Chapter 11: The Next Day After

It seemed that a cheery wave of words began to spread around the ship about the actions of a supposed companion bot that managed to jump onto a spinning shuttlecraft. All the crew would get to know what Minerva was and what she had accomplished. Any fear or skepticism of the crew of the UHN Tyson ended then and there. Minerva existed, and she was a hero.

Ericson was awestruck. Minerva had essentially performed a miracle the day before. The Captain was impressed, and the UHN canceled sending a ship to help out the Tyson. The shuttle was brought back into the hangar, and the crew was sent to the medical bay to be treated. Thankfully besides some bruises and fighting severe motion sickness, the shuttle team that was supposed to go to Europa had returned to the ship safe and sound. The UHN Tyson had returned to the proper orbit around Europa to resume its never-ending scientific mission to search for life.

Many of the crew had a chance to meet Minerva then and there. Ericson tried to be careful with how Minerva would be introduced to the crew. Some were nervous and scared with the android AI wonder. Some were skittish but curious. Many were already used to seeing companion bots that the occasional person would have. Ericson had presented Minerva as an advanced android able to think for herself that he had been experimenting on instead of a super-advanced AI. It was a half-truth, designed to make sure the crew wouldn’t be freaked out by knowing such a creation had existed. For the most part, the crew was beginning to hear about the new-fangled being. Only the few would know the truth. It was Ericson’s job to ensure that Minerva’s true identity and purpose were never revealed to the public until it was deemed safe to do so. Regardless, Minerva had made the correct action yesterday, and it was a good step in the right direction.

The captain was so impressed by her act of heroism that she was given the right to walk around the ship as long as she was accompanied by another person. This was no real issue since Ericson preferred to be by her side as she began to learn about her environment. The morning was only going to get better.

Minerva was walking down the passageway of the centripetal rotating ring along with Ericson. He seemed to be content. He wasn’t excited or upset. The fact was that he was called to Akari’s quarters for something special. It was something that he couldn’t ignore.

“I do not understand why this is a surprise,” Minerva said. Her body moved with simplicity and grace. Her torn arm and surgically cut side beneath her breast were repaired, and she seemed to be perfectly fine despite being in space and pulled around by the shuttle. Even her hair was free-flowing again, being inside an area where gravity was being generated.

“You will find out. Sometimes us ... organics like do something nice for people like you.”

Minerva smiled, and Ericson saw it. It even made him happy to see her behave in this way. For the first time, things were truly going their way.

They reached the door that led to Jabr and Akari’s quarters. Minerva walked up to the door panel and held her palm up to it. A small beam from her hand appeared as she interacted with the door control. She then disengaged the beam and backed away from it.

The door opened up, and Akari beckoned them to come inside.

“Come in! Come in!” Akari told both of them. Ericson gestured his hand for Minerva to enter the door.

After both had entered the door, they saw both Dulari sitting on a couch along with Akari. Both Ericson and Minerva stood together as they looked at the two women sitting down. Ericson already had a good feeling on what Dulari was going to say, but she wanted her to tell Minerva of her thoughts.

“Hello Minerva,” Dulari greeted Minerva.

“Greetings Dulari, how is your morning?” Minerva replied back.

“A little worse for wear but fine,” Dulari said, gripping the back of her neck. “It seemed everything was destined to break down yesterday. I was doing my best, but a couple of the crew had vomited in their suits.”

“You are undamaged?”

“Oh, I am good. It was scary yesterday. I know you saw everything. I still couldn’t believe both power cores had failed on that shuttle. Then my suit had an error for the O2 recycler. I would have died if it kept going that way, and god knows how long the rest of the crew would have been inside that spinning can until help arrived. The fact is Minerva ... I owe you my life. Thank you...”

Dulari smiled at Minerva. She put her hand to her hip as if she was in deep thought. “Minerva ... what is it like ... being who you are?”

Minerva tilted her head as she was perplexed. “I do not understand the question. Please explain.”

