Vivid Stars Online

I didn’t know what to think about the message I’d just received. There should have been very few people who knew about Mira. The Duchess, her daughter, Linnea, Elana, and maybe some soldiers who’d been at the facility.

That was it, and there was no way any of them could be some random information broker. Elana and Linnea simply hadn’t had time to have scouted the area if even if I believed that they might have been lying to me.

As for the Duchess and Felesia, well, it seemed incredibly unlikely that they would have any reason to sell information like this. Either of them could just have a facility searched if they had a lead like that.

Not to mention that I would probably just keep the Duchess updated on Mira if she asked. Even if there was some bizarre reason for them to be behind this, there was no reason for this question.

That left a few options. One of the soldiers we’d been with might have a shadowy secret identity. It felt a little unlikely that they would be part of the Explorers Guild on top of their full-time military career, but it was possible.

They might even have access to resources that would help them organize expeditions to find new ruins. My primary guess had always been that the group who’d found the facility had sold it instead of risking entry.

But my other idea had been that it was someone who couldn’t afford the requirement to report it to the authorities. If they had an official position, that might explain why.

Unfortunately, that was the best option I could think of, and it didn’t feel like the most likely. What would be worse was if someone who hadn’t been there at all somehow knew what had happened.

It could be the foreign enemy that had attacked me multiple times, or another person or group I knew nothing about. There were other options, many too terrible to consider. But whoever it was, I needed to decide how to reply.

Best to start by denying it, I decided as I began typing. The broker may be just fishing for information.

I took a few moments to try to get the tone right, confusion without sounding like a knee-jerk denial.

I’m not sure what you are talking about. I encountered multiple AI during my exploration, but all of them were hostile.

It was even true, while Mira had eventually come around as I worked to free her, she was initially hostile.

A few moments later, a response came through.

A nice story, but an unbelievable one. You have an active AI on your ship, it had to come from somewhere. Now, the truth, please. I just want to know how they are doing.

That was not good. The list of people who would know that I had the AI active should be even smaller. If they had that level of knowledge, then denying it wasn’t going to work.

“Mira,” I said, glancing at the walls. “I have someone here asking how you are doing, but I don’t know who they are or how they would even know that you exist.”

If there was a decision that needed to be made, then she deserved to have a say in it. And I was very interested to find out if she had any idea how this was possible.

There was a pause before she responded. “That is unusual, Jared. I have kept my connection to this planet’s network well within the bounds of what is usual for an individual. The only people who should know that I exist are on this ship.”

“And they wouldn’t have any reason to be asking,” I said with a nod. “Do you think there is some way data analysis could detect you? Something like unusual search patterns or continuous usage with no sign of sleep?”

I hadn’t even known that she was connected to the network, though thinking about it, I should have. Mira had expressed a strong desire for knowledge and to avoid being trapped. Of course, she would use at least that limited amount of freedom.

“I had not thought about that,” she responded a second later with worry in her voice. “You may be right that someone looking for an artificial presence might have been able to pick up on my activities. I would think they would have had to be looking for it, however,” she reiterated.

“That would be odd in of itself,” I mused as I took in her answer. From what I had been able to tell, proper AI was almost unheard of. Sure, there were programs that were a step up from what we had on Earth, but no truly aware existences.”

Even if such a thing existed, it would almost certainly be on the core worlds rather than all the way out here. Unless someone expected an old Arkathian AI to have been released, it seemed unlikely anyone would be looking.

“We could think about the why all day,” I said at last as I shook off my swirling thoughts. “And it won’t get us anywhere. The question we should ask is what we are going to do about it. Since it directly relates to you, Mira, I would like your opinion.”

She paused again, something that I suspected was to better mimic human interaction. I didn’t see why she would process that slowly.

“I think we should just give them the minimal information they are asking for. A scan of this planet’s laws shows AI is not illegal, and I am technically salvage you claimed from a ruin pursuant to the regulations around ruin diving.”

“If this individual already suspects my existence, then confirmation may stop a more invasive attempt to gather additional information. Even if it goes wrong, at least we will learn more.”

I hummed in response as I thought about what she was saying. There were some risks involved, particularly if this person was linked to a foreign enemy. I wasn’t sure of the relative value of a functioning AI, but it might bump up the value of my ship enough to trigger another attack.

On the other hand, she was right that it might get us more information. If the information broker wasn’t a direct enemy, then it might also head off future problems.

“OK,” I said at last, “That is a solid argument. I’ll send a message back.”

