" Searching Through The Unknown For The Unexplained "
[ Previous post Serena's "Executive Response" ]
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Life is a mystery, not a problem to be solved.
- Albert Einstein
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Stardate: 60327.1315
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 14, Bio Chemistry Lab
The Oltharian walked into the lab with his tricorder extended, scanning the room for anything that might explain the discrepancy between the report filed by the Chief Medical Officer, Counsellor and Chief Science Officer and that of the Chief of Security and Executive Officer. Both accounts could not be true and Elan had been asked by Captain Rikar to investigate and report as a neutral observer - a status that the giant did hold since Admiral Koniki had gone to great lengths to keep the ILO's family status a secret from anyone who might have extended dealings with the ANUBIS and its crew.
After his meeting with the ANUBIS' Commanding Officer the Oltharian had been able to tell that Rikar had wanted to brush the entire matter aside and go on as if nothing had happened - after all nothing *had* happened aside for the unexplained disappearance of the three women. The former Chief Engineering Officer, now turned Robotics Expert for the NEW ALEXANDRIA complex had also understood why the Captain had been so curious as this entire affair, Elan never having been made aware of the possibility that Enaii had any siblings. That alone had been enough to make the gentle giant agree to help, not that he would have refused the request anyway.
Once Elan had confirmed that the room had been cleared, he motioned for the person standing in the doorway to enter. "The Engineering team was correct," Annie said as she joined the massive Oltharian in the middle of the lab, "my internal sensors in this room are functioning perfectly. I am detecting only two life-forms, one biological and one mechanical."
The Oltharian turned to face the shorter mechanical woman and proudly smiled as a father would to a child. "Did you realise that you referred to yourself as a 'life-form'? I had not realised that your programming had reached such a level of sophistication."
Annie looked up at the Oltharian and returned his smile, the ANUBIS' Avatar displaying a range of expression that the Robotics Engineer had in no way expected. "Following my debriefing I spend a considerable amount of time researching some of the aspects of our last mission. Our encounter with those trans-dimensional creatures made me question the definition of *life*, or more to the point *sentience*. According to Starfleet records sentience is defined by three criteria, the first being Intelligence, the second being self awareness, and the third being consciousness. Based on the way those creatures moved, acted and reacted it was clear that they were sentient, but it made me wonder if *I* was."
Elan could not help but look at the Avatar with a sense of amazement and wonder knowing *what* she had been designed to be and seeing that the android standing before him had rapidly grown far beyond the confines of her original design. "And may I ask as to what was your final conclusion?"
Annie moved deeper into the room, her eyes reaching across the lab to focus on a holographic model of a DNA strand. "According to the judgement rendered by Captain Phillipa Louvois in 2365, Androids such as myself are *alive* and *sentient*."
Elan's head tilted to one side as he continued to watch the now immobile Avatar of the ANUBIS. "You seem unconvinced by your own findings in regards to your status as a person. Why is that?"
Annie turned to face the Oltharian, the expression on her face clearly reflecting a strange mixture of mechanical clarity and emotional confusion. "To be honest, I am not sure. Maybe it would be best if we concentrated on the reason why we are here for the time being," the Avatar suggested as she began to took at the rest of the lab scanning the room with her eyes.
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Stardate: 60327.1400
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Captain's Ready Room
Elan and Annie returned to the officer of the ANUBIS' Commanding Officer with their findings as per their instructions, and judging by the way the Captain had looked at them as they entered the woman had been anxious to hear about their findings.
"So, what did you discover?"
"That we have more than one mystery on our hands Captain," the Oltharian replied as he glanced towards the ANUBIS' Avatar before returning his white eyes to the senior-most officer sitting behind her desk. "But to address your question about the Bio Chemistry Lab, both Annie and I found nothing."
"So the next question is how do we explain that three of my officers vanished from internal scans and imagined that there were working with sisters of Enaii?" The Commanding Officer rhetorically asked of herself as she leaned back into her chair.
"That is not what I meant," Elan said wanting to correct his earlier choice of words. "What I meant to say is that Annie and I found absolutely *nothing* in the room, as if it had not been used in *months*. Since we know that Lieutenant Commander Maya, Ensign Mei and Ensign Summers came out of that room, our findings can only lead us to one conclusion."
"Someone was extremely thorough in their cleanup of that lab," Captain Rikar said under her breath as she turned to look out of the nearest window giving onto the inside of NEW ALEXANDRIA.
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Francois Charette {f_charette@hotmail.com}
Lieutenant Junior Grade Elan Talak Fairborn 2005 post #451
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
