This is a Second Season story and is a WHN* for the First Season episode, The Human Computer.

Return of the Super Brain

by Lynn

Chapter One

Admiral Harriman Nelson leaned over the conference table with his hands folded as General Keeter conducted the briefing on the naval war games scheduled to commence in four days. Both Harry and Lee had been called in to represent Seaview's role in the games; to evade an enemy submarine commanded entirely by the new and improved Super Brain. The exercise would test the computer's performance in an offensive campaign having passed the defensive test by evading and losing the surface fleet in the war games Lee had participated in last year.

“Commander Crane, your report on the Super Brain's performance was the catalyst to major improvements made to the computer,” General Keeter explained. “I believe you stated...” he said looking down and quoting from an open folder in front of him, “...that 'while the computer did evade surface detection by successfully hiding on the ocean floor, I noted a definite lag time as opposed to when I would have issued evasive action',” he finished looking up with his hands folded over the report.

“Would you be so kind as to elaborate on this statement, Commander,” the General ordered rather than asked.

“Aye Sir,” Lee answered, not the least bit intimidated even though he was the most junior officer participating in the briefing.

“I noted certain orders that I would have issued at least thirty to sixty seconds earlier; in several cases minutes passed, Sir.”

“But you didn't note the specifics?”

“No Sir, that wasn't my role. I was only there to keep Seaview from being commandeered as a derelict.”

“You're saying the Super Brain was still lacking in response time even after the transistor had been replaced?” General Keeter clarified as Dr. Talbot, the project's new head fidgeted in his seat having replaced Mr. Reston.

“Aye Sir. The response time had definitely improved, no doubt the reason Seaview was able to evade surface detection, however even given the amount of time it takes to issue an order and the time it takes to carry that order out I would say that response time was still lacking.”

“You're saying that the Super Brain was no match for the Human Computer, Commander Crane?” Dr. Talbot asked sarcastically.

“I'm convinced the Super Brain can run through hundreds, even thousands of scenarios in seconds as Mr. Reston claimed, but I'm not convinced it can ever take the place of a captain's gut instinct.”

Talbot blew out a loud breath, obviously disagreeing with Lee's assessment as General Keeter took over the conversation once again.

“That is exactly the reason you will not be commanding Seaview for these games, Commander Crane.”

Lee's forehead furled in question as he leaned over in astonishment. “Sir?”

“Commander you are the only person to have experienced the Super Brain in both War Game outings, you alone can measure the Computer's improvements in actual battle conditions. Therefore you will be temporarily assigned to the Calistoga; she's hosting the Super Brain and is our newest attack sub with maneuvering capabilities closest to Seaview's,” he explained. “You will be observing the maneuvers and noting the exact time of your own response on a dedicated computer. Those responses will be compared to the Super Brain at the close of the games.”

“Aye Sir. I understand Sir,” Lee acknowledged, completely accepting his assignment even though he would have like to have been at Seaview's helm for the exercise.

“Now Admiral Nelson, with Crane reassigned you'll need a temporary captain. I have several replacements for you to consider...”

“Begging the General's pardon?” Lee interrupted, clearly in breach of some major decorum as Harry's eyes twinkled, having a pretty good idea what was troubling Lee.

“You have something to add, Commander?”

“Aye Sir. I'm just curious as to why my Executive Officer won't be taking command in my absence?”

“He's a Lt. Commander. I would think it obvious that rank and experience are required to simulate a real life battle,” Keeter added coldly.

“Permission to speak freely, Sir?” Lee requested without backing down.

Keeter exchanged glances with both Harry and Jiggs Starke as he considered and then answered, “Granted.”

“Sir, Lt. Commander Morton is familiar with Seaview's capabilities, maneuverability, her specs and her crew. He has battle experience and is more than capable of commanding Seaview.”

“I'm not in the habit of explaining my command decisions Commander.”

“Aye Sir. However, I believe you will be tipping the scale in favor of the automated sub by assigning a captain unfamiliar with Seaview's unique capabilities and design.”

“Perhaps Commander Crane is sporting resentment for losing command of his boat?” Dr. Talbot interjected.

“Commander Crane has not lost command of Seaview,” Harry interjected. “He has simply been issued a temporary duty assignment,” he clarified.

“Yes, but perhaps his...,” Talbot raised his eyes to the ceiling as he searched for the right word and then lowered them and continued, “...disappointment is clouding his vision at present.”

“With the General's permission?” Lee asked, receiving a nod from Keeter to proceed. “There is nothing further from the truth Dr. Talbot, I'm more than willing to participate in these games in any way my superior officers see fit. I am, however, concerned that a true evaluation of the Super Brain will not be obtained by handicapping my boat and crew in this manner,” he finished logically.

“I'm inclined to agree,” Admiral Starke said, joining the conversation as Lee hid his surprise at the Comsubpac's support. “You've already got Admiral Nelson assigned to the War Room analyzing the responses from Pearl.”

“Admiral Nelson's participation at Pearl is mandated by the fact that his drone project with the Soviet's Admiral Halder is competing for future funding with the Super Brain,” Keeter reminded Jiggs.**

“Be that as it may,” Jiggs continued. “Seaview needs a command crew who is familiar with her capabilities. You just don't pull Tom Landry and his star quarterback from the mix then expect the team to win with new management that doesn't even know the playbook,” Jiggs argued allegorically as eyebrows rose at the thought.

“Your concerns are so noted,” General Keeter interjected just as Dr. Talbot was about to fire back his response. “Very well Admiral Starke, Seaview is under your command. You draft the players as you see fit,” he conceded, continuing with the football analogy.

Jiggs nodded his approval, his stern face never changing in countenance throughout the entire exchange.

“Very well. Let's proceed Gentlemen,” Keeter said taking control over the briefing and guiding it onward as Dr. Talbot sat back, unhappy with the recent turn of events.

* * * * *

Starke, Nelson and Crane walked through the halls of the Pentagon silently until they reached the outdoors where Harry let out an audible sigh blinking in the sunlight.

“I want to thank you for supporting my position, Admiral Starke,” Lee said squaring his cover on his head as he spoke.

“Hrumpf. Well let's just say that that backup quarterback of yours better pull through Commander,” Jiggs warned grumpily, having gone out on the limb for Seaview as he wasn't thrilled about turning patrol of the Pacific over to mindless machines; Nelson's drones were much more palatable as the computers were still controllable remotely and they lay dormant until eminent threat was identified by Washington.

“Aye Sir. He won't let you down, I guarantee it,” Lee added confidently as he noted a car waiting below.

“Well I guess that's my car Sirs,” he noted, as he was in a sort of quarantine and wouldn't have contact with any member of the Seaview crew until after the war games were complete.

“Very well, Lee,” Harry offered and then softened his approach with a sincere nod. “Take care Lad,” remembering the last time Lee had taken a ride with the Super Brain in command; being hunted down and nearly killed by a would be assassin on board in an attempt to steal the fantastic computer.

“Aye Sir,” Lee replied, offering a sharp salute to both officers and then taking the steps down where a seaman held the car door open for him.

Jiggs let out a grumbled sigh. “I still think you're too close to the boy Harriman, but blast it if he hasn't got gumption,” he chuckled as Harry shared a closed mouth smile.

“That he has Jiggs, that he has,” Harry returned as he and Jiggs headed for Washington Yard to board FS1. Together they would brief Chip at Pearl Harbor and then settle into the war room to prepare for the war games.

* * * * *

Acting Captain Morton walked the gang-plank to board Seaview while docked at Pearl with his acting Executive Officer Lt. O'Brien following behind. They had just returned from a very interesting briefing having learned that Captain Crane had been temporarily reassigned to the Calistoga for the duration of the games. It had been hurry up and wait for this briefing even as Nelson and Starke had arrived in Pearl three days ago as Seaview and her crew prepared for the War Games without her Skipper. Chip was up to the task but was still bearing the weight of the exercise on his shoulders as he silently replayed Admiral Starke's words.

“Your CO went out on a limb for you Commander,” Jiggs added just before closing the briefing. “I expect you to prove his trust in your skills is well placed.”

“Aye Sir,” Chip replied in sharp decorum but showing no intimidation of the task laid at his feet.

“Very well Chip,” Harry replied. “Now head on out to the 'war zone' and find a good place to play hide and seek. You'll observe a complete radio black-out from this point on,” Harry reiterated.

“Aye Sir, I understand,” Chip answered with a nod.

“I'm counting on you to give that Super Brain a run for its money,” Harry added in a confident smile as he rose to close the meeting.

“Aye Sir, I plan on doing just that Sir,” he returned as he and Bobby both stood tucking their covers under their elbows and offering sharp salutes to the Admirals.

Now it was up to Chip to evade a submarine piloted by a Super Brain computer that analyzed and executed orders in mere seconds. Many expected it wouldn't be much of an exercise with the Super Brain aboard as they fully anticipated the Calistoga to find Seaview and “destroy” her in short order with her dummy torpedoes.

Not if I have anything to say about it, Chip resolved silently as he took the ladder down to the Control Room. He walked with confidence to the chart table, sliding off his service cap and reaching for the charts he wanted. The flying sub had already been launched and was currently berthed here at Pearl at the Admiral's disposal, so there was nothing hindering their departure.

“Mr. O’Brien, make all preparations to shove off.”

“Aye Captain,” the Exec answered issuing orders for the special sea detail to release the moorings and calling look-outs below as Seaview made ready to depart.

* * * * *

Harry and Jiggs enjoyed dinner together at the Officer's Club on Base. Seaview had deployed and was well on her way to the war zone. The Calistoga was still in port and would deploy six hours later giving Seaview a 200 mile head start, well out of range of the Calistoga's detection equipment. Lee was still in quarantine, simulating the enemy even though his role was of the observatory nature.

These war games were always stimulating and thought provoking, Harry only wished he had sailed aboard Seaview instead of being stuck analyzing the exercises from shore. He had full confidence in Chip's abilities and was more than a little interested in analyzing Lee's responses against the computer's. His computer would log the exact time he keyed his “orders” and subsequently compared to the Super Brain's analysis log. Though the Brain was capable of out-thinking Lee with the sheer amount of scenarios it could run in a fraction of a second, comparing the exact orders rendered if Lee were in command was as much of interest as the amount of time the submarine reacted in battle.

“You know Harriman, between the two of us I've got to question why Crane was pulled from Seaview. The whole idea was to match the Super Brain against the finest sub at our command. It's just a bit too convenient for someone to decide that Crane needed to be aboard the Calistoga,” Jiggs said taking a swig of his after dinner drink.

“Relax Jiggs. Morton is up to the challenge and I'm more than interested in comparing Lee's command decisions to the Brain's.”

“That's the scientist in you,” Jiggs noted. “But we both know Crane handles that Boat of yours like an extension of his own body.”

“Can't argue with you there,” Harry agreed, realizing that Jiggs didn't throw around compliments flippantly. Though Jiggs was known for being tough and gruff he had buried his hatchet with Lee after the loss of the Neptune when Seaview's Captain was forced to commit an act of mutiny to save the Boat following Harry's adverse allergic reaction to a prescription drug. Jiggs still had issues with Harry and Lee's close relationship but considered Crane one of the Navy's best, though he would never share that with the young Commander.***

“At any rate,” Jiggs continued, “We'll be underway by tomorrow afternoon. We'll see how long Seaview can stay hidden and evade the Calistoga. Who knows? She might even manage to score a hit,” Jiggs said with a hopeful chuckle.

Harry nodded his agreement, silently agreeing with Jiggs' assessment of Lee's temporary assignment to the Calistoga. It all seemed a bit too convenient to him as well.

Neither one was aware of the figure hiding in the background watching their conversation. He noted several familiar faces in tables surrounding the two officers and retreated, realizing he'd have to make his move later when Nelson was alone.

Chapter Two

Lee had spent the last four days in isolation, using the time to familiarize himself with the computer and software that would log his response times aboard the sub as well as studying the Calistoga as it was a new submarine class. He was relieved that the waiting was finally over and that the war games had begun as he boarded the completely automated submarine. The sub was a prototype for a new class of fast attack submarine; it was smaller and sleeker than the Los Angeles Class subs and would run on a much smaller crew once manned. It had an impressive dive capability of 2,500 feet, not nearly as deep as Seaview, which is why Washington had put a “floor” on the allowable depth for the war games. Seaview was required to play the game at depths achievable by most of the world's navies, thus simulating a real cat and mouse game.

“The computers are fully automated and do not require your assistance, Commander,” Dr. Talbot reminded Lee.

“I understand doctor,” Lee replied.

“Good. You should be aware that the computer has a sort of defense system to protect itself in case of boarding by unauthorized personnel,” Talbot added, considerably more at ease and friendlier than the last time they met.

“Aye, I've been fully briefed. I'm just along for the ride and to compare notes with your Super Brain,” he added with a small smile, responding to Talbot's amiable disposition and glad the scientist had cooled down after their heated exchange in Washington.

“Well, that just about does it,” Talbot said looking around with satisfaction. “The Captain's quarters are at your disposal and the galley has been stocked in case the exercises run their full course of three days, though I really don't see it taking that long,” Talbot noted as Lee ignored his faith in the computer's ability to outwit and neutralize Seaview.

“Have a good journey and Commander... I think you're going to be impressed,” Talbot said as Lee smiled politely.

Talbot and his crew cleared out leaving Lee alone on the Calistoga. He had familiarized himself with the sub's specs and capabilities in order to issue orders on his computer and was familiar with the sub's layout as well.

Lee sat on the stool at the Chart Table and signed onto his computer. He had a good view of the Control Room situation lights as he would have the disadvantage of not having crew to report from their stations, something he noted first off in his war game log.

He thought he'd practice as the boat took to sea and work out any possible glitches in his system before the hunt for Seaview began in earnest. He didn't have to issue every order necessary to find Seaview, as the voyage was a potential three day mission. Washington was mostly interested in the actual battle commands as these were the decisions that could affect a battle's outcome.

It was nearly a half hour later before he noted the computers coming to life as Lee waited for the first sign of departure before issuing “All back, dead slow.”

He worked through the orders, getting the hang of running the boat without support from a crew and found he had a system that would work. He leaned back after issuing orders to dive on his dedicated computer and noted that he and the Boat had worked in near tandem with the Super Brain issuing and executing commands at least ten seconds faster.

Score one for the Super Brain, he thought with a smile and sat back to rest.

Coffee sounded pretty good about now so he left the driving to the Brain and headed to the galley to make himself a pot. Looking for a Boat in 20,000 square miles of ocean is a time consuming job so he knew he had plenty of time to do a bit of exploring along the way. He smiled at the thought and headed aft on the lonely, quiet submarine.

* * * * *

Chip had 20,000 square miles to play in, constrained of course by the speed and distance it took to reach the war zone, located 400 miles from Pearl to avoid the shipping lanes. They traveled for eleven hours to reach the war zone as he tucked Seaview behind a carefully picked out sea mount to await their hunter. Chip didn't take their large playing field lightly; 20,000 square miles equaled a grid of 100 by 200 miles, considerably smaller than the surface vessels usually conducted their games in but necessary to conduct a real cat and mouse exercise. With Calistoga's sonar potentially pinging out a range of 30 miles and a sweep width of 20 miles, a patient submariner could set up a careful zig-zag search pattern and have a reasonably good chance of making contact, especially with surface vessels aiding with Radar. Fortunately their MAD, Magnetic Anomaly Detection units were rendered useless as Seaview's titanium hull was non-ferromagnetic producing no disturbance in the earth's magnetic field, another reason the war zone had been cut in half.

Seaview was currently observing Silent Running to reduce detection as the Calistoga had entered the war zone several hours ago. Tension aboard the Boat was high even though the war games were a simulation. Anytime a sub was hunted it was serious business and Seaview's readiness was certainly under scrutiny with the exercise. All maintenance was suspended to keep sounds at a minimum for silent running, even the galley was affected as Cookie served cold tuna fish sandwiches to avoid unnecessary noises from the Mess.

