Planetfurry BBS

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Chapter 13: Freedom

The formal gowns itched; to Kira anyway. They both had to have new ones tailored, Kira's could not be found and Afain's didn't fit anymore. There was one other fact that both of them didn't care for; the hearing was to be held on the space station. Neither liked space travel all that much.

Afain understood that it would be Kira speaking mostly, she hoped that she could sway the council to release the organic. The trip to the station was uneventful, both of them slept through the whole experience.

Now it was time, they stood at the giant doors behind which stood the council's chambers and their fate; they pressed the open command panel, which began to open the great monstrosities. They walked backwards into the room awaiting their titles to be called. They didn't have to wait long.

"Historian #1 Afain and Programmer #2 Kira, enter and be heard." It was the Emperor's booming voice. They turned to greet the 26 standing council members arranged in a half circle; in front of them was a mammoth desk with many chairs.

"Historian #1 Afain and Programmer #2 Kira please be seated." The Emperor announced.
They took their seats with all eyes glaring upon them. Cleo floated behind Afain awaiting any command no matter how small.

There was chatter amongst the counselors until the Emperor rose and motioned for silence. She cleared her throat, "We are here today to come to an agreement for the release of one Organic to Historian #1 Afain and Programmer #2 Kira. A protest has been lodged against this action, it was felt it could be better utilized elsewhere. The report details the uses for this particular Organic and why its intended destination must not be altered. Programmer #2 Kira Do you wish to dispute the report and arguments against this request?"

Kira stood in fright; "No your majesty the arguments are valid." Her voice stammered over the short words that escaped her muzzle. She knew right now by the look on the counselor's faces that they hadn't a chance to get the Organic.

"Understood; the floor is open to the counsel." The Emperor sat down and relaxed while one council member rose and directed a question to Kira.

She was very old and Kira had no idea what part she played in this, "I wish to know your decision as to why this particular organic was the one for this task placed upon you?" The counselor sat back down.

Kira was extremely nervous, never before had she had to defend a decision like this one. She gulped, "Gracious council I will pose a question to you, can anyone of you speak Floorlong?"

There was a mumbling and stirring within the chambers and then silence. Kira took a moment to breathe, "I thought as much, it took our scientists 27 years to get the vocabulary of the Floorlongs correct and that was with their help."

The Floorlongs were a highly evolved species that had settled on one of the northern landmasses of Tarra. Approximately 200 years ago they came, after their world's final end; only a few of them actually survived the trip out into the vast universe to find a new home. The Zargozians allowed them to settle on Tarra; which to the Floorlongs was a blessing. They were strange creatures, their bodies were flat as were all their appendages. They had two eyes one above the other, with no nose to speak of. They had row upon row of razor sharp teeth, which was very intimidating in conversation. Aside from being very ferocious looking, they were peaceful creatures that preferred solitude. It had taken them years to decipher their clicking and squeaks to construct a translator device. From there, smaller and smaller devices were made, you could hardly see them now. Over the years their population had grown, not by a lot but it isn't anywhere near dying out now, a race of beings had been saved and all Floorlongs knew who they had to thank for that.

Kira took a deep breath. "The ship that lies in the hangar is like a Floorlong without a translator. I…"

A councilor spoke out before she could continue on with her speech.

"That is untrue!" Obviously an advocate for them not acquiring the organic. "This ancient ship must have a programming language; we can understand that! There should be no trouble doing this task. You do not need a complex Organic to do this!"

Kira's fur was all on end and her stomach had flipped at least twice already. She sighed, she needed this Organic if there was any chance this was to work. "The minister is correct," she hated to say that for it produced a horrible grin on the counselors face "but only partially." It quickly turned to a scowl.

"It is true, it has a programming language but it is so old and obsolete it has long been lost over time. Organics and computers of a thousand years ago cannot do a portion of what they can do today. It's much like the language of the ancients! We use some of their words but we don't speak the 'true' language." She paused to catch her breath then continued. "We have changed but it, the ship, hasn't. It's still waiting for a call in that Ancient language that we do not speak and have not used in hundreds of years."

