Second Move

Posted on Sun May 8, 2022 @ 8:36am by Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant Commander Zachary Addams

952 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: We Will Take Care of You
Location: Officer's Lounge
Timeline: 2200 hours

Penny sat in a chair, leaned back, feet propped up on the base of a viewport. She looked up and smiled hearing a voice behind her say, "mind some company?" She moved her seat over to make room.

Zach pulled up a chair of his own and matched her position, putting his feet up next to her. He put his glass of water down on the floor next to him and looked at her. "Looking for any star in particular?"

Penny shook her head. "Just doing some thinking."

"You for your thoughts," Zach said, smirking.

"That is the three-hundred-twenty-fourth time I've heard that joke," Penny informed him. "I'm just thinking about our new guests."

"Understandable," Zach said. "They are pretty interesting, aren't they?"

"I suppose so," Penny said.

"You certainly seemed excited by their arrival earlier," Zach observed.

"Did I?" Penny said. She hadn't thought she'd given that much away, plus she hadn't been facing anyone from her station. "Didn't realize it was so obvious."

"Well, it wasn't subtle," Zach said. "But, no need to be embarrassed. I was pretty fascinated too. As a medical doctor, I'm more focused on organic beings, but inorganic beings are of interest to me."

"Oh?" Penny said, giving him a sideways glance.

"Absolutely! I mean, how do you program emotions, for example? How do you capture the subtitles and complexities of the human soul in an artificial housing? Or is it just expert mimicry? I suppose it'd be rude to ask them, but I'm curious."

"So they're a curiosity to you?" Penny said.

"I suppose," he said, "in the same way the Horta are to me. They're life forms just the same, but ones that are so fundamentally different from our own. It's natural to be curious."

Penny mulled that over. "So you think of them as life forms?"

"There are plenty of artificial life forms out there that meet the criterion of 'living,'" he said. "Why not these androids? They've been on their own, deciding their own future, thinking for themselves, and so on, for centuries! Who knows how they may have evolved in that time? Not to mention, they've met humanity. We may have made a lasting impression on them."

"I'd say most definitely did," Penny said, nodding.

"'Good people are good people, no matter what kind of people they are,' my mother likes to say," Zach said. "I'd like to think I believe that too. So, if they're here in the spirit of peace and cooperation, I say more power to them." He grabbed his glass and lifted it up in salute, then took a drink.

Penny was worried she wouldn't be able to control her blush and decided a change of subject was in order. "I noticed you're really a fan of cold water."

Zach nodded. "Colder the better. Keeps my core from overheating." He took a long sip and sighed in satisfaction.

"Your core?" Penny said, tilting her head.

Zach smiled. "Small joke, sorry. It's just...a comfort."

"Ice cold doesn't sound very comforting," Penny said.

Zach shrugged. "True, to most. However, I'm from New England. Winters there aren't always gentle, and I far preferred the winter months overall. I've had enough heat to last me a lifetime and beyond. I like to stay chilled."

"But you like being at the beach," she pointed out.

"True," he said, conceding the point. "Mostly swimming in the nice, cold ocean." He gave her a smile and looked down at his glass. "So, I was giving some thought to a third date."

Penny's head tilted. "Third? We've only had one. Are you planning ahead?"

"Well, we did share a meal on the station, then we swam where I grew up. Technically, that's two," Zach said, giving her a wry smile.

Penny gave a small smile back. "Okay, I'll accept those parameters. What were you thinking?"

"I'd love to see where you grew up," he said. "Like I said, I've never been to Hawaii, but I'm sure it's gorgeous."

Penny smiled. "Sure. I can teach you to surf."

Zach laughed. "Great. I love falling into the water."

Penny actually laughed at that as well. She'd had a hand draped over the arm of her chair and she felt her fingers brush up against his. As if it were a programmed response, she took his hand.

He looked down in surprise, then back up at the stars, smiling again. "I wonder if they really can...." he said.

"Can what?" Penny said.

"Program a soul," Zach said. He had a faraway look in his eyes as he stared out into space. "Anything's possible right?"

"I suppose," Penny said, tilting her head thinking. "Or could they learn to have one?"

"Think that's something you can 'learn'?" Zach said.

"If an android can learn how to love someone, then it's conceivable they can learn anything," Penny said.

"Hm," Zach said. "Well, here's hoping they learn how to love before they learn how to hate."

If Penny had a circulatory system, she probably would have understood when people say their blood runs cold. She wasn't sure what Zach meant, if he meant the delegation, or artificial life in general, but his words put her off.

Zach immediately felt the shift in mood next to him and looked over, seeing her look fearfully out the window. He squeezed her hand and when she looked at him, gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I have a feeling our guests didn't come all this way to hurt us."

Penny nodded and held his hand as they looked out at the stars.

But they'd go this far to hate us, she thought, worriedly.

 

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