Attunga

by Peter Wood

  Thom gave Sonic a funny look and went ahead. He’d woken early to spend time learning all the details and developments with the new Comet.

  ‘Well, it’s not really another Comet, which was specially built for Sonic and transporting dolphins. It’s been designed as a defensive ship with long-range scanning equipment.’

  ‘Defensive? Against what?’

  ‘Practically anything, Calen. Its broad-spectrum energy beams are more powerful than the ones on the Comet and they’re built to work at a much longer range in space. The security AIs have worked out that the most successful type of attack against Attunga could be with multiple kinetic projectiles.’

  ‘Meaning exactly what?’

  ‘Throwing rocks at us, very quickly.’

  ‘That sounds ridiculous but I can tell it isn’t.’

  ‘No, it’s not. If an asteroid even half the size of the Comet was accelerated for long enough its kinetic energy would take it straight through Attunga’s walls and vaporise millions of people when the energy converted to heat.’

  ‘Very bad thought.’

  They were silent as everyone considered Thom’s graphic depiction. Wirrin knew about the kinetic projectiles but he hadn’t imagined what they could do.

  ‘Is that why the new shell around Attunga is so thick?’ asked Calen.

  ‘I hadn’t thought about that, but it could be.’

  All eyes turn to Wirrin. Turaku, Comet-Turaku really, could have answered but they’d learnt that he expected any tricky answers to come from the InfoStation.

  ‘It is, but only partially. It’s also a barrier against cosmic rays, radiation belts and other kinds of space hazards.’

  ‘What? We’ve been protected against those ever since they built the first anti-grav habitats.’

  ‘Yes we have, Thom, but not against artificially amplified versions of them.’

  ‘Amplified by people, you mean?’

  ‘Yes, scientific institutes have had them available for research purposes, but if they were used as weapons they could be very dangerous.’

  ‘And I suppose you’re going to tell us that K74 is building its own versions?’

  ‘No, but they have been considering the possibility for the future. At the moment they’re expecting results from the embassy when it’s set up and the other information exchanges coming from the delegates meeting.’

  ‘Hey, I’d forgotten about that embassy. Has it started?’

  ‘Construction has started, but it won’t open for at least three or four months. All the materials have to be ferried to the right location and assembled carefully.’

  ‘What? They could build it here in the construction area in a couple of days.’

  ‘Thom, wake up. It’s for K74. Would you build it in three days when you could take four months?’

  Thom’s eyes lit up. ‘Hey, that’s good. I like it. Whose idea was that?’

  ‘The Witness delegates I think.’

  Thom frowned. ‘Does Pirramar think that K74 might get serious with any of these possibilities?’

  ‘He does, Thom. He’s in permanent communication with that AI on K74 and they keep a close eye on everything that goes on there. The Cadre wants to make sure that K74 is the most powerful and influential space habitat in the solar system and they work on any strategy they think could make that happen.’

  ‘That’s crazy. They’re already at least twice as big as any other habitat.’

  ‘Not the planetary ones. They’re all much bigger.’

  ‘They wouldn’t try to tell the planets what to do. That would be even crazier.’

  ‘They wouldn’t tell them directly. They’d use sneaky tricks to influence them like they did with the Earth dolphins, but the AIs aren’t really worried about that because it’s getting harder for them all the time with habitats becoming more and more open.’

  ‘So they come after us instead because we’re smaller?’

  ‘Not because we’re smaller. They’ve focused on us because we stood up to them and because they know we’ve got special technology they could use. It was a big shock when their tiny little neighbour suddenly walked all over their efforts.’

  ‘How serious are these threats?’

  ‘They’ve only talked about them as possibilities so far, but Pirramar thinks that because the Cadre is so determined to get its way, it’s certain they’ll eventually start developments. It should be four or five years before they’re capable enough to do anything though.’

  ‘Really? Then why the big rush with the reinforcing shell?’

  ‘It’s not rushed. It will take at least two years to finish.’

