"Yes, you are correct."
Lisa had no reaction. She just stared at her personal
communicator in disbelief. They had five more minutes! This
shouldn't have happened!
Gerald was slightly more active in his disappointment. He
sat down on the walkway, looking forlornly toward the opening which
would have lead them to what he had wanted his entire life - something
new. He was so close. Lisa could tell, even now, that he was
thinking fervently to himself. If he bolted, could Alice shut the
door in time to keep him from succeeding?
"I apologize for misleading you, Miss Neff." the voice of
the ship's computer sounded tinny coming out of Lisa's communicator.
"Your object was finely crafted, and one of the better ones that I had
seen. But I am slightly more sophisticated than a normal NSAI - I
have been specially calibrated to ignore spurious inputs. It would
not do, after all, to have the vessel be torn apart by tidal forces
while the computer mindlessly contemplated some subroutine."
"So... so you knew. You knew what I was doing?" The
incredulity was apparent in Lisa's voice.
"Of course she did." Gerald stood up, looking resigned.
"Lisa, we made a classic mistake. First day of classes involving how
to interact with NSAIs went over this. What's rule one?"
Lisa closed her eyes, feeling slow shame start to crawl
over her. Of course. Lessons on how to talk with the ship's computer
began early in education - it was a very important aspect of life,
after all. And the one lesson that was pounded into her head, over
and over again, about the ship's computer was simple: Never assume
the computer is stupid
It was meant to be a reassurance - people tended to think
the computer wouldn't understand them, and so they were wary of asking
it things. The lessons were to encourage communication with
the computer.
The irony was not lost on Lisa.
The ship's computer spoke again, pausing to make sure that
neither Lisa or Gerald had anything else to say. "Yes, I wished to
know your destination. As is the case with most who attempt to
distract me, you wish to depart the colony."
"If, " Alice continued, "you wish to travel to Neon
colony, I would ask that you listen for a few moments."
Gerald turned and looked at Lisa, his eyes wide. Lisa
knew what the man was thinking, mainly because she was thinking it
herself.
Alice was giving them a chance to leave!
"The barriers between the colonies are enforced for
reasons of genetic diversity, as you know." Alice began. Lisa had the
vague sensation that she had heard this explanation before, only
slightly rephrased. After that sentence, though, was where the
similarity ended. "It is sometimes, however, beneficial to
occasionally inject new genetic material into a colony. For that
reason, it is sometimes permitted for people to cross."
"However", the computer continued talking. Lisa could
swear she heard a note of concern in the tinny voice, but dismissed
the idea quickly. "it's important that you think about what you're
going to do. I allow only those who are absolutely dissatisfied with
their current life to cross over. And even then, only those who I
believe will fit in with the other colonies are allowed to pass.
While the two of you meet the second criteria, I am not certain of the
first. You are both young... you have yet to assume a duty where you
would find fulfillment. I worry if I allow you to leave, you may not
fit properly in the other colonies." The computer grew silent.
Lisa's eyes were wide. So were Gerald's. The ship's
computer was rarely, if ever, this personal with anyone.
Normally, it was aloof, almost disconnected with the day-to-day lives
of the colonists.
"There is another consideration." Alice continued, after
a short pause to let her earlier words sink in. "Only a few people
are allowed to cross over, and that only once every ten to fifty
generations. Obviously, the fact that people can cross over must not
be widely known among people, otherwise there would be mass movement,
and the very premise of sectioning off the ship would be destroyed.
As a result, once you pass into another colony, you can never
return."
"All I ask is that you consider what you are about to
do."
It was getting late, Lisa knew. The internal lighting was
beginning to dim, indicating that nighttime was not far behind, and
she and Gerald hadn't said a whole lot. Their sole conversations had
taken place in whispers, as though the two of them couldn't believe
what had just occurred.
Lisa still couldn't - it mystified her that the ship's
computer, in charge of countless hundreds of thousands if not millions
of people, actually cared what she did. She was only one person,
after all. She supposed that trying to cross between colonies was
something major enough to get Alice's attention, but it hardly
warranted the amount of attention she'd received. She was one person,
on a vessel that was larger than she could easily comprehend. And
Alice spanned the entire colony vessel. It made the idea that she
could distract the massive NSAI with a bit of first-year Expert
Computing trickery seem rather naive.
But they needed to decide soon. If they weren't back
soon, their home computers would assume them missing. Then, they'd
report the situation to the colony computers, which could only
escalate from there. The colony computers likely wouldn't even think
to look in the Corridor, so they'd be declared missing.
Lisa looked over at Gerald, who returned her gaze and
nodded. "We have to decide, don't we?" the young man said.
"Yeah, I guess so." both seemed significantly more sober
than they had been earlier in the day. Their trip had changed from a
harmless little jaunt to a lifetime decision. Lisa thought she might
not be up for it. And the way that the NSAI sounded, she might not
get another chance.
Gerald looked over at his friend. "Lisa, I'm going to do
it. I'd thought about this for a lot longer than just today. Ever
since I came to you and told you about my idea, I've been thinking
about it. And the idea that we could never return hasn't been a
deterrent. Really, it's been the other way around... I had hoped
that, once I left, I wouldn't have to come back."
Gerald sighed, and looked down the Corridor. "It's this
place, really. I mean, I'd always wanted to build things, and I
figured architecture was the way to go. But... build things here? In
Helium colony? Not very likely... there's only so much room in the
colony, and much of it's full of things that were already designed and
built into the ship when it was created. The architects have mainly
designed structures for the colony when we reach our destination.
That's a noble cause, but I want to actually create! Neon
Colony may or may not be able to help me, but I certainly won't
accomplish anything here."
Lisa listened to her friend, nodding and thinking much the
same thing. Her chosen career was entertaining, but nowadays that
involved little more than writing scripts for computer-generated
actors. While creative work had always intrigued her, it seemed that
there should be more than what was available.
But how could she know that she would be better off
wherever she ended up? She knew nothing about Neon Colony, or any of
the others besides her own. Perhaps creativity wasn't a virtue in the
other colonies. There might not be opportunities anywhere
else....
Gerald was right, though. Neon Colony might not help her,
but she wasn't going to get anything done where she was.
Grimly, she stood up, facing Gerald as she did so. "I'm
with you, Gerald. Let's leave this place." her voice wavered a bit,
but her conviction did not.
"You have made up your minds, then?" The ship's computer
hadn't spoke after its initial warning to the two, and Lisa had rather
enjoyed the feeling of being alone, to discuss her future alongside
Gerald. Alice's sudden intrusion - and the likelihood that she had
been listening all along - ruined some of that.
Lisa wasn't going to let that spoil her mood. She'd
decided, and she was going to follow through. "Yes, Alice. We're
ready to go on."
The computer sounded resigned, though it was probably a
figment of Lisa's imagination. "Very well then. Proceed." the tinny
voice declared.
There was a large clanging of disused machinery, and then
the lights leading down the corridor turned on, starkly illuminating
the tunnel that once was to have ferried people from colony to
colony.
With a deep breath, Lisa took the first step toward Neon
Colony.
[Helium] Part II -
Contents - [Neon] Log
Geocities