driftfleet | Have a friendly robot. :3

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Have a friendly robot. :3

Who: Daneel
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: The Marsiva, if you're there. Daneel's permission post is here, if so.
When: Today. Now. May 19th.

[Daneel spends a good chunk of time debating the best course of action. He's on a strange ship, which is certainly not quite like any ship he's familiar with. He doesn't know how he got here, which is... unsettling. And he's spent the last solar year trying to disappear while also trying to put himself in positions where he might be able to exert influence, so frankly he's half certain he's going to find himself being ordered to submit to deactivation and disassembly. And he'd rather not do that. He has far too much to do, for one. But as time goes on, it seems less and less likely that he's going to find himself in that situation, the need to learn exactly what is going on is becoming more... essential. The communication device is new, but not difficult to figure out, either.]

If I am permitted to ask, what planetary system is this ship en route to?

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You're on the Marsiva, amigo. It just...floats along. I don't know what this place is called. Space Vegas, maybe?

[He frowns, very slightly.]

I'm not familiar with any planet called Space Vegas. If I am on the Marsiva, is it possible to get into contact with the captain? My efforts have been unsuccessful.

Afraid not. There doesn't seen to be a captain on the Marsiva. You're only there for a short time, and then they'll send you onto one of the smaller ships.

I would like to request passage to one of the Settler worlds, if at all possible. I would prefer Baleyworld. I have previous obligations that do not allow me to wait here indefinitely.

I wish I could help you, there. None of us seem to be able to go anywhere. We're working on it as best as we can, but right now, we just go whever Atroma sends us.

I see. That is... unfortunate.

[He gives a small sigh of frustration.]

Allow me to introduce myself. I am Daneel Olivaw.

I'm Manolo Sánchez. It's nice to meet you, I wish it was under better circumstances. If you have any questions, I'll help as best I can.

That is kind of you. Still, I suspect at present there is little I can do other than wait.

Afraid not, once you get assigned a ship, at least you can move around a little more then. It's not freedom, but it's something.

[At least he's not too concerned about freedom, exactly.]

What is my purpose on the ship, then?

Whatever your augment chooses for you. Maybe you have knowledge about something you might not have before? Does that sounds familiar?

[He considers a moment, head tilted to one side.]

There is. I appear to have knowledge about the communications systems and protocols. That, then is to be my role?

Yeah, that'd be it. You'll be a communications officer.

An officer?

[But that's outlandish.]

Then there must be a mistake. I am not qualified to hold that sort of position.

Most of us aren't, amigo. The captains usually just get given the role. For the most part, it's just to give us something to do, I think. Make it look real.

I'm afraid that whatever universe you come from, you're not in it anymore.

[He frowns, slightly, thoughtfully. It's... outlandish, but he does tend to be trusting.]

This isn't what I anticipated. I have urgent business on Baleyworld that I must attend to. I don't understand how I have come to be here, but I must return to the galaxy I know, immediately.

I wish I could help you, but we're all stuck here, until our captors decide otherwise. If it makes you feel any better, no one at home will experience any time passing while you are gone.

I admit that seems improbable.

[He's... completely not sure what to do now. Huh.]

For what purpose are we here, then?

Several people who came from the same universes confirm that that is the case. I know it's only a small comfort, but it's something.

We've been taken by a being named Atroma and put on a television show - a reality show they're called - for some unknown audience's entertainment.

Then I am glad that my time here will go unnoticed, if what you say is true.

[He shakes his head, very slightly.]

I beg your pardon. I am Daneel Olivaw. May I ask who I am addressing?

Oh, I'm sorry! I should have said earlier! I'm Dr. Beverly Crusher, on the SS Blue Fish, one of the starships in this fleet Atroma has put together.

Apologies aren't necessary.

[Yeah, he's been masquerading as human for a year, but some things still hold.]

I am glad to make your acquaintance, Dr. Crusher. Out of curiosity, what is your doctorate in?

Medicine! Why do you ask?

[Kind of a relief, actually. A medical doctor is a valuable asset, and is less likely to know how to give strong orders to a robot. Assuming he reveals himself. Which he hasn't decided yet. But he'd really rather not be ordered into being deactivated, and he... still expects that.]

Merely because most of the doctors of my acquaintance are roboticists.

[This would be easier in person, where he could gauge her emotional reactions. This will have to do.]

