to stay. It isn’t big, but it has everything you could need. We have arranged for a tour of the ship later. It won’t be a complete tour, because of the sheer size of the thing, as you can imagine. This,” he handed Aurora a small object resembling a money clip, “is a gift from us to you. It's a comlink. You clip it to your collar or neckline and it acts as a sort of radio, or cellular phone. The difference is you don’t have to pay for airtime. It’s activated when you say the word ‘central’. You then name your target and you are connected. It’s hands-free at its finest.”
Aurora looked around at the staff and noticed that they all had comlinks on their collars. “So I can speak with any person on this ship? Is there a phone book I could look through? I mean there has to be two people with the same names here, as big a ship as this is. Aren’t there like two or three Bob Jones es? This could get very confusing.”
Her rambling was cut short by a response from Security Chief Amelia. “If Athena has any question about who or what you are referring to, she will ask you questions to help clarify. She doesn't assume.”
Aurora was perplexed. She had assumed that Central was a switchboard or something. “Did you say she? Is there only one operator?”
Lincoln said quietly to her, "Athena is a computer, not a switchboard operator."
Aurora asked, "And it responds to verbal commands?"
Peter must have understood her question because he knew how to answer it. Peter raised his voice and said, “Athena?”
From no particular origin, a voice replied. It was a smooth, female voice, with a gentle undertone. It said, “Yes, Mr. Ambrose?”
He continued, “We’d like you to meet someone new. This woman’s name is Aurora Dane. She will be staying with us for a while.”
Athena answered, “I am pleased to meet you, Ms. Dane. Mr. Ambrose, is this the new occupant of section 48, subsection 326, block A, room 2985?”
Aurora blurted, “Is that my address? What a mouthful!”
Athena’s perpetually calm, disembodied voice answered, “Would you like a new address? I could assign you something a little easier to remember. What about block A, section 1, subsection 1, room 1? I’ve found that people have an easier time remembering numbers that are redundant, and the location I mentioned has recently come open.”
Aurora looked at the others; she didn’t know how to answer. She had never spoken to a computer before. “I guess, whatever you think is best. So your name is Athena?”
“Yes, it stands for ‘Artificial Thinking Heightened Ethical Neural Assembly’. But I like the symbolism of my name also. The original Athena was the mythical goddess of wisdom and protector of her people,” she responded.
“Then, why do we say Central before you connect us with someone’s comlink?” Aurora asked.
“Because when you start with the word Central, I know that you are referring to me to connect you with the name you say next.” Athena answered.
“Um, okay, thanks.” Aurora said.
The tour continued from one level to the next. Most of the traveling was done in small van-sized carriages they called maglevs. They floated in a magnetic field, touching nothing, until they stopped. As they traveled in vacuum through tunnels several hundred feet across, they reached extreme speeds. This system of transportation, allowed people to go from one end of the ship to the other in minutes rather than the months it would take if moving at walking velocity.
Aurora was awed by the sheer size of the ship. She saw enormous machines and systems, many of which, on Earth, wouldn’t be invented for decades. She saw dining halls large enough to feed all of Boise in one sitting, bays full of more vessels than would fit in the Great Lakes, and rooms with forests growing in them the size of small cities. The enormous artificial environments were complete intricate biospheres.
As they entered a maglev after exiting one such room,
Aurora looked around at the staff and noticed that they all had comlinks on their collars. “So I can speak with any person on this ship? Is there a phone book I could look through? I mean there has to be two people with the same names here, as big a ship as this is. Aren’t there like two or three Bob Jones es? This could get very confusing.”
Her rambling was cut short by a response from Security Chief Amelia. “If Athena has any question about who or what you are referring to, she will ask you questions to help clarify. She doesn't assume.”
Aurora was perplexed. She had assumed that Central was a switchboard or something. “Did you say she? Is there only one operator?”
Lincoln said quietly to her, "Athena is a computer, not a switchboard operator."
Aurora asked, "And it responds to verbal commands?"
Peter must have understood her question because he knew how to answer it. Peter raised his voice and said, “Athena?”
From no particular origin, a voice replied. It was a smooth, female voice, with a gentle undertone. It said, “Yes, Mr. Ambrose?”
He continued, “We’d like you to meet someone new. This woman’s name is Aurora Dane. She will be staying with us for a while.”
Athena answered, “I am pleased to meet you, Ms. Dane. Mr. Ambrose, is this the new occupant of section 48, subsection 326, block A, room 2985?”
Aurora blurted, “Is that my address? What a mouthful!”
Athena’s perpetually calm, disembodied voice answered, “Would you like a new address? I could assign you something a little easier to remember. What about block A, section 1, subsection 1, room 1? I’ve found that people have an easier time remembering numbers that are redundant, and the location I mentioned has recently come open.”
Aurora looked at the others; she didn’t know how to answer. She had never spoken to a computer before. “I guess, whatever you think is best. So your name is Athena?”
“Yes, it stands for ‘Artificial Thinking Heightened Ethical Neural Assembly’. But I like the symbolism of my name also. The original Athena was the mythical goddess of wisdom and protector of her people,” she responded.
“Then, why do we say Central before you connect us with someone’s comlink?” Aurora asked.
“Because when you start with the word Central, I know that you are referring to me to connect you with the name you say next.” Athena answered.
“Um, okay, thanks.” Aurora said.
The tour continued from one level to the next. Most of the traveling was done in small van-sized carriages they called maglevs. They floated in a magnetic field, touching nothing, until they stopped. As they traveled in vacuum through tunnels several hundred feet across, they reached extreme speeds. This system of transportation, allowed people to go from one end of the ship to the other in minutes rather than the months it would take if moving at walking velocity.
Aurora was awed by the sheer size of the ship. She saw enormous machines and systems, many of which, on Earth, wouldn’t be invented for decades. She saw dining halls large enough to feed all of Boise in one sitting, bays full of more vessels than would fit in the Great Lakes, and rooms with forests growing in them the size of small cities. The enormous artificial environments were complete intricate biospheres.
As they entered a maglev after exiting one such room,