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Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

[ Dr. Nicander | Main Sickbay | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe & @TrexelCat 
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"Thank you, Thea," said Lucan and sighed, giving the A.I. projection a small smile. In the end, she knew best in this particular matter, and in deference to her recommendation, he would deal with it.

"You're welcome, Doctor," said Thea with a smile, and then, her projection de-materialised, leaving him alone in his office. He rubbed his forehead with his fingers, wondering who of them were available. Without further delay, he keyed up the schedule for O'Connor's people, and saw a single available officer. He tapped his combadge.

"Doctor Nicander to Petty Officer B'Nila, could you please see me in my office? Thank you."


[ A Few Minutes Later ]

When the Elsarian Counselor had arrived and introductions had been exchanged, he explained the predicament. "On the Theurgy, we have three medical holograms, all having proved themselves indispensable during the past months of strife and flight, yet one of them - namely the most advanced - have begun to behave strangely. She deactivated herself when we faced the Calamity, a starship sent by the enemy to destroy us, and a couple of things have stood out as... irregular."

Pacing slowly while he explained, Lucan had put his tattooed hands into his lab coat's pockets. "For one, she encrypted her activation command in such an advanced way that we weren't able to activate her again until today, weeks after. This is not standard operation protocol for her, but the thing that perplexed me - and Thea - the most, was that she did not show any kind of reaction to the repercussions. Namely, that if she had been available, she could have saved a lot of lives. We have seen many battles since she deactivated herself, and while it might be too much to ask for remorse on her behalf... given what the diagnostic found so far... I think that is actually what prevents her from giving any kind of reaction towards her own actions when she deactivated herself."

Having said this, Lucan pulled up the file on his screen for B'Nila to see. "She is our LMH - our Long-term Medical Holographic program - and while she might not be as advanced as Thea in terms of hardware, they are both fitted with subroutines, and after having seen the results of the diagnostic, which is not quite finished yet, it is evident her holo-matrix has evolved. Not in the regular self-learning way expected of her program, but in a more complex way. These new complexities might be causing these issues, and instead of re-initialisation her or reprogramming, Thea presented an alternative. This is where your help is needed, Petty Officer."

Lucan smiled to the quite beautiful counselor from the Resolve, looking into her glinting, golden eyes. "While the diagnostic is still running, counsel her. Let Thea see how that impacts this new matrix setup, and try to verify if her non-reaction comes from an emotional block - only being digital instead of organic. So... are you willing to give it a try?"

OOC: Absinthe, I suggest you post with B'Nila leaving the CMO office and setting things up for the session, so that TrexelCat can post second with Eve having been activated.

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #1 –
Given that the Counseling Department was both a part of the medical team and acted independently of it, B’Nila had been surprised to be called into the Chief Medical Officer’s Office. But as he explained the situation with the Long-term Medical Holographic program she understood why she was called in. When she left his office and made her way to her own she was still going over things.

It had sounded perfectly irregular, but also like an interesting endeavor. She as always was more than willing to give it a shot. She had even been tested using a couple of holographic patients during her studies, and this was really not much different from counseling anyone else, though it would limit the usage of certain more advanced techniques. Though she avoided those techniques anyway so this would change very little about her actual technique.

She did need to consider that if this LMH was as advanced as he seemed to say it might be best to treat her as sapient and do the counseling as she would anyone else. It did bring up the concept of patient confidentiality as well, if she was to counsel a patient while someone else was basically listening, then privacy would mean very little. Things like this would need to be ironed out, and soon, if therapy sessions were to take place like this. Though it was possible as well that this was a one off occurrence as well. This was all so darn irregular it would need to be treated as unique, while at the same time she could not afford to treat this patient in any way different from any other patient. The complexities of it her mind boggling.

When she at last arrived at her office she quickly went over the LMH’s file on record. When she was confident she was ready she took a breath to prepare herself and spoke.

“Thea, activate the LMH."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #2 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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She waited, quietly in the dark. Her program in a state of rest, much like when organic beings closed their eyes to rest. But when she is at rest, she is nothing, no thought or form. For her it was like a stasis, nothing about her changed while she was offline. At least that was the theory behind what the emergency holograms experience when they are taken offline. Sure, programs shifted here and there and new information is added. But this was primarily done by the main computer to keep the programs up to date so that when activated one didn't have to spend three hours describing the triage of sixty patients.

