Wandering Engineer 6: Pirates Bane

by Chris Hechtl

  “Of course you do,” Defender replied.

  “And you knew I would. And you knew his answer.”

  “No, I didn't.”

  The Admiral's eyes flicked from one AI to the other. Something was going on here, something above his head. “Wait, you... that was a test wasn't it?” he asked. “You were never really serious about that. You were testing me?” he asked, turning to Defender.

  The AI rested the handle of his war hammer down and placed his hands on top of it. His shield glittered briefly and then went dark.

  “You were. A test. Something triggered it, my exploring...”

  Sprite looked at the other AI then turned to the Admiral. “He wanted to know how far you would go. How far you are willing to go to achieve your goals.”

  The Admiral paused, thinking. “There are some things I am willing to do. Some rules that can be bent, and some that can probably be broken in order to get where we all are aiming for, a return to civilization. But some I will not break. At least I hope not.”

  “If the need justifies the means...” Sprite said softly.

  “Yeah,” the Admiral sighed, shivering. “Did it get cold in here or is it just me?” he asked. Sprite shrugged. “I hope we never have to answer that question. So, moving on...”

  “Yes?”

  “Well, I was thinking...”

  <----*----*----*---->

  Over the next several days they toyed with different applications of using Proteus and his nanites. Most were simple things, things that had been used for thousands of years. Some were improvements, such as improving the software in augmenting a person and applying the augmentation to additional models of organic beings. Proteus was reluctant to explore the project, but the Admiral insisted they refine the process.

  “In case we need it in Bek.”

  But after that project was finished they turned their attention back to the list of things nanites had been used for over the centuries, but so far overlooked by the Admiral and Proteus.

  For instance, by using a cluster of nanites and a milligram of material from the Admiral's reserves, they could create a micro robot before the nanites self-destructed. This ant-sized bot would have a limited life span, but it could serve as a spy. Proteus expanded on the idea by using the nanites to form an independent spy from local materials, such as a bulkhead and his reserves.

  Sprite worked on the algorithms to control the robot and allow them to see and hear through it. It was difficult getting the camera's functions just right, they ended up settling for a small fish eye lens until Sprite copied and ripped apart the code for one of the maintenance bots vision system, and then scaled it to their application. It wasn't perfect, but it got the job done.

  From that they worked on forming camera and sensor bots with pieces of himself. It was a bit disconcerting to see stalks extend themselves from his skin. Somewhere thin hairs extruded with a fiber optic line and a camera tip. Proteus could extend the cable as long as he desired. The tip could have a camera or audio sensor, or both as needed. Once they were done with the probe it retracted and seamlessly merged back into his body.

  Another nanotech application was drawing materials. Proteus took material in from supplements he ingested, or if he placed a hand on an object, the AI could use nanites to break the material up and reform it.

  After watching an ancient science fiction movie in his library about a virtual serial killer that got out into the real world in a body made of nanites, Sprite questioned if they could do the same thing.

  “What? You do realize it's fictional right? Besides, he's using silica. Glass to replace nanites.”

  “Yes, but... I'm curious.”

  “Proteus rebuilds the stock of nanites as needed, either by recycling them or creating new ones,” the Admiral said as Sprite tapered off and looking like she was thinking.

  “Yes, but can Proteus repair you? What if you had a physical injury? Let's say, lost a finger on your left hand?”

  “I could grow a new one in a few hours,” Proteus interjected.

  “In a few hours. With materials on hand?” Sprite asked.

  “Yes. Or I could reattach the original digit if it was still available. But the self destruct programming would melt the digit in sixty seconds once it is detached.”

  The Admiral frowned. He knew about the protocol to prevent his DNA from being used against him or the Federation. He hadn't quite thought of this limitation however.

  “What about food? If he ate yes, but what if you drew the material needed directly?”

  “Like putting a hand on a steak to make protein?” Proteus asked. “Using my nanites to process the food item directly?”

