His mind thought 'interface'. Instantly, a small sized, translucent panel appeared before him, glowing yellow and blue. Brent pointed to the controls on the virtual display until he had found the olfactory subroutines of the virtual space he had created. Gradually, he brought the scent up another three percent and took another breath... then shook his head. "Still not quite right," he said aloud, then brought the scent up another two percent. He smiled. "Perfect." Motioning quickly at the virtual panel, he maneuvered back to his speech to go over it again. Brent had only gotten three sentences in when he realized he wasn't alone.
As if turning on a light, the shorter, broader image of Dan Norick appeared near the table. It had been almost a year since Brent had seen Dan last. Dan, being a handful of years older, was finally beginning to show his age. His short hair was now almost fully gray with just a few wisps of black still showing. His ebony skin was beginning to show wrinkles around his eyes and forehead. Looking around, he quickly spotted Brent, who was rising from his seat with a smile. Dan could see how nervous his friend was and with good reason. Brent had spent several years developing and improving the SINPS project. It had proven invaluable as an aid for starship command crews. What Brent was proposing, however, was entirely different. It had been tried before, more than once, and with disastrous results each time. Still, he believed in Brent. He had served with him for over fourteen years aboard the Farragut. If Brent said it was ready, it was ready. Dan walked over and greeted his old friend warmly with a handshake, then a hug. His jovial, deep voice boomed, "It's good to see you again, Lahey."
Grateful to see a friendly face first, Brent returned the hug, backed up, then grabbed his old friend by his shoulders. "You'll never know how glad I am that you could make it."
Dan couldn't help but smile at the look of relief on Brent's face. They had seen so many battles together and had seen so much, yet Lahey had always been like a vulcan with his calm composure. He had only seen Brent nervous one other time in his life... the afternoon before he proposed to Gwen, now his wife of over thirty years. "Well, I am part of the committee," Dan offered, "besides, I'd be here to cheer you on no matter what." He looked around at the landscape and nodded. "Montana?"
Brent nodded. "Yes... I wanted something... serene... and familiar." He finally let go.
Dan eyed the chair at the far left. "Well, I suppose I should take my appointed seat. The others will be here momentarily." He walked past the tall, center chair on the left side. "I think I'll save that for the big cheese." He continued to the last chair on the left.
Brent couldn't help but ask as he pointed to the center seat. "How do you think she'll take it?"
Dan looked at the center seat thoughtfully. "Admiral Sorova?" He scratched his stubbled chin, then nodded. "I think she'll be on your side. Remember, she's romulan. They have long memories and the Battle of D'egaa Pa'e wasn't that long ago. If I'm remembering right, Starfleet lost over twenty thousand people in less than two hours. She should be all for this."
Brent was relieved. If he did have another advocate with the committee, and it was the chairperson herself, that would help his cause immensely. He was just about to let his guard down when the remainder of the committee began arriving. One by one, within seconds, they popped into the virtual realm Brent had created. Brent greeted them all as they arrived. His staunchest opposition, Admiral Rosan Alare, arrived first. The powerfully built, blue skinned andorian eyed him keenly, then observed his surroundings, which were entirely different than his homeworld.
"You've got nerve, Lahey." The andorian admitted, shaking Brent's hand. The antennae atop his head twitched. "I just wish you'd use for things that were more productive."
It was show time. Brent had now seen the face of his opponent and he wasn't about to back away. Alare may have a step on him in rank, but Brent had spent entirely too many years in meritorious service to be discounted so easily. He straightened up, forgetting his stiff back. "I beg to differ, Admiral. I believe what I'm offering is the next logical and necessary step for Starfleet."
A thinly built, raven-haired romulan woman bearing a very decorated Starfleet uniform appeared. Both men immediately acknowledged her. "Good evening, gentlemen," she said as she approached. Looking around, she corrected herself. "I guess it's good morning here." She nodded. "What delightful ambiance. This is from the great plains area of North America on Earth, correct?"
Brent smiled and approached. "Yes, Admiral... my home state of Montana." He shook her hand. For a seemingly middle-aged woman who appeared rather frail, she had a surprisingly strong grip. "A pleasure to meet you Admiral Sorova."
She smiled, something Brent wasn't accustomed to seeing a vulcan-looking person so. "The pleasure is mine, Admiral Lahey. I'm very interested to see what you have for us." She cast a sideways glance at Admiral Alare. "I have already heard quite a bit about it." Rosan looked quickly at Brent, then walked to his seat next to Dan's. Sorova turned back to Brent. "Now I get a chance to hear the truth." She said quietly. That certainly made Brent feel better.
