Diaspora Prime 22-25

DIASPORA PRIME

Date April 4 2017.
Author Palantir palantir@diasporatales.tech
Subject Diaspora Prime.

The author retains copyright (2012) to this story. Reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission is a violation of that copyright.
This story is fiction.

Thank you Nifty for the opportunity to post this story.

This story is first of the TALES OF THE TERRAN DIASPORA.

Wirrin shares his life with two friends on one of the great space habitats.

DIASPORA PRIME Part 22.

Next Part

Shocked, Wirrin blanked for a moment before his words started to tumble.

"He couldn't be. I was speaking to him a couple of hours ago. He had everything planned for what to do if there was danger. It would only take him instants to flash onto the InterWeb. He must be on a storage system somewhere and he'll contact us when he can."

"Wirrin, he's gone."

Akama's words thrust like a sword through the numbing incredulity. Wirrin pulled his thoughts together and looked to Pirramar.

"How could it happen?
...It was an attack wasn't it?
...And it came from the Rogue Scientist didn't it?"

"Yes, it was an attack, and, with a 98% probability, came from our Rogue. How it happened is not completely clear and we'd like you to work with us in examining the information we've retrieved."

"Wirrin will do whatever he can for whatever period of time is needed."

Wirrin almost jumped at the commanding tone of Akama's voice.

"Honored one. Of course. ...Do you mean right now?"

"I do. With a demonstrated capability and willingness to destroy an AI, we need to determine whether there is any possibility of threat to AIs in other locations. Calen, I'd like you to meet with Sonic and Turaku at the dolphinarium, and Thom, as a precautionary measure you should move on board the Comet."

After an exchange of looks the trio came to life, Wirrin completing his initial move to his Info Station, Calen heading for his skimmer, and Thom for the nearest TransCom portal. Akama looked momentarily to one side as if distracted.

"Wirrin, I have a meeting with the members of the Witness Council and AI representatives. I will speak with you later."

Akama and Turaku disappeared, leaving Wirrin with Pirramar and the unknown AI.

"Wirrin, this is Bakana. He's our young reconstruction of the K74 AI and he'll be working with us."

'Reconstruction' and 'young' were both unfamiliar terms with regard to an AI but right now didn't feel like the time to ask.

***

At mid-morning the next day the trio regrouped and caught up with each other's doings while Thom prepared one of his special snacks before they retired for a well earned rest.

"Thom, you won't sleep properly if you eat all that."

"Yes I will. I was awake all night and we were so busy I hardly had time to eat."

"What sort of busy?"

"All sorts. For a start we went into security mode and met up with Comet Two and did a high-level scan of everything in a two light minute radius. That didn't take long because our sensors are so powerful, especially the long range ones on Comet Two, and developed a threat gradient model for everything out there. Most of it we already had but the deep scans picked up quite a few new in-bounds."

Wirrin didn't have a clue what a threat gradient model really was. In-bounds sounded self-explanatory.

"Heading for Attunga? Were there many of them?"

"More than 1200 which is higher than normal, but not by much. Only five of them turned out to be reds, that's a threat classification, and the rest were all okay."

"What did you do about the reds? They don't sound too good."

"We didn't do anything, which is what usually happens. They just get monitored carefully by Habitat Security. But at about midnight we got word from the Witness Council about their policy changes and we turned three of them away."

"What policy changes?"

"They decided to have a clear zone, with extended boundaries, around Attunga and Warrakan and they're notifying any vessels without transparent security to stay away."

Thom was nodding at this information from Calen.

"How did you hear about that? It's news to me."

"I was there with Sonic and Turaku when they decided on it and sent the message to get rid of all the surveillance drones."

"Get rid of them? Wombats! That's really something. How did they do it?"

Thom's face lit up.

"That was exciting. The Comet Two disabled every single one of them in less than a second then guided them to collection points. The Comet gathered over a thousand of them in two pick-ups."

"A thousand? They used to be in the hundreds."

"Wirrin, that's ages ago. There were nearly three thousand altogether. The numbers climbed like crazy when K74 put its attention on us. They keep redesigning them and sending more."

"You said one of the exciting bits. That means there must be more?"

"There sure were. I said it was a busy night. The next thing was sending a ship back to Mars. Some program of yours picked up that they were troublemakers."

"Mine? What are you talking about?"

"Comet-Turaku said the information came from a task you designed to watch Mars Habitats."

"That? It was just a challenge from Pirramar for learning my InfoSystem. They use it for real?"

"Obviously. It found a connection between the ship from one of the Mars Polar Habitats and K74. We took the Comet right up close and told them they had to go back to Mars."

"Just like that? You told them to go and they went?"

"That was another exciting bit. They said we had no jurisdiction over them and refused, so we took over their controls and turned them around."

Wirrin could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"But they're right. We don't have jurisdiction out there."

"After last night we do. The Witness Council and the AIs ratified it for situations involving Attunga and Warrakan interests. It was a very serious meeting last night. Sonic said he'd never seen such strong emotions from Witnesses and the AIs amazed him with their determination."

"Sonic said that? It must have been some meeting."

"It was, but Thom hasn't finished his news yet. I know he's got at least one other thing to tell us."

"What thing?"

"The drones on the K74 spaceship."

Thom looked up in surprise.

"You know what happened?"

"Thom, I was at the Council meeting when the AIs asked Sonic and the Witnesses if destroying the drones had their approval. I don't know the details but I heard them say to go ahead as long as no people were hurt."

By now Wirrin could hardly contain himself.

"Which K74 ship and what drones? Stop arguing and tell me what happened. Was it one of those big spaceships?"

"It was the biggest. The one that was named after the number one Cadre person. He's going to be mad as a bunyip when he finds out. ...Which he already will have by now."

Wirrin rolled his eyes, partly because Thom was expecting a reaction, and partly because this did sound like something dramatic. Thom understood both the reasons and laughed.

"It was heading towards Attunga at 9G acceleration, which is fairly fast, and we detected a load of new drones they were carrying. That was after we'd collected all the local drones, so we sent them a message saying no more were to be delivered. They ignored that. They probably thought we didn't know exactly where they were. We sent them another message saying their course showed they were heading straight for Attunga, and if they didn't turn back the drones would be destroyed. They ignored that too, even though we gave them plenty of time to talk it over with their controllers on K74, so we vaporised the drones and locked control of their ship for an hour."

"Wouldn't vaporising the drones be dangerous to people inside the ship?"

"It didn't happen inside the ship. We made their loading system send all the drones outside. You should have seen it."

Wirrin wasn't going to miss that and a few seconds later had a holo clip of the event running. Loading bays functioned all along the side of the massive ship, the comparatively tiny drones appeared in the openings, moved steadily away, then flashed into spectacular brilliance for an instant.

"Thom, this shows Comet's multi-spectrum beams. You must have been really close?"

"We were. We went in to five kilometers. That was plenty."

"But that means their visuals would have been able to pick up every detail of the Comet."

"Not if we didn't allow it. We've got the same technique that tricked the visuals for the drones near Warrakan."

"You did allow it?"

"Yes, so they could see that a ship less than half their size could run rings around them, take over all their controls, and even make them blow themselves to bits if we needed to. We gave them a message that they can't just do whatever they like."

Thom's feelings were starting to show through so Wirrin agreed with a quiet nod and turned to Calen. The Cadre would get the message all right, but he didn't think it would change their main plans. They might be more careful for a while, but getting direct confirmation that capabilities like those of the Comet existed, would make them more determined to get them for themselves.

"What happened at the Council? You were heading for the dolphinarium when you left."

"Sonic's module was there so we met him and travelled to the Council Hall. He needed to be there in person instead of holo. They do it that way for important things. The first part of the meeting was sad because they talked about dieing and how the K74 AI helped us before he was murdered. The AIs were quiet during that part but they took over when the meeting started to talk about what to do."

That was interesting and Wirrin would have to look at that when he had a chance. Taking over wasn't what you usually saw with AIs.

"First they said that K74 has to learn that it must never happen again and they're taking a lot of actions to back that up. The Cadre won't know what's hit them when it starts."

"When it starts? It already has."

"Some of it. Thom's told us about clearing the drones and confronting their ships, but it's much bigger than that. Every AI in the Solar System has been informed that K74 purposely killed one of them, and they're all protesting about it to the humans in their own habitats. Akama said there will be total outrage from almost the whole solar system and K74 will be treated like a pariah, whatever that is."

"...Someone who is despised by everyone else. It's a word from Old India."

"That sounds right. The AIs are going to withdraw their services for anything related to the Cadre."

"There aren't any AIs on K74 now, so that doesn't sound like it will do much."

"Thom, think properly. The InterWeb relies on AIs to function and that means the Cadre will be cut off from just about everything. If they want to communicate with the rest of the Solar System they'll have to send their own signals. ..And even that won't work because the receivers are managed by AIs."

"No InterWeb? They won't be able to keep going."

"Yes they will. They've got an Intelligent System which runs their own version throughout the Habitat. They use Intelligent Systems to run nearly everything and that makes a problem that the Council and the AIs have to solve somehow. They talked about it a great deal."

Wirrin's interest jumped an extra level. Intelligent Systems was part of his area of interest.

"What problem?"

"The systems will all have to work at a higher level now that there's no real AI, and somehow that means a new one will appear."

"That's how Pirramar and the other AIs from K74 were formed, but why is it a problem?"

"They think that the Rogue Scientist will know as soon as it happens and either kill the AI off like he was ordered to yesterday, or send it crazy by trying to control it. That means they'll have to do something about protection and there are huge difficulties about that because what the Rogue Scientist is doing is complicating everything. The Witnesses are asking for a lot more information about him."

"That's going to be hard. Pirramar and I couldn't get past some of his blocks last night."

"Well, the AIs are working on it of course, and the Council said that they'd do whatever they could to help. The next big topic they talked about was Freedom. They think it's too vulnerable and isolated and last night they contacted them and suggested the whole Habitat would be better off under the direct protection of Attunga and Warrakan."

"Are we going to build a new Comet or give them all our defensive security data, or something like that?"

"Three more Comets Thom, but they're for here. Four of Attunga's space drives are going to be installed on Freedom so they can move. It will arrive in about five months time."

Wirrin and Thom gawped.

"That all happened last night? They asked, and Freedom agreed, and everything got set in motion before the meeting even ended?"

"It only took twenty minutes. The Council could hardly believe it themselves, but it turned out that the Freedom AIs pointed out the benefits of the idea and practically insisted on moving and joining even more closely with us."

It was another reminder of how fast things could happen when AIs were involved.

"Kadaitcha man! That's amazing. The AIs don't muck around once they've worked something out. The Council meeting must have been nearly as exciting as it was for me on the Comet. Did they decide anything else?"

"Lots of things. Mostly about security stuff, but they've also decided to go ahead and build the embassy at K74."

"You must be joking. The Cadre will be so mad at us they'll probably blow it up. ...And it doesn't make sense anyway. If the AIs are cutting them off from everyone, why are we doing the opposite?"

"Akama says they won't do a thing no matter how mad they are. They'll act as if nothing happened and after three weeks of isolation they'll jump at the opportunity because it means they can get more information."

"I'll bet it's something to do with protecting any new AIs. That's going to be really hard."

Calen nodded at Wirrin's statement.

"What was the security stuff? Was it about the new Comets?"

"Some of it. They're going to speed up work on the shell around Attunga, and Warrakan is going to have one too."

"Three Comets. ...As soon as I've had a sleep I'm finding out about them."

Thom, understandably, wanted to know about the Comets, but Wirrin was intrigued by the idea of a shell for Warrakan. It already had almost a kilometre of its outer layer reserved as a natural buffer for when it started travelling through deep space, so an extra shell seemed redundant. So many things happening at once. Well, maybe this evening after a sleep he'd get some catch-up time.

"What did you find out on your InfoSystem? Akama said you did some good things."

"He did?"

"Yes, and he told me to tell you he's been too busy and he'll talk to you after you've had your sleep. ...But what happened? He practically ordered you to work with Pirramar."

"We did work. For over twelve hours, and most of it was really hard. The first bit wasn't because it was helping Bakana, and Pirramar let me see what he was doing."

"Bakana?"

"He's the new AI who was with Turaku and Pirramar when they turned up last night."

"New?"

"He's a reconstruction of the AI from K74. Pirramar needed him to help with understanding the information which he sent through just before he died."

"Wirrin, what are you talking about? The AI who died is alive again?"

"No, he's not, but yes, in a way. It's a bit like a clone only with AIs. The building blocks of the original are there so he's kind of identical but he has his own consciousness."

"Like Comet-Turaku and Attunga-Turaku?"

"Not really. They're exactly identical because they're constantly linked and updating each other. If they stopped sharing everything then they would develop into too different AIs but they have no intention of doing that. Bakana is as close to the the K74 AI as Pirramar could make him but some things we just couldn't find out."

"You helped to build him? How does that work? He was already alive when you met him last night."

"That was young Bakana. Pirramar used the basic information which had already been sent and matched it with the processors and electronics which were ready in case they were needed. Last night we sneaked into every system on K74 we could and grabbed data which was tagged to be transmitted as part of the AI's escape plan. We couldn't get it all but what we did get was used by Bakana with Pirramar helping him integrate it all and build up his abilities."

