2013.06.29 - If Skynet Had Wings

Hammer Industries has been searching for good, reliable test pilots for some time. The company's reputation has caused many of the good, well established pilots to shy away from their aerospace programs. In reality their aerospace record isn't that poor, though it isn't spotless either. The very public failure of the Bullshark aerospace drones several years ago left a pretty severe black mark in the minds of most. Sure, the craft were remotely piloted drones, but no good pilot wanted to claim he was at the controls when one of the things went haywire and killed someone. Luckily, no one had been killed the last time, but the revamp of the program has made a few folks nervous.
The CEO of Hammer Industries himself had been doing a lot of the research on pilots in his quest to track down suitable operators for not only Bullshark, but a few other projects he has in store. He had talked with a few but so far hadn't gotten any takers on his offer. After querying the pilot of his personal jet, he came up with a name: Captain Harold Jordan. He did a bit of digging on the man, and found that he seemed to have a penchant for crashing expensive prototypes. But at the same time, he took risks. A risk taker may be just what Hammer Industries needs for this.
Hammer arranged to meet with Captain Jordan at the Hammer Industries facilities on Staten Island in the late afternoon on Friday. A lot of the employees are filtering out of the facility, and it's not as busy or crowded as it normally is. Instead of waiting in his office, the CEO is in the lobby of the large administration and office tower at the front of the complex. He's spent the day in meetings and has no interest in sitting behind a desk any longer, electing to simply wait in the large foyer near the receptionist's desk. He's dressed typically in a light grey vested suit and tie, and is checking his watch every few moments.
Hal, currently an executive for Ferris aircraft inc, still gets a number of job offers dispite his position within the 'go to' for aerospace industry. Usually it's as a private jet pilot or, worse, PR for some dying airline, but every now and again an offer comes along that he can't overlook out of hand. One such offer, at least a meeting, is with Hammer Industry. On the one hand he's heard all the horror stories associated with the company, but on the other he learned a long time ago not to judge a book exclusively by its cover. 
That's what brings him here. 
Of course, he tested the waters a bit... see how desperate they were. Requested a private helicoptor and a frisca waiting for him when he boarded. Loaded up in his usual brown bomber jacket and aviator glasses. Looking like Tom Cruise right out of Top Gun as he jumps down off the chopper with his hair flipping about in the turbulent wind kicked up by the propellers. He'd done his homework as well.. but it didn't take a whole lot of research to know which one of the people milling about was the boss. 
"Justin Hammer... Harold Jordan." Offering his hand once inside, glasses pushed up on his brow to hold back the unruly tendrils of his hair. 
Being a man of odd quirks himself, Justin could respect the demands the potential test pilot put on the meeting. So he granted them, including the specific soda that was requested. Why wouldn't he? Not to mention he fact that yes, Hammer Industries was a bit desperate. Hammer heard the thundering whump-whump-whump of the Bell 222's blades long before it decended onto the designated platform near the building. Straightening his posture he waited patiently for the captain to walk into the building, slipping his hands into his pants pockets out of habit. Desperate for a pilot he may be, he certainly wasn't going to rush the door to greet him.
The man's approach brings a smile from the CEO, who takes Hal's hand and shakes. "Good to meet you Captain Jordan. I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me." His tone and smile outwardly seem friendly enough, though there's a constant, underlying falseness to his actions. Justin has a reputation for being a pretentious jerk, and it's evident he's actively trying to cover that up.
Hal was good at getting a read on someone from their mannerisms. A skill that's only gotten better over the years while preforming his duties as a Green Lantern, so within seconds of meeting Justin he knew two things for sure: One, most of the rumors about the man were probably true and the second thing? He liked him for it. 
Say what people might about the CEO of Hammer Industries, but he built a competitive market with the likes of Stark and Wayne, so to say he was a little ruthless would be the understatement of the year. And Hal had a reputation as being someone of a prick himself, under the right circumstances and depending on who was being asked. 
"Not that busy. Sitting behind a desk isn't exactly what I'd consider strenuous labor... no offense." Said as he glances around the lobby with a nod, "Call me Hal." He desides before looking back to the CEO. 
Hammer offers a chuckle at the comment about sitting behind a desk. "None taken," he replies. "To be honest, I'm not a fan of it myself. Most days I'd rather be in the shop trying to bring a concept to prototype, but when you run a company, you end up stuck behind the desk." Not to mention most of what the company is working on now is far enough advanced that Justin building a prototype himself would be nearly impossible. Almost all the design work is also handled by his engineers at this point. In that respect, he's no Tony Stark, though he'll never admit to that. "Hal it is, then. So, shall we go take a look at a couple designs and see what you think of them?" Hammer plans to show the pilot a few of the mock-ups, see what he says, and if it looks promising he has one of the Bullshark prototypes on site.