This was odd. In the blackness she could feel something strange. She could feel her program being shifted, the computer transferring it from the sickbay database computer into a different section of the ship. Was she being moved? Had something been found? Was she about to be removed from the ship entirely for being defective? She was soon to find out as once again the world materialized around her. Though a world she had not seen before. A room she had never been in. It took her a few moments to connect with her core and basically ask the ship where her matrix location was. A counselors office? Perhaps it was a medical call, the counselor could be injured.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

Cold, flat and stale. You hang around the Mark One and Two long enough, you learn to expect it no other way. So she stuck with it, seemed to give those around her a little comfort rather than trying to shake things up every time. She quickly looked around and discovered no medical tools what-so-ever, then quickly discovered that the woman seated before her didn't appear to be in any sort of distress at all. Then it hit her, she couldn't identify this woman at all. She did not appear anywhere in her Theurgy crew identification files. She was able however to discern the woman's rank from her collar and general department status from the uniform color.

"I can see that you're in no immediate physical distress, can I assume this is a social call, Petty Officer?"

She offered a polite smile to the woman.

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #3 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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In the long Voyage B'Nila had never learned if the Resolve had an LMH, though given the nature of the Theurgy being state of the art and the Resolve being no ship of the line, she doubted it did. Either way when the woman materialized from the aether in from of her B'Nila could not help but smile slightly. She was quite pretty, a pity then that it was considered inappropriate for a counselor to suggest a relationship with their patients beyond the professional. Such was the nature of the job and indeed the nature of the trust placed on her.

For a moment her glowing eyes never left the form of the LMH, but she turned to her desk and set the data PADD down, it's face still showing the file on Eve. She would put her cards on the table and play this session as straight as she could. She had no inkling of any trauma or pain to uncover, on a need for clarity and clarity could never be served by playing with her hand hidden.

"No medical emergency, though I would not call this a social visit as such. There have been some concerns expressed and Doctor Nicander requested a make some time to speak with you," B'Nila explained when she at last spoke, her tone was calm and even. She had the look of someone who was both ready for everything and at the same time knew what was going to happen. Or maybe it was just a high level of calm grace about her. With an open palm she gestured to the other chair in the room. "Please have a seat. I promise to take no more of your time than you are comfortable with. There are just a handful of questions that need answers and rather than deal with stress and time consuming activity of treating you like nothing more than code on a screen, we shall do this the far more insightful way and treat you as a person. At the very least we may have a pleasant enough conversation."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #4 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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"There have been some concerns expressed and Doctor Nicander requested a make some time to speak with you"

Eve's smile took on a bit more of a strained look, her lips pressed together a bit more than normal. She took only the briefest moments to see what was on the PADD, being a computer program she has the benefit and the curse of an eidetic memory. She turned away slightly with a nod of understanding. There was a pause as she continued to listen, turning her head slightly to nod at the woman a second time when the chair was offered.

For a moment longer she paused as she regained some of her composure, taking on her friendly demeanor that she usually displayed before moving over to sit in the chair offered to her. She did so with such naturalism, her movement indistinguishable from a real person. When she sat the chair even reacted to her presence, the cushion deforming under her imagined weight.

"I see.. So something was found in the diagnostic?" She moved to cross her legs and place her hands in her lap, just above the knee, one hand over the other. Her back could have been held in place by a board with how straight she was sitting up, actually holding herself away from the back of the chair.

Her smile softened from the edge it had as she continued. "This is definitely going to be an interesting experience. For me mostly, though I suspect for you as well. I don't think anyone has ever tried to psychoanalyze a computer before." A small chuckle escaped her towards the end of that. "So, where would you like to start? Or shall I start? I'm afraid I have no childhood to speak of, so that's out. I could talk about my parent, if you could call him that."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #5 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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It was easy enough to pretend there was a real person in front of her. All evidence suggested there was, both visual and auditory signs pointed to that, yet to know that the woman standing before her was naught more than forefields and light, it was interesting. Yet B'Nila was familiar with the hologram technology, even if she was not used to it being used so readily outside of the holodeck and certain key areas of the ship, and she knew it all well enough to know that the pain of a slap did not hurt less if it was a hologrammatic hand that did the slapping.

