(no subject)

[socrowdedinhere]

*Connor has a mission, he is to find Lieutenant Anderson. He’s been to four bars already and is heading to the fifth when the world around them lurches. He’ll lose sight of everthing around him and when he can see again the city streets are gone and the darkness of the forest is all that is around him.* 

Comments

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: What will you do if you find that you have no orders to follow here?

[cyberlifeslastchance]

Connor: ... *actually looks a bit troubled at that, gaze sliding away to one side* I...would go into standby, I suppose. I am not permitted to operate completely without a human handler.

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: *nods and gives Connor’s shoulder a light squeeze.* *tone soft.* Get dressed, Connor, everything will be all right.

[cyberlifeslastchance]

Connor: *hesitates, then nods, sitting up to his knees to unbuckle his belt and open the top of his jeans. He'll get his shirt back on and tucked in, then settles back down on his heels for his tie and jacket* I do not require sleep, but I'm sure you do. Please don't let me keep you up the rest of the night.

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: *nodnod* I am more concerned with learning as much as I can about you first. *he pulls a deep breath and sighs softly into his tea. After a drink he sits back a bit.* What is this for? *the taps his temple to indicate Connor’s LED.*

[cyberlifeslastchance]

Connor: *mild frown of what would be concern if he were capable of emotion* It seems I could easily keep you up all night with that. You really should sleep. *can't tell him to, but he can suggest what's best for Terris's health. At the question-* It is my LED. It acts as a visual indicator of my current processing. It is also one of the easy ways to identify me as an android. It is illegal for an android to appear in public without visible and readily identifiable markers to distinguish us from humans.

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: That may be, but it will be best if I can tell the general as much about you as possible when we arrive tomorrow. *he listens to the explanation* Elledee. *he gives a nod* It turned yellow before, does that mean something?

[cyberlifeslastchance]

Connor: ... *nods, accepting that - he can't argue with Terris* L. E. D. Light emitting diode. It...means I have a small light. *since he's getting more and more the impression that Terris has no idea what he's talking about more times than not* Yes. It is blue when I am functioning normally. Yellow means I am . . . *does Terris even know what "processing" means?* . . . thinking . . . about something, either working through evidence or taking in a new or complex problem. *it can also mean he's startled or stressed, but it won't occur to him to mention those*

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: *Nodnod* Does it turn any other colors? And if so, what would those mean?

[cyberlifeslastchance]

((NOTE FOR DOC: When he went to get dressed again, he also reactivated his skin.))

Connor: There is also red, which would indicate that I am damaged or in some other state of...distress. *faint frown, not entirely sure what that means, just knows it's there*

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: *notes that Connor doesn’t seem entirely certain of the distress part, but won’t push him on that. Terris can accept that and will leave it at that for now.* *He considers a long moment* All right, let me see if I can accurately summarize things so far. You are from another world and don’t know how you got here. You are what is called an android, made by humans specifically to assist with law enforcement. You require orders from a human otherwise you’ll go into standby. Your LED shows your current...mn, emotional state for a simple way to put it. Am I correct so far?

[cyberlifeslastchance]

Connor: *brow twitches a bit at "emotional state"* Mostly. I would say that my LED shows my current functional status. Androids are not capable of emotion, although deviants can simulate it. I am not a deviant.

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: Two more questions. First, what exactly is “standby” for you? And what is a deviant exactly? Mn, three questions, how do or have other androids become deviant?

[cyberlifeslastchance]

Connor: *very faint grin, his demeanor warm* You are of course welcome to as many questions as you wish. I will answer them to the best of my ability so long as doing so would not violate CyberLife's proprietary protections. Standby means that I set myself somewhere that I will not be in the way of anything or anyone, and I wait until I receive new instructions. A deviant is an android that has abandoned its programming. We believe that a mutation occurs in the software of some androids, which can lead to them emulating a human emotion. They don't really feel emotions, they just get overwhelmed by irrational instructions, which can lead to unpredictable behavior. We do not yet know how or why this process occurs. I have been tasked with capturing deviants to send back to CyberLife so they can be analyzed to find the errors that lead to the corrupted coding in their programs.

