Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Chapter 5 Techno Magi

   Eleric floated in a lotus position, his eyes closed as he focused his
energies through the circle and into their leader Zoe Long.  The group was
attempting to discover the source of the unusual disturbance that had
affected them all.  They were having difficulties however; one of their
number and their main clairvoyant had not arrived.  Eleric continued to
concentrate on the flow of energies, guiding the energy of his fellow
members, controlling the ebb and flow, ensuring that Zoe was able to handle
and utilize the energies she was receiving.  Eleric was the best medium of
the group and the most capable member in the circle with handling the
energies he was manipulating.

   After a few minutes Eleric felt the energies begin to rebound as Zoe
came out of her trance.  He slowly ebbed the flow and began to return what
he was receiving back to the source.  This was the most crucial and
dangerous portion of the ritual.  If the flow was returned to the rest of
the circle too fast he could burn out his friends, if the flow was returned
too slowly he would burn himself out.  The entire process of breaking the
ritual took over an hour, but finally Eleric felt the energies trickle away
and Zoe removed herself from the Circle.  Each member released their link
and separated from the Circle in order of rank, with Eleric being the last.

   Zoe watched the group carefully, assessing them with her mage sight,
checking their body's reactions as they separated themselves from the rest
of the circle.  As leader of the circle it was her responsibility to ensure
no residual effects from the ritual lingered in any member.  To ensure
their bodies were unharmed by the flow they channeled.  She took her
responsibility seriously, she approached each member talked with them,
asked them routine questions, insuring they were coherent and that their
mind was just as responsive and whole as their bodies.  The final checks
required her to astraly project herself and ensure nothing was attracted by
the ritual that could have affected their spirits.  Once her checks were
completed and everyone released themselves from the link, she gathered them
for a discussion as to what she found.

   The circle gathered around the small table in the main room of Eleric
and Elise's shack.  They all looked to their leader, she was a short woman
of five foot three inches, with long raven black hair and brown eyes, as a
thirty year old mother of two she did a lot to maintain a healthy athletic
figure.  She looked around at her circle, her eyes coming to a stop on her
husband Luke, giving him a worried smile looked over the entire group as
she addressed them.  "Well I am sorry to say, I was unable to discern much
on the source of the emanation that we all felt.  I was able to locate the
epicenter, somewhere near the town of Oodnadatta.  However residual effect
from the source prevented me from scrying the actual town.  I was able to
get within 10 miles of the town before everything went black."

   The group looked around and began to mumble to themselves.  Finally one
of the older members of the group, an aborigine man by the name of Allambee
spoke up, his voice was rather unusual, he spoke in the native language of
his people with an English translation magically superimposed over it. 
"There is a sizable population of our people in Oodnadatta.  If something
has happened there it would be a great loss to our people.  We need to
investigate this further.  Where is Mr.  Rayne?"

   Zoe shook her head and found.  "I do not know Allambee, he is not
answering my calls, I have not heard from him since the incident..."

   Her statement was interrupted by the door to the shack opening and a
tall figure in black robes stepped into the room heavy rain and thunder
could be heard through the doorway as the room was lit up by the flashes of
lightning, wind howled trough the shack blowing out the ritual's candles.
He looked up as he pulled his hood back and removed his wet fedora from his
head.  He looked up towards the circle with a frown.  "I am sorry I am
late, however I felt that speed was of the essence in this case.  I have
investigated the site of the disturbance.  I am sorry to say no one from
Oodnadatta survived the incident."

   Allambee turned towards the newest arrival.  "Rayne you should not have
gone alone.  Your actions could have endangered the circle..."

   "I have done nothing to endanger the circle.  I waited for the threat to
leave the area and then went and investigated the scene first hand.  How is
that endangering the circle?" Josh Rayne replied as he pulled of his robe
and duster and hung them on wooden pegs by the door.

   Allambee started to answer Rayne's question but was interrupted by Zoe.
"We don't have time for arguments.  Rayne what did you discover?"

   "After sensing the disturbance, I immediately attempted to do a scrying.
I was unfortunately unable to even pierce the shielding of the creature
that created the event.  Once I recovered from my attempt to scry it and
realized that whatever it was had left, I opened a Gateway to the
source..."

   Allambee jumped from his seat and stepped in front of Rayne, "You are
reckless and a fool.  How could you have gone to the source of the
disturbance without first assessing what had caused it...?" He yelled as he
poked Rayne in his chest.

   Rayne looked down at the old Aborigine and shook his head.  Eleric tried
his best to not laugh at the site before him.  Rayne at six foot six inches
towered over the old shaman's five foot three inch frame.  The sight of the
sixty year old aborigine poking Rayne in his chest and doing his best to
appear intimidating was almost enough to make Eleric laugh, that was if the
entire situation was not so tense to begin with.

