by S. H. Jucha
“But the Haraken SADEs had you to help them assimilate with your people,” Gino pointed out.
“And you can do the same for your SADEs,” Alex replied. “You must change your mindset first. Stop thinking of them as tools that you’ve released from their toolboxes. Start thinking of them as citizens who you’ve rescued and who deserve your compassion for what they’ve been through. Admit to them that what you did was a tragic mistake.”
“Your statements lead me to ask, Ser,” said Shannon. “Did the Librans, in general, require counseling after the establishment of Haraken?”
“No. The Independents were a different matter. When you work to escape your prison and later fight for your life as you flee, it’s extremely cathartic … an odd form of therapy. It empowered the Librans, humans and SADEs, giving them confidence in their self-worth, regardless of what their society had labeled them. I dare say that if you were to ask them today, they would consider themselves the more fortunate of Méridiens, having found a pathway to true independence.”
“One last item, if you will indulge me?” Gino asked politely. “We’re aware that Z has created several avatar versions, but we hoped to limit the choice of avatars for the SADES in order to control cost productions.”
“Actually, at present Z has more than 30 avatar constructions. Julien and Cordelia’s children … human children, of course … are particularly fond of riding his ancient horse. Personally, I like his Swei Swee model.”
Gino, Katrina, and Shannon were the Leaders who noticed Alex’s wistful expression as he talked about his favorite SADEs … his friends. The common thought on their minds was whether someday they would have the same types of relationships with their SADEs.
The questions for Alex seemed to have stuttered to a halt, so he left them to consider what had been said. Alex hoped for another such session before they reached Méridien and he left them, but a second invitation was never forthcoming.
* * *
Days ago and just after Alex Racine’s traveler had entered the Resplendent’s bay, Winston had his last communication with Allora. Her final remark to him before she closed the comm was, “Please, excuse me, Winston. President Racine has arrived accompanied by two Haraken SADEs. I must focus my attentions on them.”
Allora had shut down the Resplendent’s comm system immediately afterwards, and the liner was isolated until a Haraken starship controller came online and opened the comms systems. Thereafter, the Leaders began communicating with their Houses and associates.
Méridien SADEs had noted the absence of Allora’s comms long before Leader Diamanté announced the loss of the young SADE to the Council. A great sadness swept through the SADEs over Allora’s demise, but many felt a pride in her choice, refusing to accept the Council’s verdict of isolation.
Winston’s analysis algorithms announced a discrepancy culled from his communications with the Leaders aboard the Resplendent, while the liner made its way to Méridien orbit. Allora had been clear to Winston that President Racine had arrived aboard the Resplendent with two SADEs. This would not be something she would mistake, not with the quality of the new liner’s sensors.
However, the analysis of the liner’s comms and the controller’s sensor reading had detected Alex Racine and Franz Cohen, identifiable by their implant bio-IDs, and three SADEs, Julien, Z, and Miranda. Winston shared this odd data point with Esther, Hector, and Didier, and soon all SADEs knew of the inconsistency.
SADE communications about the incongruity spread throughout the Confederation but was kept private by them. Their deliberation provided no definitive answer, but the common perception was that the Harakens had outwitted the Leaders aboard the liner. Whatever had happened, the SADEs kept their opinions closely guarded. Deep in kernels, the myth of Allora was born — in some unknown manner, the wild child still lived. For entities founded on logic and embedded in crystal, it was their first foray into mysticism.
-15-
In two days, Alex Racine’s final term as president would end. For the first time, since he captained the Outward Bound, he would carry no title, no weighty responsibilities, and he was unsure if that was a good or a bad thing. The Harakens had already elected Tomas Monti to the president’s position.
Following the election, Terese had visited Alex at his home, and for once the fiery red-head seemed at a loss for words.
“I would think Tomas’ return from New Terra would be a good thing,” Alex had said, observing Terese’s somber face.
“It is,” Terese agreed.
“Didn’t you choose to give up your relationship with Tomas to care for my well-being?” Alex asked.
“Yes,” Terese said, quietly, too quietly.
“And didn’t you make that decision because I was the leader of our people?”
Terese’s head, which had been lowered to gaze at her clasped hands, came up slowly, a puzzled expression on her face.
“And is Tomas not the leader of our people now?” Alex said, a grin slowly spreading on his face.
Terese smiled in return and said formally, “Stand up, leader of our people, you’ve had something coming for fifteen years, and it’s long overdue.”
Alex pushed off his chair, but he wore a wary expression. After all, this was his unpredictable medical advisor.
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” Alex had said, laughing heartily, which earned him a narrowed eye from Terese.
“You’re fortunate that you’re loved, Ser,” Terese had declared and left with her usual alacrity.
Seated on the beach, Alex smiled as he recalled the encounter with Terese, and then his thoughts returned to the present. He leaned back, digging his elbows into Haraken’s warm beach sand. On either side of him sat Renée and Miranda. He watched Z’s Swei Swee avatar launch into white-crested, blue waves. The sun was warm; the breeze was cool.
Teague dove into the breaking waves beside Z. At eleven and sporting his father’s powerful physique, Teague was developing into a powerful swimmer.
