Chapter 16
Sigma
HIMS Ultor Sanguinis, Orbit of Erdi
When Yasuko first began to come around, everything was a blur. Her senses, her memory, all of it. She blinked a few times and her vision came into focus. There wasn't much to see, though. She was in a mostly featureless white room.
She tried moving, but her arms felt like lead weights. Arms. As in two of them. Sure enough, she had a brand-new right arm, completely indistinguishable from the real thing. Later on when she would examine it closer, she'd find it didn't have some of the old characteristic scars and whatnot of her original arm, but how were they going to know about that? The new arm seemed fairly responsive, her fingers moving the way she wanted them to and giving her sensation as they brushed against each other.
Yasuko couldn't help feeling a little giddy, even if it didn't do her any favors with her light-headedness.
"How are you feeling, Miss Rodrigues?" an unfamiliar voice asked.
"Who is that?" Yasuko asked. as there was no one in the room with her.
"My apologies," the voice said. "I may be premature introducing myself. Hold one moment. Requesting authorization... Authorization granted. I am D135-Sigma-6810, a distributive nanomachine colony AI. Please call me Sigma."
"Distributive nano-what?"
"A distributive nanomachine colony AI," Sigma replied. "In other words, my computing ability is distributed across the multibillion nanomachines of the colony, preventing any single points of failure and reducing the risk of compromise by unauthorized sources."
"Where are you?"
"Please hold up your hand."
Yasuko did so and the letters "HELLO" appeared on the back of her hand.
"I primarily operate on the surface of your skin," Sigma explained, "but I have also assimilated the preexisting nanomachine colonies both on the surface and within your body. My primary function is to serve as adaptive armor. You have been designated for combat operations and will receive training on my functionality once you have recovered from your surgery."
"How are you talking to me?"
"Because you are not equipped with the cortical implants for an integrated bilateral man-machine interface, I am communicating with you by direct stimulation of the small bones in your ear. As a result, you are the only one who can hear what I am saying to you. Once you have received training in subvocal communication, your half of the conversation will be more secure as well."
"I don't know how much I like the thought of you crawling all over me."
"Any discomfort you feel is entirely psychological and beyond the scope of my functionality. If it will set your mind at ease, then allow me to state that I will avoid triggering any unnecessary stimuli. Also, once my capabilities have been demonstrated, I believe you will fully accept my presence."
"You're pretty confident, aren't you?"
"Your odds of survival in combat will increase approximately 1273% with me equipped. That is typically more than sufficient to convince any operator."
"What now?"
"You are advised to rest and recover. In your current condition, the probability of injury from a fall is high. You should avoid leaving bed without assistance."
"You gonna give me something to sleep?"
"I am not currently equipped to dispense pharmaceuticals, nor am I authorized to do so. If you require a sleep aid, press the call light on your left and a nurse will assist you."
"Nah, I'll manage."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. For some reason, just talking to you's taken a lot out of me."
"I apologize if our conversation has been fatiguing to you."
"Don't worry 'bout it."
As Yasuko closed her eyes, Sigma said, "Good night, Miss Rodrigues."
"Call me Yasuko."
"Acknowledged. Good night, Yasuko."