The Synchronicity War Part 2 by Dietmar Wehr Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t seem likely.
Wait a minute. Not all of the visions HAD been helpful. That
confusing out-of-sync version of his next meeting with Howard
seemed to be trying to get him to keep Defiant here in Green4. If
he had followed that vision’s advice, there wouldn’t have been a
Battle of Green4 and all 55 ships of the enemy fleet would almost
certainly have attacked the Avalon Colony with predictably terrible
consequences. He decided to see what the A.I.s thought about that
vision.

    “I had another vision a few hours prior to the
last one that was quite different. Visually it was identical to the
last one but the audio portion was very different. The voice wasn’t
Howard’s and the words weren’t in sync with his mouth. The gist of
the audio track was that I should let the enemy fleet continue on
unmolested and keep Defiant here in Green4 in order to detect the
main enemy fleet that was coming this way later. Why would anyone
trying to help me, send that message? What’s the group consensus on
that, Iceman?” There was a pause of almost 2 seconds. Far longer
than any pause, by Iceman or any other A.I. that Shiloh had
experienced.

    “The unanimous opinion is that, while we can’t
be 100% certain of this, we think there is a VERY high probability,
that the enemy has the capability to detect these transmissions,
understands what they’re intended to do and is trying to use that
same technology to interfere with the future assistance by feeding
you false information and advice. This war isn’t just a war fought
in space anymore. It’s now a war fought in both space and time,
CAG. If you want a name for it, you can call it the Synchronicity
War.”

    “Oh Hell!” said Shiloh loud enough that he
looked around to see if anyone heard him. He saw a couple of
curious glances. As if the war wasn’t complicated enough already!
He stayed silent for almost a full minute, and then said.

    “I can’t help feeling that you and other A.I.s
are going to play a major, maybe even crucial role in winning this
war. When I talk with the Admiral, I’m going to push for giving
experienced A.I.s, such as you, more responsibility and authority.
And now that you know about my visions, I’ll keep you posted about
any new ones I experience. I’ll leave it to your discretion who you
share this information with. Sharing with the right people at the
right time may make a difference. Unfortunately I can’t give you
any guidance as to who the right people are.” He paused and noted
with some surprise that Iceman stayed silent.

    “I’m not always going to be your commanding
officer. There’s a chance that Admiral Howard will relieve me of
command altogether. I’m saying this to all of you now, in case I
don’t get another opportunity to do so later. Many humans don’t
understand that you A.I.s are sentient, self-aware entities. They
may treat you as expendable pieces of equipment. I implore all of
you to be patient with us as we collectively learn that you are
more than that. We need you even if not all of us realize that yet
and I’m not referring just to your combat abilities but also to
your insights and capacity for logical thought. Stay the course and
I’ll fight for you all to whatever extent I’m able.”

    “We hear ya. We’ll be there when Humanity needs
us, CAG. You can count on us.” Shiloh nodded and smiled.

    “I never doubted that for a second, Iceman.” He
paused again, and then said, “Let’s change the subject to something
less somber. I’m curious to find out what A.I. humor is like. Bring
the others into this circuit so that I can hear them and vice versa
and then I’d like to hear some jokes.” Shiloh spent the next half
hour chatting and laughing with his pilots. There was no way for
him to know for sure but his gut told him that he and they had
bonded in the same way that human pilots would have. As he walked
back to his quarters, he wondered if he’d regret getting that close
to them when some of