Free Prometheus and the Dragon (Atlas and the Winds Book 2) by Eric Michael Craig

this function,” the voice said.
    “So you’re with Stormhaven?” he asked. It felt like he was talking to a ghost. He sat down in one of the seats.
    “Yes,” it said. “I am Mica.” Once again sounding like the name should mean something.
    “What is it you’re doing?” he said.
    “Updating your AI controller,” it repeated.
    “What is the AI controller?” he asked.
    “It is an interface we have incorporated into all of our carriers. It provides for primary autonomous logic and control function. It has been developed for situations when the vehicles are operating in environments where communications lag times are excessive for adequate teleoperation.”
    “I didn’t know this ship had an AI controller,” he said.
    “It had not been developed at the time it was delivered to your government,” Mica said. “But after observing your difficulty in operating this vehicle, I determined you would benefit from having voice control of all critical functions.”
    “I didn’t think we had any problems,” he said.
    “Your control systems are inadequate to access even a small fraction of the ship’s capacity,” the voice explained. “If you wish to put this vehicle into service, you must be able to efficiently access its full potential.”
    “You won’t get any argument out of me on that score,” he said. “So what do I have to do to access this Controller?”
    “Ask it for assistance,” Mica said.
    “Ask it for assistance?” he said. “Sure.”
    “It is programmed to accept voice commands, and is operational at this time,” Mica explained. “The validity of my assertion may be tested at your convenience.”
    He wasn’t sure, but it sounded like the person he’d been talking with was offended by his doubt.
    “Ok,” he said, “AI controller, are you active?”
    “Affirmative, Commander McDermott,” a masculine voice said. It sounded as human as his own voice, far better than any computer he’d ever heard. “I have completed a systems diagnostic and am ready for full command function.” The console where he was seated came to life, displaying a schematic view of the ship. Several systems flashed green, and it looked like the wire-up they’d spent the last six months cobbling into place was red. “I have bypassed your control interface and restored full function to the bridge command stations.”
    “What is your purpose?” he said.
    “To facilitate operation of this vehicle, and to assist in training personnel assigned as its crew,” it said.
    “Do you have a name?” Warren asked, laughing.
    “I am Alpha-Two series Artificial Intelligence Controller, but I understand this may be difficult to say in an expedient manner, and am therefore willing to accept a convenient designation of your preference.”
    “Hang on a second, I’ve got to get Joshua Lange in on this one,” he said. “This is too good to be true.”
    “Would you like me to open a channel, or would you prefer to have me fly us directly to his location?”
    ***
     
    New Hope Colony, Plato:
     
    Randy Markham had the longest run as a lunar shuttle pilot in the history of the Corps, logging more than nine months in the Reliant before someone noticed that his suntan had become way too dark to be survivable. It was just a matter of time before the cells in his body began to break down, and the cancer he knew was inevitable reared its ugly head and crawled across his body. He knew it every day when he looked at himself in the mirror. His hair had begun to turn gray, way more gray than his father’s had been even on the day he’d died. He told himself it made him looked distinguished and he felt good for now, even if in the back of his mind he knew that was going to change.
    They’d taken him off the active flight roster, but instead of grounding him back on Earth, they offered him the post of Approach Control Officer for New Hope. In the colony his exposure level would be no greater than on Earth, as long as he didn’t