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How’s everything else at HQ?” Jack asked.
Ally was a good source of information. She picked up more intel than a human would on account of her synth-body. People assumed she was AI — a concierge-bot programmed to mimic human behavior — so they tended to talk in front of her like she wasn’t there.
“Seemed to just be business as usual…” she paused, as if debating whether to mention it, “I heard that Trent got back there last week. Have you guys spoken to each other?”
Jack tried not to let any expression show, “No — he didn’t contact me. Not until the mission brief this morning.”
“No change in MO there, then,” remarked Ally, who’d always been somewhat skeptical and protective.
“No. But, why would he?” Jack tried to reason, as if talking himself through his feelings. “As far as Federation business goes, he can issue my assignments on the holo. Now that we’re done with the Academy, and I’m no longer involved in his research projects, there’s no need for him to.”
“Except that you’re more than just his former student” Ally smiled knowingly. “I mean, you used to eat homemade dinners together when you were still at the Academy, right? How many of his students can say that?” She was sympathetic to the dynamic, and didn’t judge Jack for viewing the older man almost like a father. It was just that this guy had known him since he was a little kid, and Jack seemed obsessed with winning his respect and admiration. It was all a little odd.
“Yeah, well, I was also trying to get him sleepy so I could raid his library. You should see some of the books this guy has access to. Anyway, don’t worry about it. When he called earlier it was just work. If he ever did see me as something more than just his student, I think that’s over now.” Jack closed his holo dash, and settled into the flight, dimming the viewer to the outside world. Instantly the cockpit became cozier. More intimate. More comfortable.
“Hmm. Probably for the best,” she concluded. “Better to move on and have real relationships with normal human beings.”
Jack turned his head casually and smiled at his friend. Ally realized what she had just said and sniggered. The irony of her statement wasn’t lost on her. Jack couldn’t help but laugh too.
Ally’s human consciousness was as real as Jack’s, but she lived only through a synthetic body. Her original organic body had been destroyed during a training accident at the Academy, but as fortune would have it, her consciousness had been uploaded as part of a class demo just days before.
When Jack had reminded their instructors of this, they arranged to have her uploaded into a synth-bot, which had been marketed for years as concierge-AIs — artificial companions, servants, and advisors. Ally’s case was a long shot, but as it turned out, it became the first instance of human consciousness successfully being integrated with artificial intelligence. Since then Ally became the subject of many research papers, talks and accolades. She’d even met the Federation President in a media demonstration. For a few years she had been a celebrity, but having very few distinguishing features, unless someone knew she was the Alice Montgomery, most assumed she was just another bot.
At first Ally was frustrated at the loss of identity, but over time she began to realize the implications and advantages of being mistaken for “just another bot”. Under Jack’s guidance she learned to use it to the advantage of practically every mission they’d ever done together. They made a great team and were well respected in the Federation’s operations departments.
“Okay,” Jack decided, “we’ve got a few hours until we hit the refueling station. We should probably take advantage of the downtime. I’ve got a feeling things are going to be intense when we get to the Cygnus quadrant.”
Ally nodded in agreement. Although she had a synth-body housing a synth-brain, she appreciated sleep as much as the next human consciousness.
Ally closed her eyes and automatically powered down everything save for her auxiliary systems. Her mind went immediately to the e-DNA messages that had sent her life into turmoil. She longed to tell Jack. She longed for it all to go away, or at least to understand why she was being targeted. What was the end-game of this mysterious stranger, threatening to have her deactivated if she didn’t follow his every instruction? She churned the possibilities in her mind, the same way she had done every quiet moment she’d had for the last several weeks. Whatever he was up to, it was worth killing for. And she was now a part of it.
Jack flicked open his arm-mounted holo pad to make a note of the last few things on his timestamped log. If he fell asleep on the trip, it would behoove him to have a note of where he was and what he was doing in case he had one of his episodes.
Ally seemed to have switched off already, so it felt like he was alone again. It was in these quiet moments that he went into his mind, to turn over the events of the last several weeks, before he’d been forced to take leave.