001: Unexpected Beginnings

[terrymixon]

"I'll remain here and take care of Mad Dog, if you like," Roscoe said. "I'll get the autopsy started and secure his effects for later examination."

"Responsible job bein' Captain. I'm pleased for you". Garvin grins "Old Mad Dog was indeed as mad as a box of frogs but at least 'e 'ad a bit of style. Oh, an' if I were you I'd send Miss Treegarden a note just to let 'er know yer news - about bein' promoted an' that. She'd like that 'cos - well romantic fools do".

“Romantic? I… What?”

[Eris]

OOC: Terry, you can do your worst to us, but I want to get this monolog in before you do anything to us.

Once off the ship and walking away, Spicoli will speak quietly, "I'm probably being a bit paranoid, but I wanted to bring up something with each of you and with the others as well, but I know Silencer and Walter a bit and Jaelah seems to be taking the lead in the Mad Dog investigation so I thought I should broach it with you first."

"My computer is off, I'm not electronically active at all right now and I'd prefer it if you were the same, just for now. No comm dot, no computer, nothing that was on that ship active at all." Spicoli says removing his glasses and putting them into his shirt pocket, "If you don't mind."

"While you were investigating Mad Dog's cabin, Jaelah, and you were off looking for the cat, I was going through Roscoe's programs and its, um, his system specs." Spicoli says, "When I say Roscoe I mean the ship's computer and its systems...all of the ship systems are either the entity we are calling Roscoe or controlled by that entity."

"Roscoe is self-aware and if Metz is to be believed about this, and I think he is, Roscoe is also completely self-directing. He can do as he pleases, so far he has done as we've asked...up to a point, but it is still very early in his field-test." Spicoli shakes his head as he keeps walking and talking "As far as I could find, he does not have a kill switch, a turn off, or even a safety, command phrase. He can take over or give commands to all the robots aboard and his commands to them may, probably do, supersede any we might give. He can deny or grant access to any system on that ship, turn on or turn off life support if he so chose. There is nothing I can see in his programming that requires him to obey a command given him by anyone."

"He is, in short, an independent and self-contained alien entity. A unique, one of a kind, prototype, undergoing a real-life field test. The field test better be a roaring success, too, because we are going to be totally dependent upon it for our survival aboard that ship."

"Now, I'm not saying Roscoe has malevolent intent, or even malevolent tendencies, but I'm not saying I'm sure he doesn't either. There is a very, very, large proportion of bandwidth and storage that is not being used for normal ship functions. Is anything going on in there that we don't know about? Even if there was, with the Roscoe entity controlling access how would we find out?" Spicoli shakes his head, "And like I said, he's only been active...what was it a week? He has a lot of learn and as we all know an Artificial Intelligence, for that is what it is, does learn and learn fast. What they learn and how they integrate and apply that new information can be problematic."

Spicoli stops and runs his hands through his hair, "I'm just concerned. Worried that we are granting too much power to something we don't understand and can't control. And, yes, maybe I'm paranoid, but I would rather Roscoe not be aware of my concerns as that would just be more data that he would integrate into his developing personality."

"Please, think about it and convince me I'm being foolish about this before we are back under Roscoe's surveillance, if you can, and I'll not bring it up again." Spicoli finishes.

[terrymixon]

OOC: Terry, you can do your worst to us, but I want to get this monolog in before you do anything to us.

Me? I would never! Well, okay, I would but that might make for a very short game. I'm sorry, Spicoli. I can't do that.

While I'm not gainsaying anything here, I will point out that no one asked Metz if Roscoe had protocols not to hurt people or guardrails on his behavior. I'm not saying he does, either, but you are speculating without grilling the one who knows Roscoe best. I mean, you haven't even read the user's manual.

[Tiglath]

"Responsible job bein' Captain. I'm pleased for you". Garvin grins "Old Mad Dog was indeed as mad as a box of frogs but at least 'e 'ad a bit of style. Oh, an' if I were you I'd send Miss Treegarden a note just to let 'er know yer news - about bein' promoted an' that. She'd like that 'cos - well romantic fools do".

“Romantic? I… What?”

...and Garvin lays down another breadcrumb for the AI... soon Roscoe will see him as a trusted confidant decide to kill him last.

