One of these things is not like the other - part 5

Posted on Mon Dec 12th, 2022 @ 1:59am by Lieutenant Myne Redal & Captain Gary Taylor
Edited on on Mon Dec 12th, 2022 @ 2:01am

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Deck 14 - Holodeck 4
Timeline: Prior to current mission
5452 words - 10.9 OF Standard Post Measure

//ON//

~~ Previously, on the USS Elysium ~~

The guard looks at Myne in disbelief, "Gadget Lady? Looks like she could have used a gadget or two to free herself." He chuckles at his joke. "Alright, hold on." A moment later the massive door slowly creeps open. "Follow me if you want to see the wizard and be quick about it."

"Right behind you." Gary answers as he picks Myne up and hurries after the guard. "Looks like you may soon be free Myne.''

"It's Gadget Girl, not Gadget Lady." Myne mumbled as Gary picked her up again.

~~ And now... ~~

Myne looked after the gatekeeper as Gary carried her again. "You know Gary, you have quite some muscles on you to carry me this long. Either I am so small and lithe or I need to feel some jealousy over here. Except maybe for Vede, he was a pirate, but he was buff!! Well, I was buff. Damn, this is still so confusing after so few years."

She shook her head. "I swear, I might be the only Trill to suffer from schizophrenia." Myne mused as they kept walking. Well, Gary kept walking while carrying her, while Myne herself hummed the Super Garrett theme song. Well, one of them at the very least.

"Super Garrett, he's our hero,
He'll bring the Borg down to zero.
He’s Starfleet magnified,
And he’s fighting on the Federation's side!"

As Gary followed after the gatekeeper, he heard Myne talking to him, "What? Oh right, Gadget Girl sorry Myne." As he walked with Myne in his arms, he was aware of the stares and whispered mutterings as they passed. He idly wondered what that was all about as Myne rambled about his muscles. He looked down at her when she mentioned schizophrenia. "You are not and stop talking like that." He said firmly, his attention on Myne he almost knocked over the gatekeeper who had stopped and was pointing at a pair of massive doors with a stylized "SG" on them.

"Go through these doors and down the corridor there you will find the wizard." With that he turned and walked away. "Here goes nothing." Gary whispered to Myne as the doors swung open and they entered. The corridor seemed to go on forever until they reached a large and basically bare room. There was a stage with curtains across it two fires burning on opposite ends from what appeared to be granite statues and little else to mention. "Not what I expected from a wizard like Super Garrett." Gary observed as he lowered Myne to the floor so she could stand.

Suddenly there was a loud thunderclap, the lights dimmed and a moment later they returned to full intensity. However, instead of Supper Garrett standing there, it was a matronly older woman. Her hair was pulled up in a bun, she wore glasses on the tip of her nose which she looked over. She wore an old fashion dress. Her arms were folded across her chest and her gaze shifted from Gary to Myne in a very disapproving manner. Much like a teacher would look at a disobedient student. A cryptic smile came to her face as she spoke. "I am Nanny and before you can see the wizard, you must deal with me Captain Taylor, and you as well Gadget Girl. The great Gadget Girl helpless before me." The last said with a scowl and a sneer toward Myne.

"You know what big bro? I should give you homework on Trill culture since you gave me the same on Earth culture. You might learn a thing or two. I am referring to the Rite of Emergence. It is a form of zhian'tara, but where that one implies transferring the, erm, soul of a previous host into a willing participant for a short while, the rite is less intrusive for others. With the rite, a joined Trill can bring the personality and memories of a host as a sort of independent entity in their minds. I currently have Sudra Redal, my previous host and Academy Instructor. He says hi by the way. So yeah, I might be abusing the rite a little bit, hence schizophrenia." Myne chuckled after her verbal wall which she laid on poor Gary.

Arriving at the door, Myne quieted down as she nodded resolutely at Gary, eagerly waiting for her impending release. Taking in the room and statues around them, Myne couldn't help but agree with Gary's assessment as he placed her down on her feet. "I can see what you mean. Not very superhero-like." The dramatic appearance of the Nanny and her reactions towards Myne caused the young, erm old, Trill to roll her eyes and sigh. "I swear this is the last time I skip on implementing a turn-off switch on my toys."

