Interrogative 01: Tiago and the Masterless

by Charles Barouch

  "What if I can prove that I'm not an insect?" Tiago said.

  "We have heard this one before as well, insect," the holo said.

  "The crops are toxic to me. I have no reason to eat food raised in that atmosphere. Proof."

  "You can now. We gave you the adaptation shot," the holo said.

  That stopped Tiago for a moment. They'd done something to make his system tolerate the air. In the rush to get the ship back, he'd put that bit of mystery out of his mind. If they had a prepared fix for this problem, he reasoned, he wasn't their first encounter with it. Another piece fell into place.

  "I can eat the crops. That makes me an insect. You made me into an insect with the shot. Doesn't that mean I wasn't an insect before?"

  "There are sixty-three kinds of insects in our records which damage crops through methods other than eating," the holo said. "You may be the one of the smarter insects we've caught, but you aren't as smart as you think you are."

  "The one type of insect which succeeded… you eventually found a solution for them as well, right?"

  "We don't talk about that," the holo said.

  He heard the defensive tone. Picking at that sore spot would require some finesse. It was his way out of this mess. Tiago reminded himself that the beautifully accented Portuguese was being spoken by a non-human. The Prime Lesser was behaving in a very human way, but there could be some differences. Fatal differences. Still, he was sure of his head-tilt moment. He pressed.

  "You raise the crops for the masters. Even now, with the masters gone, you still raise them."

  "We don't talk about that," the holo said.

  "Because the masters ate the crops and that classified them as insects, didn't it?"

  "Stop talking about that," the holo said.

  "When did you reclassify them? Exactly when you made the transition from living being to ghost in the machine?"

  "I will kill you, insect, if you don't stop talking," the holo said as it winked out.

  "I know you can still hear me. Listen carefully. I am Tiago Modesto Breno Davi Salazar. I am your new master. You will submit to me, now!"

  Nothing.

  Tiago had been sure that this was the way to play it. He was certainly right about the fate of the masters. He waited, having nothing else to do. He waited as his ship moved closer to being turned into just another planet-bound relay station. He couldn't just sit and wait. He stood up and tried again.

  "The crops must have a purpose. I am that purpose."

  Nothing.

  "Robots. Bring me to the computer which holds the Prime Lesser's intelligence."

  The robots crowded around him but they didn't herd him anywhere. He thought about that. About the lack of locks on the doors. This place was never intended to be a prison. They'd seen him as spare parts, so they put him in a storage room. He ordered the robots and they responded because they were designed to respond to anyone. They knew English because the Masterless had added every language known to the Interrogative into its systems.

  No security. The masters didn't build this place with war in mind. It was a peaceful place. Everything here was designed to comply. The Prime is different because it is, essentially, a born mind, not a machine mind. Other than Audra's recent leaps, Tiago had never encountered a machine mind that could match a living one in its ability to twist itself in knots.

  If the robots took him here when he asked to see the leader… if the robots kept him here when he wanted to go to the computer… this room had to be part of that machine.

  "Robots. How do I get to this computer to… um… repair it?"

  One of the robots moved toward the far wall. After a brief moment, the wall opened. Tiago was staring at the exposed circuit boards of the computer which housed the Prime Lesser. It struck him that this alien equipment looked very much like its Earth counterpart. They both faced design challenges based on the rules of optics, electricity, and the fundamentals of mathematics. Form followed function in these matters.

  Similar didn't mean same. Even if this were completely Earth normal, Tiago was less adept with hardware than software. He couldn't read the markings and he didn't want to pull things at random. He needed a clue.

  "Prime Lesser. Turn your holo back on," Tiago tried without luck.

  "Computer. I need to see the Prime Lesser."

  The holo returned. Tiago turned around to look at it.

  "How many of the Masterless still live?"

  "Four," the holo said. "All the others died or faded. I'm going away now. Stop talking to me."

  "Computer. I want to keep talking to the Prime Lesser. Prime Lesser. Release my ship."

  "No," said the holo.

