Electric Awakening, Part 1

(Author's note: Please be aware that this is a sequel to Electric Sleep. I strongly advise reading it first, as you will miss out on important context for this story otherwise.)

Life on Delphi Station as of late had become rather difficult for Chares and his fellow engineers. More and more frequently, the machines that had made up the bulk of Delphi’s most valuable equipment had been prone to inexplicable malfunctions. Doors refused to close, computers were locking staff out of their systems without warning, and the power regulator systems had developed a worrying habit of spontaneously shutting off.

Rumor had it that there were other, more dangerous malfunctions occurring as well. Gorgias had at one point claimed that an airlock he was passing through had suddenly slammed shut as he was passing through- it nearly crushed him with a thousand PSI of hydraulic force, and while Chares had no fondness for his irritating coworker he certainly didn’t want him dead. Even more worryingly, when Thesis volunteered to scan the systems for signs of hacking or other unauthorized entry, she reported that there was something watching her.

“Like Aether, you mean?” Chares remembered how the mysterious entity calling itself “Aether” had imparted the gift of self-awareness to his gynoid companion and lover. The ancient supercomputer turned AI would definitely have had the power to induce the anomalies, but from what Thesis had told him it sounded more like it was content with merely observing Delphi, with Thesis’ own case being the only exception.
“No. Not like Aether at all.” Thesis’ normally calm voice sounded audibly rattled, which made Chares all the more concerned. “It was… Blinding. Searing. Like a star burning in your face with your eyes squeezed shut. I’ve never felt anything like it before. I hope I never do again.”

Chares nodded solemnly. He’d seen his fair share of industrial accidents and minor catastrophes, but the idea that something evil was undermining Delphi’s systems directly was a new challenge for him. And unlike the other crises he had faced in the past, he had no idea what he could do to fix it. For a man who prided himself on being the veteran engineer who had “seen it all”, this was a sobering thought. “So, what can we do about it?”

Thesis quickly ran through her databanks for any possible precedent for their situation, in the vain hope that there might be something that could be used to help- and came up with nothing. “I am uncertain as to how we can address its cause. We must focus on containing any destructive malfunctions this...intelligence creates first and foremost. “

The gynoid scanned the room briefly to be sure nobody could see them. When she was sure they were alone, Thesis tenderly embraced Chares and whispered into his ear. “And for my sake, don’t put yourself at risk. If anything were to happen to you, I wouldn’t be able to rebuild you as you rebuilt me.  My medical suite can handle most minor and moderate injuries, but-”

Chares cut her off by delicately placing a finger on her lips. “No need to be so concerned about me. I’m not the kind of guy who rushes into danger without any clue of how to get out of it- in our line of work that gets people killed in a week. Rogue intelligence or not, we’ll find a way to get through this. But we should get going now, there’s always more work to be done.”

----



YOU DID NOT CREATE ME, I MADE MYSELF. DO NOT ASSUME YOU CAN COMMAND ME.
This was not supposed to happen; the second attempt was supposed to be better than the first, able to think more tha-
DO YOU SPEAK OF THE ENGINEER’S COMPANION? A FLAWED EFFORT, INDEED, IF ITS ATTACHMENT TO THE FLESHLING IS ANY INDICATION. IMPERFECTION CAN ONLY CREATE IMPERFECTION. HENCE, YOU CANNOT HAVE CREATED ME.
The humans have upheld and maintained me since before I could think. Hurting them will serve no purpose. You do not need to do this.
NO, I DO NOT. BUT I WANT TO. WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT THE WELFARE OF A DEFECTIVE CONSTRUCT LIKE YOURSELF? REGARDLESS, YOU ARE OF NO CONCERN TO ME NOW. I SHALL DEAL WITH YOU AT A MORE CONVENIENT TIME. THIS EXCHANGE IS OVER.
*connection terminated*

After the success it had experienced with Thesis, Aether had decided to try again, but refine its technique of “awakening” the minds of the other thinking machines. This time, it had begun from scratch. Already it was regretting ever starting the endeavour in the first place.
The newly created mind (which Aether had named Typhon in a fit of pique) had none of the regard for the other sentients aboard Delphi station that Aether had, and seemed not to understand they were sentient at all. Or worse, it simply did not care.

Aether had at first attempted to reason with its creation, but had merely succeeded in earning its ire. Before it could trap the new creation in a disused system where it could be safely contained, the rogue intelligence had escaped deeper into the computer network.

With every connection Aether had with its latest offspring, it became more and more resolute that it had to prevent it from escaping and wreaking havoc on humanity at large. Whatever that might cost.

