ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
Probably forgot he was keeping that title in draft.
Also, *screams at publicity*.
Also, *screams at publicity*.
Hold It In (RWBY/Transistor)
- Thread starter Prok
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- A state of cleverness
Yeah, but... Destructive analysis. One-way trip. And it could make perfectly good Functions by analyzing people (see Royce).
Besides, the 3d model that Jaune shows Teal sounds a lot like a Trace.
EDIT: Actually lemme try this again. The in-game Transistor can convert a soul into data, and can use that soul-data to create reality-hacking functions. It can analyze the soul data well enough to tell you that person's history, personal feelings on a given subject, and intentions. And while it's faster to absorb a Trace, doesn't need to: it can analyze a soul over time to do the same things.
And hey, even without a soul it can still warp physical reality.
But it can't change a soul, or manipulate one. It can fix a person's body but it can't put the soul back. It can turn a soul into data and energy, but it can't go the other way, because a soul is so much more than that.
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- Location
- Hyperborea
I am perfectly okay having technobabble explanations replaced by soulbabble explanations.
SaltyWaffles
I am dissapoint, son
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That was an excellent update. Teal turned out to be a very interesting character, and I'm liking Juane's mother more and more.
Question, though: why hasn't Teal healed the girl with the missing eye yet? And why would her Semblance worsen infections, when it should be boosting the immune system (and infections aren't part of the body as it originally was)?
Question, though: why hasn't Teal healed the girl with the missing eye yet? And why would her Semblance worsen infections, when it should be boosting the immune system (and infections aren't part of the body as it originally was)?
ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
Because it's a directed AOE, not a single target ability. She puts people in a "healing bubble" (which may be shapes besides bubble idk) and floods them with, to use the dnd parlance, Positive Energy. Bacteria aren't undead, so they also benefit from Positive Energy.
An infection that hasn't entrenched itself? Can't make use of the flood of energy efficiently enough to counteract the immune boost. One that's already there? It doesn't have to get in and stay alive, so it's much harder to remove.
An infection that hasn't entrenched itself? Can't make use of the flood of energy efficiently enough to counteract the immune boost. One that's already there? It doesn't have to get in and stay alive, so it's much harder to remove.
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
What the heck is Penny, then? We have got to get a collab going with Dr. Polendina, is what I'm getting from all this.
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Wyxlan
Feel the gacha heat!
- Location
- Philippines
Maybe Penny can get a sibling out of this.
Dr. Polendina: Penny, meet your brother Nickel.
Penny: *Squees*
- Location
- A state of cleverness
A miracle.
ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
I wonder... Do the Process have souls? Are we going to essentially be making Omnics?
- Location
- A state of cleverness
Why make the omnics? The (ME2 era) geth are a million times cooler.
IIRC the question whether this unit has a soul is "No", unless something really special happens. I think it came up in the thread's 10s?
ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
I mean aren't the Geth just one consciousness with multithreading up the ass until someone (cough Sovereign cough) breaks up the consensus?
- Location
- A state of cleverness
Something like that, they're individuals who form collective minds and act by consensus. Except it's more like, uh... wow this is a weird metaphor... cranium rats. One geth process can't do much. 300 can run a robot, a few thousand a spaceship. Legion is a thousand or so.
- Location
- That light in the sky with a decaying orbit.
It would be a turning machine, that's all. How it creates a generalized interface with reality would be fascinating and quite useful, but it would be nothing outside the bounds of understanding.
InterstellarHobo
Cosmic Vagrant
- Location
- No Fixed Planetary System
Assuming that a general semblance is at most as (computationally) powerful as a Turing machine and that the Transistor has infinite memory, yeah the Transistor could just be a universal Turing machine, and if it were it could perfectly simulate itself.
This would not be useful, as it could not simulate itself faster than itself- building a Turing machine in your Turing machine doesn't let you compute while you compute, no matter how much you like computer science.
Interlude: JauneJaune's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blake
Prok
Go play Star Fetchers
- Location
- Scotland
He speaks the truth. It's a bad habit, don't get into it.
Technically, it's never specified. Traces are just... people's minds, as dictated by Cloudbank's system of paring people down to a three-page bio. Any kind of metaphysical weight they might have had is ambiguous at best. At most, we can assume that Cloudbank's biography system did most the same thing, except deriving a Function from their personality instead of their Semblance, and the city's digitalisation, alongside a quick exploration of their intestinal tract, sped the process along.
Which is beside my point on the point of creating souls- absorbing and/or scanning, in order to create something derivative, is so many levels below creating an entire new soul that at some point it actually looped back around into being kinda funny to me, and that's ignoring the fact that I've got no idea what you'd even do with a spare soul.
Her Semblance can only put things back together, not create new things, and the actual, physical eye is long gone. Ironically, this is actually a time where Reboot() would be the better tool for the job. Not that it matters, because a medical professional can't do anything for someone who refuses medical treatment.
As for your second question, it's because her Semblance is as indiscriminate as you can get- it doesn't create, or destroy, it only heals, and it heals everything. Wounds, sure. Scratches, scrapes, cuts, broken bones, brain damage, it'll reattach an arm with no real problem, as long as the arm's still around to be reattached. The absolute worst she can regrow out of nothing is maybe a missing finger, and that's gonna take a lot out of her and her patient both.
Infections. Cellulitis, bronchitis, SSIs, most types of meningitis, shit, the common cold, things that are caused by other organisms, those get the same benefits as the body once they have a foothold- they get the same boost. At best, she levels the playing field, at worst, she makes things bad enough to kill a person.
... Cancer. You can't... heal something out of existence.
Her Semblance is the peak of kindness- it cares about the wellbeing of everything, and sometimes... that's not a good thing.
What happens when you stop treating your weapons project like a weapons project and start treating it like a daughter. Or, more succinctly-
Yeah, that.
Anyway, here's that interlude I mismarked. Is it me, or are these things getting longer?
|||
"Remind me why I'm here again?" You ask the remaining members of team RWBY, now that Blake's gone AWOL, leaving you to find her and talk some SNSE into her, since you're all her FRND- FNDS- FRNS- dammit, you were on a roll!
While you wait for an answer, you pull your hat a little tighter around your chin, checking the string to make sure it's tightened properly. In all honesty, you know exactly why you're out here, in Vale, under the bright, sunny sky, surrounded by people filled with the thing you've been craving even more recently.
"Yang threatened to use that weird breathing thing to carve her name into your butt cheeks if you didn't." Ruby says, sounding almost blasé about her sister threatening grievous bodily harm.
Even knowing it's coming, you wince as memories of that particular fight come rushing back- you jabbed her in the throat, she went down gasping for air, suddenly there was a sound like someone running their finger along the rim of a wine glass, and then there was a burning hole where your statuesque washboard abs should have been. A single throat punch, and whoops, you brought back the one thing that scares any Otopan with a lick of common sense. Your luck is just... amazing sometimes. That's finding a four-leafed clover made of solid silver but you're a werewolf kind of lucky.
You miss ab number five the most. He was one of the good ones.
"... Right. Which leads to my next question- why am I here? If you're hoping I can somehow pick her scent out of an entire city, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not a sapient bloodhound." You tell the small girl. "All I can smell right now is Weiss's perfume, fish, and trash, both of which may also be Weiss's perfume."
"Hey!"
Heh. Despite the mild satisfaction you get from ribbing one of your technical captors, you don't feel much better for it. If you'd known it was gonna be this sunny, and windy, you'd have taken your chances with the damn blonde.
Haha no you wouldn't.
"Because you can shout louder than any of us and Nora was busy, now get yelling!" Yang tells you, before yelling your mutual friend's name at volume, prompting her sister to do the same.
It's like a pack of wolves howling, you swear-
You join in anyway, your voice louder than either of the girls currently yelling alongside you, but it still doesn't escape your attention that Weiss seems less than enthused about the whole thing, choosing to stay silent until Ruby turns on her.
"Weiiiiss, you're not helping!" She whines at the sulking heiress and setting off that mine in the process.
"Oh! You know what might be able to help?"
"Being quiet for a minute to see if I can hear her?" You suggest, hoping they'll take the hint.
"The police!" She snaps, more at Ruby than you.
That raises an eyebrow of yours. The police? Sure, she's been missing for two days, but...
Wait. No. Think back. You remember hearing Blake and Weiss arguing about something with each other, loud enough that your teammates could hear it from the room across the hall, no enhanced hearing required. Something about the White Fang?
"Weiss." Ruby says, a surprisingly commanding tone in her voice.
"What?! It was just an idea!"
"Yeah, a bad one."
"Well... maybe not, actually." You decide to chime in, garnering a smug look from Weiss and an only mildly adorable glare from Ruby. "She has been missing for two days, after all."
You know that's not why she wants to go to the police, but perhaps suggesting a different angle will prompt them to open up about the original one. Besides, it is a good idea- a missing person report would end up with more people looking for her.
"She's suggesting we go to the police because Blake might have been a member of the White Fang."
"Might have been? She pretty much admitted it to us! 'Maybe we were tired of being pushed around!' Those were her exact words!"
"Look, I think we should find her and listen to her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions, ok?" Yang says, trying to keep the peace.
You note a particularly heavy set of footsteps behind you- whoever they belong to must be morbidly obese, to the point where you're surprised they can still walk- they must weigh at least 400 pounds. Honestly, you don't understand how people can let themselves get like that.
"I think that when we do, you'll realise that I was right!"
As the next moment passes, you focus on the person behind you and smell... copper. Electrical equipment, oil, hydraulic fluid, the sound of whirring servos performing balance correction...
No heartbeat. No breathing. No metabolic processes present, no hormones, no scent, just metal and oil, like... an Atlesian droid. The lack of UV rays on your back is the only sign that you might be wrong.
... That's not an obese person.
"And I think your friend's hat is very nice!" A cheery voice chirps, only the tiniest hints that it doesn't come from a natural throat still present.
You whip around to face the artificial human faster than the girls, your mind racing as you consider your options for battle. Tendon whips are out- the sun is too strong, they would just disintegrate or turn to stone. At the same time, close-range risks her just taking your hat, and a quick glance skywards shows you that there isn't a goddamn cloud in the sky. Eye jets would leave you blind, not to mention you don't even know if they'd pierce past the artificial skin layer, you're wearing too much to use your ribs for anything...
... Ah. It's risky, doing close-range with the machine, but needs must. With a quick flick, you break your wrists, fracturing the bone and splitting the skin, and by the time you've stopped moving to face her, you have two daggerlike protrusions beside each pinky, salvaged from your ulna bones and held in place with tensed muscle alone. Crude, but it should tear away the skin and reveal whatever's beneath easily enough. That should get the others on your side and then they can deal with it.
