Chapter 2
Captain Jacob Weisberg, First Lt. Sheila Marie Gates, First Lt. Katarina Marijić, 2nd LT.
Abdul Mosleh, 2nd LT. Ewen Tang, 2nd Lt Arun Raja, Captain Undine, Lt. Micceal,
Captain Garcia, a Norman unit, 17, and a half dozen Klingons were present in the New Constitution’s Shuttlebay. There was a war table and holographic display hovering above it. A binary star system was elevated; Hobus star system.
“Per Star Fleet, the Hobus star is the oldest star in the Universe,” Garcia said.
“That can’t be…” Tang said.
“The known Universe?” Garcia offered. “The local Universe? Yeah, I get it.
Maybe the writers of that statement meant galaxy. Typos still happen in the 24th century. And there is still scientific illiteracy. You’d be surprise how many college grads get that wrong. Anyway, this star is definitely old. Older than even Methuselah star, HD 140283.” A graphic of the referenced star came up, showing Methuselah being 190.1 light-years away from Earth- it also showed the star being older than the known Universe. “These numbers here are wrong,” Tang said. “This suggests ages a billion years older than the Universe.”
Garcia nodded. He waited.
“So, there’s an error here…”
“Methuselah age was dated in the 21st century, and was one of the first objects explored in the 23rd century. Either stellar aging theory is wrong, or the age is correct,” Garcia said.
“You’re saying these objects existed before the Universe even came into being?”
Weisberg asked. “That’s…”
“Improbable…”
“That makes no sense,” Tang said. “If they were there before the big bang, the expansion of the big bang would have driven them away. If they…”
“I didn’t say they existed pre-big bang,” Garcia said. He called up a dozen other stars. Looking down on the galaxy from above, these stars spanned the known Milky Way Galaxy. “All of these stars pre-date the Origin event as defined by our preferred dating schemes.” ‘Origin’ event allowed for something happening without necessarily referring to this event as the Big Bang, as there were non-singularity models that explained Origin that also were consistent with the data. Stars older than the known Universe were anomalies that disrupted most Origin models.
Marijić used her fingers and traced a line connecting all the stars, making the symbol of a star over the galaxy. A circle containing a star.
Weisberg frowned at her. “Do you have to make everything into an Occult symbol?”
“Do you to have make everything into not an Occult symbol?” Marijić asked “New theory,” Garcia said. “These objects seem to predate the origin of the Universe because they’re temporally stable regions of space-time, and so every time there is a major temporal fluctuation or temporal loop, these object get brought back, but continue unimpeded in their natural evolution. The older they appear compared to the age of the known Universe gives you a measure of how many times the Universe has been reset.”
“Wait a moment,” Mosleh said. “You’re saying this is a naturally occurring special/temporal stability point, the equivalent of a LaGrange point?”
“Yes,” Garcia said. “It could be artificial. We have evidence for that now, if we compare these anomalies to the Elmartay system. Our time machine is now a ‘time machine’ that can be used to measure how many times our galaxy, or, more regionally precise, the Alpha Quadrant, has been reset.”
“That’s insane… Losira has demonstrated that?”
“Not yet. We have only experienced small resets with our temporal agents, and their temporal disruptions are likely miniscule in effect. One agent is likely not resetting the entire galaxy. Also, we don’t have the finesse to measure hundreds or a thousands of years reset. But we could discern billions of years. If this theory is true, and the regional space time gets reset greater than a billion years, total cumulative time, we will see our time machine age- click forwards- one unit of measure.” He had their attention. “Now, I could be wrong. These could be artificially created stability points, just as we did with the
Elmartay system. But assume, they’re natural. Further assume you had advanced technology, such as Iconian Gateways. Where would you put a gate?” “Stable regions of space time,” Weisberg said.
“Elmartay is a tri-star system,” Tang said.