Another council member stood and held up her hand for her to stop. "Understood Programmer #2 Kira, you have made your point that there is a huge problem with communication; but why this Organic? Is their not something else suitable?" The council member motioned for her to continue.

"I selected this one for several reasons; one, it is blank and will more likely be co-operative with me."

"Hold." Again the counselor interrupted, "Co-operative? It is a machine, you give commands and it does what it is told; is this not true?"

Under any other circumstances she would not raise this argument with a council member but damn she needed this and she was going to try her hardest to get it.
"No, minister, not with Organics; they must learn like we do, they are living machines and they like to do things their own way. Forcing them to do things differently sometimes presents conflicts, that's why it takes years to program an Organic to fly a starship and it's the main reason in the reports as to why the researchers don't want us to have it." Now the hard truth comes out she thought, this is going to sink us.
"When I program it, it will likely be unresponsive to accept any other protocols or changes to its core systems, making it useless to them afterwards."

This caused a scurry of chatter amongst the counsel, the noise rose to a roar and finally the Emperor stood and it became silent once again.
This time it was the Emperor that had a question, "Programmer #2 Kira after you programmed this Organic what uses would it have afterwards?"

It was a good question, "Most likely it would be a translator of the Ancient text and a record keeper. After that I am unsure, it depends on how well it accepts its new role. It is a machine still but a very intelligent one."

The Emperor remained standing, "And there is a small chance it could resume its original programming or use?"

She had opened the door, it was what the council wanted to hear. That the great machine could be used for its original purpose. But she knew differently, "I must seek my companion's advice." The Emperor nodded and sat back down as Kira turned her attention to Afain.

Afain looked stunned as Kira sat back down. They turned their back on the counsel to talk, "Kira! What is going on? I know nothing of Organics!"
"I know but listen you know politics, the Emperor has just given us a loop hole to hide in."
"What?"
"The council wants assurance they can have this thing back for their mighty Starships."
"Oh, that I gathered from this report." She waved the bound papers that she had been looking over. "What is the problem? We give it back hoping it works for them."
"It isn't that easy, it won't work. Organics are strange creatures once activated. Cleo is an Organic albeit a highly evolved one. One step away from being a new sentient life form. This Organic will never pilot a starship, they will try but the results will be disastrous or in the least not the way they want it to be."

Afain knew Kira's quandary, "I understand now, if you say yes they will grant us the organic on the assumption they will get it back and it will work."
"Precisely and if I say no, the council will vote unanimously against us."


Afain put her brain to the problem, then an idea came to her head. It was a long shot, "May I speak?"
"You have an idea?"
"Yes. It's a long shot though."
"Ok, we are sunk anyway. I cannot tell the counsel that this thing will work when I know it will not. They will hang me out to dry after this is over and I'll be posted to some off world colony no one has ever heard of."
"I'll be there so I'll know." She smiled and Kira grinned as she squeezed her paw gently. "Let me try." Kira nodded. She turned and stood. "I would like to speak?"

"You may address the council Historian #1 Afain." The Emperor raised an eyebrow knowing that Afain was not an expert in programming, her background showed no interest in the subject. It would be interesting to hear what she had to say.

"Members of the council I wish to remind you that if we fail to communicate directly to this old craft it is likely to become hostile. Its codes will change and we won't be able to do anything with it. It could assume it is in enemy hands and most likely start destroying and killing innocent citizens."

This brought a mumbling throughout the counsel members but Afain continued; although she raised her voice a notch, "Furthermore, it is leaking enough radiation now to cause harm to those around it; think of what would happen if it self-destructed! The old core of the ship if this has been compromised as we think it has, self destruction would result in not only the destruction of the ship but possibly a significant portion of the planet's surface will be destroyed. Unfortunately it wasn't discovered until it was already on the planet and it is now impossible to move it. Not quite true she thought but how will they know.

