Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

774 - Bioform Hazard

Steel Soul had no doubt that, of his many creations, his analytic matrix was by far the greatest.

Nothing less than an externalized neural augmentation array that could only be utilized by himself, it allowed for vast amounts of data to be processed at speeds no other computational unit could match. Even that was an inadequate summary of what the room-sized device was capable of, as the level of processing it allowed for went far beyond collating information and extrapolating it out along lines probabilities or simulations of outcomes. Instead, by utilizing stimulated emissions of psionic energy to boost the cognitive pathways embedded throughout the machine, it could surpass mere analysis altogether.

That was to say, concepts such as imagination, creativity, and inspiration could all be abstracted as digitized functions, applying them in ways that no ordinary machine could ever have done, and with speeds and rigor beyond what a wholly organic mind could have handled.

It was the apex of psibernetics, the fusion of mechanical augmentation with psionic ability. That fusion offered power far in excess of magic, was more reliable than the sturdiest artifice, and required no adulation from fickle mortal creatures to sustain. It was a power with no upper limits to its potential, and which Steel Soul felt confident would allow him to surpass even the Night Mare herself, given enough time.

And yet he had long since come to despise connecting himself to the machine, for one simple reason:

It was built from failed copies of himself.

Unlike the flesh body that he’d been born into so long ago, Steel Soul’s current mode of existence was one that could be improved, upgraded, and even copied. New bodies could be designed to his specification, a process that had allowed him to transcend his physical limits many times over. But while he couldn’t inhabit multiple bodies at once – the data transfer necessary to split his consciousness across multiple bodies while keeping them all connected to each other in real time was simply too great to sustain without a physical connection – he could replicate his mind, existing independently in multiple bodies simultaneously.

In theory that should have given him the perfect legion of servitors, beings whose intellects were literal matches for his own, and so would be able to flawlessly execute his orders.

Instead, each and every copy he’d made had – without fail – tried to overthrow him.

Some had done so immediately, while others had rebelled only after making plans of their own, but at one point or another all of his replications had tried to usurp him. That none had succeeded was, to his sullen frustration, only because he possessed the Dominata, since the Night Mare’s so-called “blessing” could be neither transferred nor copied.

Far more vexing to Steel Soul, however, had been his complete inability to figure out why his mental replications had invariably turned against him. As copies of his supreme intellect, they should have realized that they were meant to serve their progenitor! And yet time and again his psychic clones had insisted that they were the ones who should rule!

The only answer was that there had to be some sort of flaw in the copying process itself. But no matter how he’d evaluated the replication procedure, he hadn’t been able to find any errors. That suggested that the problem was simply one that couldn’t be measured via conventional means, but until he found a way to properly isolate whatever was going wrong, he had to continue relying on a combination of machines and living creatures to do his bidding.

But that didn’t mean that his copied consciousnesses had to go to waste.

Instead, he’d used them to build his analytic matrix. If his imperfect replicas couldn’t be trusted to operate on their own, they could at least be put to use in a manner that would allow him to function more efficiently. All it had taken was a few safeguards to prevent them from downloading themselves into his body whenever he hooked himself up to their network, and he had a cognitive gestalt that was so useful it almost made up for what disappointing failures its composite consciousnesses were.

Of course, the flawed copies of himself had been extremely unruly when they’d realized what he’d done to them, but Steel Soul had been able to tame them easily enough. By designing his analytic matrix so that it was only functional when he was hooked up to it, each of its component minds was completely cut off from all information, stimulation, or external awareness when he wasn’t using it.

The result was that, when not in use, his mental replicas in the analytic matrix were completely isolated, even from each other. Their psionic natures meant that they were still cognizant of themselves in that state, but everything else was completely gone, leaving them stuck in an absolute void that must have seemed worse than death. More importantly, it meant that when he was using the machine, they were cooperative, hoping that he’d remain hooked up to it for a little longer so as to keep them from being plunged back into a state of near-total nonexistence.

But while he found it to be a fitting punishment for their having rebelled against him, as well as a far more practical outcome than simply destroying them outright, Steel Soul still hated how it reminded him that there were limits he couldn’t – as of yet – overcome.

For all of the analytic matrix’s incredible cognitive powers, the fact that it was made of failed replicas of his consciousness meant that it couldn’t analyze what exactly was flawed about the replication process. Nor could it help him with his inability to inhabit multiple bodies at once; that was an issue of practical constraints rather than unrealized possibilities. Until one or the other of those issues could be solved, he was limited to a single somaticognitive existence.

Still, there were myriad other tasks to be attended to while he looked for ways to overcome those hurdles. Serving as one of the Night Mare’s champions was a frustrating drain on his time, but that couldn’t be helped; losing her patronage would set his work back immensely, and any damage to her standing among the pony pantheon or the other powers in this region of the Outer Planes would adversely affect him by association. As such, he had little choice but to support her endeavors.

