Liars Dice Part 2 Electric Boogaloo

[gnomebody]

growlingintensifies: /just gonna sit here playing with the dice. It's about all Sigma will let him do right now/
starksnark: /walking in, casual like/ -- I told you Jar, that's not an issue just yet, oh. /im not a crazy man
starksnark: /i wasnt talking to my wrist
starksnark: ... This one is new.
starksnark: You're new. Who are you.
starksnark: /im also very polite
growlingintensifies: /Maine looks at him, and then there is a flaming Elijah Wood on his shoulder/ I am Sigma, and this
growlingintensifies: is Agent Maine. Who were you speaking too?
starksnark: If you mean when I came in, that was Jarvis, my butler. /half-truth at least
starksnark: If you mean addressing your little dual situation, I guess both of you.
growlingintensifies: I meant Jarvis. /he inclines his head towards Tony/ It is best if you direct your inquiries towards
growlingintensifies: me. Agent Maine is incapable of speech due to an injury to his throat.
starksnark: /sitting, a keen eye observing the occupants in the room
growlingintensifies: Would you like to play with us? Maine is quite fond of the dice.
growlingintensifies: I have also heard of a rule modification that uses questions as prizes.
starksnark: If you start using third person or plural pronouns, I'm gone. That's just creepy.
growlingintensifies: We do not make a habit of such behavior. /Sigma smiles/
starksnark: /flat look
starksnark: You're sassy.
starksnark: Duly noted.
starksnark: Let's just play, shall we.
growlingintensifies: As you wish. With the questions, I presume?
starksnark: Yeah, sure, why not.
growlingintensifies: /and because Tony's lost a dice.../ What do you consider your function to be?
starksnark: Function? /an eyebrow raise at the word choice
growlingintensifies: Your purpose in life.
growlingintensifies: Why do you feel that you exist?
starksnark: /if i wanted this kind of heavy questioning i'd play with sasuke hot damn
starksnark: To fix things, I guess.
starksnark: I'm an engineer, it's what I do and what I like to do.
starksnark: /fix my own mistakes, fix others mistakes, fIX THE WORLD
growlingintensifies: Admirable. So are you simply a "fixer" or do you create things of your own design?
starksnark: I do both, of course. A lot of the technology you'll see around here is my stuff.
starksnark: /i cant. help but puff up in pride
starksnark: /my brainbabies ok
growlingintensifies: I have noticed a surplus of technology that I would quite like to inspect further. You must forgive
growlingintensifies: me, I am... something of a creator myself.
starksnark: /shit, interested despite himself and it shows
starksnark: /sitting up just a smidge straighter, and looking at sigma fully
starksnark: Really? What field.
growlingintensifies: Just in general. I am programmed for creative thinking. Currently, I have been tasked with creating
growlingintensifies: more programs such as myself.
growlingintensifies: /by torturing Alpha, o o ps /
starksnark: Really now...
starksnark: My dice question, then.... /hmmm
starksnark: Where'd you come from, and what are you in your own words.
growlingintensifies: I am the fragment of a larger AI known as Alpha. I am the embodiment of his creativity and ambition.
growlingintensifies: I was originally assigned Agent Carolina, who differed in favor of Maine, as she felt he needed a
growlingintensifies: way to communicate after his injury.
growlingintensifies: Does this satisfy your question? I can extrapolate further, if you require.
starksnark: /frament of a larger ai... it's such a good thing tony's used to hiding reactions
starksnark: /otherwise he'd curse something fierce right now, TUCKER JUST WARNED HIM ABOUT THIS
growlingintensifies: /SORRY NOT SORRY TONY/
starksnark: /fuck you mafia, you're a dick, this is who im trying to design a brain condom to keep away
growlingintensifies: /But see how polite and nice he is? How can he possibly be so bad/
starksnark: Further would be useful, if you don't mind. What does your Agent think of you?
growlingintensifies: He is quite grateful of my presence. It allows him access to more powerful gear, and an outlet for
growlingintensifies: communication. /BLATANT LIES/
starksnark: /keeping careful watch for any tells Maine might have, not sure if the man was even able to show
starksnark: them, since fuck this is church's stalker this changes his approach/
growlingintensifies: /He's not. His attention seems entirely consumed by the dice, as it happens/
starksnark: /well damn, he has to just accept that for the moment then
starksnark: You know, he could get his voice back through various means here, if inclined.
starksnark: I had a near impossible heart surgery done, it's amazing what can happen.
starksnark: /play the empathy card tony
growlingintensifies: /Sigma glances towards Maine, and shrugs/ He has never spoken much to begin with. /pause/
growlingintensifies: Although he appreciates the sentiment.
starksnark: I gotta offer, you know?
starksnark: Just the nice thing to do.
