Logan was performing maintenance chores on the station’s underground generating apparatus when Jody called him to the control room. He climbed multiple flights of stairs and took his seat behind the monitor. “Another security issue, Jody?”
“I posted a hidden drone near the diversion station after the attempted password hack. It was programmed to respond if anyone else tried to break in.”
“An attack drone?”
“Affirmative, and it took offensive action when an individual began applying explosive compound to the door latch.”
“Offensive action of what nature?”
“It ejected bot swarms and disintegrated the subject and a companion.”
Logan was stunned. “Do you know who they were?”
“Yes, the drone collected live images, and using facial recognition technology, I identified them in the New Cali police database. Both had arrest records and connections to organized crime.”
“Who do you think sent them?”
“Unknown, but I also detected more than one operator attempting to access the water supply section of the NMS including Fujikawa from the police department’s cyber-crimes unit. I also blocked an IT specialist attempting to upload an advanced anti-virus program to the general directory. Two attempts and I blocked both.”
“Okay Jody, keep me posted, and I trust you’ll take whatever action you think is necessary to protect our interests.”
“Everything is under control. All detected threats have been successfully blocked or eliminated thus far.”
Jody hadn’t notified Logan when it posted the attack drone at the diversion station. It was another example of the AI’s newfound independence, but he wouldn’t challenge the decision. They were in too deep and things could fall apart fast. It was likely only a matter of time, and without Jody, Logan and the rest of the survivors would be lost.
Late in the afternoon, Logan flew his wind lifter to Myles and Harmony’s farm. On his approach, he could see Mellowbreak Beach refugees hard at work on the second farm. When the property became profitable, they might invest in agribots, but for now, they were doing much of the work by hand. Others were still working on refurbishing housing and reclaiming the streets and open spaces from the drifts of dust. Jody had allotted enough water to plant grass in a small park that featured a picnic area and a volleyball court.
After landing the aircraft, Logan went inside. He talked with Myles and Harmony about a variety of subjects, but he kept the escalating problems with New Cali to himself. He didn’t think there was a reason to worry either one with constant updates.
Myles said the second farm was producing vegetables and grain, and prep work on the third and fourth golf courses was moving forward. It gave Logan a feeling of hope and optimism. The diversion scheme was creating prosperity in the Big Abandonado and giving the former grubs a better life than they’d had in the Eden Stacks.
“Any more problems with unhappy farmers?” said Logan.
“For the most part, no,” replied Myles. “I’m glad we got rid of Jim and Doris when we did and I wasn’t surprised to see they’d taken up with the dust bikers.”
“Some people aren’t cut out for hard work,” said Harmony.
“The collective system is panning out, then?”
“I think it’s fair and no one is complaining,” said Myles. “Once we have four or five farms up and producing, I think it will work out great. If there’s any conflict over equal work shares, the individual groups are small enough that they can work it out among themselves.”
“The lopsided male to female ratio has created some unhappiness though,” said Harmony.”
“Yeah, I had to break up a fight the other day,” said Myles.
“Men fighting over a woman?” said Logan.
“Not quite a fist fight, more of a scuffle, but I solved the problem by asking the lady, Darlene Woolner, to choose between the two, and the guys said they’d abide by her decision. At first, she was reluctant and said she wanted the freedom to see more than one man. But when I said, ‘that’s the whole problem, Darlene,’ she agreed that monogamy in romance would keep things cool.”
“She chose just one to be her steady?”
“Antonio Camareno was the lucky man.”
“How did the loser take it?”
“That was Kyle Murbach and he accepted his defeat.”
Logan walked over to Lyric’s place. Her front yard had blossomed to life with colorful flowers and vegetables. He could see how much work she was putting into her gardens.
She was delighted to find Logan at her front door and invited him in. She put music on her sound system and poured glasses of iced tea. They sat together on her sofa and talked for a while. They touched on a variety of subjects, and then Lyric dropped a bombshell: “Stanislav invited me to go with him to see the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.”
At first, Logan was speechless. Finally, he said, “Just the two of you?”
“Uh huh.” She gazed at him inquisitively. “That doesn’t bother you, does it Logan?”
“Of course not. Sounds like fun…You’re going to fly up there?”
“In Stanislav’s jet. This Saturday.”
Logan changed the subject, and after a few more minutes of conversation he said: “Well, I better get going, Lyric. Have fun in Vancouver.”
She walked him to the door. “Okay, Logan. Give Magic and Juno biscuits for me.”
