The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 29

“What is the feast of Mercatus?” Ky asked the AI as he went back to his quarters to continue making notes.

“The feast of Mercatus is a celebration in the honor of the god Mercatus, to gain blessing for the city's merchants and commerce through the winter months. When it originated, a large amount of Rome’s winter supplies came through trade rather than stored food and goods, and it was believed they needed to hold a feast in the god's name to ensure the goods they needed arrived in Roman ports on time.”

“I’m assuming that wasn’t a sure thing?”

“Correct, Commander. Most winter trade goods arrived via ship during this era, coming from North Africa or Asia Minor. While the Mediterranean is calm in comparison with either the Pacific or Atlantic, navigation during this era was rudimentary, with most ships rarely traveling out of sight of land. In addition, many ships still relied on oarsmen, and would continue to do so until nations began expanding out into the Atlantic, where larger sailing vessels were necessary for any significant travel.”

“You said they previously relied on that trade?”

“Correct, Commander. As the Carthaginians gained supremacy, especially once the Romans were pushed onto the British Isles, the Romans lost most of their ability to trade by sea. Although there is still some trade from Celtic and Germanic tribes from the northern edge of Europe and Scandinavia, both of which remain too far north to be within the Carthaginian sphere of influence, trade is limited. None of the small settlements in these areas are large enough to produce significant trade goods for the Romans, although they do trade more frequently with the Picts, who share a common heritage with them.”

“So they keep celebrating it out of habit?”

“Insufficient information available, Commander.”

“Right. Have you had any thoughts on what we talked about yesterday? A way for you to reach sentience that doesn’t end up killing us both.”

“Potentially, Commander. While little information is available on the physical manifestation of the sentience, the evidence that exists suggests a fusing of implants, as the system attempts to supplant the host's consciousness with its own. This unit has devised a scenario where some connections are severed, limiting this unit’s expansion into the host. While this would impact some functions currently used by the host and theoretically limit the system’s ability to achieve full sentience, it is the only option currently available to keep the host from dying during the sentience process.”

“It wouldn’t stop you from becoming sentient, though? There’s no way to actually halt that process.”

“No, Commander. My system was built with an expandable, self-managed neural network to allow my systems to learn and then better interface with my host.”

Ky couldn’t help but notice the sudden switch from ‘this unit’ to ‘my.’

“Although full documentation is not available, one suspected reason for AI sentience is the continually expanding nature of AI neural networks. Cutting these connections would not stop the growth of the network, only limit where it is able to expand into.”

“Connections would still remain?”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Is it possible that the neural network will find a way to expand through these other connections?”

“Although theoretically possible, the probability of that remains low. The remaining connections would be to specific areas of the brain such as the nervous system, whose dedicated functionality gives it limited usefulness for expansion of my neural network out of its matrix housing and into biological matter.”

“How will cutting the connections affect your ability to continue mission-critical functions like maintaining my nanites and motor assist?”

“Data remains limited, but all models so far simulated showed no degradation in either, or in any other mission-critical systems.”

“Are there any potential side effects?”

“Yes, Commander. This would not be without risk. Due to limited medical technology in this time, the only way to sever the connections would be a sudden bioelectrical burst designed to overload the connection point. There is a chance this burst will cause damage to the biological end of the connection as well as the mechanical one.”

“What would happen if the biological end of the connection is damaged?”

“It could result in some level of permanent brain damage or possibly death.”

“That’s a pretty major side effect. I thought you said this was the best way to keep the two of us from dying. Wouldn’t permanent brain damage be pretty much the same thing, here in this period?”

“Yes, Commander, but the likely hood of death or permanent disability is lower than that of death once this unit reaches sentience.”

“So it’s worth trying because I’m dead either way.”

“Affirmative, Commander.”

“You said permanent damage. Will there be any temporary side effects.”

“Almost certainly, Commander. Temporary side effects could include immobility, loss of speech or vision, inability to process language, and aggressive immune response to uncontrolled nanites.”

“So I’m going to go blind, mute, deaf, and get incredibly sick? You know we’re in the middle of a war, right?”

“Although possible side effects, the probability of each one happening is lower than two percent. The probability of all side effects happening simultaneously is significantly smaller than that.”

