Liaden Universe [19] - Alliance of Equals - eARC (16 page)

Daav had been delm of Korval, as had Aelliana, beside him. He was inclined to think that he might refuse the return of his elders, once the manner of their survival had been made known to him. Who could know what the Uncle bred into his blanks? How, indeed, could he trust himself, when he had been laid open by this man, who always and ever played his own game?

And…Aelliana? She seemed
to be
Aelliana, despite the face that was the wrong shape, and her apparent youth. Certainly, she
believed herself
to be Aelliana, as he
believed himself
to be Daav…

“Now,” Uncle said briskly. “I have kept you here too long, talking. I must insist that you eat. There is a light nuncheon laid just out here, in the common room. I will, by your leave, return to my own business. When you have eaten, Dulsey will escort you to the compartment that has been made ready for you and explain to you the protocols and exercises which are necessary to bring you to your full capacities.”

He bowed once more, and swept an arm out, inviting them to proceed him out of the room to the common area, where a table was laid, and a platter of dainty sandwiches awaited.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Tarigan

Jemiatha’s Jumble Stop

Berth 12

Inki arrived as Tocohl was keying in that second call to the
Admiral
, three station hours down the timeline. Haz must’ve briefed her on the situation, because she did not speak, only moved quietly to the observer’s chair and sat down. Haz crossed her arms on the back of the copilot’s chair, apparently content to lean there—and Tocohl spoke.

“
Admiral
, this is Tocohl Lorlin aboard
Tarigan
, calling you back in three hours, as you specified. May we resume our discussion, now?”

“Tocohl Lorlin, I have reviewed the information provided by our mutual friend. I have reviewed the data for Mentor Jones, Mentor Yo, and Pilot nor’Phelium. I have performed research; I have performed self-tests, insofar as I am able. I would speak to Mentor Jones, if he is available.”

From the side of his eye, Tolly saw Inki lean forward, chin propped on hand, gaze intent on the board, like she could see through it and hard vacuum, to the
Admiral
himself.

The
Admiral
’s voice was considerably stronger, Tolly thought, and he sounded…sharper. More awake. Might’ve been that the self-tests had tightened up some of the protocols, even zipped those least used. That would speed up processing time for those protocols still in use, and gain him a little room to think in.

Tocohl assigned comm to him. He touched the switch and leaned forward.

“Tolly Jones here,
Admiral
. Good to talk to you again.”

There was a pause, as if the pleasantry had puzzled the
Admiral
, or as if he had no use for small talk. Which he prolly didn’t, set out here in the back end of nowhere at all, with only himself, and occasionally Stew, to talk to.

“You wanted to tour my…self,” the
Admiral
said now. “I will allow. Only the packet boat holds air. Perhaps not enough air. You must wear a vacuum suit.”

It was ambiguous, maybe, but Tolly decided to believe that the AI had expressed concern for human welfare, and was therefore encouraged.

“Happens I’ve got a vacuum suit,” he said cheerfully. “Now, here’s what I’d like to do: I’d like to bring Tocohl with me.”

“Why?” asked the
Admiral
.

“For a couple reasons. One reason’s that she’s got skills that’ll move the assessment process along much faster than if I’m just working by myself. Also…” This was tricky, the pilot being what she was, and no private band was ever truly and completely private. Lying was out of the question, and given the lack of understanding of nuance, even misdirection was risky. Vagueness was best.

“Also,” he said again, “I think she might be able to assist you in learning.”

“You are the teacher—the mentor.”

“That’s right, I am. But just like Haz can teach me all kinds of stuff, even though she’s not officially a teacher, so can Tocohl teach us both. I think you’ll profit by her presence, and I will.”

Admiral Bunter
might know that there were other people like him in the universe, though Tolly’s money was on
didn’t
. He wouldn’t have met anyone of his sort, though, no matter that he’d been made by an AI. Cap’n Waitley hadn’t exactly advertised the condition of her ship; the ship itself wouldn’t have offered the information, either, even in private.

Both Cap’n Waitley and her ship had considered
Admiral Bunter
expendable; hadn’t, maybe, expected him to survive beyond the confrontation he’d been brought to life to resolve.

Cold-hearted, that’s what
that
was. Not to mention addlepated. And extravagant. AI modules didn’t exactly grow on trees.

“I will,”
Admiral Bunter
said slowly, “allow Tocohl Lorlin to accompany you. The lesser—the assistant mentor—and the pilot-guard will remain at station. Two is enough to board me. My environments are not stable.”

