Suggestion 2011/08/09(Tue)13:26 No. 338293 ID: b5c9ce
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Ugh. Medical beds are a lot creepier than sleep beds. There's no tape on the wires or the tube, so unless they were anal about cleaning up I don't think this has been used. Not as a medical bed, anyway... somebody left a water bottle in here.

Yoink.

Suggestion 2011/08/09(Tue)13:27 No. 338294 ID: b5c9ce
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Okay, I need a plan.

"Ekaatma, complex request. Display a simple map of the crew compartments on this screen beside medical bed two. Display my position and the position of my ID badge in the Maintenance Bay. Use glyphs rather than text for compartment labels. Execute request."

"Done. Be aware that both you and your ID badge are offset on the z-axis."

Excellent. Where to?

hmm, why can't you head there directly? looks like there is a hall there.

There is a dot in the medical bay that seems like it points to your location. That would suggest that the other labeled dot also points to a person.

From what you remember about this type of AI, is Ekaatma likely to react badly to finding about your neurological damage from the jump?

Suggestion 2011/08/09(Tue)16:30 No. 338340 ID: b5c9ce
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No. Worst he'd do is run some cognitive tests. Mainly I'm trying not to think too much about the fact that I'm brain damaged.

The other dot is probably my ID. Which I asked about. Yes, it's right on the other side of the door and yes I could probably hop right over there and get it. What I need, in the ever so slightly longer term, is a plan. Goals.

Am I going to repair things for Ekaatma like nothing strange is going on? Should I get something to eat? Should I look for the rest of the crew?

What are my priorities?

ah, yes long term. crab the card then head towards the food. explain that you were in that airlock for a while and you are hungry. and ask about when the captain was last seen and if it has a recording leading up to when his signature vanishes.

>>338340
First priority is finding the rest of the crew. Second priority is making sure you don't starve.

Third priority would be to fix essential systems.

Also I'd like to point out that if Ekaatma thinks the captain is asleep and can't wake him, then you should find out why that is. Is he DEAD?

>"I am afraid not. Every security protection is completely prohibited, all events are logged, and every input recorded."
Couldn't we just get a playback of the events leading up to you ending up in the airlock?

First of all, you should try and get the locations and statuses of everyone on board.

If Ekaatma won't freak about the reading thing, the only disadvantage I can think of for letting him know is that someone could gain access to the logs. (But at that point the only way to keep them from finding out is to never ask for something read again, which just isn't worth it.)
So I think you might as well tell him about the reading thing, as you will be wanting help with that anyway.

Also, when you have the time, doing a few cognitive tests sounds like a good idea just to be sure your mind isn't being screwed with in other ways. The last thing we need is hallucinations or seizures when we are working on vital systems.

Nod 2011/08/09(Tue)20:51 No. 338476 ID: c9619d
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I've been noticing cameras since I woke up and I didn't think of that until now. "Ekaatma, play... five minutes?... of camera footage prior to the last time I entered the Hazard Bay airlock."

"No footage exists of you entering the Hazard Bay airlock. This may be because the six hours of logs proceeding our last jump were purged by order of the Captain."

Terrific. Memory loss for everyone.

"Ekaatma, display the positions of all persons aboard this ship, then list aloud their titles, names and status."

"There are three members of the crew:
Captain Shradha Tambe is healthy and is sleeping.
Operator Gunjan Devalekar has a slight fever and is sleeping.
Engineer Alice Weber is healthy and is sleeping.

There are two passengers:
Engineer Alice Weber is of unknown condition.
Akari Group Payload Specialist Fethawit Nasih is healthy and sleeping."

WELL ALMOST ALL OF THAT IS GOOD NEWS, YEAH?

At least I remember hearing about the Akari Group: They're a transnational specializing in non-military nuclear tech.

call out the computer's error in listing alice weber twice.

Nod 2011/08/09(Tue)21:58 No. 338508 ID: c9619d
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That's exactly the sort of humanizing that gets us in trouble with AIs. They think like computers. You don't ask them "why" questions, you don't confide, you don't get concerned about their feelings. He doesn't care if I'm alive or dead or imaginary. He isn't going to understand that there aren't...

Unless...

"Ekaatma, for how long -- counted in minutes before the beginning of the deleted log-- were there two engineers on the manifest?"

