Personal Notes on Being Less Human, Stardate 70586.03

Posted on Thu 2nd Aug, 2018 @ 7:32pm by Elizabeth Anderson M.D.
Edited on Thu 2nd Aug, 2018 @ 8:53pm

991 words; about a 5 minute read

Notes on the humaniforms who call themselves Daneel Olivaw, Hari Seldon, Gladia Delmarre, Elijah Baley, Arkady Darrell, and Podkayne Mars.

At Lieutenant Ildaron's suggestion, I have been meeting with the humaniforms employed by Jade Lantz at Orchids & Jazz. They were originally, and still are, employed as the cleaning crew in her restaurant, although Ms Lantz has given them considerable leeway in learning other skills and even allowed them to accept work with outside sources, notably Durant Repair Services.

In my conversations, I've noted that there are differences developing among the six. They are not exact duplicates of one another. Here are some of the things I've recorded that show their differences. I have not recorded their similarities, because that's a moot point. The information is available to me, or others to whom I choose to give it, in a matter of moments.

• Daneel Olivaw. I list him first because he is the nominal head of the group. He is human-centric and of a scientific research bent, and he has a sense of humor. Only today did I become consciously aware of the fact that he researches only things which may have an effect on him or on the group as a whole. I was quite annoyed with myself for not realizing that.
  
  
• Hari Seldon. Hari likes science fiction, but he's practical minded. He can be a keen opponent in an argument, but is usually easy-going.
  
  
• Gladia Delmarre. Gladia dresses somewhat flamboyantly, with a subtle hint of sensuality. I suspect that may be a learned behavior, because this model of humaniform has no sexual nature, per se. Gladia's opinion of the various biological species is more of a multi-tasking role than Daneel's opinion. He has chosen a group with whom to identify. Gladia has not, in spite of her appearance as human.
  
  Gladia developed an interest in interior decorating, which I believe she perceives as an advantage to her normal programming. This may be one way in which the humaniforms can, in a very limited way, overcome their programming. While the group worked for Durant, she designed the company logo and arranged the furniture for an efficient work flow.
  
  
• Elijah Baley. Elijah likes mysteries, both to read and to research. Again, the research of a mystery must have something to do with the welfare of the group or himself. He could speculate, for instance, on my purpose in asking many questions, and postulate an answer, but only because it had the possibility of affecting one or more of the group. Without that connection, he immediately lost interest in researching why I ask so many questions.
  
  
• Arkady Darrell. I know the least about Arkady. He is quiet, and he listens more than he talks. This makes it harder to get a read on him. Is is interested in food, and in the food/energy conversion process. With my new realization of the humaniforms limitations, I find this a logical area of interest. Energy, charging, is required of all of them, and how much he can gain through eating would then be an interest related to his/their welfare.
  
  
• Podkayne Mars. I don't know a significant amount about Podkayne, either. She also dresses flamboyantly, but more like a teenager flouting parental restrictions. That's odd, because there are no restrictions specifically for her, of course. She does have a sense of humor, or that's what I call it with her and Daneel. It acts like a sense of humor, comes across that way. I'm still investigating exactly why that should be.
  
  There is something more child-like about Podkayne than the others, as if she isn't fully grown, fully developed. I cannot see that her work is in any way different, or that her abilities are less or even simply different. She just seems to have an air of younger about her, and the others fondly treat her as if she were a younger sibling. Could she have absorbed their attitude and be feeding it back to them in some kind of relationship loop?

The only other things I know for certain are these:

1. Men like anchovies on their pizza, Podkayne likes pepperoni and pineapple.

2. They haven't gone out in the Promenade alone or as a group without a human companion.

3. The group works by consensus, and still learns from Jade, but are becoming less dependent on her as they grow, and as they explore the ship's computer database.

4. They have a sort of shorthand internal communication with one another, made possible by their connection to the starbase computer.

And now I come to myself. Why did I allow myself to forget that they have limitations they cannot break through? When Damion first suggested I see them, I was certain they were programmed to be less than I, and that is correct. Somehow in getting to know them, I allowed myself to disregard that, and began to see them more as Damion does. I forgot they have limits. I forgot that discussing literature intelligibly doesn't mean they will outgrow limits they cannot outgrow.

Now, my question is this. Why? The logical thought that keeps popping up, the one my counseling training tells me is valid, is that I'm lonely. When I'm with them, I can also forget that I'm the only one of my kind on this vast starbase. If things go wrong with the protections I've set in place, Starfleet could see to it that I'm the only one of my kind ever.

Being with the humaniforms is ... not stressful. I don't have to think about all the things that plague me in the middle of the night. I can enjoy the comfort of another species that is, if not exactly like me, at least similar.

It's sloppy research. It's classic counselor-falling-for-client stuff. It's so wrong. Yet, it's so human.

 

RSS Feed

Comments (1)