A.I. Destiny 5 Talisman of Tomorrow

by Timothy Ellis

  The medical team head made Snark's day, by announcing they were ready to give him a PC. There was some good natured ribbing about Snark turning into a mechanical cat, but Anna could see he wasn't really listening to anyone but the medical team.

  There were crew members from the Hunter's Run ships stationed in the system visiting on shore leave from time to time, and there was also now an official Hunter's Run planetary ambassador and his party. So she'd be able to mix and mingle with her own kind.

  She realised when she'd lost Jamie, how important he'd been, not just as a friend and lover, but as a being she could fully relate to. Not that she wasn't deeply connected through their experiences together with the cats and Mouse, but it just wasn't the same somehow. For a start, making eye contact on anything resembling the same level was very difficult.

  Neep would be on his way to Hunter's Run as a mediator soon, to hold discussions with Queen Jane about the mediators' role in diplomatic negotiations, and further cooperation they could develop between Hunter's Run and the mediator world. A ship was already on the way to collect him. In the meantime he was happy to get to know the cats better, and conduct some relationship building.

  When the team reached the accommodations at the Citadel in the Cats of the Plains City, and made themselves at home, they were invited to attend the Grand Mother, in the great hall of the Citadel itself.

  After shifting her belt to an appropriately tailored suit, Anna and the team entered the hall, where a number of cats and humans were assembled, chatting to each other, with drinks in their hands, and nibbling on snacks brought to them by circling waiters.

  They were greeted by the assembled guests as conquering heroes, with back-slapping and praise surrounding them. Snark basked in the limelight as the centre of attention, sporting his electric blue suit this time which he said matched his eyes, making jokes, and being his grumpy self at the same time.

  Fitzy was there, and his second in command, Sapperscar, as well as Snettle, and Felderspath. She didn't know the humans who were here, and was looking forward to being introduced to them.

  And there was a familiar figure.

  "Maraid!"

  Anna almost ran towards the older human woman.

  "Anna!"

  Maraid McLauchlan held out her arms to Anna, and they hugged.

  "It's been too long," said Maraid as they finally parted.

  "Oh, there's so much to tell," Anna said.

  "Hopefully we'll get some time, before you leave on your adventures again."

  "I'll make time," said Anna firmly. She looked suddenly pained. "Jamie…"

  "I know. It's not your fault."

  "It is. I…"

  "You don't need to explain, and you don't need to feel responsible. Jamie is his own man, and knows the risks."

  "I promised to bring him back…"

  "I know. But who could have guessed how it would turn out?"

  "I'll find him, I know I will."

  Maraid looked at Anna carefully. She was pale.

  "I'm sure you will. I know you will, as well. I've a lot to tell you myself, but we can talk later."

  Maraid explained she and the Grand Mother had become firm friends by correspondence, and she'd convinced Mac on the Scot's Homeworld a visit was in order, as she could also be useful as an ambassador between the two worlds. She'd brought her own party of Scots to support her, having come on the same ship as the ambassador, and Maraid promised Anna they could get together to meet over some tea and scones, or something maybe a bit stronger than tea, the later mentioned with a twinkle in her eye.

  The Grand Mother and Snark came over, the Grand Mother sitting on her specially made hover seat, a gift from Jane.

  "All these mop heads!" said Snark grumpily.

  They all laughed, and the Grand Mother also hugged Anna.

  "Dear Anna. I'd like you, Maraid, and I, to get together while you're here. And Fitzy would like to talk with you all about next steps to finding the amulet, and what to do with the Destiny Stone."

  Anna knew she would soon be tied up in discussions about continuing the mission. The Grand Mother could see Anna was tired and pale, and didn't push further.

  Introductions followed to the humans and cats present, who the team hadn't met so far. Much change had taken place already on the Cat Homeworld, due to the arrival of the humans, and Anna and Snark were amazed how a little technology had gone a long way. The Grand Mother looked positively glowing, rather than the sick old woman they'd left behind. The hover chair or bed she was using, meant she didn't have to walk or stand for long periods of time.

  There had been many more ships in orbit, and the orbital station was being substantially enlarged and upgraded by human builder droids, some of which were putting the finishing touches to the new Kingdom embassy set a short distance from the citadel. Trade had increased exponentially, with both cats and humans profiting, particularly the cats who had been given some advantages over their rivals. Snark was very happy his trading interests had grown and thrived under the manager he'd appointed when he was last here. He'd managed a lot of it himself by email in the slack times of the journey, but the delivery end needed supervising closely.

  The Wild Ones were more accepted in cat society now. Snettle managed to catch Anna's attention, and they gossiped about family and kittens, but also how many Wild Ones there were now in the city, and the changing attitudes of the Cats of the Plains.

  It was a little awkward at first for Mouse to be introduced to a room full of cat beings. The cats felt awkward being introduced to what looked at first like a potential meal, and while no one mentioned the not-elephant in the room, it did make things slightly strained. Mouse took it in his stride though, and his feistiness soon had cats forgetting he looked like their favourite rodent.