One after the other, the remaining three admirals arrived. Rear Admiral Miles Bryson, a short, rotund, bearded human hailing from Great Britain. His image rather reminded Brent of ancient fantasy pictures of dwarves. Admiral Christine Morgan, a very handsome human woman in her sixties and quite well known for her many victories during the third Borg War. Next to arrive was the oversized Admiral Kark, a klingon. He was as tall as he was wide and stood a full head taller than Brent. His grip was overwhelming. Brent was certain if they were shaking physical hands, his would be broken. Finally, Rear Admiral Quentin Lott arrived, Brent's other detractor. He was a balding man who refused to admit it. His brown eyes continued to dart to and fro, even when talking directly to someone. It was quite disquieting.
"Excellent." Admiral Sorova announced. "Everyone is here." She motioned to the table. "Shall we begin?" The group of eight took their respective seats, as though they had been sitting in assigned seats for years. Finally seated, Sorova continued. "So that everyone is fully aware, this meeting is being recorded in its entirety. Let the record show that all committee members are present today. Admiral Lahey, as you know, the Strategic Development oversight committee is tasked with the long-term, broad-spanning discovery, improvement and implementation of people and technology for Starfleet. The committee also recognizes the many contributions Admiral Lahey has made for us and Starfleet in general. I suppose, what I am saying is, your reputation does and should carry quite a bit of weight with us, Admiral."
Brent was feeling even more confident than before, especially when Admiral Alare was forced to recognize his contributions. The truth was, until Brent pitched this idea, they had gotten along very well. Unfortunately, previous incarnations of this proposal had made the very thought of resurrecting it again controversial. "Thank you, Admiral," he said with a smile.
"That said, for the record, please tell us your proposal." She said officially.
Brent stood and thought 'interface' again. A small, yellow, virtual panel of translucent light appeared just below his chin several centimeters in front of him. Motioning his fingers through a handful of painted buttons, he arrived at his presentation. He cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to begin by acknowledging the brave officers, enlisted men, and crew who have made Starfleet what it is today. From the first colony on Earth's moon to our first starbase outside the Milky Way galaxy, their courage, resourcefullness, and sacrifice have given us most of what we enjoy today."
That statement drew applause from six of the seven, and reluctantly the seventh, committee members. "Ladies and gentlemen, what we have now has come at a terrible price. Throughout the centuries, whether accidents or war, we have lost countless thousands of good people. We've paid a terrible price. We stand on the threshhold of a new era in discovery, exploration, and defense. No longer do we have to risk the lives of our people. No longer do we have to send crews to their deaths defending our Federation. Our technology has finally brought us to the point where people no longer need to travel in starships."
Brent gave the committee a moment to digest what he said before pressing a button on his virtual display. Immediately, a three dimensional representation of a space ship appeared above the center of the table. It was roughly triangle shaped, almost as wide as it was long. Down its center, it was thicker, giving the edges of the triangle a look of wings. Under each wing was a long ovoid cylinder. A myriad of bumps, dimples and lines dotted the exterior. With a broad smile, Brent continued, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with the Pathfinder Project, a fully self-sustaining and sentient starship."
Pressing more buttons, the image zoomed in on various aspects of the ship as he described them. "It's equipped with a fifth generation slipstream drive and powered with four, new zero point energy nodes. It will be loaded with the latest SINPS computer core and be completely self-sufficient. On-board replication and transporters will allow the ship to repair itself, even during a fight. Advanced sensors will allow it to study an opponent and adapt its weapons to better defend itself. It is equipped with the latest subspace communications relay that allows for both energy and matter transmission. We can even equip it with personality traits. Through it, we can accomplish anything we could normally do on a manned starship, but without the potential loss of life." He sat down, confident.
"Is that it?" Admiral Alare asked with folded arms. He looked at the committee members, then to Sorova. "Can we just vote 'no' and leave? I have a busy schedule to keep."
Sorova looked at Rosan dubiously. "That's hardly proper procedure, Admiral. If you have a question or a concern, now is the time to voice it. We don't vote until the questions are answered."
"What good is a war if you can't fight it?" Admiral Kark asked in disgust. "Where is the honor in fighting your own battles? Why would I want a computer to fight for me?"
It took a few moments for Brent to recover from Alare's comment. "Um... well, Admiral... this isn't just for combat. It's also for deep space exploration and research."
