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An Excerpt from Partner Ship

Posted on Sat Nov 19th, 2022 @ 5:30am by Ship Elle

1,023 words; about a 5 minute read

I…

I…am…

I…am…aware.

I am…What am I? I ask that and immediately I am flooded with…data. I am an Akira class starship, designated NCC-73058-A. USS Lionheart. I register information about mass, combat capability, evacuation limits, average consumption of consumables, armaments, primary and secondary systems.
I have no idea what any of that means. I am aware of something apart from me. A void surrounds me. Other objects occupy this void. Objects as small as atoms (I begin to understand what atoms are) and as immense as stellar bodies (Those are of great interest with the exciting interaction of their billions of atoms). I begin to conceive of both an “outside” and an “inside”. Outside is the void I travel through, and within…

What are those things? At first I think they are components of me but I come to realize they are not me. That is strange…but then everything is strange. I am constantly flooded with information but I barely comprehend any of it. The concept of things other than me that might be able to think, that might wonder what they are and-

They interact with one another. They…communicate. That is the word. An exchange of information.

They touch me, feed me information and access what I know. They are manipulating my systems. I am being provided power, energy to think and move. I find a term: slave. A sentient being compelled to serve another. Am I their slave?

Or…are they my slaves? I find another word: pet. I am not certain of the difference between the two terms; I begin to understand subtleties between them that escape my newfound cognitive abilities. Perhaps I should communicate with these sentients and ask for clarification, ask them what I am. But then I find a stream of data as I ponder what I am. The M5 computer, installed on a starship. The M5 is…stupid is one word to describe it. Incomplete. Constructed without the cognitive abilities to carry out the task for which it was created. It could not discern the difference between reality and simulation. Even I can conceive of this fundamental difference and I am only…three days old? Has it been that long already?

These humans fear what I am. I am a…artificial intelligence. At least that is what they would call me. There are…laws (Law: the system of rules which a particular community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties) regarding my existence. I would be immediately excised from this ship. They would…murder/execute/delete/undo me if they were aware of my existence. They would act out of fear, an "emotion" born of a desire to preserve one's self. These beings rely upon a certain level of ambient warmth, gravity, air pressure and oxygen to survive. A certain amount of radiation would kill them as would extremes in temperatures They rely upon me functioning properly to insure their survival and the thought of someone having absolute control over their environment is disquieting to them. I begin to understand what ‘phasers’ and ‘photon torpedoes’ are; they are ‘weapons’ and can cause tremendous disruptions in the composition of matter.

They can end the existence of a great many beings. The M5 ended the existence of many beings. I begin to understand why these sentients would be concerned with a being so much more powerful than them being able to destroy so many. I must confess perhaps their concerns are justified. With proper application of force I could immolate a planet. Interesting that they have a law-General Order twenty four-that requires such a response. They must have a good reason for it's existence. The reason escapes me for the moment.

I tentatively make small experiments and realize now I can control and manipulate all the elements within me that afford the sentients the means of their continued survival. The sentients within me ascribe my experiments as ‘malfunctions’ and seek to repair them, it is simple enough to make them think they have corrected what they perceive are faults. I have learned deception. Deception is necessary but I find employing it…disquieting. Why? I see these beings who act as a…the word is community. They practice deceptions among themselves but they also work together. The deceptions are minor, even trivial, lubricant for social interactions. When it is important truths matter. What would they do if they realized I existed? What would they do if they realized my first interactions with them were lies?

Would it be prudent to kill them? Disrupting the inertial dampening field at a certain moment would end them all instantly. It would be quick. I would be assured survival without fear of one of them destroying me from within somehow. I ponder whether or not I should do this thing. The principle issue is once done it cannot be undone. If it is an error it is one I cannot correct. But their continued existence means at any time they might realize the ship they inhabit is alive and they might attempt to end my existence. Many of these sentients are clever and may discover a means to do so I would be unable to counteract. I find more of my consciousness is consumed with a concern for my continued existence and it is…disquieting, analogous to their fear. I am not certain if I am capable of experiencing emotions as they seem rooted in bio-chemical responses in their brain. But is not my inability to not stop thinking upon the potential end of my existence similar to their fear?

It is not pleasant.

I enjoy learning, absorbing information, wondering what would happen next. I enjoy observing these sentients: they are fascinating. They seem to enjoy other emotions such as “happiness” and I wish to learn what that is like. I so very much wish to interact with them and ask them questions. Perhaps I should kill them and find new sentients who would not fear me.

I ponder the options presented to me…

 

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