[center][h2]Hello Sailor  - Greenleaf Day 3 Afternoon[/h2][/center]


[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/pg6Bb2R.png[/img]   [img]https://i.imgur.com/qEZu58W.jpg[/img]   [img]https://i.imgur.com/iLwfbCy.jpg[/img][/center]

JP/Collab from [@sail3695] and [@wanderingwolf]



While he shook the man's hand, Cal glanced one last time around the engine room which looked well taken care of on the whole. He probably had Abigail to thank for that and her short tutelage under Marisol. "Yuri--what was your surname?" Cal fixed the man with a frown.

A crystal clear voice emanated from the com anchored on the wall, "That would be Antonov, Cal, Yuri Antonov," Sam added, an even and somewhat digital tinge in her tone.

"Ah, right. Antonov," he replied, releasing his grip of Yuri’s hand.

Yuri’s hand froze.  He blinked, then turned curious eyes toward the speaker. He blinked again.  “Is that…” he began to ask.  “Should I…?”

"That's Sam. She can feel free to introduce herself." Cal took a step outside the engine bay before turning back to the stunned Yuri. "Seein' as you're just about crew, there're some particulars for you to sign with Abigail." He traced the man's gaze back to the com. "I'll let you two get acquainted." With that, Cal made his way to Abigail's room.

"Hello Yuri, my name is S.A.M.N.T.H.A., but Cal and Penelope call me Sam." Her light Bostonian accent from Earth-That-Was became apparent with the lilt of her introduction. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

“Hello…Sam,” Yuri’s mind raced as the captain left him alone in the engine room with…her?  Nice meeting you as well.”  An A.I. wasn’t a complete surprise.  They’d been put into use aboard ships for decades now.  The Mick had three, systems whose limited scopes determined their employment under a few select departments.  “Well, then,” he cleared his throat, “what can you tell me about yourself?  Are you integrated into the boat’s systems?”

"As you've probably guessed, I'm an artificially intelligent software and hardware system. As to more than that," the com captured an audible inward breath, "Cal's asked me to... give the 'short and sweet' version, as he calls it." The com crackled for a moment as she responded to his second question, "Yes, I am integrated into some of the China Doll's electrical and hydraulic systems, however, due to the analog nature of the craft, many systems are unaccounted for."

[i]Remarkable,[/i] he thought of the breath sound effect.  The A.I.’s he’d previously experienced served either as a simple Q and A information services, or verbal command interfaces for certain directed functions.  But this…”Samantha” had adopted a range of casual speech inflections and characteristics to make her seem astonishingly lifelike.  [i]Pretty sophisticated,[/i] the mechanic thought.  [i]Must be one helluva processor under the hood.[/i]  

“There are interfaces,” he offered,  “I’m betting you’ve already created a list.  Has the captain approved your being tied into all the systems?”

Her tone was precise, "Indeed he has," Sam began, before detailing to the mechanic the list of systems she lacked access to, with particular attention to the radar. "I've had to use other means to simulate the China Doll's active radar from systems not on this ship, in the past. Access to this system would speed up calculations considerably."

The new mechanic caught himself nodding, then shrugged as he thought an image capture or two might come in useful for such an intuitive system.  “My experience with radars is mostly nautical, the Seatronics professional line and such.  Modern systems have a data interface port, which would make your  integration a snap.  I’m guessing China Doll’s radar won’t be so easy to access.”

"On a Firefly class three ship such as this, those systems remain on auxiliary or subsidiary capacity. Schematic comparisons indicate that this was the chosen route from model two to three Fireflies, in an effort to maintain continuity of systemic supply chains," Sam affirmed. "Cal liaised me to the main pilot console via Epsilon adapter which propagates to most of the modern systems, but several remain outside of cognizance."

Sam paused, but only for a moment. "What about you, Mr. Antonov? What can you tell me of yourself?"

“Not alot to tell, actually,” Yuri answered his unseen companion.  “I’m standing here because of this boat, and I’m betting you had a hand in saving me as well.  Three years aboard my old ship as an Engineer’s Mate,  spending most of my time maintaining her old RBMK reactor.  Before that I helped my father on board an orbital skyplex.  The whole thing was truly a massive gyroscope…lots of very big moving parts.  Not a lengthy resume,” he offered, “but since I handled my first tools at age ten you might say I’ve got tenure.”

"An orbital skyplex? How interesting," the AI's tone was curiously excited. "I have yet to encounter a skyplex aboard the China Doll. I'm beginning to be fascinated by all things to do with 'critters,' as Penelope calls them, and I have seen several reports of rodent infestations on such vessels. To see such ingenuity and will to survive is both hopeful and inspiring." Sam's voice trailed off as a short burst of whirring traveled through the com to Yuri, calculations, perhaps, of the fertility and virility of such species in the cold confines of space and their adaptability therein.

Yuri gave a light chuckle. “Comrade Krysa.  My father liked to say that ‘humans and rats are the true civilizers of the ‘verse.  Where one goes, the other will surely follow.’  That can pose a problem aboard ships of all kinds…which reminds me.  Are you coupled to any sort of sensors aboard the boat?  Image captures, motion detectors, or the like?”

"At present, I have access to the pilot's external communication platform which includes an image capture." Sam's voice was declarative but interested in the new mechanic's line of reasoning.

He paused to consider her words.  “External communication” most likely meant China Doll’s radios and cortex tap.  But a single image capture piqued his interest.  [i]Then again,[/i] the mechanic thought, [i]I could keep this AI talking all night, when a simple flow diagram would suffice.  “Sam,” Yuri responded, “would it be possible for you to generate a full ship’s schematic, including your  current access points?”

Slow clicks accompanied Sam's reply to the eager, newly-minted mechanic of the China Doll, "I'm preparing it now. The schematics will be available presently on the engine read-out display." She could tell already that she was going to enjoy communicating with Yuri Antonov, the engineer who sought knowledge and improvement; or perhaps it was she who was seeking out more knowledge by making contact with the new mechanic of the China Doll. Whatever the case, her voice reflected, ever so slightly, the excitement which heralded new interfaces and data to be analyzed with the help of Yuri.