Pa'an

Jag was never given to paranoia, but the summons from Mentor was doubly ominous: it could not be refused, and the timing was suspicious. There was only one attitude to take toward such a situation, and that was the attitude of the warrior. Jag was prepared to fight, he planned to win, and he was ready to die for the cause. It had never been different in his life, except that now he felt more comfortable with the tasks ahead. That empty feeling in the pit of his stomach that accompanied unsavory assignments from the Order was gone. For once he was on the side of the angels.

A late winter wind across the East Boston salt flats brought the iodine smell of seaweed. The private jet with the black tail and gold pyramid logo met him at Logan Airport. He exited his limo at the gate reserved for private aircraft and boarded with only an overnight bag. Part of his luggage was ten carrier trays of Exabyte chips and a financial report. Sealed carefully into an envelope bearing the address of White, Day, Attorneys was a stock power assigning the majority interest in Ultradata held by Mentor’s straw owner in Switzerland to Jaeger Kunstler. He was briefed by Aura and ready to make his move.

At the airport in Lausanne he disembarked and found the blue Bentley Arnage waiting for him on the tarmac. Instead of the usual nondescript driver, he was privileged to find Ogu behind the wheel. Ogu took his bag, but simply pointed to the rear door and held that stance until Jag opened it and got in. The tall black man never spoke a word. Dominar III was anchored out much further than usual. Ogu stood guard in the mahogany runabout until Jag boarded. There was no waiting this time. Mentor was already on deck in his wheelchair, piled with blankets against the evening chill. The Weisshorn wore a glistening cap of snow.

“Good afternoon, Jaeger, I trust Ogu was prompt at the airport?” Mentor said in his precise, acerbic voice.

“No problem, Mentor. I brought the Exaplex chips you required.” He pulled a cardboard box out of an aluminum container.

“I expected a half billion dollars worth of chips to be in a fancier package. Do you mind if I open it?”

“Please do. I’m told they are very robust, physically. We ship them all over the world in that packaging. The chip carrier inside is phenolic, made just for Ultradata. The chips can’t be pulled out without an extractor tool.”

Mentor tapped the carrier and examined the chips closely. Apart from the part number, serial number and a gold embossed Ultradata logo, there was nothing much to see on their shiny black surface. The real magic was inside.

Mentor handed them to Ogu. “Ogu, please compare these with our requirements and see if they are adequate.”

Jag lifted an eyebrow. “Does Ogu have training in computer technology?”

“He has many surprising talents,” replied Mentor with a sharp look at Ogu. Ogu proceeded through the sliding glass doors and went below.

“Jaeger, we seem to be missing some of our customary sources of information lately. Perhaps you can fill me in on recent developments in Ultradata.”

Of course, he’s missing the bug we planted and we’ve been careful to keep Elexi out of it, Jag thought. He said, “Specifically?”

“How is your assistant, that girl with the strange name, working out?”

Jag fought to remain in tight control of his anger. “Not nearly as well as she did before she was clumsily and obviously conditioned.” He watched Mentor carefully.

Mentor gave a small smile, “Of course. I had hoped the process would endear her to you in, ah, other ways.”

Jag appreciated the irony, so he replied, “And the reports she supplies you, they are also, ah, endearing?”

“They are suspiciously benign, I’m afraid. Suspiciously.”

“I see,” said Jaeger. “You know, the conditioning has not exactly produced an open and spontaneous person. She avoids all her former friends and cowers in a corner half the time. Hardly an effective spy.”

“Hmm. That’s one possible explanation. Tell me about developments in your AI lab.”

“You have my reports. We are using the AI to check out the Exaplex modules at a rate 100 times the original manufacturing projections. We’re meeting all shipping deadlines and accepting all new orders as they come in.”

“And the AI itself… or himself?” Mentor emphasized the last word.

“Purndel is making billings. What more can I say?”

“Purndel? Another strange name. That’s the AI that came up after Aura? Why hasn’t it, or him, been registered yet?”

“Not much of a personality there. We’re not sure he can be registered as a full sentient, at least not yet.”

The salon doors parted. “Ah, Ogu, do we have what we need?”

Jag could hear the runabout starting and soon it left the yacht and raced across the lake to the French side. Ogu came out on the deck and stood directly behind Jag. “Yes, we have the goods. I sent the chip carriers on to our people. Let’s get on with this farce.”

Jag had never heard Ogu speak before. Ogu’s voice was an articulate baritone with an Oxford accent. Jag was stunned.

“Just so, Jaeger, Ogu is not what you thought he was. And perhaps, none of us are what we are supposed to be, are we?” He gave Jag a sideways smile and a raised eyebrow. Mentor shook his head, “There is no room in this organization for rebellion, Jaeger. I know you discovered a bug in the AI lab and I was waiting patiently for you to report it. That was over a month ago. As I told you once, those with the power must act or lose the initiative and the power.”

Jag wondered just how much Mentor knew. There was no extra risk required to find out now. “When we checked the roof to find the source of a drip in the ceiling, we found a dead device of some sort. Who knows how old it was? Probably my hired jihadis planted it.”

“Pah, you can lie better than that. There should be honesty between us after all these years, should there not? Next question: where are the Exaplex royalties earned by Aura? How is it that they were never reported either?” Again he arched one eyebrow.

Jag hoped that Mentor was chasing the money. It was part of his plan. The royalties were already over the one hundred million dollar mark and headed skyward. Likely, he thought Jag had developed a scheme to pocket the money himself. If so, he was ready to lead him down that path. “I understand the royalties due Aura are being held in escrow pending an investigation into her, um, next of kin.”

Mentor chuckled, “And you would be next of kin to a box of wires? Nice. I rather thought that girl Elexi would inherit, if an AI could pass down an inheritance, if Aura ever got a chance to leave a will. Another nice try.”

Jag leaned forward, “Mentor, who would you have inherit? Ultradata? The majority owner of Ultradata? Who is behind that Swiss straw company that holds the majority shares? And, while we’re at this honesty thing, what the hell are you doing with all those Exaplex chips? Selling them for a profit?”

“Score one for your team, Jaeger. It might not surprise you to find out that I, personally control that stock. I, personally, control that Board. And I don’t need to make more money on those chips. What I need is to build the world’s most advanced AI, one I can trust. Those chips are just parts for our project.”

“All in the name of the Order, of course,” Jag sneered.

“The Order. Hear that Ogu, all in the name of the Order. Hah. Hah.” Mentor’s complexion was flushed and a vein in his neck pulsed rapidly. Ogu rushed to his side and checked his pulse.