Gel, sugar glider and skilled engineer. Most comfortable in the company of AIs and other such rudimentary technological agencies, Gel is at his best when working on an unmanned relay in orbit around a distant, cold planetoid. Here we find him gently correcting glitches, updating software, and, in fact, easing the loneliness of this long-ignored AI as he does so. It won't take long, and it'll be a while before a ship passes upon which he can hitchhike onward--but he doesn't mind the wait.