The bar is open! Also have an exploring doctor! Both open!

[allergictofear]

Vila was running the bar tonight and things were off to a good start as far as nights go. It wasn't overly busy Vila had time to chat it up with customers and summarily ended up downing a few himself. Vila relished this place, his job, HELL he even liked Rimmer who wasn't the easiest person to get along with, not that Vila would tell the man he

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paging Dr. Floss

[andrelative]

Trundling down the corridor was a robot dog, followed a few steps behind by a young blond man in the middle of consuming an apple.

"...but what does that entirely mean?" the man was saying, seemingly to himself, or perhaps to his supposed pet. He gestured enthusiastically with his apple core. "The myth of the Temptation in the Garden is inherently flawed."

"How so?" chirped the dog.

The man canted his head in an eerily mechanical manner as he pondered. "How could Eden be paradise if all knowledge was forbidden to the humans?"

"Perhaps, Master Varsh, the symbolism holds more weight than the logic?"

"Perhaps." He sounded dissatisfied with the answer. Thinking that he ought to gain a third opinion, he approached the first person he set eyes on: a woman wearing glasses. "Erm, hullo? My dog and I were wondering if you could help with settling a philosophical matter?"

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[drsilkenfloss]

She looked up at the trundling sound wondering just what that noise was, it was something she had never heard before. She glanced and saw the dog like robot, blinking for a few moments, she had never seen anything like it of course. She was even less prepared when it started to speak in a mechanical voice. She adjusted her glasses and looked at the young man, quirking a brow.

"Philosophy is not my major but I am willing to help..." She was looking at the dog, interestedly wondering how it worked.

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[andrelative]

"Well," Varsh began, noting with a pleased grin of the woman's interest in his dog. "Are you familiar with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?"

"There is a 93.51 percent chance that a complete stranger raised in Western society on Earth will have past knowledge of the book of Genesis, Master Varsh," K-9 said, assuring his master (and himself, to a lesser degree) of the chances.

"Was Eden truly the ideal place for humans before the Temptation?" continued Varsh. "I do not believe it so, for the two humans were existing in a flawed bliss. K-9 argues it thus: humans believe that paradise must equal tranquility, and without knowledge, one remains ignorant of the true strife of the universe. Do you have an opinion?"

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[drsilkenfloss]

"He's very good with statistics. K-9?" She leaned over to get a better look at the "dog".

"As for the question, I think my paradise would be to know. However, humans in the garden had no knowledge however, and as such I don't think they had the ability to decide what was or wasn't paradise. I do not agree with the ignorance is bliss philosophy." She was in thought mode, a finger pressed to her lips in thought. "To add to that, I wonder how one could be fearful of a consequence if one does not know of anything but bliss. Therefore, countering that the garden could not be a paradise so long as one being had dominion over all."

((Why yes I was just discussing this thing with my friend not three weeks ago. Here have a Silken with an apple))

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[andrelative]

"Affirmative!" said K-9, his antenna tail proudly whirring from side to side. "Providing accurate information is my primary function."

"But that was the function of the Serpent, correct? To prod the humans into believing that the knowledge would be better than ignorance? But..." And he took another bite of the apple, speaking around the apple as he chewed. "...what I do not understand is the human compulsion to return to such an ignorant state, and the condemnation of Eve, the first female human. I do not see why 'the Fall' is considered the woman's fault when it is clearly the idea of the Serpent and of Satan."

[yay philosophy! and yay apples.]

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[drsilkenfloss]

She nearly smiled despite herself and reached out to touch the strange mechanical thing, looking up at Varsh to check if it was ok of course.

"The Serpent, yes, I suppose his function was to prod humans into action, however, the serpent didn't make Eve do it, he simply put the idea in her head where no other idea had ever been. Women are easy to fault. We are the weaker and lesser sex, at least that is what The Bible would have you believe. And yet, we are the ones who make humanity possible. Men forgot about that part of it. But the garden was paradise, for the ignorant and not for the those with full knowledge of life and death. With knowledge of death comes death."

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[andrelative]

K-9 had his own whims and wants, of course, so as soon as he noticed the woman's interest in him, he slid closer to her, so that she needn't stretch her hand out too far. Like any other dog, he didn't hesitate to get petted. Luckily the man didn't appear to mind, as he was more focused on the discussion.