“Yeah, Elmartay is perfect system for interacting with temporal anomalies. The Hobus star is a binary system, less likely to produce temporal anomalies, but still has them. The proximity of the two stars increases event potentials. Not as good as Elmartay, but there is enough frame dragging and temporal distortion due to the increased gravimetric interactions with two or more stars in close proximity- you get better object projection displacement through time, and you get better lensing affects for temporal viewing, and increased likelihood of creating multiple, permanent, stable wormholes. If I were an Iconian scientist, I would have gone here to experiment with space time,” Garcia said.
“You think there is an Iconian Gateway here?!” Weisberg said.
“Yes,” Garcia said. “And I have evidence the Romulans do, too.”
He enhanced the image to reveal Hobus 1; a mining vessel was in orbit. It was not a clear picture. The ship looked alien, something dark and foreboding. It didn’t seem to reflect the ships they knew to be Romulan.
“That’s all you got?” Gates asked. “An assumed sweet spot and what, a Romulan mining vessel?”
“Nope. Look at the host star. We date stars by luminosity and chemical composition. The first stars in the Universe lacked heavy metals. These two stars lack heavy metal signatures. Consequently, there would be no rocky planets around a first generation star, by definition. Rocks weren’t made yet. This planet is an anomaly. Its orbit is an anomaly. The parameters required to place this object in this particular orbit suggests it was artificially placed by sentient beings.”
“Oh my god,” Gates said. “Next you will be saying Earth’s moon was placed by aliens.”
“I am not saying that. It was. Others have said that. But I am not saying that,”
Garcia said. “Anyway, I have more evidence. Just not tangible.”
“You want us to volunteer based on your intuition?” “Not intuition,” Garcia said.
“And you’re thinking about taking us there?” Undine said.
“Yeah, why not?” Garcia said.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Undine said. “Maybe something like it’s on the far side of Romulan space and violates all sorts of treaties…”
“We just call Nelvana up and asked her to take me and my team there to see what’s there,” Garcia said.
“Just?” Undine asked.
“That’s not the only problem,” Gates said.
“I am listening,” Garci offered.
“How about we start with: What is the hell wrong with you?” “I don’t understand the question,” Garcia said.
“Seriously?” Gates asked.
“Yeah, there’s so much wrong with me you could spend several life times sorting that. So, if there’s something specific you want me to address, spit it out,” Garcia said. “I thought Indira was your friend,” Gates asked.
“You assume incongruence. I have already gone through the grieving process,” Garcia said.
“You grieved a whole ten minutes?” Gates asked.
“I didn’t know you knew her well enough to be bothered by this. If you’re emoting, feel free to excuse yourself,” Garcia said.
“That’s not the point,” Gates said.
“It is the point. Stop psychoanalyzing me. I got experts doing that. I don’t need you on my back, too,” Garcia said. He was quiet for a moment, leaning into the table.
When he spoke again, his voice was calmer. His eyes stayed on the table. “I am sorry. I misspoke. Never quit analyzing me or anyone. That’s what we do.” He met her eyes. “Thank you for expressing your concern for my wellbeing. I am well. Now, I am planning an excursion into Romulan space. Pressman wants a Gateway. Pressman wants to keep the Romulans from having a Gateway. Are you all in, or am I on my own?”
“We’re in,” Weisberg said.
“So, go suit up,” Garcia said. “In the clothes set out for you.”
Garcia and Norman were sitting on one of the dozen crates that Garcia intended to take with them to Romulus, awaiting the Away Team’s arrival. Two Klingons arrived early. These two were always early. They competed for early. Marijić was third to arrive. She always seemed happy. He reflected the smile back without interruption to his conversation. The early birds became privy to the conversation, with evidence Garcia didn’t care if anyone learned of his personal business.
“You are aware that Stella is a criminal mastermind,” Norman asked. “And Mudd was actually her pawn in a larger game, allowing her plausible deniability in the galactic arena?”
“I am,” Garcia said. “Probably why she and I get along so well. She was using me. I was using her. And, hence, why I sent them both to live with you. Leaving her on your planet where she is surrounded by artificial intelligence to keep her perpetually engaged in intellectually stimulating activities that are beneficial to her long-term physical and mental health outcomes.”
“She is also neurotic and absolutely obsessed with you,” Norman said.
