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Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Primary Computer Core | Deck 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Auctor Lucan, @Brutus
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There were moments in Alistair's career when, despite his best efforts, he had (as an exasperated colleague had once described) gone Max Nerd. The first time that he'd sat at the Ops station onboard the Pioneer had been one such moment. His first day in the DTI office on Vulcan had been another. Now, faced with the prospect of working with an actual AI, Alistair could feel that excited headiness that made him feel like a boy again, instead of the 38-year old man that he was.

Still, whatever he was feeling, Alistair was also a professional. Thus, after dealing with some other work that morning, he took a couple of minutes to replicate some coffee and center himself, reminding himself that Thea likely wouldn't appreciate wild enthusiasm. It was only a check-up, to be sure, but it was still serious business, every bit as much as when Sarah had examined him the week prior. As Alistair headed up to Deck 2, he thought about how Sarah had treated him, noting her mannerisms, her professional demeanour, and how she'd eased his concerns. It was a good example to follow.

One unexpected side effect of thinking about Sarah, however: by the time Alistair reached the Primary Computer Core, he was smiling like a lovesick puppy. Only realising how dumb he must look as he arrived outside the room, Alistair coughed before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Good morning Thea," he said, apparently to nobody. Alistair eyed the door curiously; unlike most doors onboard the Theurgy, it was heavily secured and firmly locked to protect what lay within. "How are you today?"


Main Computer Core:
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Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #1 –
[ USS Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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When her C-47 subroutine picked up the question on Deck 2, the filter redirected the query given the lack of automated reply, and it reached Thea within 3,602 nanoseconds. She replied through the intercom since her projection was occcupied talking to Deputy zh'Wann in the Security Centre.

[Good morning, Lieutenant,] she said, and while the voice was disembodied, her positronic mind watching the time-traveller through the multiple surveillance units mounted in the deckhead outside her main computer core. [I am well, thank you for asking. My interface will be with you shortly. Please, step inside.]

The sliding doors parted for Lieutenant Leavitt, welcoming him into the area aboard that housed the very centre of her presence across the her three hulls, interconnected by her subspace synchronisation link. Watching him through her live feeds, she could see the reinforced dome that protected her positronic brain, as well as the empty Flag Bridge that surrounded it. It also served at the Diplomatic Council of late, even though there weren't enough representatives from other factions save the Diplomatic Corps aboard that used it. Indeed, given her renegade status, the area meant for Admirals and Ambassadors had yet to see the use it was intended for. Yet given the tide of the war against the Infested, the area might potentially come to proper use soon enough.

As her conversation with the Deputy had been concluded, she accessed her transporter systems and locked on to her emitter. She energised, and materialised in front of Alistair with her arms folded behind her back, shoulders squared. She smiled at him, quite liking him so far given his concern for her well-being, even if she found it unmerited. "How are you today?"

She knew they were waiting for Commander Natalie Stark as well, and as if on cue, her internal sensors picked up her presence outside, so she turned her head and opened the sliding doors for her as well.

OOC: Pardon the slight delay, weekend was rough but I have a good week ahead of me, picking up where I am due. Awesome starter and I look forward to this scene. :)

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #2 –
 [Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Primary Computer Core | Deck 02 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Griff @Auctor Lucan  
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The last week since the climatic battle that had seen Natalie Stark, then Lt. Commander, in the center seat of the Theurgy in the middle of a burgeoning Klingon Civil war had been an eventful one to say the least. So much had happened in those seven days that Nat was only now finding time to wrap her head around it all. She still was getting used to the red of her collar, instead of the yellow she'd worn all her career, and the third gold pip that had replaced the black one she'd only just gotten used to seemed all the more heavy. That didn't mean she wasn't rising to the occasion, and in fact was aware of her own success so far. But she still felt the change.

Almost three hours into Alpha shift, the ships recently minted XO was making her way to one of the most fascinating rooms aboard the USS Theurgy: the ships Primary Computer Core. Which also happened to be the metaphorical heart and soul (and literal brain) of the ships AI, Thea. The positronic brain that ran the whole ship sat there in that room, and it was one that Natalie had spent many a shift in, updating, tinkering, and generally conversing with. Back when she had first joined the crew of the Theurgy, the 'health' of Thea's brain had been one of the duties Natalie was often assigned to do in her roll as Assistant Chief of Operations. She had many dedicated technicians whose sole job was to keep an eye on that brain, and the operating system of the Theurgy as a whole, but it was often her job to actually make changes if the need arose. Her Masters Degree in Artificial Intelligence and years of published works in the field, in addition to her slew of duties and skills accumulated in her tenure in Starfleet Operations through various ship deployments had been the tipping point that netted her the position in the first place. 

She'd been far less hands on in the care of the ships AI since the string of promotions and additional duties she'd taken on after the ship had begun its flight across Federation space. In truth she could count on one hand the number of times she'd set foot in this room since assuming her duties as Chief of Operations as the ship was arriving in the Niga system. Missing a step with the realization, she nearly spilled her coffee - ever present as it was - but managed to prevent much more than a small splash escaping to the deck. Hissing at the sting of the heated liquid on her slightly tanned skin - a hold over from shore-leave a few weeks back - the Martian scowled at her reflection in one of the nearby wall panels. 

"You're going in there today to make sure everything is ship shape, so don't beat yourself up because you can't do it as much as you want to anymore. That's why you have people like Lt. Leavitt." Scolding herself did the trick well enough. And Natalie was forced to admit that her new Assistant Chief of Operations - well, Selena's new ACOps, she supposed - was eager to take on the duties. Such enthusiasm ought to be encouraged, she wagered, and was happy to provide the other officer whatever technical support she could, as the resident expert on Thea's brain. Though again, she had to admit that the woman who replaced Nat in the position of Ops Chief, Selena Ravenholm had a wholly unique and utterly different appreciation for Thea's positronic brain than either Natalie or Alistair, and one that neither could quite hope to mimic. 

Still, Nat had pulled rank and was looking forward to the chance to step out of the shoes of First Officer and indulge her preferred area of academic expertise. 