  ‘Looks rushed to me. I go away and there’s nothing. I come back a week later and there are hundreds of asteroids lined up and construction work going on in every direction around Attunga.’

  Wirrin laughed and pointed at Sonic. ‘You can blame him. The dolphins are the reason it’s going ahead like this.’

  ‘Dolphins aren’t causing all this trouble, Wirrin.’

  ‘It’s because the capabilities of Attunga’s picofactories have been geared up so much to build the new reaches and levels, and to finish the Comet so quickly. They’re so advanced and ready that this shell project is relatively easy now. It’s very big of course, but that’s just a matter of scaling up and they’re expert at that.’

  ‘Wirrin, you must know more about K74 than anyone else on Attunga.’

  That was most likely true in some ways but Wirrin wasn’t going to say so.

  ‘Pirramar knows everything and he tells me about it. We have a talk most days.’

  ‘Well I’ve never even met him. Are you sure he exists?’

  Thom looked shocked as he started floating slightly above his seat.

  He shot out one hand to steady himself and frantically manipulated his controls till they were out of reach and he was floundering helplessly in mid-air.

  ‘Hey, Thom. Lost control of your localised grav-field?’

  Thom regained control – he was very proficient in zero-G situations, after all – and stared in astonishment at an image of himself, standing there with an absolutely classic cheeky Thom look on his face. Except the voice was completely wrong. The tone was Pirramar’s normal one but Thom couldn’t know that.

  ‘Oops! I forgot the voice.’

  This time it was Thom’s voice exactly and Wirrin and Calen dissolved into laughter at Thom’s momentary bewilderment. The slight shimmer as Pirramar presented his usual image set him smiling, too.

  ‘Put me down, you crazy bunch of electrons.’

  There was a slight bump as the gravity normalised and Thom landed in a sitting position.

  Realising he was outclassed he laughed and pretended he’d been bruised by the rough treatment.

  ‘Okay! Okay! It looks like you really do exist.’

  Pirramar gave a traditional old country greeting.

  Thom was surprised but responded perfectly.

  ‘Welcome home, Thom, you far traveller. I watched your journey with great interest.’

  ‘You watched it? Which bit?’

  ‘All of it. Anything concerning your trio or the Comet has possible implications for K74. I hope I didn’t bruise your anatomy … or your ego?’

  ‘They’re both in agony, so that means you owe me. How did you do it? I didn’t know it was even possible.’

  Wirrin knew Thom wasn’t talking about his ego. That was definitely open to bruising.

  ‘A fine-tuned version of what you did with Sonic’s environment.’

  ‘But that’s a whole designated area. You worked on a tiny fraction of one.’

  ‘The capability is a necessary part of the Comet’s function, to allow for adaptability in crises. I’ll show you how it works, though it’s rather complex for the human time frame.’

  ‘Ah, maybe later then. What was it like living on K74?’

  ‘It nearly sent me crazy, Thom. I had to get out.’

  He was alluding to his comment about AIs and
K74 the night before he left for Titania and Thom knew it. Pirramar really did make sure he saw anything connected with K74.

  Wirrin decided to give Thom a further indication of just how capable an AI was. ‘How long did it take you to watch Thom and the Comet’s journey?’

  ‘That’s a complex question, Wirrin. Some of the data came from ongoing Comet transmissions, some came from external sources at the various habitats, and some came from the Comet’s logs. In total it took seventy-six nanoseconds for the input and, so far, twenty-nine milliseconds for consideration.’

  ‘That’s not slow at all.’

  ‘A very apt use of litotes my dear Sonic.’

  Wirrin laughed at Thom’s bemused expression.

  ‘Ignore them, Thom. Pirramar shares Sonic’s addiction to strange words and phrases.’

  ‘I don’t see how I can. One sends deluges of water over me and the other sends me into orbit. What will happen if they team up?’

  ‘We will turn you into fish paste.’

  Thom swallowed his cheeky comeback, deciding discretion was the better part of valour. He asked another question instead. ‘So, how does the AI who’s on K74 at the moment stay there? It must be hard for him too?’