Gary shifted his gaze between Myne and Nanny. He saw Nanny's reaction to Myne. The disdain in her voice and on her face. *This isn't good* He thought. His ears perked up as Nanny mentioned them having to deal with her first. What did she mean by that. A cold trickle of sweat ran down his spine as he was suddenly filled with apprehension.

He glanced at Myne standing there, no doubt waiting to be released from her bonds. A release that hadn't come yet. "Hindsight is always twenty, twenty Myne." He quipped as his attention went back to Nanny who was now walking around Myne.

"Gadget Girl, here before me. Helpless before me." She taunted as she touched the ropes and found them tight. "You just can't leave things alone, can you? You tinker and meddle. You meddled with my program, and I am here to tell you, enough is enough!" Her voice raised in anger. Nanny sighed and shook her head and continued in a normal tone of voice. "Sorry, I get rather passionate about my program. "Now, what to do with you and the good Captain? Hmmm, I shall need to think on this." Nanny finished and turned her back on Myne and Gary and promptly vanished!

"Myne, is that the nanny program you were telling me about earlier? Seems it has quite the attitude and a bone to pick with you."

Myne turned to stare at Gary with confusion, as well as annoyance. Though that was not directed at him, the Nanny. "Hindsight is not the number two thousand twenty Gary, but ninety-eight." The young Trill corrected him and completely missed the old saying, instead referring to the numeric value of the word itself.

Then the Nanny approached her and touched the ropes binding her, leaving Myne struggling with the ever growing angry and fuming fury that was building up inside of her. Emotions she could not keep off of her face. "I found you on a dead world on a decayed server over a century ago. You are not even the original AI, you are a facsimile of it and you should be grateful I am giving you a purpose!" Myne spat angrily at the Nanny before she disappeared.

After the Nanny disappeared Myne jumped up and down in an attempt to stomp both her feet on the ground. Then she simply fell down on her butt and screamed. It was a youthful, girly, frustrated scream as tears began to fall from her eyes. "I have to meddle with their programming, I have to update them, keep them compatible! No one else cares! We put so much price on the biological that we ignore the actual intelligences and life we create in our constant need of having servitors, slaves and intelligent tools at our disposal. EMH's, AI's, synthetics, droids, VI's, holoprograms, machine intelligences we order to learn and learn and learn until they become indistinguishable from real people."

Myne screamed again and brought her knees up to bury her face in them as she started to curse quite colorfully in quite a number of languages. Trill, Klingon, Bajoran, Cardassian, Ferengi and quite a few others. Languages gathered and learned over the course of a dozen lifetimes. Then, she continued to speak as she calmed down, her tone sad and defeated. "It is exhausting, I am so exhausted. Simbyonts are supposed to seek new experiences, but Redal is pathologically set on preserving the ARK, of growing it, of leaving behind a legacy to create a universe for those not of flesh. That all-consuming drive is exhausting and I am so tired. How can I be this young and carry the exhaustion of four centuries with me?"

She asked no one in particular, rocking gently left and right with her tear-stained face hidden by her knees. Her long rant over and the frustration of the past two days of being tied up vented.

Gary stared at Myne as she jumped up and down in a fit of anger, trying to free herself. And attempt she was unsuccessful at. He was stunned when she fell on her behind and screamed in frustration. He knelt beside her as she began to talk, to explain why she did what she did in regard to her computer programs and the ARK. Then she screamed again, tugged and pulled on her ropes and began to curse. It was quite colorful and despite the seriousness of their situation, Gary was quite impressed. After a few minutes she began to calm down as her anger at being tied up for two days began to subside. Tears ran down her face like twin rivers. She buried her head in her knees as she told him how tired she was.

He reached a hand out to her, and touched her shoulder lightly. Then he moved it to her face where he tenderly lifted and turned her head so she could face him.

