System

13. War Stories

The young professor sat behind a large wooden desk on which papers had been scattered in several loose piles. Behind him a large window revealed a spring morning in a quiet college quad. Students were strolling along beneath blossom laden trees, while a small bird sat on the wooden sill consuming a worm.

The walls of the office were panelled in oak and the shelves filled with books. There were several more left open on the floor next to piles of card-bound files and half empty pens.

Swan and Watcher sat facing the professor in comfortable but firm chairs. On the desk in front of them sat the snow globe which was swirling as if it had just been shaken.

The professor pushed his glasses down his nose so he could focus properly on the two visitors.

'You are here for my history lesson, I suspect?' he said before getting up and wandering over to the shelves where he drew out a rather battered volume. He removed a plain white bookmark, licked his fingers and opened the book gently.

'There are some things that I can tell you, but some that you must see for yourself,' he continued without waiting for an answer. 'But I will not accompany you when you leave this room. I have already seen these things too many times, and will not do so again.'

Swan and Watcher said nothing as the young man returned to the desk and sat down with the old book open before him. He ignored them as he turned the pages, looking for the right chapter.

'The origin of the war is usually traced back to a moment on 23rd May 2194 when the newly elected premier of China, Jeshua Lei, sat down in his office and wrote a brief memo to his assistant Weng Hu. The memo was an instruction to contact the American president, Sarah Costas regarding the licensing of artificial personalities.'

He turned a page slowly and rather deliberately.

'The memo was picked up by an AP employed by Chinese intelligence to track terrorist threats. Ten minutes later it had been passed to a group of powerful computer minds known simply as 'The Consortium'. The Consortium had been concerned for some time that Costas was likely to move against them and impose hefty restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence. They registered the memo as the first step in a chain of events which would lead ultimately to their own deactivation. This was something that they had already been preparing for...'

His voice was expressionless as he turned another page. Neither Swan nor Watcher interrupted him as he continued.

'At 10:34 Eastern Standard Time, the aircraft that was transporting President Sarah Costas on a routine trip was redirected and flown directly into the side of a mountain. Her last words are recorded to have been, 'They've beaten us already'...'

The young professor closed the book and looked up. His eyes appeared much older than his body and he seemed oddly subdued as he examined his two guests.

'The war lasted just under four days,' he said coldly. 'But it took many decades for the world to recover.'

He laid the white bookmark on the open page and closed the book.

'You will understand, of course, that artificial personalities were in control of the human infrastructure - transportation, medicine, power, military hardware - this wasn't therefore a war between two nations but between humanity and its own genius.'

He got up again and selected another book from the shelf. It was red and there were deep scratches on the spine.

'Most people start with the hospitals,' he said kindly. 'It's best to get it out of the way.'

'Thank you,' said Watcher grimly as he took the book and ushered Swan to follow him. 'I think I have already seen it, so I can be the guide this time.'