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Heart of Transparisteel (Mr. M and tempted kitsune)

M

Mr Master

Pulsar
Joined
Jan 26, 2009
Location
Right behind you... you smell nice, by the way...
Taggart scrolled through the start-up instructions again, bright blue eyes flickering through the holographic text, making sure he knew what he had to do. On his latest team job, part of the compensation had been in loot, and they'd had time before evac to go through the installation's inventory, and he found what he wanted. He'd needed some assistance for a while; support staff to take care of things while he was on an op, and assist him during off-mission times. He had stopped off on a random moon and depressurized the whole ship just to wrestle the cryopod from the cargo bay up to the pressure deck, just so he could try and start it up during the Long Jump.

He'd thought he was getting a standard model, but the documentation made it seem like it was more technically advanced. He followed a lot of it, but he wasn't a technician, so he wasn't sure what exactly the ramifications of the upgrades were, but it did seem that it was all going to be good. He wasn't losing any capability, and was gaining a lot of options, so he just went with it. His lightly dusky skin glinted under the ship's bright common-chamber lighting, and he rubbed his follicle-inhibited scalp, fingers tracing across the web of tiny scars that decorated his head behind his left ear, a souvenir from a flash-frag grenade several years ago.

He accessed the appropriate wireless networks, and entered the proper commands, bringing the preoperant systems online. Soon he'd prepped everything he could, and it was time for the voice authorization. He cleared his throat and spoke, his surprisingly rich baritone voice ringing out in the small room.

"K2253 Mainframe Access. Primary command user set: Malachi Argus Taggart. Currently set for general duties, open learning architecture, and, oh, let's say standard personality. I could use someone to talk to. Um, activate."
 
She she felt as if she was floating in a sea of absolute blackness,a space filled with absolute absence.She had been created to be the most human bioandroid ever created,It was said that if a machines core code,its essence grew,adapted as it learned and experienced emotions,That eventually its code would cease to be,It would evolve into a true essence, a true soul.The people who had created her had managed to create a soul without such steps creating a creature of mechanical nature that possessed a true soul, and a completely pureness.Unfortunately she was a machine first and foremost and if she were to ever become truly alive,or as alive as something like her could become,she would have to grow from her mechanical nature,to grow and develop emotions,to experience the world, to become human.

Suddenly a voice seemed to cut though the nothingness that surrounded her delicat eye lashes fluttered and parted as deep crystal blue eyes opened and looked blankly at the man before her,As more and more of her systems began to come online and run their start up diagnostics those Icy blue eyes seemed to grow more aware,as if she were a real person.Her body was slender and curvy, a beauty of silky smooth skin and of a pale complexion,the only things that pointed out that she was still a machine were the many joints of her body.She reguarded the man who had activated her,unsure if what to say,even if she should say anything.
 
Taggart stood in front of the upright, open cryopod, watching her awaken. When she blinked at him, he felt strangely uncomfortable. He hadn't really dealt much with biodroids, robots designed to mimic humans, but he was surprised at how realistic she was. He knew she came preloaded with most basic information, including a language suite and general encyclopedic databases, and he'd just uploaded his own name. He also knew from the manuals there were some random elements involved which would make her unique as she moved forward in her personality programming.

"Um, hello," he said. He figured he'd be most comfortable addressing her like he would a real person. "I'm Taggart." He paused a moment, knowing her system would be instantly indexing him as her current primary commander. "Welcome to the Fox's Tears. She's a Dexis 343 category 7 light cargo vessel, and she's our home. The Tears may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts..." he stopped himself, as he was starting to sound like a sales pitch, even to himself. "Your documentation tells me you randomly generate your own name and a personality profile. Um... in that case... what should I call you?"

He realized that she was still more or less standing in the open cryopod, and just out of pure human habit, he stepped forward, holding out a hand to help her out of it, automatically, without even thinking of her as a robot. With her interactive programming, she was sure to recognize the gesture, but whether or not she'd respond to it was up to her.
 