   Rayne interrupted Allambee as he pushed the smaller man's hand away from
his chest and stepped up to Zoe.  "As I was saying, I opened a Gateway to
the source.  It was a small community in the middle of Southern Australia.
The first thing I noticed was that the entire town was dead.  I don't mean
just the people, everything was dead.  There were no bodies, no dead
animals or plants.  There was nothing, I did a quick scan of the soil and
there was nothing.  Looking around I noticed that several houses appeared
to have received the worst of the damage so I approached them warily.  As I
approached the homes I could sense the residue of spatial energies.  I
entered the structure carefully so as not to disturb anything and so as to
leave no evidence of my intrusion.  I found the source of the creature's
arrival in one of the back rooms.  There were the remains of a ritual
scattered around the room, this room also contained the only body I had
seen since my arrival.  It was of a young teen, he had been torn in half.
In his hand I found the ritual he was trying to cast.  He was trying to
bind a Daemon, but the name on the paper was of no Daemon I had ever heard
of." As Rayne finished his statement he handed a blood stained book to Zoe
"Here is his ritual book, hopefully you can get more from it than I did."

   Zoe took the book from Rayne's hand and handed over to her husband Luke.
He reluctantly took it from Zoe and carried it into the kitchenette.  Zoe
then turned back to Rayne.  "Did you discover anything else?"

   "Yes, two more interesting facts.  First, the area of desecration seams
to have a radius of ten miles.  I could not sense anything alive within
that radius.  Second when I found the point that the creature left the
area, there was still a lot of Spatial residue left behind, judging on the
amount of power it used, it is more powerful than even the entire circle
could handle and wherever it went, it was not on Earth." Rayne replied with
a frown.

   Zoe looked around at her friends and frowned.  "We need to figure this
out.  We need to get a grip on what happened today and try to prevent it
from happening again." She stated, turning to the two Aborigine's "Allambee
and Burnam, get with your fellows and see if any of them know anything, if
they don't, then see what they can learn.  Luke and I will contact the
other circles and see if they have learned anything more.  We will also
take this book..." She said with disdain as she walked up to the
kitchenette and held up the bloody ritual book between two fingers.  "with
us and see what we can learn from it.  Rayne please continue your personal
investigations and alert me as soon as you discover anything.  Yuri,
Eleric, Elise continue your studies.  We will all meet back here in one
week to discus what we have discovered."

   As the circle began their preparations to leave the shack, Rayne
approached Yuri Saito, the newest member of the circle.  "Yuri-san, how are
your studies coming along?"

   The young woman turned towards Rayne and bowed deeply.  "They are going
well sensei, I have been practicing your lessons and I believe I will have
mastered them soon."

   Rayne smiled at the young woman and bowed slightly to her "Aga Rinasai,
Yuri-san, very good.  I look forward to our next lesson.  Practice hard and
it will come to you with time."

   With a slightly confused look on her face Yuri looked towards Rayne. 
"Hai Sensei." She said as she once again bowed.

   Rayne returned her bow once again and headed for the door of the shack.
Elise approached Yuri with concern.  "Yuri are you ok, you look troubled?"

   Yuri turned to her friend and tried her best to smile.  "Elise-san, it
is nothing, I am just not used to the way you do things here.  In my home
no Sensei would treat a student in such a casual manor.  It is unsettling
to me."

   Elise smiled and motioned to her friend "Yuri, It is ok, he means no
insult, it is just his way.  He is trying to learn your ways though.  Come
I will help you pack your stuff and we can talk about more pleasant
things."

   The two young women headed over to a small bag and started packing up
Yuri's materials and books.  It was not long before the two were giggling
and laughing like a pair of school girls.  Eleric looked at his younger
sister and her friend.  "Enjoy your fun while you can my dear sister,
because I am afraid that soon these days will be behind us." He said under
his breath with a concerned frown.  ...

   David sat in the command chair on the bridge of the Lanvy staring at the
pad in his left hand.  The Remote Interface Unit had brought it to him
thirty minutes ago; it contained the list of the training that the newest
members of his crew had chosen.  Dr.  Jones had chosen to remain a Doctor
with a specialization in neurology and Nano-technology.  Nurse Debbin also
chose to become a Doctor, with a specialization in genetics.  David saw an
opportunity here and had requested that The Lanvy include the basics of the
Remote Interface Units construction and regulations in her training.  Nurse
Jimenez and Dale had both decided to pursue jobs that differed from their
former lives.  Jimenez chose to become a pilot and requested specialization
on the Heavy Gunnery Fighters; Karen decided to become a bridge officer. 
David chose to have her trained on the helmsman position.  The less that
the Lanvy had to automate, the more resources it could use elsewhere to
keep the ship running.

