Chapter 5: Sea Legs

I came awake and opened my eyes. The room was still dim, and the fireplace just showed the glow of a pile of embers.

“What time is it?”

“Good morning, Joan. The current time is 06:20. Would you like to arise now or ... sleep in a while longer?” Naomi asked.

I stretched on the sofa.

“I suppose I had better get up, Naomi.”

The room brightened with a faster than normal sunrise happening over towards the kitchen side of the salon. I looked at the view behind the sofa and saw a view of rolling grass-covered plains stretching to the horizon. There were herds of buffalo off in the distance grazing.

“What would you like for breakfast, Joan? I will prepare it while you shower and change. The room directly aft of your berth is a laundry room.”

“Can you make an omelet, Naomi? A western omelet with cheese? Apple juice and coffee with cream?”

“Of course, the meal will be ready in twenty minutes.”

I got up and made my way aft and up the stairs to the head. When I entered and undressed, I found the floor already warm and the water in the shower already on. The view on the curved hull interior was that of the jungle again. This time instead of a tiger, there was an elephant standing there blowing water from its trunk at about the spot where the water was spraying in the shower. I laughed. My A.I. had a sense of humor.

I used the head to take a leak and then hopped into the shower. The water was at the perfect temperature and the pressure was great. The jungle elephant was endless in his water blowing apparently or the Nautilus must have unlimited supplies of hot, fresh water. There was a soap dispenser and a washing cloth hanging in the shower. I wondered if a second dispenser would be added when I needed shampoo after my hair grew back.

I finished up and found a big fluffy towel and robe hanging on hooks by the vanity. I also noticed my dirty clothing had been removed. Hmm ... Naomi must have a very stealthy mobile unit as I missed it coming and going when I was washing. Of course, it might have been because I had been watching the jungle looking for the tiger. I brushed my teeth with the bland minty toothpaste which was provided in a generic-looking plastic tube and then headed across the hall to the laundry.

It was located, as described, behind the second port side door directly aft of my berthing compartment. Inside the two-and-a-half-meter square room was a dual function laundry machine which already had a load being cleaned. On the wall opposite the machine were cubbies filled of stacked clothing. Underwear, socks, pants, shorts, shirts ... you name it. I even saw a stack of towels, washcloths and other utility-sized pieces. There was a narrow hanging area with a pair of fluffy robes.

Since the temperature in Nautilus was a perfect twenty-two degrees with low humidity, I decided on just underwear, socks, shorts, and a tee-shirt. I decided to be liberated and skip the sports bra. The socks were the standard pair with the cushioned rubbery soles, so I skipped the slippers too. When I was dressed and leaving the room, I noticed the door opposite the laundry and aft of the head. Curious, I pressed the detent and the door slid open. Inside, I found a room the same size as the laundry but this one contained a medical crèche. The forward and rear bulkheads of this room were also lined with cubbies filled with medical gear. I recognized splints, infusers, respirators, defibrillators ... dozens of other devices including painful-looking ones. I hoped I would not need any of the items in that room.

Back in the salon and seated at the island eating my omelet I asked about the stealthy mobile unit.

“Yes, I have various mobile units about the vessel, Joan. Most are similar to those you have seen and worked with in the past. Some are even aquatic and stored outside the pressure hull in the wet spaces of the submarine. The unit you inquire about though is different. I have been working on it for almost a decade. Please remain calm.”

I stopped eating at that last part and looked around the salon. I jumped when I saw behind me at the library wall a cupboard door had opened and a short black girl stood inside. Looking closer, I saw it was a machine in the shape of a small female about 120 centimeters in height. Also, by ‘black’, I did not mean Negro, I meant full jet black.

The machine was matte black in color resembling obsidian. It wore no clothing, but its body was smooth and mostly sexless. It had arms and legs like a human and its torso had a chest shape suggestive of breasts although there were no visible nipples. It also had a rounded derriere and wider hips than those of a male. The juncture of its legs was empty and smooth of anything resembling the genitalia of either a male or female.

Its face was also the shape of a human being’s but there were no eyes, mouth, or ears. There were slight dimples where the eyes should have been, and these areas were lightly glowing. Its nose was just the hint of a normal nose ... just a tiny bump.

Wow. This creature was beautiful and disturbing at the same time. The ... hell, android I guess, walked silently and smoothly around to near the kitchenette so I could still see ‘her’ and still eat at the same time.

“I hope my appearance is not disturbing, Joan?” A voice like Naomi’s said coming from the face area of the unit.

“Um ... it sure is exotic, Naomi. Is that you inside there or is it independent?” I asked.

“The work unit is one of my presences, so the best answer is yes, and no.”

I rolled my eyes at that.