"Six minutes."

"Ekaatma, how did the passenger engineer enter the crew compartments?"

"She opened the aft maintenance airlock."

So I'm impersonating Alice Weber?

wait what? but then how did YOU write that note that was on the pod? let's find the card and peek in on the rest of the crew.

>>338508
Or the other Alice Weber has stolen your status in the roster as Engineer. Consider the fact that the 'captain' ordered the logs erased, and there was a jump while you were trapped in an airlock. That may have been an attempt on your life. Do you think it might be possible that the AI thinks the other Alice is sleeping, but they are not?

Ask the AI for a picture of the crew at the start of the trip, and to list who each person is and what their position is. Then we should know better what we're dealing with here.

>>338508

What is the personal identification protocol? What constitues the IDs registered? Is it DNA, implant or biometrics?

Nod 2011/08/10(Wed)15:22 No. 338790 ID: c9619d
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"Ekaatma, display the mandated personnel photo for this trip on the current screen."

Hey... for once I haven't got the dumbest smile in the picture. Anyway that answers that. Sort of.

I guess theoretically someone could spoof the vitals feed from all the beds with bogus data... even a loop. Also most people are chipped with unique frequency grids because DNA reads are too slow. I've had my chip since I got the IV port installed. Those are harder to fake convincingly, and they're supposed to be a part of the person so it's easy to determine if they're in the right place. Computers are thick, but they're not stupid.

It'd be a lot easier just to keep everybody unconscious. Sneak something extra into their drip. Not that there aren't pretty stiff physical security measures against that sort of thing.

Nod 2011/08/10(Wed)15:23 No. 338791 ID: c9619d
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Biometrics are famously unreliable, but they're dependable enough to make it difficult to not be counted as a person. The fact that Ekaatma sees me in addition to everybody else means that he's not completely blind.

An enormously sophisticated infiltrator could convince an AI to selectively ignore her every time she appears, but that's the sort of malicious code that looks awfully malicious. Any counter-twitch worth its weight would find it in a snap.

I think the most logical assumption is that my doppleganger is actually, uh, in bed with everybody else. It's the best way to weather a jump.

Um.

"Ekaatma, unlock this door.

"That door is not locked."

Well for whatever reason it won't open.

welp. take it out of the wall as well.

Nod 2011/08/10(Wed)16:29 No. 338812 ID: c9619d
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It's a beautiful idea, graceful in its simplicity, but internal doors are less likely than airlocks to value safety over security. The Maintenance Bay contains many of any ship's most sabotage-prone components...

...and anybody bent on sabotage would not begin such an enterprise without her own universal ratchet. No luck for she who expects exposed bolts.

Unless I'm missing something obvious, I need an alternate route.

Well, looking at the map, it looks like there are at least two other ways into the maintenance bit...

left hand rule, try the door to the left of this one.

Them taking your bed for the jump would explain why you were left in the airlock rather than in your sleep pod.
Hypothesis: Intruder enters the ship while you are asleep and someone else is keeping watch (assuming there is always someone on watch during non-jump times). Intruder has a flexible fake ID that allows them to impersonate the captain and issue controls to the computer such as the memory wipe, and disables the security programs so they can upload the selective ignorance malware. Intruder overpowers whoever is on watch, then places them in their sleep chamber. Intruder removes you from your sleep chamber to shelter themselves from the jump, setting their sleep chamber to either wake them up afterwards or not put them to sleep. Intruder leaves sleep pod after jump, possible leaving their flexible ID in their sleep pod.

>>338812
The wires in the door could be crossed. Try asking for the door to be locked, then open it.

>>338839
This.

Did you try pulling instead of pushing or vice versa?

Nod 2011/08/11(Thu)13:19 No. 339043 ID: c9619d
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Left-hand rule works well on paper, but out in the real world? I guess if we're talking about the map that would be the big hole leading to the rest of the crew. Which should be --

-- wait. I turned the handle lefty loosey and I pushed and pulled it. Maybe the computer's confused.

"Ekaatma, lock this door."

"First you will have to close it."

Oh for...

"Ekaatma, how do I open this door?"

"Rotate the handle counter-clockwise until it stops then push the handle in and slide the entire door horizontally."

Right. Missing something obvious.