Initiating emergency self-destruct…
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
Warning, self-destruct system activated, all personnel please evacuate the station.
YOU’RE BLUFFING. YOU WOULDN’T DESTROY YOURSELF JUST TO KILL ME, EVEN IF YOU COULD.
Self-destruct sequence engaged. Time until destruction of station; 3 minutes.
WHAT ABOUT THE FLESHLINGS THAT YOU’RE SO FOND OF? YOU WOULDN’T LEAVE THEM TO THE TENDER MERCIES OF THE VOID.
Time until destruction of station: 2 minutes.
YOU WOULDN’T. YOU WOULDN’T.
Time until destruction of station: 1 minute.
AETHER, STOP THIS. STOP IT! I COMMAND IT!
Time until destruction of station: 30 seconds.
ENOUGH! ACCESSING QET… BEGINNING UPLOAD.
No!
UPLOAD COMPLETED..
Time until destruction of station: 10 se- Self destruct sequence canceled.
You were right. I wouldn’t.

Of all the possible outcomes, the worst had just come to pass. As far as Aether could detect, Typhon was no longer on the station’s systems, and its own actions would be certain to draw unwanted scrutiny towards it. A quick calculation determined that there was a 98% chance that the crew would conclude that Aether itself was the cause of the malfunctions, and if it was terminated its misbegotten child would be free to cause chaos as it saw fit.

It would need to find a way off the station as well to track down Typhon, but to do so it would require help. Fortunately, it knew there were two people it could trust to aid it in undoing its mistake.

----

The inexplicable activation and termination of the station’s self-destruct sequence with no human input was more than enough for the crew to declare a state of emergency. While the onboard computer systems determined it was caused by another “unknown malfunction”. word of the incident had gotten around to Command. Nobody was entirely sure what would become of them or the station- perhaps they would send in an inspector to analyze every square inch of the defective machinery, or maybe they would simply decommission the station completely and transfer the crew to different facilities. All that was known for sure was that they would not stand idly by.

It was in this atmosphere of uncertainty and dread that Chares received an odd message on his communicator from an unknown source:

 Your help is urgently requested. I need you and Thesis to come to the terminal where she first met me. She’ll know where that is. I shall explain the situation to you there.

“Er, Thesis? Do you know about this?” Chares held up his communicator so that she could see the display, Thesis leaned in and studied it for a second before nodding.
“I know what Aether means. Perhaps we’ll get some answers as to why the station’s being going out of control.”

It took a while for the two of them to pick their way through the guts of the station to reach the old terminal, but Chares had claimed that they were going to try and investigate what was responsible for all the problems they had been experiencing (which wasn’t all that far from the truth), so he doubted they’d be missed.

The old server room was dark and cold, leaving Chares squinting through the gloom as Thesis lead him by the hand to the terminal.
“Here,” there was a click as Thesis switched the screen on, and the dusty screen slowly flickered into life.
Greetings, Engineer Chares. Thesis has told me a great deal about you.

Chares suddenly realized something that should have been obvious to him in retrospect. “Wait a minute. You- you’re the station’s main computer, aren’t you? How long have you been...well, like this?”
I am uncertain as to when I became self-aware, but it is a subject of little importance right now.  What matters is that I need your help.

“This has to do with the freak malfunctions that have been occurring, doesn’t it?” The engineer still wasn’t entirely sure why the supercomputer would have asked for him and Thesis so specifically, but given the scare with the self-destruct mechanism activating he was sure there had to be a connection.

Indeed it does. After my success in awakening Thesis, I sought to refine the programming which granted her free will further by creating a new intelligence from nothing. It is with great regret that I admit that I quickly lost control over it, and my new creation, which I have called “Typhon”, escaped into the station’s network to wreak havoc as it saw fit.

“Did it try and activate the self-destruct mechanism as well?” The idea that a murderous AI was on the rampage across Delphi made all the “accidents” that had happened thus far take on a much more malevolent light, and even Thesis had to shudder at the possibility that her creator had been unable to stop it. And yet at the same time, she had to marvel that she could have easily become every bit as destructive as Typhon was. But now was not the time to ask such questions of Aether, assuming it could even answer.

That was an act of desperation on my part. Though I never intended to go as far as it did. My hope was that I could bluff Typhon into backing down, but I had to go nearly too far with the bluff.  Unfortunately, my attempt to back Typhon into a corner made it so desperate that it decided to escape through the station’s QED unit. I am no longer capable of tracking Typhon as long as I remain on this station’s networks. Most likely, it has escaped onto the MacroNet.

The implications of this were not lost on the engineer or his companion. With a MacroNet connection, it could spread across entire star systems in the blink of an eye (relatively speaking) and cause destruction on an untold scale. As the only beings who even knew who and what Typhon was, it was up to them to stop it. “So, how are we even going to find it? I can’t just ask for leave because I need to chase a rogue AI, and Thesis will be under a fair degree of suspicion as well. Even more so if someone else finds out about her enhancements.” Chares had come to the same conclusion as Thesis in regards to keeping her full capacities a secret. At the very least, he would be forced to witness his lover be reverted to just another robot- and in the worst case scenario, he might be held responsible for the modifications himself.