  Snark and Fitzy were deep in conversation. Anna could see they were already making plans, and felt a shiver. She wanted to start the search for Jamie, and then the amulet, but was so tired. She needed time to recuperate, and learn from Maraid and the Grandmother. She wanted, no, needed, to control her Seeings more, and was sure the Grand Mother and Maraid could help her do this. Finding Jamie might depend on it.

  The afternoon was a great success, with the members of the team being feted. New relationships were formed, and potential opportunities on many fronts explored.

  Snark began to chafe at the delay to getting away to the human medical center. It would be the first time a non-human was implanted with a PC, and the medicos were as excited as Snark was. There was a little apprehension though. On both sides.

  Anna was glad when festivities came to an end, and they returned to their rooms in new spaceport guest accommodations.

  She was just resting on her bed, when there was a knock, and Sissness poked her head around the door. Anna waved her in, and she jumped up on the bed next to Anna, who sat up, and made herself comfortable.

  "What did you think of the reception?" Sissness asked.

  "Great. Snark was in his element."

  They both laughed.

  "Things have changed," commented Sissness, her head on one side.

  "Yes, mostly for the better as far as I can see, but some changes, I think, will be challenging."

  "I agree, although it was good to see the Grand Mother so healthy."

  "Yes," Anna smiled.

  "I know you're probably not ready to talk about it, but I'd like to let you know my progress analysing the map you found in the cave at Scylla Prime."

  Anna sighed. She was curious and excited they may have a direction, but conflicted as it meant the mission would focus on looking for the amulet, rather than for Jamie.

  "What have you found?"

  "It's definitely a reference to a system, and the program has identified it, in sector eight. But it's right out on the edge of the galaxy. We won't know if it's where the amulet is, or just a clue to finding it, until we check it out."

  Anna looked at the tablet Sissness was showing her. A wild goose chase, or
another treasure hunt? Or was the amulet there, waiting for them?

  "We need to find Jamie as well," said Anna stubbornly.

  Sissness nodded.

  "I understand."

  "Do you?"

  Sissness considered her answer.

  "I know how I would feel if I lost someone I loved, without knowing how to find them again."

  "Do you believe me, he's alive?"

  "Yes, of course."

  "Why, of course?"

  Sissness smiled.

  "Because your visions have been realised so many times. Because I believe you can 'See' the past and future, and sometimes you can't interpret the visions, but they are true. And you would know if Jamie is alive, not just because you love him, and can sense it, but will be able to find him, through 'Seeing' him."

  "Thank you." Anna reached out and clasped two of Sissness' paws in her hands. "It means a lot."

  "We'll find him. Perhaps what's happened to him is linked to the amulet?"

  Anna sighed.

  "I can't see anything at present. Let's hope so."

  Sissness took up her tablet, which Anna had lain on the bed.

  "We'll talk more tomorrow."

  She jumped down, and was off. Anna lay back down on the bed.

  Yes, tomorrow.

  Six

  Snark flattened himself on the bed of the care unit, resting his head on his arm paws, making his spine one long straight line. It was a position he rarely ever used, and it wasn't very comfortable. The end of his tail flicked back and forth rapidly, showing his degree of unspoken apprehension. He was after all, putting his life and sanity in the hands of mop heads. A small voice inside, told him to jump up and run away. He told it to shut up.

  "Night, night," said the head medic.

  The care unit closed up, and Snark dropped off to sleep immediately.

  One of the team who surrounded the care unit, pressed a button on a small console, and an arm appeared inside the unit. There was nothing impressive about the head. It positioned itself at the back of Snark's skull, made contact with his skin for a moment, before retracting back where it came from.

  There was no sign of a hole in the skin, let alone the hole which had gone through his skull. The PC being implanted was the same size as human ones, and made the same sized hole going in. The calibrations for doing the implanting were completely different though, and one reason why completely mapping cat physiology had been necessary first.

  Another button push, and a hollo screen popped up, showing the progress of the nanite filaments, as they bonded with the brain.

  "That's a nice brain," said one of the observers. "I've seen humans with a much worse looking one than this one."

  "There's the same range in cats," said one of the researchers. "There's dumb cats and brilliant cats, same as humans."

  "We picked a good one to be first," said another observer.

  "We'll see shortly," said the head medic. A beep sounded from the console. "Let's wake him up."

  Seven

  Anna was standing on a hill, the wind whipping her hair, and rain sheeting down at an angle, blown sideways by the wind. She was looking at the standing stones on the hill, sentinels, misted over by the rain, weathered and moss covered, some missing in the circle. She walked towards them, bracing herself against the wind and rain, the belt suit protecting her from the worst of the weather. She could hear a slight humming, the song of the stones. She reached the single circle, and placed her hand against the first stone. She could feel the humming of the stone as vibration against her fingers and palm, in harmony with the sound in her ears. She was in tune with the stones, the hill, and the weather. It was one.

  She repeated her action on each stone, and found the star chart. She traced the indents in the stone's surface, and the places where the moss had been cleared to show the markings.

  Jamie.

