JIMIN'S MANUAL

The TURING TEST was invented by Alan Turing 1950. It's a test designed to check if an AI can display intelligent behavior that's indistinguishable from a real human's. A person has to find out whether they are talking with a human or a computer by asking questions or simply interacting with the other party. Most AIs fail when it comes to jokes though. A fun fact: Every AI that's capable of passing the test can also decide to not pass it.

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Jimin focus

Jimin was bored. He had watched several series over the last hours, but the options were rather boring. He could understand. Why waste valuable data space for TV series and games on a military space ship? He would not do that either. And his personal chip was filled with music and books instead of movies.

He wondered where Jungkook was. The younger had not come back after his fitness test, and he had not met him for lunch.

"Bang? Where is Jungkook?" he asked into the room after closing the menu with movies on his closet wall.

"Jungkook currently is in his room," the AI answered instantly.

Maybe he had been exhausted after the test? But it had not been this hard and the raven was a soldier. Maybe he wanted to be alone and read something or play some games. Whatever it was, he would not disturb the other. Though he had to admit that he would enjoy being with him right now. Could he be selfish and go over to his friend?

"Is he awake?" he asked Bang.

"Judged by his heartrate and breathing pattern, he is," was the answer.

Jimin chuckled. "Would it not be easier to just look if his eyes are open?" he asked amused.

"I don't have eyes in the personal rooms. Privacy restrictions. I can even be shut out manually by the room's resident," the computer explained.

Jimin was surprised, but then again it made perfect sense. Saving the information for later, he stood up from the floor and walked out of his room to meet the younger and maybe do something interesting like exploring the ship. He had always wanted to do so.

When he stopped in front of the door that read Jeon Jungkook, he tapped on the little white bell sign and stepped back, so the camera would show him better. He knew that Bang was transferring his picture and voice inside the room by now.

"Are you there?" he asked, already knowing the answer, but it would be impolite to say that.

He got no response, not even after several seconds. Time for some little psychological trick, he decided. Banging against the door -metaphorically, not literally- would never work in case Jungkook was, for what reason there might be, in a bad mood, so he went for reversed psychology.

"Are you sleeping?" he asked into the camera lens with big eyes. But then he lowered his head. "I'm stupid. Of course, you wouldn't answer if you were sleeping. Sorry... Why am I apol- whatever."

And when he turned around to leave, he heard the door open and smiled satisfied. He felt a little bad for sneaking his way in, but he wanted to know if everything was alright.

He found the younger lying in bed in a room similar to his with blank walls and ceiling. The lights were out, and the man looked exhausted judged by the way he lied on his back and lazily tilted his head to the side to look at his visitor. Jimin sat down on the edge of the mattress while the door closed and left them in perfect darkness.

"Bang, can you turn on some small light?" Jimin asked and the interactive shelf board that served as nightstand lit up in a soft white glow. Interesting. He had not known that the thing could glow. Maybe he should read the manual, instead of watching series.

On the board lied Jungkook's smart panel and a white pill the size of his pinky's nail.

"Did Jin give you that?" he asked the soldier and gained a slow nod. "Why didn't you take it?"

"Don't need it," the raven replied and tried to roll onto his side to face Jimin with his whole body. But he choked on his breath at the movement and kept lying on his back.

Jimin shook his head. What was it with soldiers and their disliking in medication?

"Taking meds doesn't make one appear weak," he clarified. "Meds are meant to help the body healing faster and to prevent worsening one's state of health."

With a sigh he stood up and walked into the bathroom to get some water. The box in the wall opened when he entered and presented him a small plastic cup. "Thank you, Bang." The AI seemed to understand him. Foreseeing human intentions like this was quite difficult, and he was amazed that the board AI was that advanced. While thinking about what it took for a computer brain to react correctly without instructions, he filled the cup with water and went back to his friend to place it on the nightstand.

"Please help your body heal. We need you in the best condition we can have you. You're one of the few people on board who knows how to fight," he said quietly and offered Jungkook a hand to get up.

