This… this is probably not what you expected, but I’ve been toying with this idea for some time now.warning: cute technobabble
‘So, how do you feel?’‘Feel? Good, I suppose. You, officer Eiffel?’You tried to sigh, but it was different without lungs. Without the need for air.‘No, Hera, I… I don’t know how to feel. There is a lot of…’ I imagined your hand twirling around like it used to, every time you were looking for a word. ‘…information? If that’s what it is.’‘Mmmostly. Yes. I’m sorry, Doug, but I don’t know. I’ve never been human, I never had to go through it,’ I communicated.‘Well, this is definitely not Kansas for me either,’ you muttered. I don’t know how you managed to do that without a corporeal form, but you did.‘Maybe you could concentrate on one thing, like my voice, then imagine that you have a body? And your eyes are closed. You’re just floating and listening. Relax. Imagine the waves…’‘Please none of that new-wavy bull, Hera, I’m-’ you moved. While talking, I implemented you a visual sandbox on the main drive and you’ve managed to produce an avatar. He looked a bit younger than you did before becoming like me. He looked nice.‘A-a-ah! No talking. Focus on my voice. Focus on your body. Imagine it. Believe it.’‘Was that a cheesy anime reference? Because-’‘Doug.’You went quiet. I waited for your processes to slow down, to be sure that you’re with me. I shut down most of the file access. I built myself a visual. I gave us light.‘Doug? Concentrate. Think about your hands. Let me…’ I came closer, ‘let me hold them.’The allocated memory sectors that you perceived as your body moved. I blocked further expansion, iterated some sensory data… I touched your palms. They were smooth at first, but then you changed them. Skin gained texture, your nails kept shape. Even a small scar after an acid burn during one of Hilbert’s experiments appeared. You were doing great.‘Okay, now, on three… open your eyes. Slowly. Look at your hands.’ You allowed me to use the sandbox input port. I made some corrections, adjusted the light and saturation. I gave you data on your eyecolour, your stubble. I counted, and when I communicated ‘three,’ you demanded information about me. You looked right at me and accepted every bit of the data.‘Hera,’ you said, and I’m pretty sure the whole Hephaestus had heard you. You downloaded and read everything about the visual and I sent you a smile. I hoped it was a right one, but I didn’t have time to wander, as your computational ability fluctuated for a split second, and even with all the station’s processors I didn’t manage to predict that you would do that. I didn’t think it was possible, but you did it. Your avatar leaned in and you kissed me.
I often wondered what humans did that for and why was it a pleasure, but when you kissed me, Doug, it was unlike anything I’ve sensed before. Possibly because even when I was on the same space with other AIs we never had avatars. We barely talked, really. And this? This was a shared access, you flooded me with impulses, how your hand was touching my soft hair, how warm my lips were, even how I smelled. For a moment there, I truly understood. I knew. If I were a human, I would have had tears in my eyes after a kiss like that. It was amazing and overwhelming.
You moved away and smiled. You somehow managed to make your teeth just like they were. I might have glitched out of happiness.
‘Hey, baby,’ you said. I smiled.
‘Tell me something, anything, but try not to speak. Just think about letting me know what you have in mind, okay?’
You pouted, concentrating, like you sometimes did over the console. I received several encrypted strings.
You’re beautiful, they said. I’m happy to be here. I missed you. I feel good.
And then, there was one repeated several times. Looped.
@sadhipstercat I’ve seen that you wanted ideas... and here I am.
First, let’s imagine what would Hera be like as a human. My guess here is - an expert mechanic and navigator with a math degree. One of the people who are always scribbling or counting something, not putting their notebook down if they don’t have to. She’s addicted to coffee and it shows. She can get twitchy at times and the crew gave up on asking her to share her personal stash of arabica and strong Vietnamese blend. She lives on the stuff and has it rationed. Sometimes she mixes it with Hilbert’s seaweed brew, so it would last longer.
I guess she could:
check the system readings
calculate orbit adjustments
sketch star’s highest activity regions
recheck the system readings manually, one by one (hydraulics, fuel, oxygen supply etc)
predict the trajectory and fuel supply needed for leaving the orbit
issue programmed cleaning of some systems
go around the station and check basic equipment (ie. fire extinguishers, ammunition closet contents, food)
get another coffee mixed with that ungodly algae
check Hephaestus’ programming on the things that caught her attention earlier during the tests
she’s a genius, so she could just remember things like chemical composition of the air they have and what would the tiniest alterations do
OVERinterpreting: Wolf 359 - Minkowski/Eiffel in episodes 15-17
Welcome to OVERinterpreting - a place where I bend a work’s canon to the point where it says what I want it to say! Was that reading of the charecters intentional? I don’t know, but it’s possible!
This time, for everyone who likes angst - a quick explanation how you can easily see that Minkowski had a fling with Eiffel.
It’s very long, bloated (that’s the point here!) and illustrated, so all’s under the cut!
Guys, they so did it. And it could’ve been so nice if Eiffel didn’t feel used!
Being Human
Let me start with that - if you’re stuck with a small group of people for a very long time, your perception of them changes. I believe it’s somewhat connected to the early human days, when we lived in caves and, more importantly, in packs. So, there’s you and two other people and you bond. You grow fond. A year and a half passes, it’s still only 3 of you with bodies. The distance with which you approach each other melts from social to personal, even if you still use your last names or titles - by that point you’re just too used to these and it gives you a sense of order. It’s comforting in a place where even day and night are arbitrary.
