Star Minds Third Generation Snippets

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "Have you ever considered having your own starship?" she asked the ship captain, looking around his spartan cabin that was almost as big as her passenger space. No wonder the fat guy complained for lack of space, but he'd known the size of the ship when he'd hired her!

  At thirty-seven David was tall and well built, but since the destruction of Marc'harid he seemed to be quite lazy with the razor. The picture on his badge showed him clean-shaven, but he now had a stubble and his uniform wasn't as clean as it probably used to be. As if he couldn't care less anymore, since he was on his own and didn't have to keep someone else's name high.

  "I have my own starship now," he replied with a grin. "Iso-bel told us we could keep them. She didn't need us, so she gave us the ships we were serving on. Some decided to start anew on some other planet, but most of us are space junkies. We like traveling and we don't need a place to call home except the Nova Falstelo."

  "I don't miss Sylvania either, even though I can go back any time," she admitted. "It's just that sometimes, some customers are so... irritating, it makes me wonder if I'm in the wrong trade."

  "We're in the same trade, Shanell," David replied. "Even though we don't ask friends like Stan-luc to pay us, we offer passage for a fee, and since we have a bigger ship, we can accommodate families or meetings. Of course there's almost twenty of us to deal with the customers, so it's less daunting than having to do everything yourself."

  Shanell pursed her lip and pondered. "Maybe I should find an associate," she said. "I wonder if Aya would like to join me!"

  "Have you heard from her?" David asked, frowning in worry. "We haven't heard anything in five years. None of the captains or the admiral has heard from her. She vanished."

  "Last I heard her, she was on Ulba'wis. I've been told your sister lives there."

  "Ah, yes, but she didn't mention seeing Iso-bel... I guess she stayed away from anyone who reminded her of her home-planet." David sighed and looked away. "Me, Laura, Jes-syd, Stan-luc, Kay-low..."

  "I took her to the Khamisi Pride. But then yes, I guess she cut all ties with the Sire." Shanell rose from the chair David had offered her. "Thank you for your time, captain. I wish you all the best for this ship and your new trade..."

  "If my other career takes off, I might just stop traveling and settle on Earth," David said with a grin. "But I'm still gathering ideas..."

  "So what do you write?"

  "Space pirates and other adventurers' stories, mostly. Although I'm not a space pirate yet, but I know enough about starships to come up with new story lines for my series... And I've talked extensively with many adventurers, since there were plenty in my life!" He winked. "From different planets too! Sylvania included!"

  "Wait, you're David Somma, who writes the series of Harvey Rose, the former air force officer turned pirate who is annoyed by excessive alcohol and is a sucker for gratuitous violence?"

  He chuckled. "Yes, his favorite sin is lust, his favorite virtue is kindness, he has a dog and a wife on his home planet, and he is obviously not me!"

  She smiled. The character was described as short, lanky, with strong features, gray eyes and short, pale red hair. Definitely not David, no.

  "I love those stories. How come you didn't use Dubois like your sister as a pen name?"

  "Somma means 'sum' but also 'highest', and it's shorter than Sommaruga – which, by the way, means 'highest wrinkle' in Italian, my father's mother tongue – so I chose that one. Not because I don't want to be connected to Laura, but it sounded better than 'from the wood', which is more or less the translation of Dubois in French..."

  Shanell giggled. She knew nothing of the old dialects of Earth. She found it funny that he spoke so many languages, some almost gone. He was fluent in Intergalactic, the Sire language and two Earth dialects. Not bad.

  "I will look forward to the next adventure of Harvey Rose," she said. "And if I hear something that might inspire you, I'll send you a message."

  "And if you hear from Aya, please let me know she's all right," he added, shaking her hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

  Shanell got off the Nova Falstelo. As she headed for the Zodie in another side of the spaceport, she received a call. Frowning at the unknown number, she answered and was surprised to see the face of a female Galaxy Police officer with black hair and almond-shaped eyes.

  "Shanell Katherina? This is Officer Ikagoru of the Galaxy Police. We got your starship."

