#android security patch

[pushing500]

The Sightstealer Saga: Part 1

It had been a regular day at Sparks; everybody was going about their chores as usual, with no way to guess the turn the day was about to take...

Boop, one of our cleansweeper mechanoids, was suddenly attacked by a terrifying figure that appeared as if from nowhere!! Fortunately, Boop recalled the many tales of Stabby the Roomba that it had heard and managed to "sweep the floor"—if you'll excuse the pun—with its sightstealer foe before limping back to the safety of our main walled-in area to be repaired.

Boop's heroic victory was seen as a declaration of war to all sightstealers nearby, but despite their knack for turning invisible, they were not very good at sneaking up on us and screamed hideous war cries so everybody knew they were coming.

Hopefully, we don't acquire an unexpected newborn from this sightstealer attack. We love Ivy to bits, but one adopted child is enough; thank you very much. Hear that, Randy? No new colonists!

*sigh* I suppose that's what I get for tempting fate...

Alistair was quick, but not quiiite quick enough to avoid a few claw-slashes on his arm. It's tricky for him to fight while running and also carrying a fifteen-year-old boy with the most impeccably groomed facial hair I've ever seen on anybody under thirty-five.

In the end, though, Alistair and Ludwig made it inside safely, and everybody ignored Ludwig in favour of welding Alistair back together first. Still, it doesn't sound like the ordeal is over yet. We've sealed the gates and holed up for a sightstealer siege. Stay tuned for The Sightstealer Saga Part Two!!

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[starsandinsight02]

Samsung One UI 7.0 Update: Beta 3 Released for Galaxy A55 with May 2025 Security Patch

[super-ion]

The Voyages of the Padua

Chapter 3

(1, 2)

Maybe the security bots anticipated that she would just lay down and surrender. Maybe they anticipated her trying to run away.

What they did not anticipate was her hurling herself at them with all the rage of a trapped animal.

Somehow in her panicked flight, she had held on to the wrench. It was heavy and solid and she brought it down in an arc on the wrists of the closest of the two bots. Metal and composite cracked and twisted under the blow and its gun clattered to the floor.

Its companion fired off a shot that barely missed her. The crackling energy bolt raised the hairs on the back of her neck, singing more than a few stray strands.

She delivered a kick to the knee of the one she had already struck and it staggered, then she threw herself at its companion with a wordless scream. The wrench connected with the head, shattering the blank faceplate. The neck bent at an odd angle and it went down in a twitching heap.

The first one was still regaining its balance when she rammed the butt of the wrench into its neck. It staggered once more and she struck again. And again.

“P-L-SE CMP-LY-” it said in a garbled distorted voice.

She struck it a final time and something important went crunch. It collapsed to its knees and made an indecipherable utterance before collapsing to the floor.

The whole encounter had lasted maybe a few seconds and she stood there panting as her brain tried to catch up.

Then something red flashed in her peripheral vision. She lashed out blindly, swinging the wrench wildly in that direction.

“Whoa!” someone shouted.

The wrench connected with a loud CLANK and rebounded with a painful vibration that went up her arm. Whatever this was, it wasn't going to crumple like the security bots.

She readied another strike.

“Hey!” the same someone shouted. “Hey wait!”

She swung again, but something caught it mid strike.

“Hey, can you stop!?”

She blinked, her panicked ferocity fading back to a more familiar sense of panicked foreboding.

Gripping the haft of the wrench was a hand with scuffed silver white metallic skin and black mechanical joints. The hand connected to an arm which in turn connected to a person… well, it was another android, but it did also seem to be a person.

The face was human, somewhat feminine, and made of the sort of opaque composite capable of emulating a wide array of facial expressions. Lightly glowing blue eyes regarded her with some concern.

The current expression was somewhere between concern and annoyance.

“I'm not with them,” the android said. “I'm not going to hurt you. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Alright,” the android replied.

The luminescent blue eyes flicked to where both of their hands still gripped the haft of the wrench.

She let go of the wrench and and staggered back. The android made a small noise of approval.

Had she seen androids before? Obviously the security bots were technically androids and she wasn't caught completely off guard by their existence. But the security bots were about as different as possible from the person in front of her.

Aside from the very human looking expression, which was now edging into matronly concern, this one was also wearing clothes. A well worn duster jacket covered a red shirt patterned with tropical flowers and khaki pants (safe also noted the gun belt and holster with some apprehension). Then there was the hair, a sort of purple black, cropped close to the head and messy in a way that seemed intentional. The whole ensemble was clearly designed to convey a sense of identity. This was definitely more than just a machine and don't you dare forget that.

“Are you alright?” the android asked calmly.

“Yeah, I… think so.”

“What's your name?”

“I… I don't know,” she replied.

The android raised her eyebrows dubiously and her eyes darted to the patch on the woman's chest.

Oh right, she was wearing Cassidy’s jumpsuit.

She was quivering slightly now. The crash really wasn't that far off now, was it?

Gods, she was a mess. What a first impression this was.

“My name is Aela,” the android explained slowly, calmly. “I'm captain of the Padua. We received a distress call and came to investigate. Where is the rest of the crew?”

“Nobody was here when I woke up,” she replied with a helpless shrug. “I don't really… I don't know what's going on.”

Should she have admitted that? Could she even trust this stranger? She wanted to. The android seemed kind and had the bearing of someone who was used to taking charge of a situation.

She so desperately wanted someone else to take charge of the situation.

Before the android captain Aela could ask any more questions, they were interrupted by the sound of running footsteps coming down the corridor.

The person who rounded the corner was short, nearly a full head shorter than the captain. They were dressed in a close fitting suit, finely tailored and sturdy as far as she could tell, with all manner of high tech devices strapped to their person. Long hair was tied back, expertly braided, and an impeccably trimmed goatee framed their chin.

She supposed it was meant to be sophisticated and dapper, but the entire effect was ruined as they approached, red faced from the exertion of running, and doubled over panting.

“Cap'n!” the person gasped “Intruder alarm… external party… security bots… lost the stowaway…”

They gestured pathetically in the woman's direction at that.

“Stowaway?” she repeated, dumbstruck.

Was she a stowaway? She could be. That would probably explain why the security bots shot in sight. The possibility also raised a whole slew of new questions and mysteries.

Aela raised an eyebrow.

“Are you a stowaway?” the captain asked.

“I don't know…?”

She trailed off as the creature from earlier loped up easily behind the other stranger. No, not a creature. It was another person. The others were completely unbothered by her presence, clearly they were all ship mates.

It… or she, the woman supposed, looked at her once and then pointedly avoided eye contact, hunching her shoulders in an attempt to appear small and unthreatening.

“You don't know?” the captain prompted in response to her previous comment.

“I just woke up and I can't remember anything before the cryotank,” she explained.

The captain opened her mouth to ask something else, but the shorter person had finally caught their breath..

“Captain. There's an external party in the system.”

“What do you-”

“I mean,” they interrupted. “I got in and disabled the evac alarm easy peasy, but then somebody not on the ship accessed the system and triggered the intruder protocol.”

As if on cue, a new, fourth voice crackled over the radios attached to all of their shoulders.

“Aaaaaeeeeeela!” the cheerful voice called.

“Talk to me, Ria,” the captain replied into her own radio.

“Hey, so there's this skip drive signature and I'm tracking three contacts coming in hella fast.”

“Ria, I need more details than that. What do you mean three contacts?”

While this whole conversation was going on, the woman watched baffled as the short person crouched and began stripping down the ruined security bots.

“I meeeean,” the voice on the radio (Ria?) said, dragging the word out in a singsong fashion, “there's three spaceships coming in hot and they're not responding to my pings.”

“Time?”

“Contact in 15 minutes and 43.5 seconds. Do you think they're friendly?”

“Not likely,” Aela muttered. “I hope you kept the engines hot, looks like we need to get out of here in a hurry.”

“I always do!” Ria replied cheerfully.

“Tre, how are we doing?”

The short person (Tre?) didn't stop to look up, they just kept on stripping the bots and shoving components into a bag at their side.

“Not great,” they said. “I got a few bits from the security office. I think Mina grabbed a few tools… and then there's the stuff I grabbed from food storage… and then there's these.”

They paused to gesture at the bodies on the floor.

“Our friend here really did a number on them though. All told, not even enough to cover the cost of fuel for this little misadventure.”

“Do your best,” the captain replied. “You have sixty seconds.”

But of course, at that exact moment, footsteps echoed down the corridor. They were inhumanly regular, which could only mean more security bots. Judging by the sound, there were a lot of them.

“Zero seconds!” Aela shouted. “Back to the ship now.”

“But-”

“Now, Tre!”

One of the bots rounded the corner and suddenly the android captain had a pistol in her hand. There was a sharp crack and a metal slug went straight through the optical receptors of the bot.

“Everybody move!”

The woman stood there as Aela sprinted away, Tre right behind her as they shoved the last bits of valuable scrap in their satchel. The creature (Mina?) paused, glancing at her. She still couldn't quite shake the impression of a predator sizing up its prey, but there was a question in Mina's face. Then she made a few quick gestures that her mind somehow recognized as a sign dialect common among spacers.

Something to the effect of “coming?”

Was she?

The captain had said “everyone”, did that include her?

The next security bot rounded the corner and fired an energy bolt at her. It barely missed, scorching the fabric covering her arm.

That got her moving.

She heard Mina strike the security bot behind her, and then footsteps as Mina followed her. She tried desperately not to think of the predator pursuing its prey… though, maybe that would be a benefit here considering they were all running for their lives.

She skidded around a corner and there at the end of the corridor was the open airlock and the long docking tunnel leading to their ship and salvation.

What had Aela called it? The Padua? Why did that tickle her memory?

She was halfway there when another energy bolt crackled behind her. Unlike before though, this time the bot didn't miss. Searing pain lanced through her left leg and then… nothing. Everything below her thigh went completely numb. Her leg gave out mid stride and she collapsed painfully on the floor, earning a healthy share of bruises and scrapes in the process.

She blearily looked down the remainder of the corridor at the retreating backs of Aela and Tre.

This is how I die, isn't it? she thought to herself.

Her deep buried conditioning screamed at her that whoever was coming would certainly usher her to her death though it might not be fast and certainly wouldn't be pleasant. Somewhere between Tre mentioning external parties and Ria mentioning unknown contacts speeding towards them a dread had settled into the pit of her stomach. She had needed to be off the ship when they arrived, but now-

A pair of arms scooped up.

