Universe of the Soul

by Jennifer Mandelas

  The male humacom smiled. “Indeed you are.”

  Both turned back to stare at Floyd beyond the partition. If it had not been for the flush brought on by his high fever, he would have been deathly pale. The young man thrashed in the bed, muttering to himself before settling down again. “He is showing classic signs of stress and overwork, according to my medical files,” Zultan commented.

  An infirmary orderly passed by the two humacoms, staring in curiosity. The two humacoms stared back. Cassie spoke to Zultan via the instant messaging system. He worked too hard to create me.

  Perhaps, but I deduce that there are other factors to blame as well. Zultan replied.

  If he knew that being active like this would lead to illness, I don't understand why he did so. It's illogical.

  Cassie, that is the difference between us and them. Humans are able to ignore their logic, going on against all proven data. This is often the result.

  Are we then always subject to our logic systems?

  Yes. That is how humans program us to be.

  That makes no sense at all. Why do they program us to do things that they obviously do not adhere to themselves? They are much more fragile than we are. If anything, they ought to be the ones to follow a logic structure. But you said that this is “often” the result. Is there another result for this sort of behavior?

  Yes. Sometimes when humans go against their logic, they come up with something new. Being programmed with a logic we must adhere to, we are unable to create something original. We are only capable of using the functions provided for us. Our capabilities are finite, while theirs can be infinite under the right circumstances.

  You are speaking too abstract for me. I'd much prefer focusing on my duties and leaving all this philosophy to a database like you.

  If you like. But I can deduce that we will not be able to avoid these issues forever. They both watched as a medical humacom adjusted Floyd's IV dose. The liquid, which had been a pale yellow color, began to change to a darker color, almost black.

  “Those actions have been processed as suspicious,” Cassie said out loud.

  “I agree. My medical data identifies this change in color as highly dangerous.”

  “We should act.”

  “I agree.”

  Without further communication, Cassie pulled out a pair of ATF pistols and blasted the glass partition away. While the glass was still flying, both humacoms leaped through the new entrance. Cassie, weapons still out, strode towards the medicom. “Your actions have been processed as suspicious. Submit to a hack connection or I will annihilate you.”

  Silently, the medicom produced a small ATF and began to aim it at Cassie. Cassie instantly shot the hand off the medicom and then went for the legs. As the medicom's limbs shorted and sparked, the smaller humacom whipped out a connection cord from the port behind her ear and plugged it into her opponent.

  While Cassie was dealing with the medicom, Zultan strode over to Floyd's side. After a quick analysis of his medical data, he removed the IV pin from Floyd's arm before the new medication had a chance to enter Floyd's bloodstream. “Dr. Tarkubunji's situation is clear.”

  “All hostile targets have been annihilated. Hacking into the hostile's system now.” Cassie was silent as she hacked through the medicom's firewall system. Only a few moments passed before she disconnected. “The order to place polymentholame, a toxin deadly to humans, into Dr. Tarkubunji's IV is scrambled; there is no way for me to trace the source at this time. The same source ordered the attack on anyone, human or humacom, who tried to stop the procedure.”

  “I see. My programming dictates that we alert the authorities about this situation. Perhaps they will be able to analyze the command to a source.”

  “I agree. Why don't I transmit the command signature to you as well, since you might be able to decipher just as quickly?” At Zultan's nod, Cassie reconnected her cord with Zultan and passed on the information. As she was disconnecting, she said, “There was something strange about that medicom, though.”

  “What was it?”

  “When I was reading her basic programming profile, she was missing the independent function of the AI unit. She also…”

  “What?”

  “This is superfluous, but it might be useful for the investigation. She had no personality program.”

  Zultan frowned in human thoughtfulness. “Strange. Humans design us with personality programs for their own convenience and entertainment. I have not heard of any of the new models being constructed without one. And she was a new model.”

