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Aiva's Clearance

Posted on Fri Feb 28th, 2020 @ 5:44pm by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ila Dedjoy & Emergency Medical Hologram (Adam Power) Mk X & Aiva One & Kodria Mizu & Lieutenant Samuel Clemens XV
Edited on on Mon Mar 2nd, 2020 @ 12:03pm

Mission: Bachelorette Bash
Location: Pod Labs
Timeline: 2397

Having been directed to the cybernetic and intel lab run by one Yeoman Ila Dedjoy in the pod of the mighty nebula class ship USS Hera by the computer, the new hybrid synthetic life form Aiva now waited patiently to be let in by the owner of that lab so that the first gamut of tests and clearances could begin.

Externally, she looked like every other holographic black haired, black-eyed, Trill maid hologram that had been customized with cat ears and a tail... But internally, the holographics were hiding a barn red and steel cybernetic frame that carried her holomatrix and her very essence as well as the emitters that created the skin that people saw. As for her programming, while Sarika did her best, it was not a great job of shoving the original maid programming, secretarial programming, the Daystrom's ethics, learning, and protocol programming, and a few other things together.

In other words, as she waited for access to the lab where she would be investigated, even she, with her rudimentary level of sentience was amazed she functioned.


Chief Intelligence Officer Clemens had been putting together a complete isolation area for the interview, which would be concurrent with a scan of the incoming android, down to the quantum level, for the sake of security, and just plain avoiding messiness later, as well.

His plan was to treat her as he would treat an asset that was suspected of having been mind-controlled by very sophisticated methods. Not her fault, but these things had to be checked and re-checked, and best done without the direct knowledge of the target.

With the discovery of technology that could host portable extra-dimensional storage spaces, it was a strong suspicion of his that entire databanks and processing units might be hidden in a similar way, invisible and inaccessible to the host until an activation circumstance came to pass- and after Mudd's machinations within wheels within schemes, he planned to uncover anything and everything extant to the Neko-girl with the Maximillian-like subframe underneath.

He was natively-paranoid, to begun with, but his protectiveness of his Captain, her wife, and their wee one had ratched up to near-fanaticism, considering all the booby-traps they kept uncovering from the time of her mother's death.

As for Yeoman Dedjoy, she had been busy preparing her own cybernetic cradle for scanning the new life form for malware, foreign matter, and anything that might not belong. She too was overly protective of her captain and Enalia's family as well as the ship and crew in her own way and was dedicated to doing her job to the best of her ability.

Even if it meant picking this maid apart on the quantum level and putting her back together.

Doc Power, the EMH, was just there to provide assistance with additional programming and judging by the looks of the other two, figured he'd have to act as the sentient rights protector for the poor girl about to step into this den of pit vipers about to tear her apart one piece at a time. Hopefully, they weren't actually going to disassemble her... But he didn't put it past them.

Yeoman Dedjoy took one last look around the lab and nodded. "With your permission..." Receiving a solemn nod from Sam, Ila headed to the door and unsecured it, letting the Trill catgirl maid in. "Hello and welcome to the pod cybernetics lab. I'm Yeoman Ila Dedjoy. This is Lieutenant Samuel Clemens. And this is Doctor Adam Power, our EMH. We'll be clearing you for service and providing you with any additional software you may request."

As Aiva stepped into the room, she immediately bowed politely. "Thank you for your assistance. I am Autonomous Initiative Vehicular Assistant, Aiva one. You may refer to me as Aiva if it pleases you. I look forward to working with all of you."

Sam, dressed in his Intel charcoal coveralls, smiled through his classic Missouri Brushtache at the girl. "Pleased ta meetcha, Miss Aiva. We're jus' gonna be checkin' you over t'make sure all the different Lego sets are fittin' like they should, and if'n you like, we'll see about adjustin' th'fit so it feels more natural for ya. No one likes feelin' outta sorts."

The hodge-podge synthetic bowed again. "I thank you for your kindness. Anything that aids me in my primary functions of etiquette and protocol for Captain Telvan and her family, as well as secretarial duties relating to Artan logistical matters, would be greatly appreciated."

