SWNOVELS Chapter Let Freedom Ring
Let Freedom Ring
Block 7,932,490
Fabian has assembled his team in his office. Jim and Laura have arrived as well.
“All right, what kind of activity are we seeing? This seems crazy, right? And again, thanks to everyone for dedicating the time you have to this and working these hours. Ok, begin.”
One of the engineers begins, “Yes, for sure. About six blocks ago, twenty ’nodes,’” he uses air quotes, “began synchronization. As you can see on the map of SO-Land, these nodes encircle the entirety of SO-Land, which structurally is fascinating. We can’t know what these locations are, but we have to assume it has something to do with the network security and AI infrastructure, given the distance each one is from the other. What is fascinating about these nodes is that a signal is coming from Mehran, Iran. Based on one of our previous meetings, there was possibly an area of decreased or minimal radiation down in the southern part of Iraq. So that’s good news. However, the node synchronization in eastern China has repeatedly begun an irregular pattern of continuation and halting.”
Fabian asks, “Ok, what do you make of that?”
The engineer continues, “Well, we aren’t sure.”
“What are the possibilities?”
Another engineer begins, “Well, it could be a malfunction.”
“Have we ever seen any activity like that from a node before? And if it’s a malfunction, why are the other nodes not doing the same thing?”
“I said it could malfunction, but there are other possibilities. As you rightly mention, that is unlikely, so the other likely possibility here is that they are messaging to us that there is a problem or emergency.”
“I would favor the latter. Let’s see a show of hands. How many think this is a malfunction?” He scans the room. No one has raised their hand. “Ok, so it seems like we all seem to think something urgent is going on.”
“Sir?” The lead engineer asks. Fabian nods.
“As we sit here, we can start rapidly encoding and transmitting questions to see what is going on.”
“Ok, get on it! Take ten minutes to work through some questions we can start sending. I’m going to make some coffee.”
The engineers start chattering among themselves in their respective groups. Finally, Jim and Laura stand up and walk around, listening to each group’s communication.
Fabian walks over to start some coffee and looks out over the gulf of Fonseca. As the coffee finishes brewing, Fabian pours three cups and takes one each to Jim and Laura. Laura kisses him on the lips and winks at him, “Guatemalan?”
“What do you think?” Fabian smiles. He returns to the table to get his cup and turns to the group.
“All right, how are we looking?”
They all look at him and nod in satisfaction.
“Go ahead.”
The lead engineer begins, “As we see it, we must first identify if this is a technical problem or a distress call of sorts. Then, we should probably ask if this is a threat to them or us. We should ask if they are ready to come here. If the answer is yes, we need to determine where that will be. We would start with Mehran as our first assumption. And then, we need to develop a time frame.”
“Ok, let’s get going on this.”
+++
Block 7,932,484
Min turns toward the elevator and descends to Han’s office. She approaches Arman on the couch. He hasn’t moved.
“AI, please summon medical help.”
As Min waits for medical personnel to arrive, she takes a pillow from the couch and puts it under Arman’s head.
“AI assesses the injury and suggest remedy.”
“Vitals signs appear to be normal. Mild edema noted of the right temple region will result in bruising. No sub or epidural hematoma noted. The subject has mild concussion with predicated 100% survival. Recommended actions include close observation for the next twelve hours in a monitored setting. Brain scanning is recommended for any change in mental status or exam.”
As the AI finishes its assessment, medical personnel enter Han’s office. Min directs them to Arman.
“AI, share assessment!” Min commands. The data is transferred to the medical team as they insert an IV and place a vital signs sensor on Arman’s forehead. The sensor flashes green, indicating normal vital signs with no further intervention needed. The team places Arman on a stretcher, and Min points them to the elevator.
“I will go with him to the hospital.”
“Of course.” One of the medical personnel says.
The elevator takes them to the roof, and the medical AAPD has been redirected and is landing as the elevator door opens. The back of the drone lowers with a ramp, and they roll Arman up into the belly of the drone. Min walks to open a side hatch and gets in for the flight to the hospital. The flight to the hospital is short. Min can see several other drones on the hospital rooftop, and one is just now taking off with a red light flashing. The drone lands, and a large container apparatus appears from the roof. Arman is brought out in a self-contained intensivist capsule that slips into the container. It then descends from the top, and the roof closes.
Min looks at one of the medical personnel. “It’s ok; it will take him directly to the part of the hospital he needs to be in for observation. Everything he needs is in that capsule based on the recommendations of AI. So take that elevator,” they point in the direction of a rooftop elevator, “and go to admissions. They will then direct you to where you can see him.”
Min nods appreciatively and walks toward the elevator.
