But I must figure out how to escape, Sparky thought. I don't know how long Apodotikós will be gone, so I need to come up with an escape plan as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately for Sparky, he could not think of an escape plan right off the bat. As far as he could tell, he was stuck, and even if he could escape, he might have nowhere to go if Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy were truly dead, as Apodotikós had asserted.
Something must have happened while I was out, Sparky thought. I am probably still on the Adventure, but I do not even know how I got into this situation or just who Apodotikós even is. He must have somehow gained control of the ship and placed me in here so I couldn't stop him.
That still did not explain where Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy actually were, or who Apodotikós even was in the first place. It did, however, give Sparky the motivation he needed to keep thinking about what he needed to do next in order to escape.
If I am going to escape, I need the facts, first and foremost, about how I ended up here, Sparky thought. But how am I going to do that when I can barely remember my own name?
That was when an idea occurred to Sparky. As a robot, he had a backup memory chip in the back of his head, where all of his memories were automatically duplicated and stored. It was normally inaccessible, seeing as it was protected by a complex computer algorithm and password-protected firewall. He was not normally supposed to access it anyway, seeing as it had been designed by Captain Galaxy as a way to recover his memories in the event that his main memory bank failed.
But Sparky considered this an emergency, so he decided to access it. He hoped that Apodotikós had not somehow managed to remove his backup memory chip from his head, because if he had, then that would make it impossible for Sparky to remember anything.
Thankfully, however, when Sparky checked, he found his backup memory fully accessible. It took him only a minute to get past the defenses due to his knowledge of how they worked and downloaded his memory back into his main memory banks without hesitation.
Of course, that did not help Sparky know where to start, seeing as his backup memory held literally all of his memories, from the day of his initial activation to today. But he recalled that Apodotikós had mentioned how Sparky did not remember the last two weeks, so Sparky decided to go back in time by a couple of weeks and revisit his memories from then in chronological order so that he could understand what had happened.
And so Sparky reentered his memories, going into 'full experience mode' so that it would be like he had actually gone back in time itself.
-
Two weeks ago …
“All right, you two,” said Captain Helena Galaxy as she led Mr. Jason Space and Sparky down the Adventure's main hallway to the bridge. “We're almost there.”
“Come on, Galaxy,” said Mr. Space, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jumpsuit impatiently. “What are you going to show us?”
Sparky nodded. “I am in agreement with Mr. Space. You have been very quiet about what you have been working on for the past three months without giving us any clue as to what your project is.”
“You'll see,” said Galaxy. “Or rather, you will hear.”
“Hear?” said Space. “That sounds suspicious.”
“It's not,” said Galaxy. “What you guys are about to hear is going to completely change the way we live on this ship. I guarantee it. Just trust me.”
Space and Sparky exchanged curious looks as the three of them reached the end of the hall and passed through the doorway to the bridge. Neither of them said anything. Sparky, however, wondered exactly what Galaxy meant and if this 'change' would somehow involve him.
Upon stepping into the bridge, Sparky looked around at their surroundings, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. The entire bridge looked pretty much the same as it always had, with the captain's chair hovering before them, the computer screens blinking and displaying images and information, as well as the front screen displaying the void of space outside.
“I don't see anything, Galaxy,” said Space, taking his hands out of his pockets. He put a hand up to his ear. “Don't hear anything, either.”
“Welcome to the bridge, Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy,” said an unfamiliar and deep voice from all around them. “I have prepared the captain's chair for your arrival. Do you wish to sit down on it?”
Space jumped when he heard the unfamiliar voice, while Sparky looked around in alarm. The voice did not match any of his audio files, so he could not match it to anyone he had ever met. This caused Sparky to reach for his light-gun, which was attached to his waist at all times.
But then Galaxy raised a hand and said, “Whoa, guys. Calm down. This isn't some new mysterious enemy who has taken over the ship or anything. In fact, he is actually our newest friend and ally. Take it easy.”
