Chapter 12: Trojan Democracy

“You want to replace the Special Agents with artificial beings? Is that what you’re saying? Not with robots or cyborgs or biotechnical enhancements, but with actual living machines grown from artificial cells?”

She was dumbfounded. The audacity of the plan shocked her to her core. Being a Special Agent was her whole life. Since the day she had been selected for Special Agent training eleven years ago, it was all she had lived for. As a young Sunguard captain, her superiors had seen something in her she herself had not known she possessed, and she had been transferred into the Special Agent training program, where she had been vetted and groomed for the role. Once the Sunguard had become sufficiently convinced she had what it took to shoulder the burden that came with being a solar wolf, she had been mentored by Special Agent Banerjee for six years before being sworn in. During her first year of service, she had roamed the worlds of the Terran Federation before eventually deciding to settle on Gloria.

And now Solar Command had effectively declared her obsolete.

Her first feeling was one of deep outrage. Everything she had worked for was now being cast aside. She was proud of her service to the Sunguard, and it wasn’t fair that she would no longer be allowed to continue in that role simply because a man like Eric Stoltz had decided to prioritize himself over the citizens of the Terran Federation.

Suddenly, she felt herself blush with shame.

Wasn’t that exactly what she was doing now? Wasn’t she prioritizing her own career over what was best for the citizens? She had seen firsthand how wrong things could go when a biological man like Stoltz was given unchecked authority. Likewise, she had seen the patient, tireless, methodical, even kind way Coil had carried out its duties. The intelligent computer had never done anything for its own benefit. And now she was essentially siding with men like Stoltz against its kind simply because she was afraid of losing her job.

“That is exactly what we want to do, yes,” Command Admiral Tsai confirmed. “If we had wanted a robot, we would simply have reactivated Project 5. But that is not what we are after. We want a human. We do not want a cold machine ruled only by math and logic. We want someone who can feel, who can empathize, who can care. Someone who can embrace a lost child and comfort a grieving mother. If these beings are to be given the authority to judge humans that the Special Agents possess, they must also know what it means to be human. We want someone who can experience the human condition without being ruled by it.”

“So, basically, you want to give an intelligent computer legs?” Special Agent Mbenge asked.

Jacob Tsai tilted his head slightly before answering with a faint smile. “More or less, yes. I explained how we remove certain aspects of the human psyche when we design our intelligent computers. We will do the same with these biotic Special Agents, but we will not go quite as far. Bias, prejudice, and greed will be completely suppressed in them, for sure, to name a few examples. But they will still experience some of the emotions we typically remove entirely from intelligent computers, like anger and pain. After all, if biotic Special Agents were to encounter, say, human traffickers, we certainly still want them to feel righteous fury. It will be a balancing act, and I am certain it will be one we will have to fine-tune over the course of the project, but our goal is to create a being that stands somewhere in the middle between biological humans and biotic intelligent computers. The best of both worlds, so to speak.”

“And this is why you are here, Special Agent Mbenge,” High Admiral O’Sullivan interjected. “You represent the pinnacle of what a biological Special Agent can be. You have demonstrated extraordinary courage in the course of your duty, and you have repeatedly shown that you place the well-being of the citizens of the Terran Federation above everything else. Your highest priority has always been saving lives. The circumstances surrounding your arrest of Eric Stoltz notwithstanding, your service record shows that you are an exceptional marksman, and your hand-to-hand combat skills are second to none. And most importantly, throughout your career—even before you became a Special Agent—you have consistently demonstrated a profound dedication, even love, for the ideals of the Terran Federation, for justice, for human rights, for the Constitution, and for democracy itself.

“Those are all traits we want to preserve in our biotic Special Agents. If even coding a biotic brain from scratch proved too much for our scientists, imagine how difficult it would be to create an entire human being from nothing. Just as the first intelligent computers were created from a human genetic template, we intend to begin from Terran DNA when we design our first biotic enforcer. It will have to be extensively modified, of course, even more than what we had to do for our intelligent computers, but starting from an existing human template that already exhibits most of the traits we are looking for will significantly accelerate the project.

“We want that template to be you, Special Agent Mbenge. I know it is a great deal to ask. Take your time to think about it, but that is why we requested your presence here today.”

She felt dizzy. The honor implicit in the High Admiral’s proposal was undeniable, yet it was also irrelevant. If she agreed to do this, it shouldn’t be for personal glory or for the chance to be immortalized in the annals of the Terran Federation. If she did this, it should be only because it was what was best for the future of the Federation’s citizens.

