OPEN: Don't mess with Texas (because she's sick)

[a_shadow]

Who: Agent Texas, her roommates, and anyone who would care to visit her
When: After Zam's announcement of Tex's death
Where: Tex's room (Mero Deck #12)
What: Convalescing, repeat death
Warnings: Mentions of violence and blood

    Closed to Matt:

She refused medical intervention when she found herself back alive on the Moira. She's alive, that'ss what matters, and she doesn't need anyone knowing how weak she still feels or how the infection she had suffered earlier in the month still seems to be plaguing her despite her resurrection. She slowly rises from the cot when no one is nearby, carefully dresses herself in a medical uniform she finds nearby, and shuffles out into the hallway. The way to her room is slow-going, but she keeps herself under control so that no one will stop her and question her as to whether she should be out here.

Slipping into her bed, she rolls onto her back. She feels horrible. She didn't realize how weak she had been as she made her way along, but now that she's finally let herself come to a stop it's clear she had barely made it at all. Her hands go to her forehead and she pushes her hands back along her temples. She must be white as a sheet, gauging by how chilled her face seems.

    Open to all:

With some intervention by Matt and Church she's feeling better, having slept and eaten by now, and she has propped herself up with a pillow to a semi-sitting position. Since he's waiting on her hand and foot she has all the snack food and books she could desire to keep her company during the times that Church is forced to spend at work—which she insists he keep, or else his constant attention would drive her mad.

So she's amenable to it when someone knocks and she calls for them to come in.

    Closed to Church:

After a couple of days it's clear simply resting isn't going to cure whatever she's afflicted with. She can no longer sit up in bed, and she feels soent, much worse than she felt when she left the med bay. Her eyes are closed because she doesn't even have the energy to open them, but she's awake. She lets out a long sigh and reaches her hand blindly toward where Church has been waiting and watching—she could no longer convince him he needed to spend the time at work.

"Chuhhhhhh," is all she manages to utter.

Comments

/knock knock/ This AI awkward catted all the way here to see you Tex.

[needsnoface]

It had taken a while for BB to find himself outside of this particular door. Not in the sense of not finding out about what was going on, considering he was still connected to his data chip and thus the open systems of the Moira, but more on actually getting there. Walking while coming easier to him was still not as smooth and subconscious as it is for those who have been doing such for most if not all of their life.

It's only after he's hesitantly stuck his head in, his blue circuits dimmed, that he idly wonders if he's actually at any point broadcasted his new means of locomotion. Ah well, Texas was a bright sort, she'd likely catch on quickly even while ill.

"Well, it's nice to see that you are recovering a bit there. Agent Texas."

[a_shadow]

She doesn't recognize his form, nor has she been told about him being in it, but she does recognize his voice. She puts down her book and gestures with an incline of her head for him to come in.

"I'm glad you're here." She waits for him to enter and close the door before she continues. "Something's been going on with me, something that was happening before I was killed. I thought that dying would reset it, but it hasn't, and I wondered if there might be something you would know about AIs from our world that would help explain it."

[needsnoface]

"That's a worrying and broad subject, but I'll help with all that I do know."

His head tilts to the side as he starts compiling everything he's ever acquired be it fact or rumor regarding the limits of AIs.

"There are few things we factually know that can cause problems in regards to our functioning. This place does add uncertainty to the equation as well...Was there any outside factor that preluded your noticing of this change? A shift in your thinking?"

[a_shadow]

"It was when we jumped back to our own world, me and Wash and Church. I was fighting an enemy there, and I was suddenly weak. After that it got worse and worse, and then I was killed when I went on another world jump. And here I am, still suffering from...whatever it is." She glances at BB and then looks straight ahead across the bed. "I have had one thought about it. And that's how aggressive I was when I decided to try to fight."

[notglitching]

The ticking rumble that rolls into Tex's room as the door slides open is as good an announcement of her visitor as the visual. Rinzler steps closer, brushing a quick scan over the other program. The user shell she's installed in doesn't give away much data, but her energy signature seems active, if a little dim.

