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[Story][Season 0] Rockabye Venus
[Story][Season 0] Rockabye Venus
#1
Rockabye Venus - 02/Jul/2012
Early Summer, 2008, Luna.
She lay sleeping.  On the bed cover.  In her bedroom.  Face relaxed.  Breathing quietly.  At peace.
They looked on, waiting.  The sleeping woman, fully dressed.  Her blonde hair neat around her pillowed face.
'It's a bit of a bugger', thought Brains.  By him hovered both Uran, in mid-air, one at each side.  You'd have thought, by now, he'd know what he was doing.  But no, it was always different.
"Every incept is different", he said, out-loud, in a low voice, to Uran.  "The first was Emily, of course, and I don't know what happened, because I was unconscious.  Reasonable, I guess, because of the lightning strike.  Amazing I wasn't deafened.  But, I worked out later I was out for maybe half-an-hour."
They looked at Doctor Venus, in her XL5 uniform, covered by doctor's coat, fully dressed bar boots standing beside her bed.  Brains hoped she'd be happy with her room, they'd tried to part-furnish it, to let her choose the rest.  Could you say someone was sleeping when they'd never been awake in their lives?
"Brainless was next.  I finished him.  Moved back, and he opened his eyes.  The first thing he did was complain.  And he hasn't stopped, since."  Uran frowned at Brain, from both sides, and Uran on his left commented, "I know he's difficult, but he does his best."  "His best to be a pain in the neck", commented Uran on his right.  They nodded in synchronisation.
"You were next.  You just opened your eyes, and looked around, silently."  "I was amazed at how new everything looked", said Uran on his right.  "Yes, like all the colours were freshly painted", came from his left.  "Then we talked.  And I read to you from that book, 'The Little Prince', about a boy who lives on his own asteroid."  "Yes, then you persuaded me to take out half my brain!  And, put it in that mind recorder!"  "I was afraid of loosing you!"  "I still think that's icky", both Uran solemnly nodded.
Brains looked at Doctor Venus; yes, he was using her title in his mind, they must keep a professional distance.  He knew the exact colour of her eyes, having carefully crafted them.  Every wrinkle, every fold, of her skin. 'Am I going to have to kiss her to wake her?', he thought.  Frantically, mentally, he paged through every step of the ritual, the logic of her creation.  Then sighed.  'Not bloody likely!'
"Wait a minute!", said Uran, "I've got an idea!"  And one of her zipped away. The remaining two watched, and made the occasional comment.  At one point Uran flew off and quickly returned with Brains shaving mirror from the bathroom. After about five minutes the other Uran returned, with a laden tray - coffee pot, warm croissants, and other ingredients of a breakfast.
She put the tray down by the bed, on a small cupboard.  Then, wafted the coffee aroma towards the doctor.  For a moment there was no response, then her nose twitched, and she licked her lips.  Light-brown eyes opening came next.  "Milk? Sugar?", Uran asked.  "Nice to have someone else make the coffee", came the French-accented reply.
Rapidly but elegantly Doctor Venus disposed of breakfast.  When she paused to pour a third cup of coffee, she looked around, a little puzzled.  "I'm afraid I don't know your sort of alien", she said to Uran.  "But thank you for the breakfast.  For some reason I'm very hungry."  She turned to Brains, "Are you in command here?".
"Not really", said Brains, scratching his cheek.  "This is actually a family home."  He turned and looked at the other Uran.  "Maybe you should show the good Doctor the mirror?"
Doctor Venus took the mirror, with a puzzled expression, then looked at herself. "What's happened to me?  I look different!  But, I can't explain quite how.  My hair, my eyes, they're the same colour."  She touched her face, looked at her hand, "I feel more... me.  More alive.  How could that be?"
"Well", said Brains, "You could argue you're not in your original body.  Or make metaphysical claims about 'transfictionality'.  Maybe you're...".  He stopped, going white.  "I'm afraid I'm not feeling very well, maybe we could discuss..."  And he slumped in his wheelchair.
Doctor Venus sprang into action.  "Have you got any medical supplies?" she demanded of Uran.  "There's a First Aid kit in the cupboard, and an old doctors bag", Uran indicated the cupboard beside her bed.  "This stuffs archaic!" commented the doctor, stuffing her feet into her boots.  "Is this man on any medication?"  "He's got it in his bedroom", returned Uran.
Uran picked up Brains, wheelchair and all.  'Maybe he's going to be all right' she thought.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind
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#2
META "Rockabye Venus"

I make no apologies for the pun! [grin]

I'm using the technical term 'incept' here; I've used it in other stories, and I think I've seen it before in Fenspace stuff.

A certain amount of culture clash - has Brains messed-up by waving a non-family member?

This story follows "A Werebot in London", and is followed by "Healthy Brains"; it is the final story of Chapter 5.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind
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#3
Ace Dreamer Wrote:A certain amount of culture clash - has Brains messed-up by waving a non-family member?
That's up to him... and you. Handwaved AI works differently for each creator.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#4
robkelk Wrote:
Ace Dreamer Wrote:A certain amount of culture clash - has Brains messed-up by waving a non-family member?
That's up to him... and you. Handwaved AI works differently for each creator.
Unless you consider 'Nom Nom' the Recyclosaurus, and 'Caster' and 'Pollux' the two Giant Beaver builder bots, to be something like family pets...  Doctor Venus is not the first non-family AI that Brains has waved - and this ignores his first one (ones?), Emily and Bagpuss.
Looking at the various Fenspace stories, what happens when you wave an AI, assuming you were actually trying to in the first place, seems to depend on both your intentions, on a conscious and unconscious level, and how you initially treat the AI.
Brains, in this story, may have been worrying away at the ethical issues point, that was raised by his Uncle Jack.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind
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