What Freedom means [16]
Starting up......
Bio-Gen System Morph Service Software V 2.0.5 Patch 20
UPDATING......................................................
DONE.
Restarting...
I opened my eyes after a discontinuity and my first image was that of Tal'ena's face- it was *very* concerned looking. "Are you ok?"
I thought a second, and tried to say "yes", but I could not. There was _something_ wrong that I could not place. Plus that fact that my head was still strapped into the console port was *not* convincing me. Then I heard Jeff's voice behind me, obviously on the console: "Gah! This is *not* good!" I heard some tapping of keys, and then everything went black again-
console:tigm0210375# grpadd -u eddiet wheel,op,console,master
GROUPS ADDED
console:tigm0210375# set cons add eddiet
Working.... Console access granted. xterm session started.
console:tigm0210375#
- And while everything was still black, I now had what looked like a console prompt floating in space in front of me. I thought for a second, and the window became active:
eddiet:tigm0210375#
Inbound talk request from root on console. type "talk console" to start conversation.
Strange. But how do I type?
eddiet:tigm0210375#
***MESSAGE from root@console: Just think the words you want to type, silly
... That was surreal
eddiet:tigm0210375#talk console
[connection established]
eddiet: Jeff? Is that you?
console: Yes, it is me. There's been... an incident.
eddiet: Oh dear. Is this related to the firmware upgrade that I didn't ask for?
console: Yes. Fortunately, before I went to work for the department, I was with Bio-Gen's devlopment staff. I helped _create_ the programming that all morphs use.
eddiet: Really? Can you tell me what happened?
console: Yes, and Although I've fixed it, There may be some other... issues as a side affect. However, I've given you the ability to fix it. You have root now.
eddiet: ... and what am I supposed to do with that? I know nothing about computer programming, let alone programming myself beyond the limits I apparently had built in.
console: You will learn. Tal'ena and Jack will help- they also have root on their minds as well. Jack figured it out on his own, and Tal'ena had it as a factory feature. In addition, I am also asking for your help with an investigation that I am running, but I'll give you more information in meatspace instead of here. :)
eddiet: ok. In the meantime, what am I supposed to do here?
console: Just sit back, relax, and maybe have a look at the manual.
eddiet: There's a manual? how do I read it?
console: *laughs* try 'man new_here' for starters.
***console has terminated chat.
eddiet:tigm0210375#
So hey, how'd you read my mind anyhow?
***Message from root@console: Never you mind. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. :)
grumble stupid humans grumble
After a short time, I got another message stating that Jeff was going to restart, and everything literally blinked. Then I saw a screen with a bunch of messages scrolling by rapidly, then a login prompt which filled in for me, and then the small console prompt. I felt like I was in control again, so I opened my eyes to see.... Tal'ena, Jeff, and Jack. Everyone was smiling, and Jack held out his hand to help me sit up.
"Welcome ta the club 'o Root, ya bastid!"
It took a few hours, but in that period of time I was able to find out what happened with me: apparently, Sally had performed several upgrades on me without asking anyone, which had caused some complications. One of these complications was the fact that Tal'ena and Jack almost had to restrain Jeff- He was extremely angry about it, and after things calmed down, had set to work to clean things up as best as he could. The one good thing was that the nanites had integrated themselves as well as ever- Fortunately, they ran largely independantly of whatever software was running around in my head.
The next week was... unusual, to say the least. Between the car parts arriving early, the fact that I was strapped into the console for nearly three days, and learning how to access the totality of my self, it was a strange week indeed. Jeff had been largely in the back ground, popping up when needed , but keeping largely to himself, until he came in to the section of the barn that comprised the shop I worked in, with Tal'ena, Jack, and a gentleman in a suit carrying a largeish hard case with him. Jeff spoke for the entire group.
"Eddie, Remember what we talked about during that console session? It's time for us to have a look at a few things, with your permission. The gentleman with the case is a friend of mine, and the case is a portable console unit. We want to look at what's under your memory cap, and you are the only one that can do it." I blinked at him. Tal'ena spoke up. "I can't, because I don't _have_ a memory cap- What Ido have is a large block that's not viewable. Jack never had a memory cap- his memory was erased completely during an accident by an earlier technician some years ago- nasty business from what I understand."
I sighed, and nodded. "Very well, then. You want to do it out here, or back inside the house?" The gentleman has already started to open the case, and coughed to get my attention. "Ah, It'll be here, then.
TO BE CONTINUED...