EPIMETHEUS Supply Co-Operative CENTAUR-Class Corporate Transport - DROMEDARY
I opened my eyes once more as the container’s AI announced, “Stasis Cycle complete. This Container has been received and accessed with proper authorization. All containment seals will release in five, four, three, two, one seconds.” The container opened as the molecular seals released. Hermetically filtered air was pushed aside and the local atmosphere flooded in. I felt a wave of cold wash over my body replace the warmth of the container. The sensation was like being born. My PHUD’s filters became heavily tinted as light started to overwhelm my eyes. I looked about and there were many curious faces staring. Most were human yet, there were a small number of Manufactured and Alien beings present. All watched me intently until a strong voice yelled over the incoherent murmuring.
“All right, all right! You’ve all got to see the damn thing, now get back to your duties! Get moving!” The voice matched the file sample of my intended companion as I watched the waveforms line up on my PHUD. It was Captain Gerber Gital. He and a Modified Woman Grade 1.5 stood before the open container as the small crowd dispersed. The Woman was of medium complexion with penetrating brown eyes and a hooked nose. Her hair was covered by a modification of her PBM. She was no less than two meters tall and had all the musculature requisite for strength modification.
The woman gave me a much closer looking over and then waved her hand over the container’s display sensor. It responded to the electrical field given off by her body and with a heavy accent she read off the shipping manifest. “Cahptain we haff delifery of one genuine Hephestoos Corp Pehrsonal Ahndroid series Zero Romeo Ahlpha, Unit Zero-zero-one.” She burst out with laugher and said, “Well Gitahl, your ‘Mahil-Order-Compahnion’ is here!” The Captain’s face was a prime example of human dismay. “Shut the hell up Basi and do the security scan already!” Passing her hand over me I watched the yellow scanning beam follow the contours of my body. I could tell by the movements of her eyes unlike the Tech Inspector, this person had a functioning internal PHUD.
“It uh... she, checks clean Cahptain. You need ahnything else or do you wahnt to be ahlone?” The Captain sighed and said, “Basi, you’re now Acting Executive Officer. Don’t you have a transport, crew, passengers and cargo to look after?” “Ahye, Skipper I do. I shall be for doing my required duties ahnd not stahnding by for the breaking of your bahlls!” The Executive Officer gave the Captain a hard swat on the back and left the area. Only the Captain remained and he looked at me for a long period before saying anything. He gave a much longer sigh, rubbed his face and said, “I know you’re on-line. Exit the container.”
It was the strangest feeling leaving the comfort of the container. As my bare feet touched the deck plating, I could not keep from smiling at the sensation of the warm grip-scored surface. I stood up and observed my new surroundings. It was a large cargo bay. I now understood why I was cold. I was unclothed. The Captain’s face took on another expression my facial recognition files could not identify. He made a long whistling sound and said, “Turn 3-6-0 degrees.” I complied with the command and his expression changed once more. I recognized the new expression as ‘appreciation’. “Wow. Those tech heads at HEPHESTUS must have read my mind when they designed you. What is your designation?”
Facing the Captain once more I responded, “Captain Gerber Gital, my designation is HEPHESTUS CORP Personal Android series Zero Romeo Alpha, Unit 001. I am to be your companion.” Shaking his head the Captain retorted, “There is no way I’m going to call you that for the next year. Let’s shorten that shit up.” He thought for a moment and put his hand over the container’s display manifest. His eye movements showed he too had a PHUD. A moment later he then said, “Okay, here’s the short version. From now on your name is, Pandora. Understood?” For a moment I took in the compacting of my full designation for the much shorter version. I liked it. “Yes, Pandora is agreeable as my new designation.”
The Captain looked me over again and asked, “Were you shipped with a Personal Body Membrane Pandora?” “No Captain Gital. I was sent to be at your complete disposal. It was determined you would clothe me as you wished.” He gave another long sigh and said, “Those assholes can make a ‘Manu’ look human, but they’re too cheap to put a damn PBM on you at the factory? Well, you can’t walk around the Transport naked. There are plenty of beings onboard who haven’t been selected for procreation and seeing you might start a mutiny!