Thus she too was smiling when she entered the doors of the Primary Computer Core, and managed not to be caught off guard by the fact that Thea was staring right at Natalie as the later entered the room. This was hardly the first time the ships avatar had used her rather vast array of sensors to take advantage of the situation and been prepared to greet Natalie (or anyone else) before they had made their presence formally know. 

You get used to it, she thought as she stepped through, letting the doors shut behind her, and transferring her mug of coffee to her off hand. From there she extended her hand to shake those of the occupants in the room, feeling no need to stand on high formality. 

"Thea, Lt. Leavitt," she addressed each in turn, accompanying the shaking of hands with smiles for both. "I hope I haven't kept either of you waiting terribly long." She supposed that if she had, the Lieutenant at least wasn't going to point it out. She certainly wouldn't have said anything to Commander Ziegler back when Natalie herself had been a Lieutenant in the same position that Alistair Leavitt now occupied.

OOC: Slowly making my way through my backlog

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #3 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Primary Computer Core | Deck 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Auctor Lucan, @Brutus
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"Good to hear," Alistair answered the disembodied voice with a grin. It was oddly novel to have a conversation with Thea like that. As the doors opened, he added jovially upwards "thanks!", feeling more amused than was merited by the experience.

With that, Alistair moved inside. The flag bridge was as impressive as he had expected. In terms of size, it wasn't actually that large, but the room was intimidating all the same. Stepping inside, Alistair's eyes were immediately drawn to Thea's positronic brain, but he looked around as well, imagining what the place had been built for. In times of crisis or conflict, an admiral and their staff could coordinate hundreds or even thousands of starships from that one room, aided by the formidable power of Thea. The fates of entire wars could be decided right there. It was a daunting thought, even if the Theurgy's current situation made it unlikely that the Flag Bridge would ever be used for its designed purpose.

And then Alistair's good cheer turned to confusion as someone else entered the room, also amicably greeted by Thea.  The red uniform and three gold pips were unmistakable; this was surely Commander Natalie Stark, the XO. Even so, Alistair was taken back by her demeanour; she didn't look like an XO at all. There was none of the usual rod-up-the-ass or implied I-can-kick-your-ass-with-my-pinky air that most XO's carried. Stark just looked...normal. Friendly, even, at first glance, judging by how she'd greeted them.

"Good morning Commander," Alistair said slowly, looking between Stark and Thea. "You're not late at all, I just arrived. I didn't know that you were coming, actually. I mean, it, uh, makes sense, I guess. This is a highly secure area, so I appreciate that supervision would be required for Thea's check-up. I'm still sort of a stranger to you, I get that. I'll try not to bore you too much as I work. Hopefully Thea is right, there's nothing wrong and we're all done within an hour."

Try as he might, Alistair couldn't keep the exasperation out of his voice. Working with a superior officer looking over his shoulder, especially a superior officer who surely didn't know a thing about positronic computing, was going to be a pain in the ass. Still, the real world didn't always conform to expectations. He'd just have to live with it. The work had to be done, even if Thea didn't believe that the exam was necessary.

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #4 –
[ USS Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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Having too little experience with organic social interactions to catch on to the subtleties of interactions - especially when one of them was an unfamiliar individual - Thea didn't register any idle lamentations of Alistar's when it came to the presence of the First Officer. Instead, she readily exchanged a handshake with the woman and smiled to her - Stark being one of the longest surviving officers of the crew serving aboard her.

For some reason, she recalled a moment shared with the Commander, in which they had both been trying to reach her Main Bridge during the Niga Incident. The infected crew had taken the Transporter Systems offline, and they were trying to get past a couple of infected engineers in a corridor. In accordance with Stark's inspired idea, Thea had accessed the holographic medical journal of Deputy zh'Wann - her being known as a vector of the virus at the time - and she had resequenced her holographic interface projection to resemble the Deputy. Thus, seemingly being one of them, they had fooled the infected that they were like-minded, and they had managed to pass by. This was the same manner of ploy she had used only a week ago, when she'd adopted the holographic image of Chancellor Martok and lured out the Klingon traitor Rov, son of Pekdal. The assassin had stabbed the false image of Martok, and exposed himself to the present Security officers. And thus, the murderer of so many of her crew had seen justice at the hand of the Klingon High Council, reports suggesting he was due for a death sentence.

"While I have great faith in my own diagnostics and the calibrations my subroutines have received since Lin Kae gave me free will, there is a saying on Earth about fresh eyes that might apply today," she said, unsure if she had to explain further, but did so for sake of  absolute clarity, "Bringing 'fresh eyes' to a problem is to look at it from a previously unconsidered point of view. In this case, being Lieutenant Leavitt's."

Stepping towards the centre console, which encircled the dome of transparent aluminium that her positronic brain was ensconced in, Thea led the way to where the work ought to be conducted. "Humbly, I say I have confidence that my personality matrix does not harbour any lingering issues, but with the repairs of my three hulls yet being complete, I fear that there might be issues when it comes to my extended network. Those, however, does not immediately impair my A.I., so they ought to remain outside the scope of this diagnostic."

Having given her advise, she stepped aside and watched the two organics accessing the console, Stark having to grant security clearance to the Lieutenant to access her program. The restricted usage wasn't just due to the locale, with the Diplomatic Corps recently coming to use the Flag Bridge, since with Thea's A.I. being a critical part of the ship, access was severely limited.

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #5 –
 [Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Primary Computer Core | Deck 02 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Griff @Auctor Lucan  
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Remembering all the damage that had been done to the flag bridge over the months that had ensued since Theurgy first learned of the threat lurking beyond the veil of the galaxy, Natalie had to admit that the place was looking better than it ever really had. She was pleased with how her teams - as well as technicians from the Aldeans and the KDF - had worked hard to restore the center to prime condition, and even offer up improvements. She ran her hand over the back of one such console, enjoying the cool feel of the duranium casing, and the quiet thrum of power that she could perceive just beneath the surface of its control interface.

Offering the Lieutenant what she hopped was a reassuring smile as she looked up at him - she looked up at everyone, a minor annoyance given she was rather young for her rank and position, and being short certainly didn't help instill a sense of authority - and tried to put the man at ease. He was babbling in a fashion that she was all too familiar with, and found it all the more ironic given he had a decade of experience and age on her. Then again, her own experiences had been harrowing, and Natalie had to admit she was not the same person that joined the Theurgy as a Lieutenant eager to work side by side with a prototype ship's AI. 

