by Tobias Roote
There were four consoles laid out in pairs, any two of which would be sufficient to control the ship’s activities as well as the new weapons array. Ship would create any visual or sensor displays on the blank walls, or in hologram-mode, whenever the need arose.
The controls were there for manual override. The whole room could be quickly emptied by the nanobots, resulting in a very efficient use of space. Modifications could be made to the consoles, dismantled by the nanobots, updated and restored again within minutes.
“Ship, status ?” Zirkos commanded.
Ship responded immediately.
“All systems operating at optimum. The human is named Zeke. It is healthy, asking questions, showing signs of restlessness. It is otherwise taking a benign approach to enforced hospitality. It wants answers.
There are no current threats. I am detecting increased communication to and from the satellites controlled by the landmass named “USA”. They are currently realigning satellite detection systems.”
“Purpose of realignment ?”
“As yet, unknown,” Ship responded.
“Monitor and report any threat.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Ship, note speech modifier ‘It’ is a ‘he’, the male of the human species, you should address it as such. ‘It’ is reserved for non-sexual entities such as ‘artificial Intelligences’ like yourself,” Zirkos explained, laughing as he did so. The AI would not get the humour, but then would not be offended either.
“Acknowledged.”
Zirkos didn’t need to know where the human was being kept. He walked up to the wall, commanded it to open, and walked into the cubicle area, which practically echoed his.
The human who was sitting at a console Ship must have installed for him, leaped up from his chair and came into a defensive position. Recognising it for what it was, ‘the well documented fight or flight human imprinted reflex’, Zirkos just stood still, ensuring he posed no threat once arriving in the room.
Standing quietly, he waited for the human to come to terms with what he belatedly realised was an invasion of personal territory. He decided to make attempts to rectify what was, in effect, his first error.
“I’m sorry. I did not mean to startle you,” he offered, putting out his hands in the human action of non-violence, in an attempt to bring the human to a receptive state as soon as possible.
“Who are you ? Are you ‘the maker’ Ship refers to ?” the human asked.
“Yes, my name is Zirkos and yours, if Ship has it correctly, is Zeke, is it not ?”
“Err’m, yes. Zeke Callaghan. Pleased to meet you, Zirkos.” Zeke smiled as he put out his right hand whilst covering himself with his left. Zirkos clasped it, realising as he did so that it was his first physical contact with another being for longer than he could remember.
“Ship, produce ship apparel for Zeke,” Zirkos commanded.
“Acknowledged,” Ship responded.
They both eyed each other up for a moment while getting the measure of the other. Humans were the same as his race, look you in the eye, feel the strength of purpose.
“Please !” Zirkos gestured towards Zeke’s plinth.
Zeke turned to see that a dark grey garment and light shoes had materialised on top of his bedding. He walked over and began dressing.
The garment was actually in two pieces, trousers and a jacket, which, as soon as he was clothed, became a single piece of clothing. It felt as if it was adjusting to him and he shuddered, as if something had crawled over his spine. The material felt strange. He realised that it, and the carpet had that same feeling, and deduced that it was a slightly metallic feel, comfortable, but inorganic.
“Nanobots,” Zirkos offered by way of explanation as Zeke looked curiously at the clothes knitted seamlessly together.
“Ahh ! So that’s how it’s all done,” Zeke responded, gesturing to all the furniture placements around the room.
Zirkos nodded, impressed at the human’s immediate acceptance of a logical explanation without attempting to deny its possibility.
Zeke sat and put on the shoes, light and comfortable, which fitted him perfectly. Again, as he sealed the openings they joined to the bottom of his leggings and became one with the rest of his clothes. They weren’t figure-hugging, he was pleased to note. There was considerable play in the leggings and upper arms and shoulders. The material was light, but he couldn’t place it. It definitely felt alien.
“Boy ! It’s nice to be wearing clothes again, even if they are weird.”
He felt in the empty pockets and noted that his host was looking at him expectantly.
“Zeke, we must discuss your situation.”
“Okay, I would appreciate the chance to get some clarification on that too,” Zeke responded enthusiastically.
“Ship, another chair ?” Zirkos indicated where he wanted it.
Zeke just looked on, mouth open in amazement as the chair materialised as though it were a grey liquid bubbling up from the floor, forming a frame, then a seat. Zeke believed he could almost see the nanobots working, but of course that was impossible. He was actually seeing the raw particles being atom-bonded together as Ship materialised them where it wanted them.
When the new chair was finished, Zirkos gestured to Zeke to sit in his earlier seat as Zirkos sat, a little judiciously, being as yet a little unfamiliar with both his new body and the chair design that Ship had implemented for the human frame.
“It is important for you to know that, had I left you where you were, you would have died. The method of your recovery is currently well beyond your science.”
He paused to give Zeke an opportunity to digest what he was telling him.
“The crucial part is that we were able to achieve two things.
Firstly, at the point you were recovered, you were suffering imminent mass organ failure, I think you call it, which forced us to intervene, keeping you alive and repairing the damage to your human body.
