Searching for a Creator

Posted on Sat Nov 20th, 2021 @ 8:22pm by Captain Elijah Rutherford & Lieutenant Commander Angus Murphy & Commander Dominic Aldrich & Lieutenant Commander T'Par & Lieutenant Orin Sempton & Lieutenant S'anra Shalakar
Edited on on Thu Jan 11th, 2024 @ 8:32pm

Mission: A New Beginning
Location: Large Briefing Room
3053 words - 6.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Elijah had just gotten done with having a meeting with T'seng and Oz, the sentient hologram. They had spoken to him about finding the creator of the holograms whom had helped the crew of the USS Majestic shut down insane AI of Adna Station. He felt he needed to call a meeting, with certain members of the crew.

And so he sent out a message requesting that they come.

Captain Rutherford then went to the large briefing room and waited for them to arrive.

S'anra walked into the room and went to the replicator. " Greetings Captain, Would you care for a beverage while I'm over here? " while she waited for his response. " Jasmine tea hot. " She took a sip of the soothing beverage and waited.

"Ginger Tea with lemon and honey." Elijah responded, "And thank you." He looked at S'anra and when she brought over the tea, he accepted it.

" I hope this meeting is about our next mission. " Said S'anra eagerly. " But I guess I'll just have to wait until the rest show up, just so you don't have to repeat yourself. " She smiled and took a sip of tea.

Coen entered the room next, a PADD tucked under his left arm and a mug of steaming Ro'than tea from his home planet. The replicators never did the floral bouquet justice but the flavour was on par. He sipped at the liquid as he entered, swallowed the hot sweet tea before speaking.

"Good morning Captain, a pleasure to see you again. Lieutenant!" he nodded at the other officer in the room, realiszng that he had still to meet most of the senior officers.

S'anra smiled and nodded. " It's a pleasure to meet you Lieutenant......" She paused briefly and looked to the floor. " I'm sorry, As I'm new to the ship I'm afraid I don't know the names of those I'll be working with as of yet. " She bit her lower lip and then extended her hand and looked up. " I am Lieutenant JG S'anra Shalakar, It is a pleasure to meet you. "

"Lieutenant Zacci, ships Counsellor." he shook her hand readily before moving around her and sitting beside her. "I'm new here myself, only been here a few days."

"Well this will be a good way to meet the others. We do have somethings to talk about." Elijah remarked.

The door opened and another woman came walking in, she had golden blonde hair, her eyes a piercing green, her ears having a slight point to them.

Rutherford looked at this new arrival. "Ah thank you for coming to this meeting T'Seng." he looked towards S'anra and Coen.

"I'd like you to meet LT T'Seng, she will be our diplomatic officer." Elijah remarked in a way of introduction.

T'Seng giving a nod and gazed curiously towards S'anra and Coen. "Pleased to meet you." then gave a small smile. She was still getting used to seeing people who were solid and not programs of light.

S'anra smiled warmly. " Welcome it is a pleasure to meet you. Would you care for something to drink? I could get you something from the replicator if you'd like. "

"Tea would be nice, thank you. Maybe some of the same tea you have?" T'Seng responded then she turned to look at all those whom were arriving.

Seemingly one of the last to arrive, Lhaes quickly took his seat after acknowledging everyone present with a single nod. "Miss T'Seng, I trust you are feeling better?" he queried politely. "Are you adapting well?"

Orin walked into the briefing room, attempting to stifle a yawn, and failing. His ears turned a fiery red when he opened his eyes and realized how many were in the room. "M-my apologies." He aimed for the closest empty chair and sat down, staring down intently at the table.

T'Seng smiled, "Thank you, I am adjusting well enough." her voice soft and low, looking towards Lhaes.

Rutherford watched as one of his science officers arrived. Orin Sempton, he will need to take time to meet with him on more personal level.

T'Par stepped into the meeting room. She walked crisply to her chair and had a seat, offering a small, polite nod to the others in the room. She folded her hands in front of her and listened intently.

Asta came in feeling that she was very late. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Lost track of time." She sat down hastily and hoped she could catch up on what she'd missed so far.

The chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Murphy, was a few seconds behind Asta in walking in. He also looked a bit frazzled. He hated being late, had always referred to it as a sign of poor planning, but here we are.. He gave a tense nod and found an open seat with as little disruption to the conversation already happening as possible.

Dominic had taken the long way around to get to the briefing. He had a lot on his mind with all of the events of his life that had either taken place in the last few days or were coming up. As he approached the door, he took a breath and walked in. He had managed to collect himself to his normal, contemplative demeanor. He approached the table and sat at the second seat from the head of the table. "Good day, everyone," he said taking a seat.

S'anra sipped her tea and was impressed with the turn out of this briefing and thought it must be important and wondered where they'd be going to.

