The Adventures of Tim Bodge Ch. 02

Chapter 2

Edited by Steve

"Sarha, please tell me about your ship." Tim requested.

"The Dhandrilan who built this ship was more advanced than any other civilization I have encountered. This ship is almost ten thousand years old, and I don't know if others of the Dhandrilan race still exist. When our mission started, the planet was being torn apart by war. The Dhandrilan faction that built me was hoping to find a new world to start over on. There were three thousand crewmembers, and we spent centuries looking for a suitable planet. Eventually, the decision was made to look for a comparable civilization, which took us through many star systems in several galaxies. As we encountered new planets, some were warlike. Our advanced technology kept us safe from their attacks. However, there was no defense against time, and many crew members died from old age. Furthermore, some crew members became ill and could not be treated by the Star Gladiator's facilities. I was only supplied with basic medical information as the physicians didn't believe I would need complete medical information."

The last of the crew died 1,250 years ago. The final survivor was the Captain, and his last words were, "Continue searching, and you will find a new captain and crew." Since these were part of my last instructions, I have continued that mission. Over the years, I have felt powerless; sometimes, I wanted to shut down my systems. But I'm just an AI, and my programming doesn't allow me that much flexibility, so I keep searching."

"So, you have been alone on this ship for 1,250 years? Am I the first person you've allowed on the ship?"

"No, many others have been, but we will discuss this later. There are immediate decisions that need to be made. When I arrived in this system, I noticed one ship was leaving. While scanning the combat area, your life signs were the only ones my sensors detected. The remainder of the capsules appeared to have been opened by blast damage or external attacks. The damage was consistent with the pod being opened in a pressurized area, so the assumption is that the passengers were taken alive. I retrieved your pod and started medical treatment. As I said before, the appendage in your pod appears to have been severed when the pod was sealed."

"Thank you for saving my life. I am truly grateful. However, it has been a long day, and I am still weak from the treatment. I need to recover before I can focus on the situation. Where can I sleep?"

"You can use the captain's quarters."

"Are you sure? I could sleep somewhere else,"

"The bots can clean the room before you get there."

"What the hell are bots?" Tim asks.

"As I said, I am an artificial intelligence, an AI. I can appear anywhere on the ship as a hologram. But I am limited in providing information. For any physical interaction, I deploy bots that perform those tasks. As the number of crewmembers dropped, I created more bots to maintain the ship. Once there was no crew, there was less cleanup and repair work, so the bots were not fully tasked.

"Let me take you there now so you will know how to get there in the future. The ship's lifts are on the left aft side of the deck and are identified by the doors with fluorescent red trim. The Captain's quarters are one deck below, where there is also the officer's dining hall, which includes a small galley. The lift responds to voice commands, so speak your destination, such as the bridge, the Captain's quarters, the Bridge Crews' mess, or whatever place you wish. The lift will respond to a destination only if you are authorized to travel there. A crew member cannot enter the bridge unless he is part of the bridge crew. I provided you with temporary authorization as the acting Captain of this ship. That means you can go anywhere except a few places, which are restricted due to safety concerns. I'll show you how to reach your quarters." She turned towards the lift.

Tim Followed her into the lift, and there was no sensation of movement. Once the door opened, Sarha said, "We'll head out and turn right." Soon they arrived at the first door.

This door on the right is the Bridge Crews' mess. If you want to make something to eat, there's a little galley kitchen. Otherwise, you can use the automatic food dispenser. The door on the left belongs to the XO. The doorway down the hall is the Captain's quarters.

She turned around and pointed, saying, "The doors in that corridor were where the other members of the bridge crew lived." Turning around, she walked to the Captain's quarter's door, which opened automatically.

Entering the Captain's quarters, the first room was a large living room. A food machine, the dining room, and storage cabinets were on the right. A large display screen and a viewport were on the left.

