Steve slowly descends the staircase in the Respite and rubs at the back of his neck as he makes his way over to the bar.
#Miner'sRespite – July 28, 2013
Galatea is already seated at a table, a glass of water before her and a datapad in her hand, which she is staring at intently but impassively.
Steve speaks with the bartender for a few minutes before receiving his drink and glancing around the room. His usual friendly demeanor is absent, but a smile returns to his face as he spots a familiar face. He quickly makes his way over to Galatea's table and sets his drink across from her. "Care for some company, Gal?" he asks
Steve takes a seat across from Galatea and takes a drink from his glass. "Could be better. How about you? How's that project of yours going?" he asks, his mood visibly brightening
Steve begins pushing his glass around with his fingertips absently, an amused grin on his face. "So how long do you have to do this for?"
Steve continues firing off questions rapidly, clearly entertained by the peculiar woman, "How close are you?"
It is hard to predict at this point. My improvement rate is likely to decrease as I approach optimized routines, but until that point, I cannot realistically estimate by how much and can therefore make no realiable time estimates.
Then I will be able to interact with perfect realism and a one hundred percent positive response rate in an unlimited range of situations, having gained invaluable data for the Cord-Hislop Aerospace software division in the process.
Steve takes another sip of his drink and quickly returns to his questioning. "This software... How does it-..." he begins, but quickly rethinks his question and clears his throat. "The other day you said your implants allow you to run V.I. software. What does that mean?"
I base my interaction with people purely on programmed routines, which I improve on a trial-and-error basis.
Steve tilts his head slightly, furrowing his brow for a moment. "So without those 'programmed routines'...?" he asks tentatively.
My brain is fully functional. Please limit questions about the nature of my implants and software to a minimum, as they are not usable sample material for me.
Steve goes silent for a moment, staring at his drink awkwardly once his interrogation has been halted. "So... What is that you were working on?" he finally asks, nodding towards the datapad before Galatea.
Galatea stares impassively at Steve for a moment before finally saying: "Context suggests that this is intended to be sarcasm."
Steve nods "That would be correct. Lighten up. Have a drink and relax. Wait-... you can have a drink, can't you?"
Steve sighs and leans back in his seat. "It won't mess with your... Programmed routines? Will it?" he asks.
Galatea 's datapad buzzes and the checks it immediately. "Ah. An unscheduled change to my appointed tasks. It seems I will have to re-optimize my schedule..."
Steve rubs at the base of his neck, feeling the onset of another migraine. "You don't say..." he sighs.
Of course. It is important to work efficiently... Optimization complete. Ah. I am afraid I will have to cut our interaction short, Mr Briggs. I have some calibrations to run on our latest targeting software frameworks and it is most expedient to do this as soon as possible.
Steve nods a few times without making eye contact. "Sure. Next time I see ya, you're letting me buy you a drink. We've gotta get you relaxed." he says, staring intently at his drink.