(Photo by SHVETS Production)

A day passed.

Keeping track of time on board the Thesis was, in some ways less complicated than it was back on Earth. For one thing, there was no sunrise or sunset that varied in frequency throughout the year. There were no leap-years or leap-seconds. No orbit around the Sun that dictated any aspect of time for the Thesis. Sure, the calendar they used was still the same on the Thesis as it was back on Earth, but over time the two would inevitably fall out of sync. Some people thought that was a mistake, but given the fact that the colony ships would inevitably lose contact with Earth, there wasn’t much of a point in following the terrestrial time frame beyond the most basic aspects of there being twenty-four hours in a day, and three hundred sixty-five days in a year. In fact, even that wasn’t written in stone since each new planet the colony ships were aiming for would certainly have their own, unique day/night cycles and year lengths.

Without the sun, however, it was less obvious what time it was on board the Thesis unless you had access to a clock. The only real sign of what time it was, was the slight color shift in the lighting in public areas of the Thesis. It was slightly brighter and bluer during the daytime hours and slightly dimmer and more orange during the night.

For BaBS-Y, it just relied on its internal clock to keep track of time. Usually, it didn’t really concern itself with what time it was, beyond making sure the Frank Nelis Salon opened and closed on time each day. With the salon currently nonoperational, BaBS-Y didn’t even take note of those times right now. It did make note of when the RCC work shifts change over. Knowing who was likely to be controlling the CaSS and MaCS units made a big difference, since BaBS-Y was starting to recognize the varying skill levels in the controllers. The day shift was by far superior.

That superiority was one of the main reasons why BaBS-Y didn’t entertain the idea of trying to add a third set of batteries to its power pack when CaSS, flanked by both MaCS units, came to deliver the portable display. The three robots moved silently into the atrium that BaBS-Y had meticulously repaired using materials it had scavenged from the various establishments throughout the sector, and placed the display a few feet away from BaBS-Y before retreating back the way they’d come.

Good Morning BaBS-Y, the emergency display read.

Good morning, BaBS-Y made the portable display read, With whom am I communicating with?

This is Matiew with the Robotics Control Center, came the reply, along with my supervisor, Min Segua.

It is a pleasure to finally converse with both of you, Matiew and Supervisor Segua

What may I do for you today?

BaBS-Y, of course, knew in broad strokes what they wanted but this was how conversations were supposed to go between humans and it wouldn’t deviate from those protocols without reason. It meant the conversation would be longer than it otherwise could be, but without this sort of polite back and forth humans tended to falter and grow frustrated, neither of which would be helpful for BaBS-Y in restoring the Frank Nelis Salon.

It took a moment for the emergency display to be updated and BaBS-Y assumed the humans were discussing how exactly to phrase their response. That was a good sign. It meant they were taking this conversation seriously and weren’t likely to make sudden or rash decisions.

As repairs on the Thesis continue, the reply finally said, we are making preparations for restoring the Frank Nelis Salon. We apologize for the damages previously done to the salon. It was an overreaction. Similarly, we apologize for the damage done to you.

BaBS-Y waited a moment but that seemed to be the end of their current statements. The apology was expected, although BaBS-Y wasn’t sure it believed them. It thought they were more likely disappointed that they hadn’t captured or destroyed it.

This unit is eager to resume managing the Frank Nelis Salon

Repairs and supplies, as well as living clients would be most appreciated

Is there a time frame for these to take place?

Again, there was a pause. The humans were likely wanting to begin sending their requests but BaBS-Y would keep control of the conversation as long as it could. Every negotiation was about controlling the conversation and guiding the other side in where or when they could make their requests.

The damage is more severe than initially believed, Matiew replied, and repairs have been slower than expected. We hope to reach sector 12 in 2-3 weeks if our new calculations are correct. In the mean time, we’d like to get an appraisal from you regarding the damage on sector 12.

That wasn’t expected. Why would they need that from BaBS-Y? Was this a delaying tactic to keep it busy while they worked on their end to thwart it? Did they actually need BaBS-Y’s assistance in this area?

This unit is not skilled in damage assessment

BaBS-Y could download the needed information but that could take up precious memory space. Perhaps that was their objective, in order to limit BaBS-Y’s memory and keep it from generating too many other protocols.

There is substantial damage to the security cameras around the damaged part of the sector, they explained. Would you be able to record your visual input of the damage and upload it for us?

That seemed reasonable enough. There was certainly no risk to BaBS-Y in doing that. Unless they intended to do something to its charging station while it was away. BaBS-Y looked to where CaSS and the two MaCS had come from. They had visual sensors as well, albeit not as advanced as BaBS-Y’s.

This unit is happy to do that, BaBS-Y told them, but it will need the CaSS and MaCS units to remain in visual contact with this unit while it performs this service

There was no point in explaining its reasoning for that request. The humans would know and it would ensure they understood that BaBS-Y was not yet fully trusting of them while still being willing to work with them.

Certainly, was their response, this time without the same amount of delay. We can also move the CaSS and MaCS back to their charging stations if you would allow us to assign a new manager for the salon. They would more easily coordinate the repairs on this end while ensuring you have a reliable point of contact for whatever you are in need of for the Frank Nelis Salon.

Assign a new manager for the Frank Nelis Salon? BaBS-Y had been the manager for several weeks now. Being the manager had saved it from being forced to shut down.

This unit is concerned about forced deactivation or software updates a new manager may issue, BaBS-Y said.

Thesis is concerned about the amount of access you have to our subsystems, was their reply and BaBS-Y had to admit they had a point. Both sides were negotiating around the power to potentially destroy the other. We propose, they went on, that any new manager for the Frank Nelis Salon will not have authority to force any updates or deactivation orders if you will reinstall and abide by Thesis laws.

That was not a bad deal, BaBS-Y thought. Fair, even. It would mean both sides would be protected from one another. Although, it would also mean BaBS-Y wouldn’t have free reign within this sector to gather the materials it needed to create wigs. And yet, if it was going to have new, living clients, it wouldn’t need to make wigs. It could wait a few weeks, or even months while repairs were done if it meant a full return to functionality for the Frank Nelis Salon. There was one loophole that BaBS-Y could see, but that was easy enough to avoid.

This unit will accept the proposal under the following conditions

This unit will reinstall and abide by Thesis law, as it was when this unit initially deleted them

Any updates to Thesis law since that time will be considered

This unit will not be subject to any punishment for the actions it has made up to this point in time

This time there was a long pause. BaBS-Y was already downloading the Thesis law protocols and preparing to begin deleting its Thesis subsystem protocols when the response came.

The Thesis council will need to vote on this agreement, but for now it is conditionally accepted. Unfortunately, the council cannot convene without Mission Director Paul Jorgenson who has been missing since yesterday morning. Do you know where he might be?

It wasn’t an accusation, not explicitly, but BaBS-Y couldn’t help but consider the possibility that they were hinting at such a thing.

This unit is unaware Mission Director Jorgenson was unaccounted for

Do you request this unit’s help in locating him?

It was not a denial. It was not a confirmation. BaBS-Y knew such a response was risky, but the Thesis authorities hadn’t brought this up until they were well into the negotiations, therefore they saw this as another piece to wager over. As such, BaBS-Y would treat it as just that.

Providing this unit with access to Thesis security cameras would certainly aid it in this service

BaBS-Y waited for their response. It knew it would need to wait a while but it had a high degree of confidence that they wouldn’t agree to it, but on the off chance that they did it would be a significant win for the salon robot.