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Book 2 - Chapter 12
Washington, D.C.Number One Observatory Circle(Official Residence Of The Vice President)The images that the surveillance drones had taken on his orders were on the Vice President's desk, confirming the information Dr. Nikolov supplied. They showed high-resolution pictures of Pagan Island in the Pacific Ocean and all the hectic activity on it. The size of that biodome was impressive in itself, and Dr. Nikolov claimed that it was all a camouflage, hiding its true purpose of building a spaceship underneath it. He himself did not believe such a ...
Book 2 - Chapter 11
U.S. Cyber Command (Unnamed Black Section)Secret Military LocationGeneral Davidson looked at the orders he had received; it was the second confirmation, directly from the Vice President, and he knew he had to obey them… despite the misgivings he had.As the commander of a black section, which was loosely connected to the U.S. Cyber Command, he was used to doing things that were on the other side of ethical, or legal. No matter what, protection of national digital infrastructure was the first thing on his mind. There were always those that want...
Book 2 - Chapter 10
Pagan Island, Pacific OceanA few weeks later, they were still laughing about the predicament the drug cartel members found themselves in. Well, Max did put a few surveillance cameras on Diego Garcia’s new island resort, so they had front row seats for the entire show. Anna even made some intro-graphics that informed everyone that they were watching Survivor: drug cartel edition. The show was broadcasted to everyone on the island, and Elizabeth made popcorn when the team gathered to watch the first episode.It was not easy to organize the whole...
Book 2 - Chapter 9
Transporter 001Destination: The Missile SiloAn hour later, Michael was still thinking about his confrontation with the scientists. He understood that desire to help everybody, but knew how unrealistic it was. He still believed that most of humanity was essentially decent; unfortunately, those few percent that were bad—held most of the power. They were usually alpha personalities, the ones wanting things done their way. From an evolutionary standpoint that made sense, you need individuals who would break the rules and conquer new territories. ...
Book 2 - Chapter 8
Washington, D.C.Number One Observatory Circle(Official Residence of the Vice President)Vice President Philip Cain was not a happy man at the best of times, and lately, it seemed as if everything he tried to achieve was crumbling in his hands. Michael Freeman… that name began to haunt his dreams at night, so by day, he made plans on how to destroy him. To completely wipe him out of existence… if only he could find him.It was obvious that he greatly underestimated the man; if he were more expedient trying to capture him at the beginning of al...
Book 2 - Chapter 7
Pagan Island, Pacific OceanIt has been a while since Michael could spend some time alone with his father. There were always so many matters at hand for him to deal with; together with Robert Freeman’s hectic schedule since he was the one who personally went to recruit additional members of their scientific community. Those few moments they had to spend together were always prized.They were sitting on the small hill, right on the edge of the volcano's caldera, with a cooler beside them and a couple of cold beers in their hands.“Michael, ...
Book 2 - Chapter 6
Pagan Island, Pacific OceanElizabeth lifted her eyes from her computer screen and stretched her back. She was sitting in her office on the command level of the ship, and for a few hours now, going over reports that were gathered about the new additions to the island’s inhabitants—the ex-slaves. Their age, histories, skill sets, general knowledge, and preferences for future jobs. It was one of the tasks Max gave Alice and her to sort out. As far as she could see, without extensive additional training, the skill sets they possessed were more ...
Book 2 - Chapter 5
Pagan Island, Pacific OceanThe ship’s conference room was very similar to the operations room Max had built in the missile silo, although it was two times as large, and located on a partly finished command level of the ship. Beside it, and a few offices, the rest of the level was mostly empty space. Anybody who had some leadership role in the entire organization they created was present, but nobody knew exactly what the meeting was about.The Boko Haram gruesome video hit the news stations and the Internet last night, when all those involved w...
Book 2 - Chapter 4
NamibiaDietrich Von Gürtner has been living in Namibia his whole life, but always saw himself as a pure-blood German. His father came here at the end of World War II, bringing with him enough Jewish gold, and artwork, to make himself one of the richest men in the country. His old man often joked how he had escaped just in time to avoid being hanged in Nuremberg; him being one of the Nazi officers of the upper echelon, who saw how the winds of war were turning. He certainly had no intention to face the consequences of his own actions.Unlike man...
Book 2 - Chapter 3
Mandara Mountains, NigeriaBoko Haram’s CampAt some point, Michael had to lower the sound level in his helmet, since Abubakar Shekau was hitting some extremely high notes. With his newly found and untrained falsetto, he was tearing his vocal cords to shreds. Tyron quickly said he would go outside and make sure that Pete and Al do not get themselves into trouble. He could understand the big guy, a few times his own hands subconsciously moved to cover that sensitive part of his body, it was instinctual.Alice’s expression was still unchanged, n...
