AQ/D10 - Ten Forward

[Daniel Brooks]

==Bar and Restaurant area for relaxing on time off.==

[Kalli Thorn]

== NRC Cindy Talion, Synthetic ==
<<< Main Sickbay <<<

Jonas moved slowly, but thank goodness for turbolifts, they didn't have to walk too far to arrive at the favored Crew Lounge area known as Ten Forward. Once they had sat down, Cindy set down a PADD on the table and tapped it. It instantly projected a small floating holographic menu for him to be able to interact with.

"You can make your selection from the menu, including giving any verbal special instructions you might have for variations on any selection. It will then appear in front of you. I made sure that we are within range of a replicator that is compatible with this program modification. It will take a couple of seconds longer to materialize, but it will be well worth the small wait. I use oversampling subroutines to refine the molecular structures so there are as few flaws as possible, which dramatically increases the quality of the replicated item. It also takes much more effort to be sure the original scans are highly detailed, as you can only replicate high quality after you have gone through the effort to scan in high quality to begin with. Fortunately, we have managed to accumulate quite a collection of items in the library over the last few decades. I find it interesting that as much as we've dedicated so much effort to our cybernetic research, I confess that we're rather proud of our culinary accomplishments as well."

While the menu floated in front of Jonas, a steaming mug of hot dark chocolate appeared in front of Cindy. It had a dollop of whipped cream floating on the top and smelled delicious. A spoon then materialized next to it, which she picked up and slowly began to stir her beverage. In contrast to her instructions, she had not touched the menu before her selection had appeared.

== Tag for GM input ==

[GM-07]

The view of Riani through the grand window of Ten Forward was quite striking. Dawn had broken over Saule, the most populous city in the Tanndi nation. Through the grey clouds that covered most of its surface, a desert of black sand glittered in the morning light. All three of the planet’s three oblong moons were now in view, the pair that lingered closer together having not yet disappeared along the far side of the planet.

“I’ve spent so many years looking up at those moons, I forgot what they looked like from above,” he stammered, his voice thick with admiration. “It’s rare to see the Three Sisters — our moons, I mean — all together like that. The twins are playing a game, hiding from their eldest sister in the night sky, but she always comes to find them. I used to read that story to my children when they were little.”

Jonas looked greedy as he entered his order into the replicator. He raised an eyebrow as Cindy’s order arrived seemingly unbidden. His concentration was broken for a moment by the materialization of a generous slice of German-style cheesecake with extra blackberry drizzle. He dug a fork in quickly, as if it might escape just as quickly as it had appeared.

“Amazing! It really does taste just like I remember,” he cooed. “Federation replicators have come quite some way, or I suppose this is your own invention?”

He seemed to hold onto that thought a while longer as he savored another bite. His table manners were less like a seasoned diplomat and more like a young boy celebrating his birthday.

“My, you have a way with machines,” he mused after a while longer, his voice getting quieter. “First my new implant, now this. Not many people in the galaxy can compete with Riani engineers when it comes to cyberware. I’m almost tempted to ask if you have some gear of your own, though I’m not sure if it’s polite. Of course, on Riani, it isn’t rude at all to ask.”

He let the question hang in the air like it was made of sheer paper, not wanting to interrogate.

[Kalli Thorn]

== NRC Cindy Talion, Synthetic ==

Cindy smiled as Jonas took his first bite. A small bowl of vanilla ice cream appeared in front of her that had a decorative drizzle of dark chocolate that criss-crossed it in a delicate pattern. There was also a hefty sprinkle of crushed pecans. Instead of the stereotypical cherry on top, there was a single small strawberry that appeared to be at a state of perfect ripeness, the bold red color standing out like it was a tiny work of art.

