“Please remove your clothing,” said Maia.

Sadie wasn’t having it. Maia had told her to meet her in the medical bay and the creepy bot with too many hands on the wall was moving. Sadie had originally assumed they had a limited reach, but now saw they could extend through most of the room. They had a tray full of little black circles, no bigger than a pence, with blue dots in the center.

“Do you understand discomfort?” asked Sadie, shying away from the machine.

“Yes.” Maia appeared at the other end of the room. Her friendly visage was ruined by the robotic hands which appeared to be coming from her back. “Now please strip down to your underwear and come here.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to place these sensors along your body to monitor your movements. This will give me real time data to improve your occupational and physical therapy.”

“I thought you already did that by watching me?”

“I do. These will let me monitor muscle and neurological activity.” When Sadie didn’t budge, Maia sighed. “I am not trying to hurt you. I am trying to help you.”

“Then stop being so…” Sadie waved her hands in frustration.

“Artificial?” asked Maia with a smile.

“Yeah. That.”

“I promise to work on my bedside manner. Now please come here. This won’t take long.”

Sadie instinctively knew Maia wasn’t real, but it was awkward taking her clothes off in front of her. Maia didn’t watch, she studied. Sadie felt like cattle at the butchers, with Maia debating where she wanted to start. It didn’t help Sadie had no idea where Louis was and didn’t want him walking in on her. On the other hand, Sadie didn’t want the door closed, trapping her in with the machine.

Maia brought her forward and told her to spread her arms and legs. Seeing that Sadie was ready to run, all but one robotic arm retreated to its place on the wall. It plucked up the first sensor with surprising delicateness and placed it on Sadie’s bicep. Four sensors across each arm and six across the front of her torso. The awkwardness started when the hand began to place sensors down her inner thigh.

“I’m sorry, the hand is cold,” said Maia.

“It’s very uncomfortable.”

“Not quite like the boys at home, right?” Maia motioned for Sadie to turn around.

“I never had those kinds of relationships,” admitted Sadie, shivering as a hand placed a sensor at the tip of her spine and slowly worked its way down.

“Really? That’s shocking. Most women your age are considering their first family group.”

“Grandma wanted something better for me.”

“Fair. Life certainly got harder without medical contraception.”

“What’s that?”

“Medication that prevents you from getting pregnant. In normal human settlements, it’s very common.”

“Why have I never heard of it?”

“Reservation overlords don’t allow it.”

“Why?”

“Humans are a labor force. Young parents with lots of kids don’t usually receive a good education. Suddenly all their time is spent working and raising children. Doesn’t leave time for free thought or rebellion.” Before Sadie had time to think of the implications of that, the hand retracted back to the wall. “We’re done. You can put your clothes back on and meet me in the gym.”

“What are we practicing today?”

“Walking.”

Accepting the fact that she wasn’t about to get a real answer, Sadie got dressed and walked to the gym. Maia walked behind her, watching her movements. In the gym, Maia shooed her forward, telling her to walk back and forth through the compartment. Maia took a spot against the wall and watched. She probably could multitask, but it felt rude to interrupt, so Sadie just kept walking in silence.

“You favor your right leg,” said Maia.

“I broke my left leg a few years ago,” shrugged Sadie. “It never was the same.”

“It is now. You need to stop compensating or you’ll cause problems. You also walk with a hunch. I don’t know if that’s a habit from the mines or because you’ve suddenly grown and the change of perspective is bothering you. Straighten your back.”

“It is straight.”

“No, it’s not.” Maia moved to join her and stood up straight. She was a tall woman, but maybe not as tall as Sadie thought. Stretching her back and neck, she found herself up a few more centimeters. “Hold that posture.” Maia studied her further. “Your legs and arms bow out a little. Again, I don’t know if this is from your upbringing or your sudden growth. Luckily for you, those sensors also make a great shock collar.”

“They what?!”

“Relax, they don’t have enough power to hurt you.” Maia reached out and tapped one of the sensors. They all hummed in unison. “They’ll induce an uncomfortable sensation in areas where you’re showing poor posture.”

It wasn’t an itchy or tingling sensation. Her arms and legs suddenly ached like she’d slept on them funny. Straightening her arms soothed the feeling like a good stretch. Only when she tried to relax them, the ache returned. Stretching her arms made her back hurt. Fixing her legs made her toes hurt. Soon she was rolling her whole body, trying to make the aches go away.

“Please make it stop.”

“I will not. I will turn it down and we will work our way up.” The constant aches slowed to a minor irritation. “You have been remade Sadie. It is an incredible gift and I will not let you waste it to self-inflicted deficiencies.”

“Do you have to be so mean about it?”