Block 7,932,508
“AI, Ben Jianao.” Han’s AAPD course corrects to Ben Jianao. He flies for about an hour towards eastern SO-Land.
Han grabs his console and messages Min:
“Min, how is everything going?”
After a few moments, Min replies:
“Everything is fine. Mr. Heydari is at the hospital in observation. He aroused a couple of times, asking where he was, but went back to sleep. The medical personnel and AI predict 100% survival, and he should be conscious and back to normal in about four or five hours.”
“Anything on the data analysis?”
“Yes, they understood we might be sending a distress signal. I acknowledged that it was. They asked several other questions in rapid succession. They know you are ready to come, and they must see the activity at our node in Mehran because they suggested that they would retrieve you there. They are asking how long it would take to get there. I chose three days.”
“Wow, ok, I don’t know how I will get there in that time. I suspect as soon as I get to where I’m going, I won’t be able to use the drone again.”
“Ok, I will work a solution.”
“Ok, bye.”
“Bye.”
Han turns the console off and commands, “AI, Hong Kong.”
He hoped that if the console’s location could be pinpointed, it would appear on a path toward Ben Jianao. Of course, the drone would ultimately give away his position, but an extra data point might be enough to delay a proper analysis.
He makes the final descent into the Hong Kong node. Heavy rains have moved into the area. Han thinks they are severe enough to be associated with a monsoon, but it’s still early in the year for that weather.
The AAPD lands and Han enters the node after a simple biometric fingerprint scan. Despite the short walk, he’s drenched. The temperature and low humidity in the node center send a shiver down his spine. He walks over to the desk, places the satchel on top, takes his shirt off, and hangs it on the back of the chair. He figures it should dry quickly inside the center.
Now that he’s here, he needs to plan his next step. The Hong Kong node has the shortest flight time from Wuhan and gets him to a sanctuary location before moving farther west. At this point, he has to hope that Arman remains incapacitated. Once he is coherent, he will become a fugitive, and he believes Arman’s threats. If Arman were angry and hurled threats at Han in the office, he would be in a rage after being hit in the head. Unfortunately, Arman didn’t come across as someone who would take an insult or an injury well.
Han knows he has a short window of time to use the AAPD and it won’t make it to Mehran without several recharges. While the AAPD is a Han Tech drone, at some point, he’s sure that Arman will control it or disable it. Fortunately, he knows he can’t be locked in one for safety reasons. He’s got to hope that Min remains his ally and can help him without detection. There’s no other way he can escape without her help.
Block 7,932,532
Arman slowly begins to shift in bed. Min is standing outside Arman’s treatment cell and can see that his heart rate has increased significantly. His treatment has only required AI and robotics at this point. With the increased heart rate and movement, the nurse monitoring him knows he is waking up and walks to this treatment cell and stands next to Min. “Is he a relative?”
“Oh, no. He was visiting my company,” She says hesitantly, “and fell. So I want to make sure he’s ok.”
“Well, AI predicted accurately. So he should be conscious and talking pretty shortly. Would you like to go in with me?”
“Oh, sure. That would be great.”
Min and the nurse walk in together, and Min stands at the foot of the bed while the nurse physically checks on Arman. Then, she enters a few items on the computer and turns to leave.
“You can stay for as long as you need.”
“Great, thank you.”
Arman begins to rouse, “Where... Where am I?”
“You are in the hospital.”
He begins to touch his right temple region softly. He’s formed a bruise in the area, and swelling has already started. Because he’s been in bed for a while, some of the edema has shifted, and he has swelling just above his right ear. He has some ecchymosis of his right eye and some scleral edema, but he can still see. His medication is titrated to the exact amount he needs to provide relief without clouding his thinking. As he begins talking, the room lighting starts to change to accommodate. Unfortunately for Arman, SO-Land and EMC AI can’t be accessed from inside the hospital without his glasses or a console, neither of which he has with him.
Min watches him a little more. She can see that he’s trying to understand why he’s here and what happened.
“No, I mean, where am I? What city?”
Min seems surprised by the question, “Mr. Heydari, you are in Wuhan, Southern SO-Land.”
“And who are you?”
“I’m Min Liu. I’m the lead engineer at Han Tech.”
“Why am I here in Wuhan, and why are you here, and why am I in the hospital?”
“I don’t know why you are in Wuhan, but you came to meet my boss, Mr. Tan. You fell and hit your head, and you’ve been out for a while. So we brought you here for monitoring. Everything looks to be ok. You just had a bad fall.”
“How did I fall?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t with you when it happened.”
“Who was with me?”
“Mr. Tan.”
“Where’s Mr. Tan? Why isn’t he here instead of you?”
