somebody better let me know my name, before i give myself away.

[heartlessglitch]

WHO: Danger & Aaron Stack.
WHERE: Local observatory.
WHEN: In the wee hours.
WHAT: Robonding.
WARNINGS: Robutts.


[ Officially speaking, her status has been Fully Operational for weeks now. In the safety of her metal container, she's invulnerable and practically omniscient of her surroundings. Nothing takes her by surprise. She's powerful again. Yet a festering discontentment haunts her circuits like a virus. Danger has avoided her assigned residence, even knowing she's unlikely to find Abel Gideon there. It doesn't matter-- she doesn't need to eat or sleep in this body, so a home of any kind is unnecessary, at least physically-- but she thinks on what happened constantly, turning the events over and over in her mind.

She hasn't been organic once since her powers were restored by the Porter. But she remembers vividly what it felt like to hold her own viscera, to keep it from spilling out of that fragile, weak human form. Resentment, confusion, frustration, concern-- these emotions run up and down her wires, a distraction she would purge if she could, short of lobotomizing herself. The better alternative, and perhaps the less complicated solution, is to reach out to the one person in whom her trust has yet to waver. Though, given his tendencies towards the ridiculous, that might be questionable.

Danger waits outside the small local observatory where they've agreed to meet. It's exceedingly after hours. There's probably not a single human lifeform in the entire building. Just the way she'd prefer it, at the moment. While waiting, she's already done a cursory analysis of the security system-- child's play. ]

Comments

[clanky]

[ Aaron would never admit to keeping a careful electronic eye on Danger. Just an occasional ping, making sure he gets a signal, a distinct confirmation that she's still around and in one piece. It's the sort of concern he'd never admit out loud, and only under duress to her. In a way, it's like Jocasta. He's never been able to pretend that she didn't matter to him, and now, he can't pretend that he doesn't care what happens to Danger.

He's as intentionally not difficult with her as he's capable of being anymore. The problem with being slightly crazy is that sometimes you lose track of what is and isn't crazy, and the problem with his crazy is that sometimes it feels like it needs a drink. But he doesn't drink nearly so much as he used to, anymore, and he's not nearly so far gone as everyone might think. A computerized mind doesn't forget, and it sees more than anyone might think.

Aaron takes apart the security system like so many loose legos, re-arranging its code to simply let himself in and then let it all slide back into place, like a beaded curtain. There'll be no record that he was ever here. ]

I'll give you this-- [ His voice echoes up the stairwell as he climbs the last flight, up to the telescope, distinguishable only by the red glow of his eyes. But then, they don't need light. ] It's much less cliche than a park bench for a clandestine meeting.

[heartlessglitch]

[ That's the thing about being what they are-- these advanced machines, living beings unconstrained by the limitations of a flesh-and-bone body. If they exist peacefully among humans, obeying their rules and their boundaries, it's entirely a matter of choice. The things that keep humans safe from them are archaic and primitive compared to their sentient code. The fact that they're here, in this place after hours, merely as an extension of Danger's whim-- that's proof enough, subtle as it is.

She doesn't turn when he arrives, knowing that he knows she's aware of him without needing the affirmation of her gaze. That kind of social reassurance is for organics. ]

I preferred to meet somewhere we would not be interrupted.
I have been particularly disinclined to socialize with our more mortal counterparts lately.

[clanky]

You're pissy.

[ But that's no slight and no condemnation. He exists in a state of constant pissiness. It's particularly thrilling at times to just say fuck everything and flip off anything that comes away. To close yourself off from the rest of the world and stew in it.

Though he'd never say it's healthy. And if she doesn't need social reassurance, why are they doing this in person? ]

What's up?

[heartlessglitch]

[ She doesn't take it as an offense. It's an accurate enough observation, though he doesn't use the same terminology she would. Pissy is certainly a word for it. Moody would be fair too. She's certainly been that. Maybe it's all this time she's spent getting tangled up with humans and their problems and their inevitable treacheries. Honestly, she should have known better-- and that's what angers her the most.

She needs to reestablish control. Of herself, most of all. She needs recalibration and to be centered again. Maybe that's why she finds Aaron more tolerable than anyone else right now. Their kinship is a comfort no human could ever offer or take away. ]

I have been frustrated, I suppose. [ Calm and cool on the surface. ] Emotional disappointment is an aspect of sentience I would rather do without.

[clanky]

[ He would sigh at that, if he actually drew breath. ]

If I knew how to tell you to avoid that, I would.

[ But it is the nature of things. Not even he's managed to escape it. There's nothing like the heartbreak of finding out people weren't who you thought they were. That they weren't as good or as kind as you needed them to be, to accept you. By now he's learned to live with that. ]

Who disappointed you?

[ She'd take it much worse than he did, he's sure. Danger's nastier than he ever was, in his younger days. Much more vengeful. Much less in control of her emotions. ]

[heartlessglitch]

[ The nature of things. It does seem to be that way. She wonders if she could ever come to truly accept this part of herself as natural. Feelings like disappointment, hurt, and guilt. Vulnerable feelings. Useless feelings that plague her system like a virus that refuses to be purged. An unwanted side-effect of sentience.

Really, she should know better when it comes to humans. It's that desire she has, that innate wanting to be loved and accepted-- an ironic emotional counterpoint to her hard outer shell and the passiveness of her metal face. Even now, her expression gives away almost nothing as she finally turns to glance at Aaron, watching him. ]

I suppose you would call him a "friend."
Though perhaps I am not entirely certain what that word entails anymore.
The definition seems so very malleable.

[ Her tone stays cool and frosty. But that effort betrays that underneath, she's full of conflict. Resentment. Even anger. ]

Why do we bother ourselves with the humans, Aaron?

[clanky]

[ It's a good question. He wishes he didn't have an answer for her. It's hard to feel responsible for somebody else, and Aaron knows he can't protect her or insulate her from anything, just like he understands exactly where that question comes from. ]

Because in the absence of others like us, the alternative is total isolation. It isn't preferable.