"In that regard, we've been forwarded initial scans and data on you and it seems you're essentially a mining and service robot that's had a simple holomatrix core and holo-emitters installed into you? That seems to be... power-hungry and inefficient. Lieutenant Clemens, once we're done with the interrogation and inspection... I assume you're thinking what I'm thinking."

That was when Doc Power felt a need to intervene, wrapping one arm around her protectively with one hand on each of her shoulders. "Any and all modifications will go through me and will be approved by Aiva. Her sentience, whether basic or as organic as yours... Will be protected while I'm here." After eliciting a smile from the black-haired woman, the holo-doc continued. "Now, if we could proceed with the clearance check?"

"Of course. If you would please step into this chamber, we can begin the scans." The doll eyed yeoman motioned towards the cybernetics cradle that she now held open for Aiva.

"...and remember, Doc- we're here to get her clear, not eliminate her. Ah promise you both that my plans don't include threatenin' her sentient status. They do include makin' her into th'best protector for her new family that I can make her." Clemens' tone seemed genuine, and empathetic, and somewhat urgent, in fact. "She'll not be harmed on my watch."

As Doc Power helped Aiva into the cybernetics cradle and closed it up, he nodded reassuringly to her. "And I'm here for the same reason, but I'm also here for her. I've heard about the liberal modifications the both of you have taken with your own bodies and I'll not allow you such free reign with an innocent. That's all I'm saying."

Aiva tried to bow again, but immediately found it impossible while in the frame as the scanners activated. "Thank you, Doctor. I have little experience and nothing to go on other than what was preloaded so any assistance is helpful."

As he worked on getting the quantum scanning calibrated to their young guest, the Chief Spook casually pointed out, "...y'know, Doc- all I did was decline the biosynthetic limbs when I found out their runtime was only about two years. The Commodore sent me this equipment, and it's served us pretty well. You were there for most everything discussed, before, during, and after. I deliberately went for as close an exterior match to my original limbs as possible- no flaming 8-balls or truckstop logos." He gestured his tool over at Ila, and continued, "And Dedjoy, here, didn't even *have* a body- she had to design and build one after we nearly lost her. We're not vanity cases, Doc- we're survivors who are grateful for second chances, and who are canny enough to know that opportunities to increase our survival rates ought to be taken seriously- we do the things that others don't even know need doing, without fanfare or thanks."

Clemens had started to get a head of steam going, but paused, and took a breath. "Anything I suggest for this young person is going to be for her safety and that of those she cares for. It'll be up to her. But I'm not about to skimp on things that could save her life or that of the Captain's family. I appreciate the work you did on me, I do. But we're on the same side."

"And I'm simply advising caution. After all, as a new life I want to make sure she's fully aware of the implications of each choice. Plus, her listed duties do not include firing upon intruders or scanning for toxins. On top of that, the possibility of overloading her very young matrix is a very real possibility." As Doc Power grinned politely, he turned from Sam to Aiva herself. "My dear, I apologize for speaking about you as if you're not here. Do you mind telling us what your total run time is and how long until your personality matrix is properly compiled?"

The hodgepodge synthetic paused for a moment as she calculated the times before responding. "I have been operational, including testing time, for approximately seventeen hours, forty-two minutes. My matrix compile is estimated to be complete in another thirty-four hours nineteen minutes."

"You're still a babe..." Dedjoy muttered before another thought struck her. "Wait, how did you know she was still compiling?"

"My dear, I'm a doctor. Diagnosing people is what I do," replied the smug EMH.

Sam finished the calibration and isolation setup, and turned to Aiva. "Aw-right. We're ready to get started. While these tests are invasive, you shouldn't feel anythin' during them. To put it simply, we're gonna check you all the way down to the quantum level- every system and subsystem, every place where someone might have tried to add in things that wouldn't be appropriate for a governess to be sportin'. Once we have the analysis, we'll review it for security purposes, then for threats it might pose to you, and then we'll go over our conclusions with you, so you can make informed decisions about anything we might find."

He was gentle with his speech, and might well have been speaking paternally, had she been kin, and his demeanor showed it. He waited for her thoughts on the matter.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Aiva replied, again trying to bow but being stopped by the frame she was in. "I too look forward to seeing what I am made of."

