[from trailer]
Director:
"A memo to the Chairman of the Oversight Sub-Committee from the Director of Project Freelancer. Dear Chairman, I write today in response to your Committee's request for more information about our program and the suspected incident at Outpost 17-B. No doubt by now you have reviewed the video logs transmitted by our Recovery Agents dispatched to the region. I am sure you have seen the empty bases, the barricades constructed by the survivors, the cryptic warning left on the wall, the battles that apparently took place between team members that had turned on another, and of course, the ship. While we cannot say for certain, I share with your concern that we have an unfortunate post-project scenario taking place. However, I take exception to your assertion that we were warned that this was a possibility. I would like to remind the Sub-Committee members that anything is possible. Some things are probable, this is what is. And my agency, as it always has, will continue to deal with what is. Until it is no more."
Chairman:
[Chapter One] "To the director of Project Freelancer from the Oversight Sub-committee chairman. Dear Director, I want to thank you in advance for your open response to our sub-committee's request for more information. We were... disappointed that your recovery unit reported a total loss at Outpost 17-B. We had hope that there would be at least one soldier left that could shed some light on the situation. I know that your agency has enjoyed a high degree of freedom with very little scrutiny in the past few years. It is not our intention to disrupt such a "progressive" military program, but instead to find we can all work together in a matter that befits all our responsibilities. I am certain that you will agree. I look forward to making this review process as painless as we possibly can."
Director:
[Chapter Two] "A response from the Director of Project Freelancer. Dear Chairman, while I am obligated to assist your investigation, I ask that you do not waste my time with irrelevant questions. My agency is normally unconcerned with such minute directives such as troop reassignment, except, of course, in the most critical of matters."
Chairman:
[Chapter Three] "Dear Director, due to your busy schedule, we have begun interviewing members of your staff. I'm certain you will let us know if this bothers you. Our debriefings keep coming back to a single subject at Outpost 17-B. Can you explain to us what this Meta is, and what your plans are to deal with it?"
Director:
[Chapter Four] "Dear Chairman, rest assured we have the situation under control. While the Meta is proving to be an elusive enemy, our Recovery agent is already closing in on it. I expect this incident will reach a conclusion soon, and I will be able to return to my research, hopefully, without further interruption."
Chairman:
[Chapter Five] "Dear Director, we can all understand that a shift from autonomy to oversight can be a difficult adjustment for anyone, but especially someone of your standing. But in that spirit, we have attempted to accommodate your brief explanations to our serious inquiries. None the less, I feel compelled to inform you that even our trust has its limits."
Director:
[Chapter Six] "Dear Chairman, the Meta is nothing more than an entity seeking to increase its power in these confusing days after the war. From my perspective, that seems to be a common occurrence at the moment."
Chairman:
[Chapter Seven] "Dear Director, your program was granted the use of a single artificial intelligence unit for implantation experiments. Yet, the department records clearly show multiple agents in the field with implants during the same time frames. Surely this must be a logging error, and we anticipate a corrected document soon."
Director:
[Chapter Eight] "Dear Chairman, I understand your concern that increased activity will bring increased risk. However, our fail-safes are simple but full proof. A dead or dying agent automatically notifies our recovery team, and we will be on the scene immediately to secure all the military's property."
Chairman:
[Chapter Nine] "Dear Director, I feel you are avoiding the question. If this target was already in possession of an AI unit, how was he able to secure an additional unit from Agent South? Would not that verify, as we indicated earlier, that your program runs experiments with more than one artificial intelligence? If so, where did these additional AI come from and how did your agency procure them?"
Director:
[Chapter Ten] "Dear Chairman, our records in this matter are impeccable, and I will refer you to them. It is true we were granted the use of only one AI program, yet with special permission to conduct our experiments. That is all we were allowed to do and that is all we have done. Of course, I am sure that you will agree that the core mission of any scientific endeavor is to find creative solutions to unexpected problems."
