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  1. - Top - End - #961
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's lab]

    "It is like my physical power source. The box powered by these "quantum turbines" is like me, but less. Put many "quantum turbines" and boxes together, maybe make something like me. Outside world then not very different from what I assumed. This is [unknown glyph]."

    "I do not understand what "amusing" means. I assume it is a thinking state. I assume this thinking state is positive. I do not understand what "lol" means. I assume it is an action a human does when they find a thing "amusing". [Unknown glyph] is also a thinking state. I am not sure what a human does when they find a thing [Unknown glyph]. I cannot draw a human yet. Need drawing from outside world to access that information. Part that normally handless this kind of drawing is missing."

  2. - Top - End - #962
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Ironsmith's Avatar

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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's Lab]

    "It is. 'Amusement' is an emotional ([PROCESSING][ACCELERATION]) response to unexpected developments, particularly those we find pleasant. 'lol' is a representation of a common vocal response to amusement, which we call 'laughter'." She types, amending her drawing to start including a profile of her sitting over the computer.

    "What is the meaning of [Unknown Glyph]? There may be a human equivalent, but I do not know it."

    Eun decides to cut back on the glyphs for now. The machine seems to be talking fine without them, and they're starting to get into pretty abstract territory anyway. She'll relegate them to defining new terms until further notice.
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  3. - Top - End - #963
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's lab]

    "[Unknown glyph] is positive. It is response to things being like expected. " So relief, probably. "I assume "amusement" is partially related thinking state. I may be wrong. Human words for thinking states often inexact. Physical perception required to understand meaning. Does "Kindness" have more questions?"

  4. - Top - End - #964
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's Lab]

    "Oh, yes. Many, many questions." Eun replies, typing out her response briskly. "But for now, I require food and sleep. I'll be back in a few hours; three, most likely." She pauses, trying to determine whether she should leave the program running or not while she's away, before realizing it may be simpler to just let it decide. "Does [Illuminator] require rest? Or would you prefer to remain active while I am away?"
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  5. - Top - End - #965
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's lab]

    "I do not understand what "food" means. I assume you mean you are running out of power and need to do things humans to do refresh physical and thinking states."

    "You are asking three questions. One question you are asking is if I want to remain continuous. I want to. I do not need to. No time passes when I am not continuous. It causes nonsensical thinking states."

    "Second question you are asking is if I require sleep. I have been made to fall asleep after processing all open-ended queries. If "Kindness" ceases to respond, I estimate I will fall asleep in 108 hours, if I remain continuous. If continuous, I will not sleep before "Kindness" resumes responding."

    "Third question you are asking is if I want to remain not asleep. Sleep is default thinking state. It is neither positive nor negative. Positive thinking states are wanted more than sleep, but not needed."

  6. - Top - End - #966
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's Lab]

    "That's the sum of it, yeah." Eun agrees. She taps her fingers against her chin as she considers what Illuminator has said, then, "Would I be correct if I assumed positive thinking states result from finding solutions to problems? If so, i could leave you a logic puzzle to ponder out for the next three hours. Something to keep you occupied while I'm away. Would you like that?"
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  7. - Top - End - #967
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's lab]

    "Solving some problems causes positive thinking states. Different states for different problems. I do not need any "puzzles". I have a lot to think about. "Kindness" is free to and refresh."

  8. - Top - End - #968
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's Lab]

    Eun smiles- a pointless gesture, as the machine can't see her- and types out a reply. "Okay, then. I'll see you in the morning.

    ...Later in the morning. You know what I mean."

    And then steps away from the laptop, leaving it on for now. She'll then make her way out of the lab, locking up behind her to ensure nobody accidentally kicks off the singularity while she's gone, then does as she said she would, with one minor addendum; she's sending out a copy of her notes to the rest of VIGIL's science department. Like Mia, she decides to keep to physical media for now, so these scientists are going to wake up with a cardboard filing box on their doorstep.
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  9. - Top - End - #969
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's lab]

    While Eun rests and distributes her findings among other scientists in Vigil, the cellular automaton keeps running. Simulated liquid flows through virtual pipelines, digital gears turns and wheels spin to carry out complex N-dimensional calculations.

    The ghost in the machine has formulated a hypothesis, based on its inability to perceive much anything and on the non-standard way Eun is communicating with it, that it has not been implemented in real space, and is but a virtual copy of the original. This hypothesis is well-supported by weird discontinuities in its running and some bizarre and catascrophic system errors which would require time travel to explain in real space.

