Binary Uplift: Plotline "Shelby's Ark"

[Locutus]

Hellos all!

First, the little delay in current updates is because I, as usual when an episode nears its end, am writing some longer chapters in parallel, that will be interspersed when finished, to make up the ep ending.

Then, I've made plans for the continuation and eventual ending of Binary Uplift.

At first my intention had been to cover the whole time from the beginning of the trash crisis to the movie story. But seeing that the story will, when episode 11 is done, will already be around 70.000 words, it has become clear that that would be way too much.

Therefore I've decided to concentrate Binary Uplift on the period up to the "big exodus", when all the humans leave the Earth on ships. Besides keeping the story's size within limits, there's a certain reason I want to do that.

A few storylines that I have planned for the time after the exodus will go into followup/spinoff stories. One of them will be set in motion by the events surrounding the ending of Binary Uplift. It will deal with a scientific research vessel and span into the times "after landing".

There will be a plotline that furthers the "Uplifting" topic which gave the story its title. The way robots attain sentience will be dealt with in more detail, and a very lovable character in a white shell will play a major role in that.

Then we'll have a plotline in which the actual reason for the current food crisis is discovered. Attempts to undo the damage will lead to an even bigger problem.

A huge undertaking to avert the impending catastrophe induced by that bigger problem will be the topic in another plotline.

Finally, we will have the "exodus" plotline, which will end Binary Uplift with a scene that I already have a clear picture of in my mind now. If it works out as intended, not only Cri86 will be in tears. The last episode will be named "Sleeping in Light", as a definite nod to "Babylon 5", the best sci-fi series of all times.

(In this case here, I'm going according to the motto "I know exactly how the story ends... I just don't know how to get there. )

Okay, so much for now. Expect continuation of Episode 11 in a few days.

[dcp1992]

sound cool cannot wait

[Locutus]

                                            *  *  *

Richard Wells could not decide whether to frown or to smile. "Barnaby, remind me
to have not only my office, but also the antechamber locked next time."

"It's too late, dad, and you know it," Kimberly interjected with a grin before
Serkis could reply.

Richard sighed. "I sure do. Operation Homestead is just a little BnL project
we're currently working on, but be assured, it's nothing of sufficient
importance as to open your evening news broadcast with it."

Kim knew that her father was one of the few people who were able to dodge both
her questions and her ability to detect lies. Looking at him, she could read in
his face that he was quite determined to not answer any questions concerning
Operation Homestead at the moment, and she knew that it would not make any sense
to try and pressure him about it. "You do know how to deal with journalists,
don't you?" she smiled.

"Yes I do, and it would seem that those journalists I hold most dear always give
me the hardest possible time," Richard replied, throwing Kimberly a caring
glance. "Well then, what is it that you need to know from me for your
documentary?"

Kimberly produced a datapad and prepared it to take notes. "I'm as good as done,
but I still need some background information on Operation Cleanup. First, can
you tell me what its current progress is? Trump didn't seem exactly relaxed when
he left just now."

"Oh, you know, it always creeps people out to have an 'audience with the inner
circle'. Between his trembles and anxiety, he reported that Operation Cleanup is
running perfectly as scheduled." His voice took on an undertone like that of a
salesperson as he continued, "The cities where the trash situation is worst have
gotten the highest priority in terms of WALL-E unit assignment. Soon we will
have our cities back, good as new."

"Yeah, I see, good work there with saving the Earth, Dad," Kim chuckled. She had
stopped taking notes in the middle of Richard's little speech. She knew that his
way of talking with her like a BnL official would talk with a customer was a
result of what one might call his 'professional deformation'. It did not overly
disturb her anymore, though she could not have resisted making that little joke.

She gazed at Serkis as she continued, "Barnaby? Anything to add from your view?"

"Nothing of relevance. Your father is right, everything's going according to the
CEO's plan."

"Okay, thanks," Kim said with a trace of doubt in her voice. "Speaking about the
CEO, might it be possible to get a quick interview with Shelby himself? Or is
he, as usual, way too busy?"

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid he is," Richard apologized, feeling a little uneasy. "You
know, stressful times, a lot on his mind. It's been a long time that I myself
have seen him in person. What we need to discuss, we do via video conference."

