by M. D. Cooper
At Dregs’ nod, he continued.
“Thought so. It was moderately effective, but a horrible hodge-podge of parts and wiring. Anyway, to answer your quaintly phrased question, now that you’re back under effective care, your core should be good for a thousand years…and as long as parts are replaced as needed, your body would be good for at least that long. Technically, the electronic and quantum neural synapses in your NSAI core are easier to map and duplicate than that of a human or SAI, so you could end up being effectively immortal.”
Dregs shivered. Even to a machine intelligence like him, forever was an incalculable concept, leading to nasty stack overflows that had to be cleared and reset.
“I'm not sure I'm ready for all that. Or this ‘free range NSAI’ experiment of Saia's.”
“Speaking of, Saia removed the salvage tag off your factory identity code and got Council permission to make you an honorary citizen of the FTA, with all rights and responsibilities.” Greg passed a token to Dregs. “This is your new private token for things like accessing your mail file, and opening the door to your room, the normal daily living things. She said you'll get the other tokens for your new job when you report to work today. You've been assigned a room near the security section. It's not much for a human, but you’ll be just fine there. Lieutenant Sarah moved your stuff up there for you.”
Greg motioned for Dregs to stand up. “OK, my friend; you've been cleaned up, recalibrated, upgraded, and made a law-abiding citizen. As far as any records we have show, aside from autonomous freighters, no one has turned an NSAI loose into society. Maybe during the Golden Age of the fifth millennium, but if so, no records of it remain.
“I want you to show up in my workshop once a month to get hooked up to my machine there. This experiment is of interest to Workmate and needs to be monitored properly. Your brain functions especially need to be recorded and monitored. Your conclusions on human society are also of interest to us.”
He gestured toward the showroom and walked Dregs to the door. “Well, it's time for you to get back on the job. It took a bit longer to get you back up to specs than I thought, so you've been here a couple of weeks. Saia and the rest of the security team are waiting for you to show up today.
“A lot has happened while you were out. FTA Intelligence and the Defense Force have taken over this station and several others, and are weeding out the last of the pirate gang.” Greg opened the door. “There is a ton of uniforms out there today. Go forth and conquer, Dregs, and I'll see you at the end of the month.”
He patted Dregs fondly on the shoulder and turned back toward the shop. At the door, he paused, remembering.
“Oh yeah, a word of warning: the PR guys had a ton of fun over your performance in the docking section.” With that, he disappeared back into the showroom.
Dregs thought for a moment about where to go. No one had told him where his new room was, but since Security was waiting on him, he decided he’d better be off to Security. He looked up the location of the main office and headed to Level 4, Section 2, Suites 122-130.
He hadn't gotten more than two hundred meters before hearing a shout.
“You, servitor, halt! I need your ID!”
Dregs turned and saw a Defense Force lieutenant approaching with a squad. Dregs passed his new token to the officer. He could see the man’s eyes flicker as he accessed the Link.
“On your way to Security, Dregs?” At Dregs’ nod, he pulled out a handheld. “Security bot on the move from Level Three, Section Four to Security Offices.” He looked back at Dregs. “OK, Dregs, you can continue on to Security. You're on the grid now and shouldn't be stopped again.”
As Dregs turned away, the man stopped him. “Oh, and, Dregs?”
Dregs looked back.
“Nice shot on that cruiser. You blew the main power to engine controls and stopped them cold. Have a good day.” The officer turned away, trailing his squad.
Dregs made it to the Security Offices without further mishap, although he passed other groups of Defense Force soldiers in the unusually empty and echoing hallways. He opened the door, entering a surprisingly well-appointed foyer. Behind the desks at the back were a security sergeant and an FTA Intelligence major.
The sergeant looked up. “You must be Dregs.” At Dregs’ nod, he said, “Saia told us you'd be joining us today.” He gestured to the hallway in the back of the room. “The squad room is the second door on the right. We're fortunate to have you join us; half our staff was in the pockets of either the pirates or the local crime lords.”
