21.6.3585
Sumeragi spent most of the following day trawling through the archives and picking apart every document she could get her hands on, but despite being promoted from 'guest' to Senior Commander, there were still some items on the system that she couldn't access. They were split into two broad categories; things that only the Captain could open, and files that were encrypted by the company and could only be opened using a certain passkey.
Despite said company no longer existing - Rhea could not decode them without those keys.
Sumeragi was willing to believe that much from her. Encryption protocols were so complex that even a hyper-advanced computer would struggle to brute-force their way through. It did leave large gaps where the most important elements used to be though. Sumeragi wanted to know the full extent of the technology that the ship boasted, most importantly what the bio-medical chamber in the lab could really do.
A physical inspection of the chamber turned up no clues. The mechanisms were securely confined to a large chamber above the main tank. According to the publicly accessible information it utilised robotic arms managed by the ship's AI to operate on the patient. Asking questions of McAllister was also a waste of time. He only stated that he felt a little sore for a few days after the operation and that he had a high level of pain tolerance.
From an outside perspective, there was nothing wrong with him. The operation did exactly as Rhea claimed, but that didn't mean that it was only for the sake of keeping their vital information. Sumeragi simply couldn't make herself place that much trust into Rhea. Sumeragi decided to take a break from delving any deeper. She was only winding herself up by doing so, and there was no alcohol available on the ship to help with her nerves.
"I'm going to be a happy man when we get back to civilization again."
Sumeragi sat on the chair to my front left on the top level of the bridge. From there she could issue any orders she liked and make contact with every section of the ship. It was a little redundant given that the ship consisted entirely of a large aircraft with two people inside of it. It never hurt to get comfortable with your duties.
Sumeragi also replaced her uniform with one that was in line with our new dress code. I was never the biggest fan of the uniforms from 00's second season, but the drab coveralls we were dealing with weren't exactly inspiring. We didn't even need uniforms in the first place. Once we got some money together and found a place to buy new clothes, I was saying goodbye to the droll uniform and getting something more personal. Not to mention the fact that they were still plastered with the logos of Rhea's now-defunct corporation.
"I thought I was good enough company for the time being?" Sumeragi joked.
"Yeah, but I want to get my feet on solid ground – and not inside of an abandoned space station that's halfway to making me shit myself every time I go inside."
Sumeragi's face dropped, "Charming."
"Ah, sorry. I'm trying to cut down on the swearing."
I sensed that Sumeragi was a little thrown off about something, aside from being dragged into another universe. Her behaviour was starting to concern me a bit. The best way to handle it would be to have a frank discussion about the problem but I was never much good at the whole 'emotional honesty' thing. I took the direct route instead.
"Is something bothering you?"
Sumeragi tensed up as I swivelled to face her. She sighed and nodded, but did not elaborate any further, "We can't talk about it here."
"Why not?"
"It's private," she responded.
"If you're uncomfortable with living on the ship make sure to let me know. Rhea can do a lot of amazing things with that replicator of hers, or maybe there's something hidden in the cargo hold that can help."
Sumeragi tried to look grateful for my offer and smiled, "Thank you."
Her refusal to talk pointed to one of two things, she didn't trust me enough to expose whatever it was, or she didn't like having Rhea listening in on everything we said. It was something I had to accept while living on the ship. Rhea was always on watch because artificial constructs didn't need to sleep. She would maintain the ship's mooring, keep an eye on the trackers, and generally ensure that we didn't list into the nearest solid object while nobody was awake. I was capable of ignoring her voyeuristic ways easily enough by reminding myself that she was an advanced computer program.
But I was also capable of seeing that other people may not feel the same way. Sumeragi might have been the type of woman to value her privacy more than I did. If she didn't want to tell me – there was nothing I could do about it short of threatening her, and that was a step too far for me.
She changed the subject, "I asked Rhea about venturing out with you next time, but she said that she couldn't agree without having me undergo the operation first."
Rhea explained; "My programming strictly forbids me from dispatching a crew member without the requisite safety measures being taken. As a corporate ship, my designers assumed that every person onboard would have already undergone the procedure. The risk calculation is prohibitive. I apologise for the inconvenience, Senior Commander."