Galaxy looked up at the ceiling and said, “Apodotikós, why don't you introduce yourself?”
“Certainly, Captain,” said the voice, which Sparky now realized belonged to this mysterious Apodotikós. “But may I take a holographic form? I understand that you independents prefer to speak with beings who resemble you, rather than staring at nothing in particular.”
“Go ahead,” said Galaxy with a wave.
As soon as she said that, a holographic figure emerged from the hologram table to their right. The figure was humanoid, with a simple face that had two black eyes, a pixel nose, and a mouth, but otherwise had no features anywhere else on its body. That was good, because it was currently not wearing any clothes, either.
The figure was probably about a foot tall. Nonetheless, he hardly appeared timid in the face of the much larger Space, Galaxy, and Sparky. He merely bowed and said, “My name, as Captain Galaxy has already said, is Apodotikós.”
“Apodotpicos?” said Space.
“Apodotikós,” the holographic figure corrected, in a slightly impatient voice. “It is Greek for 'efficient.'”
“Right, Apodotpicolo,” said Space, nodding. “What are you?”
“Apodotikós the ship's upgraded artificial intelligence,” said Galaxy, gesturing at the holographic figure with some pride. “He's what I've been working on for the past three months.”
“What?” said Space, looking at Galaxy in surprise. “But I thought that the ship's AI was already upgraded.”
“We last upgraded it a couple of years ago,” Galaxy reminded him. “It's been long enough now that I thought it was time for an upgrade.”
“Did you build him yourself?” asked Space, looking back at Apodotikós.
“No,” said Galaxy, shaking her head. Then she shrugged. “Well, sort of. He's actually based off the newest starship AI system released by Doors. I simply used the base specs to create a custom AI that would fit with the Adventure's own specifications, though I didn't modify him too much.”
“Is that why it took you so long to install him?” asked Space.
“Yep,” said Galaxy. “I ran into more problems than I expected during the modification process. Not to mention he's still not entirely tested yet.”
“Not entirely tested?” Space repeated in alarm. “That doesn't sound good.”
“Rest assured, Mr. Space, that I will not be a hindrance or a problem to your adventures,” said Apodotikós in a polite voice. “While I have not been tested in every situation, my own unique AI means that I can learn and adapt to almost any situation. And of course, I always adapt with your best interests in mind, so I will never intentionally put you or Captain Galaxy into harm's way if I can avoid it.”
“What does that mean?” said Space.
“I think I know,” said Sparky, causing Galaxy and Space to look at him in surprise. He tapped the side of his head. “That sounds similar to my own AI, which is designed to learn and grow and adapt to different situations, similar to the way that organic beings can. It is what makes me different from normal machines, which typically can only do what they are programmed to do.”
“Couldn't have said it better myself,” said Gala
xy, patting the holographic platform upon which Apodotikós stood. “Apodotikós here is essentially a robot, just like Sparky. That makes him different from our earlier AI system, which was far more mechanical and less creative in nature, as you may remember.”
“You mean Lucy?” said Space.
Galaxy stared at Space. “You gave the old system a name?”
“You didn't?” said Space, looking genuinely shocked.
Galaxy shook her head. “Whatever. Apodotikós is going to be far more useful than, uh, 'Lucy' ever was, because unlike the original AI, he can think.”
“Indeed I can,” said Apodotikós, nodding. “I can reason and read, I can debate and decide, and I can listen and learn. And so much more.”
“Wow,” said Space, putting his hands on his hips. “I didn't know it was even possible to program a starship with this kind of AI.”
“It hasn't always been,” said Galaxy. She pointed at Apodotikós. “And even he normally isn't this smart. It's just that when I read the specs for Apodotikós that Doors released, I saw an opportunity to improve upon his AI, so I did.”
“So he's pretty unique, then,” said Space. “Right?”