   He looked up from the pad and smiled, it seemed that things were finally
coming together.  Ideas kept running through his mind, ideas that the two
doctors could confirm once their training was completed.  As he
contemplated this he looked over to the tactical display where The Remote
Interface Unit was attempting to locate the craft that she had rescued the
two nurses from the day before.  "Lanvy is there an office or private
conference room near the bridge that I can use to talk to crew members
without disturbance?" He asked

   "Yes sir, the captains ready room, it is located through the doors on
the right side of the bridge behind the communications position." The Lanvy
replied as a pair of doors opened.

   "Thank you, I will be in there.  When Dr.  Jones and Debbin awaken from
their Training, please have them come see me."

   "Yes sir." The Lanvy replied.

   The room was sparse, but comfortable.  David sat behind the desk and
engaged the display.  He spent an hour going over the resources and
equipment of the Lanvy, Riu, and Excalibur when the Lanvy notified him that
Doctors Jones and Debbin had arrived.  "Please admit them."

   Dr.  Jones and Dr.  Debbin entered David's newly acquired office with a
small amount of trepidation.  He stood up from behind his desk and motioned
for them to have a seat in the two chairs set up in front of it.  "Please
Dr.  Jones, Dr.  Debbin Have a seat."

   Dr.  Jones looked over to Dr.  Debbin for a second and then to David. 
"You asked to see us Sir?"

   "Yes I have some questions about some of the things you two have
learned." David replied looking towards Dr.  Jones.  "I am sure you are
wondering why we have started referring to Dr.  Debbin as doctor.  She took
the basic medical course with specialization in genetics and I had the
Lanvy give her training on the Remote Interface Units.  She now has just as
much medical knowledge as you, and in some areas, more."

   Dr.  Jones looked over to Dr.  Debbin with a Smile.  "Congratulations
Dcotor" he said as he extended his hand to her.

   Dr.  Debbin smiled and shook his hand.  "Thank You Dr.  Jones."

   "What Questions did you have sir?"

   David leaned back in his chair and stared over the two doctors for a
second, then leaned forward, grabbed an electronic pad from the top of his
desk and handed it to Dr.  Jones.  "I have several things on my mind
actually.  First thing, Dr.  Jones, this is all the medical information
that the Lanvy was able to acquire on Spaz's condition.  With the new
knowledge you have acquired, can you fix his injuries and restore him to
full active duty?"

   Dr.  Jones took the pad and began to scan through it, his finger running
over several things, and then he looked to David.  "Yes sir with the
Kreg'ar's medical knowledge fixing these injuries would be a simple
process, it would take a day at the most, and he would be in recovery for
another day or two."

   "How about other injuries, ones more severe?"

   "Sir, with the current medical knowledge that Dr.  Jones and I have
gained we could fix almost all illnesses and injuries known.  I am quite
sure once our training programs are complete we will be able to handle the
rest." Dr.  Debbin replied

   David leaned back in his chair once again and began to tap his chin with
his finger tips.  "What about amputees, spinal damage, lost hearing,
blindness?"

   "We are now able to deal with all of these afflictions Sir.  The Kreg'ar
had extensive medical knowledge in the replacement of lost limbs and nerve
damage." Answered Dr.  Jones

   "Also sir, with the knowledge of genetics that we now have, we can also
help people who are born blind and deaf as well as many other genetic
afflictions."

   David grinned from between his finger tips.  "Very good, ok next
question.  Dr.  Debbin, tell me about the remote interface unit's.  Are
they human, Kreg'ar, or Artificial Intelligence?"

   "Sir, that is a hard one to call.  I have to say I was quite surprised
when I woke up this morning with knowledge on them, but the Kreg'ar did not
know.  The bodies are made from the genetic material of the race they are
infiltrating and Kreg'ar.  The body is not alive and is maintained in
stasis until the Interface Unit Program is inserted, at which point it is
removed from stasis and given a jolt of electricity to start the heart and
awaken the program." Debbin replied.

   "So at that point they are alive?"

   "No sir, I do not believe so, they are simply a predefined program that
currently inhabits a living body.  The Unit is not self aware and does not
deviate from its programming."

   "Hmmm...how long does the Kreg'ar normally let a Unit remain active?"

   "Sir, you should already know this.  By their regulations, no Artificial
Unit inhabiting a living body is to remain active after four months, if
their mission is not complete, the Unit will be shut down, its program
uploaded into a new body, and the new body activated."

   "Yes, I know the regulation, my concern is why?" David asked as he
leaned over the desk resting his elbows on top.

   "Sir?"

   "Why only four months, what about the Units requires them to be moved to
a new body?"

