[network] @dickcheese; Day 49, extremely late night, video

[headjacked]

[ It's the middle of the night, and who is awake? This guy. This... visibly distressed cyborg guy.

That's a severe understatement. There are tears. Snot. Shaking. The whole package. If you've spoken to him before, this almost seems like an entirely different person! Gosh, weird. ]

He's dead. Th-they killed him, or it -- I don't know, there was a -- [ Words are hard when you're this distraught. He sniffles. ] He was dragged away and it tore him apart, I can't --

[ A WILD ANGEL APPEARS. Or rather, pokes her almost-as-emotionally-wrecked head into the frame and motions to the tablet. Aside from a quick apology, she's clearly talking to Rhys and not the network. So much for that whole keeping who she's travelling with a secret thing. ]

Excuse me - don't try and talk, just up - upload the footage. You'll have to, I can't...

[ She trails off miserably before addressing the network, gently prying the tablet from Rhys' hands. Carefully. She might be devastated, but she's still a little wary of any snot and tears he might have wiped on his sleeves. EW. ]

Hello - we left our robot friend in the attic of this building overnight to see what was up there, and it - it wasn't - I don't know what it was. But he didn't have a chance to get away, and now...

[ She shudders, covering her mouth. ]

I'll - I'll get Rhys to upload the footage. I don't have a tablet any more.

[ After a little more tablet-shuffling, the miserable Hyperions are replaced by this cavalcade of nightmares. ]

Comments

audio; @standardissue [private]

[deus_ex_phs]

[Ah. Jack is here. The same Jack that Kunsel is 99% certain that Angel warned him about. The Jack that Kunsel's seen elsewhere on the network being a suspicious, overbearing jerk, and here he's at it again. Nothing concrete enough to confirm Angel's warning without any room for doubt, but Kunsel's going to err on the side of caution here and just start this call filtered right off the bat.

And also keep an eye on Jack's thread.]

Damn. If even something like a robot isn't safe...

Angel, are you alright? And everyone with you?

@dickcheese; video; partially private;

[phaseshifter]

Yes, I-- um, wait, this is Rhys' tablet - he'll have to filter this for me.

[ And after a quick switchover, it's done. VOILA. ]

...Okay. Hi! We're all alright - um. Except - except for Dumpy.

forever private

[deus_ex_phs]

[Well, so much for not alerting anyone to the fact that there is a thread here. Kunsel mentally sighs, then pushes his paranoia to the side as best he can. He'll just have to be careful what he says here, too.]

Good. I'm glad. I mean, about you, not...

What exactly was... Dumpy?

[Because surely she wouldn't be so upset if that robot was just an ordinary piece of machinery.]

[phaseshifter]

An Atlas drone. He belonged to Rhys - I don't know if you spotted him at the big meetup? He flew around and screamed a lot.

He didn't deserve... that.

[deus_ex_phs]

[Him. That's not the first time that Angel's assigned the robot a gender, so Kunsel's going to take his cue from that.]

I saw him, but never got around to talking to him or the guy he hung around.

Er...

Does he talk?

[Because it seemed like he just screamed a lot.]

How sophisticated is his AI?

[phaseshifter]

Um... no, he just screamed. As far as I know. And I think, um - he wasn't very advanced?

But he was so sweet! He got so excited by things. And he liked hugs! And he was so brave, staying in the attic. Agh.

[deus_ex_phs]

[So, not an advanced AI, but an AI with personality, from the way that Angel's describing him. Kunsel makes a thoughtful noise.]

You know, he wouldn't be the first piece of tech someone's lost here. And people have found devices before. Maybe whatever took him will decide he falls into the same category as a tablet.

[He's not certain how much he actually believes that, considering that almost every technological thing he's found so far has been gutted of electronic components, but he hates to see Angel so upset. It doesn't hurt anything if he offers her hope.]

[phaseshifter]

M-maybe-- um, just a second.

[ She puts the tablet down for a moment to go and see to something - rather, someone - offscreen. Many Rhys-sobs can be heard between sympathetic there theres. So, so many. At one point there's a muffled cry of anguish that sounds remarkably like 'why do the good die young'. IT'S ALL VERY SAD.

When Angel returns, her shoulder is pretty damp. With tears, fortunately, and not snot. ]

Um, sorry. Hopefully he'll turn up soon. Preferably with a new tablet for me.

[deus_ex_phs]

[No problem, Kunsel can wait over here, feeling just slightly awkward. Without knowing Dumpy, it's hard for him to care personally about the death of a machine, but he can see (and hear) what kind of effect it's having on Angel and Rhys.]

I'll cross my fingers for you. I'll keep an eye out for him, too. You'll let me know if he turns up, though, right?

[phaseshifter]

Of course! If, um - if you get a message that's just garbled screaming and crying, that means we got him. Not that we're being eaten alive or anything.

[deus_ex_phs]

[The corner of Kunsel's mouth quirks up at the quip, and he doesn't bother to hide the amusement in his voice.]

Good to know.

[Then amusement slips away into something casual.]

But hey, I wanted to ask you a hypothetical question. About our other hypothetical conversation. You remember the topic we talked about, right? Is there someone here in this post who might remind you of that, if what we talked about had actually been real?

[phaseshifter]

[ Ugrhrhrgrghrlr. Angel's discomfort is imediately apparent. ]

Yes. I suppose it's pretty obvious who.

Hypothetically.

[deus_ex_phs]

Yeah, just a little.

[And 99% just climbed to a full 100%. With Angel's obvious discomfort, though, Kunsel won't drag this out.

He will, however, take a moment to send Angel this private warning.]

Anyway, if I do find Dumpy, is there anything I need to do or say to get him to come with me?

[phaseshifter]

I - hm.

[ She flicks over to the warning and simply responds with a nod. Considering everything, it's best not to acknowledge it outright. Especially while using Rhys' tablet. ]

Um - if you tell him you're a friend of Rhys, that should do it. [...] Maybe tell him he's cute, I think he liked it when I said that.

[deus_ex_phs]

A robot with an ego? [And his amusement's back.] You sure he doesn't have an advanced AI?

But compliments and Rhys's name. I'll keep those both in mind.