A Starship Called Starsong

Chapter 41

The ride back to the docking station was quiet, but the silence was comfortable. I passed the driver my payment card. After charging the fare to it, he handed my card back along with the receipt.

The guards at the base of this docking station didn't pay any more attention to us than they did to anyone else. Quite a few people were going in and out, probably leaving for or returning from their own ship-leave.

We got into a large elevator with a number of other people. I didn't really watch them, but I noticed that Ronan was keeping a subtle eye on our companions. All of these suspicious people were going to make me paranoid at this rate...

"-pirates seem to be attacking all ships along that route."

I focused on the conversation that suddenly caught my interest.

A woman responded to the original man. "If they know there are pirates there, why hasn't the Interspace Enforcement groups sent a few spaceships to wipe them out?"

"The two Enforcement ships that were sent have disappeared, so the pirates must have some power behind them. Nothing more powerful is in the immediate area, so we just have to avoid that area until a more powerful warship of some sort arrives. After losing two Enforcement ships, the Interspace Enforcement will be sending something bigger."

I was pretty sure that I knew what this new knowledge was going to entail...

"You are correct. Not that it will change anything. These pirates happen to be ambushing ships along the route we had previously chosen."

Another man inquired, "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Which route was this? We haven't heard of anything yet."

At least we weren't the only ones in the dark. I listened to the man's response, but Starsong was correct. It was the same route we had planned to take. I was also quite positive that he wasn't about to change his plans just because of a few pirates. Lovely, looks like we will be facing real pirates after all...

       I rolled up the comic magazine in my hands before lightly swatting Cynthia with it.

"Ack! What was that for?!"

"I am not entirely sure what you are reading, but you were starting to make some weird squeaking and squawking noises in the back of your throat."

She twisted around in her seat to show me the page of her book. "Gonzolios was flirting with his best friend's girlfriend!"

"I don't mind you reading in my sitting room, but those noises have to go. What star system is that name from anyways? Apparently, I have to avoid it if those people name their kids that..."

She shrugged indifferently. "No idea, and it doesn't say. I will try to keep the sound effects to a minimum, especially since the seats here are way better than others on the ship – and that is saying something since I didn't think anything could beat the chairs in the library."

'Great. You realize that you won her heart with soft seats, right?'

"Humans value their comfort and having such things is supposedly a sign of prestige. A Starship is not a second-rate ship, and I see no point in having inferior equipment on board – even something as minor as a seat."

Apparently, Starsong had some potential pride and vanity issues in the works... For the first time in a very long time, I felt a faint pressure in my head as the mindlink chip used its more advanced sensors. It swiftly faded, and I waited for Starsong's explanation.

"I will concede to being somewhat overzealous in some aspects, but I do have my pride, and that causes me to have certain standards. Having comfortable seats is a tiny detail, but it improves the mood of the crew. All of the Starships did the same. We may primarily be traders, but we are not cheap when it comes to things we deem to be an improvement to the Starship."

I absorbed that for a few moments. His response explained a lot about him and all of the other Starships. They may have been limited to being contained by technology, but that was about all they had in common with the AIs that most people were familiar with. The Starship AIs were aware; they had likes and dislikes, and, as I just confirmed, they were not only capable of emotions, but also personality traits like pride.

I had known in theory that they were a far cry from a typical AI, but I now realized they were far, far more. They weren't human, being far more logical, but they were so close that it could be easy to mistake them for one if you were just talking to them.

In my mind, I had stopped considering Starsong as a computer program quite some time ago. He was my guide, mentor – and friend. I had never been as close to anyone as I was with Starsong. Even my brother didn't know my deepest thoughts – and he certainly didn't want to. I had friends over the years, but it had been nothing like the peculiar strengthening friendship that Starsong and I shared.

Cynthia's voice broke through my thoughts. "Okay... You may have said the sounds I made were weird – and they probably were, but you have been staring vacantly at that picture on the wall for almost ten minutes, and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why it has you so fascinated."

I came back to the present, realizing that Cynthia was quite correct and I had been staring at a wall for quite some time... I shook my head a bit to refocus. "Sorry, I wasn't even aware that I had spaced out like that."

"Okay... And just what were you thinking about for so long?"

"I was listening to Starsong." Most of the crew members were probably convinced that I had a small, well-hidden earpiece that Starsong used to relay information to me, and in a way, they were correct. Most Captains had something that allowed their Officers to keep them informed of any details they may wish to know about.

She blinked in realization as she said, "Oh, I keep completely forgetting that he talks to you frequently. I mean, I know it in theory, but since I never hear his voice, it just slips my mind. I kind of prefer it that way though, knowing I am listening to an aware AI gives me the creeps, even if it is kind of cool." She glanced up, suddenly self-conscious. "Uh, no offense meant, Starsong..."

"None taken."

Cynthia jumped a bit as Starsong responded over the speakers. Like so many others on board, Cynthia was still uneasy hearing directly from Starsong, even though she found the concept intriguing and knew that he meant her no harm. Like walking underneath a spider web with a massive spider in it, people were apprehensive regardless of how fascinating they found the intricate spider web.

"I am not a spider." He seemed somewhat amused by my weird comparison. Although I wasn't exactly aware of anyone else who would compare a computer to an insect based on people's reactions...

'Indeed, but a spider would merely drop down on them if sufficiently annoyed. You are capable of controlling the airlocks and access doors.'

"Yes, but I am much more intelligent than a spider. I also handle provocation in different ways."

'I never doubted that detail. They may not even know why they are nervous when they hear you.'

"I suspect it is because they do not understand exactly what I am. The unknown tends to make humans uneasy."

I suspected he had once more hit the bullseye with that observation.