by Gary Starta
“No one at this table is shocked he sold us out. He never mentioned anyone but himself in his suit to retain his engineering position,” Bob reasoned while grabbing a handful of the bar’s complimentary salted nuts.
“Gentlemen, I have some very devious thoughts in my head about how we can repay both the association and Petrovsky,” Phil stated softly while scanning the bar for nosy ears.
“The association eliminated our jobs because they contended we were doing an inadequate job of ship design. I say we should give them a taste of just how inadequate an automaton can be when erroneously programmed.”
“Are you serious?” Chuck asked in disbelief. “You will jeopardize the IT career you still have, plus the possible lives of both civilians and astronauts over a grudge?”
“I just want to teach a lesson, that’s all,” Phil responded in a hushed tone. “I’ve waited patiently for almost a decade for vindication and I’m not going to receive any if I don’t start acting like Petrovsky.”
“Each time we’re granted authorization to make programming changes on the robots, our DNA is read and logged in the system. How do you propose making the automatons incompetent without getting caught?” Chuck asked.
“There are ways to fool the system, my friend,” Phil responded. “As you know, the scanners typically read our identities from a DNA sample stored in a data chip. All we have to do is place someone else’s DNA sample in front of the scanner. I would of course mask my true identify by wearing gloves to conceal my fingerprints.”
“Is that someone else’s DNA, Petrovsky’s?” Bob asked in a mischievous tone.
“Just as soon as I can find a way to forge it,” Phil replied. “Can you imagine the look on management faces when the computer ID system tells them someone who is on another planet was responsible for programming tampering? We may even get lucky and have the association begging us to take our engineering jobs back. So are we all in on this—lesson teaching?” Jackson asked while raising his glass.
Bob proceeded to clink his mug against Phil’s with gusto but Chuck silently nodded and fought a rising tide of guilt in his conscious.
Chapter 15: Viable Alternative
All the mission scientists received the results from their medical exams via their data-net units shortly before the meetings were scheduled to discuss the findings of Peter Ciprelli and Karen Hiroshi. Each scientist was diagnosed as suffering from leukemia due to the exposure from ionizing radiation. Dr. Hiroshi explained in his message that damage had been done to both proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes by the increased radiation emanating from the dark matter. Levels of radioactive strontium increased about 15 times their normal levels in the crops harvested from the last growing season. Hiroshi also explained that the radiation traveling through the Ceres atmosphere caused matter to ionize in the scientist’s bodies so irreversible damage to their blood and bone marrow had occurred. The doctor’s prognosis essentially condemned the scientists to a death sentence in the next six to twelve months even with medication which would be administered through a time release system controlled by a computer chip.
As suggested by Joyce, two fact finding meetings were being held to separate Mikola from the Starkman’s and McElroy. Joyce, Aaron and Adrian waited in silence for Peter and Karen to arrive at the McElroy’s home for the first presentation. Aaron kept his arm around Joyce who was still trying to calm her nerves after Petrovsky invaded her property earlier that day. The only positive outcome from the doctor’s grim prognosis was that Mikola’s threats had been reduced to the level of a school yard bully. In ten minutes, the silence was broken as a land rover pulled up to McElroy’s home.
“Hello, everybody” Karen stated pensively as she entered the dwelling. The small smile she had managed to put on her face was fighting a battle with her inner emotions which wanted to twist her face into a sorrowful grimace. Joyce sensed the young woman’s inner turmoil and reached her hand out to Karen who grasped it while taking a seat next to her. Peter also fought to conceal his emotions as he started to set up a holographic projection unit that he would use to explain the results of his findings. As Peter powered up the unit, the room’s ceiling turned into a recreation of nighttime sky.
“Well, we all have had a very rough 24 hours,” Aaron interjected in an attempt to ease their tension.
“Peter, what can you tell us that will further explain Dr. Hiroshi’s findings?”
“Aaron, I believe the anomaly I would refer to as a fizzling brown dwarf has produced the lethal radiation that leaked into our atmosphere. As you can see on the diagram, the orbit of Argos changes dramatically once every three Ceres years.”
The computer then revealed how the moon takes a longer route around the planet during this third cycle leaving our new home exposed to the dark matter for an additional 45days during the course of a year.
“We have now made efforts to reinforce the planet’s perimeter with a shield that will deflect the ultra violet rays from both the dark matter and the sun. This system acts like the weather-net program that was used to repair Earth’s ozone layer approximately two hundred years ago,” Karen explained.
“I know this measure is being taken after the horse has already left the barn door—and I apologize if I misused this old Earth expression— but I believe we can still successfully complete the mission we came here for. The Starkman’s are a great example of how one can overcome adversity,” Karen noted as Joyce and Aaron smiled in unison.
Adrian then slowly rose from his chair to speak. “I know you may blame me for my lackadaisical approach to crop monitoring for this travesty, and for that I am truly sorry. Dr. Hiroshi says I am the least affected of the group as I spent most of my time indoors and used our food replication units to avoid exposure and ingestion of the contaminants. I vow to use my extra time to comfort you all and try to save this mission for the future interchangeability excused himself to retrieve a tray from the kitchen.