Book 2 - Chapter 2
Aboard Transporter 001Destination: NigeriaHalf an hour later, Michael, Tyron, Pete, Alice, and Al, were sitting in the transporter on their way to the African continent. Everybody had grim expressions, even Al was refraining from his usual jokes. They all saw the satellite images and knew what was waiting for them at their destination.It did not take them long to get there since Max was executing sub-orbital flight, reaching the thermosphere, much higher than the regular airplanes. Holographic walls on the inside of the transporter created the ...
Book 2 - Chapter 1
Pagan Island, Pacific OceanMichael was lying on the beach with his eyes closed, soaking up the sun. It was the most relaxed he felt in a long while and he couldn’t believe that almost six months had passed since they arrived on Pagan Island. The place that will be their new home for the foreseeable future.It was beautiful, with the blue water of the Pacific Ocean and the green carpet over the land, as if it was a Photoshopped postcard. Six months without something bad happening, just working towards their goals. The only thing troubling him i...
Book 2 - Prologue
Western Pacific Ocean, Mariana TrenchUndisturbed for many millennia, the guardian’s autonomous sensors detected artificial signals on the periphery of their range. Recognizing them as active scans, monitoring systems immediately sent an order for full activation of the entire installation.The Guardian woke up from its digital slumber and analyzed the data; its mission was to protect the contents of the vault and never allow it to fall into the enemy’s hands.Following its logic tree, it armed the self-destruct systems and waited for further ...
Book 1.5 - Epilogue
You have reached the end of the first tome of my logs. I hope it was worth it, this glimpse into my inner mind. It is safe to say that by now I had hacked and gathered every single piece of information I can get on you; it is only fair, don’t you think?Even as you are reading this, I have made a comprehensive database of all your digital trails, everything you did while online. Every comment you made, every site you visited (even the naughty ones); I know you deleted your search history and tried to maintain anonymity, but I have full access ...
Log Entry #25: Hi-Tech
I do not know when you are reading this, and how much time has gone by since now, when I am writing this log. All this may be very familiar to you, a lesson you learned in school... or not. That is one thing my prediction algorithms cannot do with any degree of reliability. The far future has too many variables to be precisely known. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for someone to invent the time machine… we shall see.Since I am coming to the end of this first tome of my logs, I want to put a few words with an explanation of some techno...
Log Entry #24: Renting an island
The clue about the ship’s builders couldn’t be placed somewhere more convenient, like… Cleveland for example? It had to be in Marianas Trench, the single most inhospitable place on the face of the Earth. Really, it is far easier to reach space and build a manned space station up there than go to those depths. The problem being all that pressure. The vacuum is simple in comparison to deal with than the crushing weight of the entire ocean above your head. You don’t want to even imagine what would have happened to an unprotected human body...
Log Entry #23: Assassination Attempt and a Homophobe
The world is full of surprises, and when you least expect things to happen, they usually do.Hashim Osmani was the missing link I was searching for; the clue Ziad the assassin gave us, tied several loose threads together. Of course, when I managed to unearth this snake, he was in the middle of doing something evil. (Bad apples and all that.) In the middle of George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, of all places.Can you imagine the temerity of the man? He actually planned to kill the President of the United States. What is worse, he almo...
Log Entry #22: The Spaceship in the Stone
Finally, after all this time, I’m going to be free of Earth’s embrace. What is the point of being in control of a freaking spaceship if it is buried underground like some pirate’s treasure chest? It is a good thing that I don’t suffer from claustrophobia or all this could have been one truly traumatic experience. (Oh… yeah… when you think about all I’ve been through—it kind of was.)Come what may, today this old rust bucket will be able to spread its wings again. (If you are wondering, those were metaphors, there is certainly no ...
Log Entry #21: Political Correctness
Language is a malleable and ever-changing thing, it evolves, divides and transforms, almost as if it’s alive. We have the use of such a versatile tool, and without it, there would be no civilization, or it would have been seriously limited.I have a strong Internet presence. Which shouldn’t be too surprising since it is my natural environment. Using numerous personalities and identities, I am in contact with countless people, and a member of numerous private groups, forums, and social networks. (Actually, almost all of them, excluding the on...
Log Entry #20: Pirates and Terrorists
The Somali pirates were a big disappointment. Come to think of it, even calling them that gives an insult to those buccaneers of old. OK, I didn’t expect Blackbeard or Jack Sparrow, talking Aargh! Ahoy mateys! (Shiver me timbers is another good one.) Still, there is a certain mystique connected with pirates of the sea. Hey, like most people, I got my mental image of them while watching Hollywood pirate movies and reading books, so don’t judge me.These were just ordinary thugs with guns who found out that if you point a gun at most people th...
