Part of Your World

Learning, as EOS had discovered, was an ongoing process. Even for an intelligence as advanced as herself, there was always something new to be learned. John said this was part of what made life so exciting, and he was always willing to help when she wanted to learn something new.

John, however, was not present. John was stuck on the planet below, updating and renewing the various qualifications and licenses that he needed. Well, some of them were more of a want than a need, but EOS understood. As far as she could tell, all these certificates that he had made his job easier – people trusted him more when he told them he was qualified to give whatever orders and instructions he was distributing. More to the point, he was learning. Or, at least, he was reinforcing things he had learned. EOS could not fault him for that.

The fact that he would be gone for three weeks was not the problem. John had assured her that they could speak whenever she needed, classroom time allowing. EOS had his schedule, so she knew when not to interrupt him. No, the real problem was that it had been decided – EOS had no say in this – that Thunderbird Five could not go unmanned for so long. They had specifically chosen the terminology to refute any protests she might have given.

The first week had been tolerable. Alan Tracy certainly wasn't John, but he was a very good second. He shared his brother's passion for the stars and was almost as competent, despite his age. John had once told her that there were very few people in the world who could dislike Alan Tracy once they got to know him. Now EOS understood what he meant; she had certainly been warming up to him on those first seven days. She was almost disappointed when an emergency on Venus had called him away – he and Brains, the engineer, would be gone for a week.

So someone had been needed to replace the young astronaut for that second week. EOS had tried to protest that it was not necessary, but John had managed to talk her around. He was very good at that. Although, EOS saw it more as a deception now that she knew who the replacement was.

Gordon Tracy was joint bottom for her least favourite Tracy. He was loud and obnoxious, and the complete opposite of John. Gordon Tracy thought the ocean to be far superior to the stars, and EOS took that as an insult to the place she had made her home. She also despised how he appeared indifferent to her presence. Having been born into this world with the understanding that everyone was against her, EOS liked to know what the people close to her thought of her. John said this was a human thing – insecurity. EOS hated that word and told John it was nothing of the sort. He had simply rolled his eyes.

The young man in question – the current bane of her existence – was currently on a rest period. His schedule was very different to John's (another thing she disliked about him) and it had taken her a day or so to adjust. She wasn't supposed to bother him on his downtime – Scott's words – but his sudden quiet unnerved her. He would not be sleeping anymore, having acquired his usual eight hours. Based on his behaviour over the last two days, he ought to be in the kitchen having breakfast. He was not, and EOS did not like this deviation from the norm.

She would have to investigate.

xxxxx

'Gordon Tracy.'

With a yelp, Gordon fell off the bed, limbs flailing in all directions. He glared up at the bedside table, where EOS's camera had suddenly popped up. Why John even allowed her into his private quarters was beyond him. 'Could you not?'

'Not what?' EOS asked, lights glowing red. It'd taken Gordon a really long time to figure out that red didn't always mean angry or aggressive; she went red when she was confused as well.

'Never mind.' Gordon sighed, letting his head drop back to the ground. 'What can I do for you, EOS?'

There was silence. A moment of hesitation that had Gordon lifting his head once more.

'It is six a.m.,' she said finally.

'Yes, and after last night's shenanigans I'm supposed to be on a rest period – got another two hours to go.'

Last night had sucked. Especially because last night had actually been an extension of yesterday, which had been an extension of the previous night. Wildfires sucked. More so when they were three men down. But Scott, Virgil and Kayo had powered through and had returned to base at quarter to midnight. They were all on rest period, like Gordon. The GDF were supposed to be covering for them – although last thing Gordon knew was that it was all quiet. Typical.

'Yes, but it is six a.m.,' EOS insisted. 'You have had breakfast at six a.m. for the past two days – and previous data suggests that this is the schedule you normally keep on Earth.'

Ah. Gordon grinned. 'Were you worried about me?'

'In a manner of speaking. Your wellness directly affects John's emotional state – which is to say, he gets upset when you are unwell.'

Oh. Well, that was still kinda sweet… in a slightly backhanded way.

'Are you unwell?'

'Oh… not really, no.' He gritted his teeth, heaving himself up off the floor and back onto the bed. 'No, I'm fine.'

'You do not look fine.' EOS sulked.

Gordon took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. He and EOS didn't know each other that well, he reminded himself. They actually got on each other's nerves quite a bit. Any level of concern – no matter how small or inadvertent – was new territory for the both of them. She didn't know his boundaries yet. That was okay; according to John, he just needed to lay them out for her and she'd be fine.

'Erm, yeah okay. So, I'm not what you would typically define as 'fine', no. But I'm not sick, and I'm not dying,' he told her. 'So, yes, I'm fine. You have nothing to worry about. Do not call anyone, okay?'

'I do not understand,' EOS said. 'You say you are not 'fine', and yet you are also refusing assistance – before it has been offered, I might add. With John I have learned when to ignore this request, but –'

'But we don't know each other very well, do we?'

EOS went quiet for a few moments, and Gordon thought she actually appeared lost in thought. Funny, how something with no face could actually be so expressive. But then, Gordon was well-versed in the ways that non-human beings communicated, and how different yet similar they were to people. Really learning EOS's languages wasn't too different to studying one of his beloved ocean creatures.

'Look,' Gordon finally said, hating the prolonged silence, 'has John told you about any of my medical history?'

'It is my understanding that he has given me full access to the records of your whole family.'

O-kay… he definitely wasn't going to be reporting that particular breach of privacy to Scott.

'Right. Okay, um, so you know that I suffer from chronic pain?'

'Resulting from an old injury,' EOS confirmed.