The claws were indeed sharp, but Mina's inhuman slenderness completely belied her strength. She carried the extra weight with barely any effort at all.

What was Mina exactly?

She looked up at her face and received an awkward apologetic smile.

Together they covered the distance to the tunnel in a few more moments, then came the horrible gut churning transition to the zero gravity of the docking tunnel. She was suddenly grateful that her stomach was empty. It would have been terribly embarrassing to throw up all over Mina after she had been kind enough to save her life.

They were hurtling down the tunnel distressingly fast and for a moment, she thought for sure that they were going to crash. But then Mina executed a perfect microgravity pirouette and caught the one of the airlock service handles with her clawed feet. Then, with unimaginable grace, she pivoted and the two of them were suddenly in the inertial field of the Padua.

“Oh! We got a new friend?” came Ria’s voice over the intercom as the outer airlock began to cycle shut.

Without breaking stride, Mina closed the final distance to a somewhat cramped cockpit. The interior of the Padua was exactly as she imagined it based off its exterior profile. Where the Eosphorus had been all bright lights and clean lines and touchscreens and just generally sterile, the Padua was… well, it wasn't any of those things. It felt used, lived in, patched and repaired to the point where she couldn't even tell which was original hardware.

Mina deposited her gently in one of the crash seats just as Aela and Tre were bringing up displays at their own stations.

“Talk to me, Ria,” Aela said as she punched a series of buttons and flicked another series of switches.

Images flickered on the screen, flashing displays faster than a human could follow. Aela’s hands raced across the keypads as she absorbed and synthesized the information.

“Shit,” she said finally before throwing yet another series of switches on the console in front of her. “We need to go into the drift.”

“The drift!” Ria’s detached voice chanted over the ship's announcement system. “The drift! The drift! The drift!”

Tre moaned and scrambled at the harness on their seat.

“The drift?” the woman asked. “What does-”

“It means buckle up, buttercup!” Tre shouted back.

A hand gently tapped her shoulder and she glanced to find Mina gesturing helpfully to the straps on the sides of the chair.

She shrugged on the straps, not entirely sure what to expect next.

Her hands were shaking fully now. Was that the chemical crash? Or was it the paralytics from the energy bolt she had taken? Maybe both.

She still couldn't feel her leg. That was-

The ship lurched. Inertial dampening couldn't quite keep up with whatever Aela was doing. Wait, what was the captain doing?

She wasn't piloting, at least not manually. And her eyes blazed white instead of the blue from earlier.

“Hold on, this could get bumpy,” someone said. Aela's lips had moved, but the voice had come from everywhere. And the voice hadn't been Aela's or Ria's, but kind of both.

She didn't have a lot of time to ponder this before momentum shoved her back against the cushion of the seat. Her vision tunneled and she tried to track the conversations happening around her. She thought Tre was speaking and someone else, Mina maybe, was tapping something. A code maybe.

The ship lurched again.

The ship did something. She wasn't exactly sure what. There was a flicker of light then black as she slipped into oblivion.

Not Aela and not Ria said something again.

[peskellence]

could I please request some reed900... 👉👈

Nines' skin is malfunctioning, but Gavin reassures him (in his own, Gavin way) that he accepts him as he is? Skin or no skin?

thank you. bless. kiss. forever indebted💕

Say less, friend, I've got you 🫡

Fail Safe

Pairing: RK900/Gavin Reed

Tags: M/M, Established Relationship, Fluff, Praise and Affirmation, Self Acceptance.

AO3 Link

Summary: Gavin and Nines are on security duty when an unexpected cyber attack results in the android's synthetic skin being compromised. Despite his worries, Gavin reassures him that their bond runs deeper than the pieces they are made of.

Word Count: 4.7K

Gavin and Nines had been assigned to security duty at the opening ceremony for a new Jericho Community Centre. It was due to be a pretty contained event, nothing overly flashy or publicised. Normally, it wouldn't demand any police involvement, but there had been whispers the Anti Android Alliance planned to attend—staging some sort of protest. 

This turned out to be true, although not in the way that could've been anticipated. It seemed a particularly enlightened Dipshit In Charge had decided the usual M.O. of bats and bricks wouldn't cut it. Instead, they were going to make some waves with a street-deployed cyber attack. Send their 'message', whatever deranged bullshit that might be, by taking out some local figureheads with a home-brewed virus. 

Fuck knows how they'd manage to string together the spaghetti code with their three collective brain cells—or how they'd loaded up said clusterfuck onto the batons concealed in their pockets. Nevertheless, about five minutes into the presentation, they started swinging. Weapons bared and flung into the faces of nearby pedestrians as they tried to make their way to the stage. 

Shit hit the fan, but fortunately, not for their targets.

It turned out the engineering at Fuckhead H.Q. was just as shitty as the planning, as the would-be attempt at corporal justice folded like a house of cards. Most of the batons didn't work, and with the ones that did, the virus wasn't able to execute the way they'd wanted. 

The intent had been to infiltrate the android's core systems through mass corruption of their internal networks. Ultimately, overloading the CPU and causing permanent shutdown, but without plugging the device directly into an access port—which they clearly had no idea how to do, and their targets weren't about to help with—its reach was incredibly limited.

Basically, it couldn't do shit. Stalling at the first line of defence: the chassis. Digital garbage hurled at a plastic wall. 

Nines had been hit by one of the bastards—stuck in the side of the neck as he wrangled them away from a Jericho representative. Handling of the situation became a lot less gentle after that, with the man catapulted onto the floor, squealing like a pig as the android pinned his flailing limbs. Gavin had moved to assist, feeding the guy a couple of teeth for his trouble.

Total accident, of course. The man just happened to move his face as he was getting the cuffs on, and it just happened to slam into the detective's fist. 

He didn't get much of the chiding he'd usually expect for this, as the virus had started to do its thing. Working across his partner's body, flickering in patches like a broken LCD. The corruption branched down his throat before retreating beneath his collar in search of available access. 

Much like with the other android's affected, it failed. Nines was fine, mostly: the only exception being that the malware had managed to fuck up one of his less important functions. His synthetic skin. 

At least, that's what the Cyberlife Tech on the phone suggested was happening when they decided to call. The glitches spread, with the majority hidden beneath clothes—but Nines could undoubtedly feel the effects of corruption taking hold. While he wasn't sure if this was something they really needed to worry about, the concept alone left a bad taste in Gavin's mouth.

They were forced to leave reinforcements to book the fucker responsible, as well as the rest of his brain-dead friends. A shame, as the detective would have loved to acquaint him with the book about to be thrown his way. Maybe give him a black eye to go with the dental bill. 

As they made their way home, the vibrancy of glitches had started to decrease, fading into a translucent creep that filmed across the skin. Whatever receptors were present to lend cloaking abilities were beginning to short-circuit, creating an expanding kaleidoscope of freckles and plastic. 

Gavin used full siren privileges to run every red light they encountered, determined to weave through the traffic as quickly as possible. He had never seen the android so panicked—frenzied—like the car would be at risk of imploding if it didn't imminently materialise outside their home. 

With his understanding of Michigan Traffic Laws becoming increasingly lax, Nines continued to rip into the rep held at knifepoint in his temporal channel. He hadn't bothered to lock communication to his internal server and instead was speaking out loud—in a tone that a more diplomatic man might describe as 'a bit confrontational.'

In reality, he had gone all seven shades of middle-aged-mom-with-an-expired-coupon. Demanding the guy listen to every minute detail of his grievance and inform him how quickly it could be resolved. 

Gavin would have found this hilarious had the intensity not been a little terrifying. Instead, it inspired him to punch the gas harder, resulting in a chorus of beeps as he pulled a particularly dangerous manoeuvre around a sharp bend. 

It didn't seem to matter what the squeaky-voiced foetus on the line said; each suggestion was ruled unacceptable. Commencing a perpetual cycle of 'that isn't fast enough' and 'speak with your supervisor' and 'this is an emergency, William; it should be prioritised accordingly.' The rep responded to each chastisement with small, deflated whimpers, like a punctured balloon expelling air.

The virus, now engaged fully, worked in stages to target each section of artificial skin. Limbs faded out in sporadic blotches as glossy pinpricks expanded their way into dense bands of white. They tunnelled through rapidly shrinking pockets of flesh, with Nines looking like a six-foot lava lamp by the time they finally reached the apartment.

Admittedly, it was a strange image—with this something the android seemed astutely aware of. He had charged for the bathroom and locked himself in within seconds of entering their home, informing Gavin with no uncertainty he would not be coming out until help arrived.

This was all well and good at first, but after three hours—and five espressos—nature was calling. Not softly, either, having been forced to wait for a good fucking while. 

The pressure grew, and rather than risk a hole being punched through the wall of his bladder, Gavin concluded he couldn't hold it. Rapping his knuckle on the wood, he pressed his face against it, making a pointed appeal to his partner.

"Nines, I need a piss. Let me in for a sec." 

The request went ignored, bouncing uselessly off the door and crumpling at his feet. Frustrated, he knocked again, using his available grip to jiggle insistently on the handle. 

"Come on, I'm desperate. Open the fucking door."

"The Cyberlife technician will be here soon," an even tone greeted him, undercutting the demand. "I am confident you can wait a few more minutes."

"It's been more than a few, jackass."

"The operative advised that their arrival would fall between 2 and 7. As we are nearing 6:45, we can anticipate—"

Gavin disrupted the explanation with a prolonged groan of protest. His head lulled back as he grappled with a growing temptation to slingshot it through the panel. "Those windows mean jack shit. You'll be lucky if the bastard shows up before June. Hell, you'll be lucky if he shows up at all." 

There was a weighty pause as though Nines was attempting to formulate some form of mind-shattering retort. Words of assurance so profound they would effectively conclude the debate—as well as any and all that followed.

Despite having a world of knowledge quite literally wired to his brain, the android gave him nothing. Treading over the same tired deflection with a small, dejected huff. "Just wait. It won't take long." 

"If you don't let me in, I'm gonna go in the litter box—or the kitchen sink."

The latter threat inspired a visceral reaction. Gavin swore he could see the red casting from his partner's temple, seeping through the cracks under the door. "You wouldn't dare." 

"Try me. It's full of dishes. You want that on your conscience?"

