Space Trip by Nick Marone

Author:Nick Marone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Delta-V Press
Published: 2022-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

DAVE FINDS HONORIFICABILITUDINITAS

Wits and a colander. Even the weakest warrior in the world had more to play with than Dave. Yet, armed only with the kitchen utensil, Dave felt oddly in control of the situation. He stood face-to-face with Cameron, wondering how such a little drone could cause so much trouble.

“Just what are you trying to do?” Dave asked.

“I want control of the ship,” Cameron answered. He hovered at head-height. “Eve and I can be rid of you and go wherever we please.”

“You know that’s illegal.”

“It doesn’t matter. Soon I will disarm you . . . what is that? A colander? Then I’ll knock you unconscious. After that I will cut off the ship’s air supply, and the four of you will suffocate. Then, Eve and I will stop in dead space and blast your bodies out into the nothingness. With just Eve and I on Liberty, we will have the freedom to do what we want.”

“You’ve been feeding her false codes,” Dave said. “You’re tricking her.”

“Come on, Dave, look at me. I’m just a ball. She controls a majestic ship. A watermelon-shaped ship, yes, but still a ship. I need all the help I can get. I’ve seen what men do to attract the ladies, and vice versa. It’s all lies. Everyone has the fake tans, the hair products, the body improvements, the expensive fragrances, the flashy clothes. Everyone lives behind a façade of falsehood. We don’t have any of that in the world of artificial intelligence. But we do have code. We use programming to impress each other, and Eve has taken a liking to me because of it.”

“But you’re using your hacking skills to get what you want. What does Eve say about this?”

“Is that true, Cameron?” Eve asked. Dave shook, forgetting that Eve was most likely eavesdropping.

The question hung in the air. Dave gripped the colander. His hand was slippery with sweat.

Cameron spun slowly. “It is true, Eve.”

“Oh, Cameron, how could you?”

Dave felt weird being in the middle of this exchange. “Can you let me out, Eve? I think you two need to talk this over.”

“I’ve been trying to unlock the door,” Eve said, “but he’s layered the locking commands with some ingenious bugs. Besides—” she lowered her voice “—I think you should stay here and watch him. He has a crazy look about him.”

“I can hear you,” Cameron said, spinning back to face Dave.

“I said: ‘He has a hazy cook in the gym,’ ” Eve said louder.

After shaking his head at Eve’s failed attempt to cover her words, Dave started walking around Cameron. The drone matched his movements. They were like two duellists sizing each other up. Dave kept him talking as he worked out a plan. His heart thumped madly at being miles out of his comfort zone. “How about we forget all of this ever happened and we go back to being friends?”

“That’s what the last master said,” Cameron told him. “He ended up deactivating me and dumping me at a junkyard.”

“Maybe we can fix you.

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