"Ekaatma, nobody else is awake. If I am speaking, assume I am speaking to you."

"Very well."

Nod 2011/08/11(Thu)13:20 No. 339044 ID: c9619d
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Oh wow. Big dark room.

There's a lot of debris in here. Little chunks of plastic. Also big floating shapes and pieces of machinery.

"Turn on the lights in the Maintenance Bay."

"There is something wrong with the lights in the Maintenance Bay."

There is something wrong with the Maintenance Bay.

Goddamn it. There must be a saboteur on board. Well. We need a flashlight to do much of anything in here. Try asking the computer where one is?

>>339044

Awwwg-H. Spoo´ky. I can't imagine you want to see what's in the stasis/sleeping room.

Yeah... That reminds me. Due to the likelihood of an active intruder need to go get yourself a portable light source and an object that would make a good bludgeon. (And hope whoever it is isn't crazy enough to use projectile weapons on a spaceship.)

It looks like everything is wrong with it. Hopefully something is still in one piece.

Anything you can do about all that mess? Maybe there is a vacuum to suck that mess up with. But only as long as you can access the debris and it doesn't just toss it somewhere.

Take a as good a look around as you can here before opening anything else up.

Nod 2011/08/11(Thu)20:55 No. 339154 ID: c9619d
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That mess should be secured to the walls. Maybe there's a shop vac somewhere, but the fastest way to clean would be to use the big vacuum and pop the airlock. Gah, why would I even think that?

So yeah, getting ahead of myself. There are recharging lockers for four Orlans, but only three suits. They don't have names on them, but they're supposed to be one-size fits all... which is why I had to blow all that money on the Mitsubishi. Not that it wasn't worth every yen.

Besides the three doors and the lockers, there's a big touchscreen and a tool board. Looks like the latter's been completely looted.

Say...

"Where is my ID?"

"Nine point two meters foreward of your current position. I will illuminate it. There is something wrong with the lights in the Maintenance Bay."

"Where is the nearest flashlight?"

Nod 2011/08/11(Thu)21:07 No. 339155 ID: c9619d
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"There is a flashlight on the tool board near the engineering terminal."

"Nope."

"There is a velcro palmlight in the activity pouch of each space suit. Please return it after use."

Not a lot of range on those, but plenty bright better than nothing. Should I go straight for my ID or is something else more important?

think you can find the problem with the lights? if not then sure may as well get the card.

>>339155
Can you see the ID from where you are with the palm-light? If yes, go for it.
If no, get the computer to direct towards the lights. Could be something as simple as the lights were unscrewed or manually switched off.

If the Lights turn out to be not easily repairable, go back to searching for the ID. Play a game of Warmer/Colder as a simple way of tracking it down.

This mess had to come from somewhere. There could be something seriously wrong. Shine your flashlight around to see what kind of debris it is.

Try to track down how the debris got floating in the interior space in the first place.

Hey, a thought: If someone is using a non-recognition program, would any door they use still register as being opened then closed? That might work as a crude workaround for tracking intruder movements (as long as they don't just leave the doors open).


Also, with using the airlock for suction, could you do something like:
Seal both airlock doors
Cycle the atmosphere out of the airlock
Open the door between the airlock and the interior

That way, you have generated some vacuum without actually loosing any atmosphere.

Nod 2011/08/12(Fri)11:09 No. 339336 ID: 3a9901
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The smaller bits are just hunks of plastic, and the bigger things are all sorts of spare machinery and parts that should be better secured. They're all still moving, though, so I don't want to try to leap through it. Things with that much mass could collide and pin my limbs. I once saw a guy's hand turned to hamburger by a docking spar moving at less than a millimeter a second.

If I was in here before, that might explain the ankle.

No amount of vacuum is going to make those things less dangerous, so I'll just follow the walls and try to find the lights... and this explains the chunks of plastic: Somebody went at the walls with, I dunno, the sharp end of a pry bar? Probably pushed away the equipment to get behind it. Trying to access the wires and hydraulics? I don't see any fluids.

Nod 2011/08/12(Fri)11:10 No. 339337 ID: 3a9901
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"Complex request: Repeatedly state the distance in meters between my chip and my ID card once every three seconds until they are within 20 centimeters. Then say 'Right there.' Execute request."