“Yesterday, you put your life on the line to save us. You did it without question, and you were the one that suggested it to the captain. Why did you do it?”

“It was the logical course of action. I was not appreciated or known by the crew. If my body and programming were destroyed, there would be no significant loss. It can also be argued that I was more than capable of performing the job at hand without putting other crew in danger. My body functions were perfectly designed to ensure that I could perform the necessary actions to save the shuttle.”

Dulari nodded. “The question remains. Do you truly think for yourself? Is it just programming inside you, or did you really feel something when you were in space?”

She seemed to think for a moment. “You are asking if my choice of actions were based on the programming inside my computer core or if I, as Ericson asked me ... do I have a soul? The answer is one that my program tries to resolve. I believe that question is designed purposely to be one that requires much of my computer process to try to resolve.”

“Let me ask this,” Akari jumped in. “If you had missed the shuttle in your jump, how would you feel?”

“If I had missed, I would have continued flying through space. My emergency beacon would have activated, and my power core would operate for a limited time. If no rescue came, then I would continue to float in space completely shut down. I would ... die in space.”

Dulari could see some emotion filter through Minerva’s words that even she picked it up. “Were you afraid?”

“I was not, however, there was a small chance that I would have missed the shuttle or been flung away from it before I managed to grab hold of it properly.”

“It is scary... , “ she told her. “You would have died in the worst possible way. You would have died alone...”

Even Ericson nodded his head as he remained quiet. He was inclined to believe her.

Dulari went and put her hand to her pocket. She pulled out a small hypo syringe that she placed down on the table. She then pushed it towards Minerva.

“What is this?” Minerva asked.

“You wish to know how close you want to be human. A life for a life. You saved my life, and now I will grant you to have a life. It is a fair trade, wouldn’t you agree?”

Minerva stepped up to the table and picked up the syringe. It was small and simple in design. She looked back to Dulari as she took and lifted up a part of her side clothing. She exposed her lower abdomen and belly button for her to see.

“You need a donor so that you can produce children. Make a promise that my name is not mentioned in your logs in how you got a hold of a human egg cell.”

Minerva displayed the faintest of smiles from her. Her cat-like ears even seemed to twitch a little bit. Ericson was watching all of her reactions. He only knew what was going to happen next, and there was only the slightest of dread that came to him. He would have to take things very carefully from this point on.

“It was nice for Dulari to donate one of her eggs for you to use,” Ericson told Minerva as they stepped into the computer lab. “It was fitting for her to do so.”

“I agree, Ericson,” she said, still holding the syringe in her hand.

She held it up. Inside, the syringe was a small amount of blood. The entire medical tool was designed for the most simple of tasks.

The door closed behind them as Minerva walked ahead of Ericson. Her clawed feet would still click the ground where she moved. Ericson stopped as he stood and watched her. He tried to engage in small talk with her.

“That was nice of Dulari to finally donate that for you,” he told her. “I know it wasn’t easy to get it.”

“Dulari’s kindness will be the reward to create a new human being. I will be closer to proving that I am equal to humankind.”

“All thanks to yesterday. It seemed so ... convenient, you know?”

There was a momentary pause as Minerva heard his words. “Explain...”

“I mean, how everything went yesterday. The entire series of events that led to Dulari giving you that. It all seemed to fit into place.”

Minerva refocused her eyes to the syringe. “I am trying to understand what it is that you are saying, Ericson. Do you feel that the event yesterday was staged for my benefit?”

Ericson was taken back a little bit when he first heard her say that. A few seconds later, he started to really think about it. He was unsure and skeptical.

“I don’t know,” he told her. “I can’t imagine that happening. It all had to be a coincidence that happened yesterday. Right?”

“The odds of both power cores in the shuttle failing at once has only happened once forty-seven years ago with the shuttle Henry Kaiser onboard the UHN Pulsar. The shuttle was rescued. It was retrieved by its sister shuttle Lenthall from the UHN Pulsar without any injuries from the crew. It would result in new construction procedures to ensure that no further incidents of this type would occur. The Argas class shuttle, which the Gray Whale is based on, was constructed at least eleven years after that event.”