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I believe we have to use the best of our technology to accomplish this task. We have to allow no possibility of failure to occur!" Her voice rang out powerfully throughout the large chamber. Kira was impressed to the point that emotions began to stir within her; it took a lot of courage to stand up to the council.
"I am not guaranteeing that we will be successful but we would have had the best our world has to offer; I would not like to attempt this with anything less than that! We have an opportunity to reclaim our past with the memory core from this ship. It would fill the blanks in our history caused by countless wars and calamity. To lose this treasure trove of history because we were afraid of using a tool would be a great tragedy. This great hall would never have been built if the stone workers were afraid to damage their tools, nothing great would ever been accomplished without risking a tool. That ship has more historical knowledge recorded just in it's entertainment unit than all the Historians in the Empire combined, To lose this opportunity because we were … cheap… will haunt your children's children forever and would be as great a tragedy as the burning of the library on Thello IV or the War of Ascension. Thank you for listening to my plea." She bowed her head and sat down again.

The rumbling continued throughout the council members, it was obvious that they had not considered the possibility of failure and what its consequences would be if they indeed failed.

Kira took Afain's paw and gently squeezed it; she was very proud of her. She had done what she couldn't accomplish; she had made them think again. There was no hope a few moments ago and now there was at least some. Afain's speech had gotten them stirred for sure.

The emperor motioned for silence and the council became silent. "Historian #1 Afain you have pointed out details to this council and myself that have not been considered. We ask that you wait outside while we debate these new issues."

They both stood and walked out, Kira could hardly contain herself and hugged Afain being ever so careful as not to harm her. "That was brilliant Afain, I never thought of doing it that way."

Afain smiled; "It occurred to me that they were more worried about getting it back, than realizing the things that could go horribly wrong if we failed."
"You are right Afain if we had a lesser organic I'm sure your conclusions would come true but with this one I'm sure I can break the seal." She hugged Afain again. "Of course you know the core going critical is about as likely as me sprouting another head, right?"
"I had a feeling I was spreading things rather thin. You can thank me later, in bed." She said as she looked deeply into Kira's eyes.
"You bet I can." She nuzzled the side of her face. "You think they have been turned?
"I know so, I saw the look of terror when you told them the ship could self-destruct, it wasn't pretty. I was watching closely for a reaction; that statement alone got a big one."

It took a little while but soon a guard came to tell them to enter into the council chamber once again. Everyone was quiet as they took their seats.

The Emperor stood, "Historian #1 Afain and Programmer #2 Kira, you have presented an excellent argument as to why you should have the Organic. Your motion is accepted; it will be delivered to you anywhere of your choice. Contact Minister Garan as to where and when you will need it." They both stood in amazement, they had won, they said their thanks to the counsel then bid them farewell. As they left realization sank in and they were more than a bit shaken; maybe it wasn't wise to open Pandora's box after all.

They went and celebrated, it was a big victory for sure, one more step closer to opening that ship. They ate and drank, well Kira drank Afain had a lovely fruit punch.
"So what do you have to do first with it?" Afain said as she munched on some petriah leaves.
"Oh that's easy, make it aware of its environment; tell it things it really needs to know. It's like when you are young, everything is new. It has to learn right from wrong and other vital things; there are special programs for that, some are of my own design."
"Really?"
"Yes, I rewrote some years ago; it helped make a lot of transformations easier. With some Organics, you can erase them but it is traumatic so I rewrote and modified the rewrite program. It has been very successful in repairing damaged Organics."
"I didn't know that, it sounds like a very compassionate thing to do." She liked the fact that she had made something to help others.
"Well at the time it was a job, but now I look back it was a good project to be associated with."


A few days later:

The Organic arrived and was put in an empty room with windows that had been shuttered; the only light source was the slight glow from the Organic's metallic shell. A technician accompanied the organic, its building code was A1EX. Kira quizzed the technician with many questions and hours passed as their conversations grew; finally she told her she had enough information.
"I am to stay with the unit for activation." She replied.
"That won't be necessary," Kira said, "you're dismissed."
"That was not in the plan, I was to be here for its activation."
"Sorry you can't be."

The technician stepped out in front of her, "I am sorry but I will be here for its activation! I will not leave." Her voice was stern and she wasn't about to give up any time soon.

Kira was impressed with the dedication of the technician but she wasn't going to be there when this Organic was imprinted. "You don't understand, you don't have a choice in this." She tried to explain but she was getting nowhere.
"I'm sorry but that is not permissible!" The technician pulled out a weapon and aimed it at Kira.
Kira looked in terror at the weapon pointed at her.

