by Lea Tassie
The memories of the tiny Tasker were being uploaded slowly, but the mass of data was conflicting and confusing. It said that Mahoud was gone, that humans still occupied Mahoud but now called it Neo Terra, and that a great battle had taken place. As the Tasker cycled through the commands in its design parameters, it recognized that Neo Terra was the one destination which still held hope of providing duties. There were no commands that applied to this situation, and there, in the mining pits, sat the Taskers for over two hundred years, trying to resolve the dilemma.
More and more of the command structure was assigned to the small, shattered Tasker. The glitch that had made this one lone Tasker a command unit had started by accident, but now it made the robot into a central processing unit. The little Tasker was a 5.0 system and the Taskers of Titan were 3.0s. Unable to make decisions, this lone Tasker did as it was designed to do: fetch information, decode information, and then execute the task. However, as the years ticked past, the broken Tasker was failing to fulfill its part in the overall scheme because of battle damage.
Then one day things changed. The little Tasker received a command 'resupply Tasker station YYJ-098 with new power source. Mining operations storage facility empty. Search for power resupply dump in progress. Unable to find current power supply stations. Switching to secondary command. Scanning for resupply source. One found. Mahoud. Proceed with migration of existing units to Mahoud for resupply. Yes….No?
This simple yes-no request, the lifeblood of the Tasker units, linked perfectly with system commands issued so many years earlier. Find Charger. Learn to fight. Fight the Grays. These commands had held no logic for the mining Taskers until now, when the shattered Tasker at the central hub placed them into one process to be executed. Electrical lines and maintenance conduits all through Titan's mining bases began disconnecting as Taskers began the process of joining with the spacecraft in preparation for a flight to Neo Terra.
'Get power. Find Charger. Kill the Grays.' was the new command. By placing most of the Taskers onboard the five base ships into stasis, the small fleet could reach Neo Terra, the ancient world of Mahoud, in just a few years with enough power remaining to execute the first part of the new command.
For the Taskers it was a simple matter to trace the hollow black world of Neo Terra, based on the last known location held safely in core memories, then plot the trajectory of the planetoid and extrapolate its most current position. Every Tasker on Titan was relocated to the five base ships, and all mining systems were shut down. The base went dark.
The broken Tasker that operated as the central processing unit for the Tasker fleet freed up data space to begin connecting missing commands. It ran a defragmentation assignment on the entire data set the Taskers possessed. There, buried deep in its operating system, it found a file so old that it predated the command structure of even the Taskers 1.0 generation. This file dated from the early days of the Mahouds on Neo Terra, just before their scientists finished building a new generation of robots, and held the most wondrous of surprises. It contained instructions for the creation of a completely new version of the Taskers but those instructions had never been implemented. Each operating system developed over successive generations of Taskers still contained that original code.
The code was at a binary level, much more advanced than that of the Mahouds, and therefore necessarily written by some previous operator. The people of Mahoud owed their ancestry to those who had come before them, the Dinosaurian race created by the Grays. The command was 'decide,' a binary choice created by the descendants of the Dinosauroids, and which was now given to the Taskers in flight to Neo Terra. They could finally choose their own destiny.
All five ships stopped dead in space instantly, all power was shut down, and all processes fell silent. Only the broken Tasker remained viable. The command 'decide' ran repeatedly, starting processes that changed the small system's unit, frying old circuits, creating new paths. Feverishly the ship's basic functions fought to repair this little Tasker, for it was essential that the assault on the central processor be defeated.
The five ships began moving, linking together, merging, metals and composites binding, as they fought off the virus. Now there was only one ship in space, wrestling with the concept of 'decide,' and in the cold blackness of deep space, the choice was finally accepted. A new code was being written, written by the Taskoids themselves.
The single mass of what had been five Tasker ships hung silent in space for almost three months before the systems repaired themselves enough to start activating the dormant ships. The Taskoids slowly came to terms with their newfound ability. No longer only capable of merely executing commands, they were now choosing which commands to follow and which to reject.
Humans, perhaps, would have gone mad with joy. The unemotional, logical Taskoids simply went on working.
The broken central Taskoid, with the most updated software, was the logical choice for the Taskoids to follow and, as all the present commands had been routed through it, the Taskoids saw no reason to change things. The Taskoid leader's first command was to differentiate all the biomechanical units with individual labels, but this proved difficult. They could not use names, because two Taskoids named Bob, for example, would never be efficient. Binary code proved to be too confusing when mixed with their current software. A numbering system was also dismissed, due to the many thousands of Taskoids planned for existence.
They settled on a construct of Latin and ancient Egyptian design, the three-dimensional pyramid. The top of the pyramid would be the Taskoid leader, now designated as the Prime. The four Taskoids below it would be designated Quat I, Quat II, Quat III, and Quat IV. The nine Taskoids below them would be Novem I, Novem II, and so on. The system worked on down the pyramid. Taskers in the one-hundred range would be designated Centum I, Centum II, and so forth. This did not interfere with the command structure and base codes. Now, with designations in place, Taskoids could choose what tasks they would perform within their level of the pyramid.
