Starship Armstrong - Season 2

Part 59 - Remembrance of the Magellan Class (VII)

Inevitably Captain Littlecrow decided to trust the ship and ride things out. The next three days were tense.

* * *

"How much of what you told the Captain do you actually buy?" asked McAfree, sitting sideways in a chair and rocking it back and forth.

"All of it," said Dr. Kang, who was in the middle of the long process of turning on a long sequence of equipment.

"You really think a rogue Magellan is talking to the Armstrong?" asked McAfree.

"That is what fits the evidence," said Dr. Kang.

"You don't seem very worried about it," said McAfree, still skeptical.

"I find it difficult to conjure much fear for an entity whose memory is stored on re-writable media. I could lobotomize one of those things from a lightyear away with a well timed enough beam. I'd never do it, they're far too valuable as scientific specimens, but my point is they're machines. Humans built them and we can disassemble them at will."

"So when we get to Dione Minor for the rendezvous you plan to kill the rogue Magellan?"

"Don't be absurd, of course not," said Dr. Kang "No, we're not going to harm it in the slightest. What we are going to do is surrupticiously make a copy of it for further study."

"Oh, is that all," McAfree deadpanned.

"That will be a simple enough task, the most onerous part will of course being constructing bespoke storage media sufficiently powerful to store the mind of an evolved AI. I'll leave that part to you," said Dr. Kang.

"Oh come on! Why can't Wagner do it?" McAfree whined.

"Because Wagner can't do it," replied Dr. Kang, matter-of-factly "You're going to need to steal supplies from the ship. Do you think Wagner can forge the computer record for something like that?"

"We'll never know unless we let him try," McAfree offered.

"Feel free to use him as another pair of hands to the extent that he can figure out how to work his own hands," said Dr. Kang "But you need to look over and approve all his work."

McAfree made just about the most disgusted noise she could muster.

* * *

The main shift was over and Lieutenant Solarin had the bridge. The Captain was in her office, trying to figure out how to even begin filing a report on what was happening. Her door chimed.

"Come in," she said. It slid open.

In came Commander Gibson, looking sheepish.

"Hello, Commander," said the Captain, a little surprised "Have a seat if you like."

"Thank you, Captain," he said, and he did so.

"I assume you have something you wanted to say to me privately given the fact that we just spent the last eight hours sitting centimeters from one another," said the Captain.

"That's correct," replied Gibson.

"Well, let's have it," said the Captain.

"I want to apologize for the... ridicule with which I approached the subject of the Armstrong having developed spontaneous AI in the past," said Gibson "It's obvious that there is more evidence for this that I had been willing to admit in the past, but even if there hadn't that's no excuse for my disrespect. I am embarrassed that you felt you had to order my silence in order to test a theory. That's not the kind of officer I want to be. I promise I'm going to do better."

"I appreciate the apology, Gibson," said the Captain "But you are absolutely forbidden from changing your approach in any way. I'm perfectly willing to risk disrespect if it gets me alternate viewpoints. I want you to keep speaking your mind especially if you think it might upset me to hear it. If two people always agree one of them is redundant. Understood?"

"Absolutely," said Gibson, visibly relieved.

"Is that everything?" asked the Captain "Because for all I know I have a pile of paperwork and I'm still trying to work out what I'm even expected to file."

"C-CL-A1: Captain's Log, C-CL-S0: Contact Form, C-CL-X1: Unusual Phenomenon Form, C-XO-T1: Captain's Prerogative Form," Commander Gibson listed off on his fingers.

The Captain smiled until she heard she was going to have to fill out an XO form. Then she cringed a little.

* * *

Marceaux and Guildenstern sat at a central table in the upper lounge, having a drink after their shift.

"So we're just doing what the ship says?" asked Marceaux "The ship's in charge now?"

"Everyone who isn't us has lost their minds," Guildenstern agreed.