Virtual

by S A Pavli

  "Dunno. Needs checking out I think. By a trained engineer," said Andy, wiggling his feet experimentally.

  "I am not sure I'm trained on that technology,” smiled Jo. “Doctor Leslie may be better.”

  "I'll have a word with her," said Andy, with a lecherous smirk. She aimed a kick at him and he rolled away hastily. “No, it looks like everything is all right after all,” he said, sitting up. “Anyway, I do believe the doctor would rather check out our captain,” he added, levering himself upright and doing a few tentative stretches and knee bends.

  "And our captain would rather check out the lovely miss Carstairs," said Jo, clicking buttons on her computer terminal.

  "The eternal triangle," said Andy, peering over her shoulder at the computer screen. “Aren’t we lucky? Just the two of us?”

  "We are,” she agreed. “Do you sometimes fancy a change?" she asked curiously.

  "Change?” He put two arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. “What, you wearing the trousers for a change?" he said, looking down at her baggy coveralls with numerous pockets containing an assortment of tools and instruments. She smiled.

  "I know what turns a man on," she said seductively.

  "Yes, I can see you have a tool for just about everything,” he agreed. “Hey, what about that business with the Virtuals?" he said in a sudden change of subject, as she clicked buttons and the shape of the robot's circuitry started to appear on the screen.

  "What business?" she asked in an abstracted voice.

  "You know, everyone may still be infected. Except for you, me and Jimmy.” She paused what she was doing for a second.

  "Mmm, yes. Mark seemed to feel that the authorities may want to quarantine us," she said. “Until they know for sure what the long term effects may be.”

  "Quarantine them," said Andy. “Me and you is in the clear baby.”

  "We've been exposed same as the others Andy," she said. “Don t know if the authorities will make the distinction. Not until a lot more is known about these things.”

  "Yeah, you're probably right,” he agreed reluctantly. “Want me to take over that modelling? I'm a bit quicker with the software than you.” She nodded and allowed him to take over the computer terminal.

  "I'll make us a couple of coffees while you finish that," she said. He nodded and continued working.

  By the time she returned with two steaming mugs of coffee and a couple of plastic wrapped biscuits he was scrolling through the completed circuit diagrams.

  "I think we are there," he said, accepting a mug of coffee. “Xara thinks the diagrams are complete, and we have a good estimate of the power requirements. We can power this little baby up.”

  "Should we tell the others?" she asked, handing him a biscuit. He took a slurp of his coffee and gave a satisfied sigh, then ripped the wrapping off the biscuit and dunked it in his coffee.

  "Mmm, yeah. we'll be in orbit around Elpida three in a few minutes. Perhaps we'll wait and get all the team here. He took a big mouthful of biscuit and chewed thoughtfully. But we can power him up to make sure nothing blows,” he mused. “But not initiate the bootstrap.”

  "Isn’t that automatic?” asked Jo, drinking her coffee and handing the other biscuit to Andy.

  "No. This here is the initialise button.” He pointed to a tiny indentation at the base of the robot's scalp.

  "I've isolated all the power circuits," she said. “So we can connect them one at a time.”

  "The only ones we need are to the brain and comms centres," said Andy. “We don't particularly want to connect motive power.”

  "I've checked and lubricated all its joints," said Jo. “So it should be mobile.”

  "Ah good. We wouldn't want our little robot to have trouble if it wanted to run amuck and exterminate us all," he said nodding amiably.

  "Idiot!" she said. “Why would it do that?”

  "Well, let me see. We have an extinct civilisation, and millions of well preserved robots. What conclusions do you draw from that professor?” She looked cautiously at him, then at the robot, then back at him.

  "Nah," she said derisively. There's no signs of damage or destruction.”

  "Why should they destroy buildings?" he asked. “If they only had it in for their masters, they would just have killed them.”

  "If that's the case, why aren’t the robots still walking around?”

  "Perhaps they weren’t able to repair themselves indefinitely. Ran out of spare parts,” he suggested. She looked unconvinced.

