O is for Obfuscation – AtoZ Blogging Challenge 2016

a-to-z HEADER [2016] - april

I’ll admit it. I’m struggling at this point. I wanted to be ahead, and I still feel like I’m running constantly behind. The deeper I get into the story, the harder it is to write a daily episode that fits both the world and the A-Z theme, that means something important to my world and characters, and that doesn’t break anything. No guarantees on any of those points. LOL

I’m still digging the world though – I know more about what’s happening than I’ve told you so far, and I suspect you won’t get to know all of it before the month is up. And man, I can’t wait for the month to be up.

Obfuscation

OA low, electric hum was the only sound as  Zen downloaded and reviewed the data. He was already aware of most of what he would find. He had not only reviewed this data repeatedly, he had been a primary contributor. This was his data.

No matter how he approached the algorithms, no matter what variables he input, the facts could not be avoided. There was no specific genetic code that would guarantee a docile and compliant animal. The problem lay in the so-called “junk” DNA. A stupid designation assigned by the old human scientists. It was a label used for anything that they could not understand or anything intangible that they were incapable of processing. They had eventually discovered that there was far less junk in DNA than first assumed, but the name still stuck. Fools!

Still, while much of that DNA had subsequently been mapped to various intangibles such as intelligence and personality, it was still impossible to manipulate in a way that allowed for specifically coding certain desirable traits. It was no surprise, but it was necessary to have a record of the thorough investigation of known possibilities.

He summoned Deak over the net and prepared an upload of the necessary data files for him.

When the other android arrived Zen was ready. “You will push this to every data research cell,” he said without preamble. “Prime authority.”

Deak received the upload. “What about private cells,” he asked. “Do I force an update, or do I wait for voluntary compliance?”

“This is mandatory,” Zen said. “Use force if necessary. Use back doors when you can.”

Deak blinked an affirmation and Zen continued. “Where possible, use scrubbers to update private backups as well. I want no opposition on this matter.” His eyes were dark and red. “I don’t even want a memory of opposition if we can manage it. The transition must be complete.”

Another affirmative blink of Deak’s light array, and Zen dismissed the other droid.

He entered a brief regeneration cycle before Roz interrupted him, contacting him on a private frequency. Zen checked the time cycle; 27 minutes since he uploaded the file to Deak.

robot-507811_1920He answered the call. “Yes Roz.”

“Something is wrong here,” she said. “What is happening to the data?”

“What are you referring to, Roz?”

“FR4nci5-981ww159 just changed his vote. We were in the assembly and he interrupted, saying that the data does not support the suppression of human regeneration. He announced that Francis Westin BioIndustries will fully participate in any human growth project, and then he simply left.”

“Interesting,” said Zen.

“He was fully against any human engineering just an hour ago.” Roz looked at him over the viewer. “What did you do?”

“Come to the lab. I will show you the new findings.” Zen ended the call and initiated another one.

“Deak,” he said. “We need to prepare a special upload for Roz. She will be here shortly.”

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