Chapter 155

The Daedalus Academy

Y: 2143 – 1 week until Southern Europe regional inter-academy first round.

Daedalus Financial Position: <5.23M> bitcreds 

<break> 

Of the four possible outcomes, this was the worst, but, Daedo breathed a sigh of relief. If they had orders to kill him, they would have already tried to shoot him.

“On your knees and face the wall,” the exo solider barked and Daedo complied. The Huawei exo soldier then attached a clamp across his wrists. Myrmidon probed it with the bodysuit’s inbuilt scanners, they were taking no chances; it was a low-tech metal contraption. 

The exo soldier then roughly pulled him to his feet and turned Daedo to face the door while taking up a position behind him. They waited until an officer appeared.

“Follow,” he ordered and Daedo complied with the exo soldier behind him.

Signs of the battle inside the base were everywhere. Its appearance was in stark contrast to what Daedo had seen when he entered. Large cracks and indentations on the walls, scorch marks and goo were all over the place. Exo parts were scattered up and down the corridor, while the former human occupants were being treated or being placed in body bags.

It appeared to Daedo that Huawei prioritised nullification of their foe instead of lethal force. Most of the Svarski soldiers were captured in electrified goo, a Huawei specialty.

The VTOL’s shaft to the surface had collapsed, so they led him up the emergency stairs. Daedo shook his head at the incompetency of Svarski. The Daedalus base in the Eye of the Sahara had repelled all attempts by the same opponent over the last six months. He had been held by Svarski for mere hours before Huawei broke through all their defences.

As they marched him to their craft waiting at the surface Daedo analysed the strengths and weaknesses of the two corporations. It was not surprising an attack on this base was successful, Svarski hadn’t designed it to repel attacks from rival corporations. It was an air base in South America to protect their varied assets in the region. Where the Eye of the Sahara had multi layered defences designed to repel attacks not only from mega corporations but from unknown aliens in the future. It was kilometres deep underground with state of the art PPC canons near the surface. The Svarski base was woefully inadequate in comparison. It wasn’t deep enough, it had no shielding nor active defence other than the VTOLs and Mechs it sheltered.

“In,” the officer barked and Daedo stepped into another VTOL, however this one was built by Huawei and was much larger than the sleek Svarski craft. Its fusion reactor hummed loudly, it was almost as loud as the mech carrier and Daedo suspected its purpose was not as a simple terrestrial armoured personnel carrier.

He was still cuffed, so the Officer buckled Daedo’s harness before he readied his own.

Myrmidon: They are brute force jamming our sensors.

Daedo: It’s ok. I think I know where they are taking us.

Myrmidon: Is it scenario sixteen?

Daedo: No, it’s scenario two.

AI’s were never surprised. Although it was a reaction they could mimic, when an event occurred that had very low probability. 

Myrmidon: It was not logical to put a low probability scenario early in our calculations. Were there factors that we did not include in our calculations?

Daedo: Yes. It’s easy to quantify how people act when they are afraid. But we had no evidence that they were afraid. Other than their zealous attempts to kill us, which could have easily been strategic rather than emotionally motivated.

Myrmidon: You are pleased with the scenario two outcome.

The last was an observation rather than a query and Daedo’s only reply were from his biometrics which showed Myrmidon that he was pleased with the outcome. It was at this time the craft picked up speed and the engine noise increased. The Huawei officer had donned a helmet but Daedo had to put up with the sound. Everyone in the cabin had noise reduction equipment except for the young commander.

The nose of the craft lifted as the engine’s roar hit a crescendo. Daedo withdrew into his thoughts and attempted to block out the pain. His hands were still clamped behind his back, which meant the painful situation he found himself in was intentional intimidation by Huawei. He resisted the urge to struggle against his restraints, no matter how his body screamed at him to cover his ears. Daedo closed his eyes and withdrew further thinking on what was to come.

It was a saving grace that the cabin pressure was stabilised, only the noise was unbearable. The g-force he experienced was the same for everyone aboard, it topped out at 6 g which was tolerable.

As the craft gained height it changed direction, its nose dipping as it left the stratosphere before finally entering space. The engine noise had dimmed significantly and was now probably tolerable except for the fact Daedo’s ears were ringing loudly from the recent abuse.

There were a dozen Huawei personnel in the cabin with Daedo, most of them were exo soldiers but the two officers were in bodysuits like Daedo. The two officers opened a storage locked and retrieved three exos. Like the Daedalus model they possessed a fully self-contained life support system, but that was where the similarities ended. They were designed for manual and specialised labour in space environments. Daedo recognised magnetic boots, multi-faceted tools, jets and grapplers just to name a few useful apparatuses.

After they were fitted, they approached Daedo; one holding the specialised exo and the other freeing Daedo from his harness and clamps. He knew they would not need the clamps on him if he was in the exo - they would be able to control him remotely. It would effectively be a mechanised, full body, straight jacket.

