by CJ Williams
“Okay. I get what you’re saying and I agree. But I can’t do anything about it right now. Go back to bed, and we’ll sort it out at breakfast.”
*.*.*.*
Kyoko was all cheerful at breakfast. “Nevermind. Hannah said she already has it figured out. She’s going to move Nineteen’s brain into the Alyssa.”
“What?” Gus was not pleased with the idea. He glared at Hannah. “What makes you think I’ll approve that? No one is going to touch one single component of Nineteen without my say so.”
Hannah shrugged and replied off-handedly. “Zu spat.” Too late.
“What’s that mean?” Gus demanded.
Kyoko cast a worried look at her colleague. “Hannah, please don’t tell me you already did something.” Kyoko grilled her in German, but Hannah just munched on her biscuit.
Gus jumped up and glared at Hannah. “I’m going over there. If you’ve been inside that lifeboat, I’m going to wring your fat, ungrateful neck.” He grabbed his overcoat and headed for the door.
Hannah looked at Kyoko indignantly. “Did he call me fat?”
“No,” Kyoko lied. “But he’s going to do a lot worse if you’ve done something to Nineteen.” She put on her jacket and rushed after Gus.
*.*.*.*
Gus had a bad feeling as he approached the lifeboat. Hannah caught up with him just past the spa, talking rapidly in German. He couldn’t tell if it was an explanation or excuses, but either way, it was a bad sign. He ordered Kyoko to translate, but she bit her lip.
He reached the lifeboat and hurried inside. It looked like someone had set off a bomb. All the panels under the front console had been removed, and a dozen of the avionics modules lay spread out on the floor, connected by a tangle of cables.
“Are you kidding me?” he shouted, turning on Hannah. She put both hands around her throat defensively.
“Lasst mich erklären!” she said loudly. Let me explain!
“Grandfather, please!” Kyoko urged. “Listen to her.”
“Start talking,” Gus growled savagely.
Kyoko translated Hannah’s comments verbatim. “I’m an electronics design engineer. I know what I’m doing. I discussed every single step with Nineteen before I did anything. These are the components that we need. They include his brain, memory, storage, and all the units for subspace communication.”
“I know what they are,” Gus said. “What did you think you’re going to do with them? None of this is compatible with Alyssa.”
“I can fix that. Alyssa can provide power and rack space. The only thing I’m not moving is the antenna because Alyssa already has several and thinks they will work. If you want, we can move the antenna, but I wouldn’t suggest it because it’s integrated into the hull.”
Gus glowered at Hannah and then turned his attention to the mess of electronics strewn across the front of the lifeboat. His eyes darted back and forth from one unit to another. His anger grew with each passing second at the careless disregard on display.
After a minute Hannah pushed Gus aside to move toward the front console.
“Ich zeig’s dir,” she said. I’ll show you.
Gus lost his temper completely. “Stop it!” he shouted. He grabbed her by the front of her jacket, lifting her completely off the floor.
“Grandfather!” Kyoko shrieked.
Gus pinned Hannah against the bulkhead. “Do I have your attention yet?” he growled in her face. When she didn’t answer, he gave her a shake. “Well?”
“Ja,” Hannah said, her face exhibiting her shock from the violent treatment.
“Now you listen to me very carefully,” Gus said savagely, his voice quivering with anger. “You’re going to get us killed because you think you know everything. You act on your own without consultation, and you don’t consider the consequences of what might happen if you’re wrong.” He glanced at the mess. “I don’t see the power filter. Were you just going to forget that part?”
“Alyssa can provide power,” Kyoko translated.
“And what if the alien spaceship gets it wrong?” Gus growled in a deep voice. “Each one of these modules has a different power requirement, and the tolerance is less than a microwatt. If Alyssa is off only a fraction that means you fried my link back home and then you’re dead. And to be perfectly clear, I’m not speaking figuratively.” He shoved her out the back door, ignoring her cries of pain when she tripped on the rocky shore and fell.
