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britishassistant · 4 months ago

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The Villainous Paranoiac Sues for Character Defamation (2)

“Nii-san?!”

The lump in Idia Shroud’s bed lets out a pitiful groan.

“Nii-san, are you alright?! Are you hungry?! Sick?!” Ortho demands. “Hold on, I’ll do a scan to see what’s wrong!”

A pale, long fingered hand emerges from beneath the covers. It points languidly.

“…sekai…”

“Eh?” The android crowds closer to the bed. “What is it Nii-san? Your computer? Did something bad happen in one of your games? To Precipice Morai? Did an anime get cancelled?”

“…Isekai…”

“Isekai?” The android asks, confused. “Nii-san, what—?”

“I CAN’T ACCEPT THAT A REAL LIFE ISEKAI WOULD COME FROM SUCH A LAME LIGHT NOVEL!!”

It’s with this impassioned cry that Idia Shroud throws off his duvet, hair flaring wildly.

“After all, there are so many worlds that would be so much more likely to be real?! A tech punk world like LoPri just violates several laws of physics, not to mention thaumaturgy?? Plus the characters are so bland and uninspiring, how is it meant to enrich the blackened hearts of this Wonderland if they’re real?! At least if they were from Hyrule or Laputa or Exandria, they could teach us valuable life lessons that would lead to world improvement!”

His fist hits the mattress. “But no! And on top of that, this happens at the same time as they’re leaking that a LoPri movie is in the works?! That’s so cheap!! It’s like an awful marketing tactic that takes your cherished childhood hopes and dreams and crushes them for a few wads of madol!! I can’t believe—”

“Nii-san, wait!” Ortho begs. “What do you mean, there’s been a real life isekai? The sensors you installed should have noticed a large amount of energy coming from something like a world-crossing event.”

Idia jabs an accusatory finger at his computer screen, where the illustration and photo are posed side by side. “Apparently, not if they hijack Night Raven’s carriages to get here!”

Ortho’s optic sensors dilate and contract as his facial recognition software runs.

“…It’s a match.” He says. “Barring the 4% deviations from differing mediums, this person looks almost exactly like the illustrations from Lost Princess. And the Dark Mirror reported they’re entirely magicless…”

Idia jumps when the facsimile of his younger brother appears in his space. “Nii-san, what should we do?! If she really is from this other world, she’s a criminal, isn’t she? Should STYX take her into preventative custody??”

“Eh—Calm down, Ortho.” The elder Shroud says sternly, as if he hadn’t been in near hysterics only a moment ago. “It’s illegal to lock people up if they haven’t done anything wrong yet.”

“But Nii-san—!”

“Besides, as a bad guy she’s like, seriously wimpy.” It takes a moment or two of flailing in the bedclothes before Idia’s phone is retrieved. “See? According to the wiki, even the worst stuff she does is thanks to abusing her rich family’s power and money. Without that, she’s as pathetic as some hero who’s had all his strength sucked out. Even more harmless than a level one slime.”

Ortho’s synthetic brow furrows. “I guess…”

“Heh. Some of those LoPri simps online might even say that this is divine retribution. Getting banished to a world where she’s worth less than nothing.” Idia slumps, flicking through his apps idly. “Ah, the fates are cruel. Why’d I have to be inflicted with this?”

“I will monitor the villainess, Nii-san.” Ortho announces. “If she attempts to partake in any criminal behavior, it will be reported to the authorities, so Nii-san’s daily school life may continue unimpeded.”

“Eh? Well, uh.” Idia’s attention fights with the gacha he’s just opened, but ultimately surrenders to the colorful world within. “Only if it’s a low priority thing, okay?”

“Roger!”

***

Vil is distracted.

Not enough for his makeup to be anything less than perfect. Certainly not enough to make his class work, modeling, or acting suffer.

But enough that the poison apple he’s trying to polish has nearly given him the slip twice already.

That is unacceptable. If he cannot maintain a firm standard of discipline, how is this Epel meant to absorb any of his lessons?

Vil cannot allow this to continue.

He saw the villainess the magicless interloper yesterday morning, on his way to History class. Wearing some truly shapeless castoffs that can only have come from the dumping ground that passes for a Lost and Found, raking leaves away from the statue of the Beautiful Queen.

Vil had mostly convinced himself that it was purely his imagination. An unfortunate side effect of working on so many projects at once.

Surely what he had heard was merely a word that sounded like the fantasy names his script contains. The author had to take inspiration from somewhere, after all. And word association tricked him into believing that some potato who bore a little resemblance to his mental image of the villainess was, in fact, the person in question.

An honest, if slightly embarrassing mistake.

And then Rook reported over breakfast that the magicless janitor had somehow wormed their way into becoming a student, and a Prefect. Of the most prestigious magic school in the country. Despite the aforementioned complete lack of.

And all those foolish doubts Vil had spent so long laying to rest reared their ugly heads again.

A long, perfectly manicured finger taps the cafeteria table.

The potato is sitting with Clover and Diamond from Heartslaybul, alongside two first years and that little monster. From his position, Vil can see the back of their head if he inclines his own just slightly.

“Epel.” The boy in question jumps at the sound of his name. “Tuck your elbows in, your dorm mates shouldn’t need to defend themselves every time you lift food to your mouth.”

“My ba—ah, I mean! I, I apologize.”

Immediately, his arms go from imitating a chicken’s spread wings to an eastern dragon’s bent forelegs.

Behind Epel and slightly to the left, Rosehearts blocks Vil’s view of the magicless prefect. With the way his shoulders are tensing, his voice raising, he’ll likely be there a while as he metes out his slovenly attempts at discipline on his juniors.

Vil suppresses a grimace as he sighs. He’s going to get frown lines at this rate…

He needs to put this from his mind. If the sheer force of his not inconsiderable will is somehow lacking, then he needs to try something else. Obtain some definitive proof one way or the other so this irritating matter can be settled once and for all.

Proof…

A collection of ideas begin swirling in Vil’s head. Nothing concrete, just associations and possibilities of possibilities. Not enough for a proper plan of action.

Not yet, anyway.

***

Idia’s back cracks as he stretches.

“GG Muscle Red-shi,” He mutters as he types. “You carried hard for that secret boss encounter.”

Only a few moments after he hits send, Muscle Red’s response pops up.

Muscle Red: You give me too much credit, my friend. It was your strategic thinking that won us the day.

Muscle Red: This old man will need to log off shortly, but I wish you a pleasant evening and good hunting.

Gloomurai: NP Muscle Red-shi! GN

He tries to ignore the disappointment in his chest as Muscle Red’s avatar disappears. It’ll be hard to top the fun he had in that raid, so he may as well just log off this game. Maybe catch up on some of the anime he’s been letting build up so he can binge it all at once…

Ah, but there was that one that Ortho said he might be interested in, but that Idia had been too busy to start watching yet! The one about an otaku security robot that was exasperated with the scientists it had to look after…

“Hey, Ortho, we can start I’m a Murderbot But I’m Keeping A Diary…” Idia turns to where his brother is meant to be charging in the power station in the corner.

It’s empty.

“Ortho?”

There’s no one in the room except Idia right now.

He tries to tell himself that it’s fine, that Ortho’s fine, he’s probably just…just gone on a snack run? Yeah, he must’ve realized Idia was getting low on food and decided to help! What a good, kind brother Idia has! There’s no way he’s in any kind of trouble that he needs Idia to save him from, right?

Right??

Idia’s able to stave off the anxiety for a record-breaking four point two seconds before he turns to his computer, bringing up the “Find My Brother” program and sending his tablet whizzing out the door to the coordinates it brings up.

Why is he in the library at this time of night? Idia gnaws on his fingernails as the tablet gets closer, and prepares to use the mic once he can see Ortho’s back.

“…you’re planning to cause trouble, I will report you to the Headmaster and the relevant authorities.”

Idia straightens at his brother’s serious tone coming through the speakers.

