by Rick Lakin
“She’s just a blowhard trying to scare her way into the oval office,” Jack said.
“She has a seventy-three percent approval rating among likely voters,” Sami said.
“She hasn’t faced an opponent yet,” Navvy said. “That’s when all prospective emperors show off their new clothes.”
“It’s a difficult project,” Jennifer said. “I don’t want to go up against a United States Senator.”
“We’re all behind you,” Navvy said. “Anyway, I think we have some inside help.”
“Mia’s family?” Jennifer asked.
Navvy nodded. “As well as the current occupant of the oval. You have friends in high places.”
“And in low places,” Riley said.
They laughed, and the mood became lighter.
“Plan for a week in Hoclarth space,” Jack said. “Jennifer and Kalinda will communicate with Predex Kalea. Keep Navvy, and I informed of problems and progress.”
The group stood to leave the office. “Let me know,” Navvy said. “I’m here to help.”
“Thanks,” Jennifer said. She headed back to the Captain’s Ready Room with lots of work to do.
37
Jennifer finished up her work in the Captain’s Ready Room. Sami sat across from her. “Remember, you promised Navvy to set up communications with Predex Kalea,” Sami said.
“Right,” Jennifer said. “Can you connect me to my dad?”
Sami nodded, and a few seconds later Anthen popped up to Jennifer's left.
“Hi, Jen.” Anthen turned his head. “Sami.”
“Dad, may I come for dinner?” Jennifer said.
“Sure,” Anthen said.
“Brilliant’s got a mission coming up, and I need yours and Kalinda's help,” Jennifer said.
“Surfer Child will be on the waves until five-thirty,” Anthen said. “Guessing this has to do with Predex Kalea’s visit?”
“Good guess,” Jennifer said. “I’ll be there before five.”
She disconnected the call and glanced at the projects strewn over her desk in the Brilliant Ready Room.
Dandy jumped on Jennifer’s lap and looked at her. Kalinda knows about the mission to Xaphnore, Dandy thought.
“It’s hard to keep secrets when Kalinda and Anthen can fill in the blanks like us,” Jennifer said. “Any new messages?”
“Stephen sent some patent paperwork for your review,” Sami said. “It contains the cyberian design.”
“I’m hoping that one slides under the nose of Senator Curtwell,” Jennifer said. “She already suspects we’re building self-contained androids. Anything else?”
“Jeff Rodriquez told his mom what happened during the rescue,” Sami said. “Mia sent a thank you to the Brilliant bridge crew and said we would be very deserving of the nomination.”
“Nomination?” Jennifer asked. “She wasn’t specific, but it sounds like StarCruiser Brilliant is going to get an award.”
“Cool.”
“There will be a nice sunset on the beach,” Sami said. “Kanan Road is open after the Rocky Oaks fire. We can make it if we leave now.”
“Will you join us, Sami?” Jennifer asked.
“It’s creepy when people see a torso and a head looking at the sunset,” Sami said. “I promise I’ll watch it.”
Jennifer picked up Dandy and set him down on the floor. “You’ve got the watch, Dandy.”
Take me with you, Dandy thought. I miss your sister, and I can help.
“You’re right,” Jennifer said. She put her HoloPad in her pouch. “Let’s go.”
Jennifer and Dandy walked to the parking lot continuing their chat.
People are staring at us, Dandy thought. So rude.
They passed through the tunnels on Kanan Road and descended to the Pacific arriving at ten-to-five. Anthen’s mansion overlooked the Malibu surfing beach on the crescent from Point Dume to Point Mugu.
“Hi, Dad,” Jennifer said. “What’s for dinner?”
“Kroknal, it’s one of Kalinda’s Hoclarth favorites.”
“The one with the live beetles?”
“Oh no,” Anthen said. “She says the bugs here have a bitter taste.”
“You’re joking, right?” Jennifer asked.
“Gotcha,” Anthen said. “It's a casserole like Shepherd's Pie with sweet potatoes and salmon, but it's spicy. The ingredients are as close as I can find to Hoclarth home cooking.”
“That sounds like an interesting combination,” Jennifer said. “You did most of the cooking after Natira…”
“Even before,” Anthen said. “Natira was very focused on her military career. She was away a lot, and in Hoclarth culture, the father does the child-rearing.”