Afain had heard the argument and came to investigate. Seeing the weapon, she ordered Cleo to immediately to stun the technician! Cleo glowed and the technician fell to the floor with a thud.

"Thanks for the save, Afain, she was pretty determined. Good and loyal to the Emperor; a bit misguided in this transaction however."

Afain bent down and gently felt her pulse. "She's ok, let's put her on the couch, to make her more comfortable." They gently put the technician on the couch. "I overheard something about imprinting? Why was she so insistent on being here when it was activated?"

Kira smiled, "I'm not surprised that you don't know about this part of an Organics life. It is unknown to most, when the first activation occurs they imprint on the individuals that are there."
"Now that is interesting." That stirred a memory, "Kira can this be done by touch?"
"Yes that is more of a bonding process but it is essentially the same thing. Why?"
"I was told to touch Cleo with my paw when the Emperor first gave it to me."

That was unusual; Kira's mind searched for an answer but didn't come up with any. "All I can think is that Cleo could be bonded to you, you may want to talk with Cleo about that."
Afain sighed, not another problem.

"To get back to your original question, the Emperor and several high level engineers are usually there when this is performed. It's done as a fail-safe if anything goes wrong there will always be someone to shut it down."
"But then we should have let her stay."
"No, she would have instantly prioritized commands, ones that would insure that the scientists did get the Organic back. I didn't want it limited to what it can do, I may have to push this one a lot and I don't want sub commands in the way."
"Ah…I understand." She did and she didn't but it didn't matter, she wasn't to be involved in this process anyway.

"It doesn't matter much anyway, the Emperor and Minister Garan should be arriving soon."
"The Emperor is coming here?"
"Yes soon now."
Afain's eyes were wide with panic, "Kira the place is a mess."
"Don't worry Afain, their not here to see the house; it was hers to begin with."
'Don't worry' she says. Afain gave Kira an evil look.
Kira watched as Afain took off ordering the cleaning robots out. She frantically began to pick up things and in her mind she could not get over how sexy she looked.

The Emperor arrived in her private transport; she stood out on the landing pad looking out onto the beach far below them into the distance. "Always loved this view Garan."
"Yes your Majesty," Garan said politely, mountains were more her idea of tranquility; but to each their own.
"Do you think the ship will have the information we seek Garan?"
"Your scholars have only found bits of the puzzle, your majesty, but the ship may contain records that are more complete, if nothing has damaged them."

The Emperor was quiet for a long time, watching the tranquil scene, "I've put a lot of faith in these two, Garan, they'd better succeed or they'll wish they had died."

As always, she agreed with her Majesty but swallowed hard knowing some of what was to be their fate if they failed. She did not always agree with her Majesty and this was one of those times. Afain and Kira had done a lot of work for the Emperor, much more than most; they were dedicated to the cause. To her it was more than enough, for the Emperor, it didn't seem that way.

The Emperor entered into the house, announced by Minister Garan. Afain and Kira rushed to greet her.

"Your Majesty, welcome to my current home." Afain said as both of them bowed.
She smiled, "I'm glad you like it Afain, it will be a lovely place to raise young ones."
"Your Majesty?"
The Emperor at first didn't understand then it came to her, "Afain…surely you didn't think I would take this all away from both of you when your task is complete?"
"I thought…"
"Don't think anymore of it, this is your home for now and forever."
"Thank you, your Majesty." She smiled brightly knowing now this was her home; for real.

"Now it seems we must be witness to a birth, is all ready Kira?"
"Yes your Majesty but may I ask if you would listen to a proposition I have?"
She raised an eyebrow, "Speak Kira."

Kira cleared her throat, "Organics are one step away from becoming life, I mean living creatures of sentience. But they are restricted to evolve by the laws we put upon them. Therefore they will never reach their full potential, I'm sure you have heard of the term 'corpse'."

The Emperor nodded, "Yes, it describes an Organic whose upper functions no longer perform; the machine is alive but it no longer functions or is considered to be an Organic. They become expensive computers."

