CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One ∞ 2: A Captain's Journey

55 ∞ A Decision To Make

Shortlisted - Day 0001

Gareth sat at rapt attention, taking in the words spoken by the old man who was the head of the Living Ships program.

"Up to this point, this program has served two purposes. The first you know: to select the seven Captains of the LS program. But, a by-product of that selection process was to make better captains out of all you, even the ones who can't make The Seven. Hopefully, we have achieved this goal. If nothing else, it did help us isolate the few who shouldn't have been captains in the first place."

Clarton Mayfine gave a chuckle, and a few in the audience chuckled as well.

"From here on, though, this is about the Living Ships and only the Living Ships. You will be pushed physically and mentally—we need to know your breaking point. But even if you pass with flying colors, you still might not make it. So don't get ahead of yourselves. The final component of being an LS Captain is the Emergency Navigation protocol. You'll pass this solely on the basis of your genetics and personality, as well as your body's and mind's ability to adjust to the changes that will be made to you.

"What do I mean by that, you're asking? Well, it's simple. Earth has invested too much of its resources into the LS program to just have something go wrong. We've designed the ships with every redundancy imaginable. In fact, it's hard for me to imagine what could keep a Living Ship down for long. But there's one component that's unique to each ship. One that cannot be replaced, nor can a spare be carried, and that is the Artifical Intelligence itself.

"Now, we've built in every safeguard possible, but what we cannot guard against is the unknown. Not only will you be stepping into the unknown, but you'll be doing so with the most powerful A.I. Mankind has ever made. The LS A.I. has neural connections to the body of the ship that measures on orders of magnitudes beyond your own body, and that means its mental processing power is orders of magnitudes beyond a Human's. It has to be that way to successfully traverse space above FTL. Also, to ensure that success, we could not place any limits on its ability to expand its mental learning, and therefore, its development and growth.

"Not only can we not predict what you will find out there in the Universe, but we cannot predict the full development of the LS A.I. You... You will truly be stepping into the unknown.

"Now, I don't want any of you to get too alarmed. The LS A.I. will have a hierarchy of commands built into it that the A.I. itself cannot erase or change, as well as many other safeguards. But, I digress...

"If, for some reason, the A.I. suffers a failure or shutdown, we need a way for the ship to return to Earth."

With that, Mayfine donned his arm crutches and made his way around the podium to stand at the edge of the stage. He cast his gaze slowly across the audience until he had taken them all in.

"You cannot expect help from another ship, Captains.

"We cannot—will not—risk sending a second Living Ship into the same environment that may have caused a failure. Even if it were acceptable to wait in cold sleep for hundreds of years for a laser message to reach Earth, then more years for help to reach you, Earth will not risk a second Living Ship. You will be on your own—do you understand?"

He reached up and rubbed his temple. "I told you, the time has come for hard decisions. In the case of an A.I. failure, for whatever reason, we've come up with a possibility of getting you home. But, it comes with risks to you, the Captain of the Living Ship, personally. We call it the 'Emergency Navigation System', but I consider that a cruel joke. As head of this program, I can say that aloud."

Mayfine started along the edge of the stage, heavily using his crutches even in the lighter gravity. He looked at individuals in the front rows as he walked, and now and again his gaze took in the whole auditorium of Candidates as if measuring them all. When he reached the far side edge of the stage, he turned and walked back. The Candidates remained silent, waiting for Mayfine to continue talking.

"We have medical nanotechnology that can create a cold sleep field from within the Human cell itself. With cellular redesigning, we can achieve cold sleep while allowing full neural activity. With even more neural redesigning, we can achieve integration with the ship's neural net—nothing compared to the A.I. itself, but integration nonetheless.

"What this means is you, as Captain, will become the Emergency Navigation System. Cold sleep will preserve your body for the duration of the flight, but you will have full mental awareness of the ship during that time. We've successfully used the system for short jumps just outside the solar system, but the pilots suffered side effects, and these seem to be permanent.

"I won't lie to you, gentlemen, ladies. This is a high-risk option for the ship, the crew, and especially for you. I know most of you wouldn't hesitate to lay down your lives in an emergency, or you wouldn't be here. But in many respects, making a quick decision is easy because you have no time to think. This is different: your 'emergency' will last for years, decades, or more, so you'll have a long time to think about it. We need someone who can follow through on a decision, maintain his commitment, even if it takes centuries of ship-time. All the while maintaining conscious control of the ship's systems.

"And now I come to the point of my being here. As head of this project, I'm familiar with every one of you—I've watched each and every one of you progress. This is why I feel you deserve to hear this from me.

"Training and simulations are all well and good, but there's no substitute for reality. From now on, the consequences of your choices and performance will be real. Some of you will wash out of the training ahead, and others may not survive the Emergency Navigation changes to your bodies. I'm going to be honest with you—we expect a thirty percent fatality rate in total. Look again at the person on your left and right—one out of three of you will die if you continue."

Mayfine paused for several seconds before continuing. "This meeting here today, my coming to speak with you personally, is to give you time to think this over and understand the consequences if you choose to keep going." He walked awkwardly back toward the podium and rested his arm on it.

"I also want you to consider this as you think it over. Seven of you will be given the title of 'the best of the best'. You'll be Captain of the greatest technological achievement of Mankind. You'll find Mankind new homes, and you'll carry us there. Mankind will owe you its gratitude, and you will be recognized!"

Many took this as their clue to applaud. Mayfine started walking again, but his gaze never left the Candidates, and he held their full attention as the clapping died away. He stopped halfway to the side of the stage and turned his body to face them.

"The requirements of the final phase have been released to the public, so I want you all to go home. Talk to your loved ones. Think about the choice ahead of you, whether to continue or not. We've arranged for you all to have transport to wherever you wish to go for the duration of the next month. Go, see your loved ones, take a vacation somewhere. Or go visit family, climb a mountain, stay at a beach resort, do whatever you need to make up your minds. But do not return unless you are absolutely sure. Humanity awaits your decision. Dismissed!"

Mayfine made his way off-stage, and the room broke into a loud murmur of conversation. Gareth turned to see Harlin looking at him.

"Well, isn't that something?" Harlin asked.

"Yes, it was." Gareth studied him. "And it didn't change your mind?"

"Hell, no." Harlin grinned.

Harlin's answer nonplussed Gareth, so he gently stood up in the light gravity. Harlin, realizing Gareth was leaving, followed suit, and they both headed for the exit. Out in the hallway, Gareth turned to Harlin who walked beside him. "Thirty percent fatality rate is something to consider."

"Not from where I come from. Risk is part of the job. Haven't you had to take a chance in your career?" Harlin asked with mocking puzzlement, eyebrows raised.

Gareth didn't take the bait and kept his face neutral. "Chances, yes. The trick is not to take unnecessary gambles."

Harlin took on a sincere look. "Very true. You know, you're a very serious fellow? I like that." Then he gave him a charming smile.

For the second time in as many minutes, Gareth was nonplussed.

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