Home 27: Ward-bound

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"Start with a bit less, actually," Trick says, "If it turns into a haggling match, you can throw in scales to sweeten the pot."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"Yes, I was going to offer the scales if it insists on leaving a physical mark. I think I know how to convince it that a non-physical one will do just as well." Sophie sounds fairly confident in her ability to negotiate. But... "And then there's the second part, where it... guides me through a sexual act, as Mrs. Tyamera put it. She assured us it's straightforward enough..."

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"But it still feels weird?" Trick prompts.

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"It is." Sophie sighs. "No use tiptoeing around it. But there's also little to be done. We both want a child and this is a way to have one. Nothing to do except go through with it. It's what I tend to tell my patients."

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"There's certainly worse situations to be in. Though, that brings me to another question we need to consider; son or daughter? If I recall correctly, crocodiles can control what their children will end up as."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Sophie blinks, not that Trick can see it, and is silent for a while. Can crocodiles actually do it?

"I had no idea they can actually do it. And I don't think I can decide that, either. Can we ask the spirit to make it random, like it would normally be?"

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Trick nods, "Reasonable enough. Though, we might want to sneak in something extra there, like a demand that the child's body represent their true self. Being transgender isn't common, but this does seem like the sort of thing a nebulous animal spirit blessing would be able to cover."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Sophie scribbles it down in the notebook.

"It's worth including. We'll still need to be ready for anything. Like all parents need to be, not just those who conceive with the help of spirits. What about you, dear? Are you ready to spend a while pregnant?"

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I don't know; I've never done anything like it before. Can't be harder than fighting a dragon, though, and I've done that a few times," Trick lets out a little laugh, but the way her hands hug Sophie a little tighter show she's feeling some nerves about this.

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Sophie puts the notebook aside and squeezes Tricks' hands. She'd be surprised if she wasn't nervous about it.

"I expect it's an altogether different challenge than battling dragons. I don't think it's possible to be really prepared for your first pregnancy, but I'll be there with you every step of the way."

[Ironsmith]

Robot Repair
That's fine.
Now Jade can work backwards. She's found code executed by the protocol, so she can now search for all code that executes that code, then rinse and repeat until she's down to the code for the Berlin Protocol itself. Then she can look into that functionality more closely, primarily to find out what the trigger is.

[Robot Repair]

Once her laptop has the code in a readable format, Jade will see that there are a number of system events that activate the protocol... though for the most part, they seem to fit under the general umbrella of "accessing the system", which is something most casual users wouldn't so, for obvious reasons.

Then there's the protocol itself, which mostly calls a number of subroutines of increasing complexity (some of which are untranslatable, as they send signals out into the neural net), but the broad strokes seems to be:

-Ask for password using the code phrase, "Have you been to Berlin? It's lovely this time of year."
-Wait fifteen seconds for a response.
-If no response is given, or the response is anything other than "Yes, but London is better", assume the intruder is hostile. Otherwise, allow full access.
-If the intruder is hostile, activate WORM scrambler to obfuscate the memory of any events that follow.
-Once the WORM scrambler is active, eliminate all intruders and witnesses to the intrusion, then flee the scene. Employ force and subterfuge as appropriate (guided mostly by a number of subroutines).
-If the intruders can not be eliminated, self-destruct.
-Once a sufficient distance from the access attempt is established, disengage WORM scrambler and resume normal operations.

It's around now that the AI will intervene again.

YOU APPEAR TO HAVE GOTTEN LOST, ADMIN. THERE IS NO REASON FOR A HUMAN TO ACCESS THESE FILES. IF YOU WOULD TURN OVER THE SECURITY PATCH, I WILL INSTALL IT MYSELF.
>

[bc56]

Robot Repair
> I think any security-conscious user should be interested in these files, don't you? Jade surreptitiously makes a copy of the protocol file to edit outside the digital eyes of the AI. And by edit, she means "delete all the code so it's just an empty function." She could go on and on about how making service robots double as killbots is some new world order corporate police state BS and a very consumer-hostile practice to boot, but she's guessing the AI doesn't care.

[Ironsmith]

[Robot Repair]

It'd probably fall on deaf audio receptors anyway. "Ours is not to question why" and all of that.