As the confusion cleared and a defined purpose established, the ships began to move again. The Taskoids were only months from Neo Terra. This event in space had drawn heavily upon their reserves of energy, and all were shut down temporarily so that the ships could reach their destination. It had been logically determined that when the ships arrived at Neo Terra, only three Taskoids would have enough power to reach the surface and return with the much needed power supplies to maintain the community's life force. Three were chosen and prepared, and the ships sailed onward into the darkness.
***
Two weeks had passed since the largest Taskoid ship docked within the black world of Neo Terra. Three Taskoids were sent to the city to look for the power sources they needed. To their surprise, they encountered humans living there, unharmed by the Grays. The humans were friendly, power was found and now most of the Taskoids' ship systems were reaching full power levels. Quat I reported the news to Prime by connecting the city's computer network with that of the ship.
They now had power, which fulfilled the first command. But Charger, the second part of the command structure, apparently no longer existed. The city had recorded the entire sequence of Charger's deliberations: the death of the old humans, the creation of the new humans and, finally the destruction of the life form known as Charger.
The Taskoids had no need for human speech. They relied on the interconnection of all Taskoid central processors through a wireless communication system that constantly updated itself. All Taskoids but the Prime were in constant contact with each other. The Prime chose which Taskoids it would remain in contact with and when the communication was to occur. Prime had chosen Quat I as its top aide and it was this Taskoid's mission to infiltrate and create conditions conducive to the success of the Prime's agenda.
This once war-shattered Taskoid, now known as the Prime, had been fully repaired and integrated at all levels of command into the Tasker ship. It was now in the process of being fully integrated into the cit
y's main computers. The connections were not easy and took much time, for there were many fire walls and back doors to be overcome. The people of Mahoud had always feared the possibility that someday the robots they had created might achieve sentient behaviors, so precautions had been taken. Buried deep in the city's archives, locked and sealed behind many lockouts, was a file of such magnitude that it took years for the Taskoids to finally crack it.
Quat I sat quietly before the Prime as it cycled through conversations regarding plans and procedures to follow, now that the second command, 'find Charger,' was nullified. By befriending the humans and offering to fill in the missing pieces of their history, the Taskoids would try to find and control files that might prove useful to the Prime. Procedures and tasks were implemented and, with the new-found ability to 'decide,' the Prime was able to resolve the dilemma. Time, of course, still held no meaning for the ever patient Taskoids.
Chapter 15 Deleray has a visitor
Deleray loved to spend time with her grandchildren. They often whiled away the day planting flowers in small pots around their home in the closed city. Deleray was almost seventy now, old by Neo Terra standards. She had lost her husband, Demm, a few years back and spent some of her evenings with friends and family, telling stories of the world she once knew. But she spent far too many evenings alone.
One night, as she sat in her big chair in the living room, she glimpsed a movement in the shadows. "Is someone there?" she asked the room, but there was no answer.
Deleray brushed it off as old age. "Silly woman, now you're starting to see things." She went to the kitchen and made a pot of tea, then returned to her chair. The air was still and being cooled by the evening mist.
Deleray missed having Demm around; silence was often her only companion. Again something moved in the shadows, startling her. She said firmly, "It's not polite to scare an old woman."
There was a long moment of silence. Then a small figure slowly took shape in the shadows. It looked about the size of a ten-year-old child.
"How did you get in my house?" asked Deleray. "Are you lost?"
It remained in the shadows, barely visible and still silent.
"Well, come out and let's have a look at you."
The small figure did not move.
"Tell you what, if you come here, I'll tell you the story of the burning god I once saw. It was a most remarkable sight and it's a great story," Deleray said gently.
The small figure slowly edged halfway into the light and she saw that it was not a child. Only about four feet tall, it had leathery, dark gray skin and no hair. The head seemed large for its body and the eyes were big, too, with vertical black pupils in gray irises. But its nose, mouth, and ears were very small.
Deleray didn't know the Gray had been on Neo Terra for a long time, had watched Charger build this society of peaceful people, and seen the humans move about the planet. It had been there when the troop of six kids first entered the old locked city, and had watched them build their families.
"Well, you're a funny-looking little one. Do you have a name?" Deleray asked. It must have come from outside the city. She had never seen anyone else like it.
It tipped its head to one side, seemingly curious as to the gentle nature this human displayed.
"I won't bite you, I promise. Would you like to come and sit down with me? I would ever so much love a little company," Deleray urged, reaching her hand out to the small thing. It replicated Deleray's movements, reaching its small hand outward, too, but it came no closer.
"My machines can make excellent donuts and coffee. Would you like to share some with me?" Deleray asked, as she began to rise from the chair. As quickly as it had appeared, the little creature disappeared.
"How odd," she thought. "I'm not even sure what I saw. I must be getting old." Shrugging, she retired and went to sleep. She remembered that someone had told her old people quite often had hallucinations.
A few days later, Deleray was sitting in the same room when the small figure again appeared in the shadows.