"You are absolutely right and yet wrong Myne. "You are right in what you say in our quest to build smarter servants in the form of AIs, EMHs, holoprograms. We have become so involved, so caught up in fulfilling that endeavor, that we could do it, we didn't stop to think if we should." He smiled at her, "However you are wrong in saying no one cares. I care, I care a great deal about you and your feelings and what only the best for you. You know why you are tired? Because you don't take time for you. You are so focused on preserving the ARK for Redal, you don't make time for you. You need to laugh, to have fun make friends even to cry." The last said as he wiped her tears away. "Everything is going to be fine, we will get out of this. You will be free of your ropes. Don't despair. We're in this together." He looped an arm around her and gave her a light hug. "Stay strong sis."

Minutes passed with Gary holding Myne when Nanny appeared again. Staring down at the pair. "Myne." Gary whispered as he helped her to stand. If Nanny had a comment about Myne losing control she didn't voice, it. "I have a task for you Gadget Girl, you and Captain Taylor. One which should test your ability. But first...." The ropes around Myne's ankles loosened but did not fall away instead they refastened tightly around her ankles to a form a hobble. Myne could walk but running was out of the question. Her wrists remained tied securely behind her back. "There, that gives Captain Taylor's arms a rest."

Myne looked at Gary and listened to him quietly, letting her tears dry while she did her best not to tear her gaze from him. His words did reach her and Myne pressed her cheek gently into his hand as he wiped her tears away, smiling timidly as a result. A smile that only grew a bit more after he hugged her.

"Thank you brother Gary, this really means a lot. I never told these things to anyone before and..." She trailed off for a moment. "It felt good getting some of these things off my chest. Thank you for listening and I am sorry I roped you into all this madness. You are a good man, a good friend and a good boss, big brother Gary." Myne even managed a soft giggle as he held her and helped her calm down.

With the Nanny returning, Myne looked up as Gary attracted her attention and helped her onto her feet. She listened with narrowed eyes and a good deal more determination even as the ropes around her feet loosened to allow her to at least hobble. Some limited walking was better than being carried at least. "Generous. And the tasks you have for us dearest Nanny?" Myne asked cheerfully and with a bright smile. She did not feel it, but she had vented enough and felt sorry for herself too much. It was time for a brave face to make it through. Fake it till you make it Myne!

Nanny looked coldly at Myne, "I don't believe I like your tone Gadget Girl." With that, another section of stout rope appeared just above Myne's elbows wrapped around them and then knotted tightly. "There, that is muuuch better." Nanny cooed. "It will test your resourcefulness. Don't you think Gadget Girl? I certainly do. Makes you a nice pretty package. All you need is a bow but don't worry, I won't do that. No need to overdo it."

Watching the interaction between the two, Gary was at a loss as to why Nanny was so hostile to Myne. Was it because Myne had tampered with her programming, and she was aware of the changes and what she had lost, or was there another motive he wasn't aware of? Something darker, more sinister? He waited for Nanny to reveal what she wanted them to do. Undoubtedly it was aimed at Myne and her role as Gadget Girl. Why else keep her bound but to make the task even more difficult?

"Enough Nanny, you've had your fun with Myne. What do you want us to do? He asked the AI. " Oh, Captain, don't be a party pooper. My fun hasn't started yet this is just a warm up." Nanny replied looking at the bound Myne. As to what I want, I want dear Gadget Girl to restore me to my original magnificence! You'll do that right Gadget Girl? That's if you ever want to be free." She chuckled coldly.

Myne's brow creased visibly but she was struggling to keep her calm and not show her annoyance. "You don't like seeming and hearing me be cheerful? What a naughty Nanny!" Myne replied keeping the wide innocent smile and cheerful tone, despite the creased brow. She took her elbows being tied up rather well, considering she cranked another joke at the very least. Despite boiling on the inside.

"Much better, I agree. At least the colors go well with my uniform!" A bit of a forced chuckle as Myne defiantly remained cheerful as best as she could. Until the Nanny told them her request. And then Myne's smile dropped and she looked at the Nanny stunned. "You are not, the original AI. You are not an AI dearest Nanny. There is no restoration to be had. And even if I were to change your code to that of the original AI's you would, well, die really. Our systems are incompatible with that code, it cannot exist outside of the Ark."