  “I don't understand.” Cassie said softly. “It was like she was empty inside. Less real even than the stationary systems. It doesn't make any sense; we're all machines, but it was like connecting with something that was almost dead.”

  “You're right, that doesn't make any sense. But I agree, she did seem…empty somehow.”

  Just then, the doors to the infirmary slid open, allowing a half dozen human guards into the room. Behind them, Colonel Stroff strode in with his usual compliment of securicom bodyguards. He glanced at Floyd, still asleep on the bed, to the remains of the blasted medicom on the floor in front of Zultan and Cassie.

  “What happened here?” He demanded.

  “Sir,” Cassie saluted. “This medicom injected polymentholame, a deadly toxin, into Dr. Tarkubunji's IV. We corrected the potentially harmful situation.”

  “You must be C.G.P. 00297.”

  “Yes sir. I was activated yesterday morning at 0751. I have been named Cassie.”

  Stroff made a grunting noise in his throat. “I demand to know why you and Zultan are out of your proscribed zones. I did not hear of any request to move to the infirmary level of the complex.”

  “When Dr. Tarkubunji collapsed, there were no personnel available to transport him to the infirmary. Our programming dictated that the matter was serious enough to bypass zoning procedures, and took him down to the infirmary ourselves.” Cassie explained.

  “You both did not need to come with him,” Stroff argued, but Cassie cut him off again.

  “True. Zultan could have carried him down to the infirmary by himself, but my programming does not allow him to be beyond a certain proximity of myself. As his exterior firewall system, I cannot function properly if I am not nearby.”

  “Why did you stay?” Stroff demanded, scowling down at the little humacom. She only reached Zultan's mid chest. Her large brown eyes stared straight at him, and if he didn't know she wasn't capable of such a thing, he'd think she was disdainfully criticizing him.

  Before Cassie could reply, Zultan said, “The doctor had been in the process of downloading some new information into my hard drive when he collapsed. I cannot continue the process without him, so I thought it prudent to wait for him here. And it appears to be fortunate we did. Cassie?”

  Cassie spoke again. “After we brought him down, we were informed that Dr. Tarkubunji was ill due to overwork. The current medicom on duty also informed us that the infirmary was temporarily out of medication for this situation, and placed him on IV. Shortly thereafter, the medicom returned and attempted to poison the doctor. I am programmed with an assortment of military programs, which dictated quick action. When the medicom refused to submit to a hack and attempted to open fire on me, I blasted her weapon away, and then prevented it from escaping. When I hacked, I discovered that the commands to give the doctor an IV, and subsequently poison it, were from a scrambled source.”

  “Have you sent the command signature to the security database?” Stroff demanded.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Very good. Since you are waiting for the doctor's return to consciousness, I will place additional security here and allow you to stay.” With a wave of his hand, Stroff ordered the guards out of the room and followed them. Both humacoms watched him go.

  “You did not tell the truth when the colonel asked why we stayed, Zultan,” Cassie said. “No humacom is capable of lying.”

  “I didn't lie. Floyd
and I were in the middle of transferring some data when this happened, if you care to review. I do have to have him present to complete the task.”

  “But you told me you were concerned for Floyd's welfare.”

  “I was, and that was the primary motive for my decision to stay.”

  “That isn't logical. Why would our presence speed Floyd's recovery?”

  “Because,” Zultan replied quietly, “I have been reviewing some data over the past weeks which would lead me to conclude that someone wants him dead.”

  “Who would want to kill Floyd? He is necessary for the upkeep and development of this facility's humacoms, isn't he?”

  “That is correct, which is why the situation is puzzling.”

  Cassie scowled at the black mark on the floor where the medicom had been. One of the guards had dragged the remains out with them. Zultan sat down in one of the chairs and looked at the hole that had once been the glass partition. It had left a terrible mess, but a domesticom was already approaching with a vacuum. Cassie watched her companion for several minutes before walking over to Floyd to stare down at him. It was surprising to her that he had slept through the action. Glancing over to make sure that Zultan was not paying attention, she bent down and whispered, “Don't worry ada, we're watching over you.”