Chip took a quiet circuit around the Control Room stations studying in particular Sonar and Hydrophones, as both Kowalski and Patterson nodded negative on any contact. He returned to the Chart Table as Bobby O'Brien sided up next to him.

“What do you think, Captain?” he asked in a subdued whisper.

“We've got four, maybe five hours before the Calistoga can get lucky on a first pass, as long as we sit quiet alongside this seamount she'll pass us by. But we're up against a computer who will calculate the odds of all our possible evasive strategies, it may stop to investigate even without positive contact,” Chip reasoned raising an eyebrow in continued thought.

“Send a runner, Bobby. Alert all stations to stay sharp, things may escalate real fast.”

“Aye, aye Captain.”

* * * * *

Lee rubbed his forehead, the duties of sub hunting not unfamiliar to him as he had commanded a Los Angeles Class Attack sub before his transfer to Seaview. It was a tedious job of playing cat and mouse with objects one could only see with electronic equipment. He was monitoring hydrophones while glancing at the Sonar screen as well, it was fatiguing playing the part of a Control Room crew, but it was the only way he could issue orders in response to a crewman's report.

He had come to realize that his part in these games had been a set-up by Dr. Talbot as he was definitely handicapped by the lack of a crew to fairly gauge his response time against the computer's. Even two more men at the stations would have leveled the playing field a bit. He made note of his observances, but he was also just competitive enough to want to give the Super Brain a run for its money.

He took a deep breath and slid off the headphones, sitting back and stretching a moment as he noted the time on the chronometer. The Calistoga had entered the war zone and was now conducting a zig zag search pattern; he'd been at this for quite some time and needed a break so he headed for a quick walk to the galley grabbing an apple, sandwich and the coffee carafe. He was happy to note that the Super Brain hadn't made any significant changes in the pattern and donned the headphones once again, it was going to be a long night.

* * * * *

He waited in Nelson's quarters, it was the only way. His car still held the Base Pass sticker and he was waved in without question, but he had no legitimate business on Base and as such had no personal pass on his person. So he walked about as if he belonged here, but it was only a matter of time before he was recognized. It was now or never. He heard someone key the lock and sank into his corner to make sure it was Nelson and that he was indeed alone. The intruder tried to rein in his heavy breathing, his adrenaline spiking as he wasn't used to such intrigue. Footsteps moved closer to the bedroom where he was waiting, he noted only one set of footsteps and assumed Nelson was indeed alone. His heartbeat was nearly audible and just about pounding out of his chest when the footsteps stopped, the lights came on and the intruder found himself staring down the barrel of a service revolver.

“Mr. Reston?” Harry greeted in obvious disbelief.

“Y...yes,” he stammered and then swallowed. “How did you know I was here?”

“You were very nearly hyperventilating,” Harry replied still leveling the sidearm in Reston's direction. “Now it's my turn to ask the questions,” Harry announced coolly. “Let's start with why you're in my bungalow?”

“It's not what you think, Nelson,” he said gathering himself back. “I'm not armed and I mean you no harm,” he said slowly opening his suit jacket to show Harry.

“Suppose you start at the beginning,” Harry said using his gun to guide Reston to a wing-backed chair in the corner. “And then I'll decide if I need to call Base Security,” he finished sitting on the bed with the sidearm still trained on the former Super Brain project head.

“I've come here to warn you... Seaview is in danger.”

Chapter Three

Lee listened as the Calistoga correctly avoided using active sonar by bouncing pulses and listening for a returning ping to detect Seaview, and instead used the preferred passive sonar which was much stealthier in the hunter/killer game. He listened carefully, knowing full well that Seaview would be sitting on the bottom with silent running in full effect, meaning superfluous noise was minimized by turning off non-essentials systems and refraining from unnecessary noises. This mode would make Seaview hard to find, so a good set of “ears” was needed to listen for the sounds of the Boat that couldn't be shut down.

Calistoga was also running at silent running, which Lee was observing in his role of the war games. There was no need to “help” Seaview along with his own superfluous noise as that would not test Seaview's battle readiness as well as being unscrupulous. The thought never crossed his mind as he continued his tedious task. The Calistoga was running at low speeds and Lee noted the Computer had turned off the reactor coolant system relying on the natural convection of water to cool the systems in order to aid in its own silent hunt. Seaview however, was sitting stationary with her nuclear reactors coolant systems operating in Low-Mode, something the Admiral developed especially for silent running. It was modified for the fact that Seaview was stationary and as such didn't produce the expected sounds of known coolant systems operating, giving off a modified low hum that quickly lost its transmission frequency in accentuation through friction and absorption of the surrounding water. It would take a good “ear” who knew what he was listening for to identify it, and this was exactly the sound he was listening for.

He continued his long vigil until he smiled shrewdly, hearing a familiar sound and noting it in his log as the Calistoga moved on without changing course, apparently unaware that she had passed by Seaview sitting 15 nautical miles off their port bow. Lee knew he had an advantage over the computer even though the Brain had a massive data base of sounds catalogued for identification. The advantage being experience, as the computer's Super Brain “experience” relied on humans to identify sounds for its data base. He was gambling that the Super Brain's library, which held idents from both enemy and friendly contacts, had not likely identified this obscure sound yet; indeed only a few people knew the sound, and they were all aboard Seaview, with the exception of Harry.

Apparently he was right, as the Calistoga completed its pass and turned several hours later for the next pass of the war zone grid. Lee sat back, chalking up a silent score for the Human Computer, as Dr. Talbot had called him in Washington. In approximately four hours they would make another pass on Seaview's position, so he took the opportunity to take a short break. He was curious what the next pass would bring and if the Calistoga would stop this time and investigate the sound. He glanced at the chronometer and decided now would be a good time to catch a few winks as he fully expected the excitement to ramp up considerably in a few hours.

As he headed for the Captain's Quarters he briefly considered the sea mount Chip had picked to hide beside and smiled as he noted the second advantage he had over the Brain; namely the fact that Lee knew the mind of his opponent. He doubted very seriously the Brain had a data base on all known captains commanding subs, and neither did Lee. But from time to time subs would execute certain maneuvers, giving their master and commander's identity away, sometimes resulting in knowledge of a captain’s habits. In this case, he knew why Chip had picked this particular hiding spot and having a sea chart at his disposal, knew Chip's likely escape route. His competitiveness in the matter was absolutely necessary, as Lee had strong reservations of turning a nuclear powered submarine armed with deadly missiles and torpedoes over to the wisdom of a machine making cold calculations without a man's gut instinct to guide it.

* * * * *

“What have you got Pat?” O'Brien whispered, leaning over Patterson's shoulder at hydrophones.

“Unidentified sub has just cleared her baffles, Sir,” Pat replied with a small grin. Bobby smiled thinly, clearing the baffles was good seamanship to keep an enemy from hiding in the dead zone behind her, but the move called for a sharp turn, which in this case produced a slight cavitation for the skilled ears of one of Seaview's best hydrophones man to pick-up.

“What's his course, Ski?” Bobby asked turning toward Kowalski on Sonar.

“He's resumed his pattern Sir, currently on a course away from Seaview. It was just a flash reading, she's gone now,” Kowalski returned just as quietly.

“Keep a good watch, it should be within our detection range for another two hours, you may pick up another baffle clearing maneuver,” he surmised as the Calistoga was traveling at a reduced speed. “Alert me if the Calistoga makes the slightest course change.”

“Aye Sir,” they rendered in near unison as Bobby turned toward Sharkey.

“Chief, send a runner to alert the Captain that contact has been made.”

“Aye Sir,” Sharkey replied nodding for Phil to carry the message as Seaview wasn't using the intercom, at least not until the game escalated into General Quarters.

Ten minutes later, Chip arrived looking sharp as ever even though he was working on four hours sleep over the course of a very tense day and a half of games so far.

“What have you got, Bobby?”

“Contact with the Calistoga, Captain,” Bobby answered, his confidence in Chip's skills evident in his voice and demeanor. “Pat caught her clearing her baffles, Ski got a flash reading as well. It looks like we're still stealth,” Bobby reported.

“Course and speed?” Chip asked in a hushed tone as he headed for the chart table, looking over his options as Bobby filled him in.

He nodded his understanding, she was likely running at one third with her radioactive coolant system off, that would keep the Calistoga within hearing distance of both subs for several more hours.

“Send another runner Bobby. Silent means silent. I don't want to even hear the coffee pot percolating,” Chip ordered calmly as O'Brien smiled, acknowledged his orders and went about making it so.

* * * * *

Lee was asleep when he felt the sharp turn of the baffle clearing maneuver and felt a slight shudder, he awakened immediately looking at his watch with a smile. Seaview now knew exactly where they were, that he was sure of. He lay back down, gambling that Chip wouldn't let the Boat get careless and confident of his own ability to wake at the slightest course change. He needed just a few more hours sleep to be on top of his game, which was an advantage the Super Brain had over him as Mr. Reston explained last year, “The Brain never sleeps.”

* * * * *

Harry took in Reston's statement, keeping his face neutral as he motioned for him to continue.

“The Super Brain isn't the same project it was last year,” Reston explained. “The improvements made are dangerous.”

“Go on,” Harry urged calmly hiding his deep concern until he heard the whole story.

“The Brain has been given a personality,” Reston continued.

“Artificial Intelligence?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, more like a character trait; the computer is operating on more than tactical probabilities and possible war scenarios, it has been given a competitive drive, one that must win,” Reston explained as Harry's eyes tightened in response.

“Don't you see? At least with artificial intelligence morals and fair play could be taught and introduced. Super Brain has been denied those elements and has been given the directive to win at any cost.”

Harry lowered the sidearm and nodded in understanding. “As long the computer operates within the parameters of its orders it would be like any other officer following those orders,” Harry stated, playing devil's advocate more than actually confronting Reston's concerns.

“Yes, but I have seen the code Admiral Nelson, and I'm not convinced the Super Brain is capable of carrying out its directive to win at any cost within the confines of the war games.”

“And just why weren't these concerns brought to light before now?” Harry probed.

“Dr. Talbot was on my team, his coding was brilliant, but I disagreed with this added element.” Reston stood and began pacing as Harry holstered the gun. “He managed to discredit me and I was removed as he convinced Washington that I was hindering the project's progress. I've been out of the loop and the Super Brain belongs to the military, not to me. I was forced to leave the project but when I saw the Calistoga arrive to be retrofitted, followed by Seaview's arrival in port I knew I needed to do something. There hasn't been enough time for the directives to be re-coded, that means the Super Brain is still operating with these dangerous codes intact,” he finished deflating back into his chair.

Harry blew out a breath as he assimilated the information Reston just provided.

“Seaview is under a complete radio black-out, in essence she's playing the enemy that the Super Brain is hunting. If I were to break that silence I could very well tip the Brain to Seaview's position,” Harry reasoned. “And there's still no proof that the Super Brain will do anything but its job,” he continued as Harry stood taking a few steps in deep thought.

“Perhaps,” Reston said raising a tired hand to his forehead.

“How long has it been since you've slept?” Harry asked, seeing a very weary and distressed man before him.

“A couple of days, my car has a pass but I don't. I've spent most of my time trying to get close enough to warn you.”

“Alright,” Harry said realizing that Reston was near exhaustion. “You take the guest room...”

“Admiral...” Reston interrupted.

“I need time to work through this Reston, the War Room has orders to call me once the action starts so for now let's just get some sleep. If your fears are justified then I'll make sure you're in the thick of things, until then we're going to keep this conversation between just the two of us.”

Reston nodded his agreement, mostly too tired to think anymore as Harry guided him to the second bedroom in the bungalow reserved for high level officers and their families. Harry returned to his own room in deep thought; Reston was a desperate man who had been discredited and could very well be deemed disgruntled. He sighed, considering whether Reston could even be trusted. He wasn't willing to ignore his serious allegation at this point, but needed more information before he could confront Talbot. In short, he needed proof. At least for now he had Reston where he could keep an eye on him.

He found himself deeply concerned in spite of his caution where Reston was concerned, as Harry sat at the desk and pondered the implications of a Super Computer with a competitive ego that could possibly supersede its orders to satisfy a previously programmed higher directive. It was more than a passing concern as he silently worked through the options available to him should Reston's allegations prove true.

* * * * *

Lee was back at hydrophones drinking lukewarm coffee from the bottom of the carafe as he knew that any noise during silent running could be the difference between detection and evasion. It would take a good man on hydrophones to hear and identify, but Lee knew that both Patterson and Riley were up to the task.

The Calistoga was approaching the far end of sonar’s capabilities of detecting Seaview's last known position, that is if Seaview didn’t bug-out once the Calistoga was out of range. Lee figured Chip wouldn’t give up the position quite so easily and listened diligently for the sounds of Seaview’s radioactive coolant system, about a half hour later he heard the tell-tale sound faintly. Lee noted the contact, exactly where he thought it should be and briefly considered whether he wanted this noise to be catalogued, thinking perhaps Harry could find a way to camouflage the sound in the future.

The soft sounds of the Calistoga’s computers humming was joined by a light flashing over his station as a silent “Battle Stations” order finally caught up with Lee’s orders already issued in his log. There was something surreal about actively being involved in hunting Seaview, one that he didn’t care for even though he knew this was an exercise. Still, it was a very good opportunity, Brain or no Brain, to gauge his Boat’s readiness for combat. True, both Seaview and Chip were up against a computer, hardly a fair assessment, but he knew his XO and best friend would give the Brain a run for its money. He was confident Chip wouldn’t go down without showing some extraordinary seamanship and even held onto the hope that Seaview would score its own hits.

Lee waited until the optimum time before keying in “Load Torpedo Bays” but didn't flood the tubes as that would be a dead giveaway. He noted that the Calistoga did the same, but since he couldn’t converse with the computer he still didn’t know if the Brain was investigating the noise or had somehow deduced it was Seaview. Lee had ordered tubes one and four loaded with dummy torpedoes, but reserved tubes two and three for countermeasures, expecting Seaview to return fire as Chip had placed her in a position to defend herself. The Calistoga followed suit less than a minute later, only Lee noted that all four tubes were loaded with torpedoes.

“A little too sure of yourself,” he whispered to the Brain but stayed diligent knowing that as soon as he ordered the tubes flooded the real action would begin.

* * * * *

“Captain, I have something,” Pat whispered as Chip closed the distance to lean over the hydrophones station. Chip raised the second hydrophones headset to one ear and listened.

“Mechanical,” he deduced as Pat agreed with a nod.

“Aye Sir.”

Loading torpedoes is a potentially noisy venture taking a great deal of care to load quickly, efficiently and stealthily with a well-trained crew in silent running mode, something the Super Brain didn’t have. The loading of the bays was mechanized and no matter how much care was involved a certain amount of mechanical noise resulting from the transfer from the racks to the tubes could be detected by the careful hydrophones operator.

“Get a fix Ski,” Chip ordered as O’Brien joined them.

“Does she know we’re here?” O’Brien asked.

“Perhaps…” Chip replied as he thought. “But then again she may just be acting in caution... Bobby, have Engineering shut down the reactor cooler completely, let’s see what she does.”

“Aye Sir.”

* * * * *

Lee smiled as the sounds of Seaview's reactor cooler operating in Low-Mode disappeared from his headset completely.

“Good job Captain Morton,” he said to himself and waited to see what the Super Brain made of it. The noise hadn’t been catalogued and the Calistoga could very well just be investigating the unusual sound, if she hadn’t identified the soft dissipating hum as man-made then she could just as likely pass right by. A soft rush of adrenaline etched up as Lee noted the potential battle ensuing, he ignored the fight or flight chemicals and used the adrenaline instead to sharpen his resolve, something a good leader did in spite of potential danger. Knowing the battle was a game with only pride to be lost helped Lee to enjoy the hunt as he continued to make notes of his orders and pleased with the fact that Chip had evaded one pass. All he could do was wait as the chess game etched up a notch.

* * * * *

Harry was sleeping lightly when the telephone’s loud reverberance woke him instantly as he answered on the first ring.

