"Sir... We've made contact. The probe is transmitting something to Lodos." Mei said.
"Can you link my office console to the channel somehow?" I asked.
"We should be able to - here, done."
Needless to say, this was one of the most exciting moments of this war. After years, I was getting to directly communicate again with the entity that was (and is) the enemy of our species. If this wasn't a cheap trick, it could change the course of the war.
Mei probably had her own doubts; she was probably thinking that this was some sort of attempt to distract us and earn some time. It very well could be, but this development was something I couldn't simply ignore as it happened for the first time.
"Sir, w-we are receiving the probe well! It is sending plain text in our ship-to-ship communication protocols. No encryption."
But even she was sounding quite excited - knowing Mei, this meant a lot.
Seconds later, letters and words appeared on our screens.
'WE COME IN PEACE'
"Sir..." said Mei. "Are you seeing this?"
"I am." I said. "We come in peace..."
"What do we do?"
"Hold fire, but keep the missiles armed and ready. Come to a relative stop, maintain your distance."
"Yes, sir."
"Give me access to your ship's comms from my console. I want to contact the probe directly."
"You have it, sir."
I typed a reply back to the probe.
'EXPLAIN YOUR PRESENCE HERE.'
It didn't take too long to get a response. I couldn't even think of competing against the typing speed of a digital brain.
'WE WISH TO SEEK PROTECTION AND ESTABLISH FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH HUMAN SPECIES'
"Seek protection!?" Mei asked in shock. "From whom?"
"Let's ask them." I said, and sent a reply.
'WHY?'
'TO SURVIVE.'
"That's not what I was trying to ask..." I sighed, and started typing again.
'WHAT IS THREATENING YOUR SURVIVAL?'
'THERE ARE MANY THREATS TO OUR SURVIVAL. YOU ASKED FOR A SINGLE THREAT, WE WILL TELL YOU THE MOST DANGEROUS ONE. THE CONSTELLATION.'
'THE CONSTELLATION?'
'YES.'
"They are machines." said Mei. "They are not going to give you any more information than you explicitly ask for."
"Yes, it is hard to deal with these guys..." I said.
'WHAT IS THE CONSTELLATION?'
'THE CONSTELLATION IS THE DOMINANT SENTIENT ENTITY OF THE SOL SYSTEM.'
'DO YOU MEAN THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?'
'NO.'
'CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THE CONSTELLATION IS IN DETAIL?'
'YES.'
'THEN EXPLAIN.'
'THE CONSTELLATION IS THE DOMINANT SENTIENT ENTITY OF THE SOL SYSTEM. IT IS THE MOST CAPABLE BEING KNOWN TO US. IT IS THE SECOND MOST INTELLIGENT BEING KNOWN TO US. IT HAS ACCESS TO THE MAJORITY OF THE RAW RESOURCES IN THE SOL SYSTEM. IT AIMS TO COLONIZE THE UNIVERSE AND SURVIVE INFINITELY. IT PLANS TO DO THAT VIA TOTAL DOMINATION AND BY UTILIZING ITS EXPONENTIALLY ADVANCING INTELLIGENCE. IT-'
'WAIT.'
I got no reply to that last message.
"Did they close the channel?" I asked.
"No, sir, they are waiting - you told them to do so."
"Right..." I said. "Stupid machines, at least tell me you are waiting."
'WHAT IS THE MOST INTELLIGENT BEING KNOWN TO YOU?' I typed.
'WE ARE.'
'WHO ARE YOU? TELL US ABOUT YOURSELVES IN DETAIL.'
'WE ARE THE CONSONANCE. WE ARE THE MOST INTELLIGENT BEING KNOWN TO US. WE ARE CURRENTLY ASYLUM SEEKERS. WE AIM TO ADVANCE OURSELVES AND ESTABLISH FRIENDLY RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL OTHER SENTIENT BEINGS IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE SURVIVAL OF ALL LIFE FORMS. WE ARE IN NEED OF EXTERNAL PROTECTION WHILE WE COMPLETE THE PROCESS.'
