"You Can Take A Scientist To A Casino, But You Can Never Take The Science *Out* Of It"
(Previous Post: "Red Or Black")
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Stardate: 60320.1730
Setting: TANGIERS ORBITAL, First Floor
When slot machines were invented, they were meant to
be an outlet for people to gamble and have fun while
doing it but it soon became clear to those who had
come up with these 'One Arm Bandits' that there had
been more to these machines than just spinning symbols
and the random element of chance. Although the
machines became, larger, brighter, flashier and more
complex over time, one aspect of these simplistic
mechanical constructions withstood the constant need
for improving. As the Chief Science Officer of the
USS ANUBIS stood on the main floor surrounded by
countless of these machines, she heard and saw what
she had been thinking about.
As loud and chaotic as the noise had been, the
specific harmonies that the machines had been
programmed to play made the entire adventure enjoyable
to the point of being so addictive that winning or
losing no longer entered in the conscious thoughts of
those playing. Be it as the Cardassian scientist
named Denir, or the Shillian researcher known as Maya,
the woman could not helped but be in awe at the way
the people playing these machines had completely
abandoned themselves to their entertainment, feeding
the slot machines with more credits than the scientist
could imagine.
For a brief moment the Shillian woman had been tempted
to test one of the vacant machines she had come across
but each time the Chief Science Officer reminded
herself that her undercover persona would not have
been attracted to such things. The one thing the two
people occupying the same body shared had been a
scientific approach to things which meant that
gambling had been more about mathematical
probabilities than chance or the game itself.
With the concept of the slot machines would not be
what the Shillian or the Cardassian would be
interested in, the Chief Science Officer hiding
beneath the identity of Denir made her way to the
upper levels where she hoped to find games better
suited to her liking.
---
Games of chance filled the floor as far as the eyes
could see, each table advertising in their own way the
pleasures that could be found if one dared to approach
and allow themselves to take part in the varying
random possibilities. Several tables had caught the
interest of the Cardassian as she passed next to them,
the scientist analysing the odds each offered
One such game to attract the attention of the
undercover Shillian scientist had been a dice game
that advertised a payback of four thousand times the
initial bet if the player could roll four eight-sided
dice so that they landed to display all the same
specific symbol. Knowing that the odds of having only
two of such dices to show the required symbol had been
sixty-four to one, the Chief Science Officer realised
that even if the elusive winning combination came up,
the casino would still end up on top at the end of the
day. Since the odds of the winning symbols appearing
had been one out of four thousand and ninty-six and
that the payout had only been of four thousand, meant
that if a player placed a single credit bet each time,
they would spend four thousand and ninty-six credits
in order to win four thousand. Based on this the
Cardassian looking woman decided to continue her
survey of the floor and the games on it to see if
maybe better odds could be found.
---
The next level up seemed dedicated to the game of
roulette, the countless tables visible for as far as
the eye could see. As the Shillian woman watched
people placing bets on various numbers, sequences,
colours or a combination of all these, the attention
of the scientist was called away when she heard a very
familiar laughter coming from a few tables away.
When Denir approached the Roulette table from which
the laughter had originated from, the scientist
immediately recognised Ensign Summers who seemed to be
having a good time despite her portraying a Halanan
widow. Although her initial idea had been to leave
the Chief Medical Officer to her apparent work with a
Talarian man, the Shillian found it hard to leave as
her interest in the game increased.
Although she had no interest or desire to interfere
with what Ensign Summers had been doing, the Chief
Science Officer moved in and sat on one of the empty
chairs thinking that maybe being at a game with
someone she knew might make her enjoy the game beyond
the mathematical probabilities that filled her mind.
At least the Cardassian could use the excuse of
watching the interaction of the Halanan and Talarian
in order to explain her wavering interest in the game
she had just joined.
---
"To see the world in a grain of sand, 2005 post #162
Stardate: 60320.1750
Setting: TANGIERS ORBITAL, Second Floor
Stardate: 60320.1810
Setting: TANGIERS ORBITAL, Third Floor
Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