[terrymixon]

"Responsible job bein' Captain. I'm pleased for you". Garvin grins "Old Mad Dog was indeed as mad as a box of frogs but at least 'e 'ad a bit of style. Oh, an' if I were you I'd send Miss Treegarden a note just to let 'er know yer news - about bein' promoted an' that. She'd like that 'cos - well romantic fools do".

“Romantic? I… What?”

...and Garvin lays down another breadcrumb for the AI... soon Roscoe will see him as a trusted confidant decide to kill him last.

It's a coin toss, really.

[ateno]

"Well, that's the Collace PD response I remember. Daft of me really - I should 'ave opened with a bid. Bent as a bottle of crisps - the lot of 'em. Poor old Barbie done up for theft from a charity - you've got to admit it's a nice theatrical twist. O' course we need to validate our TAS membership too but it seems only yer authentically "Imperial" badges and troopers are invited. Fancy a drink out? I'm suddenly feelin' a bit claustrophobic".

"Not sure if I heard of that or her, last years I been in the clink myself and trying to clear my head Fing around with the Scouts.

He puts his comm away and bins his notes.

"We could stamp our TAS, I hear there's a bar that would fit our younger selves somewhere down there. Think Roscoe can handle some time off ship, or not? Gotta change my clothing if so."

Arkar

[terrymixon]

There is nothing I can see in his programming that requires him to obey a command given him by anyone."

To be clear, you couldn't see his source code. Roscoe's executable is already compiled, giving no insight in and of itself. That doesn't mean anything one way or another, as that is common with running programs. All you can say for sure is there was no source code present on the ship's computers.

[terrymixon]

"We could stamp our TAS, I hear there's a bar that would fit our younger selves somewhere down there. Think Roscoe can handle some time off ship, or not? Gotta change my clothing if so."

Arkar

"Technically, I am never off the ship," Roscoe said with a smile. "However, I have had no personal exposure to the universe outside this bay. I have only heard about things and watched the news and entertainment videos, all of which are framed by someone else's perspective. I could load my carouse program and would be happy to join you. Are there other programs you would recommend? I cannot load skills into my android body while off the ship.

"I will need to see to Mad Dog's body, but they should be here with it shortly." He turned to Metz. "Will you join us, Doctor?"

[ravenspoe]

Spicoli will approach Jaelah and William and Walter, either singly or as a group and quietly suggest they go to TAS to register and get their ID's. He hands each of them a handwritten note, as privately as possible, that reads, We need to talk away from all listeners. Please, go along with me on this.

Walter, smiles wide. Mischief is something he thrives on, so he is all in. We walks with Jaelah, Spicoli, and Willaim, looking like he is looking at the ship, trying to look inconspicuous in a crowd of others. He nods at the rest, waiting to hear what is being pitched.

[ravenspoe]

Once off the ship and walking away, Spicoli will speak quietly, "I'm probably being a bit paranoid, but I wanted to bring up something with each of you and with the others as well, but I know Silencer and Walter a bit and Jaelah seems to be taking the lead in the Mad Dog investigation so I thought I should broach it with you first."

"My computer is off, I'm not electronically active at all right now and I'd prefer it if you were the same, just for now. No comm dot, no computer, nothing that was on that ship active at all." Spicoli says removing his glasses and putting them into his shirt pocket, "If you don't mind."

"While you were investigating Mad Dog's cabin, Jaelah, and you were off looking for the cat, I was going through Roscoe's programs and its, um, his system specs." Spicoli says, "When I say Roscoe I mean the ship's computer and its systems...all of the ship systems are either the entity we are calling Roscoe or controlled by that entity."

"Something is way off here", Walter says as he scans around the are they are standing in. "I am being pretty cavalier about this whole thing because I am being paid no matter what happens." "Something makes me feel very uncomfortable about this setup." Walter stands straight up and looks at all of them, "Something tells me we are in a for some sort of "Gotcha", I am on high alert, but trying to give the impression I am a mean drunk, some sort of asshole."

"Roscoe is self-aware and if Metz is to be believed about this, and I think he is, Roscoe is also completely self-directing. He can do as he pleases, so far he has done as we've asked...up to a point, but it is still very early in his field-test." Spicoli shakes his head as he keeps walking and talking "As far as I could find, he does not have a kill switch, a turn off, or even a safety, command phrase. He can take over or give commands to all the robots aboard and his commands to them may, probably do, supersede any we might give. He can deny or grant access to any system on that ship, turn on or turn off life support if he so chose. There is nothing I can see in his programming that requires him to obey a command given him by anyone."