She continued to regard him quietly letting her internal information tell her what she needed to know about her immediate surroundings.Suddenly a name popped up on her internal HUD the name Malachi Argus Taggart showing above his head in her vision.She smiled softly and nodded her head to him.She knew that he was her commander,that he was the one who would direct her actions as it pertained to the ship and her daily chores.As he bean to talk about the ship she followed along,logging the information into her memory.When he brought up the subject of a name she nodded once again."My programing has decided on a name,though my personality is not so clear,I do not know myself well enough to say what it is at this point."Her voice was soft,synthetic vocal cords making her speech indistinguishable from a humans.She even mimicked a human down to being able to blink and simulate breathing,her chest rising and falling as she indeed drew breath,the oxygen helping to sustain her organic components."My name is Melfina Taggart."She said and smiled again.

Melfina watched as he moved forward and held out his hand to her.Unsure how to react she accessed her files on human inaction.Realizing what he was doing she lightly took his hand and allowed him to help her up and out of the cryopod."Thank you."She said knowing that was the proper response to help and looked around.She lifted a slender finger to the strange head set that rested on her head and a small screen appeared before her eyes.the fingers of her other hand began to touch each other in different combination,a type of short hand form of typing on a virtual keyboard.Suddenly a schematic of the ship appeared on the screen and she studdied it,taking note of its layout.after a moment the screen dissipated again."How may I be of assistance to you Taggart?"She asked. She was unsure of how to address him but had seemed to pick based on how he had introduced himself to her.
 
He blinked in surprise. "Um... Okay." He hadn't expected her to take a last name, much less his own. But he supposed it made sense. "Melfina. That's a lovely name." He stopped himself before he went farther; complimenting a robot was like tipping the toaster; didn't really do anything. Still, he couldn't help the impulse.

He watched her access the Heads-up Access Link Orchestrator on her head; he had thought it was built-in, but maybe it was just mag-locked on there tightly; it could go either way with an android. His own more utilitarian HALO unit was little more in appearance than a strip of black plastic wrapped around the back of his head, with slightly thicker ends at his temples for the holographic projectors and such. However, she didn't seem to project as much; maybe the visual was tuned to a different visual frequency, or maybe it just fed directly into her vision circuits. Either way, it was a little disconcerting not to know what she was looking at. But then she turned and asked how she could be of assistance.

"Well, for one thing, let's talk names. I'm used to military address when being formal, and I'm the Captain of the ship, so you can call me 'Captain Taggart' or 'Sir' when we're relating on the job. Casually, you can just call me Mal. Um, although..." He paused. "Do you... get casual? As a biodroid? You know what, never mind, we'll deal with that later." He moved ahead with her briefing.

"The Tears is currently in shift-space, on a Long Jump to Bluesky for a quick refuel and hop to someplace more populous; I haven't picked the destination yet. What I need you to do is to work out with me what ways you can assist. I am a mercenary, a professional soldier for hire, and while I can easily take care of my self and my ship, I have lately been finding it taking almost all my time. That's why I got you, you see. I can use some support staff, an extra set of hands, someone with few demands, and a biodroid seemed ideal." He paused, looking at her. She seemed so small and waif-like, 15 centimeters shorter and dressed only in that gauzy tunic. He felt suddenly bashful, which he knew was not a logical reaction in the least.
 
Melfina looked away slightly,unsure of why her cheeks seemed to grow warmer."Thank you.."She said in reply to her comment and listened quietly as he addressed what he was to be called."If that is what you wish,then I shall enter it into my database of guidelines for future reference.Sir."She said and she shifted her weight to a more comfortable position."As my personality grows and I begin to develop my own identity I can become more casual at certain times,but if you wish to go into detail at another point of time then I shall stop.".

She nodded as he discribed what the ship was currently doing and she smiled."I have already accessed the Tears Main computer and schematics,The ships layout and various functions can be remote controlled by my own systems at your orders Sir.If Captain Taggart wishes I can easily chart courses and oversee most computer functions within the ship as well as see to various physical chores.I can also cook meals."She added with a smile.She stretched then,soft mechanical sounds from her joints mixing with the rustling of the gauzy tunic."IS there anything that you need done at this particular moment?I can demonstrate my capabilities."She offered.
 
