[snip snip]

[Chain of messages of V’alura reporting the experiment’s progress and interesting results interspersed with her own musings on optimizing the AI’s code and requests for insight on various medical theories and terminology. In her last response she decided to name their AI “Harlie” which was the name of a fictional AI in an Earth sci-fi novel. The message ended with V’alura rambling about the many sci-fi novels she read as a teen.]

Dear Solal,

Good news! Harlie vs Betelgese Syndrome is complete and the results are in! Little Harlie’s predictions of disease progression matched the recorded progression of Betelgese syndrome 91.75% of the time. [Here V’alura inserted various graphs and charts of the gathered data, first detailing one of cases in Starfleet’s databases then displayed Harlie’s predictions] There’s a lot more but I think I’d bore you with the down and gritty AI details. To summaries Harlie heavily drew from the preexisting data compiled by the Betelgesians and correctly predicted disease progression in the cases we selected as typical. She seemed to struggle with the a-typical cases such as [cases of humans and Betelgesians with rare genetic disorders who contracted the disease]. Which, was expected as there were so few a-typical cases in the Betelgesian data.

Which means for the next phase of testing we should select a disease from a population with greater genetic variety than the Betelgesians. If you know of any diseases that would fit that criteria then we could use that for phase two of testing. Attached is my first draft of the final report I plan to send to Starfleet Medical. Please add to any comments or theories of your own!

Don’t you love the thrill of research?
Lt. JG. Belmont, CSO
[Followed by V’alura’s electronic signature]

Lt. Jg. Belmont, CSO

Solal’s reply to V’alura’s came the same day she’d sent her letter.

Dear V’alura,

This is good news. A 91.75% prediction rate is higher than I would have expected an AI to achieve. Medical disease and disorder is notoriously difficult to predict. Atypical cases I would expect it to have trouble with. Another study with a wider genetic variance should help, but don’t expect as high of a prediction rate. For a species with a high variance rate I suggest the Ulgarians, Ulgarian measles would be a good illness to have the AI attempt to predict. It is also transmittable to most humanoid species, if you would like to try and have the AI predict cross-species illnesses. Your final report looks good, however, I would like to add a little to it. [Solal goes on to list medically specific information from their tests to add to the report]. Otherwise, it looks ready to send on to Starfleet Medical.

Sincerely,
[Solal’s signature is here]
Lt JG Solal, Immunology, USS Ogawa

~ Lt JG Solal, Immunology, USS Ogawa

V’alura read through all of Solal’s notes then integrated his feedback into her final paper. As she re-read the final draft, glass of wine in hand, she found her thoughts drifting towards Solal. Of course she skimmed through his personnel file before their research began. From it she learned that he was half-vulcan like herself and that he was raised on Earth. Also like her. She was terribly curious about him. If he faced the same difficulties and hardships that she did. If his human half was never enough for his human peers. Professionalism kept her curiosity in check. After all, even though they were working together on this research they still didn’t really know that much about the other.

And V’alura has shared plenty about herself. Her momma always said V’alura could talk until the cows came home. Solal never seemed to acknowledge her personal ramblings. It seemed, to her, that he preferred the distance of professionalism. With a heavy heart she typed her next response and took comfort in her glass of real wine.

Dear Solal,

Harlie performed beyond either of expectations, but I would attribute that to the vast and detailed database of the Betelgesians. They stood against that disease for nearly half a century before they and Starfleet finally vanquished it. Ulgarian measles is very promising for the next phase of testing. We could run two simulations of the disease. The first with simulated Ulgarians and the second with cross-species illnesses. It would mean more number crunching in the final report but I welcome the added challenge. I will start work on the new simulations if you could compile the data on Ulgarian measles. That will be the library that Harlie will pull from when making her predictions in the simulations.

T believe the attached document will be of great help. [Attached is a summary of Harlie’s interactions with the database on Betelgese Syndrome. The data shows how she interacted with the data and utilized it in each simulated case.]

Lt. JG. Belmont, CSO
[Followed by V’alura’s electronic signature]

Aannnd sent. V’alura leaned back in her chair, glass of wine in hand while she watched her little beta fish swim around its tank. Then she thought. Oh, what the hell. And began a new message.

[Second message sent twenty minutes after the first]

Solal,

It’s me again and before you wonder, no, this second message is not about the research. A personal correspondence if you would. If you’ve skimmed through my personnel file like I’ve skimmed yours then you’ll know I’m a Vulcan-Human hybrid raised on Earth like yourself. I’ve met so few people like us and I would like to get to know you better. I’ve wondered if you had the same struggles as I did.

When I was a little girl my mother found me a Vulcan mentor. She was a scientist living on Earth, someone who had no reason or even time to speak to me. Yet she still found time to teach me twice a week. She taught me Vulcan and Vulcan meditation techniques. Instructed me in all the ways of Surak and how to live a life of logic and control. At the time I resented her. Mind you, I was six years old. I recall she was very stern and seemed to disprove of anything I did. Younger me wanted to express my emotions like my human friends did. Except, my emotions were too much for my human peers. I almost really hurt a boy in my class when I got so angry I shoved him. Well, you should know as well as I do that even as young children we posses greater strength.

That day it really connected with me. That I wasn’t human. That I was different. Several of my classmates were scared of me after that. They called me a freak for a time. I know this seems so sudden, and perhaps unwanted as well. I understand if you wish to keep our connection purely professional but I think we could be good friends. I feel that we could really understand one another, and isn’t it nice? To know someone who really understands?

Signed,
V’alura Belmont

Lt. Jg. Belmont, CSO