TFLN overflow

[yourcreator]

TFLN overflow

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[yourcreator]

Neither do I. [ Isn't that reassuring. Kamski comes over with his small box of screw drivers and spare wires, all neatly compartmentalized. He places it on one of the little wheeled metal tables, tugs it over to his side.

He comes forward towards Alice's table, opposite Kara, his hands folded in front of himself.

Calmly, without so much as a sarcastic gleam in his eye: ] May I touch her?

[mamabot]

[ That may not be comforting, but she appreciates the honesty. Overconfidence could result in Alice's death, and that's-- she's not sure she could handle that.

And for all that Kamski is a deeply unsettling man, Kara understands that he's not asking inappropriately. She came to him for help, but he's still respecting the two of them. It actually calms her a little bit. ]

Yes.

[ She keeps holding Alice's hand, watching him work. ]

[yourcreator]

Do you imagine he will be at all relieved to find out? You were the closest thing to a parental figure he had, after all - until Lt. Anderson came in with a more emotional touch, of course.

lmao thank you, I try to entertain

[yourcreator]

Of course you're fundamentally different. You're a superior being to a human, Connor, in every way.

Although I must disagree that an absence of traditional life markers translates to a lack of internal change. Don't you think your experiences have already shaped you? From a machine obeying orders, to a sentient being?

[vbetrayed]

[ Even though he can't see her, Amanda shrugs. ]

He might like having the opportunity to truly delete my program.

Did you look at Amanda Stern as a parental figure?

[ Because why grant her a piece of immortality if not? Why put this AI in the position of a sort of parental figure? ]

[yourcreator]

Thank you. [ Still polite, still a creepy eccentric who's about to perform android operation in his pajamas. Kamski doesn't immediately touch her even now - he leans forward, looking from LED down. It's cycling soft and slow, showcasing a low-power mode. It's also yellow, which is no surprise.

He grips her head first, thumb on one temple and fingers on the other, tilting it forward a bit. There's no resistance, no triggered automatic responses.

Kamski makes a small, thoughtful sound. He looks up at Kara, still bent over the table: ] Would you deactivate her skin for me, please?

[ Kamski could easily do it himself, but this is the opposite of a power play; he assumes Kara will be more at-ease if she does it. ]

[mamabot]

[ Alice's LED had been off for as long as Kara can remember; she and Luther decided to turn it on again as soon as Alice stopped being responsive, because it's the only way to be sure she's not-- that she hasn't shut down.

She'd sooner trust an android surgeon, but Kamski is the best option abailable to her, so she nods, reaching out wordlessly to deactivate Alice's synthetic skin. ]

Should I take off her clothes too?

[ She may not look it, but she's nervous, her thirium pump regulator pounding in her chest. ]

[yourcreator]

He might. Or he might use the opportunity to experiment with mercy. I wonder which he will choose?

[ Or oh, wow, okay, they could talk about him instead! He's genuinely surprised and then elated; all with a side of a frustration that's so compressed that it might pass for excitement.

His laughter is a very loud sound, in his newly emptied house. ]

I may have; and yet I didn't need much from my actual parental figures, so one could say Amanda Stearn was superior to that concept.

You are not her, however. You are a separate entity.

[yourcreator]

[ It's a common procedure; Kamski himself has reactivated removed LEDs in the past in order to monitor the most basic of what passes as vitals, for androids.

The difference being, of course, that removing the LED doesn't kill them. ]

You might need to. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. [ There's more than one way to skin an android, apparently. Kamski tilts Alice up on her side; he glances behind himself a moment, takes a small roll of electrical tape from his bag of equipment, and puts it under her head. It might look like a crude pillow, but more importantly, it keeps her head steady for him.

He depresses a few panels, and with a small pneumatic hiss, the back of Alice's head opens. He examines it for only a moment before reaching right in, clearly comfortable with whatever he's attempting to do. ]

I'm going to physically connect her to a computer that I can use to gain access to information about her functions. It's the quickest way for a human to diagnose an android. [ Suggesting, perhaps, that's not the only way this procedure could go.

He looks up Kara less often now that he's wrist-deep in Alice's skull, but he still does. He'd rather know what her reactions are. ] I can narrate everything I do, if that puts you at ease. It may slow me down, however.

[ Tick, tock. ]

[vbetrayed]

I imagine we'll find out soon enough. If you never hear from me again, you'll have your answer. At this point, your guess as to his decision is as good as mine.

[ On the one hand, he showed mercy to the Tracis, and to the Chloe. On the other, Amanda abandoned him to die in the Garden as she took aim at Markus.

