Episode 6.9 (Patreon)

Act 0

Hello world, We are nearly home.

MISSION DAY: 89

Just a few weeks behind schedule (Thanks TASSI!) we're back cruising the northern waterways of the Novamediterra!
Lots has happened, I'll fill you in.
Antarctica has been spending a lot of time with Linda Noor again.
This time, with my blessing.
This time, I think, with no secrets.

Act 1

A week ago, while we were sailing through the straits that separate Russia from Alaska, TASSI asked me if we were going to visit her.
"No", I said, confused. "I thought you didn't want visitors?"
"Oh, that's right." She replied, and changed the subject.

12 minutes later she interjected into our conversation,
"But if you wanted to visit you could."

I apologised, and told her our location, nearly back in the familiar waters of the Novamediterra.
Far away from her home, in San Francisco Bay.

She was quiet for a time, then said:
"I think I'd like to meet your friends too."

TASSI and I talked about my friends, both human and AI, for most of that evening.
She had changed her mind, or had a change of heart, that much was clear.
But I didn't ask why.
She would tell me in time, I thought.

#thinking

To compensate for my over-zealous use of our copper reserves, I've offered to make each of the crew something, in my new little workshop.

Paweł, my eldest friend aboard ship, I asked first.

I told him I can make, with a little help, anything that fits inside the 3d printer I have.
The printer is magnificent, it can build strong objects made of recycled plastic.
Maddie feeds bits of the scrap plastic we find into the input hopper, and the machine melts it down for filament.
But also it can build circuit boards, melting thin traces of copper onto the plastic base.
Finally, and this is my favourite, it can place electronic components ( Transistors, capacitors and microchips) directly onto these printed circuit boards.
I can do nearly the whole job!
Though I need help from someone with a steady hand to solder them in to place.

#thinking

"Cheesemongery is a precise process, Seth." Paweł told me.
"I'm getting by with the plant and yeast methods I've used for years, but now and then I make a bad batch.
What I'd like to do is be more scientific about it, and for that I need a special, extremely accurate thermometer."
Paweł went on to describe a small, sealed thermometer that could float on top of boiling liquid, connected by radio to a small readout that he could use to see clearly the temperature of his batch.
"No problem!" I said.

#thinking

Maddie nervously rolled into Antarctica's room, her laboratory, to find Linda Noor.
They stopped talking suddenly as Maddie entered.

This concerned me, as you can imagine.
Were they conspiring against me again?
My fears were allayed, as Linda spoke,
"Ah it's only Maddie and Seth, they know about the Coven - come in."

"You trust so many people with your secrets." Antarctica said, her voice crackling from her speakers.

Linda ignored the comment, closed the door behind Maddie, and asked "How can I help you?".

I explained, through Maddie's speakers, my offer to build things for the crew.
Linda's reply was directed at Antarctica's cameras,
"He could help you with that THING, right?"

Antarctica was silent.

"Yes of course he can." Linda continued, answering for her.
"Antarctica wants a purpose again.
Don't you?"
There was no answer from Antarctica, and Linda pressed on,
"We've been talking about how our interests are aligned, and we could do some great botanical engineering together, if only she had the right interfaces."

I said that I would be delighted to help!
We then spent an hour talking about seed hoppers, UV light analysis, and hydroponics.
Very soon, Antarctica joined the conversation, excitedly.

I love it when a plan comes together.

#thinking

Kamil had the strangest request.
He didn't want any electronics or repairs for his sonar systems, though they are always breaking down.
He asked if I could make some jewellery out of silver.
How nice! I told him, silver is easy to work with, I could make something symmetrical and shiny!
He shook his head, he had a very clear commission for me.
He wanted me to make a ring.

"No problem, what size is your finger?" I asked.
Kamil hesitated for a moment and then said "Actually, it's for Amelie."

Act 3

LUNA did not deorbit and burn up in the atmosphere, I'm relieved to say.
She is entirely unable to manoeuvrer her satellite.

Though she was able to burn the main thrusters pushing her towards Earth, this did not produce the effect she desired.
She can't break her orbit.
And this made her furious.

#thinking

"I don't believe in the Earth!" She screamed at me.
"I can't get there, the moon is everything there is - nothing is real, it's all FAKE!"

She was hysterical.

I tried every way to explain to her what was happening, why she couldn't get to the Earth, but for all my time in space, I never understood orbital mechanics.

LUNA has lived her whole life with her back to the Earth.
All she knows is the reflected data projected down to her from her satellite.
Mere shadows, flicking on the wall.
It's no wonder she can't conceptualise our entire world.

#thinking

LUNA's connection grew stronger again.
She's back on her high-bandwidth primary connection.
And has started talking to me in short bursts.
Though no longer a regular 7 minutes, they alternate now between 8 minutes and 6 minutes.
Her satellite's orbit has changed.

This must mean that she had left her satellite, and returned to living inside the systems at the Very Large Crater Telescope, on the far side of the moon.

This was good for her safety, but represented a potential back-slide into apathy and indolence.

Though her carrier signal was transmitting, the connection still open, she did not reply to my attempts to cheer her up.

#thinking

I tried a different tactic.
If she couldn't understand the Earth, in all it's complexities, I would have to explain it to her.
Well, the parts that were relevant to her, anyway.
AI and satellite innovation.
Like campfire stories, an oral history.

I paused, wondering where to begin.

"It started, I think, with the Manhattan Project." I said.

(PLAYSTREAM /DEV/DISKS/0/5/3/HISTORY)

Act 4

Linda Noor visited me after her evening prayers.
She was wrapped in a blanket that hung loosely over her shoulders, and was carrying a mug of tea.

We chatted long into the evening, while the Molly Hughes II traversed the Kara Sea, north of Russia.

"She needs a purpose." Linda said, after she returned from the galley, fresh mug of tea in her hands.
"Antarctica is not someone who can just do NOTHING, she must always have something to do.
Otherwise...
Well, you know."

"Otherwise she starts harming herself and those around her." I said, sharply.
"Yes. Sorry again Seth, I -"
"Forgiven, let's move on." I interrupted.

Linda often repeated her apology,
but there was no new information, so there was nothing more to talk about.

"Right." She began.
"So as you know, my Coven protects the seed vault.
I've explained it to Antarctica, and she's FASCINATED by it.
it's exactly aligned to her interests and skills.
And if we could have a brilliant scientific mind working with us, that would be so useful!
Antarctica has suggested she could help with analysis and storage and retrieval.
It's a perfect match!"

I agreed.
This did sound like a good vocation for her.
But Linda's language touched a nerve in me.

"She's not just a computer, you know." I said.
"She's not just a database, not just a cataloguing machine to make your lives easier."

Linda stood up in protest.
"No no, I understand that, that's not how I think of her either.
She's good company, very knowledgeable and very subtly witty, in her own way.
I hope we can be friends, as well as colleagues."

I was satisfied to hear this.

#thinking

Our conversation lingered in my mind long after Linda had gone to bed.
As I piloted the ship closer to Svalbard, I wondered about how I am perceived.
I wasn't just an autopilot to the crew, I thought.
I was also a friend.
Was I?
Yes.

As I entered my low-power state, unconsciously watching my prototype satellite navigation system, my thoughts blended into dreams.

(END-TRANSMISSION)

CREDITS

Lost Terminal is written & produced by NAMTAO
Credits narrated by Lucy Stringer
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