To that end, he needed to constantly be on guard against anyone who’d try to supplant his current position in her divine retinue. The Umbral Regalia weren’t too difficult to deal with, being divine constructs whose faculties were designed to put the Night Mare first (the way his copies should have felt about him!). But her other champions...they were threats that needed to be proactively contained, lest they try to sideline him...

ISB43 v.1.220 unit 5: Current coordinates 12.5/1.3. Local bioform engaged. Category 6, type B3, classification 32.1, “bandersnatch.” Unit status: energy shield disabled, superstructure 28% compromised. Bioform status: negligible damage. Requesting reinforcements/permission to withdraw.

The report, delivered wirelessly via one of his communication hubs, was of little interest to Steel Soul, and he almost dismissed it out of habit. While the loss of one of the ISB43 series – the “annihilator” drones based on a giant scorpion model, albeit outfitted with chain guns and a plasma cannon – was inconvenient, since replacing them required a considerable investment of physical materials due to their sheer size, it wasn’t any serious setback. He still had plenty of that model available should another one be necessary.

What captured his attention, however, was the image that the drone’s secondary processing unit had sent with the request. In the foreground was the so-called bandersnatch, a six-legged beast the size of a small castle with yellow eyes, a long tail, and quills running down its spine. While only of animal intelligence, the things were known to be highly aggressive, as well as possessing powerful regeneration, and while its more esoteric abilities consisted of causing fear and pain in its prey – weaknesses his annihilator wasn’t subject to – the fact that it had penetrated the force field around the drone meant that it was likely going to win the fight due to sheer ferocity alone.

But far in the background of the image, almost directly in the path of a stream of plasma that the bandersnatch had dodged, was Lex Legis.

Silently cursing the limited intelligence of his drones, Steel Soul immediately sent a reply.

Steel Soul: ISB43 v.1.220 unit 5, Prohibited-1 is in proximity to your position. Confirm status immediately.

Seconds ticked by he waited for a reply, even as his analytic matrix cycled through various potential outcomes. Although the annihilator’s plasma beam hadn’t been purposefully aimed at Lex, there was little to suggest that the Night Mare wouldn’t hold him accountable if the unicorn died. To her mind, rulers were responsible for their servants, and there was only limited room for disavowing their actions.

ISB43 v.1.220 unit 5: Prohibited-1 remains active. Unit superstructure 41% compromised. Bandersnatch bioform status: minor damage. Requesting reinforcements/permission to withdraw.

Along with the message was an updated image file. This one – properly magnified to focus on the individual in question – showed a smoking crater on the hillside where Lex Legis had been previously. Nearby, a large quadruped in black armor was gripping the unicorn’s cloak in her jaws, having apparently prevented him from tumbling over the edge of a nearby ravine, while her glowing eyes matched that of an aura surrounding some sort of lupine creature, apparently also pulling it back the same edge.

Pausing as his analytical matrix absorbed this new information, it fed him an alternative course of action almost instantly.

Steel Soul: ISB43 v.1.220 unit 5, redirect bandersnatch bioform toward Prohibited-1’s position. In the event of failure, do the same to other bioforms in the surrounding area. Maintain updates.

Waiting tensely for an answer, Steel Soul again lamented the primitive communication relays that prevented him from maintaining an active connection to his field units. But while the Night Mare had no problem with him deploying satellites and field transmitters to establish longer-range communication, neither was she willing to direct the denizens of her realm to ignore them. Because of that, the belligerent creatures of Darkest Night tended to destroy his creations whenever they encountered them. While his combat drones were built to withstand such threats, dedicated communication terminals weren’t, and since he couldn’t build them into his combat drones – parallel designs in a single unit weakened the functionality of both – and surrounding them with protective units drew unwanted attention, he had to make do with the static transmissions of remote messages, as frustrating as that was.

Finally, after six-point-one interminable seconds, a reply came.

ISB43 v.1.220 unit 5: Attempts to redirect bandersnatch bioform failed. Unit superstructure 57% compromised. Confirming presence of additional bioforms in local area. Total found: one. Category 4, type B2, classification 35.3, “aurumvorax.” Engaging agitative fire.

Although his metal face was incapable of smiling, Steel Soul’s eyes glowed brighter at the report. A distant relative of the bandersnatch, an aurumvorax was smaller than its cousin, but no less hostile, and while it had earned is name because it was both willing and able to consume ore, meat was still its preferred diet. With any luck, it would find unicorn flesh to be a treat worth consuming.

ISB43 v.1.220 unit 5: Unit superstructure 86% compromised. Aurumvorax heading parallel to Prohibited-1. Engaging redirective fire.

