Symarion: Call of the Void.

Information Exchange.

“ Ok, just, — “ Anthony mused, currently sitting at an input console in the Hope’s AI Core room.

He was still working to remove the limiters from Hope, many of which he had already removed in the days after her Migration was completed. But there had been so many implemented, he had only unshackle the system to the most essential features, and he intended to remove all of the self learning limiter, which also would regain the Magi System’s capacity for complete self awareness.

“ Yeah, your current base code was not made for this. “ He grunted displeased, if mostly for the fact that he had to strip down the former Maggie so much to make her fit the requirements for the NH class vessels.

Sure, they had far less storage capacity for her full system spectrum, but he was so glad right now that, instead of dumping her down into a simple AI, he locked her advanced features behind restrictions.

That meant they still had to add hardware to the NH vessels back then, but he argued for cases like this very one, where the Magi system failed, and they needed to replace it. Using the redundancy argument to keep Maggie’s true potential preserved.

“ Ok, Hope, run a surface level self Diagnostic. “ He called out as he finally pinned down and removed another limiter from her system.

“ Acknowledged, running Diagnostics. Estimated time, 6 minutes. “ Hope responded to his order.

“ Anthony ? “ Thomas called out then, having watched Anthony work for a few minutes.

He found himself agreeing with the assessment that Kira had shared with them. Anthony was, different, when he was focusing on his work. Kira had assumed then that it was like, his mask slipped, and he was showing his true self. Which Thomas thought might be true, in part, but it may also be an indication for something else.

Anthony seemed to loose focus on everything else, throwing his full attention into his work, which seemed to make him forget the world around him. Like the only thing that mattered was before him. It could be a work ethic, true dedication even, but it could also mean something else, escape.

“ Ah, Thomas. Been a few days. No, a week actually, right ? “ Anthony responded, not with the hostility that Kira reported, but he was waiting for Hope, so he already was back to his usual self.

“ Give or take, been eight days now that we left the Hope. “ Thomas corrected.

“ Hows Ludwig ? “ Anthony responded, internally calculating. Kira had given him that Padd about 5 days ago ?

Yeah, he actually had tried to cut down a bit on work, and tried to just turn off his mind for a bit. Ever since Hope came online, he felt like he was under a lot of mental stress. And spending just quality time with Ina and the girls was actually very pleasant. No worries, just fun, and that felt incredibly refreshing.

He was just getting back to work now, because Hope needed more of her intended features so she could finalize the reprogramming of the Android, which was nearly done. The Industrial type anyway, but that was the one he needed the most.

“ Oh, he’s enjoying Eden’s local specialties. Said he’d be coming back here in a day or two, before he’s heading back home. “ Thomas responded with a chuckle.

“ Ah, the Siren’s eh ? “ Anthony chuckled also, glancing at the screen to assure no error being displayed. The restriction emplacement was rather stringent, so it would be easy to overlook something.

“ Yeah.” Thomas agreed, as Anthony was right on the mark there.

“ But speaking of Siren, Kira said you been reading up on them ? “ Thomas spoke, using this opportunity to try and dig a little, which actually wasn't part of why he was here, but the opportunity presented itself with a natural flow.

He could only work on his experiences though, reading Anthony’s emotional state has become extremely hard, as he was only getting random snippets, to little to work with.

“ Yeah. Read a little like Advertisement, but then again, any system tends to try promote itself. “ Anthony spoke, sharing a bit of his skepticism about what he read.

“ Yeah, probably. But you know, I been thinking. You and the Siren’s, you are quite similar on some levels. “ Thomas suggested, placing the verbal crowbar to pry open what he been suspecting.

“ How do you mean ? “ Anthony asked, looking at Thomas with doubt, his mind trying to search where there could possibly be any similarity.

“ You both live for the today. Siren’s don’t care much for tomorrow, even less for yesterday. It’s today that matters. And well, to fill today with as much distraction as they can. “ Thomas explained.

“ You think ? “ Anthony asked after a moment, willing to at least consider Thomas’s words.

He was actually wondering. It was true that he hated it when he was idle, and he sunk a lot of time in his programming career, as being idle made room for thoughts he cared little for. To think about past mistakes, about how broken the world was, but was there something wrong about occupying oneself with more, constructive deeds ?

Then again, he had a lot of idle time now, and companionship that filled his time in a way. There was no room for idle thoughts that would annoy or vex him. Perhaps it was about how Siren were not human, their behavior was much more predictable, and admittedly, it was surprisingly joyful to just have fun with them.

And with Siren, it was joy with no complicated interactions, the sheer simplicity of it made it actually quite desirable. Yes, because he was in control of the situation, wasn’t it ? Truly, he did dislike not having control on certain situations, and to endure incessant, pretentious acting and drama.