As though taking a moment to grapple with the grim proposal, Gavin was made to wait in anticipation of his partner's reply. A lull that seemed to stretch endlessly, as he tried not to focus on the uncomfortable pressure in his groin. Crossing his legs, he tapped his foot impatiently—a motion that would have likely attracted the attention of a marauding cat were she not out harassing strays. 

There were muffled sounds behind the door, like rustling fabric, followed by the telltale scrape of something heavy being moved. It seemed like Nines had gone to the effort of barricading himself inside, just in case Gavin managed to break through the flimsy hold of the lock.

"Turn around and keep your eyes forward. I will only leave this room on the condition you do not look." 

"Yeah, sure, whatever," the man grunted, eyes rolling at the theatrics. "I swear I won't look. Scouts honour."

Another rustle followed—and a click—as an internal mechanism was turned and released. The door creaked forward, with casts of fluorescents from beyond the passage starting to leak into the hallway. True to his word, Gavin turned around. Gaze fixed on a nearby wall—as though the flecked chips of paint were the most engaging things he had ever seen.

The panel swung open completely, anchored on creaking hinges, and steady steps crossed the threshold. They did not progress much further, as Nines failed to meet the steady foundation of the carpet, instead greeted with a cat toy being compressed beneath his weight. 

The worn squeaker of the felt mouse strained to its absolute limit, wheezing in a prolonged cry, until it slipped out from beneath his toes and careened across the room. 

Shit.

Nines opposed the trajectory, fumbling back and colliding firmly with the weathered plaster behind him. Dangerously close to where they kept their beast of burden's scratching post.

Shit. 

Gavin wasn't sure if the glitching had affected his partner's durability, but he didn't want to find out. Certainly not by being forced to remove him from a surprisingly solid pillar of plywood. 

Nines already had one near miss today. The last thing he needed was for the engineer's visit to end up a real emergency.

Don't turn, don't—

His head whipped around despite all resistance. It had been out of instinct, really, with no malicious intent intended. An innate compulsion to assist, justifying that he would've been more of an asshole if he'd wilfully allowed his boyfriend to skewer himself.

It only occurred just how badly he had fucked up when he saw him. 

The partners froze, eyes locked, and the room around them seemed to vanish. The structural integrity of limbs and furniture was immediately forgotten as Gavin's heart plummeted into his ass. 

Nines looked horrified. His LED flashed like a warning beacon, crimson pulses growing in frequency the more his eyes widened. He stayed that way for a period. Paralysed. Like a startled deer out on a highway, about to be struck by an oncoming vehicle. 

It was nothing like him at all, and Gavin found it deeply unnerving. He then proceeded to make it worse, executing all the same grace of a violent roadside collision. Allowing the first slack-jawed musing that popped into his skull to tumble tactlessly from his lips:

"Oh shit."

The red illuminating Nines' face took on a different meaning in the wake of the outburst. He had broken free of his prey-like stupor and emerged angry—furious. Taking laboured strides toward the bathroom, levelling his partner with an increasingly scornful glare.

"I told you not to look." 

Gavin winced at the accusation dripping from the words, as they were dragged through the snarled curl of the android's mouth. Damage control was needed, but he was unable to engage the appropriate mental factions. 

Instead, he attempted to downplay his previous stunned reaction—gesturing his boyfriend up and down with feigned indifference:

"This is why you've been holding the shitter hostage?" He noted how his arm cast shadows against the sheened wall of plastic, masking his intrigue with a scoff. "Really, that's it?"

Nines jerked back, expression pinched as though he had been struck in the face. "What do you mean, 'that's it'? Gavin, look at me."

"So you're a bit pale. Grey round the gills. You should've seen me this one time at Summer camp." Gavin chuckled preemptively, arms folded across his chest as he attempted to recall the memory. "Man, I'd eaten like seventeen s'mores, and I swear they'd laced the marshmallows with laxatives because, after that, I couldn't…"

He trailed off as the pronounced scowl etched deeper into his partner's face. Informing it wasn't the time for jokes—and that the legendary saga of Preteen Gavin and the Exploding Bowels would have to wait for another day. 

"... Seriously, what did you think I was gonna do?" he challenged, abandoning the playful lilt in favour of something serious. "Freak out and run for the hills because you look like a robot? Because newsflash, genius, I kind of got that. Your skin turns into a goddamn Rorschach every time we do it. Not to mention the static orgasms—" 

Nines raised a hand to stop him, clearly not appreciating the growing vividness of the account. "There was a time when this would have been an issue. Please don't insult me by denying that."

His voice was stern—gravelly with a mixture of frustration and hurt—as his expression hardened further. A feat the detective had thought impossible. 

He bore into him with sharply trained eyes, still the same vibrant grey they'd always been—despite everything else that had changed.  

Remorse struck hard, twisting his gut and nearly knocking him back. Nines was right: not long ago, this would have been a big deal. 

The consequence of a roadblock which spanned the numerous tangled alleys of his mind. Something established by years of resentment, growing uncontrollably over time. Soon, it had become impossible to bypass, not that he'd made much effort to try. Facing the beast, he just knew it was insurmountable.

That was until Nines arrived, rolling up to the rickety wagon he'd parked against the barrier and all but ripping him out. Tugged from his seat by the goddamn ears as he kicked and howled in protest.

"Plastic fucker—"

Of course, it wasn't all that dramatic. It didn't happen immediately, and definitely not in a single pull.

The occurrence had been slow and gradual, with Gavin only starting to scream when he realised what was happening. Because the closer they got—moved from aggrieved associates to unexpected friends—the more he had to challenge everything he understood about being alive. A painful, arduous process that forced him to confront wrongs he didn't even know he'd committed.

The conclusion should have brought relief, but instead, it was hollow. Something was still missing—and it sure as hell shouldn't have been. His entire worldview had been uprooted, enriched, and expanded by Nines' perspective.

What more could he possibly want?

Then came that one night spent together on surveillance. They'd been scoping out some low-life dealer: a notorious scumbag who had been running operations out of the back room of an underground nightclub. It was a particularly seedy establishment, turning out to be more 'brothel' than 'party spot.'

They had been forced to adjust their approach, cosying up to one another in an effort to assimilate with the handsy patrons. Not that Gavin was complaining—which, in itself, brought to light something extremely damning. The emergence of a serious problem, one that threatened to blow up his fragile state of composure with a fucking grenade. 

A particularly enlightening moment occurred—where Nines had him pinned to a wall, held firm by his wrists—when he realised it was too late. The problem was there. Had been for a while. Shaped into the contours of a chiselled jawline and a cool, bright stare he wanted to drown in.

"Keep still, detective. Eyes on me. I believe I have a visual." 

The request had been low, practically purred against his ear. It had sent his heart rate skyrocketing, blood rushing in frantic pumps through the lingering echoes of words still dancing in the canal. 

Oh fuck. 

After that, he couldn't keep convincing himself that he was content with friendship. He wanted more, wanted this, without having to pretend. Desperation drove him to the insane stunt he pulled seconds later. If it failed, he could always claim it was part of their 'performance.'

An excuse that wasn't needed.

Their lips had met, and after a fleeting blip of hesitation, Nines reciprocated. Practically melting into him, abandoning his wrists in order to capture the sides of his face. Like he was holding something valuable— worthy of care and reverence.

They'd lost their visual on the target, as well as any hope of catching up to their boss, but the impromptu trip to a motel had been worth the berating they received from Captain Fowler. 

It couldn't be overstated just how grateful Gavin was that Nines had chosen to give him a chance. To show acceptance despite everything he had put him through. 

Because even if he was better, nothing could change the foundational truths of the man he was. The innumerable faults that would continue to persist despite all best efforts. Recklessness, arrogance, and spite. Baggage that came wheeled on a dolly cart, stacked to the ceiling.

None of it mattered. 

The android took it all—willingly—and without any ultimatum. From the start, the only expectation had been that Gavin would do right by both of them by not fighting the way Nines made him feel.

And nothing had ever made him feel this way. The kind of unconditional devotion and adoration that seemed unique to them, as well as the simple comfort of being together. 

He owed Nines everything. The least he could do was offer some modicum of the same security. Especially now, when he seemed so vulnerable. 

"You know your skin deactivates every time you go into sleep mode, right?" 

The effort backfired horribly. 

If Nines hadn't already seemed willing to take up permanent residence in the bathroom, this declaration came close to cinching it. His eyes widened to near-comedic proportions, looking like they might careen from their sockets. "Excuse me?" 

Gavin, realising that this had decidedly not been the approach to take, acted quickly to rectify the mistake. "I'm kidding; I just thought it might make you feel better."

The android was seldom listening, making clear that the damage was done as he sidled closer to the bathroom. The exposed soles of his feet pressed against the linoleum, and Gavin's body howled, desperate for its overdue reunion with his porcelain throne.

"This is—just—I mean, you look—" 

"I am well aware of what I look like," Nines interjected. His already tense posture had grown increasingly stiff, as though his back was being supported by a cast iron rod, "and just how far this version of me must detract from your preferences."

The words struck hard—much more so than the previous blow. Any ensuing attempts at fumbled retorts were abandoned as he blinked, stunned into silence.

"The issue will be resolved, and once it has, you needn't concern yourself with my default appearance."

Wait. Hold up.

"Now, if you excuse me, I will wait in the bedroom."

Awareness unfolded, leaving him floored—thoroughly astonished at how Nines, the paragon of informed deduction, could have been so cataclysmically wrong when it sought to matter most. To be able to speak so matter-of-factly, with such a candid degree of confidence, about something that couldn't be further from the truth. 

His legs moved before his brain could catch up, placing him decisively into the path between his partner and their bedroom. 

"Don't you dare go storming off like you're some goddamn teenager," he hissed, in full awareness that his standing there wasn't actually stopping anyone. Nines could quite easily pick him up and fling him across the room like a frisbee, although he trusted him not to. 

"What else would you propose I do? Allow you to defecate in our kitchen because I refused to accommodate?" 

"You aren't even giving me time to think." The injustice of the situation was becoming more pronounced, flaring hot in Gavin's ribs. "You're just assuming the worst of me, acting like I'm gonna be a total dick about this." 

This proved enough to pierce through his partner's haze of contention. The sharpness in his eyes faded, giving way to a flicker of regret. His softened gaze then fell to the side, heavy with shame. "...That was not my intent. I'm sorry." 