“I was joking. Okay, so how long do we wait until we do this?”

“I will continue to monitor the connection points for changes. Once those are detected, the connections must be severed quickly to limit spread. It would be advisable to sever the connections now, to ensure they are cut in time.”

“I want to wait as long as we can, just in case it doesn’t work or things go bad.”

“Commander, if the process does not work, the delay would change the ultimate outcome very little, while a delay could allow for a miscalculation that would allow the neural network spread to surpass the point where severing could halt the process.”

“I know I’m taking a chance, but if I’m going to go, I want as much time as possible before I do.”

“Why?”

The question hung in his mind. For one, it was yet another sign of the AI's process to sentience, since a standard AI would never ask that question. More than that, Ky wasn’t entirely sure himself. The AI was right, the few days or weeks he might delay would be very little additional time should things go bad, but he still knew it was worth the risk.

“Because that’s what people do. We’re always going to die eventually, but we all fight against it as much as we can until it happens. We all want that extra day or week or year, even if we know it’s not going to help anything.”

“Is this sentience?”

“I don’t know, maybe. Just, wait a while. If you see it’s getting close, let me know and we’ll do it then.”

“Acknowledged, Commander.”

Ky and the AI continued working until one of his Lictore knocked on the door and informed him it was time. The banquet was being held in the largest of the palace’s halls filled with long, short-legged tables in parallel rows lined with reclining couches and small stools in the Roman tradition. Ky still found the way they dined strange, preferring standard chairs and tables from his time period. He’d gone so far as to give the design for something more reasonable for work and eating to Hortensius to see if the businessman could get it produced. While he’d promised to do what he could, for now, Ky continued to work on a small campaign table they used more for maps than food or writing.

Ky saw Lucilla, the Emperor, and their retinue at the head of the table located on a small, raised dais and headed towards them, seeing an open seat that he assumed was meant for him.

“Ky, thank you for coming. Lucilla was beginning to worry you wouldn’t make it.”

“My apologies Emperor, I got caught up in my work and lost track of time.”

“Ohh, don’t worry about me, it’s my daughter who was concerned.”

“Ignore him, Ky. He’s teasing you.”

They chatted aimlessly for a bit, Ky remaining mostly silent, letting the Emperor or the few of the men at their table handle the talking while he just listened, watching the room fill up with revelers. Ky was pretty sure some had started on the wine early, although the stewards had seemed to seat those guests farthest from the Emperor.

When the room was mostly filled, The Emperor stood up and raised a hand for silence.

“My fellow Romans, we gather for this meal to give blessings to Mercatus. I know many of your businesses have struggled as the Carthaginians have closed in on us, shutting down ports and trade routes. In past years we have gathered for the feast and begged Mercatus to help us continue providing for our Empire, and felt the crushing disappointment when, instead of intervention, we lost yet more of the trade available to us. Today, we aren’t here to beg. We aren’t here to beseech. We are here to give thanks. Many of you have already heard the new inventions being introduced to us, and some of you have even been given the opportunity to turn those ideas into real items to help your fellow Romans. We were recently on the brink of complete destruction and now we have a real chance to not only survive the coming onslaught but to take back some of what we lost. There is still a hard road ahead for us, but the gods have opened a path for us. It will not be an easy path. We need perseverance, to see our task through. We need the will to bear the burdens given to us, without turning away. We need to accept the hardships and losses the gods require of us. If we have the will to do these things, Rome will be reborn. The gods have given us this chance, and it is up to us to take it.”

The room was quiet, as the assembled guests looked to their Emperor, a combination of perplex and stunned expressions on their faces.

“Enough listening to an old man dream of the future,” The Emperor said, lowering himself back onto his couch. “Let us celebrate our good fortune and enjoy this fine meal.”

The noise level of the room finally picked back up as people began talking amongst themselves and glasses began being refilled.

“Normally this is fairly boring,” Lucilla said to Ky. “A senator might say a few words at the beginning of the meal, and orators would give speeches as we ate, daring you to fall asleep in your dinner.”

“The boring poems and speeches by the orators are still coming,” Ramirez, who sat across from them, said. “The Emperor told them that he wanted to say a few words and then let the people enjoy their food before the performances began.”

