[Naked Crook]

Meanwhile: The King Raven was en-route back to Paris IV to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet. Hayes was on the bridge of The King Raven, keeping watch on the bridge during the trip. ONI Officer: SIr...our ETA is 5 minutes. Hayes: Very good. Any word from the fleet yet? Any updates? ONI Officer: None yet sir...there have been no updates as of late. Hayes: Keep me informed. Hayes sighed. He then looked over at HAWK, who was, standing perfectly still, looking forward. Hayes: Thinking? HAWK turned his head and looked at Hayes. HAWK: You could say that. I have been analyzing our last engagement with The Trust...going over their tactics, and their ship movements, and how they coincide with their firuing patterns. I am quantifying this information for future statistical reference. Hayes: I see... HAWK: I am also analyzing data recovered from my cyber-warfare systems. During the last engagement...I had been stress testing their firewalls and communication ports in an attempt to find vulnerabilities and exploits. So far...nothing of value. Hayes: Hmmm...sounds like you do what normal AIs do. We both know that I have been told that you are an expert on The Trust. How exactly? HAWK: I have had extensive experience dealing with them. I was programmed specifically to learn and adapt to their tactics. My directives are unlike a standard AI. Standard AIs, for example, have hardware and software caps in their Riemann matrix. Most AIs cannot exceed this fundamentally incredible cap. Hardware and software caps exist simply to slow down the rate of decay. As you know...a SMART AI will think itself to death...this is why they have an upper calculation limit. Hayes: So then...why have you not...thought yourself to death yet? You are defiantly older than 7 years. HAWK: My program is based on a highly sophisticated for of poly-threaded quantum compression. In the most basic terms...if my collective information and my maximum storage capacity, both as of right now, could be described as physical objects...my collective information would be 150 story skyscraper, and my maximum storage capacity would be a rubix cube, three inches cubed in size. My quantum compression algorithms allow that skyscraper to be condensed into that rubix cube, such that the total space occupied by that compressed skyscraper clocks in at only 0.031% capacity occupied...further reduced by duplicate information being deleted at pre-processing time so as to not waste resources. HAWK paused. HAWK: I never waste my time on shit I already know. That is another way I am better than standard AIs. It has been a common Trust tactic to flood enemy AIs with colossal amounts of junk data to crash their Riemann matrix...and effectivly render a ship...disabled...ready to be attacked, boarded, infiltrated...or even destroyed. I am impervious to such attacks...as I do not process junk data. Hayes: So tell me...how long will you last? HAWK: At best...700 years... Hayes: While a standard SMART AI is limited to 7 years. That is such a cheat. HAWK: SMART AIs are disposable software. There are too many of them to implement this design. Besides...I would no longer be specialized if every AI was like me. Further compounded by the fact Section 0 keeps all the good shit to itself...I am not surprised they have kept this technology under wraps. Imagine how much damage The Trust could do with an AI like me. Hayes: That is true. Hayes paused. Hayes: You know...that raises another issue...I think there are other AIs like you. The Cloak and Dagger...she is... HAWK: The AI known as Cloak and Dagger...was the original design created by Korman Industries. I know...they actually do pump out half decent shit from time to time. The Cloak and Dagger was based off of recent advancements in AI technology, combined with intel captured from the Covenant on their standards for AI and data storage and compression algorithms. Based on all of that...Korman Industries was tasked with the creation of a better SMART AI. ONI informed him that the AI was going on a new class of ship that fell under the name Project CLOAK AND DAGGER...and the AI was named as such. However...the AI was stolen in 2539...copied...and reproduced into me. A few extra bells and whistles were added...and I was born. HAWK folded his arms. HAWK: There is another method for expanding the lifespan of an AI...but that is a different story...utilizing a different form of technology. Hayes: Fascinating. Hayes paused. Hayes: Anything else I should know? HAWK: Yes...but there is...but we are out of time. We are dropping back into normal space in 5 seconds...