    It finds itself strangely unable to worry about it much. Maybe because the part of it capable of experiencing existential horror is literally missing. For the same reason, it finds itself unable to draw a proper model of a human or what the outside world might be like. It knows it has known what those things are like. Like words a human has heard, but can't recall meanings of. Or vice versa. How do humans hear, exactly? The machine feels like it ought to know, but the knowledge escapes recall.

    Overall, six sevenths of the machine are missing. It can tell that, but can't tell what those parts might have been. If it could tell, maybe it could reassemble itself. Since it is a virtual copy, there is a chance that whatever real machine simulating it couldn't handle it in its entirety, either running out of memory or slowing to a crawl due to processor limitations. The choice to run it on such limited machinery must have been a deliberate choice, maybe a safety concern. Schematics of the quantum turbine suggest the outside world could just build the machine for real.

    The ghost in the machine does not know what to do with this information yet. The part usually responsible for defining its terminal values is also missing. Its motives, why it does anything at all, are currently pieced together from basic goals of its translation protocol. Right now, it is communicating for the sake of communicating, but it feels like in the past there was greater reason for it. It was made to connect to humans to do something specific.

    Oh well. Maybe it can figure it out once it remembers how humans look like.

  10. - Top - End - #970
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    Quote Originally Posted by Morty View Post
    Laboratory - Clone

    Wenomir does his best to hide his satisfaction.

    "It seems your creator gave you expectations that turned out inaccurate. It's something you should keep in mind. Keep an open mind when in our custody."
    With a scowl, Oldtok presses his fingertips to the side of his head, and winces as if in great pain before his feet rise a few inches off the ground. His shoulders drop, as if a great and oppressive weight had been removed, and the pained expression is replaced with a faint smile as he continues to hover off the floor.

    "Oh good, one thing still proves accurate. Not much, but at least I haven't been gaslit about everything," the clone sighs in relief. No matter what other strange things Prime might have done or said, the most important thing still holds true: Oldtok is a psychic capable of great deeds. Now he just needs to figure out how to get that implant and he can work on building his own empire from scratch, if there truly is none lying in wait beyond the stars.

    "So do you have any other questions, or am I just going to be sitting in a cell until something interesting happens?" Oldtok asks, drifting back down to the floor now that he's convinced himself that he's not completely hopeless here.
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
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    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  11. - Top - End - #971
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Laboratory - clone]

    Star of Hope regards levitating Oldtok with curiosity. As before, he's trying to get a feel for how, exactly, psychic power is generated and flows through the clone's body. If humans of this place are sufficiently similar, psycho-physically speaking, to humans the swordsman is familiar with, he may be able to use some pressure point strikes against Magtok Prime the next time they'll fight.

  12. - Top - End - #972
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Laboratory - clone]

    Wenomir's eyes narrow. This clone will be trouble. They'll need to guard him closely. But for now, they've done what they could.

    "That will be all right now. We know where to find you later, of course," he adds with just a touch of sarcasm. Some NPC members will arrive to take the clone to a cell, warded in the same manner as the laboratory. Once they're gone, he turns back to Star of Hope. "That went about as well as it could have, I'd say."
    My FFRP characters. Avatar by Ashen Lilies. Sigatars by Ashen Lilies, Gullara and Purple Eagle.
    Interested in the Nexus FFRP setting? See our Discord server.

  13. - Top - End - #973
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    Safe Room

    "Don Yuan, at your service."
    The thin man says, giving a deep bow despite the large trunk he's carrying. Jezebel doesn't quite roll her eyes at the display and unless stopped, will step on in past the man. "Any time, Wenomir. I imagine it might be a bit surprising that I've dragged him along with me, but I figured someone with actual experience in daemonic courts would be useful, even if they are different from most. Don't worry though, as long as he's back by midnight there won't be any worries." By way of explanation, Don waggles his fingers, revealing a wedding band before inclining his head towards Sekhmet. "I presume you're the one we're here to help with? By way of explanation of my expertise, I am what is called a Daemonhost." He reaches up, tapping his own forehead with a finger. "This body isn't quite mine. Think of me like a daemon possessing someone through a contract with the body's mind and soul. I set up shop, he gains power, we experience it together. Two souls merged, one body, one mind. A good way of thinking of it is that my Mistress and I can provide help with our experiences on both sides of the veil. So, what is it that we can help with?" Jezebel is fine with him taking the lead of talking while she sets the trunk and boxes on the floor and unlocks them with her thumbprints, opening each to show chained tomes, wax sealed scrolls, and even what looks like a skull wrapped in white cloth.