  ‘It is, Thom. Very hard and getting harder. There is a scientist there who’s installing new controls on the electronic systems, which is making it increasingly difficult to remain independent. The Attunga gestalt has been providing special support to help him maintain his equilibrium.’

  Thom relinquished control to Sonic as soon as they passed the extension screen, and Wirrin had to smile when Thom’s critical eye couldn’t find any fault with the way Sonic took the Comet on an impromptu journey round Warrakan then headed back to Attunga and docked the big ship flawlessly.

  ***

  Back in the pool at their living space, Thom tried to hold Sonic’s tail-fin to avoid being swamped with barrages of water. The doctor was practically helpless with laughter as he watched this exercise in futility – Sonic still had two free flippers and could give an occasional drenching from a calculated and powerful flick of the head. Thom’s arms were nearly pulled from their sockets and his body was jerked up and down in whatever direction Sonic felt like.

  A moment before, Sonic had been floating sedately on his back enjoying a tummy massage, which he sometimes claimed was the reason human hands had evolved as they had.

  Calen dived from the edge of the pool and Thom was gone, dragged under and restrained so Sonic could butt him in the stomach.

  The doctor’s laughter faltered. ‘Aren’t they going to let him breathe?’

  ‘Not till he needs to. They know exactly how long he can last.’

  ‘Well, I’m glad they don’t do it to me. I’d be breathing water by now. How long can they hold their breath?’

  ‘A couple of minutes for Thom, and Calen can last nearly twice as long. Sometimes we reckon you must have given him gills along with his other implants.’

  Thom burst through the surface, gasping for breath. He’d had enough.

  He and Calen draped themselves over Sonic’s sleek back and drifted slowly round the pool.

  ‘I think it’s amazing, Wirrin. You really are a family.’

  ‘I’m the father who has to manage these intractable children.’

  The doctor’s gaze flicked from Wirrin to the far end of the pool.

  ‘Don’t forget that his hearing is much better than ours.’

  ‘It’s hard not to forget. He acts so much like a person.’

  ‘Is that supposed to be praise?’

  Wirrin laughed and nodded. ‘He’s getting more and more expert at it, too. You should have seen him on his nursery round last week. It only took him a few minutes and the children were laughing and talking as if he’d been their friend for years.’

  ‘Children are wonderful to talk to.’

  ‘Takes one to know one.’

  ‘That’s why I practise with you, Thom.’

  Thom grinned and said nothing more.

  ‘Thom is correct, doctor. I am very much a child and I revel in the activities enjoyed by all young dolphins. I am also conscious of other aspects of my being and I continually think about their relative importance and how I should integrate them.’

  ‘And your conclusions?’

  ‘For personal decisions I mostly feel certainty. Decisions which involve second or third-hand information are more difficult and involve varying degrees of doubt.’

  Sonic towed Thom and Calen closer to where Wirrin and the doctor were sitting then flipped on his back for easy seeing. The trio listened quietly to a serious discussion about the links between personality and perception, and their differences for humans and dolphins. Wirrin battled to understand the concepts and finer points at times and, watching the doctor’s fierce concentration, wondered anew at Sonic’s capabilities.

  ‘Excuse me, doctor. Puck is calling. Please come again soon.’

  After giving Calen a quick nudge and exchanging a burst of speech Sonic arrowed through the access way to the reach and disappeared into the dark.

  ‘Did you understand what he was saying?’

  ‘Yes, Thom, but I had to work at it. Is such deep conversation a normal part of your routine when he’s here?’

  ‘It’s normal, but it’s never routine. Sometimes simple questions get complicated answers and complicated questions get answers that seem too easy, but it’s mostly spontaneous like tonight. You should hear him when he really gets going.’

  ‘That sounds like it would be amazing. What usually triggers him?’

  ‘When he has conferences with the scientists. There are a whole lot of topics I haven’t a clue about but they’re always amazed and excited by what he has to say.’

