MSNPC Jetripar - Brash Self-Assuredness
Jira Jaran
(( USS Artemis-A, deck 1, Bridge ))
Bergmen: Naskaiks are still holding their position over the planet and keeping light us up with their lidar from time to time. Probably just to let us know they know we are here. ::glance back to his console before returning with his glance back to the commander:: Yeah, still keeping their weapons offline.
Jetripar sat back and steepled his fingers. If he'd been asked, he couldn't have said if it was confidence or resignation.
Jetripar: Letting me know they're here...
Silveira: If the Nascaik weren’t around I would say we start a hard reboot on the whole ship, but given our… Stand-off… I can’t order it. ::He turned to Imril:: Sorry, still I trust you will be able to get us rid of the Virus, Lieutenant Imril.
Imril: I appreciate the confidence, Sir. Problem is, the virus is so good at deleting anything from or about the Afalqi that we’re having a hard time maintaining any information about the virus itself.
Bergmen: So far, it does not seem like the virus would try to cripple the ship or alter critical systems to get rid of us - so that’s good. But maybe it’s just a question of time before the virus change it’s mind and starts deleting more than Afalqi from our sensors and databases. The sooner we get it out of our system and find at least some go-around, the better.
Silveira: OK; let’s see if we can pull our heads together over this. ::he glanced at Jetripar:: And please Secretary, feel free to jump in…
Bergmen: Firstly, we need to change our attitude towards the solution. What we are seeing so far leads me to believe it’s not a standard problem that would go away with the help of standard solutions.
Jetripar: Viruses like this are not uncommon in Da'al circles, if I'm being honest. They're hard to trace and eliminate, so it can keep an opponent very busy.
Imril: Down on the planet, Ensign Gavrin suggested there is a synth intelligence, or something approaching it, at work with this virus. What if we fight it as one?
Bergmen: Agree. That thing feels more alive and evolving than preprogrammed, so it would be good to actually stop for a moment, throw it a stick, and watch. Analyze, measure, understand. We need to get to the point of responding rather than reacting before we can retake the initiative and initiate.
Jetripar: It doesn't seem like you can afford to wait too long.
Silveira: Response
Imril: Right now, we’re playing its game, and it’s winning. We need to change the game. Frustrate it.
Bergmen: But how? I don’t think it has ego or emotion to get frustrated. In the end, it is a machine. It has a command line, protocols, parameters, and a core database on us and our behavior patterns, on our technology, and this ship, et cetra - while we don’t have exactly something like this on it.
Jetripar: The viruses my colleagues use are nowhere near this sophisticated, but they might provide a starting point, at least. I'm sure I could find an example, if I could be permitted to access my home databases.
Silveira: Response
Imril: We could start the computer generating more digital simulations of the Afalqi based on what little information we can input. The shape of the ship, for example, whatever else we can recall. Enough ‘real’ information to make the sims notable to the virus. We distribute the sims to random parts of the ship, different padds, tricorders, whatever, for the virus to chase after. Keep it jumping. While we build up an anti-viral program here that we can pack into one of the sims and then send out everywhere. Plant some bombs for it to trip into.
Bergmen: That could work, even if just for a little while. We can definitely try it.
Jetripar admitted to himself that he didn't know much about the crafting of such constructs and was uncertain of how they operated. But he didn't have anything better to offer.
Jetripar: I have my doubts. Is it even possible to distract a virus?
Silveira: Response
Bergmen: So far, that virus is more like a software bug, working with the data processed by the ship computer and databases, yeah? What we confirm and work with is the presumption that the data received and created by our hardware are not corrupted immediately upon reception by the receivers themselves. We should consider a possible backup plan based on this, if Lieutenant Imril’s plan does not work.
Jetripar considered how he approached his own plans and agreed with the young officer.
Jetripar: Contingency plans are never bad. I endorse this.
Silveira/Imril: Response
Bergmen: What I thought by that, sir, is… we can connect to our sensors directly - to the hardware on the ship’s hull - and mirror received data to a closed, uninfected system in a shielded device disconnected from the ship computer and network. It will not help us solve the issue at hand - yes, I know - but at least, we will be able to see Afalqi, identify where they are, and what they are doing. Just enough to keep an eye on them until we find a way to get that virus cleaned out of our network.
oO And how would you be able to access that while keeping it disconnected from the other systems? Oo
But that was their problem. Jetripar considered again how to eliminate the issue itself.
Silveira/Imril: Response
Jetripar moved to his now-familiar console on the bridge. A few taps, and he was connected to the Da'al network. He considered briefly the danger of the virus being transmitted this way, but the security protocols in place would not let such a remote connection have anywhere near enough access to be aware that any such thing as the Afalqi even existed. The virus would have no concern over it.
Jetripar: I'm retrieving a version of a computer virus such as has been used in Da'al political intrigue. It was targeted to a very specific purpose, so don't worry about it doing any damage here.
Silveira/Imril/Bergmen: Response
He conceded the point.
Jetripar: You're right. It's much less sophisticated. I don't think we're even capable of producing something like you've found on your ship. But it's a starting point.
Computers were never something that Jetripar thought about in his down time. He largely left that to other people and let them tell him what he needed to know. He hired people to know about computers. But that didn't stop him from his own foolish confidence of having been responsible for people who were responsible for computers.
Jetripar: Maybe I'm out of line for suggesting this, but is it possible that something like our old, de-fanged viruses could help with a sort of vaccine? They could teach your computer what it's up against and how to fight it?
Silveira/Imril/Bergmen: Response
TAG/TBC