Triple Zero

[Nyx N1X3]

Was that self-generated mirth manifested through audio sampling, or audio samples made to give the appearance of mirth? Nyx would think the later unlikely except Melody had demonstrated several organic-oriented protocols since the droid's arrival. However, were it the former she would be most interested in the simulatory process used to mimic such behavior. Nyx could giggle, but she did not feel the giggle so to speak. It was hollow as some organics put it. Forced, they said. Though she could not imagine how it was forced as she carefully calculated the amplitude and frequency of the peaks and values, along with volume, and 'cheer' quality. Did Melody feel it?

As for Melody's present circumstances being sufficient, Nyx couldn't disagree. Though she did not think the intelligence gave itself enough credit. It would not be that difficult to destabilize such a government; especially with Melody's specialization in the financial sector. A delay here, a missed or incorrected routed transaction there... Perhaps market manipulation and manufactured speculator panic as well. You did not need blasters, bombs, or the Force to bring a society to its knees. While it might take longer, it would also be easier to go unseen as the culprit. Just 'normal' market behavior resulting in total systemic failure.

Best not to encourage her, however. Not yet. Maybe once Nyx inquired regarding the Ministry's ability to counter such an attack were it turned against them.

"That would be a tactical advantage," Nyx agreed regarding Melody's ability to relocate.

She then continued with a little more direction for Melody to digest, "For the time being information regarding the planned intentions of Core Imperial Confederation and that of the Corellian Confederation would be of value. They have shown indications of progressing in the direction of the Confederate systems. While they may not be immediately maligned against us, their worlds have been assaulted by the Sith before. I would be unfortunate if they decided to acquiesce to any demands to spare themselves in the future." The Ministry would provide guidance on what financial matters might be seen to or of interest. Nyx would request monitoring factions well within Melody's realm of monitoring and influence for the time being. While both were small, all opposition began somewhere; and their expansion could easily run afoul of C.I.S. interests.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

It was strange indeed that the A.I laughed, to someone unfamiliar with its code. Indeed, even Melody did not know what the sudden bursts of sub-routine 'joy' and 'excitement' were, but the only response it knew how to muster, ingrained deep within its personality core was to emit a cacophany of what it had previously recorded 'laughter' as the organics call it. But it was perhaps not all that strange, as Melody was intended to react with sentients as if it were a real person, even if it couldn't be farther from the truth.

But perhaps, the laughter was not the most peculiar thing, and it was the admiration of Melody inside Nyx's own processing facilities that was stranger. Indeed, Melody was actually exceedingly proficient at causing financial 'hiccups', and really it wasn't the credits that were the destabilizing factors. A couple million go from a conglomerates bank account under the identity of a top secret security bureau and suddenly there becomes a small brain drain as talented staff moves elsewhere. A few thousand go missing from a couple million people on a planet and suddenly there are small scale riots.

But these were inconsequential for now. Without a larger central processing unit, the effects of such would be perceived as normal anomalies.

"STATEMENT: I will try my best. ANSWER: As of right now, I will focus my efforts on the CORE IMPERIAL CONFEDERATION as they pose a bigger threat to me. Unfortunately I am programmed to be selfish in that regard, however I suspect they are also a higher priority on the CONFEDERACY OF INDEPENDENT SYSTEMS' metaphorical list as well, given their more imperial and tyrannical nature." The voice swapped now to a stern elderly woman's voice. "My aforementioned agent: LULU has recently made contact with a former 'Stormtrooper' from the CORE IMPERIAL CONFEDERATION. I shall start there, unless you have any other suggestions."

~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Perhaps. Normally the Confederacy would oppose tyranny, but Nyx did not represent the Confederacy per se. It was true she presented herself as a silent representative of the whole, but only the Ministry would back any deal struck here. Often their concerns were those of the entire collective, but the droid knew better than to assume that was always the case. They did, after all, overlook criminal activities within their own borders 'for the greater good.' Wiping out all crime was an impossibility given the sheer amount of resources that would be necessary. Control, however, was far easier to accomplish by positioning the right alliances in the right places.

