2 >> nerd life is hard

[recopy]

Who: Megaman and you!
Broadcast: Fleetwide!
Action: Moping at the desk in the engineer's office on the SS Golden, lights on as usual
When: RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW somewhere around the space equivalent of midnight

Hello, I'd like to ask a question for anyone still awake. Some of you have been here for a little while now, right? I was wondering...has anyone ever been able to contact people they know back home here? Has Atroma ever allowed it, I guess.

My friends back home are probably really worried about me by now...I don't think they would know what's going on. To them I might have suddenly become missing! And I'd like to let them know that I'm okay, if I can. But I don't know if there's a way...

And also, since [ah] maybe I'm going to be here for awhile too. Does anyone have a database about outer space that I could borrow for a bit? A book or a data file you'd be willing to lend? Just, something that gets detailed about how things work in general out there. I have basic knowledge on the subject, but I'd like to learn more of I can.

Thank you.

Comments

[recopy]

Yes, AI is also a correct term! I'm a NetNavi, specifically, though that's more about what type of program I am.

But that's true. I guess they'd want everyone here on the same page, robot or not. That's still really...off-putting, though, now that I'm thinking about it? I really hope I don't end up doing something I don't notice until it's too late, because of this kind of thing. Like hurting somebody... [Uuugh that's an idea hitting a bit too close to home, now isn't it?]

[experiencepoints]

Mind if I ask what a 'NetNavi' is?
If it helps, everyone's in the same position as you.
We all have these augments in our brains, so...
We're all just as at risk as you.
That's probably not really comforting, though, is it... （；￣д￣）

[recopy]

Oh, it's short for Internet Navigator. We're designed to help our Operators navigate the Internet! You know, to keep up with day-to-day schedules and obligations and tasks, or exchange messages with others, things like that.

But no, you're right, that's true too. With everyone having these augments, it's definitely no good...nothing bad might be happening yet, but it's still pretty worrying.

I guess we're all just going to have to stay on our guard and try to pay attention to what's happening around us, huh?

[experiencepoints]

Well, sure.
Not that staying on guard will do any good, since they're influencing our brains.
Why does navigating the internet require an AI?

[recopy]

Well, maybe it won't, but it's still better than doing nothing at all! And if we catch it in time we might even be able to stop it, or something! Or at least slow it down. It would probably be difficult, but that sort of thing never is very easy anyway...

The internet is pretty complicated anymore, though! Most people can't really work out the process manually without a lot of training, and it's probably still convenient to have a Navi help with things even then. Navis can serve as an anti-virus, too, you definitely need to watch out for those. I'm guessing you don't have Navis where you're from, though?

[experiencepoints]

Not that I remember, but I only used the internet much for school.
I remember my parents monitoring my use, so I avoided it. But we definitely didn't have that sort of thing.
It was a lot simpler than what you're describing. Input URL, get the page. I'm not sure how you can overcomplicate that to require an AI...

[recopy]

URL input...? [oh my god] Oh, yeah, that did used to be a thing for us too. But wow, that was a really long time ago! We've gone through a lot of updates since then. It's like...I think webpages are a lot more interactive now than they used to be before, for example? We Navis travel through them in order to organize them or navigate them, since our Operators can't exactly go inside themselves.

Ah, but it's really kind of hard to describe if you've never seen it before...the cyber world is kind of huge. I'm actually having a hard time imagining how you'd only need the internet for school! I wasn't around for things like manual URL inputs yet. Nowadays pretty much everything functions online...

[experiencepoints]

Interactive...
Rather than requiring an AI to organize or navigate a page for you, wouldn't it be much simpler to just not make them so complicated?
I don't understand the point... What do you use the internet for that necessitates that?

[recopy]

[oh god how do you word this WHERE DOES HE EVEN START...somebody help......]

Well, it's like--maybe it would have been easier, back in the day! With the first version of the internet. In fact, your version of it sounds a lot like our first version too... But they had to really overhaul things after the first internet [uh] kind of self-destructed. They had to recreate another Net entirely, but also change a lot of the functions that lead to the first Net going wrong. Which might be why it has to be so intricate?

The internet is definitely used for all kinds of things now, though! Like, house security, or cooking things...or managing the power supplies of cities. There's worldwide climate control, too? We've even been able to manage earthquakes and natural disasters and things like that, as well... [THAT'S JUST ALL THE IMPORTANT THINGS OFF THE TOP OF HIS HEAD THOUGH is he ready to write up a laundry list up to and including your toothbrush probably having internet too...no, not yet. That should be common sense!] Just, a lot of things! It can be a lot for a person on the outside to keep up with.

[experiencepoints]

Okay, wait.
Hold the fuck on a moment.
You manage earthquakes with the internet?
What the fuck?
You mean just by sending out advance data and preparing places before they happen, right?

[recopy]

[Ah why does he get this feeling like he's only spawning more questions than he's answering now.....]

Well
Yes?

I mean, advance data does have a part in it! The quakes themselves can generally be suppressed to a minimal amount also, however! It's pretty sophisticated...but I don't work in those kinds of servers usually, so I couldn't really tell you the exact details of the process, I'm sorry! It's pretty bad when something malfunctions, though...

[experiencepoints]

[There's a long pause before Nightingale's next reply, as she has to quietly try to regain her composure and not scream WHAT THE FUCK over text.]

Right.
I won't ask anymore, then.
That just sounds so pointlessly overcomplicated...
Not my world, though, I guess I can't judge.

[recopy]

[BLESS YOU NIGHTINGALE you're trying your best.......things he can respect, even if he still probably doesn't quite realize just the extent of her disbelief atm.]

Yeah, when you put it like that...I suppose it does sound really complicated in a way! I'm starting to notice it's really difficult comparing things between worlds...but it makes sense, I guess. If every world here was really similar that would be even stranger, I think.

I'm sorry I couldn't explain better, though! I've never really had to before? Maybe I'll try putting together a writeup sometime...it's a bit hard trying to put words to it off the bat like this.

[experiencepoints]

I'd be interested in reading that.
Learning about other worlds is interesting, even if I get pissed off sometimes.

[recopy]

Ok! In that case I'll let you know once I get around to it...and, uh, I'll try to keep it as anger-free as possible too? [ah] Is it when things get complicated that you get angry?

[experiencepoints]

Mostly I get mad when people try to shit on magic.

[recopy]

Oh, I see... [Oh boy, magic. Well--not that he's said anything about it so far yet, he thinks, so that's a bit of a relief. SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND AROUND THIS PERSON IN THE FUTURE...] Well, that's not very polite of them at all! That sounds pretty rude, actually...we don't really have anything we'd call magic back in my world, but what I've heard of it here it sounds very interesting! I don't think magic is going to come up in this write-up either, too, so we should be safe in that department as well...

[experiencepoints]

It is rude.
I didn't spend most of my life studying magic for assholes with a stick up their ass to tell me it's 'not real' or 'not scientific'.
... But that's beside the point.
I'm glad you agree.