Kim glanced at her father. She had noticed the little sign of uncertainty, which
she found odd, since it happened very rarely, and her question had not really
been one to get anxious about. Taking some notes, she decided to not dwell on it
for now, but to save it as a possible trump card for later.

"Okay then, another question. We know that the unification of government and
commerce was done to face the trash crisis, but what are BnL's plans for the
future? Is the former version of political government going to be re-
established? Meaning, will BnL give up at least part of its ultimate power, to
put the voter back in control?"

Richard was baffled at the question. He had actually never thought about this
matter; he somehow had silently assumed that BnL's temporary rule would sooner
or later become permanent. Also, he pondered, if push came to shove with
Operation Shelby's Ark, there would be barely anything left on the Earth worth
ruling over.

"This kind of things is within the competence of the CEO alone, Kim, you know
that. We can advise him what the best course of action might be, but ultimately,
it's not up to either of us to decide. So I must refrain from making any
statement..."

"Come on, dad," Kimberly interrupted with a trace of impatience in her voice.
"It's me you're talking to. I'm not looking for an official statement from BnL,
just tell me what you think would be the right thing to do."

"I'm not talking with my daughter at the moment, but with a journalist," Richard
responded in a calm but firm tone. "If I tell you my opinion, and you're going
to use it in your documentary, it is an official statement. My
responsibilities here towards the CEO and all the people under BnL's supervision
don't allow for such a thing, please understand that."

"Yes, yes, you're right, I'm sorry," she acknowledged. But with the phrasing
'people under BnL's supervision' you maybe gave me even more of a trigger for my
story, she pondered. "I just figured an outlook on the future might be a
nice ending for the documentary. But I suppose I'll come up with something else
worthwhile."

"As long as you don't simply invent something that might pass off as not
completely unrealistic," Serkis commented, laughing. "Which is, rumour has it,
what you journalists often resort to?"

"Yes, Barnaby, in fact I might. I'd rather write the truth though, if those who
possess it just threw me a bone," Kim answered with a slightly aggressive glance
towards Serkis. "But don't worry, the work is going to be finished one way or
another. As I said, I'll come up with something, maybe a paragraph or two on how
BnL is going to cope with the new situation concerning food production."

                                            *  *  *

[dcp1992]

nice chapter  keep it up

[Locutus]

                                            *  *  *

"Well, that was a close shave, if there ever was one."

After the rather breathtaking generator experiment, Sageman and Tannon were
having a relaxing stroll in the garden behind Site 38's main building, trying to
catch the breath they had lost.

"A close shave?" Tannon asked. "That wasn't a close shave. You should have been
here when we were analyzing those odd stony remainders of that meteorite last
year. That was a close shave."

"Uh-huh," Sageman mumbled and figured that he was not really eager to hear
details about even closer shaves at the moment. Still he could not refrain from
making a comment. "Lemme guess. You came about 2 nanometers from imploding our
planet into a black hole?"

"Naah, that was about a century ago, when those poor jerks played with their
particle accelerators and smashed things together that rather should stay safely
apart."

"Right, I've heard about that. How did Ross put it? 'Power-up first, check the
math later'?"

"Very much so. Problem back then was that they didn't really have any math, much
less an idea, about what they were doing. They were rather like kids in a
sandbox, eager to see what happens when they quantumize-this, hadron-collide
that. Said sandbox of course spanned the whole Earth."

"Well, good for us all then that they failed, I guess."

"Indeed, though they can't really take credit for that. They merely got lucky.
You know, they were about to fire up that enormous collider in Central Europe,
but thanks to their rather sub-standard construction work, their liquid helium
cooling system leaked, and they had to shut the whole thing down before they
could do any actual experiments. Luckily, before they managed to fix it, some
smart guys actually did figure out the math on what they were about to do, and
they pulled the plug just in time. Otherwise the Earth would now be, well,
matchbox-sized."

"And telling me this is supposed to reduce my current stress level how?"

Tannon chuckled. "Well, it's rather supposed to get you an idea of what you've
gotten yourself into when you transferred over here from CASE."

"Yeah, actually I'm beginning to question my decision already," Sageman grinned.
"By the way, you seem to know quite a bit about those events back then."

"The History of Quantum Physics is kind of a hobby-horse of mine. I'm always
hoping that it might serve us well some day, not repeating past mistakes. Though
that generator test today kinda has taught me differently. Anyway, what's going
on at CASE at the moment? As luck would have it, robotics is another of those
hobby-horses."

