Practice Is Better Than Theory

[Hildegard Modries]

The oceanographic site on Trieron (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Trieron) was breathtaking, and Hildegard (http://asset2.modelmanagement.com/mm-eyJ0Ijp7InIiOiIzMjAi/fSwiaWQiOiJpMjUzMzQz/MCIsImYiOiJqcGcifQ;;.jpg) appreciated attending a conference that was in a fine location. She hadn't expected an academic gathering about the intersection of cybernetics and ethics to take place there, but she wasn't going to complain. The Xenobiologist and Cybernetic Specialist hailing from Dzass IV spent most of her life devoted to her medical and technological research. Yet, she wasn't a huge fan of conferences. She wasn't anti-social by any means but over the last years, she had found conferences to be boring and mostly a show of patting one another on the back. She missed the older days when specialists actually asked difficult questions, challenged fellow scientists. Sometimes, even genuine and basic questions from a less educated crowd could shed a new light on one's research. It was why, she prefered keeping to publishing papers than presenting them at that point. She had little to no interest in parading and doing small talk when more compelling topics could be discussed.

It was her first time on a Metharg's University (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Metharg's_University) campus, and she was dying to see their labs. She would probably have a better time doing that, scribbling notes about her latest projects, than sit and try not to yawn in the audience as she was doing now. She was supposed to partake in a panel late in the afternoon, and she would need a lot of caf to stay awake until then. Right now, the participants on stage were all about protection of experience subjects. She hated seeing how most people thought themselves so well-meaning when saying that experience subjects were all forced to partake in ugly experiences. These persons obviously had never met individuals who had health issues that medical research might be able to fix.

She understood ethics, but to her people stopping others from volunteering, in full conscience, to anything were the ones others needed to be protection from. It was because of supposedly "good and caring" people like the idiots on stage that certain diseases had taken extra decades to be eradicated. Such petty and dangerous behavior wasn't to the half-Arkanian's liking.

[Besh]

It was crowded. It supplied me with a comprehensive list of the people here, the data pushed into a package by a digitally clawed limb up to our link.

I ignored it. I had not asked for how many people were here, I had been simply making an observation in our shared space.

"Welcome sir," a woman said to me as I entered the main hall. She pointed to a vidscreen up on the wall that was scrolling text with times and names. "Please, sign your name here. Are you a guest, a speaker, a presenter, or a reporter?"

"A guest," I answered, writing my name.

"How many days do you plan on visiting the conference?"

"Two days," I answered. She nodded, pulling a small coloured ident-card out and clipped it to a lanyard and handed it to me.

"We are having an orientation presentation on patient and subject safety in Hall A-1; it's the first presentation of the entire conference. Right down there. Please keep a note of presenters and activities. Some will be subject to long lines, if you wish to make to them, it would be advisable to leave maybe ten minutes before the last presentation is finished."

I nod, accept the datapad, and walk on.

"Welcome, miss. Sign here. Guest, speaker...?"

"Guest," the woman behind me said before I lost her voice in the loud murmur of hundreds of others.

A group of scientists were standing in front of a huge holoprojector, which had a huge diagram of a nervous system and cybernetic wiring connecting.

"The danger of playing with the nervous system is only the front of the asteroid. Even to modern science, the brain is something of a mystery, especially the connection between the electrical/chemical transfer system and their own connections between various parts of the brain. Without proper procedure..."

I stopped listening. Perhaps it was right. What would these people know?

IT IS HERE

I stopped, but didn't submerge. Too many people around.

I'm pretty sure this is what annoyance feels like.

[Hildegard Modries]

Hildegard recognized that the brain was still a mystery, and it was exactly why it needed to be analyzed more, especially as not all species shared the same physiology. But only focusing on the risks wasn't going to make science and technology progress. These people going backward in terms of experimentation permissions. She had been trying to keep quiet for a very long time, but at that point, she shot her hand upright, and was acknowledged within the next minute.

"Yes, ma'am?" One of the presenters asked. Hildegard got to her feet and adjusted how loud she talked for they didn't provide mics for people asking questions in this panel, which was a lack of preparation, but she could let it slide. "It is Doctor Modries." She snapped before carrying on.

"Theory can only get us so far regarding the state of connection between brain and cybernetics. This is why encouraging people who are willing to be experimented on is crucial. By proposing to protect these people by preventing him from helping research, you are basically encouraging labs to go for black market of sentient trafficking."

A roar from the crowd followed her words and the presenter tried to say something but she wouldn't have it. "Even if you use human baselines, there are dozens of factors to take in when you decide to link any sort of cybernetic device, whether extremely minor as an implant or a larger web of technology. Most experiments that waited too long to take the practical step proved utter failure. Take the Siranon case for example. The company spent ten years toying with numbers and projections on their supposedly revolutionary optical replacement. Problem was that their pool of test subjects didn't include one of of the most common bloodtype. Result? One of the chemical component of the devices provoked harsh allergies and affected dozens when it could have been cut down to only a few."

