Aware

By David S Reynolds

An accident in space has left Navigation Specialist Jenkins alone on a ship that is dying. She is almost certain that the initial malfunction was caused by a robot, proving in her mind that all robots are useless. Jenkins finds this conviction challenged by Repair Bot 3, the last of three bots that is struggling with becoming aware. The two advisories must find a way to understand each other and work as a team in order for both to survive.

Recommended to those who enjoy the tradition of classic pulp ... January 25, 2015
By T K Flor
A meteor hits a spaceship, causing severe damage. One of the two crew members is unconscious. Both of them are trapped in the control room, where the air is thinning. To survive and to start again the inert ship, Navigation Specialist Jenkins needs the help of the ship's three bots. But only one of them comes to her assistance...
A race ensues to make the most pressing repairs, to save the other crew member and to get the ship moving again. And it turns out that this is not all. There is a reason why only Repair Bot Three (RB3) came to the rescue.
The events are told through the eyes of Jenkins and RB3. The pace is fast, the language is terse and sprinkled with mild cursing. There is a lot of dialog, some disregard of science (concerning the laws of physics and what is known in artificial intelligence), a tough human who does what is necessary for her own and her crew member's survival, and a robot that is more than what it seems to be.
I read it in one gulp.
Recommended to those who enjoy the tradition of classic pulp science fiction.
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for a non-reciprocal review.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Renaissance Redneck Media
• Release date: Oct 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311617910

David S Reynolds

I am somewhat of a rarity - A Tucsonan that was actually born in Tucson, Az. Other than one semester of college at Northern Arizona University where I learned I don't like snow, always lived in the Tucson valley and consider myself a certified desert rat. I enjoy reading and writing many different styles and genre, from political satire to mindless theater. Sometimes I write with a message in mind, sometimes I don't. When I'm not writing I enjoy traveling, photography, riding motorcycles, building and flying model aircraft and trying new stuff. You can find more about me and find out about new releases on Facebook by looking up Renaissance Redneck Media. I hope you get something from my writings, even if it is just a laugh. Thanks for reading.

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Aware

Published by David S Reynolds at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 David S Reynolds

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David S Reynolds

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For Mom

Who says I need to stop killing so many of my characters.

Prologue

Free Fall

Team

Restart

Breakdown

Acknowledgments

Aware

Prologue

Shit. The voice was almost inaudible.

Jenkins looked across her navigation reports to the operations station where Christo was bent over his screen intently muttering to himself. What is it?

Christo didn’t reply at first. The only noise was the slight hum of the exodrives pushing the ship forward at faster than light speeds.

Christo?

Christo finally looked up. Cut the drives! Jenkins saw terror etched deeply in the face that now looked at her.

What? There’s nothing out-

Do it! Christo yelled, cutting her off.

In all the years of pushing ore across the stars Jenkins had never heard Christo lose his cool. She hit the emergency stop without even thinking about it. The ship shuddered out of exospace as the stress of the sudden deceleration threatened to rip the reinforced hull to shreds. A horrible vibration rattled the deck accompanied by the muted sound of metal tearing.

The silence after the violence was deafening. The crew of Ore Runner Teresa knew that even in an emergency stop, the ship should hold together. What they heard and felt was not normal.

What was that? Jenkins asked, breaking the silence.

Something hit us.

Impossible. Jenkins replied, Nothing was on the scope.

Then the scope must be broken, because we are losing atmosphere. Send a repair bot to check the scope while I do a hull scan.

Aren’t those damn things supposed to keep on top of the scope? That’s why we bought ‘em.

Christo ignored the mutterings of his partner. Jenkins had never liked the idea of robots on the ship; she didn’t trust them like she did humans. Sometimes Christo himself wished for more people to man the ship, even if it was just to have someone other than Jenkins to talk to, but the truth was people were expensive. Not just in wages, but also in food, air, and weight. The three repair bots weighed as much as one average human, didn’t eat anything, and could do jobs that were too dangerous for humans. Like repair the tear in the hull he just found. With a sigh, he sent a command to bots two and three to head to the airlock to start repairs.

Jenkins peered over Christo’s shoulder. Find somethin’?

Tear in the hull. Christo replied pointing at the display, I bet it was just a crack caused by hitting something but got bigger with the emergency stop. Did the bot report back on the scope?

Ya. Looks like some sort of overload. No info on what caused it. Jenkins looked in awe at the hole in the side of the ship. "Lucky you caught that. If it had gotten any bigger it could have