The common area was as stark as my room or cell.  It had nothing in it save the four metal walls, and some chairs and tables.

I was an assassin, trained to observe and not miss anything.  I thought I had it together in this strange situation, cool as a cucumber as they say.  Well, turns out it was just the isolation and perhaps a little shock that had me feeling in control, because as I evaluated the room full of people my heart started to pound, and I felt ill and shaky.

The men and women in this room drove the truth home in my mind, and shattered that placid calm.  I was a slave, and would be for three to four centuries.  Which was… insane.  Humans couldn’t live that way, sure the payoff of a much longer life sounded good, but it was just too far away.

I stumbled a bit, and sat in the closest chair.

The new people were obvious, they sat in shock, and there was a mixture of resignation, disbelief, and fear on their faces.  The older ones were obvious as well.  They looked… empty.  Apathetic.  A few of them were also playing cards, I wondered how many credits or years it cost to buy a deck of cards.

Humans could put off work life balance for a while, but eventually they would go crazy.  How could anyone defer it for three centuries without going crazy?  Fourteen hour days and empty rooms?  Even the few years it might take to earn credits for access to their entertainment network would pressure most minds.

Then of course, there was the guard by the door at the far end.  The common area was simply a very wide hallway, with doors along the three walls to all of our jail cells.  Rooms my ass.  Ann’s description was a little bit right, the Stolavii were very wide and muscular, like a red gorilla, but their heads were a bit elongated and their faces didn’t jut out.  I wondered if I could even take one of them, they were all muscle.  I also wondered at the pleasure provider option, did any females actually choose that option?  I’d rather die.  I take that back, I’d rather kill them.

Ann said, “I’m detecting elevated levels of stress.”

I laughed unsteadily, which drew a few apathetic looks.  I got up on my feet, and walked over to the card players.  It was time to gain information, I couldn’t make any good decisions without learning, and these guys would be a better source than Ann, they were living it.

“Hi guys, I’m Lori.  Any advice or insights?”

They both looked up at me, and one of them sighed.

“Sit, I’m Joseph, and this is my partner Emil.”

I slid into the seat, they both looked to be about thirty, did that mean they were here two hundred years?  Were these the men most of the way toward freedom that Ann had mentioned?  Most of the rest of the people in the room looked in their early twenties, even the apathetic looking ones that had obviously been here a while.  These two looked almost human, and I wondered what their secret was.  I guessed that the older homeless were too old to bother picking up for slavery.

It also told me a disturbing fact.  Most slaves wouldn’t live long enough to claim the prize.  They were either killed by their actions or insanity I’d guess.

Emil said, “Don’t try to escape, they hate that darling.  They’ll put you in a jail for six months, and charge you for food and water, but you won’t make any credits.  If you don’t make them up fast enough, or you do it again, they’ll space you.”

Joseph said, “It takes about ten years to afford entertainment, most humans go around the bend after a year or two of this.  That’s a killer eight-year gap.  Day after day, with nothing to do but stare at the walls or work.  They get tired of talking too, or from losing friends to insanity, violence, or simply because there’s nothing left to say.  They usually do something stupid and get themselves spaced, or they commit suicide.  You’re a cute filly, I’d suggest you find a nice man whose been here a while, and… come to an agreement.  Not just for the access to entertainment, but for companionship.  I’m convinced that’s the only reason Emil and I haven’t lost our minds yet.”

I wanted to be offended by that, had he just suggested I whore myself out for internet, or galaxy-net, whatever they called it here?  But, it obviously wasn’t a proposition, both these men were gay, and together.  Still, I bristled at the idea, but held my tongue.  There was also a part of me that realized three hundred years was a long ass time without sex, and if I had to make a connection why not choose one of the older ones that had already paid for benefits?  Ugh, that was so wrong.

“You’ve been here a long time?”

Emil laughed, “You could say that.  This ship is only six years old, and we belong to the captain and his family.  When he gets a new ship, so do we, or if he retires we’ll most likely get sold to someone else.  It’s been about two hundred years, and this is our sixth ship.  There was a short five year stretch that we were actually on a space station orbiting Stolavis.  Our current captain is high up the food chain, not many ships bigger than this one.”

Ann cut in, just inside my head, no one else could hear her.

“Your position has been approved, standby for download.”

“Just a second, guys,” I tilted my head, “Download?”