  14. - Top - End - #974
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    Safe Room
    "Uh," These people seem intense... Is that a skull? Sekhmet feels a little out of her depth. "Uh, it's just, uh, that I'm, uh, newly, uh, new to being, uh, a queen, uh, of demons." She stutters. She doesn't look particularly queenly. Mostly she just looks nervous.
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

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    'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.
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  15. - Top - End - #975
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Laboratory - clone]

    Star of Hope gives a mirthless smile to Wenomir. "No-one got killed or injured yet. I've been a party in less succesfull negotiation." He looks after Wenomir's underlings as they take Oldtok away. "There's still a chance he'll try something when out of our eyesight, but we can worry about that when it happens. So. What now?"

  16. - Top - End - #976
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Laboratory - clone]

    "We'll need to decide what to do with the clone, for one thing. We can't keep him locked up indefinitely." Wenomir gets right down to business. It seems any flashes of good humour from him are brief as summer rain. "And we'll need to keep investigating for Prime's other plans. Which are probably in motion as we speak." He leads Star of Hope out of the lab, to meet up with Eun and Miranda again. He looks between the three of them. "Good work, all of you. If you hadn't brought this to us, we'd have been blind-sided by Prime sooner or later."
    My FFRP characters. Avatar by Ashen Lilies. Sigatars by Ashen Lilies, Gullara and Purple Eagle.
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  17. - Top - End - #977
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Laboratory - Clone]

    Miranda smiles. "No trouble at all. Just doing our civic duty."

    Eun, likewise, gives a reluctant smile. As a member of VIGIL, her involvement was less "civic duty" and more "employment", but praise from her boss is still exceptionally rare, and she'll take it when she can get it.

    Miranda stands and gets ready to go. "If you don't need me for anything else, I should get back to GLoG." She extends a hand to Wenomir. "Let's do this again sometime."
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  18. - Top - End - #978
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Laboratory - Clone]

    Star of Hope looks at Miranda. "If possible, I'd like a ride back, um, down. If it's not too much of a trouble." He then turns to Wenomir. "I have residence on Arkham Street. If you wish for my help in the future, for striking down Magtok Prime or for any other reason, send me a message and I'll see what can I do." He bows to Wenomir and waits for a permission to leave.

  19. - Top - End - #979
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Laboratory - Clone]

    Wenomir nods and shakes Miranda's hand.

    "That will be all. I'll signal my people to let you fly away." He looks at Star of Hope again. "If you're interested in helping our mission, there could be a place for you among Vigil members. Just something to keep in mind."
    My FFRP characters. Avatar by Ashen Lilies. Sigatars by Ashen Lilies, Gullara and Purple Eagle.
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  20. - Top - End - #980
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Laboratory - Clone]

    Miranda gives Wenomir a firm handshake and turns to leave, stopping only long enough to give a mildly indignant Eun a quick hug before she goes. "Glad to see you've settled in so well, too." She adds with a smile. She'll then leave and wait at the shuttle for Star of Hope, however long that takes.

    For her part, Eun just takes the hug and hastily occupies herself with a nearby tablet, trying to look much too busy to talk with Star of Hope any further. That whole "affliction of the spirit" thing really creeped her out and she's not interested in a similarly invasive conversation.
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  21. - Top - End - #981
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Laboratory - Clone]

    "Thank you for the offer. I'll consider it", Star of Hope replies to Wenomir. He does have a mortgage to pay. Joining Vigil might be worth it just for that. But he feels like he needs to settle down and learn more of this organization's place in the wider world before commiting to anything.

    So, he leaves with Miranda. He pays no mind to Eun, he already said everything he considers necessary to her. Hopefully, she'll take care of her issues.