“I for one do not blame you Adrian as there was no cause to monitor the radiation when our first two harvest seasons came and went without a hitch,” Peter pronounced. “However, as you may imagine, accusatory fingers are being pointed at you by the Petrovsky’s.” Adrian then reached out to shake Ciprelli’s hand before exiting the room.
Karen continued the presentation noting the shield would prevent any further radiation contamination to the planet’s atmosphere. “As for the soil, a cleansing process involving the removal of ions from the planet’s soil and water can also be undertaken with the help of the ship. We can use hydroponics to grow new crops once the contaminant level sin the soil are neutralized. For now, we’ll subsist on food made from our nutrient processors and filtered rain water.”
“I admire your determination and courage, Karen,” Aaron stated. “However, with the advent of the illness we will soon enter a weakened physical state. How will we be able to finish the cleansing process among a host of other tasks in time for the arrival of the civilians?”
“I may be able to solve that problem,” Adrian responded as he reentered the room and placed the refreshment tray on a table. “I evasively alluded to the kind of assistance I could provide a few minutes ago; but now I see our dire circumstances warrant further explanation. I believe the time has come to propose the same type of hybrid process I used with James Starkman. I apologize in advance if this idea offends you, but this process may be the only viable method we can come up with to save the mission.”
“Are you proposing that we all consent to become androids?” Joyce asked with a quivering voice.
“I don’t see it quite that way, Joyce,” Adrian responded. “When we did the process with James, I explained that the android would not be James, but would retain enough of the boy’s memories and knowledge to act like him. The process I am proposing will be very comparable. I could produce androids without the use of your engrams; however, we would not have time to train them with the knowledge I can chemically download into them from your brains. The hybri
d process will allow the androids to pick up wherever our work has been left off.”
“How will you able to repeat the procedure you used on James?” Karen asked. “We may be sick, but we’re not dead yet.”
“I suggest the construction of special beds that will monitor brain activity. Those of us who reach the advanced stages of disease, will then be confined to these beds and monitored. At the point of death, I will be able to make the necessary chemical extraction. In the mean time, I will start the assembly of androids that biologically and physically resemble everybody with the exception of myself. As I will most likely be the last person to die from this condition, I will hopefully be able to complete the transfer of the engrams into each android body. I cannot be saved—nor would I request it because of the neglect I have shown to this mission.”
“In reality, you may be the savior of this mission, doctor,” Karen offered in consolation.
“Nevertheless, I am the only one who can administer this procedure—so you see I will not be manufacturing an android representation of myself. I want you all to know that if you consent to this procedure, you will be helping give birth to a new life form. The android unit that will contain your memories will act as a self-aware individual. These androids will not only save the colonization of this planet, but represent a new race of sentient beings. The android boy, who contains the essence of James Starkman, is of course the first of these beings to come to life thanks to Aaron and Joyce. And because James is totally unaffected by the radiation he will continue to represent the best of humanity and automatons.”
“Unfortunately, I know some people who are persecuting this new life form in the same despicable ways that were once practiced on ancient Earth. Sexism and racism were two of the biggest obstacles the federation had to overcome to unite the world. I taught a history class on how a war was started in the early 21st century based on the fact that women weren’t allowed the same rights as men,” Aaron noted.
“It seems to me that all of us here are willing to do whatever it takes to save this mission,” Peter surmised. “We know we will have our problems with Mikola and Nadia.”
“God forgive me, but maybe it would be better if we let them die,” Joyce stated in response to Peter’s concern. “As you pointed out, they’re probably going to be against the idea anyway.”
“I suggest you all get a good night’s sleep and ponder my proposal before answering to me or any God you may worship,” Adrian suggested. “If you agree to the process, please be aware that I will erase your short term memory, so in effect, you will not be aware you were sick. You will simply awake in a healthy body and perform your necessary functions. You will believe you are completely human although you will benefit from the possession of a superior body. I will also design the bodies to essentially cease functioning after living what I would consider a normal life time. I believe the possession of immortality would only create a further barrier between automatons and humans. I am also against an infinite life span because our mortality gave rise to the creation of numerous religions tailored to easing our fear of it; we were in effect being pacified about our imminent deaths with the promise of an afterlife. As you well know, all of these religions caused blood shed because they promoted some kind of doctrine that was biased towards particular races and genders. So in effect, these religions created the very hatred that they swore to abolish. I do not want the androids to become a target of envy and consequently another target for mankind’s hatred. Androids will someday be perfected to have a superior mind without the aid of chemical enhancements from human brains. On that day, automatons will be free from religious restraints because they will not have the human will to believe in a divine being. They will know an omnipotent being did not create them, therefore there will be no need for them to risk being hated for choosing one God over another. Please forgive me for my ramblings, but I have had no one to share my philosophies with during the eight years we’ve been together.”