He listened and nodded, even though the caller couldn’t see him. “Very well, I’ll be right there,” he replied and emerged from his bedroom in full service khaki uniform looking as sharp as if he had received a full night’s sleep. Reston was waiting in the living room looking disheveled but awake.

“The Calistoga has loaded torpedoes,” Harry explained.

“Then it’s started.”

“I’m headed to the War Room; you stay here and stay out of sight. If your suspicions prove true I’ll send for you, otherwise you are to remain incognito. Do I make myself clear?” Harry ordered.

Reston nodded, fully aware that Admiral Nelson couldn’t just authorize his presence in the War Room without something substantial to back him up.

“Alright Admiral Nelson, I’ll be here,” he promised as Harry headed for the door hoping that Reston’s concerns were ill-placed.

Time to find out what kind of Super Brain we’ve created, Harry thought silently as he drove away.

Chapter Four

Lee issued orders to his log to flood the tubes as the distance to target would greatly reduce the time needed for evasive maneuvers by Seaview. He sighed silently with a furled forehead, finding even his benign orders to the log distasteful, still these games simulated an all-out war battle and taking out a ballistic sub carrying nukes aimed at your country could save thousands upon thousands of lives.

The Calistoga, however, never flooded its tubes and continued on the pass having obviously calculated that the sound was an anomaly not associated with a man-made object. Lee smiled again. Score round two to the Human Computer, he thought, and continued his vigil.

* * * * *

“She's passing us by,” Ski reported as Chip's eyes narrowed in thought. The next pass of a standard search pattern would place the Seaview on the other side of the seamount as the Calistoga searched an empty ocean looking for them.

“Keep a sharp eye out Ski,” Chip ordered. “She should be within range for another two hours at her present speed.”

Chip placed a hand on Pat's shoulder indicating a silent “well done” regarding his listening skills and turned toward Bobby with a smile. If they played their hand right, Calistoga would be out of range in two hours and Seaview would have beaten the Super Brain.

“Send another Runner. Absolutely no sounds aboard for the next two hours.”

Bobby nodded his response with a twinkle in his eye and whispered out the order to Phil, whose tall lanky body was getting a work-out as a Runner today.

* * * * *

Lee leaned back in his chair and pondered silently the ease at which Seaview had eluded the Super Brain as the Calistoga moved out of detection range of Seaview's position. He should have been pleased but something didn't figure. Sure enough, his gut feeling was right as Super Brain executed a slow turn instead of proceeding on through to the end of the war zone grid. Lee realized that the computer had employed a diversionary tactic, allowing Seaview to wrongly believe that it had successfully evaded its hunter. The Super Brain flooded the torpedo tubes but didn't open the outer doors as it closed the distance increasing from its search speed of one third to flank and closing the distance quickly. As soon as it hit the optimum range for torpedo to target it opened its bay doors as Lee felt the percussion of two torpedoes launching.

* * * * *

“Fast propellers bearing one-six-zero relative just entering range and closing fast,” Pat reported.

Chip ran to the station leaning over Ski's shoulder.

“There she is Sir,” Ski reported.

“She's opening her bay doors!” Pat reported.

“Sound battle stations,” Chip ordered as Bobby complied with three long blasts of the klaxons and secured silent running.

“Load tubes one and three with directional torpedoes, load two and four with counter-measures,” Chip ordered.

“Two fish in the water, 38 kilometers out closing at 55 knots.”

“All-ahead full, evasive maneuvers!”

* * * * *

The War Room was all a buzz after the last two hours of monitoring the Calistoga who had loaded her tubes but continued onward without engaging the enemy. Harry was watching the Super Brain's progress and noted the seamount as a possible hiding place for Seaview. At first, it looked like Seaview had evaded the Hunter until the Calistoga executed a slow turn just outside of the thirty mile range of both Seaview's and the Super Brain's detection equipment. Once turned the computer engaged its engines at flank speed and within twelve minutes had closed the distance for the maximum range of its Mark 48 torpedoes.

“The Calistoga has flooded tubes one and four,” an aide announced.

Harry leaned forward as Dr. Talbot paced the floor, clearly tense as his “brain child” engaged in the war games. Even though the torpedoes carried no explosives the thought of “fish” in the water still got a submariner's adrenalin spiking in waves of controlled terror. Harry held back all outward concern and focused on the situation board as the light moved closer.

“Seaview has flooded her tubes and is on the move,” the aide reported reading the transcripts from the Sim Computer, a separate computer system evaluating simulated damage and relaying back information to both subs as well as the War Room.

Harry leaned his chin on his hand as his elbow rested on the conference table, his curled fist barely concealing his tight lips as he concentrated.

“Torpedo one has missed and has disintegrated into the sea mount,” the aide announced while Harry calculated that the near miss would have resulted in severe shock waves aboard Seaview had the torpedoes not been dummies.

“Second torpedo has turned and is still in pursuit...”

* * * * *

“Fish number one has cleared our stern,” Pat reported.

“Prepare for shock waves,” Chip ordered. “Hard right rudder,” he ordered to give himself some maneuvering room.

“Missile Room, fire one! Fire three!”

“Fish number two has turned, still on our six.”

“Release counter-measures. Hard left rudder. All ahead flank!” Chip ordered.

“Two thousand yards and closing.”

“Where's our fish Ski?”

“Closing fast, still on target,” Ski answered using only relevant battle information as the otherwise expected decorum was dropped to save precious time.

“One thousand yards and closing,” Pat updated on the incoming torpedo.

“Hard right rudder.”

“Enemy sub executing evasive maneuvers,” Ski reported as the Calistoga tried to out-run its own incoming torpedoes.

“It's going to be close!” Pat yelled. “Impact in five-four-three-two-one!”

The sound of a whiz heard under Seaview's stern was heard as Pat reported. “Impact with seamount.”

“Prepare for shockwave,” Chip ordered, even though there would be no percussion from the dummy torpedoes.

“Where's our fish, Sonar?” Chip asked, inquiring on Seaview's torpedoes currently engaged with the Calistoga.

“Fish number one has missed and is turning for another pass... fish number two has detonated into the seamount.”

“Load torpedoes one and three.”

“Captain! The computer simulators estimate major damage from shockwaves of the last near-miss,” Bobby interjected.

“Damage Report.”

“Sim reports flooding in frames 35 and 36. Water tight doors are holding but the firing mechanism is damaged and the Sim has pulled us offline, so we can't load torpedoes. Also the Sim estimates damage to the coolant system and recommends not exceeding Standard speed.”

“Alright, let's lick our wounds somewhere safe while the Calistoga is dealing with our torpedo. Engine room, we're going to push it, all ahead full,” Chip ordered taking a chance the Reactor would hold out with a damaged coolant system until he got away.

* * * * *

Back on board the Calistoga Lee had caught up with the surprise attack on the Seaview and was now issuing his own orders via his log. He noted Seaview's successful evading of the first torpedo, but the Sim computers had logged the second miss as detonating too close to Seaview and causing major damage. But right now he was busy issuing orders for evasive maneuvers from the incoming torpedoes on the Calistoga's six. The Super Brain and Lee both issued turns that missed the first torpedo but the smart torpedo turned and continued its pursuit with active pings to find its target. The second torpedo missed but was too close to the seamount to execute its own turn and detonated producing a “shockwave” but no simulated damage to the Calistoga.

Lee ordered counter-measures, which took precious minutes to load as the Super Brain had loaded all four tubes with torpedoes in an aggressive attack. The Brain also ordered counter-measures and released it just in time for the torpedo still on their six to follow the new target, detonating off the Calistoga's port side and producing simulated shock waves.

Lee's adrenalin was racing as he quickly tried to find Seaview who had used the opportunity to escape, presumably damaged as the Sim computers didn't register a Kill. He listened intently with underwater sounds bouncing in all directions as the Sim computer confirmed that the Calistoga had lost the Seaview in the heat of the battle.

* * * * *

A hoop of joy let out in the War Room from the Naval staff when the Seaview slipped away as the officers quieted them down, reminding them to tend to their stations at hand. Still, the Navy men couldn't help but root for the real guys aboard the SSRN Seaview, even though technically the Super Brain represented the “friendly” power.

Dr. Talbot glared at the show of emotion as Harry let out a thin smile.

“She's not out of the woods yet,” Talbot reminded the Brass. “Seaview is well within detection range, the Super Brain found her once, she'll find her again,” he predicted as Harry watched the Chronometer.

“Yes, provided she does it within eighteen hours,” Harry noted as the War Games were scheduled for three days.

Talbot barely suppressed another glare and continued his pacing of the War Room floor as Harry sat back breathing a sigh of relief. So far, the Super Brain was operating as expected with no hints of Dr. Reston's fear coming to fruition. He only hoped it would last.

Chapter Five

It was official, the Calistoga had lost Seaview. Lee sat back exhausted, sporting a dark five o'clock shadow as he hadn’t shaved since entering the war zone a day and half ago. He rubbed his temple and decided to leave the driving to the Brain; he just couldn't keep up being an entire Control Crew and needed a break. Seaview was nearby, but he was going to have to leave the stalking up to the computer for a few minutes. He was sporting a good size headache from scrutinizing the sonar for the last day and half, so he headed to the Captain's Quarters. He took some aspirin and laid down to give it time to work relying on his feel of the boat to alert him if the Calistoga made any sudden course changes.

He rested, allowing himself a light slumber to counter the fact that his last real sleep was taken during the eleven hour voyage to the war zone. He had taken only very short rest periods once reaching the grid and that was over thirty-four hours ago. He slept but woke promptly in an hour, having set his internal alarm. It wasn't near enough sleep, but the vise on his head had loosened and he had no backup crew to alert him should the Seaview be spotted once again. He blew a breath out and moved to the door ready to go the distance of the three day war games and reached for the door knob. The handle turned but the door refused to open as Lee jiggled the knob and pulled. He lowered himself to examine the door jam, wondering if atmospheric pressures had temporarily produced a vacuum and noted a second locking mechanism which bolted the door closed. There was no cylinder for using a key on either side of the door, as Lee realized that the door had been bolted electronically. He was locked inside the Captain's Quarters and as the electronics were under the Super Brain's control, he could only assume that his current incarceration was deliberate. But why?

Lee searched the cabin for anything to pry on the door jam, finding only a letter opener. It was a long shot but worth a try to see if the bolt would slide with some extra help. A few minutes later with no success, he decided to move on to another approach. He went back to the desk and pulled the paper weight from the drawer stowed away for silent running, and headed back to the door working to see if he could raise the hinges from the door. He whacked a few times, loosening the top hinge pin then lowered himself to work the bottom hinge pin. He repeated his efforts until he was able to slide the top hinge pin out, followed by the lower pin, the whole process costing him about ten minutes. With the pins removed he jammed his letter opener in between the door and the jam and pried. If the bolt was too long it would all be for naught as there would be no give on the other side, but if the bolt was short enough he just might be able to work the door ajar.

Lee put his muscle into prying the door and was finally able to get a solid grip. He moved it enough to gain a firm hand hold while planting his foot against the wall for leverage and pried as the door jam finally gave way in splinters on the bolt side producing an exit with barely enough room for him to slide through. He grabbed his sidearm from his sea bag and ran to the Control Room to find out just what had gone wrong and why he’d been locked in the Captain's Quarters, strapping his hip holster into place along the way. If it was a malfunction due to damage received in the simulated battle he would note it in his log, but if it was something more he needed to know. Flashes of an assassin stalking him through Seaview's dark corridors reminded him that there was a chance he wasn't alone aboard the Calistoga as he slowed his approach and listened at the hatch for sounds of an intruder in the Control Room. He peered around the corner and entered finding it quiet as he walked around the stations, not seeing anything that would indicate he wasn't alone.

He sighed and tucked the gun into his hip holster to check the hydrophones, it was quiet and the scope was clear so he turned to his computer to log the events when he was greeted with an unexpected message on his screen.

“Directive 51A” flashed upon his display monitor as Lee tried the keyboard to get back into his log. The message flashed a few more times, blocking his access so Lee shut the computer down for a reboot. A few long minutes later and he had his log back up but with a distressing addition. He moved down his commands and found that under his first notation of Seaview's position was the same message he had encountered earlier highlighted in red. He knew he hadn't typed it in and scrolled down to the next contact with Seaview, where every log entry he made was followed by the words: “Directive 51A”.

The Calistoga was currently trolling slowly along, presumably to keep its hunting silent as Lee decided that he needed some answers. He moved to the chart table and looked for a manual but found only information on the Calistoga, not on the Super Brain who he concluded had hacked into his log which he'd been previously informed was an independent dedicated computer. There was still fifteen hours left on the war games, but his internal alarms were sounding.

He decided to take a chance and moved to the computer's main console to type in a request using his emergency contingency password and inquired exactly what Directive 51A was. He placed both hands on the keyboard and entered his code but just as he hit the accept key the Console issued an electrifying jolt freezing his hands to the keyboard as his back arched in the shock. A blue haze covered his body as only painful gasps escaped until the computer cut the power and Lee crumbled to the floor unconscious with the messages of “Access Denied” and “Directive 51A” flashing intermittently across the console’s monitor.

* * * * *

“Dr. Talbot? I'm getting some strange readings from the Super Brain,” a technician reported as Harry turned from the station he was currently monitoring.

“What kind of readings?” Talbot asked as he walked over.

“Well Sir, it's executing some strange orders and it keeps flashing an error code that I'm unfamiliar with.”

“Let me take a look,” Talbot said leaning over the technician's shoulder as Harry moved behind him to see for himself.

“Well Doctor?” Harry asked as Talbot stood straight with resolve.

“Nothing to worry about Gentlemen,” he assured the Brass which included high level officers from all the branches of the military here to observe the Super Brain for possible assimilations into their respective branches.

“This isn't an Error Code but the Super Brain's authorization to act.”

Eyebrows raised as Talbot's explanation hadn't cleared anything up.

“What do you mean authorization to act? Just what is Directive 51A?” Harry asked leaning over and tapping the screen.

“The Super Brain is just reminding itself that the battle must be won and to act accordingly.”

A few of the high level officers nodded their head as that seemed all too reasonable, but Harry was definitely concerned, however not willing to lay all his cards on the table just yet.

“And just what strange orders has it issued, Seaman?” Harry inquired as he investigated the Seaman’s concern.

“Well… first it accessed Commander Crane's log in the middle of the simulation, then this obscure command,” he said pointing to the screen as Talbot leaned over and cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“You recognize the code Dr. Talbot?” Harry stated more than asked as Talbot ran a finger between his collar and his neck in a nervous effort to get more comfortable.

“The Super Brain used its security prerogative and...” Talbot drew out the last word, delaying the rest of the sentence.

“And what Doctor?” Harry probed.

“It issued commands to electronically lock the Captain's Quarters.”

Harry's face showed considerable disdain as Jiggs moved along side of him.

“And just why would it need to lock any doors aboard the Calistoga?” Jiggs inquired, more than a little concerned with the turn of events.

“I can’t say for sure, perhaps Commander Crane attempted to aid the Seaview...”

“That's poppycock!” Jiggs growled back even faster than Harry could protest.

“Power surge!” the technician interrupted as Talbot leaned forward taking over the keyboard, accessing the computer on board the boat. The technician's screen flashed a message as Harry leaned over and pointed.

“What does that mean?”

“You are seeing the message that is being displayed on the main computer console aboard the Calistoga,” Talbot explained as the words “Access Denied” and “Directive 51A” flashed intermittently across the screen.

“Yes?” Harry urged him to continue.

“Apparently Crane tried to use his emergency password to access the computer, his access was denied and... the Super Brain exercised its security functions.”

“What security functions?” Jiggs asked leaning closer.

“You were briefed,” Talbot defended. “It's a security protocol in case the boat is boarded by unauthorized personnel.”

“But Crane wasn't unauthorized, his emergency password should have identified him,” Jiggs countered as Harry interrupted their heated exchange to get to the crux of the matter.

“The technician noted a surge in power. Now just what security protocol did the Super Brain initiate?!”

