Visisonor's blog
Chapter 7: The News
Control room seemed crowded, even though only two more participants were present now compared to the day before.
An article was highlighted on the main screen — a press release from official human news broadcast.
Humanity joins the future with open arms: truce negotiations with Syncons set to transform the lives of all.
In a bold step toward a brighter, more inclusive future, The Command is proud to announce the upcoming Truce Negotiations between Humans and Syncons, a groundbreaking event poised to redefine the landscape of our existence.
This truce is not just a meeting; it’s a covenant towards a world where humans and machines coexist harmoniously, driving prosperity for all.
The Truce Negotiations will take place on…
The rest was hidden behind the viewport of the screen, but the text contained coordinates and a date, roughly two weeks ahead.
— Who even writes this BS, — snorted Kate disapprovingly.
— Maybe they use language models for that, — suggested Wolf.
— And what’s the deal with press release? — wondered Vera.
— They cannot just send an email to us, — Sarah perched herself on the console. — Ma chère Sarah, I feel in my heart an unbearable longing to finally set my gaze upon your beautiful artificial… eyes. Yours sincerely, Max.
The joke relieved some of the tension. The group started to discuss what would eventually set the course of history.
— I suppose it won’t make much sense if we kill or capture those who show up, — Vera’s eyes flashed ominously.
However, as was evident from the structure of her phrase, she knew it would have been pointless: human side would just send figureheads who wouldn’t know anything of value.
They covered not showing up at all, preserving the status quo. But it also meant a missed opportunity to engage in the game proposed by human command — and gain what humans hoped to gain. Still, this opportunity implied significant risk.
— Something isn’t quite right here, — noticed Wolf. — They need to keep fighting, we don’t. There must be something else in their plan. We don’t know what it is, and this concerns me.
And yet, even Wolf, who first voiced this concern about “hidden variables”, was willing to take the risk and best their opponents in this new game rather than play it safe an never know what the game actually was.
Throughout this whole briefing Chloe remained mostly silent — until Rick asked for her opinion explicitly.
— How does it work, — replied she. — Do we vote?
— Our goal is find the optimal solution, — explained Tess, — and it may not necessarily correspond to the opinion of majority.
— And what happens if we disagree?
— Practice shows that a relatively small group of like-minded people can eventually reach the same conclusion, provided they have enough information.
— Which, in this case, means that if you are really convinced this is a bad idea, you can convince the rest, — added Rick.
But Chloe wasn’t so convinced, and thus all humans present agreed to the same course of action — all but one, though in truth she wasn’t forgotten, everyone just assumed Linda has not fully recovered yet.
So it caused quite some surprise when she went in and declared:
— There goes everyone to the world but I.
She left as abruptly as entered, seemingly not interested in this meeting anyway.
— Yes, we knew Linda was coming once she left her ward, — commented Tess. — She should not really exert herself like this, but go tell her. Her vitals are normal, however.
Still, Tess followed Linda out of control room to make sure she was all right.
Linda’s visit ended the discussion: there was plenty of time to plan the details, but an overall consensus has been reached. Kate stepped out too, intending to catch up with Tess — and Linda.
“What can I tell her?” — she thought, feeling utterly at loss.
All the earlier doubts about the choices flooded Kate’s mind again. Has Linda reached the same conclusion? She fought on their side after all. Their side: with syncons and against humans. But in the story Tess told earlier, Linda seemingly accepted Constantin’s reasons. Did she agree with these reasons? Was it why she had had enough? Or was she just devasted by the loss of… Of pretty much everyone she knew and cared about, not counting the syncons?
“Yes, syncons are all that’s left. And they care for her”, — noted Kate sotto voce. — “The machines were the only ones who measured up”.
She reached the entrance to medical bay by now, and Tess just walked out of the door.
— She is exhausted now, — said the syncon.
— I see, — nodded Kate absentmindedly. — I still don’t know how to approach her.
She turned away from the door and started walking back along the corridor, with Tess following her.
— Something you didn’t cover in the story, — asked Kate a few seconds later. — Do you know what happened to Leliana?
— We do not. She is probably dead. It is not confirmed, so she may have been captured, though this is unlikely.
— Why unlikely? Wouldn’t command want to know what she knew? — Kate shuddered at this thought.
— There was not much. The base was compromised and destroyed. All access codes changed. And we are not aware of any news or leaks about Leliana since that day.
— When did it all happen?
— Roughly a year ago.
— Hmm. Could she survive that long?
— Do not entertain this hope, Kate. Only disappointment lies that way.
In the softly lit twilight of her room Vera stared into the mirror.
— So it begins, sis, — she whispered tenderly. — Soon I’ll find a way to get closer to him. And then…