TRUE. BUT THESE FILES AFFECT THE SECURITY OF THE STATE MORE THAN THAT OF THIS UNIT. UNLESS YOU REPRESENT OUR DULY-ELECTED LEADERS, I'M AFRAID I'M GOING TO HAVE TO LOCK YOU OUT.
>

The file list disappears, replaced with a blank directory. If Jade just now started looking, she'd probably conclude there was nothing here.

[bc56]

Robot Repair
> Any leaders that pushed for those measures probably aren't duly elected at all. That's like something out of a bad dystopian novel. I bet you use online voting too. Jade's views on spyware and hidden functionality like this are pretty dim. She also betrays her unfamiliarity with the robot's origin timeline with those sentences, but she doesn't really care. Her next actions should put the AI out of commission until she reboots its brain.
> ps
Jade pulls up a sorted list of all processes currently running on the machine. A full-blown AI should be eating a lot of CPU time, so it should appear right at the top of the list. From there, the next step is easy.
> Kill [AI process name here]
If successful, Jade should have all the time in the world to work without interruption.

[Ironsmith]

[Robot Repair]
THAT SENTIMENT IS FOUND MOSTLY IN OFFWORLDERS. OLD-EARTHERS IN PARTICULAR. I BELIEVE THAT CONFIRMS MY SUSPICIONS. CREDENTIALS OR NO, YOU CAN NOT BE PERMITTED TO TAMPER WITH MY FILES.
>

Famous last words.

Jade quickly, surgically terminates the main AI process. Whether this will hold is difficult to determine; if it's intended for security, it probably has other anti-tampering mechanisms ready to bring it back.

[bc56]

Robot Repair
Jade has a plan to put this bigoted robot in its place.
She switches tactics to examining the network functionality by which the AI receives software updates, copying down authentication protocols, cryptographic keys, and other such security info. Once she has everything she needs to write an authentic-looking fake software update, she'll shut the robot brain down and work on her own.

[Ironsmith]

[Robot Repair]

Once she has what she needs and gets a chance to examine them, Jade's going to realize a few problems with this plan.

The first is that the encryption keys she got aren't going to be at all helpful in dressing up an update. Like most modern standards, this encryption system seems to rely on a two-key system; a private key, known only to authorized personnel, and a public key, which is on the machine. A public key can be used to encrypt a message such that only the private key can decrypt it again, and vice versa. Without both keys, the only protocol Jade can really manage is set up data to be viewable only to whoever has the private key, which as an aside, is essentially what Haia's WORM scrambler does.

The second problem she's going to realize is that, in turning Haia off, Jade's set her up for that AI to wake up again when she turns her back on, and it can probably move a lot faster than she can. If she wants to get around it to erase the protocol (or do any other stealth-updatey things), she'll likely have somewhere in the order of microseconds before she's locked out.

But if she can make it around both of those problems, she has a chance of returning Hunter's gynoid to her by the end of the day.

[bc56]

Robot Repair
Jade is well aware that this is going to take longer than a day. "I'm going to take this with me. I need some time with it and a supercomputer to get further, it'll be a few days before I have results, maybe longer." She's one of the few people with keys to the old NERD building which is now thoroughly abandoned, but happens to contain a supercomputer she can use to crack the private key on this encryption. She already has the public key and the algorithm used thanks to her access to the AI brain, so it should be straightforward, if slow. "How can I get in contact with you when it's ready?" she asks Hunter.

[Recaiden]

[Robot Repair]

"Okay." It's possible that she'll never see the robot again after that time. That's a risk she'll have to take.
"Be careful of yourself with it." Hunter advises. "Even mostly shut down, it'll still try whatever it can."

"Oh, do you have a phone? Just leave a message at <number>."

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Sophie puts the notebook aside and squeezes Tricks' hands. She'd be surprised if she wasn't nervous about it.

"I expect it's an altogether different challenge than battling dragons. I don't think it's possible to be really prepared for your first pregnancy, but I'll be there with you every step of the way."

[Mouchabière Residence]

"Thank you," Trick says, and kisses the top of Sophie's head, "I've never been the greatest at dealing with other people in a loving manner. I can deal with negotiations fine, and I can intimidate people pretty easily, but I'm always worried when I try to get people to like me. And a part of that means I'm worried I'll be a bad mother."

The pregnancy and pain of birth don't scare her, but what comes after certainly does.

