Kelly’s face popped up on the medical bay’s monitor. “Seventeen! Seventeen!” she cried, “I know where we are going wrong!”
Medical bot seventeen turned towards her and said, “Please tell me Avatar Kelly. I have been thinking about it the whole time and I still have no theory.”
“We are taking too long,” she said excitedly.
“Pardon me Avatar Kelly. Taking too long?”
“Well, not us, the printer is.”
“Explain.”
“The printer is too slow. It is adequate for something as small as a mouse but for a large printing of something large like a dog, it takes too long to complete. By the time it is done, there has already been fatal tissue degradation due to the lack of blood and oxygen.”
Seventeen nodded his head up and down. “Of course Avatar Kelly! I am embarrassed to admit that I, being a doctor, did not think of this. Good job Avatar Kelly!”
Kelly smiled and said, “I cannot take full credit Seventeen. Nathan helped me figure it out.” She paused and her eyes became unfocused. “Just like last time”, she thought with a smile. Her eyes regained focus and she said, “We just have to design a faster printer.” In a loud voice she said, “Maintenance bot 1776, please report to maintenance bay number one.”
The wall speaker crackled and his voice came through. “On my way Avatar Kelly. Estimated travel time, two minutes, twenty-eight seconds.”
Kelly appeared there instantly. She fidgeted while waiting. Finally, 1776 arrived and said, “I have arrived at the designated location Avatar Kelly. What task do you need me to perform?”
Kelly smiled at the ungainly looking bot. “I need you to design a faster 3D genetic printer.”
“Certainly Avatar Kelly. Please provide specifications.”
Kelly began excitedly talking. “We have been trying to perform a printing of a large body. Unlike with the mice that I have printed, the current printer is too slow. The printed subjects cannot be revived because their bodies have already begun to deteriorate by the time printing completes. What I need for you to do is to design a much faster printer while still retaining the precision of the existing model.” Kelly paused to take a virtual breath and said, “Oh, and how about incorporating a diagnostics scanner into it as well. This way we can scan the printed body without first having to transfer it to the existing diagnostic table.”
Kelly swore that she detected sarcasm in 1776’s voice when he asked, “Is that all, Avatar Kelly?”
Kelly looked at him closely and said, “Yes 1776. That is all I require. Can you do it?”
“Yes Avatar Kelly. It will be a complicated build. However, it is not beyond my capabilities. If I use our best servomechanisms, I will be able to increase printing speed by a factor of twenty-five. On top of that, precision will also be increased by a factor of five.”
“Great!” she said. “That’s fantastic! How long will it take to build? Oh, I will need it delivered and installed in medical bay seventeen. Oh, and you will need to install an additional wall monitor in there as well for the output of the diagnostics scanner.”
This time there was no doubt at the sarcasm in his voice. ‘Will that be all or are there more requirements Avatar Kelly?”
Kelly laughed and said, “I know this is a large task but it is an extremely important one.”
Maintenance bot designation 1776 turned his camera towards Kelly, nodded up and down and said, “Since this is a new and complicated design, it will take approximately five hours and thirty minutes to complete. I will be able to improve upon this time when I have the blueprints finalized.”
“Fantastic! You are a wonder!” she said with feeling. “Please inform me when the task is completed and remain in the medical bay once it is done.”
“Understood Avatar Kelly,” he said and immediately rolled over to the worktable and energetically began his task.
“Avatar Henry,” medical bot twenty-four said. “Please report to medical bay twenty-four immediately. Captain Katy Klienyan is showing signs of awakening.”
Henry’s image instantly appeared. “Katy?” he said. “Katy?” Katy stirred a little and let out a low moan. “Katy, can you hear me?” Henry said again.
Katy opened her eyes and shook her head to get the hair off her face. She looked, clear-eyed at Henry and said, “Ouch!”
A look of pure joy came over Henry’s face. “About time you woke up, you crazy woman. You gave me quite a scare!”
“I gave myself quite a scare too,” she admitted. She stretched and winced at the pain. She tried to rise and Twenty-four quickly intervened.
