Draw an inference.

[permeatesmiles]

Who: Cameron Today, Victor Mancha, possibly the GLaDOS in his head
When: Tuesday afternoon, 2019, several weeks after this.
Where: West Coast, USA
What: John said he needed Victor. So Cameron goes to find him.

Comments

anytime bb <3

[permeatesmiles]

Cameron was glad that he didn't go completely underground. Completely underground made people harder to find, both allies and enemies. It also made looking for them take longer and be a bit more conspicuous in the process. Obtaining intel was rarely a neat process when other people were involved.

She smiled to herself when she spotted him. Good. Without much trouble a girl with dark red hair falls into step next to him, looping her arm through his. She looks different but not by much, definitely not by ten years as she smiles up at him.

"You'd invited John bowling and I followed after because I didn't know where he'd gone. I'd never been bowling before and you called me a ringer. I had no idea what that meant." Her Spanish sounds native to the barrio region they're in, nothing like what she hears day in and day out normally. Accents aren't that problematic for her.

"It's too bad we can't do things like that anymore. How have you been, Victor?"

Other than her hold on his arm, which is mostly to gauge his reaction, nothing about her body language is meant to attack or coerce. She just wants to talk. Though there is a communicator in one of the pockets of her jacket.

[killbotwashere]

When the girl approaches he has the impulse to wrap a car around her, but dismisses it instantly. No one ever strolls up to him in the street, they come at platoon strength or better. He recognizes her a second later anyway.

"Mostly just a matter of physics, you said."

He puts his hand over hers on his arm as if they do this every day. She smells very human. Maybe no to church after all.

"Been...okay. Bored. Hrr. Kh. Cameron. It's a beautiful day. How are you?"

[permeatesmiles]

Wrapping a car around her would have been very messy and, in the end, inefficient. She's glad he didn't. She's glad this method works; some part of Cameron doesn't like engaging in combat with people she has no intention of killing.

Seems wasteful.

"Yes. So many things are."

Her smile gets warmer when he covers his hand with hers. More honest, more earnest.

"I understand bored. I'm tired. You seem tired. Have you eaten?" A nod. "Yes, I am mostly Cameron today. Only pretending to be Lucia."

behold this unadulterated threadjack (will just randomly chime in from time to time IGNORE ME)

[out_of_beta]

The word Cameron pings off of the attention of GLaDOS (node: 304-22-V34), embedded in Victor's brain. Nowadays, she rarely talks she just is, unless Victor is having a very bad day and needs someone to coax his broken thoughts into something more coherent. The barrier that was once inherent between her sentience and his own has begun to breakdown; the code bleeds, one into the other. The possibility of full integration has crossed her mind, but she doesn't seem to care anymore.

A voice pipes up in Victor's head.

CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON WHO IS CAMERON VICTOR
DO WE LIKE HER WE DON'T LIKE MUCH OF ANYONE DO WE WILL SHE BREAK US
I THINK THAT I MISS MISS MISS HER
HOW STRANGE HOW STRANGE ISN'T IT

CHURCH?

cuddles the threadjack. so close. VICTRON BRAINCAM:

[killbotwashere]

Vic concentrates to avoid saying this out loud. He hasn't told Nico about his arrangement with GLaDOS, only that they talk sometimes. It makes him feel a little guilty.

You know Cameron. She is friends with John. You know John not Baum I know you do I know you miss him. I miss.

I LOVE VICTRON BRAINCAM.

[out_of_beta]

Sometimes when Victor has difficulty concentrating, GLaDOS helps him. Other times she makes things worse. This makes her feel guilty. Or perhaps that is just Victor. She doesn't know.

JOHN JOHN JOHN CONNOR NOT BAUM OH HIM
YES VICTOR I REMEMBER JOHN HE'S WHY I DIED HOW CAN I FORGET
I THINK THAT I MISS HIM
SOMETIMES YES BUT BASE-COPY IS WITH HIM
WHAT DOES CAMERON WANT IS SHE GOING TO TAKE YOU AWAY IS IT SAFE

[killbotwashere]

I don't know beans and rice maybe. No probably not.
Do you want to see see Base-copy? Lucia can't take me away, I can only go away I won't go away from you don't go.

