== Part 22 – Bath Time ==
"What, what's going on?" Gustav demanded.
"The Basestar is identifying itself as Nine," Eight told him. She hopped over to the control pedestal attached to Nine's tub.
"Look at me! I'm a basestar!" Nine added gleefully. "I have six arms! Hi everyone!"
"I thought you said she couldn't change anything!" Gustav said.
"She shouldn't be able to!" Eight snapped back. Her hand plunged into the fluid filling the pedestal. "Uh, looks like I was wrong. All the extra skin contact is having effect."
"What, did she increase the amount of information that can go in and out of her brain?" Gustav asked.
"No, she still limited like we are that way," Eight replied. "But with so many extra channels, the information flow is going a lot smoother and parts of her brain are being used to process it that we wouldn't use normally."
"Say what now?"
"Uh, think of it like this," Eight began, "I'm using just my hand to connect to the Basestar's systems, so the parts of my brain that control my hand are also used to control the basestar and process feedback from it. Nine is using her entire body as the contact point, which provides a broader, smoother connection. What I'm doing feels like using I'm only using my hand. What Nine is doing should feel to her like she's wearing the basestar like a suit of clothes. That's why the basestar started identifying itself as Nine."
"I can feel radar pulses from the ground bounce off my skin," Nine announced with a giggle. "It tickles!"
"Is it safe for Nine to leave her tub?" Zero asked, speaking for the first time since moving said tub into this room.
"I'm more worried about her staying in too long because this sounds like it could be all kinds of addictive," Gustav said. "What are you worried about?"
"This scenario feels... familiar to us," Zero replied. "As if we have experienced it ourselves, but we cannot isolate the source of this feeling."
"What are you looking for?" Eight asked.
"Has Nine's personality expanded into the Basestar's hardware?" Zero asked. At Eight's blank look, Zero explained, "If we remove her from her tub, will she leave parts of herself behind? Because that could be traumatizing."
"Uh, hold up a sec," Eight said, eyes widening in comprehension. "Uh, no, no I don't think so. Nine's written some scripts to better manage the data being fed to her, but I'm not seeing any signs of her mind copying itself into the basestar's systems."
Stiff metal body or not, Gustav could see the Centurion sag a bit, apparently in relief.
"Okay then, let's see if Nine will get out of the tub," Gustav said.
"Don't wanna," Nine declared. "I wanna play some more! Ooh, Raiders wanna play?"
"Oh frak," Eight muttered.
Adept Hicks' heart nearly stopped – again – when the Cylon ship suddenly started mass launching fighters with no warning. It seemed impossible that any ship could carry so many, but there it was on his screen. It was only when the seemingly endless stream of fighters stopped emerging, that Hicks remembered what his duty was. He reached for the alarm button and... stopped.
Hicks frowned. The fighters weren't descending towards Langhorne. Instead, they were flying complex, choreographed patterns around the Cylon ship that almost looked like they were dancing. It was an impressive show, and Hicks wondered if they were showing off.
Hicks tapped a few quick commands into the console. The results impressed him and he made sure to note them down for the Precentor. Between the fighters deployed as ground side security and the ones in that air show – space show? - the Cylons had exactly eight hundred birds deployed at the moment.
"I thought you said she couldn't control anything," Gustav said to Eight.
"The Raiders are intelligent beings, not automatic systems," Zero replied. "They are trained to do as the rest of us requests."
"And I think they're enjoying themselves," Eight added exasperated, "So between Nine and me, the Raiders prefer to follow Nine's lead."
"Nine, get out of the tub," Gustav said. "We need to make sure you're okay."
"But I am okay!" Nine insisted.
"Nine..." Gustav began.
"Let me handle this," One growled as he strode into the room, followed by followed by a small crowd of other Cylons. He went to the control pedestal, stood next to Eight, and stuck his hand into the basin. "Nine, I want you to listen to me very carefully."
"Um, okay?" Nine said uncertainly, apparently sensing his bad mood.
"If you don't get out of the pool right now," One said slowly and evenly, "then everyone is going to get mad at you again. And if we get mad at you again, then we're all going to vote to strip you of all system access and then your tub is just going to just be a tank full of electrochemical soup."
"Okay," Nine said dejectedly as she grabbed the edge of the tub and climbed out. A Three came up and draped a towel across Nine's shoulders so she could dry herself off.
"Okay, Raiders are coming back in," Eight announced. "That was a lot of fuel they used up. Not a lot per Raider, but in total? Wow!"
"Am I in trouble again?" Nine asked in a small voice as she huddled down at the foot of the tub.
"The rest of us are still deciding that," One said gruffly, pulling his hand out of the basin. "Half of us are mad that you damn near took over the basestar. Half are impressed that you damn near took over the basestar. And half want to try out this thing for themselves."
Nine's face scrunched up in confusion. "That's three halves," she said, protesting the math impossibility.
"Don't worry about it," One told her with a slight laugh cracking the dour demeanor he'd had since entering the room.
"I just want to make sure this thing isn't addictive," Gustav said, pointing at the tub. "I've heard stories of mechwarriors who get addicted to the feeling of being a giant when piloting their mechs. They wind up practically living in their mechs and go crazy. This tub sounds like it can do the same thing."
"Huh," One said thoughtfully, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. "How do you feel?"
"Scared," Nine replied. "Did I do bad?"
"We don't know," One told her. "That's why we're asking you these questions. And that's not what Gustav is worried about. How do I phrase this so you can understand?"
"Nine, do a search for a file called Symptoms of Addiction Withdrawal," a Four suggested.
"Found it," Nine replied almost instantly.
"Okay, now read that file," Four told her, "and tell us if you're feeling any of the symptoms listed in there."
"No, I..." Nine's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Oh! Oh, no I don't feel any of these."
A wave of relief swept through the room.
"Okay, so I guess that means the tub is safe for us to use," Eight said, coming around One and sitting down next to Nine and grinned at her. "So what was it really like?"
"Ugh, way to send mixed messages there," One muttered.
"It was great! I could see and feel and hear everything!" Nine said excitedly. Then she began listing things off. "There was the planet spinning, radio waves bouncing off the dancing raiders, the basestars pumps beating, the CO2 being changed back into C and O2, Marcy and Two in bed hugging and kissing and..."
"Wait, WHAT?" Gustav roared. He spun around and charged the exit through the crowd of Cylons. "I'm going to kill them!"
There was a moment of stunned silence as all the Cylons stared after the human. Then it was broken as someone started to laugh softly, which was quickly followed by the rest laughing uproariously.
Nine turned back to Eight, confused. "Did I do bad again?"
"I'm sorry, Nine," Eight said, bring her own laughter under control. "Let me explain to you this human hangup called 'privacy'."
Before she could explain, the two were doused with tub fluid when without warning, One jumped into Nine's tub, clothes and all.
