Tales of the Vuduri: Year Four, Page 3

  I took the basic concept and mutated them into the constructors which make up the airframe of the new MINIMCOM. Constructors are autonomous units but they share their memrons with the MINIMCOM whole and MINIMCOM's personality and intelligence lies within the entirety. Each individual unit follows MINIMCOM's commands without question.

  My next iteration was to take the VIRUS units and make them bend to the will of a human. Rei Bierak specifically. Think about it. You have a cloud of microscopic computing units that can consume anything in the universe. It would be pretty powerful stuff. Here is Rei's introduction to the concept:

  “You know you are pretty sleek, dude,” Rei said in his head. “Your entrance and exits are getting more impressive every time.”

  “I aim to please,” replied MINIMCOM.

  “We’re going to go back to the cabin and talk and figure out our next step. I can leave the connection open so you can listen in if you want.” Rei thought.

  “I appreciate it and I will take you up on your offer,” replied MINIMCOM. “But first I need you to come up to the cockpit.”

  “Why?” Rei asked in his mind.

  “You will see when you get here.”

  “All right,” Rei thought. Then out loud, he shouted, “Romey, I’ll catch up to you in a minute. MINIMCOM has something to show me.”

  “Very well,” Rome called back as she led her parents up the path toward the hut. “We will be in our lodgings.”

  “OK,” Rei said as he walked up the ramp and into the cargo hold of MINIMCOM. As he looked around, he said out loud, “I think you need to go on a diet.”

  “Why?” MINIMCOM replied through a grille.

  “You sure are a lot bigger than you used to be, even than before,” Rei said with a smile on his face. “Kind of a wide load now if you know what I mean.”

  “The better to serve you,” MINIMCOM replied with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “My constructors have been busy. Now please come forward.”

  “OK,” Rei said as he entered the cockpit. “What’ve you got?”

  A panel opened and with the diffuse glow of backlighting, Rei could see a shape within.

  “What is it?” Rei asked.

  “Take it,” MINIMCOM said.

  Rei reached in and removed a pouch that looked somewhat like leather. Along its top edges, there was a drawstring. Rei teased the opening apart and looked inside. All he saw was a grayish substance, reminiscent of talcum powder. Sprinkled throughout were larger, black dots that had a metallic sheen to them. Rei reached in and felt around but there was nothing remarkable about it. The substance felt very light, not gritty like sand. He drew the string closed again and placed it on the opened door in front of him.

  Wait till he finds out what he just stuck his hand into!

  Entry 4-014: January 10, 2016

 

  Rei's new weapon 2 of 5

  As previously stated when I first conceived of Rome's Revolution way back in 1973, it was called VIRUS 5 because it was centered around the VIRUS units, how they destroyed the Stareater and the mutations which don't come into play until The Milk Run.

  I also took the basic concept and mutated them into the constructors which make up the airframe of the new MINIMCOM. But now the time has come to turn them into a weapon. We continue with Rei's introduction to the concept:

  “What’s in here?” he asked, “aerogel?”

  “They are VIRUS units,” MINIMCOM said.

  “What?!” Rei said, leaping up. Instinctively, he wiped his hand on his pants but in his heart, he knew it was not going to matter. “What the hell?”

  “It is all right,” MINIMCOM said with a mechanical chuckle. “You are safe.”

  “How is that?” Rei asked, all panicky.

  “First, they are currently dormant. And second, these particular VIRUS units cannot digest organic matter.”

  Rei sank down into the pilot’s chair. “Why are you giving them to me?” he asked.

  “I can give you the short answer or the long answer,” MINIMCOM replied.

  “Try the short one.” Rei said. By now he knew that prolonged answers from MINIMCOM tended to exhaust him.

  “The short answer is that OMCOM said you might need them.”

  “OMCOM?” Rei said with surprise. “You’ve heard from him?”

  “In a way,” MINIMCOM replied.

  “All right,” Rei said, resigned to the exercise. “Give me the long answer.”