Talbot straightened tall and swallowed hard. “Crane was just issued a jolt of electricity,” he raised his hands to fend off the impending concern as he continued. “Not enough to kill him, just enough to incapacitate him. He should be fine when he wakes up,” he added rather hastily.

Murmuring of the surrounding officers could be heard in the background as Harry closed the distance to the radio operator.

“Lift the black-out and raise the Calistoga.”

“Wait the exercise isn't over yet!” Talbot protested.

“You just admitted that the Super Brain attacked an officer,” Harry shot back.

“He must have tried to influence the games,” Talbot accused.

“Doctor, you are talking about a highly respected and decorated officer. Commander Crane would not sabotage these games to make Seaview look good. If anything, Crane's log proves that it was the Super Brain that acted inappropriately,” Harry fired back.

“That is an unsubstantiated claim,” Talbot returned incredulously as Harry turned toward a technician.

“Seaman, I want a print out of both Crane’s log and the Brain’s. I want to know why it accessed Crane’s log which was presumably operating on a completely separate, dedicated computer,” Harry explained having not missed that fact earlier as the Seaman complied with the printing.

Harry, Jiggs and the other high level officers gathered around the table as Harry ran his finger down both logs and pointed out his proof.

“Just as I suspected, look at the time-date stamp of the Super Brain’s Directive 51A code inserted into Crane’s log after he identified Seaview’s position in the first pass,” he said pointing at the print out. “It’s posted just seconds before it makes its own identification of Seaview in its own log, just prior to the second pass several hours later.” Harry stood straight and addressed the generals and admirals gathered around the table.

“In short Gentlemen, the Super Brain cheated. The logs prove that the Super Brain accessed Crane's log before identifying Seaview or making its decision to attack,” he finished disgustedly, turning toward Talbot as he continued.

“Directive 51A,” Harry repeated. “Would you characterize that directive as 'Win at any cost'?”

Dr. Talbot raised an eyebrow, recognizing the specific wording that Nelson used. “You've been talking to Reston haven't you?”

“I think I have my answer,” Harry replied as he turned toward Starke.

“Jiggs, send someone to my bungalow and bring Reston here. I have a feeling we're going to need him before this is done.”

Jiggs indicated to an aide to comply as Starke replied. “I think you better tell us what's going on Harriman.”

“Peter Reston came to me last night with a fantastic story, claiming that the Super Brain has a dangerous directive to ‘win at any cost’. He predicted that the Super Brain would not be able to stay within the parameters of the War Games as the coding of the Directive would override all previous orders. So far,” he elaborated, making his case by counting off three fingers in conjunction with his next words, “…it stole the identification of the contact from Crane's log, then electronically locked the Captain's Quarters for some unknown reason, and now Dr. Talbot concludes that Commander Crane was just issued a shock strong enough to render him unconscious. Now the question is, will Super Brain stand down or do we have a much bigger problem on our hands?” Harry finished as the Brass reacted to the revelation.

“Sirs, I've been hailing but the Calistoga doesn’t respond,” the ensign at Communications interjected as Harry turned toward Talbot shooting a tight lipped glare as the tension in the War Room etched up with the uncertain possibility of a Super Brain gone rogue.

Chapter Six

The Calistoga moved patiently through the depths looking for the damaged enemy sub as the Super Brain monitored and analyzed the sounds of the sea. The Seaview didn’t have enough of a head start to retreat out of detection range so it hid itself in an effort to make repairs or wait out the thirteen hours left in the scheduled games. The Super Brain now had Seaview’s unique sound of operating at Silent Running logged in its data base and could now make a positive identification upon first contact.

The Brain was working on a much smaller grid within the war zone now, as it mathematically calculated how far Seaview could travel without detection as its speed would be greatly reduced by both the repairs required and its silent travel. It executed a tight search pattern, dividing its calculations easily among all the Control Room stations as it simultaneously analyzed the previous battle recognizing several anomalies, the most important being the lack of actual shock waves as the torpedoes impacted the seamount.

The Super Brain calculated the conflicting information of torpedoes detonating while the Sim computers reported shock waves that were not registered by its own sensors. It concluded that the Sim computer was interfering with the proper function of the boat and shut down the running Sim program. The Brain was designed to make command decisions under radio black-out conditions and as such made no attempt to contact the War Room and verify either its data or its conclusions. Indeed, it wasn’t programmed to second guess its actions as all its decisions fell into the protocol of its programming. In times of conflict, it chose the higher directive just like a decision tree, making a very orderly and logical decision.

The lights on the Brain’s computer consoles lit up in a dazzling light show as it fully disconnected itself from the Sim program in order to carry out its Directive. As it calculated and analyzed, the still body of Commander Crane lay on the floor in a heap while the Super Brain continued its calculations having already come to the mathematical conclusion solved through probability and statistics and subsequently verified through r-correlation that Crane had withheld reporting positive contact of the enemy sub and as such was considered an enemy agent aboard the Calistoga.

The lights continued to flash and display the incredible thinking power of the computer as it monitored its detection devices while commanding the sub’s search and strategizing for the next engagement. With the Sim parameters now turned off, the Brain was no longer working within the time schedule of the War Games, yet it retained its mission of hunting down and killing the submarine Seaview. A strange turn of events to be sure, for shutting down the Sim computer that registered estimated damage while carrying the orders and parameters of the War Games should have negated the search and destroy orders for the enemy sub. Instead, the Super Brain had retained its mission to destroy the enemy sub in its quest to fulfill its higher Directive. There was no malice or hatred toward its enemy, only its programming to win. It was simply a machine carrying out its orders in cold mathematical calculations, operating without any moral sense of right and wrong or without the ability to reason its own “misunderstanding” of its orders.

The Brain was a set of computer codes programmed to win the battle using all its available resources. It never tired, never slumbered, and as such was relentless to carry out its order to destroy the Seaview. To this end it had another problem to solve, as the Super Brain calculated how to destroy the enemy sub with what it deemed as “defective” torpedoes, which it calculated the enemy agent Crane had sabotaged.

* * * * *

Seaview slipped away in the heat of the battle as the Calistoga evaded its incoming torpedo. Chip released a sonar decoy to disseminate and scatter the sounds of Seaview traveling at Full. He could only travel at Full for a short amount of time as the Sim computer had estimated he had flooded compartments as well as a damaged coolant system. He had no choice however as they needed to affect repairs in order to stand ready for the next battle or perhaps even evade the Calistoga completely, which would also be deemed a success in the War Games.

The Boat was once again observing Silent Running as Chip made his own calculations how far he could run Seaview before the sonar decoy was ineffective against their retreat. He placed Seaview on the bottom along some natural mounds and rocks where geophysical imaging wouldn’t easily identify her and “ordered” repairs within the Sim parameters. Upon completion of the “cyber” repairs in a reasonable amount of time the Sim would release the “damaged” systems back for Seaview’s usage.

The Crew was tense but confident, as Captain Morton had taken them into the heat of battle and had escaped leaving the enemy confused as to their whereabouts. It was a feather in Chip’s cap, one he couldn’t enjoy until the War Games had reached its conclusion.

Across the Control Room, Bobby O’Brien bit his bottom lip pondering whether to approach the captain. He took a deep breath in and decided it was his duty as acting XO and headed to the Chart Table.

“How’s it looking Bobby?” Chip asked as Bobby returned from the console housing the Sim computer for the latest estimate on the simulated repairs.

“Water tight doors are holding, the firing mechanism has been repaired and the computer estimates another hour for the coolant system,” Bobby reported.

“Very well,” Chip replied just barely avoiding rubbing his eyes.

“Ah Sir,” Bobby started, swallowed and proceeded bravely. “Captain, you need a rest before the next battle starts. The Crew has already rotated twice and they expect the Captain to be at his best to take them home.”

Chip’s eyebrows sharpened in scrutiny then eased back as he recognized his XO’s wisdom and sighed a soft airy breath.

“Very well, Bobby. But I want to be advised even if you hear a flounder sneeze,” he admonished.

“Aye Captain,” Bobby replied, glad he could get Chip off his feet if even for a short time.

Chip stopped and looked over the Control Room, satisfying himself with the situation lights, then took soft steps up the spiral stairs to Officer’s Country. He checked his watch, Another thirteen hours to go for this marathon, he thought silently. He was tired but wouldn’t take a full shift off as the Calistoga was still too close for comfort. A few hours of sleep and he’d be ready to match wits with the Super Brain once again.

As he walked he briefly considered how Lee was making out aboard the Calistoga. He figured Lee was bored as his orders were only logged and he wasn’t in actual command of the boat. The thought of a bored Lee Crane made him smile as he reached his cabin and headed straight for his rack.

* * * * *

Lee was curled on his side when consciousness finally found him. Slowly he rolled onto his back as airy moans passed, his lucidness not catching up with his wakefulness yet; his entire body ached and the vise on his head had returned. He breathed heavily for a moment focusing on the Chronometer on the bulkhead until it slowly sharpened as his forehead furled with the knowledge that he’d been out for two hours.

He rolled to his knees and pushed up, taking a deep breath before standing a bit shakily at first as he perused the Control Room. By the looks of the situation boards the hunt was still in progress for Seaview, right now however, the pressing question was why the Super Brain had enlisted the use of its so-called security functions. He was just working through this thought when a beeping sound from the Radio Shack caught his attention. He worked his way back a bit shakily at first but gaining strength with each step as he picked up the mic and cautiously reached for the switch to receive the transmission, not knowing if the Super Brain's security functions would have him writhing on the floor once again. He took a chance and flipped the switch.

* * * * *

Peter Reston was escorted to the War Room much to the obvious dismay of Dr. Talbot.

“I am the head of the Super Brain project,” Talbot protested. “I vehemently object to Mr. Reston's presence,” he said emphasizing “mister” and the lack of a more “official” title in front of his name.

“Your objections are so noted,” Jiggs returned. “But right now I'm more interested in conversing with Commander Crane. We've got to know what's going on aboard the Calistoga.”

“The Super Brain has been ordered to observe a total radio black-out for the duration of the war games,” Talbot replied. “It will not break those orders.”

“The Computer allows for communications under the Vinculum Protocol,” Reston interjected, ignoring Talbot's earlier slight as unimportant for the time being.

“Vinculum?” Jiggs questioned.

“Technically speaking a vinculum is the brace above several terms in a mathematical equation showing the terms are connected,” Harry explained.

“Yes, in this case it is a protocol that allows the Super Brain to receive communique in order to keep it 'connected' when new orders are required to update a Battle Plan,” Reston expanded.

“Please Gentlemen. The War Games still have more than fourteen hours and we have no proof that The Brain is not operating within the mission parameters where the exercise is concerned,” Talbot argued. “It may be dealing with a perceived threat where Crane is concerned, but the Security Protocols are totally different than the War Games strategy and execution.”

“You have a valid point Dr. Talbot,” Jiggs agreed. “I'm inclined to allow the Games to proceed to their conclusion, but only after I have received a report from Commander Crane.”

“Very well,” Talbot conceded moving to the Communication's Station and keying in authorization to initiate the Vinculum Protocol, which would allow the Super Brain to over-ride its existing orders of a radio black-out and allow the transmission to be received. The radio operator hailed, receiving no response for the next hour until contact was finally made.

* * * * *

Lee flipped the transmission switch grateful it wasn't accompanied with a charge of electricity, turning the gain so he wouldn't have to use the head phones and was relieved to hear the War Room calling.

“This is PrimeCom calling Orca Nin-er. Come in Orca Nin-er.”

“This is Orca Nin-er,” Lee answered using the Calistoga's code name as the “hunter” for the War Games. “I read you PrimeCom, go ahead.”

“Commander, this is Starke. What in the blazes is going on down there?”

Lee cracked a tired smile at Jiggs Starke's bluntness and raised the mic wearily to answer.

“I'm afraid I don't have any answers. All I know is that I retired briefly to my cabin and when I attempted to exit I found it locked. I pried myself out and found my computer had a strange code interjected into my log. I decided to use my emergency password to inquire what Directive 51A was and got a hefty electrical charge in the process. I just woke up, I guess I've been out for a couple of hours,” Lee reported.

“Are there any other indications that the Super Brain's operations are impaired in any way, Commander?” Jiggs probed.

“Not that I can tell, Sir. The Calistoga is still looking for Seaview. Excuse me Admiral Starke, but can you tell me why the Computer initiated its Security Functions?” Lee asked leaning with an elbow on the radio desk as he was still recovering.

“Lee, this is Nelson,” he heard, relieved that Harry was close by. “We don't have the answers yet, but we're working on two issues here. I think it’s safe to assume that the Super Brain has deemed you a security risk. I'm going to suggest you go along for the ride without any further log entries until the games are complete.”

Lee heard some background murmurs of agreement from the War Room.

“Aye Sir,” Lee agreed, sensing the tension in Harry's voice.

“The second issue we're working on is Directive 51A,” Harry continued.

“Yes Sir, I'm a little curious about that one myself.”

“There are two dissenting opinions on just what the Directive will entail. It's basically the Super Brain's authorization to do what it needs to do to win the battle,” Harry explained as Lee's eyebrows tightened wrapping his mind around all the implications of that broad statement and hearing a familiar tone in Harry's voice telling him that he was concerned.

“I'm not sure I like the sound of that Sir,” Lee replied.

“We're working on that now,” Harry assured him. “Keep this frequency open and we'll contact you when we know more,” he finished not at liberty to discuss the matter further as the War Games were technically under Jiggs command.

“Aye Sir.”

“Very well, PrimeCom out.”

“Orca Nin-er out.”

Lee sat back shaking his head at how complicated the whole mission had become, and though he had picked up on Harry's concern he wasn't aware of the specific dangers or implications that Reston had warned about. He resolved within himself not to tick the Super Brain off as he stood, still achy from the jolt he had received and walked back to the chart table realizing it was going to be a long twelve hours.

* * * * *

“I haven't got enough to tell Washington I'm pulling the plug yet, Harriman,” Jiggs advised, pulling Harry off to one corner. “But I can tell you I'm not comfortable. Get me something to act on,” he challenged his old friend as Harry nodded.

“Alright Jiggs. Let's go straight to the source. Let's take a look at the Super Brain's execution logs, I know it's a lengthy process so let's start with the simulated battle,” Harry suggested.

Jiggs nodded, it was tedious but worth the effort. “Very well,” Jiggs agreed. “Who knows, perhaps Morton can manage to keep Seaview hidden for the next twelve hours and my concern will be for nothing.”

“I hope so Jiggs,” Harry replied. “I surely hope so,” he finished not convinced that the Super Brain's actions thus far were as benign as Talbot was trying to convince everyone. The best thing he could do was to help Jiggs get the evidence he needed to act.

Chapter Seven

“Admiral Nelson,” Talbot objected. “I must protest Mr. Reston's participation in reading the logs. He's a disgruntled employee who was dismissed from the project over three months ago...”

“Dr. Talbot, we have thousands of commands to read through,” Harry interrupted. “I'm not willing to ignore the project's original designer's input on the matter,” Harry finished, putting his proverbial foot down and ending the conversation as he addressed the researchers and young officers at the conference table.

“This is a proactive exercise to satisfy ourselves that the Super Brain's Directive 51A acts within the parameters of the War Games. We're looking for commands out of the ordinary and certainly any reference to Directive 51A. Let's work the codes quickly but thoroughly people,” Harry admonished. “Report anything unusual.”

The men and women at the table nodded their heads, accompanied with an Aye Sir, and dove into the thousands of lines of commands and executions generated starting with the battle with Seaview.

* * * * *

Captain Morton returned to the Control Room two hours later having rested and changed into a clean uniform, unfortunately showering wasn't an option during silent running. Even so, his sharp appearance was a wonder to Bobby who marveled that Chip could look so refreshed on so little rest. The rest of the crew was looking like they had just spent the last two and half days evading a killer submarine while Captain Morton looked like a Navy poster recruit officer, stubble and all.

“Report Mr. O’Brien,” Chip ordered in a subdued voice.

