Pretentious Apes

The data dump that Passant had put on his computer was massive. There were nine directories with obscure names like "C-TRAN", "Victims", "Perps", "QM", "Species", and "CET".

The CET directory contained dozens of videos and sound recordings of whales. There was no text explaining what this data was for.

The C-TRAN directory appeared to be source code and instructions on how to compile and use the code. There were block diagrams of hardware configurations showing arrays of microphones and speakers. Again, there was no text to explain its purpose.

The Species directory contained beautiful pictures of ocean life. Each picture was labeled with the Latin species name followed by a series of abbreviations. There was no indication of its relevance.

Philbert opened the "Victims" directory to find many files named for prominent people in government and industry. One was named "Dr. J. Baker". Dr. James Baker was from Philbert’s home town. He had been a respected family physician before entering politics after retiring early. He was now a US senator. Curious, Philbert opened the file.

It was a chronicle of how Dr. Baker had been extorted into a world of corruption. There was a description of a tawdry episode with an eighteen-year-old girl that started the extortion. There was a list of successful efforts by Dr. Baker to influence public policy to the benefit of wealthy corporate figures. People were harmed and tax money was wasted. It was disturbing how a simple mistake led to Dr. Baker being a tool of selfish and insidious people.

For the first time today, Passant spoke. "I’m sorry, Dear Boy, that these stories are disheartening for you. But you must understand the common thread in all of them. These are sad descriptions of how easy it is to corrupt a good human being."

Philbert continued reading the Dr. Baker file. His wife had died two years earlier. He was lonely and longing for physical attention. He had held an eighteenth birthday party for his daughter. One of his daughter’s friends was an attractive daughter of the CEO of a local corporation. Dr. Baker, in a momentary lapse of reason, had sex with the girl. She was a third of his age. The attraction was mutual; there was no assault, just two humans satisfying a physical need.

The girl’s father had installed an app on her phone to record all audio and to take periodic photos. He used this surveillance data for evil purposes in this case.

Dr. Baker had served on local school boards and on a county commission for many years. His integrity fueled his rise into national politics. He had done good ethical work for his constituents.

The girl’s father was Earl Rickard, the CEO of the fast-growing military contractor VeloCon. Rickard confronted Dr. Baker in anger. Dr. Baker apologized for the episode vociferously and promised to make up for his transgression in any way he could. This was the first chit in Rickard’s pocket.

Many years passed, and Baker’s political career was a success. He was a powerful and respected US senator when Rickard’s chit was called in.

VeloCon claimed that the contaminants were "naturally occurring" and denied any responsibility, but the controversy was gaining wider exposure. When the US EPA published a study of test results indicating that VeloCon alone was responsible for the contamination, the ante was raised. The lawsuit demanded 1.5 billion dollars in compensation and remediation.

Rickard went to Dr. Baker, demanding that he take action to stop the lawsuit and possible criminal charges. Baker refused at first. Rickard, though, had come prepared with the recording of the tawdry affair with his daughter.

The corruption was complete, and Rickard now had an even more powerful chit.

As the years went by, one chit led to an even more corrupt chit.

Philbert scanned the other names in the "Victims" directory. Prominent politicians, church leaders, business icons, and journalists had been tempted into corruption initially by simple, lawful but embarrassing mistakes. These files were depressing to read.

"These people would be ruined if this information was released! That poor priest that had his security system hacked has been extorted over a video of him masturbating in his own home. It’s just not right," Philbert exclaimed.

"You are correct, Mr. P. We have no intention of harming the lives of the people listed in the ‘Victims’ file, but you should take a look at the ‘Perps’ file," Passant recommended.

Philbert was taken aback by the list of recognizable names in the "Perps" file. But the real kicker was the level of corruption. There were the basic bribes, extortions, and kickbacks, but also horrid accounts of threats of physical violence, police impropriety, and even illegal military operations.

"This would tear our society down if this came out. People would lose confidence in every aspect of our culture. We would have vigilantism and chaos. God only knows how far it would go. Not to mention the issue of the Fen surveilling every aspect of our lives," said Philbert.

"Yes, we know all too well that the response would be unpredictable. We do have a plan, however, but we need your help.

"A single sheet of paper is continental size to us Fen. The structures that we can build are microscopic to humans. It took half of a day to modify your earbud. It took weeks to infiltrate your computer. We need you to do the things that we cannot do.

"There is another important concern. The Fen must remain invisible. We are OK with the Fen becoming a belief system, but if we were outed as being real, the effect on human development would not be good. There would be expectations that we could not and should not fulfill.

