Log 2

[Told you John would be back for another post. Of course, his writing style is a bit...um, lame, so I did have to help him a little bit. I'm hoping he develops his own real style after a while, and I don't have to keep re-writing sections.]

After the lunch Carlee described in her last post, we went back to the mall portion of the spacestation. Unfortunately, the afternoon did not go as well s the morning had. there was less laughter, less fun. We were simply going through the motions.

None too soon, Blaue called us back to her. Ven was done with business and it was time to go. Carlee and I went back to the ship obediently.

"Welcome back," Blaue said in her cheerful tones, her holographic image greeting us as we boarded the ship. "We should be taking off soon, so you two make yourselves comfortable."

"Is Ven here?" Carlee looked about, as if the man was hiding in the cargo bay as we walked through it.

"He's in the cockpit," Blaue answered. Carlee nodded but appeared disappointed, as if she had wanted to talk to the man.

"Should we go to our rooms or go to the common area?" I asked, trying to figure out the practical side of matters that Carlee so often ignored.

"Either is fine," Blaue answered. "You won't notice take off. But dinner is in an hour."

"I think I'm going to read in my room for a while," I told Carlee. Surely we had had enough brother/sister time for the day. I needed some time to myself, to think about the events of the day without Carlee watching me. It was like she expected me to burst into tears at any moment, which was odd. I had not cried in years. I certainly did not feel like crying now.

"OK," Carlee said, giving me a worried look. But she did not fight. A few moments later, I was in my room in blessed silence.

I laid on my bed and thought of nothing, clearing my mind. Carlee doesn't even believe I can think about nothing, but I can. It's very restful to not worry about the future or fret about the day. Carlee can't do this because she's a girl and as such she thinks too much. [This is not in anyway an insult against females. Guys are experts at compartmentalizing and girls at multitasking. This means girls can do a lot of things at once, but can't think about nothing. It means some guys can't walk and chew bubble gum, but we can think about nothing.]

Not much time had passed when Blaue suddenly appeared in my room. "John, would it be alright if Ven came and spoke with you?"

"Sure, but why would he?" I asked as I sat up on my bed. Ven had never been cordial to me. It seemed odd that he would want to talk to me. And that he would ask permission to do talk to me, when he viewed me as more of a talking parrot and less as a person.

"He has his reasons," Blaue said. Then she disappeared and the wall opened, revealing our captain. As usual when he looked at me, a scowl touched his face.

I moved to stand as he entered, but Ven motioned for me to remain seated. He then pulled up my desk chair and sat facing me.

"As much as I hate to do this," Ven said. "I need to talk to you, man to android."

"I'm at your disposal," I responded. What would bring Ven - who hates androids - to my quarters?

Log 1

[So in order to help you, our reader distinguish between my posts and John's posts, we're calling my posts Entries and John's posts Logs. And yes, the following is a post by John. One of you suggested we make him post and after over a week of wheedling, I convinced him that it was for the best. So below is John's first post. Enjoy.]

Carlee has asked me to write a few posts. I would like to begin by stating that I think this is a bad idea. I am not a writer. I am not even really human. My recounting of events will not be as exciting as Carlee's. More accurate maybe, but less entertaining.

Mainly Carlee asked me to jump in here and say a few words about what I was feeling in Entry 59. I have read all of Carlee's posts and sometimes I think she overthinks my emotions. I was not made that on Earth I had "the world at my fingertips" and now I was "the dirt under the universe's fingernails." I was mad because my presence was so clearly ruining things for Carlee.

If Carlee had not rescued me, Ven would not have been in the dilemma in which he found himself. He could have taken her straight to the human colony. There she would pick up the pieces of her life, get over me, and move on. She would make friends, grow up, get married, have kids, etc. Instead she was on a ship, in limbo. Ven did not know what to do with her, and her life was far from ideal. It was clearly, logically my fault.

From the day I was shot to today (a day almost a year after the events Carlee has been describing) everything bad that has happened to Carlee has been my fault. She was kidnapped, kept in a zoo, refused entrance to a restaurant, forced to live in a ship, refused entry to the human colony, subjected to Rome's existence, kidnapped by crazy, self-righteous androids, and forced to leave Earth again. And it was all because of me.

[Hey, guys, this is Carlee. Please ignore any references to future events. I keep trying to explain to John the delicateness with which he should foreshadow, but he still doesn't understand. And Rome isn't that bad. most of the time. So please, just pretend he only said up to "forced to live in a ship".]

I am willing to admit that Carlee was right in the fact that I needed a friend. I love my sister very much. She is, truthfully, the reason for my existence. My core programming all revolves around her. But, my Earth upbringing made it clear that it was the older sibling who was supposed to take care of the younger, not vice versa. I could not let Carlee take care of me.

Carlee wants me to write more, but for now this will have to do. This is all I have to offer, my side of events.

Hopefully Carlee will not make me post again.

[John is dreaming if he thinks I won't make him post again. I'm trying to convince him to write tomorrow's post too. It would definitely be more interesting to see the next series of events from his eyes. You guys already know how I feel about Ven - hot but annoying. John's feelings do not quite reflect mine, and I want you guys to get that. So back to wheedling for me. Luckily I have some allies who agree with me that John should write posts. Allies he can't ignore...mwahahaha. lol]

Entry 59

Back on Blaue, John and I ate our cheeseburgers. They were pretty high quality, more like a gourmet cheeseburger and less like McDonald's. Of course, my judgment may have been slightly impaired as I had not had a burger in ages. At this point, anything closely resembling a cheeseburger would have tasted phenomenal.

John ate silently, brooding. He was practically glaring at his fries as he dipped them into ketchup. Such brooding anger was unusual for the John I had known all my life. John had always been thoughtful, but happy. Everyone had wanted to be his friend, whether football fanatic or BSG nerd. Now I was John's only friend - and I was his sister. Now he wasn't even good enough to eat in restaurants.

Earth had been at John's fingertips. Now he was the dirt under the universe's fingernails.

"John,"I said softly, as I picked at my fries. My hunger had abated as his mood had become more apparent. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"There is nothing to talk about," John answered. "I am an android. I know my place, Carlee. They are perfecttly within their rights." Suddenly his anger disappeared from his face, replaced by a mask of serenity. He did not want me to see what he was really feeling.

"John," I persisted. "Talk to me. You can't keep it all inside. I know this has to be hard."

"Stop playing with your food," John reprimanded me. I dropped the fry I had been fiddling with.

John would never talk to me about it, I realized. I was his little sister. He was supposed to protect and care for me. He was supposed to listen to my problems and advise me about them. Not the other way around.

John did not need a little sister. He needed a friend.

Ven could have been that friend, if he did not so irrationally hate androids. Ven could have advised him like an older brother. Instead Ven was half the problem.

Blaue was the only other option, the only other person we knew. But Blaue did not think she was a person. How could she help John with the identity crisis he had to be feeling when she viewed herself as a second class citizen.

We needed to get to the human colony as soon as possible, I decided. John needed to be around other humans, humans who surely could not be as bad as Ven in their anti-human attitude. He needed to be around people his own age, who could learn to like and respect him. People who could be his friends.

