<P>Tiberius pulled up a chair and sat down. Fatigue was beginning to overwhelm his consciousness, and he hoped he wouldn't pass out during Carson's conversation. Doctor Carson continued, apparently not noticing that Tiberius had even moved.
<P>
<P>"The abilities of these entities were dependent on their understanding and awareness of the entire network as well as humanity. Naturally, since the network does not currently exist, it is impossible for us to allow Zeus access to it in order to learn and evolve to the same level of function."
<P>
<P>"So how do we deal with this?" Tiberius asked, exhausted. He was slumped forward, his elbows resting on his legs and his eyes staring widely at the projector.
<P>
<P>"The archives and backup systems still exist at the laboratory where Daedalus and Icarus were created. We simply need to take the most recent version and perform an imprint onto the new AI's consciousness."
<P>
<P>"So you're going to send me in there to grab both backups while the new AI goes online? Don't tell me you need them right away."
<P>
<P>"Obviously I wouldn't send you right this moment. And we don't need both AIs. There would be too much overlap for it to be worth it. We only need the Icarus AI for the imprint. It should be more up-to-date and easier to work with once the imprint is complete."
<P>
<P>"And this facility is in the United States? That means I won't need a translator..."
<P>
<P>"Actually, from this point on I will be assigning another agent to work with you. The nature of your objective makes it far too risky to send you in alone."
<P>
<P>"Someone else" Tiberius yawned. "Someone who's augmented like me?"
<P>
<P>"No," said Carson, shaking his head. "I'm afraid not. Augmented agents are in very short supply given the rarity of the physical traits that allow the human body to accept the nanites. It was no small miracle that we were able to find you."