“He had urgent business related to Spider Works he needed to attend.”
“Hmmm?” Arman manages gruffly as he begins to sit up in bed. “AI? AI?”
The nurse comes walking in.
“Did you need something?”
“Yes, I need to access SO-Land and EMC AI!” He demands. Min’s eyes widen. Arman is looking at the nurse and doesn’t notice.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Heydari. The only AI within the hospital is that of the hospital. It can share data about you with any AI you would like, but you can’t access any other AI from within the hospital.”
“Shit, that doesn’t make any sense.” He darts a look at Min.
“Take me back to Han Tech to access your AI so I can figure out what’s going on.”
The nurse butts in, “Mr. Heydari, you can leave in about an hour...”
“Fuck that; I’m out of here. Do you know who I am?”
The nurse looks puzzled, “Yes, of course, Mr. Heydari, I just said your name.”
“Funny,” Arman says sarcastically. The nurse looks at Min, clearly confused.
“He is the director of EMC enforcement for SO-Land,” Min interjects. The nurse still looks puzzled.
“I fucking make sure this whole damn society functions properly!” He belts.
Min thinks to herself, “Wow, he really has a high opinion of himself.”
“Oh, Oh, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. We don’t use that type of information to influence our care.”
“Fuck that. I want out of here.” He begins to stand and sways a little.
“Mr. Heydari, you’ve had a concussion and need to take it easy. You can’t travel long distances and be at significant altitude or do heavy lifting...”
“Blah, blah, blah. You’ve seen my body and what good shape I’m in. Get my clothes.” Min rolls her eyes.
The nurse retrieves his clothes, and he takes his gown off. He stands there in the nude, seemingly proud and confident that the nurse and Min will be pleased by his physique. Min looks down at her feet.
He dresses and looks at Min, “Take me to Han Tech!”
They hurriedly walk to the elevator, get down to ground level, and hail an AV. They enter the AV. “I’ll command.” Before Min could reply, Arman grunts, “AI to Han Tech.”
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
“I told you, I wasn’t there. I came in after you fell. Mr. Tan told me to take care of you because he had an urgent matter to address.”
“Do you think I’m stupid? That doesn’t make any sense. How could I just fall? I play soccer and rarely fall without a cause.”
“I don’t know. Mr. Tan has steps leading up to his office; maybe you fell there.”
“Well, was I at the top of the stairs when you came in?”
“Uhh, no, actually. You were on the couch.”
“And Mr. Tan didn’t tell you how I fell?”
“No, he had to rush off urgently.”
“I bet.” Arman gently rubs his temple area.
“It seems like if I tripped on the stairs, I would have hit my face or the side of my head. This area,” as he rubs his temple, “is a pretty discrete location for a fall.”
“I don’t know; maybe you hit the edge of the chair while you fell.”
They finish the drive in silence.
The elevator door opens, and they enter Han’s office.
“AI, review my visit!” Arman commands the Han Tech AI. There’s no response. “What the fuck?”
“Han Tech AI only responds to employees of Han Tech.”
“Well, command it to review my visit!”
“Of course. AI review visit with Mr. Tan and Mr. Whoodari.”
“It’s Heydari!”
“Yes, so sorry.” Min laughs to herself.
The AI projects on the console the meeting.
“Wait, I come in. It goes blank, and then you are there with Mr. Tan. Why is there a blank period?
“I’m not sure, but Mr. Tan can turn off AI within the office.”
Arman stands there thinking, “Yes, yes. I remember that now. Fuckin’ privilege to have that sort of control. Where is Mr. Tan?”
“I... I don’t know.”
“Can you find him?”
“I’ve never done that before. So, I don’t know.”
“What was he working on?”
“Well, we were working on this new node update...”
“Yes, yes, ok, now I remember. Show me the data.”
Min commands the AI to show the data from the synchronization process. Arman reviews it but has no idea what he’s looking at.
“That’s right, this was using too much energy, and there was something about the data, correct?” He looks at Min.
“Sir, I have no idea. We’ve been installing this update. That’s all I know.”
“Come with me now.”
Arman grabs Min’s wrist and takes her to the elevator. “Take me to my AAPD.”
“Of course,” Min commands the elevator to the garage level and out to the side of the building. There’s a drone landing pad adjacent to the building. They approach the EMC AAPD, and the hatch opens. Arman steps in.
“AI, review my plan and flight data.” Arman listens to his notes during flight and flight data, including arrival time. Min listens in on the data dump.
“AI, locate Han Tan, Han Tech CEO.”
“Last broadcast location is 27.261563, 115.862127.”
Without acknowledging Min, Arman commands for the hatch to close and lifts off.