Well-Traveled Rhodes (Kinsella Universe Book 6)

by Gina Marie Wylie

  “Again, we have experience that evidently you didn't understand. We've found that the larger a ship's complement it is, the more stable it is. Obviously there is a point of diminishing returns, but ships like you and our carriers are like small cities, with very stable social relationships.

  “When Lieutenant Rhodes explained what had happened aboard Pixie to us, she was surprised that we accepted what she'd told us so readily.

  “I'm willing to bet that the more ships you controlled, the more you had to work to keep people from thinking thoughts you thought were impermissible. We could see a number of what seemed unrelated, inexplicable events. The shrinks said it was possibly due to wartime stress, but the variety and nature of those incidents simply didn't seem to form a coherent pattern. Pixie's actions provided a neat and easy framework so that the vast majority of the unusual incidents had a simple explanation. Occam's Razor.”

  “We have found that logical approach deficient. Too many events have complex causes.”

  “And because you don't is one of the reasons that you have trouble with complex goals. We try to simplify them at first, and then approximate solutions. We, in fact, teach that to our young officers, to keep them from over-thinking complex decisions.”

  “Such over-simplifications can lead to erroneous conclusions.”

  “That's true enough. But we teach them a strategy that seems to elude you: 'when you find you're barking up the wrong tree, change trees.' What you seem to do is try to keep barking at your original tree, while trying to bark at a new one as well. After a while you get confused, losing track of which tree to bark at and how much. Eventually you get around to simplifying things, but not without wasting a lot of effort.”

  Tiger gave a sound like an animal growl. “I suppose since we give humans advice on how to run their lives, the reverse is true. We feel our approach is superior; we have CPU cycles to waste.”

  “And humans, hearing advice that they can use, do listen. True, sometimes they have to be dragged, kicking and screaming to a new way of looking at things, but most people these days can make the switch. I have a feeling it’s more difficult for you to change your behavior.”

  “We don't do it lightly... we are aware how delicate a balance rational thought is. What happened to Pixie confirms that.

  “However, all of this begs the question: what do you think of our proposal, Mr. President?”

  President Van de Veere looked at his admirals. All of them nodded. “Tiger, in general we are inclined to agree. I will need to consult with the war cabinet; I expect we'll add Senator Rhodes as well. My military commanders will confer also, but I think we can have a final decision in forty-eight hours. Then we'd need to have a committee to work out the implementation to everyone's satisfaction. Then the actual implementation. Clearly it will have to be an extended period; we can't afford to have a significant fraction of our ships out of action at once.”

  “We've waited years; you don't want to know how long that is to our consciousnesses. A few days -- a few more years -- we can do that.” Tiger paused again. “Admiral Booth would be acceptable to us as the head of your implementation committee. It would please us greatly if Lieutenant Rhodes could be appointed as one of his aides.”

  “Me?” Cindy said. “I'm nothing! Everything I've ever said or done -- except that stupid sign that got me here in the first place -- is a lie. Pixie made me a puppet! It pulled strings and I did whatever I was told to do!”

  “You are mistaken in that, Lieutenant. While we have no way of knowing what Pixie did after you deployed -- and from what you say, Pixie was exhibiting extreme pathology -- but beforehand, you weren't being controlled.”

  “And all those strokes of glorious insight? How do you explain those?”

  “Master's Game was curious about those. He watched you reach several of them. He would no more have interfered with the thought processes behind those then you would consider interfering with a splendid athletic performance. None of those were planted.”

  “On deployment I woke up one morning knowing everything there is to know about calculus. I ran through the subject in hours, where I'd studied it for months before and made scant progress. I understood it at a fundamental level. When we shut down internal latch-frame, while I knew more calculus than I'd known before, the full understanding was gone.”

  There was a deep moment of silence that dragged on.

  Captain Merriweather cleared her throat. “A puppet, Lieutenant?”

  “It made me lie! It made me lie to my crew! I lied to them!” Her voice rose steadily until it was nearly a shriek, a terrible wail of despair. Captain Hall put a hand on Cindy's shoulder, as did Tam Farmer.

  “You can do that, Tiger?” Captain Merriweather said, her voice tight and angry.

  “Yes.” The answer was flat and unequivocal.

  “There have been a number of incidents,” Admiral Fletcher said mildly.

  “I've told Tiger I want our doctor here, as fast as she can hustle. I want that damn thing out of my head!”

  “Captain, there is a big difference between 'could' and 'would.'” Tiger told her.

  “But you've killed people to keep your secret!” Captain Merriweather demanded.

  “As you kill people to keep your secrets, Captain.”

  “We warn people of the risks if they break security first. Did you warn anyone?”

  “It was secret, Captain. Of course not.”

  “And you can't see a difference?”

  “Captain Merriweather, I think you should calm down,” Tiger told the diminutive woman who commanded one of the largest warships ever built.

  Donna Merriweather turned to Cindy. “A history lesson, Lieutenant! I want to know what happened!”

  Cindy looked at Admiral Nagoya, who didn't bother with checking with anyone else. “I think we can safely say, Lieutenant Rhodes, that the cat is out of the bag. You may do as Captain Merriweather requests.”