Dregs followed the indicated hallway and opened the door to the squad room. He recognized a few faces as he stepped in. Sergeant Gavin was cleaning a multi-function rifle and gave him a half wave. Corporal Jensen, who was posting duty assignments on a wall display, merely nodded at him. Lieutenant Sarah was working on paperwork and gestured for Dregs to come closer.
“Good to see you back in operation, Dregs. You've been assigned a locker for your stuff. I'll get Jensen to show you your office in a bit. Let us know if you want to replace anything that is in there. Our last ‘tech’, for lack of a better word, wasn't very good, so I know you're going to want to clean that place up.”
Sarah shuffled through the hardcopies on her desk. “Here's a list of things Saia would like you to tackle right after you get your workshop into shape. The locker room is through that door right there,” Sarah gestured across the room from the entrance. “Go ahead and find your locker, it's number forty-seven. You've been assigned some gear in case we have another ‘all hands’ emergency. Also, here are your work tokens.”
Sarah passed him two tokens, one was his public business token, the other was his private Security token. The business one was for the public to reach him, the private one granted him access to the Security network and acted as his passcode to open doors and lockers on the station.
“Oh, one last thing; your buddy, the dockmaster, is finally on his way to a long incarceration. We suspected that he had been working with the pirates this whole time. That ship you helped stop had information that incriminated him.” Sarah smiled with satisfaction. “One more scumbag from the previous corrupt cabal gone.”
“Thank you, Sarah,” Dregs replied. “I'm looking forward to getting back to technical work. Repairing chairs doesn't have the same...gratification. Technical challenges are much more fun to deal with.”
Sarah smiled her understanding and waved him off.
As he passed through the door into the locker room, he saw two intelligence agents compiling lists of the contents of various lockers.
One saw him and pointed to the back. “All the current security people keep their stuff back there.”
Dregs went to the back and found his locker. He passed his new token to the lock, and it clicked open. Inside was light combat armor that would fit over his frame, the gun belt and pulse pistol he'd used against the pirates, and the Daemon 4 multi-function rifle. There was a charging shelf with backup battery packs slotted in, and another shelf with a mix of slug and flechette magazines. He noticed in the mirror on the door that, although his insides were new and improved, his outside was still battered and beaten.
He closed his locker and saw that locker forty-eight was labeled ‘Thud’. Wondering who would call himself that, he made his way out.
As he was exiting the locker room, a light combat mech was entering the squad room, where Dregs was headed. Sarah, sensing them, looked up from her paperwork.
“Ah, good, you're both here. Dregs, this is Thud. Thud, meet Dregs. Thud is on loan from the Defense Force, as half of Security is being held for corruption and/or dereliction of duty. Thud has a Model Twenty NSAI core, so you're both on the same level mentally.”
Thud crossed the room with his hand extended. “Ah, our now famous tech. It's good to meet you. I was impressed at how you handled yourself without the proper modules or training.”
Dregs took the proffered hand and shook it. “Good to meet you, too. I've never had a chance t
o meet any combat mechs before. I have an interest in military operations and history, and would be interested in hearing your own operational history.”
“I would be happy to share it with you, although there isn't much of a story there yet,” countered Thud. “I've mainly been onboard the troop transport FTAD.F, Sergeant Ramirez. I have participated in a few raids on pirate locations, though.”
Sarah collected her paperwork. “You two can jaw at each other later.” In a louder voice, “Jensen, if you're through dicking around with the duty roster, take Dregs to the Technical Center. Carlson, are you around here?”
“On deck, ma'am,” came a call from inside the locker room. Carlson appeared in the door opening.
“Carlson, Thud, I want you two to do some random patrolling of the docking sections. Thud, let Carlson do the talking; your job is just to look menacing.”
“Like this?” he asked, as a 4mm rotary gun and an electron beam appeared over his shoulders.