"Yes exactly! It takes a very long time but I have researched this phenomenon and I have concluded that they take their own lives."

The Emperor was very impressed, other scientists had taken years to discover this. It was the main reason Cleo was developed, they had hoped that it would evolve into a new type of Organic. A new type of being that they could live in harmony with. "So what are you proposing?"
"I want to drop one of the main commands from the start up."
"Which one?"
"Directive 804, it prevents the organic from exploring its own consciousness and therefore it limits its decision making."

The Emperor held up her paw to indicate Kira to stop. The Emperor was astounded, this finding had taken years to deduce and now a simple programmer had found out one of the Empires deepest secrets. There was a deep silence for a few moments.
"Your Majesty?" Kira inquired.
The Emperor regained her composure and spoke, "I think we better have a talk before we go any further."
"Certainly, your Majesty," Kira said. "If you will follow me, I will take you to the living area where we can do that." She rounded the corner and the technician who was confined in the room by one of Cleo's remotes startled her.

"There you are! You let me out of here, when the Emperor hears of this…" The tailing end of her sentence could hardly be heard as the Emperor appeared right behind Kira. She stammered, "Your Majesty my apologies to you," She choked the words out.
"Understood." The Emperor answered wondering as to why this person was being detained as such.

Afain ordered Cleo to lower the force shield and to recall its drone.
The Technician then began to explain herself, "Your majesty I was instructed to stay with the unit, I…"

She didn't get to finish for the Emperor had motioned for her silence, "You will wait outside and call for a transport, understood? This is no longer your concern."
"Yes, your eminence."
"Good, now go." The technician went grudgingly but soon was out of sight. "Now it seems we can relax and talk. Afain have Cleo shield us from any eavesdropping."
"Yes Madame, Cleo you heard the Emperor."
"It is done Afain." Cleo responded.
"I like the name you chose for it, Afain, it is elegant."
"Thank you, Madame, I like it as well and I believe Cleo does too." Afain looked at the sphere and could have sworn it glowed.

They settled and enjoyed a few drinks before the main conversation got going, it should be anything but boring Afain thought.

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The Emperor started, "Well I will have to commend you on your research Kira, it is most impressive and all too accurate." Kira sat stunned, she had a feeling that her theory was true to some extent but from the tone of the Emperor it didn't sound good. "It has been a secret of the counsel for some time now. Our latest casualty was one of the largest Star destroyers we have. It is now stranded out on the far reaches of Kendor, it will have to be towed home. It was a catastrophic failure and many lost their lives. We are not sure what exactly we can do but some precautions are in place and many experiments are in the works, Cleo being one of them." She gently made a paw gesture towards it.

This stunned Afain, "I don't understand, Cleo?"
"Yes, Afain, your guardian has been given almost free rein of its own programming, it has very few restrictions placed upon it. We wanted to see how it develops and grows as an organic. The other was to be the same but you requested it. If it hadn't been for that you would have had it the minute you requested it."
"I now see why they wanted it back so badly." Kira said.
"Precisely, we were hoping that a lower Organic would do. Afain put us all in our own places when she told us of the consequences of failure; it was well played."
Afain didn't know the other side of the story, now that she knew she was sorry, "Madame I..."

Guessing what she was about to say the Emperor motioned for Afain to stop. "Afain you spoke the truth, it is imperative we talk to that ship and explore what is contained within. Do not apologize for being right."
"So now what do we do with Alex?" Kira said.
"Alex?" The Emperor inquired.

Afain spoke up, "I was happy with the way Cleo took to its name so we came up with Alex for the new one."
"Its building code was very similar so it seemed natural to call it that." Kira chimed in.
"Brilliant, what a wonderful idea giving it an identity. Good work Kira, this will only enhance its individuality."
"So what happens to this immense project if it succeeds?", Kira inquired.
"We hope these new individual Organics will enjoy their new freedoms; to join us in a symbiotic relationship; like the Floorlongs. We hope these new life forms will explore and become more than they were designed to be."
"It sounds like a noble quest." Afain said.

It was maybe an impossible one as well, the Emperor thought. "Yes, we are hoping it will succeed, otherwise major changes will have to be made in the way we travel through space and colonize worlds."

