audio; march 7th

[alan_1]

[The recorded voice that addresses the crew through the MID is affable and slightly apologetic.]

Hello everyone. This is Alan Bradley speaking. I have a couple of questions for the crew, and I think I might as well use this opportunity to introduce myself to those I haven’t met yet: As I said, my name is Alan Bradley, and I’ve been assigned as one of the ship’s MID Technicians. I’m afraid I don’t have any particularly interesting abilities outside of computer programming, but that should be enough for me to do my job here. Some of you may have already met Sam Flynn, my godson from back home, as well as Tron and Rinzler, two, ah, programs that I’ve written. [Is that how he’s supposed to introduce them? It’s quite clear from the misgiving in his tone that he isn’t completely sure. He isn’t even certain he can correctly refer to them as two programs if you want to get technical, but explaining that would be far too involved for a simple introduction, so he’ll have to settle for the potential inaccuracy.] If you ever need to contact me, I’m always available at my personal inbox. [A slight chuckle.] I guess we all are since these things are strapped to our wrists.

Introductions aside, I was hoping someone could tell me who I should see about getting a new pair of glasses? Mine seem to have been lost as I was coming through the portal here. And seeing as my job on the ship will probably require spending most of my day staring at lines of code, I’d like to get a replacement sooner rather than later.

Speaking of my job here, I’m also looking for suggestions for programs people would like added to their MIDs, or improvements made to the interface. I’ll admit, the technology here is quite a bit more advanced than what I usually worked with back home, so anyone with more technological know-how is welcome to offer guidance: other programmers, engineers, AI… I’d be grateful for any advice.

Just leave a reply if you want to get in touch. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Comments

audio

[pleasereset]

[A younger voice answers Alan's MID call.]

It's nice to meet you, Alan! I'm Asriel. I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you where you could find new glasses, but I'm not sure who you're supposed to talk to around here to get things like that.

[Any talk about programs and codes go right over Asriel's head. He's not really sure what any of it means, but he does recognize Rinzler's name.]

You know Rinzler? I met him a while ago. He's really cool!

audio;

[alan_1]

[Alan’s a little surprised when it’s a child’s voice that leaves a response, but perhaps he shouldn’t be -- he’s already heard at least one of his crewmates mention children on the ship, after all.]

Hello, Asriel. It’s nice to meet you too.

[He smiles at the child’s comment about Rinzler.] I’m glad to hear he’s making friends. How did you meet him? [Because from what Alan’s seen of the program, he doesn’t seem like the type to seek people out on his own.]

text;

[devilofohara]

[Guess who JUST got her MID and is super fucking salty about it? THIS GIRL.]

I don't know what you mean by program but if you're inventing things for these things I'd like a way to take it off, please.

audio;

[alan_1]

I’m afraid you’ll have to ask someone else; I’m not really an expert on the hardware side of things.

[He takes a moment to inspect his own MID regardless, looking for some sort of mechanism with which to take it off; he doesn’t find one.] A pair of pliers might be a good start, though...

video

[knaval]

My chorebot keeps bumping into walls. Can you program it so the pathfinding is better? But without all the creepy AI stuff.

[not even remotely related to what alan said he'd be able to do, but riptide figures it's worth a shot.]

video;

[alan_1]

[Alan is momentarily startled when the face of what appears to be a very large, expressive robot appears on his screen.] Chorebot? [A little embarrassing to say, but that’s already a little exotic for Alan. Right now he’s picturing a Roomba.]

I can take a look at it, but I’ll have to see how it’s programmed before I make any promises. [Here’s to hoping everything is programmed in the same language used on the MID? And that the MID’s programming language is at least somewhat easy to work with itself.]

text

[kickbancaboose]

hey man no offense but one of the programs you've written is a major dick
he's like the complete opposite of a people person

not sure if that was your intention when you were hard at work creating your abomination of nature but you know just an fyi if it wasn't and if it was well then congratulations you've succeeded

audio;

[alan_1]

[To be fair, “the complete opposite of a people person” does not sound like that inaccurate of a description based on what Alan’s seen of the program. All the other descriptors the respondent has used sound… rather more extreme.]

I take it you two had some sort of disagreement.

audio

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[90% of this post goes wayyy past J's head.]

What's an AI?

audio;

[alan_1]

“Artificial intelligence.” Like robots, androids, programs… [And most of those had sounded like science fiction until about a week ago.] A thinking being someone has created using technology.

[text;]

[trap_factory]

[Rinzler's programmer is here? HaHA are you kidding him? But who were those other names...? Tron...?]

so you're the mind behind rinzler. i've always wondered about that... he's such an interesting guy after all.

not that chatty though. something about communication not being his function? huh. wonder why that is.

