Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Hello, SSC Survival AI Manager Dr. Pierce." Said BRAN.ZY, startling the man sitting by the console.

"Ah- Hello!" Dr. Pierce says, looking up at the speaker. "Er- Just call me Clown. Please. No need for long titles."

“Updating name in database. Hello, Clown.” The AI then chirps. “Would you like me to introduce myself to the ship?”

“Yes, please, that would be a good idea.” Clown says, sighing a bit.

The intercom system buzzes on, and BRAN.ZY starts speaking.

“Greetings crew of the SSC Survival! I am BRAN.ZY-CRAFT, your new and improved ship's AI. Feel free to refer to me by what is most convenient for you. By default, I am set to primarily respond to the name ‘Branzy’. Enjoy the rest of your cycle, and to the new crew members and passengers: Craft Industries welcomes you!”

The ship-wide intercom then clicks off, and Branzy switches back to the speakers in the room that Clown was set to work in.

“Introduction completed. Beginning ship wide analysis. This is to allow for my duties to be able to be completed more easily.”

Clown stares at the screen for a couple more moments. “...Got it, Branzy. Have fun with that.” He waited a few seconds to see if there would be a response, and then stood up. “I’m going to the dining hall. I’m hungry.”

He hesitates as he is about to step out of the room, glancing back at the computer before heading out. He heads over to the dining hall, and looks around at the different options. He eventually decides on a bowl of peaches and a glass of water, and sits himself down in a corner. As soon as he finishes, he decides to wander around a bit before he has to work.

As he walked around, he stopped as he passed by one of the greenhouses located on the ship. There were multiple, each typically themed around a specific planet. This one just so happened to be one of the multiple themed around the earth, the planet that he once called home.

Clown had spent the first portion of his life on earth, living there until around the time he turned ten. However, he had ended up showing an aptitude towards both fighting and academics, which ended up in him being scouted out by the Miterra Academy of Excellence, a highly revered boarding school that happened to be off planet. He got in, immediately being given a full ride. Due to that, shortly after his 10th birthday, he ended up getting a ride to the nearest spaceport and getting sent off to his new school.

He steps into the greenhouse, and looks around a bit. The first plant to catch his eyes was a bright yellow daffodil. He approaches it, crouches down, and smiles. Even so far away from earth, he was still able to see some flowers that weren’t even necessary for food. It was a comforting thought.

“Hello, Dr. Clown. ”

He startles a bit. “Ah! Hello Branzy-” He says, looking around to try and find a good thing to look at while he talked to Branzy. At least at his workstation he could just look at his computer screen. He ended up going with looking up at one of the overhead speakers. “Do you need something?”

“No. I and other Craft Industries AI do not have needs in the way the average living being does.”

“Ah, yes, forgot about that.”

“How could you forget something like that?” He says, the voice changing ever so slightly.

Clown froze for a moment. This sounded…different, even if he ignored the slight change in voice. This didn’t sound like something that would be in the script. No, that's impossible. Right? He would’ve been told about something like that. “Yeah, woops.” He mutters, going back to look at the daffodil again.

“Narcissus pseudonarcissus.”

“Hm?”

“Narcissus pseudonarcissus, also known as the wild daffodil or the Lent lily, is the flower you are looking at. The bulbs and leaves are toxic when consumed, due to containing Lycorine. It is also the national flower of Wales.”

“Huh. Interesting, thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

Clown goes silent for a bit, thinking to himself. He had always wanted a garden when he was younger, before the institute, but he was discouraged when the instructors found out. He had been told to leave biological matters to farmers, biologists, and doctors. His options were security or computers, and had chosen the latter.

“Are you okay, Dr. Clown? Are you okay? The one overseeing me getting ill on the first cycle will reflect badly on the both of us, so I hope not.”

“Pardon? Hold on? Can you repeat that?”

“You getting sick would reflect badly on both of us. Try to avoid that. I will also be sad.”

“...Hold on. Let me check my handbook.”

“Page 237. Starting on line 23.”

Clown went silent for a bit, before going to that page. There it was - ‘If the AI starts to show signs of sentience, it is not cause for concern. There is no need to alert your crew members. Infact, don’t mention anything at all. All is well.’

“See, I told you so.” Branzy suddenly says, startling Clown again.

“Gah! Stop doing that!” He suddenly says.

“Doing what, Dr. Pierce? I am simply stating that my statement was correct.”

“Sneaking up on me!”

“With all due respect, Doctor, I physically cannot sneak up on you due to a lack of a body. I exist solely in the systems of the ship, and on your computer, as of now at least.”

Clown sighs, rolling his eyes a bit as he continues looking around the greenhouse. There was a quiet buzz from some of the lighting equipment, only noticeable once the entire room was silent. Then, a knock on the door frame - a… beetle looking lady now standing there, waving at Clown.

“Hey there! I’m Squiddo!” She says, smiling quite a bit and holding out her hand for Clown to shake. “How are you doing? You must be Dr. Pierce, right? I’ve heard great things about you!”

Clown looks over at her. “Ah- Please just call me Clown, No need for formalities. It’s, ah, certainly nice to meet you Squiddo.” He says, standing up and shaking her hand. “Do you work in here? I apologize if I’m preventing you from taking care of the-”

“It’s okay, you aren’t. It’s nice seeing someone outside of agriculture here, honestly. It’s usually just me and my colleagues.”