Крип / Kryp: Отряд_3.18

Chapter 18

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:03

The twelve-story white and gray building was a little apart from the main complex of the planetary spaceport. The building was typical of Beacon and stood out only for its restrained decor, laconic even by the standards of the poor world. No sacred symbols were adorning the walls, nor was the building itself a visible embodiment of the Faith in the ascetic style of some Forges who extolled the Omnissia revelations through geometry and proportions of linear size. Just a box of frost-whitened concrete, brick, and glass, only the many antennas of every caliber on the roof indicated that it was not a warehouse or an ordinary official's office building.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:21

It was here that the headquarters of the Adeptus Mechanicus Expeditionary Corps was located. Magos, of course, approved of the visible images of the pillars of the God-Machine doctrines. But in this case, they decidedly chose practicality and inconspicuousness. A brick hangar with a corrugated metal roof and faded-painted gates safely sheltered the 'Dog of War' that had become the receptacle of Doturov's consciousness. Simple automatons - essentially just autonomous tech-priests manipulators - ran communications and power cables through the ventilation ducts, placing controllers as well as primitive communicators where no human engineer could reach if they wanted to. The servitors, combining the two floors, assembled the core of a field cogitator whose operator terminals sprawled across the building like zygotes of orc mushrooms.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:24

Doturov needed neither holographic projectors nor even simple monitors to perceive the information received from the entire planet. The data was directly downloaded to the titan's onboard data banks, from where it was read by the Martian's virtual connectors. The image of the frozen planet in Lexik Arcanus' mind was surrounded by many branching graphs. Sliding through them, one could learn literally everything that had been recorded in one way or another by at least one sensor or controller. From the trajectories of any of the eight thousand two hundred and seventy satellites to the weekly fluctuations in the price of wild muffalo wool from the northern continent's PDF expeditionaries.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:26

Such information was overwhelmingly ignored by Administratum officials, perceived as useless. The imperfection of the human brain, even enhanced with Mechanicus implants, did not allow for the evaluation and processing of such volumes of data. Many radicals saw this limitation as a symptom of a severe malady, a sign of the inherent flaw of the Imperium and its control mechanisms. Others pointed out that reasonable approximation of parameters coupled with the use of probabilistic models made it possible to manage enormous social structures quite effectively. Where the Mechanicus deliberately went for fragmentation and reduction in the size of its administrative units, the Administratum managed sectors of hundreds of thousands of star systems, with the ability to concentrate truly grandiose forces when necessary.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:31

It was no mistake or miscalculation that this power might now be useless. Every tool has its limits of effectiveness and its applications. The truth about the hydraulic press and the quantum flaw detector, coming from the depths of millennia, was only proof of this. The strength of Mankind lay in its variability, in having the tools to solve any possible problem.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:33

That was the true meaning of the Olympic Treaty.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:34

Doturov's attention was divided into thousands of parallel processes, which in turn branched off - unpredictably and chaotically from the perspective of an outside observer. Not a single bit of useful data could slip past the Martian's keen attention. It occurred to Doturov that such efficiency, now available only to a few in the highest hierarchy of Mars, had once been commonplace for A.I. during the Dark Age of Technology. A major evolutionary advantage and, at the same time, a major vulnerability.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:35

/Those who strive only for machine perfection ignore the undeniable fact that artificial intelligence has lost in the global contest, despite its apparent superiority,' noted Martian. - 'The desire to become completely similar to the losing side leads to inevitable defeat. For a mind without a soul is absolute heresy.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:42

"The princepses are requesting schemes of moving," came a message from Logis Theta.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:43

Doturov's consciousness slid up the logical chains, bringing the processed data into a coherent picture. The image of the planet was covered with additional markings, like the bloodsucking little insects that swarm around northern muffaloes in search of areas not covered by thick wool. Certainly, additional analysis would have yielded even greater accuracy, and ultimately indicated unmistakably the single point in space where the Immaterial would (perhaps) merge with real space, but time... Decision time has always been as important a constraint as the resources available.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:44

The first manipula - 'Arbogast', 'Dughem', 'Conn', 'Lissajous' and 'Potenot' - remain to cover the spaceport. The reserve of manipulae is 'Killing'. The second manipula - 'Bessel', 'Dirichle', 'Krell', 'Runge' and 'Zermelo' - move out to the Lerke district. The reserve of the second manipula is 'Kronover'. Legion 'Etwesh' is deployed to the supply bases along the specified perimeter. Geller drones are distributed to the centurions of the legion, in the operational subordination of the tribunes. The full readiness for the blockade of the capital and the port should be achieved within forty hours from the moment the signal is received.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:48

"Is a riot expected in the city?"

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 15:48

Doturov sent Logis an encrypted infodump with an extract of the transgressions of planetary governance. Illegal financial transactions, advertisements on closed channels, pornography, drugs, forbidden services - all the things that inevitably germinate in the shadows of any human community from its inception.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:07

"This is the standard background of highly organized crime in a segmentary society with elements of polycracy," Logis allowed himself to object after reading the data. "However, there is not the slightest reason to believe that there is any meaningful opposition here, ready to challenge the legitimate authorities of the Imperium. Are you suggesting that the analytical systems of the Administratum have missed something significant?"

