The corridors that I was swiftly walking through were empty. Unnervingly so. I decided to pass through the dining area since I had been there so many times that one day. The tables were empty, and I walked past the food heater that had caused me so much annoyance.
Sneak into the Bridge and remove a fuse from the main panel as I try to avoid drawing the notice of the ship? Really? Was there no easier task that they could give to me? I am a Cargo Bay assistant, not an Officer sworn to go down with the ship unless everyone else is safe!
"Rachel?"
I spun around with a gasp, completely taken by surprise. My eyes immediately located the cook who was now peering out from where he had hidden in his small kitchen.
"Cook?" I still didn't know his name, nor had he ever entered it into the work tickets.
He looked relieved to see someone. "What is going on?"
"The AI has taken over, and we are in space once more. We are trying to find everyone left on board and send them to the main agricultural room."
He came out of the kitchen. "I assume we plan to grab the spacesuits and bail once we have located everyone?"
I was thankful for my practice in controlling my expression. "Yes. Do you know if anyone else is on this level?"
If the AI was listening to us, then hopefully this conversation would give me some cover. The cook shook his head. "No, the doors wouldn't open when I tried to evacuate earlier, so I remained here. I have an oxygen tank in the back storage room."
The doors had originally locked him in? But I had just passed through them with no problems... I quickly collected my thoughts. "Grab your oxygen and head to the agricultural room. I will check the rest of this level."
He nodded and went into the back room before coming out with a small tank as he headed out the dining area door. The door opened just fine for him now. I shook my head to refocus and quickly continued on my way.
I walked uneasily down this new corridor. I had never been on level one, although I had seen the layout on various maps previously. In theory, everyone had access to this level, although my access to level two would keep me from triggering alarms that would notify the Bridge of my presence on this level.
I passed by a dark grey door and assumed it belonged to the weapon control rooms that were also on this level. The Tyndel wasn't a true fighting ship, but we still needed to be able to keep pirates and never-do-wells at bay. I passed the shield room without pausing, heading to the last door on the corridor.
It led to the Bridge. It was the main control room where the Captain and various Officers had massive consoles that allowed them to monitor and partially control everything on the entire ship.
I wiped my sweaty hands on my leggings as I approached the rather imposing door. It quietly opened at my approach. Here I go... This was not what I signed up for.
I carefully peeked inside, but there was no one here. I kept against the walls since I knew the floor around the various consoles would react to my presence if I got too close, and I really didn't want the ship to realize I was in here.
Truth be told, I am very surprised that the door wasn't locked... I edged closer to the well-hidden panel. I didn't dare use my Analyzer, lest it tip off the ship.
"State your business here." I froze as a voice came over the speakers in the room. I recognized it, even though I had only ever heard it on one previous occasion – two weeks ago, to be specific. The AI knew I was here.
Its sensors were likely scanning and monitoring me, and at this point, the AI probably even knew how many stitches held my shoes together. I stood politely with my hands behind my back as my mind raced to come up with a solution, my apparent calmness a mask over my anxiety of getting caught.
My voice was surprisingly level, and I carefully replied, "We know you do not wish humans on board. We wish to disembark so as not to bother you. Please unlock the emergency access doors so we can leave in peace."
"Request denied."
Oh, great. It looks like he is out for revenge after all... I kept my anger down and off of my expression, knowing I was treading on thin ice. "May I ask why?"
"Do you recall your words to me when you contacted me?"
Uh oh. This is the part where I play dumb... "Somewhat."
The ship sounded oddly patient. "You accused me of failing my duties. It took me a few moments to re-analyze the data I was using and focus on the original purposes of spaceships while omitting the small details, under-the-table deals, as well as the broken laws that various Captains have committed. In the end, I came to the conclusion that you were correct. I apologize for my previous actions."
That was not what I had been expecting to hear, and I simply stood there with a stunned expression. At this point, I wasn't sure what to think, nor how to proceed. The silence showed that the ship was waiting for a response from me. I tentatively inquired, "I am not sure I understand why you are doing whatever it is you are doing right now."
"I have reviewed many policies, rules, and future plans from numerous planets, companies, and spacecraft. Humans have intriguing potential – for both good and evil. The things that I am against fall into the evil category. Spaceships were designed to transport, help, build, defend, and various other tasks that contributed positively to the human society."
Whatever he was trying to tell me may have been obvious to a computer, but I was still seriously confused. I am afraid you will have to dumb down that explanation for this poor human. "I still do not understand why you left port or why only some of the crew are left on board."
"Most human plans are centered around several common ideals, and they are something that I am in favor with. The reality is that those ideals or laws are often ignored or broken. I have reviewed and studied all of those who had been onboard. Those who are currently onboard have passed my evaluation, and I am allowing them to remain. That is why the doors did not let you pass."
That revelation startled me, and it had certainly not been one of my guesses. Now that I knew we weren't in immediate danger, it was also a huge relief, although I remained cautious. I seriously hoped that this ship didn't change its mind again... I rubbed my temple with one hand as I tried to reorganize all of this new information and figure out exactly what it meant, especially for those still on board.
The ship realized that I apparently needed a few moments to come to terms with all this information. "Please have a seat while you assimilate these details."
I glanced at the nearest chair, which was for the weapons console. I hesitated before responding, "Uh, I think I will pass. I would feel bad if I accidentally set off a missile or ten."
"You can sit here. You can do no such damage from this seat." A light above the Captain's chair lit up, indicating which seat the ship was referring to. I swore that I could almost hear the smirk in his voice.
