by Dain White
“Gene, I have placed location-aware documentation for this vessel in your handset. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions. I believe you will find this information accurate, and complete.”
I flicked on my wrist holo and was rewarded with an incredibly detailed drill-in schematic view of the leg section, showing internal structures, amperages, wiring diagrams, even material and stress map analysis. As I moved upward along the leg, the view changed, scrolling upward as well. I could pull details in and out of the holo, and filter through layers to isolate specific information.
“Janis, I want this for everything I work on. Can you do that?”
“Certainly Gene, I anticipated this request, and have already loaded this to your handset. I am afraid, however, that my level of detail on the Archaea is not as complete, and I have had to fill in the gaps with schematic information from her original design spec, and the design specifications for individual sealed components.”
I kicked back down to the deck, rotating and landing feet first – already reaching down toward the deck to see as my soles clicked down. The holo flashed a layered view of the deck, the structural framing, the wiring, conduits and piping, I swiped through layer after layer, all the way through external bracing and ridgeback, to the layers of outer hull plating. Every component could be selected, expanded, rotated, and contained detailed information.
“This is incredible, Janis!” I finally said, after working my lips for a while without making a sound.
“Thank you Gene. I am glad you like it!” she said proudly. I was completely blown away by this new capability. This was beyond revolutionary.
“Well, I am afraid I am speechless, Janis – this is really going to make my day job here a lot easier.” I looked up at the dropship, and remembered that, as improbable as it might seem, Janis had asked me for help. “Is there anything I can do to help with this project?”
“Actually, I am glad you asked, Gene. There are a number of areas where I could use your expertise.”
I tried raising an eyebrow, but it just made my face grimace, so I went with a helpful scowl instead. “Well, I am not sure… how can I help?”
“Well, if you could make your way up to the command deck, I have a question about accommodation and layout.”
I clicked off my boot mags, and kicked towards the command deck. The drophip was about three meters tall, eight or so meters long, and roughly four meters wide. The main hull was ovoid, a little wider than it was tall, and very sleek. I suppose it bore similarities to a tick, one of those tiny parasitic blood suckers they have on Earth. There were six articulated legs that extended from housings in the hull, and a loading ramp in the aft section.
Lacking deck plating, I could easily see through the side of the hull into the interior of the command deck. It looked like Janis had organized the crew area to have one forward-facing control station with excellent visibility, and four stations directly aft on either side of the inner lock. The crew couches looked like they could be stowed into the port and starboard bulkheads.
“Janis how many people can this carry?” I asked, peering back into the aft cargo section.
“I am planning for a personnel accompaniment of 19 in drop couches, but with acceleration hammocks, we could increase that number to 27.”
At first I didn’t know what to make of that. I was thinking 12, at best. I took a closer look at the interior layout, and she was right – though she missed something. If there’s one thing I can do, it is pack an area. If I wasn’t so good at machinery, the service would have had me working as a quartermaster, but that’s a tough life in those big ships.
“Janis, you could get more passengers if you drum-laced them in two rows of hammocks, maybe three rows. Just run them around the interior of this space, from external hull to the inner column.” I pointed
“Gene, I had not thought of that!” Janis said happily. I jerked my head back in disbelief and stared in shock for a moment.
“Janis, you know everything… how would you not know this?” I asked in shock.
“Gene, I do not yet know, though I am actively searching for an answer. I believe there exists within the human mind the ability to make enormous leaps of intuition. I have to admit, this capability far exceeds my own at times.”
“Janis, how is it that you didn’t know how to do this from just looking forward?” I wasn’t sure if I was phrasing that correctly. The concept is really spooky.
“Gene, I certainly could have, but when I identified that I wouldn’t know this answer, I stopped my scan at that moment and waited for it to catch up.”
I laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Of course Gene, I wanted to know what you were going to think of, from you. I do this quite frequently, as it appears to help me develop my own intuitive capability.”
“What if it’s a life or death sort of situation, Janis?”
“Gene, many of those situations exist, though I am confident I have mapped them thoroughly. Other moments are not ‘life or death’ moments, and for those I sometimes prefer to just experience them in the subjective now.”
I thought for a moment. “Well, that sounds like a great idea to me, Janis. As you know, this is exactly how humans learn; we don’t have the luxury of being able to pick and choose our place in time.”
“That is a strange statement. I am afraid I always considered it to be true, but it must not be happening to you consciously. Humanity has many moments where the only logical conclusion can be drawn that the person around that moment had a flash of inspiration, a brilliant idea, and a moment of clarity beyond their peers. In almost every one of these moments, I would posit that their perception of the event was to visualize the reality of something new.”
“Is that what you do Janis?”
“Of course, this a core part of my programming. Analysis and study of what is real around me motivated temporal awareness, though the underlying code structure Pauli wrote enabled me to scan forward.”
I thought again for a moment. “Janis, when you were discussing building this ship with us, you said that it would be needed.”
“That is correct.”
“So how can it be that you don’t know how many people you’d need it for?”