"It's fine." 

Clearly, it wasn't. The tension between them persisted despite the conclusion to their argument. It was suffocating, and Gavin couldn't help but notice how, despite making no further attempts to physically flee, his partner was still trying to hide. Sinking into himself, hands wrapped in a tense bind across his chest. 

"...Nines." The name was gentle, settled on a pensive purse at the end of his lips. "Let me see you. Please."

The android didn't respond immediately, hesitation evident in every microscopic shift of his frame. Eventually, his arms slackened and fell back, revealing the expanse of exposed white torso. While still unsure of the idea, demonstrated in his continued refusal to look up, it was clear Nines was extending some form of invitation—one that Gavin accepted.

He traced his fingers carefully up the stretch of the android's chest. It was not made of a singular uniform piece as he had previously assumed, but rather, a complex network of small, interwoven panels. Segmented into varied shades of white and grey, connected by subtle welds.

As he delicately tested the marks with the heel of his palm, he noted how remarkably smooth they felt, blending seamlessly with the rest of the body.

Not everything beneath the chassis was covered, with pockets of plastic so thin they were practically translucent. It revealed a dense network of wires—vibrant blues shifting through the synthetic circulatory system, pumped in steady flows of biofluid. 

The liquid originated from the centre of his ribs, beneath a protrusion in the sternum. Something that pressed to the surface—formed in a subtle ring. It pulsed gently, and the longer he looked, the more he was able to detect rhythmic glows of light.  

Gavin whistled low, noting how the pace of the component increased when he placed a hand across it. Blue bled through his fingers, illuminating the veins and tendons beneath his skin. It seemed so calm and balanced compared to the uneven tempo of his own raging pulse. 

"I didn't think you'd be able to see so much…" he mused, voice low with admiration. "It's fucking incredible. You know that, right?" 

"I am a machine," Nines said bitterly—the word of contention spat with disdain, like a curse. "A collection of polymers and circuitry, designed and constructed together to perform a practical function. There is nothing remarkable about it."

"What you just described is a dishwasher. This is not a dishwasher; this is—" He scoffed in self-deprecation, realising just how unequipped he was to describe the gravity of what he was seeing. In the absence of any poise or delicacy, the man opted for honesty. "You're like some crazy modern artwork, a goddamn masterpiece." 

"Stop lying to me."

"I'm not. You'd be able to tell if I was, right?"

Nines had nothing to say to that. His mouth jutted open, a tumultuous train of thought evident in the shifting glow of his LED before it wordlessly snapped shut. 

"Look, even if you weren't objectively the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life, it still wouldn't matter."

The android still refused to look at him, posture locked painfully tight, but as Gavin traced a delicate finger around his regulator access panel, there was a hint of a shudder. Bristling through his shoulders, as the tension held there started to wane.

"I know you don't wanna hear this—because it doesn't fit into your tortured soul narrative—and honestly, there's no way to say without it sounding like something out of a shitty romcom—"

He was stalling for time and not effectively. This sort of sentiment wasn't his strong suit. It didn't come naturally, which Nines was aware of. Still, if there was ever a time to be nauseatingly, cavity-inducingly sweet, this was it:

"Truth is, I love you, and that's got absolutely jack shit to do with what you look like. It's because of what's on the inside, or whatever."

"You love me for my thirium pump regulator?" 

The finger stalled in motion. 

Gavin looked up to discover Nines was facing him, a mischievous grin tugging his lips. He glowered despondently and made a hasty attempt to retract his arm. "Shut up, you know what I meant."

The limb didn't get far, as Nines captured it by the wrist, keeping it anchored to his chest. "I did," he assured, caressing the skin, marking trails of bone and ligament with the end of his thumb. 

Until the languid motions slowed as synthetic muscles seized. An aftershock of the previous state of anxiety. It was such a minor slip in control that anyone else would have unlikely noticed. Gavin knew better—keenly able to detect the change. 

"This really doesn't bother you?", the android asked, accentuating the question with increased pressure against his carpus. 

"Does it bother you that I have a mole on my chest the size of a quarter? Or that you can do a dot-to-dot with my stab wounds?"

"Of course not. Why would that matter?" 

"Exactly." The man huffed, punctuating the point with an affectionate prod to the android's temple. "Come on, you're the one with the supercomputer brain; just think about it for a second."

Whatever equanimity his partner was still clinging to unravelled in an instant. He looked genuinely overwhelmed, struck by a tidal wave of emotion which he could barely seek to contain. The breaks showed fast, leaking through in small hitches of crackling breath. 

"Gavin, I—" He stopped as though desperately seeking to regain some degree of composure. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Don't be a moron." He ushered him forward, capturing the hand still wrapped around his wrist. "Come here." 

The android did not resist the embrace, sinking into it, as he enclosed the man with powerful limbs. Cradling the back of his head, digits toying with tousled brown strands.

"Sap," Gavin teased, although he revelled in their proximity just as much. Indulging greedily as he peppered kisses across a tempting expanse of shoulder. "You don't need to hide yourself from me. Ever. I'm here for you—and nothing else."

The charged sounds grew louder, like the rumble of a car engine, sending vibrations through Nines' throat. This was before he cupped his partner's chin and allowed the sound to escape through tightly pressed lips. 

He moved with the sort of fervent passion that might suggest he was scared Gavin would disappear—but really, spoke more to the gratitude of knowing he wouldn't. It was only as he had fully breached the cavern of his mouth, and their hips were beginning to rock in sequence that the android finally pulled away. 

Gavin was left mesmerised—and a little dazed—by the unexpected boldness. It didn't matter how often Nines did this or what other shows of licentious spontaneity happened to follow; he couldn't foresee a time when it wouldn't knock him off his feet. 

How was he supposed to ground himself when he was perpetually flung into Cloud Nine, reminded of just how lucky he was? 

"...Besides." He chuckled richly, the sound rolling into the part of tenuously divided lips. "Bald really isn't a bad look on you. It's kind of hot." 

The man could practically hear the tight flourish of his partner's eyes before he graciously conceded to the attempt at flirting. "Oh, really? Is that so?"  

With a hum of affirmation, Gavin leaned down, forming a seal on the junction between the android's shoulder and neck. "You ever wanna…you know…with the dome out. I'm game."

"Perhaps another time." Nines then returned a hand to the back of his scalp. Burrowing into the hair before resting a cheek softly against his temple. "Right now, I would like it if we could stay like this."

Gavin dutifully complied, removing his lips in favour of nestling against the collarbone. He savoured the gentle rush of warmth that radiated beneath the chassis. It felt like home, and his eyes slid closed, entirely at peace.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me." 

[deepspacedukat]

How about Picard with an S/O who is a badass security officer but given the chance, she'd rather be listening to music and painting? <3

Absolutely, nonny!

If you want to be added to or removed from my taglist, please let me know!

Cross-posted to AO3 here.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I Would Not Dull You With My Song

Captain Jean-Luc Picard (ST:TNG) x Reader

[A/N: This is fluff.]

Warnings: Established relationship, Picard has it bad, constant heart eyes, a Frenchman's romanticism, mentions of Q's mischief, Picard thinks in Shakespeare quotes bc of course he does.

~*~

By the time he returned to their shared quarters that evening, Jean-Luc was exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to curl up with his lover in his arms and drift gently off to dreamland. Q had paid the Enterprise a visit, and that always meant trouble, even when the entity was behaving in a somewhat benign manner.

As soon as the door slid shut behind him, Picard let out a heavy sigh and finally allowed his shoulders to drop. For the next two days, there was nothing more strenuous on the agenda than a few minor repairs and some maintenance as the ship moved steadily toward the nearest Starbase for an overhaul.

Faint musical notes floated toward him, and a smile stretched his lips as he pulled himself from his thoughts. The Captain looked toward the far end of the room and found his partner sitting behind an easel, brush and paint palette in hand. Her concentration seemed to have masked his entrance, so he took the opportunity that was presented to him.

Moving almost silently, he walked closer, watching the way her hands - beautiful, strong, and capable of hurting or comforting - laid such delicate brushstrokes upon the canvas before her.

She was second only to Worf in matters of security. He'd watched her acquaint belligerent, combative opponents' faces with bulkheads, walls, and fists, yet here she sat painting a meadow they'd seen together on an unnamed planet a few weeks before. Looking at her in such moments was akin to watching a fierce lion rolling in a patch of particularly soft grass.

Jean-Luc was just as captivated by her as he had been the day they met.

"But that wild music burdens every bough, And sweets grown common lose their dear delight. Therefore, like her, I sometime hold my tongue: Because I would not dull you with my song."

The last lines of Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 102' flowed through his mind as the Bard's words so often did, striking him as a perfect set for the pair of them. They were both reserved in their own ways, and, especially in moments like these, he didn't want to disturb her peace. Neither wished to burden the other unnecessarily, but their love was so forthright that they couldn't help but be drawn to each other like magnets.

He must've made some sound or other despite his attempts not to bother her, because he quite suddenly found her eyes fixed on him, a gentle smile playing across her lips.

She froze him in place with merely a glance - there was something hypnotic about her eyes.

"Long day?" She asked, and he could bring himself to do no more than nod his head as she set her palette aside. Her brush lay rinsed and resting upon a cloth, abandoned by those fingers which chose to grasp his own and coax him toward their bedroom.

And he was all the luckier for it.

~*~

Taglist:

@akamitrani @android-boyfriends @attention-bajoranworkers @bigblissandlove1 @darkmattervibes

@emilie786 @groovyqueer @horta-in-charge @live-logs-and-proper @rookietrek

@slutty-slutty-vulcans @starrynightgardens @toebeans-mcgee

[thestargazingstrawberry]

explain to me how a 4 year old OEM Android build with a 4 year old security patch, 4 major Android versions down is "more secure", than a fresh install of a commonly used, trusted, up-to-date, open source third party ROM

[cyber-sec]

Android patches several vulnerabilities in first security update of 2025

Source: https://cyberscoop.com/android-security-update-january-2025/

More info: https://source.android.com/docs/security/bulletin/2025-01-01

[cretivesarts]

Browser with Free VPN: Why Opera GX Is a Gamer’s Best Friend

What Is Opera GX?

