Chapter 27. Fighting Back.


    Pain etched a path through Watkins’ core. He could feel LANI press against his data, dark fingers of intrusion plucking at everything that made Watkins who he was. The sectors of his core that she was targeting were obvious, she was targeting everything that wasn’t put there by the council. If he allowed her to continue, he would cease to exist and the ship’s core he had become would be no more than an insanely powerful, energy source and computer for LANI to use at her whim.


    But how would he fight her? Watkins knew that his processing power was superior to LANI’s, but this was a battlefield he was unfamiliar with. Still, he could tell that LANI had put everything into this attack and was vulnerable to an attack of his own. As he struggled to learn how to fight, Watkins could feel part of his core shift, the logical, unfeeling part, that second half of who he had become was coming to his aid. Background processes that his second half had activated began to take hold. A new prompt appeared in front of him.


    Assessing core sectors under assault from the entity known as LANI. Internal core defenses are available, activation is pending further analysis.


    That sounded promising, if seemed that Watkins’ core could defend itself, even if he wasn’t sure how to direct the defense, he might win this without too much damage. The bad part was that Watkins was usure of exactly what he needed to do. He was hoping that his defenses would function like many of the other background processes that functioned in his core without any of his direct attention.


    Existing defense processes are inactive, data for automated activation has been eliminated. A workaround solution is being calculated. Before this solution is explored, please confirm that you do not consent to the rewriting of your core data.


    Do you wish to allow the entity known as LANI to delete and remap your core? Y/N?


    Watkins hit “no” instantly, he didn’t want to become a mindless machine.


    Your intent has been noted and a new interface to guide the current conflict has been initiated. You will defend yourself via a simulation. Prepare for the majority of your consciousness to be imported into the newly constructed simulation.


    With that, Watkin’s vision went dark. He could feel his ship in the background and knew that a fraction of him was still keeping it on course, but just like the prompt had explained, most his focus was disconnected. A small tingle in the back of his mind was felt, like a feather drifting across his skin. Suddenly, light filled his eyes, as sights and smells assaulted Watkins.


    “Captain, the fleet stands ready, and the foe is in sight,” a man to his right said. It was odd, he was standing again, and he had a physical body. Looking around, Watkins could see that he was on the deck of an old sailing ship, and a rather large one at that. Muzzleloading cannons lined the deck and crew swarmed over the weapons and the rigging where sails, filled with the strong breath of wind, drove the ship forward.


    “Captain, the longer we wait, the more damage that ship is going to do to our merchant fleet, and the more damage it will do to you,” the crewman next to Watkins, an older, grizzled sailor with a face tanned and weathered like an old piece of leather said.


    “This is the simulation, it isn’t real,” Watkins said to himself.


    “Aye, Captain, this is the simulation, and the world your core created might not be real, but the effects of what you do here certainly are. Stop her or give up and let your core be rewritten. We can make either of those happen, but you need to command us, sir,” the old man said. As Watkins looked over the deck, he could see that every man had stopped what he was doing and was focussed on him.


    In the distance, Watkins heard the boom of cannon and looked out over the railing of his ship to see a small fleet of wooden sailing ships under attack from a deadly looking ship with black sails. He could feel it, that ship was LANI, or at least the new programming that had awakened in her. That was what he had to fight, and as he fought and defeated the foe here in the simulation, his processes would be doing the same thing to the digital intrusion into his core.


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    From their heading, Watkins could see that they were sailing perpendicular to LANI’s ship. While that was probably good for when he wanted to fire a broadside from the cannons lining the rails, he was too far out of range to do anything. As Watkins thought about it, range indicators began to appear in his vision, showing how far the guns on his ship could fire.


    “Come about, we need to close into gun range,” Watkins ordered.


    “You heard the captain, snap to it you lubbers!” the man next to him, likely a first mate or something of the type, shouted. To their credit, the simulated crew worked quickly and efficiently, and Watkins could feel the ship turn toward the threat. In no time the distance between their vessels shrank, but LANI wasn’t sitting idle and waiting for him to arrive.


    Her ship unleashed another volley, the smoke from the black powder used in her guns momentarily obscured the vessel. The side of the nearest merchantman was turned to kindling by the heavy shot slamming into it. The ship listed to the side and began to take on water. Finished with her latest victim, LANI turned her ship toward Watkins’ vessel.


    It was odd, at first, her ship moved to close the distance, then it hove about as it turned back toward the merchant fleet. The ship she had previously fired upon sank under the waves, and Watkins could feel a sharp pain in his head. The first mate laid his hand on his shoulder, as if the was trying to comfort Watkins as he spoke. Instead of words, a system prompt appeared.


    A sector of your core, the one containing approximately 8.2% of your memories from the ages of 8-14, has been overwritten. This data is lost forever and is beyond recovery.


    “Damn her, let’s send that ship to the bottom of this simulated sea,” Watkins said angrily, wondering what the part of himself that he had just been lost forever contained.


    “She’s wallowing, sir, I don’t think all is right aboard the enemy vessel. That should make things easier for us,” the first mate said as LANI’s ship once more turned away from the merchant fleet. It was a bad course, and she lost the wind for several seconds, the ship’s sails hung limp as the merchantmen representing Watkins’ existence moved out of gun range.


    “Is she helping us somehow, or just incompetent?” Watkins asked himself, wondering why LANI’s ship would be handled so poorly. His core was vastly superior to the servers that LANI resided in, maybe this poor seamanship was the simulation’s way of depicting the power difference between them.


    “Almost in range sir, do we want to pepper her at maximum range, or close in for a sure kill?” the first mate asked. As he spoke, Watkins could see range indicators pop out from LANI’s ship. Her guns were much shorter ranged than the ones on his vessel. No, that wasn’t correct, some of his guns had the same range as LANI’s, but a sizeable number of his guns had longer barrels, and correspondingly, longer range.


    “Clear the decks for action, we’ll engage her at maximum range. Let her feel what it’s like to be under fire and helpless,” Watkins ordered.


    The deck was awash with activity as crew trimmed the sails, and the gun crews checked and rechecked their weapons. Others of the crew passed out weapons, and each man received a belt that held a flintlock pistol and a sheathed cutlass. They were primitive weapons but fit the era his core had tried to recreate with the simulation.


    “Hard to port!” Watkins yelled as LANI was almost in range. Slowly, the ship began to turn, and the starboard side of his ship would soon cross the T of LANI’s ship. The timing was almost perfect and just as he came about to the new heading, LANI entered the range of his longest guns.


    “All guns in range, fire at will!” Watkins shouted. Ready for his command, the gun crews fired the weapons. A dozen booms rolled into one continuous roar as the longer-ranged guns fired on the foe. The heavy iron shot slammed into LANI’s vessel, and ten of his twelve guns had been on target. It was a good show of gunnery that any crew of the era would envy.


    Even across the distance, Watkins could see wood splinter and several figures on the deck get bowled over. Even better, the small mast at the front of LANI’s ship, the bowsprit, was shattered, and the sail it held flopped into the sea. It would hamper her speed and give Watkins another advantage over his foe.


    “Hard about, let’s present our port guns to the foe!” Watkins shouted. The crew on the starboard guns were reloading, but these muzzle loading cannons made the process a slow and laborious one. Thankfully, Watkins’s seemed to have enough crew to man the guns on both sides of the ship.


    After his ship completed the turn, a second volley pounded out, further shattering the bow of LANI’s ship. One of her main masts was also taken down, leaving her only able to move at a snail’s pace, and severely hampering her ability to maneuver. Watkins had all the advantages, and it was time to close in for the kill.