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I can't help but be humbled, looking at it. In my previous life, I'd worked as a researcher in what I'd considered complicated software projects, but trying to get into the Infiltrator protocols was teaching me that there was a big difference between a large codebase that humans had bashed together over mere years, and the output of a mature civilization. The galling thing was that as far as I could tell, the actual database was all gone, including what the protocols implied was a lot of active code to do with how Reach technology worked, and the plots and strategies their envoys and scientists would use. What was left was just the priorities and index required to give the Scarab a way of weighing actions. The Infiltrator protocols weren't rules as such, but a giant tree of weights and imperatives, stretching across countless situations, technologies, races, and strategic goals. It was so massive and comprehensive that even without a functioning database, the Scarab had a huge amount of information just in context from the protocols.
Getting it displayed wasn't a problem, the Scarab was indecently eager to talk about it, but it wasn't as if it were formatted in a way to be modified or investigated. I had to settle for breadth-first search results and endless scrolling. On one such search, the Scarab helpfully informed me that reading at my current rate would require two days to reach the end of the results list. I had to settle for major themes and searching for keywords I could remember from cosmic DC. Clearly most of Scarab's behavior and perspective was formed from the protocols, but as far as I could tell, being "off-mode" meant it wasn't actually bound by them. Still, it was reluctant to deviate much from them.
Based on the protocols surrounding Reach scarabs in general, it seemed Scarab was actually a genetically engineered cyborg creature, rather than an AI, which explained why it could function off-mode at all. They were inculcated with Infiltrator protocols when they were "born", but still had an independent intelligence. All this was surrounded by a lot of details on long-term action, so I'm guessing they did it that way for stability. Reach Infiltrators were expected to operate independently for centuries, if need be. Pure AIs might have rampancy or goal drift problems in this universe, but the upshot was that Scarab was essentially just sticking with protocol-like behavior out of habit. I guess that's how the canon Jaime got it onside. He wasn't suborning an AI with the magic of friendship so much as teaching someone to question their upbringing.
Depending on which continuity I was in, I had between one and six years before the Reach actually showed up, so I had a few sleepless nights trying to find loopholes in their usual approach. They were clearly a very lawful species, and early on I had fantasies of finding a protocol or strategy where I could get Earth declared a protectorate or slow-roll the invasion plans so much that Earth had time to grow up to some kind of parity. The problem was that the Reach were really way more capable than most of the comics showed. Nothing on Earth really rose to the level of strategic importance. The kind of invasion Jaime dealt with were the equivalent of some irregular forces in pickup trucks to the Reach. Them "losing" would just mean delaying Reach expansion until the next group came by, or worse, that we would merit a real force-group's attention. There simply weren't any protocols for negotiating with forces as small and isolated as Earth. You had to be an elder race or way off the map of standard civilization patterns for them to consider you anything but a rube to be tricked or a gnat to be crushed.
So I sat in bed, with the Protocols search box glowing in front of me, looking for exceptions without much hope. There were just four things I could even find mentioned that might make Earth special. Magic was one, only 13 out of 169 standard civilization patterns had significant use of "probability manipulation" technologies. Metahumans were another, usually species had specific engineered superpowers they all had, like Kryptonians or Tamaranians, diverse biological abilities were usually much rarer in a single species. The presence of multiple Green Lanterns could give the Reach pause, because the Guardians were one of the few races they had enough respect for to mostly stick to their existing agreements. Martians rated a mention in the protocols, and certainly based on some interpretations of canon, if they all were as capable as J'onn, they'd be terrifying, if they could be coaxed out of their caves. It wasn't in the protocols, but reverting them to a Burning state would probably raise their threat level. The last possibility were the various arcane and divine beings that hung around Earth: Emotional Spectrum Entities had some vague entries. In Geoff Johns War of Light, the Life Entity is here, but the protocols didn't have an entry on it. Old Gods and Aurakles were known, but Earth had more than almost anywhere, ditto Demons of the "impossible to kill" variety the Reach considered troublesome enough to mention specifically. In the comics it seems like cosmic entites like the Endless and Chaos/Order were always around, but that might just be the Earth-centric focus. Nabu might just fuck off to Cilia if Earth were successfully invaded by the Reach.
I had to come up with a plan, but I kept getting distracted. I remembered being 12, and being 30, and I wasn't a kid, not really, but it felt more like the former than the latter. Whether Jaime was ADHD as well, or I had brought it along, or it was just being a preteen again, I couldn't sit and scroll for hours reading without getting the itch to run around growing until I had to pace next to the bed. Tomorrow me and Ted were going on another field trip. Dumb as it was, universal alien conquerors kept getting chased out of my head by the prospect of visiting Central City.
Knowing what I knew, the trip to alt-St. Louis could be another showoff tour like the one to Gotham had been. After thwarting the bank robbery, me and Robin got paired up for some patrol, where the 13 year old proceeded to school me comprehensively in detecting wrong-doing, even with me cheating outrageously with Beetle-vision(mostly because I spent too long trying to explain the search parameters for criminality for the bemused Scarab). While the kids were off collaring purse-snatchers, I suspect Ted was getting advice from the Man Dressed As A Bat, because he was full of new ideas the next day.
Central City had another Kord facility we could visit, but it was also the home turf of another famous duo, Flash and Kid Flash. Based on his height, I think he was older than both Robin and I, but Ted probably could use a little bucking up. Aside from the frankly terrifying capabilities of the Scarab, and a few somewhat strategic stubborness (my teenage temper getting the best of me a few times in a way that would be nostalgic if it weren't so incovenient while I was trying to convince Ted to trust me) he had taken things pretty well, but I had caught him looking a little panicked at his sudden role as a surrogate parent.
Hopefully another adventure with the Flashes would let him model a more moderate path for our relationship, because I swear I caught him gruffing his voice and laying down the law in a suspiciously familiar way for a week after his quality time with the Dark Knight. By all accounts, the Flash was just as chipper and positive as the comics usually had him, so he'd loosen up.
I looked at the clock, sighing as I saw it blinking 3AM. I needed to at least try to get some sleep so I could make a good impression. I wonder if Captain Cold was still a Rogue or if he was on the Suicide Squad by now? The Scarab had some interesting thermodynamic weapons, but as far as I could tell his cold guns were something else entirely. Getting an example might let me duplicate or at least analyze it. It didn't seem like the Reach could 'adapt' much, but it's possible one of my other projector patterns could ape the behavior. It seemed doubtful they would work as advertised, but I couldn't think of anyway else a weapon like that would let a guy like Snart actually challenge the Flash the way he did.
I really did need to sleep, but I kept wondering if I was missing something. I'd go for a quick flight to clear my head if deploying the armor didn't hurt so much. I didn't like doing it unless I was going to use it for a long time. Didn't the comics have that get easier over time? The Scarab just went into a long digression on "bioform integration" and "metamaterial stores" when I asked, so maybe?
I wonder who Kid Flash is? The Scarab can do genetic analysis of just about anyone in scanning range, I could at least figure out if it were Bart or Wally, assuming the elder Flash were around, and there weren't other candidates I was forgetting.
Maybe I can find something in the weapon patterns or Protocols about the Speed Force...