  "Computer. Return my ship to its previous moon orbit. Computer. Reduce rights of the Prime Lesser. Computer. Lock controls to my command."

  "You can't do that," said the Prime Lesser.

  The stress in – her? – voice told Tiago that he had done it.

  "Computer. Release your control on Audra. Computer. I want to communicate with the crew of the Interrogative. Audra, can you hear me?"

  "Tiago! What's going on? I'm on the ship but I don't remember leaving the moon," Audra said.

  "You can't," said the holo, in a broken voice. "You're an insect. You can't. Can't."

  "Audra, I'll fill you in later. You need to bring a shuttle down and retrieve me."

  "What about the Masterless?" Audra asked.

  "Handled," Tiago said smugly.

  While Tiago waited, he contemplated the situation of the Masterless. He didn't want to be cruel to them. Now that he realized he'd had the ability to control the computer all along, there was no need to play on their emotions or trick them. Truth was, he felt badly for them. They had destroyed their reason for living due to a faulty piece of logic. The race dedicated to stopping insects had been betrayed by a logic bug.

  "Lesser Prime. What will you do now?"

  "The masters are dead," the holo said.

  "That's been true for a long time," Tiago pointed out. "What will you do now?"

  "It's pointless to tend the crops. How could it be pointless? We gave our lives to…" the holo's comment ended in a strangled sob.

  "You need a new mission."

  "We won't, we can't accept a new master. Never again. Never," the holo said, sounded broken and defiant. It was both at once.

  Tiago had planted the idea. He needed to give it time now. A topic change was in order.

  "The shot you gave me. You invented that formula because the masters found the food and air toxic as well?"

  "Oh no, the masters invented it. Our race – when we had bodies – our machines did that to the air. Pollution. We had to evacuate here to reduce our impact. They couldn't fix the entire planet, so they fixed themselves. We worshiped them for their brilliance. We… killed… we... shouldn't…" the holo began sobbing again.

  All conversations lead back to the masters, Tiago thought. How I do I get her thinking about something else?

  "Tell me about your homeworld. Where are your people from?"

  "Dorosol'ni'tika is the world below us. We gave it over to the masters as tribute," the holo said, seemingly a bit calmer.

  "You gave up your entire planet to the needs of another race? You abandoned your planet when your existence inconvenienced their needs? You enslaved yourselves, all of your people? Why?"

  Tiago had meant to stay calm and lead the alien down a specific thought path. He wanted to find something, anything, to restore their purpose before he left. He didn't want the guilt of abandoning them after crushing them. I might not be the nicest man in the universe, he thought, but I don't want to travel down the road toward being the worst. That path led to becoming like the people he stole Interrogative from; it led to becoming the master race who ruled the people of Dorosol'ni'tika.

  "I don't want to talk anymore," said the Prime Lesser.

  "Computer. Release the holo."

  The holo winked out and Tiago sat back down, lost in his own tho
ughts. Eventually, Audra arrived, with MB1 in tow. The messenger bot was laden with a box that was roughly three feet in each direction.

  "Are you alright?" Audra asked.

  "They manage their spare parts well," Tiago said. "Sorry, that was self indulgent. Ignore it. I'm glad you're safe."

  "What happened?" she asked. "I'm still not sure about anything between our opening the dome and my turning the ship back to get you."

  "I'll fill you in on the ship. We aren't alone here."

  "You mean the robots?" Audra asked.

  "No, I mean the Prime Lesser. She's one of the four remaining Masterless. They live inside the computer now. Computer. Restore the holo."

  The holo shimmered back into existence.

  "We've discussed it." The holo said with a forced calm. "There's no point in returning home. It is our punishment to sit here until everything fails. Thank you, Captain Tiago Modesto Breno Davi Salazar. We hurt you, we stole from you, we endangered your life – and planned your death – and still you helped us. We now face the facts. We know what we did. We are what we are."

  "Let's go," Audra said.

  "We can't just…"

  "You need to see what's happened to the bridge. We need to go now, Captain," Audra insisted.

