by Alex Guerra
“Your help.”
My help? I thought. “Why me?”
“Luck would be the best word to describe it,” said the voice in a pondering tone.
A voice in my head is telling me I am lucky, go figure. Some luck I have, I thought.
“Chance, then. Semantics,” it replied.
“You can—”
“Read your mind? Yes, it’s mostly how I can think of responses almost instantaneously for you,” it said. “I am also able to influence you directly. The crystalline form has limited power, though, therefore, the influence was not nearly as strong as it is now that you and I have properly synchronized. I am able to influence your thoughts, emotions, even physical needs when necessary, to help you, and in turn, myself, accomplish set tasks. You also do not need to verbally communicate with me for me to respond, but we can continue like this for now until you feel more comfortable,” the voice continued.
“You have complete control over me?” I asked with a shiver.
“Yes and no,” it said. “Should you follow my mission parameters, I will only influence you to help the situations we may find ourselves in. If you choose to fight me or go against the mission parameters, then you will force me to take control until you change your mind, or I find a better host.”
“Finding a better host,” I repeated the words. “I don’t have a choice then. Either I do what you say willingly, or you’ll take control and eventually kill me off and try again, is that it?”
“I will only interfere when you are resistant or moving away from the mission parameters. I will also influence you when you when you are in extreme danger and need to perform beyond your current capabilities. Our mission is to reunite with the Galactic Conglomerate and continue making upgrades to this ship, The Pillar, to aid you in that mission,” explained the A.I.
It was a puppet master, and it was manipulating me. There was no other alternative, as it was extorting me with the highest punishment at stake.
“I…understand. So, what happened? The last thing I remember was someone shooting me as we came through that portal. Now I’m in space with a new, incredibly strong body, and talking to a computer in my own mind,” I said, realizing how ridiculous this all sounded.
“Upon coming through the portal, your vitals were dangerously low. The crystal housing me, allowed me to emit a signal to communicate with The Pillar, rendering aid to you. While tending to your wound, I took the liberty of strengthening your body.”
“You gave me steroids?” I said.
“That would be putting it simply, yes—along with enhancing your bones and tendons to near unbreakable limits.”
“Geeze, can I fly now too?” Despite my blindness, I found myself still instinctively rolling my eyes.
“No, that would be impossible…and stupid,” it said, bluntly.
“That was sarcasm,” I said.
“I know,” said the voice.
Dick, I thought.
I can still hear you.
“Alright, why the steroids? Why not just heal me—not that I’m complaining,” I asked.
“Your upcoming tasks will require you to be in a higher physical form,” it explained.
“Tasks—you had mentioned that before. What sort of tasks do you need me to do? I’m not going to be breaking rocks all day for you,” I leveled at the A.I.
“It’s not going to be anything like that,” It said.
“Good, because—”
“It will be much harder, and more dangerous,” it cut me off.
Great, I thought.
Wanting to change the direction of the conversation for the moment, I asked out of curiosity, “Can you tell me where we are right now?”
In my mind, I saw a crude diagram of a galaxy—which the A.I. confirmed was indeed the Milky Way—with a pulsing dot along one of the outer arms. I could not recall where my home had been located and asked the A.I. to show me where Earth was. Another dot pulsed slowly…completely on the other side of the galaxy.
I became nauseous.
“Why would there be a portal on Earth to the other side of the galaxy?” I tried to understand.
“My creators, the Yau, had visited your world many times in the past. They had studied your race, but never interfered,” it said
So, the guy with the weird hair on T.V. was right about aliens, I thought. I always knew there had to be something more out there than humans. Whenever I would bring this up with my friend, Sam, he would roll his eyes or brush it off like it was crazy talk. The revelation didn’t make me feel any better, unfortunately. I never thought I would be the one to encounter alien life forms first.
“The Yau never interfered, but studied the planet…including us humans?” I asked, confirming I heard this thing correctly.
“Based on the age of the portals on Earth and its moon, your civilization had not grown to the same proportions as it is today. I was able to pull some scientific records from the consoles surrounding the portal, despite my limited data. At the time of its last use, reports had dated over a thousand years ago. That is all I know about this time. My creators have sent research and exploration teams throughout the galaxy to study planets and their civilizations with almost no influence.” said the A.I.
“Why didn’t the Yau reveal themselves or share their findings? A lot of humans would have survived diseases which ravaged entire continents,” I asked.
“I can understand why you would be frustrated about this, but had the Yau intervened or revealed themselves, not only to your civilization but any civilization, it would shatter the foundations in which entire nations and religions were founded on,” it went on. “My creators are only here to observe and study. They would mark their findings for a few years and come back several hundred years later or more, to see the progress of the planet and civilizations. Nothing else.”
“Like the ‘Prime Directive’ from Star Trek,” I muttered.
“Exactly,” it said.
“Wait, you’ve seen Star Trek?” I asked.
“No, but you have, which in turn is conveyed to me based on your memories.”
I drew my lips into a thin line. This thing had access to everything that made me, me. “Alright, so why the portals?” I asked, with a sigh.
“Like many other instances when studying growing civilizations, the Yau would need an easier way to bring samples back to the ship, to study without attracting much attention by using smaller craft constantly. Why the ship was so far away from Earth now, would be pure speculation, as the records I found aboard the ship indicate that is has been over four hundred years since its use,” informed the A.I.
“The entity that had crash landed on your planet had gone for the nearest portal, as I instructed it to do so, and there, we found you. Once we found the portal, I established a connection to the last destination, which was The Pillar,” it said. “It was by pure chance that the teleporter was still intact and functioning with enough power. After establishing a connection, I was able to send you through with the small amount of power remaining at the teleport on your planet. The receiving teleporter aboard the ship is useless at this time, as it only appears to have been connected to the one we used on Earth.”
It was a lot to take in, and the explanation didn’t make me feel any better.
“Can I go back home now that I have helped you get back to your ship, by chance?” I asked, pretty sure I already knew the answer even before I asked.
“Apologies, unfortunately, you may not, at least not any time in the foreseeable future,” it replied.
I sighed at the news and flexed my arms and legs slightly to find that I was indeed still confined to the table. Subtle clicks and beeps came from the room, but I convinced myself that the worst part of this experiment was over. “You said that I had upcoming tasks? My job isn’t complete then?”
“No. The ship requires your further assistance in completing its mission.”
“Which would be?” I asked.
“To help the Gala
ctic Conglomerate fight the Vael Empire,” it said bluntly.
I was taken aback. “Wait, what side are you on?” I asked, a cold rock forming in my gut. This better be an evil empire, otherwise I could be helping terrorists for all I know, I thought.
“Rest assured, the Galactic Conglomerate are not terrorists and the Vael Empire does not deserve your pity. I have witnessed senseless bloodshed over many centuries from the archives of my creators, before the fall of their homeworlds. The empire eventually eradicated my creators out of greed and spite.
“Why?”
“The Yau chose not to join the Vael’s ranks, unlike the Darkkon Empire. The Vael Empire was envious of the Yau’s technology and riches—and they were afraid of such power turning against them. My creators saw what the Vael truly were, and as such, it sealed the Yau’s fate. They fought for nearly a century, both sides taking heavy losses, but my creators would eventually lose the battle,” said Dotty.
“Are there any left? Can we get them to help us somehow?” I asked, grasping at the idea of not being alone in this crazy mission with an A.I. in my head.
“That is unknown at this time. My best estimate is that they have been completely wiped out, although, that is yet to be confirmed,” it said. “There is a chance that some of the ships escaping the homeworld were successful in relocating small amounts of the population to remote planets; however, the location of those planets was never imparted to me.”
I thought about the crisis these aliens endured in their final days. It would be worldwide chaos on Earth. “Why were their destination not shared with you?”
“It was a security measure—a wise one at that, considering my own failure to elude imperial forces, which lead to the deaths of everyone aboard the vessel I was bestowed,” said the A.I. in nearly a solemn voice—if it could imitate such a feeling.
“What happened?”
“My mission to escort remaining survivors into deep space was met with failure. The Galactic Conglomerate, a band of civilizations whose territories have been slowly encroached upon either through economics imposed by the empire—or through force, recovered me from the remains of my ship seven months ago.
“While large engagements are now rare, the conglomerate continues to fight against the empire. It appears that after the empire ravage my creator’s world, the war never ended, it has simply evolved and changed into a different beast. I heard their plight and have pledged to help their cause in fighting the Vael Empire once again. Where my people failed to defeat the empire, I will not fail again in my assisting the Galactic Conglomerate,” it explained. “You are to help me in this mission, by first helping me in returning to the conglomerate.”
Evil empire it is, I thought, but still held some reservations.
My vision began to return, although, everything was blurry on my peripherals. Releasing the restraints, the A.I. warned me not to rub my eyes. Standing up from the table and glancing around the room, I hoped my vision would get better over time, but surprisingly, I didn’t feel any different.
“So, where do we go from here? Which way is the fastest way to the conglomerate? Oh, and I hope you can fly this ship without me. I’ve only driven my old truck, which is now sitting wrecked in a ditch back on Earth—thank you for that, by the way,” I added, no small amount of resentment in my tone.
“For you to understand, please proceed to the power room,” came the voice, as it provided directions throughout the ship.
*****
I—We headed in the direction which I gauged as aft of my previous location. The A.I. led me through numerous corridors until I came to an area towards the center of the ship. Inside there had been a smaller anteroom with stairs leading down to a much larger room.
The dimly lit room was oval in appearance. Against the wall, directly ahead of me at the crest of the oval, lay a large sphere in a cradle. Clear and crystal-like in substance, it looked like a snow globe wrapped in a golden filigree. Inside was a flickering silver flame, like a pilot light.
