For Want of a Nail Read Free Page B

help your
sister find a cable.”
    “Right.” Rava patted her uncle on the shoulder,
trying to soothe the sobbing man. “Cordelia, do whatever it is you
do to make Uncle Georgo seem normal. Then he can tell us where the
inventory is and we can get the cable.”
    The bark of laughter that broke from Cordelia
startled Rava with its bitterness.
    “Don’t you understand yet? I have been using his
VR glasses to feed him lines every time he speaks. He only knows
what I know and I don’t remember where the inventory is.”
    “Why? Why have you been covering for him?
Report.”
    Cordelia’s eyes sparked with fury. “My report, O
Wrangler, is that Georgo would go to the recycler if the family
council found him to be without use or purpose. I have kept him
useful.”
    “No, I get that. Why keep him out of the
recycler?” Rava struggled to understand. “I don’t want to go
either, but if none of us went, the ship would be overrun and we’d
all starve. I mean, you and Uncle Georgo were two of the people who
taught me the law of conservation. So why break the law?”
    Above her, Ludoviko stilled,waiting for the
answer. The only sound came from Uncle Georgo, who rocked on the
floor, sobbing. Snot and tears steamed down his face unheeded.
    The AI’s mask of confidence slipped. “I do not
remember. I only remember that it is important to keep him alive
and to keep it a secret.”
    “Well, it’s not a secret anymore, is it?”
Ludoviko’s lip twisted in distaste as he stared at his uncle.
    “I suppose.” Cordelia narrowed her eyes. “I
suppose that depends on whether or not you tell anyone else. May I
suggest that whatever reason I had was strong enough to overcome my
programming about the law? It might be wise not to act
precipitously to change things.”
    Rava hesitated. There was something to that. An
AI had unbreakable taboos built into it that were even stronger
than the childhood responses that were trained into her. Cordelia had to obey the law. “Hang on.”A thought struck her. “Your
compulsions are tied to the ship’s master log of law. If you can’t
transmit, how do you know what the laws are?”
    “I have a copy in my onboard read-only memory
and it syncs at every update.”
    Which was too bad. Rava had been hoping for a
backup transmitter she could hack into. She shook her head to rid
it of that faint hope. “How much time do you have left before your
next backup is scheduled?”
    “An hour and a half.” Cordelia looked up and to
the left, to indicate she was calculating. “But with only a single
feed, I have more time than I’d normally have in memory. We might
have a week before I have to start pruning.”
    Rava felt some of the tension winding through
her joints relax. She’d been so worried about having to dump
things.
    “Yeah.” Ludoviko rapped his fist on the wall to
get their attention. “Hello? That’s great that you won’t have to
dump any memory, Cordelia, but in the meantime our lives are going
unrecorded. What do you suggest we do about that?”
    “You could try writing it down,” Rava beamed at
her brother. “Or you could not worry about it since you won’t have
any descendants who care.”
    Her brother’s face turned a blotchy red and he
took a step toward her, raising his fist. “So no one will record
this, will they?”
    “I’m still here.” Cordelia’s voice snapped
through the room. “I am still watching.”
    “Fine.” Ludoviko lowered his arm. “But I’m going
to tell the family what Rava did.”
    “By all means. Track down each and every person
by walking through the whole ship to find them. Or wait until I’ve
fixed Cordelia.”
    “Cordelia?” Uncle Georgo lifted his head. “I
don’t understand what is happening.”
    “Georgo, Georgo . . .” Cordelia’s voice promised
soothing and comfort. “It is time for your nap. That is all that
has happened.You have missed your nap.”
    Rava watched as Cordelia used her voice to coax
Uncle Georgo upright and