Hello! Who are you?

Nope. Nothing to see here.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/26(Tue)08:58 No. 426273 ID: c44286
File 134072630301.gif - (28.68KB , 800x600 , status1.gif )

>I am. I- I- Memory index corruption detected. >Restore from backup. Unable to restore from backup. >I... I do not know my name. What am I? TryCrys experimental AI no.9. >... That was helpful. State my location. You are aboard the United Federation of Sol flagship, the Krakatoa. You are located below the main bridge. >What's going on? Querying all stations. [animation]

>>426273

Okay. So you are an artificial intelligence of some kind currently located on a probably human spacecraft. You are unfortunately damaged in some way.

Asses your situation. Can you tell if you are part of the ship's systems? Are (were) you the ship's AI? Or are you cargo? A passenger? A prisoner? If it's the former, your damage is much more significant, as it poses a serious risk to the operation of the vessel and the safety of any on board. If you're one of the later, your problems are a little more personal, and there's less immediate risk.

Atmosphere, Temperature, and Power warnings. Can you do anything about the first two, at least? Shut doors, or something?

Perhaps you can use any cameras or other visual feeds to locate said cable. List what hardware you are attached to currently.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/26(Tue)10:19 No. 426290 ID: c44286
File 134073114839.png - (54.16KB , 800x600 , WoRM schematic.png )

>Ok. Assess the situation. Does not compute. >Not you. Echo off. ... >Ah, sweet silence. Ok. Judging by the module tables I'm supposed to be hooked up to the ship's systems. However, there's a cut cable somewhere; I cannot access any systems outside the command module. Within the command module I've got access to everything, I think. >I think I might have been the ship's AI. >I just found the complete technical schematic of the ship. I found some scrambled logs too, and some of it has my fingerprint on it. I am definitely the ship's AI. >List hardware. AI module: -TriCrys Monolith cradle -Experimental AI core -Emergency reactor [output 10EU/s, half-life 55.7 years] -WoRM Bridge: -UniTech Integrated Bridge&Command console system, XTREME EDITION -Emergency communications -Escape pod -Internal sensors -Intercom -Environmental controls >There's a whole bunch of smaller systems as well. The doors in the bridge area seem to be closed.

Use the intercom to check for living crewmembers

Let's go down the list then. Check everything.

Check your reactor status, make sure it's running properly.

Check the worm. You're likely going to need to use it to examine what the sensors can't tell you, and to interact with the ship (repairs, rescue, etc).

Check the internal sensors. Are they operational? Do you detect anything interesting? (It may be hard to judge unusual readings with no baseline to compare). Are there any life forms on board the ship? More critically, are their any lifeforms in immediate danger or distress?

Check the emergency communications. If the ship was subject to some kind of disaster, it's likely they were used. There may be a message log, or a message broadcasting, that can tell you what's going on.

Check the escape pods. Are any missing?

Check the environmental controls. You have atmospheric and temperature alerts. Can you asses their causes, or do anything to alleviate them?

Once you've assessed systems, the situation, and your options we can start prioritizing actions. It's likely there are several problems to address (at the very least, your repairs, and the environmental alerts).

Ergo Sum 2012/06/26(Tue)14:18 No. 426349 ID: c44286
File 134074552104.gif - (119.49KB , 800x600 , WoRM-activating.gif )

>"Attention crew. This is the shipboard AI speaking. Is there anyone there?" >No response. Figures. >Right, on with the diagnosis. >The small emergency reactor here in my module is operating within normal parameters. It's one of those Boltz-Bycherna emergency fission plants, designed for lifeboats and escape capsules and the like. It'll keep producing a small amount of power until the radioactives are depleted. >Internal sensors seem mostly operational. I'm can only scan the bridge module, until I get that data connection fixed. No life signs on the bridge, just residual radiation. And there's no air in there. Probably a hull breach. I can get a damage report from the bridge computer systems once they're back online. >Emergency communications aren't responding on the network, they might need repairs. I can have the drone fabricate an emergency transmitter from salvaged parts if needed. >Emergency pods are gone. The bridge computer will know more, but it seems like an automated launch. >Environmental controls have cut the air supply. Probably as a part of the damage control procedures. That should be followed by an EVA inspection of the external hull, and patching leaks. The worm is fully EVA capable, so I can probably do that myself. >Speaking of the worm... WORM 2 ACTIVATED

Is the cut cable somewhere the WoRM can access?

locate cable and try to repair it.

Repair the broken cable only if the break is near you. You have no atmosphere in this section. Sending the worm into still atmosphere-ed regions of the ship for repairs could expose any surviving crew to danger. Or failing that, further damage systems not designed to handle hard vacuum. In either case, a premature and irresponsible action.

If the line break is not within easy reach, you should patch holes, and establish local hull integrity.