“Well, at least there’s a break,” Lucilla said. “Anyway, normally nothing of consequence is said, which is why everyone reacted that way.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand why his words were that notable,” Ky said. “He laid out the situation and told them of the challenges ahead. Most of the people I see in this room, those I know at least, already know what’s coming and should be aware of everything he said.”

“My daughter is being diplomatic,” the Emperor said. “The elite of Devnum have no issue demanding sacrifices by those they consider beneath them, but their hearts turn to stone when asked to sacrifice anything themselves. Most of my predecessors understood this and learned to not ask from them what they would not willingly give. Those that did not learn the lesson often met unfortunate ends. I have somewhat broken with tradition tonight by following the latter instead of the former. It has become clear how precarious our position is. People like Silo, unfortunately, will not see what is in front of them, until it is too late to do anything about it.”

“I don’t understand,” Ky said, taking a scoop of the soup that had been served and trying some. “Surely they can see that it will all end up coming down around them.”

“They’re too afraid they might lose whatever power they have now, and convince themselves that the dangers waiting for them will somehow magically go away.”

“I …” Ky said when the AI interrupted him.

“Warning, Commander. An Alkaloid poison has been detected in the food.”

Ky choked, his throat tightening and his vision blurring.

“Countermeasures?” Ky sub-vocalized.

“Nanites have begun isolating the ingested chemicals, although the bulk of systems are currently protecting the cardiovascular system from further direct damage. No permanent damage should occur, but there will be a period of diminished capacity. Blood pressure has increased rapidly in response to the poison, which has caused some negative effects, including motor response and vision. Recommend moving to secure location until the poison is expelled.”

Lucilla and the Emperor were looking at Ky with concerned expressions as he struggled to take a breath, his skin turning a dark red color.

“Poison. Carus, help me out quietly. Don’t make a scene.”

Ky tried to push himself up and almost collapsed back down, his limbs weakened and motor assist partially offline while the AI combated the poison.

“Stay,” he said to the Emperor and Lucilla when they tried to rise and go with him. “Make everything seem like normal. I’ll be fine.”

With Carus’s help, Ky managed to hobble out of the hall, although anyone paying much attention would have noticed that he was in some kind of distress. Once out of public view, Ky collapsed in Carus’s arms.

“Help me somewhere private.”

“Should we fetch a priest or physician?”

“No, I can repair myself, I just need time and a guard until I am able to finish.”

“Pacatinaus, run and alert Sellic and Strabo. Have them bring all the men they can now. Lucille’s rooms are closest, we will take him there. Tell them the Consul’s life is at risk and to hurry.”

Pacatinaus, one of Carus’s men, slapped his fist to his chest and left at a run. Ky wanted to tell them he didn’t need long and that wouldn’t be necessary, but he was starting to lose consciousness.

“All systems shifting to automated processes until damage repaired. Isolating biological controls until the threat is neutralized.”

Ky had gone through training on this in the early days of the AI and knew what was happening, but still found it disturbing as the AI overrode all of his bodily control, taking over even unconscious actions like breathing. For a few minutes, until he blacked out entirely, he was completely disconnected from his own body, isolated in much the same way the AI was probably isolated, able to comprehend what was happening but unable to do anything about it.

It did occur to Ky that if the AI did reach full sentience and wanted to, it could do this and keep his consciousness under indefinitely. The system was set up so that the host didn’t need to do anything for the emergency protocols to go into effect, since if they were poisoned or gassed to the point where the AI needed to take control, they very likely wouldn’t be able to initiate it on their own anyway. Since pilots were routinely watched and had their AIs wiped well before they got to the point where the AI could use the process to take over the host's body, they’d probably never considered that a sentient AI could use it to flush out a host's consciousness and walk his body around like a meat-based exoskeleton.

That was a concern, but not the immediate one. As he went rigid, for all intents and purposes seeming comatose, he hoped Carus listened to him and let Ky heal himself without getting a physician. At their current level of understanding, all they could do was make his condition worse and possibly cause enough additional damage to overload the nanites, inadvertently killing him.

