Temple of S.A.R.A.H. 7: Upgrades (15 page)

BOOK: Temple of S.A.R.A.H. 7: Upgrades

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Helen swallowed the bite of shrimp she had been 'eating'. "I'm kind of an experiment in AI functionality and interfacing. Eric and the programmers gave me the ability to mimic human mannerisms so closely as to fool the eye into thinking I am actually a real, corporeal being. If the results of this test are positive, then I will eventually be gaining a real body. Although, I'm not so sure I really want one, you are very high maintenance beings after all."

I chuckled. "Well, you don't have to worry about that for a while, Helen. We are still a long way from being able to do that."

"Really? I thought the research you were doing on the drone projects was advancing our knowledge in that area?" Vance asked.

I nodded. "It is in a way. The drones will be able to exactly ape the movements of their controllers, however, except for very limited feedback systems, the controller will not be able to 'feel' what the drone 'feels'. For example, if a drone were to get a leg blown off the person controlling it wouldn't feel the pain of losing the leg, but he would feel that the leg is no longer functional." I took a drink of my tea. "In order to create an android body for the AI, we would need to be able to exactly reproduce all the senses as well as the functionality. The AI would also have to have the ability to process that data and interpret it correctly.

"Christy tells me that they are making great headway on getting cybernetic prosthetics to process tactile sensations, but they aren't there yet. I'm not even sure where to begin to work on being able to do that for an AI 'driving' an android body," I admitted.

"As I said, I'm not sure I would even want one, but perhaps if you viewed the 'nerves' as millions of micro-sensors, and handled the data the same way the body does, it would help. I don't know if that would work for cybernetic prosthetics, but perhaps it would for the androids," Helen replied.

I looked thoughtful for a moment. "It might. I'll mention that to Christy the next time I see her. She can make a note in her research papers about it."

"Shouldn't you tell the folks working on the Drone as well?" Coryn asked.

Vance answered her before I could. "No, although I am sure they would be interested, the ability for the drone to feel pain is not a desired function. The whole idea behind developing the drones is if one gets destroyed, we would be able to reconnect the controlling Marine to a new, functional drone as quickly as possible. If they were suffering from the pain of being 'killed' that would not be possible."

We continued talking and eating. It was a comfortable meal with comfortable friends. The addition of Helen at the table actually contributed to the relaxation I felt as it was obvious to me that, not only did Vance accept the new Helen, but so did Coryn. Vance commented to me later that Helena was much more than she had been before, and far easier to work with.

Marines, as with all those that have served in a military, never forget their training and the men and women that train them. In their 'new lives' as Marines, their trainers are the first people that the soldier learns respect for.

It took almost two weeks, which in itself is a minor miracle, considering the mentality of the average Marine, for Helen to re-establish herself with the base. However, when she did the result was almost frightening. Helen commented on this bazaar effect and said she was actively working on countering it. The Marines and officer candidates that she helped to train locked on to her as a focus for their respect and admiration. It was almost like the folks that were worshiping the AI as prophets and goddesses.

Lord Admiral Hearlis was of two minds on the issue. On one hand, it gave the Marines another aspect of mutual respect. It improved the overall esprit de corps among the soldiers. But on the other hand, AI Helen and to some degree AI Athena were revered to the degree that it was almost a religion to the new soldiers.

It made everyone in command a little nervous after what happened with those two AI. However, nothing was decided about it and the issue was allowed to continue. Both AI, Helen and Athena, actively worked to counter this attitude by the soldiers, but with little impact.

During this time, the Aracnise Grand Hive had been utterly quiet. After the recall of the remaining ships at Galtar, nothing was heard from them. As was normal, probes sent into Arac systems were hunted down and destroyed. Only those that were more than a light month away from their targets were allowed to remain.

As before, the break in hostilities allowed the Alliance time to refit ships and upgrade equipment and personnel. Lieutenant Commander Shakier, the woman that Vance had brought to Apollo in a stasis unit, was now in overall command of the drone testing facility on Mars. Vance had promoted her to full commander, and Lord Admiral Hearlis had promoted her to Colonel. Currently, she was running the fighter drones through trials to see if they would be good enough to be used in combat.

She liked the idea of more firepower, and that no pilot or crewmen could be hurt if the small ship was damaged or destroyed. She had been very thorough in her job as well. Master Hanson commented on the fact that she had, so far returned every new design back to them with suggestions for improvements.

"That woman… I'm either falling in love with her, or I'm beginning to hate her! She has rejected every single design we've sent to her, but she always makes sure to send a detailed report on why she was returning it. Why does she have to be so frustratingly correct in all her observations?" Hanson said to me once. He knew that she was an adamant supporter of the project though, so he never did challenge her on her suggestions.

The Galaxy was holding its collective breath. I had a feeling when the Aracs finally emerged this time, it would truly be war. I only hoped that the Aracs could be stopped before too many people were lost. Only time would tell, I was all too aware of the truth about war; there are never any winners - only survivors.

Sarah has translated the Novan greetings as the following.

‘Altuis’, {pronounced all-TOU-iss} means* Grand/Auspicious/Great.

‘Anure’ {pronounced AHN-nü-er} means* Start/Beginning/Morning.

‘Denay’ {pronounced Dee-NAY} means* Day/Solar Cycle/Work Period.

‘Tanae’ {pronounced tah-NĔ} means* Honor/Occasion/Day.

*Exact definition is contextual.

About the Author

Ben Winston (1965 - ?) was born in Iowa and grew up in Minnesota on the family dairy farm. Upon reaching adulthood, he joined the United States Army as a communications technician. Before getting out of the military, he decided to go to school for computer electronics.
Shortly after getting out of the military, and after getting a new job with an over-seas company, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. A month after beginning the new job, he was laid off due to budget over-runs on the project he was hired for. Upon returning to the United States, he had difficulty maintaining employment because of the chronic illness.
He began writing as a form of stress release, from being home bound and not being able to work, and found he liked writing erotica. Ben wrote a trilogy called the Talosian Chronicles (Currently in rewrite to remove the graphic sex and finalized his vision of the story). The first book, Star Dancer, won awards and was nominated for many others by the online communities where it was posted.
Ben Winston returned to school for literature, after completion, he began writing professionally. Being an avid fan of science fiction he focused on this genre. He was, and still is, influenced and inspired by Gene Roddenberry, Anne McCaffery, David Weber, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury. Some of his favorite movies and TV shows are; Battlestar Galactica (both versions), Andromeda, Star Trek, Firefly, Star Wars, and many of the B-rated movies that were actually box-office bombs.

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