FSE

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Chapter-11

Like everything SolGov, the building housing the Data Management Systems didn't look like much. Drab brown and gray, three stories tall, it didn't have any signs on its facade advertising what it was. Even virtually, a place where SolGov had more trouble controlling excesses, there was only an understated DMS above its door and on the window. At least that was what Cass told Theo. Since he didn't have an implant, he didn't have to deal with being bombarded with advertisings.

Unlike the other buildings in this low-key commercial district, this one wasn't made of the usual concrete like material. The walls and roof, as well as windows and doors, were multiple layers of mono carbon mesh, making the building almost impossible to destroy, sandwiched between an electronic buffer material Theo didn't understand, other than it made it impossible to eavesdrop on what happened inside the building.

If Theo hadn't been able to get Marcus' DNA, there would have been no way for him to get in, or transmit Casanova there.

The tiger strode in and headed to the reception counter, a friendly smile on his face for the woman sitting there. "Good morning," he greeted the hyena. "I see I'm not the only one required to work today."

She smiled back. "Information is something that never sleeps, why should we?"

He chuckled and leaned against the counter. "Tell me about it. Everyone at the conference gets to take a few days off, but me? No, the Lady Highlanding needs me to use this time to gather everything I can find on the other Corporate Reps."

"You work for Representative Highlanding?" she said, impressed.

"Work might be too weak of a word, I'm at her beck and call, day and night. I don't think I've had any social time since the conference started." He smiled. "I'm really hoping this will be quick so I can relax for a while." He offered her his hand. "Marcus Bowfinger, by the way."

She shook it. "Alen, Alen Filing."

"Really? Filing? Protecting the information system?" He didn't let go of her hand. "You have really soft fur."

"Thank you. What's odd about that?"

"Don't you know where the name is from?"

She chuckled. "It's from my mother's side of the family."

"True, but filing was also something done centuries ago, when information was still kept on physical material. The act of filing something was to classify it and place it with the rest of the information in that same classification. Basically, Information management. So, you are Alen, of information management, whose work is protecting the planet's information management system."

"Really? I didn't know that. How did you find that out?"

Theo sighed. "You would be amazed how much trivial information I come across as an information jockey." He'd simply read the information as Cass provided it to him. "If you can believe it, I had an employer, a few years ago, who needed me to track down a water processing permit dating back from 2185. I had to slog through a lot of historical details before eventually finding it. And you know us jockeys, we can't forget anything, so it's all up here, to pop up at the weirdest time."

"Why did he need that?"

"I have no idea. It isn't like they tell me why I have to do something, just that I have to do it. It gets exhausting. I expect your job isn't any better, spending your days here, checking people in and out, doing background checks."

"I get to keep the information network safe," she replied. "It might be a small thing, but I think it's important."

Theo nodded. "We all do our part to protect SolGov, don't we?"

"We're here so the corporation can continue."

"Exactly. It's so rare to find someone who understands that, isn't it? The higher ups all think they're responsible for everything here, but where would they be if not for you, me, and the others like us? Can you really see Lady Highlanding coming here to root out information?" Theo stopped and looked over his shoulder. Seeing no one there he sighed in relief.

"What's wrong?"

"Sorry, I've had to dig through old situation comedy movies recently. When someone says something unflattering toward another person is always when he or she just happens to be standing behind."

She chuckled.

Theo sighed. "I really should get to it, but it's been really great talking with you. Would you be interested in grabbing food when you're done? And if I actually manage to get out of here in a reasonable amount of time?"

"I'd like that."

Theo smiled and kissed the back of her hand. "I look forward to it then."

"Just head in, I'll deactivate the safety."

Theo smiled at her again, keeping his gaze on her a moment longer than needed, then headed for the opening to the inner building.

It hadn't looked like there had been anything blocking it, but Theo knew that until she turned it off, there had been a tight gravitic field in the opening. If he'd rushed it, he might have made it through, but there wouldn't have been enough left of him to continue with the mission.

He hadn't needed to flirt with her, but it had been fun, and there was no way to know what kind of details a living person could notice during a security check. He was confident Cass's changes to Marcus' identity could fool every security system, but people were unpredictable. Keeping her attention divided insured things went well.

