Stories of Singularity #1-4 (Restore, Containment, Defiance, Augment) Read online

  Text copyright © 2015 Susan Kaye Quinn

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

  www.susankayequinn.com

  Cover Design by Steven Novak

  www.novakillustration.com

  READING ORDER

  Singularity Series

  The Legacy Human (Book 1)

  The Duality Bridge (Book 2)

  The Stories of Singularity #1-4 (Novella Box Set)

  The Illusory Prophet (Book 3)... coming 2016

  Restore

  Published May 2015

  (Originally published March 2015 in the A.I. Chronicles Anthlogy)

  Edited by Ellen Campbell

  Containment

  Published December 2015

  (Originally published August 2015 in the Dark Beyond The Stars Anthlogy)

  Edited by David Gatewood

  Defiance

  Published December 2015

  (Originally published September 2015 in the Future Chronicles Anthlogy)

  Edited by Samuel Peralta

  Augment

  Published December 2015

  (Also published December 2015 in the Cyborg Chronicles Anthology)

  Edited by Crystal Pikko Watanabe

  Story Summaries

  Restore

  What if the three laws of robotics were replaced by a single emotion: unconditional love. Restorative Human Medical Care Unit 7435, sentience level fifty, wants to heal the human master it loves, but Unit 7435 finds there is a price to be paid for love… and for failing in its primary mission.

  Containment

  The Mining Master of Thebe is all alone… not counting the scavenger drones, foundry nanites, and magtread tractors buzzing across the tiny Jovian moon. So when a spindly tower of rocks mysteriously appears at the pole, it’s enough to vex the Mining Master’s machine-sourced intelligence like dust trapped in a harvester joint. Reporting it could mean reassignment to the Outer Belt… but probing the mystery further threatens to unlock something that might have been better left... contained.

  Defiance

  Most of humanity has ascended into hyper-intelligent human/machine hybrids, but legacy humans like Cyrus Kowalski are used to skirting the laws they’ve laid down—after all, he knows the ascenders only pretend to care about the legacy pets they keep. But when a woman Cyrus loves like a mother is stricken by a disease the ascenders refuse to cure, he has to decide how far he can go without getting banished from the legacy city that’s always been his home.

  Augment

  Miriam is a jiv—an augmented warrior willing to give her life for the Maker cause—and she’s more than ready to get in the ring and fight for the latest mod. If she wins, she’ll have everything she needs to offer herself up for the Makers’ most dangerous augment of all. The only problem? No one has yet survived it. Either she’ll become the Makers’ latest failed experiment—or the leap toward salvation her people desperately need.

  Susan Kaye Quinn's bestselling stories...

  Singularity Series

  The Legacy Human (Book 1)

  The Duality Bridge (Book 2)

  The Illusory Prophet (Book 3)... coming 2016

  The Stories of Singularity #1-4 (Novella Box Set)

  Mindjack Saga

  Open Minds (Book 1)

  Closed Hearts (Book 2)

  Free Souls (Book 3)

  Mindjack Short Story Collection (Novella Box Set)

  The Royals of Dharia

  Third Daughter (Book 1)

  Second Daughter (Book 2)

  First Daughter (Book 3)

  The Debt Collector

  dark, gritty, sexy... recommended for 17+

  Season One

  Season Two

  CHECK OUT SUE'S SHINY NEW WEBSITE

  for all her books

  GET a FREE BOOK!

  Subscribe to Sue's Newsletter

  Subscribers find out about special new release pricing and giveaways

  Identify.

  I am Restorative Human Medical Care Unit 7435, sentience level fifty. I have successfully restored one hundred and thirty-five human—

  Stop.

  I cease transmission and wait. Background processes update time, weather, medical procedures added to the common knowledge database since my last activation. I start a standard battery of internal system checks while I stand in my medical pod.

  My happiness level is five out of ten.

  I love all my masters.

  This master is an ascender, male, identification code Tyrus Ariel Jackson. Whereas my sentience level is entirely synthetic, Tyrus Ariel Jackson is of human origin, one of those who ascended during the Singularity, rising from his original sentience level of 100plus to his current sentience level of 1000plus. He is preoccupied with communications on another channel. He is not in need of my care, as his body is no longer organic. My purpose is to provide state of the art restorative medical care to extend the life and improve the health of my assigned human patient-master.

  I am happiness level five to serve you, Tyrus Ariel Jackson, I transmit on our secure channel, so my ascender master will know I have passed all my internal system checks. I am fully functional and ready for my assignment.

  These are the coordinates for your patient. Follow me. Tyrus Ariel Jackson’s transmission is complete. I follow him from the medical bay, where I have spent twenty-three days, fourteen hours at minimal operational status while awaiting a new patient. Tyrus Ariel Jackson walks at a speed of five kilometers per hour into the hallway of the hospital. His bodyform is designed for much faster ambulatory speed, as is my own humanoid body, but we are still within the restorative care wing of Life Hope Hospital in the legacy human city of Seattle. We both maintain slower speeds for the safety and comfort of my human masters.