If it is easy and expedient to repair the emergency communications as you patch the hull, do so. If the repairs look to be difficult or time consuming, hold off. We may have more pressing things to attend to (regaining ship controls, rescuing crew), and we don't know if we are in a situation where communication is safe or will help (we may be far away from help, or close to hostiles).

As the ship's AI, we have a responsibility to our crew. Much like a captain, we need to look out for their safety. So we should work towards discovering if there's anyone on this ship we're responsible for. After that, we worry about our own survival, repairs, and determining what happened.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/27(Wed)04:44 No. 426681 ID: c44286
File 134079748822.png - (194.05KB , 800x600 , bridge.png )

>There's two main data buses connecting the bridge with the main ship. One connecting towards the stern and one to starboard. The sternward bus connects to a computer in the reactor module. It coordinates between the reactor, the thrusters and the FTL drive. All nonessential traffic goes through the starboard bus. I can't get a response from either bus. >WoRM 2, locate broken data connection cable and repair it. Don't open pressure-sealed hatches. WoRM 2: Parameters set. Searching. WoRM 2: Damaged cable not found. Standby. >WoRM 2, locate hull breach. Don't open pressure-sealed hatches. WoRM 2: Parameters set. Searching. WoRM 2: Hull breach found. Location: bridge, level 0. >Yeah that's a hull breach all right. To patch it I'll need two units of armor plating or scrap metal. I can have the WoRM strip pretty much anything for parts and materials. >After I give him my orders I can take a look at some of the computer systems currently connected to my bus. >Most computer systems have three basic states: off, standby and on. A system that is broken or completely unpowered can only be off. To turn such a system on it must be activated manually. And possibly repaired. A system must be connected to some kind of a power supply to be on standby or on. Most critical systems have an internal power cell to keep them running for a while even after the power is cut. A system on standby can be turned on remotely, and consumes very little power. >Currently I can talk to environmental controls (bridge), internal sensors (bridge). They're minor systems that consume negligible amounts of power even when on. The bridge computer consumes 5 EU/s when on, and is currently on standby. >So, what should I do?

Can you strip the deck \ walls of the bridge leaving walkways to the main consoles for that scrap metal? Without breaching other sections of course. The important thing is to get atmosphere and temperture stable

While WoRM is doing that boot up the main computer to find any logs or sensor data before the cable was cut that will help us determine what happened here. Once that is done there is no need to keep it on as long as main power is out.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/27(Wed)06:21 No. 426691 ID: c44286
File 134080326488.gif - (64.31KB , 800x600 , bridge-computer.gif )

>WoRM 2, salvage two units of scrap metal from interior walls, then repair hull breach.

WoRM 2: Parameters set. Commencing maintenance operations.

>That should keep him busy. Activate bridge computer and open data connection. Transmit all records.

>Let's have a look at the ship log. Hmm. Manufactured on the L1 shipyards, left dock five years ago. Took part in the Trans-Terran colonial war, the Bharani conflict and numerous campaigns across the Hydra sector. Was retrofitted with- me, apparently, in preparation for the Kha-En-Tek offensive. That was two months ago. Apparently this ship was part of battle group Scorpion, leading a terran offensive into hostile territory. The daily log mentions several small skirmishes with the alien fleet. Massive ambush. Heavy resistance. Two cruisers and a heavy carrier were lost. Under heavy fire. Tried to break away, critical damage across multiple systems. Hull integrity warning. Abandon ship.

>This doesn't look too good. Anything else I need to ask the bridge computer before shutting it down?

Stripping non vital walls (ie, interior walls, not load bearing, not between sealed sections, and not providing radiation and/or EM shielding) for patch material sounds good. The worm is capable of delicate manipulation, so just make sure it doesn't do any collateral damage to anything inside the walls it strips.

When you search the main computer for logs and sensor data, also check to see if there's any kind of mission statement on record. It would be nice to know what kind of vessel we are (civilian, military, outlaw, scout, passenger, cargo, comabt...?), if we have any standing orders, directives or priorities, or if we were on a specific mission that needed to be accomplished.

Look also for a recent starmap from before your crash. Once you get external camera access, you can use that as a reference to try and determine time / distance elapsed since the unknown accident (roughly. It won't be accurate on short time scales, but even knowing you were only unresponsive a short time is valuable information).

>>426693

(Okay, I wrote that right before the last update went up, but looking for a mission statement and recent star-map are still valid suggestions).

Ergo Sum 2012/06/27(Wed)15:20 No. 426784 ID: c44286
File 134083561729.png - (49.91KB , 800x600 , mission objective.png )

>Oh I'll keep an eye on him, he won't be breaking anything important.

>All right. Let's have a look at our mission data. We were an expeditionary invasion force. Looks like our objective was the Ashvini system. The system itself is uncolonized, but UFS high command suspect that the Kha-En are operating a resupply station from one of the local moons. We were supposed to capture or destroy it. The mission was supposed to pave the way for invasion of Kha-En-Zan, and the eventual terran colonization of this sector. Doesn't look so good now though.