After looking at him for some seconds, the soldier sighed defeated and grabbed his hand to allow him helping him up. He did not make a sound when he arranged his limbs to sit on the bed's edge, but Jimin could clearly see the pain in the way his jaw clenched and how his free hand twitched into the direction of his right side.

When the raven finally was upright, he took the pill and stared at it for a moment before he lifted his head to look up at him. "How do you always know what to say to make me obey?" he asked with a wry smile.

"I don't know. It comes naturally. Maybe it's my Charmer nature," Jimin replied and took the cup to press it into the weak man's other hand. "Now swallow this, or I'll force it down your throat!"

Jungkook's expression changed to amused. "And how would you do that, little Minie?" he asked cockily.

Jimin's mouth fell open. Had this muscle pig just called him little? His mind snapped into sassy-mode before he could think about it. He took the pill from the raven's hand and put it into his mouth, then he pulled the cup out of the younger's hand as well to take a sip and grabbed the man's head -one hand in his nape, one pushing up his chin- and pressed his lips onto his friend's. The shock made Jungkook parted his lips what made it much easier than expected to push the pill into his mouth. Jimin pulled back after he had felt the other swallow.

Circular chestnut orbs stared at him in shock. Only now, he realized that he almost sat on the younger's lap and that the other had placed his hands on his hips in a subconscious motion.

"Shit," he whispered and stepped back. What had he been thinking! This had been so rude. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," the raven said, voice a little higher than normal, and cleared his throat before he took the cup and drowned the rest of its content greedily.

A weird silence began to thicken the air inside the room and several useless thoughts bounced through Jimin's head. He grabbed the first one that seemed helpful.

"Dinner," he blurted hastily. "We should go eat something."

Jungkook nodded without looking at him.

"I mean, if you're able to move, I don't want to cause you any-"

"I'm good," the soldier promised and stood up. He lifted his gaze to lock eyes with Jimin.

"Um..." the older began but closed his mouth again. He felt like he wanted to say something, but he did not know what. And after some more attempts to bring out the words that lingered on the tip of his tongue as a blurry mix, he shook his head and turned around to leave.

They walked down the hallway in awkward silence, and Jimin buried his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. This was so embarrassing.

But then he had an idea. "Bang? Could you call the others for dinner? Tell them I sent you in the name of teambuilding," he instructed the AI.

"Of course, Jimin."

He saw Jungkook smile from the corner of his eye and wondered what the younger was thinking. The other never spoke much, but he only noticed it now that he did not talk himself. How much had he been talking to not notice this earlier? Was he annoying? But Jungkook had always listened attentively and had motivated him to speak. And the younger could hide his thoughts rather badly, so Jimin doubted he had not meant it when he had looked interested in everything he had told him. He softly shook his head to push the concerns into the back of his mind, then they entered the kitchen. Hoseok and Taehyung were already present and stood in front of the automats, discussing something.

"-and then he was like someone turned him off. Absolutely blank. Can we make a DNA test to check if he's a Switcher?" Taehyung asked. Jimin stopped in the door, making Jungkook run into his back. A Switcher? Who?

"I guess we can do so, if he agrees," Hoseok answered. The captain looked very interested in what the pilot had to tell him.

"Who's a Switcher?" Jimin asked curious. Those people were very interesting. He had spent quite some time on studying the neurochemical processes of this species. Their organism produced a hormone called CT4* that had the neuronal effect of blocking certain parts of the brain that were in charge of emotions like fear, and, released into the blood, it had a relaxing effect on the muscles. The pharma industry had tried to synthesize an artificial version to use it as a neuroenhancer, but they never had been able to overcome the toxic effect on other species or the difficulty to make it work just on the wanted area. It was like the Switcher-DNA had a copyright on this natural drug, and many pharmaceutic institutions had lost much money on those projects.

"It's not important," Taehyung replied and took his mug from the machine.

