Out of the Frying Pan... (d20 Star Wars)

[Bobitron]

Glancing away from the droid to the only real human in the ship, she asks Tal, "Remar, is it? Do you think you could give me a crash course with one of those clone troopers' rifles later on? If we're going to Nar Shadaa, we'll probably need as many blasters on hand as we can get."

Tal's only reply is a soft snore. When you look over, his head is leaning back against the hull. It would appear years of service in the military has taught Tal to take sleep when he can get it.

 

[Kemrain]

Felia looks the human over, rolling her eyes and sighing. Casting a quick glance at the meditating cerean before turning her head back to the droid, she smirks, asking, "How do you put up with everyone sleeping all the time?" Without waiting for an answer, she states, "Novice- I'd like to win, for once. You can go first."

 

[Ambrus]

The transparent blue game board continues to slowly rotate as DRK-1X swivels its external sensor pod to scan the snoring mercenary in the corner. The pod quickly swivels to focus again on Tac as she speaks once more. In response to her second statement the game board ceases to rotate once the row of dark pieces is in front of her. Acknowledgment: Setting; novice. Statement: White moves queen's pawn to queen's row four. On the holographic board, a tiny glowing game piece moves forward. Perhaps not realizing that the woman's first question was rhetorical the droid answers Statement: I do not dislike the fact that most organic beings spend a third of their cycle unconscious. In the absence of a conscious organic to serve I am often able to pursue other activities unrelated to direct service.

 

[Kemrain]

Felia takes her turn, watching the droid intently.

"What else would a droid persue? I wouldn't think much else would be of interest to you."

 

[Ambrus]

The diminutive probe droid continues to displace the holographic pieces as the game continues, choosing less than optimal moves to provide Tac the oppurtunity to win as she wished. Statement: I often meditate when free from service.

 

[Kemrain]

"Meditate?!" The suprise in her voice and expression are quite evident, though they quickly turn into a smirk. "I hope that's not just a clever way to describe defragging your systems. What do you meditate on?" she asks, before offering a chesspiece and a set of coordinates for 1X to move it to.

 

[Ambrus]

The probe droid, which continues to face Tac with only a single sensor pod answers the surprised woman. Report: I mean to use the word as it is defined in my language database. To reflect on; contemplate. To plan in the mind. To train, calm, or empty the mind, often by achieving an altered state, as by focusing on a single subject. To think or reflect, especially in a calm and deliberate manner. To reflect deeply on a subject; think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes.

I meditate on my code to clear my active memory buffers by cross-referencing the data I have recently accumulated through experience with the data I have previously downloaded into my archival memory. By doing so, I am able to increase the number of associative connections of my neural network thereby increasing the effectiveness of my cognitive processing. I also evaluate the efficiency of my response-algorithms by measuring the effectiveness of my responses to newly experienced situations. I then endeavour to refine my response algorithms to increase my overall effectiveness and efficiency. These pursuits increase my overall potential. Request: Please endeavour to keep the volume of your voice low; Mistress Dofina is resting.

 

[Kemrain]

Felia listens to the quiet droid give its lengthy definitions and explain its motivation, most of what it says going over her head entirely. She blinks in suprise when it asks her to keep quiet.
"Oh, right," she starts, turning her head to look at the privacy screen wrapped around the one extended bunk. "Sorry," she spits in a rather sarcastic but quiet tone towards Dofina. Looking back up at 1X she gives him more chess coordinates and thinks a moment about what it said.
"So, you're not as much meditating as reprogramming yourself?" she asks, her tone making the question into more of a statement, fairly sure she understands what she droid is saying.

 

[Ambrus]

The droid continues to shift the game-board projection according to Tac's instructions. Overall, DRK-1X plays a competent but fairly straightforward game with clear opportunities for advancement that even a novice player should be able to exploit as long as she is paying attention. The end result is effectively a change in programming, but the meditations themselves are rather to determine what changes to effect and how best to effect the changes themselves with the final goal being to evolve into a state of advanced wisdom.

 

[Kemrain]

"An interesting subject," she admits, "but not one I know much about. I don't go in for the whole 'state of advanced wisdom' thing too much. I don't know how qualified a droid, or even a human for that matter, would be at deciding how effective their responses have been. We never see ourselves the way that others do," she says knowingly.

She regards the droid for a moment, dividing her attention between it and the game, before sighing and waving her hand through the holo-board.

"We're at a stalemate. I don't think there's much we can do, that won't take days, with only two pieces each. You play well, and you were going easy on me." she smirks, leaning back in the pilot's seat. "So what else do you do, when your mistress isn't badgering you?"