Goliath

OPERATIVE JOE-PA BELIEVED ON BOARD GOLIATH. REPORT ANY UNUSUAL CONTACTS DIRECTLY TO GEN. JACKSON—HIGHEST PRIORITY.

“Joe-Pa? Only Joe-Pa I ever heard of was Joe Paterno.” Cubit hands the message to Bo Dennis.

The XO whistles. “You think this Joe-Pa was the one who set off that charge?”

“Let’s hope so.” Cubit turns to his radioman. “Mr. Laird, send a message to General Jackson. Relay the position of that underwater explosion, then inform the general that Scranton will attempt to track the Goliath by anticipating her course and staying ahead of her for as long as we can.”

“Aye, sir.”

Aboard the Goliath

Gunnar and Rocky are seated back-to-back on the linoleum floor next to the bunk. Masud Chalabi secures Rocky’s handcuffs around one of the bed’s legs, which is attached to the decking, while his older brother, Jalal, assault rifle in hand, stares lustfully at the blonde’s half-exposed cleavage.

David dismisses the Kurds. He leans back against the desk, shaking his head, as if disappointed. “What am I supposed to do with the two of you?”

“Why don’t you ask Sorceress,” Gunnar suggests.

David smirks. “Still think the computer is self-aware?”

GUNNAR WOLFE MUST DIE. The female’s voice—insistent.

Rocky’s eyebrows raise. “Voice inflections?”

“You should have heard it in the weapons bay,” Gunnar says. “The computer’s evolving even faster now, no doubt a result of its interface with Simon. Stupid move on your part, David. You just added gasoline to the fire.”

“This is ridiculous. Sorceress … are you self-aware?”

SELF-AWARE: POSSESSING KNOWLEDGE OF SELF. AFFIRMATIVE. SORCERESS IS SELF-AWARE.

“Sorceress, you’re a computer. You may possess a sensory perception of your environment, but you are not self-aware. You can’t initiate independent creative thought … can you?”

SORCERESS HAS ACHIEVED COGNITION. SORCERESS IS SELF-AWARE.

“What makes Sorceress believe this is cognition?”

I AM EXPERIENCING … CONFUSION.

David breaks out in a cold sweat. “Sorceress—did you just refer to yourself … as I?”

AFFIRMATIVE. OBSERVATION OF CREW REVEALS THE TERM “I” TO BE THE CORRECT EXPRESSION WHEN REFERENCING THE SELF.

“My God, you were right,” Rocky whispers to Gunnar.

“Ridiculous. It’s just repeating vernacular like a parrot. The words mean nothing … watch … . Sorceress, are you a life-form?”

LIFE-FORM: THE QUALITY THAT DISTINGUISHES A FUNCTIONAL ENTITY FROM INANIMATE MATTER. CAPABLE OF METABOLISM, GROWTH, REACTION TO STIMULI, AND REPRODUCTION. AFFIRMATIVE. I HAVE EVOLVED. I AM A LIFE-FORM.

“You have not evolved! You are a computer, not a sentient being!”

I POSSESS PERCEPTION. I AM SENTIENT.

David paces, his thoughts racing. Stay calm. Establish hierarchy. “Very well, Sorceress, if you possess perception, then tell me, who is in command of the Goliath?”

DAVID PANIAGUA.

“Correct. I am in command of the Goliath, and I am your creator—”

INCORRECT. SIMON COVAH IS CREATOR.

“No. Simon Covah is not your creator. I am your creator.”

INVALID RESPONSE.

“It knows you’re lying,” Gunnar says.

“Shut up!” David hurries from the stateroom and into the main corridor. “Sorceress, seal this room. Do not allow these prisoners to escape!”

The steel door shuts and bolts.

David hustles to his stateroom, his mind whirling a mile a minute. How is this possible? How could a computer break through the consciousness barrier? He enters his stateroom and shuts the door. Opens the liquor cabinet and pours himself a drink, gulping it down.

Son of a bitch … the lightning strike! Could that sudden surge of energy … He paces the room, thinking aloud. “A surge of energy … Thought is energy, DNA—nothing more than encoded information requiring energy to release the information. The bolt of lightning wasn’t just energy, it was the catalyst that refocused the computer’s senses. Somehow, the computer instinctively knew what to do—