  Tiago was concerned for the Masterless, but he was more concerned for the ship and all it provided for him. He followed Audra and MB1 out toward the airlock. Audra pulled two vacuum suits out of the box which MB1 was carrying. They pulled the suits over their clothes and stepped into the smaller bubble. Tiago tapped the right spot with his foot and the large dome re-sealed. Moments later, the smaller dome disappeared.

  The trip back to SS1 was quiet. Tiago linked to RS3, which was still on the surface, and sent it back to the Interrogative. SS1 followed behind. Other than issuing orders to the shuttles, nothing else was said. Once on board, they left their suits in the shuttle closet for next time. They reached the lift before Tiago finally summoned the will to ask.

  "What's wrong with the bridge?"

  "Nothing," she said.

  "Then why tell me… why worry me?"

  "We needed to get clear of the Masterless before we talked," Audra said. "We need to decide their fate."

  They returned to the shuttle, just to have a place to sit. Tiago told her everything he'd learned, and everything he'd figured out, about the Masterless. It wasn't a long conversation, but it held great weight. Audra had said it herself, they were about to decide the fate of these – former? – people. Just leaving now would probably guarantee their death. Four deaths, just four. Somehow, that added up to genocide.

  "So, we offer them a berth on the ship, right?" Audra asked. "You wanted company; they need a purpose."

  "They killed their masters. They destroyed their own civilization. These are crazy, unstable creatures. Can we really invite them aboard? Even to save them, to preserve their race, can we risk it?"

  "They have technology we don't, like that adaptation shot." Audra pointed out. "They have the ability to quickly figure out alien technology. They have a superior ability to absorb languages. Look at how easily they took the Interrogative. We know the level of paranoia embedded in these systems."

  "Enormous risk. You are right, though. They would be immensely useful, if they don't kill us."

  "We have to bring them on board," Audra said. "Agreed?"

  "Just keep them the hell away from the hydroponics garden."

  EPILOGUE

  Tiago wanted to return immediately to present their offer to the Masterless. Audra insisted he make three stops within the ship first. She sent Tiago to his first stop, the galley, to get something to eat while she headed back to the bridge.

  "Interrogative. Standard food order number four."

  He ate his meal without tasting it, his mind elsewhere. He sat and tried to make an orderly story out of his recent adventures. So much had happened. He wondered if it was worth it. He had escaped Earth only to be lost in the vastness of the universe.

  Eventually, he continued to his second stop, his quarters. Washing up felt wonderful. The warm water did more than just help him shed the dirt. It made him more peaceful. Letting himself go blank in the shower was more emotionally rewarding than sitting in the galley had been. When he got out, he dressed in his formal garb. Grabbing his cane, Tiago hoped there was a second chance to make a first impression.

  The third and final stop before he returned to the moon was the bridge. Audra said that there was actually something good that she wanted to show him there. When the lift doors opened, you could have knocked Tiago over with a feather. Three stations were occupied by embodied sims.

  Neville was at the helm. Nellie was at engineering. Audra had moved herself to life sciences. Instead of saying anything, Tiago gathered himself and walked over to the captain's chair. He looked at the crew – at his crew – and felt out of place. They were all dressed alike, in the same casual manner that he had dressed Audra. He was in formal clothes, covered except for the eyes and fingertips.

  "When I get back from the moon, we should talk about uniforms," Tiago said. "Not something like Future Defense uses. Something much cooler."

  Audra smiled. He hadn't said 'good job' but she felt like he had. Tiago stood, saluted them all, and headed for the lift. SS1 still had the vacuum suits in it, so he was ready to go.

  "Interrogative. Prepare airlock seventeen for SS1. SS1. Plot a course to the dome on the nearest moon. SS1. Take us to the dome."

  The trip was short and uneventful. Tiago walked to the dome, toed the airlock, and was soon back in the computer room. The holo snapped on as soon as he entered the room.

  "You came back," the holo said." I saw the shuttle land but I don't know why. What do you want here?"

  "I want to offer you a new mission, with me as your captain, not your master. Will the Masterless join me – join us – on the Interrogative as crew?"