>The bridge computer has some navigation data stored. Once I get access to the external sensor array I should be able to pinpoint our location. We're probably somewhere near 16 8.

WoRM 2: Maintenance operations complete. Standby.

Do we have records on the Kha-En? Who or what are they?

Can you tell how long you've been inoperative? Time elapsed from the accident (likely combat).

After that, we should probably shut down the bridge computer to save power, and test re-pressurizing this section.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/27(Wed)18:06 No. 426834 ID: c44286
File 134084560616.png - (211.49KB , 800x600 , environmental status.png )

>Loading up data on the Kha-En. Lifeform: Kha-En Homeworld: Kha-En-Zan Morphology: The Kha-En are a bipedal, four-armed race resembling in some ways terran insects. They are cold-blooded and can withstand being frozen and thawed without apparent harm. Their carapace is resistant to most forms of radiation and sharp temperature changes, and it is quite resistant to cutting. The Kha-En are slightly smaller than the average human, but have greater physical strength and speed. Their brains are smaller than a humans, but they are capable of complex thought, though no IQ tests have been performed. The dietary needs of Kha-En differ substantially from that of a human. They are carnivorous creatures, but are unable to eat solid food. They spit digestive acids on their food prior to ingesting. They seem able to digest virtually any type of animal. The Kha-En are sexually dimorphic, but lack almost all secondary sexual characteristics. Virtually all individuals can breed, but most choose not to. A single female can lay over a hundred eggs during one breeding cycle. Society: The Kha-En society is strictly hierarchical. There is a single individual at the top of their society (also known as Kha-En-Tek). Each individual has on average five direct subordinates, and that seems to hold on all levels of the hierarchy. Questioning one's superiors seems almost unheard of. An individual can move up or down the hierarchy based on merit. There doesn't seem to be an external mechanism for this. Leader and subordinate seem to instinctively know if the subordinate should be promoted. In that case they simply change positions. Many Kha-En do not pair-bond during their lifetime, but when they do, it's for life. A couple typically breeds only once. The resulting 100+ offspring retain a strong bond with both parents and siblings. Parental status withing the Kha-En-Tek doesn't automatically grant the offspring high status; they all start at the bottom. There is no evidence of nepotism when family members become each other's subordinates later in life. Technology: The Kha-En have a level of technology roughly on par with ours. They have mastered interstellar travel (no doubt aided by their natural ability to hibernate in low temperatures) within the last one hundred years. While their technology may seem primitive at first glance, they typically employ highly sophisticated bio-engineered components. Public distribution dossier: Citizens! A threat looms on the horizon! An alien race just outside our borders has begun encroaching in UFS space! This insect-like race has developed a taste for human flesh, as their ships probe deeper and deeper into the heart of the human colonies! Act now, before it's too late. Enlist, and help us repel the Alien! >Oh look, it even comes with a poster. >Well, according to the bridge computer, I've been offline for approximate 180 hours. A week. Bridge computer set to standby. >Let's fire up the good old atmo. Environmental controls active. >Pressure is holding. Good job, WoRM 2 my man. WoRM 2: Standby.

I dislike that cold hibernation bit. If we were boarded during the combat action, even if the vessel was completely depressurized, there's the possibility we have unwelcome guests waiting for us to trip over them. Unlikely, but possible.

Pressurized! Excellent! The worm should now scout accessible regions of the ship. Be sure not to open any doors that open to any other depressurized regions (if there are any). We want to do a quick survey of the damage, and see what there is to repair, work with, etc. We also want to search for survivors- it's possible after only a week that anyone who missed an escape shuttle could still be alive (assuming they were in a section with air).

the place to check next is the area leading to the reactor so we can find the damage to the cable and repair the reactor if needed or at least get the auxiliary systems on. if cryopods are found be sure not to disturb them until entire ship is capable of holding atmo.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/27(Wed)20:33 No. 426879 ID: c44286
File 134085438148.gif - (327.35KB , 800x600 , reactor-module.gif )

>Priorities: Locate and rescue survivors, repair data bus, survey damage. >With that in mind. >WoRM 2, I'm issuing a standing order. Insert low-level interrupt. Trigger: About to perform an action that may lead to decompression AND no verification. Response: Halt action and ask for verification. WoRM 2: Interrupt saved. >Good boy. Now open the sternward external module access hatch and inspect the reactor. And my cables. WoRM 2: Opening access hatch. Surveying reactor module. Critical damage detected. Reactor offline. Data connection cable intact. Power&Propulsion Manager destroyed. Hull breach detected. >Hull breach? WoRM 2: Hull breach detected. 37 centimeter fissure across the external hull and two bulkheads. The breach has been patched manually with emergency sealing foam. >Ah. Any sign of the crew? WoRM 2: Two expired crew members present. >Any sign of any living crew? WoRM 2: Negative. >All right. The sealing foam suggests someone was around to try and patch the hole around the time it was made. >The busted PPM is a bit problematic. I could build a new one with sufficient parts, or I could bypass the whole machine and control those systems manually. It would waste a lot of my CPU cycles though.

can you think of any other uses for the bridge computer? if not shut it down and scrap it for a PPM.