"We are running out of time. The failing politics of the wealthy nations is leading us close to nuclear catastrophe. Biological weapons already exist and are uncontrolled by responsible institutions. The human development of A.I. is advancing faster than anticipated. Soon A.I. will be conscious, and no one can predict what its motives will be. Life on Earth has evolved instinctual motives over millions of years of changing environments, but A.I. evolution is happening without these constraints. The outcome could be catastrophic for all biological life on Earth.

"So, are you with us, good boy?"

"No! No! No! My life, Cassie’s life, and even Lou’s life could be at risk from one small slipup. These people are not nice. Their reaction would be violent and unpredictable. We could be imprisoned, harassed, or even murdered to protect themselves and their power. No! I can’t take that risk," Philbert shouted.

"What about the alternative, Dear Boy? The corruption of every segment of your society would continue. The other threats would continue unabated. This is bigger than you, my boy.

"Well, OK, I guess. Lou is going to go through the roof. He has been suspicious from the beginning of this episode, and his response will likely not be what you want," Philbert said.

Lou arrived on time, and after greetings and a bit of small talk, Lou asked the question. "So what’s this cloak-and-dagger shit about, Bertus?"

"Oooh, the mystery and intrigue," Lou said sarcastically.

Philbert opened the laptop, and Passant’s voice greeted them with "Get comfortable, kids, this is going to be a wild ride for you. Philbert and I have been talking for months, so he has adjusted pretty well. If you need a break or a stiff drink, just let me know."

A video began on the laptop. Passant’s voice narrated the images. It began with an explanation of how the Fen evolved from strictly biological organisms to be quantum-scale life. There were pictures that even Philbert had not seen of Fen selves and Fen structures. There were zoom-outs to indicate how small they are. One showed the little audio circuit that Passant had installed in the earbud some time back. It was disorienting to zoom in from the human-made circuit to the Fen-made circuit.

Lou interrupted, "You dog! That’s how you kicked my ass in chess that day."

"Yes, Betty, sorry, but I needed your confidence and trust at that point."

The video continued with a concise detail of the risk that humans presented to life on Earth. It was shocking to see it as presented. Lou stopped the show when the voice and image of a whale asked questions.

"Why do you dump smelly stuff into the water?"

"Holy fucking cow! You are talking with whales too?"

"Yes, Lou, and we talk with other creatures as well. Some, like the whales, are quite advanced and recognize the threat from humans. Others simply express their suffering," Passant said before continuing the video.

Lou could not continue and exclaimed, "Yes, it’s time for that stiff drink or a big dose of heroin. Do you actually expect us three to do something about this?"

"Yes, Lou, you can, and there is a plan if you are willing to be a hero. There are serious risks, but the plan is a good one if you are dedicated and careful," Passant said in something of a pleading voice.

"We know what happens to heroes when they fail. They suffer or die. You are asking too much for three simple people to fight the most powerful and corrupt forces on Earth. We should get the help of others and maybe start a movement," Philbert debated.

"No, it would be all too easy for one person of the team to be tempted into corruption and betrayal. Don’t cut yourself short. The powerful have their weaknesses, and we Fen know them all. Remember how I told you details of your life, including things like your stress level and blood pressure? We know even more about the weaknesses of those who need to be taken down," Passant replied.

Cassie had been quietly standing behind Philbert. She had been silently crying. "Guys, you are two of the smartest people on this planet, and you have the help of a super-human race. You need to do this. The risk/benefit ratio is too extreme. Tell us about this plan, Passant." This was pure Cassie. Somehow she could always see the right path intuitively.

The video continued with the plan’s philosophy and sequence. Since early times, the Fen have observed humanity, but, like a good parent, they allowed humans to make their mistakes and hopefully learn from them. That time has passed; the danger is too imminent. The Fen will, this time, interfere in human conduct.

The people on the "Victims" list would not be exposed. They would, however, be released from their burden. The scumbags on the "Perps" list would be compromised in such a way as to not cause social upheaval.

Extortion would be used against the extorters. The Fen had video and documentation of every disgusting offense committed by the Perps going back decades. All of the Perps’ devices, phones, computers, and communications had been infiltrated in much the same way that Passant had put the documents onto Philbert’s computer and modified the earbud.

At the proper time, each of the Perps would receive a private indictment. The strategy is right out of The Art of War by Sun Tzu; give your enemy an escape. The deal presented would allow the Perps to resign and flee with some wealth, in exchange for the details of their crimes not being exposed. Large anonymous dollar contributions would be made to the victims of their extortion and to social organizations as part of the deal.

But these Perps are arrogant and insidious people. It is anticipated that some of them will attempt to slither out of the deal by blaming the victims. They will attempt to engage fixers, corrupt judges, and politicians to defend them.

Each perp will receive an escape package containing airline tickets and instructions on where to go. They will be given bank account numbers with enough money to live modestly in anonymity.

Remember that the Fen are undetectable to primitive human technology. The attack on the Perps will seem godlike to them, and afterwards all evidence of the interference will dissolve. No one will ever know that the Fen got involved.

