"An Observation Of Life"
[ Con't from Lisa's "Why Intel Operatives Aren't Employed As Motivational Speakers - Part 1" ]
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"What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about what you
can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is
simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain."
- MORPHEUS, The Matrix
--==(/\)==--
Stardate: 60322.0915
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 22, Main Engineering, Lower Level
It had been three days since Annie had come onboard the ANUBIS. Three
days since she had unofficially taken on the role of FCO. Three days since
she had come onboard to familiarize herself with the systems of the
Scarab-Class ship, and three days since she had give the Oltharian the slightest chance to rest. Luckily for Elan, he had been used to spending several continuous days up, his originating from a planet with a daily rotation of 38 hours making this a lot easier on him. That said though, Annie was starting to wear the Oltharian Robotics Engineer down with her never ending wish to learn more.
By now the Oltharian had taken to simply observing the ANUBIS' Avatar
as she made her way through the ship and its departments, still finding it
remarkable that many of the crew had not figured out *what* the woman
had truly been. Annie had come onboard from NEW ALEXANDRIA and this seemed
to be more than enough information for many of the crew members who
acknowledged her presence without the slightest of questions.
For Elan though, Annie represented something that he could not get
tired of. As a hopeful of the Religious Circle, the Oltharian had learned that every man, woman and child looked upon the universe with a unique perspective dictated by their individual interests and aspirations. To an artist, the universe was a never ending collection of inspiration that beckoned to be captured in one form or another. To a scientist, the universe was a puzzle, an enigma that demanded to be solved, and to an engineer the universe seemed to present itself as a quest to find better mechanical ways of proving that *everything* was possible.
As the Oltharian watched Annie go from one station to another,
absorbing as much information as her processors permitted, the gigantic engineer could only watch with pure amazement the machine that had been given human form. The illusion had been so convincing that Elan had long ago stopped looking at the Avatar as being nothing more than an impressive collection of electronic components and had begun to admire the being as something entirely unique.
"Lieutenant Fairborn," Annie called out to the engineer, her head ever
so slightly tilted to one side as she looked at one of the monitors
located on the lower level of this section of Main Engineering. "Could you
explain this?" The Avatar continued, pointing to one particular holodeck
program from the list she had summoned on the screen.
Elan approached and studied the program in question before explaining
to Annie the details of what she had discovered. "That particular program
is a holonovel designed to offer whoever is inside the holodeck the
experience of being one of the Three Musketeers during their hunt for the rogue British noblewoman known as Lady De Winter," the Oltharian explain having seen similar programs during his career as a Starfleet Chief Engineering Officer.
"So this program was created as a combat simulation utilizing ancient
weapons," Annie quizzically said. "Why? What is the purpose of
training with weapons that are only used on pre-warp civilizations on worlds
that are protected by the Prime-Directive and therefore cannot be interacted
with on such a violent fashion?"
"Because," Elan explained as a father would explain a mystery of the
universe to their child, "the program is not designed for combat
training but is intended for recreational purposes."
"This program is not meant for combat training?" Annie asked, tilting
her head to the opposite side in a way that clearly identified her has
being mechanical instead of biological, something that the Oltharian would
have to note in his report to Admiral Koneki. "I do not understand. Why
create a program like this if it is not meant for combat training?"
"You will discover that the greater majority of humanoid races need
recreational activities," the massive Oltharian said through a large
grin that had formed on his face. "Besides allowing for a change of scenery
and the opportunity to have someone think of something other than work,
such activities can prove to be quite enjoyable and maybe even therapeutic
in permitting one or more people to experience something that they would
have otherwise never had the chance to be part of."
Annie leaned away from the console and turned to the Oltharian,
puzzlement reflecting on her perfectly featured face. "Is this recreation an
important part of life on board a starship?"
The engineer had expected the question as it was the Avatar's way to
figure out if the subject required further study on her part or if she could
dismiss it as being something irrelevant to what her duties had been
expected to be onboard the ANUBIS.
Elan hesitated before answering, debating between having Annie be more
task oriented instead of more compassionate and understanding towards those
that she had been meant to emulate and integrate with. "For the majority of
the crew, recreational activities are an important part of life."
"Therefore I will need to explore this further and in more detail,"
Annie said as she returned to a full upright posture and turned towards her
mentor displaying a child-like grin. "Can we go to one of the holodecks, I
would like to experience one of these programs?"
The Oltharian had never been one to refuse any request made of him,
especially when made by a woman that he had grown to admire in a way
that only he, and other engineers, could appreciate.
--==(/\)==--
Lieutenant Junior Grade Elan Talak Fairborn 2005 post #220
Francois Charette {f_charette@hotmail.com}
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