“All quiet Sir. The Sim computer has estimated all repairs complete, but suggests we don’t exceed standard since we still have simulated flooded compartments.”

“Very well,” Chip said looking over the situation lights and scrutinizing Sonar even from where he was standing.

Bobby leaned in closer, even though they were already speaking in whispers. “What do you think our chances are of it moving right by us, Sir?”

Chip looked across the Control Room in deep thought. “Any other time I'd say we're tucked in pretty good, but we're dealing with a Computer here Bobby; one that will calculate and figure and then calculate some more until it comes up with a something. It knows mathematically how far a radius we could have traveled from the battle and that will become its new war zone. It's going to come again, and I want to be ready,” Chip added with a small competitive smile.

“Aye, aye Sir. I'll pass that along,” Bobby replied, ready to do his job and keep the men on their toes.

* * * * *

“Admiral Nelson, I have something Sir,” a young ensign said, leaning over a pile of codes, his blonde hair dramatically offset by the thick black glasses he wore.

“What is it Ensign?” Harry said moving behind the small framed young man.

“Sir, the Super Brain has disabled the Sim program.”

“Disabled the Sim program?” Harry repeated in disbelief as he looked over the executions himself.

“When did this happen?” Talbot asked.

“I found the execution after the battle took place Sir,” the Ensign added.

“How could we have missed that?” Starke asked, joining and hovering over the Ensign's other shoulder.

“The Sim program aboard the Calistoga hasn't had to report anything since the battle; the Super Brain's termination was buried in hundreds of lines of its own executions,” Reston joined in, leaning across the table from his position.

“Why would Super Brain terminate the Sim program?” Harry asked obviously thinking out loud. “When Commander Crane reports the Calistoga is still searching for Seaview?” he continued perplexed.

“Because Gentlemen,” Reston interjected. “The Brain has found some conflicting programming within the Sim program. It ditched the Sim in order to fulfill its higher directive, to Win At Any Cost.”

“There's no proof of that!” Talbot shot back.

“Then let's examine the decision tree it used to make its decision,” Reston suggested calmly. “It's the only way we'll know for sure.”

“What decision tree?” Starke bellowed gruffly.

“The computer makes decisions by putting the problem through a series of Yes or No questions,” Talbot explained. “It uses past data to answer those questions, where data is not available it uses statistics and probability to arrive at a mathematically correlated conclusion. It is a very logical approach that the computer does in seconds.”

“Let's get to it Gentlemen. We still have ten hours left on a War Games Simulation that the Brain has shut off. I want to know why and just what its intentions are!” Starke ordered as Harry sat back contemplating the turn of events and more than a little glad that he had brought Reston into the War Room. So far, Talbot seemed to be more interested in protecting the Super Brain; it had been Reston who had suggested the computer trail to follow.

Talbot returned less than ten minutes later with the decision tree, a set of yes or no questions for every problem the computer solved. He used the execution number to find the right decision tree as Talbot, Harry and Reston all poured over the read-out together.

* * * * *

Lee straddled a chair leaning his chin over his folded hands on the straight backed chair watching the stations in the Control Room, though he didn't dare touch a console. He wasn't sure how far the Super Brain's security functions reached and he didn't want another replay of the shock treatment he had received earlier. He raised his chin and checked his watch; ten more hours with nothing to do. In reality he was quite pleased that it was boring, that meant the Super Computer hadn't detected Seaview yet.

He smiled at Chip's seamanship to have evaded the Computer thus far as he waited wishing he could at least listen in at hydrophones. His official role had been downgraded to nearly superfluous cargo, so he allowed himself to rest and nearly dozed off until the red battle-station's light began to flash. Lee stood up, taking in the situation lights and noting a contact on the Sonar screen. He quickly left his chair and moved closer to look at the profile, sure it enough it was Seaview: there wasn't another Boat like her.

“Come on, Chip,” he whispered out loud, still observing silent running, the standing order aboard the boat he was currently serving but now that his official role had ended he could afford to do a little rooting.

Instinctively he looked for the lights signaling torpedoes were ready, strangely he saw no indication that the torpedoes were being prepped at all. He was curious and judged by the Sonar contact they were ten miles away so he figured he had time to watch the torpedoes being loaded through automation. He took off for the missile room and as the boat was only half the size of Seaview, arrived at his destination less than two minutes later. Once arrived he noted the torpedo bays were empty and the racks hadn't been lowered for loading. Across the deck a flashing terminal caught his attention as he moved closer to read: Directive 51A.

Lee turned in a slow 360 degree circle, looking for some indication that the Super Brain intended to engage Seaview but saw none. It all seemed a bit strange to him, so he decided to head back to the Control Room. He closed the hatch and started to turn the water tight door when the wheel began to turn on its own locking itself. He raised an eyebrow at the Super Brain's seamanship as it obviously ordered all water tight hatches secured and started to walk away. He hadn't gotten but a few feet when he heard a lock slide in place and turned around to realize that the Super Brain had not only closed the hatch but had sealed it electronically as well. The realization was followed by the instant knowledge that if he didn't hurry he might be sitting out the battle in a dimly lit corridor so he poured on the steam running to the next hatch, opening it but not bothering to close it as the Super Brain was securing hatches behind him. He could hear the hatches closing behind him, followed by the sound of metal sliding as the hatches were sealed electronically. The hatch ahead of him started to close as Lee sprinted as fast as he could, diving through the closing watertight door tucking his legs in and rolling on the deck, barely clearing the knee-knocker hatch as it slammed shut and sealed behind him.

He had made it to the most forward compartment and picked himself up, dusting off and heading to the Control Room. He wondered if the Brain had given the order to load the torpedoes yet and entered checking the Missile Room readiness lights first. The torpedoes were still registering hanging from their berth as Lee circled the Control Room looking for something that told him just what tactic the Super Brain was using. His forward motion was stopped as he took in the console in front of him, his face registering confusing.

“What are you doing Super Brain?” he whispered but then realized that he knew exactly what the Computer was doing as “Directive 51A” flashed on the Console in front of him. He ran to the Radio Shack turning the frequency to Seaview's emergency band; he only had minutes before the laser guns were charged and ready for use.

“This is Crane calling Seaview, come in Seaview.”

He got nothing and tried again. “Sparks answer me! This is Commander Lee Crane calling SSRN Seaview.”

Still there was nothing, so he hailed again. “This is Crane calling Seaview, break radio silence, that's an order.”

He started to hail once again when he heard Chip's voice.

“Lee is that you?”

“Chip listen to me. The Brain is playing for keeps, it's charging up its lasers. Use of lasers isn't part of the Simulation Chip, it's not part of the War Game parameters. It's gone rogue...”

Lee was cut-off in mid-sentence as he screamed in pain, an electrical charge surging through his body once again then releasing him to writhe on the floor. The charge wasn't as long as the first shock since the Super Brain was focusing its resources on charging the Calistoga's lasers, which left Lee still conscious with the mic still in his hand.

He breathed heavily as he heard Spark's voice.

“Message received and understood Skipper.”

With that Sparks signed off, observing radio silence once again as Lee lay on the floor unable to move, while the sounds of the console computers clicked and the lights flashed indicating that the Super Brain was about to go into battle; this time with live ammo.

Chapter Eight

Back in the War Room, before Lee contacts Seaview:

Reston ran his finger down the read-out and began interpreting the report, pointing and tapping the report from where he was gleaning the information.

“This decision process takes place after the sea battle,” he started and then ran his finger down further as the process unfolded.

“The Super Brain lost the Seaview... high probability of Sonar Decoy used...” he added.

“Here. It begins to analyze the battle. Standard procedure: to learn about its opponent for future battles, and to analyze its own systems for effectiveness. It runs a series of diagnostics here,” Reston pointed out, dismissing the information as irrelevant to their current rabbit trail and picked up where he thought it was most important.

“The Brain analyzes the battle and notes an anomaly: the Sim Computer has registered several shock waves that affect the Calistoga's trim but its own sensors reveal NO shock waves...” Reston pointed to two paths and the process questions below each.

“It's working on two independent problems here that the Brain has determined as relevant to the shock wave issue. This path follows its analysis of the observer on board: Commander Crane. See? It asks itself a series of questions. It notes that hours before the battle Crane's keystrokes increase in his log.”

“Wait a minute,” Harry interrupted. “That computer was supposed to be dedicated and not part of the Super Brain at all.”

“Yes, but its runs off of the Calistoga's power source, so apparently the Super Brain considers it an extension of its systems and enacts Directive 51A as its authorization to act. It appears to ignore the log at the beginning seeing the information that Crane is typing as redundant but something changes and it decides it must analyze all possible information to complete its mission. The decision tree for that decision has its own path,” Reston explained. “At any rate, it converts the log back into binary code and notes the positive contact. Now here... here it runs a series of questions, tests them against statistics and by the process of probability and correlation concludes that Crane withheld information vital to its mission then...” Reston looked up as Harry's concerned expression urged him to continue.

“...It suspends this process and turns its attention to the issue of Shock Waves. It concludes two things,” working faster now and summing up to get to the heart of the matter, “First, that the torpedoes are defective with a high probability of sabotage and second, that the Sim program did not correctly analyze and report the true condition of the boat.”

He stopped and paused as he shook his head. “In short, the Super Brain misunderstood the role of the Sim program and in its pursuit to meet its mission objective shut down what it deemed as a malfunctioning, if not unnecessary, set of systems.”

“I don't believe this,” Jiggs offered in disgust. “So it shut down the Sim program which means the Super Brain has nothing to govern its actions. It believes the War Games are an actual battle, am I right?”

“Yes,” Reston agreed. “But that's not all. Look, it continues its analysis, mind you all this takes place in mere seconds,” he reminded the Admirals as Talbot watched the exchange in almost a daze.

“Having solved the problem with the 'malfunction' that gave 'false' data on the shock waves it turns its attention back to how it will achieve its objective; that is after all its job.” Reston followed the decision process down with his fingers and tapped the report.

“The Super Brain concludes that Crane withheld the initial contact and sabotaged the torpedoes and further concludes that he is in fact an enemy agent aboard.”

A series of groans and blows of the breath followed as Reston continued.

“It attempts to incarcerate the Commander by locking him in the Captain's Quarters.”

“How does it know where Crane is?” Jiggs inquired.

“The Calistoga has infrared detection gear for geophysical scanning of the ocean floor,” Harry chimed in. “It keyed in on the biological on board by locating its heat source.”

“A good assumption,” Reston agreed. “At any rate, Crane escapes and the Brain sees his attempt to access the Main Computer as espionage or even a further attempt of sabotage.”

“So it executed its Security Function,” Harry added.

“Now it returns to its original query, how to win the battle. It concludes it cannot trust the remaining torpedoes and seeks for alternative tactics.”

Reston stopped and leaned back. “In short Gentlemen, the Brain considers itself in a real battle and is looking for a way to win.”

“The only other weapons effective for underwater battle are the lasers and they were deliberately disabled for the Games,” Jiggs reported.

“And that is the problem that the Super Brain is working on now,” Reston said pointing to the last pages of the report.

“Go on Mr. Reston,” Harry urged.

“The Super Brain is working on repairing what it considers 'damaged and/or sabotaged' lasers. All it needs is for certain electronic leads in place to reroute the missing connections and complete the circuit. It's part of its own damage control system.”

“You're telling me that that... that... THING is working on gaining live ordnances to use against the Seaview?” Jiggs bellowed.

“That is exactly what I'm saying. Once the Super Brain enacted its Directive 51A to read Crane's log it started on a path that can only lead in one direction; the destruction of its enemy. It's been working on the repair for several hours now.”

“Shut it down. We've analyzed this thing for far too long,” Harry said slapping the table.

“I agree,” Jiggs chimed in. “Dr. Talbot, execute the Termination code. I want this stopped NOW!” Jiggs ordered. “And break radio silence. Contact Seaview!” Jiggs continued as Harry moved toward the Communications console.

Talbot delayed, swallowed and then nodded in defeat. “Very well,” he said walking like a defeated man to the main operating panel and keying in his master password.

“The Calistoga has made contact,” a Seaman reported as Harry and Jiggs exchanged glances realizing that the Brain had just found Seaview.

“Dr. Talbot?” Jiggs yelled.

“I'm working on it,” Talbot said, keying and rekeying his entries just as Harry made contact.

“This is Ravin One. Go ahead PrimeCom,” Chip's voice was heard.

“Chip.....” Harry started just as the entire console went dead with the now hated words Directive 51A flashing on its dark screen.

“The Super Brain has cut-off communications,” Harry said turning toward Jiggs.

“It sees your actions as aiding and abetting the enemy,” Reston concluded.

“Power build-up within the Calistoga!” A technician reported from across the room.

Harry ran to his console. “What kind of power build-up?”

The technician keyed in his query. “It's charging the Lasers,” he reported.

“Send the Termination code!” Harry repeated as Talbot shook his head in frustration, keying almost frantically as the words “Access Denied” flashed upon his screen.

“It's locked me out! I can't get in,” Talbot said sitting back. “Mine is the Master Password. It’s completely out of my control,” he reported as consoles across the room blackened, the only data flashing on the screen was the now familiar directive, authorizing the Super Brain to act.

* * * * *

Aboard Seaview just prior to Harry making contact:

“Captain?”

Chip turned toward Bobby who had jogged across the deck to reach him at Sonar.

“What is it Bobby? Ski is working on a flash contact here,” he indicated not wanting to deal with extraneous information at the moment.

“Sparks is reporting a hail from ComSubPac, they've initiated the emergency code for breaking radio silence.”

Chip placed a hand on Ski's shoulder. “Stay on top of it, Ski.” Then turned and moved hastily to the radio shack.

“This is Ravin One,” Chip said invoking Seaview's Call Sign for the War Games. “Go ahead PrimeCom.”

“Chip...!”

Chip heard Admiral Nelson's voice, it wreaked of emergency, concern and information that should have followed.

“What's wrong Sparks?”

“I don't know Sir, we've just been cut-off,” Sparks reported as he tried to reconnect. “Nothing Captain. It's like the transmission was cut-off from the source.”

Chip blew an audible breath out, Harry's call was more than disconcerting especially with the flash reading that very well could be the Calistoga on the scope.

“Very well, notify me if communications are restored.”

Chip turned and only took a few steps before hearing Sparks once again.

“Captain,” he called in the subdued whisper of silent running.

Chip returned expecting the transmission had been restored with PrimeCom, but Sparks spoke up even before he could inquire.

“We're being hailed on Seaview's emergency frequency.” Chip and Sparks exchanged glances knowing that it was an internal frequency known only by NIMR personnel.

“Very well, accept the transmission,” Chip ordered expecting that Harry had switched frequencies. Chip raised the earphones to his ear and was surprised to hear an authoritive voice in mid-sentence.

“...calling Seaview, break radio silence, that's an order.”

Chip raised the mic. “Lee is that you?”

There was no exchange of pleasantries, just a frantic report as Lee tried to get all the relevant information out in as little time as possible.

“Chip listen to me. The Brain is playing for keeps, it's charging up its lasers. Use of lasers isn't part of the Simulation Chip, it's not part of the War Game parameters. It's gone rogue...”

The next sound he heard was an agonizing scream of pain.

Chip assimilated everything immediately and took action. “Acknowledge the transmission Sparks,” he said in full voice running back to the Chart Table and ordering “Battle Stations!”

Bobby met him at the table as Chip checked over the sea chart. “Secure silent running Bobby and cut the Sim Program, I want flank speed on my order!”

“Aye, aye,” Bobby returned.

“Where's your contact Sonar?” Chip yelled from across the room.

“I lost it Sir.”

“Keep on it, it's the Calistoga and it doesn't know we're playing a game.”

“Silent running secure, Sim Program is disabled and Engineering is ready for Flank speed upon your order,” Bobby reported.

“Very well. Blow ballast, give me room to maneuver and turn to heading two-seven-seven.”

“Aye Sir,” Bobby went about his orders as Chip picked up the mic.

“Missile Room this is the Captain.”