                                            *  *  *

[dcp1992]

nice update

[Locutus]

                                            *  *  *

Richard and Barnaby felt as if their blood had been quick-frozen. Was she just
speculating, or did she actually know about the food crisis? If she did, they
would have a major disaster on their hands, Richard thought. But if not, they
needed to play it down as not to give her any confirmation that she unwittingly
was onto something. Resorting to his ability to act both surprised and amused,
he asked "Food production? Is there any situation I should be aware of while you
shouldn't?"

"If there was, you sure wouldn't be the first person I'd tell," Kim smirked.
"No, I was talking about the climatic changes in the last century. You know, the
reasons why we have a centralized food production system now. Few huge farms now
compared to countless little ones before."

The two men started breathing again, while Kim luckily did not notice that they
had stopped doing so in the first place. "But you don't need us to tell you
anything about that, Kim. You can find information on that in every history
book," Richard commented, doing his best to mask his feeling of relief.

"Yeah sure, I know. I mentioned it cause I was hoping that you'll maybe tell me
something about Operation Homestead. Judging by the name it sounds like it might
be something relevant, and since you said it's nothing of sufficient importance,
you might as well tell me a little about it, so I have something to work on.
After all, BnL has always been one for telling names. I mean, Operation Cleanup,
Operation Repopulate, Operation Global T..."

"Yes, dear, I get the point," Richard interrupted. Looking at Serkis he noticed
that his co-advisor was only apparently calm. Damn it, Richard thought.
Once more he had forgotten his intention not to underestimate his daughter's
cleverness anymore. Like father, like daughter, he thought, a little
smile crossing his face.

"Kim, you know that some of BnL's operations need to be carried out off the
public record, even if they are of no real importance. It's a matter of sensible
information leaking out and exposing our employees to potential security risks.
There are always those who might try to subvert our work."

Kim's voice had adopted a distinct undertone of irony. "You're right, I can see
that you're taking a huge effort to employ security measures, having put the
country's farms under top secret investigation and armed posts placed at their
entrances. Strange though, what kind of incursion are you expecting to occur at
a farm?"

Richard could feel the situation slowly slip out of control. Kim was like a
tracking dog when it came to detecting lies, and he was quite confident that she
knew more than she was showing. Calling forth all of his skills and everything
he had learned and experienced about deceiving people in his days in office, he
started improvising.

"Alright, Kim, lemme explain. Operation Homestead requires this kind of
measures, so that people don't jump to the wrong conclusions about what we're
doing there. As you know, the farms are located in certain areas that are
somewhat sheltered from the elements, therefore they're inevitably reduced in
their dimensions. Initially they were able to provide nourishment for the
seriously decreased population size without any problems. But it's obvious that,
given some time, population numbers would rise again, thus leading to a
potential under-supply.

"We haven't reached that point yet, but the researchers at the Agricultural
Survey have been trying for a while already to locate other regions in which
cultivation would be sustainable. But it'll need time, since there are very few
suitable spot, and the necessary infrastructure needs to be set up first.

"So they started a secondary project for a medium-term solution. They're trying
to increase the level of plant productivity by using experimental fertilizers.
Their application though must be carefully regulated as to avoid side-effects
for the plants and whoever's going to eat them. This is why we need some
secrecy. You know how quick people are with misjudging everything BnL does; and
now imagine information leaked out about us conducting experiments on their
food, which isn't fully true anyway."

Kim sized her father up with an intense stare. She was not exactly sure whether
he was making the whole story up, but it mostly made sense, and the part about
the fertilizer experiments matched that which Thomas West had told her. The
reason was different, though, but she figured that none of them would be telling
her the whole truth right away. She decided that for now it would be best to
pretend that she believed Richard's story.

"Okay, dad, I understand. I'll do my best then to not be one of those who
misjudge everything, and will finish my report by stressing that BnL is doing
its best to keep us well-fed." She got up from her chair and put her datapad
away. "Thanks for the time, dad! Barnaby. Have a nice day!"

"You're welcome, dear. Hope to see you soon," Richard said as Kim turned around
and left the office.

"Do you think she believed you, Richard?" Serkis asked.