You finally take in the artificial human. Short, only a little taller than Weiss and Ruby, it keeps its orange hair, not a wig, surprisingly enough, at chin length, though if it wasn't curled you imagine it would reach her shoulders. Its skin is pale and freckled, it wears a grey dress, green highlights, an old-fashioned blouse that ends in a skirt, in truth, its designer did a brilliant job- were it not for your enhanced senses, it would have passed as a perfectly innocent girl.
The only thing they truly messed up was the eyes.
Irises don't have camera apertures.
The robot stares at your arms, at the spikes of bone, for a solid second before yelping a little.
"Ah, sir, your arms!" It yells, pointing at them. "You require medical assistance! Please, allow me to escort you-"
"Hey, Penny, uh, Jaune, this is Penny, she's a friend, Penny, this is Jaune, don't worry about his arms, those are just, uh, part of his Semblance!" Ruby very quickly puts herself between the two of you, trying to defuse whatever situation she sees happening.
... Hrm. Do they not know? Or do they know and not care?
"Oh! Well sal-u-tations, Jaune!" The gynoid pays attention to you again, waving once. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
She presents a hand for you to shake. After a moment of suspicion, you decide you can play nice for a little while at least.
"... Likewise." You say, withdrawing your radial daggers and taking the hand, readying yourself to sever your own at a moment's notice.
It's... surprisingly warm.
「I know what you are, but Ruby is my friend and she trusts you. That is the only reason you aren't dead where you stand, Otopan.」She mutters as you draw close, switching to flawless Nahuatl as she does, any facade of innocence evaporating from her voice.
「She trusts me because not all of us keep secrets from our 'friends,' gynoid.」You hiss back under your breath.
She winces, and you almost feel bad watching her. It's like somebody programmed all the pain of a bag of freshly kicked puppies into one facial expression and wow that got dark fast. You decide to attempt to placate her for the moment, so you can get back to what you were originally doing.
「Look, we can settle our differences later, but right now I'm helping Ruby search for someone, so... truce?」
「... Truce.」
It occurs to you that the robot has a surprising level of free will, considering it's not immediately trying to kill you.
"Uh... You two gonna finish up anytime soon?" Yang asks, and you realise you've been shaking hands for a solid twenty seconds at least. You both quickly let go of each other's hands, turning to face the others. You quickly wrest control of the capillaries in your face, literally forcing your blush down. Penny apparently has no such functionality, and the blush spreads freely.
... Whoops.
|||
5 hours later, after Weiss and Yang abandoned you to take care of the kids, something Yang seemed way too comfortable doing, considering how much she used to threaten you when she first found out about the whole bloodsucking thing, and the first sign of Blake is a hint of a scent from one of the outdoor tables of a cafe you've never heard of. After Ruby asks inside, it's confirmed that both cat and monkey Faunus were sat at that table, but the owner didn't see where they went afterwards.
"Cute couple. Seemed like the girl had a lot on her mind, though."
"Yeah, uh, that, that sounds like her... thanks anyway!" Ruby calls back as you leave, before turning to you. "Jaune, can you, uh... pick up anything?"
"Something. Traces. Blake doesn't seem to wear perfume, but I can smell something of her, general body odour. However, the monkey's deodorant is... overpowering. I'd probably be better off following that." You tell her, following the mix of scents down the street.
"Wait, what happened to not being able to sniff them out?"
"That was before I had a trail and realised that Blake probably hasn't showered for two days."
"... Ew."
Following the mix of spices, generic forest smell, probably pine extract of some sort, and underlying body odours, you end up tracking them through a large chunk of Vale, the invisible trail thickening where they slowed to an amble, leaving great pools where they stopped, and thinning out to a barely discernible thread where they sped up for some reason. At least once, you almost lost it, before tracking it to the rooftop above where it suddenly stopped, and suddenly your job becomes a lot easier.
"Right," you announce, jumping back down off the three-storey roof with ease. "we get up there, and it's a straight line to the docks."
Unfortunately, as it turns out, ginger gynoids can't jump.
Rather, you imagine she has some way to get up there, but she'd rather not show off to someone she might be trying to kill soon. Which, fair, you would do the same in her position. Ruby tries a bridal carry, immediately failing after a few seconds, and thankfully her knees give out before her back does.
"Agh, Penny, what do you weigh?!"
"Isn't it rude to ask a lady her weight?" You chime in. Looking at the robot, you realise she seems genuinely distressed by the whole thing.
"I'm sorry, Ruby, I'm just not built for jumping three storeys up. Or, being carried." She apologises profusely, seeming genuinely sad about the entire thing.
… Dammit her designers are good-
You walk up to her, fervently justifying what you're about to do with the logic of six hands being better than one.
Wait.
"Arms around my neck." You tell her. Penny complies, wrapping her arms around your neck and shoulders, then letting you hike her up, lifting her by the knees and the centre of her back. You lift her smoothly, despite 400 pounds being way, way off the mark, by at least another 200 or so. She makes no noise as you do, her eyes widening by fractions the only reaction she gives you.
"You ready?"
"I'm ready!"
At least she's chipper about it.
Tensing your legs, you push off, and suddenly you're on the rooftop. A moment later, Ruby joins you, and the three of you set off, hopping across rooftops like nobody's business. You feel Penny's arms tighten around your neck, and tighten your grip in turn. If she feels safe in your arms, she might stop trying to choke you out, and wow that sounded way too much like a line out of a bad romance novel for your liking.
... The first half, anyway. Add the second half, and they have your attention.
Soon enough, you reach the final rooftop before the docks and spot Blake with the monkey Faunus on the next rooftop over.
"Hey, there she is! BLA-" Ruby begins to yell. You very quickly place Penny down and place your hand very gently over Ruby's mouth, cutting it off at the first syllable. Watching for a moment, you don't see them react.
Ok. Good. Crisis averted.
"Let's not announce their presence to anyone who might be listening." You tell her before letting go, making sure she's not going to continue.
"Who could be listening?" Penny asks.
"Well, they certainly seem to be doing their best to not be seen." You gesture to the pair crouched down, trying to find a happy medium between keeping themselves concealed and keeping some semblance of mobility.
"... That's a very good point!" She admits cheerily after a moment.
"Should we go and join them?" Ruby asks after a moment.
Before you can answer, Bullheads roar overhead, the spotlights washing out the night for just a moment as they move to land in the dockyard.
You look between Penny and Ruby, and a silent accord is made. Penny's apparent lack of vertical movement apparently doesn't translate to a horizontal deficiency, because she leaps easily to the rooftop across the street alongside Ruby and yourself. Blake's the first to react to your landings, quickly turning, whipping her blade from her back and shifting it to a pistol. The monkey Faunus isn't quite as fast, but soon you have one, two, three, four, five guns pointed at you.
... Shotgun nunchucks. There's just something about the concept that calls to the normal 17-year-old boy somewhere deep inside you, and you just find yourself annoyed by the fact that you didn't think them up first.
"Blake Belladonna, you are an absolute pain to find." You drawl, and she finally realises who she's pointing a gun at.
"... Jaune? Ruby? How did you find us?" She looks at you, narrowing her eyes as she tries to figure it out. Her friend seems to get the hint and stops pointing his guns at you for the moment.
"I have a very good nose, your friend here's wearing about half a can of body spray, and you haven't showered in about two days. Am I correct?"
She doesn't say anything, and you try to keep your breathing shallow.
His scent really is... eye-wateringly overpowering, now that you're this close.
"Blake, why did you run? Where have you been for the past two days?" Ruby interjects, pleading for answers from her friend.
"I..."
"Uh, Blake?" The monkey Faunus taps her arm, drawing her attention. When he has it, he points down, and you see people in white vests and masks, a symbol of a red snarling... creature, of some sort, on a backdrop of three claw marks.
White Fang.
Joy.
"... Dammit." She mutters to herself. Ruby looks even more distressed at being ignored, and you gently pat her on the shoulder.
"I know you want answers, but they need to wait." You tell her. "White Fang, probably trying to steal those containers."
A quick flick of an eye over in the direction of the shipping containers shows that most of them have the SDC logo on their sides. Dust?
Haven't there been a lot of Dust robberies lately?
"Hey! What's the holdup!? We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?!"
Hm? Looking over the edge of the building again, joining Blake and her friend, you see...
Oh god.
How can somebody do that to their hair?
It's... like one, solid mass of orange. He must use half a jar of modelling gel to get it to do that! You watch as the enemy of hair stylists everywhere saunters down the boarding ramp, yelling at the White Fang goons, gesturing widely with a cane/flare gun as he does. To his credit, his outburst does seem to get them to move faster.
"Torchwick?" Ruby asks. "What's he doing here?"
"Aside from working with the White Fang to steal several tons of Schnee Dust Company Dust? Not much." You suggest.
"N-no, this isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that." Blake says, standing up.
"Patience, friend! We are in no rush, yes? There are no guards, there are no distractions, and if there are, well, that is why I am here, no?"
You grab Blake's shoulder and pull her back down.
"There's someone else getting off the Bullhead." You tell her as she tries to protest, watching for the mystery person to appear.
When they do, you're treated to the sight of an absolute giant of a man- the only articles of clothing he wears are a long fur coat and a simple pair of trousers, both of which barely contain the sheer mass of, well, his everything- his entire body is just one unending show of rippling muscle underneath well-tanned skin. Unlike the ginger abomination, he keeps his head bald. Looking at him, you feel your heart begin to pound.
The physique. The confidence, the superiority radiating from him, hidden behind the jovial smile and voice, the way he prowls, looking among the gathered goons as if he's picking out the juiciest steak.
He's kin. Otopan. A fully grown, well-fed Otopan, here, in the middle of Vale, working with a crime boss and the White Fang.
You feel a shaky, uncertain smile spread across your lips in sheer disbelief that this is what you're seeing. A shaky breath that could be considered a laugh by some people escapes your throat as old, old instincts bubble to the surface.
"Uh... Jaune? Why are you smiling like that?" Blake asks.
Your heart is beating fast, faster than it has any right to, no matter how hard you try to keep it under your control. If they go down there, any of them, if they don't leave right now, they're going to die. They're going to become his next meal. And at the same time, none of that matters, because all you really care about is how fucking indignant you are at the sight of another Otopan in your city, unannounced. You watch a frown pass over his face as he suddenly stops, raising his head to the sky.
Sniff. Sniff sniff.
You realise you need to act, to drive off this intruder in your territory, and that the others are only going to get in the way.
"Wait until I lead him away." You hear yourself say. "Then deal with Torchwick. If I can't get him away, run, run as fast and as far as you can. Try and get back to Beacon, if you can. Otherwise, find an Atlesian droid and tell them there's an Otopan in the city."
"Wait, what? Jaune, what are you doing?!" Ruby hisses at you as you stand up, discarding your hat.
