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💻 Programming & Robotics Club Mingle 🤖
Who: Club members & anyone else who feels like dropping by!
When: October, during club hours after class ends
What: ??? club shenanigans
Warnings: TBA... please do not murder anyone in the workshop, there's delicate equipment in here
Programming/Robotics Club is held in the workshop on the 2nd floor of the school. There's no official schedule, mainly because Add tends to just... live in the workshop, basically, so club members are welcome to show up whenever. The room is generally kept tidy, with supplies and scrap electronics stored in a locked closet while the room isn't in use. Two highly advanced computers are available for anyone to use, or you can build/bring your own computer.
Before you can enter club area, however, you first must get past the club bodyguard...
When: October, during club hours after class ends
What: ??? club shenanigans
Warnings: TBA... please do not murder anyone in the workshop, there's delicate equipment in here
Programming/Robotics Club is held in the workshop on the 2nd floor of the school. There's no official schedule, mainly because Add tends to just... live in the workshop, basically, so club members are welcome to show up whenever. The room is generally kept tidy, with supplies and scrap electronics stored in a locked closet while the room isn't in use. Two highly advanced computers are available for anyone to use, or you can build/bring your own computer.
Before you can enter club area, however, you first must get past the club bodyguard...
no subject
Knowing this place...
[Murder or the like, yeah. It's weird. He can trust Ranger to get exactly what he means even by implication, they're on the same kind of wavelength... and after the disaster with Helena that's still been on his mind. Are they just the same kind of creature now?
(He's been trying not to think about the fact that a certain co-worker could show up here.)]
...Is there a reason you're here?
[Same tone as 'can I help you?' when you're doing something you're not supposed to in a store.]
no subject
'Cause you looked like you were scratching your head about something before, so I got curious.
[ He flips from the card to the winged ice cream cone, considering for a brief moment. Then, finally seeming to discern that Shin is not a mind reader, he adds: ]
S'what I'm supposed to do.
[ There's no particular emotion to that simple fact. It simply is, like everything else about his life. He had, truthfully, assumed that it would be picked up on by this person, who was already familiar enough with chunks of code and their purpose. However infinitely close he came to being human, Ranger wasn't one, and he never could be. He could only support them. ]
no subject
[He's puzzled in turn and it's kind of a bit telling, in a way. Shin had been sort of putting him in the same category as the Attraction dolls; obstacles made to torment them. He sure was successful enough at it, and Shin never saw him get shot for it and wasn't looped into the group enough for anyone who was there to care to tell him. So the words Ranger and helpful showing up in the same mental sentence feels incongruous.
He knows Ranger must have died in order for Sara to get the chip (and end up here even, and isn't that a philosophical quandary solved?) but assumed that it was because his... usefulness was... done... ........hm. He hasn't forgotten that 'no use for anyone who can't keep up'.
The chip itself was strange with this in mind as well, full of information that absolutely didn't need to be there, but the entire thing was just... so disgustingly overwrought and wasteful in it's cruelty in general; he had that minor disagreement with Sara about it. How much went into making doll Reko alone... Not that it would have been better if they'd all been rounded into some empty abandoned parking lot with guns and told to keep picking each other to be shot, really, but it does hit a deep vein of lava-like bitter anger he was surprised to first discover.]
no subject
[ Ranger lifts his index finger to stop and response though, head tilting and gaze moving up as he seems up consider something for several seconds. It's an unusual sight for Ranger, who was so often quick and decisive in his decisions. How much to say, and how to explain it in terms that a layman could understand.
Eventually his gaze drops back down to Shin's project, and he gives a small nod, seeming to decide on something. ]
... Hmmmm, well you might as well know. I wouldn't say anything was made just for the Majority Game. The final designs might have been, like the dolls based on you bastards, but that ain't why the company came up with all that. That's a lot of work for a dumbass game, you know. But, well - I guess it was a good way to see who was worth keeping, cause we were being tested as Floormasters too.
[ Then, a little more slowly, as though he were testing the words out for the first time: ]
You could probably say... That ASUNARO is a place for people to satisfy their regrets.