"Probably not. But at least we have some time now to come up with an actually
convincing cover story. Barnaby, as much as I hate saying this, it would be
safer for us if someone was checking up on what she'll be doing. Cautiously
though; after all, she is my daughter."

                                            *  *  *

[dcp1992]

nice job

[Locutus]

Thanks.

Expect the rest of episode 11 soon. It's finished, except for proofreading.

[Locutus]

                                           *  *  *

"They made you do what?" Tannon laughed.

"Yeah, I'm not kidding here. Robert Springs, one of the guys at BnL responsible
for the wellness sections on their space cruisers, actually requested us to
build a hairdresser robot model for their ships. A hairdresser! I mean, we're
preparing to send probes to other planets, and they want us to build a thing
with scissors and combs and stuff. I was like 'No way!', but he was dead
serious. That was actually one of the reasons why I quit there."

"I can really imagine. A hairdresser robot. Coming to think of it, it's
hilarious, at least if you don't have to build it yourself."

"It quite is," Sageman chuckled. "And have a guess what they were going to name
the model."

"I have no idea. But maybe, during beta testing, they might have called it
BRB-R? As in, 'you hair will Be Right Back, Rob'?"

Sageman laughed heartily. "Good call, Wayne. No, actually they're named PR-
T. Can you imagine that? PR-T. Good lords. And we had to program their voice
boxes with just two statements. 'Just a trim?' and 'You look gorgeous!'. I was
so tempted to add a third line, 'Uuhm, I suggest you stay away from mirrors for
the next three weeks.' You know, if I was one of those poor robots, I'd probably
volunteer as a test subject for the 'escape pods' they're experimenting with for
the cruisers."

"I'm right with you there, Keith," Tannon agreed and then look a look at his
watch. "Shall we go back in and check up on the generator?"

"Yeah, I suppose I'm sufficiently cooled down now, and so should be the reaction
chamber."

As they were strolling along the walkway back to the lab building, a tall,
slender, middle-aged man carrying a suitcase approached them. As he stepped past
the two scientists, he greeted. "Good morning, Mr. Sageman, Mr. Tannon."

Sageman turned around and looked after him. "Any idea who that was, Wayne?" he
asked.

"Not really. I've seen him a few times before. I think he's one of the lawyers
BnL's legal department has dispatched in case we get sued for our experiments."

"Oh hell... being charged with imploding the Earth. Now that should make a
worthwhile fine. It's odd that he knew us. Well, if he's a lawyer, that's
probably part of his job."

"Yeah, that suitcase of his is surely full of files, and not just about us."

As they strolled towards the rear entrance of the lab building, Tannon added,
"Whoever he is, his short haircut and pale face look like he's had a close
encounter with one of your PR-T robots. That blue suit is quite becoming to him
though."

                                           *  *  *

Two days later, Kimberly Wells sat down wearily on the couch in her apartment
and turned on the TV. Actually she had planned to watch the premiere broadcast
of her documentary together with the news crew, but after having worked with the
editors through the previous two nights, she would be lucky if she managed to
watch it at home without falling asleep.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the BNN History Channel invites you to a
special documentary made exclusively by our Kimberly Wells. You're about to
learn the amazing story of Buy and Large - A Rise to Power."

"There we go," Kimberly muttered to herself, a little smile showing on her face.

"B-n-L is your superstore," the omnipresent jingle rang from the TV.
"We got all you need..."

"I'm sure you do, but right now I don't need anything, even if that's hard to
believe. So cut it out already," Kimberly griped.

"...and so much more." Listening to the umpteenth repetition of the Buy-
and-Large jingle with heavy eyelids, Kimberly wondered if it always had the
somniferous effect that she was experiencing at the moment, or if it was just
her overwhelming sleepiness.

"Happiness is what we sell..." Kimberly rolled her eyes. She would be
happy enough already if the damn documentary just started.

"...that's why everyone loves B-n-L!" Kim barely noticed anymore that the
open-to-closed ratio of her eyes was shifting more and more to the latter.
Before the TV show actually started, she had drifted off and entered a realm
where she would be creating her own personal fantastic stories.

                                           *  *  *

[dcp1992]

nice update

[Locutus]

                                            *  *  *

"Whoa, what was that?" the technician Mike Shea exclaimed as the electrical
supply readout he was watching showed a sudden spike in power levels. He and his
colleague were doing their shift in the utility room of the Los Angeles CASE
outpost.