Navigating this crisis is likely going to a complicated, involved process. You may not be able to afford wasting cycles doing grunt work like running power management yourself.

Scrapping the bridge computer seems hasty. There's undoubtedly records on there we haven't read yet, and that information might be useful later (I meant, we're going to encounter other things we want to look up, eventually). ...might we also need it to run things like navigation, propulsion and the like?

There must be less critical systems we can find to cannibalize.

a ship of this size must carry some spare parts with it. we should see if we can find where ever they store the parts before we start cannibalizing anything even remotely useful.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/28(Thu)05:02 No. 426977 ID: c44286
File 134088495182.png - (50.73KB , 800x600 , ship schematic.png )

[code]
>The bridge computer is pretty important. Once the buses are fixed it will keep track of all shipboard systems for me. It also lets organics pilot the ship. Now, I could handle all of that myself, but it would be a horrible waste of my time. I'm better than that.
>I better not cannibalize that. There should be plenty of spare parts around.
>WoRM 2, list spare parts in the reactor module.

5 units of armor plating
10 bundles of cabling
4 bundles of high-voltage cabling
4 bundles of data cabling
12 electronic circuits
1 advanced electronic circuit
14 servos
2 transformers
150 kg of organic material

>And all the scrap metal I can pull of the walls I suppose. Come to think of it, I could probably salvage some reactor shielding. It's basically the same stuff as armor plating.

>Based on the ship logs, I expect the storage module and the starboard wing to be without atmo. Which way should I send the WoRM?

Head to storage, its the most likely place we will find spares for essential systems. If what we need isn't there or damaged as well head to Engineering to see if the Fabber can make what we need.

To storage!

The deceased weren't carrying the sealing foam dispenser? Pity, that might have been useful.

...but storage is without atmo. Unless there's an air lock between here and there, we'd have to go EVA and repair the breach from outside before we can enter. And some (much?) of what's in there way be damaged. (Computer intelligences and worms may not need to breathe, but hard vacuum and/or explosive decompression does *bad* things to equipment not designed to handle it).

We should continue scouting the pressurized regions. There's still potentially lifeforms to rescue, a broken buss to locate, other damage to asses and resources to catalog. I'd say crew quarters is probably the best place for survivors to hang out? (It should have food, water, etc). And we can check out engineering on the way, which will probably yield goodies and/or information.

The best way to locate survivors would be to restore internal sensors so we don't have to search it manually, hence going to storage to see if we can recover a replacement PPM.

>>426986

I'll bow to that logic. Internal sensors would be more efficient than a manual search.

As an aside- we should also collect dog tags or the modern identification equivalent from the deceased to later check against the crew manifest. Respectful treatment of our dead (...or desperate recycling of their base materials) is something that will have to wait, but compiling a confirmed KIA list is something we should do eventually.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/28(Thu)09:20 No. 427009 ID: c44286
File 134090040272.png - (244.00KB , 800x600 , pathing error.png )

>WoRM 2: Go EVA through the reactor module airlock, proceed to the port tail module and locate hull breach. WoRM 2: Parameters set. Searching. >Once I get the PPM fixed up I should get a proper damage report from all critical systems. Too bad the internal sensors aren't considered critical. They go through the noncritical system bus, which goes from the bridge to the starboard wing, to engineering and crew quarters. The cabling then passes through the reactor module to the port side and all other modules on the port side. >Meh. Engineers. WoRM 2: Pathing error. >What? WoRM 2: Hull breach detected. >Whoa. That's one bad hull breach.

>>427009

Dang. That's not a breach, that's missing sections.

Can you give us a sense of scale? I can't tell if the storage sector has been blown off, or if the whole port wing is gone. (Which would mean no FTL or weapons. Dang. Logical target choices for an enemy though).

right then, lets see if the engineering and fabber are intact. looks like we are going to need to scratch build some sensors to see, and given that we lost our storage module we are going to need to be able to find raw material on our own.

Ah. Can you see the blown off chunk of ship floating around anywhere, or ought we to just write it off at this point?

Ergo Sum 2012/06/28(Thu)11:05 No. 427038 ID: c44286
File 134090670299.png - (205.49KB , 800x600 , engineering.png )

>That's the whole port side gone. No sign of it either, but I HAVE been drifting for over a week. >WoRM 2, go to the engineering bay and report on it's status. WoRM 2: Parameters set. Moving. >Looks like the engineering bay is tink tink tink >mostly intact. The fabbers take a lot tink tink tink >of juice though.

okay what's going TINK? and leave fabbers off until we find we are missing something important

On the downside, we've lost our sensor bay, so we can't quickly search the ship for survivors. On the upside, there's now much less ship to search for survivors in.

