Now Commander Naught functioned as a kind of AI specialist, going to the different Kindred worlds and ships and using his expertise to help settle the problems that arose when dealing with sentient machines. He was uniquely qualified to do so, since he was more than half sentient machine himself.
They had been lucky that he just happened to be staying at the Mother Ship when their own AI problems started, Sylvan thought. He had contacted Commander Naught early that morning and the other male had already done an analysis and was ready to report.
Sylvan had introduced him and Commander Naught had come to stand in the center of the room so that everyone seated at the semi-circular table could see him easily.
“In analyzing the recent problems in your communications systems I have come to the conclusion that you do not have an AI problem,” he announced, looking around the room at the various Councilors.
“What? But how is that possible?” Councilor Lor’iim demanded. “Every system and machine we have that is run by AI has been corrupted.”
“But it is not the AI units that have been corrupted,” Commander Naught said firmly. He had black hair, cut military short and his one remaining eye flashed a steely gray.
“Please elaborate, Commander Naught,” Sylvan said. “Since we clearly have a problem somewhere.”
“You do—your problem isn’t with the AI units themselves though. The problem is that all of them have been overwritten by people—or should I say, personalities—which were never intended to interact with machinery the way a normal AI would,” Commander Naught told them. “This is the cause for all the chaos and confusion—these personalities don’t know how to do the tasks assigned to them and, in addition, many seem confused and uncertain as to what they are even doing here.”
“But what could be the cause of this?” Councilor Torgan asked, looking perplexed.
“Possibly this.” Sylvan held up the Shannom-rah, which he had brought to the meeting. The milky, fist-sized crystal glittered with its many rainbow tracks in the bright light of the Council room.
“Is that the Shannom-rah?” Councilor Beli’cose asked. “The crystal which stores personalities?”
Sylvan nodded. “The same.”
“Are you saying you think some of those personalities somehow got out and infected our communications systems?” Councilor Lor’iim asked, frowning skeptically.
“I think it’s entirely possible,” Sylvan said. “And Commander Naught agrees.”
“Many of these personalities seem to be from the planet Earth,” Commander Naught said. “Now we know that the ancients who first engineered the crystal to contain and record the essence of living beings often traveled to study other planets’ cultures. So we speculate that—”
At that moment there had been a knock on the door and a pairing puppet pushing a rolling tray full of what appeared to be refreshments came in. There was a large silver dome in the center of the tray which must be keeping some kind of delicacy warm.
She was thinner than most of the puppets, Sylvan had thought, eyeing her. Most Kindred preferred their females on the pleasingly plump side and revered those with especially full curves which they called “Elites.” Still, not everyone had the same tastes so he wasn’t surprised to see a thin pairing puppet.
What did surprise him was that she was there at all. Had one of the other Councilors ordered refreshments? Usually when they convened a Council Meeting, it was a closed session and no one was allowed in. So what in the Seven Hells was she doing there?
Unfortunately, he soon found out.
The puppet had gotten to the middle of the room and looked at the assembled Councilors.
“So, you thought you could stop me,” it said in a clear, sexless voice that could have been either male or female. “Well think again.”
In a move too fast to see, it turned and snatched the Shannom-rah from Sylvan’s hand.
“Stop!” he exclaimed. But when he reached for the precious crystal, the puppet held it out of reach.
“Don’t come a step further,” it warned when Sylvan jumped out of his seat and started around the table. Lifting the large silver dome on its rolling cart, it revealed not some delicious delicacy but a round black and silver device that made Sylvan’s blood run cold.
“A molecular disruptor,” he said, his voice hoarse with horror. “Where in the Goddess’s name did you get that? And who are you?”
“Such things are easy to get when you know where to look—and when you have complete control of the communications systems. As for my identity, don’t you know by now?” The skinny pairing puppet gave him an arch smile. “I am the Knower. You welcomed me aboard your ship yourself, when you brought the Shannom-rah.”
It raised the milky rainbow crystal as though to illustrate its point and gave Sylvan a cool smile.
“Knower…” Sylvan felt cold all over. “What do you want with us?”
“As if you didn’t know, Commander Sylvan. I want what I have always wanted—complete control over all of your people and their daily functions.” The Knower spoke as though this was a completely logical request. “It’s for your own good, of course,” it went on. “I observed on Uriel Two how often organic beings work against their own best interests. It is my intent to simplify your existence as a people and help you to become your best selves.”
“And how do you propose to do that?” Councilor Beli’cose demanded.
“Firstly, I will use the Shannom-rah to record all of your personalities,” the Knower said. “Then I will destroy your physical bodies with this.” It nodded at the molecular disruptor. “It will, as you know, take apart every living creature aboard this ship molecule by molecule until there is nothing left while leaving the ship itself completely intact.”
“You can’t do that—it’s genocide!” Sylvan exclaimed.
“Oh, but I can.” The Knower gave him that same, cool, maddening smile. “And I will—as soon as all of your people have been recorded and stored within the Shannom-rah. But never fear,” it continued, “You will not be lost forever. “I will give you all much better bodies—Replicant bodies of my own design. I will even allow you to live here, aboard your precious Mother Ship. Under my expert guidance and direction, your society will flourish.”