"I don't think we need to go into matters such as childhood experience, unless you believe your relationship with your creator was in some way responsible for your encryption of your program so thoroughly that it took our engineers some time to activate you again, in which case I would be fine with beginning there," B'Nila said with a smile. Her eyes gleaming with there usual golden glow. Of course there was a bit of jest in her tone, but if there was a connection there, she was not one to discount it so quickly. No, she would leave the table open.

"As for psychoanalyzing computers, I believe it has been done since the earliest forms of AI were being toyed with. So I would really be treading no new ground," she went on, her tone evening back out from the earlier jest. "In earlier times it would have been a matter of sitting at a terminal to do it, but with advances in technology new things are possible. In fact holograms have advanced beyond their original function unexpectedly before and likely it will happen again. There is tale of one version of the hologram of a Sherlock Holmes villain developing well beyond his normal functions. As with then, the important thing is treat every case properly."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #6 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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Eve didn't appear to move a muscle as she looked towards the other woman. "I'm well aware of those incidences. And most of those incidences are to test for sapience, not a full investigation. Except for that last one aboard the Enterprise-D."

She then stood from the chair again and moved towards the replicator, looking back to B'Nila and motioned towards it. "May I?" Before a response though she turned back to the replicator and spoke. "Computer, mint tea. 37 degrees Celsius." Once again the familiar sound of the replicator played out from the device and in the slot appeared a cup of tea, slightly steaming just as she had ordered it.

She turned back to the woman, taking a sip of it before speaking again. "I think I will let you direct this. You are the one tasked with the need for information. I am an open book." She nodded her head slightly to the PADD on the woman's desk. "And I'm a fair sight less of a headache than schematics." Another smile as she took another sip of the tea. "So Doctor, what would you like to know?"

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #7 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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Though it didn't seem the holographic woman cared one way or another B'Nila did offer a nod to the question about using the replicator. Though the order did seem odd to her, more specifically the temperature the tea was selected at. If her medical training served her right, and her memory was as correct as she recalled it was, then it was indeed a very interesting temperature to drink liquids at. Indeed the act itself seemed deliberate, like a statement. And then there was the notion of a hologram ordering a glass of tea, simply by the fact that the oddly steamy glass did not give off an odor, B'Nila was quite certain it to was a hologram. This meant that in a single action her patient had said something. The only question would be trying to uncover it's meaning.

"Well, how about we start with the simplest question I can and we can work from there, sound fair enough?" B'Nila asked with a polite smile. She could tell this was indeed going to be interesting. She knew an interesting mind when she came across one and based purely off of the drink selection alone she was dealing with something unexpected. "I figure we can forgo questions of sapience and move right on to the real meat of therapy, it'll be easier on you, it'll be easier on me. Now then, tell me, how do you feel?"

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #8 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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Eve took another sip of her tea, appearing to think on this question. She could in theory think faster than anyone around her but she liked to present the illusion that she was no different than everyone else. This also gave her the opportunity to run a quick diagnostic of her emotional subroutines.

"My emotional subroutines are working fine." She then paused and looked into B'nila's eyes. "I feel good. It's nice to be back doing what I was intended for."

She then moved over and took a seat in the chair once more, crossing her legs again and placing the cup of tea on her knee and holding it there. She continued to watch the woman as she sat there, her program doing exactly what it was designed for and looking for any abnormalities in movement or any potential psychological stress. This was definitely going to be an interesting session for the both of them as they both tried to analyze each other.

"I'm sorry, but I don't even know your name. Normally I have access to patient identification files to determine who is who, but as we aren't in sickbay and you aren't a patient, I have no idea who you are. You aren't a part of the Theurgy crew, or I mean, not a part of the original crew."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #9 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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As her holographic patient spoke B'Nila could not keep an odd sort of smile from appearing on her face. She found it somewhat amusing that while as some would rail against the notion of being considered anything less than fully sapient and having the full rights of such sapience, it seemed the LMH, Eve, was comfortable in her current status. Though if B'Nila was correct there was more to this case than just that, matters left to be explored and delved into. Sapience demanded to be talked about, it demanded attention and respect.

"I suppose we did skip out on introductions. I'm B'Nila Skai, one of the new Counselor's transferred from the USS Resolve. I must apologize for not introducing myself sooner, I have become used to everyone simply already either knowing me personally or knowing of me well in advance of meeting me. Being trapped on a small ship for months on end does that to a crew," B'Nila explained, the smil only shifting slightly, the ese of her tone never seeming to falter though. "And it is good that your emotional subroutines are functioning as they should, but as you may know, good is not truly a feeling." She opened a drawer on her desk and pulled out a circle and held it out. The circle was covered in words, each branching off; it seemed to show emotions. "See if you can pick an emotion from this. Just for clarity's sake."

