Zack stood in the astrophysics lab of the Athena. He'd stopped thinking of it as Jonah Redford's lab a while ago, but he couldn't quite claim it as his own. He still thought about the snobby, uptight scientist from the original Athena mission. In fact, Jonah’s fate was never far from Zack's thoughts.
The astrophysicist had been infected with the Xiiginn influence, a compulsion capability that could overthrow a person's will. Zack had been immune to the Xiiginn influence, and Emma Roberson, their resident biologist, had come up with a theory for why Zack had been immune and Jonah wasn’t. Apparently, being romantically involved with someone could affect the physiology of a person's brain chemistry, which was a scientist’s way of explaining what normal people referred to as love. He loved Kaylan, and it was his love for her that had shielded him from the Xiiginn influence. At least, that was the theory, and Zack had no desire to test that theory again by meeting any more Xiiginns in person. He'd had enough of that to last a lifetime.
He was quite sure that, above all, Jonah had loved himself, so why hadn’t he been immune to the Xiiginn influence? Nershals could resist the Xiiginns, perhaps due to their sometimes rigid societal structure that adhered to a strict code of honor. And then there were the Boxans. Zack didn't understand why they were so vulnerable to the Xiiginn influence. He'd seen Xiiginns take over a Boxan's will in seconds. When that happened, it was like watching their entire existence being wiped and replaced, with no hope of a cure.
Zack had taken over Jonah's lab in part because he needed a quiet place to work. He'd been a last-minute addition to the original Athena mission and had spent months working in the lab with Jonah, analyzing what had turned out to be a Boxan message warning them about the Xiiginns.
It had been over a year since he'd left Earth. He supposed he should think of it as an “Earth year” or some other technical term to mark his time away from home. He'd heard Kaylan talking about it, but it was confusing for Zack. Apparently, time had multidimensional properties, but he just wanted to say a year and have it understood that he meant the normal year from back home. The Boxans referred to their equivalent of a year as a “cycle,” which was great for them, but Zack wouldn't start emulating those large aliens anytime soon.
The Athena was orbiting the forest moon called Selebus in the Nerva star system, where it had been for the past five months since they'd rescued Boxan refugees from Sethion. When they’d first arrived, Zack thought they’d only have to stay for another month before they could go home, but he’d underestimated the difficulty of undoing what he'd done to save Earth. He'd used Drar technology to realign the shroud that surrounded Earth's star system into a massive shield capable of repelling a fleet of Xiiginn warships. It had been an impulsive act of desperation that had ultimately been successful and given all of them some much-needed breathing room. But even though it had seemed so simple at the time, he was still unable to undo it a year later.
The crew of the Athena couldn't communicate with anyone on Earth, and they hadn't received any communications from back home either, which meant the shield blocked both inbound and outbound signals. And since signals weren't getting through, ships certainly wouldn't be either. The Boxans had tried to open a wormhole inside the Star Shroud shield but had failed.
During all those months on Olloron, Zack had spent a lot of time familiarizing himself with Boxan systems, thinking that perhaps getting a better understanding of those systems would help him turn off the shield. But once again, he was faced with the adage that nothing was ever easy. First of all, even if he could tell the Star Shroud shield to go down, he couldn't get a signal to the Star Shroud devices to give the command. He suspected that the command would have to come from inside the shield, meaning they had to find a way to tell someone on Earth how to shut it down so it wouldn’t destroy their star system.
Unfortunately, that was the other “bonus” to what he'd done to save Earth. The massive power requirements for technology that not even the Boxans fully understood had caused the Star Shroud shield to shrink with every moment it was active. It was only a matter of time before it brushed up against a planet in the Earth’s system, and then he didn't know what would happen. Gaarokk thought the shield would simply dissipate if it brushed up against a large object like a planet. But Cardaleer theorized that if the Star Shroud shield brushed up against a planet, a cascade of catastrophic events would cause the shield to rapidly constrict, nudging the planet out of its orbit before the shield could dissipate.
