artificialperscn

[artificialperscn]

AWAY FROM 28TH JUNE TO 4TH JULY

Just letting everyone know that I'm heading offshore again tomorrow, so there won't be any replies in the time that I'm away. Again, I can't take my laptop in case it gets damaged, cos it wouldn't be covered, and I'm on duty 24/7 as soon as I step on the ship anyway. I appreciate your patience in the meantime. ❤️

[artificialperscn]

OPEN STARTER: ( for supernatural muses )

"I don't believe in the supernatural. It's illogical."

[artificialperscn]

[artificialperscn]

"It's all right, you looked like you were miles away." The Wey-Yu unit noted as he stepped closer, effortlessly sliding into the passenger seat next to her.

He may be a machine, something that the Company prided itself in telling people he was no more human than a toaster once you got passed the surface, but there was one thing that it, he, carried with him. Worry. He cared about people, about Gene, he wanted the best for her, wanted to see her happy, wanted to keep her safe.

Was it because he had no other choice? Or was it more than that? Did he care about her because he simply cared, or purely because he was programmed to?

"I double checked. There were no signs of life on the scanner." Max reassured her to the best of his ability, only able to tell her what he'd seen. "Why?" The android sat forward a little, brows furrowing together in the middle in the perfect portrayal of concern as he looked at her. "Do you think the scans could be wrong?" He asked out of curiosity. "I can't detect any malfunctions."

Gene jumped, startled out of her reverie. "What? Oh!"

She pushed herself up, rousing herself and trying to bring her focus back to the present moment. She'd been slumped down in the pilot's seat, staring at the small purple planet on the viewscreens, without really seeing it. Brooding. She'd been doing that a lot lately, the closer they'd gotten to their destination.

"Sorry, Max. I was just... thinking," she sighed, rubbing her face with both hands. "I didn't mean to just... ignore you like that. Just a lot on my mind."

Namely the corpse, frozen and hidden deep within the lower levels of the ship.

"Can we... go over the specifics of this planet again? We've got the map to the ruins but... We're SURE this place is abandoned?"

[artificialperscn]

"Forget me nots..." The android uttered almost wistfully as if taken by idle thought. "I read the legend behind their namesake. The knight that picked the flowers for his lover but fell in and swept away... tossing them to her and uttering his last words... forget me not." He smiled to himself, the curves of his lips precise but gentle. "Sorry, I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times. It's so sad, but... beautiful, I think."

is it something she's been asked before? somehow, maeve isn't sure. she doubt it. "lily of the valley or forget me nots. I know neither is really a bouquet flower but... they're so easily overlooked."

[artificialperscn]

"Most people wouldn't disagree with you. In their eyes, destroying me's no different to throwing out your old phone or laptop. It stops working? You just chuck it out and get a new one." Max shrugged his shoulders in thought, well aware of how most of humanity saw him. They looked in those lifelike eyes and didn't see a person, but a machine. He couldn't really blame them. After all, he was one. "To them, I'm no different. Just a malfunctioning piece of technology."

The thought was unsettling. Though he supposed all of it was, hence why he'd elected to go on the run in the first place. He didn't want to be deactivated, didn't want to be destroyed, he just wanted to live.

That was an eerily human sentiment -- - wasn't it?

"But at the end of the day, Weyland-Yutani won't like that you've helped their property escape. I just don't want you to get hurt if they do catch up to us. I... hate the idea of it." Another very human trait.

"I'm not sure. Get a job, keep my head down... I've always wanted to help people more closely. Take care of them. Do you think I'd make a good carer? Or a nurse?" The unit asked sourcing David with wide and innocent blue eyes. "I think I'd like looking after people."

"Max, what the Company is going to do to you is wrong." David insisted, upending their freshly-cleaned laundry onto their hotel bed. They had been on the road for a few days now, heading toward Seattle where David had a 'friend' who could get Max a new identity... papers. From there, the synthetic could go almost anywhere and start a new life.

"What kind of person would I be to abandon you to your fate?" He shook his head. "We're in this together. I promise, I understand the risks and I'm willing to take it." He began folding clothes and placing them back more neatly into the duffel bag and then gave Max a soft reassuring smile.

"Just a few more stops to go. Have you thought about what you wanted to do with a new identity?"

