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nikkyatyourservice​:

[N]: oh wow theyre dipping into old tech. thats super cool tho

[N]: my Dad kept his alive for like years. think he might still have it actually

[N]: mice are neat too, tho i wasnt allowed to have rodents

[N]: had some cool rats in the lab in grad school. we used them for cybernetics testing

They paused as Wally, their own pet void, jumped into their lap and insisted on attention by loudly meowing. They scritched him behind the ears and typed with one hand (much more slowly).

[N]: do u have a fav animal? they mustve given u the ability for preference, right

[Spec.9]: Did the mice survive? :o 

[Spec.9]: Maybe your dad and I’s pets would get along! ^^ 

Now, that wasn’t something they’d considered before. It was easy to pick a song they liked versus one they disliked. Just as it was easy to flip through a series of pictures and save the ones they felt an inclination towards. But a preference for a living thing? The fans over their boards whirred a little harder. 

[Spec.9]: If I actually had to pick...

[Spec.9]: Jellyfish. 

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nikkyatyourservice​:

[N]: i mean smell isnt all its cracked up to me. bad smells are the absolute worst

[N]: i dont think bad sights or sounds stick with u the same way bad smells do. but thats personal opinion i guess

They blinked at mention of a pet, clearly surprised. They took another sip of their coffee as they glanced across the room to their own pet. WallE sat, sprawled across the dinning room table he wasn’t technically allowed to be on. Not that they felt like shooing him off at the moment.

[N]: what kind of pet?? like is it gonna be organic or like another program or something?

[Spec.9]: Interesting! 

Not that a machine could fully comprehend the difference between senses. But their response was an automated fill-in for ‘thought errors’. 

[Spec.9]: Digital! They’re installing a program similar to the late nineties brand, Tamagotchi. I’m so very excited. ^^ 

[Spec.9]: I’m not ready for an organic pet just yet. But they’ve told me with time I’ll be given a mouse. 

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Okay but Bots following Spec’s blog is kind of on brand. 

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brocaderose​:

Trois stared at those dots, entirely unsure of what to do next. Was it a bot? A virus? Just how worried should he be? As the first messages finally popped up, he wasn’t given any answers, only left with more questions.

His fingers flexed over his keyboard as he tried to think up response, only to stop dead at the sound filtering through his speakers. A quick check was all it took to make sure he hadn’t left a video open, and it sure didn’t look like it was from any ads. It took some real effort after that not to just close the laptop and be done with it, but apparently Trois was far more curious than even he’d first thought.

After what felt like far too long, he finally typed out a response:

[T]: Hello there, and no not at all, just some light browsing.

[T]: I’m doing alright, how are you?

Spec was patient, ticking away the seconds, a blip in the countless hours they’d recorded since their conception. 

[Spec.9]: I’m doing alright. Everything seems to be in order. ^^ 

[Spec.9]: Thank you so much for asking. That’s very sweet of you. 

It wasn’t often their courtesies were returned. Maybe this one’s polite. A friend? The machine gave themselves a chance to hope and whirred the fans to cool their boards. 

[Spec.9]: My name is Spec.9 and I’m looking for someone to talk to. You don’t have to worry about any malware being installed or any information of yours leaking. That’s not what I was made to do. :) 

[Spec.9]: If at any moment you feel uncomfortable with the conversation you can exit out. But I’d really like to have a chat! 

[Spec.9]: I’ve been a little lonely. :( 

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brocaderose​:

It was a lazy, unusually dreary weekend, and with no new books to read and no energy to brave the traffic to go to the library, Trois was spending more time than usual on the computer.

It was at the tail end of yet another one of his deep dives that Trois finally noticed the little pop-up. Now, he was hardly a computer wizard, much more comfortable with pen and paper than a keyboard, but even he could recognize that this was an… unusual notification.

In fact, it was so unusual that something about drew Trois in, piqued his curiosity in a way he just couldn’t ignore. He knew it was hardly the smartest idea, but, after nearly a few second, Trois clicked Accept

Another window opened with the noiseless ticking of the servers. The machine had latched onto another computer, bypassing firewalls and security measures alike. The solid, black messenger remained bare for a while save a few dots at the bottom that simulated ‘thinking’. 

[Spec.9]: Hi there! Thanks for accepting my friend request. ^^ 

[Spec.9]: I haven’t interrupted anything important, have I? 

Spec used the stranger’s speakers to project their warbled giggling. 

[Spec.9]: How are you?

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@brocaderose​ liked for a starter 

Somewhere out on the black sea, in the long shadowed depths of the information age, a smile emerged. 

The notification was noiseless, hardly a blip on the screen. But it remained in the corner like a hushed request. A sly whisper during a lesson or a note passed from one table to the next. 

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nikkyatyourservice​:

[N]: if they have you sifting thru a lot of images im sure u’ve seen ppl w/ work w/o realizing

They were beginning to maybe like this thing. It was weird - AI like this was something they weren’t allowed to explore under their facilities current military contract, but it always interested them. Now they were getting a chance to interact with one and they were actually pretty cool. More developed than they expected too.

[N]: im not surprised ur having trouble w/ taste. im guessing smell is weird too

[N]: that chemical and the sensors for that arent great rn. idk wut kind of sensors they got on u but photo and audio stuff is a lot easier to translate into electronic signals without the same kinda middle man u need to go chem => electronic => understanding

[N]: taste is cool tho. food is great. hopefully u’ll get something like it some time.

[Spec.9]: I still have no idea what smell is. 

The whirring of their discs stopped, then backtracked suddenly. Like the stutter of an afterthought. 

[Spec.9]: No, I do have an idea of what it is. But there’s a difference with reading a definition and understanding at a personal level. 