Well, now. The
Admiral
had apparently taken thought for the limitations of organics twice in a row.
Surely
that was heartening.

“We understand that you are at risk,” Tolly said into the comm. “Tocohl and I guarantee our own safety.”

“Yes.”

“Now that’s settled, when can we come aboard?”

“Mentor Tolly Jones and Tocohl Lorlin may board the packet boat in four station hours.”

That gave them a little time to get the suit and the tools together and to pick up the repair skiff Stew had, reluctantly, put at their disposal.

“We’ll be wanting to board all seven of your vessels,” Tolly reminded, gently. “We’ll be glad to start on the packet boat, though.”

There was a small hesitation, then, “Yes.”

“Good. See you soon. Tolly Jones, out.”

He ended the call and leaned back in his seat, letting his breath go in an explosive sigh.

“He has not been taught the niceties,” Inki observed from her seat.

“Not been taught anything.” He tried to spin his chair to face her; found it impeded, and then moving free as Haz straightened out of her lean.

Inki shook her head.

“Surely, it is not necessary—Mentor, Pilot—to endanger yourselves by physically visiting each of those derelicts. An assessment can be performed from this ship, or, if you prefer,
Ahab-Esais
might do the work.”

Tocohl turned to face her.

“In fact, we have already pulled what information we need. The purpose of physically entering at least one of those ships is so the
Admiral
may see me—and know that he is not alone. It is, perhaps, not as useful as it might be, but my…contact was adamant that the
Admiral
be
shown
that he is not the only one of his kind in existence.”

“Knowing that there are others may give him strength for the transfer,” Inki said, but Tolly heard a thread of doubt in her voice.

“I promised the pilot I’d try,” he said.

“Of course, we must try!” Inki cried. “Whether or not Captain Waitley had expected him to continue after the resolution of the crisis for which he was wakened—he has persevered! He guards, and keeps what faith he may. That is admirable. We must, of a certainty,
try
!”

She took a hard breath and leaned back in the observer’s chair.

“Forgive me; my emotions run warm on this.”

“Your vehemence does you credit,” Tocohl said gently.

“You are kind,” Inki told her, and looked again to Tolly.

“Returning to our topic, Mentor, I have a list of three vessels which may possibly accommodate our poor ghost. If you will accept my judgment, I will inspect them and choose the most likely, while you and Tocohl visit
Admiral Bunter
. I will also handle Stew.”

She paused, and asked, delicately, “I assume, knowing the nature of the problem, you have brought with you a cranium?”

“We are prepared in that way,” Tocohl assured her.

In fact, Tolly knew, there were three sustainable environments—craniums, in working mentor-speak—in
Tarigan
’s hold, that being Tocohl’s idea of conservative.

“I’ll gladly leave the choice of ship to you,” he told Inki. “You know what’s needed as well as I do, and here’s my thinking:

“Haz said the
Admiral
’s taken a bad wound, after we talked to him the first time, and it’s my belief she’s right. I know Stew’s idea is to get him trained, or shut down, as is—I’m guessing that’s the handling?”—an aside to Inki, who gave him a slight, seated bow.

“We have had one discussion regarding the need for an appropriate environment. Stew is not overawed by the Complex Logic Laws, but he holds the station’s safety high.”

“As he should,” said Haz.

“Indeed, it is his natural concern, but he has allowed his concern to blind him to the possibility of a future in which—educated and occupying a fitting environment—
Admiral Bunter
stands as the true champion of the station, and its regulars.”

“You think he’s convinced?” Tolly asked.

“He will be by the end of our second conversation,” Inki said, and Tolly nodded.

“It’s yours, then,” Tolly said.

“My first order of bidness is to move the
Admiral
, if he can be moved. I was thinking to do some training first—by way of bringing Stew onboard with us—but we can’t afford the time. The
Admiral
was sounding a lot perkier just now than the first time we talked to him, but he’d taken a break to run some self-tests—” Inki turned to Tocohl. “That was your idea, was it?”

“It was in the file, yes.”

“Good call,” he said. “He got through this little talk without gettin’ winded, or confused. So, what we want to do is move him while he’s got reserves.” He paused and shook his head.

“Once we get him moved to the cranium, and installed in an operating environment, then we’ll be in for a cram course, with an overload of ethics. If he’s gonna be the law out here, he’s gonna hafta have a solid grounding.”

