“It was brand new,” Tucker said. “Came from a box.”
“And,” Sam added, “it’s a VP. Virtual Physician.”
“Why did they call it virtual?” Tucker asked. “That implies it’s not real.”
“It’s not,” Sam said. “Check this out, Rey, the manual, which was on that little disk we found, it was called, ‘getting to know your Virtual Physician.’ He has the equivalent of medical degrees in nine different specialties. Can diagnose, test, treat…”
“And,” Tucker added, “the AI was programmed to keep memories, so it thinks it’s treated people before. I think these things were supposed to replace doctors.”
“But it’s still a robot, and you think robots killed everyone.”
“Not these ones.” Tucker pointed to Buster. “I think there were other ones.”
“None of this strikes you as odd?” Rey asked. “You’re only fifty years passed when you left and this doesn’t seem like way too high tech for you.”
“It did at first,” said Sam. “Then I saw the components of the bot weren’t really that far advanced. I think these were in the works long before we knew about them.”
“Like a secret,” Tucker replied. “Waiting to be rolled out.”
“I don’t know,” Rey said, walking closer to Buster. “You’re keeping him?”
“Absolutely, he can be a great help. I just gotta figure out how to make him mobile.”
“I want to look tomorrow,” Sam said. “After we go to the farm. I’m thinking I can make him something basic.”
“Wish we had his legs though,” Tucker said.
“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “Like the arms, they probably popped right on.”
Rey pointed to the bot. “So this futuristic thing was more than likely already developed when the Omni lifted off. Man, they could have been helpful to the world. We had that doctor shortage.”
“Or not,” Sam replied. “I think they did finally release the robots, and if Tucker was right, they took over like Terminator or something. This is just a guess.”
“That’s assuming,” Rey said, “they went rogue. If they killed everyone, then we don’t know if they were programmed to do it or not.”
“This one is not,” Sam said. “I saw nothing in the programing that would let me believe otherwise. In fact, ask Tucker, I had data stuff from JAXA and NASA dating back to the early nineteen nineties and this program has a lot of similar basic code.”
“So it was around then?” Rey asked.
“No.” Sam shook his head. “The materials used to make him are new to me. His power source…” He waved his finger for Rey to follow him and he walked to the back of Buster. “These…” He pointed to three rectangles, six inches wide, one on each shoulder. Then he pointed to a similar, yet smaller one on the back of Buster’s head. “These are his cells. Even in low level UV, he will charge. They pull out”—Sam demonstrated how they lifted out some—“for full charging and he’ll charge faster when he’s in reserve and sleep mode. My point is, these are super similar, on a smaller scale, to how it works on this ship. That technology didn’t appear until ten years before Omni left. At the earliest. I’m saying the code is basic. Like some old programmer may have helped design him.”
“So he may have been designed and built, but unable to power like this…” Rey said.
Sam nodded. “Not too long before Omni.”
A slight whirring mechanical noise precluded Buster opening his eyes.
Rey jumped back.
Buster turned his head left to right. “Hello. I am Doctor VP-175, how are you this evening?” He spoke smooth, slow, and with only a slight hint of a computerized voice.
Sam approached him. “We are fine.”
“Is this my assignment?” Buster asked. “Am I to administer medical attention in a field situation?”
“No,” Sam replied. “You have been assigned to our spaceship. We are part of the crew. I am Sam, this is Rey…” He pointed. “And Tucker.”
“We use first names,” Tucker said. “You’re Buster.”
“Very well,” Buster replied. “Buster is a fine name. I seem to be missing my lower limbs, Tucker. How shall I move around on the spaceship?”
“We’re working on that. Maybe by tomorrow,” Tucker said. “Unfortunately, you were the discounted defective model.”
“Please do not call me defective. That is offensive since I am physically disabled.”
Rey stifled her laugh. As frightening as Buster was to her, she was intrigued. She could only imagine the reactions of Finch and Nate when they saw. She was certain, like her, they would be amazed.
TWENTY-THREE
Rey hadn’t known Finch that long, but she had known him long enough to learn he was a man in control. His voice always remained calm, and never projected anything less than the man in charge.
It had been evident from the get-go, through his strength and demeanor, that Finch was meant to be commander.
That was why it was such a shock to Rey when Finch reacted to Buster.
At first it was strange. Like he’d slept in a king-size bed somewhere; he was awake and looked refreshed when he came from the flight room.
Rey didn’t expect him to overreact, but she thought a cup of coffee would soften the blow when he saw Buster standing in the hall.
Rey extended a cup to him.
“You’re up early,” Finch told her, taking his coffee. “Thank you.”
“I haven’t been to bed.”
“Well, that’s not exactly going to help. We have a long day.”
“True. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Did you eat yet?” Finch asked, sipping his coffee.
“No, I was waiting for you. Plus, I’m excited to get started.”
“We’ll do that. I’m going to grab a shower.” He set down his cup. “I won’t be long.”
“Morning, Commander Finch,” said Buster.
“Morning,” Finch replied and walked out.
Rey waited for it. The second Finch realized not only was there a short, legless robot standing on the ship, but it talked to him.
But he didn’t react, not at that moment. She heard him say good morning to Sam and Nate who were outside. Then she heard the water.
Somewhere in that four minutes it must have hit him, because Finch came flying back into the ship, his shirt in hand, body