The presenter managed to place a word in. "You talk as if lives were just part of an alimentary chain, Doctor. I am unsure of why you attended this conference."

Hildegard stood her ground. "And I am unsure why you speak about medical and technological research when you probably never did anything except reading holo books and playing with some software." Without further ado, she sat down, though the attendance didn't seem as cohesive behind the given speech, now that she had dared said what many hadn't.

[Besh]

It was almost shouting, the sensation of a huge something pacing behind my eyeballs, in my sinuses, yet not.

How could it feel this frustrated?

I listened to one woman upbraid the safety presenter and sit down.

Ll*|&?\ /:"{white/] aff:"' >.#, ... ... 0Yya+|

The room was white, but blurred, as if I were underwater. But there was no muffled sound; I could feel air on my ears and in my hair, on my skin, and the hum of machinery and the distinct tones from the speakers that alerted staff to the state my unconscious systems.

"—ed. Don't let it hold you back."

"According to a paper I read by a Doctor Modries—"

"He's awake. Quiet."

||:jaPl){^_ OPpc,m 3&^? ... /?

I frowned. The voice seemed old, but it didn't have that tell-tale electronic signature that came when it was trying to be helpful. Not shared information, then. A memory?

A memory?

"I apologize for the interruption, ladies and gentlemen," the speaker was saying, a bit thrown off by the hostility and sheer turn the talk had taken. "As I was saying, with the introduction of Human Replica Design, a revolutionary mapping program of the human nervous system and its ability to model and predict various physical effects with an astound seventy-five percent accuracy, we will be able to limit negative side effects and perhaps even program cybernetic hardware by inputting the base elements of the test subjects without a trial implantation. And that is only one of the presentations that will be here today."

The audience applauded, as a holoprojector came to life.

I sat forward. Something about this was useful, I knew it. Human Replica Design? Something seemed wrong, as if this were close, but not quite right, like a subtle encryption key.

I glanced over at the woman, who was leaning back, her arms crossed, and her face stern, while the presenter continued to speak.

"Please, regard your schedules for the appropriate times and halls for each presentation and talk..."

I stood, while it flashed an overview of the presentations and time. Everyone else stood also; this particular speaker was done. I made my way through the milling crowd to the speaker — Doctor Relabran Hirim, it growled — and caught his attention.

"Ah, yes?" he asked, looking me over.

"I'm interested in the question of mental degradation in extensively implanted specimens," I asked, modulating my voice and affecting an accent to sound more academic. "Similar to studies done by Firen and the Academy of Sciences on Denon, and the Verpine Dilemma."

Hirim smiled, but then looked past me, and frowned slightly. I glanced back. The woman who'd argued with him was walking up.

[Hildegard Modries]

Maybe some people would feel uncomfortable with the stir her interjection had provoked, but Dr. Modries was left unfazed by the ripples of her words. Somebody had to bring that up and letting unskilled parasites mingle among the sphere of scientific research wasn't anything to be sought. She was the first to find money appealing in that it was a means to an end, so better equipment could be used. Yet she wasn't going to let money dictate how research should be conducted. And this so-called care for trial subjects was only likely to cause more trouble. Trials were a crucial stage and she was hard set against letting pharmaceutical or any cybernetico-medical companies throw things on the general public without solid trials first.

Once the session was over, she gathered her belongings and was about to head out when she saw a former assistant across the crowd. She headed towards them but as she passed by the man she had called out, he had to interrupt her train of thoughts and direction.

"This is the last time I will tolerate your criminal ideas, Dr. Modries." She stopped on her tracks and stared at him with her stoic expression, her half Arkanian nature showing up with glacial ease in most circumstances. "I heard true threats in the past, and they didn't scare me."

The man looked as if he was ready to lose his temper. Hildegard gave a curt nod to the man who was attempting to speak to the petty righteous rights advocate.

Fully ignoring her gesticulating and pathetic foe, she resumed her walking towards the exit of the auditorium.

[Veskasa Vel Aath]

She stood, taking a deep, relaxing breath and stretching, as the tumultuous presentation came to an end. She looked around: most of the people in the hall were leaving, and the rest of the convention was underway, with different talks beginning concurrently.

She pulled her commlink from her belt and activated it. Damien appeared, looking as serious as ever, though that could have been in large part due to the mask.

"I think it's about time we started, don't you?" she said. "No sense in waiting any longer. We have the list of things and technologies. All that's left is to make a little mess."

Damien didn't seem to share her amusement, but there was a definite feeling of anticipation and satisfaction that Vel Aath knew to be him.

"And have fun," she said before he terminated the connection.

[Besh]

Hirim seemed to be completely useless for answers now, I thought, watching the scientist turn and spew forth a torrent of curses and profanity. I turned and watched Doctor Modries march away stiffly. Despite her own superior demeanour, there was a definite hostility within her to Doctor Hirim as well. A history?

I turned to follow her.

"Doctor Modries," I called. "Doctor Modries!"

[Damien Kantrael]

"Acknowledged. I am beginning my approach vector."

