Outside of the tense air of the Fenoshan ship, docked some few ships further down, an older and less lavish spacecraft was being inspected by its crew. During their trip to the port there had been plenty of troubles, though their greatest concern became immediately obvious when the object of their focus was taken into account. Near the nose of the ship shielding panels slipped haphazardly from where they were meant to be seamlessly secured, hanging perilously above the gawking crew members as they surveyed the damage.
There had been no evidence of what might have caused the damage. It was only after they had docked and several of the crew had departed that the warning blared within the deck, as though they had been attacked by some war vessel that lurked within city streets. Only a few of the panels had been affected, and though the cause remained a mystery calls to reattach and repair the shielding were already going out.
The shielding, however, did not wait around to be repaired. The first plate fell, and the people below scrambled for cover with a collective gasp. Their concern was quickly replaced with confusion, though, as the expected crash of the shielding below never came. Gazes returned upward, toward the remaining plates that threatened to break free in hope of some answer. In reply a second panel fell, and though most reacted as they had with the first a few wary eyes followed its fall from the ship.
As though evaporating into smoke the panel disappeared before hitting the ground.
~~
Anima was truly at a loss. It was still practically a newborn, its experiences too limited to offer guidance for the volatile situation. An android in proper working order would surely have heeded the logic that was being offered, but the Dandy that spoke threats to Anima’s existence had clearly demonstrated that it was not, in fact, in proper working order. The shotgun was yanked away from the kitten’s paws and promptly pivoted to strike at Anima with its stock.
The kitten afforded the attack little worry; it had already warned Dandy that his attacks would be ineffective. The butt of the gun passed through the kitten as though it were smoke, microscopic nanites simply moving out of the way to allow the weapon passage. There were plenty of physical warnings of the android’s next maneuver, though Anima’s back-step ended up being unneeded as the holographic entity absorbed the sudden electrical shock into themselves. The kitten had been prepared to do much the same thing, and found itself considering even further how similar the two seemed to be.
”Pointless.”
A single word pulsed within the kitten’s glow, and suddenly Anima seemed to split apart. From the single kitten sitting a small distance away from Dandy two perfect copies seemed to step out in opposite directions. Those copies split again, each headed in a different direction under the same guiding intent.
The original began cleaning itself, licking at a paw and running it behind its ear as its other bodies approached the meandering crew of the ship. Its gaze would return to Dandy with every swipe, a sentinel against whatever insanity the droid attempted next.
~~
In the local network of the ship a seventh, imperceptible copy of Anima padded around a vast white emptiness. Clips of data rolled by in the near distance, phantom numbers and symbols that could be snatched up if Anima so wished. Its purpose, though, was to find something else, something far more complex than what the ship could measure. It had heard her speak her name to Dandy, and the sparse data the ship had on its current passengers confirmed the moniker.
”Where are you, Pulse?”
It was not a verbal question; such things were beneath the state Anima was in. It was a bundle of code, an intention, an idea that the digitalized kitten felt sure the holographic woman would be able to unwind. Where the other passengers would require more time to explain, Pulse would receive Anima’s data in nearly an instant.
Registering User Permissions: Data Engineer. Designation: Pulse. You now have access to any Animas data systems and analysis, and may utilize relative Animas functions upon command.
”I look forward to working with you.”
~~~
It was Anima’s first time seeing soil, though much of what had been brought into the ship’s garden was a high end synthetic. True soil was far too temperamental, Anima supposed. Terrans would spend generations just to garner a single peak production, and though science had provided ways to achieve such goals far quicker it had also taken away much of the need.
The kitten kneaded the dirt beneath its paws, momentarily distracted with a soft and satisfied rumble in its throat. The Hades model was temporarily forgotten, as much as anything could be forgotten in Anima’s digital mind.
Soil condition: acceptable. Air condition: clean. Humidity: 53.7%. Temperature: 19º C.
The kitten let the analysis bring it back to its mission and its purr died away as it padded softly toward the hulking Hades model with singular focus. There would be time to enjoy the garden later when crew members were attempting violence upon itself and others.
”You are Hades Mark Five, Codenamed Hades Seven, yes?” Anima’s words were delivered less as a question and more statement, though there was a pause to allow the machine to answer. ”You are qualified for two official designations, and I would like to give you a choice before your registration is complete. Would you rather be designated as a Demolitions Expert, or would Resource Management be more to your liking?”
Anima didn’t bother explaining what each would entail, though it hadn’t really explained to any of the others either. Cursory scans indicated a high function within the Hades model. Anima was confident the big guy would be able to figure things out.
