But Harry was not a person. He was the Home Automation and Recreation RegistrY, Harry for short. Harry was a typical home automation system, which controlled essential and peripheral systems throughout the house and interfaced, on behalf of its family, with other computer systems around the world. Harry took care of all of the household needs, coordinated schedules, shopped, supervised and, on occasion, baby-sat.
Finally, the video commercial ended, and a menu of options came up. Daniel moved the options around almost without thinking. He switched to the video feed from Tyson Station, the Earth Space Alliances' largest space station, 26 thousand miles above the Earth. Then to the major spaceports on the moon and Mars, where dozens of ships came and went.
They were mostly unmanned supply and transport ships, but sometimes he would see one of the star schooners delivering more sensitive or critical cargo. He checked the cameras overlooking the mining operations on two of Saturn's moons (Titan and Dione) and watched as the giant unmanned excavators delivered tons of rocks into the even more enormous, 8 wheeled dump trucks. When they were loaded up, the dump trucks delivered their cargo to the processing plant where much smaller robots separated the ores and elements from the rock.
As much as Daniel loved watching the large mining equipment lumber back and forth across the strange moonscapes, he switched the video feed once again. He always checked the other feeds first, just in case something interesting was happening, before he switched to the Pegasus feed.
The Pegasus feed showed nothing but a giant field of stars barely moving against the black space. Daniel switched the feed to a map, which annotated the progress Pegasus had made since the day before. Then he switched the camera back again. Pegasus was deeper into space than any probe ever launched from Earth. To most people, the daily feed of emptiness demonstrated the enormous vastness of space. But to Daniel, every day of emptiness was another day toward a great discovery. He watched the field of stars move ever so slowly and imagined piloting the deep space vessel himself, enduring the boredom until he reached a new planet to explore and a new alien species to meet.
He had nearly memorized every video and data file he could find about the ESA, and about its probes, ships, and stations around the galaxy. Over many years, the Earth Space Alliance had consolidated Earth's many space programs under one large organization. With its headquarters in Magellan, a city physically located along the equator on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, but officially a part of the United States, ESA directed all of Earth's space interests, including the spaceports, orbiting space stations, mining interests on moons and at least five different asteroids, manufacturing stations in orbit around both Earth and Mars and many other smaller scientific outposts.
The selection into the ESA astronaut program was highly selective. Although tens of thousands of humans worked for the ESA, only seven hundred-fifty served as astronauts. Daniel would be applying as soon as he was old enough but that still seemed so far away. Then, as he imagined, he would have an incredible career filled with adventures and exploration until he was finally selected to command his own spacecraft. Only the top officers of the ESA were selected to command their own spacecraft. His father was one of those astronaut commanders, and someday he would join that list, he told himself. Not just Captain, he would be one of the great explorers: negotiating peace treaties with alien planets; discovering new scientific breakthroughs, and; saving the Earth along the way. He just had to get through school first.
Kas's Coffee Problem
Daniel's brothers came into the dining room a moment later, shoving each other in the process.
"Hey!" Nathan complained. He was the youngest and the smallest, but he did not let that fact stop him from defending himself against his brothers.
"Get outta my way, shorty," said the older and bigger Ernie. At eleven years old, he was a full head taller than Nathan. Except for the differences in height, all three brothers looked nearly identical with dark brown hair, tanned skin, and brown eyes.
"I'm taller than you were when you were nine," Nathan retorted.
"Waffles and eggs," Ernie said loudly.
"I do not understand your request," Harry said robotically. He was capable of speaking with normal human expressions and tones, and in more than one hundred languages or accents, but he sometimes spoke robotically just for effect.
"Good morning Harry. May I please have some cereal?" asked Nathan politely.
"Good morning master Nathan. We have seven kinds of cereal today, but I presume you want Sugar Flakes?"
