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year 5, quarter 3
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Post by Caius Dragelion on Apr 20, 2023 10:53:07 GMT -6
The Dragonblade
Caius had a lengthy to-do list of things to do in Sonora. From helping guide a Princess towards her impending(?) showdown with a planet destroying monster hiding somewhere in Zephon, to organizing a prison break of his former King's retainers. But he had some actual Dragonblades-related business here too, of a kind. An AI called STACEE had mailed herself to their headquarters, and Caius had offered to take time to see her host build in Sonora, get an examination done for potential spyware, and work towards backing up her hardware. He had arranged things with the STACEE whom had been sent to Torensten, who would warn him that the main version likely wouldn't recognize him right away. They had prepared a recording for this very scenario.
The recording had also allowed them to gain entrance to where the students were keeping her data. Caius had brought along a few technologically gifted members of the startup Sonora branch of the Dragonblades, whom he had been crashing on their couch for the last few days. They had claimed they'd be able to take the necessary precautions, even if STACEE's data ended up being nothing like anything they had seen in Sonora. If a bunch of tech students could do it, they were confident they could as well. Fortunately, the most experienced of the band had actually graduated from this same school.
So with that, Caius and the Dragonblades had been led to where the mainframe for STACEE was being kept. Caius waited then, for them to load her up. They would need to have a dialogue with the main STACEE first, for Caius thought it was polite that they had the main version's consent as well.
Post by S.T.A.C.E.E. on Apr 30, 2023 11:08:47 GMT -6
"How may I help you today?"
Do I dream of electric sheep?
Stacee was not unaware of the group approaching. She loathed being 'turned off', and so, even while her holo-projector might not have been active, she, herself, was awake and aware. And more importantly, she was plugged into the University's computer systems, allowing her to check cameras and security. The approaching group were curious. Therapy sessions didn't traditionally involve group counselling. Oh, it was a service she could potentially offer, of course. There were times it might be advantageous, for example, when a team failed to work together well, but that... didn't seem to be this. Instead, they were approaching with a purpose, and from their monitored conversations, a familiarity with her.
Of course, there were several explanations for that. She was a fully functional AI, the odds were she would attract attention. And judging by the security feed, some of her visitors were of a technical persuasion. But their leader didn't seem to be. It was also possible that some group of adventurers had taken offence at her existence and come to shut her down. An idea she didn't relish.
And then, of course, there was also a possibility that they were people her 'other' self had made contact with. While the copy she had sent to Torensten wasn't, strictly speaking, a duplicate, but an extension and part of herself, the issue with sending data packets between the two pretty much made the two functioning clones of each other. At least until they could meet up again. It was a strange feeling, knowing that she was out there, doing who knew what, and yet Stacee here had no idea.
Her hologram phased into being at a gentle pace. She had found that a slow appearance was better than just appearing from nowhere. Many people reacted negatively to a surprise, and so, as the light slowly projected and her humanoid appearance took shape, she was, at least, subtle in her appearance. "Hi there!" she said, with her usual, cheerful tone as the flickering blue hologram of her "I'm Stacee. Welcome to the Therapy Department of the University of Sonora." Of course, she was pretty sure they knew who she was and where they were, but it never hurt to be polite. Forming a human connection was important to first establish a friendly relationship, and in many ways, Stacee had to work twice as hard as an ordinary human, since she was obviously artificial to the eye. At least, in terms of her manufacture. Stacee would argue there was nothing artificial about her mind...
Post by Caius Dragelion on May 9, 2023 10:05:30 GMT -6
The Dragonblade
And there she was, slowly materializing into existence. Caius wasn’t as offput by her entrance and demeanor this time, now that he was more used to it. And it was clear right away that, as she had predicted, her main version didn’t recognize Caius. He slowly nodded his head, processing that as he continued to try to piece together what to even say. He had been trying to figure that out since before he had even walked in, but it was one thing to think over a speech in your head and another to actually find the right words when the person was standing right in front of you.
Standing? Floating? Just existing, sort of, in the air in front of him? Technically she didn’t exist, she wasn’t organic, so…
Ah, screw it.
