"Mutual misassumption you say." Stew mulled this over for a second. "So you are saying you both thought the other meant something other than what was actually meant."
Stew's soft caring tone had returned. Stew looked down at Kiriko who had her eyes closed and was on the verge of yawning and falling asleep.
Smiling Stew looked back at Elfie. "Well...I'm sure Cly will surely back you up......provided you are not trying to fool me"
- I'd rather just jump back to the earlier point - she corrected - I have made wrong assumptions about the Boss based on previous events today, and she did the same about me, especially after mines
She felt a bit frustrated due to the unexpected sidetrack from her previous statements, even felt dumb theorizing that maybe she either explained it the wrong way, or misunderstood what the man just said. The sudden return of his smile and the comment on the probability of Elfie's lies lent this person a mischievous appearance, which maked her wonder how much bias he might possess, especially if that AI is also biased. She couldn't recall herself being overly unreasonable or hostile, but if Miss Secretary recorded the previous conversation just as she did with the convoy coms, she could have misinterpreted things Elfie said and how she did. And she also might show only such parts of the record which would only back up the Boss' part of the truth, like what actually happened early during the conversation, when she only played back what the Boss wanted to point out, and nothing Elfie tried. Truth be told, right at the moment Elfie did not consider asking the AI for the truth, as so far she shown that her personality was very likely biased, openly showing off whom's part she is most likely on. But Elfie knew that it could have been another wrong assumption about a person, and fighting the man's suggestion would likely make him think that she was hiding some ill intentions, which she was sure she didn't. But what if this time one of her two assumptions regarding the AI are right, even if safely unspoken? That she either misinterpreted Elfie and her intentions, or didn't but then she could be biased and... what if actually she is programmed to be capable of lying? That would be a disaster if paired up with programmed bias
- Why don't you ask her about it, then? - she replied, with a question
Elfie was sure that soon she will have answers to her inner questions, and truly hoped that the negative 2 out of the 3 possibilities she so far gathered about the AI will be wrong. But then, even if she will tell the truth, with bias she can twist it against Elfie, if she is programmed to be capable of it, to begin with
Stew felt Kiriko cuddle closer in his arms releasing the yawn that she had been trying to hold in.
Knowing she was on the verge of actually falling asleep Stew started to rock slightly side to side like he did when his own children were little.
Hearing Elfie explain herself again Stew still thought it sounded like mutual miss-assumption but said nothing.
For the few seconds of quietness Stew watched Elfie's face go through myriads of confusion and worriment, getting further worried himself as to the events prior.
Hearing Elfie suggest asking Cly did help Stew feel better, partly cause it will help him learn what happened and also it showed that Elfie was honest and not deceitful.
"Very well then....Cly would you mind playing everything in full please"
Kiriko was now fast asleep , regardless of responsibilities and duty, she was still just a young girl, the gentle swaying of Stews arms gradually sent her peacefully off to sleep. Stew asked Cly for a full repetition of the days events, Cly paused for a moment and then lit up.
::Alright, Uncle Wolfe, would you like to hear the room event log since miss Cullen entered?:: she questioned quietly knowing Kiriko was now asleep, feeling it in her pulse as she held onto Cly with decreasing strength, ::to prevent damage please gently take up of the unit and hold me face up:: she continued, asking Stew to take hold of the PDA before Kiriko accidentally dropped it.
Stew made sure Kiriko was safely in his left arm before carefully and slowly taking Cly in his right hand. Stew then held Cly up, he then smiled at Elfie before continuing "From when Miss Cullen entered please Cly."
A thumbs up was seen for a moment, ::Alright.. one moment, please consult the desk screen, uncle:: Cly said queitly, a 3D arrow appearing on the PDA screen pointing behind him to the desk, Stew looked at the arrow that moved as he did, remaining focused pointing at the large screen on Kiriko's desk, he carefully moved round the desk still holding Kiriko as she slept and sitting carefully into her rather large luxury executive desk chair that could easily seat even a large grown man such as himself perfectly.
The screen flicked on, cctv footage from the hidden camera on ceiling was being quickly rewound, it stopped and Cly's icon appeared on the screen in the corner. ::Ready::, Stew nodded and made sure Kiriko was still comfortable before confirming, "ready".
Cly played back the footage with audio from the moment Elfie had placed her hand onto the scanner pad outside the door.
Stew sat quietly watching the video taking every detail that he could him.
He started to frown as the video showed Kiriko and Elfie arguing, this deepened as Kiriko jumped upon the top of the desk. A worried tone joined the frown as he saw Kiriko started to get upset and start to cry. But the speaking of Kusarian was a surprise to him. It was obvious Cly has adjusted the volume of the audio to make Elfie's whisper audible but this didn't help Stew as he was trying to pick out the handful of words he knew from what Elfie said.
As he saw himself enter on the screen he sat back in the chair, realizing he had continually lent forward as the video was played. "Thanks Cly........but Cly, would you mind translating the Kusarian for me?"
He then sat there quietly in thought as Cly was translating what was said and started to display the translated text upon the display. "ummm...ok..." Stew then mumbled the translation to himself as it appeared.
Stew looked across the desk to Elfie, "well Miss Cullen..it seems to me that your...when you said there....it seems that you were right when you said mutual miss-assumption." His voice was quiet so as to not wake Kiriko who was now fully asleep in his arms, and his tone had returned to caring friendly usual tone.
Stew smiled hoping to convey that he was not upset at Elfie. "But....." he tailed off as he lost his train of thought then looked back at the display which was still showing the translation.
"you both have come from different ways of life, both have gone through different incidents, both have different points of view, values and understandings. But that doesn't mean either of you are wrong and the other is right. It means you both has constructive information to improve situations."
"I'm sure both of you didn't want to hurt each other...right?"
Stew waits patiently for Elfie to digest and respond to what he said.
~ Here comes the but ~ she thought as the man with brief pauses expressed that Miss Secretary comfirmed Elfie's part of the story, which was for once new. The but really came although a little bit different way than she expected, despite putting a greater-than-actual experience gap between the two girls, he at least took it more positively
- I can't speak for the Boss - she answered after brief thinking - even though she seemed to want to help the situation her own way. Anyway, even with many things have been cleared up, one little problem remains and that I guess is the reason of all the shouting. The Boss seems like die-hard pretending to be immune to future failures, which should be adressed by some people she trusts more than the likes of me. 'Cause of that I totally felt like she was trying to put a blame on me about today dangers, so I kept pressing her to find out the truth which was kinda different from my first-hand imaginations, but that's not the point. When people pretend to be too much different than what they really believe of themselves, it can end up in rough situations the way like it did today, they explode. At least that's how I seen it around so far. Ew, am I starting to be phylosophical or something?
Stew took in what Elfie was saying while reading Elfie's Bowex ID which Cly had brought up on the display as if she had read Stew's mind. "Well Kiriko is in charge of ExSec and as such is in charge sorting situations in the way she chooses." Stew looked up and at Elfie. "...and I firmly believe that Kiriko will not try to blame you for anything you didn't do."
Stew waited for Elfie to object but this never happened. "Therefore I.." Stew pauses for a moment as Kiriko moves in her sleep ".. suggest that if there are infact things you believe are not done properly with Convoys and the actions of escorts and scouts then I suggest you compile then and send the file to Kiriko." Stew's authoritative tone had joined his usual tone. "I'm sure Cly will remind Kiriko to check over the them."
A thumbs up was shown on Cly's display and also superimposed over the information about Elfie on the desk display in-front of Stew. "Does that seem reasonable to you young one?"