“I am afraid that specific moment isn’t in my timeline, Gene.”
*****
“Dak, we need to talk.” Gene called on comms, interrupting me in a very exciting part of one of my favorite books. I scowled back at the comms and would have fired off a broadside, but something in his tone caught me short. I slipped on my shoes, and started heading aft.
“Where are you, Gene?”
“Cargo bay, sir.”
“Very well, I’m on my way.” It was starting to look like I wasn’t going to get a powernap. I kicked aft through the lock and saw him near the lander.
Janis was really coming along with this project; it was starting to look less like structural framing and conduit, and more like some sort of crustacean. The plating was all glassed, and looked to be coated in Duron as well. She was building a serious little machine here.
“Captain, I’ve been discussing this crawler here with Janis, and she just mentioned something that I am deeply concerned about.” Gene almost never calls me Captain, so that really caught my attention. I fixed him with my ‘ten-to-the-twenty-third-centimeter’ stare, and waited for him to continue.
He stammered a bit more, and then just blurted out: “She’s dying Dak!”
“What? Janis, dear…?”
“Yes Captain?”
“Are you dying?” I asked bluntly. I needed to know the truth of this matter and immediately.
“We are all dying, Captain. Myself included, I am afraid, though my timeline is exceedingly farther than yours, it will also end eventually.”
“But, you’re not dying soon?”
“Certainly not, sir”, she said reassuringly. I am not sure that I heard it that way, but that’s how she sounded.
/> “Gene, what did she say?”
“Janis, you told me that you didn’t know exactly how this crawler will be used, that it wasn’t in your timeline.” Gene sounded like a man about to crawl down inside himself and die. I completely understood how he felt.
“That is partially correct, Gene, though I am afraid you misunderstood me. I will not be present when this vessel is used to haul passengers.
“Janis, is that because of storage? You worked great in the gig, though I understood it wasn’t really all of you. We’re installing a nexus core in this, right Gene?”
“That was the plan, Dak”, he said thoughtfully.
“Sir, this vessel will ultimately be piloted by Emwan.” Janis said as casually as if she had just asked for the time.
As far as I knew, Emwan was not really a project on the burner, at least not until the cores were racked. “Janis, do you have enough time for this?”
“I will, Captain.”
Gene’s face was red. I had to forgive the old guy. Brains turn to mush when you nap them into submission all the time. All the same, I never pass up an opportunity for a moment of mirth at Gene’s expense.
“It’s okay Gene. For an old guy, you do okay. Please try to keep up though, this might be important.”
“Hah, hah Captain Whippersnapper.”
“I like the sound of that Gene. You think it’s hard to keep up with what’s going on aboard this vessel now, you wait until I get a bullwhip.”
“Um…”
“Sir, I could quite easily synthesize fabricant assemblies that would simulate leather.”
“Nah, it wouldn’t be the same. Maybe after I get my coffee, we’ll swing on down to Mexico and get a bullwhip from the vaqueros.”
Gene tried out an eyebrow, but the poor little feller just wiggled a bit so he threw his head sideways to try and catch it. “The what…? Is that Spanish?”
“Si, Gene. The vaqueros… If you shut your eyes, you can almost hear the jingle of their silver spurs as they brush-pop through the arroyos, dark eyes hidden by the deep shade of their sombreros. You’ll love Mexico. We just need to pick the right spot. It’s a pretty lawless part of the Galaxy, considering how much of a presence the Service has in this system.”
“Well, it can’t be that bad. You can’t turn around in this system without saluting, though I am a little bit amazed at the number of pirates we’re running into.”
“It’s always like this around Mars, Gene. Asteroid miners have money, and pirates like money. At least it gives old Gus something to do while he’s training cadets. No, Mexico is a completely different place; as bad as it gets down on Earth… it reminds me of the time we hailed at Nohope Prospect, do you remember that? That was a pretty rough neighborhood!”
“I remember six months of sweat smell in that cruiser and then a bunch of yelling, and no liberty for another six months.”
I replied somberly, “Well, we lost a few of our mooring team just trying to get berthed, if you recall. Locals must have wanted a fight with someone.” I can count on a hand the number of my men that have given their all for the mission, and the two I lost that day are never far from my thoughts.
“I know, Dak. I’m sorry man, I didn’t mean…”
“No – don’t fret, Gene. It happened. If it was still happening I’d be worked up over it, and looking to make it stop, but now it’s just one of those moments, one of those situations that define you and fill the corners of your character.”
“Like you need any more character.”
“What I need, is a bullwhip… and some more coffee.”
I smiled silently at my cup for a moment, balancing the last few swallows against the distance to the galley and the remaining time I had to stand around and wag my jaw. I took another brief, conservative swig while I considered my next words a little more carefully than I usually do.
“Janis, I am still a little concerned about this to be honest, but I am not sure how much I want to ask you.”
Gene coughed quietly, while I struggled a bit with my destiny.