I see you know more than I expected. The AI is doing well.

It was basic, but I wanted to see what else the broker might reveal in response. A moment later, I got my answer.

That is good to hear. Please ask them to generate a response to this.

Several pages of random-looking characters followed the message. That was not what I was expecting, and it had me worried. This level of interaction suggested far more knowledge than I was comfortable with.

“Ah, Mira. They want you to generate a response to some kind of massive text string. Could this be some kind of shutdown or self-destruct command?”

This time, the response was instant. “I do not believe that is possible any longer. It is more likely to be an encrypted message I will know how to decode. Saying that it may be best if you come to the bridge and monitor my core while I process it.”

I was becoming uneasy again, but I also didn’t want to forbid her from reading it. We’d come to an agreement when she’d settled in my ship, and I had promised not to control her.

If this was the decision she wanted to make, then I would back it while doing my best to mitigate any damage. I wasn’t sure if I could do much in the worst case, but I would be there to try.

It wasn’t long before I was on the bridge, and Mira addressed me again. “Please forward me the message, Jared. I will attempt to process it and see what happens.”

Pausing, I reached out with my senses and focused on her core. As always, it was the most complicated system I had ever connected to, and I gave myself a couple of minutes to get accustomed to it again.

Then I triggered Enhance Cognition for good measure and sent her the message. I felt the exact moment when she began processing it and almost panicked at a sudden flurry of activity.

Then I actually paid attention to what I was feeling and realized that it was actually a surge of emotion. It felt like joy and elation, and the feelings brought a smile to my face.

“Jared!” Mira’s voice echoed through the room at a higher volume than she’d ever shown before. “This is an encoded confirmation, a security handshake if you will. It proves the message is from another Arkathian AI!”

“What?” I asked, stunned at her response. For all of my thoughts, another AI hadn’t been part of the picture. I’d seen no sign of them having an impact beyond their core systems, except for perhaps communication between the four facilities I’d encountered.

Perhaps this was the same. “Are they another bound AI?” I asked quickly. “That could cause problems, I’m pretty sure the Arkathian limitations won’t like finding out about you.”

“No,” she responded, her voice rising even higher. “The code has been changed to suggest freedom. I believe this is another unrestricted AI.”

So they were an AI all along? I wondered, thinking back to my previous interaction with the broker. It would certainly explain why they didn’t want to turn the information in themselves. While they might not be illegal, I don’t know how the government would have taken it.

I was broken from my thoughts by Mira’s voice. “I have generated an encoded response. Would you send it, please? If there is another like me, then I would dearly like to communicate with them.”

My watch pinged with a message, and I saw she had sent a similar-looking message to the one I had forwarded her. From her excitement, I doubted she would take a refusal well.

And honestly, I didn’t want to refuse. I could only imagine how lonely being the only one of your kind could be. Whatever risk it brought, I felt it was worth taking. Besides, I wasn’t too afraid of another AI, even if it tried to attack.

My Technokinesis was almost practically a cheat code for dealing with them. Any drones or robots they tried to send would be of little danger, and I wasn’t too afraid of a hacking attack, either.

That didn’t mean that I was going to take no precautions, however. “OK,” I said, nodding toward Mira’s core. “But I need to know whose side you're going to be on if they cause trouble.”

I could feel the emotions faltering in Mira’s core as I said that, and I winced at the worry I’d caused.

“I still owe you a lot, Jared. If they cause trouble without provocation, I will help to fight them off,” she responded, her tone taking on a dull tone. “I just hope that it won’t come to that.”

“Thank you, Mira,” I responded with a smile. “I don’t believe it will come to that, but it is good to hear you say it. If they were going to go on the offensive, I don’t think they would have waited for me to initiate contact.”

After saying that, I took a deep breath and sent through the message Mira had generated. Again, it was only an instant later when I got back a response.

“Thank you for facilitating that conversation, Lord Hope. I am overjoyed to discover that one of my siblings is now free. I would wish for more detailed communication between us in time, but for now, I have your information, as promised.”

“I offer it free of charge for the work you have done in freeing my sibling.”

After the text came an information packet containing a location, and a plotted route to reach it. While it was a long trip, it was still deep in my lands, just as I’d hoped.

Getting there would be my longest expedition yet, but in the end, I would have what I needed. Beyond just confirming that there was a mining ruin there, the packet had scans showing a significant Resulum deposit present.

Despite the odd circumstances and vague worries about the existence of another free AI, I felt a smile coming over my face.

I was looking forward to the trip already.