  “Very well,” said MINIMCOM. There was a pause which Rei knew was simply for dramatic effect. “These are what you might call super VIRUS units. They are a blend of the original design, the mutated versions of Lawlidon and the Cecetiras and some of my memron units all mixed together.”

  “Why bother?” Rei asked. “Why now?”

  “Even though they were originally designed to dispatch the Asdrale Cimatir, OMCOM thought there might be another need.”

  “What kind of need?” Rei asked.

  “A more flexible, more direct type of unit. Call them weaponized.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Rei said. “What is the need? The purpose? The Stareater is dead. You are going to deploy regular VIRUS units to protect the Solar System. Why do you need these? What’s different about these units?”

  “They have the ability to work autonomously or as an integrated unit.”

  “OK,” Rei said. “Big deal.”

  “There is more,” continued MINIMCOM. “They have a switchable oxygen sensor so they can work in an atmosphere if required.”

  Rei’s eyes widened. “You mean they can destroy the Earth?”

  There is no way that MINIMCOM would be that irresponsible. Right?

  More tomorrow.

  Entry 4-015: January 11, 2016

 

  Rei's new weapon 3 of 5

  As previously stated when I first conceived of Rome's Revolution way back in 1973, it was called VIRUS 5 because it was centered around the VIRUS units, how they destroyed the Stareater and the mutations which don't come into play until The Milk Run.

  I also took the basic concept and mutated them into the constructors which make up the airframe of the new MINIMCOM. But now the time has come to turn them into a weapon. We continue with Rei's introduction to the concept:

  “In theory, yes. In practice, no,” MINIMCOM said. As I said, these particular units will not ingest organic matter. They are strictly limited to metals or minerals. The larger ones…”

  “The black ones?” Rei asked.

  “Yes, the black ones. You may call them queens. They will control the other units. The queens are completely under your control. You decide when they are active and when they are dormant.”

  “Me?” Rei said. “I don’t get it.”

  “That is where OMCOM directed I commingle my memron units, the ones that are equipped with our ‘cellphone’ link. They answer to you. You give them an assignment and they will follow it.”

  “Just me? How about Rome?” Rei asked.

  “Yes, I believe they would answer to Rome as well,” replied MINIMCOM.

  “So why all the subterfuge,” Rei asked. “And you still didn’t tell me how you spoke to OMCOM.”

  “I did not speak to him in the traditional sense. I received his instructions.”

  “How?” Rei asked. “When?”

  “When I absorbed the Cecetira. OMCOM had implanted his instructions within them.”

  “I’m confused,” Rei said. “How the hell did OMCOM implant instructions in killer, I don’t know what, things. I thought they were out of control.”

  “I do not know exactly how he did it. I just know that he did it. He knew these particular Cecetiras were coming to Deucado.”

  “Are you telling me that OMCOM sent them?” Rei shouted. “I thought they were coming to kill us.”

  “He did not send them. He simply exploited the fact that they were coming,” MINIMCOM said. “OMCOM was fairly certain that between the Bridadira and the Vuduri fleet and even
me, we would be able to contain them.”

  “Fairly certain?” Rei said, his voice rising. “And if he was wrong?”

  “He was not,” MINIMCOM said.

  “So all of this,” Rei said, waving his hands in the air. “The Cecetiras, the Bridadiras, you, the whole thing was staged?”

  “Not quite,” MINIMCOM said. “It was necessary to achieve this end point, of giving this package to you. Here on Earth.”

  Rei looked down at the pouch, sitting within the compartment. He stared at it for a while, his mind racing.

  So much information to absorb in such a short time. Luckily for him, I excised the whole Cecetira/Bridadira conflict leaving the mutations to simply discovering Heaven.

  Tomorrow, MINIMCOM sidesteps this issue by blowing Rei's mind.

  Entry 4-016: January 12, 2016

 

  Rei's new weapon 4 of 5

  As previously stated when I first conceived of Rome's Revolution way back in 1973, it was called VIRUS 5 because it was centered around the VIRUS units, how they destroyed the Stareater and the mutations which don't come into play until The Milk Run.