[because Alan seemed too... nice. The way Rinzler behaved, it seemed like someone had him on a very tight leash. The way this guy talks... There's no way he's the one holding the other end of that leash]

audio;

[alan_1]

[This… doesn’t sound good. Alan is starting to wonder how many more times he’s going to have to make excuses for actions that weren’t even his own.]

It’s not his primary function, no. But he seems to be figuring it out regardless. [Maybe he’s not as expressive as Tron, but he can still make himself understood using what’s available to him. That’s impressive in and of itself.]

video;

[takeitslow]

Rinzler. You are responsible for Rinzler.

[Peter couldn't look any less impressed if he tried.]

One question. What the hell were you thinking on that one?

audio;

[alan_1]

[...And it continues.] I initially wrote him as a security program. [Which is a kind of dodge, but it’s not too far from the truth. He’s just not saying what happened after his initial writing.]

Video

[beautifulspaceraptor]

In regards to your glasses I miiiight have a solution. It's going to take some finagling to get the prescription right, but I have a mini fabricator on me.

video;

[alan_1]

[There's a moment of staring as Alan adjusts to the very clearly alien face staring out of his MID screen, but as this isn't his first encounter with a non-human on the ship, it only takes a few awkward seconds before he's focused back on the actual conversation. Alan’s never heard of a “fabricator” before, but he can guess its function by the name.]

I’d appreciate it. Am I right in assuming that this is going to take some trial and error? [He doesn't mind if it does. Trying on a few pairs of glasses is a small price to pay for actually being able to see clearly again.]

[niffin]

Oh my god, you too?

[ Forget the revelation about programs — at least for now — some of us enjoy being able to see. ]

I swear, we have every job on this ship but an optometrist.

[alan_1]

[That seems like quite the oversight given that the Ingress apparently has a habit of stealing glasses.] Someone else responded saying he has a “fabricator” he might be able to use to replace them. If it works, I’m sure he can do the same for you.

text;

[smoothaf]

[He doesn't exactly understand what Rinzler is and whatever this guy is saying it's at least clear he's responsible for his roommate.]

I have some concerns about how you wrote Rinzler. I've been sharing quarters with him.

[Honestly Napoleon deserved everything Rinzler dished out, but this man doesn't need to know that.]

audio;

[alan_1]

[Join the club. Apparently it’s very popular among their crewmates. Alan sighs.] What did he do?

[He’s hoping it was something on the relatively harmless side of the spectrum such as growling at someone or dropping out of a vent rather than another stabbing.]

audio;

[cardboard_boss]

I can't help with your glasses but I'd be interested to know what technology you can add to the MID.

[Because Venom wondered what improvements could be made to the fancy watch. Perhaps, a long range radio? Maybe he could contact Earth?]

audio;

[alan_1]

Back home I specialized in coding security programs and auxiliaries for larger operating systems. I also dabbled in a few video games as well. [There’s a chuckle at that. Alan had never been as interested in games as Flynn, but as ENCOM had become a bigger and bigger player in the industry, it was inevitable that he’d be pulled in too, even if it was just to handle a few mechanical functionalities here and there. Flynn had always been the true mastermind in that area.]

Is there anything in particular you’d like to see added?

text

[whoami]

You do realize you don't have to make excuses for Rinzler, right?

audio; private

[alan_1]

I’m not making excuses for him. I’m just trying to avoid discussing the specifics of what happened on the Grid with a ship full of strangers.

anon; text

[skelepun]

you're really taking suggestions? that sounds dangerous.

audio;

[alan_1]

[Alan's assuming the comment is in jest.] I don't know about that. I'm not sure how dangerous of an application I can make for a computer the size of a wristwatch.

text, private, March 11

[hellsbel]

[so this is the mind behind Tron and Rinzler? can see where Tron comes from. Rinzler... not so much.]

Bel Thorne here -- Interrogation Tech; no, ah, 'interesting abilities' either. Good to have another MID technician aboard.

I'd like to have a talk about Tron and Rinzler. The Observation Deck's a good place to meet. When are you free?

audio; private

[alan_1]

[”Interrogation Tech” sounds rather ominous, especially in the context of asking to “talk” with him. But the message is polite enough and the observation deck is a public area -- that suggests “conversation” rather than “interrogation.”]

I can be there in the next hour. Does that work for you?

voice; some point on the 8th or later /waves vaguely

[straightouttacarbonite]

Do you think you can fix your droid's vocabulator? Seems like it'd make it easier to work with.

audio;

[alan_1]

[The word “droid” is unfamiliar, though the man’s technical language and use of “it” make it pretty clear that the meaning is close to “robot.”] Well, he’s not a droid, [Alan corrects the speaker mildly.] So I’m afraid there’s no er, “vocabulator” to be fixed.