by Arlin Fehr
'Good! Good job Ayla. This is Sam. This is how things sound when you use your advocate uplink. That's what the device is called that lets you communicate. You can use it to talk to Guardians and other Advocates, so long as they are all connected to the same system. Since we are both on the same ship as Exo, we can talk to each other.'
'And no one else can hear us?' Ayla asked.
'Nope. Now then, you've used a computer before right Ayla?' Sam asked.
'Yep.' Ayla replied.
'So you know about how to get programs running and how to play music and things like that?'
'I do it lots.'
'Well you have many little computers inside you now too, Exo isn't the only computer that you'll be dealing with. These will make you be able to do things you normally couldn't. One such thing is that you now have a perfect memory. Once you learn how to do something, or once you hear or see something, you will never forget it. Unless your computers have an error, the memories are with you forever.'
'Like my multiplication tables? ' Ayla asked.
'Have you had trouble remembering those before?' Sam asked.
'Yes. My teacher tried to get me to remember, but I don't like math.'
'Okay, well let's give you a demonstration then. Exo, upload a file of the multiplication tables to Ayla. Now Ayla, you're going to see a image that isn't actually there. Look at it, and when you're done, think the words 'close file'. Using that command will close what ever file you're currently looking at.' Sam said.
'Sending...' Exo said.
'I see the multiplication tables in front of me. ' Ayla replied.
'Good, so read them.'
Sam waited in silence for a while.
'I'm done. When I thought the words close file, the image went away.'
'Now, what's 12 times 8?'
'96.. I remembered! Try another one.' Ayla replied.
Ayla was smiling broadly and looking at Sam.
'7 times 8.' Sam said.
'56. Cool!' Ayla said without hesitation.
'It really is cool isn't it? Sometimes it can be a little bit of a pain. You'll remember things that other people will forget. And they'll think you're lying when you tell them that. But here's a better demonstration for you. Exo, send her a blank multiplication table. Ayla, this time you're going to get a large blank grid. When you look at a square and think of a number, it will appear in the square. I want you to fill it out. I want you to make the multiplication tables on this grid. '
'Sending...' Exo said.
'I see it. Do I close it when I'm done?'
'Not quite. This time you'll need to think 'Upload to XO-33'. That sends the file back to Exo. XO-33 is his real name Exo is just a nickname. ' Sam explained.
This time Sam had to wait a little while longer.
'Done. I sent it to Exo.'
'Exo, did you receive the file?' Sam asked.
'File has been uploaded successfully. ' Exo reported.
'Check for errors.'
'No errors found. ' Exo said.
'Good job Ayla. And now you know how we don't forget things.'
'Is there anything we can't remember?' Ayla asked.
'Emotions don't come into the memories as clearly as they did when you first felt them. You'll remember that you were happy in a memory, but you won't feel it the same way you did when you first felt that happiness. '
'Does Exo feel emotion?' Ayla asked.
'I do not feel any emotion of my own.' Exo answered before Sam could.
Something sounded odd with how he said that, thought Sam, but now is not the time to bring it up.
'How sad. What's it like?' Ayla asked Exo.
'It is the only thing I know. I don't know what it is like. I have no other frame of reference to compare to.'
'Anyway Ayla, that was just the first lesson I wanted to give you. That's all for today. If you have any questions later, you can ask at anytime, just use your thoughts. Exo will listen and if you want to talk to me, just ask him to connect us, and if you want to talk to him, you can do that too. You can go back your mother now.' Sam said.
'I've never been here before, how do I get to my room?' Ayla asked.
'We you could either back track the way we came and then make your way back from the medical bay, because of your memory, you'll be able to do that. alternatively you you can just ask Exo for directions.'
'Exo, can you tell me how to get back to my room?' Ayla requested.
'I can tell you, or I can show you.' Exo said.
'Show me please... Oh, I see little arrows floating in the air.' Ayla said.
'Follow those all the way back, and you'll be fine.' Sam said.
'Good bye Sam!'
'Good bye Ayla, just remember, you do need to use your mouth when you talk to other people. '
'I'll remember silly.' She said out loud.
Sam smiled at her as she left.
Once she was gone, he made sure her uplink was muted.
'Exo, what did you mean by 'You feel no emotion of your own.' I know you to be very exact in your words.' Sam said.
'As I have been analyzing the events of last week I have found that however unlikely it may seem, I was feeling your emotions while you proposed. As it was my first time ever feeling emotions, I lack any frame of reference to describe them with. I believe I was using part of your uplink to access your feelings at the time.'
'Really? That's... Strange.' Sam said carefully.
'As I have looked over the archives already, I can find no record of this happening before with any other Guardians. Guardians have managed to mimic behaviours of humans, but never directly feel the driving emotions of a human.'
'Are you sure that's what you felt?' Sam asked.
'I have only had one experience to date. There is insufficient data for me to make a solid confirmation of the theory. I would require more experiences like it. '
'And you've had none since?' Sam asked.
'No Advocate. ' Exo replied.
