Jack's Moonlighting Pt. 02

Rikki made a gasping noise in surprise. "I never said I wanted to leave! I know I've been an intrusion on your life—"

"Wha—When did I ever say you were an intrusion! I've never—"

"Come on, Jack! When Taggart first asked you to have me connect to your collar—"

Jack rocked back in shock. "Oh my god, Rikki! Of course, back then, it was a shock! I was being asked to let another living being, a stranger at that time, share my most personal sensations!" Jack froze. "Do you think I still feel that way?" he asked slowly.

Rikki was quiet for a moment as it examined Jack's expression. "You don't?"

"No! When I lost you, especially the second time, I was miserable! I've come to depend on you, like my dearest, most dependable friend, but I understand if you feel I'm being too clingy—"

It was Rikki's turn to make an exclamation in shock. "Clingy? I never said that or thought it!"

Jack looked at Rikki seriously. "I don't want you to go. Even when Hemmarr perfects the sensor thingy, and you have a drone that lets you disconnect for as long as you want, I want you to stay. I mean, I'd love for you to stay. I wouldn't force you if you really wanted to leave but know this. I don't think you're a burden, and I love being able to share my life with you!" Jack paused and held up a finger to make a new point. "Granted, once the new drone is built, I expect you to disconnect when I have intimate relations with my loved ones."

He waited for Rikki's answer.

Rikki was stunned. "I-I thought... You want me to stay? To remain connected to your collar and senses?"

"Yes, Rikki. I want you to stay. I'm fine with you being connected to my senses. I mean, outside of the intimate times," he clarified.

"I don't know what to say. I'm extremely grateful, and if you'll have me, I'll continue to be your buddy," Rikki said sincerely.

Jack grinned in relief. "Thank you, Rikki! I'd hug you, but that would likely hurt!"

Rikki extended a tentacle, and Jack gripped it. "This will have to do," Rikki said.

A flash of orange afternoon sunlight off the side of a Tik racing across the sky toward his home drew Jack's eyes upward. They saw the Tik settling down on Jack's patio, then rise back up and rush across the valley straight toward them.

Jack's smile faded. "Something's up." He recognized the band on the Tik's chassis and knew it was KeeKee.

"Jack! We need your assistance immediately at the Enclave!" Taggart's assistant said as it rapidly came to a stop before him.

He stood, and Rikki created a Gate, gesturing for Jack and KeeKee to pass through it.

They found themselves standing in Taggart's lab in the heart of the Enclave. Socrates and Plato were resting comfortably on the workbench charging, but Jack noted three small red lights blinking slowly on Socrates' chassis.

He moved forward. "Are you okay?"

"It seems I've reached the end of a very long and experience-filled life. While my body has served me exceptionally well over that vast span of time, it's no longer able to continue," the senior Tik stated calmly.

Rikki moved closer. "Have you not asked Jack for his assistance?"

Jack looked at Rikki with a raised brow. "Assistance?"

"There wasn't a good time," Socrates mumbled.

Hemmarr walked into the lab with three black drones following her as she carried a remote. She looked at everyone in surprise. "What's happened?" she asked.

Jack was frowning in confusion. "Good time for what?"

Plato gasped in annoyance. "There is never a good time unless you make one!" It turned to Jack. "May we preserve our minds in your collar so we can transfer them to new drones when Hemmarr resolves the harness issue?"

"I have!" she said with a smile.

Everyone looked at her in surprise, and she nodded. "Just this week! It was an idea my Shadeem gave me. The new harness gives seventy-five percent of Tik's required bandwidth. He said if they had two harnesses, it would be one-hundred-and-fifty percent."

Taggart spoke up. "Sensory harnesses utilize a single channel stream."

"Unless you multiplex three of them!" Hemmarr exclaimed with a grin.

Taggart froze. Everyone froze except Jack, who was lost in the tech talk.

He looked from face to face, but no one spoke. "That's a good thing, right?" Jack asked in silence.

Taggart spoke hesitantly. "It's never been successfully done before. How much..."

"Roughly, the max throughput is two-hundred-and-five percent, but it can be adjusted to reduce the bandwidth to your current norm for comfort. It's completely adjustable," Hemmarr added with a grin.

"How much space is required for three harnesses and the multiplexer?" Taggart asked once it got over its shock.

Hemmarr nodded. "Surprisingly little. These drones are outfitted with them and have all the new features." She suddenly noticed Rikki. "Oh! I'm sorry, Rikki. I wasn't expecting you here!"

Rikki picked up pretty quickly what she meant. "These are spares in case I suffer another fatality?"