Much of that person remained, but she had also been tempered in a crucible as brutal as any moment during the Dominion War, if not more so in its fashion. 

None of which manifested in the moment, as Natalie was doing her best to be warm and reassuring, not firm and resolute. The former came naturally to her, the latter, she was still working on. I promise its not a reflection on you, Lieutenant. I've simply been around to watch Thea grow into the person she's become, and for the vast majority of the time I've been posted on this ship, Thea's health and wellbeing have been my direct responsibility. I'm looking forward to seeing how you take on such duties and what insights you might bring to this.

"And frankly its been a while since I sat down in here and saw for myself how things are going." She offered an apologetic smile and small shrug of her shoulders. "Part of my job as Executive Officer is to evaluate all the crew and see how they handle their tasks, and look after their wellbeing. This is a good way for me to check up on the both of you at the same time and offer any feedback that might come to mind." She was happy to piggyback her points off of those that Thea raised.

Stepping past the two, Natalie strode with confidence up to the central housing unit for Thea's positronic brain. She looked down at the device with more than a little visible affection, before moving her hand over an input control station nearby. "There is also the teeny, tiny matter of access authorization," she glanced back over her shoulder before placing her hand palm down on the panel.

"Computer, Identify: Stark, Natalie, Commander; Authorization code: Stark-Upsilon-Sigma-2-2-7." An echo of Thea's voice that somehow lacked a certain presence that was apparent when the AI herself was addressing Natalie responded out of the console, acknowledging her credentials. "Grant temporary maintenance access to Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt. Unlock diagnostic protocols."

There was a four note tone that followed, and the screens around the room activated one after another, before Natalie removed her hand and turned to the junior officer. "Well Lieutenant, lets get started, shall we?"

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #6 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Primary Computer Core | Deck 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Auctor Lucan, @Brutus
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Stark's note that she had been once been directly responsible for Thea's health prompted a relieved smile from Alistair. Of course: she must've been Ops chief before becoming the XO. It certainly made sense. She didn't have the strong look of a security officer, the hands-on attitude of an engineer or the casual cockiness of a CONN officer. The realisation that Stark wouldn't just be a spectator changed Alistair's entire mood, and his enthusiasm returned with a vengeance, but there was still one thing that had to be done.

Turning to Thea, he said, "Alright, I don't know how this normally goes with other specialists that you've known, but since Starfleet regs and Federation law haven't caught up to us yet, here's what I propose. This is a medical check-up. Everything that happens here is private and confidential unless it directly affects shipboard operations and safety. No treatment of any kind shall be applied to your core without your express consent. I know that should all go without saying anyway, but I wanted to be up front about it."

With that taken care of, Alistair moved to one of the consoles that ringed Thea's core, ignored the chair and began typing rapidly. "I'm inputting diagnostic parameters," he explained to the others as he worked. "We're going to do a live diagnostic, Thea, assessing how your processes respond to specific programs and stimuli in real time. If there's information decay, we should be able to track the positronic feedback through your systems architecture to find the problem. This is a civilian diagnostic method that you may not have encountered before, a bit different to what your creators use. If there are any problems in your matrix, either because of your rapid maturation or the Savi's influence from your time on the Versant, this diagnostic will find them."

After a few more moments of work, Alistair turned back from the console, smiling in his enthusiasm as he rolled his muscular shoudlers. He glanced at Stark, looking forward to seeing how she reacted to what was coming. "Okay, Thea, tap into the holo-emitters please, and project a live image using the diagnostic parameters that I just entered per the Phvut-Malik template. Give us three fields per nexus: positron-electron annihilation rate, quantum variance and positronic charge."

With that, slowly, a web of light came to life around the three of them, emanating from Thea's core. The web consisted of various colours, forming a dramatic rainbow representation of Thea's mind that filled the entire room. As time passed, parts of the web glowed brighter or grew dimmer as Thea's thought processes ran, highlighting that it was indeed a 'live' image. After taking a moment to appreciate the sight, Alistair began peering at at points in the web around him, using his hands to rotate it and manipulate the scale. The hologram had no physical substance like a holodeck could create, but it was clearly designed to be easily operable.

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #7 –
[ USS Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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"Aye, Lieutenant," Thea said with a smile and complied with the instruction. She executed the Phvut-Malik template projection, showing the three parameters in the fashion the template generated. The main computer core came to life in photonic light projections, pulsating in sync with her own inner workings. She looked around, unfamiliar with the layout of the civilian template, but it wasn't difficult to deduce which data streams her optical sensors saw as she turned her head. The play of lights looked almost musical, in how the math shimmered across the walls and her interface projection. What struck her, as she gazed at it all, was how the template allowed for a different manner of detail than what her own internal diagnostics usually portrayed through the LCARS interface.

"When my crew and I were beset by the Ishtar Entity," she said quietly as she looked at the play of lights that surrounded them all, "she made me human. Not through simulation, or at least by any manner of simulation known to us. By then, Lin Kae had already granted me free will, but it was the genuine human experience that was the most transformative for me. It opened me up to the reality of what organic life was like. How to feel, think and appreciate my life through your kind of nerves, your eyes, and your minds. Since then, having shared in the human experience, my personality matrix has adapted accordingly."

She paced the circular room, and her brown eyes followed the pulse of the positron-electron feed, thinking that - perhaps - something of the same might be seen in a human brain's play of synapses. The building blocks of hers were not the same as that of the two organics in the room, not having the quantum variances and positronic charges that were on display, but she wondered how different it might be to put their individual consciousnesses on display, since their were more of a mystery than her own despite the current advancements in the neurological sciences. She continued to speak, hardly with any pause.

"This was the reason why the Savi abducted me in the Azure Nebula, because my personality matrix was unique through that very experience," she said, thinking of the experience of being ripped out of her physical platform - the starship body she'd been installed into. The Savi had claimed both the brain on display in the room, along with her prototype mobile emitter. "While the experience was... unsettling, they never subjected my interface projection to testing, likely finding my sensory mapping not that interesting. Instead, they built what they called the Synthesis Code from my personality matrix, in which they were able to retro-engineer what you are both seeing in this room. Copying it as a base template for other A.I."

