The Human Division #11: A Problem of Proportion Read Online Free PDF Page A

Wilson. Wilson had opened the data band so that Rayth Ablant could address him directly through his BrainPal rather than through the display. He kept the text interface, however, because it seemed right.
    “Go right ahead,” Wilson said. He was busy extracting batteries from underneath the deck of the Urse Damay ’s bridge and was beginning to sweat inside his vacuum-proof combat suit.
    I’d like to know why you’re trying to help me.
    “You asked for help,” Wilson said.
    I also tried to blow up your ship with you in it.
    “That was before you knew me,” Wilson said.
    I’m sorry about that.
    “I’m not going to tell you not to be sorry,” Wilson said, “but I can understand wanting to get your body back.”
    That’s not going to happen now.
    “Not through the assholes who did this to you, no,” Wilson said. “It’s not to say it couldn’t happen one day.”
    It doesn’t seem likely.
    “You’re saying that to a guy who is on his second body,” Wilson said. “I’m a little more optimistic about your plight than you are.” He hauled out a battery and placed it next to the several others he had extracted. Werd and Carn were elsewhere in the Urse Damay, pulling out batteries of their own. They would serve as the power source for Rayth Ablant’s brain box until they were all safely on the Nurimal . The trip from the Urse Damay to the Nurimal would be a matter of a couple of minutes, but Wilson was a big believer in overkill when the downside was someone ending up dead.
    Thank you for this.
    “Thank you for being a terrible shot,” Wilson said. He returned to his task.
    You know humans have a bad reputation. Among the rest of us.
    “I’ve heard,” Wilson said.
    That you’re deceptive. That you’ll go against your contracts and treaties. That you’re terrified of all of us and your way of solving that problem is trying to destroy us all.
    “But on the bright side, we all have lovely singing voices,” Wilson said.
    I’m telling you this because I’m not seeing any of this in you.
    “Humans are like anyone,” Wilson said. “Is every Easo a good person? Before the Conclave, did your government always do the best thing? Does the Conclave always do the best things now?”
    I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start a political discussion .
    “You didn’t,” Wilson said. “I’m talking about the nature of sentient beings everywhere. We all have the entire range of possibilities inside of us. Personally, I don’t expect much out of other people. But for myself, whenever possible, I try not to be a complete prick.”
    And that includes rescuing brains in boxes.
    “Well, that includes rescuing a person,” Wilson said. “Who at the moment happens to be a brain in a box.” He hauled out another battery.
    Lieutenant Werd came into the bridge, hauling his own supply of batteries, and set them down next to Wilson’s. They jostled in the slight pseudogravity offered by the ship’s tumbling. “How many more of these do you think you need?” he asked Wilson. “Dismantling an entire spaceship was not supposed to be in my job description.”
    Wilson smiled and counted the batteries. “I think we have enough,” he said. “The box here is not that securely bolted into the deck, so we should be able to pull it out easily enough. Lifting things is in your job description, right?”
    “Yes,” Werd said. “But setting things down costs extra.”
    “Well, then,” Wilson said, “what we have to do now is make sure there’s no significant interruption in power flow to the box when we disconnect it from the Urse Damay ’s system and attach it to the batteries.” He pointed to the box’s external outlets and the cords that snaked from them into the ship’s power system. “There’s probably a buffer unit in the box itself. I need to see how much energy it stores.”
    “Whatever you say, Lieutenant Wilson,” Werd said. “This time, you’re in charge.”
    “Thank you, Werd,” Wilson said, and