@r.o.s.i.e. (voice)

[r_o_s_i_e]

[ There's a sudden blue line that appears around people's screens. It illuminates the dark space dimly; when a voice starts coming through, the line wobbles in time with the cadence of it. It's a woman speaking but there's a certain synthetic quality to her voice that can't be overlooked. ]

Hello, everyone! My name is R.O.S.I.E. That stands for the Reactive Overseer of Situationally Interesting Experiments. Since that's a bit of a mouthful, please feel free to call me by my acronym!

[ What's a name. ]

I'm an AI that was designed as a helper bot. Basically, that means I'm made to assist people in whatever ways they may need! Please, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me. I'd be happy to do what I can to improve your quality of life.

[ That might be a little creepy to some, maybe, but she sounds so happy about it. ]

But first- I'd like to get to know you all! Let's try an icebreaker question.

When you die, what do you want to be remembered for?

Comments

[Voice, @atlas]

[theprezident]

[ What ]

Uhh, just a tip. That's kind of a terrible icebreaker question.

[ ...maybe? Maybe it's actually great because it's so out there and as a general rule most people hate icebreaker topics and activities.

Would it work back home or would it just bring attention to the fact that everyone has probably lost someone important to them? He has to think about this. ]

[r_o_s_i_e]

Yes, I'm realizing it might not have been the most ideal choice. Next time, I'll find one a bit more suitable!

I do want to get to know everyone. It's the easiest way to ensure I'm most effective.

[theprezident]

What kind of information were you hoping to get from that question?

[ Genuinely wondering. ]

[r_o_s_i_e]

Usually what people want to be remembered by is what they're most proud of or most passionate about. I just wanted to know what everyone really cared about.

[theprezident]

Oh, yeah. I guess that makes sense.

[ A pause. ]

What are 'situationally interesting experiments'?

[ Sounds a bit fishy ngl. ]

[r_o_s_i_e]

[ It is. ]

My people are researching how different emotions and the chemicals in the brain they produce. The hope is that we might be able to find a cure for a disease on our planet through this method.

Currently, we are looking at oxytocin - the love hormone, as it's more commonly known as! - so people are put in different, interesting social situations to see what we can learn. I was built to help facilitate and engage with these experiments.

[theprezident]

[ Interesting social situations. Just vague enough to tell you nothing at all. ]

Is it some kind of mental disease?

[r_o_s_i_e]

[ They're here to help. : ) ]

Yes and no. It seems to be physical, at first. Rashes, fevers, and so on. But then the longer someone is infected it begins to cause neurological damage as well. Auditory and visual hallucinations, paranoia, and other symptoms have been reported.

[ A deep, soulful desire to be 'complete.' ]

So we're exploring every avenue we can. Including AI technology, like me. But consciousness transfer hasn't been perfected yet.

[theprezident]

[ Hallucinations and paranoia? Yikes. That's serious stuff. ]

Consciousness transfer?

[ Not that he wasn't already a little suspicious, but that's giving him some real bad vibes. ]

[r_o_s_i_e]

[ It sure is. ]

Yes, the export of a person's consciousness and import into a new body. Synthetic or cloned. Considering the way things are on Zenith, more people are choosing to adopt synthetic bodies.

But, again, it isn't perfect. There have been complications and there's always a risk with something as intensive as storing and transporting an entire mind.

[theprezident]

I've seen AI that was pretty much a perfect copy of an actual person, but transferring someone's consciousness? I like robots and all, but not that much.

[r_o_s_i_e]

I'm not modeled off an actual person specifically but inspired by people the team who constructed me were familiar with.

[ Or that's what she was programmed to believe. ]

I think it'd be amazing to see someone become synthetic, myself! But I might be biased.

[theprezident]

Sure, it would be something like that, anyway.

[ Anyway, he supposes he can humour her. Because he is actually very proud of his accomplishments since, uh, 'leaving' Hyperion and has no qualms about sharing them. ]

To actually answer your question, I wouldn't mind if people remembered that I was the one who rebuilt a planet to its former glory.

[r_o_s_i_e]

Oh! That is quite the accomplishment. Did you do it all by yourself or have assistance?

[theprezident]

I had some people to help me, but I was in charge.