"Dreams of Reality"
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"What is real? To anyone dreaming the eternal dream, are we not but a passing vision to their everlasting reality?"
- Ejenhan Starrise, Head Priest of the Oltharian Religious Circle
--==(/\)==--
The inanimate form of the ANUBIS' Avatar laid flat on the workbench, her bare form deprived of any humility. On the outside the woman known only as Annie looked as human as could be, enough so that she could with ease sway the hearts of most male, but on the inside the *woman* had been anything but human. Instead of a beating heart the humanoid-shaped android possessed a sophisticated collection of pumps and circuitry that enabled her to become alive and take her place amongst the crew of the USS ANUBIS. Her one and only purpose had been to be a physical link to the ship's computer and systems, one that the crew would be able to interact with while on an away mission to some inhospitable planet.
Annie had been given the five senses that the majority of humanoid races enjoyed, and even though the machine processed these sensations in a very different manner Annie had learned over the early days of her life to enjoy these unique experiences. These pleasures had not been based on emotions but rather on an insatiable curiosity and awe of the universe around her, yet there had been no doubt in the mind of the Robotic Engineer that the artificial being had been able to *feel* some kind of emotion based on her reactions to certain stimuli. The Avatar had indeed grown to be much more than the sum of her parts and this pleased the Oltharian beyond his ability to express.
In accordance to the rules of robotics, Annie had been given a specific set of directives which governed her every action, so there had not been any surprises in the Avatar having sacrificed herself in the efforts to save the lost Intel Operative. Even while possessing this knowledge the Oltharian could not stop and wonder if Annie had known what she had done when she had pushed herself beyond the limits of her circuitry. Had she done so because her programming had dictated it or had she, even if only for a fraction of a second, known that she had been placing the life of someone else above her own in the hopes of rescuing them? Had Annie knowingly given her life to save another or had she simply followed the directives embedded in her programming?
As the giant Oltharian laboured to restore the Avatar's system he could do nothing more but hope that the essence of individuality that had blossomed within the android would be found intact. By his people's own belief, all things were *alive* and Annie had certainly proven that she had been that and much more on many occasion which made the Engineer believe that the mechanical woman had developed her own version of a *soul*, an essence that he wanted to save.
After countless hours of meticulous work on Annie's micro-circuitry, which seemed to defy all laws of physics given the fragile nature of her systems and the gigantic size of the hands working on them, the Oltharian began to feel the increasing weight of fatigue against his muscles. Normally the gentle giant would have ignored these minor pains and continued working but given the extremely delicate nature of his current work Elan thought it best to take a few hours' rest which would allow him to return to the Avatar refreshed and ready to continue his efforts to restore the woman to her former self.
Given that he and the other members of the ANUBIS' crew had returned to their home base of NEW ALEXANDRIA there had been but a single location where the Engineer could and would spend such time, a place that the majority of his comrades knew of but a place that few would dare to intrude upon.
--==(/\)==--
Ensign Logan Hogg, the newest member of the USS ANUBIS had made her way here having followed the instructions provided to her by the ship's computer. She had wanted to see the Oltharian and Logan had wondered if everything had been all right after she had been informed that the Eningeer's location had been in one of the Medical Research Labs on NEW ALEXANDRIA.
The Assistant Chief Medical Officer had suspected that the giant Engineer had been working on restoring the ANUBIS' Avatar, so it had come as a great surprise to be told that he had been in a Medical Research Lab instead of an Engineering Workshop. As the Ensign made her way into the corridor leading to a nurse's station Logan began to wonder if maybe the Oltharian's dedication and admiration for the robotic woman had not been taken a little too far. Annie might have *looked* human, but surely she did not require *medical* care, at least not as Logan understood and knew them.
"Excuse me," the Ensign said to the only visible nurse on duty. "Would ye be so kind as tae tell me where Ah could find Lt Fairborn?"
"Room 5," the woman replied with a smile that almost seemed unnatural which made Logan keep an eye on the nurse as she walked away in the direction she had been pointed into. After only a few steps the Assistant Chief Medical Officer forgot about the woman and her strange smile and instead focussed on her immediate surroundings.
Quietly Ensign Hogg moved deeper into the Medical Research Lab finding it strange that the laboratory appeared more as a long-term care facility than a research area. Instead of laboratory equipment and scientists working on solving the mysteries of the universe, the ensign had found nothing but closed doors which were reminiscent of a medical ward. Having found the door to Room 5 partially opened, unlike all of the others before, Logan carefully eased her way in still unsure as to what she might discover inside.
Despite a diligent search for the Oltharian giant Ensign Hogg found no sign of the Engineer as she glanced in. Edged on by her professional curiosity Logan continued deeper into the room and approached the woman resting on the one biobed located against the far wall. There the Assistant Medical Officer saw a woman whom she had naturally guessed to be the ANUBIS' Avatar. The moment that her eyes beheld the woman's dark auburn hair as well as the facial features which had not been those of the android Logan knew that she had made a mistake; whoever this person was, she was not Annie.
"I am pleased to see you here Healer," Elan said which of course startled the intruder. As the Oltharian's white eyes met the inquisitive look of the Assistant Chief Medical Officer, the Engineer understood that Logan had found something that she had not expected. "Her name is Amber Satori," the gentle giant said in a soft whispered voice, his frame filling for the most part the now open doorway.
"Ah gather that she is not an *android*," Logan said sheepishly, her eyes only now having noticed the heart monitor which displayed the clear rhythm of a beating humanoid heart.
"She was thrown in a coma by a trans-dimensional being after she tried to save our then Chief Medical Officer from being abducted," Elan explained as he walked into the room, his voice echoed with a deep sense of loss and sorrow which Logan had been unable to miss. "This took place over three years ago and all efforts to revive Amber have failed. She was brought here from Starfleet Medical when I accepted Admiral Koniki's invitation to join NEW ALEXANDRIA."
An awkward silent swept through the room as Ensign Hogg tried to think of what to say next. The Assistant Chief Medical Officer had wanted to learn more about the Oltharian and now that she had, Logan wondered if maybe her curiosity had led her to go too far.
--==(/\)==--
Lieutenant Junior Grade Elan Talak Fairborn 2006 post #149
Stardate: 60344.1000
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section E-2, Level 8, Robotics Workshop 4
Stardate: 60344.1000
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section C-2, Level 1, Medical Research Lab 8
Francois Charette {f_charette@hotmail.com}
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