Logan was surprised by the jealousy he’d felt when Lyric had told him about her plans with Stanislav. The hydrogen mogul was at least thirty years older, and one of the classiest people he’d ever met. He’d known him since before the collapse, and he was one of Logan’s most important allies in the Big Abandonado. Following the war in Asia, when the darkness had descended on the basin, trading electricity to Stanislav for food and supplies had kept him alive. At the time, Myles and Harmony were working around the clock to make their farm a success but had yet to produce much.
When Logan introduced Lyric to Stanislav, they hit it off because of their shared background in orchestral music and the fine arts. He was already aware of the friendship he’d helped foster. There wasn’t a reason for him to feel jealous.
He had sensed a mutual romantic attraction when they first met, and he’d thought of her as a potential lover ever since but had decided it would be better to take his time and get to know her first, before he tried to hit on her. Especially with their employer-employee relationship. He didn’t want to seem pushy.
He was hoping she’d make the first move, because he was more than a little out of practice. It had been quite a while since he’d had a romantic relationship. Since before the collapse, and he certainly didn’t want to act clumsy, or worse, seem presumptuous about it.
Logan flew his wind lifter back to the power station. When he arrived, he followed through on Lyric’s request by giving Magic and Juno biscuits for her. As he watched his best friends enjoying their crunchy treats, he chastised himself for feeling jealous over Lyric. Maybe the time had come to ask her out on some type of date. But it would be hard to top a jet ride to Vancouver to see the symphony orchestra live.
□□□
When Brooner told Eddie Chao about the incident at the diversion station, the Dai Lo could see how upset he was. He pulled a bottle of Baijiu out of a desk drawer and filled shot glasses, including one for Kenny Xian.
Brooner tossed back the potent beverage and slammed the shot glass down on Chao’s desk. “Strong stuff.”
“Wuliangye five grain blend.” Chao refilled Brooner’s glass. “And don’t worry about Joey and Di Trolio too much, Nic. To tell you the truth, I’d consider it a bigger loss if it had been replicants, because the price on robots has gone way up. Human thugs like Joey and Di Trolio are a dime-a-dozen.”
“I feel responsible because I took them out there.”
Chao shrugged his shoulders. “High-risk occupation, like being a cop.”
“Will you notify their people?”
“Joey was an orphan. Took a job on an oil tanker, then jumped ship in Zhonghua. No family to speak of.”
“What about Di Trolio?”
“From back east and connected. I’ll get on the jungle drums and let them know he got whacked.”
“Think they’ll be out for revenge?”
“What? You think the New York mob will come all the way out here to smoke a drone?”
“Just trying to cover all the bases.”
“Don’t worry about it, Nic. Have another shot.”
Brooner was an infrequent drinker and when he left Chao’s office, he was already feeling half drunk. On his way out, he stopped at the bar to flirt with Flame Belloni, and he drank more, polishing off three beers.
By the time he stumbled out to his unmarked roller, his feeling of sadness was turning to one of drunken anger. He was certain that the water diversion scheme was real now. The hacking crisis Fujikawa had told him about reinforced his conclusion, and he knew it had to be connected. But he still couldn’t come up with enough evidence to convince big fat Heigle, and it looked like Art might get all the glory if he could solve the hacking case.
He sat behind the wheel and thought things out before he fired up the big V-8. What was he missing? He recalled the cryptic text message the Mike Wilson replicant had sent him: A person named power man is supplying electricity. On my way to refuel. Will attempt to learn more. Was power man’s identity the missing piece to the puzzle?
If Brooner had been sober, he would have never traveled to the Big Abandonado to check things out. But instead, he drove to a convenience store and filled the roller’s over-sized tank with gasoline, fresh from the refinery in Rigondo Beach. He also bought a six-pack of beer, a jug of drinking water, and a bag of ice for the small ice chest he carried in the back seat. He wasn’t worried about getting pulled over by the Tommy Cops, because they wouldn’t try to stop a detective driving a slick top. It was in their core programming.
He thought about buying something to eat, to counter the tremendous volume of alcohol he’d consumed at the Chrome Pagoda, but the sandwiches in the convenience store looked disgusting, and he knew from experience that most of the restaurants on the east side of town weren’t much better. Instead, he bought a king-size bag of chicharrónes and munched on the spicy snack as he drove, leaving an accumulation of bright red crumbs on the driver’s side seat and floor.
