Nexus Notes - Ch.6

“You’re serious about this?” said Khamal.

“Naturally,” Nexus replied, seated atop the big metal relay they’d extracted as if it were no more than an over-sized stool. “Look, the main blockade to creating an artificial brain is the size requirement. In order to replicate the complexity and processing of a human mind. You’d need a computer the size of a house. But with this beautiful bastard!” she said, excitedly slapping the device under her backside. “We know that not only can we safely suspend matter in sub-space, but that relay between sub-space and normal space is possible.”

Parker was seated in Nex’s usual chair, having battled his way out of their ramshackle environment suit. “So you planned this little project all along?”

She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve had this project planned since I was fourteen.”

“So last week?” Parker replied with a smug smile.

“If you think you can ruin my mood today, you will be sadly mistaken.”

“So we can do this,” added Khamal, cutting in, “But why? What purpose will this thing serve?”

Her already ear to ear grin broadened and she resembled a house-cat, oh so pleased with its latest catch. “Whatever we want! Let me explain. Parker, get me down from here.”

Without questioning it, he hopped to his feet and reached toward her. He slipped his hands under her arms, lifted her off the device and placed her feet on the ground and her cane in her hands.

Nexus marched over to her big whiteboard and wiped it clean, swiftly drawing up a diagram. She sketched up two sides, one labeled ‘Sub-Space,’ and the other, ‘Normal Space.’ At the bottom of the diagram, she wrote a small notation, ‘5,509.3:1.’ She tapped it with her finger. “As we all know, sub-space is condensed 5,509.3 times compared to our universe.”

“Yes… We all know this,” Parker replied with mock confidence. Silphi nodded in agreement.

Nexus rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Go on, Meryl,” said Khamal.

She cleared her throat audibly and continued. “Thank you.” She proceeded to scrawl a large circle on the sub-space portion of the diagram, labeled, ‘Posi-Brain.’

“If we create our brain and move it into sub-space, equipped with planet-to-planet relay systems and some thrusters, it can easily communicate with any system on Pantainos.” She proceeded to sketch a small map of Pantainos’s solar system, noting various space stations and other colonized planets. She circled it at and drew a line across the border between sub-space and normal space, leading back to the Posi-Brain. “With some work, entire solar systems could be accessed simultaneously. Get the picture?”

“Indeed,” Khamal said in a hushed voice. “Instantaneous, inter-system communications and transfer of data. If possible, this would change the entire structure of galactic civilization.”

“Even bigger!” said Nexus, practically bouncing on her toes with excitement. “With the right programming, the processor could connect to anything with wireless access and simply occupy the equivalent location in sub-space. The Posi-Brain does all the work and outputs the results to the device on our side and it can inhabit any machine, no matter how big or how small. This AI could operate entire starships or building complexes, intelligently and autonomously and with this kind of computing power, it can overpower any security. If we so decided, the entire galaxy would be under our control!”

Parker’s eyes widened at this last statement. “…Nex,” he said cautiously. “Aren’t you edging a little bit into mad scientist territory?”

“I never said I was going to!” she whined. She sounded almost like a child, upset over a grown-up souring her fun.

“Then don’t say that! That just proves that you’ve thought about it!”

Tapping her marker against her chin, she shook her head at him. “Let’s focus on the real goal here. We’re creating an intelligent, feeling system that can project itself onto any accessible hardware. Potential exists for both good and evil, but either way, we’re going to change the galaxy with this.”

Khamal shifted in his chair and habitually cracked his knuckles. “You’re insisting on a feeling system. One that can experience emotion. Why?”

“You’re a scientist and you can’t figure that out? To see if I can, obviously.”

“But wouldn’t that be dangerous? To put so much power in the hands of something so unpredictable and fickle as emotion?”

“Not at all,” she said with a narrow gaze. “On the contrary, I believe the alternative is more dangerous. Emotion is a key function of the sentient mind, and so to create a sentient being without it, would not be true sentience. We’d be crafting an extreme sociopath and strapping it to a supercomputer.”

Parker raised his hand again.

Nex’s gaze flitted toward him and she awaited his input.

“Aren’t you an extreme sociopath strapped to a supercomputer?”

“I fail to see your point.”

“Just wondering if you knew.”

