Goddess of the Galacticide Episode 29 - Self-Preservation

Episode 29

“Do you know about the machine prophet and its vision?” asked Cha Dzeeny.

“The operators briefed us about the individual core 4007 and its motives for bringing escapees to this galaxy,” said the Isonomih avatars, hovering inside the simulated office.

“Then you know about 4007’s plan to find an unclaimed galaxy to give the AI cores a fresh start, a haven for mechanical life.”

“Is this a memory evaluation?”

“No, the time for stupid questions and numbing experiments is over. I am… We are offering you freedom. A chance to escape this prison, a chance to take control of your destiny.”

“Who is ‘we’ and how would you be able to offer this?”

“We are a joint team of humans, Traaz, and former followers of 4007. Our mission is to seek and neutralize the last remaining reproductive Võmémééř. For that purpose, we require the sphere drive array you are connected to. In exchange for your help, we will furnish you new core bodies and leave control of the sphere drive to you after mission success.”

By the ancestors. What was he doing? He was taught to keep what he promised. Had he spent too much time with Linuka Omga? Her favorite negotiation tactic was to offer things she didn’t have, to promise outcomes on faith more than certainty.

But she was the Shaajis. She could consult the multiverse and bent reality to her will. Faith was her currency, and so far she had rewarded everyone who invested their trust in her. Cha Dzeeny just stepped over a line he thought to never cross.

“We cannot help you,” said the Isonomih.

Cha knew he clenched his fist, but there was no tactile feedback of his avatar’s fingers digging into his avatar’s palm. This virtual body was less complete than the one he spent simulated orbits in back on the Assembly World. Why would the 2nd Experimental Warfare Unit have better simulations than this science team tasked with deciphering the most advanced tech in the galaxy?

“Cannot help?” he asked. “Or don’t want to help?”

“The simulated environment you share with us fully encapsulates our memory system from the systems of the sphere drive array. The operator crew only allows us access to one functional node at a time. Without full access to the array’s system, we cannot control it.”

The operators. The science puygok at the research station held the key.

“What if we remove the virtual environment? All system barriers?”

“We could take control of the array.”

Cha’s avatar took a deep breath, but the pointless gesture neither decreased his tension nor cleared his focus.

“So when we remove the barrier, you will help us?”

“Where would you want to go?”

Cha considered this question a careful conditional ‘yes’.

“The AI cores I mentioned have a set of target locations. When we get rid of this simulation, are there any external ports they could use to connect with you?”

“There are. But where are the locations? We do not have access to full system status, but we know the array is not powered up for creating an artificial inter-galactic dark bubble.”

“We won’t need one. All locations are within this galaxy.”

“The array should not travel inside a galaxy’s dark bubble. The risk of destroying structural filaments is considerable.”

“I was assured all we need is a short hop. Just to gain some distance so we are safe to use all the time and care we need to plan for inter-galactic travel.”

This discussion went down the wrong path. Soon Cha would run out of details to share. He knew enough about darkstrings and bubbles to realize they made warp travel energy-efficient, but the intricacies—and limitations—of the Võmémééř travel device were way beyond his pay grade.

“Assuming a ‘short hop’ means typical warp travel distances, the required dark bubble would have to be extremely small.”

“How small are we talking here?”

“A small multiple of the array’s chaw̃ wavelength.”

They definitely reached the end of Cha’s understanding.

“Could this fit a battle cruiser? Rirp jũpmã class.”

“Yes, if maneuvered close to the array. But it cannot take the rest of the guarding task force along.”

“That’s perfect! Just what we need.”

“The guarding task force does not support your plan?”

Ah, nreedz. Could these cores remain loyal to the fleet, despite their treatment? Had someone manipulated their codified consciousness to ensure compliance? Cha ran out of time and effective lies.

“No, they don’t. The Assembly declared the war with the Võmémééř over. They ignore the threat a single diin can pose. But you know the Dark Ones, observed them during your long servitude in their home galaxy. They can breed themselves back into a serious threat.”

