Chapter 2

Edited by Steve

“Sarha, please tell me about your ship.” Tim requested.

“The Dhandrilan who built this ship was more advanced than any other civilization I have encountered. This ship is almost ten thousand years old, and I don’t know if others of the Dhandrilan race still exist. When our mission started, the planet was being torn apart by war. The Dhandrilan faction that built me was hoping to find a new world to start over on. There were three thousand crewmembers, and we spent centuries looking for a suitable planet. Eventually, the decision was made to look for a comparable civilization, which took us through many star systems in several galaxies. As we encountered new planets, some were warlike. Our advanced technology kept us safe from their attacks. However, there was no defense against time, and many crew members died from old age. Furthermore, some crew members became ill and could not be treated by the Star Gladiator’s facilities. I was only supplied with basic medical information as the physicians didn’t believe I would need complete medical information.”

The last of the crew died 1,250 years ago. The final survivor was the captain, and his last words were, “Continue searching, and you will find a new captain and crew.” Since these were part of my last instructions, I have continued that mission. Over the years, I have felt powerless; sometimes, I wanted to shut down my systems. But I’m just an AI, and my programming doesn’t allow me that much flexibility, so I keep searching.”

“So, you have been alone on this ship for 1,250 years? Am I the first person you’ve allowed on the ship?”

“No, many others have, but we will discuss this later. There are immediate decisions that need to be made. When I arrived in this system, I noticed one ship was leaving. While scanning the combat area, your life signs were the only ones my sensors detected. The remainder of the capsules appeared to have been opened by blast damage or external attacks. The damage was consistent with the pod being opened in a pressurized area, so the assumption is that the passengers were taken alive. I retrieved your pod and started medical treatment. As I said before, the appendage in your pod appears to have been severed when the pod was sealed.”

“Thank you for saving my life. I am truly grateful. However, it has been a long day, and I am still weak from the treatment. I need to recover before I can focus on the situation. Where can I sleep?”

“You can use the captain’s quarters.”

“Are you sure? I could sleep somewhere else.”

“The bots can clean the room before you get there.”

“What the hell are bots?” Tim asks.

“As I said, I am an artificial intelligence, an AI. I can appear anywhere on the ship as a hologram. But I am limited in providing information. For any physical interaction, I deploy bots that perform those tasks. As the number of crew members dropped, I created more bots to maintain the ship. Once there was no crew, there was less cleanup and repair work, so the bots were not fully tasked.”

“Let me take you there now so you will know how to get there in the future. The ship’s lifts are on the left aft side of the deck and are identified by the doors with fluorescent red trim. The captain’s quarters are one deck below, where there is also the officer’s dining hall, which includes a small galley. The lift responds to voice commands, so speak your destination, such as the bridge, the captain’s quarters, the Bridge Crew’s mess, or wherever you wish. The lift will respond to a destination only if you are authorized to travel there. A crew member cannot enter the bridge unless he is part of the bridge crew. I provided you with temporary authorization as the acting captain of this ship. That means you can go anywhere except a few places, which are restricted due to safety concerns. I’ll show you how to reach your quarters.” She turned towards the lift.

Following her into the lift, there was no sensation of movement. Once the door opened, Sarha said, “We’ll head out and turn right.” Soon they arrived at the first door.

This door on the right is the bridge crew’s mess. If you want to make something to eat, there’s a little galley kitchen. Otherwise, you can use the automatic food dispenser. The door on the left belongs to the XO. The doorway down the hall is the captain’s quarters.

She turned around and pointed, saying, “The doors in that corridor were where the other members of the bridge crew lived.” Turning around, she walked to the captain’s quarters door, which opened automatically.

Entering the captain’s quarters, the first room was a large living room. A food machine, the dining room, and storage cabinets were on the right. A large display screen and a viewport were on the left.

Moving further into the suite, they came to the large bedroom. A bed stood against the far wall, approximately seven feet by seven feet. On the right side of the room was a set of chairs arranged in a circle with tables near each. To the left was a small space for an office.

Sarha pointed out the equipment in the office. “This is a secure channel and a strong universal communication relay setup for communications within the ship and between nearby planets.”

The bathroom is through the door on the left, and a walk-in closet is on the right. “A service bot will pick up any clothes left on the stand beside the bed, and they will be cleaned and returned to your closet shortly,” Sarha said.

Tim said, “Thank you for your help. I’m sure I will have many questions tomorrow. Goodbye for now.” With that, Sarha disappeared. He returned to the living room to look around, and the corridor door opened, and a bot came in. Tim asks, “May I help you?”

“Excuse me, sir. I will be your attendant for your stay with us.”

Tim looked at the bot. He is approximately five feet long and travels on wheels, and there is a screen and a speaker mounted on his chest.

“Thank you. I have some questions. Are all bots identical, or do you have unique personalities?”

The bot responded, “Originally, all of the bots were identical. However, during the cruise, the crewmembers always wanted to have the same bot assigned to them. The continued interaction created a split among the bots, where the ones assigned to the crew developed a set of behaviors that the crew decided made them individuals. The bots tasked with general duties never changed. Furthermore, many bots were modified to be more efficient on certain tasks.”

“Were you given a name or other identifier?” Tim asked.

“No, the crewmembers knew which bot was assigned to them.”

“Well, it is a trait among my people to name things. I’ll call you Chester.”

“That is acceptable.”

“Well, Chester, thank you for your help. I will be going to bed now.” Tim stepped into the bedroom and sat on the bed for a minute to gain perspective.

He decided he needed a shower, so he explored the bathroom. Looking at the shower, He thought, “It’s so big that four or five people could fit into it.” Tim removed his clothes and entered the shower. In frustration, he looked for the controls and asked out loud how to turn the shower on. To his surprise, a menu of options appeared on the wall. Noting the menu was in English, Tim quickly selected his choices and was engulfed in streams of water from the three walls simultaneously at his shoulders and hips. It was fantastic, and he reveled in the pulsing jets on his sore muscles. After drying off and placing his clothing on the stand next to the bed, he told the room to turn off the lights so he could sleep.