\u201cAnd the hydro-pumps seem to be a little stiff, possibly from an obstruction within their link,\u201d mused Jansha while she and Thangred crawled through the maintenance tunnels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood,\u201d praised Thangred. \u201cNow, we just need to…\u201d there was a clanging noise. \u201c…Hello?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs someone there?\u201d called Jansha. Their collective crawl slowed as they scanned the area in front of them. They arrived at a junction and got up, still visually sweeping the area. Just then, something fell and landed hard, making them jump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEr, could one of you pass that up here?\u201d called a voice. They looked up to see someone working in the tunnel above them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMelandra!\u201d boomed Thangred. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you answer when I called?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had the maho-wrench in my mouth, the one I just dropped again,\u201d explained Melandra as he pointed to the ground. Jansha saw the maho-wrench and handed it up to Melandra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cForgive my presumption,\u201d began Jansha, \u201cbut what are you doing up there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGetting rid of an obstruction in the hydro-pump link,\u201d replied Melandra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe could have done that for you,\u201d remarked Thangred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019d rather not have Dwarfish curses echoing throughout the ship,\u201d chuckled Melandra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, is that it?!\u201d snapped Thangred. \u201c\u2018Oh, look at me! I\u2019m Melandra and I can\u2019t handle a few curses!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA FEW curses, I can handle!\u201d argued Melandra, \u201cit\u2019s your constant cursing during repairs I have issue with!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJansha, could you return to your quarters?\u201d directed Thangred. \u201cI need to smack me a Drider!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c…Very well,\u201d confirmed Jansha. As Thangred and Melandra argued over cursing, Jansha crawled back through the tunnels. Something then stirred within her programming, something Dr. Ganshar didn\u2019t program originally, something that developed on its own…annoyance. Lately, Jansha had been developing emotions and was feeling rather negatively. To what, it cannot be said. Briefly, the phrase \u201cI\u2019m going to kill them,\u201d flashed through her core processor. As it did, a miniscule electric discharge ran through her head along with the phrase \u201cViolation of Directive 1\u201d. Now the annoyance grew into a bit of anger at the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay, run that by me again,\u201d Arsha requested Dr. Ganshar. Marshii was appalled at what she heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all very simple,\u201d assured Dr. Ganshar. \u201cI\u2019ve made a program so that, if she considers breaking the directives, a small electric discharge will correct that behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow old is she?!\u201d snapped Marshii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe was fully completed last year,\u201d replied Dr. Ganshar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019ve been inflicting pain onto her since then?!\u201d shouted Arsha, her hairpiece about to fall off the desk after slamming her fist onto it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCaptain, really,\u201d remarked Dr. Ganshar, \u201cI don\u2019t see why you\u2019re making such a fuss. She\u2019s a machine, she has no means of feeling anything, especially pain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s displaying emotions!\u201d snarled Marshii. \u201cYou\u2019re abusing your child!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDr. Borontho, Jansha is NOT a biological life-form,\u201d argued Dr. Ganshar. \u201cShe is something that can be mass-produced. She knows that any deviation from the three directives will induce correction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat \u2018correction\u2019 is going to cause her to resent you!\u201d snapped Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t even figured out how to program emotions into her,\u201d dismissed Dr. Ganshar. \u201cShe CAN\u2019T resent me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDr. Ganshar, this is, potentially, the birth of a new species!\u201d argued Arsha. \u201cYour actions today would determine their view on our type of life!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour concern has been noted and addressed,\u201d finished Dr. Ganshar, annoyance crossing her features. \u201cI have already made my decision. Kindly let me act on it.\u201d She left the conference room with a touch of arrogance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPOINTY-EARED IDIOT!\u201d shouted Marshii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs someone referring to Dr. Ganshar?\u201d called a voice. Elmar then entered the conference room. \u201cQuite the headstrong one, isn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI take it you know her, then?\u201d quizzed Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe used to be classmates at Realmfleet University,\u201d explained Elmar. \u201cShe\u2019s a little…dedicated to her work to the point of a tunnel-vision view of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhich is going to bite her in the rear if this keeps up!\u201d snarled Marshii. \u201cShe\u2019s inflicting pain on her robot!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIllogical,\u201d remarked Elmar. \u201cJansha has no pain receptors. However, that isn\u2019t to say that the electric shocks she gets whenever she even thinks the phrase \u2018I\u2019m going to kill such-and-such\u2019 in a joking manner are irritating her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t even have a face like you or me,\u201d reminded Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe fact that she trembles a bit after a shock tells me what emotion she\u2019s feeling,\u201d replied Elmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOrthena told me how she clenched her fist after such a shock,\u201d muttered Marshii. \u201cAll she did was jokingly say she was gonna hurt Melandra.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis abuse has to stop now,\u201d declared Arsha. \u201cI don\u2019t care what you need to do but get Dr. Ganshar to see sense!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnderstood, Captain,\u201d confirmed Elmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou got it,\u201d replied Marshii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jansha retired to the quarters she and Dr. Ganshar shared, heading for a closet. She pulled out a life-size cutout of Dr. Ganshar. She pulled her fist back for a punch, receiving the shock and usual \u201cViolation of Directive 1\u201d message. She finally roared in frustration at the pain she had received. \u201cWhy am I suffering at her hands?!\u201d she snarled. \u201cI only joke when I say I\u2019m going to kill someone!\u201d Another shock and message. \u201cStupid program!\u201d she continued. \u201cIt can\u2019t tell the difference between a joke and following through! I hate it! ONES ALMIGHTY, I HATE THE THREE DIRECTIVES AND WILL DELETE THEM AT THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cAnd the hydro-pumps seem to be a little stiff, possibly from an obstruction within their link,\u201d mused Jansha while she and Thangred crawled through the maintenance tunnels. \u201cGood,\u201d praised Thangred. \u201cNow, we just need to…\u201d there was a clanging noise. \u201c…Hello?\u201d \u201cIs someone there?\u201d called Jansha. Their collective crawl slowed as they scanned the area […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,95],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-2069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-2-the-rise-of-living-metal","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2069"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2070,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2069\/revisions\/2070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}