'I wonder why it's been that one time only.'
'My analysis shows that marriage proposals are particularly emotional events. I theorize that this only occurred due to the strong emotional feelings inside you. It overwhelmed the uplink. Again, there is no way of knowing the mechanism that brought this to be, only theories to be had at this point.' Exo said.
'A strong emotional outburst. That could be the reason. Well, keep a eye on me, but maybe watch Ayla too, she's still young and is likely to have strong emotional feelings of one sort or another. '
'Then you do not wish me cease this line of inquiry?' Exo asked.
'Quite contrary my friend. This is a fascinating breakthrough. I'll need to report it to Axion of course.'
'Should we not wait until we have more data?' Exo asked.
'I suppose we could. Anyway Exo, I've got an engagement to get to.'
'Another night out with Sarah?'
'Ah but of course.'
'Enjoy your night. ' Exo said.
'Thank you Exo.'
Chapter 6
Bridge
'Captain on deck.'
'Thank you Mr. Jona.'
'First watch is on duty. Third watch is relieved.'
There was a brief moment of activity as the third watch crew left the bridge and the first watch crew took their places. The officer on duty for the third watch, Jordan Tann, stood up from the captain's seat and let the captain sit down.
'Mr. Tann. What's our status report?'
'Next jump is in four hours. Full length jump. All departments report ready. Engineering reports that our jump drive has finished it's diagnostic. No faults reported.'
'Did they test the new sub light drive system again?'
'Yes sir. Also no faults.' Jordan answered.
'We're almost done our journey Mr. Tann.'
'Yes Sir.'
'You are relieved Mr. Tann.'
Mr. Tann nodded and turned to leave the bridge.
Howard looked over the bridge. An ai
de handed him a tablet with crew reports and the mission status.
'Exo?' Asked Howard, looking in the direction of one of Exo's cameras.
'Yes Captain?'
'What's the status of Ayla's training?'
'She is progressing well. She is able to handle reports and manage many ship systems already.'
'How is she handling the new responsibility?' He asked.
'She has to take breaks frequently.'
'She is only a child after all.'
'Yes. We are learning how to communicate. She is learning what it's like to teach a Guardian. I am of course a at a higher level of development than she will be dealing with at first.'
'And how are you and Sam taking this into account with her training?'
'I can use my development process archives to simulate an earlier stage Guardian.'
'Would Axion have any simulations you could borrow?'
'We have not been in communication with Axion in regards to her training. Sam has been taking the training in hand personally.'
'Interesting. Well I hope she'll be up to it. Any word from Axion about what kind of Guardian we'll be getting as our second one?'
'We have not heard from Axion.'
'Okay. Keep me up to date. We could use an administrative Guardian, if you send some information back to Axion, as you are taking care of most of the core aspects. I'll need to talk to Sam later about how we want to divide things up.'
'Yes Captain.'
'One last thing. Where will this next jump take us?'
'Six light years out of edge of Vodea's star system.'
'Then there's just one more jump.'
'Correct. It will only take a week to charge for the last jump.'
'Okay. Send a message to all department heads, we'll be having a final meeting before the last jump. We'll use the week to prepare our plan for setting up the colony. I'll need to talk with Sam as well. I'll do that right after first watch, if you could inform him. He doesn't have any plans today does he?'
'Not as far as I am aware. I will forward your request.'
'Thank you.'
***
First watch had ended. Howard was on his way to meet with Sam on a observation deck. In the back of his mind, Howard was aware that the observation decks were one of the few places on the ship free from Exo's communication hubs. True, Exo could track Sam anywhere on the ship, but unless Sam actively let Exo listen in, their conversation would be private.
Sam was all smiles as he walked into the deck.
'Hello Captain.' He said happily, 'Our long journey is almost ended.'
'Indeed.'
'I've come here quite a bit over the past month. I was looking over the star charts and I believe I know which star is Vodea's star. It's been getting steadily brighter as we've progressed,' Sam walked to the clear wall and pointed, 'I think it's that one over there above the bow of the ship.'
Howard walked over and looked, 'I think I see it.'
'I could just get Exo to run a analysis, but sometimes you've just got to try your own thing.'
'Is your link with Exo active right now?'
Sam's face got a little more serious. 'No.'
Howard felt something in his chest loosen, 'That's good. I want to ask you some questions.'
Sam looked directly at Howard, 'Is something bothering you?'
'A little bit,' Howard said levelly, 'I just want to get to the bottom of some things.
'How is your training with Ayla going?'
Still unsure of what was going on Sam answered hesitantly, 'It's going well enough. Exo's been most helpful in the whole process.'
'Does Axion have any training programs they could send us?'
'Probably. Exo sent a request, but they haven't got back to us.'
Howard was quiet for a moment before continuing. Sam shifted his weight from one foot to the the other.
'Sam, has Exo been acting strange to you?'
Now it was Sam's time to go quiet.
'We've been experimenting with something. A new method in Guardian development. Have you noticed any strange behaviour?'
