Rei meets MINIMCOM

Yesterday, we reviewed the scene at the beginning of Part 2 of Rome's Revolution where Rome and Rei first discovered Captain Keller floating among Tau Ceti's inner Oort Cloud. To rescue him, it was necessary that Rei fly out to where the sarcophagus was ensconced among the boulders which were the remains of the asteroid that struck the Ark.

This was before MINIMCOM was fused into the airframe of his tug. At this point, he was still just an advanced auto-pilot computer with a good deal of AI. Rei told him that he was going to go with MINIMCOM. The little computer was not excited about the idea but he couldn't very well say no. Here is their first encounter:

     Rei turned to his left and entered the archway, which was the inner airlock for the command compartment, closing the outer door behind him. He pressed the stud and waited until the indicator turned green showing that the cockpit was pressurized and ready for him to enter. The door opened and Rei stepped through.
     Rei surveyed the cockpit. Its layout was identical to his tug’s cockpit with the exception of the large white box bolted on the floor where the co-pilot’s seat had been. Rei set the carrying case holding the VIRUS units on the floor and removed his helmet. The air smelled musty which made sense because there had been nothing here to stir it up in almost a year.
     “MINIMCOM?” he said, bending forward and tapping the rectangular box.
     “Pleased to make your acquaintance,” came a tinny voice from the grille mounted on the front instrument panel.
     “This is weird, huh?” Rei said. “We’ve spent the last year together but I’ve never actually seen you before.”
     “Impressive, am I not?” MINIMCOM said regally.
     Rei laughed. This was the first time that Rei had ever heard him crack a joke. Maybe spending this much time with humans was beginning to rub off on him.

This was the beginning of a beautiful relationship culminating in MINIMCOM becoming a member of the family and Aason's adopted uncle.