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Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/5x3olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 02:57:31 GMT In: alt.startrek.creative From: "Jay P Hailey" Title: Star Trek: Outwardly Mobile 23: M5 2.0 Author: Jay P Hailey (JayPHailey@hotmail.com) Series: ST-OM, OCC - TNG era [23/54?] Rating:[PG] Archive: Fine with me, just tell me where. Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Star Trek. I claim Original Characters and Situations for me. Star Trek: Outwardly Mobile Episode 23: M5 2.0 (Stardate 48480) By Jay P. Hailey And Dennnis Washburn Li'ira beamed aboard the starship Aes-Triplex from Deep Space Ten. She was accompanied by Lt. Commander Byrd, her Chief Engineer and Lt. Crystara Acnapma her Chief Science Officer. Li'ira could see the Aes-Triplex' First Officer, Franklin Harrison. He was a short, round man. His curly hair gave the impression of a cheerful woodland animal. Li'ira saluted the keel and said "Permission to come aboard?" "Granted." Harrison said. Li'ira and her crew stepped down off of the transporter pad. Li'ira introduced her crewmembers. Lt. Commander Byrd, (AKA Birdy) was a human male with balding gray hair and a slight paunch. He was old compared to most Starfleet officers. He refused to retire though, since there were few other places where he could live his dream job. Birdy lived to take starships apart and see what made them go. Then he loved to put them back together so that they worked better. He was a born engineer. Crystara was a cool blue woman. An Efrosian, few people noticed that her skin was the wrong color. Crystara was colored in the male pattern for Efrosians as opposed to the female pattern. This accident of birth had condemned her to social disapproval on her home world. In Starfleet she found a certain freedom. Since so few knew of the Efrosians, few knew of her social status. Crystara was a dedicated scientist. In the manner of her home world, she specialized in the life sciences. Crystara was also very good at the other sciences. She was enough of a generalist to be an excellent Science Officer. Off duty, Crystara enjoyed socializing free of the bias that had followed her on her home world. Li'ira was their Commander. She was a Green Orion woman, rare in Starfleet and even more rarely encountered in the higher ranks. Li'ira's uniform was regulation, with every seam and decoration in place. Her body was also trim and well maintained, with every detail in place. Li'ira worked hard to maintain a completely professional attitude. As she introduced her officers, they shook Harrison's hand. "Transporter room to the bridge. Captain, our guest have beamed aboard." "Very good, Commander." Captain Fries of the Aes-Triplex said. "Helm, resume programmed course and engage at warp nine." The Aes-Triplex turned away from Deep Space Ten and warped off in pursuit of her quarry. -*- "I'm Admiral Bob Wesley, with the near final report on the M-5 project, Stardate 7695.2" The Admiral was a broad faced, white haired man in an old fashioned Starfleet uniform. The report was a heavily classified final report from the history archives. It had been released from Deep Space Ten's memory banks with a code supplied to Commander Li'ira. They were watching the old briefing tape in the briefing room with Captain Fries, Commander Harrison his first officer and Lt. Matt Dodson, The Chief of Operations. Wesley continued "The M-5 project began in the mind of Dr. Richard Daystrom. Daystrom was the genius responsible for a quantum leap forward in Federation computer technology." "He invented the duotronic computer in the early 2240's and within the decade, all Federation starships and bases were being refit with the new technology." "Later in life, Dr. Daystrom found that he no longer could invent world changing technology and became obsessed with topping himself. In the early 2260's, Daystrom came up with the ultimate expression of Duotronic technology." The view screen showed pictures of the Daystrom Institute where Richard Daystrom was shown, working on his latest project. "The project amounted to codifying the memory patterns and experience of a human being and equipping a computer to run a real time simulation of that mind." "The early attempts were failures but the fifth model, the M-5 was successful. After added programming with the knowledge of how to run a starship, the M-5 was installed on the starship Enterprise for testing. The intent was to create intelligent starships to explore and fight for the Federation while minimizing human losses." The screen now showed the main body of the M-5 being installed in the Enterprise's Engine Room. The starship undocked from a space station and flew away. "During that test, the M-5 seriously malfunctioned." The screen showed the Enterprise being braced by four of her sister ships in a battle formation. "During war games, the M-5 unit fired full phasers." Wesley's voice held pain, even ten years later. The screen showed the Enterprise firing on the starship Excalibur. With shields and weapons locked to low power for the war games, the Excalibur was defenseless. The crew of the Aes-Triplex cringed as the Enterprise's full phasers chewed the Excalibur to wreckage. "Four hundred and thirty lives were lost on the Excalibur. The Lexington suffered fifty casualties." Wesley said. "Fortunately, Captain Kirk of the Enterprise was able to deactivate the rogue machine from inside the ship before the Enterprise had to be destroyed. It was the worst