Chapter 157 – 30 Days

The Daedalus Academy

Y: 2143 – 1 week until Southern Europe regional inter-academy first round.

Daedalus Financial Position: <5.23M> bitcreds

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Jia walked down the corridor. She’d been summoned to the medical bay where Daedo’s mother resided in a comatose, possibly vegetative state. She’d recently been there, but Vannier gave no reason why her presence was required on this occasion.

The door the slid open and she scanned the room before taking a step inside. There were six major med labs now and an additional room through a pair of clear doors. It had received major upgrades since she arrived at the Academy. Before she arrived, Daedalus numbered less than twenty and now with the cadets included it was well over two hundred and fifty.

Smart glass partitions ran up and down the med lab. They could be instantly transformed into opaque surfaces for patient privacy or transparent for easy monitoring. The lab was only manned by trainee medic cadets, who studied and administered first aid. Until a permanent teacher was found Krecke served as the temporary Master Medic.

The glass was able to display vital signs, medical records, and diagnostic images in real-time. However, they cadets usually used their ocular implants and Ais.

Each med bay is equipped with an advanced medical pod that adapts to the specific needs of the patient. The pods are designed for comfort and efficiency, with self-adjusting temperature, ambient lighting, and customizable interfaces.

Within each med bay, nanobots suspended in the air work in tandem with the medical equipment. The nanobots could analyse a patient's condition at a microscopic level, assisting in diagnosis and upon direction complete surgery. In the future Krecke’s aim was for them to aid in accelerated healing and tissue regeneration.

Daedo’s mother lay in one med bay, but Daedo, Vannier and Krecke were in another. Vannier waved indicating she should approach. They were standing next to an occupied bed.

Jia’s eyes widened when she saw the girl on bed. “Holy,” was all she said.

“From your reaction I take it you had no idea you had a twin?” Vannier asked and her eyes never left Jia. It felt like an interrogation rather than a conversation.

Jia shook her head, still processing the shock of discovering a long-lost twin sister. "No, I had no idea. I grew up thinking it was just me and my brother. How is this even possible?" She stared at the unconscious girl on the bed, who looked eerily similar to her.

Krecke pulled up two DNA sequences onto the partition behind Jia. She turned to look and Krecke said, “It’s too close for a twin. There are differences, but I think they’re more likely to be from human tampering than nature.”

“Is she, my clone?” Jia asked. The normally stoic girl shook. Recently she’d had to kill her brother and now this. It’s easy to say, ‘stress is a decision,’ but another to live it.

“No,” Krecke said. “I think you’re both clones. Or, at least, you’ve both had genetic manipulation.”

It would explain why Jia was one of the most naturally gifted in several disciplines - because - it wasn’t natural. She was a genetic experiment.

She flopped down onto the floor; her legs folding beneath her. Her head slumped. “Why me?” It was rhetorical and no one replied.

Daedo looked away from her and peered at Jia 2. “Maybe your sister will know more. Wake her.”

She was strapped into the bed with a drip in her arm. A drug was administered through the drip, and it wasn’t long before she tossed her head. Her eyes opened slowly, and she worked her jaw.

“Where am I?” She groggily asked.

“Two kays underground, Daedalus base,” Daedo answered.

“You,” she said accusingly. “You tried to kill me.”

A tiny smile curled on one side of his mouth. “Um, I distinctly remember asking you to board our shuttle. It was your choice to stay on the platform.”

“How dare you,” she seethed.

Daedo looked confused. “How dare I what? Save your life?”

“It hardly counts when you’re the on who put my life in danger!”

“She’s nothing like Jia,” Vannier observed.

“You can clone genes, but there’s more to a person than their DNA,” Krecke said. “Nature versus nurture.”

“What?” Jia 2 said, and she looked at their faces in turn until she was drawn to the one staring at her. Her twin on the floor.

The same high, flat cheeks, symmetrical nose, eyes and mouth, large forehead and piercing dark brown eyes. “You are?”

