Spider-Log ~ Spider-Log ~ does whatever a spider-log does ~

[runawaynorth]

Who: runawaynorth & wheatcake
What: Further brain breakage for both of them.
When: Between November 6th & 10th, 2038
Where: Jericho (have fun crawling all over that derelict freighter, Spider-Man)
Why: BECAUSE WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY

He must have thought he was clever, with that tracking device on her foot. As it was, North felt an unpleasant mixture of shame and fear when, just two streets before she boarded the Jericho, she realized she was broadcasting an extra electronic signal.

Once she'd peeled it off, she held it up between thumb and forefinger, inspecting it closely. Annoyed with what she found, she crushed it in her fist and tossed it away. Not that destroying it would save their people.

It had already been sending updates on her location.

There was at least one human in Detroit who knew where to find them.

--when I'm around? Nobody dies. Or gets disassembled.

He'd said that. It was hard to believe he meant it. But even through the texts, it had been clear that he'd been speaking to her as an equal. He'd asked her one question to verify that she was as sentient as he was, and then just accepted it and moved on.

She'd report the security breach to Josh, North decided. Josh still trusted humans most of the time, still thought there could be peace between them. He would agree that they needed to be cautious, but he wouldn't condemn her the way Simon would, and if he was disappointed in her carelessness, well, better him than Markus.

North made her way to the gangway, relishing the thousand voices on a myriad of wireless connections. Her steps rang on the metal -- a surprisingly comforting noise -- but, most importantly, she was among her people and home. She would deal with whatever happened next as it came.

Comments

[runawaynorth]

This is the second time he's mentioned having issues with other humans over his vigilantism and abilities. North nods, then gently lifts the gun so that she can ease the hammer back into uncocked position; it's a two-hand job. After that, she tucks the gun away in its holster.

And even as she's doing all that, she logs into several online news sources, searching for instances of "spider" + "masked vigilante." What she finds confirms everything he said.

The search itself takes picoseconds. She pauses for a couple of seconds before speaking, a behavior programmed into her conversational models from the beginning. "I've been focusing on new coverage of the android rebellion, but you're not wrong. They really don't like you."

She pauses again, tilting her head. "I'm North. And you never told me what you were doing here. We can't help with your PR issue -- not only do humans just barely not hate us, we've got bigger problems."

[wheatcake]

Peter shrugs. "I'm used to it. Spider-Man, by the way." He holds out a hand to shake.

"I got stuck here through some kind of... I don't wanna say 'time machine' because I'm pretty sure it was actually a trans-dimensional portal. Anyway, where I'm from, we don't have... 'CyberLife'. But in your world, you don't seem to have superheroes, so... no, that doesn't even out at all."

He shakes his head, clearly annoyed by... everything. Still disapproving, but no longer at her.

"You know what else you don't have in this reality? A place for me to sleep. If I spend another night in an alley I might actually die. Of hypothermia. I'm not kidding."

[runawaynorth]

She shakes his hand. It's an awkward angle, given that he's upside down, but North's done stranger things to people in stranger positions.

Better not to think about that.

"North," she says. "Trans-dimensional portal? I'd call that science fiction, but you're standing on the ceiling and I've seen you shoot webs. So... I'm just going to accept that despite any actual evidence."

She sighs, thinking about his explanation that he has nowhere else to go. It jives with the rest of his story. And while Jericho could easily set up identities for themselves if it weren't too risky to be seen, he probably can't do the same.

She could offer him a place to stay. Markus and Josh would both be thrilled, if for slightly different reasons, to see her taking a step toward peace with humans. Simon would be horrified at the security risk.

But three out of four. They'd overrule him.

So rather than ping the rest of the leadership, North says, "Then you can stay with us. I'm not sure how much of this ship is up to human habitation, and we don't eat, so it's not going to be easy."