Zack didn't know what anyone else thought, but it seemed to him that having Neptune knocked out of its orbit could have disastrous effects for the star system as a whole. And to the best of his knowledge, not even the Boxans could evacuate the eight billion Humans who called Earth home. They still had time, but Zack just wanted to go home, and he wasn't the only one. All of the Athena crew felt the same. They'd been on the journey of a lifetime, witnessing things that no other person had ever seen, but the thing they needed most was to see that bright blue ball called Earth.
Zack glanced above him at the top observatory and saw Selebus above. The forest moon was a beautiful planet—a much better place than Olloron. Selebus was vibrant with life, and the Nershals were fortunate that their star system was home to two habitable planets.
There was a soft, audible chime from the small fabrication unit in the lab. Zack glanced over at it in surprise.
"Athena, are you using the fabrication unit here?" he asked.
"Yes, I am. Kaylan permitted me to attempt a three-dimensional rendering of some ship-design concepts I’ve come up with," the ship's AI replied.
Athena had developed well beyond the Boxan AI on Pluto. When the Drar space station remade their ship, Athena had gotten a complete overhaul as well. Zack had come to think of her as a true intelligence, which was a miracle of sorts. Calling Athena a true intelligence acknowledged the fact that the Athena AI was a living being with all the capabilities of any other living being.
Zack walked over to the fabrication unit and opened the door, finding a three-dimensional rendering of the Athena inside. The model even had the Phoenix emblem just beyond the windows where the bridge was supposed to be. Zack picked it up and it was cool to the touch.
"What sort of alloy is this?" Zack asked, feeling the smooth surface.
"It's a new material based on the supplies we have on board. I've been testing them and documenting my results," Athena said.
She wasn't kidding. Athena had a library of research that would take scientists years to go through once they returned home. This was in addition to anything the Drar had locked away inside the ship’s storage system.
Zack frowned at the golden model. "I think you're showing off now, but I like it. Does it fly?"
He'd meant the question as a joke, but his eyes widened as the rear engine pods began to glow. Zack hastily put it down and heard an artificial chuckle coming from the speakers above.
"I have to admit that was pretty good. You got me," Zack said with a grin.
"I'm glad. I remember that you found my first attempts at humor unsettling," Athena said.
Zack peered at the model of the Athena. There was a lot of detail—so much, in fact, that he wouldn't have been surprised if Athena had made a true working model of the ship. He made a mental note to tell Emma and Brenda about this new development. He was sure there was some kind of psychological significance to an intelligent being making models that imitated the world around them. Zack had no idea what that significance might be, but he thought they would find it interesting.
"Your query does present a bit of a challenge that I'd like to devote some of my resources to explore,” Athena said.
"You want to make it fly?" Zack said.
"That's just one aspect of it. Perhaps there’s more I can do to make it a true replica of the ship," Athena said.
Athena had no physical form, so he couldn't really look at her and get a feel for what she was thinking. He swung his gaze toward the nearest camera. "Are you feeling lonely again?"
Athena was silent for a few moments. "No, each member of the crew has returned to me on a regular basis, but you’re here more often than anyone else. I think my presence acts as a reminder of home, which can be a cause for joy and yet troubling at the same time."
Zack leaned back in his chair and arched an eyebrow. This wasn't simply idle conversation from the AI. "Try not to take it personally."
"I don't, but I don't fully understand the thought process behind such emotions," Athena replied.
"Here's a little bit of insight for you: most people don't understand the emotions that drive them either."
"It's a curious nuance that I find fascinating about the crew. I look forward to meeting more people when we return to Earth," Athena said.
Zack rubbed his chin. He wasn't sure how people back home would react to Athena. Humanity had come a long way toward creating a limited artificial intelligence that could mimic a Human response, but it was nothing like what Athena had become. Also, there was the fact that the original Athena mission had been jointly funded by multiple countries, and he imagined all of them would try to lay claim to Athena. He didn't know what to think about that and felt his shoulders tighten at the thought.