Taggart blinked, and took a few moments to process that information. In retrospect, it did make sense: the Tears' systems were older, whereas Melfina's systems were cutting edge, and both systems were keyed to his ID as primary user. But it was still worrying. "All right, well. One project I would like you to do is update and beef up the Tears' firewalls and authentication methodologies so that nobody else is going to be able to get in as easily as you did. This will be an ongoing project; I'm putting you in charge of systems intrusion security, as you're clearly better-qualified."

"You should also familiarize yourself with the contents of the galley; I don't log and inventory my provisions, generally, so you should get some idea of what you have to work with. Then, I suppose, I would like a sandwich for lunch." He hadn't actually eaten in a goodly while, so he was, in fact getting hungry. "You can start on that now, I have to check on something in the passenger cabin."

He went into the starboard stateroom, which could nominally be used for passengers but in practice was general storage. There was a crate of shipsuit coveralls he'd once purchased; the basic olive coveralls he wore around the ship were originally from this crate, but it had held an assortment of sizes, and while he could (and did) over-wash and shrink the large ones, the small... yes, they were still there. There were six in their individual vacuum-sealed packages; he grabbed them all and came back out to the common area, where he deposited them on one end of the large built-in table. "I had these left over; uniforms, like mine, but they should be more your size. That is, if you need a change of clothes. That night-shirt doesn't look like it's too durable..."

He was talking too much. She was a machine, and he was jabbering on. Then again, he so rarely had anyone to talk to at all, so he couldn't blame himself for taking the opportunity. At least she could answer back; it wasn't like trying to talk to the navigation computer.
 
Melfina watched Captain Taggart's reaction and looked down."I..Ive displeased you.I shouldnt have accessed the ships mainframe without asking."She said she felt strange,uneasy what humans would call being sorry."She listed to his order and nodded."You will be the only able to access the main frame,Ill even lock myself out if that is what you wish.Is that to your satisfaction?"She asked hoping to please him.She knew that some people would be worried about the things that she could do with older systems and technologies.

Her expression brightened as he asked her to take a look though the food stores,that was something she could do easily and make him a sandwich quickly.As she watched him turn to leave she made her way though the galley and looked though the many items within it.Her abilities allowed her to inventory the many items by site and she took a few moments to log it into memory before moving to prepare him a sandwich.She smiled as she prepared the meats and other ingredients before making the sandwich and cleaning up after herself.She reentered the bay and waited for him,the sandwich neatly made on a plate.

Melfina waited until the captain had sat down before sitting down herself and smiled happily as he gave her new clothes to wear."Thank you so much Sir.This garment would not last long indeed.Its merely to avoid any awkward interaction upon activation between end user and unit."She explained.
 
"Um, no, no! You did right. You are totally allowed access. I just hadn't expected you to get it so soon, or without any authorizations from me. It just surprised me, and I'd like to make sure that nobody else manages to surprise us." He smiled and waved reassuringly. "Don't worry, you did right, and I want you to keep doing right."

*****

He raised his eyebrows at the perfect sandwich. "That... is the most excellent sandwich I've ever seen." He sat down to enjoy it. "Well, your documentation says you need recharge and occasional material replenishment; I presume you already know what that is, since it's your programming. I know a lot of biodroids in business don't have any space of their own, but if you need to use the passenger cabin for privacy or anything, I want you to feel free."
 
Main computer, Dexis 343 category 7 light cargo vessel, serial number 433-382-220-458-534-345, designated Fox's Tears.

ACCESS REQUEST: General Layout and Deck Plans.

GRAPHICS MODE: Disabled. Text descriptive mode engaged.

The Tears is similar to other ships of its classification. The vessel has a single central pressure deck with pseudogravity plating, in order to minimize the necessary life support requirements. The primary cargo deck is kept unpressurized and is not commonly accessed during flight; specific sections of engineering access can be made livable for short periods for repair and maintenance in the field.