  ‘How often does he have the conferences? I haven’t heard much about them lately.’

  ‘They used to be every month but with so many other things happening they’ve been missing out. They might have to wait till after the dolphins have moved into their new reaches for the next one.’

  ‘How are the new reaches going?’

  ‘Turaku says they’ll be ready in another five weeks, but we’ll see for ourselves because Akama has asked for an official preview next week.’

  ‘Akama works hard for the dolphins.’

  ‘He sure does. He loves being with them too, especially Sonic.’

  The doctor looked at the access to the reach.

  ‘Did you hear Puck calling? I heard absolutely nothing.’

  Wirrin and Thom shook their heads and left the answer to Calen.

  ‘I usually can but it depends how far away she is. I didn’t tonight because my head wasn’t under the water.’

  ‘Your implants must feel completely natural by now.’

  ‘Yes they do. I’d be lost without them.’

  ‘Well, I guess I should head off. We have a busy day tomorrow. You don’t have any questions do you?’

  ‘Not really. We know we’ll be hooked up to your machines for forty-eight hours and won’t be able to do much.’

  This was the biggest of the age-extension treatments where the majority of the new healthbots would be instituted under full monitoring.

  ‘Not really? In other words you’ve got something on your mind.’

  ‘We were wondering if having the treatments so many years earlier than usual might have any side effects?’

  ‘Yes it will, but they’ll be minor and positive. Your bodies will function at full efficiency as soon as the treatments are done instead of the ninety-five to ninety-seven per cent efficiency the standard healthbots give.’

  ‘What about our appearance? Thom’s been wondering if he can keep his baby-face look for years and years.’

  Thom thought no such thing and Calen received an elbow in the ribs for making the comment.

  ‘It’s a very good question, Calen. Your maturation rate isn’t affected by the treatment so your appearance will change as normal for the next four to six years and then stabilise.
After that any changes will be your own choice.’

  ‘So, Thom can go back to baby face if he wants to?’

  The doctor winced at the whack Calen received this time.

  ‘Thom, careful. Not really. Your maturation level is like a baseline. If there were some special reason for reverting to your late teens it would require special regrowth of skin tissue and minor restructuring of your facial and body features, somewhat like the repairs after a major physical trauma.’

  Thom laughed and said Calen would be having a major physical trauma if he kept on being an idiot.

  ‘Calen’s the one who needs to keep his baby face, doctor. All the kids in the nurseries will want him to stay as the Dolphin Boy.’

  ‘Hey, we’re all Dolphin Boys so it doesn’t just apply to me, Thom, and I’m not going to be stuck with everyone thinking of me as a boy for the rest of my life. They’ll just have to get used to us looking older.’

  The doctor chuckled. ‘We’d have Peter Pan flying through water instead of air.’

  Wirrin quickly looked up Peter Pan. ‘He was the boy who never grew up. Don’t you remember the story from nursery when we were little? There were pirates and a crocodile.’

  ‘Oh yes, the crocodile swallowed a clock.’

  ‘Could Attunga health AIs do that? Stop someone from growing up?’

  ‘I suspect they could, Wirrin, but I’ve never heard of it happening. It would be arrested development and I can’t imagine a situation where it would be ethical.’

  ‘So whatever we look like in our mid-twenties is the way we’ll stay? We could end up like older versions of this Peter Pan boy.’

  Chapter 21

  ‘Dingoes! I must be hearing things! Hey, Wirrin, Calen reckons he was too excited to sleep. Perhaps you should go back to bed?’

  ‘As if that’d make any difference, and Sonic’s arriving in a few minutes so I can’t.’

  ‘Why is this more exciting than the Monkey Mia attack? You slept through that,’ said Wirrin.

  ‘Did not!’

  Wirrin had to laugh. ‘Only because Thom nearly broke your ribs waking you up.’

  ‘This is different. The dolphins are moving to their permanent homes. Every single pod has been mobbing us for the last few days asking questions and telling Sonic to hurry things up and their excitement is catching. I can’t help it.’