oo5 ⊗ video ⊗ fifth move ⟹ backdated to oct 5th.

[oxfordian]

[ charles is visibly distressed when he appears on the screen, this time. he's in what seems to be some underground facility, and there are other faces behind him—notably collette, emma, galadriel, raven, and others. his eyes remain closed for a second and you can hear him take a deep breath. then: ]

We have... borrowed a gentleman by the name of Richard Lawson...—from the United Earth. He is a cabinet member of the President's. Yes, the President of the United Earth. [ charles clears his throat, steels himself. ]

We've learnt a great many things about the United Earth from his head, and we feel it best to share that information with all of you, here on the Network.

[ charles states the next words with a heavy voice. ]

The President of the United Earth is not human. "He" is—artificial. Artificial Intelligence, or what you would call an A.I.. The United Earth... has never seen his face, as far as we have deduced.

We will try to answer questions about what we have learnt to the very best of our ability, but do be patient. Ah—[ he closes his eyes again, considering. then he nods as though he's made the right decision and he knows it. ]

That is all.

( note: wow i knew i forgot something like a winner. THIS TAKES PLACE DURING/AFTER these linked shenanigans: [ x ] [ x ] [ x ] [ x ] )

Comments

permavideo;

[andfutureking]

I see.

[ His voice carries a contemplative weight to it. ]

[oxfordian]

—that was something of the reaction I had anticipated. I am still... mulling over its weight, myself.

video;

[gained_a_level]

How can you be certain?

[ Cas might not be convinced unless he knew humans were capable of the kind of... thorough interrogation methods angels employed. He of course doesn't know a thing about Charles' abilities. ]

Video;

[studieswaitressing]

Oh -- trust me, he's sure.

[She looks like she's got a good mix of concerned and -- exhilarated.]

[fe_male]

No shit? An AI? Is it too early to arrange playdates?

[ He's just opening with glib he does know there's some gravitas here ]

[video]

[myownbestfriend]

Oh, I have some ideas.

[Tony, she is going to teach you how to conduct a psychic interrogation and then you'll be even warier of her than you were before.]

[Voice]

[uncalled_for]

What do you mean he's artificial?

And more importantly, how did you even find this Richard Lawson? Let alone, how do we even know he's telling the truth about the information he's given?

[Voice]

[whatsupcroc]

We took him.

[roboticharmonics]

I take it intelligent computers aren't a normal occurrence here.

Do you know why this A.I. was made and what it can do?

[oxfordian]

We do not, unfortunately. We had only access to the information that Mr Lawson had access to through his own mind; which did not include very many details.

video

[totallytrustworthy]

Woah, woah, woah. Borrowed? How?

video

[whatsupcroc]

In that sort of not entirely voluntary way that happens sometimes! In the days right after the bombings, when we were supposed to be staying underground.

[ ... Clearly, this was followed faithfully. ]

video;

[tequilaselai]

An AI? [Tali facepalms. Helmetpalms. Whatever. She sounds... not surprised, really, but definitely interested.] Of course that would be it.

Has this... "borrowed" person offered any other useful information?

[oxfordian]

We have discovered some varying things—though somewhat disjointed. It would seem that these individuals, these citizens even at the President's cabinet's level... are kept subdued with the use of some sort of daily injection.

[trustycrowbar]

An AI. In charge of an entire world government? I'd heard rumors that they could take over an institution if sufficiently advanced but... Christ. No wonder they churn out soldiers on an assembly line and stringently control absolutely everything.

[oxfordian]

You seem more familiar with the concept than I am, myself. My only experience with them is from... science fiction.

They are known to be this way entirely, even in life?

[ since apparently AIs are a real thing now even if charles isn't sure he wants to believe it ]

voice;

[ladyspitfire]

From his "head"? How? What have you done?

Voice

[inafadingcrown]

[Have a familiar voice.] He was not harmed, I assure you.

[strategic_guile]

I'm not as surprised as I should be, I think. So what does it mean, when the leader is an AI...

[oxfordian]

I do not know for certain. Not yet. I am not as familiar with the concept as others.

