t mind, pretend that you’re talking to someone who isn’t a reincarnated jawa like yourself.”
“It means, that this battle droid…is no battle droid. This technology is only a few years old. Its based off of a piece of technology developed a few decades ago. The Imperial MerenData B2-X Computer interface unit. This was one of the most powerful computer interfaces of its time, a droid brain of a complexity unheard of before or after with countless slicing and decrypting abilities. I heard of a man by the name of Vandangante who took one of these interfaces and sliced it with an incredible amount of technology, allowing it to adapt and invent, creating its own interfaces through the help of a host droid. I heard rumors about them in the Tion Hegemony, but they dropped off the black suns radar shortly before I…well ‘chose’ to leave their employ.”
“So you’re telling me that this chip here is an advanced computer core?” Priest asked, now somewhat interested.
“No, this chip is not the droid we’re looking for, but if we go on about the business that I started by dragging this hunk of poodoo all the way from the engine room, we might be able to find out if I’m right. You see, this chip would be an essential component in connecting the two androids.”
Priest listened, still somewhat confused. “Look, this is all very interesting and I’m sure, someone, somewhere would be really impressed right now. Personally I would have to say that I have never actually seen you string together so many words that form coherent and cohesive ideas, and that excites me because it seems that you are finally becoming something of a productive adult human being. I have to ask: Why are you in my sick bay?”
Jackson ignored the jibe and continued. “The droid body, by design, is impervious to most scanning and transmitting devices. The one thing that I know, however that can pierce the armor is a high-res medical scanner.” Jackson handed Priest a datapad. “Set the scanner to these settings and it should be able to map circuits and show us the composition of this droid.”
“I don’t know if the bed can take the weight of that droid, so if it breaks, you owe me a new scanner.” Priest said.
Rohedria studied every inch of the schematic. It truly was an incredible piece of machinery. The designers had modified the droid to pack a small cube, about the size of a training remote in the chest of the battle droid. Other than that, the droid remained fully functional, and fully armed, as well as sporting several unknown systems that Jackson couldn’t even begin to guess at.. Jackson and Anthorin were currently studying the circuits, looking for any back door triggers or remote detonation devices…anything that might be built into the system to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Already they had disconnected the power to the main weapons systems and disconnected all peripheral motor functions to keep the battle droid from becoming a ‘liability.’
“Look at this circuitry, the designers were brilliant,” Xaiver remarked. “they placed the system where it would be provided the most protection from any outside force. Given, this is not the idea of subtlety; who would create a covert computer system, and then put it into a droid that was so incredibly…well conspicuous?”
“I can’t even begin to speculate on that Xav, this is very peculiar, all I can say is that this goes way beyond basic subterfuge. Whoever was supposed to get this…is going to be looking for it.”
Xav nodded his approval. He was about to point out that it might be a good idea to contact Wojec and let him decide if this was, in fact, what his buyer was wanting when Jackson came barreling into the lounge compartment, motioning them to follow him.
Rohedria put the schematic down and followed Jackson to the adjoining room where she saw the droid, not only operational but standing to its full 2 and a half meter height, holding the small frame of Anthroin by his neck.
“Self preservation protocols engaged, repair systems offline, secondary power system activating, estimate three minutes before repair cycle begins.” The droid spouted in a craggy synthetic voice. “state your name and password or risk being terminated.” The droid turned to see the newcomers and quickly turned to put Anthorin between itself and them, allowing him to cover both parties with one weapon.
“state your name and password or risk being terminated. Operational parameters compromised, Self preservation protocols engaged….”
“We have to do something fast Jackson, or we’re dead.” Xavier said. “Those cannons that the droid is spouting are Blastech heavy assault cannons, and they hit as hard as some battery emplacements. I doubt that it’ll have little problem cutting through the wall of this ship and venting our atoms out into hyperspace.”
Jackson appeared worried. “I swear I didn’t know that it had a secondary power core, It must have been triggered by the scan. I couldn’t deactivate it before it started…”
Rohedria stopped him. “Look, we don’t have the time, and I don’t care if you meant to do this or not…point is we’re very close to the edge here, and we need to do something before that droid becomes fully functional and decides that we’re not worth its time anymore.