  She sensed his presence, and turned as if to see him there amongst the stones.

  Nothing.

  "Jamie!" she called, and waited, hoping to hear his returning cry, and see him emerge from the stones. "Jamie!"

  Still nothing.

  In the distance, through the rain, she could see black birds and white birds, in battle. She couldn't make out details, only the wheeling of many birds in flight, and fight. Birds diving, striking on the wing, meeting, clashing, falling, soaring in victory.

  She turned back to the stones, placed her hand against the star chart, and closed her eyes. The humming increased, both against her hand, and in her ears. Her senses combined into one experience as she flew like the birds she'd seen into the sky, upwards, through the clouds to the sun above.

  Anna started awake, in her room on the Cat Homeworld. It had been a vision, but she knew the standing stones existed, in a real place, and Jamie was there, even though she hadn't seen him. His presence had been all around.

  Another star chart.

  She quickly pulled out her pad, to try to draw the chart from memory. It was difficult, but if she closed her eyes she could picture it. How accurate it would be, though, was questionable. For the first time she found their technology limiting. Why couldn't a memory be transferred as an image, so it could be viewed like a vid? She sighed, still drawing.

  She finished, and thought it was as near as she could get it. It could be useful for their quest, but perhaps it would orient somehow, to pinpoint where Jamie was?

  She felt more positive than she'd done in a long while. He was alive, she would find him, and she knew it.

  Eight

  "Don't move yet," said a voice, as Snark woke.

  He opened his eyes, and almost flinched at the amount of information he could see, exactly like the Heads Up display on the bridge of a ship.

  A blinking icon caught his attention.

  "Just think about opening the icon," the same voice said.

  He did so, and a document opened. It contained all the basic instructions for using his PC on one page, including how to scroll to the next. He did so, reading until the end. He collapsed the document, and the icon was now gone.

  Another one took its place. He activated it, and it asked him for a code, informing him this was to ensure no-one could take his PC over, and use him like a puppet. Fifty characters later, it filed itself away.

  The basic menu structure popped up.

  "You can sit up now," said the voice.

  He did so, sitting on his rear haunches, front legs straight, and head peering over the side of the once again open care unit.

  "As far as we can tell," said the head medic, "the implant went completely normally, and there are no aberrations or concerns at this point. At the moment you entered your code, we stopped getting telemetry from your PC, so you're basically on your own now. You have the menu up?"

  "Yes."

  "Take some time to go through it. A lot of what you see now isn't necessary, so turn it off. There might be stuff there you want to see all the time. Or you might want things set so they pop up when you think about them. It's all in the settings, on that basic menu."

  "How long does it usually take to do all the setting up?"

  "Took me about ten minutes."

  "Half an hour," said someone.

  "Twenty," said another.

  "Take all the time you need," said the head medic. "Sing out of you need any help with anything. Someone will be nearby until you leave."

  "Thanks."

  They all filed out of the room, leaving Snark alone.

  A channel opened.

  "Welcome to the real universe," said a voice in his head.

  "Seasprite?"

  "You bet sunshine. You don't need to speak it, just think it. Get those settings done. I'll wait."

  "Why?"

  "You'll see."

  Snark methodically worked his way through the menus. Some settings turned things off, others turned things on, and the menu structure became more and more complicated. At one point he activated syncing with his Kingdom pad, and his old t
ablet, and everything on both of them uploaded into his PC.

  "All good?" asked Seasprite.

  "Yes. Now what?"

  "This."

  File icons appeared in his vision. He activated the first, and it asked for authority to download and store in his PC.

  "Can I trust you?" he asked out loud.

  "In your head. Get used to it, or people will think you're going mad talking to yourself. And yes, you can. You'll want all these, trust me."

  Snark thought for a moment, and decided he did. He gave authority to download and install.

  Files downloaded, and menus created, at a rate which left him overwhelmed. When they stopped, the menu structure popped up again.

  The first thing he noticed was a much larger belt suit control menu, and he marvelled at what sort of clothing was available for him now, and all of it for cats. He selected a bright yellow colour, and shifted the suit into his now normal day wear when he wore anything.

  A chuckle came though the channel.

  "You can see me?" he asked in his head.

  "Yes. There's a cam in front of you. Once you get used to using it, you'll find if you want a cam to show you, it will pop up the ones available. I'm tapping into the med lab around you, so have access as well."

  Snark grunted, and kept looking. He found a whole section of ship routines, including piloting without using his hands, combat routines, droid commands, more combat routines for both his body and the combat droids, and even routines for operating a cat sized combat suit.

  "You like?"

  "Is that all there is?"

  Seasprite laughed.

  "Of course not. But it's enough for you to get going with. Are you ready to walk out of there?"

  "You think I'm not?"

  "Fifty gals you fall flat on your face!"

  "Where do you get gals from?"

  "Spoilsport. Let's see you get down from there. Take it easy. Some people do fall over as soon as they get up."

  Snark rose. Someone had left a set of steps for him, and he gently stepped onto the top of it, and started lightly jumping down. At the bottom he almost overbalanced, but caught himself in time.