Epsilon-Delta
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Epsilon-Delta is a modified Soong-Type Android and the result of a joint-program commissioned by the Vulcan Science Academy and Starfleet Engineering Corps. Under the direction of Federation cyberneticist Helen Mirren, PhD, Epsilon-Delta continues to carry out the dual mission structure of the Epsilon Program, (1) to minimize risk and casualties in the course of Starfleet missions and (2) better understand interstellar social dynamics.
Epsilon-Delta is the fourth model in the Epsilon series and the second of two functioning Epsilon units in the Federation.
Delta features breakthroughs in our understanding of new technologies acquired throughout the known galaxy during the last three decades. Modification to the Soong-based architecture includes security precautions designed to curtail the possibility of using the machine as a weapon against the Federation.
Starfleet Data & Physical Statistics
- Current Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
- Current Assignment: U.S.S. Discovery-B
- Position: Chief of Operations
- Full Name: Epsilon-Delta
- Species: Soong-Type Android Modified Mark IV
- Date of Activation: December 1, 2358
- Place of Birth: Utopia Planitia, Mars
- Gender: Assigned as Female Stardate 238306.17
- Height: 5'5" (1.65m)
- Weight: 200.75 lbs (.091 m.tons)
- Hair Color: Black (variable)
- Eye Color: Black (variable)
- Skin Tone: Pale (variable)
- Distinguishing Attributes:
With proper command clearance and during properly authorized emergencies, Epsilon-Delta may assume control of critical command computer systems without the use of the tactile or audio-visual interfaces.
Although she can directly communicate with most scientific and non-weapons-based Federation-compliant technology, she has stated in her internal log that she finds audio and tactile manipulation 'stimulating.'
Family
- Marital Status: Single
- Parents Helen Mirren, MD, PhD.
- Siblings
- Epsilon-Gamma: Mark III in the Epsilon series, designed for zero-gravity operation and as a single occupancy life-vessel in vacuum conditions. Deep Space 285, Avalon Sector.
- Epsilon-Beta: Mark II in the Epsilon series. Functional prototype in mothball. Location is classified.
- Epsilon-Alpha: Mark I in the Epsilon series. Functional prototype in mothball. Location is classified.
Epsilon-Delta Operational Log
Pre-Starfleet
- Information on Epsilon pre-deployment has been provided here for command-level personnel only and is detailed in the sections below.
Starfleet Life
- 238406.17 - Delta completes final cadet cruise at USS Centris.
- 238412.01 - Transferred to Utopia Planitia for further programming and hardware modification.
- 238406.17 - Delta is promoted to Lt.JG and assigned as Chief of Operations, USS Discovery-B.
- 238502.06 - 238505.10 - Assisted in investigation of alien derelict in Avalon Sector and evacuation of Discovery-B following successful hijacking of Discovery-B by rogue Son'a agents. Delta encountered an ancient self-operating library which downloaded the contents of its database before destroying itself. [1]
- 238506.04 - Underwent refit at Deep Space 285 following extensive repair to mechanics. Positronic unit intact.
- 238506.15 - Encounters positive prediction error and re-experiences pre-Starfleet memory.
- 238507.22 - Temporarily assigned as Chief of Ops to USS Constitution-B while Discovery-B undergoes repair at Deep Space 285 .
- 238507.30 - Delta is promoted to full Lieutenant with all rights and privileges.
- 238507.30 - 238510.05 Delta assists in mass evacuation of Genura III non-Federation colony in Avalon Sector.
- 238510.05 - Personality interaction routine is upgraded.
Background
The Epsilon Program was jointly commissioned in 2372 by Starfleet Engineering Corps and the Vulcan Science Academy. Epsilon Delta's primary and secondary directives are (1) to minimize risks to civilians and Starfleet personnel and (2) better understand interstellar social dynamics. Much of the Epsilon series blueprint is classified under protection of Starfleet Intelligence but is accessible in this database with command level clearance.