That was the last thought Ky had before he dropped into unconsciousness. When the world finally returned, Ky could hear a soft mummer of voices surrounding him.

“Report,” Ky subvocalized.

“All poison purged and control of biological functions returned, Commander. Minor damage to the heart and kidneys, estimated repair time four hours, twenty-six minutes. Recommend limiting physical activity until repairs are completed.”

“How long was I out?”

“Forty-Eight minutes, Commander.”

Ky took a deep breath and coughed, the switch to having control over his own body again having left him slightly off balance.

There was a rustling sound and then he heard Lucilla say in his ear, “Ky, are you awake?”

“Yes,” he said, hoarsely.

He opened an eye and then shut it as light flooded in. He tried again, slower, seeing multiple faces peering down at him. He pushed himself up gently, his arms feeling weak. He knew it was because organ repair was a major drain on the system, since the Nanites used a lot of the nutrients and stored resources to replace the damaged tissue. He probably needed to eat quite a lot soon to ensure there was enough for them to work with.

“What happened?” Lucilla asked, sounding panicked. “Carus said you were poisoned and you seemed like the living dead. You were barely breathing and nothing would wake you. I was terrified.”

“Someone poisoned my food. I was able to isolate the poison and keep it from hurting me too bad, but I will need several hours before I’m better.”

“What?” Ramirez said behind him. “You can just keep the poison from hurting you?”

“Much like how I healed the Emperor when I first arrived, I can remove poison from my system, although it requires me to go still like you saw and makes me weak for a while afterward.”

Ky pushed himself up and looked around. The room was packed with his guards, several of the Emperor’s guards, the Emperor, and his daughter, and Ramirez. It had been a big room but this many people made it feel a lot smaller.

“I hope the feast is over, otherwise someone’s going to notice this many people missing.”

“It is,” the Emperor said. “I think now that you see the Consul is awake, maybe we can clear the room some. I promise you all that none of us remaining will be a threat to him. You men go, too.”

The last part was directed to his own guards who left along with Ky’s Lictore except for Carus, Sellic, and Strabo.

“I have to say it’s a little concerning to find how hesitant your guards were to listen to their Emperor until they saw for themselves you were all right. That kind of loyalty for subordinates has often been fatal to my predecessors.”

“I’ll talk to them, Emperor. They should never ignore your orders, no matter what happens to me.”

“It’s fine, Ky. Like I said, it’s only a little concerning. I know you bear me no ill will, although I am amazed by how quickly those men bonded themselves to you. It’s a rare man that can prompt that kind of loyalty.”

“Enough of this, Father, I want to make sure Ky is alright. Is there anything you need?” Lucilla asked, grabbing his forearm.

“I’ll be fine,” Ky said, putting his free hand on her arm. “It just takes time to get better, although some food would be appreciated.”

“I’ll make sure some is brought,” Strabo said, saluting and leaving the room.

“Do you know who poisoned you?” Ramirez asked.

“No. I only knew it was there when I tasted it, but it could have been anyone. Considering how badly he was beaten recently, Silo would be my first guess, but he doesn’t strike me as the poisoning kind. He seems much more direct than that.”

“He usually is, although some of the men he surrounds himself with are definitely the poisoning type.”

“We need to talk to the food preparers, to see if anyone got near any of the Consul's food. He was the only one poisoned, so it must have been put on his plate after it was served,” Carus said.

“Maybe, although I’ve seen entire plates swapped quickly before to introduce poisoned food to a target. There are other ways as well. Are you sure it wasn’t in the wine?”

“Yes, it was the food.”

“You certainly are unique, being able to taste what was almost certainly a tasteless, odorless poison. We checked the food after you left and couldn’t find any trace, although we aren’t so cruel as to actually feed it to anyone.”

Ky didn’t think they’d understand if he explained the AI examined everything that went in his body at the molecular level using the nanites.

“They aren’t going to give up,” Carus said. “Once they see Ky was able to resist that, they will most likely escalate their attempts, or shift their poisoning attempts to the Emperor or someone like yourself or Hortensius.”

“We will make a list of most likely targets and begin using food tasters for all of them until we find the perpetrator,” Ramirez said.

