hack-and-stab gameplay

[bu773rfly]

» WHO? Erika, 9S, and A2
» WHEN? July 12ish
» WHERE? the bar
» WHAT? a bad idea
» WARNINGS? robot violence? ROBOT VIOLENCE. also suicidal ideation. nobody is having fun

@hudie -> @nines

Can you help me test out a possible new system exploit?

I'm in the bar currently.


[And so she is.

Her invitation is not technically a lie. If A2's hacking ability outstrips 9S's, then that could, potentially, be a consideration for future projects. Not the clock issue - she'll still maintain that that's too damn much effort to go to just to not use the station clock. But other things. Higher aspirations.

She sits at the table closest to the VR room and conveniently furthest from the bar's hall door, screen up and Memetan out and typing away just as focused as ever. The rest is all A2's work - hiding, catching him, hacking him, whatever it is that she has to do. Maybe Erika will get to record it. Maybe it'll be as enlightening as she hopes it'll be.]

Comments

[a2brutus]

I could, that'd require me going back into his personal data, though. And like I said, he's not going to be happy when he gets through them all. It'll be another fight. [A2 pauses.]

Unless that's what you want.

[She really hopes not.]

[bu773rfly]

[She shakes her head immediately.]

I didn't- [...] ...Sorry. I'm sorry.

[She mumbles, mortified, not making eye contact. They just - fucking. Okay. A2 has a stab wound and 9S is locked out of his body and her mind keeps clicking through those stats like repeating them will help progress on fixing them.]

[a2brutus]

He'll be fine. He's an annoying idiot, but I'm not about to murder an android that doesn't have any way of coming back. [Which isn't a lie. Especially since she has orders to, in a word, look after him.

She's looking after him, not that she's doing a very good job.] You shouldn't be so concerned. We're sturdier than you seem to think.

[bu773rfly]

That's not the point. [The mumble just keeps receding, Erika's voice hollowed out by resignation.

She doesn't want to argue and she doesn't want to fold. One more nasty contradiction to handle. It resolves to withdrawn silence.]

...I believe you, about - you proved it.

[a2brutus]

[That's not the point, Erika says, but A2 isn't sure what the point is otherwise? It's just completely lost on her, in that moment.]

You don't like what I did.

[A2 points out, for once in her life incredibly observant. Likely because she's keenly aware of Erika and her body language, the way her voice has a subtle quiver to it.

It feels awful. It hurts, in the space where her Black Box is.]

[bu773rfly]

[There are blatant yawning gaps between the words they're exchanging, where meaning falls through, and Erika is ever wary of them. Wary of the total enigmas at her feet and across from her that look like humans and were supposed to be something like avatars or Digimon and turned out to be catastrophically different from all of the above in any of the ways relevant to her idle scheming. Wary of her own capacity to assume and overestimate and fuck things up.

She gives a tiny, affirmative nod. Yes. Correct, in singular. No further implication, no further risk. Her head is too blank for that right now.]

[a2brutus]

[See? That's what A2 doesn't get. She doesn't like... what she asked her to do?]

How else did you expect me to hack into his memories?

[bu773rfly]

[Discreetly, like in VR? From a distance? Without a serious, brutal fight?

She shakes her head mutely, words collecting and calcifying on the back of her tongue.]

I di- didn't check. Just.

[a2brutus]

Just what?

[Like, A2 needs more to go off of than this, Erika. She's trying extremely hard to understand why this might be wrong? Why a human could be disappointed with her doing what she was asked to.

More coolant drips onto the floor from the wound in A2's torso, but she's particularly unconcerned.]

[bu773rfly]

[Brain frozen! Turn it off and on again! There's a long long uncomfortable pause where she clutches her knees and watches 9S and when words come back they're coming from a few layers of detachment upwards of where most of Erika is huddling walled-off and mortified.]

Would have - would've worked like EDEN, discreet and. Proximity but not, not physical attack, I just, assumed. I didn't - ask.

[a2brutus]

That's not how we androids work. There's nothing discreet for us about being hacked. We know immediately if something or someone is messing around in our systems.

[Logic Virus excluded.]

Especially in a memory region.

[bu773rfly]

[So she picked one of the worst challenges she could have posed.

Yeah still looking at the ground here.]

...I'm sorry.

[a2brutus]

Don't worry about it. It's fine, you didn't know. [A2 pauses, looking towards 9S's prone form.] Are you going to stick around? Because I'm not. 9S is going to be pissed when he gets up, and I'm not about to stick around and make things worse. He won't be upset with you, because you're human.

[So, like. She'd like to leave, if she's done what Erika wants.]

[bu773rfly]

[. . .