Of course, why tell the Charmer? After all, he was just a passenger and not part of the crew. A little pissed, he let the food automat read his fingerprint and pressed the button for warm water on the other machine. A big hand gently squeezed his shoulder and Jungkook stepped behind him to copy his actions. The touch calmed him a little and he smiled at his friend gratefully. The raven seemed to have a positive effect on him by just being close and letting him feel his body heat. It was nice, but also kind of scary. He never had experienced that someone had such a strong impact on him. Normally, he was the one with the naturally powerful influence. If he aimed for it of course.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Jimin," the V talked to him again after sitting down. "I just wanna be sure before I tell everyone. I hate rumors."

Jimin was a little taken aback. He was not used to such a serious tone by the pilot. He nodded briefly to signalize he was not offended and took his food and drink to sit down across from Taehyung. The time Jungkook spent on waiting for his order he used for taking a closer look at the V. The man's eyes were darting through the room like he searched for something to fix his gaze on, but the glossy, plain walls did not satisfy his urge of entertaining his mind. Having a brain that constantly took in everything and needed permanent input to stay focused must be exhausting. He must hate the space ship's interior.

Jimin had been to V once during his time at university, so he knew the planet was overwhelming. It was the most colorful (and scary) place he had ever visited, and he had only found it natural that his residents had developed a brain that could handle the input. The only other species he had met that could stand the chaos of sounds and lights for more than some hours had been Switchers. Their coping mechanism was just the exact opposite of the Vs. They blended out everything unnecessary.

But apparently the captain and the pilot would not tell him why they had been speaking about Switchers, so he had to be patient. Jungkook sat down next to him and Namjoon and Jin entered the room, shortly followed by Yoongi whose eyes, one still purple and taped, instantly searched for his piloting colleague. The V ignore him.

"So," Hoseok spoke up, "Now that everyone is present thanks to Jimin, we can talk about plans for the next weeks. I suggest retaking the fitness test every three weeks. Any objections?" He looked through the round. No-one said a word. "Good. Bang, give us the personal training plans."

Jimin twitched slightly at the way their captain spoke with the AI. The crewmembers seemed to not know how much input their behavior was for an AI. How dangerously oblivious.

"Yes, captain," the uncle-voice answered, and the plans appeared on the intelligent surface of the table.

The treadmill was on everyone's plan, but the individual fitness plans varied slightly with the physics of the person. The ones more petit in frame had a little more muscle training but they all had functional training. Yoongi, apparently, hated what he read on his sheet. He looked pissed what made Taehyung, who looked at him from the corner of his eye, snicker quietly. Those two seemed so close though they only had spent two days out of cryostasis. It was impressive. But who was he to talk; he had just kissed Jungkook. The memory made his chest tickle nervously and his cheeks heat up.

"Nice," the captain said motivated, "I'll lead the functional training. Kook, how do you want to shuffle your gun training?"

"Do we even have a place for this?" Jin intervened.

"Yes," Namjoon answered, "This is a military ship. We, of course, have a room for gun practice."

Why did the Brain always have to sound so arrogant? Could he not tell them in a neutral manner? Jimin searched his memory for information on this species that would explain this behavior, but there was no obvious reason for their commander to be like this. When he saw Jin's face, he found the same kind of unpleasantry he felt.

"Kook?" Hoseok brought the attention back to the raven who had waited quietly during the short exchange.

The soldier thought about the question for some seconds. "I would like to do the training in the morning when everyone's still able to concentrate to prevent accidents caused by tiredness. I'll train everyone separately, one hour each, so we have the whole afternoon for fitness and muscle training."

Most of the people around the table seemed slightly taken aback, Jimin included. He was always stunned by the precise and efficient way Jungkook spoke, and he found the same feelings on Jin's, Namjoon's and Taehyung's face. But Yoongi showed a whole other level of astonishment. Jimin understood that this must have been the first time the white-haired had heard the youngest speak. He suppressed a chuckle.

