The Ouroboros Wave by Jyouji Hayashi, Jim Hubbert Page B

inconvenience of having to input commands while suited up, she would have full access to the AI through the backup panel in the core.
    The structures inside the ring were unscathed. Even the lights were still on. Catherine made her way down the corridor to the control room without noticing anything unusual. The door was sealed, but as she approached, Shiva automatically started calling up biometric data from her web. He wanted to know the identity of his visitor.
    Thirty seconds later the door opened. Though it must have been her imagination, it seemed to Catherine that access was given grudgingly. She’d be unable to use her web from the control room to exchange data with the outside—another security measure. The only way to communicate with her team would be by voice, via her suit.
    To the right of the console was an umbilicus for suit power, circulating oxygen, and heating water. This was essential for extended work in the cold vacuum of the core, but Catherine left it alone. There was no guarantee that Shiva might not use the umbilicus for some other purpose. She was taking no chances.
    Inside the control room, Catherine was weightless. She harnessed herself to the console as if for a routine work session. A few moments later the console initiated a second verification sequence with her web.
    Under normal circumstances Catherine would have regarded this as unremarkable. Obviously, Shiva would want to know who was attempting to use his console. But his recent behavior had been anything but normal. She was struck by how much work and ingenuity were necessary to create and maintain a world where things functioned as expected. If AIs could be taught to think like humans, maybe none of this would be happening.
    ID verification was successful. The object known as Catherine Sinclaire was authorized for full system access. The console powered up and signaled ready.
    Catherine used the outsize keyboard to input data with gloved fingers. She avoided voice input to keep the interaction as basic as possible. Shiva’s response was immediate. Catherine winced. Graham, this is all your fault, isn’t it?
    The fact that Graham Chapman’s ID was still valid had to be the key to solving the problem. Instead of running a system analysis, she queried the status of Chapman’s agent. Sure enough, the program had assumed override control of Shiva’s top-level functions. Chapman had named it “Priority Observation Program.”
    So you’re the one who’s been screwing things up.
    The program had been loaded less than an hour before Chapman had become his creation’s first victim. Catherine next asked to view the program code, but the output was so long and involved that it was difficult to make an immediate judgment. Apparently the program was designed to make Shiva respond to some specific condition or event, but just glancing at the code didn’t yield much information. A proper analysis would have to wait for Sati.
    Still, Catherine wasn’t going to walk away empty-handed after almost being killed in the effort to get here. If the front door was locked, maybe she could find another way in. That was almost always possible with any large system.
    Graham, what is this program supposed to do? Is it a new resonance damper?
    She decided to take her first calculated risk: accessing Chapman’s avatar through her web. Most programs of this type allowed limited access for basic maintenance and profiling. All she had to do was ask the avatar to state its type and purpose.
    The avatar was configured for voice response only. Perhaps because of the program’s size, Chapman had dispensed with the usual talking head. That was just as well. Catherine was in no mood to talk to a simulation of a dead man.
    “This all goes back to my goal of analyzing that anomalous ring resonance,” the avatar said, apparently programmed by Chapman to be chatty. Somehow Catherine was not surprised. “I think I’m onto a solution, but I can’t prove it