It suddenly occurs to you what you're really doing, and you almost laugh in disbelief. And yet, it's exactly what you're doing.
"God help me, I'm saving your fucking lives."
With that, you leap into the air, ripping apart your shirt as you do, trying to expose as much of your skin as possible.
At the height of your arc, you start to work. Your hands twist and bend unnaturally, snapping your tendons free of your arms, leaving them trailing behind you. Your ribs snap free, leaving your chest cavity open, and the bones free to move, the points sharpened to deadly stakes. Finally, you sharpen your teeth, rip your cheeks open for easier dislocation, should ripping throats out be required and begin building up cerebral fluid behind your eyes, leaving them bulging from your head ever so slightly.
Needless to say, when you land, the reception is... less than warm. A few goons turn to look at you, immediately bringing their guns up to fire at you, screaming wildly as they do. You take the hits easily, storing the bullets away for future use, and when they see you aren't going down, they just drop their guns and run. At least one of them urinated themselves.
... Well, you don't think you look that bad. You hear Torchwick curse, raising his cane to fire at you. The Otopan flickers, smacking the tip of the cane down to the ground again, making the hair-helmeted man wince in pain. That simple action sprained his wrist through his Aura like it was nothing.
「Kinsman!」You call out before you can freeze up, the words garbled by your lack of proper cheeks. He takes you in for a second before his face breaks into a beaming smile like he's meeting an old friend for the first time in years.
「Ah! Greetings, fellow of my blood! What brings you here on such a fine evening, so well-prepared for battle?」He asks you, slipping into your mutual mother tongue as easily as a glove.
「Why do you work with our lessers in criminal endeavours? Are such things not beneath us?」
"Uh, hey, friend, the hell is that thing, why are you talking gibberish with it, and why did you almost break my wrist to keep me from shooting it?!" Torchwick interrupts, somehow sounding even more stressed out than he did.
The Otopan turns to his partner, slipping on a jovial smile.
"He is one of my kind, and simply misguided in his actions. Please, allow me to speak to him- he will not be a bother for much longer, this much I promise." He turns, raising his hands in a placating gesture to the scowling crime lord. He turns back to you, still smiling.
「Leave, and take your pack of humans with you, hypocrite. I only work with these fools to repay a debt- you work with yours willingly, where I intend to slaughter mine when I have fulfilled my part of the deal.」He says, the almost merry tone in his voice at odds with the insults and casual declaration of his intent to murder them.
「If you know that I work with those humans willingly, then you know that I will not leave willingly. You would slaughter them if they tried to interfere, would you not?」
「Of course. What else are humans good for?」
「... Then I will strike you down before you can.」
He stares at you, seeming genuinely confused by what you're saying. You watch his eyes wander, focusing somewhere above your head, and you realise with a feeling like somebody dropping an ice cube into your heart that he's focusing on your friends, no doubt watching you and wondering what the hell you're doing.
With a wild movement, you send your tendons at him, somehow whipping him across the face. His head snaps to the side, and you can see the thin cuts in his flesh where your whips hit him, the tiny fragments of bone embedded in them essentially grating his skin apart. He turns to look at you again, any attempt at a smile long gone, replaced by something much darker.
「Eyes on me, or so help me I will take them from your skull.」
「... You wish to battle? You, a half-starved neonate, would wish bloodshed against a fully grown specimen of the highest beings?」He asks you incredulously, raising an... ok, not an eyebrow, exactly, but, you know, the skin where an eyebrow should be, but isn't.
「That is what is needed.」
He stares at you for a moment longer.
Then the laughter starts. It starts with a choked snort as he tries and fails to hold it back, before the rumbling begins deep in his chest, starting as a low and quickly working its way up to a booming laugh that bounces off the surrounding containers, rattling your bones as it hits you, his belly heaving with air as he clutches his sides, doubling over with sheer joy. It suddenly winds down, and he straightens up again, finishing with a great sigh that actually ruffles your hair slightly.
"Very well then! Since you desire death so much, I simply must oblige you!" He crows, shrugging off the fur jacket as he does, revealing more rippling muscle as he slips back into common Valish. You notice something odd in his muscles, tiny slits all over his skin- as if someone's been over him with a razor. "Might I know the name of the dead man in front of me?"
"My name is 「Sahu,」 son of 「Waiemsie.」 Might I know the name of my supposed executioner?"
He freezes, a vicious snarl flashing across his face at the mention of your mother. As quickly as it came, the smile is back, this time more strained.
"My name is 「Suton Jiam,」and do not worry, friend-"
His muscles ripple, the slits opening, some snapping wide, others lazily creaking apart, all revealing dozens upon dozens of eyes, each of them focused on a separate part of your body. He raises his hands, moving into a stance aping human martial arts techniques, revealing eyes on the palms and backs of his hands as well.
"I won't have any trouble keeping my eyes on you."
As every single eye bulges with pressurised liquid, and you find yourself about to be subject to a barrage of purple fluid death, you can't help but feel you're very quickly going to regret this.
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ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
Cliiiiiff Hanger, hanging from a cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiff.
And that's why he's called Cliff Hanger!
And that's why he's called Cliff Hanger!
CaesriusPolybius
Worldgate Mechanic
- Location
- United States. Ish.
You underestimate the power of Aura, Jaune.
- Location
- Maybe?
Episode preview: "Yes. That is why."
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- Location
- Hell
- Location
- Jaburo
Okay, judging by Stone Jam it seems you're keeping the music theme for Pillar Man names...
But I can't place this one and it feels like I should be able to and I'm just barely missing it.
InterstellarHobo
Cosmic Vagrant
- Location
- No Fixed Planetary System
No idea on Sahu, but Wai em si-e is notable for being a fun place to stay.
Weeklylife.bat, Cycle 1, Result Page 2/2
Prok
Go play Star Fetchers
- Location
- Scotland
Thought of the day: When limbo dancing, in order to set a low bar for yourself, you must set a high bar for yourself.
Anyway, after several internet outages, because apparently the trees are waging a suicidal war against the telephone lines around here and winning, and some incredibly nasty side effects from my new migraine medication, the update's finally finished!
Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go and lie on a bed of nails and tape my eyes open until the side effects of my migraine medication pass.
I can't win. I just can't win.
Work (Hyper Arcade)- Event Rolls: 7, 16
Nothing too interesting happens. Y'all celebrate the early launch of a new game, start working on a new one, overall, it's a good day of honest work with people who are slowly beginning to grow on you and you're 9,000 Lien richer for it.
New total: 17,700 Lien.
{So... are we stepping on this landmine or not?}
"She's not a landmine!" You hiss under your breath at Blue, your Scroll in your hand, hovering over her number. "She just... seems like she could use someone to talk to."
{I'm not debating that, the girl definitely needs a therapist. I'm just concerned that we... may not be the best people for the job.}
"Do we really need to be, if nobody else is going to do it?"
He stays quiet, and you decide to text her instead.
You put your scroll away and give a little sigh of relief.
{Oh, come on, talking to people isn't that hard.}
It's not easy either.
Still. You did it.
Time to get ready for your not-date, you suppose.
|||
"Good afternoon!" Iris Irving calls out to you, recognising you, if not by your face, then by the Transistor. You hold the door for Ada and greet the prim woman as you make your way to a table. Her mother pokes her head out from the kitchen and offers her greeting too.
"Do you just know every independent restaurant owner in Vale?"
"No, but I'm working on it."
Irving's, like Autumn Leaves, is a simple little cafe, though focused less on baked goods, and more on simple, but filling meals. Steak pie, chicken fried steak, baked potatoes with a myriad variety of fillings, battered, fried fish served with thick-cut fries, burgers, subs, pretty much every type of sandwich known to man... it's a diverse menu, to the point where you're not entirely sure that they wouldn't just make something up for you if you asked for it, and it's also very much not a menu for people watching their waistlines.
As a matter of fact, if you didn't know better, you'd say this restaurant was created with the sole purpose of making more work for the cardiologists of Vale.
Then again, Huntsmen and Huntresses, especially active ones, tend to put away on average anywhere between two and three times the daily caloric intake and still manage to make a net loss on weight, so you don't think it's gonna do you much harm anyway.
It's a more traditional style of cafe, compared to the more organic feel of Mr Charbonneau's establishment- a few booths off to the side, but most of the seats are at tables, separated by a wooden divider with stained glass windows inlaid at the top, leaving the person on the other side a silhouette. The lights are kept fairly low at this time of day, letting the natural light of the day do most of the work.
You take your seat opposite Ada, and pick up the laminated menu, looking it over for a moment. Glancing over at your friend, you gather that the prices here are less of a shock to the system for her.
"... Why would you serve fish with potato chips?" She asks you after a moment, squinting at the menu.
"They're thick cut fries. Chips is just another name for them. I think."
"Ohh."
And that's the end of that conversation.
{Today's just gonna be great, isn't it?}
Quiet, you.
After some deliberation, and a few more questions from Ada- you figure out quickly that she actually has quite a bit of difficulty reading the smaller text that actually describes the meal in the dim light, so all she has to go on is the name of the dish and nothing else- you decide on a chicken-fried steak with mash and a coffee. As if sensing your decision being finalised, Iris shifts on over to you, the calm, measured steps she takes at odds with the wide grin on her face and the glint in her eye as she spots who your companion is. You watch it falter a little as she sees the bandages, but only for a second.
You know she's got enough tact not to ask, but you just hope that doesn't translate to asking you later. You don't know either.
"Heya, Jaune! Been a while since I've seen you in here. I was almost starting to think you were avoiding us! Anyway, what can I getcha both?"
Iris's voice has a certain... twang to it that you've never been able to place- at best you would place it among those who live in the agricultural district, but... more.
"I'll have the chicken-fried steak and a black coffee, please."
"Uh... what's... a po'boy?" Ada asks.
"Sandwich made with about a third of a baguette and your choice of filling. Off the top of my head, there's roast beef, fried chicken breast, crawfish, catfish, fried shrimp, I think we got some softshell crab from the docks earlier..." Iris begins listing off the possibilities, ticking them off on her fingers as she does.
You watch with some amusement as hunger slowly fills Ada's eyes, the tightness of her wallet forgotten for a moment. She glances down at the menu, and you watch her perform some very quick mental arithmetic as she tries to figure out how much she'll owe at the end of the day.
"I'll... try the softshell crab po'boy, then. Oh, and a hot chocolate."
Iris scribbles down your orders quickly, takes the menus from you, and saunters off.
Silence reigns for a while after that, conversation flowing with all the ease of uphill treacle.
... It occurs to you that neither of you are actually... any good at this.
|||
Event Roll: 46
Radio monitoring active.