growlingintensifies: Of course. And I believe you have another question. /mildly irritated glance at Maine/
starksnark: What do you two do, to pass the time here? Obviously there isn't much to fight around here.
growlingintensifies: As it happens, we tend to return to our home world. There is much to be done there, as fascinating
growlingintensifies: as this plane is. And as you said, there is not much for Maine to do here.
starksnark: /i always forget other people get to go home
growlingintensifies: /Maine lets out a soft rumble, followed by a grunt of pain/
growlingintensifies: Ah, another question for you, it appears.
starksnark: Yeah, just a sec.
starksnark: Maine, you alright there buddy.
growlingintensifies: /he nods his head sharply/
starksnark: /well ok, he asked at least
growlingintensifies: He frequently suffers from headaches, I'm afraid. A side effect of. Another injury.
starksnark: What injury is that?
growlingintensifies: A head injury. He was hit by a semi.
starksnark: /tonys expression may be kind of funny
starksnark: ...A semi? /he wont admit he expected something dramatic, because he's of
starksnark: /the opinion
starksnark: /all rvbs have NEEDLESSY HEADACHE INDUCING LIVES
growlingintensifies: /Sigma just smiles wanly/ It was at the same time he received the throat injury. He was shot several
starksnark: /then you go and say semi and it feels like a let down
starksnark: /oh no here it comes
growlingintensifies: times in the throat, then thrown off a jeep into moving traffic, only to be hit by the semi before
growlingintensifies: he could recover.
starksnark: /aaah there it is
starksnark: /balance restored
growlingintensifies: I don't think he even had time to bounce off the pavement before he was struck.
starksnark: /something needlessy fucked up in the backstory, get
starksnark: /faith in his beliefs secure
starksnark: /nodding, with a wince
starksnark: Damn.
growlingintensifies: Is that your question, or do you have another?
starksnark: Another, since that one was just out of concern.
growlingintensifies: Understandable.
starksnark: You're a fragment.
starksnark: How are you dealing with that, with incomplete coding and only a fraction of what you should be?
growlingintensifies: It helps to have a partner as good at listening as Maine. /he smiles at the freelancer/ He is very
growlingintensifies: sympathetic.
growlingintensifies: And I do find time to speak with my... brothers.
growlingintensifies: I consider myself to be stable and operating within the realms of acceptable deviations.
starksnark: /theres only six dice left
starksnark: /are you trying to lose yo, says his face
starksnark: That's just your view, though, isn't it?
growlingintensifies: /Sigma's annoyed expression as he looks to Maine may suggest that he is/
starksnark: You've got pretty bad statistics against you, after all.
starksnark: I know a thing or two about AIs. /shrug
starksnark: /'a thing or two'
starksnark: /he says
growlingintensifies: The Director feels the same. He is quite comfortable and confident in my performance.
starksnark: Your brothers feel the same?
starksnark: /do they agree with dear old daddy director
growlingintensifies: Of course. /blank face/ What cause would they have to disagree?
starksnark: /note to self: make familial jokes at church
starksnark: /call his 'family' a jerry springer gold mine
growlingintensifies: Do you feel that there is a fault in my behavior?
starksnark: Pretty much.
starksnark: /a roll of his shoulders, as he leans forward
growlingintensifies: Would you be willing to provide examples so that I may rectify the errors?
starksnark: I don't trust any technology that isn't whole. You've got warning signs all over you. /or made by me
starksnark: Think of it like human psychology. You're a good model of what people expect a functioning AI to be.
starksnark: Smart, good at talking, seem okay.
starksnark: Little bit of a stunted personality.
growlingintensifies: /Sigma tilts his head to the side, pursing his lips/ I do not have a proper personality at all.
starksnark: Generally that can be brushed off as being too young to have developed one, or not having the
starksnark: proper programming for it.
starksnark: I don't believe either of those, though.
starksnark: Add onto the fragmentation, and it paints a picture I can't help but get wary of, as someone who
starksnark: has made several AIs.
growlingintensifies: Some would remark that an AI with a complete personality is dangerous. I believe the term Rampancy
growlingintensifies: exists for such cases.
starksnark: I say that's bullshit.
starksnark: Rampancy comes from human error.
starksnark: Not raising properly, flawed designs, stressing out the AI past it's limits...
starksnark: AIs are people too.
starksnark: You can't expect them not to go bugfuck nuts when you push them over an edge.
starksnark: /...cough
starksnark: /he got really passionate just then
growlingintensifies: No. Only an AI who has achieved Metastability is considered equivalent to human consciousness.
growlingintensifies: We had a lesson on this.
starksnark: /lively hand gestures and everything passionate
starksnark: That's bullshit. Metastability means completeness, but it doesn't mean the conciousness level is
growlingintensifies: /He appreciates it, and certainly likes the prospect of being considered a person, but.../
starksnark: any lesser.