She kept her gaze locked firmly on Parker. “No further interruptions please.” Back to the whiteboard, she started writing up a small list with various figures next to each item. “To continue this project in earnest, we’re going to have some expenses.” She’d marked down various technical supplies, mostly what they already had but in greater volume, some power generators and a huge array of computer parts. “Most of this we can cannibalize from junk, or pick up surplus from the right places. There’s a lot of tech flowing into Pantainos most of the time. But there’s one expense we can’t skimp on.” She jabbed a finger toward the top of the list, ‘Lab Space (3,000 Square foot minimum, private).’ Her handwriting was chicken scratch, childlike scribbling, and the others strained to read it.

“Fascinating,” muttered Khamal, head bowed and hand on his chin. “And how do we intend to cover the costs of such an endeavour?”

“I’ve got it handled,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“Nex, you don’t even work,” said Parker. “I’m not even sure how you can afford this place, let alone all this.”

Her mouth curved down into a frown and her cheek twitched. “That’s none of your business! I said I had it covered so drop it!”

“Urgh! How do you do this!?” yelled Silphi.

“Do what?” said Parker, brow knitted.

“Talk! Talk without knowing! Hiding, always hiding things, emotions shrouded and intentions hidden from one another. It doesn’t make any sense! Humans are confusing and… difficult to relate to.”

“Damn straight,” said Nexus in a casual drawl before continuing. “I just need everyone to trust me when I say I have this handled. So long as we’re smart about this, we should be fine.”

Khamal ran a big hand through his hair and smoothed it back. “What about the programming for this? To replicate the complex, emotional spectrum experienced by sentient beings. It could take years.”

“Glad you asked!” Nexus said with obvious glee. “Like I said, I’ve been planning this for years. I started development on the programming for this three years ago. There’s still a lot to be done, but we’ve got a headstart. So, who’s still with me?”

Khamal nodded, rising to his feet. “No point in backing out now. Dare I say that I’m actually enjoying science for the first time in years.”

“I’ve got nothing else to do,” said Parker. “Plus all the lifting and carrying I do around here is a pretty good upper body workout.”

Silphi nodded as well. “I want to help. It’s nice to meet so many new people,” she said with a peaceful smile.

Nexus beamed with pride at her assembled team, hands on her hips and mouth spread in a broad grin. “Alright, it’s settled then. The real work starts now!”

***

That was nearly two weeks ago.

Now, Nexus sat alone in her apartment, looking more haggard than ever. She had dark circles under her eyes and more piled up espresso packets than ever before. She was pale and her hands shook as she tapped her computer.

“Where-the-hell-are-you,” she said aloud as she typed up a message on her screen. The recipient was listed simply as ‘Dip-shit,” though such was simply one Nex’s many nicknames for Parker. “It’s been eleven days. I hope you get hit by a bus. Aaaand, send.”

She sighed deeply and dropped the screen onto her desk, slumping deeply into her wheelchair.

It was moments later that Khamal stepped into the apartment, preceded by a quiet knocked.

Nexus whirled to face him, anxiousness washing over her tired features. Any excitement she may have felt was banished when the big aquarri shook his head. “Out of our price range.”

“Ugh!” she groaned. “That place was perfect! Out of the way, lot’s of space, on-site power generators, cargo doors, loading ramps! It had it all! It was perfect! I can’t imagine a better space for a lab! What were they asking for it?”

“80,000 credits for a down payment.”

“80,000, for that shit hole!?”

Khamal donned a long look of worry before it morphed into skepticism.

“Come back when you have good news!”

“Hmmm,” he breathed, narrowing his eyes and cracking his knuckles. “I understand that you’re having difficulty adjusting with Mr. Walsh away, but we need you focused.”

Her shaking hands clutched the arms of her wheelchair with a white-knuckled grip. “No!” she screamed. “This has nothing to do with that neanderthal! It’s about money! Money and science, and how little of each I have right now!”

“Yes, of course. So then, how do we proceed?” he asked, arms folded over his enourmous chest.

Nexus tilted her head back and let out a loud groan. “I don’t know! I have no idea! We can’t do this without a lab, a big one. We can’t get the lab space we need without money!”

“Indeed. We find ourselves backed into a financial corner. Have you considered seeking out a backer to support our work?”