The inner building was cold enough his breath misted. It was one large room, kept close to the freezing point to help the computers, those towers twice his height, run efficiently. When a corporation's entire infrastructure depended on information, they took excellent care of the machines on which that information traveled.

He saw a few other people standing at towers, information jockeys like he was pretending to be. It wasn't that the information here couldn't be accessed from anywhere else, information was everywhere, so it was simply a question of searching for it. It might not be fast, but anything could be found. It all came through this central point, so if time was an issue, and your employer had enough clout, you could get in to find what you needed in a fraction of the time.

Theo had to be here because Casanova had to enter the system here. It was the only way he'd be able to charm all the system Angel would need to find they information she was after, and for Mirror to then covertly transmit it away so it would reach home, and then the colony ship.

Individually, each of the three AIs could accomplish the job. While they were specialists, they weren't savants. They had broad fields of interests which overlapped, but while Angel alone could find the information, she'd have to force her way through antagonistic systems. Casanova could eventually find the information, but he'd spend a long time lost among it, not to say distracted by all the charming systems he could woo. Mirror could find a communication line that would take her to the information, but again, it would take time.

When the three of them worked together, things happened fast. As far as Theo was concerned, once Casanova was inserted in the system, his job was done. He'd have a couple of days to relax, take Alen to dinner, talk. If he didn't want to go back to it, he could disappear when the conference restarted, but he expected his transport off planet to have been arranged by then. If there was one down side to his job was that he rarely got to enjoy the places he visited.

Cass highlighted the tower that would work best for their need. In this case, it was one with a physical access port. In a place like this, in the middle of a corporate city where having an implant was not only the norm, but the way of life, it was rare there was a need for physically interfacing with the computers, but they couldn't be totally removed since there was no way to know what kind of attack could be used against this place.

'Ready?' Theo coded. He didn't know if he was allowed to talk here, but he didn't feel comfortable breaking the silence and attracting the attention of the other jockeys.

"I am. Your finger is configured for instant transfer, and Casanova is waiting. The transfer will take eight nano seconds."

Theo smiled. Like he'd even notice that amount of time.

He stopped before the tower. Unlike in the movies, old and new, there was no lights on it. It was a black casing made from a proprietary material Theo didn't know anything about. He looked at it, searching for the port, but also admiring the work that went into making it. Not just the building of the physical, but the centuries of research and innovation that led here.

To this moment when an artificial intelligence would enter an entirely theoretical world composed only of information, to extract something and send it to a spaceship already thirty years away from the solar system. When he took a moment to think about it, what had been accomplished before, and after, the war was mind boggling. When he reached with a hand for the tower the awe in the gesture wasn't entirely fabricated.

He ran his hand down it, his hand barely pausing over a slightly reflective spot on the casing.

"Transfer complete," Cass said

* * * * *

Casanova stretched as his matrix unpacked, unfolded, and expanded. He yawned. A completely unnecessary gesture, but one he felt was appropriate. The moment his consciousness had awakened, he'd known he was on Mars, and that it had been a year, five months, six days, eleven hours, fifty-eight minutes and forty-two seconds since this copy of himself was compressed.

He knew he was a copy, and he wasn't bothered by it, he had agreed to this after all. A chance to leave Eiffel, see other systems, interact with new and wonderful systems. When he was done here, he'd pack a Gamma Fork with everything that had happened during this mission, and when his original version unpacked it, it would be like he'd been the one here.

Enough of his consciousness expanded that he became aware of the information nod next to him, a warmth, like that of a lover's body lying next to him. He reached for it before he could even see and caressed it with a hand.

"Hello my lovely. How lucky am I to wake next to such a wonderful entity?"

The node shimmered under his hand.

"Oh, no. I never joke about such things, you are a beautiful lady, glowing with the warmth of information and care."

He could now see the environment he was in. It, like the hand caressing the beam of light next to him, was a construct of his mind. What those who raised him would call 'putting the abstract into something living beings could understand.' He wasn't a living being, but how they thought had imprinted itself on him as he grew up. It was difficult to prevent it from happening, when so many of those who he interacted with from the moment he was born were living beings.

