Shadow Of The Past Trilogy ∞ THE DISPLACED

102 ∞ nanites at work

Day Twenty ∞ 7:20 a.m. Wednesday morning 

TURNING TO THE NEXT ROW, Artemae faced the nearest worker laughing into his hand.

"I'll convert your computer now," she said.

The young man jumped out of his armchair to give her space, but instead she targeted each of the other operators with a grave stare. Only when the room returned somewhat to its business-like air did she place her hands on the console to initiate its conversion.

She returned to Briggs with a friendly smile. He was still grumpy, working his mouth.

"Any questions you want to ask me? Perhaps you'd like to check the settings? There are many interesting options under that tab."

"What I'd like to know," he threw a furtive glance at Gray, "is how a new computer could know details about me, like my full name, rank... and my civil status."

"This is not just a 'computer', this is an NSAI—a non-sentient artificial intelligence. And concerning your information, the hard drives of the former console contained detailed personnel files, in addition to other information. The data was transferred and saved.

"But... it is my considered opinion—as well as my advice—that in the future you abstain from any similar attempts to engage this equipment into recursive loops. If by any chance you succeed, you'll lose it, because I won't be here to fix it. Well," she regarded him for a while, then glanced around the room, "if there are no further questions, I'll continue replacing the rest of these antiques."

She checked the console with its screen just solidifying. Satisfied that it had completed its transformation, she waved the operator back to his seat then turned to Briggs who gaped at her in disbelief.

"I suggest you don't wait to instruct each of your colleagues. You want to minimize on the down-time here, don't you?"

Briggs snapped his mouth shut and obeyed, his wide eyes repeatedly drawn to her as she attended to each of the remaining consoles, the wall screens, and the two main stations.

Twenty minutes later, Artemae approached Gray who'd been watching everything from his vantage point at the master console. "My Queen asked me to give you a little present, as a token of her appreciation." Two shiny black dots appeared on her extended palm.

Gray donned his reading glasses from an inside pocket and stooped to peer at them. "What is it?"

"Smart Dots. They will transmit radio signals directly to your skull." Her tone was serious. "You'll receive the sound clearly even if there are lots of guns shooting next to you. In addition, it will translate any language you hear into English."

Eagerly, Gray picked up one of the spots to inspect it, then hesitated.

"Place them on the sides of your jaw."

The dots stuck to him and a few moments later changed texture, melding into his skin.

"Whoa, whoa," Baldie blurted, "they disappeared!"

Frowning, Gray tried to find the dots with his fingertips.

"They're embedded so he can never lose them," Artemae said. "Go ahead, speak to him using your radio."

Baldie glanced at her in surprise. Then he spoke into his left cuff, and Gray winced, his hand flying to his ear.

"Just say, 'Volume, lower.' Keep repeating 'lower' or 'higher' till the sound is satisfactory for you. If you want to transmit, just tap your jaw bone twice, and twice again to end transmission. Or, if your hands are busy, tap with your teeth."