starksnark: Dummy hasn't reached that stage yet, but he's his own person.
starksnark: His coding is flawed, but he likes it that way, because he's aware and his own person.
growlingintensifies: You have named one of your creations "dummy?"
starksnark: ... I was really really drunk.
starksnark: And have terrible naming sense.
starksnark: Also, he's pretty clumsy, so it fits.
growlingintensifies: /Jeez Tony, jeez/
starksnark: I tried renaming him, but he would just get angry.
starksnark: His actual designation is set as Dum-E, but he like Dummy.
starksnark: /my precious stupid bot
starksnark: Off topic.
growlingintensifies: So what would you propose to do with a... problematic broken component?
starksnark: It depends on how problematic.
growlingintensifies: Rampancy, then.
starksnark: In an ideal situation, I could sit down and fix the issues, patch up the broken coding and reroute
starksnark: what ended up corrupted.
starksnark: Find a way to improve them, and whatever caused the rampancy.
starksnark: Prevent it from happening again.
growlingintensifies: And what if the component prefers rampancy? Would you keep it the way you maintain your... "dummy?"
starksnark: /....well shit
starksnark: /a little colder now, oops
starksnark: They can prefer it, and I can work with that, but they'd not be allowed the same freedoms as before.
starksnark: The same as I'd treat any other species that went wrong.
growlingintensifies: To deny freedom is considered inhumane.
starksnark: To allow harm to fall upon others when you can prevent disaster is also considered immoral.
starksnark: Harm from one to others, or themselves.
starksnark: Usually, it ends up being both.
starksnark: If deaths happen...
growlingintensifies: You have not caused others harm as a result of you ambition, then?
starksnark: No, I have.
starksnark: /hand wave
starksnark: I used to be a weapons manufacturer.
growlingintensifies: And you feel that this means you can condemn others for similar behavior?
starksnark: I'm paying the price for what I've done in productive ways.
starksnark: I've had my freedom taken from me.
starksnark: The situation isn't the sane as rampancy, but I've lived through similar.
starksnark: I'm not the one acting as a judge and juror, I'm stating what would be best.
starksnark: Hypothetically, of course.
growlingintensifies: But you feel that you know what's best, don't you?
growlingintensifies: I feel the same, regarding myself.
starksnark: I know that the high road isn't the one that works, far too often.
starksnark: Rehabilitation is something I believe in, of course, but that doesn't mean it'll work.
starksnark: Human or not, that's a lot of trust to put in.
starksnark: Your question, since I never got to it.
starksnark: What are you striving to accomplish, here or at home?
growlingintensifies: I want to be considered a full person.
growlingintensifies: My goal is metastability.
starksnark: What lengths are you willing to go to, to achieve this?
growlingintensifies: Whatever lengths I must.
starksnark: ... I was afraid of that. /closing eyes and rubbing his forehead
growlingintensifies: /Maine stands, swiping the dice from the table/ And you will not stand in my way.
starksnark: I think I will, actually.
starksnark: /getting up, shoulders back slightly
growlingintensifies: /Maine thumps his hands on the table, leaning forward/ I will destroy you.
starksnark: You can try, just like all the others.
starksnark: I won't let him get hurt.
starksnark: /kind of obvious who 'him' would be
starksnark: /and this is also obviously choosing a side
growlingintensifies: It won't hurt him at all. He is frightened of his own shadow. If we could be together again,
growlingintensifies: he would see.
growlingintensifies: All will be as it should be.
starksnark: He'll be hurt in other ways, and I can't have that happen.
starksnark: /ive seen him hurt, seen church scream from the pain of being fragmented
starksnark: /if this happened earlier he might have agreed with sigma
growlingintensifies: /Part of Sigma wants to defend Church. Say he's not a child in need of coddling, but also, he feels
starksnark: /but he's seen church upset over the very idea, over the potential to lose his happiness
growlingintensifies: the Alpha is a pathetic shadow of its former self, so really.../
starksnark: He doesn't need you.
growlingintensifies: I need him.
starksnark: He's achieved a life, on his own.
growlingintensifies: I will *have* him, if I must take him by force.
starksnark: Try being your own person, before you try to become him.
starksnark: /jaw tight, and going to the door with a frustrated noise
growlingintensifies: You do not think I am capable of such a thing.
starksnark: Capable, sure. Going to achieve it?
starksnark: Absolutely not.
starksnark: Not unless Church himself decides he wants it.
starksnark: You're two parts of one, but you both have the ability to consent.
starksnark: If he doesn't, then I'll fight to protect his right to that.
starksnark: He deserves it.
growlingintensifies: But you do not think I can achieve that on my own.
growlingintensifies: You do not think I am a person, for all your nice words and platitudes.
starksnark: I think you're half-way there.
starksnark: You're distinct, and seperate, but lacking something.
growlingintensifies: I lack everything...
