The Krakow Klub (3 page)

Maxxine paused for a moment, as if
considering a problem. “I think that I should clarify the ‘Mister T
class of robots’ for you. Please inform him that he shouldn’t
worry. He will still be the only perfect creation. My new robots
will perform human
functions,
but they will
not have the actual appearance of a specific human. They will be
generically humanoid.

“Please forgive my brief digression about the
robots. Now, back to my report: Maxx did a thorough study of your
dietary likes and dislikes, so, I think you will be quite pleased
with our capability to provide gourmet meals and fine
liberties.”

John smiled with good humor. “Maxxine, the
word is
libations
, not
liberties
.’”

She continued without a pause.
Obviously,
her humor module could use a little improvement
, John thought,
and then he listened as Maxxine said, “Next, you will see a large
corridor with transparent walls that runs throughout the working
areas of the ship. You can use this hell to monitor the
laboratories and manufacturing facilities.”

John interrupted, “Maxxine, The word is
hall
, not
hell
.”

“Oh, I am sorry. Please forgive me
for such a silly linguistics mistake.”

The scene moved fairly rapidly along the
extremely long hallway then crossed over to the other side and
continued
, crossing back and forth many
times.

Next, she pointed out several laboratories
and
workstations
. “As I mentioned previously,
temperature and atmosphere are dependent upon the type of work
being performed. As you know, robots can function efficiently in
extreme environmental conditions unlike you humans. If you need to
enter an area yourself, there is a program that, when activated,
will adjust the environment to meet human requirements. If the need
ever arises, just let me know and I can make the modifications for
you.”

She briefly indicated several other
laboratories and workshops as well as storage and maintenance
areas.

“The next area should be of particular
interest to you. As you can see, this is the metallurgy
laboratory. I have equipped it w
ith the most up-to-date
scientific and analytic equipment.

“
It is here that
I am
producing your requested
one thousand
bars of
gold, each weighing one
kilogram
. I discovered
an outlying
asteroid
that was rich in gold ore
and mined
it. The ore is already approximately
50% in purity as a result of our mining process. Next, we refine
the material using a dry process to extract the gold at the
molecular level. The entire process finally results in a
one-kilogram
gold bar, which I understand is
the preferred form of bullion for trading in Asia. As you
requested, the bars bear identification markings identical to gold
bars commonly
used
on Earth. You requested one
thousand
bars,
and they will be available to
you in six days, well ahead of your requested deadline.”

John asked Maxxine to pause the screen for a
few minutes while he gazed in awe at the massive wealth displayed
before his eyes. The bars were stacked neatly on a strong trolley
at the back of the laboratory and seemed to sparkle and glow with a
life of their own.
Maxxine zoomed in for a close-up
view.

“Sir, these bars are identical in
composition, size, and shape to any that you might obtain on Earth.
It would be impossible for any scientist or analyst
to detect that they did not originate on your planet. However,
yours are 100% pure gold, rather than the 99.9% minimum purity of
most one-kilogram gold bars on Earth.”

“Maxxine, I am curious—it was my
understanding that you could simply take most any form of material
and convert it into gold. Why go to the trouble of mining the gold
ore?”

“The short answer is power, sir.
You are correct that I could transform other matter into gold at
the atomic level. However, that process is tedious, and it uses a
very large amount of power. Finally, and most importantly, it would
take much longer to produce the amount of gold that you
requested.”

John thanked her and indicated that she
should continue the tour. After several more minutes of viewing
workstations
, laboratories, and storage
facilities, John asked that they move on to the remote shuttle
craft. He expressed particular interest in the numbers and types of
crafts along with their purposes and alternate capabilities.

Maxxine continued to use
a massive
array of sensors
embedded throughout the walls and video screens to analyze
John’s
body language. She used that data,
along with information from her database, to determine that there
was a high probability that John was considering converting
defensive weaponry systems for offensive purposes.

Knowing the warlike tendencies
of humans, Maxx had programmed Maxxine with functions to analyze
any decision or action that might be considered aggressive or
offensive in nature.
He trusted John and his intentions, but
he could foresee situations in which any human, even John, could
abuse his powers. And John Scott now possessed powers almost beyond
human
imagination.

Maxxine could not refuse an
order from John, except in the few cases where it might violate
Mylean law. But she did have the latitude to ask John to confirm
his intentions and point out possible unintended consequences of
any proposed action.But that small level of constraint would be
insufficient if John decided to use his powers aggressively against
his fellow humans.

John, completely unaware of Maxxine’s
scrutiny, was, indeed, immersed in thoughts of how to redirect
defensive weapons for other potential purposes. The Mylean’s
primary means of defense were photon weapons. There were two basic
versions. The smaller version, a photon gun, could configure the
size of its projectile to fit the target. The larger
version,
called a torpedo, could also fire giant
projectiles that could
be configurable
to
any size, even one large enough to destroy
any earthly military target
.

These highly advanced weapons,
currently installed
in all remote
spacecraft, and
even the space station itself, were for
self-protection
or mining use. Originally,
these photon bullets had been designed to pulverize small asteroids
so that ore could be harvested easily by the remote mining craft.
Photon torpedoes were much like photon bullets, but much larger and
far more powerful.

