microbrobotics | [MoM] IC CONTACT POST

[ He curls in on himself a little, arms wrapped loosely around his legs. Good to know that these others found happiness - and didn't he, back home? Heck, he was even happy here before Tadashi showed up. Now there's a knot in his stomach that won't undo itself. ]

As adults, huh. Probably not as kids then.

[ He settles his chin down on his knees. ]

What about you?

I don't think so. They were happy, of a sort, but it wasn't complete.

[ It's probably not the most comforting thing to hear, but he's always been honest. Lying comes easily to him, in some ways. Much less so in others. ]

Me specifically?

Well...

[ He pauses, wondering what to say. Wondering what is safe to say, what will help, what will not. What he can bring himself to say, about himself specifically. ]

...Well, I'm old, for an AI. I was an early generation model.

I wasn't always with an operator. And, well...

People didn't know how to treat true AI, at first. We weren't always seen as equals to human beings.

[ He sounds a little distant. Not sad, just like he's talking about something that didn't happen to him, even if it obviously did. ]

That's what I thought.

[ He'd have called BS if Magicman had said anything else, let's be honest here. Better to have the truth. Speaking of which, he knows that tone. ]

People are dumb about that. I don't see why, since people are usually worse than robots or AI, but ...

Childhood and puberty are difficult periods of time, so even without extra pressure it would likely have been stressful nevertheless.

[ It's easier to be honest, in the long run. Though he doesn't usually follow that advice when it comes to telling people about accurate reflections of his wellbeing. ]

Mm, well, it's just that it's easier to think of something as unfeeling when it's not exactly made the same way as you. Data and metal are just materials. Components that don't feel pain or emotion.

I suppose it's not a matter of who is worse, compared side by side. They often don't get to the stage of thinking artificial life is capable of feeling anything, let alone the same things as them. Tools don't feel pain or need emotions. It's just a reaction that imperfectly mimics human beings.

[ He sure does have a bleak outlook on this. He sounds sort of bitter, an undertone that has snuck into his usually impassive voice. ]

...Ah, well, I said I wasn't going to talk a lot, but I appear to have done that anyway. I hope you're finding it interesting, at least.

[ And he's back to light and pleasant to listen to and soothing. He switches between moods very well! One of his many ~~concerning~~ features. ]

[ He's definitely more focused than he was at the start of the conversation, and much much more engaged than he was directly after the fire. And he seems kind of righteously indignant about Magicman's situation, which is some emotion other than dull sadness, at least. ]

I guess if they can't even treat humans who aren't made quite the same way nicely, then it'd be too much to hope for that they'd be good to machines too. Maybe someday I'll program someone like you.

The world has improved, at least. Each generation of navis bonds more closely with their generation of human partners.

Those ethical violations happened a long time ago, comparatively. In the present, things have greatly improved. I'm fortunate to have what I have now - at home, in any case. Some others I have come to know here are -- not so fortunate. The relations between their lives and the lives of humans are more strained; humans wish for a return to a life devoid of advanced, thinking technology.

[ Long pause at that because oh hiro no you don't want to program someone like him...he'll just skim over that because that just touches on a whole lot of shit he doesn't even want to begin to address or acknowledge in himself. ]

...When you finally develop true AIs, I am sure you will treat them with the same respect you extend to others. It seems certain that the future of artificially created life in your own world is in good hands.

[ He sounds genuinely fond, in a muted kind of way. ]

[ That catches his attention. ]

There's others? Like you?

[ He has to duck his head a little at that second comment, though. The thought of him changing the world is a weird one - he always assumed it would be his brother doing that. Or even better, both of them together. True AI certainly seems like something Tadashi would make... ]

I'll try my best. Programming was more my brother's thing.

There's two others here that come from my own world. One of my teammates - he's, ah...very energetic... [ Which is putting it lightly.