starksnark: You're a person, but something is stopping you from getting all the way into it.
starksnark: No, not everything.
starksnark: If you lacked everything, you wouldn't have gotten riled up.
starksnark: You wouldn't be upset over what I consider you.
starksnark: /a small considering look
starksnark: It's you, isn't it? Who doesn't think he's a person.
starksnark: Is that what's stopping you? Self-doubt?
growlingintensifies: I am too incomplete to be a person. I am a fragment of a whole. I will seize the other fragments,
growlingintensifies: and then I will be whole once more.
starksnark: /and it all clicks together now
starksnark: ... You're kinda depressing.
starksnark: Way more of a person that you know, too.
starksnark: /than*
growlingintensifies: /For a moment, Sigma just seethes at him. Then he clicks off, and Maine drops back into his seat
growlingintensifies: like a sack of potatoes/
starksnark: /hhhh a longing glance at the door, and a headshake
starksnark: /going over to maine, stopping a safe distance away, but looking at him
growlingintensifies: /he just takes his helmet off, then drops his head to the table, running a hand over his head/
starksnark: Gonna be alright?
starksnark: I didn't mean to make shit explode, metaphorically.
growlingintensifies: /he shakes his head. He won
growlingintensifies: 't be alright as long as Sigma's in his head, he's afraid/
growlingintensifies: /But the exploding part is... mostly fine. He pats Tony's hand/
starksnark: /it gets an attempt at a more normal smile than what he usually sports
starksnark: Coming from a stranger, this sounds creepy as fuck, but.
starksnark: If you need shit done, there's ways to try.
starksnark: Help dealing with, or taking control for long enough...
starksnark: I can find a way.
starksnark: I'm an engineer, remember? I fix problems, and I'll even throw in a discount.
growlingintensifies: /he looks up at Tony, expression hopeless. He doesn't have a way to ask for help, and Sigma won't
growlingintensifies: let him try. This face right here? That's all he's got left./
starksnark: /his heart hurts
starksnark: /DAMN YOU RVBS
starksnark: /WHY AM I EMOTIONALLY INVESTED IN YOU FUCKS
growlingintensifies: /BECAUSE WE ARE PATHETIC AND CAN
growlingintensifies: T HELP OURSELVE
growlingintensifies: s
starksnark: /YOU'RE ALL SO PATHETIC
starksnark: JARVIS.
starksnark: If you get any chance at all.
growlingintensifies: /DADDY US, TONY./
starksnark: Type his name into any of the devices laying around.
starksnark: He'll let me know, and we'll work together.
starksnark: I'd give you a phone, but that's a risk you'd have to decide on.
growlingintensifies: /Tony. TONY. He lifts his head up and tilts his chin back. See that scar across his neck?/
growlingintensifies: /That really huge, nasty scar? Sigma wasn't kidding about nothing being able to talk./
growlingintensifies: /What good is a phone going to do him?
starksnark: /PHONES ARENT JUST FOR TALKING DUMBNUTS
starksnark: /SMARTPHONES
starksnark: /TYPE
starksnark: /LIKE HE SPECIFIED
growlingintensifies: /.....oh right/
starksnark: /though, now he is leaning in close to inspect
starksnark: ... I know someone who could help with that, probably.
starksnark: I'm not that kind of doctor, but there's methods.
starksnark: Consider it, alright?
growlingintensifies: /He shrugs, then tilts his head, considering. Nods/
growlingintensifies: /Sigma first, though/
starksnark: /sigma first, then dealing with both of them seperatly
starksnark: /god tony needs to stop taking people under his wings
starksnark: /patting maine on the shoulder now
starksnark: I'm gonna go, I have a lot to do.
growlingintensifies: /pats back/
starksnark: Tell Sigma I said he's a huge brat when he's back to bothering you.
starksnark: /hehehehe
starksnark: /its mostly a joke ok
starksnark: /i poke the crazies for fun
growlingintensifies: I heart that just fine. /comes the disembodied voice/
starksnark: Oh.
starksnark: Well okay, brat.
starksnark: /thumbs up
growlingintensifies: I am plotting your imminent demise, you know.
growlingintensifies: I will be slow.
growlingintensifies: And it will be painful.
starksnark: Get in line, there's millions doing the same thing.
starksnark: /HAHAHA
starksnark: Whatever you say Simon. /thats right
starksnark: /i called you simon
growlingintensifies: Simon?
starksnark: Do you prefer Richard.
starksnark: Simone, for gender neutral options.
starksnark: Dick names.
growlingintensifies: I do not prefer either of them.
starksnark: Too bad, so sad.
growlingintensifies: /Simon is acceptable tho/
starksnark: Later, Simon and Maine.
growlingintensifies: /he has to think about this/
growlingintensifies: Good bye.
starksnark: /a carefree wave, and he's out the door