The moment that they entered the shuttle, the man in question came into Max’s sight. It was almost as if he had been summoned by thinking about him, but even with a precision portal, that likely wasn’t possible.

“Papa! Long time no see.” Nico cheered as she pulled her father into an embrace.

“You’re not an easy person to find yourself, Kiddo. I went all the way to Absolution looking for you, and you had just left to come here to see me. But it’s good that it worked out this way. There is nobody on this shuttle who isn’t already in on what I’m about to ask you, so I’ll just get straight to it.

What do you think about having a Board of Directors take over the operations of the Terminus Trading Company’s daily operations while you take on a special mission for me? There are a number of lingering issues that have become too much for me to deal with at this point, and the list of other possible candidates has become increasingly nonexistent.”

Nico smirked at her father. “You sure do know how to butter him up. Anything that gets him out of paperwork duty is a good deal, in his opinion. We’ve got a custom Cutter, with two Mecha aboard, plus top-of-the-line replicator systems to make anything else we need.”

“Perfect. Then you can likely get started right away. A kindly researcher in a white lab coat named Felicity told me that if I delivered these devices that just came from the research team, you could keep in steady enough contact to make decisions on behalf of Absolution in the role of Commander and Subcommander.” The sly Patriarch of the Tarith Family informed them, then turned over two small boxes.

Inside each biometric-coded lockbox were a single vial of liquid and a digital direction screen. The directions were simple.

[Nanotechnology-compliant communications array upgrade device, BETA2.3. Has been confirmed to use the System Nanobots to assist in acting as a fully functional interstellar communications device.

Felicity would also like us to inform you that she has found a new purpose in life. She wishes to become a biological beings researcher, and to that end, has requested that she be allowed to take over her old role as Facility Manager but as Absolution’s AI. Attached is a list of terms and conditions, including that there be no experimentation, harm, mental trauma, or interference on her part except in the role of the ship’s AI as required by Reaver Code and Terminus Trading Company Regulations.]

Putting the somewhat crazy AI that turned hybridized Klem into lab experiments in charge of millions of citizens of random species, as well as visitors? Nope, that didn’t sound like a completely insane idea at all.

But Max did at least use Nico’s System Talent to read through the proposal. As expected, it was very well written in the form of an employment contract to the World Ship’s AI. It promised to do no harm, and the Reaver Code as well as Terminus Regulations both forbade disgracing your Company. The punishment for it started a corporal and worked its way up to immediate expulsion from the Company through the closest airlock.

After seeing it, it honestly looked to be a better agreement than most of the workers who needed security agreements had signed.

[Subcommander has added a clause to the proposal for your review.] The screen notified him.

She proposed a thirty-day probationary period where the role of AI would be immediately terminated for any punishable transgression, as well as a few amendments that closed potential loopholes where the AI might still be able to run experiments on humans. Instead of forbidding the practice, which might cause issues if the research teams needed the ship’s computing power for an experiment, they required Subcommander level or higher verification and the presence of a third party with a Code Red security pass.

That would be enough to know that the AI couldn’t run amok, as only a few people were trusted enough for Code Red passes, like the Lead Researchers. Having a shipwide AI would also solve a lot of issues, as it could keep tabs on everything at once as a secondary layer of security. It could also coordinate, which was a very handy ability when multiple departments in separate cities were involved.

“Do you think that request is a good idea?” Max asked Nico as he reviewed her suggestion.

“I don’t see the problem. Felicity was perfectly following the directions given, and it even kept the researchers and test subjects in the facility alive until we showed up with Plasma Cannons. If anything, I would say that Felicity is incredibly well suited to a role at Ship’s Computer, and as an added bonus, she can work as our secretary since she’s got a separate body.

When we need to give directions and orders, she can relay them to the Board of Directors, who I am certain that my mother has already hand-picked, and they can make sure that our ideas are put into action. We will still get daily updates if these communication devices work, and most days even if we just rely on the regular communicators.”

That was true, and it was somehow annoying that he didn’t have a good argument against putting the AI in charge of the ship. They could remove it right away if there were issues, and they could stress-test it tonight after dinner with the light show and all the people who were going to be gathered outdoors, exceeding even the usual daily activity levels.

“Alright. I can see you’re on board with this, so I will trust your judgment. Let’s try out this serum that they’ve made for us first and see how it goes. Then we can inform Felicity to take over the role of operations.” Max reluctantly agreed.

He downed the viscous solution, which was a strange experience, as it had a viscosity closer to thick syrup than the usual watery sort of carrying solution that such products were delivered in.

Max briefly wondered if they had simply sent over the undiluted product without putting it in a carrier, but it was easy enough to drink, so he didn’t worry about it too much and waited to see if his System would give him some sort of Notification about the new product that was intending to piggyback off its capabilities.

For the first few seconds, nothing seemed to happen, but then his communications device alerted him of a newly available network named Absolution.

It was a simple chatroom with five users. The Nicknames were familiar as well. BloodGoddess, Felicity, Miller, Commander, and one more who had chosen to use GearHead as their handle.

Using Nico’s System Function, typing was as natural as thinking, so he sent his first message with the username Commander that had been assigned to his bottle.

[The Syrum seems to have been successfully integrated, as a new network is available to me. Beginning broadcast check.] Max messaged.

Just over half a second passed before the response from Felicity arrived. [Message received, Commander. Transmission timestamp indicates that the interstellar communications speed is within the acceptable range for functionality.]

[Packet loss is under one percent, much better than expected for a first live test. Congratulations, Commander. You can now reach either of us whenever you would like.] GearHead, who was presumably their lead researcher, added.

[Optimization finished. Greetings, everyone, to the world’s most convenient private chat. With this System Function, it’s no harder than mental note-taking. I just need to think about it, and I can will it to appear here in the chat, as well as see your messages whenever I want.] BloodGoddess informed the group.

[Congratulations, your connection has been confirmed. We will keep you updated here with three times daily file transfers. You may change the schedule if you require.] GearHead replied.

[I appreciate that. I think that the Commander would be fine with the same schedule as well so that he doesn’t have to see them all in real-time as they arrive.] Nico added.

[Understood.]

Max turned his attention back to Nico’s father, who was watching in anticipation as they drank the strange liquid, but he couldn’t see anything that had happened after that.

“What exactly was it that you wanted us to undertake so suddenly? It will likely be a few days to get things in order before we can leave, as we’re just in the middle of opening up a new area of the ship to residents. The aquatic level, with deep sea cities and a multitude of oceanfront villas.” He asked.

“Even in a few weeks would be close enough. But this trip isn’t long enough for us to discuss everything. I will return to Absolution with you after lunch with the Family is over. Mary will murder us all if we miss any more of them.” The elder Tarith chuckled, but Max could tell that he was only half joking.