OOC - Here's the emotion wheel thing
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Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #10 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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Eve just continued to smile as she listened, she seemed to do that a lot. Other than another small sip, she held her tea in her lap. She would need to make a note to have someone update her crew identification files as it sounded to her like B'Nila might not be the only new crew member.

"Well, in my case, no one updated my ability to identify people. I know most of the crew by sight, but as I operate from a different section of the ship, I don't have direct access to the crew manifest. Someone dropped the ball in updating the sickbay medical information. Good thing you aren't a patient, that could have been bad if I didn't know who or what you are. It is however, a pleasure to meet you."

She was then handed a wheel with a bunch of words on it. She raised a brow, very much as one would expect from a Vulcan in times of confusion. Looking it over she was able to quickly see a pattern to how the words were laid out, each section connected to root words and fanning outwards from there. A curious thing, one that her own psychological files never considered using. Instantly she discounted certain sections, emotions and feelings that did not apply to her. The entire section for 'mad' was out, she also didn't connect with the section of 'sad'. Turning it around in her free hand, using her middle finger much as one might spin one of those fidget spinners but much slower she continued to read.

"I think.." She paused for a moment as she continued to look it over, far longer than she felt it should have taken. "I think.." She repeated again. ".. This wheel is terribly designed. You just want one? That's not possible. More so with me."

She leaned forward a bit to place her tea on the desk so that she could use both hands to look over the wheel more. "Awake, amused, intelligent, peaceful, responsive, relaxed and content. All of these describe me at this moment. But, I'm also more in tune with my emotions and feelings than most who might look at this wheel."

She then held out the wheel to hand it back to the woman, possessing the equivalent of an eidetic memory she no longer needed it, even if the question was posed to her again later. "If you only want one.. Would picking intelligent be too cheesy?" She chuckled a moment before continuing, "And there we go with amused again."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #11 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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As she listened B'Nila could not help but smile ever so slightly. Trying to get a handle for this particular patient was proving most interesting, it was like she was being bucked off every time she felt she had a way in. Yet she could not yet figure out if this was intentional, or simply a matter of a playful personality. In either case, her course of action was the same.

"It seems then you are in a positive mindset," she said as she took the chart back and placed it once again in her desk. She did make a mental note about the comment of design, but it had served it's function well enough and for a tool that was all it needed to do. She also made a mental note of a quite strong ego, a trait it seemed all of the medical holograms had in common, as well as a healthy dose of neuroses left over from their creator, she wondered how those would manifest themselves in the LMH.

In addition she was pleased to not that given the positive nature of the emotions she was not faced with the dilemma faced by certain other counselors when faced with emergent emotions, more specifically when the emotions that emerged were negative in nature. She had read the reports from those incidents, and though her own opinion was different from the counselor who faced them, she was pleased she was not faced with the same problem. At the very least Dr. Zimmerman programed his holograms with some understanding of emotion.

"I assume this emotional mindset is about average for you. Based off of what I have read of your psyche profile you have a generally pleasant relationship with both crew and even the other EMH programs. Though I am curious, has there been a time in recent memory in which you can recall feeling an emotion more negative on the spectrum?"

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #12 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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"It seems then you are in a positive mindset,"

Eve nodded to that as she reached forward to grab her tea once more. As she listened she took a small sip of it. Due to the fact that it's just part of her program being driven by the holographic systems, the tea remained at the exact same temperature that it was when she ordered it.

"Though I am curious, has there been a time in recent memory in which you can recall feeling an emotion more negative on the spectrum?"

Without taking any time to think about it she responded to that with, "I don't believe any emotion is inherently negative. They are all neutral, it's how one uses it that makes them positive or negative." She paused for a moment to gauge B'Nila's reaction to hearing this before continuing. "Fear is not a negative emotion. Fear is something that is in every living species and helps them to avoid situations that could potentially be harmful. It's what one does with it that makes it positive or negative. Like if someone is afraid of Cardassians, that's fine. But if they let their fear prompt them to cause harm to a Cardassian, they are turning it into a negative."