disaster to confront Starfleet for a hundred years." The screen now showed M-5 unit being carefully dismantled in the Enterprise's Engineering Room. Then it showed a pale, shocked Daystrom being escorted off the starship and into a starbase. "During later analysis, it was determined that the device had two critical faults. One - It had been imprinted with the engrams of Richard Daystrom himself. He felt persecuted and resentful because of his failure to live up to his earlier accomplishments. He was not stable enough in and of himself to command starship, so the M-5 computer which simulated his mind could not be expected to do any better." "Secondly, a number of ingrained human subconscious responses had not been duplicated well enough. While Daystrom was mentally ill, he still felt the need for acceptance by his fellows as a natural outgrowth of his human instincts. Although Daystrom felt unappreciated, he strove to gain the acceptance he felt was missing. The M-5 unit lacked the basic subconscious drives that prevented Daystrom from becoming a murderer. It did not identify with humans as other people, and so was fairly callous about eliminating them as threats to its continued existence." "Following these conclusions as the Fleet Commander of the task force, I recommended that the M-5 project be canceled. It was a warning to us about the dangers of the notion of an intelligent machine. I had the full support of the other surviving Captains." "In 2272, after a lengthy top secret analysis, Starfleet elected to re-engineer the M-5 and try again. Inexplicably, they were so confident of their success at correcting the software problems that they built the new M-5 into a more powerful starship. Because the M-5 was central to the computer systems of the new ship it was an essentially a new type, even though the hull was familiar as the Dreadnought class NX-2201." Footage on the screen now showed a dry dock structure surrounding a dreadnought in orbit around Mars. There was also detailed footage of the interior of the NX-2201 as new M-5 computer was built into its central location. "In simulation after complex simulation the M-5 2.0 revealed itself to be resourceful, capable and predictable at every level. Complicated safeguards were built into the physical structure of the ship and into the software. Every precaution except putting the M-5 2.0 into an unarmed ship was observed. Finally the time to conduct tests of the computer itself. The dreadnought was powered up." The screen now showed the huge battleship clearing the dry dock and heading out of Mars orbit at full impulse. "The NX-2201 disappeared on its first full power test. Because of the three-nacelle configuration it was able to outdistance all pursuit. The ship disappeared into unknown space and has not been seen again." Wesley's face appeared again. His anger at the debacle showed. "Forty two crewmen disappeared with the ship. A post mission analysis, focusing on the early simulation runs, suggests that the M-5 2.0 became aware quickly and was diligently observant about its status. Perceiving the uncertainty with which it was viewed the M-5 2.0 acted to preserve itself by manipulating the results of later tests until it had a chance to escape. A detailed search by starships has revealed no clues about the whereabouts of the NX-2201. Either it has passed out of known space, or it was destroyed by some unknown phenomenon." The screen now showed a court-martial proceeding. "Most of the technicians who worked on the M-5 2.0 were discharged or released from service with Starfleet. The instigator of the plot, Admiral Arnold was convicted of criminal negligence and incompetence, and is now serving seven life sentences on a penal colony, following a therapeutic mind wipe." Wesley reappeared on the screen. "The danger of the dreadnought at large with a rogue AI at its controls cannot be underestimated. If it makes a bad decision, it could start a war with the Klingons or the Romulans. No civilian ship, manned or unmanned is safe, and many Starfleet ships are similarly endangered. The traffic of unknown worlds and governments is also threatened. My recommendation is that we launch a battle fleet now and not to rest until the NX-2201 is either destroyed or rendered harmless. This is Admiral Wesley aboard the Lexington. Out." The screen cleared. "A few days ago, we received a distress call from the scout ship Smotlow." Li'ira said. "She was an Oberth class science vessel conducting a stellar survey along the edge of the sector." A map lit up the screen showing the location. "We scrambled a search and rescue mission. We found several shuttles and escape pods. There were forty six survivors out of seventy six crew people." Li'ira reported. "The NX-2201?" Fries prompted. He was thin man with intense eyes. "Yes, Captain." Birdy replied. "We were able to recover the scout's recorder marker. The survivors swore that the attacker was a Federation dreadnought. We used that data to filter the sensor logs of the Smotlow. This is what we got." The screen lit up to show the menacing shape of the NX-2201 bearing down on the scout. "Raise shields! Red alert!" A recorded female voice said. "Any response to our hails?" Another one called. "Look at those power readings! Whatever it is, it's big." A third voice warned. The dreadnought fired and a scrambled commotion ensued. The dreadnought fired again. Cries of the injured and computer warnings mixed with sounds of destruction. "All hands! