“No, I don’t. I know most things, but not everything. And there’s quite a lot going on. More than normal.”
“Which is totally par for our course.” Decided I didn’t want the existential headache trying to figure out how powerful Algar really was would likely give me. Plus, he looked ready to snap his fingers again and I still needed information. “Okay, so, regarding Team Tough Guys, who got them onto the ship? Because I can’t imagine that whoever told Jamie and the other kids to have the Non-Avengers assemble also somehow asked her to ensure that Team Tough Guys were on board.”
“They came of their own free will.”
“Shocker. Was that will assisted by anyone powerful and yet friendly to us?”
“No.”
“Huh. Was there an assist in allowing them to actually get onto the ship?”
“Now you’re thinking correctly. Yes. However, that assist didn’t come from me.”
“So, if that’s supposed to let me know that it was ACE, that’s great, but why did he then allow Jamie to be influenced in who she brought onto the ship?”
“ACE sees things differently than I do.”
Maybe I was going to get that existential headache after all. “You want to explain that to me?”
“It’s not relevant at the moment.”
“Really? A powerful superconsciousness let my child bring the wrong people on board and you don’t see that as relevant.”
“They’re not the ‘wrong’ people. They just aren’t the people that you, perhaps, would have chosen for this journey.”
Hoped there was still some of that Advil left. “But you said an enemy helped Jamie choose who to bring on board.”
“No. I said that it would be best if you, and only you, determined who the culprit was. Culprit has several meanings—not all of them indicate heinous criminal behavior.”
“In a spare moment I’ll ask Mother if she’s downloaded Roget’s Thesaurus and the Oxford English Dictionary. So, you’re sort of insinuating that whoever chose the Distant Voyager’s ‘guest list’ might not have had evil intent.”
“Correct. They might have, as well. But that’s going to be for you to determine.”
“All by my lonesome, got it. So, um, back to why my tough guys here want to stay hidden in the maintenance closet.”
“It’s simple. Frankly, they don’t believe that they are safe to leave this place.”
“A belief you agreed with only a short while ago. What’s changed?”
Algar shrugged. “You’ve affected Mother already. Faster even than I’d expected.”
“Excuse me?”
“She’s been connected to your mind. You don’t think logically, at least, not in the way she’s programmed to expect.”
“I realize that there are people who follow a more logical thought pattern. However, I find it difficult to believe that Drax didn’t account for how organic minds work.”
“He did. However, your mind, in particular, has affected Mother.”
Received an expectant look. Tried to figure out what Algar wanted me to figure out. “Because I’m the main point of Communications or whatever?”
“Yes.” The expectant look was still fully in place.
“Um . . . but Tim assigned our positions, out of necessity.”
“He did.” Algar was now giving me the “duh” look.
“Oh. You or ACE suggested those stations to him?”
“In a sense.”
“So why did Mother not allow us to change roles? The real reason.”
“It’s going to matter very soon that the two people who are the most independent in terms of their thinking and actions be in charge, and that the person who’s led military actions without panic for years be in charge of Weapons. She’s seen how the three of you think and has, wisely, chosen to keep you in the positions you all initially chose.”
“So, Tim as Commander, me as Communications, and Jeff as Weapons is sticking. I speak for all of us when I say, with as much sarcasm as possible, that we’re all thrilled. What about Tito, Matt, and Chip?”
“The team is working well. Doctor Hernandez is the most capable person on board. He’s also the one who remains calm in every situation, including the life-and-death ones. Keep him with you. Matt and Chip have enough skill to fly the ship without any help. It would be easier for them if they were working with the rest of their regular team, but they’ll manage and pick up any slack the rest of you might inadvertently create.”
“Um, go team? This still doesn’t answer why you now think it’s safe to come out of hiding. My affecting Mother did what, exactly?”
“It saved everyone.”
“I’d feel all special and tingly, but before I let myself go wild, I’d like an explanation.”
“You moved Mother from the mindset of doing whatever she wanted and felt was best into becoming a team player.”
“How Corporate America of me. Flat-out you’re going to have to explain what you mean by this.”
“If I must.”
“It’s already been a hell of a long day, so, yes, you must.”
“Only you and Tim would have talked about HAL. Therefore, only you and Tim would have created the need for Mother to look that movie up and do a comparison to herself.”
“James would have, Chuckie, too. Raj, Amy, lots of the others.”
Algar shook his head. “Years ago? Yes, James and Charles would have. But now, in the positions they’re in, they would not, not in this situation. None of the others would, either. Plus, you and Tim have a different way of talking to each other than you do with the others.”
“Heads of Airborne always know how to hang with the crazy?”
“Exactly. Mother now knows what she does not want to become.”
“Good to know. So, because Mother’s not going all HAL on us, you feel that it’s safe to share that all of you are still on the ship.”
“Yes. However, as I said earlier, my word has no sway with these men. They are protectors, first. They want to be in a position to protect.” He shot me a look I was pretty sure was supposed to be meaningful.
Heaved yet another sigh. “Fine. So I have to convince them that we need them out more than we need them hidden?”
“Yes. Beyond Mossy, who is already prepared to reveal himself.”
“Not in front of the kids and more easily distressed adults, I hope. We don’t want to start a panic, after all.”
Algar rolled his eyes. “No one’s actually panicked yet.”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s just a matter of time, and it also depends how you define ‘panic,’ of course. Once again, I’ll verify all the definitions later.”
“Panic is rarely helpful.”
“Yes, I’m clear—panic never achieves anything other than increasing the total chaos of the situation.” Mom and Dad had drilled that into my head and, as I thought of it, Chuckie’s, Amy’s, Brian’s, and Sheila’s heads, too. So, when it all went sideways, I could count on the three of my high school friends on board to, presumably, keep their heads. Wondered what Sheila was doing for a moment. Probably not anything like what the rest of us were. Figured that the others would also feel envy for Sheila if I brought this up to them. Actively chose not to so bring up. That was me, taking one for the team as always.
“Sometimes, though,” Algar said pleasantly, “total chaos is what you want.”