Spatterjay 3 - Orbus by Asher Neal

Author:Asher, Neal
Language: eng
Format: epub

Spatterjay 3 - Orbus

11

Unlike the independent drones produced throughout the war, or those AI subminds that sometimes either buy or are given their own independence, the security drone for ever remains part of an integrated security system. This is because its mind, on its own, is not actually an artificial intelligence. In any exchange, conversational or informational, with one of these machines, it would seem to be an independent entity, but it is not. The security system itself is the AI (usually the submind of a larger AI), but of a format similar to that of an intelligent hive of social insects. Such machines are just not complex enough to either deliberately or inadvertently build sufficient ego within themselves to wish for independence. Of course, the observant reader will immediately point out cases in which such drones have achieved independence, but those are usually parts of very old security systems that are breaking down – suffering a hivemind version of schizophrenia.

– From THE WEAPONS DIRECTORY

Sadurian gazes into the clean-​tank, at the chunk recently shed from the King’s body. The first cursory scan of genetic material from this makes it utterly plain to her that the spermatozoa used to fertilize the latest batch of eggs are not the product of the King’s present body. Sperm produced by something with a genetic make-​up like that simply would not produce Prador. If it could fertilize even the modified Prador eggs the King’s females are producing, which is doubtful, the product would resemble the King himself.

How Oberon managed that, Sadurian has no idea, but manage it he had. Quickly running comparisons on her screens, she sees that the sperm recently used closely matches that of a previous mating, some twelve years ago. Somehow the King retained sperm inside him untouched by the devastating viral changes he has undergone since. Or else, since these matings are never witnessed, he has used some other means to preserve and then inject it.

‘Okay, quit the scan, Delf, and let’s start from the basics.’

The chrome-​armoured third-​child inserts himself into the space made for his kind within the nanofactor apparatus, where he can operate with multi-​limbed precision the nanoscope and the array of nanoscopic tools. This is one great advantage the Prador have over Humans for this kind of work, for they simply possess more hands to employ more tools. It is a shame they perpetually need to overcome so many prejudices and mental blocks to conduct such work – then, again, perhaps not. If they had been as adroit as Humans at manipulating genetic code, the outcome of the old war might have been very different.

Screens now display an image comprising both nanoscopic maps and computer-​generated images of the King’s present genome, which consists of that which is active, the enclosing viral framework, and the virus’s own eclectic collection of inactive genetic tissue – the stuff it uses to transform its host when survival becomes an issue.

‘Weigh it,’ says Sadurian, ‘before we start with molecular deconstruction.’

Prador glyphs appear along

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