   Dr.  Debbin leaned back in her chair and took a deep contemplative
breath.  "I am not fully sure why, as my knowledge is limited to what was
in the training provided, but my best assumption is that the Units begin to
deviate from their designed program the longer they remain in the body.  It
is a living body with a living mind and is capable of growth.  The Units
can learn new things that are beyond their original programming, and since
the body is alive, they show signs of emotion.  This scared the Kreg'ar, so
they established the four month grace period."

   David looked between the two doctors.  "So doctors, in your professional
opinion are the Remote Interface Units alive."

   Dr.  Jones looked towards Dr.  Debbin and then back to David.  "Well
sir, I don't have access to the data that Dr.  Debbin has, but from what
she has said, I would say, at the time of activation no.  There are four
main requirements for something to be considered alive, the ability to
reproduce, the ability to grow and adapt, the ability to metabolize
materials, and lastly a sense of self.  The Units at activation are capable
of three of the four due to the biological body, but since their mind is
only that of a preprogrammed AI it is not self aware.  However, if they do
learn and grow as time passes, then eventually they should be able to
become self aware, which would make them alive."

   David nodded to Dr.  Jones and then turned his attention to Dr.  Debbin.
"If you are asking about The Remote Interface Unit, sir..." She said
pointing over her shoulder towards the door with her thumb.  "Then I would
say a definite yes.  She is not reacting how a Remote Interface Unit Mark
II should.  She has grown beyond her programming, and is showing emotions.
Yesterday during the attack in Australia I saw her cry.  The Units are not
programmed to cry."

   David nodded and then smiled.  "Lanvy have you been listening to our
conversation?"

   "Yes sir."

   Very well, do you concur with the findings of Dr.  Jones and Debbin? 
"Sir I am not programmed to concur or deny the opinions or actions of the
crew.  However, at this time Dr.  Jones and Dr.  Debbin are not members of
the crew, however their logic is sound and my scans and recordings have
shown several instances where the Remote Inter Face Unit Mark II has shown
emotion that it was not originally programmed.  But since neither Dr.  is a
member of the ships crew they do not have the authority to make these
decisions at this time."

   "Very well, Lanvy please take the time and date, I am appointing Dr. 
Jones as Chief Medical officer of the EDS Lanvy and Dr.  Debbin as Chief
Geneticist in charge of the Remote Interface Unit program with the rank of
Lt.  Commander.  Do they have the authority now?

   "Acknowledged sir, as of 3119:09:36 Galactic standard time Dr.  Alex
Jones and Dr.  Amber Debbin of the Planet Earth are appointed as Chief
Medical Officer and Chief Geneticist of the Earth Defense Ship Lanvy and
are given the rank of Lieutenant Commander."

   David stood from his chair and motioned for the two doctors to stand. 
"Lanvy, would you please have The Remote Interface Unit come into the
office."

   "As you command."

   I few minutes later The Remote Interface Unit entered the room and stood
at attention in front of the desk.  "You asked to see me sir."

   "Yes, some new information has been brought to my attention by our
ship's new Chief medical officer Dr.  Jones, and the new Chief of The
Remote Interface program, Dr.  Debbin.  According to their findings, an
activated Unit such as yourself can only be activated for four months.  How
long have you been active?"

   The Remote Interface Unit paled and looked between David and the two
doctors.  Her shoulders started to slump and she began to look down at her
feet.  Just as quickly as her reaction appeared it was gone and she stood
up straight once again.  "Three Months and eight days." She stated in an
emotionless tone.

   David turned to Dr.  Jones.  "Is that good enough for you doctor?"

   Dr.  Jones nodded to David "Yes sir, I change my answer to yes."

   David turned to The Remote Interface Unit.  "Lanvy, based on the
recommendations of Dr.  Jones and Dr.  Debbin I hear by declare the
currently activated Remote Interface Mark II is a Living being with all
rights and privileges.  I am removing the requirement for the Unit to
undergo deactivation." The Remote Interface Unit stood staring at David in
shock as David continued to speak.  "Now that that has been handled, we
can't keep calling you The Remote Interface Unit Mark II.  Do you have any
preference for a new designation?"

   The Unit continued to stare at David and shook her head.  "Very well,
then if you have no objections, I have an idea?"

   With tears coming to her eyes she nodded to David.  "What is your
suggestions sir?"

   "Riu Emtoo, Riu R.I.U., the first three letters of remote interface unit
and Emtoo E.M.T.O.O as a reference to Mark Two.  Is this acceptable."

   Riu stared at David.  "This designation is acceptable sir."

   David smiled at her "Very well, then I have one more order.  Lanvy
please take the time and date, I am appointing Riu Emtoo the Captain of the
EDS Lanvy, with all rank, rights and privileges there too.

   "Acknowledged sir, as of 3119:09:56 Galactic standard time Riu Emtoo
formally a Remote Interface Unit Mark II of the EDS Lanvy is appointed as
Captain of the Earth Defense Ship Lanvy."