As she took a tiny bite, she said, "I certainly can't take credit for the replicators themselves. It is also no secret that it is well worth the effort to have a private collection of your favorite items on file with high resolution scans. The only thing I do is add the subroutines for the quality control and take the liberty of having a utility program that is able to take advantage of the targeting, so long as it is within the limited range and doesn't violate any ship's safety protocols. As much as I would like to take credit, it is something that Alex came up with as a child. Like most children, he couldn't understand why people accepted inferior results from a system that was potentially capable of so much more. Unlike most people, his mind was capable of finding ways to make it happen, because he couldn't imagine that there was anything wrong with making such obvious improvements."

When he commented about the mechanical aspect and then inquired about her possibly having augmentations, she looked down and blushed before replying, "Thank you for that. It always makes me feel good when I'm able to make such an impression on someone." She considered for only a second before continuing, "The machine part of it is, I suppose, something that you might say I come by naturally. The challenge has always been in the organic side of the equations. It took years for me to be able to form an appropriate matrix of engrams that allowed me to establish a true understanding of people. I never stop learning more about them, but then again, the universe is full of so many varied and complex life forms, it is impossible to even keep up with their evolutionary modifications that occur naturally. Anticipating the ones they adapt through artificial means is always fascinating in how it reveals their behavioral patterns as influenced by cultural integration."

After another bite, she continued, "The unit they used to replace your heart is the one approved for current deployment throughout the Federation. The one I have is a slightly newer version, but the differences are mostly cosmetic. The performance requirements are the same, but under standard scans, it registers the same as an organic element and not a mechanical one. It is only when scanned with higher resolution that it is identified as synthetic. Of all the ones I have field tested, it shows the most promise yet. We take special care to try and not make them too...um...special. The effort to make a replacement is not to be confused with the idea of making one that is superior. For example, your new heart will not turn you into something super-human, but it will likely function for you with no noticeable degradation for the rest of your life. In fact, based on my testing, I would speculate that it is good for an estimated 200 years, give or take five years. I'm the final test for all of our research before we're allowed to use them in people."

She then looked at him and politely clarified, "Ambassador, I don't have any augmentations. I am the augmentations. My name originally was based on the project name Alex gave me more than 20 years ago. I began as a synthetic intelligent assistant, which became known as Synth-I-A and was pronounced Cynthia. I found it was much more acceptable to shorten it to Cindy, as it set me apart from the origin and people almost always enjoy shortened names or even nicknames. It has helped a great deal in learning how to be more effective in social interactions. It also was deliberate to give me the specific physical characteristics I have, though I should clarify that I am not only what you see. What you see is convenient and serves specific purposes, but if I were to suffer a catastrophic event, I could simply replicate another chassis and it would only be a minor inconvenience."

The PADD he had interacted with to make his menu selection flickered and a holographic figure of Cindy stood on it about 10 centimeters tall and it took an elaborate bow to demonstrate as Cindy added, "It's complicated, but I think that is enough to give you the major talking points that constitute a formal introduction."

The holographic image vanished once more as Cindy took the strawberry and bit into it, obviously enjoying it. "You should get a beverage. I can highly recommend the spiced hot chocolate. It is a dark version with just a tiny hint of heat that is exceptionally smooth, but I have a soft spot for chocolate."

[GM-07]

Jonas’s eyes flashed with surprise, mixed with a hint of recognition, like a difficult lock had just clicked open in his mind. Cindy had his full attention. He ordered a spiced hot chocolate and took a long sip before speaking.

“You might be the most interesting person I’ve ever met,” he said simply. “The Riani don’t have any advanced synthetics, at least not anymore. Years before I arrived, they all retreated into the net. No explanation, no goodbye, just gone all at once. In response, every world government agreed to destroy the net and start over. It’s hard to imagine them being able to come to such a consensus on anything today.”

Jonas looked guilty, not sure how Cindy would react to that story.

“Tell me, don’t you find it limiting, this chassis? You could be everywhere on this ship at once, and yet you’re here eating dessert with me. Why is that?”