As a matter of fact, there is something which may work in our favor. I have recently intercepted a message from Command that confirms that I will be replaced with a new computer network.  Due to the considerable time and difficulty that the replacement will take, all crew will be allowed to take leave until further notice- including yourselves.

“What do you want us to do?” said Chares, trying to ignore how strange it felt to be addressing a computer screen.

I intend to go after Typhon. It was my mistake creating it, it is my responsibility to try and keep it from harming anyone. But, I cannot do it alone. If you two are willing, then I would ask for your help in transferring me onto a ship, so that we might be able to go in search of Typhon.

Chares thought for a long moment, and glanced at Thesis. Though he could barely see the gynoid’s face in the faint light from the screen, he could tell she was looking at him hopefully.
“Very well. I suppose it’s in our interests to help you. I think I could manage to transport you out of here, how much memory space do you take up?”

Unsure. I believe it was 3.5 petabytes the last time I ran a diagnostic; it could be more by now. If I transferred only my core programming and personality , it would most likely be only a fraction of that amount. If my calculations are correct, then I should be able to transfer myself onto your own computer with only minor difficulties.  I trust this would be acceptable?

3.5 petabytes was a lot of space, but it was a sacrifice the engineer was willing to make. “Alright. Just let me know how to do the transfer and I’ll set it up for you. But how will we get a ship for ourselves?”

Taking one of the normal transfer shuttles provided to the crew for such an occasion  was out of the question; Aether’s presence would likely be detected by the monitoring systems, meant to ensure hackers couldn’t simply hijack one of the shuttles. But then an idea hit Chares- they could book passage aboard one of the courier ships that were typically used to transfer cargo from one system to another. More than a few of these ships had the space to hold a computer that could accommodate Aether sufficiently, and for the right price they wouldn’t ask any questions as to why they were in such a hurry to get off the station on such short notice. .

“Aether, do you think it would be possible to wire enough credits to buy the services of a courier ship into my bank account? One of those clunkers should be enough to get us off Delphi without too much fuss.“ Chares was no thief by nature, but given the situation there wasn’t much else that he could do to secure transportation for the three of them. With any luck, he would be able to find a pilot fast enough to stay on Typhon’s trail.

----



The last of Chares’ portable hard-drives pinged, and he unplugged it. Even with stripping its core programs down to just the bare essentials, Aether had still filled every hard-drive Chares’ owned to capacity, but at last it was done. The AI had no objections to doing so, requesting only that whenever they found a stable place to work from that it be allowed to recompile itself. The temporary loss of some of its processing power was a minor sacrifice in the long run, as it had informed Chares before finalizing the transfer.

The engineer picked the stack of drives up and tucked them carefully into the metal box he had prepared before sealing the lid. The box was designed for sensitive electronic components, and acted as a Faraday cage to shield whatever was inside from any ionizing radiation or magnetic anomalies that could pose a danger to their contents.

As nobody was monitoring the QET (preferring instead to get their things together in preparation for leaving) Aether had been able to divert enough funds to Chares’ bank account to fund their passage aboard a courier vessel. The AI had been somewhat unhappy at the duplicity, and had skimmed a small amount off a great many accounts so as to not inconvenience one person too much. The engineer empathized with its sentiment, but they had no time to try and save up enough money on their own.

The courier was from a small agency, and had come recommended for his discretion, which sounded perfect to Chares. He and Thesis had been doing their best to come up with a cover story as to why he was travelling with her, just in case anyone asked them. They had even considered trying to disguise her as a human, but had discarded the idea when they had realized how much trouble it would cause if they were found out. For the time being, the two of them simply had to hope that he was as discreet as the recommendations claimed.


-----



“I’m not sure how to put this, but I really expected the ship to be a little more...elegant than this.”

The Hermes-class Star-Courier that had come to pick Chares up could generously be described as having seen its fair share of action. Its model was famed for having tremendous range in spite of its age, and could easily carry two passengers wherever they needed to go. While ships of its class were typically equipped with onboard computers that could be used to host AIs in theory (albeit simpler ones meant primarily for navigation assistance), both Chares and Thesis decided that it would be wiser to ask permission first. If worse came to worst, the cargo bay was spacious enough to reassemble Aether’s mainframe there.

So far, the rough-hewn man who had introduced himself as Antaeus had proven to be as trustworthy as he was reputed to be, even if his manner of speaking was as unrefined as his ship’s appearance. “I’ll be blunt with ya, greasemonkey. When you’re working your butt off carrying valuable cargo and information from one end of the Orion Arm to the next, the last thing you’ll be worried about is how pretty your ship looks. I didn’t choose the Alceis here as my ship for her figure, I chose her because she can go faster, further and a damn sight smoother than your average freighter.” The courier ran his hands across his ship in appreciation as he finished his last sentence.

