A hero falls, part 2

Yesterday, we saw that MINIMCOM had transported the containment vessel containing the Darwin virus, strain 5 into his cargo hold. As I had already taken pains to demonstrate when Rome and Rei recovered the location beacon on the far side of the Moon, the vessel exploded inside MINIMCOM, making his inside deadly to any and all humans. MINIMCOM computed the only effective way to rid himself of the virus was to plunge his whole craft into the Sun thus ending his cybernetic "life" which did not make Rome very happy:

      MINIMCOM, please,” Rome begged. “You cannot do this.”
      “It is not my first choice, believe me,” replied the starship. “I will think about it on the way. I am going to head toward the Sun now. I must make sure that every spore is destroyed. That is the highest priority.”
      “Oh, MINIMCOM,” Rome said, tears pouring out of her eyes. “I am so sorry.”
      “Do not be sorry,” MINIMCOM said. “I am just an autopilot computer that became a starship. I can be replaced.”
      “You can never be replaced,” Rei said, tears forming in the corner of his eyes as well. “You’re one of our family.”
      “I appreciate the sentiment,” replied MINIMCOM. “And since this may be the last time we speak, I will tell you something that I have kept hidden up until now.”
      “What?” Rome asked, openly sobbing now.
      “I do, indeed, have feelings. And I want you to know that I love you both.”
      “And we love you, MINIMCOM,” Rome said with anguish in her mental voice. “You are the best friend anyone has ever had.”
      “Thank you. Both of you. It has been an honor serving you. Please take care of Junior for me.”
      “We will, buddy.”
      And then he was gone.
      Rome and Rei just stood there, Rome quietly weeping. “What happened?” Ursay said to them. “Why are you both crying?”
      “MINIMCOM…MINIMCOM…” Rome could not get the words out. She just turned and pressed herself into Rei who put his arms around her.
      “The vessel burst inside his cargo hold,” Rei said quietly. “The virus is all over his insides. He’s going to fly himself into the Sun to burn it up. He’s sacrificing himself so that we can all be safe.”
      “Oh,” Ursay replied. He became silent. He stared into their faces, using his irods to enhance his vision in the dimly filtered light. “I was wrong about him,” Ursay said finally.
      “What?” Rome asked, face still pressed against Rei’s chest. “Wrong about what?”
      “Even when I got you away from the planet the first time, I shared the opinion of the Vuduri that your ship was an abomination, a robot. But I can now see that there was a living spirit within him. Apparently, one not need be a human to be a person. Your MINIMCOM was loyal and heroic. No one on Earth will ever know that he saved them all. The Vuduri have much to learn about the nature of sentience.”

You got that right. A living spirit with hopes, dreams and desires does not need to reside in a carbon-based body. MINIMCOM was a hero in every sense of the word. He was selfless and brave and caring. There would never be another like him. Well, not exactly like him.