Chapter Fifteen
The men were legitimate professionals; trained and conditioned from an early age for subduing this insurrection. They were not going to fail like the previous group. They were not set up to fail like the previous group. The Grand Master had talked his way into journeying with them. He had explained that he would be able to observe any inefficiencies in their handling of the situation to help improve any future interventions. Like it would matter. Anyhow, it was enough to convince the organisers of the trip to let him on and to change the plans to suit his needs. As the plane was readied, he retreated to his study and watched more videos of 541588.
It was less than an hour before they took off. On the plane, the Grand Master introduced the soldiers to two crates that had been loaded onto the plane. He instructed them to open one of them, and they found their weapons that they needed for the operation. About the other crate, he told them only that they were to protect it with their lives. The contents he kept unrevealed. The men armed themselves, before taking their seats. The Grand Master sat down as well, and found himself next to one of the men, who looked at him quizzically.
“You’re the Grand Master, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, so you would’ve been there, you would’ve voted. Motion four three three?”
“Yes, I was the one who proposed it and we had the vote, around three hours ago.”
“And it won? The vote passed?”
“Yes, it was quite the popular motion if I do say so myself.”
“Then, would you know? Well, you would know what’s going to happen to us, right?”
“Not everything has been finalised. Of course, you will be the first to know it about it if there’s something in it that affects you.”
“Well, there’s rumours going around that we’re all going to be killed.”
“So what?”
“Okay, I get it, I get it. Well, I just wanted to tell you that I don’t fear it. I’m fine with it. Just wanted to tell you that.
“That’s good to hear.”
The soldier was silent for the rest of the trip, and the Grand Master found himself thinking of his work. The application of artificial intelligence had been considered since the beginnings of the new world, but the technology was not there then. It was the previous Grand Master who had spent his time accelerating research and pouring resources in its direction, and by the time he had died the scientists had perfected it. There was no question what the current Grand Master’s role was when he took over. He was bound by a duty to catch the politics up and bring the vision of artificial intelligence into fruition. And now he had succeeded with the motion being passed. But the Grand Master was not happy yet and he wasn’t sure why. He felt there was something wrong. Maybe it had something to do with his immense curiosity about 541588, but he couldn’t see the connection. It was something obscure, something couldn’t quite grasp. Eventually, as the plane began circling the same airport visited by the other group, he decided that he would be happy when artificial intelligence was actually implemented.
The pilot found a runway that was less damaged this time, and the landing was relatively smooth. The men unloaded the crates, and waited as a helicopter came to meet them, saving them the burden of hiking through the treacherous forest.