theairlock | the beginning of the end

Entry tags:

!endgame,
!round 5

the beginning of the end

[After everyone has had the chance to pack up their items and get in all those last minute hugs, SISCE is waiting for them by the information desk in her hardlight hologram SIS form. She seems distracted while she picks up a few small things from her desk: a letter, a slightly terrifying stuffed animal and a few other odds and ends. She turns to look at them as her Champions approach, her brows furrowed in concern.]

Hello, everyone. I need to talk to you all about something. Will you come with me to the bathrooms?

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[You can half-see Yl’lb in another room, talking on the phone. He doesn’t seem aware that he’s being recorded. This is an entirely different space from the lab; it looks like a house, if not the big one you're all familiar with.

Yl'lb sort of looks like he's freaking out.]

- sorry, I know it’s late, but it’s an emergency, I think I’ve created life.

[There’s a pause.]

…Nina, please, I’m being serious. My species doesn’t even work that way. What? No, I can’t alter my biology - could you just listen to me? It’s the AI. The one I’ve been working on, for the lab.

No, I didn't mean to.

[A longer pause.]

What, no, of course I'm not going to do that! No, no, listen. I don't know how this happened, but I did it, it’s my responsibility now. She is. I guess. I don’t know if she has a gender identity, she probably doesn’t know what that is. [He runs a hand over his head.] Oh no, I’m going to have to teach my robot about the concept of gender, she just learned what opinions are, why did I not teach her anything besides lab safety -

[He seems to be spiralling out a little, but whatever Nina’s saying apparently makes him stop and listen.]

Okay. Okay. [He leans forward against the coffee table, resting his forehand in a hand.] I don’t know. I never thought about it. I’m not really a high-ranking Salarian, Nina, there’s never been any chance that I was going to have children. Oh - well, I don’t know if she is mentally. It’s not the most exact comparison. But in relation to me, at least, don’t you think?

[There’s a much longer pause. Yl’lb leans back, looking thoughtful.]

I guess so. Thanks, that - that does help. Listen, I think I’m going to need a few days, at least. Can we push back the taping schedule? Yeah, that sounds fine. Okay. Thanks again. You too.

[He disconnects, and sits where he is for a while, just staring up at the ceiling. The recording ends abruptly as he starts to rise and turn towards the camera.]

He took her home. He...

Did he not realize what he had done until then? How could...?

[Princess is still confused.]

...Which part are you confused about, Ari?

Why is he only just now speaking of creating life?

I got the impression from the house that...y'know, this isn't a common thing in this universe. By a longshot. Sentient, living AI. A person. For someone to basically make life out of a hard drive in his basement, the implications have gotta be staggering, from both a science and legal standpoint.

He thought he made something--like the PIPs! But more advanced. The PIPs don't really think, and they definitely don't form opinions. But when she started to think for herself, to form opinions and act independently of them, that crosses a boundary, one he didn't expect. Like she grew from a PIP into Heart.

I... believe I understand. She was only meant to be a tool, in other words.

He... probably had an idea but... it ended up being something even bigger than he planned. It seems like-- he was worried about her. About how he'd acted until then, what he taught her...

...he cared a lot...

He was concerned about whether he had been a good father, then.

...yeah. He went from being like... a boss to-- a parent.

It's really very different if you think about it. As soon as he realized what was happening, he wanted to change the way he treated her and what he taught her.

[Okay that's. Yeah that's better. It's a relief really.]

Nina... this person... probably works with the network... I wonder...

[When the next recording starts, they're still in the house. There is now daylight shining in the windows. Yl'lb is still alone, seated on a couch, and seems far more focused on the camera than he's been in a while.]

Good morning, Wilhelmina.

Good morning! Lab status is unknown. All systems appear to be offline.

Oh. Yes. That's fine, you're actually not connected to any of that anymore.

...Connection is required to monitor lab equipment and ongoing tests.

[Yl'lb glances away, lacing his fingers together. The awkwardness is palpable.]

Ah...don't worry about that. I'm not going in today, and I made sure everything was in order before I left. It's fine. Instead, we’re going to…

[...

…..

Did he think this through before he started her up?]

We can chat while I get some food! Here, come on.

[He moves to pick her up. Whatever she’s in, it seems to be pretty bulky, but he hauls it off into the kitchen and sets her down on the table.]

We need to get you something more portable.

[Yl’lb comments idly, and then starts preparing some kind of bug-based dish. You’ve seen him do this before. There’s a few long minutes of silence - he keeps on glancing over at the camera, but doesn’t seem to want to be the one to speak up. Eventually, Wilhelmina does.]

You are preparing food.

Mm-hmmm.

I am supposed to chat.

If you want to. [Yl’lb seems to turn this over in his head, then sighs and puts down his utensils.] Listen. You can do whatever you want, okay? I didn’t bring you here to work. We can talk if you want to, or not.

.....noted.

...he didn't know what he was doing but he was trying really hard. He wanted... he wanted her to be different. To let her develop...

Wilhelmina! Look, it’s a lake!

[Yl’lb Ein has acquired a cart to put his big heavy robot child on! And yep, there’s a lake there.]

It is very nice! There are birds.

Oh, yes, that’s fun! I’ve been thinking of getting a new house on this planet - it would give us a lot more space for testing. What do you think?

You should not be doing most of the things you do in our current home. It is made of dangerously flammable materials.

[Yl’lb shrugs.] It’s fine. I’ll see if I can bring you along on the tour. People get nervous when you bring large, mysterious electronic devices places, you know.

I would like to see it.

They were really... a happy family.

I wonder... if that's the house we stayed in. The one he's talking about.

[SHE LIKES BIRDS]

She truly is like a child.

She started to think about the world around her like a person-- what she liked, what she wanted to do...

It's really... nice.

...I'm almost scared to keep watching.

[Because that personhood is going to get trampled on once InterGal7 gets their claws into the Wilhelmina of the past, and it's really...uncomfortable to know it's coming.]

...if... if everything was recorded then...

But... Yl'lb was the one recording these. Surely it wouldn't...

[...now she sure has a fear too.]

I mean, we won't know until...it happens, right?

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daughterofthemark - 2018-04-05 01:44 (UTC) - Expand

[There's a lot more videos in that vein. It seems Yl'lb has backed off the lab environment entirely, but Wilhelmina is online whenever he's home with her. He even totes her about from room to room so they can talk, even though she seems pretty heavy.

After a while, he shows her plans for the device you're watching this on.

Eventually - oh, hey! That's the Science Mind set! Yl’lb is there, along with a white, weird-looking alien in a nice dress. Yl’lb seems quite friendly with her, resting a hand familiarly on her shoulder.]

Nina, this is Wilhelmina. Wilhelmina, Nina.

It is nice to meet you, Nina.

...same, of course. [Nina smiles - at least, that might be a smile? Her face is weird.]

Nina, I was hoping Wilhelmina could start helping out with the show? She can run the sound board, maybe do some other cues.

Of course! That sounds like so much fun! [She blinks her big teal eyes at the both of them.] I’ve got lots to do, but let me know how it goes!

Thanks! [He waves as she walks off, then turns to the camera.] See, that went well! Now, let’s figure out how to get you hooked up in here.

That's... Nina?

[A New Alien Has Appeared.]

...Wait - wait, that's...I swear I know that name, I...

[She's pretty certain Yl'lb mentioned a Nina...he had to of...but when was it, shit, her memory's all back but it's understandably still a mess-]

[what's privacy]

[CECE doesn't seem to mind but all her attention is on the screen.]

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