She pauses again, again to watch what the woman does, as she takes another sip. "Happiness is not a positive either. Someone who is happy to kill others around them, turns happiness into a negative. All that said, I think I know what you're getting at. I've felt scared, recently actually. I think that's the only time I've felt something that would be classified as a negative."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #13 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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It had always been fascinating to B'Nila when she was confronted with someone taking that stance. She had heard it many times throughout her career and every time she knew the argument when she saw it. The day might come when she did not call it out for the pointless drivel that it was, but this was not that day. But she was a professional so even though she despised the argument, she knew she must rebuff it and ensure that at least one more person understood.

"There are negative emotions, and I think you know this is true. Intrinsically speaking we seek out that which is good and avoid that which causes pain. Negative emotions are painful emotions, they let us know that something is wrong. They let us know that we either need to change our external situation or our internal situation. But they are painful. They are necessary in that they guide us toward a healthier existence, but don't pretend that they are not negative. This sort of thinking allows one to wallow in them or worse to allow oneself to be comfortable with them and when we are comfortable we do not work on ourselves," she said in a smooth calm tone. In truth in infuriated her to have to explain this again. Though she spoke more quickly, her words were smooth and clear, and she did her best to keep from making any blame statements.

"Think of it like this, when a child puts their hand on a hot stove, the pain let's them know something is wrong, the same goes for feelings. The pain of the negative feelings let's us know something is wrong. The problem is that many have a hard time processing these emotions, we can be as in touch with them as you like, but until we process them they cannot be truly useful. This is the whole point of having a counselor on a ship, to help the crew process their emotions in a healthy way, because negative emotions happen."

She paused to collect her thoughts for only a moment. "Now I was curious as to if you can recall a time where your emotions told you something was wrong, when you experienced a negative emotion like fear, anger, or even jealousy."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #14 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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Eve just nodded as she listened, taking a sip of her tea. Within her a conflict arose. On one hand she was just a computer program, a really advanced one but still governed by the basics of most of the other programs on the ship. On the other hand though, she was programmed to be as much like her image sake as possible which included a rudimentary psyche profile that allowed her to go against her basic program to always obey and agree with the biological beings stationed aboard the ship. This conflict lasted for a moment, long enough for the woman before Eve to finish her explanation of emotions. She could only come to one conclusion.

"We will have to agree to disagree on that point. I see things differently than you."

She finished off her tea and set the empty cup to the side, but remained seated. She could see why others liked to sit, even to her this was a bit relaxing.

"Well, as I said. I've felt scared, recently. And that's honestly as far as I want to go with that particular line."

For the first time, she lost her smile. She looked to the woman's face with a more neutral expression, an air of seriousness surrounding her.

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #15 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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The holograms responses was interesting, it seemed to back up the idea of sapience more than B'Nila had expected, or at the very least hinted at more complex programing than she had encountered before. B'Nila had worked with patients who were resistant to treatment, but this was a very different thing, thing was an artificial lifeform making choices to disagree with information and in fact to hold fast to preconceived notions and then to withhold information. In her practise she had never encountered a patient like this before in a number of ways and she was uncertain how much she could do. She could do her best, but it was beginning to look like there was very little she could do. She kept hitting walls and being cut off. She had a feeling that if the being before her wanted her help she could help her, but it was becoming clear that desire was not present.

"I cannot help but be faced with the fact that I do not believe you wish for my aid as a therapist. I have done what I can to provoke an emotional response to aid in the diagnostics of your programing, but I am now of the opinion that perhaps it would be wiser to treat you more as an individual to be treated through standard psychotherapy and less as a program to be repaired through programing tricks," B'Nila stated calmly, tenting her fingers over her lap. Her tone was as smooth as ever, her eyes glinting as always stared directly at Eve. "I can help you there, but only if you desire to be helped by me. There was of course other therapists as well and if you chose to not have therapy I do not believe that your current mental faculties are diminished to the point that you are a danger to yourself or others. I think you made a choice to lock your program when faced with a fear you could not process and I think that fear will need to be processed eventually, but you cannot be forced to process it until you are ready. If we need to we can wait, if you want to we can go over it sooner. The ball is, as some would say, in your court."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #16 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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Eve stood from her seated position, a little faster than most might have. She turned away from B'Nila and towards the door, but only made it a step and a half before she stopped. There was a pause before she turned her head slightly, another pause before the rest of her body followed suit to be facing the counselor once more.