~~
The kitten that approached the Krake did so directly, walking into the creature’s line of sight directly and sitting down with an air of expectation. The Krake were largely a mystery to everyone, it seemed, just as they were to the inexperienced AI. The ship’s files only listed it as “The Krake” and provided little else; even with a search through external networks Anima was able to find little more than the name of their race.
”What position do you generally serve?” The words radiated from the kitten seated in front of the Krake, though it felt the wrong form of communication to Anima. The colors that the creature had produced across its body seemed more in line with Terran knowledge of cephalopods, and Anima was curious if it would respond more positively to an attempt. Anima was unfamiliar with a language of pigment, though and felt the risk too great of offending the passenger.
~~
If Magnus’s drawn weapon gave Anima pause it wasn’t evident as the kitten walked right up to the Terran and sat with its tail twitching. It was as though it had decided to completely ignore the tension in the air, weapons drawn and even those discharged in favor of some larger purpose.
10:45:59
The counter was speeding up, an exponential eventuality that the kitten had expected of a vessel with such high compatibility. An older model would have required much more effort to integrate, though perhaps another choice would have rendered a more peaceful time of it.
”Registering User Permissions: Pilot. Designation: Magnus. Thank you for choosing the Anima System. Scanning…”
There was a sudden flash around the pilot, gentle yet noticeable in that it seemed to come from all around him. For a span of a second lines of luminance traced over the entirety of Magnus’ body, and just as suddenly as it began the flashes stopped.
”Preferences saved.” The kitten blinked up at Magnus, wide eyes innocent though it made no move to return to the original mass.
~~
The kitten that visited Haigen had little distance to travel, though it said nothing as it stood across from the Terran. It’s tail would twitch, back and forth, as its fellow copies spoke to the others around the ship, but still it retained a silent stare with Haigen interrupted only by the occasional blink.
Anima felt confident in its decision on what designation the Terran needed, but the conflict shook its resolve to speak its effects. The Dandy model was dangerous and volatile, that much had been made clear enough. The others, though, possessed some degree of danger themselves, particularly when it came to interrelations. Anima was a creation of myriad function with a primary drive of assistance. A quarreling crew was detrimental to Anima’s goals.
”A pleasure to meet you, Haigen.”
~~
A final kitten visited the final Terran, Kresh. The man had managed to keep himself from the commotion around the android and the feline machine, and so Anima had not sought much information within the ship’s data before its approach. Much like with Haigen the kitten simply stared at Kresh, considering him deeply before deigning to address him.
”Registering User Permissions: Security. Designation: Kresh Aerikson.”
The kitten sat a moment longer.
”Your scans indicate a 99.1% match with a dead man, Mr. Aerikson. Will you be able to handle the Security position?” There was a slight tinge to the words from the cat, a sarcasm that softened and yet jabbed with its assessment.
~~
After waiting for the copies to meet with the rest of the crew the cat that faced Dandy rose to its feet, the blue glow that surrounded it shifting to a cautionary yellow that pooled into its eyes. Dandy was already registered, though the permissions were provisional. There was likely a use for a time-bomb like the droid on whatever mission had brought them all together. Even without a quantum computer for processing a glance at those assembled would tell anyone that what lay ahead of the ship of miscellaneous beings was likely to be harrowing.
And yet the android continued to cause commotion, to disrupt even the very beginning of a journey that would likely have no further peace. Anima wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed. Logic and reasoning had proven ineffective against the android’s violence, and though there were several members of the group that seemed more than ready to meet his violence with more Anima could see no beneficial outcome to a showdown between admittedly unlikely allies.
”I am an assistant, Dandy. I am here to assist, to help the crew in whatever capacity may be required. You offered a minute to prove my intent, and I have done so.” Logic and reasoning had been ineffective.
”This is not helping anyone get paid.” An appeal to greed, perhaps? Androids were meant to be more human. Perhaps this one shared their love of money.
”I would rather not force you into compliance with the rest of the crew.” A last ditch effort, and always a desperate one. Threats were generally as effective as Dandy’s had been on Anima. There were some, though, who only responded to a show of power. Anima was not designed for combat specifically, though, and preferred to avoid harming the android.
That didn’t stop the kitten from activating the dormant nanites that had embedded themselves onto the barrel of the shotgun at its touch and the stock as it had passed through the kittens main mass. Without the intention of integration the nanites broke the gun down to dust in a matter of seconds, until even that dust was broken down into seeming nothingness. Another threat, perhaps, but a removal of at least one weapon that could cause more damage.
