There had to be a way.
Pausing, Frank felt the sweat cold on his face, his hands, and arms. His back was chilled at the touch of his wet shirt. He typed another command, desperate and feeling desperate: GEO, I AM ADVISING YOU OF A COMPUTER ERROR. LEVIATHAN HAS NOT ESCAPED. LEVIATHAN IS STILL IN THE CONTAINMENT CAVERN. THE TRACKING DEVICE IS NONFUNCTIONAL. IT IS NECESSARY TO DEACTIVATE FAIL-SAFE UNTIL TRACKING DEVICE IS REPAIRED.
Response: GEO DOES NOT PERCEIVE TRACKING DEVICE AS NONFUNCTIONAL.
Frank lifted the headset, unable to keep his communication with GEO on a terminal level. “GEO, this is Dr. Frank.”
“Voice control identified.”
“It is imperative that you allow me to access Logic Core. Do you understand?”
“I understand. It is not possible for Dr. Frank to access Logic Core. All program paths to Logic Core have been closed with the implementation of fail-safe procedures. Logic Core cannot be reached by terminal control or voice control until—”
“Terminate answer.”
Exhausted, Frank leaned forward, face in his hands. There had to be a way. There had to be a way. Nothing was impossible. Not with this computer. It was the embodiment of Rachel's living neural network, the height of artificial science. Almost a living, breathing intelligence. In its deepest essence it was almost … human.
Opening his eyes, Frank stared at the screen. “GEO,” he asked quietly, watching the screen although the answer would come from the speaker system. “Is Cyberspace Mode accessible? Is the Cyberspace Mode accessible in a Fail-safe Mode?”
A pause: “Yes.”
Frank noticed that Chesterton was staring. He met the colonel's questioning gaze with an air of horrific fate. Hesitantly he continued: “GEO, is the Viral Defense Program activated for Cyberspace interface with Logic Core?”
“All viral defenses are activated against Cyberspace interface with Logic Core. Any entity entering Cyberspace to interface with Logic Core will be neutralized by Viral Defense Program.”
That was it. Frank saw it in a breath, understood their only chance to defeat the fail-safe, if it was truly any chance at all. He asked, “GEO, what is the status of Brubaker Passage and Omega Passage? What is the structural integrity?”
“Omega Passage is unstable. Brubaker Passage to the Computer Cavern is intact and functioning on emergency lighting.”
Frank knew the corridors weren't functioning on emergency lighting because Connor had bypassed the main breaker, routing power to the entire facility. But he also knew that GEO couldn't realize that.
“GEO,” he asked again, “do you have sufficient battery backup to initiate a Cyberspace contact with Dr. Frank? Can you access sufficient electrical power for a Cyberspace connection?”
“Yes.”
Frank stood, turning to face Chesterton.
“What are you thinking about doing, Doctor?”
“I'm going into Cyberspace to reach GEO's Logic Core,” Frank responded. “But I have to get to the cavern where GEO's mainframe is located. If I can get into Cyberspace, then I might stand a chance of reaching the neural net and interfacing with the Logic Core. There's a chance I can disarm the fail-safe.”
“Doesn't sound like much of a chance, Frank. I heard that thing say that it would kill anyone entering Cyberspace.”
“It's better than no chance at all, Chesterton.”
Chesterton stared. “Can you really do it?”
“I can't do it alone. I'm going to need someone to work a secondary terminal. They're going to have to disarm the viral defenses that will be attacking me while I'm in Cyberspace.”
Chesterton shook his head. “You're out of luck, son. I don't know diddly about computers.”
“I do,” Beth said from the doorway of the complex. “I know about computers, Frank. In fact, I know a lot about computers.” She paused, turning to Chesterton. “I've broken the encryption that Blake and Adler set on the satellite system, Colonel. I set the Clays to work on it while we were gone and I've just checked it. It's finished. I've got an image and I think it'll work. I think I can get through to the satellite with it.”
Chesterton staggered, stepping forward. “Thank ... Thank you, Beth! I never really thought that anybody could do it! Really!”
“Well it's done, Colonel.” She paused. “Do you want me to access the satellite?”
A long, hard hesitation, and Chesterton leaned over, hands on his knees. He finally straightened, frowning. “No, Beth. Not now. We're too close to the detonation of this fail-safe. And I'm not sure that we can get out of here in time.” Hesitation. “I don't want the North Atlantic Sea Patrol on top of this island when that bomb goes off. We're going to have to kill that thing first. Or be close to killing it.”