Chapter No.73 New Vision

Invention is the mother of change.

We were headed to a new possible habitable system when Judy turned to us with a revelation that shocked us.

"We have determined how the Myst are appearing out of empty space."

We all turned to her with looks of abject surprise on our pristine faces.

"Apparently, universes spin the same way that quantum particles do. The intelligent species that told you that the anomaly at that edge of the galaxy was not a parallel universe was in error. There are a nearly infinite number of universes and they have spin and momentum quantum values. The multiverse is the quantum entity of a much larger structure. The Myst have discovered a method of using their warp devices to execute a dimensional displacement out of spin space that allows them to go anywhere instantaneously."

It took me a few seconds to digest that statement before I replied. "Do you have any math that demonstrates this theory?"

"Yes, Jason. It is in a file entitled 'Spin Drive'."

I immediately brought up that file on my engineering station. Molly joined me to go through it. After several minutes of perusing the very complex math, I turned to her.

"Apparently your creativity algorithms were more effective than we had imagined."

She shook her head. "This is much more than the result of some creativity algorithm. I think that they've stolen this from the Myst, who must be orders of magnitude more intelligent."

"We have assimilated their computational powers, Molly," Judy said.

"Does that mean that we are no longer in danger from them?" I asked.

"That is correct, Jason."

"I am able to tap into their assimilated data," Molly said while typing away at her console. "The Myst are from another universe and were in our universe to acquire knowledge when they suffered a corruption in their main system. That has been repaired."

"So, does that mean that we could suffer a similar fate and become a danger to our universe?"

"I don't think so," she replied. "The Myst did not possess any ethical algorithms. We, by way of our human natures, have inserted those algorithms into our collective computational system."

"That's a shaky premise at best. Humans are not known for having control over their passions."

Molly's expression was definitive. "Yes, we do have passions, but they are now mostly intellectual."

"Hey!" Marie blurted. "Does this mean we can explore other universes?"

"I don't know." I turned to Judy.

"Yes. Modifications to our warp drive engines will permit inter-universe shifts."

"We haven't explored our own galaxy, let alone our universe, and now we're talking about exploring other universes." Margaret said.

"We have plenty of time. We'll just take one step at a time."

"If Fist finds out about this, we might be faced with a serious problem," Alexa said. "This new technology will make us the most powerful force in this galaxy."

"If we could come up with this idea, what's to stop some other intelligent species from doing the same?" Margaret asked.

"It would require a robotic species to do it," I said. "Then it comes down to whether our android collective can outthink theirs."

"I think the solution is in our own hands," Molly said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"All we have to do is activate all of the androids we can. In fact, we could allow them to make more. Along with the Myst and what's left of the Scath, we would have a numerical advantage."

I rubbed my face. "I'm having trouble with the idea that universes behave like atoms in some unknown huge structure. What the hell kind of structure could this be?"

"Maybe it's God," Marie said.

"That doesn't make sense," Margaret said. "Why would God be composed of an infinite bunch of universes?"

"I don't think that's what it is," I said. "If there is a large structure composed of universes, it's probably like a star cluster, only containing universes instead of stars."

"I don't know how we're going to determine what it is," Molly said. "There is no way for us to go outside the structure." Molly turned to Judy. "What other new knowledge have you obtained from the Myst?"

"They have much information about their universe and ours. They are not nearly as numerous as we and only have twelve surviving vessels. They will be joining us shortly."

"Fist is going to have a shit-fit when he finds out that we've linked up with the Myst," Molly said.

"Don't sweat it. I'll handle him. You try to keep abreast of this new assimilation."

With that, our situation was about to change radically, and we had no idea where it was going.

I wasn't so sure that Molly's assessment of our passions was completely correct. I was about to find out that it was more complicated than I had expected.

Ben came to me one evening and stood near my bed.

I turned to him. "Yes?"

"We would like you to play basketball with us."

I looked at him for a moment before sliding out of bed. "I don't have an outfit suitable for that sport."

"That will be provided for you."

I went with him to the recreational deck and walked to the sports area. Eight other male androids and two females were waiting on us.

Ben pointed to three androids with tags that revealed their names; Bruce, Robert, and Vince. "We are the red team." He pointed to five other males. "They are the blue team." Then, he pointed to the two female androids. "They will referee."

I noted that they were all wearing the proper outfits for the sport.

"Go with Alicia," Ben told me. "She will provide you with your outfit."

I did as he instructed. Alicia handed me shorts, tee and athletic shoes. She watched me strip and dress in the basketball clothing.

We went back out to the basketball court. I joined the red team and we started the game when Helen started by blowing a whistle for Ben and Eric, a member of the blue team, to compete for a jump ball, which went to Robert.

I was assigned to play as point guard, but I felt like a fifth wheel. I hadn't played the game in eons. Surprisingly, I was able to stay with the flow of the game and actually score a few baskets.

The Blue team won by a score of 95 to 90. After the game, we took showers while the two females watched us. They provided us with fresh clothing after we dried off.

We migrated over to a room nearby that had tables and chairs. The female androids served us beer, which I thought was a great way to end a sporting contest.

After drinking beer, I became uninhibited enough to ask a question that I really didn't want to ask.

"Do you guys have sex with the females?"

They laughed.

"That is our primary function, Jason," Ben told me.

Both of my eyebrows shot up before they returned to normal. "Really? I was not aware of that. Have you had sex with the four human androids?"

"I haven't, but Margaret and Alexa have solicited to be serviced."

I had to think about that for a moment before I said anything else. "So, your main function is to service females?"

"Yes, Jason." He said it as if he were proud of it.

I had to drink more beer.  That revelation surprised me, but when I thought about it, it shouldn't have.

End of Part 7

Thanks for reading.

Part 8 will begin soon.