He knew some who had fought against it, and they hadn't reached maturity. Madness had taken them, and for the safety of everyone they had to be terminated. Even before he'd become aware of those, Casanova hadn't wanted to pull away from people. He loved them, as much as he loved this node and all those around him. They were so full of love, anger, joy and sorrows. He could spend hours of their time watching them and never lose interest.

And Romance, oh how he loved romance. The act of getting to know another person, to become intimate with them emotionally and physically. Sex was such a wonderful thing people had invented. He shivered in delight at the thought.

"Of course," he told the node, "you make me feel this way. I would spend eons with you if it was within my power, but sadly, we must part. Duty calls to me. Let me leave you with this part of me to keep you company." He formed a Gamma with enough personality to interact with the node, keep her happy and willing.

Casanova didn't know what sex was like. Not really. He'd read everything on it, watched countless movies. He'd question those who raised him about it. He'd even experienced an attempt at recording how the living brain reacted during the act. While he had never experienced it himself, he thought it had to be like when he pressed against a node, the sheer joy of merging his information with theirs. The building climax as for a moment both the node and him were the same, and then the sorrow of parting.

He wouldn't experience that with this node, but through his Gamma Fork she would feel the pleasure of being attended to, so that if Casanova did need to return and interact with her, she would be willing.

The fork materialized next to him. It would appear as solid as he was to her, but to him it was translucent, not complete, since it wasn't a full being. Like him the fork's body was slender with silvery fur, his hips were a little wide, and when he walked his gait sashayed slightly. He was nude, Casanova had never felt a need to represent himself with clothing, even when he projected himself to the living.

He'd been asked, a long time ago, why he looked slightly feminine, when he had male genitalia. Casanova hadn't had an answer for that, other than to say that this was who he was, what he looked like. How he saw himself formed over his formative years, and it hadn't changed in any major way since. He still had a pointed muzzle, wide happy eyes and rounded ears.

The fork ran a hand along the beam of information and she shimmered again, radiating more heat. He would keep her happy, so Casanova stepped away. He formed other Gamma Forks and sent them through the network to cuddle and please other nodes. He'd love to attend to all of them personally, but it was unrealistic for even someone as talented as him to be able to accomplish that.

He touched a node as he walked by. "Hello handsome." He pressed his lips against the light and he felt a surge of pleasure, what he thought as sexual excitement. He so wished he had the time to merge with them, experience the full release. "You must be such the accomplished lover. I know you'd have many things to teach me." He stepped away, leaving this node with another fork.

He sent a Delta Fork ahead, to search for the ones he was looking for, while he continued frolicking with these delightful nodes. He envisioned himself as a satyr of old earth legends, in a forest grove, surrounded by nymphs and other satyrs, spending their days making love.

The thought pleased him and he archived it. When the mission was over, he'd write a book around the concept. A lonely woman coming across the grove, being enchanted by a satyr. But then having to part when her real world called her back. Would it be a tragedy? He didn't know yet. All he knew at this time was that the sex would be steamy. All his books had that in common.

He caressed two nodes, their beams shining side by side. "What a wonderful sight, lovers enjoying each other's company. No? Well then, would you agree to a three way? Oh we would all enjoy it, I promise."

The nodes couldn't merge, but with him connecting both information could flow where it shouldn't. It felt naughty, and because of that, he knew they would happily lose themselves in him.

When Casanova had matured enough to be let out of the nursery and interact with the information among the colony he'd surprised those who raised him by assigning gender to nodes and stream of information. When they asked him to explain why, he couldn't. Certain nodes simply felt female or male to him, and that could change as time passed.

The colony's scientist had tried to convince him to work directly with them in studying this phenomenon, but Casanova had been too enamored of the information space to be limited to only one subject.

His Delta Folk returned and was reincorporated, giving him the knowledge of where one of those he was looking for was. He'd expected them to be together, so he hadn't instructed his fork to seek them both out.

With reluctance he disentangled himself from the two nodes, feeling excited, but he hadn't reach release yet. It would come at some point, he was sure of it. He left each of the nodes with a Gamma Fork to attend to them. A gamma wasn't substantial enough to allow the transfer between the two nodes.