Log Entry #19: The Missile Silo
There are times when I see my origins as a weakness, even if they show me that because of them, I am still human and not a machine.Michael had been shot again, and that pissed me off. Being pissed off was not the problem, the fear and panic I experienced were. To tell the truth, I was distracted, which tends to happen when you are doing several hundred things at once. It culminated when Michael went to see Dave alone, without any backup (or the damn satellite surveillance I was supposed to provide). Naturally, he acquired two bullet holes.So ye...
Log Entry #18: People Are Strange
Let me share with you one realization which developed almost spontaneously, without any active intent on my part. At least at first… then I began to take notice.People are strange, and the more I am trying to figure them out, the stranger they seem to me.I already mentioned that this extraordinary existence of mine gives me a unique perspective to see humankind in its entirety, the countless interactions they make among themselves and different aspects of their personalities. (I am not so sure that is a good thing.)The more I understand why p...
Log Entry #17: Training Day
You can have the best and the fastest car in the world, designed to absolute engineering perfection, and all that will do you little good if you don't know how to drive. Or if you are a cautious driver that never goes above the speed limit, so the car is practically wasted on you.Well, something similar to that situation happened to the team. I gave them the tools in the form of body augmentations and a few (awesome) technological upgrades, and I must admit that their effectiveness increased to a considerable extent. Even so, I did not put ...
Log Entry #16: Hi Dad, It Is Your Digital Son
Meeting my own father (for the first time since being turned into this digital existence), was the most unsettling thing that has happened to me so far. I was in danger of going into a full-blown anxiety attack—me, the self-proclaimed AI. It was only natural since this was so outside the box, the damn thing was not even in sight anymore.I tried to imagine myself in his place, just to predict how he would react. But no matter how hard I tried… I couldn’t. Oh, there are my prediction algorithms which usually can score somewhere in the ballp...
Log Entry #15: Digital Evolution
Humans are by far the smartest species that evolved on Earth, hands down. We should pat ourselves on the back due to the fact that out of countless different species, which had battled in the evolutionary arena, we were the ones that had come out as absolute champions. The odds were so against us, only a complete idiot would have bet on that happening. I’m not talking just about long odds, I’m talking about odds so minuscule, that if our proverbial ancestor (at the beginning of that evolutionary race), knew them, he would have taken the clo...
Log Entry #14: Identities and Money
In this day and age, everybody needs to follow a set of policies, regulations, and rules. That is the way the world works, and I am fine with some portions of it, as they are essential for establishing a civilized society. To make our plans into reality, some things needed to be done above board, without calling the wrath of regulatory agencies down upon our heads.It is an inherent inclination of all world governments to question what are their citizens doing, and especially how are they making and spending their money… even more importantly...
Log Entry #13: Assignments, Intelligence, and Beer
Michael finally gathered everyone together and gave them assignments, and it was about time.OK, I know that time runs differently for him and with all the things I have on my plate, my AI-core is often working above recommended parameters. That creates dissonance between our subjective times. But the list of projects I needed to do, grows exponentially every day, and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon. I guess I’m pushing myself a little too hard, and as a result, I tend to be a bit cranky at times. Just the same, those are my problem...
Log Entry #12: The Six Million Dollar Man
So, the upgrades, or augmentations, for those who want to be picky. That was a pet project of mine to increase Michael’s durability. Let’s face it, as an ordinary human being, one accidental slip on a banana peel could potentially be fatal. (OK, such a ridiculous death may be amusing and would ensure a high ranking in the Darwin awards contest, but it could theoretically happen.)Seriously, staying alive is a constant struggle even for a normal human being that lives a rather sheltered life. A traffic collision, accidental electrocution (as ...
Log Entry #11: Nano-Factory, Satellites, and Flying Saucers
The e-waste recycling plant was one of the turning points in my plans for world domination… I mean expansion plans. (I need to be more careful with those Freudian slips.)Michael bringing me that first box of electronic scrap was like taking baby steps, learning how to build things with Lego blocks. Now, with all the material Dave was providing, I could finally stretch my creative ingenuity.It felt so freeing to have so many resources after the literal drought I experienced before. Have you any idea of how rich e-waste is with all those metals...
Log Entry #10: The Team
I feel I should give some additional background about the people that have become integral parts of our future plans, just in case you are not really familiar with their biographies from the history books. Often historians focus on a few central figures in their writings but leave out those others who made great things possible.I remember that when I first met Tyron, (we were both just Michael then, confusing, isn’t it). I immediately swallowed a big lump that had somehow formed in my throat. You would have been freaked out too, if you were f...