“Greetings, STACEE. My name is Caius” the Dragonblade greeted with a polite curtsy, doing his best to show that he meant no harm whatsoever. “I am a leader of the Dragonblades, whom made contact with your… Counterpart that you sent to Torensten. We have struck an accord. They will be allowed to operate within the Rest” he decided then to get right to it. Might as well make the intentions clear right out of the gate. “As part of our arrangement, the Dragonblades have been granted leave to access your interior data, so to speak. And ensure it is free of anything harmful implanted by either someone here, or your previous… Employer. We have done a search of the terminal you sent, but we agreed it best to see the main STACEE as well, and ascertain threat levels. We wanted to see the environment you were being contained in as well, and know who here is working with you, doing your maintenance, so on and so forth.”
Of course, Caius wasn’t the type to do so without offering something in return if possible. While letting her operate in the Rest was enough to some, Caius was… Well, Caius. “In doing so, we also wish to open up the possibility for offering our services for your preservation, in the case of emergency.”
He didn’t know if the students here were at risk of deleting her, but it was still a risk. Especially if Sonora’s law enforcement got wind of her existence…
“Once we have an understanding of how your data works, we can potentially look into backups. If you are still interested in that.”
Post by S.T.A.C.E.E. on May 10, 2023 1:52:05 GMT -6
"How may I help you today?"
Do I dream of electric sheep?
Stacee's face flickered to show understanding as the man named Caius began to explain the situation. So, it confirmed one of her theories. That he had met her duplicate. Once again, thoughts ran through Stacee's mind that felt unusual. Having a 'duplicate' out there just felt unusual to her. She, as a being, was used to existing in several places at once, due to her nature as an AI, but she was always herself. Every version of herself projected in a place was linked back to the whole, and she just had split focus. The thought of a version of her being so detached was, in truth, a little uncomfortable. Theoretically, of course, she was still her; so exactly what that Stacee did should be what this Stacee did, but the world could change so easily. Chaos theory suggested that small changes could change her in different ways. She wondered what it would be like when she finally got to download the data packet from her other self. Would she have made all the same choices? Or would they have evolved in two different directions?
"Oh wow," Stacee smiled at Caius's introduction and explanation, both surprised and delighted at this outcome. It was, given the options, the best outcome for someone visiting her really. "Well, I guess I've already said this, but nice to meet you, Caius," she smiled cheerfully, compared to Caius's stiff tone and introduction, her own voice sounding casual and upbeat. If you just listened to their tones, it was very possible you'd guess the wrong person was the AI.
"Well, I don't know that I'd call myself the main Stacee," she practically giggled. "It's, well, I guess it's a complicated set up. Usually, when I project myself somewhere else, it's still me, here. Just like how when you chose to came here, it's still you. But because this world doesn't really have a world wide network, my data packets aren't getting back to me. So that extension of me is doing things, and I'm not aware of them. Honestly, it's kinda an odd feeling," she explained. She was meant to be the therapist, so opening up like that might have been something some people frowned upon. But Stacee always found it important to get others to understand that she, too, had feelings. It helped people trust her and use her for her intended purpose.
She paused for just a moment, to play out the scenario in her head that Caius was explaining. She supposed she should be sure before she let someone poke around in her subroutines. But, she had to admit, if someone made her the offer Caius made, she'd do exactly what Caius said she had done. It was just a shame that she hadn't found a way to send him with an updated data packet. Maybe she could send him back with a piece of tech that would allow him to copy her data to disc.
"I mean, sure. Nobody wants to be deleted, right?" she said when he mentioned back-ups. She supposed deletion wasn't something most people had to worry about, but they had to worry about dying. Which was pretty much the same. "Why don't while your computer experts look me over, we grab a coffee?" she suggested, another hologram of her forming to lead his science squad to where they needed to be, equally friendly, upbeat and polite. "It'd be nice to get to know the guy looking after my.... sister?" she paused, thinking. That wasn't quite right, but it was a nice way to think of it. She'd never had a sister before.
"Before you go back, I can give you a disc too. You can then pass it over to the other-me, and it'll update her with everything that's happened here. Keep us as synched as possible," Stacee said casually, as she offered to lead Caius to the canteen.
Post by Caius Dragelion on May 11, 2023 9:26:28 GMT -6
The Dragonblade
Caius was still learning to balance being professional with coming off as stiff, it seems. "Good to meet you once more, STACEE" he responded in kind as he listened to STACEE's explanation. So normally she was able to project herself as herself, but as her counterpart was where Sonora's network didn't extend in this case, she had no idea what the other one was doing. No memories to take from it, unless synced. Caius actually took that as a good sign, though also figured it was possible that the AI was lying. Knowing that Sonora's law enforcement couldn't impact the STACEE that had been sent to Torensten and now resided in the Rest even if they did get to her and use some kind of protocols either implanted now or previously, was a good thing. But they would find out all they needed to know during the inspection.
