The Trilisk AI by Michael McCloskey Page B

destroyer activity. Allow
Shiny to monitor general, overall, long-range situation from remote location.”
    “Only
us? Why aren’t you coming?”
    “Enemy.
Danger.”
    “But
you expect us to go in your place? This deal is getting worse.”
    “Robotic
enemy sensitive to Shiny technological and biological footprint. Not sensitive
to Telisa, Magnus. Safer, more likely success utilizing Terran agents.”
    Telisa
accessed the information module. In her mind’s eye she saw a three-dimensional
map of a Vovokan city below. The complexity of what she saw sank in. The city
he had showed them was a subterranean maze of epic proportions. The map
contained many layers of various kinds of infrastructure. Telisa could only
observe one of them at a time without overwhelming her senses. To look at all
the tunnels, connections, and rooms at once was just too confusing.
    “There
are a lot of tunnels and pipes,” Magnus said, understating the obvious. “But I
see no electronic networks.”
    “Power
and information are transferred through electromagnetic fields,” Shiny
prompted.
    “So
they have broadcast power as well as wireless data transfer,” Telisa summarized
carefully.
    “That
is vague but right, correct, suitable as abstraction for elementary
understanding of a thing very complex, complicated, confusing,” Shiny said.
    “The
map can’t be accurate anymore, if there’s been a war,” Magnus said. “I assume
the city and your house were breached by destroyers.”
    “Also
correct. Vast, wide, incalculable devastation.”
    Telisa
searched for any sorrow in the artificial voice but found none.
    There’s
no way to tell how he really feels about it. If he feels, Telisa shared with Magnus over another
channel.
    “Shiny,
how does the destruction of your home make you feel?” Magnus asked for her.
    “Schadenfreude.”
    “What!?”
    “Great
opportunity created for personal advance in absence of heavy competition,”
Shiny elaborated.
    By
Demogorgon’s ninety bitches ,
Magnus transmitted to her. We’re in league with the nastiest sort of space
creature out there.
    We
can’t expect an alien to stand up to our standards in moral behavior, Telisa replied, though she felt the same
shock.
    “So
there will be dead Vovokans. A lot of them. I don’t know what this city was
like, but—”
    “This
is not city. Target location is inside my house, domicile, abode.”
    “Yes,
a house in this city—”
    “All
information provided describes my house, abode, dwelling. Constructs outside
the target area have not been provided.”
    “What?”
    “You
will enter my house from surface. Recommend Telisa and Magnus remain within its
confines.”
    Telisa
checked to see if Magnus was catching the conversation. From his wide-eyed
expression, she judged he was.
    “Shiny,
what are the approximate dimensions of your house?”
    “All
that is displayed, described, defined here. Twenty-five kilometers by fourteen
kilometers at geometric center, extending from surface to an average depth of
twelve kilometers.”
    “Five
Holies. When am I ever going to learn to stop making assumptions about aliens?
I’m supposed to be good at that!” Still, such discoveries are exactly why I
find xenos so amazing. I’ve been obsessing on the Trilisks, but Shiny’s race is
probably just as interesting.
    “Why
is your house so large?” Magnus asked, beating Telisa to the next question.
    “Safety.
Productivity. Control. High number of reasons,” Shiny said.
    “So
you want us to go in there and get you this seed. That’s all you want out of
this? We can take anything we want? We can steal from your house, right?”
    “Affirmative,
allowed, encouraged. Industrial seed is sole Shiny stake in operation.”
    “And
it just happens to be full of enemy death machines?”
    “Destroyers
focused on controlling, suppressing, exterminating Shiny race.”
    His
race is being killed off. At least here on their homeworld. I’d be so horrified
for Shiny, except he