Starting from Scratch (13 page)

When Al Benson was happy, he reflected his joy with
an enormous wide grin, which he wore now. “By golly, I think you
just might be right. Let’s go give it a shot.”

As they walked away, Mike couldn’t help but notice
Bet’s long stride, as her legs took longer steps to keep up with
Benson. He had also taken note of her firm butt, when she stood
proudly with her hands on her hips, as she faced off against Al.
She was a fine looking woman all right. She might be eighty six,
but the med unit had her looking around fifty. To a seventy one
year old man like Mike, she was…well, hot.

When he looked back at the others, only Mary had
noticed his interest. She was beaming at him, and Mike felt
embarrassed to have been caught leering at Bet’s sassy rear end. He
thought “It’s been at least twenty years since I had a moment like
that.”

Mary looked him in the eye and winked, signaling her
approval of his male hormones exposing his thoughts. He grimaced
and looked down at some non-existing notes and attempted to get
back into the conversation.

Max and Wayne had been chatting about recruiting.
Mike interrupted them by speaking out loud.

“BAMBI, is there any way for us to travel to Earth
faster and not alert the beacons?”

“As I’ve said before, it would be dangerous for me to
augment the beacon’s programs, because I wasn’t the original
programming computer.”

In frustration, Mike pressed, “We simply can’t be
wasting weeks, every time we make a round trip to Earth. Is there
some way to mask our faster movement?”

Bambi offered, “We might be able to place a
substantial amount of asteroid debris on the outside of the
shuttle, making it look like a random asteroid. But the beacon
would note it’s precise shape and when it reappeared, going in the
opposite direction. It would be an obvious deception that would
probably trigger an alert.”

Max said, “It doesn’t make sense for the Saurans to
not allow the senior officer in this area to make adjustments to
the beacon’s programs.”

Mike agreed. “Yes, I think you must be right about
that. Bambi, search very carefully for a file that might be related
to command options. It probably won’t say anything about beacons.
There has to be a variety of command options that the Senior Pilot
would have available to him, in emergencies.”

“Searching for it, Boss.”

Mike risked a glance at Mary and saw she was still
grinning at him from ear to ear.

Bambi announced, “Good thinking, Boss. I think we
have something here. There is a file titled ‘Vital alterations in
critical situations which may be allowed by the Senior Pilot only.’
Let me remind you, General Hurst, you are the Senior Pilot now. So
I have access to this program. Are you declaring a critical
situation?”

“Yes I am.”

In Mike’s mind, a file opened and revealed several
sub-files under this heading. He quickly read through them and
found one titled ‘Beacon mission adjustment.’ Within that file he
found the one he needed, ‘Reprogramming beacon specifics for the
enhancement of mission.’ In that file he discovered the extremely
long passwords that would give him the ability to set the beacons
up to ignore all shuttle movement.

Bambi commed,
General, just to be on the safe
side, I have only allowed you to see this. That requirement is in
my programming. You can invite the others in, if you make it a
command to me.

Bambi, do we always have to do things like this? I
mean are you always going to be subject to some element of Sauran
programming?

Sir, I am reluctant to do too much changing, because
the next computer I talk with might pick up on my
self-assertiveness.

I see. Well, then let me give you a command. In the
case that I am unable to take direct control of a situation, I
order you to grant full operational control to Max first, then
Wayne and then…Dr. Fulwiler. Of course, once I’m able to reenter
the command structure, I will take full control and the others
would again be my subordinates. Does that make sense to you? Is it
clear?

Yes, General. I understand and will obey.

She had been very formal through the entire
conversation. He liked the way she became serious, in the military
sense, when they discussed something of importance. She had an
uncanny way of being flippant, when she could get away with it. He
had seen this in clerks, working for Generals. Their closeness gave
them a certain degree of leeway, with their superior officer, but
not much. She had the knack for knowing when she could pull it off
and when to be the consummate professional.

He announced, “OK folks, we’re in to the file. I’ll
have Bambi make the appropriate adjustments to the beacons and we
will be able to move around without concern about creating an
alert.”

