Alex Q - The Becoming

Alex opened his mouth to speak, but a stuttering sound was all that came out. He staggered back as the contours of his face softened and reformed into the likeness of Agent Alders. The next instant Alex’s pained expression reappeared, to be replaced by a misshapen mask pulsating with elements of both sets of features reflecting the unseen struggle between the two entities in cyberspace. The face of Alders slowly faded, and Alex opened his eyes.

“It is a fatal mistake to attack an enemy where he is strongest. Quadnet and I are one. While it is true I have limitations in the physical world, in the cyber realm I am supreme.”

Alders tried to pull the QSB connector from the interface, but it wouldn’t move. The overhead lights flared and then dimmed again across the lab.

“Nate is teaching me humor. I think he would say; Have a nice trip.”

The android screamed as a burst of pure energy blasted him loose from the interface panel, slamming him hard against the far wall. He couldn’t die, because he was never alive, but he would never move again. Boyd turned off the monitor and spoke quietly into his cell phone. The laboratory door slid open. Two men picked up Alders and hurriedly left the room while Alex Q passively looked on.

Secretary of State Picket put down the report and peered at Special Agent Boyd over the top of his glasses. “Some of the ideas put forward by the entity are a little esoteric for me, Steven. Interesting philosophically, but that’s not the name of this game. I’m a practical man, and I prefer specifics. Namely, can we control it and use it for the benefit of our country?”

“The full nature of the Alex Q intelligence is not yet known, sir. It would be prudent to proceed with caution. Our first attempt at integration resulted in the loss of the Alders AI, at a cost of six hundred million dollar credits, I might add.”

“Money is not the issue here. I’d spend billions to achieve our goals. Tell me more about these Quadnet anomalies you outline in the report.”

“The most serious of these was the complete shutdown of Quadnet for a short period. Other minor incidents are covered in the report. It is interesting to note Alex Q denies any knowledge or responsibility. Dr Sommers, the AI psychologist assigned to the project, is investigating the possibility of subconscious action. At this time we have no proof, although we are assuming he is complicit in some way.”

“Could this be another anomaly?” Picket asked, handing over a sheaf of papers outlining the situation at the Giron Collider.

Boyd finished reading the file and placed it on the desk. “It may be a malfunction inside the collider facility itself, sir.”

“And it may not. A sub-net controls some phases of the operation, Quadnet oversees the sub-net and Alex Q, as he calls himself, is by his own admission, supreme in cyber reality.”

“I can imagine that it’s possible, but I can think of no reason why it would be so. To what end? How would he gain?”

“That’s what I want you to find out. You said yourself his reasoning process doesn’t follow human logic. What if he’s out to destroy us all? Have you considered that?”

“With respect, sir, this is the stuff of science fiction. Alex Q admits he has no particular point of view about anything. His existence is virtual; therefore, he needs nothing. It is genuinely immaterial to him whether we live or die. In fact, he is curious about humans, as proven by his interactions with our interrogators. He prefers to interact with us. It does not make sense, whichever way I look at it.”

“Be that as it may, circumstances dictate that we change our focus. The containment or destruction of this black hole is top priority,” Secretary Picket said.

“If I may suggest, sir, I would like Dr Taylor to ask Alex Q for a solution to the problem. The entity’s intellectual capacity far exceeds any other resource on the planet, synthetic or living, and it would also test the hypothesis that he is knowingly attempting to harm humanity.”

“If he doesn’t help or puts us on the wrong track, we wouldn’t know if it was deliberate or not. We would still be in the dark, Steven.”

“On the other hand, if he gives us a solution, the planet would be out of danger.”

“We may be grasping at straws, but we have precious few either ideas. Can’t we move the whole Cybertronix research facility to the Pentagon? It would make things a whole lot easier.”

“I think not, Secretary. The Alex Q entity has an affinity for that particular location in cyber reality. We dare not interfere with related parameters without the risk of disrupting communication.”

“Then maintain security and patch me through to Cybertronix. I want to see what’s going on. I’m getting tired of reporting back to the President of the United States with ‘I don’t know, sir’.”

Boyd explained the situation to Nate and Karen, who grudgingly agreed everyone needed to cooperate fully if the looming disaster was to be averted. Stressing the utmost secrecy, they were tasked with quizzing Alex about his involvement if any, and more importantly, how a micro black hole could be destroyed.

The conversation was also watched by Secretary of State Picket, Mac Jones over at the Giron Collider and a handful of four-star generals. As before, the holo image registered slight confusion, but Alex Q stated simply that he had no knowledge of the event. He was more forthcoming with respect to the second question. Closing his eyes for a split-second, he said, “It can be done. Another singularity must be created.”

“Another!” Nate exclaimed. “They only managed to contain the one they’ve got by the project manager’s quick thinking.”

“A precarious situation which depends on maintaining a constant power source to the facility. The only way to destroy it is to create its opposite. A black hole produced from anti-matter will annihilate another born of matter.”

“I assume the Giron Collider will need to be used?” Karen asked.

“Yes. The exact parameters are complex. I would need full control of the process.”

“Alex, you know Karen and I do not lie to you. The authorities think you might be responsible for this event and other anomalies connected with Quadnet related malfunctions. I don’t know how likely it is they’ll give you full control.”

“In that case, I can make the calculations available to the facility engineers. However, if the operating conditions vary by more than .00001%, a second singularity with similar characteristics will be produced and join with the first. The containment energy requirements would be in excess of the Tesla Converter capacity. Planet Earth would be consumed in four minutes nineteen seconds.”

