Annihilation: Book 05 - Searcher by Saxon Andrew Page B

possible,” the Algean got out between his chuckling.
     
    Matt took a deep breath, “What do we call you?”
     
    “I’m still an adolescent so I have not been given an official name by my leaders. You may call me whatever you want.”
     
    “Who are your parents?”
     
    “I am a seed of Sprig and Twig.”
     
    “Holy crap,” Al and Matt thought together.
     
    Matt paused and said, “That means you have all of the memories of your parents; both your parents. I am impressed.” Matt leaned back in his chair and thought, “We are going to call you Stem.”
     
    The Algean’s thoughts showed his approval. “I accept. It’s a good name. Thank you.”
     
    “Why did you choose the two ships for your experiment?”
     
    “Hey, who you calling an experiment?”
     
    Matt smiled and thought, “I thought you only responded when asked a question.”
     
    “That was then, this is now.”
     
    “I’m afraid your computer is right, Mr. Gardner. Unlike other ships, this computer will develop skills that will make him somewhat more autonomous than others. I’m here to see how he develops and see if that autonomy interferes with your use of the ship or enhances it.”
     
    “I’ll behave; please don’t turn me off.’
     
    Matt smiled and said, “I actually like you the way you are, Al. You are the one that saved the Gresh fleet from destruction. Thanks for your help in avoiding the loss of life.”
     
    “Don’t mention it.”
     
    “I think that you need to call me Magic instead of Mr. Gardner, Stem.”
     
    “Magic it is. You can tell me why later; right now you have a task ahead of you, don’t you?”
     
    “Yes, it seems the Gresh were planning to invade all eight planets that were trading partners. The other Searchers found fleets headed toward the other six planets and turned them around. One of those fleets had a third of it destroyed before the Gresh High command recalled the others. I think a trip to the Gresh home world is called for and I was trying to decide whether or not to call in some of our defender ships to get their attention.”
     
    The Algean thought a moment, “I think the size of those ships would certainly get their attention, however, sometimes they need to know they stand no chance. If they could not withstand one of our small ships, then they should get the message about our larger classes. By the way, you know that an Alpha ship can defeat any ship in the Realm’s Navy.”
     
    Matt paused a moment, “No, I didn’t know that. I assumed that the larger ships were also endowed with greater weapons.”
     
    “Only the Alphas have all of our systems built in and only one of them has every system.”
     
    Matt waited and didn’t want to ask but he felt he should know. “What ship is that?”
     
    “You’re standing on it, buddy,” Al answered. “I wondered what all this stuff was that isn’t listed in the ships manuals.”
     
    Matt then asked the question he wasn’t sure he wanted an answer, “Why was I selected to command this ship?”
     
    The Algean bent forward slightly indicating a smile, “Because your mind is the only one big enough to be able to control it. The ship selected you. If you had not come along this ship may have never been raised; it did because you possess the necessary abilities to use it. However, your tests indicate that you are not completely developed. Some of the systems in this ship will not activate until all your psychic skills become active.”
     
    “When will that happen, Stem?”
     
    “Maybe never; latent abilities could remain dormant or they could happen immediately. Either way, your current level was enough to raise this ship. I have been waiting for this moment for three hundred years and I must say that I am excited at the prospect of seeing what the future holds.”
     
    “What about Wings? Does she also have all of the advanced systems?”
     
    “No, she was designed at a lower threshold than Al. If Angel had not already