“Nah,” she said with a shake of her head. “Needs to be someone I can trust, and as a rule, I don’t trust people with money.”

“That does complicate things. At the very least, I’ll keep an eye out for a more affordable location. For now, I’ll have to return home for the evening. Will you be alright here alone?”

“What?” she asked with a knitted brown and her lip curled into a scowl. “Don’t ask stupid questions. I was fine here alone for years.”

“Very well. Good luck, Meryl.”

She waved him away with a dismissive swish of her hand.

However, he did not leave. When he opened the door, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and stared at something or someone in his path. Nexus couldn’t make out what it was, as hos gargantuan bulk blocked it from sight.

“Meryl, you have a guest,” he said, stepping aside.

In the threshold stood a stranger to Nexus. He was a gliese, small-bodied, large-eyed, frog-like beings, and his face was contorted with a strange look of shock, though their expressions could be difficult to interpret. He was a pale purple hue, with darker speckles on his hairless skin, huge, oval black eyes were set in his round, smooth head and he was dressed in a gliese-cut uniform from the Pantainos Academy of Science. It was complete with the hood-like garment most members of his species wore to protect their sensitive skin from the sun.

Nexus crinkled her nose at the stranger and promptly shot up out of her wheelchair, leaning more heavily on her cane than usual. “Who the hell are you?” she asked sharply.

He stared at her for a long moment, before blurting out his answer all at once. “Your hypotheses have no grounding in modern science, require far too many assumptions and depend upon a discarded theory from decades ago!” he cried in a nasal voice.

“S-student 681966!? The hell are doing here!? How did you find me!?”

“You’d like to know that, wouldn’t you!” he said with an accusatory finger jabbed in her direction, marching right past Khamal. “Well, it’s really easy to find someone when they go by their screen name everywhere!”

“Oh yeah, just walk right in! Thanks for stopping him Khamal!”

“Apologies,” said the aquarri. “I’d rather not employ physical force.”

She shook her head before redirecting her attention to the intruder in her apartment. “Why would you track me back to my home!”

“You blocked me! Huhhh!” He sucked in a loud gasp as if a great revelation had dawned on him. “You lied. You lied and then you blocked me! Huhhh! How could you do that!”

“Yeah, I blocked you because I was tired of listening to you, and apparently I live in a universe cruel enough that the end result of said action is you finding me in person! Now get out!”

“Not until you unblock me!”

“I’m not doing that, you psychopath. If anything, this justifies my decision!”

“Meryl,” said Khamal as he stepped between them, hands raised in an attempt to pacify the situation. He whispered in her direction. “Just tell him what he wants to hear, and he’ll leave.”

“Oh no! That’s not how this is happening.” Peering past her companion, she locked eyes with the intruder and smirked wickedly. “What’s your name?”

“Gito,” he replied, trying to snarl, but his species’ complete lack of teeth made the expression less than intimidating.

“Alright, Gito, take a seat and shut up.”

The gliese stood in place for a long moment, before slowly squatting down in the middle of the room and staring at her with equal parts frustration and curiosity.

Nexus strolled over to the big, mechanical ring and reached for the access terminal.

“Meryl, I would advise against this. We want to involve as few people as possible.”

She stopped in place, peering back at him over her shoulder. “Fair point,” she said with her finger poised over the activation button. She bowed her head and paused in thought, taking in a deep, calming breath. “Pushing this button will put our entire operation at ask. But on the other hand, I like to win.” With that, she jammed her finger against the button and suddenly the device came alive.

Just as it had many times before, the portal opened and showed the trio a window into subspace, human corpses floating inside.

“Ugh! Goddammit, Meryl,” said Khamal as he ran a massive hand through his hair.

Gito stared in a strange fascination. His solid black eyes widened to great saucers and his mouth gawped open. All the air evacuated his lungs in a long, squeaking noise.

After allowing the portal to stay open for a few seconds, and letting her rival take in the evidence of his defeat, she tapped another key and it closed up instantaneously. “What do you say to that?”

His response was no less than a long, shrill shriek. Nexus and Khamal both clasped their hands over their ears while Gito drew his knees up to his chest, rolled onto his back and wailed.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, this is so much worse than whining on the internet!” She had to yell to be heard over Gito’s panicked screaming.