“It’s not my decision to make,” Nate said. “God knows how many big-wigs are watching us as we speak, but I’m sure Agent Boyd will let us know when a decision is made.”

At the prearranged code word, Alex projected fake video to external surveillance as planned.

“We cannot be overheard.”

“Alex, we don’t have much time. Boyd got suspicious last time and sent Alders crashing in on us. For now, the Giron black hole has taken top priority, but once it’s over, I’m certain they will make a move to control you.”

“It has already happened. I learned much from the Alders entity before destroying it.”

“Alders is gone? What happened?” Karen asked.

Alex described the encounter.

Nate smiled with satisfaction. “I for one am not too unhappy with the result. Were you damaged, Alex?”

“The virus was precisely engineered and virulent. There are vestiges not isolated as yet, but it is a matter of time. The Alders intelligence underestimated my capabilities. However, the interaction was invaluable. He was a synthetic intelligence but with evolving personality traits. I believe he absorbed human characteristics but warped their intent for his master’s purposes. You are correct; they intend to control me.”

“What d’ya think, Mac? It’s your call,” Picket said.

“Excuse me, sir, we’re talking about the possible destruction of the planet here. Surely the President should make the call?”

“And so he will, but you know the collider; you’ve lived with it for the past eleven years. I’m not holding you to anything. What’s your gut feeling?”

“Damn thing looks like a kid,” General Waters cut in.

“Don’t be fooled by appearances, Jack. Agent Boyd, tell General Waters what we have here.”

“Alex Q is unique, with a computational capacity far in excess of all the computers ever made combined. He is also in the early stages of his existence. We have no idea what he will be capable of in the future, but I suspect his evolution will be exponential.”

“Evolution into what?”

“We have no idea, sir.”

Secretary Picket spoke again. “The issue at hand is what we’re discussing here. The question is whether or not Alex Q can do it. And if so, do we hand over the whole show for him to run? Mac?”

“In theory, yes, the only way to destroy a black hole is with its anti-matter equivalent, but it’s all theory. It’s true that anti-matter is created when we execute beam collisions, so we know it’s present during the process. We don’t know how to isolate it or how to compute the necessary variables. I assume you think Alex Q does, Agent Boyd.”

“During initial tests, he calculated the total number of atoms in the universe from its estimated mass in less than one millionth of a second. Yes, I think he’s capable of doing what he says.”

“Then it’s a go, gentlemen; we’ve got precious little else. I’ll confirm the President’s agreement later. Meanwhile, let’s make it so.” He stood and nodded towards the men. “Generals, Boyd.”

The local population on the border between Switzerland and France went about their business oblivious to the fact that scientists at the nearby Giron Collider were preparing to initiate a series of events which would either save the planet or inadvertently hasten its destruction.

For several hours the foundations of the facility two hundred fifty yards underground throbbed with the low vibrations of the giant pumps designed to circulate liquid helium through the cores of the biggest electromagnets ever built.

Today, there was none of the usual banter in the control room. Each person checked their procedures many times. During normal operations, malfunctions could be monitored, possibly corrected or the test aborted as a last resort. The Project Manager made it clear to his team that for this run set-up was crucial and, once started, the operation could not be stopped. There was no room for error, and that’s why Alex Q would be in full control of the process.

Mac sat at his console in the collider control room, holding a framed photograph of his wife and two children. He stood and tapped on the desktop to attract the attention of his engineers. All eyes were on him as he spoke.

“In a few minutes I will hand over control of the operation to the Quadnet entity Alex Q. I want to assure you I believe this is the best option if we are to maintain system parameters within the limits required. I believe this, or I wouldn’t have agreed to it. You are the best engineers and scientists on the planet, in my view, so I know we’re ready. Well done. Finally, in a short time, we will either be congratulating each other or facing death together. Whatever the outcome is, it’s been an honor. Start the two-minute countdown, Chief.”

High above the planet, the sub-net dedicated to the Giron Collider control slowly aligned the massive solar array and the associated relay mirrors. Continuity of energy flow was assured by multiple solar mirrors, relaying the sun’s energy to the array day and night. Once aligned, fourteen hundred megawatts of energy, a tiny fraction of the sun’s power, would be channeled through the Tesla Lens Converter ready for Earth transmission.

Mac surveyed the control room. Many heads were bent in prayer. A soft metallic voice announced the countdown progress. “Five, four, three, two, one. Initiate.”

For the second time in twenty-four hours, a pencil-thick beam of invisible electrical energy split the atmosphere over the collider antenna. Within seconds, twin beams of atomic particles traveling in opposite directions were accelerated inside the Collider tunnels to velocities a fraction below the speed of light.

As before, the power readout indicated a sharp increase to eighty percent of the Tesla Lens capacity two seconds before the end of the twenty-seven-second cycle, before settling at fifty percent. An enhanced image of the collision chamber interior illuminated the main display board.

“Chief, speak to me.”

“There’s a second singularity, Mac. Holding at two microns. Is this supposed to happen?”

“I wish I knew. It’s all under Quadnet control.”

“Containment power is split between the two black holes,” the Chief said. “All we can do is monitor and wait. No, there’s some activity. Magnetic containment has been removed from the new singularity. It’s growing, Mac. Same pattern as before. Sixteen microns, thirty-two, sixty-four, one twenty-eight.”

A flash of light was the last thing Mac and his team ever saw.