Wednesday 18th December

The Janitor is in the Command Deck now and trying to get to grips with what comes next. He consults the computer to get a better idea and is forwarded to the service droid. 

Initially, he walked in to find an android, who he then had a conversation with, but I felt that that would be too much like he had company, especially if it were a human-looking robot. I want him to be alone and isolated. So instead he types at the computer. If you’ve ever tried to have a conversation with an AI-assistant, such as when you’re trying to get help from an online company, and the frustration that that can lead to … I liken it to MU-TH-UR with a mouth.

The idea behind the scene is to establish that the Janitor is clearly out of his depth and has no idea what he’s doing. He’s in unknown territory.

So the ship’s computer forwards him to the service droid who has ‘therapy protocols’ and he begins a conversation with the droid. Changes its designation from U-571 (will likely change it. Do you know what this is??) for something more human. Any suggestions for the service droid’s name, please do let me know! Front-runner currently is Steven. Or Alec. Droidy McDroidface is all too obvious. And we can’t go with Hal.

Janitor is looking for direction and the therapy bot is going to help. They’ll converse back and forth a bit, and I’ll see where that goes. It currently suggests to him that he should celebrate his promotion which could transition to a drunken foray and then back to therapy but I’ll explore further. He starts this adventure with positivity and enthusiasm and I’ll explore that as best I can before the realisation that despite the suggested freedom from his lifelong duties, he’s still very much alone and not really free at all. That’s when things really start to turn …