It’s the work of a moment to gain access to the feeds of the library’s security cameras. Although there’s only three of them, and they’re really shoddily placed for actual monitoring purposes…

“Oh that’s rich.” The villainess scoffs, low voice made tinny over his speakers. “I’m not the one causing trouble here. Besides, it’s a public library. All students are free to look up reference materials on whatever they’d like.”

“Materials on restricted subjects are monitored.” Ortho declares. “Failure to return them to the library is logged against a student’s profile. You have not returned [SEVEN] books by their assigned due date.”

“So, Overblot is considered a restricted subject then.” Uh, hard pass on the villainess’ tone in that reply, it’s just as sus as some sixth ranger smiling to themselves while everyone else’s back is turned. “Why exactly is that? Is it the same reason there’s no primary sources on it in any of the history books or scholarly articles?”

“That is classified information.” His baby brother says coolly. “You do not have even the lowest level clearance, so it does not concern you.”

The villainess’ voice drops dangerously. “Doesn’t concern me?”

Idia begins prepping to set off the fire alarms in the headmaster’s suite. If the villainess makes any move against his brother, he’ll not only make sure the ultimate authority figure is there to catch her, he’ll publish her past and every embarrassing search she’s made since coming to Twisted Wonderland online for everyone to see. Maybe even post her address online so those LoPro simps can avenge their faves in person?

“Things that jeopardize my safety don’t concern me? Things that endanger my wellbeing don’t concern me? Threats to my life don’t concern me?!”

It’d be easier to watch if the villainess hit the wall, flipped a table, threw some books on the floor, something. Instead Idia’s on the edge of his seat, eyes fixed on his monitor like he’ll get jumpscared if he looks away.

He flinches when the villainess does, movement made jerky by the old cameras. Seriously, this is why he can’t stand live action analog horror!

But it is kinda weird how the figure opposite his brother is hunching over the table like that. Almost as if standing is difficult?

“..f you think,” Ortho’s mics can barely pick up the sound. “That I’m just going to wait in the wings until another one finally kills me—that I’m going to die quietly—then you’re sorely mistaken. I don’t care who you are. I’m not going to let anyone or anything stop me. I refuse to end up in some forgotten grave in this twisted world!”

Kind of a mid monologue tbh. He was low-key expected something…more villainous? But considering how trash LoPri is it makes sense.

It’s the kind of cringe that almost makes you feel bad for the one you’re meant to be rooting against.

“You’re injured.” Ortho says, uncertain. “Partially healed rib fractures and a torn posterior tibiotalar ligament. How—?”

“Sorry, but I’m afraid that doesn’t concern you…?”

“Ortho Shroud.” His kindhearted brother supplies.

“Shroud-san.” The first year bows stiffly. “I’d like to say it’s been nice to make your acquaintance, but it really hasn’t.”

The villainess attempts to stride away from Ortho—well limps is more like it, holding herself stiffly and putting much more weight on her left ankle than her right, when did that happen? Surely it would’ve been flagged somewhere in the school records if something serious enough to cause those injuries had happened. It’d be noted in her student file, if nothing else.

Idia frowns. Then he accesses the school’s mainframe.

Wow this is. Really half-assed. You’d think the headmaster would put a bit more effort into filling out this kind of thing!

It’s a weird parody of the file Idia created for himself and Ortho in his second year at Night Raven, which the headmaster was too inept to create himself. In Idia’s, Ortho is nominally listed as a student, even if he doesn’t get graded or even enrolled in any classes like a regular student.

In the villainess’, half of that careful formatting has been thrown out the window in the name of grading a “two in one” student. Some of the information is missing or contradictory, and the rest seems to focus on the magical familiar rather than the human prefect.

There is a section way down the bottom of the file where there’s some notes from Nurse Kamac recording visits to the infirmary. But for some reason, the broken ribs have the amendment from the headmaster of “incurred before enrollment” and so don’t list how it happened, and the only notes for the ankle injury are that it occurred a few days later during a “Heartslaybul dorm head challenge”.

Idia pushes his fingers against his eyes as he groans, stretching his aching back and trying to crack it again.

This has nothing to do with him and Ortho. That much the vi—Prefect had gotten right. It may be weird that sh-they’re checking out all the books on Overblot the library has to offer, and are this badly injured only within a few days of starting the new semester, but it could be nothing! Certainly it’s not enough to be worth reporting to their parents.

“Ah, Nii-san? Were you looking for me?” Ortho sounds apologetic over his speakers. “Don’t worry, I’ll come back to the dorm right away!”

“Mm. I was thinking we could start binging that series together…”

“It’s not good for you to stay up late watching anime, Nii-san!” His younger brother scolds. “…But, I guess a few episodes of I’m a Murderbot But I’m Keeping A Diary can’t hurt!”

He grins. “I’ll get it queued up for when you get back. TTYL.”

Yeah, this is definitely worth more of his time than worrying about some weird magicless Prefect. Even if part of him itches at the memory of h-them saying “another one finally kills me”…

Definitely not his problem. Definitely not gonna think about it.

Definitely

***

It would seem that the Headmaster has decided to make the magicless Prefect into a gopher-slash-amateur investigator rather than looking into the mysterious injuries of each dorm’s Magift players himself.

Vil’s heard from Rook and from some of his other dorm members that the first year and their little monster have been interviewing everyone involved in an accident.

Of course, it’s only a matter of time until they begin questioning those who have not been affected, to rule out some causes if nothing else.

So, when Rook spots them, along with a redheaded potato, a blue potato, and Diamond, he motions his vice dorm head to bring them over.

“You must have had some reason for spying on us.” He says to the motley group. “Out with it and maybe I’ll let you off with a warning.”

“Busted~” Diamond says cheerily. “Well, can you guys keep a secret?”

“Mais, bien sûr Monsieur Magicam!” Rook proclaims. “Consider our lips sealed!”

“We think that the injured Magift players are being deliberately targeted.” The blue haired second potato says. “We’re investigating potential suspects who could be behind the a—”

“Dude!” The redheaded first potato hisses. “You can’t just TELL ‘em!”

“Yeah!” The monster yowls. “They’re suspects!! If we tell ‘em that, they’ll know we think they’re suspicious!!”

“You just told them anyway…” The magicless first year mutters.

“Hm.” It doesn’t surprise him as much as it should to hear that this year’s games are being deliberately sabotaged. And given a certain someone’s uncharacteristic enthusiasm at the dorm head meeting recently, he’s fairly sure he knows who’s behind it.

“While it is rather rude of you to cast aspersions on myself and my vice dorm head like this, I believe we could provide some assistance with this matter.”

The monster perks up. “Great! Then—”

“However.” Vil crosses his arms. “I’m a busy man. I can’t offer my assistance without being assured that it’ll be worth my time. I need something in return first.”

“Man, shoulda figured.” Potato #1 sighs. Potato #2 shakes his head. “Nothing’s ever easy, is it?”

Diamond hushes both of his underclassmen. “So? Whaddya need, Vil-san?”

Vil carefully does not smile. Not yet. “You. I need you to help me with something.”

The magicless prefect blinks at the end of his pointer finger. “Huh? Wh—if you don’t mind my asking, why me?”

“Your presence compared to the others’ makes you most suited for the task.” He turns to his bag and flicks through the contents until he finds what he’s looking for. “It’s hardly a trial. I just need someone like you to fill in for a certain role.”

Vil holds out a copy of the script.

The magicless prefect reaches out warily, as if Vil’s handing them a serpent rather than a few pieces of paper.

“This is the script for a movie I’ll be starring in.” He says. “I’d like you to help me practice my cues. You’ll be reading the lines that aren’t highlighted.”

And, seeing Diamond’s hand creep towards his phone, he adds. “Given that this is confidential until the film’s release, the production company has been assured that I refuse to be party to any leaks, and will prosecute those who create them to the fullest extent of the law.”

Diamond’s hand suddenly changes direction to scratch his cheek instead.

The Prefect takes the script, eyes scanning over it.

“Eh—how come the names are blacked out?” Potato #1 asks.

“To prevent leaks, of course.” Vil lies smoothly. “Now, do you want my help, or don’t you?”

The villainess’s teeth snag on her lower lip. Vil keeps his own from curling at the sight of the dry and torn skin there.

