Style sense

"Do you enjoy drawing?" you asked. "Would you rather do that instead of cleaning?"

"Yes, Tawny like to draw much better than cleaning, but Tawny must clean to stay on ship," she explained.

Even if some of the Cunis appreciated Tawny's work, the Greys probably wouldn't see any value in Cuni artwork, and it seemed unlikely any of the other species on board the Starpoint would either. On Earth, artwork of this level would be considered rather juvenile, but with training she might be able to improve her drawing skills significantly. On the other hand, there might be related skills that she could master. "Perhaps there is some other role aboard the Starpoint that would better utilize your artistic ability," you suggested.

She looked puzzled. Her brow furled, one of her ears wiggled, and her cute nose twitched as she tried to think of something. You glanced back at Ginger and saw she had arranged a few of the pages showing scenes of her and Tawny engaged in various sexual positions. By now she'd begun to rub herself even more vigorously.

After several seconds, Tawny interrupted your show and admitted, "Tawny not know." She pointed to the nearest drawing which depicted a typical mundane day of chores. "Machines make better pictures. Tawny stuck with cleaning."

"Better? By what criteria?" you muttered. It was rhetorical, but an idea formed in response. You stood up from the table and stepped toward Tawny. "Machines make pictures based on how they're programmed. The results may be accurate and detailed, but they lack artistic style," you explained. "MPAD-24, please display an image of Tawny cleaning the hall," you ordered.

Soon your floating companion produced a scene captured by one of the Starpoint's internal visual sensors showing her at work in one of its hallways. "See," you continued. "The image just shows a Cuni cleaning the wall. It's visually correct, but it has no style." Then you pointed back at the sheet with the Tawny's drawn version of a similar activity. "In your drawing, you made the hallway larger and more daunting, emphasizing the size of the task. Even the bucket has character - you've made it look small and unsightly, implying that it's unfit for the job. Meanwhile, your expression clearly conveys your boredom while the slumping posture shows your fatigue." You pointed back at MPAD-24's display, "That's just an image," then you pointed at Tawny's pages and emphasized, "Your drawing has artistic style."

Tawny's eyes widened. "It does? Is that good?" she asked.

"Yes, Tawny, it's very good." You were already on a roll, but now it was time to spring your plan. "Do you know something else that features artistic style?" She shook her head. You stepped toward the room's MatGen console and activated it, and then navigated to a set of Cuni garments. "Many clothing designs include various degrees of artistic style. The captain has authorized me to produce outfits for each of you, but I'm neither a clothing designer, nor someone who knows the first thing about Cuni fashion. For that, I'd need to find someone who has artistic style and is intimately familiar with Cuni tastes. If someone on board the Starpoint is qualified, they could work as my fashion designer. Any ideas?"

Before Tawny could answer, Ginger suddenly moaned, "Oh, Tawny!"