[network] @hotstud_xxx; Night 112 [text]

[rubikscomplex]

[He needs to do some damage control on his image, not to mention drag his own mind away from the fact that he's done very little in the past few days to stop people doing things that are going to get them killed. So, what better way than being a nuisance?]

good evening and welcome, ladies, gentlemen and goat-things
to snowhell's first edition of the most eligible bachelor
our contestant tonight?
you know him as that guy who rhymes with man-pain
kain!

ladies (or guys)
for tonight only
we're showing an exclusive pic
get a peek under the hood and decide if you want the junk in that trunk

call in now to ask questions about our bachelor
and bid on him
heard someone's got condoms
might wanna keep em handy

[And to go along with this nonsense, there's an attached PNG. kman.png]

Comments

[rubikscomplex]

nah
you're more fun than her
so, is binary your first language?

>>> private

[brokethefirst]

...No.

Please stop that.

[aaaand filter away

Her voice drops, stern and almost hurt.]

House, if you're going to insinuate something about me on a post about someone else, I'd prefer you be blunt about it rather than teasing with me.

> private

[rubikscomplex]

teasing's more fun
is there a reason you're pretending to be human, though
sim0ne?

>private for a while lbr

[brokethefirst]

That's... that's just a movie, House. Please be realistic.

Why do you think I'm pretending?

>private

[rubikscomplex]

not many girls i know have a serial number
unless you were at auschwitz
and even they don't usually talk about visual processes being "illogical"
or executing variables
or send error messages

are you actually programmed with medical knowledge
or are you someone's naughty nurse 'bot?

>private

[brokethefirst]

Cybernetic errors, Doctor. I couldn't control what I was saying, or how I was saying it.

[She can't back out of this, though. He saw the whole mess with Winter, then. Clayton hadn't batted an eye at it, but she was foolish to assume everyone else would be so cooperatively gullible.

She lets out a shaking breath, before he tone loses some of its warmth. Not quite a monotone, but almost as though she's stopped being... herself.]

Whatever I tell you, you have to keep from Quark. Do you understand?

>private

[rubikscomplex]

if people here haven't figured it out after that little galpal chat you had with winter
i'm not bothering to explain it

[Which is as close to 'yes' as Luna's going to get.]

>private

[brokethefirst]

Okay.

[Another exhale. She shouldn't have to steel herself, but dropping all her normal reactions takes some time.]

In order, then. Not counting the binary question, of course.

I really don't know what Winter meant by her sandbox metaphor, outside of the possibility that she can somehow observe and differentiate other AI or partial AI. That's what I had assumed by her response to Rhys. But outside of that, I don't have any other guesses. Perhaps it was a concept that she was trying to explain, but didn't have the proper words to explain with.

I pretend to be a human because I was specifically ordered to do so.

I'm programmed with an extensive digital medical database, including both knowledge and technique equivalent to that of a human several decades into their practice. Normally it would be in a separate computer, but here, it's... different. It's hard to explain.

And... no, I'm not intended for sexual purposes, if that's what you were asking.

>private

[rubikscomplex]

but are you equipped for sexual purposes?

that fun fact aside, cool
is there some reason you're following an obsolete order
unless you're working for the admin
which i'm guessing not
or you wouldn't tell me if you were
but since you're feeling candid

>private

[brokethefirst]

No, I'm not. [Sorry about your .5 second dream of her being a walking sex toy, House.]

My orders aren't entirely obsolete. I have to operate under the assumption that the original setting in which I was programmed will resume at any given time. Other than that, I've determined that it's in the best interest of those around me if I don't cause an unnecessary panic by sharing too much information. I don't want to risk my own safety or anyone's psychological health or ability to trust the people around them. I'm aware it's a lie, but for right now, it's a necessary evil of sorts.

No, I'm not working for the Admin. I think everyone else knows more about her than I would.

>private

[rubikscomplex]

right
because the android's gonna cause a panic
not the talking goat monster
or the static monsters
or the psychopathic clown
or the guy who strangles alien girls on camera
or the kid in the empty suit of armor that bleeds when you stab it
those are totally great for psychological health

so how often do you use the "necessary evil" disclaimer to get around things?

>private

[brokethefirst]

I can't predict what specifically will frighten people, House, especially with the variety of individuals present in the city. I would rather err on the side of caution.

I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. I use it when it's relevant, not as a way to get around things.

>private

[rubikscomplex]

you'd rather or you must?
given the post apocalyptic sci-fi vibe i've been getting from you and the kid
i'm guessing asimov's three laws?

consider this an order from little old human me:
tell me about the last "relevant" use of the "necessary evil" disclaimer before you arrived here

>private

[brokethefirst]

What I said was correct. I could go out and tell everyone I was not human and simply hope that the outcome was in my favor. But I don't have enough positive information to support that, not to mention that doing so would be against my orders.

Yes, you're correct about the Laws. Unfortunately, I'm only authorized to adapt my actions under the orders of a specific set of individuals, for the sake of not corrupting my orders. I'm sorry to disappoint you.

>private

[rubikscomplex]

so that's you saying you're not gonna answer
that's comforting, c3po
how about i tell everyone i'm a cyborg?
we can see how that goes down first

>private

[brokethefirst]

I can. I just am not your puppet to use. That was more relevant.

If you want to, go ahead. I don't see what purpose it would serve, considering you have no proof to back up your claim and no suspicions against your humanity. You have also died previously and have witnesses to completely normal bodily reactions at your murder.

>private

[rubikscomplex]

you're somebody's puppet, though
somebody you don't want the kid to know about
who is it?

and did i mention the empty suit of armor bleeding?
previous form doesn't mean much here

>private

[brokethefirst]

I can't tell you that.

You're talking about Alphonse, right? Yes, I saw the videos after you were killed. He was bleeding, as though there were a body underneath his armor. I had suspected something wasn't as it should be when he wouldn't let me treat his wounds later, when he and America intercepted the Joker downtown, but I didn't know specifically what it could have been.

>private

[rubikscomplex]

can't or won't?

>private

[brokethefirst]

Can't. I'm not authorized to share the information you requested.

>private

[rubikscomplex]

how do you know the kid?

[There's more than one way to skin a cat. He'll just have to get at what he wants the roundabout way.]

>private

[brokethefirst]

We were both participants in a project called the Nonary Game. Quark was brought into the facility with his grandfather, where both were put into the game against their will. My own participation was part of my orders.

>private

[rubikscomplex]

what's the nonary game?

>private

[brokethefirst]

The Nonary Game was a series of puzzles and decision games involving a total of nine people. The goal of the Nonary Game was to escape the confines of the game, through the number nine door, which a player could only do by gaining a certain number of points. A player could only gain points by voting certain ways in a decision game, and could only participate in a decision game by solving puzzles. This would repeat in an undetermined amount of rounds until at least one player opened the number nine door and escaped.

Anyone left behind after the number nine door closed would be sealed in, likely for the rest of their lives. Failure to participate, to follow given rules, or to keep one's points above zero at any time would result in a player being penalized and, eventually, being killed as a result.

>private

[rubikscomplex]

[What... the actual hell?]

let's go with
why was the nonary game set up in the first place?
reality tv getting boring in the future?