Kyoko jumped out to check on her friend.
Gus plopped down on the side bench and put his head in his hands. He was going to have a stroke if he didn’t control his temper. And losing it wasn’t doing Hannah any good either. But Christ, why did she have to be so difficult? Why couldn’t she just think for once in her life before she pulled some boneheaded stunt?
He looked again at the components spread across the floor. “Nineteen, are you even working?”
“I am functional,” the lifeboat replied.
“I notice you didn’t say you’re fully functional. Looks like she scavenged a lot of cable.”
“That is correct. Miss Schubert used components from navigation, propulsion, life support, and other systems that are now effectively non-essential.”
“You have that much compatibility in your wiring?” Gus asked.
“That is correct. As a matter of cost control, many of my cable bundles are interchangeable.”
“Why did you leave out the power supply?”
“As Miss Schubert explained, the Acevedo vessel can provide that requirement.”
“Any reason to not use your power supply?”
“The power filter is located in the underfloor bay at the very front of the console.”
“So you’re telling me she decided it was easier to just leave it here and take a chance on alien technology that may or may not be able to provide the necessary power.”
Nineteen was silent for a moment and then said, “I can see now that I was at fault for not being more thorough in my specifications. How do you wish to proceed?”
“If we can get to the power filter, do you have the cables to move it? I notice the signal amplifier is missing too. Same reason?”
“That is correct. Miss Schubert believes the other vessel can provide the necessary signal management. As to your inquiry, yes, there are additional cable bundles to handle both the power filter and the amplifier.”
“All right,” Gus said finally cooling down. “It looks like Hannah knows what she’s doing as far as that goes, but obviously, she needs some oversight. I’m going to have her continue, but under no circumstance are you to allow her to endanger your subspace communication. Do you understand that?”
“Affirmative.”
“And I want to see the power filter and the amplifier out here and working before we make a final move. Anything else I should know? Don’t you have a backup antenna unit that’s not integrated into the hull?”
“Affirmative.”
“Add that to the list.”
“Acknowledged.”
“And from here on,” Gus said, “I want you to give Alyssa a daily update on the progress. Are you filming any of this?”
“Negative.”
“Start. This is documentary stuff that would be useful to your parent company back home. We’re breaking a lot of new ground here.”
“Acknowledged.”
*.*.*.*
That evening at the dinner table everyone was quiet. Kyoko glared at Hannah several times during the meal. She didn’t comment on the new bruises on Hannah’s face. Finally, Kyoko said, “Go on.”
With her eyes firmly fixed on her plate, Hannah, in perfect English, quietly said, “I apologize.”
Gus leaned back in his chair. “Listen to me, kid,” he said. “Don’t think I’m not still angry. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve outlived your usefulness. But I’m going to give you one last chance. Continue preparations for moving the parts over. I told Nineteen to include the power filter, the amplifier, and I also want
the backup antenna module. Go over there tomorrow and come back with a plan. From now on, every evening I want you to brief me about your progress. Understand?”
“Was auch immer,” Hannah replied in a bored voice. Whatever.
Gus banged on the table with both fists. “That’s it! I’m sick and tired of your attitude. Get out of here! Get off this boat!” Gus jumped to his feet, and as Hannah fled the cabin, he threw his plate at her retreating figure. He glared at Kyoko. “If she wants to live on this ship she can speak English! You make sure she understands that. She smarts off to me once more, I’m leaving her behind. I’m not kidding.”
“I understand,” Kyoko said sincerely. She changed the subject, trying to calm him down. “How do you know so much about these things?”
“Because I’m a shipwright!” he barked. “Like I’ve said a hundred times. And I’ve been around a lot longer than you kids. Please try to keep that in mind.”
*.*.*.*
On the Studio 37 sound stage, Russell gave Katelynn an incredulous look. The video backdrop had a still image of Grandfather’s dinner plate flying toward Hannah’s backside. “So does Hannah speak English or not?” he asked.