One thing that John did not like about these
weapons was their lethal nature. Any human at, or even just near, a
target
would be killed
. Another issue of
concern was that the instant a remote detected incoming hostile
fire, it would respond immediately by destroying the weapon.
Obviously, the person, or persons, operating the weapon would be
killed instantly.

Even more troubling
was
the scenario in which a remote craft might be attacked by multiple
weapons simultaneously. The craft would instantly enter a
“
self-defense
” mode and destroy every hostile
weapon being directed against it, even if
that
weapon
were not
firing at the moment.
All weapons would be destroyed, along with the humans operating
them.

Maxxine continued with a description of the
photon weapons. “John, as you know, the photon is the basic unit of
light. Your scientists still cannot measure the mass of a photon
even though there have been significant advances in physics and
quantum mechanics on your planet. The wavelengths used for Mylean
photon bullets and torpedoes are in the red-to-
infrared
region of the electromagnetic spectrum. When
fired, they produce a massive and instantaneous burst of energy
that destroys the target.

“That burst of energy, an explosion, usually
takes place
inside
the intended target
resulting in utter destruction. The Myleans used these devices to
destroy asteroids. So, you can see that using them against human
targets would result in instant death to anyone in the immediate
vicinity of the target.

“Nuclear cannons were only installed on some
of the mining craft and only used for very large mining operations.
You could compare the power of a nuclear cannon to a tactical
nuclear weapon used on Earth, and the largest cannons
are comparable
to a thermonuclear weapon. The delivery
system allowed the explosives to be delivered deep inside a large
asteroid. When triggered, the asteroid would be completely
pulverized. These cannons could also destroy a small planet, even
one the size of Earth.”

Next, John brought up the
subject of gravity shields. These shields were of particular
interest as they could
be used to
isolate
any object or living being, even
from far out in space.

Originally, gravity shields
had been developed for the purpose of managing
distant
objects, and they
were particularly useful for gathering materials in mining
operations. John saw how they could easily be used to protect
living beings from external forces or danger. On the other side of
the coin, the shield could also be used to immobilize an individual
instantly. Altogether, John’s fleet of remotes could each launch up
to a thousand small shields in a matter of seconds, with each
shield being directed at a specific item or individual.

John mused to himself, “Perfect. My craft
will be invulnerable to outside forces. And with the gravity
shields, I can also use them for non-lethal offensive purposes if
the need arises.”

Maxxine took note and then began to describe
the mining craft. “All the large mining craft utilize this one
port. As you can probably imagine, special considerations had to be
made to support the heavy equipment and mined materials. Special
braces were used in this area to prevent any damage to the space
station. At present, there are at least three hundred of
these large mining crafts
operating at any
given time. The other half of the mining craft are at the space
station for repair and maintenance, which is an ongoing project for
these hard-working craft. When one of
these
crafts
return to the ship, another is sent out to replace
it. Therefore, mining operations are performed on a constant basis
without interruption.

John asked, “Maxxine, I’m going to buy a
small island for my home base on Earth. I want to enlarge that
island so that I can build a small golf course. Can the large
mining craft be used for such a project?”

“Oh, yes,” Maxxine replied, “A large mining
craft can easily
accomplish
what you desire
with a
dredge attachment. I have already built
several such attachments as we do sometimes mine beneath liquids in
space. Just give me the specifications and I can increase the size
of your island very quickly. I am sure that you will want it done
without notice, so I will do it at night. Probably in a single
night since I have at least six large miners that can be ready to
go at any time.”

“Great. I’ll want that done just as soon as
possible.
I expect to add about sixty
acres, so
you can make your plans based on
that. I will want it done as soon as I complete the purchase of my
island.”

Maxxine
replied, “Yes
sir!” She then continued the facilities tour.

“The next port that you will see is used for
smaller mining craft. Each of
this type craft
has
materials sampling and analysis
functions
. When a craft is sent out to explore the
far reaches of space, and it encounters a potential mining site, it
can take samples, analyze them, and relay the findings directly to
me.
If the site proves to be workable, the mining can begin
immediately. Or if need be, I can send out larger mining ships at
once. As you can see, our mining operations are most efficient and
keep me supplied with raw materials at all times.”

The third entry port was now displayed. “This
port
services
the
multifunctional
craft that are capable of performing a
wide variety of tasks. These remote craft are rather small as
compared to the others since their primary function is to monitor
and gather information.
Also
, like all the
other craft, they are equipped with gravitational and photon
weapons. I have assigned several of these ships to critical
locations in outer space to detect and eliminate any danger that
might threaten your space station.

“All of our craft are operated by onboard
computer systems, enabling them to operate remotely for extended
periods of time.
Also
, I am in constant
communication with all remote
craft,
and I can
control any and all of their functions from right here. If the need
arose, I could even destroy a craft instantaneously, leaving only a
few traces of cosmic dust.

“Last but not least, Maxx has provided me
with the latest design and technology updates for all of your
remote craft. These will be installed and tested during regularly
scheduled maintenance procedures so you will have minimal downtime.
In fact, for simple computer updates, I will perform those remotely
so that there is no reason to wait for a return here for software
maintenance.