Jackson’s eyes lit up. “I’ve got it!” From the scans that I took I recognize the interface unit. It is a sub model, the B2-XD, built very similar to what I read about Blue Max. the interface is sentient, able to modify its own programming and able to not only learn, but adapt its parameters to fulfill whatever mission it deems its on. Basically…we need to convince it that we are the good guys.”
“That’s great!” Rohedria said, “Now how do we accomplish that?”
“You’re not going to like the answer.” Jackson responded.
“I don’t like the question either, but we can’t do anything about that now, can we?” she responded.
“We’re going to have to initialize it to 100%; only then will the preservation protocols cease and its higher reasoning and morality programming will return to online status. That is, assuming, that this droid has been given a wash of its battle programming and been implanted with something a little more…hospitable.”
“What happens when the countdown reaches zero, and the droid still has its Clone Wars programming?”
“Well, then it would be a good time to tell you that I’ve been distilling Corellian Whiskey behind the Hyperdrive motivator, because there’s sure as hell nothing that you could do about it then. Personally, I don’t want to be reduced to my atomic components…that really puts a damper on my day.” Jackson responded.
Xavier looked at him. “what is it with this crew and sardonic statements in the face of certain doom?”
Priest came around the corner in that instance and took in the situation. “Oh this is just great. How many times have I told each and every one of you NOT to push the red button? See this is what happens!”
“See what I mean?” Xavier said crossing his arms over his chest. “I think that we need to have some sort of ship meeting to discuss this wry attitude.”
Anthorin piped up, “Look, I hate to be a drag here, but I’m pretty sure that this thing means to turn me into a pink haze, GET ME OUT OF HERE!”
Jackson turned to him, “Sorry bud, there isn’t anything that we can do right here…if we move in, he’ll just snap your neck as a liability…self preservation protocols are pretty black and white.”
A clicking noise from the droid stopped all conversation. “Power and repair subsystems restored powering up primary protocols, rebooting peripheral systems, powering weapons and shields.” The droid set Anthorin on the ground and took two steps back, where it raised both arms, each housing a blaster that had more than enough power to vaporize the armor plating behind them. The cluster of eye nodes tracked each member of the crew, noting their position.
“State your purpose for deactivation. Why was I brought here?” it said in a low thrumming voice.
Rohedria slowly stepped forward keeping her hands in the air. In a situation like this she would lean on the force for guidance, planting suggestions in her captors heads, or moving in on them to get behind their weapons. There was no doing so with this droid; it was faster than her, stronger than her, and impervious to any Force suggestion.
“We didn’t deactivate you; In fact, we just liberated you from your captors.”
“Why did you do that?” it responded. “I do not know any of you, and you are not command control authorized. You are hostile. Surrender or die!”
“Wait a second!” she said. “we are not hostile, we don’t plan to harm you. We brought you on board at out last port and noticed some inconsistencies with your design. We deactivated parts of your programming to protect ourselves incase you were malfunctioning. We had no way of knowing that you weren’t going to vaporize us.”
“That option is still very much on the table. You have still failed to answer my question. Why am I on this ship?”
Rohedria was impressed by the programming of the droid. It did not exhibit the worker mentality of a labor or military droid, it wasn’t a tee-toe-taller like an administration droid…it was the most lifelike representation of any droid she had ever seen. In fact, its questioning her was something that was, in her experience beyond any logical sort of interface.
“To be honest, we were hired to pick you up. A man by the name of Wojec hired us to steal you from KOG, who stole you from the Hutts, who stole you from sith knows where. We don’t know how long you were deactivated, nor do we know where you come from. All Woj knew was that you were an item of great value and you must be obtained…I’m sure he had no idea of your true capabilities. Tell us who you are, and perhaps we can work this out without any…unpleasant complications.”
“Lady, you haven’t seen my capabilities yet. My linguistic analysis equipment confirms what you have told me is the truth.” The droid powered down its weapon systems. “I have computed that you present me with very little threat, standing down weapons.”
