By David C. Daoust
Danielle shifted nervously in her boots. She stood, alone, on one of the long walkways that stretched through the Galliant Hangars of Luxxon. A place she has been spending more and more of her time. Luxxon was her hometown, she was born and raised here. Nothing truly rang of home since her return though. Everyone was different, harder; not a family had not suffered loss at the hands of the Venusborn.
Harry was out there again, defending the supply lines, fighting God knows what.
Danielle had lost her voice. She lost the ability to preach peace to these hard, angry people. She pressed it with Harry. He was not receptive. His brow would furrow, and the shadow that blotted his eyes, led her to silence, every time.
Her chance of returning to Earth, to finish her last year of University was fast approaching. Could she even ship out now that she had witnessed the truth?
Harry was supposed to be back by now.
Danielle shifted again, leaned back a moment, before turning on her heel and marching back the way she had come. It was not the first time he was gone longer than intended. Standing there, waiting, didn’t help; she knew from experience.
Danielle now lived with worry.
The Skrags seemed endless. A week did not go by, that another Galliant was not suddenly ambushed. The losses were devastating every time. Every time except, of course, when she and Harry were ambushed. Fergus, it would seem, had systems that were able to detect the Venusborn tech. She was pretty sure that was why her brother went out so often. All to protect everyone else. To do everything he could to shield the Earthborn fighters.
Fergus was old, complex code, unique in every way. The systems that it used to detect the enemy tech, was a mystery to all. Even for Danielle, who had been studying computer sciences for the past three years of University. She had always had Fergus in mind with her studies, though she had never imagined what she currently contemplated. Never imagined she would create something to help with ‘war’.
Ultimately, Danielle was trying to duplicate it. It was not going well. There did not seem to be any reason she could not, simply, create a new copy of the program. Create ‘copies’ of the program. If every Galliant had a Fergus of their own, maybe more lives could be spared. And especially end the risks her brother was taking.
Danielle’s training in computer sciences was incomplete, yet, she was sure, even if she was a professor, it would not make sense. It’s just code. Yet, it won’t run. The copies won’t ‘wake up’. She spent most of her days and nights pouring over the code, studying each block. It was endless.
Fergus could learn, he could write his own code. It was amazing. At some point, Fergus started writing his own language. Syntax Danielle could not find anywhere, through all the libraries, throughout all her studies. That being said, if it worked for Fergus, it should work as a copy. Even if she can’t understand it… it should understand it.
Her frustration with the thought peaked as she made her way down to ground level. Others were there, either waiting for loved ones to return, or mechanics waiting for the Hangar to fill back up so they could run maintenance on the Galliants.
They all recognized her by now. They knew what she was feeling, what she was thinking. Her own dark look was mirrored on the faces she silently passed. Levity was a thing of the past. The only light, was when the Galliants returned. Yet even when none were harmed, it always only felt like a temporary reprieve.
Danielle worked through more than just the code, she started studying the Galliant itself; trying to find a separate cache in the machine. Something that could fill in the gaps. A second program, maybe, that was making it all work. There were more processors in that massive machine, than just the cpu; each with more than enough memory modules… If it was dependent on a bit of code that was missing from the copy she had, it would explain why the program would not run. It could be anywhere within… all depended on where Fergus wrote it. Fergus had been actively ‘learning’ in that machine, since her great grandfather was young.
Danielle had to assume, any of its components were fair game for Fergus to make changes. She doubted it would care if someone else could read it, more than that… syntax– code, itself, was for humans to communicate more readily with machine language, which to a human mind was just a series of ones and zeros… binary. There was no reason for her to assume, that Fergus had not, at some point, forgone even his own code, in favor of just writing in pure binary. If so, she doubted she would ever find it. Its code could be coiled throughout the machine, inseparable.
The answer hit her like a bolt of lightning: if she couldn’t separate the code from the machine, maybe she could unite the rest of the machines, with the original.
Danielle’s pace changed as she exited the Luxxon Hangar, hailing a car she hurried back home. A new determination moved her, no sooner had she flopped down in front of the ring of monitors that took up the majority of her study, than she started plugging in code to allow Fergus into every Galliant on Mars.
There she sat, still working, when Harry came home. Only stopping long enough to share her relief at his return, yet not bothering to explain her plan as she continued her work.
It was a task that spanned weeks. Her scheduled trip, back to Earth, came, she let it pass on by. She could not leave Mars now. Some part of her knew, upon that first encounter on Mars, she was not leaving Mars again. Not while there was still fighting out there in the dunes. Not while people were dying.
Once she had something solid, she was able to acquire help from others. She gained support from the Earthborn government, she gained praise from all. By the time it was complete, a small army was working under Danielle. All trying to piece it all together.
The ‘General of Mars’ was born. That was what the Earthborn started calling Fergus; ‘The General’. Fergus shifted the balance in the war. The Skrags were no longer able to ambush the Galliants, not with Fergus’, unique system, networked with every Earthborn Galliant, City, Defensive Base, and Watchtower throughout the Earthborn’s territory.
Danielle’s plan, fully realized, led to more and more saved lives; led to the Venusborn running scared; led to less risks and less worry. Most of all, it returned Danielle’s voice to her. People were actually listening to her. Danielle was finally able to talk of ‘peace’ without damaging those around her.
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