ic inbox - Reverie Terminal

[neuralnet]

"You have reached the inbox of @tokumei. Please leave a message after the tone."

Comments

[why_me]

[ Garion'll have to make sure people continue to do that, considering. ]

Well, it seems as if you're trying to do something rather important.

I know important work always makes me hungry.

[ He sits down on the floor across from Haruto and tips his chin towards the interface. ]

Not that I know what you're doing.

[twoaffirmations]

[Scanner's were known for this sort of thing. 9S simply kept it to himself.]

Yeah, probably. But why wouldn't it have been safe? There's other androids around, and human constructed AIs.

[neuralnet]

I'm... Oh, how do I explain this? [ He scratches at his head, thinking about how to put his story into words. ]

Back home, I was on the run from the people who created me. I escaped from the lab they were keeping me in, and I lived in constant fear that they would find me.

When I first woke up here, I thought... What if they were behind it? But then, there were other people here who didn't even know about the people after me. I started lying to protect myself, but eventually I was just lying to keep up the lie.

[pampa]

[ he looks from the cable and back to haruto. ]

You have to stay, right here, for a week? [ hadn't the kid just said his body was human? ]

[neuralnet]

[ Haruto just sort of shrugs. ]

I'll have to break to eat, and use the bathroom. But basically, yes.

[pampa]

[ well, get used to seeing this ugly mug every day, BUDDY. ]

You like the protein bars from the galley?

[neuralnet]

[ Haruto glances up at Miller, like he hadn't expected such an offer from him. ]

Sure, they're fine.

[ Haruto turns so his back hits the wall, and slides down into a sitting position, making himself comfortable before plugging the cable into the port on the back of his neck. ]

[morphogenia]

What? [Kamala is going to steal an oliver from this gyro dinner to eat. What? She's hungry too! In the Hulk kind of way.] Are you kidding? This must be crazy stressful! You need to keep your calorie intake up.

[Kamala blinks at the blessing. She can't help being a little curious.] Stop me if this is insensitive, but do you come from Japan? You know on Earth?

[twoaffirmations]

[9S' brow knits, but Haruto's story is so vague he can't quite feel sympathetic for him. There's too many questions left unanswered, as well as 9S' own instilled bias against deserts.]

What were they using you for that made you run away?

[neuralnet]

[ Haruto gives a weak smile at the mention of his work as important. It feels good to be involved in something important for once, instead of hiding doing jobs that ultimately mean nothing. ]

Inside that door, [ He gestures with a wave of his hand. ] is the hangar bay. Inside there are ships and who knows what else, that might be able to get us off this station.

[neuralnet]

They were studying me. I was an experiment. To see if they could house an artificial brain in a living, human body.

[neuralnet]

[ He doesn't argue about his calorie intake, because she's right. Instead, he just takes another bite and finishes chewing it before answering. ]

No, that's not insensitive. I'm from Japan. Tokyo, more recently but I originated in Hiroshima.

[why_me]

I do understand the idea of the hangar. And what is inside of it.

[ He tips his chin towards the door. ]

I don't really understand what you're doing to get it open.

[neuralnet]

Sorry. [ For assuming that Garion wouldn't know what the hangar was for. That was rude of him to assume. ]

I... have a computer in my brain. Or, rather, my brain is a computer. I'm using it to connect to the mechanism keeping the door locked and trying to find the code that will unlock it.

[why_me]

[ HE waves off the apology. He knows because he pays attention and he's a quick study. It was a fair assumption.]

And a computer is one of those thinking machines powered by lightning. Electricity.

[ He's only learned a little bit about all of that, but as said, he's good at putting things together.]

So you're using yours to try and communicate with the door in a way it understands to open up?

[pampa]

[ oh for... fuck's sake. miller moves to sit by haruto, sliding down the wall next to him and stretching one of his long legs out. ]

Let me know when you're hungry I'll go.

[ until then he's not going anywhere. ]

[twoaffirmations]

[9S looks as if he's not sure how to react. After a heavy silence, he finally confirms what he finds so hard to believe.]

You're an AI implanted in a human body? Then what happened to the human...?

[neuralnet]

Yes, that's right.

[ A simplified definition, but one that works. ]

The lock uses a four digit code. I'm trying every possible four digit code I can think of, faster than I would be able to do it by entering them manually.

[neuralnet]

[ Haruto pulls his knees up and wraps his arms over them, trying to get comfortable enough to settle in for a long stay. He gives Miller a small smile. ]

Thank you.

[neuralnet]

[ Haruto nods, face solemn. ]

Braindead, in a car accident. He donated his body to science, so they put... me in his head. [ He taps his temple, wincing slightly at the less than graceful description. ]

[twoaffirmations]

[9S lips curve into a frown, but he doesn't press just how he feels about that. He's not sure himself.]

So what's the point? I mean, of making an AI with all the shortcomings of a human. It seems pretty counterproductive to me...

[neuralnet]

[ Haruto keeps his attention focused on the ground, picking at a loose thread on the hem of his jumpsuit. ]

I'm not really sure if they were thinking about it like that. They just wanted to see if it could be done.

[morphogenia]

[Kamala's eyes light up.] Oh neat! What's it like?

[neuralnet]

[ Haruto really wasn't expecting that reaction. ]

Um. Crowded? [ He didn't really like that about where he'd lived, but it made hiding in plain sight easier. ]

I don't really know how to describe it. I've never lived anywhere else, so I can't compare.

[morphogenia]

Oh. That's... nice? I think? [She can't hide her disappointment. Kamala could go on for hours about her home. She also loves writing so maybe that's a factor?] I guess I should give you your space, huh?

[Kamala rises to her feet.] Let me know if you need anything else, okay? I'll be back again with more stuff!