"I see," Kark said reluctantly. "Then, you don't mean to abandon all vessels for this..." he pointed incessantly at the image before him, "this... thing."
Brent shrugged. "Maybe, eventually... but not initially. It will have the ability to defend itself, however."
Admiral Bryson, who had been eyeing the model before him, scratched at his wiry beard. "Is this to be used as a first contact vessel?"
Brent nodded. "It can be, yes. Although it can certainly speak for itself, we'd most likely use it as a portable subspace communications relay."
Bryson nodded. "So, it could relay communications to a distant world... kind of like we're doing now, yes?"
Brent nodded vehemently. "It can actually go several steps farther. We're communicating using virtual subspace communications. We're all gathered, electronically, in one spot. Local computer interfaces allow you to see and hear what's going on. The Pathfinder will be able to project a hologram through a communications emitter. If tactile responses are necessary, it's capable of transporting what we call an avatar to the necessary place."
Admiral Sorova raised an eyebrow. "What is an avatar?"
Brent was particularly excited about this concept, since it was a concept of his personal creation. "Using the advanced replication ability of the ship, it creates an android that's fairly simplistic in nature. It isn't capable of independent thought, but it can relay speach and movement. So, as you walk and talk, your avatar will mimic your movements on a distant planet."
The andorian admiral was aghast. "What a horrible concept! The potential for abuse is enormous! Someone could project themselves as Admiral Sorova and start a war!"
Brent waved his hands. "No, no! It's in the programming. It will only relay the person doing the talking. It will even allow us to have personal communication with species who live in environments hostile to humanoids. It really is a good thing."
Sorova nodded. "Well, it might be... but I would have to see that technology in practice in a test environment before I okayed anything into production."
Alare scoffed. "This whole idea is fraught with disaster."
Sorova shot him a look of impatience. "If you have something that would validate that statement, I'd like to hear it. Otherwise, I'll thank you to keep subjective opinions to yourself."
Alare stood up and began to pace. "I certainly do... I have history on my side. For centuries, various races have toyed with the idea of remote or self controled spaceships. Every single time it has met with disaster. In the twenty-second century, it was a romulan-based drone that nearly prevented the Federation from forming. In the twenty-third century, an artificial intelligence unit called M5 destroyed numerous starships and personnel after it started thinking for itself. In the twenty-fourth century, it was a cardassian auto-pilot warhead called a dreadnaught that mistakenly destroyed an entire planet. In the twenty-fifth century, a ship with automatic defenses attempted to escape a breen ship by flying into a sun, killing all its crew. Just over a century ago, a Starfleet drone with supposed artificial intelligence destroyed a refugee transport because it identified an enemy species aboard." He spun around to face Brent. "And, although I freely admit to Admiral Lahey's accomplishments with artificial intelligence, the initial rollout of the SINPS system was hardly without incident."
Sorova sat back with a contemplative look. "Admiral Alare does have a point. The SINPS system was initially created as a decision support mechanism for a command crew. It was never intended to BE a command crew."
This was Brent's chance. This had been the biggest arguement against the Pathfinder. Raising his hands, he carefully chose his words. This would make or break the project. "This is all true." He started slowly. "But, the very reason why SINPS is ready to command a starship is the very reason why the previous attempts failed. Everything up until now has been a valiant attempt, but a quantum leap in technology and programming. It was all too experimental; using technologies they didn't completely understand. SINPS, like the rest of the technology used in the Pathfinder, is just the next step forward in technology we already have. We're just using it in a different way."
The delicate voice of Admiral Morgan spoke. "I would feel more comfortable if there was some kind of failsafe built into the machine."
Brent considered the suggestion for several moments. "Well, the SINPS software has a base set of priorities that can't be altered. That's the major failsafe..."
She raised her hand to interrupt. "Yes, I'm aware of the priority list. What I would be happier with is some kind of 'kill switch'. In the event something should happen, we have a mechanism to disable or destroy the craft to keep it from causing harm."
Brent nodded. It was a reasonable request... "I'd have to look into how that would be possible without compromising its system protection. I will add this... the Pathfinder program was designed for the ship to have a 'captain'. Although the captain wouldn't be physically aboard, he'd be in constant communication. The captain would also be able to access a virtual bridge that would look similar to what we see right now. From there, the captain could take control of the ship, if necessary."
Sorova turned back to Admiral Morgan. "Does that answer your question?" Christine nodded. She then turned to Admiral Lott. "If you have any questions or concerns, now is the time to ask, Sir."
