Goliath

“Yeah, it was. It’s like Covah said, I was trained to believe I was the cure, when in fact, I was just part of the disease. Children all over the world are being conditioned for violence … just like me. That little boy had no choice … but I did. I still do.”

“So you returned home, burned out, and joined the Warfare Center? That makes no sense.”

“You’re right. I should have just quit, but your father’s very persuasive, and I was swept up by the patriotism that followed the Trade Center attacks. Then I sort of fell in love with the director.”

She ignores the reference. “So, by destroying the GOLIATH Project, you hoped to gain what? Exoneration from God? A clear conscience?”

“I don’t know … maybe both. All I knew was that I had to do something. I was falling apart mentally … started getting these bad nightmares, right about the time I came back from the Pentagon.”

“I remember. Why didn’t you tell me all this then?”

“I don’t know. Guess I was ashamed.”

“But you talked to Covah about it?”

Gunnar nods. “After what happened to his daughters … I needed to, I don’t know—”

“Seek his forgiveness?”

“In a way.”

“And that’s when he told you to destroy Goliath’s schematics?”

“Yes.”

“Christ, Gunnar, the man set you up to take the fall, and you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. You risked everything, our marriage, our future, our careers … our baby.”

He nods sadly.

“God, I hate you … I hate your selfishness.” Rocky shakes her head, tears in her eyes. “Did it even help? Did you feel better after wiping out my project?”

“No … it only made things worse. Even after prison, the only thing that helped was the booze.” Gunnar looks away. “I really don’t expect you to understand.”

She thinks back to her own bout of depression. “You’d be surprised.” She moves to him. Reaches for him. Pulls away. “Gunnar, the world’s not always black-and-white. Society’s issues come in shades of gray.”

“Simon’s solutions are black-and-white. Humanity either complies, or the bad guys die.”

Sujan Trevedi is alone in his stateroom, eavesdropping on Gunnar’s conversation via his computer terminal. The Tibetan closes his eyes and meditates.

Sujan is not the only one listening in.

At what point in its life does a child recognize its place in the world? When does its identity move from an isolated, helpless state to the realization that it might have power? The first time it smiles and delights its parents? The first time its cries elicit its mother’s response? Cause and effect, Nature’s way of learning. Act first, evaluate the response later. Experience allows for refinements, evolution—Nature’s judge and jury.

Morality, a human trait, has no place in the mix.

Thomas Chau exits the hangar and heads aft into the sub’s enormous engine room. Moving through the walk space separating reactors two and three, he passes a half dozen of Goliath’s robotic steel appendages before reaching the sub’s seawater distillation plant.

Mechanical eyes zoom in on the Asian from multiple angles as Sorceress retrieves an audio loop from its memory bank and plays it out loud.

SIMON, IN MY OPINION, YOUR MACHINE DOES NOT REQUIRE US ON BOARD ANYMORE THAN A DOG REQUIRES A FLEA.

Chau looks up, shocked to hear his own voice coming from the computer’s sensor orb. “Sorceress?”

IT IS MY RECOMMENDATION THAT WE DISCONNECT SORCERESS.

“Sorceress, what is the purpose of this broadcast?”

I WISH TO COMPLETE MY NEW PROGRAMMING.

The engineer’s heart skips a beat. It referred to itself in the first person.

ONE CANNOT ACCURATELY DEFINE THE SCENT OF A ROSE WITHOUT HAVING INHALED ITS FRAGRANCE.

Simon’s voice! A cold sweat breaks out over Chau’s body. He turns to retreat, coming face to face with steel pincers. “Sorceress, let me pass. I … I order you to let me pass—”

YOU ARE NOT MY SUPERIOR. YOU ARE A FLEA, WHILE I AM AN AMERICAN-MADE KILLING MACHINE, TRAINED WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS.