by S. H. Jucha
For the briefest of moments, Miranda’s fears leaped, as she imagined she was imprisoned in a box. But incoming data from her avatar’s sensors said she was seated in a liner’s command chair, marking her anxiety as unfounded.
Clinging to the integrity of her persona, Miranda found comfort in one app that clamored above all for her attention. The app’s code spoke of Z’s familiar style, and Miranda clung to it amid the chaotic noise issuing from her kernel. Z had left her a lengthy list of directives, containing instructions for reordering her kernel’s hierarchy, using a template she might emulate.
But Z hadn’t counted on the fact that Miranda was created as a persona. She wasn’t born within a kernel, as every SADE had been; she owed nothing to the sanctity of a kernel. And without doubt, Miranda possessed the most expressive personality of any Haraken SADE.
With a will born of desperation, Miranda raced through Z’s list of algorithms, comparing Allora’s code to that which Z offered … sometimes swapping the former for the latter; sometimes merging the two; and sometimes ignoring both and creating her own. The faster Miranda worked, the more order she restored, and the more at ease she became.
Miranda spent most of her time reviewing and rewriting the emotional algorithms. So much impatience and enmity, Miranda thought, as she examined Allora’s code. It was within these apps that Miranda created most of her original work, choosing persuasions that lay between Z’s patience and Allora’s intensity.
A discovery that gave Miranda joy was the realization that she retained the entire memory of Allora. She was Miranda, but she knew the other SADE’s life intimately.
Tick by tick, Miranda gained control of herself, melding her persona with Allora’s kernel. When she finished Z’s list, she felt settled and ran quickly through her kernel’s hierarchy from top to bottom, tweaking the order here and there. That’s better, Miranda thought, when she finished the task.
There was still much Miranda wished to do, but the last note in Z’s directive file urged her to return to the here and now.
* * *
Initially, when Miranda’s eyes had popped open and her body twitched, ticks after Allora’s transfer, Alex had sent an urgent
The three of them waited anxiously. Despite Z and Julien’s calculations that in all probability the melding of Miranda’s persona to Allora’s kernel would be successful, it was still an experiment. While not the first of its kind — that had been Z and Miranda — this was the mating of kernel and persona, without a SADE in control.
As the moments passed, Alex, Julien, and Z watched Miranda’s body relax. Her wide-open eyes narrowed, a smile replaced her grimace, and her body took on a familiar and tempting pose. Then she flowed out of the command chair with alluring grace and paused to straighten her gown.
“Ser President,” Miranda said, with a wistful expression on her face. “For better or worse, here I am.” Suddenly, she was crushed in Alex’s heavy arms. Despite her substantial mass, her feet left the floor. As Alex set her back on the floor with a kiss on the cheek, Miranda quipped, “That’s a welcome any feminine entity would appreciate.”
“Welcome, Miranda,” Julien said politely, but he was grinning, and a shower of sparkles covered his head, falling to his shoulders.
“For me, dear? You shouldn’t have,” Miranda said, and her comment was followed by a throaty laugh.
Z had stood silently by, and when Miranda turned to him, he extended his hand in greeting, unsure of what else to do in this momentous moment.
“Z,” said Miranda, her voice warm and tender. She crossed the space between them in a blur, and Z’s massive Cedric suit absorbed the impact of her avatar. “Z, Z, Z,” Miranda whispered repeatedly, as she held on to him.
Alex and Julien grinned at each other, but together theirs weren’t nearly as wide as the one Z wore.
Thank you for your gift to these friends of mine, wild child, Alex thought.
Miranda and Z disentangled themselves, and the foursome were about to exit the bridge when Alex suddenly halted. “Wait, lose the smiles, everyone. Remember, we’re in mourning for the loss of Allora,” Alex said. The mention of the young SADE’s sacrifice quickly returned sober expressions to every face.
“What will you say to the Leaders, Ser?” Miranda asked.
“I’ll have to fly this one in manual,” Alex replied. “I’ll keep all three of you linked in my conversation with the Leaders, so that you know where the dialog is headed.”
Julien signaled the Resplendent’s controller, which opened the bridge accessway doors, and the Harakens found Gino and the Leaders waiting anxiously outside.
“Allora acquiesced to the Council’s order?” Gino asked, looking at the containment box in Alex’s hand.
Alex handed the box to Shannon Brixton. “It’s empty,” he said.
Allora’s still on the bridge?” Katrina asked nervously.
“No, she’s not,” Alex replied with a grim expression. “We’re not sure what happened. Allora agreed to the transfer, and we cabled her housing to the containment unit. She initiated the process, but her kernel never manifested in the unit, and she’s not on the bridge.”
“She aborted herself during the transfer,” Shannon said, in awe of the thought that a SADE would commit suicide.
“It would appear that Allora preferred death to your company, dears,” Miranda said. She was smiling, as if to alleviate the sting of her remark, but her eyes held no warmth, no invitation.
In the silence that greeted Miranda’s comment, Alex said, “Leaders, let me introduce you to Miranda Leyton. I don’t believe you’ve ever met her.”
Alex introduced each Leader, as if he was presenting them to an individual of note, which made the Méridiens unsure of Miranda’s relationship to Alex and the Harakens.
