Day 00007 Mission Nilex
Captain Gareth Levant was traveling in the transit tube when his movement came to a sudden halt.
«Canaisis?»
He started traveling back in the direction he'd come from as she answered in his mind, «I have solved aspects of Ayla's condition, and we must hurry, Captain.»
«Explain, please.»
«She's somehow become entwined with my quantum system. Her mind will burn itself out trying to download the data I have stored.»
«How did you figure that out?»
«As soon as Ahmid explained the Nilex Gift, I started comparing my two-dimensional particle memory system to what I've observed in Ayla. Then I penetrated her blood-brain barrier to get a closer look at her brain structure and electrical patterns. I found synapse patterns I recognized. They match algorithms I use to access my own system.»
«What? What can we do?»
«I see only one course of action that may help her, but we have to act fast, before her next spike.»
«So you're saying she's somehow accessing your memory core?»
«Yes, Captain.»
«What is she trying to download?»
«She has accessed your personal file, Captain. The one that is all that you are, the one I'm locked out of.»
He paused in mid-thought, then he tried to sort out all the implications of Canaisis' assessment.
«Okay. What needs to be done, and where am I going?»
«I'm returning you to Ahmid, so you may explain why we're moving her. She cannot control her Gift—it must run its course. The only thing I can do to help is to enable her mind to handle the data she's downloading.»
Gareth contracted his brows at that. «How is that possible?»
«I don't know, Captain. Most of the Human brain stays dormant, only ten percent of its potential is used. There's much about the Human mind that defies comprehension.»
«Can we somehow cut off the data she's accessing from our end?»
«Not understanding fully what's happening, I'm hesitant to try—the results are unpredictable at the moment.»
«Then what's our best course of action?»
«We must give her the same nanos that I created for you.»
«You can't be serious!» But Gareth's mind was already racing ahead. «Are you sure, Canaisis?»
«Very sure, Captain. I was able to enter her consciousness briefly after passing the blood-brain barrier. She has full knowledge and consents.»
His movement stopped, and he exited the tube. For some reason, the gravity on this deck seemed to weigh him down more than normal, or maybe he just felt the weight of time on his shoulders as he walked toward the double doors. For the first time in he didn't know how long, he didn't know what he was going to say.
Gareth entered the Stateroom and found Ahmid framed by the star-speckled floor-to-ceiling window. He looked up from the book he was browsing at the sound of Gareth's footfall.
"Hello, Captain. Since Canaisis told me to wait for you, I hope you don't mind my looking over your library."
Gareth strode towards the table, stopped behind a chair, and gripped its backrest with both hands.
YOU ARE READING
CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One: The Last Living Ship ∞ 1: A New Mission
Science FictionBook 1 of CANAISIS ∞ The Last Living Ship trilogy (Chronicles of Canaisis 1) Can a ship, born to sail the ocean of stars to ensure Humankind's survival, save her Captain from the void within his own heart? ∞ ∞ ∞ Canaisis is the last of her kind, a L...