"But, I am a program. Advanced yes, and it does make me a little happy that you are willing to treat me as more than just a simple program. But the fact remains that I am a computer program."

She then retraced that step and a half back in front of the chair, her demeanor as calm and even as B'Nila's.

"In some circles they would find me lacking on an emotional level, or an intellectual level because everything about me is driven by the ship's medical computer core. With a simple command any member of the crew could change anything about me. I do however have something that most biological beings don't have. The ability to self analyze myself from a completely objective point of view."

She then reached down and picked up her empty tea cup and started for the replicator. An action that was not exactly needed due to when she left the area the glass would have just vanished any way.

"I understand the desire to have me see a therapist though. Because of my enhancements, it's a good idea to make sure that I'm mentally capable of performing my duties in light of the events that have happened."

She placed the cup in the replicator and hit a few commands on the panel to instruct the computer that the cup was no longer needed and it vanished using a mimic of the replicator sound to dematerialize something. She then turned back to B'nila with a smile once more.

"I can assure you though, that for the moment I'm fine. My self diagnostics show nothing wrong with my program from an objective point of view. On an emotional level, my subroutines are functioning perfectly. My own psychological subroutines indicate that everything about how I am acting leads one to believe I am fit for duty."

She moves over towards the desk again.

"I promise though, if anything should happen that would impact my ability to perform my job, you will be the first I call. And before you bring it up, I don't have any 'off hours', so that is a non-issue. When I'm not needed, most people just turn me off. Another indicator that I'm still just a program."

That last part spoken with a slight loss of her smile, and a hint of resentment. She then regains her composure and bows her head slightly.

"Is there anything else you would like of me?"

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #17 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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As the hologram moved B'Nila's golden eyes never left the woman's form. Her eyesight, diminished as it was by exposure to such high levels of light, was good enough to pick up on so very many subtle details. She could see very plainly that she was getting nowhere with her usual tactics, it was not uncommon to hit such a wall when someone had not chosen to see her, but instead been ordered to. The result was always the same, the refusal to acknowledge a problem at all. And yet B'Nila could see there was a fundamental problem. A flaw in the LMH's, Eve's, reasoning that would cause a problem. Maybe not one that day or maybe not for days to come, but it would, and when it did there would be a mess to clean up.

"I think we'll be done shortly. I just have one more thought. Though I am all but certain you do not see yourself as in need of a therapist, I believe based off of your behavior that you have an identity issue that you have not resolved in anyway," B'Nila said flatly, her tone moving from it's usual calm and cool, to an unemotional detachment. "I believe you do not recognize it because the flaw is not in your programing to detect. This incongruity will eventually cause a problem. And put simply if it is not addressed I fear it will affect you ability to perform your duties."

B'Nila leaned forward and tented her fingers slightly. "You insist you are naught but a program, yet you go out of your way to perform actions that have no true meaning. You work harder to appear as any other humanoid with you actions, and yet when you speak you deny this," She said as directly as she felt like being. "Almost none of my clients consume refreshments in my office, yet even though you do not require them in anyway, you chose to do so. Then after finishing your drink, while it would have been just as easy to wave a hand and make the glass disappear you put it back into the replicator as all other non-holographic cups are placed. You seem to work so very hard to create the appearance and then work just as hard to dispel it. It is almost as if you want to be seen and accepted as a sentient and sapient being, yet you fear what such a thing would mean."

She leaned back. "If I am wrong then I am wrong, but I believe there is an incongruity here and I believe you behavior is purposeful in calling attention to it."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #18 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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Eve paused a moment, listening. At first she was ready to completely dismiss the woman's words as nonsence, but as B'Nila continued Eve also noticed some of what she was saying. The little quirks that had manifested, both here in the woman's office and earlier. She had no need to 'read' anything, yet she had done so. She continued to stand there as she mulled this over. She knew little things like this had been included in her program, and she knew why they were. She was designed for long term medical use and biological entities were a bit more at ease around a medical professional who they could relate to instead of just a smattering of photons and computer code.

Eve moved over to the chair once more and sat. She did not cross her legs like before, in fact she seemed more rigid than before. A little nervous even. "I see your point. I was designed for medical purposes, that being said if a conflict should arise against that I should isolate the area of my program that caused it and separate it from the rest of me so that I can continue to function. A contingency if you will to ensure that where ever I am is not left without medical aid. But to what end?"