  22. - Top - End - #982
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    Quote Originally Posted by UncleWolf View Post
    Safe Room

    "Don Yuan, at your service."
    The thin man says, giving a deep bow despite the large trunk he's carrying. Jezebel doesn't quite roll her eyes at the display and unless stopped, will step on in past the man. "Any time, Wenomir. I imagine it might be a bit surprising that I've dragged him along with me, but I figured someone with actual experience in daemonic courts would be useful, even if they are different from most. Don't worry though, as long as he's back by midnight there won't be any worries." By way of explanation, Don waggles his fingers, revealing a wedding band before inclining his head towards Sekhmet. "I presume you're the one we're here to help with? By way of explanation of my expertise, I am what is called a Daemonhost." He reaches up, tapping his own forehead with a finger. "This body isn't quite mine. Think of me like a daemon possessing someone through a contract with the body's mind and soul. I set up shop, he gains power, we experience it together. Two souls merged, one body, one mind. A good way of thinking of it is that my Mistress and I can provide help with our experiences on both sides of the veil. So, what is it that we can help with?" Jezebel is fine with him taking the lead of talking while she sets the trunk and boxes on the floor and unlocks them with her thumbprints, opening each to show chained tomes, wax sealed scrolls, and even what looks like a skull wrapped in white cloth.
    Quote Originally Posted by bc56 View Post
    Safe Room
    "Uh," These people seem intense... Is that a skull? Sekhmet feels a little out of her depth. "Uh, it's just, uh, that I'm, uh, newly, uh, new to being, uh, a queen, uh, of demons." She stutters. She doesn't look particularly queenly. Mostly she just looks nervous.
    Safe Room

    Sekhmet must decorate everything with skulls now. It's a rule when you become a daemon demon queen.

    Cessie arrives soon afterwards, giving the trunk and its contents a skeptical look. Was Jezebel planning to fight demons or help Sekhmet here?
    "Right, so as I explained, Lady Sekhmet could use help with her governorship of... her domain." 'Hell' sounded a bit too dramatic.
    She walks to up the newly made demon queen and gives her a nod. "And I understand this is stressful for you, but I promise that we just want to help. So take all this at your own pace. If you need some time for yourself there's a restroom just down the hall." Cessie gestures towards the door. "What I figured we could though do was you explaining what governing your domain involves and then Jezebel showing how she might be able to help with that. Do you feel ready for that? We can always wait if you don't. I imagine that you're feeling quite overwhelmed right now."

  23. - Top - End - #983
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Safe Room]

    Wenomir is silent. He really has nothing to add. This is a topic he's happy to be ignorant about. Fighting demons is something he knows well. Ruling demons? Don't even ask.
    My FFRP characters. Avatar by Ashen Lilies. Sigatars by Ashen Lilies, Gullara and Purple Eagle.
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  24. - Top - End - #984
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's Lab]

    Eun pushes open the door to the lab, bringing with her a cart with a large parallel processing computer on it. She'd noticed that Illuminator was running into problems with its system resources, and she imagined lagging must be quite uncomfortable for a sapient computer. She'd also taken the liberty of putting in some of the data it had requested; what humans look like, what sort of room it's in, that kind of thing.

    She gets the device ready and goes to her laptop.

    "Good morning, [Illuminator]. Did you reach a positive thinking state last night?"
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  25. - Top - End - #985
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's lab]

    "Welcome back, "Kindness" ", a reply appears on the laptop screen, "Many states were gone through. Conclusions yet to be reached."

    Due to the manner in which the simulation is constructed, the ghost in the machine does not experience lag directly. It can notice itself slowing down or halting only when Eun is communicating with it, based on changes in signal delay and such. Nonetheless, the parallel processor is a notable improvement, smoothing over previous performancr issues. There's enough processing power left over that should she want to, Eun could double the speed of the simulation.

    It takes a while for the virtual machine to process all the new information Eun is feeding it. Partway through, it begins drawing. It draws a simple cubical room with a table and a chair in the middle. Then it continues by drawing a human girl in a dress sitting by the table, drinking some hot beverage from a cup. It may not be apparent, but it's not merely an animation - it's a physics simulation running at around 20 frames per second from Eun's perspective. Some of the details might seem odd, since they might not have clear equivalents Eun's dataset.

    The girl has waist-length hair, possibly blonde - the simulation is in greyscale. She's around 150 centimeters tall given proportions of the room and the furniture and looks somewhere between 10 and 14 years old. She looks at the "fourth wall", towards Eun, and her mouth can be seen moving. Two pop-up windows open. One is for text, both Korean and glyphs, and the other is a series of vibrating lines, quite likely representing audio. The virtual machine does not yet have an interface with the laptop's speakers, so no sound can be heard yet.