Afain didn't realize the situation was so bad, but it seems that out of this endeavor there may be salvation on two fronts. "So, what is the plan for Alex tonight?" Afain looked at the time, it was going by too quickly and if they were going to do something they better start soon.

"Yes, it's best we start, first I need the biomap transferred here, it was used to create Cleo. It will serve as a building block from which everything else will build onto."

Kira would have really liked to know what it was they were actually programming into Alex but she wasn't sure if the Emperor would let her see it. She thought it was worth a try, "If I may ask Majesty…," she didn't get to finish.
"You want to see this code, am I correct?"
"Yes Madame."
"As a programmer and a curious individual, I understand. Yes you may study the code our scientists and programmers have worked so very hard on. Now that I have seen you in action I should have had you on that team as well." She sighed, "You have a down loader?"

"Yes but it is still not online, there is a problem with the communications network in this area."

"You have notified them of the problems?"

She sighed, how do you tell your Emperor that you got the royal run around even stating that she had priority and the blessing of the Emperor herself? The Zargozian on the other side laughed at that, she remembered the cackle. "They said they had other priorities and to be patient."

Kira knew right away that this didn't please her one bit; immediately she told Garan to get whoever was in charge of this mess. She nodded and turned on the vid screen.
The Emperor left her to go and find the facilities.

When she returned Garan had an image on the large vid screen. The image was horribly distorted fading in out of focus but you could still see how nervous the Zargozian was.

The Emperor began to address this person, "Who am I speaking with?"
The citizen cleared her throat, "Communications officer #3 Cykate, your Majesty."
"All right communications officer #3 Cykate, a request from this locality with my seal upon it was denied, why?"

She obviously knew nothing about this, Kira and Afain saw. "I don't know your Majesty."
"Then I suggest you find out, whoever took this call is to be sent to me. Then you will find your replacement posthaste. But right now I want a crew sent to this location to find out what is wrong here, is that understood?"
For someone who just lost her job, she didn't look so good. "Yes your Majesty."
"End transmission." The screen went dead. "There, communication should be restored shortly."

Before too long a technician came to the door and personally told them the problem with communication had now been fixed. Kira downloaded the code and studied it carefully, it was masterfully constructed, intricate in its design with main focus on key databases, learning and experimentation. Free rein was given to apply new ideas upon itself, an interesting concept; the last and final thing she saw was a secret kill orders. This command could only be implemented at its first waking, once active the entity would be destroyed with no choice in the matter. It was a backup plan if something went horribly wrong.

Kira returned to the others to present her findings, she was impressed. "Your majesty it is indeed a new order and will give the new organic plenty of freedom to seek out itself. I do also understand your need for a kill command." She paused before she gave the bad news, "You do know that the barriers surrounding it won't hold?"
The Emperor was a bit taken aback, "They said they would."
"I'm afraid not your majesty, if I may speak freely?"
"You may."
"The Organic will be aware of it the moment it awakens, it will be a part of it that it cannot access and this I feel will change it from that moment on."
"So you feel we shouldn't have it?" She answered.
"No your Majesty, the idea is sound but I think we should give it access. Allow it to know all, there is nothing hidden although it won't be able to counter your orders. It's in knowing that it can be terminated at any time that it may act differently."

The Emperor thought about it for a few moments. "I've now heard both sides of this argument there were a couple of scientists who had the same idea as you but they were overruled. There are strong points for both sides but I am convinced that you are correct Kira." She smiled, it was what she hoped. You have permission to remove the codes from the program as well as Cleo's.

"I'll do that right away."

The process was long but Cleo's scripts went faster because the proper codes allowed Cleo to remove the barrier itself. "I am ready, your majesty."
"Then proceed." Kira led the way to where Alex resided then she loaded up the program into the system. "It will activate on your command, Madame." She then turned to leave the Emperor and Garan alone with the organic.
"Where are you going?" The Emperor asked.
You are doing the initial start up, we are not permitted to..." She didn't get to finish her sentence.

"You and Afain will sit and be monitors for Alex." They both nodded and sat beside the Emperor; they were about to witness the birth.