Moving further into the suite, they came to the large bedroom. A bed stood against the far wall, approximately seven feet by seven feet. On the right side of the room was a set of chairs formed in a circle with tables near each. To the left was a small space for an office.

Sarha pointed out the equipment in the office. "This is a Secured Channel and robust universal communication relay set-up for communications inside the ship and close planets."

The bathroom is through the left door, and a walk-in closet is on the right. A service bot will pick up any clothes left by the stand beside the bed, and they will be cleaned and returned to your closet shortly," Sarha said.

Tim said, "Thank you for your help. I'm sure I will have many questions tomorrow. Goodbye for now." With that, Sarha disappeared. He returned to the living room to look around, and the corridor door opened, and a bot came in. Tim asks, "May I help you,"

"Excuse me, Sir. I will be your attendant for your stay with us."

Tim looked at the bot. He is approximately five feet long and travels on wheels, and there is a screen and a speaker mounted on his chest.

"Thank you. I have some questions. Are all bots identical, or do you have unique personalities?"

The bot responded, "originally, all of the bots were identical. However, during the cruise, the crewmembers always wanted to have the same bot assigned to them. The continued interaction created a split among the bots, where the ones assigned to the crew developed a set of behaviors that the crew decided made them individuals. The bots tasked with general duties never changed. Furthermore, many bots were modified to be more efficient on certain tasks."

"Were you given a name or identifier?" Tim asked.

"No, the crewmembers knew which bot was assigned to them."

"Well, it is a trait among my people to name things. I will call you Chester."

"That is acceptable."

"Well, Chester, thank you for your help. I will be going to bed now." Tim stepped into the bedroom and sat on the bed for a minute to gain perspective.

He decided he needed a shower, so he explored the bathroom. Looking at the shower and thought, "It's so big that four or five people could fit into it." Tim removed his clothes and entered the shower. In frustration, he looked for the controls and asked loudly how to turn the shower on. To his surprise, a menu of options appeared on the wall. Noting the menu was in English, Tim quickly selected his choices and was engulfed in streams of water from the three walls simultaneously at his shoulders and hips. It was fantastic, and he reveled in the pulsing jets on his sore muscles. After drying off and placing his clothing on the stand next to the bed, he told the room to turn off the lights so he could sleep.

When Tim woke, he noticed that the bot had done an outstanding job cleaning his clothes during the night. They were cleaned, pressed, and on hangers in the closet. Having dressed and not wanting to mess up his living area, he headed to the Bridge Crews' mess to fix his breakfast.

Once in the Mess hall, he noted the food dispensers were to his right and the Cubicles were on the left. There were four cubicles with three chairs each.

Tim made his way to the food dispenser and wondered how it worked. Calling Sarha, he asked her, "Sarha, how does your food dispenser make the food?"

"Our Replicators manipulate the building blocks of matter to make whatever food is needed. We start with the basic raw material, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, and trace elements. Processing mixes the right amounts to make food that you can safely eat. The machine creates the desired consistency, form, color, and flavor."

Tim ordered a ham and egg breakfast with whole wheat toast and java. Sitting in one of the cubicles, he tried his meal and found it was amazingly delicious. Once he was finished, he headed for the bridge.

Tim stepped onto the bridge and saw Sarha standing beside the Captain's chair. She turned to Tim and asked. "How are you feeling this morning, Tim?"

"Feeling better, thank you. A good night's sleep does wonders for the body."

Tim looked around and wondered what to do next. Sarha was pointing to the Captain's chair. "Tim, you should sit here. Since you are the temporary Captain."

Tim sat down, and the chair molded itself to his body, seemingly made for his six-foot-two frame. "Sarha, the way this chair feels, your former captain must have been about my size."

"Yes, he was. But it would not have mattered as the chair automatically adjusts for the person sitting." She turned to look at the control displays, and she already knew all the information. But from experience, She found it made a person more comfortable when she looked in the same direction as they did.

"What are your plans? Are we going to stay in this system or go somewhere else?" Tim asked.