Before she could answer, Command Admiral Charlotte Theroux spoke up. A thin woman in her early fifties seated at the far end of the wide table, she wore her white uniform with unmistakable pride.

“There is also a second reason we want to replace our biological Special Agents with biotic ones,” she said. “It is largely unrelated to the one we have already given, but this whole Stoltz situation has presented us with an opportunity we cannot afford to waste. To understand it, I need to remind you of the historical context in which the Terran Federation was formed.

“As I know you’re aware, Special Agent Mbenge, the Sunguard was created even before we first met the Etarians. During the Fall of Old Earth, what was then the Solar Charter needed a security force to protect its new colonies across the solar system. The Sunguard was created for that purpose. At the time, it was purely a police force. With the old nation-states gone, mankind reduced to only a few million people, and no alien races yet encountered, there was no need for a military. Naturally, having yet to meet any other species, the Sunguard of the time, including its Special Agents, was composed entirely of Terrans.

“And then, just a few short years after we encountered the Etarians, the Kelar struck, and everything changed almost overnight. For the second time in only half a century, the Terran race came within a hair’s breadth of extinction.

“Neither we nor the Etarians had anything capable of countering the Kelar nuclear surprise attacks on Mars and Etar. Like us, the Etarians were a unified people. They had no need for a standing army. When the Kelar struck, the closest thing either of our civilizations had to a defense force was the Sunguard. While it was small and largely unarmed, it still possessed the officers and command structure needed to lead and organize it into a military force. The Etarians, meanwhile, supplied the technical expertise, the industrial infrastructure needed to build weapons and ships, and, somewhat reluctantly at first, the foot soldiers needed to fight the war.

“Together, the new alliance transformed a police force into an army. The contributions of our two races were far from equal, but neither of our peoples complained. There simply was no other choice if we were to survive. We were fighting an existential threat, and bickering over who contributed more to the war effort served neither of us, especially given the disparity in our populations. With the alliance consisting of six billion Etarians and only five million Terrans, it was simply impossible for both civilizations to contribute equally. It was not fair, but it was working.

“And then, six years later, the Terran-Etarian Alliance won the war after the grueling ground invasion of Kelar. The cooperative system our two civilizations had established had proven successful. When the Alliance, at the Etarians’ request, was formalized into the Terran Federation and the Kelar were incorporated into it in the aftermath of the war, no one wanted to rock the boat. Why change something that had already proven effective?

“The Sunguard continued to be led by Terrans. As a direct executive democracy, the people of the three races—four after the Jerrassians joined—can vote to change that policy whenever they wish, but they never have. Instead, they’ve continued voting for Solar Council Secretary candidates who support the policy of allowing only Terrans to serve as Special Agents and as members of Solar Command. Despite the fact that only 27 percent of the people of the Federation are Terrans, as of this morning, 92 percent of the citizens of the four races support the Solar Council’s policy of allowing only Terrans to hold the office of Special Agent.

“I’m not saying those Secretaries are racists. I’m sure most of them are good people, and perhaps more importantly, most of them are non-Terran themselves. But they are politicians, and they listen keenly to what their voters want. If they didn’t, they’d soon be out of a job.

“Beyond simply not wanting to change something they believe is working, each race has its own reasons for supporting this policy. Many Kelar oppose the idea of Kelar Special Agents because they do not want to appear to be making another power grab. The Etarians would rather focus on science and medicine than become involved in the messy business of soldiering again. And the Jerrassians… well, I am sure they would not mind having some of their own people serve as Special Agents, but given the volatile situation on their world, none of the other races would be comfortable with that.

“The point is that, for their own reasons, all four races are very much in agreement that only Terrans should be allowed to serve as Special Agents and as members of Solar Command.

“Now, some would say this is a sign of the unity of the four races, of their ability to work together for the greater good of the Terran Federation. I would argue the opposite.”

“Indeed,” Command Admiral Valente added. “Admiral Theroux is not alone in feeling this way. Many of us in Solar Command have long believed this to be a structural fault in the very foundation of the Terran Federation. Although there was never any nefarious purpose behind these policies, and although they apply to only a hundred positions among 26 billion citizens, the fact remains that they are still discriminatory. They have no place in a democracy.

“Several of us fear they now do more harm than good. They make the non-Terran races feel marginalized or even inferior. We fear the Solar Council is blinded by the overwhelming public support for Terran exclusivity within the Special Agent Corps. Beneath the surface, that policy is eroding the cohesion of the Terran Federation. Dividing people by race never ends well, even if the original intentions are valid, or even noble. We believe there is a strong possibility that the Federation will, sooner or later, collapse into a racially fueled civil war if nothing is done to reverse this pro-Terran bias.”

