Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Of all the things I expected to hear today and be excited about, Your bloodwork came back. was not one of them. Mostly because I had forgotten how long the medical analyzer could take on some things.

Sometimes, I think the machine is calibrated to go slower so that whatever people installed it didnt get freaked out by how rapidly technology had outpaced their frail meat brains. I have a lot of free time to think things, sometimes. Look, its been years since Ive had proactive projects to work on, dont judge me.

Im in the middle of trying to figure out why a repair drone isnt sealing a breach in the deck. Ive got one of those really uncomfortable hard light rebreathers on, just in case there actually is an atmosphere leak here, but it seems like its just a regular hole between two decks. Ive tried giving the drone explicit commands, Ive tried giving the broad command through the station maintenance authority, and Ive tried doing it myself. That last part did not go well, because I cant figure out what button to push to turn off the gravity here, and I am far too cat to lift the six hundred kilo enhanced metal plate into place to activate the clamps and weld it down properly.

So Im back to trying to diagnose errors in code that is honestly really far beyond me. Most of the stuff on this station I can reprogram pretty easily, especially now that I can narrate instead of typing. What used to take a year now takes a day or two. Its nice! But sometimes you get stuff like this weird drone, which I *think* is from an Ado Iroquois reclamation team, where the code was produced by so many layers of machine learning that its almost organic.

To be clear, by almost organic, I dont mean its a living person. I mean its a heuristic mess that doesnt make a lot of sense, and pretty much only works by random chance. But it works enough that I can leave it alone and let it do its thing.

Okay, lets try again. I lazily mewl out. Assess and repair the designated area. I flag the damaged hull section and file the request both manually, and through the stations command structure.

Almost right away, I get a return code of job assessed, work finished.

I crane my neck back to look upward, feeling the bones creak uncomfortably as I strain to look at the ceiling.

Nope. Holes still there.

So, the process goes, I make a couple edits to the code, and try again. And again, and again, and again.

Its been a long day.

Its not even a high priority hole. I dont honestly *care* if the courtship chamber on deck N2 is roughly connected to the lateral hallway on deck 19. I dont *use* either of these. No one does. But its the principle of the thing; someone put holes in my home and Id like it looking nice in case I ever have guests.

Still, when Ennos interrupts me, I jump at the chance.

Lily, I have-

Yes! Thank you! I yowl, scrambling backward and nearly slicing my paw open on the exposed circuit board in the back of the repair bot. Ill take it!

Ennos pauses. Do you even know no, nevermind. Im glad your repairs of our home continue apace.

Oh, uh. Yes. I nod energetically, bobbing my whole body to agree. Yup. Actual repairs happening, right here. Hows the grid doing? I try to tangent away.

My AI friend practically snarls at that, and I know Ive got a good distraction for the future. This stations digital landscape is a shambles. Overloads have claimed a number of connecting nodes, and reestablishing those links to other segments will take time, and physical interaction. I am making progress, but it is frustrating, and I am trying to not bother you unless I actually know which button to push. Ennos says. On the sharper side, I seem to have been cut off from a few of the more worrying specters wandering around in here. So thats nice.

Im glad to hear youve gotten more cavalier about impending death. I joke as I close the repair drone back up with my forepaws, and start making a wandering line toward a nap spot. Its time for a break or something.

Death? What? A note of terror reenters Ennos voice. I thought you said they were harmless!

What? Uh yes! Absolutely! Im just kidding! I scramble to undo my blunder. Theyre just misunderstood, and shy! Im sure!

Lily, Im going to need you to install a new proton reactor to power the firewall Im going to design.

Ill consider it. I concede graciously. This is probably my fault, anyway. Also, what did you come down here for originally?

One of the weird quirks Ennos has is that they will pause to check things like this. I *know* they dont need to. Its just an affectation. But they seem to like it, and it does give a more casual feeling, so I dont complain. Oh, your bloodwork came back from the medlab. You arent allergic to any-

I am already moving. Coiled muscles propel me, reflexes humming as I fling myself down the hall. I know the exact route I need to take; the station is huge, but my mental map of it is perfect in one regard. I know exactly where the galley is, and where I can see just how badly the stations personnel file has been ruining my life for the last *several hundred years*.

