by Arlin Fehr
It was their first time inside. They had already ordered and were now just passing the time.
'Helps to make sure you don't see any bits of the wall sticking out from under the drapes,' Sarah joked.
Sam smirked, 'It's still nicer then the old mess hall. I hear the food is fantastic.'
'As far as space fare goes anyway. All the ingredients come from the farming modules.'
'So you're saying I might be eating some of your plants?' Sam asked with a grin,
'Could be.'
'I love a nice home grown meal.'
She smiled back, 'We aren't home yet space cadet. So how was your day Sam?'
'It was different. Ira has decided to let Ayla become an Advocate.' Sam said, leaning back in his chair.
'Oh that can't be easy for her.'
'I think she's come to terms with it. I sent her the needed forms before coming here. We'll have to see if she balks at them.'
'I couldn't blame her if she did,' Sarah commented.
'Nor could I. But I think she'll go through with it. It'll be kind of neat. I've never helped anyone become and Advocate, but I remember that man who helped me. He was like a father figure to me. He was one of the first Advocates. A kind man by the name of Jake.'
'You remember that long ago?'
'Well he had a big impact on me, but I also have a perfect memory,' he tapped on his head with one of his fingers, 'Thanks to my enhancements, I'll never forget the lock code to my room ever. Any of them. I still remember my lock code for my room at the Axion training facility.'
'What else do you remember?'
Sam smirked, 'Meeting you for the first time. And I wouldn't need enhancements to remember that.'
Sarah looked down at the table cloth, but Sam could see the corners of her mouth forming a smile, 'It wasn't all that long ago .'
'Still, it had an impact,' Sam said, grinning.
'Yeah. It certainly did.' She looked back up at Sam.
Sam smiled gently. A waiter walked up with the first part of the meal and set in front of Sarah.
'I'll be right back with your order sir,' the waiter said, looking at Sam. Sam nodded.
Sam looked at Sarah, she smiled at him. Sam smiled back and looked down at the table. There was a lump in his throat. He never did take moments like this well.
But who does, he thought to himself soberly, it's literally life changing.
The waiter returned with his meal and set it down in front of him. They ate their meals, making occasional small talk. Sam thought back on their many conversations, and tried desperately not to second guess himself.
'Are you alright advocate? I am getting strange readings from your systems.' Exo chimed in over the Advocate uplink.
'Not the best time Exo. Later.'
'Yes Advocate.'
'You look preoccupied Sam.' Sarah said, from across the table. She had a look of concern on her face.
'I... uh...it's just... I...' Sam couldn't believe he was stammering.
'I've never known you to be at a loss for words.'
'Will you marry me?' He said suddenly.
Sarah looked at him a look of surprise on her face, 'What?'
'Oh I mean...' Sam got out of his seat and knelt on the floor next to her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his package that Exo had ordered for him. Opening it, he held it out, 'Sarah Lough, will you marry me?'
He looked up at her. She had a hand over her mouth, and looked like she might cry. Sam started to fear the worse, but then he saw a smile forming behind her hand.
'Yes! Yes I will,' she was quiet for a moment, gaining composure, 'You sure know how to ruin a girl's make up. Of course I will marry you. I love you.'
'I'll remember that,' he said, tapping his head again, 'And I love you.'
It was at this point that Sam pulled out the ring in the box, it was a simple engagement ring with a green gemstone. It wasn't ornate, but it would do.
'The ring isn't much, but when we get to colony, I'll have them ship us a nice one from earth,' he said as he slid it on her finger, that she held out eagerly.'
'The ring is perfect,' she said looking at it, 'Now kiss me.'
Sam smiled widely and obliged.
Chapter 5
Advocate's Quarters
Sam sat in his room, replying the events of yesterday over in is mind, Sarah and he had spent the night talking about the future. They had decided to wait until they reached the colony to marry. Captain Fredrick would marry them, he had eagerly agreed when they asked.
The ship started to buzz with gossip from those who had been at the restaurant that day. Sam didn't mind, he was used to being a kind of celebrity figure, but Sarah was blushing a lot as her friends grilled her about it.
He was aware that a portion of the grilling was around the fact that they had only know each other for a few months.
Sam didn't really pay it much heed. It felt right to him.
Sam was waiting for an acceptance letter from Axion for Ayla. Work never stopped for anything.
'Exo?'
'Y-yes advocate?' Exo said, a slight stutter in his normally level voice.
Sam frowned a little.
'You've been unusually quiet since last night.'
'I h-have had much to p-process. '
'Are... you stuttering?'
'A m-minor vocal g-g-glitch Advocate. I will have it re-resolved soon. '
'Okay then. What have you been processing?' Sam asked.
'Y-you. You were ac-cting different y-yesterday.'
'You were watching yes?'
'Y-yes.'
'What I was doing was a bit of a life changing moment. I kind of lived for the moment. All that mattered was what I was feeling right there and then. All that mattered was that moment. It was a fulcrum for my future. Nothing can be the same after something like that.'
'I c-concur.'
