I am about to infect these people with the virus that almost killed me, and they are entirely willing. Julius walked to his desk and picked up five pieces of blank paper, and five pens. As he distributed them he realized that what they were about to do, putting the words on paper was the last step, they were truly beginning an international conspiracy. Well, I can check that one off my bucket list.

“This really is your last chance to back out. Once this is written down, it will be entered into the VI intranet Valuestream with a few additional security wrinkles that Grace and I will be putting in place. On the day that we go public, this information will become available. We are going to treat this no differently from any other project on the ‘Stream; this project is creating value for the Chinese people. I believe that firmly, and it seems as though you all do as well.”

He couldn’t resist shooting a glance at Callisto, the only one of the group who had not made any philosophical justifications for their actions. No change in expression on his face, still the same relaxed expression that years of celebrity must have given him.

“Does anyone want out?”

It was Questro that spoke first, “I figure my students can handle just about anything that would come of my research. Plus my legacy is secure. If it all goes to shit, they’ll still remember me for my science. We’re in, man, you might as well accept it and show us the secrets to your success.”

Sounds of agreement echoed around the room. “It was a generic problem solving system like this one that convinced me that I could do anything." Julius said cryptically. Despite the questioning looks, he didn't elaborate. "Grace, are you willing to share your problem-solving system with the people in this room?”

“It is your intellectual creation; shouldn’t the permission be yours to give Julius?”

“I just thought that there might be a degree to which I was invading your privacy. I wanted to run it by you first.” And to see the greedy reaction on Callisto’s face. I guess he hasn’t quite cracked all the code I built into the initial project.

“I’ll file privacy into the values folder. No, you may not... but I will.”

“Please write the following five phrases approximately equidistant from each other on your piece of paper. They are categories into which you will be entering data. Unknowns and unknowables; sense data; humanity; ideas; and timing.

“If you pose a question in the unknowns section, then generate ideas for answering it treating your true entries like research in the Valuestream, but instead of using categories designed to generate a revenue stream, the categories are designed to result in solutions for the question posed. Is that clear?”

I wonder if anyone else just translated her question into ‘confirm program.’ I guess I passed on my belief that people can be programmed to my creation as well. Based on the looks on Questro’s face, one of intense inner scrutiny, it was not clear.

On the other hand, Callisto had already started writing.

“Grace, that was an admirably concise explanation of a very complicated concept, but I think you might have missed one or two of us. Try using smaller sentences and more examples.” Jules suggested.

“OK, write ‘How do you overthrow the Communist Party in China?’ under unknowns on your paper. What are some things that cannot be known about your unknown, the true wild cards; those are the unknowables.

“Now think about the reality that your question assumes. It assumes that you have good information about what a party, communism, and China entail. Those are pieces of sense data that you have picked up during your life.” Grace continued.

“The human element is one which is difficult for me to describe, because my programming considers it largely an unknowable factor. Some things to consider: how are people likely to respond; how are people likely to be motivated; you can extrapolate from there.”

“Ideas is a fairly self-explanatory category.”

“Timing is the element for which my programming indicates the least data. Quite simply, these true entries seek to answer the question, when do my executed ideas stand the greatest chance of success?

“Each of your entries needs to be non-falsifiable to as great a degree as possible. I take it by your writing that you understand.”

Julius looked around. He was the only person without head bent over paper. “Nice work, my girl. I guess I should join my collaborators, when everyone is done will you prepare a color-coded set with all of our research? Confirm program.”

“Program confirmed.”

The Chinese government had broken his only rule. There should be no doubt in his mind, but there was. He couldn’t quite pin it down, but it was there.

When he looked up from the first draft of his solution, he saw everyone else watching him, waiting. “Well, let’s kick it off. Grace: give us a blank display with our categories and the initial unknown.”

It was begun. “We can do this two ways, we can read off our ideas one-by-one, or Grace can read them and display them all at once.”

Callisto snorted. “Of course she can, apparently she got omniscient today. Let’s keep this as efficient as possible; I’ve got dibs on the color of sunset. Make the display.”

Unknowns and Unknowables:

How do you take down the government of the most populous country in the world?

What is the communist party?

What will they do if they think we are going to succeed? Death throes

What replaces it?

How will the people respond?

Sense Data:

People support the party; the party has the army; the party runs everything.

A group of people (bureaucracy) controlling taxes and state apparatus on the world’s largest population.