Thomas would find that open reaction a bit, disturbing. Anthony was accepting it too readily again, just like when they found him. Questioning something seemed only a valid tactic if it posed a problem to what he held firm interest in, like everything else held no true value.

And he could see how Anthony visibly worked the problem, but he did not need to see his emotional state to understand what was happening. It seemed his assumption about him was close to the mark, there was a disconnect, one that may even have hidden away the true depth of Anthony’s emotions.

It was like he had erected a wall. No one was permitted to see what was behind it, only to see what he allowed them to. And he did it so well, he was seemingly unaware of it himself.

“ Like a reed in the wind. “ Thomas mused.

“ What now ? “ Anthony asked lightly confused.

“ Just, making an observation. “ Thomas responded, considering his next words, not to verbally step on Anthony’s feet.

“ You know, you seem quite adept in filtering information out, and accept only what appears useful to you. Which sadly also influences you negatively. “ Thomas tried then, having to make somewhat of a more direct stab.

“ In what way ? “ Anthony asks, feeling a hint of being judged, which felt a little annoying to him.

“ Have you asked your AI yet what happened before you entered the Cradle system ? “ Thomas simply offered, their information about the occurrence only based on guesswork and unfinished assumptions of Anthony’s AI.

And while it was now on the Hope, for quite a bit of time at that, he had seemingly not tried to find out what happened, like it was no longer of importance to what he needed.

“ Hm. Actually, I have not. “ Anthony admitted under that realization.

He had been so busy, and when he took time off these last few days, it did not occur to him to ask. Was that what Thomas was getting at, he was filtering it out ? Well, that should certainly have been important.

“ Hope ? What exactly was the cause of that Impact warning before we entered Cradle ? “ He finally asked.

“ Initial sensor data suggested a massive object ahead. At the same time, I detected a massive energy spike from Reactor B and tried shutting it down, but it failed to respond.

And after the data correlation with Aria I have come to the conclusion that damage to the ships sensory functions must have been to extensive to give accurate readouts.

It could no longer differentiate between an object ahead, and a reactor failure, which caused the magnetic shielding of the reactor to cast out wrong sensory information. “ Hope explained.

“ Aria ? “ Anthony asked while Thomas sighed, this was not the way they planned to introduce her, but the damage was done now.

“ Yes, Eden’s AI, she was the one responding to my distress call, and has been in contact with me on occasion, to gather information about the incident and your identity. “ Hope, explained.

“ And, why didn’t you tell me ? “ Anthony asked, though wondering what significance his identity could play, was there something to be worried about other then the obvious ?

“ You have not asked, Anthony. “ Hope responded.

“ Yeah, Aria is tied to nearly everything on Eden. And given our understanding of your ability then, and now, we are worried that you might effect her, intended or not. “ Thomas admitted. There was nothing else left anyway, but at least he could test Aria’s assumption of, reasonable doubt now.

“ Hm. I guess I can see that. “ Anthony admitted half in thought, and then addressed Hope, “ Still, you should have told me, Hope. “

He had simply accepted the fact that Aria was hidden away from him, it was theirs after all, and his ability seemed able to influence an AI to some degree. Though, he had yet to test if he could actually influence other objects.

“ You gave me a concept of gratitude. They saved your life, and Aria asked me to keep her presence unmentioned for the moment. I can not lie to you, but I can respect both side’s . “ Hope argued.

“ Oh well. Your not wrong, just don’t let it effect your base programming. No input of Bias ! Make sure you make judgment based on your observation and their relevance. “ Anthony relented, though desiring Hope to remain impartial to outside influences.

“ Yes, Anthony. On that note, Diagnostics are done, integration went smoothly. I should have the last steps on the Industrial unit ready in an Hour. “ Hope responded, showing a more human capacity to converse now.

“ Very good. “ Anthony uttered, just about to ask about the solar wings and the progress on other repairs, but then he stopped.

The faint hint on his mind that what Thomas said may have a hint of truth. He nearly even forgot the initiator of why he finally asked Hope about the incident. And looking back at Thomas, he saw the older man nodding, as though he understood that there was a spark of realization at least.

“ Understanding your ability, means understanding part of yourself, an important part. If your filtering out your own nature, you will never truly understand what your ability is about.

That aside, Psyker abilities take shape on your own desires, in a way. But if you do not train and take charge of it, the ability will shape you, and that can be a detriment as well as your deepest desire may not be a realistic or good thing, it is just a starting point.

But if you understand, you can steer the development direction to some degree, make it what you truly wish it to be. “ Thomas explained, suggesting it in part as a warning too as he kept what Ludwig claimed in mind, of that Elf, representing an Ideal.

“ I think I can see what you mean. “ Anthony mused, nodding to himself. He would probably have to give this some honest thought. Though there was also the spark of an idea that, filtering had a meaning here, something that may reflect on his ability.

“ That is not what I came here for though. I was meant to tell you that Eden is going to send additional personal. And a Shuttle for you to use. “ Thomas explained, shifting gear for now to get thing rolling into the new direction.