  I also took the basic concept and mutated them into the constructors which make up the airframe of the new MINIMCOM. But now the time has come to turn them into a weapon. We continue with Rei's introduction to the concept:

  “There is more to the story, isn’t there,” Rei said finally.

  “Yes,” replied MINIMCOM. “But I cannot share this information with you at this time. You must trust me on this. The reasons will become clear in the near term future. It was always OMCOM’s plan to get these units to Earth. It was simply fortuitous that Sussen’s departure from Deucado accelerated their delivery.”

  Rei just sighed. He knew better than to argue.

  “Can you just tell me one thing?” Rei asked.

  “I may,” replied MINIMCOM mysteriously.

  “The mutations within the original VIRUS units…you were able to figure out how to suppress those in about 30 seconds. OMCOM is smarter than you, no offense intended,” Rei said.

  “None taken,” replied MINIMCOM

  “So why didn’t he prevent them too?” Rei asked. “Do you know?”

  “Perhaps I will let you in on a little secret,” MINIMCOM said.

  “What?”

  “You are familiar with the checksum code that I implemented to suppress mutations?”

  “Yes,” Rei said. “It sounded pretty straightforward to me.”

  “Well, here is the secret,” MINIMCOM replied. “That checksum code was already built into the programming in the original VIRUS units. I did not invent it. There was a conditional branch that skipped over the algorithm under certain circumstances. I simply removed the branch so that the checksum was always executed.”

  “What?” Rei exclaimed. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That means…” Rei’s voice failed him. He took a deep breath to regain control then spoke again. “That means OMCOM allowed the mutations to occur. But why?” Rei asked plaintively.

  “You already know the answer,” MINIMCOM replied. “You just need to put the pieces together.”

  “Well, so, he did it on purpose. He must have needed them,” Rei replied. “He was looking for something, something else.” Rei looked down at his feet while he considered the situation. When he had the answer, he looked up again. “He built himself a giant Petri Dish, didn’t he?”

  “Yes,” answered MINIMCOM. “OMCOM determined that natural selection would produce the desired agents more quickly than he could through parametric programming. After the Asdrale Cimatir was consumed, he simply waited until the proper combination of units developed and then allowed them access to the information regarding the location of Deucado.”

  So there you have it. MINIMCOM finally spilled the truth. OMCOM allowed, no forced, the mutations to occur. In the original version, this was to build suspense for later novels. In the current version, as MINIMCOM alluded to, they were used to discover Heaven.

  Tomorrow, the wrap-up.

  Entry 4-017: January 13, 2016

 

  Rei's new weapon 5 of 5

  As previously stated when I first conceived of Rome's Revolution way back in 1973, it was called VIRUS 5 because it was centered around the VIRUS units, how they destroyed the Stareater and the mutations which don't come into play until The Milk Run.

  I also took the basic concept and mutated them into the constructors which make up the airframe of the new MINIMCOM. But now the time has come to turn them into a weapon. We continue with Rei's introduction to the concept:

  “And the rest?” Rei asked. “The others? He said they went in all directions.”

  “Yes,” MINIMCOM replied. “They have their missions.”

  “So, when he told us he didn’t have control, he was lying, wasn’t he?” Rei asked.

  “Not really. He did not need to control the entities directly. Their autonomy was part of their mission. Just as he did not need to directly control the ones that came to you.”

  “Why didn’t he just tell us?” Rei said mournfully. “Why all the drama? The space battle, you know?”

  “OMCOM computed that there was a distinct possibility that your reception on Deucado could be hostile. Therefore, he determined that a battle in earnest would be the simplest way to convince agents unknown that the situation was out of control. This deflection was necessary so that they would not suspect his higher purpose.”

  “And what is his higher purpose?” Rei asked.

  “Take the pouch,” replied MINIMCOM. “OMCOM insisted this duty be assigned to you and you alone.”

  Rei reached over and picked it up again. He hefted it. The bag was so light, lighter than a bag of sand. To the innocent, it might have seemed harmless enough. But Rei knew what was in it and its contents terrified him.