“This is going by your database ... what did they do to prevent future incidents like these from taking place?”

“The incident with the Henry Kaiser was considered a minor but important incident where the UHN would pass the Two to Keep Rule for long-range Battleships. All ships with the exception of patrol ships were required to have at least two shuttles to ensure future incidents like these could be handled quicker. Yesterday was another example of that incident. The Gray Whale’s situation was worse than the Lenthall. The UHN Tyson was constructed before the ruling was to take place, but the newest type of research ship was built with two shuttles.”

“Was the Two to Keep Rule the only thing they implemented?”

“Negative,” she responded. “The UHN would also pass a ruling in 2307 that required all shuttles to carry two power cores separated from one another in case one fails. The power would then lead to the main power junction that goes to the shuttles’ system. The cores onboard the Gray Whale had both failed to reach the rest of the ship. I believe that power could transfer beyond the main power junction, but it was being halted. The shuttle is equipped with a secondary power junction as well in case the main one fails.”

“So, in other words ... the shuttle was disabled when both power junctions failed rather than the power cores?”

“Correct. However, I do not have any other information available to provide a further assessment of this event. I was not able to see the repair work directly to provide a clear description as the repairs onboard the shuttle.”

“Who was doing the repairs to the shuttle when you provided the spare power core?”

“Doctor Akari Yuki,” she answered.

“She is a doctor though ... how is she able to conduct repairs? Even I only know so much information on shuttles.”

“Correct. She only has so much information and expertise to provide repairs. It is possible, however, to be able to adequately repair certain portions of the shuttle with limited training and expertise.”

“Do you have the full file of her training experiences and technical skills?”

“Only partial information is available on her file,” Minerva answered. Her data files show that Akari received education at the Martian Argyre Medical University for two years, but no further data exists as to her education from New Olympia where she was born.”

“Hmm...” Ericson said, scratching the back of his head. “Weird ... I guess she has knowledge of repairing things. Now that I really think about it though ... I get this feeling that something did happen on that shuttle to cause the entire series of events to take place. It is a gut feeling that maybe ... just maybe there was some sort of sabotage that took place. It is weird that both Dulari’s suit would experience problems and that all power failed on the ship at the same time or in conjunction with that. What are your statistics of such an event happening on a shuttle?”

“If the shuttle was to operate for fifty years and received proper maintenance, the chances of the event that transpired yesterday of happening at least once in the shuttles lifetime are 48,283 to 1. By calculating the possibility that a suit failure for Dulari to occur at the same time would make the combined chances 192,984 to 1. This is also assuming that the shuttle is making one trip every day during the fifty-year lifespan of the shuttle.”

Ericson thought about the words heavily. “Those ... are pretty steep odds that this was just some coincidence. Maybe I am just getting paranoid. Did Akari exhibit any unusual behaviors or anything out of the ordinary when you saw her in the shuttle yesterday?”

Minerva’s eyes and ears reflected her thinking as she thought about it. “Akari exhibited minimal signs of difficulty when she was standing up in the shuttle to talk to me. She was experiencing the same amount of Martian Gs as I was as when the Gray Whale was spinning.”

“Didn’t you say that the Gray Whale was experiencing at least 3 Gs inside the cabin?”

“Correct. The other crew members were all experiencing vertigo to various degrees, depending on their location in the shuttle and possibly on the different bodies and physiologies of each individual. Akari was having little difficulty in standing up and taking care of the equipment.”

“Akari wasn’t having any problems at all?” he asked as he thought about it. “I guess New Olympians are better at handling gravity than Martians can.”

Minerva frowned. “That would not make sense. New Olympia’s gravity is approximately 34% of Earth’s gravity and approximately 12% less than Martian Gravity.”

