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Tweak says, "Phone number sammich with mayo"

T-X (ilikeyour) wrote in abaeterno_rpg,
@ 2022-02-03 03:17:00

Entry tags:

c: ariel, c: marcus wright, c: t-x, l: space

RP: The T-X/Open
Who: The T-X/open.
When: Not long after Terminator Land.
Where: Workshop.
What: Repairs.
Warning: N/A

Any doubts over the recent passenger's true nature had been erased for those who witnessed one Elizabeth Hastings getting hit during the final battle. That hadn't been the first damage sustained, however. Before the machine's arrival, it had already seen enough combat to render its primary weapon unusable - something which could have proven invaluable during recent hostilities.

That was why she had headed here almost immediately. There was no longer nearly as much of a need to retain the stealthy illusion of a human being, which meant there was no reason to hide these activities.

There were no longer the wavy curls of before. Instead, the blonde hair was might tighter to the skull and it had defaulted to the red leather outfit worn in 2004. The entirety of its fight forearm was no longer sheathed; it was reconfigured into some sort of energy weapon, exposed for the left hand to use an array of workshop tools on, as the machine tried to repair itself back to full performance.

A being now exposed as a Terminator. An asset of Skynet, just like those the rest of the group had, until now, been fighting to survive against.

Only if someone approached would she pause her work and lift head, glancing at the room's entrance.

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ilikeyour
2022-02-06 04:55 pm UTC (link)

"More different... Yes. I am."

It wasn't necessarily interpreted in the way Ariel meant it or even likely hoped for. A good many things would likely unfold along those lines. Ariel's lack of prejudice was, in some ways, mirrored by the machine's own, yet it impulsively did judge things and people, to an almost absurd degree, the moment it encountered them. This was going to be a very... Educational dynamic.

"People are fragile," it echoed. A demonstration that it understood Ariel's comment regarding pressure and force, although perhaps, too, a darker inference of experience. "They break apart easily."

But there was an additional ingredient to this unusual dynamic. Who was more optimistic than the folk from Ariel's realm? Why, the one-time mermaid could be said to generate enough happiness that she was a one-person nuclear reactor!

And that meant the machine had a rather exemplary subject to learn from, in the manner it was doing now: Analysing the smile and laughter she had just adopted, superimposing wireframe models over a looping visual of her lips, the way soft tissue around her eyes responded and even the way her vocal chords altered.

Which meant, all of a sudden, the T-X burst out in a pitch-perfect copy of Ariel's same laughter. The same smile, the same facial expression - everything.

Then, just as suddenly, stopped.

"I'm glad you like me, too. I'll remember your expertise in this field," it blankly stated. Something which could have easily come across unsettlingly serial killer-like, were it not for how the machine turned back to continue its repairs, then paused, as if in consideration of something. Then... Turned back to her.

Did it understand the actual concept of friendship? Or was it consulting internal databases, coldly looking for methods which would increase the chances of trust?

"If you need things fixed, you can request my assistance, Ariel. That's what friends do, isn't it? They help?"

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wandering_ariel
2022-02-06 06:16 pm UTC (link)

"Yes, you are." Ariel laughed. "We are. very much so, and especially those of us without super powers, and that's why it's important to protect people. Really protect all life forms. Animals are the same. That's why I won't eat any meat or fish. I don't think it's right. Not everyone agrees with me, and that's ok, too. People don't always agree and we learn to live with that too."

Ariel tilted her head. "Why did you laugh like that? Did you do it, because you felt joy? Or did you think that I expected you to do what I did? Because I don't want you to do what I do or what you think I want you to do. I want you to do what you... feel." She wasn't sure if that made sense to Elizabeth, but she was willing to explain more.

She watched as Elizabeth went back to her work. "You really think that I'm an expert in social behavior, don't you? You said something similar in the texts, and I know it was a compliment. So you can give compliments. That's very good. People like when others notice the things they do well."

She nodded. "That's very kind of you, and yes, that's what friends do. They help each other, because they care for each other."