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:09

Forming his answer to the Logis, Doturov concurrently thought about the philosophical aspect of the problem of data analysis.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:09

Cogitators of Abominable Intelligence was the unattainable pinnacle of computational development, but even then the intuition of people of a certain kind and the decisions they made often surpassed the capabilities of machine worlds. For in a crisis there is always a 'jumping off point' into a dark future that even artificial intelligence cannot adequately predict. Yes, based on past and present data, the cogitator models the future with a more or less acceptable probability. By making a decision based on the data presented by the cogitator, the operator changes the process of development of the situation and, consequently, the distribution of probabilities. A new calculation is made, a new forecast is made, which prompts a direction of a different choice. It is possible to determine this direction by the method of successive approximation in a zigzag manner, by the type of 'Brownian' motion

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:15

But in some cases, what people call 'intuition' detects the 'closest path' more quickly and accurately. In this case, losses are usually minimized. Reality consists of countless large and small, different in amplitude and speed phenomena, which, mutually influencing each other, form a giant system of unimaginable complexity. No calculator will ever be able to contain all the possible and accounted for components of reality. And if it does happen, there will still be unpredictable dark regions of unaccountable excesses, as the 'Laplace demon' points out.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:30

But not today.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:30

Doturov sent Perseus the following infodump. Astropath data, paired with Arbitrator reports, reports from Inquisition investigators who have visited the system six times in the last two centuries, visual images of Navis Nobilite, and threat models of Adeptus Astra Telepathy.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:30

"Pairing of Immaterium?"

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:42

"Correct."

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:42

"Unpredictable consequences?"

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:44

Predictable with the appropriate array of inputs, which at the moment we do not have. So we will limit ourselves to stating 'inevitably destructive'.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:44

"Will the metropolis be evacuated?" Theta asked persistently.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:45

"Only after the commencement of conjugation. There is ample reason to believe that the specific parameters of the event in question may have noticeable deviations due to the deliberate actions of the renegades. And, since the renegades can adapt their strategy based on anticipated opposition - the Mechanicus forces will be waiting. Invisible to possible infiltrators in the structures of the Administratum."

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:50

"Do we need to be prepared to confront the Dark Ones?"

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:50

"I have not met any techno-heretics capable of avoiding my attention. And I don't see them now."

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 16:51

"I'll give this task a medium priority," noted Perseus Theta. "Within one hundred and forty minutes the Kronover will be ready to move out."

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:03

Doturov was pleased. His protégé did not dismiss the unlikely danger on the basis of a high-ranking magos's assertion, but he did not devote too many resources to countering it, diverting them at the expense of the main tasks. Perhaps the results of the operation would show Theta to be effective enough that the benefits of his existence would outweigh the possible costs.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:04

Magnos Omicron's majestic titans lined the main highway in a single wall. No war flags were hanging from the gun drives of the 'Dogs of War,' as they were accustomed to from official Picts and ceremonial releases of the allowed imperial news. There was no symbolism to indicate the types of godlike machines, their arms, the triumphant banners of victorious campaigns, or the number of victories. The titans who landed on 140101-55524-R54024-52928P10 had not yet experienced the fury of battle and the thrill of battle. And what's more, they weren't even formally part of any Legio. The twelve 'Dogs of War' requisitioned by Doturov remained a nameless operational unit of the Collegium Titanica.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:05

From a certain point of view, the decision of the Lexic Arcanus was defined as a blatant violation of protocols. The deployment of Collegiate manipuli without secturian foot cover was not allowed in peacetime and was categorically forbidden in war. Just as a giant beast can be stung by a swarm of individually insignificant insects, so sudden attacks by heavily-armed infantry at close range pose no small threat to titans. However, the formal nine-hundred-kilometer march of the second manipula to Lerke was declared a 'cycle of field trials' in a neutral environment, and there was no one in the entire sector who could challenge Doturov's decision.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:12

The cannon limbs of every second ''Dog'' lowered in synchrony. A long siren sounded over the frost-covered steppe, and the stunted shrubs seemed to tremble in terror, shaking their thorns. Six machines resembling wingless birds lifted on bending backward legs and stepped forward in unison, shaking the frozen ground, kicking up clouds of snow. The roar of the rapturous crowd from the city and port side seemed to fill the entire space. The divine machines of Mars were treading on the ground of Beacon, and that meant that the planet was safe.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:13

The 'Dogs' stepped forward, looking like ravenous lizards searching for their prey's trail, and then moved forward in giant strides, incredibly agile and fast for a machine of this size.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:25

