Testing Truth (Cyborg Space Exploration #6) - Cynthia Sax Page 0,65

otherwise unoccupied planet by the Cyborg Council. “There are only three beings on the surface.”

“Is that your final projection?” She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him.

He grinned back at her. “That’s a fact, not a projection.”

“My projection is three thousand inhabitants.” She tapped her fingertips against the viewscreen embedded in the console. “And the winner is…”

“There are five thousand, one hundred and thirty-two beings located within the scanning perimeters.” The ship’s system relayed that information as though it were the truth.

It couldn’t be correct. Truth was 99.9998 percent certain there were only three beings inhabiting Mercury Minor.

“There are four thousand and ninety-eight cyborgs, eight hundred and one humanoids, two hundred and thirty-three humans located within the scanning perimeters. Four thousand, one hundred and twenty-seven beings have predominantly male characteristics. One thousand and five beings have female characteristics.”

“Woo hoo!” His female lifted her arms in victory. “I won!”

“You didn’t win.” Truth leaned forward, pushing against her, the contact with his little human dissipating some of his uneasiness. “The lifeform scanner must be malfunctioning.” He reran the scan.

It showed the same faulty results.

“Maybe they’re hosting visitors.” His princess was unconcerned.

She didn’t realize the magnitude of the issue, how very damaged the lifeform-scanning system—a system they relied upon for crucial information—was.

And he had been relying on it, relying on incorrect data. That alarmed the machine side of him. Incorrect data could lead to damage, to death.

His female could have died because of the malfunctioning system.

“There are no transmissions originating from the surface.” Truth searched at cyborg speed through the constant exchange of information his kind participated in. “A functioning cyborg contributes to multiple conversations over the same duration.”

He was chattering to Dissent about the garment preferences of human females, participating in a discussion led by Captain regarding the next planet to explore, listening to millions of other communications. That included a pompous speech from Power, the head of the Cyborg Council, about the importance of gaining authorization before interacting with beings on other planets.

The male’s circuits would overload when he uncovered Truth had forged an alliance with the planet of Royaume and had claimed their princess as his female.

That amused Truth.

The situation on Mercury Minor concerned him. “Ghost is damaged. He reportedly doesn’t transmit often. His offspring might have inherited his damage, could be equally silent.”

Truth couldn’t process living like that. It was…unnatural.

“The probability four thousand and ninety-six other cyborgs are damaged in the same way is 0.0001 percent.” He flattened his palms on the embedded viewscreen. “The lifeform-scan modification must have caused the entire scan to malfunction. I’m stripping it out and reinstalling the original programming.”

“The original lifeform scanning system doesn’t have the same level of detail as yours does.” His female shifted on his lap, swinging her skirt-covered legs to the side, and looked up at his face. “It’s old and merely detects the number of beings.”

She deserved a better lifeform scanner than that. “This is a temporary change.” He would correct the programming on the new version and reinstall it, give her the inputs she warranted. “It will confirm there are only three lifeforms on the surface.” He ran the scan with the old code.

“Five thousand, one hundred and thirty-two beings have been detected.” The ship’s system relayed the same number of lifeforms.

“What is the probability both lifeform scanners are malfunctioning?” His princess tilted her head and studied him.

“It’s higher than the probability four thousand and ninety-eight cyborgs lack the functionality to transmit.” He paused. “But it is still very low.” It was too low to be feasible. Truth pressed his lips to his female’s forehead, needing that additional physical connection with the being he adored, and he processed the situation. “There is one possible scenario with a much higher probability.”

“And that is?” She lifted her eyebrows.

“The cyborgs don’t want others to know they’re on Mercury Minor.” A skilled being could track a transmission to its origins. That was often beneficial, served as a locator beacon if brethren were lost.

But some brethren might not want to be found.

During their explorations, the crew of the Restless had encountered cyborgs who were building a fleet of ships without the authorization of the Cyborg Council. Those warriors didn’t transmit or associate with the rest of their brethren. Truth viewed them as Rebels, perceived them as possible threats to the Homeland and to warriors’ females and offspring.

That now included his female, his future offspring.

“We’ll confront them.” Energy coursed through Truth’s circuits. They would demand explanations from the Rebels, subdue them if that