Silencing the image of Vel Aath and banishing it from his screen, Damien Kantrael returned his attention to the operation at hand. His pilot imputed the necessary commands and the stealth prowler Solemn Promise rose from it's place resting on the frozen landscape. Keeping low to the ice it headed for the University. Stealth technology and a low altitude would hide them from scanners until it was too late, and they would be upon them. Damien disagreed with such cowardly tactics. He would much rather fly and let the heat of batter decide who was worthy to be victorious. Vel Aath had other plans, and preferred reconnaissance and tactics.

"Brother Matthias, recite the Warrior's Oath."

The heavily armored behemoth of a man at his side straightened up, squaring his shoulders and raising his helmet skyward.


"Where there is uncertainty, I shall bring light

Where there is doubt, I shall sow faith

Where there is shame, I shall point atonement

Where there is rage, I shall show its course

My word in the soul shall be as my blaster in the field."


"Very Good. Check on the men. Make sure they are ready. We will be there soon enough."

[Hildegard Modries]

Hildegard was now set on getting herself the hugest cup of caf she would be able to find, now that she saw the person she had originally wanted to speak to had vanished into the crowd. She would have other opportunities regardless. She was mentally reviewing the other presentations and panels that would occur during this conference day. So far, she didn't think so high of the event but it was important to stay up to date and sometimes finding new worthy blood happened more easily at conferences than across the holonet.

When she heard a voice calling out to her, she stopped right outside of the auditorium. Her piercing gaze assessed the man before her. "Yes?" Her tone was cold but courteous.

[Besh]

"I would like to know your thoughts on the mental degradation of extensively implanted subjects," I said. It stirred almost in annoyance, as if its pride was stung at the thought that somehow it did not make me better. In the periphery of my vision, I saw text filtering down, explain the term 'HRD', and its development. "Specifically the phenomenon of mental rejection of the implanted devices as 'other' and not 'self'. The Verpine Dilemma."

The Verpine Dilemma referred to the earlier cybernetic work of a Verpine doctor whose name was lost in translation; in successfully mapping the brain waves and nuances of itself, the doctor had implanted the cybernetic brain with the data and the means to reproduce the waves, in effect creating a synthetic Verpine. However, the synthetic Verpine was aware of its otherness and unable to communicate or collaborate with the hive mind of the scientist. The Verpine AI went insane. The insectoid scientist went on to postulate that any cybernetic implants of sufficient sophistication would be rejected by the host or the collective as being 'other', significantly hampering the development of cybernetics beyond a certain point.

Up to the present, the Verpine's postulation had borne itself out, thus giving the problem and the problems it caused the tag, 'the Verpine Dilemma".

Now I was not insane. But I could perceive it, and it could perceive me, and we were separate from each other, and I had the suspicion this was not supposed to be the case. That in itself was more than enough reason to discover more.

[Hildegard Modries]

Whoever that man was, he had Hildegard's attention. It wasn't so often that one would bring up the Verpine Dilemna although it should be discussed more often than it was in her view. "While the Verpine Dilemna is supposed to afflict extensive AI and implants in species biologically wired to participate to a Hive Mind, we can all learn from it, as cybernetic specialists."

She gestured for the man to walk by her side, as she headed towards one of the terraces at the edge of the floor. "Several studies have proven that a significant amount of implants added in a short amount of time could result into a split between what turned out to be the AI and the implanted subject. Some of us have recommended two key elements to make for a steadier and less risky incorporation of implants, even an extensive amount. The first is to build up on the implants, give time to course correct as you can study the subject's reactions, both physical and mental. The second is if possible to have the subject know about the implant and be a willing participant. A few studies, as well as some more current experiments, shows it lowers the risk of Verpine Dilemna reactions."

[Besh]

"The main problem seems to be the level of sophistication of the cybernetic implants," I responded. "Even in non-hive mind species, higher technology implants — that is, those that require interfacing or intelligence programming — are subconsciously rejected even if consciously admitted. We're not speaking of the memory issues that come from engram studies and biological/artificial interfaces. Even those claims from some that hosts and subjects relive and remember memories that aren't their own."

That was the issue I thought I was having after all.

"And that is my question," I continued. "How does one measure or gauge such a phenomenon? How much credibility are these 'false memory' studies given in cybernetics reviews?"

[Hildegard Modries]

To stay that the conversation was a highly appreciated improvement to the past few hours wasn't even close to the truth. Hildegard found herself quite intrigued by this man's questions and she had to refrain from picking his brain already and grill him about the reasons behind such interests, whether he was speaking as a scientist or as a subject, or maybe both.

She focused on his query though. "Not enough studies, sadly," she replied dryly. Several grants had been squashed for such research, despite a few clusters of scientists being interested in the topic. Most investors just wanted their specimens to go through the orders. As for individuals from the civilian sector, little was known.

"One of the best options we have to gauge the amount of real and implant-self-fabricated memories, is extensive data pre-implants, as well as certain calculations based off of the specific implants that were incorporated."