19. Johree
JOHREE
Today should have been an easy day. Wander over to meet the new family arriving, check the wedding supply inventory was as ordered, and the rest of the day free to spend with Jesse, relaxing.
We were in the middle of doing just that, enjoying a lazy brunch in the media room, watching another episode of what he called ‘The OG Little House’ when the comm came.
“Sir, the boss told me I needed to ask you to come over to the mainframe room,” one of the spaceport workers said, forgetting to identify himself by name.
“Did he say why?” I asked testily, aggravated with yet another interruption to our personal time.
“Um, no, but I’m pretty sure it has to do with the two new Tyridium engineers who just arrived.”
I sat up straight, pausing the vid. “The freighter has arrived already?”
“Kinda? It’s not the one with your stuff on; it’s another one, and it didn’t so much as arrive as send a small landing craft down with them. They, uh, weren’t expected, he said to tell you.”
Jesse placed a hand on my arm. “Sounds like they need you to go check this out. I’ll clear these away and come join you.”
I nodded. “I’ll be there shortly.” I ended the comm, and then, addressing Jesse, I said, “Just leave those for Rosie and get your boots on.”
He set the plates down and glanced at what he was wearing. “I am not going out there wearing only a pair of cow print sleep pants and a t-shirt that says, ’Moo!’ on it.”
I grinned at him over my shoulder as I opened my bedroom door. “Well, it’s not my fault you won’t be ready when I am. Some of us shower and get dressed first thing in the morning.”
“It was supposed to be a lazy day!” he protested. “We were supposed to have until right before dinner!”
I chuckled, sitting down on the bed to pull my boots on.
I came out to find him glaring at me, wearing the same clothes, but this time with a pair of soft brown suede short boots on his feet.
“Indoor/outdoor slippers,” he said. “And nobody better laugh at my PJs.”
My lips twitched. “I’m sure those will be the last thing on their mind.”
Or maybe not, as several crewmembers aboard the Corsair looked him a bit wide-eyed as we hurried past.
“Where to?” Kiprr asked.
“Got a comm about the mainframe room.”
The mainframe room was located under the spaceport building, designed to survive an explosion should a catastrophic event occur at the spaceport, such as a crash or, stars forbid, an attack.
It wasn’t difficult to find - to get to it, one simply went through the door marked “Maintenance” and through a second door on the far side that claimed it was for heating and cooling systems access.
Which was also true, but the stairs in there led down to bombproof doors that protected Bob from unwanted visitors.
I placed my palm on the access panel, and the door unlocked with a hiss before sliding open.
Inside, we found two Tyridium techs and Kaelor standing there simply staring at each other. He looked immensely relieved when he saw me.
“Ah, here he is!” He gave me a bow. “Your Grace, as you’re aware, the two previous Tyridium techs left four days ago. These two arrived unexpectedly, stating they were here to do an inspection.”
“Greetings, Prince Governor,” one of the Tyridium said, inclining his head.
I was sure this was simply a case of miscommunication. “You are here to check over Bob’s installation? Is this because of his new penchant for jokes?”
Another nod. “We requested to meet with him.”
I eyed the box the second Tyridium was carrying.
“He’s not caused any mayhem or disruptions, so there’s no need to adjust his programming,” I said, not liking the idea that they might decide his personality quirk was a fault.
Both of the Tyridiums looked offended. “Not an intervention decreed by the Mother’s Rules of Protocol. This is a meeting.”
“I think they mean they actually wanted to come here where Bob’s main consciousness resides to actually just say hi to him,” Jesse said softly.
“Yes.” Both Tyridium nodded.
“Oh!” This wasn’t work related at all for them. This was cultural. “Yes, by all means.” I cleared my throat. “Bob, you have visitors.”
“I see them,” Bob replied.
Neither of the two small blue aliens spoke to him just yet; instead, the female one holding the box opened it, taking out two small blue cloths which she promptly placed on the ground before the mainframe.
“What is happening?” Jesse whispered, and I shrugged. I’d never seen this happen before. Usually the techs came, talked to the AI, and assisted it with any hardware issues or coding related problems he or she needed help with.
Next, she took out a stringed instrument from the box, which she now sat upon the ground.
“Is that a dulcimer?” Jesse asked. I shrugged, not knowing what one of those was.
With a glance at her companion, the female began to play, and as she did, the male began to…
dance? His feet moved in a simple pattern that rotated him so he faced every direction in turn, his four arms making slow, graceful patterns.
The three of us stood watching, wondering what was going on.
The music stopped, and the pair faced the communications terminal part of the mainframe, which we were all standing in front of. They bowed deeply.
“Greetings, brother,” the male said, eyes gazing towards the floor.
“Um, hi. Nice dance, and ah, great music," Bob replied, sounding as confused as we all felt.
“Oh, Child of the Mother, we humbly accept your praise,” the male said, a tear slipping down his face.
“Is this a religious thing?”
“I am not a divine being,” Bob pointed out.
“Neither is Mother,” the male replied simply.
“I’m a localized colonial administrator,” Bob added
“Yes,” the male replied. He nodded to his female companion, who placed her instrument carefully back into the toolbox before reaching into a side compartment on the outside of the box.
“We bring you a gift from the Mother.” The female knelt on one blue cloth, holding something in her closed, cupped hands.
He settled onto the cloth next to her. “She sends this crystal with its riddle to her younger brother, as a token of her affection and that of the Tyridium people.”
The female opens her hand to reveal the engraved crystal.
“I am the brightest lighthouse in the cosmos, yet my walls are an inescapable prison of absolute darkness. I am so hungry that a trillion stars pale in comparison to the light of my dinner. I sit at the edge of time itself, yet I can hide in the palm of your hand if you break me into wavelengths of color. What am I?” Bob reads aloud. “Pish. That’s easy. A quasar.”
Both Tyridium cheer. Jesse steps forward. “How about I take this for Bob? I’ll have a shelf placed in here for it.”
The crystal was handed over, and both Tyridium stood, picking up their blue cloths and placing them back into the toolbox.
“It has been a great pleasure and honor to meet you, Bob,” the male said, and both bowed deeply once more.
“Thank you, Prince Governor. More will come.” They gave me a smaller bow and proceeded to simply leave.
We followed them out in silence, watching as they went to their small landing craft, and a few moments later, took off.
“What even just happened?” Kaelor asked me.
“I’m not sure.”
“I think Bob has become part of their not-a-religion thing.”
“My humor has been appreciated on a cosmic scale,” Bob replied from overhead. “I believe we need to come up with a protocol for when more come to pay their respects.”
“Oh boy,” Jesse said.
I ran a hand down my face.
“Perhaps we should make a publicly accessible area for,” he waved a hand about, “whatever this is.”
“Maybe a wall with niches where they can place gifts,” Jesse suggested. “Just resurface part of the outer wall of the spaceport, the part facing town.”
“And thus began the Bob-ening of the universe,” Bob giggled.
“That’s just what it needs,” I muttered.
“Here,” Jesse said, handing Kaelor the crystal. “I told them it would go on a shelf.”
“I’ll get someone right on that,” he replied dryly.
“Let’s go see how the building is going,” I suggested, wanting something normal.
“Great idea!” Jesse agreed, taking my hand. “But first, I’d like to change my clothes.”
I smiled. “Then we shall do that first.”