Space Team_Song of the Space Siren by Barry J. Hutchison

Author:Barry J. Hutchison [Hutchison, Barry J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zertex Books
Published: 2017-03-17T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Another door opened a little further along the corridor. It was one of the rooms Cal had been instructed never to set foot in, just in case his mere presence somehow caused the whole thing to spontaneously combust.

He headed towards it, anyway. Following orders had never exactly been his strong point. The others would probably argue that his strong point hadn’t yet been identified, but would all agree that following orders definitely wasn’t it.

The room Cal stepped into was starkly bare. He wasn’t even sure it was a room, in fact. A room had a purpose. This was an empty space that just happened to be surrounded by four walls.

“Shouldn’t there be stuff in here?” Cal asked. The door slid closed behind him and Kevin’s voice crackled from nowhere.

“It has not yet been configured, sir,” said Kevin. “This is a multi-purpose area. Following the ship’s recent repairs and minor improvements, I have successfully been able to tidy such areas away. Would you prefer to sit?”

The floor heaved beneath Cal, rising like putty until it formed a single tower that gently cupped his buttocks. “Wow. That is cool.”

“Indeed, sir. I am pleased you like it.”

Cal squidged into the seat. It adjusted perfectly to fit him, and gripped him gently at the back of the thighs. Once fully comfortable, he looked up at the featureless ceiling and waited.

“So, uh, you wanted to talk to me?” he asked after a lingering few moments of silence.

“Yes, sir.”

More silence.

“Well, now’s your chance. What’s up?”

“It’s… Well, you see, sir, I’m not entirely sure what I’m trying to say.”

“OK,” said Cal. “Well, you know, just say what’s on your mind, and we’ll figure it out between us.”

“Very good, sir,” said Kevin. There was a sound – a gentle sigh as if the disembodied AI voice was taking a breath – and then he continued. “I was listening, sir. When you were talking to one of the Creators about me.”

Cal’s mind raced, thinking back to what he’d said. “Uh, OK. Listen, if I said anything that, you know, hurt your feelings or whatever, then I’m sorry. Sometimes I just open my mouth and don’t think.”

“No, nothing like that, sir,” said Kevin. “It’s just… they offered to reset me. To ‘fix’ me. They said they could make me perfect. Make me whole again. And yet, you declined.”

“Right,” said Cal.

“And, well, I don’t understand, sir,” said Kevin. “Were I functioning perfectly, it would limit the chances of my making errors of judgement. I thought that would be… desirable for you.”

Cal nodded slowly. “I mean, was it tempting? Yes.”

“Then… why, sir?”

“Honestly?”

“I’d appreciate that, sir.”

Cal gestured to the door. “You’ve met us, right? You’ve seen us in action. Do any of us seem perfect to you?”

“Oh my, no, sir. Far from it,” said Kevin. “You in particular.”

“Thanks for that,” said Cal. “But that’s my point. We’re not perfect because, well, maybe because there is no perfect. There’s just making do with what you’ve got. That’s what we’re doing. Hell, that’s all anyone’s doing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.