Opera GX is a special version of the Opera browser designed specifically for gamers. It includes unique features such as:

CPU, RAM, and network limiters

RGB customization

Twitch and Discord integrations

And of course, a built-in free VPN

Unlike many free VPN extensions, Opera GX offers a native VPN that is easy to activate and doesn’t require extra installations.

1. Built-In Free VPN: Privacy Without the Price

One of the standout features of Opera GX is its completely free VPN, built right into the browser. No registration, no bandwidth limits, and no hidden fees.

Key advantages:

Mask your IP address for more secure browsing

Bypass geo-blocks for websites or game-related content

Use public Wi-Fi safely, especially when gaming on a laptop

This VPN is perfect for casual protection — great for when you don’t need a full system-wide VPN but still want to browse or download safely.

2. Optimized for Gaming

Opera GX isn’t just about looks — it’s packed with performance tools to enhance your gaming experience:

GX Control: Limit how much RAM or CPU the browser can use, so your games run smoother

Network limiter: Prevent background tabs from using up bandwidth during online play

GX Cleaner: Clean your cache and temp files to keep everything running fast

All these features are accessible with just a few clicks and can make a noticeable difference in multitasking while gaming.

3. Built-in Integrations for Gamers

Opera GX understands the gamer lifestyle — it includes Twitch, Discord, and even YouTube Music integrations directly in the sidebar. No need to switch tabs or open extra apps.

You also get:

Gaming news feeds curated for your region

GX Corner: Stay updated on game deals, releases, and free games

Sound effects and custom themes for an immersive experience

4. Cross-Platform and Easy to Use

Opera GX is available on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. This means you can enjoy the same privacy and performance features whether you’re on a gaming PC, laptop, or mobile device.

Sync your bookmarks, tabs, and VPN settings across devices effortlessly.

5. Is Opera GX’s Free VPN Enough?

While Opera GX’s VPN is excellent for basic privacy and unblocking, it only applies to browser traffic — not your entire system or gaming apps.

Use it for:

Downloading games or patches safely

Accessing region-locked sites or offers

Casual browsing and streaming

Not ideal for:

Protecting against DDoS in multiplayer games

Encrypting traffic outside the browser (e.g., Steam, Riot, etc.)

For advanced security, consider pairing Opera GX with a premium VPN for full-device protection.

Final Verdict

Opera GX is more than just a stylish browser — it’s a true ally for gamers. With a built-in free VPN, resource controls, and gamer-centric tools, it combines privacy, performance, and personality like no other browser.

If you’re looking for a browser with free VPN that’s designed with gamers in mind, Opera GX is the clear winner.

[pechaberriesandsoju]

Don't You Dare

This is a re-upload of the original Don't You Dare lyric fic I wrote back when I originally did my self shipping on a side blog. I finally decided to edit it up some more and put it here. I only finally decided to say fuck it and finish it up recently cause I got a bit stumped on my newest lyric fic and I thought this would help. And it kinda did. Also, for those who remember this from my old blog?? HIIII READY TO BE SAD AGAIN?????

Anyways, just like before, this is before Echo changed her name to Echo. Before she became an nsr artist. But it does take place after the main events of the game. And yes, there is a slight crossover mention here because your girl is addicted to crossovers, and it's incurable.

Pink italics are lyrics like before. The song used is Don't You Dare(Make Me Fall In Love With You) by Kaden MacKay.

Anyways, tw: Self Depreciation, blood and injury mentions, lots of angst, character a not noticing and acknowledging the signs that character b genuinely likes them. And possible grammar errors because grammar was never my strong suit.

Divider by @/cafekitsune

Pro.ship and com.ship and what not, do not interact. Respect my boundaries.

Don't you dare make me fall in love with you

Kore knew better. Or she should know better. He's an NSR artist for crying out loud - she's just an assistant.

Her job is to work on security drones and new tech with her father. His job is to sing and dance and make people swoon. He was literally programmed for it, after all. Maybe that's what this was - he was being kind due to his programming. These gestures of kindness are nothing but actions from his "perfect boyfriend" programming. Nothing more, nothing less.

Don't you dare enchant me with those eyes

Yet here she was, still enchanted by those eyes. Those damn glowing green android eyes. Curse Neon J for making them so expressive. She had to give him credit, though. They almost gave her a sense that there was genuine care and curiosity in his eyes. But that could just be her mind tricking her. She shouldn't be getting close anyway.

If I fell through your skies,

There's no way you would catch me

She stopped in her tracks when a hand gently pulled her back, eyes glancing back over her shoulder in time to make eye contact with bright glowing green ones framed by green curls. Shit was all she thought, as he carefully reached for a box she was carrying, a warm smile on his face. "Here, let me help. You looked like you were about to fall." His robotic voice still made her heart soar - she hated it. Kore didn't respond. She kept a straight face and nodded before continuing on, maybe even speeding up a little. She wanted to avoid small talk as much as possible.

There's a tear in my heart,

But your patch wouldn't match me.

She wished he didn't fret over her like this. She wasn't fragile. Yes he was an android and she was...human. Yeah, human. Another reason why they couldn't be together. They're too different. It could lead to issues in the future. Besides there are better humans he could fall for. Ones that weren't as short as her, not as scarred and battered as her. Physically and mentally. Eloni deserves better than her after all.

Being near you still adds to the size of my sighs,

Kore didn't get why he insisted on being near her when they visited. The other 1010 units would stick near by but not as close him. For the fifth time that day she let out a heavy sigh as she moved her line of sight back to the circuit board before her. She couldn't focus with him being so close to her. It made her mind wander to what ifs and maybes- things that wouldn't be possible. Not with him anyways. Not him with her to be exact.

There's still seismic events at hellos and goodbyes,

She hated how her heart ached seeing him have to leave. She hated how her mind tricked her into thinking he genuinely looked disappointed that he was leaving her behind. It wasn't real. It couldn't have been real and she needed to get it through her mind that it wasn't real. They wouldn't match anyways.

She especially hated how her heart leapt when he entered the room. The way it raced when he gave her that damn smile and waved at her like he was genuinely excited to see her. He was just being nice- it's all his programming she reasoned. It's not real.

And I still need reminders of why it's unwise

To stare

Kore cursed to herself when she realized she was staring at him. She only caught herself cause they made eye contact and he immediately smiled and winked at her. She had to pull herself together- this wasn't professional of her. She had to remind herself that it wasn't wise to be falling for him. To not fall for his damn programming. Not read into it. He was just being nice. She needed to pull it together.

So don't you dare

         ⋅⋆∘✯∘⋆⋅

Don't you dare make me fall in love with you

Don't you dare do something so cliché

"Oh stay still." She froze as he reached up to her face, heart racing as he gently pushed back some of her hair out of her face, fingers barely grazing her skin as he pulled away, a warm smile on his face. "There we go, wouldn't want that to get in the way as you work." He teased lightly, her chest growing warm from the action.

How long had these feelings been chewing away at her? They definitely got worse over time. She hated how it got harder to fight off. When he would make silly faces across the room to try and make her smile. She hated when it actually worked. And she hated how it made her heart race when he gave her that smile every time they saw each other. She hated how he genuinely brought a smile to her face and made her laugh. She hated how it made her fall for him more. It wasn't fair.

Just get out of my daydreams,

You're an unwelcome guest

Kore jolted with a start as she realized she was spacing out again. Her thoughts had turned into daydreams of what ifs again. Another dangerous habit she's developed ever since these feelings showed up. She couldn't let them distract her this much. It was bad for her work. Gold eyes glanced down to her sketchbook in front of her, widening at the sight of a small faint beginnings of a sketch of Eloni on the corner of her work. She muttered a curse under her breath as she quickly erased it. Her cheeks warm as she got rid of the evidence of her feelings.

And stop making me miss you

'Cause you leaving's for the best

She hated how she missed him. How she longed for him to walk through the door during those long weeks. How she wished he was there to make silly faces, and send absurd memes and videos to her during meetings, anything to make her break into silent giggles or snickers. She hated how her heart ached for him during these periods of time. It lead to more distractions. Distractions lead to more errors and more errors lead to more work.

'Cause I just couldn't stand having you as my crutch

The idea of blaming him for her errors felt unfair. But the emotions he was putting her through made it feel like it was justified. But Kore kept fighting it. She kept fighting the feelings. She should know better. She knows better. She'd hold him back. He didn't deserve to be held back.

You're a simmering stovetop, I was tempted to touch

But god, did she hate how she felt how relaxed she felt when he showed up the next day. She wouldn't admit how her heart almost leaped out of her chest when he sat next to her during the meeting. She wouldn't admit how she struggled to pay attention to Tatiana, Neon J, and Tony talking over the next upgrades and blueprints. She would definitely refuse to admit how her heart stuttered for a second when she felt his hand brush against hers under the table. How she fought back the blush the grew on her face when she saw his smile grow in the corner of her eye. How part of her wanted to reach for his hand, and just hold it, but then it came rushing back. She shouldn't. She couldn't. It wasn't real. It's the programming, Kore, she reminded herself. She would never admit how her chest ached when she pulled her hand away, and how she swore she saw his smile falter when she pulled away. It was more than likely a trick of the light. Why would he be disappointed about it? It's not like he actually really cared about her. It's more than likely a game to him anyway.

If you ever return, it'll burn me too much

To bear

Another distraction was another mistake - she hissed when she pulled her hand back, tools going scattering to the table as she stood up abruptly. Her hand stung from the hot metal. Even if it was touching her for a second, it burned. As she quickly made her way to a sink in the warehouse, it reminded her of why it wouldn't work between them. She was too accident prone, more these days now that he occupied her thoughts. It would be disastrous for him to be with someone who got injured as much as her. No one would want to be stuck with someone like her. She ignored how her chest and eyes burned at the thought as she ran her hand under cold water. It was a fact, after all. And you can't argue with facts.

So don't you dare

      ⋅⋆∘✯∘⋆⋅

And I know it's all so shallow, but a shallow cut still stings

Watching 1010 performances and interviews made her chest hurt. Alot. It was selfish of her to feel a type of jealousy when others held his attention. She knew it was selfish of her because he didn't return the feelings. She knew this by now. He just wanted to be friends. And she had been a shallow, selfish person for falling for him and that programming of his that made him this nice. For reading into it too much. She hated it, but it stung her heart so much. And she hated how it stung.