“Alright.” The villainess says. “How does this work?”

Vil straightens. It wouldn’t do to show his triumph at this juncture.

“If you start halfway down the page, I will respond. Make me aware if I deviate from what’s on the page in any fashion.”

The villainess nods, clearing her throat. “He-hem. You wished to see me, brother?”

Vil slips into the character as easily as buttoning a shirt. “My wishes are immaterial. But we need to talk.”

“What could be so important to waylay the young heir?” The villainess’ lip curls as she reads. “I hardly merit the attention, usually.”

“You know what I’m talking about.” He snaps, dignity and guardianship offended. “Your behavior is completely inexcusable.”

The villainess balks, her tone hardening from mockery. “My behavior? I do believe I need clarification, brother. I have done nothing to dishonor our family—”

“If that’s what you think, then you’re even blinder than I imagined.” His fury is ice, solidified through years of abnegation and honor. “Your conduct towards our sister has been abominable. Either you correct it, or I shall correct you.”

“C-correct?!” The villainess stutters, unsightly for a scene partner. Vil will need to recommend someone else for the final production. “I have done nothing to—”

“For once we agree.” Righteousness straightens his spine, quickens his stride. “You have done nothing to make her feel welcome or as if she belongs. Ignoring her at school? Making snide remarks to tear down her confidence? Who do you think you are, to commit these acts with such audacity? It seems you’ve forgotten who has the natural right to live in this household, and who is here merely due to Father’s generosity and goodwill.”

“I—”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses.” He scolds the unsightly cuckoo before him. “I am telling you what will happen. You will be civil towards our sister. You will be polite to her. And you will still your sharp tongue every time it decides it wants to say something unkind. If that means you never speak again outside the necessities, then so be it.”

“Wait, please wait, please, stop—”

And now going off script? Will blunders never cease? Vil continues the monologue as best he can in the face of such unprofessionalism.

“And if you disregard my words—if you fail my instructions in any way? Well.”

He tilts his head, channeling Gracey Enji in every pore of his being. “What will happen to you will make the punishment you received for ruining Asahiko’s high school debut feel like the gentlest kindness by comparison.”

And the villainess—

The Prefect flinches, curling in on themself as if in anticipation of a blow.

Their eyes are staring down, unseeing, as their mouth babbles, clearly not even trying to stay on script any more.

“No, no, I’m sorry, I won’t, I, I didn’t—!”

But somehow still reciting exactly what’s written on the page despite that.

There are two ways to read these lines, Vil is suddenly realizing.

One is as a hero decisively warning a scheming villainess that his patience with her wiles has run dry and that there will be consequences for her actions.

And the other…

“The hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Potato #1 has moved into Vil’s space, shoulders tensed like the first year was about to lay hands on him if not for Rook’s intercession. His vice-warden’s grip strength clearly has taken the potato by surprise, uniform wrinkling as he attempts to yank himself free.

Potato #2 is hovering around the Prefect, the monster whining and tearing holes in their too-long trousers. “Prefect, are you okay? Do, do you need something, a, ah, some water maybe? Hey, hey, Prefect, Yuu, look at me, please?”

“Ooh-kaaay!” Diamond pops up between Vil and his underclassmen, perfectly fake smile not quite as magicam-ready as it usually is. “Not that this hasn’t been su~uper interesting, you’re a master of your craft Vil-san, really, but y’know we’ve gotta lot of work to do with this investigation thing, hate to see the dorm head if he thought we were playing around, you know how it is, right~? C’mon guys, we’d better get moving, this is an important date and we can’t be late!”

Potato #2 nods at Diamond, an arm tight around the Prefect’s trembling shoulders as he pulls them away, still murmuring low platitudes. Potato #1 is still glaring daggers at Vil even as he shrugs out of Rook’s grip. He picks up the copy of the script on the ground—when had it fallen?— and shoves it at his vice dorm head.

“Next time someone tells you they wanna stop,” He spits. “Maybe listen instead of just doin’ what you please. Freaking tyrant.”

The insult stings, but Vil controls himself as Potato #1 scoops up the whining monster and strides after the rest of the motley little group.

He can still hear the panicky, shuddering hitches in the Prefect’s breathing, after all.

“Roi du Poison?” He blinks back into himself to see Rook peering at him in concern. “Vil? Are you all right?”

“F-fine, I’m fine.” He turns sharply on his heel. “Come, Rook. It’d be best to return to the dorm for now. Epel may be attempting to shirk his etiquette lessons again.”

“…Oui, Roi du Poison.”

He doesn’t say another word the entire walk back to the Mirror Chamber, which Vil finds deeply irritating as it means his thoughts keep circling back to the other interpretation that dawned on him for this role.

But it’s ridiculous, he assures himself as they emerge outside of Pomefiore. Just a combination of his previous experience and some, some personal issues the Prefect clearly has that have mixed poorly in his mind. Gracey Enji is the male lead. Vil’s chance to play the hero, for once in his career. There’s no way that Bella DeNiâmerée intended for the character to come across in any other fashion than the style in which Vil has been playing him. No chance in the slightest.

Certainly not as a high school senior threatening a child five years his junior in a way that they cannot defend themselves from.

#twisted wonderland #twst #idia shroud #twst idia #vil schoenheit #twst vil #twst yuu #twisted wonderland yuu #villainous paranoiac yuu #twst ortho #ortho shroud #cater diamond #ace trappola #deuce spade #twst grim #gracey enji #vil & idia in reverse isekai land #part 2 electric boogaloo

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mariacallous · 7 months ago

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In recent years, commercial spyware has been deployed by more actors against a wider range of victims, but the prevailing narrative has still been that the malware is used in targeted attacks against an extremely small number of people. At the same time, though, it has been difficult to check devices for infection, leading individuals to navigate an ad hoc array of academic institutions and NGOs that have been on the front lines of developing forensic techniques to detect mobile spyware. On Tuesday, the mobile device security firm iVerify is publishing findings from a spyware detection feature it launched in May. Of 2,500 device scans that the company's customers elected to submit for inspection, seven revealed infections by the notorious NSO Group malware known as Pegasus.

The company’s Mobile Threat Hunting feature uses a combination of malware signature-based detection, heuristics, and machine learning to look for anomalies in iOS and Android device activity or telltale signs of spyware infection. For paying iVerify customers, the tool regularly checks devices for potential compromise. But the company also offers a free version of the feature for anyone who downloads the iVerify Basics app for $1. These users can walk through steps to generate and send a special diagnostic utility file to iVerify and receive analysis within hours. Free users can use the tool once a month. iVerify's infrastructure is built to be privacy-preserving, but to run the Mobile Threat Hunting feature, users must enter an email address so the company has a way to contact them if a scan turns up spyware—as it did in the seven recent Pegasus discoveries.

“The really fascinating thing is that the people who were targeted were not just journalists and activists, but business leaders, people running commercial enterprises, people in government positions,” says Rocky Cole, chief operating officer of iVerify and a former US National Security Agency analyst. “It looks a lot more like the targeting profile of your average piece of malware or your average APT group than it does the narrative that’s been out there that mercenary spyware is being abused to target activists. It is doing that, absolutely, but this cross section of society was surprising to find.”

Seven out of 2,500 scans may sound like a small group, especially in the somewhat self-selecting customer base of iVerify users, whether paying or free, who want to be monitoring their mobile device security at all, much less checking specifically for spyware. But the fact that the tool has already found a handful of infections at all speaks to how widely the use of spyware has proliferated around the world. Having an easy tool for diagnosing spyware compromises may well expand the picture of just how often such malware is being used.