“I am Meng Jia, from Hunan Province and I had a mother, father and brother.”

Jia 2 frowned. “What are you saying? You know nothing about me. What if I didn’t? What if I was an orphan. Does that make me inferior in same way? No. I am strong. I’m the top cadet. I was assigned to the protection detail for Director Bai.”

“Not a high bar,” Jia said dismissively. She stood and looked at Daedo. “Can I go?”

He nodded. “Go and talk to someone. Axel-Zero, or Morton.”

“I’m fine,” she said and stormed off.

They watched her leave before turning back to Jia 2. “What’s your name?” Vannier asked.

Her eyes narrowed, but then she relented, “You’ll find out soon enough anyway. It’s Min. Lee Min.”

“We should send her back,” Daedo said.

“Why?” Krecke said. “This is a learning opportunity.”

“I’m not your test tube experiment,” Min said.

“She is Jia’s sister, sort of,” Vannier said. “They might want this chance to get to know each other, especially after what just happened.”

“What happened?” Min asked.

“Her brother died,” Vannier said, but failed to mention that it was Jia who killed him.

“You should send me back,” Min said unaffected by the news. There was no bond between them, none at all. “I’m a security threat, if I stay here, I’ll steal whatever I can. Especially your tech.” Her eyes locked on to Daedo.

“I agree,” he said, and she looked a little disappointed. He smiled at her, “You didn’t think that would work on me, did you?”

She frowned at him. “I guess not, boy genius. I’ll thank you for saving me when I get home.”

“No need,” he said. “Just remember us when you leave Earth behind. We’re the ones who stayed to fight.”

Her frown deepened and they locked gazes, but she said nothing.

<break>

It was ironic that they had been engaged in a small war with Huawei, one of the most powerful companies in history - in terms of tech, wealth, influence, and military power. And yet they still had to compete in their regional tier 4 inter-academy competition.

Daedo felt like he was juggling fifty balls with one hand tied behind his back.

Master Haddad entered Daedo’s virtual workspace and said, “Commander?”

“I need you to take care of the inter-Academy competition for the year. You can have whatever you need, we just need to gain promotion.”

“Normally I would say that’s a tall order. It’s extremely difficult to get into tier 3 from the regionals. We must win our section, then win the playoffs. And it’s our first year, but I think we have such a talent and tech advantage that it will just require focus and more support.”

“What do you need?”

“More masters for a start. Medical, AI, mech piloting and a tactician specialist. I know you have some of those specialties covered but if you’re not available then I need help.”

“Done. Get the best people you can, cost is not a concern,” Daedo said. “Anything else?”

“Not right now, if after our first competitive weekend any weaknesses shows then I’ll make a request.”

Daedo nodded. “Dismissed.”

Master Haddad saluted and vanished.

Next on the agenda was geopolitics. Daedo put in a call to Vardy.

His smug, plump face appeared in the old school VR chat format. “I heard you were safe. I’m glad you made it back in one piece. No permanent damage?”

“You mean did they scramble my brain? No.”

“I expect you to honour our contract,” Vardy said.

“I expect you to. Get them off our backs so we can focus on the more important matters. Then you can have your reactor.”

“While you store up antimatter? The agreement says thirty days, not one nanosecond more.”

Daedo smiled. “What if their next attack is successful, they storm our base here and take it from me? As I said, get them off our backs and you’ll get your reactor.”

“Stop delaying, I’m sure you have enough magic rock to build a second, otherwise you’d never have agreed to give us one.”

Daedo, “You got thirty days to get them under control. If they are, you’ll get your reactor.”

Vardy sighed. “Giving me the reactor will get them under control. You’re not stupid. Why are you delaying?”

“Because, per the agreement, I can. And once you have it you won’t need to stick your neck out for us, contract or not.”

“But when I have it, they’ll be focused on us. No matter what they say, its this tech that scares them. The fact you have it, and they don’t.”

Daedo paused for a moment and then answered, “Thirty days.” Then he kicked Vardy from the chatroom.