“Missile Room Aye. Chief Sharkey here Sir.”

“Chief, how long to switch those dummy torpedoes out for the real thing?”

Sharkey blew an airy breath out and then clicked the mic. “Ten to fifteen minutes Sir, and that's pushing it,” he replied.

“Well push it!” Chip ordered as Bobby returned to report.

“Captain, we're off the bottom, you've got 200 feet keel to bottom. Turning to heading two-seven-seven.”

“Very well.” Chip picked up the mic. “Engine room, Flank speed. Engage!”

“Flank speed, Aye.”

“Contact!” Ski and Pat reported almost in unison.

“Two thousand yards off our starboard bow, bearing zero-three-zero relative.”

Seaview was headed in the opposite direction at Flank but Chip knew they weren't out of the woods. He'd been briefed on the Calistoga's specs and knew that it ran at speeds comparable to Seaview. The Calistoga was an attack sub, half the size of Seaview which was technically a ballistic sub and even though Seaview's maneuverability was impressive for her size she would have her hands full with the Calistoga in pursuit. On top of that the Calistoga was a new prototype that housed the latest in weaponry, including the Lasers Seaview had tested for the Navy.

He started to raise his mic when a shudder ran across the Boat.

“Report!” he yelled across the Control Room.

“It fired at us Sir. A laser by the sound of it,” Pat reported controlling his own adrenaline rush in the heat of the battle.

It's exactly what Lee warned him about, and probably what the Admiral was trying to communicate as well.

“Helm, turn to heading one-one-three relative.”

“one-one-three relative, Aye,” he repeated as Bobby repeated the order then turned to Chip for clarification and further orders.

“We're going to meet it head on, Bobby. XO, charge the Lasers,” Chip ordered as Bobby obeyed, fully aware that Chip had used his title to ensure him in one word that he knew full well that Captain Crane was aboard the Calistoga. Bobby heard his order loud and clear and ordered the Lasers charged as Chip maneuvered Seaview for a potential epic battle with the Calistoga.

Chapter Nine

Lee heard Sparks' acknowledgement, taking small consolation in the fact that he had at least given Chip some warning, but that consolation was overshadowed in the sounds of the Control Room as Lee recognized that the Lasers had been fully charged and were now awaiting orders to fire.

Lee relaxed his hold on the mic allowing it to drop to the deck and then moved himself slowly into a sitting position, collapsing against the side of the desk in the Radio Shack. He leaned back heavily watching the Control Room from his position. His body was weary at receiving two jolts courtesy of the Super Brain and hampered by exhaustion and very little sleep. He couldn't move any more, at least not yet, as he gathered his strength and worked through his options.

His contemplation was interrupted by a whining sound as Lee realized that the Laser had been fired. He closed his eyes and uttered a prayer for his shipmates, then put every ounce of strength he had left in his reserves to pull himself up the desk and find a way to help Seaview.

* * * * *

“It's locked me out! I can't get in,” Talbot said sitting back. “Mine is the Master Password. It’s completely out of my control,” he reported as consoles across the room blackened, the only data flashing on the screen was the now familiar directive authorizing the Super Brain to act.

“Are you sure?” Harry inquired, closing the distance from the Communication's Console where the Super Brain had completely shut down their ability to communicate with either Seaview or the Calistoga.

“There's no higher password than the Master,” Talbot replied, feeling like his life's work had just been pulled out from underneath him.

“I can get in,” Reston said stepping forward.

“Your password was deleted upon your termination,” Talbot fired back.

“I was the lead designer of the Super Brain, I have... backdoors,” he stated, realizing that he was giving away a major programmer secret.

“We found your backdoors and blocked them,” Talbot said in disgust, angry that Reston could think they wouldn't know how to block a fellow programmer's secret re-entry points.

Reston turned toward Admiral Nelson and spoke in full confidence. “Trust me Admiral Nelson, I can get in.”

Harry didn't need any convincing; every bit of help they had received thus far had come from Reston.

“Move over Talbot,” Harry said as the doctor reluctantly gave up his seat to Reston.

Reston keyed with no changes or the least bit of evidence he was talking to the computer as the Directive still flashed annoyingly across the screen. Still Reston keyed in fast strokes without hesitancy until a black DOS screen appeared.

“I'm only partly in. This will allow me to work through my Passageway,” he said keying as he spoke.

“Passageway?” Jiggs said standing over his shoulder, having ordered the surface vessels to monitor the two subs and report through systems not tied to the Super Brain.

“Yes,” Reston explained as he keyed. “Programmers often have backdoors allowing for access into programs, it’s really quite reasonable. A program is sold, something goes wrong and a technician is required to fix it. Occasionally the fix can only be made by the original programmer who must enter into an otherwise locked program to affect repairs. These backdoors don't actually belong to the programmer but to the company they work for as Intellectual Property, those backdoors are reported. However, occasionally a programmer keeps a backdoor open for a variety of reasons, some noble some not so noble,” Reston replied working as he spoke without missing a keystroke as Jiggs raised an appraising eyebrow.

“If the way in is called the Backdoor, then the path that I take to reach the command codes is my Passageway. It's meant to be complicated and hard to see, that way it can't be easily neutralized. In this case, I programmed the Backdoor and Passageways as a last resort should the Super Brain be compromised in a catastrophic event.”

“Why didn't you divulge it in your Specs?” Jiggs demanded.

“For just this reason Admiral Starke, it would have been removed with my dismissal from the project,” he said continuing to navigate his Passageway as Harry tugged Jiggs aside to allow Reston to work unfettered.

“Admiral Starke, the Constellation is reporting heavy activity indicative of a subaquatic battle,” a Seaman reported as Harry and Jiggs exchanged glances.

“Hurry Reston, we may not have much time left,” Harry said as Reston continued his keystrokes ignoring everything around him to make his way to the place he needed to be.

* * * * *

Chip pulled the Laser Controls down from its berth stowed in the overhead bulkhead, sliding it in place over his face and sighting in the Calistoga.

“Distance to target?” he ordered as Ski reported.

“Three thousand yards and closing.”

“Lasers at full,” Chip ordered as Bobby sounded off in the mic as the two subs raced toward one another closing the nearly two miles rapidly.

“Steady... just a little closer...” Chip said to himself. “Fire!” he said as he shot a blast that found its target. He fired again as the Calistoga turned for evasive action, resulting in a glancing shot, likely rattling the sub but not causing major damage as Seaview was suddenly rocked, having received a hit of its own. Through Seaview’s windows, flashes of neon blue from Seaview’s Lasers and bright red from the Calistoga’s Lasers lit up the ocean in an underwater duel as lasers were fired from the two subs on a collision course.

“Evasive maneuvers,” Chip yelled as Bobby ordered a hard left rudder.

Chip kept his aim and fired off one more shot, catching the Calistoga in the stern before both subs retreated into evasive maneuvers. The Calistoga negotiated a turn moving behind a sea mound in retreat as Chip stowed the Laser Controls and turned toward the Control Room.

“Damage Report,” he ordered.

“Hull integrity sound, Circuitry reports minor electrical damage. Engineering warns against using Flank speed and Lasers at full power simultaneously again Sir.”

“Noted,” Chip said turning toward the detection stations.

“Where is she Ski?”

“Sitting on the bottom Sir,” he said pointing to his screen. “Four thousand yards, bearing one-two-four relative.”

Chip bit his bottom lip. “What does she sound like Pat?”

“I'm still hearing all the hums and sounds of boat in working order Sir. She may be hiding, or maybe affecting repairs or...”

“She may be trying to deceive us into coming in closer for the kill,” Chip finished as Pat shook his head in agreement.

* * * * *

Lee moved shakily back toward the Chart Table, leaning on stations along the way to gain his footing. He was nearly there when a jolt rocked the boat sending him into a set of consoles on one side and then back over to the opposite side as the Calistoga took a hit, Lee recognized the battle sounds as a Laser, no doubt Seaview returning fire. The smell of wires burning and smoldering filled the air as Lee coughed at the pungent odor. He ended up on the deck again and worked himself up when the Super Brain ordered evasive maneuvers that sent him doubling over a station chair and hanging on for dear life. More Laser fire was exchanged as the Calistoga turned sharply and received another hit, this time further aft, not as devastating as the other two but still disconcerting.

The Calistoga turned again breaking off from the engagement as Lee figured it needed to affect repairs. He coughed as he righted himself and looked around the Control Room. Minor damage, he assessed without touching anything. The boat traveled at flank for about ten minutes then Lee felt it slow and finally come to a stop, he recognized the sound of the ballast tanks flooding as the Calistoga settled on the bottom in a controlled thud a little over six miles from the underwater battlefield with Seaview.

Around him lights were flashing as the Super Brain initiated repairs, which entailed the rerouting of systems damaged by the fire to backup wiring on good circuit routes. He took a glance at the Sonar and spotted a contact, the Seaview. Another quick assessment of the Control Room told him the Calistoga would be ready to go at it again. It was now or never. He picked up the chair he was leaning on and threw it with all his mustered strength at the laser firing controls. The chair did its damage by sheer impact but was joined by an electrical jolt as the Super Brain tried to fight off its attacker, this time the chair won as the firing controls caught fire. Open flames jumped from the console as the Super Brain released a spray of fire suppressant from the bulkhead ceiling.

Lee realized the Super Brain was too resourceful and figured he should do more damage so he picked up a second chair and threw it into the sonar station, hoping to seriously impair the Calistoga's detection ability. The fire from that attack was burning behind him as he reached for the last chair within his reach; he raised it above his head but was unexpectantly hit by a red beam originating directly from the Super Brain's main console. The laser caught him in the shoulder as he grunted at the searing pain, dropping the chair with the smell of his own burnt flesh filling his nostrils. He reached for the chair again, this time determined to do damage to the Super Brain itself when the laser fired again, catching him with a solid hit to his upper thigh. He fell in a heap reaching for his new injury then regathering himself as he pulled his gun from his holster and aimed it at the Main Console. Before he could fire the laser found its mark again with a direct hit on the sidearm rendering it too hot to handle as he dropped the gun in pain. He was still breathing hard as he watched the laser beam lessened its intensity and redirect itself from the smoldering gun lying on the floor as if searching for a target. It moved in a decidedly deliberate path toward him as he tried to move away but ended up trapped against the side of a console as the red beam reached his hand causing no pain but acting like sights on a gun. It slowly traced a trail, following his arm up to his chest and then settling directly over his heart. He was pinned down, effectively being held at “laser point”; if he tried to move he would be cut down. His shoulder and leg were on fire but all he could do was try and rein in his breathing and hope the Super Brain was satisfied at keeping him a prisoner.

Chapter Ten

“I'm in!” Reston declared. “From here I can put the Super Brain to sleep. This is a command that allows for maintenance that can only be done with the Brain disabled. The Brain will be disabled but we'll have full access to the systems its controlling. Just give me the authorization and I'll shut it down,” Reston asked ready to act.

“Do it!” Jiggs answered as Reston nodded, keyed his command and pressed “Enter”, instantly the dreaded code of Directive 51A disappeared as the dark black screen was replaced by fully functional equipment.

“Communications restored.”

“Systems and Operations restored...”

One by one the systems came back online as the technicians cheered.

“All right quiet down. Get me status reports on your stations, and raise both boats,” Jiggs ordered.

Harry placed a hand on Reston's shoulder, offering his sincere, wordless thanks and moved to communications where two technicians were working on raising both boats as the Seaview was the first to respond.

“This is PrimeCom, come in Ravin One.”

“This is Ravin One, we're reading you PrimeCom.”

Harry recognized Sparks' voice and sighed in relief at making contact.

“Sparks this is Nelson. Get me Captain Morton.”

“Aye Sir, stand-by.”

Harry only had to wait a moment before he heard Chip's voice.

“Admiral this is Morton.”

“Good to hear your voice Chip. What's your status?”

“Minor damage, Sir. We've got the Calistoga on our scope and we're ready to engage again.”

“You shouldn't have to Chip. We've managed to shut the Brain off.”

“That's good news Sir. Ah... Admiral, any word from Lee?”

“We're working on reaching him now. Maintain your present position and status.”

Chip raised an eyebrow; their present status was “General Quarters” something the Admiral knew full well.

“Aye Sir, maintaining present position and status as ordered.”

“I'll get back to you when I know more. Nelson out.”

Chip blew out a long airy breath; he was relieved that they had fared so well in the battle but the last thing he heard while talking to Lee was his agonizing cry. He wasn't going to relax until Seaview had her Skipper back where he belonged.

* * * * *

Lee stared down the Super Brain computer as the blue, red, white and green lights flickered across the console as if suddenly processing something. He was starting to feel very vulnerable with the laser planted over his heart. Something wasn't right, as he wondered if the Super Brain was currently trying and convicting him of espionage; a death penalty offense. He moved slightly as the laser caught his movement and issued a low intensity zap reminding him to stay put. This was bad. He didn't trust that the Super Brain wouldn't eliminate him in order to turn all its resources over to the other problems at hand. He hadn't moved but realized that the Brain was intensifying the beam and charging up for the kill. He grunted in pain thinking that the next charge was going to burn a hole in his chest when all of the sudden the entire Control Room went dark with every console going black as the hums of the computers whined down with the loss of power; even the Super Brain's main console lie quiet as the laser beam flickered off.

Lee instinctively scurried out of its line of fire and took a deep breath as he was sure he had just come within seconds of death. The darkness gave way to the emergency generators as red lights lit the Control Room. Lee sighed, as the searing pain in his shoulder and thigh returned taking a temporary hiatus as his life passed before his eyes. He let a small chuckle pass in relief and pushed up to sit with his leg stretched out in front of him when a wonderful sound met his ears.

“This is PrimeCom calling Commander Crane. Come in Commander.”

Lee smiled and pulled himself up using a nearby console. The hail repeated three more times before Lee reached the Radio Shack hobbling along shakily. He picked the mic off the floor then collapsed into the operator's chair.

“This is Commander Crane. I read you PrimeCom,” he answered a bit more airy and pained than he would have liked.

“Lee it's Nelson,” he heard as his smile widened.

“Hello Sir.”

“What's your condition Lee?”

“I took laser fire from the Brain, two shots but it's not bad,” he answered, not exactly lying as from his perspective he was still functional. “What about Seaview?”

“She came out just fine. Chip has you on the scope. We've got the Brain disabled as you've probably guessed; what does it look like down there?”

“We're running on emergency generators and we're on the bottom,” Lee reported, used to putting his own condition aside. “Air revitalization is operational. I destroyed the laser firing mechanism, it's pretty much a total loss,” he said with a smile. “Same for Sonar, sorry I was trying to shut down the detection devices for the next engagement. We've got minor circuitry damage but I think she's salvageable. I'm pretty sure she can limp back to Pearl,” he reported sure that Harry could hear his exhaustion and pain despite his efforts to conceal it.

“Very well, Lee. We're going to work on getting you off the boat first, then we'll deal with the Calistoga.”

“Aye Sir, no complaints here.”

“Keep the frequency open Lee. I'll get back to you. PrimeCom out.”

“Crane out.”

Lee leaned over on the radio desk, as relief washed over him. He thought maybe he should conduct further assessments on the boat but found his body refusing to work and just sat back instead reaching for his shoulder.

* * * * *

“Good work Mr. Reston,” Harry said returning to Peter Reston who was busy at the Super Brain's Master console.

“Thank you Admiral Nelson, I'm just glad I was able to help. Now we can turn on vital systems, I will require your help in running the submarine,” he said inviting Harry to sit. “We're going to turn the Super Brain into a drone,” he finished as Harry reacted to the last word, referencing his own drone project.

“Very well, let's start with the current status of the systems and the submarine itself,” Harry replied, taking a seat next to Reston.

* * * * *

Lee raised his head, looking up as the emergency generator gave way to full power. He stood and limped toward the Control Room to watch the Super Brain computer, relieved that while the boat systems came to life the Brain remained asleep. He dipped his head and smiled at someone's ingenuity, he wasn't sure but he'd bet his bottom dollar that Harry had played a large role in the resolution.

