HSS Chasetail: Control Room
Lewis and Anika were reviewing the metadata from all the previous probe engagements. They were looking for anything that indicated a pattern of regular behaviour.
A blue spiderweb of all the plotted encounters shifted slowly across the table, lines connecting with points that had no business being connected.
Lewis leaned over the display, one hand braced on the edge.
Lewis: It’s not random, the patterns are not repeating, but there’s still a definite structure.
Anika folded her arms lightly and looked across at her colleague.
Anika: You’re correct Lew.
She tapped a couple of times on the plot. The pattern re-rendered with vectors overlaying previous intercept paths.
Anika: What I see are non-linear trajectory variances with correlated response alignments.
Lewis blinked twice.
Lewis: I see… right.
It was the kind of ‘I see… right’ that you give when you don’t want to look stupid but you have absolutely no idea, and don’t see, what the person just said.
Lewis: So… they’re reacting.
Anika: Not merely reacting. More than that.
She highlighted a cluster of engagements, Delta-4 to Gamma-3.
Anika: The probes are demonstrating adaptive predictive modelling.
Lewis: Predictive…?
Anika: They are adjusting course based on anticipated intercept vectors, not current ones.
That landed.
Lewis: They’re guessing where we’re going to be.
Anika: Estimating and anticipating. But with increasing accuracy after every encounter we’ve logged.
Lewis: They’re getting smarter.
Anika made a few more taps and the screen shifted. The display divided into two, showing both the probe split and the split Greenwatch formations. She then overlaid the Greenwatch approach vectors against the dual probe split movements.
Anika: Note the temporal offset.
Lewis pushed up his glasses and leaned in closer.
Lewis: They’re moving position before we do.
Anika: Exactly.
She folded her arms again.
Anika: That suggests decision-making latency below expected reactive thresholds.
Lewis: Which… means…
Anika appraised the young lieutenant.
Anika: They’re not waiting to see what we’re going to do.
They’re inferring it before we do it.
Lewis exhaled slowly.
Lewis: …Okay, that’s new.
Anika: It’s consistent across all recorded engagements.
She paused, then added:
Anika: There’s also evidence of behavioural refinement.
Lewis: They’re out-thinking us faster than we can out-think them.
Anika: Yes.
Lewis: That’s not thinking and processing the way we do.
That’s not organic thinking.
That’s got to be… a machine.
Lewis heard the door slide open and footsteps behind him, they were not the intentional quick footsteps of Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie.
Huxley: Lieutenant Vale. Lieutenant Weiss.
With me.
Huxley inclined his head very slightly in the direction of the shelf between the consoles.
Bring Dogger.
Huxley turned smartly and left the room.
Lewis scooped Dogger under his arm, and he and Anika followed Huxley out of the door.
HSS Chasetail: Conference Room
Huxley led Lewis and Anika to the conference room. It was already crowded with all the senior officers from the ship. Some they knew, and there were two who they did not.
Huxley motioned with his paw to Lewis and Anika.
Huxley: Take a seat, Lieutenants. At ease.
Huxley motioned with his paw again.
Lieutenant Commanders Adler and Mackenzie you know.
He motioned to the other two senior officers.
Commander Schwarz from Blackwatch, Lieutenant Commander Jansen from Greywatch.
He motioned towards Lewis and Anika.
Lieutenants Vale and Weiss, communication and systems officers, Greenwatch.
Mutual nods of acknowledgement came from all sides of the table.
Huxley: Previous event logs of Greenwatch engagements have been reviewed.
We now focus on analysis.
Lieutenant Vale, your assessment.
Lewis took a moment to compose himself. When Huxley had said to bring Dogger, he had meant it. Lewis wished he could squish Dogger right now, but his presence in the room was enough.
Lewis breathed in slowly through his nose.
Lewis: All encounters across Delta and Gamma have been reviewed.
The encounters are not random. While there’s no repeating pattern, there is consistent structure.
The probes are reacting to our intercepts—
but not in real time, they are reacting ahead of time. They’re adjusting based on where we’re going to be, not where we currently are.
Their movement shows a consistent temporal offset. They’re committing to a position before we commit to ours.
Lewis glanced at Anika, who gave him a slight encouraging nod.
That means they’re not just responding; they’re anticipating.
Across multiple engagements, we’re also seeing refinement, with responses becoming more accurate following each encounter.
More efficient.
More informed.
He glanced briefly at Anika and then back to the table.
They’re learning from us, and their decision-making is non-organic.
There can only be one conclusion.
We are dealing with a machine intelligence.
Huxley’s expression remained impassive. The room waited for him to speak.
Huxley: Lieutenant Weiss.
Anika: The pattern is statistically coherent with adaptive non-organic intelligence.
The data supports Lieutenant Vale’s assessment.
Huxley addressed the room.
Huxley: Assessment.
Jansen: If it’s learning from us, that’s because we’ve been feeding it.
We must starve it of answers.
Schwarz: Anticipation is dominance.
If it can infer our intent, then any engagement has already been shaped to its own advantage before we commit.
Hazel: Non-engagement will produce an altered response.
It will still adapt either way.
Klaus: If we continue the same course, we will get the same results.
Therefore, we do not chase, we observe.
We watch and we learn.
Huxley: The plan is agreed.
Huxley stood and dismissed the meeting.
Lewis and Anika headed to the canteen to get a hot drink. Lewis punched the buttons on the machine.
Anika raised both her eyebrows.
Anika: A double-shot, short espresso?
No hot chocolate with sprinkles and marshmallows?
Lewis’ answer was emphatic.
Lewis: Correct.
Coffee. Double. Short.
And… Dogger needs a squish.
Screw Pile Developments 