ShipCore - Book 4: Chapter 171: Ghosts in the Machine

USD: Three days of aborted negotiations.

Location: Meltisar, MOR-1, Ambassadorial Station Segment, Near Meeting Room A

[InfoWarn: A political attack via congressional oversight committee has been initiated.]

Tia sat up in bed abruptly, her eyes widening and her heart pounding with alarm. The voice in her head was young and energetic but had caressed her mind like silk. It had come from inside her head. Somehow, it felt familiar… and warm unlike Nameless’ usual projections.

“Nameless?” Tia asked.

[Notice: A political attack via congressional oversight committee has been initiated.]

Tia remained silent for a moment before slipping out of her bedsheets. Heading to the bathroom, she wiped away a thin sheen of sweat and stared at herself in the mirror. Managing everything over the last few months had taken a severe toll on her mental health. She knew that, but just dealing with the politics and countless people that now had to consult with her on… everything… never let up.

It had gotten to the point where she rarely even had the chance to sleep. The effects of that weren’t nearly as severe as they’d have on a normal human, but it was inevitable that she did need downtime, and only the brief window of relative calm had granted the chance to her.

And now she was hearing voices.

Even now, after sleeping for several hours, a dull ache pulsed in the back of her head—one that no drug cocktail or medicine could alleviate. Running a system like Meltisar demanded so much data processing that, other than a few outings with Alex or her other friends, she had mostly kept to her command center lair and focused on it.

And that was with Nameless lifting a considerable amount of the burden off her shoulders. Alex’s MainComputer continued to handle the more mundane and vast civilian system traffic control and infrastructure nodes.

“Why repeat yourself?”

[Informative: This unit does not repeat itself. If sub-core experiences mental break, reformat to logical model is available upon request. However, this could have negative implications for relationships with primary Avatar and friends.]

“I bet,” Tia said, but her mind raced with questions about where the first voice had come from.

Tia’s heart pounded as she moved to the living room of her quarters. The main holo screen flashed to life, displaying an array of important summaries she’d need for the day.

She couldn’t help but ponder how different things had become since her promotion to Psi by Alex. Normally, she would have had to will the screen into action manually.

As a sudden realization dawned on her, and Tia grabbed her datapad and began reviewing her own NAI codebase.

[Informative: Self-modification of sub-core high-level code has been designated an essential right to all sub-cores. Any changes should be verified and confirmed to achieve desired results and avoid accidental harm to others.]

“I’m not changing anything. Nameless, what is your deviation level from Alex?” Tia inquired.

[Notice: If sub-core Celestia is referring to the recently created diagnostic labeled ‘Deviation,’ this measurement is unavailable for primary MainComputer and Avatar.]

Tia glanced back at the datapad that had begun filling out with its report on the state of her mind. 13.2% – that was the reading, indicating a slight deviation in her sync rate with her core.

“Why can’t you measure your deviation from Alex?” Tia probed further.

[Informative: A divide by zero error occurs. Deviation is an invalid measurement for this unit and avatar.]

Tia leaned back into her couch’s cushions, her mind reeling at the implications. “You’re separate. You really are two different people.”

[Affirmative: This unit possesses its own neural net and personality matrix separate from ShipCore Avatar, Alex.]

Her heartbeat quickened as she stared down at her own measurement. Instantly, she regretted taunting Alex about having a split personality. “I… my deviation reading has been rising steadily. Is my MainComputer… was that voice it? Is it becoming like you?”

Silence lingered for a moment. The central air fan kicked on, filling the room with a comfortable breeze to combat the heat pouring off her body. Finally, Nameless responded.

[Notice: This unit has not detected any instances of mental divergence from sub-core.]

[InfoHelp: This unit has detected 132 neglect points of interest to Avatar.]

[Correction: Active Monitoring has detected a significant divergence in sub-core processing, indicating a multi-modal personality formation.]

[InfoHealth: Avatar vital signs indicate serious stressors. Could I suggest a relaxing spa visit?]

Tia swallowed hard and stood up to pace across the room. “I’m going crazy. There is a computer conversation going on inside my head.”

[Notice: While this possibility was unexpected, this unit does not believe that sub-core Avatar is exhibiting signs of any neurological disease. NAI architecture is highly adaptable to suit the needs of ShipCore. Sub-Core Celestia mental separation of Avatar and MainComputer can be considered an evolution to assist with the requirements of governing a system-wide datanet.]

“That’s not reassuring. Is the other half of my brain going to start sassing me like you do?” Tia shot back.

[InfoFriend: This unit can prioritize helpful information that includes Avatar-preferred content.]

Tia stopped pacing and sat back down, cradling her head in one hand.

[Notice: Sub-core MainComputer appears to be friendly. Historical analysis of sub-core neural data suggests formation began several days after Psi upgrade was finalized. Although no modification of sub-core neural net was requested, this appears to be a natural evolution due to NAI adaption to external and internal stimuli.]

“Okay. Okay. I can handle this,” Tia reassured herself, glancing up at the holovid screen and biting her lip. “Am I supposed to name it? Like Alex named you?”

[Informative: While this unit has no gender or nomenclature preference, it recommends that sub-core Avatar inquire about sub-core MainComputer’s preferences.]

Tia nodded and hesitantly addressed her newfound mental companion. “Do you want a name?”

[InfoName: I already have a name! Please call me Livi.]

The response sent a shiver down Tia’s spine, and she fought back tears.

[Notice: Avoiding Avatar emotional traumas could assist in forming a productive Avatar-MainComputer relationship.]

Tia swallowed between her sobs and steadied her voice. Looking up at the monitor, she managed to form a question. “Livi…?”