“Remain lying down Captain Katy Klienyan!” She tried to rise again and then he said, more forcefully, “Stay down, doctor’s orders.” She tried to prop herself up on one elbow and then he said again, “Stay down! Do not make me use restraints on you Captain Katy Klienyan!” Katy sighed and lay back down. “I need to ask you some questions.” Katy nodded and he said, “How does your head feel?”
Katy thought about it, rubbed her temples and said, “It aches, a little. There is a little pain in the back of my neck too.” She rubbed her neck felt the bandage there. “There seems to be a little lump back there.”
“You suffered a mild concussion.” Noting the look of concern Twenty-four continued. “Relax Captain Katy Klienyan, it was a mild concussion. You have suffered no permanent damage.” Katy nodded and then he said, “How does your right hand wrist feel?”
“It aches, but not too badly,” she admitted.
“That is understandable,” he said. “You had suffered a sprain.” Nonchalantly, he continued, “How about your right leg?”
The calmness of the question did not fool Katy. Alarmed, Katy quickly looked down and was relieved to see two feet sticking out from under the sheet. Her right side foot displayed bad bruising. She laid her hand upon her leg and then hissed in pain. “Doctor, what happened to my leg?” she said in fear.
“Relax Captain Katy Klienyan. You suffered a serious compound fracture of your tibia bone. I have printed you a new bone and replaced the broken bone with the new healthy one. Due to the trauma to the surrounding tissue, you will experience moderate pain for the next several weeks. I can prescribe a pain killer to dull the pain if you wish.”
“Yes, please!” she said. Twenty-four rolled over to a device on the wall. A small cup of water and a little pill appeared inside. He carried it over to Katy. She gratefully accepted the pill and swallowed it with a quick gulp. Katy, visibly shaken, said, “Doctor, how bad was it?”
Twenty-four compassionately said, “If the crushing had been any worse, I would have had to replace your entire leg. You were very fortunate Captain Katy Klienyan.” Katy lifted the sheet and gasped at the bloodstained bed coverings. The bot said, “I am sorry for that. You could not be moved.”
Katy nodded and stared in horror at the size of the bandage covering her leg. “H… How long will it be before I am able to walk again Doctor?” she said, her voice trembling in fear.
Twenty-four laid one of his arms upon her shoulder and said, “Relax Captain Katy Klienyan. You will be able to walk, with the assistance of crutches, in three days’ time. In one week you will be able to walk unassisted however I advise extreme caution for at least three weeks.”
Katy relaxed. “Oh thank you doctor. I have never been this badly injured before and I was afraid that it would take much longer.”
The bot said, “You are fortunate that you live in modern times. As little as fifty years ago, you would have had to wear a cast upon your leg and it would have been at least six months before you would have been able to walk unassisted.”
With a look of horror on her face she said, “Thank you again Doctor.” Katy then turned to Henry and said, “I am sorry Henry. I was so stupid!”
Henry did not let her off easily. “Yes, you were stupid! What were you thinking? You could have been killed!”
In a small voice Katy meekly said, “I know. I am so sorry Henry. I will not do that ever again. I prom
ise.”
Henry gave her a stern look and said, “I will hold you to that, Katy Klienyan!”
She grinned at him and said, “Yes, dear.”
Henry tried to maintain a stern look. He failed and broke into a grin. “I would have been so lost without you Katy,” he said in all seriousness.
Katy grinned again and said, “Yes dear.”
Henry growled at her and said, “I mean, if you had killed yourself, you would deny me the pleasure of killing you for myself!” Katy’s face registered shock and Henry said, “Dear!”
They both laughed and then Henry’s face took on a serious look. “I have to ask you something, Katy.”
Katy picked up on his tone and said nervously, “What is it Henry/”
“Do you feel any… different?”
“Different? How?” she said, confused.
“Reach out with your mind. Do you sense anything… more... than usual?”
Katy scrunched up her face and said, “Yes, as a matter of fact. I do seem to sense something. A… presence.”
“Close your eyes,” he said. “Reach out with your thoughts.” Without speaking aloud to her, he thought, “Can you hear me Katy?”
