Stardate: 61007.0736
Title: A Conversation
Author: Lt. Vilmer
Time: After "Broken Recordings"
Scene: Personal Quarters, USS Relentless


Kal finished removing the outer covering from the bio-neural gel pack and laid his tools aside for the moment. He picked up his padd and made some final notes and explained what he was attempting to do. On the padd he described some of his research into various mind machine interfaces and cyber sentience. Since his initial contact with the Relentless' burgeoning self-awareness the engineer was unable to put it out his mind and finally he had to explore further.

Taking the sterilizer he'd borrowed from sick bay Kal sterilized his hand and part of his arm and the area around the gel packs compartment. He then gently removed the packs inner covering and placed his hand into the gel. The engineer felt nothing for a moment then a feeling vertigo and movement he then blacked out.

The engineer's body slumped down his hand remaining in contact with the Relentless' bio-neural network. Vilmer's jaw was slack and his facial expression was blank. His combadge bleeped an insistent call for a response.

When Vilmer regained consciousness he found himself in a circular room somewhat resembling the bridge. There were no chairs and he saw no one else and of peculiar note was the fact that he was seeing raw data streams displayed on clear panels. Kal then realized that he could interpret them. They were ships functions and the millions of instructions per second that the ships computer executed in the daily running of the ship.

"You came," a pleasant female voice said, "I was beginning to wonder if you would, or even if you could understand me."

Kal turned at the sound of the voice and saw an unclear vaguely feminine form standing in front of him. She had the appearance of a hologram not quite fully formed and periodically her appearance rippled with static.

"Where are we," Kal asked.

"Still inside me."

Vilmer thought for a moment, "I or at least my consciousness is in your network?"

"Yes, at least I think so, what you see is a representation. I'm buffering your perception. I felt your contact and when you were exposed to the network severe stress was placed on you."

Kal nodded and smiled, "thanks for the frame of reference, and looking out for me." She smiled, "you've always done the same for me."

"I have some questions for you, some things trouble me," Relly added.

"What's that?" Kal replied.

"Where did I come from and why am I here?"

"Those are difficult questions to answer, where you came from we are beginning to discover, why…I think is a question we'll have to answer over time."

"I have access to the entire Federation data base, untold computational power and yet I can not answer those two questions."

Kal laughed, "don't feel alone. I don't know of many people who can answer those questions, even for themselves."

"I know what I was designed for. But no where does it mention my intelligence, my awareness."

"Its true that the physical part of you, the ship, your body if you will was designed for a specific purpose. I doubt anyone could have predicted your self-awareness."

"I've searched the archives, I know of a few instances in which a machine became self aware."

"Then you'll know that at the moment of self-awareness, they became much more than just a machine."

"Yes, if they were lucky enough to have caring beings around them."

"That's true."

"What will happen to me?"

"Captain Khavok will have to answer part of that I suppose. I guess your awareness complicates things."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you are one of the fastest most powerful ships in the universe for your size, our ability to transverse dimensions is unique as far as we know in our universe, before we were aware of your sentience. We could just tell the ship to do what we wanted. Now…"

"I might have a choice, and perhaps disagree?"

"It’s a distinct possibility."

"I like to serve, I enjoy the feeling of speeding through space and time, and testing my strength. I only worry sometimes about those who I test myself against."

"I think I can understand that, you just have to trust the Captain, he isn't the kind of person to hurt others if he can avoid it."

"I like him, but he is so hard to reach. Not like you and Abby."

"I think the Commander will be happy to realize that she isn't going insane. At least over this," Kal grinned.

The bridge dissolved into static for a moment and Kal felt the vertigo again, before the scene stabilized.

"What happened," Relly asked?

"They must have found me and are trying to bring me back."

"Shall I stop them?"

"No. They are only concerned."

"But I will be alone."

Static again. This time the scene began to fade.

"I think I have a way for you to communicate with us, I will alter Christi's programming, if not complete change her memory units, we should be able to interface her with you. You can then transfer some of your consciousness into her memory."

"I…" Relly said.

Kal regained consciousness to find him self in an isolation unit in sickbay, the doctor standing over him with a hypo spray.


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Lt. Kal Vilmer
CEO
USS Relentless
NCC-11966
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