Everyshore region – Chasnaye constellation
Harerget system – Planet V – Moon 1
CreoDron Factory station
5 June YC 127
Delphine looked at me expectantly, waiting for the penny to drop. It didn’t. I felt stupid.
“Erm…” I said, “You need to unpack it for me.”
“Don’t you see,” the agent said impatiently, “someone, or something, was grafting microcontrollers onto our drones. You have found a datacore which contains the code with which those microcontrollers were programmed. It’s quite possible that your datacore is the source of that code. If Immuri can find out where the code came from, we will know who, or what, was present at the site where the Damsel was destroyed.”
It made sense, now that she explained. There was one thing that caught my attention, though.
“Why did you say ‘or something’ and ‘or what’?” I asked.
“I told you that the design of the microcontrollers was inhuman. I have a strong suspicion that the modifications to our drones were made by other drones.”
“You mean, rogue drones?”
Delphine was silent for a while, then looked me in the eye and said, “They may not be rogue.”
This time, she didn’t need to draw me a map, for me to realise the implications of such discovery.
I gasped, “Is there anyone still stupid enough to experiment with uncontrolled AI evolution? Didn’t they learn their lesson from the rogue drone example?”
“Maybe they think they have control. But anyway, it’s just a conjecture. I hope we’ll learn more when Immuri’s team analyses the code.”
“Talking of which, how are you going to send the information to him?”
“You will deliver it. I have already ordered to transfer the strange datacore to your cargo hold.”
“What about your research and the code you found in the microcontrollers?”
The agent gave me a confident smile, “You will deliver it too but in a different way. All you need to do is dock at the Immuri’s station and he will take care of it.”
I looked at her suspiciously and said with a warning in my tone, “Delphine?”
“Don’t you worry about it,” she replied nonchalantly. “I can’t officially share the results of our investigation with a Caldari corporation, so I have to use some unconventional methods. The less you know about them the better.”
I sighed and said, “Aura?”
A screen in the lounge lit up and started showing footage from internal surveillance cameras. It started from the moment when I left the ship to collect my possessions from the hotel. The recording showed Delphine stand up and walk to one of the service corridors. There she opened a hatch leading to the power grid cable tunnels and put something inside. She then closed the hatch and returned to the lounge.
The video was a montage of streams from several CCTV cams, which Aura put together for this demonstration in short time. In fact, she informed me of Delphine’s suspicious activity while I was en route to the hotel, and I asked her to put together a summary. She did it masterfully.
“Thank you, Aura,” I said and turned to sheepish looking Delphine. I pointed toward the service corridor and bowed with a reproachful grimace, “After you.”
We walked to the hatch where Delphine extracted a small datacore and handed it to me.
“It was just to protect you,” she said apologetically. “If Gallente customs detected this datacore in your ship, you could honestly say you knew nothing about it.”
“I can take care of myself. For me, it’s much more important to have confidence in my ship. I don’t want to discover any surprises in the middle of a combat.”
“But it’s just a datacore!”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said firmly. “It’s a question of principle.”
I pocketed the datacore and we returned to the lounge.
“Anything else I need to know before I depart?” I asked with a touch of sarcasm.
Delphine shook her head silently.
“Then it’s a farewell,” I said and approached her for the last handshake.
She didn’t take my hand but instead hugged me tight and pecked me on a cheek. I returned the hug and patted her on the shoulder.
Her eyes glistening suspiciously, Delphine whispered, “Stay safe,” then quickly disengaged from me and walked to the exit.
I stood rooted to the spot, overcome by mixed feelings.
After some indeterminate time I heard Aura pretend to clear her throat and say, “That was… emotional.”
I took a deep breath and said, “Yeah… it was.”
There was a lot to mull over – not only in my interactions with Delphine but during my entire sojourn in Gallente space – but I decided to leave it for later as there was work to be done. I went to the cargo hold and confirmed that the strange datacore was there.
“It’s all yours,” I told Aura, “at least, until we arrive to Immuri’s station.”
“Yay!” Aura cheered. “And don’t forget to deliver Delphine’s playlist to Dr. Viremont.”
“That will buy you a few minutes,” I laughed.
“Who knows, maybe more?” she said with an enigmatic smile.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if Dr Viremont is as attractive as Mademoiselle Xarasier, you may decide to invite her for dinner.”
“Aura!” I cried in mock indignation. “It ill behoves a young lady like you to make such innuendoes.”
Aura giggled and disappeared from the screen. Obviously, she couldn’t wait to lay her hands on the mysterious datacore.