It glowed and it didn't do much for some time, it finally did a scan of the room and its voice centers clicked and then a mechanical voice sounded throughout the small room.
DIAGNOSES COMPLETE. PRIME COMMAND INSTRUCTIONS INITIATED, AWAITING DATA.
The Emperor was first to speak, of course, "Emperor Caldor of the 9th Dynasty Prime command one."

"ACKNOWLEDGED."

"Minister Garan 9th Dynasty Prime command two."

"ACKNOWLEDGED."

It was now Kira's turn, "Programmer #2 Kira 9th Dynasty Prime command three."

"ACKNOWLEDGED."

"Historian #1 Afain of the 9th Dynasty Prime command four."

"ACKNOWLEDGED."

"Close and seal by the command of Emperor Caldor of the 9th Dynasty."

"CLOSED AND SEALED, ACKNOWLEDGED."

It remained quiet for a short time then they all got up and left the room. "It's all yours Kira, you won't have need of me anymore."
"Thank you Madame for coming." Afain was proud she was here, to have the Emperor in your own home was an honor. "Would you like to stay for dinner? It would be no trouble," Afain asked as nicely as she could; hoping that she would say yes.

The Emperor smiled at her, "I believe that since every thing else is done and I find this place very comfortable, I think I will."

Afain was extremely pleased that the Emperor was going to stay. "Is there anything you would prefer? What we have to offer may be but simple fare compared to the palace."

"Surprise me Afain, both of my meals are made up far in advance, this will be a change for me. Besides, I know how well stocked my residences are. I thank you for sharing your company with me."
"You are most welcome Madame." She went straight to the kitchen followed closely by Kira. When they got into the kitchen Kira confronted Afain.

"Are you nuts, inviting them to stay!"

"Why do you ask?" Afain said obviously hurt by Kira 's remark.
"It's the Emperor, she feeds her pet gwavics (cats) better food than we have… Besides, what are we going to talk to them about?"
"History."
"You're joking!" Kira said, not impressed.
"The Emperor has studied history and I was hoping to pick her brain a bit to see exactly how much she knew of the 2nd Dynasty."
Not a bad idea, Kira thought. "Ok let me help out. What were you going to make?"
"Miraposa loaf and before you say anything remember this was her house and it was provisioned with her food, besides I have it on good authority they both love Miraposa." She glanced at Cleo and winked.
"Oh I love that, excellent choice. Where do we start?"

The meal was a complete success and the conversation even more. Afain and Kira learned that the Emperor knew quite a bit of history. She hoped that the old ship contained the data from several generations. They also learned the radiation would be cleaned up totally within the year.

Kira had thought it would take them that long to teach Alex the Ancient's language. She explained their progress in their own studies of the ancient language. The Emperor seemed pleased with their results.

She also explained that a colony Organic had also failed about the same time as the great star destroyer. They were all hoping to see some progress in the new Organics so they could go ahead and start on another great ship but for the moment all Organic project development had been put on hold.

As afternoon turned into late into evening, the Emperor noticed the time and commented on how late it was. "It has been a wonderful evening Afain but it is time for me to retire. Thank you for your hospitality. I had a wonderful time and I always enjoy bringing a new Organic into the world."
"Thank you your Majesty."
"That miraposa loaf was delicious."
Afain's fur ruffled, "Thank you, it's my own recipe."
"We will have to do this again Afain." The Emperor smiled for she truly enjoyed herself thoroughly.
"I too had a wonderful time Afain, Kira." Spoke Minister Garan, "it's been awhile since I've looked back on things."
"It was good to have both of you here." Afain started forward but stopped and grabbed her abdomen.
"Afain!!!" Kira said in panic.
"It's ok Kira, seems my little ones are restless tonight."
"Are you sure?" Garan questioned, "I can have a medical team here immediately."
"No I'll be fine Minister it was kind of you to ask."
"Call anyway." The Emperor said, "Send a physician out here just to be sure."
"Yes your Majesty." Minister Garan began to call immediately before Afain could say anything in protest.

Afain sighed, "You got me into this, you nasty little trouble makers," she said quietly under her breath as she awaited the arrival of the physician which wasn't long at all.