“Right,” said Galaxy. “This also makes our own ship pretty unique, too, because I don't think any other Apodotikós is like ours.”
“I can confirm that,” said Apodotikós. He gestured at his holographic form. “Due to Captain Galaxy's changes, I can do many things that the other versions of me cannot. I am more flexible and creative in my thinking—more efficient, if you will—which will make me far more useful in helping you than the last system you used, the one you called Lucy.”
“I hope so,” said Space, rubbing his hands together eagerly. Then he frowned and lowered his hands. “Wait, why couldn't you have just, like, taken Sparky's AI and replace the Adventure's with it?”
“Because Sparky's AI is incompatible with the Adventure's,” said Galaxy. “I won't go into detail here, since that would just bore you, but robots and starships both run off completely different operating systems. In theory, it is possible to design a starship and a robot that work off the same system, but in practice, I don't think there are any robots or starships like that anywhere and it would be too much work to redesign Sparky's AI to be compatible with the Adventure's systems.”
“That is true,” said Sparky. “Of course, I am still capable of connecting to the ship's computers and accessing certain features of the ship from there, but I cannot actually become the Adventure's AI. That is simply impossible without a lot of modification that is not worth the time or effort to do.”
“Oh,” said Space. He looked at the holographic figure and waved at him. “Well, then welcome aboard, Apodotikós. What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?”
Apodotikós stared at Space in confusion. “My … favorite flavor?”
“Yeah,” said Space. “It's a question I ask all new members of the crew. So what is it?”
Apodotikós rubbed his hands together, like he was trying to think of a diplomatic way of answering the question. “The question seems … irrelevant, seeing as I am an AI that lacks a true mouth, taste buds, and digestive system necessary to consume ice cream. And irrelevancy often goes hand-in-hand with inefficiency.”
Unless Sparky's audio receptors were deceiving him—and he knew they were not, because he had just had them tuned yesterday and had found no issues with them—Apodotikós's tone sounded almost like a threat.
“You don't need to answer the question, Apodotikós,” said Galaxy. She looked at Space in annoyance. “Space is just being an idiot, as usual.”
“It was a trick question, anyway,” said Space, rolling his eyes. “The correct answer is Al Gore's left pinky finger.”
“That … makes no sense at all,” said Apodotikós.
“But it sure is fun,” said Space, winking at him. “Anyway, Galaxy, why did you upgrade our ship's AI? I thought Lucy did her work just fine.”
“Because, er, 'Lucy' was extremely limited in what she could do,” said Galaxy. “She wasn't smart enough to solve problems on her own. She could only do what we programmed her to do and nothing more.”
“I, on the other hand, can do far more,” said Apodotikós, with a hint of pride in his voice. “Even if I run into a situation or problem I have never run into before, I will be able to analyze it and come up with my own solution to it even if you do not program one into me. I have already moved the Adventure out of the way of several continent-sized meteors that were heading its way during the course of this conversation.”
“You did?” said Space. He looked down at the floor of the bridge underneath them. “I didn't even feel the ship move.”
“That is because I am the ship and can move it as gracefully as if it was my own body,” said Apodotikós. “Tell me, could 'Lucy' ever do that much?”
Sparky found that he did not quite like the arrogance in Apodotikós's voice. He had to admit, however, that Apodotikós did indeed seem to know what he was doing and was probably more useful than Lucy.
Space, on the other hand, folded his arms across his chest and said, “Hey, don't talk smack about Lucy. She served us well for two years before you came along.”
“Hey,” said Galaxy, before Apodotikós—who looked like he was ready to argue—could respond. “Let's not fight, okay? We're all on the same team here, after all. I don't want our first meeting together to be ruined by a dumb argument.”
Apodotikós looked like he was about to disregard Galaxy's plea (which would have forced Sparky to intervene, because he happened to agree with Galaxy that this was not the best time to argue), but then he nodded and said, “As you command, Captain. I was merely proving a point to Mr. Space that I am indeed more efficient than Lucy ever was.”
