Things to Come (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 28 Mar 2016 @ 5:08am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Andreus Kohl & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D. & Lieutenant JG Natalya Kirilova & Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy & Lieutenant Wilhelm Von Haeften & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D.
Edited on on 28 Mar 2016 @ 5:12am

2,868 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 7, Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD 90 - 1650 hrs

Previously, on Things to Come (Part 1)...

"Well, let us begin." Picking up her PADD, she tapped a brief command into the device to link it to the wall's large LCARS display. "We are scheduled to depart Jupiter Station in five days," she began. "Starfleet has assigned us a new mission -- to escort a new colony ship to a habitable world and assist with its deployment and colonial development." The large projector monitor flashed to display a large class of Federation starship. "This is USS Semmes, the latest of the Colony-class designs that has just been commissioned and scheduled for use. As you can see," her green finger pointed towards several notable areas of the hull, "she is capable of transporting over 2,000 personnel and her modular sections deploy from the main hull into individual landing platforms...each able to transform into long-term, sustainable structures when they reach the surface."

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

Lirha continued on with the briefing. "This time, however, Semmes will only be transporting 250 colonists to a new site in the Celes system. The reason for this is due to the difficult nature of habitation that this planet presents." She looked down towards her PADD and punched in another command to bring up the display of the Celes solar system. "As you can see from the orbital patterns, this is a trinary star system with three separate solar systems each contained within their own star's sphere of influence. Celes III, the planet chosen for colonization, has a highly elliptical orbit due to the gravitational pull from its non-parent stars." The graphic on the display shifted to zoom in on the planet and its oval-like motions around its star. "For two-thirds of the year, this planet lies within its star's habitable zone, but for the other period, it is pulled far enough away that it becomes difficult to inhabit. Probe data has revealed that the surface temperature across the planet drops to minus 100 degrees and is accompanied by severe weather due to the shift in its gravitational fields. It is...habitable, but barely, and these colonists will experience much hardship in their first years."

"So, if the planet's climate is so volatile, what makes it worth colonizing?" Oren asked, watching the model planet move through it's orbit. It seemed baffling for the Federation to allow habitation of such a place without their being an ulterior motivation behind it.

Allyndra was about to ask the same thing. It seemed there would be a lot easier places to colonize then some highly odd place like this. There had to be another reason. "I agree, it seems very odd to me as well. Either there is a strategic importance or there is some sort of mineral mining that is worth the effort or is there something else?"

"It's likely they're going to apply some form of weather control," Tyrion suggested as he watched the image of the planet spin slowly. "I mean, isn't Risa a horrible place to be without it's weather control?"

"Yes, these are good questions. Terraforming is a possibility in the future, I suppose," answered Saalm with a light shrug. "This world, however, does have a sustainable atmosphere and it appears to have a temperate climate for much of its orbital cycle. That is more than we can say for Mars or Luna which are much more inhospitable and were colonized hundreds of years ago." Her attention drifted back towards the screen while she thought more about the other inquiries. "I am not aware of any mineral value at this planet. It does lie somewhat close to both the Romulan and Klingon neutral zones, but we have several other outposts and established colonies nearby."

"Instead," she continued, "My best guess would be that it relates to our mission's VIP who will be joining the colony's personnel." Lirha tapped her PADD again and this time the screen shifted to display an image of an attractive, middle-aged Human woman with graying hair. "This is Doctor Iroh, the current head of Starfleet's Applied Sciences Division. She is a robotics and computer science expert by trade and is well known in many Starfleet communities for her work on Federation computer core programming." The rear admiral slid her finger across her PADD to show the next series of images in slideshow format. "Along with her work in traditional programming, she is also a strong proponent of artificial intelligence. She has been working on cybernetics for almost half of her life and has conducted extensive research of the Soong androids and exocomps... It now appears that she has recently made a breakthrough in her own studies and technological development, and has managed to create several new and advanced mechanical prototypes. A new, sentient race of androids, if you will."

The next slide in the queue was that of a much younger-looking version of the doctor laying on a surgical bed with external connectors attached to the neural synapses in her brain. "Starfleet Sciences is very interested in the capabilities of this new race and has already called for advanced testing in practical situations. Celes III could provide the perfect chance to conduct these trials and will allow us to observe how the unit integrates itself into colonial life. Its contributions to the colonists during their initial months could prove invaluable, and we could be looking at a new Federation species well-adapted to assisting other humanoids with difficult tasks. Along with escorting USS Semmes' during her deployment, we have been ordered to lend any necessary help to Doctor Iroh and observe her prototype while it works with the colonists."