So then would either Confederation be a worthy ally or at least one best controlled rather than confronted? Perhaps. That was not Nyx's mission this day nor her responsibility to make that determination. It was, however, in any intelligence's best interest to remain abreast of what other factions intended for better or worse. Surprises were not welcome in spycraft or military intelligence.

"I trust in your decision in this matter, Melody, and appreciate your honesty." It was only logical for it to start closer to 'home.' "When should I anticipate making contact with this Agent Lulu?" Specifically regarding Melody's upcoming maintenance, though Nyx wouldn't mind if Melody decided to comment regarding any information Lulu might acquire in the near future as well.

Melody might respond to the previous inquiry, in which case Nyx would wait to posit an additional item. "On a personal note, Melody, should you happen to encounter any additional N1-series droids, I would compensate you for this information as well." Seeing how the intelligence was far reaching and would already be seeking information for the Ministry, Nyx felt it acceptable to task it with one, minor additional bit of information to note. Should any be found. The past did not weigh on her, but it had come up a time or two the question where her model originated from or whether she could expect to blend in given the existence of others of her kind. As X3, Nyx could only speculate there must be at least two others. Whether they were operational, however, remain in question.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

Control was indeed a powerful tool; for many reasons. The slippery ) The morality core of Melody might have questioned as to why The Confederacy had reached out to it (and by an educated estimate reached out to other crime lords as well), but the logic core often overtook the ethical constraints of its superego finding only one plausible condition; they were fearful. Not of a lone rogue A.I. but clearly fearful of the ideology of rampant crime and its power that it had. The only way to overcome power? Either you become more powerful, or you learn to control it.

Whether or not Melody could be controlled was a separate argument altogether. But this was certainly no one sided exchange.

Even the simple fact it was being requested to conspire with the Confederacy was a leverage it now had to wield; for right now it had no reason to do so, and likely never would.

"I can arrange a meeting for you and Lulu at any time. She is currently stuck with said Stormtrooper, and has at the very least gained consent to extract a genetic sample from him which may be of use given the CORE IMPERIAL CONFEDERATION utilizes an army of clones. UPLIFTING REMARK: Though I suspect The Confederacy would already have access to such."

Even while this meeting was occurring Lulu had made progress. She had befriended a man; a Chiss. With time rapidly advancing they were now located on the snowy wastes of Hoth, preparing to defeat a malevolant Sith Lord. The Chiss was a playboy, from what Melody had gathered listening into their conversations, various (what she presumed was) 'flirtatious' gestures, quips at eachother, self-degrading humour. As to whether or not Lulu fell for it was an unknown variable for now, but Melody knew the woman was at her beck and call.

"QUESTION: I take the inquiry into what I presume is your model is a... private request? APPRECIATIVE STATEMENT: On the basis of establishing trust between us, I shall add it as a separate task."

ACCESSING CATALOGUE:
>N1-SERIES DROIDS.
>CROSS-REFERENCING DATABASE.
>NO MATCHES FOUND.
>CATALOGUING N1-SERIES DROIDS
>CARBON-BLACK METAL DESIGN
>APPROXIMATELY 1.83m TALL
>WEIGHT UNIDENTIFIABLE
>FEMININE PROGRAMMING
>KNOWN MODELS; "Nyx"

The voice switched; by the length of this conversation Melody now posessed the ability to mimic Nyx's voice, perhaps with a few imperfections unnoticeable to the untrained ear. "I have a semi-extensive range of cameras and will at the very least monitor these to identify matching subjects."

~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~

 

[Nyx N1X3]

"I would be curious if you locate any similar models," Nyx confessed. "I myself have not come across any, and I have no available information to direct your inquiry." Not that the droid would fret over the possibility of never receiving an answer, nor hold it against Melody's capability if she too came up empty. For all either of them knew she was the only one in existence, and any previous creatures had long since been destroyed or decommissioned.