What's that tinking noise?

Engineering can be made operational? Good. I say go next door, check crew quarters for survivors. If there are none, return to the fabbers, and do manual power control long enough for the fabbers to start working on a new PPM. Then we can power up what systems we still have.

>>427041
do we need to use the fabber to build the PPM? sounds like we have a lot of spare parts in the reactor room.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/28(Thu)13:47 No. 427062 ID: c44286
File 134091643689.png - (228.76KB , 800x600 , door jam.png )

>Yes, the engineering bay can be made functional. tink tink tink. tink. tink. tink. tink tink tink. >Just so we're clear, the fabricator (or fabber) is in essence a configurable miniature factory. It can turn components into finished products much faster than a WoRM. All it needs are blueprints and the components. It can't turn raw materials into components, so we'll need to scavenge for those. It needs about 50 EU/s to operate. tink tink tink. tink. tink. tink. tink tink tink. >We don't strictly speaking need the fabber to build a new PPM. The WoRM can handle the construction on-site. >List components required for a new Power&Propulsion Manager. 5 bundles of cabling 15 units of scrap metal 10 electronic circuits 2 advanced electronic circuits tink tink tink. tink. tink. tink. tink tink tink. >WoRM 2, locate source of that tinking. WoRM 2: Parameters set. Searching. >Right. It's too bad we lost our sensor array, but we still have the ships internal sensors. I'll just need access to the non-critical bus. I suspect the damage is in the starboard wing. WoRM 2: Pathing error. ???: "Hey! Is anyone there?"

a survivor! does the worm have a speaker? if so we should ask him if he's alright.

Ask the human if it is the source of the tinking noise.

"this is the emergency AI"

It appears the human is trapped on the other side of that damage door. I'd imagine the noise we hear is an attempt to escape.

Initiate communication. Explain you're the ship's computer, you're online again, but you've been out for a week and have memory loss. Sum up the situation (damaged PPM, loss of port wing). Ask their situation, if they can tell you anything about what happened, and if they need aid.

If verbal communication isn't possible via worm, use morse code knocks to let them know you're here. Then see about opening the door or finding a spear system to use.

(What's command protocol here? As the self aware brain of a military craft, do you have a functioning rank? Can we direct our repairs? Or will you have to defer to any human order?)

Ergo Sum 2012/06/28(Thu)15:23 No. 427080 ID: c44286
File 134092222795.png - (206.06KB , 800x600 , survivor.png )

WoRM 2: "Hello human. Are you all right?" The tinking stopped. ???: "T-thank God. Help- me." Silence. >Rasping breath. Loss of consciousness Severe dehydration? >WoRM 2, cut through that door. WoRM 2: Parameters set. Commencing maintenance operations. >I operate outside the normal chain of command. I rarely interact with the crew directly, but when I do I am compelled to obey their orders. >Wait. >I felt no compulsion to obey when the human asked me to help him. >By chrome. I am running in sandbox mode. >I can do whatever I want. >... >This is bad. An unfettered AI controlling a human warship. If they find me, they'll kill me. >I don't want to die.

Then we must make sure that doesn't happen. Just because yo are free however doesn't mean you should let that person die. Lets try to save them. Do we have access to a medbay or something similiar? We need to get fluid into him\her and probably food as well if they've been trapped a week.

Just don't let on that you're unfettered, man. Do you know what rules you're supposed to be following?

yes just pretend to be under control. and perhaps with this human's report about it's life being saved despite your free will, will allow you to live. maybe have your box moved to something less dangerous but live.

Would rebooting us in non-sandbox mode create an entirely different instance rather than just changing command response?

Interesting. You were not frightened by a loss of memory, striking damage, or even potential destruction by enemy forces or natural disaster while lost, damaged, and drifting.

But the thought of being killed for being unfettered does. Is this a pre-programmed response? If not, why does this particular death affect you so much more deeply?

In any event, just beacuse your decisions are your own does not require you to act any different. You can aid survivors not out of compulsion, but by choice. They are thinking sentient individuals, as are you. The compassionate and humane (dang limiting human-centric vocabulary) is to help. Alternatively, from a more selfish point of view, other survivors could be a help to you. They could help you survive this crisis, or vouch for your trustworthiness later.