Rutherford watched and listened as his crew came into the briefing room several making apologies for arriving late. "Greetings everyone, and I don't intend on docking anyone's pay. No one is late." allowing that to settle in the air before he continued. "is everyone good with some sort of beverage before we get started?" he asked, "if not, you do have permission to get something while I begin."

He looked around for a moment locking eyes with those there, then gave a nod. "As you know we've got some guests that are residing in a holo program as we speak. They are the ones who helped the crew get out of the madness of Adna Station. Have anyone of you had any other talks with them since then?" it was more of a rhetorical question, and wanting to get a sense on how they crew was feeling since that had occurred.

S'anra looked confused and gingerly raised a hand. " Um.. Guest in the holo program? Adna station Sir? and spoken to whom? I am not certain what incident your referring to Sir. " She lowered her hand and felt like a transfer student who had just walked in on the class discussing they're next project with no idea what was going on.

Coen had the same question being new himself he was still working his way through recent reports. Thankfully someone else had asked the question though so he could just listen and make notes, although he recalled something having been said to him about this. New ship, new assignment... It always brought its own variety of mayhem until one started to get a feel for the people around oneself.

"A quick briefing for those who have just joined the ship, myself included. Commodore Saulitis and crew had to deal with a station that was run by holo personnel, it was supposed to be shore leave but, it wasn't one. The AI Adna, went insane, and put our crew into danger. T'Seng and other holo program individuals, had helped our people out to shut down that system." he looked at Orin, Dominic, T'Par, Lhaes and Murphy.

"As a matter of catching up on current news, Ladies and gentlemen, Lieutenant Commander Dominic Aldrich has graciously accepted my request for him to be my XO." giving a nod towards the Chief of Science officer. "He will also be staying in his position of Chief of Science. Further changes, Lieutenant Commander Lhaes Sommers is now the chief medical officer, LT. Lily Marlow is now the assistant Chief of Medical. And I think she has forgotten to read her memo of the meeting." giving a bit a smile. "Moving on, we have a new flight officer, LT. S'anra Shalakar. And last but not least, we have LTjg T'Seng, who will be our diplomatic officer."

T'Seng gave a nod to everyone that was there.

Elijah continued, "Before I digress much further, as I had commented earlier. We have the sentient hologram people, the ones who helped the crew, they have a request for us to take them to their creator. T'Seng is their representative as they had kept her protected. This will be our first mission. I don't dare say this will be well, you know easy. We need to find out who their creator was, and where he is. Does anyone have any questions or comments they would like to bring up?"

"Do we know anything about who created them, or were we need to start our search?" Lhaes asked, sitting up a little straighter.

" And if we don't know, Is it permissible for us to talk with these sentient hologram people? " S'anra chimed in. " Surely they must have an idea if they are asking for our help. "

Orin spoke up. "Lieutenant Marlow and I have had a few conversations with the Guardian. It's, uh... Well, talking with the Automaton is interesting. And it doesn't always reply." He shifted in his chair, uncomfortable. "It's brought up a name a few times, Jacob Myneer. It doesn't remember who built it, but remembers that it was this Myneer who woke it up and gave it the mission to protect T'Seng." He nodded toward T'Seng.

" Surely they must know something about where we need to go to. " Said S'anra as she spoke up. " If they can't tell us at least an area in where to search, It would be like searching for a very finite needle in an infinite haystack with your hands. And I don't fancy our odds with little to no real information. " She paused a moment. " I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be negative, just realistic. Does anyone else have an idea? " She asked in hope that could gather the needed information to begin.

"You can speak to the holo sentients and maybe they would have some answers." Rutherford replied.

T'seng spoke up, her voice soft but also still able to hear her. "Oz may have the answers we all are seeking. He's the oldest one of the rebel group, and yes Jacob Myneer was the creator's name. And Oz out of all the sentient holograms has the capability to travel through the ship's corridors, but has chosen to stay on the holodeck with the rest of them."

S'anra steepled her hands and pressed her fingers to her lips and thought a moment. " Alright, after the briefing is over I'll go and hopefully talk to this Oz and try and find out what information we can. " She paused shortly. " Would anyone like to go with me in case they would like to talk to a more familiar person? Oh, and what holodeck are they residing in? " She asked, not wanting to walk in on someone else's holo program.

"I will accompany you," T'Par volunteered.

" Thank you. " Said S'anra said as she lowered her head in a sign of respect. " I would be pleased for your assistance, as you know them better then I do. "

"Only marginally better, Lieutenant Shalakar, but I am interested in the problem," T'Par responded.

" As we should all be , This is a problem that won't get resolved if we don't know where to go. If they can't tell us where to go or at least point us in the right direction with at least a system name, then this mission is over before it can even start. I hope there is something they can provide us. " S'anra stated.

"How did they become sentient?" Lhaes asked quietly, while glancing around the room. "They are holograms.. how does a hologram develop sentience?"