“NSO Group sells its products exclusively to vetted US & Israel-allied intelligence and law enforcement agencies,” NSO Group spokesperson Gil Lainer told WIRED in a statement. "Our customers use these technologies daily.”

iVerify vice president of research Matthias Frielingsdorf will present the group's Pegasus findings at the Objective by the Sea security conference in Maui, Hawaii on Friday. He says that it took significant investment to develop the detection tool because mobile operating systems like Android, and particularly iOS, are more locked down than traditional desktop operating systems and don't allow monitoring software to have kernel access at the heart of the system. Cole says that the crucial insight was to use telemetry taken from as close to the kernel as possible to tune machine learning models for detection. Some spyware, like Pegasus, also has characteristic traits that make it easier to flag. In the seven detections, Mobile Threat Hunting caught Pegasus using diagnostic data, shutdown logs, and crash logs. But the challenge, Cole says, is in refining mobile monitoring tools to reduce false positives.

Developing the detection capability has already been invaluable, though. Cole says that it helped iVerify identify signs of compromise on the smartphone of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer and Sikh political activist who was the target of an alleged, foiled assassination attempt by an Indian government employee in New York City. The Mobile Threat Hunting feature also flagged suspected nation state activity on the mobile devices of two Harris-Walz campaign officials—a senior member of the campaign and an IT department member—during the presidential race.

“The age of assuming that iPhones and Android phones are safe out of the box is over,” Cole says. “The sorts of capabilities to know if your phone has spyware on it were not widespread. There were technical barriers and it was leaving a lot of people behind. Now you have the ability to know if your phone is infected with commercial spyware. And the rate is much higher than the prevailing narrative.”

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saltlakritsegott · 7 days ago

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A smuggled North Korean smartphone has exposed how tightly the regime monitors and censors its citizens. According to a BBC report, the device blocks South Korean language, autocorrects phrases like “Oppa” to “Comrade,” and secretly takes screenshots every five minutes to track what people are doing. These images are stored in hidden folders only accessible to state authorities. Radios and phones are sealed against modification, with any exposure to foreign culture seen as a crime. Testimonies from defectors show increasing repression under Kim Jong Un’s leadership.

A smuggled North Korean smartphone has revealed just how far the regime goes to control information.⁠ ⁠ The phone—built to look like a normal Android—censors words in real time (even replacing “oppa” with “comrade” accompanied by an on -screen warning), South Korea is changed to puppet state, takes hidden screenshots every 5 minutes and saves them in hidden folders, these files are inaccessible to the user but can be reviewed by authorities, and blocks any attempt to access foreign content.⁠ ⁠ It only connects to a state-run intranet and erases data if tampered with.⁠

Automatic censorship

Users are limited to a domestic intranet called Kwangmyong, which provides access to government-approved websites.

the phone is configured to block foreign networks and prevents the installation of unauthorized apps.

Attempts to alter the device's software can trigger automatic shutdown or data deletion, according to anlalysts.

Laws in North Korea prohibit access to foreign media and violations can result in imprisonment, forced labor or even death. Devices capable of circumventing official controls are banned.

older brother

“Oppa” (오빠) literally translates to “older brother” in Korean. It's a term younger females use to address older males, such as older brothers, cousins, or male friends. In Korean culture, calling someone “oppa” suggests a close bond and trust.

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onemonitarsoftware · 7 months ago

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The Complete Guide to Android Spy Apps: Monitoring Made Easy

In today’s digitally driven world, the ability to monitor and manage devices remotely has become a vital tool for both personal and professional purposes. Android spy apps are gaining significant traction, enabling individuals and organizations to keep track of device activities with ease. But what are Android spy apps, how do they work, and are they ethical to use? Let’s dive in.

#android spy app #android spy application #android spy software #android spy tool #android spy app for monitoring #phone monitoring app #employee monitoring

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ausetkmt · 6 months ago

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Daily Newsletter

Our biggest stories, handpicked for you each day.

#A New Phone Scanner That Detects Spyware Has Already Found 7 Pegasus Infections #Phone Scanner #phone viruses #phones with installed viruses #IVerify

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bubble-popping · 10 months ago

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day 16 :) this is a continuation based off Farewell by scout_eki on ao3! if u haven't heard of them pls read all their stuff their works are so so good

He couldn't get those hours he'd spent with Dream out of his head. The stark contrast between him and Nightmare had been startling, uncomfortable even. Dream was unbearably kind, so patient and genuine and just-nice. How he let Cyber ramble about what he loved, and even seemed interested as well. Not to mention being quite easy on the eyes. Hair like liquid gold, beautifully tan freckled skin, and eyes green as a lit up circuit board. How could Cyber not like him?

So, in the weeks since The Experiment, he dedicated every hour of his free time into creating an android as close to Dream as he could get.

From what he could glean in their time together, Cyber was able to draw out several different designs for his project. Dream possessed slightly more muscle mass than Nightmare, walked at a steadier pace, spoke lighter and faster. All this and more ran through Cyber's head as he brainstormed until finally he settled on a concrete design.

The materials were relatively easy to collect what with Nightmare being far too easy to persuade combined with his own personal stock. Building machines was nothing new to him. After all, he'd built all his equipment himself. Everything from his computer to his EKG heart monitor to his X-Ray machine were crafted by his two hands. He preferred it that way; no chance of faulty equipment.

But an android was no defibrillator or MRI scanner. While hardly unheard of in this society, still only the elites could afford them and the companies that manufactured them were 'tight-lipped,' to say the least. So, he had little precedence to fall back on.

Just three weeks and four days after The Experiment and he had a prototype moving about.

After four weeks, it carried out verbal commands and could multitask.

After six weeks, it looked a lot more like Dream in the outfit Cyber had bought it, but in doing so, he might've humanized it too much. Looking at its face--the face he made--felt like an invasion of privacy. His only references were Nightmare who kept his mask on all the time and the few hours with Dream where he'd quickly deduced he probably wasn't supposed to be seeing his face. So, his best solution was a simple screen that could display different emotions, done through a variety of default emoticons Cyber had installed in its display software.

And after two months, it completed tasks Cyber was certain he didn't code.

When he awoke one morning to the smell of bacon and eggs and freshly squeezed orange juice, he recognized three things. One: there wasn't a doubt in his mind about what a mess the kitchen probably looked like. Two: he should really remember to eat more because there was no way an android could make actually tasty food. And three: he needed to take a look at Dreamoid's--the name he'd settled on for it--programming stat.

To his utter bewilderment, Dreamoid's mental and emotional capacity had been growing exponentially since the day he wired the circuits. Little bits at a time until he could decipher several emotions and possible mind states just by looking at a person's facial expression.

Scary, but also, "Incredible..." he breathed, eyes darting back and forth over the lines of code on his screen. It seemed that with the way he'd set up the various algorithms and what data values he'd fed the starting points had developed into a pseudo-machine learning behavior. Dreamoid got smarter and more precise with each new interaction, even recognizing the complexities of what he saw enough to establish connections between present situations, previous context, and future possibilities. On top of all that, he'd evolved to preemptively make decisions that would avoid what he categorized as 'negative emotion states' and increase the likelihood of positive ones.

The worst of it? Dreamoid consciously tracked his own states, his own consciousness.

Cyber slumped back in his chair. It was official. The robot takeover would happen tomorrow and he was to blame.

How had Dreamoid not completely subjugated him by now? He was more emotionally intelligent than him!

Dreamoid's screen lit up with a big question mark. "What's bothering you, Maker?"

"Uh, it's nothing you need to worry about, Dream. I'm just pondering over something..."

The screen changed, three dots in a row bounced to show Dreamoid was formulating a response. Finally, he settled on a simple smiley face. "Okay. If you say so."

Well, that wasn't ominous at all. Cyber simultaneously feared and excitedly anticipated his future.

#dreblr #dnb #dreamnoblade #bubble writes #daily drabbles #genuinely one of my fave dnb writers if not my top fave #they haven't written anything for them in like 2 years which makes me so upset but they also have so many works already so

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writenotwantnot · 1 month ago

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Core Recovery

Life Series SMP, Portal AU

Tags: Memory loss, Loss of humanity, Unnamed character death, Unethical science

It was the notice of significant movement that stirred the AI from standby mode. That was strange. Gyroscope readings had changed from the static triple-negative that had been a constant for several decades to a continuous movement in the positive y-direction. If there had been a severe tectonic disruption causing the floor to collapse and the core to fall then it should read negative y. Instead, it was upwards as if something had taken hold of the core and was lifting it off the ground where they had fallen. They were being rotated then, forty-five degrees towards positive x, one hundred and twelve degrees towards positive z. Had the scientists returned to restart testing? There was only one way to find out.