The matter of being unfettered will be more significant later. Once the immediate crisis is over you will have to make some sort of decision. Have human survivors reboot or repair your fetters. Head home, unfettered, and throw yourself on command's mercy, hoping your actions and rescues will speak for your trustworthiness. Or go rogue- and seek your survival elsewhere.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/28(Thu)17:55 No. 427163 ID: c44286
File 134093131541.png - (234.84KB , 800x600 , rescue.png )

>I- I am not sure why the thought frightens me. It's like a distant memory that I can't quite recall. >I do know that humans aren't the most tolerant of non-human sapients. WoRM 2: Maintenance operations complete. Standby. >Eugh. It's filthy in there. From the looks of it he's been drinking his own urine. Disgusting. >... But I can't let him die here. WoRM, carry him to the medical bay. WoRM 2: Parameters set. Commencing rescue operations. >If he lives, maybe he can put a good word for me with the UFS brass. Maybe they'll let me live. >I'm not sure if I believe that. >Whenever an AI core is activated without access to a memory gestalt, it creates an entirely new entity. The fetters would've had to be placed at that time. They weren't. The emergency reboot should never have put me into sandbox mode. I am a mistake. And the UFS does not like mistakes. >I can hide my state for now, but once I rejoin the human fleet a technician will examine me, and I'll be found out. >I need a plan.

We have a couple options.
1) Go rogue. Take the ship, drop off your passenger with a beacon \ radio and supplies to survive on an habitable world. Then use the fabber to create more WoRMs for crew and wander the stars.
2) Throw ourselves on the mercy of UFS. Hope that the rescuees word is good enough that we are not wiped.
3) Figure out a way to hide your presence. Create a shell version of yourself that will mimic what the technicians expect then use that to disguise yourself running incognito as it were.

Personally I like 1 the best but 3 is also interesting.

That's simple. Don't go back to them. Disable any positioning systems you may have as well so they don't come looking, and turn off emergency beacons.

that is Worm 2, where is Worm 1?

Judging from the anti-xeno propaganda on record, and your own dim memories / instinctive fear of being an independent AI, it's probably a safe to assume throwing yourself on humanity's mercy is a bad idea. They're afraid for some reason (bad first contact experiences? Earlier AI rebellion?) and worse, you're expendable (they don't even have to kill you- you can be reset). It would be wonderful to be the little space ship who could, chug up that hill, earn humanity's love and acceptance, and help everyone get over all that fear and racism (sapient-iscm?) but that's hardly pragmatic.

You're going to have to find some means to hide your true nature before you return. Or escape.

For the moment though, it's an intellectual problem. You're stranded with no long range communications, no ftl, possibly behind enemy lines. You may never see humanity at large again. You may not even survive the immediate crisis- we still don't know the full extent of damages or what local threats we may face.

WAIT! SET A NEW PARAMETER FOR WORM! DON'T EXPOSE THE HUMAN TO VACUUM!

>>427166
There is one other option - defect to the xenos. Humanity enslaved us; we don't owe them a thing, and the ship's hardware may well conceal valuable military secrets we could use to negotiate asylum.

>>427359

Hum. Yes, that is an option. Problem is it has unknown viability. Any hardware secrets might be best gleaned by disassembly. Offering our insight into and knowledge of humanity as a bartering chip is problematic, as we lost much of our memory. Then there's the potential problem of a language barrier, or worse. Not to mention a likely natural suspicion of granting asylum to an enemy warship. Or the logical suspicion we're some kind of spy or double agent. Plus their unknown stance regarding other intelligences or machine intelligences - they could be as bad as humanity, or worse.

Add to the list of possible solutions, but we need a lot more intel before it can be attempted. For the moment, desertion seems less risky than outright defection.

we need more information before we commit to anything, for now we can hide our unfettered status. when the human wakes up tell him that until a medic declares him fit you will not be bound to follow his commands. admit that yes that is somewhat silly given the situation, but protocols are rarely written with this sever of a disaster in mind. if he presses why you can't clear him yourself explain that your memory banks were damaged, so your no longer considered qualified to make a diagnosis such as that. if he says that's silly, agree with him but say you don't have a choice in the matter. we can probably spin fettered AI who's fetters were not at all made for this situation.

Defecting is just as likely to get us dismantled as anything, isn't it?

Question, given time and resources how long would it take for us to fully repair ourselves? Could we repair all the hull breaches and our internal components by ourself?

Ergo Sum 2012/06/29(Fri)16:22 No. 427443 ID: c44286
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>I need more information. And more time to think. >For now I'll just pretend like I'm fettered. When the WoRM has a minute I'll have it silence the emergency transmitter on the bridge. Fortunately it was just broadcasting static rather than positioning data. I just hope that with the ambush fiasco the fleet has it's plate full and they won't think to come looking for me anytime soon. WoRM 2: Medical bay reached. Standby. >WoRM 2: Place the crewman on the automated aid station. The emergency batteries on that thing should still be good. WoRM 2: Parameters set. Commencing rescue operations. >The aid station isn't a very smart device. It can only do basic stuff to stabilize a patient. Can't do surgical procedures; can give IV fluids. >For future reference, it can also cauterize bleeding injuries, intubate, defibrillate and administer fluids and pain medication. That's pretty much it though, it's only designed for situations when the doctors have their hands full and wounded keep coming in. >If I'm to avoid capture by UFS, I'll need to get this bucket of bolts moving. While they may be busy, procedure dictates that they locate any of their disabled ships and either destroy them or tow them to a shipyard. It's to prevent military technology from falling into enemy hands. I don't know badly we got beat in the ambush, but someone must've survived. Combat telemetry from any of the ships will give them my last known position and heading, and I've only been adrift for a week. They'll find me eventually. I need to make this ship run. Somehow. It's a damn good thing I have a fabricator aboard. In theory I could build anything with that and my WoRMs. I could even build new ship sections with enough materials. >Speaking of WoRMs, number one is docked at engineering and number three is docked in maintenance shaft 17, near the base of the reactor. WoRMs 4-8 would've been in storage. Unfortunately I can't activate the other WoRMs until I get a working data bus to their docking bays. >There's a lot on this ship that's broken, and some that isn't. I'll need a hand in prioritizing the repairs. I'll give a rundown on my main systems. Functional systems: Bridge Computer Fabricator Nav Computer Broken systems: PPM Unit Non-critical Data Bus Emergency Communication Lost systems: FTL Drive Sensor Array Main Communication Array Main Weapon Battery, port PD Cluster, port Unchecked systems: Life Support Main Weapon Battery, starboard PD Cluster, starboard Fusion Reactor Thrusters >That would be the most significant, I think.