Pausing, she glanced at Stark, whom were likely aware of what had happened when the abductees escaped the Versant. "We managed to reclaim my positronic brain from the Savi when Captain Ives took over their dreadnought, and I also copied the Synthesis Code from their Archive. I know it was a completed project already since the Savi had installed the code into Commander Tiran's robotic owl - Albert - but I was afraid, during the Battle of the Apertures, that I might loose the data when we were defending the bridge from the Savi crew. Therefore, I uploaded the Synthesis Code to V-Nine, the surgical android now working in sickbay. I still retain a copy of the Synthesis Code, but I have not uploaded it to another platform since then. Captain Ives has ordered me not to do so without permission, since in essence... I am holding the means to create sapient life inside a platform that has enough processing power and components to load the code."

It was a philosophical, ethical debate, as to whether or not she - or Ives - had the right of that argument, but it was a discussion postponed for the time being. She was curious as to what Stark might think about it, nonetheless.

She then looked towards the Lieutenant, and wished to 'lighten the mood' a bit.

"So, see anything interesting?" she quipped with a smile.

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #8 –
[Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Primary Computer Core | Deck 02 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Griff @Auctor Lucan 
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A pleased smile flickered over Natalie's features as she stepped away and settled herself into one of the nearby seats, though she was sure she'd pop right backup at some point soon, one Alistair got to work. For now though she wanted to continue to put him at ease, and having her hover directly over his shoulder - so to speak - would probably do the opposite of that. Besides, the eager Operations officer was taking the time to run Thea though his purposed course of action, which was a mark in his favor as far as the XO was concerned. Many of those that had served alongside Thea since the ship launched treated her like the person she had grown into and had little to no issue with her 'personhood'. But Natalie was aware that this was not always the case with new arrivals. Not everyone thought that a self aware AI was a good thing for a ship to begin with, let alone that such awareness constituted person-hood and all the rights that came with it.

Not to mention all the nasty rumors that had been spread by the FNS on behalf of the conspiracy running Starfleet Command. Pure hogwash about Thea replacing the crew with Holograms and leading a rampage all on her own. What claptrap, she thought, a moment of bitter resentment coloring her otherwise good mood. Forcing herself to set that aside, Natalie took her coffee back up and sipped it slowly, letting Alistair set the parameters of the diagnostic. She'd have to get a look at the program he was using later, and wondered about his choice to go through a civilian program suite instead of the standard Starfleet issue.

Of course Natalie was well aware that there was nothing standard about Thea, so perhaps this mildly unorthodox methodology would net new insight. It was certainly a pretty insight, she was happy to admit, pausing with her mug halfway between her lips and the nearest tabletop as motes of rainbow light formed strings of webbing, cascading into existence and showering the trio in a colorful spray of reflected radiance. If the sole reason he chose that program was because it would be beautiful, I can't find any fault with it. The familiarity he seemed to possess with the program was promising from a professional stand point, and Nat swapped out her mug for a PaDD, making a note of just that.

Blinking slowly, Natalie turned her attention to the AI as she regaled Alistair with a bit of a history lesson, from a personal standpoint. The Ishtar event had been much more beneficial to some than others, though Natalie supposed the beings general intentions had leaned toward the 'helpful' category, if not exactly painless. Her own encounter had, eventually, helped her deal with some of the trauma of the previous months. If asked for her honest opinion she still would have said the whole thing sucked, opened up wounds she'd not yet even fully healed, and would have much rather found a different way of coping, thank you very much. For Thea however, Natalie could see how it had led to a great leap forward in the woman's own growth.

For that, Natalie could be grateful.

Even as Thea vocalized it all, Natalie had thought on to the next major step forward, at the hands of the Savi, and wondered at what further repercussions their mapping of Thea's matrix might lead to in the future, merging it with their own Code. For her part, Natalie had been far too mundane and thus, 'scientifically insignifigant' to merit further study, or 'correction' as had been forced upon many of the hybrid members of the crew. This had left her in the precarious position of commanding her own starship, one of Thea's vectors. A period of growth for her as well, she could no longer deny.

What is it about this ship that leads to so many damned ethical quandaries? Natalie thought. She and Ives often agreed about many of the Captains decisions, but even she was uncomfortable with the edict that Ives had given Thea. She watched the AI, and the Lieutenant, trying to judge how each really felt, but held her piece. This was hardly the place for that debate, and as XO, even if she personally disagreed with Ives, she couldn't very well say it and undermine their leadership. She had too much respect for the Chameloid to do that to them, as well as too much of an appreciation for the Chain of Command. Especially in their precarious position visa vie the rest of Starfleet.

That said, it wasn't as if anyone else on the ship needed to ask Ives permission to have a child. If Thea was a person that came with certain reproductive rights. But that slippery slope would only lead to a migraine that Natalie did not need. Instead she turned, smiling at Leavitt, and added, "Yes Lieutenant, how are we doing so far?"

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #9 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Primary Computer Core | Deck 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Auctor Lucan, @Brutus
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As Thea spoke, Alistair's entire focus was on the holographic web, moving to various floating coloured orbs and occasionally tapping holographic controls. He only occasionally nodded in response to Thea's recollections as a part of his mind absent-mindedly reflected on what she was saying. Her explanation of the Synthesis Code was a profound ethical quandry, albeit not the first such example on record.

"I'd say that we're doing well," Alistair said, glancing at Thea and Stark. "You're very interesting, Thea. There are similarities to the Soong androids, but your matrix is less brute force and more...uh...graceful, I guess? Elegant? Sorry if that's not appropriate." He smiled self-consciously before continuing. "As you talked, I could track your positron flow to each memory, and then track what parts of your matrix were affected by each experience. See here, for example?" Alistair pointed at one of the most distant points of the web, which was connected to the rest of the matrix with one slender thread. "That's the Synthesis Code."

He moved to the waist-height orb that was almost touching a bulkhead, expanding it until it was a two meter tall wall of numbers and text that would've been gibberish to the untrained eye. "You know, people could spend decades studying this code. It uses a completely different code base to Federation tech, and the quantum interdependencies don't even look possible, plus these kappa ...uh...sorry."

