Recovery Deck
It was in her mind to go to the recovery deck and download the data from the units, and for that she would require clean environments. There were only eight left in the workroom’s inventory. Andreth would need to send more in the next supply run.
Seignur Veeoni was in a rare state of contentment. The work was going well; the persons with whom she was required to interact were competent, and respectful of the work. More persons would be incoming, eventually, and it was assumed that some would be found to be less satisfactory. However, once the ring was repaired, and she had relocated, she could limit the access of such persons.
She allowed herself to look forward to that day, when she would rehabilitate and repair those older units as survived to reach her, as well as performing like service for newer ships that may not have had access to competent technicians. It would be a very different sort of life from the one she had lived while she was developing the new rack-and-tile technology. Now that the work was finished, and Tinsori Light under rehabilitation, she could…extend herself.
Perhaps she might even remove the beads, and give them back to Yuri.
First, however, she wanted the data from those devices.
She strode into the workroom. M Traven looked up from the screen, and rose.
“I will need three clean environments from inventory. Message Andreth for seven replacements. I will want you with me when I go.”
M Traven did not answer, or perhaps she did. Seignur Veeoni had already swept on. She paused at the bench where Light Keeper yos’Phelium’s beads were sealed into a leakproof safe-box. The notion of requisitioning another set from the appropriate unit held appeal. It was not something that might be achieved with a normal unit, but she had already established that the units on the recovery deck were not normal. Nor would it do any harm to see if she might coax a bead-set out of the third, unused, unit.
With that thought in mind, she took two more safe-boxes from inventory, and returned to the workroom.
The recovery deck was dim, and chill, though not so icy as on their previous visit.
Seignur Veeoni was six steps past the door when the lights came up, which was the automatics, of course.
Temperature should also be on automatic.
Seignur Veeoni frowned, and raised a hand. M Traven, who was behind her towing the sled holding the environments, engaged the sled’s brake and stepped away from it, head up, watching.
Seignur Veeoni inclined her head slightly, and raised her voice.
“Station, am I heard?”
“I hear you, Researcher.”
It was the systems voice, and not Tocohl herself. Which was well enough; her query was specific to systems.
“Why is the recovery deck kept cold?”
“The recovery deck is low-use.”
“Why is the temperature adjustment not on automatic?”
“Existing presets: temperature and cameras, on-demand.”
Seignur Veeoni raised her eyebrows.
“Station, raise the temperature on the recovery deck to station normal, and activate the cameras.”
“Done.”
Seignur Veeoni waited.
A click sounded, sharp against the cold air.
Seignur Veeoni pursed her lips.
“Well,” she said. “I will take the sled, M Traven.”
“Yes, Researcher.”
The temperature was already rising by the time Seignur Veeoni had disengaged the sled’s brake, and set off for the recovery units, M Traven as her guard.
M Traven placed the environments at her instruction, one to each cubicle, parked the sled out of the way, and took up the alert, meandering stroll that she had once told Seignur Veeoni was “on patrol.”
Surely, there was no need to patrol, Seignur Veeoni thought, as she opened the hood of the innermost unit to reveal the connection points.
Still, she found herself unwilling to order a halt.
Instead, she touched the unit’s screen, bringing the display live, turned—
And turned back.
The innermost cubicle housed the unit dedicated to producing Jen Sin yos’Pheliums. She bent to the display, running through menus which were deceptively simple, and more than a little opaque, even to one accustomed to working with Old Technology.
She did at last uncover the command module, and there she found herself at a stand.
Her choices were two: REGENERATE, and ERASE.
Regenerate would certainly produce a new set of beads. But it would also very likely produce another Jen Sin yos’Phelium, which would be—undesirable. Who knew what the presence of two Jen Sin yos’Pheliums, now possessed of vastly divergent experiences, might do to the field?
Seignur Veeoni was far from an expert on Korval’s Luck, and the situation at Tinsori Light, while improved, still presented significant risk to her work and herself.
No, best not to regenerate at present.
Erase was not an option until she had downloaded, studied, and understood the unit’s processes and data.
That decided, she turned to the environment, made the connections and started the download.
She waited until she was certain that the download was proceeding properly before she left the cubicle.
The air was warmer now, she noted with approval, as she went up the line to the first cubicle—Light Keeper Lorith’s unit.
She had just finished the connections when she heard the door cycle. Frowning, she went to the entrance of the cubicle, in time to see Light Keeper Lorith stride onto the recovery deck.
M Traven moved to intercept her. She stopped immediately, and extended both hands, palms up, fingers spread.
“Soldier,” she said.
“Light Keeper,” M Traven answered. “Do you have a reason for being here?”
Pale brows arched above black eyes.
“I am a light keeper, and may not be shut out of any part of this station.”