He drove to the nearby crossing that the Mike Wilson replicant had used to traverse the Wall and was waved through by the Tommy Cops. It was the first time he’d been in Nowhere City in years, and the abject poverty and crowded conditions had only grown worse. He avoided making eye contact with the desties as he passed through the makeshift huts and burnt-out buildings. Could have been me, he thought, and he felt lucky to still have a job. He was thankful he’d never been replaced by a replicant.
After finding the remains of the east-west freeway, he stood on the gas. The big engine roared and he made it across the basin in record time, passing the lines of self-driving transports like they were standing still. He guzzled more beer on the trek across the desert, and in late afternoon he came to a high point where he could see the abandoned hotel district rising up in the distance.
As he descended the gradual hill, he came to an underpass and saw three figures standing in the roadway waving their arms. As he drew closer, he could see they were dust bikers, and there were more of them gathered in the shade. Brooner pulled his directed laser pistol out of the console and held it in his lap as he slowed down and stopped. He lowered the window. “You need help or something?”
Slim Crumpacker walked to the driver’s side of the roller. His sidekicks Zero and Trash blocked Brooner from driving off, and a few more of the dust bikers joined them.
“The county shrink said I’m beyond help,” said Crumpacker with a wry grin. Zero and Trash both laughed.
Brooner was not in the mood to play games. “Why did you stop me?”
“Because you’re crossing our turf and we need you to make a donation to our mental health fund.”
“I don’t give out money to freeloaders.”
“Freeloaders?” replied Crumpacker. “Who you calling a freeloader?”
Brooner pulled out his badge and held it up to the open window. “Inspector Nic Brooner, New Cali PD. I’m on official business so why don’t you vagrants get the hell out of my way.”
Crumpacker took a step backwards and looked as if he’d seen a ghost. “Holy shit, Bruno. It’s the New Cali heat.”
Bruno stepped out of the shadows. “You’re out of your jurisdiction, Jack.”
“I’m on a deep stealth mission, and willing to pay for accurate information.” Brooner pulled a large denomination bill out of his wallet and held it up for Crumpacker and Bruno to see.
“Bruno has five warrants out for his arrest in New Cali,” said Crumpacker, eagle-eyeing the money. “How’s that for information?”
“Shut the fuck up, Slim!” hollered Bruno. Then to Brooner: “What kind of information you looking for there Mr. Policeman?”
“The true identity of a person known as power man.”
“That’s easy,” said Bruno. “Money first and I’ll lay it on you.”
Brooner held the currency out the open window. Bruno strode up and snatched it while Brooner used his other hand to keep a firm grip on the laser pistol concealed in his lap.
“So, who’s power man?”
“A cat by the name of Logan Writt. He makes electricity at the Blue Springs Geo-Thermal Power Station. That’s why we call him power man.”
Brooner was flabbergasted. The same name Suzy Hongo had given him. One of the masterminds behind the water diversion scheme. “How long has Logan Writt been making electricity at the Blue Springs Geo-Thermal Power Station?”
“Ever since the collapse. He’s kept it online with his AI.”
“You know where he’s coming up with all the water?”
“Sure,” said Bruno. “From the Colorado River Pipeline. Where the fuck else could he be getting it from?”
“How do I get to the power station?”
“It’s not far. Get off at the next exit and go east. About two miles from the freeway. Can’t miss it. But be careful, because he has swarm ejectors on the fence line.”
The missing pieces had finally fallen into place. Brooner followed the dust biker’s directions but stopped short when the gate came into view. Scanning the station with his binoculars, he could tell it was occupied when he saw two dogs outside, playing in the drifts of dust. It all made sense now. A natural source of electricity, and the AI that kept it running, was more than likely the same AI that had hacked into the New Cali NMS. He’d cracked the case and would fill Fujikawa in on the details as soon as possible. To hell with Heigle.
□□□
The Melrose Committee consisted of a nine-member panel: Chairman Bo Zhí, Benton Alshami, Arabella Petkovich, Fu Tong, Riccardo Odorisio, Carnegie Bergmeier, Marlena Kamensky, Wen Yáng, and Cashton Dumbauld. All were extremely wealthy individuals. Some, such as Bo Zhí, were self-made business owners. He owned oil wells and refineries in New Cali, but most were born into the leisure class and sustained their ultra-luxury lifestyles through inheritance and investment.
Laws and regulations were passed or rescinded by majority consensus. The Committee’s decisions were absolute and could not be appealed by anyone not connected to the group. The members served for life and in cases of death or retirement, a new plutocrat was chosen through a unanimous vote.