I was given a standard body covering and a pair of old fashion Plastiform Boots until the Captain could acquire a PBM. I did not mind the dark blue body covering. Though it was not form-fitting and molecularly adaptive as a PBM, the covering was comfortable and quite durable. The Plastiform boots molded to fit my feet, but gave my gait a slight mechanical appearance. Putting my foot upon a gray medium-sized cargo container to tuck the excess leg material into my boot activated a sudden audio warning. The container’s AI said, “Warning! Do not place objects atop this container. Its contents are extremely fragile.” I removed my foot in compliance and the Captain chuckled saying, “Look at you, pissing off the cargo and you haven’t been out of the container twenty minutes.”
It struck me as odd for so minimally marked a container to be present in a common cargo hold. Unlike every other container present, there were no visible identifying data stamps. Even when my foot made contact at minimum the basic shipping data should have been displayed. My PHUD automatically called up a container recognition file and rapidly scrolled through thousands of potential matches. When a match was made, a warning graphic appeared over a static image. The information on the scrolling readout belied the unassuming gray container. In actuality, it was a HEPHESTUS CORP Heavy Energized Containment Jar within a sealed classified Transport B.O.X. The BOX’s cataloged designation was; Bolstered Olla fortification Ten.
Abruptly, the image was replaced by a graphic with red letters on a black background that said, ‘CLASSIFIED’. I shut down the information feed as nothing more could be learned about the BOX without appropriate authorization. I was curious as to why so formidable a container sat unmarked and so lightly secured in an ordinary Corporate Transport’s cargo bay. Whatever reasons for the BOX being aboard the DROMEDARY was not my concern.
****
I took in the visual stimuli of the Transport’s activities as I followed the Captain through the many passageways on our way to the Galley. Despite my unassuming mode of dress, walking with Captain Gital drew uncomfortable attention. It seemed the Captain was well received as leader for everyone who saw us together made attention getting gestures or called out to him directly. When I focused my attention on what individuals were saying I heard statements like, “Wow, what a lucky bastard!” “How did he manage to get such a stellar female?” “Are you sure she’s a Manu?”
I could not see the Captain’s face as I walked behind him, by my PHUD showed his body temperature and hormonal levels were elevated. Surprisingly, my status levels exhibited similar conditions of one experiencing anxiety. I quickly tuned out the onlookers and paid closer attention to the Captain as he directed me to points of interest. When we reached the Galley, I felt a flush of awe. Inside a large hemispherical compartment lay the social hub of the Transport. An open air ancient style kitchen facility prepared foodstuffs and presented completed dishes in what was long ago called a ‘Buffet’ for the passengers and crew’s consumption. Old-fashioned plastiform tables and chairs conformed to the various anatomies of the diners which allowed anyone visiting to consume their nourishment comfortably. Most impressive were the crystal clear bulkheads giving diners a spectacular view of the stars and the massive Deep Space Planetary Station the DROMEDARY orbited.
Captain Gital stood beside me and with obvious pride said, “Pandora, you are looking at the only Corporate Transport Galley setup in the ancient ‘Food Court’ style. Only the Luxury Transports have anything close to this. Every other Transport in our class only provides nutrient stations in the passenger and crew compartments. We even have recharging stations at the tables for you Manu’s. That way the more advanced AI Units can sit down and recharge or refuel with their biological counterparts.” He turned to me and asked, “Do you need recharging or refueling?” “No Captain Gital. I am capable of deriving energy from biological matter or direct energy sources as available.”
The Captain seemed surprised by my answer. He looked at me for a long moment then queried, “What’s your favorite food?” At the question my PHUD initiated a search of potential foods I might favor, but I canceled it. “I do not know what I would like Captain Gital. I have only partaken in Nutrient Paste Number 3 which is standard sustenance for space travel.” The Captain wrinkled his face in disgust and snapped, “Ecch! On this Transport that stuff is held back for ‘E-Rats’ only!” I found it curious the standard nutritional substance consumed by humanity living in space was considered fit only as Emergency Rations on a Corporate Transport.
The Captain stepped back a pace and made a gesture for me to walk ahead of him. It was standard protocol for a Manufactured Companion to walk behind their Biological Partner. I cocked my head to look at him for his uncharacteristic gesture. “Come Pandora, my mid-cycle meal period is short though I am the Captain.” I did as bid and walked ahead only to be assailed by the bounty of foods gathered from at least three thousand inhabited planets. Most foods were cooked and displayed under a setting I was told exactly duplicated an ancient Earth Buffet. Some foods were cold and could not be exposed to light until time for ingestion.