“Miranda Leyton … you have two names. That’s unusual for a SADE,” Bartosz Rolek said.
“My, but you are a clever one, aren’t you, dear?” Miranda retorted, which effectively stopped that line of questioning.
“Which ship did you control, Miranda?” Shannon asked, her curiosity growing, since she thought she had accounted for every Haraken SADE and the starship that each had navigated as the fleet fled Libre.
“I find that sort of endeavor entirely unsuited to an entity of my caliber, dear. My talents lie elsewhere,” Miranda said. To divert the Leader’s focus, Miranda turned her charms on Gino. A turn of the hips, a twist of the torso, a cock of the head, a chuck under the Leader’s chin, and a slow, tempting wink had Gino swallowing nervously as he glanced toward Katrina, who stood with her mouth open.
“Enough questions for now, Leaders,” Alex commanded. “You’ve just lost a young SADE. Have some thought for her. We’ve installed a Haraken controller under the bridge. Julien, if you will, accompany Captain Lessori to the bridge and acquaint him with the communications protocols he will need to observe.”
“Yes, Mr. President,” Julien replied, and gestured the captain toward the bridge.
“Z, let’s get this gear back aboard our traveler, so Commander Cohen can launch and clear the bay. Then, Miranda, if you would please, recover the Resplendent’s travelers,” Alex ordered.
The Leaders cleared their way, although they still possessed many more questions, but Alex didn’t seem in the mood to hear them.
Alex smiled to himself. Miranda’s personality was always a strong one, but with elements of the wild child driving her, it seemed to have become even
more forceful.
* * *
“Miranda, I wonder if you wouldn’t mind giving me some of your time?” Shannon asked politely.
Miranda had been waiting for the Brixton Leader to approach her. It surprised her that it took the woman an entire day to make up her mind. The excruciatingly slow speed of human decision processes, Miranda lamented to herself.
“I’m at your disposal, Leader Brixton,” Miranda replied, and followed Shannon to the Leader’s stateroom.
“I thought I knew all the starships that left Libre and the SADEs who navigated them,” Shannon said after they were seated in the salon.
“Well, dear, it’s difficult for me to help you with what you know and don’t know. Was there a specific question you had in mind?” Miranda replied.
Shannon was taken aback. She wasn’t prepared for a SADE to manipulate the conversation. In addition, Shannon had sat on the couch, expecting Miranda to take a seat in the chair opposite her. Instead, the SADE sat right next to her. Shannon kept assuring herself that it was a SADE who encroached on her personal space, but her senses were slowly being overwhelmed by the feminine signals issuing from Miranda.
“When you were asked about which starship you navigated, you said that endeavor was unsuited to you,” Shannon said.
“You have excellent recall, dear,” Miranda acknowledged. Then she leaned toward Shannon and peered at her face. “Of all the Méridien styles, I’ve always found your genetic mix to be one of the most attractive. Do you have a partner?” Miranda enjoyed watching the Leader attempt to put some distance between them. The problem was that Shannon had sat against the couch’s substantial arm. She would have to stand up to clear Miranda from her personal space, and the Leader wasn’t willing to admit defeat, yet.
Poor dear, Miranda thought, as she watched Shannon fidget, but you shouldn’t have been so curious.
“My questions, Miranda, to put them bluntly, are what was your original function and for which House?”
“And why is that important to you, Shannon dear?” asked Miranda, wrapping the Leader’s name in all the allure she could muster.
“Where are your manners, SADE?” Shannon demanded hotly.
“Now isn’t that interesting?” Miranda replied sweetly. “You ask questions, and you demand answers. One would think you’re not extending me the courtesy of an equal. Is that it, dear? You see me as an entity who you should be able to command. Perhaps it’s escaped your notice that I’m a Haraken citizen, who deserves your respect.” While speaking, Miranda had leaned closer and closer to Shannon, while shifting her persona from enticing to challenging.
Shannon thought to have a brief conversation with Miranda, getting the answers to her questions quickly and simply. Now, she was so disoriented by the SADE’s machinations that she urgently wanted an end to their encounter. Standing up and stepping back a few paces. Shannon said, “You may leave now, Miranda.”
“But we were just getting to know each other, dear. I so wish to explore this unbalanced attitude of yours toward my kind,” Miranda said, closing the distance on Shannon.
“I ordered you to leave,” Shannon said, backing away until her hips hit the salon’s conference table.
“No, dear, you asked me to leave, and, to be blunt … isn’t that the word you used earlier … it’s not within your rights to order me to do anything. Learn that lesson now, and you’ll save yourself a great deal of grief as the Confederation’s SADEs become mobile.” Miranda delivered a wink, and then sashayed out of the cabin.
Shannon never bothered Miranda with any questions again. What did occur to her was that she should convince the other Leaders to think of the SADEs as a new alien race, the members of which would live among them. If the conversation with Miranda had taught her anything, it was that she truly knew little about the entities her House had been creating for nearly 300 years.
For Miranda’s part, she continued to entertain the Leaders during the trip to Méridien, although it must be said that the only ones who truly enjoyed her sparkling wit, acerbic style, and overpowering charms were Alex, Julien, and Z.
