Day 137

[from ARK]

"Well, I believe that's most of the important areas covered," said Prof. Gibson, as he and Prof. McCarthy left the medical centre. "The rest you'll pick up over time. It's a big station, as I'm sure you've gathered by now, and if I showed you around the whole thing, it would take about a week. For now, I'll take you to the living areas, so you can get settled in."

"What if I get lost?" asked Prof. McCarthy. "There don't seem to be many signposts or anything, and there's no guarantee that I'll run into somebody I can ask for directions."

"Well, to be honest, it's more a case of "when you get lost"," said Prof. Gibson. "Because take it from me, you will get lost here. It was kind of funny, actually, when we all first came up here, because none of us knew our way around, so we were all getting lost and we couldn't ask for directions because we were all as lost as each other." Gibson let out a fond chuckle. "In the end, Gerald installed these interactive maps all over the ARK, that tell you were you are, and can show you where it is that you want to get to. I'm not sure ergonomics is Professor Robotnik's strong suit, to be honest."

"I assume I'll know what those maps look like when I see them?" said Prof. McCarthy.

"You can't miss them," said Prof. Gibson. "Large black monitors, with the floor plan overlaid on them in green. Your current position is highlighted by a pulsing red light. There should be one just up the corridor, I can show you how they work."

"Okay, thanks," said Prof. McCarthy.

The pair kept walking, and after a minute or two, they came across something that most definitely was not a map. It was a strange aqua-blue creature, hanging from the ceiling and watching the two professors as they approached. It had a greyish-white head with two pale green eyes, a long body that looked almost as though it were composed of water, and no arms or legs. Prof. Gibson paid the creature no heed, but Prof. McCarthy stared up at it with a mixture of surprise, intrigue, and horror. "What the hell is that?" he asked.

"That's an Artificial Chaos," said Prof. Gibson. "It was one of Gerald's first major inventions here on the ARK. There are Artificial Chaos all over the colony, performing maintenance and acting as security drones. You'll get used to them, don't worry."

"Forgive the obvious question, but how can it do maintenance and security when it has no limbs?" asked Prof. McCarthy.

"Well, its eyes house high-powered lasers that are capable of welding shut any cracks in the ARK's hull," explained Prof. Gibson. "It can also fire the lasers at a lower frequency, for non-lethal stunning, or extend tentacles out of its arms to physically subdue intruders. Those tentacles also allow it to do more precise manual work. There's also another type of Artificial Chaos that can split its body into hundreds of drones, so that tasks like cleaning the windows or floors take a lot less time than they otherwise would. Those ones don't have the lasers or the tentacles, though."

"I see," said Prof. McCarthy. "Is that level of security really necessary, though? I mean, I know this is the world's foremost scientific research facility and all, but… it's in space. It's not exactly the easiest place in the world to get to."

"I know that," said Prof. Gibson, "but like you said, this facility is at the cutting edge of scientific and medical technology. Even if we are isolated out here in space, we still can't be complacent. If anyone wanted to steal our research, all they'd have to do to get here would be to stow away on one of the supply vessels, and in a station this big, finding them would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. But with the Artificial Chaos around, finding and subduing any potential invaders is a lot easier."

Prof. McCarthy nodded. "Alright, that makes sense," he said. "Come to think of it, I guess you'd also need some kind of security force in case of any crimes being committed here. Not that I expect anything like that to happen, of course."

"Well, that's certainly true as well," said Prof. Gibson. "There have been a few isolated incidents, where civilians have had disagreements that turned violent, but I wouldn't say there's all that much crime up here. Certainly not compared to down on Earth, that's for certain."

"So what happens to people who commit crimes up here?" asked Prof. McCarthy. "Is there, like, a jail or something here, or do you just ship them straight back to Earth?"

"G.U.N. takes care of those kinds of matters," said Prof. Gibson. "Technically speaking, crimes committed here are outside the jurisdiction of any civilian court, but G.U.N. governs this station using the laws of the United Federation. I don't know the exact procedures, but I presume that in the case of a serious crime, everyone involved would be flown back to Earth for a full criminal trial, and if the suspect is found guilty, then he'd be imprisoned on Earth. We don't have the facilities here to hold a trial, or anything like that."

"Okay," said Prof. McCarthy. "We're getting a little off-topic here, aren't we?"

"Not at all," said Prof. Gibson. "This is all part of helping you get acquainted with the station, and helping you to settle in. Ah, I think that's one of the maps over there." The professor pointed at a glowing green monitor embedded into the side of one of the walls, a little further up the corridor. "I'll show you how it works, and then we can head off to the living quarters. I'm sure you'll want to know where you'll be sleeping from now on."

"Of course," said Prof. McCarthy. "Lead the way."