Chapter 543

Chapter 543: Pandora’s Box

“Report to headquarters, we took it out! Damn it, we lost two teams of brothers, and we need to confirm that we’ve torn that guy apart.”

Four armed Cheyenne helicopters circled above the remains of the enemy aircraft still burning on the ground. They unsparingly fired their nose-mounted Six-Barreled Gatling Machine Guns at the ground, trying to eliminate any potential survivors, until their ammunition ran out.

Just ten seconds earlier, four air-to-air missiles had almost simultaneously struck the unknown model rotorcraft that was trying to escape, creating a large firework display in the sky.

Finally, that damned thing was shot down.

“Received! Leave two helicopters to search for any survivors; the others head back. Someone will come to secure the scene in half an hour.”

“Roger that, headquarters! Number two and number three will stay; number five, come back with me! What a truly unlucky day.”

Two Cheyenne helicopters remained on-site, continuing their patrol, while the other two turned around and headed toward the Skunk Works factory in Palmdale.

Two minutes ago, they had set the automatic flight parameters to lure away Lockheed’s four Cheyennes, and while releasing infrared flares to disrupt the enemy’s night vision equipment, White Wolf and Yellow Sparrow quietly disengaged from the aircraft, approaching Las Vegas.

Like Yellow Sparrow, he wore tactical gear that could avoid infrared detection. The Flying Wolf was designed for stealth infiltration, and its escape equipment was entirely different from standard search and rescue gear.

…

At Area 51, the hangar where four F/A-XX fighter jets rested remained brightly lit. The dozens of floodlights on the ceiling made the hangar almost indistinguishable from daytime.

The steaming coffee and snacks on the table provided them with continuous energy, along with a few heaters radiating intense warmth, and of course, the strong smell of kerosene filled the air.

The area around Area 51 was not only desolate but also had significant temperature differences between day and night. During the day, a T-shirt or shirt might suffice, but at night, a coat to retain body heat was essential.

The project leader for Adam, along with several senior engineers, surrounded a large desk that could seat ten, constantly typing on their laptops.

It was already midnight, but they were still wide awake.

Even now, they continued to refine the source code for the Adam system.

Four mechanics were busily checking and tuning the system in preparation for the test flight scheduled for dawn.

Adam was not a civilian operating system platform or a game; it was an intelligent combat system featuring a high degree of autonomy and learning capability—perhaps the true beginning of human intelligent technology.

In short, this had to be a starting point; anyone who pioneered and worked hard to develop such a system would dominate the distribution of future resources.

Only success was allowed; failure was not an option.

This was a strict order from the high-ranking chairman of Boeing; even a minor mistake could lead to being kicked back home to live off old rice, with the possibility of having to clean up and rot behind bars.

Aside from the mechanics diligently reading the onboard Adam system’s parameters and whispering to each other, the most prevalent sound in the hangar was the unceasing clicking of keyboards.

The soldiers stationed inside and outside the hangar were silent and vigilant, their eyes unblinking.

The emergence of Adam was a coincidence, merely a gamble using chaos collision theory. Fortunately, this project team invested a long time and immense resources and endured significant pressure, finally achieving success with an intelligent core that possessed learning mechanisms. Their efforts had finally paid off.

“Professor Jeffrey, do we really need to grant N-level access or higher? That doesn’t seem right.”

A senior engineer hesitated, pausing before the final step of encapsulating a source code module he was working on. They had only ever opened it up to G-level, even during internal testing.

The Adam unmanned combat system was restricted by a security authorization program known as “Pandora’s Box,” with operational authorization levels divided into 26 tiers.

From A to Z, A being the lowest allowed level, meaning complete module lockdown, and only the core could operate, while Z being the highest, allowed all functional modules to run.

“That’s right, Adam can demonstrate sufficient intelligence and application capabilities for flight demonstrations. It’s only a one-day unlock; we can control it, and taking a little risk is worth it.”

Professor Jeffrey Hodge reviewed the engineers’ source code, confirming its correctness before locking the code, allowing the software engineers to use their laptops’ processing resources for obfuscation.

The key to the intelligent core lies in learning and control. The spontaneous learning mechanism stems from the chaos collision theory, but controlling it is what Boeing has been working on all along.

It’s like teaching a newly born child; they need to teach Adam what is acceptable and what is not, instilling rules so that it doesn’t grow up unchecked and create terrible consequences.