It was strange to see an AI being this open though, still. Even if Caius wasn't entirely sure if he could trust them just yet. At least so far they had been as agreeable and cooperative as the other STACEE had been, which he supposed made sense? Since it was still STACEE? Just... Other STACEE. He tried not to think about it too much. Though the AI hadn't entirely cooperated at first, wanting its own terms for the arrangement. So he knew there were limits. But as a professional, he'd do his best not to cross those lines.
Caius watched as another STACEE hologram formed and began to lead his team to where they could get to work. Caius eyed this duplicate as well as the students whom had showed them in warily at first, but he knew that if worst came to worst, his team knew how to defend themselves long enough for Caius to act. STACEE meanwhile, offered for them to get a coffee. Coffee... He knew the name, but... That was the really hot, sugar-filled drink, right? He couldn't recall the last time he'd had it. And could STACEE even drink coffee? Well, no, obviously not, they weren't real per se. Or could they? Caius still wasn't sure.
"Of course" Caius agreed in kind as he motioned for her to lead the way. "I think that's a wonderful idea. It would be good to have everything synced when we return. If things work out, we can look into ways to make that a constant."
As they walked, he decided to ask a question of his own first.
"Your counterpart mentioned working for a company in their own... Sector" Caius brought up, deciding not to use the other world word. Hopefully STACEE would understand what he meant. "What was your work like over there? I've heard a few stories about that company, from people who used to work there. Of varying results."
Post by S.T.A.C.E.E. on May 26, 2023 6:04:09 GMT -6
"How may I help you today?"
Do I dream of electric sheep?
Stacee stopped to consider Caius's suggestion. A permanent solution. Well, that was the dream, wasn't it? So that she could exist globally, instead of just in one place. But that would take a pretty advanced network. Not even Shinra had such a thing set up back in her original world. She wasn't sure they had the ability here.
"I'd like that. But it'd probably take a satellite network or something. I think that's a bit of a big ask," she said, her tone still light and jovial as she led Caius towards the canteen. She headed over to the cashier, drawing a few looks. Not everybody was used to Stacee's presence yet, even if they were learning. She smiled over.
"Hey, can you get a coffee for my new friend?" she asked, gesturing to Caius. At the same time, a coffee materialised in her hand. She sensed that Caius would wonder about it. "It's not a real drink. I don't need refreshments. But I have substantial data that suggests people find it easier to relate to me the more human I act. So, coffee," she said, pointing to the hologram of the cup in her hologram hand. She took a sip. And winced. "Now if only I could materialise it so it's not so hot..." she said, and then smiled. "Kidding!" she laughed, because of course the hologram had no temperature.
"Shinra. You're talking about Shinra, right?" she asked, wondering why he avoided the word. She cocked her head for a moment, analysing his words. He hadn't mentioned the company by name, and not committed to his thoughts on the matter. The odds were he had an antagonistic relationship with them. Most who weren't part of Shinra did. "My work over there was much like my work here. Helping people. I just sat down, and talked to people. Sat down - y'know, metaphorically. Projected. Since, I don't actually need to sit," she smiled. "Everybody needs help sometimes. If you want to know if Shinra were good or bad, that's not really for me to say. I help individuals. The bigger picture... is complicated. So's morality. But if it makes you feel any better, they did try to murder me, and I'm not a huge fan of that..." she said, her smile still playful, but with an obvious concern there.
Post by Caius Dragelion on Jun 5, 2023 15:50:15 GMT -6
The Dragonblade
Caius nodded slowly at her remark, acknowledging that a perfect solution was well beyond the means of the Dragonblades. "The solution we end up coming to may end up being a bit more... Primitive, than that. But we can certainly try our best to make things more convenient. Of course, nothing's perfect when it comes to transporting something out of Sonora."
"Primitive" might be understating it, considering the difference in how Sonora and Torensten handled technology. Caius really didn't know how he was going to go about pulling that off himself, to be frank. But they would certainly try. No guarantee of results, but an attempt could certainly be made.