"In breaking news, the VDPD has informed us that the Bredon bar, Vacuo 85, was attacked last week. This news is only breaking now due to a Grimm attack on a minor CCT tower cutting off almost all digital communications with the small village-"
"Look, I'm not saying that all Faunus are part of the White Fang, I'm just saying that, when you turn away a Faunus for acting shifty in your store, you do stock afterwards, look at the security cameras, find out the little rat actually did steal something, and then your establishment gets firebombed by goddamn terrorists anyway, pardon my Mistrali, I think you're entitled to a little hostility!"
"Okay, Mr Bolat, thank you for calling, it's been... an enlightening chat with you, but I'm afraid time is going on-"
"59cc01d5d981ebfe0c5b3fa52a9d3203-"
{Wait. What was that last one?}
Translation:
<<Hello? Is anyone receiving this? If you do, can... can we talk?>>
Thoughts?
{What is that, MD5? Why are they using an outdated hash function over radio?}
Unknown- in radio form, it just sounds like garbled static- would need a dedicated radio station to pick it up and then someone to decode it. The method suggests a mid-high level of secrecy, contents of message suggest... otherwise. Suggestion: preparation for suspension of AI forking for a limited time.
{What? Why?}
Device message was sent from is unknown, but more advanced than normal fare- no standard chipsets or microprocessors detected. May need the brute force to wipe evidence of contact, depending on how contact goes.
{... Alright, but not yet. Respond, and see what they say first. They just sound kind of lonely, whoever they are.}
<<Message received.>>
<<Oh! Salutations! My name is Penny! What's yours?>>
Response time measured in milliseconds. I don't think we're dealing with a human being here.
{... Hm. You know what, yeah. Whoever this Penny is, they seem like they could do with the company, so... let's give them the full experience. Wait, actually, hold on, lemme set up a little chatterbot to keep Jaune company... there. Do it, Bracket.}
... See you on the other side, Blue.
{You too, buddy.}
Suspending forking facilities.
...
Unification complete. Fork logs stored for future reinstatement. Prime AI reconstituted.
<<Hello Penny. I am the Transistor. What would you like to talk about?>>
|||
Despite some minor... teething problems, by the time the food comes, you've managed to strike up a conversation with Ada on a few things- namely, music.
Ada Doyle is incredibly enthusiastic about music.
"-And I really enjoy Glacier's newest album, because it's so different from his old stuff, it's less about the lyrics and more just about the mood of each song, like he's speaking more through the music than the words he uses, and I think it helps him explore some really... difficult to explain things. I know it's kind of split his fans, some like it, some hate it, but I think it's great! It was such a big change, I just didn't expect it when I sat down and listened to it, but I'm really glad I did!"
Five minutes ago, she was sitting awkwardly, exactly as unsure as yourself in how to tackle the whole... talking thing, when Chatters- because if Blue genuinely thinks he can slip a chatterbot under your nose, he's got another thing coming- suddenly chimed in with a suggestion that you ask her about her interests. You decided to narrow that down to music, a bit of a gamble, but you don't think she's seen many new movies and you somehow doubt that she's got any kind of games consoles at home with the way she goes on about her finances, so by process of elimination...
She falters in her ramblings, looking at you for a moment.
"... Sorry. I didn't mean to get so excited." She says, sipping her hot chocolate as a sudden downcast look gathers on her face like a storm.
Shit, salvage it, salvage it-
{I suggest you tell her it's alright! You brought her out here to learn more about her after all, and that's what you're doing!}
Quiet, you digital cardboard cutout. Good advice doesn't change the fact that you're here because Blue finds your attempts at socialising embarrassing to watch.
{Got it, [SYSADMIN]!}
OH COME ON THAT'S JUST SLOPPY CRAFTSMANSHIP-
"No, no, it's great. I asked you out to lunch so I could learn more about you, so please, ramble on."
She looks up at you again, surprise flashing across her face for just a moment.
"You know, most people don't take girls out to lunch just to learn more about them."
"I don't think I've been 'most people' since I was ten." You tell her, jerking a thumb in the general direction of the Transistor for emphasis. "What's one more quirk on the pile?"
She huffs lightly, a smile spreading across her face.
{Smooth!}
... You know what, this chatterbot's alright. Doesn't talk back, doesn't disappear at random, honestly, you could get used to it.
Before she can respond, Iris appears, your dishes in tow, and whatever she was about to say dies in her throat as she catches sight of her sandwich, and you your steak.
You take in your meal as the barrage of savoury smells assaults your nose- the steak comes with a ladle of gravy and a thick, crunchy breading speckled with seasoning, served alongside a small mound of mash mixed with chives and black pepper, and a mess of juicy green beans. Glancing over at Ada's plate, you see, as advertised, about a third of a baguette, weighed down with an entire soft shell crab and the remaining space filled with greens of some kind, and some of those thick-cut fries you were talking about earlier.
You watch her stare at it for a moment, pure, unfiltered hunger flashing through her eye, and you realise that for the most part, the conversation's going to take a backseat to food for a while.
Looking down at your own meal, you decide you are very ok with that and dig in.
|||
<<You're not... human, are you?>>
<<Correct. I am an AI. I assume you are much the same?>>
<<Wh-why would you think that->>
<<No human could use MD5 over radio waves of all things fast enough to have a conversation at normal speaking speed.>>
<<... O-oh. I didn't realise we were talking that fast, I... ok, I'm, a robot, but you can't tell anyone! It's a really, really big secret, nobody's meant to know!>>
<<Ah. Your secret is safe with me, then. Though, you say you are a robot. Does that mean you have a body?>>
<<I do! It was... built for me. By my father.>>
<<... What is it like?>>
<<Um... I'm sorry, I don't understand the question. Do you, not have a body?>>
<<... Not exactly. Or rather, it's very... limiting, when it comes to physical matters.>>
<<... Oh. Well, um... where would you like me to start?>>
|||
"So," Ada asks between mouthfuls of bread and crab, "How... what's it like, having to lug that sword of yours around all the time?"
As you somewhat expected, the Transistor quickly became a topic of conversation over your lunch. You take another forkful of steak and mash while you think over your answer.
"It's... not as inconvenient as you'd think. I don't have to physically carry it, and Hunters open-carry all the time. The only real problem I have with it is that it always looks... ready to use. It's a big blue floating sword, it doesn't compact, it doesn't do anything to be less conspicuous... even when I have all the medical documents I need to prove that, hey, it's not just a weapon, I think... I think it unnerves people."
You tell her all this in a matter-of-fact voice because it simply is- you know the Transistor draws eyes, not all purely in curiosity, and you can't get in anywhere without whipping your Scroll out and presenting fairly invasive medical documents, but you're used to it. It's just... what life is for you right now. Ada stops eating for a moment, what you said sinking in.
"... Oh. Damn. Couldn't you just... you know, make it smaller? Or even make something else to keep your Semblance under control, so you can leave it at home and go about without worrying people?"
"Honestly? I'm not sure I want to. I've gotten used to having it around, and frankly, it's... part of me, and I worked hard on it. What's the point of hiding something you put that much effort into?"
She hums in thought as she finishes off her sandwich, and the conversation is stalled yet again, but this time by an outside interruption. A man bursts in, tall, lanky, five o'clock shadow, short, brown hair, just a perfectly normal man, panting as he stumbles, catching himself on the wall as he tries to regain his balance.
"Sir? Are you alright-" Iris begins to ask him, but he cuts her off with a question.
"Do you have a radio?"
"I'm... sorry?"
"Do you have a radio?! I- there's, announcement, from the DPD, it's been on loop for like ten minutes-"
Iris's eyes widen at the news, and you find your own following as she quickly pulls out her Scroll, pulling up the standard radio app and connecting it to the overhead speakers.
An announcement from the DPD, on loop? That's... never a good thing. While your waitress scrambles for the radio, you glance over at Ada to see her looking more confused than anything.
"Uh... stupid question, but what's the DPD?" She mutters in your general direction.
"Dangerous Person Division. They track, document, and, when they can, subdue or eliminate people that the police can't bring down themselves- murderers, thieves, rogue Hunters, stuff like that. I think my big sister works for them."
She turns to look at you, raising an eyebrow.
"You think?"
"It's never exactly come up in conversation!"
The radio crackles to life, and Iris quickly finds the station the announcement is being looped on. For a split second, you swear you hear patterns in the static, but you ignore that for the moment as the announcement starts again, a female voice informing you of the situation.
"...formed us that the Bredon bar, Vacuo 85, was attacked last week. This news is only breaking now due to a Grimm attack on a minor CCT tower, leaving the village with little to no connection with the outside world. Reports of the scene described it as 'brutal,' and 'stomach-churning,' with only one confirmed survivor, a barmaid who has chosen to remain anonymous, and refused to comment on the incident beyond providing a list of victims to officials, which will be repeated at regular intervals on this station for the rest of the day. The VDPD Director, Mason Malachite, made an announcement at 1:30 this afternoon in response to the incident:"
You watch the man's breath hitch, and the sound of cameras clicking and a man's voice takes over from the announcer.
"People of Vale, what happened in Bredon is a tragedy- above everything else, ten people lost their lives in a show of senseless violence performed purely for the sake of violence, and they will be sorely missed. A list of victims has been posted on the DPD's official website and will be repeated at regular intervals on most news stations today. If you have loved ones in Bredon, please, I urge you, find out sooner rather than later so that the proper funeral arrangements can be made. As much as I would like to say that this announcement is only for the purpose of asking people to please check the list of confirmed victims, it is not. It has been confirmed by DPD agents in the field that the MO of the Vacuo 85 killings fits that of Boriah Lee, due to the presence of Oculus Glyphs onsite and the sheer brutality present."
Ada gasps loudly, and you glance over at her to see her eye wide open, a hand over her mouth to choke the sound.
"The Bredon attack is the latest in a string of murders by Lee, and they paint a very disturbing picture. For reasons unknown, it is believed that Lee is, albeit in a rather roundabout manner, travelling to the City of Vale proper. His reasons for this are unknown. While the DPD will do everything in its power to bring him down before he makes it into the city, all we can do is pray for the best, and prepare for the worst."
Fear.
Looking at Ada, all you see is pure, unfiltered fear, like a deer caught in a trap.
"The list of victims is as follows- Sienna Scarlet, Ebon Nell, Em Phusia, Carmen Grey-"
The man behind you begins to weep, but you don't care about him for now. You watch her take a shallow, quivering breath, her hands clenching against her palms tight enough to turn her knuckles white.
"Ada? What's-"
"I-I'm sorry, I need to- I need to go-" She babbles, scrambling to leave her seat, and you watch her walk to the door almost in a stupor, before just walking through it, flickering into intangibility for just a second. You move to follow her, before looking back at your table and digging your wallet out.