Secondly, we removed most of the metal that was killing you as it leaked poison into your bloodstream. You will not have any further issues with it. Your body should already be adjusting to its removal. We also discovered other instances of metal, mostly benign I think you call it, but we removed that as well.”
Zeke watched as Zirkos steepled his hands. They looked strangely out of place. He wasn’t sure why, only that the location, the technology, the alienness of it, seemed out of kilter with the human mannerism that the alien was so obviously trying to employ. He politely ignored the action and concentrated instead on the explanation.
Zirkos was, of course, attempting human mannerisms and was watching Zeke closely to see the minute changes in his responses. He knew that to accomplish what he needed to, he would need to understand these people better than they did themselves. Zeke was, in fact, a test subject, although Zirkos was genuinely interested in the human. He didn’t fully understand why yet.
“So,” Zeke responded, “I can thank you now then. I have to tell you I am so happy to be rid off that damned plate, and I’m not sure how you put me back together, but I am indebted to you. Whatever you want from me in return I will gladly pay, as living just one day without the pain is so blissful the price is worth it.”
“Ah, Zeke, I am impressed with your gratitude, but let me explain something. It might make you think a little differently of me.”
“Pheson Alacite is a very rare silicon type metal alloy. It is so rare you do not actually have any on your planet. It was, however, essential to obtain some to complete the repairs to Ship. It was with great surprise, then, that we actually detected not only the alloy, but more of it than we needed. We had only one problem.”
Zeke interrupted.
“You’re saying that the plate in my head was what, ‘Feez-un Alakite’ ?” he tried to get the pronunciation correct. It was different to the name Ferrazite, but interestingly not that different.
“Yes, precisely. This left us with a problem as to ho
w to recover that which we wanted... needed.
Now, to be perfectly honest with you, I think that’s the expression, isn’t it, when I want to tell you how things really are ?”
Zeke nodded.
“The AI would probably have collected the metal without permission if I had not been part of the processing network, holding it to account and forcing it to work within protocols and routines. Your body would have been relieved of the metal crudely...”
“Oh, so Ship would have murdered me, then ?” Zeke said glumly.
Zirkos could discern disappointment on Zeke’s face and had suspicions of its basis.
“Oh no. In fact, Ship is more related to a sentient being than the AI that was collating the components. That was the pod AI which was of a lower level of sentience, a ‘three’, in fact, where Ship is a ‘seven’, a ‘ten’ being fully sentient.”
“Ship, what would you have done ?” Zirkos asked of the AI, knowing full well what its answer would be, but hoping to restore confidence in it with the human, Zeke.
“In the absence of the Maker, I would have instructed Pod to return, and we would have searched this solar system for sufficient inert Pheson Alacite, before proceeding to the next system.”
“So, Zeke would have been left unharmed ?”
“Affirmative, with exceptions.”
“And what would those have been, Ship ?” Zirkos asked.
“Had the human died naturally, then the Alacite would have been recovered immediately.”
“Clarification required Ship,” Zirkos commanded.
“Based on the probability of finding sufficient Alacite in this system taking between one hundred and one hundred and fifty periods, within this time the human would have expired and it would therefore be a high probability that Pod would have been instructed to remain until the event occurred, or until an alternate source was found,” Ship explained.
“Ship, you are an AI with honour,” Zeke responded, suitably impressed with the AI’s compassion.
“Human, it is purely the math of probability and, as the Maker has explained, I am a ‘seven,’ which means I am able to consider such probabilities and compare outcomes. Had things been different, then I cannot state categorically that the result would be the same,” Ship stated matter of factly.
Zirkos smiled. He wondered if he should tell the human that the Ship was a one-off AI based on his own intellect. He decided to keep that for another time.
“Fair enough, I think...” Zeke admitted, a little down still, but his faith appeared to be intact. Ship had maintained this human’s respect, which was an important aspect in dealing with this species, Zirkos had realised.
“So, to the point of this,” Zirkos pulled them back on track.
“In retrieving you at the point of your death, we were doing no more, and no less, than what Ship would have done without my presence. You would have lived your term according to your physical expiry date, and all would have been well.”
Zeke nodded understanding now.
“However, my interests are much broader than just collecting the Alacite and restoring Ship, but that is for another time. Sufficient that it was of value to me personally to keep you alive. This is why you are here now, but without your metal cap.
Now, to matters that pertain to you personally, beyond this juncture. You still retain fifteen percent of the Alacite in your body. This we cannot remove, as your body has become dependent on it and your DNA is continuing to mutate because of it. You are still changing, but not rapidly now. Without the Alacite plate poisoning your bloodstream, you will survive with it in your body.”
Should I tell him about the nanites in his system, Zirkos wondered.
“What is it doing to me, do you know ?” Zeke sounded concerned.
“I know a lot of what is happening to you, Zeke, but the end result is beyond my abilities and those of my onboard processors to extrapolate. This brings me to the point of your continued residence aboard this ship, instead of being returned, unaware of what had transpired, to your planet.