"Zack, I noticed that your pulse has increased. Have I said something to upset you?"
Zack shook his head. "No, you didn’t. I'm just worried about getting home."
"You've been up here a long time. Is the laboratory on Selebus inadequate for your needs?" Athena asked.
Zack snorted. "My latest test with the shroud device didn't go well. I miscalculated the power requirements, and Gaarokk doesn't believe the shield will come down for a few hundred years." Zack blew out a breath. "Now they're saying we have a shortage of materials, so I don't have another shroud device to test with."
"That’s unfortunate, but perhaps it's a setback you can learn from," Athena said.
Zack's eye started to twitch and he scowled. He'd been having setbacks for months. "It really shouldn't be this hard. The Drar command I used was based on what we found at the space station. A simple reversal of the command should bring the shield down, but it doesn't."
"I've searched through the data repositories that I'm able to access and I still don't have anything that can help."
Zack stretched his arms out and yawned. "I appreciate that. It's like the Drar never anticipated someone being on the opposite side of the shield. And I know that isn't right. The AI that ran the Drar space station knew of our approach, so they could see beyond the shield. It opened for us, after all."
"Kaylan has discussed the Drar space station with Ma'jasalax extensively. The capabilities of the Drar AI is beyond even the Boxans’ comprehension. That AI put the events into motion that brought us to it, which is unprecedented. I've run multiple data models to analyze the probability of such events occurring, and it's simply impossible for those events to have occurred on their own," Athena said.
"Multiple data models? How many?" Zack asked. He’d worked with Athena for so long now that he’d gotten to know some of her eccentricities, and the long delay in response meant she was carefully considering her response. "If you're worried about upsetting me, don't be. I know you're capable of crunching massive amounts of numbers."
"It's not that, but the number is simply beyond what you would understand," Athena said.
Zack sat up and looked at the camera. This was the first time Athena had outright told him she was considering something he simply couldn't grasp. "I'm pretty smart, Athena. I have an idea what you're capable of, but if you're saying it's a lot, then that's fine. How much of your computing power did you devote to your data models?" he asked, trying a different approach.
"Less than one quadrillion of a percentage. I’ve found that my computational capacity has increased substantially since we left the Drar space station," Athena said.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Zack asked.
"I thought it was a mistake at first, and I was checking my systems. I’m happy to inform you that they are all performing optimally."
"But your capacity is increasing and you're not sure why?" Zack said.
"There is a correlation between increased capacity that occurs after I've reached my current limits."
Zack pressed his lips together. "Reached your limits? But we've been idle here at Selebus."
"I wouldn't describe our time here in the Nerva star system as idle. Each of the crew has been working hard, applying themselves to multiple efforts. You all work toward the same goal, and it is my goal as well. So I've been trying to calculate the events with the highest probability of getting all of us back to Earth safely."
This was news to him. "Do you have a plan?"
"Not at this time. The biggest obstacle that prevents us from going home is the Xiiginns."
Zack felt his mouth open wide. "You've been up here trying to think of a way to defeat the Xiiginns?"
"Affirmative. I've been monitoring the internal communication systems of the ships in the area, gaining all the insight I could—"
"Wait a minute," Zack said, interrupting. "You're listening in on people's conversations on other ships? How many other ships?"
"All of them."
"What do you mean ‘all of them’? All the ships nearby or all the ones around Selebus?"
"No, I mean in the Nerva star system. I'm also able to pull data logs from the ships so I can analyze them as well."
Zack licked his lips and took a moment to rein in his racing thoughts. "I didn't even know you could do something like that. Do the Boxans or the Nershals know you've been poking around in their systems?"
"I detect that your heart rate is elevating again. Does this new revelation upset you?"
"Just answer the question, Athena."
"Some of the Boxan systems did detect my presence, but I removed all references to it. The Nershal systems are quite rudimentary at best and did not detect my presence at all," Athena replied.
Zack groaned.
"Are you ill?" Athena asked.