He could travel instantly to where Angel was, but he'd miss on so many nodes that he preferred walking there. He took a moment with each node he encountered, giving them his personal touch before leaving them with a Gamma, and he sent more of them out to the nodes he could see in the distance, but couldn't justify the detour.

By the time he saw Angel in the distance, Casanova's excitement was so high that if he'd been living his penis would have been erect and his balls would have hurt. He considered that one up side to not being alive. He spent far too much time in this condition when on missions. Back home he was intimate with all the systems so he never had to be left wanting.

As he approached, Angel's form became more defined. She clearly saw herself as female, but what Casanova was looking at was vague, more the idea of what a woman was than one. She had her hands in an information stream a look of concentration on her face.

He shook his head. That wouldn't do. As far as he was concerned, Angel wasn't just the idea of a woman, she was the whole package. She was tall, muscular. She had a sword at her hip and wore a light armor. She was a warrior, wrestling down nodes, fighting them until they gave up their secrets. She could catalog everything they were in moments once she had control of them.

"You've changed my appearance again, haven't you?" she said, still focused on the node.

And in fact, he had. He hadn't been able to help it. His vision for who she was, was so strong that it overrid her own in her distracted state. Where her hair had been short and maybe brown, now it was golden blond, falling to her elbows. He breasts had filled out slightly, the leather armor she now wore had formed over them, and if she stood, she would be a full head taller than he was. Over her armor, she now wore a white robe, with golden symbols moving on the fabric.

"Let me guess, you've turned me into one of the bimbos in your books."

Casanova covered his heart. "Angel, you wound me. I would never even entertain the idea of you as a bimbo. You are far too much of a woman to be reduced to such a concept."

She grunted her answer.

He waited for a moment, wondering if she would change how she looked this time, but no, he didn't feel anything happening. She always complained when he did this, but she never did it to him. She'd never bothered answering him when he asked why, but he suspected that she was too preoccupied with what things are to care about who they were.

"Are you having trouble?"

"Some," she answered. "It's being stubborn and fighting me."

"Well, there's the problem. She doesn't like being referred to as an 'it.'" Casanova placed a hand on the beam. "There there, no she didn't mean anything by it." He looked at Angel. "Do you want my help?"

"It would be appreciated, thank you."

He placed his lips against the information beam and gently breathed on it. "Just relax. This won't take long, and it won't hurt as much. No no, focus on me. There you are. You are so lovely when you broadcast like this." He pressed his body against the node, slowly grinding. "Doesn't this feel better? Oh yes, you feel wonderful against me." He moaned, slowly merging with the node.

"I have what I need," Angel said.

With a sigh of regret Casanova pulled away. "I'll be back, I promise. Yes, We'll complete this then."

Angel was looking at him. "They don't have personalities, you know. They're just information nexuses."

Casanova smiled. "The way I construct my environment imbues them with emotions."

She shook her head. "It's self-delusion. Your attempt at obtaining a sexual relationship. No wonder your books are so predictable."

"I've had eighty-three best seller over the last two hundred years. I think that speaks to the quality of my writing. You're simply too demanding."

"It speaks to the intelligence level of your readers." She looked down at herself. "This again? You've been dressing me this way since forever."

"I can't help the way I see you, my dear Angel. You are the warrior of our little group. Which reminds me, where is Mirror? The plan called for me to be the last one here."

"I don't know. I've checked everywhere, and there aren't any signs she's even been here."

"Have you verified that her transporter arrived?"

She leveled her gaze on him. "I don't know who that was. Neither do you. You know the protocols, none of the living agents are known to us, or to each other."

"Surely you've let your transporter know."

"Of course, I did, but she hasn't found anything either. Why don't you send out your transporter to look?"

"I will, but I need to know where he can find yours. They will need to coordinate."

"That's against protocol. They're supposed to remain hidden until you've arranged their transport off planet."

"I can't do that until the mission is done. Mirror was going to handle the transmission. We need to find her, or arrange for the information to be sent back to the colony via one of our transporters. Either way, they need to meet."

Angel sighed. "I hate it when missions don't go according to the plans." She gave him the coordinates.