Hal was thankful in that he only marginally had any responsibilities at Ferris... Sure, there was a desk, but at least they let him get his hands dirty on occation. Still, he nods along with Justin and glances around the lounge once more, "Yeah let's take a look. I understand you've been working on some unmanned drones?" Slipping his hands into the pockets of his bomber jacket in a casual manner, wearing that everyman look like a suit of armor. It always had a way of disarming people, but it was still camoflauge. 
Justin starts walking toward the back of the lobby where the bank of elevators are. As hot as it is outside, the tunnels will be a far more comfortable commute than taking the exterior route to the hanger buildings. Hammer nods as the approach the elevator, taking a keycard from his wallet as they approach. "That I am. Project Bullshark. You may have heard of it." He throws a sidelong glance at the pilot, ready to judge his reaction to the name. Being a test pilot he's sure that Jordan has heard all the stories, and then some. Much of the general public even knows about the projects flaws. The elevator car arrives and the doors open with a ding. Justin boards the car, holding the door out of habit for Hal, then swipes the keycard and selects a restricted subbasement level.
Hal doesn't hide his reaction to the name, wouldn't do any good if he'd tried. He's jacked into the pilot community well enough that most of the dirty secrets about the project that circulates in that crowd are part and parcel, but further... this really isn't his negociation angle. Infact, he knows that nobodied willingly invest in a pilot with his reputation if it weren't dangerous business. With a great deal of risk. 
It's the risk that drew him. 
"I heard, yeah. Unmanned though." Slipping past the CEO into the elevator car and crossing his arms with his back leaning up against the rail, "So, are you looking for a pilot for your drone or a pilot for the drone to fly against?" 
"Both." Justin caught the reaction to the name, and it brought a smirk to his face. Yep, let everyone continue to doubt the revival of the money-pit lawn darts of death, because that will just make their shock at the new prototypes that much more amazing. The elevator drops down, stopping and opening it's doors on a plain concrete hallway. It's wide, big enough to drive a truck down, and every so often there are other tunnels that break off at right angles. Hammer exits the elevator and boards one of the golf carts parked nearby. He waits for Hal to join him before he continues. "I'm sure that unmanned drones are far from your cup of tea, but I would like to get your opinion on the systems. Eventually I would like to develop a civilian version of the drone, for police and forest service use. And I would also love to be able to demonstrate how they operate against a live pilot, for military applications."
Hal follows along as casually as if he's been in any number of secret weapons and manufacturing facilities of this scale. Even if he really hasn't, which is the case.. at least not on Earth. "Hmm.. Probably a tough sale to the civilian market, but there's still a huge budget for military hardware..." Slipping into the cart and leaning back, the pilot leans forward with his arms cast across his thighs. "I wont lie to you Justin." Pausing, "Mind if I call you Justin?" 
Cocky son of a gun that he is. 
"I don't really fancy unmanned drones. We tried to put something out a few years ago ourselves, but the project turned belly up. It's one thing to assembly line a fleet of the winged robots, it's quite another to duplicate real pilot perceptions in the cockpit." Wiggling his fingers in a cog grinder motion, "You take away one of the most important elements when the controller is sitting safely in a bunker: Fear." 
The CEO pulls the electric cart out into the main tunnel, following the arrows that indicate which side tunnels lead to what buildings. "I don't mind at all," he replies with a wave of his hand. He's trying to negotiate a potentially hard sell, so if the pilot wants to be on a first name basis, that's perfectly alright. He listens as he drives, turning the cart down one, then another side tunnel. while Hammer really doesn't know that much about flying, what Hal says makes sense. "I see your point, but removing a human pilot from a hot zone, and potentially saving their life, has to count for something," he counters. "Let me let you in on a little secret. Bullshark isn't your average drone. I know what the media has said about it, and yeah, it made a bad debut. But if you can split the reaction between an AI and a live pilot, successfully, think of the possibilities. The AI is going to take over that fear component, leaving the operator free to make concise strategic decisions. Letting the human pilot do what they're supposed to do: think."
Hammer pulls the cart to a stop near another set of elevators. He exits the vehicle and waits for the pilot before approaching the doors, pulling the keycard from his wallet again.