“You miss her,” Jennifer said.
He whipped the sweet potatoes even harder. “I do. Even more so when Kalinda is near.”
“I wish I could’ve met her,” Jennifer said.
Anthen turned to a cupboard, got some spices, and changed the subject. “I see you brought Dandy Lion.”
Dandy’s ears perked up.
“He wanted to come,” Jennifer said.
“Don’t tell me you’re like Kalinda?” Anthen said. “She thinks that cat can talk.”
Dandy looked at Anthen. And you don’t? Dandy thought.
Anthen snapped his head to look at Dandy. “Did he just…?”
“Ha-ha, ask him,” Jennifer said.
“Can..you…hear…me?” Anthen said.
I can hear you faster than you talk, Dandy thought.
“Amazing,” Anthen said. “Who else can hear you?”
Just four humans, Dandy thought. The rest stare rudely.
“I’ve never heard Navvy say anything to you,” Jennifer said.
He doesn’t need to, Dandy thought.
“Interesting.” Jennifer turned to Anthen. “Dad, you know why I’m here?”
“The disease on Xaphnore?” Anthen said. “Kalinda has been very evasive when I bring up Xaphnore.”
“According to the Predex,” Jennifer said. “Xaphnore is dying, and they need our help. They're facing a pandemic decimating their population.”
“Don’t we worry about a disease transmitted from animals on Earth?” Anthen asked.
“Yep,” Jennifer said. “Dr. Ami is getting a lot of data and support for this project from the CDC in Atlanta.”
“Can this disease affect us on Earth? How will you prevent cross-contamination?” Anthen asked.
“Cyberians,” Jennifer said.
“Russians?” Anthen said.
“Spelled with a C-Y,” Jennifer said. “That’s the name we came up with for the bodies that Sami, Ani, and Dr. Ami will ride on with the shuttle to Xaphnore. Riley’s fabbing a new shuttle with StarDrive, a virus lab, and an AI base processor to support the five virtuals on Xaphnore.”
“And Kalinda will help you communicate with Kalea?” Anthen asked.
“Correct. We don’t know how close we can get to Xaphnore,” Jennifer said. “Kalinda talks to him on SocNet. You know that, right?”
“I know,” Anthen said. “She keeps me informed if he says something important, but I don’t talk to Kalea.”
“Does she know about the pandemic?” Jennifer asked.
“She has discussed it with her Tal’pa,” Anthen said.
“Has she discussed it with you?”
“I know she’s worried,” Anthen said. “Jack asked you to plan the mission?”
“Yes, and JennaTech is creating the cyberian host bodies,” Jennifer said.
“You’re passionate about this?” Anthen said.
“I watched a sunset a few weeks ago. I wished Sami could stand there with me,” Jennifer said. “I wanted her to be able to see, smell, hear and feel the waves crashing on the beach as the sun dipped below the horizon.”
“The sister you never had,” Anthen said. “Do you think your avatar has feelings about this?”
“Sami is just a computer designed to think like humans,” Jennifer said
. “But she has become much more than that.”
“More than artificial intelligence?” Anthen asked.
“Sami is sentient,” Jennifer said. “Eastern philosophy defines a sentient being as one who requires respect and care.”
“Requires?” Anthen asked. “When do the virtual’s needs transcend objectivity to become subjective.”
“I feel Sami deserves respect and care,” Jennifer said. “She certainly doesn’t demand it, but my feelings require that she receive those considerations.”
“So, you’re helping Mr. Darwin with a little push to the Singularity,” Anthen said.
“I guess I’m creating a competitor for our position at the top of the food chain,” Jennifer said. “A bit presumptuous for a seventeen-year-old, even one with a high IQ.”
“The species with the highest intelligence determine the pace of evolution,” Anthen said.
“The eternal scientific conundrum,” Jennifer said. “I can do it, but should I?”
“You’ll save Xaphnore if you succeed,” Anthen said. “But you’ll make enemies on Earth.”
“Already have one, thanks,” Jennifer said. “Senator Curtwell describes the creator of a physical android as Dr. Frankenstein.”
