Mina, we've got active combat at the base.
The coastal wind carries a damp, salty chill, rattling the sheet metal of their temporary shelter. Dr. Bear jogs over, tablet in hand, past the scattered equipment piled outside. Its screen shows a tactical map, where the base is pulsing with the red markers of live combat zones.
So the Babylonians were right. Good thing we shifted our main base to the coast in time.
We can't let them get ahead. How's the rush job on the anti-Amalgamation modules coming?
We're about 80% there. Some have already been shipped out for fitting on the bionic whales.
And guiding the whale pod?
Not bad. Going around the icebergs was costing us too much time, so I had the crews work with the whales to punch straight through. We'll still lose a little speed, but we should only be delayed about twenty minutes, tops.
Excellent. As expected of the best researcher's assistant!
...Was that really a compliment for me?
Dr. Mina, could you arrange for one of the modules to be sent to Babylonia later?
I'll have the Gray Raven Commandant or a courier bring it to you. More to the point, have you finished reviewing the manuscript? Found anything useful?
Having relocated the base to the coast, Mina evaded the Warlord's attack. While remotely coordinating the team to guide the bionic whale pod, she receives a sudden call from Asimov.
I have a question.
What?
The deployed Malkuth unit possesses a transformation capability absent from the original manuscript... How did that happen?
Transformation...? Oh, do you mean that armor skirt? Dr. Mina, we agreed not to add weird extras. They jack up testing costs!
"Weird extras"? The centaur form is meaningful for both the Forest Guards and next-gen frames! Besides, who knew the ice shelf would crack? I was going to remove it before the next round of tests anyway!
Sigh. And I'll be the one facing the blame. So, Asimov, are you saying this function is causing Rosetta's M.I.N.D. instability?
It is one variable. The human psyche is not structured to accommodate morphological alteration.
Hmph. So what's the verdict? If we remove the transformation assembly, does that fix it?
Despite the visible displeasure on her pouting face, Mina's tone lacks any real defiance. It is clear that if Asimov gave the nod, she would set to work without protest.
Not at this time. Your Malkuth reconstruction otherwise matches the manuscript in all key respects, including that "defective" black box.
Defective black box...? Are you saying we were fed false data?!
B-but that can't be! Dr. Puff is Rosetta's own grandfather!
The manuscript is not fraudulent. The calculations are precise. My own formulas confirm the frame possesses overclock potential beyond standard parameters. But there's one condition: fill up that "defective" black box.
Fill up... You don't mean hitting that "close to 10,000%" value from before, do you?
Yes...
But that's functionally impossible! We already wrote that off as a glitch or a rounding error! Are you seriously telling me Malkuth was designed to run on a bug?
Not a bug. A potential. And the calculations support it. This manuscript, this frame, is engineered to wager on possibility itself.
Beep beep—!
Midway through their discussion, an old-style communicator beside Mina begins to ring. In the harsh Arctic, where signals are brittle and distances deadly, everyone keeps multiple communication devices on hand.
Dr. Mina, we've located the lead whale Derek in the pod!
...Good news now? Fine. Pull all free personnel to that location. Focus modification efforts on Derek first. Once it's synced, it'll lead the rest of the pod.
I've heard of Derek, but what exactly does "lead whale" mean? Is there a hierarchy among these bionic whales?
Like Mina, Asimov quickly processes the discussion, seizing on the key term.
It's not just the whales. Most Arctic machinery works this way. Before the Amalgamators, we used swarm protocols.
Derek coordinates all the bionic whales, and they, in turn, direct us, smaller machines. Think of them as... Amalgamators that aren't actually Amalgamators.
Can it subsume individual consciousness, as Amberia did?
Derek's a mobile command hub. It processes tens of thousands of mechanical signals at once, orchestrating action, not overwriting will. It's about coordination, not amalgamation.
That exact trait—its ability to handle parallel data streams—is why our predecessors used Derek to suppress Amberia.
...
Why so quiet?
Dr. Mina, a theoretical question: Is it feasible to house two or more distinct M.I.N.D.s within a single frame?
Hah? What kind of idea is that now? Multiple M.I.N.D.s in one frame? Even if they didn't tear each other apart, the consciousness rejection would shred the frame. You'd be building a chimera.
Her voice, dripping with mockery, dies in her throat. The pieces click into place: Malkuth's bug, the traits of the bionic whales... Her fingers clutch reflexively at her coat, and her playful demeanor dissolves into a cold, intense glare fixed solely on Asimov.
Just tell me what I need to do.