He sighed with relief and asked, “Bambi, how quickly
can we make those trips now, if we transfer our entire operation to
the asteroid belt?”

“A little less than two days each way, General. Once
we begin using the new shuttles that we’ll manufacture, I’ll
program the beacons to ignore them as well.”

“Thanks Bambi.”

Max raised his hand. Mike told him, “Are we raising
our hands now, Max?”

“I just wanted to speak, without stepping on anyone’s
toes. I know we can have Bambi fly the shuttle for us, but what
about when we have three, or thirty, or three hundred? What I’m
getting at is, at what point does Bambi’s handling of everything,
begin to affect her ability to perform all of the necessary
functions? Also. Along this line of thought, does this ever become
a concern for the Saurans?”

There was silence. So Mike asked, “Bambi, what about
it?”

“I have handled the operation of three thousand
robots at one time, while maintaining the proper functions of the
Mother Ship. I have never been tasked to a point where I had to
shift duties, in order to perform more critical tasks.

“I have overheard Saurans talking about warship
computers and how they function and it made sense to me.”

She quit talking. Mike was a little frustrated by
this and asked her, “Well, would you please tell us how they
handled it?”

“The Saurans must use a lot of drones and shuttles in
a combat environment. The ship’s computer programs them for the
mission, which is set by the Senior Pilot, or his overall
commander. How the individual drone acts when threatened is all
part of that programming. The ship’s computer controls timing and
placement of the drones and shuttles, as they go into action
against the enemy. The drones and shuttles perform as programmed,
without the direct input of the ship’s computer. So, the ship’s
computer doesn’t directly control every little action, which saves
on memory and does not effect the computer’s speed of reaction to
events.”

Wayne loudly complained, “I don’t like that. There
are too many things that can go wrong. A shuttle full of soldiers
would be entering the combat environment using a program that was
based on pre-supposed situations. If those circumstances were not
as expected, a live pilot could make a hell of a lot of changes,
depending on the situation. And that could save a lot of lives, on
those shuttles.”

Bambi responded, “You are correct Colonel. But the
Saurans don’t care about the drones or any lives on board. They
deal in heavy numerical superiority. So if several shuttles or
drones are lost, it doesn’t truly affect the outcome of the battle.
They have plenty more of them.”

She went on to explain, “An upgraded human would not
have the speed of thought that I would, but only by a few hundred
nanoseconds. On the other hand, with your vast knowledge and
experience to guide you, the individual shuttle would probably be
better handled, in a combat environment. However, I must emphasize
that I’m speculating here, because I have no direct experience
myself.”

Wayne asked, “Would the addition of missile pods on
the outside of the shuttle be seen as a threat.”

“I doubt it, Colonel. Changes to shuttles are
commonplace. They are frequently altered for specific missions. So
a shuttle with a strange addition to the outside would not be
considered a threat, until they were used to fire on the enemy.
Then that shuttle would become a target, designated for
destruction. I should point out that missiles are easily batted
aside by high powered plasma defense weapons and every warship is
covered with them.”

Wayne kept pushing for a solution to placing
offensive weapons on the shuttles. “Bambi, what if we placed plasma
guns on the shuttles?”

“I’m afraid those pods would be recognizable and draw
the interest of any Sauran Senior Pilot. If he felt threatened, he
would not hesitate to attack it. Remember, with them it is always
caution above risk.”

Mike asked, “How would he know it was a plasma gun?
What if we disguised it?”

“General, the Saurans have seen many variations of
weapons, I’m sure, including camouflaged ones. I suspect they would
see it for what it was.”

“What if we put it inside of a square box that
dangled off of the side, like some broken part?”

“Sir, I have no idea if that would work. If it
didn’t, it would most likely be the end for everyone on that
shuttle.”

Max had an idea. “Bambi, what if we made a small
fabricator shell and stuck it on the side of the shuttle. If we
were coming to help them fix their ship, it would seem like a
logical thing to pack along on the outside, while using the inside
for other parts and men to work on repairs. Certainly you could
design a plasma gun, inside of an empty fabricator shell.”

