Bill Anders

After marriage and a move to Streamwood, IL , Divorce, and being the custodial parent for three boys with all the attendant games of baseball and basketball for them all, I sold my house and moved to Evanston to be closer to work. I was a plumber for Cahill Plumbing, there for over forty years. Upon retirement, I was able to devote more time to an interest in writing. I joined a Creative Writing class and proceeded to write fifty thousand words of plumbing job and

customer-related stories. I had always had an interest in Science Fiction and this is what I predominately write now.

I am seventy-seven years of age, creeping up to seventy-eight in November. I am and always have been an avid reader, in fair health and hope to continue writing for as long as possible. It gives me a great deal of pleasure.

I slowly regained awareness, Still dazed, I suddenly remembered the collision! I had been piloting a Navy M-Class Cruiser on a mission to map the larger rocks in the asteroid belt. We were slowly moving around an asteroid when we were struck by a boulder, somehow undetected by our instruments. It had taken out our main engines and after trying unsuccessfully to restart them, I realized we were sure to crash on the rocky surface below. I had Immediately ordered the six crew members to the escape pods while I desperately fought to maintain altitude for as long as I could, using the small chemical-maneuvering rockets still operative. I hoped to give the crew the best chance to reach the pods and eject to safety. Seeing the last one was away, I realized there was no time to reach a pod myself. I must then have secured my suit and helmet and opted to try to slow my forward speed as I reduced my angle of approach to the semi-flat surface—a surface the ship was approaching much too rapidly. The last thing I remember was sledding across the surface as the ship came apart around me. It was throwing up a wake of sparks and the rock dust that coated the asteroid.

Why couldn’t I remember anything that had occurred before the collision? I couldn't even remember my name, and wondered if I had suffered some serious head trauma. I also found I could not see anything, total darkness. Assessing further, I quickly realized that I was incapable of moving any part of my body. Blind! Loss of memory! Paralysis! I started to panic, breathing too quickly, beginning to hyperventilate. 

Slowly I brought my emotions under control. Panic would cause me to use my limited oxygen supply more quickly. Though my visor must have been just inches in front of my face I was unable to see my status display located there. On the positive side, my suit must have maintained its integrity during the crash or I wouldn't be alive and breathing! I couldn’t move a muscle but I was not experiencing any pain and, so, hoped that, if I were injured, at least my

injuries were not life-threatening.

I felt sure that all of the crew had made it out of the ship and, had already contacted, or would soon contact, another of the ships at work near our area. I was positive they would organize a search for me as soon as they could. Like many branches of the service, we “never leave a man behind.” I just hoped they would find me before my air ran out! I couldn’t move my head to access my water or food reserve tubes but, no matter, I would run out of air long before I starved or died of thirst.

It hit me that my comms unit might have self-activated during the crash, as it was programmed to do, allowing even an injured man to communicate in an emergency. I wondered if I could speak. “Hello! Is anyone hearing this? Anyone out there? This is ……….” This is who? Who was I? Why couldn’t I remember? Couldn’t there be one ray of sunshine shining through this gloomy mess? Wait! Ray! That is my name! I'm sure of it.

“Hello, this is Ray. I’m alive! Can anyone hear me? I need help. I can’t move. I don’t know how much oxygen I have left! Started with four hours worth, but I was unconscious — not sure how long. Anybody! Please respond!” I received no answer. I didn’t know if my comms were off or just broken. I started to

panic again, but with a lot of effort managed to calm myself. I knew my guys would not give up on me, wouldn’t quit until they found me, or my remains. I’d try to relax and give them time.

************

“There!” yelled Jones, ”There, under that slanted rock, half buried in this damn dust. Yes, target located! I can see a dim red flashing light. Corporal Quami! Come here! Help me dig it out!” Jones was ecstatic. They needed to recover this valuable asset. Working together, they soon had it free. Jones held up the eight-inch square of tough mylar composite and brushed away the heavy coating of dust, revealing the embossed lettering, R.A.I., Re-programmable Artificial Intelligence.

“A bit dented in places,” Quami said. “But the biologicals seem to be uninjured, Captain,” he said, using his comms to reach the rescue ship.“Target acquired. Seems to be alright except for a few marks on the surface. The red light is blinking steadily. What are your orders?”

“Hit the reset, Corporal Quami, “ replied the Captain. “I need to know immediately if that sinfully expensive piece of equipment is going to be piloting a new ship again soon."

Jones hit the flashing red reset button and, after a brief pause, the light went out but quickly came back on a steady green. “Reprogramming appears to be successful, Sir. We can run a full diagnostic, as a precaution, before this R.A.I. unit is put back in service.”

“Jones, Quami, good work! You’ve saved the Navy a fortune today! Return to ship.”

“Aye, aye, Sir!” they both replied in unison.

Switching to local comms, Jones asked Quami, “Do you think it feels anything? You know, with the added biologicals?”

“No, man!” Quami replied, “Its a machine, buddy, just a machine.”

************

As soon as the reset was activated, Ray felt a sense of loss, of drifting away. He wondered if he had finally run out of air. He drifted further and felt himself losing consciousness again. Still, he wasn’t panicking, just feeling more and more serene. Really, not a bad way to go. His last thought before oblivion was the hope that the guys would not blame themselves for not finding him in time. He felt, in his heart, they had done everything they could.