driftfleet | Є002

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Є002

Who: Elena Gilbert and YOOUUU!!!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: SS Starstruck if you wanna??
When: rite meow!!!

I just want to say that I really appreciate everyone's who's answered my questions about this place, but now that I've had a little time to get settled, [and stop silently panicking] I'm curious about what home is like for everyone.

And since you've been here, have you seen anything like home?

[And since she doesn't really expect to be able to ask and not give an answer herself,]

My world's nothing all that special probably in comparison to some of yours. It's 2012, Earth, with modern-day technology that's nowhere near as advanced as all of this. I live in Mystic Falls, Virginia in a country called the United States.

We do have magic, but I can't do any of it. I only know about it because my best friend was a witch. [And it's invaded every part of her life for the past couple of years, but ssshhh.] Magic where I come from has a balance, it's rooted in nature and spirits of ancestors. So the further down the line of witches you are, the more power you can have. But you have to maintain the balance of nature or the spirits of your ancestors will cut you off.

There are other kinds of magic, but they're bad news and not something you want to mess with. It has some really bad consequences for the user since it ignores maintaining the balance.

[And she leaves it there. She's not willing to out herself as a vampire or acknowledge the existence of other supernatural beings beyond witches and spirits.]

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That just... [She shakes her head a little.] That seems just so surreal to think about.

Is it?

[He tilts his head, honestly curious.]

Do you refer to the passage of time or what technology has led to?

Time. [Her brow furrows.] Or the technology. I'm not really sure. It just seems like something way, way out there, you know?

[Okay, she's aware she's on a space reality TV show now, but this is different somehow.]

It is, perhaps, overwhelming. I realise that our implants answer much for us, but if there is anything I can answer, in particular, please feel free to ask.

You said most robots don't look like you. How many do, do you know?

I was initially created as a prototype by Dr. Han Fastolfe and Dr. Roj Nemennuh Sarton. After Dr. Sarton's death, Dr. Fastolfe created a second humaniform robot, Jander Panell, though friend Jander is no longer functioning. A rival roboticist, Dr. Amadiro, also built humaniform robots after Dr. Fastolfe agreed to make the designs that made me possible available to him as well. He made fifty, though they were a public failure and the robots were put into storage for many decades.

[She listens silently, nodding a little when he finishes. She's got a lot of questions though and takes a moment to decide which one to ask.]

Are they still in storage or have they been brought back out?

[Oh. Oh, that's a good question. She's smart, this one.]

They were indeed brought out, some years ago, as part of a plot to infiltrate Earth's Cities. That plot was stopped. I am not, at present, entirely certain of the whereabouts of all of the robots. Some are no longer functioning, and some I have yet to find.

[No longer functioning. A nice way of saying they were destroyed, most likely. But everyone finds a nice way of saying things like that, don't they? They passed on. They're gone. They left. Saying someone died so bluntly always feels harsh, blunt, and violent no matter how they actually died. Not that she supposes he could technically call a robot living at one moment and dead the next, but there's probably another word (or set of words) he could use that would be the equivalent.]

[Of course, that calls into question whether or not he even has feelings in the first place. He must, right? If he's an AI, there has to be something in there that gives him at least pseudo-feelings. But maybe she's trying to apply morals that aren't there with him. AI or not, he's still limited by his programming, isn't he?]

[...Elena can feel herself starting to think in circles as the silence stretches on maybe for a second or two longer than she meant it to. She shakes her head a little.]

Is that why they were a "public failure" the first time around?

They were a public failure simply because the market Dr. Amadiro anticipated did not exist. Aurorans simply did not want to own humaniform robots. Their use in this later plot was... opportunistic, not intended.

[As for whether or not he has feelings, well, that depends on who you ask.]

But you're still around.

[Which is a really indirect way of asking what his feelings are, but she doesn't want to just ask that, okay. Sssshhh.]

I am. Dr. Fastolfe kept me near him during his life, and after his death, left me in the possession of a friend of his, Lady Gladia. It was... fortunate. Otherwise, I might have found myself in the possession of someone who merely wished to dissect me to learn how I was made.

You can't be independent without any people owning you?

[That would make sense, maybe, if he was a less advanced robot, but... Well, she feels like she's talking to a real person, not a robot and it's not just due to appearances.]

[He hesitates. This is... sort of an awkward subject.]

Legally, no. Robots are considered property. However, I must confess that for the past standard year I have been operating independently. Here, my physical appearance is an aid, as I would no doubt be deactivated should I be found out.

Could that seriously happen where you're from? Even though you haven't done anything wrong?

Easily. It would be seen as counter to my programming, and therefore my mean that I am dangerous. I don't feel that this is the case. I am still bound by the Three Laws, of course, but I am upholding them in a new way.

Three Laws?

[She assumes these are rules particular to robots, but that doesn't tell her much beyond that.]

The First Law states that a robot must not harm a human, nor through inaction allow a human to come to harm. The Second Law states a robot must obey all orders given by a human, except where doing so would come into conflict with the First Law. The Third Law states that a robot must protect its own existence, except where doing so comes into conflict with the First and Second Laws. To be entirely truthful, the Laws are positronic potentials within a robot brain and as such as mathetmatical in nature, but that is how they are usually described in plain language.

If they're... [She hesitates and says the next word slowly since she's wholly unfamiliar with it.] ...positronic potentials, then does that mean they can't be broken by a robot willingly?

They cannot. To even think of breaking them is... uncomfortable.

[And honestly, there's a slight strain to his voice when he says that.]

To break them would cause any robot to cease functioning entirely.

It's like a failsafe to keep you from acting against humans, [she says with a slow nod of understanding.]

Perhaps this was the original intent, yes. Positronic brains have evolved much since robots were first created, but certain things remain constant. I believe I can do more good acting independently. I do not believe I have acted in opposition the Laws. Not all roboticists would agree with my assessment.

Well, we've only been talking for a few minutes, but you don't seem to me like you'd be any threat to anybody on the fleet. So I'd say you're right. If you couldn't operate independently, you'd be really screwed being brought here.

That is kind of you. I certain don't wish to harm anyone. I confess that initially I felt some concern over whether I should admit to being a robot at all. It would certainly be possible for me to hide. Still, this place is not like the world I have left.