She takes a deep, steadying breath and forces her grip on her knees to ease. Get it together, now. Resolve the talking part and the feeling part, tell the discomfort to sit down and be quiet, and pull up something functional.]

I'll be here. And try to explain...things. [She's worried now that 9S is going to go after A2 again, or something, and...apologies are uncomfortable and embarrassing. Things fall into place when she refocuses on a desired outcome. Prevent more fighting. Make sure her role in this is clear.

She looks up. And, it's not a steady expression, but the effort is obvious. Solemn acknowledgement and chin up and respect and all that. And a nod.]

[a2brutus]

Alright. [A2 gives her a nod in return, and ultimately leaves.

She'll contact her later, after everything has settled, to make sure she's truly alright.

(probably sometime after her roommate stops yelling at her for getting stabbed.)]

[twoaffirmations]

[It's another 15 minutes before 9S finally starts to stir. His fingers twitch first, and then his eyes shoot open as he sits up with a sharp inhale. 9S looks for A2 in a frenzy, but he only sees Erika, and his disorientation is clear as he's unable to catch his breath and his pulse hammers.]

Ahh... Hah. Damn it. [He finally mutters, looking down at the blood on his hands, on his sword clattered a few feet away. He brings a hand to push back his hair, biting down on his lip as he fully realizes his failure, but at the same time...

He remembers. As far as he can tell, everything that makes him him is here.

Pulling himself together, he addresses Erika in earnest.]

I'm glad you're okay.

[bu773rfly]

[Wanyamon makes a confused noise from his other side, tail lashing.

Erika...is trying to stay blank-faced and all business and it's not really working, her shoulders won't relax and she's watching him a bit too intently to pass for unconcerned.

...Fuck.

She fumbles words for a moment.]

-Are you alright?

[twoaffirmations]

Uh... Yeah. I think so.

[While he's worried about Erika, he's also preoccupied by his own anger. He needs to find out what A2's current location is.]

Did you see which way she went?

[bu773rfly]

Wait.

[Oof. Okay. This is going to be rough. The pull-back instinct is already reeling in hard. She has to spit it out fast, before she clams up.

Her eyes jump to Wanyamon and then hit the ground and stay there.]

This happened because I made a mistake.

[twoaffirmations]

[9S looks at her, not understanding. That inkling of doubt he'd had when A2 first attacked comes back, and he smothers it once more.]

What? No, it's not your fault. You were just caught in the crossfire.

[bu773rfly]

No. She made a claim about her abilities, and I asked her to prove it, with- without bothering to confirm what would actually happen.

[She rehearsed that in those fifteen minutes. It's the first of a few scripts waiting in the wings.]

[twoaffirmations]

...I don't understand.

[He says slowly, careful to hide the waver in his voice, and all the while he understands perfectly well what she must mean. He simply doesn't want to believe it.]

[bu773rfly]

I'm sorry.

[Believe it, dude.

Erika's voice is weird and clipped and upset-trying-not-to-be because she doesn't want to fish for pity from someone she hurt, that's disgusting.]

Apologies are kind of useless, but don't - I don't want to create a misunderstanding. This wouldn't have happened at all if I had paid attention, so blame me. I challenged her to hack you.

[twoaffirmations]

Wh-- [9S starts, but he lets out a breathless noise as he swallows back his words. He grimaces, unable to hide the look of confusion and anguish on his face.]

Why? [She asked A2 to hack him? Why did she--] Is this because I couldn't get into the control network?

[Before she can answer, he's already decided that must be it, and he hangs his head in resignation.]

So you decided to find someone else to help you out. Haha, okay. I guess I really don't have a purpose here. You humans...have made plenty of progress here without my help. [He mumbles.] All I've been doing is wasting time.

[bu773rfly]

[Oh fuck her scripts did not go down this path like at all. There's the panic again.]

That's not it. That's not it. I don't wa- it was a mistake.

[Listen! Listen! Or don't listen, because she's not worth listening to; she opens her mouth and things just get more complicated. She wants to beam intention directly into his brain. She wants to hand him a messy stack of her memories so he'll understand and stop hurting. She wants to run and hide and forget about it being her problem.

What the fuck is composure?]

It's not about, it wasn't about hurting you, I didn't believe her and I thought it would work like EDEN avatars and you wouldn't have to fight, it was a mistake. [She freezes dead for a second at a tickling sensation on her face and realizes that it's tears, because her eyes are wet, because she's freaking out, which is just absolutely fucking great. She blurts out the rest, knowing that she's got maybe eight seconds before things really go to hell in the eye goop department.] Whatever's going on now, I don't want it to- what do I have to do to fix it??