"He is, in short, an independent and self-contained alien entity. A unique, one of a kind, prototype, undergoing a real-life field test. The field test better be a roaring success, too, because we are going to be totally dependent upon it for our survival aboard that ship."

"Now, I'm not saying Roscoe has malevolent intent, or even malevolent tendencies, but I'm not saying I'm sure he doesn't either. There is a very, very, large proportion of bandwidth and storage that is not being used for normal ship functions. Is anything going on in there that we don't know about? Even if there was, with the Roscoe entity controlling access how would we find out?" Spicoli shakes his head, "And like I said, he's only been active...what was it a week? He has a lot of learn and as we all know an Artificial Intelligence, for that is what it is, does learn and learn fast. What they learn and how they integrate and apply that new information can be problematic."

Spicoli stops and runs his hands through his hair, "I'm just concerned. Worried that we are granting too much power to something we don't understand and can't control. And, yes, maybe I'm paranoid, but I would rather Roscoe not be aware of my concerns as that would just be more data that he would integrate into his developing personality."

"Please, think about it and convince me I'm being foolish about this before we are back under Roscoe's surveillance, if you can, and I'll not bring it up again." Spicoli finishes.

Walter looks directly at Spicoli, scratches his face, and smiles partially. "Finally, someone talking sensibly. I don't trust that high-tech robot as far as I can shove it from an airlock." If it decides to turn on us, we are fracked!" "End of story..." "I am not sure how to go forward, but I would like to discuss some failsafe that we need to put into place when the shit hits the fan."

[terrymixon]

A few minutes after the discussion about going to one of the local bars, Roscoe stood and began walking toward the airlock. "The people from the morgue have arrived. I shall bring Mad Dog into the ship through the cargo bay and will be back shortly."

Even as he is exiting the ship, everyone else can hear the big hatch in the ceiling of the cargo bay opening. After the requisite five minutes is past, Roscoe returned and headed into the cargo bay. If anyone accompanies him, they will find that the crane has brought a net containing a coffin made of hard plastics. It is unadorned and purely functional. There is also a bag that presumably contains Mad Dog's personal effects.

Roscoe will summon Frick and Frak from engineering to pick up the coffin and take it into the crew area while he follows along behind with the bag of personal effects. He has them place the coffin inside the medical bay and sends them back to engineering. He sets the bag on one of the beds and opens the coffin.

For those tagging along to take a look, that is definitely Mad Dog in the coffin, and he is most assuredly dead. Somewhat unexpectedly, he is still dressed in the clothes he presumably wore to the bar the night he was killed. They are colorful in a way that is not a compliment, rumpled, and bloody.

Roscoe stood over the body frowning. "From everything I've read, this does not seem normal. They should have stripped the body and performed an autopsy. There are undoubtedly forensic traces on his clothes and perhaps evidence of his killer or killers."

He stepped over to where he had placed the personal effects and opened the bag. He pulled out a folder and opened it. There were only a couple of pages of paper inside which he scanned quickly.

"It appears that no autopsy was performed. In fact, when his body was delivered to the morgue, it was labeled as a vagrant with no name and the cause of death was so apparent that they didn't feel a need to delve into it deeper." This is the first time anyone of you has ever heard Roscoe sound anything other than pleasant. Now his voice is low and flat.

"While I did not understand Mad Dog or particularly approve of some of the things he thought important, he was my companion and he treated me well. This is insulting, and I am angry. Mad Dog deserves more. He deserves justice."

Roscoe turned to face you. "As Doctor Metz can tell you, I was programmed with a respect for life and for others. I am also programmed to be loyal to my friends and companions. I do not have an absolute prohibition against violence, but the guardrails laid down to be sure I am a good person and not a threat to everyone around me are not enough to stop me from the urge to find who did this and to hurt them. That conflict is one I shall have to consider at length. It doesn't mean that I don't wish for you all to find whoever did it and to make them pay, whether that is in blood and pain or through incarceration. That would be preferable. Even so, I hope you hurt them in the process."

He took a deep breath and let if low out of him, as if he were stuffing the emotions back into a box. He set the folder down and returned to the body. "I am glad we are going to see this through. Better yet, I am glad to have you here to guide me though how to process this."