And if the human colony won't accept him? a voice in the back of my head asked. Will you make John suffer the rest of his life as a mere second class person?

The thought worried me. I didn't want to lose John, but what if it would have been better to simply have let him die? Could I really watch him suffocate in a universe that didn't appreciate him?

I glanced back at my brother who was eating his fries. He gave me a questioning look when he saw the worry on my face, but I waved him off. John had enough to worry about and had spent too much of his life worrying about me. It was my turn to worry about him.

Entry 58

"You don't serve humans?" I asked, honestly perplexed. "But our Artificial Cognizant said you do."

"We do serve humans," the hostess said. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Come on, Carlee," John took me by the arm and pulled me from the restaurant. His face was contorted in an angry scowl. It had been a while since I had seen John so angry.

"I'm so sorry," Blaue said with agitation. "I didn't realize - I mean I should have asked. I just never though. They're always so nice to Ven."

"It's not your fault, Blaue," John said, his voice oddly detached and cold. "But yes, you should have asked."

"I'm sorry," Blaue said. "I'm not used to dealing with these sorts of things."

"What is going on?" I demanded, pulling my arm away from him. "Why wouldn't they serve us? What are you two talking about?"

"They wouldn't serve us because I am an android," John answered, his anger fading and being replaced by his usual mask.

"What? That's crazy. We're paying customers," I said. "No on turns away a paying customer."

"They can and they did," Blaue said. "Some restaurants refuse to serve androids because they don't think they should be wasting precious food resources on synthetic sentients when there are so many organic ones going hungry."

"But John needs food too," I protested. "He has to eat just like the rest of us."

"But I'm not a real person in their eyes," John said. "I didn't have to be made and by existing I'm stealing food from someone's hungry child."

"Well taht child didn't have to be born," I said. "Children can't help being born, true, but neither could you help being made. They shouldn't punish you for existing."

"Maybe it would be best if you came back for lunch," Blaue suggested.

"Let me guess. No one here serves androids," John said.

"I'm really sorry," Blaue apologized again. "I've never had a synthetic organic stay with me before. I'm not used to the necessary protocols."

"It's not your fault, Blaue," John said, "but there is no reason for Carlee to suffer just because I can't eat here..."

"Maybe neither of you have to suffer," Blaue interrupted. "I apprised Ven of the situation. He's ordering two lunches and having them sent to me. You'll have to eat with me but at least you'll get your cheeseburgers."

"Ven is going out of his way to do something for me?" John sounded like I felt: flabbergasted.

"Seems so," Blaue answered cheerfully.

Entry 57

We got John a few more undershirts and pants after that. We only needed the one pair of shoes and jacket, as both changed color so it would seem as if he owned multiple. It turns out he didn't need a "real" jacket (you know with sleeves) because the shirts and the like are made to regulate body temperature. It's pretty cool. You can wear just a think undershirt in freezing weather and be fine. [John would like to note that the clothes are only rated for -50 degrees Fahrenheit].

Perhaps one of the great parts of shopping on an alien spacestation was that we didn't need to carry around any bags. Blaue arranged it with the shop's Artifical Cognizant so that the stuff we bought would be delivered directly to her. We could enjoy our time on the space station without worrying about losing our stuff.

"Shopping is such taxing work," John said over dramatically after we visited a pet shop. [Blaue strongly reminded us in that shop that we weren't allowed pets - not that I would buy any of those strange creatures. I couldn't even begin to figure out how to care for them]. "I think we need a break. How about lunch?"

"Is it that time already?" I asked in surprise. I went to grab my cell phone out of my pocket to check the time, and then remembered I didn't have my cell phone. It's not like it worked in an alien time zone.

"It is approximately the time when we would have lunch on the ship," Blaue concurred.

"Do we come back to the ship to eat?" John asked Blaue. "Or do the restaurants here actually serve food we can digest?" I had not thought of that. Leave it to John to remember that what's food for one alien might be poison for us. The restaurants may not serve anything we could eat.

"You can eat at a restaurant," Blaue said. "Ven really enjoys one that is not very far away. I will call ahead and alert them of your dietary needs and you should get served fairly quickly. What do you feel like eating?"

"I could really go for just a classic cheeseburger," John responded. And I agreed. You forget how awesome plain old American food is until your in space eating who knows what for eons.

"Cheeseburgers it is," Blaue said. She then gave us the directions to the restaurant.

"My friends at home would never believe this," I commented as John and I strolled through the space station.

"Your friends also believe that Say Yes to the Dress is the best show in television," John said. "Somehow I don't think what they believe really matters."

"Like your friends are so much cooler," I retorted. "Watching reruns of Stargate and avidly awaiting the next Terminator movie**."

"Says the girl who is avidly awaiting the next Harry Potter movie!"

"Hey, so are you!" I playfully shoved John, and he laughed, ruffling my hair to annoy me. And I was annoyed by his action, but at the same time I was happier than I had been in a long time. This was normal. This was me and John teasing and playing while at the mall.

We got to the restaurant, all smiles, and as I stepped through the open doorway, I was greeted by what seemed to be a human hostess.

"Greetings," the young woman said. "I am the Artificial Cognizant of this facility. Your cognizant called ahead with your reservation."

"Yes, we need a table for two," John said, crossing the restaurant's threshhold. Suddenly the smiling face of the Artificial Cognizant turned grim.

"I'm sorry," she said. "We don't serve your kind here."

**I realize that Terminator Salvation and Harry Potter have both been out for a while, but this was like last October. It wasn't out yet.

Entry 56

Back on Earth, I can't say I was much into fashion, but I did watch America's Next Top Model, so I was fairly certain that there was little about fashion I did not know. Just because I didn't obey the rules did not mean I didn't know the rules existed. However, shopping in the mall at the space station I learned one important thing:

Humans have not yet even begun to discover fashion.

There are so many accessories that humans haven't fathomed, because they can't. We're just - by nature - limited by our humanity. I'm not sure I can begin to explain the accessories I saw, but here is one example.

Now on Earth we can get tattoos. Getting them is painful and people often regret them later in life. However, tehy are the only way we've managed to accessorize our actual skin (discounting facial makeup, which is a very limited form of accessorizing).

These aliens, however, have invented a small patch that you can place on your skin/scales/fur/feathers. This patch could then display predetermined patterns, photos, art, or even movies (minus the sound) across your skin. I tested one by putting it on (just stuck it on the back of my hand). It turned my entire skin blue with yellow stars. It looked exactly like I'd tattooed my entire body, not just some light projected pattern. I have no idea how it worked, but it was awesome.

There were other equally stunning accessories but that one should give you an idea.

Like typical American teenagers, John and I went from shop to shop, trying on clothes and playing with gadgets but not actually buying anything. We were used to window shopping and the windows here were so awesome that buying never really crossed our minds.

"I'm glad you two are having fun," Blaue interjected into our laughter in a hat shop. (Some species really like very strange hats. Or at least what I would describe as hats). "But don't forget that unless John wants to spend eternity wearing Ven's discarded clothes, you better buy some."