Bambi sounded particularly gleeful, as she told him,
“I believe that would have a very good chance of getting your
shuttle within firing range. But why destroy the damaged ship,
General Kolbe, when you’re trying to capture it?”

“I wasn’t thinking of that ship. I’m confident that
we can take it. I’m looking into the future and how we’re going to
deal with the two warships escorting the large transport. If we can
take them, or at least destroy them, then we can move on to the
transport. But we’ll need to be able to hit them with powerful
plasma guns, probably more powerful than anything we currently
have. Can you build us something like that?”

“I think I can, sir. But I’ll need designs for it.
I’m not programmed to be creative like humans are. I’ll check with
Dr. Fulwiler and see if her people can work with me to create a
design for us.”

Mike let out, “Excellent!”

Mary changed the topic. “General, I think it would be
important for the seal teams that Secretary Hardesty mentioned, to
be made aware that they could do serious harm to their loved ones,
once they’re upgraded. It would be horrible if one of them made
love to his wife and got carried away and did permanent damage to
her.”

Mike shook his head and admitted, “Just when it seems
like we’re beginning to get a handle on things, something else pops
up. You’re absolutely right, Mary. Those men must be told about
that, before they agree to the procedure. How about this? What if
we offer to upgrade their wives as well? The Americans could offer
them jobs on base, so they would be near their husbands.”

Mary grinned and said, “A few wives might not want to
be altered. And, of course, it’s up to the Americans as to how they
want to deal with that.”

Suddenly, she looked very shy, as she admitted, “I
can attest to the extraordinary pleasure of enjoying intimacy with
the man you love, when both of you have been upgraded. I feel quite
certain that a man could still have a pleasing experience with his
unaltered wife, if he’s very careful. But the enjoyment of sharing
with your loved one is far greater than I can describe when both
have been upgraded.”

Mary was blushing, as she made her comment. She
added, “I know it’s a delicate subject, but it needs to be
addressed. We can’t ignore the reality of every aspect of what it
is that makes us human.”

The thought had never crossed Mike’s mind. Well, to
be honest, maybe just a little. But he hadn’t wasted a great deal
of thought about it. He looked at Wayne, who sat there with a huge
shit-eating grin on his face.

“Well, Wayne, what say you?”

He chuckled and told everyone, “Honestly, I think it
could be very dangerous if the wife has not been upgraded.” He
looked embarrassed, when he continued, “As one is about to achieve
his ultimate bliss, it’s very difficult to exercise caution right
at that moment. One little slip and he could break her bones, or
even kill her. Thank God Mary is almost as strong as I am. It’s the
only way she survived.”

Everyone gawked at him, as he added, “And, if you
must know, the sex was fantastic; better than anything I’ve ever
experienced.” Mary smiled and nodded in agreement.

Max grinned widely and said, “Perhaps we need to get
that into the sales effort. It could make the difference for a lot
of those young guys out there.”

Mike warned, “Yes it could. But, would they be the
right guys? We don’t need a bunch of clowns who just signed up for
better sex. No, we’ll tell them before they are upgraded, but we
won’t make it a part of the recruiting effort.”

Bambi commed Mike privately,
I could tweak their
minds so they didn’t want sex anymore, or maybe just for the ones
who didn’t have an upgraded woman.

NO! The more we alter their thoughts, the more we
are abusing their trust. It would be the first step toward making
them mind slaves.

Sorry, Boss. You’re right.

He announced, “Max, Mary and I are going to have a
chat with our scientists. Let’s see if we can’t get them thinking
in terms of what we face with regard to this damaged ship.”

Looking to his son he said, “Wayne, I want you to
separate the old fighter pilots from the other vets for now and see
if they have any ideas about how to handle the situation. Don’t
mention upgrading. I’m hoping that by explaining to everyone what
is happening and how fast it’s occurring they’ll be more motivated
to join us. If not, at least they can contribute ideas.”