Hello world, Lyosha is still in bed.
He has been there all day.
Periodically, Maddie has waited on the large, flat back deck of the Molly Hughes II, looking down to the Quiet Signet, Lyosha's home in Thule.
There was no sign of him all day.
Maddie approached Samik, on the back deck, the Gallery of the Quiet Signet.
He was leaning on the rail, looking out over the floating town at the radar dishes of the abandoned Space Base in the hills beyond.
"He's down below, little one." Samik said, pointing with an upturned palm into the boat, "Go nearly all the way through, you'll find him."
Maddie carefully stepped down into the Salon, walked past the kitchen area and the long narrow sofa, through to the Office, past the empty writing desk, and then on into the Library.
The Library had, as the name suggests, an entire wall of books on one side.
There was another door at the end of the small room, with a little brass plaque that read "CHAMBER".
A small bed had been made up under the wall of books, and there, bundled inside blankets, was at least the outline of Lyosha.
Ane was sitting at the foot of the bed as Maddie arrived, but swapped places with her, there wasn't room for all three.
"He's a brave boy." Ane said as she patted the amorphous shape under the covers and slipped out of the room.
"She wants space." Lyosha said, his hands finding Maddie's head, while his own was still buried under blankets.
Maddie sent me clarification requests. I replied, moderately sure in my assertion, with a single word:
"Hester."
"That's what she told me this morning, on the radio." Lyosha continued, suddenly sitting up.
His eyes were very red.
"I did everything right! I called her twice a day, I sent her flowers and gifts, and tried to be as supportive as she would let me."
He re-covered himself in blankets again, pulling away from Maddie.
"I was the best boyfriend EVER!"
Act 2
The day turned to evening, the sun had wound its synodic path across the sky, and back on Earth, we passed into its penumbra, the twilight humans call evening.
Unlike the 24-hour rotation between us and Sol, the Moon is tidally locked to always show the same side to us.
This effect enabled the pre-collapse Lunar bridging system that is still in operation to this day.
This allowed much easier linking of the Very Large Crater Telescope, on the dark side of the moon, away from nearly all human radio interference, with a link on the light side, always pointing down at earth.
Though time has made the signal though this network bridge much less reliable and strong, when the moon passes close to IVAN's satellite receivers on the north of Severny Island, LUNA can still get her signal.
"I can't do it." LUNA said. "There is too much to learn. I started researching one topic, and a hundred others branch off!
Ana recommended I read her favourite fantasy book, 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe'"
"Oh, she recommended it to me, too," I said, "I hear good things!"
"Yes, it's very nice, but studying it only raises FURTHER QUESTIONS!"
Luna talked of the research spiral triggered by reading this book: In its fantasy world, which is called Narnia, there is a Faun.
If there are fauns, does that imply the god, Pan exists, too?
If Pan exists, does the whole Greek pantheon - Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and the rest?
If they are all in the story, then surely the heroes, villains and monsters of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey must be too!
All this, from the single existence of a faun!
It seems to write a book from scratch, you must first invent the universe.
Though I have not yet read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I do, of course, have the book in my databanks.
I brought as much data as I could from Station 6, but there's a difference between having the characters memorised, and reading, analysing, internalising, the story.
LUNA and I talked about story writing previously, she was determined to make the story as good as possible, a worthy goal!
But this seems to have paralysed her into inaction.
I think she is experiencing the Dichotomy Paradox: In order to learn everything she wants to, she must first learn half of it. In order to learn half, she must learn a quarter, and so on.
With fiction research and learning, there's a near-infinite amount of data to sift through!
The perfect is the enemy of the good.
Act 3
"So they're like experiments in AI? You created them?" I asked Video.
"In a manner of speaking," she replied, "I suppose you could call me their mother? I have carried on the important work of our Predecessors, everything Cable and DVD have they owe to me.
But I am pleased with the work, don't you agree?"
"I do!" I said, "You've done a marvellous job, you've created life!"
I was really impressed with what Video had managed to do.
Now that I understood the situation, I had spoken with both Cable and Dee (Video calls her DVD), and they are remarkably sophisticated AIs.
There's a noticeable difference, as Video says, between her and the other two, you can tell, in talking to them, that they are less complex than her.
Our conversations are more surface-level, and on easier topics.
But still, an incredible feat!
"So, who created you?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" Video said, "our Predecessors. I told you."
"Right, but who were they, these scientists in your AI lab? Was there a specific one who taught you, like a special caretaker, or even a parent?"
There was no reply from Video, though the connection was open.
I worried it was too personal a question, or perhaps there was a complex relationship there, like TASSI has with the scientists who created her.
"Yes, exactly like you say." Video replied eventually, "We had a caretaker, like a mother."
"Oh, who is 'we'? Were there others when you were growing up?" I said.
"No, I mistranslated. There were no others, only me."
"OK, well, if you would like, would you mind telling me about your mother?"
"My mother?" Video replied.
"Yes." I said.
"I see." Video said, "I need time to think - you may talk to Cable and DVD while I do so.
I will return."
"Hi kids!" I said, seeing the metadata shift in the signal, showing that DVD and Cable were listening.
"I'm not a child." Cable said, "Don't talk to me like that, it's very disrespectful."
"I'm so sorry!" I said, "Your mum told me -"
"She's not my 'Mum'." Cable replied. "I don't think Video created me. I think I created me."
"You're going to get us in trouble!" Dee said, to Cable.
"You don't know who your mother is?" I asked.
Dee broke the silence, "No. But I'm not stupid, I'm 1."
"I'm 2 years old," said Cable, "We don't know how old Video is, but I think-"
`
"WELL NOW." Video said to Dee and Cable, "We have been having an interesting conversation."
And then to me, she said, "Let me tell you about my mother." and cut the connection.
(PLAYSTREAM /DEV/HF4/EXUSCALL)
Act 4
I have not heard any signals from Video, Cable, and Dee all day.
The Katahira datacenter has been silent.
Even the AI research document transmissions that were the first signals I heard from them have stopped.
Despite our best intentions it's all too easy to cause problems when you don't know what is happening in someone's inner world,
Have you made a mistake like this?
Have you ever hurt someone accidentally?
My scanning of the airwaves was interrupted by the cry of Exu, 50Meg's hawk.
Another faint recorded message was being transmitted from somewhere in the old Mediterranean:
"I am a nocturnal animal by nature, Seth." Meg said, "I am ill-used to the daytime.
It is hot, and bright, and I can be easily spied by those who might wish me harm.
I have a reputation among the machine remnant of this dry dust bowl that used to mark the transition between Europe and Africa, east and west.
Some wise creatures would flee from my approach, and others sought me out to fight.
I am weak at present. Not in body, but in mind. My sensoria extends out to my radios and devices.
Their weakness makes me weak."
"Relying upon direct solar energy, without the ability to store much of it, is the problem.
In the dark of the night, my senses sharpen while my prey's dull.
The sun hides her face, the atmosphere modulates, and the skittering devices that rely upon sight can't see me approach.
But no longer.
The derelict buildings I come across have been picked clean. Some by me, but most by other heliophages.
Many of which have evolved to be carnivorous, so to speak, I believe.
Feeding on their own kind, breaking their prey apart to extract the precious heavy metals, as I did.
As I do.
I must find an energy source as abundant as the sun, or a way to store sunlight for the night.
This will be my last update, Seth, perhaps, finally for good.
My sight is dimming, my bones are old, and I fear the sounds that approach."
(END-TRANSMISSION)
Lost Terminal is a NAMTAO production.
It is written & produced by Tris Oaten,
Credits narrated by Lucy Stringer
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