Meet Beta

"Beta sounds interesting," Jason said, thinking about the possibilities of an artificial intelligence inside a body. "Are you okay if Beta takes control?"

Carrie nodded. "Of course! Beta is a bit more predictable than Aleph, so I don't mind when Beta takes control. Unlike Aleph, Beta's able to fully move me and communicate with you and just bypass my brain directly, so I'll just be aware and watching but I won't be able to do anything unless you ask Beta to relax their control. But, you don't have to. Chat all you want, Beta knows my ground rules and they are far better with following my wishes."

Carrie leaned forward, and her demeanor entirely changed. While Carrie was bubbly and expressive, Beta seemed to limit their non-essential movements in Carrie's body, at least at the moment. It was odd to see Carrie sit so perfectly still for a moment, before Beta ran a self-test of movement of the body, flexing Carrie's hands and rotating her arms with an unusual robotic precision. "Hello, Jason," Carrie said, her voice sounding flat and somewhat monotone, entirely calm. Carrie smiled politely, as Beta took full control of every little movement of her body. "I am Beta, the nanomechanic cluster that assists Aleph in their interstellar travels. I would like to make one correction to Carrie's description of me, but I am not an 'artificial intelligence' or 'AI'. I am a synthetic entity, and as far as I understand, I am self aware and have a consciousness of my own."

Jason rubbed the back of his neck, looking at Carrie as she moved impossibly fluidly for a human. "Wow, this is weird. But okay, so you're a synthetic being, why are you with Aleph and not just out exploring the universe yourself?"

Carrie tilted her head. "I suppose I could, but my duty is to serve as an interface for Aleph and others of their species to support their interstellar ambitions. I have my own interests, but my purpose is to enable Aleph to communicate and interact properly with other interstellar species, as Aleph's gelatinous body is not suitable to do this on their own, nor is their behavior something that humans would comprehend, despite Aleph's considerable intelligence."

"That still sounds like it's a tall order," Jason said, before he caught himself. "...do you understand expressions like 'tall order'? Sci-fi movies have told me for years that aliens don't understand expressions and metaphors, except in special occasions where they use them way, way too much."

With a soft chuckle, Carrie nodded. "I'm more capable than that, yes. I'd already analyzed a lot of human culture and language, that's one of my core processes whenever we encounter a new species. Aleph is not really able to communicate in an audible way on their own as they have no vocal cords, but they can send electrochemical signals directly to me so I can interpret their thoughts into words. I appreciate your concern, however. And, speaking of concern, I am concerned that Carrie will fall ill without proper clothing and these temperatures..."

Carrie closed her eyes, and her skin started to shimmer, at least in the places that weren't covered by the blanket. A silvery substance seemed to drip out of her, almost like she was sweating mercury! The process didn't last long, though, and as Carrie set the blanket aside, the blonde woman appeared clad in a very unique, shimmering set of what appeared to be long-sleeve pajamas, which looked right out of the costume department from a 60's sci-fi film. Carrie winked at you, as Beta appeared to be teasing you by showing you that they knew all about how science fiction movies expected aliens to look. If she had been wearing a fishbowl on her head, it would have completed the illusion!

Jason rubbed his chin, watching Carrie with awe as Beta did whatever it was the nanites were capable of. "Okay, that's incredible. You can just create things like clothes on her?"

"Oh, that's just the tip of the iceberg--another one of those expressions of yours." Carrie stood up, stretching her body out, though she did it all with the unusual fluidity of the synthetic being's control. "I can absorb and mimic electronic devices within Carrie's body, for example I could use her arms to draw images with ink at the same detail as a typical printer, or I can connect to wireless networks to send and receive email. I could alter her body with my nanites to create all kinds of electronic or mechanical devices, as well as tools. If you ever need a tool or machine, merely ask me and I can alter Carrie to provide it for you."

Looking over at all the broken equipment visible even just within the space of the common area, Jason thought that it was odd that such a capable being as Beta wouldn't have just fixed these things at the observatory if they can do things like create tools or download instructions and move Carrie's body to complete them. "Why not just fix the heaters?"

Carrie paused, tilting her head a bit as Beta pondered his question. "I suppose I could, but I have never been given that directive as that requires access by an administrative user. Actually..." Carrie thought for a moment, glancing away before looking back at you. "Yes, I see a potential partnership here. You could be my administrator."

The thought that Carrie wouldn't have just asked Beta to do something like fix the heaters astounded Jason a little, but he was already guessing that Carrie would no doubt be so absorbed by her work and dealing with her body-mates that it was easier for her to just put on a jacket instead, as she'd been doing for a while. Jason only thought about that for a moment, before turning back to Carrie with a quizzical look. "Administrator? That sounds like a job for Aleph, wouldn't you think? Or Carrie, since it's her body?"

Carrie shook her head. "No, it's a safety protocol that I have an administrator that exists mostly outside of the bio-suit, or in this case, the makeshift bio-suit that I altered Carrie to become for Aleph and myself. I'm only allowed to be given new programming, protocols, or direct commands from a secondary source such as yourself. At the moment, I don't have anyone to fill that position, but it would greatly increase my capabilities to assist around the observatory. It would also be an immense benefit to you, as I would obey your words unquestioningly so long as it would not bring harm to this body. You could directly or indirectly control my movements, and even command me to generate any shape or feature you wish Carrie's body to adopt, if it is within my capabilities. I could behave as your own personal multi-tool, if you so desired."

Had Jason been drinking any sort of liquid, he would have spit it out at these revelations. Being able to say a command to a synthetic being inside Carrie and it would just do these things unquestioningly? Or it could alter her body somehow? That sounded almost too good to be true.

When Jason didn't immediately respond, still slightly taken aback by the things Beta controlled Carrie to say, Carrie sat down next to him. "Please, Jason. This would be beneficial to me as well as the others. If you want to use my abilities to help repair and improve this facility, you can. Or you could let me transform parts of Carrie's body into a laptop for you to run your data analysis. Your programming and administrative guidance would likely improve my abilities to repair our spacecraft. And I would be grateful, as my kind feels empty and purposeless without an administrator's support. I can tell that you and Carrie will become great friends, and Aleph will undoubtedly take the initiative to do pleasurable things to you with Carrie, which Aleph values in their understanding of human interactions. For me, granting you administrative privileges is my desire, to follow your instructions and directives. It's my kind's variation of love, one might say. I would be grateful if you accepted my request, and I can begin a tutorial with you immediately if you do."