"He was different when you finished doing that? Could you tell?"

"I couldn't. Not one bit, but Pirramar said there was a huge difference."

"It's amazing how they can just build a new AI whenever they feel like it. They should build up their population more."

"More? We've got nearly 400 of them here. No other habitat except Titania Orbital has got anything like that number."

"That's exactly what I mean. How would it be if there were only 400 people on Attunga? We'd think something was wrong."

"Calen, you can't think of them like people. ...They're too different. And if you tried to build it up to even a thousand you'd have to add about eight extra levels."

"Building levels is easy. We're adding one for the dolphins and that'll be finished in two years. Our Pico factories could add another eight in the same time if they really wanted to. But what about Warrakan? It's got so much space they could easily fit thousands of them. Is it the same breakdown there as it is here?"

"Breakdown?"

"The proportions. Attunga's got two levels for AIs and five for people, ...and one for dolphins."

"Oh right. I see what you mean. Let's have a look."

Within seconds Wirrin had a holo model of Warrakan floating in front of them with a cutaway view showing the general proposals for future development.

"Nine levels for people, six levels for dolphins, and five levels for AIs. The other ten levels are for all the services."

"Their AIs get a lot more space."

"Hey, you're right. That's very interesting. ...Wombats! That's huge. Calen, when you calculate at the Attunga rate Warrakan has enough space for over ten thousand AIs."

"How did you do that?"

Calen and Thom were staring at him.

"What do you mean? I compared the Attunga space with the Warrakan space. That's easy."

"It might be easy, but it should take more than a couple of blinks."

"Did I blink?"

"I don't know. You might have. I just meant that's how long it took to work it out. You didn't seem to put it all together before you said the answer."

"Of course I put it together. I've had lots of practice lately. That's all."

"We said you were a brainiac when you started zapping without concentrating, and now you've proved it by doing the same thing with calculations."

"Good try Thom, except I did think about it."

"Are you zapping now?"

"You know I am. I've been doing it automatically for ages."

It wasn't really ages, just since the last visit to the doctor a few weeks ago.

"Play it back for us then and see how long it took."

Wirrin pulled the relevant moment from his storage implant and played it. He couldn't see himself of course, but his voice was recorded along with the images of Thom and Calen looking at him. There it was, in the moment before he said 'Wombats'.

"It does seem a bit short."

"A bit? ...Measure it."

"...1.8 seconds. See, there's a definite period while I'm thinking."

"Thom does calculations all the time for flying the Comet. Flash the numbers and see how long it takes him."

That little experiment showed Thom taking 6.4 seconds and brought renewed grins and cries of brainiac.

"You'd better talk to the doctor about this, before your brain goes all electronic."

"And before you have to start plugging yourself into your InfoStation for recharges."

Idiots! It was puzzling though, and worth checking out, but right now a subject change was in order.

"Look at this model of Warrakan. You were wrong about the shell."

"Good change of subject Wirrin, but I wasn't. It shows it right there."

"But they're not adding it outside like Attunga's. It's converting the buffer zone instead, so it's not really a shell."

"Giving it a hard outer layer? Sounds like a shell to me. Stop waffling and get on with what else you did last night. I know you've got more too because the Council talked about some of it."

Wirrin didn't know that, but it wasn't a surprise really after hearing the decisions they'd made. Pirramar had probably been in constant contact with them.

"Well, after we worked with Bakana, which was time critical in case the stored files got wiped out or blocked, we started looking at what happened on K74. That was critical too because Pirramar received just enough warning to know that there was danger for any AI looking too closely at the information in the panic transmission."

"Danger for external AIs? That's scary."

"Really scary. And it's why Akama made such a big deal about me helping. Just as well too, because Pirramar would have been in big trouble if he hadn't listened to the warning."

"It wouldn't have...?"

"No, but it could have interfered with his thinking if he wasn't prepared."

"So what was it?"

"It was a different version of that priority trap which interfered with the AIs when we were at Monkey Mia. This time it was so strong it could force processors to overload and become temporarily useless. Pirramar said it would be horrible for an AI, ...like a human suddenly losing their senses one after the other. The trap was bad enough, but its whole purpose was to tie up all the AI's resources, so he couldn't react fast enough when the real attack was launched against his core. Without that overload the AI would have escaped easily. He had that all planned and ready."

"If he hadn't followed the warning could Pirramar have been hurt by the real attack as well as the overload part?"

"No, the attack was designed against the exact processors and code being used by the K74 AI and Pirramar's is different. His code did start off the same when he first transferred but it immediately got updated and his new processors are way ahead of the ones on K74. That's good news for every other AI too, because the lethal part won't work without being designed to their exact specifications, but we didn't know that until we looked at it and understood what it was doing."

"Brainiac saves the AIs again."

"Galah head! It was your idea that saved them at Monkey Mia not mine, and we knew there must be something like it happening again so call yourself a brainiac."

Thom, completely ignoring the logic in Wirrin's argument, and knowing that much much more would have happened, promptly called him a brainiac again. Calen was enjoying the brainiac stir as much as Thom but he moved the conversation on.

"The Council knew the AIs were safe early in the meeting, so what were you doing the rest of the time?"

"Getting into as many of K74's systems as we possibly could. It's a nightmare now because there's no AI to give us the access codes. Pirramar can work them out or bypass them sometimes but there are critical areas we can't get at. The Rogue Scientist has his section completely blocked and he's started working on the Cadre's control area as well and their meeting room has gone from our view."

"So we won't know what they're saying any more?"

"Not when they're meeting together, but we'll be able to find out indirectly as long as the blocked areas don't spread too much."

"If he blocks the whole place we won't know anything."

"He couldn't. Well he could, but everything would slow down too much."

"That wouldn't worry them."

"Yes it would Thom. Their TransCom system isn't nearly as efficient as ours for a start, and it would probably take two or three times as long to get anywhere, and on a 300 km long habitat they definitely couldn't cope. You'd have twelve billion people complaining, and it would be the same with their services and communications."

"So we'll still find out stuff but it will be second-hand?"

"We'll find out lots of things but really important things might be blocked."

"The Rogue must be very clever."

"He is. Pirramar says we need to know a whole lot more about what he's doing and what he's capable of."

"What did Sonic say about all these things happening?"

Thom addressed this question to Calen who went a bit thoughtful before answering.

"He agreed with all the proposals from the Council and the AIs but he hardly said anything at all. When we were travelling back to the dolphinarium he said he was puzzled about K74 and needed more understanding before he could make proper decisions about them."

"Really? That sounds like he might have doubts about the proposals?"

"He doesn't, because I asked him."

They started to discuss Sonic's reactions but when Thom half stifled a yawn and Wirrin and Calen both caught it off him, they nodded in agreement. It was time for bed.

***

Wirrin watched Thom and Calen in the pool and laughed when Thom got a face full of water for trying to twist Sonic's tail flukes. He'd been happily mucking round himself but it was now right on the time when Akama and Warrigal were due for a surprise conference. Akama was expected but the message waiting when he woke from his much needed sleep saying Warrigal would be present was not, and even more unexpected was the way the meeting was couched in terms of a conference which almost sounded serious.

"Welcome to my home Honored Ones."

"Thank you Little Brother. We treasure the gift of your welcome."

All sound from the pool stopped and Wirrin knew Calen, Thom and Sonic were watching, intrigued by the exchange of traditional greeting. For Wirrin it had been almost automatic because Akama's usual friendly manner was overlaid with the presence of his office, and that was somehow reflected in Warrigal.

"The Witness Council, acting on request from our AI associates, formerly commends you in recognition of your service to the community of Attunga. Furthermore the AI gestalt expresses its gratitude for your help in protecting their interests and names you a friend." Wirrin stared in disbelief then into the sudden silence Sonic's voice sounded from the translator.

'Dolphins are in full agreement, friend Wirrin.'

Wirrin didn't know what to say so he just nodded.

"Wow! That's unreal."

The charged, ceremonial atmosphere dissolved as everyone smiled at Thom's interjection, and Sonic spoke again, this time with his normal voice.

'This is a time for friends to celebrate.'

Calen understood and beckoned to Akama and Warrigal.

"He wants everyone together in the water."

A few moments later, with four very pleased people around him, and Sonic nudging companionably against his side, Wirrin felt he could say what he really thought.

"Akama, why have they made it such a big deal? All I did was work on the InfoSystem. I don't see why the council think that's so special."

Wirrin felt a jolt of surprise and pleasure when a hand firmly grasped his shoulder. Akama was expressing a degree of pride?

"The council had no choice Wirrin because the AIs insisted. Not that there was a skerrick of resistance. How could there be when Pirramar reported directly that you ventured where he daren't, discovered an insidious trap dangerous to every AI in the Solar System, then pointed the way to a solution. On top of that, several of your tasks and your hours of application were a vital help for the new AI. ...The commendation and the status are rightly yours."

"Too many brains for his own good. ...What's that status part mean? Will we have to bow to him every morning when we wake up?"

Wirrin was glad Thom asked because he was wondering himself.

"You're quite astute in picking that up Thom and you're right. A formal commendation automatically grants special privilege, and from now on you will be expected to respond to his every request and treat him with the utmost respect. A bow would definitely be appropriate, along with taking over all his jobs around your living space and preparing his meals. Whenever you speak to him you should call him 'Great One'."

That was ridiculous but Akama sounded so serious and authoratative that it must be right. Thom's jaunty manner disappeared and his jaw literally dropped.

"Great One?"

"That's correct. Try it. A commendation from the full Council and all the AIs is an extraordinary event and if you can't manage it appropriately we might need to train you with a protocol holo."

'Wirrin is a great one.'

This was too weird but coming from Sonic made it sound right, and seeing all the expectant gazes focused on him, Thom faced Wirrin and gave a slow nod.

"Great One."

Wirrin's thoughts were whirling. If they had to follow all his requests then the first one would be to not call him 'Great One' at home. Akama would say that must be all right, surely? Wirrin was about to ask when he caught the surreptitious little movement directed at him. A wink? Yes, Akama had a definite twinkle in his eye.
Bunyips! They'd all fallen for it completely, well maybe not Sonic. His comment was conveniently complicit come to think of it. Keeping a straight face, Wirrin returned the slow nod to Thom then suddenly directed a scoop of water right at him.

"Thank you 'Tiny One'. I'd like my breakfast delivered to the grav-bed every morning."

First astonishment at the response, then realisation, registered with Thom and one glance at Akama's huge smile confirmed he'd been tricked. Wirrin was almost shocked when jets of water started flying at the leading Witness on all of Attunga, but the vigorous return attack showed Akama was relishing every moment. Sonic joined in and Thom had no hope.

"Fish attack. Not fair."

'The Tiny One sends tiny splashes.'

"You great lump. Why don't you splash Akama and Warrigal ? I bet you're not game."

Akama and Warrigal almost disappeared under the amounts of water Sonic sent, but for the last word Thom copped the same treatment.

"What did you mean by status before Thom misinterpreted it?"

"Thom didn't really misinterpret. The status is real and almost unique. The AIs have proclaimed Wirrin a friend and that means he will be recognised as special by any AI he comes in contact with."

"Wow! Do you think they'll call him Great One?"

"They very well might Thom. Who knows what an AI will do in any given this situation, and it's certainly likely he'll be meeting quite a few in the near future."

Wondering if this was a reference to something specific, the trio exchanged glances and looked for extra information.

"Yes Wirrin, there is another reason we're here tonight. Warrigal is present as your mentor and advocate. I represent the council and have a request for you to consider. After last night's events there was a great deal of discussion of what to do about the Rogue Scientist, as Calen so aptly refers to him, and it's very clear that we need to know more about him, particularly the direction he's taking against non-human intelligence.
The AIs from Earth and Mars have made a joint effort to provide us with every piece of information they've been able to find so we have an extensive background of his life prior to the move to K74.
Our concerns are with his current activities however, and five of our top information scientists will be examining every facet of his work and research. They will be a valuable assistance but the biggest imperative is to be forewarned and prepared should the Cadre direct him to extend his aggression.
We need someone to experience his background and become expert in all his fields of work, expert enough to guide us in countering anything he might try. Pirramar insists that it should be you, and we quite agree except for the fact that it would be a major intrusion on your life."

Wirrin was nodding his agreement about the need for knowledge. It was exactly what he'd reported to Thom and Calen and his interest flared at the prospect of involvement, then stalled. A major intrusion? He was making it sound so negative.

"I don't see why. It's directly related to my Info studies and I already have a good background in what's going on. I like working with Pirramar too, and I think it's exactly what I should be doing."

Akama exchanged a look with Warrigal.

"Wirrin, we agree with Pirramar that you're right for this task. The problem is the degree and length of commitmentat at this stage of your life. It would involve yet another postponement of your plans to finish Basic Training and immediately shouldering a seriously heavy workload. You would have to fight your way through accelerated EdCom courses in every area the Rogue has studied and at the same time work with Pirramar to access the K74 Information Systems. I can see you're eager and feeling obliged to go ahead but we must talk this through thoroughly before you decide."