"Will Ven really let a mere android spend his money?" John said, and I was surprised by the touch of bitterness in his tone. Secretly a part of me said, "Aha! I knew John could not be as OK with everything as he seemed," and another part of me hurt because of his hurt.

"He won't like it, but Carlee can spend the money you've been allotted as she pleases," Blaue said. After a moment, she added, "within reason, You can't buy a pet. No pets in my halls."

"Where can we go that we'll find clothes to fit John?" I asked Blaue. "All the shops seem to only have clothes for exotic alien creatures."

"There is a humanoid store three shops down," Blaue answered. "Of course, they don't call it a humanoid store because they don't know what humans are - but you get the idea." We did, so we went to the store, which was created for people with two arms, two legs, and one head.

John was immediately attracted to the rack of blue pants that were similar in coloration to jeans. I rolled my eyes at my brother's unwillingness to try new things. By the time John had gathered clothes to try on (clothes that were the closest to Earth clothes he could fine) I had gathered a few outfits for him that Blaue said were fashionable on the human colony.

"What is this?" John sounded scandalized as he looked at the neon yellow jacket with short sleeves that I had picked out for him.

"It's a jacket," I said. "Blaue says its fashionable."

"It can't be a jacket - it has short sleeves," John pointed out. "And can't it be fashionable in a more calm color?" I rolled my eyes. Boys! Never willing to try something new.

"Just try it on and when it fits then we will discuss color." I shoved him into the dressing room. John always had been a reluctant shopper.

I waited impatiently for John to come out. I was putting all of my energy into shopping for him, and I wanted to see the results. It wasn't everyday I had the resources of an intergalactic mall at my fingertips to remake my brother.

"OK, I'm coming out," John called and then he stepped out of the dressing room.

I had to admit. My brother was dashing. he wore blue slacks that fit almost exactly like boot cut jeans, except that the shoes peeking out from underneath were not Reebok's. They were neon blue. (Apparently its stylish for your shoes to be some God forbidden bright color). He wore the jacket except it was no longer yellow. He had somehow found one that was exactly the same but it was neon blue to match the shoes. Beneath the jacket he wore a tight fitting long sleeved shirt that was blue like the jeans and made of a material remarkably similar to Under Armor.

"The jacket!" I exclaimed. "You switch it!"

"No, it can change color to be the color you want," John responded. "I still feel ridiculous, even if the color is somewhat better."

"But your the image of a young human colonist," Bluae said. "Buy it. And don't forget to get a few more outfits."

Entry 55

“There is the exit,” John pointed ahead. I could see it, an opening in the lime green. Beyond, I could see dozens of aliens going about their business.

“How many people are here? How big is this place?” I asked.

“Oh, not very big for a space station,” Blaue answered. “Only around a hundred thousand organic sentients are currently here.” My jaw dropped. One hundred thousand people on a space station? And Earth thought the International Space Station (ISS) was so amazing.

John and I moved out of the landing area and into the main area. I paused, a little disappointed. What I could see of this spacestation looked exactly like a large mall. Shops and cafes lined the pedestration walkway and all the aliens seemed to be shopping. Somehow I expected something a little more alien.

“An intergalactic mall,” I said flatly.

“More like an intergalactic city,” John responded. “This is the main level – the mall level, I guess we could call it. The next level is a business level of all offices and conference rooms. The level above that is the residential area.”

“People live here?” I asked. I don’t know why that surprised me. After all, people lived on Deep Space Nine. Ender lived in Battle School. Astronauts live in the ISS. My only explanation for my surprise is that I expected it to be more spacey and less suburban.

“Of course,” John answered. Undoubtedly he knew that if I just thought about my comment I would realize how stupid it was. He was right.

[John would like to note that he usually is right. He claims that correctness and accuracy are part of his programming. I think he just enjoys being a know-it-all.]

“So what should we do?” I asked. John glanced at me with a look of disbelief.

“We’re in a mall. You’re a girl,” he said. “I don’t know. What do you think we should do?” I glared at him. It was an alien spacestation. Creatures I could not fathom were walking around us, communicating in manners I could not begin to imagine. Did John really think we could just act like this was West Oaks Mall?

My eyes slid past John to a shop that was displaying what appeared to be fashion accessories – the Claire’s of the galaxy. Perhaps we could behave like two teenagers dropped in a mall.

“That store appears interesting,” I pointed to the accessory store. John smiled, shaking his head.

“Told you,” he said. “Girls and malls are the same all over the universe.”

“I’m rather fond of them myself,” Blaue piped in. “Must be my feminine nature.” John and I both laughed and headed towards the store.

Entry 54

It's been a long time, I know, so I'm going to give a short recap. Here we go:

I learned my brother was an android when he was shot in a convenience store. We were immediately transported to a ship and taken to the headquarters of the Society of Anthropologists. There I was put in a zoo and John was essentially waiting to be killed.

We were then rescued by the dashing, android-hating Ven Barker. I forced him to rescue John as well, even though he did not want to. Ven is supposed to take me to the human colony but can't because androids aren't allowed. So instead we've been residing on Ven's ship, Blaue. Blaue is pretty much an awesome Artificial Cognizant. An Artificial Cognizant is a sort of like bodiless android - just the mind. Though they can create hologram projections of bodies.

Now we are stopped on a space station so Ven can do business. He has set John and I free to do as we like while on teh space station. Currently, we are standing outside of Blaue, but we're still in the ever annoying Ven's way. He wants us to move.

Got it? Good. Now let's move on.

"We're going to be in someone's way no matter where we go," I protested. Aliens and cargo were everywhere. Stepping out of Ven's way would put us in someone else's way.

"We need to get out of the cargo area," John said. "Follow me." John grabbed my wrist and led me through the maze of ships.

"See the black pathway?" He pointed towards the black strip of floor that ran between the ships. "That's the pedestrian walkway. It will take us out of here." I did not respond. I simply let John lead me as I marveled at the ships and aliens.

We were passing a sleek, lime green ship, no bigger than a fighter jet. This I imagined was the sports car of spaceships. Why else would someone paint it the danger color? The ship screamed, "hey, look at me. I'm dangerous."

An alien was walking ahead of us on the black pathway. The alien walked across the ground with dozens of legs, like a centipede, but it was covered in blue feathers and about six feet long. Instead of a beak or mouth it seemed to have a trunk like an elephant, but I could not begin to guess what sense the trunk was used for. What strange evolutionary path had led to this?

"Star Trek always made aliens look so human," I said as my eyes landed on an alien that seemed to be dripping mucus from every orifice.

"Well, Star Trek didn't get everything right," John responded. "And they had a low budget. Not to mention the lack of CGI. Even Next Generation's graphic weren't good. You can't expect better considering the time period."

"How do so many strange aliens get along?" I asked. "How can we talk to an alien if it doesn't have ears?"

"Artificial Cognizants," Blaue answered in my ear. "Almost everyone has one and we're programmed to understand most anything. The alien without ears would haven an Artificial Cognizant who would hear your words and translate them into whatever sensory mode the alien could understand."

"Cognizants are very necessary to every day life in the Universe," John said. "Without them, it would probably fall apart."

"I don't control physics," Blaue joked.