“Well, I believe my philosophies would carry over into the android to produce a belief in God,” Joyce interjected.
“I have no objections to your beliefs as long as they promote good will among man and machine,” Adrian said in support of Joyce’s conviction.
“Since my work is still considered illegal in the federation’s eyes, I feel it’s best to program the androids to believe they are yourselves. I also do not trust that all the federation civilians bound for this planet will be so open to accept these new beings. I hope the federation will one day accept androids as citizens with all the privileges and rights they deserve. All of you in this room may be responsible for obtaining these rights; so as scientists you can take comfort that you will continue to be productive forces long after your natural bodies have ceased to function.”
“If we will forget the choice we made to undergo this procedure, then how will a record of our consent be kept?” Karen asked.
“I will keep a secret file that will be encoded with individual DNA samples to verify that all participants willingly submitted to the procedure, Karen,” McElroy explained. “There may come a time when the situation will warrant exposure and I want the federation to be assured there was no Dr. Frankenstein at work here.”
As the meeting came to a close, Adrian thought to himself how humans would probably benefit most from his hybrid procedure. “people live and think more like automatons than they care to admit. Maybe that is why most of them become so annoyed with the idea of androids…”
Chapter 16: Real Time
Mario and Marisa Perez awoke the morning after the White’s anniversary celebration in their quarters to the sound of a chime. It told them it was 11 o’clock in the morning. Even after enduring a few years in flight, the couple found their body clocks never quite assimilated to the artificial environment of the ship. And the couple’s indulgence in drink did not further assist them in their efforts to convince their brains that it was the middle of the day either…
“First you fill yourself with champagne and then you fill yourself with regret,” Mario joked with his wife as he grabbed an elixir from the food replication unit to combat their hangover. Marisa downed the blue-colored remedy quickly before heading to the sonic shower. “How about if I program the grooming unit to fashion myself with a new hairstyle today?” Marisa proposed. Before Mario could answer her, their electronic mailbox unit alerted them that they had received video mail.
“This is probably a message from our families on Earth,” Mario surmised excitedly. Marisa’s expression was less than enthusiastic as she fastened a rose-colored robe around her.
Marisa found she had less trouble leaving her family behind than Mario because of her will to be independent and the somewhat indifferent attitude she received from her own parents, Carmine and Juan Ortiz. Marisa was one of three children who all felt some degree of emotional neglect from their parents who only displayed passion when it came to pursuing their own academic careers. Marisa harbored resentment because the Ortiz children were never encouraged or praised. Marisa therefore grew up content to receive the occasional and often obligatory Christmas video or birthday e-card. She also never expected any expenditure of emotional effort from her siblings who unfortunately adopted the same emotionally detached attitude. “I could have the first Ceres baby—the first human known to have been born outside Earth’s solar system—and who in my family would acknowledge this feat,” Marisa would often think to herself to answer the small resentful voice that complained inside her head.
As Mario ordered the video mail to play the message, the tearful and yet joyous voice of his mother, Maria, filled the couple’s living quarters with a Christmas time greeting. Although the video was sent on Christmas Day on Earth time, the quickest time the ship could intercept and replay the broadcast was approximately 90 days later. Mario did not care that it was now springtime in southern California, as his face quickly lit up just as it did during the first holiday celebrations he experienced as a child with his family. M
arisa knew from experience that a child’s behavior and entire outlook on the world is often formed in the first few years of life. She therefore felt like a robot who received defective programming and often became jealous of her husband. Marisa refused Mario’s encouragement to submit to psycho therapeutic counseling whereby children were taught to overcome their negative upbringing. Many therapists suggested the affected patient purge themselves of all bad memories and resentments in order to lead effective, normal lives. Marisa did not buy into these promises which were built upon assumptions that the human brain was quite similar to a computer. The feisty young woman thought it was unnatural for humans to treat their brains like a machine. She maintained that whatever obstacles she had encountered in her young life were put there for a reason and subscribed to the philosophy of: what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.
Mario on the other hand always fed off of the strong emotions he felt from his family and did not fear it would weaken him. He therefore wanted his future children to always know that they were the most important aspects of his life. Marisa admired this quality and sometimes secretly wished that Maria and Juan Perez were her biological parents. However, those moments were only fleeting as she reasoned the path she chose in life was in accordance with how she survived and dealt with problems on her own strengths. It came as no surprise to either of the couple’s families that Marisa was the one who proposed they join the Ceres mission. Mario still could never forget the tearful goodbye he received from his parents while Marisa could not quite remember if she hugged or shook hands with her parents upon departure.
“I want you and Marisa to know that we think about you all the time,” Maria Perez spoke into the video mail’s view screen. “I know I can’t see your faces right now, but I imagine you feel the regret from our separation mixed with the huge amount of pride we have for both of you,” Maria continued. Marisa felt pity for her own parents who could feel neither of those two emotions. She sometimes felt she was raised by two big cats who left her to fend for herself once they surmised she was self-sufficient.