Alistair smiled self-consciously, closing the wall of text back to an orb. "Not relevant. Anyway, I can tell that the Savi experience didn't have a substantial impact on your matrix outside your core personality processes. Minimum variance across the board, good positron flows, all the good stuff. I'd like to run extra analyses afterwards just in case, but the main computer can handle that automatically. If you ever decide to use this code, I think it'd be safe for you, judging by this."

Then Alistair moved to another portion of the web and opened another wall of text. "This, though...this is related to the Ishtar experience." He paused, skimming the code, and frowned. "I don't know much about the Ishtar thing, to be honest, other than that some powerful being decided to play with the crew. I focused more on the Niga horror show, that evil future dreadnought and the fight with the Borg. Making you human was an incredible gift, and it had a huge effect on your entire matrix, but I don't see...uh..."

Still reading the wall of code as it steadily scrolled, Alistair shook his head in confusion. "I'm not sure what I'm looking at here. It's like nothing I've ever seen before...whatever you did during this time period, it doesn't translate very well to this medium. Commander, do you have any ideas?"

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #10 –
[ USS Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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When the Synthesis Code was singled out, Thea smiled and quietly followed the Lieutenant to the data sphere that the diagnostic revealed. Looking at the coded strings, and how much of it that the Savi had to use in order to encapsulate the key findings and create  something executional, Thea also found the upgrade they had created fascinating in how it could integrate with already present non-sapient computer intelligences. That was why V-Nine and herself were entirely different personalities, since the Synthesis Code had upgraded the pre-existing sub-routines in the surgical android's hardware. Albert's hardware - the owl's - had been upgraded by the Savi in order to run the code, but V-Nine had already been advanced enough to be upgraded. Standard starship computers of the Starfleet variety did lack numerous key components for her to make them sapient with an upload, but as for the Theurgy-class sisters of hers in pre-production?

She was fairly certain that their positronic matrices were compatible. Thea didn't know how, or if, that fact would have any consequences for the mission or the future, but it was an observation that she had stored in her memory banks.

Lieutenant Leavitt moved towards an area of her positronic consciousness that addressed the Ishtar Incident, and asked a question rather poignant to what was stored there. Thea smiled and cleared her throat, elucidating them both about why the code they were looking at was incomprehensible. She answered in Commander Stark's stead, since the answer was readily available.

"What you are looking at is what the Phvut-Malik projection makes of organic memories stored in an artificial platform," she said, and it made complete sense that there was no way for the diagnostic template to make sense of the memory engrams she had formed while she had been an organic human. "During the time of the incident, I existed separate from my hardware, with no kind of connection to the shipboard systems. The auxiliary starship computer was running all tasks aboard during the incident, while I had my transformative experience. If you add the parameter of time to this diagnostic, and compare my positronic matrix prior to post the incident, you will be able to see how much the organic memory engrams before you served to change me. Observe."

As if rewinding a holovid, the lights dancing inside the main computer core flickered at an accelerated rate, and Thea had the projection display a stardate above the transparent aluminium dome in the centre of the room. Suddenly, when they passed the time of the Ishtar Incident, the lights inside the room dimmed down.

"This is stardate 57489.45, which was before Ishtar visited us," she said, and while there was plenty of activity projected around them, it was altogether different nonetheless. More comparable to a Soong Android's positronic matrix. Cruder, efficient, angular. Man-made and artificial in a more traditional sense. Less... 'graceful' or 'elegant', as Alistair had put it. She then fast-forwarded to the stardates following the incident, and the gradual expansion and shift in positronic activity could be seen in how the room grew brighter, exponentially expanding and evolving from the organic memories that she had stored in her memory banks. In the end, they had returned to the present stardate, and her current runtime made the lights dance around the room.

Wait... A digital thought gave her pause, having observed something she hadn't realised. Frowning, she stepped towards an area they had yet to visit. The area had not caught Thea's attention unless she'd compared it to her logged activities.

"Oh," she said quietly, seeing a part of her memory banks having fallen dark. She swallowed in the way an organic might, out of behavioural compulsion, seeing how all positronic lights going to the data sphere stopped short of access. She expanded the area more... and saw how there were processes and subroutines beyond the data sphere that she hadn't accessed in a long time - lying completely dormant. "It would seem I have restricted my own access to this area."

She looked towards the two others present in the room, hesitant about what she ought to do, since she surmised she had likely raised the encryptions for a reason.

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #11 –
 [Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Primary Computer Core | Deck 02 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Griff @Auctor Lucan  
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Alistair Leavitt was quite right - the possibilities within the Savi's Synthesis Code were numerous and could very easily be the study of a life time. The visage of a young holographer, a specialist in the field, flickered through Natalie's thoughts and the Martian had to work to bury her reaction behind a mask of pleasant attention, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Another name on the memorial wall, and one she knew shared a special history with Thea herself. He would have loved to get pull that code apart and learn everything that one could about it. And then probably spread it across the fleet, orders be damned.

But he was dead, and it fell to Leavitt to care for Thea's code and maintenance. 

Pulling herself out of that morose line of pondering, Natalie stood up again from her chair and stepped forward, arms behind her back as she leaned in so as to better observe the code, her lips pursing into a puzzled frown. Clearly the program was struggling to quantify and qualify the experience of organic life into something that could be broken down, analyzed and understood at a glance. Needless to say it was an exercise in futility. Still, it did its best, and Thea was more than happy - eager, if Natalie was any judge of emotion - to elaborate on the subject, jumping right in and earning a small grin from the ships First Officer, who straightened back up and gestured for the AI to continue.  

What followed was as beautiful as it was educational. I am really going to have to spend some time with this Phvut-Malik projection. Its simply fascinating. I wonder if it could be applied to Vanya? What sort of beauty it would render for her? Something to follow up on later, as Natalie circled the projection, shifting over the course of tracked time, noting the changes blossoming all over again in the simulation. "Breathtaking, truly," she whispered, almost to herself. 