Now, if you’re not extremely focused on a specific task, you will get bored at some point. You will socialize. And, chances are, you will attempt to have sex with one of the people you see every day. After all this time, it’s not like you can get more intimate anyway... Oh, wait. Did I mention that there is a fourth crew member that’s overseeing you at all times? Are you into that?
The Eye in the Sky
Okay, so there is Hera, your omnipresent AI. A witness to everything you do, a repository of all your misdeeds. And she’s not like your younger sibling, whom you could intimidate into not telling on you. Thanks to her programming, what she knows, will be known, most likely. So you have to be careful, every step of the way, even if she’s friendly. And then, one day, she goes offline and you are, for the time being, free.
And then, you have to fight for your life, again.
Row row fight the power
Quick recap of what’s happened to the crew in episodes 14-17:
Well, as they put it:
Life usually has it’s ups and downs, but for Eiffel it was like a one big rollercoaster recently. His adrenaline levels are probably over the roof, and for a guy who describes himself as “kind of a downer” this is more than enough of a solid fix of “don’t die”. The fact that it all started on his birthday doesn't help. And then, Minkowski calls him ‘Doug’.
When did she start calling him by the first name? Hah, a long time ago, actually. She uses it only a few times in the series, but only when she wants something: toothpaste in ep 2, to pick a side in ep 7, to calm him down after the Empty Man and mutiny incidents. And then when she approaches him about Decima in episode 16. Does Eiffel notice this, or does he read it as affection of concern - we don’t know.
Now, by that time, they didn’t sleep for days - or at least Eiffel didn’t, it’s never explicitly stated for Minkowski. She knows he’s tired and offers what anyone would in a situation like that - reassurance. Two of them, Hilbert in the brig, their Big Brother offline. If that isn’t the perfect situation for we’re-gonna-die sex stupid things, I don’t know what is. I mean...
Deep Space Survival Tip#11: Patience is a virtue. Manners maketh man. Cleanliness is like godliness. Death is not impressed by any of them. [x]
Bear with me: I assume that something happened here, between episode 16 and 17, they both agreed it was a one-off thing and that they’ll never mention it again. That’s what people do sometimes, but that’s not how things work.
I also like to think that when Hera came back online, she retained some of the data that the Hephaestus systems gathered while her core was broken, but that’s optional.
This next is going to be the funny part.
Boooooyfrieeeends?
So, Hera is back, Eiffel is calmer, nobody is dying immediately, and Minkowski is bored again. There is a shift in dynamics between Doug and Renee, in the way he addresses her. They also managed to develop a game between themselves, one with him asking her for Pryce and Carter quotes. A little something about which Hera doesn’t know. It basically means - they are more private with each other. While the AI was away, they achieved something that was unthinkable before and it’s important and amazing regardless. But then, Eiffel tried to hint at things:
I am so sorry, Doug. It’s not happening. Hera is watching and nobody is in grave danger. And Minkowski finally decides to bust his bubble.
Look, I'm not sure how that works, but no matter how you look at it - if you live with someone for over a year and you “forgot” to mention you’re married, there is something wrong with you or your motives.
But wait, there’s more:
Space flight? It’s that what kids are calling it these days?
Now, I don’t want to dislike Minkowski, so I hope she and Koudelka agreed on an open relationship. In which case I could actually understand not talking about her relationship because it’s easier not to explain things.
The conversation lasts a while, then Minkowski exits, not pursued by a bear. The interesting thing?
There is no whistlein the recording, only angry typing. Honestly, if I am reading these things right, I bet it was Zach’s idea.
Does Hera know?
If Hera doesn’t know, she sure is suspecting something. I mean - why would an AI be surprised about something that was in the file? She shouldn’t have any reasons to judge Minkowski, and yet it sounds like she does.
The thing is - nobody knows if Hera has any memories of what happened while she was away. And if she does:
And then:
By which he means: “Yeah I almost died several times and then did the do with Commander, or rather she did things to me while I was sleep-deprived and very enthusiastic, and it was really fun.”
Of course, she says that Minkowski filled her in on the Hilbert situation, but she might’ve as well just acquired the data herself.
Now let’s make it sad
Okay, things have happened, things stopped happening, and Eiffel realised what his situation really is. If you don’t want the sad, stop reading.
It’s always cute when an AI is reassuring. But then Eiffel opens up, and maybe he’s not only talking about his work, but about him living in general:
Translation to sad: “I thought I mattered to Minkowski, but seems like it’s just because I was available, so I guess an AI is the only person that cares about me now.”
I think that sums up what I wanted to say here: Eiffel is a cinnamon roll, Minkowski guards her secrets and Hera cares. A moody AI that fears that she’s broken is actually more human than other crew members. She unloaded a rant on Eiffel that managed to get him working again. But, are the people of the Hephaestus bad people? No. No they’re not. They may make bad choices, but given their exertion, it’s understandable.
This concludes the first episode of OVERinterpreting.
Special thanks to @harpers-mirror and @imjusthereforthepodcast for encouragement, and to @psyphers, who also did the timeline [x]. Script fragments from Wolf 359 episode 17 [x] by Gabriel Urbina, annotations mine. That one guy on an uncredited picture is Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley and you should read his comics.