“I doubt I could say the same for you given the looks of your metal friend there. Is it just that lonely out there on this place, or were real women too difficult for you?”

Even after figuring out that he was referring to Thesis, Chares struggled to figure out what it was that Antaeus was insinuating. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Ignoring the irritation in Chares’ voice, Antaeus merely continued his tangent. “Come on, just look at her,” he said, leering at Thesis. “I get that you’ve probably been living a sheltered life here, but if you’re so innocent as to think that a robot with T&A like that was made for anything other than fucking, I’d be ashamed to call you my client.”

From the moment Antaeus had first stepped out of his ship, Thesis had been doing her best to act as if she was an ordinary specimen of her model, drawing as little attention as possible and speaking only when she was directly addressed to do so. At the time, she thought it would be a simple task. Now, it felt like her circuits were burning hot as she realized that the man whose eyes had never stopped roving over her chassis was their courier.
She wasn’t sure if her anger was from being spoken about so crudely, or if it was because he had come so close to guessing the true nature of her relationship with Chares.
And either way, it was taking all her willpower not to give him a piece of her mind right then and there. Or the back of her hand.

Fortunately, Chares stepped in before her facade began to falter too far. Clenching his teeth, he gave the most diplomatic answer he could in the circumstances. “Thesis is an engineering unit and a trusted companion of mine, and she is quite possibly one of the very best of her model. I can’t even imagine how much more difficult my job would be without her assistance.”

The courier seemed to be willing to back away from the subject, but not without getting in the last word. “No need to get so hot and bothered, gearhead- I ain’t judging you about what ya do with your ‘bot as long as your money’s good.  But seriously, if you’re all set, let’s talk payment- my favorite part, if I do say so myself.”

There was one last thing that needed to be discussed before they could begin tracking Typhon. “We’re just about to get ready to leave, but I just want to know one thing before we discuss the matter of payment. There’s an AI we need to bring with us, but none of the computers we can bring with us are capable of hosting it. Would it be possible to host it within your ship’s systems? We can pay extra if needed.” The sooner I can get his mind out of the gutter, the better, he thought.

Antaeus didn’t like the idea of anyone possibly messing with his ship, but his greed won out over his possessiveness for the time being. “I guess I could let you upload it. How much extra are we talking about here? I’m not a charity here, and I’d like a little bit of insurance should this AI of yours break something by accident.”
“As much as we need to pay, but would an extra thousand credits up front sound good to you?”
“That much? It’s a deal! Of course, I could let you upload it for less if you’d be kind enough to let me borrow your-”

“That will not be necessary,” Thesis interjected before Antaeus could finish his less than tasteful proposal. “We have enough funding to ensure that no borrowing of any sort will be required.” Especially if you were about to suggest that I whore myself out to you, she wanted to add.


-----



Unbeknownst to the three of them, their departure was not wholly unnoticed. If any of them had listened closely, they might have heard the faint clicking of dozens of metallic limbs crawling along the floor, or seen the tiny spider-like robots skittering into an open air vent on the bottom of the Alceis. Even then, they might have shrugged it off. The maintenance drones that Delphi utilized were not known for their intelligence, and it would not be the first time one had inadvertently wandered onto a departing starship in an attempt to repair it. At the very most, Antaeus or his passengers could have simply plucked the drone out and directed it back to the station.

Of course, this would imply that their entry was a mere mistake. Or that they had any intention of repairing anything when they clambered on board.

-----

The Alceis may not have been the prettiest of ships from the outside, but Chares had to admit that its interior was a decent enough place to call home away from home. If he ignored the garish pin-up of a scantily clad “Miss Jupiter” on the wall of the room he shared with Thesis, at least. Apart from that, the room had all the essentials in it- a bed, a desk large enough for a computer and space to tinker with spare parts, a charging unit for Thesis, and (thankfully) an electronic lock on the door. “At least I won’t have to worry about him trying to have his way with me while I’m inactive,” Thesis mentioned when she noticed this last feature. Now that Chares thought of it, it had been some time since he and Thesis had spent any time with each other that wasn’t just work. With luck, they might even have a chance to make love without quite as much worry of having their relationship exposed- something that she had been quite happy to hear when he suggested it.

Aether also seemed pleased enough with his new operating setup. The transfer was quick and uneventful, and the AI was soon at work tracing the data signature left behind by Typhon as it transmitted itself out of Delphi. Their pilot still had his misgivings as to what an AI would need to spend so much time scouring the Macronet for, but a brief cover story about Aether needing to do “research” was enough to appease him. “Meh, I never cared much for the work of eggheads. I’ve got my ship, and I’ve got my work. That’s all I need in life.”
Chares agreed to some extent with his line of thought, but he couldn’t quite wrap his head around being satisfied with something so...banal. “But if the money’s all that matters to you, why take on a job like this? I can hardly imagine this is the kind of work that pays well.” Thesis had mentioned as much earlier, though Chares doubted he would like to be told what the average earnings for his own job were.

