[closed] i might be wrong, i might be wrong

[alan_1]

Who: Alan Bradley and Prometheus
When: Mid-February
Where: Business district of Kauto R1
What: Prometheus runs into Alan scoping out AI in the business district and has Some Questions.
Warnings: Probably nothing, will update if needed.



[It’s not a “store.” The attendants make it very clear that it isn’t a “shop” or “market,” either. Such words imply that they’re selling merchandise and, as they assure Alan multiple times, that isn’t the case. Merchandise, after all, cannot make it’s own decisions about who purchases employs it. Instead, the business is framed more as a kind of hiring fair, where people in need of an AI’s services can connect with AI in need of a function or system. If the two parties come to an agreement, they can sign a contract that obliges the AI to work for the user for a pre-decided amount of time. It’s all very above-board, the attendants assure him. Certainly it’s more consideration given to the AI and programs on Earth.

That doesn’t mean Alan is at all comfortable as he browses the AI available. There are AI housed in systems, AI uploaded into mobile forms, and even AI with holographic manifestations, like Black Box and Delta. There’s also no shortage of available functions, from companionship to security, to everything in between. The MCP has provided Alan with a basic framework to look for (and not a few features not to look for), but even with specifics in mind, there are a number of options – all of them out of his price range. And even if they were, he’s not sure how he’s supposed to go about explaining that he’s not employing them for their function, but for research – that in all likelihood, he’d be looking at their code, copying pieces of it, building something new.

In the end, he’s almost relieved he can’t actually afford a contract. And he’s anxious enough to leave that he doesn’t think much about who he might run into on his way out...]

Comments

Tron:Legacy is playing on TV right now; nice timing!

[trap_factory]

[Prometheus hasn't bothered trying to find a housing unit, nor has he really tried to plant roots in this place. There was no point if Pandora wasn't here, no reason to want to plant roots when, over a year later, he still hasn't figured out where she is. How she is. How to get around the wall Albert had installed that prevented him from properly self-terminating. (Where was she?)

Instead, he turns to other parameters to keep his mind off the infinite loop (always) playing in the back of his mind. Collect information, find Chosen Ones, the usual except that none of it comes as easily as it did back when he was in Legion controlled districts. At the end of the day, all of it always came back to Pandora--

Except when-

He'd been avoiding Alan Bradley and his programs. Rinzler's bullheaded stupidity and Alan's own bleeding heart complex had put Prometheus on edge in a way he hasn't felt in centuries. He hated it (hated them, because it was easier that way anyway). But they say that curiosity killed the cat, and Prometheus had never been able to look away from items of interest. And Alan's tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve just made him into such a fascinating target; like his fascination with the consoles back on the Collective or the conflicted way he had looked when going through Life After Death]

It's as if you're utterly incapable of being subtle.

[picked up on Radar and spotted with all the skill of someone accustomed to infiltration missions, sneaking up on humans was cakewalk. Sneaking up on humans clearly preoccupied with their own thoughts?

A joke]

Now then, Alan Bradley, what has you so troubled this time? [comes the lazy drawl as Prometheus walked up to the human. He tilts his head, eyes travelling to the storefront that the man had just walked out from and his smile widens] ... Now what could you possibly want from a place like this? Most people would have learned their lesson after being turned into the pariah of the ship.

nice soundtrack for tagging to!

[alan_1]

[Of course he runs into Prometheus. The AI seems to catch him at every misstep, every questionable location. Alan stops for him, ill-advised as that may be.]

I wasn’t aware I had an audience, [he says to Prometheus’s jab about subtlety. He isn’t exactly happy about being caught at the storefront, but he hasn’t actually done anything wrong, as much as Prometheus likes to speculate about his intentions.

The remark about the recoding incident on the ship is not unexpected – it seems to be a favorite topic of Prometheus’s – but the accusation still carries a sting. As if Alan’s only interest in AI could be in recoding them.

And yet in this case, it isn’t so far from the truth.]

