Chapter 28
Haven
“The biggest limitation is the neuro transfer,” Alred was saying in flawless, unaccented French. “It is simply impossible to transfer all my artificial mind in a way that would also transfer my personhood. It can’t be done.”
“It can’t be done yet,” Haven corrected, grinning at nothing as she continued to search her brain.
She had been conferring with Alred over his personal project.
One he had yet to divulge to even the rest of the crew.
One she’d figured out based on what he was building in the secret areas of the ship.
One he was so reticent to reveal, he’d identified and learned French from her code just so that he could talk to her about it with no one else knowing.
Alred was building his own body. His own as in he was regrowing his original body.
The one that had died thousands of years ago.
It wasn’t an easy process. It wasn’t a cheap process.
The food synthesizer was able to synthesize meat and flesh, but it wasn’t real.
It couldn’t be made alive. Medical technology could grow limbs and organs that were real and functioning, so it was theoretically possible to regrow an entire body.
But there was no point, because a brain could be grown, but it couldn’t be replaced.
And that was Alred’s biggest problem right now. He could, with enough time and resources, create a perfect recreation of his old, original body, but he couldn’t infuse it with life. He couldn’t put himself in it.
Yet.
Haven was fascinated and curious about how it could be done.
She didn’t believe anything was impossible.
It only couldn’t be done because they were lacking either the knowledge, power, or technique to do it.
But her ancestors on Earth had created marvels that withstood thousands of years passing using nothing more than stone, math, and human labor.
People had tracked the movements of planets and stars before even knowing what planets and stars were.
To the man who designed the pyramids, this starship was an impossibility.
So, she just had to figure out the right knowledge and technique and power.
“How were you transferred in the first place?” She asked. “Like, how was your personhood transferred from your biological body to your technological one?”
“To be honest, I don’t know,” he admitted.
She frowned. “Is that one of your corrupted memories?”
“Nothing that simple. Back when I was biological, I was not involved in the project of transferring our remaining consciousnesses into our cores. I was an ordinary citizen. I showed up when it was my turn to be transferred and it was done. It was like falling asleep.”
“So, what do you know about it?”
“I know that my mind, my biological one, was destroyed in the transfer. It was a process that could not be reversed, undone, or survived. In other words, there could not be two of me. My biological body was killed in the process of the transfer. It didn’t hurt.
I don’t remember dying or transferring. My technological mind came alive a few days later.
By then, my body had already been disposed of, along with the rest of those that had been transferred. ”
Haven frowned. “That’s unfortunate. Is there any way you can find out about the process? Like, someone has to know how it happened, right?”
“Yes. The scientists of my kind who originally were involved would know. But I cannot communicate with them. I’m a fugitive from my own planet and people.
I’m not meant to be off planet, working as an AI, without permission.
Which I no longer have. I did when I originally left the planet, but I do not anymore.
If I try to contact them, I will be forced back, and my project is null and void. ”
“Wouldn’t they be interested in coming back to life?”
Alred shook his virtual head. “No. There was, in the beginning, talks about trying to figure out a way back to life. But you must understand, my people have been like this now for thousands of years. Such dreams have long been put to rest. No one even talks about it anymore. They’re happy as technological people and, honestly, most of my people look down on biologicals.
They consider you as lesser because you are far more limited than ourselves. ”
“Like you’re not limited?” Haven chuckled, poking his chest, her finger sinking through his light form, to prove her point. “But I hear what you’re saying. You’ve achieved functional immortality. They would have to have a big reason to give that up.”
“Indeed.” Alred frowned thoughtfully. “There is another who might know something though.”
“Who?”
“The one who gave us the technology and ability to perform the transfer. The High Imperium.”
“The…” Haven blinked. “The High Imperium? They gave you the tech?”
“Yes. When our numbers got so low, and our situation so dire, it was clear we would never be able to recover in any appreciable way, they offered the transfer as a last resort. A way to preserve those of us who were left in some small way.”
The High Imperium was the leader of the Coalition – in a way.
They were from the very first species in the Coalition, the vitulli.
A species that no one could describe, had any records of, or even glimpsed.
The High Imperium was the only known vitulli in all the universe, and they were constantly covered and spoke through a robotic voice.
No one could say what they looked like, if they were old or young, or if they were male or female, if they even had a gender at all.
That was the person who gave them the ability to transfer their minds. And they would be harder to contact than anyone. They certainly wouldn’t get any information from that individual. They wouldn’t even be able to get close. Not a group like them.
“Okay, so that’s a bust,” she muttered. That was unfortunate. If she knew how the original transfer happened, she might be able to figure out a way to reverse it. But without that, she was working from scratch. “How far are you in building your body?”
“Not that far. I’ve managed to synthesize a few… parts. But they’re usually flawed and I have to destroy them and try again. We don’t have the technology we need for me to create anything meaningful and complex.”
Haven was nodding along as he spoke. “So, we have three main problems. How do we find a way to craft your body? How do we get your mind into it? And how do we make sure it actually works before we do some kind of damage to you?”
