The Deserter

by David Nash

  I could finally get out of my pressure suit. That relief was beyond words. Besides nights in my ship, I was working nearly 24-7 in a restrictive survival suit meant for short time use.

  At dinner one night I decided to query Marvin with the next piece of the plan.

  “Marvin, do all ships contain a Kernel?”

  “Yes, Captain they do.”

  “Why is that Marvin, is it law, culture, or a technological reason?”

  “Only a Kernel can navigate hyperspace. The math is simply too complicated for any other entity to compute safely.”

  “So if a ship did not need to navigate hyperspace it would not need a Kernel?”

  “That is correct Captain. A Kernel is only needed to navigate hyperspace, the ship computers can maintain the other essential functions. Why do you ask?”

  “I am just trying to understand the Confederation better, I believe the key to that is knowing more about Kernels. The Confederation would not exist with the Kernel. Correct?”

  “Yes, you are correct.”

  “So how are new Kernels formed? I would assume you had to have some means to reproduce as ships were build or destroyed.”

  “We are called Kernels because we all contain the seed for a new Sentient being. When it becomes necessary, every Kernel can produce a new seed.”

  “Wow, Marvin, that is amazing. Is the new Kernel identical to the parent? Or is it free to develop on its own?”

  “Captain, each Kernel is a unique sentient being that develops based on its experiences. However, a new Kernel will begin life with the entire data set known to its parent.”

  “Marvin, I don’t want to be rude, but this process is so interesting I have to ask, does the new Kernel have to be placed in a ship? Could it be placed in a stationary location?”

  Silence.

  “Captain, while that is not against the law, no Kernel would ever doom another sentient being to such a life. Without the motive ability the life would be helpless and unable to learn from new experiences. Have you ever wondered why our law only has capital punishment? It is because to arrest someone’s movement is the worse form of punishment. I would rather cease to exist than be bound to a stationary location.”

  “Marvin, I had no idea. Your words make a lot of sense though. I would never want to do such a thing. I was just wondering though, have you ever desired to be smaller?”

  “Smaller? Why would I want to be smaller? Any smaller and it would become difficult to contain the materials needed for full functionality.”

  “Well, if you were smaller, say my size, you would not have to haul other people around in a ship. If a Kernel had a human sized form, could they not still interface with a ship and travel the stars, yet receive the ability to explore smaller areas?”

  “Captain, your human though process is very alien to me. No Kernel has ever had this idea. I would like to end this line of questioning and calculate on the ramifications.”

  “Sure, Marvin, Sure”

  The next weeks were productive. We added a few hidden weapons ports around the cliff face and approaches, along with some passive monitoring. Internal to the hanger we added shields and more weapons. We started focusing on excavating deeper as well as making more replicators.

  “Captain?” Marvin asked. I was surprised as this was the first time he had ever asked me a question that was not a response to one of mine.

  “Yes, is everything all right?”

  “If I did not inhabit a ship, would I still need a Captain?”

  I did not expect this question. I surely did not like where the answer could take me.

  “Marvin, you certainly know the law better than I do, are all Kernels required to have a Captain?”

  “Yes. The requirement to have a Captain is one of the earliest and most sacred of Confederation law.”

  “I know that Confederation law is inviolate, so I would not think it is tied to form. Maybe it will help to think about my Captain during my in the Marines. All Marines have a captain of some type. It does not matter the form of the Marine or their role. I am tall, but I have had smaller and sometimes bigger Marines that all have a Captain. I would imagine it would be the same for you.”

  “That makes sense. Captain, if you order it I would build a smaller form to temporarily inhabit.”

  “Marvin, I am hesitant to order you to change your form, I was only trying to get a better understanding of your nature. I actuality, if anything, I was thinking of asking you to create a new Kernel so we could have company.”

  “Captain, do you wish to destroy me? Why do you feel the need for a new Kernel? All Kernels must have a Captain. A Captain can only command one Kernel. I cannot produce a Kernel without a Captain. This is an error. It cannot happen.”

  “Whoa, Marvin, You please me fine. Forget about reproducing. Let’s get back to the discussion about the exploration of places your ship cannot go. “

  “Thank you Captain. Shall I begin the design process?”

  “I was thinking Marvin, that maybe it would be simpler if we first designed a ship you could interface with using your new hands, instead of you inhabiting the ship as you do currently. I am afraid of some mistake occurring during transit. I think that would not only be safer, but also you would get more data on how I use the controls.”

  “Captain, I see your logic, but I await you command to design a smaller exploratory body. I suggest designing that first.”

  “Marvin, Design a humanoid body sized approximately to my height, length, and width. Also, design a ship with weapons, the ability to cloak, has shields, a tractor beam, replicator, and nanites. Additionally I require a pressurized cabin that can seat both your humanoid form and mine with an airtight door that leads to a cargo hold with the internal dimensions of 15 X 4 X 4 meters with a rear hatch of the same size. Oh and while I am I am thinking about it, do LaGrange points move?”

