Beyond The Impossible

Even though they don’t know it, all the people on Earth are thinking at the same thing: how to write a formula that can kill an alien robot.

Not consciously, of course. Many of them are asleep. Many don’t know how to count. They don’t focus their attention to the task; in fact, they don’t even know how they’re doing it.

Noriko’s brain is doing most of the work, actually. Every other mind is handling a microscopic part of it…seven billions are starting to add up.

When Noriko’s silver eyes disconnect from the human mental network, they stop shining: the formula is complete, ready to be written down.

A pity she can’t do it, because two thousand pounds of alien robot have just landed in front of her.

The Talos grabs her by the leather jacket, unfazed by its horrible shade of green, lifting her as if she didn’t weight anything at all.

<You again. Do you speak for this planet?> it asks.

<More than you know.>

<You are mortal. You are only allowed to be ruled or to be killed. You cannot challenge me.>

<Not physically, maybe. Can someone from this planet be smarter than you?>

The robot hesitates to answer. It’s subtle, lasting maybe a second, but Noriko notices it.

<According to my analysis, no.>

<What if I could prove otherwise?> Noriko asks, smirking.

<I would kill you> the Talos answers, throwing Noriko away like a boring toy.

 

Even when it isn’t accessing the collective knowledge of humanity, Noriko’s brain works faster than it should. She calculates that the force of the impact with the nearest wall will be enough to kill her, and that she doesn’t have enough time to do anything about it.

Luckily for her, Vesta can fly fast enough to catch her. It’s not a pleasant experience either, but it’s more like getting the wind knocked out of you than being killed.

<Why did you challenge it? It could’ve killed you!>Vesta shouts.

<Just…just one minute…> Noriko mumbles, still out of breath but refusing to lose consciousness.

The Talos notices that its target is still alive, but is distracted by the lightning strike.

The electricity flows through the body of the robot, before turning back into human form.

<Somebody shoot this thing or something!!!> Quantum yells, transforming his body into pure concussive force and throwing all he’s got at the robot.

Concrete and asphalt get blown away like sand in the wind, but the Talos doesn’t slow down. It keeps walking towards Noriko.

<Buy me twenty seconds> she orders, writing down symbols as fast as possible.

<You got it.>

Vesta flies right in the middle of Quantum’s energy form, pushing the Talos in a desperate attempt to slow it down. Noriko doesn’t look up: she has no time to worry about them.

She knows she will only get one shot. She has to double check an impossible mathematical expression and estimate the inner workings of an alien artificial intelligence, based on second hand data. And she has to do it all in ten seconds now.

<Analysis completed: planetary defenses are insufficient. Proceeding with hostile takeover.>

<Analyze this> Noriko answers defiantly, showing the Talos a single sheet of paper crammed with information.

 

At first glance, the formula is impossible. But why would a mortal show you this information at such a crucial moment? It warrants more scrutiny. And when the solution doesn’t make any sense, there is only one course of action in your programming: think harder.

Imagine for a second you were designed to be an unstoppable force. You are not allowed to consider anything as a threat: everything that isn’t a god is to be steamrolled in your path.

If presented with an intellectual challenge, you would treat it as any other opponent: with overwhelming, unadulterated brute force. Even when brute force is meaningless.

<Divide by zero. Total system fa->

And that’s when the unstoppable force stops.

 

The moment of silence following a battle is a weird thing. Your body is still high on adrenaline, still expecting danger to come from any direction. Then the rush disappears, and you feel more tired than you ever thought possible.

The utterly devastated road. The car carcasses. The smell of molten asphalt. The distant sound of sirens and alarms.

The Talos is at last immobile, a black and white statue frozen in place. Vesta knocks lightly on its head, but the robot is dead.

<Did…did we win?> she asks timidly.

<That was AWESOME!> Quantum shouts.

<We won> Noriko admits tiredly, leaning on one of the police cars and looking miserable.

<Is everything alright?> Quantum asks.

<Just catching my breath. Connecting to the collective consciousness takes a lot out of me.>

Vesta seems more interested in the robot, looking it straight in the visor.

<We took down a Talos. Good Gaea, we took town a Talos. I can’t believe this.>

<Technically, I took it down. But I appreciate your attempts at helping me.>

Quantum and Vesta look at each other.

“You were expecting her to say something like that too, didn’t you?” – they both think.

Noriko closes her eyes for a second, wishing she could turn off her brain for just a few minutes.

Of course she can’t do that, because a cop is shouting on a microphone.

<HANDS UP AND STEP AWAY FROM THE ROBOT.>

<Aw man, now what?> Quantum whines.

<Just go, I’ll handle this> Noriko orders, standing up and dusting herself off.

Quantum disappears in a flash of light. Vesta simply flies upwards, faster than the eye can see.

Noriko adjusts her leather jacket of a horrible shade of green, walking defiantly towards the group of shell-shocked officers.

<Let’s make this quick. I need coffee.>

 

Two East River Place

Later that evening

The crowd of journalists is so thick that Noriko almost can’t see the lobby. She understands the interest, even if she finds it annoying. Today the city was attacked by an unstoppable robot and only three people showed up to stop it: a red haired flying woman that nobody has been able to recognize, an African American man with a mask that has literally disappeared into thin air, and an half-Asian teenager that made the news only days earlier as “the smartest girl on the planet”.

<Miss Null, why were you detained after the attack?> is the first question.

<Who were the two people at your side?> is another.

<What was the creature? Where is it now? How was it defeated?> are some of the others.

The rest are unintelligible. Noriko doesn’t acknowledge them or the dozens of cameras waiting for her word. Instead she takes her phone from one of the pockets of the jacket.

She’s been fiddling with it all day, to the point that it’s no more recognizable as a phone.

It’s hard to pass the time with people asking questions you can’t answer without causing widespread panic, so she built the first handheld sonic neutralizer.

When she activates it, everything goes silent. For a few seconds, it’s physically impossible to make any sort of sound. Noriko walks calmly towards the lobby, and people step back in awe and terror.

 

What did Athena say, when she gave her a new mind? “Humanity is ridiculously unprepared”. She was right, as a goddess of wisdom should be: if it hadn’t been for Noriko and her allies, the Talos would probably have taken over the city by now.

She looks at the crowd, visibly shaken by today’s events. She understand that they deserve an answer to the questions that now are in the minds of millions of people:

“Who are you? What happened today?”

She allows sound to exist again and answers the first question.

<I am Null. I am the vanguard of Earth’s defense against the impossible; I saved your lives today. You’re welcome.>

Closing the door behind her, Noriko starts working on an answer to the last question:

“What will happen if something like that shows up again?”