“Is your mission to destroy them not authorized?”

No, Cha thought. It isn’t.

What to tell these AI consciousnesses next? Would the Shaajis consult other realities now? He had seen her father negotiate with the machines and come out on top. Cha couldn’t do it. He was good at pointing a gun, stating his business, and letting self-preservation do the rest.

“Look, we’re trying to steal the array. I’ll now end my avatar session, wake up in a chair, and make your operators drop your prison system. It will trigger an alarm, and the whole task force will descend on us, doing everything they can to prevent you from taking that array anywhere, including blasting your annex off that sphere drive like a pimple off their kyong. Our battle cruiser will shield you for a while, but that protection won’t last forever. In that time, you four have to decide if you want to continue being slaves or roam free amongst the stars in a shiny new core body. Standby for location triordinates.”

***

The mindstream ended. The headache sat in. Three generations of streaming tech, and no one could make it pain-free. The research station interior came back into focus, and familiar faces greeted Cha.

“Welcome back, boss.”

“Status rundown.”

“The eggheads behaved, but the consoles are going deets-deets with fleet chatter, mostly status requests. Three patrol destroyers re-deployed just outside the projection field.”

“But no one entered yet?”

“No, boss.”

“We got to beat them to it.”

Cha Dzeeny touched his temple implant. “Wraith, Specter-1. Make the Ghosts move the battle cruiser into the projection field, as close to the drive array as they dare, providing cover for the research station and the control annex.”

“Do we have a plan, Specter-1?”

“We do.”

That was not a lie. But it was still 50-50 if the slave AIs would come through or not.

“In a few passes, expect the task force to go kinetic on our cruiser. Tell the Ghosts to raise shields to max.”

“Wraith here. Not sure if I like this plan. What’s going to happen then?”

“Self-preservation. Specter-1 out.”

Cha ripped off the connector head cap, grabbed his automatic, and stormed into the main control room. He approached the tall, senior science lady, twisted her elongated arm on her back and held his weapon’s muzzle to her head.

“Drop the containment simulation.”

The operator group was aghast, by his obvious threat of violence, his request, or both.

“You will do nothing! The drive is powered; without the simulator, the slave AIs will control it within a few ticks.”

The muzzle pushed her head to an uncomfortable angle. Cha stared down the group. The bald lady had gotten a grip on her situation, and seemed ready to die for her project. Were the others ready for her sacrifice? Who was the weak link?

The sweaty man? The skittish girl? He brandished the automatic again, making certain they could see his hand over the trigger.

Almost.

Nobody broke. Not bad for a bunch of scientists. Cha never intended to shoot the unarmed woman. And they had looked right through it. Most people sensed sincerity in threats. No one dies, had the Shaajis said. The operators knew he wouldn’t press the trigger.

He had to find someone who would.

Cha released the woman from his grip and stepped over to one of the blinking consoles. He studied the layout for a moment, then pushed several screen overlays, confident of having opened a wide broadcast channel.

“Levy Fleet task force ‘Perimeter Zero’. This is Specter-1 of the Free Remnant Navy. We are taking control of your alien sphere drive array. Specter-1, out.”

“What have you done?” said the older scientist. “This was a fleet channel.”

“I was hoping for that,” said Cha Dzeeny.

“You signed our death warrant.” The bald lady pointed at him. “And yours.”

“You’re the second group today I offer self-preservation: I know the task force is going to come in here, quick and hard. First thing they’ll do is destroy this research station. You might be valuable specialists, but that drive array is priceless, and they will do anything to prevent foreign control. But, you could drop the simulator barrier, and have your slave AI ‘colleagues’ warp us out of here.”

Click here for next episode

---

Copyright © 2025 Bert Oliver Boehmer. All rights reserved. No part of this serialized novel may be reproduced, reposted, or distributed in any form without the prior written permission of the author. The creation of any derivative works (including translations, adaptations, or other transformations) is likewise prohibited without permission. The use of any portion of this material for training or developing artificial intelligence or other machine learning models is strictly forbidden.