[ He gestures vaguely, holding his current choice of card solidly in place. Ahhh, who knows what they'd do if they found out what he was about to say next...? ]
For example, what if you could have the e family member, the lover, the friend you adored back? What if you could keep 'em perfectly preserved, like they were in your memory? Or apologize to 'em... That's the kind of thing those dolls are for. You've seen Safalin's machine too, right? She probably said it's probably cause you bastards are too strong or something stupid, ahaha, but it's really just cause people wanna forget the bad and keep the good. There's lots of stuff like that, cause they're all trying to find a way to fix the past.
[ All of them except one. He can't say what hole Hiyori had been trying to fill. But then, hadn't they all hated him? Every last one of them. He was annoying and disgustingand frustrating in how little he had to think on. He was a broken person, but in the wrong way, good only for his talents. His voice lifts a little, but there's something hidden beneath the light tone - a hint of uncertainty, just the faintest tinge of a question.
Komaeda had hit a nerve in his series of questions. Who was he really? Why was he made? Why, even though he despised the existence that he so desperately clung to? ]
As for me... Well, I was a masterwork, ahaha! A fully realized human, something that can never be replicated~ Course, no point in making an super advanced AI if it can't surpass the humans around them, cause they'd just drag the whole damn thing down.
[ So whatever the others know, Ranger had to know that as well. So he was infinitely close to being human, but he never could be.
But he must not have. He'd just been dragging them down after all. Then, in a soft mumble, without quite meaning to, he adds: ]
... I don't know why dad made me, though.
1/3
Ahahahaha, so it was all for that, huh? That stupid... worthless... reason.
[Shin has... never wanted to kill someone before, not with this particular heat, not in this universe, but. There's a first time for everything.]
Making someone... just for that... ahaha.
[He gets it. He gets it, which is what makes it even worse. He gets wanting to find someone you've lost... doing all sorts of things to try and get them back. Only he gave up in the end. Only he didn't have all... that to work with either. His hand is fisted in his beanie, gripping the hair underneath. Is he any better? Reconstructing that Joe AI for Sara, and even here, the thing he's making for Nene, in case he's ever gone... there's bile in the back of his throat.]
2/3
It doesn't matter, anyway... [Why Ranger was really made... With this and other information, he can take a guess. Kai's father... he really had snapped, huh? But he's not feeling very charitable towards that guy right now, so forget whatever he actually intended.] Even when humans are made for a reason, it doesn't matter... Fixing the past is never gonna happen.
[Erase it, but not fix it... Sahalin offered the machine once and he made sure that neither he and Kanna were ever in the infirmary alone after that. Forgetting things... there's some things Shin's not sure he wants to remember but. If you go to forget something that just makes you vulnerable to the same pain again, doesn't it? You can't avoid it... or trust anyone offering something like that.]
3/3
[Not a wholesale copy of someone living... honestly saying Ranger is a masterwork is like saying the sky is blue, he's a marvel of computing and engineering just standing there and acting.]
wound up redoing this, sorry for the trouble! i shouldn't do things when i'm as tired as i was.
There was no fixing the past. That was why dolls had to exist. They had to find a way to satisfy their needs in the present. Ranger doesn't think that anyone outside of the company would understand that, though, so he ultimately makes no effort to push on the point. The fact that they could live on with those regrets was just proof that Shin was still a complete person, he thinks. There was a reason Miley and Safalin could seamlessly pose as dolls.
He settles on a simpler statement, seeming to come to his own conclusion on the entire collection of questions that one might have: ]
... Nope, it doesn't really matter, and you can see how far it's gotten 'em.
[ They'll keep doing things because they can. They'll keep hurting people, keep chasing the past, keep destroying themselves because they were allowed to, while pretending that it was nothing more than breaking a bone for the second time for the sake of allowing it to heal properly. Except it wasn't a broken bone, it was a gaping wound that they kept sticking their fingers into and tearing wider and wider.
It's something that he'd never really thought of, and even now it seems quite normal and natural. It's only odd when he compares it to what he sees here. ]
But, yep, one of a kind... Well, I guess they could try, but my data isn't backed up, so it'd have to be all pieced together again. Otherwise, the "human" parts are all just here.