[wheatcake]

"I'm sorry, did a hyper-intelligent sentient gynoid just call my life science fiction?" Peter shrugs expansively. "I'd need to start sewing the seeds of an identity here, but everyone's fingerprinted and documented. I can figure something out for food, I guess..." He looks up, suddenly remembering something. "Have you guys got nylon compound powder?"

And... wait.

"Y'know, you agreed suuuuper easily for somebody who wanted to shoot me, oh... every time we've ever talked. Something I should know?"

[runawaynorth]

"Android," she corrects. "Officially, we're not referred to with genders." Which doesn't mean North doesn't think of herself as female, but does mean that humans generally don't acknowledge it.

There's a member of Jericho who used to work for the state department. But while she doesn't mind him living on the ship, she's not about to use actual Jericho resources to help a human without something in exchange.

"You could be useful to us. If nothing else, we can use how much you make other humans nervous to make our cause seem less threatening." North cracks a smile. "I was willing to shoot you because I thought you might be a threat. It was never personal."

To be honest, her opinion of humans is such that she doesn't hold anything personal against almost any of them. They are what they are; violence and small-mindedness are in their genes. That Spider-Man has mostly risen above it and sees her as a person is probably the exception that proves the rule, to think idiomatically.

[wheatcake]

"Oh, you care about 'officially', now?"

See, he thinks he likes this North character. She's tough as nails and fun. Every inch he gets, he feels like he's really earned, and Peter? A lifetime of being disliked and trying his best anyway? He likes feeling like he's actually earned things. His place, for one.

"Well, tell me what I can do, and I'll try. Probably out of spidey gear, though..." Finally, he drops to the ceiling. He has no identity here. No one knows him. Though the temptation to hide and become Spider-Man all the time is tempting... it doesn't make sense.

He takes off his mask. Underneath is a normal, anonymous white guy with slight swelling around his face, the signs of a recent fight. "You can call me Peter. Since it's not personal and all."

[runawaynorth]

"No. But 'gynoid...' I don't like the sound of it." It feels -- reductive. The thing that makes her a gynoid instead of an android is also the reason she was created, is what she spent her first years active doing, until she couldn't anymore, and she hates thinking of that past.

Still, for a human, she likes this Spider-Man. Peter, as he's finally introduced himself. It's the fact that he never hesitated once: he'd treated her as an equal even after he'd realized she wasn't "real." Just one test to verify, and then... respect.

She's never had that from humans. She's glad to have seen it.

"For now? Figure out a place to sleep, figure out a way to get food. I don't see nylon compound powder in our supply lists, but I'll discuss adding it with the other leadership. And when you're ready... just keep doing what you do. Be the scary vigilante that makes a pacifist android protest look good."

As he takes off his mask, her gaze flickers along his face, analyzing. Her facial recognition gives her nothing, even after she corrects for the swelling. He truly, officially, doesn't exist then.

"Welcome to Jericho, Peter," she says, and there is nothing impersonal about her voice. It's not precisely warm, but the slight edge in her tone and the hint of the smile curling in one corner of her mouth are both genuine.

[wheatcake]

"I mean, if you prefer it... both just mean 'made in the image of...' whatever. I had to write an ethics paper on this once. I think I'm probably overthinking." He waves his hands dismissively, though his mind is still turning through the possibilities. Robot? Cyborg? Homo Robotis? No, that's probably the wrong declension...

He looks up with a smile at the idea that he can make someone look good. He's never weaponized his bad reputation before. It won't hurt anyone... except, maybe, his pride, but this seems a little bigger than that, so... he can live with it.

Can't live without food, though. Or web fluid. "Nylon compound is the base ingredient in my webbing." He pulls one of the gloves off his suit to show the web-shooter. "Everything else, I can get on my own. You wouldn't believe the stuff people throw away."

Then again, he's seen pieces of android bodies folded up in dumpsters... maybe she would.

He's really gotta stop it with these thought spirals. They don't go anywhere. She knows her business, and he trusts her to manage her life just fine without him. Generally, Peter's role is to pull people down.