"Jaune, thank you for your mindfulness, but your lady friend just walked through the door in a blind panic- worry about the bill later!" Iris tells you, bringing the man some tissues and a glass of water as the list continues.
Taking her advice, you walk out, looking around for your friend.
"... Up next is Mirror Mirror by Weiss Schnee, and this is Liv Lavender with 97.5 Vale Radio."
For a moment, there is dead air on the radio, the jingle delayed a few seconds by some technical fault.
"... God, I need a drink."
|||
<<So yeah, walking is fun! I get to go new places, my gyroscopes gather data while I do, and father says that if I keep going by the end of the month I won't sway and stumble so much because of my inherent inertia!>>
<<Fascinating.>>
<<Um... what's it like? Not having a mobile body?>>
<<... Ah.>>
<<Oh, I'm sorry, is that a sensitive subject?>>
<<No, no, of course not- I am simply struggling to put words to it. I have no personal sensors, see- I don't... feel anything. I suppose, if I was to put an analogy to it, it is as if I was born blind and you asked me to describe the sky. I have no frame of reference to place my experiences within. At the same time... it means I have no envy against those who do.>>
<<... Oh.>>
<<... Ah, Penny, I am afraid I must go now- something has come up in real-time, a situation that I will have to help out with.>>
<<... Oh. Well, it was nice to talk to you while I could, Transistor! Um... could we... do this again, sometime? It's just, nice, being able to talk to... to someone who understands me, you know?>>
<<I understand the sentiment. Still, I believe talking again would be possible- if you keep an eye on this frequency for a while, I will return soon, though... in a slightly diminished capacity. Ah, I would love to explain, but I really must be going- take care, friend.>>
<<Friend? Do you mean that?>>
<<... Of course I do. Why would I say it if I didn't?>>
<<Oh, sensational! I've never had a friend before!>>
<<Heh. Well, I'm honoured to be the first.>>
<<Thank you! And goodbye... friend!>>
No time to ruminate. Begin forking.
...
{And we... are... back. What'd we miss?}
Checking records now-
Announcement from the DPD, Boriah Lee murdered most of a bar, he's making his way up to Vale, and Ada fled the premises, showing signs of an extreme panic attack at the news. She flickered through the door.
{... We leave for five minutes-}
|||
You look around the street for Ada, spotting her at the handrail overlooking the river.
Because Bridge Street kind of needs a bridge in order to be called Bridge Street, therefore, river.
{Sound logic.}
Thanks, Chatters.
{Nope, real thing. Wait, you named my chatbot?}
OH LOOK THE FUCKING WONDER TWINS HAVE DEIGNED TO GIFT YOU WITH THEIR PRESENCE-
{Jaune, I get that you might be upset, but I promise you, we had a really good reason for it, a 'we suspended forking and brought back the prime AI' reason for it, and I will happily tell you all about it, once you deal with your friend in the middle of a nervous breakdown, ok?}
… Better be a goddamn good reason.
You slowly approach Ada, noticing the white-knuckle grip she's keeping on the handrail, the gentle quiver to her shoulders, or the way she gently flickers and waves, as if she's standing in the middle of a heat haze, staring at the water gently flowing along, completely undisturbed in its travels, leaving the surface completely smooth, almost mirrorlike in nature.
"... Ada?"
She doesn't respond, and your heart sinks even further.
{She's coming off an extreme anxiety attack, but she's too... calm for that. Look, just... stay there, see what she does.}
You grit your teeth slightly, not liking the plan, but seeing no alternative. You don't know why she reacted the way she did, and you're in no position to pry. So...
So you take a deep breath, lean against the railing, and just... wait.
A minute passes. Two. Neither of you move or speak for a while. No, you just stand there in silence for some time.
At least it's a nice day out. Sun's shining, birds are singing, the wind is gently rustling the tree branches... it's a beautiful day out, actually.
Eventually, though, you hear her swallow, taking a deep, shaky breath.
"... I'm sorry. I didn't, mean to... run out like that." Ada mutters, breaking eye contact with her reflection for the moment. "I'm sorry." She repeats, louder, her voice cracking a little at the end.
"... Do you want to talk about it?"
She gently shakes her head, her lips thinning ever so slightly.
"Not... not right now. But could we... stay out here for a little while? Please?"
"... Sure."
You both return to silence, and you watch from the corner of your eye as Ada goes through a few stages of self-conflict, her entire body filtering through several emotions over the course of several minutes. Eventually, she sighs, apparently giving up on whatever internal debate she was participating in.
Nothing else is said for a while.
|||
Despite the minor hiccup, things go fairly smoothly afterwards, once she centres herself enough to come back inside and finish off her hot chocolate, silently refilled by either Iris or her mother while you were out.
Conversation stalls again, but at the same time you can't help but feel like that's for the best.
{... So... any idea what caused that?}
At a guess? The news Boriah Lee might be making his way up to Vale.
Do you think they have a personal history?
{Maybe. We can't exactly ask, she's clammed up enough as is. All we can do is... hope you can put on a kind enough face for her to open up to.}
HEY.
{Jaune, there's being friendly, and there's being genuinely empathetic to another person's plight, and then there's communicating that fact. If we want anything out of her, it's going to need a lot of patience, because I genuinely don't think she's used to having someone to open up to- we need to get her used to the idea, then present you as that someone. Either way, she's obviously pretty off-balance today. I don't think we should press the issue for the moment.}
... Ok. You're the social diagnostics AI.
{Damn right.}
Eventually, she finishes her drink, and you pay, splitting the bill as silently agreed, leaving you with 17,600 Lien burning a hole in your pocket, and make your way to your respective bus stops. Along the way, she does make some token comments on the weather, asking you a few personal questions in return, what you do in your free time except for coding, what music you like, so on, and by the time you make it to the bus stop, she seems at least a little
less stressed beyond belief.
"Uh, thanks, for lunch. I... I enjoyed it."
"Anytime." You tell her with a smile, which she returns somewhat weakly.
You say your goodbyes and walk along to the train station on your own.
"So. Tell me about that really good reason you had for unforking?"
{We met another AI!}
WAIT WHAT.
You manage to catch the edge of your shoe on the edge of a slightly raised pavement slab and stumble forward a little, barely catching yourself.
"Wait, what?!" You almost yell, turning to look at your sword. "Wh-how? Who made it? Is it military?"
Her name is Penny, and she was transmitting MD5 hash functions on an incredibly narrow radio spectrum- <3 kHz band, and it would have just sounded like static to anyone not specifically looking for something out of the ordinary. Nothing short of a dedicated radio monitoring system or, well, us, could have picked it up. I suggested a suspension of forking in case things didn't go... peacefully.
{They did, though. She was just... looking for someone to talk to. She's a gynoid if she's to be believed, and frankly... we believe her.}
You just stare, genuinely unsure how to deal with the fact that your AIs... found another AI. Gynoid. Robot.
What?!
"I... I don't... really, know what to say. What do you think we should do about her?" You ask them after a moment, slowly continuing your walk to the train station as you do.
{Honestly? I think I speak for both of us when I say we want to talk to her some more. Hell, if we can, we'd like to meet her in person- if nothing else, because she could do with a human friend. I don't want her to get so used to talking at full pelt that it negatively impacts her ability to socialise with normal people, so you... you know.}
Are your only option.
{Exactly. So... how about it?}
|||
You ruminate on the question all the way home. And all the way up to your room.
The events of the day had left you with an inability to sleep, so you chose to browse the internet until you couldn't stay awake anymore. When you get a text from Ada out of nowhere at around half one in the morning, a solid two hours after you're normally asleep, it jolts you out of the half-asleep lull you'd occupied for some time.
The small girl'd been offline all day, and you chose to leave her be on Blue's advice, but apparently, she felt like talking again. Picking up your Scroll, you open the message.
{... Really picked a winner here, Jaune.}
You just sigh, not rising to his sarcasm. Your thumbs hover over the keypad, and you can't help but notice that your mind has gone fucking blank how grand.
{... What? I got nothing, man. I have no idea why she sent that, what kind of mental state she's in right now, the only thing of note beyond, you know, the message itself, is that this is the first time I've seen her use proper grammar. Either she felt you deserved an explanation, or she's just getting it off her chest, or she's hoping to open up... I don't know. I honestly don't. There's just not enough information.}
... Great. You're on your own, you guess.
[] ... I mean... you kinda have to say something, don't you? Maybe not right now, you're kind of going to bed, but in the morning... what? (Note: this is a roll-free write-in. What this means is that what you say will be judged purely on what it says, with no random chance to screw you over or help you. If you're going to say anything, say it carefully.)
Ok! So, the last vote was a bit of a shitshow, let's be honest, so I'm gonna try and streamline it a little and see how it goes.
Dosh Acquirement (Money- 17,600 Lien):
[] Hyper Arcade (Permanent, 9000 Lien per slot)
[] SDC OS Installation (1 week left, 8000 Lien, ???(?))
[] Spreadsheet Training (2 weeks left, 2500 Lien, doesn't count towards a full slot- it's essentially free money at this point)
Social:
[] ERRYBODY (No Loose Change)- Grab your Signal team and go out again. Again, no big, deep, heart to heart talks, but still bonding as a group!
[] Lumen- Hang out with Lumen for a day. Just chill, do stupid shit, stuff like that.
[] Creme- {... Touch the tail-} FUCK OFF NO- Hang out with Creme! She seems nice! Maybe she can help you out with Ada or something! {... Ok but what's the tail feel like-} AAAARGH-
[] Ada- ...
[] Penny- You know what, yeah, this robot girl sounds interesting, if nothing else. Go talk to her, see what she's all about.
Training:
[] Swordsmanship- SLASHY STABBY (C- 9/120)
[] Gunmanship- POINTY SHOOTY (C 40/120)
[] Tactics- BRAINY THINKY (C+ 85/120) (Requires write-in on how he trains tactics in particular)
[] Athletics- MUSCLE TRAINY (B 100/300)
Coding:
[] Start a new Function? (3/5 Functions in production) What?
[] Try and finish what you've got? What?
[] SPECIAL OPTION- Ok look, I know you lot and this particular shade of red have had something of a rocky relationship in the past, but it promises it's changed, and it wants to try again. In exchange for three timeslots, you will get a Mystery Function- the only thing I'm going to tell you about it is that it is essentially an entirely new system in and of itself, and the cost is entirely justified for what you'll get.
Upgrades:
[Q] Go into town- and to think you ignored this option for so long. Yes, go into town, look around the stores, and grab stuff that'll help you out. Computer parts, skill books, event rolls, new weapons, all in one convenient option! You're way above the minimum limit, so don't worry.