There were no synthesized fauna, flora or fungi based foodstuffs. Everything was freshly cooked and the sights and smells ranged from intoxicating to revolting. We settled at a table next to the viewing bulkhead with trays of land and marine based animal and plant matter. The smell of my tray of food triggered my salivary glands violently which caused a moment of discomfort. My digestive system announced its activation by the smell of food with a loud growl. For some reason the sound made Captain Gital laugh.
“This must be your first true meal eh Pandora?” I nodded in agreement but was distracted by the sight of the Planetary Station tens of thousands of kilometers away. “Captain, what is the name of the Station we orbit?” “Oh that’s OASIS 10. It’s an EREBUS Class Deep Space Planetary Station. It like many of the other EREBUS Class Stations was built using an abandoned planet cast adrift from some planetary system.”
I felt my forehead press against the bulkhead as I sat amazed. Though there were plenty of stars all around, we were in a ‘Black Zone’ which lay between Planetary Systems. My PHUD brought up a still image and information concerning OASIS 10 began scrolling beneath a graphic of the MILKY WAY GALACTIC AUTHORITY. The Station was the size of the Earth System Planetary Moon, Triton. It was an Icy world yet despite having been adrift for billions of years, it maintained a molten mantle and its core produced a strong Magnetoshpere.
Life on the surface was not possible for any known organism, but there was plenty of indigenous life existing in darkness deep within the ice sheets and within the warm ocean far below. In spite of the sector’s near total darkness and the inhospitable conditions on the surface, humans built immense structures containing cities which lit the station up in beautiful patterns resembling the stars themselves. There were more than a billion biological and manufactured beings living and working from the black surface to the abysmal depths of the ocean. At the sight of the dark world and the many Transports, Orbital Platforms and military vessels high above OASIS 10 I could only say, “Amazing.”
The Captain chuckled again and asked, “Are you sure you’re a Manu Pandora?” My digestive tract protested loudly once again making the Captain laugh louder than before. “Well, you better eat before your stomach turns on you!” I was not familiar with that phrase and my PHUD started a search which I immediately cancelled. At the first taste of baked redwheat bread, my salivary glands caused discomfort as they reacted to the bitter-sweet taste. I had to put my PHUD on standby for it was distracting me with dozens of search queries as I tried to understand the various textures and flavors of the different foods on my tray.
I consumed food far beyond the required amount in spite of the Captain's warning I would get a stomach ache. My PHUD overrode the standby command and a red warning graphic flashed at the bottom stating the obvious that my intake surpassed maximum capacity. I held my stomach region and felt the awful, yet wonderful pain from the experience of eating real food. I could only manage a groan and once more, Captain Gital laughed.
“I know you’re about to burst Pandora, but you have to try this.” I looked at my new companion and contemplated whether I truly had to comply with all his demands. He held a small spoonful of a cold, icy orange substance and said, “This comes from Mother Earth. It’s called ‘Mango-Orange Sherbet’. Are you ready? The flavor is rather intense.” My PHUD displayed my sensory dampening controls, but again I cancelled them. I was curious to see if something so small could affect me. That may have been a mistake on my part.
The tiny spoonful passed my lips and onto my tongue. As I closed my mouth around the spoon, the fresh citrus smell overwhelmed my olfactory array. On my tongue, the chill of the spoon gave way to a flood of cold and citrus which made me think I had yellow-orange sunlight in my mouth. The flavor was so intense, my PHUD shutdown as muscles from head to toe seized. I held onto the durable plastiform table as the wave of sensory overload passed.
I heard the spoon fall to the floor as I realized my eyes were tightly closed. My breathing was ragged and I could feel the Captain’s warm hand on my back as the muscles ceased their spasms. “Pandora! What is your status? Are you damaged?” I noticed though he expressed concern, the Captain resumed speaking to me as if I were a machine. “No Captain, I am undamaged. I was unprepared for so intense an experience.” My PHUD reinitialized and I could hear the murmuring voices once more. “Well Pandora, you may be fine. The table and spoon didn’t make it.”
To my dismay, I saw the bent spoon and the table’s now twisted corners. I started to apologize for damaging corporation property but the Captain stopped me. “Don’t apologize Pandora. It’s plastiform. Give it a moment. A moment passed and the table and spoon returned to their original shape. Captain Gerber turned his warm brown eyes towards me and queried, “So, what did you think? Did you like the Sherbet?” A strange thing happened. Without a command prompt, a smile made its way across my face and I nodded an emphatic, ‘Yes.’
© 2012 H. Wolfgang Porter. All Rights Reserved.
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