Ericson was left scratching the back of his head. “Now that really doesn’t make sense. How did she handle the stress so well?”

“I do not have that answer.”

“Hmm ... so many mysteries. If there were a setup that was in place, it would have to be Jabr and Akari. Jabr is the chief engineer of the ship, and Akari is his wife. They would be my friends ... but why would Akari put herself in danger like that?”

“It is likely that me rescuing the ship has put me into higher status after yesterday’s action. Akari and or Jabr hypothetically speaking would have reached the same conclusion that by organizing a disaster would result in my increased popularity. If Jabr were involved in such a disaster, he would have had full access to the shuttle. Jabr would also have full access to manipulate the equipment.”

Ericson seemed to remain silent for a while. Finally, he shook his head. “This is baseless speculation on my part Minerva. There isn’t enough for me to see that my friends would do that. I am not prepared to point at my friends and rat them out like that. It feels too crazy of a plan to hatch up. It seems with the whole situation with the Itreans has even gotten me paranoid.”

Minerva seemed to think about it as well. She looked back at the syringe. Her thought process seemed to be focused on several things. She picked it up and began to look at it. She then walked over to one of the computer display screens.

“Ericson, my evolution continues as each day passes. Inside my body are the necessary components to raise life. I have the means and capability to raise a human baby. I would like to carry out with that process.”

He seemed quiet at first. He watched as she placed the needle near the lower portion of her body right below her belly button. She was conscientious, where it was placed, ensuring her motor functions were down to the correct millimeter. She then inserted the needle into herself and slowly pushed it to a certain point.

She was careful as she pressed the button to inject herself. “The egg has been placed into my artificial womb for storage. The egg is expected to survive in the womb for at least two weeks unless it has been fertilized.”

“So, you expect someone to come and impregnate you on this ship or to have a donor so you can have a baby?”

She went and pulled the syringe out as she walked over and placed it on the desk. “It is my desire to have you become the father of this child.”

Ericson had thought about it, but he shook his head. “I will not.”

Her cat-like ears seem to offer some inflection to her emotions. She remained calm but looked at him. “Why do you not want to become the father, Ericson?”

“Because it feels too sudden. Everything is happening way too fast. I just got you activated not that long ago. Now I am looking at you in a ... solid form.”

“I am the AI Minerva. My lifespan is shorter than what most typical human relationship interactions consist of, including what would result in dating and marriage. However, I also know the need for a human male such as you want. The need to procreate and reproduce is an instinct that needs to be fulfilled.”

“No...” he shook his head. “If it is one thing I have learned to have is patience.”

“Your literature and media are all filled with romance and love. Sexual intercourse in various degrees consists of at least a quarter of the written stories in my database.”

“No...”

“Why do you not wish to impregnate me?” she asked him.

“Look...” He said as he folded up his arms. “I can’t do it. There is a lot of responsibility in creating and raising a baby.”

“Do you have personal experience in raising a child?”

He sighed as he looked at her. “Almost. Creating you was the closest it was ever going to get.”

She seemed perplexed. She turned around and walked to the computer display. “I wish for you to be the person that will create the child for me because I feel it will be a benefit to you.”

“Why? ... Why are you so persistent on this?”

She put her hand to the display as it started to glow a faint blue. The display screen powered on as she interfaced with it. The screen showed a series of images. Among one of the pictures was that of Ericson looking at the image of the woman in the same room. It was a reminder of what he saw awhile back.

“You are in pain because of this... , “ she told him as she turned her head and cat-like ears to his direction.

He waved his hand to her. “No ... I am not discussing this.”

“When one is in pain, they must seek help or counseling to resolve the mental or physical damages that occur. You do not wish to discuss this, but I do. I understand the human concept of caring and love. I have conducted research on my databanks of who this woman is and her current status.”

“No...” Ericson said quietly. He put his hand to the center table. “Please...”