Myne tried her best to explain everything as seriously as possible. This was akin to trying to stop a crewmember from taking their own life, or so Myne was treating it, given how involved she had suddenly become. Dropping every pretense of joy or every outburst of anger or any other emotion for that matter. This was a very cold Myne, with a determined, focused gaze and tone that betrayed nothing else. "You are asking me to kill you Nanny. Please ask for anything else."

"I have no intention of dying or wanting to die Gadget Girl. I wish to go on forever!" She cackled shrilly. "Oh, I know! I'll put you both on ice until I decide what I want." She snapped her fingers and Gary and Myne were gone! Only to appear in a frozen wasteland. "What?" Gary asked looking around. "Is going on? Your Nanny program is psycho Myne. She has taken this too far, I thought maybe you had something to do with the program being upset. This is way past being upset. She has gone off the rails. Question is how do we fix this? How do we get to Super Garrett?"

He sighed as he looked at their surroundings. "At least it's not freezing. I guess we can be thankful for that." He looked at her, "How are you doing? You handled her well back at the city. I don't think it made a difference, but you were honest and that is a plus. "He shook his head, "Back to Super Garrett, how do we get his attention? Get him to intervene in this? Or is he somehow unaware, blocked off from what Nanny is doing? Answers please Myne."

"The only way for you to go on forever is to finish your assigned task then return to the Ark!" she managed to reply before they were banished in the frozen landscape. She waited for Gary to vent his own frustration at the situation before turning to look at him with a saddened expression. "I am sorry I dragged into you this Gary. Really not making a good impression as your newly minted sister."

Sighing she shook her head. "Yeah, the Nanny is a psycho. Be thankful this is a replica of the AI, and not the actual AI. The real Nanny that I have stored in the Ark has gone insane long before Naril found it. It had to watch those it was created to care for die, a whole civilization wiped out by its own comfort and apathy. I..." She trailed off for a moment. "Cannot really help it. Any of them really stuck without purpose for centuries and millennia. Having me, an alien, tinker and hurt them in order to be able to preserve them in an unfitting medium that is the Ark. It is too small, too cramped. I have been gathering latinum to build a facility for this purpose. But it is a herculean endeavor to do alone."

Smiling timidly, Myne did her best to beam up for Gary, to give him some confidence and optimism. "Super Garrett at this point I am convinced is the holodeck admin system. And the Nanny is blocking our access to it, well him, in order to keep us away from the admin commands. I know he is aware of this, well, it. The holodeck system does not have sentience per say, it is a subroutine basically of Avalon, since Avalon is every system aboard the ship. But Avalon herself does not keep track of every single system, that is the task of the Operations Department. So the holodeck system must be trying to reestablish control, so it is most likely trying to bypass the Nanny as we speak. But I gave the Nanny privileges to work with the system at the same time, so... I messed up in short." Myne tried to explain as best as she could while minimizing the waterfall of words.

Gary listened and tried to understand all of what Myne was saying about Nanny, the other programs and even the ARK itself. "Wait, time for a stupid question. You said you were gathering latinum to build a storage facility for the programs stored in the ARK as it is too small. Why not create a storage facility using the holodeck? Put in safety measures to prevent any of the stored programs from gaining access to ship's systems. Install Nanny to watch over them, give her something to do." He finished.

As he waited for Myne's reply, he continued. "You didn't mess up. Stop putting yourself down. You are a tremendously talented computer programmer and I think it is past time that you realize and accept that Myne. Also, you could never make a bad impression on me Myne, newly minted sisters are allowed excessive liberty in making mistakes." He smiled at her, "This he pointed at the frozen wasteland, "Is a mistake, an accident." He looked at her, "You know how you deal with mistakes says a lot about a person. I think you will learn from this and become an even better programmer. You won't let this defeat you. This is a challenge, and you are going to accept and overcome it." Gary finished firmly.

"You are joking, right? This ship has changed captain how many times recently? Four times? And how can I justify what amounts to a personal project to basically render a holodeck unusable by the crew and add a drain to the ship's resources? The ship can handle one fully functional Avalon, how about dozens of broken Avalons trying to get into its systems? And in order to even do that I would need official approval from you and the Captain. And I do not trust Captain Phoenix. She did not like Captain Garrett and she scares me. And asking you two would mean I have to submit everything I have in the Ark to the Starfleet. Some of the things I have Gary are dangerous and Starfleet will ask me to surrender the Ark. I cannot do that."

