Tech Scavengers [Humorous, Action-Packed Space Opera]

Negasi let out a cry and leapt back, bumping into Helen, who was standing right behind him. Jeridan moved back too and they all ended up in a tangle, pressed against the opposite wall of the corridor.

The android's eyes continued to glow blue. Negasi noticed it was the same shade of blue as ZHI used on her screens.

A flat, metallic voice emanated from the little grill of a mouth on the android's face, speaking in Old Imperium Standard.

"I have gone into emergency shutdown. This announcement is using the last of my energy reserves. To avoid further corruption of my systems, I require immediate energy renewal. End of message."

They stared at it. The blue light in the eyes faded and went out.

"Did it just use the first-person singular?" Negasi asked.

"Yes," Helen replied, still pressed between him and the wall. Negasi remembered himself and stepped to the side to give her room.

Not forward. He sure as hell wasn't going to step forward and get closer to that thing.

"I totally heard a first-person singular," Jeridan said.

Only AIs used the first-person singular in order to differentiate themselves from regular computing systems. From everything Negasi had read, it had been the same in the Imperium. A lot of the protocols businesses and governments used in the modern day came from Imperium traditions.

"It's an AI," Helen whispered. She sounded just as shocked as Negasi.

"It couldn't be," Jeridan said.

Negasi nodded. This was an android. No one put an AI into an android. Researchers had found that giving an AI a body after their human one died had a severe adverse effect on the AI's psychology. In most cases, it drove them insane.

Had the Imperium found a workaround?

"We need to give him or her power," Helen said.

"Um … "

Negasi couldn't think of what else to say.

"We're dealing with an AI," Helen said.

"Maybe," Jeridan said.

"We are," Helen insisted.

Negasi studied the android, half expecting to see a name tag. There was nothing. The eyes remained dark.

"What set it off?" Negasi wondered.

"Maybe a proximity sensor or something," Jeridan said.

"He saved the last of his reserves, hoping to be rescued," Helen said.

Negasi turned to her. "It's a he now?"

"I think so. We'll have to power him up to be sure."

Negasi ran the scan he had intended on doing before having the crap scared out of him.

Helen looked over his shoulder.

"No power at all," she said. "We need to help him."

Negasi studied the schematics the scanner revealed. The computing system inside the android's head certainly was complicated enough to hold an AI.

"Look at that," Helen said.

Negasi didn't need to be told what to look at. All those connections, all those memory banks …

Was there really a second AI on this station? One given the power of physical autonomy?

That was unheard of.

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"What do you think?" Negasi asked Jeridan.

His friend rubbed his jaw. "Could be."

"He needs our help," Helen said.

"It's already at zero power," Jeridan said. "It can't be hurt any more than it already is."

"True," Negasi said.

"Where does the cable go?" Jeridan asked, pointing to the cable running from the back of the android's head into the wall.

Negasi did a deep scan through the durasteel wall and found the cable linked up to the station-wide computer network.

"Why would it plug into the computer network if the station powered down?" Negasi wondered.

Jeridan shrugged. "Maybe the station was left running with ZHI keeping everything going and then she shut down the reactor eventually."

"But she shut down right after the jump gates crashed," Negasi said.

"No she didn't," Helen said. "She said she'd last been active two hundred and ninety-seven years, forty-one days, six hours, and five seconds before she spoke with us. The jump gates failed three hundred and eight years, fifty-three days ago."

That precision memory reminded Negasi that she was half computer herself.

"So she kept the station running for more than a decade," Negasi said. "I wonder why she shut down?"

"Maybe there was a reactor problem?" Jeridan suggested.

"ZHI asked when we were going to power it up. She wouldn't have asked that if there was a reactor problem."

"Her files are corrupted. Maybe she doesn't remember there being a problem," Helen said.

"Maybe. And if there was a problem, why not have the android fix it?"

"Who knows? They needed a spare part they couldn't get?"