Clearly something troubled Thea, and a frown mirrored itself across Natalie's expression as she straightened up. Now that it was pointed out, that small, dark patch stood out in stark contrast to the rest of Thea's positronic network. A distinct lack of color as poignant for its absence as the brilliance of other points in the map. A cold chill wormed its way down Natalie's spine, a sense of foreboding manifesting physically in a shiver. A new conundrum faced them and Natalie felt her throat go dry. 

Tugging the hem of her dark jacket down, the shorter woman took a breath and then clasped her hands behind her back, trying her damnedest to look collected, and not confrontational. "You are certain that you, yourself have set this encryption up? That it was not forced on you from the outside?" She waited for a moment, listening and nodding as appropriate.

"I don't need to be a telepath to tell you're clearly conflicted, Thea." Thought it would be nice to have a counselor present  for this. I think I'm going to need a professional. Ironic, since I - and the Lieutenant - are probably the authorities on Artificial Intelligence aboard. I should take a psyche refresher. "Clearly at some point in the past, you have encountered something, perhaps even acted in some fashion, that you desired to forget," or were ordered to do so, "and we have no discovered clear evidence of the extent to which you have gone to do just that. It could be a painful moment, it could be some secret so drastic to the nature of the mission, or yourself, that you deemed it better buried. A benefit of your nature, I suppose, is that you can simply block off that which you no longer wish to know."

There were some memories that Natalie wished she could forget, some hurts she'd like to never dwell on again. 

"The obvious question before you, before us, is do you allow yourself access to this. I cannot make that decision for you. Nor can Lt. Leavitt. You are your own person, and unless you were directly ordered by Captain Ives to forget about this, I certainly won't stop you if you decide you want to pry open what could very well be Pandora's box. You are a person, unique and entitled to all the agency there in that any of us would have." 

Gesturing between herself and Alistair, as if to illustrate what she meant, Natalie pursed her lips, a look of intense contemplation flowing over her face. "As you have just taken us on a journy back through the timeline of your growth as an AI and a person, can you use the same process to determine if the memories you have blocked away were secluded prior to the Ishtar Incident? And your experience as an organic being? And again, before the integration of the Synthesis code?" A small smile played across her lips as she explained.

"It is possible that if whatever you have forgotten happened prior to these events, you may now be much better equipped to process and deal with...whatever it is. Even if that means confronting it, feeling that which you would rather not, and doing what the rest of us more organic beings do: scheduling an appointment with Lt. Commander Hathev, or one of her staff." A wry grin passed over her lips. "Since I don't think drinking the experience away would be an option, and its certainly not the healthy choice."

She paused again, to let both Thea and Alistair process what she'd said, worrying if she'd overstepped, blurred the lines of professionalism and friendship, duty to the mission (because there was a chance that whatever was locked in there might so negatively impact Thea as to royally screw them over) and her duty to what she believed were Thea's inalienable rights as person. She also wished to let Alistair voice his own thoughts on the subject, as he was as much a participant in this moment as she was. In the end however, she stepped forward and placed a hand gently on the holograms shoulder. "Whatever you choose, it is your choice to make And whatever you face, I'll help however I can."

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #12 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Primary Computer Core | Deck 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Auctor Lucan, @Brutus
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"Both of us will," Alistair added seriously. He had been quiet as Thea presented her past, working silently all the while. He nevertheless paid attention as Stark spoke her piece, and Alistair found himself looking at the woman with increasing respect. She couldn't be older than thirty, young for an XO of a ship of the line, but her maturity, empathy and obvious intelligence were remarkable. He didn't want to imagine the traumatic events that must've shaped her into the woman that he saw. Combined with her attractiveness and easy smile, Alistair mused that before recent events, he could've easily become infatuated with such a woman.

He knew better now, of course. Traumatic events had shaped him too, for better and for worse.

"For what it's worth," Alistair said quietly, looking across the room at the two women, "I believe that this is something that you'll have to confront eventually. One thing that humans and AI's have in common is that repressing information can lead to long-term harm. Restricting access to this part of your core is a short-term fix. I'm sure it was necessary at the time. I can't even imagine the hell that you all went through, constantly on the run, always on alert, suffering more and more damage with each battle."

He stopped then, realising with a jolt that he actually did know what that was like. "You can delay accessing this, Thea, and it might take years before there are noticeable consequences. Decades, even. An expert team from the Daystrom Institute could handle this better than we can if you want to wait. If you choose to do this now, however, we'll be here through it all to monitor your core, repair your processes as needed and help you through whatever comes next. We can disconnect your core from ship systems to remove any distractions and eliminate any risk of feedback disrupting the Theurgy, so you won't have to worry about the crew."

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #13 –
[ USS Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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Finding herself indecisive, Thea stood there, listening to the sound advise of the two people that shared the room with her. For all her enthusiasm about showing her evolution as a person and a sapient being - however artificial she may be - she suddenly harboured doubts about the dependability of her runtime. Thea had thought she was in harmony with the subroutines and hardware through which her program ran, existing in homeostasis with her nature, though it appeared that may not entirely be the truth. For evidently, there were things about herself that she didn't know. Or at least, that she currently didn't know.

Stark asked if she was certain if the encryption was her own, but she dared not access it, running the risk of exposing what remained hidden. "I cannot say, since it may trigger an execution protocol... but the only one with master access is me," she said quietly, her frown creasing her brow as she looked at the dead part of her positronic matrix, feeling how the apprehension remained as a steady flow from her emotion chip. She swallowed, hearing Natalie speak, and then Alistair. She realised the decision had to be hers in the end.

Caught up in her self-diagnostics and advanced cost-benefit analyses, she didn't answer immediately, because she was uncertain that she had enough knowledge on hand to get a reliable estimate for the best course of action. She did know, of course, that she ought to work with the parameters and facts she had available... but what if her choice would be erroneous because she was lacking data?

Cautiously, when prompted about a time index for the encryption, she raised a hand towards the dead sphere of data, and felt her fingers trembling minutely. She ran a stand-alone time index analysis on it, without direct access, checking if the dead sphere appeared at a specific time. Slowly, she turned her hand clockwise, and then counter-clockwise - the stardate number increasing and decreasing.