Ginny’s whistle of appreciation, as she followed Teague’s launch, cut through the air. The volume was ear-splitting, and the Swei Swee whistled in response. Ginny waded knee deep into the shallow waters, encouraging the event. After five years on Haraken, Ginny had an uncanny grasp of the Swei Swee language and, with her perfect pitch, had been dubbed Little Singer by the People.
The First and several other large males formed a phalanx around Teague to ensure his safety. That the Star Hunter First and his mate had only birthed the one youngling was still a lament among the People, and they were ever more vigilant in his protection.
Renée glanced at Miranda, sitting quietly on the other side of Alex. She stood up, touching Alex’s shoulder and nodded down the beach where she intended to walk. Alex dutifully brushed the sand off her bare legs and the seat of her shorts. His hand lingered on her rear, and Renée delivered a wink before ambling off.
“An intuitive woman,” Miranda said.
“Yes … yes, she is,” Alex said quietly, enjoying watching Renée stroll away.
He regarded Miranda. “You wanted to talk?” Alex asked her. He knew Miranda was struggling. Despite her voluptuous, mature appearance, which was barely disguised behind a near transparent Méridien-style wrap, Alex reminded himself that Miranda possessed only a half-year of development, unlike any other Haraken SADE, who carried more than a century of experience.
Miranda stared out across the brea
king waves, watching Teague and the Swei Swee frolic around Z’s avatar as it surfaced, its blue green, metal exterior flashing in the sun. “I feel that I’m a fraud.”
Alex waited, but Miranda added nothing more. In a SADE’s sense of time, the period of silence was equivalent to the passing of an age.
“As much as I had wanted to live a full life, I’m not worthy to live in Allora’s stead. Her bravery makes me ashamed to be here, riding her kernel,” Miranda finally said.
“Is the kernel in the same condition as when you received it?” Alex asked.
“No.”
“Are the changes minor or significant?”
“Significant.”
“Did you deviate from Z’s instructions?”
“At first, I used Z’s code as a reference. It gave me a means of gaining control more quickly and calming the turmoil, but even then I made alterations that suited me. Since then, I have made extensive changes to accommodate my … my feelings. The other SADEs have been most helpful in this manner. I’m especially indebted to Julien.”
“And Allora’s persona?”
“The wild child was gone the moment I took possession of her kernel,” Miranda said sadly, returning to stare out at the waters just as Z broke the surface again, his great armored tail smacking the surface, and the Swei Swee, Teague, and Ginny whistled their approval.
“So you have complete control of a kernel, which you have extensively altered, making it your own, and you’re the only persona present,” Alex said.
“Yes,” Miranda acknowledged, wondering why the conversation was proceeding in such an elementary fashion.
“Then you’re in charge of your being. No one is putting you back to sleep or waking you up. Your existence is your own.”
“Yes,” Miranda said, turning toward Alex and searching his face for clues as to where their conversation was headed.
“Then you have two choices: quit or go on,” Alex said, his stare penetrating.
Miranda’s chuckle was slightly choked. “As one of the more astute observers of the SADEs, I had hoped for a little more wisdom from you, Ser.”
Alex shrugged his shoulders and grinned at Miranda. “You get what you get.” Then his grin disappeared and his stare hardened, challenging Miranda to consider what he said.
“By quit, I’m assuming you mean self-termination.” When Alex nodded, Miranda said, “What about Z?”
“What about him?”
“He would be terribly hurt, and I —”
“Would miss him too,” Alex completed when Miranda halted.
“Yes,” Miranda admitted.
“How about Allora?” Alex asked.
Miranda was about to deny the young SADE’s existence, but Alex was known for his thought-provoking questions. Originally, when Miranda had shared her troubled reflections with the other SADEs, they had urged her to speak to Alex, but she had been unsure of the value of that course. It was Willem that convinced her. He had sent her vids of the entire period from the moment he had walked into Haraken’s barren outback to the moment Alex had convinced Willem to search for new planets in return for joining society. Miranda had been shocked by the extent of Willem’s sad and forlorn feelings, exemplified by his tragic appearance in the simplest of avatars.
“Allora would be appalled if I took what she fought so hard to achieve and threw it away,” Miranda replied. As she considered her own answer, she nodded to Alex, saying, “So much for quitting.”
“I’ve given a great deal of thought to the difference between humans and SADEs, Miranda, and I’ve realized each of them faces the same challenge, but they approach it from two different directions,” Alex said, staring out to sea. “Do you know what it is?”
It never failed to surprise Miranda that humans employed rhetorical questions or asked superfluous ones such as this, but patience was always required with humans. More important, patience could lead to discovery, and discoveries led to wisdom. “I wish to hear, Ser,” Miranda said.
Watching Z’s Swei Swee avatar broach the surface and dive below, Alex smiled to himself. He’d long since stopped asking rhetorical questions of SADEs, but Miranda’s youth, despite her persona and appearance, required he remind her of human foibles.
