"Wow!" Liang heard Ken's voice coming from the bedroom, at what appeared to be an attempt at a whisper but was clearly audible from the main area of the cabin. "Is that really a boy robot?"
"Sssh!" Ken's voice, not much softer, called out. "Do you want them to hear us?"
Liang and Deanna both rolled their eyes. Deanna swiftly but quietly walked over to the door, sliding it open, revealing the two other boys crouching on the other side, looking up at her sheepishly. "I think we already did, guys."
Ken gave Dyson a soft punch in the shoulder. "Way to blow our cover, Dyson," he said with a slight bit of anger.
"Don't worry about it," Liang said, coming over. "You guys were gonna find out sooner or later." He stepped in the door, Deanna following behind him, and then slid the door shut. Sitting down on his bed, he motioned for the others to do likewise. "So," he finally said after taking a deep breath, "we have a new crew-mate. Dimitri Reyes."
"I would hardly call him that," Deanna snorted. "He's an android."
"So?" Dyson asked. "What's that mean? He's still able to talk and interact with us and stuff."
"Yeah, Deanna," Liang continued, "he's an independent intelligence. It's not like we just got another navigation program or anything."
Deanna turned to look at Liang, a slight sense of irritation in her eyes. "An independent intelligence? Give me five minutes with his base code and I'll be predicting his every move. Give me another five, and I'll be able to have him do and say anything I want him to."
"Deanna," Liang started, "that's not exactly--"
"Let me ask you this," she interrupted. "There are dozens, if not hundreds, of androids amongst all the other starships out there. How many of them consider these machines part of the crew, huh?"
Liang's eyes went up in thought as he tried to think of an answer. "Ummm…" he said, not coming up with one as his voice trailed off.
From the opposite side of the room, Ken, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, spoke up. "The answer is zero." His voice seemed a little depressed, and he didn't make eye contact with anyone as he spoke.
"Exactly," Deanna nodded in Ken's direction, then turned back to look at Liang. "Zero ships give androids any rights of representation on their ships. Why should we be any different?" She looked around the room with a determined glare.
"Well," Dyson said, his voice cracking as he talked, "he certainly seems nice enough."
"Androids aren't nice," Deanna countered, standing up and beginning to pace the room. "They do what they're told, what they're programmed to do. That's all they know."
Liang stood up, placing his hand on her shoulder. "But, Deanna, don't you think we need all the help we can get on this ship?"
"Certainly," she answered, "but that doesn't mean I have to treat him as a human."
Silence once again filled their bedroom, and Liang turned away, looking out the porthole onto the vast void of space that lay beyond. As much as he liked Deanna personally, what she was saying here wasn't right, and he knew it. He just didn't know how to get her to see that too.
"Well," he heard Ken's voice start to say, and he turned around to face the six-foot tall crimson-skinned ten-year-old. "You don't have to treat me as human, either. But you do. Why is that?"
Deanna seemed to be taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. "That's different," she said. "After all, you are half-human, at least. And besides, Thazazoids are an intelligent life form, and have a long history. Your mom's certainly proved that."
Ken didn't answer right away, instead taking the time to choose the right words. "True. But there are plenty of other human ships that don't choose to see it that way, and don't consider us part of the crew, as much as we might want to join. How is that any different than what you're doing here? After all, Dimitri could very well end up being much more intelligent than any human or Thazazoid, and maybe even write his own history for his race. Why don't you give him that same chance to prove himself?"
Deanna seemed to take these words to heart, at least a little. "Well…"
"It doesn't matter for now," Liang interjected. "We're going to have to get used to living and working with Dimitri, whether you think he's part of our crew or not, Deanna. Let's just all get some sleep on it for now; we'll feel better about it in the morning."
The other three seemed to be agreeable to this, so they each crawled in bed. "Good night, everyone," he said.
"Good night," they each responded, and they drifted off to sleep. Or so Liang thought.
In actuality, everyone was kept awake, each staring at the ceiling to their room. Dyson couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of having someone new to meet and play with and get to know. He imagined all sorts of conversations he and Dimitri would share and all the fun they could have together.
Ken was more curious than excited about the new android boy, but he also couldn't help but think about Deanna's words. He had always felt that she treated him different than the other two boys because of his mixed heritage, and now he his suspicions were heightened. The Thazazoid traditions his mother had taught him said that in order to function together as a unit, whether that unit was of two people or of two thousand, you had to put aside all doubts and trust each and every man and woman in that group. He kept trying to do that with the doubts creeping in about Deanna, but they wouldn't seem to go away. Sighing, he turned over, facing the wall, hoping that exhaustion would eventually carry him off to sleep.
Deanna knew that she had hurt Ken's feelings a little, but she couldn't help but feel worried about their new crew member. Androids were machines; they were here to serve humans-- well, not just humans, she realized, but intelligent, sentient life in general-- and treating them like anything more than that was not only foolish, it could end up dangerous. Just like it had been for… no, she didn't want to think about that. Not tonight. Not if she wanted to sleep soundly without any nightmares.
Liang's thoughts were perhaps the most peaceful of the group. He had always felt that his role as the eldest was to keep the peace and to protect the others, and now he had a new person to add to that mix. Yes, perhaps everything would end up mixing and gelling peacefully, but after the way Deanna had been talking tonight, that wasn't a safe assumption to make. He just hoped that she would learn to accept everyone on the ship, that he could make her see the error of her ways-- before it became a critical issue.
Finally, with only around four hours left before First Duties were to start being performed, the four children ended up falling asleep, one by one. Luckily, they each had a restful, recharging sleep, ready to face the new challenges of the next day.
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