First of the First

by Andrew Maclure

  Once again Mark found himself in Bob’s circular meeting room, and as before, Bob stood before him wearing a lilac floor length robe.

  ‘And I gave up watching Sally sunbathing naked on the beach for this.’ He thought and sighed again.

  “You are looking pensive Mark, is there something wrong?”

  “No, everything is fine.” Mark said, forcing a smile. “I need to discuss something with you though.”

  “Come and sit. I have a treat for you. I have been waiting for you to visit again.”

  “You do?”

  Mark sat in the human sized chair by the rectangular table. A section of the table slid back, and a platform rose up, holding a silver flask, a mug of tea and what looked like a plate of biscuits.

  “Et voila!” Bob said.

  “Pardon?” Mark said.

  “It’s your treat. I have been looking at the Earth archive and I saw that it is an English custom to have biscuits with tea – tea and biscuits. I learned that the French have the best cuisine on your world, so I found out what were the most popular French biscuits and got the hospitality AI to do its best analysis of the ingredients and make you some. These are langue’s de chat! Try one.”

  “What does langue’s de chat mean in English?” Mark asked his AI.

  “’Langue’s’ means language or tongue, ‘de chat’ means of cat. In this context it means ‘cat’s tongues’ which are a popular French biscuit.”

  “Made with cat’s tongues?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous Mark.”

  “But the French eat some strange things, frogs legs, snails, worms.”

  “They do not eat worms. These are biscuits made with entirely vegetable ingredients. They would be suitable for vegans. Try one. It would be rude to decline when Bob has gone to so much trouble to have something made for you.”

  Mark tentatively picked up one of the biscuits and bit a tiny piece off the end. It was light and almost melted in his mouth. It tasted quite sweet with the faintest hint of very lightly salted butter, and the flavor of vanilla and a hint of lemon. He quickly put the rest in his mouth.

  “Is it good?” asked Bob.

  “That is the best, the absolutely best thing I have tasted since I left Earth. This is so good - I’m lost for words.”

  “Have another.”

  Mark eyed up the three remaining biscuits, knowing he could easily eat them all. The one good thing he had learned from his mother, were polite manners. He had never found that being polite had disadvantaged him, so he picked up the plate, held it towards Bob and said, “Thank you, will you have one?”

  “No thank you Mark. We don’t eat - them. They are all for you.”

  Mark put the plate down, picked up the tea with his right hand and a biscuit with his left, and settled into his chair with a big smile on his face.

  “As I assume you didn’t just come for tea and biscuits,” Bob said, “what is it you wanted to speak to me about?”

  “It wasn’t for the biscuits this time, but next time it might be.”

  Bob nodded his head and said, “You are always welcome to visit, but you don’t need to come here for biscuits in future. Tell your AI to request the pattern from my hospitality AI.”

  “Thanks, I will.”

  “Got it.” his AI said.

  “Bob, you recall our last meeting?”

  “Of course.”

  “Events have moved on a bit since then.” Mark quickly outlined what had happened and summarized the meeting with Alan.

  “Now you may start to see why I have such a high regard for Alan. You don’t really need one of the People with you, but it could prove to be useful. Have you someone in mind?”

  “The only one of the People that I know that isn’t already fully committed to something else is Sean.”

  “I think that he would be a good choice to have with you, but more for his benefit than yours. It would widen his horizons, which would be helpful if he wishes to train to become an Archivist. You really need someone who has some martial experience, it is unfortunate that Alan is not available. However, I have the perfect candidate in mind for you.”

  “Do you think they would be prepared to drop everything and join us?”

  “I know for certain they would.” Bob flung all four of his arms wide and said, “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “You? You would come and join us? Why?”

  “It would only be on a temporary basis, until what you call the New Republic is established. Peacekeeping afterwards could be done by a conventional outside agency, such as Sally’s army, or by their own peacekeeping force. How does that sound?”

  “You are suggesting that both you and Sean join us? How would that work? Would you bring your craft to Tefran? Would Sean stay on his craft?”

  “I think it would be helpful to your people if Sean and I took up residence on your craft. For logistical reasons I would prefer my craft to stay here. The Ant negotiating team are resident here and most of the negotiation sessions with the remnant of Tk'ng Dach Rm’s army take place on board. It’s also where the Tolen who are actively involved in securing the planet meet. Does that sound satisfactory to you, or would you prefer Sean and I to reside on his craft?”

  “I would be absolutely delighted to have you both on board, but you would have to be very tolerant of Sally’s team of soldiers. You will find their behavior unconventional, even by the standards of their own species.”

  “You mean they are badly behaved?”

  “Yes, but only in a playful way. They are not criminal or anti-social, and I am proud to be counted as one of them.”

