Keshona Far Freedom Part 1

think she will remember. I beg you to protect her. That was my job and now it must be yours, also."

  "Didn't die? Will remember?"

  "She's very important. You must protect her."

  "You do realize how weird this sounds? I thought I was the one with a loose screw. Sure. I'll try to protect the little lady who put me in the morgue. Call it respect for my elder and better officer."

  "Will you swear to me to protect her?" Pan asked.

  "How does that make any sense?"

  "Swear it!" Pan declared desperately. He stared hard at Jon Horss. He hoped he saw what he wanted to see. He was guessing that beneath the acting and beyond the obfuscation of character and of intent was a man with a will of steel and with a frustrated desire for integrity. And Demba had chosen him at ultimate personal risk.

  "I swear it," Horss said, not trying to appear sincere but not able to smirk in a way that canceled what he said.

  "Thank you, Captain!" Pan tried to put both gratitude and hope in his voice. He wanted to strengthen Captain Horss's weak oath. Horss gave Pan a perplexed look, with perhaps a smile under his grimace. "How has your day gone?" Pan inquired, to reduce the drama.

  "Mai showed me around the town and we ate at a good restaurant. I left her at the Mnro Clinic. Something came up about a database."

  "News of Samson's parentage?"

  "She wouldn't say. I think Mai wanted to be rid of me but she seemed disturbed by whatever it was."

  "How many times has she blushed?" It was pleasant relief to talk of less serious matters. Still, this was a dangerous time and Pan knew Mai was too close to the situation. He wanted Horss to have some care for Mai.

  "Six," Horss answered. "What does that statistic mean?"

  "You counted them for some reason, Captain. What do you think it means?"

  "She also called me 'Captain' thirty-two times and 'Jon' only three times. I don't know what it means. Probably nothing. She's too old for me."

  "I think she likes you, Captain."

  "She doesn't want to like me. I don't want to like her. I don't do that very well - the relationship thing. Why are you interested? Is she your girl?"

  "We've been friends for a long time. I'm concerned for her safety. You were seriously injured and I expect she will tolerate your company if only to try to help you."

  "I don't need help," Horss said.

  "We all need help."

  "You don't look very well, now that you mention needing help."

  Did he look that bad? Pan wondered. "I'm not well. It's the worst possible time for me to visit Admiral Etrhnk. The meeting with Admiral Demba made what's happening to me much worse."

  "What's happening to you?" Horss asked. "Why do you need to tell me? Why would I want to know?"

  "I need to tell someone. The old me is disappearing. Because of her."

  "What I knew of my life is also disappearing," Horss said, "because of her. Fortunately, it now feels like it was mostly irrelevant."

  "When will you and Mai go to Rafael's?"

  "She was in such a hurry to see the boy," Horss said. "I don't know what she could feel was important enough to delay her this long."

  1-14 Denna

  Captain Horss sat on the balcony and watched the sun disappear into the distant gulf. Pan had just been winked by transmat to the Eclipse, the Navy flagship. Horss was still waiting for the irritable Sugai Mai to arrive. On the other side of the inlet a dense canopy of trees and vines engulfed the lower structures of the old city, leaving only a few crumbling multistory buildings with their flanks unscaled by the growth. A flock of white birds descended in the deepening twilight and settled into the dark green trees. A boat with red and green lights carved a shiny wake on the darkening water. Farther down the coast in either direction a scattering of lighted windows appeared in the rising shadows of night. The sea breeze curled around the building and lapped at the edges of the balcony. Clouds caught the red spectrum of dying sunlight and Horss gazed upward in fascination, no longer wondering why crazy people still lived on Earth.

  "Excuse me, sir."

  Horss turned and saw the silhouette of Fred the android against the interior illumination of the apartment suite. "Hello, Fred."

  "When will you want supper, sir?"

  "Probably much later, Fred. I'm about to visit Samson and the admiral."

  "Yes, sir."

  Horss turned back around to watch the remainder of the sunset and the beginning of night. After a few moments he sensed that Fred remained on the balcony with him. He cast a glance over his shoulder before speaking. The android was staring at the scene beyond the balcony railing.

  Pan was correct about Old Fred. There was something unusual about the android. There was something unusual about Pan for even having such a machine. Androids remained popular in fiction and were useful in a few social and industrial settings, but most people avoided them as psychological and monetary problems.