Chairman:
[Chapter Eleven] "Dear Director, do your 'creative solutions' include the circumvention of the safety protocols that every member of the military must follow? If they do not, then I fail to see how an enemy has managed to secure not one, but several of your experimental AIs. The protocol is not a guideline, dear Director. It is doctrine, and no one is above its rule."
Director:
[Chapter Twelve] "Dear Chairman, I too hold the protocol in the highest regard. The doctrine kept us all safe during the Great War. If you are insinuating, sir, that we've violated it in any way, or that we would derelict in our duty to the military, well then I suggest you be direct, and tell me exactly how we did so."
Chairman:
[Chapter Thirteen] "Dear Director, our laws are not designed to outline every possible infraction that may take place. However, the spirit of the law is clear: Blatant disregard for the safety and well-being of our citizens, in any form, will always be a punishable offense. Regardless of how well, or by whom that offense has been just."
Director:
[Chapter Fourteen] "Dear Chairman, sir, while I appreciate your concern, allow me to correct you in one area. I value all our subjects' well being. But I revere above all else our ability to continue as a species - our ability to survive. And no committee, no bureaucrat, will ever convince me otherwise."
Chairman:
[Chapter Fifteen] "Dear Director, please do not attempt to recast this investigation as some type of personal vendetta. Our questions to this point have been fairly standard. Your reactions have not. As such, we have secured all your records and logs by the authority granted us by the UNSC. Now we shall see exactly what it is that you have to hide."
Director:
[Chapter Sixteen] "Dear Chairman, I imagine this investigation of our program is providing you the kind of attention that politicians crave so much. How very predictable. What has surprised me most about mankind during the Great War is not our ability to adapt to the new arenas of conflict, but instead, our willingness in victory to so quickly return to the old."
Chairman:
[Chapter Seventeen] "Dear Director, it is now clear, that your agency and its primary program, project freelancer, have abused the trust and freedoms that the oversight sub-committee has provided you. Your abuse of the Alpha AI will now become the subject of a criminal investigation. I'm sorry director, but you have seen the end of my patience."
Director:
[Chapter Eighteen] "Dear Chairman, I don't give a DAMN about your committee and its opinions of my work. Have you forgotten sir, we were at war. A fight with an alien race for the very survival of our species. I feel I must remind you that it is undeniable, and may I say a fundamental quality of man, that when faced with extinction, every alternative is preferable."
Chairman:
[Chapter Nineteen] "To the Director of Project Freelancer: I write to inform you that by the authority of this Sub-Committee, officers have been dispatched to place you under arrest and we expect your full cooperation. Congratulations are in order, I suppose. When they write the new morality protocols for dealing with AI, I am certain they will name entire sections of the doctrine after you. It seems that you will earn your place in history after all... Dear Director."
Director:
[Epilogue] "Dear Chairman, I am disappointed by your decision to press charges, but I am not surprised. My only hope is that the courts will see the matters differently than you have. You see; I never had the chance to serve in battle. Nor did fate provide me the opportunity to sacrifice myself for humanity as it did for so many others in the Great War. Someone extremely dear to me was lost very early in my life. My mind has always plagued me with the question: If the choice had been placed in my hands, could I have saved her? The memory of her has haunted me my entire life, and more so in these last few years than I could have ever imagined. But, given the events of these past few weeks, I feel confident that had I been given the chance, I would have made those sacrifices myself... Had I only the chance. I know that you disagreed with my methods and that others will as well. This is beyond my control. However, I cannot imagine that any court would be able to convict me no matter how low their opinion of my actions might be. You must understand one basic fact for all this to make sense, my Dear Chairman: These AI, they all come from somewhere. They are all based on a person. Our ALPHA was no exception. And while the law has many penalties for the atrocities we inflict on others, there are no punishments for the terrors that we inflict on ourselves. So you send your men. They won't find themselves a fight. They'll only find an old man. An old man tired, but satisfied he did his duty. An old man weary from a mind more filled with memory than it is with hope. Sincerely yours, the former Director of Project Freelancer, Dr. Leonard Church."
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