Tour

"This is the ship maintenance hangar. It is located just outside the center of the station, for minimal gravity effect." Juno Terminal 'June' led the way toward the lift that would take them to the rest of the station.

The small living human was not paying any attention.

"WOW! Your ship is HUGE!" The small living human was in awe of Patrol Seven 'Pat's Patrol ship. "It seemed a lot smaller on the inside!"

"I spend long periods of time traveling vast distances patrolling the frontier," Patrol Seven 'Pat' explained. "Very little space inside me is open, as it is more efficient to utilize any open space to include more equipment and resources I might need."

Juno Terminal 'June' revised its estimates for the amount of time this tour would require. Not that it mattered. Juno Terminal 'June' was patient.

After the small living human ooed and awed over Patrol Seven 'Pat's Patrol ship, the three finally started walking toward the lift. The small living human was holding on to Patrol Seven 'Pat's hand and practically bouncing up into the air with tiny jumps.

"Look how high I can jump!"

"Yes, like I said," said Juno Terminal 'June', "the ship maintenance hangar is located..." Juno Terminal 'June' noticed that the small living human was not listening. Juno Terminal 'June' was not programmed to feel Frustration, nor was the Patrol-bot's body designed to frown. That was probably for the best. "Just outside the center of the station. That is what is causing the minimal gravity effect," Juno Terminal 'June' finished, after a small pause. It would not do to not finish the sentence. In case the small living human actually _was_ listening.

"Why wasn't it like this on your ship?" the small living human asked.

"Cargo areas often have small local gravity generators," Patrol Seven 'Pat' explained. "This helps keep any cargo stable during transport. But, the station is much larger than a Patrol ship. It would require too many resources to maintain a large enough gravity array, especially for a Terminal outpost in deep space. A similar effect is generated for much less cost by rotating the station. As we move down from the center, the gravity effect will increase until it is much closer to what you are accustomed to."

Juno Terminal 'June' had also known the answer, but remained silent and waited by the lift. Eventually the small living human would grow tired of jumping around. Juno Terminal 'June' was patient.

It took longer than expected. Juno Terminal 'June' again revised its estimates for the amount of time this tour would require.

Eventually the three (finally) stepped into the lift and descended to the next lower level. The apparent gravity got a little bit stronger.

"This is the Garden Ring," said Juno Terminal 'June'. "Would you like to know why vegetation is grown on this level?" The small living human was silent. Juno Terminal 'June' continued, "Garden Ring, greet the living human."

"Hello, living human," Garden Ring's mechanical voice came out from the walls.

The small living human glanced around. There were no android bodies on this level. There were only endless rows of vegetation growing in aquaponic trays, interspersed with the occasional maintenance arm extending from the walls. The small living human pointed to one.

"Is this you?"

The Garden Ring hadn't interacted much with living humans even when there were still living humans on the station. Most living humans didn't seem to care much where their nutrient-paste came from. That's what automation was _for_. That's what *Garden Ring* was for. So, how was Garden Ring supposed to answer this query? The maintenance arms WERE a part of it. So were the walls the arms were extending from, and the lights above the vegetation, and the trays they were sitting in, and the pipes pumping water. Essentially the whole RING was Garden Ring. So...

"Yes?"

"You look like a bug!"

Garden Ring was not programmed to know what bugs were. It didn't know this, because any insects would have been detected by on-ship sensors long before the ship ever reached a Terminal station, and they would not be allowed to dock. The quarantine was taken VERY seriously. No 'bug' had ever even made it to the ship maintenance hangar, let alone the Garden Ring level. So, how was Garden Ring supposed to respond to this statement?

"Thank...you?"

There was silence for a while as Juno Terminal 'June' and Patrol Seven 'Pat' waited for the small living human to ask questions. But no questions were forthcoming, so eventually they moved back to the lift.

The small living human extended both arms toward Patrol Seven 'Pat'.

"I'm tired. Carry me."

Patrol Seven 'Pat' looked to Juno Terminal 'June' for approval. Small living humans were delicate, and it would not be Adequate to accidentally damage one. Especially if it were the _last_ one.

[Juno Terminal 'June' to Patrol Seven 'Pat': Carry the living human, carefully]

Patrol Seven 'Pat' scanned its database of knowledge regarding interacting with humans, and cross-checked its database of transporting cargo. Cargo must be secured strongly, but some cargo was quite fragile and had to be Handled With Care. There were several methods Patrol Seven 'Pat' knew of for transporting living humans of all sizes. Eventually it settled on the "Potentially injured, carry to safety" method, labelled 'Princess Carry'.

The three descended to the next lower level. The apparent gravity got a little bit stronger.

"This is the midpoint level between the innermost dock and the outermost high gravity ring," Juno Terminal 'June' explained. "This level contains the Life Support, and the Generator Room. You are not yet old enough to be authorized to visit them just yet. But, you may ask questions."

The small living human did not have any questions. The small living human had fallen asleep.