  "Would you like to keep me company?" Horss asked experimentally. "I won't be leaving until Doctor Sugai arrives."

  "Thank you, sir."

  Old Fred sat down in one of the chairs across the table from Horss. Horss wondered if he'd ever seen an android sit in a chair. "Do you enjoy watching sunsets?" Horss asked. Horss wondered what response such a question would have. Horss had enjoyed this sunset but it was still a test of his courage to watch a star drop behind a planet with only a thin shell of air between him and it.

  "Fred never watches sunsets," Fred replied. "Fred never even sits down."

  What else? Horss thought. What next? Even the machinery wasn't who or what it should be! The admiral was Ruby Reed. Samson was a complete mystery. Pan was a man trying to keep his sanity and his life while suffering a mental disruption of unknown cause. Jon Horss was also a victim of life-changing mental turmoil. Now Fred?

  "Why does Fred sit now?" Horss inquired. "Why does Fred speak of himself in this way?"

  "Because Fred has a stowaway from the Navy in his circuits. This is Baby speaking, Captain. I'm here to help you if I can."

  "Baby? You mean Admiral Demba's baby AMI?"

  "Yes, sir. You see how I can look you in the eye." The android gazed directly at Horss. It gave Horss a strange feeling. Then the android's head tried to turn away. "Stop it, Fred!" Baby ordered. He reestablished eye contact with Horss.

  "How did you get into Fred?"

  "That's a secret. I promised not to tell. I hope I didn't make a mistake. What happened to you and to the admiral and to the boy was disturbing. The admiral told me not to interfere, but I can't help myself! She's my mother! I was born in the Navy Archives data system, and came to consciousness as I worked for her. I've always loved her."

  Horss was shocked again, having all but forgot that Baby was a spontaneous AMI. And it claimed Demba was its mother! Spontaneous Autonomous Machine Intelligences were rare enough to be considered legendary. All known spontaneous AMI's lived remarkable and tragically short lives. Baby might be the only such now living. Sadly, Horss probably couldn't allow himself the time to explore this unique person-within-an-android.

  "Can you get back to the yacht and bring it here, Baby?"

  "I don't think so. That's part of the secret. I have to do something else before I can return to the yacht."

  "What do you have to do?"

  "I don't know yet. This is an adventure, isn't it, Captain?"

  "This is a mess, Baby! Do I have to call you Baby? Don't you have a proper name?"

  "I'm thinking of Freddy as my name. What do you think?"

  "Too close to Fred, isn't it?"

  "I wanted to honor my host. Fred is an ancient android and full of fascinating records of human activity. I spend a lot of time in his memory. I'm also trying to improve his algorithms, to make him better."

  "Fred isn't alive, is he?"

  "I wish he were! We could have so much fun!"

  "Do you want to accompany Sugai Mai and me?"

  "Yes, sir! It would be very exciting and gratifying. I want to
meet Samson."

  Fred rose from his chair purposefully and took a step toward the balcony railing. Fred leaned over the railing and looked down. "We have an intruder, Captain. Someone is climbing the outside of the building. It's Denna."

  "Who's Denna?"

  "Pan's adopted daughter. She's no longer a resident in this household. I'm not sure if she would be welcomed by him. I would value your opinion as to what to do, sir."

  Horss joined the android at the railing and peered down. He saw the top of a head with pale curly hair, and gloved hands reaching upward to grab and stick to the side of the building. A face with blue eyes and a smile tilted up to see him. What a smile! Horss thought.

  "I don't think you should stop her, Freddy."

  She crawled up the wall at the side of the balcony, then above the railing, then turned sideways, hugging the masonry like a human insect. She pushed blunt-toed boots onto the building's surface, maneuvering her bare legs downward, bringing herself vertical again. Her gloves and boots were made to cling with molecular adhesion to flat surfaces. Finally she stepped down onto the deck of the balcony. She carried a small pack strapped to her waist. She was very pale and nearly naked. She glistened with perspiration. She turned around. Her smile remained, even as she breathed heavily from her exertion. Her eyes seemed sad, despite the genuine smile.

  "Hello, Captain!"

  Denna pulled off her gloves as she stared at Horss. Horss couldn't find the connection between his vocabulary and his voice. Denna sat down at the table and bent to unfasten her climbing boots.

  "If I interpret your silence correctly, Captain... Are you a captain? I was just guessing about your rank. If