viii. video

[firstroar]

[he's in the process of tilting this device to its proper angle as this turns on, and only a beat passes before he stills, his expression drawn but placid.]

Should you find yourself, throughout all these wanderings in this world's time...standing at the very moment the United Earth's rule handed over to a computer, what do you believe you would do? If you know yourself well enough to know.

This precise moment is unknown to us. The chance is there. And it being so critical to everything about our current state... [a slight pause, mouth pressing into a thin line.]

I feel it something that needs consideration among us.

[another beat, and he shifts to turn the public feed off.]



[private filter to CABLE begins directly after that click, and Blue settles a moment to collect his thoughts and stifle some apprehension.]

Cable. We have not spoken for a time...with all that has happened, I believe you would not find it so strange.

But I hope, as we are...kindred, in a sense, that I could speak to you. Of something I believe you to be particularly knowledgeable...and capable of.



[a beat. he nods faintly, ending the message and switching the feed to a private filter to RAIDEN:]

Raiden. May I speak with you? In regards to your world...and this one.



[another pause, and that message is closed.

after a few minutes of thought, he turns on a private filter to SOFIYA:]

Sofiya... [a hesitation.] I would like to speak to you again, should you have time.

Comments

[Video]

[explodewiththerage]

[That kind of scenario has only one possible answer in Natsu's head.]

I'd blow it up so hard nothing but charred pieces and puddles of metal would be left.

[firstroar]

[the precise kind of response he's braced himself for; Blue doesn't even blink.

mildly:] The people there, too?

Voice

[wilder]

At that precise moment?

[a pause]

Nothing, probably.

[firstroar]

Utterly nothing?

this jack was supposed to come way earlier sorry

[terrot]

[ there's a sound in the background like cards being shuffled, dealt on a table. ]

You fear inevitability, that your actions will have no affect on the ultimate outcome. But isn't the lie of that at the heart of our methods here? Perhaps the right action would give us what we need in the present to shape the future.

text.

[overclocking]

Are you asking what would become of the computer, or the people who handed it along?

That's two different things.

[firstroar]

More than two. It's a great risk, with a lot at stake. But the question is what would anyone do, standing at that moment.

[text]

[legal_eagle]

[She debates a moment, but then decides text is the best way to go.]

You know, my friends call me Sonya.

[firstroar]

[a hesitation, reading that. feeeelings.

but he'll happily oblige text and turn that video off.]

May I as well, then?

[voice]

[anotheryosuke]

... Eh?! They're ruled by a tyrant A.I. thing? You know, that actually explains a lot.

[...]

Can't we just do that thing where we, like, feed a virus to the A.I. so it comes on our side or have one of our A.I.s talk it over? Or maybe just make their A.I. evil -- er, more evil? evil in the right direction? -- so it totally takes down their empire for us. [Hmm, he's thinking hard about this.] Or! Or, or we have one of our A.I. infiltrate their A.I., so they think they're taking orders from their evil supercomputer but it's actually one of our guys!

I think we can do all of that, right?

[firstroar]

[he squints a little as he listens, slipping back into the neutral mask near the end of it.]

You suggest one machine ruled by one set of man-made logic attempt to reason with another built up with another set.

voice;

[terrot]

Do you think that could be done? To convince the A.I. to simply...act in our best interests rather than those it has been programmed with?

[Audio]

[strategic_guile]

Probably nothing substantial, because being uneasy about it doesn't count. At that point, what could a normal citizen do? There are very few who could overturn a monumental decision like that.

[firstroar]

Has it never been the case, in the history of your own world? So-called normal people making great changes.

[ private | video ]

[oldsoldiersneverdie]

Of course - what was it?

[firstroar]

[his shoulders drop a little with his breath. relief.

but they tense up rather quickly with the vein of thought he's got.]

I need your understanding. Crises like these...you're familiar with them beyond this, aren't you?

text

[infiltrative]

Study the programming, copy it if possible. Maybe bug it.

But basically gather as much information from it as possible to bring back here.