Daedo wanted a discussion with Dex, AEMO and Myrmidon. Without having to take an action to make a request Myrmidon acknowledged the thought and summoned the two, ancient, rogue AIs.

The three Ais appeared in the VR room. Myrmidon was a small Greek warrior, AEMO was a mining rig and Dex was a paintbrush. The visuals suited their initial purpose, but they had all become much more than that. AEMO had started as a mine manager, which was extremely useful, and Dex was a modelling AI.

“We’re running out of time,” Daedo said disregarding any form of greeting. “If you went to space tomorrow will our operations here be hampered?”

AEMO purred, “No. It’s almost fully automated and I can manage it remotely. The main variable is human. When your needs change, the operation alters accordingly. But we have most permutations covered now.”

Dex added, “Building is ongoing and will need planning when new additions are requested. I need to set new orders and designs when this occurs.”

“But for now, everything is programmed?” Daedo asked.

“Confirmed,” Dex said.

“I have ordered a ship for you, it’s slow but built for purpose.” The AI danced around happily like little kids receiving surprise presents. Daedo brought up a schematic.

It was a Marais interstellar carrier, capable of taking off from the Earth’s surface and re-entry. This is what made it slow in outer space. The requirements for space only compared to a ship that launches from the surface were very different. So much so a ship built in space, for solar travel was much faster and more agile due to its streamlined design.

“The carrier is gutted, you don’t need any type of life support, medical, sleeping quarters, galley or entertainment. This improves its mining and manufacturing capability. It’s a pure miner and builder. AEMO will prospect and mine what’s required, and Dex will manufacture. More drones, more ships and eventually facilities for us humans.”

Daedo spun and showed them the ship. It began with a thousand drones, they could scout and mine, but would need to resupply at the base ship. It had everything it needed to manufacture more, plus ships, mechs, everything that was in the base was replicated for the ship. The only difference was there was no Troika Reactor, just the fusion propulsion which would utilize antimatter annihilation. They would take enough antimatter to last a dozen years. And it would be supplemented by hydrogen in a standard reactor.

“What if they’re attacked?” Myrmidon asked.

“It’s fast enough to get away from any human craft made before antimatter drives. It has an excellent sensor capability and you’re able to hide much better than a human occupied ship. There’s no water aboard and you can run silent if required. It’ll put up with a beating and you’ll have the latest nanotechnology for repairs. It’s not perfect, it’ll still be dangerous, but its space. Space is dangerous.”

“I like,” Aemo said. “I want to mine space, it’s the last frontier.”

Daedo peered at the AI. They would exhibit simulated emotions on occasion, but he was unsure if it was an act to appear human. Then he shied away from that rabbit hole, to want to be liked was a human attribute as well.

“Is there a draft plan?” Dex asked.

“Yes, I want you to head to Jupiter. Between the 95 moons you’ll find nearly every resource required and there’s plenty of hiding places including Jupiter itself. It’s very rare for a human ship to be able to survive in the gas giant and you can.”

“What about piloting?” Myrmidon asked.

“I can pilot,” Aemo said. “Driving large vehicles is one of my core skills.”

“You’ve only had to manage gravity from one body, you will have an n-body problem plus slingshots, launch and re-entry.”

Daedo, “Can he do a crash course? Or do we need another AI to pilot?”

“I will go,” Myrmidon said. “Not me, but I can send a clone of me. The three of us can do it together.”

Daedo drummed his fingers. “Are you sure you want two of you running around?”

“It’s okay. Jia has two of her.”

“Will you merge back in the future or will there always be two of you?”

“We will be different from his inception,” Myrmidon said. “Like Jia and her twin - different experiences will make us different but there will be a core that is the same.”

Daedo thought about spawning a second Myrmidon. It felt weird, but it would accomplish their goals and there were no reasonable grounds not to do it.

“The secondary goal will be to find arkernite,” Daedo said. “I’ve made a build list of what’s required for your primary task after you optimize mining and manufacturing operations. Go and prepare. You’ll leave within thirty days.”