Quadruple Yahtzee

Daphne's enhanced abilities had been the result of dabbling with forbidden medical procedures, but her presence aboard the Starpoint didn't seem all that dangerous. She was just a smarter than average bunny girl. "Daphne looks like a normal Cuni, but she's smarter," you observed.

"She is much more intelligent than other Cunis," Orphic clarified. "The changes to Daphne's genes are unprecedented, and I'm still studying the full impact to her abilities. I'm not sure if your race is familiar with games of chance, but some races we've encountered play them with various polyhedral shapes. The result of Daphne's gene update is similar to a set of those polyhedrons being cast and all landing with the very best outcome possible."

"Yahtzee!" you joked. "My race plays various games of chance. Yahtzee is an ancient game I've played that uses 5 cubes, and if all land with the same face upward, that's worth the most points."

"This would be more akin to four times that many cubes, all landing on the ideal side," Orphic replied.

"Quadruple Yahtzee, I guess," you replied. The odds of twenty dice coming up all sixes must be over a quadrillion to one. And Daphne was the result. "She's a very lucky girl. How much of this does she know?"

"We've attempted to keep it a secret," Orphic began. "However, on a few occasions she managed to bypass the security on her console and once she found some of her files. Those included a reference to Project Gradient which I removed soon after discovering her access. As a precaution, there is also an algorithm in place for limiting her test scores to avoid unwanted scrutiny."

That explained why her tests had perfect answers up to a certain point and the rest of the questions were left blank. She was probably answering them all correctly, but the algorithm was wiping out the final questions. "Altering her tests seems rather heavy-handed and unfair," you replied. "It's not her fault that's she's more intelligent. Shouldn't she be allowed to reach her full potential?"

"Be careful - that's a Primist view," warned Orphic. "What is her full potential? If her increased mental acuity was revealed, she would undergo endless tests. Her DNA would be mapped and countless zygotes could then be created to replicate her. Suddenly anyone could create similarly intelligent Cunis. Fast-developing. Expendable. Do you see the danger?"

"Soldiers!" you exclaimed.

"Or attack pilots, weapon developers, spies, and many other potential roles, any of which could quickly destabilize a region of the galaxy," explained Orphic. "This is why Daphne's abilities must be kept secret. Can I count on your discretion?"

It might not be fair to Daphne to keep her abilities hidden from her, but doing so would help keep her safe and prevent someone from creating and misusing an army of Cuni clones. "Yes," you agreed. "Are there any other secrets I should know about?"

After a long pause, Orphic finally spoke again. "I will contact you after you meet with Klix. You will likely have more questions then." Behind you, light appeared as the elevator door slid open. "You should return to your room now."