♖ 002.

[summerschild]

Who: Bran Stark and YOU
Broadcast: Fleet-wide
Action: SS First Breath
When: Saturday afternoon

[For the first couple of months he was in the Fleet, Bran paid little regard to his actual assigned position on the First Breath. After all, being bound to his bed didn't give him much opportunity to do much maintenance. But now that he's mostly mobile, he's been almost enjoying the task. It gives him a purpose, keeps his mind off of the dark things. It's good, almost.

And he actually really likes these little robots.]

I understand how these work, and that it's "electricity", and "circuits"... but are they actually alive? They can respond to their names, and understand what I tell them to do, like wolves or crows. But they don't have minds. How is this possible?

[The augment gave him the ability to understand their physical workings, but the concept of artificial intelligence is still completely lost on him.

There's a small scuttling noise from across the bridge, and Bran turns to look at it. One of the tiny robots has bumped into a chair, and seems intent that it needs to move the heavy item.]

Shaggydog, stop that!

[Odd name for a robot.]

Comments

video;

[ino]

[ She can't help but laugh a little bit ]

You named the robots?

[summerschild]

Yes. After my brothers' and sisters' wolves.

[DON'T TEASE, MA]

[ino]

[ She's laughing at the robot trying to mess with the chair, not you! ]

Oh? What are their names?

video;

[recopy]

[Oh no.....]

Ah, I don't think it's so much that they don't have minds! It's more that they don't have the tools to make more complex decisions yet, I think. Really basic programs can start out like that... [Ah, these little robot dudes, though...the kid on this end stares through the feed with visible interest.] Are those little guys yours?

[summerschild]

Yes, they're for cleaning.

[He sort of lost understanding at "basic programs", but he thinks he understands somewhat.]

A bit like a baby, do you mean?

[recopy]

[YEAH he's trying to condense it as much as he can, but at least the gist seems to get through! He nods, smiling a bit.]

Cleaning robots, that's really neat! But--yeah, that's about right! A bit like a baby. And, like that, some robots might be able to 'grow up', and some might not. I'm pretty sure that would depend on what they were made for and who made them...

[Ah he's not even an expert on robots specifically but it seems similar to programs in a lot of ways--just with a physical shell--and that seems to line up, from what he's seen.]

video

[serves]

Shaggydog? [He can't help but look amused.]

[summerschild]

The name my brother chose for his wolf.

[A bit of a smile.]

He was only three.

[serves]

I'm sure it was very accurate. It's an interesting name for a machine, however.

[thezerothlaw]

Your robots are very simple. I'm not certain there's an easy answer to your question.

[He's very polite, at least.]

I am Daneel Olivaw, or perhaps more accurately, R. Daneel Olivaw. The R stands for "robot." I am also a mechanical creation, much as your small robots are, though more sophisticated. I certainly have a mind. It is positronic rather than biological, but it is still a mind, and I am conscious and capable of rational thought. Your robots might have simple minds, something akin to the brains of animals. They may be mere programming. Whether either of us count as "alive" is a question I don't feel qualified to answer.

[summerschild]

[Bran listens with unconstrained awe, even if he doesn't understand 75% of the words.]

... You're like one of my robots, but "grown-up"?

[thezerothlaw]

[He thinks about this. "Grown-up" implies that he was like these little ones, once.]

In a way. I was never like them, but I was made by men who perfected simple robots and made more complex ones to replace them, until they were capable of making one like myself.

Action

[kill_switch]

[Furiosa steps onto the bridge and pauses, taking in the new brand of excitement going on. She moves to push the chair out of Shaggydog's way, giving the little robots a bemused look before regarding Bran.]

I see you're out and about now.

[summerschild]

I am. My friend built me a chair.

[He is still a bit wary of the new crew members, but this woman seems good. A little frightening, but not unkind.]

[kill_switch]

Good friend.

[It has been a while since she's dealt with a child that wasn't a Warboy in training, so there is a certain level of hesitance, but this is her ship and her crew; she feels responsible for their well-being.]

Do you need any help with your bots? [They were so unlike the machines she was familiar with, and she did have the same questions he was asking. Are they real? Instinctively, she wanted to lean towards no.]

video;

[geonomy]

[Clay can't help grinning at all that - gosh, he knows someone who'd get a field day out of all this.]

There's a friend of mine back home whose knowledge about robots is about as huge as space itself. She knows all the ins and outs that come with them!

[... And would smack them around, but Clay liked to pretend to not see it happening. Poor Clonco though.]

The robots she made were really cool. I don't know how they worked, but I know they could show emotions and know how other people were feeling. I even became friends with one of them!

[summerschild]

You were friends with a robot?

[Overwhelmed as he is by all this new knowledge, Bran is impressed to hear this.]

Did it look like mine?

[geonomy]

Not entirely! A lot of robots are made to look different, depending on what their makers have! The one I'm thinking about is named Ponco. She's got an orange body and a face that shows what kind of mood she's in. She'll smile if she's happy, wince if she's frustrated, look confused if she doesn't know about something... It's pretty cool, seeing how far they can go!

feel free to ignore because it's so late!

[poetontheinside]

Hey! You're looking pretty good!

alksjdhad never!

[summerschild]

[Bran smiles widely to see Ray on his screen. He's certainly improved vastly since their last conversation.]

Thank you. I am doing well, now that I have my chair.

[poetontheinside]

Someone make that for you?

video;

[gunslinger]

The technology here is a little different from what I'm used to, but I will say that the answers to that question get pretty dodgy the more advanced a robot becomes. These guys are pretty basic, so I wouldn't say they're alive, but it's different once AI enters the picture.

[summerschild]

What's "AI?"

[Said excitedly. All his crewmates are so cool, alright]

audio;

[heresyandlace]

[Tek isn't one to generally find many things cute, but... ugh, this pings enough little things in his head to get him to smile.

not that the kid can see that, of course. he'll stick to audio-only for now, though the sound of subtle amusement is there in his voice.]

...You're not used to all of these particular 'complexities' either, mm?

[summerschild]

[There's the sound of the communicator being moved around a little, before Bran realizes that the lack of a picture is not a fault. He's still getting used to this device.]

No, I'm not. I'm afraid much of this world is unfamiliar to me, still.