  "Andy, you're a computer expert. Do you really think robots could run amuck and kill everyone? That's just the stuff of science fiction. It just can't happen in real life.”

  "Computer software can be altered to do anything," said Andy stubbornly. “In theory it's possible to write a virus that could infiltrate a robot's brain and make it do anything you wanted.”

  "In theory, but security software would stop it," she said. “Certainly before they wiped out a whole population.”

  "Perhaps the aliens weren’t as careful as us and some mad genius decided to wipe out a few people and ended up wiping out the whole species. You never know.”

  "O K, in that case, I'll not connect power to its limbs," she said with resignation.

  "Safe,” he agreed, draining his coffee cup. “Let's do it.” They had already prepared the calibrated power supplies and began to connect them to the robot's input terminals, cross checking each one as they did so.

  "O K, all done, let's turn on the juice and see what blows," said Josephine. She made a couple of final adjustments and operated a series of switches. The power supplies hummed and indicators lit up. She read off the readings from the displays while Andy checked them against a list. They then both paused and looked at each other.

  "The honour is yours," said Andy with a small bow. “Press the button.” The button in question was situated in a recession on the robot's chest and was believed to be the main power on switch. Josephine crossed her fingers and then reached out and flipped the switch on. It was a new, human switch, the old one having corroded and stopped working. There was a click and a hum and both of them jumped as a light flashed in the robot's eyes. It dimmed, flickered then brightened to a neon blue, remaining steady. There were a number of noises from inside the robot's body, whirring and clunks, then a grinding shriek. Josephine reached out to switch it off, but the shriek stopped. She froze, her hand still reaching out, looking enquiringly at Andy.

  "Leave it for a bit?” he suggested. She nodded, her hand still ready to turn it off, but there were no more nasty noises. She pulled a flap back from the chest to reveal a display screen which was now glowing pink with blue writing scrolling down it. Both of them gave a cry of triumph.

  "Maintenance computer works!” exclaimed Andy.

  "Yep, except that we can't understand a thing it's saying," said Jo.

  "Probably telling us that all systems are down and we should call the company's technical support," said Andy.

  "Mmm, do you have the number?” asked Jo, peering at the screen. Andy joined her and they both peered with fascination at the alien writing on the screen.

  "Alien writing," said Andy meaningfully.

  "We're the first to see it," said Jo, awe in her voice.

  "Bloody fantastic!” agreed Andy. “Look at that, goes from right to left and looks like Chinese.”

  "More like those ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic things" said Jo vaguely. “Dunno how the hell we're going to decipher this.”

  "We're not going to," said Andy. “So let's not even try.” The scrolling text came to a stop with a final extra large line.

  "Warning, under no circumstances must this robot be powered on," said Andy, pretending to read the text.

  "We can't make it any more broken than it is," said Jo. “And it's not as if the owners are here to complain.”

  "Shall we try booting it?” asked Andy.

  "I thought we were going to wait for the others?” she replied. He shrugged casually

&
nbsp; "Can't do any harm. No point getting everybody here if it does nothing. It would be an anti-climax.”

  "True. Go for it," said Jo. Andy took a small screwdriver from his pocket and inserted it into the depression at the back of the robot's head. There was a click and for a few seconds nothing happened. Then a dim glow appeared across the robot's broad forehead and the eyes began to flicker different colours. Andy and Jo watched anxiously, Jo's fingers poised on the robot's off button. The flickering went on for some minutes.

  "I think it's booting up,” whispered Andy, then wondered why he was whispering. The maintenance panel now sprung into life again, blue text scrolling across and down the small screen. This went on for some minutes again and the two engineers were becoming restless before it again stopped. The eyes took on a deep yellow tone in the centre with deep blue on the outside, and the forehead settled into a plain pink.

  "Quite a colourful little chappie isn't he?” muttered Andy.

  "Earthly squid communicate with each other using different colours,” remarked Josephine. “Perhaps these guys are the same.”

