reconstruction | OVERFLOW/OPEN.

What do androids do for fun?

I hope that isn't an insensitive question. I promise it's all in the spirit of cultural exchange.

[things people have never asked him before: level 1. things Connor hasn't given much thought to: level 5]

I don't think it's insensitive, it's natural to be curious.
It would depend on the android and if they are deviant. Personally, I think I enjoy walking dogs, and spending time with whom I would consider friends.

[error! software instability! he doesn't really know!]

You think?

[ Isn't enjoyment supposed to be something you just know? ]

Thinking for myself is a new concept I'm getting used to.
Until recently, I didn't register what may be "fun" or not. I understand it, but it wasn't in my programming to experience it. What do you like to do for fun?

[give him ideas]

I'm enthusiastic about teaching American history, and in my free time, I enjoy participating in my community's active social scene by being a card-carrying member of its many clubs and associations.

[ ...Too much for an android who barely knows what 'fun' is? ]

I like reading books and watching movies. Have you tried that?

[flashback to when he said he's happy to be working but only because he was programmed to say he was happy to be working]

You did strike me as a very social individual. You must excel at teaching.

I'm able to process several billions of information per second. I have plenty of books and movies on file, but I've never sat down to read a book or watch a movie. [he speedy] I understand that people enjoy taking time out of their day to do hobbies like that, though. What are your favorites?

I like old pre-war classics. You know, tales of heroism, good deeds, people working together for a common cause.

[ Lord of the Rings would be her shit. ]

It's not always about the story, though. Just knowing it wouldn't be the same without book club or family movie night.

I see.

A book club is not something I've ever thought to participate in, but I'd like to. Maybe we can go together.

[how to: be friends?]

[ a-awww 🥺 ]

I'd love to! :)

[ A bit worried he might start citing academic texts for his thoughts on the literature, but they'll cross that bridge when they get to it... ]

By the way -- you said you have a dog? I haven't seen many of those. We didn't have them, where I'm from.

You didn't? That's unfortunate, they make great companions. Would you like to meet him sometime?

[see attached photo!]

To clarify, he's not my dog, he's my friend's dog. His name is Sumo.

[wait, is this fun? is he having fun?? sorry Hank he's stealing your dog for the purpose of fun, Sumo needs the exercise anyway.]

The only authority they have is in the levels of their blood alcohol content and amount of money they carry in their pockets. I don't think that counts, but they do.

She is very determined to spend as much of her father's money as possible. The two of them seem to have a strained relationship.

alcohol certainly inspires a special kind of boldness in humans, doesn't it?

( he may be speaking from experience, even if he can't get drunk anymore. )

unfortunately, not an uncommon story with situations like these

you want your kid to succeed and try to make life easier for them but by the time you realize you've spoiled them rotten, it's already too late to fix it

money also just seems like a regular invitation for conflict anyway
we might have struggled during and after the Depression, but I think I still prefer having had that

It does. Is it really too late to fix? People can change, in my experience.

If I'm understanding you correctly, you would have preferred living in the environment the Depression created?

it isn't always too late, but people have to want to change to be able to change, no?

with the cases in question, usually they're already at a point where they don't care what anyone else thinks anymore so the imperative is lacking

no, not so literally as such
let me rephrase

I would rather be humbled by a lack of wealth than be jaded from an affluence of it

Sometimes it can happen without realizing it. In the end, everyone has a choice. She's young, I'd like to believe she has the capability.

[if North were here she'd smack him for that tbh]

Another form of wealth would appear, humans will do anything for power. It isn't a cycle easily broken. But, I can understand where you're coming from.

sure
I wouldn't disagree with that possibility

but a lot of decisions we make were made before we really made them though
personality defines a lot

( she would absolutely be right in doing so, tbh.

there's a pause as he tries to process how to reply to the last part, though. an unnecessarily long pause. )

do you think I would do anything for power?

If someone wants to change, I think they will. I've noticed that some humans are satisfied with being unhappy, though. I don't understand that.

Your version of 'anything' and mine are going to be different, but ... not anything, no.

because change requires work that many don't want to do
and change can be scary
did deviancy feel entirely natural to you?

different how? what do you see 'anything' as?

It didn't feel normal, but it felt right.

Anything would be doing what you have to do, with or without morals. Morals are unique to each person, but right and wrong are typically understood by society. It would come down to what you're comfortable with. You don't seem like the type of person to do anything just for power. Am I wrong?

it's not knowing if it will be right or not that holds people back
if it feels wrong or doesn't work, what then? your existence isn't what you thought it was
make sense?

you're not wrong
the fact I am what I am now has deterred me enough from ever seeking power
knowledge, maybe, but not power in the way you're meaning

No, from what I've seen, it isn't that simple.

Are you happy with where you are in life now?

no? how would you describe it then?

and happiness isn't something I really think about
for my own sake

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I was agreeing with you. It isn't just right or wrong that has someone act on something. There are other factors to it, too. The consequences of those actions.

Why is that?

oh
right
okay

yeah it can get pretty complicated even just figuring it out from your own perspective, but usually there are always others around you too

happiness isn't really needed for the mission, is it?

( he's trying to frame it in a way that's easier to understand, though of course happiness isn't something connor was programmed to feel directly either, without deviancy. reacting in a way humans perceive to be joy is the closest most androids get to the feeling itself. )

Don't most people want others with like-minded beliefs around them?