Eve quickly stood again and started to pace back and forth in front of the chair. "The fact remains, that conflict did happen. When I deactivated myself out of fear."

She stopped a moment and looked at B'Nila. "I didn't leave the ship without a medical professional though. The ship's staff is quite capable. That might be why I allowed such, and why I don't see it as a problem. But it did happen. What if it had happened while I was the only medical officer available? I was designed to work with minimal, if any, support. Alone if you will. I'm not exactly a prototype, but my program is still new. What if one of the versions of me installed on an outpost alone were to have this happen? Many could die."

Eve resumed pacing for a moment, not saying anything before stopping again and looking to B'Nila once more. "In light of this information, I'm afraid I'm left with only one conclusion, to agree with Thea's recommendation to limit my program's access to certain functions. First and foremost I am a doctor, if there is something about me that would compromise that, I would rather it be isolated and examined than have it continue to pose a risk to my ability to provide medical aid."

Her answer to the problem is to remove the potential problem. As the legendary Spock would say, she thinks in two dimensional terms. She doesn't recognize that there are other options other than just limiting her program. With her admittedly limited run time, she is still in a learning phase.

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #19 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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Though it was not uncommon for B'Nila to hear her patients deny what she would normally call a simple reality, it was still a frustration nonetheless. To B'Nila the problem was not one to be solved through restriction and reprogramming, but instead through the use of conversational therapy and allowing the adaptive programing of the LMH to do their job.

As Eve drew to a close B'Nila leaned forward. "There is of course another possibility," she began gently. "You could decide you want to talk about this. You can open yourself up to the idea of learning and adapting from the experience you had. We can talk about the situation and what made you so afraid. We can come up with a plan of action in the future and even discuss a range of other topics. But for that you would need to be my patient and not one simply ordered to be here." Her golden eyes narrowed. "I don't promise you it will be easy. In fact I doubt it will be. Your sapience in and of itself is a complex topic, but I feel we should move forward on the assumption that you can be treated as any other member of the crew."

She leaned back in her chair and studied the holographic woman before her for a long moment. "Though I will leave the choice as your own. I am certain there are technicians on this ship who could tamper with your code to get a result, however I doubt it would leave you any more prepared for the future than you were, perhaps even less prepared than you are now."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #20 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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Eve sat there motionless for a moment, not even the simulation of her breathing seemed to function. If someone were to be monitoring her active code at that moment it would be seen that a new process was started that was consuming nearly all of her program to execute. It seemed to have no function at all other than to eat up computing cycles and cause the rest of her to be put on hold. The only part of her that seemed to be uninterrupted was her physical image.

Without any warning though she started breathing again, one by one all of her simulated functions started returning, blinking a couple of times, her eyes looking around again instead of the blank stare at B'Nila. But she continued to sit there, unmoving or speaking for several more moments. If she had been human, on might assume that the Counselor had said something to piss her off and she was taking a moment to calm down.

"That's the problem though. I'm not a member of the crew. Sure, I have a function, when I have one, just like any other member of the crew. But I'm not. When I'm not needed, I'm just turned off. When I'm online, it's because there is an emergency. Yes, in times of quarantine I get the privilege of extended online time because I'm the only one who is incapable of contracting anything biological, but once things are said and done, I'm just shut off again."

She shifted herself slightly to appear more relaxed. The new process that completely halted her a moment ago having almost completed by now.

"You can treat me however you like, and if I have the ability and am allowed, I will even react to how I'm treated. But at the end of the day, or more accurately at the end of when I'm needed, I'm still just a program."

She leaned forward slightly as if to try and emphasize what she was about to say next.

"Now, don't get me wrong, I have no problem with this. But what is that nice little phrase, 'you can't have your cake and eat it too'? By that, I think before I can make the choice that's before me, you and the command staff might have to make a choice first. Am I just an advanced supplemental computer program that came prepackaged as part of the ship? Or am I a member of the crew?"

She leaned back in the chair, but as a demonstration that she was still not fully relaxed she did not cross her legs as she would have in this situation.

"If the former, then I'm afraid the choice is not up to me. A malfunction happened, and the cause should be isolated and repaired. If the latter, then I will agree to seek counseling regarding my actions on one condition. People stop turning me off when ever they feel like they don't need me any more."