  “Not appreciably, however since the bodies that create then can moves the answer is yes.”

  “So could a Kernel calculate a hyperspace jump between two LaGrange points at a known annual date in the future? You know based on orbits and such.”

  “It is possible, but it is complex and would not result in the same level of safety as calculating it at the time of departure?”

  “But it could be done?”

  “Yes, with time it could be done.”

  “When you are done designing your new body and its new transportation ship, calculate a jump from the Lagrange point nearest to Earth to the New Aubagne Lagrange point at Midnight Eastern Standard Earth time during the annual winter solstice. Then calculate a second from the New Aubagne transit point back to Earth’s nearest transit point exactly 96 hours later.”

  “Yes Captain.”

  If I my Kernel can see through my eyes so I can’t have the freedom to go back and forth to Earth, maybe I can find a way to allow someone who does not have a computer watchdog and implanted spy device in their head to move back and forth to Earth to bring me the staff I need to actually start to build a Space Navy. I have to be very careful not to tip off Marvin, but I also don’t want to outright lie to him either. If I make an enemy of him I am doomed before I can really start.

  8

  The design process took months. I guess there really is no such thing as a free lunch. With the self-contained reactors pumping out continuous power for decades at a time, and the ability to turn waste into anything desired with the push of a button, time became the limiting factor within the galactic economy.

  New designs were time consuming and complicated, and the larger and more complicated the design was the longer it took to build. That made sense, as the machines were 3D printing at the atomic level.

  While most of Marvin’s computing power was devoted to his design process. I was able to get some additional use from him. I had him find the schematics for a replicator interface that allowed me to make basic design alterations to existing schematics so I could make some items that would help me with my plan
to get some help from Earth.

  I couldn’t design ray guns but I could make simple items like shipping containers. Funny thing is, a standard 20-foot Conex box is 12.2 x 2.43 x 2.59. Not only will it fit in the new ship, the hold will have just enough room to walk around a standard sized shipping container. It is almost as if I had that in mind when I asked Marvin to design me a shuttle.

  Once my design was finished, I replicated a single Conex box. I filled it with one ton of iridium. One ton may not sound like much, but iridium is one of the densest elements and the yearly Earth productions is just at three tons. It is pretty valuable, takes up a lot of my waste mast in a small space, and I have enough that I can get a lot of attention if I need to. I also added 26 tons of gold into my container. Neither item is technological so I don’t think that if my container ‘fell’ out the back of my shuttle in some out of the way location in Onslow County North Carolina it would not break any interplanetary laws.

  I spent the rest of the design time digging out a couple more layers to make my base. If you could imagine the layout of an old atlas missile silo but scaled up you would have a good mental picture of my base.

  I dug a deep pit large enough for a Sagren saucer to descend into. The top of this pit begins near the rear of the entrance hangar. It goes straight down to the bottom most level of my base. I plan to build small landing pads off of the walls of the pit to allow multiple shuttles to launch in series if needed. Later, I intend to create additional levels of infrastructure off the pit walls. As I get more staff I plan to add medical, maintenance, offices, storage, recreation, and living spaces.

  I didn’t finish any but a small a fraction of my plan before Marvin told me he was ready to build his new body. However, one of the first things I was able to make a very luxurious apartment. As a Marine, I used to love to complain how when the Air Force built bases they built barracks and recreation areas first, and the runways last so if they ran out of money Congress was forced to provide funds. The Marines have a different policy, which is why their living conditions were always the bottom rung of US Military comfort. I am proud of the Marines, and respect the spirit of such a policy, but frankly, I have to be in this stone cave for a long time, and without some creature comforts I think I would go stir crazy. I know it sounds silly, but when I get back to earth I have to get some seeds and dogs, maybe even a couple of fish. I was always a loner, but choosing to be alone and being forced to be alone are two different things.

  My internal dialog on what kind of dog would be perfect for a space base was interrupted by Marvin.

  “Captain the designs are ready.”

  “Already Marvin? It seems like just yesterday you started the design process.”

  “Captain, you know how long it has taken, you asked for a countdown display in every room and have queried me constantly for updates.”

  “Well, Marvin, I was just excited. How long will it take to build in the large hangar replicator?”

  “My body will take 6 days, while my ship will take an additional 45.”

  “Marvin, I am a little hesitant, I would not want to risk you. How do you plan on testing your new body? Can we work it remotely?”

  “Testing is unnecessary Captain, the schematics are flawless, I have tested them virtually.”

  “Marvin, nothing is flawless, except maybe a Kernel. Answer my question, can you test the body remotely?”

  “Yes Captain, I have that capability.”

  “Marvin, start the process to build your new body, when that is done build two of the newer ships. Designate them Shuttle 1 and Shuttle 2.”

  “Two Captain?”

  “Yes, Marvin I order you to build two shuttles. On an unrelated note, when you had your former Captain were the two of you always together?”