There was no freedom of speech or independent media in New Cali. The Consensus Alignment Network, or CAN, was the only news source available for average workers, and the short broadcasts were dominated by pro-Committee fluff stories. Accurate news of the world beyond the city state was limited, and the internet censored by AI. International news networks were blacked out, though the blanket suppression did not apply to the ruling elite, they could access anything.
The Committee met in a dedicated conference room on the penthouse level of the Helios Arcology. The members sat at a continuous tabletop on a raised rostrum with Bo Zhí at the apex of the semi-circle. When a witness was called to testify, they stood at a podium on a lower level, facing the chairman and surrounded by the remainder of the Committee members.
Art Fujikawa had been summoned to testify and was seated in the hallway. He was called by one of the security guards who stood inside the conference room. The door was closed and relocked after he walked in. The room was quiet, and he sensed the eyes of the nine Committee members following him as he took his place at the podium. A ceiling mounted miniature spotlight illuminated his position.
“Good morning, witness,” said Bo Zhí. “Please state your name and function.”
“Thank you for your warm greeting, Mr. Chairman. I’m Arthur Fujikawa, an IT specialist for the New Cali Police Department.”
“Your background information indicates excellence in computer science and that you hold a key position in the cyber-crimes unit.”
“That’s correct, sir.”
“Your supervisor informed me that you’ve discovered a serious breach of security in the New Cali Network Management System. Is that correct also?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Please explain to the Committee what you’ve found.”
“It appears a hacker gained access to the NMS and has taken control of administrative functions.”
“How much damage can the hacker effectuate? said Bergmeier.
“Unlimited. The functions of the various departments can be manipulated or shut down entirely.”
“How do we get the hacker out of the system?” said Kamensky.
“The malicious entity is deeply embedded, meaning we’ve lost control. So, we need to either identify the hacker and take him into custody or return all New Cali government hardware to factory default, then sanitize the data, and reprogram.”
“How long would that take?”
“My best estimate is two to three months. With enough competent hands, maybe less.”
“I assume the hacker is using AI?” said Dumbauld.
“Yes, that’s what the intensity of the 24/7 control indicates. It would be close to impossible for a human operator to maintain universal control of a network so big without automated assistance.”
“Do you have any information on the identity of the hacker?”
“Yes, I do. My colleague, Inspector Nic Brooner, identified a suspect.”
“Who’s the suspect?”
“A man by the name of Logan Writt. At the time of the economic collapse, he was employed at the Blue Springs Geo-Thermal Power Station in Las Vegas. As you probably know, the metro area was largely abandoned except for a handful of survivalist types. Writt remained at the power station and has managed to keep it online and producing electricity ever since.”
“Just one man?”
“One man and the station’s AI which has apparently grown more powerful in the years since. The equipment is not excessively complicated in geo-thermal power generation. It’s fueled by ground water that’s heated by magma conduits, and the steam produced turns turbines. With the AI running the system and Writt maintaining the apparatus, it’s entirely plausible for the station to remain online indefinitely.”
“But is there enough ground water available in the Las Vegas Basin to fuel it?” said Bo Zhí.
“It’s apparent that the initial hack into the New Cali system was executed to open the valve on the Las Vegas branch of the Colorado River pipeline. Our theory is that the AI began falsifying data to cover the unauthorized diversion and once successful, used the security breach to expand its influence into the Network Management System.”
“How much water has Mr. Writt stolen?”
“Unknown, but there are two other water intensive operations in the city. A large commercial farm and a hydrogen electrolysis plant. And according to our research, there should not be sufficient ground water left in the basin to keep it all going.”
“When did the unauthorized diversion begin?”
“Several months ago, possibly close to a year.”
“Do you think Mr. Writt and his AI are aware of your investigation?”
“At this point, absolutely.”
“Can Writt’s AI interfere with police functions?”
“Yes. Especially the Tommy Cops.”
“All right, thank you for your testimony, Mr. Fujikawa. My assistant will stay in touch as we proceed.”
“Good day Mr. Chairman.” Fujikawa vacated the conference room.
Once the door was closed behind him, Bo Zhí addressed the Committee: “It’s important to keep this matter completely confidential. Don’t talk about it on your electronic devices because it’s likely we’re under surveillance by the hacker.
“What are we going to do?” said Alshami.
“We’ll need to contract with some type of outside police force because of the hacker’s control over our own resources. I’ll contact Dr. Hao and see if he can provide us with mercenaries. One way or another, we need to put a stop to the intrusion.”
To be continued…