Destiny's Choice (The Wandering Engineer) (31 page)

He
flicked his thumb, zooming out then moving over to large infrared signatures in
the ocean. He zoomed in. The image pixelated then smoothed out to show him a
distorted view of a whale. He blinked. “That's a surprise,” he said.

“Arctic
narwhal. From Terra. Nearly extinct before they were transplanted to Agnosta.
There are other arctic whales here as well Admiral,” Sprite replied.

“Oh.”

“And
before you ask, no they aren't fully sentient. They never underwent the uplift
protocols. A few species did of course, but those that were hunted to near
extinction by man chose to be repatriated to a new world and were extreme
isolationists.”

“Huh,”
he grunted. “Too big to fit in a ship anyway,” he muttered shaking his head as
he sat back and cut the feed. “I take it the other species are doing well?”

“Without
a scientific study I have no idea. Based on what you just witnessed, most
likely they survived. A few like the dodo or those with a limited gene pool and
a requirement for artificial regulation might not ohave survived. Based on
observed data that might have caused problems in the food chain.”

“And
there aren't any signs of that.”

“Not
that I've been looking,” Sprite replied. “I can if you wish...”

“Pass.
We've got enough problems. Write a note to that geneticist though. Maybe
someone on Pyrax might be interested in checking things out.”

“Possibly.
The genetic material should be checked against possible future uses,” Sprite
responded.

“That
part about done?” Irons asked, rubbing his temple.

“The
satellite? Yes.”

“Okay.
I'd like to see if we can do something here. Maybe a space station?”

“I...”
Sprite paused. “And here I was expecting an order to create sensors to monitor
the biosphere and track the animals,” she chuckled. “A space station? Aren't
you reaching there Admiral? They are still living in caves on the planet. Well,
most of the people.”

“Simple
one. KISS. Inflatable. Core module, one or two habs, solar panels or a micro
fusion reactor if we can swing it. Something simple they take care of easily
and keep a space presence,” he paused for a moment. “But modular, so they can
add to it and build off it over time. Grow I mean. We'll give them the plans so
they can do it on their own.”

“Interesting.
I will check the feed queue. I am not sure we have the time to complete that
project Admiral, we have less then nine standard days before departure,” Sprite
reminded him.

“Ah,”
Irons grimaced.

“And
the people here have no means to support and maintain the station Admiral. As
well as no mean way to get to it. The only shuttle craft in the system are on
Destiny,” She pointed out.

“Yeah.
Okay scrap that idea,”  he sighed. “Damn.”

“Sometimes
our reach should exceed our grasp I believe. That falls in the outside the
grasp bit. Way outside. About two hundred kilometers out of reach. For now.”

“So
concentrate on what we can do. Get those sensors for the satellites.”

“Oh,”
Sprite sighed. “Me and my big mouth.”

Irons
had to smile at that.

“Whatcha
workin' on now?” A familiar gravelly voice said from the open hatch. He turned
and nodded at the sight of Chief Bailey coming in to his shuttle.

“Multi-tool.” 
He turned back to what he was doing. He had gathered quite a lot of material
and had floundered at the idea of what to do with it all. Of course he could
just hand it all over to Charlie the purser. Since the ingrate had taken half
anyway he'd balked at the idea out of pure spite. Which was why he'd started on
this little project.

“Multi-tool
huh? Lemme see,” the simian said, picking one up from the tray. There were
dozens lying in neat piles. “Got enough?” he asked folding the handle open to
expose the various tools tucked into the grips.

“I'm
going to hand them out to the colonists.”

“Well,
you did send them that industrial replicator. Can't they make some of their
own?”

“If
they think of it.”

“Charlie
was just a tad put out over that one you know.”

“His
problem.”

“Ain't
it just?” Bailey grinned. His long canines looked ferocious. Irons snorted.

“I'm
trying to get as much down there as I can. They'll need all they can get. This
should be in as many hands as possible.” He didn't bother to mention his
educational efforts either. He wanted to make tablets and flash drives for
everyone on the planet. He wanted as much knowledge in as many hands and minds
as possible. It wouldn't do a lot of good until it filtered in, but
eventually... oh eventually it would.

“Seems
a bit like overkill John. Not that I'm not complaining or anything.”

“They
are good tools. Basic, but functional,” Irons replied sitting back. “Pliers,
molecular knife, powered screwdrivers, soldering iron... flash drive,
multimeter...”

“Soldering
iron? Must have missed that one,” the chimp said spinning the tool around as
his brow knit. “Here?” he asked pulling a point out.

“Bingo.
Press the trigger and it heats up fast. It can do simple tack welds if you use
it right.”

“Ah.”

“It's
also good for shrink wrapping plastic if you are careful.”

“I'll
keep that in mind,” the chief said looking up. “I need a new one to replace the
one I lost in my kit.”

“I
like the meters,” Irons said picking one up and unfolding a probe. “All your
electronic testing basics in one little tool.”

The
chief's brown eyes went wide in thoughtful appreciation. “Ah. Huh. Circuit
tester, resistance, line hot, hmmm...” The chief looked at the controls. “Bit
of a bitch to read on this tiny thing though,” he scowled at the tiny display.
It was so small his hand covered it.

The
Admiral indicated a tablet nearby. “It has a wireless link. You can link it to
a nearby tablet for easier viewing.”

“Huh.
Okay, I want one,” Bailey said with a grin. Irons laughed.

“Sure
take one. Take two or more. I've got plenty. I'm doing a run of ten thousand.”

“Oh,
well, in that case I'll take two for every crew member,” Bailey said suddenly
serious. “Why is the one we have different?”