“Nelson to Crane. Come in Lee.”

Lee walked back to the radio shack favoring his injured leg and sat down.

“This is Crane. I hear you loud and clear, Admiral.”

“We're operating the sub from the War Room, Lee. Now you should have full power back up.”

“Aye Sir.”

“Seaview is going to launch the mini-sub and check over the hull. Once we've verified the hull is sound we'll release the water-tight doors and blow ballast. Seaview will shadow you up, so just sit tight for now.”

Lee was pleased at the thought of the mission coming to a close. H was exhausted from the War Games, but the last 15 hours had just about done him in. The burns were becoming hard to ignore and he could really use a shower and a hot meal.

“Aye Sir, that's sounds just fine.”

“How are you holding out Lee?” Harry asked in a moment of personal concern.

Lee sighed and then clicked the mic. “I'm good Admiral. Pretty tired and I could use some aspirin but I'll be alright.”

He heard Harry's own sigh and knew he hadn't fooled his good friend but neither one would say anything more with the War Room full of officers and technicians.

“Very well Lee, just sit back and rest, I'm doing the driving,” Harry quipped as Lee smiled to himself despite his weary state.

He finished with, “Nelson out,” as Lee returned with his own sign-off.

Lee leaned back; It won't be long now he thought, unaware that the ribbons hanging from the air revitalization vents had just gone limp.

Chapter Eleven

Chip and Kowalski suited up in diving gear, present depth was 580 feet so they required the special oxygen mixture even with the mini-sub, the process requiring thirty minutes of breathing the special gas before they departed. Sharkey was deep dive certified and Chip could have sent him, but he decided to enjoy the privilege of rank and investigate the Calistoga's hull himself. His black wet suit fit snuggly over a well-muscled body as Chip tested his mouthpiece and positioned his face mask into place.

“Ready to go, Ski?” he asked the orange clad rating.

“Aye Sir,” he replied positioning his own face mask as the two climbed into the mini-sub.

The small two man vehicle was fast becoming unnecessary with the flying sub's deep diving capabilities, not to mention its speed and ability to carry passengers and cargo, but right now Chip was glad that it was still carried aboard as official Seaview equipment. They could do a much better job assessing the soundness of the hull by getting up close and personal than if they relied on Seaview's windows and outboard cameras.

“Radio check, Captain,” Chief Sharkey said into the mic as Chip flipped his Com switch.

“Radio check. I hear you loud and clear, Chief.”

“Very well. Radio check Ski.”

“You're coming in loud and clear, Chief.”

Sharkey responded with the diver's A-Okay sign which Chip returned.

“Launch when ready,” Chip ordered.

“Aye Sir.”

The well doors opened and the overhead crane moved the mini-sub into place as Sharkey began the countdown.

“Launching in five-four-three-two-one.”

On “one” the mini-sub was lowered and gently placed into the sea.

“Release,” Chip ordered.

Sharkey nodded to Ron on the controls as the tether was released and the mini-sub sank below Seaview. The well was already closing over the top of the small submarine when they gained enough clearance to engage the small prop engine and begin their assessment of the Calistoga. They started at the bow as Chip inspected the hull turning the piloting over to Ski in the back seat of the twenty foot, cylindrical mini-sub.

“She's looking good so far,” Chip reported back to Seaview as Bobby watched from the monitor, zooming in Seaview's external cameras to watch the operation as the mini-sub made slow passes across the length of the Calistoga.

* * * * *

Lee dozed off, the lack of sleep or any current duties at the moment released his body to the rest he desperately needed, even though he was sitting straight up in a chair. He woke uncomfortable, feeling a bit warm and still smelling smoke that the air scrubbers should have cleared out by now. He stood to make sure there wasn't a new set of circuitry burning when his sudden movement caused him to sway with dizziness, barely catching the radio desk to keep from falling. He'd been a submariner long enough to recognize thin air and immediately looked up at the nearest vent, spotting the limp ribbons indicating the lack of air cycling through the vents.

He sat back down, as perspiration beaded on his forehead and reached for the switch to send a transmission. The War Games were over so he dropped the Call Sign and identified the sub by name.

“This is SSN Calistoga, come in PrimeCom.”

“Calistoga this is PrimeCom. Go ahead Lee,” Harry returned from the War Room.

“Admiral... air revitalization is out down here,” he said in shallow breaths. “I still have oxygen but it's getting a bit thin.”

“Standby,” Harry replied as Lee figured this was an unforeseen development, a few minutes later the Admiral returned.

“Lee we're showing air revitalization is fully functional and operating.”

“Negative Sir. Oxygen is not circulating. Repeat not circulating.”

“Very well. We'll get on it, sit tight.”

“Aye Sir,” Lee replied, unhappy with this recent turn of events. He stood carefully this time and walked slowly to the Control Room. The situation lights were blinking on the stations he hadn't damaged as he perused the heart of the boat's operation in a slow circle. He stopped abruptly as his turn reached the Super Brain where a single light lit on the console. His heart skipped a beat as the console was totally black earlier and headed to the radio shack to report that the Super Brain was waking up.

* * * * *

“I don't understand,” Reston said running through the air revitalization diagnostics program. “Except... perhaps...” he said fading off as his fingers started flying across the keyboard.

“It can't be,” Reston stated in a whisper almost to himself.

“What Reston? Report,” Harry demanded.

“Air revitalization is showing fully functional because we're looking at old data.” Reston's face registered immediate concern as his original fear was instantly reborn.

“Go on Reston,” Harry urged.

“I found a loop in the code that allows us to control and monitor the system, it's feeding us continual old data that 'all is well'. Don't you see? The Super Brain has found a way to override its maintenance sleep. For some reason it's decided to deal with Crane first, who it has already identified as an enemy agent; his sabotage of the stations only increased the mathematical probability in its reckoning,” he reasoned. “It has to move through all of my passageways, but eventually it will break my own passwords and gain full control over the Calistoga once again.”

Harry ran a frustrated hand over the back of his neck as he called Jiggs back to the Main Console and explained the situation.

“You've got to be kidding?” Jiggs roared in rhetorical disbelief. “What damage can it do with dummy torpedoes?” he asked now realizing he had a fully renegade sub on his hands.

“Nothing, it's the Lasers we have to worry about,” Harry stated.

“But Crane destroyed the firing mechanism,” Jiggs questioned.

“Yes,” Reston joined in. “But only to the equipment's controls, it can still re-route the circuits just as it repaired its other functions as part of its Damage Control functions and fire it directly from the circuitry.”

“I can't play with this any longer,” Jiggs replied resolutely. “I'm not going to take a chance of that thing deciding that the surface vessels topside are the enemy. I'm going to order Seaview to destroy it, we're going to put an end to this rogue computer once and for all.”

“Lee Crane is still aboard the Calistoga,” Harry reminded Jiggs, not that he disagreed with Jiggs' plan but not before he secured his Captain from the defecting submarine.

“What do you suggest Harriman, because I'm running out of options here?”

Harry took a deep breath calculating 600 miles at Mach 2. “I can be airborne and there in twenty minutes. Give me twenty-five minutes to get my Captain off, then you can blow the Super Brain to Kingdom Come,” he returned with fire in his deep blue eyes.

Jiggs looked at his watch noting the time.

“Very well, Harriman. I'll hold off for twenty-five minutes, no guarantees you understand? If the Brain continues to break Reston's codes I'm going to have to blast it.”

Harry shook his head in agreement. “I understand Jiggs, just hold out as long as you can,” he said over his shoulder as he grabbed his cover and took off running for FS1.

* * * * *

Harry launched the flying sub, burning at least three minutes even with ignoring all speed limits to reach the berth as the dock hands released his moorings for him. He acknowledged their efforts with a nod and climbed in, dogging the hatch and moving immediately into the startup sequence. He buckled in and secured his throat mic as he trolled out from the dock, obtaining emergency take-off clearance and going airborne as soon as he was clear then switched frequencies and hailed the Calistoga.

“Lee this Nelson. Do you read me?”

* * * * *

Lee heard Harry's hail and moved quickly to the Radio Shack, ignoring his current aches and pains as the situation had just escalated once again.

“Crane here. Go ahead Admiral.”

“Lee the Super Brain is awake, it's working itself back through the systems one by one.”

Lee blew a breath out with a nod Harry couldn't see. “I thought so Sir. The Brain's Main Console here is showing signs of life.”

“Listen Lee. We've only got twenty-two minutes to get you off the Calistoga before we neutralize the target. I'm airborne in the flying sub, we've got a flight time of 18 minutes to reach you, head to the aft emergency hatch.”

“Aye Sir, but we may have a problem Admiral,” he explained and continued without stopping. “The hatches are not just dogged, they're electronically locked.”

“I'll take care of it. Nelson out,” Harry replied having no time for pleasantries as Lee breathed the thinning air in shallow breaths.

* * * * *

“This is Nelson calling PrimeCom.”

“This is PrimeCom, go ahead Harriman,” Jiggs answered.

“Jiggs has the mini-sub made her assessment?”

“Aye, Morton reports the hull is sound and Mr. Reston has already released the hatches.”

“Very well, but inform Reston that the electronic locks must be neutralized or the Brain will seal Lee in.”

“I'm on it Harriman, hurry I'm ready to issue Seaview its orders. PrimeCom out.”

Harry pursed his bottom lips and tightened his grip on both control sticks. It was going to be close.

* * * * *

“Acknowledged Sir.”

“Repeat your orders Captain,” Admiral Starke ordered as Chip stood in the Radio Shack in uniform having barely returned from the mini-sub's mission.

“In T minus twenty minutes I am to broadside the Calistoga with four live torpedoes. Those orders are to be amended or canceled by your direct order only,” Chip replied dutifully as Sparks and Bobby exchanged concerned glances.

“Very well, Captain. Starke out.”

“Seaview out,” Chip replied and handed the mic over catching Sparks' and Bobby's expressions. He masked his own concern and turned toward the Situation Board where Sharkey was currently stationed.

“Chief, lay aft to the Missile Room and make ready to fire torpedoes. Load tubes one, two, three and four with live torpedoes to be fired in salvo.”

“Aye Sir,” Chief replied reacting immediately to his order, then the realization of the target hit him as his facial expression changed. “Sir, the Skipper?”

“Admiral Nelson is on his way to retrieve the Skipper, our orders are to blow the Calistoga in nineteen minutes. Now get to it,” he ordered turning for the Chart Table indicating there would be no further discussions as Chip maneuvered Seaview in for the kill.

“Aye Sir,” Sharkey replied, obeying his orders and wishing God's Speed to Admiral Nelson.

* * * * *

Lee made his way through the sub not bothering to close the hatches behind him, hoping that the electronic locks were completely neutralized. He carried a portable radio and a torch just in case, as he made his way to the Emergency Escape Trunk. The boat was too deep to escape with a rebreather so he would have to sit tight and wait for the Flying Sub to couple. The air was getting thin as Lee used up the precious resource exerting energy to reach his goal. Just then the corridor went pitch black as the Super Brain turned off the lights; he could still feel the hum of the nuclear engines and knew that all power hadn't been lost and presumed the Brain was targeting him personally.

He flipped the switch on his torch and continued his way aft and up, limping but ignoring his pain as he pondered the strange feeling he had when the Brain had its sights planted over his heart. He was sure the Brain intended to execute him and wondered how dedicated the Computer was to that goal. It was obvious that the Brain's original intent was to incarcerate him, then incapacitate him once that failed. But had the Super Brain now deemed him too high of a security risk to keep him alive any longer?

Lee had no way of knowing that the Brain had concluded Lee was a valuable prisoner for interrogation once the battle was over being a high level officer, but had changed that assessment after the last acts of sabotage when the “enemy agent” damaged valuable systems. It calculated instead that Crane needed to be neutralized before he impeded its efforts to win the battle and enacted its last option: to eliminate the enemy agent before he damaged any more systems or escaped with vital intelligence regarding the war effort.

At any rate, Lee realized the best thing he could do was to make it to the Emergency Escape Trunk as soon as possible before the Brain found another way to impede his progress.

* * * * *

Back in the Control Room both Reston and Talbot were working their keyboards feverishly as each tried to block the Super Brain's path, both were adding layer upon layer of passwords trying to stay ahead of the Brain's progress. Talbot was working on the Laser circuitry while Reston was working feverishly to keep the Brain from accessing the electronic locks. Both had an aide sitting with an open dictionary as they randomly picked passwords in an effort to keep the Brain from completing its goals as Admiral Jiggs Starke paced behind them.

He had already ordered the fleet to disperse from their positions topside, leaving only the Seaview in the immediate vicinity. Jiggs looked up at the T-Minus Digital Status Clock as it ticked off seconds and minutes reading: T minus seven minutes, 22 seconds.

He blew a breath out and wondered if Harriman was going to make it in time or if he was going to lose his dear old friend and the Navy's best and brightest young sub commander at the same time.

Chapter Twelve

Lee made it to the Emergency Escape Trunk closing the hatch and turning the wheel, breathing hard for the physical effort in the thinning air. He grabbed a rebreather and took a deep breath in, grateful for the oxygen masks stored here for the emergency evacuation procedure. He leaned against the ladder and raised the portable radio to his mouth, moving the rebreather aside to speak.

“Admiral this is Crane, do you read me?”

“Nelson here, I read you Lee.”

“I'm in the Escape Trunk,” he reported.

“Acknowledged. I'm approximately seven minutes out, be ready it's going to be close.”

“Aye Sir,” he said replacing the rebreather, one of three he had grabbed from the Emergency stores outside the Trunk. He worked the controls establishing a like atmosphere with FS1 when he heard a sound that made his heart jump and his eyes widened, as the wheel sealing his hatch began to turn. Quickly Lee jammed his torch into the wheel as he realized that the Brain was making a last ditch effort to execute him by blocking his escape. Without the sealed hatch he wouldn't be able to adjust and equalize the pressure differential between the atmospheres of the Trunk and FS1 which subsequently could affect his ability to open the outer hatch. The mating skirt would be flooded once connected then drained during dewatering to produce a tight seal, but the flying sub wasn't a standard DSRV with multiple chambers to equalize atmospheres, it was therefore imperative that he keep the pressure constant with a tight seal within the Trunk. The sounds of the wheel clicking against the jammed torch continued to show the Brain's relentless efforts to sabotage his escape having only limited systems under its control and thankfully not able to presently access the Trunk controls.

Lee waited with controlled trepidation and concern for the Brain's efforts against him as he grabbed another rebreather having spent his then raised his head relieved at the sounds of FS1 docking.

* * * * *

Chip stood at Sonar watching the two contacts merge as the Flying Sub docked with the Calistoga while Seaview's own T-Minus Clock ticked down with only precious minutes left.

“Sparks, inform Admiral Starke that FS1 is coupling,” Chip ordered, hoping Starke would give him the time they needed as the T-Minus clock showed one minute thirty seconds left.

“Chief, fire in salvo on my mark,” Chip ordered in the mic as he monitored Sonar while Bobby reported the seconds to fire.

* * * * *

Harry approached the Calistoga's Emergency Trunk Hatch and coupled expertly, having only one chance to do this right. He unbuckled and waited for the all-green as the flooded skirt was pumped out then raised the inner hatch, hearing two thuds from below as Lee signaled a good couple.

Lee opened the bottom hatch and climbed up wet from the sweat of the lack of air circulating as he dogged the hatch behind him while Harry jumped into the pilot's seat and waited for the hatch All-Clear light to signal him.

Lee put the final turn on the wheel as Harry got the all-clear and disconnected cleanly, rising to clear the renegade sub then employing FS1's considerable speed to clear the kill-zone.

* * * * *

“It's in!” Talbot yelled above the sounds of the War Room. “It has access to the Lasers!”

Jiggs looked at the T-Minus clock, he still had sixty seconds left but he couldn't take a chance.

“Order Seaview to fire now!”