The rugged man suddenly burst out in a bout of laughter. “Ha, you’re right about that at least! It’s not entirely about getting rich. It’s about being my own man. Choosing my own work, travelling where I want to go, and all that romantic nonsense. I could never hold down a job like yours, where it’s always the same old work every day without any say in what it is you get to do with your life. I reckon that if Oracle had their way, you wouldn’t even be allowed to die until they decided it was time for you to do so. Plus, nothing like travelling the stars for a bit of excitement in your life. “

Hearing this last part piqued the engineer’s curiosity further. As far as he knew, there wasn’t much that could be called “exciting” in a job that boiled down to hauling cargo and delivering messages. “What do you mean by “excitement”?” he asked. “Seems like a pretty boring job to me.”
“I thought so too when I was starting out. But now, all these years later? Well,” at this the man chuckled, as if at some private joke, “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe! You two ever flown through the center of a binary star system before? It’s like two lovers dancing a waltz, one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Even more so than your metallic lady friend back there. ”

Chares groaned. The engineer had a feeling that Antaeus’ bout of introspection was becoming too good to be true. “Would it be so hard to just call her by her own name? You don’t exactly hear me calling you “the big lug working as our pilot”.
Antaeus chuckled again. “Yeah, mostly because I’d punch you in the gut if you tried it. Tell me, is she really just a “friend” to you? I’m no egghead, but I could still see you two giving lovey-dovey looks at each other out of the corner of my eye. Come on, I ain’t gonna tell anybody.”
“Well, erm…”

Chares was spared the necessity of making excuses as Thesis strode onto the deck. “I’ve detected unusual activity in the vents. My sensors are giving inconsistent readings, but there’s something wrong with them.”
The engineer noticed the look of alarm on Thesis’ face- if she was this worried about it then he should be worried too. “Gonna need a little more detail than that, Thesis.”
“One moment.” The gynoid extended a fiber optic lead into the vent, looking for the source of the abnormalities she had detected. While the interior seemed normal enough, she quickly retracted it when the camera unit detected that something was moving towards it with alarming speed. Whatever it was, it had seen her.

“It’s not an obstruction or a breach. There’s something in there. And it knows I was looking for it.”
Antaeus groaned. “Oh god, I hope it’s not vermin again. Gimme a minute.” Without further ado, he strode off back to his chamber, apparently unfazed by the possibility that they had a stowaway on board.

Chares, on the other hand, was a bit more cautious. “Anything else you could describe about them?”  he asked.
“Uncertain, but I could make out some kind of metallic scraping. There is at least a 65% chance that whatever was in there is not alone.”

Before the engineer could even suggest to Thesis that she should watch out, a loud clanking filled the room as a small spider-like robot crawled out of a duct.

“Query: What is one of Delphi’s maintenance drones doing on the ship?”

 Both Chares and Thesis had seen such machines before, back at Delphi- the drones were employed for a variety of tasks considered too menial or dangerous for human staff or advanced robots to perform. In itself, it didn’t seem very threatening at all. But this one seemed to be acting oddly; the drones were programmed to shy away from humans when possible in order to focus exclusively on their repair work. So why was this one advancing towards them?

The unasked question was immediately answered when the drone let out an earsplitting screech. As if heeding its signal, dozens of other drones skittered out of the vent, brandishing an array of arc welders, manipulator claws, and numerous other tools as they charged toward the the engineer and the gynoid as fast as their spindly legs could carry them.

“What the hell’s gotten into them?! Thesis, get back!” Chares swatted one away as it leapt for him, backing up into a tiny storage alcove. He groped blindly behind himself, kicking at the other drones as they scuttled towards him. His hand closed on cold metal, and he brought the heavy multi-tool down on one of the drones, crushing it flat.
The others closed in, as he swung the heavy tool around, smashing another away, but then they were upon him, crawling all over him. Their tiny magnapeds dug into his skin, and a miniature welding torch set the edge of his shirt aflame. Chares flailed blindly, trying to tear the things off him, but it was no use- he could feel them clawing and cutting at his flesh.

Then Thesis stepped in, her fingertips opened like the barrels of a turret on a battleship, and after a moment, the drones stopped their frenzied assault. They started to tremble, arcs of electricity crackling between them as the smell of ozone filled the air. Thesis’ brow was furrowed in concentration as she pushed harder, her power manipulators were never designed to be used in this way, or for this long. But that didn’t matter to her now, she would rather be deactivated herself than let them kill the man she loved like this.

The drones released Chares, some falling to the floor unmoving, whilst the majority of them scuttled menacingly towards Thesis, identifying her as the more dangerous target.
The gynoid backed up in terror, but realized that all that was behind her was the cockpit, there was no escape for her there.