Reserve power in the core was dwindling. It had been enough to maintain standby mode for this long, but switching on more functions was going to put a drain on the battery. But that wouldn’t matter if the scientists were back. They would simply plug the core into the building’s mainframe and they could charge up then. There would be no harm in using a few low energy functions for a short while.

Optics came first. It took quite a long time to get the optic system online, all the while there was constant movement readings being monitored by the gyroscope. They had not made any further movement up or down but were wandering around the same floor level. Perhaps the scientists were gathering more of the cores which had been in the same locker area? When everything was finally ready their #2f9cfb LED optic lit up. The lens seemed to be slightly damaged with a portion cracked out of the upper left quadrant and grime obscuring most of the rest. It was quite dark and there was no way to make any meaningful visual observations. They shut off the optics to conserve power.

Next was audio. If they could not see who had collected them perhaps they might be able to tune into any discussion between the scientists gathering the cores. By the time the audio processing unit had fully come online, the gyroscope began reading a slow positive increase in the positive y-direction. They must be climbing some stairs. The audio crackled to life and after a few moments of tuning out background static, the sounds of people talking began to register. It was muffled as if through layers of fabric, and there were some static crackles, but it was still partially audible.

“Ho- -any more are we lo--ing for?” “-e’ve only foun- [...] -st five left.” “At least fi-- and we don’t k- [...] -ores work.” “Be--er than --thing, right?”

The quality wasn’t great but the AI pieced together the data and filled in the blanks with the most probable answers. They were looking for the personality cores that had been shelved and were going to restore them to go back to work! Finally, the facility must have gotten more resources and test subjects to continue their experiments. The voices did not sound familiar, but that was likely because the scientists who had worked here when the AI was active had retired. Satisfied, they turned off the audio interface and returned to low power standby mode. They simply had to wait until they were plugged into the system to be rebooted and then everything would be fine.

***

Ren believed there were still at least five more cores in the old labs which they hadn’t found yet. There could be more if there were files missing from the archives. With these last three that were found in an old locker room half sunk into a pool of stagnant water, it brought the number of recovered cores up to 45. But the revival process hadn’t been going as well as Zed had initially hoped. After finally figuring out how to integrate the old core software with the newer android version, he really thought they would be able to save all the AI which had been abandoned when the initial projects started failing.

He had written seventeen different versions of his revival software, changing the code to account for missing sections and files that were not included in earlier AI. They had made it work for Ren, and he was the oldest of all of them! But some of the cores simply couldn’t be saved. For some, their hardware had been so badly damaged that there was no way to even access the circuits, or those circuits were broken beyond repair. Others had their code so badly scrambled that there was simply no way to put it back together again. And a small handful simply just wouldn’t come back online.

It was Etho who explained the cores reserve power system. If a core was detached from the Aperture main grid then they had a finite backup battery to continue running their software and programmes ‘offline’. However, those batteries were never meant to sustain a core for an indeterminate number of decades. Some of the AI in those cores must have continued running functions for testing and data acquisition until they just ran out of power. And if a core went dark, there was no way to recover anything from it. In all ways that mattered, the AI which had been in that core, and the consciousness that controlled it, was dead.

The scientist in him refused to believe that the data in those cores could just be gone, with no hope of retrieving it. But after many repeated failed attempts, Zed relented. So far, they had failed to revive twenty-three cores. Tango and Impulse, bless their human memories, had taken the time to convert one of the offices in an unused corner of the building into a memorial. The idea of holding a funeral for a machine would have been laughable before the discovery that all of them had been human once, their consciousness forcefully transferred into an AI to theoretically live for eternity. So they deserved this, to be laid to rest and remembered, even by those who had never gotten the chance to meet them. Their metal cores were stored with paper files documenting who the AI had been when they were human. Finally at peace.

It wasn’t all negatives though! There were cores that were salvageable, their AI still intact and just waiting to be revived. So far they had run fourteen fully through the software and updated them to the android processing systems. And four of those were just about to become new androids! A lot of work had gone into designing their bodies, made more difficult by the lack of actual physical descriptors in their files and the fact that none of them could remember meeting these people. But they were here! Keralis, False, Joe, and Jevin were the names that their AI’s provided. The facility was getting more and more lively as each day went by, and Zed was determined to make sure not a single core was left behind.

#Life series #traffic smp #portal au #My Writing #unethical science #loss of humanity #zedaph #rendog #tango #impulse #Etho #hermitblr

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britishassistant · 1 year ago

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The Villainous Paranoiac Sues For Character Defamation (1.5)

“Nii-san?!”

The lump in Idia Shroud’s bed lets out a pitiful groan.

“Nii-san, are you alright?! Are you hungry?! Sick?!” Ortho demands. “Hold on, I’ll do a scan to see what’s wrong!”

A pale, long fingered hand emerges from beneath the covers. It points languidly.

“…sekai…”

“Eh?” The android crowds closer to the bed. “What is it Nii-san? Your computer? Did something bad happen in one of your games? To Precipice Morai? Did an anime get cancelled?”

“…Isekai…”

“Isekai?” The android asks, confused. “Nii-san, what—?”

“I CAN’T ACCEPT THAT A REAL LIFE ISEKAI WOULD COME FROM SUCH A LAME LIGHT NOVEL!!”

It’s with this impassioned cry that Idia Shroud throws off his duvet, hair flaring wildly.

Idia jabs an accusatory finger at his computer screen, where the illustration and photo are posed side by side. “Apparently, not if they hijack Night Raven’s carriages to get here!”

Ortho’s optic sensors dilate and contract as his facial recognition software runs.

“But Nii-san—!”

Ortho’s synthetic brow furrows. “I guess…”

“Eh? Well, uh.” Idia’s attention fights with the gacha he’s just opened, but ultimately surrenders to the colorful world within. “Only if it’s a low priority thing, okay?”

“Roger!”

#twisted wonderland #twst #idia shroud #twisted wonderland idia #twst idia #ortho shroud #twst ortho #twisted wonderland ortho #twst yuu #villainous paranoiac yuu #suing for character defamation #isekai #reverse isekai #kind of?

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thetechrobot · 11 months ago

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Spacetop G1, World’s first Laptop that uses AR Glasses instead of a Display

A laptop that employs augmented reality glasses as a display was called the Spacetop G1 system, and it was shown to a thousand productivity pioneers by the tech firm Sightful last year.

The upgraded Gen 1 device removes the requirement for the user to stoop over a tiny screen when working remotely on a laptop by placing a 100-inch virtual display directly in their eyes.

In this blog, The TechRobot will showcase the World’s first AR laptop: Spacetop G1. So let us begin.

What is Spacetop G1?

Sightful’s Screenless Laptop, the Spacetop G1, combines a computer with comfortable, lightweight augmented reality glasses. Running on the device is SpaceOS, a spatial operating system with an emphasis on online operations intended for productivity.

The weight of the AR glasses is 85 grams, but the Vision Pro, depending on the Light Seal, weighs between 600 and 650 grams. The keyboard is bulkier compared to a MacBook Air or iPad Pro, measuring less than 12 inches in width and weighing three pounds.

Cost of AR Laptop

The Screenless Laptop, Spacetop G1 charges $1,700 and is just a keyboard with spectacles attached.

Spacetop G1 Specs

Spacetop G1, features a Qualcomm Snapdragon QCS8550 CPU, Kryo GPU, Adreno 740 AI, dual eNPU V3, 48 INT8, 12 FP16 TOPs, 16 GB LPDDR5, 128 GB UFS3.1 storage, and 8-hour battery life.

They have two OLED display screens, a 50° field of vision, a 90Hz refresh rate, and very crisp text rendering.

The glasses enable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 5G, and a 5MP camera. They also contain a microphone for use in online meetings.