“Exactly, but lose the beam, that's a little over the top.” Sarah watched as the electron beam folded back over the left shoulder.
Saia joined the conversation through the overhead speakers. “Hello, Dregs, sweetie, I'm glad you've joined us. I do want to share something that concerns you and might amuse everybody else.” She chuckled as a wall display came to life.
The display showed the firefight in the docking bay, with the camera centered on Dregs. It stopped as Dregs was firing the electron beam, just before the double EMP blast. A voiceover blared, “If an obsolete Workmate Model Seven can save an entire station, imagine what a modern Workmate Model Twenty-One can do for you!”
There was a moment of dead silence, then Jensen chuckled and said, “Well, I guess the rest of us weren't in there helping out.”
With that, the rest of the staff in the squad room busted out laughing.
Sergeant Gavin came over and smacked Dregs on the shoulder. “Son, I'm afraid you'll never live this one down.”
Sarah, still smiling, said, “OK, people, scoot. Jensen, after you show Dregs his workshop, I want you to start checking the security locker inventories. That rifle of Dregs’, although handy, was not part of Security's standard equipment. I don't want to find any more surprises like that laying around.”
She left the room, turning toward the foyer, with Carlson and Thud trailing. Jensen waved at Dregs.
“Come on, Dregs, the workroom is in the back. I'm pretty sure you're not going to be happy at the state it's in. Our last so-called tech…well, let's just say he had a bit of a problem with drinking.” Jensen turned down the hallway to the right. “Lord, inventorying all the lockers? Man, I'm keeping all the good stuff I find.”
“The hell you are,” thundered Gavin's voice from the squad room. “You bring anything you find to the main armory, and if you're a good boy, you might get a few choice bits. And that's after the lieutenant and I pick first.”
Jensen, unperturbed by the sergeant's comments, continued leading Dregs to the back of the hall. He opened a door marked “Technical Services” along the back hallway that connected to the other lengthwise hall.
The room beyond stretched the length of the back hall. To the right was an office, and along the back was a row of windows looking out onto a docking bay containing several security fighters and the smaller pirate ship. Workbenches covered in dirty, dusty, unrepaired equipment and racks of dusty test gear filled the space. Also filling the space were whisky and beer bottles and food wrappers on every surface. The floor was covered in spills and stains, and all the trash bins were overflowing.
Jensen shook his head. “Sorry, Dregs, you've got your work cut out for you.”
“It's OK, sort of reminds me of home—I mean The Vulgar Penguin.”
“Well, I'll leave you to it then.” Jensen turned and passed through the door, closing it behind him.
Dregs looked over the hardcopy Sarah had given him. It stated that he had a week to get the workshop into shape and then test all the equipment. After that, the priority was to get security bots KC-12 And DD-12 operational if possible. If not, he was to send them to the Workmate repair shop. Following that was a list of dead security network areas to be repaired.
Looking around, he located the two Model 12 security bots on two of the worktables.
Dregs mentally sighed. It was time to get to work.
He called up the location of the of the janitor closet and went and got a rubbish bin and other cleaning supplies. He rolled the bin over to one of the tables and began picking up the trash.
When he was done with his first day of work, he found Section 2, Ring 2, Area 4, Room 147, Dregs stopped in front of the door of what he was told was his new quarters. He passed his token to the lock, and the door clicked open. His first day on his new job had been satisfactory, even though he was only halfway through taking inventory of and cleaning his new workshop.
Entering his quarters, he found a one-room efficiency apartment. On the left wall was a standard auto kitchen. On the opposite wall was a daybed, and in between were a small square table and four chairs. In the back right corner was a small san enclosed by a thin screen, and next to that sat a couch facing an ancient holo display on the back wall.
Dregs found his cart just inside the door, against the exterior wall. Unsure of what to do, he took his work table off the cart and set it up in the corner of the exterior and right-hand walls. He got his toolbox and placed it on his workable.