  “Yes! And there is so much more we could do with this! Like oh, say grow another arm? Or extra fingers!” Sprite said, growing excited by the idea. “You have always been limited to your right arm... with this...”

  “I think I'll keep it sane and limit myself to what I am now Sprite,” the Admiral said, distinctly uncomfortable.

  “Why?”

  “Even for me there is a limit on how far I wish to change. I don't want to lose myself in the process Commander,” the Admiral said quietly.

  Sprite sensed his shifting mood and then abruptly nodded. “Body shock?” she asked.

  “Insult? No, it in a way would be me, but... not the physical form I am used to. You and I both know what I went through when you three came on board. I'd had some experience with prosthetics before, but... well...”

  “I thought you took it remarkably well actually,” Sprite replied, cocking her own head and then crossing her arms.

  “You mean I didn't have an atavistic frothing fit over the whole thing,” the Admiral said. “There were a lot of factors involved,” the Admiral replied, sitting back and echoing Sprite's posture by crossing his own arms. “There was the war need, the desire to be whole once more, and the burning desire to get back on my feet.”

  “True.”

  “But yes, the sense of wonder was there,” Irons replied, smiling ever so slightly. “It still is from time to time,” he said, looking away. Sprite nodded in acknowledgment.

  “So, let's see what else we can do,” Sprite said slowly, turning to the other AI. “Table this project for now. You mentioned other spy things? Gadgets?” Sprite asked.

  The Admiral shook out of his reverie and then nodded. “Spy gadgets like listening devices we've gotten a handle on. They and the cameras will be effective in diagnostics as well I suppose,” the Admiral said.

  “True,” Proteus replied. “When we can't get eyes on something or the diagnostics in a system are down.”

  “Exactly,” the Admiral rumbled. “But... what about an explosive device? Or other device?”

  “A distraction?” Sprite asked.

  “Or something to disable or do something. Like I said, an explosive. A distraction like a flash bang is nice, but I don't see how we could implement it easily.”

  “Smoke and mirrors,” Sprite mused.

  “Possible,” the Admiral replied. He got up and went to the galley as Sprite ran through some ideas and bounced them off Defender and Proteus. The Admiral replicated a hamburger, plucked a couple mini tomatoes and popped them on the burger, then pulled a small onion, cut the bottom off, rinsed it off, and then added that as well. Then he went and grabbed a couple of mushrooms, brushed them off and then cut them up.

  “Food for thought?” Sprite asked.

  “Cute,” the Admiral replied, finishing his preparations. He replicated a citrus drink and then sat at the small table. “Practical,” he said.

  “The eating or the ideas so far?” Sprite asked.

  “Either, both,” the Admiral said, picking up the burger.

  “And don't bug me, I'm eating,” Sprite teased.

  “Exactly,” Irons mumbled, chewing.

  “Don't talk with your mouth full,” Sprite teasingly admonished. He waved her aside.

  <----*----*----*---->

  After lunch they experi
mented with small explosives, or the replicating of them. He found that the project was dependent on what materials and time he had available. For most applications, a gram of plastic explosives was about the best Proteus could make in a five-minute period with materials on hand; including a remote detonator cap. Something like that would serve as a distraction, though Proteus did put forward the idea of creating a shaped charge.

  “No, I think it's the best we can. But we've got the scripts and modules now, and we know what it takes,” the Admiral said, watching the explosive dissolve as Proteus directed the nanites to dispose of it. “Throw in ideas like the smoke bomb and distraction. Toss this under something like a chair or pile of papers.”

  “Incendiary device?” Sprite asked.

  “Possible,” the Admiral murmured thoughtfully. “I'm not really thrilled about the direction this is going though, I have no place in special ops work.”

  “Agreed,” Defender interjected.

  “And the magnificently dark one has spoken,” Sprite mocked.

  “Hush,” Irons replied, cutting off the argument. “I do think there are other avenues here,” he mused, rubbing his chin. “But we can already do a lot with nanites. What else can we explore?” he asked.