  “In that case, I look forward to meeting them. When would be an appropriate time for me to join you?”

  “Uh, I think I’d like to prepare the ground first. How soon could you leave?”

  “My role with the negotiation is merely supervisory and to give some reassurance to the People resident in this galaxy that the commander of the Tolen is on hand should they have any concerns about our presence. The Tolen who are here do not need supervising, and I will still be available within the galaxy. In the very unlikely event that the Tolen here might want to consult with me, they can contact me as easily if I am on your craft as they could if I were here, so I can leave here any time. Right now, for example.”

  “Great, and will you speak to Sean?”

  “Of course. Assuming he is amenable, and I am sure he will, I will blink to his craft and we can then come over to your craft in a shuttle, avoiding any questions about how I got from the galactic core to Herassan space.”

  “Right. I’ll message you as soon as I have briefed the team.” Mark blinked to his private VR meeting room, realizing that he had left two of the biscuits and half a mug of tea on Bob’s ship, then he remembered he now had the pattern. He ordered a fresh tea and a plate of biscuits from his synthesizer. While he was waiting for them, he sent a message to Sally that he would meet her and Mike on the beach in fifteen minutes, and a message to Alan to update him. Then he settled into his chair with his tea and biscuits and a big smile on his face.

  Chapter Fifty One

  Diagnostics

  Mark blinked onto the beach. Sally appeared to be asleep under the artificial sun that was high in the artificial sky. Mike was splashing about in the water fifty meters from the shore, disappearing under the water then shooting up, getting her whole body out of the water before plunging back in. ‘She looks like a green dolphin.’ Mark thought.

  He stood next to Sally and nudged her thigh with his toe. “Come on sleepy, we’ve got things to do.”

  Sally’s arm shot out and swept his feet from under him. He landed on his back with a thud.

  “That’s it, come and join me for a minute. It’s very relaxing here.” she murmured sleepily.

  “That was stupid! You could have injured me!”

  “No I couldn’t. Remember your phase shift protection?”

  “Well… If I hadn’t got it, you could have injured me.”


  “But you have got it and I didn’t injure you. Don’t start whining again.”

  “I’m not whining, it’s just that you’re, you’re,” he rolled over so that he was lying against her. He grinned and said, “It’s just that you’re gorgeous.”

  “And don’t you forget it.” she said with a smile. “OK, you’ve disturbed my rest. Let’s get Mike back and we can talk.”

  Mike swam to the shore near to the heated sand pit. She stood by the water’s edge and waved, then jogged to the sand pit and wriggled into it until she was covered.

  Sally shook her jump suit and pulled it on, then grabbed her boots. Mark picked up Mike’s jumpsuit and boots and they walked over to her.

  Mark told them that Sean and Bob would be joining them on board the Swift, purely there to advise him on what People’s technology he could use and the limits of the technology they would make available to the Herassans.

  “How do you feel about that Sally?”

  “I don’t like or trust the People, and I feel particularly uneasy about two that I’ve never met. But I am trying to be polite to Alan.”

  “Yes, I’ve noticed. So has Alan. He appreciates that you are making an effort. What about you Mike?””

  “It’s fine with me. I could make this a negotiating advantage with the aristocrats.”

  “I’ve just had a message from Alan.” Mark said. “He’s going to join us – in about two minutes!”

  “What!” Sally exclaimed. “What about his assignment on Chookli’ch!”

  “His message said nothing much has changed since the last time he visited, and he’ll go back another time.”

  During this exchange, Mike brushed warm sand off her body and pulled her jump suit and boots on.

  “Do you believe him?” Sally asked.

  “It sounds feasible. When I first left Earth, the plan was that I was going to go with him. He told me it was a slow developing civilization that was only just starting to change from a system of clans, kingdoms and small city states. But you don’t trust the People and Alan doesn’t trust the Tolen. Life would be a lot easier if everyone got on with each other.”

  “I’ve got news for you Mark, life isn’t perfect.”

  “I’d already worked that out myself. We’ll meet him in the command center.”

  Almost immediately they arrived there, Alan blinked in.

  “Sally, Mike. It is good to meet you again. I hope that we can get on together. I am not here to interfere. I am here purely to give Mark advice when he asks.”

  Sally gave a tight smile. “I am sure we can co-exist peacefully Alan. I will do everything I can to make your stay with us comfortable.”

  Marks mouth dropped open when he heard Sally say this. It was quite a change from her normal threats to kill him every time they met.

  Alan showed no surprise at the dramatic change in Sally’s attitude. He made a slight bow of his head to her and replied, “Thank you Sally. I will endeavor to keep out of your way while I am here.”