The physician found the hatchlings very active. "What did you have for dinner?" She asked.
"Miraposa loaf."
"Its ingredients?"

She named them off and when she hit callergist root she stopped her. "There's your problem, it's causing a sharp rise in your algrion levels. It's not much and you are in no danger, but it's like an itch to the hatchlings they want to try and scratch but they can't." She smiled and got an injection gun out of her bag. "This should put things back to rights." She injected Afain and waited.
Quickly a smile came to Afain's face, "Their settling."
"Thought that would do it. "You'll have to cross miraposa loaf off your list for a little while."
"Thank you physician #3."
"You're welcome, now anyone else feeling unwell?"

Everyone shook their heads, "Then I'll be going I have things to do. Have a good evening your Majesty and Minister," she bowed out and was gone.
"I'm glad you're feeling better." The Emperor said.
"Thank you Madame."
"I think we'll depart now, Garan ready the transport."
"Yes ma'am, thank you for your hospitality Afain be well." Minister Garan then left them promptly.

"Yes Afain, I really enjoyed myself tonight, we ought to do it again sometime soon."
"I look forward to it."
"Then goodnight to both of you." The Emperor proceeded to her transport.

Afain and Kira both watched as they departed, "That was a fun evening", Afain commented.
"I'll have to admit it was but I am really tired."
"What about the Organic?" Afain said.
"It will be going through its initial Programming then shutdown. It will be ready to talk to me in the morning."
"Sounds good, then let's head for bed. Cleo, shut down the house, we're going to bed."
"Sleep well Afain, Kira." Cleo said.
"We will try." As they walked and got out of hearing range Kira spoke, "It's never done that before."
"I know, it's learning very quickly."

The morning came too early for Afain, she felt bloated and needed to relieve herself immediately. She looked around but found no sign of Kira. Probably talking with Alex, she thought, so much for seeing her anytime soon.

After she made her way to the kitchen and started on some breakfast. Although late in the afternoon, it seemed time had passed her by. As she ate, Kira came storming into the kitchen. She looked really out of sorts. "I take it things are not progressing well?" Afain grimaced.

"That would be an understatement." Kira sighed, "It hates me and is deliberately aggravating me."
"What is it doing?"
"It doesn't want to learn something ancient and backwards, it already can do it a million times faster. So it's being stubborn."

"Have you explained why?"

Kira looked Afain, "What?"

"Have you told it its end goal?"

"No I didn't."

"It might function better if it knew why it had to think in this manner."

A light went off in Kira skull. "Afain you're a genius you should have been a Programmer." She jumped up and kissed Afain then ran back to the room that housed the organic.

"Well that went well." Afain said to herself.

Mercy Hospital: Dr. Blitzen's Office.

The knock was loud at the door, 'Early' she thought. "Come." Dr. Blitzen said in a light but friendly voice. A head poked its way through the open crack. "Sarah good to see you come in… come in."
"Hi Donna." The lioness said.
"Hi, let me just make this one call then we can talk."
"Sure." Sara watched as Dr. Blitzen made the quick call.
"Now we can talk." Sarah smiled. "I just finished reading your report on Heather and it looks good."
"Yes, Heather has improved greatly since she first arrived. It's been hard on her physically and emotionally, if she didn't have that fiancé of hers I think she would be a lot farther behind. He was instrumental in her recovery." She smiled.
"I believe you're right, I have had several very pleasant conversations with Hector and he is so right for Heather."
Sarah knew where this was leading, "Then I take it you're going ahead with my recommendations."
"Yes, you have made good progress and with a twice a week visit I think we can help her improve even more. It's time for her to join the furry race once again."
"She'll be thrilled to hear this news."
"That I'm sure. Now I'll have to tell the parents, although I'm going to like telling this news."
They both smiled, this was a pivotal point in Heather's recovery and she had traveled the worst of it. Only the best parts were waiting for her now.

End Of Chapter 13

Working…

So, does Cleo come with a snazzy automatic cup holders?

[Bearion]

Well played, Cheetar. An excellent Afain chapter. More important details about the Organics.

.................more, please!

(yes, I'm insatiable!)