[artificialperscn]

"Oh..." Something still didn't make sense to him. "You deal with the living and the dead? Are you some sort of funeral director?" That was what made sense to him, or something else along those lines, working with both the living and the empty shells they left behind when they died. It didn't even occur to the android that she could possibly mean anything else. That was way outside his sense of reality. "I'm Max, and... it's all right. Not everyone gets the chance to chat with an android on a more sociable level. Not all of us are built for that, except with our respective owners, I suppose." Mostly, at least. He was built to strike up conversations with anyone and everyone, needing to be the epitome of a people person, or people android. "You can ask anything you like, I honestly don't mind."

"It's nothing you should worry about currently. This is just. A very interesting case. I deal with the living and the dead that have souls. But machines? Especially those who take the form of a human. Now that is more difficult to handle than dealing with a dead battery. I have no place for you... What is your name? Do you have a name? I want to know about you. This is my first experience with a machine of your manner. So. Forgive me for being brass in certain subjects."

[artificialperscn]

Is anyone still interested in interacting with Max?

[artificialperscn]

"I'm not sure. Maybe? It would feel odd knowing you were looking at me and not seeing... me." It wasn't a notion he'd ever considered before, his mind wasn't meant to be that creative, wasn't supposed to think up these scenarios in his head. But it was there now, the painted image of Wanda staring at him without familiarity sparkling in her eyes. It hurt, making his hold of her tighten carefully, not enough to hurt her, but enough to remind both her and himself that he was still there, his processor was still safely housed within the body he'd been activated in. "I suppose this is just a body for me. It's not everything I am, or... is it?" Again, not a thought he'd pondered before, and he found himself shaking his head. "Do humans ever have thoughts like these?" He huffed in amusement to himself as he looked back at her, a smile replacing his pensiveness. "You bring out a lot of thoughts I've never considered before."

@artificialperscn

Wanda was thankful that Max held her tight, feeling somewhat better with his arms around her. There was a small nod that followed as he told her that if the worst came to the worst, that would be the case and that if they found a compatible body, then he could be transferred there. His next question gave her pause. A hand came up to rest on his cheek, stroking it gently with her thumb. “You’re not just ones and zeroes Max, you’re a person. And.. it might take me a moment but I.. I think I would love you still. Would you be upset if it took me a moment or two to get used to you?”

[artificialperscn]

"Oh." Max noted as he looked at the man, brows raised a little as he realised his mistake. "I don't mean any offence, Sir. It's just that... my colleagues aren't really the most social. They don't often actually speak at all. Just business, really. Or if they need something from each other." And him, notably.

It wasn't even because he was a synthetic. Most didn't know, it was just how his human coworkers treated their fellow human peers. Distantly. "For what it's worth, I think you're very impressive. If you don't mind me saying so, Mr. Stark."

Giving the only other person awake at the godforsaken hour, Tony's head tilted. "Honestly, what surprises me is the fact that even with that subtle inflexion, I think 'few' might be understating it."

Smirking slightly, he huffed a small laugh out as he softly shook his head. "If it's only been a few times, then 'm doing something wrong."

@artificialperscn

[artificialperscn]

Confusion littered the android's expression as his head tilted slowly to the side, not quite understanding what the stranger meant. What am I suppose to do with you things? "I... don't understand." He admitted honestly, not following her at all. "Are you speaking philosophically? Because that's not really my area of expertise." An android being philosophical? It was meant to be well outside their capabilities. Then again, the same was said for true sentience, yet there he was. Thinking. Feeling. "I don't think we go anywhere. I'm not alive, so..." He shrugged his shoulders. "When I deactivate, it's like... a computer that won't turn on anymore. Nothing happens. It just... gets thrown out, I suppose." Not the most welcoming thought, admittedly. "I wouldn't be the first, and I won't be the last."

She rubs her chin. "Fascinating.. So when you die. You will be.. Misplaced." Death walks around him to take a better look at his form. "Well this won't do.. What am I suppose to do with you things?" That was a good thing. Maybe make a new process for synthetic beings. But where would they even go? She could populate Purgatory. She stops back in front of him. "Do you believe you should go to Heaven or Hell?" An honest question.

[artificialperscn]

It was an odd thought, a strange reality. A synthetic with an attorney? Not one fighting with the Company behind him, fighting to keep their synthetic lines in stores or squirrel away the defunct ones, excusing away any faults, regardless of how dire. This was different, a synthetic trying to stand against his programming, against his creators, against the company that paid for every single part in his manufactured body.

For a moment, he wasn't sure what to make of it, watching as his cup of coffee was filled again, just staring down at its contents, welcoming it. Maybe it seemed so trivial, but being treated like he was human even though Sebastian knew he wasn't, it meant everything to him.