“What would you prefer? I say nothing and let you devolve into a hunchback?” Maia was smiling, but her voice was serious.

“Do you understand discomfort?” repeated Sadie.

“Short term pain, long term gain.”

“What is short term to a computer?”

“See? You’re already learning. Now, how about some lunch?”

“I still have some rations in my room.” One of the cabinets in her room had been filled with the stale, tasteless rations made by aliens for human consumption. Maia had confirmed they were extremely nutritious, if a little bland.

“No, I mean to give you real food. The rations were a test to see how your digestive system is working. If you could not stomach rations, it would be a poor decision to give you more complex food.” Maia stepped into the hall and the door at the far end opened into a location Sadie hadn’t been to yet. “Please join us in the mess hall.”

“Us?”

“Louis is having lunch already.”

“Oh.” Sadie wasn’t sure if this was a good or a bad thing.

The mess hall was much bigger than she was expecting. There were two half-circle tables built into the corners on her left, with a long counter between them with bar stools welded to the floor. The bar stools were made of copper with blue cushions and all the tables and counters were made of wood. Sadie was sure it wasn’t real wood, and still desperately wanted to run her fingers along them. Louis sat at one of the tables with emerald padding at his back. The lights didn’t seem as harsh here. They felt inviting, like Sadie should roll up her sleeves and bask under them. Silvery fridges and freezers took up most of the right side, with an advanced cooking station installed in a corner. It had an array of hands just like the medical bay, but even these seemed to have more personality. The limbs were painted copper and gold, and long ago someone had attached a white hat on top of the machine. It was pointing to a steaming bowl on the counter and Maia motioned for her to take it. It smelled delightful. Everything here did.

And that just made it worse.

Cafeterias in the mines didn’t look half this good and certainly did not smell this good. They were always over capacity with sweaty, smelly bodies crammed in together. It was an ordeal just to get food, and yet, it felt like home. This? This was depressing. A single man and a hologram eating alone in a room that could have fit thirty. Even the cooking hands looked bored. Eleven hands hung idle, with only a single in use to hand her a bowl. This was a place of luxury with no one to enjoy it.

“Please sit wherever you like.”

Sadie peered into the bowl, intrigued. It looked like colorful granules of dirt and scorched chunks of meat.

“What is it?”

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“Nutrient rich carbohydrates and proteins reconstituted.” Smiling at the blank expression, Maia continued. “Quinoa and chicken.”

“Fancy nutrient paste?” guessed Maia.

“You’ll find most meals in space are nutrient pastes. It’s more about the quality of the paste and how it’s reconstituted.” Maia’s face was as proud as any mother’s. “I promise you my cooking is much better.”

“It smells amazing,” said Sadie honestly as she moved for the table. She took a seat, surprised by the feel of the hard bench under her and the cushion at her back. It didn’t seem right until she put her feet against the bench. It was coarse and grainy, dry against her soft skin. She ran her fingers along the rough table, not understanding her fascination with the wood.

Befuddled by the mystery surface, it took Sadie a minute to realize the two people staring at her. Louis had an amused look while Maia’s eyes looked ready to comically pop out of her head. Sadie tried to understand what she’d done wrong when she realized she was sitting next to Louis. Not just next to him, but so uncomfortably close her arms had to be rigidly straight so as not to bump into him. In a cafeteria full of space, her brain had decided to sit practically in his lap.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, scooting over.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” asked Louis.

“What is?”

“Having space.” He looked over her at the empty room. “I’ve sat in dropships where I was squeezed in shoulder to shoulder for hours. You get comfortable after a while. It helps with the pre-combat jitters, feeling people next to you.” Louis sighed, but he sounded comfortable. “Wait until you try out your bed.”

“It’s soft.”

“Let us know how you sleep.” He gave a subtle nod to Maia.

Sadie dug quietly into her lunch. Quinoa looked like dirt and tasted like dirt. She wasn’t about to say anything in front of Maia though and continued to nibble. The chicken was much better. It was a little dry but left warm tingles in her mouth. It was the desired effect for every hardy meal before one braved the ice, and she relished it. Louis’s bowl was empty and he didn’t look interested in taking hers. His interest was on an image of a large space station floating above the table.

“Is that where your friend is?”

“I hope so.”

“How do you plan to find him?”

“That should be the easy part. I’d be shocked if there were any humans out this far.”

“So why would he be there?”

“Could be a few reasons. Your grandma didn’t say why, just where.”

“I hope she’s okay,” whispered Sadie, not thinking he could hear her.

“She will be, the stubborn old bat.”

“What will you do if your friend isn’t there?”