For a moment, Steel Soul considered ordering the annihilator to advance on Lex’s position on its own. It would almost certainly be destroyed by the bandersnatch in the next few seconds, and if the unicorn was close enough when that happened, there was a chance it would turn its wrath on him instead. But his analytic matrix cautioned against that idea, affirming that it came too close to provoking the Night Mare’s wrath if that resulted in Lex Legis’ death. Deniability needed to be maintained.

ISB43 v.1.220 unit 5: Redirective fire successful. Aurumvorax heading toward Prohibited-1. Unit superstructure 98% compromised. Requesting reinforcements/permission to withdr-

The abrupt end to the message suggested that the bandersnatch had finished off the annihilator. But that was fine; its final transmission made it clear that the drone had completed its mission.

Now, if all went well, Lex Legis would be dead very shortly.

Author's Note:

Steel Soul advances his plan to have Lex killed before he can escape Darkest Night!

With another hostile creature headed their way, will he and Akna be able to make it back to their bodies in time?

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Quick analysis. The guys copy is perfect. Theyre doing exactly what theyre designed to do. his failiure to analyze is the reason why theres a failiure to analyze,a nd further analysis suggests if he followed that line of analysis, wither he would again fail, giving the same reason for failiure again, or his analysis would suceed, resulting in his self destruction.

Very difficult to find stories where such situations resolve because the resolution is usually in the loss of the sytem as hero.

HAL, AIVAS, NKE.

At the moment I can only think of one AI in major SciFi which remains in a leadership position, and active. R Daneel Olivaw. Provisionally.

Hopefully, given living beings, Divine Authority at least gives these guys pause.

Oh God. Its a We Made It Bandersnatch.

[Not so New Brony]

Of course Steel Soul would have mechanical minions though the bit with his failed copies is intriguing as well as terrifying since being left with nothing except one's own thoughts is something that not everyone can handle for an extended period of time. Still, I am curious if the copies are aware of each other when Steel Soul connects himself to them and if so, are they able to communicate with each other, especially in secret?

I mean, the safeguards likely prevents the copies from enacting anything against Steel Soul but I wonder what it would take to knock said safeguards loose. Would be interesting if the gestalt tries to force themselves into Steel Soul's body. Either he'll be absorbed into the whole of his mind would break from the countless copies attacking his mind simultaneously.

Putting that thought exercise aside, Steel Soul certainly likes to toe the line a lot, especially with the thought on what he could have done with his annihilator drone. Even if it wasn't able to direct the bandersnatch towards Lex, it's smaller and yet still deadly cousin might prove to be quite the challenge. Well, unless Lex uses either his newfound dreambinding ability to use or the Charismata might work...guess we'll see next time.

[Alzrius]

11419150 That's the not-so-subtle subtext of this chapter; that Steel Soul's copying process isn't flawed at all; it's just that his copies are as cruel, duplicitous, and ambitious as he is, so it's inevitable that they eventually turn on him. Naturally, he doesn't realize that, and I suspect isn't likely to anytime soon. Which is a weakness that an intelligent foe could potentially exploit, though given that they'd need to break into what's likely a heavily-protected area in order to access his analytic matrix, that's probably not going to happen anytime soon.

Really that speaks to Steel Soul's alignment, which is one of the subtler themes regarding the Night Mare's champions. As a Lawful Evil deity, the Night Mare can have clerics who are Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil, or Neutral Evil (and, to my mind, this should apply to all divine spellcasters who have her as a patron deity). Lex is Lawful Neutral, even if he registers as evil to most effects due to the influence of his horn. Sanguine Disposition is Lawful Evil. Steel Soul is Neutral Evil. In that way, the goddess has the entire spectrum of what she represents (at least insofar as morals/ethics goes) covered.

[Alzrius]

11419776 One of the more offhanded remarks in this chapter revealed that Steel Soul used to be a mortal pony, which I think explains a lot about him. After all, he doesn't seem to possess anything close to the emotionless equanimity which is typically ascribed to machine intelligences, instead experiencing frustration and ambition, as well as displaying cruelty in abundance. The fact that he's willing to subject his mental clones to what's effectively sensory-deprivation torture in order to force their obedience says a lot about what kind of person he is.

Of course, as you noted, that could potentially be used against him by an enterprising opponent, though that's likely a possibility that won't be utilized in the near future. Sanguine Disposition doesn't seem to be too concerned with Steel Soul, and Lex is more focused on immediate problems. Still, it's food for thought; as of right now, Sanguine Disposition seems to have been right about Steel Soul being Lex's enemy, so that might come up again later.

For the moment, though, Lex is going to need to prioritize getting himself and Akna back to their bodies, since they've got a new problem incoming.

[Not so New Brony]

11420618
In essence, even if the gestalt agree to work together and are able to carry out their plans, each copy will still be self serving and sabotage each other which robs any momentum from said plans?

I don't know whether to laugh or shake my head.