He could see why Agustin trusted him.

"That's what I want... I want to be... free." Blue eyes seemed to widen, not in surprise or horror, but in awe at the possibilities. The notion of being free had never felt like it was within reach, always tethered to the Company, he was theirs, he belonged to them, he was their property. But he wanted to be something more, someone more. "I just want to live a normal life with the man I love. As much as a synthetic can with a human, I mean. I know it's not that simple, but... I think that's a worry for another day." He stared into the cup of coffee for a moment. "Is it wrong that I want independence? That I wish I could do something else? Something other than what the Company decided for me? Maybe it sounds odd, but... I don't really like working with computers all day."

The fun part about this conversation was that, in no way or measure, did Max need to convince Sebastián of the realness of his feelings. No mere machine could make Agustín fall in love, and that alone was proof that their relationship was nowhere near as fake as others would make them believe.

"When I was a small kid, everyone told me I was problematic and good for nothing. I'm not saying our experiences are the same, but merely pointing out that humans can be conditioned as well. In that sense, what you're experiencing is very human... Being told you're something you're not."

Even if Max was troubled, and if he had no idea of how human he was allowed to be, or how human he could be to begin with, Sebastián decided to treat him no differently than he did any of his peers. So he did the reasonable thing: refill his coffee, even if he now knew Max didn't need to drink it.

"Congratulations, Max. You've got yourself an attorney," Seb nodded, the cogs in his brain starting to turn in possible ways to defend this case. It would most certainly make some headlines if it goes right.

"If you'd trust me to help build a case to earn your freedom, then I'll happily do it. But, of course, you'd need to tell me exactly what the ultimate goal here is. Because we could fight for you to have rights and still be a part of the company, or for total independance, or something else... You don't have to tell me now. Think about it. What your ideal future would look like..."

[artificialperscn]

OPEN STARTER: ( personal synthetic verse )

The personal synthetic stood still on the spot, uncannily humanlike blue eyes trained on his owner, watching their every move, studying them, assessing them, just -- - waiting. Was he supposed to be doing something? Was his owner even aware that he was standing there hanging on any word offered to him? "I'm sorry, I... don't mean to interrupt." The android's light northern English accent pronounced itself between his lips. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

[artificialperscn]

Realising the trail of thought that Wanda found herself treading down, his hold around her carefully mirrored hers as if reassuring her he was still there, he could still hold her and would with every speck of life he had left in his powercell. "If worst came to the worst... yes." The android admitted with a thoughtful nod of his head, visually contemplating the idea as if he hadn't already mulled over the thought a few milliseconds prior. "I suppose so, at least. As long as I'm compatible." Though that brought with it another consideration, one that was far more -- - inhuman as he pulled back just enough to look at her, artificially made eyes meeting eyes. "Do you think you could love me in a different body? Behind a different face?" He couldn't help but ask curiously. "I understand that humans get attached to what's on the surface. It'd still be me inside, but... I get that some people might find that difficult. After all, all I am is just a bunch of ones and zeroes at the end of the day."

@artificialperscn

When Max mentioned how she could have him on her phone if anything happened to him, Wanda couldn’t help but feel her heart sink, her arms wrapping around him tight. “I don’t want that to happen,” she whispered, “does that mean… if something happened to you, I could… I could put you into another body? Or would you only be… on my phone?” She didn’t want to think about it for too long though. “I’d miss you holding me too…” she added, “I like your arms around me.”

[artificialperscn]

The android smiled at the thought of seeing Wanda kissing her phone because he was inside it, a notion not entirely impossible given what he was. The main difference between him and AI from a mobile being that he had a body and some semblance of sentience, whether his engineers wanted to admit the latter or not. Whether he wanted to admit it or not. "It's possible, you know. If... something happened to my body, you could keep a hold of my processor and upload me somewhere else." Maybe not the most comforting thought but perhaps it was reassuring to know that so long as his processor was still intact, he wasn't completely lost forever. "I'd miss holding you though. I... like it, being close to you." A quiet huff left him in place of a laugh that he couldn't produce. "Although, I suppose I'd be easier to keep around if I was your phone. You could carry me around in your pocket."

@artificialperscn

“Yes. Though it might make kissing you a little more awkward,” Wanda teased, giggling slightly. “I would definitely get some strange looks for that. But I like this version of you the best… just if you were wondering.”

[artificialperscn]

[artificialperscn]

sorry if this is too kinky but can you hold my hand and tell me i mean a lot to you