“As you can see, the current power core only has a small amount of energy left—two percent to be precise. It is the only energy source running the ship, besides solar energy, which the ship stores for auxiliary power. Without a replacement core, the ship cannot function at its peak efficiency and certain areas will be blocked off indefinitely,” explained the A.I.
“Why indefinitely?” I asked.
“It is a safety measure to protect the more sensitive areas of the ship should it fall into enemy hands,” it replied in its cold voice. “The ship has been in low power stasis for centuries. When my original master died, I had taken his brain matter and formed a crystalline version of myself to stay in stasis, should it be a while before a suitable person reclaimed me.
“The person that crashed on your planet was a scientist named Caulder Erso. He was the one that discovered me seven months ago, lying within my former master’s skull. I was able to integrate with him in a similar manner to how I did with you. Unfortunately, the ship we had used had no more energy to go on, and so, we continued looking for Yau technology to help aid the Galactic Conglomerate.”
“And in your search, he was killed by that thing that shot me?” I asked.
“Precisely,” the A.I. confirmed. “It was fortunate that you had discovered me so promptly, considering our pursuer being so near. Should I have fallen into the hands of the imperial agent, I would have had to self-terminate. Otherwise, I would wait for someone who shared similar motives to myself.”
“And should you discover they don’t share the same motives as you?” I dared to ask.
“Like I explained prior, I would influence them enough to get to a safe point, after which, I would stop their bodily functions until they expired, and then, return to my crystalline form to wait for another.”
“Damn...” I muttered upon hearing the news.
“Please, try your best not to die in the middle of nowhere, to assure I do not fall into the wrong hands,” it added.
“So long as you promise not to kill me, should I have doubts from time to time, eh?” I joked half-heartedly, not feeling entirely safe with this A.I. inside me.
I looked around the core room. Large rings lined the walls and in the center of the floor, I noticed a circular indentation. I walked over and took a tentative poke at it with my foot.
“This is where the catalyst goes. It is the key to unlocking the ship’s ultimate power,” it said.
“Where is it?” I asked, waving an arm across the room.
“It has never been aboard this ship. The Yau created only a handful of catalysts. Unfortunately, I do not have the details as to any of their whereabouts,” it explained.
“Okay, so we start with finding a new power core for now. Do you know where to find some? Is there a power core store or something?” I asked, wondering how difficult of a task this would be.
“Given the ship’s current power situation, would it not be a waste of resources to have upgraded you so extensively, when I only need to send you to the store on an errand run?” asked the A.I., as my jaw dropped at the remark for a moment, unsure if it was genuine bravado or an attempt at humor. “You will need to scavenge additional power cores off ships like this one. The nearest one is a three-day trip to the desert planet of Harkloon,” the A.I. instructed.
“Would we have enough fuel to get there? Obviously, I don’t know how any of this works,” I admitted. “Also, are you saying three days Earth time or three days…whatever your creators used as a measurement of days?” I asked, throwing up my hands.
“Be assured that all my time and distance measurements are automatically converted into something you would understand.” explained the A.I.
“Inches and feet, yards and miles...pounds? You’ll convert all measurements into the imperial measurements I am familiar with as an American then, right? Seriously, don’t go throwing in meters or kilograms suddenly if things get difficult,” I joked, light-heartedly, crossing my arms. There was a pause f
or a moment, which stretched out awkwardly. “Uh—hello?”
“I will only translate things in a way that’s easiest for you. Everything regarding time will be based on your planet,” it confirmed coldly. “This is from my synchronization with your mind and body.
“Oh...fair enough, I guess.”
“With our remaining power core, the ship can maintain all normal traveling functions for the next three years,” the A.I. claimed.
“That’s one hell of a battery,” I muttered, rubbing my chin. “Three days, you say? Well, I hope you have somewhere I can sleep and food I can eat aboard this thing. How is the food situation, by the way? I doubt even your canned food can last centuries and still be edible,” I mocked.
“Sleeping quarters are available as well as a galley. Based on your physiology, your food needs will be met, although, you may find the food to be—uninviting,” it replied.
“Uninviting, huh? Great, I can’t wait. In that case, please, lead the way,” I requested, exiting the power core room and climbing up the stairs.
*****
The A.I. led me to the crew quarters where several private rooms were. The “Captain’s Quarters” as it turns out, wasn’t any more luxurious than the rest of the crews’ rooms. It did happen to be a few paces closer to the bridge, however.
“The Yau believed in equality, but they had elected one among them to have the title of Captain—to break ties in votes as well as make final decisions, especially in times of urgency,” the A.I. said, alluding to past occasions.
It just occurred to me that I had not asked the A.I. for its name, or if it even had one. Was a name even needed if it was already in my mind?
“Do you have a name, by chance?” I asked, sitting on the “Captain’s” bed.
“I have been given several names over the years, many of which you would find difficult to pronounce,” said the A.I.
“Try me,” I dared, with a shrug.
“The last name I was assigned was Dotyshikluto,” it said.
“That…is a bit difficult and entirely too long. In case of an emergency, your new name is Dotty,” I said with finality.