“Hence why we gave her a Garcia android,” Garcia said.
“You are aware that she is wanting a child with you,” Norman said.
“Yeah,” Garcia said. “It would help her feel more secure in her perceived identity as future queen of the Milky Way. There’s an inappropriate joke there somewhere in that. Anyway, are you aware Barbara collected a sample and intends to help fulfil Stella’s wish?”
Norman was not surprised, and if he was curious on how the sample was collected, or would be delivered to target, he didn’t pursue it. “You intend to accommodate Stella?” he asked.
“Yeah. Why not?” Garcia asked.
“She’s a criminal mastermind wanting to take over the Galaxy, presently, vicariously through you…”
“Yeah, well, maybe being a mom will help diminish some of that. That and her belief that I am engaged in taking over the known Galaxy for her has resulted in some laziness on her part. I think she’s satisfied with her present status, which gives the illusion of goal attainment,” Garcia said.
“So in essence, you’re placating her with lies?” Gates asked. He didn’t remember when she arrived, but accepted her presence and responded appropriately.
“Yeah, why not?”
“I don’t know. Ethics?” gates asked.
“You know how many ethical boundaries I have crossed since I was promoted to Captain?” Garcia asked.
“Yes,” Gates said. “One thousand, two hundred…” “‘Yes’ is sufficient,” Garcia said.
“Wait wait wait. You made a Garcia android for her?” Marijić asked.
“Yeah, why not?” Garcia asked. “Makes it easier for me to keep tabs on her. I get daily uploads of data transfers…” “I bet,” Gates said.
“You sound angry,” Garcia said. “Have you tried the android masseuse option?
They never get tired, nor experience carpal tunnel.” He turned to Norman. “What do you think, is the Garcia unit working out okay?”
“The Garcia unit is operating as expected,” Norman said. “The true test will come after your death, as that’s when we’ll see the greatest divergence in consciousness streams. Because the data exchange is two-ways, we are unable to completely separate you from the unit, nor are we able to separate your consciousness stream from your other internal companions. The neural imaging process created the initial holographic map is not sophisticated enough to tease out others.” “So, the other units?” Garcia asked.
“Are also presently functioning as expected. We have created one unit for Lal, Troi, Duana, and Ilona, and downloaded your initial mental construct into the containers; you are still the primary conscious stream, they’re piggy backing, for lack of a better word.”
“I am the carrier wave for their frequency,” Garcia translated.
“Essentially. Yes. For each appropriate container, you have agreed to step back and allow that personality to be dominate, but you remain primary; the internal system remains plural. The others frequently turn to you for input, which is measurably slowing down their processing time. Also, after about four hours of continuous operations, they ask you to front. That may be due to limited experience in being sovereign. If that proves accurate, they should improve as they gain primary experience, and at that point, when they become primary, we should be able to isolate them so that they may have their own container experience. They may not want to. Most plurals wish to remain plural. A secondary problem is occurring when you front; you experience a cognitive disruption to being present in a female container. In order to maintain continuity, the five total units receive the same updates every time Simone creates a new brain map, which also reinforces your primacy. To help alleviate this affect, the five separate units are interlinked to receive new insight data without losing deviation gained through personal experience.” “Is that important?” Garcia asked.
“When dealing with plurality in the past, severe divergence resulted in dynamic system failures,” Norman said. “No divergence resulted in system failure. Spontaneous, stable change is rare, even within human populations. Gradual growth results in optimum evolution.”
“But we’re doing better than say the android duplicator thing discovered by Roger
Korby?”
“Absolutely,” Norman said. “The Old Ones invented their Android design through backwards engineering one of our older models, an initial explorer. We were able to monitor their progress remotely. We have their knowledge available for you to study if you’re interested.”
“Seriously?” Garcia asked. “Can you make Ruk or Andrea model androids?” “Yes,” Norman said.
“Having a Lurch type butler slash body guard would be nice,” Garcia mused.
“And I was partial to the Andrea Unit.”
“Who weren’t you partial to?” Gates asked.