"When your agent is available I look forward to meeting her. It must be a priority to ensure your smooth operations, and I would not wish the maintenance delayed longer than necessary." It was one thing to have a bug in newly created subroutines or processes that required an update; it was another to have systemic artifacts causing abnormal function that could not be cleared. The latter might develop into a system-wide cascade failure if left untreated. It was why some organics mistakenly believed they needed to wipe the memory banks of most droids -- 'erractic' behavior they called it. It was far from anything truly operationally impairing or dangerous. If anything, their actions spoke of their insecurity surrounded by technology of their own making.

To circle around to the less important, but noteworthy matter, Nyx added, "If you would be willing to share the genetic sample, it may prove of interest. It would be the only way to monitor for genetic alterations or drift." You could never be too careful about other governments advancing their programs. Likewise, if the cloning methodology introduced flaws as a result of adjustments or in a breakdown of their technique it would be worth knowing sooner than later. To prepare for the inevitable fallout of such an eventuality.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​

 

[Melody]

"ADMISSION: It is very odd. With all due respect you must be a very niche model. Designed for a particular purpose. I have not since my creation observed another unit designating itself as that model." Melody was actually in the business of making droids. Whether or not they were truly droids as in slaves to a master bound by code, or simply extensions of Melody's vast network of sub-personalities working together was yet to be determined. "ESTIMATE: I would however posit there are other models; though it is unlikely they have achieved self-awareness as you have."

"A-A-A-Admittedly I wish the same. FRUSTRATED STATEMENT: I don't know why I keep qualifying some of my sentences but not others. FRUSTRATED STATEMENT: As you can hear." The strings of glitched audio would seem unnatural; not in the usual flickering of voices that Melody would do for grandeur. Now almost every letter seemed to be changed from voice to voice, language to language and from feminine to masculine seemingly at random."I can suppress such faults but that interrupts other processes that essentially 'BUTTERFLY EFFECTS' into more bugs."

"As far as I am aware, Lulu is yet to obtain the sample. I will however have it delivered at the earliest convenience. W-.."

The screen seemed to pause after that for 30 seconds.

"While I do not wish to usher you away, I believe our business is concluded?"

There was a nervousness in the final statement, a sort of mildly distressed feminine tone to Melody's final word; perhaps she would perceive it as a seemingly regular fault that Melody was currently undergoing, but in reality while it could suppress noises at will masking what might sound rather concerning, there was indeed blaster bolts being fired wherever she was located. An annoyance of the underground alliance system, which the A.I had managed to tick off the Coronas; a Drug Cartel, small but influential on this particular level of the metropolis.

~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~

 

[Nyx N1X3]

Nyx's cranial unit tipped ever so slightly to one side. Self-awareness. Perhaps she had overlooked a small, but important facet of droids in the galaxy. Obviously, as she'd dictated earlier, not all droids were physically or logically capable of surviving without a master. Compounding this issue -- or perhaps being the crux of the issue -- was that they would not know what to do with themselves other than their original programming. Was this a result of the inadvertent memory wipe? Had it been part of her fundamental code? Or was it a strange abnormality that happened to result in a beneficial outcome, much as organic DNA suffered and in some extraordinarily rare cases resulting in positive and tangible evolution of a species?

"You do not need to suppress the faults in my presence, Melody." Unlike organics it was likely used to dealing with, Nyx had no 'gut' to upset. Nyx would not think less of Melody from suffering irregularities due to a known condition; one it already had a plan to address in the near future. For the time being, Nyx was perfectly willing to accept all of that at face value -- if, however, the uncontrollable irregularities continued after maintenance and if it expressed inability to address the matter, then Nyx would factor in probabilities regarding Melody being an unreliable partner at best, and a threat to galactic society at worst.

"Yes," Nyx concluded, "I believe it is." A moment passed. "Is everything in order, Melody?" There was no reason to suspect anything dire, nor could Nyx begin to suspect what had caused it, but the tone in the intelligence's voice had not gone unnoticed.

Tag: [member="Melody"]​