here?” he asked.
“The abnormalities, both natural and unnatural, have been repaired. You should have a normal life span of approximately 150 or more years with scan monitoring. Your senses have been optimized. Your new translator will not cause any discomfort and will only take a minute to get accustomed to. Captain, if you are again ‘shot,’ return to this facility so that you may be repaired without scar tissue or loss of parts.”
“Whoa, a hundred and fifty years. I can live that long?…what was that translator thing you said?”
“With proper nutrition and monitoring, you can have a life span of 150 years beyond your current age. The translator is a unit that is placed into the auditory canal. It translates other languages into your language for your brain to process. It is connected to the brain. You think in your language, but when you speak, it is in the translated language. All government officials and ship captains are required to have one.”
“So I can hear people speak to me in another language and speak it back to them, but I’m hearing it in English?”
“That is correct, sir. Would you like me to speak to you in different languages so you can understand the function? You must let the other language speak first for the translator to work properly.”
The AI spoke in several languages by first stating the language. The language was displayed on a wall monitor, and Roy’s response was also there. He was impressed. He felt no discomfort in his thinking and speech, but knew he was talking in other languages. Roy also noted that his sight was sharper, and his hearing was outstanding. In fact, he thought all of his senses were better than they had ever been. In the morning, during his normal workout, he noticed that his reflexes were faster, and he felt stronger than he had ever felt in his life. Good health is all that it’s cracked up to be, he thought to himself. Even his image in the mirror looked younger, but he knew that had to be his imagination at work.
“AI, what other changes did your medical machine do to me? For some reason, I feel better, stronger, and my reading glasses don’t work right.”
“Sir, you have no need for reading assistance. Your eyesight has been optimized. All of your senses have been improved to their optimum level. Unlike Ternan brains, yours had a large portion that was underdeveloped. By realigning the Desda, or nerve neuron endings, you now have the ability to access those areas when needed.”
“So you’re telling me that I’m as good now as I was twenty years ago?”
“No, sir, much better.”
Great, Roy thought to himself. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been, and I could be alone out here for the next hundred or more years.
Chapter 3
A New Challenge
“AI, do you have the location of the planet that the captain and crew went to?” Roy asked.
“Yes, Captain.”
“Set a course for that planet. We need to see if there are any survivors or descendants of them still alive that need to be rescued.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Wait a minute, what is the travel time to this planet? I don’t want it to be a two-hundred-plus-years trip. I want to be alive when we get there.”
“The travel time is nineteen days, three hours.”
“If the time is only nineteen days, why did it take you seven hundred years to get back here?”
“The Star Drive was damaged by the asteroid. The ship only had steering and docking thrusters to move through space. Without the Star Drive, it was time consuming to generate power to explore for the needed raw materials and for the Artificial Intelligence Mechanical Units to manufacture and install the damaged system. During the exterior repairs, I was unable to maneuver or protect the ship from a small group of meteors, and four AIMUs were dislodged from the outside hull. Additional AIMUs required training prior to completing the exterior repairs.”
“The Artificial Intelligence Mechanical Units. Oh, you mean the little robot guys. They can do all that?”
“Yes, sir. They can build or rebuild any part on the ship and also perform all required maintenance to the ship.”
“How many of these little robots are there?”
“There are forty AIMUs aboard at this time. There were forty-five assigned, but four were lost doing external repairs, and one accompanied the captain and crew as pilot of the transport ship.”
“Wow, and they all have jobs to do?”
“Twenty-five have assigned duties, ten are replacements in case of failure or damage, three are for AIMU repair, five are for interior and exterior upkeep, and two are pilots.”
“Ten for replacements of damaged robots. Is their work that dangerous?”
“Most are damaged by collision with crew members in the hallways. It has also been noted that several crew members took pleasure in measuring the distance the AIMUs could be kicked.”
“That ain’t gonna happen anymore as long as I am captain. Those little guys do a lot of work and deserve some respect.”
“I will convey that information to them.”
“What happened to the ones that were lost? Did you go back and try to find them?”
“My mission program did not allow for recovery.”
Roy decided it was time for him to explore the ship, “his” ship for as long as it lasted. After all, he was going in search of the original captain and crew. As he walked the hallways, he saw the robots hurriedly moving about. Some were small, and others were quite large. As he rounded a corner, one of the smaller robots ran into his foot and spun around. Roy saw that one of its articulated legs was bent and picked it up. As he did so, he heard a high-pitched sound come from the robot. Then he heard the AI voice. “Is everything all right, Captain. I received a distress call from this AIMU.”
“No, it’s not. I accidentally ran into this little guy and damaged his leg. Where do I take him to be repaired? If you can communicate with them, tell him I’m sorry and will try to better avoid him next time.”
“I will convey your message. AIMU repair is on Deck 7.”
Roy carried the damaged unit to the repair station. As he entered the room, he saw several robots going about their tasks. Then all of them suddenly, upon seeing Roy, scurried backward and up against the wall.
They are afraid of me, he thought to himself. “AI, did you receive the distress call when I collided with the A-I-M-U or when I picked it up?” Roy asked?
“When you picked it up, Captain?” was the reply. Roy walked over to the repair area and gently set the robot down, then turned and walked out of the room without getting close to the other units. This action by the AIMUs concerned him. It showed fear, and fear was an emotion. Computers don’t have emotions, he thought to himself. The other logic was that the prior crew had abused them so much that this was a “self-preservation” mode that they go into. Whatever the reason, he had to find a way to undo this fear and gain their trust. He thought for