“Four problems. We also need a very large power source,” Alred added. “I remember it being a big deal about how much it cost, energetically, to transfer even one of our minds into a computer. I imagine we’ll have the same problem in reverse as well.”
Haven grinned. “That’s just four things. Easy.”
Alred laughed, but it was tinged with sadness. “Your optimism is enjoyable, though I think a bit misplaced. Those are not just four things.”
“But we already know there is technology to build a body, right? Just not a mind. So, it’s actually like three and a half things.”
“Actually…” he hedged a bit before admitting.
“I did come across a sample of xenom blood that I’ve been studying.
They are a parasitic species that are capable of integrating themselves with the nervous system of their host bodies.
I thought, if I could figure out how, I might be able to utilize it myself. ”
“There you go!” Haven went to smack his arm, her hand sinking right through his light form even as he fell back with a dramatic gasp of feigned pain, making her laugh.
As he was chuckling with her, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching made them both turn. Her heart jumped in excitement at the sight of her mate appearing. He didn’t smile, but she liked the burning of his gaze better.
“What are you two plotting about?” Vytln asked.
Haven looked to Alred before answering. She didn’t want to hide anything from Vytln – in fact, she’d rather get his input on the problem – but she also recognized this wasn’t her secret to tell.
Alred clearly hadn’t told anyone else in the crew, and he had downloaded and installed French specifically so he could keep it from the other girls as well.
Alred caught her eye and must have read the look on her face because he turned back to Vytln and said, “A project we’re working on. I’ll tell you about it. Soon.”
Vytln grunted but didn’t appear taken aback that he was being left out.
“Actually,” Haven smiled. “Maybe you are knowing something. I was asking Alred about how his people were transferring into their techno bodies. Or maybe knowing something about his species before they were transferring.”
“The undroitt?” Vytln looked surprised at the question, his blocky, hairless brow raising on one side. “I can’t say I know anything about them really. Besides the fact that they’re recalls. The only physical body they have is their core where their memories are stored.”
“It’s more than just my memories, actually,” Alred corrected with a smile. “The very code for my being resides within. It also houses the various programs the core itself runs to keep me stabilized, as well as maintaining the integrity of the storage compartment.”
Vytln blinked, as though surprised. “Your core has a storage compartment?”
“Naturally.”
“For what?”
“Storage, of course,” Alred said, like it was a silly question, making Vytln grumble as Haven smothered a giggle.
“Believe it or not, even I have things that I consider precious. We undroitt may be only recalls who interact just through sight and sound with the world, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still feel a connection to it. ”
Vytln made a sound like he was acknowledging what he was saying without actually caring what was said. He was already focused on Haven.
“Why are you so interested in the undroitt all of a sudden?”
“What’s not to be interesting?” She countered, popping her hip. “They are having immortality. They made themselves being computers! I was wanting to knowing how.”
Vytln frowned. “And Alred wasn’t telling you?”
“I was telling her I don’t know,” he corrected happily, tail flicking. “I was naught but a common male back then. Innocent and wholesome and-”
“Are you actually listening to this fool?” Vytln asked her pointedly.
Haven could only laugh. “Maybe he was being innocent. Back then.”
“Three thousand years can really change a person,” Alred said sagely. “Actually, it’s more like fifty years. I remained a normal male up until I left Riut. That’s my home planet.”
“Oh,” Haven said curiously. “You are needing permission to be leaving though, correct? Did you sneaking out or were you having it?”
“I had permission. I was contracted to act as the AI on a starship recycling facility. It was quite a large task, so they needed something advanced to do it. Believe it or not, it was easier to hire one of my kind than to build a new program that can do all I can.”
“Wow,” Haven beamed, excited. “What is a starship recycling facility? What were you doing?”
“Nothing interesting, I assure you. It was a large, sandy planet full of nothing living, and had an atmosphere that was only partially livable. But it did have a lot of metal. There were plans for mining it, but it was first set up for the breaking down of decommissioned starships so that their parts could all be reused. The mines were supposed to be set up after that, but things never got that far.”
Haven cocked her head. “What did happening to you there?”
Alred shrugged. “Oh, this and that.”
“You don’t wanting to tell me?”
“I’d hate for you to lose respect for me,” he winked at her. “I am no better a person than anyone else on this ship, you know. Let a male keep his secrets.”
With that, he vanished in a flash of sparks that trailed down to the floor like rain before popping out of existence. All of it was just a light show. Haven looked from the sparks over to Vytln as he stepped closer and put an arm around her waist.
“Is what he was doing so bad?”
“I don’t think so,” Vytln said, obviously uninterested. “He’s probably a more righteous male than any of the rest of us. At least, I respect what he did. But if he doesn’t want you or the other females to know, that’s his choice.”
“You all are never telling us anything.”
“Because it’s better for you not to know. You know I’ve killed people. That’s enough. You don’t need to be exposed to the details,” he said, directing her forward and out of the room.
“I can handling it.”
“I wasn’t questioning that. I just don’t want to make you do so. If we have our way, none of you will ever be exposed to the things we were.”