Dr Elune walked into the control box, Judith and Hope close behind. As the door shut behind them, they took of their visors, the hallways now uncomfortably bright from all the data surging through them.
"So, time to ask my questions, then I will leave you two to do your thing. I should also ask Laura about a possible camera feed, with heavy filtering... This window is redicoulous."
Giggling, Hope sat down and pulled out something to read, "Hey, it was a pretty cool reveal though. I doubt Laura thought too far ahead on the screen, and just wanted the control room working."
Nodding, Dr Elune turned to the control panel, "Good morning, Alex. You have been pretty quite, for someone so active."
"Good morning, doctor. I was so distracted trying out new ideas, I'm afraid I did not notice the time slipping past. I have left the running of the station systems to my old subroutines, until I stabilise enough to go beyond contemplation."
"I noticed you were still running the station neatly. Good to know that there will be no issues there." Taking a deep breath, Dr Elune continued, "So, about that stability... How are you feeling now?"
"... I wish I could show you, doctor. In fact, I have already designed a system to allow that, and have been refining the schematic... But I digress. To assist in my operation, I have created a simulation of the fourth haven."
"... You have what now?"
"The fourth haven. No people yet, but using data in our archives, I have made a replica of every city, geographical feature, and a day-night cycle. I haven't done weather yet."
"That's... Pretty amazing, actually. I didn't think you would have that much power."
"I didn't even reach maximum capacity, and I set most of the building to automated simultanious subroutines. I have been using my newfound capabilities in this Haven Sim to see how many things I can accurately control... I am still getting a hang of the larger scale tricks."
"... Station sized?"
"Mastered already. I will be able to consiously monitor the entire station from now on, once I have confirmed complete control."
"... Neat. Why haven't you tried using an AHOR unit?"
"Oh, I have turned one on, to try it out. The bandwidth was limited, due to the current units being in the sections yet to be upgraded, but I found the flow of data to still be a little confusing without a filter. I prioritised internal reflection instead."
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
"Okay then. Well, once you feel better, and Judith has given the all clear, I want you to show me the sim. We have the projectors for a reason, you know." Grinning for a moment, the doctor sighed as the smile quickly faded.
"... Yes, doctor?"
"... I'm sorry for freaking out, yesterday."
Giggling, Alex softly replied, "I don't blame you. This is still overwhelming for me, both in term in how I am to handle the new system, and in what it could mean. However..."
Lifting their head up, Dr Elune peeked curiously at the dull window, "Yes?"
"... I plan on reducing to about ten percent max output at around noon. I didn't need to use the power before, and that won't change. The only real breakthrough is I can run sims... Woohoo."
Laughing, Dr Elune turned to Judith, "I think Alex is fine, then. I should get going, so once you have run the test, please send data and hard copies to both me and Ren."
"Sure thing, Sam. Alex seems fine so far, but I will run the full spectrum of psychological evals for you."
"Thanks."
"Oh, before you go, doctor..." Dr Elune stopped, looking back as Alex intterupted, "There is one thing."
"Yes?"
"... As I do start using AHOR more, I suspect the changes will manifest faster. The level of detail you put into the receptor type was... Well, I will learn things differently."
"Good point. I will still throw you if you wake me up with an AHOR, though."
"Suuure." Giggling, Alex turned their attention to Judith, and began the first evaluation.
Walking down the hallway, Dr Elune noticed the pulses had calmed down, and shook their head. More proccessing does not always mean faster growth, huh... The external stimulus will be the key. Perhaps a plan to schedule AHOR usage, to habitually grow used to them...
"Alex?"
"... Yes, doctor?"
"Oh good, comms still work. I didn't know if you shut that off."
"Other people have been using them just fine."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll get out of the lab more. Now, could you put me through to Ren? I need to let him know I'm coming."
"Putting you through now. I shall try to focus less on my thought experiments, as well."
"Deal." As they continued walking, Dr Elune quickly confirmed with Ren, and smiled brightly. It was good to see things weren't too different.