"Hmm, looked like a power surge. Was surely once again someone who connected a
device that can't decide if it wants to draw power or not."

"Indeed, could be. I've heard that McCrow and his team are conducting some
experiment with the new probe model's hibernation function. Maybe we should
check out if they're okay?"

"Yeah, you go check it out, I'll hold the fort here."

"Will do," Shea said and got up from his chair, heading for the door.

                                            *  *  *

"Now arriving at the Fermilab Central Lake. Before exiting the train, be sure
to check your area for personal belongings. Thank you, and have a very
recreational day!"

You bet I will, Christine Shore grinned as she disembarked the transport cabin.
She headed down a small path that led away from the monorail track, toward the
lake's waterside.

The largest lake on the Fermilab complex was located in the center of a circular
area, about two kilometers in diameter, which in former times housed a
subterranean particle accelerator ring. The times of accelerator experiments had
long since passed, so the location was now a large recreational area, with
meadows, woods and several expanses of water.

Christine's favorite spot for relaxation was a group of benches close to the
lake, where she enjoyed the quiet and the fresh air. As she arrived at that
spot, she found one of the benches already occupied.

"Oh, hi there Alyx! Great to see you here, got a day off too?"

"Hey Chris!" the system administrator replied joyously. "Half a day actually.
Need to be back at the Center in an hour. Still got lots of user accounts to
manage. Come, sit down."

"Stressful times for you too, eh? Site 38's also busier than an anthill at the
moment, with all the hassle about that new power generator. Have you heard about
it?"

Lance nodded. "It's the topic talk of the day in the Center too. I don't
understand most of the tech part, but it seems like fascinating stuff."

"It sure is. Been a while that I last saw my colleagues so excited. But aside
from work, how's life going? Still on the lookout for a male companion?"

"In fact, yeah, I am," Alyx chuckled. "There're quite some candidates around
here, but it's a little hard to find the time even for some basic flirt."

"Tell me about it. There's a new physicist at my Site, Gordon Sageman, he seems
very nice."

"Yeah, I agree. I met him on the train recently." Alyx looked at her friend. "Do
I sense some competition arising there?"

Christine looked back at Alyx with a grin. "Well, we'll see about that. But if
push comes to shove, I bet your user account management tool won't be any match
for my gluon gun!"

                                            *  *  *

As Mike Shea entered the CASE engineering lab, he found what he considered to be
a distinctly deviant scenario. Jeremy Stone, the lead engineer, and a number of
his colleagues were assembled in a half-circle around a quite odd couple. The
head roboticist McCrow was standing there, holding the white probe robot's fin-
shaped arm appendages in his hands, and looked deeply into her blue, curious
eyes. With a skeptical expression on his face, Shea stepped forward.

"Ahem. Excuse me please, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting the vows here, but we
registered a power level spike in the electrical system. And... well, actually I
wanted to ask if everything's okay in here..." He looked at the joined human and
robot hands as he added, "From a technological point of view, that is."

Both McCrow and EVE turned around and looked at the technician, then down at
their hands. McCrow started to chuckle, while EVE raised up one arm and propped
it against her imaginary mouth, her eyes showing an amused expression.

"Nah, Mr. Shea, no worries. We weren't planning to get married. Although, given
the recent development, EVE here might indeed one day do so, if she finds the
right robot." The white probe's eyes showed a little embarrassment as McCrow
continued, "The power surge you registered was also part of said development."

"Oh.. okay? What happened then?"

"It's too long a story to tell in a few sentences, but the result nevertheless
is that good old Darwin's list has been expanded. EVE is the first individual of
a new species, the Automato sapiens."

"She is?" Shea's voice sounded utterly incredulous as he turned to the robot. "I
mean, you are?"

EVE looked back at the technician, her sparkling blue eyes showing a calm but
lucid elation. She nodded gently. "I'm alive," came her warbling voice.

                                            *  *  *

[dcp1992]

nice chapter... thats was funny about the vows ....hmm and EVE did find the right robot WALL-E

[Locutus]

Episode 11 is nearing its end. This part brings a new cute character that will
hopefully accompany us for quite a while - if all goes as planned, up to the
very end of Binary Uplift.