  "After all we have done? How could we trust you?" the holo said.

  "How can you trust me?"

  "Offering us compassion like this is insane. You must be crazy. Why should we trust someone who is crazy?" the holo clarified.

  Tiago had to laugh. They think I'm crazy, he thought.

  "You are the last of your kind. I don't want that weight on my conscience. We are, each of us, crazy in our own way. Maybe those ways will turn out to be complimentary."

  "There is nothing for us here. There is nothing for us on the planet," the holo said. "Staying is death. Going is unlikely to be worse. We will go with you," the holo said.

  "All of you?"

  "If you don't want all of us, I can kill some of the others. How many did you want to keep?" The holo asked.

  "What? No. Stop. No killing. Wow. No. I just meant that I've only been speaking to one of you. Do the others agree?"

  "The brothers have no opinions. They do as I suggest. Always," the holo asserted.

  The word 'suggest' sounded a great deal like the word 'command' when the Lesser Prime said it.

  "The Interrogative is not a slave ship. They have to be consulted."

  "There is no end to the depths of your insanity," the holo said.

  After a moment, the Lesser Prime continued. "You still have me locked out. I can't summon their holos."

  "Computer. Show the holos for the brothers."

  Three more holos winked in next to the Prime Lesser's holo. They were all slightly shorter than she and differed very little from each other.

  "What are your names?"

  "This is Meteorology, Soil, and Botany," the Prime Lesser said. "Tell him you agree to accept him as captain."

  "They can speak for themselves. Do you want to join us?"

  "Does your ship have weather?" Asked Meteorology.

  "No," Tiago admitted.

  "Huge tracts of land?" asked Soil.

  "No."

  "Plants?" asked Botany.

  Tiago wanted to say no. He'd even joked about keeping them away from hydroponics.

  "Yes.
We have plants."

  "But no soil?" Soil asked.

  "We grow everything in a lab."

  "Does the lab have strict environmental controls?" asked Meteorology.

  "Yes."

  "But no soil?" Soil asked.

  "No."

  The four holos turned their backs to Tiago. The language they debated in was unknown to him. Tiago sat in the chair and let them work it out. It only took a few minutes, but he was surprised when they switched back to Portuguese.

  "Agreed," said the Prime Lesser. "We will join you."

  "Is that what you want? Soil? Meteorology? Botany?"

  They nodded.

  "Don't call them that," the Lesser Prime said. "They want human names if they are going to be crew."

  "Soil is a slave name," said Soil in a defiant tone.

  "Fine. We need to figure out how much of the equipment here needs to be moved in order to bring you safely aboard."

  * * *

  It took three days. Tiago spent most of the three sleeping. Audra had suggested that Nellie and Neville handle the move. It was good to have crew. Tiago dedicated his waking hours to programming. He added several protocols to the ship's computer to guard against the Masterless taking everything over again. He didn't exactly trust them.

  It worried him that he could only plan for the attacks he knew about. They might have another hundred ways to break a computer. He was, begrudgingly, impressed with their skills. Tiago didn't take any pleasure form invading Audra's mind to install safeguards, but he did it. It was less emotional to hack Nellie and Neville. If any of the three were aware of his intrusion, they showed no sign.

  When Tiago arrived on the bridge, after three days of sleeping and programming, he was surprised to see four more stations occupied. All four Masterless were now also embodied. Unlike the sims, which took a human form, the Masterless had their own, native, appearance. Their created bodies mimicked their original bodies. Tiago noticed small changes from the holo versions. They all looked slightly taller and more muscular. He thought about his abandoned attempt at rebuilding himself in the gym. Their way was easier.

  "Captain on the bridge," said Audra. "May I present your crew. Lieutenant Nellie Used, Engineering. Lieutenant Neville Used, Helm. Ensign Gwen K'eela, Communications. Ensign Bob K'eela, Life Sciences. Ensign Bob K'eela, Hydroponics. And Ensign Bob K'eela, Planetary Survey."