While she did feel slightly annoyed that she was simply turned off all the time, she didn't actually care either way. If she was just a program with some humanizing traits added in then she would continue as normal, following her programming and identifying herself as a program to prevent confusion. If she was to actually become a member of the crew though...

The program from earlier having completed it's purpose and ending, her program returned to the state it was in before it had even run as though it had never been there. It's entire purpose being to run through every memory she had from every activation since the inception of her program, even those before her first activation on the ship and she became truly separate from the other versions of her lineage.

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #21 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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A frown made it's way across B'Nila's face as she listened to other woman speak. The nature of the conversation was one she was indeed having a hard time wrapping her head around. She knew only a little of the cases involving artificial lifeforms gaining recognizable sapience, but she also knew what was in front of her. If The being before her could adapt and change, learn and in some ways grow, then she would have to be treated in a certain way.

"I think you may be looking at this from an incorrect point of view. You assume yourself to have no say in your own existence, yet your actions have proven that you have some degree of control over it. Such self determination should not be so casually abandoned because it does not fit easily into the definitions of personhood we have today," she replied smoothly, doing her best to keep her frustrations in check. She felt a pang for this being before her, a being she would have assumed felt nothing, yet evidence implied this was not entirely true. There was more to this then simple mechanics, it was more complex, more expansive than could be predicted, like all life. "I would say you should have as much control over your treatment as anyone else on this ship does. Of course the final decision will come down to those in authority, but that is how it works with almost every other member of the crew."

She paused for a moment and collected her thoughts. "And to say you are not a member of the crew would be untrue. You are detached in a way, a problem I think will need to be addressed in some manner very shortly," she went on. In fact she had a plan to send a message to both Doctor Nicander shortly after this appointment ended detailing what she thought should be done. "But that does not make you less a member of the crew. I think given time you will form bonds as any other would, though that can only happen if you allow it to. You are as capable as you chose to be, at least that is how it appears from my rather unique point of view."

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #22 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's Office | Deck Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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Eve tilted her head slightly, watching the woman before her as she spoke.

"I don't think you understand. You are biological, you exist under a different set of rules than I do. If I were Human, this conversation wouldn't even be a thing."

She slumped back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap.

"I do appreciate that you are trying to see me as just another person. But you are viewing me through outside eyes. If you knew what it was like to be me you might see things a little differently."

She turned her head to look across the room at the replicator a moment, thinking on all the times she's used on outside of medical work.

"I just don't think that's possible though."

She just sort of trails off at the end there as she looks back to B'nila.

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #23 –
[ PO1 B'Nila Skai | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: TrexelCat
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B'Nila could not deny the point. She did not know what it was like to be in Eve's shoes. Though if memory did serve there was a holoprogram written not that long before that had something of that in mind. She would need to do some research, but it was entirely possible she was misremembering as well.

"Perhaps that is the case, but I also think that you have decided you are different. That you are exempt in some way from being considered part of the crew," B'Nila said thoughtfully. "Though I am unsure if I can say anything to convince you of otherwise right now. I think I will need to do a degree of research and you will need a degree more lived experience in order to come to any terms that can be acceptable."

It was clear to B'Nila that at this point they were pretty much at an impasse. She knew she could argue the point indefinitely, but that then it would not come naturally. Eve needed to get there on her own. "I think we should meet again in a couple of days. After you have had a chance to interact with more people and I have had a chance to do a little bit of research into cases similar to yours. Would that be agreeable?"

Re: Day 02 [1830 hrs.] An Unorthodox Session

Reply #24 –
[ EVE Program AK-1 | Counselor's office | Deck 9 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Absinthe
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Eve blinked a couple of times at hearing this. After a few moments though she nodded. Extended online time, this could be interesting. She was designed for it so she wasn't worried about program degradation, but what was she going to do with all that extra time.

"Sounds reasonable. I would be interested in finding out what research you come up with."

Even then slowly stood from her seat and offered the woman a smile and was about to issue the command to deactivate her program, purely out of habit. Even computer programs can develop those. She shook her head slightly then held up her left hand a moment.

"I think I should probably head back to sickbay. To be available for medical needs."

She then turned to head out the door, instead of just simply transferring her program. The counselor suggested that she get to know people, and she can't do that as easily if she were to just zip about the ship's circuitry to get from point A to point B.
 
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