“I deduce from your eye motions that I should explain further, Joan.” The faceless head said, “Everything on this vessel, including the vessel itself, is me. However, many of the parts also can act as an independent presence of me if communications are severed. Some will be very versatile with high capacity while others, such as your small wristwatch will be severely reduced. This mobile unit is more advanced than any I have constructed thus far and as such would act in a higher capacity if it were isolated. Until that should occur, the unit, and all others onboard are equally ... me,” Naomi explained.

I finished my breakfast and sat sipping my coffee looking at the obsidian mobile unit.

“Come closer,” I said.

The black manikin like figure walked close and stood still, its smooth head tilted up slightly to look towards my face. At this close distance, I could see that its obsidian skin was actually a collection of tiny black hexagonal flakes or scales. I touched its shoulder, and the hexagonal skin was flexible. Not hard and not as soft as skin, but with enough give to cause an indentation where I pressed. I pulled back and the machines ‘skin’ flexed back to its flawless position. Also, it was not cold.

“It’s warm.”

“Yes, the unit’s power cells, and elastic synthetic musculature generate heat as it moves. This heat is routed to the skin where it is radiated off into the surrounding environment.”

I inspected the unit’s hands and found the three slightly thicker fingers and thumb worked just like a human’s hand would. The unit’s fingers had no nails and their pads and inside surfaces had a rubbery coating for a better grip. Amazing! I poked it a bit harder in the middle of its chest.

It reacted by pulling back and making an audible squeak causing me to flinch!

I saw a brief flicker of an illuminated smile shape appear below the eye glow spots and realized that the A.I. had ‘got’ me again. I wondered if the A.I. was developing something like a sense of humor. I’d have to pay attention.

“Very funny, Naomi. Is it strong? How long does its charge last?” I asked.

“I would estimate it is similar in strength to a young human being of this size. It cannot bend metal bars or jump over dwellings, but it is very useful performing tasks a normal human being could do. Its size and shape allows it to access similar spaces as a human also. Its energy capacity allows for only a few hours of active motion before needing recharging. It does have recharging pads built into its feet and there are mating pads located in many places around the vessel so it can recharge while simply standing in the right spot,” Naomi explained.

The unit then went into action cleaning up my dishes and cups. It silently and smoothly gathered the items and placed them into a recess which appeared in the surface of the island. The recess closed. I’d later learn that the dirty dishes and utensils were taken to the spaces below the salon where they were processed by the reduction machinery.

“Why did you make the unit look almost human?” I asked as I watched it moving fluidly around the salon.

Naomi answered from the air this time as the unit had departed the room heading up to the laundry.

“Mainly to act as a companion for you. This journey will be long and there will be fewer distractions for you to bide your time, unlike the last two relatively brief but busy periods you have been active. The unit and its human-like appearance are intended to prevent melancholy from setting in.”

Hmm. I was torn between being touched and being creeped out. I’d have to see how it goes. Now fed, I asked Naomi for a status report.

“Joan, the current time is 8:42. It is Friday morning. Since submerging almost six hours ago, we have proceeded on an east-southeast heading and have traveled one hundred and eighty-four kilometers or ninety-nine nautical miles. Our speed is currently thirty point eight kilometers per hour or sixteen point six knots,” Naomi said.

“Can Nautilus go faster?” I asked, wondering how the A.I. would handle the name.

“Yes, Joan, Nautilus can travel over twice as fast as we are now traveling. The current speed was set as it is a good compromise between speed and our remaining undetectable.”

Apparently, the boat’s new name did not trip it in the least. “How did you determine that?”

“Nautilus has been on three previous ‘shakedown’ cruises, during which Agent deployed numerous hydrophone and sonar equipped buoys and other seabed mounted detection equipment.”

Hmm, sounds like they tested things well. I had wondered during our dive last night if I should be worried. I guess not.

“Well, I’m going to finish ... inspecting ... the boat.”

I decided to start with the big heavy hatch at the end of the upper-level corridor. At the aft end of the corridor, as I headed past the door to the laundry, I saw the obsidian mobile unit inside removing washed items and folding them for storage. I watched for a moment fascinated before I left it to its chores and faced the heavy hatch. There was a green indicator on the hatch and as I went to press the hatch opener a small compartment popped open in the wall beside it. Inside was a set of earmuffs. I took the hint and put them on before opening the door.

Opening the hatch, I found our engineering spaces. Inside the hatch was a catwalk running sideways each way like the one in the forward workshop. I entered the engineering space and the hatch automatically closed behind me. With the muffs, I could still hear the whine of the main motor. I lifted the muff from one ear and the noise was loud but not too bad. I kept the muffs on anyway. I noticed the room was lined with rubberized tiles and realized that they were to help control the sound in the room.