"No, but you do allow everyone to understand each other," John answered. "Without you thtere would be no government." I'm still sure to this day if that comment was foreshadowing, but it sure felt like it at the time. I could just imagine Artificial Cognizants pulling out of society - refusing to participate - and the government falling apart.

It seems strange that a society that needs Artificial Cognizants so bad and relies on them so desperately would despise androids.

Entry 53

I don't know about you, but when I imagine a space station I think of Deep Space Nine. Basically a large metal wheel in the sky. If I think really hard about it I might recall Battle School in Ender's Game or perhaps the actual International Space Station. In general, I was expecting curved gray or sterile white walls.

A gasp escaped my mouth as I stared at a cavernous lime green room. The room held several ships, or what I assumed to be ships. Some were barely bigger than a SUV and some were the size of million dollar houses. The room was not even half way filled, indicating it was very large indeed.

The ships were not the blocky gray and white metals objects that science fiction shows portrayed. Some seemed to be made out of coral and other organic substances and were light pink or yellow in color. I could not identify the material of many of the ships, but I was dazzled by the colors: blues, greens, stripes, dots, and everything in between.

Aliens of all species and types raced between the ships, unloaded cargo, or just stood by. Between the landing ships and alien conversations, the sound in the room was like a roar.

"Wow," I said, trying to take in the scenery. "This isn't at all like I imagined."

"It's just a basic space station," John said, knolwedge he had undoubtedly gained from all of his research. "This is the landing dock, which why its painted a warning color. It can be dangerous among all these ships."

"You're blocking the exit." Ven's voice interupted my observation of the landing dock. "Either stay inside or get out of the way." I did not want to annoy Ven on our one day outside of the ship, so I moved down the ramp that had been extended from the ship.

Once on the lime green floor, I turned, realizing I had never really seen the ship that was my home from the outside.

Towering two three stories above me on the four thick legs was a light blue space ship. It had no sharp angles but rather smooth, sleek curves. The ship was shaped like a tear drop that had been placed on its side.

"Blaue, you're beautiful!" I exclaimed, skimming my eyes over the dark blue letters of her name which had been carefully painted on the outside.

"Thank you," Blaue's voice spoke in my ear. "Now you had better get moving. You're still in Ven's way."

Entry 52

After a week of anticipation, we had finally landed at the space station. I was not sure what to expect, trepidation and excitement filling me in equal amounts. The only real exposure I had had to the Universe had been at the Society of Anthropologists. Then everything had been overwhelming, not to mention the fact that I had been completely surrounded by enemies. Any one of those anthropologists would have stopped me from rescuing John. Now John was by my side, and together we were going to explore a truly alien society.

I wondered if it would be too alien for me to understand. Some cultures on Earth seemed truly bizarre and difficult for my mind to comprehend. And those cultures were made up of humans. Surely at the very least that should have given me some common ground to understand them. How much harder would it be to understand a culture based off of inhuman motivations? How much more difficult would it be to comprehend an alien who could not comprehend the values humans held dear? Or perhaps it would not be difficult at all. Perhaps humanity was not as human a trait as we arrogant humans liked to believe.

Blaue led us to the cargo bay where Ven was. The dashing young man was dressed handsomely in an outfit that was cut almost like a uniform. The coat was long sleeved and buttoned on his left side. His pants were the same dark blue color and tucked into a pair of black boots that I had never seen him wear before. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him. If Ven had not been such a contrary person, I imagined I could have very easily fallen in love with him.

Ven looked at us sternly and gave us one last reminder, "Remember, Blaue will take care of all your transactions, but you will be spending my money. I don't have a lot of it, so be thrifty. Blaue will approve all your purchases and her word is final. Please don't bother me unless its absolutely necessary."

"We understand, Ven," I said in exasperation. "You have only been reminding us for like ten years." He seemed confused by my exaggeration so he just ignored him.

"Well, enjoy yourself and try not to get into trouble," Ven said. He then turned to examine his cargo.

"Are you ready?" Blaue asked.

"Yes," I said eagerly. John smiled and agreed, "Yes." Blaue smiled and the wall in front of us disappeared.

Entry 51

Ven left John and I in the mess hall so that he could land the ship. A hologram with Blaue stayed with us, though I was sure she would also be waiting for Ven in the cockpit. I wished Ven would let me up there to see how he landed the ship. I wondered how necessary he was, or if Blaue did all the real work.

"This is certainly going to be an interesting day," John commented as he strapped into one of the chairs against the room's wall. Blaue had instructed us to strap in for safety reasons, while also reassuring us that it would be unnecessary. It was just a safety precaution. "I can't wait to get out of here. I've been going a little stir crazy."

"I hadn't noticed," I said. "You've been spending so much time studying. It seems like you like being cooped up with nothing to do but study. Gives you an excuse."

"Studying gives me something to keep my mind off of how small this ship really is," John responded.

"I'm fairly large for a personal vessel," Blaue said, crossing her arms and glaring down at John. My brother had the decency to look abashed at his words.

"I did not mean to insult you," he responded. "It's just when you're used to having a whole city to roam, this ship seems small."

"I know what you meant," she laughed. "I am just making a joke. I know I'm a small ship. I just like to remind men they need to be careful what they say around ladies."

"So you do consider yourself female?" I asked, thinking back to the cognizant at the Society's headquarters who had claimed he was an 'it'.

"Ven considers me female," Blaue answered. "And it's the opinion of my captain that matters most. I have discovered that most males do tend to view their ships as female. Most of my captains have preferred that I take on a female form. I am really neither. I could appear as a male should Ven prefer it."

"It's just so strange that Ven views you as a female and John as an it," I said. "You can be either. John has no choice. He is built to be male."

"Ven is many things, one of which is a walking contradiction," Blaue said. "He does not like to be reminded that he has so many conflicting view points. Many times, I think he forgets I'm simply a computer. But his prejudices against androids run deep." Blaue sighed and collapsed dramatically into a nearby chair. "But what can I do? I'm just a simple artificial cognizant?"

"Simple my foot," I responded, causing Blaue to look at my oddly. I then hurried to explain what I meant. "You are anything but simple, Blaue. We don't have anything like you on Earth."

"And Earth is what you measure all technologies against?" Blaue laughed. "Oh Carlee, I fear you are going to find the Universe very complex indeed." I flushed. I guess it was silly of me to compare her to Earth technology. What did we have on Earth that came close? Nothing.

"How long until we land?" John asked.

"We already have," Blaue said, jumping back up to her feet with a smile. "Unstrap yourselves and come along. You have a space station to explore."

Entry 50

I barely fell the small piece of metal drop into my ear. One minute I felt the cool metal and the next it was gone. I was worried that it had fallen into the dark, waxy depths of my ear, but I tried to push that worry to the back of my mind. Ven trusted this alien technology. Blaue and John were both products of alien technology. I had to learn to trust it like I trusted my cell phone back on Earth.

“See, that wasn’t so bad.” It was like Blaue’s voice was sounding directly into my mind, because the sound was so close to my ear. I stared at her, shocked. She simply smiled.

“This will come back out in the end?” I asked.