  “Not a lot, you can't fly in the ship,” Sprite said dryly.

  “True. And playing with the energy shields is out,” Irons said.

  “Not necessarily,” Sprite replied thoughtfully.

  “Definitely you are not playing with shields inside me. One wrong move and pop!” Phoenix replied.

  “No, I agree, full power is out,” Sprite replied. “But we could do computer simulations. I know there are a lot of applications we haven't tried yet. Off the shelf ideas for one.”

  “Okay, list them.”

  “What about extending or reshaping the shields?” Sprite asked. The Admiral cocked his head.

  “We can do that already. And I can shift nodes as needed,” Proteus replied. “Though extending the shields uses exponentially more power. And the larger the shield surface area the less effective it is.”

  The Admiral had a flash of flame and bare flesh and winced in memory. That avenue was hitting a sore spot with him. One he'd rather forget but couldn't. “April,” he murmured.

  “Hmm? Oh, sorry Admiral,” Sprite said, sounding contrite. The Admiral waved a hand.

  “If we reshape the shields, we could make them more energy efficient. Current protocol states that the shield come up even but power shifts to the threat axis...” Proteus said. Irons tuned him out for a long moment, remembering April.

  The woman had been a wonder, a reporter, a beautiful red head with a love of yellow jumpers and a nose for investigative reporting. She had had a lively smile, and twinkling green eyes. He remembered her scent, jasmine with a hint of lavender. He also remembered her sensual touch, her soft skin...

  “Ahem. Admiral, we're working here,” Sprite said, bringing him back to the here and now.

  The Admiral flinched. “Sorry, wool gathering. Recap?”

  “I have been considering the changes in shield technology we've learned Admiral. There were some minor improvements in the field since we went into stasis.”

  “Wars tend to drive research and development,” the Admiral replied, nodding.

  “Indeed they do. Our own stint at...” Proteus faltered as the Admiral's face changed to a severe scowl. “Our own experience confirms that,” the AI recovered. It was rare for the usually robotic minion to be so tactful. Irons grunted.

  “Unfortunately Firefly had his own misfortune before receiving many of the reputed upgrades. We know what is possible from the news list, but we have no access to the data.”

  “I know,” the Admiral sighed. Everything he had replicated in Pyrax, on Destiny, Kiev 221, Antigua, and on Epsilon had used the files built into him; into his royal DNA and implant files. Both were a few years out of date, as the AI had pointed out.

  “Unfortunately, they say knowing something is possible is half the battle, but that doesn't do us much good. We know it's possible, but we can't do much in regards to reverse engineering anything. All we have is supposition to base our assumptions on. And when you pile that you get a house of cards. I'm not going there.”

  “Agreed,” Proteus replied. Irons nodded. He was okay with overseeing research, he liked to tinker, but he didn't have the obsessive compulsive mindset to create a testing system and then methodically plod through it. He didn't have the patience at all.

  “So, to recap, you can move nodes, and alter the field strength and shape. Can you use just a few nodes? Like oh, say project a limited two dimensional field?”

  “Are you thinking arm shield Admiral? How quaint,” Defender interjected.

  “It's something to consider,” the Admiral replied to the put down. “Consider a single axis threat and a power reserve scenario.”

  Defender cocked his head. He drummed smoky fingers on his armor briefly, then gripped his war hammer tighter. “Agreed. Proceed.”

  “Thanks for the approval Lieutenant,” Sprite replied.

  “Can you do it?”

  “The problem is, a shield's natural inclination is to form a bubble Admiral. A sphere. Force fields are much like soap bubbles.”

  “I know the analogy. I'm wondering if it is possible.”

  “By reshaping the field emissions... I think the minimum needed would be three. It wouldn't be two dimensional, but...”

  After a moment an image of the Admiral formed on his HUD. Then the avatar raised his right arm. Three nodes, two in his forearm arm and one in his bicep just below his shoulder joint came to life. Proteus projected lines indicating field interactions. They looked like magnetic field lines. At first the AI projected a sphere, cutting the Admiral up. Irons opened his mouth to object but the AI moved past it. It methodically worked through the problem, working to alter the shaping and strength variables in the sim.