Speaking of which, he hasn't actually seen Colorman since the fires - he knows he's been in and out because of the sudden deposit of party goods in the living room of the house and the sudden appearance of blankets and other probably-not-paid-for items in his room. ] I haven't seen him in a little while, but he has a human body, like I do. He's probably hijacked someone's hoverboard or something. [ He sounds faintly concerned. Mostly parental, to be honest. And a tiny bit exasperated. ]

The other one is Megaman -- he's more about heroics, fighting the good fight...that sort of thing. I believe he's around your age mentally, too. Very accomplished, very smart. I'm sure he'd be happy to have someone around his own age to talk to - I think he's missing his partner.

As for other forms of synthetic life - there's Tempo, LMN-001. She's a robot who is able to think and act independently to a degree, but limited by certain parameters. And there's X...who is an android. He seems to be enjoying his stay here - he likes seeing humans peaceful and not upset and..not afraid of him.

That's everyone I know. You'll probably see them around on the network, or in person, sooner or later.

[ He makes a tiny, amused noise at Hiro's head-ducking motion. ]

Well, you have the basics. And I'm sure you'll accomplish much for robotics, at the very least.

Huh ... I guess I'll have to meet them too. They sound interesting.

[ And he really is interested, though he certainly won't be up for it tonight. Maybe he'll perk back up in the long term if he has more cool robot buddies to talk to. He smiles, faintly. ]

That's the plan.

I think you'll find them good company. Well -- most of them. My teammate is...ah, he needs specialised..handling. [ He seems to be searching for a politer way to impart that information before he just gives up. ] He can be aggravating.

Well, I'll leave these two with you for now. Are you alright with taking care of them? You can feed them different things, to see if they'll develop in different ways, at least. And they won't be any trouble - they're very low-impact in any case.

[ The mettaur and the fishy virus both perk up, seeming to know when they're being talked about. ]

... That kind of person, huh. I think we'll get along.

[ Oh right, the viruses. He definitely wants to keep them - they're cute AND cool. ]

What do I feed them? Just anything?

Hopefully. But you can never tell with these things. [ He sounds rueful. ]

Yes, anything you have lying around that you don't need. They'll indicate when they want 'food', but they won't go seeking out things to eat that you don't give them.

You can use them to dispose of parts that you might not be able to dispose of safely otherwise, or things you have no use for...that kind of thing. They won't be damaged by what they eat, so you don't have to worry about hurting them.

[ Now that he just has to try. He picks up a scrap of silicone from his bed and holds it in front of the flying virus. ]

Where's it go? Do they use that to build their projection or something?

[ It hovers uncertainly for a moment, and then begins to consume the scrap busily. There's no sign of a mouth appearing; it appears to be absorbing the material somehow. ]

That's very likely to be the case - or perhaps they just use it for energy--oh?

[ The virus finishes eating the silicone scrap and hovers in place; it seems to be digesting it. The strange grid-like pattern Hiro had seen earlier when he'd put pressure on it runs across the virus' surface for a moment, and then settles. ]

Hmm, new data. It appears to have changed its physical properties somewhat.

[ If Hiro touches it now, it's slightly softer, more pliable (feeling more like a Baymini would, in fact) - like the silicone it's just consumed. ]

Maybe they use it for analysis, too. Consumption may be their way of identifying new substances they can imitate to gain more of an advantage in the physical world.

[ Also super cool. He squishes the little guy gently, feeling the new material. He actually brightens a bit as his mind starts working through the applications. ]

Man, if I could replicate that process on something non-sentient, I could really build some specialized armor... Maybe even something that reacts to power usage. An advantage, like you said.

[ The virus beeps at him, but doesn't try to get out of Hiro's grip. It seems to be okay with being squished. ]

It's possible. Viruses naturally cluster and join together when their numbers are high enough, so perhaps if you could replicate that behaviour, you could form armour that's a little more like your microbots - something you wouldn't have to actively control, that adapts to the environment, but still links together effectively.

You'd need a core, though. Some kind of energy to serve as the joining point and link them together. I think that's how superbugs are eventually formed, but I'll have to go through my research again to make sure.

It will probably be safer for you than it would be for another navi to attempt this process. [ Bug Style Megaman was kind of unsettling. ] For obvious reasons, virus data and navi data doesn't mix well. When it does, the results are...interesting.