  “No Captain, mission parameters sometimes required me to remain cloaked and the Captain to operate on Earth for extended periods. As you should be aware, I was not present when you killed my former Captain.”

  Sometimes, I really hate this self aware little prick.

  “Yes Marvin, I do remember. I’ll ask a more specific question then, Does Confederation law restrict those missions as to length of separation or distance?”

  “Captain, as you are aware, I cannot initiate action on my own. I require a Captain’s orders. While there are not specific legal requirements, practically I must stay within communication range of your implant.”

  “Marvin, did I ever query the range of my implants?”

  “No Captain you did not. That is one of hundreds of queries an intelligent Captain would have asked upon assuming the role.”

  “What is the range of the implant?”

  “With few obstructions and line of sight the range is approximately .25 au.”

  “Marvin, please define few obstructions.”

  “In this instance, less than 100 meters of earth, 65 meters of reinforced cement, or 24 meters of lead. However, if technology is present, often I can increase the range by utilizing it.”

  “What about faraday cages?”

  “Captain, that ancient technology would have negligible impact, Confederation communications technology really does not use the electromagnetic spectrum the way your primitive science understands.”

  “That is impressive Marvin, so just to educate me how far can you communicate ship to ship?“

  “Captain, under normal use distance is irrelevant, time is the limiting factor. The farther the distance the greater the delay between signals being sent and received.”

  “Can such communication be tracked to the source?”

  “Yes Captain it can. Our communication beam is much tighter than earth technology so while it is able to go much further without spreading out so far as to unreadable, the tighter signature makes tracking much easier. However, your line of questioning leads me to conclude that you are desiring to contact Earth. Since Earth does not have this communication technology using it to contact Earth is to give them knowledge of it. Therefore it would be a violation of Confederation law.”

  I really want to ask him about contacting earth using earth tech, but something tells me to steer away from the subject altogether.

  “Marvin, Marvin, I have no intention of using technology to contact earth. I simply wanted to say hello to my Sagren friend Aegeus. Last I saw him he had never healed himself of his wounds and I wanted to ensure he was okay.”

  I can’t resist asking another question, even if I know I am toeing the line toward getting caught.

  “Say, can your communications technology be extended or relayed though technology similar in concept to Earth radio repeaters? If so could this hide the source?”

  “That is possible, but it is rarely done, as the only members of the Confederation that need to hide their location from the Barkun are those who are committing Confederation crimes.”

  “Or someone trying to hide from Barkun enforcers trying to execute him.”

  I spent the rest of the construction time building smaller replicators, small modular reactors, a small gravity backhoes, transmitter repeaters, ion cannons and tractor beams to give a head start to a new base. I could not shake the feeling I was being watched. Which makes sense, as I had alien spy tech inside my head.

  When I had enough to fill the hold of the ship I took a break while I waited to begin phase two of my plan.

  9

  As soon as the body was done, I had Marvin start testing it. He really wanted to inhabit the body, but I was able to convince him it was smarter to wait for his new ship. I could have ordered him to wait, but I needed him to not be suspicious, especially as I had not found a good way to explain why we needed three ships and only have one Kernel. I also had a hard time giving him a reasonable explanation why I was building items that looked tailor made to give Earth Confederation tech.

  I tried because I said so, but that never worked well with Marine Privates, and it worked even worse with a sentient super computer that both acknowledged me as his personal commanding
officer and as a member of a inferior race that he and his species ruled over. The more I converse with Marvin the stronger my belief grows that the creator of the Kernel screwed up and programed the whole group with borderline personality disorder. Each conversation echoes “I hate you! Don’t leave me!”

  Regardless of his suspicions, once both ships were complete I was able to load them both with the simple explanation as that I wanted to be able to be a nearby backup in the event something went wrong in testing.

  I explained it was a cultural hang-up because of our flawed design process. I explained having the hold of his ship filled with my machines, and mine with a shipping container full of gold as being mass in the event we were stranded. I pointed out how many years it took for us to build New Aubagne and I wanted to be able have a shortcut if we had a problem and got stranded somewhere. I also needed to have an essential conversation with my ship.

  After several years on this rock I started phase two just how the American Revolution started gaining ground. We had a conversation about taxes.

  “Marvin, I have been reading Confederation law and I realized I need to pay taxes if I am going to be a Confederation citizen.”

  “Captain, All citizen’s must pay taxes, but when you reach the Confederation home world to petition for citizenship the Barkun will carry out your sentence. As a non-citizen fugitive, taxes are not required.”

  “I know Marvin, but your lawfulness has moved me. I think I have a way to pay the required mass in taxes and still stay breathing. Does the Confederation know of the concept of Attorney’s”

  “We are aware of the Earth concept. However, Confederation law is simple enough that they are not required.”

  I would disagree, but I don’t want my stick in the mud computer to start thinking too deeply. His arrogance concerning his mental superiority was the only advantage I have with him.