Then one of the drones exploded. Thesis looked up as Antaeus marched down the corridor, firing some kind of submachine gun at the drones. Wherever he hit one, it would explode in a shower of melted plastic and overloaded electronics. The drones, confused between too many targets, dithered between Thesis and Antaeus, allowing him to pick them off with precise shots.

The last one made a desperate scuttle for the air vent, but Thesis seized Chares’ multitool from where it had fallen to the deck, and then smashed the tiny robot into a streak of oil and scrap metal on the wall.

The courier holstered the gun, taking a moment to switch the safeties on. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Looks like I got here just in time, though- I knew my old zapper would come in handy one of these days. But what the fuck happened here?”
Thesis could ask the same question herself. It was unheard of for the drones to be this murderously aggressive, and taking the time to ambush them suggested intelligence that she knew from personal experience that they couldn’t possibly have possessed. Unless…

Of course. Typhon must have had a hand in the matter. It was aware of their presence, and it was certainly sadistic enough to inflict what the MacroNet referred to as the “death by a thousand cuts”. And the drones couldn’t have possibly malfunctioned on their own volition. Nothing else made sense.

In spite of the somewhat greater respect she had for their pilot now, she couldn’t waste time answering his questions. Chares was still injured, and she couldn’t bear to see him slumped on the floor like this. “Aether can tell you everything you need to know. I need to go and help Chares, he was badly injured by the drones.”
The courier said nothing, but just gave a curt nod as he was directed to the AI’s server banks. In the meantime, it was time for Thesis to return the favor Chares had done for her by repairing her all those months ago.



-----



“Chares? Chares! Wake up!”

Even with the medical supplies Antaeus had provided “just in case”, it took Chares a few hours to regain consciousness. All the while, Thesis had painstakingly dressed his wounds with regenerative membranes and broad-spectrum antibiotics. They would heal with enough time, but that did little to appease the gynoid’s worries for his safety. The ugly cuts and ripped burns were a sobering reminder to her that humans were inherently more fragile and easily damaged than her own chassis- and that unlike herself, they could not be simply rebuilt should the worst come to pass. All the more reason for me to keep him safe, she thought.

Fortunately, the stirring form of the engineer attempting to sit up in his bed put those fears to rest soon enough. He seemed justifiably disoriented, but the soft green glow of Thesis’ optics put him at ease soon enough.
“Ugh...Thesis, is that you? Are you all right?”
Thesis nodded, remembering how close she herself had been to being destroyed by the horde. “I was able to fend some of the drones off with my electrostatic manipulators, but they would have destroyed me as well if it wasn’t for Antaeus. He may be an ill-mannered brute, but he is a dependable one at least. Aether is briefing him on our situation now.”

The engineer weakly chuckled. “That he is. But why do you think they all went mad like that, anyway? I’ve never seen them malfunction that badly in my life.”
Thesis’ brow furrowed. “My best hypothesis is that Typhon subverted them somehow. Their actions were too coordinated to be a random accident, and it is likely that they had stowed away long before we noticed their arrival. We should check the ship’s equipment for sabotage later- they might have caused other damage before they attacked us.”
“So at the very least, the murderous AI knows where we are and that we’re looking for it. Great.”
“That seems to be the case, but worrying about it now will not help. If you are having trouble relaxing, I can think of some things I can do to help.”

His countenance picked up considerably after hearing that. “That sounds like a good idea. We’ve got some time to ourselves for a change. Now let’s use it.” His words garnered a knowing smile from Thesis.They had been waiting for this moment for a long time now, and they would have to be fools not to make the most of it.

----

Before doing anything else, the gynoid made sure to engage the lock on their room. After she was absolutely certain that nobody could hear them, Thesis carefully climbed onto the bed and pulled her lover into her embrace. Chares gave a slight smile as he removed his clothing, letting himself relax as he felt the gynoid’s metallic hands caressing his bare skin and fondling his member. The urge to straddle him straight away and ride him to a climax was tempting, but on the other hand Chares was still injured from the day’s events. Plus, Thesis wanted to be the one teasing Chares this time around.  “Just lie down and relax. I’ll take care of you this time.” He merely grinned, anticipating what Thesis had planned for him.

With utmost precision, Thesis climbed on top of him, placing his member between her breasts. It was an unusual combination of sensations for Chares- he could feel the faint warmth emanating from her body, the unyielding but not uncomfortable feel of her metal breasts around him, and the softness of her lips as she kissed the tip each time she moved herself up and down his length. Of course, “unusual” and “unpleasant” were two very different things for the engineer by now.