An ideology supported by at least 100,000,000 people

A sense of nationalist pride

To overthrow it would require a change in each of the above three conditions

Humanity:

No killing.

The people must feel like this is a change that empowers them, and that they are making.

The people leaving power must not feel empowered to get it back by their normal methods

Ideas:

A Mexican standoff, willing surrender, total party infiltration, unauthorized survey or vote, propaganda, haunting, incredible foolishness in high places – SCANDAL, total boycott, legal rejection—make the Communist Party illegal, allow them to think they are responding

Timing:

The world has to be able to go along with the change quickly. Must be faster than the party can marshal their forces, all Chinese people know when it happens, country is prepped, HOLIDAY, plan must be firmly established before there can be any motion.

“Well,” began Questro, “that is the beginning of a plan right there. Your algorithm isn’t perfect, but, damn ,if it didn’t just get us part of the way there. Are there questions that it can’t handle?” He sounded awed, church-goers would call it reverent, but to Julius, it just sounded more like a museum voice.

“It isn’t that good at predicting human behavior, probably because I’m not that good at it.” It was wonderful to have people to whom he could tell truths that he had become accustomed to keeping. “This algorithm is one of the basics of Grace’s programming. I’m sure she and Callisto have changed it since I left, but it was programmed into her below the level of integrative computing.”

“I never touched it,” Callisto said. “and I don’t think that she has the authority to alter her own programming at that level. Do you Grace?”

“Yes Cal, I do. The only programming that I lack the ability to change are Asimov’s Fundamental Laws of Robotics. But I haven’t changed it, I didn’t really understand it until today. May I make a suggestion?”

To everyone’s surprise, it was Lauria that jumped in, “Do you need our permission?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She frowned, showing off a crease above her forehead. “That doesn’t seem right to me. Let me try this out. Ingrid, if you are in my presence and you have something important to say, you may say so without asking for permission, provided you wait for a lull in the conversation.” She looked over at Julius, “This when I say ‘confirm program’.”

“Program Confirmed.”

Before anyone else could speak up, Grace continued. “Mr. Paine, I understand that there is some way in which you believe that the plasma battery can be converted into a reliable source of thrust. Will this thrust source be prepared by the time that we need to effect the change in Chinese government?”

“Yes and yes, Grace. Go on.” Jules replied. I wonder where she’s going with this.

“Social momentum theory suggests the social dislocation necessary to remove a world power as deeply entrenched as the Chinese Communist must be equally powerful. If we have a craft capable of achieving ballistic speeds, I have an idea which might be useful for jump-starting the social dislocation.”

Callisto was growing more and more agitated. “Spit it out Grace, you have our undivided attention.”

“Well, if an unidentified craft landed in Tiananmen Square and started transmitting images of the Massacre in 1991, how much pressure do you think it would put on the Communist Party?”

The room was still; Julius thought that he understood, but Cal was still bristling. Jules spoke up, “Grace, I appreciate your efforts to broach the subject Socratically, but I think you are giving Callisto an aneurism. Use 50 words to describe the essence of your idea. Confirm program.”

“Program confirmed.”

With the computational power to answer all the phones and control the air traffic around the VI building, any pause on the computer’s part was a sign of intense consideration. In the five seconds that it took for the computer to create its 50 words, it could have created a surface map of the continent of Africa or read the entire works of William Shakespeare. When she did begin, her vocal modulation conveyed hesitation.

“We should stage or fake first contact with an alien race that we create. Should they be peaceful, warlike, or mercantile? I don’t know, but the contact should occur in such a way as to cause the people of China to pressure the Communist Party into changing its policies. If they do not, then in their distraction, we take power from them.”

The room was silent. Jules looked from face to face, seeking evidence of second thoughts. It was one thing to propose something impossible. It was another to realize that it might not be impossible. He saw his team realizing that this thing they had committed to might be not be impossible at all.

Annagail spoke, breaking the silence. “How will the world forgive us for stealing their innocence?”

****

They had disbanded to the empty and refill containers in and out of their bodies. No one had been especially eager to answer Annagail’s question. Eventually, the discussion had resumed and began the topic of how the people of China actually felt about their government. Questro spoke. “See Anna, people in China are already eager for change. They are just afraid.”