[firstroar]

[a pause for thought.]

You would seek to understand it more thoroughly, rather than destroy it outright without knowing the extent of its capabilities.

video;

[cantic]

Destroy it. While a temporary solution, it might at least buy some time.

[firstroar]

[there's a pause, considering the look of her, and the words.]

You wouldn't fear the repercussions of the timeline's fracture?

[crocodilesmiles]

( Blue, is this mental exercises day? )

Uh, honestly, at that exact moment? I'd think, "wow, okay, now let's get to the source and pull the plug before this set-up comes to fruition." 'Cause at that exact moment, I think I'd have a better idea of what went on before to lead up to it, and since we don't have to fight going forward into the future only, I'd probably think about tracing back to prevent it from being a total jerk so we can keep talking to it or changing it over time later.

Do we know if it's been programmed to anything in particular? Some things you literally can't work around, if you're programmed a certain way... I'd wonder if we could do that, once we knew exactly how and when it was stepping into power.

[firstroar]

[every day should be a mental exercise, Collette! this is a marathon.

that said, he has to work to keep neutrality on his face. he's fond of her and how she responds like this. dang it.]

If there's any deep understanding of its programming, I'm not aware of it. I can only base it on my own experiences, in my own world.

[voice-private]

[highfrequency]

Yeah...I'm here.

[firstroar]

[his expression softens for a beat, but he regroups to placidity again.]

We spoke before...About the similarities we saw in the United Earth's commanding computer to things we've experienced in our own worlds. Your thoughts, particularly, are ones I want to know.

[a pause, thinking.]

There may be a way to pinpoint the key moments of its birth.

[voice]

[demonbloodblade]

My initial impulse is to destroy it - everything possible. Decapitation strike, use the chaos caused to get some of our people in to find a way to change things.

And we've already changed the past, so we know it can be changed.

But I don't understand the technology well enough to give a better answer. There may be better, more subtle ways to improve things.

[firstroar]

[he barely bats an eye, anticipating destruction as the first answer. which is...sad. Blue, please. have some faith.]

Simply striking, making one's self known there may be the strongest ripple to change things.

[video]

[quisling]

Besides trying to stop it? It's hard to say. There's a lot of variables in the situation that we wouldn't know until we were actually there to see it ourselves.

[firstroar]

[his gaze flickers only for a moment, recognizing him from such a brief conversation. nice to have a memory that works.]

It is true. And yet some could argue it can't be helped, and follow the impulses of what feels right to do, right then and there.

[voice;]

[sorrowfulcry]

[aaah, fuck. It would be his luck to check the network when a question that hit so close to home was near the top]

People will die either way. You're just changing the 'who' and 'how', so we might as well deal with the punches as they come.

[then;] Even if the Initiative can't do a damn thing on their own.

[firstroar]

They've brought hundreds of faraway people and creatures to their world. The difference for them, too, was "who" and "how." [yes? that seems right.]

video

[khajidont]

[After some thought, he's decided to tackle this one as Beetle.]

Get a copy of it, maybe? I mean, if it's man-made it won't do a whole lot to just destroy it. I don't think they're stupid enough to make something that advanced but only make the one copy of it.

[firstroar]

[hello, blue. it's blue.]

Something this sophisticated is not the same as it was ages ago. It has evolved, and has been evolving well before its induction as the ruling element we know it as.

[nosebleeds]

I'd kick some ass, pretty much. S'what I'm good at.

[firstroar]

To you, it's right to do?

action;

[terrot]

[ physis takes a seat next to him, slipping a hand beneath his cape to wrap around his back. the whole ordeal is clearly tiring to him, but she's here to guide and support him through it. it's what she does best. ]

What do you think of the answers you've received so far?

action;

[firstroar]

[he leans into this gesture without little fight; it's taxing, all this. his body feels very heavy with the weight of all this – questions and then some. the element of time makes it all so much more complicated...war and survival is ]

Every answer proposes a dozen new questions. [and what is right? doing nothing is the only thing that's wrong.]