Chapter 142

Shambhala

Recent events had brought changes to the normal daily routine of the city. Disclosure of the program made possible the relocation of many academics and scientific personnel from Earth. Accompanied by their families, several thousand people had flowed in through the gate to begin making the new city their home. In this throng of newcomers was also an assortment being sent for another purpose.

In embassies around the world on Earth, many agencies maintained Attaché's for various functions. The newly assigned legal attaché of Shambhala was Special Agent Dan O'Dell, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Accompanying him during his trip to the city was a forensic investigation team. Their assignment was to investigate the recent death of Chancellor Travell.

A thorough examination of the Chancellors body had revealed no signs of foul play. Further examination of her quarters had turned up nothing to suggest this was nothing more than a simple suicide. Her status as Chancellor, and the fact that she was on trial when she ended her life made a thorough examination of events surrounding her death a political necessity. Sitting in Camille Wray's office debating the investigative results uncovered so far was Wray, Doctor Bill Lee, and Special Agent O'Dell. At the moment they found themselves reviewing security feed footage of the last moments of Travell's life.

"You put a security camera in her quarters" asked O'Dell somewhat shocked.

"No Agent O'Dell, we did not" protested Wray.

"Then how did you come by this footage" demanded O'Dell.

"The city is laced with sensors. At any second the city is recording and evaluating everything that happens within it. Shambhala is sentient actually. She's watching everything and getting to know everyone. The neural interface is incredibly complex, and knows you better than you know yourself after a short time. Therein is the problem with this situation" answered Lee.

"And what problem is that Doctor" asked O'Dell.

"Shambhala has a prime directive to safeguard her inhabitants. Suicidal thoughts for example, would have been detected by the neural interface and the city would have reacted. Personnel would have been notified, and a lockdown protocol of the Chancellors quarters would have initiated, preventing her access to the balcony" replied Lee.

"Are you saying she was murdered" demanded Wray.

"Ok Doc, you lost me. I'm not a tech guy at all. Pretend for a moment that I didn't just learn about aliens and cities on other worlds" replied O'Dell.

"The Chancellor fell from her balcony, we all agree on that point. What I'm getting at is the city should have prevented her from ever getting to the balcony to jump in the first place. Once she jumped another protocol should have initiated to beam her to safety. In this case, neither of those two things happened. When I realized that I started to dig in the mainframe for answers" said Lee.

"What kind of answers are we talking about here" asked O'Dell.

"I was under the assumption that perhaps someone found a way to override the safety protocols, but that would mean someone knew she was going to jump. Then I started looking for evidence that the security footage may have been tampered with, but found none. That really stumped me for a minute until I started walking around the city" hinted Lee.

"Please explain Doctor" urged Wray.

"I think we can all agree that she wasn't the most popular woman in the city. At first I expected a sense of outrage or paranoia since she died in the middle of a trial, but I found nothing like that. Walking around the city I noticed that the Tollan's seemed relieved she took this route out. That really didn't make any sense to me at all" replied Lee.

"Are you going somewhere with this" asked O'Dell.

"Well, yes. After I saw their reactions, I went back and started digging in the mainframe again. The AI is sentient after all, and you can query it for answers. So that's what I did. Essentially, the city judged the effect and outcome if she jumped and decided that it was in the best interests of the city's population to allow her to do so" explained Lee.

"That's preposterous Bill" argued Wray.

"Um Doc, are you saying the city helped her kill herself" asked O'Dell.

"Yes and no. Look at the facts here. Had she been found guilty certain elements of the Tollan's would have been outraged. Had she been found innocent, other elements of the Tollan's would have been equally unhappy. By ending her life before a judgment could be reached, outrage on either side was averted. It had a calming effect for the Tollan's. The city knew that since she can monitor the inhabitants with the neural interface. The city in effect found the solution to keep the peace. Shambhala didn't so much kill Travell as it prevented her from being saved. If you look at it from a clinical perspective, as a machine would, it makes perfect sense" argued Lee.

"So are you or aren't you saying the city killed her Doc" asked O'Dell.

"This is ridiculous" raged Wray.

"Why don't we activate the AI's avatar and ask then" challenged Lee.

Thinking it over for a second, Wray was unsure how to proceed. On one hand she wanted answers, and on the other she feared the answers she might find. After a brief moment of thought, Wray entered the activation code into her Ipad to bring to life the avatar of Shambhala. Seconds later, shimmering into existence before them stood the female figure of Oma Desala.

"I thank you for activating my avatar Ms. Wray. I am Gaia, how may I assist you" asked the avatar.

"Gaia as in mother earth" asked O'Dell.

"Yes Special Agent O'Dell. It is the name and image selected for me by members of Stargate Command" replied Gaia kindly.

"Gaia, we have something we wish to discuss with you and we need answers. Will you please provide the answers we seek" asked Wray.

"Of Course I will. My purpose is to assist you in any way possible" replied Gaia.

"This is just neat" beamed Lee.

"Gaia, did you have any part in the events that ended Chancellor Travell's life" asked O'Dell.

"I did" responded the avatar.

"Great, we've got a homicidal AI. That's just perfect" gasped Wray.

"After evaluating the possible outcomes any verdict of the judicial proceedings against the Chancellor may have brought about, I came to the conclusion that a guilty and a not guilty verdict would lead to calamity for my inhabitants. As you are aware, my duty is to assure the safety and welfare of my inhabitants. When the Chancellor came to the conclusion that suicide was the path she wished to follow, I recalculated the possible outcomes. It was this recalculation that showed the most promising outcome" replied Gaia.

"So you helped a woman kill herself" thundered Wray.

"No, I don't think that's it at all. Think about it for a second. On Atlantis, if a biological contaminant is detected, the city goes into a lock down protective mode for the safety of the city. If a verdict would have brought about riots, then this is a similar safety measure" explained Lee.

"The Doctor is correct. The Chancellor's death while tragic was necessary. A verdict either way would have brought about conflict among the Tollan people and that conflict would have grown to encompass all who inhabit my halls. Her death alleviated the concern entirely. I initiated a security lockdown around the Chancellor to prevent interference of her end. This brought about peace and stability to the population. It was the only way" stated Gaia.

"So, while you didn't kill her you didn't exactly stop her, right" asked O'Dell.

"That is correct Special Agent O'Dell" responded the avatar.

"Then you're a part of this woman's death" shouted Wray.

"Her death was necessary to ensure the safety of the many other lives within my halls. The safety of the many outweighed the safety of the few. While I understand your outrage, I do ask that you understand the need to safeguard those who call this city home" replied Gaia patiently.