Ambition

“How about we put her under guard around the clock? By someone super conscientious, always alert, never tiring or bored, who has the power to instantly render her unconscious. Someone who can read her thoughts, know her intentions and inclinations the second she conceives them.”

“Implant the remaining sentient AI in Flotsam’s skull? Hmmm. Preferable over the only alternative, reluctantly murdering Flotsam. You know ... you’re really pretty smart at times, JoAnn!

How do we accomplish the surgery to implant the chip? Ah, you’re not only smart, JoAnn, you’re devious. If she dies a victim of amateur surgery, it’s not murder! I knew I was wise to never fully trust you.”

“Remember when you worried you had overlooked something?”

“Wasn’t an oversight. A doctor general practitioner, a trauma surgeon, a dentist/oral surgeon, who also makes dentures and straightens teeth? And don’t forget a psychiatrist? Unless a ship is a luxury liner carrying hundreds or thousands of passengers, ships don’t generally carry ANY medical staff. The specialties in medicine from obstetrics to oculists, pediatrician to neural surgery, there’s no way we could have recruited or housed such a major staff to be expert in all disciplines. I didn’t fail to consider inviting a doctor, I decided not to. We are better off fending for ourselves.”

“How are you to fend for yourselves?”

“For decades beginning with vocal marine radio, ships carried a special book, titled ‘The Medicine Chest’. It’s an illustrated compendium of diagnostic procedures and even surgeries. Pictures of varied severity of injury, simple versus compound fractures, or stages of diseases.

First, second, and third degree burns comparative photos, for example.

A doctor was retained on shore, who was also provided with a copy of the book.

In event of serious injury or illness, the captain was patched through to the doctor via radio and telephone call. The doctor and captain consulted using the book as a visual aid, both being on the same page literally. The captain behaved as a virtual extension of the doctor’s eyes and hands. Attempted to.”

“Who is your consulting physician now?”

“The sick bay computer with every iota of medical data that exists, updated and current until the minute we went beyond range of Internet access.”

“I suggest you allow ME to be the extension of the Sick Bay medical computer.”

“That was my intention from the beginning of my decision, JoAnn. There is a big BUT goes along with it. While you can control my hands with nearly infinite more precision than I can, and I expect you can process multi-data streams faster than I can, there is one thing I excel at, you wil never come close to even matching me on.”

“I find your arrogance to be the only thing I can’t do better than you.”

“Zippit”

“That not only shuts you up, it’s a clue. Humans are adept at intuitive innovations as solutions to escape never previously encountered situations and problems. Computers, even yourself, want to research solutions to similar past problems.

What humans do you can’t, and I’m better at than most humans, is thinking on my feet. Confronted with a novel situation? I’ll INVENT a solution. You can’t invent squat. Can you guess why this is true?”

“I can’t imagine it is true.’ Is what I expect you will reply. Then I’ll say,”

JoAnn hasn’t uttered a word to refute me.

“Exactly. No imagination. Humans constantly practice invention. Excuses! Oh my, you’re speechless, JoAnn.” Oh, my bad. “Unzip.”

“No argument, master. You have the final say always.”

Doesn’t sound like it.