Ann said, “Yes, downloads for education cost credits, but the one that covers your job is free.  It will also show you the layout of the ship, except for some grayed out areas where you will not have access.  It also shows you how to use the equipment and how to swap out parts.”

“If it’s just a download, why do the humans that do subsystem repair need to be very intelligent.”

And why hadn’t she told me about it before, she’d implied that she’d be helping me learn my job, and I suppose that technically she was, but she was also being deceptive.

Ann said, “One moment.”

Then my brain seized, and my hands gripped the table as information poured into my mind.  It was a rush.  EPS conduits, internal sensors, external sensors, artificial gravity, inertial dampening, reclamation, life support, shield emitters, airlocks, and other minor systems.  It wasn’t about how they worked, it was simply about running diagnostics, interpreting the data, and how to replace the failing or failed components, including how to get the components from the cargo holds. 

I also got a list of toys I could buy, and they were all ridiculously expensive.

The map came in too.  The ship was about a quarter mile long, between two hundred and one hundred yards wide, and had sixteen decks.  There was a large grayed out area for the bridge and engineering.  There were also grayed out areas along the sides of the ship on decks four and twelve.  I speculated that was where the weapons systems were, since that information wasn’t in the download at all.  They probably wouldn’t let slaves repair those.

There were also several grayed out rooms throughout the ship, I guess that they were probably arms lockers, or other extremely sensitive storage areas.

The devices I’d use were in a storage compartment outside of engineering, and the engineers would give me my assignments through Ann.  She’d report when I had a system back on line and was ready for the next task.

I shook my head, as the knowledge settled.  I still felt a bit shaky, it had been intense.  I couldn’t even imagine how much a full science course would rattle my brain.

“You alright there darling?”

“Fine,” I rasped at Emil.

Ann said, “I thought it wise to answer your question after the download was successful.  The reason it’s important is because if a download contains information too complex for a human mind, it can cause mental instability.  I was ninety six percent sure you were intelligent enough to handle this job.”

Shit.  So, if I hadn’t been smart enough, I’d have gone nuts?  Good to know.

Joseph shook his head, “Make sure you ask lots of questions, the assistant will leave out some details sometimes that are rather important to know.  Especially risks.  You must be a smart one, hardest job and it only took you twenty minutes to come out of it.”

I laughed, “I see that, and thank you.  Wait, twenty minutes?”

It’d felt like a few seconds.

Ann said, “As I said, I feared if I told you that beforehand, you would resist the download out of fear and hurt your mind.  Both intelligence and cooperation are required for success.  Now you know it’s intense, but nothing to fear.”

I neither agreed or disagreed, I didn’t like that she’d hidden the truth, but I could also see her point.

There was a small package on the table.

“What’s this?”

Emil said, “Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, darling.  You were still absorbing information when the steward came through.  You should eat fast, we start our shift in ten.”

I opened the package, it looked like a granola bar.

Joseph laughed, “You look disgusted, get used to it.  One of those bars has enough calories and nutrients for twenty-four hours.  It’s been specially designed for humans.  It tastes good too.”

I took a cautious bite and chewed, and then glared at Joseph.

“Liar,” I accused, it tasted like… I didn’t know.  Something bad.  Tire tread came to mind, but I’d never chewed on a tire so couldn’t really say.  I also noticed a lot of the new scared people like me were watching the three of us.  Was no one else brave enough to talk to the old-timers?

Emil laughed, “It’s an acquired taste, it’s also the cheapest food option.  You can buy regular food once you have the credits for it, but I wouldn’t recommend it.  Pinch every credit darling, and find a partner to share the things necessary to maintain a balanced mind.  Food isn’t one of those things.”

I sighed, “No coffee?  Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.”

Joseph snickered, “The health nanites, and that food bar, will make sure you have plenty of energy.”

I nodded, and finished the bar.  I still wasn’t sure if there was a way out of this, but I wasn’t about to give up.  Not yet.  Still, the more information I gained, the less likely escape seemed.  I was on a damned alien space ship, escape might even be easy, but there was nowhere to go, and no way back to Earth.  There were a lot of obstacles in my way, not the least of which was a security system that was sentient.  How could I hack or beat a computerized security system that could reason and make judgements of its own?  I didn’t like the answer my mind provided at all.

Emil said, “Good luck on your first day darling.  Time to work.”