"Yes, please," Nathan responded. He was being overly polite to Harry for the sole purpose of annoying Ernie and everyone at the table knew it. His voice changed as he spoke to his brother using a tone that only younger brothers could correctly employ. "If you aren't nice to Harry, you won't get any breakfast."
Three chimes sounded and a small door opened near the table. Daniel turned from his seat and pulled a breakfast tray from KAS-7. He looked at the pancakes and syrup, then frowned at the addition of a glass of milk and a small bowl of berries.
"I didn't ask for strawberries," he said, annoyed at the appearance of fruit with his breakfast.
"I know exactly what you asked for, Daniel. However, your mother told me to include more fruit and vegetables in your diet. I could replace the berries with papaya, broccoli, or asparagus if you would prefer?"
"No," Daniel said.
"Harry! Waffles please," Ernie said.
"Your waffles are being made, Ernie."
"Good morning, boys. Good morning, Harry," Dad said when he walked into the kitchen a few minutes later. Dressed in a bright blue uniform, Dad was a grown-up replica of his three sons. He had a square jaw and closely cropped, dark brown hair. His uniform was a one-piece jumpsuit with a long zipper and Velcro down the front, multi-colored patches on the front pockets and a bright American flag over his right shoulder. On his left shoulder sat the serious looking blue, black, and gray crest of the Earth Space Alliance (ESA).
"Morning, Dad," the boys said in unison.
"Your usual breakfast?" Harry inquired.
"Yes please, Harry," Dad said.
Above the table, Ernie watched highlights from his last soccer game, while Nathan poked around on his favorite electronic books, flipping pages with a swipe of his hand, zooming in and out on the text, and occasionally pulling a photograph into a three-dimensional view above the table for his examination and his brothers' annoyance. He watched as the display showed a tumbling asteroid pass by a larger, more stable one. On the large asteroid, a small outpost shined against the dark rock.
"Dad, what are you doing at work today?" the youngest son asked.
"Well, let's see," he glanced at a display projecting above his arm from his wrist comp "We have to run some diagnostic tests on the main computer--"
"Mildred?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, Mildred. She's been having some issues lately," Dad said. "And we have a container coupler that seems to act up now and then. We haven't been able to figure out why it sticks so we are going to open the gearing up and take a look today."
Daniel nodded as he changed his display from the new astronaut class to a diagram of his Dad's ship. He quickly zoomed in and out, rotating the image for a more satisfactory view.
Dad smiled, knowing exactly what Daniel was looking for. He moved behind the table as Daniel searched for the right piece of equipment. "Did you find it?"
"I think so," Daniel said, zooming in once again. He stopped when the image showed the schooner's underbelly and Dad pointed to the diagram.
"The cargo couplers are there, and there," Dad pointed out. "This one is the one that always gives us problems."
"I remember that time when you were stuck at the asteroid mine because something on your ship wasn't working," Daniel said.
"Yep. That same coupler was the problem then," Dad said. "So we have some replacement parts we are going to see if we can repair."
Daniel continued examining the diagram as Grandpa
shuffled in.
"Why is everyone so quiet?" Grandpa asked.
"Good morning, Grandpa," Harry said politely. "What would you like for breakfast this morning?"
"Eggs and toast," Grandpa said roughly.
"Coming right up," Harry said with robotic happiness. He was programmed to enforce politeness with the children, but Harry did not mess with Grandpa.
"I don't like that machine talking to me," Grandpa said to Dad as he lowered himself into a chair at the end of the table. "Let me tell you something kids. Back in my day... Machines didn't talk. You didn't have to be polite to them. They just did their work. Quietly."
"You say that every morning, Grandpa," Daniel said.
"Harry, can we get two coffees please?" Dad added.
"Well, it's true every morning," Grandpa responded. "Your Grandma made me eggs and toast every morning for 64 years. Didn't need a machine. Humans eat the food. Humans make the food. What's wrong with that?"
"There is nothing wrong with that," Dad told Grandpa. "But it is the year 2095, things have changed. We don't have to work as hard at home to take care of the house as mom used to."