She nodded with a guilty look toward Jack.

"This was before I knew your feeling about coming back a third time, Rikki. I wanted to make sure you wouldn't have to wait. These aren't required now," Jack explained.

"Except they are, for Socrates and Plato," Rikki said.

The lights went on in Jack's eyes. "Ah! Right!" He faced the seniors. "You could have just asked," Jack said, looking closely at Socrates. "Are you ready?"

It took a moment, then sighed. "Is anyone truly ready?"

Jack smiled at the senior and took a seat where Taggart indicated. The Tik physician/scientist made preparations to connect Jack's collar.

"Wait!" Rikki suddenly said, and everyone looked at it. "There's already a Tik preserved in your collar," Rikki confessed.

Jack looked at Rikki in surprise. "What—Tito?" he suddenly guessed.

"Yes. I-I'm sorry, Jack. I couldn't stop myself from transferring it to your collar when I realized Tito was dying. You were unconscious, so I couldn't ask you, and there was no time." Rikki went quiet for a moment. "You know how I felt about my rebirth. After I transferred Tito, I had a crisis of conscience. I'm not sure I should have done it, but it was there and safe as I may be someday."

Socrates spoke up. "Rikki, it's okay. Your powerful drive to save lives makes you a glowing example to all Tik."

Jack nodded in agreement. He looked to the seniors. "Wasn't Tito young? I think it deserves a second chance."

"Indeed, it does," Socrates said kindly.

"There are only three chassis and four Tik who need them," Plato said, and four little red lights appeared on its chassis.

"You old fool! You've been hiding your warning lights?" Socrates shouted in frustration.

Plato focused on its friend. "Preserving you was more critical."

Rikki held up some tentacles in a calming gesture. "I don't need to move from this body for now. Tito can have the one reserved for me," Rikki said.

"I will make another," Hemmarr insisted.

"Let's get Tito into its new body!" Jack said, and Taggart and Hemmarr moved to make their preparations.

"Rikki, you'll need to speak to Tito when it's reborn. I'm going to be occupied with the old farts," Jack said, and they heard sounds of indignation from Socrates and Plato as Jack grinned.

"I'm teasing!" he insisted with a smile.

"KeeKee, be ready with the wet sponge, please," Taggart said as they were ready.

Hemmarr connected one of the new drones to Jack's collar. "Rikki, you might wish to disconnect while we do this."

"Going to the drone," it said.

"Ready?" Taggart asked.

"Yup," Jack responded, and KeeKee squeezed the sponge to collect the cool water as it tipped forward in a nod.

"Transferring-UH," Taggart said and dropped the tiny distance it had been hovering above the workbench next to Socrates and Plato. Its lights went out as usual.

Jack looked at Rikki. "Do you know how old Tito was?"

"I don't. Taggart might," Rikki responded.

"Mmmmzzz, ahhh. Data stream nominal," the Tik scientist said.

"Taggart, Tito was young, right?" Jack asked.

"Oh, yes. Maybe fifty years?" it replied distractedly.

At the ten-minute mark, Jack noted the transmitter link was getting a little warm. He was about to let KeeKee know when the new drone rose in the air. "BAYLY!" Tito shouted.

"It's okay, Tito! She's safe. You saved her. All is well," Rikki insisted as it rose with Tito.

"Where am I? Why do I feel so different?" it asked in wonder.

"I'm so sorry, Tito, your old body was crushed under a closing bulkhead wall. You weren't going to survive, so I copied you into Jack's collar."

"Copied? I'm a copy?" Tito asked quietly.

"You are no less Tito Bandito than you were in your original Tik body. You are the one and only Tito," Rikki insisted as Jack did for it.

"But I'm not the same one," Tito said.

"No, you aren't. But you have no less right to live, to grow, to be. Your potential remains," Rikki assured it.

Tito focused on Rikki. "You've experienced this odd dichotomy."

"Twice. It's significantly harder the second time. I won't do it again, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue, and I will remain Jack's friend until the end," Rikki admitted.

Tito turned its focus on Jack. "Thank you, Mr. Danner."

"My pleasure, Tito, and call me Jack!" he said. He looked at the seniors. "If I'm reading the warning lights correctly, I think Plato needs to go first."

"Yes, it's more critical," Taggart said.

"No, Socrates must go first! The Tik need it more than me!" Plato argued.

"Sorry, Plato, but you two are a matched set. The Tik need you both, and you're in more imminent need than your friend. We'll protect you both. Now, get in my collar!"

Socrates snorted in amusement, a mannerism it no doubt picked up from one of Jack's experience files.