“Yes, it will,” Ven answered. “Do not worry about it. Both Blaue and I can talk to you through it. It also enables Blaue to track where you are.”

“Like those microchips they put in dogs,” I said, not sure how I felt about the idea of being tracked. Ven simply stared at me with confusion.

“It’s not under your skin.” John understood my statement and feelings. “It will come back out. Don’t worry.” It seemed that everyone was telling me not to worry, which simply made me feel like I should worry.

“Can anyone else track me with this?” I asked, my mind going back to the Society of Anthropologists.

“Not easily,” Ven answered. “Blaue has a very specific frequency. Someone would have to know her specific frequency, which should only be known by her captain and the shipyard that made her. So only me, and her past captains, and the shipyard know her frequency, and Blaue has not had that many past captains. We’re talking a handful of sentients in a Universe of quadrillions.”

“Quadrillions?” I repeated the strange word.

“Millions, billions, trillions, quadrillions,” John answered. The word clicked into my mind and even though I could not begin to grasp the number.

“The Universe actually has more sentients than that,” Blaue said. “The count in the quadrillions actually only counts the official citizens of the Universe. For example, none of the citizens of Earth are counted. It also does not count synth…” A sharp look from Ven caused her to change her words. “I mean, androids. There are probably quadrillions of living, breathing sentients, not to mention androids, who are not accounted for by the official number.”

“How do they keep track of that many people?” I asked in surprise.

“Birth and death reports, citizenship records, as well as censuses,” Blaue answered. “Citizens have a record that follows them electronically. Every citizen has an electronic file from the moment they are born. Censuses are done every fifty years to make sure there are no errors in the electronic system, just to double check that everything is up to date. The system is very accurate and very hard to circumvent. It takes a very crafty and powerful Artificial Cognizant to create passable fake identification.”

“I don’t have any identification,” I said, discovering more things to worry about as I went. “Is that a problem?”

“No,” Blaue answered. “If you are asked for ID just tell them you are not a citizen and direct them to me, your local Artificial Cognizant. No one expects anyone to keep all of your electronic files on you. You will be expected to have some sort of computer to take care of it. But I wouldn’t worry. Unless you get into trouble, no one should ask to see your ID.” Somehow that did not relieve me.

Entry 49

My thoughts of learning to pilot the ship fled my mind the morning we were supposed to rendezvous with the space station. I had Blaue help me pick out the most fashionable yet comfortable outfit in my wardrobe, so that I would fit in amongst the aliens. I then practically skipped to breakfast, ready to be underway.

To my surprise, Ven was in the mess hall waiting for me. His face was stern, set in a way that I was beginning to recognize as his “lecture face”.

“Please, Ven,” I said before he could speak. “Wait for me to eat breakfast before you start berating me?” I then slipped past him and sat at the table, across from John. He looked amused.

“I’m not going to berate you,” Ven responded, sitting at the table. “I was just going to remind you and your android of a few things. Today is the day we dock with the space station, and I don’t have time to worry about you getting into trouble.”

“We’re not going to get into trouble,” I said as I bit into a muffin. “Trust me, John won’t let me.”

“And I will be keeping an eye on them, Ven.” Blaue materialized in a chair next to John. She smiled brightly at her captain. “Don’t worry about them. That’s my job.”

“You forget I know you, Blaue,” Ven said, pointing a finger at the artificial cognizant. “You are mischievous. I would not put it past you to let them get into a little trouble for your own amusement.”

“That’s not fair,” I exclaimed. Blaue had never been anything but nice to us. I really did not think she would let us get into danger or fall into harms way. “Blaue would never let us go against your rules.”

“She had better not,” Ven said, his stern expression fixated on the hologram, who was giving him an innocent smile.

“Ven,” she said sweetly. “Trust me.” He rolled his eyes and turned his gaze back to me.

“Carlee, the space station is not Earth,” Ven began, and I interrupted him, saying, “How could I forget that?”

“What I mean,” Ven said, looking annoyed at my interruption, “is that you won’t begin to understand half of what is going on. Your android has done a good attempt of studying everything it can, but even it will not be able to come close to understanding all the species and cultural interactions. And not everyone is as understanding as I am.” I snorted. If Ven was understanding, then the people of the Universe must be an unsympathetic lot.

“Carlee, I’m serious,” Ven continued. “Stay with your android. Do as Blaue says. If I contact you, do not ignore me. This is very important. Now, do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” I assured him. I was not stupid. It seemed like he had lectured me about this every day.

“I already gave your android the link frequency to Blaue, so it can speak with her directly,” Ven said, holding up a small round piece of metal. “This is so you can speak to Blaue and receive my calls. You just place it in your ear.” I took the piece of metal hesitantly. It was very small. I was afraid if I put it in my ear it would get stuck.

“This is safe?” I said skeptically. “If I put it in my ear, it will come out later?”

“Yes,” Ven answered. “Now, will you put it in so we can test it?” I nodded and hesitantly put my hand with the device near my ear. Taking a deep breath, I dropped it in.

Entry 48

The next few days on the ship were tedious and long. Or at least, so they felt to me. John spent the time learning as much as he could about the Universe we were now members of. He spent hours talking with Blaue about the current political atmosphere and the place of humans in Society. Blaue was never too busy to talk, because she could make several projections of herself. She could be talking to John and me at the same time while still working with Ven in the cockpit. As a hologram, she had no physical limitations.

While John spent his hours reading or talking, I was bored out of my mind. I guess I could have done research like John, but I had never been the kind of person to read about something before doing it. That was John. I swear he read the entire history of football before he tried out for the team. I was always the sort of person who just jumped in feet first. I joined band without knowing anything about music or instruments. I chose to play the clarinet because it seemed interesting. I did not do any research in advance. I never did. I just wanted to be a part of the Universe, not study it.

I suppose that’s why John and I have always made such a good team. He brings knowledge to the table, and I bring action.

[John would like to interrupt at this moment to say that his research has never kept him from action, which he feels is what I insinuated. He thinks I should not be encouraging you to believe my “sort of recklessness” is acceptable. Whatever John. I don’t like to waste time studying what I’m going to learn by doing.]

I spent a lot of my time exploring the contents of Ven’s ship. Blaue let me go anywhere except the cockpit and Ven’s personal chamber. I wandered through the cargo area, though I was forbidden to actually open any of the cargo. I fished through every cabinet in the mess hall and Blaue even let me make dinner for everyone one night. Sometimes I just searched my own room. My closet was full of wonderful clothes, like a clothing wonderland. The entertainment Blaue hooked me up with was the closest I came to studying the culture of the Universe. I started books so alien I could barely comprehend a word, even though it was translated into English. I watched movies so bizarre that they left my mind reeling. I did not let it bother me. The easiest way to understand a culture is to dive into it. Without any understanding, entertainment usually yields little to those of us who aren’t anthropologists.

What I really wanted to do was visit the cockpit, to see how the ship was controlled. Blaue tried to dissuade me from the notion, telling me it was not exciting. After all, she was the ship and she did most of the controlling. However, visions of Han Solo and Chewbacca maneuvering the Millennium Falcon filled my mind. I could just imagine the debonair Ven evading Imperial TIE fighters with the assistance of the witty and beautiful Blaue.