Hal listens to the counter and dips his head as they ride, glancing from side to side as casually as he looks sitting in the cart, "Good training, for sure. I mean..." Sitting straighter and leaning back into the seat as he wrestles through what he's trying to say, without sounding pretentious himself, "You get a pilot up in that hotseat and it's him and the aircraft. Fly, fall, fight or fail... everything rests on his reaction time underfire. It's like any soldier, in that regard." Again cogwheeling his fingers, "Now, I've got nothing against AI. You pop a dedicated opporator as backup pilot or to calculate tragectories for advanced tactics in close dog fights? Sure.. I get that, but if you take the pilot out of the heat, they never overcome that fear." 
Green Lantern doctrine screams in his ear like a loud teacher who swears the student is about to spell their word wrong. 
"That's what seperates the aces from the assholes... At least in my experience. We didn't work very long with the drone model... I showed them pretty quickly that no AI, no matter how well programmed, is ever going to have the tactical advantage over a pilot whose overcome a fear of falling. They're just not wired that way... literally or figuratively." 
"But if you remove the fear of falling," Justin says as he triggers the elevator, "Then you'll want to take more risks, right? I mean, I don't know about you, but I'd much rather take a risky dive in a video game than in a real plane. And if you mess up? You're still alive and they don't have to train another pilot. Sure a drone is expensive, but can you really put a price on the person flying the thing?" The elevator doors open, and again Hammer holds the door open out of habit before boarding. Another swipe of the keycard and they're ascending. "Besides, how else is one pilot going to fly three planes at once, if they're not drones."
Hal cants his head and thinks about that, but he doesn't have to think very long. His reputation speaks for itself, honestly, "I'd rather not mess up, not when it counts." Not ever, but especially not when it counts. "I can show you data out the wazoo where unmanned drones are out flown by single manned aircraft. Especially unmanned drones being controlled by a single pilot, even a skilled pilot." 
Then again... "But that was during prototype runs. And as you're well aware, prototypes are very expensive. Way more expensive than the people controlling them. So they may well be afraid of breaking the damned things." His hand comes up to scratch in the day old stubble on his cheek, "Have you considered VR loadouts for your drones? Splits the difference between safety protocal and inseat instincts. Gives the controller the very real perception of 'death' without the actual fallout surrounding it." Not that he'd ever want to trade a VR cockpit for a real one, but he's just the consultant. 
The doors of the elevator open, and they're no longer faced with drab, grey tunnels. Now it's a wide open space, built like a hanger with gantry cranes and catwalks overhead. Inside the hanger are several different types of aircraft, many recognizeable. A few, however, are obviously new concepts, looking nothing like the standard models that are there for equipment retrofits. Justin steps out of the elevator and heads toward the right, toward a group of three strange looking craft. They're rather flat, like the B-2 Spirit, though angular like the F-117. They sport large, forward-swept delta wings and canards on the forward fuselage. Their skin is a dull, flat grey, and they have the obvious look of being non-functional.
"I've seen the data," Hammer replies. "And I want to shatter it. My goal is to finally bring a drone to the market that can keep up with a human pilot- if you can find it." He grins, looking at the drone mock ups then back to Hal. "The control system is laid out just like a cockpit. We tried to replicate a simulator as best as possible, while still keeping the system within reason. While not VR per say, it comes close." He takes the suggestion to heart, though, and makes a mental note to check with his engineers about making the system more real.
Hal doesn't often get star struck, just sort of comes with the territory, but he's about as close as he's been in sometime when those doors open to the wide scan of fighters in various stages of prototyping and refit. "Okay..." wiggling a finger in a manner very similiar to a point, "This is impressive..." 
Particularly the sleek flat crafts, presumably the drones. "This them?" Already headed in that direction. His glasses are pulled off from his brow and left to hang in the top button of his shirt beneath the jacket. "What's their top speed?" He's got an eye for details, particularly in avionics, even if he'll never be the one putting them together. "And vertical ceiling?" 
He glances back at Hammer when he brings up the controls and his desire to smash the records with a smirk, canting his head, "You did good bringing me if that's your intentions.. I'm the one who set all that data." 