His brows furrowed since the mention of the mechanical prototype integrating into the community of the colony, Kohl tilted his head and asked, "For how long has the prototype been... alive? Are we transporting a child or a fully-formed person?"

Lirha looked down at her PADD to see if there was any such information provided by Starfleet for her that might help answer her second officer's question. Sadly, many of the details were omitted which now left Saalm to hypothesize to the best of her ability.

"I am not sure," she answered. "Days, perhaps. Or months. Possibly a year? However, my previous and limited experiences with artificial life forms have revealed that the concept of time is not always as linear to them as we might understand it. It is theoretically possible for an artificial intelligence to grow within a matter of minutes as opposed to a Human's entire adolescence."

"And what of drastic changes that are expected?" Allyndra asked. "The Soong androids had trouble with their positronic nets under certain extremes. I presume that this has been looked into?" She nodded toward the slide, though it was not the current one she was referring to. "The extremes of orbit and possible radiation changes could be damaging or will the android be like the rest of the colonists and remain inside?"

Lirha tilted her head slightly to the side with a bit of confusion suddenly present in her green features. "Starfleet has EVA suits for a reason, doctor. I suspect everyone -- including ourselves -- will be braving the elements while we attempt to establish the colony. Certainly there is a decent amount of construction and maintenance that needs to take place in order to stabilize and reinforce the structures. As for the prototype, I once again cannot fully answer the question. Doctor Iroh would better be able to address your concerns and she will be joining us once we get underway if you wish to ask. But I assume that past lessons have been studied and improvements have been made. It is her life's work, after all, and it would not make sense for her to ignore such an obvious and well-documented flaw."

Natalya seemed on the verge of speaking up. Like the chief medical officer, she had concerns about introducing a... prototype android lifeform into a challenging and unpredictable environment, especially with other colonists working in close proximity. Though she wasn't adamantly against the development of artificial intelligence and synthetic lifeforms, in general Natalya didn't approve of it and thought it was a bad idea. This Doctor Iroh... who was investing her life's work into this colony-building project had too much of a personal stake. There was likely no way she'd be able to be objective about the mission. And what were her motives, anyway?

Humans and other organic species procreated for a variety of reasons, but usually they were deeply personal. People generally didn't seek to create life to fulfill a specific purpose, or simply because they could. And even if they did, they probably wouldn't seek to put their living creation into a dangerous and unpredictable environment at the soonest opportunity. That went against everything Natalya knew about parental instinct. And besides... Iroh hadn't just created a new lifeform, but a new species... a new analog. What if these new lifeforms weren't excited about this new role Starfleet had planned for them? The implications of that were too big for Iroh to assume responsibility over alone. Natalya, and everyone in the room would be responsible too, whether they wanted to be or not.

In the end Natalya forced herself to keep quiet. She was new to the crew and didn't really know the senior staff or the admiral in charge. She had no illusions about being... irreplaceable. She wasn't about to torpedo her career over a what-if.

Oren listened intently to the Rear Admiral, taking short notes on the paDD in front of him. Her lack of full, comprehensive answers made Oren nervous. The Galileo wasn't known for it's luck and he couldn't help but find himself slightly paranoid that it might run out at any moment. Registering the small spike of anxiety coming from the person seated next to him, Oren gave Natalya a quick look but said nothing. Instead, he returned his attention to the room.

"I hope you will forgive me, Rear Admiral, but I find your lack of information disconcerting. I feel like Dr. Iroh should have been here for this. But I suppose there is nothing we can do about that," he sighed, shrugging it off before moving on to another point.

"To be honest, the entire idea of testing a new sentient to see how useful it is, worries me," he explained. "If Dr. Iroh is our only mission VIP, does it fall to us to oversee the ethics of this research? Shouldn't a team of representatives from the Ethics Committee be here as well?"

"How much more sentient is this android compared to the Soong type we know?" Tyrion asked, "and how much more quick does it develop? I'm sure we all remember Commander Data once built himself a daughter he called Lal...and she malfunctioned after a few days."

"Does this Soong-inspired model have a shutdown button like Data and his previous models?" Gryce fielded. She did not need to elaborate on why, as the whole line of discussion was precautionary.