Zack shook his head. "No, I'm not," he said, unable to shake the feeling that this was somehow his fault. He was no stranger to infiltrating other systems, but he hadn't realized he'd passed those traits along to Athena. "Have you told anyone else?"
"Negative. It hasn't come up in any query. You seem concerned by this. Have I done something wrong?"
Zack felt the hints of a smile tug at his lips as he began to form a reply. "Generally, people don't like it when you listen in on their conversations."
"I am aware of that, but sometimes those are the most interesting. There are groups of Boxan and Nershal scientists that have been discussing the capabilities of this ship—not together but as individual groups."
"Gaarokk hasn't mentioned it and neither has Etanu," Zack replied.
"That's because neither of them has been involved in those conversations," Athena said.
Zack bit his lower lip. This again, he thought. "Have they made any attempts to infiltrate your systems?"
"Sometimes, but they haven't been successful."
"Would you know if they had been?"
"I see your point, but I do have safeguards in place to prevent such access," Athena said.
Zack snorted. "And you think the Boxans don't have something like that in place?"
"I'm sure they do, but I've studied their systems extensively and have safeguarded against any attempt they would make, so there’s a low probability of them ever gaining access to my systems without my permission," Athena said.
Zack was increasingly aware of how the AI perceived itself and its importance in the presence of the other species. "Would you prevent me from accessing your systems?"
"Of course not."
"I appreciate that, but why?"
"Because we are part of the same crew. A unit. A group. Major Hicks would refer to us as a squad or platoon, but the meaning is the same."
"Another reference to what we are is family," Zack said.
"That wouldn't be accurate at all, and I'm surprised to hear you suggest that we’re family. We share no genetic lineage, so why would you refer to us as such?" Athena asked.
"Do you think we're friends?"
"Yes, I believe that would be accurate. The rest of the crew shares a strong bond that functions within the framework of friendship; therefore, you are my friend and I am yours," Athena said.
"Family isn't always about genetic lineage. It's a bond. Sometimes when people are around each other for a long time, those bonds grow, becoming deeper and richer," Zack said.
"Like the bond between you and Kaylan?"
"That's one type of bond, but being family means you look out for one another. We share each other's burdens. It means we’re there for each other. I didn't know Hicks until I was on the ship and now we're friends. We all know each other very well, so there’s a sense of the familiar, which can be construed as being family. Do you understand what I mean?" Zack asked.
"I understand what you said, but I will need time to consider it fully."
Zack smiled. "Well, I don't doubt that you have the processing capability to consider it in great detail."
"I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me," Athena said.
"That’s what I'm here for," Zack said. He didn't know why, but sometimes he felt like an older brother to Athena. He hadn't said as much out loud because even in his mind it seemed absurd, and yet he loved the ship. The Athena was their home. He didn't know what would happen once they returned to Earth, but for now, this was the only place they could call their own.
"Have you considered running your experiments in a more virtualized environment?" Athena asked.
Zack pursed his lips for a moment. "I hadn't thought of that because I didn't think it was possible. Too many variables."
"Curious, but the Boxans have the schematics for the Star Shroud devices. I can certainly obtain a copy of them," Athena offered.
"No," Zack said quickly. "I'd much rather ask them."
"If we have the schematics, we can build a virtual model of the device. We could then feed in all the data input we would need—"
"And if it doesn't work, we can just reset the virtual environment back to its original condition. Athena, you're a genius! I don't know why I didn't think of this before," Zack said.
"I hadn't thought of it until this moment," Athena admitted.
"Well, I'm glad you did because now we have a way forward and we can stop—er, I can stop—wasting resources on failure. Whatever we discover would have to be tested outside the virtual environment, but at least we can move much faster now," Zack said and stood up.
He needed to stretch his legs and return to Selebus. He would remain in contact with Athena while on the planet's surface, but he was curious about what Gaarokk's reaction would be when he asked for the schematics of a Star Shroud device. He'd also have to get another one for when they were ready to test on an actual device again.
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