Roscoe will strip the body with the assistance of the Doctor Bot, placing each piece of clothing into a plastic bag for later examination. Mad Dog has seen better days, and it is apparent that he was not taking good care of himself. Too much food and too little exercise.

Once the body is completely nude, Roscoe takes a moment to turn Mad Dog's head and examine the wound there. "This is certainly consistent with a knife injury, but it is also possible it was something else. From the location of the wound, Mad Dog would not have known he was dead before it was done. Also, note this cut on his face. There is a slight bit of bruising but not nearly enough for an injury of this kind. I believe he was struck in the face during the attack that took his life. That will be up to the Doctor Bot to decide, but it certainly looks as if someone struck him with their left hand and there was something there with the hardness and a surface that would create a cut like this. Probably a ring."

Squinting a bit, Roscoe reached into Mad Dog's ear and pulled out a commdot. It was the same model as the ones from the safe. "They really didn't even look, did they?"

Roscoe and the Doctor Bot lifted Mad Dog and placed him inside the Autodoc. The robot did not begin the autopsy but stood waiting as Roscoe stripped off his gloves and dropped them in with Mad Dog's clothes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another pair, putting them on. Then he returned to the bag of personal effects and took the contents out and laid them on the bed.

There wasn't much. His wallet, the commdot that Roscoe had recovered, and a bag of nuts that was open and partially eaten. There was no mobile comm.

"Either they did not recover Mad Dog's mobile comm or it wasn't present on his body. I'm sure that means something."

He put the personal effects back in the bag and set them beside the other bag holding Mad Dog's clothing. "The Doctor Bot will begin the autopsy as soon as I close the door. From what I've seen, it is an unpleasant process to observe so I did not feel the need to subject you to having him begin while you were present. Do any of you wish to say any words over the deceased? I do not understand religion, but I am unwilling to say that such a belief is wrong. At the very least, I suppose it can't hurt at this point."

Once all of that is done, Roscoe picked up the now empty coffin (it's not too heavy), escorts everyone out of the medical bay, and closes the door behind them. He puts the coffin in the cargo bay and then he heads toward the airlock again and returns a minute later with a small package.

"I took the liberty of ordering clothing that I believed would be appropriate as this is not a function where I am performing my duties. I would not wish to stand out in an inappropriate way and detract from everyone having a good time. If you'll excuse me for a moment, I will go change."

As Roscoe doesn't have a stateroom, he heads to the captain's office and changes there. When he returns, he is now dressed in civilian clothes that are a little bit on the conservative side but are stylish enough to fit in just about anywhere aboard the starport.

"Shall we go? I will secure the ship after we leave and will be able to tell you if there is anyone attempting entry while we are gone. I will activate the anti-boarding protocols if such an event occurs. They will, of course, allow the others access if they return before we do."

[joertexas]

Spicoli stops and runs his hands through his hair, "I'm just concerned. Worried that we are granting too much power to something we don't understand and can't control. And, yes, maybe I'm paranoid, but I would rather Roscoe not be aware of my concerns as that would just be more data that he would integrate into his developing personality."

"Please, think about it and convince me I'm being foolish about this before we are back under Roscoe's surveillance, if you can, and I'll not bring it up again." Spicoli finishes.

Jaelah had disabled her comms at Spicoli's request, and now she thought about his statements for a moment. "We all depend on expert systems to live most of the time. I agree that Roscoe is a few steps ahead of that, and that Metz is an unknown quantity. All I can say is, we have to trust each other, and we also have to trust that our new ship isn't homicidal. There's nothing else we can do except to walk away."

[ateno]

"Technically, I am never off the ship," Roscoe said with a smile. "However, I have had no personal exposure to the universe outside this bay. I have only heard about things and watched the news and entertainment videos, all of which are framed by someone else's perspective. I could load my carouse program and would be happy to join you. Are there other programs you would recommend? I cannot load skills into my android body while off the ship.

For some reason my earlier post did not make it, grumble.

"Rosce, I would choose: Advocate, Athletics, Carouse, Deception, Gambling, Investigate, Medic, Melee, Persuade, Stealth and Streetwise. Why don't you do a analysis on our skills and where we are going and decide how to use your bandwidth?"

I don't like using skill number IC.

Arkar will change into less classy clothing.

"Roscoe, what the name of the bar where our friend was killed? Also what is the law and regulations down there?