  "Doesn’t seem to be saying much," said Andy. The robot's forehead suddenly fluoresced from pink into blue and then a series of pink lines pulsed across the blue background. at the same time, a shrill series of clicks issued from its chest.

  "Oh my bloody god!” gasped Josephine, jumping two feet back. Andy staggered back and grabbed at her before she tripped over. They embraced each other in shock and stood gaping at the robot.

  "It spoke to us!” gasped Jo in shock. Andy muttered a series of expletives, his face a picture of amazement.

  "Xara, did you record that?” asked Andy quickly.

  "Yes I did," replied the ship's AI. Andy strode over to one of the portable comms screens and carried it back , placing it in front of the robot.

  "Play back what you recorded on this screen," he said.

  "You're such a clever boy," said Jo admiringly. He winked at her, then turned his attention to the screen.

  "Look," he said to the robot, pointing to the screen. A picture of the robot's head appeared on the screen, and its previous utterance was repeated as Xara played back the recording. There was a pause for a few seconds, then the robot spoke again.

  "Look," it said, in a perfect reproduction of Andy's voice. Jo screamed with delight and grabbed Andy. They danced a little jig around the room, with Andy grinning like a clown and Jo giggling hysterically.

  "Xara, contact your Captain, and Captain Alexander. We want to talk to them,” shouted Andy.

  "I anticipated that Andy," said Xara. “Captain Pederson is on her way now, with the Major.”

  "You're a clever little AI," said Andy. It was only a few seconds before the Captain appeared, with Major Pete and Le Blanc following closely.

  "Hello, the whole team is here," said Andy jovially.

  "Hello you two. Didn’t I tell you to do nothing until we were all here?" she asked severely, but her demeanour was relaxed.

  "You didn't think you'd keep this to yourself did you?" said Le Blanc. “Come on, what happened?" he asked enthusiastically.

  "We took all precautions Captain never fear," said Jo. “The robot is completely disabled physically. You're never going to believe this, but it actually spoke to us.” "Take me to your leader? I come in peace?” quipped Le Blanc. Jo flashed a look of derision at him.

  "Xara, playback the robot's actions please, from the first recording," she said. Jo swivelled the screen away from the robot and Xara played back the robot's initial actions and its response to their playback. When the robot said look there was a concerted gasp.

  "Fantastic!” exclaimed Le Blanc. “This guy learns fast.”

  "Yes,” agreed Andy. “It does mean that his brain is fully functional. But it also means his intelligence is of a high order. This is no cleaning and maintenance robot.” “Well, we need a plan to proceed with," said Anja thoughtfully. “Xara, do you have software designed for this situation?”

  "For what situation Captain?” asked the AI. Anja looked perplexed. She frowned and searched carefully for the right words.

  "Um, to facilitate communications with an alien robot," she said.

  "No Captain," replied Xara.

  "So if we were to bump into an alien somewhere in the galaxy, we wouldn't have any way of communicating with it?” asked Anja, with a frown of irritation.

  "No Captain," replied the AI with smooth aplomb.

  "Hardly an everyday possibility Captain,” pointed out LeBlanc.

  "Well it is a big bloody galaxy," said Anja, clearly miffed at this oversight. “You never know what you’ll find, particularly on an exploration trip," she said with a meaningful glare.

  "That should have been the job of your exploration team Anja," said the Major gently. “Perhaps we shouldn't berate them for the oversight.” Anja gave him tight smile of apology.

  "We on the other hand,” interrupted Andy, with a broad grin, “Have been much more pro -active.” He waggled his eyebrows meaningfully.

  "D you mean ?” began Anja.

  "I do,” he continued smugly. “Alden is fully equipped with the latest language compiler designed for just this purpose. Although Melanie should take the credit, she provided it.”

  "Where would you buy a language compiler to communicate with aliens?” asked the Major, looking perplexed.

  "You couldn't buy it," replied Andy. “It’s the result of a University research program. Melanie's father just happened to know about it and borrowed it.”

  "So it's untested?” mused the Major, before realising what he had just said. He grinned sheepishly at the resulting smiles. “Well ! It is!" he said defiantly.

