Posted by Lieutenant V’alura Belmont (Chief Science Officer) in Side Sim: Alt. Timeline Itri DH Check-In [Tag CSO]

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sifeda Itri (Executive Officer) in Side Sim: Alt. Timeline Itri DH Check-In [Tag CSO]

Posted by Lieutenant V’alura Belmont (Chief Science Officer) in Side Sim: Alt. Timeline Itri DH Check-In [Tag CSO]
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
[snip]

“As in total control. From helm to propulsion and life support and everything in between. As for the time, faster than you can blink. Our ships are already highly keyed into the vitals and locations of all the crew. Mind you all of the testing has been performed only in simulations. The time between the loss of control by the crew and when the computer would kick in was incredibly quick, too fast to measure in regular, conventional means. And in roughly 50-62% of tested scenarios the computer made the correct calls to remove itself and the crew from danger.

“Those statistics seem a little low, don’t you think? What happened in the other 38% - 50%? Why didn’t the computer make the correct call?”

The information was truly interesting and Sifeda found herself asking V’alura so many questions about her research, “Can these controls be activated as needed or will they be standard and automatic, leaving the crew to have essentially live with technology that will override or give them little time to think about how to tactically proceed in a stressful situation? You understand how this can backfire as well, don’t you? I am afraid officers will lose valuable experiences because they won’t be able to learn from mistakes as they won’t be allowed to ever make them. I can certainly say that I am who I am because of the mistakes I have made on the bridge, as a cadet, ensign, and even lieutenant, during my service in Starfleet.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. This ship A.I. only activates in the most dire of situations. When there is no one capable of taking action or making mistakes. When the crew is unable to take any action due to physical or mental ailment. Only when there is no one able to make any choices at all. To answer why the computer could not always make the correct call. . . it was because of the extreme and dire circumstances that triggers the activation of the A.I. For example, in one situation all living beings aboard the ship were knocked unconscious by a psionic weapon blast. The A.I. activated in that moment and took control of the ship to pilot it away from the attacking force and to a safe location. You don’t need to worry about the A.I. taking away experience from the crew.”

“Thanks for clearing that up.”

“Mind you these were ‘perfect world’ scenarios where potential outcomes were limited but it more than proved the potential was there. It’s all a matter of . . .[she trails off into a short ramble full of technical jargon full of math, probability, statistics and pinch of computer engineering before finally realizing she’s perhaps gone into too much detail] Sorry, I get excited when talking about my thesis. It was five hundred pages total. It’s published through Starfleet if you ever wanna give it a read. In short my thesis proved it was possible and now I’m working to make that possibility a reality.”

Sifeda nodded and said, “I think that makes the statistics even more alarming since these were only perfect world scenarios. How do you think the percentage of correct calls the computer made would have changed if the scenarios are not perfect?”

She nodded at the suggestion for her to read the thesis paper, “I will definitely check it out.”

“It would take more testing. And a lot of A.I training. The the advantage to A.I. over a traditional program is the A.I.’s ability to learn. If you run the same simulation over and over again, over time the A.I. learns the optimal or ‘correct’ course of action. Which is why this project will take so long to come to fruition.”

“Oh so its self teaching?”

“I’m also developing a medical diagnosis A.I that can predict the patterns of disease and infection progression in patients. I started this research with the assistance of Lt JG Segal, a doctor serving aboard the USS Ogawa. We’ve completed phase one of the research with promising results! Phase two has begun and Starfleet Medical have been very accommodating.

“This is interesting. Have you also consulted with Dr. Stacey about your research? Also, I am not a medical expert but I thought this type of technology already existed. Are you creating something to enhance it?”

V’alura’s eyes lit up, happy that Itri was so knowledgeable and curious about her work. “Oh, yes! A.I have been apart of medical field for centuries now, however, I developed a new advancement in the field. Artificial intelligence can diagnosis disease and can detect symptoms and make predictions but what I developed goes far beyond that. I developed an A.I. that can predict the progression of disease, informing doctors of what to expect in their sick patients. The A.I. is trained over millions of simulations using existing medical databases or integrating into new databases to study each disease and from there extrapolate the progression of disease!

“I am fascinated by your work on this. Are there any diseases it has not yet been able to predict? You know what would really push this technology to the brink? Being able to predict mental illness and depression disorders. I am sure you have thought of this and I wouldn’t be surprised, especially with all the other work you have done, if you were already working on a solution for this.”

“This A.I. . . . [And once again she slips off on another ramble filled with an equal amount of math, technical jargon, medical studies and so much data. It seems she forgets who she is talking to when going onto these rambles but finally she pulls it all together.] And I’m sure Dr. Stacy would love to hear about it and really I began to work with Dr. Segal after he reached out to me, but I think it’s just fascinating don’t you?” And she smiles.