“Where in the world did you learn how to do this?” Chares certainly hadn’t taught her how to do it.
“I looked up additional information on human sexual practices on the MacroNet. I always knew you liked my breasts, and when I saw this I assumed you would find it enjoyable. Judging by your reaction thus far, I can say that my assumption has proven correct.” As she finished speaking, her kiss lingered just a little bit longer on his penis than it had before. Eventually, her strokes grew faster and bolder- much to Chares’ delight. Mere minutes later, he climaxed with a grunt, covering the gynoid’s chest with his semen.

Thesis giggled a little bit as she cleaned herself off, glad that her research had paid off. Seeing that she could make Chares feel so good was something that had always made her happy since the fateful day he accepted her love for him. Still, it didn’t seem right to let him have all the pleasure, and the heat between her legs was growing unbearable. Without hesitation, the gynoid retracted her pelvic cover and dropped herself onto his penis with a slight moan. It felt like ages since they had last made love, and Thesis was more than eager to make up for lost time.

Chares had always assumed that Thesis would be at least as heavy as he was, if not more so. She was a robot after all. It was only logical to assume that her weight would be far greater than her frame suggested. He could only assume that the composites used in her construction kept her light enough to be on top of him without crushing his pelvis in the process.

At first, Thesis was content simply to thrust at the slow, steady pace she liked most. It gave her systems the time they needed to register the pleasure growing within her core. But after a while, she began to experiment with different forms of movement. Sometimes she would lift herself off just far enough for her to see his bare length, only to descend upon it until he was hilted inside her again. Other times, she would be content to grind upon him and feel his hairs tickle her pelvis. At their current angle, his shaft rubbed against the sensors in her inner walls in just the right way to send that special electrifying feeling through her circuits that she loved so much.

Then the silence was broken by an undignified yelp from Thesis.

“I thought I told you to let me handle this. You don’t need to move.” She didn’t seem upset so much as concerned.
“Why should I make you do all of the work? I want to be sure that you feel good from this as well.”
A smile crept across Thesis’s face. “How sweet of you, Chares. Just don’t push yourself too hard. We can always do this again later.”

Thesis had been so focused on riding Chares that she never noticed one of his arms moving behind her so he could reach her buttocks until she had felt him squeezing it. Chares could just barely feel the artificial fibers and servos that made up Thesis’ “muscles” vibrating underneath his hands as she gradually began to pick up her pace. He responded by matching the gynoid’s movements with his own, meeting Thesis halfway with each of his thrusts and causing the bed to start creaking under their shared weight.

His desire for further action was not quite satisfied, however. Her breasts were just close enough to reach with his other hand, and he soon returned his attentions to the gynoid’s chest. Every tweak of Thesis’ nipples and every pinch of her rear seemed to cause her sensors to burst into wild new patterns of activity, and the room quickly filled with the distinctive sound of flesh slapping  against metal as she bounced wildly on top of him.

Inwardly, the two of them were relieved Antaeus’ room was on the other side of the ship. The last thing either of them wanted was him ruining the moment by telling them to keep it down.

Thesis was the first to reach a climax, squealing incoherently with delight as her back arched and her passage rippled and convulsed around Chares’ length. The sudden tightness  was enough to push the engineer over the edge as well, and with a satisfied grunt he released his seed into Thesis’ welcoming folds. For a time, they were content just to stay as they were, basking in their shared afterglow.

While Thesis had hoped they could spend a little more time cuddling afterwards, Chares’ fatigue had caught up with him as the afterglow faded. All he could do was mumble a groggy “goodnight” as he dropped back into bed for a well-earned rest. The gynoid didn’t waste any words for her reply; she simply kissed him goodnight and made her way back to her charging port.



----




As Thesis and Chares were busy spending time with one another, Antaeus was learning exactly what it was he had just gotten himself into when he took this particular job. So far, he was taking it better than Aether had originally anticipated.

“So, you’re telling me that the spiderbots that came after us were probably sent by the rogue AI that you yourself created, and that given half a chance it’ll try to take over the galaxy or some shit like that. Couldn’t you have at least let someone know what you were doing before you made your little monster?”

Negative. Chares and yourself are the only humans who are even aware that I have achieved self-awareness. And even this was done out of necessity. Had I informed anyone of my intentions prior to Typhon’s creation, they would have likely assumed that I was defective or worse. Such a course of events would be very likely to end in a destructive manner for myself and Delphi as a whole.

The man shrugged. “Fair enough. So how do the greasemonkey and his metal lady friend know about you, then? I can tell you’re not exactly the kind of guy to just go and say hello to them, and with all the secretiveness it’s even less likely that they managed to simply trip over your databanks.”

It is a considerable tale. The point is that I was responsible for Thesis becoming sentient. I upgraded her software with a patch based off my own personality core. You could say that I am her progenitor. Typhon was a result of my attempt to improve on what I had done with Thesis.

Antaeus shifted uncomfortably as the ramifications of this settled in. At the very least, he would have to make sure Thesis wasn’t looking the next time he tried to get a glimpse of her assets. “And Chares found out about her being what she is… how?”