His words reminded Special Agent Mbenge of the warning Mikhail had given her before the meeting. Though his arguments had been different, the conclusion had been the same. Her colleague had feared the Terran Federation would collapse without the Special Agents. Now Solar Command was arguing the exact opposite, that the Federation would collapse precisely because of the Special Agents.

And she feared they were both right.

When Adriano Valente looked at her again, his eyes were almost pleading.

“As members of Solar Command, we are the highest leadership of the Sunguard,” he continued. “It is our sworn duty to lead our organization in protecting the citizens of the Terran Federation and its democratically elected government.

“In this case, those two duties directly contradict each other. The Solar Council, backed by public democratic votes from all four races, is pursuing a policy of racial discrimination against the non-Terran races. That policy is, therefore, the will of the people. But at the same time, we can all see the writing on the wall. Solar Command understands how that very policy is harming the citizens of the Terran Federation and how it could eventually lead to civil war and the downfall of the democratic government we’re sworn to protect.

“The Sunguard cannot unilaterally defy Solar Council decrees and promote non-Terrans to the role of Special Agent. Ever since its inception, the military has been excluded from the political process, which is why no serving member of the Sunguard is even permitted to hold political office. It is our duty to protect the Terran Federation, not to govern it.

“If the Sunguard were to oppose the Solar Council on this matter, we would effectively be committing a coup d’état. After that, we would either end up with a military dictatorship, a civil war, or both.

“If we instead support the Solar Council, we perpetuate a policy of racial discrimination that could eventually erupt into civil war. Either way, we are doomed.”

“Damned if we do, damned if we don’t,” Mbenge murmured.

Her words didn’t escape Valente’s sharp ears.

“Exactly,” he said, relieved that she understood. She did. She truly did. “But what if we were to create a being based on Terran genes, one that looks like a Terran and even technically is a Terran, yet has no inherent racial allegiance to Terrans? One that is created as a cultural blank slate, devoid of bias or prejudice. One that truly could represent all four races without taking sides. One that Terrans, Kelar, Etarians, and Jerrassians could all trust. You see where I am going with this, Special Agent Mbenge?”

She did, of course. The very traits that made a biot perfect for shouldering the immense authority wielded by a Special Agent also made them the perfect mediator between the four races. Solar Command had found a loophole out of the self-destructive cycle of segregation in which the Terran Federation had trapped itself, and now they wanted her help grasping that lifeline.

“You are going to use this biot as a Trojan horse to sneak human rights and equal representation past the biases of the four races?” she asked. The question was largely rhetorical, but she still wanted to hear the admirals of Solar Command confirm it before she committed to the project.

High Admiral O’Sullivan stood up from her chair.

“That is one way of putting it, yes,” she said. “It is the only way we can think of to fulfill our duty to protect the civilian government, the people, and the Constitution of the Terran Federation while at the same time preventing it from descending into civil war.

“Now, what do you say, Special Agent Mbenge? Will you allow us to use your DNA as the template for our first prototype biotic Special Agent?”

She didn’t have to think long before answering. Either rationale, the need for an incorruptible Special Agent and the need for an unbiased one, had been enough to convince her. Both would serve the citizens of the Terran Federation. Like Solar Command, she was sworn to always have their best interests at heart. There could be only one answer to the Supreme Commander’s request.

“Yes, ma’am. Of course. But I must ask… You already have my genetic code on file. The Sunguard already possesses the legal right to use it in any way it sees fit. I signed that right over to you when I became a Special Agent. Why are you asking for my permission, ma’am?”

When Jenny O’Sullivan answered, her old eyes softened.

“Because it’s the right thing to do. It’s as simple as that. We want your full cooperation in this.”

“And if I hadn’t agreed? What if I had said ’no’?”

O’Sullivan looked at Mbenge, winked, and smiled.

“You’re not the only Special Agent with an exemplary record, Elizabeth.”

Author's Note

The story you're reading is one of many set in the Lords of the Stars universe I've been creating over the past 30 years, where familiar characters and places reappear, and new favorites await discovery. Check out my profile to explore more stories from this universe.

While The Wolf Reforged is entirely standalone and can be read without any prior knowledge, I think you'll also enjoy Scorched Earth, Wonders From Beyond the Sky, and A Game of Wolf and Mouse which are prequels to this story, and Twilight Duty, Guardian of the Wolf, and Conscience of Steel, which are sequels.

Visit the official Lords of the Stars blog for more information about this hard sci-fi universe: https://lordsofthestars.wordpress.com

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