The droid retracted its weapons. The body of the droid shimmered as if a shield had been raised around it. Suddenly it began to shrink. What was the unmistakable profile of a Super Battle Droid began to morph into what looked like an ordinary Human-Cyborg relations model, similar to a 3-PO model. The body changed from a heavy dark rust color to a shiny silver finish. No one had ever seen anything like this before.
“I’m sure you’re wondering what happened there.” The droid said. “Matter is such an interesting…thing, it can be manipulated if the right tools are used. My creators used nanotechnology, created thousands of years ago by a neural enhancement technology company to develop a ‘smart system’ for controlling ships during the Sith War. These nanocytes function like repair droids, only at the atomic level, and they are only several molecules big. They work very much like your own immune system, however much faster and with more…diversity. I am able to take many shapes in many different alloys. My designer worked this program into my central processing unit, much like your peripheral nervous system. I, ‘subconsciously’ conduct them to do what I need them to do, and they manage themselves at the task, freeing my central processing unit for higher functions. If they become damaged, they either repair themselves or build replacements using carbon atoms found in the atmosphere. My processing unit and logic systems, however are of a traditional design, and thus susceptible to conventional means of destruction. These functional systems allow for covert operation, Concealment of my cargo, as well as quick battlefield regeneration, should I be forced to taking violent action.”
Jackson looked like he was about to pass out. “I’ve heard of this technology, but according to everything that I’ve seen, its impractical because it takes an immense amount of energy needed to run it.”
The droid looked back at him. “That is not quite correct.” The power needs for the nanocytes are minimal at best and my power core provides enough energy for both me and them, and any weapon that I have been equipped with; however the raw material itself is difficult to come by. Carbon is abundant in most atmospheres, and is the building block for my systems. I have the ability to ‘breathe’ in this base gas and extrapolate the needed element through a chemical reaction. I am able to keep my nanocytes supplied with base element.”
Jackson looked puzzled. “How is it, then; that you ended up in the possession of the Hutts? It sounds like you are a juggernaught.”
“Despite the fact that I am capable of many defensive and offensive forms, I can be surprised. An ion blaster has the same effect on me as it does on any droid. That is how the Huts were able to capture me; though they really didn’t know how I worked at the time. I was unable to regenerate, and I was forced to put myself on lockdown until I could capture enough power to initialize repair protocols. If it wasn’t for the sensor readout tool that you had left on my table, I would still be in lockdown.”
Jackson did not need to turn around to see that everyone was looking directly at him. How was he to know that the droid had some sort of ‘leech’ ability? “So, now we know what you are, and with our scanners, I know what you’re carrying; but we still don’t know who you are.”
“To answer your question, I am unit 24AX, however my creator preferred to call me Exe.” Exe’s chest clicked then split down the center, exposing the inner workings of the droid. Exe said, “And this is Computer interface B2-DX Alpha, but she likes to be called Violet.
“Hello.” Responded the cube in a smooth woman’s voice. “I’m pleased to meet you.”
Rohedria watched the exchange with great curiosity. Just minutes before the machine was ready to kill them, and now it was taking a more diplomatic approach. This made very little sense to her. She stepped forward a little more. “Exe, if you are a covert droid which is programmed for subterfuge and sabotage, why is it that you have given us all the information that you have? Why did you not act, kill us, take our ship, and complete your mission? How do you know you can trust us?”
The cool voice of the computer interface responded instead. “Well, while you were busy with my friend here, I was able to retrieve your entire database, which I studied and determined that not only were you not a threat, but due to your logs and activity I can safely assume that you are not affiliated with the Empire or its cohorts. Trust can only be learned if given first, and so we are trusting you here. All we want is that you return us to our master so that we can complete our mission." Exe's voice piped in, "Keep in mind, I am not bound by conventional ethical programming…I can, and will take lives to protect violet, no matter how regrettable that might be.”
Rohedria looked at the droid in disbelief. This droid, though completely synthetic, was alive; not in the biological sense; but it was a thinking entity nonetheless. The droid did not behave like a droid…it was very much a being to its own right. However, all she could think about at that point is how was she ever going to explain this to Wojec.
-
recommend
- recs 0
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Post a Comment