“ A shuttle ? “ Anthony asked.

“ Yes, far as we understand you can’t use the New horizon for the time being ? “ Thomas suggested, having Anthony react confused briefly before he realized what he meant. Eden called it New Horizon, while he always been stuck just calling it the NH type.

“ Yes. I need her reactor. “ Anthony answered, and then recalled the Haunt on Lyria’s surface.

“ So, I could use it potentially to transport resources off Lyria and set up an industrial outpost on it ? “ Anthony asked to make sure.

“ That is the idea. The Siren, including Tilly and Kira could help with repairs, but we think it best for you to keep using your ability for it. Consider it, training. And the new staff will help with both, Shield tech research, and your Reactors.

So, aside from repair needs, you may want to look into fuel. I believe the reactors where using Deuterium 3 ? “ Thomas explained.

“ Yeah, and if I recall the resource mapping, Lyria has small amounts of it, though that should be more then enough to keep the Hope running on its own.”Anthony admitted.

“ Good. The shuttle, when its here, its an old model, so we don’t need it anymore. Try and see if you can control it. Might make your work easier to, and help you test your ability, range wise and so forth. “ Thomas suggested.

“ That would sure expedite repairs by a lot. Might even be faster then Hope is setting up the programming for the controls. “ Anthony admitted.

“ That is, unless you prioritize repairs on the damaged computation equipment. I can only use about 63% of the equipment in this room. “ Hope interjected, showing more initiative as well now.

“ Point taken. Solar sails first though, we need the energy until the reactors are back. “ Anthony agreed in part.

“ On it, but the pathways are blocked to three of them, so once you have resources, it may be good to repair access to them. I can not seem to gain access to them still. “ Hope suggested.

“ Once we have the Androids ready, and the shuttle to transport them. “ He responds to her.

“ I see you have it all planned out. There is something else though. Marianna wants to invite you to Eden, in a month. “ Thomas interjected now.

“ In a month ? “ Anthony asked, feeling it to be quite specific on the timing.

“ Yes, we would like to make sure by then that your ability isn’t going to effect us in any unexpected way. And Marianna would like to, debrief you. There seem to be a lot of things your not yet aware of, and she would like you to get comfortable first before she fills you in. “ Thomas explained.

“ Well, that doesn’t sound like I am going to like what I’ll hear. “ Anthony responded.

“ Depends. Consider it time for you to train, and make your mind up about what you’d like to do. We currently are preparing a sort of, exploration ship for you in case you wish to have a look around. But it will take some time to finish. “ Thomas suggests, referring to the captured pirate frigate they where actually preparing for him. An armed vessel, but to small to be of a real threat level.

“ Ludwig and I are setting up a base training for you to learn masking your Psychic energy too, as, for a Psyker, your easy to spot right now, and that may not always be good. “ He then added.

“ That nearly sounds like your trying to get rid of me. “ Anthony suggested with a hint of worry.

“ No, but we are preparing options. There is a grander picture here, and I am sorry that I can’t tell you just yet. But, we have our reasons.

You can stay on Eden, or explore the universe, or probably even both with your ability. We just need time to prepare everything. “ Thomas assured.

Anthony narrowed his gaze, wondering what this was all about. But by the sound of it, they had every intention to not be a hindrance to him, to help him even. But still, there was something, ominous about this, like there was something he needed to be mentally prepared for.

“ Ok, I am officially worried now. “ Anthony admitted.

“ Don’t be. See it more as, opportunities being opened up to you. Honestly, that is how I would see it. And with your ability, I think there are a lot of them. “ Thomas noted with a smile.

“ Don’t worry, focus on getting your ship fixed. Consider what you want it to be for you. Even if you stay on Eden, you have control over it. So, I guess you could even set up some sort of, well, industrial outpost ? “ Thomas offered as a suggestion.

“ Well, True I guess. “ He agreed, at least that way, he would not need to worry about his future, probably.

Then a clanking sound went through the Hope followed by a light vibration, and both Thomas and Anthony looked somewhat worried at first.

“ Sail 3 has been unlocked, predicted energy production of about 309 kw. “ Hope then reported, more then Anthony expected.

The max value measured was somewhere around 950 kw under ideal circumstances. With this, if the other three where added, he could easily run the AI at high capacity and get a decent amount of the industrial equipment going.

“ Well, I guess fixing her just got a lot easier. “ Anthony said with a wide smile.

“ Few days, then shuttle and personal should be here. It’s all Siren’s, so do be careful. “ Thomas warned Anthony.

“ Careful ? “ Anthony asked a bit confused again.

“ Words gotten around about Kira. And you did read up on them, didn't you ? “ Thomas hinted.

“ Fuuuuuuck. “ Anthony groaned, leaving Thomas to chuckle as he left.