[ His initial personality data was likely backed up, but it was archived and would not be used again. Any adaptations since then were purely his. It's a clinical explanation, unbothered by any of the content. ]
... Anyway, you shouldn't misunderstand and think that I give a damn about their pet projects. [ Direct and to the point about his feelings, just like always. ] Yours looks pretty interesting, though.
no worries it's all good!
[Shin contemplates, for a second, multiple dead instances of Ranger showing up here and clogging the school and wisteria until the whole thing falls into the void. Okay that's enough contemplating. Okay but what would happen with an AI without a body- are there tiny ghosts of everything he's ever written- enough tho.
(Maybe that's already what's happening, there's too many of them already. People keep dying after all. If they don't graduate as fast... the whole thing's heading towards a crash eventually.) Give him a second to comb out his brain.]
It sure is!
[There's a pointed lack of continuation. Sorry, Ranger, you're going to need to be a little more convincing than solely expressing intriguement, because why do you care? Even if it's 'what you're for', is that Shin's problem? He's not the only one working on things here, and Ranger's already jettisoned resemblance to anything Asunaro did as a reason... so what's his stake in Shin's pet project specifically?]
no subject
It's an AI, right?
[ It's a simple question, but it's not quite what he's looking for the answer to here. Ranger knows why ASUNARO does things. He understands exactly why they create shells to stuff the dead into them. If he doesn't know what hole he was intended to fill, he can at least understand the several reasons why a group of researches would aim to create such an efficient "human." ]
I wanna know why you're putting so much effort into it.
[ He keeps his voice level as he explains, not quite expecting anything in return. But he's nto so dense that he can't see what an undertaking it is, and he hasn't quite figured out what tangential gain there would be. If there wasn't, then why bother? ]
no subject
[He does have it. He's a meticulous sort, even if time constraints or the pressures of life in general often mean he can't be as thorough as he likes on most things he's been paid to do.]
You've got it slightly wrong, anyway. It's not an AI... it's for an AI.
[Since Ranger's already worked out that much. Shin didn't actually make Rei - that was the mysterious 'senpai' Shin is already not fond of - and he's locked out of the core essentials of her code anyway, which means he has to be extremely extra careful with this. But even leaving all that aside... it's something she asked for and gave specifications for... so she might as well be another client, the end user of this, as far as Shin's concerned.
It is an undertaking... and he's not getting paid for it either (because he didn't ask for payment and won't) but... he can't leave her trapped there, at the whim of anyone with the USB, when she was told it would help and then left there. She wants a life.]
no subject
It's a strange thing for anyone to decide on though. He runs through the possible motives, but he can't think off anything in particular that a doll would be needed for here; certainly, there were far more constructive projects that one could choose. But he leans in a little in an effort, it's the first time he's shown genuine interest in anything in front of a participant. ]
For an AI, huh... There shouldn't be any need for that.
[ It's another neutral statement, passing no judgment on Shin's decision. He continues, a hint of uncertainty slipping into his voice, before disappearing as he seems to work through it, ]
It tends to complicate things... Hmm, well, I guess it makes sense if you're getting something about it.
[ It made maintenance, back up, and control more difficult. He knows that well enough; it had been a real hassle the last time something stared to go wrong with him, and he assumes present company is smart enough to predict that. ]
no subject
[He's noticed that uncertainty. Do you not like having hands and the like, Ranger? The freedom to move about without having to be carried by someone you're forced to trust? A certain amount of ability (greater than zero at least) to physically fight off someone trying to mess with you? You've got no need for that? It made Shin, weak, with a mind punched full of holes, so used to feeling powerless, realize just what he has as a baseline... and he hasn't even seen his own AI.
Ranger has a point though... maintenance is an issue. Getting enough to make even what they have so far has been an issue, let alone replace the donated hodge-podge parts he's trying to make play nice with each other. Senku's been working magic, but... it's science, not actual magic and there's physical constraints. All he can do is try and set things up right the first time so that if (when) something does go wrong, the results won't be catastrophic for Rei.]
Hey, I'm not the one who requested it. [Well, he suggested the idea, but Rei's response was extremely eager.] It's good practice, at least.
