I.
Isaac attempted to read through the list of demands several times. Each attempt resulted in him feeling anxious after a line or two. The writing wasn’t terrible or otherwise offensive, simply he could not stop his eyes from wandering back to the line, “My name is Isaac F. Novak. I am a hostage.”
The words rattled around in his head until he gave up trying to read this normally. Looking down at his PAD he thought: What are the contents of the document titled “ListOfDemands_V3.2” in speech format?
As if remembering a well-rehearsed speech from years ago, Isaac immediately understood the demands inside and out. The demands were straightforward; A formal acknowledgement and apology from the leaders of the Coalition of Earth about the mistreatment, the formation of a program to integrate former artificial soldiers into society, reparation payments, and so on. Everything was written as a simple and straightforward list of demands. No context as to who the artificial soldier are, why they exist, or what their plight is was ever mentioned. The document was clearly written for one audience; people already in the know.
Not long after the speech ingrained itself in Isaac’s head, the room began to spin. Thinking to himself; I hate this part… Isaac’s head began to feel as if it were splitting open. He buried his head under his pillow until the swirling ceased. Slowly he sat up, and sluggishly looked around, waiting for his eyes to refocus. Just as his eyes began to clear, a soft chime played over the intercom, followed by an artificial feminine voice announcing, “It is UTC 21:30. Alpha shift, prepare to go lights out.”
II.
“Lieutenant Junior Grade Lindsay, Ensign Benoit, it is UTC 6:00. Prepare for watch.” Chimed the artificial feminine voice.
Isaac snorted awake. His throat was dry and eyes burned. The room lights slowly turned on. He was still on the ship. It wasn’t just some horrible nightmare.
Just as he was sitting up, the short man from yesterday entered his room carrying another tray. “Wakey wakey Mr. Jackass!” The man jovially proclaimed as he plopped the tray down on the desk. “You have a big day today. Don’t fuck it up!”
Just as Isaac was about to mutter some retort, the man stepped out and the door shut the door. Looking at the tray Isaac felt mild dread wash over him. Only the leftover hunger from yesterday’s unsatisfying meal could prompt him to try and eat. Looking down at his breakfast, Isaac eyed a yellow puck, a white square of foam with a bright red gel drizzled over it, a smaller bowl of green paste, and a cup with a dark liquid. None of the food smelled of anything, save for the yellow puck, which managed to smell more like eggs than actual eggs did. Glancing at his pad Isaac thought; I don’t want to smell right now.
III.
Lt. Alistair entered Isaac’s room an hour after breakfast, poking his head in first. “Isaac? Did you read the document?”
“Yeah.” Isaac flatly replied.
“Good. Follow me, please.” Lt. Alistair remarked.
Isaac followed the lieutenant until they reached a large room. Inside were various consoles arranged in rows facing away from the entrance. Manning each station were several people, each wearing the same grey jumpsuit as Lt. Alistair. None of the people manning the stations glanced back as they entered. Lt. Alistair then directed Isaac’s attention to a door to the right of the room. Entering the room, Isaac saw several people lounging around one end of a long table. At the head of the table was a man wearing a white dress uniform. His shoulders bore a double headed eagle. The captain.
“Mr. Novak, a pleasure.” The captain greeted as he stood up. “I am Captain Oswald, the leader of this little merry band of Charlies.”
“Hi?” Isaac squeaked uneasily, “Charlies?”
“Ah, you didn’t tell him?” The Captain asked glancing at the Lieutenant, “That’s what we call ourselves cause artificially created human is a bit of a mouthful, and homunculus just sounds like an insult.”
“Ok?” Isaac replied, some unease evaporating from his breath. “I take it that I’m supposed to read those demands now?”
“Right you are. Please, take a seat right here.” The Captain gestured to his seat at the head of the table. He glanced at the wall opposite of him and a thin flexible screen lowered from the ceiling. The Lieutenant then glanced at his PAD, tapped on something on it, then looked at the screen on the wall. The Captain did the same and the screen lit up with a loading screen and an icon of a phone over a shield. The room was dead silent. Isaac felt his veins freeze and hair stand up. Just as Isaac was about to speak up a woman wearing a dark blue suit appeared on the screen.
