A Displaced Samurai

March, Friday 20th, 2048

With an old fashioned angle grinder, I was cutting up the scrap Macks from the evening before. Dismantling the Type Four was slow going because the plate was so damn tough, but I did not want to spend my scarce points on amenities like better power tools. Not yet.

Instead, my thoughts turned to reconnaissance. One of the absolute must-haves in warfare. I wanted my own eye in the sky, rather than having to wait until a convenient HANAF drone was nearby. Including today’s daily allowance I had 559 points, perhaps I could afford something nice now. “Elya, what can you recommend as a flying recon drone? It does not need to fight, but it would be nice if it can stay undetected.”

In the Class I Drones catalog there is the Spectracopter Mark III which might interest you. It hides through a clever combination of translucent parts and a metamaterial shroud that guides light around its core parts.

Technically your Assembler Mark II cannot build the Spectracopter, because it lacks the ability to make some of the more exotic components. But I can substitute simpler technologies where necessary. This will somewhat reduce stealthiness and flight endurance.

“Show me the prices in table form.”

Item

Point Cost

Description

Class I Basic Drones

50

Catalog

Spectracopter Mark III (blueprint)

500

Stealthy reconnaissance and communication drone

“Yes, I’ll take it.”

Purchased: Everything in the table

New balance… One Token and 9 points

Of course, I wanted to play with my new toy as soon as possible. So I ordered one from my printer right away, but some of the firefighters were still upstairs, doing maintenance on their equipment.

As soon as they had left, I picked up my new Spectracopter. It came in a fifty centimeter long carry case with an integrated charger and the Vanguard Enterprises logo on it. As soon as Elya and I had agreed on the logo, she started printing it on everything.

When I unpacked it on the roof, it turned out to be a futuristic looking mini helicopter. All of it appeared to be covered in anti-reflective coating, and the rotor blades were translucent so they would appear to have the color of the background to an observer. The most amazing feature was that the hull appeared transparent as well, even if I definitely knew there were compact and very much not transparent items inside.

“Start it up!”

The rotor unfolded and started rotating. Within seconds, it produced enough lift that the little helicopter was pulling upwards in my grip. I released it and soon it hovered fifty meters up in the air. Even knowing it was there, I could barely see it.

The outer layers of the hull are made of metamaterials that guide light around the inner parts and make it appear like they are not even there. It would blend in with its background even better if I did not have to make compromises in manufacturing.

Next, to test the networking capabilities. “Elya, put the piloting overlay on my augs.”

In a corner of my vision, I saw the image from the copter’s main camera. When I tilted and turned my head, the Spectracopter followed. Turning my left palm up increased the collective, turning it down decreased it. I found it amazingly intuitive, but it also took my full attention. For most tasks I would have to rely on Elya doing the flying so I could focus on something else. I asked her “Can the copter return on autopilot if it loses network connection?”

Yes. I will set the roof of the fire depot as the return point in that case.

“Excellent. Let’s go for a flight.”

I turned up my palm and tilted my head forward to build up altitude and speed. To the south, towards Albert Head. At my height of a hundred meters above the rooftops, it seemed unlikely anybody would notice me.

Checking wind and battery status of the Spectracopter, I went for an extended flight over the Salish Sea south of Race Rocks Lighthouse. I let Elya fill more of my vision with the footage from the copter’s camera and just enjoyed the view. On the way back the sun was already below the horizon, and the last of a beautiful sunset graced the sky. As I took a look around, I saw something drifting halfway over the sea, close to the border to the USA.

This made me curious and I approached the object. It turned out to be a teenaged boy on a sailboard where the canvas of the sail had come loose.

“Elya, check the channels of the emergency services. Has someone already called for help for the guy?”

Nope. Also, the young gentleman’s augs are probably out of range of the data net. The Spectracopter can do better because of its synthetic aperture directional antennae and stronger transmitters.

“I’ll have to do it then. Put his coordinates on my augs and connect me to the Coast Guard.”

Reporting the location of the shipwrecked (or boardwrecked?) young gentleman was easy. But it became increasingly dark, and I was not sure if the Coast Guard would find the guy at night. It might be necessary to guide them the last kilometer or two, but my copter could not stay there much longer before it ran low on batteries. But I had an idea. “Elya, how long do you need to print another copter if you don’t bother with the carry case?”

Eight minutes. It is a small piece of equipment after all.

“Do it!” Eight minutes later, I ran out of the shelter with a new copter in hand. “Elya, fly this one to the position of the guy!”

On the way. The first one has five minutes left before it is too low on battery to return here.

Copter two would not arrive there in five minutes, and I did not want to let Mr. Shipwrecked out of my sight. So I told Elya “As soon as the second copter is there, use that to keep an eye on our rescuee. Then fly the first copter to a beach I can reach!”

I grabbed the keys to my van and started driving in the general direction of Race Rock. Halfway there, Elya notified me of two things. First, the Coast Guard was approaching. Second, Spectracopter #2 was now watching over Mr. Shipwrecked, while Spectracopter #1 was on the way to a stopover at Race Rock. Elya assured me that it would use very little energy while parked there and could easily take off again for the last part of its journey.

I stopped at the next parking lot and checked the footage from Copter #2. The Coast Guard had picked up the guy by now. Also, the IR cameras worked as good as those for visible light. I sent Copter #2 home directly and proceeded to pick up Copter #1 at the housing area near Race Rock. Eventually I returned home, feeling good about saving someone and even better about no one spotting my new drones. That stealth was quite good, even if it was inferior to the unmodified blueprints.

Persons saved: 1.

Reward... 1 point.

New balance… One Token and 10 points