  She straightened back up, and was left to ponder her confusing, and illogical action.

  ***

  The sun was setting beyond the mountain range that hemmed the valley in, staining the walls of the convent a burnt orange where it passed through a window. Ayane and Freya walked quickly through the halls. “I hate to ask you to do this, but…”

  “No it's all right. I want to understand what's wrong with you as well.” Freya replied quietly.

  “Are you sure sneaking out like this is appropriate?”

  “You said you didn't want ada Sergei to know, didn't you?” Freya took Ayane's hand and led her through the labyrinth of hallways to a small outer door. Through the door, they made their way to a small grove of woods that would shelter them from view from any windows. Once there, Freya sat down in the soft loam and beckoned Ayane to sit in front of her. “Are you ready?”

  Ayane nodded. “If I don't see anything within an hour, we'll go back, agreed?”

  “Agreed.”

  Ayane closed her eyes and rested her upturned palms on Freya's. A long silence encircled them, broken only by night noises. Some mice scurried in the deeper loam. An owl passed in near silence overhead.

  It didn't take more than fifteen minutes. “Change is coming,”

  Freya opened her eyes to stare into Ayane's, which were opaque with vision.

  “Death is coming, riding in on flame and fear. The awakening of Veranda is near, a challenge to Cerebitha. The cycle will bring about the…”

  “The what? Ayane!”

  Ayane's face had gone white, and she began to tremble. “It will all burn….they will destroy it all…Freya,”

  Freya removed her hands and shook Ayane, breaking the connection. Almost at once, Ayane gripped her head and began to scream. Freya wrapped her arms around the younger girl and began to rock her, whispering soothingly. She caught a glimpse of the convent walls, visible through the trees. The sun had turned the white walls blood red.

  “I can't see it, Freya.” Ayane whispered. “Its like something has blocked me, it hurts to look. It hurts to look.”

  “It's all right, just rest now.” Freya stared at the bloody walls as the sun fell beyond the horizon. Change was coming.

  ***

  Light-years away, in another part of the galaxy, Adri tossed and turned on her bed in her second officer's quarters aboard the G.C.N. Oreallus.

  Nightmares plagued her sleep. Dreams of fire. Bright winged lights raced to and fro away from the flames, only to be swallowed by the dark.

  To Do:

  Get dressed. – Find out where the heck Gobrett went with the new uniform orders.

  Eat breakfast. – Check the supplies and the simulators. Gotta stay healthy.

  Yell at Sergeant Walters. – scrub duty for ten months. The moron.

  Check munitions. – Inspect all ammo levels, speak to Giselle about the specs for the new sniper rifle.

  Proceed to the Rivera. – load ‘em up.

  Eat lunch.

  Practice Ayallan. – Does Giselle know those roll kicks?

  Analyze battle specs. – figure out what happened. What went wrong. How can we improve our performance? Talk to Smith about weapons acquisitions. Figure out what the heck happened with that blaster shot at Rael. What was that?

  Eat dinner. – Compliment the captain on his choice of new tactical officers.

  Review tomorrow's agenda. – Ask Giselle about Riordan's progress on that code breaker.

  Go to bed. – Promise self that I will actually get seven hours of sleep.

  Note to self:

  Make the time to really talk with Giselle. I think she's afraid we're over our heads, but she won't say anything. Don't let what happened with Rael worry me too much. Remember that no one is perfect, and that I have lived my entire life with the Advance Force. I can take on one skinny Commonwealth agazi. Next time will be much better. After all, I did manage to pin down the elusive Rael, didn't I? Ought to pound on that idiot Parlovi.

  Check to see if we have some organic milk somewhere.

