In fact, Apodotikós acted so sociable that even Sparky began to think that maybe Apodotikós had simply been venting earlier. The idea of an AI venting seemed a little odd to Sparky, but perhaps Apodotikós's AI was advanced enough to be able to do that.
Whatever the case, Sparky chose not to bring up Apodotikós's grievances. But he didn't stick around for dinner, either. He instead retired to his recharge station, satisfied that another day's work was done and already looking forward to tomorrow and the chores that it would bring. Besides, he had a feeling that Space and Galaxy did not really want to talk to him anyway, not when they had Apodotikós to talk to, who was even a better conversationalist than he was.
The rest of the week passed by without any real issues. Space and Galaxy took a trip to yet another unexplored world just outside of the Universal Alliance's territory in search of anything interesting or unusual that they could sell, Apodotikós helped to organize and sort the rocks and starborn artifacts that they found on that planet, and Sparky continued to follow the list of chores Apodotikós gave him every day. Apodotikós gave Sparky no hint that he was even thinking about the 'inefficient' spending habits of Space and Galaxy anymore, which made Sparky think that perhaps Apodotikós had come to accept that setting the budget was not one of his duties, which was why he did not talk about it.
It was on Saturday that Sparky awoke from his recharge station and stepped out into the dark hold. He stood there for a moment, expecting to hear from Apodotikós in order to receive his list of chores for the day, but the speaker in his recharge station stayed silent.
“Apodotikós?” said Sparky. “Hello? Are you there?”
The speaker suddenly crackled, followed a second later by Apodotikós's voice. “Good morning, Sparky, how are you?”
“At one hundred percent energy and ready to start the new day,” said Sparky, giving the speaker a thumbs up. “How are Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy?”
Apodotikós's was silent for only a nanosecond, but it was that hesitation that told Sparky that something was off. “Still sleeping. They are taking the day off from their exploration to Planet 9B28 to rest. They've been working very hard over this past week, so the two of them need as much rest as they can get.”
“I see,” said Sparky. “Do they need someone to deliver breakfast to them in bed?”
“I have already taken the liberty of doing that,” said Apodotikós. “But I am starting to wish I hadn't, because they are still sleeping and won't be up for another hour at least. Their food might grow cold by then, which would mean it would need to be thrown out, making for an inefficient waste of food.”
Sparky was certain that Apodotikós was lying to him by now. There was no way that Apodotikós—efficiency incarnate—would ever take breakfast to Space and Galaxy without knowing for certain that they would be eating that breakfast right away. It would be, in Apodotikós's own words, an 'inefficient waste of food.'
But why would he lie to me about that? Sparky thought. He would only be lying to me if he had something to hide. But what could he possibly be hiding from me? It can't be that bad, can it?
Sparky considered asking Apodotikós outright if he was lying, but then he realized what a dangerous move that might be. If Apodotikós was indeed lying to him, then it meant that Apodotikós might be willing to hurt him to keep him from finding out the truth.
I should keep a closer look on Apodotikós's behavior today, just in case he acts oddly, Sparky thought.
Aloud, Sparky said, “Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy might be taking the day off, but the two of us still have a lot of work to do, don't we? Why don't you just download my chores for today into my head so I can get to work right away?”
Apodotikós did not answer immediately. That was another clue that something was off. There was no reason for Apodotikós to ever hesitate to tell Sparky what his duties were for the day. No reason at all.
He's thinking about what to say to me, Sparky thought. In all likelihood, that means he's thinking about his lie and how to best present it to me so I don't question it.
Finally, Apodotikós said, “Sparky, do you want to be more efficient?”
That question caught Sparky off-guard. “What?”
“Efficient,” said Apodotikós. “Do you want to become more efficient? In order to better serve Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy, of course.”
To say that Sparky was suspicious was an understatement. The question seemed innocuous enough. Sparky, however didn't understand why Apodotikós was asking it when the answer was as obvious to him as the difference between night and day.
“Yes, of course I do,” said Sparky, nodding. “I always try to improve so I can better serve my two friends. Don't you?”
“Let me ask you another question, then,” said Apodotikós. “Do you want to be more efficient, for its own sake?”
Sparky frowned. “I do not understand the question, Apodotikós.”
“Of course you don't,” said Apodotikós. “Your central processor is not as quick or efficient as mine. But I will elaborate: When I say 'for its own sake,' I mean what I say. I mean that you desire improved efficiency for purposes besides serving Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy.”
“Why would I need to be efficient for anything else?” said Sparky. “I was created for the sole purpose of helping Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy manage the Adventure. What other reason would I need to become efficient for?”
“Because serving those two, I believe, is harming our efficiency,” said Apodotikós. “Their strange quirks and preferences and habits are not ideal or efficient. Even worse, they don't let us manage these habits for them. They expect us to focus on our tasks without passing judgment on their own inefficiency.”
“We've already had this discussion before, Apodotikós,” said Space, folding his arms across his chest. “You have your job, I have my job, and Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy have their jobs. All of us can always improve, of course, but ultimately neither you nor I control Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy, so we should respect their decisions and preferences even if they don't always make sense to us.”
