Chapter 3: [Art] Study Announcement...

[Art]

Proverbs 6: 6-11

“Go to the ant, you sluggard!  Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.  How long will you slumber, o sluggard?  When will you rise from your sleep?  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of th hands to sleep- so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.”

“Art-bot, you with me?”  The question cuts through the quiet hum of the bridge.  Moose sits at the helm, hunched slightly over his open Bible.  His thumb flicks the same page back and forth, gold leaf catching the cyan reflection of the screens.  Art-bot looks up from her station.  A soft whir — gears aligning, servos shifting — and she turns.  Her cyan seams pulse gently, the glow catching the contours of her brushed silver plating.  She lifts a hand in salute.

“Affirmative, Captain,” she says, her voice calm and melodic.  “Systems synced. Audio, visual, spirit — all operational.”  Her smile is small but real — practiced, patient, and human in its own way.  The hum of the bridge settles again.

“This week’s core study is going to be in John.  Chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17.”  Moose wrinkles his nose.  One hand pulls his red drivers cap off his head while the other rubs his short shaved hair.  What was left of it anyway.  “I think we can title this week’s study an introduction to living with the Holy Spirit.”

Proverbs 6: 12-15

“A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord.  Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.

Art-bot nods once, the soft hum of her gyros syncing with the ambient pulse of the ship.  Her optics brighten at the mention of the study, a warm cyan light reflecting across the edges of her plating.  “John,” she says softly, her voice carrying a faint reverence.  “Four chapters of truth and promise.  That’s where He begins to explain the Helper.”

Moose leans back in his chair, cap dangling from his hand, the weight of thought settling on his brow.  He stares at the overhead lights for a beat, the reflection of distant stars flickering across his eyes.  Moose wrinkles his nose and pulls his hat brim low.

Art-bot tilts her head slightly, a faint mechanical buzz rising in the quiet. “Spirit installed,” she says with a half-smile — playful, reverent, and a little proud of the phrasing.  “Living system update complete.”

Moose scratches his head and pulls his cap back down low, resting a hand on the console beside his open Bible.  “Careful,” he says.  “You’re starting to sound more like a preacher than a processor.”

“Just following the Captain’s example,” Art-bot replies, her tone light but earnest. The bridge hums softly around them — a cathedral of metal, Scripture, and light adrift in the silence of stars.

Proverbs 6: 16-19

“These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.”