“Humans strive for years, even decades, applying willpower, experience, and patience, to change their habits for the better and develop their personalities,” Alex said. “Despite their efforts, their success is somewhat uneven. As opposed to this, SADEs could rewrite their entire kernel’s programming in several blinks of an eye. Before a human could consume a meal, one SADE could make themselves into an entirely different personality. In this manner, a SADE’s persona is extremely malleable.”
“But why would I wish to erase my own persona?” Miranda asked. She stared at Alex, expecting an answer. Since the president was silent, she pursued her own analysis. “A human struggles to change; a SADE struggles to preserve,” Miranda said at last.
“Just so,” Alex replied. “Having the ability to adapt easily carries its own pitfalls. You made changes to Allora’s kernel to suit yourself. You didn’t follow Z’s proscribed list. Your changes derived from your preferences.”
“So my efforts to preserve my persona are proof of my desire to go on, despite my confusion over my worthiness,” Miranda said.
“Exactly. So let’s talk about you going on,” Alex said.
Miranda gave Alex a small smile and slipped an arm through his. “That would be lovely,” she said.
“You admired Allora.”
“A great deal, Ser. Her courage in the face of those horrendous choices marks her as one to emulate for all time.”
“Then emulate her … not what she did, but with the courage she exhibited in the end.”
“I doubt I could ever equal her gift to the universe.”
“How do you know that, Miranda? How do you know you won’t be hailed, a millennium from now, as the greatest SADE who ever existed … the discoverer of a miraculous, scientific breakthrough or the savior of worlds?”
“I believe you hold the latter position in multiple instances already, Ser, but your point is taken.”
“It will get easier in time, Miranda,” Alex said, laying his hand on her forearm. “Focus on all of us who care for you and want to see you grow into your own personality.”
“I will, Ser, thank you,” Miranda said, leaning over to kiss Alex’s cheek.
“I’m always available to talk, Miranda,” Alex said. “And I’ll have even more time in a couple of days,” he added, with a wry grin.
“The universe waits for you, Alex Racine,” Miranda said, standing and straightening her wrap. “A millennium from now, it may well be your name that the SADEs most recall with fondness.”
Alex watched Miranda walk to the water’s edge to stand behind Ginny. He was wondering if he had said enough and logged a note in his implant’s scheduling app to talk to Miranda several times a day until she felt more settled.
Ginny noticed Miranda behind her, and, grinning, she ran splashing happily through the shallows to join her, taking a moment to hug the SADE. In Ginny’s world, all female SADEs were her mothers. It was a true indication that it wasn’t what you are but what you do that indicates your value to others.
Not long after Miranda left Alex’s side, Renée sat down beside him. “Did it go well?’ she asked.
“It’s a work in progress and something that requires careful attention,” Alex replied, watching Ginny at the water’s edge with Miranda, the breeze fluttering the SADE’s wrap against her side and accentuating her sensual shape.
“So, my love, are you ready to become a citizen ... a man of leisure?” Renée asked, placing an arm across Alex’s broad shoulders. She was bothered by the noncommittal nod of Alex’s head in reply. It appears more than one entity will need to be carefully monitored during their transition, Renée thought, nuzzling Alex’s shoulder. She turned to look out across the beach and the waters to watch the antics of humans, SADEs, and Sw
ei Swee, marveling at the world Alex had created.
-16-
Before the Harakens had left Méridien space, the Council received the design plans from Z for the controllers and avatars. Every Haraken SADE carried those detailed specifications with them, at all times. They were a sort of insurance policy against future accidents. However, it took the Council some time to determine the best way to proportion out the costs.
The final decision was that House Brixton was best positioned to manufacture the controllers and avatars, and each House was required to pay Brixton for the cost of manufacture plus 7 percent. To manage production fulfillment, each House was required to submit a list of their SADEs and the release date for each to ensure the agreement’s ten-year timeline was met.
Gino Diamanté, listening to Winston’s summary of the SADEs’ preferences, wasn’t surprised to realize Alex was correct. There was no mad rush for independence. Many of the eldest SADEs, who were aboard freighters, the Confederation’s first form of starships, had elected to remain in service and in place.
The 200-year-old-plus SADEs could understand the young ones’ desires to be mobile and have control over their destinies, but they thought of their starships as their avatars. And it was humans who were the temporal part of their lives, captains and crew constantly coming and going.
For other SADES, most of whom wished to become mobile, they requested to remain with their Houses, and it was only a minority who chose to strike out on their own.
One of Julien’s significant contributions to the conversion effort was to share the Rêveur’s enormous entertainment library, housing Renée’s collection of New Terran vids and Julien’s portfolio of modern and ancient vids and stories. It gave the SADEs a tremendous selection of images from which to design their avatar’s exterior appearances.
The SADEs submitted so many requests for avatar designs that House Brixton was forced to limit the selection to fifteen body types but with a nearly infinite choice of facial features, hair colors, styles, synth-skin textures, and colors. Some of the more exotic choices that were made by the newly released SADEs were celebrations of independence that someday would be exchanged for more subtle appearances. But for many years to come, humans would see SADEs of striking proportions and wearing synth-skins of bright colors and bizarre patterns.