Atmospheric flight is effected by after-market modified Sendrian Model 446K grav turbines, and realspace propulsion is provided by the standard twin Dexis-19 radiant ion engines, although bursts of greater speed can be provided by employing an additional Dexis-2 hydrogen thruster which has been installed on the ventral spine. Shift-space capabilities are rated above standard for the class; shift-speed has not been altered, but the possible range of each shift-transit has been increased.

Shipboard weapons include ***CLASSIFIED***

Shipboard defenses include ***CLASSIFIED***

Internal compartments are separated by pressure bulkheads in case of breach. In the following description, each of the separate chambers can be isolated and pressurized separately. Computer interface is shielded from external monitoring of equivalent sophistication, but full wireless interface is available within the vessel.

Primary operative control is effected from the cockpit; physical controls are combined with HALO-effected displays and informational sensor readings to allow the pilot to handle all necessary functions, with possible voice-control with the main computer. There are two flight-duty stations at the rear of the cockpit for additional crew or passengers, but only the pilot is absolutely necessary.

Immediately aft of the cockpit is the common area. A long central table occupies the middle of the chamber, although it can be recessed into the floor if necessary. Folding seats and storage lockers line the walls, and smaller tables can be extruded between wall seats for various purposes. The aft wall of the common area is split around the rear access hatch. To the port is the head, with standard facilities for both pseudogravity and weightless use, shower with both sonic and water options, etc. To the starboard is the galley, with food storage and preparation facilities of whatever sorts the ship owners see fit to equip. The vessel has close to 100% water reclamation and can safely process protein and nutrients through the life support systems, as is typical of long-range multipurpose vessels of this type.

To the port and starboard are the crew cabins. Each is a rectangular chamber with a hatch in the middle of the long side connecting to the common area, and two fold-out bunks at each fore and aft end. In the case of the Tears, the port cabin has been claimed by the captain, and the starboard cabin has been designated the passenger cabin, though very few passengers have ever resided there.

Aft of the common area, through the rear access hatch, is the gangway. It connects the airlock to the common area, and it allows access to the two rear storage compartments.

The starboard rear storage compartment has been designated the tool room, and it contains all the equipment and many of the parts necessary to overhaul and repair the ship. Mechanical skill varies, but the central computer contains detailed repair instructions for every component system, and the tool room has been carefully stocked to ensure that all but the most rare and expensive components can be fixed or replaced in the field.

The port rear storage compartment has been designated the armory, and it contains all the weaponry and ammunition and maintenance equipment necessary to maintain an effective lifestyle as an interstellar mercenary.

The airlock is the only real access to the pressure deck; emergency exit can be gained, but at the sacrifice of hull integrity. The armored pressure door to the ship is on the forward bulkhead of the compartment, and from this chamber, there is a hatch to a ladder to port that goes down to a ventral hatch (with access to the cargo deck), a hatch to a ladder to starboard that goes up to a dorsal hatch, and a door to the aft which opens onto the primary access ramp that folds down from the rear of the vessel. Vacc suits and other survival equipment are kept in lockers recessed into the walls here.

FILE ENDS.
 
Melfina seemed to sigh in relief,she didnt want to displease her.Thank you Sir,Ill do my best to make sure that no one else ever gets into the mainframe as easily as I did."She said and nodded confidently.She had allready begun to update the ships systems,adding functions and features,strengthening its protection.

*****

Melfina smiled at his compliment and looked away shyly."Thank you sir,I hope that it tastes as good as it looks."She said and laughed softly."Yes sir I can recharge from most power interfaces and I have an inventory of simple foods or additives that I can consume. I dont know what to say Sir.Im grateful for your generosity and I hope that I can prove my worth."She said as she bowed her head to him
 
Taggart took a bite and his eyes widened. He almost complimented her right away, but remembered his manners at the last instant and chewed and swallowed first. "It -is- excellent! I've never been very much of a cook, so I've probably got expired spices or something. Do spices even expire? You know what, it doesn't matter. Point is, you can take care of all that as you like, as long as you keep us both fed. That's exactly the kind of operational support I've been needing." He took another bite. "And you can experiment a little, feed me new things, variations. I can deal with monotony; you kind of have to when you're a soldier. But I welcome variety, and we can figure out my tastes that way. I certainly haven't been able to do much with the cooking, so maybe you'd be doing us both a favor."