“So, you’ll get your doctorate a year early,” Anthen said.
Jennifer looked unsure. “What if I fail this time? What if I can’t find a solution to help the Hoclarth?”
“Here’s the thing about failure,” Anthen said. “It’s not an end. The task is still before you. You still have the tools and the time. Just keep moving forward.”
“Up to now my worst failure is falling on my butt when I met David,” Jennifer said. “I'm so clumsy.”
“I saw your tennis trophies,” Anthen said. “You certainly survived clumsy.”
“But I’ve never failed at anything big,” she said. “If someone wrote a book about me, the critics would say it was a lousy book because everything came too easy for me.”
“True,” Anthen said. “But people would still read it because they know that it will have a happy ending. They know that your persistence and your leadership will achieve success in the end.”
“This is a huge project,” Jennifer said.
“And you have the crew of Brilliant, your mom and stepdad, your people at JennaTech, and me to support you.”
“Thanks, Dad.” They hugged.
Kalinda walked in right when they began their hug. “That’s my dad you’re hugging,” Kalinda said.
“Mine, too,” Jennifer said.
“Okay, then,” Kalinda said and joined the group hug.
And I’m just the furry sidekick to whom you feed nasty-ass cat food, Dandy thought.
All three humans turned their heads to Dandy. He jumped into Kalinda’s arms and joined the hug.
“I thought you liked cat food, Dandy,” Jennifer said.
If you weighed ten pounds, you would be hungry enough to eat dead birds covered with feathers, Dandy thought.
“So does salmon pie meet your fancy?” Anthen asked.
I will give it due consideration, Dandy thought. When is dinner?
“After Kalinda takes off that wetsuit and showers,” Anthen said. “You smell like seaweed, K’da.”
Kalinda returned in five minutes and helped Jennifer prepare the salad. “So, you’re creating physical bodies and a new shuttle for the mission to Xaphnore. When do we leave?”
“How do you know all that?” Jennifer asked.
“Dandy, the super spy.”
“Hold on, surfer girl,” Anthen said. “This trip could be dangerous. You’re staying on Earth and going to school.”
“No way I wave goodbye to my whole family while you go off and save my planet,” Kalinda said.
“It won’t be that dangerous,” Jennifer said. “Should be a milk run.”
“I've heard about these milk runs,” Anthen said. “Everything is relaxed until it goes sideways.”
“You’ll need me on this mission,” Kalinda said.
“You'll stay here with your grandparents, and that's final,” Anthen said.
“You sound sure,” Jennifer said. “The vision thing?”
Kalinda nodded.
“I don’t see it,” Jennifer said.
“You don’t have all the parts, yet,” Kalinda said. “Te’pa knows things that he is not telling.”
“Yes, I do,” Anthen said. “And that is why you’re staying on Earth.”
Kalinda grabbed Jennifer’s arm. “I can set you up to communicate with Tal’pa Kalea. Let’s go to my room.”
Jennifer entered Kalinda’s room to face an entire anim-wall and stood transfixed. The wall showed a montage of Bruce Lee combat scenes, Bondi Cooper surfing tricks, StarCruiser Brilliant flying at Miramar, and Kalinda performing her reverse somersault at Oceanside. To her right was a bay window overlooking the Malibu beach and to her left was Kalinda’s bed surrounded by digital creature comforts. In the center were the familiar boundaries of a steveLearn.
“Cool wall,” Jennifer said.
“Dad upgraded my room after he bought the house,” Kalinda said. “Tal’pa Navvy gave me the steveLearn as a housewarming gift.”
Jennifer looked in the closet. “How many pairs of sneakers do you have?”
“I’m up to eighty-three now,” Kalinda said. “All of the Vans and Nikes came from surf sponsors. I like retros from the early 2000s.”
“I’ve got some thigh-high Vans with auto-snug and auto-cool,” Jennifer said. “They work off public Wi-Pow.”
“Like these?” Kalinda asked. She pulled open a large drawer with three pairs in different colors.
“Nice collection,” Jennifer said. “I wear a size nine-and-a-half if you have any generous sponsors.”
Dandy Lion wandered into the room and jumped up on the bed. Things, he thought.
