ANALYZING… FILE TYPE: Private Comms PERIOD: Pre-Expedition TOPIC: Engineered Companion Pets SUMMARY: UESC scientist Dr. Dylan Roberts contacts Sekiguchi Genetics scientist Dr. Oliwia Andrysiak about engineering pets for colonists of the upcoming Marathon voyage. =================================================================== S: ROBERTS-D // R: ANDRYSIAK-O // T: TAU CETI PETS Dear Dr. Andrysiak, I was referred to you by Dr. Mari Hassan regarding a proposal I've made to develop engineered "pets" for the Tau Ceti IV colonists leaving as part of the Marathon mission. In our isolation studies, we have seen the expected rate of self-reported loneliness among volunteer "colonists." We are concerned that our results are biased by the fact that our volunteers know their isolation will eventually end, which will not be the case for the colonists settling on Tau Ceti. Although the actual settlers will have a decently large community to rely on, we know from past landmark studies that structured socialization opportunities can actually increase friction, even in the cases of people with similar social network models. All this leads me to consider non-human interaction instead. Considering the popularity of animal interaction simsuites on Earth and Mars, I feel strongly that we should ship the colonists off with similar tech, but I'm not sure it will be enough. I advise considering domesticating native Tau Ceti fauna, but that would take generations to become viable. Artificial seems to be the way to go. I'm told that Sekiguchi Genetics is providing engineered "seeder" supplies for the voyage, and hypothetically those starters could be used to create endless synthetic frames once the colonists touch down on Tau Ceti and provide other necessary resources. I think we'd just have to send along the blueprints for the companion creature (along with any specialized materials), but I'm no expert. What are your thoughts? Regards, Dr. Dylan Roberts ————— S: ANDRYSIAK-O // R: ROBERTS-D // T: TAU CETI PETS I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance. SekGen has a number of research protocols in this cluster; the furthest along is KAAL1, but that is focused on mapping relatable traits to synthetic frames, a way of mimicking companionship. The internals aren't currently suitable for your purposes, but we could reuse the base frame. Thinking out loud, we could try something simpler. The FELI2 protocol was working on improving the base FELI1 model on a number of metrics, including frame flexibility and granular behavior modifiers to suit any individual owner. I have some of that data in storage. I'll put in the pull request, and we can begin brainstorming. Dr. Oliwia Andrysiak Senior Project Lead, SEKIGUCHI GENETICS "If Oliwia can't build it, she'll build someone who can." –Anonymous, Blue Room whiteboard, May 2467 =================================================================== TYPE: TEXT [X]; AUDIO [ ]