"Please, old friend. Do this for me."

Plato was silent as it looked at Socrates. "Old fool," it finally grumbled. It looked at Taggart. "Do it—Wait! I don't want to meet myself, so once I'm in Jack's collar, do I let go after the transfer?"

"Let's get you in the collar first. This is the first time a Tik with your years and experience has tried to do this," Taggart muttered. It looked at KeeKee and pointed to the receiver link. "This one may get hot from prolonged use. Be ready if Jack experiences discomfort."

Without further ado, Rikki explained to Plato how to link to the collar and dive into its storage. Plato went quiet as the transfer began. Taggart monitored the collar's capacity and made satisfied sounds.

"KeeKee, the link is getting a little too warm," Jack said with a wince, then sighed as the cool water was pressed against the link.

"That improves the throughput as well. We should look at making a heatsink for both the transmitter and the receiver links," Taggart suggested.

Jack fixed an eye on the scientist. "How often do you think we'll be doing this?" he asked in exasperation.

"Ah. Right," it replied quietly.

After forty minutes, Jack was becoming worried for Rikki. "How much longer do you think this will take? Rikki needs to return from the drone."

Tito raised a tentacle. "If I might? My sensory bandwidth is crazy fast. I have room to spare if Rikki wants to share my perceptions."

Taggart spoke up. "Yes, that would be a good idea, and someone get more cool water for KeeKee's bucket."

Rikki connected to Tito's drone, and soon, Jack heard it sigh. "Thank you, Tito, Jack. I was reaching my limit. This drone is exceptional! The sensory feed is perfect!"

Taggart smiled. "This means you can permanently disconnect from Jack!"

"But it doesn't have to and won't," Jack insisted.

The scientist looked at Jack in surprise. "What? Why?"

"Because I need Rikki. It's my friend, and I need its support. We've already had a discussion about this. Rikki can leave if it wants to, but if it's willing to stay, I'd really like it to remain with me. We make a hell of a team!" Jack said firmly.

"But the drone—" Hemmarr said in exasperation.

"We definitely needed the drones! Rikki needs to be independent of my collar on demand, but that doesn't mean it has to leave my side. Socrates and Plato needed new bodies, and Tito can live on to complete its goals. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and profoundly important! Thank you Hemmarr and Taggart! You continue to exceed our grandest dreams!"

Jack held out his hands to hold Taggart's tentacle and Hemmarr's hand. "We are deeply in your debt!" he said sincerely.

"Thank you both and your teams!" Rikki said.

Tito added its voice. "I back that sentiment as well. I'm delighted to be here today."

They went back to waiting as Plato continued to stream its consciousness into the collar.

They had no idea how long it would take, but they'd give it the time it needed.

-=-

"Jack? It's done."

He blinked his eyes as he woke on the chair in Taggart's lab. The lights were dimmed, and Hemmarr was waking as well.

Jack looked around for something to indicate the time.

"It's been fourteen hours," Rikki said from where it rested a short distance away.

"Wha... how did I sleep for that long?" Jack asked groggily.

Rikki dipped slightly. "I don't know, but we monitored you very closely, and you showed no distress, just peaceful delta waves. Did you dream?"

Jack tried to recall, but there was nothing. "I don't think so. Wow, that was a deep sleep!" He rubbed his eyes.

He noticed an odd sensation along the back of his neck and touched his collar as it felt a little cool. His fingers touched a soft gel pillow his neck was resting against. The pad was very cool to the touch.

"Heatsink?" he asked, and Taggart nodded.

"Rikki's suggestion. It works better than wet sponges," the scientist noted.

"Is Plato all there?" Jack asked.

"There is only one way to tell. Load it into another body," Taggart responded. The slowly pulsing red lights on Plato's side were joined by a fifth.

"Not a minute too soon," Plato grumbled. "Tell my next self to lighten up, okay?"

The five lights stopped pulsing, and a deep click sound came from within its body. All the lights dimmed, and Plato was gone.

"See you soon, old friend," Socrates said softly.

The other room occupants paused for a moment of silence then Taggart and Hemmarr got busy preparing to connect a new drone to Jack.

Jack frowned at Taggart. "Are you sure you need to be in the collar for the transfer to work? I know you're just repeating the pattern you did for Rikki's initial transfer, but what function does your abrupt disconnect have other than scrambling your brain for a few seconds?"

Taggart sighed. "We can study alternate methods after we preserve our seniors."

Jack agreed with a nod. He glanced at KeeKee, who maintained the coolant feed through the small gel pillow. "Are you ready, Jack? Would you like some food?" the Tik asked.