Looking around, he made a list of things to do. The paint was peeling off the walls, so he needed to repaint. The ceiling light fixture was small and dim; maybe he'd buy a bigger one later. The metal table was dull and plain. He knew humans would get a tablecloth to brighten it up, so he added that to the list. And the ancient holo display was cracked and broken along its edges and projectors, so he would need to save up to replace it.
Dregs walked to the couch and sat down. He'd never watched any shows or documentaries on a holo. He'd just played them in his mind, off the Link. It would be interesting, seeing the difference.
As he turned on the ancient device, he had a final thought. Humans liked to have a little greenery around. He should get a plant to decorate his apartment with. Not a real one, of course, but a nice plastic one.
THE END
ABOUT JOHN STRIPE
John lives in Arlington, TX, with his wife of 19 years and four of his five children. His interest in space technology and science fiction began with the Gemini and the introduction of Star Trek: The Original Series. His off the wall sense of humor was developed by the likes of Monty Python and Mel Brooks, and there are even odds that his wife will laugh or roll her eyes at one of his jokes. No matter the reaction, there is never a dull moment at the Stripe house.
THE SOUTHERN CROWN
BY M. D. COOPER
FROM THE AUTHOR
And here I am, writing the foreword to my own story! This is the tale of the first time that Tangel, Sera, and Jessica go on a combat mission together. Well, it wasn’t supposed to be a combat mission, but you know how these things go.
This story takes place during the first part of Precipice of Darkness, shortly after Tanis returned from her first visit to the LMC.
At this point, the I2 is still in orbit of Pyra, the world where the Allied fleets defeated the Nietzschean Armada and liberated the Theban Alliance.
It is just a few days before Jessica makes her return to Star City, and Sera sets out to lead the attack on Airtha.
M. D. Cooper
NIGHT OUT
STELLAR DATE: 09.13.8949 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Command Deck, ISS I2, orbiting Pyra
REGION: Albany System, Theban Alliance
Tangel looked up from her desk to see Sera standing in the entrance to her office, her face a mask of consternation.
“I swear, can we get just one night off?”
Tangel rose and grabbed her jacket from the back of a nearby chair. “Pretty sure that you and I aren’t in the ‘one night off�
� business.”
Sera stepped back into the corridor as Tangel walked around her desk, making room for her to exit. “Yeah, well, once this damn war is over, I’m taking at least a decade off.”
“What makes you so sure that is going to happen?”
The two women began to stride down the passageway, side by side, and Sera glanced at her friend, the field marshal of the allied forces. “Well, for starters, you said you were going to end the war fast. Nip it in the bud, so to speak.”
Tangel snorted. “I have no recollection of the events to which you’re referring—at the very least, I don’t think I’ve ever said ‘nip it in the bud’.”
Sera laughed. “I thought you were supposed to have a perfect memory now that you’re ascended.”
“I had a perfect one before, too,” Tangel said as she straightened her jacket. “But the Transcend and Orion have been clawing at one another for thousands of years, so even if I take a decade or two to end the war, it’ll be blazingly fast.”
Sera made a sound that matched the look of annoyance displayed on her face. “Like I can manage that long without some time to myself.”
“Your father is doing well in all the examinations—doesn’t seem to be in Airtha’s thrall or a plant—maybe you’ll be able to hand the reins over to him.”
“Trust me, Tangel.” Sera’s voice took on a bitter tone. “Having a father who never knew you—though you knew him…sorta—come back from the grave does not make things simpler.”
Tangel gave a noncommittal shrug as they turned onto the command deck’s main thoroughfare. “I guess I can see that. Fathers are complicated.”
Sera gave her a sidelong glance. “You never talk much about yours.”
“Exactly.”
Sera laughed and placed a hand on Tangel’s shoulder. That’s what I like about you. You’re not afraid to show your feelings.”