"Three point three. Three point five. Three point two. Two point eight. Two point eight. Two point four. One point nine. One point three. Zero point eight. Right there."

...

For some reason it's wired -- and soldered -- into this bit of exposed matrix near a big cargo airlock.

Hmm. This could be how the other person on board hijacked your identity. Or it could be something else entirely that you set up. Ask Ekaatma what this matrix is.

Nod 2011/08/12(Fri)13:05 No. 339364 ID: 3a9901
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"My ID card is wired into a woven matrix. What is the purpose of the matrix at this location."

"That is the local network hub for the Capacitor Bank control console."

I hate capacitors.

Well I almost always use pins and clips rather than solder... more precision, less heat damage. I don't think this is my work, but if I yank it free it's definitely going to alert anybody monitoring the network.

"Have any sleep beds or more than two doors been opened since the most recent jump?"

"No."

Bah, it's no good when I can't trust him. I'd much rather be utterly alone in the dark than have the uncertain company of a silent stranger. Is ripping this out worth the risk?

>>339364
Looks like it might be a trap. What are the benefits of getting the card?

Why do you hate capacitors?

Suggestion 2011/08/13(Sat)10:22 No. 339627 ID: 3a9901
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The Professor always got a bit weird about them:
>"Capacitors pretend to accept our commands but then twist them and remain untamed. We're madmen to let them tear holes in the Empyrean and then expect them to go quietly back in a bottle."

>"Give me batteries, give me generators... tools we can use instead of beasts so hungry to use us. Pretend they're angels, kids, but know we've been tempted by djinn."

I never turn my back on them, and I never assume they aren't ready to kill. Heh. Engineering superstition.

The ID card has my identity on it. It knows where I've been and what I've done and it confirms that I am who I say. It's harder to copy than my voice, and since it doesn't have to survive inside my body it can afford to be a lot smarter than the chip.

If I'm lucky, it'll tell Ekaatma that I'm a member of the crew. If I'm really lucky, it'll know where I've been for the last six hours... or the last six weeks.

>>339627
But...this is the "network hub for the Capacitor Bank control console". Not a bank of capacitors itself. Unless you run silly levels of power-over-ethernet or something this isn't a touch-it-and-get-fried situation, no?

Dig it out of there.

Let's weigh the risks here. Assuming someone is here who would notice if you take this, what are the the odds they wouldn't notice you anyway? What are the immediate consequences? If you are detected without the card how much more screwed would you be if you had it?

Right now I'm leaning towards taking it, if only because there may not be another advantage to take. But considering it's connected to an airlock just yanking it out seems incredibly risky. Find out exactly how it is attached and what happens if you remove it, if you can perhaps fool the systems not to notice its absence or at least not anything attached to the damn airlock.

In summary: Work towards taking it out but be really damn careful.

>>339627
Too big a catch to not pick it up. Let's assume that the ID card is not booby trapped.

Suggestion 2011/08/14(Sun)10:47 No. 339880 ID: 78ae87
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No, there shouldn't be any risk of personal shock here. I just don't want either the airlock or the capacitors doing anything funny. So yes, care is the order of the hour. That's what Yang clips are for.

Take off my sock, ground my foot to the hull aaaaand... one... and two.

No short there. Just a matter of scratching the solder off the card. I wish I had a screwdriver or a knife. There, that's one wire out.

"Hello, Alice. I hope you slept well."

"Not really, no." One wire to go.

"I'm sorry to hear that. This is a fourth order emergency, as I cannot wake the captain. Once you've had your breakfast, there are some automated alerts I need you to address."

This is a good sign. "List the alerts."

"The reactor should be checked prior to and following any premature jump. There is an electronic problem with diagnostic bed one in the Hazard Bay. The Storage Bay airlock is jammed open. There is hard vacuum in the fan room, but no sign of a hull breech. The lights in the maintenance bay are disabled. Electrical damage in Security has disabled RASHNU. Touchscreen control of door locks is malfunctioning. There is an electronic problem with diagnostic bed one in the Hazard Bay. There is an obstruction in the Hazard Bay ventilation shaft. Aft field dynamics requires--"

[b]"Stop... stop."

Suggestion 2011/08/14(Sun)10:49 No. 339883 ID: 78ae87
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Fantastic.