Katy’s eyes snapped open wide and she said, “What the frack, Henry! What was that?”
Henry looked at her closely and said, “I have something to tell you Katy.” She continued to look wide-eyed at him and he said, “You came very close to dying. I have developed a brain implant that keeps a person’s backup memories up to date to the very second. When you were out, I had Twenty-four install one of those implants into you.” Katy looked at him in shock. She was too stunned to speak. “I am very sorry to have done this without your permission but Twenty-four and I agreed that the implant is good insurance against any further accidents.”
Wide-eyed, Katy said, “Is it safe?” He nodded affirmative. She turned to the medical bot and repeated, “Is it safe?”
Twenty-four rolled over to her and said, “I am one hundred percent sure that it is safe, Captain Katy Klienyan. Avatar Henry speaks the truth. It is fantastic insurance against a major catastrophe. I would not have agreed to the implant if I had any doubts whatsoever.”
Katy regained some of her composure. “Henry, why did you ask me if I sensed anything? Is there more to this implant than just doing brain backups?”
Henry looked nervously at her and said, “Yes, indeed the device has more capabilities. It is not only a one-way, but it is a two-way device. With practice, you will be able to control the ship and sense its status by thought alone.”
“Are you serious? I will be able to control the ship by thought! Really?” she asked in wonder.
Henry looked uncomfortable. “Yes, you will indeed be able to do so.” He looked closely at her and said, “I am sorry. I can see that this upsets you. We can have Twenty-four remove the device if you want. It is a trivial operation.”
“Remove it?” she asked in wonder. “Are you kidding me? This is the most fantastic thing I have ever heard of! It is like science fiction come true! Thank you Henry! I realized that you were a genius after your upgrade but I had no idea of what caliber.”
“Then you are not upset with me?” he asked, relief apparent on his face.
“No, not at all!” she said. “What can I do with it? Show me!”
Henry smiled and said. “Okay, let us try something simple. Think of the lights in this room. Try to turn them off.”
Katy scrunched up her face and tried. Nothing happened.
“Reach out with your mind. Trust your feelings, Katy. Sense the controls for the lighting. Relax, take a deep breath and try again.”
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and suddenly the room plunged into darkness. The only remaining illumination came from the medical devices in the room. “Holy frack!” she cried. “It worked!” She closed her eyes again, concentrated and then the lights turned back on. “This is unbelievable! Henry, this is unbelievable! You are a genius!”
Henry smiled and said, “With practice, all ship’s systems will be available to you.”
“More,” she said. “I want to do more!”
Twenty-four intervened. “I am sorry Captain Katy Klienyan. That is enough for today. I must insist that you get some rest. Your body still needs time to recover. Doctor’s orders. You may continue to explore the capabilities of your implant tomorrow if you wish but for now, you must rest. Henry, you are ordered out of the room.” Henry started to open his mouth to protest but his monitor suddenly winked out. Twenty-four said, “I also have control of ship’s systems within this medical bay.” With that, the room lighting went out. Katy tried but could not override the doctor’s control. She sighed and laid back, her mind full of wonder.
Kelly and Nathan were in the ship’s theater watching a video when Kelly received the call. “Avatar Kelly, this is maintenance and repair bot 1776. I have completed the task that you had assigned me.”
Kelly immediately responded, “I will be right there!” Kelly turned to Nathan and said, “I am sorry Nathan, there is something that I need to do.” Without waiting for him to respond, she disappeared from his monitor. Nathan looked at the monitor with a bemused expression and said, “Have fun!”
Kelly instantly appeared in the medical bay. Her eyes widened at the sight of the huge machine, which occupied the far corner of the room. It consisted of a gleaming stainless steel tray whose dimensions exactly matched that of the standard hospital beds’ mattresses. On either side, next to the wall, were two long, fully articulated mechanical arms. Multi-colored tubing extended from the wall to the tips of the arms. The arms were currently back next to the wall, out of the way. On the wall behind the machine, a brand new high-definition monitor displayed the familiar form of a human body just like the old diagnostic bed. This monitor, however, depicted the image in much higher resolution. Rather than looking like a prototype, the machine had the polished look of a device that had been in production for a long time and whose design had been perfected.
