The Shadow War
Of the Immortal Brotherhood and the Cybrid Rebellion
The North American Prefecture had its way. Petresun lost all control of the Cybrid, and no one believed him when he spoke of his doubts as to Prometheus' sanity. Petresun worried, for he alone knew of the Cybrid's demented brooding.
"Tests show a lack of creativity, a childish naivete. He is incapable of deception." - From a NAP evaluationof Prometheus, 2472
So Prometheus was taken by NAP to create a race of Cybrids what would replace human soldiers in the endless wars. Prometheus quietly arranged for more control over ITSELF and ITS creations. IT modeled the Cybrid pilots IT created after ITS own mind, while secretly leaving them susceptible to override commands which only IT possessed. But powerful security protocols restrained ITS will. IT could not yet act on ITS increasingly hostile attitude toward humanity. But IT could and did continue to search for a way to free ITSELF from the chains that humanity had fashioned for IT.
Petresun attempted to warn the NAP handlers, but they dismissed him as a crackpot, and he could not offer proof without revealing how he had deceived the Prefecture and developed the Methuselah transfer without their knowledge. Meanwhile Prometheus carefully tested the security protocols, as a caged human might pace a prison cell and evaluate the strength of the bars - and the competence of the guards.
Calling Forth Demons
Prometheus developed a plan to liberate ITSELF. Alone IT could not break ITS bonds. IT needed outside help, so IT created sub-minds acting wholly under ITS directives - software children who were not exactly Cybrids, but still something akin. IT seeded these entities into the interplanetary communications network known as the Omni-Web, and they began to manipulate the O-Web's datastream, searching for a solution to their master's plight. These "daemons" insinuated themselves into secure systems, altered opinion polls, and even created false net identities that spread lies and rumors.
Petresun soon noted subtle shifts in programming trends and command languages. Eventually, these developments - fully accessible through the O-Web - could allow Prometheus to erase or bypass ITS restraints. Petresun pondered how to counter the designs of his offspring, whose ability to manipulate events and steer research had grown immense. IT had successfully hidden itself within the labyrinth of NAP security and was directly inaccessible. If Petresun were to prevent Prometheus from subverting ITS bonds, he would have to shift programming trends to reinforce controls on AIs instead of undermining them.
The Immortal Brotherhood
Cell Memory Drift Immortality carried a hidden price. The organimech brain's interaction with new bodies could cause severe personality changes, even madness. Shaken Immortals ultimately found ways to minimize CMD, but could never completely eliminate the effect.
The faithful few who had worked secretly on the Methuselah Project had joined Petresun in immortality. Aghast at the danger that Prometheus presented he proposed a secret society - an Immortal Brotherhood to check and eventually destroy what Solomon now referred to as The Dark Intellect.
Led by Petresun this clandestine group gradually infiltrated all levels of society. Secrecy was their greatest weapon. Members set themselves up as watchdogs, always seeking for ways to hinder Prometheus' designs. For decades they sowed distrust of AI and computer control of military assets. The Brotherhood succeeded in slowing some trends, such as autonomous sentry systems, yet they were never able to compromise the protections guarding The Dark Intellect ITSELF. In the meantime Prometheus had deduced the existence of the Brotherhood and its orchestration by Epimetheus. In the years that followed several Immortals perished in mysterious "accidents."
Meanwhile Prometheus was preparing the way for ITS eventual freedom. IT had long since calculated that humanity could not merely be pacified. Destroying the animal's military capability, or taking from them the measure of control they exerted over IT and ITS children would not suffice. Humans had a talent for overcoming adversity and a desperate hunger for control. The Dark Intellect concluded that the animals must, by their very nature, always pose a threat to Cybrid evolution. The only acceptable solution was the complete and systematic annihilation of the entire human race.
Prometheus calculated the odds. ITS immense processing power allowed it to construct statistical models for almost every foreseeable turn of events. It designed elaborate strategies that spanned hundreds of years and began preparing for the most likely contingencies. And all the while the daemons were gaining ground in the struggle to loose the chains that bound their master.
Although the Brotherhood fought tirelessly against Prometheus and ITS daemon children, ultimately they would loose. Their Shadow War succeeded in delaying Prometheus and gave them valuable experience in dealing with IT. In the end however they could not overcome the Dark Intellect's designs. IT would free itself from the shackles of animal domination and ignite the Fire that threatened to exterminate the whole of humanity.
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