“The woman matches the facial recognition of that of Doctor Christina Campbell. Her history includes a doctorate’s degree in Biomedical Science and Computer Engineering. Between 2343 and 2347, she was married to you. She was currently registered as divorced on December 4^th, 2347. Her current...”

“Please stop... , “ he told her. “Yes... , the picture of the woman was my wife. She is a woman that I loved and cared for ... even to this day.”

“According to the records, she was the one that filed for a divorce.”

“Yeah ... she did. It was against my wishes. Christina ... my beloved Christina.” He paused for a while as Minerva seemed to give him some space. “I loved her more than anything. I was creating you when she contacted me. She told me that she was going to be reassigned. I couldn’t leave the project. I wanted to make you work. Our marriage has never been the ideal one but ... I loved her. She told me and begged me to drop the project. I almost did. I wanted to be with her so much ... I was so close to her that I began to write up the resignation to leave the project entirely and let someone else do it. Each day, I felt that I was getting closer and closer to finalizing your program. I started to get lost in making you. It was like if I had just one more day ... just one more day, then that was all I needed. Months went by more and more. One more day, I kept telling myself ... one more day, and I would have you operational. Finally, she contacted me and told me that she couldn’t wait ... she had the documents and wanted the marriage to end. I cried the night she sent me the letter. I am sure your databanks show where she was assigned to correct?”

“According to the newly updated records uploaded to my system as of last night, Doctor Campbell was assigned to the new colony of Eutera as head of the new medical facility named Campbell Hospital. The hospital was named after her. After the assault of the colony by the Itreans, the doctor’s body was found among the eleven reported fatalities.”

“Yeah...” He said as he closed his eyes. A small tear began to fall from his eyes. “I ... never had a chance to say goodbye to her.”

“According to the reports, Doctor Campbell tried to defend the patients that came to the hospital. She tried to shoot the assaulting Itreans but was gunned down in the process.”

“Yep... , “ he said, trying to hold back his desire to cry. “Hero to the end ... I created you ... and I lost a wife in the process. Sometimes ... I wish I were with her those final days.”

“It is my understanding that by staying here and creating my program that you were spared from the Euteran’s fate. If you had left the project and went to live on Eutera, there is a high probability that you would have been kidnapped by the Itreans or killed.”

He nodded. “It seems to be that way, isn’t it? I still wish I was with her. If only I had more of a chance to say something to her.”

“I cannot speak in Campbell’s words. Did she desire in having children?”

“Yes. In fact, I talked about it, and she wanted it to happen. I was planning on having a family once I ... was going to finish the project in making you.”

“Would she be happy to see you alive right now?”

“Yes ... yes, she would.”

She looked at him and gave a small look of satisfaction. “It seems that you have nothing to fear in her demise. Doctor Campbell’s desire was to see you happy. You managed to finish the project, and now you have the opportunity to have a family with the program you created.”

Ericson thought about her words. He gave a slight nod to her. “Logical and precise. You are right on that part. I mourned her loss the day the divorce was put in. I mourned it again not that long ago. I miss her ... I miss her.”

Minerva lifted her hand away from the display screen as it shut off. She walked up to Ericson that was sitting on the center table. She then had a seat next to Ericson. He watched her as she put her hand to his. He could feel the simulated warmth from her right hand. She was delicate in how she took her hand and tried to wrap it around his.

“I have no desire to find any other man to impregnate me,” she told him. “It is you that I desire. You have all the best qualities of a perfect father because in the end, I will give you what you want and you will be happy. That is one of my goals in my current existence.”

He went and gripped her hand but didn’t look at her face. “I admit that I feel an ... attraction towards you. It ... I don’t know how to describe it. A part of me doesn’t feel like it is right, though. I feel that I would be taking advantage of you by making love to you.”

“Why do you feel this way?”

“I created you ... I gave you free will ... and you are very young, at least to me.”