“Well, let's agree to disagree,” said Space, although he sounded like he was ready to continue the argument if necessary. He then gestured at Sparky. “What about Sparky, then? What is he going to do now?”
“He'll work with Apodotikós, of course,” said Galaxy. “Sparky can still do some things that Apodotikós can't. Although Apodotikós has complete control over the Adventure, he still can't access every little area. Sparky will be able to help him with minor tasks normally out of his reach, such as rearranging our stock of space rocks or our supplies in the hold.”
“So the two of us will be partners, essentially?” said Sparky, looking at Apodotikós.
“Yes,” said Galaxy, nodding. “Think of it this way, Sparky. You now have a new artificial friend who is similar to you who you can talk to. I'm sure the two of you will get along just fine.”
“But I can still speak with you two, of course,” said Sparky, looking at Space and Galaxy.
“Yes, of course,” said Galaxy. “It's not like either of us are going anywhere anytime soon, after all. We'll always be here if you need us.”
“Are you an efficient robot, Sparky?” asked Apodotikós.
Sparky straightened up. “Of course. I was specifically designed to help Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy with the utmost efficiency. It is my duty to aid them.”
“I am the same,” said Apodotikós. “I believe the two of us will indeed be great partners, Sparky. As long as you remain as efficient as me, I don't think we will have any troubles between us.”
There it was again. That implied threat in Apodotikós's tone. Neither Galaxy nor Space seemed to notice it, which made Sparky wonder if his own audio receptors might be mistaking it for something else.
After all, why would Galaxy design an AI that is hostile to us? Sparky thought. It must be my imagination, although that is strange, because I usually have my imagination well under control.
“I'm still not entirely convinced that Apodotikós is as efficient as you make him out to be,” said Space. “Sure, maybe he saved the Adventure from being destroyed by those meteors, but how does he handle challenges where he doesn't have all the facts?”
“Give me an example, Mr. Space,” said Apodotikós, before Gala
xy could respond. “And I will meet it without trouble.”
“All right,” said Space, although he looked a little taken aback, like he had not expected Apodotikós to be so forward. “I'm hungry and I want something to eat. But I won't tell you what it is. You will simply have to guess.”
“Do you want chocolate ice cream with red velvet crumbs scattered over it?” asked Apodotikós.
Space actually stepped back this time, saying, “Wait, how—”
At that moment, one of the Adventure's automated arms descended from the ceiling carrying a chocolate ice cream cone with red velvet crumbs scattered over it, exactly as Apodotikós described. Not only that, but it placed the cone in Space's hand carefully and then closed his fingers tightly around it, like a mother helping a child.
“There you go,” said Apodotikós. “Was I correct in anticipating your desire? More importantly, was I efficient?”
Space stared at the ice cream cone in his hand for a couple of seconds before looking up and saying, “How did you know that that is exactly what I wanted at this very moment?”
“I read the files on you in the ship's database, naturally,” said Apodotikós, gesturing at the computers behind him. “They indicated that your favorite food is that exact flavor of ice cream done in that exact style. So I had the ship's kitchen create this ice cream to your preferences. I hope you enjoy it.”
Space licked his ice cream cone and sighed. “It is heavenly. I don't think I've ever tasted a chocolate ice cream cone as good as this one.”
“But Mr. Space,” said Sparky, “didn't you say that yesterday, when I made one for you, in the exact same way as Apodotikós?”
“Yeah, but he did it faster and better,” said Space, licking the cone again. “But don't worry, Sparky. I still think you're pretty cool.”
“What do you think of me now, Mr. Space?” asked Apodotikós. “Do my claims of efficiency seem credible to you now?”
“Yep,” said Space, nodding. He stopped talking after that, however, because the ice cream cone seemed to have captured all of his attention by now.
The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy: Season Two Page 7
