companies have tremendous political power down there, and they will move to block or defeat any new technologies that will basically put them out of business.
"Even if we managed to remove the fossil fuel issue, the result would put millions of people out of work. We would have to have a plan in place to counter that, but I would like to see them take a more active role in the alliance by offering the displaced workforce opportunities on other worlds.
"However, the largest obstacle we are going to face down there will be the existing governmental structures. Nationalism is very much a way of life to a good portion of the planet. None of them will willingly step aside to allow a global governmental structure that was not controlled by their own country.
"Anything we do down there will be met with suspicion and resistance. They will try to steal the technology at every turn, while at the same time trying to block us from doing what we set out to accomplish. This is going to be very difficult and will most likely take some time, but I do believe it can be done. I will gladly welcome any and all ideas any of you can give me and my team that will help us in accomplishing our tasks. Thank you."
––––––––
Standing again before the now larger group, Vance smiled and nodded. "Bringing Earth into the Alliance will no doubt be as challenging as defeating the Aracs. Let us hope the task will have far less casualties." He paused to check his notes since we had a lot to discuss today.
"Lord Doctor Eric Cowan has an urgent report he wished to share with us before we get into the main discussions. Lord Cowan?" Vance finished and took his seat as I stood.
"I have temporarily suspended the installation of the new crystal based AI systems in all craft, including the new Armor. We have discovered a potentially critical issue with the use of the new computer crystal processing units. We would like to investigate this issue further before we proceed with further installations.
"As most of you know, I've been having issues with the new AI for High Command. We believed the issue was with her programming. Two days ago we discovered that the crystal processor unit we were using as a test bed had developed a flaw which we believe caused the observed malfunction of the AI.
"Since that time, a new crystal has been installed, and the new AI seems to be operating within projected guidelines. The crystal we were using in the lab differed from all other installations in that ours wasn't shielded in anyway. All other current installations are shielded and kept in a strictly controlled environment.
"Doctor Ced Sparks and his teams are currently doing a survey of installations to determine if they are at risk of a similar failure. Before you ask, the base system was the first one checked, and she is fine, but is very concerned about this issue. We are working to correct these issues as quickly and as completely as we can.
"To that end, there are a couple of experiments we would like military assistance with to ensure no future issues such as this develop. For example, we would like the use two smaller ships to test the effects of extended stays in hyperspace on the processor crystals. I will admit, it seems like we made a mistake by allowing these to be installed before they were ready.
"Truth be told, maybe we did make a mistake. However, at the time we brought them out, we thought we knew everything about them there was to know; however, recent events have shown us that not to be the case. We are working to correct this as quickly as we can to ensure the fewest problems in the future," I said. "Does anyone have any questions for me or Doctor Sparks?"
"What is the worst case of a crystal that develops a flaw?" Vance asked.
"A completely insane and unstable AI. For a warship, that would be like the Goddess deciding she didn't like you anymore. Honestly, the reaction of the AI would be completely unforeseeable. She could simply go
"Even if we managed to remove the fossil fuel issue, the result would put millions of people out of work. We would have to have a plan in place to counter that, but I would like to see them take a more active role in the alliance by offering the displaced workforce opportunities on other worlds.
"However, the largest obstacle we are going to face down there will be the existing governmental structures. Nationalism is very much a way of life to a good portion of the planet. None of them will willingly step aside to allow a global governmental structure that was not controlled by their own country.
"Anything we do down there will be met with suspicion and resistance. They will try to steal the technology at every turn, while at the same time trying to block us from doing what we set out to accomplish. This is going to be very difficult and will most likely take some time, but I do believe it can be done. I will gladly welcome any and all ideas any of you can give me and my team that will help us in accomplishing our tasks. Thank you."
––––––––
Standing again before the now larger group, Vance smiled and nodded. "Bringing Earth into the Alliance will no doubt be as challenging as defeating the Aracs. Let us hope the task will have far less casualties." He paused to check his notes since we had a lot to discuss today.
"Lord Doctor Eric Cowan has an urgent report he wished to share with us before we get into the main discussions. Lord Cowan?" Vance finished and took his seat as I stood.
"I have temporarily suspended the installation of the new crystal based AI systems in all craft, including the new Armor. We have discovered a potentially critical issue with the use of the new computer crystal processing units. We would like to investigate this issue further before we proceed with further installations.
"As most of you know, I've been having issues with the new AI for High Command. We believed the issue was with her programming. Two days ago we discovered that the crystal processor unit we were using as a test bed had developed a flaw which we believe caused the observed malfunction of the AI.
"Since that time, a new crystal has been installed, and the new AI seems to be operating within projected guidelines. The crystal we were using in the lab differed from all other installations in that ours wasn't shielded in anyway. All other current installations are shielded and kept in a strictly controlled environment.
"Doctor Ced Sparks and his teams are currently doing a survey of installations to determine if they are at risk of a similar failure. Before you ask, the base system was the first one checked, and she is fine, but is very concerned about this issue. We are working to correct these issues as quickly and as completely as we can.
"To that end, there are a couple of experiments we would like military assistance with to ensure no future issues such as this develop. For example, we would like the use two smaller ships to test the effects of extended stays in hyperspace on the processor crystals. I will admit, it seems like we made a mistake by allowing these to be installed before they were ready.
"Truth be told, maybe we did make a mistake. However, at the time we brought them out, we thought we knew everything about them there was to know; however, recent events have shown us that not to be the case. We are working to correct this as quickly as we can to ensure the fewest problems in the future," I said. "Does anyone have any questions for me or Doctor Sparks?"
"What is the worst case of a crystal that develops a flaw?" Vance asked.
"A completely insane and unstable AI. For a warship, that would be like the Goddess deciding she didn't like you anymore. Honestly, the reaction of the AI would be completely unforeseeable. She could simply go
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