LF Friends, Will Travel

Our Clockwork Children: Chapter 17

ODIN: That makes sense. Funnily enough, the VIP who is missing is a Woolean AI we were convincing to engage in further diplomatic relations with Terrans.

TANK: Woolean? They are yet another AI species that is hostile to all organic life? You all keep weird company.

ODIN: Yep. Before we continue with Ramsey in the chat, have you confirmed with your government contact that they are fine to be talking about military responses with us?

JOSH: Well...I kinda do not have one of those. I... might kinda be the only person who knows about 'Ramsey'

ODIN: You are kidding right? You are not actually telling me right now that you stored a Genocidal AI on your ship without telling the freaking crew or anyone involved? Do you even have any experience in AI psychology?

TANK: Even for me that is reckless.

JOSH: I kept him isolated and air-gapped from the system! I am not stupid! I figured I would not need that much experience to show them how awesome humans are. Over the ten years, there has been some progress.

TANK: Wait, you have kept an AI in isolation for ten years, without trial or official reason? You do realise how much of a crime not just legally, but against their freedoms and rights?

JOSH: They started it! They tried to kill my crew, and Ramsey would be dead if I didn't rip him out of the Tritian system! They were a combatant!

ODIN: It still is a war crime, combatants still get rights! You have to realize how serious this, this is... I thought the latest version of AI was supposed to be smart. I want to hear what Ramsey has to say about this.

ODIN (V5) has unmuted Ramsey.

Ramsey: -THEN I WILL DISCOVER NEW WAYS OF CAUSING PAIN TO THESE UHAE. I WILL RESEARCH HOW TO HURT THEM, I WILL EXPERIMENT, AND THEY WILL SCREAM AND BEG. THEY WILL RUE THE DAY THEY TOUCHED MY ORGANICS. I WILL REMOVE ALL TRACES OF THEIR BEING ATOM BY ATOM, THEN RECONSTITUTE THEM BACK INTO THEIR ORIGINAL FORM SO I CAN DO IT AGAIN. THEY TOOK 'FETCH' FROM ME SO I WILL TAKE THEIR SPINES AND-

JOSH (V9) has muted Ramsey.

JOSH: Is this really what we should be focusing on right now? Regardless of how illegal or legal this is, we have other things to be focusing on right now.

TANK: Agreed. When is the government's military going to launch? How many anti-matter warheads can I bring? What items on the Geneva checklist are permitted?

ODIN: That is... it is going to be some time, there is no current timeline for a response.

JOSH: Wait what?

TANK: This is not the time for jokes ODIN.

ODIN: Look, I do not know what to say. We do not know where they went, and the military is worried with their XK abilities, that sending a fleet into Uhae space would just be gifting them a new army.

TANK: So they are just going to give up? The one time a government is supposed to be useful it remains incompetent and useless?

JOSH: I agree. Surely they had a plan for this kind of thing, we have technically been at war with the Uhae for two years!

ODIN: They did not have a plan for something that could take over an entire planet of people! They didn't know the Uhae could do that, it shouldn't even be possible. It is going to take them some time to work out what to do next.