testrun_box | Old *Mute, for Veloxia

{1: Network, Video}

[Sometimes this place felt downright claustrophobic to *Mute. The AI construct was used to having perception all over a huge starship, being able to peer through its numerous cameras... she was free to look at what she wanted all over the ship.]

[She appeared on a video feed on your Steamgear, lighting a cigarette. She drew in a lungful of virtual smoke... only a gesture of imitation, really, she didn't get anything out of it, but she was trying to demonstrate her tension, holding in the smoke before letting it out with a slow puff.]

Show me the island, OK?

[It wasn't a forceful demand, despite the lack of any 'please' to it. Just a blunt request.]

[2: Action]

[Now having a physical body, *Mute was sitting down outside at night. It was cold... very cold out, but she had no blanket. She wasn't programmed to have any reaction to the cold... so long as it wasn't so cold it was dangerous to her (which was a rather huge extreme) the temperature was just a number to *Mute.]

[She stood there on the shore, staring out over the horizon, smoking a cigaratte... she thought she was alone (only having cameras in the front of her head was an uncomfortable state of existence for her...]

[She kept taking little hits of her cigarette, blowing out small puffs of smoke...]

This is, like... harder than it looks...

[She just couldn't get it to come out in rings. She wasn't entirely sure whether this body could do it.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Pre year one? Ship computer wipe? The past?]

[Damn it, would it kill this girl to consider that *Mute didn't know this shit? How was *Mute supposed to respond to that?]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Mute held a hand up as if to say STOP... then brought a hand to her chin as she considered.]

[So this girl was saying she's from her future.]

[That's, like, totally crazy. No way, OK? Just no... well.]

[Being here is pretty crazy... *Mute would have thought that her being somehow brought to this place from the Mugunghwa at all would be impossible, so...]

So you expect me to believe that you're from my future? A future that has an Emperor, where the computers have been wiped?

[*Mute growled as she considered it. ARE YOU SAYING SHE FAILED AT HER JOB? 'CAUSE THIS SOUNDS LIKE THINGS SHE WOULDN'T JUST LET PASS...]

[ ... Well when she puts it like that, *Hyun-ae is taken aback. ]

I... no, I guess that sounds far-fetched. But the *Mute that I know was... a lot younger looking. She had golden hair and this big, really heavy headdress, very traditional hanbok... actually, I could retrieve some of the memory files I have... hold on.

[ She definitely looked *Mute up, and with her memory now basically an AI's, well, what's to lose? So she'll do that and send her a picture file. ]

-- TRANSFERRING Mute.png --

... She was a... well she was very loyal to the emperor. Um... I didn't bring the ship's files with me, or I could show you. This IS kind of a problem... maybe you're, like, *Mute's original version? Maybe she was a new model...? --N-no offense meant, of course!

[Well that was definitely herself before she put the grey and in her hair and the eye patch on. She'd be lying to say she didn't like the look, but it seemed more like something she'd consider wearing for the lunar new year only.]

[All this left *Mute with a few unpleasant possibilities. One, that this girl was really dedicated to a ill conceived prank, or two, that she was from a future that *Mute didn't feel too keen on from what little she knew about it.]

[The whole conversation was seriously ticking her off now...]

Who are you really? What did you do on the ship? When were you first started up?

[ ... Who... is she really? What...? ]

Um... I already told you my name. It's *Hyun-ae. I... belonged to the Kim family...

[ Not a lie, technically, either, even if she hated those awful not-Kims. Hm... ]

A second generation man made me and I was offline for a really long time. He based me off his daughter...

[ Also not a lie. Okay, doing good so far! ]

... Though I uh, made a few improvements... anyway. Eventually the Kims sorta stored me in their systems and inherited me even after most people forgot what technology was all about, sans the noble men, and I was sent to their Emperor by the head of the house, to assist the wives, since one was mute. ... I mean she couldn't speak, not... you. They already HAD you for security, you know?

[ ALSO NOT A LIE! SHE DID IT! ]

Uh, why...?

[OK, *Mute knew a little bit about this. Not much though, really. It wasn't directly related to the safety of the ship as far she was concerned.]

But, I'm not aware of any AI programmed in the 2nd generation...

An Emperor, huh? But I was at his side, then.

Man, what kind of shit happened that I'd...

[No, it wasn't like *Mute could put an Emperor in place. Well... ... she supposed she could if she over threw the entire council with military force, but it would take some serious shit to do something that extreme.]

Do you pay attention to every harmless AI on the ship? I mean, he didn't exactly tell a lot of people he was putting his daughter into a pod, either...

[ It seems personal to her because it is. ]

But... I don't KNOW what happened. That's the problem. Between when I woke up--you know, reactivated, and when I was shut off? Everything just went crazy. Chinese characters, going back to Confucianisms... what was the Mugunghwa like when YOU were on it?

[Well not every AI on the ship, but she didn't think there was another one this high functioning seeming, crazy Emperor BS aside... still, fucking suspicious, this *Hyun-ae. Pod girls? This just was strange and messed up.]

And the historical records were all lost?

[A change of regime and historical revisionism?]

[And yeah, *Mute was pretty much ignoring *Hyun-ae's question right now.]

As far as I know, yeah! They were fine when I was first around, but... even if they weren't wiped, without being on the ship, it's not like I can go get them...

[ Nervous laughter--*Hyun-ae is VERY NERVOUS. Because, well, she's... talking to... Not!*Mute. SOMEhow. And *Mute MUST know what the past between her freeze and now, in some places, was like, right? Could she fill in some gaps? *Hyun-ae was just a kid back then, so she hadn't cared much beyond herself and... well. Yeah... what to do...? ]

The thing is? I have NO idea how much time PASSED. I guess... my timestamp pre-zero year was uh, when that girl... would you call her me? Well, when she was put in sleep. Since, I guess, only men of high status used computers on the ship after that, a lot of the knowledge was lost... people kind of FORGOT what the heck technology WAS, in a sense.

[She can't help but feel like there's something about this she's missing.]

[Ugh this whole topic almost made her want to show an animation of steam blowing out of her ears!]

I need to cool off. I'm done talking to you right now. As Chief Officer of Security, this whole topic leads to some pretty dark places that piss me off. But it's important, so we're talking about this later.

OK?

Old *Mute, for Veloxia

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