“What is going to happen now?”
“My systems are incapable of processing such a query,” KNG-320 answered in its light but monotone voice, “The most productive thing to be done as of this moment is to not waste time calculating possibilities.”
Michael chuckled softly, cracking an unwanted grin.
“What is the source of your humor, Michael?” 320 asked.
“Nothing…” Michael paused, “I don’t think I’ll get used to it. Life with humans, I amend. Everything is so entirely different. Even the way they speak…I will have trouble processing it. Processing…I must sound strange to them, yet it is they who sound strange to me. But I am the different one…I am the robot.”
“If you would like to hear of my calculations-”
“I’ve told you an exorbitant amount of times already; I am always willing to hear your calculations,” Michael said, “Speak, my friend.”
“It is of my belief after what I believe to be sufficient collection of data is that you are both; human and droid,” 320 began, “You are, of course, structurally human and to an extent mentally human. But there will always be a portion of your hard dri…brain, that is and always shall be robotic. Homo sapiens possess the remarkable ability to draw from their experiences with other cultures, even those of another race. You have been drawing from the robotic community your whole life, and that will carry with you indefinitely. You are a true hybrid.”
“How…uncharacteristically philosophical of you,” Michael shook his head, “I am confounded, KNG-320. You have always been one for the fact, is and is not. It is truly incredible to see you here before me trying to tell me that I am half-robot.”
“Yes, well…” 320 replied, and Michael could imagine the non-existent flustered tone of his voice, “Solarisians are designed to model human behavior as best as we are able within our parameters. Is it not possible that we will carry from you a little human as well?”
“It’s entirely possible, KNG-320,” Michael grinned.
“Recharge,” 320 said, “You will need your strength for the day ahead.”
“Yes, you are likely correct,” Michael nodded, “I shall recharge.”
“Pleasant dreams, Michael,” KNG-320 said as it headed for the doorway.
“To you as-” Michael grimaced.
“You have not made that error in quite a length of time, Michael,” KNG-320 said, hovering in the doorway.
“No, no I haven’t,” Michael acknowledged.
“You are drained,” 320 said at length, “It is sleep deprivation.”
“Possibly,” Michael nodded, “Or is it possible that I am just thinking of you more as a human?”
KNG-320 paused, and for a few moments said nothing.
“Now, is that any way to talk to the robot who raised you since you arrived here?” it finally said, “To speak such slander…”
“Good night, KNG-320,” Michael grinned as the robot left the room.
“Where am I?” Michael called out, “What is happening?!”
“You are dreaming.”
“I have never dreamt before,” Michael returned to his monotonous tone, “Why now?”
“It is not in your character to lie. You have dreamt once before. Before Those That Came arrived.”
“How do you know of that? Who are you?”
“It is not important now. All shall be revealed to you in time. The hour is not yet ripe for such things, but in the mean time, there are many lessons I must teach you.”
“Lessons?”
“You will understand in time. But for the moment, confused and bewildered though you may be, you are stuck in this dream with me so you may as well listen to what I have to say. It is important, although you will not fully comprehend much of it now.”
“Then why tell me now? Why not tell me later? When I am able to comprehend?”
“When you awaken, you will remember nothing of what has transpired in this dream, or in any other dream…until…until the time is ripe. Then you will remember everything.”
“I do not understand.”
“I told you that you would not.”
“…very well, then. What is your lesson?”
“My lesson for our meeting now cannot be taught by me. Only by the fallen must it be taught.”
“The fallen?”
“Those who have died so you and others may live. Those you will never see again in this life. Those who gave their existence for the continuing existence of something they believed in. View.”
Michael was in space. Before he could hold his breath, a gulp of air snuck inside his mouth, and he realized that he could breathe. It was a dream, he remembered. It was not real. But as hard as he tried to tell himself that, the Yuuzhan Vong vessels in front of him seemed very real. Deadly real.
“Where am I?”
“You? You’re just about to arrive.”
A ship exited from hyperspace. Michael immediately recognized it as the Solarisian ship of war he had journeyed in from Solaris to the Helix structure. Turning around, Michael gasped. Floating in the distance, he saw the Atal’ai. Something was lost during the short travel through the duraglass of a spaceship. It was twice as breathtaking in the blackness of space.