Believe it or not, I don’t have anything sinister planned. [He levels a pointed look at Prometheus. Don’t you have something more interesting you could be doing?] It looked interesting, so I went inside.

[A lie, Alan knows, but given Prometheus’s cynicism towards Alan’s interest in AI, the last thing he wants to do is to let him know that he’s thinking of making one.]

[trap_factory]

With that demeanor, you'll wind up attracting one.

[if the Reploid knew what Alan thought of him, he'd laugh. How far from the mark was the man's theories! But credit where it's due... It's better to be suspicious than to be far too trusting]

Hahaha! Why so defensive? I was one of the only people aboard who realized you didn't have it in you to reprogram Rinzler. Besides... [Prometheus turns to look at the storefront, unphased by the look Alan gives him] No one here would complain. They've probably seen stranger things.

[a laugh] At the very least, they might not remember to. Memories are a fickle thing for us all.

... If it makes you feel any better, I don't doubt your intentions - [Prometheus wonders if Alan even knows how to be an evil mastermind] - it's just a question of whether you actually learn or not. For an innocent man, you have such a guilty look about you.

[alan_1]

[Alan wonders how much truth there is to Prometheus’s implications about the store. There have clearly been attempts made to protect the AI offering their services there—but not all of them are in much position to defend themselves if their “employer” decides to alter them with or without their consent.]

Believe me, it’s not intentional. [“Guilty” isn’t too far from the mark, though. For all that Alan believes what he’s pursuing is right—necessary, even—he’s painfully aware of how much could go wrong along the way.

Funny, how he’s been creating AI his whole life, but only now that he’s preparing to do it intentionally does he find himself stumbling over these pitfalls.]

Maybe I’m just not used to places like this in my own world.

[trap_factory]

[there's a quiet chuckle at Alan's comment about intention] Of course not. [The man's spending so much time agonizing over his own choices and mistakes... Is this how people are supposed to react to the concept of creating AI? Or was Alan Bradley just an outlier?]

[Prometheus gestures away from the store] Since you seem so uncomfortable, maybe we should take our leave? No point sticking around and making yourself for feeling worse over something you haven't even done yet. Kinda makes one wonder...

Come on, let's go.

[alan_1]

[Alan isn’t so sure he wants to follow Prometheus anywhere, but he’s not about to stay at the store either. He was already on his way out anyway and he’s certainly not going to change course just because Prometheus is there.

That said, he doesn’t so much as follow Prometheus as head in the same general direction as him. At least, that’s what he tells himself.]

I don’t suppose they had places like that where you’re from. [It’s a guess, though Alan is curious about the true answer. He can’t imagine Prometheus standing in a place like that patiently advertising his services. But neither does he believe he ran into the AI out of coincidence. Either Prometheus was there because he saw Alan and wanted to have another of their chats, or because he too was interested in the store.

Alan’s just slightly irked that he isn’t sure which is more likely.]

[trap_factory]

Hahaha! No, of course not. [comes the flippant answer but Prometheus doesn't bother leaving any time for the other man to respond (or even interpret what he meant by that answer)] What came first, the frame of the soul? In my case, it would be both. You have a task to perform so you design and frame and AI to suit that task. And before you start assuming the worst, mechaniloids have elementary programs running them. Sense motion? Activate security protocol. Things like that.

Something about improving quality of life for everyone? Haha~

[he doesn't look like he's paying attention to where he's going, but he's walking away from the store even if he's staying within the business district. Better than nothing? (Where was he going? Does he even have a goal? Life sucks when you've got no purpose in it)]

[alan_1]

[Alan’s not sure where Prometheus is going, but he’s interested enough in what he’s saying to follow along. In some ways, Prometheus’s creation doesn’t sound too different from that of a program; there’s a task that needs doing, so someone creates something designed to handle it. It is, Alan thinks, a rather depressing way to go about creating life.]

And what task were you made to perform?

[Something combat-oriented, Alan would guess. He had seen that Prometheus could easily defend himself during the Caducan attack—at least, when he decided defending himself was worth it.]