“I’ve upgraded our ship’s computer response times. I’ve developed new simulation software that has increased simulation performance and accuracy. I’ve developed my own holodeck program and directly library. Like, the one that Starfleet gives to all her ships is fine and dandy but mine is better. After all, I make the best holodeck programs in the galaxy. You can read the initial published paper in the Starfleet Medical Journal” She said with brilliant smile as if they havn’t been talking for almost half an hour now after two of her rambles.

“Just curious, what makes yours better?” she asked with an inquisitive expression on her face.

“A PhD of artificial intelligence, a computer engineer with a degree in applied mechanics, plus my masters of drama. . .” V’alura trailed off with a confident smirk, “I would say all those come together for a perfect storm of holodeck programing genius. You know before I enlisted with Starfleet I was a professional actress. Not to brag, but all my experience performing certainly gives me an edge when creating story-based programs.”

“Oh?” said Sifeda intrigued by the woman’s showbiz history. She was also curious about these holodeck programs she created, wondering if there were any good gladitorial or sci-fi war programs. “I must definitely check out the holodeck programs. Why give all glamour and prestige up to come to Starfleet?”

“It was time for a career change,” She said. V’alura seemed contemplative for a moment, almost sad, before covering it with a small smile, “I wasn’t happy acting anymore so I left the show biz to pursue my other passions. Science and the allure of space. Both of which were achieved quite nicely together through Star Fleet.”

“I see said,” Sifeda still surprised by the career change.

If the XO paid any attention to ship scuttlebutt or asked around, she would hear that V’alura was well liked (especially amongst her scientists) with mother hen tendencies and preference for informal address and communication.

Lt JG Belmont, CSO

As she reviewed the previous ship’s mission, she saw they the crew of the Ark Angel had encountered a blob creature that seemed to have wreaked its havoc on the ship. This was something surely the science department had a hand in resolving. “What can you tell me about the last mission, the one that involved this..... blob creature? What would you say was the most defining role for the science department in helping resolve that issue?”

Itri, XO

V’alura gave the answer a moment’s thought, before giving her confident answer. “My department studied a blob sample and were the first to discover the nature of the blob and that the Warrens was actually the whole organism. We determined that the blob creatures were able to phase through time and space. This information was crucial going forward in the mission. After the capture of a smaller blob creature we determined its intelligence and were the first to actually communicate with the organism through the blob we captured. Through it we were able to learn even more about the organism as a whole.”

Lt JG Belmont, CSO

“So the creature was able to phase through time and space? How was this information used? Was it to communicate with the bigger blob? If we still have a sample I would love to stop by the science lab to take a peek at it.” The blob creature fascinated her because she had a passion for science. If she was not XO she would want a job in the science department.

Itri, XO

“I know right?” V’alura laughed, happy by the XO’s curiosity. She had a feeling the two of them will get along just fine. “In short we always were interacting with the larger blob entity. Each little blob were always connected to it, like the blood in our veins.” V’alura sighed, “Unfortunately we lost the sample when the blob entity either erased itself after accidentally absorbing a poisonous plant.. Can a being that exists through all of space and time really die? Perhaps someone somewhere will find it again. I certainly hope it’s still okay.

“A shame, we no longer have access to it. I supposed there is hope for it, although I wonder what impact the poisonous plant may have had on it. For all we know it could be traveling through space and time suffering.” She looked at V’alura and said, “Of course you have the right idea, hoping that it’s actually okay.”

Itri, XO

Given that V’alura would recall that the two non-effected blobs said that ‘The Whole’ aka the 4 light year spanning infected part either killed itself, ate itself, or transitioned to some other place or time while in this psychotic state which could cause who knew what sort of consequences upon where, when, and who it appeared near. It probably was safe to say that the infected massive part was either dead, or causing untold uncontrolled mayhem on someone somewhere at sometime. And it was all the Ark Angel’s fault.....

GM CockRoach (Being Evil/Guilt Trippy)

“One can hope.” She said, “Was there anything else you wished to ask me?”

Lt Belmont, CSO

“No, I think I have learned a lot about you in this short amount of time. Besides studying the ways of combat, science is my next interest. I would love to visit the Science department and observe so of your work sometime.”

Itri, XO

V’alura chuckled, her smile mischievous, “And yet there’s still much to learn. I could fill a whole library with books about me. Just think, it could take you years to get to know the whole me. But you are welcome in the science labs any time. I’ve had my work described as ‘frustratingly thorough, but brilliant’, it was my doctorate mentor who said that. If you’d like I can message you when we’re about to perform any interesting experiments.”

Lt Belmont, CSO

“Frustratingly thorough.” I like that term. “To me, it just means that you cross your t’s and dot your i’s, as they used to say. It’s important to have someone who pays attention to detail otherwise who knows what might happen, especially on a starship. I’d like that. It’s been a while since I have been in a science lab.”

Itri, XO