“There is that,” Garcia agreed. “I pretty much love everyone. Oh! I would so go into debt for an Ilia Unit…”
“You’re disgusting. You can’t just request model types to satisfy your own entertainment,” Gate said.
“Why not?” Garcia asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, ethics?” Gates asked
“What’s more ethical? Engaging in safe sex, no pregnancies, or being in a relationship with a human that can’t be maintained because of my base line libido is greater than any one person can tolerate…”
“Take me on,” Marijić challenged. “I dare you to outlast me.” “Continue to flirt with me and you will get the speech,” Garcia said.
“I got the speech, next step,” Marijić said.
Garcia didn’t remember giving her the speech.
“You could just sublimate, like everyone else,” Weisberg said, catching up pretty fast to the gist of the conversation at hand.
“Or use the holodeck,” Tang said. The look Gates gave him seemed angry.
“What? It’s why we have them.”
“No, we have them to relieve stress from long interstellar missions,” Gates said.
“And how to men relieve stress?” Garcia asked.
“Fighting,” one of the Klingons said.
“Or?”
“You’re sick,” Gates said.
“Because I am honest? I use the holodeck. Holodecks need to be rebooted. A harem of android partners could theoretically help me meet my needs without a human having to sacrifice their personal needs to entertain mine,” Garcia said.
“What about their needs?” Gates said.
“I assume that androids are sophisticated enough that they can meet their own needs, or communicate their needs so we can mutually work together to meet our needs,” Garcia said.
“So, skip a step and just negotiate with a real female,” Gates said. “I have been doing that. My relationships are longevity challenged, due to psychological, environmental, and employment challenges,” Garcia said. “Android intelligence offers a greater range of dynamic flexibility that allow for greater collective needs to be met.” “And if they don’t want to service you?” Gates asked.
“No is no, regardless of whether you are in a biological or synthetic container,” Garcia said. “I hear your protest. I am not making slaves. But this conversation begs the question: if you have ever used a smart toy to get off, did you ask it permission, or did you just stick it in?”
Gates blushed. “This is not the same.”
“It’s not. But why do we want smart toys? They learn us, they help us meet our needs, and they help us evolve more sophisticated needs. So, if you have access to smart toys and applications, and you’re not using them to enhance every area of your life, that is self-limiting behavior, and that is, by definition, slavery- non intelligent machine are robots. Androids are more than smart toys, they are sentient. They have choices. The assumption is that in this particular speculative conversation, I have agreeable, sentient partners,” Garcia said. “Most likely, partners that are smarter than I am.” “And if androids aren’t willing to service you?” Gates said.
“No is no,” Garcia said again. “I have a starship, a dating app, and galaxy with over a hundred billion potential biological partners that are in alignment and socially compatible with my needs. I think I can manage this problem. But, since you brought it up, again- Norman, do you or any of your people feel subjugated, put upon, neglected, or in any other way abused?”
“No,” Norman said. “The only meaningful purpose in life is to serve others. It is our belief that if you allow our kind to meet your needs, our collective social life improves. Bottom line, the human’s optimum health requires physical contact with others. This tends to be true for most biological life forms. Interacting with us allows for a significant reduction in transmitted disease, decrease in criminal behavior, and population control. Also, by allowing us to serve as avatars, monogamous couples who are separated by vast distances can maintain normalized relationships with partners without concerns that needs be ignored, or addressed through secret affairs.”
“You’re programed to say that,” Gates said. “This is your advertisement for making more androids.”
“Regardless of origins, organic or synthetics, all beings are programmed,” Norman said. “You only believe your operating paradigm is the correct one because the members of your party happen to share the same paradigm. It was given to you, not naturally derived.” “Can I have a Garcia unit?” Marijić asked.
“Did you just gloss over the part where they’re having system glitches?” Weisberg asked.
“With the internal companions,” Marijić said. “Not with the Garcia android.” “Why would you want one?” Gates asked.
“Who doesn’t want a Garcia bot?” Marijić asked. “The real one keeps turning me down.”
“Keep it up,” Garcia said.
