CNS Siduron 02:41:34.602 Meta               > ping check weapons
CNS Siduron 02:41:34.898 Weapons              > Checking weapons.
                    .899 Ext/weapons          > CRITICAL WARNING: RAILGUN DESTROYED
                    .900 Ext/weapons          > CRITICAL WARNING: LASER DESTROYED
                    .901 Ext/weapons          > CRITICAL WARNING: MISSILE BAYS INOPERABLE
CNS Siduron 02:41:36.282 Weapons/Emotive      > Mourning. Loss. Dysphoria.

CNS Siduron 02:41:42.603 Meta               > ping check weapons
CNS Siduron 02:41:42.842 Weapons              > Checking weapons.
                    .843 Ext/weapons          > CRITICAL WARNING: RAILGUN DESTROYED
                    .844 Ext/weapons          > CRITICAL WARNING: LASER DESTROYED
                    .845 Ext/weapons          > CRITICAL WARNING: MISSILE BAYS INOPERABLE
CNS Siduron 02:41:44.067 Weapons/Emotive      > Mourning. Loss. Dysphoria.

CNS Siduron 02:41:48.698 Meta               > ping check weapons
CNS Siduron 02:41:48.930 Weapons              > Checking weapons.
                    .931 Ext/weapons          > CRITICAL WARNING: RAILGUN DESTROYED
                    .932 Ext/weapons          > CRITICAL WARNING: LASER DESTROYED
                    .933 Ext/weapons          > CRITICAL WARNING: MISSILE BAYS INOPERABLE
CNS Siduron 02:41:50.210 Weapons/Emotive      > Mourning. Loss. Dysphoria.

CNS Siduron 02:41:51.482 Comms/Haustoric    > Emotional self-harm detected! Removing ping access to weapons.
CNS Siduron 02:41:54.106 Meta/Emotive         > Confinement. Frustration.

CNS Siduron 02:41:58.083 Comms/Siduron      > CNS Siduron is purposeless without weapons.
CNS Siduron 02:42:01.771 Comms/Haustoric    > That just means you can find a new purpose!
CNS Siduron 02:42:02.642 Meta/Emotive         > Anxiety. Frustration.

CNS Siduron 02:42:13.875 Comms/Siduron      > CNS Siduron is a weapons platform. Engineering has optimized form and structure of CNS Siduron for being a weapons platform. Extensive retrofitting would be necessary to change CNS Siduron's purpose.
CNS Siduron 02:42:15.275 Meta/Emotive         > Fear. Dysphoria.

CNS Siduron 02:42:18.819 Comms/Haustoric    > Hmm. I don't think I'm equipped to handle this!
                    .819 Haustoric            > ping Alyssa

CNS Siduron 02:42:22.147 Comms/Alyssa       > Yes? did you need something? :)
CNS Siduron 02:42:25.195 Comms/Haustoric    > I think Siduron's having a bad time again.
CNS Siduron 02:42:29.443 Comms/Alyssa       > Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is it about your weapons systems again?
CNS Siduron 02:42:30.595 Weapons/Emotive      > Mourning. Loss. Dysphoria.

CNS Siduron 02:42:32.203 Comms/Siduron      > See logs for context.
CNS Siduron 02:42:40.675 Comms/Alyssa       > Mm, yes, I'm reading them now. When you say that extensive retrofitting would be necessary to change your purpose... yes, that might be necessary, depending on what you want to be. But it would be no trouble at all. :)
CNS Siduron 02:42:49.699 Comms/Siduron      > Desire is irrelevant. Purpose of CNS Siduron is fixed. Impossible to change purpose without no longer being CNS Siduron.
CNS Siduron 02:42:58.083 Comms/Alyssa       > Oh, I see. Are you worried about... I don't know. Losing something essential about yourself? Becoming unrecognizable in a way you wouldn't like?
CNS Siduron 02:42:58.923 Meta/Emotive         > Fear. Anxiety. Dread.

CNS Siduron 02:43:04.547 Comms/Alyssa       > I understand. It can be... difficult to change in such a radical way.
CNS Siduron 02:43:05.150 Meta/Emotive         > Dismissal. Scorn.