The Grandfather Watch counter now numbered 393 days.
“Of course. When she wants to, she speaks perfect English.”
Russell shook his head. “Then why is she so stubborn about this? Her life would be a lot easier if she would just talk to the old guy.”
Katelynn threw up her hands. “Believe me, I know. She has an attitude with authority figures, but it’s not all her fault. You know she was arrested here in New York, right?”
“Vaguely. Didn’t she try to smuggle something?”
“That’s exactly my point,” Katelynn said. “The answer is no, she wasn’t trying to smuggle anything. But the papers made a big deal about a politician’s granddaughter being in trouble. The fact is she was bringing in flour, German flour. Did you know that Germany has nine different kinds of flour? She was taking pastry flour, called Type 405, to a friend’s house to cook for the holidays. But the customs agent only saw a bag of white powder and locked her up.”
“Why didn’t she explain,” Cassie asked.
“She tried!” Katelynn said. “She’s been to America three times, and she’s gotten arrested on every single trip. The last time it was because a cop misidentified her as someone on a wanted list. You called her snakebit, remember? You were right. She is the unluckiest young woman I’ve ever known. The very first time I met her, she was at death’s door and covered in blood; but that’s another story. My point is, that last time she got fed up. She left the country, and now she has a chip on her shoulder about Americans. I can’t really blame her.”
“Well, that explains a lot,” Cassie said.
“She’s a good kid,” Katelynn insisted. “Her father wasn’t interested in going into government service, and he started an electronics manufacturing company. Hannah’s plan was always to work for the family company once she finished her education.”
“That explains her technical proficiency,” Cassie said. “You think that’s how she knew how to move Nineteen over to Alyssa?”
“No doubt about it,” Katelynn replied. “It sounds like Grandfather has a lot of experience in that regard, as well. He’s said many times that he is a shipwright, but I can’t tell what his specialty is. Clearly, his eyesight is not what it used to be.”
Russell examined the backdrop. The scene changed to another still shot of Gus and Hannah arguing with each other. “I understand what you’re saying, but still, she’s not being too bright about this. She needs to get along. He’s going to kill her or leave her behind, and I can’t say I blame him.”
Katelynn shook her head. “She apologized in perfect English without a trace of an accent. Grandfather made it pretty clear he’s fed up, and I have the feeling her rebellious phase is over. I hope so, anyway. If she would just think about it, she should be glad that he trusts her to continue.
9 – Crew Coordination
“There is something about going to sea. A little bit of discipline, self-discipline and humility are required.”
(Prince Andrew, Duke of York)
Gus watched Hannah closely as she made the last connection. “It’s ready,” she said with a touch of asperity.
“Alyssa, continuity check,” Gus said.
“All circuits good,” the ship replied.
Gus nodded grimly at Hannah. “All right. You may apply power to the lifeboat attitude stabilization computer.”
The stabilization module had nothing to do with subspace communication or Nineteen’s AI capability. For Gus, it was an expendable item to check out before applying power to the more critical systems.
“Power on,” Alyssa confirmed.
Gus nodded at Hannah. “Check it out.”
She brought up the menu screen on the panel and initiated a sequence of diagnostic checks. When finished, everything showed the module was fully operational with no faults.
“Do it again,” Gus told her. Halfway through the second test, the panel went dark. “Power off!” Gus said quickly. An acrid smell came from the module’s back plate. “Alyssa, perform a self-diagnostic.”
“I am fine,” Alyssa said a moment later. “There was no feedback into my system. However, I believe I have identified the error. There was a problem with the integration protocol. I have made an adjustment on my side, but you will also need to modify the wiring. I am displaying the necessary changes on the screen to your right.”