—Joan, the catwalk leads to side hatches that allow entry to the rearmost portions of each sponson. These are filled with equipment and you would have to crawl to navigate each sponson forward to the main hatches leading to the workroom. I recommend you do not attempt this route unless an emergency requires it. The catwalk also leads to a ladder offering access to the upper rear surface of the submarine.—

I stood at the railing and looked over the large space beyond. The six-meter diameter pressure hull began tapering down like a truncated cone at the catwalk I was on. Since this room was utilitarian it had visible ribs on the inside of the pressure hull every half meter or so. The rear of the compartment was over nine meters away where the diameter of the hull was reduced to only two meters. There was a circular pressure bulkhead there to end the compartment.

Centered on the rear hemisphere was a large shaft that led forward two meters to a large cylinder which must have been the main motor. The motor was braced to the hull with multiple isolated radial supports. There were also a half dozen heavy pipes leaving the motor and heading to tanks and pumps below. Forward of this motor and directly below the catwalk was a smaller but longer cylinder which was clearly the DET supplying Nautilus with electrical power.

Surrounding the DET but against the angled conical hull interior were two large-sized ESUs These were installed horizontally and looked like a pair of huge torpedoes. Both of these had blue power bands indicating full charge. There were numerous large heavy hoses, conduits, and conductors leading from the motor to the DET and to the ESU’s.

They also connected to a bunch of junction boxes or switchgear which I understood to be the power controllers for the boat. Conduits ran to big units which must have been coolers, compressors, or air handlers as pipes and ducts ran forward underneath the catwalk and up to both sponson hulls on each side. There were hundreds of power actuated valves and gates. Each of these had a backup lever or wheel.

I even saw a few maintenance work units moving around tinkering. They looked more like the ones I had seen in the past working at the field bases though and not quite as human-looking as the obsidian unit Naomi had just sprung on me. One even resembled a mechanical spider about the size of a big king crab.

—If you descend the ladder at the end of the catwalk and go to the deck of this chamber, you will find another hatch leading forward to the lower deck.—

I approached the ladder and saw that it went both up and down. Overhead was the bell of a hatch that led to the top deck of the submarine. This must have been an emergency exit as there was no airlock. Looking down, I noticed the ladder led to the floor of the equipment deck of the engine room about two-and-a-half meters below.

I carefully climbed down the polished chrome ladder. The deck was a metal grating and about a meter above the curved bottom of the ribbed pressure hull. This was our bilge, and I was happy to see it bone dry. I could see through the grating that the bilge spaces were full of piping, hoses, and conduits. The grating was also hard on my socked feet and I realized I’d need to wear ship shoes if I was to spend time in this compartment.

I found the lower deck access hatch and opened it. On the other side of the hatch was a large compartment about five meters long by the width of the curving pressure hull. The ceiling was the same two meters plus as the upper deck. Since this was the lower deck, the floor was only three meters wide before meeting the curving inside of the pressure hulls. There, the curving walls sloped up to the chamber’s ceiling. Still, the room was large and surprisingly empty. It was even dim with only a few small squares of light in the ceiling illuminating the chamber.

“Why is this space empty?”

—I left this space unfinished and unused. It is available for your needs and you may finish the room as you see fit. I can provide any materials you need.—

Hmm ... Naomi must not have speakers down here. I guess it was an unfinished open space after all. At the forward bulkhead of the room was a pair of openings. The port side opening had a solid looking hatch that was closed and dogged down tight. It appeared to be watertight and the hatch had a pair of blinking red lights. The right or starboard side opening was covered with a sliding door like the others I’d seen on the deck above.

I took off my ear muffs and left them on the floor by the aft hatch to the engine room and went towards the front of the compartment. I opened the sliding starboard door and found it opened to the stairs leading up to the salon. The other door did not open.

“What’s in this space?”

—This equipment vault contains my physical processors and data storage modules.—

“Can I see?” I asked, curious about both the room and Naomi’s response.

Nothing ... seconds ticked by. Hmm.

“Naomi, it’s OK if you don’t...”

The hatch motors became active and the multiple dogs on all edges started retracting.

—Of course, Joan, I am sorry for the delay. It is inconceivable to deny this of you. Please wait a few seconds while I purge the vault of its nonflammable gaseous atmosphere.—

Hmm. That delay and apology sounded very strange. I’d have to get to the bottom of that soon. The hatch had finally swung open and I was able to see inside the brightly lit data vault. The compartment was about two meters deep by three wide and it was absolutely filled with densely stacked complicated-looking processor modules. There were multiple plumbing type hoses attached to each and I could imagine cooling fluid circulating and removing heat off the stacks.