[You really don't have to be an empath to see how Beverly's eyes light up excitedly when you mention robotics.]

Oh! Well, I actually happen to know quite a bit about robotics and cybernetics, though I'm no expert of course. One my close friends and crew mates back home is an android, so I often help him maintain his systems and make sure they are running smoothly.

[Her smile fades ever so slightly when she thinks of her friends at home.]

His name is Data. I'm sure, if he were here, he'd love to talk to you all about robotics, if that's something you're interested in.

Edited 2015-05-21 18:57 (UTC)

[Android. He knows that word, though not a common one in his own time. And... she describes him as a friend, which is a rare enough thing for him. Well. That changes everything.]

Forgive me. I have not been entirely straightforward with you, Dr. Crusher. I am, myself, a humaniform robot, which is perhaps why the majority of the doctors I have known are roboticists. It has been necessary for the past solar year for me to conceal this fact, but perhaps it isn't necessary for me to do so here.

[Her face suddenly gets very serious. She doesn't have any idea what his past is, of course, but she is aware that even in the Federation, there are those who are suspicious of artificial lifeforms, so she doesn't blame him at all for not saying something right away.]

I understand. I... haven't run into anyone yet in the fleet with any prejudices towards artificial lifeforms, but I can assure you that I at least do not.

[He tilts his head, interested.]

You use the term "artificial lifeform." I don't believe I have ever heard any robot referred to as a form of life.

[She nods.]

I'm not surprised. It's only been within the past decade in my world that they've started to be accepted as such and many people still struggle with the concept.

[She smiles.] You know, Data once asked me what the definition of life was, and what exactly it was that made him alive and not just a series of working parts. I couldn't give really give him a adequately concrete answer, yet I know that he is as alive as I am. And so are you.

That's quite the claim to make, Dr. Crusher, though I thank you for it. Robots are exceedingly common where I am from -- though most do not resemble humanity as closely as I do -- but we are simply property. Partner Elijah once referred to me as being "alive," but while I am conscious, the general opinion is that I merely function, not live.

[Protip: anything that reminds him of Elijah Baley will, in fact, endear him to you.]

Are robots common for you, as well?

Not particularly common, no. We do use automated machinery for jobs that are too dangerous or impossible for most people to perform, but those machines are not self-aware and limited in function. Self-aware robots are fairly rare, and androids as technologically sophisticated as Data - in that he has a positronic brain - are extremely rare. We only know of three others like him.

And Data is not our property. He is a full member of the crew.

[This is a lot to take in. He'd like to meet this Data, himself.]

Then the positronic brain is a new invention for you. I see. In my own universe, it was invented some fifteen hundred years ago, give or take. Early robots were quite primitive, of course, and many such simplistic robots still perform dangerous or menial tasks, but they still possess positronic brains, though less complex than my own. I am unique mostly in how I was built to mimic humanity and how I have developed in response to that, not for the complexity of my brain.

[Daneel frowns, thoughtful.]

It is my thought that humanity is actually hampered by the heavy reliance on robot labour that has arisen on Spacer worlds. It is clear that the situation is very different for you.

The concept of a positronic brain has been around for centuries, but Dr. Soong - Data's creator - has so far been the only cyberneticist to construct a stable one. Data's brother and mother are the only other androids I know of who have survived for any significant amount of time without their positronic matrix failing.

[She considers his words for a moment.]

It's hard to say for sure without having been to your worlds, of course, but it does sound very different, yes. We rely on our technology, but we are not utterly dependent on it.

[She gives him a wry smile.]

At least, I'd like to think we aren't.

I'm certain you're not.

[He's absolutely sincere in that, too.]

I admit that you present some new ideas to me. I'm not quite certain how to process them, yet.

I'd be happy to further explain anything you have questions about. Or if you think of something later you want to talk about you can always reach me on my comm.

That is kind of you, Dr. Crusher, and I thank you for it.

You're welcome, Mr. Olivaw. Once you're assigned to your new ship, I'm sure we will be seeing more of each other.

Sorry. Most of what we can tell you is "you're not in Kansas anymore."

[He's more puzzled than anything.]

I did not believe I was on Earth at all to begin with.

Sorry. Idiom.

Ah. Yes, I see. My apologies. Still, it is troubling to hear that no one here is aware of where we might be.

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Have a friendly robot. :3

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