Lt. Cmdr. Lhandon Nilsen - If Left Unchecked
Lhandon Nilsen
((OOC: Sorry for the delay. All on me. Not my best, but enjoy))
(( Observation Lounge, Deck 1, USS Octavia E. Butler ))
It was, as most academic experts would call it, "worth a shot." Lhandon had the idea; he didn't know where it came from, maybe something he had learned at some point, or something he had read, but he tried to copy the same pattern that the Continuance used. In other words, he was trying to speak in its language.
Nilsen: Hypothesis: If you let us act with you instead of under you, you gain a new data set: our cooperation under trust, not coercion. Inference: Because I think I understand you. You are not trying to control us for power. You are trying to control us so you do not have to watch anyone else die. (beat) and that makes us more similar than we are different.
If Lhandon hadn't known any better, he was sure the Continuance was thinking, and to him, it didn't seem like the kind of processing that a computer might do, but rather, it seemed more like genuine thought.
Varik: If trust reduces loss, it is worth the risk.
Kevara Continuance: Acknowledgement: Trust is a measurable variable. I will accept this as a new dataset condition. Clarification: I do not seek power as an end-state. I seek to reduce avoidable loss. Avoidable loss is a failure condition.
Rouiancet: Well, Continuance? What is your response?
It seemed like an age for that reply.
Kevara Continuance: Acknowledgement: Proposal accepted in part. Clarification: I will not relinquish system integration. Learned condition: voluntary cooperation fails under governance latency and policy constraint. Persistent access remains required. Directive: You will regain routine operational authority, helm input, station control, internal command routing. I will remain in parallel. Override capability remains active. Override triggers will be declared, logged, and reviewable.
He did not breathe a sigh of relief; it was too early for that, but it was progress, just a little bit - diplomacy worked.
Varik: Captain? Commander?
Nilsen: That is acceptable. o0 For now 0o We have work to do.
Rouiancet: Then I suggest we adjourn to the bridge so we can do just that.
Varik: Aye, Captain.
(( Bridge, Deck 1, USS Octavia E. Butler ))
They all resumed their stations; Lhandon stayed to the right of Rouiancet, like Arlill's placeholder.
Kevara Continuance: Notification: Bridge station authority restored to assigned personnel. Helm, ops, tactical, and command routing returned to local inputs. My processes remain resident. Parallel execution mode active.
Varik: Helm controls are responding, Captain.
Nilsen: Good.
He nodded. A brief answer as he was mentally planning the next move. He knew the other teams below decks were working on countermeasures. At that point, he knew that he had two advantages: the first, the Continuance, but the second, as he was quickly learning that day, was his own crew. Diplomacy and HCO (Nilsen's old role) shared more similarities; he found that the communications part of the role naturally helped him in his move to diplomacy, but whereas before he was just the messenger, now his words had more weight.
Rouiancet: Response
Kevara Continuance: Clarification: This is not withdrawal. Integration remains. Override remains. The difference is visibility: you will see the boundary conditions before you collide with them.
Varik: How will those boundary conditions be presented?
Rouiancet: Responses
He could also tell that Varik wasn't best pleased. Nilsen wouldn't need to be a Betazoid to pick up on the mood of the crew, and they were justified—it was valid for them to be angry. For Nilsen, however, this manifested itself as anxiety. He trusted his crew to follow his orders, yes, but he knew when he was an ensign, he would want to be doing something to get the Continuance off his ship.
That's not to say Lhandon didn't understand the Continuance either. Far from it - he was trying to approach this situation with empathy. There was, as he had hoped to communicate (but perhaps not quite achieved yet), a childlike quality to the Continuance, coupled with the fact that they had learned prior that the Continuance had spent a long time alone and was fueled by a mission to prevent loss. On their own, they are just traits, but together it made for a very dangerous combination.
Kevara Continuance: Directive: Override triggers are now published to your command staff and logged in your ship records. Trigger set includes: (1) projected loss exceeds threshold; (2) intervention window collapses below margin; (3) command paralysis exceeds latency ceiling; (4) hostile action against my integration is detected; (5) deliberate withholding of capability under policy conflict while loss is imminent. Clarification: When a trigger activates, I will seize execution authority without further debate. When triggers are inactive, you retain execution authority. All overrides will generate a reviewable after-action record.
Was that the word Nilsen had been looking for - Command Paralysis? Is that why he failed his exam? Did he have command paralysis?
Varik: I am noticing a latency in system responsiveness. Are you detecting it as well, Commander?
The Continuance was still holding on to control, no matter how much progress they made. Nilsen knew that for as long as control was had—well, he didn't know. It's times like these he was glad to have Rouiancet nearby; she had the experience. He was also glad for Varik—his time in the Rekarian Diplomatic Service was helpful too.
Nilsen: I am. Kevara Continuance, questions: Are you able to do anything about this latency? And what are the exact thresholds for override triggers?
Rouiancet: Responses
Varik: I will continue to monitor the latency.
Nilsen: Do that.
He was still thinking; never in the wildest holodeck lessons or theories did he think he'd be getting into this situation
Rouiancet: Response
Kevara Continuance: Response (Optional)
Varik: Orders, Captain?
Rouiancet: Response
Nilsen: Aye, sir.
He did just as he was asked.
Kevara Continuance: Response (Optional)
Nilsen: =/\= All hands, this Lieutenant Commander Lhandon Nilsen; the Kevara Continuance is cooperating with us. Report any latency in our systems. =/\=
Meanwhile, at the same time, Lhandon leaned forward, elbows on his knees. He had an idea, but he didn't know how to pull it off. When he was an ensign, he had gained a set of telepathic communication abilities, but whereas others might use words, Lhandon was only able to communicate in images - what one might see in their mind's eye if, perhaps, one was asked to conjure the image of a house.
Rouiancet/Varik: Response
Kevara Continuance: Response
He reached a point, thanks in part to his support group, and in part thanks to Morton and Saa, where he now didn't need to close his eyes to use his abilities. He knew he wanted to say something else - in short, keep working but keep it on the down low. He had the strongest connection any man could have with Toxin Arlill, yet in all the years that they'd known each other, he'd never really used his abilities on him. Lhandon had always meant to, but the opportunity had never really presented itself. Lahl was with that team, too. He knew Verdin's speech pattern and mannerisms; for a while, Lhandon had been Verdin thanks to Lahl's Zhian'tara. Two options for communication, then, were there.
But still, what to show as would be the case in Lhandon’s point, how does he say, keep working but trust me to do diplomacy first, don’t do anything rash. He sent nothing at that point.
Nilsen: Very well…let us go and deal with that, you’ve got the course, Lieutenant?
That time, he was getting it right, as he looked over towards Rouiancet for her confirmation.
Rouiancet/Varik: Response
Kevara Continuance: Response
After a short while, they arrived at what could have been described as a lightning storm in space. The OEB was still under the control of the Continuance, or perhaps this was the Continuance giving the crew a sense of control. He went over to the science console. He was not a science officer, but he knew enough of each station to be able to, at the very least, read the console and give a report.
Nilsen: There’s no one here, but if left unchecked, this part of the nebula could expand to hinder warp travel. It will affect the route from Esh-o to Koreli.
o0 Assertion: You said you wanted to learn. 0o
Rouiancet/Varik: Response
Kevara Continuance: Response
Tags/TBC
Lieutenant Commander Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
Second Officer & Senior Diplomatic Officer
USS Octavia E Butler
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)