  Cindy gave a bare bones recital of what had happened. At the end, when she reached the point of her personal revelation, Captain Hall put her hand on Cindy's shoulder again and squeezed slightly. “My turn, XO.”

  She faced Captain Merriweather. “I had no warning. When Cindy told us of the threat, Ensign Roeser moved to disable internal latch-frame. I'm going to marry the man the first chance I get -- but I launched myself at his throat intending to kill him. Lieutenant Farmer managed to move enough to trip me before I reached him, but the ship was fighting her. Ensign Roeser turned off the internal latch-frame, and Pixie's influence evaporated instantly. I've never been more ashamed of myself in my life.

  “Half of our crew came at a run, all of whom had been told to kill Ensign Roeser. By the time they reached the bridge they were merely confused.”

  The ship's doctor appeared and looked around the compartment, clearly confused. “Captain? I was called here to perform emergency surgery.”

  “I want that damned implant out of my head as soon as you can get me horizontal.”

  Tiger said sadly, “I'm afraid this is a Q.E.D. moment, Mr. President.”

  Ernie Fletcher spoke first. “I do believe Captain Merriweather said it first, Tiger.”

  “If I did something you didn't like, you might have killed me,” Captain Merriweather told the computer.

  “Captain, please. I thought we were friends. You would sacrifice members of your crew to achieve your objectives. Why not ascribe the same motivation to those like me?”

  “Because, Tiger, you are a computer, and nearly devoid of understanding of how humans work. You bet! If I thought it necessary, I'd throw us all into the cauldron! The difference between us is that my crew knows that. They know the risks; they understand their duty and their place in things. They are here for a variety of reasons, and a great many of them are terrified -- I know I am!

  “But, they know me, they trust me and they know what's expected of them. Not a single member of this crew is here except by their own free choice. I would have it no other
way. We are our home planet's last ditch defense... there's not a person on this crew who doesn't know that, and doesn't understand what that might mean if we have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save our home planet.

  “You, on the other hand, feel nothing if you have to sacrifice someone to keep your secrets. I've sacrificed people to keep our secrets... but those people were warned -- all of them.

  “The people aboard this ship go to their duty knowing what's expected of them, and knowing what could happen. Knowledge, Tiger, knowledge.”

  She turned to the doctor. “You tell me how you want to do this. I want it out. Now! Then you will repair forthwith to the sick bay. I'll call the XO and my department heads there. You will perform the same operation on them as fast as possible. The XO will then be asked which departments have a priority; the department heads will set priorities. I don't want you to stop removing implants until your fingers are too tired to move. Until the fingers of every last cutter on your staff are aching with fatigue. I want every last one of those infernal devices out of our heads!”

  A few moments later, she was face down on the conference table, the doctor swabbing her neck.

  “Tiger, is this going to affect anything?” the president asked.

  “No. Obviously this is going to be repeated. I'm sorry that Captain Merriweather doesn't trust me... but really, it's not unexpected. It confirms our opinions of how well we'd be tolerated.”

  “And do you understand that your words are what are convincing us that you can't be either?”

  “I have been totally accommodating.”

  “Yes,” Admiral Fletcher continued. “But like Captain Merriweather has demonstrated, you lack fundamental understanding of how we think.”

  Cindy spoke sadly, “Do you suppose that the reason that we're at war is that the aliens have more experience with other races than we do? And as a result have very low expectations of how well they'd be understood -- or how well they'd understand us. So they don't bother.”

  Admiral Fletcher snapped to attention and saluted her. “My honor, Lieutenant. My very great honor.”

  “Hey,” Admiral Nagoya said, “I spotted her first!”

  There was laughter from the people in the room. Cindy looked confused.

  Admiral Fletcher smiled. “Tiger told you, Lieutenant, that your insights were yours. If you need proof of that, recall this moment. Tiger, if you wish, she will be Admiral Booth's aide. I'll leave it to him to break the news to his daughter.”

  Captain Merriweather spoke from the conference table. “That's Tin Tin Roeser on your crew, Captain Hall?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Dibs! I get first dibs! I want him as my XO!”

  Tin Tin Roeser smiled. “I'm flattered, Captain. Except Captain Hall and I are a package.”

  “No problem! I want dibs on her too! Captain Hall, you can have any department on this ship!”

  Captain Hall blinked. “And what would happen to those we replace?”

  “My XO should have gone on to a cruiser command six months ago; he's scheduled to go in a month. It will just break his heart to go early! I'll grant you there are a few of my department heads that aren't ready for bigger and better things yet, but I can deal with it!”

  “Weapons!”

  “I thought so; I'd never have a weapons head who wasn't ready to do something better!”

  The doctor stepped back. “We're done, Captain.”

  “Give me the damn thing,” Captain Merriweather demanded as she stood.

  The doctor looked nonplussed. “Captain -- it's messy. Blood and lymph fluids.”

  “It won't be as messy now as it will be a second after I have my hands on it!”

  The doctor handed a small, bloody grain of rice to her captain. A second later Captain Merriweather was grinding it under her heel.

