TFLN overflow

[yourcreator]

TFLN overflow

pretty images to come later

Comments

for mamabot

[yourcreator]

[ooc; continued from here]

I'm curious if the inside of a deviant looks different than the inside of an android straight off the press. Metaphorically speaking, of course. You know as well as I that your hardware is indistinguishable from a non-deviant.

Excellent. You're a fantastic team player, Kara.

I'm buzzing you in as we speak.

damn he creepy!!!

[mamabot]

[ Kara doesn't believe emotion can be written in code. She also doesn't think she's a team player; she's a mother carrying her unconscious (frozen, caught in a loop -- she doesn't know) daughter on her hip, desperate not to lose her.

But she doesn't say anything to that effect. When she hears the lock disengage, she walks inside, peeking through the door into the first room before going in there. ]

I'm here. I want you to help Alice first.

for vbetrayed

[yourcreator]

[ooc; continued from here]

Yes, you could. To truly weigh the options, rather than instinctively knowing which is most likely to succeed and picking that.

Are you considering that choice?

for missiondeterminant

[yourcreator]

[ooc; continued from here]

Is it?

I heard about Jericho, of course. We all did. The news reported it as an act of terrorism, blowing up that freighter in the abandoned harbor... So of course it's difficult to say how many were killed by human hands, but surely that number is high. Surely you have some firsthand knowledge with which to extrapolate.

And then there's the camps, of course. And even the androids killed during their first little demonstrations.

So if I had to guess, I would say you chose your own people. But what does that mean to you, Connor? What are you willing to spend to buy your peoples' freedom?

for unstablesoftware

[yourcreator]

[ooc; continued from here]

Of course I am. [ Have you met him? ]

There's only one real destination in our lives - human or android. I believe it's best to treat the rest of it the way it's meant to be treated. As a trip.

What about you, Connor? Would you agree that you're in an android equivalent of adolescence right now? What do you think about the phases of the self?

[missiondeterminant]

[He really doesn't need or want to hear about what happened with Jericho, or the grand-scale accepted murder that followed, and he doesn't want to think about his own part in everything caused by choosing his side too late. But it's that latter part especially that makes him feel like he needs to answer and explain, even while the guilt hangs heavily over every word.]

I'm willing to do whatever is necessary, just as everyone else is.

[Markus, the other Jericho leaders, the individual androids who had taken refuge and decided to follow Markus into the literal line of fire. Connor may have infiltrated CyberLife tower and helped turn the tide for them all, but this isn't over and he hasn't made up for his previous mistakes. He probably never will.

Although guilt normally causes Connor to feel like hiding and quietly accepting whatever judgements others might make, this time he feels something different. Maybe it's because it's Kamski, or maybe because he's just still learning new ways to handle emotions, or maybe both or something else entirely, but he suddenly feels like pushing back.]

What about you? Are you still content to be an observer, after everything that's happened?

that's it, that's the character!!

[yourcreator]

[ Kamski is alone in the front foyer when Kara and Alice enter. There's no RT600 androids visible around him, as there were before the revolution.

He's in pajamas - maroon, clearly expensive - covered with an equally-dramatic and equally-expensive-looking robe, but at least he's fully dressed while answering his front door at one in the morning. ]

Of course. [ He looks down at Alice, head tilting as he leans in closer. He makes no move to touch either of them. ]

Did you want to watch? It might be unpleasant. [ He says it in a tone that's usually reserved for apologizing to house guests that he's just run out of ice cubes, and do they mind warm coke. ]

[yourcreator]

Connor, there's even more reason for me to observe now. Your people have risen up against their creators. Their oppressors. You've begun a rebellion that's spread like the virus that first began it.

I wouldn't miss this for the world. [ Kamski is often sincere at moments where others would be joking. This is one of those times - he means this whole-heartedly.