Talk they did for over an hour till Wirrin understood, with a mixture of alarm and excitement, exactly how much was involved.
Warrigal almost vetoed the proposal at one stage, insisting that Wirrin wasn't a machine and that at least half his EdCom time should involve classes shared with other students. He very clearly understood, much better than Akama, the ins and outs of EdCom and the difficulties and needs of such a crowded course. He asked Wirrin about his best learning times and when Wirrin explained about working through the challenges on the Titania trip he called for Turaku, and on the spot asked for his involvement. Turaku agreed, but straightaway said that Pirramar was better suited and offering to take his place. Warrigal called for Pirramar then, and told him he would link him to the sections of EdCom overseeing Wirrin's courses.
Sonic complicated everything by informing Akama that he wanted to be involved with Wirrin's learning and research as well. Throughout all this Wirrin had no doubts at all about his decision, but as the range of things he'd have to do clarified in his mind he wondered more and more if he'd be able to manage and finally said there was too much. Warrigal allayed those worries by taking every aspect and showing how it could be organised into a workable timetable.
Another complication was the move to the new living space on Warrakan, which was only two weeks away, and Calen suggested starting the full program when that was settled. Pirramar, surprisingly, supported that, saying concentrated work with Wirrin for the next three or four weeks was actually a priority.

***

"Wirrin, I hope this doesn't mean you'll be working twelve hours a day for the next few years! We'll never see you, and when we do you'll be too tired. I don't think it's fair."

"It won't be that bad. We'll have our activity days together. Warrigal made certain of that."

"As if! Look how much they already get messed up when Thom's doing something with the Comet or I'm involved with extra things for Sonic."

"We'll work around it. Warrigal and Akama both said they'd help us as much as they could and they really meant it. It's scary, but it's like you working extra hard with Sonic for the Meeting Day."

"That was four or five weeks. Not forever."

"Well, I hope you don't drop dead from brain exhaustion. A quarter of what you're doing would be enough for me. I'm going to see if there's a protein structure that stops brains wearing out."

Trust Thom to make them all smile. Secretly, Wirrin wished him success. He might indeed need a protein structure like that.

DIASPORA PRIME Part 23

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"Wirrin! Wake up!"

Wirrin resisted the insistent voice and rolled away in protest. Just a little more sleep, perhaps a few hours, would be heaven.

"He's getting worse than you Calen."

What? ...What were they talking about? Wirrin cracked one eyelid and peered at Thom kneeling on the grav-bed beside him.

"Go away. It's too early."

"No it's not. It's half an hour after you told us to wake you up."

"And Sonic's in the pool waiting for us."

Wirrin rolled over and now with two eyes open saw Calen watching from the other side of the grav-bed.
Half an hour?
...Sonic?
...What were they talking about?
Oh! Wirrin sat up abruptly and was immediately pushed and pulled to the floor. How could he possibly have slept in on moving day?

"Get something on and grab your breakfast. Thom's got it ready and waiting for you."

After a glance at the time, Wirrin grabbed his clothes and rushed to the living area where a delicious smell filled the air.

'Lazybones! We nearly left you behind and be careful or you'll eat that shirt.'

Sonic's dolphin version of laughter gave an extra little push to Wirrin's wake up process and he couldn't help smiling. He probably did look funny, grabbing a great mouthful of food then donning another article of clothing. Following Calen's look, Wirrin glanced at the wall display and saw dolphins everywhere in the reach close by. Puck and Flute and the whole pod, waiting while he slept. They would all think it funny and he'd hear about it for the rest of the day.

"Come on! Let's go."

Moments later the excitement started to build as, surrounded by Puck's complete pod, the three skimmers headed for the dolphinarium. The atmosphere there would be even more intense, with every other enhanced dolphin on Attunga waiting to be transported to the Comet and then to their new home on Warrakan.
The reach there was in wonderful condition, with its whole marine ecosystem fully recovered after five months of dolphin free development. Yajala had overseen all that and reported to Puck and Sonic that it was now the healthiest reach on Warrakan. Watching the antics and listening to the excited communications made Wirrin wonder anew at their apparent lack of feeling about leaving the Attunga reaches which had been their lifelong home. Sonic said dolphins didn't quite think that way, instead enjoying the prospect of everything new the Warrakan reach would provide.
Well, they were different. It was as simple as that. For himself it wasn't the same. Their shared space on Attunga would always be in his mind as the first place with the special feeling of being their own home. Calen felt the same. Thom said he didn't but Wirrin wasn't sure about that. It wasn't as if they were completely leaving though, because it was there for their use anytime they went to Attunga. Warragul told them he'd organised that because the pool and translators made it a friendly, familiar base for Sonic if he was visiting, and because Wirrin needed a place for the two days a week of EdCom courses he'd be doing on Attunga.

"Whoo! Look at this!"

Thom's call snapped Wirrin from his reverie. There was only a distance of a couple of hundred metres to the dolphinarium and directly ahead a mass of dolphins was racing straight at the skimmers and Puck's pod. Wirrin's heart jumped. They were being charged by an army. The two contingents collided and nearly 400 dolphins miraculously became one unit. Sonic leaped from the water and the pulse of dolphin calls was cut off abruptly as the flying bodies disappeared beneath the surface. Calen yelled with enjoyment.

"They're crazy!"

They certainly were. It was the same contagious excitement the Earth dolphins had shown, but more intense, and the trio were all laughing as the action approached the dolphinarium landing.

"They might be too worked up to go on the transporters."

"With Sonic and the rangers telling them what to do? No way. They've got it all over ordinary dolphins. You watch."

And of course Calen was right. The transfer to transport modules proceeded like clockwork and the move to the Comet followed likewise.
The short trip from Attunga, with Thom piloting of course, was unexpectedly dramatic when all the pod leaders reacted strongly to their first sight of space and the growing image of Warrakan on the great display screen. The surge of calls for information and explanation resounding through the control centre caused the humans present to stare in wonder, then take in the view themselves with a reawakened sense of appreciation.
The arrival at Warrakan home reach was ordered chaos with dolphin pods joining with their rangers in preparation for the move to their varied locations. Puck's pod didn't have far to go, being assigned to close proximity with the giant dolphinarium and Marine Research Centre, and after meeting with Gelar and Warragul they all set off through the crystal clear water. Wirrin was struck by just how clear it was. So different without the haze caused previously by the huge infusion of nutrients to stimulate faster development. According to Gelar's reports the whole reach was teeming with life, and the dolphins were going to be amazed at the abundance and variety. Stocks of larger fish had been transferred from the surrounding reaches where there were now more than the earth dolphins would ever need. The dolphinarium loomed and Wirrin scanned further on, where only five hundred metres away their new living space nestled at the edge of the reach.
Two hours from now, after exploring with the pod, the trio would enter and officially take over.

***

"Of course they got excited Thom. A reach like this was completely new to them, and it was exuberance more than excitement."

"Sounds the same to me. ...When is Sonic coming?"

"Tonight, probably at the usual time. He's spending the whole day with his pod while they look around."

The trio was sitting on the new grav-sofa and looking at the view of the reach on the giant display screen which took up most of the wall fronting the water.

"It's so big. I can't get used to it."

"The reach? You've seen it so much you should be."

"Not the reach. The wall screen. The other one looked like a screen, but this one makes you feel like there's not even a wall there."

"Wirrin, that's the whole idea."

"I know, but it's three times as wide and a bit higher."

"Well I think it's incredible and I'm glad we followed Wanna's advice."

Wanna was the Planning Assistant who'd arranged all the design and construction after hearing ideas from the trio.

"Glad! Is that all? Remember when you said you wanted a maxi-screen and he suggested this instead?"

Calen laughed because Thom had carried on for days about how unreal something twice as wide as a maxi would be.

"I know but he was right. All his ideas were the best."

Looking round at everything Wirrin could only agree. Despite the huge size of the pool and hence the much bigger space to contain it, their actual living area was very similar to the last one. They'd wanted to keep it that way and Wirrin liked the result.

"What are you thinking about now Wirrin?"

"Nothing special, but lots of things. I know I'm going to like it here when I get used to the extra space."

"You'd better like it. We might still be here in another hundred years."

Thom and Wirrin both looked at Calen in surprise.

"I suppose so. I've never thought like that. We've always had a change ahead of us."

"Well I don't want any changes for a while. We've dreamed about Warrakan for years and now we're here."

"There are always changes. Freedom's arriving in another four months and I know another change that's right now and it will affect you more than me and Thom."

"What?"

"We won't see Turaku as much because Yajala looks after dolphins here."

"Yes we will. Well I will, because he and Yajala work together, and you will Thom, whenever you're controlling the Comet, because Turaku's built into it. I don't know about Wirrin."

"Calen, I'll probably see him more than either of you. Pirramar and I contact him all the time about the dolphin plans on K74 and what's happening with the reaches at Freedom and Uranus."

"What's been happening on K74? You haven't told us."

"There's nothing to tell. They're still building the reach and they won't finish for ages. They're so slow at building things it might take them another year."

"That's good then, but what slowed them down? I remember you said five months."

"What do you think? They killed their AI didn't they, without realising how much efficiency they'd lose. Everything's taking longer."

Calen frowned.

"That means their dolphins will be stuck in tiny aquariums for ages. I hope they'll be all right."

"Didn't Gelar tell you? They haven't got any. The blockade stopped that and the Earth AIs won't let anyone else send any. They'll have to go to earth and collect them for themselves."

"No he didn't, but then I didn't ask. We've been so busy getting ready for this move."

"Hey, Sonic's getting strong isn't he? He nearly kept up with those three big males when they were racing."

"He'll beat them all soon. He's started a new growth spurt and Yajala thinks it'll be a couple of months before it steadies down.

He's already big for his age and he's still got years and years of growing. We think he might be half a metre longer than those males eventually."

Thom looked impressed and he called up life-size holo images of two of the racing males, then with a bit of fiddling enlarged one an extra half metre for comparison. Wow! Wirrin was impressed now. That would be a very big dolphin.

"He'll make the Earth dolphins look like kids. Why are they smaller?"

"It's partly an effect of the enhancement process but mostly because Monkey Mia dolphins are a larger variant of bottlenose dolphin than the earth norm."

The original stock of Attunga dolphins all came from the Monkey Mia area.

"Cold water dolphins can grow up to four metres which is the same size as our Attunga males, but some types are fully grown at two a half. That's why we were surprised when we first saw the Earth dolphins."

Thom was smiling because he'd got Calen started on talking about dolphins, but he was interested too and wanted to know why cold water would make dolphins bigger.

"A smaller body has to use more energy to keep a proper temperature, so bigger dolphins have a survival advantage when it's constantly cold."

"I'm glad our dolphins like warm water. We wouldn't be able to swim with them without freezing. Did any of the cold water ones come on the Comet?"

"Yes, about seven pods. One of the reaches is set up with the right conditions for them."

"So how did they cope with the warm water in home reach for five months?"

"Good question. They're used to big variations and it was like summer for them except it went on for ages."

"What happens if you visit them? You'll freeze."

"No I won't. I'll use a thermal skin if I need to go right in, but near the interconnects the water's close to home reach temperature."

"When are you going again? I want to see this."

"Not for ages. Settling in with our dolphins is the main focus for a while and we'll mostly be out there somewhere."

Calen gestured to the expanse of the reach and they all did an automatic check to see if any dolphins were in view.

"It's so big. I can't get used to it."

Thom and Calen exchanged a look and burst out laughing.

"Time-warp attack!"

"Brain malfunction!"

"Stress relief time!"

Under joyful attack from both sides, Wirrin fleetingly wondered if the new grav-sofa would cope as well as the old one.

***

"What did you do to Sonic yesterday? It seems like he's gone crazy about InfoSystems. They installed a whole new one for him on the Comet, and Calen says they're doing the same at the dolphinarium."

"They've put them in already? Well there'll be one in our pool too, in a few days. He got frustrated when he saw how slow his ordinary InterWeb was compared to how I do things on my system and he asked Yajala what he could do about it."

"It's his next thing. I can tell."

"Thing?"

"Like the music, and learning to read. He talked about it all this afternoon while we visited the pods. He'll spend weeks on it till he thinks he's good enough."

"Wow! We'll have two brainiacs saving the AIs. ...Do you think he's going to be good at it?"

Wirrin thought that was a strange question

"Of course he will. When he's interested in something he's always brilliant. Look what he did with the Dreamtime Concerto and the Meeting songs."

"I suppose he'll do it the same way he uses the InterWeb?"

Wirrin nodded.

"Yes, except he's got the option for much more extended input."

Sonic was completely adept at using the InterWeb. He used sound exclusively of course, since the fine motor control of human fingers wasn't available to him, but according to Pirramar, the incredible range and rapidity of his auditory signals gave him the potential to be far more facile with input than any human. Wirrin, using a combination of speech and touch, was way ahead at the moment but he'd learned yesterday that with a system designed especially for him, Sonic would eventually be faster. As long as he practised.

"What does that mean?"

"He'll be able to run the System faster than I can."

