Beyond Asimios - Part 4 by Fossum Martin

Author:Fossum, Martin [Fossum, Martin]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Publisher: Martin Fossum
Published: 2013-09-30T18:30:00+00:00

While the three of them did their best to be amenable and accommodating travel companions, there were times during their voyage when one desired solitude, and it was during such a time that a shipmate would retire to his or her (or its) respective corner to sleep or to simply be alone. Everyone, it turns out, needs a moment alone, even a droid.

Just what Oreg did after he handed control of the bridge over to Miranda and slung his lanky frame off to his quarters, was anybody’s guess. Graf surmised that Oreg’s moments of seclusion consisted of beard trimming, telepathic training, clandestine plotting and (or) meditation on the seven planes of truth, but ultimately, what a Goerathian does on his own time is his own business. Besides, it was in Miranda that Graf had been developing a keener interest.

After their exchange about religion and the quantum mind, Graf now regarded this sleek amalgam of metal, electronics and synthskin as a being of depth, complexity and moral comportment, and he felt remorse for having treated her with such impudence back on Asimios. He had taken advantage of Miranda as a servant droid and never once assumed, even with evidence to the contrary standing right in front of him, that she was unique—an independent droid, one capable of higher order thought. But even with this revelation, he found himself uneasy. He was uneasy because this development brought with it certain implications. There was another “being” to tiptoe around now; another “person” in need of politeness, consideration and respect, all measures requiring energy and effort.

Fiddlesticks.

More often than not, Graf found Miranda in the engineering cubby, at work trying to repair the sentry bot’s basic functions. Oreg had provided her with toolkits and several replacement component caches and she spent a good deal of her attention poking and prodding and running tests on the gray and lifeless hunk of plasteel.

—It is funny, Miranda said, when I try to cross-apply the alien tech with our own, I find it challenging. The work requires considerable time and concentration. Before I can use one of the alien components, it is necessary for me to test it to see what it is.

—Did the bot come with an instruction manual?

—I do not understand, Dr. Graf?

—Are there any embedded schematics? Is there any way to troubleshoot the problems?

—I’ve been running diagnostics and I believe I’ve isolated the areas of damage. Extracting and repairing the damaged components is where the difficulty lies.

—I’m sorry. I guess I’m not of much help here.

—No.

—I was wondering, though, Graf added. Did…er, does, the sentry bot also have one of these quantum minds? Did Paul stick a quantum brain in this guy too?

Miranda looked up at him.

—I mean, is he like you? Can the damned thing think?

—I believe, said Miranda, that Paul Ness installed quantum integration circuitry in both of us. It is my understanding, however, that the mind in the sentry bot is of limited capacity. It can adapt and learn, but that is all I know.

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