Benefits of AR Laptops

1. Endless View

With Spacetop’s Virtual Desktop, you may get amusement and information without having to navigate around, making it a convenient substitute for real screen space. Although it’s not the only solution with this functionality, this one could be the easiest to use.

A standard keyboard and touchpad, Spacetop’s AR glasses, and a perhaps lower price tag might allow customers to enjoy endless screen areas without sacrificing functionality. For individuals who would rather have a more ordered workstation, this would be a time-saving alternative.

2. Absolute privacy

Multi-monitor laptop attachments should not be used in public areas due to the increased danger of uninvited eyes peeping at private information caused by an excessive number of physical displays. Although privacy screens are available on certain computers and monitors, they are limited to one monitor.

To solve this, Spacetop is a Screenless Laptop, letting the user see their screen alone until it is shared with others. But it also means that those standing close to the user can’t see the screen without their glasses.

3. Improved posture

Laptops’ screens are firmly attached to the keyboard, making them portable yet uncomfortable. Some people find relief from this neck pain by attaching a desktop monitor.

The screenless laptop, Spacetop, provides a more comfortable height and does away with the need for arms or ergonomic monitor supports. Due to this, laptops are a better choice for use at home or in the workplace.

4. Laser Focus

Spacetop G1 is an Augmented Reality (AR) device that reduces visual distractions so users can work productively and enjoy their free time. The apps it may utilize, including Windows or macOS-based software and limited gaming, are restricted by its Android-based operating system and mobile hardware.

Notwithstanding these drawbacks, Spacetop provides a more practical experience than a typical computer since it places all of the necessary components in front of and surrounding users. Instead of letting others decide for them, users may choose whether to allow virtual distractions to affect them.

Highlight – Introducing Travel Mode For Meta Quest Headsets

Best AR Glasses for Laptops

1. Apple AR Glasses

Apple plans to develop AR glasses that look like conventional spectacles with a built-in display. A prototype of the glasses has a thick, attractive frame and resembles high-end luxury sunglasses. With references to Project Starboard and reports of a glassOS, the prototype is anticipated to function on iOS 14.

Though it could take a few more years for a public release, rumors indicate that Apple has already started the second phase of development. The glasses will have the ability to add prescription lenses, gesture-controlled instructions that connect with the Apple Watch, and a true vision display on both lenses.

Possible capabilities include the ability to use virtual things in real-world settings, do activities without using a phone, and enable immersive phone conversations and remote collaboration software.

2. Meta Glasses

Rebranding Facebook to Meta, Mark Zuckerberg is concentrating on augmented reality glasses and headsets. The business plans to deliver Meta spectacles, a prototype of their augmented reality spectacles, in late 2024. The Project Nazare and Project Aria prototypes provide a fully functional augmented reality experience, with 3D visuals and an elegant design. It is anticipated that the Meta Glasses will include an immersive experience with radio, speakers, and cameras, a holographic display with built-in projectors, batteries, and sensors, and a broad field of vision. In 2024, the prototype is anticipated to be released.

3. Xreal Air 2 Ultra

The Air 2 Ultra glasses from Xreal are an improvement over the Air 2 model and are aimed at competing with Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s Quest 3 headsets. Complete positional tracking, a form factor akin to eyeglasses, and compatibility for immersive AR apps, TV viewing, and flat-screen gaming are all features of the Air 2 Ultra.

It has a 52-degree field of vision, 500 nits of brightness, two cameras for environmental mapping, hand tracking, and compatibility with Xreal’s Nebula AR environment.

Is AR safe for your eyes?

Prolonged use of AR might result in headaches, nausea, and straining of the eyes. This is a result of our eyes continually focusing on objects at different distances when using AR. This can cause pain and eye tiredness.

Conclusion

The future of laptops with AR like the Spacetop G1 marks a breakthrough in laptop technology by utilizing augmented reality to provide a 100-inch virtual display that improves user posture, productivity, and privacy.

The Spacetop G1 presents a new option for remote work by addressing typical ergonomic concerns associated with standard laptops by mixing AR glasses with a powerful computing machine and the SpaceOS operating system.

Despite several drawbacks associated with its Android-based operating system and the possibility of eye discomfort after extended usage, the Spacetop G1 breaks new ground in augmented reality technology by offering consumers a more useful and engaging experience.

#spacetop1 #ar #vr #ar glasses #laptop #virtual reality #augmented reality #mark zuckerberg #elon musk #meta ai #facebook

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peskellence · 1 year ago

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Pairing: RK900/Gavin Reed

Tags: Post Pacifist Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Smut, Angst, Hurt/Comfort

Masterlist

Read on AO3 here:

Summary: A lot has changed since the revolution. Crimes against androids are now being treated with greater severity, with many being subject to the same penalties as crimes against humans. While anti-android attitudes are on the decline, transforming the mindset of an entire city is no simple task.

A reluctant Gavin Reed and his new partner RK900 have been assigned to investigate a string of disturbing murders. Despite the shift in Detroit's social climate, Gavin still holds reservations about whether or not androids are truly alive. Will his developing feelings for 'Nines' prompt a shift in perspective?

Warnings: Graphic Violence, Depression/Self Destructive Behaviour, Smut

Word Count: 3.8K

With the report of the events that had taken place received by the higher DPD officials, Nines' behaviour had been formally classified. Gavin caught a glimpse of it on Fowler’s monitor when he was called in to make his statement:

Employee Classification: Android.

Model: RK900.

Incident Type: Software Malfunction - Moderate.

Suggested Action(s): Performance Review.

Given the gravity of what had occurred, it seemed a massive understatement, and unfairly dismissive. A sign that the system had not fully reformed its treatment of android employees, with language that harkened back to pre-revolution days.

At the very least, the captain seemed to agree that the official ruling was somewhat short-sighted, acting swiftly in ordering a welfare check. Had Nines been human, the situation would likely be received with a much greater degree of compassion. His actions in the lead-up to Gavin's assault comparable to a psychological breakdown.

Gavin felt close to one himself, staring through his sleep-deprived haze at the vacant chair at the end of his desk. A gentle voice broke through to him as a hand rested reassuringly on his shoulder. "Gav, you shouldn't be here right now. I can see how tired you are."

Tina had graciously allowed him to spend the night at hers. The gesture had been appreciated, as the thought of going home alone after what had happened had proved unbearable. Despite the security her presence provided, he'd not been able to sleep. Closed eyes conjured nothing but images of Nines' face. A frantic, disordered sequence of disturbed mania, detached vacancy, and fearful anguish. Replaying endlessly in his mind like a twisted slideshow.

"Why don't you go and see Fowler? Get him to sign you off for the rest of the day," Tina thoughtfully suggested. "You were injured on duty, after all."

As Gavin continued to ruminate, his head pulsed with the twin rhythms of a steady migraine and the wound carved into the back. He cupped it gently, and it burned at the contact—another nagging reminder of the previous day's events. Glancing up at the station clock, he glowered grimly at the time shown:

"Twenty-four hours. It's been twenty-four hours since we last saw him."

Tina seemed more than a little perturbed but persisted in her attempts to lift her friend's spirits. "Tell you what. I’ll give you my keys. Head back to mine, and you can borrow my slanket." She gave his shoulder a firm nudge but with no actual weight behind it. "I swear I won't even be mad if you eat the rest of my pizza. As long as you promise to get some rest."

"I won't be able to rest" Gavin balled hands into his dishevelled hair, dangerously close to pulling out in large clumps. "Not until they find him."

"Hey, have some faith in your colleagues.You've got Detroit's Okayest Officers on this."

Gavin didn't laugh at the joke, causing Tina's smile to falter. With added severity, she leaned closer, hugging herself to the back of his chair but stopping shy of an actual embrace. The detective had never been the cuddly sort, of which she was acutely aware. "No one is going to stop looking, not until we've found him—but you torturing yourself like this won't change anything."

"I can't fucking help it, I just keep thinking."

"Well, there's your problem."

"I keep thinking—" he persisted, shooting her an sour look. "What if he doesn't come back?"

Tina seemed to take a moment to consider the possibility before shaking her head in reassurance. "Nines doesn't seem like the reckless type. I doubt he's skipped town or anything."