"We will remain here for a while, and I can drop you at your destination if you want to resume your trip."

"Sarha, if you have been around for 1,250 years with no crew members. Why haven't you taken another one along the way?"

"I have picked up quite a few individuals. Most of them were like you, left for dead, and they thought I endangered them. Everyone acted as though I was crazy, screaming and demanding to go home or begging me not to kill them. So, I put them back where they were, but with a greater chance of being rescued."

"Well, thanks for not killing me," Tim said with laughter and a smile.

"Tim, what was your occupation?"

"I was a commander of an Elite Special Forces unit."

"What is an Elite Special Forces unit? Was it some combat unit?"

"Yes, it is a team of twelve individuals, each with different expertise. We trained others to fight, and we have trained many groups in different areas of our home planet and off-world colonies."

"So, have you commanded men in battle?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"It's good to know about the temporary acting person, Captain. What were your skills?"

"As a unit commander, I had to be trained in all the skills, but my background was weapons and their use."

"Tim, as you were being treated, I noticed a lot of scars. Were they from injuries in combat?"

"Yes, I have had my share of wounds numerous times. Fortunately, none bad enough to put me out of service."

"I noticed that you are in good condition. Have you done a great deal of exercise?"

"Yes, when possible, I started every day with exercise and a 5-mile run."

"Well, Colonel, it's nice to know that the temporary acting Captain is in decent shape, knows weapons, and can command troops."

"Sarha, speaking of weapons, what weapons are available?"

"Tim, as temporary acting captain, I am limited with the information I can provide," replied Sarha.

"I understand, but withholding information will make my job harder. So, what can you tell me about your capabilities?"

"The former crew members fought against other species, and our shields were repeatedly attacked. However, they were never breached. My offensive weapons consist of two parts, which is all I can reveal now."

"Thank you for that information."

Tim paused and walked to the food dispenser, thinking about what he had learned while deciding what to eat. Ordering and bringing it back to the Captain's seat. He stared at the screen, seeing the vast space outside the ship. Thinking, 'It's there, just waiting.'

"Isn't this beautiful?" — it's just waiting until the right person discovers it. That person will try to figure out what's right ahead of them. There are so many worlds out there to see what they have." Sarha said while looking at the screen.

Tim looked at Sarha and said, "It's been my dream for many years. Visit places, see new things, and try to understand what new worlds are about. After so many years on the teams, I needed a change."

"Well, you'll have an opportunity to do that if you want to travel with me. I shall allow that to happen. While I am an AI, I enjoy having somebody to talk with."

Tim and Sarha discussed a number of things. Sarha was only allowing him to the bridge and deck two. Still a bit weak, Tim told Sarha that he was on his way to his quarters for the night.

******

Tim woke up feeling much better. He walked into the closet looking for his clothes and saw a machine near the door, but no clothes. "Sarha, what does that machine do?"

Sarha showed up next to Tim, "Tim, this is a garment-making bot. Because your DNA and somatotype are in my system, you can now order your clothes. Press start, provide the requested information, and the bot will make the requested garment."

"If I tell it, size medium, will it know the right size?"

"No, you type in what style you want. The bot will scan you and determine the information necessary to create your clothes."

Tim started typing the information requested by the system. Once he finished, he stepped back, and a beam appeared from the Clothing Designer bot. The beam completely scanned his body and then winked out. The bot started working on his clothing and delivered a pair of light grey dress pants and a shirt with short tan sleeves.

As Tim dressed, he thought it was amazing technology that they could quickly make clothes that fit like a tailor-made them just for him. Heading across the hall for food, he ordered and then sat in the same booth as yesterday. "Sarha, is there anything going on this morning?'

"Tim, you must come to the bridge before anything can happen. We'll see where you want to go from there." Sarha informed him.

Tim immediately headed for the bridge. When he arrived, he joined Sarha at the Captain's seat.

"There's a small battle at the other end of the system that we're currently in. Do you wish to leave this system?"