Heaven's Fall by David S. Goyer, Michael Cassutt Read Free Book Online Page A

Aggregate.
    But, likely as a result of recent determinations that physical manufacturing was failing to meet assigned quotas, her hierarchy had downgraded operational military data.
    Its value must be level four of five in order to justify Carbon-143’s immediate presentation. Below four, the data would be processed and placed in the queue.
    Carbon-143’s standard algorithms judged the data of 13 April 2013 1144 UDT to be level three: valuable but not critical.
    But Carbon-143, performing her own content analysis, felt a need to override the algorithm and class the data as level five, for immediate relay and response.
    Before taking such a dramatic step, however, she performed one additional review:
    ACTION: The formation’s ability to operate in what its American hosts termed the Indian subcontinent and China had never been established to a level sufficient for operations. As a rule, the Aggregates could only conduct surveillance.
    But when the Free Nation U.S.’s space-and surface-based systems detected the approach of what they named Near-Earth Object Keanu, Aggregate cyberwarfare cells concluded that a visit was likely to the ninety-ninth percentile.
    And that a visit with military potential was in the seventieth percentile.
    Further, the Aggregate’s political cells declared that even if a NEO Keanu–origin visit would necessarily target the Indian subcontinent, a direct military strike against the North American continent, specifically Free Nation U.S., was low probability.
    ANALYSIS: The visit, no matter how “peaceful,” was quickly rated as a potential military strike. So Aggregate defensive cells activated their links to Free Nation U.S. moribund anti-missile systems as a precautionary measure, while offensive units revived surface and subsurface naval systems, a process that took substantially longer, deploying them to the South Atlantic and to the Pacific.
    In accordance with decisions by the affected Aggregates, it was determined that a return to Earth by NEO Keanu entities was not in the best interests of the formation, so offensive means were authorized.
    ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE: Cyberwarfare cell prediction B was correct: On 13 April 2040 UDT, inhabitants of NEO Keanu attempted a visit to the Indian subcontinent instead of an overt strike (though defensive systems remain on alert for the possibility that the NEO Keanu entities plan both a visit and a hostile strike).
    A subsurface naval vessel with a host crew was in position to launch a weapon at the Keanu vehicle, and did so under prior orders from the Aggregate Iron.
    The strike was not direct; the vehicle survived. The units involved have voluntarily restructured themselves and the human hosts have been eradicated.
    CONCLUSION: This vital operational military data was rated no higher than level three because of lack of success.
    Four seconds elapsed from the moment Carbon-143 received the operational military data and reached her conclusion.
    AFTERACTION: Carbon-143 removed herself from the fabrication-assembly facility at Site A, deferring her involvement in the monitoring of mobile-vehicle propulsion quality control, to protests from Carbon-144 and Carbon-145.
    She physically stepped into what another human counterpart would call a “sunny Arizona afternoon,” and approached Carbon-14, her immediate hierarch, to encourage the swift receipt and processing of the Indian strike message.
    Carbon-14 responded: “Tentative agreement, pending response to this query: Why?”
    And Carbon-143 answered, “Failure of the strike increases the probability of a reaction from the Keanu-origin entities. Chance of success—and likely damage to the Project—is now higher.”
    Carbon-14 processed, then responded: “Mathematical probability analysis?”
    Carbon-143 could only respond: “No. Nonstandard emotion-based judgment.”
    “On that basis, this request is denied. Similar requests will result in removal from quality control and data hierarchy and total