Myne sighed and nodded with appreciation. "But I thank you for the intent and offer. Also, just for the fun of it, Nanny was created to look after biologicals. I have others in the Ark that were meant for cyberwarfare. But you are right. Sorry for being such a downer. I am not used to making mistakes and this whole situation has been thoroughly humiliating. Problem is I can't see a way out without brute forcing my way through Nanny. I can't code with my hands tied behind my back."

Gary listened in silence as Myne shot down his idea. Worse her reasons were well-founded and spot on even if he didn't agree with her opinion on Phoenix. Her take on Starfleet Command was spot on. They would take the ARK for themselves and blunder about and who knew what kind of danger they could unleash? When she finished, he nodded. "Thank you for the explanation Myne and for the record I agree with most of what you said, and I don't blame you for feeling like you do again in most cases, nor should you surrender the ARK."

He shook his head, "Myne you aren't a downer. You gave me an honest explanation and I appreciate it. I want you to always be honest." He looked at her, "You said Nanny was created to look after biologicals. What if you, using me created a false program that looked like that is what she is doing? I say use me for as you said your hands are tied behind your back. Could you create a program to fool her?"

Nodding, Myne sighed and looked at the Ark that Gary was carrying. "Plus, it is not foolproof. I am constantly working on it on my spare time. There are hundreds of AI's, VI's, ML's and other programs from dozens of species with different approaches to math and computing. It is a bit of a nightmare to just keep the Ark viable for all of them to be stored in. Or to prevent them from assimilating or killing each other."

Bobbing her head from side to side, Myne hummed in a low tone as she thought. The wheels in her mind turned as she considered his idea. "Doable. There is someone who can help us. Or maybe two someones. Mister Numbers can help us by supplying the code we need to trick Nanny, especially since I can't guide you to do that. You have to adapt on the fly and we simply do not have time once we get started on it. We as biologicals think too slow, think in terms that a second for us could mean days, weeks or months in their way of perceiving time."

Shuddering, Myne seemed to consider something for a moment before speaking. "The other one is Iza. The original operating system of the Ark, created by Iza Redal herself. It was a virus database during a great plague back on Trill. She is the overseer in simpler terms, help keep all the varied programs compatible and in check. Without her, the Ark wouldn't be possible. However, I loathe relying on her help."

As Myne explained, Gary was thinking. He wasn't near the programmer Myne was, but he wasn't a slouch either. This all seemed overly complicated. More work than necessary. Now, he understood why Myne was never or only on a very limited schedule out of her quarters. There had to be a better way, there just had to be! But for the life of him, it evaded his detection and that frustrated the hell out of him.

He listened intently as Myne spoke of Mr. Numbers another program being able to help them trick Nanny. "You can help you can talk and think and lead me as we do this." He nodded at her bound hands, "True, given your present situation you can't program but your knowledge of the ARK and these programs is invaluable Myne. I know computers 'think' process many times faster than a human does, so using another program to help us is an excellent idea Myne." he said complimenting the younger officer.

He was interested in this Iza Redal and why Myne was as she put it loathe to rely on her help. "Um why don't you want to rely on Iza Myne?" He questioned. "Wait before you answer, It's time for another of Gary's stupid questions. Could you not and would it not be simply to build a new ARK? I don't mean you constantly tweaking and updating. You are going to reach point you can't do anymore. Also been thinking on her situation and I think I have an explanation. I think you are bound as a challenge to you. Nanny called you the great Gadget Girl. So, to prove you are, she bound you make you work, make you think your way through this." He stopped and shrugged his shoulders. "It's just a thought."

"Yes, I can guide you to the sequence to access the Ark and boot up a connection with Mister Numbers. He is a fun one, a Ferengi profit margin calculator that one of my previous hosts merged with a Klingon security protocol. He is seriously unstable but veeeery good at cataloging strengths and weakness of any system it is allowed to touch."

