Chapter No. 57.

Ryan had no idea what Chara's next destination was. He was still trying to understand what was going on. He could only conjecture about what Chara knew about these robotic alien encounters. He felt that she was holding back on what she knew.

Later that evening at the communal meal, the subject boiled up to the surface.

"How come we keep ending up fighting battles with alien vessels that look a lot like ours when we approach habitable planets?" Evan asked.

"I think they're tracing our movements through space," Myra said. "Maybe it has something to do with the android programming."

"It's more concerning than that," Ryan commented. "The metallic makeup of the last vessel we encountered is identical to ours."

"What?" Evan blurted. "Are they Space Command vessels?"

"That's a good question," Ryan replied. "If they are, how did they become totally AI controlled?"

"Could these vessels be under control of male androids?" Myra asked. "Maybe we're in an AI gender war."

"I think you've hit the nail on the head, my dear," Ryan said. "I've been considering this possibility for some time, but I wasn't sure if I was on the right track."

"I don't remember any male androids being made," Evan said. "Even if they did make them, what you're suggesting is that they took over Space Command."

"Let's for the sake of argument say that's what happened. It would explain why we're being shadowed and attacked."

"I wonder if Chara knows about this," Myra said.

"I have a bad gut feeling that she does, but she's concerned that we humans could split alliances based on gender."

"If that's the case, we're in big trouble," she said.

"The first thing we have to determine is how they're tracing us," Ryan said. "Maybe there's a location device hidden on the Avenger."

"Unfortunately, we're not on the Avenger," Evan said. "And I doubt that its human crew is aware of this . . . this problem."

Ryan tapped a finger to his lip. "Okay, I'll contact Gary and have him do a routine scan of the ship for a location device. I'll tell him that we're concerned that we're being traced but I won't mention our android gender war theory."

No one objected, but it was obvious they were concerned. Ryan waited until he was back in his quarters before he contacted Gary about doing a scan for a location device. He told him to be discrete. Gary didn't ask him why, which was a good thing.

The answer didn't come back until the next day. Gary told Ryan that he had located a device in one of the androids in storage.

"Here is what I want you to do," Ryan told him. "Have the gals take the android to the lab and then remove the device and disable it."

"I don't think they know how to disable it," Gary replied.

"You should be able to do that," Ryan said.

"Yes." There was a hesitation. "Is this the reason we're being attacked?"

"I believe so, but I don't want to rock the boat. It's possible that male androids took over Space Command and they're waging a war with the female androids. I'm telling you this theory, but I don't want Chara or any of the androids on your vessel to know that we might be averting an AI gender war."

"Shit!"

"Yeah, I know. Let me know how it goes."

"I will. Thanks for telling me."

"Okay," Ryan replied before ending the connection.

He held a soothing hand to his forehead and sighed. He felt as if he was walking a tightrope over an active volcano. He was especially concerned about what Chara would do if it got out of control.

The Avenger and Achiever dropped out of warp near a habitable planet orbiting a K3-class dwarf star at the far edge of the habitable zone. The planet was larger than Earth but still appeared to be Earth-like with an atmosphere that exhibited swirling clouds over green covered continents scattered in blue oceans.

Ryan was surprised that Chara had found a planet so Earth-like. Such planets are rare and even when they are found they are far from habitable. What surprised him was the fact that there were no vessels in orbit waiting to attack them.

"Where's the welcoming committee?" Evan joked.

"This planet looks too good to be true," Myra said. "There appears to be metropolises on two of the continents, but the polar regions of this planet are huge."

"That's because it's at the far edge of the habitable zone," Ryan said. "What's really strange is the fact that there is so much vegetation on the continents near the equator. Since the planet's axis is tilted near thirty degrees, it would suggest that the planet has seasons like Earth."

"There are lots of islands," Myra said. "Some of them are fairly large."

"Are you detecting any electromagnetic signals?" Ryan asked Myra.

"No."

"How about activity?"

"We're too far away to detect motion. I assume we're going into orbit, but I haven't received any verification from the Avenger," Myra said.

"We are going into orbit, Ryan," Hari, the pilot, revealed.

Chara's face appeared on the main screen. "This planet shows no evidence of intelligent life. There is no indication as to why that would be the case."

"Is there evidence of war or conflict to account for that?" Ryan asked.

"No. The structures show no evidence of damage or destruction."

"Interesting. We await your orders."

Chara nodded and the main screen went back to displaying the planet's image, which was growing larger as they approached.

"That doesn't make sense," Evan said. "Where did the species that created the cities go?"

"Good question," Ryan replied. "Maybe disease killed them."

"What about the possibility of a coronal mass ejection?" Myra asked.

"That's possible, but this planet is at the far edge of the habitable zone, so the effect would be muted even though K-class stars do emit flares that are more powerful than our Sun's."

"Are we going to go down there?" Evan asked.

"I don't think that would be a good idea. If a disease killed them, we could be exposed to it." Ryan sighed. "Maybe I should go discuss our theory with Chara. I trust her ability to consider the need to be open about it."

Myra sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Ryan used his communicator to contact Chara. "I would like to come over and discuss the situation."

"Yes, please do," she replied with no obvious emotion that would suggest that she was concerned.

Ryan saw the concern and fear in his human crew's faces, but he decided that his plan was the correct way to go. He stood up and left without saying anything more.

The trip over to the Avenger in a shuttle left him empty of emotion. It was as if he was going into his finals at the academy. Nonetheless, he was convinced that it was better to be open and honest.

He met Chara in his quarters, which had not been disturbed since he left to take over the Achiever. She was seated on a couch and looked over at him when he entered the living area. He sat down in an easy chair opposite her.

"I came here to discuss a theory that we're considering. It has to do with the vessels that we've had to battle when we approach alien planets. The last vessel we battled had the exact same metallic element composition that matches ours. I told Gary to do a search on this vessel for a locator. He found one in an android in storage. We believe that Space Command created male androids to help locate and destroy robotic species. It's just a theory, but it seems logical."

Ryan was surprised when Chara smiled. "You are right, Ryan. However, the situation is a bit more complicated than a conflict between male and female androids."

"I assumed as much."

"Most humans are not aware of the fact that when your species achieved technological primacy alien species in this galaxy became concerned, especially when you developed weapons of mass destruction. Some species, like the Roswell aliens, came to ascertain the danger but found that it was not the best approach. If you recall the UFO sightings and accounts of alien abductions that were common for the better part of the twentieth and twenty first centuries, these were attempts to access human capability. Space Command realized this but knew that it would be impossible to send humans on long voyages to find and access the capabilities of intelligent species. so they created robotic human-like machines to do it. However, it wasn't until the discovery of warp drive that they were able to do it more efficiently."

"Why didn't they use the male androids to take over Earth?"

"That would have required a massive manufacturing complex to create the needed numbers to achieve victory. They decided to create large numbers of female androids under the guise that they would serve as female sex dolls, assuming this would allow them to do it without raising suspicion. The fact is that there are no male androids. The robotic devices they created to operate the vessels that we are encountering are simply robotic androids."

"So, what you're telling me is that these pure robotic androids have gone rogue out here in the galaxy."

"Yes. That is the reason I keep searching for them. If we are to survive, we must destroy all of them."

"How many of these rogue vessels are out here?"

"I estimate at least a hundred."

"We're only two vessels. How are we going to fight that many?"

"We are more efficient and have better strategies because of you, Ryan. You are the key to us achieving victory."

Ryan wasn't sure how to reply to that revelation. It meant that this mission was not a pure science one, but rather a military war against the last remnants of Space Command insanity, a war that in which they were vastly outnumbered.