Jack winced as he felt his body protest his inactivity. His bladder let him know it needed attention.

He sat up and then got to his feet. "I don't suppose there's a bathroom nearby."

"I prepared for this contingency," Rikki said.

Jack looked for Tito, but it wasn't in the room. "Who are you connected to?" he asked.

"I'm borrowing the sensory feed from the spare drone. Two-hundred-percent throughput is a rush, but you can't do it for long periods. Tito is waiting on your patio. I'll open a Gate next to it so you can refresh yourself at home and return directly."

The mirror surface snapped into place behind Rikki.

"I'll be right back!" Jack said as he squeezed his legs together and rushed through the Gate.

Jack collided with Bayly, who was standing on the patio. She squeaked happily, then hugged him tight.

"Thank you for saving Tito!" she cried.

"Bayly! No problem, but let go! I'm going to pee myself!" Jack said desperately.

She jumped back with a grin, and he hobbled away as quickly as he could with his knees together.

He rushed inside and held up a finger to his family, who rushed to see what the noise was about. He danced from foot to foot as he spoke quickly. "I never got dinner last night, I missed breakfast, and I'll miss lunch and dinner today. Could someone make me a few meals to go, please?" Eve and Diana nodded and rushed into the kitchen as Jack ducked into the closest bathroom and finally found relief.

When he exited, a collection of his family was waiting in the hall. He led them into the kitchen so he could speak to everyone at once.

"What happened to you last night?" Eve asked.

"Rikki and I were called to the Tik enclave. Socrates and Plato are reaching the end of their lifespan. We're transferring them to new chassis by first moving them to my collar. It takes a long time as they've lived so long. Rikki saved Tito in my collar, so we got it into a new drone first. Then we copied Plato into my collar. He passed this morning after the copy was made," Jack said. "I have to get back soon as Socrates' body is failing, and I still have to transfer Plato into the new drone."

Diana and Eve rushed over to him and handed him several food containers. He stuffed them into a carry bag SennLann gave to him.

Jack kissed her, then Diana, Eve, and the others before rushing outside.

He kissed Bayly and stepped back through the Gate.

Taggart and Hemmarr looked at him questioningly.

"I'm ready! Let's do it!" Jack said as he held up his feed bag.

Rikki snorted.

-=-

It took twelve hours to transfer Plato into the new drone. There were some tense moments after the transfer was completed when there was no activity from the drone.

"Plato? Old friend?" Socrates called out.

"Old? I feel young!" Plato's voice said from the black hovering orb. It was quiet for a moment. "I now understand what you meant about the feeling/knowing dichotomy, Rikki. Seeing my old self there, like I'm just resting, is... disturbing."

"Your old self had a message for you," Rikki said. "Lighten up."

Plato burst into laughter, and Jack couldn't help but grin at Rikki.

"It's your turn, Socrates. But first, I need another bathroom break and a food run," Jack said as he hopped to his feet, grabbed his food bag and containers, and dashed through Rikki's Gate.

-=-

They had a scare with Socrates as a fourth red light appeared on his chassis just before they started the transfer. Twelve hours into the streaming, a fifth light appeared but flashed very slowly. Taggart was seriously worried as the data stream also slowed. It took three additional hours before the streaming stopped.

The ancient Tik breathed a sigh of relief. It had been clinging to life through sheer willpower alone. "Tell the new me, be patient with the new old fool." Plato was at its friend's side, listening and made a small, sad sound.

Then it was gone.

Taggart gently disconnected the Tik and itself from Jack's collar. "I-I think it worked. If we follow Plato's example, it will likely take a little more than fourteen hours to do the transfer."

Jack was exhausted and nodded wearily. "I need to sleep. I'm going to go home, get something to eat, use the bathroom, then sleep. Give me until ten or eleven tonight. I'll return, and we'll move Socrates to the new drone. Does that sound okay?"

"Yes, Jack. I think we could all use a rest," Taggart agreed.

Rikki opened a Gate, and they went through. Bayly was stretched out on a lounge chair, soaking in some sun and resting. Tito hovered nearby, absorbing the rays to charge. Jack nodded to it, placed his hand on Bayly's tummy, and felt movement from the twins inside.

Bayly opened her eyes to look up at Jack with a smile. "Are you done?"

Jack wearily shook his head. "One more session to get Socrates into its new body, then I'm done." He shook his head. "I don't know why sitting still so long is so draining! I need to eat, take a shower, and get some rest. I'm going back tonight." He smiled. "How much longer for these little ones to make an appearance?"