TEST DRIVE #3 - Alien Bazaar/Ten Forward

[tenforward_m]

#1

Option 001. Alien planet, marketplace: So you're new to this whole space travel thing. The ship is cool and all, but there are hundreds of alien worlds out there. You want to explore. To see what the universe REALLY looks like.

Well, here's your chance! Your first stop is this lovely indoor marketplace, which looks kind of like a mall. There are stalls one after the other as far as the eye can see, and they sell all kinds of things: food, clothes, trinkets, animals, fabrics, jewelry, perfumes, books, etc etc. Some things look human, easy to recognize; other things look very alien. There are two levels, and constant chatter as people hawk their wares and discuss prices.

Do you want to explore? Poke at the weird shops? Buy a gift for a new friend? Flirt with someone at the food court? Maybe you see a pickpocket, and must run to the aid of the victim. Maybe there's some other villainy afoot. After all, a crowded marketplace is a good place for villains to lurk, causing trouble. Whether you're a hero or just an unassuming traveler, there proves to be some adventure for you on this planet.


2

Option 002. Aboard the Enterprise, Ten Forward: You have no idea what just happened. One minute you were home, and now you're on a spaceship, in the middle of a crowded room. It looks like a bar. There are people eating and drinking, some in uniform, others not. Some are clearly aliens.

You've managed to land in Ten Forward a long bar with barstools and a bartender, tables sprinkled throughout, and the far wall is nothing but windows out to space. It looks like a nice lounge, low conversation making the room hum.

Better ask some questions and find out where you are, or just tap the closest person on the shoulder and try to make friends. The bar is open.

Comments

[knight_2000]

"I am the only one." It was fair to say, after the seeming destruction of KARR. Standard introductions would do here - this one struck Kitt as a being of precision.

"I am the Knight Industries Two Thousand, K.I.T.T. for easy reference, or KITT if you prefer. And may I inquire as to your name?" Kitt was very nearly tempted to ask him his 'designation', but this alien might not appreciate the joke.

[emotional_security]

"Greetings - KITT," Spock returns, intrigued to hear such a well-modulated and pleasant sounding voice from a computer. "I am Spock, of the USS Enterprise."

On closer inspection, this is definitely an old-style, Terran automobile - four wheels, internal combustion engine contained in the front compartment, seating for a driver and passengers within. And yet the technology required to program an artificial intelligence capable of autonomous speech and movement is centuries beyond the design of the vehicle.

"I am sure we both have further questions, but if I may commence - when and where were you created, KITT?" Spock watches the scanning light for an indication that the computer is 'reading' him. "I have never heard of Knight Industries, but the quality of your speech is an amazing achievement in itself. The computers on board -"

He has to stop himself from saying any more. Spock rarely has cause to restrain his enthusiasm, yet he finds computers incredibly - stimulating.

[knight_2000]

"Not this one, surely?" His uniform seemed different from the others. As for the ears, well. KITT was getting used to six impossible things before breakfast, at this rate.

Perhaps it was that Bonnie Barstow was just that good?

"Very astute. The when is late twentieth century Earth. I was first brought online in 1982. The where was in a mainframe in Washington, D.C., and later, Reno, Nevada. However, my home base is now Los Angeles. Or perhaps I should say it was L.A." Oh, the computer is most definitely reading him. Spock was making it more difficult than most; his body language was completely alien and much more formal than the humans he was accustomed to.

"Having never heard of me is one thing. I was an open secret, though much of my technology remained classified. I'm disturbed to find that Knight Industries didn't stand the test of time. It makes me wonder what happened." And if his own existence might have sadly contributed in some way to its decline.

"Please, do go on." KITT was always up for hearing about computers.

[emotional_security]

"No, I do not belong on this ship," Spock confirms. "Although the class, name and registry are almost identical, the devil is in the details, to borrow a human idiom."

Now Spock is thinking about his Enterprise, the ship where he has come to trust that he does belong, and certain members of her crew. Fascinated though he is with the current situation, he cannot help but question why he alone has been brought here - and if his absence has been yet noted by the Captain.

Returning his focus to the incredible machine before him, Spock once again marvels how sentient - how human - KITT sounds. Who would program a computer to have emotions, or to emulate that condition?

"I was merely about to say," he continues, encouraged by the conversation, "that the computers I am familiar with aboard the Enterprise do not possess half your - 'spirit', if I may misapply the word. The simulated voice of the ship's computer is flat and mechanical in comparison. I am puzzled as to why technology should have deteriorated instead of advancing."

"What was the purpose of your creation, KITT?"

[knight_2000]

Et tu, Spock? Kitt almost expected better of you. Almost. One can't help picking up tidbits of humanity when surrounded by them.

Be careful what you wish for, Spock. That's the human phrase Kitt would use, had he known what Spock was thinking.

"Perhaps I was too much of a secret." Now he's brooding, just a little, pondering the future he usually tries very hard not to think about. Spock's question doesn't completely pull him from those thoughts, but it gives him something easier to contemplate.

"Law enforcement. The idea that some criminals operated so far beyond conventional means of detection and capture that a somewhat... unorthodox method would be required to bring them to justice."

[emotional_security]

"Indeed." Reinforcing - or even removing - physical frailty and other inherently human weaknesses would be a logical step in advancing law enforcement. "An admirable display of forethought by your creator."

One problem occurs to Spock, however. "I presume that you are also designed to protect human life, as well as curtailing criminals? Otherwise, your form would prove restrictive. Is your - driver - also aboard this ship?"

[OOC: Sorry for the delay. RL is way too intense right now.]

[knight_2000]

"He was indeed, but he never forgot the human element. I was designed to work specifically with and for humans, one of many tools in their arsenal to combat the criminal element of society."

Spock is a very perceptive. Kitt finds himself admiring the man already. "The protection of human life is one of my primary functions. I have no offensive capabilities which would enable me to inflict major physical harm, nor would I wish to." It's not entirely a truth, but close enough. "I am the only one. Neither my driver nor my technician was brought aboard."