text; get this child out of his comfort zone

[huaaaaagh]

Who: Kazuto Kirigaya and [insert your name here]
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: Today / Sept 4


[Waking up in unfamiliar surroundings is not new for Kazuto, but in the past it's been quite a different experience. It's not an MMO this time, which is what catches him off guard the most. He can tell immediately, even with a simple glance around- the world is too real, too detailed. (Just in case, he tests a few menu-summoning gestures, but no dice.)

Waking up in a hospital-eque area makes him think that something went wrong with his last MMO dive, but that isn't right. He clearly remembers being safe and healthy the night before- they'd checked him out at the hospital before he'd gone to Sinon's. So... what? A kidnapping? Some kind of experiment? Something about this place doesn't feel right, and there's information slowly filtering into his head that doesn't make much sense.

And then he goes and looks out a window. Yikes.

He spends some time wandering, quietly observing, though there isn't really anyone to observe- computers, broadcasts, machines, yes, but people? The place is pretty deserted. It's eerie and uncomfortable, and he gets totally lost before long. Finally, though, he puts to use the knowledge of the broadcast system that is inexplicably in his head now, typing out a message.]

Is anyone out there available to answer some questions? I don't understand what's happened to me.

[Yep, that sure is a message. Which... is probably gibberish to anyone who doesn't read Japanese. Someone should probably let him know about the auto-translate not working on text.]

Comments

[huaaaaagh]

[Okay, so probably the rest of that was very useful and he's going to scrutinize and ponder it later but what, what.]

on fire, are you serious

[recopy]

[Oh wait, right, context...context would probably be good here! Whoops--]

Yeah, fire! It'll leave ashes and everything! So far I'm told that it's only happened with clothes that Atroma gives you, though? I haven't been here long enough yet to be sure of that myself, but they gave us bathing suits last month while we were on a planet. As soon as we left they just caught fire!

[huaaaaagh]

[That's... terrifying. Kazuto tugs awkwardly at the collar of his shirt, inwardly grateful that he's in his own clothes instead of something the ship had provided for him or something.

In other words, always change before going off-world.]

Thanks for the tips...

[recopy]

[THE MORE YOU KNOW, BRO. THE MORE YOU KNOW.....]

It's no problem. I kind of wish I'd known about that sooner for sure...but yes, if Atroma tells you to throw something away at some point, it's good to do that as soon as you can! Or the fire thing happens, apparently.

[Which is a safety hazard if he's ever heard of one AND HE'S STILL PRETTY BOTHERED ABOUT THIS, but ah...anyway.]

Also, I'm sorry, I think I got a bit ahead of myself! I don't think I ever caught your name? It's nice to meet you, anyway...my name is Megaman.

[huaaaaagh]

[Megaman? That's... an interesting name. An alias, maybe? Not like he can point fingers.]

Kirito. It's nice to meet you, too.

[recopy]

[NO NOT AN ALIAS....well actually yes it kind of is but look it's a perfectly nice and wholesome name for a NetNavi ok!!

Although Kirito doesn't actually remark on it, which--is really nice, for a change! You can imagine the sort of flack a guy might get with a name like his...and so Kirito has now earned a handful of bonus points in Megaman's book without even realizing it, congrats man.]

Kirito, got it! Oh, and out of curiosity, do you know what kind of augment you have yet? I know that can take some getting used to as well, depending on what kind a person has...

[huaaaaagh]

[He just spent three days investigating the murder of some dude named Lightly Salted Tarako, a name like Megaman is so not the weirdest he's ever heard. The joys of only knowing people by their online aliases.]

My augment... what kinds are they? Maybe it'd help me figure it out.

[recopy]

[Lightly Salted Tarako.......]

Hm, if you're not sure yet a list might help, yes! I think the augment just sort of tells you eventually. Let's see! There's engineering, communication, security, piloting, and lab support?

Ah, and then there's other ones that are more like civilian skillsets...like cooking, or counseling? There might be more of those kinds, but these are the ones I've run into a lot so far. Do any of these sound familiar somehow?

[huaaaaagh]

[Kazuto ponders over the options, trying to figure out if anything clicks. Truth be told, he doesn't feel that different, and he certainly doesn't have any inexplicable knowledge of most of that stuff. Definitely not cooking. Piloting is also way off the norm. Security would work if he had a body that was suited for combat, but only in a game- in real life, he's nowhere near strong enough for it.

That first one, though...]

Might be engineering. I've never been on a spaceship before, but I kind of feel like I could work with some of this equipment.

[recopy]

[Oho, go figure--]

You think so? Man, what a coincidence if that's the case, because I'm an engineer too, actually!

And it's ok if you've never been on a spaceship before. In fact, it's still ok if you've never engineered anything before either! I know I hadn't, before arriving here...I think normally I'd be better for programming honestly. But learning how to work with the tools and things hasn't been so bad at all.

[huaaaaagh]

I build computers and related equipment back home, so maybe whoever picked it for me thought it was a natural choice. I can't really imagine doing any of the other options. Not well, anyway.

[recopy]

Yeah, that could be part of it too! That makes a lot more sense, at least...sometimes augments fit really well for people, and sometimes they don't.