“When you arrived at the Atal’ai, you engaged the enemy Yuuzhan Vong vessels. Turning their attentions away from the Atal’ai itself, they retaliated. They began firing back, and launched their coralskippers. As a countermeasure, you launched three squadrons of Dart Space Superiority Starfighters.”
“This is correct. I know all of this already, what does this have to do with any lesson?”
“Not all of those Darts returned, did they Michael?”
“…no.”
“How many?”
“…five.”
“Quite an admirable number considering they went up against twice their number. Nevertheless, those are five Darts who will never fight another day. Five robots permanently deactivated. Five casualties, five deaths. Deaths you caused with your actions.”
“What would you have had me done?! If I had not sent those Darts the coralskippers would have ensured in the destruction of my ship! They would have been dead anyway, along with a lot more!”
“You are quick to assume that I am chiding you. On the contrary, I believe what you did to have been quite admirable. You are a tactical mastery, Michael, of that there is no doubt. A genius on the battlefield. If you had not been there, you are correct, many more would have died needlessly.”
“So what is your point?!”
“My point is that despite all of that, all the justifications for your actions, the cold truth, the cold fact is that you sent five robots to die out in this black space. And you can’t forgive yourself for that, can you?”
“Is this your lesson? That I am not capable in war?”
“No. My lesson is that death is a new and horrible thing to you, as it is to all of us the first time we encounter it. My lesson is that despite this, you have no time to learn to cope with death. Things will move fast in the aftermath of the Vong attacks. There will be more death in your future, and you cannot afford to fall apart.”
“Forgive me for saying, but you have not taught me much.”
“Yes I have, you just don’t understand it yet, just as I said you wouldn’t. For now, you must give in to your more robotic view, take cold fact over emotion. When the time comes, I will help you learn to cope with death. But for now, you must hold out.”
“Okay. Now what?”
“Now…as painful as it may be. We watch the conflict. The Darts are launching now.”
The voice was right. The Dart starfighters could be seen launching from the hangar of the Solarisian capital ship, moving into formation to block the path of the oncoming coralskippers. The coralskippers began to fire, and almost as one the Darts broke into evasive maneuvers, somehow remaining in a somewhat loose formation.
Three Darts came up at four coralskippesr, firing precisely calculated shots that could only be the work of a droid. The dovin basals of the starfighter opened up, catching the laser blasts and swallowing them up. The Darts continued on their high speed flight toward the coralskippers, and for a moment it looked as though they would collide. And then, simultaneously, the starfighters banked hard right, coming about as they propelled themselves horizontally.
The Darts fired, their laser blasts raking across the coralskippers’ hulls. Lucky blasts sneaked past the dovin basals, destroying two coralskippers. The Darts whirled around slowly, coming about too look for more threats.
A lone Dart sped away from three pursuing coralskippers. It swerved side to side, avoiding enemy fire. Another coralskipper was coming at it from the other direction, and it had no time to evade its new pursuer. The oncoming coralskipper fired its weapons, but the Dart did not fire back. It was destroyed.
“That Dart did not fire back at its enemy. Why?”
Tears were streaming from Michael’s eyes.
“It rerouted power to its ASRP, and transmitted as much information as it could back to my ship before it was destroyed. From the data, we were able to better coordinate our Dart squadrons.”
“It gave its life to help others. You must learn to think of that as a good thing, not bad. Only then may you honor the dead.”
Michael did not respond.
He watched the rest of the battle in silence. He watched as another Dart was picked off as it was coming about in its wide turn. It was helpless. He watched as, one by one, the Darts evaded and eventually destroyed their enemies. Three more Darts died in the skirmish, one taking a blast for another Dart, who had a clear shot at a coralskipper.
“They are droids, yet they act as humans would.”
“And why should they not? They are human, in every sense but fact.”
“As you get in touch more and more with your human side, you will begin to realize fact matters less and less.”
“Please…I cannot watch anymore.”
“Very well. We shall speak again soon. I look forward to it.”
Michael awoke in a sweat, but he could not remember why.