“Agreed,” M Traven said. “I ask: Why are you in this part of the station at this particular time?”
“I must speak with Researcher Veeoni about these units, which are the property of Tinsori Light.”
Seignur Veeoni stepped forward.
“I will speak with the light keeper, M Traven.”
Her bodyguard stood aside. Lorith approached. Seignur Veeoni stepped back into the cubicle, raising a hand to beckon her inside.
“I assure you, Light Keeper, that I am taking the most conservative approach available to me as a technician with a specialty in creating compatibilities between Old Tech and current systems. The environment, which you see here, is built in a controlled environment by Crystal Energy Systems, according to protocols developed over many years. The environment is certified clean. No harm will come to the data downloaded to it.”
Lorith came forward, looking first to the display of the resurrection unit, which displayed a line of orderly bars, each marking out a different series of chained files.
Her next glance took in the environment, and its screen, displaying the progress of the download.
“I am pleased to hear that your tools are clean and your procedures sanctioned. What I wish to know is what you are doing. These units are not to be destroyed.”
“So Light Keeper yos’Phelium made clear to me,” Seignur Veeoni said. “He did, however, give me leave to copy the data from each unit for study.”
She paused, and added, “Among the things I may learn from this study is the manner by which I may clear the contamination from Light Keeper yos’Phelium’s beads, while preserving the integrity of the data. This is key. He has been without his beads for some number of shifts, now.”
Lorith straightened from her study of the environment’s screen.
“Yes, and he is in increased peril because of it. You must return his beads.”
“I value Light Keeper yos’Phelium far too much to give him beads I know to be tainted.”
Lorith drew a breath, but Seignur Veeoni continued without pause.
“There are no easy answers in this, Light Keeper. As you say, it is dangerous for him to continue without his beads. If he were to fail, there would be a significant gap in his memories when he reawakened. It would seem that our best choice is, as you say, to return the beads. However, the beads are tainted. How if he fails because of the taint? When he wakens, will he recall—anything of who he is? Far too much depends upon Light Keeper yos’Phelium to risk an error.”
She folded her hands into her sleeves.
“Which is why you see me here, pursuing answers.”
“This is my unit,” Lorith pointed out, reasonably.
“Indeed it is. I began with Light Keeper yos’Phelium’s unit, which we know to be malfunctioning. The data from your unit will serve as a control, since we know your beads are functioning correctly.”
Lorith’s eyes narrowed.
“How do you know that my beads are untainted?”
Seignur Veeoni frowned.
“Do you have any desire to remove them, as Light Keeper yos’Phelium did?”
“No!”
“There we have our proof that your beads are functioning to design,” Seignur Veeoni said placidly. “It is fortunate that you came to see me. I have some questions about the third unit that you may be able to answer.”
“The third unit? Are you going to download its data, too?”
“In the interest of thoroughness, I am,” Seignur Veeoni said. “Was your sister never wakened beyond the first time?”
“No, never.” Lorith hesitated. “I made the attempt, once—later, but before Jen Sin came, and—she was no longer there. When I came back to the unit, it was empty.”
ERASE came vividly into Seignur Veeoni’s mind.
“That unit may also be useful as a control for some lines of operation,” she said. “I may as well make the download, as the equipment is here.”
She held her hands palms out, fingers spread wide.
“If you are interested, you may observe the process of connection and initialization, when I pair the third unit with the environment.”
“Yes,” said Lorith. “I am interested.”
“Excellent. Matters here are well begun. Let us to the third unit.”
They left the cubicle, and Seignur Veeoni said, “There is something else you might assist me with.”
“What is that?”
“I understand that you suggested that a new set of beads might be withdrawn from a unit, without the need for a wakening. Would you show me how that is accomplished?”
Lorith stared at her. “Why?”
“If I am able to extract another set of Light Keeper yos’Phelium’s beads from his unit, I could compare them with the tainted set. It may be that the taint in the set I have was generated by random error. A new set, absent random error, will therefore not exhibit the taint, and may be utilized at once.”
“I understand.” Lorith took a breath. “I did say that to Jen Sin, that there might be a way to withdraw a new set of beads, but—I do not have the way of it. It seemed to me that it had been done—that I had done something like—but it must have been a phantom memory. Those do occur, very rarely.”
“That is disappointing,” said Seignur Veeoni. “A new set of beads might have allowed me to resolve these difficulties more quickly. I will proceed with the downloads, and the data comparisons.”
They came to the last cubicle. Seignur Veeoni entered, Lorith behind her. M Traven came to the entrance, and stopped, hands behind her back, eyes moving. Guarding.
“Here,” said Seignur Veeoni, “you see the environment complete in itself. The first step is to self-test, to verify that it is clean and functioning as it should. While that is being done, we will activate the unit.”