Authors: Kylie James
Chapter
Two:
Rorak
Deidre
sighed and looked up at the sleek, white, commercial spaceship. Although the spaceship
looked beautiful from the outside, Deidre knew it was an illusion. The ship was
disguised as a standard commercial intergalactic flight, but it was actually
for military purposes. That meant that the inside of the ship was cramped,
uncomfortable, and even smelly. It was apparent that intergalactic military
personnel were too worried about saving the planet to ever take showers.
“Rorak,
here I come,” she grumbled before taking the short escalator up onto the
spaceship.
As soon
as she reached the top of the flight, she stepped onto the floor and put on her
biggest, most fake smile that she could muster. It was a fairly standard demand
for her job. She fixed her fashionable, edgy 3D-printed skirt and waltzed down
the aluminum-floored center aisle. Several intergalactic soldiers looked up at
her as she passed through, and a small number of them cat-called her in their
own languages. Deidre made a face, but managed to keep her composure in front
of the passengers.
“Hello,
everyone. My name is Deidre and I will be flying with you today. I would like
to give you a warm welcome to Vogma'at Intergalactic Airport and thank you for
flying with us. This is a military-only flight,” she said, clasping her hands
behind her back and speaking in front of all of the passengers. “By
intergalactic law regarding the safety of passengers traveling to dangerous,
uninhabitable planets, I am required to ask you all a few questions, so I would
appreciate everyone's attention.”
Several
foreigners made strange noises that Deidre did not understand, but she cleared
her throat and looked around the audience for anyone that was not paying
attention. Unfortunately, she was responsible for anyone aboard the flight that
did not have clearance to go to the dangerous planet. It was her job to assure
any accidental passengers got off the spaceship.
“We are
about to embark on a long journey to the planet Rorak. If you have not learned
much about Rorak, I would like you to know that it is a planet that reaches
Level 6 on the Horgot Scale, which is how we measure toxicity. To put that into
simpler terms, it is the sixth of ten levels of toxicity in the air. That is
relatively high, considering anywhere past Level 9 is not permitted for
anyone
to travel to. Does anyone have any questions regarding the planet's toxicity,
before I move on?” Deidre asked, looking around the space-flight.
A sea
of blinking eyes of all different kinds stared back at her and she sighed.
“Perfect.
Now, I have to ask the most
important
question so play pay attention,” she
continued. “Everyone here has military clearance to be aboard this spaceship,
yes? Please raise your hand—or tentacle—if you are
not
in the military.”
Everyone
continued to stare at her, blankly. She only hoped that they were listening,
because she did not want to be responsible for their ignorance. With a sigh,
she wondered if Maleeq's flight had been any better than hers.
“I have
two more things to address, so bear with me,” she continued. “Does anyone here
have any serious allergies?”
One
tentacle raised in the air and Deidre sighed.
“Yes,
the woman in back?” she asked, pointing to the yellow-tentacled woman.
“I'm
lactose intolerant,” the alien woman replied.
Deidre
closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.
“Okay,
that is good to know. That shouldn't affect you,” she said. “I have one more
question for everyone. Does anyone have any medical concerns regarding their
lungs or blood pressure?”
Nobody
raised their hand, so Deidre let out a relieved sigh.
“Please
enjoy your ride to the New Rorak City Intergalactic Air Base.”
*****
The air
reeked like old garbage and Deidre plugged her nose. The short flight was
fairly successful and everyone got off the flight very quickly. Unfortunately,
she had to wait for her flight back to Earth for over two hours. She had no
desire to spend all of her time on the military base, but she did not have any
other option.
Deidre
ordered some food and found a seat in front of an Americanized Roraki fast food
restaurant called Gooburger. She sighed and took a sip from her cherry-flavored
soda before flicking her wristlet-phone to check the time. Once she realized
she was stuck on the godforsaken planet for another two hours, she pressed the
power button and blew air from the corner of her mouth. As she tapped her
fingers on the hover-table, she practiced holding her breath to deter what she
referred to as “the Rorak Stench.”
Suddenly,
Deidre heard a buzzing noise and frowned. She furrowed her brow and turned to
come face-to-face with a sleek, fuchsia-colored robot. Her eyes widened in
surprise, and she raised an eyebrow.
“Can I
help you?” she asked before taking a long sip of her soda.
“Hello,
Deidre Splan. My name is CAMI, short for Computerized Animatronic with Manlike
Intelligence. How are you doing today, madam?” the robot asked.
Deidre
raised a skeptical eyebrow. She never cared for strange robots addressing her
unless they were service bots. CAMI, certainly, was for personal use, or was
one of the few self-aware bots that were granted full intergalactic
recognition. Either way, the robot or her owner had a motive.
“Nice
to meet you, CAMI. I'm doing well. Thanks for asking. Why do you ask?”
CAMI
shifted and scratched her metal forehead. Deidre chuckled; it was a strange
animation because CAMI certainly could not have felt her forehead at all.
Deidre still was unsure whether CAMI was a robot with a very high IQ or if she
was simply a novelty. She wanted to see what the robot could really do.
Besides, it was the only entertainment she had for the next couple of hours.
“I am
fine, thank you. I ask because my owner is too much of a coward to come talk to
you himself. I was also instructed to bring you flowers, but there is not a
florist nearby. I apologize for the inconvenience,” CAMI replied.
Deidre
blushed and chuckled. She started peering around the immediate area, out of
curiosity. She wanted to know who her secret admirer was.