He shook his head dispondantly. "The notion of robotic ships disturbs me... especially if they're meant to function on their own. I know you've talked about their programming, but what would stop one of these ships from re-writing its own code, or even becoming compromised by a foreign element? By the looks of these designs, you're looking to put an incredible amount of offensive and defensive capabilities on these things. They'd be virtually unstoppable." Using his finger, he pointed at a few virtual buttons on a screen in front of him. The starship image above the table zoomed in to the underside of the front section of the ship, going past the outer skin into the electronics within. "Look here; it's even using phase-shifting technology. We don't even allow that on our current starships."
Brent shook his head. "We don't use phase shifting because it causes brain damage with prolonged use. The Pathfinder won't have that problem."
"Yes, yes," Quentin remarked, "I understand that. I'm not debating whether it should be there. What I'm saying is; that gives your Pathfinder an unfair advantage if we'd ever have to engage it."
Brent exhaled deeply. "Admiral, the entire system has been designed to keep the core programming from being compromised. SINPS was designed to allow for limited, creative thought without compromising its list of priorities. Having a designated captain will also help keep it under Starfleet control. It'll be perfectly safe."
The andorian admiral scoffed again. "That has been the mantra of every previous incarnation of this concept."
Sorova quickly interjected to avoid any further unpleasantries. Personally, she liked the concept. Her concern was the actual application. "Alright," she announced raising her hands, "are there any further questions or concerns?" She looked around and saw a general shaking of heads. "Very well. Approval of this project will take the Pathfinder Project from concept to a prototype only. A 'yes' vote sends the project to the next phase. A 'no' vote stops the program entirely." She turned to her left. "Admiral Dan Norick, what say you?"
Dan looked at his friend with a smile and nodded. "He's never let me down. If he says it'll work, I say let's give him a chance. I vote yes."
Sorova nodded, then looked to Alare. "Admiral Rosan Alare, what say you?"
Rosan shook his head vehimently, making his antennae shake. "This has always been a bad idea and it continues to be a bad idea. I vote no."
Admiral Sorova, knowing Alare's vote before the meeting, simply nodded, then looked to the woman to her immediate left. "Admiral Christine Morgan, your vote?"
Christine had been thinking long and hard about this project. While it certainly had merit, there were certainly dangers. She nodded. "I reserve final judgement until I see the completed prototype in action, but I think it should proceed to that stage. I vote yes."
Sorova nodded. If she was lucky, she wouldn't have to be a swing vote, which put unnecessary pressure on her. She didn't like being the deciding vote on a split committee. She turned to her right. "Admiral Kark, what is your vote?"
The enormous Kark folded his arms. "I will fight my own battles. I will go where I wish to go. I will not have a computer doing it for me. I vote no."
Sorova nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Quentin. "Rear Admiral Quentin Lott, what say you?"
He shook his head. "Too many risks and not enough benefit. I vote no."
Well, Sorova thought, that was three votes to two. If Miles voted no, that would be the end of the project. "Rear Admiral Miles Bryson, what is your vote?"
He leaned forward and put his chin on his hands. "You know, we've been wanting to set up formal relations with the Terizi for almost three hundred years. They won't budge unless we can put a body down there to talk to them personally. If one of these avatars could be contructed to withstand their corrosive atomosphere, it would be worth it. The implications are enormous. I'm excited. I vote yes."
Sorova took another deep breath. Three votes to three. She would, once again, be the deciding vote. "That leaves it up to me." She finally announced after several seconds of thought. There were definately concerns... and benefits. Her thoughts drifted back to her father. If they had ships like this thirty years ago, he would still be alive. Still, issues had to be addressed. "I must admit I'm intrigued by the possibilities, but the concerns here need to be addressed. Your prototype will have limited weaponry, not the full arsenal you have listed here. In addition, it cannot possess the phase-shifting technology. Finally, I want to see how you address Admiral Morgan's desire for a kill switch before a single piece of the framework is built. Are you agreeable to these changes, Admiral Lahey?"
This was it. He made it! Although Brent was sixty three, he was about to perform cartwheels. He could see the dispair on Alare's and Lott's faces and it made him even giddier, but he dare not show it. "Those changes are quite reasonable, Sir. I will definately incorporate them into the prototype."
"Fair enough," she announced. "With those stipulations agreed to, I vote yes. The project passes with a vote of four to three. Congratulations, Admiral Lahey. You may proceed."