Abomination

Posted on 07 Jul 2020 @ 3:50pm by Ensign Kat Walker & Lieutenant Callisi Veera

1,391 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Ab Intra
Location: Cargo Bay Two, Deck 27

Word was there was an AI onboard. More than that, an alien, military AI. Built in a derelict, wrecked weapon of war, but active. Held in the cargo bay.

Said derelict weapon of war was a bipedal walker, armed with machine guns and an anti materiel cannon, though disabled and damaged. The machine lay in a heap, extensively damaged. Pitted, rusted and weathered from centuries of being afloat in a the vacuum of space, being pelted with debris, but the damage to the rear quarter was an order of magnitude more significant. Weapons impacts having shattered armor and engine alike, before being exposed to the vacuum of space and microdebris impact for all those years as well.

Word was there was an AI onboard. Military. Alien. This bothered Callisi.

Bothered wasn't really the right word. It irritated her. She had to see it. When she did, she wished she hadn't. It wasn't just a military AI, it wasn't just an Alien AI, it was a weapon. A weapon platform. She didn't appreciate that it loomed over her.

This didn't sit well with her. Not one bit.

As Callisi observed the wreckage, the sensor suite on the nose of it twitched, focusing in on the Ts'usugi. A mere moment later, with a flicker, a hologram of a young human looking woman manifested, wearing a simple dress. At first glance she looked pleasant enough, with keen eyes and a soft yet warm smile, but a closer look revealed that there was something off about her. She was too perfect. Near flawless skin, perfectly symmetrical face, the creases in her dress and the physics with which it moved a little too faultless.

"Hello Lieutenant Veera," she spoke, her tone pleasant. Artificially so. "I am Kat Walker. How may I help you?"

Ts'usugi protocol demanded that a greeting be responded to. "Hello." introductions were already handled by the thing. "I'm just here, sating my curiosity. Word was there was an AI on board." she paused, "My people have never been one to embrace the concept of artificial intellect. Me, personally, I don't like the concept of simulacrum. The artificial pretending to be alive, or the living making the transition to the artificial."

"I'm afraid we've just met, and already we're off to the wrong foot."

So much to unpack, and so Kat spent a moment doing exactly that. She furrowed her brows slightly, her smile wavering a bit - an expression her database told her signified deep thought - as a faint hummm emitted from the wrecked walker, coolant systems spooling up to keep the AI core at temperature. "I am artificial, yes. Designed and built by those who sought to create a tool to fulfill a purpose. But I do not know if I pretend to be alive," she mused, tilting her head a bit. "I am what I am. As are we all. To pretend otherwise seems illogical and counter to my directives."

"It's a pretty face you put forth, but it isn't yours is it? It's designed." Callisi took the time now to actually look at the holographic projection the mech put forth. "So what is your directive?" the rabbitess inquired.

"Designed by me, based on the averages of the most common race found in this crew," Kat replied calmly. The form shimmered, shifted, changing into a gangly reptilian form with relatively long limbs and a slim torso, a male. The voice changed as well, to a slightly raspy male one. "This is the avatar hard coded in my programming, I suspect this is what my creators looked like," the AI spoke, before changing back to the young human female. "Neither are my real face. I have no face. I am a crystalline cube connected to support equipment and a power supply," she motioned to a side, where a representation of her crystalline AI core appeared in a shimmer.

The cube was inscribed by billions upon billions of pathways, on the surface, diving down into the depths and surfacing again. Every gesture, every thought, every word spoken was accompanied by the rhythmic light blue pulsing of these pathways, like millions of streams of lightning, forking, coming together in a ballet at the speed of light. "My personality core is equipped with a basic hard coded set of three directives; to be curious, to be kind and to be helpful."

Callisi crossed her arms over her chest, "Seeing how the Odin has invited you into their ship, and therefore their home, you are their guest. In essence, so am I. Assigned, but still welcomed despite the both of us being, less then perfect." a pause.

"My distrust of you is a result of something you've yet to do, and perhaps never will do. There's no logic to it. The last time my people ventured into the realm of artificial intelligence it was a disaster. The options it took, the liberties it pursued, were unforgivable." she paused, "We destroyed it, at a heavy cost, and decreed that never again will a machine's mind be made in the likeness of our own. We asked that of our allies, our neighbors, and they obliged. We have no right to ask it of Starfleet yet, as we are not on equal terms with them."

"We imagine they'll say no. I imagine the same." she paused again, closing her one good eye. "I do not think I'm ready to accept this, but I am grateful you do not seem conditioned to disgrace yourself, your builders, or others."

Again a lot to unpack for Kat, who like before, spent a moment or two doing just that. Once more the quiet hummm of cooling systems spooling up to maintain her core's temperature. "I am not Starfleet or of the Federation, nor do I have any memory of or loyalty to the people who created me. Though I have requested asylum onboard Odin and have been granted this, and am going through Starfleet Officer training with intent to have my AI core built into a fighter and serve this ship in a combat role. News I believe might not sit well with you, considering your history with and opinion of AI in general."

Kat paused a brief moment, glancing down as she did, before continuing in a soft voice. "I do not believe that anything I can do or say short of permanent and irrevocable shutdown of all functions can convince you to trust me, but I hope that, in time, through actions and interactions, I might earn it."

"You're a guest aboard the Odin." she repeated, this time with conviction. There was a weight there, a weight of protocol, of tradition. "I would not ask a guest to kill themselves to prove their trustworthiness. That is the Ts'usu of the past." she then looked back at the projection. "I would not ask you to k... to discontinue yourself to do so, either. However far Starfleet chooses to trust you, is their decision."

"As for us, you and I, I have determined through my life so far that many things are possible. Though you are right, it will not be words that determine our future." she took a breath and held it. "I will give you that chance." she said, almost begrudgingly. It made sense for crewmates to at least be able to function together. If she were to be a crewmate.

Such a thought was troublesome.

Kat's soft smile returned though, as she gave a nod. "Thank you," she offered. "In the meantime, if there is anything you wish to know, please feel free to ask. I will answer honestly, to the best of my ability."

"No." she started, "The only interaction I've had with anything close to an AI of late is a Dalacari Thinking Engine, which despite the name are not sentient. They have safeguards that seek out third party arbitration if they approach sentience. You're already sentient, so that's a moot point."

"These will be interesting times." a pause, a sign of resignation. "Thank you for your consideration in this matter. I think I will take my leave." a pause, "If you will excuse me."

"Of course," Kat offered with that soft smile of hers. "Be well, Lieutenant Veera," she added, giving it a moment before vanishing with a flicker, the wreckage becoming silent again.

 

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