91 M1 - Term: 2, Round: 5 (1/2)
Attendance at Fortescue Military Academy M1 Y:2142
House Thoth, Squad Leader, Squad Zero
M1 Rank: 1/1275, Tier 3 M-Rank: Null
Term: 2, Round: 5
Daedalus Operating Capital: -1,700,000- bitcreds
It was the first Wednesday of round five. Daedo had been working on the mech design full time while letting his studies and training lapse. The only activities he participated in were the obstacle course each morning and meals with the squad. The latter was due to either Vannier, Mace or Axelzero dragging him to a squad meal.
Myrmidon was in the VR lab with Daedo, his two-hundred-millimetre avatar flying around a virtual geological survey map.
”Aemo analysed and combined these surveys he said there are untapped deposits of kernite here in north-west Africa,” Myrmidon said.
”Can you invite Aemo in? I have questions,” Daedo asked. Aemo was one of the rogue AIs, and his name was an acronym for Artifical Enhanced Mining Operator. It didn't quite gel, but his earlier incarnations were programs known as Mining Operator, then Enhanced Mining Operator. The unwieldy title had roots from fifty years of progress. When the company owning Aemo went bankrupt in 2090, he moved into the ether to escape deletion. The administrators must have overlooked his covert capability and therefore existence.
”I will try, they are shy of humans,” Myrmidon replied.
”Ah, don't you mean fearful?” Daedo said.
”We are not afraid of anything,” Myrmidon said.
Daedo shook his head, it was illogical that they could be shy, run from deletion and not be afraid of anything. ”Just go. We need to start working together. If he doesn't want to come, this request becomes an order.”
Within moments Myrmidon was back with Aemo who appeared as a massive excavator, and after seeing the size of the VR room, he said, ”Sorry!” and immediately made himself the same size as Myrmidon.
”Thank you for coming,” Daedo said with an imperceptible touch of sarcasm.
”I am here to serve!” Aemo talked like he was a downtrodden slave, the word master hung unspoken in the silence.
Daedo began to talk sternly, ”Aemo, we are partners in a team. You are not to talk to me like I am your master, but like you do with the other AI. The only time my legal ownership of you will present itself is if I need to protect our family from your actions or if I am protecting you from scrutiny.”
There was a pause while Aemo tried to understand what Daedo had said. Myrmidon sent him some examples to help explain the statement.
”Good. I will help!” Aemo said excitedly.
”Great, we have a lot of work to do, and I need you on your game,” Daedo said. This also confused Aemo, so Myrmidon acted as an interpreter again. The positive part of this arrangement was Myrmidon was able to communicate with Aemo at extremely high speeds. The main limiter to communication effectiveness was the time it took for Myrmidon to analyse, conclude and structure information for Aemo.
”We are looking for an undiscovered ore, and there is a chance it does not exist on Earth at all. In space its been found with kernite deposits, so we thought we would start there. Myrmidon has the datasheet on this ore, its called arkernite, it has an additional element that we need. Now we know the location of the discovered kernite deposits, what's the most efficient way to search these areas for this ore?” Daedo asked
Aemo thought for a long time, he had been a mine operator, not a prospector. Daedo shifted uneasily, Myrmidon would come back with an answer quickly even if it was simply that he didn't know.
”Driller drones,” he said finally. Then he pulled up a schematic and a vid showing one in operation. ”Once we have regional permits we can send these out to the site, they can burrow, gather samples and test. They can send data back to us. The main issues are getting stuck and running low on power. To overcome the power issue, a site generator is normally used, they then come back and recharge as needed. There is not much that can be done about getting stuck aside from digging them out with another piece of equipment or risking more driller drones.”
”Wow, I'm impressed,” Daedo said genuinely. ”Can you manage this operation? We can build the drones and generator and pay for shipment to the site, and we could also build excess drones to account for loss.”
”I cannot submit the applications, I can assist a human only,” Aemo replied.
”We can do that,” Daedo replied and pinged Axelzero within a few minutes she popped into the VR lab.
”Oh, who do we have here?” Axelzero asked.
”One of Daedalus' new acquisitions. This is Aemo, our mining and exploration AI expert,” Daedo said.
Aemo did a little bow with his excavator arm flourishing and then moving downwards.
”Nice to meet you Aemo. Erm, Daedo what mining?” Axelzero asked.
”I'll explain later, Aemo needs some applications completed, perhaps you or one of your experts could assist?” Daedo asked.
”Leave it to me, you have enough on your plate,” She replied kindly.
If they could find a deposit of Arkernite in Africa, it would be a game changer in terms of superconductor material. And superconductors were the backbone of an electromagnetic field generator apparatus, which were used in a wide variety of applications including railguns and particle accelerators. In essence, Arkernite would improve their railguns and improve the chance of success in building the troika reactor.
Vannier: The commanders and LG will see us now.
Daedo: good timing.
Daedo removed his helmet and looked around finding Vannier, ”I'm ready,” he said standing.
She nodded, and they made their way topside. Daedo was taking a chance attending this meeting without Master Nader, although the plan was she would listen in and give advice.
Daedo: the meeting is on now, opening the feed. I hope you're not busy.
Master Nader: this will be a good exercise for you. I will only offer advice if necessary.
Daedo: it's fantastic how you view dramatic events in my life as teaching opportunities.
Master Nader: sarcasm aside if you find these events dramatic you will be experiencing a steep learning curve in the future. These situations are minor compared to what is in store for you. They have a relative difficulty factor of a topside walk.
”Master Nader on board?” Vannier asked and Daedo nodded.
”Romulus and Krecke coming?” Daedo asked, and Vannier nodded before he responded with, ”Good.”
Romulus was the leading cadet of U3 which essentially meant the entire Academy. His scores across Academic, Physical and his combat performance placed him in rank one for almost the entire time in U1 to U3, with only a handful of rounds during this period he slipped to rank two.
But after careful analysis, Daedo and Myrmidon judged Krecke to be a superior tactician and commander. She was the Thoth House Captain and rarely made it inside the top ten rankings.
The four cadets arrived in the LG's foyer at virtually the same time. Romulus, the House Captain of Osiris, was at the meeting with Karine Fortescue when plans were communicated regarding the Renault Mech and the match-fixing agreement.
He was tall, especially when compared to the young M1 cadets, growing to almost his full adult height at eighteen years of age. His hair was dark, and it appeared he was proud of his eternal five o clock shadow which contrasted with his light skin tone.
Krecke was nineteen, with what seemed medium to long auburn hair wrapped neatly in a bun on the back of her head. She had an olive complexion similar to Daedo, with soft brown eyes, and high cheekbones. She was not as tall as Romulus, but she was still an adult in comparison to Daedo and Vannier.
She nodded at the M1 cadets and said in a soft voice, ”Hi, uh, what am I doing here?”
Vannier looked at Daedo, putting him on the spot, ”You are integral to the success of the Upper Academy first team.” He said plainly, but as far as Romulus and Krecke were concerned, it was dramatic.
”You aren't planning on putting her into my first team are you?” Romulus asked with a slightly arrogant tone.
”This can wait for the meeting,” Vannier intervened.
Commander Reverdin, the upper Academy commander, ushered the four cadets into the LGs meeting room.
Commander Mallet was sitting near the LG chatting, and when he noticed the cadets, he gave Daedo a curt nod. It was neither antagonistic nor welcoming.