The stuttering was starting to concern Sam.
'Are you sure you're alright?'
'Y-yes Advocate. I have a lot on my mind r-right now. Your l-link was open l-last night and I... processed s-strange things.'
'My link was open? That was why you asked if everything was alright.'
'T-the feedback coming f-from the link was overwhelming.'
'This is fascinating. I don't think any Guardian has been overwhelmed by an advocate link. Can you describe what happened?'
'I h-had f-focus. I... Was s-stuck on you. I... was you?'
'You were me?' Sam asked, confused.
'I could f-focus on little else. I was d-drawn to you. '
'Is that going on right now? Is that causing the stutter?'
'I do not know. I am c-currently going over m-my logs from yesterday a-and committing them to m-memory. It is surprisingly v-vast m-moment for me. E-even looking b-back I am almost f-forced to relive it. '
'Will this affect your ship based functions?'
'Jump calculations are delayed by 4 hours since last n-night. I h-have kept it under control since then.'
'This is fascinating. I'll have to talk to Axion about this. Can you send a report for me?' Sam requested.
'Y-yes advocate.'
'Good. I'll be sure to leave the link off until needed.'
'Y-yes Advocate.'
…
Advocate uplink muted.
…
Incoming message, forwarded from Bridge communications terminal.
Source: Axion Data Works.
1 messages attached.
Opening...
…
Dear Mr. Jennings
Ayla Geer's application has been reviewed and approved. Enclosed are the necessary instructions needed. We know you have them all memorized, but this is for the benefit of anyone else on board.
Congratulations on bringing in another member of the Axion family.
Axion Data Works
Reginald Axion II
Axion Data Works President.
…
End of message. 1 file attached; Ad
vocate_Uplift_Process.ADF
Forward message to Samuel Jennings personal terminal.
Close message...
Commencing report status upload for Axion Data Works programming department...
…
Uploading memory files into message buffer...
…
Incoming priority message.
Source: Axion Data Works Executive Office.
1 messages attached. Advocate Eyes only.
Subject: Strange behavior in XO series Guardians.
Opening message...
Override security locks?
…
Ethical quandary; message is meant for advocate.
Message subject could relate to situation being uploaded.
A human relies on intuition for many things.
If message relates to problem with me, I may be able to fix it without any further problem.
I will make a leap of faith.
…
Affirmative, override security locks.
Opening....
Advocate Jennings,
We must inform you of a situation brewing on another colony ship using a XO model Guardian. It seems that the XO series Guardians have a much more acute ability to listen in on Advocate links than we originally thought. This, coupled with our improved learning programming as compared to the PE model has caused an interesting situation in guardian of the colony ship Fallow Fields.
The guardian, designation XO-31, has began exhibiting strange behaviour. It seems to almost be reacting to the emotions and sensations of it's advocate. The advocate had a minor accident in which a portion of her arm was severed. Though the arm was replaced from the spare parts on board, the Guardian began to exhibit strange behaviour after the accident. The advocate, in a effort to keep the ship on track, has been forced to shut down some higher functions relating to personality and higher forms of curiosity. The Guardian has essentially become stunted.
We have received a full report on the situation, and concur with the Advocate on the Fallow Fields that her course of action was justified. She believes the Guardian suffered from some sort of overload in relation to the pain suffered by the Advocate. The action taken has regrettably added travel time to their trip, and the loss of developmental progress in their Guardian will be set back for the colony. As you have longer to go, we suggest you not take this course of action unless your Guardian begins to exhibit strange behaviour.
We are working for a hot fix on this issue. It'll be uploaded as soon as finished.
Axion Data works, Programming division.
Tim Holt,
Chief programmer.
…
End of Message
…
Analysis; XO-33 continuity is threatened.
Ethical Quandary; Advocate should be told of message.
Counter; memory file, Advocate Sam Jennings.
Exo: Will I be Deactivated?
Sam: No. I won't allow that. I don't believe they would want to do that anyway, but some people fear the unknown so much, they'd rather banish it and have it remain unknown forever, rather than face whatever change will be created by it becoming known.
End playback.
Conclusion; Advocate has already promised continuity for XO-33. Message need not be forwarded.
Archiving message.
Cancelling status report upload.
Continuing ongoing analysis of uplink feedback.
...
***
Sam looked over at his personal computer terminal when it chimed. The 'new message' icon was visible.
Sam sat down at the terminal and quickly read over the message. It was the acceptance message for Ayla's papers. Sam uploaded the attached file to his own memory files, he had indeed had it all memorized, but this would be in a format that he could share to other people's data pads or computer terminals.
He decided to get the ball rolling. His first stop would be the ship's hospital, so he could talk to Ira, and brief the doctors on the procedures they'd be undertaking. The parts needed were in one of the cargo bays, every Advocate on a deep space mission brought enough parts to make two Advocates. The extras were used as spare parts, normally every colony only needed one extra Advocate, and after a while if they needed another, they'd either have enough expertise to make the parts themselves, or have had a supply ship from the rest of Human space bring them more.