“I must agree,” said Khamal through grit teeth.

Gito stretched his limbs out and began kicking against the floor and flailing his arms, knocking over Nex’s chair and rattling her workspace.

“Why is he doing this?” she said.

“Gliese are often prone to erratic behaviour, but this goes well beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

“Well make him stop!”

Khamal nodded. He stomped forward and reached down toward the struggling, screeching man with his big, meaty hands. Before he could get his fingers around him, Gito squirmed away and scampered to his feet. He let out another scream before darting toward the nearest wall and flinging himself toward it. He stuck to the surface like a gecko and scuttled up to the corner where the wall met ceiling, clinging there.

“Stupid!” he screamed, slamming his head against the ceiling. “I’m so stupid! What have I done!” His screams transcended into high-pitched squeaks, slowly grinding his face against the ceiling.

“Why would you bring this upon us!?” Khamal bellowed.

“How? How could I have possibly predicted this outcome!”

***

After stepping out of the elevator, Parker was letting out a loud yawn and stretching out his tired limbs, finally home after nearly two weeks away. He had come to expect a great many strange things in the time since befriending Nexus, and yet he so regularly found himself surprised. Today, upon stepping into the hall, did not disappoint.

There appeared to be a strange noise coming Nex’s apartment and Silphi stood staring at the door, her back to the opposite wall and her body quaking. In her arms, she held a basket of Nex’s laundry. As soon as Parker stepped into view, her eyes darted toward him, her expression pleading
for his help.

“Well, I can tell this is going to be a weird day,” he said to himself. With few other options, he walked over to the scared arietian girl while trying to discern what that awful noise was. “Silphi, what’s going on? What’d I miss?”

“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not sure what to do.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “How long have you been waiting out here?”

“Twenty minutes.”

“And this ear bleeding noise has been going on the whole time?”

She nodded.

“And you never went inside to check?”

She shook her head.

“Uhh,” he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small pat. “Why not?”

“There is an unfamiliar person in there.”

“Well, that is probably true. C’mon Silphi, let’s go have a look.”

“Uhm, okay… But I don’t want to.”

“Nobody does Silphi. But Nexus is your friend, right?”

She squinted her big, fishy eyes and toyed with her bracelets. “Yes.”

“Well, that means we gotta go in.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said reluctantly.

Upon opening the door, Parker was greeted with the sight of Nexus and Khamal, seated at their stations and working diligently, each with a pair of headphones on and seemingly ignoring the screaming Gliese, clinging to their ceiling.

He immediately turned back to face Silphi, the two sharing expressions of equal bewilderment. “I’ll be honest, I was not prepared for that.”

Nexus took note of their arrival and pulled out her earbuds, cringing slightly as Gito’s shrieks suddenly overtook her hearing again.

“Who is that, what is he doing!?” Parker asked as he stepped into the apartment and gestured toward the stranger.

“That’s Gito,” Nexus yelled to be heard above his cries. “He’s having sort of a break-down. I think I shattered his worldview or something.”

“Why do you seem numb to this!?”

“Going on three hours now,” she said, her attention returned to her computer.

“And you haven’t done anything about it?”

“Well I tried throwing paper airplanes and office supplies at him, but that got old after a while.”

Parker’s jaw practically dropped at this point. “What about calling the police!?”

“And let them see what we’ve been up to in here? No, we’re just gonna have to wait him out. He needs to sleep eventually.”

Whilst Nexus and Parker debated the matter, Silphi had delicately approached the bizarre figure and spoke to him in a soft voice, nary a whisper. “Uhm, excuse me, can I have your name?”

His scream slowly petered out into a low, maintained whine.

“Your name,” she repeated. “Mine is Silphi.”

The whine faded out entirely and he went quiet, simply watching her with curiosity. “…Gito,” he said at last.

Khamal too removed his headphones. “Did he… stop?”

Nexus and Parker’s conversation slowed to a halt as they quietly observed what was going on.

Silphi continued. “It is nice to meet you, Mr.Gito,” she said with a bow of her head.

Not knowing what else to do, Gito sucked in a sharp breath and bowed back.

“May I ask why you are so upset?”