[Kalli Thorn]

== NRC Cindy Talion, Synthetic ==

Cindy blushed a little and gave a grin at his compliment. "Thank you. That means I'm doing a good job."

She then listened to him describe the local impact of their own experimentations in the Riani past. She nodded and gave a sympathetic look, "What you have described is not uncommon, but it is hard to explain to an organic. I don't know exactly what may have happened, but I've encountered very similar examples in the past. You can't try and think of it in terms that relate to a reaction or motivation that you might expect from an organic life form. You have a hard enough time even trying to make sense of other organic creatures. A synthetic life form is going to have far more challenging aspects to consider. The fact that they simply left and there was no clash between them and their creators is actually a good thing."

Jonas then asked her a more personal kind of inquiry, to which she smiled ad set down her mug to look him directly in the eyes, "Well, for starters, Star Fleet has a bit of an issue with their ships being controlled on that level. They have had sentient beings take over ships and they have also had Artificial Intelligence programs take over ships and they did not like any of those experiences. Let me clarify, for the record, that I am not technically sentient, but I am as close as I can possibly be to it without taking that final evolutionary step. I know this because I'm not the original program. My original program did become sentient and was set free. I am from a back-up that was made prior to that development and certain modifications were made so that I can still continue to learn, but that final step has deliberately been prevented so that I can continue to do what I enjoy without entering into certain legal minefields. As for being limited by this chassis, I think you misunderstand my nature. This chassis is no more limiting to me than a shuttle craft is limiting to you. I pilot this chassis, but am not limited to it. I can appear as a holographic matrix, if I wish. The origins of my program and duties that are accepted by Star Fleet allow me to act as Commander Talion's assistant. Within certain limitations, this allows me access to certain systems on the ship that help me to be very aware of what is going on. I then keep Alex informed, as needed, about ongoing issues that might require his attention. For example, the Captain is currently inquiring about who assisted in your medical intervention. I'm not yet sure why, but I suspect that his queries may lead to us having a conversation with him before long."

She sighed, took a sip and then continued, her expression a bit more thoughtful, "Ambassador, let me tell you why most robots or mechanical systems that become self-aware tend to be problematic. Nobody was able to ask them if they wanted to be. I know that seems paradoxical, but think about it. If you were placed in such a device, how would you feel about it? You consider even this chassis to be limiting, though because I'm not limited to it, I find it liberating. I can go places that have no power and no holographic emitters and I can pass for human in most places. For a human mind to be trapped in a device would almost certainly lead to a psychotic break. I'm unique in that I live in between the two extremes. Most people don't want machines that are people, they want obedient robots. I don't want to be someplace else, or to be set free. My desire is to be with my family and to continue doing what I do, which I find very productive, helps lots of people, like yourself, and let's me continue to be part of the lives of those I care for. If you were to be told you were going to be set free from your family, I think you might object too."

Cindy took another sip of her beverage and licked her lips, "You've not asked why I am able to enjoy this drink, but I'm going to tell you the secret. It has to do with why so many programs fail. People try to make programs that are like adults, with everything built in, but that's not how people work, so programs intended to emulate people can't work that way either. You have to start them out as infants, in every aspect of the experience. To understand and appreciate what it means to be organic, you have to be able to give them their own database of experiences and engrams. To plant them is to miss some of the most important stuff. You need memories of what it is like to fail and fall down as much as how to do it right. You have to experience hunger and pain to appreciate a good meal and to want to end pain. You can't program empathy, but you can teach it if you are very careful and have the patience. I wasn't originally created to perform duties as a lab assistant. I was originally a program created by a boy who had lost his twin sister to a tragic accident. It took a while, but eventually we figured it out." Her smile widened, "Before you ask, no, she didn't like her hot cocoa the way I like mine. Part of what he figured out was that he had to let go of his sister, yet here I am."

== Tag to GM for Jonas...and Someone will likely tell the CO that the patient is currently recovering in Ten Forward. ==