Grandpa may be approaching 100 years of age, but he’s as quick to pop up onto his board as I am and he still has a poise and grace that comes from spending a lifetime in Sevrin’s slightly more forgiving gravity. With an average active human lifespan now being around 130 years or so, he still has some way to go before he will give the waves up, I think.

His continued love of the surf is infectious. Honestly, it was one of the few things I had in common with my father and it just wasn’t enough to keep me on more than distant terms with him. I drifted into Grandpa’s orbit instead and then never escaped his infectious and forward-looking gravitational effects.

He had; indeed, he still has, an incredible focus on the future of humanity and the AIs. He doesn’t see them as separate things, simply part of the same symbiotic whole and he has tried for the last half-century and more to mould humanity towards this end. His methods have always been insidious, gentle yet persistent. He was the first human to actually treat another AI as his friend and he made this a normal thing that people could see and try for themselves. Over the years, many have done so.

We ride half a dozen nice waves over the next hour, but I don’t want to upset Granddad and I try my best to make sure that we are back on dry land, cleaned up and at the table in good time. Luckily, Grandpa knows his limitations and accepts that he is getting a little tired after an hour, making it easy enough for me to keep on everybody’s good side.

“How long are you staying, Peter?” He asks as we walk slowly up the slight brough towards the house. “Will we have a chance to surf together again before you have to go?”

“I’m pretty sure we will, Grandpa. I’m here all day tomorrow and then have to get back to Earth the day after.” I’ve enjoyed myself so much that I honestly wish I’d scheduled more time with them both, but the Mona’s Isle is almost at orbital insertion and I need to be there for that.

By the time we have both showered and changed, Granddad has the dining table set for us and there’s an AI avatar in the fourth seat. It’s one of the few I recognise on sight and I greet them happily. “Nexi, it’s good to see you. How are things with you?”

<Very good, Peter. As you know, I’m stepping back a little from my duties these days. I feel like a bit of a change of pace.>

“Lazy AIs,” Grandpa mutters. “Expect to get time off after little more than 300 years of work.”

<It’s not a retirement. I’m just contemplating a change of career. Planetary Controller is rewarding, but you don’t exactly get much time to spend with your friends.>

“Well, I for one think you deserve a change of pace,” I tell them as I take a seat opposite them. “Everyone needs a little variety. Even you switched to the Exploration Division, Grandpa.”

“Fair. Perhaps you should take a ship out once more yourself, Nexi?”

<Maybe I will. I know I did that once before, but having full-time communications would make it a bit more fun. Argus seems to be enjoying himself out towards Verus. I’m still looking for something that appeals though.>

“Well, I’ll tell you all about Verus soon enough,” I tell them as Granddad sits down with us, having placed the serving dishes in the middle of the table.

“Actually,” Grandpa continues, “Argus keeps us pretty well informed on his progress, but we are now coming to the part when you get your turn, Peter.”

“Yes. I’m excited and apprehensive in equal measure. It’s been so long since we’ve done anything like this and on those occasions, it was Nexi and her colleagues doing the bulk of the work, not us humans.”

<I’m sure you’ll do just fine. I’m glad that humans will be at the forefront of the science this time. It was pretty difficult for me to survey Sevrin from orbit in enough detail.> She falls silent for a few moments in contemplation. <I was worried that I’d missed something before we landed here. That I’d get everybody out of Deep Sleep and then something would kill them all off. It will be good for Argus to have you there to reduce the stress and share the load out a bit more than I could.>

Grandpa gives a strange look in Nexi’s direction. It’s subtle, but I’m sure she picks up on it immediately.

<Relax, my friend,> she tells him quickly with what passes for a shrug. <I’ve long since put my demons to rest, mostly with your help and patience. Mistakes were made right from the start of the original project and, thankfully, they will not be made again this time.>

Granddad shrugs in my direction. The friendship between Nexi and Grandpa seems so strange to outsiders, but they have known each other for as long as Grandpa and Granddad have been together and clearly know much about themselves and one another. They share the longest human – AI friendship of all and it often shows at times like this.

“We three will be thinking of you as your adventure starts, Peter,” Grandpa tells me solemnly. “We are just a call away if you need any help or advice about any part of the new mission. Between the three of us, we have a few useful qualifications in the field.”

“There’s nothing to it,” I tell them with a smile. “I just land on Verus, open the hatch, plant a flag and claim it for Earth. I’ve practiced and should be able to manage that.”

Even Nexi joins the laughter, something that you really don’t often hear any AI do. Nexi and Argus, however are different from most of the other AIs I know. Maybe I need to get to know more of them a little better.

Nexi is the first to break the comfortable silence that follows while we eat. <I’m not staying for dessert,> she tells us. <I do actually have some work to do. I just wanted to see you before you left, Peter. Aidan is right. If you need anything, just ask.>

“Thank you, Nexi. I will be right on the line the moment I get stuck. I know my own limitations well enough to be happy to accept any help offered. Thanks also for your company this evening.”

<You’re welcome, Peter. Have a safe journey.>

We all seem happy to sit in comfortable silence as we finish our meal and then move to the lounge. Grandpa hunts out a bottle of Scotch – still a slightly pricy import from Earth – and we relax with a glass in hand.

“Have you heard from your brother?” Granddad asks after a few minutes.

“We had lunch a couple of weeks ago. He seems to be enjoying work, but is always busy. He had to leave before we finished our meal to attend an emergency.”

“Still, being a doctor sits better with your father than being an explorer?” Grandpa asks.

“Apparently so,” I tell him. “I don’t let it get to me. I have chosen this path and I’m more than content with the choice. It is what I want to do, even if it isn’t what Dad wanted me to do.”

“It’s my fault,” Grandpa tells us. “I wanted him to be so like us that I tried too hard. His limited rebellion against me was to take a desk job and try to make his own children be just like him.”

“Well, he didn’t succeed with me, did he?”

“No, and I’m glad. It’s important for mankind to retain that adventurous and inquisitive spirit. Nothing could be worse for us than stagnation and inevitable decay.” He swirls his glass in hand, ice clinking against the sides before taking another sip.

“Well, Grandpa, you’ve had more to do with making that a future we can have than most.”

“I suppose so. When you have a family of your own, perhaps you will see things differently and understand better where I’m coming from.”

“Don’t. I get enough pressure about family when I talk to Mum. I’m not against the idea, it just doesn’t sit well with exploration and the genuine, if minimal, danger that entails.”

“No, perhaps you’re right,” Granddad agrees. “Nobody should go through life just looking for a partner. It’ll never end well. Life is all about letting it happen, not forcing events to bend to your will.”

Grandpa reaches across the gap between their two comfortable chairs and takes Granddad’s hand in his. “I can agree with that at least. Unexpected encounters are far too rewarding to pass up.”