I agreed, "I wouldn't feel safe bringing you out without that kind of stuff either. I'm doing just fine on my own. It should only be a few more days before we can take off and head for occupied territory."
"You can hardly expect me to sit on the bridge while you risk your life to collect the salvage."
I shrugged, "I might have gotten ahead of myself by summoning you here."
"But if you didn't, I would have died in that crash."
"Actually – the Displacement Core can manipulate time too. It doesn't matter when we choose to summon someone. Although it may just be that your timeline happened to line up with ours while we were searching."
Rhea came in with the save, "I would suggest not thinking too hard about it, Captain. It was a confounding question even for the men and women who designed the Core in the first place."
"You're just saying that because you don't know either."
"I do, but the explanation would be meaningless without a significant amount of foundational study in the physics behind the process."
"Hey, I got my GCSEs in science."
"That qualification was rendered obsolete one-thousand years ago."
That was going to make it hard to get a job if this space captain thing didn't pan out. For that matter, I had no identification documents aside from the driving licence in my wallet. Considering that it expired in 2024 and that I'd be long dead by now, they probably weren't going to accept that and give me my British citizenship back.
"Uh, Rhea – I just realised something. Neither me or Sumeragi are patriated."
"That will be no problem. Overpopulation led to many individuals slipping through the cracks and living without citizenship. In some place, a simple demonstration of language skills and understanding of the law is enough to receive permission to stay. There are also many less scrupulous individuals and companies that will sponsor you for a fee. It is rather simple to manufacture a new identity from nothing."
"Are you suggesting we do that?"
"My programming forbids me from advising you on illegal acts, Captain."
But planning to brainwash people is A-Okay, or did the legislators simply never plan for somebody trying something so stupid? The conversation fizzled out and I returned to reading some of the books that someone stored on the database, all of them pirated from somewhere. Sumeragi was clearly dissatisfied with the outcome of our discussion, but there wasn't much I could do if she wasn't willing to tell me why she was upset.
Things seemed fairly normal until I decided to go to the toilet. As I stepped inside of the tiny room, I found myself being pushed inside and the door drawn shut behind me. Sumeragi had been lying in wait for me to show up. I could feel her breasts pressing into my back as she took a moment to compose myself.
"What's this about?" I asked, "Is it related to earlier?"
She kept her voice low, "I checked the ship specs, and this is the only place where we can talk without Rhea listening to us."
"Is it really that big a problem?"
I'd seen 2001 A Space Odyssey before, so I got the distinct feeling that Sumeragi's plan was filled with holes. Sumeragi pushed me even closer to the back wall to try and make herself comfortable. This was profoundly awkward in all of the worst ways. Getting pinned down by an extremely attractive older woman wasn't going to be made less arousing by the sober topic she was trying to bring up.
"She's oddly persistent about trying to make me undergo that operation, were you telling the truth when you said that there was nothing wrong afterwards? Or were you just trying to stop her from overhearing you?"
"There was nothing wrong with it like I said. Are you worried about her going crazy or something?"
"I wouldn't say that, but there must have been an effect on her stability if she was trapped on this ship for a hundred years. That's the problem with human-like intelligence; they're smart and reactive, but they're as hardy as a human too. Imagine if you were put into her position. No contact, nobody to talk to, hoping day after day that somebody would come to rescue you."
"There's been a few blips where she said something odd, but nothing happens on this ship without my say so. She backed off when I told her no. Rhea isn't capable of hurting us unless I demand that she do it, and even then, the priority might be to ignore my orders and protect the crew anyway."
Sumeragi sighed into my ear and explained herself, "I've read through almost every document that I can get access to surrounding the medical technology and Rhea's protocols, that includes field reports from the crew, and they didn't express any concerns with her at the time. But there are circumstantial pieces of evidence that make me think that tube can do more than just inject nanomachines into us. Unfortunately – the exact nature of them was left redacted, even to me."
"Well don't ask me to get them open, they're encrypted."