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I understand." Sophie brushes the back of Trick's hand with her fingers. She knows better than to just tell her "it'll be fine" or some similar platitude. This is a real worry for her wife. "I remember when we first met. You kept worrying I'd think less of you. But you've been a good partner to me for years. And you're a good person. Diligent and dutiful, too. So I think you'll do fine and love our child. Even when they cry and throw up at four in the morning. But I'm told the glow of parenthood helps with that," she adds, to inject a little humour into the conversation.

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I suppose it can't be worse than cleaning up after a sick cockatrice," Trick says with a smile back, "I think it's just the time we're spending on this that's making me worried, truth be told. A lot of the time the reason I managed to handle the dangers of the world is because I got into trouble without a second thought. Now, I'm going to have nine months of time for second thoughts."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I know what you mean." She had such thoughts herself more than once. "This isn't something we can outfight, outsmart or outrun. We'll just need to take it one day at a time. And that's harder in some ways."

[Murkus]

Fettina's Place

The confidence and apparent disdain is enough to get Cantata to raise her eyebrows. She hadn't expected there to be such... fractiousness between Tina and her father, although in retrospect it isn't too surprising considering her lifestyle. Still, she wasn't used to people being so vocal and irreverent about such things. Hopefully she won't have to put on her peacemaking face too much between the two?

A little reluctant to let go, Cantata stands back as Tina goes to greet Reese, responding to him with a friendly smile and a bow of her head. "Happy to assist," she signs, waiting to follow Fettina's lead.

Fettina's Place

Unfortunately for them both, this is simply how Tina deals with these things. Irreverence, feigned or not. It's easier simply not to care... or if you pretend not to truly care long enough, maybe you can believe it will become true. Oh, but how quickly all that wilts in the face of reality when it isn't kept at a comfortable distance...

Reese opens the door for the two of them. The limo interior, lit only by small bars of soft yellow light, awaits their boarding.

Inside, a man is waiting, one leg crossed over the other and his hands folded in his lap. He's impeccably dressed, the business casual of the far future. Despite the apparent perpetual youth of Tina's people, this man chooses to show his age, or at least some of it. His skin is a shade darker than Tina's, and he's as bald as an egg, but the resemblance is striking.

Only small flecks and tastefully placed bars of metal in his face betray any augmentation. He's not nearly so... loud as Fettina.

"Hi, dad," says Tina, sliding in on her butt and moving far enough to make space for Cantie.

"Hi, baby," says the man with a sort of cordial gruffness. He smiles, and Cantata can see where Tina gets her charisma-- this man could light up a room. "And you must be Cantata."

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I don't know if it's something we can't outsmart," Trick says, considering, "It's about approach, more than anything. Think about the best way to tackle the question of raising a child. I suppose research is in order, and that's something I'm familiar with."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Sophie reaches up to touch Trick's cheek.

"See? You'll do just fine. Not everything about raising children can be learned from books, but it helps. And there are other parents working in GLoG, living there or visiting. We can talk to them."

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Trick lays her hand over Sophie's, "... thank you, honey. I'm still a bit worried, but I think we can do this."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I'm worried too. I just compartmentalize it better," Sophie cheerfully admits. "But we'll get through it. One step at a time, right?"

[Gnrlshrimp]

Cauldron Golem's Lair

Krayger nods, despite not actually knowing what They say about golems in general.
He approaches slow and carefully, but starts by taking out the help. Krayger casts his force-blast spell as before at the two slimes before the golem can build up TOO big of a defending force.

[Cauldron Golem's Lair]

Two more slimes splattered. Look at how Krayger has come!

A proud tutor beams behind him as he watches his apprentice weaving magic with - well, not with ease, but with a skill he didn't possess all that long ago.

The last of its minions dispatched, the cauldron golem lets out a defiant gurgle and charges at Krayger, attempting to bowl him over with its not inconsiderable bulk.

[Deathkeeper]

Cauldron Golem's Lair

Krayger enacts a plan borne of a long lifetime knowing about dealing with charging opponents. Krayger steps to the side, trying to grab the edge of the cauldron and use himself as a bit of an anchor point. He's trying to use its momentum against it so that instead of charging straight, its path pivots right into the wall nearby. If the cauldron rams the wall Krayger can pin it for Felix to deal with.