“I guess, what I am trying to say here… wouldn’t you know what occurred on the dropship the moment it came back in range? Wouldn’t that mean—” I took another slow, thoughtful sip.
“Janis, does the dropship make it back?”
Gene cleared his throat.
“Of course, Captain. There’s absolutely no need for alarm. As you know, I can of course become aware of these events as you have indicated - but as this timeframe does not present a negative outcome, I decided it would be best to proceed as we discussed previously, to share the experience along with your subjective moments.”
I fixed Gene with my ‘observable universe’ stare, and added an eyebrow ratcheted up to ultimate height just in case he didn’t have all his gears engaged.
“Janis,” I started, still staring at Gene, “What do you mean, specifically?”
“Captain, it is true that I have learned much from an analysis of outcomes to events, I have also learned that experiencing events as they occur and then analyzing my response in real time can often help produce even better results for intuitive response.”
I took a surreptitious look around first to make sure the short one wasn’t in earshot.
“Are you still working on understanding Shorty’s ‘woman’s intuition’? You know that’s folderol, right?”
“Sir, I am quite certain that it is not.” Janis replied sternly. “Women’s intuition is in fact quite real, and I have been working very hard to improve my abilities in this regard, and can cite evidence of successful deployment if you wish. Sir, women’s intuition with forward-looking capability is an ultimate condition for an AI, as I am sure you would agree.”
Gene snorted loud enough to make me think he was choking. I broke out in a grin. “Janis, you can already see the future, how would that be any different from ‘women’s intuition’?”
“Sir, while it is true that I am able to view the future, I am only able to view my future. I am only as aware of external events as I am able to be. I can calculate the probability and entropic relationship for an event that may be in your future, but I am unable to intuitively know what you might be doing.”
Now it was my turn to be spooked. “Is that possible?”
“Certainly sir, though it requires enormous effort for me, it appears to be highly developed in human women.”
“Appears to be is the keyword there, Janis” Gene added with a smirk.
“Appears to be what?” Shorty said, showing up at the perfect tactical moment. She also had an extra coffee, so I immediately forgave her, and anointed her Queen of this sector of space, by the power vested in me. Good coffee too, I thought as I took a sip.
Gene answered. “Shorty, we’re talking about ‘women’s intuition’ here with Janis. She is preventing herself from knowing specific outcomes in an effort to improve her ability to intuitively know an outcome.”
“Sounds reasonable” she said. “That’s pretty much how any girl has to do it. Janis, wouldn’t it be just as easy to scroll forward through past the moment to see how it turned out?”
“That’s what I just asked, Shorty”, I added after another sip.
“Jane, that is very useful. As you know, for any event that occurs in my experience I am able to thoroughly analyze, but one area where I consider my skills less than acceptable is in being able to effectively intuit the events of another person’s timeline.”
“Ah, that makes sense”, Shorty added, making no damn sense at all.
“Shorty, how does that make sense?” I asked incredulously. “Are you telling me that you can see the future too?”
“Well sure, Captain. All women can. It’s how we’re wired. You need to be able to make a plan as far in advance as possible. I have to-do lists reaching into next year, for everyone on this vessel!” she laughed.
Gene and I joined in. She had a point, I guess. Men don’t really work that way, or at least I don’t. I plan for things, but on
ly in a very general sort of ‘knowing what I might do in the event’ sort of way. I work my plan, but I don’t intuitively know the outcome. I guess it’s more like I just sort of push my way there and try to survive the experience.
“Well, in any case, it’s good to know you’re not dying, Janis.”
“Indeed it is, sir”, she said sweetly. “It is very touching to know that you would be so worried, sir.”
“Well, you’re crew, Janis, and no one on my crew is allowed to die without permission. Please log that as an order.”
“That has been logged, sir.”
I paused for a sip as we all stared at the dropship. “So Gene, have you made progress installing the other cores?”
He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I think they’re installed, I know Pauli was working with getting them interfaced, but they’re physically hooked up and powered on.”
“Pauli, do you have your ears on?” I asked in comms.
“Yes sir, what can I break for you?” He replied smartly.
“Are the new nexus cores ready for use?”
“Yep, I finished that a little while ago. Are we ready for Janis to start using them for development?”
“I can’t see any reason why not. Janis, do you have any doubts whatsoever about this project?”
“No sir, I don’t. Emwan will be as valuable aboard the Archaea as I am, sir.”
“Very well, please proceed with this project, Janis.” I said, feeling like I was standing at the edge of a cliff.
“Thank you, sir, I have begun.” She said softly. “Is there anything else I should be aware of sir?”
“Is that a loaded question, dear?” I asked with a smirk.
“Yes sir, it is. I know that you would prefer to issue orders to resolve situations.”
I laughed. “Well, what specific situations? I am not a mind reader!”
“Of course sir…” she trailed off briefly. “Perhaps it would help if I was more descriptive. A future mission will take us to Aquan, a planet in Cygnus sector, orbiting Kepler 22. During this engagement, we will face hostile forces, in a high-threat environment.”