[permatext]

[stonefaith]

We should expect retaliation.

[oxfordian]

I had thought so, as well. We... have alerted the Initiative.

Ah, that is—they're aware. They've taken him into their own custody.

( video )

[ganking]

An AI? Like a robot? [ simple terms pls. ] And what do you mean borrowed?

[oxfordian]

He had been with a group of them—not my doing, I assure you—ah, and he was captured, in a way. To be interrogated.

Yes, a robot.

[video]

[raisedbybirds]

An AI...

[What an unfortunately familiar scenario. Many questions she would have asked have been answered already, but the familiarity does strike a lot of chords with her.]

...Does this AI have any organic components, from what you can tell?

[whatsupcroc]

I get the feeling Dick never met him in person, so no one actually knows if there are or not. Or he doesn't, and so far that means we don't either.

video;

[thornwishes]

[He'll be ticked he wasn't a part of this later. FOR NOW questions.]

What has humanity come too, if it allows a machine spirit to rule over it? [...THAT'S NOT HOW WE START THIS, EISENHORN.] And from his head?

perma video

[inafadingcrown]

Is it such a strange idea to you, of all people? [The "from his head" bit, obviously.]

permavid

[assumeddirectcontrol]

[Lookin' surprised. Really surprised.] Is he unshackled?

[oxfordian]

[ Charles nods. ]

In a way—he is in the custody of the Initiative at this moment. I believe they intend to attempt to undo all of the... conditioning he received while under the influence of this drug of theirs.

[Video]

[withazippo]

[Chuckle]

They would use an A.I., wouldn't they?

[oxfordian]

[ A little surprised. ]

Do you think they are aware? That their leader—is not human..

Ah, their citizens, I mean to say.

permatext;

[boughtabookstore]

What else did you learn?

[whatsupcroc]

A few things about life in the UE as a daily occurrence. Charlie can probably summarize them better than I can!

[video]

[f_u_wesker]

An AI?

[The look on her face shows she's familiar with the concept and not happy about it.

As if she hadn't had enough of AI's in her life, what's next? Zombies? ... Oh please, god, no.

If only she could remember how they took the Red Queen down.]

[whatsupcroc]

Alice, did they have big corrupt AI's where you're from too?

video

[confiteri]

You captured him. [ Seems legit. But wait a second─ ] From his head? How did you achieve this?

[whatsupcroc]

Have you ever heard of people who can read another person's mind?

voice

[selfloyalty]

How on earth did you extract this?

[she has no idea what an AI is either, so her her the leader not being human = monster.

~fantasy logic~]

[oxfordian]

Using my skills; I am capable of reading minds.

video

[fintastic]

[ Feferi contemplates this for a good long moment before perking up. ]

So they're robots?

[whatsupcroc]

[ Collette... giggles. ]

No! No, they're organic. But the President might sometimes be a robot. He -- she -- it? -- is always an electronic brain, no matter if it has a separate body or not to walk around in.

[video]

[trickstermentor]

Well now, that is certainly something. I suppose there's something to say in the old adage that politicians aren't really people after all~

...would it be impertinent to surmise that perhaps their Mr. President is in place for someone else's convenience?

[whatsupcroc]

For whoever did his programming, you mean?

[lessismore]

[AI? What the actual fuck.]

What do you mean 'from his head'? AI or not, you'd think the UE would protect against that sort of thing.

[Especially on someone so important.]

[oxfordian]

The citizens of the United Earth, and their President's cabinet included, appear to have been under the continual daily influence of some sort of inhibitory drug.

It only protected his mind until its effects wore off—by then it was easy to allow our telepathy through.

[onemoredeath]

Ah, interesting. I wonder how far from the chess-solving one from home this United Earth's has grown.

[oxfordian]

I imagine it has managed something much further than our imaginations should like to take us.

video;

[shamanism]

[There's a lot of information here and he's not completely sure he understands all of it. But, listening over the other explanations offered helps a little.]

Their leader is a machine? Are you certain?

[He is a bit incredulous.]

[whatsupcroc]

Dick's pretty certain, or more what Charlie and the girls learned from him makes it pretty certain.