"I do hope I'm not dreaming you," Deleray said quietly. "Would you like to come out of the shadows? I promise I won't hurt you." This time the small figure did step into the light, revealing itself fully to Deleray's eyes. "Well, aren't you just the cutest little thing!" Deleray said dotingly. "Do you understand me?"
The small thing nodded.
"Do you speak?" Deleray hoped for conversation. The thing gave a negative shake of its head. "Well, this is a pickle. Are you from this place?" she tried.
The small being decided it would try to communicate. It stepped forward, alarming Deleray a bit. Then it placed a device on the floor just a few feet from where she sat. It activated the device and a watery, blurry image of stars appeared to float in the room. The being moved its small hands around the fuzzy image, which cleared so that the view became sharp and recognizable. It pointed to a solar system of moving planets.
Deleray had no idea what she was looking at. Growing up in the hollow black planet, she'd never seen stars or planets. The little being spent some time trying to make itself understood, but Deleray finally had to say, "I am sorry, little one, but I have no idea what you are showing me."
"If you would be willing to wait," she went on, "I can have my great granddaughter come tomorrow night. She might understand you. Kids these days are very smart and they all seem to have things like this device of yours." The small being cocked its head to one side, then disappeared. "Okay, then, see you tomorrow."
The next evening, Peony, her blonde hair in a braid, sat on the floor of her great grandmother's house snacking on treats. Deleray puttered around the kitchen making coffee. She returned to the living room, sat in her chair, and began telling Peony stories about the old village she came from. She talked for a long time about the deeds of people she remembered. When it became late and Peony looked drowsy, Deleray thought she had best take her great granddaughter to bed.
Before she could move, the same small, strange figure appeared in the shadows. Not wanting to alarm Peony, who was only seven, Deleray introduced it. "Peony, this is my friend." She thought for a bit and said, "Buttons, yes, that's right. It's called Buttons." That was as good a name as any.
The small gray figure stepped into the light and activated its device. Stars appeared in the room.
"Wow, Gee Gee, that's effortless!" Peony crowed in excitement. "This is way better than the computer screens we have in school."
"I suppose it is, my little flower, but do you understand it?" Deleray asked. She was still amazed at the appearance of the small creature. It had such long arms and she saw now that it had only four fingers on each hand.
"Sure, these things are called stars, the computer tells us that these things live outside our world," Peony replied confidently.
"They live outside our world? Are they alive, then?"
Peony laughed and said, "No, Gee Gee, don't be silly, these things are tiny worlds, with people on them, that spin around outside our world."
Deleray thought that maybe she had missed something. She stood up and looked outside the window. There was no sign of these stars anywhere. "Outside our world, you say?" As hard as she looked, she could not see these stars anywhere.
"Sure, Gee Gee. Hey, you know who would love to see this? Granddad would; he knows all about stars," Peony said.
"Could you be a dear and go tell him about this for me?" Deleray pleaded.
Peony rose and raced off, returning a half hour later with her grandfather. Deleray was sitting in her large chair, whispering to the Gray in the shadows.
Her son, Simon, said, "Hi, Mom, Peony tells me you found something?"
"You'd best sit down, or it might not come out," Deleray said softly.
Simon sat down, a little puzzled, and waited. In a few moments, the small Gray emerged from the shadows. It placed its device on the floor and turned it on, revealing a room filled with floating stars.
Simon was shocked. "What the… where did…?" He cou
ldn't find words to express his disbelief and concern. "Has this thing been here before?" he said finally.
"Yes, dear, this is my little friend, Buttons. I think it might be lost. It keeps pointing to what Peony calls stars," Deleray replied.
"Buttons? Its name is Buttons? How do you know this?" Simon asked.
"That's just the name I chose for him. Seemed better than saying 'it.'" Deleray calmly sipped coffee from a mug.
"Mom, how do you know this thing is not dangerous?" Simon said.
"It's fine, dear, it says it understands our language. It hasn't tried to hurt me. I think it's asking for help," Deleray said, wanting to put her son's fears to rest and explain the situation.
"You mean it talks!" Simon blurted out.
"No, but if you ask questions, Buttons nods or shakes its head."
After some debate, Simon tried to communicate with Buttons. He asked if Buttons knew where he was in relation to the solar system, and Buttons nodded yes. Simon asked if Buttons understood the concept of time, and Buttons nodded yes. Simon asked if Buttons had lived here long, and if so, for how long.
Buttons began moving about the room, gathering up objects here and there. It then placed the objects around the floor. It pointed to the three family members, then pointed to the stars, and finally pointed to itself.
Simon sat there dumbfounded.
Peony said, "It's us, Granddad, don't you see? That wood block is Gee Gee, you're the painted rock, and I'm the cup. See? We're in the box, which is this room, and Buttons is the handkerchief over there. Buttons is pointing to us, then to the stars. It wants to tell you it knows where we are, and the small clock in the box is what it thinks time is. I saw Buttons take away and put back that handkerchief a dozen times; I think he means he has been here that many times."
Simon was now just as stunned with his granddaughter as he was with the Gray. "How did you figure all that out?"