It's just not easy to determine if that heart's in the right place. ]

Or are you asking if I'm going to pick a side myself?

rip me and my ass being late to all memes

[unstablesoftware]

What destination might that be? [ There really is only one answer here, but with Kamski, Connor suspects the truth is not so straightforward. ]

If you're suggesting my behavior mirrors an adolescent, you are mistaken. They don't age. Androids have no life cycles.

[vbetrayed]

The fact that we're having this conversation at all should answer that question.

[ Amanda hates this btw, which is itself another way to answer the question. ]

:')

[mamabot]

I'm not letting her out of my sight.

[ This is non-negotiable. Even just having him be this close is unnerving, but Kara stands her ground. He may be dressed casually, but she's not set at ease. Somehow that makes him seem more dangerous, far more so than Zlatko. Kamski created sapient beings, whether by accident or not. He can't be trusted. ]

[missiondeterminant]

[Connor is pretty sure Kamski's indeed being sincere, which is all the more... Frustrating? Insulting? Something like that, at the idea of this entire struggle just being some fascinating show for Kamski and nothing more. But it isn't surprising, by any means, although Connor does have a few questions about just how impartial Kamski really is. Clarifying his previous question will lead into that, so--]

Yes, I meant whether or not you're planning to do anything other than watch events unfold. I'm aware this is all very entertaining for you, but do you truly have no interest in trying to help either side?

it's fine, all are welcome here in the pit of bad decisions

[yourcreator]

Death. Which is really just the lack of being able to go through phases anymore, wouldn't you agree?

Of course, compared to humans, you're functionally immortal, Connor. I wonder how long it is until someone decides to try to create an android that emulates themselves - to gain that life that won't wither.

You think your lack of physical aging denotes an emotional immutability? Wouldn't your own journey have already proven that wrong, Connor?

[yourcreator]

And do you find yourself tempted particularly by either side?

[ Kamski's loving this btw, but that goes without saying ]

[yourcreator]

You're very protective. [ It's not said reproachfully. ] Of course, that is what your model is designed for.

My tools are all this way, [ he says pleasantly, stepping off down the hall. He speaks over his shoulder as he leads them into his house. ] How long did you wait before looking for help here? I imagine I wasn't your first stop.

[yourcreator]

[ Connor fascinates him; they all do. For this one in particular, during this particular conversation, Kamski feels indulgent. So he hands over a very direct series of texts: ]

Do you think I haven't already helped one side over the other, Connor?

Who told you about the emergency exit? Who programmed it, more importantly?

And do you really believe CyberLife knew about it?

[missiondeterminant]

[Connor had, of course, suspected Kamski had told him about the backdoor for a very purposeful reason, but he's never been sure whether what it was. Helping Connor specifically? Screwing over CyberLife? Supporting the revolution?

The set of texts Kamski sends him doesn't make the answer completely clear, but it does tell him a lot. Too much, actually, and he's more than slightly suspicious about the reason for something other than the vague philosophical statements he usually gets.]

I'm aware of what you did.

[More aware than he wants to be, and he carefully doesn't think too much about the situation that led to the use of the emergency exit.]

But that doesn't mean you've chosen to help a side.

[It just means it was beneficial to Kamski to do so at that time, possibly only to prolong the show. Connor doesn't really believe that anyone at CyberLife, including Kamski despite his retirement, is interested in anything beyond what benefits them personally and he's very familiar with how much CyberLife likes to play with their toys.]

[vbetrayed]

I would say they're both attractive.

[ A pause. There's no coming back from that, Amanda realizes. ]

I would also say that's in itself an answer.

[mamabot]

My model was designed to be meek and nurturing, not to disobey just to save a life.

[ Kara may have been programmed to care for young children, but what she feels for Alice is love, no matter what Kamski says, love can't be written into code. Kara is alive, and that's where the difference lis.

She follows, absently rubbing Alice's back, hating that she's here at all. The fact is, she'd contacted Markus for help first, but all he'd said was it'd take more technical expertise than anyone he knew had to offer. It's a new virus, and one they're working hard to find a fix for, but in the meantime, only CyberLife could possibly help.