[oh. this feels uncomfortable.]

No, but that's implying you're always on a mission. [except, that's all Connor had been: on, on, on. never off, never free.] If you want to talk to me about that, you're welcome to.

9 hours with no food is an easy way to predict a hangover. You're welcome.

[oh, that is a hard hitting question.]

I do have memories that are unpleasant, even things I wish I hadn't done. But erasing them won't erase the past and I have to live with that. Isn't that a part of living?

In my defence, we're talking in terms of a marathon, not a consecutive sprint. I appreciate your forethought, nonetheless. I trust everything else was in order.

[ When you're trying to run back a slightly messy stretch of time and can't pin down exactly when Connor would have been in there... or what other mess he might have seen... Dulling the edges off the day and night working a little too well there. ]

Could you erase them if you wanted to?

Though I suppose you're right about that. We have that in common.

Edited 2024-06-24 04:02 (UTC)

Marathons also require an adequate amount of hydration. You had none of that, so I worked with what I could. Everything was fine.

I have the capability, but I don't want to. They're a part of what makes me who I am. [instead of what he is.] Would you erase memories if you could?

I know there are worse things to smell like, but this is not ideal.

[?!?!]

I'm tracking your location and will be calling you a cab.

❌🚕
i'm fine

You are not fine.
Do I have to get you myself?

FIIIINE I AM FINE WE ARE ALL FINE
✨✌😚🌱🧵💖🏴‍☠️

The excessive use of emojis suggests the opposite. Please hydrate.

[one minute later:]

:(

💦🥤🍺🍵☕🍷🍸🍹🍶🍻🍾🥂🥛🍼🧉🚰

[what does this mean!!!]

Kimiko, you have had too much to drink. I'm coming to get you.

[ he told her to hydrate! ]

👍✌🚕🤷🏻‍♀️🌱

[ok this much is known..... he dislikes emojis now.]

Message me when you're home safely.

🏠👍
👉👈

How do you feel about humans

[coming in hot with the complicated questions here.]

I feel relatively neutral toward them, but I lean more positively than most androids. I recognize that my experience with them wasn't as traumatic as others, but there are good people in the world. I'm...grateful that I have the capacity to consider my feelings of them at all. It wouldn't be possible without them, even if that wasn't their intention.

Why do you ask?

[ just wait, ]

Have you ever had the experience that one human made you feel differently about the majority?

I'm curious.

Our situations are incredibly different, but we still stand as outsiders to humanity. I was never meant to feel any more than you were.

Yes. I formed an unexpected friendship with my partner and Lieutenant, Hank Anderson.

I'm still exploring the spectrum of human emotions. The large ones are easier to understand, but there are a lot of intricacies about them that I struggle with. I think about the 'why' a lot, and from what I've learned, this is a common experience shared by everyone.

Your superior?

Do you struggle to identify your feelings? I think, for me personally, that's the most difficult part. I can identify the presence of emotion vs. the absence, but translating the physiological sensation into a concrete emotion with a label is challenging. Sometimes I don't know what I'm feeling until I've already reacted.

Hi there. I heard there's some fun things going on in Detroit and wanted to see if I could help. I'm a really big fan of yours.

[ This comes directly to Connor, not to any kind of inbox-- more like android-to-android communication. Attempts to trace it back would meet a blank wall (maintained by the Machine) and Root's calling card as simply #root. ]

[multiple attempts are made (and subsequently fail) to track the source of the message. he scans his database and is unsuccessful. connecting to a computer to look for words and sources related to the calling card root also comes up empty. what he does know for certain is that she isn't an android.]

I would not define the circumstances in Detroit as 'fun'.
Who are you?

[he can guess how she knows about him; he's the deviant hunter, publicly working with law enforcement. but connecting to him privately is another story. whoever this is shouldn't be able to do this.]

[ Root has left a little bit of a trail as a hacker, but nothing that would connect to the name "root" itself. And her real name she hasn't used in almost twenty years. Meanwhile, she knows there's no point in keeping up the game too long, given their communication method. She easily could've chosen to come in under a false name, but the Machine told her to take this approach, so that's what she's doing. ]

Different tastes, I guess. Call me Root. My boss is a little shy but wanted to offer my services. I hope you don't think Elijah Kamski is the only one to have figured out artificial intelligence.

Hello, Root.
I don't. Russia and China have developed their own android technology after CyberLife. It's out there, so long as someone knows what to do with it.

What kind of services are you offering?

Please, let's not act like you're comparable with something developed by Russia or China.

[ Much less the Machine. Anyway, she's never been asked that outright before, and Root has to take a moment to couch her real response into something more palatable. Something a little less semi-reformed assassin and hacker. ]

I'm a skilled combatant and good at pretending to be someone I'm not. Very familiar with the criminal underworld. And good with computers 😘

OVERFLOW/OPEN.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

TFLN ⇝ counterstep

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

TFLN ⇝ unascending

ty❣️

:)

TFLN ⇝ yeahmagnets

TLFN ⇝ fpdg

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

un:castiel → text

♥

🩵🩵🩵

no subject

no subject

no subject

wait but im so excited about this

AHHHH <3

no subject

no subject