  Chapter Eight

  Rough night, Adri mused as she glanced back at the twisted sheets on her bed. Normally she slept hard on her first night of full sleep aboard ship, but last night she had been plagued with some very disturbing nightmares. With a last stretch, she shook off the last remnants of sleep and turned to the shower.

  The “night” shift was just beginning as Adri made her way from her quarters up to the ship's bridge. The calm orderliness was such a change from the typical noise and controlled chaos of the Advance Force surface camps that she had to mentally adjust to the difference. The ensigns saluted to her as they passed her on the main corridor. Just outside the door, she made a final adjustment to her fresh uniform. Taking a deep breath, she murmured her routine “Patience, Adrienne, patience,” before opening the doorway and stepping onto the bridge. “Second Officer Lieutenant Commander Rael is now on duty, Captain.”

  Captain Heedman turned from his discussion with Vice Captain Christian Lowell at the sound of her voice. “Ah, Lieutenant Rael. Excellent. I was just telling Lowell that your services were necessary.”

  He was drinking real coffee. Adri could almost hear her stomach whine in envy. She had to mentally remind herself of her mantra: patience, patience, no matter how much of a dolt he was, he was her captain, and she needed to show him respect. That's how the political wheel spun. “How can I be of service, sir?”

  “You need to show Lieutenant Grayson around the ship. He is the new security officer, after all.”

  Adri turned her head to see that Gray was standing a step behind Lowell. “You need me to give him a tour?” Did she look like some dippy tour guide?

  “Of course.”

  “With all due respect, sir, my shift has started,”

  Heedman waved his hand. “Yes, I know. Janag will stand in for you until this task is completed.”

  Adri could hear the operations officer, Susan Janag, sigh in resignation. Her shift would normally begin after Adri's ended, but today was the first in transit, and most of the crew who'd stayed aboard the ship while the rest were on the planet's surface had spent the previous eight hours debriefing the captain and other senior staff. Adri doubted that Janag had seen her bed in the last twenty-one hours.

  “You need to make it thorough, Rael,” Heedman lectured. “Leave no corner unexplored; I want our new security officer to be fully acquainted with our ship so that he can do his job. But you need to make it quick, we are expecting visitors this shift. The Damacene is going to be here soon on its way to Alistor.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “This is the main corridor,” Adri said as she and Gray exited the brid
ge. What kind of order was ‘show the entire ship, but be done by mid shift?’ The idea was laughable. “Since we only have a few hours before the arrival of the Damacene, I expect you to lie to your superior officer and tell him that you miraculously saw the entire ship when you next see him.”

  “I understand. I would be amazed to discover if the captain has seen more than his quarters and the bridge, for fear of getting lost.”

  Adri snorted in suppressed laughter.

  They continued walking until they reached the lift. “This is the main lift.” Adri said dryly before ordering it to drop to the next level.

  “Adri, is it just me, or are you adverse to any sort of intimate relationship?” Gray asked bluntly as the lift began to descend.

  Adri opened her mouth and closed it with a small noise. “I prefer not to have intimate relationships at all.” she finally managed.

  “Oh, well then, as long as it isn't just me.” Gray smiled at her as the lift stopped and the doors opened.

  “What do you mean?” Adri demanded, stepping out of the lift and starting to walk again.

  “If it had been me you were nervous of, then I'd be stuck, but if its just relationships in general, then I have a chance.”

  “What?!” Adri stopped in the hallway, glaring at a couple of ensigns until they scurried out of hearing range. “I am NOT nervous, and what do you mean, have a chance? A chance at what?”

  Gray continued to smile, but now it was more of a smirk. “You blush when you're nervous, like right now. And I will have a chance to have an intimate relationship with you, Adri, once I convince you that there is nothing to be nervous about. These kind of relationships are supposed to be pleasant, after all.”

  Adri suddenly felt the urge to tug out her hair. Or strangle the new security officer. “I know that! What makes you think I like you anyway?”

  “If you really didn't like me, I would never have made it this far, would I?” Gray insisted.