  "So, should we take the mountain to Mohammed, or Mohammed to the mountain?” asked Anja. There were a number of blank looks in her direction. “I mean, should we take the robot to Alden, or install the language compiler with Xara?”

  "Mohammed? That's a good name for Alden,” muttered Andy. “He does have messianic tendencies! Um I think we take the robot to the Bounty Hunter. But it's not my decision, let's wait for Mark and Melanie and the whole team?” He looked around questioningly and Anja nodded her agreement.

  "O K. Once we are in orbit around the planet we'll decide our next step.” The robot continued to flicker impassively at them, different colours chasing one another across its broad face, its blue and yellow orbs staring enigmatically at the distant wall.

  Chapter 33

  When Mark heard of the experiment with the alien robot, he didn't know whether to be concerned or jubilant. His confidence in his chief engineer and systems officer overcame his concern however and he greeted the news enthusiastically.

  "Well done you two, fantastic work.” Andy and Jo were on the com screen and they both grinned broadly. “You’ll be asking for a raise now,” he added.

  "If we are not all arrested by the authorities,” added Melanie. She had just returned from her first expedition since her accident, her sprained ankle bandaged but usable. Mark had kept himself at the ready in the shuttle, monitoring their every move. They had agreed that their new safety procedure would require that at least one person stayed behind and monitored the activities of the exploring group, and remained at the ready to respond to any emergency. Mark had felt much more confident having Jimmy with the exploring group, although it did mean that it curtailed any further exploration of the desert town.

  "Have you heard from your father?” asked Mark. He was with Melanie and Leslie in the Small Fry's galley while they prepared refreshments after their trip. James Walters and Jimmy had yet to put in an appearance, being last in the shower. She nodded while placing some chilled packages in the microwave.

  "He likes what we're sending. Says it's sensational, but he's getting a lot of pressure from the authorities for us to stand off until the official teams arrive.”

  "The official teams have previous experience of exploring alien civilisations have they?” asked Leslie with heavy sarcasm.

&nbs
p; "Exactly,” agreed Melanie. “I told him that we're as good as anyone else in the business. And if we want to put our lives at risk, it's our choice.”

  "Hopefully nobody's life will be at risk,” murmured Mark reprovingly, his eyes on her. She flashed dark eyes at him, which Leslie didn't fail to notice. She scowled, banging the coffee pot in irritation. She had been finding it progressively more difficult to keep her anger under control recently. The exciting uniqueness of their situation distracted her, but continuing close contact with Mark and Leslie and their obvious infatuation with each other was trying her patience.

  "Anyway, Mark, we need a decision about the robot,” continued Andy. “The Chameleon doesn't have the alien language compiler that we have on the Bounty Hunter. I think we should move it across so that me and Jo can continue working on it.”

  "Ah yes, I remember the alien Language Compiler," said Mark with a wry grin.

  "And how you mocked it," said Melanie.

  "Touché!" said Mark. “Who would have thought ?” He paused for a few moments. “I suggest we connect up the two ships in orbit. Move the robot to the Bounty Hunter, but with both ships connected we can share resources and move freely between the two. What thinks you Anja?” Anja’s face replaced those of Andy and Jo on the screen.

  "You have no plans to explore the moon further?” asked Anja. Mark looked at Melanie and she shook her head.

  "No, exploring the moon requires specialist resources which we don't have. It's also dangerous and slow work. We can achieve a lot more here.” said Melanie. Mark nodded his agreement and looked enquiringly at the screen.

  "I've no problem with that," said Anja. Glad to get away from the cursed place.”

  "What do you mean, connect up the two ships?” asked Leslie, taking her plate of hot food to the table.

  "We can connect the two airlocks together and keep them permanently open. That way we can move freely between the ships," said Mark. “It's quite normal,” he added reassuringly.

  "It's very cramped down here," said Leslie sourly. “Living in this tin can. Can't we just move out onto the planet. We've been exposed anyway.” Melanie and Mark looked at each other doubtfully.