“You are new to our zero-g exo. It’s not a simple piece of equipment to operate so we will assist with its operation,” the Huawei officer stated after Daedo finished donning the exo. Myrmidon immediately began investigating its controls, communications and sensors. Daedo didn’t think they were underestimating him; the real message was the underlying one.

Daedo: After you have full functional awareness begin probing the control hierarchy. We need to disengage their command authority over the exo’s systems, while maintaining the appearance that they still possess it.

Myrmidon: Post initial assessment it is concluded that your directive is within my capability. 

Daedo: I knew your superior cognitive functions would overcome Huawei’s programs.

Myrmidon: Their machine learning algorithms are stifled through excessive control measures. I can use unconventional methods with ease. I still remember when we were one.

Daedo: Now is not the time for such reflection, we have work to do.

Myrmidon: You forget I can have a conversation with you without slowing down my work.

Daedo: True. Let me rephrase. I have work to do.

The spacecraft was now docking with one of Huawei’s orbital assets. The work on the spiral had not commenced and it would not until the first elevator was completed. It occurred to Daedo that Huawei may invest in crafts similar to the one he was in and dispense with the spiral altogether. It wasn’t an efficient process when it came to constructing large spacecraft capable to carrying a hundred million humans, but it was possible.  A spacecraft built in space from the spiral did not have the design restrictions which applied to craft that had to launch from the ground and make it to space. The could be designed as pure spacecraft, never having to land on a planet. The base on Mars would have an elevator in the near future and DaVinci had a space station in the asteroid belt. He was unsure of what secret space stations Huawei and Svarski possessed.

Whatever this orbital asset was would become known soon enough, there were a few candidates, while space stations were easily hidden deep in the solar system, it was impossible to hide something that orbited Earth.

The interlocks connected with an audible clank followed by a green light surrounding the hatch door. As the hatch opened Daedo could not feel nor hear the air pressure stabilising which spoke highly of the engineering precision and compatibility of the Huawei equipment. 

“Follow me,” the officer ordered as he stepped through leading the way. Daedo was trailed by six of the ten exo soldiers from the spacecraft and led by the two officers. The corridor wound its way around the circumference of the station and Daedo was able to catch glimpses of its exterior through the viewing bays. The officer led them to the right, towards the centre of the station, their mag boots were keeping their feet firmly on the walkway despite the lack of gravity. The exo itself kept them upright without the need of a static line.

Daedo was certain it was their primary weapons platform. A base Huawei deemed secure from the likes of Daedalus and even DaVinci. It was then the officers led him into a windowless room. There was no equipment nor furniture to give a clue to the rooms function. 

The officer pointed to the centre of the room, “Stand here.” One exo soldier stood guard in the corner and the rest disappeared when the door to the corridor closed. As Daedo stood in the centre of the room his exo froze, as he predicted it acted like a cage.

“Li Bai will be here soon, and discussions will commence,” the officer announced before leaving. Daedo was alone with the soldier, but he had no doubts many eyes were on the room and there would be more exo soldiers close by.

He closed his eyes and meditated while Myrmidon worked furiously on the control systems. His breathing was regulated and heartbeat steady at sixty beats per minute. They would be scanning his brain activity but all they would see were the calm waves of a meditative state. Daedo lost himself in thought about space, its possibilities and challenges.

The Earth itself had more mass than the asteroid belt let alone other planets and moons. Saturn has 63 moons and Jupiter has 79, and as orbital bodies they were accessible without falling into the gravity well of the two largest planets in the solar system. Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is often touted as a possible outpost. It’s almost twice as large as Earth’s moon in terms of mass and has an abundance of ammonia-rich liquid and its atmosphere is predominately nitrogen. But when it came to colonies in the solar system, it was logical they would all be space stations. Colonising and terraforming a planet was an exponentially more intensive and expensive enterprise in comparison.

“Commander Daedo,” a voice interrupted his reverie. “I am Li Bai from Huawei.”

It was strange that a person would be in this situation and not have a title. No military or corporate title, which spoke volumes in itself.

Daedo opened his eyes and inspected the newcomer. He looked like he was more than fifty years old, which was ancient compared to the Daedalus Commander. The CEO of Huawei, Cho, was in his late thirties which made Daedo wonder further about his position. His space exo had no insignia other than the Huawei emblem, no sign of rank. Li Bai himself was unextraordinary in appearance, but he had piercing, intelligent eyes. He was under 1.8m tall, the height of the standard Huawei exo soldier. He smiled politely at Daedo while under his appraising gaze.

“Nice to meet you. Do you have authority to speak on behalf of Huawei?” Daedo asked.

Li Bai titled his head to the side as if considering whether to answer, he was not being fed lines like the Svarski officer, something that Daedo noticed immediately. “I am here.” He said simply and waved his hand downwards indicating the room they both occupied. 

“May I ask why I am here?” Daedo took the initiative.

“Because you pose a significant threat to the survival of the human species,” Li Bai replied before adding, “And with a peaceful future in mind we have agreed with DaVinci – not - to kill you.”