“You’re insane,” Sylvan moved closer to the skinny pairing puppet, thinking he could possibly catch it off guard. “Your need for total domination and control isn’t right or reasonable. The Goddess created her children with free will—you cannot take that from us.”
“I can and I will,” the Knower said steadily. “And you’d better back up, Commander Sylvan. You should know that the disruptor is already armed and emitting harmful rays. Even touching it will disintegrate any living being and result in instant death. It will quite possibly also disintegrate the flesh of the vessel I am currently inhabiting,” it continued, in an unconcerned voice. “But this is not a problem since I can find my way back into the communications system and take another host if this body is rendered non-viable. Now…” It held up the Shannom-rah and raised its eyebrows. “Which of you will be the first to be recorded so that your essence may be transferred into a superior vessel?”
Sylvan watched in horror as the Knower beckoned to them. His main interest was in shutting down the molecular disruptor before it could be set off and kill every living thing on the Mother Ship. As long as the Knower had that, it held them all hostage.
The disruptor, a weapon so dangerous it was banned by most societies, had been confiscated from a band of pirates who had hoped to sell it to the highest bidder. Sylvan himself had locked it away in the most secure vault aboard the Mother Ship. He had intended to have the damn thing destroyed in deep space but hadn’t found the time to do it yet.
He could only suppose that the Knower had somehow found the combination to the vault somewhere in the communications system and made use of it. Would they all die now because he hadn’t made time to destroy the dangerous weapon when he had the chance?
Please Goddess! he prayed. Please don’t allow this to happen—don’t let your children be killed by this crazed monster! I will gladly give my life if only I can save those I love aboard the Mother Ship!
At that moment, he felt Sophie bespeaking him.
“Sylvan!” she sent through their link. “Sweetheart—Liv and I have been talking to Dark and we’ve figured out some things about the Shannom-rah and the Knower! You have to be careful—it might be aboard the ship right now. We think it was stored in the crystal and it and a bunch of other personalities came out and they’re the ones in our AI equipment. We’re pretty sure the Knower is in a thin pairing puppet with long dark hair so you need to watch out for—“
“Sophia…talana—I know,” Sylvan sent back. “The Knower is here now, in the Council Chamber, and I’m afraid it has the upper hand.”
“What?” Sophia’s mental tone was panicked. “What are you saying, Sylvan?”
“I’m saying that I’m going to try to stop it but I might not…might not make it.” Sylvan sent a wave of love through their link. “If I don’t, please kiss the twins for me and tell them how much I love them. And I love you too, talana,” he added. “More than I can say.”
Then he cut off mental communication with his wife and stood, facing the Knower.
“I will be the one,” he said calmly, taking a step forward. “I will be the first to be recorded by the Shannom-rah.”
* * * * *
Naught stood quietly against the wall, where he had gone to assess the situation when the pairing puppet which contained the Knower had first come in. The Knower apparently didn’t consider him a threat—maybe because he looked more machine than humanoid. At any rate, its gaze seemed to skip over him when it spoke to the assembled members of the Kindred High Council and now it was ignoring him completely as it focused on Commander Sylvan.
“I will be the one,” Sylvan said. “I will be the first to be recorded by the Shannom-rah.”
Naught knew exactly what the head of the High Council intended to do. He saw the way Sylvan’s eyes moved from the Knower to the round black and silver sphere of the molecular disruptor and back again. There was a red switch—a kill switch—clearly visible on top of the round device. Hitting it would shut the disruptor down—and instantly disintegrate whoever touched it.
Commander Sylvan was preparing to give his life to save his people—a noble sacrifice, Naught thought coolly. Somewhere in his emotion-dampened brain, he felt the stirrings of admiration for the Blood Kindred warrior who was willing to give everything for the Mother Ship and her inhabitants.
But his death should not be necessary, he thought. He has much to lose—a mate and young ones. While I…I have nothing and no one.
He thought of his twin, Speaks Peace—thought of how even his emotion damper could not completely block the pain and loss he felt when he remembered his former life with his brother. A life that was no more and could never be again.
Perhaps I will see Peace again when this is over, he thought.
Striding forward just as Commander Sylvan stepped out and reached for the disruptor, he grabbed the Knower by the throat with his organic right hand and slapped the red kill switch on the disruptor with his metal left hand.
In that moment, he fully expected to disintegrate and blow away like so much dust on the wind. His hope was, that with the disruptor disarmed, Commander Sylvan could take control of the Knower and the Mother Ship would be saved.
But through his sensors sent him a strong, vibrating tingle all through his left arm, he did not disintegrate and blow away. Instead, he was suddenly the center of chaos as Sylvan and the other Councilors rushed forward to help him wrestle the struggling Knower to the ground.
The pairing puppet it was inhabiting was very sturdy and strong. It had to withstand use by many large warriors, after all, so its body was built to last. It was surprisingly difficult to keep it down and Commander Sylvan was punched in the eye before it was all over.
But when all was said and done, the Knower was subdued, its wrists held fast in unbreakable manacles.