                                            *  *  *

Alyx half-frowned and half-chuckled. "Gluon gun? What's that supposed to be?"

"I've heard that they're planning to conduct a little side-project to turn the
new power generation method into a weapon."

"Hmph. Lemme guess, that rubbish must come from the BnL military guys."

"I suppose it does. Anway, we'll sure reach some kind of agreement concerning
Gordon."

"Sure thing. Nothing a good old mud wrestling match wouldn't settle."

They were both still laughing heartily when they heard a soft whirring noise.
Sounding like a swarm of bumblebees, but more mechanical in nature, it was
coming from the nearby treeline just across a meadow. It started out barely
noticable and slowly became louder.

Chris looked up. "Do you hear that too?"

"Yeah, it's coming from the trees. Sounds strange."

"Reminds me of someone playing with a remote-controlled airplane or something."

They looked intently in the direction where the noise was apparently coming
from. It was still getting louder, and all of a sudden, they could make out
multiple little flying objects approaching them.

"What the..." Alyx muttered. The objects came closer, and then the two women
spotted four small, white, oval-shaped somethings flying through the air.

As they whizzed past, Chris and Alyx recognized that they were little airborne
robots, about 15 centimeters in length. Three appendages were making up a head
and two fin-shaped arms, with a small black spot decorating the head part.

It only lasted for a few seconds, then the flying objects had disappeared from
their sight. They looked at each other, an incredulous yet amused expression on
their faces.

"Okay. Either I'm hallucinating, or I just saw four egg-shaped robots fly past.
Please tell me you saw them too."

"I did see them too," Alyx responded. "And I too am wondering what they were.
I've never seen that type of robot model before, have you?"

"Nope, not that I remember. I think I've recently heard someone talk about an
egg-shaped model, but that's all."

While Chris was still talking, the whirring noise suddenly made itself heard
again, from the direction where the four robots had disappeared.

"Listen, it seems they're coming back!"

"Yeah," Chris said and gazed, "But I can see only one spot this time."

                                            *  *  *

"Shh, Trevis, get this thing out of here!" a camera operator hissed.

"Oh damn, I'm sorry, forgot to turn it off," Harry Trevis muttered, silenced the
beeping alarm of his communication device and quickly dashed out of the
newscasting studio. A red flashing sign above its door declared that a news show
was currently "On Air".

Trevis accepted the incoming call. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Mr. Trevis, this is Mike Shea from the L.A. CASE base. I've been trying to
reach Miss Wells, but she's not answering my calls."

"Yeah, she went home early today, she's had two nights packed full of work. Can
I help you maybe?"

"I suppose you can. You see, Kimberly has helped me out of some serious snag
before, and I've promised that I'd repay her with a nice story should the
opportunity arise."

"Sounds good! So did it arise?"

"Oh hell yes, you bet it did!"

                                            *  *  *

Indeed it was only one of the little robots that came dashing back, but instead
of zipping past them, it slowed down and came to a halt, hovering just in front
of the two astonished scientists.

Now that they could take a closer look at it, they noticed that the black spot
on its head was in fact a tiny display screen. It showed two blue ovals, as if
the robot was looking at them with curious eyes.

"Aww, this thing is cute! I wonder where it came from," Alyx said.

Chris smiled. "Yeah, really cute. Look, its appendages are held in place by
forcefields! And it's got a gravitic drive, look at it bobbing up and down. This
is very advanced tech, way too sophisticated to be a stray toy or something."

"Hmm," Alyx muttered and raised her arm, approaching the robot with her hand.
She brushed over the front side of its white shell with a finger, then carefully
lifted up one of the tiny fin-like arms. The robot wiggled a bit, and the eye
display momentarily changed its shape to something that resembled a smile. A
giggling noise, modulated in a warbling female voice, emanated from it.

"It's reacting," Chris beamed, "And it's got a speech synthesizer."

"Yeah, and if I'm not mistaken, she just giggled," Alyx acknowledged, unable to
stifle a little chuckle herself.

"What's your designation and directive?" Chris asked the little robot.

Her eye display flickered, confirming that she was processing the input.
"Designation: Daryl. Directive: Follow flight pattern," the warbling
voice announced.

                                            *  *  *

[Moo]

nice chapter ^^ yay mini eves XD