Arkar

[ateno]

"Shall we go? I will secure the ship after we leave and will be able to tell you if there is anyone attempting entry while we are gone. I will activate the anti-boarding protocols if such an event occurs. They will, of course, allow the others access if they return before we do."

"I was afraid something like this would happen. We can forensic the comm dot for a connection to his comm, right? Also we will get a knife style and length from the autopsy and perhaps a printed copy of the ring,
Can we prioritize the bot to get a copy of the ring to us via comms asap please?"


Arkar

[Tiglath]

Garvin nods as he listens to Roscoe.

Addressing the body he says "Mad Dog you were off yer chump - but not in a bad way. Then, you majestic bastard, you went an' showed yer cards an' did right by the kid - so you're good enough for me. I'll square things up".

Turning back to Roscoe he says "It's alright, son. We'll sort it. There's no justice - just us".

"Roscoe, what the name of the bar where our friend was killed? Also what is the law and regulations down there?

Garvin gives Arkar a smile "Funny, I was just wondering that. Great minds... eh?"

He adds "Roscoe, bring yer drinkin' and fightin' 'eads with you - just in case things get tasty".

[Tiglath]

"I was afraid something like this would happen. We can forensic the comm dot for a connection to his comm, right? Also we will get a knife style and length from the autopsy and perhaps a printed copy of the ring,
Can we prioritize the bot to get a copy of the ring to us via comms asap please?"

Garvin replies to Roscoe "They took Mad Dog's comm - can you track it?"

To Arkar he asides "I reckon the murder weapon's a piston fist. Derivation of a butcher's captive bolt gun for 'umane killin' - used inhumanely. Left 'and over the face, right puts the bolt through the back of Mad Dog's head. Maybe somethin' to look out for while we're out an' about?"

Garvin equips his issue comm and dresses down from his suit. Layering a flak coat over better quality "downtown" gear and a diplo vest. He also takes two pairs of Invisiknives and a pair of "Electronux" (stunfists?)

[terrymixon]

"Technically, I am never off the ship," Roscoe said with a smile. "However, I have had no personal exposure to the universe outside this bay. I have only heard about things and watched the news and entertainment videos, all of which are framed by someone else's perspective. I could load my carouse program and would be happy to join you. Are there other programs you would recommend? I cannot load skills into my android body while off the ship.

For some reason my earlier post did not make it, grumble.

"Rosce, I would choose: Advocate, Athletics, Carouse, Deception, Gambling, Investigate, Medic, Melee, Persuade, Stealth and Streetwise. Why don't you do a analysis on our skills and where we are going and decide how to use your bandwidth?"

"I will do so. Thank you."

Arkar will change into less classy clothing.

"Roscoe, what the name of the bar where our friend was killed? Also what is the law and regulations down there?

"The Last Ride. Madam Treegarden indicated it had been closed by the authorities, but it won't hurt to double-check that assertation. Nothing else about this has been like we expected."

[terrymixon]

"Shall we go? I will secure the ship after we leave and will be able to tell you if there is anyone attempting entry while we are gone. I will activate the anti-boarding protocols if such an event occurs. They will, of course, allow the others access if they return before we do."

"I was afraid something like this would happen. We can forensic the comm dot for a connection to his comm, right? Also we will get a knife style and length from the autopsy and perhaps a printed copy of the ring,
Can we prioritize the bot to get a copy of the ring to us via comms asap please?"


Arkar

"Sadly, the range of a commdot is only a few meters. I will instruct the Doctor Bot to prioritize the ring, but it may not have left enough damage to get much."

[terrymixon]

Garvin nods as he listens to Roscoe.

Addressing the body he says "Mad Dog you were off yer chump - but not in a bad way. Then, you majestic bastard, you went an' showed yer cards an' did right by the kid - so you're good enough for me. I'll square things up".

Turning back to Roscoe he says "It's alright, son. We'll sort it. There's no justice - just us".

"Then we'll just have to be enough."

"Roscoe, what the name of the bar where our friend was killed? Also what is the law and regulations down there?

Garvin gives Arkar a smile "Funny, I was just wondering that. Great minds... eh?"

He adds "Roscoe, bring yer drinkin' and fightin' 'eads with you - just in case things get tasty".

"I will. I do not have any weapons, but I have my fists."

[Tiglath]

"I will. I do not have any weapons, but I have my fists."

"I've got a spare pair of "trouble gloves" you can borrow".

Garvin equips Roscoe with his spare pair of stunfists.