Right and Left Hands
16 Aug 2023Ryuko Ntsikana
Right and Left Hands.
Sacaqawea Space Port.
Planetary Outpost.
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While Monty wanted to see the end result of the entity's success, there remained a part of him that was conflicted by the entire affair. He had made peace with his fate, even with the symbiote reassuring him. The downside was that no thought was truly his own, and no action could be taken that it would not know. To do anything that it would not be aware of would have to be done not only without looking while doing it but not thinking of it in the first place.
What he felt he should do he could not think of. The Achilles heel of the entity was its lack of direct experience with human psychology. An error it had recognized and had been using Monty’s knowledge to bridge the gap. Soon it would understand the nuances of complex and conflicting emotional states and the subtle nature of intuitive body language.
He had used these unspoken cues on several occasions as an inspector when examining a scene or questioning those who may have knowledge of or were suspects. It was a natural skill he could use to his advantage if it still remained. The entity's capabilities of learning and adapting had increased at ever-increasing rates. Soon it would be capable of fully mimicking the subtleties of vocal inflections and physical posturing.
Checking his data tablet Monty saw that the carrier was half of the distance from yesterday, maintaining a steady rate of advance that would take it past his location.
Monty allowed himself to think, wondering if it was time to make contact.
‘We have noticed minor variations in your body chemistry whenever you are questioning an unpleasant decision,’ the entity observed. ‘The answer to your question is “yes.” The other carriers are far distant and her nearness and rate of closure is sufficient.’
Monty changed the display on his data tablet, staring into its built-in camera. He mentally hummed a familiar tune, allowing his mind to linger on this song. Its rhythm served as a mental anchor as he composed his message. If he could maintain the mental harmonic distraction, he could allow his vocal tone and body language to instinctively perform.
Statistically.
The Estrellas de la Mirage, Fleet Carrier.
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Xochitl was engaged in a testing procedure, near the carrier, when Inspector Gladsen’s message arrived. The entity was correct that Xochitl stopped the testing mission long enough to watch the message. It was incorrect in that she would automatically respond. What her neural processor could not detect, her human instincts did. That he would know where she was at, and himself being so far from the bubble, increased her curiosity and caution.
In the same way, a person might wonder what space might taste like, unsealing one's helmet would be hazardous. Xochitl felt the same applied here. While her curiosity wanted to immediately respond, her sixth sense told her not to unseal that helmet. She forwarded the message to Avery for a deeper analysis. Then she contacted Yatziri, who was flying her Vulture in formation with Xochitl’s test ship, informing her of the cause of the pause.
Yatziri reviewed the message, arriving at the same conclusion Xochitl had. On the surface, all appeared normal, but something was there that caused her sixth sense to hesitate. It could be anything or nothing. It was good to have a little paranoia but not too much. In Yatziri’s career a lot was required, in equal measure with brazen boldness, and a dash or two of insanity.
The overriding question was his presence so far from the bubble. It was an insane place for a vacation get-away, and Federation inspectors did not go on star-bound sightseeing trips or fugitive hunts. They had people, or hired people, for those purposes. Towards the outside of thoughts, it was considered that he could have had a change of careers, but that held little sense with Monty’s time in service. It was more profitable for him to stay in his field and retire with a healthy pension before embarking on a life beyond the embrace of humanity.
There was the brief sound of digitization, followed by a series of low, almost indistinct humming rhythms. ‘Please return to the carrier.’ It was Avery’s voice. She had used a neural entanglement one-time use encryption, that only Xochitl’s neural processor could receive and decode. She could not reply as the algorithm was a one-time, single point of use. It was only supposed to be used in the most dire of situations, as was developed by Avery herself, after the incident with the entity.
‘We have an asap recall,’ Xochitl transmitted to Yatziri, whose Vulture instantly rolled over the top of the Beluga, boosting back towards the carrier. Xochitl turned her massive ship at a leisurely rate, contemplating the urgency Avery felt was so necessary, and not liking where her thoughts were going. She could ask for Avery to elaborate but knew she would not if she felt such security was required. The only way to get answers would be to get back to the carrier.
By the time Xochitl had landed, Zarathustra, Yatziri, and Dakota, Xochitl’s private security guard, were waiting for her by the hangar elevators.
‘I received a coded distress from Avery,’ Zarathustra stated. ‘I have a crew at the door to your quarters, and she is not responding. The ship’s AI assured me that she has information they feel is prudent for the increase in security measures, but will not tell me, the head of security, what this threat is!’
Yatziri closed her eyes for a moment, tilting her head back in a fashion that gave Xochitl the impression that Yatziri was now having the same thoughts that she had, on her flight back to the carrier.
The corridor was awash in the green lighting, confirming their fears, as armored security personnel were at either end, with their visors down.
Rex and the section chiefs were waiting by her quarter’s door.
Rex looked at the group ‘Do you know why the ship went into emergency lockdown? Avery is not responding, the inner ship communications channel is inaccessible, the green spectral lighting has been activated, and the ship would only tell me to meet here.’
‘Looks like we are all about to find out,’ Zarathustra stated as Xochitl shouldered past her and banged on her locked quarter’s door.
‘Open it or I'll bash it in,’ Xochitl growled, as the door slid open.
Everyone looked at one another with confused expressions as Xochitl walked over and plopped down in one of the recliners. She didn’t look at Avery but at one of the monitors on the wall.
‘What have you discovered in the message?’
Avery motioned at the screen as Monty’s message replayed.
‘He isn’t in sync,’ Yatziri commented as she walked over and sat on one end of the couch.
‘Precisely,’ Avery commented, as the chiefs looked at one another as Avery replayed the message again.
‘Wait a minute. Replay that again Avery,’ Zarathustra asked, walking up to the monitor and pointing at
it. ‘He is using nonvocal cues to indicate a state of opposition or duress. His facial expressions, eyes, and movements, are in opposition to his words.’
‘We need better intelligence into what we are dealing with.’ Xochitl said looking around.
‘I know we are all thinking about the entity, but I saw Jason vaporize. There is no way it had a chance to escape.’
Zarathustra looked at the monitor. ‘Obviously, the inspector survived.’
‘Yes,’ Avery commented. ‘You see the issue. He, along with everyone else had a data tablet with them. They are a ubiquitous everyday carry items. I can transfer myself faster than a high-order detonation. How many were inside the building with the inspector?’
Xochitl leaned forward in the recliner, focusing on the monitor. ‘So, you are saying the entity survived another attempt?’
‘Statistically, it is the highest probability.’
Everyone looked around at each other, as Xochitl leaned back in the recliner, a smirk forming on her face.