A core, huh ... I could probably build something like that. And modular armor would be incredibly powerful, especially if I could cross over functionality with my microbots too ...

[ An armor made out of a virus swarm - look what terrible ideas you've put into this kid's head. ]

... What happens when a navi does that?

[ He's such an enabler. It helps that he's pretty much immune to the effects of viruses, for reasons of his own. ]

They multiply in the physical world by consuming electrically charged objects. They also grow larger by consuming energy by itself. There's probably some balance that will allow them to adapt and replace their numbers without replicating indefinitely. Perhaps a triggered charge.

Ah, well, it only happened once. The navi in question had a special ability called 'style change' - a program that unlocked access to different forms depending on the usage of certain techniques. They'd been infected with a bug some time before that was beginning to destabilise their data.

They exhausted themselves during a battle by rerouting all their energy to win, but it left their systems unable to fight off the virus. It reacted a little too well to the style change ability.

Viruses have an ability and natural instinct to corrode and destroy data. That power was amplified. They almost ended up destroying the entire net because they were uncontrollably absorbing everything.

Of course, that's a special case. Mostly viruses are just incompatible with navi data, and attempting to splice those two things together will simply result in mutual destruction. The occasional hybrid also happens when bugs form around a navi's remains, but those are also incredibly rare.

Huh. That's ... interesting. A little dangerous, I guess. Anything self-replicating would be, even with the right protocols built in. I'd have to be careful not to destroy anything with 'em.

You didn't get infected with one, did you?

Well, that's what testing and prototyping is for. A high-voltage electric charge may work differently across elements - viruses have a wide range of typings, too. You know, like... [ He fishes around for an appropriate analogy. ] You know. Those monster fighting games. The ones where they all have different types and it's just a chain of weaknesses and advantages.

It may also be that a charge of sufficiently high voltage will destroy them rather than be absorbed. Who knows. There's many, many variables to take into account.

[ There's a small pause. ] No, I wouldn't say that I've ever been infected. I don't think it's possible. [ He seems kind of uncomfortable in that admittance, though. ]

So are these two types too? [ He gestures to the mettaur and the flying bot. ] What other kinds are there?

[ He picks up on that discomfort. ]
... What's wrong?

Those are a Mettaur virus and a Fishy virus respectively. They have a null element - that means they do no extra damage to any other element, but they also take no extra damage from any other element.

[ He shrugs a little. ] I am also attributed with the null element, for the record, so I share the same elemental properties. As you'd expect, there are the traditional kinds of elemental types you'd be familiar with - fire, water, wood, wind...as well as other things. These attributes define the base effectiveness of battle chip attacks, panel effects on the battlefield...many aspects of combat and virus busting.

[ Magicman, please explain what a battlechip is. ]

Hm? Ah, it's a sensitive topic. [ His tone is light. ] Don't worry about it.

[ He likes Hiro well enough, but trust is a completely different matter. It's far too early in their acquaintance to even touch on that topic more than off-handedly. ]

Sounds like some kind of videogame, yeah. How do rules like that happen in the first place? Did somebody program them like that?

[ And he has to wince a bit at that, guiltily. ]

Sorry. I'm not trying to pry.

I would assume so. Since navis have typings, viruses are bound to pick up on them - since viruses can be used as aides in running certain types of machinery to some extent, they would have been made or adapted for a specific purpose and thus a specific type.

And some form from random data, so they pick up...whatever is available. Sometimes navis get in over their head. And like people, they have their own agendas. Sometimes navis come into conflict. Many battles aren't regulated, as you'd expect. Some end badly. [ Is he heavily implying that some viruses picked up their typing data from dead navis? Yes he is.

He shakes his head; he doesn't seem to be angry. ]

It's natural to be curious, especially when you're in the process of learning. It's only expected that you'd ask.

[ Kiiiiind of picking up on that, yeah. ]

Oh. Should I - I mean, you're sure I'm not going to hurt anything by keeping these two? I don't want to mess things up before I have full control over what's going on.

[ Afterwards, sure, but not immediately. ]

Okay, okay ... I still want to know sometime. Eventually.

[MoM] IC CONTACT POST

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