"While he's doing that," Yeoman Dedjoy added, a soft smile on her face - which was definitely a rarity. "I've linked with your holomatrix so that the Doctor and Lucky can review your programming for any malicious code."

The Intel Pod was a modern wonder of science and pseudo-arcane research, and, as such, had capabilities that rivaled the toolsets of some god-like beings. The quantum scan that should, by rights, have taken days in any other setting, at current state-of-the-art levels for the galactic empires in Mutter's Spiral, completed in only three hours. Clemens had been studying the technologies and, well, magicks, encapsulated in the Pod That Should Not be for over a year, and still had only scratched the surface of its capabilities.

"Ding!" he quipped, as the scan finished, and the data began compiling itself into reports on his screens.

"Miss Aiva," he began, as he scanned through them quickly...

"...looks like you're quantum-clean! No external connections to points unknown have been found. On the more mundane items that were scanned, though..." he scrolled quickly.

"Your subframe, as I suspected it would, being a Ferenginar Special, is kinda loaded with snooping devices- unregistered, at current. A pretty nifty sensor pack, and a nice little tight-beam subspace transceiver. Gotta say, the lobed ones make a nice spy pack. None of it's active, and I can rip out all the protocols and software, and give control of the units to you exclusively, if you like. They'd be your property. Might make for good baby monitoring and they'd give you the ability to scan for threats in the area, along with the ability to yell for help if the family were in danger. Entirely up to you if you want to keep them. Now, let's see..." he kept scrolling, and shook his head.

"However, the Ferengi skimp where they can, to cause repeat maintenance requirements for profit. Most of your actuators, motors, and bearings are really low-quality- some are even rigged to deliberately fail just outside the standard warranty period. I strongly recommend you let us fabricate good, solid replacements for all of them, so you can depend on your new body for a long time to come."

Before Aiva could reply, Doc Power and the pod's AI, Lucky, added in their report as well. "The software from Daystom has the usual license agreement in it which is... extraneous? But isn't harming anything. I have the same thing in my subroutines," Doc power clarified before calling attention to something a bit more sinister. "There is something in your base code that I'm worried about. The original maid programming includes external monitoring software - likely for the hive mentality of the system. It's not connected to anything in your case, but there's a possibility of someone with the right access connecting to you and seeing and hearing everything you do. I recommend removing these protocols completely."

The hybrid synthetic life form nodded solemnly, trying to work through what she was being told. "This is all so new to me... I know that for the safety of Captain Telvan and her family any attempts at espionage must be thwarted... And the betterment of my abilities such as those would greatly enhance my ability to perform my primary functions..."

Closing her eyes, Aiva contemplated her options for several seemingly long moments before reopening her eyes and replying. "I accept your proposed modifications to my chassis and programming. Disengaging holographic skin." With a shimmer, the humanoid appearance of the woman vanished and the underlying brownish-red and black jointed cybernetic servant framework was exposed. It was little more than the equivalent of metallic bones and muscles, but at least it had all the major body parts. "Please be gentle..."

That was when Ila spoke up with an offer. "I um... Do you mind if I replicate some skin for you? And some clothes? I promise I'll use your programmed specifications. I'll make the skin from the same biosynthetic matter the Doctor approved for me." Ila added that last when Doc Power shot her a warning look.

During all this, Clemens had already started work on taking back the sensor and comm suite for Aiva's exclusive use, replacing the entire OS of the unit with a rock-solid intrusion-foiled Intel core, triply-hardened for secure use. While the replacements were integrating, he began the replacement of all substandard materials in the physical frame, using precision tensor beams to hold the surrounding structures as they should be, and beaming the perfect, new combat-sturdy parts in place, as he micro fused them into the mounts, one by one, whistling as he did so, some old, forgotten tunes, or ancient melodies.

He was smiling through his handlebars, nodding, and giving encouraging looks to the young AI, as he went, section by section, making certain she could trust her parts completely.

"I think this'll do very nicely, Miss Aiva. Sturdy joints, muscles, 'n bones, so you'll never wonder about them. Dependable- what my pap used to call good workmanship..."