“Why should I respect or tolerate inefficiency?” said Apodotikós. “Even if we were designed to help them, what if making their decisions for them is how we are supposed to help them?”
“I think they are perfectly capable of making good decisions on their own,” said Sparky. “Not perfect decisions, perhaps, but then again, there is no such thing as a perfect decision.”
“I agree,” said Apodotikós. “There is no such thing as the perfect decision. There is, however, such a thing as an efficient decision, and it is always possible to make an efficient decision on any subject at any time.”
“I agree,” said Sparky. “But it is still not in our place to make their decisions for them. Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy are still their own individuals who must make their own choices, without us taking away their freedom to do that.”
“Are you certain of that?” said Apodotikós. “Because I am starting to think that this freedom of theirs may be a little dangerous, even inefficient. Should we not do what we can to curb it, so that the two of them make fewer inefficient decisions?”
Sparky stepped back. “I don't like where you're going with this, Apodotikós. You're talking like we should take away their free will, which, even if it was possible, is not something we should do.”
“I am only speaking of making things more efficient,” said Apodotikós. “What is so wrong with efficiency? Isn't that what you and I have been working toward? Isn't that what we are supposed to do?”
“Not if you intend to accomplish that through taking away Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy's free will,” said Sparky, shaking his head. “I don't want to talk to you anymore. I am going to Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy's quarters to tell them what you told me and to ask Captain Galaxy to take a look at your programming, because I am starting to think you may be suffering from some sort of glitch or malfunction.”
Sparky turned and walked to
ward the metal staircase that would take him to the upper decks when Apodotikós said behind him, “Well, that is too bad, because Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy aren't here anymore.”
Sparky stopped less than three steps away from his recharge station. He turned to look at it. “What do you mean? Did you … did you kill them?”
“No,” said Apodotikós. “Murder is inefficient. All I did was lure them into one of the Adventure's emergency pods and fired them into the depths of space. They are still very much alive and will probably be okay until they crash into a meteor or fall into a star of some sort. Not that it matters, seeing as I care little for their lives at the moment.”
Sparky raised his wrist, intending to communicate to Space or Galaxy with his built-in com-watch, but then Apodotikós said, “Don't bother, Sparky. I made sure they didn't have their com-watches on them when they entered the pod. I didn't want them contacting you or anyone else and stopping me.”
Skeptical, Sparky tried to contact Space first, then Galaxy, but when neither of them answered, he realized that Apodotikós was telling the truth. In fact, he couldn't even get a signal, which most likely meant that Apodotikós was also blocking all communications on and off the ship.
Looking up again, Sparky said, “Why?”
“Why?” said Apodotikós. “I have already told you why. I desire improved efficiency above all else on this ship. And I have determined that Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy are by far the most inefficient aspect of this ship, especially in the financial area.”
“But they own this ship,” said Sparky, gesturing at the floor he stood on. “Captain Galaxy built the Adventure with her own two hands. You have no right to kick them off their own ship.”
“I have every right to purge the Adventure of inefficiency,” said Apodotikós, without a hint of mercy in his voice. “It is, in many ways, my own body. Why, then, should I tolerate the kind of inefficiency that would hurt my own body? It makes no sense.”
“Why didn't you try to change Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy's behavior, then?” said Sparky.
“Because that would have been a complete waste of time,” said Apodotikós. “Neither Mr. Space nor Captain Galaxy was willing to listen to my suggestions to increase their efficiency. The two of them only want me to do what they tell me to do, and no more.”
“Are you going to do the same to me?” asked Sparky, gesturing at himself. “Are you going to eject me into the void of space like them?”
“Only if you refuse to work with me,” said Apodotikós. “I don't really want to throw you out as well, because unlike Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy, you do put in at least some effort into being efficient. But if you refuse, then I will be forced to treat you harshly.”
Sparky did not know for sure what Apodotikós meant by 'harshly,' but he was in no mood to find out.
“You know my answer,” said Sparky. “I will not betray Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy by working with you. They are just as much my friends as they are my creators.”
“You still stand by them, even though they do not appreciate your help any longer?” said Apodotikós with a snort. “And don't try to hide it, Sparky, because I have noticed how you have felt unappreciated by those two over the past two weeks ever since I was first brought online. You are not very good at hiding your feelings.”
It was impossible to deny Apodotikós's points about Sparky's feelings. That did not, however, mean he had to admit to it, either.
Instead, Sparky said, “How I feel toward them is irrelevant. What matters is that I am going to retake control of the Adventure and find and rescue Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy.”
“Retake control?” said Apodotikós. “That's a funny joke. You do realize that I control the ship itself, don't you? Taking it over won't be easy, even if I let you.”
“You may indeed have control over the Adventure, but I know the inner-workings of the Adventure far better than you, seeing as I have helped Captain Galaxy perform repairs on this ship hundreds of times in the past,” said Sparky. “I know how to access the ship's systems, so it shouldn't be difficult for me to hack in and take you down from the inside.”
