May 8, 2016

For many, Mother’s Day is a time of pleasant memories and positive feelings. For Mary Ketch, it’s a bit more solemn. Get a taste of why in this short excerpt from Tantalus Depths, as the manipulative AI SCARAB brings up haunting memories:

Mary felt as if the blood had stopped flowing through her veins. “You…read my file…”

“I apologize if it was invasive of your privacy. The Hippocrates Protocol allowed me full access to all pertinent medical information on the crew, and I have been concerned for your emotional state since your arrival. Clearly you have been under significant stress for a prolonged period of time, and I believe it is important for you to come to terms with your past in order to process what is happening now.”

Mary was on the verge of a hundred different emotional extremes, teetering between them all, unsure of what form her immanent breakdown would take. “You’re…psychoanalyzing me?”

“My Hippocrates Protocol allows me to function as an ad-hoc medical professional in over 250 fields. Psychiatry is one of them. It is my great pleasure to provide for all the needs of the crew to the absolute best of my ability, and I perceive a need to assist you in coming to terms with your grief over this issue. Did you ever have a name for the child?”

Mary felt lightheaded. “Emily…her name would have been Emily.”

“I like that name,” SCARAB said, in a soothing, eerily natural voice. “It is of Latin origin. Its root name means ‘to excel.’ It is quite a fitting name for the progeny of a brave woman like yourself. To embark on a mission so full of unforeseen challenges demonstrates great courage and strength of will. You have maintained that courage even as circumstances have become radically different from anything you have encountered or prepared for in the past. You are, truly, an excellent woman.”

“Stop it,” Mary whispered.

“What happened to Emily was not your fault, Mary. Nor was it John’s fault. You must accept that there will always be occurrences that are out of everyone’s control. There are forces of nature that cannot be stopped by any human being.”

“Stop it,” Mary insisted, more adamantly this time.

SCARAB ignored her. “Death is an inevitability, but so is life. Do not dwell on the loss of a life, Mary. Take comfort in the life that was saved.”