Enter the Raven

Posted on 01 Feb 2015 @ 4:20pm by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & EBH Mark I "Raven" & Lieutenant Min Zhao

1,259 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 5, Holodeck 1
Timeline: MD42 - 1300 hrs

ON:

"You wanted to see me?" asked Tuula as she rolled into the holodeck. Min had called her down, and Tuula was excited, for it could only be for one reason that the Chief of Operations was calling her into the holodeck.

Min looked behind her, having heard the holodeck doors open. "Ah Lieutenant, Yes I did. I have something I wanted to show you." She waited until the women sat beside Min, before she began.

Keying something into a padd, Min grinned as several humanoid's sprung into existence, all standing in a row. Center of the group, and standing close up to the pair stood what Min had come to know as the "Raven" prototype. The other's were alternates Min had toyed with during development but were less developed then Raven herself was.

"Meet Raven. The first EBH iteration." Motioning to Raven, "Would you like to inspect her before we put her through her paces?"

"She looks AWESOME!" exclaimed Tuula as she pulled up close. The line of avatars was quite impressive, including alien species Bajorans to Bolians, but it was Raven, the one inspired partly by her prototype, that drew her in the most with her combination of black and purple.

"She's perfect," added Tuula, carefully examining her clothes, hair and makeup. "Lets turn her on!"

Min nodded. "Computer. Limited execute. Run EBH Mark 1, Avatar code Raven." The computer beeped in turn and seconds later, the EBH Mk1 switched on as a complete program for the first time. The static model went live before Min & Tuula's eyes.

Tuula looked on in anticipation as the EBH opened her eyes for the first time.

"Please state the nature of the babysitting--" she started, freezing partway through the default greeting in her programming. Looking around in awe, she was like a newborn opening her eyes for the first time. Her eyes fell on the woman in front of her, smiling up at her from her wheelchair.

Testing out her programing, she held up her hands and looked down in amazement. Turning them over in front of her, she examined them closely, taking note of the spiked cuffs around her wrist and the torn fishnets running up her arm. Those definitely got her attention as she looked down to examine her outfit, stunned by the combination of fishnets, leather, and chains. "I look..." she started, in a tone betraying her insecurity.

"You look what?" asked Tuula, in a worried tone. If even the EBH didn't like her sartorial choices...

"I look AWESOME!" she exclaimed. "This is so cool; you even got me some platform boots! And this skull necklace is just so cute!"

"I knew you'd like it," replied Tuula. Grinning, she turned to Min. "I like her."

Min nodded. "Despite my intial misgivings Tuula, I have to admit Raven has grown on me. I still have other avatars available that utilize the basic physical parameters of Raven."

Turning back to Raven she smiled. "We're going to run you through a battery of tests Raven. Basically for the next eight hours or so we'll run you through an accelerated series of scenarios to test your subroutines to ensure you react properly to various common scenarios you'll encounter. First though, I want to test your avatar adaption subroutine. Behind you you'll see a lineup of avatars you can change into, both of your own accord and at parental request."

"Okay," she added in a cheerful tone, "though I don't see what's wrong with this avatar."

"Me neither," replied Tuula, "but you know how some people are."

A confused expression on her face, Raven nodded in agreement. What could anyone possibly dislike about this? I look awesome!, she thought. "So, what's the first test?"

Min looked at Raven. "It's an issue of comfort and trust. Some people are not comfortable with certain appearances, and if we want to get people to use your program, we have to try to instill trust in the program." Min picked up her padd again. "I'd like you to start by picking one of the avatar's behind you, your choice, and switching into them."

"Okay," she said, closing her eyes for a moment and choosing another body. As the body of Raven froze, another one in the lineup came to life.

The EBH reached up with her blue hands and touched her bald head, running a finger down the ridge which bisected her face. It felt... strange. She'd definitely have to get used to the body switching. "Hey, look at me, I'm a Bolian!" exclaimed the EBH. "You know what they say, once you go blue..."

Min grinned at the remark. Looking over the padd, Min could see the results were normal. "Looking good Raven. I'm going to execute the avatar preference command now. This is what the parent's can use if they wish you to load with a specific avatar in mind. I haven't programmed in a lock yet as I trust that you will respect the parent's wishes in their choice of Avatar, regardless of how you may feel."

Min paused for a second. "Tuula. Do you think we should change the 'Please state the nature part' of Raven's startup? Seems too clinical."

"Hmmm, perhaps something like HEEEEEEEY KIDS!!!!!" exclaimed Tuula, repeating the catchphrase of one of her favourite childhood holo-characters, Biffo the clown. For some reason the six year old version of Jaana never liked Biffo and thought he was scary, but Tuula just found him fascinating. Especially the trick where his assistant would saw him in half.

"You saw Biffo too? That guy was funny but a little creepy." Turning to Raven she nodded. "Ready?"

Tuula never understood why people found clowns scary. They were so happy and cheerful, and they dressed funny too. They were awesome!

"I'm ready," replied Raven. "Though I do seem to have a sudden craving for seafood."

Min shut Raven's program down. Confirmaing she was shutdown, Min began the startup. "Computer. Run EBH Program. Execute Avatar species Caitian."

"Please state the naturrrre of the babysitting emerrrrrgency," purred Raven as she reappeared, this time with fur and a tail. "Hmph," she added, waving her tail side to side as she tried to get used to her new body. "I don't mind the tail, but could you please tone down the involuntary purrrrring? Making these noises everrrrry time I say the letter 'R' is verrrrrrry annoying."

"I'll dial it down a bit. Some rolling is normal for the species so I can't remove it." She nodded to Raven. "Looks good. Feel free to swap if you wish."

"Thanks," she replied, closing her eyes and activating the avatar switching subroutines, returning herself to the black-clad, fishnet-wearing, purple-haired body that she felt was a little more natural. "So, what's next?"

Min glanced over at Tuula who it seemed, was almost watching herself in someways. "Looks like most of the tests we can do interactively with Raven are complete. The rest are automated tests that should take around 2hrs to complete. Basically she'll undergo a battery of scenarios to ensure she's prepared to handle the tasks she'll normally be assigned."

"Sounds great," replied Tuula, feeling a strange sense of pride in the creation which was partly hers. The hologram was the closest thing she had to a daughter, and like a true mother, she hoped that she did well on the test. "Let me know how she does."

OFF:

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Vouilainen, M.D.
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

LT Min Nicholas
Chief of Operations
USS Galileo

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