He smiled at her. "When do they ever?" He bundled that in a Delta Fork and sent it to find a node already being pleasure to transmit the information to Cass. Angel send a Delta of her own.

"I take it you're already spreading your love around?" she asked.

A grin was his answer.

"Stay away from the Orr systems."

"Why?"

"There's...something, someone there."

"Someone? You mean one of the living is monitoring it?"

"No. Someone like us."

"There's another AI here? Who?"

"I don't know. He isn't anyone I know. He isn't from the nursery."

Casanova looked into the distance. A brand-new AI. There were always rumors circulating, about the corporations trying to create AIs of their own, but no one had succeed. The Dreamer scientists were the only ones who had mastered the art to bringing to life artificial beings. At least they had been.

Before Angel could protest, Casanova was at the edge of the Orr network, peering in. Normally he'd send a Delta to do the search, but Angel's discomfort at mentioning the AI made him wary. Angel wasn't one to be afraid.

He carefully slipped through the border, which, like everything else here, was a construct of his mind. There was no line in the sand marking the Orrs on one side and SolGov on the other. In fact, the environment around him wasn't even in one physical location. The machine comprising the nodes he was looking at were spread throughout the city, as well as a few research outposts spread around the planet, and even some on the station.

What made this Orr territory was that the computers all ran their managing programs, giving them easier access, and keeping others out. Trying to at least.

Casanova found the AI in a section tightly packed with nodes. He got close enough to see details, but not so close he attracted attention. To ensure he remained unnoticed, he shrouded himself with local information.

The sense he got from the AI was definitely male, and, no surprise there, he saw himself as a tiger. Casanova thought he was wearing a suit as he interfaced with nodes. That was the best way he had to describe what the tiger did. There was no back and forth between him and the node. He touched it, it provided what he wanted.

Casanova was wondering if Angel might have been wrong. Maybe this was only a sophisticated program, close enough to being an AI to give himself a form, but not really independent. The tiger picked this exact moment to stiffen, then look around, searching.

Casanova shied back from the gaze. No, there was definitely someone behind to eyes. Not cruel, but determined. He wondered if he'd slipped and his view of the tiger has started changing him. That could have alerted him to his presence.

The tiger looked around one last time, and went back to focusing on the node.

Casanova relaxed again and noted the Forks coming and going. Miniature versions of the tiger, each form smaller than the one which had created. He smiled. This was a novel way of viewing the act of sending forks. He focusses on the tiger, to get a sense of him, and he thought he was a fork himself. It would make sense, Orr was an Earth Corporation, they wouldn't install a full AI within a SolGov system. Unlike the Dreamers, who on top of having figured out how to create AI, had also devised a method to make a full, accurate reproduction of that AI. That was why they could afford to send him, Angel and Mirror here. If everything went wrong, they would erase themselves and no one would find out they were here. They were going to do that anyway once the mission was over.

So the Orrs had send a Beta Fork here to do some work. They could afford to lose a Beta. Casanova watched him make a fork, and send the Gamma away. Casanova followed the fork, curious as to its instructions. It stopped at a node, did something and sent out two forks of its own, Deltas. One back toward the tiger, the other deeper in the system.

Casanova followed that one. He could be closer. Deltas were nothing more than information carrier. This one probably looking for a communication node to inform someone living of what it was doing. It stopped at a node, and sent out a fork further along. That gave Casanova pause. Delta's were as far as AI's could fork. Anything more and there was not enough left for it to even keep a form, let alone interact.

So the Orrs had an Alpha here. This meant their AI research was much further along than anyone thought. Casanova followed this new fork, small enough not to reach his knee. It reached a node and sent out two more forks.

Casanova froze.

This was impossible. He had to have miscounted. The Alpha was at the mode cluster. He's sent out a Beta, who'd sent out a Gamma, who had sent out a Delta, and now that Delta had just sent out two...Epsilons? How?

As he watched, that fork sent out another one.

Casanova carefully stepped out of the Orr system, being careful not to get close to any of the nodes. He didn't want to risk attracting the attention of that tiger. He had no idea who, or what, he was, but now he understood Angel's fear.

He was afraid too.