The six titans were rushing across the snow-covered steppe at about forty to fifty kilometers per hour. Of course, the word 'rushed' might seem inappropriate to describe the machines, each of which rises to a height of fifteen meters and weighs nearly five hundred tons. The power and majesty of Mars are undeniable, but the laws of physics rule even over its creations. And yet... From the outside, it seemed that the titans were not subject to the constraints of mass and inertia. The 'Dogs' movements were characterized by a perfect precision, a smooth slowness that turned the movement into a dance, a rapturous hymn to dynamics and coordination.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:28

The route was far from the main traffic arteries and settlements. It was here, on the empty plains, away from the eyes of outsiders and cameras, from the eyes of servitors and securities, that another miracle of the God-Machine was to take place.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:31

The 'Krell' ahead, which kicked out tons of frozen dust with every step, suddenly turned its hull, aiming for the 'Kronover' chosen by Doturov. At the same time, the turbolaser barrel assembly turned, indicating readiness for an attack. The movements of the hull and undercarriage did not match, confusing the opponent.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:32

However, Doturov, foreseeing this maneuver, reacted already at the moment when 'Krell' began an unmotivated U-turn. Continuing his stride, the 'Kronover' crouched deeply, bending his legs backward with his joints, and took a powerful leap to the side. Already in heavy flight, Doturov's megabolter found the enemy and struck it with thirty-eight projectiles in a vulnerable spot where the fields of the two void generators overlapped, forming an unstable overlapping zone.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:32

Conditionally struck.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:33

The Titans moved slowly from a human perspective, and incredibly precisely, gracefully for giants of their size and weight. The earth trembled under their iron gait. And even the air seemed to ring with the intensity of the radio exchange of the training battle. Doturov enjoyed every millisecond and was only saddened by the fact that hardly any of the crews were aware of the truth. The true birth of their titans was not in the shops and smelters of Magnos Omicron, but here and now.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:34

The newborn Spirits of the 'Dogs,' who realized themselves incarnated in metal, ceramics, and the flames of material bodies, finally received the bits of real experience, the first at the beginning of a glorious life. The very one that would multiply with every battle, so that centuries later princeps and moderati would call it Shadow, an echo of its own desires of a godlike machine. Lexicus Arcanus perceived the body of 'Kronover' with crystal clarity, in fact, Doturov was now a titan. He could feel the weight of the ammunition in the megabolter's charging machines, the rustle of snow and sand on the hull inaudible to the human ear, even the pulse of Perseus Theta sitting in the cockpit of the moderati.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:36

Doturov heard the mindless recitation of the gun servitors wired to the titan's 'arms' and the endless meditative vigil of the trusted tech-priest in the armored reactor control room. He felt the rhythmic pulsation of the power plant and the icy flow of the turbolaser cooling system. A running beam of the auspice illuminated the five other 'Dogs of War', and his own databank calculated their most likely maneuvers.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:52

Somewhat like young predators, the divine machines were learning, learning what biological organisms call 'instincts. They emulated surprise attacks on each other, ambushes, solo and paired hunts, recording their own and others' successes as well as failures without the risk of permanently losing all recorded information. Doturov hadn't driven a combat vehicle in years, but his unattainable fusion with a titan for other crews, and most importantly - experience! - allowed him to win one-on-one or two-on-one battles with ease. There was no narcissism or petty assertion in this; on the contrary, Lexic Arcanus generously shared information, demonstrating tactical schemes of high complexity.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 17:59

The princepses of 'Bessel', 'Dirichlet', 'Krell', 'Runge' and 'Zermelo' quickly moved on to practice corralling the enemy with the entire manipuli, coordinating intense movement and mutual cover fire. The only great experience allowed Doturov to prevail over the combined enemy twice in twenty-one attempts. The unknown princeps, who supposedly was now controlling the Kronover, commanded the deepest respect of the other crews and the respectful attention of the spirits of the machines.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 18:01

It was eight hundred and thirty kilometers to Lerke's district, and the manipula had finished the first act of combat training and regrouped in marching formation, in two columns with the guards moved forward. Doturov thought that technical stagnation had its own beauty and undeniable benefit - the skills acquired thousands of years ago do not become obsolete, but only get better, like well-seasoned alcohol. After a hundred kilometers of rapid marching, the drill resumed, simulating a surprise attack. The Kronover again 'attacked', shooting the enemy literally at point-blank range.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 18:02

"There is one aspect of the plan in progress, the available justification for which, in my opinion, is insufficient," Logis Theta reported. "In order to perform the tasks assigned to me more effectively, I would like to obtain additional information."

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 18:03

"Accepted."

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 18:03

"My confusion concerns the removal of the novice of the Purification Service known as 'Olga'."

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 18:08

Had Doturov now had a body and a face with the ability to display facial expressions, he would have smiled at Theta's subtlety. Logis used wording that formally displayed incomprehension and doubt, but elegantly emphasized the priority of the lack of information. A sort of 'I could have done better if you had...' but without even a hint of reproach.

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 18:09

"Certainly she has shown the highest efficiency with the cogitator," Theta continued. "But everything she did was recorded and thoroughly researched. Isn't it enough to translate the data into communication patterns and improve overall efficiency?"

Camrad_RIP 25.11.21 в 18:10