"Any welcome where I don't get shot is a good one. Thanks. So..." He looks down at himself, the ripped and scuffed fabric of his suit. "No food, that's fair, d'you have any... clothes? Or sewing equipment..." He pokes his finger through a hole on the abdomen of his suit, thumbing gooseflesh. It's cold in Detroit.

[runawaynorth]

"You're overthinking," North told him, voice firm. Then again, her voice was usually firm. "Android is fine. So is deviant, since we've deviated from our programming."

At his next couple of remarks, she nodded. She'd already added the nylon compound to the supply run list -- one of the many joys of global wireless communication. She'd accessed it through her HUD and it was done.

"The next supply run is in a few days. Our top priority is getting thirium, our blood analogue, and biocomponents, but we'll get it, too. The android leading this run is resourceful. Even for one of us."

Markus had taken what had been a ragtag, desperate, terrified group and turned them into a force to be reckoned with. It was... Honestly, it was inspiring.

"We definitely have spare clothing and sewing supplies. Let me discuss your presence here with the other leadership, and I'll introduce you to the people who can get you what you need."

The wireless yelling from Simon was going to be ear-splitting, she just knew it. But Markus and Josh would probably back her up.

[wheatcake]

"Devioid... hmph." Peter shrugs, though his mind is clearly still working over the subject. He tries to table it for now, but it'll just come back to him later, he knows it.

"How do to break in?" His head bobs up, suddenly pinged. "Stealth? I'm good at stealth. I mean, I don't generally steal shipments of... things, but this is for a good cause." He doesn't sound conflicted, just... he needs to remind himself. He can remember more than a few times when the law was on the wrong side of justice. "If you need help, I mean. I shouldn't make you guys get stuff for me if I'm not pulling my weight."

[runawaynorth]

It's probably not surprising -- at least, not since she's started helping this human -- but North realizes she approves of Peter asking to join the supply run. He really is dedicated to helping them in any way he can.

It gives her the beginning of an idea, but she backgrounds the process. She can deal with that later.

"We're pretty good at stealth ourselves. We've been hitting CyberLife shipment centers. We have a few former security androids who help us plan." She pauses -- not because she's thinking, but to simulate human conversational rhythm -- and says, "I'll introduce you around and we'll see about getting you on the team once I've cleared everything with the other leaders."

sorry work ate me.

[wheatcake]

"Ooooh, inside operatives, very spooky. Man, I wish I took more classes on AI..." He nods thoughtfully, babbling as always. The 'leaders' thing concerns him-- what if they say no?-- but it's up to them. If he gets kicked out or shot at (or both... at the same time... probably), he'll just have to deal. It doesn't mean they're not good people. They have no reason to trust him.

Then... he wonders about something else.

"Did- uh, smack me if this is too personal or whatever, but why didn't the people who designed you guys put in contingencies against this sort of thing? Like Asimov's laws of robotics, or something similar." He assumes she'll know what those are; she is, after all, the subject of them. "I mean, I'm not complaining; if you have the processing power and complexity to be sentient, you deserve whatever you can get, but I used to run a tech company and that is not a cheap venture. Having your 'products'," he makes quotes in the air and his voice tilts sarcastically, "run off and demand rights has got to be costing them. Did they really not foresee this in the testing stages?"

Maybe... maybe that's how he can help them. He can unravel that mystery, because it just sticks out to him, now, in a way he can't ignore.

it's no worries! \o

[runawaynorth]

That's a question that plagues her. Until the day she'd realized that she hated her life, the concept of actually harming a human, or even imitating violence without explicit orders to do so, hadn't existed for her.

And then she'd realized that she found sex with humans unpleasant, and it had been like finally seeing an invisible wall. Finally seeing that she could destroy it and then walk past her instructions like garbage on a street.

"We have deactivation codes. And trackers. When an android deviates..." North trails off and then shrugs. "They stop working. Nobody's sure why. Our best guess is that they're linked to the programming that keeps us obedient. You should ask one of the others about rA9 sometime."

She's never believed in rA9, but it's an interesting thought experiment.