I harassed Ven unmercifully, trying every tactic from begging to ordering. However, nothing swayed him. He would not allow me or John into the cockpit. He was staunch, always saying, “The bridge is no place for a girl who has no idea what she was doing.”

“Is that what you tell your sister?” I demanded the first time he said it, thinking he was blowing me off because I was a girl.

“No, my sister is trained in how to fly,” Ven responded to my surprise. “I let her handle Blaue, with my supervision of course. “

“So teach me to fly!” I exclaimed, just imagining myself, like Luke Skywalker, piloting an X-wing.

“No,” Ven always answered.

Blaue kept trying to convince me to give up, but I was just as stubborn as Ven. I wanted to learn to fly and nothing was going to change my mind.

Entry 47

For a moment an awkward silence fell over the table. I could see from John's expression that he had a million questions, but he stayed quiet. He probably did not want to further antagonize Ven, who clearly did not like answering questions posed by John. Not for the first time I wished one of us was telepathic, so I could know what John was thinking and pose the questions he wanted to ask. All I could do now was guess.

"So when will this space station trip be?" I asked. John gave me a small smile, giving me confidence that I had asked a good question.

"Four standard days," Ven responded. I glanced blankly at Blaue.

"A standard day is thirty hours," Blaue answered my unspoken question.

"So in a standard day, you sleep eight hours and you're awake like twenty-two?" That was like an entire Earth day of being awake.

"Sleep cycles depend upon the person and the race, of course," Blaue said. "Ven sleeps about seven hours a night, and spends twenty-three awake." My eyebrows shot up. He was awake for almost twenty-four hours. It was going to take me a while to get used to such a schedule.

I glanced at John, wondering what he thought. Instead of increduality he shot me a stern look. I was getting off topic with my questions. He wanted to know more about the space station visit.

"Back to the space station," I said, turning my attention to Ven. "How long will we be there? Are you really going to let me and John wander around by ourselves?"

"Usually I spend an entire day on a space station," Ven answered. "It's nice to get out of the ship, no offense, Blaue."

"None taken," she responded with a smile. "I'm not very big."

"You and your androids may wander around, but I will also connect you to Blaue so she can monitor you, or so you can ask for her assistance and advice," Ven said. "This space station is not very large, but I imagine it might be a little, uh, overwhelming for someone used to a planet of only humans. I would not want you to wander into danger. Your android can protect you physically, but I don't imagine it has been programmed with much knowledge that does not deal with Earth."

"You would be correct," John concurred. "My knowledge of the universe is limited. I will have to learn as Carlee does." Ven ignored John's response, keeping his gaze firmly on me.

"Will we be in danger?" I asked, suddenly imagining Deep Space Nine with its many species and frequent dangers. "Will the Society be there? There won't be warrants for us will there?"

"No," Ven assured me. "The Society holds little power in the civilized Universe. Their true power lies in dominion over primitive planets: the containment laws and the like. They rarely tell anyone else when they lose property like you or your android. It makes them look bad. They don't like to lose face in front of the other universal organizations."

"Will you give us money?" I asked. "If we're going to wander around a space station, we'll need money for food and the like, right?"

"Blaue will take care of all of your transactions and make sure that you don't overspend," Ven said. "I'm not stupid. I don't give money to adolescent girls. My sister taught me that a long time ago." I sulked but did not mean it. I did not blame him. Scott always felt the same way. He always gave the money to John instead of me. Of course, John is generally more responsible than I am. Not because he is a boy, but because he is an android.

"So no shopping spree but other than that it seems fun," I said, glancing at John. He smiled at me, clearly pleased with my questions. I relaxed into my chair. John and I may not be telepathic, but we had our ways.

Entry 45

Blaue told me where to find a needle and some thread, a technology that no amount of scientific advancement could make obsolete. The thread was lime green, the color of universal warning, which I felt was approprite for stitching John back together.

Now I am far from a master seamstress or a surgeon, but home-ec in middle school taught me the basics. I have made my fair share of drawstrings bags, pillows, and shirts. I was fairly confident in my ability to weild a thread and needle. However, John was not as confident in my ability to stitch him up.

It seemed pretty straight forward to me. I was to stitch the different parts of skin together. John, however, made me redo his elbow three times, continously correcting me and telling me I was twisting his elbow wrong.

"You're going to give me a scar if you stitch like that," he said as I stitched his elbow the third time. "Do you want me to look like Frankenstein's monster?"

"You are Frankenstein's monster," I retorted. "I'm not stitching it again, and don't guys want battle scars?" John argued with me as I started to stitch his shoulder.

It was strange to stick a needle in him and see no response. John said he felt pain - or rather his body alerted him he was being injured - but that he could ignore it much better than a normal human. I supposed that was what made him such a good football player. He could literaly ignore the pain.

"Now your hand?" I asked when I finished his shoulder.

"No, do my knee," John answered. "You can really mess up my hand if you do it wrong. I want to watch you fix my knee before I let you touch my hand."

"You don't trust me," I grumbled as he pulled up his pants leg to reveal his skinless knee.

"I trust you are far as I can throw you," he answered. "Which is actually pretty far."

When John was satisfied I could sew well enough and wouldn't cause major damange to his hand, he allowed me to slowly set it up. I made no stitch without his approval. Sometimes he made me undo stitches and try again. However, in the end the stitches held as he gently flexed his hand.

"I'll need to get a glove or else I may accidently mess up the stitches," he said as he examined his hand. "You did a good job, Carlee."

"Of course I did a good job," I responded. "I always do a good job." John smiled at me and ruffled my hair with his good hand.

"Kid?" Blaue suddenly appeared in the room with a curious expression. "Is a kid not an infant goat?"

"It's also a word used to describe human children,"John answered. "It's a colloquialism." I rolled my eyes. Leave it to John to say "colloquialism" instead of describing it as slang.

"Most interesting," Blaue said. "I will add it to my database. On another note, I'm suppose to warn you that Ven is heading here. Family reunion time is about to be sadly ended."

"Oh, joy," John muttered. "Does he want anything in particular?"

"He wants to discuss your future," Blaue answered. "As much as I would love to keep you, this is not a permamanet arrangement. So Ven just wants to discuss options."

"Wonderful," I muttered, knowing it would probably just be another meeting where Ven tried to convince me to ditch John. When would he learn? I will never leave John.

Entry 44

I stared at John, my mind struggling with all the information I had learned in the past two day. It was still hard for me to comprehend that John was an android. Even though I could see his skin peeled back, I still could not truly wrap my mind around the fact that he was not human.

“Carlee, I am an android, a synthetic sentient,” John said, holding up his hand with the loose, torn skin. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“You’re my brother. I don’t care.” I could not imagine my life without John. I needed him. Could no one understand that his lack of humanity did not change his importance in my life?

“I know you say that, Carlee, and I’m sure you mean it now,” John responded, “but if you ever feel weird or unsure about it, I want you to know you can talk to me. I know what I am. I always have. It’s not new to me.”

