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

[raisedbybirds]

[There's a pause as if she repeats to herself what she just told her. watch a bunch of Star Trek...]

These are... a fictional race, then.

[TV's that thing you do in your free time, right...]

[whatsupcroc]

Totally fictional! I hope. I really don't want to meet any of those guys. They're total jerks, and they're so one track mind about it!

[raisedbybirds]

A one track hive mind, huh.

[whatsupcroc]

Pretty much! Like ants or bees.

[raisedbybirds]

And how were these Borg defeated...?

[whatsupcroc]

No idea! I'm not a big Star Trek fan, I'm sorry.

[raisedbybirds]

[Hn.]

We'll find a more practical way to defeat this AI, I'm sure of it.

[She's done it many times before.]

[whatsupcroc]

Have you done it before?

[raisedbybirds]

I have, several times over.

It'll be important to ensure it doesn't get rebuilt, willingly or not. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing your hard work undone.

[whatsupcroc]

I'm hearing some people talking about making sure we take out all nodes and back-ups at once. Do you know any way to track down how many of those there are? Or to see if this world has a massive wireless network?

[raisedbybirds]

[She tilts her head, as if she has all her options in front of that visor of hers and she's mulling them over.]

I don't think there's a reliable way to track down back-ups or copies... A wireless network should be relatively easy to detect, dependent on how close we are and how powerful our equipment is.

If they have one, I'm willing to bet it's protected, too.

[whatsupcroc]

This is making me wish I was a whole lot better with computers than I really am.

[ Internal groan. MARCO, WHY DID YOU LEAVE? ]

[raisedbybirds]

...

[It's a bit of an awkward pause. She recognizes everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and words of comfort definitely are a weakness for Samus.]

What are you good at?

[whatsupcroc]

All kinds of things! Go Fish, making noodles, races, flying, swimming, talking, checking things out, getting people to smile, making ice cream, reading, making smiley faces...

[raisedbybirds]

[This insightful list is full of many (read: almost all) things Samus is not good at. She 'hrms' under the helmet.]

Reading is a computer-related skill.

[Read. About computers.]

[whatsupcroc]

I guess so! For like... reading things off computers. Stuff about the X-Games and all. Unless you mean reading about computers? That sounds...

[ boring ]

... boring.