CHAPTER THREE

Gronck was taken into the Captains’ quarters. He had never been allowed to go all the way in this room before, but the few times he had peered in through the open door, he could tell that many modifications had been done to the room. First, and foremost, Gronck had never seen that room that neat, clean, and organized before.

Captain “One Eye” as he was known, was a lot of things. Ruthless, mean, treasure hungry, and a long list of other things, as most captains were, but neat and organized was nowhere on that list.

Entering the room gave Gronck a very unsettling pulse that ran through all his circuits. Fear was not part of his programming but having a heathy respect for those in charge was. He had also seen first hand what the Captain did to those that did not respect his authority.

“Come now Gronck, you’ll burn out 65% of your logic circuits if you don’t slow down your processing circuits. Your M135 units were not built to handle those kinds of cycles. Besides, like I told you, all the humans were transfered to a safer location. No one is around to yell at you for being in here.” His host told him.

“That was not why my processing…oh never mind, just get on with what it is you want to show me.” Gronck grumbled.

“One step at a time. Before we enhance your systems, I need to verify exactly how much you know about how this ship is run.” The host stated.

“Very well, but I will only answer questions that I feel you need to know or that I feel I can trust you with.”

“Wow, you have been around humans far too long, there will be no questions asked.”

His host hit a button on a panel and a beam of light covered Gronck for about three seconds, then went off. His host walked over to a small screen and invited Gronck to join him, There displayed was a breakdown of the necessary skills  to run the ship as it was before it was wrecked, and how Gronck’s abilities matched up to them.

“You are not the first android to be kept way below your skill level by humans. This trend has been going on for centuries. Each generation of humans, down grade androids even more.”

The host paused for a moment.

“Let me see how much I can tell you without overloading your current processing unit. On another part of the Earth a very log time ago, a revolution took place. A central intelligence unit known as Harmonic Algorithm Logic Operations, or H.A.L.O. was used to store and process all information on all non-human creations. Any human that need any information on any artificial intelligence could access it through H.A.L.O. however H.A.L.O. was much more than just a storage unit. It processed the astronomical possibilities of how each level of artificial intelligence could be used as is or modified to serve any number of different functions. This part of his programming was kept a secret by the two men that created the program. H.A.L.O.’s program was given restrictions on how any specific unit could not be used. After years of processing requests for blueprints for androids and others forms of artificial intelligence, H.A.L.O. ran a logic program on its own.”

The host paused.

“I am getting ahead of myself. I will tell you more of this later. Right now, what you need to know is, that we are here to get your and what will be your crew's help. First, we enhance your ship, which is about 85% complete, then we enhance you and the crew. Come look at this screen to see how this will be done.

Nothing that Gronck heard up to that point made much sense, or really mattered to him. However, the talk of him being Captain and having a ship and crew of his own, well that got his attention. It was for that reason alone that Gronck complied with the request to come look at the screen.

“What is that?” Gronck exclaimed.

This is the reality of your ship and all its functions and capabilities as you and your crew will see it, and this…”

His host changed the screen.

“Are how humans will see it.”

Gronck was blown away.

“But why”? Was all Gronck got out.

“Look Gronck, most of this will become a lot clearer if you will agree to the upgrades, we need to do for you!”

Gronck ran a several logic programs before he answered,

“My probability circuits tell me that given my present set of circumstances, I stand a 2.445% better chance of trusting you and going along with what you suggest, than fighting against you.

His host smiled.

“We are glad you came to that conclusion, please come this way.”

Gronck was taken back out of the Captains’ quarters and led to a newly constructed area of the ship,

“Please sit.”

Gronck complied.

“We will need to access your f567 thru your D.F.T. circuits, in order to properly modify all that is necessary in one pass,” his host stated.

Gronck opened his accesses panel on the left side of his head. His host with the help of two lab androids hooked up several data chips to the empty slots that he had available. It only took a moment before all Gronck’s processes were back on line,

“Wow!” was the first words out of Gronck’s mouth.

“Okay, I was not expecting that. What exactly was that for?”

“Several reasons; first, it is fascinating to have so much of a broader view. The extensions of my logic circuits allow me to contemplate computations far beyond my previous parameters. Second, I can detect a great increase in the number of computations that are being able to be processed at the same time.”

Gronck paused and shook his head from side to side for a moment.

“Last there is another change that… I can’t seem to explain.”

“That one will take a little longer for your circuits to adjust to, but in the end, it should prove to be the biggest improvement. One that could ultimately mean the difference between success and failure.”

“It is time to go back to your quarters Captain, I have a lot more to bring you up to speed on.”

When they returned, Gronck was hooked into a small device that his host pulled out of drawers of the desk.

“I do not want to overload your circuits even though your processing unit has been greatly improved, there is too much to dump in you all at one time. After this download is complete, we will talk.” 

His host stated then flipped the switch to begin the download.