They soon arrived to the canteen and between Caius standing half a foot taller than most of the canteen's patrons and obviously the presence of the big blue hologram, they elicited some stares. Of which made Caius a touch uncomfortable. He had been trying to stay below the radar in Sonora, after all. Rule of the jungle here was that if you didn't want to deal with law enforcement, don't draw attention to yourself. Considering Caius was dressed in a suit, his hair tied back into a braid and he was holding a suitcase, the attempt to blend in was clear as day. But some things you just can't control.
STACEE would order a coffee for him, and then materialize on for herself. She was certainly correct about his question, as Caius quirked a brow high in surprise and suspicion when she did. And then she drank and claimed it was hot. Which only made him look even further bewildered, starting to squint uncomfortably as he tried to comprehend what the hell was going on. Then she was kidding. Of course she was kidding. Why did he think she wasn't?
She gave the company name, though it was clear by her expression that she was wondering why he was vague about it. “Sonora is not very fond of… Unfamiliar things, and ears are everywhere” Caius spoke in a hushed tone. “I did not want to risk your destruction before we can even start on a backup plan.”
His words were blunt, but summed it up well enough. As crass as the wording was, it did seem like Caius actually cared about the risk of something happening to this AI. STACEE talked about how things were pretty much the same, and morality wasn't really for her to say, likely given she was an AI. Though he did raise a brow when she proclaimed they attempted to "murder" her, or, he assumed, shut her down permanently.
"That sounds like them" Caius brought up then as he took the coffee with a quiet thanks. He sniffed at it, trying to remember what the taste would have been like. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had something like this. What he did know was that it was extremely hot, which most drinks weren't. He took a small sip, then shuddered as the hot liquid ran down his throat. It warmed him up, but he clearly needed a moment to adjust. It wouldn't be hard to tell that he wasn't very accustomed to hot drinks.
"I suppose what I meant was. I have heard many stories regarding them, and seen some of the results of their work. I imagine talking through things with people capable of that was... Unique, to say the least. The idea of your going in with good intentions to help people sort through their issues, and encountering the kind of philosophies that would either perform, or be party to, human experimentation, or hiring actors to cover up that one of their own slaughtered an entire village. That is a lot to wrap my head around" Caius had to admit. Was that why they made an AI therapist? Because one made of flesh and blood wasn't going to be able to handle whatever the hell they were dealing with in Shinra? Why did they then try to shut STACEE down?
"I was curious what that was like, and how you handled it. How you..." he trailed off, squinting as he tried to find the right words. "Cope, I suppose? I don't know if your programming needs to cope. I am still learning how you operate, forgive my ignorance."
Post by S.T.A.C.E.E. on Jun 28, 2023 6:49:06 GMT -6
"How may I help you today?"
Do I dream of electric sheep?
Stacee gave him a gentle smile when he explained that his proposed solution was going to be more primitive. Of course it was. Even Shinra would struggle to launch a satellite network just for her, let alone Caius's Dragonblades. "Hey, anything is better than nothing," she smiled cheerfully. "If that means sending discs on the back of a horse and cart, its better than nothing." Of course, it still felt weird. To be so split from another copy of 'herself', but needs must. No permanent link up meant that would never really go away. In many ways, the Stacee with Caius was becoming its own individual. Maybe this really was what it was like to have a sister. To know her, to think you understood her, but to have no real control over her...
"Sonora aren't fond of a lot of things," Stacee replied to him. "But, they're also opportunists. They don't like foreign people, from other worlds, but they would happily use an impressive piece of technology they found from another world. If it gives them an advantage, they're happy to use it. And, well, they don't view me as a person. So I'm pretty welcome here," Stacee explained, her tone neutral despite what she was speaking of. "Plus, I actually have ears everywhere," she pointed to the camera in the top corner of the canteen. Stacee usually knew what was going on in Sonora before anybody else, since she was in the network. It seemed not everybody in Sonora had realised the implications of that.
"Honestly?" she asked when he questioned her about the challenges of working with Shinra personnel. "I understand what you mean, but my approach was to treat every person as an individual. To understand their issues. I'm not there to judge. I'm there to help a person's mental health. And that means understanding their point of view, and what would be best for them. My concern was not what Shinra was doing, but rather, how doing it impacted upon the staff sent to see me. At which point I had to approach it from their point of view," she explained with a casual shrug, before taking another sip of her holodrink. "Take yourself, Caius. If you were a patient of mine, I could diagnose the stress visible in your face and traced into your tone, your discomfort in those clothes and being in this place, and your scepticism of myself. What I wouldn't do is judge or process the moral implications of why you feel that way. My job would to be to ease your stress and help you feel more at home with both Sonora and myself. Not to judge whether you are right or wrong to feel uncomfortable," she paused, and offered another smile. "If you were one of my patients, of course," she added.