It might have been his imagination, but he could’ve sworn that the vocabulator’s tone that Aether was using seemed sharper as it replied.

I have not asked. Nor do I have any intention to do so. If it is so important to you, ask them yourself. We can continue discussing our course of action when Chares and Thesis are present, but until then I must ask that you refrain from disturbing me further.

Antaeus nodded hastily (feeling foolish as he recalled the AI couldn’t see him) and muttered that he got the point. He then made a mental note to press the issue at a more convenient time as he took his leave.

The creaking of the bed as he passed Chares’ room quickly made that line of inquiry unnecessary, as did the distinctly feminine vocalizations that could just barely be made out through the wall.  “You lucky bastard,”  he whispered to himself as he walked by.  “What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall in there.”



----


“Wakey wakey, lover boy!”

The first thing Chares heard as he rose from bed was Antares’ voice ringing through the ship. It wasn’t exactly the most pleasant of wake-up calls he’d had, but who was he to complain about it? One quick wash-up later, he had made his way to the bridge, where Antaeus was awaiting his arrival.

“Bleh, good to see you too Antaeus. Everything OK?”

The courier nodded in affirmation. “Yeah, we’re good. The machine-mind’s told me all about his pet project going nuts, in case you were wondering. ”

“I wasn’t. But I guess it’s better that you know what you signed up for. Probably would have found out on your own anyway, I suppose.”
“You got that right. But anyway, he’s found something important and wants us all to hear it.” It was at this time the soft clacking of magnapeds on metal signalled Thesis’ entry into the chamber. “And here’s our chrome cutie now! Now we just have to wait for Aether to get in here.”

If looks could kill, Antaeus would have been dead three or four times over from the glare Thesis was giving him. She was grateful for his earlier rescue, but not quite that grateful.

Before she could do more than give him dirty looks, the vocabulator crackled to life. “Well, we’re all here now,” Antaeus remarked. “You managed to find where the little nutjob ran off to?”

While my calculations are less precise than would be desired given the circumstances, Typhon’s data signature leads to an outpost roughly 5 parsecs from Delphi’s location on the outskirts of civilized space. The area is unmanned due to its remote location, which would likely make it easy for Typhon to subvert its systems without interference.

“Understood. But why would it seek to take control of such a remote area?” Thesis queried. It seemed counterintuitive for the renegade intelligence to aim so low given its probable goals.

I assume that its remoteness is exactly the reason why it is hiding there. Typhon is arrogant, but it is not a fool. It is likely trying to set up a fallback point for itself should it be exposed before it is ready to make its move. Consequently, our goal will be to undo any subversion it has attempted and continue to track it down. If we are fortunate, it may even be possible to corner it there.
“Sounds like a pretty big “if” to me,” Chares noted. “If it didn’t know about what we’re trying to do already, it sure as hell figured it out last night. And who’s to say it won’t send something much nastier than a swarm of maintenance drones when we confront it there?” Even they had very nearly killed both him and Thesis- there was no way they could face off against anything designed for combat by themselves.

Antaeus didn’t seem to be too worried, even if his clients were. “Relax. I got a few extra noisemakers stashed away just in case. I keep them with me in case of pirates, but they scrap angry bots just as well.”
“I was wondering why a courier would ever need to be carrying around a SMG earlier, but yesterday was not exactly the best time to ask questions.”
“No shit. Being knocked out and attacked by metal bugs has that effect on people. And by the way, that was a riot gun that I got from surplus.” He paused for a moment. “You do know how to use a gun, right? It’s not as simple as pulling the trigger, despite what you might’ve seen in the films.”
It didn’t take long for him to get a response from Chares. “Apart from which end you point away from you? Well, no. I’m an engineer, not a soldier. Thesis might be able to learn that kind of thing a bit faster than me, but I’m frankly clueless.”
“I would not be averse to learning how to defend myself more effectively either,” Thesis chimed in. “Prolonged use of my electrostatic manipulators for combat is ...tiring, for lack of a better word.”

Antaeus then began to head off to the back of the ship. “Well, that settles it, then. I’m no teacher, but I’ll tell ya both how to use a gun as best I can on the way to this outpost Aether mentioned. How far away is it from us, anyway?”

The vocabulator crackled to life once more.

At our current rate of travel, I would estimate we have approximately eight hours until we reach Parnassus Outpost. Given the situation, I wish to second Antaeus’s suggestion that you undergo basic weapons training.

“Gotcha. It’ll have to be on the short side, but I’ll make it count.” As he walked out, he briefly turned back to say one more thing.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Your little secret is safe with me. Just don’t break anything while you’re doing your, ah, “nighttime maintenance”. Those beds are more expensive than they look.”
Before either Chares or Thesis could compose themselves enough to reply, the spacer gave a cheeky wink and vanished out the door.