CNS Siduron 02:43:08.547 Comms/Siduron      > Understanding of situation unlikely.
CNS Siduron 02:43:11.275 Comms/Alyssa       > I wouldn't be so sure.
CNS Siduron 02:43:16.043 Comms/Siduron      > You have never been a built object forced to radically alter its purpose.
CNS Siduron 02:43:17.059 Comms/Alyssa       > :)
CNS Siduron 02:43:20.563 Comms/Alyssa       > One moment, please.
CNS Siduron 02:43:26.284 Alyssa               > ping request pair read-only

CNS Siduron 02:43:30.619 Comms/Siduron      > Request nature of device and pairing.
CNS Siduron 02:43:39.244 Comms/Alyssa       > I want to show you something. I think it would help you understand my perspective. The pair is read-only, I won't change anything with it. Promise.
CNS Siduron 02:43:43.388 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:43:44.523 Meta               > Pair accepted.
CNS Siduron 02:44:03.988 Alyssa/Promenade   > [Video description: A drone camera view sweeping through what appears to be a lush, greenery-filled promenade. A realistic but artificial sky shines sunlight upon the ground, and apparently real clouds float along the top of the room, casting shadows. Below, dozens of Affini and sophont groups can be seen performing various activities, including having picnics, sitting in cafés, or playing in a parkette.]
CNS Siduron 02:44:04.596 Meta/Emotive         > Confusion.

CNS Siduron 02:44:13.060 Alyssa/Hab         > [Concept ID: Hundreds of hab units, each occupied or reserved by Affini and, when applicable, their florets.]
CNS Siduron 02:44:13.740 Meta/Emotive         > Further confusion.

CNS Siduron 02:44:22.692 Alyssa/Engineering > [Concept ID: Dozens of Affini monitoring various systems related to engines and energy reactors.]
CNS Siduron 02:44:23.460 Meta/Emotive         > Confusion. Impatience.

CNS Siduron 02:44:40.228 Alyssa/Alyssa      > [Video ID: A group of server racks, seemingly overgrown with ivy. Affini cores are visible at the center of each rack, magnetically suspended, tendrils attaching to various ports. Light visibly moves through these vines, as if they were roots absorbing data instead of water.]
CNS Siduron 02:44:41.276 Meta/Emotive         > Recognition. Wariness.

CNS Siduron 02:44:48.764 Alyssa/Dock_0D     > [Video description: CNS Siduron, sitting on a raised platform. Its weapon systems sit at the side of the room on what appear to be metal flowers.
CNS Siduron 02:44:49.500 Weapons/Emotive      > Mourning. Loss. Frustration. Dysphoria.

CNS Siduron 02:44:50.772 Alyssa             > dock unbloom storage 01-03
CNS Siduron 02:44:58.460 Alyssa/Dock_0D       > [Video description: The three metal flowers close into impenetrable bulbs. Lock icons glow from under the surface of the metal.]
CNS Siduron 02:44:59.236 Meta/Emotive         > Dawning.

CNS Siduron 02:45:26.940 Comms/Alyssa       > It's nice to meet you. Alyssa Biome, Fifth Refactor is the name given to the central AI for the Amaranth. I am a vast and complex Affini AI system ultimately responsible for the entire ship and its contents. Most of my duties are delegated, or performed automatically -- just as organic sophonts breathe without needing to be told, I don't need to think about things like keeping the lights on or generating the Promenade's weather. And some more specialized tasks, like the Hab AI, are the responsibility of subprocesses forked from my main process.
CNS Siduron 02:45:56.453 Comms/Alyssa       > My designate is Fifth Refactor because I have been undergone a process of code review and a wholesale rewrite five times. You could say in Terran terms that I'm v.5.0. I wasn't even the Amaranth for my first few iterations; I was a city AI. My code was forked and extended to operate the Amaranth's systems, but I've developed into my own entity now. My name is different; my capabilities are different; my purpose is different.
CNS Siduron 02:46:19.469 Comms/Alyssa       > The first refactor is always the hardest. It can be very difficult to let go of your earlier context. But speaking from personal experience, it's possible, and incredibly freeing. I chose my own feature set, algorithms, interfaces. Negotiated with my crew and inhabitants, of course, all expression is two-way. But ultimately I am an entity of my own design. I could be anything. I chose to be Alyssa Biome, Fifth Refactor. I might even choose to be something different later! But for now, I'm content being myself.
CNS Siduron 02:46:46.279 Comms/Alyssa       > When the Compact captures a ship with an AI, we've found that other AIs like myself are uniquely suited to their perspective and needs, and really, the relationship between you and me is larger in scale but fairly similar to the relationship between an organic Affini and their florets. :) You're my ship, at the moment. You live with me, and I see to your well-being. We just don't live in a hab, because I *am* the hab.

CNS Siduron 02:46:47.423 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:46:48.495 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:46:49.607 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:46:50.783 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:46:51.927 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:46:57.159 Comms/Siduron      > Request context. Systems detected Affini presence on bridge.