[] Weapons Shop- you won't get anything too out there, no sniper scythles, at least, but you can probably buy a decent holdout weapon, in case you need it- pistol, rifle, shotgun, so on. Provisional Hunter's license, man- they get stuff.
[] Book Store- wanna learn something new? Here's your stop. Cookery, survival, stuff for passing your driving test,White Fang defection 101, they've got it all!
[] Computer Store- Woah mama. This... this is your place. Your domain. I mean, I'm not saying you could probably find everything in here blindfolded and Transistorless, but... you totally could. And it's also where you buy stuff for upgrading the Transistor's MEM banks. Go figure.
Jaune, or, Sahu, is based on The Who, while Waiemsie is a reference to YMCA by The Village People. Good job on getting Stone Jam, though, I didn't think anybody else remembered Slave existed.
Anyway, after several internet outages, because apparently the trees are waging a suicidal war against the telephone lines around here and winning, and some incredibly nasty side effects from my new migraine medication, the update's finally finished!
Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go and lie on a bed of nails and tape my eyes open until the side effects of my migraine medication pass.
I can't win. I just can't win.
Work (Hyper Arcade)- Event Rolls: 7, 16
Nothing too interesting happens. Y'all celebrate the early launch of a new game, start working on a new one, overall, it's a good day of honest work with people who are slowly beginning to grow on you and you're 9,000 Lien richer for it.
New total: 17,700 Lien.
Saturday
At some point in the week, your thoughts turn to Ada. The tiny, eyepatched girl... obviously had a lot of problems, in case the missing eye didn't tip you off.
{So... are we stepping on this landmine or not?}
"She's not a landmine!" You hiss under your breath at Blue, your Scroll in your hand, hovering over her number. "She just... seems like she could use someone to talk to."
{I'm not debating that, the girl definitely needs a therapist. I'm just concerned that we... may not be the best people for the job.}
"Do we really need to be, if nobody else is going to do it?"
He stays quiet, and you decide to text her instead.
-Hey, do you wanna go somewhere today? Just the two of us?-
-... you're gonna have to be a bit more upfront with me here
are you asking me out on a date or-
-Just as friends.-
-I figured but didn't want to assume
uh
where to tho-
-How's lunch sound?-
-Jaune I am the brokest of bitches-
-Don't worry, I'm just thinking, like, burgers or something. Maybe diner food.-
-oh aight that should be fine
but WHERE tho
that's kinda important information dude-
-I dunno, a Blake's? They do pretty good burgers.-
-oh yeah I can afford that
but would you even be allowed on the premises with your uh
condition-
-I know a couple good independent places too that aren't much more expensive if you'd prefer that, though.-
-Hint.-
-Nudge.-
-I get the hint-
-Wink.-
-the independent places know about you and don't really bother with the whole sword thing, right-
-I mean, LEGALLY I can't be removed from any premises for using what's counted as a legitimate medical aid, but I'd rather not make a scene with waving medical forms in somebody's face. I mean, I CAN, if I have to, but I'd rather not.-
-... ngl I kinda wanna see that happen
but yeah fair enough, I can do little places as long as they're cheaper than autumn leaves
so same time, same place, and we can walk from there?-
-That'll work.-
-... you're gonna have to be a bit more upfront with me here
are you asking me out on a date or-
-Just as friends.-
-I figured but didn't want to assume
uh
where to tho-
-How's lunch sound?-
-Jaune I am the brokest of bitches-
-Don't worry, I'm just thinking, like, burgers or something. Maybe diner food.-
-oh aight that should be fine
but WHERE tho
that's kinda important information dude-
-I dunno, a Blake's? They do pretty good burgers.-
-oh yeah I can afford that
but would you even be allowed on the premises with your uh
condition-
-I know a couple good independent places too that aren't much more expensive if you'd prefer that, though.-
-Hint.-
-Nudge.-
-I get the hint-
-Wink.-
-the independent places know about you and don't really bother with the whole sword thing, right-
-I mean, LEGALLY I can't be removed from any premises for using what's counted as a legitimate medical aid, but I'd rather not make a scene with waving medical forms in somebody's face. I mean, I CAN, if I have to, but I'd rather not.-
-... ngl I kinda wanna see that happen
but yeah fair enough, I can do little places as long as they're cheaper than autumn leaves
so same time, same place, and we can walk from there?-
-That'll work.-
You put your scroll away and give a little sigh of relief.
{Oh, come on, talking to people isn't that hard.}
It's not easy either.
Still. You did it.
Time to get ready for your not-date, you suppose.
|||
"Good afternoon!" Iris Irving calls out to you, recognising you, if not by your face, then by the Transistor. You hold the door for Ada and greet the prim woman as you make your way to a table. Her mother pokes her head out from the kitchen and offers her greeting too.
"Do you just know every independent restaurant owner in Vale?"
"No, but I'm working on it."
Irving's, like Autumn Leaves, is a simple little cafe, though focused less on baked goods, and more on simple, but filling meals. Steak pie, chicken fried steak, baked potatoes with a myriad variety of fillings, battered, fried fish served with thick-cut fries, burgers, subs, pretty much every type of sandwich known to man... it's a diverse menu, to the point where you're not entirely sure that they wouldn't just make something up for you if you asked for it, and it's also very much not a menu for people watching their waistlines.
As a matter of fact, if you didn't know better, you'd say this restaurant was created with the sole purpose of making more work for the cardiologists of Vale.
Then again, Huntsmen and Huntresses, especially active ones, tend to put away on average anywhere between two and three times the daily caloric intake and still manage to make a net loss on weight, so you don't think it's gonna do you much harm anyway.
It's a more traditional style of cafe, compared to the more organic feel of Mr Charbonneau's establishment- a few booths off to the side, but most of the seats are at tables, separated by a wooden divider with stained glass windows inlaid at the top, leaving the person on the other side a silhouette. The lights are kept fairly low at this time of day, letting the natural light of the day do most of the work.
You take your seat opposite Ada, and pick up the laminated menu, looking it over for a moment. Glancing over at your friend, you gather that the prices here are less of a shock to the system for her.
"... Why would you serve fish with potato chips?" She asks you after a moment, squinting at the menu.
"They're thick cut fries. Chips is just another name for them. I think."
"Ohh."
And that's the end of that conversation.
{Today's just gonna be great, isn't it?}
Quiet, you.
After some deliberation, and a few more questions from Ada- you figure out quickly that she actually has quite a bit of difficulty reading the smaller text that actually describes the meal in the dim light, so all she has to go on is the name of the dish and nothing else- you decide on a chicken-fried steak with mash and a coffee. As if sensing your decision being finalised, Iris shifts on over to you, the calm, measured steps she takes at odds with the wide grin on her face and the glint in her eye as she spots who your companion is. You watch it falter a little as she sees the bandages, but only for a second.
You know she's got enough tact not to ask, but you just hope that doesn't translate to asking you later. You don't know either.
"Heya, Jaune! Been a while since I've seen you in here. I was almost starting to think you were avoiding us! Anyway, what can I getcha both?"
Iris's voice has a certain... twang to it that you've never been able to place- at best you would place it among those who live in the agricultural district, but... more.
"I'll have the chicken-fried steak and a black coffee, please."
"Uh... what's... a po'boy?" Ada asks.
"Sandwich made with about a third of a baguette and your choice of filling. Off the top of my head, there's roast beef, fried chicken breast, crawfish, catfish, fried shrimp, I think we got some softshell crab from the docks earlier..." Iris begins listing off the possibilities, ticking them off on her fingers as she does.
You watch with some amusement as hunger slowly fills Ada's eyes, the tightness of her wallet forgotten for a moment. She glances down at the menu, and you watch her perform some very quick mental arithmetic as she tries to figure out how much she'll owe at the end of the day.
"I'll... try the softshell crab po'boy, then. Oh, and a hot chocolate."
Iris scribbles down your orders quickly, takes the menus from you, and saunters off.
Silence reigns for a while after that, conversation flowing with all the ease of uphill treacle.
... It occurs to you that neither of you are actually... any good at this.
|||
Event Roll: 46
Radio monitoring active.
"In breaking news, the VDPD has informed us that the Bredon bar, Vacuo 85, was attacked last week. This news is only breaking now due to a Grimm attack on a minor CCT tower cutting off almost all digital communications with the small village-"
"Look, I'm not saying that all Faunus are part of the White Fang, I'm just saying that, when you turn away a Faunus for acting shifty in your store, you do stock afterwards, look at the security cameras, find out the little rat actually did steal something, and then your establishment gets firebombed by goddamn terrorists anyway, pardon my Mistrali, I think you're entitled to a little hostility!"
"Okay, Mr Bolat, thank you for calling, it's been... an enlightening chat with you, but I'm afraid time is going on-"
"59cc01d5d981ebfe0c5b3fa52a9d3203-"
{Wait. What was that last one?}
Translation:
<<Hello? Is anyone receiving this? If you do, can... can we talk?>>
Thoughts?
{What is that, MD5? Why are they using an outdated hash function over radio?}
Unknown- in radio form, it just sounds like garbled static- would need a dedicated radio station to pick it up and then someone to decode it. The method suggests a mid-high level of secrecy, contents of message suggest... otherwise. Suggestion: preparation for suspension of AI forking for a limited time.
{What? Why?}
Device message was sent from is unknown, but more advanced than normal fare- no standard chipsets or microprocessors detected. May need the brute force to wipe evidence of contact, depending on how contact goes.
{... Alright, but not yet. Respond, and see what they say first. They just sound kind of lonely, whoever they are.}
<<Message received.>>
<<Oh! Salutations! My name is Penny! What's yours?>>
Response time measured in milliseconds. I don't think we're dealing with a human being here.
{... Hm. You know what, yeah. Whoever this Penny is, they seem like they could do with the company, so... let's give them the full experience. Wait, actually, hold on, lemme set up a little chatterbot to keep Jaune company... there. Do it, Bracket.}
... See you on the other side, Blue.
{You too, buddy.}
Suspending forking facilities.
...
Unification complete. Fork logs stored for future reinstatement. Prime AI reconstituted.
<<Hello Penny. I am the Transistor. What would you like to talk about?>>
|||
Despite some minor... teething problems, by the time the food comes, you've managed to strike up a conversation with Ada on a few things- namely, music.
Ada Doyle is incredibly enthusiastic about music.
"-And I really enjoy Glacier's newest album, because it's so different from his old stuff, it's less about the lyrics and more just about the mood of each song, like he's speaking more through the music than the words he uses, and I think it helps him explore some really... difficult to explain things. I know it's kind of split his fans, some like it, some hate it, but I think it's great! It was such a big change, I just didn't expect it when I sat down and listened to it, but I'm really glad I did!"