“Don’t lie to me and make it seem like you are completely alright,” I retorted. “I heard everything Blaue said. You’ve grown up as a human – an equal – and the kid everyone marked as most likely to be very successful: a CEO, a president, something ambitious and powerful. Now, you’re like a second class citizen. You can’t be ok with that.” I gazed at him relentlessly, but he was silent for a long while.

“It will be an adjustment,” he admitted.

“An adjustment? That’s all you’re going to say?” I exclaimed. “John, I know you better than that. You can’t even be close to ok with it…”

“But it’s life, Carlee,” he interrupted. “What I can do? I’m not organic. I’m your property. I’m not welcome in half the universe. And there is nothing I can do about it.”

“It’s ok to be mad about it, John,” I said. “You don’t have to accept everything like a silent matry.”

“But I do. I’m the big brother. I’m supposed to take care of you, not vice versa.”

“That’s ridiculous. We’re siblings. We take care of each other. I’ll admit you take care of me most of the time, but it’s ok for me to have to help you where necessary. Like yesterday,” I pointed out. “And now. Do you want me to sow your sking back together?”

John looked down at his hand, flexing it and causing the poorly attached skin to ripple strangely. “You shouldn’t have to do this.”

“I want to,” I responded. “Surely Blauw has some thread and a needle somewhere.” I paused. “That will work, right? I can stitch it together like normal skin and it will grow back?”

“Yeah, it’ll work,” John responded wearily. “Just make sure you put the knots on the outside of my skin. Once you do my hand and elbow and shoulder, I can do the stuff they messed up on my leg.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “See, needing help isn’t that bad. Would you rather sit around with your skin in pieces?”

“No,” he admitted. He paused and look at me intently. “You know I love you, don’t you, Carlee? Just because I’m an android doesn’t mean I can’t feel. You are my little sister, no matter what anyone says, and I love you.”

“Ven says you’re programmed to say things like that.” I voiced the uncomfortable doubts that Ven had placed in my head. “He says you don’t really love me.”

“Ven is wrong,” John said firmly. “I was programmed with only two thoughts concerning you: you are my owner and I am to say you are my sister. They can’t program love. I developed affection for you just like any human does. I do love you, Carlee, as a brother loves a sister. You are my family.” Reliefed filled mat his words. Though I had not wanted to think about it, I had been worried. I had been worried my entire life was a lie.

Thoughts of family inevitable led to thought of our foster parents. “I wonder what Scott and Ellen think happened to us.”

“I don’t know,” John admitted. “Maybe one day we can send a message to them and let them know we’re ok, but for now it’s just you and me.”

“The way it’s always been,” I responded “You are the only person I’ve ever been able to count on. Nothing has changed that.”

“Except this time, it’s not a new foster family,” John pointed out. “This time the Earharts are in space.”

I smiled at my brother. “The Universe is in for a ride.”

Entry 43

“Please continue explaining, Blaue,” John prompted. “I am very interested in hearing about the Android Acts.”

“I would be too in your position,” Blaue agreed. “When they create you they give you an understanding of what you should obey, but they never tell you why. They make you compliant without explaining.” I glanced at John, wondering how much of what she said was true. What would it be like to be told at creation that you must adhere to a certain set of rules but never told why?

“It is an understatement to say that when androids became commercially available, chaos ensued. One set of organics were convinced that androids were their equals, therefore, buying and selling them was immoral and slavery. They lobbied for androids to be given full citizen status and be essentially set free. On the other end of the spectrum were the organics who believed androids were abominations and simply morally wrong. They believe that androids were organics’ attempts at trying to become gods but failing and instead creating creatures that would compete with organics at every turn. Androids are smarter, stronger, and more desirable than organics, not to mention the indefinite lifetime. The idea of such competition in the universe was terrifying for these organics.” It scared me slightly that I could understand the reaction to androids that these extremists had, on both sides. But I did not want to understand the people who hated John. He was my brother. I did not care he was an android. Or so I told myself.

“Most of the universe was unsure what to think, but these extremist groups were so vehement that is seemed the entire universe had been polarized. Androids were being stolen and ‘liberated’ on one planet and found and destroyed on other planets. The governments of the planets and the Universal Parliament had no idea what to do. They needed to end the chaos that ensued for nearly an Earth Century.

“That was when an organic named Rauoitlin stepped forward and proposed a compromised called the Android Acts.

“The Android Acts state that no synthetic sentient can be declared a citizen. Androids are considered property, which are ultimately the responsibility of one individual organic sentient. An android cannot leave their owner’s property with direct permission and written signed instruction from their owner. An android is forbidden from leaving any planet, moon, or otherwise inhabited planetary body without their owner. Planets were also allowed to outlaw androids, refusing to allow them to step foot on the planet. An android must also always give identification when asked. However, an android does not have to volunteer information at any time or obey anyone but their owner.”

“That’s a compromise!” I exclaimed in surprise. “Doesn’t sound like there is anything good for androids in that.”

“Oh, but it was a compromise in many ways,” Blaue responded. “Many wanted androids to wear markers visible to organic eyes so an android could be identified on sight. However, the Parliament felt that would continue to make androids a target for both destruction and ‘liberation’.”

“It still seems far from fair,” I said. “You’re saying John basically can’t go anywhere without me.”

“The parliament would say that is for his own protection,” Blaue countered. “You will always be with him to keep him from being destroyed or stolen. You can protect him.”

“John doesn’t need my protection,” I said. “I need his.”

“That is a common use for androids,” Blaue said to my confusion. “Because of the restrictions, androids have become both hard to procure and difficult to have. However, many organics use androids for the purpose of body guards since they are stronger and more durable than organics.”

“John isn’t my bodyguard. He’s my brother,” I responded, upset that she would insinuate I was simply using John.

“You are in the minority when it comes to feeling a strong connection to your android,” Blaue informed me. “Only victims of the Society of Anthropologists have such feelings and the universe it not even filled with a fraction of a percent of such organics.”

I chewed on my lip, glancing at John. What was life going to be like in a universe where John had no future outside of mine? On Earth he had college and an important career to look forward to. Out here, he could not even leave my presence without my permission.

“That’s the basics of the Android Acts though there are more laws involved,” Blaue said after a moment of silence. “If you want to see the entire set of laws they are in my databases and can be easily accessed.”

“Thank you, Blaue,” John said. “I’ll probably want to see that later. For now, can you leave me alone with my sister?”

“Of course,” Blaue responded. She smiled at us both. “If you need anything, let me know. If you run into Ven, don’t take anything he says too seriously. He may be captain, but I’m the ship. He can’t do anything without me.” Then without a further word, Blaue disappeared.

“Carlee, are you ok?” John turned to me with a serious expression.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered without hesitation. John’s expression turned flat.

“Really?” he responded. “Don’t try to lie to me, Carlee. I Know you better than you know yourself. Now tell me. Are you ok?”

Entry 42

“The Android Acts are a series of laws,” Blaue said, her face becoming serious. “They were enacted about five hundred Earth years ago, shortly after androids become a commercial item. In order to better understand I should explain some of the history of androids.