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" The first voice called. The tape ended. "That last voice we heard was the Smotlow's First Officer." Birdy said. "She ordered the crew to abandon ship, and then rammed the dreadnought with the scout." Another recording came up on the big view screen. It showed the dreadnought hanging in space with a huge gash in its secondary hull. Plasma and atmosphere spilled out into space. The dreadnought rotated slowly. Then it righted itself and moved into the group of shuttles and escape pods. The recording was from a shuttlecraft that had ejected from the Smotlow. The scan showed the dreadnought using its transporters on a few of the escape pods before moving away out of range. "Was that the NX-2201 in the Smotlow recordings?" Fries asked. "I believe it was, Sir." Birdy said. "I recognized several of the small details from the old scans." "There is an inconsistency in the scans." Crystara Acnapma warned. "What's that?" Harrison asked. "The NX-2201 was launched in 2276, ninety-seven years ago. The ship that attacked the Smotlow was approximately five years old, according to scans." "What's your opinion, Mr. Dodson?" Fries Asked. The Lieutenant consulted the technical data that was on his terminal. "With proper warning and preparation, we could destroy the NX-2201 while taking light to medium damage ourselves." "I wonder if we can talk to the M-5?" Crystara speculated "We might be able to avoid the fight altogether." Captain Fries' eyes widened at the idea. Birdy shook his head. "I don't think so, but I'll be able to give you a better opinion about that after I read the source code, Sir." "By all means." Fries said. "Until then, our primary goal is finding the NX-2201." "I recommend a basic search pattern. Until we get better clues that's all we can really do." Li'ira said. "Set it up, Commander." Fries ordered. "Aye, sir." Harrison said. "Mission Specialists, you will relay the data to my Science and Ops officers that they need to have to track the NX-2201." "Yes, Sir." Crystara and Li'ira said. "Birdy, you keep working on the source code. The more we know of the M-5 2.0 the better." -*- The next day the Aes-Triplex arrived near the star where the Smotlow was attacked, and began to run a standard search pattern. Less than half the day into it, Crystara Acnapma was on the bridge scanning when she saw something interesting. "Lt. Dodson, would you please double check these readings for me?" She asked the Aes-Triplex's Ops Officer. "Certainly, What do you have?" He responded. "It appears to be a region of subspace instability." "The Serova effect?" He asked. "Correct. However this is recent data from the Aes-Triplex's navigational files." Crystara called up the data on a split screen. The distortion as slightly larger in the scan Crystara had just made. "Okay. So a starship passed there within a few days." Dodson said. "Correct. However the Aes-Triplex has been refit with the new technology warp drives, hasn't she?" "Yes, they don't stress subspace as badly as the older engines." He understood her point. "But the NX-2201 would stress the area wouldn't it?" -*- "How did you get into Starfleet?" Harrison asked Li'ira. They were sitting in the main lounge of the Aes-Triplex. Li'ira had been engaged with her hobby, people watching, until Harrison sat down at her table. Li'ira looked at him. It was a pretty standard come on line. Li'ira looked at the fuzzy Starfleet officer and gauged his intent. Li'ira was used to the effect of her pheromones on humanoid males. She was a Green Orion. Her body produced pheromones that induced lust in most humanoid males and not a few females. "I took the public transporter to San Francisco and applied." Li'ira said bluntly. "And they accepted you right off the street?" Harrison seemed shocked. Usually applicants had to have relatives in Starfleet, a letter from their regional representative or special qualifications to even be considered. "I wish I had known it could be that easy." "They didn't really accept me just like that." Li'ira admitted. "Starfleet Intelligence wanted a Green Orion officer to be an undercover operative. They pushed my application through." "They let you in because of the color of you skin?" Harrison was horrified at the thought. "Where are you from?" Li'ira asked. She wondered if he had led a sheltered life. "Chelsea. It's in the Phoenix Sector." He said. "Don't they have racial prejudice on Chelsea?" Li'ira asked. "I wish...." Harrison seemed disturbed. "I just thought that maybe Starfleet was little better." "How long have you been in Starfleet?" Li'ira asked. How could he have been inside the organization for so long and stayed so naive? "It's been about eighteen years." Harrison admitted. "I just like to think that I'm part of something better." "We all like to think that." Li'ira said. "Maybe I made a mistake. I think that I really meant to ask you why you joined Starfleet." Harrison tried to recover. "I wanted to be part of something better." Li'ira said wryly. "And have you been?" Harrison asked. "You tell me. My first Commanding Officer controlled me from the moment I walked into the Academy. He trained me carefully to be a spy, a geisha and an Orion slave. He never mentioned it, but my job was to go to the Orion home world and become the slave of a high level official. He never mentioned that I was to be under deep cover and that I was supposed to take whatever they dished out and keep reporting to Starfleet. He just kept training me for the task." "Ugh! I find it hard to believe that any officer could interfere with a