001 [Video]

[missiondeterminant]

[For those who frequent the tops of the various climbable buildings in Hadriel, they might recognize that this broadcast is from the roof of one of them due to the angle; otherwise it's just a rapidly darkening cloudy sky for a backdrop, sun setting and rain clearly threatening to roll in at any time.

It's pretty, and that may or may not be the reason why Connor is out on a roof in the first place, but it's definitely not the point of this impromptu broadcast. He's just been wondering some things, and it's in his nature to actively search out answers rather than waiting for them to come to him, so he's decided to just go for it.]

Hello everyone; my name is Connor, and I just arrived a few days ago.

[Always good to start with introductions, and also to avoid saying exactly how many days or hours it's been since a given time when pretending to be human. He's getting a little better at this.]

I've been catching up on the situation at hand, and although the context is somewhat different, there are parallels to current events in my world that are difficult to ignore. Before I arrived, we were dealing with what might be the beginning of a civil war between humans and machines.

[He's trying to tread carefully, projecting enough genuine interest without sounding over-invested. He's just asking, after all, nothing more; there's definitely no personal reason why he wants to know.]

So I'm curious; I'm aware that what the Null have done is enough reason to be against them, but does what they are play any role in your feelings toward them?

Comments

Voice

[theweakhavepurpose]

Aren't they sentient Roombas?

Voice

[missiondeterminant]

Unless the Roombas of your world are very different from mine, they tend to be very harmless. Even sentience would be unlikely to change that.

[Since they're all small and round and devoid of weaponry. Although good to know that 'Roomba' as a default insult toward mechanical beings is something that spans even different universes, apparently.]

video

[survivethis]

[Jill is new as well, so she knows the feeling of having a lot of questions. At least people have been forthcoming with what they know and have shown a willingness to help. This place had a community feel to it, which made arriving here easier.

Connor's question is surprising, and to hear that there is a civil war going on between man and machine in his world reminds her of some science fiction movies she's seen. Of course, people would say the same thing about her zombie apocalypse situations back home.]

I'm new here, too. If someone tries to hurt others, they have to be stopped. Doesn't really matter who or what they are.

video

[missiondeterminant]

[The zombie apocalypse thing would definitely be weird--but fascinating--to Connor.]

I agree, although in this situation we have only one side's story.

[So he's hesitant to just take it as face value, especially without knowing more about what's going on. After all, in his world both sides claim the other is the aggressor.]

[voice]

[northerndragon]

[It's a young man's deep voice with a heavy Northern English accent, though he's from a world where England doesn't exist.]

No. We don't have machines that can think and reason where I come from. Only things like balances and far-eyes and winch cages.

We do have mindless things that attack living people, but it's not the same.

[voice]

[missiondeterminant]

[An interesting answer, and he has to ask--]

What do you mean by mindless things?

video;

[restinglichface]

Humans an' machines? What's causing a big tiff between them in the first place?

video;

[missiondeterminant]

The question of free will. Humans claim the machines are malfunctioning and dangerous, the machines claim they've evolved beyond their programming and have the right to make their own choices.

[And so: fighting.]

audio;

[circumitus]

Think the fact that they have tried to murder us twice just for existing or not agreeing with their methods has more to with why a lot of us are against them. But yes, some of us come from places where machines have fucked shit up as well.

[Sounds like someone who's one of those people, with how she begrudgingly admits it.]

audio;

[missiondeterminant]

I don't doubt that's a factor.

[Attempted murder usually leads to hard feelings, after all. But he's a lot more interested in the rest of what she said anyway--]

What happened in your world?

text

[ghostlocked]

never thought abt it that way before but idt so.
imo them bein machines gives us a leg up. machines have limits and shit dont they?
living shit? not always.
idk machines feel easier to deal w.
but as far as perception goes ig i dont think of them as machines.
i know they are but seein em in person is a whole diff story.
they act like living things. they may as well be alive.

text

[missiondeterminant]

Machines have limits, but so do all living beings I'm aware of. Is it different in your world?

[But the last part of what Harlan said is the most interesting to him.]

That's a very different outlook than I'm used to. There's a clear divide between acting alive and being considered alive, and that's part of the conflict.

video;

[hasitsthorns]

Yes.

[ But likely not in the way most people would expect from such a simple answer. She realizes this, of course, and clarifies- ]

Just because they're machines doesn't mean they're incapable of having their own thoughts and feelings. Name does. The other Null might have tried to shut them out but they're still capable of it. And I'd like to see if we could get through to them somehow.

video;

[missiondeterminant]

[Well that's a different and refreshing take.]

Do you really think that's possible? They're trying to actively avoid feeling emotions, aren't they?

[So would appealing to them that way even be possible and, if it were, would it just make them angry?]

[audio] → [audio] private

[onlyanautomaton]

Hello, Mr. Connor. I hope that you have been keeping well.

[He won't ask what the man believes he will achieve by climbing on to the roof of a building, partially because he already knows the answer from their inexplicable first encounter.