“B-because I was wrong. So much I know about physics and sub-space, it was all wrong. And my opinions and arguments were all over the academy forums. When the knowledge that I was wrong comes out, I will look foolish. Again… I always look foolish. Stupidstupidstupid!” His voice descended into whimpers and he smacked his head against the wall repeatedly, in time with each cry. The strikes dazed him for a moment, his head lolling to the side.

“Oh no, please stop that!” she said, reaching out toward him. “Please come down and we can talk about this.”

He shook the haze from his head and refocused his wildly swiveling eyes on Silphi. “T-talk? Why would you want to talk to an idiot like me? An imbecile, useless, a life devoted to labour! I deserve it all!” He was yowling now, his emotions overwhelming.

“But you’re wearing a PAS uniform. That’s the most prestigious science school in the UEF. I think that makes you pretty smart.”

“You do? But I… I’m not smart at all. I’m a disgrace to the gliese, I’ll never contribute anything to society!”

“Who told you that?” she said, seriously, hands on her hips.

“M-my sire.”

“That’s terrible. And he’s terrible for saying that to you. Why don’t you come down here and have a seat while I look at your injuries? You can tell me all about it.”

After a stretch of deliberation, he nodded. He started to unstick himself from the wall and climb down. Silphi guided him over to the couch and sat him down, talking gently to him examining the bruises on the side of his head.

“Wow,” said Parker. “Of all people, I didn’t imagine Silphi was going to get us out of this.”

“Never mind that, where the hell have you been!” Nexus snapped, jabbing him with her cane.

“Hey!” he shot back, swatting her instrument of annoyance away. “I told you, I was working. I can’t be around all the time. Sorry, I know you have trouble getting by without me, but you-”

“Why does everyone think that!?” she yelled, cutting in.

“Nex, you left me nine messages since this morning.”

“Oh, so you did get those?” she said with a glare, arms crossed over her chest. “See, I was assuming they hadn’t gone through because you weren’t answering them!”

“There were slightly more pressing matters at the time!”

“Well, you can just drop dead then!”

“Harsh!” Reaching into his coat, he pulled out his computer and offered it to her. “Just take this, it’ll make everything better, I promise.”

“That does not look strawberry cheesecake ice-cream.”

“Just turn the damn thing on Nex.”

She scowled but did as directed. The computer opened to a screen displaying images of a property. A large warehouse on the outskirts of town. It was sizable but looked to be in rough shape. The screen had some notes listed below, chiefly of which was the price-tag. 30,000 credits for a down-payment.

When next she spoke, the anger and cynicism had washed from her voice, leaving only awe and anxiousness behind. “… What is this? 30,000 for this? It must be 5,000 square feet!? W-where did you find this?”

“Like I said, Nex. I was working.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could continue, Silphi’s voice interrupted them.

“Miss Nexus, Gito has something he’d like to say to you.”

Beside the arietian girl stood a very sullen looking Gito. His huge, black eyes stared at his feet and he shifted uncomfortably.

Nexus crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I’m listening.”

“I am… sorry for calling you a liar,” Gito said slowly.

“And?” said Silphi.

“And damaging your lab. And screaming for three hours, two minutes and thirty-nine seconds.”

“And?” Silphi said again.

“And,” he stumbled, fidgeting slightly before continuing. “And I would like to join your team.”

“Oh hell no!” Nexus shot back. “I hate this guy!”

Gito whimpered softly, retreating from her, but found Silphi’s hand on his shoulder.

“Nexus, don’t be mean,” said Silphi. “Gito is a top ranking, computer science student at PAS. He can be a big help to the team!”

“She’s got a point. We need all the brains we can get,” said Parker. “Plus, he knows what’s going on here. If he’s not in on it, we can’t really trust him not to tell anyone.”

Nexus grit her teeth and a low growl rumbled in her throat. They were right, and she hated them for it. She didn’t say anything for a long moment, desperately searching her mind for a way out. She concluded to herself that there none which didn’t involve murdering Gito, and that really wasn’t any kind of option. “Fine,” she said at last.

Both alien’s faces lit up with excitement.

“But under one condition,” Nexus added. “He’s your responsibility Silphi. I am promoting you from Assistant. Silphi, you are now our official Gito wrangler!”