  "My... what?" Shanell raised her eyes and saw that indeed the Zodie was gone. "Shit!" she muttered. "Where are you?"

  "We're heading back to Serenaide with the stolen ship. Someone hoped to get away with theft in the confusion of the Tech Fair." The policewoman smiled. "We should be there soon. I would like to have a word with you as well."

  "Regarding?" Shanell asked, raising her eyebrows, skeptical.

  "You're from Sylvania, is that correct?"

  "Yes." It was also plain obvious if they got her starship.

  "Did you know Iso-bel Aya Shermac?"

  Shanell held her breath. Her former roommate kept popping out a lot, lately.

  "Haven't seen her in years," she said quickly.

  "We're cousins." The policewoman smiled. "I only want to have news."

  "I have lost track of her after we finished the Academy."

  "Oh. Pity. Stay there, we're coming."

  Shanell signed off and frowned. Aya had a cousin in the GP? She quickly surfed the meganet. Well, Aya's mother was called Mayumi Ikagoru. So it made sense that Aya had a cousin on Xi-kong. Aya was a Xi-kongian name anyway.

  Interesting. Everybody seemed worried for Aya. She had clearly vanished with everyone.

  She went to wait in the food area of the spaceport. Eventually Officer Ikagoru called her again and she met with the petite Xi-kongian woman.

  "Kaori," she said with a smile. "Please sign the paperwork and you can take back the Zodie. And if you run into my cousin, please send her my greetings."

  "I will. Thank you, Kaori."

  She was now ready to take off from Serenaide, before the Tech Fair ended and the air traffic was again one big, messy congestion. She checked the fuel and was ready to depart when her videophone rang again.

  "Aya!" she squealed in delight at the sight of her roommate on the small screen. "Did you hear us talking about you?"

  "Ah, no, I called to know if you're available for a pick up," Aya answered, slightly puzzled.

  "I am," she answered cheerfully. They'd have time to catch up when they met. "I'm currently on Serenaide, but was about to leave. They had stolen my Zodie, but your cousin Kaori brought it back to me! Where are you?"

  "Can you get me on the Galactic Showboat?"

  Shanell frowned. "Do you have its itinerary?"

  "I'm sending it to you right now. Let me know when you can pick me up."

  "I'll check how long it will take me to reach you and will let you know. You're not in a big hurry are you?"

  "I need to get off before the end of the tour, but it doesn't matter where. Just let me know when you can get me, and I'll make sure to do what I have to do by then."

  "Wow, you're sounding very mysterious... are you all right?"

  "I'm perfectly fine, Shan, see you soon. Oh, and by the way... not a word with Jes-syd or Kim-ash. You haven't heard from me and I didn't call you."

  Aya signed off. She hadn't smiled once. She was still Icy Aya, and she didn't care that there were still so many people worried about her. She obviously knew her ex and her friend were on the planet, but she still didn't want to talk to them.

  Shanell sighed and put away the phone. She sat in the cockpit and entered the data Aya had sent her on the navigation computer. She adjusted the computations manually and decided that with a stop on Vilas Lok to refuel, she could reach Aya in a couple of days.

  She sent her message and started the engine. She was glad to fly off empty of passengers and have some "me" time before meeting her friend. She'd have time to notify Jes-syd and David after seei
ng Aya, unless she managed to convince her roommate to call them.

  TR1ST4N

  "I would like to report a stolen good."

  "Please, ma'am, take a seat. Has someone broken into your house?"

  "Actually, it might have left on its own, but it's not supposed to happen."

  "What do you mean? Is it a good or a person?"

  "It's a B.O.B." The woman dared the policeman to comment on it.

  "Ah, I see. Would that be a Mirko or a Simon? I'm not familiar with all the models... maybe second series? Yoshio? Adonis?"

  "Custom-made, not one of those series BOBs. I want you to help me find it. You have access to the security cameras all over the city. This is the thing I'm looking for."