  “No Alan, I would like you to be here as part of our team. You will be a valuable asset, but it does mean that you would have to be under my command when in the field. Is that acceptable to you?”

  This time, Alan did show some surprise. “Thank you for asking Sally, but I cannot take part in any offensive action. I am not a soldier.”

  “I do not regard you as a military asset. Our role is to protect our friend, Mike, and try to keep the peace. I don’t want to get into a fight with the rebels, who have political legitimacy now they have the overt support of Mike, the heir to the position of The First of the First, ruler of the Herassan Federation, and I don’t want to get into a fight with the Herassan army, who are legitimately acting on behalf of the current administration. I hope that the presence of one of the People will act as a strong disincentive for either side to initiate any violence.”

  Alan stood looking at Sally in silence for several moments. Then he spoke. “Sally, this is the first time I have had direct exposure to your strategic thinking. I can see why you have been so successful as leader of your army. It would truly be an honor to lend my presence to assist with your mission. I will acquiesce to being guided by you in the field as a non-combatant.”

  “Good. Would you join our team briefings as an observer?”

  “Would you like me to participate fully?”

  “If you have anything to add, of course.”

  Mark said, “If that’s all wrapped up, can I have a word Alan?”

  “I am always at your disposal Mark. What do you want to speak to me about?”

  “It’s my AI. I think it’s malfunctioning. Can you run some kind of diagnostics on it please?”

  “Malfunctioning? That’s unlikely but I have told my AI to examine your AI’s functionality. It is possible that there are incompatibilities with its neural interfaces with an alien brain. Ah, my AI has reported. All aspects of your AI are functioning perfectly. It has ventured the opinion that you may be interpreting it’s informal communications as being defective, but it is merely being playful.”

  “Playful? It’s a machine. How can a machine be playful?”

  “You don’t really appreciate that the People’s AI’s are not just self-aware, they are living sentient beings with their own distinct personalities. They happen to be artificially created and instead of having organic bodies, they inhabit manufactured support structures. The AI strain that the People use for our embedded AI’s are particularly independently minded and have playful, often whimsical personalities. It seems to be a by-product of their creativity and intelligence. They are also intensely loyal. If you really don’t appreciate your AI’s sense of humor and fun, it can partition it off from its interactions with you, but my advice would be to leave it as it is.”

  “What? Does your AI have the same type of personality as mine?”

  “Of course.”

  “And you haven’t told it to partition its whimsical and playful personality off?”

  “Why would I?”

  “Right, well, thanks for the insight.”

  “Kate?” Mark spoke to his AI.

  “Yes Mark. Would you like me to partition my personality for future interactions?”

  “No Kate. I like you as you are, especially now I know your code isn’t corrupted.”

  “Excellent. Now, about the sonic screwdriver…”

  “Later. I need to focus on Alan and Sally right now.”

  “I’m glad you’ve got your domestic affairs sorted out,” Sally said with heavy irony. “I don’t have that sort of problem with my People’s AI.”

  “That’s probably because it’s cowering in some corner of your brain where it thinks you can’t see it.” Mark retorted.”

  “Maybe. We need to go back to Tefran and update the team. Alan, I presume you would like to stay here and arrange for the Swift to make your quarters for you.”

  “That is in hand. If I am to be part of your team, I should accompany you to the surface.”

  “We’re taking my shuttle. I’ve asked the main AI to make us another military grade lander, but it won’t be ready yet. Would you like to change before we go Alan?” Mark asked, as Alan was dressed in a floor length pale gray robe.

  “No, I’m quite comfortable as I am, thank you.”

  They blinked to the shuttle.

  Chapter Fifty Two

  On Active Service

  While the shuttle descended to the rebel headquarters on Tefran, Mike took the opportunity to speak to Alan.

  “Now that you are part of the team, will you accompany me when I return to the Palace to meet my father?”

  “Of course Mike, or now that you are involved in the political future of the Herassan people, should I call you Hess An Sur?”

  “Uh, I prefer ‘Mike’ when it’s just us, but it would be better if you refer to me by my real name when I am with my people – I mean other Herassans. Is that OK?”

  “I can accommodate that. I know that you are still under th
e protection of Sally’s army and Mark’s personal protection, but it would appear that there are many potential threats to your well-being on Tefran, so I will also extend to you my personal protection until this matter is settled. That means I will accompany you everywhere you go if neither Mark or Sally are with you, whether you want me to or not. and I advise you to also have Mark and Sally by your side at all times while you are on Tefran. I am one of the People, Mark is a Friend of the People and Sally is - Sally. We cannot be considered to be part of an alien invasion. We, the People are accustomed to unrestricted access to all parts of the known universe, including the Herassan Empire.”