“CAMI,
who exactly is your owner?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“His
name is Cronus, and he is a decorated war hero from the planet, Forbadia. As I
said, he is a coward. I do not know why, considering he has faced many
terrifying situations, according to my computations,” CAMI said. “Would you
like to know more about Cronus?”
Deidre
raised an eyebrow. She was certainly curious who was sending his robot to flirt
with her; it was one of the sweetest things someone had ever done for her. In
fact, it officially made it her best trip to Rorak ever.
“I
would,” Deidre said. “Can you pull up a picture of him on your holographic
interface?”
“One
moment please,” CAMI said.
Deidre
chewed on her lip as she waited for CAMI. Forbadians were some of the most
beautiful aliens within several galaxies. She was astonished that one would
take interest in her, as they tended to date within their own race.
“I have
found four-hundred and thirty-seven images featuring my owner, Cronus. Would
you like to open all of them?” CAMI asked.
“Open
one at random,” Deidre ordered.
“One
moment please.”
Suddenly,
an image of a strong-jawed, bright blue-eyed Forbadian loaded upon the screen.
Deidre's eyes widened. He looked like a Viking from one of her Earth History
books. He was muscular and ravishing. Deidre found it flattering such an
attractive man would even look twice at her. She began to blush.
“
This
is Cronus?” she asked, incredulously. “Load another image, please.”
“One
moment please.”
Another
image popped up on the screen and Deidre blushed. He did not have a shirt on in
the photograph, and she could not hide the fact that she found him quite
attractive. CAMI shifted and turned off her holographic interface.
“Are
you satisfied with his appearance?” CAMI asked.
“Quite,”
Deidre admitted. “Can you please ask Cronus to come talk to me himself?”
“I can
ask him. My owner is shy,” CAMI replied. “Intergalactic warfare has caused him
to spend a lot of time alone. He does not know how to talk to women. That is
why he made me. I am the only company that does not judge him.”
“Don't
you think Cronus should be telling me all this?” Deidre asked, amused.
“I will
go fetch him for you,” CAMI said. “I cannot promise he will have the courage to
speak to you. Did I mention that he is a coward?”
Deidre
laughed. The robot had been programmed to have a very snippy personality, and
she liked it. There were not very many social robots she liked, but CAMI had
interested her. However, she was much more interested in Cronus.
“You
did,” Deidre said. “Can you bring him to me?”
“Okay.
I will return as soon as he stops being a coward. It may be a few days,” CAMI
said, rolling away in the opposite direction.
Deidre
laughed as hard as she possibly could. The robot was hilarious. She then had an
idea, and got to her feet. Quietly, she tip-toed behind the robot, but CAMI
stopped and turned around to face her.
“What
are you doing? Cronus will not allow me to return to him if you follow me,”
CAMI said. “Go back to your seat and wait like a lady.”
Deidre
frowned.
“Well,
that's a little rude, isn't it?” she asked.
“I
cannot help it. It is in my programming,” CAMI retorted. “Please, return to
your seat, madam. You will meet Cronus soon.”
Deidre
sighed and walked back to her seat. She did not want to have to wait. Part of
her worried that Cronus would never work up the courage to go talk to her
himself.
“Do you
promise he'll come talk to me?” she called after CAMI.
The
robot did not reply.
*****
An hour
and a half had passed, and Deidre was still impatiently tapping her fingers
against the tabletop. She checked the time on her wristlet-phone and then
sighed. Cronus was nowhere to be found, and CAMI had not returned even once to
let her down easily. Deidre was beginning to think that CAMI was some sort of
scam bot. The very thought made her angry.
A
custodial bot rolled down the hall and mopped up a dirty spot on the floor.
Deidre rolled her eyes. She did not understand why they bothered to make
custodial bots on a planet that reeked of garbage. However, seeing the bot gave
her a quick idea.
“Hey!”
Deidre hissed. “Psst!”
The
service bot turned around to face her.
“Me,
ma'am?” the bot asked, confusedly.
People
did not often speak to custodial bots, so Deidre understood why he was so
confused.
“Yes,
you! Come here!”
The
custodial bot rolled towards her, a mop still in his hand.
“What
do you need me for, madam? Did you spill something?” the bot asked.
“I
didn't spill anything, no,” Deidre replied. “I need you to do me a favor. Can
you do me a favor? I need it done fast.”
“I can
try, madam. What do you need me to do?”
“There
is a fuchsia robot named CAMI that was around here a couple of hours ago. Do
you think you could find her and see if she is with a Forbadian named Cronus?”
Deidre asked in one last desperate attempt to meet her alleged secret admirer.
“I have
not met anyone named CAMI, but I will do my best,” the robot replied.
It then
began to roll away and Deidre hissed at it once more. The bot turned around to
face her, wondering what else the strange woman wanted.
“What
is it, madam?”
“Can
you make sure Cronus is a real person even if she isn't with him?” Deidre
asked. “I don't want to get catfished.”
“I will
do my best, madam.”
With
that, the custodial bot rolled away and Deidre took a deep, nervous breath
before checking her watch once more. The robot only had fifteen short minutes
to find Cronus and return to her with him. Deidre had not been on a date in a
long time, so she really hoped that he would find the courage to talk to her if
he was real. If he was not, she planned on confronting CAMI herself. She did
not like scam bots, not that anybody ever did.
She
tapped her fingers on the hovering tabletop and waited for the custodial bot to
return. Every few minutes, she checked her wristlet-phone. It did not take long
before she realized she would have to leave the planet without meeting her
secret admirer. With a sad sigh, she made her way back to the hangar.
“So
much for love,” she murmured to herself.