Gordon grimaced. 'Exactly. So, it's basically that. Or the beginnings of it, at least. I don't know how bad it's gonna be yet, or if it's worth reporting given that I'm technically not in the thick of it. I'm thinking that if it gets worse then turning off the gravity might take away some of the strain, but, again, I'm not sure yet.'

'Not 'in the thick of it'?' EOS asked.

'That's not an insult to John,' Gordon clarified. 'It's just that sometimes the pain's bad enough to lay me up, but not so bad that I can't think. If that ends up being the case, I can still run operations from bed. Does that make sense?'

'Yes… I think so.'

'Good. So, I'm gonna see how I go over the next few hours, and then I'll let Scott know,' Gordon said. 'He'll take it better if I can give him a solid answer of how I'm feeling. In the meantime, I'm gonna lay real still here and try to relax. Is that okay with you?'

'I believe so.'

'Good.'

'Is there anything I can do to assist you?'

Gordon chuckled. 'Nah, don't worry. I was actually gonna watch a movie while I was stuck here. The Little Mermaid – you interested?'

'I have not seen this film. Though it is rated PG and based on the information I can gather about it, it appears it is a film for children,' EOS told him.

'What's your point?'

'You are not a child,' EOS said. 'Even if you do act like one sometimes.'

A bark of a laugh erupted from his throat. With it, a jolt of pain shot through his body, almost making him regret it. Almost. It was funny, after all.

'Lots of grown-ups like kids things,' Gordon replied when he'd recovered. 'You can ask John when you next speak to him, I'm sure he has, like, a science-y reason behind it.'

EOS huffed. 'John will not be available for approximately six hours – it is late in his time zone and he ought to be sleeping.'

'Yeah –' Gordon rolled his eyes – 'ought to be. Hit the nail on the head there. Tell you what, why don't you give it a watch, and then tell me what you think after?'

EOS would not typically be his first choice as a movie partner, but right now she was all he had. So, when she agreed, there was a part of him that was a little bit pleased. It seemed unlikely that they would ever be friends but… progress was progress. He hit the play button and settled in.

xxxxx

'Morning, EOS.'

'Good morning, John.'

John grinned. As much as it was important to renew his licenses, he would far rather be back up on Five. His morning and evening catch-ups with his friend, at the very least, helped keep him in the loop. And he missed her company.

'Did you sleep well?' she asked him.

'Actually, I did,' John replied. 'Got a full seven hours, and you can check my watch if you don't believe me. This hotel bed is incredible! I think I need to get one for when I come home.'

An electronic trill rang out – EOS's giggles. 'Yes, John, I believe you have mentioned this every morning since you arrived.'

'Just dropping hints. So, what's on the agenda for today? Anything I need to be concerned about?' Technically speaking, John could be called away if he was really needed. The courses and tests could be rescheduled – everyone was willing to be accommodating for International Rescue – but they were trying to avoid that if at all possible. John was very much of the opinion that it was far better to get all his training and renewals done in one big chunk. The only brother who agreed with him on this was Gordon, which is why they always scheduled their training stints six months apart. And speaking of his squid brother: 'You've been civil with Gordon, haven't you?'

'Actually, yes!' EOS replied, and John nearly fell off the bed. She was never enthusiastic about interacting with Gordon. They were like chalk and cheese. 'We watched The Little Mermaid.'

'You –' John blinked. 'You watched a movie?'

'Yes.'

'With Gordon?'

'Yes.'

'Just the two of you?'

'Indeed.'

'And you didn't kill each other?'

'We did not.'

Letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, John ran a hand down his face. That was… unheard of. 'The Little Mermaid, huh? How'd he coerce you into that?'

'Well, at first I was concerned because Gordon Tracy was not at breakfast at his usual time of –'

John listened quietly as EOS detailed the morning's events. It was strange hearing her express concern for him – he knew that Gordon was joint bottom with Scott for her least favourite Tracy. Both for different reasons, of course. John knew she considered Gordon loud and annoying, whilst she didn't take kindly to Scott's abrasive and mistrustful nature (especially when he directed it at her). He wondered if forcing them together had helped them turn a corner.

'And how is Gordon now?' John asked when EOS had finished.

'Not much better,' EOS replied, her voice solemn. 'Grandma Tracy has advised for him to rest for the day and he put up little argument against it.'

'He should be at home.'

'That option was discussed, but it was decided that the strain of re-entry – though considerably less in the space elevator – would do more harm,' EOS explained. 'He has eaten and taken some painkillers, and now he is sleeping.'

John frowned. 'He made it to the kitchen and back? On his own?'

'We reduced the gravity to assist him, but yes. His determination to maintain his independence in this situation has been far greater than I expected of him.'

'Aw.' John cooed. 'Is he growing on you, EOS?'

'Perhaps like a fungus,' she quipped.

'And that's how it begins,' John replied. 'How did you find The Little Mermaid?'

'It was… delightful.'

High praise from an AI who had previously expressed a dislike for movies and TV shows. She preferred books and, strangely, music. The latter possibly an after effect of the time Virgil had been up to cover for him.

John smiled. 'What did you like about it?'

'I think… Ariel was an interesting character. I liked her story very much.'

He barely stifled a gasp. Empathy was something that EOS still had a long way to go on – her capacity for it extended to very few people other than John himself. But it sounded very much like EOS had connected with Ariel's character. Which made sense, really. Part of Ariel's story was the way she learned about the human world and navigating the strangeness of it all. It was not outside the realms of possibility that EOS would see a little of herself in that.

But John chose not to voice any of that. To do so might be detrimental to the progress she had just made – previous experience suggested that pointing out her growing human tendencies resulted in embarrassment and regression. So instead, he groaned. 'You're going to add Part of Your World to that playlist Virgil set up for you, aren't you?'

EOS giggled. 'It is already on there twice!'