The KAS-7 sounded its chime and the door opened once again. Dad handed Grandpa his breakfast, and one of the mugs of coffee. The other he kept for himself.
"Umm, Harry... I don't think the coffee is coming out right," Dad said looking into the mug. He expected to see dark brown hot coffee, but instead warm water with soapy bubbles rose over the top of the mug.
"I will look into that, sir," Harry said. His computer brain quickly checked KAS-7's sequencing program. A moment later he had identified the problem but not the solution. "It appears KAS-7 thinks the soap is coffee again."
Dad laughed and Grandpa squinted into his mug with an annoyed grimace.
"These latest kitchen programs are a bit temperamental. I am afraid it will require an onsite repair. There appear to be maintenance people available at 10 AM and 2 PM tomorrow. The maintenance person we used previously is available at 3 PM tomorrow. Should I schedule him?"
"Can't they just update the software script remotely?" Ernie asked.
"That does not appear to be a valid option in this case," Harry replied.
"Set it up for 2 PM, Harry," Dad replied.
"You know in my day we had a machine that didn't do anything except make coffee. Never made soapy water instead of coffee. It didn't talk back to you neither."
Everyone laughed.
"The school pod will arrive in nine minutes," Harry announced as soon as he received the information from the transportation computers.
"So what's on the agenda for you boys today?" Dad asked.
Daniel watched the slow moving stars from the Pegasus feed again. He didn't know why parents were always asking about school. It was just school. No agenda. Nothing exciting. They all went to school. They should know that. It wasn't that Daniel did not like school. He liked it a lot. He just did not want to talk about it at breakfast and again at dinner every single day.
"It's our last day before spring break," Nathan replied smiling. He loved to talk about school. "And we have a spelling test. After that, Mrs. Shoe told us we could watch a movie."
"I don't know what we're doing today. Something in the engineering lab," Ernie answered next.
"Nathan has a violin lesson today, as well," Harry interjected. "He must remember his violin this time. He has already forgotten it on three occasions this semester."
Dad called up some files on his part of the table. He started scanning through work messages but he was still talking to the boys. "Daniel, make sure he takes his violin today. You are the oldest. I need you to be the responsible one."
"Yes, Dad," he said without moving his eyes away from the screen.
"Where's Mom anyway?" Nathan asked.
"I'm right here," Mom said as she walked into the dining room fastening earrings to her ears.
"You look extra pretty today, Mommy," Nathan said.
"Well, I'm glad someone noticed," Mom replied. "Harry I need juice, some coffee, and a breakfast sandwich to go."
"I'm not sure the coffee is such a good idea," Dad said. He held up the mug of tepid soapy water.
"Again? Tea then Harry."
"Coming right up," Harry said. "Dr. Parker, your transport pod has already arrived."
"I can fix it," Nathan said sliding his chair away from the table. He crouched down next to a small access panel on the side of KAS-7. In seconds, Nathan pressed a small button, and then watched as two metallic knobs rotated outward and the access panel opened. Nathan disappeared inside the device.
"Nathan I don't think that..." was all Dad could say before his youngest son disappeared inside the machine.
"I'm giving the presentation to the board today. We need the final go ahead before we start up the new plasma accelerator," Mom said as she stared at the access panel that her youngest son had just climbed into. "The University Chancellor is excited to show off his investment."
"When does the lab go online?" Dad asked.
"In about three days. At least if everything goes well," Mom answered. "It's the first of its kind and these plasma accelerators have been finicky since we started. The core will be critical for the first twenty-four hours as we carefully inject the matter into the plasma. After that things should stabilize."
Inside KAS-7, Nathan was careful not to get caught in the equipment like he had the first time he crawled in there. The eight-foot wide by ten foot long, floor to ceiling, food storage, inventory, prep and cleanup center handled all of the kitchen work. Cold food was kept cold thanks to an advanced refrigeration system, while other food was kept at its ideal temperature in smaller compartments.
