driftfleet | one fish, two fish, red fish, (blue fish)!!

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one fish, two fish, red fish, (blue fish)!!

Who: The passengers of the Blue Fish and visitors!
Action: The Blue Fish!
When: It's a mingle for the month of January, losers!

[ mingle for the month for the blue fish, to meet up with new crew members, hash out stuff. come get free therapy from zuko, who has 100% put up a sign on his door saying 10 credits because allen owes him money. ]

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So you are a fake human being, shaped after a human being so you cannot catch a disease? [Robb, that is exactly what Daneel is telling you.] But what if the disease clings to you anyway?

Or do you enter the diseased cities naked? Or without your human skin? You do not have brains either, I take? [Ah, no...] I do not mean it in such a way...

It is true that while I cannot become ill myself, I could carry a pathogen to someone who could. Fortunately, there are decontamination processes, a very thorough cleaning, to ensure that does not occur. There would be no need for me to be naked. In extreme situations, it might be necessary to dispose of my clothing, though that's never been necessary.

[Fortunately, he is not capable of being offended, and he just shakes his head slightly.]

I do have a brain, in fact. It, too, is artificial. It's made of a special alloy of rare metals. In some ways it isn't dissimilar from your own.

I take it you do not feel heat. Or sweat. Iron cannot sweat. [It can melt but that is not the heat Robb refers to. Still, he corrects himself a little.] I mean the sun.

[That is a good thing, Daneel, because Robb realizes that that has been a rather rude thing to say.]

Ah... [He tries to think of what to say to that. How can metal form a brain? The robots at the Marsiva have proved that metal can move once powered by something called electricity. And of course, there is this robot-man in front of him.] ...how exactly?

To an extent I can feel heat, at least extreme heat that might be a danger, though I cannot feel pain from it. It is true, too, that I do not sweat.

[He pauses, considering how to explain things.]

Perhaps it is best to say that I am aware of the ambient temperature around me, but without actually feeling hot or cold in the sense, I believe, you would. As far as my brain goes, that is complex, and harder for me to explain. If I am to try... well. An organic brain such as your own functions because of signals that travel along certain paths in order to react or remember. My own brain is similar, though the pathways are artificial. That is all.

[And, well, positrons are involved, but Daneel judges that this might not be the best time to bring up antimatter particles. Just maybe.]

I admit I'm not the best individual to explain it. The making of positronic brains is something that scientists of my world have perfected over well over a millennium of work.

You do burn, then? If someone would set you ablaze you will burn? But will you also stop...moving? Living?

[Robb is trying his very best to understand this.]

It is a fake brain then? [But how does a man make a fake brain? Finally Robb starts to laugh softly, almost embarrassed.] My apologies, I should not bother you with so many questions. Mayhap there will be a day I understand more of you. Of what you are made of.

[Despite the fact his armor is at the wrong side of his body, Robb does not dislike him.]

If I were damaged enough, I would certainly cease functioning, or living, if you prefer. If I were taken apart, it might be possible to put me physically back together again, but it's very likely I would cease to be.

[He's been told that he's alive. He's also been told he isn't. Really, he doesn't know. He's conscious, whether or not that counts as living.]

You don't need to apologise. Curiosity is only natural, and I don't mind answering.

You are immortal? [Well, that is the only conclusion he can make. Putting back together, functioning. This man...person...creature probably had no heart either. He would not bleed either.

But he behaved as if he...is a person.] You cannot die.

Are you curious after...beings like...well humans? Or do you feel as if you are one since you are...created after one?

[The questions keep on coming and Robb cannot help it.]

I can be destroyed. I may not always be repairable. It's true that I don't age physically.

[Is that immortal? Is this life to begin with?]

I have been functioning for twenty decades at this point. Much of me has needed repairs or even replacement in that time, as a human being might need medication or an artificial limb. There may come to be a time when I can no longer be repaired, or an essential part may break down in a way that there is no time to replace it. If my brain were damaged, for example, and then replaced, the replacement would not be... me. He would not have my memories and my thoughts. He would be a new robot with my body.

[A curious thought, actually. He doesn't know how he feels like that.]

I am very interested in humans. I enjoy human company and am fascinated by human ways of thinking. Friend Giskard observed that I was becoming more human with time. I am not human, however, nor will I ever be. I am more like them than many robots, but I am not the same.

But how...? How do you know you are you when someone else created you? Aren't you shaped after someone else's idea then? [He believes he gets it. Maybe a little. If robots were man-made robots could not be a person. They would always be someone else's person.

Isn't that it?]

Can you have memories then? Is it that...? [What a difficult subject on an evening like this.] When someone faces hardship the memories can go and change that person's thoughts. When a man falls in love, he would do everything for that...for that love. Is it not?

[Daneel blinks, trying to think this out.]

I know I am myself because my experiences, my memories, are unlike any other individual's, human or robot. They shape my actions, as your memories shape yours. If I did not have memories, I could not learn, nor grow, nor understand new things. I would not be... useful, if that were true.

Forgive me the comparison, but you were also created by someone else, though in a different way than I was. You were created by your parents. You are still you.

[Maybe he does not understand this at all and the entire train of thoughts that is going through his head makes it hurt a little. It could very well be that this was a bit too much for him.

To him Daneel seems like a different...being. Made of iron and iron brains. It is not the same as being made by two people who love one another. But why...he cannot think of it.]

You were never a babe. [It is the only thing he can think of.] You remain the same for many years... I... [It could very well be that he is just too much of a fool for matters like this. To properly understand he should have come from another time.]

Gods... [Robb laughs the most awkward laugh possible.] ...let us drop this matter. I am afraid I cannot say much for myself.

As you wish. Don't trouble yourself too much on my account.

[He would hate to think Robb was bothered by him.]

Worry not, I am not troubled. [Not in that way.] I think it will take a while before I properly understand the workings of beings like you.

[He shifts a little.]

I think it is time for me to get some sleep. [And seek some relief for this headache.]

[He nods.]

Sleep then. I won't disturb you. I should probably return to the Wonderduck, in any event. It was a pleasure to meet you, sir.

My thanks. [He nods politely.] Likewise. I would like it if we could meet again, ser. [But maybe after he has wrapped his head around all of this.]

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one fish, two fish, red fish, (blue fish)!!

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