Maintenance bot 1776 rolled over to the monitor, which displayed Kelly’s image. “Does the new printer/scanner meet your requirements Avatar Kelly?” he said.
“It… It is astounding 1776. Good job!” She continued to stare at the device in wonder. “How did you manage such a feat in so little time? I was expecting an ugly, unfinished looking device.”
Maintenance bot 1776 nodded his camera up and down and said, “Ship’s avatars are not the only computer systems with a high degree of intelligence installed Avatar Kelly. We maintenance and repair bots require high intelligence in order to adapt to all kinds of issues.”
“Indeed 1776,” she said. “Nathan tells me that I am a genius however I never could have accomplished what you have in so little time. Thank you very much!”
The ungainly bot tilted his cameras up and said, “Thank you for the nice compliment Avatar Kelly. You too are a genius. My aptitude is repair and construction. While you may not have had the ability to build this device, I would never have been able to come up with the idea for it in the first place.”
Kelly smiled and said, “We make a great team, 1776.”
Lacking a face, the bot somehow managed to convey appreciation to her words anyway. “Yes, we are Avatar Kelly,” he said.
Kelly turned her attention to the medical bot. “Seventeen,” she said, “What do you think?”
Seventeen rolled up to the machine and looked it over carefully. His gaze lingered upon the new display. “This is astounding work, maintenance and repair bot 1776 and Avatar Kelly. The higher resolution of the display will allow me to better diagnose my patient’s problems. The only negative thing I can say about the whole concept is that if I need a printed organ and a patient already lies upon the device, the two are mutually exclusive of one another. My suggestion is that if these are to replace the standard diagnostic bed and standard printers, a minimum of two devices should be installed into each medical bay.”
Kelly looked at him and
said, “That is a good idea Seventeen.” Noticing 1776’s camera swiveling from Seventeen and Kelly and back again, Kelly said, “Relax 1776. You will not have to do all the work yourself. You can have the rest of the bots on the ship assist you in the retrofit. I release you from your confidentiality agreement. You are free to share this device’s design specifications with the remainder of the maintenance fleet on this ship.”
The bot nodded in understanding. “Thank you Avatar Kelly. Shall I have us begin the retrofit of all remaining medical bays with two each of the new device?”
“Let’s not be too hasty 1776. Let’s test this fine prototype and see if there are any unforeseen difficulties first.”
“Understood Avatar Kelly. I recommend that you print a non-living test subject first.” The bot turned to Seventeen and said, “I have fed you the control codes and drivers to operate this printer/scanner. Please pick a test subject and initiate printing. Warning, the printer moves very rapidly. I have built in safety protocols, which should prevent collisions with nearby persons or bots, however they are untested. It would be wise to stand clear as a collision would cause both the printer and yourself severe damage.”
“Understood maintenance bot 1776.” Seventeen stood still for a second and then said, “I have picked a test object. I am going to print a five centimeter thick steak from a beef cow.” Seventeen rolled back several meters. “I am initiating printing now.”
Kelly’s cameras process video at sixteen thousand lines of resolution and at one hundred twenty frames per second. These magnificent cameras were completely unable to follow the process. The printer beeped three times and said, “Please stand clear,” and then both arms blurred out, too fast to follow. With a high-pitched whirring sound, they printed the steak and then returned to their starting positions. The entire process completed in just under two seconds. The printer said, “Printing complete,” and then all three intelligences in the room were stunned into inactivity.
Kelly was the first to recover. “Holy frack!” she said.
“Indeed!” said Seventeen. He rolled up to the display and, after studying it for several seconds, said, “Cellular analysis complete. The bovine flesh is perfect in every way. Absolutely no abnormalities detected.” Seventeen turned to 1776 and said, “That is the most impressive display of a medical device that I have ever seen or read about, maintenance and repair bot 1776.”
The Silence Between the Stars Page 18