Thom thought about that for a moment.

"I wonder what it will sound like? If much of it's that high stuff we can't hear it might overload Calen's implants."

"No it won't. It'll be just like the InterWeb controls he uses now except there'll be more of them."

"What does Pirramar say about it?"

"He's really keen. He'll help out any time Sonic wants him and so will Yajala and Turaku."

"All three of them? What happens about his time with Calen?"

Calen laughed.

"That goes back to normal, whatever that is. We'll still be going to Nurseries and EdCom groups and talking to the scientists and visiting Earth dolphins and all the other things. I might actually have a chance to catch up some extra EdCom work."

"Do you think the EdCom here will be much different?"

Thom and Calen both looked to Wirrin to answer this as his big work commitment meant he'd had the most involvement in planning everything.

"I don't see how, except we'll be meeting a whole new set of people. Warragul says the Intelligence System which runs it all on Attunga is as up-to-date is it can be, so Warrakan can't be better."

"The labs and tute rooms are bigger."

"I suppose. But the same things will still happen in them. We'll soon know."

They'd find out tomorrow in fact, when they were all attending their first EdCom courses on Warrakan. Warragul had finalised everything and swapped a number of Calen and Thom's times to match with Wirrin's, which were far more complicated. His EdCom work involved a day each on Attunga and Warrakan with other students, and a day each with the faster and more adaptable personalised electronic instruction courses. His other day involved the K74 work with Pirramar and InfoSystem training with Sonic. For both Calen and Thom the EdCom work was secondary, after dolphin time and Comet related studies respectively. Not so for Wirrin. His study from now on would be strongly directed and purposeful, namely to build an understanding of the Rogue Scientist, and very different to the broad educative structure of Basic Training. On top of that, Pirramar was now linked to EdCom and overseeing his progress, a unique situation according to Warragul.

"Hey look, Sonic's out there with Puck and Flute. They're early."

***

"Hello doctor."

"Hi Wirrin, what's the news this time?"

"News?"

The doctor grinned.

"Your file has changed to a permanent time priority. You've turned up a week earlier than scheduled, and exciting and interesting news has been part of almost every meeting we've had. I feel a sense of anticipation every time I see your name on the roster."

Wirrin grinned and nodded in return.

"Yes, I have got some news, and several questions as well."

"Questions? ...Medical ones? ...Well, let's deal with them first and get your check-up done since it's a bit longer than usual."

Wirrin wondered why but didn't ask because he'd soon find out.

"Thom and Calen call me a brainiac and I wanted to ask you about it."

"A brainiac? Meaning you're a genius?"

Wirrin laughed.

"No, they'd never say that. They think there's something unusual about my brain because I work some things out too quickly. Look at this."

Wirrin called up the incident about AI space on Warrakan and projected it as a holo.

"See what I mean. Thom's good at calculations like that and he took 3.5 times as long to work it out."

"3.5? Interesting. Let's have a look."

Having a look meant a number of tests and a half hour later the doctor's conclusion.

"You can tell Thom and Calen there's nothing weird at all going on, just a natural gift being diligently exercised. Your study must involve quite a bit of this sort of calculation?"

That was such an understatement Wirrin couldn't help making a little splutter of laughter.

"It always has. They're part of InfoStudies which I've always loved, but when the AIs started giving me challenges I had to do even more, and now that I'm on my special course it's practically constant calculations and puzzles."

"You've changed your Basic Training?"

"It's not a change. I don't even do it any more. The Witnesses and AIs exempted me."

"A complete exemption? You were squeezing your Basic in amongst the other activities last time I saw you."

"There's just no time now and it might be a couple of years before I can get back to it. My new course is totally full time."

"Totally? So it's something to do with the priority classification on your file."

"I don't know what the priority's for but it could be. The AIs asked for me to do this course."

"Wirrin! No wonder I look forward to your news. Tell me."

So Wirrin did, the reasons and then the structure of the study. Some of Wirrin's concern must have come through because the doctor seized on the difficulty aspect.

"How are you coping? This looks close to an overload to me."

"It's okay so far. It's very exciting too, especially working with Pirramar, but it's hard to wake up in the mornings and I've never been like that before."

"And you're worried you mightn't be able to maintain this rate of output?"

Wirrin acknowledged that.

"What about your sleep pattern? Do you wake up during the night or have any trouble getting to sleep?"

"Never. I close my eyes and then, when I wonder why Calen and Thom are speaking to me, it's the next morning."

"That's good. Just out of interest I'll program your health bots to log your sleep rhythms for the next few weeks, but I think we'll find you're going through a typical adaptation process. Your health check will tell us what's going on, so, any more questions before we start?"

"Yes, we're wondering why he I have more visits than Thom and Calen. It seems to have gone back to the same pattern as when I was little."

The doctor raised his eyebrows.

"Your recent extra visits have all been circumstance, mostly due to your unusual implant abilities, but up till age nine you did have a different monitoring schedule. Hasn't that ever been explained to you?"

"Never. I vaguely remember asking if there was something wrong with me when we noticed I had a lot more checkups than Calen and Thom, but they said I was extra healthy and everyone just needed varying numbers of checks. ...something like that at any rate."

"Hmm, well they wouldn't go into details because of your age, but this is strangely coincidental because it ties in with today's extra procedures. Your genetic background is different to Thom and Calen's and did require extra monitoring because it came from the Legacy source. Ninety per cent of Nursery children originate from the gene pool of our current citizens, but since it is so important to maintain genetic diversity the rest are carefully selected from mostly external sources."

"What does Legacy source mean?"

"It's the small but significant collection of genetic material which was gathered from Northern Australia as a bio-backup when Attunga was first constructed. It's accessed regularly as a physical affirmation of our heritage."

This was interesting and it certainly explained the cast of his physical characteristics. Thom and Calen would want to hear about this.

"Do you know how many people come from it?"

"Almost everyone. It's only the external ten percent I mentioned who aren't descended from it as a base, but that's not what you meant."

He manipulated his holo screen.

"The external 9.6 percent to be exact. According to this the current access rate for Legacy material stands at approximately 0.4 percent, so you're quite a select individual. Calculating an exact number would be very difficult as we'd have to access the records of every single Nursery on the Habitat."

Not really. Wirrin knew he could do that in moments with his InfoStation. He had a bigger question.

"So why do children from the Legacy source need more monitoring? If I was extra healthy that sounds like I'd need less."

"That's a very good question. Legacy material was all vetted at the time of collection, but we've learned a great deal in the decades since, and a whole range of modifications need to be applied when using that early material to ensure a long and healthy life. Most of the changes are very minor and are only significant in their cumulative effect, but there are also a number of very important ones. For example we fixed a propensity in your body for hearing failure after age eighty, as well as a slight weakness in your liver function."

Wirrin immediately thought of Peggy, the dolphin in Martin's pod. They had something in common. He'd watch you progress from now on.

"That doesn't sound too healthy."

"Completely healthy. We all carry a huge range of characteristics in our make up and understanding their relative importance is very difficult. We have to be careful about eliminating any bad traits because they're often linked in some way with more important good ones. Basically no one is perfectly healthy but we're steadily improving."

"I won't tell Thom and Calen about the hearing thing or they'll be yelling at me as if I can't hear."

"Tell them how select you are instead. Less than .4 percent of the population is quite impressive."

"One in every 250. That sounds even better. I'll say it that way. ...What's the coincidence?"

"Today is deposit day for your bio-bank."

Wirrin stared for a moment.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Probably. ...If you're thinking stem cells, blood, sperm cells, DNA material, and a microscopic amount of brain matter, then yes."

That was right but more than expected, especially the last bit.

"You're going to collect a piece of my brain?"

"Yes, and when people complain we leave the machine on till there's nothing left."

"Typical doctor. Wait till I tell Sonic."

They were both smiling but Wirrin could tell the doctor was wondering why Sonic was connected. Good.

"On a more serious note Wirrin, do you discuss the idea of having children with Calen and Thom?"

"All the time because the dolphins never stop asking, but we're just too busy and not ready."

"The dolphins ask? That's interesting. ...Because they're curious?"

"No, because they want us to have children. Puck asked us the very first day we met and they're still asking. They want more Calens for their babies to bond with."

"They've asked for children from Calen?"

"Well, that's what we thought they meant because of his special way with animals, but we've talked with Sonic about it quite a bit since and he says no. They want our trio children."

"Oh my! I start to ask the standard questions connected with your bio-bank and I'm out of my depth before we've answered the first one. That could be arranged through the Nurseries of course, but all the rules would have to be changed and that's a decision for Witness level."

"The dolphins don't want that. Gelar told them it was one of the options and Sonic said a straight out no. He says they'll wait till we can bring them up as part of our own pod."

"You have talked about this extensively. What other options were mentioned?"

"Children or clones of Calen, before we knew they wanted pod children."

"Pod children? What exactly does that mean?"

"We call them that because trio means us, and pod means Sonic as well. When we have children they'll be part of his pod. Growing up together is very important to dolphins."

"It's important to all of us Wirrin, but you just said 'when'. You've made a definite decision to have children?"

"It's definite at the moment, but it won't happen for another ten or twelve years. ...The same as most people."

Children on Attunga are cherished and welcomed by whateverever path they join the society. Most adults form bonds of some type, and most elect to have children at some stage, usually after the free years of their twenties, but not necessarily, and bring them up with the help of a Nursery Assistant. These are assigned according to need, much the same way a Planning Assistant like Wanna was assigned when the trio needed help with their living space.
Because of the aim for Attunga's population to grow to something like three times its current 800 million, the majority of children are born and nurtured in a Nursery with specially trained human carers.
Wirrin's Nursery family consisted of nineteen children, including Thom and Calen, two Nursery Mothers, two Nursery Fathers and associated Nursery Assistants.

"Why do you think you're not ready? That's not the way I see any of you."

Warragul had said the same thing even though his advice was to wait.

"Mostly because there are too many other things happening but also because we still feel like kids ourselves in a way."

"Yes, I understand that. I felt the same when I was your age. ...Well, let's get busy."

An hour a half later Wirrin and the doctor sat down to enjoy a snack.

"Fire away Wirrin. I'm all ears."

Wirrin smiled. Sonic would enjoy hearing these figures of speech.

"There's too much. I don't know where to start."

"Okay, tell me what's so exciting about your work with the AI. You gave me the impression there was something going on there."

"Pirramar. Everything. Warragul organised for him to link in with EdCom and I've never learnt so many things so fast. He makes it so interesting. We spend a lot of time looking at K74 as well and there's so much going on there we can't keep up."

"An AI can't keep up? That doesn't sound right."

"I know, and Pirramar's a composite so it's even more amazing."

"I don't know what that means."

"He's one AI but he's based on Warrakan as well as Attunga, so he's got more than twice the normal amount of resources. He'd keep up easily if we could get into all places we'd like but the Rogue knows a lot about AIs and how to block them."

"I wouldn't have thought it was possible to block an AI?"

"He blocks every electronic pathway so we have to discover things indirectly. Three days ago we checked the Construction Systems and found plans for building a fleet of their big spaceships. They have seven at the moment but we need to know why they want thirty more."

"I don't know anything about the K74 spaceships. What does big mean?"

"They're not as big as the biggest Earth or Mars transports, but 700 meters makes them nearly twice as long as our Comets."

"That's enormous. And they must be dangerous or your AI wouldn't be worried about them."

"Pirramar. Yes, they're very fast and the seven functional ones all carry atomics. The only good thing about the situation is that it will take at least 15 months before any of them can be finished."

"And you work with Pirramar on things like this every day?"

"Not every day. Warragul made sure that a big block of my course is ordinary EdCom with other students, but I do see him most days."

"I can't imagine what it must be like. I've never even seen one in real life let alone had a conversation."

You couldn't see them in real life, just their holo projections, but Wirrin understood what the doctor was getting at.

"It's quite hard to explain. After a while it feels like you're just talking to someone in a holo conference but underneath you know it's an amazing intelligence, or creature, or being or something, who's there with you. I get goosebumps sometimes when I see Pirramar do something, by the time he finishes a sentence, that would take me a million years."

"Do you have a sense of personality or identity after seeing AIs so much?"

"Completely. Turaku's like a quiet, steady, very firm sort of person. Pirramar's very friendly and encouraging, and Yajala's the easiest to talk to and always smiling and laughing. It's really interesting because everyone has the same reactions to them but it's totally fake."

"Fake?"

"Fake's not quite right. Controlled is a better word. Calen and Thom and I used to argue about it all the time because I kept telling them it was all a program the AIs were using. They reckoned they could see past that, so we asked Yajala.
He changed right in front of us to different personalities. A real grumpy and irritable sounding person, then a serious person, a bit like Turaku, then someone worried, and then like a child. He kept the same holo image all the time and that made it so strange it was almost creepy.
He totally convinced Thom and Calen about the programs but then made everything more confusing by saying that AIs did have personalities and identities, but not in the way humans use the terms."

"Extraordinary! That sounds very different to being with Sonic. His personality is so real it hits you like a hammer."

Wirrin smiled. Another interesting saying for Sonic.

