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

[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.