Rinzler's helmet ducks in a nod, reaching for his MID as the door closes behind him. Better than a vent arrival? One can only hope.

Status?

[a_shadow]

Better than a vent arrival indeed. She watches as the door closes before she responds. "Something's wrong," she says. "I'm not making a public matter out of it, but it was happening before I was killed, and it's still going on now." She pushes herself up a bit along the pillows, to sit up higher. "I was going to get another robot body from my world while I was able to get there, but I couldn't jump to it. Something was off."

[notglitching]

Jump to it. The phrase isn't hard to parse, but it still gathers a momentary stare. Rinzler hadn't realized she was able to change platforms so easily.

Still, Texas clearly thinks she should be able to, and he's not going to waste words checking if she knows her own functions. Rinzler opts instead for a different query.

Limitation: user body?

[a_shadow]

"Mm, no, Church is able to jump just fine. I don't think it has to do with the body," she says, but she frowns. "I never jumped though, since I got my robot in the mail. I got kind of...attached." She leans her head back against the pillow and sighs. "So I suppose it's possible that you're right."

[notglitching]

Reparable?

Right or wrong, that seemed like the more important concern.

[a_shadow]

"I don't know. I think my coding might be damaged, but Wash and BB know stuff about AIs from my world. They might be able to help."

[notglitching]

They. She doesn't know, then. Rinzler's stillness doesn't betray much... but there's a pause before he resumes typing.

Status update. User (ID: Washington) nonfunctional.
Experienced behavioral glitches followed by full crash.
Restoration: uncertain.

The helmet lowers a little, though Rinzler's eyes stay on Texas.

[a_shadow]

She takes this in with a small frown. "You were there when this happened?" she asks. There's no love lost between her and Wash but in a way, that's all on her. She tries not to hold him accountable for an experience he hasn't had yet, but there's always that element of tension when they speak.

[notglitching]

The enforcer nods. Hesitates. If the user had observed him glitching out, Rinzler knows he wouldn't appreciate the data being spread. But the request for help had been public, and some details...

Incoherent vocalizing.

Repeated reference: goodbyes.
Alpha.
Allison.

There's no face to be seen, no expression. But the way the helmet fixes on Texas? Is just a little too deliberate to be casual.

Some details are relevant.

[a_shadow]

She freezes for a moment, then relaxes. "I'm not Allison," she says. "Or at least, not the one he's talking about." She knows he probably read that information off of her when he'd detected her AI status, as well as Church's alternate ID of Alpha.

[notglitching]

The helmet angles a little to the side. Not what he'd expected, maybe, but at least she's not denying the association. And Rinzler doesn't miss the lack of a denial for her counterpart.

Connection?

[a_shadow]

She lets out a little huff, accompanied with a small roll of the eyes. "Yeah, there's a connection."

What that connection is is not her favorite topic, but it's come up, so she's not going to be coy. She looks to one side.

"Church is based on a scientist who lost someone, a woman named Allison who was special to him. Church couldn't handle her memory hanging out in his systems, so he kicked it out and made me." A miracle of modern computing, really. Not that Tex likes to think about that part. She looks back at Rinzler, as though defying him to kick up some kind of fuss.

[notglitching]

Out of all the possibilities Rinzler had expected, that... really, really hadn't been on the list. It's not hard to miss the stutter of sound, or the blank, almost incredulous freeze of the enforcer's frame. Church (ID: Alpha) had his user's memories?

The concept is bizarre, but if it's any comfort, Rinzler's shock doesn't seem to be aimed at Texas' nature. If anything, that part seems straightforward—at least, not compared to the rest. She's a program made to simulate behavior. That doesn't mean she doesn't have her own.

Data appreciated.

Correlation: user-reference "Epsilon"?

Washington had acquired memories from a program called Epsilon. Church had memories of a woman called Allison. Wash called out her name repeatedly while glitching.

He's most of the way there already.