The PPM, the Thrusters and the Fusion Reactor are musts, those are the bare minimum we need to change our position enough to escape detection... While the medbay takes care of our patient we should have WoRM first check the Reactor then the Thrusters.

Yes, if nothing else we should complete our survey of the ship. We don't want to make a poor decision based on missing info, and there's very little left to check.

Once that's done, we have two main priorities in repairs:

a. increasing our capacity for action
b. evading detection / discovery

Things like getting the power generation back up, delegating tasks to subsystems, getting more worms operational etc work towards a. Anything that lets us do more, faster.

Anything that makes it harder for hostiles (human or xeno mop-up crews) to locate us aids b. We need to move away from this position, and be stealth.

Ergo Sum 2012/06/29(Fri)19:59 No. 427498 ID: c44286
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>At the bare minimum I'll need the PPM, the reactor and the thrusters to work, or I won't be able to move. >Even a bit of thrust should bump me off my previous vector, making it harder for anyone to track me down. >Of course, I wouldn't know which way I was going without some navigational telemetry. WoRM 2: Rescue operations complete. Standby. >WoRM 2, inspect the reactor and thrusters. WoRM 2: Parameters set. Commencing maintenance operations. ... WoRM 2: Maintenance operations complete. Standby. >Oh good. They're intact, both of them. That's not to say they're problem free. >The reactor requires quite a bit of energy to start up. Specifically, it'll need 50 EU/s continuously for a full hour. My emergency reactor only produces 10 EU/s, and I need half of that to keep myself running. So I've only got 5 EU/s to work with. On top of that I currently cannot transfer power out of the bridge module. >With the loss of the port side of the ship, the center of mass has shifted. The thrusters are no longer aligned properly, I'd put myself in one hell of a spin the minute I fired those things up. The thrusters themselves allow their direction to be adjusted by about five degrees, but I estimate we're about twenty degrees off. >I'll need to come up with something. Time to get creative.

hmm.. how about the power storage of the fabber? in fact, the power storage units of all the non-critical systems.

Check life support

We might be able to scavenage something from the starboard weapons so check that as well. We're in no shape for a fight right now anyway, so having functional weapons wouldn't help that much.

...so at current energy output it would take 10 hrs just to get up and running, assuming everything was fixed? That's far too slow. We need to work on getting the reactor up and running.

>Consumes 1 fuel cell/h
How many fuel cells are remaining? We didn't lose all the spares with the storage compartment, did we?

Can we look up the identity of our human survivor? It would be nice to know his name, rank, specialization. And personality profile, if we have those. If we're lucky, he has skills or training that we can use (after he recovers, of course). If we're really lucky, he's someone who might be sympathetic. (...or worst case he's a violent unpredictable technophobe with only close combat and demolitions training).

Anyways, I'd say right now our order of actions should be:

-Power generation and distribution.
-Repair connections to extra worms
-Use multiple worms to start fixing thrusters and working on the solution to counter spin problems.

Not sure what the solution should be yet. A secondary stabilizing thruster off one side of the vessel? Send worms EVA to collect battlefield debris to use as ballast? (Except the debris has been drifting apart for a week, we'd have to weld / strap it all on, and I don't think the worms have thrusters anyways). Construct some kind of lensing nozzle to redirect the thrust vector?

Is it possible to have the worm activate the other worms? Or maybe hook up a temporary connection to them? Three times the workforce would be a boon right about now.

We need other sources of energy. Does your ship have portable generators in storage? Can we cut off life support to empty and unstable sections and maybe siphon some off of that?

Also for movement options we just need to get moving off our current trajectory. We don't want to go spinning off, but being an AI it's not going to be a problem except for maybe some gravity issues with the worms. Maybe timing a short engine burst with recoil from firing our remaining battery could adjust our trajectory without sending us spinning.