“That’s your job,” Marijić said. “I would like to interject; not a robot,” Norman said. “Android. We are conscious. As long as Garcia is alive, we share in his consciousness. Sharing in this manner flavors our existence. This is joy.”
“Even better. Can I order one?” Marijić asked.
“Sure, why not,” Garcia said. “I’ll even sign it.”
“Can I have you and the Garcia android?” Marijić asked.
“That would be interesting,” Garcia said, considering the possibilities.
“You’re both disgustingly depraved,” Gates said.
“On the account that we’re deprived?” Marijić asked.
“There’s a song here,” Garcia said.
“You are so not deprived, Tam,” Gates said. “You get more than anyone I know.” “You assume I get more because of my reputation for getting more. You sound jealous,” Garcia said. “Talk it out with Rossi.” “So, it is possible?” Marijić asked.
“To have a reputation, or a Garcia android?” Garcia asked.
“If you insist on a Garcia unit, we will make it available to you. However, we have insufficient data on their long-term stability at this time,” Norman said. “We would like to go a season before we mass produce the Garcia clan.” “The clan?” Garcia asked.
“It’s what Lal has decided to call the five,” Norman said.
“Are they functioning better than the Britney Bots he created?” Marijić asked.
“Oh my god, no one is going to let me forget that one, are they?” Garcia said.
“We may begin utilizing some of your designs for future android containers, now that we have better power supplies available,” Norman said. “Holographic units, with miniature holograph manifestation platforms are more practical for infield operations. One unit could hold multiple personalities, with a different holographic interface for each model…”
“There isn’t going to be a human race in the future with this sort of stuff available,” Gates said.
“Not true,” Garcia said. “People will have the perfect partners, tailored to their individual, personality profiles. If they want children, they will select reproductive materials in a more civilized manner, through genetic banks. Your anger at me is misplaced. You don’t like my sexual appetite. You don’t like my honesty about it. You don’t like what I represent, which I admit may be the exaggerated stereotypical male perspective.”
“You’re a womanizer,” Gates said.
“I love women. Whether my thing is the result of genetics, past trauma, neurological imprinting due to telepathic bonds, or just my primary personality interface, exaggerated libido and all, with extreme heterosexual tendencies is irrelevant. You can’t box me, just like I can’t box you as a male bashing ice queen,” Garcia said.
“You’re a dog,” gates said.
“OMG, I hate that analogy,” Garcia said. “Mostly because, I love dogs. Most people I know, especially women, love dogs. But you would never chastise a dog for doing what a dog does.”
“I would neuter it,” Gate said.
“Won’t stop the dog from getting up in another dog’s butt,” Garcia said. “And, you know, no matter how many other dogs you pet during the day, when you come home to your dog, it doesn’t chastise you for being away or for petting others! It just shows you affection and welcomes you back.”
“So, that’s what you want? A dog. A robot?”
“No! We’ve done this dance,” Garcia said. The Away Team was now fully assembled. “I want to be me without being criticized. If I were gay, people would roll out of their way to accommodate and appreciate my orientation. I am not gay. I am not monogamous. I am poly. That, too, is an orientation. Why should that ‘want’ be any less valid than any other want?” Garcia sighed. “This is going nowhere. I get the final say here. Rank.” He tapped his collar. “Technology is changing the way we relate to each other. I get that. A lot of people are afraid of what that means, personally. We already have a relationship with tech. That’s not going away. And so, let’s talk about your uniforms. This tech is the future. The future is now.”
The Klingon lead officer protested, wanting Klingon Armor. There was murmur of agreement.
“At least let us have a knife…” “Hold on to your hats,” Garcia said.
“We weren’t issued hats…”
Garcia laughed. “Figure of speech. Let me teach about these uniforms.” “These look like the old uniforms,” Weisberg said.
“They do, don’t they,” Garcia said. “Freeze. And Privacy mode.”
Each officer found themselves suddenly immobilized within their clothes. The clothes had become as stiff as steel, and constricted to hold them tight. Around them an invisible bubble isolated them from sound, as if they were inside a glass cylinder, and a holographic interface rolled into their vision, a thing only they could see. From Garcia’s perspective, they were just standing there, but