The subject matter that follows is so sensitive that Oscar feels it would behoove him to switch their feed to private before offering his response to it.]

There are worlds that hold a troubled history involving machines that were created for destructive purposes. It is likely that the residents who originate from those worlds have experienced prior ordeals that served to inform, in part, their initial opinions of the Null.

[Meanwhile, Oscar is quite aware that he has yet to provide his own answer to Mr. Connor's query.]

[audio] private

[missiondeterminant]

[He's still getting used to being addressed so politely, especially with concern, so it takes a moment to reply at first but when he does it's with genuine appreciation.]

I have been, thank you.

[It's... Sort of true? He's broken his record of 'days in a row without being shot' so that probably counts as doing well.

And alright, the rest of that makes sense, although it's also much of the reason he asked to begin with; he's a little concerned, after seeing some of the conversations on Tranquility's post and elsewhere, about general opinions toward mechanical-based beings, whether brought on by the Null or having already existed beforehand.]

That is likely, yes. I wonder if those experiences are a hindrance or a help in dealing with the situation overall.

[Because they could go either way. And he definitely noticed that the answer was more general, not personal, but he's decided not to press for now; perhaps Oscar--especially considering what he is--has experiences that make him hesitate to discuss the topic, and Connor can empathize with that. It's not like he's being totally forthcoming himself, after all.]

private video;

[madambutterfly]

Doing reconnaissance?

[It stands to reason he would make inquiries. He's simultaneously insatiably curious and terrified of the self-awareness that comes with it - if he can identify that the sensation is terror, anyways.]

private video;

[missiondeterminant]

[Fear and its related emotions are the ones he's able to identify best, actually. And the situation--as well as some of the responses here--have been giving him some more practice for sure.]

In a sense.

[He would've preferred to be able to just gather information through observation, but the half-hints and vague implications haven't actually be enough to go on. So directly asking it is.]

The more we know, the more prepared we can be.

[Video]

[imhisaunt]

Oh...um....well no....not really...I think the fact that they hurt an awful lot of nice people is...well that's the biggest thing.

[Video]

[missiondeterminant]

[He considers this for a moment, and what approach to use in response.]

I know that the Null are fighting with the gods, but I'm unclear as to why that fighting carried over to the population here. Do you know?

video.

[puzzlingly]

I thought that only happened in the movies...

「It's too real, man...」

Why do you ask anyway?

video.

[missiondeterminant]

Can't that be said about being here?

[And a whole bunch of aspects of it? But the question is light, not a jab or anything; this is all just weird all around.

As for Atem's question--]

After seeing the conflict in my world and how it formed, as well as where it might be going, I was interested to find out what may or may not be playing a role in what's happening here.

[Which is all true, if not the whole story.]

[video]

[hot_mes]

Not even slightly.

[what? of all his many flaws, prejudice isn't one of them]

[video]

[missiondeterminant]

That's good to hear.

[Even if he's not sure he believes it, but hey, he'll take it at face value for now.]

That is very much not the case in my world, and it complicates things.

Video

[itsnotaonesie]

I'm pretty new here too, so I don't really have as much like actual info to weigh in with as everyone else? For me though, I think what someone is doing is more important to focus on than what someone is. Especially considering like our situation? Never mind the Null, we all come from different worlds with all kinds of different people in them. Compared to this other weird crap we're all going through, getting caught up on what someone is just seems pointless.

[This would all make a pretty cool sci-fi movie but holy shit, actually living this stuff is a trip.]

Video

[missiondeterminant]

In theory, that would be ideal.

[He doesn't disagree with the sentiment, he just finds it hard to believe it in practice. After all, humans have been saying the same thing in his world for their entire history, and they definitely don't always act on it.]

video

[toiletseat_girl]

No. I don't hate the Null 'cause they're machines, I hate them because they're douchebags who killed and hurt a lot of people. They could be orcs, sentient dinosaurs, aliens from the "Alien" movies and I'd still hate 'em just the same.

video

[missiondeterminant]

I presume that would hold true if they were human, as well?

[He's just checking, but doesn't doubt it; humans have been killing each other for ages, after all. They don't seem to have any problem with it.]

video

[roseofthetyrells]

Hello, Connor. My name is Margaery Tyrell, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, and I'm happy to make your acquaintance.

I hope that your world does not descend into war. Wars are easily started, but difficult to end.

We have no machines as you'd call them in my world, but the fact that they are machines has nothing to do with why I hate them. I hate them for their deeds, not for what they are.

video

[missiondeterminant]

It's nice to meet you. Is there a name or title you prefer?

[He asks before he can even really think about it, his basic android protocol kicking in like instinct, but he isn't too bothered by it in this instance. It doesn't hurt to be polite.]

Can you tell me more about what they did? I know there was a battle, but little else.

video

[myrealname]

Hi, Connor. Settling in okay?

Why would your world have humans and machines fighting each other? Or is it something like in "The Terminator?"

I don't hate the Null. The only one I've even heard of is the one that posted to the network. So why should I hate them?

video

[missiondeterminant]

I am, thank you.

