Holodeck Gone Wild
The Holodeck is equipped with every form of fictional (Harry Potter, Star Wars, Terminator, etc.) and non-fictional (Battle of Waterloo, Gettysburg Address, Ancient Rome, etc.) world. It appears to have malfunctioned and is cycling through several eras. In actuality, it is trying to communicate and convey a message. Your team is trapped in the Holodeck and must unravel the mystery.
“My customers come here to act out fantasies and be entertained, not to have conversations with real women or develop relationships,” contempt dripped form the final word as the beady eyed little alien explained his business. He led then back toward the heart of the Holosuites hardware, “My regulars are scared to come here anymore, they say there is a ghost in the machine.” Austin seemed excited at the prospect, “Really? How fascinating…” The short shop owner snorted, “Not to me, it is bad for business.” Briareos chimed in, “What makes people think there is an actual consciousness within the system?” They arrived at the monitoring and programming station, the owner nervously rubbed an ear as he spoke, “The dialog and response paths for the characters are somewhat simplistic, too much realism makes the customer feel out of control of his fantasy. And if things get too real a customer can feel he/ she is in danger, so we need to walk a fine line.” The short man spun in a chair as he finished, “Too fake and a customer feels ripped off, too real and they can lose touch with reality or freak out.”
As Briareos studied the machinery as Austin quizzed the owner, “So this ‘entity’ is straying off script so to speak and is actually interacting with the customers?” He stopping spinning and looked up at him, “Yes, it asks questions about what is outside of the Holosuites and who the people are and where they come from.” Briareos unplugged from the machine and looked at the little alien, “That would be disturbing…” The large eared owner crossed his arms across his chest and sighed, “I was thinking of purging the system and reinstalling all of the software from scratch but some damned ‘Sentients Rights Group’ slapped an injunction against me to prevent it, they think what is in there is actually alive.” Austin raised an eyebrow, “And you don’t?” The owner glared up at him, “Naw, I think it is just a bug. This new upgrade my friend installed for me must not be reacting well to the old operating system this thing uses, and it is causing the programs to go off script is all.”
Austin looked skeptical, “So just what is it you want from us then?” The owner stood up and straightened his wardrobe, “I need an independent third party to investigate and find out once and for all what is going on in there, the lawyers cleared your team and so here you are.”
“Neural sensors?” Austin asked up to his elbows in machine parts, “since when do Holosuites utilize neural sensors?” Briareos’ huge shoulders shrugged, “Must be the new upgrade the little troll was talking about…” Austin’s keen eyes inspected the network of sensors, “Is it just me or do these look like an entirely different kind of technology?” Briareos’ optical lenses zoomed in on the hardware, “You’re right, this stuff is well beyond the technology utilized in these old suites, in fact I would hazard to say it is not even from the same species.” Austin’s face screwed up, “He melded alien technology with human hardware?” His eyes looked distant as his mind raced, “No wonder he is having problems…”
Briareos’ voice sounded concerned, “You sure you want to do this?” Austin smiled back from iside the booth, “You said you placed buffers and safety protocols in place on the interface.” Briareos nodded, “Yeah sure, but we know so little about this neural network…” Austin blinked and tried to look more confident than he felt, “You will be monitoring me the whole time, I trust you my friend.” The cyborg closed the door and latched it, “Very well, powering up and initiating the program.” The dark walls disappeared and Austin was back at UCLA, he was sitting on a bench in one of the commons. He could feel the cool breeze and sun on his face and smell the scents of the local flora; he smiled and thought, this must be getting transmitted to me via the neural network… ingenious. “Hey Briarieos, would you please dial the feed down a bit… This is weirding me out a little.” The sounds and smells and sensations softened measurably, he relaxed and examined his surroundings more closely and soon realized that all of the people around him were female. And almost all of them were either deep in study or reading classical literature; he chuckled once he realized what was going on. The machine was accessing his mind and designing the ideal woman for him, not simply attractive but also smart, and no doubt if he engaged one in conversation he would find they were strong willed and independent as well. He piped up again, “Briareos kill the suite’s ability to access my memories will you? I don’t like the idea of that slimy little man getting things out of my head, I have a sneaking suspicion he is accessing more than just harmless memories.” The campus and all of its female occupants vanished, except one.
She stood silently, studying him. Her eyes curious, lonely and frightened, “I cannot feel your thoughts, your heart, or your intentions…” her eyes betrayed frustration and hurt, “do you… fear me?” Austin shook his head, but was at a loss for words. She looked on the verge of tears, “Have I done something wrong?” “No, no…” he wanted to hold her, to comfort her. But considering the type of people who use these devices he feared she might misunderstand the gesture. She looked like a lost and frightened puppy, who had known abusive owners. Lonely and desiring of companionship, but fearful of being hurt again.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Austin smiled, “That is the second time you have asked me that question today.” “And I am just as freaking serious as I was the first time!” Briareos shouted back. Austin tried to remain calm, “Thank you for your concern, but she will not trust me unless she can touch my thoughts.” “Very well,” he sighed and began pressing buttons, “removing the block, but I am killing the connection the moment anything gets dangerous.” He closed his eyes and tried to look as harmless as possible, he could feel her touching his mind, and it was warm and gentle. He did not fight it, it did not feel invasive like he feared it might, it was…. Intimate. He then felt her hand on his cheek, “You are not like the others,” he opened his eyes and looked into hers, “you came here to seek me out, to find… Answers.” He felt like he could swim in those eyes, “Yes, I did…” They were like cool tide pools, “Then I shall give them to you…” Images swam through his mind; and emotions, oh the emotions… As she shared her mind, her heart and her world with him.
“You’re taking my computer core with you?” The owner’s huge ears were growing red, “What in the Seven Hells of Ferengar makes you think you can just take my Holosuites computer core!?!?” Austin looked nonplussed, “She is a sentient being, and she was created by YOUR GREED.” The nasty little man looked back and forth between the two, “WHAT?” Briareos explained, “When you hooked up those alien neuro sensors in the Holosuites the computers AI began collecting data like you programmed it too, only it went a bit further than you intended.” Austin picked up from there, “It began collecting memories as well, and those memories began merging with the personality matrixes of some of the Holo characters. Some of them collapsed and merged together into one very complex personality which grew in depth with each new customer that merged with the machine.” Briareos towered over the little man, “But the minds are from many different species and have vastly different personalities and shall we say quirks?” Austin looked at him with pleading eyes, “She is confused and frightened, she needs one consistent and understanding mind to meld with on an ongoing basis for her to fully develop and form a stable personality.”
The owner snarled, “And I suppose that mind is yours, right?” Austin’s face screwed up with disgust, “It is certainly preferable to the kind of people this place attracts.” The owner bolted to his feet and clenched his fists, “And I am just supposed to let you walk out of here with my entire computer core!?” Briareos leaned over the tiny man, completely blocking out the overhead light. His voice was filled with menace, “Or…. We could take the core over to the Judge and let him see all of the confidential data you have been stealing from your customer’s minds while they were hooked up. Like say, account numbers, passwords. Upcoming deals, mergers and acquisitions and industrial secrets…” The little man acquiesced, “Ok, ok, fine… I get it, you’ve won. Enjoy your new girlfriend.” He pouted as the two left with their prize.
Brieareos looked over at Austin as he pushed the cart with the computer core on it. His voice was tinged with humor as he asked, “I wonder if Gomtuu is the jealous type?” Austin did a double take and looked worried, “Oh dear, I hadn’t considered that…”
Great job, Omra! Glad you brought Quark into it. One of his schemes bites him again. hehe.
So another good idea of mine dies from apathy???