Saalm slowly nodded, her dark hair swaying across the tops of her shoulders. "From the information I have read in the doctor's preliminary reports to Starfleet, there are contingencies in place should something go wrong." Lirha then focused her attention on Oren and his concerns.

"Doctor Iroh's research has been taking place for many years...this is not the first prototype she has built nor tested, which means any concerns about the ethical treatment of these life forms has been addressed long ago," she tried to explain. "Having said that...we, of course, have an obligation to uphold the morals of the Federation and to do our due diligence as Starfleet officers. These trials are not just for us to evaluate the the prototype...they are also to make sure it functions properly. Sentient or not, it is still a bio-mechanical creation and it is our duty to make sure that it is provided the proper attention and care that it deserves."

The other question Lirha wanted to address was that of the intelligence chief, and for this, he agreed with the others that it would be best for the doctor to explain it herself. "My information suggests that the Soong androids are not a comparable example. Doctor Iroh has used an entirely different process to create them. The neural processors are of an entirely different architecture and so are the biological components." She glanced back at the LCARS monitor before looking back towards Tyrion and the rest of the group. "Although the doctor is not here presently, she will be available to answer any additional questions once we depart Jupiter Station."

"Are there any other questions?" she asked.

"Excuse me Admiral, biological components?" Allyndra asked. "These are starting to sound more cyborg then android. I know there were attempts at grafting biological components to Data but with variable results. I should be quite interested how the electrochemical to neural interface was done."

Lirha was sure her ship of scientists and engineers would love the chance to examine the new creature, and she nodded in agreement. "I believe it prefers to be called an 'artificial lifeform'." Hopefully none of them would offend it by accident when the inevitable meeting occurred.

While Dru listened to the tooing and froing of the conversation, she had her own clear concerns in relation to the colonists, the VIP Doctor and also the android they would be helping to transport. Each would bring their own psychological issues with them that would impact themselves and those around them but at the same timethey could only be dealt with as they occured. One thing was clear though, a question needed to be asked which seemed to have been overlooked. "And what is the artificial lifeform's name?"

"That," Saalm waved towards the displayed bio of the lifeform's creator, "you will have to ask Doctor Iroh. And you will most likely get a chance to ask its name yourself if you so choose."

Dru nodded her head in acknowledgment of the Admiral's answer, mentally making notes as she realised that there was alot that herself and the Doctor may need to discuss.

The Orion admiral fetched her mug of hot chocolate from the corner of the table and took a long sip of the warm beverage before addressing one final matter. "Before we depart, I must inform you of a recent change in command. As some of you might have heard, I recently received orders from Starfleet Command to assume operational authority of Galileo." She cast a glance over to John and gave him a reassuring smile. "I will now be in command of the vessel and Captain Holliday has expressed a desire to stay on as our first officer. Also, Commander Kohl returned from his command training at Starfleet headquarters and will be our new second officer in light of Commander Stace's departure." She gave the former science chief a nod of approval before continuing. "Please inform your departments of these changes to the chain of command and brief them on the details of our new assignment. We depart in five days at 1800 for the Celes system. Dismissed."

"Glad you're staying aboard, Captain." Quinn stated with a smile to Holiday. Then looked at both the Captain and Admiral. "It'll be like old times."

Holliday could not help but raise his raktajino in acknowledgement and adoration for the Chief - perhaps the simple days of their first missions would be a welcome relaxation from the stresses of more recent engagements.

"Old times, yes," agreed Saalm. "But this time without the Borg or renegade Klingon generals." She raised her own mug of hot chocolate to mimic Holliday's gesture. "Or so we hope..."

Dru watched the banter between the people she had known the longest...since her very first time stepping foot on this ship. She wouldn't deny that she was glad she hadn't been around for the borg but she had missed the comradeship which came from serving with people for so long but..here she was, back in the circle of things and surely that's what mattered. Her future was more certain here amongst friends.

"May we make new times as well as revisit old ones, if I may say so." Von Haeften stated, raising his own mug of coffee.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

Commander Andreus Kohl
Second Officer
USS Galileo

CMCPO Markum QUinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

LCmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Miraj Derani
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Tyrion Faye
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Natalya Kirilova
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Benice Gyce
Chief of Security/Tactical
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG
Wilhelm Von Haeften
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Oren Idris
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

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