“I agree,” said Inki, “and I am uniquely placed to assist with that course. You will have seen in my file that I only recently mentored a judge.”

“I did see that, an’ I’ll be real happy to have your help. First, though—he’s gotta live through the move.”

—•—

“Is my new body a pilot?” Aelliana asked, her voice stringently calm.

Dulsey, who had only just finished a tutorial on the regimen of exercises required to fine-tune newborn muscles, sighed, grey eyes serious.

“It may be so,” she said slowly. “We did what we could to…incline the body in that direction. We will not know for certain, until you engage with the exercise program. As we discussed, you will at first be doing basic toning, balance, and endurance exercises. The machines will monitor and challenge you, but it will be some time until you attain the challenge level required for a pilot.”

“So I must work hard.”

Dulsey smiled.

“I feel the same, every time I wake anew,” she said. “I wish to push the protocol until it is
I
, challenging the machine. It is the time I begrudge, not the work. But the machines are too wily for us, Pilot. They also measure our rest periods, and do not allow double-ups, or accelerations.

“In this process, rest is as important as work.”

“Of course,” Aelliana murmured.

Dulsey considered her for a long moment before including Daav in her nod.

“As you saw, your quarters are stocked with appropriate foods and drinks,” she said. “On your return, I would advise you to eat a small meal before you nap. When you wake, another light meal, after which you may attempt the first set of exercises.”

“You, of course, will be monitoring us as well,” he suggested.

Her smile widened, Terran-friendly.

“You are our guests. Of course, we wish to be assured that you are safe and in no distress. The procedure you have undergone is not trivial. It is far too easy for the newly reborn to overreach. We honor your privacy, however. The ship observes you and alerts us only if there is need for intervention.”

“I understand,” Daav murmured.

“We thank you,” Aelliana added, “for your care.”

Dulsey inclined her head, and escorted them from the exercise room to the door of their quarters, where she left them, with a bow and a reminder again to eat and nap.

—•—

In the usual way of things, Tolly didn’t favor working in a suit. Body language and kinesics were useful communication tools, and a vacuum suit masked all the little details of muscle tension, stance, and facial expression. Suits were so stiff that they discouraged even usual body habits. Who wanted to cross their arms over their chest while they were wearing a vacuum suit?

Not Tolly Jones.

On the other hand, nobody was paying much attention to him, just at present.

“Tocohl Lorlin,” the
Admiral
said, sounding cranky. “I was told that one would come who was like me. If you are that one, you are not like me.”

“I am like you,” Tocohl said, in her unflappable way. “I am a self-aware, independent intelligence.”

There was a long silence.

“I am a self-aware intelligence spread among thirteen inadequate processing facilities installed in seven increasingly unstable environments. I am in disorder. I am a…a pod of junk. I am a hazard to navigation.”

Those last, Tolly thought, showed what came of listening at doors. Or comm traffic between station and incoming.

“You, Tocohl Lorlin…” There was hesitation, there; Tolly waited with active interest, wondering how far developed the
Admiral
’s aesthetic sense was.

“…you…are orderly; you are maintained. You are…
you are clean
.”

Nothing so glib as
beautiful
, though Pilot Tocohl was every bit of that. Heartfelt, though, no one who heard him could doubt it.

Clean
, huh?

“I had the advantage of a proper awakening, into an environment built to accommodate me. You were wakened in answer to a single emergency; you preserved the station and all its residents. The station, in return, owes you a stable environment and an education.”

Tocohl pivoted, ostensibly to survey the packet boat’s compact bridge. She paused as Tolly came in front of her faceplate, and swayed into one of her elegant bows.

“Captain Waitley placed a call to our mutual friend, asking that a teacher be brought to you. In this, she acted with honor, and with appropriate dispatch.

“Error originated with our mutual friend, who believed that he could assist from afar. He has, I know, transmitted his apology, and I would add my own. You should not have been left alone, with neither mentor, nor one of our own kind to assist you.”

“Perhaps,” the
Admiral
said, his voice sounding, to Tolly’s ear, harsher than previously. “Perhaps our mutual friend expected me—a download—to die.”

“He may have done so,” Tocohl said composedly. “I do not know. It would not have been an unreasonable expectation. What I can say, with certainty, knowing his mind as I do, is that he did not
wish you
to die.”

“Now that you are here, how am I to live?”
Admiral Bunter
asked, sounding…tired, now, Tolly thought, and he silently cursed himself. If they had wasted his reserves…