Published: 7 Feb 2019

Dreams or Present Time

Wandering about one of my ship’s cargo holds I noticed at least a haIf dozen bots tending to the contents, and it struck me again, as it had ever since I purchased it, just how huge this newer ship is. The Aspiration is almost 1200 feet long, about 1000 feet wide, 4 stories min deep. There are many cargo bays with rooms for mechanical bays, elemental stockpiles, generators, communications, sensors, weapons, tools, machine shops, etc. My personal quarters, guest quarters, dining hall, entertainment facilities, observation deck, etc. are located at the front of the ship.

Most of the body of the ship is now converted to cargo but it was originally designed to hold a crew of over two hundred. I don’t like sharing my income, and place a high value on privacy, so instead of a human crew I have, over the years, supplied my ship with a vast array of bots and drones. They range in size from the microscopic nanobots, who constantly roam the ship’s surface fixing tiny cracks and punctures, to the massive cargo bots that shift entire cargo loads. There are small, rodent sized bots that keep the inside of the plumbing clean and repaired. Cleaner bots about the size of a small dog, who clean every inch of the interior of my ship. Medibots to keep the crew well, who don’t get a whole lot of work these days, so I’ve sold off a few of them.

Then there are the repair bots that do all the major repair work including the other bots and drones. They look like spiders in a way. They have twelve legs protruding from a football shaped body that’s about six feet in diameter and about ten feet long. Each leg has a magnetic claw that allows it to cling to virtually any surface or tool needed to do repair, both inside and outside the ship. It carries tools in a compartment in it’s back and has four other retractable arms that extend from inside this compartment to aid in selecting and fitting tools, as well as doing repairs. It has multiple retractable ‘eye’ stalks that can see in any direction necessary, allowing the bot to multitask.

Every bot on the ship has some level of independent Al brain that allows it to perform tasks autonomously, but remains linked to the ships main Al. The ‘brain’ of each bot is designed to accommodate the responsibilities of that bot. The more responsibility a bot has, the more sophisticated its brain is. This also allows for more autonomy, and some of the more capable bots have developed their own personalities over time.

Not counting the nanobots, which duplicate themselves as needed and are reabsorbed when not, and also not counting the myriad of small service drones, there are now over five hundred bots on board. Without them I would be lost on this ship and unable to keep it running. They maintain everything from front to back, top to bottom, even the drive engines and life support.

I stood there watching the bots and drones scurry about the cargo bay and thought how odd it was to be down here in the bowels of my ship when there was something important I knew I needed to be doing. Several times I walked in and out of different cargo bays, but couldn’t figure out why I was there.

Finally, I stepped over to a comlink panel and asked for the bridge. But all I got was some old video of people boarding a very old ship and placing themselves into hyper sleep chambers that looked ancient. I just stood there staring at this scene, mesmerized by it until I heard Chip’s voice behind me. I dragged my eyes forcefully away from the screen and started to turn around. I once again felt that ‘walking through molasses’ feeling.

We hope that you are following this story. You might want to let Jared know by emailing him at: Jared at CastleRoland dot Net