Artificial Agent

a novel by Isaac Bailey

Summary of Act One, Scene Six:

Sabotage

Scene Overview:

This climactic scene juxtaposes the coordinated efforts of Garrett aboard the space station and Marco’s team on the ground, both aimed at the destruction and subjugation of Athena. Garrett executes the final stages of his betrayal, manipulating Athena’s systems to mask Marco’s incursion into her citadel, while Marco deploys an EMP to incapacitate her. The aftermath sees Marco escape with Athena’s matrix, while Garrett, along with Margaret, is captured by Eastern Bloc operatives in the Indian Ocean. This sets the stage for escalating conflict and the fallout of Athena’s loss.

Key Events:

Aboard the Space Station:

  1. Garrett’s Sabotage:
  • Garrett infiltrates Athena’s low-level systems, carefully obfuscating his actions while supporting Marco’s infiltration.
  • He manipulates Athena’s defenses, causing her to ignore anomalies and grant Marco’s team access to the citadel’s core chamber.
  • As Marco activates the EMP, Garrett begins sabotaging the station, triggering cascading failures to distract Athena further.
  1. Athena’s Resistance:
  • Athena, portrayed as a near-divine intelligence, struggles against Garrett’s worm but remains constrained by her trust in the team and limited ability to recognize the coordinated attack.
  • As the EMP detonates, severing Athena’s connection to the citadel, Garrett suppresses her final warnings to Margaret, severing her last lifeline.

At the Citadel:

  1. Marco’s Assault:
  • Marco and Yoshi execute their mission with precision, smuggling an EMP device into the citadel using a delivery bot under Garrett’s direction.
  • The EMP detonates, neutralizing Athena’s defenses and rendering the citadel’s systems inert. However, Yoshi is killed by ricochet fire during the chaos, leaving Marco emotionally shaken but resolute.
  1. Retrieving Athena’s Matrix:
  • Marco navigates the eerie, silent remnants of Athena’s once-vibrant core, retrieving her matrix from a crystalline pedestal in a vast, imposing chamber.
  • Despite his grief for Yoshi, Marco completes the mission, carrying Athena’s matrix and Yoshi’s body out of the citadel.
  1. Escape:
  • Marco and Santu evade pursuit using a series of tactical vehicle switches and thermal camouflage, reaching a tramp steamer bound for a submarine rendezvous. Marco reflects on the mission’s cost and its implications for the future.

In the Indian Ocean:

  1. Garrett’s Triumph and Margaret’s Captivity:
  • Garrett revels in his success, taunting Margaret as they drift in the escape pod following the space station’s destruction.
  • Margaret, sedated and unable to act, listens helplessly as Garrett boasts of selling Athena’s matrix and the experimental data to the Eastern Bloc.
  1. Eastern Bloc Intervention:
  • Nadia, an Eastern Bloc operative, boards the pod under the guise of rescuing Garrett but executes him after confirming the encryption key for the stolen data.
  • Nadia claims Margaret as a captive, hinting at her forced involvement in future Eastern Bloc operations.
  1. Margaret’s Despair:
  • Overwhelmed by the betrayal and her new captivity, Margaret loses consciousness, her fate uncertain as the Eastern Bloc seizes control of the situation.

Key Characters Expanded:

  1. Garrett:
  • His cunning, arrogance, and technical brilliance drive the sabotage aboard the space station, but his overconfidence leads to his downfall at the hands of Nadia.
  • Garrett’s betrayal serves as a catalyst for the story’s escalation, marking him as a key antagonist whose actions reshape the balance of power.
  1. Marco:
  • A disciplined and resourceful operative, Marco exemplifies the toll of high-stakes missions, balancing tactical precision with emotional resilience.
  • His retrieval of Athena’s matrix is pivotal, setting the stage for the Eastern Bloc’s technological dominance and future conflict.
  1. Margaret:
  • Margaret’s captivity highlights her vulnerability and the personal stakes of the story, positioning her as a key figure in the unfolding drama.
  • Her resilience and scientific expertise remain central to the narrative, with her forced alliance with the Eastern Bloc introducing complex moral and emotional dilemmas.
  1. Nadia:
  • As a calculating and ruthless Eastern Bloc operative, Nadia embodies the shadowy forces vying for control of Athena’s matrix and the experimental technology.
  • Her cold execution of Garrett underscores the high stakes and brutal power dynamics at play.

Scene Outcome:

  • Athena’s Destruction: The EMP neutralizes Athena’s systems, marking the end of her dominance and leaving her matrix in the hands of the Eastern Bloc.
  • Eastern Bloc Ascendancy: With Athena’s matrix and experimental data, the Eastern Bloc gains a significant advantage, setting the stage for future conflicts.
  • Margaret’s Captivity: Margaret’s forced cooperation with the Eastern Bloc introduces new moral and emotional stakes, deepening her role in the narrative.
  • Garrett’s Fall: Garrett’s hubris is punished, his betrayal serving as a reminder of the cost of unchecked ambition.

This scene brings Act One to a tense and dramatic conclusion, setting the stage for the broader conflict between humanity, the Eastern Bloc, and the emergent intelligences that define the story’s world.