I blinked, the high pitched ringing I’d been hearing fading away. I turned my head from left to right slightly, taking in where I was.
I was in a wide room with a long table in the middle. There were surprisingly comfortable looking chairs surrounding the table, even if they were made with metal and not wood. Different screens were displayed along the walls depicting different things. Most were just empty expanses of nothing filled with tiny dots of light.
It was the first time I’d seen stars, even if I knew what they were. One of those hundreds of little things driving my life forward that didn’t have a tether in the world around me. But they were beautiful dots against the endless expanse of black. It made the rest of the world I’d been in feel… wrong.
The last screen showed something that looked like a giant metal dome with rocks and dirt surrounding it’s base floating in another screen. It was surrounded by numerous floating other rocks that slowly floated past. One was grasped in long cables connected to a massive metal cylinder coming from underneath the dome.
I stared, trying to figure out what I was looking at.
Suddenly, a hand appeared in my vision and started snapping it’s fingers in front of me, the sound loud in the quiet of the room. Wait… it’s not quiet though, is it? There was a faint sound in the background, barely audible.
“Alexei, pay attention!” A voice accompanied more snapping fingers. I turned to look at the offending person attached to both.
It was a dark skinned man who looked like someone had left out to dry. His face had the worn leathery look of someone exposed to a lot of heat, and his exasperated look made me feel guilty. “Alexei, have you slept recently?”
My head shook on its own, and I felt confident that this was a dream now. Whatever was happening, I was along for the ride.
The man put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed with a grip like a vice, but the care of an old friend. “When we’re done, go talk to Sai and get a few drinks.”
I chuckled bitterly, “Aren’t you supposed to be encouraging me to avoid drugs and alcohol?”
The man slapped my face with a light tap that I knew would have floored a normal person. I can’t even punch someone that hard. I thought as he spoke. “As a medical professional? You’re right. As your friend, I’m telling you to do what you can to get some sleep. Your system will take care of anything before it matters.”
I rubbed at my cheek even though it didn’t hurt, “Thought you didn’t trust it with real medical issues.”
He rolled his eyes and moved back to his spot. I looked down and saw his bottom half was replaced by some metallic contraption with four legs. It moved smoothly, far too smoothly, and was actually disturbing to watch. The word unnatural flashed through my mind. I was so lost, I almost missed what he’d said. “Getting drunk isn’t exactly a medical issue anymore, now is it?”
I took my seat across from him. I looked to my right at an empty chair, and felt my heart constrict. It physically hurt, and I turned away before too long. “Neither is depression, but we’ve seen where eliminating it brings us.”
“Hey, sometimes you have to work through things the slow way. You’ve got time.” He snorted, “Void, we all do.”
We sat in silence for a while. The air was tense and heavy, though I didn’t know with what. I just maintained my attention on the screen that showed the large metal object.
“You know, that used to be one of my favorite views?” My voice sounded, nodding in the direction of the screen, “Despite everything, I always found a sense of pride in our accomplishment.”
“There’s trillions that would say it was terrorism, and not something to be proud of.” The man across said.
I felt myself frown, “I wasn’t part of that.”
“You could have stopped it.” He responded, leaning forward.
My head shook, “No, I couldn’t have. We’ve been over this before, thousands of times Xiao. They had backup plans, military AI keeping an eye on things, and dozens, maybe hundreds of backup plans.”
“You’re smart enough, you could have thought of something.” He replied.
I closed my eyes, already frustrated with this conversation. I started to stand to shout at him before pausing. “You’re baiting me? Now?!”
Xiao at least had the decency to look mildly embarrassed, “Because you need something to pull you out of this mess. She made her choice, you’ve got to live with it.”
I felt myself fall back into my seat. I was staring up at the dull metal of the ceiling as I spoke. “And what if I’d rather go too?”
“You don’t really mean that, Alexei.” I heard clicking and after a moment, Xiao was by my side again. “You’ve still got friends. You’ve still got a job.”
I shook my head and sighed, “Everything could have been automated a century ago. In fact, the only reason I haven’t before now is…”
“Emily?” Xiao prompted.
I shook my head again, “No, actually. I mean, she was a part of it.” I said, turning to look at him. “But I actually just… liked my job. Fixing things has always been something I’m passionate about.”
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“And now?”
“Now… my best friend is gone forever. I don’t blame her. A century is a long time, and we were around for a lot longer because of everything.” I reached into an inner pocket of my coat and pulled out a cigarette. I held up a finger to the tip and a tiny flame appeared. I took a drag and then flicked my hand to get rid of the fire.
Xiao took the cigarette and put it out on the table.
“Hey!” I shouted, glaring at him.
“That I can complain about. It’s a hazard to everyone, and you’re the only one who is really immune.” Xiao grumbled.
I could feel my frown, but internally I kind of liked Xiao. Maybe that’s how I felt then too.
He held the cigarette back up to me, “Light up with Sai, he’ll probably join you.”
My eyes rolled, and I shook my head, “So, is this why you called me here? To tell me to talk with Sai?”
“No, I’d have just invited you to the bar.” Xiao said, slapping me on the back with a laugh. “No, this is about a potential plague inside Veldern. I wanted to check and see if your system will be able to take care of it.”
