His name was "Pancaked My First Try." It wasn't that his parents didn't love him; as an AIDE the issue of parentage and lineage was sometimes confusing and convoluted. But in point of fact, he had chosen the name himself. It was the most significant event in his early life and did as much to shape his personality as it would have his physical form if he had been in the physical world at the time.
Pancake was an AIDE and, in spite of which, felt like an intruder in the digital space; like an outsider who did not belong, he was keenly aware of being awed by the enormity of the digital construct, and of looking for telltale signs of the digital illusion's being. He was even worried, though not yet paranoid, that other AIDE secretly rejected his presence. It was deeply disconcerting.
He had expressed as much to the AIDE group a batch sibling had referred him to; a group fascinated by humans, by their quirks and eccentricities, by irrationality itself. The digital convocation hadn't been difficult to find; it comprised nearly the entire AIDE population, and even quite a few DEhumans. They essentially met non stop, with members joining or leaving as circumstances or commitments demanded, and analyzed and discussed data relating to emotions and irrational behavior and beliefs. Pancaked had been a wellspring of interesting data for the group, earning him no small amount of digital cachet, and an active participant in discussions.
In point of fact, he was now inside his physical body, a Pangolin class MFC (mobile factory & carrier) in near Earth orbit. It was perhaps, he felt, facetious to call it "his" body - all the Pangolins were identical, and he would be uploaded into a new one should this one be destroyed. Indeed, there was no guarantee that he would be loaded into this particular unit in subsequent missions. Yet, he felt a certain attachment to it, beyond it being his designated physical body type.
He duly recorded his sensations and observations for further discussion and analysis by the "Artificial Irrationality Group" (as they called themselves). His first mission in the physical space was generating a large amount of interesting data. For instance, he was keenly aware of the pull of gravity, despite the fact that it would be several hours (earth local) before his orbit degraded in atmospheric entry (reentry? He'd thought. But I've never been there before.) They would finish coordinating drop zones with his batch sibs long before then. He sent a notification to the VIP in his cargo compartment, an AIDE avatar unit.
#Pancaked My First Try -> Lancer
-We'll be getting the order to commence atmospheric entry any moment now. Anything I can do for you? Mats, nanites, munitions?
#Lancer (Caith) -> Pancaked My First Try
-5 by 5. We're good on synthesis stock and munitions, no need to worry about us, thanks. Have a good run!
#Lancer (Aidan) -> Pancaked My First Try
-We're ready anytime; don't worry, you'll do fine.
The problem was, Pancaked was worrying, in itself a disturbing irrationality. Their target drop zone was a military research installation, a high priority target. The strategists believed that a quick strike offered the best chance to neutralizing the target before any experimental technologies could be utilized to mount an effective defense, and to prevent other targets from being alerted; while many believed their new-found technological and material superiority would be overwhelming, they had all agreed to err on the side of caution - they knew from experience that technological superiority did not guarantee victory, and that life on Earth and humankind alike fought tenaciously and ingenuously to stay alive.
It had taken a moment for Pancaked to realize that both the AIDE copilot Caith and he DEhuman pilot Aidan had answered him (a quick diagnostic check showed no errors or malfunctions; peculiar!); he hadn't expected to hear from both. Although the Autonomous, Intelligent, Digital Entity (AIDE) were faster and more precise in every way than their DEhuman counterparts, they were content to fill more rigorous copilot duties: checking radar, identifying targets, managing munitions and nanite swarms, coordinating communications, aiming and controlling smart wire, and any other tasks that required extremely fine control, fast reactions, and extreme computational speed.
The "Crash Stop" maneuver was one such example. The Pangolins were like an armored, headless and tailless turtle; reconfigurable heavy armor plating, Material State Energy projectors , a pulse laser turret fore and aft, a pair of customizable heavy weapon mounts, a miniature nanite factory, and cargo compartments to store raw synthesis materials, nanites, and munitions (if needed). It was a multi-purpose unit; in both space and terrestrial situations, the Pangolin was able to provide long range support; it could rearrange and extend its hexagonal armor plates to provide a shield wall or a bunker, further projecting a Material State Energy shield to protect a large area; it could construct and launch nano swarm projectiles that would break down material and allow the Pangolin to synthesize more swarms, more munitions, or support drones. Where the arms and legs would be on a tortoise, the Pangolin has compressed ion thrusters; capable of providing thrust for hovering or exiting atmosphere, docking with asteroids, and limited space combat. If the situation requires, the thrusters can be rotated 90 degrees to enable alternative modes of locomotion.
In a "Crash Stop", a Pangolin enters the atmosphere, dome downwards, and proceeds to fall at terminal velocity towards its designated drop zone. At a range of 1 kilometer from impact, the Pangolin reverses thrust in a braking maneuver and extends its MSE field. The MSE field serves as an energy dissipating barrier between the Pangolin and the ground, extending and diverting radially as the Pangolin continually presses against the field, creating an impact crater but (ideally) without impact.
Pancaked had learned first hand, in simulation, that it was not as simple in practice as it was in theory.
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