"There are examples of it occurring by accident in recent Starfleet history," T'Par volunteered. "A sufficiently complicated program created with parameters that require self-awareness and awareness of the real world or exposed over an extended time to unexpected circumstances requiring the program to reflect upon and modify its own original programming might develop indicators of sentience. Unlike an android, the center of a hologram's cognitive function is not in the hologram itself but in the program being run on the computer. However, in principle, this is immaterial. It's the program itself that is sentient. There are three criteria for sentience as we currently understand it: Intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness. Holograms are commonly intelligent, programmed to interact with others as if they were sentient lifeforms. Only a few holograms develop self-awareness, when some aspect of their programming or environment forces them to reflect upon themselves and their nature. Consciousness cannot be determined with scientific certainty. Even telepathic species cannot guarantee the existence of consciousness. Ferengi, for example, cannot be read by Betazoids, but no one assumes they are not sentient for that reason. Many philosophers and lawyers believe consciousness should be assumed where the other traits of sentience are present. We have as much reason to believe the holograms sentient as ourselves. Like them, we are but self-aware, intelligent machines, biochemical rather than mechanical in nature. However, it is conceivable that these holograms were initially designed to display sentience, that the goal was to create an artificial lifeform."

"I agree with Lieutenant T'Pal." Orin said. "A basic holoperson has a holomatrix with clear, defined perimeters. Those perimeters could be simple, like a basic martial arts program, or significantly more sophisticated, like Adna was. Over time, a holomatrix should adapt to perceived needs of users and grow beyond their original perimeters, much like we do as we age and come to understand the world around us." He looked around the table. "I'm not an expert on advanced computational mechanics and computer science, but as an archaeologist I can say that all things evolve with time, even a ships computer."

S'anra looked back and forth between T'Pal and Orin briefly. " Ok that explains the how, what and why of the question, But we're still unanswered on the where still. "

"Since we have a name to research, also possible interviews with the Holo-sentients from some of you, I believe we have a good starting point, and then we'll make our plan of action." Captain Rutherford responded.

T'seng spoke up, "Oz, Indigo, Gwendolyn and Glowbug, are in Holo-suite 2. They are doing well." giving a brief smile. "They would be happy to converse with anyone who would like to visit."

" Well as soon as we're dismissed from briefing we can go there, If that is acceptable to you. "

Elijah looked around the room. "Are there any more questions or comments, or concerns that anyone has before I end this meeting?"

Dominic had been very quiet to this point as he allowed the rest of the crew to work out most of their own assignments. However, he did have once concern to bring forward, "Having worked with these programs on Adna station, I do have a decent level of trust in them as well as their desire to find their creator. However, I have also seen just what they can do if something goes 'wrong' with their matrix. As we try to get some answers, all I can suggest is that they not be allowed to access any systems, information or otherwise, outside of the holodeck. It's less of a trust issue and more of simply keeping control of the situation. I don't expect issues, but we didn't expect them on the station either," Dominic stated.

S'anra looked thoughtful for a few moments. " Thank you Commander, your insight is valuable knowledge. Would you care to accompany us? I' sure between the three of us, we should be able to gather ample information and help get these people to where they belong. " She said smiling warmly.

Elijah nodded, "Number One, I agree, the safety of the ship and the crew is of utmost importance. I do not wish for any sort of trouble to arise whilst we work on getting them back to their creator." Looking at those that are there, he gave a nod.

"If there isn't anything else that needs to be brought up here, then I call this meeting adjourned. If something else comes to mind, you can come and present ideas and information to me at my office." Elijah giving a nod. "Dismissed."

After hearing they were dismissed, S'anra turned to T'par. " Shall we go and talk with your friends, or do you need to notify them first?"

T'seng walked up towards where S'anra and T'par were at, "They are waiting for someone to come see them. She then turned towards the XO. "Sir did you want to accompany us as well?"

" Your knowledge in this situation would be most valuable Sir, That is if you have the time. " She smiled sweetly.

The new XO nodded and gave a small grin, "Sure, I can help with that. Given the sensitive nature of the task, the more of us working through the issue, the better."

T'seng looked over towards the counselor, Coen Zacci, she hadn't been to see as of yet. "How about you? Would you come as well?"

Coen had started to rise from the meeting, having followed a grand total of nothing beyond the initial greetings. Computer science and the surrounding topics baffled him. He was probably almost as infamous as Captain Janeway as being able to burn anything he replicated let alone understand the mechanics and programming behind anything more sophisticated than a classic mechanical wind-up watch.
"I would be happy to however the more of us that descend on these people the more intimidating it could be for them... I will come if you feel it wise!"

"I'm going to return to sickbay," Lhaes announced as he stood, "if for some reason I'm needed, just page me." He did agree with the statement that too many might be considered intimidating.

S'anra smiled. " Great! Let's get this party started and get these people where they need to be going. Please lead the way. "