We would really appreciate the opportunity to study you, and, yes, I am now familiar with your concerns in that area because we tied up some research science with a ‘Subject Z’. We realised this was you, once we understood your name was the same as the Zeke Callaghan in their records.
If you were to remain aboard this ship, we would make you as comfortable as possible. The monitoring would be non invasive, using Ship’s sensors. We just want some time to establish the pattern of mutation, speed and the long-term effects on your DNA.
However, you are not a prisoner, and if you wish, I can release you and place you anywhere on your planet you choose to go.”
Zeke thought for a few moments. He wasn’t exactly happy with the idea of being a science experiment again.
“Anywhere on my planet ? You are saying that, firstly, this isn’t ‘your’ planet, and secondly that we are not ‘on’ it currently. Is that right ?” he asked, with a raised eyebrow that Zirkos identified as questioning / suspicious and also cynical.
Zirkos smiled.
“Zeke, I think you knew you weren’t on Earth even if you were not admitting it to yourself. I would be the same, and it’s abundantly clear I’m not ‘of’ Earth either, as my skin is definitely not indigenous to your planet. Then, of course, I only have to mention the technology.
You’re a very intelligent human. I notice that, since you are now free of the pain and the poison in your system, your thinking has improved tremendously. Am I right in all of this ?”
He watched as Zeke digested his words and came to terms with the fact that he wasn’t on Earth and probably was in a spaceship talking to an alien who magicked stuff out of thin air and talked to computers like they were people.
“I see you are in need of overwhelming proof, Zeke. This is all good.” Zirkos stood and held out his hand, not to be held, but as guidance, as he had seen them do on all of the films and TV programmes he had absorbed.
When he thought Zeke was ready, he took his arm at the elbow and guided him out of the door and into the control room, so he could see for himself.
- 12 -
Zeke turned around as they progressed into the room, to see the door disappear behind him as fast as it had appeared. Those nanobots sure are quick, he thought, thinking of how that technology would work at home, no drafts, no unexpected visitors, no keys to lose. How would you put a cat-flap in that, he wondered idly.
“Ship, create porthole, planet side.”
As they watched, the grey metal interior of the ship melted along one wall and formed into a transparent view screen showing the planet Earth from above the North Pole. The whiteness of the icecap dominated everything, but it was possible to make out continents.
Zeke immediately drew back, fear instantly gripping him. The blackness of space around them scared the living daylights out of him. The porthole, so transparent as to be indistinguishable from an open window, so clear and invisible, made him feel totally agoraphobic.
He kept the panic inside, struggling to keep on top of it. It was just like when he was in the thick of it in battle, with shed loads of armament coming his way, and he realised he was going to go down big time. That kind of panic you never learn to completely control.
Now he just wanted the porthole closed before he fell, or was sucked out. The feeling of vacuum on the other side and the knowledge of the coldness made him shiver apprehensively. He noticed Zirkos watching him closely.
Probably waiting for me to lose it, Zeke thought to himself. Well, I’m not going to, so there. He almost chuckled at the childish sounding manner of that petulant statement. He wondered if the alien could read minds.
He stood looking alternately around the ship and at the view. The viewscreen was large, a good fifteen feet wide by five feet high. The bottom was knee height making him very aware of the lack of depth to it, barely the thickness of his thumb. How can the ship handle the pressure differential ?
Amazing strength, he thought.
Holding grimly to the chair, his hands clenching the back of the seat, he fought the vertigo that threatened to spill over him. He took in everything he possibly could, and that was a lot to see, inside and out.
Inside, he noticed the streamlined look of everything, the simplicity of controls that had been reduced down to minimalist levels. There was an absence of clutter. Zeke decided he liked that. Everything seemed to stand out, every detail imprinting itself on his mind, anything his mind could grasp onto in an effort to hold back that deep ingrained panic reaction that makes you want to run.
Outside, he watched the Earth below, he could see movement of cloud, even contrails of aircraft. The viewscreen contained sensors that seemed to highlight briefly then fade. He was about to ask about them, when Zirkos seeing where his attention was, answered for him.
“Those are small bits of matter hitting the forcefield. It could be meteor dust, or something off one of your satellites. As it hits the field, often travelling thousands of miles an hour, it creates an impact area which glows for a second, before the shield compensates.”
Zeke was gobsmacked. He realised that, whatever was going to happen, he wasn’t about to go back to living in yesterday’s world. He knew now what he wanted. He wanted to live in tomorrow’s world, now... today.
He knew he was going to agree to everything that was asked, required, even demanded. He had already decided that he had to pay his dues to this alien who was physically so like a man. Damn ! Even the AI was almost human.
Okay, just close the damned porthole before I begin to scream and climb the walls, he thought to himself.
***
Zirkos observed the man, whom he realised he had taken an instant liking to. He watched as Zeke fought to keep his wits and faced up to his situation, one none of his race had ever truly experienced before, and waited for him to process it all. He was patient. He knew that whatever decision Zeke made, he, Zirkos, would honour it. The alien had what he needed.