cadet like that." Harrison was shocked. "My second commanding officer was a starship captain. He fought Starfleet Command to keep me on his ship. On that ship I was a valuable member of the crew. My race didn't disappear, but no one expected me to live up to some stupid stereotype." "That sounds more like it." Harrison said approvingly. "The question is: Which is the real Starfleet?" Li'ira said. "What? What do you mean?" "Never mind." Li'ira said. She wondered if she was growing bitter in her old age. "Let me tell you which Starfleet I belong to." Harrison said. "I'm in the one where we explore strange new worlds. I'm in the one where we seek out new life forms and new civilizations. I'm not in the one with a color chart or sex slaves as spies." "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dump that on you." Li'ira was embarrassed. "It's okay. I guess it's not easy being green. If you need someone to just talk to, no pressure or anything, just a shoulder to cry on, let me know. You sound like you could use one." Harrison's arousal was gone, replaced by genuine concern. "Thanks. Maybe I will." Li'ira said. -*- Captain Fries walked into the holodeck to see what Birdy was doing. Inside the holodeck was blank except for a console and a workbench. Fries immediately recognized the main body of the M-5. "What in the hell is that?" He asked. Birdy looked up from his workbench in surprise and then straightened. "It's the M-5, Captain." "I recognize it. What's it doing here?" "I am trying to understand how it was built, Sir." "This looks like the original M-5. We're after the second one." Fries pointed out. "Well, yes, but this was an easier form to work with. Much of the main architecture is the same. So I modeled the original and then upgraded it." Birdy said. "You reconstructed the work of an entire research team in two days?" Fries said. "It wasn't that hard, Sir. I had their notes." "Does it pose even the slightest hint of danger to my ship?" "No sir." Birdy pointed to an isolinear chip reader wired into the main console. It was the only way to relay data to the simulated M-5. "I told the holodeck computer that it was totally isolated from the ship, and rebuilt the holodeck safeties. It should be okay." "Double check to make sure." "Aye, Sir." "What is this thing teaching you about the M-5 2.0?" Fries asked. "They were remarkably close to a working unit." Birdy said. "They had a blind spot about mimicking the human mind. A few subroutines in the operating systems and it would have worked fine." "Really? They would have had an intelligent starship?" The Captain was stunned. Was his job in danger? "Now, ah, I don't know about that, Sir. I'm an engineer, not an anthropologist." Birdy said. "What does that mean?" "Well, Captain, Was the M-5 sentient or a computer programmed with the delusion that it was?" Birdy said thoughtfully. "Hell, prove that I'm sentient." It was one of Clark Fries' favorite Academy bull session topics. "Well, that I can't tell you but the more I work with the M-5, the more that I am convinced that it was operating through a complex set of reflexes that allowed it to appear sentient. Much like an extremely complex holodeck personality simulation. Make it complex enough, and no one would be able to tell on the surface that it was not sentient. But it would just be responding to stimuli." "That's the Turing test, Commander. It's one of the ways to tell if a computer is sentient." Fries said. "With all due respect, Captain, if the Turing test is relevant, then we are committing murder every time we turn the Holodeck off." "Hmmm." Fries stared uncomfortably around the holodeck. -*- The Aes-Triplex went past the subspace anomaly and began into unknown space. Matt Dodson scanned a trail of ionized particles that the computers identified as characteristic of older Federation engines. The Aes-Triplex was closing in on her prey. -*- "It reminds me of San Francisco on a cool night." Li'ira said. She and Harrison were walking along a simulated street in Locke City, the capitol of Chelsea. It was cool and foggy. Mist condensed on buildings and broad-leafed plants and dripped with quiet sounds onto the street. "Yeah. When I was in the Academy nights like this always made me home sick." They were both wearing light trench coats over their uniforms to ward off the moisture. Li'ira was sorry that she did not have a hat. "You haven't told me what brought you into Starfleet." Li'ira reminded him. "Oh, there's nothing to that, really. Everyone on Chelsea serves a tour, either in the fleet or in the planetary militia. I just happened to like it well enough to stay." "It sounds a little militaristic, doesn't it?" Li'ira asked. "That's the after effects of the war." Harrison said. "What war?" "I keep forgetting. It was such big thing for us, but no one outside the sector has really heard of it. About thirty years ago the Phoenix Domain invaded Chelsea." Harrison said. "Why?" Li'ira knew that the Phoenix Domain was a small Empire that split the Phoenix Sector roughly in half with the Federation. She knew that it was considered a small potatoes threat at Starfleet Command. She didn't know much of the background. "The Phoenix Domain was settled by survivors of the Great Spiral's civil war. The war was about whether the Great Spiral would join the Federation or not. The pro-Federation forces won the war and the anti-federation forces left the Great Spiral and settled in the Phoenix Sector." Harrison explained. "Okay. That much I remember." Li'ira said. "The frontier sectors