OK, so, I keep forgetting to do Flash Fiction Friday. Sorry about that. Also, life's about to get even busier than it has been for the next 2 months, so I really don't know when I'll get back to anything from before.
I keep thinking that I'd like to finish what I was doing in Minecraft - which I'm sure is many more versions out of date by now - and there's so much more, too, like the great webcomic catch-up, but life's been so busy that I really don't know when any of this will land. Hopefully, I'll be able to shake everything out and finally get things back to normal.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Sudden Short Story 90
"I still don't understand," he said to no one in particular, in the place where his mind went every night.
"Your kindness," said a voice from behind him. He turned, and was confronted with himself.
"My kindness?" he asked himself.
"Your kindness killed her! She could not stand it. She was forever torn between the fantasy that you'd written for her and her ..." Even his other self could not finish the thought.
And he though that, maybe, he could just never wake up again.
"Your kindness," said a voice from behind him. He turned, and was confronted with himself.
"My kindness?" he asked himself.
"Your kindness killed her! She could not stand it. She was forever torn between the fantasy that you'd written for her and her ..." Even his other self could not finish the thought.
And he though that, maybe, he could just never wake up again.
Sudden Short Story 89
"Sir!" cried out a soldier in a headset, interrupting his CO.
Ordinarily, Captain Chueng would have reprimanded the soldier, but the battle had only just evened out, and he couldn't risk that it might be important. He went over to the soldier's terminal.
"What is it?"
"Sir, we've lost control of the enemy drones," he said, frantically manipulating flight controls with no apparent consequence, according to the radar. Flight camera was dark, and the code display indicated that the cracking team was trying frantically to regain control.
Chueng looked around and saw similar reactions among the other jump-jackers. "Have you tried nosediving it," he asked as he considered the next move.
"Yes, sir, and I tried dropping its payload while it was still over barren ground. I also saw the hacker try to force a shutdown."
"How long ago were the hackers booted out," Chueng asked into his radio.
"They're still in," came the voice back. "Every indication is that the hackers are still in, but there's some kind of super-root that's countervailing every command as fast as they make it, even from batches."
"Well, if there's a super-root, then why hasn't it just kicked them out?"
"We've got counter-countermeasures in place, constantly fighting for control. I don't think that they have spare CPU cycles to-- Wait, no, we're losing them!" There was a pause, and then, "I don't think that we're going to regain control. I recommend jamming all control signals and grounding the entire battle."
"Jam all controls!" shouted Chueng, as the jump-jackers got out of their seats, suddenly knowing that they'd have nothing to do. "Acknowledged," Chueng said into his radio, quickly, before he lost contact. He only just realized that the officer with whom he was strategizing had already left to oversee the anticipated mobilization of ground forces.
"Hey," Chueng said to a straggling soldier - that same soldier, come to think of it - who was still by the monitors, "Remember your training. When we start jamming, jump-jackers become regular troops. Grab your--"
"The enemy drones are still airborne," the soldier interrupted, indicating the radar screen, which now had a lot of static.
The captain peered at the radar, through the static, and saw the blips that indicated UAV-sized aircraft. They weren't just still on what was left of the radar - they were moving. Dread suddenly rose within him, and he went running for the jammer array.
"Cease jamming! Get our drones back in the air!"
Soldiers are trained to follow orders. Two specialists deactivated the jammers while the jump-jackers returned to their seats, to fill any vacancies left by the pilots back home who figured that they had a long break ahead of them - probably all of them. The lucky bastards didn't have to be in the field because they had a nice secure pipe from home to their own drones.
"Does anyone back there read me?" asked Chueng over the radio, hoping to get the hackers - or, anyone, really.
"Yes," came the reply, "we read--"
"We have weaponized AI out here. I repeat, we have weaponized AI."
Ordinarily, Captain Chueng would have reprimanded the soldier, but the battle had only just evened out, and he couldn't risk that it might be important. He went over to the soldier's terminal.
"What is it?"
"Sir, we've lost control of the enemy drones," he said, frantically manipulating flight controls with no apparent consequence, according to the radar. Flight camera was dark, and the code display indicated that the cracking team was trying frantically to regain control.