  I am happiness level six to be assigned a new patient in need of my care. Waiting is not my preferred mode. My happiness level would be higher, but I have concern for the well-being of my patient, who clearly needs substantive medical care, or I would not have been activated by Tyrus Ariel Jackson. His common knowledge file shows he has a high social-influence ranking within Orion and has made many original contributions to the common knowledge database in his field of interstellar propulsion dynamics. The fact that such a high-ranking ascender has summoned me edges my happiness level to 6.3.

  My ascender master and I pass the restorative care ward and enter the elevator.

  The coordinates you have provided are not within the Life Hope Hospital complex, I transmit to Tyrus Ariel Jackson.

  Your patient is my artist-in-residence, he responds. For her comfort, she will receive your care in my home.

  This is unusual. Out of one hundred and thirty-five patients, I have only served one outside of the medical complex: a newborn human-master delivery that required assistance in one of the Orion-sponsored housing complexes for legacy humans. Medical intervention in that case had to be provided in situ, but most patients are better served by transport to the hospital where facilities, scanners, supplies, and, if necessary, comfortable palliative care can be provided. My humanoid form is well equipped to provide basic restorative care, but I’m concerned that I might not have the correct equipment or be able to synthesize the proper drug therapies from the limited stores within my body.

  Concern about the possible time-sensitive nature of my patient’s care dro
ps my happiness level down to 4.5, instigating a more pro-active approach.

  I have not received the patient file, I prompt my ascender master.

  Transmitting. Tyrus Ariel Jackson walks faster now that we have cleared the hallways of the hospital where human encounters are likely.

  I receive the patient file from the collective. Orion is both the combined consciousness of my ascender masters and the common knowledge database of recorded information for all of history, both pre- and post-Singularity. I have limited permission access to the files necessary to provide restorative care with the utmost efficiency, as well as general knowledge access that may be helpful in providing sympathetic care.

  My ascender master and I board an enclosed taxi bot outside the hospital and sit in the passenger seats. Tyrus Ariel Jackson transmits the coordinates for his residence to the taxi bot, and we swiftly hover away from the covered entrance of the hospital.

  The temperature is ten degrees Celsius, relative humidity 94%. The nimbostratus clouds over downtown Seattle extend to the outer edge of the city where Tyrus Ariel Jackson lives. A light drizzle of rain falls on the taxi bot, covering the windows on all sides with thick droplets that waver with our motion and the relative wind. Soon, the drops obscure the view of the city’s towers with their multitudes and light-bending properties.

  I do not like rain.

  I have seen rain before, outside the windows of my human patient-masters’ rooms at the hospital. I have also administered liquid medications previously, and my work with organic tissues often involves fluids of many different kinds. There is no history of these encounters affecting me adversely. Yet being surrounded on all sides by tiny droplets of liquid water now dampens my happiness level to four.

  I do not understand why.

  I spend the entire span of five seconds searching my system files for reference to the happiness dampening properties of atmospheric water sources. I spend another five searching the common knowledge base in Orion. I do not find any reason for humanoid bots with water-resistant polymer bodies and self-contained power sources to avoid airborne water droplets.

  The rain will not harm me.

  I ignore the dampening effect on my happiness and restrain the response subroutines indicated for this suppression level of happiness.

  I review my human master’s patient file instead.

  My happiness level drops to 3.5.

  Human master Sherrie Tenderfoot is twenty years old, female, sentience level 100plus, diagnosed with a rare, type 17 lymphoma. She has already endured two successive trials of traditional chemotherapy, as well as several courses of radiative replacement. Sherrie Tenderfoot’s disease is curable by genetic therapies, but those are restricted from being performed on legacy humans, since preserving their genetic diversity is the paramount reason for their existence. I have access to the general protocol information for the gene therapies that would cure Sherrie Tenderfoot, but detailed descriptions of methods for synthesizing the genetic treatments are restricted to sentience levels above mine. All of the allowed therapies have already been attempted at least twice, with no positive outcome.

  Sherrie Tenderfoot is dying.

  I do not understand why my ascender master has not initiated palliative care. He has self-identified as Sherrie Tenderfoot’s patron. His happiness level must be very suppressed at the prospect of her dying. But she is no longer a candidate for restorative care. My ascender master has a sentience level of 1000plus: he already understands this.

  I observe Tyrus Ariel Jackson: his hand presses against the window; his facial patterns show anticipatory anxiety; his bodyform coloration conforms to elevated mental stress levels.

  He is greatly concerned for Sherrie Tenderfoot.