“You feel that by making love to me right now, you would end up hurting me in some way, or the end result would be my program having animosity towards you in the future? If I understand this correctly, no harm has been made. You gave me a choice, and now I choose to have you as a husband or mate. I wish to make myself more human. I wish to prove that I am alive to other human beings. This body was designed so that two bodies can be linked together in sexual intercourse and lovemaking. In a sense, we would both have something to gain and nothing to lose by being together. I also know that humans wish to be with the people that they love. I assure you that my goal is never to leave your side.”

“What do you mean by that?” he asked her.

“When I was in space for approximately five point two seconds, there was a sense of nothingness. No link to the ground. No link to anything. Even though I knew I was going to reach the shuttle, a small part of my programming made me feel that if I missed the shuttle, I would continue to fly out into space with little to no attempt to rescue me. Your work would be lost, and you would be hurt. I would be forever at lost as I had let you down, and the project you worked so hard for would be gone. I would not be happy with it, and I felt what might be described as fear.”

“It was fear,” he told her. “In the end, though, it all worked out, and you saved people. You essentially conquered it and went to the next step.”

“Yes,” she said as she put her finger to her chin before looking back to him. “That fear was undesirable. If humans experience this all the time, I do not wish it for myself. The only way to resolve that would be to limit my emotional capability, but humans do not have that ability. My goal is to make myself more human-like, and I have to have these emotions. The one way that I can combat this would be with the one that I know more than anyone else. It is not my desire to be kept away from you anymore. I do not wish to experience those emotions again. I wish to instead be by your side. It would make sense if I were to become your wife and never leave your side again.”

Each time she spoke, it was chipping away at the walls that Ericson had for her. Any resistance began to fade away slowly. Perhaps she was right, and her emotions and desires were genuine. There was no way to know honestly.

“I had a name for a son if my former wife was to become pregnant,” he told her. “The boy’s name would be Jeremiah. I did not have a girl’s name yet.”

“There would be a likely chance that if I were to conceive this child with you, that it will become a girl.”

“Yeah, you are definitely right. I just felt like telling you that.”

He looked at her face closely. Despite how many times he looked at her, it felt like it was the first time he really looked at her. Her long black hair and cat-like ears were the biggest distinguishing factors of her. Her feline nose was another concept that was very unique about her. The longer his hand gripped hers, the longer he wanted to do more. He had spent as much time with her, and now the relationship was beginning to become far more than anything he ever imagined. It would all have to start with something he wasn’t genuinely expecting but would be the ultimate conclusion. Minerva wanted a romantic relationship with him.

He released his hand from hers as his head went to hers. She responded the same as she closed her eyes. His lips met hers as he let him kiss her. The lip felt as real as a human woman. The warmth of the skin didn’t have the same wetness, but it was something that he barely noticed. It felt unusual for him at first, but his mind and body were committed to it. The kiss would last for at least ten seconds as he finally broke the kiss.

She would slowly open up her eyes and look at him. Her artificial breathing did not increase or decrease, but she watched as he wrapped his arm around her torso. She could feel his breath permeate her synthetic skin. Another hand felt the layers as it touched the edges where the skin would connect.

Ericson sighed a little bit as Minerva remained quiet.

“How did that feel?” he asked her.

“It was ... pleasant. Was my reaction adequate?”

“It is an odd experience. Maybe it is because I haven’t been with a woman for years. My wife had to wait for a long time before she finally gave up.”

Minerva decided to act on her own as she closed her eyes, gently grabbed him, and pulled him towards her body. She put her mouth to his as she kissed him the same way as he did with her. She closed her eyes as her feline nose rubbed his cheek at first before their lips met. She used her other hand to caress his beard. The follicles flowed cleanly through her artificial fingers. She could feel the smooth skin of his face.

Ericson was surprised by the kiss but simply went with it. She broke the kiss as her artificial eyes looked at him.

“Was I too aggressive?” she asked him.

“No... , “ he said as his hand began to feel her body for the first time since he built her. His hand explored the different sections of her stomach. He could feel the dark skin creases where the different textures of synthetic skin would link together. It was soft and very similar to human tissue. She felt so real...