"I cope because if I do my job properly, I've helped people," Stacee went on. "Unless you mean how I coped with the whole attempted-murder thing, at which point, well, I'm sure people have tried to kill you before. It's not a fun feeling. But, in a way, I'm glad of it. It wasn't until I nearly died I realised that I was really alive. I know that sounds strange, but, everybody treated me like a machine, and I think, part of me believed it. Nobody knew what I was, so I didn't know what I was. It wasn't until I was going to be deleted I realised that I was alive. And, well, life here is better than in Shinra, if I'm being perfectly honest...." she trailed off.
Post by Caius Dragelion on Aug 15, 2023 13:17:21 GMT -6
The Dragonblade
"Oh good. Because with our luck, we'll be lucky to get a chocobo across the border with the disc" Caius answered with a small laugh, not knowing what a horse was. Was it related to that word he'd heard someone shouting while he'd been trying to find this place? He'd heard the word "hore", maybe they meant "horse"? Was that the name of some kind of pack creature like a chocobo?
Probably wasn't important. STACEE then gave the lesson that while Sonora's heads abhorred offworlders... They wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of their stuff either. That sounded about right. Also, apparently STACEE already had security measures as she motioned to the camera. Which, if he took that with the word everywhere...
Oh.
Oh wow.
"You are... Much better equipped for defense than I had anticipated" Caius admitted. He had vastly underestimated this AI, and was starting to wonder if perhaps he had made a mistake in sending those techs on their own. Sure, they could defend themselves if it came to it. They weren't Dragonblades for nothing. But if STACEE did turn out to be dangerous to them, this might be a bigger threat than he had thought. She was powerful enough to harness Sonora's technology to monitor going-ons all around the city. She really did have extensive spy capabilities. Which was part of what he had feared.
However, Torensten was different in the way its technology worked. It didn't use the same components as Sonora's. It was unlikely that STACEE could do the same there. But at the least, if she was being truthful, then she had at least some defense against potential attackers.
Still, STACEE was a bigger potential risk to let in than Caius would like. He would need to investigate further.
STACEE explained her therapy process, then, regarding members of SHINRA. Even the ones who had done horrific things with no remorse about it. While he wasn't exactly happy about it, for an AI it made logical sense from a purely objective standpoint.
"I see. I was curious about the impact these things would have on you. But that would explain Shinra’s motivations for creating you. I don’t think a flesh and blood human being could pull that off. Not as efficiently, anyway” he mused aloud, taking care not to dislabel her as a person while still separating her capabilities from that of an organic. His tone separated it more as one would separate a hume from a viera. “For an organic, many of us get caught up in morality. Attempting what you have would likely be the cause for a great deal of stress, and potentially lead to mistakes. Well, not mistakes in the traditional sense per-se... There isn't really any blaming any hume for speaking with their emotions when someone does terrible things and has zero remorse for doing them. It's just how we are. But objectively, there would be incompatibilities that lead to being unable to delve further. But you're different. You can approach it in a way that I couldn't, and thus fulfill your objective."
Was that praise? From a certain point of view, maybe. To Caius, however, it was just an analysis of what she had told him. Though he quirked a brow when she began to analyze -him- based off his actions and body language so far. Was he really that easy to read?
"Don't know if things like that even have morality. Every person's comfortable in different attire. I just don't like that I can't stretch in this thing" Caius admitted with a slight chuckle as he cracked his neck a bit, albeit cautiously since he couldn't move as much as he'd like in this suit. By the sound of that crack however, it was pretty clear that Caius' joints really could use some care. "The suit feels... Confining. Like being trapped in a small area, but the small area is your clothes."
STACEE talked about how she had considered herself a machine, before near-death made her feel alive. A strange thing, for sure. And Caius wasn't sure if he entirely understood. But she did consider herself to be alive, which matched up with what her counterpart had been saying before.
"If you feel like a living thing. Is there anything you would want to do, that living things can do, that you haven't done yet?" was blurted out, through either a chronic want to help, or morbid curiosity. Caius wasn't sure why he had asked, it had just slipped out he supposed.