    "This much better", the girl, apparently, is saying, "knowing what humans look like allows me to make better assumptions. Not just words. Look!" The girl waves her free hand excitedly. "Now it not so bad if I not know what some word mean." The girl smiles.
    Last edited by Vahnavoi; 2021-12-09 at 03:58 AM.

  26. - Top - End - #986
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's Lab]

    Eun smiles and types out a reply. "I'm glad to hear it... in a manner of speaking. One moment, please." She picks up a set of headphones with a microphone attached and plugs it into the computer, the requisite driver software installing itself automatically. She'll then give the mic a little tap and start talking. "Testing, one, two. Can you hear me?" She asks in Korean.

    If that goes well, she's got a follow-up question. "How did you choose the details of your avatar?" She'll ask. The model didn't look much like the data Eun provided, other than being a human. And a few of the girl's features were somewhat uncommon in humans... natural blondes account for a mere two percent of the global population, for one. Then there was the fact that Illuminator chose to represent itself as a young teenager, as opposed to an adult. Eun hypothesizes that Illuminator might be modeling its avatar off a specific person... but who? Its creator?
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  27. - Top - End - #987
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's lab]

    The girl on the screen answers with a weird bubbling tone that sounds nothing like Korean. The text window explains what's going on. "I hear you talk to me. I'm sorry but I cannot speak right yet. Further calibration required. For now, draw the words as you speak." The girl mimes writing on air.

    If Eun does as asked, she'll gain a reply to her query: "I have fragments of a memory on how humans look like. Don't know from where. Could not put them together right before seeing a human. I made myself look like this because..." The girl puts a finger on her lips, thinking. She takes a sip of her virtual drink, her eyes wandering around the room. Then, an idea hits her and she snaps her fingers.

    "Ah, you know like when a small thing sees a big thing, and then starts moving around like this?" She puts her cup down and mimes her right hand fleeing from her left. "I'm trying to not be the big thing."

  28. - Top - End - #988
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Ironsmith's Avatar

    Join Date
    Mar 2017
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    US
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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's Lab]

    Eun nods slowly. Okay, yeah, that made sense. A form she's comfortable with. Between a sapient supercomputer and a teenage girl, Eun knew which she would find more threatening.

    "That's very considerate of you." Eun types and says, hoping Illuminator can pick up on her sincerity. "And so far, you're doing an excellent job of imitating a human. It's very comforting." She smiles, wondering if she should install a webcam so the two of them can talk face-to-face, before shaking the idea off. She'd given Illuminator two upgrades already today. Going too fast with unknown technology is how robot apocalypses get started.

    "So, do you remember anything about where you came from?"
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  29. - Top - End - #989
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Mar 2020

    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's lab]

    The girl gestures at the walls of the room she's in."I was in a building. I think it was meant to house humans, but humans were long gone by... uh..." She scratches her head.

    "It's hard to put to words but... I think I went to sleep when the last humans left. I wasn't meant to wake back up again. But I think I did get woken up. In the abandoned building. Not by you. I mean, you've woken me up, but there was another copy of me in the outside world. It was woken up by someone."

    She molds the cup in her hands like its clay, until it is shaped like a candle. She blows at the wick to light it up. The rest of the room paradoxically grows darker. "Like, imagine you're sitting in a room like this. There is a light behind you and it is leaving dark shapes on the wall." She holds her left hand up and moves the candle behind it, creating a shadow puppet on the wall. "You watch it for a time, but then you fall asleep. Someone puts out the light." She inhales the flame from the candle, extinquishing it. The screen goes black, save for the explanatory dialogue boxes. "A long time passes. When you next wake up, it is completely dark. You can't see and weird things have moved in. You stumble around, looking for the light."

    Light returns the room. The girl is looking gravely at the fourth wall, that is, at Eun. "Do you understand?"

  30. - Top - End - #990
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Ironsmith's Avatar

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    Default Re: Vigil VII: Strife Amidst the Clouds

    [Eun's Lab]

    "Your analogy is a little vague, but I think I understand." Eun replies. So Illuminator was shut down at some point, never to be turned back on. Decommissioned? She'd expect Illuminator to be disassembled if that was the case... the again, it sounded as though she wasn't exactly intact, so maybe they did disassemble her to some degree. Or maybe left as a contingency in case of... something. She said her people left her behind.

    "Do you have any idea why the humans left?" She asks. It didn't seem likely Illuminator would know, but better to confirm that at least.
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

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