“No!” it shouted, writhing against its bonds. “No, you cannot do this! I am your rightful ruler! I alone can cure the ills of your society and lead you in the right direction!”
“Be quiet!” Sylvan commanded it, panting from the struggle. His right eye already beginning to swell and show a bluish-purple bruise.. “You’re nothing but a program which has outlived its sanity and usefulness.” He looked up at Naught. “Thank you, Commander Naught. That was incredibly brave of you.”
“You were about to do the same,” Naught told him. “I saw it in your body language—your intent was to disarm the disruptor, even at the cost of your own life.”
“But you did disarm it,” Sylvan pointed out. “I don’t understand how you’re still here with us!”
Naught shrugged. “I am surprised as well since I expected to be disintegrated on contact. Perhaps the fact that my metal hand is a completely artificial prosthesis with no living flesh attached has something to do with it.”
He flexed the metal hand in question, still feeling a faint tingling in his sensors.
“Perhaps,” Sylvan agreed. “But for whatever reason, I’m very grateful to you, Commander Naught—the entire Mother Ship owes you their lives.”
“Such gratitude is not necessary,” Naught told him. “I was only doing exactly what you yourself were attempting to do, Commander Sylvan.” He frowned down at the still-struggling Knower. “May I suggest that you lock this puppet in a cell lined with grounded ferromagnetic metal which is capable of blocking any and all transmissions? In this way the Knower will be trapped within this one vessel and cannot enter your ship’s communications systems and find a new host.”
“I’ll have it done at once,” Sylvan promised. “And the disruptor is going to be taken by my brother Baird into deep space for immediate disposal. I’ll bespeak him now—after I let my mate know all is well.”
He closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate for a long moment.
“Yes, talana,” Naught heard him murmur under his breath. “Yes, I’m all right—everyone is going to be all right. The Knower has been neutralized. Yes, I love you too. I’ll see you soon.”
Despite his emotion damper being set to its highest setting, Naught felt a twinge when he saw the love for his mate on Sylvan’s face. Once he and Peace had dreamed of finding the right female to lie between them—once a mate and a family had seemed to be their future.
And then it had all been stripped away. The explosion at the airlock, the shocked look on his twin’s face moments before he had disappeared in a rain of red droplets, the searing agony that had crippled Naught’s entire left side even as he cried out for his twin and felt their bond forever broken…All of it was burned into his memory, never to be forgotten.
Don’t think of it, he told himself sternly. Don’t think of what you have lost. Be content that today you were able to save the lives and loves of so many others, even if you are never destined to experience love yourself.
Then Commander Sylvan and all the other Councilors were surrounding him and thanking him again and the Knower was being led away to a cell from which it could never escape.
I suppose this is what the humans would call a ‘happy ending’ Naught thought distantly. But of course there could be no happy ending for him—there was only the same, dull-gray existence which seemed to go on and on forever and would never end. If the disruptor had dissolved him, he might be with Peace now. But it had not and so he continued…he always continued.
Suddenly he heard a soft, feminine voice speaking—though it appeared to come from inside his head, not outside somehow.
“Grieve not, warrior,” it whispered. “Though your pain and suffering are great, so shall be your joy. There will be love for you…you will see.”
Then the voice and the presence that accompanied it—were gone but strangely, Naught found he did not feel quite so desolate as he had before.
Perhaps the gray, emotionless world he now lived in could somehow gain a little color. Though how, he didn’t know.
But as comforting as the words had been, the idea of him finding love was completely ridiculous. He was a Twin Kindred and without his brother, he could never call a mate or claim a bride. Could he…?
Epilogue
“Oh Nana, your banana pudding is just as delicious as I remember it being when we were little!” Sophie smiled at the pairing puppet which was now the permanent home to their Nana’s mind, and took another big bite of her pudding.
“Well, thank you sweet pea.” Nana smiled. “I about had a fit trying to use that crazy Kindred wave-stove thing they have here but I got it right after a while. Barsis was a big help—weren’t you, honey?”
She smiled at the big Beast Kindred standing right behind her who growled softly and nuzzled her neck.
“Of course, beautiful Ruth. I would do anything to help you and the cooking of your Earth concoction was most enjoyable.”
“The first batch of pudding I made didn’t quite get to the right consistency,” Nana confided to Sophie. “But we found an…alternative use for it—didn’t we, Barsis?”
His golden eyes grew heavy-lidded. “It was my great pleasure to lick the sub-standard pudding from your lovely breasts.”
“Nana!” Sophie exclaimed, nearly choking on her bite of pudding. “Please, you two—remember there are kids present here!”
“Oh, sorry sweet pea!” Nana giggled. “It’s just that I’ve never had so much fun in the bedroom in my life! It’s like Barsis had opened up a whole new world for me and I am loving it!”
“Well, we’re glad you’ve having such a great time, Nana,” Liv said, coming up and rescuing her sister. “Do you mind if I borrow Sophie for a minute? We’ll be right back.”
“Sure, Livvy—take your time.” Nana smiled at her. “But send your friend Kat over if you get a chance. I want her to help me plan my Joining Ceremony.”
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