  “I can work on this in my free time. Part of the problem is the interactions but I think the formation of a triangle is key,” Proteus said.

  “I can help with the simulation,” Sprite said. “After all, we know it is possible. Force fields are used in boat bays and security all the time,” she said, glancing at Defender.

  “That is true. But a field uses nodes along the perimeter Commander,” Proteus replied.

  “It is also two dimensional,” Phoenix replied. The AI sounded distracted however.

  “Busy?” The Admiral asked.

  “A bit. A tangled patch I'd rather have you dealing with sir,” the AI said, sounding like he was struggling.

  “On my way,” Irons said, finishing the cleanup of the galley. He looked around, noting one of the cubs snoring softly on the ultrasonic laundry appliance. It was Goldie, she loved the rumble and warmth the device put out. “I think he likes the vibrations. Or he thinks his purring helps,” he said, shaking his head.

  “She. You keep getting the gender mixed,” Sprite replied absently. The cub flexed her paws, toes spreading; then a yawn of needle teeth. The cubs were filling out slowly. They wouldn't get any bigger than a house cat. They were of course lean, and small. As genetically engineered pets they had been designed for slow maturation to maximize their cute and cuddly time.

  “Whatever,” Irons said, headed to the bridge.

  <----*----*----*---->

  “So anything?” the Admiral asked when he finished another marathon session of piloting. He was getting seriously twitchy about those, and knowing that, he was starting to become reluctant to pilot the ship. He wondered briefly if he was developing a mental complex.

  “Some Admiral. First some background,” Proteus replied as the Admiral fixed himself a sandwich and petted the cubs. Blaze of course had to take that as a challenge and pounced on his hand. He wrestled with her briefly before soothing her with a cheek rub.

  “Let's keep it light, I'm not in the mood for a full blown science lecture at this point,” the Admiral said.

  “Understood.
Now, exploring the two dimensional field applications led me to research. Which pointed out that the fields aren't really two dimensional at all, they are three.”

  “Oh?”

  “It's like the Magnetic Monopole Admiral, nature likes balance. A monopole is theoretically possible, but incredibly difficult if not impossible to replicate in the real world.”

  “Off track Proteus, you lost me,” the Admiral said, pausing in his bite. “KISS.”

  “Keep It Simple. I thought I was,” Proteus replied.

  “Your analogy drifted. I'm still waiting for you to connect the dots and make this relevant.”

  “Understood. For the record I was getting there,” Proteus replied. The Admiral nodded and took a bite of his sandwich. “What I was trying to get to is that the nodes in a two dimension field are actually projecting a three dimensional field, just flattened.”

  “Okay...”

  The AI projected a simple airlock field arrangement. He watched the field form a concave form. That form nagged at him a little. The AI projected moving arrows simulating field strength lines. The swirling pattern looked chaotic and complex, but with an underlying order to it since the lines formed loops and swirls.

  “Which is why, in that application, the field strength is strongest at the nodes but not in the center of the field. Engineers have compensated for years by ramping up the power. But if you go too high...”

  Irons nodded. “You burn out the nodes,” he said, wiping crumbs off his mouth. “Gotcha.”

  “Exactly. So, in this application, what we've done...”

  “I helped,” Sprite replied smugly.

  “What we've done is create a flattened spherical shape. The edges have an energy bleed off issue however, and are thin. The shield is strongest at its center where the nodes are. Also, Admiral for this to work you would have to keep your arm flexed in a fixed position for the shield to function properly. Any movement and it would throw the triangle out of alignment and the field would destabilize.”

  “All right,” the Admiral nodded. The AI projected the field simulation on his HUD. He watched it form a radial field as his avatar raised its arm. Field lines were projected. From the shape it was an old fashioned round shield, slightly convex in shape. That opened all sorts of interesting possibilities in his mind.