[a_shadow]

She sighs. "After I split off they decided to try to split Church more. They...they hurt him. Tortured him. Epsilon is the part of him that remembered all of it. And Wash is the one who was partnered with Epsilon."

She hadn't expected this to be emotionally taxing, but it is. At least Church doesn't have to stand by and listen to this conversation. She lets her head droop back against the pillow.

[ergon]

[ He doesn't see her so much as sense her through her vital signs, that distinctive, familiar scent that sets people apart from one another. It's an invasive gift, for sure -- but one he keeps under wraps unless asked. Her pulse is irregular, fluttering, and when he returns he simply pauses at the doorway and regards her. ]

Shouldn't you still be in the med bay? [ He doesn't have a moral high ground on nagging people about medical care, really, but what Tex doesn't know about his history won't hurt her. ]

[a_shadow]

Yeah. Maybe.

[ She's noticed his ability to pick out details that don't seem to make sense for a blind man to realize, but she doesn't ask. She just rolls with it, especially times like right now when she has other things on her mind. ]

I just felt better about recovering here.

[ergon]

[ He steps inside after a moment, frowning. She's troubled -- he can pick that up from her tone, and Matt delicately toes the line between being concerned and prying. ]

Problem with the staff? [ More importantly: ] Can I help you with anything?

[a_shadow]

No I just—

[ wanted to be close to Church ]

—I like my privacy. I didn't want to have to have visitors there.

[ Meaning, she knew Church would moon over her for being ill, and she didn't want his demonstrative behavior to be seen by others.

At his question, she purses her lips for a moment. ]

Church is going to bug you about how I'm doing when he's not around. Just tell him...you know, encouraging things. Like how I seem to be getting stronger in your opinion. That kind of thing. If he thinks I'm getting worse he'll be here all the time and it'll be counter-productive.

[ergon]

I'll take care of it.

[ He assures her. It hadn't taken long for Matt to get her measure, to know her dislike for being fussed over. Matt pauses for a moment to make sure that nothing's off about her vital signs before he nods, moving over to pour her a glass of water. If something turns up, he'll get one of the staff here; but until then, he'll respect her wishes. ]

Go and rest. [ He holds it out to her. ] Here.

[a_shadow]

Thank you.

[ She takes it, watching him. ]

Can I ask you a question? Are you—

[ She swallows it for a second. He is blind, she knows he is, yet...there's something— ]

...are you differently-abled in some way? Are...are you an AI?

[ This is a much easier explanation for her to understand than others, being an AI in a human body herself, though she's not sure whether Matt has realized she and Church are AIs. Even though Church does have a habit of cruising the ship in his robot body, leaving his human body in a coma in the bed. She's gotten on his case for doing that, even though if her own robot was working she'd probably do the same thing. ]

[ergon]

[ Well, here's a question he doesn't hear very often.

People usually asked other questions with varying degrees of courtesy, and Matt fielded them easily -- it hadn't always been that way, but he figures if they were going to keep coming, why not figure out a way to handle it?

His brows raise just a touch as he considers his answer. ]

No, I'm not. [ He says mildly. ] I hear when one sense gets taken away, the others compensate.

[ In his case, his other senses compensate to an immense, practically inhuman degree, but Matt doesn't intend to blow his cover, even if he's in a giant metal can that's racing somewhere within the vast reaches of the universe. A moment, and he turns it back on her. ] Does it bother you?

[a_shadow]

It doesn't bother me, I'm just trying to make sense of it.

[ There's things she's noticed him perceiving that don't make sense, even with an enhanced sense of hearing or smell. But god, she's weak and faint and barely coherent right now. She sighs and closes her eyes. ]

If that's what you want to say it is, whatever I guess.

[ergon]

You should be resting.

[ He tells her firmly, pleased that she's at least off the subject. ] Have you eaten anything?

[a_shadow]

No. I left the med bay and came here.

[ Barely made it, at that. She's not about to admit that though, least of all to herself. ]