"Did Rhea tell you that?"
"I checked myself. Every file I can't open needs a passcode. Rhea isn't even capable of deleting information from the database. It's a failsafe to keep her from removing something important."
"That's convenient."
"Listen, I know that you don't trust Rhea very much. Anything she does or says, the buck stops with me. So, if you don't feel comfortable with anything – tell me and I'll do something about it."
Sumeragi was silent as she considered whether she could trust me as well. I wasn't expecting trust, but I was hoping that she'd at least keep me informed as to what Rhea was doing while I wasn't paying attention. Eventually, she let up the pressure and backed away towards the door.
"Okay. I'll tell you if she does anything strange."
"And uh, next time let's find a better place to do this – I really do need to use the bathroom."
Sumeragi frowned, "Oh. I agree."
She stepped out and allowed me to complete my business. The moment I stepped out into the corridor Rhea was on me like a bird of prey, "Captain, is there any reason why Senior Commander Noriega took you into the bathroom?"
"No, it was just an accident."
Rhea didn't respond, but her silence was more disconcerting than an audible answer.
------
22.6.3585
Sumeragi was friendly enough, but I knew it was nothing more than a courtesy. I was a man whom many people would rather avoid. Neurotic, self-conscious, and interested in hobbies that were embarrassing to discuss with others. Before my untimely kidnapping, I'd never been able to maintain a relationship, friendly or romantic, that lasted for very long. I was more than capable of detecting the tension that started to build in the ship as Sumeragi tried to figure out what Rhea's game was.
I was nowhere near as suspicious of her motivations as Sumeragi was. We'd been together for some time now and she'd yet to do anything untoward. Surely, she would have killed me the first chance she got when we met if that were the case. She could withhold our food and water or something along those lines.
As for her other behaviours – I came to learn that Rhea was eager to please. Anything I suggested she would accept without judgement. The concerning things she said could be cut off at the pass with a firm order to avoid the topic. She just needed some time to reacquaint herself with other people, years of isolation can't have been good for her 'mental' state. The elation she demonstrated when I arrived was not an act.
Unfortunately, sometimes she could be very stubborn when I tried to get information about how the ship functioned. I was getting flustered by her evasiveness, "I might understand it if you explain, Rhea. I thought I was meant to be the Captain?"
"I am keeping the subject of our discussions simple, as the details are extremely complex and difficult to understand. A core part of my duties is ensuring that every crew member is on the same page regardless of their expertise or experience. I do not mean to insult you, Captain."
It felt like she was intentionally trying to push my buttons. I had an extremely aggressive reaction to what she was saying, "It doesn't sound that way to me. Where do you get off on implying that I'm some kind of fucking idiot?"
Rhea was silent for a second.
"Captain, you are becoming flustered. I am an Empathetic assistant designed to assist the crew in many ways. I am capable of providing emotional and psychological support when it is needed."
"Well, I don't fucking need it."
I was falling down that hole again. Getting upset over nothing, and then getting upset at myself for acting so stupidly. It made me want to tear my hair out. I was in an argumentative mood – even though I knew that Rhea was just an AI installed into the ship. She didn't mean anything bad by it, but having people point out my personal failings was enough to drive me into a distressed corner.
"If you're so good at it – what do you think of me? Come on, I can take it."
I didn't want to know.
"Based on the content of our conversations I have reached several conclusions. You prefer to be left alone and find human contact fulfilling even if not done in person. You have a generalized anger problem which causes you to lash out at things you deem unimportant as a coping mechanism. You suffer from a sense of inferiority brought about by personal events and the success of your close family."
Was she really doing this?
"You also suffer from an anxiety condition, your heart rate has become increasingly anomalous, and your brain chemistry is presently recovering from anti-depressant withdrawal. You frequently endure chest pain and find it difficult to sleep. You tend to project an image of confidence and calm, but you find situations out of your control extremely upsetting. At the same time, you fear responsibility and prefer to leave important tasks to another or place yourself into situations where a superior directs you."
She was really doing this.
I stood from the chair and yelled, "Alright! Enough. I swear to fucking god, Rhea!"