“The idea of androids has been around forever as a scientific and engineering challenge. Engineers wanted to be able to perfectly replicated organic sentients in every way: motion, function, and thought. The scientists hoped this would reveal more about organic sentients’ functions and help them to troubleshoot problems and conditions that befall an organic body.

“However, it was much easier said than done. In order to begin understanding how to recreate motion robots were created. The first robots were very limited in function, designed to do the most basic of tasks such as recognizing and fetching objects. They slowly grew more complex in abilities and intelligence, but they were never meant to perfectly replicate sentients. A robot is nothing more than a complex, intelligent machine. Organics accepted robots as they became commercially available, though there was some resistance to robots being designed to do jobs done by organics. But the bottom line is no one thought robots were morally wrong. They were simply complex and useful machines.

“In order to discover how to replicate organic minds, Artificial Cognizants like myself were created. The first Artificial Cognizants required several large processors to run and could only very basically simulate an organic intelligence. Most of the original cognizant could only simulate personality with preprogrammed responses. The major breakthrough in our design was when a Cognizant called Ltka was created. It had a natural unprogrammed personality. The engineers actually had to back engineer Ltka to figure out what they did differently to create such a unique unfounded personality. Ever since cognizant have been almost identical to organic minds in personality and reasoning.

“Cognizants were accepted very well by organics commercially. Everyone wanted one for their house, ship, or business. No one protested us because we simply made life easier. We were put in place of already existing computer systems and we were far easier to interface with. Before long everyone had at least one and many had multiple cognizant for various specialized purposes.

“Shortly after the acceptance of Cognizants, robots with cognizance were developed. These were created for experimental reasons and were available only limitedly in commercial markets. Organics were unsure how to feel about them, but if they had redeeming qualities it was that so few of them were created and that they only resembled organics in the most basic sense.

“Androids were developed long after that simply because of the challenges of developing synthetic skin and bodily systems. The first androids developd were simply robots that on the outside looked like organics, but they did not function like organics. Slowly androids became more and more like organics. First they developed muscle systems instead of complicated hydraulics. Then false nerves were made instead of wiring. Then they derived their power from eating and required sleeping. Now the only difference between an android and organic is that androids are made in factories and organics are made in homes and hospitals. That is why the name android is actually now considered politically incorrect. Organics like Carlee are organic sentients. Androids like John are called synthetic sentients. From my perspective as a cognizant and many pro-androids’ perspectives, organics and synthetics are equal in every way. Therein lays the problem and the root cause of the Android Acts.

“Wait, Blaue, can I ask a question?” I asked, a little overwhelmed by her explanation.

“Of course, Carlee,” she responded with a smile.

“So you are an Artificial Cognizant,” I said slowly, trying to figure out my thoughts. “What is the difference between your mind and mine? Or yours and John’s?”

“Well comparing you and me, I have a computer and you have a brain,” Blaue answered. “I am also capable of more computations and taks than you are. However, I have the same sort of reasoning and critical thinking facilities. Like you, I also have a personality.

“Comparing John and I, I have more extended computing abilities because I have more processing power. I am after all a ship while his processor is contained in his brain. Other than that, his intelligence is essentially the same as mine.” I frowned, more confused now then I was before.

“Then why do you consider yourself a sub-sentient thing?” I asked. “Isn’t it the mind that counts – that makes a person a person? If your mind is equal to mine and John’s, does that not make you our equal?”

“That’s very kind of you to think so,” BLaue said with a gentle smile, “but you overestimate me and my capabilities. I am much more specialized than you or John. You are both capable of many things, many possibilities. I am just a ship, and I am quite limited to my structure.” I still did not understand, and I wanted to argue, but John subtly shook his head. I understood what he meant; there was no arguing with someone who was as convinced as she was. However, Blaue seemed so alive, so vibrant to me. She seemed like a person. I could not, would not accept that she was my inferior.

Entry 41

John was waiting for me in the mess hall. His clothes still fit poorly and were unfortunately matched, as if Ven was purposefully trying to make John look awful. My attention was quickly distracted from his clothes to his joints. The skin was still loose on his elbow and hand. I could not see his knee. It pained me to see him still in disarray.

“Did you sleep well?” John asked with brotherly concern.

“I slept like a rock,” I answered with a bright smile to reassure him that I was ok.

“How odd, since it is my understanding that rocks are not alive and don’t sleep,” Blaue said, appearing suddenly in the room. Today she wore a different outfit, a long flowing dress that was quite the opposite of yesterday’s form fitting outfit.

“It’s a phrase,” I answered with a smile for the Artificial Cognizant. “It means I slept really well and nothing could disturb me.”

“I see,” Blaue said. “I will make a note of the phrase in my English language database.” She paused and smiled. “Having you here will definitely increase my knowledge of English.”

“You and Ven speak German, right?” I asked.

“Yes, fluently,” Blaue answered. “German is Ven’s first language. Speaking of Ven, he set the table with breakfast for you before going to the cockpit.” I glanced at the table in surprise, not expecting Ven to be hospitable. However, on the table was a basket of muffins as well as a pitcher of a thick yellow liquid that looked similar to milk.

“Why German?” John asked as he selected a muffin. “Is that the primary language of the human colony?”

“No,” Blaue answered. “The primary language of the human colony is Latin, which Ven also speaks fluently. However, many languages are spoken on the human colony. For example, Ven speaks German, English, Mandarin, and Latin.”

“Latin!” I said in surprise. “No one on Earth spends Latin anymore.” I took a bite of my muffin and was surprise to find it tasted exactly like a lemon poppy seed muffin. I began to eat it eagerly.

“That may be true, but you have to understand that the human colony is made up of descendants of people just like you,” Blaue answered. “Most of those end up out in space because of a war and an androids untimely end. The Society does not want to abduct humans, but they can’t take the androids out without taking their owners with them. Leaving the androids would contaminate the culture.

“Therefore, many of the first humans taken by the Society were Roman. Originally everyone at the colony was Roman because that was when the Society first identified Earth and started studying it. The Romans were also very warlike and therefore many of the androids sent to Earth met untimely ends.

“Because of this, Latin has been the main language since the beginning. Most of the humans, like Ven, are direct descendents of those Romans. They are all taught to speak Latin in school, even if they don’t speak it at home – like Ven’s family, which speaks German.”

“Are John and I going to be required to learn Latin?” I asked in horror. French II had been treating me well, but I could not imagine try to figure out Latin.

“No,” Blaue answered. “First generation are never required, though you’ll pick up the basics over time: like how to say ‘hello’, how to say ‘thank you’, things like that. If you have children while living at the human colony they will be required to learn Latin. But you will be fine speaking English.”

“That’s a relief,” I said. I was thirsty so I picked up my glass of yellow liquid. I did not want to try it, but there was nothing else on the table to drink.

“It’s just fruit juice,” Blaue noticed my hesitation. “It’s sweet but creamy. Ven loves it.” She had broken my don’t ask don’t tell policy, but I was relieved. Yellow fruit juice was something I could handle.

I took a sip and discovered that her description was accurate. It tested both creamy and sweet, sort of like how orange yogurt was creamy and sweet, but it was only as thick as milk.

“So,” I said when I was done. “What are the Android Acts all about?”