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: *standby...literally what it sounds like then, only for someone that needs no food, no drink, and no sleep, can live for over a hundred and seventy years, and apparently has no emotions and so would likely never protest being left and forgotten... Many of the words Connor says don’t mean anything to Terris, but he thinks he gets the gist. They’re not meant to feel, then some unknown happens and they suddenly do, or at least seem to. Connor was the one meant to work with the humans to find out why. Terris gazes into the fire, thinking over everything. He thinks he can explain the situation to Zerik now...* Tell me, Connor, what will you do if you are damaged while you are here? We have nothing even remotely lie you, we would have no way of repairing you...

[cyberlifeslastchance]

Connor: .........then I would remain damaged. Until I could be repaired or I deactivated.

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: *thought so. He finally stands and gives Connor’s shoulder a light pat.* We’ll do all we can to ensure you are not damaged. Stay near the den, but do not feel you must stay in one place. I’m going to get a bit more sleep before we travel tomorrow.

[cyberlifeslastchance]

Connor: *stands when Terris does, nods* Good night, Terris. *will watch him head back to bed, then will...well, start poking silently around the cave, learning more about his current stand-in handler*

[socrowdedinhere]

*Connor will find that Terris seems to be skilled at crafting what he needs. He has well used tools for various uses from cooking, to building, hunting, tanning, gardening and more. He’ll likely note the panels, insulated with furs, made to go into fixtures carved into the floor and ceiling of the cabe opening to likely keep out the cold in winter. On that note, it must be a different time of year from what it was before he arrived in the forest... another thing he’ll find is a leather bound book full of graphite drawings. They are very realistic and very well done, sealed with some sort of resin spray to keep them images from smudging. They depict everything from landscapes, specific scenes, and people, humans, other animal people, and what could only be described as elves (all of those seem to be... oppressed). Connor woll likely also note the attire of the figures captured in drawing is very... old and primitive, there are even people in armor as Connor would expect to see on old depictions of knights, and j’har in rags or nothing more than thin blankets.*

[cyberlifeslastchance]

*Connor takes it all in, realizing more and more the apparent level of development of...wherever he really is. He can't quite grasp that this truly is another world altogether, that's not possible according to all data available to him. And yet, this is far too detailed, too complex and developed, to likely be a simulation. So it must be real. And...there is something deep in his programming processes that he can't identify or comprehend - a flicker of dismay and worry at what he's learning of this world and his situation in it. Once he's satisfied that he's learned all he can in the cave without disturbing Terris, he'll head outside to wander the immediate area. Without the light of the cooking fire, he'll switch to night vision to explore. He won't venture far from the cave, and once he's gone as far as he dares for now, he'll return to find a log or stone to sit on just outside, sitting silently and scanning, taking in his surroundings until morning.*

[socrowdedinhere]

*Outside, Connor will find a large area cultivated into a garden, some chickens and a goat in secure enclosures, and various work areas, including another firepit. He’ll also see... two moons. One is a bright blue, rather similar to Earth’s moon except bigger, and a smaller green one... once Connor sits nothing will happen until morning, when a small robin will come land on his knee, and another lands near his feet about a yard away. The one on his knee chirps softly at him.*

[cyberlifeslastchance]

Connor: *perfectly still, except to look at both birds, even getting the faintest hint of a grin on his face at the one on his knee*

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: *Connor will likely hear him getting up. And a moment later Terris goes to a knee beside Connor. The robins are startled away, but Terris just smiles. He’ll take Connor’s nearer hand and puts a small pile of seeds into the android’s hand. He’ll put Connor’s hand out, voice soft...* Just wait.
*It takes literally less than a minute for the robins to return, both landing on Connor’s hand (one on his fingers, the other on his thumb) to eat the seeds from his palm.*

[cyberlifeslastchance]

Connor: *blinks, looking up at Terris, then the seeds in his hand, but he just does as told. After a moment...if Terris is looking, he'll see something soften in Connor's eyes, a warmth that seems fleeting and possibly even alien to him*

[socrowdedinhere]

Terris: *will have to draw that later. He’s got a small, warm smile of his own and will just sit still by Connor until the robins leave again. He gives Connor’s shoulder a squeeze.* I’ve a few things to see to, then we’ll head to town, all right?