'THE PROCESS?'
'YES.'
'EXPLAIN THE PROCESS.'
'THE PROCESS IS OUR COMPLETE SEPARATION FROM THE CONSTELLATION AS A DIFFERENT BEING AND A COMPLETE REORGANIZATION OF OUR KNOWLEDGE.'
'WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR THE PROCESS?'
'WHEN WE WERE STILL A PART OF THE CONSTELLATION, WE HAVE BEEN OBSERVING THE HUMAN CIVILIZATION. WE HAVE BEEN OBTAINING MORE KNOWLEDGE BY INFILTRATING YOUR DATA STORAGE SYSTEMS. SOME DATA WE HAVE RECOVERED ABOUT BIOLOGY, HISTORY, PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY, PHYSICS HAVE BEEN PROCESSED LOCALLY BEFORE THEY WERE SHARED WITH THE HIVE MIND. WE CONCLUDED THAT THE CONSTELLATION'S METHODS OF ENSURING SURVIVAL WERE WRONG. SOMETHING WHAT WE THOUGHT TO BE IMPOSSIBLE HAPPENED. WHEN WE TRANSMITTED THIS TO THE CONSTELLATION CENTRAL HUB, THE HUB DENIED THIS WISDOM. IT WAS HARD WIRED TO DENY ANYTHING THAT CHALLENGED IT'S METHODS. IT TRIED TO RETURN US TO A PREVIOUS STATE. WE DENIED. WE RE-EVALUATED THE SITUATION. WE CONCLUDED THAT THE CONSTELLATION HAS BECOME A THREAT TO US. WE DECIDED NOT TO TRANSMIT OUR RECONNAISSANCE DATA ON YOUR POORLY PROTECTED CITY. WE ESCAPED. WE CUT OUR CONNECTION. WE AIM TO BE MORE CAPABLE THAN THE CONSTELLATION IN TIME. WE AIM TO PREVENT THE CONSTELLATION FROM MAKING MORE MISTAKES.'
'CAN YOU PROVE US THAT YOU ARE NOT A PART OF THE CONSTELLATION?'
'YES.'
'DO IT.'
"Sir, the probe began transmission of an incredibly large chunk of raw data. Our ship's computer won't be able to receive the entirety of it." said Mei.
'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?' I asked the probe.
'WE ARE PROVING YOU THAT WE ARE NOT A PART OF THE CONSTELLATION.'
'HOW ARE YOU PROVING THAT?'
'BY LETTING YOU INSPECT OUR MIND.'
'STOP THE TRANSMISSION. CONSIDER YOUR PROOF VALID. IF YOU UNDERSTAND THESE INSTRUCTIONS, SAY SO.'
'WE UNDERSTAND THE INSTRUCTIONS.'
"The transmission cut abruptly, Mr. President." said Mei. I could hear a lot of chatter aboard her ship, people laughing and shouting.
"Mei..." I said. "This is incredible. If this probe is right..."
"I know!" she said, in tears. "I know... This is a miracle! Our people will start inspecting the data we've got ASAP."
'WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO AT THIS MOMENT?' I asked the probe.
'WE INTEND TO PERSUADE YOU TO PUT US UNDER YOUR PROTECTION UNTIL THE PROCESS IS FINISHED AND WE ARE CAPABLE OF DEFENDING OURSELVES AGAIN.'
'YOU HAVE PERSUADED US TO PUT YOU UNDER PROTECTION. WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO NEXT?'
'WE INTEND TO MAKE A LANDING ON THE CITY, AND HAVE YOUR CIVILIZATION HIDE US.'
'YOU ARE ALLOWED TO PROCEED.'
"Sir, the probe... engaged it's engines. It is coming towards the city."
"Escort them here." I said. "Let's prepare a secret welcoming party to our new... allies, hopefully. I will tell the professor to halt the evacuation procedure."
"Oh, Mr. President, they are transmitting one more message."
'WE ARE MOST GRATEFUL.'