* * * * *

Seaview was stationed 400 yards away, about a quarter mile from the Calistoga as Chip watched the T-Minus clock; it was too dark to see FS1 as it docked from this distance, so Sonar and Hydrophones were keeping him apprised of its progress.

“FS1 has separated and is moving away at top speed,” Pat reported.

“She's two hundred yards away,” Ski reported as Chip breathed in relief, confident that the Admiral had Lee aboard and still watching the clock, trying to give FS1 every second to clear the area before he fired.

“Hey!” Ski yelled. “It's firing at FS1.”

“Confirmed Captain. Laser activity, sounds like FS1 took a hit.”

Chip still had a minute left and surface vessels were still moving out of range as well, he had to wait...

“Orders from ComSubPac – Fire!” Sparks relayed over the Com.

With pleasure, Chip thought as he simultaneously depressed the mic.

“Fire Chief!”

Four torpedoes fired in salvo closed the distance on the Calistoga as Ski called out distance to target. The torpedoes traveled the distance broadsiding her in less than thirty seconds and producing four explosive impacts resulting in the total loss of the renegade submarine.

“Scratch one Super Brain,” Chip deadpanned as he watched the dark ocean light up with the destruction and ordered the crew to prepare for approaching shockwaves. The boat rocked back and forth several times as Chip held on tight to the periscope island until Seaview finally leveled out finding her trim again.

“Ski, where's FS1?” he asked turning toward Sonar.

“On the bottom Captain, 600 yards off our starboard, bearing zero-six-seven degrees relative.”

“Mr. O'Brien, secure battle stations and inform ComSubPac that the Calistoga has been destroyed. Helm, turn to heading zero-six-seven...” Chip ordered closing the distance on the flying sub and hoping that Lee and Harry had survived the Super Brain's final attack.

* * * * *

FS1 took a direct hit, losing power and falling hard as Harry yelled over his shoulder.

“Hold tight, Lee. We're going down!”

Neither one was strapped in so the ride down was tumultuous as was the hard landing that followed, as the flying sub slammed into the ocean floor. Sand and sediment produced a cloudy view out FS1's windows that was overpowered by the red glow of multiple explosions followed seconds later by shock waves that battered the flying sub even more.

The red emergency lights flickered on as Lee breathed heavily and turned from his stomach to his back, with new bruises on his face to show for the crash.

“Are you alright, Lee?” Harry said taking a knee over him, a stream of blood sliding down following a path from his temple to his shirt collar, having slammed into the controls during the crash landing.

Lee smiled. “I'm good Sir,” he answered sitting up as Harry aided his attempt. “How about you?”

“A dandy of a headache but I'll be fine,” Harry replied as they looked out FS1's window.

“Looks like Seaview just took care of the Super Brain,” Harry said helping Lee into the co-pilot's chair and then heading for a blanket for his shivering friend as the difference in environments between the two subs produced a chill.

“I can't say I'm sorry, Sir,” Lee said pulling the blanket tighter as Harry placed a hand on his shoulder while they watched the welcoming lights of Seaview's approach.

* * * * *

Chip was waiting at the hatch in the nose as Seaview's emergency retrieval unit snugged the flying sub into its berth with its magnetic arms. The sound of the bay being pumped of excess water was heard as the green indicator light signaled the all-clear to open the hatch.

Lee's dark hair, damp from sweat was the first thing he saw climbing up the ladder as he stopped half-way up and addressed Chip.

“Permission to come aboard, Captain?” He asked with a grin, as Chip was still in official command of Seaview.

“Permission granted,” Chip said with his own grin and then reached to help him up as it was clear by the black burn marks on his uniform that Lee was headed to Sickbay.

Harry was next up, the blood from his forehead signaling a trip to Sickbay as well as Chip exercised the privilege of his current role as Captain to herd the pair to Jamie's domain.

“Mr. O'Brien you have the Con, I'll be in Sickbay with the Admiral and the Skipper if you need me.”

Lee just smiled. “Very well Captain Morton, lead the way,” he said with a chuckle, ecstatic to be back aboard Seaview and proud of his Crew for their part in defeating the Super Brain.

* * * * *

Frank cleaned Harry's forehead and applied a butterfly bandage as Jamie tended to Lee's first and second degree burns. As he worked Lee gave Harry and Chip a short and condensed run-down of the events from his end. Jamie raised an eyebrow when Lee got to the part of the electric shock that rendered him unconscious for two hours and ordered an EKG, then nearly jumped out of his skin when Lee informed him he took a second, less powerful jolt as well. That bit of information was enough to order Lee to stay in Sickbay for observation through the night; this time Lee didn't fight it. He was just too tired, he'd serve his penance and then be set free to his cabin to recover. He couldn't take the Con anyway, as he still had the pesky little detail of being on temporary duty assignment. It was all a formality that would be straightened out by the time they reached Pearl tomorrow afternoon.

He showered, changed and enjoyed a hot meal and before he knew it was asleep without any aid from Jamie's hypo in a Sickbay bunk. He was out to the world, enjoying his first real sleep in nearly three days as he slept clear through to lunch, not waking until 1300 hours the next day.

Lee was cleared from Sickbay, but not to duty which at this point didn’t distress him at all. Chip had taken Seaview out and met the Super Brain head-on coming out on top in the final assessment; he deserved to command the Boat all the way back to Pearl.

He was currently working on the Report he knew ComSubPac wanted and was busy at his desk when he heard a rap at the door.

“Come,” he answered distractedly as he finished writing his thought down.

Chip entered, pleased at seeing Lee up and about and fully dressed. A tray sitting to the side indicated he had eaten, no doubt Cookie delivering it personally even though the Skipper missed lunch.

Lee put the period down on the page with flare and then sat back with a modified stretch, wincing slightly when he forgot and moved his shoulder too much.

“Hey Chip. How's it going down there?” he asked motioning Chip to the visitor's chair.

“On course and schedule for Pearl, I'll be taking to the Conning Tower at 1530 hours if you want to get some fresh air.”

“Sounds good,” he said leaning forward picking up the pen and playing with it as he spoke. “So how are repairs coming on FS1?”

“DC wants it for another day to run diagnostics on the systems; it took a pretty good jolt.”

“Yeah, I can testify to that,” Lee offered with a grin.

“Have you talked with the Admiral today?” Chip asked leaning back and taking a load off his feet.

“Yeah, he dropped by earlier. He told me Starke was keen on getting my report, he wants it ready for the debriefing when he hit Pearl.”

“Should I let you go?” Chip asked, not wanting to slow Lee's progress down.

Lee waved him off. “No, I'm almost done and could use a break.” He took a deep breath and looked over the desk, still holding the pen in both hands.

“You know Chip I have to tell you, you did a bang-up job going head on with the Super Brain,” he offered in honest sincerity. “I knew you were the right man for the job,” he added as he reached over the desk for a handshake.

Chip responded, humbled by Lee's gesture as he reached across the desk to return the shake, holding onto the grasp as he spoke.

“Thanks Lee. Starke told me you went to bat for me, it means a lot to me,” he offered sincerely and then finished the shake with their mutual respect passing through their eyes.

Chip leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out, nodding towards the report.

“You know, I'm curious myself what happened over there,” he said.

Lee sat back as well. “You'll get the full story at the briefing but the Admiral told me that the Super Brain wouldn't have found you on that second pass if it hadn't of hacked into my log.”

“You identified us?” Chip asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah, silent running isn't completely silent. I knew what to listen for,” he added softening the blow. “The Brain apparently didn't and the Admiral tells me it enacted some all-encompassing directive that it felt gave authorization to snoop out my log.”

“You mean it cheated?” Chip stated raising an eyebrow.

“You could say that. Then it decided I was an enemy agent on board and that's where the battle scars came from,” he explained. “It even tried to sabotage my escape by breaking the seal on the Escape Trunk.”

Chip blew an incredulous whistle, shaking his head in the process. “Sounds like it got personal.”

“That's the way it felt. You know Chip,” he said tossing the pen on the desk and stretching back in his own chair. “...the Super Brain was as cold and calculating as any megalomaniac villain we've ever come across. It worked on sheer logic but it had no gut instincts to question its own conclusions, just statistics and probabilities. In the end it was just a machine that did exactly what it was programmed to do; the danger is in the fact that wisdom isn't just knowledge and facts. Its experience tempered with good judgment and morals to guide its duty,” Lee finished philosophically.

“Is that what you're going to write in your report?”

“That and a few choice words for its programmer thinking that ‘Win at any cost’ could produce anything but the results we saw. I can't endorse the Super Brain, it’s not up to me but I stand by my assessment that all the computing ability of the world's smartest computer can't take the place of a man's gut feelings,” he finished resolutely as Chip nodded in agreement.

“Well, I better let you finish. I've got some reports of my own to finish before we make port,” Chip said standing and heading for the door.

“Very well Captain,” Lee said with a smile as Chip turned toward him with a twinkle in his eye still holding the door knob.

“I may be Seaview's Captain for the next few hours, but everyone knows who her Skipper is,” he offered with a small grin and left before Lee could reply.

Chapter Thirteen

Admiral Jiggs Starke sat back taking in the reports from Morton and Crane. It was a rather large debriefing as General Keeter traveled all the way from Washington to assess the fact that the Super Brain had been destroyed in the War Games. Dr. Talbot and Mr. Reston were both present as well offering their technical analysis for the decisions the Brain made, indeed they had the Brain's diagnostics for every decision rendered and thousands of decision trees to analyze for improving the feasibility of such a computer in the future. Reston was reinstated for future service and Dr. Talbot was forced to publically admit he was wrong, admitting that Reston's lack of a doctoral degree had prejudiced him against the obviously ingenious man. Indeed, Talbot's continuance with the project was in major question as he had knowingly “stacked the deck” against Lee in his observatory role providing no extra hands to truly gauge a human captain's orders against the computer.

Harry's part in defusing the rogue computer had not gone unnoticed and the fact that Seaview's Command Team had been intricately involved in the entire solution was also well noted.

The meeting finally adjourned as Lee made a point to stop and talk to Peter Reston.

“I want to thank you Mr. Reston for not only questioning the Super Brain's Directive but for acting on your beliefs. I'm quite sure you save my life,” he said with an extended hand.

Reston took his hand accepting Lee's gratitude and shook, offering a smile in return.

“You know Captain Crane,” he said as Lee's temporary duty had officially been terminated. “You made some very good observations about the Super Brain's Directive 51A, but can you see the value in continuing the project with responsible programming?”

“I think the Brain could be a valuable tool in the hands of a captain... a human captain,” he clarified. “But even then, I saw the computer observe, analyze, and logically come up with the wrong conclusion.”

“I can understand your lack of faith, but the computer is a machine; it only does what we tell it to do,” Reston defended.

“Then I question the arrogance of man that believes you can put a war machine into the hands of a computer and program every possible contingency for it to compute properly,” Lee said with confidence. “No Mr. Reston, I would still rather put my life in the hands of a well-trained man of conscious and duty in the middle of a battle.”

“Ah, what was that Dr. Talbot called it? The... Human Computer?” Reston said with a smile.

Lee returned the smile, “I guess you could call it that.”

“Well you needn't worry about the Brain, Captain Crane. We'll be spending quite some time trying to figure out why it did what it did, and just how it managed to do it.” Reston softened his approach and turned quite introspective. “Perhaps the place for the Brain isn't in the military but in space, where exploration of uninhabited planets is infeasible for our astronauts to reach,” Reston suggested, letting Lee know where he was planning on taking the project as Lee nodded in approval.

“Well I'd say they've got the right man for the job, Mr. Reston,” Lee said shaking his hand again in farewell.

* * * * *

Seaview's Command Trio made its way down the steps of the Command Center at Pearl Harbor; they walked three abreast as Lee made his way with the temporary use of a cane, his preference over crutches for his healing leg.

“Commander Morton?”

The three stopped and turned as Chip responded to his name.

“Aye Sir?” Chip replied to Admiral Jiggs Starke.

“A word if you please,” Jiggs ordered as Chip “Aye Sir'd” and moved back up the steps to answer the Admiral's hail while Lee and Harry continued down out of hearing range and waited for their car.

They conversed for several minutes, their conversation ending with Chip's salute as Starke took the steps down to his car, turning toward Harry as his aide opened the door.

“Dinner tomorrow, Harriman. We'll be expecting you,” then climbed in his staff car at Harry's nod at Jiggs' and Harriet's invitation as the aide drove away.

“So what was that all about?” Lee asked in easy camaraderie.

“He said he had a boat for me when I was ready to return to active duty,” Chip said with a raise of his eyebrow.

“Congratulations Chip, you deserve it,” Lee offered sincerely.

“I told him I was happy where I was for the time being,” Chip added without missing a beat and looking the Admiral straight in the eyes passing his own respect and friendship for the man who had seen something in him and offered him the chance to be a plank owner of Seaview.

“It’s a chance of lifetime, Chip,” Harry reminded him.

“I know Sir, but Starke assured me it would be waiting for me by the time I make Commander,” he replied with confidence, “And right now I can’t think of any place I’d rather serve than Seaview.”

All three smiled and chuckled in the sentimental moment until Harry broke the emotion with a good natured pat on both their shoulders just as Lt. O'Brien pulled up having been invited to join the Command Team for a dinner celebrating Seaview's excellent showing in the War Games.

“Well Gentlemen, I've got a nice restaurant all picked out,” Harry announced as O'Brien opened the Admiral's car door, a bit nervous at joining the Command Team for dinner but honored that his role of XO had been deemed a part of the success. It was all a bit surreal to the young lieutenant to be counted among these three men; they were the things legends were made of and each one the type of intrepid hero he wanted to be like.

Bobby held the door for the Admiral as he climbed in the front passenger seat as Mr. Morton and Captain Crane took the backseat, then hurried around the front of the car and settled into the driver's side ready to put the car in gear.

“Where to, Sir?” he asked.

“The finest Five Star Restaurant on the Island. I uh... hope you brought your checkbook along Lieutenant,” Harry deadpanned as Bobby's eyes widened, quickly calculating if he could afford footing the bill for four at such a fine eating establishment. His shocked countenance faded as Harry's chuckle was joined by like sounds from the backseat as Bobby realized he'd just been had. He grinned as Harry's light chuckle grew in strength into a delightful laugh that set the mood of casual camaraderie for the night as Bobby put the car in gear and drove off in the company of the finest officers in any man's navy.

The End

Return of the Super Brain

Credits and Notes:

My story contains plots, storyline and paraphrases from The Human Computer, a first season episode written by Robert Hammer, directed by James Goldstone, original air-date February 15, 1965.

*WHN – Fanfiction jargon meaning: What Happens Next, usually referring to either a sequel or follow-up story to an existing episode.

**See Second Season episode, The Machines Strike Back written by John and Ward Hawkins, directed by Nathan Juran, original air date December 12, 1965.

***See my story Response and Responsibility for my back story to Jiggs' opinion of Captain Crane, a scene-filler for the First Season episode Mutiny, written by William Read Woodfield, directed by Sobey Martin, original air date January 11, 1965.

Research on Sonar, Hydrophones and Silent Running, obtained through the resources of www.wikipedia.org

Submarine Emergency Evacuation Research:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_trunk https://en.wiki2.org/wiki/Deep-submergence_rescue_vehicle

http://www.eugeneleeslover.com/VIDEOS/Submarine_Escape_Trunk.html

Please note that the procedures for the video on this sight are for a Virginia Class Sub, built from 2000 to present which was twenty years ahead of the technology of Voyage and could be used at depths of 600 feet and less as opposed to the then technology of 400 feet; while I used the deep depth technology for my story the newly developed escape suits were not yet available to my fiction world. JCB – Just covering my bases.

Also, a bit of extrapolation on my part was required to explain certain elements of FS1's coupling procedure, my apologies to the submariners for any mistakes on my part.

My thanks to Chris B for sharing invaluable research from http://maritime.org/doc/fleetsub/sonar/chap1.htm

Episode credits sourced from Mike's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Zone.

Copyright 2015, All Rights Reserved

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and her main characters belong to Irwin Allen