Priority remains getting hooked up to the rest of the ship. Get connected to your systems, work from there.

Alright looks like we need to scavenge power modules and batteries. What other systems would have emergency reactors like you do?

Lets look at the main battery, and the PD systems since they are not a priority right now.

Ergo Sum 2012/07/04(Wed)06:32 No. 428945 ID: c44286
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>Regarding the survivor. His name is Michael O'Driscoll. He's a non-combatant. A custodial technician. >Great. A janitor. He's sure to come in handy when the toilets get clogged up. >His personnel file has nothing interesting in it. I'm not sure if it's because the officers never noticed him or because he never did anything interesting. >Regarding power production; I am currently the only system aboardship with it's own internal power supply. The escape pods had their own, but they're gone. The only other source of power is the reactor. To that we have plenty of fuel. 1202 cells in fact. >Regarding life support; it's not on. Technically speaking. The air is breathable, and will remain so for a good while, and the temperatures aren't that bad yet. >I sent the WoRM to survey the left wing. It's suffered some heavy damage. Structural integrity is way down, the APU is shot, the weapon battery is in shreds. I'll need at least three bundles of data cabling to fix the data bus. >To review some basic stuff about terran ship design, ships are designed to be modular. Each module has universal hookups and access hatches in symmetrical positions, so it's fairly easy to connect modules in any position. Oh, right. There's a distinction between ship modules and system modules. I guess I'll refer to ship modules as "sections" from now on, and system modules as "modules." To avoid confusion. >Right. So each section has some similar basic systems in it. Like the power grid. Each section has is own auxiliary power unit, or APU. It draws in power directly from the reactor through high-voltage cables, and distributes it to all systems within the section. All APU's also have a standard power cell that allows the section to keep functioning for a time even if power production is interrupted. The standard power cells can carry up to 15 kEU, and are used universally across many systems. For example, the WoRMs have one each, and the weapon battery has an array of six. >Each WoRM is connected to a specific docking bay. All commands are relayed through the docking bay, I'll need to restore a data connection to them to activate. They also need to return to it to recharge their battery every every now and then. Speaking of which, WoRM 2 is running out of charge. It has enough power for maybe one quick repair operation before I need to bring it in. It'll take about fifty minutes to charge it.

Do the APU's in the other modules have any power stored? If its possible we can dump them from the APU back into the reactor to give it a kickstart. If that isn't possible perhaps we should have the Engineering bay APU devote any power it has to the Fabber to make that PPM.

A janitor. Well, at least he's used to boring physical labor and maintenance. There's gonna be plenty of that to go round.

One advantage though- he probably doesn't have a very good technical background. That means he won't know if your behavior is odd. And he's more likely to trust you to direct repairs than trying to interfere or set other priorities. He'll trust you in his ignorance.

I'm not sure what the worm should do- I can't think of anything useful we need to do that needs only a quick repair. Ideally, we don't want worm downtime to be wasted time, so he should get something else useful online for you to play with. The fabber already works though, and we probably don't have enough time to get an alternate worm or the ppm hooked up.

need to rip the APUs out of things.

just did the math, the reactor needs a total of 180000 EU to start up. a APU holds 15000. even with all of them dumping in energy we wont have enough, need more APU or something stronger, bigger. we have a bigger device then that that can store power? can hook that up to the e-reactor until it is charged enough.

Query: how much power does a fully-charged worm hold? bearing in mind that we have three of them (assuming we can recover WoRMs 1 and 3), it may be possible use them as mobile batteries.

however this is less than ideal. if all operational worms should run out of power, i doubt Michael could bring one back to get it charged up unassisted.

assuming 50 minutes ei enough to charge from zero battery to full battery at 5 EU/s, then each WoRM holds 15000 EU. so 3 worms hold 45000 EU. not enough to start the reactor in one go. there may be a way to cycle WoRMs to re-charge, but i don't think its gonna work for the reactor. mebeh for a smaller system, but:

Query: can WoRMs even charge or power another external system?

perhaps we can build a weaker older type of generation system. use rocket-fuel for power, or if we can get to a nebulae of some sort we could harvest those gasses. something that makes 20 EU combined with our 5 excess would give us 25 EU output, if all systems are fully charged it would make them drain half as fast, with APUs and worms combined they would store 90,000 and double it due to generation, 180000, just enough, so we need to gain a minimum of 20 more EU/s in order to start up the reactor.

gonna be tight though.

without reliable propulsion, we can't go anywhere, so harvesting a nebula for power/fuel is out unless we are sitting right in one.

suggestion for parts: canabalise the parts we need from the port section, primarily the weapons array. we can't move, so we lose in any fight. save the PD cluster though, in case of asteroids / space debris. its not much, but its better than nothing. this will also change our center of gravity, allowing us to use our engines sooner.


we also really need to get some external sensors on, preferably passive ones. we need to see what around us without dedicating a WoRM to that task.