The idea of gender roles fascinated the android, for he didn't have a default gender of his own. An identity was only forged once an external appearance was chosen, and because the Doctor was male, Varsh had chosen to imprint upon the Time Lord and adopt the man's image.

If Varsh had felt closer to Peri instead, things may have been different.

"It is a pity, then, that the fault goes to the 'weaker sex'. Would Eve's role in the Fall be related to the female role in procreation? As you say, the women are responsible for the next generation of humanity. Perhaps placing the blame upon Eve is meant to undermine that? To take some of that power away from them?"

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[drsilkenfloss]

"I think the point of a patriarchal society is to take women down a notch. To undermine what they are, to make them ashamed of it." Yes, she has dealt with this sort of thing in her own life, after all, a woman doctor in the Fourties was not smiled on. She caressed the metal of the dogbot's head, her fingers interestedly stroking K-9.

"You are among the most interesting pieces of technology I have seen. Data would probably enjoy you very much."

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[andrelative]

Though the dog's metal face remained expressionless, K-9 still managed to somehow convey interest and a small degree of happiness at the touch. The red of his visor glowed extra bright, and his radar dish ears swiveled to and fro.

"And that is how it has been on Earth for most of human history." Varsh sounded a little sad at that. He finished what he could of his apple, eyebrows raising as the woman mentioned Data.

"You know my father?" he asked, head tilting in a doggish manner.

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[drsilkenfloss]

The dog's flashing light and swiveling ears did indeed make the woman smile slightly. She was finding she was very good with mechanical beings.

"Unfortunately." She raised an eyebrow, turning quickly to look at Varsh. "Your father? But Data is an android." That wasn't possible. This man appeared to be human after all.

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[andrelative]

"As am--"

"Master Varsh is a hybrid artificial life form," K-9 chirped, eager to share any information he could offer. "Stemming from Gallifreyan temporal transport technology and the work of cyberneticist Dr. Noonien Soong."

"--I," Varsh finished, slightly embarrassed at K-9's thoroughness. "My external humanoid appearance is due to my chameleon circuit. I am able to adopt any visage I desire."

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[drsilkenfloss]

"I see..." Only, it didn't seem to make much sense. The man appeared human, whereas Data was very noticeably not.

"Gallifreyan?" She wasn't sure what that was. "I have heard of Dr. Soong from Data. Though Data did not know the man himself. You can look any way you like? Male and female?" Her head swam with questions and a need for information.

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[andrelative]

"Gallifreyan, from the planet Gallifrey." At least he managed to get that in before K-9.

"I'm aware that a version of my father exists here on the station. He is not the exact individual who assisted in my creation, but a variation of the same, taken from a completely separate timeline."

She had questions, but Varsh was loath to answer them. As eager as he was to display his ability to his brother and his father, it wasn't the same as with a complete stranger. He opted for a weak grin and a nod. "All genders are...available to me. I feel most comfortable in this form, however."

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[drsilkenfloss]

It still didn't make sense to her, but perhaps the computers would be more informative. She also had realized just at that moment that this android was nothing like Data. He had emotions. And she had not been thoughtful of them in her question asking.

"I'm sorry, Varsh. I should not of asked something so personal. It's very nice you're able to make you're own decisions about that. Sometimes I wonder if I had a choice what I would choose." She wondered what Data in his universe was like.

"Despite him not being your father I am sure he is still rather pleased to meet someone he can relate to."

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[andrelative]

"I'm unsure if most humans are capable of the choice. It seems to me that they are so very set in their ways. Once they settle into a routine, they appear very reluctant to make changes."

He stooped slightly, giving K-9 a pat on his back panel, the dog's presence somehow giving him more confidence.

"My brother has taken it upon himself to attempt to help develop Father's emotional state. I assume they have a long way to go yet."

Re: paging Dr. Floss

[drsilkenfloss]

"Actually, many humans do choose to change their sex. Though perhaps not in the same way you can. They however, live a very seclusive life because of the choice." Humanity was not kind to those who were different to the norm after all.

"You have a brother as well?" She was even more curious to meet the other android, to see how Data reacted to them. "I am sure it will help if Data has someone of his own kind around to help him with such things. He was apparently very isolated."