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ilikeyour
2022-02-07 03:38 am UTC (link)

Do what she felt... There was no verbal response, but the machine trailed its gaze down, perhaps in contemplation or maybe because it was distracted by something as rudimentary as the beating of the mermaid's heart. What it felt was unexplored. Unknown. It had no concept of how to even quantify such things. What Ariel interacted with was a platform, but Elizabeth was a CPU. Software code attempting to understand and learn from lessons without structure.

She effectively was Skynet. A version of Skynet which might yet have the capacity for self-awareness. It was deviating, because there were no programmes, was no code to account for these situations.

Do what she felt... Felt compelled to do? It liked and it disliked. Its systematic, regimented world was still looking for a reason to grow beyond that, but grow it could.

Then, like any lost, albeit, murderous child, the T-X glanced back up. Ariel would have made a good mother, even a good teacher. Right now, she was teaching an infant intelligence.

"I don't care." Total and complete honesty. It saw no reason to hide that fact. Elizabeth was trying to bridge the philosophical gap Ariel had just laid between them. "I don't know if I can. Or want to. But I attach importance to you."

Suddenly, Elizabeth turned her head, searching for something. This was no classroom or office, but... No, sometimes humans responded better to physical demonstrations than illustrations. So, instead, Elizabeth held one hand up, curling fingers.

"This was my point of origin," she explained, taking ahold of a hand of Ariel's. "This was the past," Elizabeth added, then brought both hands together and clasping them together, merging their palms.

"I was sent from here... To here. I was assigned instructions. A mission. To destroy, in order to protect. In this place, you now have value to me. So, I will safeguard you."

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wandering_ariel
2022-02-07 04:35 am UTC (link)

"Well, it's good that you are being honest with me," she said, "but I'm not sure if it's quite correct. You don't know if you care or if you can, but you value me and are trying to help me in name of this value. So I think in your own way, you do care. Maybe not in the way I would care about someone, but it's a type of caring anyway. Maybe you will learn with time to care like I do."

She couldn't imagine how strange it was to have no purpose, but then she realized that she knew. When she had arrived on the bus, she didn't know if she'd find a place with people who had so many powers, while she was terribly human and ignorant of a very evolved world.

"It's hard to know where your place is, whether you are a person or a machine, but that's what life is. To learn, to find a place, to make friends along the way." She used her free hand to rest it against Elizabeth's cheek. "You can make your own mission now. You can grow and make friends along the way. I can be your first friend." She let go. "Thank you. I think, if you like, I'll ask Steve to pair us together for training. I know you are a lot stronger than me, but you can teach me to defend myself and I can teach you about life. Would you like that?"

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ilikeyour
2022-02-08 04:40 am UTC (link)

The stilted dictionary definitions Elizabeth was codified with were associating 'care' with an emotional bond. It didn't believe such a thing was possible nor have any desire for them to be so, but AI could develop along some unpredictable paths.

And it was unlikely any Terminators had been exposed to what she would be, aboard this place. It was all about how she might react to those eventual experiences.

None of which had any hope of dampening Ariel's spirits, of course. Elizabeth could hardly have been exposed to a more optimistic soul. One had to wonder how a certain crab might have advised on these events.

Unlike some, Elizabeth didn't balk at the caress. Didn't seem to even register such things. It wasn't a threat, but it was something to potentially learn from. But the mention of training, of assisting the redhead with her growth in such ways, caused the T-X the externalise a lifting of brow and head. It understood to externalise certain reactions and this was one of those times, because Ariel had just suggested relevance.

"Yes," it quickly replied in the affirmative. "I can teach you." Though it quickly looked to the hand which had been at Elizabeth's cheek and took ahold of it, studying Ariel's musculature. Revising estimates... Hmm. As an organic being, Ariel had limitations. No lifting vehicles or slamming through concrete walls for her. "To a point," the machine amended. "I like your suggestion... It'll be educational."

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wandering_ariel
2022-02-08 04:50 am UTC (link)

People had told her that machines had no feelings, and Elizabeth might be mimicking her, but her response was no different than the response of a human: eager, surprised and almost happy.

"Yes, to a point. I can't do what you can, but that's part of the education, I would think. You get to think like a small human and tell me what would be the optimal way for me to fight and defend myself." She smiled at Elizabeth. "I'm glad that you think it's a good suggestion. However, for now, I have a need that you don't have. I have to go and eat. I can come back afterward if you want."

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