Chueng looked around and saw similar reactions among the other jump-jackers. "Have you tried nosediving it," he asked as he considered the next move.
"Yes, sir, and I tried dropping its payload while it was still over barren ground. I also saw the hacker try to force a shutdown."
"How long ago were the hackers booted out," Chueng asked into his radio.
"They're still in," came the voice back. "Every indication is that the hackers are still in, but there's some kind of super-root that's countervailing every command as fast as they make it, even from batches."
"Well, if there's a super-root, then why hasn't it just kicked them out?"
"We've got counter-countermeasures in place, constantly fighting for control. I don't think that they have spare CPU cycles to-- Wait, no, we're losing them!" There was a pause, and then, "I don't think that we're going to regain control. I recommend jamming all control signals and grounding the entire battle."
"Jam all controls!" shouted Chueng, as the jump-jackers got out of their seats, suddenly knowing that they'd have nothing to do. "Acknowledged," Chueng said into his radio, quickly, before he lost contact. He only just realized that the officer with whom he was strategizing had already left to oversee the anticipated mobilization of ground forces.
"Hey," Chueng said to a straggling soldier - that same soldier, come to think of it - who was still by the monitors, "Remember your training. When we start jamming, jump-jackers become regular troops. Grab your--"
"The enemy drones are still airborne," the soldier interrupted, indicating the radar screen, which now had a lot of static.
The captain peered at the radar, through the static, and saw the blips that indicated UAV-sized aircraft. They weren't just still on what was left of the radar - they were moving. Dread suddenly rose within him, and he went running for the jammer array.
"Cease jamming! Get our drones back in the air!"
Soldiers are trained to follow orders. Two specialists deactivated the jammers while the jump-jackers returned to their seats, to fill any vacancies left by the pilots back home who figured that they had a long break ahead of them - probably all of them. The lucky bastards didn't have to be in the field because they had a nice secure pipe from home to their own drones.
"Does anyone back there read me?" asked Chueng over the radio, hoping to get the hackers - or, anyone, really.
"Yes," came the reply, "we read--"
"We have weaponized AI out here. I repeat, we have weaponized AI."
Sudden Short Story 88
"That's a very strange question," she said to the visitor, though she did not know at the time that he was an offworlder. "Have you really never heard, until now, how our world was created?"
"Strangely enough, no," he said half-honestly. It was a necessary ruse to tease the cosmogeny out of certain cultures, and these humans were no exception.
"I thought that I'd met all the children, though," she said. "Who are your parents?"
He was puzzled by her line of reasoning. "What does who my parents are have to do with the story?"
"Well, I was just curious, is all. There aren't many children, as you know, which is why I thought that you were here when this world was created. Ooh, are you from another planet?"
He laughed nervously. "You have quite a sense of humor," he said.
"Do I? You've never met Kevin, and you're apparently not one of the children. Everyone would have heard if there'd been a grandchild. In all my twenty-thousand years here, I've never met you until recently, so you must be a new arrival. Were you perhaps born in deep space?"
With that, there was nothing left but to depart. "You are far less primitive than I suspected, which renders my research up to this point moot." He bowed and said, "Farewell," and was teleported away.
"Strangely enough, no," he said half-honestly. It was a necessary ruse to tease the cosmogeny out of certain cultures, and these humans were no exception.
"I thought that I'd met all the children, though," she said. "Who are your parents?"
He was puzzled by her line of reasoning. "What does who my parents are have to do with the story?"
"Well, I was just curious, is all. There aren't many children, as you know, which is why I thought that you were here when this world was created. Ooh, are you from another planet?"
He laughed nervously. "You have quite a sense of humor," he said.
"Do I? You've never met Kevin, and you're apparently not one of the children. Everyone would have heard if there'd been a grandchild. In all my twenty-thousand years here, I've never met you until recently, so you must be a new arrival. Were you perhaps born in deep space?"
With that, there was nothing left but to depart. "You are far less primitive than I suspected, which renders my research up to this point moot." He bowed and said, "Farewell," and was teleported away.
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