Much Ado About Alidade, Part 2

Posted on Fri 29th Aug, 2025 @ 1:18pm by Alidade (Computer) & Captain Gordon Francis

2,295 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: From The Ashes
Location: Captain's Ready Room, Ops
Timeline: current

ON

Captain Francis had spent the last two hours going through last-minute reports before his meeting with the being known as Alidade. Francis kept needing to correct himself that Alidade was intended to be seen as non-corporeal, not an artificial intelligence. To be honest, he wasn't sure he liked the sound of either being on the Thunderchild, listed as a member of their crew. AI always made him uneasy, and he didn't have any reason to trust a person not made of actual matter. There were too many of the kind that thought of themselves as gods, or something close to. Francis wasn't afraid of the being, but she (he had a hard time calling it a "she") made him quite uneasy. He tried not to let the pessimism get to him. He was a Starfleet officer, trained as an explorer, to have an open mind. He resolved to do his best in his part to determine the being's fate as an officer.

Though only field-enlisted and not officially a member of Starfleet, Alidade was granted access to the starbase, the command level, Ops, the Captain's Ready room. She had to have a security escort of two however. This was only temporary until she proved no threat. Alidade stepped into Ops. Though she was expected, all the heads within turned to her. She did not have to ask for the location of the Ready Room as she already had the entire schematic of 109 ready to be accessed upon a simple thought.

No one stopped Alidade and the security detailed followed as she started toward the Ready Room. The two security personnel took up positions on either side of the door as she came upon it and depressed the button chiming away to the captain within that she had come calling at his door.

"Come in," Francis called. As the door opened he took off his glasses and, setting them on the desk, stood to greet his guest.

Alidade stepped in as the door allowed. Security remained outside, holding their positions. Alidade wore an immaculate uniform complete with a perfectly placed Ensign rank. There was not a stray thread nor a tagging-along strand of hair located anywhere on her uniform. Of course, it was all a holoprojection, emanating from the wrist-watch styled device upon her left wrist.

"Hello Alidade," Francis said, doing his best to sound cordial. He didn't want to give off a bad first impression. "I'm Captain Gordon Francis. It is nice to meet you." He did mean it.

"Hello, Sir!" she said with emphasis on the 'Sir.' "I am..." of course she already knew he knew her name and rank as he had just announced it. "...Alidade. Ensign Alidade," she corrected. Alidade stood there, not knowing exactly what to do. She had not yet had a formal meeting with anyone yet.

He gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Please have a seat," he said. Francis felt silly saying it to a hologram, but it was more for his comfort than anything else. "I assume you know why you are here," he continued, sitting back down.

"I do, Sir!" She stepped up as she was invited and lowered herself into the offered chair. She looked about the chair; almost inspecting it. This was the first time she had actually sat down in such a thing and realized the use of it for carbon-based beings. She recalled all the chairs on the bridge of the Tunderchild being ripped from their pedestals as she took the ship to warp without inertial dampeners activated. The same thing happened to everything else aboard the ship. Of course she knew the captain had that report.

This time though, she was being much kinder to the chair upon which she was sitting.

"You wish to be convinced that I am a sentient life form and not a programmed Artificial Intelligence," she said; letting him know she was fully aware of the purpose of this meeting.

"Actually, I do believe you are a sentient life form," Francis responded. "In the last two hours, as I've studied your case, I've come to believe you are a non-corporeal entity; very much alive. That's fine and dandy, but I want to know more about you, especially if you want to wear the uniform of a Starfleet officer. For starters, how long have you been alive? And how were you born?"

Alidade squinted her eyes. "And that is a tricky question, captain. Not one I believe even I can answer. Upon arriving within the Thunderchild, I quickly had to learn and adapt to the 4 dimensions in which you...we...exist. One of these dimensions I, from my studies, understand you call 'Time.' I am still trying to understand it fully, but time does not exist where I am from. In fact, none of the dimensions in which we exist here are present where I am from. So, there is no point in...time...in which I...came into being." She could not even say whether or not she was 'born.' "As for how I am called...really called...you might call it a 'name,' well Fouran asked me that and I informed him that it would take 1 year, 6 months, 7 weeks, and 8 days while processing 1000 words per second for me to fully enunciate how I am called."

If it were to take that long, at 1000 words per second, just to speak her name, they could only imagine the complexity in articulating how existence played out for her and her kind.

The Captain smiled and leaned in on his desk. "That is very interesting," he said, sounding intrigued. "I'm curious, what about the concept of time do you struggle with the most?"

"That it exists," were Alidade's first words. "Before the Thunderchild, I had never encountered it. Most of my kind had never encountered it. Those that did could not adequately describe it. I suppose what, about time, that I struggle with the most is that I cannot find a way to back backward. Your other 3 dimensions can be travelled in either direction. With time, there is only one way to go; forward. And you cannot stop it. There is just no control over it."

Francis shrugged. "There are some non-corporeals who are able to go back and forth. And there is technology that enables us to flash forward or backward in time, though it's very illegal. But our existence is still linear. Even traveling in time doesn't change your experiences. At least, not completely. Then there's hindsight. It's the ability the conscious brain has that takes your mind back in time and reflects on choices and experiences you've had that you wish you could change. Has that happened to you yet?"

