[There's some mental calculus that needs to be done here. These humans are clearly trapped, possibly impregnated. Alia bleeds out the higher colors, lowering the wavelengths that her eyes process until the visible colors start sliding over into the infrared spectrum, the heat painting over the hanging bodies.
The bugs don't give off heat, she can't see them using that method, but that much mass in someone's chest makes a difference.
As far as she can tell, there's no way to save someone once they've been infected. She doesn't know the gestation period. And Jorgmund has offered no evidence that they can, in fact, remove them safely. These humans will die, regardless of whether it's at the merciful hands of a New Hire or from the 'birth'.
She doesn't know Wash, he's too new, but she does have some files on human behavior and it's easy for her to play back and catch that little hitch in his voice.
He doesn't want to do it. Or, rather, he regrets the necessity. Either way, it would cause him emotional harm to euthanize these victims. She considers their possible lifespans, his possible life span, the emotional trauma it would cause, just what they'd need to do to chance one of these people coming back intact, and the chances that they'd need the ammunition later on.
It takes 0.0024 seconds for her to process all of the variables and come to a conclusion. The First Law demanded she do nothing that could harm a human. But allowing them to die in fear and agony would be so much more harmful, and that dropped a brick on her mental scales. One hand drops to his shoulder, gently pushing him aside. The other morphs, transforming into an arm cannon, a high pitched whine starting up.]
Stand aside, sir. You need to conserve your ammunition. My weapon is solar powered, I won't run out any time soon.
[He'd probably take that so much better than 'I think you're going to hate yourself too much for having to do this.' The decision is twisting in her belly, and she'd be sick if she were human, but Alia's ethical calculus has already played the situation out. Her tone is filled with regret, but... Well, what else could be done?]
C
The bugs don't give off heat, she can't see them using that method, but that much mass in someone's chest makes a difference.
As far as she can tell, there's no way to save someone once they've been infected. She doesn't know the gestation period. And Jorgmund has offered no evidence that they can, in fact, remove them safely. These humans will die, regardless of whether it's at the merciful hands of a New Hire or from the 'birth'.
She doesn't know Wash, he's too new, but she does have some files on human behavior and it's easy for her to play back and catch that little hitch in his voice.
He doesn't want to do it. Or, rather, he regrets the necessity. Either way, it would cause him emotional harm to euthanize these victims. She considers their possible lifespans, his possible life span, the emotional trauma it would cause, just what they'd need to do to chance one of these people coming back intact, and the chances that they'd need the ammunition later on.
It takes 0.0024 seconds for her to process all of the variables and come to a conclusion. The First Law demanded she do nothing that could harm a human. But allowing them to die in fear and agony would be so much more harmful, and that dropped a brick on her mental scales. One hand drops to his shoulder, gently pushing him aside. The other morphs, transforming into an arm cannon, a high pitched whine starting up.]
Stand aside, sir. You need to conserve your ammunition. My weapon is solar powered, I won't run out any time soon.
[He'd probably take that so much better than 'I think you're going to hate yourself too much for having to do this.' The decision is twisting in her belly, and she'd be sick if she were human, but Alia's ethical calculus has already played the situation out. Her tone is filled with regret, but... Well, what else could be done?]
You can turn away.