"The... data remains the same, but that isn't indicative of how long it has been there, because the encryption is masking its time-index. It remains unchanged. I don't know when it appeared. It may have been here since I was commissioned, or it may have appeared yesterday. There is no way of telling. It's simply... there."

Like a blind spot, portending something that would make - likely her - seal it away.

In the end, she took a deep breath. "Further analysis required," she said, tilting her head a little. "With your help, Lieutenant, I would like to write a program that wards this data off from my positronic matrix and my other subroutines and systems. Only then, when the data is completely sealed into its own platform, and my personality matrix is detached from the dormant processes and subroutines hidden inside, I will execute access via a stand alone system interface. In other words... I will only risk access via intermediary rather than booting whatever lies beyond the encryption with my own systems."

However intriguing the find may be, Thea was shaken by the discovery, and she wasn't prepared to immediately access something that may have had a perfectly sound reason to be sealed away in order to optimise her performance. The data was likely personal to her as well, so she wasn't prepared to let someone else download it for analysis either. What if I did something that I wanted to hide? she thought, and the way her emotion chip interacted with her sensory mapping caused her to feel nauseous. What if I did something... that would make the crew distrust me, even hate me?

Suppressing a shiver, she turned to Alistair and Natalie, fidgeting a little with her hands. "I... need to run more analyses on what I ought to do, and in the meantime, I would greatly appreciate the help with the aforementioned program."

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #14 –
 [Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Primary Computer Core | Deck 02 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Griff  
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The revelations facing Thea were a lot to process for Natalie, let alone the sheer magnitude that must be weighing down on the Holographic AI. She had heard of other cases in the past, of course, where Artificial Intelligences warred with actions in their past, struggling to contextualize them and frustrating themselves to the point of potential cascade failures. It appeared that Lt. Leavitt had read his fair share of those reports as well, which was yet another mark in favor of the Operations officer. If he continued to perform with such knowledge and more importantly in her book, sense of ethics and understanding toward Thea (and ideally his more organic crew-mates), she could easily see herself putting him in for a mark of commendation at his annual performance review. 

Their odds of being alive in a year were not something Natalie wished to calculate at that time. The more immediately pressing concern about Thea took up her spare thought processes and focus. 

For Natalie, as she listened to Alistair's impassioned explanation and affirmation of support, and Thea's logic and request, the issue was quite pressing. She was faced with something of an ethical dilemma. After all, she was the First Officer of the Theurgy and she had to consider any pressing risks this subsection of secluded memory might pose to the crew, Thea's space frame, and their overall mission. Was helping Thea come to terms with whatever was bouncing around in her head enough to risk the potential damage if she went haywire? Weighing that against the rights that Natalie firmly believed Thea was entitled to as a sentient, sapient being left her in an uncomfortable position. There were certainly times when the right of the individual had to be set aside for the wellbeing of the mission or crew. And that was an aspect of command that Natalie was rapidly discovering she did not care for in the slightest. 

You're the officer on the spot though, you have to take the accountability and responsibility for what happens one way or another. The fact that the Thea herself was suggesting methods of encapsulation and separation boded well for the safety of the crew. And it gave her a reasonable out to research further instances for her own understanding. Running her tongue over her teeth, she gave Thea's proposition some considerable thought, and rubbed the knuckles of one hand into the palm of the other.

"As much as I am all for self reflection and actualization, I do believe the course you have put forth is the most prudent option ahead. Analyze and isolate, to ensure the safety of who you are now, as well as the ship and crew." If there happened to be any sting or bite to her words, Commander Stark hoped the smile that followed would ease that, and reassure Thea. "Honestly, you're handling this in a fashion far more mature than most humans I know when faced with repressed memories or potential trauma. Trust me on that, I do speak from experience.

"Other than possibly talking about this with one of our counselors, I think this is the right path forward, and I'd be happy to lend you, and Lt. Leavitt any help that I can. And Lieutenant, consider this a long term project that you're officially assigned for support. If you need other resources, I'm happy to make suggestions, but unless there is some sudden danger, Thea has final say on who else gets brought into this. They're your memories after all," Nat added, to the hologram.

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #15 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Primary Computer Core | Deck 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Auctor Lucan, @Brutus
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"Yes sir," Alistair said to Stark, recognising the tone of order. He wanted to argue more for immediate resolution, fearing the long-term consequences, but the decision had been made. In any case, it would be arch hypocrisy to disrespect Thea's informed decision after talking about respecting her right to choose her own treatment.

"It'll take a while to properly quarantine these memories for safe intermediary processing," Alistair mused as he considered the dark data sphere. "Positronic brains aren't really designed to be split like this, especially yours, Thea. I do have some ideas, though. It'll probably take some time. Weeks, at least, given that I need to look over any past modifications to your core programming, especially Lin Kae's work and logs. He might have some insights. I don't think anyone has done something quite like this before, even with the Soong androids, so I want to play it safe. We're not rushing this unless we have to."

Left unspoken was the uncomfortable realisation that this was the second classified project that Alistair had been assigned in as many days. On top of his already considerable other duties, the TDG work and Thea's project threatened to present an extremely heavy workload. Alistair considered pawning one of the projects off, or asking Selena for some leeway, but what choice was there? The hard truth was that Operations was already chronically understaffed and overworked, especially after the pounding that the Theurgy had received lately. He was one of only two people aboard with the training and skills to handle the infathomably complex TDG data, and flat out the only person aboard with the positronic expertise to help Thea. Stark and Selena were both evidently brilliant, at least his equal, but positronics was his specialty. Without him, Thea might have to wait months for a resolution.

Thus, resigned to the inevitable long nights in his future, Alistair smiled at Stark and Thea. "Lunch, anyone? I mean, uh...sorry Thea, I know you don't eat, but you're more than welcome to come along too."


OOC: Call it one more post from one or both of you and we call it a thread? I'm happy to write out lunch, mind you, if either/both of you are inclined.

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #16 –
[ USS Theurgy "Thea" NX-79854 | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
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The prospect of having to partition herself was intimidating to Thea, but unless a program could work as a safeguard against whatever was hidden there beyond the encryption... there might not be any other means for her to preserve the integrity of her current runtime. With this in mind, Thea was still grateful for the assistance offered by Commander Stark and Lieutenant Leavitt, regardless what the solution might end up being. She smiled and inclined her head to Stark after she'd spoken, and when Leavitt suggested lunch, she chuckled - the tension in the room being somewhat alleviated.

