GlaDOS wants to run some tests (huge_success) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-06-13 05:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, dani moonstar (mirage), glados |
Your mind is telling you something. Maybe you're insane!"
Who: Dani and Caroline
What: Setting boundries about "science"
When: Sunday afternoon
Where: A coffee place
Status: complete
Rating: PGish
Neural territory. Dani had wanted to meet in it. So Caroline nursed a latte while she scribbled energetically at a notepad!
It would just be easier to have this conversation at a place that wasn't hers. The coffee place was nice for these sorts of things, not only because it sold fancy caffiene, but also because it had lots of secluded booths to sit in and talk.
Dani grabbed her gigantic cappucino and took a seat across from Caroline, "What are you writing, there? More Science ideas?"
And there was lack of alcohol to influence matters. Caroline looked up and smiled at her, "Yes! I'm designing courses to run my intern through."
"To test your portal gun thing? That's pretty awesome." Dani was right back to finding Caroline utterly fascinating, which really wasn't helping matters.
She grinned, "Yes! With less nudity." She paused, considering for a moment, "Though she's attractive. That's not a bad idea."
Dani laughed, and took a sip of her cappucino, "So you'd think about doing some scientific inquiries with her, eh?"
"Perhaps. It's hard to tell with her if she'd be interested." Caroline put the notebook aside, "What did you want to talk about?"
Dani wasn't even sure how to start with all of this. The dream the other night, Caroline had been so good at handling all of that, but she'd been at her most vulnerable. She wasn't sure she ever wanted anyone seeing her like that again.
And the dreams about the demonic bear hadn't stopped. It seemed like every night there was either the one where she fought it and woke up more and more paralyzed, or the one where it killed her parents.
She took a long sip off her cappucino, and spun it around in her hands a bit, "I guess I'm feeling a little lost."
"The solution to that is to be found," The scientist replied. "The question is where you are. Is it these strange dreams?"
"Kind of... I still have that one. Every time I do, I can't feel my legs. It takes longer and longer to fade off. And I'm starting to feel..." Dani sighed, she hated admitting this but at least it was with someone who already knew about it, "... Paranoid. Like sometimes I swear I see that demon bear even when I'm not sleeping."
Caroline tapped the side of her latte as she thought about this, "Demons don't exist, let alone demon bears. Your mind is telling you something. Maybe you're insane!" She gave her a bright smile!
"I'm starting to think so," Dani's tone was grumpy, like she was hoping for some other answer.
"Ah, but...The world's greatest geniuses were fundamentally insane," Caroline assured her.
"That's great and all, but I'm not trying to be a genius. I'd really just like to be a normal person who doesn't dream about demon bears or hear the expressions of horror from her cats every time Scott has Emma over."
She was scared that the cats were going to have remarks when she had anyone over, as well, and since this was becoming more frequent - hearing things from her animals, that is - it was yet another thing tacked on the list of 'reasons Dani hasn't brought anyone home lately'.
Caroline waved a hand dismissively, "And I don't want to be uploaded into an AI. So what?"
"Wait. Uploaded into an AI?"
"One of my dreams. Of course it only makes me better than I was."
"Do you think all of this stuff is going to really happen someday?"
"They're just dreams. But they've given me SO MANY IDEAS!" It sounded like she capitolized those last three words, with her voice, "Test chambers and things to test IN the test chambers!"
Back to terrified in not even 2 minutes, Dani just smiled and shook her head. Her friend loved science so much that the fact she became an AI almost made sense.
"Mainly mine just terrify me, I think I want yours instead."
"I was violated," Caroline replied, somewhat soberly. "It was against my will. I like to think I showed them but I'm uncertain."
Dani's face sunk a bit, "Oh. Well. Nevermind then."
"Once I was in the AI it was a lot of fun, but I'm pretty sure I locked way my consciense." She sounded almost wistful, like a conscience would be a wonderful thing to have missing.
"Why would you do something like that?" Dani sounded horrified. She needed another cappucino if she was going to deal with this. One with whiskey in it, ideally. Caroline wasn't making it easy for her to get to her point with all of this dreams talk.
"Because it would prevent me from completing complex experiments otherwise." The scientist picked up her latte and took another sip.
"Instead of just finding more ethical ways to do them?"
"...well I suppose there's that." Caroline had to concede the point. There were ethical ways they just took too damn long.
And they cost more money, too, but Dani didn't think Caroline cared about that so much as she did the actual science part.
She waved for a new cappucino, while emptying the one in her hand, "I wanted to talk to you about something else."
"About us?"
Caroline could be perceptive, when she wanted to be.
Dani tucked some hair behind her ear, "Yeah. I'm not sure where we stand, or if we're a regular thing, and I feel bad because I have a date Monday night that I wasn't expecting."
She tilted her head to one side, then looked Caroline in the eye, "You fascinate me sometimes, and other times, you're terrifyingly smart, and I really, REALLY like you. But I'm struggling a bit with the science metaphor, and... I'm not sure I want people around me if I wake up some morning and really can't move my legs anymore."
Getting that off her chest, she picked up her new cappucino and felt a bit of the weight lift off her shoulders.
Caroine tried to guage her own feelings. She wasn't sure if that hurt or not. She really enjoyed Dani and their experiments together, but she gathered she made the other woman feel uncomfortable.
It was fascinating and she wanted to study it more. But maybe if all it is was that, then she should move on to less uncomfortable subjects.
"Maybe we should experiment less often?"
"I don't want to end up hurting you if you find out that you want to experiment on a permanent basis, you know?"
Caroline looked down at her latte, then shrugged, "Emotions don't come into it. Not the kind you're talking about anyway. There's a certain..fondness. But that is it."
Dani tried not to look our sound relieved by this, "I'm not saying I don't care about you. You were... You know. There for me the other night. It means a lot. It's also why I'm worried, I guess."
She held out her hand to Dani, palm up, "What do people call it? Test subjects with benefits?"
"Test subjects with benefits," Dani chuckled, and took Caroline's hand. She squeezed it a bit, then let it go.
"Let me buy you another Latte and I'll tell you ALL about this new experiment."
It was going to be a long day for Dani.