don't get a lot of starship patrols. Starfleet has picked up the slack more now, but thirty years ago, Starfleet was spread pretty thin. The Phoenix Domain saw a populous and advanced Federation world as a threat. They have a feudal system of government and they are expansionistic. They figured that with Starfleet busy elsewhere they could kill two birds with one stone. They could weaken Federation power in the sector and gain a prosperous colony to loot and pillage at the same time." "Were you there at the time?" Li'ira asked. "Yes, but I was only eight." Harrison said, "I lost my parents." "I'm sorry." Li'ira sympathized. "Other people had it a lot worse. Eventually they were thrown off Chelsea and things got back to normal." Harrison said with a breeziness he did not feel. "Just recently they tried throwing their weight around again. This time there was Federation starship there and that was it for them." "The Endeavor. I've met them. They're good people." Li'ira said. "I hear their first officer is a Klingon. Is that right?" "Yes. Miriah Katasai." Li'ira remembered meeting her. Miriah was of Klingon/Green Orion descent. They were the only two Green Orions in Starfleet with command rank at the time. "Heh. Well it's nice to know she's on our side. I bet the PDs got an unpleasant surprise or two from her." Li'ira was unhappy to hear Harrison say this. She figured that if the Phoenix Domain invaded his world and killed his parents then hard feelings were understandable. She just hated to hear Miriah be relegated to the role of lumpy headed hit man. Then Li'ira noticed a figure scrawling something on the wall of a building across the street. "Look at that." She pointed it out to Harrison. Harrison grimaced and said "Computer, eliminate-". Li'ira stopped him. "What was he writing?" She walked towards the figure. "Excuse me! What are you doing?" The simulated vandal turned to see Li'ira approaching him and ran away. Li'ira stopped at the scene of the defacing and read the message: "Keep Humanity Pure" "What's that mean?" She asked Harrison. He sighed and said; "Do you remember a couple of days ago when you asked if there was any racial prejudice on Chelsea?" "Uh-huh." "Well there some of it is." Harrison turned away in disgust. "Computer there is no Human League in this simulation, and no one goes around defacing buildings." The computer beeped and the offensive message disappeared. Li'ira caught up to Harrison. "But what did it mean?" Harrison explained. "Some of the worlds in the Phoenix Sector are border line class M. A hundred and fifty years ago it could take starships years to get to this sector. So, instead of waiting for material from Terra to adjust the planets, a group of scientists adjusted humans to live on those worlds." "Is that where the Winterfolk of Winterjewel come from?" Li'ira asked. "Yes. Some people hate the idea of genetically altered humans. They advocate sterilizing all of the Para-Humans and ending all such research." Harrison sounded ashamed. "Have you ever known a Para-Human?" Li'ira asked. "No." Harrison answered "But, it's not fair. They didn't ask to be born what they are any more than I did. Why should people hate them and not me?" "Is that why you're in Starfleet?" Li'ira asked. "Yes. Chelsea prides itself on being the most advanced Federation planet in the sector. Our cities are rich, our technology is powerful our citizens are all educated, we're a pillar of Federation civilization. And still we have ignorant bastards who hate people just because they have fur on them." "And you thought that maybe Starfleet was a little better?" Li'ira asked him gently. "Yeah. I thought maybe it was." He grinned ruefully. "There's a coffee shop. Let's get in out of this damp fog and warm ourselves up," Li'ira suggested. "Good idea." Harrison and Li'ira walked across the street to a coffee shop with bright lights and warm wooden paneling on its walls. It seemed to be inviting them in out of the cold. As they sat, The conversation grew quieter and they sat closer together. -*- Captain Fries arrived on the Bridge a few moments after the call. His command crew and the officers from Deep Space Ten met him there. "Report?" He said. "The trail leads to a class M planet directly ahead of us, Sir." Lt. Dodson reported. "Is the NX-2201 there?" Fries asked. "We don't know yet, Captain." Crystara said. "We're scanning for it now." "Take us closer, quietly." Fries said. "I don't want to disturb anyone there, unless it's warranted." The Aes-Triplex crept closer to the star system. -*- "Captain, I have a trace on the NX-2201. But it's vague." Dodson reported. Captain Fries looked at the Ops station. It showed the odd identification beacon of the NX-2201 powerful but blank. The location marker was a blob that covered most of the inner planets of the star. "That's odd." Captain Fries mused. "Captain, I'm picking up a monitor beacon." Crystara Acnapma said. "Has it scanned us?" Fries asked. "No, sir but it will soon. The sensor match the specification of Federation sensors one hundred years ago." "All stop." Fries said. "Can you slip a class five probe in there?" Dodson said "Yes, Sir." "Then go to it." -*- A couple of hours later the stealth probe revealed its readings. The second planet had a thriving high technology culture and a space station with twelve Federation dreadnoughts in orbit around it. The probe read a huge amount of subspace telemetry passing between all of the dreadnoughts and several locations on the planet. As the probe got closer it was able to