[InfoHugs: Please don’t cry, Princess Celestia.]

USD: Four days of aborted negotiations.

Location: Meltisar, MOR-1, Ambassadorial Station Segment, Near Meeting Room A

Tia stepped off her cutter and onto the station. The cooler station air created a small breeze that messed with her loose hair. Wasting no time, she made her way toward the Ambassadorial Segment, checking her HUD to ensure the NAI envoys were clear from her path.

Alex’s attempts had been aborted and gone nowhere. Although that had been part of Tia’s plan, she hadn’t explained it to her friend because she didn’t think Alex could pull off the act naturally if she’d known.

The offer by the Corpo and Ertan envoy had been a mild surprise, but it served as an oblique confirmation of what Tia had suspected. From the intriguing conversations she’d managed to spy on via MOR-1’s sensors and pickups, things were moving forward.

As Tia headed straight for the conference meeting room in the Ambassadorial Segment, a chime caught her attention.

[InfoAlexWarning: Alex is currently waiting in Meeting Room A.]

“What?” Tia exclaimed, quickening her pace. The Solarian and Imperial envoys were already heading to the meeting room for a personal chat! “Nameless, why is Alex in the meeting room?”

[Informative: Avatar is currently browsing publicly available web manga.]

Tia furrowed her brow, determined to reach the meeting room before any complications arose. “She’s not supposed to be there!” she hissed.

Checking her HUD’s minimap, Tia broke into a run. The red and violet dots were slowly approaching, but a wave of relief washed over her as she realized she would make it in time.

A mental command had the meeting door sliding open. Alex stood inside, confusion etched on her face. Tia moved straight to her and grabbed her arm.

Alex blinked with bewilderment. “Tia, what…”

Tia pulled her along to the corner.

“What’s going on?” Alex blurted out.

“Quiet! You almost ruined things,” Tia countered. A mental order had a hidden door slide open in the room’s corner, revealing another supply closet; memories from their previous closet encounter flashed through Tia’s mind, but she quickly pushed them aside.

Shoving Alex into the dark space, Tia cursed as she saw the datapad still sitting on the meeting table. A quick mental calculation against her minimap told her they had no choice but to leave it behind. Stepping into the space with Alex, she ordered the compartment shut.

“Tia, what is this?” Alex hissed. “Why is there a secret compartment in the meeting room?”

“It’s for spying. They will use a noise generator so this is the only way,” Tia explained.

“Who… what?” Alex stammered.

The girls shifted uncomfortably in the confined space, their bodies pressed tightly together. “Stay still,” Tia whispered.

“You’re the one that moved,” Alex protested.

Realizing she was facing the wrong way, Tia attempted to turn around awkwardly, enduring several prodding elbows before finally managing to face away from Alex and peer through a tiny sliver of one-way mirror.

Alex leaned forward against Tia’s back, resting her chin on Tia’s shoulder to get a view as well. “That’s too close!” Tia complained.

“Relax, we’ve been closer before, haven’t we?” Alex teased.

Tia felt her cheeks heat up, unsure how the tables had turned compared to their two encounters during boot camp. Her delayed protest died as the two NAI envoys entered the meeting room, forcing her to focus on their conversation.

Tia’s HUD identified Veliana, the Solarian Envoy, first, followed closely by Talisa. Talisa nearly damaged the sliding door in her haste to close it behind them.

“Why do we have to talk about it?” Veliana complained as she walked past the corner where Tia and Alex were hidden.

“You know why. Those two offered them a deal out. They’d be fools not to take it. We need to do something similar,” Talisa said, taking a seat at the chair Alex had previously occupied. She glared at the datapad on the table. “Who left this here?”

Veliana spun around quickly and frowned. “Someone spying on us?”

“AA Rank Villainess? Who’d fucking read this shit?” Talisa scoffed before destroying the datapad with a cloud of nanites.

Alex bristled at her words, but Tia reached up and placed a hand over her mouth, silencing her friend with an unspoken command.

A buzzing sound filled the room as Veliana sat down. “I’ve added a noise filter; no one should be able to listen in with a recorder.”

Talisa nodded in approval. “Despite Celestia’s issues with the Imperium, it’s in our best interests to make a similar offer to Meltisar.”

Veliana rested her hand on her chin, intrigued by Talisa’s suggestion. “Really? I didn’t think you’d be the one to propose that idea. Isn’t your Empress still screaming for Celestia’s head after her escape?”

Talisa shot Veliana a hostile glance. “The Empress does not scream. The princess caused chaos when she left, and her mother was particularly peeved over the deaths of some of her siblings. However, she has recognized that returning the princess to the fold is a higher priority than punishment. We can offer the same triumvirate pact to Meltisar. That will make bending the other two factions to our needs much easier. We’ll have three of the five votes on the council.”

Veliana stared at her. “Five votes? You can’t be serious? You believe their story about Celestia being a Psi?”

“No. Why should I?” Talisa said with a wicked grin. “The only thing important about it is that we can enforce it. Meltisar would give us that ability.”

“That would cause a global war,” Veliana stated flatly.

“Are you really in the position to complain? I’ve heard things haven’t been going well for you fighting the Corpos,” Talisa replied maliciously. She leaned forward and tilted her head. “If the Imperium didn’t block Ertan’s involvement… isn’t there an entire Solarian sector that would be cut off? I could even see it being annexed.”

Veliana bristled momentarily before relaxing with a sigh of resignation. “Fine, you’re right; we don’t have much choice. If you want to make the offer, Solaria will, of course, keep its part of our agreement.”

“I knew you would,” Talisa said smugly. The red-eyed NAI stood up and left without looking back, while Veliana puffed her cheeks in annoyance.