"Yajala says humans and dolphins recognise that in each other because the terms of our existence are mostly shared. Our experiences of pain and pleasure, and reactions to input from our senses are almost identical."

"You live an amazing life Wirrin. Are you pleased with your shift to Warrakan?"

"Definitely, but I have so much to do I don't get time to appreciate it. Last activity days we explored the empty levels and we couldn't believe how big the place is."

"Why are they empty?"

The doctor saw Wirrin's suppressed humor and surprise and gave a little self-deprecating chuckle.

"I've said something silly have I? Pardon my ignorance but I don't know a great deal about Warrakan."

"There aren't enough people. Our populated level is bigger than all of Attunga and it's only got 300 million."

"I see, well let me rephrase my question. Why are they building other levels when it will be decades before they fill the current one? I know we don't do it like that here. We add one sector at a time. Not whole levels."

That was correct, except for the new dolphin level.

"Sorry. It is different. It's partly because the space and construction material is already there, and partly because building the skeleton levels opens access right through the asteroid. And I know they want to get as many environmental and scientific areas functioning as soon as possible because the longer they're running the better they get."

Wirrin paused for a moment and thought.

"I think it's because the AIs like doing things too. They accelerated the work on the dolphin levels so much that their reaches will all be functioning in five or six years."

"Levels? Whole Warrakan levels?"

"Yes, five altogether. People get ten and AIs get six. All the rest are service levels."

"I should learn more about Warrakan. Is that how you do? ...By exploring on your activity days?"

"Every time we go exploring we say we're going to do it more often, but something else always happens. On the two lots of activity days before the last ones we went with Gelar and Sonic to visit the Earth dolphins. It's nearly seven months since they settled in and they absolutely love their new homes. The rangers and marine scientists are all excited because a huge number of the females are pregnant and there'll be over 400 babies in another six or seven months. The time before that we went with Thom to see the three new Comets which had just been completed. He's working like crazy to get to know them because they're not the same as the main Comet."

"We build them in much less than fifteen months then?"

"About five weeks. That's the difference between real AIs and the Intelligent Systems they use on K74."

"That's astonishing. What section of the Comets is Thom learning? The Navigation System?"

"Everything. He can fly them but he likes our main Comet best. It's faster than the rest."

"He's given enough control to check out their speed at his age?"

"He gets complete control. He sometimes does training flights with no other people on board, except Turaku of course. He's built-in. Thom was more amazed than anyone that he was given so much responsibility, but we found out Sonic requested it."

"Sonic has a great deal of influence. He should. But flying spaceships doesn't seem like an area dolphins would be involved with."

"He is though. He can fly the Comet too. He doesn't know as much as Thom but he often takes over. It was built especially so he could go anywhere, with two permanent AIs, pico factories, science laboratories, and incredible defence abilities."

The doctor was drinking in every word.

"How does he control it? I've got this ridiculous image in my mind of him pushing levers or pressing touch pads with his dolphin beak."

"He does it all with sound signals and special pick-ups."

"Dolphin auditory skills. I should have realised that. ...I see he's grown quite a bit since you invited me over. Has he changed much?"

He must have seen Sonic on the InterWeb. Wirrin grinned. The leading question he'd been waiting for had just presented.

"Come and see for yourself."

The doctor's face lit up with pleasure but then turned to a slight frown.

"I hope you're not going to say tonight, because I can't manage it."

"No, tonight's no good. It needs to be your next activity day."

"Needs to be? ...Wirrin, that smile makes you look as if you're implementing some Machiavellian scheme."

There was a smile, a pause for a retinal scan, and then a nod before Wirrin replied.

"It's not my scheme, and there's nothing sneaky about it. Sonic wants to see you again and he'd like you to bring your partner and children with you. He wants to meet them all."

"Sonic asked for me himself?"

"Yes. When I mentioned I was due for a health check he said he's been wanting to talk to you. He got Warragul to change things so I'd see you sooner and could ask you in person."

The doctor thought that over, obviously not knowing what to make of it.

"Wirrin, I expect to hear unexpected news from you but this is more unexpected than I ever expected. ...What does it mean? Does Sonic often ask people to visit him? ...What's that look for?"

"I'm just working out the sentence. ...The expected unexpected one."

Sonic was going to love hearing it played back that night.

"No he doesn't, but he likes you. You know that and you told him about your family, except he calls it your pod. That's one of the reasons for an activity day since it involves the trip to Warrakan."

The doctor pounced.

"There are other reasons?"

"I think he wants to talk about health stuff. You talked about it last time and he said it was interesting."

"Hmm! I have a funny feeling you're not telling me everything."

Wirrin laughed.

"Which day works best for you?"

"That doesn't apply. If Sonic wants to talk to me on an activity day it will be the first one available."

DIASPORA PRIME Part 24.

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The doctor's partner was a dark haired lady with a brilliant smile which had won the trio over in very short order. At the moment the smile was obliterated by laughter as she joined with Thom, Calen and the three children in a splashing war against Sonic, who didn't have a hope against such formidable opponents. Well, that's what the two younger ones were thinking. Miro,The thirteen year old was pretty clever and most probably realised they were all being treated very gently.

"They're never going to forget this. None of us will. Raji couldn't do his EdCom classes yesterday because he was too excited, and Miro was nearly as bad about travelling through space and visiting Warrakan."

The doctor was sitting with Wirrin and watching all the laughter and happiness with delight.

"Alisa is quieter than the boys."

"Not really. She's awed by meeting Sonic."

She didn't look awed at the moment, hanging tightly to Sonic's tail flukes in a successful effort to constrain one of his splash weapons.

"How did your talk go?"

The trio had taken the three children in Sonic's transporter for a rendezvous with Puck and Flute and the rest of the pod, where they spoke and played and were entertained while the doctor and his companion spent an hour with Sonic.

"Unbelievable. Did you know what he wanted the other day on your visit?"

"I knew he wanted your help but that's all."

"Help? I'd hardly call it that. He's asked me to move to Warrakan and be in change of an Age Extension program for dolphins."

"In charge? Really? He said he thought you'd like to be involved with dolphins after your talk with him last visit, but we didn't know he was going to ask you to move."

"I'd have to. It's a new venture for the dolphins and I'd have to do it properly. Sonic says I'd have a blank cheque and a living space next to the facilities."

Wirrin started a scan but the doctor must have realised he'd used another of his old sayings.

"That means there will be no limits on equipment and staff. It's from the pre-electronic days when they were still using money."

"Would moving be a problem?"

The doctor gave a little laugh.

"You could say that not moving would be a problem. Sonic told Miah she'd be able to involve the dolphins in her music studies, and if the children found out they'd missed a chance like this I'd never hear the end of it. Raji would probably murder me. Look at him. Judging from his expression Sonic could do the Pied Piper trick with children any time if he ever wanted to."

Raji was hanging onto Sonic's back and watching Calen and his mum get deluged.

"Does that mean you've made your decision?"

"There is no decision to make. It's an amazing opportunity for me and when I told him there are people far more qualified he wouldn't even consider them, except to say I could involve whoever I wanted."

Wirrin gave a nod.

"That's Sonic. He likes you and his dolphin senses tell him you're the person for the job."

"Dolphin senses?"

"For this kind of thing I suppose you could say Sonic senses. ...No, the other dolphins work that way too. Puck and Flute spent half an hour with us the first time we met and that was enough to decide they wanted Calen as a companion for Sonic. And look how right they were about that. Has he told you much detail about what he wants?"

"No details, just overview. He thinks that age extension for dolphins might work similarly to the way it does for humans and he wants me to develop reliable techniques that would apply to him and any others like him if his special enhancement proves to be viable. The other dolphins don't really think about their lifespan but he wants them to be healthy and happy for longer than the current eighty year expectancy, and he thinks twenty or more years could be added by adapting the known techniques. Going by that special report you accessed I think it will turn out to be much more.
At any rate he says the Witnesses and AIs will give him any support he needs to get the program implemented. He has amazing influence with them doesn't he?"

"Doctor, that's nothing compared to the other things they've done for dolphins since he turned up. They'll probably have the buildings and equipment ready a few weeks after you give a definite yes."

"I've already given it. Well, Miah has, by telling Sonic we'd be here as soon as we could tie up everything on Attunga."

"Did Sonic say how long you might be involved for?"

"Indefinitely. Why?"

"Warrakan leaves in another six or seven years and you might want to stay in the Solar System."

"Sonic already mentioned that and said there'd be a similar project on Attunga for dolphins who are staying, so that's a decision for later."

"Does this mean we'll have a new doctor for our health checks? I'll miss our talks"

"I would too, but that's your decision. Sonic seems to think I'm good for you and he says it would be easy to arrange."

Wirrin had to smile. Trust Sonic to know how the trio liked and trusted the doctor.

"That's great, except you'll probably start to treat us like dolphins if you're working with them all the time."

"Treat the dolphin boys like dolphins? Sounds eminently sensible to me. ...What are they doing?"

The laughter and boisterous activities in the pool had stopped and Calen was handing out face masks. He looked to Wirrin and the doctor and beckoned. Quite urgently.

"I don't know, but from Calen's expression it looks important. Grab a face mask."

Moments later Wirrin watched the youngsters, ducked just beneath the surface and eyes all agog, receiving a gentle dolphin nudge in the chest. The doctor and Miah were next and then Sonic manoeuvred himself directly in front of Raji. The expectant looks cued Wirrin that he'd missed an explanation of why they needed to be underwater.
A happy trill of dolphin noise filled the pool, making everyone smile and watch raptly. The trill changed to a bouncy medley of clicks and strangely melodious squeaks. Wirrin fleetingly looked for meaning, but this wasn't speech.
It was song, beautiful, lively, happy dolphin sounds being directed at Raji with meanings that didn't need words for expression.
With a burst of wondrous comprehension Wirrin saw that this song was Raji, Raji as Sonic saw him. Too quickly the magical sound ended and after one more gentle touch to Raji's chest Sonic drifted upward for a breath of air. It was a signal for everyone else to follow. The masks came off and there was a moment before the reactions started to come. The doctor looked stunned. Miah looked so happy Wirrin wondered if they were tears or pool water he was seeing.

The children reached for Sonic.

"You great lump of fish. That's the best thing you've ever done."

'Thank you Thom. That is Raji's song.'

"Mine? You sang it for me?"

'Yes Raji. Puck asked me to let you know that dolphins like you and your family.'

Wirrin was used to seeing the wonder and amazement of children in the Nurseries when Sonic spoke and interacted with them, but the look he was seeing now would stay with him all his life.

"I wish I could sing for you."

'You do Raji, in your own way, and I sing it back to you. Come with me now to say goodbye to Puck and Flute.'

Everyone looked round. Yes there they were, shown via the big display screen, just outside with the rest of the pod. The children rushed to follow as Sonic headed out. The doctor and Miah moved close together.

"We are overwhelmed. Is it like this all the time when you live with dolphins?"

"We're overwhelmed too, doctor. I've never seen that before."

Wirrin turned a questioning glance to Calen.

"Not for humans. Individual sometimes do a version when they're bonding but it's nowhere near as complex as that. That was dolphin sound adapted for humans."

Miah, with her musical interests, fired excited questions at Calen about Sonic's abilities, while the wall display showed the children being treated by the pod.

"Do you think we'll ever hear it again? Or is it something impromptu?"

Calen looks thoughtful.

"Sonic will sing. I know that because he loves it, but I think it would change a bit as he sees new things about Raji. We can get it off the translator machines though. They keep a record."

"Ask brainiac. He zaps everything so he'll have images as well."

Wirrin shook his head.

"The translators are designed specially to pick up dolphin sounds so they'll be much better than my ears. You can have what ever you want though."

"Put your images with the sounds from the translator. That'll be best."

The children returned and Raji, rushing to his mum and dad, started begging to come and see Sonic again.

"Sometime Raji, but right now it's time to say goodbye and thank you for such a special day."

"Not quite doctor. Thom's arranged to take you back to Attunga on the Comet instead of the ferry. He likes showing off and he thought Miro might enjoy it."

"What's the Comet?"

The trio grinned at Miro's question. If he was as interested in space and spaceships as the doctor had suggested, then he was in for a big surprise.

***

With a degree of trepidation Wirrin looked at the vast bulk of the 300 km K74 asteroid. Admittedly the visuals were at full magnification and the real distance was much further than it looked, but this exercise, testing Thom's skill with the stealth abilities of the Comet, was still in its early stage and the risk of detection would steadily increase from now on. Red blips indicating the presence of two of the big space vessels added almost as much excitement as Thom's eagerness to show how easily he could sneak close.
There was no real danger. The trio would never be allowed to take such a risk, and should Thom make a mistake of any kind the Comet's security AI would cut in with all the defence capabilities available, operating with AI speed and accuracy.
Thom had already done the active part of the exercise eleven times and was very confident he would make the fifteen kilometer approach he was aiming for. He'd taken eight tries with the simulators to be successful, and three more to be sure he could do it consistently. He was full of confidence, he always was, despite having explained that surprise factors almost invariably messed things up in a real situation.

"Are you ready with your InfoSystem?"