"Why don't we ask him?" Helen said, pointing to the android.

Negasi looked at Jeridan.

"What do you think?"

"Let's unplug it from the system first, and only give it a bit of juice. Not enough to move."

"Why are you so mistrustful?" Helen said. "It's a human being."

"It's maybe an AI, which isn't the same thing, and we nearly got killed on this station once already," Jeridan replied.

Negasi approached the android with tentative steps. Even though he knew it had no power left, he half expected the android to jump up and grab him. He unplugged the cable running from its head to the wall, then pulled out an external power source.

"You always do the right thing, Negasi," Helen said.

"We'll see about that," he grumbled.

"Low power, buddy," Jeridan said "Very low power."

"Don't worry. I'll give it the bare minimum."

Negasi set the power at what he calculated would be enough to start the computer system but not move the android's limbs. He didn't want to take any chances. What if the thing decided they were rebels intent on taking over the station? ZHI might be wondering the same thing. She had sure grown cagey once she got powered up.

He found the power input, plugged in the external power source, and gave it some juice.

The eyes lit up again. Even though he had been expecting that, Negasi jerked back.

"Power sufficient for 1.75 hours at current usage rate. More power required urgently. Severe corruption of files detected. Another full power loss would lead to potentially catastrophic file corruption."

"We've heard this one before," Jeridan said.

"Are you an AI?" Negasi asked.

"Unclear."

"What? How couldn't you know?"

"Severe corruption of files detected. More power required for attempted repair."

"How much more power?"

"Unknown. Extent of file corruption unknown."

Negasi typed in another command to the external power course.

"Negasi … " Jeridan sounded worried.

"If it's an AI, we have to save it."

"Don't give it too much."

"I know. I know."

Negasi wiped the sweat off his brow. The problem was, if he gave it much more than he already had, it could move its limbs. Not for long, but it wouldn't take long to do some damage.

"Cover me," Negasi said.

"He'll interpret that as a hostile act," Helen said.

"Um … right. Jeridan, keep your rifle ready but don't point it at the android."

"That doesn't count as keeping my rifle ready."

"Well, kind of keep it ready."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just get ready to blast it if it crushes my skull, all right?"

"All right. Sheesh. You don't have to get panicky."

"You want to do this?"

"No."

"I didn't think so."

"Perhaps you should do it now?" Helen suggested.

Negasi hesitated, then transferred the power. To his relief, the android didn't stand up and strangle him.

"Initiating repairs."

Negasi gave it a thumb's up. "A good use of your energy reserves."

The android didn't reply.

"How long will this take?" Helen asked.

"Unknown," the android said.

They stood back and waited.

And waited.

"What's happening?" Negasi asked.

"Nothing," Jeridan replied.

"I can see that."

"Then why are you asking?"

"He's healing himself," Helen said.

"Are you sure?"

"Scan him."

Negasi did a scan and saw a great deal of activity going on in the android's electronic brain.

"How long is this going to take?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Helen admitted. "It depends on his computational power and how much damage there is to his files."

They waited some more.

"Maybe we can go do some more scavenging while he works on himself," Helen suggested.

"No way," Jeridan said. "We're not leaving it alone."

"Him."

"If it's an AI, I'll start using human pronouns. Right now, it doesn't even know if it's an AI or not."

"He is." Helen nodded, staring at the android. "I can feel it."

"Feel it as in with some cybernetic extra sense feel it?" Negasi asked.

"I feel it in my heart, the same way you feel things in yours."

Negasi looked away. Why did she always have to put things that way?

"Repairs completed," the android announced, startling everyone.

"How much have you been able to repair yourself?" Negasi asked.

"It is unclear how much data I lost. Several memory banks have corroded beyond repair, while others I was able to defragment."

"I see. So are you an AI?"

"Affirmative."

Negasi gaped. It took a moment to think of something to say.

"Welcome back to the land of the living. What's your name?"

"ZHI."