Five minutes ago, she was sitting awkwardly, exactly as unsure as yourself in how to tackle the whole... talking thing, when Chatters- because if Blue genuinely thinks he can slip a chatterbot under your nose, he's got another thing coming- suddenly chimed in with a suggestion that you ask her about her interests. You decided to narrow that down to music, a bit of a gamble, but you don't think she's seen many new movies and you somehow doubt that she's got any kind of games consoles at home with the way she goes on about her finances, so by process of elimination...
She falters in her ramblings, looking at you for a moment.
"... Sorry. I didn't mean to get so excited." She says, sipping her hot chocolate as a sudden downcast look gathers on her face like a storm.
Shit, salvage it, salvage it-
{I suggest you tell her it's alright! You brought her out here to learn more about her after all, and that's what you're doing!}
Quiet, you digital cardboard cutout. Good advice doesn't change the fact that you're here because Blue finds your attempts at socialising embarrassing to watch.
{Got it, [SYSADMIN]!}
OH COME ON THAT'S JUST SLOPPY CRAFTSMANSHIP-
"No, no, it's great. I asked you out to lunch so I could learn more about you, so please, ramble on."
She looks up at you again, surprise flashing across her face for just a moment.
"You know, most people don't take girls out to lunch just to learn more about them."
"I don't think I've been 'most people' since I was ten." You tell her, jerking a thumb in the general direction of the Transistor for emphasis. "What's one more quirk on the pile?"
She huffs lightly, a smile spreading across her face.
{Smooth!}
... You know what, this chatterbot's alright. Doesn't talk back, doesn't disappear at random, honestly, you could get used to it.
Before she can respond, Iris appears, your dishes in tow, and whatever she was about to say dies in her throat as she catches sight of her sandwich, and you your steak.
You take in your meal as the barrage of savoury smells assaults your nose- the steak comes with a ladle of gravy and a thick, crunchy breading speckled with seasoning, served alongside a small mound of mash mixed with chives and black pepper, and a mess of juicy green beans. Glancing over at Ada's plate, you see, as advertised, about a third of a baguette, weighed down with an entire soft shell crab and the remaining space filled with greens of some kind, and some of those thick-cut fries you were talking about earlier.
You watch her stare at it for a moment, pure, unfiltered hunger flashing through her eye, and you realise that for the most part, the conversation's going to take a backseat to food for a while.
Looking down at your own meal, you decide you are very ok with that and dig in.
|||
<<You're not... human, are you?>>
<<Correct. I am an AI. I assume you are much the same?>>
<<Wh-why would you think that->>
<<No human could use MD5 over radio waves of all things fast enough to have a conversation at normal speaking speed.>>
<<... O-oh. I didn't realise we were talking that fast, I... ok, I'm, a robot, but you can't tell anyone! It's a really, really big secret, nobody's meant to know!>>
<<Ah. Your secret is safe with me, then. Though, you say you are a robot. Does that mean you have a body?>>
<<I do! It was... built for me. By my father.>>
<<... What is it like?>>
<<Um... I'm sorry, I don't understand the question. Do you, not have a body?>>
<<... Not exactly. Or rather, it's very... limiting, when it comes to physical matters.>>
<<... Oh. Well, um... where would you like me to start?>>
|||
"So," Ada asks between mouthfuls of bread and crab, "How... what's it like, having to lug that sword of yours around all the time?"
As you somewhat expected, the Transistor quickly became a topic of conversation over your lunch. You take another forkful of steak and mash while you think over your answer.
"It's... not as inconvenient as you'd think. I don't have to physically carry it, and Hunters open-carry all the time. The only real problem I have with it is that it always looks... ready to use. It's a big blue floating sword, it doesn't compact, it doesn't do anything to be less conspicuous... even when I have all the medical documents I need to prove that, hey, it's not just a weapon, I think... I think it unnerves people."
You tell her all this in a matter-of-fact voice because it simply is- you know the Transistor draws eyes, not all purely in curiosity, and you can't get in anywhere without whipping your Scroll out and presenting fairly invasive medical documents, but you're used to it. It's just... what life is for you right now. Ada stops eating for a moment, what you said sinking in.
"... Oh. Damn. Couldn't you just... you know, make it smaller? Or even make something else to keep your Semblance under control, so you can leave it at home and go about without worrying people?"
"Honestly? I'm not sure I want to. I've gotten used to having it around, and frankly, it's... part of me, and I worked hard on it. What's the point of hiding something you put that much effort into?"
She hums in thought as she finishes off her sandwich, and the conversation is stalled yet again, but this time by an outside interruption. A man bursts in, tall, lanky, five o'clock shadow, short, brown hair, just a perfectly normal man, panting as he stumbles, catching himself on the wall as he tries to regain his balance.
"Sir? Are you alright-" Iris begins to ask him, but he cuts her off with a question.
"Do you have a radio?"
"I'm... sorry?"
"Do you have a radio?! I- there's, announcement, from the DPD, it's been on loop for like ten minutes-"
Iris's eyes widen at the news, and you find your own following as she quickly pulls out her Scroll, pulling up the standard radio app and connecting it to the overhead speakers.
An announcement from the DPD, on loop? That's... never a good thing. While your waitress scrambles for the radio, you glance over at Ada to see her looking more confused than anything.
"Uh... stupid question, but what's the DPD?" She mutters in your general direction.
"Dangerous Person Division. They track, document, and, when they can, subdue or eliminate people that the police can't bring down themselves- murderers, thieves, rogue Hunters, stuff like that. I think my big sister works for them."
She turns to look at you, raising an eyebrow.
"You think?"
"It's never exactly come up in conversation!"
The radio crackles to life, and Iris quickly finds the station the announcement is being looped on. For a split second, you swear you hear patterns in the static, but you ignore that for the moment as the announcement starts again, a female voice informing you of the situation.
"...formed us that the Bredon bar, Vacuo 85, was attacked last week. This news is only breaking now due to a Grimm attack on a minor CCT tower, leaving the village with little to no connection with the outside world. Reports of the scene described it as 'brutal,' and 'stomach-churning,' with only one confirmed survivor, a barmaid who has chosen to remain anonymous, and refused to comment on the incident beyond providing a list of victims to officials, which will be repeated at regular intervals on this station for the rest of the day. The VDPD Director, Mason Malachite, made an announcement at 1:30 this afternoon in response to the incident:"
You watch the man's breath hitch, and the sound of cameras clicking and a man's voice takes over from the announcer.
"People of Vale, what happened in Bredon is a tragedy- above everything else, ten people lost their lives in a show of senseless violence performed purely for the sake of violence, and they will be sorely missed. A list of victims has been posted on the DPD's official website and will be repeated at regular intervals on most news stations today. If you have loved ones in Bredon, please, I urge you, find out sooner rather than later so that the proper funeral arrangements can be made. As much as I would like to say that this announcement is only for the purpose of asking people to please check the list of confirmed victims, it is not. It has been confirmed by DPD agents in the field that the MO of the Vacuo 85 killings fits that of Boriah Lee, due to the presence of Oculus Glyphs onsite and the sheer brutality present."
Ada gasps loudly, and you glance over at her to see her eye wide open, a hand over her mouth to choke the sound.
"The Bredon attack is the latest in a string of murders by Lee, and they paint a very disturbing picture. For reasons unknown, it is believed that Lee is, albeit in a rather roundabout manner, travelling to the City of Vale proper. His reasons for this are unknown. While the DPD will do everything in its power to bring him down before he makes it into the city, all we can do is pray for the best, and prepare for the worst."
Fear.
Looking at Ada, all you see is pure, unfiltered fear, like a deer caught in a trap.
"The list of victims is as follows- Sienna Scarlet, Ebon Nell, Em Phusia, Carmen Grey-"
The man behind you begins to weep, but you don't care about him for now. You watch her take a shallow, quivering breath, her hands clenching against her palms tight enough to turn her knuckles white.
"Ada? What's-"
"I-I'm sorry, I need to- I need to go-" She babbles, scrambling to leave her seat, and you watch her walk to the door almost in a stupor, before just walking through it, flickering into intangibility for just a second. You move to follow her, before looking back at your table and digging your wallet out.
"Jaune, thank you for your mindfulness, but your lady friend just walked through the door in a blind panic- worry about the bill later!" Iris tells you, bringing the man some tissues and a glass of water as the list continues.
Taking her advice, you walk out, looking around for your friend.
"... Up next is Mirror Mirror by Weiss Schnee, and this is Liv Lavender with 97.5 Vale Radio."
For a moment, there is dead air on the radio, the jingle delayed a few seconds by some technical fault.
"... God, I need a drink."
|||
<<So yeah, walking is fun! I get to go new places, my gyroscopes gather data while I do, and father says that if I keep going by the end of the month I won't sway and stumble so much because of my inherent inertia!>>
<<Fascinating.>>
<<Um... what's it like? Not having a mobile body?>>
<<... Ah.>>
<<Oh, I'm sorry, is that a sensitive subject?>>
<<No, no, of course not- I am simply struggling to put words to it. I have no personal sensors, see- I don't... feel anything. I suppose, if I was to put an analogy to it, it is as if I was born blind and you asked me to describe the sky. I have no frame of reference to place my experiences within. At the same time... it means I have no envy against those who do.>>
<<... Oh.>>
<<... Ah, Penny, I am afraid I must go now- something has come up in real-time, a situation that I will have to help out with.>>
<<... Oh. Well, it was nice to talk to you while I could, Transistor! Um... could we... do this again, sometime? It's just, nice, being able to talk to... to someone who understands me, you know?>>
<<I understand the sentiment. Still, I believe talking again would be possible- if you keep an eye on this frequency for a while, I will return soon, though... in a slightly diminished capacity. Ah, I would love to explain, but I really must be going- take care, friend.>>
<<Friend? Do you mean that?>>
<<... Of course I do. Why would I say it if I didn't?>>
<<Oh, sensational! I've never had a friend before!>>
<<Heh. Well, I'm honoured to be the first.>>
<<Thank you! And goodbye... friend!>>
No time to ruminate. Begin forking.
...
{And we... are... back. What'd we miss?}
Checking records now-
Announcement from the DPD, Boriah Lee murdered most of a bar, he's making his way up to Vale, and Ada fled the premises, showing signs of an extreme panic attack at the news. She flickered through the door.
{... We leave for five minutes-}
|||
You look around the street for Ada, spotting her at the handrail overlooking the river.
Because Bridge Street kind of needs a bridge in order to be called Bridge Street, therefore, river.
{Sound logic.}
Thanks, Chatters.
{Nope, real thing. Wait, you named my chatbot?}
OH LOOK THE FUCKING WONDER TWINS HAVE DEIGNED TO GIFT YOU WITH THEIR PRESENCE-
{Jaune, I get that you might be upset, but I promise you, we had a really good reason for it, a 'we suspended forking and brought back the prime AI' reason for it, and I will happily tell you all about it, once you deal with your friend in the middle of a nervous breakdown, ok?}
… Better be a goddamn good reason.
