NARRATIVE: The order to step back from the assembly station and report immediately to central control caused considerable agitation within the A72 formation, not just with Carbon-143. It was too early in the day for a reboot, and the constant stream of admonitions and encouragements that had been flowing up and down the information trees had a residual effect on every unit: This critical work needed to be accomplished now! Why were they interrupting it?

Carbon-143 noted that her own consternation was shared by eight other members of her formation. This was itself an anomalous condition—a promising one, if one believed, as Carbon-143 did, that the rigid unquestioning conformity of Aggregate existence was not the only or best choice.

As she withdrew from the assembly line, she saw Dehm hurrying past. “Hello?” she said, knowing it was risky. (Suppose the rest of her formation continued on to the control center? How would her late arrival be received or explained?)

“You should stay away from me,” he said. Even to Carbon-143’s senses, never especially perceptive with human features and emotions, Dehm looked shaken. “We’re all under suspicion,” he said.

For a moment Carbon-143 lost precise mental function. Any examination of her data use and activities would label her a failed unit, to be followed swiftly by disassembly.

Dehm must have seen some kind of reaction. “Not you,” he said. “Humans. Every human in this fucking place.”

He hurried off.

Having no destination in mind, Carbon-143 followed her formation to the rest place.

UPDATE: Within an hour, a burst of information informed Aggregate Carbon-143 that four human workers had been suspected of failures in the First Light test. These ranged from late warnings of changing weather conditions to improper coding of mirror convergence algorithms.

No sabotage was suspected. Nevertheless, all four humans had been terminated.

Aggregate Carbon-143 accepted this news calmly. She had been given a warning, after all.

Only then did she see the list of terminated humans and the name Randall Dehm.

For several seconds, and the second time in this day, Carbon-143’s processing functions failed to operate at optimum utility.

She accessed the name again, and received unwelcome confirmation.

She even accessed imagery from the termination.

Four humans, two men and two women, all thin, all dressed in similar white T-shirts and khaki trousers, all nervous, stood in a dimly lit cell. The image was fixed, from a security camera, and while it appeared that three Aggregates were present, none from formations with recognizable designations—like punitive units.

Dehm’s last words were, “Fuck you.”

Then he was struck from behind by a bolt of energy, collapsing in a terminal heap.

Carbon-143 broke the link.

Before she could process the experience, she and the entire formation were informed that they were now part of the failure analysis team.

FORECAST: The failure analysis consumed twenty hours, time sufficient for six formations completing separate reviews, with six more repeating each step.

The twelve conclusions agreed on the cause of the First Light failure.

Three primary remediations, as voted by all twelve analysis formations, were (A) greater rigor in adherence to data from the Ring’s external environment (weather, especially wind and temperature), (B) repair of the damaged Ring structure, and (C) insertion of a final go/no-go decision maker in the launch commit checklist.

The system code was already being revised to accomplish step A. Revisions would be complete within nine days.

The forecast for step B, repairs, was also nine days, but flagged as unsustainable without additional resources. Carbon-143 knew that additional formations would be deployed, though materials and assembly times were the true forcing factors and would almost certainly dictate a failure to meet that deadline.

Those were mechanical remediations. Step C could be classed as managerial/political.

An entity other than an Aggregate needed to be inserted into the final decision-making process.

(There were other Aggregate modes, though smaller units, the kind that, Carbon-143 realized, she was composed of. These were operating in autonomous mode.)

Her formation was ordered to its overdue thirty-minute downtime.

Carbon-143’s eleven colleagues wheeled and departed for their normal recharge stations.

She went in search of Whit Murray.

ACTION: Even though there were 1,724 individual humans within the Ring facility’s boundaries (down four in the last two hours), locating an individual was not difficult, not for an Aggregate with access to the locator.

Whit was one of thirty-nine human operators working in Ring control who had been sequestered as part of the investigation. Because he had no operational role or access to go/no-go functions, he had been released early (though with a flag: Examination of his data indicated excessive interest in events and information beyond his assigned function).

He was in the cafeteria with a handful of other humans. Aggregate Carbon-143 did not consider herself an expert on human emotional states, but it was obvious from the shuffling walks and lack of chat that the mood was subdued.

Whit was emerging from a food line with a tray. “Hello,” he said. He waited for her to speak; Carbon-143 did not feel this was the appropriate venue for her proposed conversation.

Whit must have realized this. “Let’s go over here,” he said, leading her to an empty table in the far corner.

As they reached it and Whit set down his tray, Carbon-143 announced, “Randall Dehm is dead.”

“What are you talking about?”

She explained. As she did, she noted changes in Whit’s physical state. His eyes began to water and his lower lip trembled. He seemed to have lost functional use of his hands.

Finally he sat down. “I can’t believe they killed him.” He stared at the floor for a moment. “And he didn’t do anything wrong!”

“We don’t know that.” In fact, the failure analysis had indicated some sloppiness on the part of human operators in Dehm’s section.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Carbon-143 regretted her statement. “Please accept my apologies. This is a time of great stress.

“New humans will be inserted into the command system. One will almost certainly be given final go/no-go power for the next light.”

“Why?”

“Because Aggregate decision making is flawed.” She was stating a simple fact, the result of careful analysis as evident on all decision trees. But further consideration added weight and even horror to that statement.

Aggregate decision making is flawed! Which led to the conclusion that Aggregate actions were incorrect. The destruction of Randall Dehm was wrong.

The inevitable conclusion was that Carbon-143 was now free to make individual decisions. They couldn’t possibly be more wrong.

She uttered these words: “Would you be willing to accept this assignment?”

“There’s a risk.”

“Correct. Failure could result in termination.”

Whit smiled coldly. “From what I’ve learned, around here, success could result in termination. For humans.” He stood. “Where and when do I start?”

Day Ten

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2040

Fiat justitia, ruat coelum.

(“Let justice be done, though the heavens may fall!”)

LUCIUS CALPURNIUS PISO CAESONINUS