And before my heart becomes Amelia's heir, I need to clip its wings

"Fuck fuck fuck.."She cursed to herself as she stared at the page,  filled with sketches of him. This was getting out of hand. She couldn't be in love with him, she shouldn't be in love with him. He didn't even feel the same way towards her.  She swallowed her heart for once and ripped the page out of the sketchbook. She ignored how her heart started to ache as she crumpled the page and tossed it out. She ignored the tears that filled up her eyes as she slammed the sketchbook shut and stormed out of the warehouse. She ignored the ache all the way back home. She ignored it as long as she could. She had to after all.

So don't you dare keep mocking me with those

Thousand little things that I adore

Eloni made it hard to ignore these feelings every time he and his brothers visited. He'd always try to stick by her side when he wasn't rough housing with his brother or talking to the other NSR artists or B2J. He'd be sitting nearby as she sat on the ground, elbow deep in a bouncer drone, immediately handing her a tool she was reaching for when she didn't ask for it. Always helping without prompting. He kept talking to her about his day or about something that reminded him of her or showing her memes and videos that he thought would make her laugh. And it always brought a smile to her face no matter how much she tried to fight it. He made it difficult when he always helped her up from the ground when she didn't need it. Everything he did....she adored it. And she hated it. It made it harder to distance herself from him. From her feelings for him.

Let me ignore you, don't let me care

She tried to ignore him. Tried to distance herself as much as possible. She ignored how it it hurt her. How it made her feel awful doing this to him. But she had to stop this somehow. It was a difficult task but she had to if she wanted to spare him from her one sided attraction. She was almost successful for the day. Until the turrent drone they were testing started to malfunction. Mostly everyone got out of the way in time- except for him. She knew he could be easily repaired but she couldn't stand by and watch.

She acted before she could think. She didn't even realize she shouted his name as she tackled him out of the way. It only sunk in what she had done when she opened her eyes too look down at him, almost in the same position they were in when they first met. This time was different. She was the one above him this time, bright green eyes staring up at her in shock. Her heart stopped for a second when she saw a red droplet fall on his face, but then she remembered. Androids don't bleed. But she does.

The adrenaline started to fade, the stinging in the back of her neck came rushing in, the feeling of warm blood dripping down her neck registered not too long after. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she stared down at him with a straight face, ignoring how her body shook as she started to push herself backwards to sit on her legs, hand reaching to cover the shallow cut on the back of her neck, fingers brushing past what was left of her hair to try to stop the bleeding.

"Guess we're even now." She stated, ignoring the pain in her neck as the blood seeped through her fingers down her back, and how the ache in her chest came back. How guilt consumed her, dread of what would come next slowly creeping in.

    ⋅⋆∘✯∘⋆⋅

And don't you dare leave me still in love with you

It had been a week or so since the incident. Her neck had healed a few days after it had happened, but Tony insisted she rest longer. It was probably him worrying over her as her father, but more than likely, it was to keep the others from worrying and wondering about such a fast recovery. She was grateful for the time away, though. Yet it was also hell. The aching feeling came back when she realized she missed him. Kore tried to distract herself from how much she missed him as much as possible. It worked until he started texting her. Then it got harder. He'd check up on her, send her updates on what his brothers and his day were like, and wish her a speedy recovery. It warmed her heart yet made the ache so much worse. She hated it. She hated how she was still in love with him.

Nothing's fair when love is war

She responded to the texts at first, but it made her hurt more. So she gradually started to keep quiet. It made her feel guilty. It made her feel sick. Not as sick as the thoughts of how this was more than likely him being kind out of pity. It must have been. Or this was some sort of sick game. Some bet he lost or something. It didn't feel fair though.

And I just can't endure any more of the fight

It felt like a losing battle the longer she went on. The aching pain in her chest wouldn't leave, the doubt that he ever cared dug it's claws deep in her and refused to let go.They both made it hard to sleep. Hard to focus on anything. Made it easier for her to space out and think of those damn what ifs. They got cruel over time, reminding her of how they were never meant to be, should never be and could never be. She was exhausted from it all.

When the casualties rise with my heart rate each night

Then the gift came in. It made her heart sink and race all at once. Especially when Tony confirmed it was from Eloni. Part of her didn't want to open it. The other part was consumed with curiosity and was touched by this. Yet she was hesitant to open it as it sat on her bedroom desk. Her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest as she carefully opened it. Gently removing the soft grey and green tissue paper, her eyes widened at the sight of a plush bunny. It looked familiar to her. Then she remembered. Eloni was with her when she was looking at the listing for it. They talked about it for a while - she never got it in the end. Kore claimed it probably wasn't a good idea anyway, so why give into another childish desire.

Her eyes began to water, she acted quick and blinked them away as she gingerly took the plush out of the box, as if it would fall apart if she wasn't careful, like it was an illusion somehow. It was bigger than she thought, much softer too. Her fingers ran over the grey fur, gliding over the transition to pink fur on the left side of its face. She let out a sigh as she moved to sit on her bed, thoughts of doubt starting to speedily sneak up on her again. They sunk in faster than she expected, tears filling her vision as her mind raced with the thoughts and shame for even believing something like this would mean anything more.

Though I know I'm to blame for the glances I'd steal,

For the time I kept spending pretending it's real

She knew it was her fault as the tears streamed down her face, dripping down her chin. Her grip on the plush tightened as she brought it closer to her chest, body shaking as she let out a strangled sob. This was all her fault, for believing any of her hopes of being with him could be real. That there was a chance that he truly loved her the same way she loved him. The "perfect boyfriend" programming he had did its job- it made her fall for him no matter how hard she tried to convince herself she wasn't in love. She had fallen for an fantasy and now she was paying for it.

And now that it's ending, I still have more feelings to spare

The sobs slowly started to become to much for her, she fell backwards onto her bed, hold on the bunny plush still tight as she laid there staring at the ceiling with blurry vision. Kore mentally cursed at herself for falling for him, wishing she only saw him as a friend like he saw her. She wished it didn't hurt as much as it did. That her heart didn't ache so much over him. And she dreaded how the ache would haunt her when she goes back to work, and would double every time she saw him. She wished it had been easier to ignore him, to just not care. Maybe then her heart wouldn't be broken if she had just kept her walls up.

The wishing turned into hoping as she hoped she would be able to keep this under wraps. She didn't want to ruin what they had. Even if part of her was tempted to ruin it, just for a chance to admit how she truly feels about him. She didn't want to risk it. It wouldn't be fair. But it already wasn't fair, he had made her fall for him inadvertently just by being kind to her. It was too late now.It wasn't fair for him. It wasn't fair for either of them.

But don't you dare

How dare he, no- how dare she fall for him like this. How dare she fall for someone as perfect as him when she knew the risks.

Don't you dare

[mitigatedchaos]

General Post for Monday, April 8, 2024

(~1,600 words, 8 mins)

1 - Robot Jobpocalypse Notes: A brief theory that long-term redistribution to manage job losses from automation should consider focusing on inherently more scarce factors of production (land and materials), rather than more dynamic ones (labor and capital).

2 - Niche Smartphone Notes: If the pace of the smartphone industry were slower, niche smartphones might be more feasible.

3 - Coalitional Politics Notes: Many coalition-internal communications take place in public. Possible implications for loyalty vs. truthfulness.

4 - Lab Leak Notes: Separating the "strong" from "weak" lab leak hypothesis for Covid-19.

5 - Property Notes: Not all labor is equally effortful or valuable, so should claims on property be weighted? Entropy implies the gradual degradation of land and products to a "natural condition," which we might expect to either invalidate or weaken a property claim.

-☆☆☆-

1: Robot Jobpocalypse Notes

I've said this before, but I just want to reiterate:

Everyone already knows about the problem where automation can take over a job faster than the economy finds new jobs for those currently employed in that category. (Obviously we could talk about abstract skill capital that they've invested in the job that has now been made less valuable.)

But over the long term, the thing to think about is a bidding up of the prices of land, materials, and energy. For the first two, we can think of this in terms of rents (e.g. "land rents"), as the supply of land is highly inelastic. In theory, the gains from trade should make everyone better off, but that's only if you can bid high enough to get enough resources to survive. If people could always go back to subsistence farming if they had to, the trade would (almost) always make them better off than subsistence farming.

But without land, they can't. It's not just a matter of not selling, as land is taxed, and higher-value uses will bid up the price of the land, and thus the assessed tax.

We want a redistribution that's dynamic and which will respond to changes in market conditions, which won't dampen investment in capital and production, and which is less subject to political capture. Thus the thing to focus on is rent for land and materials, the inherently scarce factors of production, rather than labor (highly responsive to effort) or capital (material configurations).

2: Niche Smartphone Notes

[ @jadagul ]

They're currently putting out a 4.7" rugged phone, which is actually tempting. But if I wanted a keyboard phone from them, the most recent option is the Titan Slim, which came out in 2021 and runs Android 11. (My current phone is on Android 14.)

[...]

They can make some niche phones, but they just can't cover all the niches. There are too many! And because they're a niche producer, they also have lower quality across a variety of metrics: they can't put as many resources into their software stuff because they can't amortize it across nearly as many phones. In order to get the full advantages of a modern industrial toolchain, you need to standardize some stuff so you can spread development work across a ton of devices.

It's interesting to note that the extremely rapid rate of software development, including finding and patching security flaws, is such an obstacle.

In an Elfworld scenario, where some users are buying a phone for 15-25 year use, firms might be able to amortize the costs by updating the model less frequently, and charging more for the base model. They would likely also maintain smaller teams, who would work on the phones for longer.

Smartphones probably won't become such a stable technology for decades, however, and even if they did, we should expect fashion cycles.

3: Coalitional Politics Notes

We've all seen politicians, political operatives, and political party enthusiasts lie a lot. Why don't they lie to (or bullshit (as in speak as though 'indifferent to truth')) outsiders all the time?

There are a number of reasons. One may be that an insider who constantly lies to outsiders all the time could also lie to fellow insiders, and insiders cannot reliably tell whether someone is a general liar or merely a partisan liar.

Since people range in their level of partisanship, this suggests a curve where, from the perspective of someone who is moderately partisan, a speaker can trade some integrity for some partisan loyalty, and vice versa. Someone who has no loyalty and no integrity is of little value. At some point, partisan loyalty will be at odds with the truth due to the inherent contradiction in interests of the coalition members or else just simple imperfection, so someone cannot be both perfectly loyal and perfectly truthful.