I'm a program, so building things with tools isn't really a part of my functions normally...it's been easier to figure out engineering than I thought it would be! But maybe that's thanks to the augment too. It's kind of hard to tell... [The concept of the augment in general still really--bothers him a lot, actually! But that's a rant for another day. Can't go dumping everything on a newbie at once...] You build computers back home, though? Ah, that's really cool!

[huaaaaagh]

[Anything and everything Kazuto could have said to that response is completely derailed from the start.]

Sorry-- did you just say you're a program?

[IS HE TALKING TO AN NPC]

[recopy]

[Oh my god KAZUTO DON'T BE RUDE....he'd like to think he's a bit more well-made than a game npc!! Excuse.]

Yes, that's right! Oh, but I guess I should have mentioned that sooner too, I'm sorry! I keep forgetting some people might not realize...but yes, I'm a program. A NetNavi, back home!

[huaaaaagh]

NetNavi, huh.

[Okay, this is pretty cool.]

This might seem like a weird question, so I'm sorry if it's offensive, but- are you pre-programmed with responses to questions like this, or are you a true AI?

[recopy]

Oh, no, it's ok! [Bless, he didn't actually try to call him an npc out loud...and so THEY COOL] That's a good question, I suppose...but no, there's no pre-programming! I don't have a script I'm hashing out for you, anyway, if that's what you mean. True AI is probably the right term! There's programs with that where you're from too?

[huaaaaagh]

[To be fair, NPCs are A-OK and not that different from real people in Kazuto's book, but he does know better than to ask. This guy being an AI is about a thousand times better, though.]

There's a few, yeah, though it's a relatively new thing to meet advanced AI. I actually meet with someone like that on a daily basis back home, and it's pretty amazing. I'm always learning new things about her.

[recopy]

Ah, so I guess in a sense you guys are just starting to develop them! [Huh, but in that case this guy's world still isn't nearly so behind as the worlds of other people he's run into here, on the technology front...he talked to somebody whose world was just barely starting to use the internet at all once! It was strange and surreal 8( THIS THOUGH...] Hah, this might sound a little strange, but it's actually really nice! That you're familiar with advanced AI, that is...there are a lot of people here that aren't, or have never even heard of a program at all! But by the sound of it you're even friends with a program yourself...it's kind of the most familiar thing I've heard of yet here, you know?

Where I'm from, advanced AI is pretty common--a lot of things run on network technology now, so we were made to help assist with that! There are a lot of NetNavis these days, and almost all of us work with Operators. Are you a sort of Operator, for your AI friend?

[huaaaaagh]

Operator? No, nothing like that. She's more like family. My girlfriend and I took care of her when she lost her memories and regressed to the mentality of a child, so she kind of considers me her dad.

[Is it weird? Yeah, maybe. Does he care? Not a bit.]

[recopy]

Well hey, nobody said anything about Operators and family never being the same thing! Sometimes they totally can be.

[ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING HIS OWN PARTICULAR FAMILY SITUATION HAHAHA...HA.....

But even the majority of NetNavis don't have such a--literal family history, so he's not bringing that particular factor to light anytime soon. Needless to say though, it's alright Kazuto--that probably is kind of weird, but Megaman has already experienced plenty weirder, so! THERE'S NO JUDGMENT HERE...]

But that's really good of you and your girlfriend, helping her out like that! Memory loss, that's really rough... [Eugh it's not pleasant just thinking about it; that's kind of a big deal! Especially for a program...] She didn't have any kind of backup? Were you guys ever able to retrieve them?

[huaaaaagh]

She told me that the system she was created in wouldn't allow her to do the job she was programmed to do, so it started generating errors and corrupted her data. It took a few days, but she was able to remember everything, thankfully.

[recopy]

The system started rejecting her, really? That sounds pretty nasty for sure... [Actually that kind of reminds him of Alpha, in an odd way--but that's never good anyway, regardless.] I'm glad she's ok now! I can only imagine how tough it would be to restore after something like that.

But I'm sorry, I guess I'm just being nosy now...it's been a little while since I've heard about other programs being around, even if it's in other worlds. There's a few robots here too, but it's still not quite the same, if that makes sense...

[huaaaaagh]

I think I get it. I wish I had my phone with me, or you could meet her. I'm sure she'd love to talk with a fellow AI.

[Then again, Yui just loves talking to people in general, digital or otherwise. He has no idea if she'd even consider it to be a factor.]

[recopy]

Hah, I'm sure it would be a really fun conversation, yes! It would be neat to see how things vary between worlds for us. But then, that would also have to mean that she's stuck here too. I don't know...

[Like, it's not super terrible here? And at least she would have this friend here with her, so that's probably already a step up. But still...]

Anyway, though, it's been really nice talking with you! Maybe we can meet in person sometime, once you're off the Marsiva.

[huaaaaagh]

[He can't deny the truth of those words, but still, he misses her already. She'd have the whole system analysed in no time and know more about their captors than even they do, for sure.]

Sure thing. Whenever I find that out, I'll let you know.

[He has no clue how that works, but with the way everything else seems to work around here, he'll know when he has to.]