“Things, Dandy?” Jennifer asked.
Humans are overly obsessed with things, Dandy thought. I’m perfectly content with my nine.
“Lives?” Kalinda asked.
No. My humans, Dandy thought. Nine Lives is just a silly name for food.
“I’ll ask my sponsors if they’ll hook you up,” Kalinda said.
“This means you talked your dad into letting you compete?”
“Yeah,” Kalinda said. “He agreed to four events plus worlds if I qualify.”
“Who’s your sponsor?” Jennifer asked.
“Tovar Studios,” Kalinda said. “Tal’pa asked me to mention the latest picture when I do interviews. And I display a Brilliant logo on my wetsuit.”
“Always the promoter,” Jennifer said. “Let’s contact your Hoclarth Tal’pa?”
“Sure,” Kalinda said. The two walked over to the steveLearn circle. “Bralen, join us.”
A twelve-year-old male Hoclarth appeared, presenting with his hands open and knee bent. Wearing a traditional skin-tight Hoclarth combat suit, Jennifer could see from his six-pack abs that he was as physically imposing as her sister.
“Nice avatar,” Jennifer said.
“He’s a friend,” Kalinda said. “We served Tal'qid together until he took up weapons.”
“Could you beat him?”
“Ha-ha. Of course,” Kalinda said. “Why do you think he took up weapons?”
“Did you have a crush on him?” Jennifer asked.
“Eww, no,” Kalinda said, “but we agreed on a compact to mate because we were friends. That was the plan until…”
“You came to Earth?”
“Yes. I miss Bralen.”
“Wait,” Jennifer said. “I'm confused. You're friends, and you want to mate, but you didn't love him.”
“Correct,” Kalinda said. “In our culture, mating is like a business proposition. Love only complicates things. Males and females compete in many ways, and so we avoid emotional attachments. A Hoclarth home may house several pairs including mates and those who love each other.”
“Your father didn’t love your mother?”
�
��Oh, yes, he did,” Kalinda said. “They loved each other very much. With three of us in our home, it was challenging at times, and very mixed up. They were both Predexes in the Hoclarth Alliance. They were avid competitors, but they were in love. It caused great problems at home and in the Alliance.”
“You’re crushing on Jeff, though,” Jennifer said.
“No way,” Kalinda said. “We’re just friends.”
Your words deny your feelings, Dandy thought.
“Can't we humans have any secrets?” Kalinda said.
“Let’s contact your tal’pa,” Jennifer said.
“Bralen,” Kalinda said. “Is Tal’pa in a waking cycle?”
“Yes, K’da,” Bralen said. “He’s on patrol in the Lanrok sector.”
“Ask if he will communicate with me.”
The room converted to the ready room of the Hoclarth Battle Cruiser, Camdex. Around them were artifacts of battles fought by the bearded Predex who sat alone on the floor in the middle of the room. A large display showed alien space and a patrol ship flying in formation. One wall contained martial arts weapons foreign to Earth.
“Hello, K’da,” They hugged. “I enjoy this hugging thing you have found on Earth. It’s good to see you as well, daughter of Kalim.”
“Nice to see you, Predex,” Jennifer said. “My captain asked me to set up communications with you.”
“You’re going to help our planet?” Kalea asked.
“We’re collecting data from our Center for Disease Control, designing a shuttle with a laboratory, and preparing our personnel. We hope to land on Xaphnore near your disease center, conduct the research, and develop a vaccine. Our doctors will then begin the distribution of the cure.”
“Will it be safe for your human doctors?” Kalea asked.
“No humans will be aboard the shuttle,” Jennifer said. “We’ve developed a solution to allow our cyberians to go anywhere on your planet where they’re needed.”
“Cyberians?” Kalea asked. “Robots?”
“Yes, Predex,” Jennifer said.
“You choose to pursue this technology?” Kalea said. “It is forbidden in the Hoclarth Alliance.”
“There are those who oppose it on Earth, Predex,” Jennifer said.
“Kalim’s oldest daughter is as gifted as his youngest,” Kalea said. “Your mother has done as good a job raising you as Kalim has raised my granddaughter. I hope there comes a day when we can all meet in person, Jennifer.”