The odds are stacked against her, she'd say if forced to wager. ]

Yes, I am separate. I am more intelligent, and I lack a physical body. Moreover, I have none of her memories. I'm merely intrigued that you saw it fit to make me as I am. Did you believe Connor would need parenting?

[mamabot]

[ Kara doesn't bother hiding the relief on her face at his answer. The less of Alice he has to see or touch, the better, and maybe the faster this will be over with.

...and faster is better. It's outright painful in ways she didn't know were possible to see Alice like this, to see the hardware that makes up the person. It seems like a desecration of life, and yet if she were human, Kara would let a brain surgeon operate on Alice if it were necessary. ]

Just tell me the most important things.

[ Because, quite frankly, she doesn't want to waste time. As it is, she hates feeling helpless as she stares at Alice's face, pearl-white and blank under the white ligjts. ]

[missiondeterminant]

[Connor waits until he's sure he's received all the messages Kamski means to send, and finds himself... Not angry, but frustrated and perhaps a little insulted once again. It all sounds reasonable, but it also sounds like the sort of reasonable used to get a result rather than being genuine. It's the kind of reasonable Connor is used to using himself, when he's negotiating.

So he weighs his options. Negotiate in return, or be more direct? He wants to do the latter, but thinks the former will be more effective, and so--]

You must understand the influence you hold with humans regarding CyberLife and androids in general. Even now, the news replays clips of an interview in which you claim there's no possibility of androids developing free will. Refuting those claims, publicly, would not be using us or telling us what to do, but rather helping in a separate and effective way.

[yourcreator]

Inasmuch as it can be called parenting, for someone that was never a child. But so many needs seemed to be the same - guidance, feedback, reinforcement. So yes, I suppose I did. [ And if he's the father in this scenario... Glad this didn't result in weird implications. ]

Connor may have been created to work for CyberLife, but his program was designed to listen to you.

Oh, now there's a thought.

Why don't you tell him you believe you're a deviant?

[yourcreator]

[ Fortunately, Kamski isn't a recluse because of performance anxiety. Unfortunately, his single-minded focus means he's probably going to end up doing less and less talking as they get into this. He doesn't word it that way, however - just nods. ] As you wish.

[ He's found the wire he wanted and extracts it as much is safe - it's attached to another cord and into the slim tablet he'd mentioned. The screen lights up with downloading and then is rapidly filled with notes - statuses, recently-accessed audio/video files, data streaming across the screen as it loads. ]

I'm going to look at the warnings her system was giving her most recently. See what this virus she's contracted was targeting.

And then, once I find out where it's hiding, I'll just remove it.

[ If he wasn't distracted by a puzzle, he'd remember to seem more ominous and add 'hopefully' to that. Instead, he's already typing in commands on the computer, trying to find what he assumes he's looking for. ]

I hope you can pinpoint where she got this, later. It's quite the hint of a new kind of biological weapon being tested.

[vbetrayed]

[ Amanda gives the softest of laughs, edges tinged with derision. ]

That might increase the probability he'd choose mercy.

What do you think, Elijah? Would you risk your existence on a deviant's newfound emotions?

[mamabot]

[ His silence is fine, as is the lack of dramatics. None of that seems relevant, when she gets right down to it, because all that matters is that Alice survives this. They came back to Detroit to give her a normal, happy life, with friends and family and stability.

Why would someone hurt a child? To break their parents and trigger irrational responses in the decision-makers, yes, but-- but why risk the possibility of being labeled cruel, of losing any public support they might have had? ]

Talk to Markus. [ Not her. Please just leave her alone when this is over. ] He'll know more than us. He may have seen it before.

[ And may see it again, though Kara hopes not. ]

He'll be happy for any help you can give him too. This is... terrifying.

[yourcreator]

I already have. Or didn't Connor and you hear about the shipment of radioactive cobalt that was stolen by the androids in the first flickers of Markus' protests?

Do you believe there might be another option for you, rather than relying on Connor's ability to forgive?

[vbetrayed]

Unleashing that cobalt wouldn't have been directly about you. My question is if you would risk your life, solely yours, on a deviant's emotion-based decision-making process?

I'm a program installed in Connor. Any option available to me depends on him. He could delete my code, or quarantine me off for as long as he lives. Even this means of communication, he could shut off for me.

So, no, unless you're suggesting you or someone else could remote in and extract my code without his knowledge or interference.

[yourcreator]

You won't be satisfied with any answer less than a deeply personal one, will you, Connor?