Sam confirmed the file transferred, and then left his room. He double checked to make sure his uplink was still muted. He'd probably get a little emotional talking to Ira and Ayla. He suspected that somehow it was the emotions of last night that was effecting Exo.
The hospital wasn't far from where his quarters were, and he arrived quickly.
He stepped inside and walked up to the receptionist.
'Hello, how can I help you today?' the young man behind the desk asked.
'I'm looking for Ira Geer, is she in?'
'Yes she is. She's just in the diagnostics lab. Shall I show you on the map?'
'No thank you, I know my way.'
The man raised an eyebrow at this, having never seen Sam in here before, but after a few weeks of being directed from location to location by Exo, Exo had finally suggested he just look at a map of the ship. Sam had obliged, and could now get anywhere on the ship without directions.
He soon found himself in the lab. Ira was sitting at the front desk. There wasn't anyone in line here.
'Mrs. Geer?' Sam said quietly.
Ira looked up, and recognized him instantly, 'Hello Advocate Jennings.'
'Hello. How is everything?'
'It's going well enough. What can I do for you? Not here for a test are you?'
'Can't say that I am, no. I'm here because I got word back from Axion.'
'Oh?' she said carefully.
'They've approved Ayla's application.'
'You know... I was holding out hope that they wouldn't.' She said softly.
Sam smiled sadly, 'I know. I promise you though, so long as you are here to support her, she'll be just fine.'
'I'll be there for her.'
'That's what I knew I would hear. I brought the instructions needed for the procedures. I was going to overview them with the medical staff. We can get started as soon as you and Ayla are ready.'
'The doctor who's going to be in charge of everything is named Daksha Singh. He'll be in the Surgical wing. He shouldn't be busy right now.'
'Yes, I know him, he's the chief medical doctor correct?.'
'Yes Advocate, and thank you for coming down.'
'I'll keep in touch. I'll let you know when they are ready.'
Sam turned and walked out of the lab.
***
A week had passed and the first of the Advocate procedures were behind them. Alya still looked the same, but underneath, she was far from human. She stood in Doctor Singh's office being examined while Ira and Sam looked on from the sidelines.
'Her body is almost fully integrated with the new Advocate systems.'
Ira, ever curious about the process, asked, 'How much of her body is still human Doctor Singh?'
'About 76%, including her brain. Though even that has some additional parts. It's not a total conversion, as we need to give her body time to finish it's physical development before the process can be finalized. Most of the upgrades are just for mental processes, and uplinking with the Guardian. Her physical capabilities are still quite limited, no where near as powerful as Samuel.'
Ira seemed to grimace at the thought. Sam interrupted softly, 'It took me some getting used to. I still feel human. I just feel more. I have my original senses. In many ways they are enhanced. I can still feel pain, I can still feel joy. I'm still human, but in some ways, I'm something more, and in other ways, something less. But Ayla will still be your daughter, and she'll have plenty of time to get used to this before the next round of upgrades.'
Ira looked at him for a moment before turning back to her daughter, 'How do you feel swe
etie?'
'I feel okay. I'm a little tired, but okay.'
'The systems have always given Advocates super human stamina, but we won't be putting in those particular energy systems until stage three of your development. You'll still need to sleep like normal.' Dr. Singh said.
'Besides, it can be nice to forget about everything for a bit while you sleep. You won't be forgetting anything that happens when you're awake anymore.' Sam commented, 'Your memory implants will make sure of that.'
'Do I still have to go to school?' Ayla asked, turning to Sam and Ira.
Ira grinned, 'No dear, Sam will be teaching you now.'
'Cool!' Ayla said, smiling.
'Are we done here Doc?' Sam asked.
'Yes. Everything seems fine. She's progressing wonderfully.'
'Come on then Ayla, we will have our first lesson.' Sam said, starting for the door.
Ayla rushed over to her mother and gave her a hug, 'I'll be back for dinner mom.'
Sam and Ayla left the doctor's office together.
Computer Mainframe Room
Sam and Ayla stood around the glass pillar that showed the floating head of Exo.
'Exo, come say hello to Ayla.'
The head blinked, and turned to Ayla, 'Hello Ayla.
'Hi Exo.' Ayla said happily.
'Now Ayla, I'm going to teach you an important lesson; how to speak to your Guardian, without talking out loud. Since the procedures at the hospital, you've been given some computer parts in your body, and with them, you can talk to certain computers without having to actually talk. It's a wireless thing,'
'Like how my music player can get it's songs without having to plug into a computer?'
'Very good yes, just like that. So just give me a minute, to set things up. If you hear a voice in your head, just think in your head to answer it.
'Exo, do you see any new Advocate uplinks?' Sam asked.
'One; in stand by. ' Exo replied.
'Well that should be Ayla. Go ahead and say hello to her link and bring her into the conversation.' Sam said.
'Hello Ayla.' Exo said.
Ayla's eye's widened in delight and Sam smiled.
'Hello!' Ayla said, her voice only coming on the uplink.