any that I know of.”
“That is a wonderful notion!” I agreed. “Shall we create a pas de deux? Most of the LAIs I know work in a cooperative situation. A solo performance would not resonate with them as well as it does with biological beings.”
She tapped me on the arm. “You are beginning to think like a choreographer, Lord Thomas,” she said, with a little smile. I was taken slightly aback, since I had begun to create dances months ago. I had to remind myself that though I outranked her by exponents in social, economic and genetic spheres, I was but an embryo in her world. “That is a good notion. All of these insights will inform our performance. You can fill me in on their culture as we walk. Tell me about some of your friends.”
As we passed among the range of booths, tents, counters and the like that filled the covered marketplace, I described how I had come to be acquainted with a freezer unit, a vacuum system, a rather erudite file cross-checker in an elite university library, and many others. Apart from Emby, my oldest LAI friend who had been employed in food storage and was now a nannibot on a distant planet, what most artificial intelligences had in common was that they remained stationary. Humans, Wichus, Uctus and the like saw only the small proportion of LAIs that were employed as mobile units: caretakers, servers, and so on. The great majority occupied the machines that they ran, very much like a shopkeeper living over her or his premises. I said as much to Madame Deirdre. She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes, thinking.
“That is a penetrating notion, Lord Thomas. Very interesting. We must concentrate on meaning without extraneous movement.”
The slightly-built woman raised her arms over her head with her fingers gracefully tented toward one another, moving one muscle at a time until her arms appeared to be two ends of a spiral. I was so fascinated by her control that I walked directly into an obstruction. Anstruther leaped forward to extract me from my obstacle.
“Oof! Oh, I say!”
“I beg your pardon!” I exclaimed, as we steadied my victim. Then I recognized him: a human male, tall, though not quite as tall as I was, possessing massive shoulders and prominent musculature, handsome of countenance with teak-brown skin, wide brown-black eyes and a strong, cleft chin. “Nole! We thought you were not coming!”
Nole, my cousin Nalney’s younger brother, gave me a sheepish grin.
“Thomas! I knew I should have stayed in my ship and not gone shopping, but I couldn’t resist such a marketplace,” he said. He glanced around. So did I. None of our relatives was in sight. “You won’t give me away, will you, Thomas? I meant to surprise everyone. I had no idea you were all so close behind me.”
“The Jaunter is the fastest civilian liner in the Core Worlds,” I said. “We must have caught up just before or after one of the first three jumps. So, your new vessel is ready? I can’t wait to see it.” I scanned the hulks out on the perimeter around the spaceport, but none gave off that frisson of newness that I expected to feel. “Which of these is yours?”
“None of them,” Nole said, with an almost forgivable smirk. “I came in by flitter-cab. I’m out beyond one of the moons. Did you see that there were sixty moons? Ostentation, I call it.”
“Just because Keinolt only has three?” I countered. “It’s not as though there will be a side-by-side comparison. Then, do you have pictures of your vessel? A digitavid?” I couldn’t conceal my eagerness.
Nole’s smirk increased in intensity. “Not one. You will just have to wait until we get to the viewing platform for the grand reveal. I have spent too much time and money on it to let even a single image get out ahead of time. My ship is so spectacular I don’t want an erg of excitement to be expended until everyone can see it at once. It will be the second most amazing thing you will see there. Not that some of you
“That is a wonderful notion!” I agreed. “Shall we create a pas de deux? Most of the LAIs I know work in a cooperative situation. A solo performance would not resonate with them as well as it does with biological beings.”
She tapped me on the arm. “You are beginning to think like a choreographer, Lord Thomas,” she said, with a little smile. I was taken slightly aback, since I had begun to create dances months ago. I had to remind myself that though I outranked her by exponents in social, economic and genetic spheres, I was but an embryo in her world. “That is a good notion. All of these insights will inform our performance. You can fill me in on their culture as we walk. Tell me about some of your friends.”
As we passed among the range of booths, tents, counters and the like that filled the covered marketplace, I described how I had come to be acquainted with a freezer unit, a vacuum system, a rather erudite file cross-checker in an elite university library, and many others. Apart from Emby, my oldest LAI friend who had been employed in food storage and was now a nannibot on a distant planet, what most artificial intelligences had in common was that they remained stationary. Humans, Wichus, Uctus and the like saw only the small proportion of LAIs that were employed as mobile units: caretakers, servers, and so on. The great majority occupied the machines that they ran, very much like a shopkeeper living over her or his premises. I said as much to Madame Deirdre. She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes, thinking.
“That is a penetrating notion, Lord Thomas. Very interesting. We must concentrate on meaning without extraneous movement.”
The slightly-built woman raised her arms over her head with her fingers gracefully tented toward one another, moving one muscle at a time until her arms appeared to be two ends of a spiral. I was so fascinated by her control that I walked directly into an obstruction. Anstruther leaped forward to extract me from my obstacle.
“Oof! Oh, I say!”
“I beg your pardon!” I exclaimed, as we steadied my victim. Then I recognized him: a human male, tall, though not quite as tall as I was, possessing massive shoulders and prominent musculature, handsome of countenance with teak-brown skin, wide brown-black eyes and a strong, cleft chin. “Nole! We thought you were not coming!”
Nole, my cousin Nalney’s younger brother, gave me a sheepish grin.
“Thomas! I knew I should have stayed in my ship and not gone shopping, but I couldn’t resist such a marketplace,” he said. He glanced around. So did I. None of our relatives was in sight. “You won’t give me away, will you, Thomas? I meant to surprise everyone. I had no idea you were all so close behind me.”
“The Jaunter is the fastest civilian liner in the Core Worlds,” I said. “We must have caught up just before or after one of the first three jumps. So, your new vessel is ready? I can’t wait to see it.” I scanned the hulks out on the perimeter around the spaceport, but none gave off that frisson of newness that I expected to feel. “Which of these is yours?”
“None of them,” Nole said, with an almost forgivable smirk. “I came in by flitter-cab. I’m out beyond one of the moons. Did you see that there were sixty moons? Ostentation, I call it.”
“Just because Keinolt only has three?” I countered. “It’s not as though there will be a side-by-side comparison. Then, do you have pictures of your vessel? A digitavid?” I couldn’t conceal my eagerness.
Nole’s smirk increased in intensity. “Not one. You will just have to wait until we get to the viewing platform for the grand reveal. I have spent too much time and money on it to let even a single image get out ahead of time. My ship is so spectacular I don’t want an erg of excitement to be expended until everyone can see it at once. It will be the second most amazing thing you will see there. Not that some of you
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