[What he's getting out of it... that much is true. It's really been making him stretch his brain.]
no subject
Ranger is happy enough to have a body, even if he hates every single facet of it, but it hadn't really been his choice either way. ]
Hm. It's not a bad project.
[ It takes a little longer for the implication of the first comment to catch up. He is happy to have a body, one that he hates every single facet of, but it wasn't as though it were his choice. ]
Dunno why it'd be strange. An AI is just another program. They're made to human specifications for human convenience, and that's all you gotta worry about. No sense in making it harder on yourself than you have to.
[ Naturally, that included him as well. ]
no subject
'Just another program'... If you're gonna make something that thinks like a person, not treating it like one's just an automatic failure, isn't it?
[It's something he's been sort of feeling out in the background of this conversation. After all, it means you haven't succeeded, because you haven't got something you're actually confident in... Even if Shin dislikes Ranger as a person, he'll grant him that much by this point.]
Ahaha, not that humans are all that great to each other either...
[So maybe it really is in keeping, treating an AI as a disposeable object, as if a program made for doing math or running a game and not the task of being a person. The game sure spoke to there being no difference in how they were seen. Just pieces... pawns... They really were just the last run of years of simulations... the implications of which get horrific fast too, but this is something Shin's had more practice not thinking too deeply about.]
no subject
The answer is obvious, of course; when creating a human, one needed to treat it as a human, otherwise you've failed. But he hits a snatch upon coming to that conclusion, making it difficult to parse. It's the correct answer, but it can't be, because it's not consistent. If he was a failure, he wouldn't have been kept for so long. Failure wouldn't have fallen under Gashu's radar, nor ASUNARO's. ]
... Maybe... [ The answer comes in the slow, careful tone of a person who's trying to determine if they're being asked a trick question. ] ... Yeah, it can only be one or the other, huh...
[ So then, what was he supposed to be? He shakes his head, trying to dismiss the question with little success.
It shouldn't matter, given the company's priorities, but it does. Shin is correct on that, too. ]
But everyone is disposable. That's why no one wants to be the weakest link there.
[ The Floormasters all had their own little Majority Game. Who would be the first to show weakness? Who could they they pin the blame of any little thing that goes wrong on to save the rest from coming under fire? And so on and so forth. ]
no subject
Only those two options? There was a talking dog in my class for a bit, if you can believe it.
[Which sure threw him for a loop at the time. So person is a lot wider than human, is what he's saying... which is probably small comfort to someone made to resemble one as much as possible, admittedly.
Okay he's being a bit mean... he'll stop. He's getting a bit of an unprecedented look into the behind the scenes of the game as well... though his sympathy is a tad limited by the fact their little Majority Game was working on the one that actually killed him.]
...makes you wonder why anyone stays, huh.
[It's a bit of a rhetorical question, because he knows well the kind of pressures the powerful can apply to hold the powerless in place, once they've caught them... and also how someone can throw themselves into that sort of maw and not realize until too late, stuck in all sorts of strings... but he can't help but see it as a stupid decision; the 'way weaklings live'.]
no subject
Even so, he seems to be considering something or another. His gaze loses focus for a handful of seconds as he runs through the question a few more times, coming to the same incorrect, contradictory answer each time. He draws in a breath, and it's only with careful effort that he's finally able to file it away. If he lets himself get caught up on in that thought, it'll be a problem. Safalin and Gashu weren't here to correct the error in his code. But as long as he doesn't agitate it any further, he should be able to handle it.
Even so, it takes him just a beat too long to respond: ]
Huuh...? You think so? It's nothing worthy of sympathy, you know. Those people broke a long time ago. They're scared, sure, but they've got their own selfish reasons for staying.
[ Well, maybe he should be ashamed himself for saying that, but it was a simple fact. Every last one of them knew what they were doing, and why they were doing it. Ranger passes no judgment on it, finding it to be no better or worse than any other way of living, but they were pitiable people for how broken they were. But even that wasn't something an outsider need concern themselves with.
Every last one of them had made their choice. Every last one of them was sticking with that choice. ]
They've all got some stake in it or another... Well, can't say I ever really cared.
[ Which is really just to say that his only stake was "not failing." ]