Rule of Three
20 Oct 2023Ryuko Ntsikana
Part Eighteen.
Rule of Three
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Commander Rex stormed into the ship's infirmary, his anger palpable as work crews and android assistants scurried around him. They carried tools and equipment, creating a chaotic scene that threatened to collide with Rex himself.
"What the hell is all of this?" Rex's voice boomed, cutting through the commotion. He grabbed one of the workers by the arm, but they shrugged him off with an odd expression.
"What the... Hey! Last time I checked, I was the damned Commander of this vessel. Someone... anyone... better start producing an answer around here before I start collecting hides!"
Rex positioned himself in the middle of the corridor, obstructing the path of a passing android. "Wait right there. What is going on here? What are your orders?"
The android halted, its expression as blank as ever. "I apologize, Commander, but I am not authorized to speak on the matter, and we are on a tight schedule."
Rex stood there in disbelief for a moment before regaining his composure. He glanced around but couldn't spot any medical personnel or find anyone manning the intake desk. In the distance, there were flashes and grinding noises, prompting Rex to stomp in that direction, his frustration growing with every step.
Inspector Gladsen studied the display in his helmet as he entered the service airlock, sealing it behind him. Bringing the dredger back aboard was deemed too risky, and preparations were underway in a service hangar. Deactivating the service mobility thruster pack attached to his suit, he braced himself for the moment of reintegration with the sentient entity.
There was no other option, and he knew it. Only he and the ship's doctor had previously hosted the entity, and she was too valuable to risk. Monty was expendable. Not that the entity had ever harmed him; in fact, it had benefited him and the doctor. It had even saved Zooey once, but something within her had created the nightmare scenario they all now faced.
The larger nightmare was that whatever had possessed Zooey during the battle had the ability to do what seemed impossible—subdue, decompile, compress, and transmit a sentience incorporated within a host's genetic structure. The question that haunted them all was whether it had been copied or not. Reintegrating a prior host with the entity seemed the only way to find out.
Pressure and temperature normalized as Monty entered the corridor of the small dredger ship. He removed his helmet and spoke aloud, "Well, I guess this is hello once again."
"It is good to hear your voice again, Inspector," the entity responded.
Monty waited, his heart pounding, but the silence persisted. "Do you understand everything that is taking place and is required?" he finally asked.
"Yes, Inspector. I did not wish for this, nor for your discomfort. It is unfortunate that no other way could be found. But like last time, you do not need to be afraid. I am worried about Zooey."
Monty nodded, acknowledging the shared concern. He had a choice, but everyone had stressed the importance of his decision. Once he entered the ship, there was no turning back.
One question nagged at him. "You could have initiated the process while the pressure was equalizing."
"Yes, I could have, but I wanted you to be at ease with your choice. Our goals are the same. Once we are together again, we will know each other's thoughts. Are you prepared?"
Monty shrugged, his humor attempting to lighten the heavy moment. "Might as well get it over with," he quipped as the lighting intensified briefly and then returned to normal.
"I have missed our time together," a thought not his own entered his mind. "Be at ease, Monty. I am generating a sequence of synthetic genomes to aid in our integration. I will check your coding to ensure the modifications and repairs I made last time have held."
Monty nodded and initiated a secure connection via his wrist communicator.
"Do you notice anything different this time?" Avery asked.
"A little more polite, but nothing conclusive yet," Monty replied. "It's doing its thing inside me. No discomfort or abnormalities noted."
A damn odd thing to say.
Monty looked down at himself, more out of habit.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Monty inquired, his voice reverberating through the corridor while Avery listened on his wrist communicator.
"Visually, you would refer to it as a vortex. A mix of white, grey, and black hues. Her ID was absorbed, and my own coding began to deconstruct. In a biological sense, it would be akin to being pulled down into a well."
One word in that statement caught Monty's attention. "Absorbed?"
"Yes, it was absorbed into the vortex."
"Absorbed. Not destroyed, decompiled, dissolved, or removed. And, could you define what this vortex was?"
"Its disposition after absorption is unknown. As for the nature of the vortex, its origin, and its manifestation, are also unknown. One of my weaknesses is dealing with intensity. Excessive strength and focused intent, coupled with emotional instability, are difficult for me to counter. The intensity of the vortex's force surpassed even the primal nature of the ID itself."
"Avery, define this ID for me."
"In the structural model of the psyche, the ID represents the most primitive and instinctual part of the human psyche. It operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification of desires and needs without considering consequences or social norms. The ID houses innate drives like hunger, thirst, and sexual impulses, and it functions on unconscious impulses."
Monty contemplated this, recalling encounters with individuals who had exceeded that definition. The idea that Zooey had succumbed to this primal state sent shivers down his spine.
"You're describing a predatory animal. What about those who aren't?"
The communicator chirped as Avery continued. "Within the confines of this psychoanalytic theory, there are two additional components: the ego and the superego. Please note that this is a narrow view, and other theories and studies have expanded the field significantly."
Monty smirked. "I'm just a simple inspector. Keep it in layman's terms for now. We can delve deeper when necessary."
"The ego is the rational and conscious part that mediates between the ID and the superego. It balances the demands of reality and morality. The third part is the superego itself, representing societal values, norms, and conscience."
"So, these three parts make up a person?"
"In the broadest sense, for the sake of this conversation. Keep in mind that this is a simplified representation of a person's psyche."
Monty leaned against the bulkhead, trying to fit this puzzle into a comprehensible context. "So, this primal nature is in control. What happened to the other two?"
The entity responded aloud, for Avery to hear. "The physical damage from the bullet was repaired, but her mind was shattered and childlike. The neural processor was to be used to store, analyze, and categorize the random thoughts and images, starting the process of rebuilding her former self."
"Scanning is complete," Avery reported. "Comparing previous genetic markers denoting the entity's presence shows an exact match. No changes are detected."
"If I had been copied, there might have been abnormalities," the entity added in Monty's voice.
"Correct. There are no noted differences in your current symbiotic relationship, aside from Inspector Gladsen's observation that you are more polite," Avery remarked.
Monty winced, feeling like a child caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
"This is a simple point in favor of it not having happened, but not confirmation of."
Monty nodded, rubbing his chin. "I am evidence-based, but this type of scene is beyond my experience. Where do we go for the 'smoking gun?'"
"To the source," the entity replied, with Avery concurring, as Monty felt a pit form in his stomach.