Mathias was just finishing his last lap, when a message prompt appeared in his vision. It was a message from Jacob, sent to his implant. He was given one when he first arrived to the resistance base. It was a human technology, and it completely blew Mathias away when he learned about it, he knew that Ra’a’zani didn’t have anything like it, and that just made him even more mad at humanity for wasting it all in the war that doomed them in the end. He opened the message and read it. Jacob wanted to see him in his office in an hour, plenty time for him to take a shower and change clothes. One hour later, he entered Jacob’s office.
“You wanted to see me Jacob?” Mathias said.
“Yes Mathias, come in.” Jacob gestured for Mathias to enter. He had a small object in his hand that was unfamiliar to Mathias.
“A datapad, another human invention.” Jacob said.
“What does it do?” Mathias asked.
“It’s a computer, it can do many things, but it was made obsolete by implants.”
“So why are you using it then?”
Jacob smiled. “I guess that I am used to it. I was born before implants were widespread, and I was accustomed to it.”
“It must be strange to you, I mean remembering a time when there were no Ra’a’zani.” Mathias said.
Jacob just looked thoughtfully at the ceiling for a moment. “Yes.” He said sadly. “You don’t remember a time before Ra’a’zani?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, but it wasn’t any better then. I run gang, with a girl, we were thirteen-fourteen maybe. We didn’t have electricity, but we survived, we stole mostly, and when we needed to, killed. We didn’t know better. And then Ra’a’zani came. And we became their slaves, we saw a lot of people slaughtered. We weren’t strangers to death, but this was somehow worse, they didn’t just kill to survive, they slaughtered because they could.” Mathias said.
Jacob nodded solemnly. “We will be free again, and this time it will be different. I think that all of humanity learned a lesson that had evaded us for too long. We need to be united to face the life in this universe.”
It was Mathias’s turn to nod. He like Jacob, believed that.
“The reason I called you here was, to ask for your opinion on something.” Jacob said, he put his datapad and walked around the desk, he guided Mathias to a couch and took a sit on the opposing one.
“What do you think about Asumy?” Jacob asked.
“What do you mean?” Mathias asked, confused.
“You are spending the most time with him, I’m hearing that he is teaching you human history.”
“Well, yes, in my spare time…”
“I want to know what is he like, how does he think.”
Mathias thought for a moment and a few instances of his conversations with Asumy came to mind.
“Well, he is a good teacher, he is friendly, and he likes to talk about topics he is interested in, manly history, though there were a few strange moments.”
“Like what?” Jacob asked.
Mathias hesitated.
“Mathias, I need to know if we can trust him, the future of the entire human race depends on it.” Jacob said.
Mathias sighed. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way because I know that he can be trusted, and that he wants to help us, it’s just that I think that he is hiding something.”
“Do you have any idea what?” Jacob asked.
“I’m not sure, but every time I ask him about how he was made he steers the conversation elsewhere, at first it thought that perhaps he didn’t want to be reminded that he wasn’t like us, that he wasn’t born but made, but he doesn’t appear troubled by that.”
“Do you think that he doesn’t want us to build more like him?”
“No, I don’t think that’s it. There is one thing, I didn’t tell this to anyone else, I wasn’t sure it even happened, but when Gloria and I first boarded the ship, and when Asumy’s hologram appeared, for a moment I could have sworn I saw some other image.” Mathias said.
“Other image?”
“Well, it wasn’t the image he has now, of a human man, but something else, some alien creature with four arms.” Mathias said uncertainly.
“An alien with four arms? Do you think that he could have been built by Ra’a’zani? And placed for us to find?” Jacob asked.
“No, he wants to help us, I have no doubt about that, and if that was the case Ra’a’zani would have already executed us all. I don’t know what it means, if anything at all.” Mathias said.
“Alright Mathias, I’ll need to think about this a little more, we still haven’t contacted Olympus, and I want to be sure about Asumy before we do, that’s all. You may go.” Jacob said.
Mathias stood up and went to the door, when he reached them he paused and turned his head back.
“I have been spending a lot of time with Asumy, I believe that I know him. And I know that the thing he values most is trust, if you want to know something you should ask him directly. As far as I know he has never lied to me.” Mathias said.
Jacob ran a hand through his hair. “It’s that last part that worries me.”
Mathias nodded, turned and left the room.
Jacob entered the bridge of Olympus ship, it was late at night, base time, so there was no one there.
“Asumy? May I speak with you?” Jacob said to the empty room.
A moment later Asumy’s hologram appeared.
“Of course Jacob.”
“I wanted to see how you were doing, we have been bothering you a lot in the last few months.”
“It’s no bother, it is well within my capabilities.”
“I heard that you have been teaching Mathias about human history.” Jacob said.
“Yes, I like interacting with him.”
“That’s good.” Jacob said, they spent the next minute in an uncomfortable silence, at least uncomfortable for Jacob, he was sure that it wasn’t for Asumy. Finally Jacob sighed.
“I’m guessing that you have been wondering why I hadn’t asked you to send a message to Olympus.”
“That has been on my mind.” Asumy responded.
“Well, the answer is simple, at first there was the possibility that this was a Ra’a’zani plot. And afterwards I was reluctant, because Olympus did abandon us, even now I don’t think that they will help us, and even if they wanted to, the earliest they could get here is in sixty years. But another reason is because of you.” Jacob said.
The hologram made a caricature of human confusion. “Me? Why?”
“I didn’t trust you, I still don’t, I know that there are things that you are not telling us.” Jacob said.
“That is true, there are things that I didn’t tell you, but none of those things pertain to you and your fight.”
“Really? Is there nothing that you are holding back that could aid us?” Jacob said.
“No, you have my promise that I will never hide anything that pertains to the survival of the human race.”
Jacob looked at the hologram, he knew that the image was computer generated and that he couldn’t see into its eyes and decide whether Asumy was worthy of trust. Even his response now was an evasion, he admitted to hiding things, but made no attempt at revealing them. Jacob decided to go with his gut, and it told him to trust the Ai.
“Alright Asumy, I will trust you. Send a message to Olympus. I can transfer all the information the resistance has gathered on Ra’a’zani for you to send it with the message, tell them… Tell them that we need help.” Jacob said.