“Different
company,” the Admiral explained with a shrug. “This is one of the better ones.
Cyroft. I bought their IP specs when I was a shave tail LT and kept them up to
date. I have to admit it's one of the few tools that's better than milspec. I
even went back to an older design when they got rid of features I liked.”

“Wait
back up, hang on a sec....” the chief shook his head.

“What?”
Irons asked amused.

“Bought
the IP rights..?”

“Oh,”
Irons snorted. “Well, you know replicators can scan and replicate stuff right?”

“Of
course.”

“Well
that sort of makes an interesting economic conundrum. How do you make money
from new designs? The answer is IP rights and licensing.”

Storm
clouds brewed on the chimp's features. “Oookay...”

“It
works like this. Someone comes up with a neat idea for a product. They register
the patent and then sell the IP rights and license the manufacturing to an
industrial corporation or get in bed with a marketing firm to market it to the
public at large.”

Bailey
shook his head at such a thought. “Okay, that's just...”

“If
you had a wicked design for something, something you spent weeks, months, or
years on it don't you think you should be compensated for your time?”

Bailey
nodded. “Okay. I get you there.”

“Right.
Well, people register the design, but there is also an open source line as
well. Products that are common or that are released to the general public free
as long as no one charges money for them.”

“Huh,
now you're just confusing me.”

“Sorry.
Let's just say not everyone is out there to make a lot of money. Some people
start that way. They make a product for free to get their name out, and then
the next one they charge a little for. Then build a following. If I remember
correctly Cryoft went that route in it's beginning.”

“Ah,
Okay, I get that. When do these patents expire?”

“Normally
a century or two.”

“So
since it's been seven since the Federation went in the crapper...”

Irons
smiled as the chimp caught on. “Everything is now open source and can be made
without paying a licensing fee.”

“Oh.
Good to know,” Bailey snorted. “I'd like to see someone collect.”

“It's
all auto debited chief,” Sprite said from the dash. He glanced that way and
then shook his head. Irons did as well.

“I
think he means the time involved Sprite,” Irons said, mouth twisting in a wry
smile briefly. “Both are moot points.”

“What
about the restricted list though?”

“Restricted
is restricted. It's still locked out. It takes an act of congress to get
something on or off the restricted list. Then you have to do a firmware link to
each and every fabricator to update it.”

“Oh.
That well, that sucks.”

“Not
really. I'd rather some people didn't have access to nuclear weapons,” Irons
deadpanned.

“Huh.
Not really looking forward to a 'hey y’all watch this' moment?” Bailey said
with a broad smile.

Irons
shivered a little. “No thanks.” The chimp chuckled.

“Me
neither. Come on, you're missing lunch and it's dinner,” he jerked a broad
thumb to the hatch. “This'll keep. I heard Everette wants to have another go at
you in 3D battle sim too. You gotta keep your strength up to keep up with the
twerp.”

“Or
at least his chattering. I still think it's a distraction,” Irons said getting
up. He glanced back to the replicator.

“This
will keep Admiral. I've assigned a bot to service the replicator,” Sprite said
soothingly. He grunted.

“All
right, let's go. Can't keep the kid waiting...”

Click
click, click... Everette looked annoyed. The repeated sound was maddening. He
localized it easily, it wasn't like he had far to look. He just hadn't had the
urge to confront the miscreant about it until now. “Chief you mind?”

“Not
in the slightest.”

“That's
distracting chief,” Everette sighed patiently, not taking his eyes off the
holographic board. His hands were flashing over his keyboard. “What the heck is
that thing anyway?” It echoed in the rec compartment. Obviously the boss had a
new toy. He just wasn't sure why he had to be a pain in the ass and play with
it now.

“Oh
this?” Bailey asked, flipping the tool around. “Multi-tool. I got it off the
Admiral this morning. He's making a bunch. Wanna see?”

“Seen
them chief. What makes that one so special? Never mind later,” he muttered. He
sent orders to chase the Admiral's scouts off. As usual they would duck out of
sight and then pop up somewhere else to harass his main base. “I gotta
concentrate here,” he mumbled.

“Yeah
sure,” the chief mumbled, flipping the multi-tool open and closed like an
ancient butterfly knife. “Next time wear headphones or something.”

“Next
time keep the toys at home. Or in your pocket chief,” Doc said smiling. He
petted Nara in his lap. Others smiled and nodded.

“Fine
fine,” Bailey grumbled, finally putting it away. “I don't see what the big deal
is.”

“Chinese
water torture. Constant sound is distracting,” Irons replied. He was just about
ready. He sent his paltry force off, through the main choke point leading to
his base and then off to the right, away from the direct line to the kid's
base.

“Headed
the wrong way there Admiral,” Bailey snorted.

“No
I'm not,” Irons said with a smile.

“You're
ah, kinda light there,” Bryan said, watching the kid's forces assemble. The
young man had built an impressive armored mecha force and had now finished
inputting his scripted orders. The force started to move out of the base and
toward the Admiral's base in the lower right of the map.

“Quality
and quantity.”

“Huh?”

“You'll
see.”

“So
what is that thing anyway chief?” Doc asked, disinterested in the game. He
turned to the chimp.

“Multi-tool
like I said.”

“So
what makes it so special? They are pretty common you know.”

“This
has some doodads and widgets my old one doesn't have. Or didn't since it got
blown to smithereens,” he scowled.

“Oh.
Can it do medical stuff?”

“There
is a medical version Doc. You should have a couple. One per person at least,”
Irons said, lifting his chin and looking briefly at the Doc.