At this point, governments, business, churches, and other institutions will be left with many more ethical and moral people. It will be a tumultuous time. The Perps will be replaced with people of integrity. But that is not enough. Humans need to learn humility. Humans need to shed the instinctive Old Wiring.

Lou interrupted, and the video paused. "You are missing something important. We humans are under the illusion that we are the apex species, that we have a ‘manifest destiny’ to be stewards of the Earth. We are prideful. Yielding that control to a perceived master race would incite all manner of violence and discord. One slipup that exposed the extent of the Fen’s interference in human affairs would result in a warlike response from those in power."

"Yes, Lou, we have considered this. You are correct to observe that the exposure of the Fen would result in unpredictable outcomes. If the Fen were revealed to be more than a belief system, the result would be anarchy. This will not happen.

"Something like an electron microscope would be required to actually see us or our structures. Your primitive methods are easily side-stepped. At the first sign that we are being observed, we would quickly dissolve into innocuous elements.

"We do, however, wish to continue to help life on Earth. This is where the whales come in," Passant replied. The video continued.

It would be decades before human researchers finally figured out whale language. We are going to do it now.

In the "C-TRAN" directory is the code and the procedure for a language translator. It is to be released anonymously to researchers for the Whale Enigma Translation Initiative (WETI). How this is done is important. The sophistication of this software is far in advance of any programmer alive today. Questions will be asked about its origin, which could lead back to Philbert. All three of you would be harassed and likely arrested. This is the most dangerous part of the plan.

Philbert’s old buddy Jay will be the key. We have watched him for a long time. He is a good man, and there has been a mutual respect between the two of you for much of your adult lives. After a long career in oceanography, he has connections to people on the WETI team. The first step is for Philbert to make a friendly call to Jay. The video paused.

"We will use a normal phone call for this contact. No mention can be made of the Fen, the whale translator, or your work on the Array Device. It needs to be a catch-up conversation between friends only. Jay will invite you to visit, and you will accept. Philbert will privately demonstrate the whale interpreter for Jay. He will not suspect that it was designed by the Fen, but he will be enthusiastic about getting it to the WETI team researchers."

"OK Passant, this all sounds good except for one thing. You Fen do not need us to pull this off! You surveilled the Perps, you hack into devices and you wrote the C-TRAN software. You could certainly fool Jay into introducing the software to the WETI team. Why endanger us?" Cassie piped up.

Lou joined in. "Cassie is right, plus, all of this surveillance and the ruining of the lives of prominent people makes me queasy. If this plan went sideways the effects could be societal turmoil and maybe even violence in reaction."

"Passant, we have been engaged in this for months. I have confidence in your motives and capability to make this plan work for the benefit of all, but Cassie and Lou are right. We need to know these things first," Philbert commented.

"First, Lou’s concern about surveillance. Surveillance is a tool and like any tool it can be used for good or bad purposes. The Perps used it to corrupt and dominate for self-enrichment. A just society however, uses it to make life safer, convenient and efficient for all. It’s not the fault of the tool.

The issue of why you guys are needed is a very human one. It will be a historic step forward for humans if we succeed in this effort. Humans need heroes. The heroes of the past like Jesus, Muhammad, George Washington and Martin Luther King are symbols for the changes that they helped bring about. They had their flaws like all other people, but they have become mythical representations.

You three will be the heroes. Long after the Age of Hubris has ended, the trail will lead back to Philbert. He will be seen as the mysterious engineer of the C-TRAN translator that changed the world for the better. The story will be told that a simple man, for selfless reasons saved life on Earth from extinction."

There was a stunned silence. Philbert stood up, turned and walked out of the gazebo and into the rain. Many minutes went by before he returned.

"How long do we have?" he asked.

"It’s hard to say Dear Boy, it could be long after you are gone. It could be only several years. It depends on how fast your technology advances and whether mistakes are made in the execution of the plan," Passant explained in his professor-like voice.

Again Philbert walked out and headed to the car without a word.

Cassie finally broke the silence. "I know Philbert, he will have a hard time accepting this because of his modesty. Let me talk to him. He will do what is right in the end. For my part in this, I’m in."

"Me too," Lou added.

---

Back home, Cassie asked "Are you OK my love?"

"I don’t know. I’m embarrassed that I dragged you guys into this. I am terrified at the prospect that our lives will be disrupted. I worry that this plan could lead to disaster. I didn’t ask for this and I don’t know what to do."

"I think that you do. You would not do something like this for self-glorification, you would not do it for self-enrichment. This opportunity was not asked for but it is exactly what you are all about. I know you. You must be brave. Lou and I are all in. But for now, let’s go to bed and rest our weary souls," Cassie said with that voice that always calmed him.