8: The Golden Lotus

AI in the Battlespace: Chapter 8

8: The Golden Lotus

It’s getting late in the bar. Kee tries to remember how many whiskies he’s had, how many glasses of wine Lin has enjoyed. She’s sitting close on his right; he watches with detachment as his hand moves to cover hers. She does not draw away.

He thinks it over in a tired and muzzy way. Everything he’s said tonight is in the public domain - he has not been indiscreet at all. He has nothing to be concerned about. He’s unattached and so is Lin, there are no personal barriers or difficulties here.

But they’re both Chinese-American: he’s a senior military officer, privy to many secrets; she’s a reporter. The powers which keep an eye on such things might take a very dim view.

The hell with it.

He squeezes her hand, says, “Want to come up to my room for coffee?”

She gives him a wonderfully warm smile.

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Before she met up with her old friend in the hotel bar, Yuan Lin had already discovered there were a number of Chinese-Americans at the ‘AI in the Battlespace’ symposium. Given the current state of US politics, the bullying stance taken against China, it was not hard to get an impression as she circulated amongst the delegates afterwards. No-one ever said anything classified, it was all general stuff. They’d all been incessantly warned about that. They all knew to be careful with a reporter.

And she’s quite open about that. Her job isn’t covert, she’s not an operative, she's just there to get background, a sense of where the effort's going. She would never dream of getting her friend Kee into trouble. He’s a nice guy and surely has a bright future ahead of him.

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Kee lies on his side in the sumptuous double bed feeling Lin’s hot smooth skin pressed into his back. Her arm curves possessively around his waist. He’s warm, comfortable, tired and happy.

Lin, it turned out, was a serious student of the sixteenth century Chinese classic, Jin Ping Mei by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng. It has become notorious in the English-speaking world for its fetishistic passages; Americans knew it as The Golden Lotus. Kee had been astonished and impressed by her knowledge, application and enthusiasm. Now all he wants is to get some sleep: busy day tomorrow.

Lin’s mind, however, still appears to be racing.

“There was this piece in The Onion,” she says, “about Putin addressing Ukrainian oligarchs in the Donbass, the part the Russians occupy. He talks about all the support, the cash and the business the Russian government is going to push their way. He's really buttering them up.”

Kee grunts half-heartedly. Trying to decide whether she’s going to stop so he can slide into welcome sleep or whether he’s going to have to wake up a bit and concentrate.

Lin continues implacably.

“This piece, I know it's meant to be satire, said there was a video of Putin making all these promises in some hotel in Donetsk. A smartphone clip. It was circulating in Moscow amongst business leaders who hadn’t been invited. They reckoned they were being pretty badly short-changed by all this selective largesse.”

Kee abandons immediate hopes of sleep. She's impossible to be angry with.

“What of it?” he says.

“Well, it was a real piece of work. They said the clip was factually accurate but that it wasn’t made by anyone in attendance. The security inside was absolute. Some distant drone bounced a laser off a window and that’s how they got Putin’s words; and then someone got into the room later and took pictures so they could get the interiors right. Ironically, they used AI to do Putin giving the speech Putin actually gave. Fooled everyone. Only a state actor could have done such a pro job.”

Kee looks at her in the dimly-lit room. The duvet has fallen away as she faces him resting her weight on the pillow, her breasts obscured by the ebb and flow of her long fine hair. It’s hard to concentrate on what she’s saying.

“They claimed the Israelis did it. Is that right, d'you think?”

Kee actually knows quite a bit about this. The idea came from a state-of-the-art military AI called Argos. The resulting discord in Putin’s support base made the operation a real political success story. Cyber Command, which developed Argos, has shared in the glory. It’s all super-secret.

He permits himself this: “Hey kid, if it was the Israelis, it’s only because we asked them to do it. For deniability.”

He laughs; it’s a joke. After a second, she laughs too. She's not going to push it. She leans over and kisses him. Not passion. Just an end to conversation. They snuggle down together.

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Yuan Lin puts her arm around Liu Kee and squeezes him affectionately. In deepening slumber he is oblivious. Tomorrow she'll check Telegram where she'll find some new quixotic questions. These assignments are a delight. They're like that Onion question, so interesting and so unpredictable.

What will she be asked to do next?

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