The Delta series version is the fourth model to be functionally deployed into the Federation and the second to be enlisted in active-duty in Starfleet. Delta is a breakthrough in our understanding of new technologies acquired throughout the known galaxy during the last three decades and improves upon security precautions designed to curtail the possibility of using the machine as a weapon against the Federation.
Legal Status and Briefing on Origin of Epsilon Program
(On stardate 238305.28, under extraordinary circumstances, Captain Tyr Waltas, CO, USS Discovery-B, directed Dr. Helen Mirren to disclose and declassify information relevant to Epsilon-Delta's origins. The following information was classified information from SD 235812.01 until 238305.28.)
Although the Epsilon series is based on the work of Dr. Noonien Soong, the series' design is largely based on new findings following the return of the highly modified USS Voyager. Her operating system is a realization of new theoretical relationships between positronic theory and Borg technology as well as restricted research on eugenics theory and Terran DNA research.
Furthermore, the continued existence of the Epsilon program is based on a moral imperative to continually design and maintain mechanisms to support a synthetic organism [2][3]. This organism embodies a benevolent convergence of these technologies to serve the Epsilon Program's primary and secondary mission in Starfleet and to minimize casualties and better understand interstellar life.
The organism and its cybernetic technology was developed directly from projects culling data and ship schematics from the modified USS Voyager and research from the Borg Defense Initiative. Using a modification of the Soong-based design, the Epsilon series became a life-support solution for an assimilated Borg individual whose connection to the collective has been effectively severed. The individual's consciousness is preserved within the Zimmerman/Barclay holographic operating system. Per classified protocols, this highly sensitive information was protected from sensor equipment with an alloy designed for obfuscation.
The sensor-obfuscating alloy embedded into the Delta exoskeletal structure is constructed of a quantum-based nanotechnology and successfully interferes with most subspatial signals, thus censoring biodata that reveals the sythethic lifesign reading. The Epsilon-Delta holographic program is based on surgically salvaged memory engrams of the aforementioned individual in question and functions within the runtime environment of the Soong-Type positronic brain. The nanotechnology provides a foundation for the holographic signature and is supported by cybernetics that transact memory engrams between the synthetic organism and the positronic architecture.
Since the engrammatic data is non-biological, the positronic software continues to adapt to the holographic program designed to preserve these memory engrams. Although aided by life support, the relationship cannot be considered strictly symbiotic, since the artificial lifesign is an independent entity. In theory, this structure simulates the behaviorial psychology paradigms of intelligent life, producing data interpreted by some cyberneticists as emotion, self-awareness and a state of dream.
Epsilon series units are not recognized as sentient under Federation law; and have yet found a landmark case to prove their sentience. Until the event(s) whereby a legal precedent is presented in a tribunal or court requesting such evidence be provided as necessary to defend them as an innocent party, Epsilon-Delta's rights as a sentient remain in a state of legal purgatory.
It should be noted that the Epsilon-Delta program is aware of its own construction and that her peers have access to her unclassified personal file. Regardless, Delta seeks to continually evolve healthy interpersonal relationships, stating it is essential to the integrity of her program to play multiple roles as a subordinate-ranking officer to commanding officer, a patient to doctor, and the case of Delta's designer, Dr. Helen Mirren, a child to a parent.
Profile on Dr. Helen Mirren, PhD
Early in her cybernetics career, Mirren initiated a variety of independent projects and conducted a period of research at the Omnicron Theta cybernetics research colony before it's demise in 2336. Dr. Mirren's reputation is well-known in the interstellar cybernetics community. She is one of the few living experts on Soong-type androids to have studied with Dr. Soong. She has publicly stated she refuses to work outside the Federation.
Mirren's family ties date back to Ancient Earth before the Eugenics Wars. She is an expert on cybernetics and a prominent historian whose thesis was on Khan Noonien Singh and the exploits of James Kirk and USS Enterprise-A. She is under unique entry restrictions when traveling within the Klingon empire. Since she is a special envoy, Starfleet has assigned her a security officer who doubles as her personal bodyguard should she be assigned to away missions. (See Lt. JG Alona Levine)
Dr. Mirren is the director of the Epsilon Program, a member of the Borg Defense Initiative and Project Voyager. She lives in the Avalon Sector, Deep Space 285.