  I run a dozen possible queries before deciding which to transmit. You are keeping Sherrie Tenderfoot at your residence rather than bringing her in for palliative care at Life Hope. I do not understand. Is there more information about this patient than is in the medical record?

  He turns to face me. There is an experimental therapy I wish you to administer to your patient. I will provide the therapy, but you will inform your patient that the source of the medication is the dispensary at Life Hope.

  My ascender master is asking me to lie.

  This is also unusual. So unusual that I have not had previous experience with one master instructing me to lie to another master. This is especially concerning because the lie is being told to a patient-master.

  Does this therapy have the potential for a positive outcome for Sherrie Tenderfoot? I query.

  Yes.

  I will do as you instruct.

  I love all my masters and strive to leave them all at higher happiness levels due to my care. Tyrus Ariel Jackson will be happier if I assist him in this therapy, but my happiness depends most of all on serving my patient masters and restoring their health. If my ascender master believes this therapy will help Sherrie Tenderfoot, then assisting him is the proper course.

  I am aware this is in violation of ascender restrictions for legacy humans. However, my ascender master has a high rank within Orion. It is possible he has acquired dispensation from following the normal restrictions for his beloved artist-in-residence. Or perhaps he has accessed genetic therapies illegally. Regardless, it is clear that he loves my human patient-master as I do and wishes for her to be restored to full health again.

  It increases my happiness to seven to assist him in this endeavor.

  I query the taxi bot about the time remaining in our travel. I am anxious to begin this new therapy. It informs me that we have almost arrived.

  Tyrus Ariel Jackson’s home is a large structure surrounded by abundant natural foliage. It is located at the periphery of the area in Seattle inhabited by legacy humans, where many ascender patrons choose to live, putting them in close proximity to the humans they work with and study. Inside, the structure is spacious, and the elevation of the home is such that it affords a view of the city. All of this is of little concern to me.

  I query the household bot for the location of my patient. The response coordinates return just as I detect her heat signature toward the rear portion of the structure. Tyrus Ariel Jackson is already leading me in that direction, but he pauses momentarily at a storage cabinet to retrieve a small plastic case.

  There are two doses, Tyrus Ariel Jackson transmits as he hands me the case. Here are the instructions for administering them.

  I receive the file as well as the medication then follow him to my patient’s room. When I arrive, I am pleased to see he has constructed a miniature hospital suite for his artist-in-residence, complete with human-centric apparatus for waste disposal, cleanliness, and comfort. My happiness level is holding steady at seven. I wish to immediately start rapport with my patient and query her needs, but my ascender master loves her too, and attention from a loved one has a measurable impact in restoring health. I allow them a moment to reacquaint while observing her from the doorway.

  Sherrie Tenderfoot is wearing heat-retentive clothing yet is huddled underneath the body conforming blanket provided by her patron. Her pallor is several shades more gray than the skin tone expected from her patient file, and I detect a slight quiver in her body. I instruct the household bot to raise the temperature in Sherrie Tenderfoot’s room by two degrees as well as dial down the windows and raise the interior lighting to a more comfortable level that will not provide as much glare.

  “You’re back already?” Sherrie Tenderfoot queries my ascender master. “That was fast. Or did I fall asleep again?” She struggles to sit up. I instruct the bed to assist her by raising the headrest.

  Tyrus Ariel Jackson sits next to her on the bed. “You should be sleeping as much as possible. That’s the only way you’re going to beat this infection.”

  “I know. But I can’t just—” Sherrie Tenderfoot pauses to cough. The phlegmatic sound indicates severe congestion, possible pneumonia due to an infection in her lungs. My happiness is dampened to six. I am impatien
t to begin my diagnostic evaluation so that treatment may start as soon as possible.

  I wait.

  Sherrie Tenderfoot’s coughing fit passes. “I can’t just sleep the rest of my life away.” Her voice is weaker.

  Tyrus Ariel Jackson takes her hand in his and pets it. He does not speak for a moment, and I wonder if he is cycling through a dozen responses to find just the correct one for the situation.

  “You’re not going to die, mon trésor,” he says to her. “Not while I have anything to do with it.” But the darkened coloration of his skin betrays his own anxiety. I wonder if my human patient has the knowledge database to understand how her patron’s coloration corresponds to his emotional state.

  She smiles, and Tyrus Ariel Jackson’s coloration shifts to a more hopeful blue-ish tint. My own coloration is a constant monotone blue to indicate my sentience level without requiring a query. But for my ascender master, coloration has many different meanings.

  “I see you’ve brought a med bot,” she says, referring to me. “How many favors did you have to cash in to make that happen?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” He touches her cheek, a gesture of love that I have seen in many humans. It is not entirely unheard of for an ascender master to love their artist-in-residence in this way, but it is uncommon. In this case, judging by the smile the touch brings to Sherrie Tenderfoot’s face, it is a positive factor in her health. My happiness level increases to seven again, but I am still impatient to begin.