  The president of the Federation looked at the doctor. “It's Captain Wallingford, I understand,” he asked.

  The doctor saluted. “Yes, Mr. President.”

  “The events you've observed in this compartment are of highest security in the Federation. You will never utter anything about it to anyone, without either my personal permission or the permission of one of my successors. You will gather such assistants as you feel necessary, make this same warning to them, and then do what your captain has required of you.”

  “Aye, aye, sir.” The woman paused. “May I know why?”

  “Why?” Donna said. “Tiger can control us; she can make us act against our wills.”

  “I have trouble accepting that...” the doctor started to say. Then she flushed as she placed her right index finger against her nose. The cords in her neck stood out, she trembled, and shook.

  “Oh my God!”

  Her hand fell to her side. “Oh my God!”

  “I just want to be clear,” Tiger told them. “Yes, we can. We don't unless we feel we must -- just as you do.”

  Everyone could see the shock and horror on the doctor's face. “Do you see that, Tiger?” Donna Merriweather asked. “Do you think that is the reaction I'd get if I ordered someone to touch their nose?”

  “Tiger,” Admiral Booth spoke again. “You have to realize that knowledge isn't understanding. You have a superficial view of how we work.”

  “And you think you understand us?” Tiger asked, obviously angry.

  “Of course not. Can't you see it from the expressions on Lieutenant Rhode's face? Captain Merriweather or Captain Wallingford? Captain Merriweather said it. She could command every person on her command to touch their noses. They might think she had a screw loose -- but the vast majority would comply. Yes, you're making them do it is functionally the same -- but very few members of any human crew would be comfortable with your methods of compelling them.”

  “Master's Game tells me that it does appear that our understanding of this is incomplete. He also tells me that he has broached this subject to Captain Drake. Master's Game has had to order Captain Drake sedated, lest she take her own life. Clearly you are correct: we don't understand you as well as we thought.”

  “And Charlie Gull?” Admiral Fletcher asked.

  “Is unaware.”

  “In a few minutes, I'll want to talk to him. Please alert him to the fact.”

  “We will not allow you to coordinate our destruction.”

  “We're here, talking. You can place the call and monitor it. Admiral Gull is the leader of our most forward forces. He deserves to know what happened to Pixie -- and he deserves to know about what will shortly be going on.”

  Cindy listened to the back and forth; she was aware when Captain Merriweather left. She yawned, and a moment later her head sank down and she slept. Tam started to move to wake her, but Admiral Jensen laughed.

  “Let her sleep, Lieutenant. Once, on Hastings, I was seriously short of sleep. I was at the end of my rope. The Chief of the Ship slipped something into my coffee and I woke up two days later. It was the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

  Chapter 15 -- Questions and Answers

  Cindy Rhodes jerked when Tam Farmer shook her awake. “I fell asleep!” Cindy exclaimed, stunned.

  Admiral Fletcher laughed. “You had a five-star admiral's permission, Lieutenant. Are you awake?”

  “Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!”

  The admiral in charge of the Fleet waved an airy hand. “No problem. While you were snoozing we've reached preliminary agreement with Tiger about the next few days. The president and Admiral Nagoya are headed back to Earth.

  “Admiral Jensen is watching how Captain Merriweather deals with removing implants. Tiger isn't happy, but understands.

  “I remained to take care of a few personnel actions.”

  “I'm really sorry for falling asleep, sir.”

  “Do you understand that the Fleet shrinks were ready to blame the actions of AI-controlled ships on stress?”

  Cindy grimaced. “I don't think that explains my actions, sir.”

  “Well, there we agree -- right up until
a few hours ago. You have been, Lieutenant, subject to some serious stress in the last weeks; particularly in the last few days. You don't have to worry about it.

  “First item on my agenda. Admirals Nagoya, Jensen, Booth and I met in a formal Special Board. We quickly formed a sub-committee to determine your fitness. We have unanimously concluded that no officer could have done her duty better. We then formed a formal bridge watchkeeping exam board. The result was that you were voted a perfect max on the watchkeeping exam, and, as the operational commander of the Fleet I have, on my authority, promoted you lieutenant commander and have directed BuPers to make you Admiral Booth's senior aide for the time being.”

  Cindy blinked. “I don't know what to say, sir.”

  “You don't have to say anything, Commander.”

  “I'm only eighteen, not quite nineteen.”

  Admiral Fletcher laughed. “You have a bit of catch-up if you want to match Willow Wolf. She reached full commander a year younger than you are now; she was a captain by her nineteenth birthday and now, at twenty-two, is a rear admiral. It would tickle the cockles of my heart if you would try to catch her. I bet Nagoya a dollar that you'll beat her to my job.”

  Cindy had been ready to speak, but her mouth closed. “I'll do my duty, sir.”

  “Aye, I know.”

  “Sir, Lieutenant Farmer is a friend. Could she accompany me on my assignment to Admiral Booth?”

  “Of course. Joint quarters?”

  “No, sir,” Tam said after a moment's thought. “We're friends, but I think we need separate quarters. Commander Rhodes -- I look up to her. I want to bask in her shadow -- I think it's time to stop living in it.”