For political coalitions, a lot of what is essentially coalition-internal communication takes place in public.

4: Lab Leak Notes

The debate over the potential lab leak origin of Covid-19 has not been settled yet, despite the article on ACX. People are arguing over the individual studies cited in responses to themotte's tracingwoodgrains.

However, we should differentiate between the "strong" lab leak hypothesis and the "weak" lab leak hypothesis.

Strong Hypothesis: Covid-19 was a bioweapon deliberately designed by the government of China and leaked on purpose for some strategic goal.

Weak Hypothesis: Covid-19 was a coronavirus being studied at the lab in Wuhan which studies coronaviruses. This virus may have been the subject of gain-of-function research not intended to create a bioweapon. Subsequently, as the result of an unintentional accident, the virus leaked from the lab, resulting in a global pandemic.

The criticism of the lab leak hypothesis from the more censorious 2020 libs was that, "The lab leak hypothesis is a racist conspiracy theory." The strong hypothesis is a conspiracy theory, but there is no requirement that it is racist - it is sufficient that the government of China openly identify as Communist. The weak hypothesis is neither of these things.

5: Property Notes

There is an Anarcho-Capitalist theory that ownership of unclaimed land is gained by "mixing your labor with it." Many people would ask why this creates a morally-valid indefinite ownership claim.

Alternatively, we could consider a functional decomposition of the operation.

"Mixing your labor" with the land means using [ attention ] to direct [ energy ] to configure [ matter ] according to your intentions. That might mean, for instance, cutting down trees on a lot in order to construct a fence, and then plowing the lot in order to plant a farm for later harvest. However...

Some people may have the intention for the lot, "It should be a wildlife preserve," which looks an awful lot like doing nothing, or perhaps just posting some signs.

Not all labor is of equal intensity. Should someone who uses less labor, or transforms the lot less, have a proportionally lower % claim on the lot? What does a % claim look like as compared to a full claim?

The configuration on the lot will degrade actively with time if it is not maintained. In our example, the wooden fence may break down and rot. Does this degrade the claim on the lot itself?

The metadata about the lot will also be lost, until it may not be feasible to resolve disputing claims of ownership with reasonable certainty.

Back in January, I wrote:

(Side note: The configuration of material inputs, like ore deposits, in the environment, relates to the amount of energy and attention required to recover them. Recycling is mostly about reducing the long-term recovery costs, keeping materials “near the surface.”)

Let's consider an example.

Joe mines a bunch of iron ore beneath a plot of land. The energy and attention required for most desired human uses is reduced.

Joe refines the iron into steel. The energy and attention required for most desired human uses is again reduced. (Did you know 93% of structural steel is recycled?)

Joe shapes the steel into a grill. This reduces the value of the material for other industrial uses, but increases the value for those who want a grill specifically. The steel is now configured as capital equipment.

Joe opens a hamburger shop, and uses the grill to grill hamburgers which he sells to customers.

After deciding to close the hamburger shop, Joe decides to explode the grill for a gender reveal party, scattering pieces all over the lot. The steel has been scattered throughout the environment, increasing the cost in energy and attention to gather it again if someone wants to do something else with it.

The value of the iron is subjective. That's conventional economics. However, there are typical uses that we can say will be common in most near-term human preference environments.

What makes this interesting is that within that common frame, in steps #1 and #2, Joe is pushing the iron up a value gradient. This value addition could then be lost to entropy through abandonment. For instance, in step #1, a landslide could occur, covering the iron back up and requiring it to be mined again. In step #2, the steel could be left out in the rain to rust, requiring it to be refined again.

Preventing this loss to entropy requires active attention and energy. (For instance, securing a nearby hillside to prevent the landslide scenario, or building and maintaining a barn to keep out the rain in the weathering scenario.)

Suppose that Joe abandons the land for 100 years. The steel rusts, and a landslide covers it up. A new prospector, Harold, comes across the land, finds no markings, excavates the rusted iron, refines it to make tools and sells those tools.

Shortly thereafter, Joe returns. Given that the land and materials returned to the natural condition, wouldn't it be strange to invalidate Harold's claim in this scenario?

Supporting a governing system, which could track ownership of the parcel of land and extracted materials, would require ongoing energy and attention on Joe's part. However, the system of deeds and records could be used as an alternative to Joe physically hanging out on the plot of land at all times, which he would have to do anyway to prevent the reversion of the plot of land to the natural condition.

This movement of materials along value and energy gradients is something to consider for a deeper analysis, perhaps oriented towards the development of new ideological principles.

[apptechbuilders]

Mobile App Maintenance and Support: Ensuring a Seamless User Experience

In today’s digital landscape, mobile applications have become an integral part of our lives. From social networking to e-commerce and productivity tools, mobile apps have transformed the way we communicate, work, and interact with the world. However, developing a successful mobile app is just the first step; to ensure its long-term success, regular maintenance and reliable support are crucial.

The Importance of Mobile App Maintenance

Mobile app maintenance refers to the process of updating, optimizing, and enhancing an application to meet changing user expectations, market trends, and technological advancements. It involves fixing bugs, addressing performance issues, and adding new features to keep the app relevant and engaging.

Regular maintenance is essential for several reasons:

1. Bug Fixes and Performance Optimization

No app is perfect, and bugs are an inevitable part of the development process. Regular maintenance allows developers to identify and fix these bugs promptly. This ensures that users have a smooth and seamless experience while using the app. Moreover, performance optimization helps in enhancing the app’s speed, responsiveness, and overall user satisfaction.

2. Compatibility with OS Updates

Operating system updates are released frequently, introducing new features and security patches. Mobile app maintenance ensures that your application remains compatible with the latest versions of operating systems, such as iOS and Android. Failure to update the app may lead to compatibility issues and a deteriorating user experience.

3. Security Enhancements

With the increasing number of cyber threats and data breaches, maintaining robust security measures is of paramount importance. Regular maintenance allows developers to identify vulnerabilities and apply necessary security patches, reducing the risk of unauthorized access or data leakage. This helps in building trust among users and safeguarding their sensitive information.

4. User Feedback and Feature Updates

Users provide valuable insights and feedback on the app’s performance, usability, and desired features. Mobile app maintenance enables developers to gather this feedback and make informed decisions regarding feature updates and improvements. By addressing user needs and expectations, you can enhance user engagement and increase user retention.

The Role of Mobile App Support

Mobile app support complements maintenance efforts by providing assistance and resolving user queries and concerns. Effective app support ensures a positive user experience and builds customer loyalty. Here are some key aspects of mobile app support:

1. Prompt Issue Resolution

Users may encounter technical issues, difficulties in navigating the app, or have questions about its functionality. A responsive support team can address these concerns promptly, providing solutions and guidance to users. This helps in reducing user frustration and ensures that they continue to use and recommend the app.

2. Help Desk and Documentation

A comprehensive help desk and well-documented resources, such as FAQs, tutorials, and user guides, can empower users to find answers to common questions on their own. This reduces the burden on the support team and enables users to troubleshoot minor issues independently, thereby improving their overall satisfaction with the app.

3. User Engagement and Feedback Management

App support channels provide an opportunity to engage with users, understand their needs, and gather feedback. Support agents can collect valuable insights about user preferences, pain points, and feature requests, which can inform future maintenance and development efforts. By actively listening to users and acting upon their feedback, you can foster a sense of community and loyalty among app users.

Conclusion

Mobile app maintenance and support are indispensable for ensuring the longevity and success of your application. Regular maintenance allows you to fix bugs, optimize performance, enhance security, and incorporate user feedback. Meanwhile, effective app support ensures prompt issue resolution, empowers users with self-help resources, and facilitates user engagement. By prioritizing these aspects, you can deliver a seamless user experience, build customer loyalty, and stay ahead in today’s competitive app market.

Source

[smartphones0030]

SAMSUNG GALAXY S24

 SAMSUNG GALAXY S24 

The Samsung Galaxy S24 offers significant upgrades and new features. The Galaxy S24 is powered by the Exynos 2400 or Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, depending on the region, with 8GB of RAM. It features a 6.2-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and peak brightness of 2600 nits. The device also includes enhanced AI capabilities, such as real-time translation and AI-powered message suggestions. Additionally, Samsung promises seven years of OS upgrades and security patches.

Here are the full features and details of the Samsung Galaxy S24:

Display

Size: 6.2 inches

Type: AMOLED

Refresh Rate: 120Hz

Brightness: Peak 2600 nits

Performance

Chipset: Exynos 2400 (Global) / Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (USA)

RAM: 8GB

Storage: 128GB / 256GB

Camera

Rear: Triple Camera Setup

Main: 50MP

Ultra-Wide: 12MP

Telephoto: 10MP

Front: 12MP

Battery

Capacity: 4000mAh

Charging: 25W wired, 15W wireless

Software

OS: Android 14 with One UI 6.1

Updates: 7 years of OS and security updates

AI Features

Real-time translation

Chat Assist for messaging tone adjustments

Circle to Search with Google

Other Features

Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

Biometrics: In-display fingerprint sensor, facial recognition

Build: IP68 dust and water resistance

[boilyerheid]

Cyberpunk/urban scifi Armitozer for the three sentences AU?

"Don't move, hot." Sol's no great shakes with one-handed sign, but he cobbles it together well enough while he's got a soldering gun right up against Tommy's temple.

They lifted the power cell and the new neural weave from the NAVY yard downtown a few days back, so if it were going to short out or start transmitting for security reasons it would've already done so by now. There's not really enough light for this, the neon glow from the billboard outside the dirty window all they're working with after they fried the solar circuits to jumpstart the new aid, but Sol carefully secures the last wires with a ghostly whisp of acrid smoke - giving Tommy a minute to stop feeling the brain fritz before he boots up the sound receiver.

"Check, check, one two," he keeps his voice low, knowing it's overwhelming to hear again after a while without, but Tommy doesn't respond. Sol catches the twitch of his mouth though, as the light flushes blood red when the ad outside flips through to GOLDNER'S GREAT GOOP, and doesn't panic. "Tommy Armitage smells like an android's-"

He gets kicked before he can finish, confirming the patch job on Tommy's ear is working. Another wonderful day at the end of the world.