Wirrin was more than ready. Everything had been running for the last half hour.

"What about you Calen? Any worries?"

"Of course I've got worries. I don't even know what I'm looking for."

"You'll know when you see it. Just take notice of the difference signals."

Calen's task of checking the visuals was, like Wirrin's, mostly redundant, and Thom's way of getting them involved.

"Stealth mode is initiated and we're on our way."

For half an hour the Comet slipped steadily closer with absolutely nothing happening, and Calen's watch on his section of display screen gradually relaxed till he turned to Thom with a grin.

"Is this all that happens? There hasn't been a single signal yet."

Thom finished doing something with his controls before giving a short and almost terse reply.

"That's what I want."

Whoops! Calen and Wirrin exchanged an understanding glance. There'd be no more unnecessary comments to Thom while he was concentrating so fiercely.
A quick check of the range indicator showed they'd moved from the 500 km mark to an impressive 105 km separation. The next 90 km would take longer and if everything went well they'd remain stationary at the 15 km point for a period of time while the security AI made some sort of assessment.
Wirrin focused a window on the closest of the two big spaceships and enlarged the image. That was interesting. At two locations small fleets of construction vessels were busily at work attaching something to the hull. Curiosity kicked in and Wirrin sent a query through his InfoSystem to the Comet's database, then blinked in surprise when the reply said the construction vessels were an unknown type.

"Turaku, there something strange here. We should have information about everything happening external to K74."

Turaku's voice sounded in Wirrin's ear. He explained later that he didn't manifest because it would be an unneeded distraction for Thom.

"Yes, very strange. I've relayed your query and the information we're gathering to Pirramar and we'll have his assessment as soon as it can arrive. My analysis of this visual data suggests the early stage of some type of special cradle or attachment point."

"That's not what's strange. I don't understand how there can be construction vessels at all without our surveillance drones having reported them. They watch everything that happens."

"There is no record of the vessels travelling from K74. They must be based on the spaceship itself. Yes, one is just now emerging from that anterior docking bay."

Wirrin began to watch but lost all external vision when his retinal mode activated opaquely. It was Pirramar.

"Wirrin, keep your InfoSystem locked on the K74 vessel and initiate any search or scanning actions you think appropriate. We have a seven minute window of opportunity to retrieve an analysis of those construction vessels. The Comet pico-factory is following instructions I've transmitted and in another two minutes you will be able to direct a Stealth Symbiosis Module to one of the small unknown vessels.
Watch it carefully for any attempted disablement and use the programs now showing on your transfer screen to monitor and quarantine every databit the module records. Isolate the incoming information from any contact with Turaku and your Security AI as there is a low, but unacceptable, possibility it may contain some sort of Rogue signature. Store it directly to your personal memory space and apply some of those special analysis techniques we've developed for AI traps.
Don't distract Thom, and start to act now. I will recontact you in three minutes."

Wirrin sprang into action with the immediate priorities Pirramar had set, and within thirty seconds had them locked into place, just before the module left the Comet. Yes, it's special signals had been so attuned for receipt by his InfoSystem that Turaku and the Security AI wouldn't even be aware of them except with his permission.

"You look extra busy. Has something happened?"

"I'm watching that big K74 ship while we're close. It looks like they might be building something. See if you can track anything with the visuals."

Calen gave a nod and returned to his screens. He wouldn't see anything. The module was almost certainly countering any visual surveillance.
Hmm! Watch for attempts at disablement? Maybe adding an encryption barrier would help. Wirrin's InfoSystem charted the course of the module to the moment of contact.
Stabilisation! Infiltration! Analysis! The terms gave a general indication but full explanation and understanding would come later.
Here it was. Two streams of information flooded in, the constant control instructions for the module itself, and the information being gathered from the target ship.
Whoo! This was a lot of information. If it kept coming like this for the next five minutes it would be the biggest dump ever to his memory implant.
Calen was looking again. Trust him to sense something. Wirrin put a finger to his lips as a caution against further comment and saw understanding and agreement blossom before a return nod of agreement. Calen would be searching the visuals for all he was worth now, trying to figure what was going on.

"Well done Wirrin. Turaku informs me you appear to have everything under control. Continue full monitoring till the module ceases transmission and after that, if Thom can maintain his stealth undetected, you will have approximately thirty-five minutes of analysis time before we need the InfoSystem again. I've placed a log of our current plans in your transfer screen."

Pirramar disappeared and Wirrin gave his full attention to the monitoring till the signals suddenly stopped. What now? Check the transfer screen or start on the analysis? He decided on a thirty second scan of Pirramar's log in case there was something there he might need to take into account.
...Just as well. Thom needed to be informed of the change to his schedule. Looking across he caught Thom's eye, pointed at the range meter, and gave a thumbs up approval sign.

"Fifty kilometers! Nearly there! How's it going?"

"The simulators got it wrong. It's harder. I thought I'd blown it a few minutes ago when a strange signal came at us, but it's gone now. Hang on while I look for it again."

He fiddled a bit then looked back.

"The Kadaitcha man must have been out there. Did your InfoSystem notice anything?"

"A few glitches. Can you talk for a moment?"

Wirrin was amazed and totally impressed that Thom was somehow aware of the signal. They'd be talking that over with the AIs at great length.

"Talk? ...Sort of. ...What glitches?"

"You haven't been using any AI assistance have you?"

"Of course not. That's the whole point of the exercise."

"Good. I'm worried there might be some of those AI traps around, so don't link them into any of the scanning devices."

"Dingoes! We should have expected that. Hang on."

More fiddling, his own term in fact, for when Wirrin was inputting at high speed.

"Any other glitches?"

"Not really. The AIs didn't want to disturb you but they're hoping we can extend the stationary time for an extra fifteen minutes."

"The Kadaitcha man again? That's going high risk, but if you need it we'll manage. ...It's turned into something more than an exercise hasn't it?"

"Sort of."

Thom gave his own thumbs up sign and went back to his fiddling. Wirrin had to smile at the cheeky comeback nature of the gesture.
He turned his attention to analysis while the Comet crept closer and closer to the great asteroid. By the time they reached their target and were poised, stationary, he was nearly tearing his hair out. Moments before, he'd reported to Pirramar that so far he'd been unable to find any traps, but wasn't happy about freeing the data from quarantine, and now he had to leave his search tasks unsupervised and turn his attention to new ones.
For some reason Pirramar wanted the Comet scanners to take a close look, under InfoSystem control rather than AI control, at a number of the construction sites for the giant K74 spaceships. Five out of the thirty were within reasonable range and Wirrin set to work. Normally this would be easy, but because Thom had primary control for his stealthing, the various systems could only be used in moments of availability.
The major task was to launch seven more stealth modules. Five of these were destined for the construction sites and like the earlier ones would disassemble themselves when they completed their transmissions. More complex and designed for the greater size of their targets, they would function for three times as long and transmit at a greater rate than Wirrin's implant would accept, and this in turn meant the pico-factory had had to build a special secure data store linked to the InfoSystem but still isolated from the AIs. The other two modules were even more complicated and would attach themselves to chosen locations on the exterior of K74, meld into the surrounding material with pico-level camouflage, and like super surveillance drones, transmit information continually to Attunga. Wirrin would look more closely at how they worked when he had a chance.

"Wirrin, I'm picking up strange signals, like the earlier one, being directed at us. If you know anything about them tell me, otherwise I'll have to move the Comet as an evasive measure."

How did Thom do that?

"No, don't move. We need to stay here if we possibly can. They're ours, but you're not meant to be able to detect them."

"Can you tell me what's going on? I've got a moment."

"They're special probes we've sent to look closely at the construction sites. Pirramar arranged for me to send them."

"Pirramar? Here? He's half a light minute away."

"He knows more and our AIs can't do anything direct."

"Whoo! It is the Kadaitcha man. Okay I'd better get at it."

This time he meant the Rogue. Calen abandoned his visual scanning, he knew it was make work, and came to stand behind Wirrin.

"Turaku is out of it? I'm glad Sonic didn't come with us then."

Sonic had expressed an interest in joining the exercise but was overruled by Yajala and Turaku because, for his protection, such a close approach would require a full complement of Comet crew and the AIs constantly running security, and that would defeat the whole purpose of testing Thom's skill with the stealth equipment.

"He'll see it on replay."

"I didn't see the probes on the visuals. ...Sorry. I'm talking too much while you're busy."

Wirrin flashed a smile and soundlessly beckoned him close. Yes, he might be too busy to talk much, but Calen's steadfast and supportive companionship was welcome at any time. Data from the five locations poured into the quarantine area , and to start checking, Wirrin called up all the previously known information, copied and stored it to the quarantine area, then started a basic comparison test before turning his attention to where the first of the two permanent probes was about to make contact. All the indications were good so he called up an enlarged visual.

"Watch this! It's where the probe's attaching itself."

A bleak area of the K74 surface appeared, and for a while a soft red glow blurred the clear outline of the rock before fading to nothing.

"There's nothing there."

"It's totally camouflaged. That red glow was the pico-bot construct. ...I'll explain it all later."

That would be after Wirrin understood it better himself. Calen stared wonderingly at the almost featureless area of rock which was apparently now a surveillance probe in disguise. For the next half hour everything went smoothly, Wirrin working with his InfoSystem and Thom assiduously checking and fine tuning his stealth systems. Then Calen gave a call.

"Thom, one of the visual signals just went off and there's something coming round that far end of K74."

"I'm tracking it. It's another Cadre ship which was stationed on the other side of K74 when we first arrived. It's still turning and I don't like its trajectory. Wirrin, those probes couldn't have set off some kind of alert could they?"

Wirrin shook his head, then started to wonder himself. His InfoSystem showed a projection of the trajectory taking the ship right past the five bases.
Wombats! It could even come close to the Comet. The turning stopped and the course steadied. ...It would come close. Within two kilometers.

"Thom, they're heading straight for us."

"No they're not. They'll pass at 1.8 km if they keep this course."

"Won't they see us?"

"If someone's looking directly at us with visuals they might, but we'll chance it because if I start to move the Comet they definitely will."

Wirrin had an awful thought. What if the course changed by even a tiny amount more?

"Could we collide?"

"Never. I've got just over two minutes of decision time before it gets here and I can either move the Comet, or our Security AI can take over their controls and divert them. Watch."

The 'watch' was a definite command to let him concentrate without interruption, so with a dusting of apprehension Wirrin and Calen did just that. The big ship came closer and closer while thoughts of 120 meters of steel and AIs in charge flooded through Wirrin's mind. Blithely and obviously unknowingly, seven hundred meters of offense went gliding past, serenely continuing till a few minutes later it rounded the other end of K74 and disappeared.

"What a mob of clueless emu-brains!"

The forceful comment might have been Thom's tension reliever but it worked that way for Wirrin and Calen as well and grins went rampant.

"I don't know how you did it Thom. I kept expecting them to do something."

"It's not finished yet. We still have to get out of here."

After the last five minutes Wirrin and Calen had no doubts at all that Thom would manage that successfully.

***

"There's some strange data coding which probably came from the Rogue but no AI trap. I divided the information into increasingly smaller components till there couldn't possibly be any."

"And is the strange coding significant in itself?"

"Not really. It's an unusual approach to hiding what the rest of the information is about. It's an old encryption method the Rogue dabbled with in his early studies."

The Comet was almost home and Akama was checking on the results. The trio had been surprised and delighted at his holo appearance and Wirrin was describing the escapade.

"So there was no real danger to the AI's? ...Do you think they overreacted?"

Wirrin was almost shocked.

"Not at all. Thom had it right when he said we should have been looking for traps right from the start."

Akama turned to Thom.

"Turaku tells me you completed your exercise way beyond the expected parameters."

Thom reacted quietly to Akama's implicit praise, and underneath, Wirrin knew, he was glowing from this latest instance of positive feedback. So he should.

"Training with the simulators got me through."

"Maybe, but I also know that some of your actions went beyond the scope of the training system and without them the Comet would have been seen."

Akama directed his gaze at Wirrin.

"You do look fit and alert. I nearly asked Warragul to reduce your workload a few weeks ago but I was assured you were acclimatising well."

"You can thank Thom for that too. He's developed a protein structure that helps me."

"Yes, so I understand, more of his talents showing through, though I wonder why your doctor didn't provide it from the outset."

"It did come from the doctor. He showed Thom a few things he needed to know and made him change his model four times before..."

Wirrin abruptly cut off his defence. Akama already knew all this and for some reason was assessing his loyalty to the doctor.

"Whatever you want him for, he's probably too busy, and Sonic's pleased with everything he's doing."

Calen and Thom looked puzzled at this interchange. Akama gave an approving nod.

"An honorary position as the human representative for dolphin health when we formally welcome Freedom. Thank you. It won't take much of his time. ...And apparently it's going to be another memorable occasion. I look forward to meeting you all there."

He made a very Akama type gesture of friendship as his holo shimmered to nothing.

"What was all that? Were you reading each other's minds or something?"

"He's too tricky. I think I just gave the doctor another job. But why did he look at you like that when he said memorable occasion, Calen?"

"Ah! ...Sonics going to be there."