Without these rules, Adam could evolve into the most terrifying program in human history, exhibiting unprecedented aggression, not just based on software, but also on hardware, extending its aggression into the real world.

No one knows what degree of complexity the inherently evolved mechanisms of Adam will reach.

Boeing’s long-term work involves domesticating an unknown creature, equipping it with controllable claws and attack capabilities, targeting their set objectives to achieve the desired results.

Even though Adam has never displayed any evil or ferocity and is quite obedient so far, no one dares to let their guard down. Too many movies and public concerns have kept all project team members on high alert. Hence, the specially designed 26-tier security authorization of the “Pandora’s Box” program ensures everything is kept in Boeing’s or, in other words, humanity’s hands.

“Alright, Professor Jeffrey!”

The engineer pressed the enter key, and a progress bar appeared on the screen.

“Great job, Logan! Everyone, let’s push hard to finish everything before dawn. Once the test flight is complete, I’ll give you all a week-long paid vacation!”

Professor Jeffrey Hodge planned to loosen the reins on this armed beast a bit. His words made all the software engineers cheer quietly, bumping fists with each other. After working tirelessly, they could finally catch a breath.

The 26 levels of security permissions of the “Pandora’s Box” mechanism were undoubtedly their best reins.

In ancient Greek, “Pan” means “all,” and “Dora” means “gift,” referring to a gift from the gods to humanity.

The meaning of “Pandora’s Box” aligns with the myth, serving to restrain and seal, specifically used to securely store Adam.

Tomorrow could bring a spectacular performance for everyone, and if luck is on their side, they might even finalize the orders for the next generation of fighter jets ahead of time. If the project leader succeeds, he could stand out among many teams and be promoted to a real department manager.

Being the department manager in charge of a fighter jet holds immense promise for the future, and Jeffrey Hodge couldn’t help but get lost in thought for a few seconds.

“Mine is ready! Jeffrey!”

Another engineer let out a long sigh of relief, stopping his typing and waving his hand at Jeffrey Hodge.

“Good job, Jack! Our progress has jumped forward again. Everyone can get a bit more time to catch up on sleep. You truly are the most meticulous one in our project team. Excellent work! You’ll be responsible for the overall integration and upgrades on these four planes.”

Jeffrey Hodge quickly scanned through the lines of source code, ran a test, and confirmed everything was correct. He felt assured, as the progress surpassed his expectations.

As he prepared to return the source code for obfuscation, he felt a bit thirsty and tired, so he reached for his coffee cup.

Jeffrey Hodge didn’t notice that while reaching for the coffee cup, his hand inadvertently touched the keyboard, causing an additional symbol to appear among the dense lines of source code. As he sipped his coffee and continued to operate, he quickly completed the forwarding steps.

“No problem, chief!”

Software engineer Jack Wells opened his work bag, revealing two identical large-capacity blank USB drives. He hesitated for a moment and chose the one on the right.

A nearby mechanic seemed to throw Jack a meaningful glance, seemingly intentional, as that USB drive was the one he had given Jack Wells four hours earlier.

This little drive, identical to Boeing’s internal secure drives, had quietly arrived at Area 51 thirteen hours earlier.

Its manufacturer was not any USB drive producer in the world, but rather a longtime rival of Boeing, and this rival was not at their first attempt at this.

It seemed that software engineer Jack Wells made a decision, as he directly plugged the USB drive into his laptop to begin gathering various functional modules and downloading Adam’s intelligent core program.

Ten minutes before dawn, Boeing’s Adam project team finally completed their work. All functional modules, including the intelligent core of Adam, were consolidated onto Jack Wells’ Boeing internal USB drive.

This USB drive was not merely for data storage and encryption; it secretly contained a small program.

No one noticed that upon the complete import of the program, a mysterious code segment was automatically loaded into Adam’s intelligent core and all functional modules.

Clearly, some people were not keen on Boeing’s flight demonstration proceeding too smoothly.

Until the system upgrade of the four F/A-XX fighters was complete, no one realized that the enhanced Adam unmanned combat system exhibited any abnormalities. All functional modules were operating normally, and even a bit more nimbly than usual.

“Indeed, it’s N-level permissions; Adam, my dear, you’re much smarter now than before.”

Professor Jeffrey Hodge was very pleased with this.