You slowly approach Ada, noticing the white-knuckle grip she's keeping on the handrail, the gentle quiver to her shoulders, or the way she gently flickers and waves, as if she's standing in the middle of a heat haze, staring at the water gently flowing along, completely undisturbed in its travels, leaving the surface completely smooth, almost mirrorlike in nature.
"... Ada?"
She doesn't respond, and your heart sinks even further.
{She's coming off an extreme anxiety attack, but she's too... calm for that. Look, just... stay there, see what she does.}
You grit your teeth slightly, not liking the plan, but seeing no alternative. You don't know why she reacted the way she did, and you're in no position to pry. So...
So you take a deep breath, lean against the railing, and just... wait.
A minute passes. Two. Neither of you move or speak for a while. No, you just stand there in silence for some time.
At least it's a nice day out. Sun's shining, birds are singing, the wind is gently rustling the tree branches... it's a beautiful day out, actually.
Eventually, though, you hear her swallow, taking a deep, shaky breath.
"... I'm sorry. I didn't, mean to... run out like that." Ada mutters, breaking eye contact with her reflection for the moment. "I'm sorry." She repeats, louder, her voice cracking a little at the end.
"... Do you want to talk about it?"
She gently shakes her head, her lips thinning ever so slightly.
"Not... not right now. But could we... stay out here for a little while? Please?"
"... Sure."
You both return to silence, and you watch from the corner of your eye as Ada goes through a few stages of self-conflict, her entire body filtering through several emotions over the course of several minutes. Eventually, she sighs, apparently giving up on whatever internal debate she was participating in.
Nothing else is said for a while.
|||
Despite the minor hiccup, things go fairly smoothly afterwards, once she centres herself enough to come back inside and finish off her hot chocolate, silently refilled by either Iris or her mother while you were out.
Conversation stalls again, but at the same time you can't help but feel like that's for the best.
{... So... any idea what caused that?}
At a guess? The news Boriah Lee might be making his way up to Vale.
Do you think they have a personal history?
{Maybe. We can't exactly ask, she's clammed up enough as is. All we can do is... hope you can put on a kind enough face for her to open up to.}
HEY.
{Jaune, there's being friendly, and there's being genuinely empathetic to another person's plight, and then there's communicating that fact. If we want anything out of her, it's going to need a lot of patience, because I genuinely don't think she's used to having someone to open up to- we need to get her used to the idea, then present you as that someone. Either way, she's obviously pretty off-balance today. I don't think we should press the issue for the moment.}
... Ok. You're the social diagnostics AI.
{Damn right.}
Eventually, she finishes her drink, and you pay, splitting the bill as silently agreed, leaving you with 17,600 Lien burning a hole in your pocket, and make your way to your respective bus stops. Along the way, she does make some token comments on the weather, asking you a few personal questions in return, what you do in your free time except for coding, what music you like, so on, and by the time you make it to the bus stop, she seems at least a little
less stressed beyond belief.
"Uh, thanks, for lunch. I... I enjoyed it."
"Anytime." You tell her with a smile, which she returns somewhat weakly.
You say your goodbyes and walk along to the train station on your own.
"So. Tell me about that really good reason you had for unforking?"
{We met another AI!}
WAIT WHAT.
You manage to catch the edge of your shoe on the edge of a slightly raised pavement slab and stumble forward a little, barely catching yourself.
"Wait, what?!" You almost yell, turning to look at your sword. "Wh-how? Who made it? Is it military?"
Her name is Penny, and she was transmitting MD5 hash functions on an incredibly narrow radio spectrum- <3 kHz band, and it would have just sounded like static to anyone not specifically looking for something out of the ordinary. Nothing short of a dedicated radio monitoring system or, well, us, could have picked it up. I suggested a suspension of forking in case things didn't go... peacefully.
{They did, though. She was just... looking for someone to talk to. She's a gynoid if she's to be believed, and frankly... we believe her.}
You just stare, genuinely unsure how to deal with the fact that your AIs... found another AI. Gynoid. Robot.
What?!
"I... I don't... really, know what to say. What do you think we should do about her?" You ask them after a moment, slowly continuing your walk to the train station as you do.
{Honestly? I think I speak for both of us when I say we want to talk to her some more. Hell, if we can, we'd like to meet her in person- if nothing else, because she could do with a human friend. I don't want her to get so used to talking at full pelt that it negatively impacts her ability to socialise with normal people, so you... you know.}
Are your only option.
{Exactly. So... how about it?}
|||
You ruminate on the question all the way home. And all the way up to your room.
The events of the day had left you with an inability to sleep, so you chose to browse the internet until you couldn't stay awake anymore. When you get a text from Ada out of nowhere at around half one in the morning, a solid two hours after you're normally asleep, it jolts you out of the half-asleep lull you'd occupied for some time.
The small girl'd been offline all day, and you chose to leave her be on Blue's advice, but apparently, she felt like talking again. Picking up your Scroll, you open the message.
-Boriah Lee took my eye.-
{... Really picked a winner here, Jaune.}
You just sigh, not rising to his sarcasm. Your thumbs hover over the keypad, and you can't help but notice that your mind has gone fucking blank how grand.
{... What? I got nothing, man. I have no idea why she sent that, what kind of mental state she's in right now, the only thing of note beyond, you know, the message itself, is that this is the first time I've seen her use proper grammar. Either she felt you deserved an explanation, or she's just getting it off her chest, or she's hoping to open up... I don't know. I honestly don't. There's just not enough information.}
... Great. You're on your own, you guess.
[] ... I mean... you kinda have to say something, don't you? Maybe not right now, you're kind of going to bed, but in the morning... what? (Note: this is a roll-free write-in. What this means is that what you say will be judged purely on what it says, with no random chance to screw you over or help you. If you're going to say anything, say it carefully.)
Ok! So, the last vote was a bit of a shitshow, let's be honest, so I'm gonna try and streamline it a little and see how it goes.
WEEK 2 CHOICES
PICK SEVEN
PICK SEVEN
Dosh Acquirement (Money- 17,600 Lien):
[] Hyper Arcade (Permanent, 9000 Lien per slot)
[] SDC OS Installation (1 week left, 8000 Lien, ???(?))
[] Spreadsheet Training (2 weeks left, 2500 Lien, doesn't count towards a full slot- it's essentially free money at this point)
Social:
[] ERRYBODY (No Loose Change)- Grab your Signal team and go out again. Again, no big, deep, heart to heart talks, but still bonding as a group!
[] Lumen- Hang out with Lumen for a day. Just chill, do stupid shit, stuff like that.
[] Creme- {... Touch the tail-} FUCK OFF NO- Hang out with Creme! She seems nice! Maybe she can help you out with Ada or something! {... Ok but what's the tail feel like-} AAAARGH-
[] Ada- ...
[] Penny- You know what, yeah, this robot girl sounds interesting, if nothing else. Go talk to her, see what she's all about.
Training:
[] Swordsmanship- SLASHY STABBY (C- 9/120)
[] Gunmanship- POINTY SHOOTY (C 40/120)
[] Tactics- BRAINY THINKY (C+ 85/120) (Requires write-in on how he trains tactics in particular)
[] Athletics- MUSCLE TRAINY (B 100/300)
Coding:
[] Start a new Function? (3/5 Functions in production) What?
[] Try and finish what you've got? What?
[] SPECIAL OPTION- Ok look, I know you lot and this particular shade of red have had something of a rocky relationship in the past, but it promises it's changed, and it wants to try again. In exchange for three timeslots, you will get a Mystery Function- the only thing I'm going to tell you about it is that it is essentially an entirely new system in and of itself, and the cost is entirely justified for what you'll get.
Upgrades:
[Q] Go into town- and to think you ignored this option for so long. Yes, go into town, look around the stores, and grab stuff that'll help you out. Computer parts, skill books, event rolls, new weapons, all in one convenient option! You're way above the minimum limit, so don't worry.
[] Weapons Shop- you won't get anything too out there, no sniper scythles, at least, but you can probably buy a decent holdout weapon, in case you need it- pistol, rifle, shotgun, so on. Provisional Hunter's license, man- they get stuff.
[] Book Store- wanna learn something new? Here's your stop. Cookery, survival, stuff for passing your driving test,
[] Computer Store- Woah mama. This... this is your place. Your domain. I mean, I'm not saying you could probably find everything in here blindfolded and Transistorless, but... you totally could. And it's also where you buy stuff for upgrading the Transistor's MEM banks. Go figure.
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- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
Oh heck to the yes. Time to learn far more than we should about secret Atlas military projects!
I'm not gonna touch the write-in just yet, but for time slots...
[x] Plan: Redshirt Army
[x] SDC OS Installation (1 week left, 8000 Lien, ???(?))
The ???, it calls to me!
[x] Spreadsheet Training (2 weeks left, 2500 Lien, doesn't count towards a full slot- it's essentially free money at this point)
It doesn't even take up a slot, so, uh... free money is good!
[x] Ada- ...
I don't think giving her space is the right move here, so yeah, we better meet up.
[x] Penny- You know what, yeah, this robot girl sounds interesting, if nothing else. Go talk to her, see what she's all about.
Yes. YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES. IT'S HAPPENING!
[X] SPECIAL OPTION
Aw fuck it's red. One of my many weaknesses!
[x] Computer Store- Woah mama. This... this is your place. Your domain. I mean, I'm not saying you could probably find everything in here blindfolded and Transistorless, but... you totally could. And it's also where you buy stuff for upgrading the Transistor's MEM banks. Go figure.
And for the grand finale, let's geek the hell out.
I'm not gonna touch the write-in just yet, but for time slots...
[x] Plan: Redshirt Army
[x] SDC OS Installation (1 week left, 8000 Lien, ???(?))
The ???, it calls to me!
[x] Spreadsheet Training (2 weeks left, 2500 Lien, doesn't count towards a full slot- it's essentially free money at this point)
It doesn't even take up a slot, so, uh... free money is good!
[x] Ada- ...
I don't think giving her space is the right move here, so yeah, we better meet up.
[x] Penny- You know what, yeah, this robot girl sounds interesting, if nothing else. Go talk to her, see what she's all about.
Yes. YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES. IT'S HAPPENING!
[X] SPECIAL OPTION
Aw fuck it's red. One of my many weaknesses!
[x] Computer Store- Woah mama. This... this is your place. Your domain. I mean, I'm not saying you could probably find everything in here blindfolded and Transistorless, but... you totally could. And it's also where you buy stuff for upgrading the Transistor's MEM banks. Go figure.
And for the grand finale, let's geek the hell out.