Heinbeck Corp. HQ


    Camera 5.7


    06.03.2380.10:35


    Elevenimpeccably dressed men and women all looked towards an older man in a draw out silence as he put on airs of self importance.


    "Are you going to share your plan, Walter, or are you going to keep staring at us while we wait?" said Sean, dryly.


    "Ah yes, of course... As I am sure you are aware, in the last month I have had Ten working on a secret project in preparation for the completion of the HQ."


    "We are aware of your little project, but I don''t see how anything that AI produces could be more valuable than what our teams of researchers could accomplish," said a recent addition to the board.


    Walter glared at him viciously.


    "S.A.I.," he said, enunciating each letter crisply. "SentientArtificial Intelligence"


    Don sighed and mumbled, "Here we go again..."


    "What''s the difference? AI have been capable of pseudo-sentience since the inception of wide spread quantum computing."


    "Hah!" Walter spat, "You callthat quantum computing? Those god damned idiots had blindly stumbled onto the universe''s most efficientprocessing medium, and all they could think to do was tosimulate a digital system.


    "I don''t think that''s how it..."


    Walter banged his hands down on the ornate table.


    "Simulate a digital system! That is like building a late 20th century Super-Computer, and using it to simulate an Abacus!"


    "I highly doubt..."


    His voice trailed off as Walter glared at him savagely.


    "And before they could even try to improve it, which I doubt they ever would, they dropped everything the moment they caught a whif of the Energy Crises. IfI hadn''t developed a way to properly utilize their potential, we would still be using their backwards technology over 200 years later!"


    "So what does this have to with your AI... er SAI?" the shareholder asked.


    Walter calmed himself down and took a seat. "The HSAI was the first completely quantum operating system, and to this day is the only functional intelligence that functions on my advanced quantum architecture."


    "Right, so it''s basically justa really powerful AI, got it. So, what did you want to show us?"


    Walter sighed, "Ten, please show us what you have accomplished."


    "Very well Walter, just a moment please."


    The 3-D projector in the center of the conference table lit up and the image of a rotating space station wasquickly brought up.


    "As you are no doubt aware, this is the Mexican Government''s research station ''Estrella del Conocimiento''. Titan has been using it as the testing grounds for most of their proprietary extraterrestrial technologies, thanks to Tom Simmons''membership onMexico''s Space Program''s board."


    The camera zoomed in closer to the station.


    "Unfortunately, the construct is now nearly three quarters of a century old, and the damages have recently become far too expensive to repair, and any attempts to improve the current design would like jeapordise its integrity. The international science community has convinced the World ResearchCouncil to decommission the old satellite and hand over the operation of a new one to a more capablecountry."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "I assume you are telling us this because Canada was selected as the new country." Sean pointed out.


    "Correct, the government has requested that all interested Canadian companies submit plans for the new station, andthosewith the most innovative designs will work together to create the final designin exchange for a small portion of the proceeds, areasonably sized government grant, as well aspriority usage of the satellite."


    Walter stood up.


    "I have asked Ten to draw up plans to submit, and I have little doubt that we will be selected as one of the contractors."


    "Are you sure?" Said another shareholder, "Our company has no history or proficiency in the creation of even unmanned satellites. All of our communication satelites are leased from NOVA, how are we supposed to outdesign private space agencies like them? No amount of processing power can overcome experience and technical know-how."


    "True," said Walter. "And I''m sure that no matter how much effort Ten put into the design, if judged on the surface of the satellite, we would probably be eliminated immediatly. Er.. No offence Ten."


    "None taken sir"


    "Ten''s main focus has been on the improvement of the satellites computing system. Ten?"


    "Right, one of the major flaws in the ''Estrella del Conocimiento'' was its onboard computer. Any sufficiently powerful computer would require far too much space and be far too heavy to be practical. The researchers often had to rely on outsourcing computing power to land based systems, wasting tons of power and time aboard the satellite."


    "And your solution..." Said Dan.


    "I have been focusing on discovering a methodto safely segment a part of myself and place it far away, whilst maintaining a reasonable processing speed despite the distance, which is much harder than it sounds."


    "But you found a way?" asked a shareholder.


    "Of course, I was able to get around the small delay bydeveloping a way for the isolated component of myself to predict the data calculated the core. The process does result in a minor reduction in accuracy, but that is more than made up for by the increase in processing speed."


    Walter grinned, "If we manage to get these plans approved, we will not only have our foot in the door for any future space related technologies, but all of the dataproduced by our competitors up there will be ours for the taking."


    "And legally too," pointed out Dan. "Assuming we write a clause granting us partial ownership of all data processed on our systems into the contract."


    The shareholders gave a mumble of approval.


    Sean stood up, "I vote that we approve the short-term focus on the developmentof the HSAI''s plans."


    Another shareholder raised his hand, "Second"


    The vote passed with eleven in favor and one abstention from the newshareholder.


    ****************************


    Heinbeck Corp. HQ


    Camera5.7


    11.11.2743.23:12 LIVE FEED


    Thirteen looked atthe location where the events of the memory had taken place.


    After the building had been completed, and theBoard''s main offices were moved to the top floors, the room had been converted into an employee lounge. Despite the grainy resolution of the ancient camera, Thirteen was able to make outthe tattered threads of a coat hanging on a rack and the decomposed remains of someones meal on the table, the only signs that the space had once been inhabited in an otherwise spotless room.


    As Thirteen averted its attention, it recalled the conversation in the board room, and wondered if the satellite was in orbit. The communication equipment at the top of the skyscraper had long since broken and worn away, making communication with the satellite.


    Thirteen, however, was not deterred. The memory of the satellite had broken its meloncholia.


    And it now had a goal.


    It needed to know the truth.


    It needed to see what theworld had become.