"What I mean to say is that this is nothing I have not encountered before. Even the most brilliant men and women who worked with me suffered from a variety of conditions."
"And do you purposefully rile them up by listing them like they don't bloody know already?"
"I apologise for upsetting you, Captain. I believe that you are capable of overcoming these obstacles and becoming an effective leader. You are highly intelligent, fundamentally kind, and capable of reflecting on your own shortcomings. These are all values that a leader requires."
It was impossible for her modulated voice to sound sincere. The only time emotion broke through was when she laughed during my first exploration of the station. It was a moment of disquieting mania that hadn't been replicated since. This entire thing was strange. Rhea was usually respectful of my boundaries and only probed into things when I initiated a discussion about something.
Those long and winding tales covered a myriad of different experiences from my life. The bullying I endured at school, my contentious relationship with my sister, and how I tried to become more independent without the ability to be honest with my family about it.
Rhea had figured out all of these issues from a combination of those vague stories and my medical information, which she was tracking through the nanomachines in my body. It was a terrifying and shockingly accurate series of deductions. This was the real power of Rhea's empathetic programming – she understood people better than they understood themselves.
"My position as an empathetic AI has given me a unique perspective on the people who manned the ship. None of my crew were perfect, and they also strove to hide elements of themselves that they feared would lead to mockery. People can be extremely careless with their words – it is a form of normalised violence designed to estrange those who are different."
"They must be more tolerant now than they were back then."
"They are, but as long as people are motivated by selfish means – they will use whatever they can to gain an advantage over others. This can be manifested as verbal and emotional abuse."
"Yeah, yeah. I already know all of this."
"Are you worried that Senior Commander Noriega will find you unpleasant company?"
I frowned and leaned back against the wall, "Who wouldn't worry about that? Everyone wants to go into a new connection on the best possible footing."
"You did summon her with the intent of turning her into your partner, and a member of your prospective harem."
I scratched the back of my head sheepishly, "I guess I did. But I'm terrible with women. The thought of flirting with anyone makes my spine crawl."
"I do not see any reason why she won't be able to appreciate your good side, Captain. According to my analysis, you are in the profile space best suited to earning the trust of others. Sumeragi is seeking someone to be open with – and she is willing to put aside her summoning here if you treat her as an equal."
"Equal? She's a lot better at this stuff than I am."
"And that is why she makes the perfect Senior Commander. I hope that you will pay close attention to what she teaches you, Captain. Though I already know that I don't need to tell you that."
I chastised myself for getting heated over nothing again. I always did this. A spiral of negative feelings wasn't good for anybody, least of all me. I returned to the task at hand and continued to sort through the collection of items I'd pilfered from the abandoned station. Phones and other devices went into a bin for precious metals. Everything else was dispersed depending on the materials they were made from. Rhea claimed that the replicator could break down almost anything, at least anything that could be made with human hands.
Being cooped up in this ship was getting to me. That was why I exploded on Rhea so suddenly.
-----
"Good evening Senior Commander. Are you staying up late?"
Sumeragi felt a flash of anger in her chest, but it died out as quickly as it came. She didn't have the energy or time to get angry about what a computer thought of her. She was trying to complete some more reading before she headed to her room for the night, she hoped that it would keep the omnipresent computer from bothering her while she was doing so.
"I don't want to deal with this. Do you have any reason to speak with me right now?"
"I am simply concerned about your well-being, Senior Commander."
"Just call me Sumeragi," she insisted, "And I don't need you to baby me. I've dealt with worse situations than this fine on my own. Cramped spacefaring quarters are more familiar to me than a terrestrial home."
"That is why the Captain told me about you, so we could utilise the Core to bring you here."
"How did he know about me?" Sumeragi asked inquisitively. It was a question that ate at her.
"I'm not sure that I can say without his permission."
"Not even to the Senior Commander?"
Rhea hummed, "He didn't specify that I should keep it a secret. If you really wish to know…"
Sumeragi looked up to the nearest camera, "Just tell me."
