"Then what are we doing here? How are we supposed to control the ship, by thinking happy thoughts?"

"If you'll shut up a moment and let me talk, I was going to say that there is a backup control center. Thuranin ships use the backup controls when they encounter the Maxohlx, in case their bad kitty patrons manage to hack into the Thuranin computers. Which they do often, and it drives the Thuranin absolutely batshit crazy. The backup control center has video displays, audio communication systems, and manual control panels. Anything you can't do from there, I can do for you, if you tell me what you want."

"Oh, then, lead on, MacDuff."

Skippy made a disgusted sound. "That is an annoying misquote from Shakespeare's Macbeth. The correct line is 'Lay on, MacDuff' and it means the opposite-"

"Don't care, Skippy! Which way do we go?" The corridor ahead intersected another, and there were no helpful signs anywhere, even if I could read Thuranin script.

"Hey, excuse me for trying to raise you monkeys out of the depths of your ignorance by slapping a little knowledge down on you," Skippy grumbled. "Straight ahead to the end of the corridor, I'll open the door." When we got there, he warned "Uh, I should say, the decor in there is a bit different from the rest of the ship."

Damn, he wasn't exaggerating. The interior of the backup control center was a gothic fantasy. It was a riot of colors, with display screens, brightly-lit control buttons, levers and knobs, and everything was super ornate looking. The contrast to the rest of the ship was jarring. I'm not an interior designer, so I'll try to describe it. The place looked more like an art project, a cross between a Medieval cathedral and one of those fancy French chateaus. Maybe gothic wasn't the right word, It sure didn't look like a place one of those Goth kids with the black eyeliner would hang out. Rococo, maybe? I wasn't sure what that word really meant. Over elaborate and decorative. Opulent to the point of being in bad taste. That's what I wanted to say. The opposite of sleek and minimalist, the opposite of the rest of the ship. Even simple controls like a door handle were ornate, with intricate blue and gold filigree curling around the handle, and colored gems inset. None of it was necessary for the control's function.

"Wow." Simms said quietly. "This looks like the front parlor in my great grandmother's house. Only more so. Mister Skippy, why is this so-"

"Baroque is the word you're looking for." Skippy said smugly. Damn, that is the word I was looking for. "Since this is a place where the Thuranin must unplug from their cybernetic enhancements, the decor is intended to remind them of their purely biological past. If you think the design is in bad taste, the Thuranin really hate it. It is intended to evoke disgust from the crew, to reinforce the superiority of cybernetics over biology. The designers wanted the backup control center to be the opposite of cool, if that word applies to the Thuranin."