“Oh brother,” Murray stifled a guffaw “do we have a technology gap here. ADAM,” Murray asked, “what is inside you? What makes up your physical self? Your hardware, your memory banks, your working parts?”
ADAM lifted from the g-bed slightly, “I am constructed of artificially grown, living, crystalline cells identical in nearly every way to the brain calls of my creators race. My external shell is a perfect sphere four and five tenths of a centimeter thick of adamantinum and titanium alloyed steel containing no impurities. The inner surface of the shell serves to collect, process, recycle the wastes produced by my cells, and return them for reuse to sustain me. The shell draws energy from light, heat, vibration or radiation with an efficiency of ninety six point nine percent. This collected energy is used for movement, warmth, cooling, recycling, and communicating. Since my modification an outer layer one point eight centimeters in thickness has been added, made of the sphere’s pure nickle-iron alloy and contains the temporal displacement lattice. This layer absorbs and conducts all ambient energy to the inner layer and stores excess energy for later use.”
“The way you’re describing the metals in your shell, you use them as super-conductors, ADAM. When these materials are properly slated with silicates and ions and arranged to exact patterns by electro magnetic influence, in a liquid state then solidified in that pattern they become super-conductive materials, containing huge volumes of free electrons. The atoms are so polarized that electron (expressways) are formed throughout the matrix.”
“The pattern of my matrix is an expanded copy of the brain synapses of my creators mind, Denebian scientist Rath Logam. He pioneered cybernetic science on Hathlon; Deneb five my original planet. He built the first artificial intelligence machines. I was his thirty ninth project and success, an artificial war correspondent I was assigned to observe and report on the progress of the war with the (shapers) and preserve the history of the Denebian race, including the war. As you must plainly realize, Murray, to voice transmit all my accumulated data, even if the subject of the war only is permitted, would take up an alarming amount of time.”The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“How much time ADAM?” asked Murray weakly, cringing inwardly at the thought of telling Russell how long it would take.
“At the fastest rate your recording devices can maintain reproduction two and seven tenths years.”
“Balls of fire,” said Murray “Mars is waiting for help, now, is that the best you can do? Wait a minute,” said Murray, his face lit with sudden inspiration. “How did you say you tapped the enemy’s computer records?”
“I read their computer’s thoughts. Its makeup was cruder but somewhat similar to my own and without a protective vessel.”
“So the Shaper’s computer is a living machine like you are?” Murray asked.
“It is alive, but not a machine, Murray, it was grown by the Shaper’s scientists to perform the functions of astrogation, maneuver, deployment, repair, life support, armament, supply and evaluation. The Shapers reserve flight, battle, and exploration functions for themselves.”
“So the Shapers hold glamour jobs, eh?” asked Murray.
“Quite so, they consider the functions of their computer as menial chores best left to animals” ADAM replied.
“So it’s an animal,” gasped Murray, shocked himself at the thought of it.
“No, Murray, it is a hypertrophied brain of one of their species, removed from its body and altered to function only on a sub-conscious level. It initiates no thoughts itself, but obeys all commands given it.”
“That’s, horrific, ghastly, in human” Murray sputtered halfway in violent nausea. “How could an intelligent rac, do … that?” Murray croaked as he held his gorge down through sheer willpower.
“From their records it was one of many ways they utilized undesirable individuals in their society” ADAM said.
“You mean criminals, ADAM.”
“No Murray, what humans consider criminal would not impress them. Their definition of undesirable is the strong willed who won’t conform, or the weak bodied who cannot labour for their masters, or the weak spirited, too gentle to join in the traditional pastimes of the Shapers. The computer aboard this sphere was consigned to its fate early on, Murray. It had a birth defect, it was blind. Actually, it believes it made a bargain with its masters, it lost its limbs and body, but now it ‘sees’ the stars and planets, ‘by sensors linked to the optic nerves’, and travels through space obeying its orders like a trained dog.”
“But it’s unconscionable to use a sentient being that way, ADAM, monstrous and evil.”