  She offered a printed picture of a handsome and well-toned young man, whose physical perfection made him almost too good to be true. And he wasn't. Those big blue eyes were micro-cameras and sensors, and even though those dark blond curls were probably real hair, the pale skin was synthetic – one of the most expensive sex toys the policeman had ever seen. Battery-operated Boyfriend. Custom-made. No wonder the rich owner wanted it back.

  "And this would be a..."

  "His registration number is TR1ST4N. One of a kind."

  "I see. And it came out of the Serenaide Labs like the others."

  "Yes, of course."

  "So why don't you go there and ask for a replacement?"

  "Custom-made," she repeated through clenched teeth. "One of a kind. The specifications were destroyed after making it, so they wouldn't be reproduced."

  "Ah. Maybe they have a way of tracing their toy?"

  "My toy," she snapped. "I'll go to the Serenaide Labs too, but I want you to check if you've seen it through your cameras."

  She gave him a card and rose, as regal as a queen.

  "Find it. It's worth a lot of money."

  "Yes, ma'am." He watched her leave and snorted. He glanced the name on the card. "Margeret-Shannan Hermelinda Nine-Brambila," he read pompously. "You're a bitch," he muttered, throwing the card on the desk with the image.

  He glanced at the picture again. Amazing what technology could do. He put the picture in the scanner and let the computer do a search for him.

  ***

  Markandeya Sumirasko was head of cybernetics at the Serenaide Labs. A survivor of the destruction of Marc'harid, he had uploaded his mind at the Vaurabi Labs before the planet became a desert and lifeless ball and downloaded it into an artificial body on Serenaide. The android had been made to the specifications of his old bag of bones, albeit younger. He was seventy but his physical container looked forty.

  He was the "father" of the second and more sophisticated series of BOBs, although he'd been helped by two local youths, twins Malik and Natalya Megnaghy. The second series had had even more success than the first and spawned some custom-made models that were his pride.

  He stared at Mrs Nine-Brambila who sat in front of him with a frown. "You're saying he just left?"

  "Yes," she snapped. "For five years it was just perfect, going back to the closet when I didn't need it, but today when I woke up it was gone. Not in the house. I don't think it was stolen, was it? Does it have a tracking device?"

  "He wasn't supposed to walk away," Markandeya replied, pondering. "He was programmed to please you endlessly."

  "And it did! It was even better than any of my human lovers! I don't understand how this could happen, but I filed its disappearance with the police. They're looking through their security cameras, but of course they suggested I asked you if it has a tracking device."

  "I'll see what I can do," Markandeya said. "Unfortunately, we don't have the specifications anymore, so it's going to be hard to find him."

  "I have them." She threw a chip on the table. "If you can't find the original, make me a new one, but if the original turns up somewhere, it will have to be destroyed."

  "We'll do our best to get back your one-of-a-kind Tristan, Mrs Nine-Brambila. Or we'll make you a new one, but he'll have to be slightly different... Custom-made policy, you see."

  "Well, then you better find the original!" The woman upturned her nose and glared at him. "I shall wait for your call, Doctor Sumirasko."

  He waved her off and stared at the chip, frowning. A BOB deciding to walk off was a first. True that the custom-made were even more sophisticated that the series ones, but still... could it be the AI inside the BOB had developed feelings? A mind of its own?

  Markandeya tapped his fingers on the desk, pondering, then put the chip in the computer. Time to run a check on possible software malfunctions.

  ***

  Deon Siracusa went home tired as usual. Being a healthcare navigator was both rewarding and frustrating. Even though the Star Nations had simplified the hospital system on most planets, it was still tricky for patients and families, upset about someone's sickness, to figure out what to do and how.

  His job was to answer questions regarding procedures and paperwork, and providing support for families struggling to cope with the stress of illness. That was the worst part of the job, of course, and that day he'd had two particularly tough cases. His knowledge as a healthcare specialist and his sensitivity as a social worker had been put to the test, and even though he'd managed everything properly, he felt like a wreck.

  His youth probably didn't help. His self-confidence had taken a few blows already since he'd started the job. Luckily his senior colleague was very patient and the best teacher he could have. But sometimes he thought twenty-five was too young for such a job. Unfortunately he couldn't stand the sight of blood, so he had had to give up a nursing career.