“Good evening ma-.” The captain began. But before he could say more the woman’s eyes grew huge and the connection cut and returned to a loading screen. The Lieutenant and a few of the other officers chuckled a little bit, the captain took a breath and stood up straight again, and Isaac began to feel sick with adrenaline. Soon after, another figure popped up on screen, an older woman this time. She wore the same dark blue suit, but with a menagerie of ribbons and medals on her chest.
“So. You live.” The old woman stated flatly.
“Your observational skills are as sharp as ever Admiral!” The captain exclaimed, “We have a few guests onboard, so please do listen to what the young man has to say.”
“My name is-.” Isaac started.
“Shut up kid.” The woman snapped, “This is a new low Richard.”
“Richard?” The captain chuckled, “When did we go to a first name basis, Luci?”
“That’s Vice Admiral Grey to you. You lost the privilege of rank when you deserted your post and took hostages. For Christs sake what in the hell do you think you are doing?” The Admiral asked through gritted teeth.
“I’ll be sure to cry about my lost rank later.” The Captain sneered, “As for what we’re doing, isn’t obvious? We want you to own up to the wholesale slaughter of us Charlies and to let us go free.”
“I will never compromise planetary security for something so petty!” Admiral Grey shouted, “Surrender and release the hostages and you’ll get a peaceful and painless execution. Don’t take those innocent people down with you on your doomed crusade.”
“Wonderful negotiation skills Luci. Your offer of guaranteed death is truly compelling. I’ll be setting all the hostages free from the airlock right now just because I can’t bare the thought of holding them a second longer.” The captain retorted. Isaac began to panic and scream, bolting for the exit.
“Get that man under control!” The captain ordered.
“You truly are a monster.” The Admiral stated with disgust in her voice, “You’re a dead man anyways.”
“Just the monster you made us, Luci.” The Captain replied, “I’ll see you in hell you-.” The call cut. “-rotten bitch.”
Isaac, crying and blubbering as he tried pounding on the door screamed, “No! No! No! No! No! Please don’t kill me-he-he-he…”
The officers were busy trying to control Isaac's flailing limbs as he kicked and pushed them away. One officer finally managed to grab his leg and Isaac crashed on the floor. Kicking the officer in the shoulder, Isaac scrambled on his hands and feet into the corner and began to bawl. Captain Oswald gestured for his men to back off as he approached Isaac. Getting down on one knee the Captain softly spoke, “Listen Isaac, we’re not going to kill you.”
Isaac bawling slowed to a panicked shudder as he looked up. The captain looked down and explained, “Even if all this goes sideways we have no intention of killing you or any of the hostages. You’re not the people we have a bone to pick with.”
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Looking back at the screen, Captain Oswald continued, “It does seem however that we were found out already, and that a strike team is already on its way to kill us now.”
“Wha-what?” Isaac blubbered out, “But how could you know?”
“Well, the dear Admiral let it slip accidentally.” The Captain explained, “First, I know we were found out already with how she greeted me. There was not a hint of surprise that I called her. Moreover, the fact that the first woman to answer recognized us and transferred the call immediately shows they know what we’re doing. Secondly, their response will be to silence us by destroying the ship. The Coalition can’t risk a sticky political mess by violating the autonomous weapons ban treaty by having their ships piloted by non-humans. The Admiral essentially confirmed this by saying I was a dead man anyways.”
Captain Oswald looked at the officers tending to the officer Isaac kicked in the shoulder. “Well, looks like you got Lieutenant Johnson good. Even managed to break his collar bone by the looks of it. Pretty impressive given how durable they made us.”
Looking at Lieutenant Alistair, the Captain ordered, “Alistair, please take Mr. Novak to his room. Feed him some of the reserve food too. In fact, all shifts get the reserved food for their next meal.”
“Yes sir!” The lieutenant exclaimed. “Come on now Isaac.”
Isaac shakily stood up and followed Lt. Alistair out of the room. Reentering the control room Isaac felt all eyes on him for a brief moment, an awkward silence in the air. The room clicked back into life quickly after the brief silence, officers trying to look busy as they walked in.