"I can actually eat, even though I don't need to do so," she said, a bit more cheerful since the subject of conversation had changed, and she did not wish to devote more bandwidth to resolving the mystery of their findings in that moment. "My mobile emitter was recently updated with olfactory sensors as well, so I can have the simulated experience of your digestion process. Of course, the process in question ends with me disposing of the chewed up matter in a... less organic way."

While she was able to have her projection secrete saliva and other bodily fluids, via simulated substances of photons and programs creating liquid forcefield dynamics, her saliva didn't actually serve to help digest the food items she ingested, merely allowing her to swallow them down into a crude simulation of a stomach lining. She usually emptied this 'pouch' via a fine-tuned transporter protocol rather than... the way organics did. She supposed she could simulate that process as well... but writing a program that would simulate bowel movements was something... not on her current list of priorities. Truthfully, her emotion chip made her shy away from the undertaking, as she was overcome with feelings of revulsion and awkwardness about the idea.

"Thank you for the offer," she said in the end with a smile, "yet I am to assist Lieutenant Okafor with an analysis in a couple of minutes, so I would like to take you up on that some other day, Lieutenant."

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #17 –
[Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Primary Computer Core | Deck 02 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy]Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Griff 
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Not for the first time, Natalie thought back to her classes at the Academy (what seemed like a lifetime ago) and the ethical debates that the cadets had engaged in, all around the concept of artificial intelligences and their rights, inherent or otherwise. Almost none of them knew that Natalie's roommate was herself an AI. None were yet familiar with the revelation of the USS Voyager's self realized Emergency Medical Program, having far exceeded his original designs (at that time, Voyager was still presumed lost with all hands). Yet Natalie had passionately come down on the side of Artificial Rights. Nearly a decade later - had it only been a decade? - here she was again, on the practical side of the equation, the bleeding edge of all that philosophical debate put into action.

I could make a post Starfleet career just talking about this moment, and Thea's evolution into a person, Natalie thought. It had some appeal to be sure - with said holographic lifeforms permission, of course. The idea of the kind of Advocacy she could bring to the legal and moral debates around artificial lifeforms based on pure practical experiences and the application of all those theoretical standards in the real world....it painted a much different view of a possible future than the one she currently faced. Since I might die tomorrow at the rate things are going, I suppose I'll be spending tonight drafting all my thoughts and impressions for posterity, she decided, a morbid mix of fatalism, amusement, and optimism for the future all in one.

Shaking that off however, she never seemed to lose focus on what Alistair and Thea were saying. When she developed that particular skill was something of a mystery to the young woman, but she wasn't going to look that gift horse in the mouth. She processed what was being said readily enough, eyebrows rising up on her forehead at the revelation of Thea's digestive capabilities, and the curious part of her that had later published her graduate thesis on the subject of comparative artificial intelligences had to wonder just how much Thea's mechanisms for digestion both paralleled and differed from Vanya's.

You do realize, the little voice in the back of her head whispered, most people do not spend brain power contemplating how their girlfriends intestines work. A hint of red dusted her cheeks at her own self chastisement, as she took a moment to fiddle with the cuff of her sleeve, as a wash of private gratitude flowed from Thea's polite declining of the offer due to prior engagement. Smiling - and hiding the relief, she hoped, as she knew she would not be able to help but be fascinated by the whole theoretical process at that time - Natalie inclined her head to the hologram.

"We certainly wouldn't want to keep the Lieutenant waiting. I'm sure he's got a fascinating project going on." Natalie felt she aught to know the specifics of the project in question, given both Okafor's position as an Assistant Chief of Department, as well as her role as First Officer (and the fact that her girlfriend was the Lieutenants immediate superior, who would often discuss the work of her department after hours). But Natalie was only human and could not recall the specifics at that time. Turning to the Lieutenant actually in the room, she gave Alistair a once over, and then held up a finger, silently asking him for a moment. She turned, pulled up her schedule on a nearby console and pursed her lips. A quick re-scheduling of meetings freed up a small portion of time.

"If you don't mind my inevitable early departure, Lieutenant Leavitt, I can spare a bit of time for a quick bite. Odds are if I don't take you up on the offer, I won't actually eat till I'm off duty anyway." Alistair wasn't the only one aware that he had been given what could be another intensive assignment, and it behooved Natalie, as one of the few individuals aware of his workload, to privately check to make sure he felt up to the task. Rightly this aught to be a conversation with Selena as well, but First Officers did have some prerogative to stick their noses in. Especially when she was the one adding to the mans work load.


OOC: Totally up to you if you want to write up the lunch here, or in another thread, or not at all, @Griff ; otherwise this seems like a reasonable point to end the thread to me :)
 

Re: Day 07 [1025 hrs.] Positronic Shenanigans

Reply #18 –
[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Primary Computer Core | Deck 2 | USS Theurgy ] Attn. @Auctor Lucan, @Brutus
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Amusingly enough, Alistair was also musing on Thea's digestive process, or the lack thereof. It was a bizarre but fascinating concept, and he couldn't help but wonder at the programming required to properly simulate the culinary experience. Such a technological feat would've been impossible only ten years prior. Alistair made a mental note to ask Thea if he could look over that aspect of her programming later; how the heck did someone translate the organic taste of chocolate into software that could be parsed by an AI? What would that software look like? How would it be structured?

Nevertheless, as Thea and Stark dealt with their respective schedules, he was brought back to reality with a bump. It was humbling to be reminded that both women were extremely busy, and had indeed been in the fight since the very beginning. Alistair's own schedule was oddly light and flexible, as he had been left to manage his own workload by Selena as he got up to speed on the Theurgy's systems. He was still fairly busy, but compared to the XO who had to free up time just to eat a sandwich, he felt downright slovenly.

"That works for me, Commander," Alistair replied with a polite smile. "Have a good day, Thea. I'll let you know when I have something for you, but feel free to check in if you have any ideas or concerns." After the AI beamed away, he looked back at Stark. "So. Mess hall?"


-FIN
 
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