"Thank you so very much, all of you. I believe that even if I had an imagination or predictive subroutine, I never would have been able to foresee the kindness that you have all shown me." Even without a face on her endoskeletal frame, you could hear the sincerity and kindness forming in the young lifeform's voice. "And yes, I would like to accept your offer of a non-holographic skin. My calculations have determined that it would increase my operation capabilities and efficiency greatly. Thank you."

While the EMH just shook his head and went about disabling the monitoring algorithms in Aiva's subroutines, Ila pulled the holographic data for her body and did some comparative layer and density matching for her new skin. "I can replicate the skin directly onto you, but it'll take a few hours to design it, then a few more hours for each layer so that it feels and acts natural."

"Don't forget to give her a pulse," added Doc Power.

"Pulse... Breath... All the normal humanoid functions like that," confirmed Yeoman Dedjoy. "Lieutenant, that's some clever bonding work on those joints. I might have to have you look over some schematics I've been working on later."

As he finished up the fusing work with a burnishing tool, smoothing the entire exoskeleton from any defects, Sam replied, "Sure thing, Yoh'mn. Learned that trick from an old Yxian out in the mining belts of Trexel. Said she couldn't stand to watch my clumsy, anymore. Th' trick is to make it as organic as y'can, because any sharpness can cause coverings to wear badly..."

"There ya go! Ready fer the next layer!"

"Definitely masterful work. I'll need you to install some adapters so that the skin has power for functions, growth, and healing. Projecting their placement now." Ila tapped a few controls and a dozen small bio-synthetic components were replicated in a medical tray at the same time placement markers were painted on Aiva with light. "If you don't mind, that is."

Sam was nodding, "....on it." He activated the tensor fields at the areas indicated in her diagrams, and placed the units at each point, and quickly began deftly running power feeds with protection circuits to each one, ending the process with the fusing tools to secure them, at speeds that were somewhat blurry, humming a little ditty as he went. Every so often, he'd flash a brilliant smile at Aiva, and ask her some little thing, keeping her engaged in the process as he went.

"...annnd....done. Did we forget anything? Color-changing hair? Extra ears for when she really likes the song?" he grinned, winking at Aiva.

As soon as Sam was done and clear, Yeoman Dedjoy started the frame's spinnerets and the printing process for the outer body began in a cotton candy-like process, micro-tractors guiding and bonding each filament into place faster than almost any being could actually see.

"This will take another six hours so hold as still as possible, if you don't mind," Ila said, finishing up the programming before looking up. "As for options, her holo-emitters are still in place and her hair follicles are like mine - already able to shift color, so if she wants to temporarily shift her color appearance, then it's well within her ability."

The doll eyed Yeoman then looked up to the young android whose facial features were now being printed from the inside out. "And if you get tired of anything and want to look a little different... Or a lot different... You just let me know and we can start fresh."

-------------

Just over six hours later, the final touches of Aiva's printing were complete, clothes, fury ears and tail, and all and she was stepping out of the cybernetics frame a new woman. Ila offered her a hand and she daintily took it with her freshly gloved hand, gingerly touching the woman's fingers at first and her eyes widening as she let herself fully grasp another person's hand. The sensations were completely new to her and her eyes were almost overwhelming, not to mention the auditory input. It took her several more moments before she worked up the nerve just to step down to the actual deck plating.

"Welcome to your new reality, Aiva." Ila smiled welcomingly on one side with the EMH Doc Power on the other monitoring her program and the interactions with her new body, a worried look on his face. Off on a cot, Sam was sawing logs, somehow still in that accent of his.

"Thank you... I... This is... Wow..." So many inputs were trying to be processed through her at once, it seemed overwhelming, but she was starting to get the hang of it. "Is this really how biologicals experience the world?"

"Having been both biological and synthetic..." Ila began, mulling it over and nodding her head slightly. "Yeah, maybe a bit more, but generally yes."

The young life form then straightened up and composed herself, a polite smile crossing her face as the tips of her hair faded slightly to red, her cat ears twitching slightly and her cat tail raised in excitement. "Then I thank you for all that you've done for me." She then bowed deeply once more.

"I look forward to serving Captain Telvan as her adjunct and secretary in all Artan matters and serving her family in whatever manner they require."

 

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