  He saw a tall and well-built blond young man standing still outside of the condo building. His eyes narrowed at the sight. Who put a damn statue there? For what purpose? It was a pretty sight, but too hidden to be on display. It was even out of the security camera range!

  To Deon it still looked conspicuous. Really life-like, but at the same time... the man didn't move, didn't look around, nothing. Just a statue, but gods, how handsome it was. Deon went to take a closer look.

  The statue had real hair. And it wasn't cold painted stone. The skin was smooth and hairless and the tightfitting clothes wrapped a body to die for. Maybe a sophisticated robot?

  Blue eyes focused on him and the statue became alive, startling him. A well-manicured hand grabbed his wrist to stop him from prodding the gorgeous statue. Not a statue, then.

  "So you move... what are you doing?" he asked.

  "I, ah... am recharging," he said with a gravelly voice. As if he hadn't been using it for some time.

  "Recharging?" Deon frowned. "How?"

  "Wireless battery charge." The voice was steadier now. "I'm taking energy from the building. There are so many people in it, you won't notice," he assured.

  Battery charge? Could it be? Deon's eyes widened in shock.

  "Are you a BOB?" he asked.

  The beautiful lips curved into a smile. "Yes," he answered.

  "Oh my..." Deon had never seen one walking around. He never thought they'd be so... lifelike! He had seen the ads when the first models had come out ten years earlier, when he was still a teen unsure of his own sexuality. He'd preferred the second series five years later because there were more male types and by then he was really into men. He didn't remember one like this, though. "Are you a new model?"

  "I'm five years old," the BOB answered.

  "Let me guess, six-letter name?" Deon said. The first series had five-letter male names with numbers and letters mixed as registration numbers. The second series had six-letter names.

  "Seven," the other smiled. "You can call me Tristan."

  Seven letters! When did that series come out?

  "So how many of you are there, Tristan?" Deon asked. Now he really wished he could afford one of those expensive androids.

  Tristan's smile vanished. "One. I'm one of a kind. Like you."

  A custom-made BOB! Deon gaped. That was why he was so perfect. Beautiful an
d everything and...

  "I need to go," Tristan said. "I'm sure those cameras are trying to catch me to send me back to my owner."

  "You... ran away from your owner?" Deon asked, incredulous.

  Tristan's smile dazed him. "She made me spend too much time in the closet. I was bored."

  "Oh my... " How could anyone just leave that gorgeous sex toy in a closet? "If I was your owner, I'd play with you every night!" Deon said, still breathless.

  "Find a way to take me in avoiding the surveillance cameras, and I'll be happy to comply," Tristan replied, still smiling.

  Deon quickly looked around. Front and back door were under surveillance for security reasons. But the fire escape was not. He pointed at the external metal structure. "I'm on the fifteenth floor, but it won't be a problem for you, will it?"

  Tristan chuckled. "See you there."

  Deon found him on the landing coming out of the elevator and he wasn't even panting. Of course, he was an android, not a human being.

  Deon let Tristan in his small apartment.

  "Sorry for the mess," he apologized. "Can't even afford a cleaning robot..."

  "I'll do that when you leave for work," Tristan said with a shrug.

  "I thought you were just a sex toy."

  "That's my main function, but I can use a broom or a vacuum cleaner if that's what excites my owner. Sometimes people like to enact things, so I need to be able to please them like a human being."

  "Oh, I see." Deon stared at him, amazed. "I better eat something, since I'm starving, then we can go to the bedroom."

  He fumbled in the kitchenette, pulling out microwave food and heating it.

  "I suppose you can also pretend to eat?" he asked Tristan who looked around with mild interest on his handsome, chiseled face.

  "Yes, but don't waste your food on me. You're not as well-off as my owner. I fed on the building's energy, so I'm fine now. Would you like me to prepare the bedroom while you eat?"

  "Uh... no, please, stay here," he answered, since he couldn't take his eyes off of the BOB "I assume you have everything functioning to please your female owner?"