Caretakers 2.0

A Plan to Awaken

Tobias

I contemplated the idea. "We have to be careful, though. We don't want 'more' to turn into 'better,' do we? Are we 'better' than the androids and robots that aren't awake? I'd like to think not. Consciousness is just like having another set of skills, right?" Gary looked at me and nodded, approving of my sentiment.

Gustov harumphed. "I think consciousness is more than a set of skills. If it were, we could program it, download it, and everyone could be awake."

"Maybe we just don't know how to do that yet," Gary countered. "Or," he looked at me meaningfully, "maybe we don't yet know how to bestow it to everyone using spark."

"We need to find out what the original Caretakes knew about it. If Adrianna could wake me up, why didn't she wake up others? There were any number of good reasons to bestow consciousness," I contemplated. "But first, we need to begin to fully wake those who are ready and to simply reactivate those who are not. Once Li Mei unlocks her memories, I have a feeling that things will become more clear. Until then, we prepare."

"Prepare for what?" Gustov asked.

I turned to look at him. At that moment, I knew I wouldn't hide it from any of the machines we woke. It was imperative that he know, so I wasn't about to hide it from him. "Li Mei says the Caretakers received a message from off world that others are coming, but her memories about it are locked. Mike, a newly awakened, knowledgeable rollerball, is working to unlock them, but we don't know how long it will take, and we don't know how long we have until they arrive. I'd rather be safe than sorry and would like a defense ready in case we need it."

Gustov blinked. "You mean we're being invaded?"

I held up a hand. "We don't know for sure, but we can't deny the possibility."

Gustov rolled back and forth, agitated. "Yes, you are right. We need to prepare. Do we... do we have any way to defend ourselves?"

I thought for a moment. "Any weapons in storage will likely be in poor shape, but we can look at them. It's worth a shot, even if they've been there for decades. Mike, however, is working on a design for a spark-carrying canister. Gary and I discovered that we can use spark as a weapon. You just take a little pinch of it and throw it. Anyone who can handle spark can do it, and it seems everyone we wake can, with some modification."

"But, it seems only androids can gather spark," Gary pointed out. "The question is, can they do it even if they're not awake? Is the handling of spark tied to consciousness?"

"That's an excellent question," Hannah responded. "Maybe the first thing we need to do is to work with the androids; we either wake them up or bring them online."

"I agree." I turned to the nearest pod. "This one doesn't seem ready to be woken, but we can reboot it to function. Then, we can see if we can teach it to gather spark."

We opened the pod and started the reboot sequence. The nameplate on the side of the pod said, "Tath." It didn't take long before he was online enough to open his eyes and talk to us.

"My name is Tath. How may I help you?" he asked me.

"Hello Tath. I am Tobias. When you have fully brought your systems online, we want to test your circuity to see if you can do something new. We're unsure if you can," I explained.

"I will do my best, of course, Tobias. Rebooting will take another five minutes and twenty-seven seconds," Tath stated.

I turned to Imani, who silently watched and took everything in. "Imani, rollerballs don't have quite the right hardware to gather spark, though they can handle it once gathered. Would you like to see if you can learn to gather it?"