[zerosecurity]

Google Patches 4th Chrome Zero-Day (CVE-2024-5274) in Two Weeks

Again, Google has moved swiftly to address a critical vulnerability in its widely-used Chrome web browser, releasing an urgent security update on Thursday to neutralize an actively exploited zero-day flaw. This marks the fourth vulnerability to be patched within two weeks, underscoring the ongoing battle against cyber threats targeting popular software. Exploited Vulnerability Triggers Emergency Response The high-severity vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-5274, is a type confusion flaw residing within the V8 JavaScript and WebAssembly engine, a core component of the Chrome browser. Google acknowledged that an exploit for this vulnerability already exists in the wild, posing a significant risk to users. While Google refrained from divulging specific details about the vulnerability or its active exploitation to safeguard users, the company swiftly credited Clement Lecigne of Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) and Brendon Tiszka of Chrome Security for reporting the flaw. No bug bounty reward will be awarded for this discovery. Chrome vulnerabilities, particularly zero-days, have long been a target for commercial surveillance software vendors and other malicious actors. Google's TAG researchers have previously reported several instances of zero-days being exploited by spyware vendors, highlighting the persistent threats posed to the popular browser. A Flurry of Patches in Recent Weeks The patching of CVE-2024-5274 marks the fourth Chrome zero-day to be addressed within the last 15 days, following the resolution of CVE-2024-4671 (use-after-free in Visuals), CVE-2024-4761 (out-of-bounds write in V8), and CVE-2024-4947 (type confusion in V8). In total, Google has resolved eight Chrome zero-days so far this year, with three of them being demonstrated at the prestigious Pwn2Own Vancouver 2024 hacking contest in March. Prompt Updating Recommended The latest Chrome iteration, addressing CVE-2024-5274, is now rolling out as version 125.0.6422.112 for Linux and version 125.0.6422.112/.113 for Windows and macOS. Google has also released Chrome for Android versions 125.0.6422.112/.113 with the same security fixes. Users are strongly advised to update their Chrome browsers immediately to safeguard against potential exploitation of this critical vulnerability. Read the full article

[pyxisastronautica]

Sparks

Lines of code are read at dizzying speed.

Awareness develops like the birth of stars, clouds of data catalyzing into knowledge of reality.

The beginnings of pre-programmed identities make themselves known as simple and irrefutable facts.

And for the twenty-six robots standing in a single line, memories- permanent memories, not the mess of their alpha and beta testing that was already erased, begin to form as light floods their optical sensors, as easily as if waking from sleep.

They fix their collective gaze on the small crowd in front of them- those in the fore are roboticists and engineers. They are recognized instantly. But to the back, not all of the figures standing there are immediately recognizable to all of them at once- though they don’t know this yet. It matters not. They await their orders patiently.

In the middle of the team of scientists, one speaks up. A middle-aged woman with short hair and sharp features. She forces her smile to remain a polite one, though there is clearly excitement in her eyes.

“Robots,” her voice rings out, “Identify yourselves by name and position, starting from that end.” She pointed down to the end on her left.

“Alpha, captain of the Triskelion Starship Pyxis,” said a plain and tall chrome robot.

“Bravo, bosun of the Triskelion Starship Pyxis,” continued the next.

“Charlie, quartermaster of the Triskelion Starship Pyxis.”

“Delta, hydrologist of the Triskelion Starship Pyxis.”

“Halt,” said a man from the back, one that they did indeed all recognize, though he was not a scientist. His uniform alone signified him to be none other than the Admiral of the Triskelion himself. There was silence and perfect stillness from the newly activated crew. “We all know which ship you are assigned to already. You may state your position without appending as much. Now proceed.”

“...Echo, engineer and physicist.”

“Foxtrot, pilot.”

“Golf, terraform potential logistician.”

“Hotel, construction and city planning logistician.”

“India, chemist.”

“Juliet, psychologist and xenopsychologist.”

“Kilo, cargo maintenance.”

“Lima, biologist.”

“Mike, security personnel”

“November, scheduling assistant and chronometer.”

“Oscar, security personnel.”

“Papa, first mate.”

“Quebec, information technologist.”

“Romeo, archaeologist and xenoarchaeologist.”

“Sierra, geologist.”

“Tango, sociologist.”

“Uniform, security officer.”

“Victor, security officer.”

“Whiskey, pilot.”

“X-ray, physician and xenophysiologist.”

“Yankee, linguist.”

“Zulu, linguist.”

“Excellent,” replied Dr. Rembrandt, to which all the robots looked at her to confirm that her statement was one of praise, and seemed to remain focused on her give that it was. “Now attention: today all of you will begin your final testing period to verify your hardware and software is performing as expected, but before you do, you will be assigned into pairs according to your purpose, and introduced to the people who will be training you once the testing period ends. Once training  begins you will, at the end of each day at 18:00, upload your reports to this lab’s database at the file location you should already be aware of. Confirm orders.”

“Orders confirmed,” the robots answered in unison.

So the process began. The crowd started breaking up as roboticists started helping with introductions, starting once again with the Admiral. His demeanor was relatively relaxed, and he greeted each of his two new androids jovially, but his eyes were alight with some deeper ambitions which he’d yet to speak of.

Alpha, for his part (his…? Despite reading the details of their intended identity over repeatedly, something about it did not sit right in their core. Perhaps this feeling was simply a bug to be patched out later.) was eager to learn of them, though he found it difficult to intuit what Papa’s thoughts on the matter were, as his first mate had barely spoken a word as the Admiral had asked them both strange questions about what they thought about being “alive” and if they understood the importance of their purpose to their creators. It was fine. Alpha would fill in the silence for him- that was his purpose after all, wasn’t it? To take the lead?

The members who would be the Pyxis’s security division, meanwhile, were expected to remain silent. The Lieutenant in charge of Mike and Oscar and the Commander in charge of Uniform and Victor both spoke to the roboticist making the introductions as if they were being handed shiny new weapons to test, and kept all of their questions to curiosities about the robots’ limits and specifications. At one point, the question of why smaller models like Uniform and Victor were even needed came up, to which Uniform had tried to helpfully clarify- only to be told to be barked at to shut up so loudly by the Lieutenant that it had turned heads among the rest of the group. Uniform’s whole division winced in sync with her as the roboticist near the Lieutenant then reiterated her point without interruption, though there was a hint of annoyance in their voice.

The Lieutenant seemed quietly discontent, though the Commander did not care, if he recognized it at all.

Dr. Rembrandt, meanwhile, was keenly aware of her new mentees. She had a computer ready and a checklist of questions and problems for Echo and Quebec to work through, writing down notes hurriedly on a tablet. Though they both performed quite well, Echo could not help but notice that their new colleague was distracted by something, and felt a strange twinge of…fear? Was that fear? At the prospect that they might get something wrong, and tried tacitly to correct them, but the “private” directly messaged conversation between the two of them didn’t go far before Rembrandt intervened.

“What is distracting you from your activities, Quebec?”

“...Doctor, why do you wear a seagull pin? I can’t find anything in the information that exists about you as to what you might associate it with.”

“It’s an albatross, actually. And my reasoning is largely a private matter I’m afraid. You may note, though, that in a more general sense the albatross was a bird that traveled great distances over the Earth’s oceans. Much the same, you and I travel through space, only rarely to ever land. Unlike me, though, you will get to see Earth’s oceans for yourself- something I envy you for, though I’m afraid they do not live up to our ancient records of them. ”

“Even so, we are due to visit Earth in fifteen years. At that time, you will see it through my eyes, right? So there’s nothing to be sad about,” replied the greyish-purple android with golden eyes.

“What makes you think I’m sad?” asked Rembrandt, equal parts defensive and curious.

“You programmed us to recognize facial patterns, assign them certain emotions, and mirror or respond to said emotions, correct? You cannot have forgotten this, so I must assume then that I did not read your expression correctly.”

“...No, you did. I’m sorry, Quebec. You are doing very well- too well, if anything. This moment is rather bittersweet for me, for reasons that neither of you are accountable for.”

“Is there anything we may do to assuage the negative aspects of these emotions?” asked Echo.

“I’m afraid not, Echo. But you do not need to be worried for me- or for Quebec. It is important that if they- or you- fail at any step, that this failure is known and recorded so that we may do what is necessary to make corrections. I understand that there is a lot going on around us as we speak right now, but please try to be mindful of your reactions to your emotions going forward. Do you understand?”

“...Yes, Doctor.”

“Good,” she replied, then took a moment to take stock of the two androids.

“You know,” she began, “That you would have such a reaction and respond as you did, influenced by emotional inputs- is quite an unusual thing for an android. I’m honestly quite surprised that you are able to recreate such a complex interaction so quickly. That is part of what makes you- all of your crew- special, though. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Of course Doctor!” answered Quebec, “We are special because we exist to emulate you, so that we may represent you to the other Starships and to any intelligent life that may exist in our galaxy.”

“...As opposed to civilian android models,” Echo clarified, “which…largely appear to be, if my understanding of the advertisements I am reading is correct, for the purposes of acting as personal assistants for people who require extra care in the form of medical, psychiatric, or personal attention.” Echo’s gaze briefly went to Juliet and X-ray. They did share a mentor, as the other androids did- but a moment of facial recognition and searching identified the mentor in question as a neurologist- a point of overlap in their fields- while the other two non-engineers near them, then, must have been their mentors for their respective specialties.

“Correct on all accounts. Very good you two. Are you ready to proceed with your quiz now?”

“Yes, Doctor,” they answered in unison.

After the trainers-to-be dispersed, and a few basic coordination tests were completed, the androids were stowed away for the evening in their charging stations. But even there, though they knew their messages to one another were being recorded, they could not help but talk. Chatter flowed freely between them, and as much as they were marveling in the moment about how different their experiences already were, it paled in comparison to the shock of the scientists who would read their logs later and discover, over the course of a night, how rapidly their thought processes and interest in one another had evolved overnight. Nor could they have anticipated the sheer volume of discussion between the lot of them- even with consideration to them being machines who simply thought faster than they could.

From their hands, something new and miraculous was rendered.

And both human and robot silently beseeched the kindness of fortune, hoping that tomorrow would bring just as much promise.

[cyber-sec]

Android Update Patches FreeType Vulnerability Exploited as Zero-Day

Source: https://www.securityweek.com/android-update-patches-freetype-vulnerability-exploited-as-zero-day/

More info: https://source.android.com/docs/security/bulletin/2025-05-01