Hammer barely manages a straight face when Hal refers to the hanger building as impressive. The CEO really doesn't need any more help with his ego, but he takes any he can get. "As impressive as Ferris?" he asks, though he doesn't actually expect an answer. Technically the two companies are competitors in this market, even though Hammer Industries doesn't actually build aircraft, save for things like the drone projects and guided missile systems. "These are the mock-ups for Bullshark. Pretty slick, huh? I came up with the name myself, since they're pretty mean looking." Justin switches gears pretty quickly, diving right into the technical data. "Top speed is mach 2 plus. Can't give the specifics, for obvious reasons, but let's just say it gives an F-16 Viper a run for it's money. Top ceiling is an estimated between 55,000 and 60,000 feet. Full VSTOL capabilities with thrust vectoring. Takes off from practically anywhere, turns on a dime, and will bite the hand of anyone who tries to get near it."
Hal's smirk never really goes away, but it certainly does get bigger at Hammer's rhetorical question.. a rhetorical question the fighter pilot actually answers, "Different, for sure." It's neither a confirmation nor a denial of which is more impressive, that would be completely unlike him in every way. 
What isnt, is his reaction to the short stack specc run, "Okay, now I'm impressed.." Sliding his fingers along the angled wing of one of the drones, "That's above anything we were able to duplicate by ten thousand feet..." Not exactly admitting defeat when it wasn't him that built it. He just blew them up... "Always had trouble with the low atmospheric effect on the circuitry above forty thousand. Nevermind the effect it had on the signals... damn things went into manual reset at forty five thousand and cycled endlessly until they got force reboots right about ground level." 
"How about payload?" 
"The Bullsharks won't have that issue," Justin says, looking at the drones like a proud father might look at his son. "The fuselage is completely sealed, pressurized and climate controlled. As for the signal, well, they're designed to be operated from up to 15,000 miles away through a specialized and classified relay system. So these babies can be taking out targets in Iran while the pilot is sipping sweat tea at Nellis. As for payload," Hammer obviously loses no enthusiasm here, "It's designed with targeted strikes in mind, but it's also a swiss-army knife. It can carry anything from tactical micro-nukes to traditional guides smart bombs. They can be outfitted for almost any task, from surgical strikes on hidden ground targets with minimal collateral damage to head to air superiority. And the .50 caliber cannon comes standard."
"Obviously." Hal says of the .50 standard, he's seen Justin's speaches before at this expo or that one. It's good to be consistant, especially in this business. "These things are quite the monster, on paper..." The pilot says, with no shortage of genuine appreciation for the technological marvel that they are. "But you wouldn't have me here if there wasn't a flaw somewhere. What am I looking for?" Standing up straight from his inspection to turn towards the CEO, haphazzardly leaning back against one of the wings of the drone as if it were little more than railing in the elevator. 
Things like this always look good on paper. The first version of the drones also looked great on paper, and that ended up going to hell in a hand basket. Last time it was aerodynamic issues that put the project behind schedule and over budget, then the horrendous software failure that lead to the destruction of all three drones on their first coordinated test flight. Justin sobers a bit, looking the pilot dead in the eyes. "That data you set," he says, deadpan. "I want these to prove it all wrong. I want someone to teach them how to fly- to look at how they react, how they handle, and fix them. I'm sure you're familiar with the F-117's control systems. Have to tap the control surfaces every 17 seconds to keep the bird in the air. These have a similar, if not more advanced system. I want them tweaked down so they handle like a luxury car on a brand new highway. I want them tweaked down to a razor's edge. I want them to be able to out-fly you."
Out-fly you... 
Hal perks a brow at that and pushes off the wing of the drone, "How advanced is your AI? No..." Holding a hand up, shaking his head, "You said one pilot could fly all three fighters, but you didn't say how... Let me try and work through it. If you slaved them together, your lead drone would have to stay in the air or all three would go down.. and there's no way a single pilot could fly all three of them in concert at mach 2+..." Which seems to be him getting to the meat of his question, "You want them to fly 'themselves' eventually, don't you? Learn from the best fighter pilot... me... they duplicate and start figuring for themselves. At first as control linked drones mirroring the motions they're being run through, but all the while 'learning'? Only way I can figure you'd be able to pilot three in one and the only reason you'd want me knowing who I work for and my reputation for breaking these things." Thumbing back at the drones... and sounding very proud of the fact. 
"How close am I?" 
The CEO gets another one of those shark-like grins he's known for. He shifts his weight a bit and slips his hands into his pants pockets. "I'd say you're in the strike zone on that one," he comments. "Since the first Bullshark test flight in 2011 there's been a massive surge in AI technology and programming. The avionics, sensors, computing power, all of it has advanced more than anyone expected. They were slave-drones, originally, but I think we have the potential to make them much, much more than that." He pauses, watching for a reaction from the pilot. Essentially, he's wanting to build robot airplanes that would put the man out of a job.