Daedo ignored the threat. “That much is obvious, but I disagree with your premise that I pose a significant threat to humanity. I would argue that if left alone Daedalus would not interfere with your plans.”

“Ah,” he said in an elongated fashion. “And that is a risk we’re not willing to take. Leave you alone you say; let’s indulge that idea for a moment. We leave you alone and you grow your power base and technological advancements. And in two years’ time we have an uncontrollable behemoth that can easily derail everything. All thanks to your alien friends and anti-matter reactor.”

Li Bai took a step towards Daedo, “We are a careful corporation. We plan meticulously and assess every possibility. This is why we are over 150 years old, unlike other companies from our time we survived. Have you heard of Apple? Google? Tesla?” Li Bai noticed Daedo nod, “From historical media no doubt. We watched these companies fail and die while we survived. Svarski and DaVinci are babes in comparison. And your company, Daedalus, is a pregnant woman. And I’m afraid that the father does not have our best interests at heart.”

“Mother,” Daedo corrected.

“Semantics,” Li Bai responded.

“I will entertain you and accept your premise. Why doesn’t Huawei act now and get off this planet rather than hang around and fight with us?” Daedo asked.

“It’s not your planet. We don’t cede it to you,” Li Bai replied.

“But you’re willing to cede it to an outside threat and certain doom?” That is illogical.

“Young man, that wasn’t a threat it was a diplomatic offer. One which we assessed and agreed to. Are you aware of the details?” Li Bai asked.

“Some. But I was never given the communique to read myself,” Daedo replied.

“I will give you the distilled, unaltered version. The alien power said it would come and wipe humanity from the planet. Its intentions were made clear. Only humans. Not animals, nor plants were going to be annihilated. It also said that it did not wish our species to perish, but to learn from this event. This can only be interpreted that if we are not on the planet, they will not hunt and kill us. Now it’s a matter of logistics we can only take so many with us. Our best minds say that we should evacuate twenty million of the best and brightest in order to give our survival the best chance.” 

“The one hundred million cap is a lie?” Daedo asked.

“It is.” Li Bai replied. “There is no quota except the one we place ourselves.”

“Are you sure you interpreted the communication correctly?” Daedo asked.

“It was written in simple language,” Li Bai replied. “It is hard to interpret in other ways. Trust me, we tried.”

“So how are we a danger to this plan?” Daedo asked.

Li Bai tilted his head, “It’s true, your act of trading the Troika to DaVinci was a good strategic move. But how long until you unveil another alien technology to destabilise the planets power base? The Troika wasn’t the first nor the last. I have intel that you are using nanites far superior to ours.”

“The nanobot development is not from alien technology. We stumbled across the scientists and worked with them. It is not our fault that the predatory practices of the mega-corporations are unappealing to the most talented people.” Daedo said.

Li Bai shook his head slowly as if dismissing the ideas of a naïve child. “We ran millions of simulations in hundreds of models. And in most Daedalus proved to be our downfall. Even at your most successful you anger and frustrate the alien power and they come back in vengeance annihilating all of us. Did you consider this?”

Daedo was unapologetic, “Did I consider being successful and actually saving the people you plan to sacrifice? Hell yes.” 

“This is exactly why we oppose you. You are dangerous. You could be the end of all of us!”

“And this is why I oppose you. You are cowards. You don’t inform the people of the danger they are in and will leave them to be slaughtered by the billions. And you don’t care! Not one bit. As long as you and the other wealthy people are safely away.”

“You are wrong!” Li Bai seethed. “We want humanity to survive and ours is the best strategy. You accuse us of taking the wealthy, but this is not true. We will take the best and brightest from our Academies. You must have met wealthy people from the older generation who are not aware nor invited. In fact, most of those going will not know the real reason why.”

Daedo realised that the Fortescue family seemed ignorant and certainly Barran’s family were ignorant. They were amongst the wealthiest on the planet. “Academies,” Daedo said the singular word and let it hang in the air. “Who attends your Academies?”

“We hand out many scholarships,” Li Bai knew what Daedo implied.

“I found a million young cadets with more talent than most in the Academies. And I would pit our top two hundred against anyone,” Daedo replied.

“This is a minor point to argue,” Li Bai said giving ground to Daedo before striking back. “What does any of it matter if everyone is dead.”

“I was willing to allow you to leave and enact your plan. But your continued interference in mine is not going to be tolerated,” Daedo said.

“And … This is why you are dangerous. You are unable to see the big picture. You’re too young to see wisdom,” Li Bai scolded. 

“Granted I am young. But you are wrong, my mind is agile, and I am able to see possibilities that you cannot. Your models and simulations are inadequate when you fail to see all paths,” Daedo said dramatically. And when he finished speaking the room went dark with only the red ring around the door showing. The ring which turned green a second later before the door opened.

“What’s going on?” Li Bai called.

“A path you failed to see,” Daedo said as he walked from the room. The exo soldier was frozen in the corner, unable to see or move.