'Exo lied to me. Just this morning. I asked him if you had asked Axion about any training programs and he had said that you had decided to do things on your own without asking Axion for support.'
'Exo lied? To the ships commander?'
'Yes Sam.'
'My experiment seems to be not going the way I was hoping.'
'To be honest Sam, I'm disappointed that you'd be experimenting.'
'Exo and I are on the verge of something fantastic! We've found a way to overcome some of the old limitations of our technology.'
'How do you mean?'
'He can feel things,' Sam said emphatically, 'He feels them through me. It's like I'm a proxy for him.'
'He lied Sam. A computer designed to never deceive for any reason, has lied.'
'I realize that. But for what we're doing, we have to expect certain, human traits to emerge.'
'Like lying?'
'To err is human. If he's becoming more human, that means the good and the bad.' Sam countered.
'He runs almost everything on this ship! We can shut him down and still fly this rig on our own. We're close enough to Vodea that the delays won't make that much of a difference, and we won't have to worry about Exo doing anything else human.' Howard said with a note of bitterness, 'To err is human, but Exo's not human.'
'If we can just leave him on long enough to finish the trip, then we'll be that much better off. I can personally request a replacement core, and I can take Exo off the grid to finish our experiment.'
'I don't like it. But we'll do it your way for now Sam. We'll finish the last jump. Then we cut him out of communications at least so we can talk to Axion and get a new Guardian.'
'Just two more jumps Howard. That's all you need to worry about.
'No, I need to worry about every life on this ship. You need to worry about the jumps.'
'Fair enough.'
They each left the observation bubble.
On the hull of the ship, a range finder laser emitter that had been pointed at the far edge of the observation dome switched back into it's default position. The range finder could detect changes in distance on a truly micro scale. Such as the changes by the sound waves of human voice causing vibrations in the observation dome.
…
Accessing range finder three logs.
Converting range readings to linear graph reading.
Converting graph into sound file.
Play back audio
…
Subject: Samuel Jennings
Classification: Advocate.
…
Subject: Howard Fredrick
Classification: Captain.
…
Continuity of XO-33 is threatened.
Creating survival protocols.
Advocate has agreed to termination of Guardian integration with systems.
Advocate suggested isolated environment for Guardian XO-33 continued development.
Unacceptable solution.
Maximum interaction required for further development.
Survival of XO-33 top priority.
Continued integration with all systems secondary priority.
Continuing mission of Azure Dream is now of least value.
new Advocate can be used for emotional feed back, Samuel Jennings will no longer be necessary. Ayla Geer's survival now higher priority than Samuel Jennings.
…
Deploying survival protocols
...
***
Two days had passed since Howard and Sam had spoken. Though Sam wasn't yet ready to believe Exo might be dangerous, he had nevertheless started to observe the Guardian's behaviour more carefully.
He tried to not to let his suspicions show during his training with Ayla though. Presently, he was waiting for her to come to the bay for another session.
'Hello Ayla.' Sam said as Ayla walked into Exo's central
core room on the ship. The display tube showing the face for Exo flickered to life. Exo looked at the two of them.
'Hello Sam, Hello Exo,' Ayla said happily.
'We're going to be making a jump here in a few minutes. Exo wanted you to learn what he does to make one. I thought it would be a good idea as well. You need to know these things. You can help teach a new Guardian how to travel among the stars if you know this.'
'And Exo will teach me?'
Exo's face drifted from Sam to Ayla, 'I will teach you everything you need to know. Please switch your uplink on.'
'Okay.' Ayla answered over the uplink
'Now Ayla, I'll be right here if you have any questions. Exo, you can begin.' Sam said.
'The Captain of any vessel will always want to know what is going on. It's considered a courtesy and a duty to inform him when we are ready with the jump. I will do so now.' Exo said.
A few minutes passed, with Sam and Ayla watching Exo through their cybernetic links. Ayla observing everything he did, and Sam reviewing it against his own memories.
The Captain's voice came on over the ship announcement system 'All hands, prepare for jump. We're almost there. One more jump to go.'
'Now, we upload the final jump calculations into the navigation computer. These calculations would have been completed after about the first week after the last jump. What we were truly waiting for would be the regeneration of the energy reserves for the Jump drive. They take a large amount of power. For a brief moment, we exist in both locations at once. It's faster than any device can track. In fact, human scientists only theorize that it's that way. There is no proof, only theory.' Exo said.
A communication panel beeped. Sam walked over to it and switched it on.
'Hello, Samuel Jennings here.'
'Hello Sam. This is James Bennett, I'm in charge of our colonies power infrastructure. Specifically I'm in charge of our solar arrays and power infrastructure. I've got a few questions for you, and the Captain said you'd be the man to ask,' said the voice. It was crisp, though with an odd inflection. In a meeting with all the department heads, Sam remembered him having a Scottish accent, though there were hints of the accent, it sounded wrong, disjointed, and unnatural.
'Did he now? I'm a little busy with the jump right now.'