“My systems are incapable of processing such a query,” KNG-320 answered in its light but monotone voice, “The most productive thing to be done as of this moment is to not waste time calculating possibilities.”
Michael chuckled softly, cracking an unwanted grin.
“What is the source of your humor, Michael?” 320 asked.
“Nothing…” Michael paused, “I don’t think I’ll get used to it. Life with humans, I amend. Everything is so entirely different. Even the way they speak…I will have trouble processing it. Processing…I must sound strange to them, yet it is they who sound strange to me. But I am the different one…I am the robot.”
“If you would like to hear of my calculations-”
“I’ve told you an exorbitant amount of times already; I am always willing to hear your calculations,” Michael said, “Speak, my friend.”
“It is of my belief after what I believe to be sufficient collection of data is that you are both; human and droid,” 320 began, “You are, of course, structurally human and to an extent mentally human. But there will always be a portion of your hard dri…brain, that is and always shall be robotic. Homo sapiens possess the remarkable ability to draw from their experiences with other cultures, even those of another race. You have been drawing from the robotic community your whole life, and that will carry with you indefinitely. You are a true hybrid.”
“How…uncharacteristically philosophical of you,” Michael shook his head, “I am confounded, KNG-320. You have always been one for the fact, is and is not. It is truly incredible to see you here before me trying to tell me that I am half-robot.”
“Yes, well…” 320 replied, and Michael could imagine the non-existent flustered tone of his voice, “Solarisians are designed to model human behavior as best as we are able within our parameters. Is it not possible that we will carry from you a little human as well?”
“It’s entirely possible, KNG-320,” Michael grinned.
“Recharge,” 320 said, “You will need your strength for the day ahead.”
“Yes, you are likely correct,” Michael nodded, “I shall recharge.”
“Pleasant dreams, Michael,” KNG-320 said as it headed for the doorway.
“To you as-” Michael grimaced.
“You have not made that error in quite a length of time, Michael,” KNG-320 said, hovering in the doorway.
“No, no I haven’t,” Michael acknowledged.
“You are drained,” 320 said at length, “It is sleep deprivation.”
“Possibly,” Michael nodded, “Or is it possible that I am just thinking of you more as a human?”
KNG-320 paused, and for a few moments said nothing.
“Now, is that any way to talk to the robot who raised you since you arrived here?” it finally said, “To speak such slander…”
“Good night, KNG-320,” Michael grinned as the robot left the room.
“Where am I?” Michael called out, “What is happening?!”
“You are dreaming.”
“I have never dreamt before,” Michael returned to his monotonous tone, “Why now?”
“It is not in your character to lie. You have dreamt once before. Before Those That Came arrived.”
“How do you know of that? Who are you?”
“It is not important now. All shall be revealed to you in time. The hour is not yet ripe for such things, but in the mean time, there are many lessons I must teach you.”
“Lessons?”
“You will understand in time. But for the moment, confused and bewildered though you may be, you are stuck in this dream with me so you may as well listen to what I have to say. It is important, although you will not fully comprehend much of it now.”
“Then why tell me now? Why not tell me later? When I am able to comprehend?”
“When you awaken, you will remember nothing of what has transpired in this dream, or in any other dream…until…until the time is ripe. Then you will remember everything.”
“I do not understand.”
“I told you that you would not.”
“…very well, then. What is your lesson?”
“My lesson for our meeting now cannot be taught by me. Only by the fallen must it be taught.”
“The fallen?”
“Those who have died so you and others may live. Those you will never see again in this life. Those who gave their existence for the continuing existence of something they believed in. View.”
Michael was in space. Before he could hold his breath, a gulp of air snuck inside his mouth, and he realized that he could breathe. It was a dream, he remembered. It was not real. But as hard as he tried to tell himself that, the Yuuzhan Vong vessels in front of him seemed very real. Deadly real.
“Where am I?”
“You? You’re just about to arrive.”
A ship exited from hyperspace. Michael immediately recognized it as the Solarisian ship of war he had journeyed in from Solaris to the Helix structure. Turning around, Michael gasped. Floating in the distance, he saw the Atal’ai. Something was lost during the short travel through the duraglass of a spaceship. It was twice as breathtaking in the blackness of space.
