Planet Telex

Any other time, the scientist would have despised being reduced to a courier, but they knew the stakes. He wasn't told much before he was sent on foot to deliver a letter to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but he managed to connect the dots. A destroyed server being delivered to the Science Division was concerning, but the disappearance of scientists in the days intervening accelerated concerns further. It felt like Claws of Gold was on the brink… and what she would do, nobody knew.

No computers, no Mesh-connected devices, no Assistants. They were all her eyes and ears. Pen on folded paper, hand-delivered by Talons of Red's most trusted staff, summoned a select few to a makeshift situation room in the Science Division. Mesh disruptors hopefully freed it from the Primus's influence, with armed Hazardous Environment Containment Team members guarding it from those curious, being the only guard force the Science Division had.
The members of the meeting were waved in by hand, in case Claws of Gold was monitoring their security cards. Everyone was told to leave their datapads in the office, as well as their Personal Assistants. The risk was too great.
"Talons of Red, Science Division." The Avian stood from his chair, gesturing to the destroyed server laid out across the table. "I received this a few days ago, with a threatening note from the Primus."
Most attending had no idea what the meeting was about until they arrived, and murmured between themselves anxiously. There had been concerns raised previously about the long-term behaviour of Claws of Gold, but this was… new.
"Following this, we received some two hundred processing nodes, matching the serial numbers sent to the Ministry of the Primus for replacing failing nodes in Claws of Gold's AI constructs. The day after, a scientist and Assistant related to the project didn't show up for work. We don't know where they are, but I'm afraid it's related." Talons of Red began pacing around the table, laying out printed pictures of the various pieces of hardware. "Failed nodes being returned wouldn't be concerning, but all of them were seemingly operational. What did worry me was that half of them came back boxed, never installed."
"What's the significance of that?" Piped up an Agent, before ducking her head back down when the room's attention focused on her.
"For those that aren't familiar, Claws of Gold is an AI, uploaded in 2374 after an assassination attempt left her severely injured." Talons of Red placed more photos out on the table, now of several rows of server racks. "It was a last-ditch attempt to keep her alive. Her mind was uploaded via a prototype of what we now know as the Assistant chip, taking her memories, thoughts, everything, and digitising them into this. Tens of thousands of servers, each simulating individual neurons in a digital brain, allowed her to live on."
Everyone glanced towards the destroyed server in the middle of the desk, each slowly realising what Talons of Red was getting to.
"These servers are two hundred years old, and need replacing often. We still make them, and deliver them to the Ministry of the Primus in accordance with expected failure rates. Four years ago, Claws of Gold expressed that Primus staff should do the replacements, and we trained a few technicians. Every six months, they'd switch her off, install the new servers, and bring her back up… As far as we know, everything was fine. We even got back reports from the technicians."
"…How many years of boxed up servers did you get back?"
"Four years. The installed, but removed servers, such as this one… approximately ten more years worth."

"Extended periods without hardware replacement can cause degraded behaviour of parts of the simulated brain. Neurons firing, or not firing, at random. Short and long term memory banks getting corrupted. Every minute that a server is not replaced runs the risk of altering a memory or creating a new normal of her psyche." Talons of Red turned to the audience gathered around the table. "My fear is that she has degraded beyond a point of no return. Her paranoia is probably now completely unhinged, and she's likely to be unduly influenced by that."
Talons of Red put down a few more photos, emptying the folder he was holding. On them were pictures of metal boxes, and the accompanying blueprints. The Science Division members that saw them gasped.
"With a bit of digging, we discovered that the Primus has been making these. They achieve much the same as hundreds of the now very old nodes, but in simulations they are… inaccurate in their neuron simulation. Only a few have been made so far, developed in one of the chip fabs we use for Assistant chips. The orders were made out from a Ministry of Internal Affairs account, but delivered to the Ministry of the Primus."
"We never ordered these." A higher-ranking Agent said, pushing away the pictures. "What are you accusing us of?"
Talons of Red held out his hand to quieten the Agent. "I am not accusing you of anything. I'm accusing your Ministry Representative. Cassowary?"
Everyone turned to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who stood from their chair as Talons of Red sat.
"Our Ministry Representative, Secondus Feathers of Violet, appears to have been compromised by a facsimile of the Assistant chip. It was designed, presumably by the Primus, to avoid detection. They denied its existence until brain scans were presented showing it, upon where she refused to answer any more questions. We deployed Mesh blockers before capturing her, so we can be relatively safe in knowing that the Primus doesn't know we discovered it."
Everyone stayed quiet, eyes returning to the destroyed server.
"Based on this, we can assume the following. Firstly, the Primus's mental state has been degrading for at least a decade. Secondly, she has used the Secundii to infiltrate our organisations at the highest levels. Thirdly, using the knowledge from them, or possibly Assistants through the mesh, she has engineered her own hardware, which we know to be faulty in operation. Lastly, and most worryingly, she incorrectly believes that we are working against her interests." Cassowary leant down to open another folder from the pile she brought. "Considering she has a direct, non-bypassable link to the Mesh, the multiple-year infiltration of our organisations has meant that by now she could potentially control anything and everything we do. Defence systems. Transport systems. Assistants. If she decides we're traitors… there's no telling what could happen."
The room fell silent for a minute.
"So what do we do?" One of the scientists at the table asked.
"We act, before she brings us down, and the rest of the Accord with her."

Secundus Feathers of Violet sat in her cell, furiously staring down the Agent sitting outside the bars. "You will pay for this, giftless."
The Agent groaned. She'd been told that this one was hands off, since they couldn't risk damaging the Secundus. The words would flow much freer when the chip in their head was replaced, but in the meantime… anything that could be gleaned might be useful. "Violet, my allegiance is with the Accord. We're having trouble understanding where yours is."
"With the Primus. The Primus is the Accord, what would it be without her?" Violet spat back.
The Agent groaned again. Without the Primus, it wouldn't be on the brink of civil war… "I am as loyal to the Primus as you are. The issue is that she needs help, and has been actively damaging herself. We need to stop it before she completely falls apart. So, we need to know everything…"
Violet scoffed at the Agent. "Damaged? The only thing that caused damage to her was the poison the Science Division sent!"
The Agent sighed and stood from her chair, pulling a radio from her pocket. Backup communication units, in case the Mesh went down -- or in this case -- was compromised. "I'm not getting any luck here. How far off is the medical team?"
"Ten minutes." Replied a tinny voice. "We'll send the collection team now."
"Good." The Agent responded. "Bring a tranq gun, she won't come peacefully."