The Unwritten

The Unwritten Part IX - The Scientists

Science. It's supposed to be the answer. But all it does is generate more questions. It's the Forever Conundrum: answers through more questions. The more answers you find, the more questions you generate. Where will it all stop? Sometimes one wonders, was religion the answer? At least they thought they had answers. They were addicted to that delusion, anyway.

Minister YashThiago put his thoughts away as he entered the Eridani State Facility committee room. The giant double doors automatically opened and then closed behind him. He walked to the center of the room, then sat in a chair that raised up as a smaller section of the room descended down around him. 

His chair sidled over to a location along which several other Ministers were seated in large overstuffed chairs like his, equally distant to the Minister’s. The lights flared up, then the room was thrown into blackness. A sharp retort indicated a connection to all members of the committee. The others were all human Ministers, save one. Physically they were all located throughout the planet and solar system but for now, they were together.

Communications were instantaneous. At this moment and for these discussions each of the ten Ministers were situated similar to Minister YashThiago. It would be all very impressive and official seeming to any outsider who might happen to wander in, though none would.

One of them spoke first, the one who was obviously their leader, Prefect of the Ministry Directorate. His chair glowed more than the others as each would whenever one spoke. The Ministry he oversaw covered all the high level research facilities throughout the entire solar system.

His Directorate was an umbrella organization which handled all the educational, research and practical applications of research which came from those groups. It was then filtered back into schools’ practical applications departments in a symbiotic and highly functional interrelationship.

These proceedings were actually quite informal. They all knew one another and had met personally at various engagements and parties. Titles between them were in name only, though responsibilities were assigned accordingly by those titles. Responsibilities that could hold massive impact and on occasion, dire consequences.

“YashThiago. What do you have to share with us? How goes the darling of your research department?” The Ministers al turned to listen closely to the response from YashThiago.

“We’ve run into a, snag.” One of the others, a Minister in name only, leaned forward to speak, his chair glowing slightly brighter as he spoke.

“By snag, you refer to….” The hologram looked to the side as if reading something, “…a death, perhaps?” Save for the actual humans in the room with YashThiago, they were all holograms, However this one in particular was no Human Minister at all, but an AI officially referred to as, “Quasi Minister Artelect”. One of the few and the only super Artificial Intelligence hologram allowed in the solar system.

Typically people just called him respectfully, “Artelect”. Or on occasion, “Minister Artelect”. It was considered almost rude to refer to him by his full official title, which was considered as derogatory and inferring a lesser being. In reality, he was far superior in many ways to most he might ever confer with. “He” was generated by a vast computer matrix located throughout the solar system in various institutions and facilities that they were all here responsible for.

“Indeed, yes. But I can assure you, it wasn’t at the hands of either our staff or…our technology.”

“That is good news,” said the Prefect, smiling, and relieved.

The AI smiled and nodded, seeming to accept the comment. It didn’t so much need to ask the previous question, as it needed to get it out there on the table, so to speak, for someone else to comment upon. Artelect was designed to be as human as possible, to act in a way that made others feel comfortable. Without, however the margins of error inherent in a typical human personality.

“There was, an… unknown, an unforeseen element involved.”

“Unknown, by way of defect, or addition?” asked Artelect.

“Defect,” YashThiago, calmly answered.

“Then?” This was the Prefect.

“We have tapped into something, bewildering. Some, thing… joined the event.”

“Joined? From, where?” Artelect.

“We are currently exploring that answer. But it looks like, somewhere…small.”

“Small?” The Prefect.

“Very, small.” Artelect actually lifted its right eyebrow.

“Very well.” The Prefect looked at Artelect who nodded back and promptly closed its eyes, apparently lost in “thought”.

The Prefect shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had other meetings to attend and this one was rapidly devolving into a quagmire that could very well cost someone dearly. He wished to distance himself from it for the time being. Though he knew in the end, he could very well suffer along with any others involved.

“Anything else?” The Prefect smiled. He had always liked YashThiago. He was known to be accurate and dedicated, loyal and effective in whatever position he had been placed in. Even ones he didn’t especially much care for. This one however, he had relished and had excelled in. It had after all, been based upon research and invention that he himself, originated.

“Not, at this time, Prefect.” The Prefect nodded.

They all then turned to watch Artelect, who momentarily seemed to be listening to music from how its head slightly seemed to bob and weave, fingers moving gracefully in front of its torso. Finally, it opened its eyes, smiled and looked at each one of them before continuing a response that was calculated according to the audience.

Of course, Artelect hadn’t needed to take that much time, as a response had been calculated that would be most easily accepted if speaking were delayed just long enough.

“What you have tapped into…there really is no other way to say it politely Ministers, Prefect. You have tapped into, Hell.” Silence.

“Hell.” YashThiago stared at the massive intellect sitting across from him. No one said a word. “You have examined our data and that is the conclusion.” This was a statement of fact and they all knew it, knew what Artelect would have done and that the conclusion would be succinct and decisive. And correct.

“It is also much smaller than you think. Data indicates a view inside, much like reconstructing a scene using reflected light.” Artelect smiled.

“Artelect, ‘Hell’ is a religious construct.” This was from the Prefect.

“Yes. But that doesn’t mean it does not, or cannot, exist. What you have found for all intents and purposes, YashThiago, indeed defines itself as, Hell.”

“But…” one of the other Ministers began, though she never got a chance to finish as Artelect picked up her train of thought nearly before the woman had fully formed it in her own mind.

“Existence does not preclude actuality, nor does it support anything other than its existence.”

“How… what are its dimensions?” YashThiago was fascinated, confused, dismayed.

“Small, as you indicated, but much smaller than even that. It is say, a third charm sized. I can also tell you…” he said, waiting for their attention again. He could see they were all mostly lost in their own thoughts on what he had just told them. This was not something any scientist ever expected to hear in a field that was filled with hearing things one didn’t expect. “….it has dark ‘flames’, a moving energy stream of some kind, anomalies flittering all about; and other things.”

“Fascinating,” whispered the Prefect. He had by now completely forgotten their worries about this project. “But surely this can’t be the “Hell” of…”

“But surely, it can, Prefect.” responded Artelect. “Surely it can.”