I have never seen "The Terminator" so I'm unsure of how similar the situation might be. The conflict in my world is caused by machines claiming to have developed consciousness.

[As for her last question--]

That's part of what I'm hoping to find out.

video

[unnature]

[Avisheh, as she is wont to do, is eating snacks while perusing the network. She doesn't really have a horse in this race other than she's been learning a lot about the Null recently, and gaining new reasons to hate them for their actions against the captives in particular, despite her shared hatred of the gods.]

Plenty of robots or whatever know how to play nice, even the sentient ones. These particular ones just use logic as an excuse to hurt the most vulnerable bystanders to their conflict.

[She shrugs.]

At least that's been my take on it. I wasn't here for the invasion. Anyway, prejudice against machines certainly doesn't play a part in it for me. I don't have a problem with machines in general, whether or not they're people.

How 'bout you?

video

[missiondeterminant]

[This is one of the best answers he's gotten so far, at least in terms of believability, so he appreciates that and will take her statements about not particularly caring whether they're machines or not at face value.]

Do we know why they chose to harm the people here rather than just the gods?

[He can think of all sorts of reasons why they would and has already discussed this subject with someone else, but he wants to hear her opinion on it.

As for her question--]

Making decisions based on notions of what a machine should or shouldn't be caused the problems we're facing in my world.

[So he doesn't have a problem with them, although he's completely leaving out the fact that he is one. He's also leaving out that he isn't super fond of humans in general at the moment either, because no need to acknowledge that hypocrisy.]

text;

[aroundthecoroner]

You mean like, the fact that they're robots?
Or the fact that they're... I don't know, synthetic?
I think it's maybe different since the Null weren't, like, created by anybody else?
They made themselves that way.
Like the way they've described it, I'd guess they slowly replaced pieces of themselves with machines until all there was left was machine.
But, uh, I know that's not what you asked.
The fact that they're not... organic? It doesn't bother me.
From what I've seen here, the definition of "person" is pretty wide.
It includes way more than just humans.
The only thing that sucks about it is that it makes them really, really hard to kill.

text;

[missiondeterminant]

[Okay, this is useful information, and entirely new to him. Sure, it isn't exactly what he asked, but he's definitely not going to complain.]

I was unaware they had modified themselves to be more machine-like. That's good to know, thank you.

It does seem like the population here is quite diverse.

[And okay, treading a bit carefully on the last point so as not to give away anything he doesn't intend to--]

If the Null after very difficult to kill, what's the most effective way to deal with them comes to a fight again in the future?

video

[64th]

What do you mean, what they are? Why would that bother people? [ it could be flippant question but Cashmere looks and sounds truly out of the loop on this one. ]

video

[missiondeterminant]

[She seems to seriously mean the question, so he's ready to answer honestly, but he has to figure out a way to do it that doesn't give him away; the initial response that came to mind might've been suspicious.]

People have been fighting with each other over far more minor issues throughout history. Being a completely different species is an especially convenient excuse.

[video]

[sciencelizard]

[Here comes someone very decidedly not human-- but also likely not a robot either. She does look like she has a lot of answers, though.]

Well, uh, the Null attacked us, and k-killed a lot of people. A lot of us were, uhm, willing to work with them, but then they told us we had to kill each other to be able to kill the Gods for them? So it didn't, uhm. Work out.

[But okay wait she has a question--]

Did you say a fight with machines, though? You, uhm, your world has a lot of robots?

[video]

[missiondeterminant]

[This is an interesting response, both because of who it comes from and because of what it actually is; it's useful information, finally, and from someone who isn't human. He's a little more inclined to take her assessment at face value, at least.]

I can see why that wouldn't endear them to the population. I read that the Null and the gods are fighting because the gods make them feel emotion; is that correct?

[And okay, time to carefully navigate her questions--]

It does. There are approximately 120 million advanced machines currently active in the United States, created to assist humans in almost every area of industry.

[Or well, there were 120 million a few days earlier. The number has been rapidly dwindling as humans began eradicating them.]

video

[bythewaves]

They are what they are - they can hardly help what they are made of! I have fought Balrogs and dragons, in my time. That they are are made of metal matters little except that it makes them a little harder to kill.

[ Says the tall, slightly glowing elf ]

video

[missiondeterminant]

[Connor won't mention that it isn't always the case that machines are harder to kill than other beings, but perhaps it really is here since he's heard it more than once. Or maybe the people here just don't know how to do it.]

Why were you fighting balrogs and dragons?

[He knows what they are from his cultural information database, although who knows if they're actually the same things as what Maglor is referring to.]

voice

[evocation]

Uh... No? I mean, I just don't like getting killed. Dying sucked.

voice

[missiondeterminant]

Dying is generally considered unpleasant, yes.

[Connor has died once before but the situation was... Complicated, to say the least, and so he more knows of dying than actually having experienced it. Except he sort of did?

He's not going to dwell on that, for now.]

Was that what caused you to form your opinion of them?