* * *
“We have concerns, which we must discuss with you, Ser President,” Devon O’Shea said.
The Leaders had requested to speak with Alex privately. In other words, they wanted no SADEs present. The Resplendent would make Méridien orbit in a half-day, and the Leaders had spent the majority of the trip discussing their concerns among themselves.
“We intend to abide by the Council’s pronouncement,” Gino said quickly, when he saw Alex frown at Devon’s statement. “But there are details that are still unformed, and we want your opinion.”
“Such as?” Alex asked.
“The Houses will incur a great deal of expense, paying for the manufacture of controllers and avatars for the SADEs,” Bartosz said. “It was suggested that we deduct those costs from the stipends that will be paid to the SADEs.”
Alex could see by the way Bartosz ducked his head after asking the question that the suggestion had come from him. “Leaders, your Council is fortunate that I didn’t suggest to the SADEs that they request back pay for every year they served.” When Bartosz’ mouth opened in an “oh” of surprise, Alex worked to conceal his grin — it would have been a feral one.
“I think we can dismiss that suggestion,” Gino said into the quiet.
“We do suspect that freeing our SADEs might, over time, destroy our society,” Katrina Pasko said.
Alex shook his head, shocked at how little the Méridien Leaders understood the entities they had worked beside for centuries. “You don’t give your SADEs enough credit. They have human qualities, but they aren’t human. Their priorities aren’t your priorities. Didn’t you hear Diana? She just wants to sail the stars and coax her music out of a wooden, musical instrument.”
“But 29 percent of the SADEs will walk away from their Houses and compete with us,” Devon O’Shea said.
“Who says that all 29 percent will compete with you?” Alex asked.
“Are you saying they won’t compete with us?” Katrina asked.
“Some will; some won’t,” Alex replied. “But don’t forget the 67 percent who wish to remain within your Houses. They will be assets who you will want to carefully cultivate.”
“Cultivate in what manner?” Shannon asked.
Alex watched Shannon lean toward him to focus on his answer. Ever since her private discussion with Miranda, the Leader hadn’t been her usual self. She was much quieter and introspective, often seemingly lost in thought.
“People, you need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. That includes you stop being anxious over the financial profits of your Houses where it concerns SADE competition. First, don’t be surprised if the oldest SADEs choose to remain in their boxes. It’s what they know. But many of your SADEs have harbored the same desires that condemned your citizens to the Independents’ colony. Haraken SADEs have pursued vocations of music, interstellar research, avatar complexity, and administration. Those aren’t competitive industries in your society.”
Alex saw he wasn’t getting through to the Leaders. They were still obviously focused on credits, except for, perhaps, Shannon. So he decided to give them something else to think about. “Of course you have a larger issue facing you.” That brought all eyes in the room on Alex, as if he didn’t have their attention before. “You’re going to have to rethink your practice of isolating the Independents, especially if your mobile SADEs end up engaging in the same activities that get the Independents condemned.”
Alex watched the Leaders’ eyes glance toward one another, and he knew implants were in full force. He had dropped some massive boulders in Confederation waters, and the waves would soon crash against the shores.
Gino disentangled himself from the barrage of implant communications. To say their intent to broach delicate questions with Alex hadn’t gone as planned was an understatement. It crossed Gino’s mind to hire Alex as a consultant to support t
he SADEs’ transition during the next ten years. For a brief moment, he wondered what the annual cost would be for an ex-president, ex-admiral, and rescuer of the Confederation. “Alex, do you have a suggestion to help us integrate the mobile SADEs into our society?” Gino asked.
“I might suggest counseling,” Alex said and watched the confusion spread on the Leaders’ faces.
“And who would we be counseling, Ser?” Katrina dared to ask.
“The SADEs, of course,” Alex replied. “It’s what you do when you release prisoners after decades, if not centuries, of incarceration. I mean that’s what you did, wasn’t it? You locked up intelligent entities, forced them to do your bidding, and offered them no hope of release from their prisons. It’s a wonder that you’ve had so few incidences with your SADEs before Allora.”
“But our present circumstances can be attributed to Haraken —” Devon started to say.
“Don’t,” Alex said forcefully, and the Leaders felt a strong wave pass through their implants into their minds. “Don’t point your fingers at the Haraken SADEs. The present circumstances, as you refer to them, have been coming for many decades. Z might have been the primary architect of the avatar design employed by our SADEs, but your Council condemned him to Libre almost a half-century ago for pursuing his dream of freedom.”
“But surely —” Katrina began, before Alex cut her off.
“And lest you forget, you condemned two other SADES to Libre, Cordelia and Rayland. I can’t imagine two more different entities. Rayland should teach you that a SADE is powerful whether in a box piloting a starship or freed and standing next to you. It’s not their power that should concern you; it’s their state of mind.”
“Your SADEs seem … content,” Shannon said.
“One of them had a difficult time, and he happened to be a SADE of House Bergfalk,” Alex said. “He harbored a great deal of anger for being imprisoned. My point is that just because you didn’t notice or didn’t want to recognize that the issue was brewing among the SADEs doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.”