  “All right, MINIMCOM,” Rei said. He put the pouch in his right pocket. “You’ll give me a hint when the time is right?”

  “If I can,” replied MINIMCOM. “But I do not think I will need to. You will know.”

  “So we’re done here?” Rei asked.

  “For now,” replied MINIMCOM. “It is time for you to rejoin your family.”

  Rei stood up. He patted his pocket and felt the bulge there. “OK, I guess I’ll see you around.”

  “I will be here,” MINIMCOM replied.

  Rei made his way through the cargo compartment and down the ramp. He turned to see MINIMCOM retract the ramp, lower the cargo door and then with a shimmer, he was gone.

  So now that Rei has the weaponized VIRUS units what will he do with them? Frankly, at this point, he has no idea. But we do, don't we?

  Entry 4-018: January 14, 2016

 

  Spies everywhere

  In my 35th century world of Rome's Revolution, the dominant society was called the Vuduri and they were all mind-connected. So it would be impossible to have conspiracies or secrets, right? Wrong. While some Vuduri were not much more than human sheep and the living embodiment of servitude to the Overmind, many were capable of building a mental "wall" and keeping some thoughts to themselves. If enough Vuduri were capable of agreeing upon these secrets, you have the firepower to create a "samanda within a samanda" or an overmind within the Overmind. And if you put an evil, self-absorbed, humanity-hating computer behind them, you have the makings of a pretty damn huge conspiracy.

  When Rome and Rei were banished to Hawaii, Rome already knew of this huge conspiracy. But was it limited to the mind-connected Vuduri called the Onsiras or could it have spread to the "mind-deaf" otherwise known as the mandasurte? It's hard to understand why a mandasurte would serve the needs of the Onsiras since they were dedicated to their eradication but call Rome paranoid. Here is how it went:

  “Why do we not just fly out of here in MINIMCOM and go someplace where we can broadcast to the world?” Rei asked.

  Rome pointed to the tracking bracelet on her wrist. “We only get one opportunity,” Rome said. “We must
be very careful. That way might be too dangerous for another reason.”

  “What do you mean?” Binoda asked.

  “I am concerned that there may be a spy among the people here,” Rome said. “If they see us leave, they may report us.”

  “These are your cousins,” Fridone spoke up. “They would not wish you harm.”

  “You do not know all the people here, Beo,” Rome said. “There are more people here than just our family. Everywhere we have been, Tabit, Deucado, Earth, there have been spies. Because all are connected, I think there is a need to keep some things hidden.”

  “As far as I can tell,” Rei interjected, “I think it is the very nature of the Vuduri to keep secrets.”

  “Have more faith in your family, Rome,” Fridone said. “They would know if a stranger was among them. If there is any place on Earth that is safe, this would be the place.”

  “I have another idea,” Binoda said.

  “What is that, Mea?” Rome replied.

  “What if I was to bring you this pure Vuduri here, to this place?” Binoda asked. “What if I had the one that I could guarantee was not a member of the Onsiras.”

  “That would be perfect,” Rome said. “Is there someone you know?”

  “Yes,” Binoda said. “You know him too.”

  “Who is it?” Rome asked.

  “Commander Ursay,” answered Binoda.

  “Ursay?” Rome said with some surprise.

  “Yes, Ursay,” replied Binoda.

  “How do you know this?” Rome asked.

  “Because I know him.” Binoda said. “I know the real man.”

  Fridone bristled. “What do you mean, Binoda?”

  Detect a little jealousy there? Don't worry. Binoda was as faithful and loving as a human being could be. She was a reformed Vuduri, now mandasurte and she would never, ever, consort with another Vuduri.

  More tomorrow.

  Entry 4-019: January 15, 2016

 

  Vuduri unfaithful

  Yesterday, I gave you a small snippet of a conversation wherein Binoda, at least momentarily, placed some doubt in her husband's mind regarding her faithfulness during his ten-year absence. But, could a mind-connected Vuduri ever be unfaithful?