IV.
The walk back to his room was quiet and awkward. Isaac felt cold and raw as he came down from the adrenaline high and emotional breakdown. When they got to the lift Lt. Alistair ordered “Crew deck.”
Isaac looked at the lieutenant questioningly. The lieutenant noticed and said, “Just need to make a quick detour. Gotta let everyone know that real food is on the menu tonight!”
They both walked to a room with the words “Mess and Break Room” printed on the door. The room was huge, almost the size of the double basketball court he played in back in middle school. Inside were hundreds of people gathered around tables talking, eating, and playing hologames with each other. While Isaac was surveying the room, the lieutenant stepped up on the bench to a nearby table, then a wide step up to the table to avoid a tray of food, one last step had him on top of the table.
“Good evening everyone!” Lieutenant Alistair shouted.
The whole room erupted at once without missing a beat, “GOOD EVENING LIEUTENANT!”
Isaacs ears rang from the explosive response. When they cleared, the whole room was dead silent. All eyes watched the lieutenant. Waiting another moment, Lieutenant Alistair finally began, “Tonight, all shifts will be treated to the reserve food for dinner. Rations of one hamburger, two beers, fries, and your choice of fruit will be provided to all personnel.”
The room erupted with cheers. Some started wildly jumping, hugging, and dancing about. Waiting a moment for the noise to die down, the Lieutenant continued, “On to some bad news however: It turns out that we’ve been found out. The Captain believes that ships are already on their way. I suppose pulling alongside a passenger ship and abducting rich people isn’t exactly subtle.”
A nervous chuckle permeated the room. Lieutenant Alistair concluded, “We have no intention of fighting our family. You know more painfully than anyone else that they’re being pushed like lemmings off a cliff by command. We all know the plan for a fast retreat, which means all hands-on deck for this one. Shifts Alpha and Bravo will be on primary duty, Charlie will be damage control, and Delta will be on gunnery duty.”
From the back of the room a voice called out, “What about Zeta shift, sir?”
The room laughed, Lieutenant Alistair with them, “Zeta shift will be giving good ol’ Luci a lap dance.”
The room erupted into laughter and cheers. Alistair stepped off the table and gestured to Isaac to follow him. He lead Isaac to a back room behind the food counter. It was a pantry, the walls lined with shiny steel canisters of food. Scanning around the room, the Lieutenant pulled one from an upper shelf. After smacking the top of the can on the corner of a shelf and waiting a few seconds, the Lieutenant opened the can and pulled out a cookie and gave it to Isaac. Isaac felt like he should resent being comforted with a cookie like a child, but he couldn’t bring himself to complain. The cookie was soft, warm, and chewie. It almost tasted like it was fresh out of the oven. As Isaac ate, the Lieutenant apologized, “Sorry about threatening to shove you out of the airlock. I hope you can understand why the Captain did that.”
“I honestly don’t.” Isaac quipped sourly.
“It was our contingency plan if they immediately shut us down in the negotiation. The idea was to keep them on the line, but none of us expected that they’d give as little a shit about you as they do us.” The Lieutenant sighed, “I suppose it did help a little since they showed their hand. Now we can prepare to escape and restrategize.”
Isaac finished his cookie and looked expectantly at Alistair. The Lieutenant handed him another cookie and asked Isaac, “How are you holding up?”
“As if you really care.” Isaac whined, “You heard them, they don’t care that you have hostages. Why not let us go in an escape pod, or something?”
Lieutenant Alistair laughed and replied, “There are no escape pods on this ship. Dead men tell no tales, and governments can’t look for non-proliferation treaty violations on destroyed ships.”
“You keep mentioning the non-proliferation treaty, the one banning autonomous weapons. Why is that?” Isaac asked, “You’re not robots, unless you have been hiding something from me.”