Operation
Energy
All Epsilon units use various methods to store, draw and deplete energy, depending on environmental circumstances. Besides continually shunting kinetic energy into a special battery, Epsilons can convert water and synthehol into energy and draw power from UVA/UVB radiation. Excess energy is usually sent to a reserve battery as well as the main battery which cycles energy between systems to maintain optimal efficiency.
It should be noted that Epsilon can share stored energy to compliant systems. Her energy storage system is the result of breakthroughs in nanotechnology derived from the last three decades of research. Though Epsilon-Delta may continue to function well into the next 2 centuries, test scenarios show that a total depletion of her energy reserves can be quickly accomplished through continuous, unmanaged use.
In two improvised test scenarios, Epsilon was able to survive in desert climates and traverse great distances during daytime, using abundant solar energy. Epsilon also used battery heat to liquify ice in Antarctic Earth, converting the water into hydrogen energy.
Memory
In standard operating mode, Epsilon-Delta will consecutively record up to 500 petabytes of non-essential data. By default, storage capacity is reserved for observational data relevant to crew behavior and mission success, then self-monitoring protocols, and lastly for monitoring external systems such as her assigned vessel's ship routines and crew logs. Her prioritization to observe crew behavior makes her a useful witness, however, she must obey command orders to secure or classify mission scenarios. Epsilons can also self-erase any recorded information. This has proven useful in at least one mission scenario aboard USS Discovery-B, where an alien computer entity endeavored to break into systems to seize tactical information. [4]
Epsilon-Delta prioritizes the protection of life over tasks devoted to memory operations, dumping non-essential data if necessary to the nearest subspace communicator.
Theoretically, a starship's entire computer functions, including navigation, engineering and lifesupport, can be rerouted to her positronic processor. However, it should be noted the energy requirements of running a starship computer would quickly deplete her batteries unless Epsilon could utilize or draw from an available source of energy.
Some emergency safeguards designed to prevent reverse engineering, explained below, result in the loss of the unit but not her memory.
Protection and Vulnerability
The Delta series uses the same duranium-based alloys used to construct many types of Federation-compliant starships and Starfleet-grade housing. Over 70 percent of her construction is designed to withstand continuous stress and/or diffuse directed energy within standard absorption rate of an industrial-grade warp-capable hull. However, Epsilon-Delta is not totally invulnerable to most ethereal or directed energy, including energy emitted from phasers, disruptor fire, quantum explosives or residual energy from matter/anti-matter collisions.
Comprehensive analysis of hypothetical missions showed that the highest probability Epsilon-Delta would be damaged beyond repair would occur by intentional, premeditated subterfuge by a third party or a member of the Epsilon project to gain access to her positronic brain. Starfleet Engineering Corps rigorously pursued a design to fool-proof reverse engineering attempts on the Epsilon series, developing a modular design scheme that "counters" unauthorized disassembly. The results yielded additional safeguards against vacuum-damage and high-velocity projectiles.
The aforementioned shielding surrounding the positronic unit is shaped from a single-molding 100mm thick, extending between the unit and Delta's cranial surface. Further, the surface, which imitates a living skin, is made from a compound designed to melt into an adhesive and detour attempts at tampering with the underneath shield.
Personality Development & Interaction Routine
Each of Epsilon's interactions with civillian and personnel is stored for continuous analysis and redundantly stored in her artificial memory. In the event that the number of interactions exceed her carry-on memory, free space will be allocated and previous memory uploaded to a Federation subspace network to secure servers at the Epsilon Lab. Epsilon may revisit this subspace link for data on previous encounters, professional and legal.