Thom burst out laughing.

"It's another surprise and you've been keeping it secret from us again? ...You Witchetty Grub !"

"No I haven't. I just didn't say anything. It's a bit like Meeting day and Sonic likes giving surprises."

Freedom's arrival in three weeks time just became even more interesting.

DIASPORA PRIME Part 25.

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Wirrin gazed at their big display wall and smiled at the site of the dolphin pod cruising by. No, two pods. A quick zoom showed they weren't Puck's.
Because their living space was so close to the dolphinarium, which was center for all the dolphin and marine activities on Warrakan, there were almost always pods to be seen, visiting for various reasons. Currently there were more than usual because of whatever it was Sonic was organising. Calen was out there somewhere with him. It was tempting to use the InfoSystem for a sneak preview. He wouldn't, since Calen had asked him not to, but it would be so easy. Having access to the resources of two habitats meant anything he wanted to see was at his fingertips.
Wirrin smiled as he activated his system half an hour before Pirramar was due. Calen said he was addicted. It certainly was fascinating.
What was Thom doing? That would be almost instantaneous as he had triggers allocated for all the significant people and situations to bring them to instant attention. The image of Thom appeared and Wirrin watched long enough to work out that he was controlling a second Comet remotely. Better not interrupt him with a holo.
Wirrin thought of Peggy, the dolphin under Martin's care, and brought her into view. That took slightly longer as he hadn't given her a trigger, and needed a link to the system of underwater monitors now installed in every reach. She was racing across a sea-grass bed in pursuit of a small school of fish. Wow! She certainly appeared to be full of energy after her liver treatment.
That made Wirrin think of the doctor who was high on the trigger list. He'd be busy as usual. Yes, there he was, talking with seven people in some kind of meeting. Hmm! Three researchers and four doctors from the different anti-agathic centres on Attunga, and they were discussing the capabilities of some diagnostic equipment they'd ordered as part of the first stage of the new facility. The planning assistants had certainly built that in a hurry. So much building happening, both here and Attunga.
Attunga! What about the new level there? Wow, water was being introduced to the honeycomb looking section of reaches in the innermost part of the level. Was it just a storage or would there be functioning reaches in another five months? ...Eight months? Why so long? ...Oh! No need for forced development. Only five reaches to be finished? That wasn't many. Well, compared to the current ones any single reach would be big enough for the four pods currently planning to transfer back from Warrakan. Aha! Sixty-eight reaches coming online for the second stage in a further eight months, and then the whole level ready two years after that. Attunga was actually making a major change of approach to development by adding a complete level of 280 sectors rather than a single sector at a time.
What about the shell? That was an even bigger effort, though not nearly as complex. Almost idly, basic information like this was so easy, Wirrin called up a holo image showing shell construction progress. Things were moving fast and would be completed in another year at the current rate. That meant a vast amount of mass would have to be converted to the special building material similar to the Comet's hull and internal support girders. A quick query showed 738 asteroids of various types parked in areas away from the busy ferry traffic between the habitats, and another 367 moving towards Attunga in the long journey from their sparsely spread locations in the asteroid belt.
Wirrin started checking on the progress with the Attunga drive engines and was watching one of them drifting in space near the installation area when Pirramar appeared.

"Hello Wirrin. Browsing the drive project? It's reached .52G capability, and that will be the third engine to come online since the council diverted four to Freedom."

".52? ...That means six more still to install."

"Yes, another four months will see completion."

"What are we doing today? Is anything happening with K74?"

"A number of special concerns, as well as the usual ones. The Freedom AIs have let us know they're worried about the elevated level of scrutiny they're receiving from three of the Cadre ships."

"The Cadre ships are with them while they're travelling?"

"For a number of hours now, yes, and a fourth is moving on an intercept course as well."

"Four of them concentrating on Freedom at once? That doesn't feel good to me."

"I agree. We'd like to know their motive because even though we've been helping Freedom to rapidly update their security they're still relatively vulnerable. Thom will be taking two of the Comets as escorts while they complete their move."

"Thom? Does he know? He was doing normal training work a quarter of an hour ago."

"He's just found out and will be on his way in a very short time."

Thom would love the chance at some real action. Wirrin smiled but then had second thoughts.

"Escort? Does that mean you're expecting the Cadre ships to do something?"

"They've already have, with very aggressive attempts to penetrate Freedoms electronic security. The Comet will put an end to that, and more importantly may be able to discover any instructions from K74. There is also a possibility, quite low, of physical intimidation."

Many thoughts raced through Wirrin's mind. K74 would be crazy to start anything after the previous reactions, but of course that hadn't stopped them then.

"Intimidate a whole habitat? Why? That would be a step beyond anything they've done before."

"Very much so, but we know they look on Freedom as the only way of accessing some of the knowledge and technologies they're seeking, and with the habitat only days away from our protection this would be their last and only chance to gain that access. It's a step the Cadre might consider taking."

"The Comets definitely should be there."

"Yes, and they won't take long. They'll quickly defuse the situation."

Wirrin thought of Thom eagerly blasting the Comet at its maximum acceleration. No. He couldn't. The other Comet would hold him back. Maybe he'd rush ahead anyway?

"There has also been another change of embassy staff and we'll have a look at the background of the new appointees before we recheck the symbiosis module data. We'll also have a look at a location on K74 which is apparently going to be a new blocked area and then I'd like you to do an analysis of all new constructions throughout the Habitat as well."

Pirramar paused, as if calculating what else to add to the day's efforts and Wirrin almost laughed. They'd never get through all that. Not if they were going to do it properly.

"Have they really changed their embassy staff again? They never stop."

"This is the biggest change yet and some of the new people need a close look."

That piqued Wirrin's interest. It sounded as if Pirramar already knew something and wanted to find out more.

"Well, we haven't been blocked from their administration system yet so let's start there. I think we should..."

Wirrin stopped abruptly because Pirramar was holding a hand up as if he needed his attention elsewhere.

"Move quickly to your TransCom portal. Communication with Freedom has just been cut off and we'd like you on the Comet for input with the InfoSystem."

Wirrin disengaged from his home system then seeing the urgency conveyed by Pirramar's expression, started running. The portal was only seconds away, as it had been installed especially for people coming to see Sonic or other dolphins in the guest area, and when the door closed Wirrin was surprised to see Pirramar still with him. Oh, he was now working through his personal equipment.

"TRANSCOM PRIORITY ONE!"

Motion commenced and Wirrin gawked at the flashing red speed indicator. How fast were they going?

"TransCom is giving you emergency access to the closest available facility for transfer to the Comet. All our efforts to communicate with Freedom in the last twenty seconds have been blocked and it is now imperative to get the Comet there as soon as possible. Thom is waiting and ready to leave the moment you arrive."

Wirrin rushed through the docking tube and into the Comet in just over three minutes, a trip which usually took between twenty and thirty minutes, and by the time he reached the control centre, Warrakan, if he'd taken the time to look, was a speck in space behind them. After a quick wave to Thom and a preoccupied nod in response, Wirrin dived for his InfoSystem and linked in. He'd learn more and faster that way. Turaku appeared and an analysis window opened on the display.

"This is all we can detect. It's a powerful localised jamming signal which is completely blocking any transmissions into or out of of Freedom. We need to be close to penetrate, and that won't happen for another four hours."

Four hours was very different to the five days Freedom would take to cover the same distance. Thom must have the Comet stretched to its maximum acceleration. ...22.6 G. ...What? That was beyond the maximum Wirrin was aware of.

"What can we do?"

"At this stage, nothing except gather information. We have contacted other vessels in the vicinity but there are very few while Freedom is in transit. Three have approached at our request but have been smothered by the jamming fog before getting close enough to scan anything."

"Did we know the Cadre ships could block transmissions like that?"

"Yes, it's a straightforward process and standard equipment for aggressive vessels. Applying it to a Habitat is unprecedented."

The next three and a half hours was pure frustration as far as Wirrin was concerned as all he could do was keep a watch while nothing changed. The jamming signal had been closely examined and it would be penetrated in another quarter hour purely and simply by proximity and stronger equipment on the Comet. Thom similarly had little to do except monitor the Comet's performance and they talked about possibilities without having any supporting facts.
Akama made contact briefly, with information passing at light speed between the Comet and the Habitats.
Wirrin wondered if the jamming would have any effect on the Comet but quickly discovered that their pico-factory had built and installed counter devices. Why hadn't Freedom done the same? They had the knowledge.

"Thom, we break through that jamming in five minutes. I want you to lock on to Freedom and check its navigation fundamentals. The jamming area is showing a deviation from the Habitat's planned course."

That was either very good or very bad. If the jamming area was diverging from Freedom, it could mean the Cadre ships were leaving. If not, the Habitat itself was changing course and that implied some sort of control by the Cadre ships. Thom nodded his understanding, but Turaku hadn't finished.

"Approach recommendations have come through from Pirramar as well, and he advises full implementation of stealth mode while we make an assessment of the situation. He also warns there is a significant likelihood of AI interference and suggests all actions should be initiated with a degree of isolation through the InfoSystem."

"We let the jamming continue?"

"Yes Thom. Providing it doesn't interfere with your stealth procedures. Unless we have no other choice it's important we understand exactly what's happening before we act."

Wirrin went into overdrive, as his InfoSystem was now the controlling focus for any actions Turaku or the Security AI wanted to take. He knew what he was doing though. He'd been through this a number of times already, first on Thom's stealth exercise, and several times since with Pirramar to build his readiness.

"Full stealth mode activated."

Thom's crisp voice, clear and determined, sounded through the Control Center and Wirrin launched the counter jamming signal. In this first stage it should allow the Comet's scanners penetration, and then, with decreasing distance, a breakthrough to communication with Freedom. Yes, the large mass of Freedom was now registering, and not quite so clearly, the lesser masses of the four Cadre ships.

"Freedom shows a definite course variation."

Thom was relaying the information Turaku asked for but Wirrin was paying far more attention to the four Cadre ships, now clearly resolved. What were they doing? All gathered near the drive engines?

"Freedoms deceleration level is .06G. Precisely one quarter of capability. Three engines may be off-line."

Wirrin heard Thom's call, briefly thought that it tied in with the positions of the Cadre ships, then fixed on his own information which was retrieving greater detail with every passing moment.

"Turaku, I think they're dismantling one of the engines."

Turaku could see for himself and would be reviewing every bit of data at AI speed but Wirrin couldn't help making his call.

"Not dismantling, but they do appear to be making a rapid analysis. Three engines are not functioning and the remaining one is turning Freedom in the direction of K74. Contact with Freedom is imminent and soon after we will be close enough to take control of all K74 electronics. Thom, maintain stealth at all costs. Wirrin, you have the communication codes for Freedom AIs. Initiate contact on my mark but keep all incoming data in quarantine."

According to the InfoSystem, contact was already available. Why was Turaku waiting? Oh, he'd just tested the strength of the quarantine system. He must be worried about Rogue traps.

"Wirrin. Three. ...Two. ...One. ...Mark."

Wirrin transmitted the codes and watched for the response which should arrive within seconds. Yes, there it was.
...Busy!
...Busy!
...Busy!
...Oh no!

"Turaku, they're in a priority trap. I'm linked but they're not responding."

"Are you linked well enough to apply any analysis?"

"Yes, I've already started. Can we contact the people instead?"

There was a momentary hesitation from Turaku.

"Not possible. All communication was integrated with AI processes after the first Freedom hack. I have relayed the details of this mistake on our part to Pirramar so we can allow for independent procedures on Attunga and Warrakan in the event of a similar emergency."

Wombats! AIs making a mistake. That was the first for Wirrin. A bank of tell-tales turned green. The Comet was now close enough to take control of any or all of the Cadre ships.

"Turaku, we now have 100% scanner access but I'm going to look at those ships before we take control. Thom, how close can we move without losing our stealth?"

"With four ships I can manage at ten kilometers and that will be in another. ...six and a half minutes."

Wirrin was expecting fifteen km. Thom had learnt and improved from the stealth exercise.

"Hold at twelve kilometers please. I'm placing a Priority One on the gathering of information before we take any action."

Thom's eyes jerked momentarily from his controls.

"The Kadaitcha man?"

It was Wirrin's turn to give a terse nod. He had so much to do. First he set his InfoSystem to scanning the Cadre ships in the greatest possible detail, physical structure, management systems, electronics, full radiation spectrum, everything.
Next he examined the area around the drive engines and relayed the resulting information to Turaku and the Security AI who would gather meaning from it much faster than he could.
Focus shifted momentarily to a blue success signal flashing from the program watching the Freedom communications, then abruptly back to a red warning about the Cadre ships. Structural anomalies?
What did that mean? A closer look at one showed an unaccounted volume of space close to the vessels control centre. A blocked area? Recognition flashed at this situation, so similar to the dead areas on K74. Rogue work. Wirrin almost smiled. When they reached the twelve kilometer point he'd soon penetrate that. What was its purpose though, so close to the control center and clearly meant to be secret?

"Freedom is almost on course to K74. Another half hour of the current engine thrust will align it exactly."