“Is that likely?” Ky asked. “This isn’t the first attempt on me, and every attempt is different. Whoever is behind this, and I think we all have guesses as to who the most likely candidates are, they’re smart enough to not try an unsuccessful attempt twice.”

“True, and maybe not, but they might decide you aren’t the only target that could help them achieve their goals. They’ve fixated on you for now, but eventually, they’ll decide they can’t reach you and try to tie your hands some other way. After all, they are most likely trying to slow or stop all the recent changes and while the ideas behind them have come from you, others have been executing your vision. It would create quite the body count, but they could decide that taking out those people would be the same as killing you.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to question your judgment. I would prefer it if you didn’t use food tasters for me, however. Considering I will survive pretty much any poison they could give me, it would be a cruel waste of life to have someone die to protect me from something that isn’t fatal.”

Ramirez looked at the Emperor and, after a nod of approval, said, “As you wish, Consul. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

He left without another word as Ky turned to the Emperor and said, “Is there anything else for the feast I should be doing?”

“No. Your presence was missed, but it’s all but over now and I normally leave these things quite early. While I’m sure you will be the talk of Devnum by morning with all manner of speculation, there won’t be any real damage once people see you are unharmed. I have to hear petitions over the next few days and I think it best if you join me so that the people can get a look at you.”

“As you wish, Imperator,” Ky said with a slight bow of his head.

“Fine. Now I am going to turn in for the night. Lucilla?”

“I’d like to walk with Ky back to his lodgings, Father.”

The Emperor looked at Ky and then back to his daughter, giving a slight smile as he stood. “Fine, fine. I will see you in the morning Ky.”

After the Emperor left Ky and Lucilla began a slow walk back across the plaza, his Lictore spreading out to keep an eye on the two of them but still allow for their privacy. It had gotten dark outside and only a sliver of moon shone down on the city, sending most Romans home early, as was common in a civilization before things like gas and electric lighting pushed the darkness back.

“Shouldn’t we get a lantern?” she asked as he took her arm and lead her into the dark plaza, only the guards and their torches visible.

“We should be fine. Your eyes will adjust and I can see as if it were daylight. Just hold onto my arm.”

“You never cease to amaze me. Neither poisons nor nearly moonless nights phase you.”

“I’ve said before, it’s only technology and nothing worth being amazed over.”

“It’s easy to say your abilities are no different than a wagon wheel or forge, but it’s another thing believing it once we see it. Although, it’s your abilities that worry me.”

“How so?”

“You’ve said yourself that you’re not indestructible or immortal. They keep trying to kill you and you act like it is barely an inconvenience, because of your faith in your technology. As you said, they are learning and adjusting to your abilities. I am afraid that eventually, they will find something that your technology won’t stop.”

“You’re right, of course, and I’ll try and be careful, but honestly at this point, it won’t matter. I have pulled the genie out of the bottle and there is no putting it back again. Now that the ideas I have introduced have taken root, they will continue to expand without me.”

Lucilla stopped, holding tight to Ky’s arm, forcing him to stop as well.

“I don’t care about that,” she said angrily. “Well, I do, but that isn’t what I’m worried about. It would matter to me if something happened to you. Every time you put yourself at risk it hurts. Please, be more careful, if not for Rome, then for me.”

Ky looked down at her, knowing she would only see him as a faint outline in the dark knight.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to take precautions and I don’t want my actions to cause you any pain. I was just trying to reassure you that everything we’ve done is here to stay, with or without me. Of course, I’d rather it was with me, too.”

“You are a strange man, Ky,” she said, stepping up on her tiptoes and kissing him gently on the lips before turning and walking back towards the imperial quarters, her guards in tow.

Ky watched her go, strange emotions flooding over him, like something vaguely remembered that he might have heard of in the distant past. He was, of course, aware of displays of affection, but they hadn’t been common among his people for several hundred years. The times he’d seen the behavior in historical records, he’d considered it a cultural oddity. He’d never considered how visceral the actual experience would be.

“From your dopamine response, I believe her presence is agreeable to you, Commander,” the AI said, unprompted.

For once, Ky didn’t even notice the AI’s use of first-person language or its continued pattern of unprompted communication.

“Me, too,” he said out loud, into the night air.