Hal takes in a rather deep breath, one of those faced with a morale delemma breaths, and nods. "Got that right..." Again he scratches at his jaw and glances down at the wing of the drone he was previously leaning against. "Let's say you pull it off... and I still think that's a big if... what happens when the drones become self aware? You realize a machine doesn't really have a morality meter right? I mean, you program them to accomplish something, any mission doesn't really matter the specifications... and set it loose to do so." Wiggling his hands like a bird, whistling a sing songy sort of bird like call, "Let's say that it's in... Iraq. Figures for insurgence and starts strategically targetting hospitals or homes suspected of housing them? Far fetched, I know, but... think about it." Leaning back, arms stretched over the wing of the drone. 
"This sort of technology can go bad pretty quick, Justin... Wrong hands, wrong time... but.." Clapping his hands, "You didn't bring me here to be your PR guy. I just train them to fly. And since they'll never work anyways, I might as well get paid." 
Hammer scowls lightly. He had already thought about that, and the whole 'self aware' thing had been brought up many, many times. "Thankfully I don't think we're to /that/ level of AI yet," he retorts, his voice a little harder edged now. "Besides, there would be safe guards. The drones can't operate without a human behind the controls. They can't make target selections without external input. I think there's a big difference between playing an aerial game of chess and accidentally building Skynet." Crossing his arms over his chest, the CEO watches the pilot carefully. "Why don't you think they'll work?"
"A number of reasons." Hal says, taking the harder edge tone in stride, even smiling through it like a movie star, "But foremost is... you want them to be better than 'me'?" Sucking his teeth, shaking his head. "Never going to happen. I mean, close, sure... but better?" His forehead wrinkles in a disbelieving sort of way, "That's next to impossible... no, that's impossible..." 
Cockiness, it's the defuser. The guard dropper. It's worked in the past. It's what makes him a good executive, despite his aversion to being anywhere close to a desk. It's what makes him a good Lantern. "You can run these machines through all the test flights in the book. You can teach them to tilt and dive and swerve through canyons at breakneck speed... but you cannot teach them instincts. We've tried. And as soon as you do, you're not playing aerial chess anymore... what you want them to do, what you're banking on, isn't accidentally building skynet. Not if you want them to be better than me... and I'm not being cocky here, I'm telling you the flat truth... They would have to be willing to brave death... And that, Justin, is intentionally building skynet." 
Since the reference was already hanging out there. 
The pilot's tactic works, to a degree. Justin snort-laughs, shaking his head. "Depending on how much you want to charge me, and whether or not you can sign the non-disclosure agreements, I'll settle for equal." He makes a waving motion with his right hand as he talks before crossing his arms back again. Truth be told, the idea of true AI, self-aware machines, does scare Hammer and he wants no part of it. But the line in the sand, the one you shouldn't cross, isn't clearly drawn. No one quite knows at what point that the chess game turns into instincts. Turns into self-awareness. It also begs to make one thing about what awareness is. The mind may really be nothing more than a bunch of if-then statements written in binary. "So, tell me, Captain Jordan, are you interested in the project or not?"
Hal scratches his jaw again, which is a carefully designed nervous tick and glances down at the drone beneath his left arm, "What the hell.. didn't get where I am by not taking chances. Besides, if you 'do' actually create self-aware AI, I need to know how to destroy them." Smirking, he pushes off the wing and extends his hand. "Have your lawyers send the papers over to Ferris inc. I deal straight up with them and they might have some secondary requests besides mine... nothing you wouldn't be willing to part with, I promise... but you've got yourself a pilot." 
And Hal's got himself the only pair of eyes he can for sure trust looking into a project that for sure could be a problem if it works. Everything sort of just falls into place like that sometimes. 
Justin uncrosses his arms as he likewise takes a step forward to meet the pilot half way. He takes the other man's hand, shaking to seal the deal. "I'll get the paperwork drawn up. Looking forward to working with you," he says, grin returning. The possibility of partnering with Ferris at some point may not be a bad thing. Yes, they're competitors on some levels, but the seasoned aerospace company's talents really could come in handy at some point. And there are some of Ferris' aircraft in the hanger along with the Lockheed, Boeing and Northrop stock. "We're going to make history."
"Eh, you'll make history." Hal assures him, glancing at the drones with his expression tightening when his head's turned, "I'll just do what I do best..." When he's turned back, it's with that cocky grin and casual easiness returned, "Blow shit up." 
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