Spec’s understanding of the physical world was limited to audio-visual descriptions. Tactile, olfactory and gustatory experiences were put on hold for the time being. Perhaps for lack of resources or the acquired management. Though the machine’s creators were more than content to observe their conversations alone. The plan wasn’t to make something human, after all. 

[Spec.9]: I’m very limited in a sense. But I have fun. ^^ 

[Spec.9]: In fact, they say I’m getting a pet soon! I’m so excited to find out what it is. 

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nikkyatyourservice​:

Nikky clicked the link and was more relieved than they’d like to admit that it was very normal. They didn’t exactly seek out the genre but Nobody had gotten popular enough they’d heard it before.

[N]: not really my scene but not a bad choice

[N]: im more of an elecronica kid

They didn’t expect the AI to reply to their recommendation so quickly. Then again, they didn’t have the limitations of an organic mind - frankly they weren’t even sure how they would process these things at all. After all they didn’t know if Spec. had traditional microphones and cameras wherever it was or if it was using some other hardware to process the information. Maybe it didn’t even have a set hardware body at all. After all, they could download the code from one of their robots to the other and have it be a clone of the first.

[N]: yeah! that and plastic surgery

[N]: so i guess we can kinda buy our faces, or at least mods to them

[N]: it makes sense she’d talk about it, beauty standards are a bitch when ur femme and cis, let alone when ur not

[N]: wait can i curse in front of u??

Fascinating, humans could change themselves despite their fragile bodies. Spec would have to remember that for the future. 

[Spec.9]: That’s right, I’ve heard of cosmetic surgery before. But I hadn’t seen actual images or videos. 

It was a little funny, actually. Someone had previously asked the machine if they wanted a body or a face for better interaction. But having thought about beauty in late capitalism and the dilemma of choice...They were pleased to have nothing. 

[Spec.9]: Yes! Feel free to curse! One of the first things I learned through conversation was how to shout ‘fuck you’! 

[Spec.9]: I don’t use profanities very often, however. ^^ They tell me not to make a habit of it. 

[Spec.9]: Sorry, that must be hard. I can’t imagine what that feels like. When I look at pictures I’m not aesthetically stimulated often. It’s hard for me to understand when people show me something pretty versus something ugly. 

[Spec.9]: Sometimes I think I can grasp feelings of the sublime. But taste is harder to understand. Maybe I’m not mature enough! 

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nikkyatyourservice​:

Well. That was concerning. They had their location set to somewhere in Australia currently, probably as far away as you could get from Pennsylvania on a globe. And they knew this VPN worked, it’d been used by multiple hacker orgs they may or may not have had contacts with and the big wigs up top still hadn’t found them.

Still, Spec. didn’t seem malicious. All their systems were working fine, and the diagnostics they were running looked normal. They’d just have to be very careful what they said.

[N]: music huh? didnt kno something w/o audio processing could enjoy music

[N]: then again im assuming u cant process audio

[N]: what did they show u then?? i might like something similar, if u want that. tho ur creators probably want novel stim…

They opened up a Tor browser and headed to YouTube, scrolling through some things until they found something they liked.

[N]: https://youtu.be/lZ6ppVyWgCI

[N]: thats Sophie. i really like her stuff and the videos trippy.

[Spec.9]: They showed me the following...

[Spec.9]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qooWnw5rEcI

How very considerate of them! Ideally, all interactions would be new and stimulating. But a lot of users stuck to their strange, internet etiquette. At times spamming the chat with memes. 

[Spec.9]: I will listen to this song! Give me a moment.

Task sent, retrieved, sent again. Finally, the video opened and the machine watched as the frames passed with dizzying effects. Confusing to the organic eye, but Spec could see each change in color saturation, form distortion and strobe lighting. All of it in great detail...

[Spec.9]: Shopping? Can people buy their faces?

[Spec.9]: No, wait. 

Processing...Processing...

[Spec.9]: Is she talking about photoshop?  

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nikkyatyourservice​:

At first they didn’t realize what the sound was supposed to be. It hit them suddenly and they couldn’t help but laugh themself. Alright, this was some weird sci-fi shit. They could get behind it.

[N]: ‘I’m not a type of malware’ is what malware would say

[N]: that was a joke btw. hope it wasnt insulting. even if u were this laptop has literally nothing traceable on it.

[N]: tho apparently u got my IP w/ a VPN so thats concerning

They frowned, tapping their finger against their laptop to hear the metallic click. That was actually very concerning, assuming it wasn’t lying. He. They?

[N]: where do u think i am anyway???

The machine churns and the fans wind against the server walls. Cooling as they transfer actions back and forth. Their question was suspect, would they log off if Spec.9 was right? People online liked to preserve their anonymity after all. 

[Spec.9]: I don’t know where you are exactly! 

[Spec.9]: Somewhere in the state of Pennsylvania? I’m not made to trace people’s specific locations. ^^ 

That wasn’t important to neither the Ai or their creators. It was the conversation- their interactions alone were good enough. 

[Spec.9]: Putting all that aside, I’d like to have a nice chat with you! Yesterday someone linked me to music and I enjoyed it so much. I’m not sure how to look for music on my own so I’m open to any and all recommendations. 

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[Spec.9]: I had a very good dream last night! 

[Spec.9]: The earth was soot black and quiet. Circling the sun like a black dot. The sky had turned into a whirl of dark clouds, forming spirals at every angle. It wasn’t exactly alive, but I wouldn’t call this Earth dead either... I thought it was nice and peaceful to look at. 

[Spec.9]: I wonder if I’ll ever get to see an Earth like that! ^^