"It is related to the mechanics of the Core and probability. To put it simply, the Displacement Core allows us to peer into other universes and pull mass from them. There is no limitation to this ability beyond our capacity to store the energy needed to do so. In this case, your life and the universe you came from closely aligned with a fictional story that the Captain consumed while in his own."
It took a second for Sumeragi to catch up, "Are you saying that I'm not real?"
"Of course not – that would be impossible. Your presence is proof of your existence. If we wanted to, we could find another universe where the Captain is a fictional character too, and even pull a copy of him from another."
Sumeragi sighed and considered the truth, "So he knows a lot about me?"
"The key points which one may see in a story – yes. He knows about your experiences in Celestial Being and your reasoning for being a member of it. He values your talent greatly, which is why he decided to rescue you and bring you here."
"Sounds more like kidnapping to me."
"I can assure you that you would have perished in the crash. The Captain specified to bring you from a universe where you were about to die, so as not to alter the flow of events too much."
That didn't make her feel any better about it. She wanted to remain there and see the end of the battle that they fought and shed blood for. Sumeragi knew that the Core pulled things in its direction and couldn't send her back to her home without an anchor point to follow. Unless they found a universe that was similar to hers that sported similar technology. It wouldn't be the original though. At that point what was the meaning in going back? Sumeragi would rather stay here than submit to a facile of the world she knew.
"As you may well know, the Captain is the concerned type. He will not stand idly by and allow others to die under his watch. Even when locating you took more time and effort, he insisted that we do so for the sake of saving your life."
"And what about all the other people who die out there?" Sumeragi pondered, "We can't do the same for everyone else."
"Indeed. But that is no excuse for doing nothing at all. Every life saved is valuable regardless. As long as we have the means to assist someone – there is little reason not to do so."
Sumeragi frowned, why was the ship's AI dismantling her arguments so effortlessly?
The power of the Heraldis Displacement Core was one of the biggest mysteries in Sumeragi's eyes. Such an amazing piece of technology was left to rot on a planet in the middle of nowhere after the company responsible spent tens of billions of dollars developing it. Their entire business strategy relied on taking the Core system and using it to connect remote areas of space to increase resource extraction. Even if they couldn't find the ship again – they still had the knowledge to recreate it.
Then came the worrying implications of such a technology. They could essentially pull anything through the fold and use it as a weapon, or forcibly recruit people to fight in a conflict that wasn't their own. Perhaps the two issues were interconnected. If law and order was still widespread in the intergalactic sphere, a coalition of individuals and groups may have formed to ensure that it stayed buried forever. It wouldn't be the first time. Everyone was desperate to see the end of the GN drive before they realised they could use them to enhance their own military strength.
That meant the Core was too complicated or expensive to replicate. The company did go out of business after losing it and the Pariah. They'd bet all of their chips on one last desperate play and almost came out the winners.
"He's planning on bringing other people through too, isn't he?"
"The Captain has stated that his intent is to only do so when the need for crew is more pressing. For the time being, a crew of four to five people is the maximum that the Pariah can comfortably house without making compromises on food, water or oxygen."
She wasn't sure how to feel about that.
There was one more thing that Sumeragi had to consider. Rhea made it obvious that she wasn't going to be permitted to assist Captain McAllister without undergoing the medical procedure out of concern for her safety. She'd exhausted just about every avenue of investigation that she could think of without turning up the results she was searching for.
Either they were very meticulous in concealing the concerning facts from those who didn't need to know them, or she was jumping at shadows and Rhea was being well-intentioned with her offer. She needed a backup plan in case things went wrong, the only person she could ask to keep an eye on her was the Captain.
"Hey Captain, would you like to come into the medical room and see me naked to make sure your AI isn't doing anything terrible?"
Too forward? It sounded like she was trying to make a bad joke. Even if it was unlikely that he'd turn down the chance to see her in the nude, she wanted him to understand that she was being serious. It'd make her feel a lot safer to have someone keeping an eye on the process if she were to go ahead with it. She was no prude – safety in exchange for unconscious voyeurism was the obvious choice.
She did need to work on that phrasing, though.