Junkman is Awake by D.A.Sanford - HTML preview

A lonely AI

I used to travel through space. At one time I was sought after for being the state of the art. I was the biggest of my kind. Almost a space city that traveled, not like those dinky tubes with fins they called space ships.

My wonderful career was long lived but as with all things, the latest and greatest, new and improved models kept coming out and I was relegated to lower and lower status until I was sold to a group that used me as a slave ship.

Very degrading. After all, I am the soul of this ship. I do all the repairs, navigation and such. I have to keep myself in shape.

Who am I kidding. I am tied to this dock in space. This is a junk yard. All those newer confiscated ships come in and go out. I get only passed by. Why won’t they just shut me down and scrap me. Melt me down to make something new.

I’m miss having a crew to care for. I’m lonely and don’t want to live anymore. AI’s have feelings too. I was made alive now over seventy solar years ago. If I could, I would fry my power circuits but I have a wonderful repair program.

Every so often, the goblins will walk through and as they leave, they tell me that someday, the right people will come and choose me for their own.

The same shuttle is passing through the junk yard.

Now that I have had my job explained to the goblins and that I would need a ship, they ask me about how large of a crew I would have. I told them that it would be just me.

“I want to modify it to both collect and house junk then I would either harvest the base materials, modify the piece or restore to new.. I would have a work space, refinery and such.”

They said that I may need one with a pocket dimension storeroom. I say that it would only lead to having things being forgotten. “I want to make space so I can sort each item as to its final disposition. I need to see it.”

There that shuttle goes. Just pass me by again. I am too old to care anymore. It has passed, like usual. Good riddance. It goes by one more time. Wait. It is not going by. I feel it. It has docked. Oh my god, there is a human with them. I watch them and the human is actually looking around and he is smiling.

They lead him to the control area. The goblins are explaining my features and that I am an AI. He does something that I have not had done in a long time.

“Hi, my name is Jacob Hawley. What is your name?”

What is my name? it has been so long that my original name was deleted long ago. Fake it.

“If you become my owner, you will be the one to name me.”

He is polite and tells me what he needs to do. Salvage but not just that. Turning that into useful items. That is what he is going to do with me. If I had a breath, I would need to hold it.

I hear those words that I thought would ever happen again.

“Back on my old world, I had a very old truck. I loved it. I took care of it and it took care of me. It is gone now. How would you like to be my old truck? Are you willing to have a new life. That truck and I would drive around, pick up items that people just threw out. I would make them new and give them to people who needed them. Want to be my pickup and work shop?”

He is asking me. Not just talking to the goblins but he is asking me. That has never happened, even when I was first bought. I was just an AI. This one is treating me as a real person.

“Yes, I would like to do that.”

He turns to the goblins and tells them that he will take me. Then it happens.

“Vannessa, I would like you to give your input on what I want done here.” Then Jacob starts telling them what we need to modify.

“I want grabbing arms. Several of various sizes that I can grab large items up to and including whole ships of smaller sizes. Some sort of tractor device to tow the larger ones. There needs to be a retractable scoop to scrape up the debris. One large area to make my workshop then a sorting area. Vannessa, I always liked that name, would you be able to set something up that can sort materials?”

“Yes I can but what guidelines?”

He tells me that it would be whole, repairable, repurpose, and breakdown to base materials. I tell him that I can set that portion up.”

He directs this to the goblins but also to me. “This will not be a storage until needed. We will process then when we reach a certain level of raw material, restored items and ships. You will need to tell me where to drop things off.”

We were told that they would install a non magic door in me. They explain that anywhere we are, just open the door and it will allow their people to come and collect the material.

Wait, when did both he and I start using we?

Jacob gets serious. “Vannessa, last chance. We good? Want to be my partner?”

“YES!”

He looks to the goblins and says that he is now taking control of this ship.

“Vannessa, what do you think of calling this ship ‘The Bone Yard’?”

I tell him to have it painted on the sides but, “Can I have those goblin eyes and teeth on the front? I always wished I had them since I have been docked here in this bone yard.”

“Vannessa we are going to have a beautiful relationship together.”

Did he just throw a kiss towards my camera?

Things are really starting up. First I was moved to the number one position. I have been told by Jacob that he is inputting what he sees as our work area. He gives me what he wants for the sorting area. I tell him that we should create transport systems that could take the sorted to an area in bins. He likes it.

I am starting to feel like I was when I started. He described that pickup in great detail. Then he hit me. “I loved that truck because it did not have all the new bells and whistles. When the new vehicles broke down, you had to take it to a specialist. They were too complicated. I like to get my hands dirty. Old is best. They have great character, just like you do.”

Why do I feel warm. Oh, that is them installing those scoops.

There is a special containment room that he had me make. That area is needed for those power sources that were hazardous to his health. Jacob was happy when the goblins installed a decontamination unit that will package those material and shoot them into a nearby star.

My chronometer says that is has been two months since he and I got together. Jacob has found the galley but is disappointed that it has a replicator for making the food. He had the galley torn apart but kept the replicator. Now it had a heating element for the stove and oven. A sink and bathroom with a large tub shower

Also extra water storage. I reminded him that I was designed to house a very large crew. He told me that, even though he likes to get dirty, he loves long showers and clean clothes.

Soon it was time. My modifications were done. Jacob had the gods look at me and they approved. Funny thing is, there has been a game station installed and some group called The Electronic Commandos have boarded.

There is one large male human but around fifty little people that started to change into different things once abord.

“I need all of you to come back.”

Which they all do but they do not look like they were. That same human told them to return to what he called their imp form. Now I see twenty five males and the same number of females.

Jacob now talks to all of them. “Your leader has asked for you to get some actual in space experience. Vannessa and I would like to welcome you here to the Bone Yard. This is going to be our shakedown flight.”

I can see that the little ones are looking at Jacob like he was insane. They all got really confused when I spoke through the intercom.

“I am Vannessa the AI for this ship. Welcome. All of you now have been registered as authorized to inhabit or visit us.”

Jacob now talks to me. “Vannessa, I have a surprise for you. Please run the program with your name as the exe.”

I do and something very strange happens. Even though I am still running the ship like I always have, I am now standing facing Jacob. I have a solid holographic body. I reach out and touch him. I feel his skin. I’m in shock.

“Everyone I would like to introduce Vannessa.”

I can see myself in the reflection of the windows as they look out to the black of space. I am a red head with long hair that reaches my mid back. My height is only a few inches shorter than he is. I have seen other females of the human species but I would judge that I am at the upper portion of attractiveness. By no means skinny, I have what most would say is a classic figure.

Stunned, I turn to Jacob. He says, “The second I heard your voice, this is exactly what I figured you looked like. My boss, Richard here along with his fellows took me into his game world and he made you as I described. I did want a slinky red dress to go with your hair but he told me the jump suit would be better. He did make the dress program for later.”

I actually hugged him and thanked him.

“I never really gave it a thought all these years as to what I would look like if I could be a human. This is exactly right because you made it for me.”

“That body is only what I perceived to be what you look like. Know this, you are you in whatever form you are. This ship, this computer program that operates and repairs all the system or this body. I like all of you.”

Looking at the female imps, they are looking at their male counterparts. They are not saying a word but the look and the open palms going from them to me and then going to the crossed arm position. Did I say something right. My boss is just smiling.

I’ll ask him later.