“Hang grandma over the exhaust port by her toes until she does look like a bat.” Sadie dropped her fork. Maia laughed and Louis grinned. “I’m kidding. It depends. Ravi might be there, he might have moved on by now. It might just be an old wives tale of the Delta in the Amoroso System.” Louis let out a long breath. “I hope he’s there.”

“What are you going to do to me?” Sadie no longer cared for her food. She wasn’t sure Louis was kidding about what he’d do to Grandma Snibbs. If the next words out of his mouth were not about abusing, harvesting, or selling her, Sadie might keep disbelieving him.

“Depends. What do you want to do?”

Louis looked at her with compassion and understanding, but that’s not what Sadie saw. Sadie knew a predator when she saw one. Whether it was a mindless monster like a bug or a cruel overlord like the ursa, a predator is a predator. Louis killed bugs on a whim and ursa stepped out of his way. Those eyes showed concern for her. They also said if she died tomorrow, he would quickly forget about her.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you want?” Louis asked plainly. “I could take you back. It wouldn’t be soon, but I’ll go back to Incus eventually. There are plenty of space stations that would have you as a rat. I could even make you a butler somewhere.”

“We are overdue to visit a human settlement,” reminded Maia.

“Ugh. Last time was great until the governor learned my name and two Rho showed up on my doorstep.”

“You had me warming up the Seraphin immediately.” Maia looked pleased. “But any of the settlements would happily rehabilitate her.”

“True. Think about it Sadie. A real human settlement. Not a reservation.”

Sadie looked between the two, more alarmed than confused. They wanted to drop her off somewhere? Why? She was given to Louis as a promise. If something went wrong, Sadie would pay the price, but the reservation would be safe. That was the deal. What would happen if Louis could not find his friend or Sadie? He might return for the reservation. She could never forgive herself if everyone died for her selfishness.

“I have to stay here,” she croaked.

“And do what?”

“What I’m supposed to do?” Sadie was still waiting for the shoe to drop on her enslavement. Either Louis didn’t understand or didn’t care.

“You’re not much use yet.” Louis motioned for her to move so he could stand. He passed his bowl over to the mechanical chef who immediately began scrubbing it. “Maia will make you useful. Sit down. Eat your food.”

“You will need that nutrition,” agreed Maia. “I will keep you updated, Louis.” And with that, Louis disappeared toward the aft of the ship.

Sadie survived only a couple more hours. She’d been awake maybe eight hours, but she was utterly exhausted. Maia explained her body was still recovering and she’d experience many shortened days as a result. Sadie ignored the physiology lectures and collapsed in the soft bunk. The beds were decent, nothing fancy. To her, it felt like falling asleep in a cloud.

Day after day, the routine was the same. Maia worked her over in physical therapy and when she was satisfied, they moved to food and then lessons. When Sadie became bored of lessons, she went back to the gym. She’d assumed that adjusting to her body would be a fast process. After all, she’d been walking her entire life, how hard could it be to walk again? Two days later and Sadie was still stumbling every few steps.

Occupational therapy was somehow more humiliating. She’d grown up to have nimble, dexterous hands, despite little injuries and breaks over the years. Now her hands were bigger, her fingers longer, and nothing worked like it was supposed to! Maia brought out a toy made for toddlers, putting the proper shaped blocks into the correct holes. The task was frustratingly complicated as her fingers didn’t hold onto the blocks. Maia had originally pulled up information for Sadie on the computer, but when she saw the difficulty Sadie was having, she forced Sadie to type every word. Next, she brought in pen and paper and Sadie was depressed further by seeing her penmanship pushed back ten years.

“Practice makes perfect,” said Maia.

“Easy for you to say.”

“I do actions the same as you. By the thousandth time, I have the process down. I just operate faster.”

And as the monotony of days passed, Sadie’s exhaustion grew, and the too comfortable bed held no sleep for her. Time held no meaning here, and the lack of schedule was confusing her brain. The ship brightened or darkened as they needed, tossing all rhythm into space.

“Maia,” whispered Sadie, “are you still awake?”

“I never sleep.” Maia’s voice drifted in from the hallway in a quiet hum. “You, however, need to go to bed.”

“I can’t sleep. Will you come in here?”

“No. My presence is very bright. It would inhibit good sleeping habits.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then don’t apologize.”

Sadie kept her mouth shut. Maia’s presence at night was eerie. Sadie has seen her in the dark hallways and the hologram shimmered like a ghost. Her voice could come out of any speaker, adding to the illusion of being haunted. It sounded like she was just outside, but it was otherwise silent. No footsteps moved down the hall. Sadie should have heard the subdued breathing of a woman trying to be silent so children can sleep. Instead, there was nothing.