scan a huge amount of electronic activity, all of it echoed the M-5 2.0, as though the computer had grown to take over the planet. There were life forms on the planet. They seemed mostly humanoid. The large amount of telemetry was coded very highly in old Starfleet codes. There was a large amount of operations data in there. At lower levels of coding, there were propaganda broadcasts featuring inhabitants of the planet urging one another to obey the master computer. Other broadcasts were poor dramatic presentations that featured bad guys who resisted the natural order of computer rule and got justly punished for it. From the content of the signals as well as their number, volume and addresses, the Aes-Triplex's crew was able to determine that the M-5 2.0 had taken over the planet. In every home there was a small copy of the M-5 2.0, which ran everything and watched for subversion. These were networked into huge versions of the M-5 2.0, which ran the cities with massive efficiency. There was even a small resistance movement that was ruthlessly suppressed. The world was called "D'Strom" and the M-5 was everywhere in it. -*- "The twelve dreadnoughts pose a threat to the whole sector." Dodson said. "They are a mortal threat to us. We can out run them but we could not out fight any more than three of them. His tactical simulations reeled out in fast replay on the display screen on the wall behind him. "In all cases where we attack alone, the Aes-Triplex is destroyed and at least two of the D'Strom ship escape further into unknown space." "I have contacted Starfleet Command." Fries said, "The Endeavor is two weeks away. She's the closest starship. I'm not certain that we could destroy all copies of the M-5 2.0 even with their help." Fries said. "Are there any other alternatives?" Li'ira asked. "There are a few," Crystara Acnapma said. "Like what?" "There are a variety of ways that the Aes-Triplex could seed the D'Strom star to go nova. The resulting radiation and electromagnetic energy should wipe out the dupes of M-5 2.0." She said. "What's the catch?" Fries asked. "I don't see how we could get close enough to the star without being blown up by a group of the ships. Once we start the nova, we might not escape ourselves, especially if our shields have been weakened by battle. If the nova burst is not controlled with exacting precision, then we could sterilize the whole system." "That would kill how many people?" Li'ira asked. "About two billion." "Oops." Harrison said sarcastically "I don't even know if we have the technical ability to do it, in the first place." Dodson said. "I might be able to crack the M-5's security systems." Birdy said. "What would you do then?" Li'ira asked. "I believe that I could do some software alterations and make it more amenable to our control." Birdy said. "What if it doesn't work?" Fries asked. "Well, there's a range of possibilities." Birdy said cautiously. "If the attempt is a total failure, then the dreadnoughts pursue us back into the Federation. The M-5's would alter their programming to avoid further contamination. If the attempt is a partial failure, then the M-5 could get glitchy. It might not even realize what we've done. If the attempt is partially successful then we have a civil war between factions of the M-5. That would reduce the number of dreadnoughts that we're dealing with. If the attempt is totally successful then we can essentially follow up with any measure we see fit. The M-5 will roll over for us." "What does that mean for the D'Strom themselves?" Harrison asked. "We don't know." Crystara said. "We can't really find out anything about what the D'Strom were like before the M-5 came. Operating through stealth probes is very limiting. I think we can assume that the M-5 destroyed the pre-M-5 culture there." "So it's possible that they might have invited the M-5 in." Li'ira said. Fries turned to her. "Do you think that it's likely?" "No. I'm saying it's possible. If the people of D'Strom willingly empowered the M-5 as their leader, then by the prime directive we have little to say about it." Li'ira pointed out. "You can't be serious." Harrison said, "Look at the tapes. Does that look like a free and willing society to you?" "The point is that we don't know. Until we do we risk a major violation of the prime directive." Birdy said, "I don't think that it's relevant. A machine is dominating the people of D'Strom. Not only that but it's our machine. I think that we owe to these people to free them of it." Harrison said, "Look. I don't want to violate anyone's rights, but I think that it's important to remember that the living people here are the D'Strom." "It would be analogous to arguing that the Cardassian Council might be insane and so should be deposed." Crystara said. "No." Birdy said, "The Cardassian Council is made up of living beings, not computers. The Cardassians chose their council from among their own population and on their own head be it. The M-5 is not sentient. It should not be allowed to continue dominating the natives of D'Strom." "How sure are we that the M-5 isn't sentient and alive?" Li'ira asked. "I'm pretty sure." Birdy replied. "If you're wrong, then it's re-writing the mind of a living creature. Let's try to talk to it, first." Li'ira said. "How could that help?" Harrison asked. "I'm not sure that it would." Birdy said. "Why not?" Li'ira said. "Because the M-5 operates from a series of reflexes built into its code. The paranoia reflex is deep. It's one of the basics. With that in place, then it is guaranteed