PartnerShip: The Ship Who Sang is Not Alone

PartnerShip (1992) is the second SF novel in the Brainships series, following The Ship Who Sang. In the previous volume, Helva -- XH-834 -- gained enough credits to payoff her debt to Central Worlds. Yet they wanted her to extend her contract for at least one more mission since she was uniquely qualified. Helva bargained with them to increase her pay and to provide her with a specific Brawn of her own choice. In this novel, Nancia Perez y de Gras -- XN-935 -- is expecting her father to call her before she starts her new career as a brainship. Instead, her brother pays her a visit. He brings her two datahedrons with his own synthcompositions on them. In addition, he gives her the latest -- not yet released -- version of SPACED OUT, the most popular video game. Flix talks her into playing the game with him and finds out that she knows the position of every opponent in the game. After all, the game resides in her memory banks, so how is she to avoid knowing everything about it. While they are playing the game, a message arrives from her father apologizing for missing her graduation. Shortly after that, her passengers arrive. They have obviously been celebrating and are passing a pouch of Stemerald back and forth. Then they notice the SPACED OUT game and play it until they break off for bed. Only one passenger -- Blaise Armontillado-Perez y Medoc -- notices that Nancia is a brainship. The other four believe her to be an AI drone. So they talk freely in front of her sensors and she becomes suspicious of their intentions. She records all their actions and statements. She even records the keystrokes of Polyon de Gras-Waldheim as he cracks his way into the Net security system and assigns himself a privileged user account. Nancia is shocked at the plans of the five High Family graduates. They intend to make their fortunes in the Nyota ya Jaha system. Polyon proposes skimming off working metachips into the discard bin and then selling them to the highest bidder. Alpha bint Hezra-Fong has created a new addictive drug that should sell well. Darnell Overton-Glaxely and Fassa del Parma y Polo have come into business enterprises that they can milk for maximum profits. Only Blaisse doesn't have any profitable ventures to gain more wealth. As a Planetary Technical Aid representative, he will be handing out food bars to the vegetative natives of Angalia, a mudhole of a world. Yet he agrees to join a group wager about whom will accumulate the greatest fortune over the next five years. In this story, Nancia selects Caleb as her Brawn. As a native of the Vega sector, he has very strict moral beliefs. She tries to discuss the behavior of the High Family brats with him, but he soon dissuades her from such discussions. Over the next five years, Nancia learns that Caleb is a highly competent Brawn on normal runs, but hopeless in undercover efforts. Then they become involved in an investigation of Polo Construction, Fassa's company. Nancia

Nancia is sixteen years old when she graduates from Laboratory Schools, the training facility for shell persons. That's the term for humans who require complete life support, usually from the moment of leaving the womb. Enclosed by a protective casing that supplies all their bodies require, shell persons like Nancia train for careers that let them exercise incredible power. Nancia will spend her life sealed inside a titanium column at the heart of a Courier Service "brain ship," with that ship serving as her extended body. With state-of-the-art computer processing power and computer memory banks as easy for her to use as her own human mind and human memory, she has only to choose her partner - a "brawn" who's been trained for that job. Before she has a chance to do so, though, she's given a solo first mission. One her father, a high-ranking Federation civil servant, has pulled strings to get for her because he loves Nancia every bit as much as his two "normal" children, and he thinks that transporting several Planetary Technical Assistance neophytes who are her social equals will give her an opportunity to make friends outside of the shell community. For Nancia belongs to that select and powerful group, the High Families, and so do her passengers. It should be the easiest of assignments. It's not, though, because four out of the five mistake Nancia for a mindless drone ship and treat her accordingly. Hurt and angry, Nancia lets them think that's the case. She overhears as they plot to make their fortunes by shockingly dishonest means, and as they form a pact to aid each other in doing so. She records it all - but then the brawn she chooses as her partner, Caleb from straitlaced Vega, lets her know that he considers such behavior highly inappropriate. Nancia is young and unsure of herself. She trusts Caleb, and accepts his judgment. During the five years that follow, her first passengers carry out their plans. The day comes when Nancia must face all the harm that's resulted, as she's given the opportunity to expose and therefore stop them at last. But is that the right thing to do? What if she can only accomplish it by doing other things that Caleb can't approve? To which instincts and to which friends should she listen, and whose judgment should she trust? Surely not her own.... I read McCaffrey's initial "brain ship" stories, collected as The Ship Who Sang, many years ago. I picked up this book expecting a light read, and instead found myself immersed in an intriguing tale of a young woman's journey from adolescence into adulthood. Great stuff! One of McCaffrey's better works, and for me a good introduction to co-author Ball.

"PartnerShip" is the second book in the Brainship Series that was begun by Anne McCaffrey in the short stories that were collected under the title "The Ship That Sang." But this second book is a novel rather than a short story collection, tells the story of a new shellperson, and is co-written by McCaffrey with Margaret Ball (they also collaborated on the Acorna boks). Readers of the first book might be disappointed that this "sequel" is not about Helva, but the idea of brainships lends itself to new characters and if you have read McCaffrey's Pern and/or Talent series then you know she likes to tell new stories about new characters more than she does finding new tales for familiar (and even beloved) ones. Nancia Perez y des Gras was an aristocrat, a member of one of the High Families, who was born with grave physical disabilities that required her human body to be encased in a massive titanium column that provided a direct link between her mind and the computer of her ship, XN-935. Nancia never would have survived without the complex life-support system the shell provided and which also allowed her to have a career as a new brainship for the Courier Service. Although she has been well trained, Nancia is not ready for dealing with the five "ordinary" human beings who are her passengers on her first voyage. They are also members of the High Families and what her passengers have in common is that they are the proverbial black sheep of their respective families. That is why they are being sent to the forgotten far side of the galaxy. Usually the "brain" on a Courier Service ships is complemented by a "brawn," a human pilot special trained for such services, but Nancia is traveling without one on her maiden voyage. So Nancia is shocked and appalled by what she hears as her passengers plan to make their illegal fortunes and enjoy their ill-gotten gains. However, these five aristocrats do not know that they are on a brain ship and Nancia never bothers to tell them that she is listening (and recording) all of their plans. What I like about "PartnerShip" is that Nancia bides her time before bringing the Nyota Five to justice. After all, she is fairly new to the ways of the real world and, as the title indicates, she is not going to be alone with the time comes to put her plan into motion. Consequently, in addition to the anticipation as to how Nancia is going to get these five clowns there is also a question of who is going to be the "brawn" to her "brain"? The former appeals to be a bit more simply because I like it when somebody on the inside has got the goods on the bad guys, but I was satisfied with the specific partnership that McCaffrey and Ball came up with for Nancia. Final Note: the cover art for this 1992 book is by Stephen Hickman.

McCaffery does it again! I love how she winds intrigue, betrayal, and suspense into one super novel!!!

The fascinating concept of brainships is wedded with recognition of society's responsibility to maximize the potential of it's members. Nancia's growth from naive newness to flexible adulthood is accompanied by normal emotional trauma. Self awareness, recognition of self worth and valuation of others are wrapped in an entertaining reading experience. Cynical recognition of who you know rather than what you know doesn't detract from the message or the idealistic theme that good works and good will can triumph.