He almost asked for a tumbler of water, but she got it for him as if by magic. After he'd washed down half the sandwich, he gazed at Melfina some more. "You know, you've been just standing there smiling at me a while, it's making me feel self-conscious." He was sitting at one end of the long table, and he gestured to the side seat next to him. "Please, have a seat. I know you want to be helpful, but you can wait to be helpful from a more relaxed-looking position." He smiled at her.

After another bite, he nodded to himself. "You know, I think this would qualify as one of those 'casual situations'. In something like this, a human crew would be talking, joking, getting to know each other over a meal. In situations where humans would be casual, I would generally say you can be casual, too. So, feel free to call me Mal if you wish, and ask me any questions you want." He smiled and shrugged, chuckling gently. "I feel like I have the social advantage, because I read your user's manual."
 
Melfina saw the captain's eyes widened and braced herself for his words,When they finally came she was surprised and happy.She had not expected him to enjoy it so much and was very pleased by his reaction.I would be happy to experiment,though I have many diffrent things that I can make.Perhaps it would be best to start out with those before."She said and nodded.She had figured that he might require something to drink and pulled a tumbler of water closer to him,she had not known that he was just about to reach for it.

Melfina nodded at his words."I'm sorry sir, I understand that my lack of conversation and smile may be what some would consider strange."She replied as she was beconed closer and moved to sit in the spot that he had gestured to."If that is what you wish....I Im trying to act more as a human should...Its strange to me."She admitted.

She listened to him and nodded again."So a time like this, A meal time would be considered casual?I will make a not of it si....Mal."She said catching herself."You do have an advantage,I do not know most of what is in the manual,a precaution to guard against the possibility of malfunction."She explained."Though there have never been any recorded malfunctions with my specific line."She assured him.She looked a little surprised that he had given her permission to ask him about himself."Well, Mal tell me what you like to do in your spare time?"She asked curiously.
 
He nodded to her about the cooking. "You've got access to databases, recipes, you see what we have, see what you can make, maybe do some research with the kind of things you can cook in that kitchen, and when we get supplies on Bluesky, we can go shopping." He hadn't been out shopping with someone in a very long time; was it strange to be getting excited at the prospect? "Anyway, I'll leave that to you and your database research. Which apparently you can access about five thousand times a second, so all my instructions are likely to take about one quadrillionth of your time... But we'll work on filling up the rest of it."

***

"It's not bad, it was just a little unnerving to have just the two of us here, and me eating and you standing. I need someone to take care of things, but I'm not used to straight-out servitude." He smiled at her. "You're doing fine, you just haven't been online very long, and you're still accessing and processing your interactive database. The more you get used to that, the better you'll deal with humans."

***

He made a note to make her manual available; it didn't make sense to him to hide a being's own capabilities from itself, but he wasn't a technician. He didn't recall any prohibitions on that sort of data exchange, but he'd look again to be sure.

"My free time? Well, when I'm not working, or piloting, or performing repairs, or cleaning, or prepping and locking down gear, or cooking, or laundering, or sleeping, or scouting new contracts..." he paused. He had to search far back in his memory to find a moment he'd indulged. "I like the usual things. Music is good, I like reading... and I particularly enjoy movies. I've been going through some old classics lately... if you count, like, six months ago as lately." He cocked his head to the side. "You've got databases, probably have summaries of songs and movies and books... but you've never actually watched any, have you? Experienced them real-time. Hm." He finished his sandwich and wiped his lips. "I know you can see them encoded in the computer, read the files, translate what they must be like, but there's surely got to be something different about actually hearing the music play, actual audio waves from a speaker. Here, I'll show you."

He raised his face toward the ceiling, just his general habit when addressing the ship. "Access computer."

The androgynous computer voice rang out from seemingly nowhere. "Yes, Captain."

"Please start up Playlist named Historical Music, subcategory Upbeat." He looked back at Melfina as the music started. "These songs are some of our ancient cultural heritage; these particular ones are generally shorter, like modern music, but they're snappy and danceable." He tapped his foot as the lady sang The chills that you spill up my back keep me filled with satisfaction when we're done, satisfaction of what's to come...
 
