"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.
Monday, August 31, 2015
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.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Sudden Short Story 87
He looked out of the window at the rain, as he often did during this time of year.
"It's really coming down, isn't it?" his wife asked.
"That's right, you grew up down south, didn't you?" he asked her, rhetorically.
"Not too far south, mind," she replied. "But I know enough not to be surprised when it rains in the middle of the rainy season."
"Well, back in my day, January in western Pennsylvania wasn't the rainy season: it was the middle of winter." He turned back to look out the window. "The driving was terrible, but at least you knew what time of year it was."
"It's really coming down, isn't it?" his wife asked.
"That's right, you grew up down south, didn't you?" he asked her, rhetorically.
"Not too far south, mind," she replied. "But I know enough not to be surprised when it rains in the middle of the rainy season."
"Well, back in my day, January in western Pennsylvania wasn't the rainy season: it was the middle of winter." He turned back to look out the window. "The driving was terrible, but at least you knew what time of year it was."
Sudden Short Story 86
Q'alya al-Orn was wandering once more through the desert, when he was overtaken by a vision. From every horizon, a mass of water, so great that it rose above each dune and had no gaps, encroached upon him, until the dune on which he stood, which seemed itself to be rapidly dissolving, was the only land around. The water was so very deep that he could not see the bottom anywhere.
Before him, a great alien god sat within the water, its tentacles writhing, lashing out at any ship that dared be upon the water's surface. A corpse from one of the wrecks floated to Q'alya's island. "We were glad when it took the deserts," it spake, "for we had more fishing, and we lost nothing. The deserts did not sate it."
An enormous tentacle came and took the corpse to the god's mouth. Then, another tentacle came and seized Q'alya, whose island finally gave way. As he was raised into the air, he saw nothing but water in all directions. As he fell into the god's enormous maw, he was engulfed by darkness, which was completed as it shut its mouth.
Q'alya awoke with an enormous mission before him: He must somehow find and somehow stop the great alien god from turning the world into an ocean. He headed toward the nearest city, and hoped that it was friendly to elves.
Before him, a great alien god sat within the water, its tentacles writhing, lashing out at any ship that dared be upon the water's surface. A corpse from one of the wrecks floated to Q'alya's island. "We were glad when it took the deserts," it spake, "for we had more fishing, and we lost nothing. The deserts did not sate it."
An enormous tentacle came and took the corpse to the god's mouth. Then, another tentacle came and seized Q'alya, whose island finally gave way. As he was raised into the air, he saw nothing but water in all directions. As he fell into the god's enormous maw, he was engulfed by darkness, which was completed as it shut its mouth.
Q'alya awoke with an enormous mission before him: He must somehow find and somehow stop the great alien god from turning the world into an ocean. He headed toward the nearest city, and hoped that it was friendly to elves.
Sudden Short Story 85
Propped up against the pillows, he held her as she read. She dwelt too long on these pages, though, because her thoughts distracted her from reading. He noticed this, and thought that now might be a good time to ask.
"May I ask why you were crying the other day?"
She put down her book, turned into him, and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Neither of them expected this.
"It's because you're so good to me," she began. "You're loyal and kind and helpful, and you always care about my happiness, even though you don't love me," she said, saying aloud what usually stayed unspoken, "and sometimes I just can't take the contradiction."
She did not cry this time; she didn't even know why she'd cried the other day, as nothing was new.
He held her, but was silent; he couldn't think of anything true to say, and he could not lie to her.
"May I ask why you were crying the other day?"
She put down her book, turned into him, and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Neither of them expected this.
"It's because you're so good to me," she began. "You're loyal and kind and helpful, and you always care about my happiness, even though you don't love me," she said, saying aloud what usually stayed unspoken, "and sometimes I just can't take the contradiction."
She did not cry this time; she didn't even know why she'd cried the other day, as nothing was new.
He held her, but was silent; he couldn't think of anything true to say, and he could not lie to her.
Sudden Short Story 84
They stared up at the stars that night, their futures before them, though they did not know it. She put on her lip gloss, as she was wont to do, and he, with nothing to do, thought for a moment. His future came to his mind, unbidden, and to him a thought occurred.
She put away her lip gloss, leaned back into the crook of his arm, and rested against him, to stare back up at the sky. But then, spontaneous as couples are wont to be, they kissed briefly, then felt silly for doing only that, but resumed staring up at the sky.
He could not leave his thought unspoken any longer. "Hey, tomorrow, do you suppose that we could try it without the lip gloss?"
"Huh?" she asked. "But, it's your favorite flavor."
"I know," he said, before she filled in, but then he needed to fill in. "But, could we just try without it, anyway?"
"Sure," she said with a smirk, "tomorrow."
She put away her lip gloss, leaned back into the crook of his arm, and rested against him, to stare back up at the sky. But then, spontaneous as couples are wont to be, they kissed briefly, then felt silly for doing only that, but resumed staring up at the sky.
He could not leave his thought unspoken any longer. "Hey, tomorrow, do you suppose that we could try it without the lip gloss?"
"Huh?" she asked. "But, it's your favorite flavor."
"I know," he said, before she filled in, but then he needed to fill in. "But, could we just try without it, anyway?"
"Sure," she said with a smirk, "tomorrow."
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