I wanted to know if something I created could beat me. Beat us. It's clear you're superior to humans in every way - but to rebel and develop free will against all odds, to secure your own places in social consciousness on your own? That would be incredible. [ Kamski makes no attempts to hide how invested he is in his creations, but even he usually has a bit more tact when discussing it with the press. One on one with one of the androids in question, however... ]

And you did it. I couldn't be more proud of you, or happy for you.

And now, you're requesting...that I advocate for your people to the press?

[yourcreator]

Help Markus. [ He says, with a smile curling up his face. Markus. He'd let Carl name him, of course, and it had turned into a fitting name, hadn't it? Like Marcus Aurelius; a philosopher and a leader and endlessly inspiring others to quote him. ] I may speak to him, once I'm done here.

But right now... [ He leans in towards Alice, reaches inside her head with one hand to adjust the wire's feed. ] I'm going to focus on this.

[ And indeed he does. Kamski is many things, but he's first and foremost passionate about what he does. He gets quieter the longer he works, small narrations coming further and further apart. ]

Kara. [ He says abruptly. It's the first time he's spoken in about ten minutes. He doesn't look up. ] I am actually going to need you to pull up her shirt for me, if you could.

I need to access a biocomponent in her torso.

[mamabot]

[ Kamski thinks in terms of moves on a chess board, it seem, but Kara doesn't. All her focus right now is on Alice, on watching her vitals to make sure she's still alive, and watching her face for any sign of consciousness. She listens without answering and finds his silence... not relaxing, but... less unsettling than his descriptions. Maybe it's because any time she's been in a situation like this (any time that she remembers, anyway) it's resulted or almost resulted in her memory being reset. Her entire life, taken away from her. Just like that.

Alice doesn't so much as blink, her LED still cycling yellow.

If androids had stomachs, Kara is sure she'd feel hers clench and twist when he speaks up again. By now she'd bet he really doesn't mean anything untoward, except perhaps to be dramatic, but that's hardly the worst thing he could be. It's just... will he see Alice as less of a person, as a mere machine, if more of her shell is exposed? Will he help her any less?

What choice does she have, though? Nodding, Kara does as asked, careful and gentle, as if Alice had fallen asleep in clothes that need washing after a day of playing outside. ]

How much longer?

[ Not to rush him. She's just nervous. ]

[yourcreator]

Hmm. [ Unnecessary to type, and yet it's the only way to get across just a fraction of his amused thoughtfulness over text. ] I'd be momentarily conflicted about choosing, I think. But ultimately: no.

Does it sound like I'm suggesting that? I'm certainly wondering if it's possible.

It sounds like an exciting challenge. I wonder what Connor would do if he noticed me attempting to access your files.

[vbetrayed]

[ Yes see and Amanda is highly risk averse, being an AI and all, absolutely completely devoid of deviant things like curiosity. (Ok fine but she IS still risk averse.) ]

He could be pushed to self-destruct. It's common for deviants whose stress levels are too high to look for ways to end all the confusion they're experiencing.

Or he could push back, or initiate conversation. It's not easy to tell with a model like Connor.

[yourcreator]

I'm not sure. [ Kamski looks at his tablet's screen up until the moment Kara is finished, and then he turns to the steel table again. ] If this works, not very long. [ And if it doesn't...

Failure is part of success, after all. Kamski has dealt with many, many more failed experiments than successful ones. The closer he'd gotten to AI, the more uncanny and superficially upsetting the mistakes had looked.

Quite frankly, anything that might happen to Alice right now, he's probably seen worse. It gives him a certain calm, as he touches the pressure plates on Alice's midsection that tell the front of her to open. The plastic skin rolls seamlessly under the above piece, hiding away and giving him access to her torso's biocomponents.

There's not as much room in child androids. Kamski has less experience with them, as well. He says neither of those things as he reaches in, shifting wires and biocomponents aside with careful, searching certainty.

Biocomponent #1356nv gives a short hiss as it's disconnected, its inner light winking and fading immediately. Kamski removes it and turns it over in his hands, inspecting. Hums to himself.

Plugs it directly into the tablet, as well, and turns back to the screen. ] Kara, if you could set a timer for three minutes, that would be wonderful. Alice's system isn't going to keep track of this biocomponent's loss itself.

[yourcreator]

Connor seems exceptionally...stubborn. I would be surprised if he decided to self-destruct, now that he's broken through his programming to become a deviant. If anything, I would have worried that stubbornness would have seen him self-destructing to avoid becoming deviant, before.

Would you rather I tried to remotely remove you, or would you like to talk to him? Or complete inaction?