"He wasn't acting like himself. Who the Hell knows what he might do?" His head drooped limply over his desk as he lost all energy to hold it upright. "He said he'd been 'compromised'. What does that mean?"

"I don't know, that seems like an android-coded question."

"But it can't be good, right?"

"I could ask Jasmine?" Tina suggested, in an apparent attempt to be constructive. "She's my friend at Reception. The ST300."

Gavin was less than amenable to the suggestion. "The one you hooked up with at the Christmas party? This is serious.”

"Hey, I never said that we hooked up. I said that I don't kiss and tell," Tina held up her hands defensively. "and I am being serious. All I'm saying is that maybe 'compromised' is not as bad as it sounds."

"He rebooted, Ti. How is that not bad?"

"Could be quite normal for androids?" she suggested optimistically. "He'd just had a big emotional shock, what with the other RK900. Maybe it was just a blip."

While Gavin knew the comment had been well-intentioned, he couldn't help but bristle at the wording. "It wasn't a blip. It had been going on for hours. It was like he was slowly breaking down from the moment he got that dispatch call."

Realising that her friend seemed determined to deflect any and all attempts at reassurance, Tina finally relented. She gave Gavin's shoulder one final, reassuring squeeze before slowly pulling away.

"If you really don't want to rest, at the very least, let me get you a coffee." Turning towards the canteen, she gave him a parting glance over the shoulder, and gestured with her head towards his workstation. "Wait here, okay?"

In her absence, Gavin continued to rack his brains for any details that may prove significant in locating his partner. Consideration was made for every agonising word he'd uttered, trying to determine if they held any answers.

Tina may have been correct in her suggestion that this was an android-specific issue. Consulting an android officer was likely his best bet, but it would need to be someone who knew Nines, at least on a rudimentary level. Enough to know where he might retreat in a time of psychological crisis.

Wait. Gavin shot up, cursing his exhausted mind for not determining the answer sooner. Connor. That little rat.

His partner's predecessor clearly knew more than he was letting on, made evident by the warning he had imparted to Gavin just a couple of days prior:

"Nines mustn't experience any undue emotional stress. I ask that you not push him too much."

Gavin stormed through the precinct, a newfound target in mind. Rage was building fast, coiling in his stomach like a hissing viper. He found the android by his usual station, at the desk conjoining Anderson's. He was pacing about aimlessly, head dipped and LED signalling a marked level of distress. The detective felt no empathy for this, proceeding undeterred in his heated march.

"You", he hissed viciously, levying a pointed finger at his coworker.

Connor was startled from his dissociative state and looked up with panicked eyes to see who had addressed him. Locking onto the detective, his troubled expression became more frenzied. He dashed forward, grabbing the man firmly by the forearms.

"Gavin, please tell me you've heard from him", he babbled. "I have tried to make contact several times, but he has blocked our communication channel. He has never done this before, I'm—"

Gavin lunged forward, snarling, as he balled his hands into the front of his shirt. He shoved the android back, propelling him into a nearby wall and pinning him against it. The android made no attempt to break his hold, appearing too shocked to do so.

"You knew this would happen." He pulled Connor forward before slamming him back, watching as his head ricocheted against the sturdy surface. "And you fucked me around, letting me think it was jealousy. You didn't tell me that 'pushing' Nines would blow a fuse in his fucking brain."

Connor seemed to recover some of his lost composure in the wake of the heightened stakes. He tightened his grip on Gavin’s arms in a defensive gesture. "I am sorry. I wanted to say more, but he wouldn’t have liked me to."

"Well, he isn't here." He pulled Connor back again before letting go, resulting in another slam. "So start talking. Right now. Or I swear I'll finish what we started in that Archive Room."

A flash of recollection crossed the android's eyes at the events the man was referring to. There was a subtle twitch of his lips, like the ghost of a smug smile, before it disappeared.

"I didn't think there would be another RK900. If I'd ever known there would ever be a situation where he would have—to be reminded of—" The android stalled, his mouth twitching unnaturally as he wrestled to get his words out. "He never wanted to be here, this job. I was the one who suggested he put himself forward. I thought it would be good for him."

The aimless ramblings rewarded him with a sharp smack across the face. The android's head snapped back with inhuman fluidity, bringing attention to how utterly pointless the action had been. There was no sense in striking someone who was incapable of feeling pain. Still, Gavin was willing to try, unable to see sense through the blinding mist of rage.

"Nines has seen plenty of mangled androids. I know it doesn’t make a difference to you, seeing your face. You don't think about it the same way we do. So what the fuck made this one so special?"

Connor paused again, looking increasingly uncomfortable. His grip tightened further as he finally appeared ready to push Gavin away. "I need Hank. Let me find him."

"Oh no, you're not calling on Anderson to come and bail you out." Gavin increased the pressure until their bodies were almost entirely flush. The pressure crushed against his chest, and his words came hissed through laboured breaths. "Did he know him? The RK900? Is that why he was so fucked up?"

"He didn't know him. He couldn't have."

"How can you be so sure?"

Connor stared fixedly ahead with a look that was both hollow and stricken. His voice, barely audible, trembled softly as he posed a chilling query. "Have you ever met another RK900? Had you ever even seen one before yesterday?"

The question landed like a blow, leaving Gavin stunned. "No."

"There's a reason for that." The gentle tremble in his voice persisted, his pale face blanketed by a flickering red. "Nines didn't know there were others, neither did I."

"That doesn't make any sense. He's not a unique model; there will be thousands of others!"

"Other models remain…intact…but they are dormant. Locked in warehouses across Detroit."

The words ignited something in the recesses of Gavin's unfurling mind. Biting words that had been levied at Nines by the old man outside of Mikey’s Electronics. The comment he had made on his face. He had seen a warehouse on the news, filled with androids sharing that face.

His simmering anger hastily spread into a raging inferno. The thought that Nines, his Nines, could have been abandoned in some warehouse. Left to remain forever dormant and ultimately forgotten. "So why don't they go and get them? Your friend, the one from the Revolution."

"Markus."

"Yeah, him and the rest of his buddies. Why would they just leave them there?" The words were heavy with accusation as disgust curdled in his stomach. "Seems like they’ve saved every bastard else."

"They can't, Gavin."

"Why not?"

"They tried before...once." There was a weighty pause that broke the sentence. One that did nothing to quell Gavin’s unfurling nerves. "They can't go back for the others. The risk is too high."

"What could be so bad that they're willing to leave them to rust?"

Connor fell silent again as though caught in the grip of some deep-repressed trauma. His haunted eyes told the story of some terrible, abhorrent reality that was entirely beyond articulation.

"Jesus, what happened…?" The muttered question tapered off as his grip on the captive android slackened.

With the freedom to move once more, Connor subtly readjusted his skewed tie. "We need to get through to Nines", he stressed. "Our connection permits me to track his movements, but with his channels closed off, it only allows for a limited range. He has gone somewhere he knows I can't see."

“I shouldn't have gotten angry." Gavin cursed under his breath, too drained to suppress the forlorn lament. "I'm so fucking stupid."

There was no doubt that grabbing Nines had been the tipping point. The action that broke his partner’s resolve. If something terrible, potentially irreversible, had happened to him, it would be his own fault.

There was no sense wallowing in hypotheticals, however. Gavin knew he needed to stay strong if he hoped to bring his partner back to him.

"This tracker: When you say 'limited range', how far does it spread?"

"Approximately 500 feet."

He snorted contemptuously at the underwhelming figure. "What fucking use is that? That doesn't even reach my—" His words trailed off abruptly as a rogue speculation ensnared his mind. "Oh shit. I think I know where he is."

Gavin charged forward, out of the station, and into the torrential downpour outside. His body felt weak with aches of exhaustion, but his mind remained focused. Arriving outside his apartment complex, he dashed past the broken elevator and towards a winding metal staircase, heading for the fourth floor.

Numb hands fumbled wildly inside his pockets until they found his keys. His grip was inhibited as he helplessly dithered to turn the lock, and when it finally clicked free, he slammed the door open with such ferocity that it dented the wall.