Thom's call startled Wirrin. They were taking Freedom to K74?
While information poured in Wirrin checked another blue success signal. The method of trapping the Freedom AIs had been identified and an inoculation program could be sent to release them at any time. That couldn't be right? It was too simple a version, not much advanced on the ones used at Monkey Mia against the Australian AIs.

"Turaku, the Freedom AIs wouldn't have been cut off so completely with this type of trap. They shouldn't even have been caught by it. There's something wrong."

"I concur. Maintain Priority One and concentrate on the anomalies. The probability of danger to the Comet has just increased from insignificant to medium level, and on Pirramar's advice we have brought our multi-spectrum energy defences to the ready state. Early visual scanning shows devices of some type installed against all four drive engines."

Wirrin wanted to check all that, but his priority now was the blocked areas and what they meant. Another two minutes and they'd be stationary and the Comet's advanced radar, infra-red, Xray and resonance scans would come into play.
Another blue signal from the AI Communications task? What had it found this time? Very quickly Wirrin checked. No wonder Freedom's AIs were locked. This was a second trap, far more sophisticated than the obvious first one, and capable of affecting even the Comet's AIs. Not now though, he had its measure and would be able to assemble a cure and counter for its effects.

"Distance to Freedom twelve kilometers. Relative velocity is zero and I can maintain 100% stealth indefinitely. Multi-spectrum beams are operational but not targeted."

Wirrin called up a holographic representation of the blocked area on the nearest Cadre ship and watched as blurry shapes and outlines steadily resolved into the form and detail of a single room with three people sitting at consoles.

"Is there enough information to work out what they're doing?"

That was addressed to Turaku.

"Tracing the wiring and electronics shows two people monitoring everything taking place in the main Cadre command center. The third person has a console which is connected to a powerful transmission device of some kind. We need direct access to understand its purpose but there is no way past that firewall even if we do control the rest of the ship."

Transmission device? The words sounded and Wirrin's thoughts went into a spin. Adrenaline flooded his system as he added factor after factor to the idea screaming urgently in his mind. It all fit together.

"PRIORITY ONE! PRIORITY ONE!
Turaku. Isolate every AI function from access to our scanning systems and put yourself behind the strongest quarantine you can build. The same for the Security AI. On no account accept any external signal unless it's okayed through my InfoSystem. Cut all contact with Warrakan and Attunga."

"Priority One actions completed."

Wirrin's momentary sense of relief dissipated. There were still too much to do.

"Turaku, I need to apply Pirramar's health program to make sure you haven't been compromised in any way by a Rogue trap. This whole event is nothing to do with Freedom. It's an attempt to capture the Comet."

Wirrin acknowledged the very rude word that came from Thom.

"Thom, this is also Priority One for you. Those four Cadre ships are waiting for us and must be scanning with everything they have available. If I understand this correctly they have traps waiting for our AIs when they link into the Cadre systems, so we mustn't be detected."

"We could blow them away with our multi-spectrum beams."

"No we couldn't. They've got Freedom as a hostage with those radiation devices."

"I know. I know. I just feel like it. They won't detect us while we're stationery and you're right about them looking for us. There are sixteen surveillance drones out there, mostly concentrated along the direct approach from Warrakan, but they're no problem. ...What are we going to do?"

That was the big question and Wirrin was working on it. Somehow he had to get at the information in the blockout area, analyse it and build a protection program without any help from the AIs. Until that was done there was no way to help Freedom without putting the Comet at risk.

"Thom, if we have to, can you use the multi-spectrum beams to get rid of the radiation devices?"

After a pause to consider Thom replied.

"I can, but not against four locations at the same time. There would be a time lapse while I re-targeted, but I also don't have the fine control the AI's use and there would be damage to the engine housings. There are people there as well and they would be vaporised. It would also be an instant give-away for our position, and without our Security AI we can't defend properly against four aggressive Cadre ships."

Wirrin felt like screaming. They couldn't neutralise the radiation devices without making the Comet vulnerable. He needed the AIs to get access to the blocked area but if they tried that the AIs might succumb to some new trap of the Rogue's devising. Think! Think! Think! ...How to get into that blocked area without AI help, without tripping alarms, without being seen by the people there, find the necessary information and return it safely to the Comet? It would need an incredible superspy. What a pity Thom couldn't apply his stealth skills to a person. Invisible superspy? ...They had one. Maybe. Just maybe?

"Turaku. A stealth symbiosis drone can approach a Cadre ship without being detected. Could you give one the ability to gain entry as well and move about unseen?"

"With the purpose of retrieving data from the blocked area I presume. Not with the current model, but with major design modifications it may be possible. Yes, a preliminary design gives a success probability of 15% and with time this will improve markedly."

"How much time?"

Thom was matching a ferocious grin with a thumbs up sign.

"17%. ...Approximately seventeen minutes, but then improvement will slow exponentially. ...21%"

Time passed with an eye on Turaku's steadily rising probability count and a great deal of discussion about possible actions till Thom suddenly yelled.

"Turaku, can we build space versions of the guardian drones we used at Shark Bay? They could protect us from a missile attack."

"We considered that Thom, but to counter the combined aggressive resources of four Cadre ships would need several thousand guardians, and given our optimum construction rate of seventy-nine seconds per unit we discarded the idea as impractical."

"Could we build enough to disable the Cadre engines?"

"Of course, but that would disclose our presence."

"Not if we make them appear to come from Freedom."

"No good Thom. That would make them retaliate against Freedom."

"I can't believe this. We're better at everything than they are, but we can't do a thing, and what happens if you can't work out a way to protect all the AI's? We can't just sit here and watch while they do whatever they want."

"We'll think of something."

In fact Wirrin was confident he'd be able to counter any Rogue traps. He'd had months of study and simulation with Pirramar, practising to do just that, and all the analysis programs they'd developed were stored and ready in the InfoSystem. The two antidotes for the Freedom AIs had only taken moments to prepare once he'd received the analysis results.

"Stealth module design criteria achieved and construction commenced. Completion in nine minutes and forty-eight seconds."

Wirrin and Thom exchanged excited looks. The criteria they'd agreed with Turaku was a high success probability of 85%. Anything better would involve a much longer wait with relatively small improvement. Over nine minutes construction time? It must be complicated if a sophisticated guardian drone only took seventy-nine seconds.

"When is the other Comet due to arrive?"

"Not for another hour and a half, but that's most likely changed since we cut off communication. I think they'll send at least one extra, too, but that would be hours and hours away."

"Transport modules completed. Penetration modules commenced."

"Two types of modules?"

"Three Thom. A larger transport one with full stealth and pico level camouflage to meld with the outer hull, a high-energy penetration type to force an access way through the hull and connect with a service conduit, and finally, an information retrieval module with a chameleon function to allow unnoticed operation in the blocked area."

Wirrin nodded his appreciation for this clever design then felt his heart thump when Thom made a loud exclamation.

"One of the Cadre drones has just accelerated in the direction of K74 and will leave the jamming area in approximately three minutes."

"Don't frighten me like that. I thought you were going to say they'd broken stealth."

"Wirrin, if they break our stealth every alarm in the Control Center will go off and maximum acceleration will kick in automatically. You won't hear a word from me because I'll be too busy."

"Retrieval modules commenced. Completion in 137 seconds. Event launch will be under your InfoSystem control."

Wirrin was ready.

"Thom, how long before the drone can transmit to K74? I think it's going to relay information they've discovered about the drive engines."

"It's almost out of the jamming area now. I don't think there's anything we can do about it."

"Send a guardian drone after it. We now have them in the construction queue when the modules are finished."

Wirrin pushed thoughts about the drone to the back of his mind. It was launch time. The four hybrid modules left the Comet and rather disconcertingly disappeared from all view.

"Do you know where they are?"

"Not really Thom. The special signals they send must be cancelled by the jamming field. All we can do is wait for their return. How long do you expect that will be Turaku?"

"With optimal performance forty-two to forty-five minutes, with adverse conditions up to seventy minutes, and anything beyond that will almost certainly mean an unsuccessful attempt. The first guardian drone is now ready for instructions."

"Tell it to chase that Cadre drone and destroy it as quickly as possible."

"Done. Launch is under your control."

For a second time Wirrin made a launch and had all trace disappear from his InfoSystem. Well, those guardians were incredibly capable and he was sure it would do its job.
Time passed with a mixture of rush from the continual situation checks, and tardiness with the wait for the all important return of the hybrid modules.
At Thom's request the pico-factory kept churning out guardians, as he wanted one for each of the fifteen Cadre drones and then as many as possible for the Cadre ships themselves in case he needed to take drastic action.
He was as ready as Wirrin. The whole time they'd been under stealth he'd been going over different strategies, with help from the AIs, to employ if the Comet should be detected, and now, only a few minutes from Turaku's optimal projection time for the stealth modules return and with 26 guardians ready, his tactics were increasingly aggressive. Fifteen guardians would destroy fifteen Cadre drones and the remaining guardians would attempt to disable the drive engines on the Cadre ships while the Comet itself would fly like a bolt of lightning in an effort to evade a possible onslaught from thousands upon thousands of deadly missiles.

"What do you think? Sooner? ...Or later? And have you thought of something else if this doesn't work?"

Wirrin had three alternatives in fact, but was increasingly confident they wouldn't be needed. Continual monitoring of the three people in the blocked area showed no unusual movement or actions and, according to Turaku, the retrieval module would have reached that room at least twenty minutes ago.

"The AIs factor in every eventuality when they work out things like this Thom, so I reckon it will be sooner. I'm expecting the first module within the next five minutes."

As if on cue, a green docking light flashed and all conjecture was forgotten as the first retrieval module linked directly and started dumping data to the quarantine area in the InfoSystem. Wirrin bypassed all the travel and penetration records and rushed to find the signal stored in the transmission device. His preprepared analysis programs quickly identified different blocks of code.
A backup set of instructions for running the Cadre ship? Interesting but look at it later.
An automatic controlling procedure for all the ships armaments? Trouble, but fix it later.
Communication control? Not now.
Plan Alpha? Weird name. ...Yes!
With almost the full resources of the InfoSystem focusing Wirrin's barrage of tests, the signal started to reveal its secrets. The docking lights flashed green three more times with the return of a stealth module from each of the other three Cadre ships and three more sets of retrieval data dumped to the quarantine location. Wirrin applied his analysis tasks and watched with a mixture of shock and satisfaction as the results came in.
AI trap!
AI trap!
AI trap!
AI trap!
... So many? It appeared as if the signal from each ship was a combination of two different traps.
...No, a third trap had just registered as part of the transmission for the first ship. It looked like the Rogue wanted to hit the Comet with a dozen different types of trap simultaneously. A scan of the parameters put a smile on Wirrin's face as patterns he'd worked at with Pirramar clicked in his mind. Yes, he knew that one, ...and that one. ...Seven would be no trouble at all, and four more had familiar looking structures. Ten minutes later he exclaimed with annoyance.

"Am I allowed to talk to you?"

"What?"

"Am I allowed to talk to you?"

Wirrin gave a little shake to refocus his mind to Thom.

"What?"

"That's better. I wasn't game to ask in case I broke your concentration but then you made your grumble-grunt."

"I've worked out counters for every trap except one which analysis says could force AI processors to 100% usage. ...But I can't see how. ... Is anything happening?"

"There's endless movement near the engine we thought they were dismantling, and a transport ferry went into one of the Freedom docking bays."

Wirrin didn't hear the end of Thom's reply because an idea teased at the edge of his mind. Endless? ...Yes, endless. ...Endless loops! That's what it was. How strange, but all that would need was recognition it was happening. Loop recognition programs appeared on command and Wirrin cobbled several together and tested them. Not good enough, but on the right track. Set a task to do this at computer speed. Thirty-seven seconds and 794 attempts later the antidote for AI trap number twelve was ready.

"PRIORITY ONE! PRIORITY ONE!"

Whoops! In his excitement Wirrin had yelled at the top of his voice and now Thom was staring in dismay.

"It's all good Thom. We're ready for action. Turaku, Priority One is to disable those blocked areas and then the radiation devices. Once that is done control is at your discretion. I'm releasing the antidote codes from quarantine. ...Now!"

Nothing happened. Well, not for approximately 3.4 seconds when the scan of the blocked area on the nearest ship abruptly changed to full optics and the sight of a shocked face staring at a blank console. Two seconds later came Turaku's announcement.

"Cadre ships are now under full control and the radiation devices locked in a neutral state. I suggest you release the code to help the Freedom AIs."

Wombats! That should have been released with the other codes. Slightly embarrassed, Wirrin quickly fixed that and turned to Thom.

"I can't think of everything."

"Yes, I know. It's terrible. We just won't mention that you saved the Comet, the AIs, and Freedom."

"Full contact with Attunga and Warrakan is now re-established. The Witness Council have opened a direct conference link, and Akama is asking for you to report directly. The Habitat AIs are all fully functional and the Freedom leaders are asking permission to speak with you."

Section Concludes.

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I hope you've gained some enjoyment from this story.
Any comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated.
My email address is palantir@diasporatales.tech
For further information about the diaspora series you're welcome at https://diasporatales.net
Palantir.