Free Episode VI: Beta Test by Ben Winston

need to find a good lead for the hardware labs. Currently, Ced was handling it, but he was nominally a weapons researcher and would need to focus on that. I would remain as the lead programmer as that is where my talents and interests lie.
    I could also see the need for a Project Coordinator's office; some one that could coordinate and work with different departments that were involved in a specific project, like the new armor. I mentioned this to my administrator, Hopsis, who thought it was a fabulous idea. I made a note to myself to mention it to the Lord Admiral at our next meeting.
    We were going to need more people in both hardware as well as software. Hopsis suggested creating an intern program for the base youngsters that were studying those fields. He said it need not be very much different than what we were already doing with some of the new Earth programmers. Those youngsters that had an interest and aptitude for our work could spend a few hours a day actually working with us and getting a feel for how reality differed from theory. It should be rather easy to add such a program into the education system.
    It sounded like a very good idea to me, but we would need one or two programmers that could also function as instructors for the students. I had my hands full just teaching the AI stuff along with my other duties. Hopsis grinned and said he would handle it; dealing with that sort of thing was his job. He then admitted that we not only had two people in the department qualified to do it, but they had actually been the ones to suggest it to him.
    I then brought up moving our entire facility to Mars when the main command and administration group relocated there. Considering my inclusion on the Administrative council, I thought it might be a good idea to stay close to the Admiral. The relocation would also give us the opportunity to redesign our facilities for a more functional layout. Our current layout was very efficient for an area where space was a consideration, but Mars would not have as much of a limitation. Hopsis said he would be happy to look into it, but as far as staying near the command group was concerned, there was really no reason to; Mars was only a twenty minute shuttle ride, and the new base on Mars looked to be mostly military so far.
    Once we got finished with our planning session, he returned to his office, and I needed to get into the programming suite to do some final tweaks on Athena’s code before we tested it again. Sarah said she should be good the way she is, but I wanted to be certain. So, with a fresh cup of high-octane dark chocolate cappuccino, I climbed into my programming chair and was shortly surrounded by Athena's code. Talk about time flying when you’re having fun! I was in there for four hours before I felt ready to test her.
    As I took my mug back to the replicator and got something else to drink, I had Alicyn and Carla prep the test bed. When I returned, both ladies were in position. "Are you ready, Alicyn?"
    "Certainly," She replied and stepped up to the closest terminal, "Sarah? Do you have a moment? We'd like to awaken Athena again."
    "Of course. Alicyn, I am ready when you are," Sarah replied.
    "Okay, moving the core program," Alicyn replied. "Core system initiated, bringing up the functionality modules." She paused while the primary logic systems initiated. "Modules initiated, waking Athena," Alicyn finished and Athena's form took shape in the display area.
    She seemed to be much calmer this time. At least she wasn't trying to grab the closest person and kill them.
    "Good afternoon, Athena. Do you know who I am, and where you are?" I asked.
    When she spoke it was with a rich alto voice that was much different from Sarah's. "Yes, you are Lord Doctor Eric Cowan. We are currently in the AI programming lab of the Alliance Apollo lunar facility located in the Sol system."
    "Correct. Do you know what you are?" I asked.
    "I am an Artificial Intelligence construct created for the