“If this ‘Swarm’ is as malevolent as the reports indicate, I suspect we will need all the resources we can muster.” Red-eye replied, “Even including the support of an alien AI.”
“On a separate note, the performance of your voidstalkers continues to impress,” said a third voice, “even though one of them apparently threatened you.”
“I should hope so, considering that the Masterminds themselves commissioned the programme,” Red-eye responded, “and as to your second point, he did not threaten me.”
“His anger would indicate emotional instability,” a fourth voice noted airily, “an undesirable trait in a field operative at any level.”
“He is anything but unstable,” Red-eye answered calmly, “and in any case, if the voidstalkers were meant to be that docile, they would be an army of robots. They are not.”
“Robots lack the capacity to second-guess their superiors.” The first voice remarked.
“They also lack something much more crucial.” Red-eye replied.
“Which is?”
“The spark of Humanity.” Red-eye explained, “The voidstalker programme has long-term purposes which transcend its immediate utility as a tool of deep-space intelligence operations. They hinge on the long-term survival of Humanity as a whole, and it is therefore vital that the voidstalkers actually be Human, anger and all.”
“How very cryptic.” Remarked the first voice, “And uncharacteristically poetic.”
“No doubt you will all be ordered to initiate satellite programmes modelled on my own when the time is right.” Red-eye responded.
“I would not be surprised by that.” Said a fifth voice, “Projects of this sort are routinely allocated to each of us individually, and the reasons are entrusted to that person exclusively until the time is right to divulge the full explanation to the rest of us.”
“In that case, fellow directors-general, does that conclude our call?” Red-eye asked.
“I believe it does. Farewell until the next Terran year.”
The various callers terminated their secure, trans-stellar comm. links, ending the conference call and leaving Red-eye alone on her throne.
She turned back to a set of four medical reports on her desk, scrolling through the reports and absorbing the positive results with silent approval. When she scrolled back up and saw the grinning faces with their father’s emerald green eyes, she couldn’t help but smile.
THE END
About the Author
John Graham (which may or may not be his real name) enjoys writing as a hobby, and science fiction as an escape. The result of combining the two is this book.