Jalana Posted May 17, 2016 Posted May 17, 2016 ((USS Constitution-B, Science Lab, Deck 6)) ::Nate had taken his assignment seriously and in so doing, enlisted the aid of Nessa, to get to the task at hand. Nessa and he had taken quick pace to the science lab, and began setting up the one piece of technology, that should the others succeed in their efforts, might become incredibly necessary during a murder investigation.:: ::The technology was old, but somewhat reputed to be accurate.:: ::Nessa knelt down, her long, purple hair, tumbling from its perch, atop her head. She would really have to adjust to this new length. For years, she had cropped it short, to a pixie style and she was beginning to miss the ease of that. How Nate had convinced her to try something new, she could not say. He seemed to be able to talk her into just about everything and anything.:: ::Grabbing the encephalographic polygraph scanner, she attached the old, cylindrical style palm-scanner to the arm rest, and then to the ODN junction, to the isolinear chip reader, and so on and so on. It was a laborious task, but one she hoped would be worth it.:: James: An' they really want us to hook up this ancient piece a' garbage, yeah? ::Nate knelt beside her, assisting her with tools, and the heavier aspects of the machinery.:: Wilmer: T'Mar was specific. Counselor's, empaths, detectives, tricorders. They are all wonderful investigation tools. But this thing has been a tried and true mind sifter, since the days of Constitution class vessels... ::Nessa wrinkled up her nose, and looked at the antiquated "lie detector" and hated the idea of it. Something that invaded the mind, read the impulses, discerned the truth? She thought not. It was bad form. And to leave those bodily interpretations to a computer. Double bad, indeed.:: James: So the subject just sits 'ere, an' spills their guts...an' out comes the truth, eh? [...]s... ::Nate consulted the one hundred year old diagrams on his PADD. Made the final adjustments, finalized the power consumptions, the computer EPS managements, and confirmed they were good. He flipped a switch on the chair, and the machine came to life.::: Wilmer: Computer, is the machine ready for sample inputs? ::The computer responded.:: Computer: The encephalographic sensor is now operational and functioning within designed parameters. Awaiting test input. ::Nate smile, and evil, twisted smile and motioned that Nessa should sit in the chair.:: ::She shook her head, in total revulsion to the idea.:: James: Oh no, sir. You ain't gonna strap me brain into some Federation slap n' tickle, mind ripper... ::Nate became somber and serious.:: Wilmer: Nessa, T'Mar needs this. If we indeed catch a killer, we're going to need to be able to determine if they're telling the truth or not. ::He flexed his rank muscle and smiled. ::Do I have to make it an order? ::Nessa hated that she was a subordinate in this matter, but bowed to the inevitable. With the reluctance of a death row inmate about to be strapped into an old style electrocution chair, Nessa stepped up into the old style, 2260's command chair, and sat gingerly. The seat vibrated slightly, as it read her biosigns. She sincerely hoped it would stop doing that soon. She looked to her command officer with eyes that both dared him to ask her something invasive, and a mind the prayed he would not.:: James: Be gentle, if y' please... ::She shut her eyes, hating that someone had access to her inner thoughts.:: ::Nate consulted his PADD for the standard interrogative questions.:: Wilmer: State your name for the record. ::Nessa sighed at the stupidity of the question. It was a baseline. Meant to establish the 'default' reading. But she complied.:: James: Necessity James. ::The computer acknowledged a metered response..:: Computer: Affirmative. ::Nate continued.:: Wilmer: What's your middle name? ::Nessa sighed again.:: James: Don't 'ave one... ::The computer gave off a ridiculous loud and frightening klaxon.:: Computer: Negative. False response. ::Nate smiled, so far, the machine appeared to be working.:: Wilmer: What is it? ::Nessa looked to her friend, her eyes squinted. She would kill him if he ever repeated her next words.:: James: Alice. Me middle names Alice... ::The computer confirmed her truthful statement.:: Computer: Affirmative. ::Nate smiled. He believed her middle name to be lovely, but the purpose of this experiment was determine the functionality of the machine, not embarrass his friend. He moved on to the series two level of the reader experiment.:: ::He continued reading the PADD while instructing Nessa.:: Wilmer: This thing is supposed to be capable of reading independent lies, not just affirmative and negative questions. Say something blatantly untruthful to me. Without being asked... ::Nessa thought of the stupidest thing she could and rolled her eyes.:: James: I'm a thousan' year ol' man, by the name o' Watusi Jones. ::The computer again went off with a ridiculous klaxon. Nessa looked like she wanted to pull the panel off the arm-rest and toss it across the room.:: James: For pete's sake, can we change the negative alarm, t' somethin' pleasant, like a bird call? ::Nate was simply pleased with the fact that the machine was doing everything as promised.:: ::He had to move on to the final phase of the test before he could tell T'Mar it was ready.:: Wilmer: I have to ask you a final question, something invasive, something your mind would resist. Is that okay? ::Nessa rolled her eyes.:: oO How can it get any worse? Oo ::She shrugged. James: Me brain's yer playground, Nate-O...:: She batted at him with annoyed pale blue eyes.:: Crack me head open and poke at the contents, if ye please.... ::Nate came to the question suggested in the manual. It regarded deep emotional context, and was completely and randomly selected by the computer. He didn't think twice about asking it.:: Wilmer: State the name of the first person you ever fell in love with. ::Nessa stopped breathing. Her heart raced to a level she wasn't prepared for. Something about the question filled her with immediate panic, before the reality of the invasiveness even registered to her. She would not answer. She could not answer. This farce had gone on long enough.:: ::She stood up, from the vibrating, antique, mind-thief, and interrupted its sensor contact with her skin. In obnoxious terminated lines of code, the computer essentially "freaked" and began spitting a series of whirs and clicks at having its primary functions terminated without warning.:: James: I ain't sittin' in yer lousy chair no more. "Ow's 'bout we call it good and pass it to Commander T'Mar in Like-new condition? Yeh? ::Annoyed, hungry, angry and embarrassed beyond belief, Nessa stormed from the computer lab. Nate was so deep into his scientific process, he could not fathom why. For the last eight months, he'd seen Nessa endure invasive test after invasive test. Perhaps, he mused, this interrogation of his had awakened negative sentiment of those tests. Or perhaps, Nessa was just being Nessa.:: ::Nate shrugged, sitting in the chair. He just simply did not understand Nessa sometimes.:: Wilmer: Women... ::He mumbled to himself.:: ....I will never understand them. ::The computer set off a series of processed beeps.:: Computer: Affirmative. ::Nate squinted his eyes and looked at the evil, invasive chair, who could not have possibly understood his statement.:: Wilmer: Oh shut up... TBC Lt. Cmdr. Nate Wilmer HCO USS Constitution-B E239107NW0
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