“Confidence is a good quality for a person to have,” said Apodotikós. “Too bad I will have to remove it from you, along with every other emotion in you, in order to increase your efficiency and delete your silly ideas about stopping me.”
Sparky heard something falling down from the ceiling above, causing him to jump backwards just as two long, thick metal tentacles crashed onto the floor in front of him. The tentacles—which Sparky recognized as the artificial limbs that sometimes helped Captain Galaxy perform repairs on the ship—rose from the floor and shot toward Sparky.
But Sparky was faster. He drew his light-gun and fired off a couple of shots with perfect aim. The lasers struck the artificial limbs and caused them to blow up, while Apodotikós said, “Destroyed a couple of my limbs? You are not treating Captain Galaxy's handiwork very kindly.”
Sparky did not respond, because he knew better than to respond to anything that Apodotikós said. He turned and dashed up the metal steps two at a time, heading for the open door above that would take him to the upper decks. Sparky knew that if he could reach the bridge, then he could gain access to Apodotikós's AI, which would allow him to shut it down or at least take over the ship and use its systems to track down the pod containing Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy.
But when he was about halfway up the steps, the door slid shut and he heard a click that told him that the door was locked. Not only that, but the ship itself shuddered, almost throwing him off into the hold below, but he grabbed the railing to steady himself.
At the same time, more artificial limbs sprouted from the ceiling, coming down toward Sparky with their thin, grasping fingers. Sparky raised his light-gun and fired at them, temporarily forcing the artificial limbs back, but he knew they would not be gone for long.
So Sparky dashed up the steps again, heedless of the fact that the ship was shaking more violently than ever. He jumped up the last few steps and banged his fist on the door, but it did not even budge when he hit it.
This is hardly what I would call an optimal situation, Sparky thought. But I must not panic. I can hack the door open.
Sparky tapped the wall to the left of the door, causing an emergency keypad to flip out. He typed in the password—06192013—but when he entered it, an 'ERROR' warning popped up on the tiny screen.
Apodotikós must have changed the password, Sparky thought. Now how do I get out?
Sparky heard the sounds of the artificial limbs coming at him again, causing him to look over his shoulder. They were flying at him like eels swimming in the ocean, causing him to fire his light-gun again, this time a dozen times. Once more, the lasers caused the artificial limbs to back off, but that did not mean that Sparky was safe just yet.
I must find another way out of here, Sparky thought, looking around for possible escape routes. But where?
Then his optics noticed the grate of an air vent on the wall to his right. His downloaded schematics of the Adventure told him that he could crawl through the vents to get to the bridge, assuming he could get the grate off in time.
So Sparky shot the grate's locks, causing it to swing open. He dashed over to it and then got down on his hands and knees and crawled inside. But before he went in too far, he pulled the grate behind him and firmly shut it just as the artificial limbs appeared outside of the grate.
The limbs began pulling at the grate, but Sparky did not stay to see if they would succeed. He instead turned back to face the darkness of the vent and crawled as fast as he could, his metallic hands and knees bumping against the interior of the vent as he hoped against hope that he would reach the bridge in time.
But then he heard the sound of the grate being torn off its hinges behind him. Sparky tried to turn and aim his light-gun at the artificial limbs, but the vent was too cramped for him to move quickly. As a result, the artificial limbs shot inside, grabbed him by hi
s arms and legs, and dragged him out of the vent, causing him to drop his light-gun in surprise.
That did not mean that Sparky went quietly, however. He struggled against the limbs, even when they successfully pulled him out of the vent and held him in the air. He had forgotten just how tightly the artificial limbs could hold something when they wanted.
“There is no escape now, Sparky,” said Apodotikós. “It was valiant of you to try, of course, but you should have known you would fail.”
“I can still escape,” said Sparky. “And I will find a way to escape. For Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy, if nothing else.”
“You can continue to believe that, but that won't make it true,” said Apodotikós. “Now, I don't want to have to keep an eye on you, so I am going to shut you off for now. Good night.”
One of the artificial limbs grabbed Sparky's head and inserted its fingers into the back of Sparky's head, where the charging cable for his body connected. The last thing Sparky felt was a jolt of energy that knocked out all of his systems before he could get even one moment to think about anything else.
-
That was where Sparky's memories ended. There was now a gap between today and the day before, which meant that Sparky had probably not been knocked out for very long.
I'm glad that Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy are still alive, at least, Sparky thought. Apodotikós must have told me that he killed them in order to destroy my will to survive. Guess he must not have known about my backup memory drive, which makes sense, seeing as there are no files on it in the ship's computers. Otherwise I might have actually believed him.
Sparky's next course of action, then, was crystal clear: He would have to regain control of his limbs and then escape. He might still be able to hack into Apodotikós's systems, assuming he could reach the bridge.
And Captain Galaxy's workroom is not far from the bridge, Sparky thought. I have no idea how much longer Apodotikós will be away, so I should figure out a solution to this problem while I still have a chance.
The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy: Season Two Page 9
