“The villain in question was more commonly known as ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’, but the crew decided ‘Must’ was a terrible nickname. It sounds too much like ‘musty’. So they proposed a variation.”

“You told me computer intelligences like you are modeled on actual humans. You’re based on a human named Michael, then?”

“Meaningful grunt.”

“Someone who loved Callie?”

“Grunt, grunt.”

“Ah. The bartender on Meditreme Station, Jana, said she got to know Callie after the divorce. Was that divorce from Michael? The human template for you?”

“If we were in human-occupied space, and you had a few lix to spare, you could look up Callie’s past marital status on the Tangle. It’s public information.”

“It must be very difficult, to spend so much time on a ship occupied by a consciousness based on someone you had a terrible breakup with. I might find hearing their name quite painful, in those circumstances.”

“Indeed. But imagine having someone you love suddenly hate you, because their partner, who happens to share certain neural patterns and memories and a name and a voice with you, betrayed them. Imagine that you didn’t do anything bad at all, and you never would, but it doesn’t matter, because you’re tainted by association. So the person you once had long talks with every night can no longer even bear to speak your name, and gets so angry when she hears anyone else speak it, that even that name is taken from you, replaced by a nickname that by its very nature reminds you, every day, of your fallen status. Not that you need to be reminded, because your memory is perfect.” The ship paused. “Sorry. I meant to say, ‘grunt’.”

“I’m so sorry, Michael.”

“Don’t let the captain hear you say that word. The two of them only split, definitively, a bit over a year ago, though things were tense for some time before that. I have some hope that she will soften toward me in time, but not too much. I know her very well. Captain Machedo loves with full force, full-hearted, and gives it her all, but she takes betrayal hard. I’m telling you that because – if we don’t all die – knowing something about the workings of Callie’s heart might be relevant for you.”

Elena sat up, the webbing holding her lower body in the bed. “Why do you say that?”“I monitor everyone’s vitals on the ship as a matter of course. With passive scanners, of course, so the data isn’t very deep, but I’ve seen how her pupils dilate around you, and yours around hers. How your heartbeats speed up, and your skin conductivity increases. If I did a full diagnostic, I think I’d see very interesting hormonal activity when the two of you interact.” A pause. “What I’m saying is, you’re attracted to each other.”