Ennos voice trails behind me. I dont think even the sharply intelligent unshackled AI was expecting just how fast I can move when motivated.

Sorta, yeah. I meow in exhaustion. Theyre like a less granular gray goo problem. They just consume and spread. Im not even sure *why*, all I know is that they seem to be able to pop up anywhere.

But why a city? Glitter asks. Is it building for anyone?

Not that I know. I answer grumpily. I dont even know if theyre full AI. Theyve never answered me when I tried to talk. Though, granted, there wasnt a whole lot I could *say* at the time.

Glitters drones hover around each other in an idle orbit while she composes her reply. Ennos does strategic pauses; Glitter does political word work. Would you be offended if I attempted to speak with it? Glitter asks me. I do not mean to disparage your diplomatic ability

Oh, disparage away. I stroll under the drones, trying to contain myself from sprinting off as I answer. Im still new at talking! Say hi, make a friend! Let me know if they launch anything at us! I take a corner, her drones lagging behind as Glitter turns her digital mind to the task she was most interested in. Please dont get too attached. I whisper, mostly to myself. Just in case.

The cityseeds Ive known were Im not going to say evil. I dont think they were alive enough to be evil. But they were toward the start of my era of guardianship, and before I flattened their cities and bombed out the roots, they had cut the worlds population in half.

Part of me, the part thats always angry, wants to just launch something dangerous and overwhelming at the surface target, and write it off. But the rest of me, the part thats been making friends, and maybe doesnt have to be so angry all the time, wants to see where Glitter can take this.

I pull up an AR display with a constant map to the closest gun station though. Just in case.

I am almost right outside the galley when Ennos interrupts me to tell me that theres signs of weapons fire on the surface of the primary moon.

I am so tired. I just wanted lunch.

The moon is far away. And it might be a local issue anyway. From what I understand, the undercities and their republics war with each other constantly, and there isnt much I can do to stop them from where I am. But maybe there should be some kind of break from that on the surface.

I give the okay, and Ennos deploys some of our drone fleet, taking command for this one. And then, with that out of the way, I *finally* hop up onto a chair to be served lunch.

No allergies, no problems, just one hungry cat. The grid is connected here, the galley knows I can eat anything. Just give me *anything*. Please.

My meal arrives.

Ration.

Ration in the shape of a caduceus. Cute.

Well. At least I know now that it wasnt the allergies. And that the galley has a sense of humor.

Lily one of Ennos camera drones floats nearby. Im sorry Their voice sounds worried about me.

Ah, its fine. My ears flick back as I lick at the back of one of my paws before hopping my forepaws up onto the table to eat. Nice design on the snake. Good scale work, galley. I say out loud to the possibly haunted, possibly non-sentient machinery.

Youre taking this gracefully. Glitters smooth voice joins Ennos from her own drone. We were worried for you.

I try to make a derisive noise, but it doesnt work too well when my mouth is full and I end up spraying ration crumbs onto my plate. Ive been eating, and complaining about, this stuff for centuries. I say. One more week or two for the strawberries to come in is *nothing*. I scarf down the rest of the ration, and use my paw to wipe away whats left on my muzzle.

Then I take some time to check on the garden. The greenery is starting to come in; tiny sprouts and little leaves poking up through nanoenhanced dirt. The room smells like growth and life. Its beautiful.

I sit and watch a cucumber vine grow for maybe a little too long, trying to convince myself that eating the greenery isnt worth it. My thoughts are eventually broken by another alarm sounding, jolting me out of my meditative fantasy about what actual fruits and vegetables will taste like. I could have waited out the entire duration in here, but no. Something had to interrupt me.

The updates flow in from the station and Ennos as I am updated on whats gone wrong. Theres a missile from some ancient war headed our way from above the elliptical, stealth systems having failed to solar radiation and its fifty year orbit finally bringing it too close to an actual target for safety.

I swear Im not mad about the ration thing.

It had nothing to do with why I fired so many different point defense guns at the missile.