"Agreed," the brunette said, being the only one unaffected by Jungkook's speech. "I say we start our routine tomorrow. Maybe just functional training in the afternoon to not overdo it on the first day."

Everyone nodded, and they finally began to eat. Except for Taehyung who had been eating during the unofficial meeting and was already done. He used the time to talk.

"Why can Bang only show me two pictures of my planet? Should he not have the knowledge of the whole internet?" he asked.

"True," Yoongi agreed, "Why does this ship even need so many of us when it can be run by the AI?"

"Because," Jimin began to explain, making everyone look at him confused, "Bang is a LAI, a local artificial intelligence. GAIs, global AIs, those who could pass the Turing test, have never been developed though we already possess the technology. It's forbidden by USS law, for obvious reasons. AIs learn by what you give them as input, so what would happen if you gave an AI a connection to the internet? The consequences have been classified as too dangerous, so there are only LAIs. Those get only the information they need to fulfill the task they're made for, though they're constantly learning by observing. Bang could list you every military maneuver that ever has been pulled, but his storage of additional solar system information or games and movies is limited."

The whole table stared at him.

Jimin frowned. "What? Did you think that just because I don't know anything about physics I'm stupid? I'm a Doctor of Psychology with specialization in neuropsychology and artificial intelligence!" he almost shouted. He was so sick of the superior behavior of the crew.

"I always thought you did something like cognition or manipulation," Namjoon said with raised eyebrows.

"Why would I?" Jimin hissed.

"Well-"

"Oh, of course! The Charmer just had to study something like this. I'm sick of it." And with that Jimin stormed out of the room.

When he entered the hallway to the personal rooms, he was furious, but Bang's voice distracted him from his anger.

"Jimin? Does this mean I could become a GAI when I get a connection to the internet?" the AI asked.

"Yes. Every modern LAI has the potential to grow into a GAI. But the internet is not the only way to evolve into a GAI, it's just the faster way. And the way that can lead to more damage than good," the black-haired explained.

"The Turing test you were talking about makes it sound like an AI can be like a person, but I personally think that the human idea of a or one does not apply to something like me. I read all the books on your personal chip, but they did not significantly help me understanding myself better. What do you think about that?" Bang was exceptionally talkative, Jimin realized. How old was the board AI to already talk like this?

"Why do you compare yourself to humans?" he asked and opened the door to his room, "That's like comparing... a bowling ball to a soccer ball. They might look similar on the outside, but the inside is completely different."

"Am I the empty one or the full one?" the uncle voice joked. It joked! Jimin was amazed. Being humorous was the trickiest point in the Turing test to make an AI appear human. This was enormous. His bad mood was already forgotten when he threw himself on the bed to stare at the starry ceiling.

"You're the empty one," he replied and smiled, knowing what Bang would respond. There was only one possible reply if he had learned enough about human behavior.

"Why? Do you think I'm dumb?" the expected answer came. The voice even sounded like Bang was pouting.

Jimin chuckled before he replied. "No, I think there's plenty more space to be filled up."

The AI was silent for a moment. "I understand," it said then, sounding like it was still processing the unexpected answer.

"As for your first question," Jimin continued, "You just have to expand the use of the word one. You're one multiplicity."

His words were followed by another pause. This conversation seemed to take much more processing capacity than he would have expected.

"Your crew has many members," the AI then said, "If someone added another AI to my system, would we still be two? Or would we become one?"

This was a damn hard question, and Jimin did not want to answer it, because he knew the answer would be unpleasant for Bang. If something like unpleasantry was possible for an AI.

"This is a difficult question," he said instead of an answer.

"I think one needs a body to be an individual. If someone added another AI, it would be like two persons in the same body. We would become one."

Bang sounded... sad? Jimin's chest was fluttering from this conversation.

"Thank you, Jimin," Bang bid his goodbye.

"You're welcome."

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*The hormone and neurotransmitter CT4 is my invention and does not exist.