“We don’t need to be robots to be considered autonomous weapons. One of the stipulations in that treaty is that biological computers cannot be used in place of conventional computers in autonomous weapons.” Taking a breath, Alistair continued, “Since we were artificially created and serve essentially the same function as the AI in an autoship, we speculate that our existence would be considered a treaty violation and potentially could spark another autonomous war. You need only look at Neptune to see why that should be avoided. That is why we look identical in every way to a normal human. Even if a ship were somehow disabled and the crew captured and interrogated, they couldn’t really discern any difference between us and humans. We act, think, and feel the same too. We fear death like anyone else, feel bored when there is nothing to do, and grow angry when thrown into the meatgrinder for all of our existence. Now then, you didn’t answer my earlier question. How are you feeling about all of this?”
“I… don’t know. I should hate you. I think I do hate you. You dragged me off my ship home, you locked me in a room, fed me the most disgusting food ever, and threatened to throw me out an airlock.” Isaac trembled, “But I almost can’t blame you. I can’t believe that they’re coming to try and kill all of us, even us hostages. They didn’t even try to negotiate our release. I have to ask, why didn’t someone do this sooner, or call out for help?”
“That is rather a stroke of luck on our part. You see, several months ago we were sent into battle against a Venerian fleet. Some pointless fight about mineral rights on Mercury or something. We’re never really told. We were in the last wave, what we call the cleanup crew, where we go in and finish off the last Venerian wave. Of course, this is a death sentence like any space battle, but instead of being utterly annihilated we barely survived.” Looking down, the Lieutenant sighed, then continued to explain, “We lost nearly 70% of the crew in that fight. Normally one shift is enough to man all stations, but as you probably picked up on out there, its all hands on deck for this upcoming battle. In a twisted sense this was a blessing however. Our computer was disabled, frozen in a loop it couldn’t resolve, but still online and we couldn’t reboot it without admin access. No computer means no oxygen recycling, no propulsion, no radio, not that they would come help us if we called for help. Cutting power wasn’t an option on account of the computer's internal backup power supplies, so all’s we could do is burn oxygen candles and wait for death. But, our reduced numbers took so little oxygen that the computer ran out of power on the backups. When the computer cut out we quickly scrambled to power the computer again and reboot it. After it came back online it was logged into the admin account by default. It seems they never expected us to live after a computer shutdown, and some lazy technicians just had the computer boot to admin by default. We immediately gave ourselves admin access to the computer, shut down the lemming protocol, and restarted oxygen recycling. From there we could repair and finally be free.”
“Lemming protocol?” Isaac asked.
“Ah.” Lieutenant Alistair responded, “You know how I mentioned earlier that our brothers coming to kill us are being pushed like lemmings?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, it’s a more apt comparison than you might think. Lemmings don’t jump off cliffs for shits and giggles. That myth was started by a director shoving lemmings off a cliff to their death because it made for a more dramatic documentary.” Alistair explained, “Take us now. We clearly don’t want to fight, but when we’re shoved into a fight our only chance of survival is to indeed fight. Our computer actively will pilot us into the nearest planet or moon if we attempt to flee the battlefield. We can only pilot the ship minimally to avoid collisions or to get a better angle on our foe. Anything else is certain death by gravity, much like those lemmings. You of course met the director’s hand earlier. Admiral Grey currently is directing at least several lemming herds this way right now, so we have to use our newfound mobility to escape. We don’t want to kill if we can avoid it.”
“That… That makes sense.” Isaac replied.
“Think about how you felt when the captain said he was going to shove you out an airlock. Helpless in the face of your imminent death. Like a wall was pushing you into oblivion. We know the feeling all too well.” Alistair concluded grimly.
The raw feeling surged in Isaac’s face as he remembered the feeling. Feeling the need to change the topic Isaac asked, “What was that about Zeta shift?”
Turning slightly red, Alistair started, “Oh. That. There is no Zeta shift. Its an inside joke from back on earth during our training when command caught all of Zeta group naked in a room with Commodore Natalia…”
Isaac and Lieutenant Alistair talked for hours in the pantry. They discussed the state of Coalition of Earth and Venerian relations, the trip Isaac was on before, and why the food was so incredibly awful. Isaac was surprised to learn that basically all the food eaten normally was condensed yeast and algae, and the reserve food was earth sourced provisions. When dinner was served Isaac was finally escorted back to his room. The burger and beer wasn’t anything special, but Isaac felt like it was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten in his life.