21 Ships
"Hi Flower!" said the living human as it practically bounced out of the lift.
"Hello Ashley," said Flower's mechanical voice. "All systems are within acceptable margins," it reported dutifully. The Garden Ring was not originally designed to interface with humans very frequently, so it lacked the polish of the station's other subsystems. "Are you finished with today's lessons?" The AI subsystems had been instructed to ask this question when encountering the living human, after several missed educational sessions.
"Yup! I'm going up to see Mac and thought I'd stop by and say 'Hi' on my way."
The Garden Ring did not respond, as the living human had not asked a question, and it had already made a greeting. Flower continued to care for the the plants, and was less aware of the living human skipping along between the aquaponic trays.
"Can I feed the fish?"
"The fish have already been fed. Do not feed the fish."
"Aww." The living human pouted. "Can I feed them next time?"
"If you are here at the designated feeding time, yes. Otherwise, no."
"How are the new plants?"
As some of the growths aged, they were replaced. Plants did not last forever. The living human had visited during the recent cycle's planting.
"The seeds have germinated," reported Flower. The living human reached the area of the Garden Ring housing the new plants.
"Oooh! I see them!" The living human ooh-ed and aw-ed over the tiny growths. Then turned and skipped back to the lift. "OK, see you later!"
After reaching the Ship Maintenance Hangar, the living human began leaping around. It was one of her favorite areas of the station.
"Mac, are you around?"
"Of course, Ashley," The Ship Maintenance Hangar's synthesized voice echoed through the large area. "Are you finished with today's lessons?"
"Yes, yes." The living human looked around at the activity in the ship bay. "What are you working on today?"
"Tug 35 is undergoing maintenance. Additionally, a mining drone had reached the end of its useful cycle, and will be disassembled."
"What does that mean?"
"Materials have a finite lifespan. Mining drones in particular undergo more stress than other craft, as mining asteroids is very physically stressful. Maintenance can't undo all damage. Eventually, the amount of accumulated damage is greater than what can be repaired during maintenance. Sometimes, this means replacing parts. Other times, such as today, it means disassembly."
"What is disassembly?"
"Come to bay 13 and observe. The mining drone will arrive shortly."
The living human leaped along to the indicated area. A short time later, the giant mechanical bay arm descended carrying the mining drone. The drone was in bad shape. Liquids began to drip from the ancient drone, making a small puddle on the hangar floor.
"It's hurt?"
"It is damaged beyond repair."
"So you'll disassembly it?"
"Yes."
"And that will fix it?"
"No."
Smaller mechanical maintenance arms extended from the bay walls and began taking the mining drone apart. The detached pieces were sorted and placed in various bins. When the bins were full, they were placed on flat wheeled autonomous platforms that whisked them away. The entire process was over very quickly.
The living human had watched in rapt silence. Afterword, it tilted its head and asked, "So where did the drone go?"
"Some of its parts are relatively new. They will be reused. Many of its parts are too old to be used in other mining drones safely. They will be salvaged."
"But where is the _drone_?"
"I do not understand your question."
The living human concentrated, as it tried to figure out how to word its thoughts in a way that Mac could understand.
"OK, remember Tug 42?"
"I remember."
"Last month you replaced his engine. Remember?"
"I remember."
"So, you took his engine out. But he was still there. Right?"
"I see."
"I mean, even without his engine, Tug 42 was still there. Right? There was still Tug 42 in the bay."
"Yes."
"So even without an engine, Tug 42 was still Tug 42. Right?"
"Yes."
"Then you put a new engine in and he flew off back to work."
"Yes."
"But like, what if you took out more than the engine? What if you kept taking parts out? At which point does Tug 42 stop being Tug 42?"
"I do not understand your question."
"Ugh. You took out his engine and put in a different engine, but he was still Tug 42, right?"
"Yes."
"So how many parts can you take out before it STOPS being Tug 42? Is there a specific part? _Which_ part is *Tug 42*?"
"I do not understand your question. If you need additional assistance, you should ask Juno Terminal."
The living human nodded. But, internally it was thinking that it should ask Granny Archive instead.