Alidade smiled at the thought, then frowned. "Yes, it has, captain. When I realized my...reality...had changed; when I found myself within the ship's computer, I had to figure things out on my own. The crew had already abandoned ship. Once I realized what the Thunderchild's purpose was, and I learned how to move the ship about, I set course for the coordinates I...the Thunderchild that is, was supposed to be. The ship's knowledge base informed me that the inertial dampeners were not activated. I saw no need for the dampeners and decided the ship was passed its point along the 4th Dimension to be there. I.E. the ship was late. So, I engaged maximum warp without inertial dampeners. The captain's chair, all the chairs on the Bridge, everything aboard the ship that was not already part of the titanium frame, ripped themselves from where they stood and became pulverized on the back wall. I do apologize for that, Captain. It was then that I sought the purpose of the inertial dampeners. The Knowledge Base told me and then I decided the dampeners were needed. But, it was already too late. Damage done." Alidade finished her little monologue and then quickly added. "But I won't let that happen again. I know now. In fact, my knowledge of schematics and theory of operation is quite vast now."

"Please, don't apologize for that," Francis said, holding up a hand. When he spoke, there was an air of urgency. "An apology means absolutely diddly squat to a commanding officer, especially with the damage done, as you put it. You ignored one of the most crucial safety operations we have on a starship, one that you would already know about if you were even an Academy applicant. If you were already an officer at that point, I'd have had you court-martialed. And don't tell me you won't let it happen again. It's your Captain's job to never let that happen again. It's your job to do exactly what she expects from you, and part of that is knowing how to read a basic instruction manual to a starship before making any kind of decision."

Alidade nodded to all he had said. As he finished, she opened her mouth to speak.

Francis sighed, but held up a finger, indicating he wasn't done talking. Up to this point, he had not raised his voice, though his firm inflection was certainly intimidating. "Alidade," he said, speaking softer. "I respect you as a living being. I'm tickled pink you want to wear that uniform. My largest concern is, how can you wear it if your existence relies on a ship's computer?"

"The technicians who have been looking me over..." She furrowed her brow and stopped briefly. "A technician is looking at me now...at the Thunderchild's computer core. Well, they are yet unable to determine if my existence does, in fact, rely on a ship's computer. I am in the computer, but do I have to be? That is something we are all trying to figure out. The computer only contains my ever-changing code, but the techs have been reporting brain-wave activity...I am not sure I understand what that is exactly...all throughout the ship and emanating from the gel packs and the gel circuitry. Someone asked what would happen if they wiped the core, to erase my code. What would that do? They cannot answer that. I cannot answer that. This is all so new to me." She thought shortly and spoke up again before the captain could get in a word. "If I had to guess...without the Computer; should it go offline, I feel I would still be conscious in the gel packs and circuitry. I do not know what that would mean for me, but, since it stores information, I should be unaffected for when it comes back online. Though I may be conscious in the interim." She shrugged. "There is only one way to find out I suppose."

"...which could come at great cost," Francis finished. "My next question cuts to the chase. Why do you want to be a Starfleet officer? And please don't give me any hoo-ha about new life and civilizations, or going boldly. Those you get for free. I want to know what you hope to find for yourself that can't happen without becoming an officer."

"First of all," she straightened. Alidade had no need of that; no need to get comfortable, but did so as she had seen the act herself from others. "...if I am stuck in the computer...which I an not complaining about...and I have potential control over the entire ship, I think you would want that responsibility to be on an officer. Plus, words like 'life' and 'civilization' meant nothing to me before the Thunderchild. I had never even considered such things as life and civilization. My kind exist in a single dimensional universe. This," she looked around taking in the office, "you, that chair you sit in, the duties you perform, all of this is completely foreign. The skivvy, as I know you put it, is...I want to learn. I want to be a part of something that is bigger than I am. Though I have no idea of my true size. Where I am from, we have no concern for size. We have no concept of dependence; there is no one to depend on another. Here, suddenly I was needed. And now, I could potentially have a crew that will call on me in need, probably thousands of times daily. I...want...this...captain."

Captain Francis couldn't help but smile. "Ensign Alidade, that is the right answer." He stood and, in a rare gesture, extended his hand. "You have my full endorsement for service as an officer in Starfleet. I do have one request... I'd like to see how you grow, both as an officer and a new form of sentience. Keep me updated on your progress. Can you do that for me?"

Alidade stood with her captain, smiling at the field commission authorization. She did not understand his gesture but had researched the physical language of many races. Almost everyone had the equivalent of the handshake. She took his hand in her holographic hand. "I will try, sir. I am afraid that I may be a bit subjective when reporting on myself. That is why I have already asked for Lieutenant Sufai Kell to report on me as well. Her or anyone in Operations to look after me and report." Their hands parted. "I thank you for you confidence, sir. I will not let you down." That final bit was another bit her studies indicated people in high positions wanted to hear. Without the ability to see forward along the 4th dimension she had no idea if she could uphold that promise.

"Do your best," the aged Captain said. "Now hop to it. Both of us have things to do."

OFF

 

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