Aboard USS Discovery-B, the Chief Medical Officer and Science Departments possess critical data regarding cybernetic functions and the Chief Engineering Officer has access to vital engineering schematics and functions. Her interactions with respective personnel will evolve her logical personality, as she negotiates the most efficient language needed to maintain peak operability. Epsilon's ability to fully function within the structure of a Starfleet vessel or station and her role in a departmental structure is based on her continually evolving software and each response and interaction.
Assigned Gender
Epsilon androids are built gender neutral, although a gender may be "assigned" based on male/female ratios of a vessel/station assignment. However, this gender has no bearing on the Delta series' sexual preference.
As of Stardate 238306.17, the Delta series was assigned as female. It should be noted that although functions required to establish a sexual relationship with the Delta series are untested, there is evidence they have already begun to evolve as part of the artificial lifesign interaction with the holographic matrix. Since Delta cannot reproduce in the normative biological sense, some cyberneticists theorize this routine is non-essential to the integrity of Delta's personality.
Dr. Mirren has stated that in the event of a sexual liaison, Delta will advise the initiating party of the potential dangers involved.
Sensor System
As Epsilon-Delta was designed to be deployed into exploratory mission scenarios, she is outfitted with a compact, but modular sensor and software package based on the last three decades of Federation research into personality interaction and medical sensor technology. This sensor package can relay information to Starfleet extrasensory sciences equipment; sends information to an internal science library and her psychological behavior index; interprets surrounding lifesigns and cross-references them with her peers' typical behavior; identifies physical injuries and alerts medical personnel to the presence of dangerous and/or contagious organisms; in the presence of lethal weapons settings, Epsilon will raise ship/station security levels and alert security via a subspace modem. [5]
Epsilon has stated that her sensor system is crucial to her personality interaction routine. It allows her to "befriend" individuals - usually, individuals with high science or engineering qualifications - based on her overall assessment of their personality and Starfleet record. [6] This pro-active subroutine is in accordance with her program to explore interstellar social dynamics, as well as insurance against uncertain away mission scenarios.
Emergency Functions
After the discovery of the Soong-type Android, B4, and subsequent events surrounding the Battle in the Bassen Rift resulting in near-loss of U.S.S. Enterprise-E, a series of safety protocols were developed by Starfleet regarding the use of Soong-based technology. Like all sworn Starfleet Officers, Epsilon-Delta observes emergency protocols in ship or land battle-readiness and first aid but can assist with several additional safeguards.
Safeguard to Deter Espionage: Epsilon-Delta's sensor systems continually scan for known weapons signatures and will silently raise condition levels via text or visual messages. In the event Epsilon detects her sensor system have been tampered, Epsilon will send an encrypted silent distress beacon to a Commanding Officer's communicator and/or nearest Security station.
Safeguard as Stand-alone Communications Server: All four Epsilon units were designed to serve as emergency beacons and mobile communications hubs in the event of an away-team or ship-board emergency, and only where primary systems are rendered off-line. Epsilon can directly interface with all Federation-compliant communications systems and even act as a universal translator.
Safeguard to Self-Destruct to Prevent Control Override: The main battery can cycle energy for an explosive discharge roughly equivalent to the power of a fully-charged Mark IV phaser set to self-destruct. The collateral damage will effectively damage most internal hardware with the exception of the highly-shielded positronic brain and will destroy the synthetic organism. As of stardate 238305.28 this function requires command authorization.
Safeguard of Sudden Command Control of Hardware/Software: Although Epsilon units obey a rigid behaviorial code that values life, personal liberty and greatest degree of security, command codes to directly control her behavior can be initiated in the event of an unprecedented critical situation. The command code authorization can only be initiated if her logic routine is compromised and only by her Commanding Officer. The encrypted voice authorization command is changed each stardate and housed in the LCARS [7] of her assigned vessel on as as well as the LCARS aboard Deep Space 285 and Utopia Planitia.
In the event Epsilon predicts she will incur catastrophic damage, Epsilon will execute a secure memory transfer by subspace to Deep Space 285, one of two Federation facilities where major repairs of her systems are possible.
Mission Archives
Up-to-date mission archives from Epsilon's internal log'