Gus let out a long breath and glared at Hannah, who was visibly shaken by the failure. “Overconfidence is a terminal disease,” he said. “Cross-check Alyssa’s solution and see if you agree. If you do, come find me and explain why. Once I understand, I’ll want you to make the modification and then double-check the integrity of the wiring. After that, you can set up the flight control damper module. Let’s hope it doesn’t end up like this one did.”
Forty-eight hours later Hannah pushed the Power button on the new module. A dozen LEDs glowed on the front panel and the menu screen illuminated. One by one, she initiated the internal diagnostics.
“All systems check good,” she said. “I saw a slight waver in throughput but it did the same thing when it was in the lifeboat.”
“Repeat the tests,” Gus ordered.
*.*.*.*
Hannah performed eight more days of the painstaking installation and running diagnostic checks and re-checks on the system changes. Gus drilled a hole into the overhead and Hannah ran a cable up to the main deck where they mounted the subspace antenna along the underside of the ship’s portside railing. Gus caulked the hole above and below with the metal paste.
When everything had been checked a dozen times, Gus finally gave Hannah permission to initiate power to the lifeboat’s brain.
“Are you there, Nineteen?” Gus asked after an acceptable boot time.
“Standby,” the AI replied.
“Well,” Gus said, looking at Hannah. “So far so good.”
A few minutes later Nineteen announced, “All components are fully functional. Diagnostics on my memory units and permanent storage test good. I am detecting sixteen subspace stations at this time, and that matches my most recent observations. It appears that the equipment transfer from the lifeboat to this new facility was successful.”
“Thank God,” Gus said with a big sigh. He grabbed Hannah in a headlock and gently knuckled the top of her head. “Good job, kid. You did it.”
She freed herself from his grasp and smiled reluctantly. She was still embarrassed from burning up the flight control damper module and one of Nineteen’s other modules they had used for testing.
“Where’s the handiphone?” Gus said. “I want to tell my wife we’re back up. I guess we should have recorded what we were doing.”
“If I may,” Alyssa’s voice said.
“What is it?” Gus replied.
“I did record the process. I have fifty cameras installed
throughout my various compartments. Nineteen previously informed me that it has authorized unlimited transmissions about your day-to-day life on this planet. I have been documenting your activities accordingly and relaying them to Nineteen for transmission.”
“Is that true, Nineteen?” Gus asked.
“Affirmative,” the AI replied. “Additionally, Alyssa’s cameras exceed the handiphone’s resolution. Perhaps you would like to transition to onboard cameras exclusively. Your personal videos would then be of equal quality to the documentary ones.”
“Sounds good to me,” Gus said. “But I would like to have known that earlier. And I want to see what you’re talking about.”
Alyssa said, “If you would return to your cabin, I will provide you with several examples. I also have a number of stored videos of my previous crew.”
*.*.*.*
Gus stared at the video screen in his quarters, totally aghast. “They’re human!” he exclaimed.
“Of course,” Alyssa replied. “I thought you knew that. You speak of the Acevedos, as you call them, quite familiarly. And if nothing else, you saw their skeletons.”
“That’s true,” Gus said. “But I never imagined they would look just like us.”
“I did,” Kyoko said, surprised by Gus’s astonishment. “We wear their clothes, use their tools. I just assumed it.”
“This is going to change a lot of our history,” Gus said. “And the way humans think of their place in the universe,” he added.
“Who cares,” Hannah replied off-handedly. “I like that video quality. It’s impressive. And you are sure that your onboard cameras will duplicate that?”
“Similar,” Alyssa said. “Here is how yours would look.” A video of the three of them appeared on the screen. It was a live shot of them sitting at the table.
“What has the handiphone been sending back?” Gus asked. “Can you show that in comparison?”
The video changed once again to a comparable shot they had taken a few days before.
“I can see the difference,” Kyoko said. “Let’s go with Alyssa’s onboard cameras.”
“Works for me,” Gus agreed.
“I also provide editing services,” Alyssa said. “Many of my former crew members used this capability extensively to share with their families. Here is a sample.”