“Have you always had trouble with sleep?” continued Maia, unexpectedly.

“No.”

“Only on the ship?” Sadie nodded, not thinking that Maia could see her. “Are you lonely? I know reservation members sometimes sleep in piles like dogs.”

“No. It was just grandma and me.” Sadie snorted. “I’d sooner try cuddling up to the reactor than asking if Louis is lonely.”

“If you had asked, I would’ve relocated your bed to an airlock.”

“I know you’re a computer,” Sadie sat up in her bed and looked at the open door, smiling, “but you tell terrible jokes.”

“Bold of you to assume it was a joke.” Maia entered and leaned against the wall. “What’s bothering you, Sadie? The ship is kept at a comfortable temperature above the reservation average, but you’re piled in blankets. The bed and pillows aren’t the finest, but better than you’ve ever had.”

“The bed is amazing,” she gushed, squeezing the pillow against her chest. The more amazing thing was that it was clean. None of the sheets smelled of chemical solvents or dirt. She used to wake and feel oily, especially on her nose and cheek where she had been pressed into the pillows. Her limbs would be slick with sweat and some type of grease that would only come partially away with a rag. Showers were readily available, but not everything they worked with came off with cold water alone. Now Sadie went to bed clean and woke up clean.

“Anxiety and environmental stress are the most likely factors to be harming your sleep,” said Maia. “We have discussed your worries about your place here. Is there something else?”

“I just like listening to your voice.”

“You have described me as, cold.” Maia smirked. “I am not known for my comfort.”

“It’s just quiet here. It’s nice to hear another person talking.”

“Ah.” Maia paused and looked around the ship. “I don’t often think of the sounds of the freighter. The reactor sounds like a mother’s lullaby to me. It hums and thrums in gentle waves. I can hear the water sliding through insulated pipes. Every time you turn on the shower, it becomes a roaring waterfall. I have a few cleaning robots, but they were designed to be discreet. With only Louis to look after, the ship does not get too dirty. The worst for me is the dishes. Anytime the machine drops a dish, I can hear it break through the entire ship. Drives me up the wall.” Maia chuckled. One of her hands flexed in anxious tension. “Louis is never loud. He is commanding or quiet, and nothing in between. He sometimes talks in his sleep, living some distant dream.” She sighed, rubbing a hand along the wall. “This is my home. There isn’t much to it, but it’s mine.”

“That’s nothing like my home.”

“Tell me.”

“The reservation is loud. There’s not enough room and our homes are built on top of each other. I knew what was going on in six different homes just by lying awake at night. The lift was in the central shaft and it was always running. You could count the time by how many times you heard it move.”

“That sounds aggravating.”

“We always found it reassuring. It has been there as long as I have been alive. Every year or two it’d have to go down for repairs and it just sounded wrong.”

“Its absence upsets you?”

“It was a constant. Same as you knew to check on your neighbors if they were quiet too long.” Sadie leaned forward, getting a little closer. “Everything echoed down there. The mining and factories were far from where we lived, but you could always hear them in the background. Did you know site surveyors have to be specially chosen because they have to deal with silence?”

“I didn’t.” Maia tapped her fingers against her thigh. “I think I understand. You are not sleeping well not because there is too much stimuli, but a lack of it. You’ve never known a life without noise.”

“I guess so.”

“From listening to the recording from your most recent visit and other experiences in mines, I have created a playlist of ambient noise for you to relax to. Please get comfortable and tell me if it’s too loud or too quiet.” Maia disappeared, dropping the room back into darkness.

Sadie was barely laying down when the sounds started. They were muted, far from her room, but they were there. The lift was the most recognizable. Its constant whir could only belong to a platform weighing thousands of kilograms lifting thousands more. Every time it came to a shuttering halt, she could hear the metal clang harshly. There were voices. A constant chatter in the air, not as close as her neighbors, but people working up and down the central shaft. Her ears perked up, trying to identify the ones which sounded vaguely familiar. Somewhere far above her, someone started a loading truck, or maybe some other piece of heavy machinery. As she curled into her pillow, Sadie could hear the sounds of old boots making their way up and down the rocky roads.

And then there was a voice she could recognize. Grandma Snibbs was speaking quietly in the background. It was too faint for her to pick up what she was saying, but that sweet, gravelly voice could only belong to one old badger. It sounded like she was annoyed with someone and was correcting them in a way only a grandma could. It was the type of polite beratement Sadie had enjoyed her whole life. It made her lips quiver and a tear form in her eye.

“How’s that?” asked Maia.

“Better,” said Sadie, hiding her face in the pillow. In the weeks to come, it would help her. Tonight, she lay there listening to the sounds of her people until sleep took her.