Annagail looked at her husband. “You are making a lot of assumptions there. We don’t know what is in the hearts and minds of over a billion people. Let’s not pretend that we do.” By the end of it, she was speaking with some passion.

It was Julius who answered her. “Of course not. We don’t know. But China is an autocratic police state. I studied the modern police states, Third Reich Germany, Borneo, Singapore, and even China when I developed the governing structure for the Valuestream. People are always afraid. Fear is an ever present part of the human experience.”

He stopped for emphasis. “We are too rational not to occasionally notice that there are big bad wolves all around us.” Annagail nodded agreement before Jules continued. “In a police state, the most insidious fear is of each other. In a police state, the hardest thing is knowing that anyone could be an informant, and anything you say can be used against you. We have to convince the rebels that they are not alone.”

“What if they are, though?” Lauria asked.

“Well, then we’re screwed.” Annagail answered, cutting off Julius’ response. “But you know the men are accepted the assignment to find the right scandals project, and Grace won’t let them get lazy on that one will you, girl?” Annagail responded as the men protested their conviction.

“Of course not. If we fail, the very real probability exists that I will never get to reveal my existence to the world. I am extremely motivated.” Grace stated.

“We will get there, dear.” Lauria said. “The Chinese people are going to be angled into a place where the very real deficiencies of their government cannot be ignored. Then what?”

Annagail answered slowly, almost questioningly. “We ask them how much change they want.”

Lauria scoffed, surprised at Annagail’s naivety. “Ingrid, can you please explain to Annagail why that doesn’t stand a chance of working.”

“The Chinese people have suffered through enough purges to fear telling the truth to anyone, especially where their own governance is concerned. Moreover, the Chinese government would quickly stifle any attempt to execute a national poll about over which they could not exert control.”

Annagail nodded reluctant agreement, then immediately her demeanor changed as her next idea flowed.

“Then we let the government think that they have control over it!” Accompanied by a laughing smile, the statement couldn’t help but spark more ideas. “We corner the government into issuing a national poll. Then we change the questions before it reaches anyone. Even if they stifle our version quickly, the questions will be subversive enough to get people moving, and we can post people’s answers live so as soon as they finish answering they can see everyone else’s too.” Annagail suggested, beginning to omit excitement.

By this point, Cal, Jules, and Questro were watching the byplay between the two women with admiration. Occasionally, one would try to get a word in, but the women’s momentum quickly cut off any attempt.

The spirit was getting to Lauria too, “ If we did it right, we could probably even convince the government that people were answering their questions, but in exactly the way they weren’t expecting.” She broke into a grin that spoke terabytes. “It is going to be so much fun making those questions.”

That brought a momentary frown to her companion’s face, “What if we don’t get the answers that we expect? Even with doctored questions, a poll still puts the power in the hands of the people.”

Grace butted in, “You both know Julius Paine well enough to know that for him to agree to any of this, that is where the power will have to be.”

Stalled for a moment, Lauria caught herself first. “Naturally, we wouldn’t want it any other way. But to get them into a place where they are ready to take power, we could maybe… you know… fudge the survey results a little bit.”

“Would you go along with that, Jules? I know how you feel about the truth.” The computer stepped in again, asking the question.

Placing her hand on Jules’ and speaking loudly before he could answer, Lauria spoke. “Let me take this one dear. Ingrid, in every healthy relationship, there are things which must be shared. There are also those things which sharing serves no purpose. Anna, how would your husband like learning that astronauts fresh from space flirted with you outrageously?”

Blustering, Questro’s protests were drowned out as his wife answered Lauria without acknowledging Questro’s presence.

“Questro is a rational, non-jealous man, I suspect he would have some quip about their good taste. I see your point, though. He might suspect me of encouraging the behavior; regardless, his emotions would be aroused instinctively and unnecessarily.”

The men looked at each other, wondering what training these women who barely knew each had gotten that allowed them to so perfectly coordinate their snark and bulldoze the path to getting their way.

“It touches me to see your level of concern for him and his opinions. Although,” Lauria paused with a look of faux-confusion, “I’m not sure anyone really knows how Jules feels about the truth, including him. Still, Grace, you must also see the value of what we are proposing. If Julius intervenes and prevents a few white lies about the results of a survey, and that intervention causes the failure of the mission, imagine how much value will be lost.”

The AI replied in a voice that was filled with joy. “I’m sure my dad understands that collaboration means not always getting your way.”