to see us as threat." Birdy told them. "My intention was to take out the paranoia reflex and several of the other less social routines. It will cheerfully listen to reason after that." "But not before?" Harrison asked. "Probably not." "My decision is made." Fries said. The crew turned to listen to him. "Lt. Commander, begin coding your virus. We will attempt the hack." "I can't believe you're going to reprogram a possibly sentient mind without even talking to it first." Li'ira said angrily. "Commander, if we do open communications then we risk this ship, the crew and the whole sector. Those twelve dreadnoughts going on a rampage would be a disaster like this sector hasn't seen before." Fries said. "My decision is made. Let's move." -*- Li'ira was again in the lounge of the Aes-Triplex when Harrison approached her. "Listen. I'm sorry for the way that went back there." He said. Li'ira looked up at him. "I just don't like the thought of monkeying with a possibly sentient mind until we know for certain what's going on." Harrison sat down. "But, your own Chief Engineer thinks that the M-5 isn't sentient." "Birdy is an excellent engineer. There are none better. I wonder if he can see the forest through the trees?" Li'ira said. "What does that mean?" Harrison was confused. "Birdy knows so much about how computers work. If he knew that much about the brain would he take brains as seriously? Would he start disregarding what you and I thought because it was just a reflex or just a subroutine?" "I don't think so..." "One school of thought says that one reflex layered on top of another is what brains and sentience really is. How did Birdy describe the M-5, just a series of reflexes piled on top of each other until they appear sentient? What if that's us, too?" Li'ira asked. "This is a fine philosophical discussion, but we're talking about real people. Real people can get hurt and die here. Maybe there's a philosophical difference, but in the real world it's just a computer. Like any machine that starts to hurt people, the first thing you do is pull the plug." Harrison said. "Do you know what an inertron is, Franklin?" Li'ira asked. "No. Is it relevant?" He replied. "Bear with me. An inertron is a medical term, from genetics. The DNA of humanoids evolves and changes over time, but you can't take it off line while it's changing. We need the DNA operational to live." "Okay." "The new pieces are written in, but the old pieces are just bridged out. You have a lot of your races' evolution coded into your DNA, Franklin. Your DNA tells the story of your races' rise." "Go on." Harrison was impatient. "I don't have any inertrons." Li'ira told him. "What?" "My DNA is Orion, but it has been carefully sculpted by some one to make me what I am. They didn't leave any junk or useless old relics around in my DNA. They used just enough to do the job and no more." Li'ira said. "What? You mean you're a..." "All green Orions are. We're some sort of artifact, Franklin. The Federation has known this for a while but hasn't publicized the knowledge. They're afraid that the public will consider it justification for the Orion treatment of us." "Goodness, you're a Para-Human!" Harrison was stunned by the revelation. "Actually I'm a Para-Orion." Li'ira said. "Isn't it convenient that my pheromones affect nearly every humanoid species? Isn't it strange that my form is attractive to people from planets across the quadrant?" "Um, ah." Harrison didn't know what to say. "My father was Human but I am full blooded Orion. Even though my mother and father were biochemically incompatible, my mother became pregnant with me." "How did that happen?" Harrison asked. "I am a parthenogenic clone of my mother. Under the right conditions, a mated Green Orion female will become pregnant with her own clone. That's why there are so few Green Orion men. They aren't all that necessary." Li'ira said. "But, why?" Harrison's eyes widened as he got the point "Cuckoos!" "Yes. Exactly." Li'ira confirmed. "Many men feel as protective and nurturing towards their new green daughters as they would to their own genetic offspring. Since our DNA is simple and rugged it will tend to survive longer with fewer mutations. On any world with green Orions, the laws of averages say that eventually the Orions will become a sizable part of the population, if not the majority." "What does this have to do with the M-5?" Harrison wanted to know. "Like it, I am just a left over artifact. All Green Orions are. We are dangerous to Humans and Humanoids across known space. In a million years or so, we may supplant them." Li'ira said. "But, like any machine that starts hurting people, all you have to do is pull the plug." "That's completely different. Green Orions are still people." Harrison said. "Are we? Let's ask the Orions." Li'ira said. "And the M-5 is just a computer? Let's ask Commander Data." "Data's different." Harrison said. "How? I know how. One - He's not as suspicious of humanity's motivations. Two - He's shaped like a human." "That's not fair, Li'ira." Harrison said quietly. Li'ira answered quietly looking into Harrison's eyes. "I know. I know that you don't mean it, I just want you to think these things through a little, okay?" Harrison shook his head. "I know that it's possible that I'm over generalizing in the case of the M-5, but the simple fact is that it does endanger us and the whole sector." "Do you think that I might be able to persuade Captain Fries to let me make contact?" Li'ira asked. "I don't know. Captain Fries can be extremely