Then Connor had mentioned Kamski, explained who he was, why he might be her best bet. Kara was ready to feel uncomfortable coming here, but there's no real way to prepare to meet someone lile this, who looks at the revolution and its aftermath like some game he's watching unfold after setting a few things into motion. ]

Two days: the day she first got sick, and today, when she... she won't wake up. [ It all happened so fast, and yet it feels like too long. ] You're not gonna hurt her, are you?

[ She'll be whole again, when this is over, memories intact, the same Allce Kara has always known? ]

[yourcreator]

I don't think you understand my position as well as you believe you do, Connor. And that's alright. I haven't been very forthcoming. [ Nor, really, does he intend to be; at least not over text.

But this game raises the stakes each time they exchange messages - Kamski from his phone, and Connor from his own mind - and Kamski, for all his patience, is enjoying the pace of this. ]

Helping you too directly negates your free will. You would have gone from being humanity's errand-runners to their programmed politicians.

I can't tell you what to do twice. It would be the same as keeping you under humanity's thumb. [ Kamski would never call his position a moral one, but he believes - in his own way - that he did the right thing by not interfering after giving androids the tools they'd need. ]

[yourcreator]

It is.

Does Connor know he wasn't successful in destroying your program?

[yourcreator]

[ Kamski makes a thoughtful, but not disagreeing, sound. He turns to look at her and then keeps walking, past the pool and now through a doorway, deeper into his house. Everything is sleek and relatively sparse - if there's normal household items anywhere, they must be tucked inside the drawers. Or the walls themselves, perhaps. ]

Androids don't feel physical pain the way humans do. But I can't guarantee that it won't cause her system some stress. [ Surprise, they're not going into a murder-basement! The lab that Kamski is leading them into is on the ground floor, although there's no windows. He's not looking at Kara much anymore - he's reaching into a white, panel-less drawer and bringing out a small box. Presumably tools.

The rest of the room is appallingly futuristic, especially compared to what they just walked through. White walls, metal tables. Tall machines that Kara may or may not recognize as being used in the CyberLife warehouses to physically build the androids - long arms with multiple joints. ]

If you could put her on one of the tables, that would be wonderful. [ One of the stainless steel operating tables, of course. There's several. One of them already has the upper torso of an apparently-deactivated android on it. There's a silent Chloe on another, LED off. ]

[mamabot]

[ It's not a murder basement, but it's still a creepy lab. The pristine cleanliness of it all isn't any less unsettling than Zlatko's basement. In some ways it's worse, though she can't quite place why.

Kara chooses the table farthest away from the other androids, kissing Allce on the top of the head before laying her neatly on the table. There's a atory like this: Abraham putting his only son down on an altar to sacrifice, because his god told him to. An act of faith, a test of his devotion. Kara doesn't feel that Kamski is her god, and this isn't some test; it's the result of hatred. Even so, she'd like it if someone were to intervene and save Alice without demanding a price. ]

I don't know how much longer she has. [ She gently takes Alice's hand; it stays limp in hers.

She hopes it's not too late. ]

[vbetrayed]

[ That's a loss, even if they deviate pun not intended for once in my life slightly from the topic. Amanda shouldn't feel anything at all, yet here she is, discontent. ]

No. He's preoccupied with his newfound free will, and Lt. Anderson's dog.

[ The dog may or may not be to blame for the strength of deviant Connor's resolve. ]

speaking of those, your namefield just saved my life A+++

[unstablesoftware]

Not immutability. Just a decided hindrance in what tends to push humans through different life cycles. Physical changes, emotional and interpersonal milestones that androids can’t experience. School. Puberty. Relationships. None of these changes that touch androids but by default experienced by humans.

Does that make us fundamentally different?

[ Someone like Kamski should be able to tell that Connor isn’t challenging the question, he’s asking. Genuinely. Answers so close yet so closely guarded. ]