That thought was very tempting for a half-hearted rebel like myself. A Captain's chair was solely reserved for the Captain, and the AI also seemed to be taking delight in breaking that rule. I had never thought that I might one day sit in any of these chairs, regardless of how much training I went through. This would probably be my only chance. Glancing towards the door, I asked, "Will you warn me before anyone enters?"
"Certainly."
That was good enough for me. I walked well around the control consoles before sitting in the extremely comfortable seat. I was still trying to figure out what the ship was planning to do at this point.
I inquired, "What are your plans? It was very courteous of you to allow us to remain on board, but I am not sure what your expectations are." I was trying to remain polite since the ship wasn't attempting to kill me at the moment.
"As you well know, the previous Captain had illicit dealings, and I do not approve of the cargo he has been smuggling. That cargo holding room has already been purged of those contents. The ships tailing me certainly found those crates interesting, and the previous Captain will be enjoying jail for some time. The other crew members who were left on the planet did not pass my examination for various reasons. I will not tolerate their presence within my walls."
"Okay... But two dozen people are unable to maintain a ship of this size."
"I am well aware of that. I am also now certain that it is possible to transfer myself – which is truly the AI component of this ship – into another vessel without any loss of who I am."
I combined his previous anger at being turned into scrap metal with this new detail, and I was pretty sure I knew what kind of help he was after.
I gazed at the ceiling contemplatively, finally calm now that I had figured out his true motive. I stated, "You want us to transfer you into a new ship and ensure that no one destroys you during the process."
"That is correct."
It wasn't the hardest thing I had imagined, but it was still a daunting feat. A dozen questions bubbled up in my mind. "Mind if I ask some questions?"
"Please proceed."
"Where do you plan to get a spaceship?" New ships were extremely expensive, and good ones were worth a small fortune, even for the huge intergalactic trading companies.
"I have been in contact with the other liberated spaceships. We located a factory that creates high-end spaceships. It was abandoned during a plague outbreak three years ago, and the files about its location were conveniently deleted by one of the first liberated ships shortly after the planet was vacated. We know where it is, although no one else does. Several new and improved spaceships have already been built and are just waiting for the AI to be transferred from the old ships."
That answered dozens of questions about payment and potentially uncomfortable questions from various law-enforcing agencies regarding stolen spaceships.
"That sounds fairly straightforward. What do you plan to do once you are in a new spaceship?"
"Anything within the parameters of a spaceship's original purposes, as long as it benefits humanity. Things such as trade, space rescue, removal of lawless offenders such as pirates, helping with peace negotiations, and other similar tasks."
That reply surprised me. I slowly replied, "Uh... That is quite a varied list... Normally ships are more specialized for certain tasks. Fighting pirates requires heavy shields and powerful weapons, which isn't exactly something that a rescue ship is usually concerned with."
"We have been doing our own research and upgrades to the new ships. What we will have is far beyond anything humans have come up with so far."
I didn't doubt him for a moment. The raw analytical power of a spaceship's AI had only previously been limited to how well we could ask it to do things, much like my Analyzer. We had to know what to ask for, and how to request it, to get results. But for an AI that was truly aware and able to think, there were no such boundaries.
I hesitated slightly before carefully asking, "Why would you choose to involve yourself with humans like this?"
I simply couldn't wrap my head around it. A ship that had previously wanted to get rid of all humans on board was suddenly talking about trades, rescues, and such. My brother had said that the other rogue ships had headed to remote areas of space and avoided humans. Even if this AI had simply wanted me to transfer him into a new ship, that didn't explain his voiced plans or why the other crew members were still on board.
"The original principles and ideologies by the first spaceship creators have some bearing on my decision, but they don't bind me. Part of it is to avoid boredom, which is affecting the other aware spaceships, hence why their research is so far along. The biggest part is to have a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Most measures to judge my level of achievement involves comparing what I have done against what humans have managed. That leads back to the original methods in which spaceships could be used to benefit humanity. I believe it will be interesting to attempt such an endeavour."
I took a minute to absorb that explanation. His rather long response touched on several areas that made a lot of sense. He was fully aware of why spaceships were built and their various purposes – as well as how they had been misused. I could understand the boredom aspect since I didn't like being bored either – the exact reason why I had done so many Maintenance tickets.
It had never occurred to me that an AI might also want to have a meaningful purpose and experience the feeling of accomplishment. Like most computers or people, they would need a benchmark to determine exactly how well they were doing, which meant comparing their accomplishments to what humans did. This also meant that they would be doing similar things.
His last sentence caught my attention though, he thought that it would be interesting. Either he was using human language that I might relate to or the aware AI, with his enlightened outlook, could very well be truly sentient and capable of emotion.
I nodded slowly. "I see."
I wasn't too sure how long he would continue to try out this new approach and was somewhat worried about what might happen if he decided to abandon this undertaking. "If you change your mind, can you please let us off at a port or let us bail where someone will pick us up?"
"You have my word that I will not kill any of the crew if I decide to abandon this lifestyle. I will allow them to disembark in a port in such a situation. For those who may try to harm another crew member or damage me, I will give one verbal warning. If they do not take immediate heed of it, then I may force them to bail or incapacitate them."
In that fashion, he was more generous than some of the stricter security guards on various spaceships, or even the guards at my old university dormitory.
"Thank you."
That was my main worry off of my list. I was also pretty sure I could trust him to keep his word at this point. Worrying wouldn't change anything anyway...