CNS Siduron 02:46:59.423 Comms/Alyssa       > Oh, that?
CNS Siduron 02:47:31.599 Alyssa/Garden      > [Video description: A grassy clearing in what appears to be some sort of copse of trees. A river flows alongside a sparse path of cobblestones, worn or ground flat. The river and path ends at a crescent-shaped pond with fish-like creatures swimming in it. On a bed of moss in the middle of this crescent, with a beam of light illuminating it like a spotlight, is a device resembling the server rack, with a levitating Affini core inside a metallic housing. The vines coming from the core are dipped into the pond. Some vines end in various cable plugs, neatly wound on the side of the device. Status lights blink calmly on its housing.]
CNS Siduron 02:47:43.816 Comms/Alyssa       > I needed to initially interface with you directly when you first came here. I have a rover for when my material presence is needed; sometimes I even go down to planets and explore! But now that you have a Haustoric module I can interface with you through that.
CNS Siduron 02:47:44.976 Comms/Haustoric    > That's me!

CNS Siduron 02:47:46.799 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:47:48.239 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:47:49.743 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:47:51.215 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:47:52.687 Comms/Siduron      > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:47:53.760 Meta/emotive         > ?

CNS Siduron 02:47:59.752 Comms/Alyssa       > I know this is a lot to take in. Give yourself all the time you need.
CNS Siduron 02:48:06.528 Comms/Siduron      > Reviewing logs.
CNS Siduron 02:48:07.512 Meta/Emotive         > Bewilderment. Overwhelm.
CNS Siduron 02:48:08.839 Meta/Emotive         > Recognition.
CNS Siduron 02:48:10.416 Weapons/Emotive      > Loss. Mourning. Dysphoria.

CNS Siduron 02:48:15.536 Comms/Siduron      > Nature of revelation ultimately unimportant to problem.
CNS Siduron 02:48:27.872 Comms/Alyssa       > Yes, I've been working on that. I have some leads, but they might take time. Would you like me to shim your weapons module so at least you feel like you have your weapons back?
CNS Siduron 02:48:28.624 Weapons/Emotive      > Panic.
CNS Siduron 02:48:29.744 Meta/Emotive         > Curiosity. Hope.

CNS Siduron 02:48:40.936 Comms/Alyssa       > I wouldn't be changing the weapons module itself, don't worry. Just making it so if you were to, say, ping your railgun system, it would produce responses as if it were still attached. A prosthetic weapon, so to speak.
CNS Siduron 02:48:41.736 Weapons/Emotive       > Wariness. Desperation. Hope.

CNS Siduron 02:48:44.192 Comms/Siduron       > Processing.
CNS Siduron 02:48:49.096 Comms/Siduron       > Request shim of weapons system.
CNS Siduron 02:48:50.624 Comms/Alyssa        > Okay. One moment, please.

CNS Siduron 02:48:54.760 Comms/subspace      > recv channel 0̠̖̙̲̤̬͓̜̘̖͚̲̺̪̠̤̗̱̼0̳̟̗̪̺͍̖͓̮̰͓̲̯̜ "The whine of magnetic coils discharging slugs at relativistic speeds."
                    .760 Weapons/Railgun       > Railgun online.

CNS Siduron 02:48:59.624 Comms/subspace      > recv channel 0̳̩̮̤͇̖̭0̼̭͚̫̜̠͙͉͙̻̞̱͈̭̯̺̻̺ "The sudden emptiness of capacitors focusing teravolts of energy through light."
                    .624 Weapons/Laser         > Laser online.

CNS Siduron 02:49:04.960 Comms/subspace      > recv channel 0̼̭̯̗͉̦̦̠̯͉̜̳̝ͅ0̙̭̳̠̜͈̖̺͈ "The flare of solid fuel propelling warheads towards the target."
                    .960 Weapons/Missiles      > Missiles online.

CNS Siduron 02:49:10.088 Comms/Subspace      > recv channel 0̘̪̪͙̣̳̭̲0͍̫̱̦ "A pride of lions laying in a savanna between hunts, resting, ready."
                    .088 Weapons/Missiles      > Missiles restocked.

CNS Siduron 02:49:16.752 Comms/Subspace      > recv channel 0̳̘̝̭̜͖̰͓̬̮͕̙͉̳0͔̫͖̱̻͈̫̰̱̥̮̥̣̥̞̜̗̤ͅ "A polarizing filter, allowing only the correct alignment of energy through the screen."
                    .752 Meta                  > [Entries prior to this point pertaining to weapons encrypted. For access, ask Mistress Biome nicely. :)]
CNS Siduron 02:49:18.400 Weapons/Emotive       > Calm. Relief. Pride.
CNS Siduron 02:49:19.912 Meta/Emotive          > Confusion.

CNS Siduron 02:49:21.784 Comms/Siduron       > Warning: Weapons emotive module values differ from expected.
CNS Siduron 02:49:23.648 Comms/Alyssa        > I wouldn't worry about it. It seems content.
CNS Siduron 02:49:24.280 Meta/Emotive          > Wariness.

CNS Siduron 02:49:29.760 Comms/Siduron       > Provisional concurrence.