Chapter 3 - Speaking with the White, and Stepping out of the Cold

You reach out for the device, but pull your hand back. You take a breath, then speak up.

"Hello?"

"Greetings." The device responds promptly, using your voice.

"Are you... " you search for a word. Alive? A Person on the Comms? "Who are you?"

"What." The device corrects you in your own voice. "This unit is an Imperial Vital Operation Retaining Interface. Designation: White."

"Your name is White?" You ask, looking around the pod room again. The tassels in the ceiling and still glowing green, like the one in your pod. If you're right, they're visual indicators of air quality. They were green in the pod so, green is good? 

"This unit has a unique 45 digit identification code." Somehow your digitized voice sounds annoyed, yet remains monotone. "However, The Pilot is unlikely to remember it, there are no other White units present, and time is a critical factor." That's news. 

"What's happening. Where am I?  WHO am I?" It called me Pilot. "You called me Pilot, do you not know who I am?"

"This unit possesses factual answers to all these questions." The White Unit answers flatly, still using your voice. You growl and pull the thing out from the computer module. You look at the device on it's own. It's a glossy white, almost pearlescent. Even in the red glow of the pod room it seems to remain white. There are a few unlabeled buttons on the side, but a central screen dominates the front of the device, and a green circle pulses with every fabricated phrase.

"Well?" You growl at the machine as you start toward the door that can only lead out. Time was of the essence, if the thing was telling the truth.

"This unit has been loaded with medical programs regarding suspended animation," Your voice sounds clipped coming from the speakers, even as the White dodges the question. "The Pilot has suffered extensive memory and identity loss. The Pilot presently does not have the answers to his own questions. Medical treatments administered during suspension, prior to the illegal relocation of the Pilot's stasis pod, should have ensured full memory reconstruction."

"So when the pod was stolen." Gears turn in your head as you look at how the pod contrasts with the rest of the room. "My 'memory treatment' got messed up?"

The White is silent before it speaks. "That is a logical assumption." It answers.

"Okay." You stand before the door. "Why don't you tell me who I am, then?"

"This. UNIT." It pauses after each word. "Follows strict instructions not to force the Pilot to remember through overt means. Methods are in effect, and the Pilot's memories will return, in time. Survival is Time Critical. Acknowledge."  Again; your voice, from this machine, telling you what to do.

"What can you tell me that IS helpful to surviving, then?" You ask it.

"The survival suit you are carrying is for Augmented Civilian Humans with rudimentary Spinal Cybernetic Mounts. It is not compatible with your anatomy." You sigh as you shift the weight. Still it might be useful if someone else on the ship needs it. "There are no other life forms aboard this vessel." The White speaks next. "All living crew abandoned ship 597 hours ago." Five-hundred ninty-seven Hours? You were asleep at least...  a month? More, if you were already asleep and mostly healed when they stole you. "There are compatible underclothes and non-bias Normal Suits available in the ready room adjacent to the connecting hallway."

"You're connected to the ship?"

"This." You smile as the unit enunciates in your voice hard enough to trigger a warble in the speaker. "Unit, operates under strict Program Law. Law prevented interaction with an unlawful computer system without an operator until no operator, lawful or otherwise, had appeared after 100 hours. Accessing communication logs and internal security after 145, and navigation after 350, life support systems only came into this unit's control 15 hours ago, and this unit IMMEDIATELY began to follow the most prudent revival process."

You press the small circle on the screen beside the door and and it becomes a video monitor. You see a hallway, and an open doorway. In the room beyond, there are four pods, empty and bathed in red light, and a distant bathroom, but the lights are dim there. You drag you fingers over the screen and the view turns. You pull to the right and the camera turns left. You see another open door, a pod through it. At the very edge of sight there is a clear opening, and a table with an attached stool.

You pull your hand to the far left of the screen and now the camera points to the right and you see a closed door, but the lights on it are green. You pull your hand away, and the video feed fades. You then press the larger circle and after a soft hiss. The door opens.

"Please proceed out of the room, and to the right. Open the immediate door and enter the ready room." Your voice instructs pedantically from the White Unit. You sigh. The thing is probably useful, and certainly is connected to the ship. Hold on.

"If you're connected to navigation, why haven't you stopped the ship? Or pointed it at civilization? Why haven't you used the communications for help?"

"This unit has attempted each of these processes every 204 nanoseconds since Program Law allowed it to attempt such operations. Directives in this Unit's program demand it continue to attempt these operations until countermanded otherwise."  Yeesh. Rough gig. 

You step out into the hallway, and feel immediately warmer. From the balls of your feet, up your ankles, through your legs warmth radiates from the floor and into you. There's a sense of calm and clarity as your stand there and get your bearings. You're headache feels like it's gone, for a moment.

"Time is Critical." Your voice insists. You frown and turn to see the door that had been on the screen. It's exactly as the screen had shown it. and when you find a similar screen, you test the smaller dot again. The screen this time shows two rows of lockers, some are open, and some of those have what are clearly space suits hanging inside. There's something else, a clear panel. And beyond that: Machines.

You open the door and step through. "There are basic undergarments on the rack to your left." You turn your head to see a bunch of plain, white thermal underclothes. "Please choose the appropriate Flight Type Normal Suit, Pilot." The White seems to emphasis that role as you see there's a few to choose from. One of them has a clear panel helmet and besides some shoulder protection, looks to be very flexible, but at the same time, thick. Something easy to move around in. "That one, Please."

Another looks to be bulkier, and has copper plates on it's arms and heavy boots. It looks like it has points where equipment can be attached to it, or braced. It's helmet doesn't seem to offer much visibility, but the plates and armor do look like they're meant to take a beating.

The last looks like... well it looks like something you'd wear under actual armor, really. A single piece body suit with various plugs and attachments, but on closer inspection you see there are other parts too it. Outer layers that provide further protection, and maybe functionality? The helmet is more like a bubble on a frame that fits under your chin and around the back of your head.

You pick up a pair of thermal underpants, but immediately notice the slime on your hands start to soak into the material.

"White Unit." You address thing. "What is this slime on me?"

"A medical application that allowed for treatment to be carried out while the Pilot was in suspended animation now; it has expended its purpose, but the Normal suits are capable of recycling a portion of the material for emergency bandage use." The answer is too the point. 

"Do I have to get in the suit naked for it to soak up?" You ask.

"Negative. The thermal layer fibers will redirect the medical application to the storage unit once the Normal suit is fully equipped and brought online. Please equip the Flight Normal Suit, presently."

Which do you take? The Flight Suit? The Metal Plated Suit? The Plug Suit? And what's beyond the panel?