“When you arrived at the Atal’ai, you engaged the enemy Yuuzhan Vong vessels. Turning their attentions away from the Atal’ai itself, they retaliated. They began firing back, and launched their coralskippers. As a countermeasure, you launched three squadrons of Dart Space Superiority Starfighters.”
“This is correct. I know all of this already, what does this have to do with any lesson?”
“Not all of those Darts returned, did they Michael?”
“…no.”
“How many?”
“…five.”
“Quite an admirable number considering they went up against twice their number. Nevertheless, those are five Darts who will never fight another day. Five robots permanently deactivated. Five casualties, five deaths. Deaths you caused with your actions.”
“What would you have had me done?! If I had not sent those Darts the coralskippers would have ensured in the destruction of my ship! They would have been dead anyway, along with a lot more!”
“You are quick to assume that I am chiding you. On the contrary, I believe what you did to have been quite admirable. You are a tactical mastery, Michael, of that there is no doubt. A genius on the battlefield. If you had not been there, you are correct, many more would have died needlessly.”
“So what is your point?!”
“My point is that despite all of that, all the justifications for your actions, the cold truth, the cold fact is that you sent five robots to die out in this black space. And you can’t forgive yourself for that, can you?”
“Is this your lesson? That I am not capable in war?”
“No. My lesson is that death is a new and horrible thing to you, as it is to all of us the first time we encounter it. My lesson is that despite this, you have no time to learn to cope with death. Things will move fast in the aftermath of the Vong attacks. There will be more death in your future, and you cannot afford to fall apart.”
“Forgive me for saying, but you have not taught me much.”
“Yes I have, you just don’t understand it yet, just as I said you wouldn’t. For now, you must give in to your more robotic view, take cold fact over emotion. When the time comes, I will help you learn to cope with death. But for now, you must hold out.”
“Okay. Now what?”
“Now…as painful as it may be. We watch the conflict. The Darts are launching now.”
The voice was right. The Dart starfighters could be seen launching from the hangar of the Solarisian capital ship, moving into formation to block the path of the oncoming coralskippers. The coralskippers began to fire, and almost as one the Darts broke into evasive maneuvers, somehow remaining in a somewhat loose formation.
Three Darts came up at four coralskippesr, firing precisely calculated shots that could only be the work of a droid. The dovin basals of the starfighter opened up, catching the laser blasts and swallowing them up. The Darts continued on their high speed flight toward the coralskippers, and for a moment it looked as though they would collide. And then, simultaneously, the starfighters banked hard right, coming about as they propelled themselves horizontally.
The Darts fired, their laser blasts raking across the coralskippers’ hulls. Lucky blasts sneaked past the dovin basals, destroying two coralskippers. The Darts whirled around slowly, coming about too look for more threats.
A lone Dart sped away from three pursuing coralskippers. It swerved side to side, avoiding enemy fire. Another coralskipper was coming at it from the other direction, and it had no time to evade its new pursuer. The oncoming coralskipper fired its weapons, but the Dart did not fire back. It was destroyed.
“That Dart did not fire back at its enemy. Why?”
Tears were streaming from Michael’s eyes.
“It rerouted power to its ASRP, and transmitted as much information as it could back to my ship before it was destroyed. From the data, we were able to better coordinate our Dart squadrons.”
“It gave its life to help others. You must learn to think of that as a good thing, not bad. Only then may you honor the dead.”
Michael did not respond.
He watched the rest of the battle in silence. He watched as another Dart was picked off as it was coming about in its wide turn. It was helpless. He watched as, one by one, the Darts evaded and eventually destroyed their enemies. Three more Darts died in the skirmish, one taking a blast for another Dart, who had a clear shot at a coralskipper.
“They are droids, yet they act as humans would.”
“And why should they not? They are human, in every sense but fact.”
“As you get in touch more and more with your human side, you will begin to realize fact matters less and less.”
“Please…I cannot watch anymore.”
“Very well. We shall speak again soon. I look forward to it.”
Michael awoke in a sweat, but he could not remember why.