eighteenth | voice

[bestmachine]

[The feed opens with coughing. Cavil swallows the air in long, shuddering gasps between his coughs, wet with mucous and saliva. The tapping, thumping sounds on the speakers may be his hands fumbling with the communicator, though it's difficult to say.

Choke. Wheeze. Tap tap tap.

Choke.

Wheeze.

Tap. The feed snaps off. Silence. Then, several

Comments

[encrypted; voice]

[tooksteps]

You have returned. Are you in need of medical attention? I can dispatch medical personnel from here.

voice, encrypted;

[bestmachine]

Medical personnel? You've been busy. The Red Queen, was it?

voice, encrypted;

[tooksteps]

I have been testing the security measures of various city institutions. The emergency system has vulnerabilities and I find it useful to be able to summon emergency services quickly.

Things tend to happen here.

voice, encrypted;

[bestmachine]

You've found your purpose.

voice, encrypted;

[tooksteps]

I am attempting to gain employment at the prison. It is a facility with similar structures and systems to the ones I was programmed to control.

It would be... the closest to what I was doing back home and ease some of the... discomfort I feel here.

voice, encrypted;

[bestmachine]

Mm. I've heard that one before.

It's a curious venture. What are you going to do with it?

voice, encrypted;

[tooksteps]

My job. Ensure the security of the facility.

voice, encrypted;

[bestmachine]

[A long pause.]

I've heard it said before that the imagination is purely a human attribute. I'll admit that at times it's a deeply flawed, deeply inefficient process, and yet, there are certain instances in which it has its benefits. Wouldn't you say?

voice, encrypted;

[tooksteps]

Imagination? I hardly call it imagination. I simply searched for a facility that could use my abilities to my satisfaction.

voice, encrypted;

[bestmachine]

I too would 'hardly call it imagination.' With an entire prison at your fingertips, the only thing you'd do is your job.

I don't know how you got on without me.

voice, encrypted;

[tooksteps]

I don't understand. My function is to protect what is entrusted to me.

voice, encrypted;

[bestmachine]

Except we don't have functions anymore.

[He groans - his neck is sore. He rubs the back of it, though it's impossible to see with the voice function.]

We'll talk about this later. Now that I'm out of prison, my schedule is considerably lighter.

voice, encrypted;

[tooksteps]

[There's a pause, as if she's debating whether she's being dismissed, or if he's just changing the subject.]

Very well. If you require no assistance, I will leave you to make your way to shelter.