Now, I watched as Torian bent over the mobile unit Dutch deemed ascute.I could not verify that assessment. Every time I scanned the mobile unit, my subsystem identified it asuseless.
Based on Torian’s body language, there was an 87 percent chance she was losing her commitment to our goal. She bent over the mobile unit, her voice higher-pitched than normal. “It’s like a little fox-dragon!”
The robot Dutch had constructed was a small quadruped. He had stolen more of my moss colony to cover the robot’s back. Like most things, it had features: ears, eyes, and a tail.
According to Dutch, the eyes were cameras. The ears were microphones. The tail was simply aesthetic.
According to Dutch, I was meant to take control of this robot as I pleased.
[I didnotplease.]
“Captain Razner,” I said. “If a mobile unit is necessary, I would prefer a bot with aerial capabilities.”
“And terrify half the station? I don’t think so,” Dutch replied. “This is cute enough to go unnoticed. We don’t want you scaring children when you’re monitoring life support on Vaesa. Frankly, it’s an overreach of privacy anyway. You were never supposed to have camera access.”
“You can’t take camera access from it now,” Torian said. It was good to know that 13 percent of her loyalty still remained.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Moss expanded its senses, and we’ll have to make do with that. But we’re in a sticky situation where human newcomers might not appreciate an omnipotent computer spying on them.”
That did not seem like my problem. I replied, “I do not care for the personal lives of organics.”
Torian sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “No, Moss, he’s right. Celise would be furious if you started watching her clinic. There’s a whole doctor-patient confidentiality—”
“Fine. I will not watch the clinic.”
Dutch cleared his throat. “Or we compromise. Limit the camera access to public spaces—and give you a mobile unit that you can control at will.” He reached underneath the robot’s chest, flicking abutton near its stomach. The abomination-fox-dragon eased to life, and instantly, a pairing request appeared in my central system.
I ignored it, redirecting attention back into theDestitute’s living area. “I will continue to use cameras. A mobile unit is not necessary.”
The robot blinked its dark eyes. Even without pairing, it began moving independently.
“Why is it moving independently?” I said.
Dutch chuckled. “Well, it might unnerve people if this cute little guy just… freezes when you leave it. I added a very simple program—nothing that can adapt, like Auto-Nav—to make it act like an animal when you aren’t around.”
The abomination-fox-dragon stretched, its long tail curling in the air. It shook, violently vibrating my moss colony along its back. It mewed.
Torian said, “Aww!”
“I created a databank of the top fifty sounds from pets across the galaxy. It’s quite a range, but I told it to prioritize human noises, considering most of the station’s residents will likely be human.” Dutch swelled, crossing his arms. “Its name is Peat. Like peat moss. Get it?”
“Peat,” Torian squealed, and my ratio adjusted from 87 percent disloyal to 99 percent.
“I do not need—”
Another nudge from the robot, Peat. It was the same request:Pairing?
Auto-Navigation: Is that another program? Another friend?
Moss: No. Don’t get ideas.
A: Can it fly?
M: No.
A: Engine! Another friend!
Engine: New program identified and catalogued.