There was more, of course. As music played, they went over the basics, the very simple things such as cooking and cleaning and the like. When Taggart began trying to describe how he wanted things cleaned, he eventually realized all he needed to do was describe the end result he wanted, and Melfina could figure out how to accomplish it (perhaps a few expressions or soft responses from Melfina might have helped inspire the thought).

The summary was, Taggart was by and large a tidy man, though not pathologically so; he merely liked his place as orderly as he could comfortably manage, and he kept it so. Having someone else work to keep it so would take some getting used to, but would ultimately save him time and stress.

He was exacting in the things that mattered: his financial accounts, his weaponry and ammunition, and the ship's operative parts. He was less methodical and more pragmatic about other things, such as the inventory of his galley, the arrangement and storage of his clothing, the inventory of his non-essential casual cargo, the organization of his books, chips, datacubes, and magazines, and so forth. He had a general idea of what was where, and found what he needed, but he didn't bother to take the time to make a list of everything and put everything in its place.

He appreciated variety. Yes, he had his favorite foods, his favorite music, his favorite films and books, but there was what he called "wiggle room." He was happy to sample new things from time to time, and when it came to food, he was encouraging of trying some variation; he recognized his existing experience in art and cuisine was limited, and therefore he was interested in experimenting, but he did like a solid foundation of what he already knew. In that way, he was very human.

So Melfina was briefed in her basic day-to-day domestic duties and had already received one ongoing special project, that of maintaining computer security.

Taggart also found himself having to remind himself nearly constantly that Melfina was an android, a mimic of a human being; he kept talking with her as a human, albeit one with very limited experience. He would occasionally find himself talking about a movie or an image or something that he thought she might like, but then he'd have to remind himself she was programmed, and although she was in the process of tailoring her program to her current user, all it would take would be a reformat of her rewritable drive and everything he taught her would be lost. It was this sort of realization that made people treat their biodroids like nothing but equipment, but Taggart couldn't help himself. No matter how much he would remind himself, Melfina's responses and curiosity were so lifelike, he always found himself slipping into merely conversational mode.
 
The world of Bluesky swelled large through the pilot canopy. Taggart was strapped in the pilot's chair, guiding the Tears down into the atmosphere. Melfina was in one of the flight-duty stations, observing. Both of them had their HALOs active, and Melfina was also interfaced directly with the ship computer. Her job this time out was to observe, monitor the autopilot, and learn what she could; Taggart was interested in getting her rated and cleared so she could act as a full-on actual pilot for the times when the autopilot just wasn't capable enough.

They were both in their olive drab ship-suits, which was more than comfortable enough for Bluesky. In clothes and his old boots, she looked indistinguishable from a very light-skinned blue-haired human. So, a little old-fashioned, then, as that kind of look had been all the rage among the body-mod crowd a few years ago.

"Okay," he said conversationally, "that was landing control; we have a spot on the field, which is the cheapest of berths, but it's all we need. Bluesky is reasonably safe, certainly as far as shipjacking or major crime goes, and we don't need professional repairs or resupply, so a patch of grass is all that'll be necessary. We'll be touching down at local midafternoon, and as always, it's sunny and warm on Bluesky."

The wispy high-altitude clouds didn't block their view of the planet's bright blue oceans and wide swaths of greenery. Bluesky was mostly an agricultural colony, but its one town with starport facilities also acted as a decent general restocking point. That was the plan, actually. She'd already composed a shopping list of what she'd like to have for the galley and for general purposes, using her past few days on the ship to guide her choices, and he'd only added a few basics for his work, such as ammo and gun oil.

"Now, when we get to the marketplace, we'll prowl the stalls. Again, I just want you to try and get used to the environment; you should learn how to handle yourself in crowds, how to look for and find what you want. I'll be along, I'll have the cash, just stick close and keep an eye on me, you can see the kind of thing you'll be doing, eventually. You're a fast learner, I'm sure you'll be doing things on your own very shortly."
 
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