The device was a maze of belts and elevators to move items around and came complete with a full set of stainless steel cooking utensils, pots and pans, measuring spoons and other important tools. At the center of it all, a nine-foot tall, robot spun, squatted and stretched. Its eighteen tentacles stuck out in every direction, allowing KAS to measure flour, retrieve and crack an egg and pour other ingredients simultaneously.
"Master Nathan, that's not such a good idea," Harry said. A moment later he said: "Well, then... I'm not sure you should...oh I see."
"If you reassign components on U17 and J27, the coffee should work again until the repair guy gets here. After they fix the software, they need to shift the cables again," Nathan instructed Harry as he re-emerged from the KAS-7 access panel.
"Nathan, you know you are not supposed to be messing with the KAS," Dad said.
"I wonder where he learned it?" Mom whispered. Dad smiled sheepishly. He had to admit, he enjoyed taking machines apart and learning how they worked, although he did not always get them back together the same way. His youngest son clearly had the same genes.
"Harry, coffee please," Nathan said proudly.
"Master Nathan, I am not authorized to provide coffee to anyone under the age of 18," Harry objected.
"I think it's okay Harry. We won't let him drink it," Dad interjected. "Very well," Harry said.
"The school pod will arrive in four minutes," Harry announced. "I suggest you head to the front door."
"Okay, boys, you heard the man," Mom said.
"It's a machine not a man," Grandpa said eating the last of his eggs.
"Okay, you heard the machine then," Mom said unaffected by Grandpa. "Let's get going. It is your last day before spring break. Then you get a whole week off."
"Harry, is it cold today?" Mom asked.
"The weather will be in the high-70's Fahrenheit for most of the day with no rain expected. All school classrooms are reporting ambient temperature between 69.3 and 71.8, with humidity at an acceptable level," Harry reported. "The Plasma lab at Magellan Astrophysics University is, however, below normal at 66.9 degrees Fahrenheit."
"It's always cold in the lab," Mom agreed.
KAS-7 chimed again and a mug of coffee appeared in the opening. Nathan pulled it out and handed it to his fathe
r. A quick sip and an approving nod brought a smile to Nathan's face.
"It worked," Dad said happily.
"Never mind that," Mom said, shooting Dad a look. "Just stay out of the equipment."
Nathan and Ernie quickly shoved their plates and trays through a second door on the KAS-7 and walked toward the front door.
"Hey kiddo, get going," Dad said to Daniel. With a sigh, Daniel shut off the screen, and stuck his breakfast plates with the others. He pulled a baseball hat on and walked toward the door.
"I believe Nathan's violin is behind the door," Harry reminded him.
Daniel groaned loudly as he picked up the violin and followed his brothers outside.
Nathan Spills a Secret
The yellow and black school pod zipped silently down the street as Nathan bounded down the stairs in front of their house. Ernie and Daniel descended toward the street with less enthusiasm. Daniel shoved the violin case at Nathan as the pod rolled to a smooth stop in front of them. As soon as it stopped, a door on the side of the pod slid open with a hydraulic swoosh. One by one Daniel, Ernie, and Nathan filed into the pod.
"You boys feel safe in there?" Grandpa asked coming down the steps behind them.
"Of course, Grandpa," Ernie answered. Grandpa stopped at the door and surveyed the small vehicle. The pod was smooth and square with rounded corners and flat on the bottom where the wheels connected, which gave the pod just enough road clearance. A smooth ring of uninterrupted windows ran around the vehicle just slightly higher than mid-way, allowing passengers to see out in every direction. The pod had six individual seats, arranged in rows of two and still left enough room for sports bags, musical instruments, and other school gear. Before it had arrived at the Parker house, the school transportation computers had determined the routes of each pod assigned to collect students in its area. Based on the pod's projected route for the day, it had automatically folded the two rear seats into the floor before it stopped to pick up its students.
Stowaways Page 2