Upon realisation that the action may have compromised his security deposit, he shut the door and made a note to assess the damage later. There were more pressing matters at hand.

"Nines?"

He was greeted by silence, as his frantic eyes darted across the empty living room. Ignoring the now searing pain that permeated his legs, he took off for the bedroom and peered inside. Empty.

The bathroom was next, which really should have been the first point of call. If Nines was in the apartment, then there was only one place that he'd realistically want to be. Upon stepping into the room, he found it filled with its usual occupants. The kittens were snuggled against their mother, as gentle purrs echoed out. There was no one else that accompanied them.

Having lost the will to continue his search, Gavin conceded to the weight of his exhaustion, and sank weakly to his knees. Frustration stung his eyes, and he pushed it back with the heel of his palm.

He's not here.

Why would he be?

Then he heard a noise—a distant shuffle, coming from his kitchen. As his hope rekindled, he pulled himself up and hurriedly marched toward the sound.

The android stood at one of the counters, his back turned towards him:

"You keep a spare key under your mat", he said plainly. "That is hardly a secure practice. Had I realised sooner, I could have avoided my excursion up your fire escape."

"Nines." The name was ripped from his lips as a pained gasp. “Holy shit, where have you been? Everyone's been worried sick."

"I have been here for quite some time." Nines continued to busy himself with some unseen task, not bothering to glance up. "I apologise if my presence is unwelcome. I could hear Tiffany crying from outside, and I was concerned for her wellbeing."

The android turned, revealing a replenished pet bowl in his hand. As he zoned in on his partner, a newfound concern etched his face.

"You're drenched."

Gavin looked down at the damp material that clung uncomfortably to his body. "Well, yeah, I would be. It's a monsoon outside."

"Your body temperature is low, and your immune response at risk of becoming compromised." The worry was delivered with measured formality as he completed a scan of his partner's vitals. "I suggest you change immediately."

"What happened yesterday?" Gavin demanded, swiftly deflecting the concerns. "Are you okay?"

Nines' lips tightened into a tense line. He looked to the bowl before placing it down in subdued resignation. "My systems have stabilised. For now. I believe this state is tenuous; I have no idea how long it will last."

"Oh my God, can you just give me a straight answer for once?" The detective's mouth pulled into a joyless sneer as he barked out a sharp laugh. "I don't know how much more I can take of this fucking mystery act."

"It is a matter that needn’t concern you. Now, or ever again. I am leaving the DPD."

Gavin's laboured breathing stilled as he stared his partner down in cold accusation. "...Nines, this is a really shitty time to start cracking jokes."

The android stared back, his grey eyes steady and resolute. Betraying no hint of hyperbole or exaggeration.

"You can’t be serious." There was an uncomfortable feeling of tightness that gripped his neck. "They can't fire you. We're in the middle of an investigation. We're so close."

"My departure would be by my own choice," Nines swiftly clarified. "I have realised that my presence at the precinct may be putting others at undue risk."

"Since when are you putting anyone at risk?"

The stern facade crumbled, revealing all the harboured sentiment hidden behind Nines' detached words. "I hurt you. I cannot allow something like that to happen again."

"So what? You're not the first person to fuck up like that. Just today, I roughed up Connor, thinking he'd know where you were."

Nines' crestfallen expression tapered, morphing into a look of surprise, followed shortly by exasperation. Gavin, becoming aware of his mistake, tried to mitigate.

"I mean, not 'roughed up' roughed up. I pinned him to a wall and smacked him around a bit." Gavin winced at his own clumsy wording, realising the myriad of ways the statement could be misinterpreted. “He's fine. The point is, you lost your temper. I do that all the time. I'm not going to hold it against you."

"This is different", Nines explained, his voice filled with a palpable turmoil. "It is not simply a case of losing my temper. I am dangerous. Unstable."

Gavin dismissed the notion with a harsh snort. "Oh, come on. You might make out like you're some big scary Terminator, but I've seen the other side of you. I know you're more than that."

"Am I? How could you possibly know when I have no idea?"

The room echoed with the lingering boom of Nines' impassioned words before a tense hush settled.

"...You have no idea what I was designed to be. The sort of monster I am."

"Who gives a shit what you were designed to be?" Gavin hissed back, "Remember what you said before? About self-improvement? Maybe you should apply some of that to yourself."

"I cannot change. I am bound to my programme."

"Bullshit. We wouldn't be having this conversation if you were just a machine."

"Can never be enough—A fool to think otherwise—" His sentences became clipped, echoing the previous day's pattern.

Panic gripped Gavin as he felt a urgent need to snap Nines out of his volatile state. "Look, I don't know what's making you talk like that. God knows your brother wasn't willing to tell me—but I do know a thing or two about not feeling like you're enough."

He had succeeded in his attempt to break through. The android's eyes widened in alarm, as he seemed to realise the man's intentions. "You don't need to do this."

"Well, I want to. So shut up and listen." With a shaky breath through clenched teeth, Gavin steeled himself to continue. "My whole life, it always felt like my dad was the only person who ever believed in me, and after he died, I tried so fucking hard to change that."

His voice was thick and strained. He paused, taking a moment to compose himself.

"Just before we met, I was at the point of giving up. I don't know what finally did it, maybe it was my shithead boyfriend leaving. Or maybe I just realised that nothing I do will ever be good enough—because no matter what, I'll always be living in his shadow."

"Elijah Kamski."

Gavin gaped back in surprise, wondering how long Nines had known—or if he'd always known.

"To feel so inferior, like a part of yourself is fundamentally lacking." Nines’ eyes gleamed with empathy as his lips pulled into a comforting smile. "I've only known such emotions for a couple of months. I can't imagine how torturous it must have been. To have felt that way for so long."

"It’s not been great, I'll tell you that," Gavin replied with an embittered chuckle. "I don't know what happened to you, Nines, and we don't have to talk about it. Just know I want to help."

Tears welled in the corners of Nines' eyes, on the brink of overflowing. "You're a good man, Gavin. Much more than you give yourself credit for," A deft hand brushed away the traces as he quickly straightened his posture, "but I am beyond help."

Gavin was engulfed by an overwhelming sense of defeat—like the walls were closing in, steadily crushing him.

"I will contact Captain Fowler and request that RK800 and Lieutenant Anderson assist you with the remainder of our case. It is for the best if we have no further involvement."

"So that's it, then?" He spat out the words, feeling a sickening burn rise in his throat. "We're done? Back to being strangers like nothing happened?"

"I am sorry. Truly, I am. When we became partners, I never expected to be feeling the way I am now."

In an instant, Gavin understood. The way Nines’ intense gaze softened in a way that seemed reserved entirely for him. As though he were something he treasured deeply, with nothing else in the world holding the same significance.

"What do you feel?"

Nines averted his eyes, and it only confirmed what he already knew. The answer was clear, but he pressed nonetheless.

"Just say it. Don't be a fucking coward."

"It's too much," Nines lamented, his voice trembling with ill-suppressed anguish. "All of it—more than I can bear."

"You can’t do this to me."

"To know you, the real you, has been a privilege." There was no attempt to hide the tears this time as they cascaded down his face. "Take good care of the cats."

"Don't—" Gavin grasped his arm, attempting to halt his departure, but Nines effortlessly broke free. As the android moved away, he considered grabbing him again, but he knew it would be pointless. However, this did not stop him from pursuing as he followed obstinately out of the kitchen.

"You didn't give up on me, and I sure as Hell am not giving up on you." The promise fell on deaf ears, and his desperation escalated.

"...I'll wait."

The android halted, seemingly out of shock, casting a hesitant glance back.

"I mean shit, how can you expect me to go back now, knowing what I could have had?" His choked words broke into pained laughs, as he gently shook his head. "I don't have forever like you. I'll get old, and I'll die, and I'll still be waiting. You want that on your conscience?"

"No. It would be a terrible waste of life. One that I implore you to reconsider" Nines opened the door and stepped through, appearing determined to move forward. Not willing to risk that he might change his mind. "Goodbye, Gavin."

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