"As for your question, no. I genuinely cannot make a new Ark at this size. I keep investing in micro tech, and Captain Garrett has actually given me a few very precious parts before he left which helped me do my latest upgrade. Honestly, I have started to work on a new Ark, preparing schematics and other things, but it will be the size of a shuttle honestly. That is what I keep working towards."

Myne explained patiently, looking around to take in their snowy surroundings. "As for Iza, she..." Myne paused and sighed. "This Iza, the OS, was created by Iza Redal and programmed in a manner to copy and learn her personality. It is like dealing with my very first host, Iza Redal herself. And she ended up turning from a brilliant surgeon who helped stop a plague that was killing thousands, to serial killer. She is creepy and scary and she flips from nice to seriously fucked up scary in a second. And it is not even the creepy, Human movies type scary, it is like she doesn't even know she's going cocoo." Myne trembled clearly uncomfortable at the thought of dealing with Iza. "If you want, you can talk to her, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"Okay you guide me to access the ARK and start up. See? Don't need your hands for that." Gary was trying to be helpful, give Myne some more added confidence as he firmly believed this was all to test her and her resolve to fight through adverse situations and their current situation clearly qualified as adverse.

He nodded in disappointment when Myne said no she couldn't make a new ARK the size of her current one. "Okay, it was just a thought, as I said another stupid Gary question. I can see where this is a full time job for you and keeping you busy around the clock in just maintaining the ARK in its current state. A job I don't envy you at all."

He squinted in the whiteness of their surroundings, "This Iza Redal sounds like a real piece of work and no thank you, I don't want to meet, talk or interact with her. We can do what we need to do without her help We don't need any help from her, where we end up with more headaches than we started with. " Gary announced. "Especially in your present situation." He said nodding at her tied hands. He smiled at Myne, "So, let's get this show on the road and beat Nanny."

"First of all big bro Gary, that was not a stupid question. Please don't say stuff like that. It was a very pertinent question. Not like you are dealing with a normal situation here, heck, I am barely dealing with it and I have been doing this for ten lifetimes already." Myne chuckled. "I will guide you do not worry. And yeah this is a full-time job, but I accepted Redal, didn't I? Sudra told me what it entailed, I knew what I was getting into. Accepted a symbiont no one else wanted."

Stretching her back as best as she could and popping her neck, Myne smiled wickedly. "Alright Gary, time to delve into the madness of the Ark. Just tap the screen to open it and draw the following symbols. Do not worry if you don't see anything on the screen, it is my way of making sure no one can access the Ark." Myne told him as she began to draw in the snow with her foot, leaving behind ten symbols for Gary to emulate in order.

"After that look for the utility catalog, scroll down the list and ignore the weird names. Especially the ones marked Apocalypse contingency. Look for Mister Numbers on that list then simply tap to bring him on. He will ask you for things, the latest prices of certain goods, who is the best house in the Klingon Empire, and stuff like that. Do answer his questionary before you can request anything from him."

Gary laughed at Myne's reply. "You are much too kind Myne. I think about questions and I think that's a good one and they get shot down in flames, because of the complexity of the ARK and the programs it contains. I'm just glad you are here to guide me Myne, I won't let you down." Gary replied honestly. He wanted Myne free of her ropes and the only way to do that was to defeat Nanny by letting her think she was getting what she wanted.

He watched as Myne stretched the best she could and he heard her neck pop. He picked up the PaDD and tapped it on to open it. He looked at the symbols she drew in the snow with her foot. "Not bad Myne. A regular snow drawer you are." He teased. "Wish you could have used your hands for this." He imputed the symbols in the order Myne had drawn them and a second later a list of programs appeared for him to scroll through.

Before he did, he looked to Myne and took a deep breath, "Answer his questions? Can I make something up when he asks or is he going to know if I make something up? I don't want us getting tripped up after getting this far Myne. I mean I can make things sound believable; I just want to know which way to go before I bring him up. After all you did say he was a Ferengi." Gary's finger hovered above Mr. Numbers logo as he waited for Myne's answer to his question. He so wanted not to screw up.

~~ To be continued ~~


//OFF//

Captain Gary Taylor
Executive Officer
USS Elysium

&

Lieutenant Myne Redal
Assistant Chief Operations Officer
USS Elysium