late.”
Elise grinned. “Payback is a bitch. I assume it won’t work against a true AI.”
“No,” Stone said. “They’re immune in much the same way you are. That’s where Carl got the idea. On the plus side, those things are rare. The odds you’ll ever run into one are pretty slim. Not counting Marcus and Harrison, of course.”
“Why didn’t the Old Empire do this? It seems so straightforward.”
Stone shrugged. “We may never know for sure, but Kelsey thinks that critical people were killed by whoever was behind the rebellion. Carl says that the old implants have something that is supposed to allow only a restricted few to update the code. Something about private keys. Without them, the Old Empire was powerless.
“We captured those keys when we rescued Princess Kelsey. With them, we can easily update the old hardware. The people at Grant have come up with new keys and we’ll make sure that trusted people in many places have a way to get it, but not have it taken from them. I don’t know the details and I’m happy with that.”
Elise nodded. “And we’re sure they’re secure?”
“They had Marcus try and hack someone. He failed. That works for me.”
“Me, too.” Elise shook Stone’s hand. “Thank you, Doctor. When will everyone have this update?”
“We’re focusing on your people now. The change is quick and your doctors can handle the process now that we’ve trained them. I figure all of the people in the task force heading to Pentagar will be done before they get home.
“Commodore Meyer will have his people done in about the same timeframe. Then he’ll assist Coordinator West in getting Harrison’s World done.”
Elise felt the corner of her mouth quirk up. “Those two have been working together pretty closely these last few months. I think their relationship might be changing from a purely professional one.”
Stone raised an eyebrow. “You think? They seem pretty professional to me.”
Elise waved her hand dismissively. “I have an eye for that kind of thing. He might not know it yet, but Coordinator West is interested in deepening their relationship. And she’s good at keeping her cards close to her vest.”
Considering the woman had been running an underground movement for most of her life, conspiring against the AIs while infiltrating their puppet government, that was something of an understatement. Elise had played poker with her, Sean, Jared, Kelsey, and Talbot. That had been an eye-opening education. An expensive one, too.
The woman didn’t have a single tell. Not one. Her bluffs were indistinguishable from the rest of her hands.
Kelsey was by far the best player Elise had ever met, and she was outclassed. Worse, Elise was almost certain that Olivia West had thrown a number of hands to play down her advantage. And she’d still trounced them all.
Elise had made a number of notes to improve her own skills in that arena. In fact, she’d gotten together with the coordinator several times and sat at the feet of the mistress. Those skills would serve her well as a stateswoman. Particularly now that she was on her way to the seat of the New Terran Empire.
Based on everything she’d heard, and some of the things she hadn’t, there was going to be trouble. She’d need to work hard to turn that situation around before it bit them all in the behind.
“I’m not saying that her intent will necessarily mean anything,” Elise added. “It takes two to dance, after all. It really depends on what Sean wants. What about the people in Jared’s task force?”
Stone smiled. “We have a lot of people to work through, but we’ll be done before we reach Avalon. Keep an eye on things over the next few days. I don’t expect that you’ll have any issues, but if you do, call me at once.”
“I will. Thank you, Lily.”
Elise made her way to the ship’s library. With all the electronic books, most crewmembers never saw it, which was a shame. She’d found it amazing and
Elise grinned. “Payback is a bitch. I assume it won’t work against a true AI.”
“No,” Stone said. “They’re immune in much the same way you are. That’s where Carl got the idea. On the plus side, those things are rare. The odds you’ll ever run into one are pretty slim. Not counting Marcus and Harrison, of course.”
“Why didn’t the Old Empire do this? It seems so straightforward.”
Stone shrugged. “We may never know for sure, but Kelsey thinks that critical people were killed by whoever was behind the rebellion. Carl says that the old implants have something that is supposed to allow only a restricted few to update the code. Something about private keys. Without them, the Old Empire was powerless.
“We captured those keys when we rescued Princess Kelsey. With them, we can easily update the old hardware. The people at Grant have come up with new keys and we’ll make sure that trusted people in many places have a way to get it, but not have it taken from them. I don’t know the details and I’m happy with that.”
Elise nodded. “And we’re sure they’re secure?”
“They had Marcus try and hack someone. He failed. That works for me.”
“Me, too.” Elise shook Stone’s hand. “Thank you, Doctor. When will everyone have this update?”
“We’re focusing on your people now. The change is quick and your doctors can handle the process now that we’ve trained them. I figure all of the people in the task force heading to Pentagar will be done before they get home.
“Commodore Meyer will have his people done in about the same timeframe. Then he’ll assist Coordinator West in getting Harrison’s World done.”
Elise felt the corner of her mouth quirk up. “Those two have been working together pretty closely these last few months. I think their relationship might be changing from a purely professional one.”
Stone raised an eyebrow. “You think? They seem pretty professional to me.”
Elise waved her hand dismissively. “I have an eye for that kind of thing. He might not know it yet, but Coordinator West is interested in deepening their relationship. And she’s good at keeping her cards close to her vest.”
Considering the woman had been running an underground movement for most of her life, conspiring against the AIs while infiltrating their puppet government, that was something of an understatement. Elise had played poker with her, Sean, Jared, Kelsey, and Talbot. That had been an eye-opening education. An expensive one, too.
The woman didn’t have a single tell. Not one. Her bluffs were indistinguishable from the rest of her hands.
Kelsey was by far the best player Elise had ever met, and she was outclassed. Worse, Elise was almost certain that Olivia West had thrown a number of hands to play down her advantage. And she’d still trounced them all.
Elise had made a number of notes to improve her own skills in that arena. In fact, she’d gotten together with the coordinator several times and sat at the feet of the mistress. Those skills would serve her well as a stateswoman. Particularly now that she was on her way to the seat of the New Terran Empire.
Based on everything she’d heard, and some of the things she hadn’t, there was going to be trouble. She’d need to work hard to turn that situation around before it bit them all in the behind.
“I’m not saying that her intent will necessarily mean anything,” Elise added. “It takes two to dance, after all. It really depends on what Sean wants. What about the people in Jared’s task force?”
Stone smiled. “We have a lot of people to work through, but we’ll be done before we reach Avalon. Keep an eye on things over the next few days. I don’t expect that you’ll have any issues, but if you do, call me at once.”
“I will. Thank you, Lily.”
Elise made her way to the ship’s library. With all the electronic books, most crewmembers never saw it, which was a shame. She’d found it amazing and
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