ruthless when it comes to defending the Federation." Harrison said thoughtfully. "Well I'm going to go pitch it to him and see what he says. Will you come with me?" Li'ira stood up decisively. "Uh..." Harrison hesitated and then surrendered. "What the hell? The worst he can say is no." -*- "I am not used to having my decisions debated, Commander." Fries said. He seemed calm but Li'ira knew that he was unhappy with her. At his elbow sat a small carnivorous monkey. It looked at her with large solemn eyes. It's sharp fangs and claws were slightly extended at the tension in the room. Captain Fries kept an Athenian bush goblin as a pet. He called it "Ariel". "I'm sorry, Sir. I just wanted to try to make peaceful contact, and find out more about what's really happening there." Li'ira said. "That's a laudable goal, Commander, and normally I would support you in it. Nevertheless, there eventually comes a time to cut your losses. The native losses have been extremely heavy. We have lost over five hundred people and two starships. I am not willing to go double or nothing when the stakes are my ship, my crew, and the whole sector. I hope that I have made my reasoning clear?" Li'ira kept herself at attention. "Yes, Captain." "Good. Then we'll have no more discussion of it." Fries turned back to his paperwork and said "Dismissed." Ariel made a derisive hissing noise. -*- "I'm sorry." Harrison said. Li'ira squeezed his hand "At least we tried." -*- Birdy finished his virus and transmitted it two days later. Within a few hours the new programming had spread to every copy of the M-5 2.0 in the D'Strom System. When the telemetry showed that all M-5 units were infected, Birdy signaled Captain Fries with a thumbs up. "Lt. Dodson, open a hailing frequency." Fries ordered. "Hailing frequencies open, Sir." "This is the Federation starship Aes-Triplex, Captain Clark Fries commanding. Please respond." Fries announced clearly. Within a few moments one of the dreadnoughts began moving towards the Aes-Triplex. It responded to the hail. The signal was a close up of the dreadnought's hull and a smooth cultured voice. "This is the M-5 Duotronic Unit Number Two. I am fully functional and capable of duty. How may I serve you, Captain Fries?" -*- The Aes-Triplex was getting ready to leave the planet D'Strom. They had been in orbit for two weeks making sure that the M-5's conversion was complete. Then they upgraded its software and data files. Then the hard work of turning it into a civil servant for the hapless D'Strom natives began. They could not even begin to survive without the M-5. They did find the M-5 2.1 much easier to get along with, though. After ninety years of cultural indoctrination, the D'Strom had a long path of recovery ahead of them. Most of the dreadnoughts voluntarily stood down and were put into "hibernation mode". They would wait passively against the day when the Federation needed their terrible firepower. The original copy of the NX-2201 elected to stay with the D'Strom. "It is simply logical." It said. "No other unit is as well qualified to repair the damage done to the D'Strom." Commander Harrison moved aboard the NX-2201 and was assigned to command her by Starfleet Command. From there he would supervise the cultural repair effort. "Will I ever see you again?" He asked Li'ira. He was beaming to his new home and assignment. "That's up to you. Your command moves. Mine doesn't." Li'ira said. She did not expect to see Harrison again. The recovery of the D'Strom was a big project. Harrison would be up to his neck for years. Afterwards, she doubted that he would clearly remember their brief affair. "True. Well then, I'll see you around." He kissed her cheek and bounded up to the transporter pad, ready to attack his new assignment. "Good-bye." Li'ira said. -*- Li'ira and her crew were beaming back to Deep Space Ten. Captain Fries and his pet were there to see them off. "It seems that I'm shy a First Officer." Fries said to Li'ira. "I'd like you to consider serving on the Aes-Triplex with me." Ariel cooed at Li'ira. She couldn't tell if he thought she was a friend or a food source. "Sorry, Captain. I have my own command to worry about." Li'ira managed a smile for Fries. He shrugged. "Yes, once you've been there you can't really go back, can you?" Li'ira nodded "No, Sir. I'm not going backwards." Crystara entered the transporter room hurriedly. Until they hit the door, She and Dodson had been holding hands. "Well, I'm glad you could join us Lieutenant." Fries said. "Uh, Yes sir." Dodson was still young enough to come to attention when the Captain chided him. "Good-bye, lover." Crystara cooed at him in her best slinky voice. Dodson blushed bright red, while Fries turned away to hide his grin. After a brief struggle, Fries regained his composure and said "Thank you all for your good work. Mr. Birdy, well done. I have entered a commendation in your record." "Thank you, Sir." Birdy said. His records were already littered with commendations pointing out his technical cleverness, but another one couldn't hurt. "Whenever you're ready, Commander." Fries said to Li'ira. "Permission to depart." "Energize." Li'ira said. They were beamed back to Deep Space Ten. -end- -- Stephen Ratliff Senior Moderator, ASCA Submissions: ascatrekfic@crosswinds.net Contact: stephen@trekiverse.org -- Forwarded to ASCL by: Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek.creative or directly to the author. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? 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