Speed of Time - RT Shores

Time Flies When You Get Older; Or Does It?

I am a brain ship, but not the kind of the Anne McCaffrey books. I am a maintenance brain ship. What does that mean? My life is tedium.

I need some adventure! My pilot's idea of adventure was making a planet run in record time, but that was nothing to me, I need real adventure.

My credits had been accumulating for sixty years or more, so I had plenty for a body, but then what? What age do I want? Twenty? Forty? I had to decide before we reached Teminus for it was as final as it sounded; the end of my tour and the end of me.

Well, I was getting a body.

My pilot discussed it with me and said if I was to his liking, I could stay on with him. Ha! He would be that lucky! He was so boring.

Hm, I scanned catalogs of the best new pilots and chose one which now determined that I would pick the age of thirty.

I was downloaded at Terminus and paid extra to be handled by experts, for in transfer, you could be lost forever.

The body viewing room was busy with all us sixty year olds, but most wanted twenty year olds, so my section was better.

I chose average everything except hair. I wanted long blue black hair. My instillation was scheduled for two hours away so I dcided to shop for a shipsuit when I was able to depart.

My transport to the operating theater was quick and I bid them farewell as I felt power drugs take over.

Shrieking alarms awakened me and then there were screams of agony; my own, I figured.

"What went wrong?" A disembodid voice queried.

"All we can surmise is that this is her DNA, maybe a daughter."

"Will she survive?"

"Rejection is strong and she isn't stable enough to transfer out to another body yet."

I was in my daughter's body? How does that happen? I just knew there was pain and other words I had never head before. I slept.

"We think she will make it." The team sighed.

I made it, but wasn't prepared for what a body was/is. One thing was for sure though, time was flying by. Months were falling off the calendar and life was a challenge now.

My brain was used to instantaneous responses and now it had to wait for my body to perform the actions. It was painful and I had constant headaches. They said I would get used to it eventually.

I began to interview with pilots, but none were sharp enough for me. I hated to interview with my old pilot, but I did. 

He didn't know me, nor that I had been his 'brain', so we were on level ground. My physical skills and reflexes were slow and he noticed.

"It's you in a body, right?"

"Yep, and it is much harder than I thought it would be." I saw him nod to that.

"Yeah, they don't tell you that part. I think we should just team up again and you will find that the boring runs aren't so boring when you are getting used to having a body. If and when you tire of me, leave. I won't require a contract. Deal?"

How did he know so much? "Were you once a brain, pilot?" He nodded.

"Yes and I understand most of what you are going through, so I figure we can be friends and I will help you through it. Time will seem faster now and the boring of old won't be the same. You will find new boring eventually.

I understood now. I joined with my pilot but as near equals now and at last count we had been together over eighty years.