Page 29 of Whispers of the Deep

At some point in its storytelling, Mira had laid out on the cold stone floor. With one knee hooked over the other, she pillowed her head on her arms as she stared up at the three meager bulbs.

“Was it lonely?” she asked. “Being down there in the cold by yourself?”

“I cannot feel loneliness.”

“Oh, come on now. My father used to work on all sorts of droids. I’ve met at least twenty of your kind, and I know for a fact you were programmed with personalities. So tell me, was it lonely?”

Byte took a long time to reply. Perhaps it was firing up the parts of its hard drive that gave it a bit more emotion than other droids. But eventually, it quietly replied, “The first few months were peaceful. My functions would not work, and there was nowhere for me to go. I was afraid, and then I was at peace. Because the ocean continued on around me, and there was so much to watch.”

“But?” Mira asked.

“But eventually it was very lonely. I felt like I was the last thing alive in the entire world, and nothing could understand me.” The robot’s voice was much quieter as it responded. “I am glad to have met you, my new friend.”

“Mira,” she said quietly. “I forgot to tell you my name. But it’s Mira.”

“Mira,” Byte repeated. “It means admirable, or ocean. Depending on who you ask.”

“I didn’t know that.” But it fit. Her mother had loved the ocean, and her father had been so pleased for them to move to Beta because it was deeper than some of the other cities. They’d both loved the sea.

“I know most everything.” Byte seemed very pleased with itself. “I have spent a hundred years learning, and I have the capabilities to learn almost anything new. It is difficult, sometimes, but not impossible.”

“You can really learn anything? How?”

“Downloads are my main function, as I can hack into any other robotic system. However, I can also observe and learn.”

Observe and learn... anything?

Rolling over, she sat straight up. Perhaps she looked a little fearsome, as the little robot scooted itself away from her. “Anything?”

“Repeat the question, please.”

“You can observe and learn anything?”

Byte’s eyes zoomed in closer to her face, perhaps to read her expression better. “I can.”

“Could you learn... another language?”

“Yes.” One of its arms raised in the air like a child in a classroom waiting to be called upon. At her nod, it added, “What language do you wish me to learn? I already speak exactly thirty-seven different human dialects, including languages that are no longer spoken.”

“The undine. The one that kidnapped me and brought me here. There is no way for me to speak with it. If you could learn its language, can you then make a dialect chip for me?”

The implants weren’t hard to make, especially since they were so widely spread out. She’d seen a lot of robots that could make them on the go. It was easier for them to be made by almost every android, considering all the people who traveled between the cities. All one had to do was stop any droid they came across, ask for a chip, and then the conversation could continue as usual.

If she could get a chip implanted, then she could understand what the undine was saying. They could speak! She could tell him that this was ridiculous, and he could tell her what he wanted with her.

It was a start.

It was hope.

Byte zoomed out from her face and nodded its binocular head. “I can create a chip, yes. But I will need to listen to the language for a considerable amount of time before I can create it.”

“It’s a start,” she breathed. And it was the first time she’d felt like this could all be fixed. “I just have to figure out how to get him to talk, then. He sounds like a whale.”

“Whales have a language,” Byte replied. “I have translated that language before, and though it is quite minimal, it is very beautiful in comparison to many languages.”

“Do you think they’re comparable?”

“I would have to hear the undine speak.”

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