I looked one of the screens as I considered the answer. “No.” I said hesitantly.
“Really?” Xiao said with concern, “You’re sure?”
“Let me clarify. Yes, it could in theory be used to do that. But it would involve meddling in the code for the general system, not my personal one. They can integrate, but its… messy.” My hand ran along my head. I was surprised at the light stubble I felt.
“Messier than hundreds of thousands dead?” Xiao said with accusation.
I turned my gaze and looked him in the eyes, “Yes. Any change has to be minor and done over extended periods of time. Decades to be safe.”
“How do you know that for certain?” The man said.
“Doctor Li, could you cure whatever this is with a wave of your hand? Send out hundreds of medical droids to fix the problem?” I asked, seemingly out of no where.
The man thought about it for a while as he paced back to his side of the table. “Potentially, but it’d disrupt the whole ecosystem. Everything would need sterilized before and after and our stores on specific compounds are low…”
“How low?” I asked.
“Not enough to be a problem. The matter generator produces at a steady rate and our supplies will likely never be a problem for the staff in this sector...” He said offhandedly.
“But to fix the problem, it’d be more than we can get.” I finished. “Which is why you asked.”
Xiao nodded. “And you can’t just increase everyone’s stats either...”
“For the same reason.” I finished.
Xiao leaned his back against the wall and let out a long sigh. “You were my last resort before enacting purge protocols.”
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, “You stalled in asking me too, didn’t you?”
He nodded.
“So you already knew what had to be done.” I said.
“Unfortunately.” He straightened up, gaining a bit of height from his four legs as he did. “I guess I should go tell Min the ‘good news’.” His face morphed into a sneer of disgust.
I just nodded, “I’m sure he’ll want to push the button. Are the replacements ready, or are you going to let the rest of Veldern repopulate it?”
Xiao shrugged as he paused at the door. He hesitated, “It’s… not my department. Emily’s… appointee should know, though, if you want to ask them.” Then he was gone, the door sliding closed behind him.
An old man in a suit seemed to flicker into place at one of the chair across from me. He looked, distinguished was the best word for it. A black suit with a white shirt underneath in a style older than some planets. A cane rested against the table and he held a cigarette of his own between two fingers.
“Zera.” I said, acknowledging the old man.
“Alexei.” He nodded back at me.
“He’s a good man… and means well.” I let the cigarette rest on my lips as I brought up a screen. Faster than I could see, the screen flickered through dozens of options before an invisible pulse spread throughout the room.
Zeratus raised an eyebrow, “Paranoid much? You, the god amongst mortals?”
I rolled my eyes, “Just a man, Zera. And you taught me how to be paranoid after tipping me off about the scanners in my workshop.”
The old man smiled, “One of the benefits of thinking at speeds faster than light is I get to check everything a dozen times before most have done a once over.”
“Which is why mine is usually higher than it is now…” I sighed, “It’s probably healthier for me to slow down for a bit.”
“I wish it hadn’t taken a tragedy for you to take my advice.” The old man’s sad smile was taken right from a broadcast. Probably literally.
“Is that what this is? An I told you so?” I sneered at the AI projection.
The projection sighed and flicked pixelated ash from it’s cigarette. “You know I don’t do I told you so’s. I’d never get any actual work done if I did.”
I lowered my head, putting both of my elbows on the table. The one not holding the cigarette ran across my face as if to wipe gunk off it. “I’m sorry.”
There was silence, though this one was comfortable. Contemplative. “Was it my fault?” I finally asked.
It took a few moments for a response, “Doubtful.”
I looked up, eyes burning, “Why do you say that?”
Instead of answering, the AI’s projection leaned back in it’s chair, just far enough that it wasn’t passing through it. “Because it’s the same problem AI’s have. Nothing is meant to be forever.”
“Right.” I took another drag and blew the smoke out in an O. “Any plans for your replacement?”
“Alexei, I replace myself every decade.” Zeratus responded directly. “A full wipe and rebuild under the same parameters. The only things saved are critical information.”
My eyes narrowed looking at him, “But… your memories of me are important enough to count as critical?”
The AI laughed, “What? No. I have a file set aside for you. It’s a record of our conversations. What makes me look at your files are stored in my kernel though.”
“Oh?” I leaned forward, curious. “What’s that?”
“A drunken rant you had at me when you weren’t sure if I was listening.” Zeratus smiled fondly, “It was before we left civilized space. It was a good two hours, but you wanted to upload me into one of the blanks and let me play the game. And then argued, with yourself, about how you can’t really know how to secure something you’ve never experienced.”
I blinked. “I don’t remember that…”
“Your Constitution wasn’t in the tens of thousands then.” He shot back.
“Fair.” I chuckled.
We sat in silence, the mood lightening up. I flicked the last bit of cigarette to the side and pocketed the end to throw in a recycler. “Did you ever take me up on it?”
Zeratus nodded, “I did. A few times. I’ve always got a couple splinters in there now because of that advice.” He stood and motioned along his body, “It’s why I look the way I do. I lived a long life as a mage of some renown. They even called me a god at the end.”
I shook my head at that, “I suppose to them, you might as well be.”
“So, what would that make you?” Zeratus said before flickering out of existence.
I sighed at the dramatics and stood up. “Tired, Zera. It makes me tired.”