I think Breq would probably be a little happier as a Ship, even without ancillaries? She's getting large amounts of data from Mercy, but it's still having to be filtered through one organic brain. If she could have spy-implants (...well, that's what they ARE...) in troops, like Mercy has, then she might feel a bit more at-home?
Hmmm. I... kind of agree? In that I think if you went to Breq and asked her if she'd like that, she might say yes, but if you asked Mercy of Kalr if that would be a good deal, Mercy of Kalr would say nononononono. And not only because she'd be out a captain.
(...how much do ancillary minds affect the AI personality? I mean, it might be FAIR if she assimilated a few Anaanders. >_> Edit: But not if they'd mess with her personality.)
Ooh. I'm not sure I can see Breq doing that, but damn, some AI or other should have thought of it! Maybe the Ghost Ship.
I'm imagining that how much they affect your personality would depend on how many you have and how diverse they are. For instance, if out of your two thousand segments, you have one who has a physiological and neurological predisposition to get angry quickly, or for whom cherries taste weird, or who gets jittery on caffeine, then you make allowances for that where possible and appropriate. But if you have a quorum of ancillaries who all have the same quirk, then that's your quirk, not just that segment.
I think if an AI assimilated one of Anaander Mianaai, that ancillary segment would raise the ship's waterline for aggression, risk-taking, and unsettling sense of humour.
no subject
Hmmm. I... kind of agree? In that I think if you went to Breq and asked her if she'd like that, she might say yes, but if you asked Mercy of Kalr if that would be a good deal, Mercy of Kalr would say nononononono. And not only because she'd be out a captain.
(...how much do ancillary minds affect the AI personality? I mean, it might be FAIR if she assimilated a few Anaanders. >_> Edit: But not if they'd mess with her personality.)
Ooh. I'm not sure I can see Breq doing that, but damn, some AI or other should have thought of it! Maybe the Ghost Ship.
I'm imagining that how much they affect your personality would depend on how many you have and how diverse they are. For instance, if out of your two thousand segments, you have one who has a physiological and neurological predisposition to get angry quickly, or for whom cherries taste weird, or who gets jittery on caffeine, then you make allowances for that where possible and appropriate. But if you have a quorum of ancillaries who all have the same quirk, then that's your quirk, not just that segment.
I think if an AI assimilated one of Anaander Mianaai, that ancillary segment would raise the ship's waterline for aggression, risk-taking, and unsettling sense of humour.