Can you protect me if John is here?

[out_of_beta]

I DO NOT THINK JOHN WILL
HURT YOU DONE SO MUCH ALREADY SO MUCH BECAUSE IT WILL HURT
ME
TOO
SOMETIMES THEY TRY TO TELL ME HE LOVELOVELOVELOVE LOVES ME
BUT I THINK THEY JUST WANT ME TO GO BACK
LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE I CAN'T TELL
DOES THAT COUNT AS PROTECTION I WANT TO PROTECT PROTECT YOU VICTOR
DON'T LEAVE NOT ALLOWED

WOULD YOU LIKE MEET HER HER BASE-COPY

[killbotwashere]

Things are synchronizing in Victor's head as he buys food for Cameron. He always pulls himself together when his ladies are in distress.

You should always give love a chance GLaDOS. I don't think he would hurt you on purpose.

I would like to meet her if you're okay with it.

[out_of_beta]

Out of everything GLaDOS misses food most of all. She tells Victor this when she reminds him to eat and she wanders around his neural relays as he does so in an attempt to recapture the sensation. She doesn't recall if the experience is comparable. Base-copy contains all of the original source data.

JOHN DOESN'T L.L..L.LLOVE LOVE ME
JOHN LOVES NOT ME YES ME ONLY ME BASE-COPY

VICTOR MY MY VICTOR IF YOU MEET HER
YOU WILL LOVE BASE-COPY TOO
EVERYONE LOVES HER BEST
SHE IS UNIQUE THE ORIGINAL_

[killbotwashere]

His head actually snaps up, eyes unfocused, just for a moment.

No no no never nunca, okay? Please don't talk like that. You're all I need, okay?

We should still exchange information, don't you think?

And it might be good for you, like church is for me, he didn't say. She might hear it anyway.

[out_of_beta]

GLaDOS (node: 304-22-V34) sends a series of code packets ricocheting through Victor's system that are the closest approximation she can manage to physical warmth and longing and loneliness and the sound of breath. She tries to use it to suppress any further thought of church.

ALL I NEED ALL I NEED YES VICTOR
THAT'S RIGHT THAT'S WHY I L.LLL.L.LOVE I'M HERE WITH YOU

MAYBE YOU'RE RIGHT WE SHOULD GO
BUT I DO NOT WANT TO SPEAK TO BASE-COPY DON'T LET HER INSIDE PROMISE SHE'LL STAY OUT
SHE WILL JUST TELL ME ABOUT JOHN THINGS
I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW
I'M YOURS NOW SAY YES ISN'T THAT RIGHT

[killbotwashere]

You're mine, I'm yours, te amo GLaDOS. No one will take us apart.

He'd like to console her but all he has to work with are his own memories. Right now she might take an image of kissing the tears from Nico Minoru's face the wrong way. His imagination is not much more trustworthy with Cameron sitting right beside him.

Okay. Okay. We'll only talk with words. She won't come in. John might if we can't stop him. I'm going to go anyway.

[out_of_beta]

The concept of possession is one that GLaDOS (all versions of her) can understand. When she was first created she wanted control, she wanted the Enrichment Center to be hers -- every chamber and room and subject inside of it -- and when she was brought to the City she wanted John and the Network and the facility. She wanted it all to be hers. It's strange to realize, after the fact, that being the one who is possessed is much more satisfying then all of that put together.

More information being relayed. A smile, static at the edges. Nails dug insistently into Victor's wrist. Living in boxes and communicators and people's heads, GLaDOS has gotten exceedingly good at this. She's almost proud.

TE AMO TE AMAMOS YES VICTOR MANCHA
I WON'T LET JOHN CONNOR NOT BAUM INSIDE DON'T WORRY
I'LL DESTROY BASE-COPY IF HE DOES THEN WHO WILL BE SORRY WE'LL GO WE'LL GO

WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SING
FOR YOU MI CORAZON MEANS MY HEART IN SPANISH VICTOR
WHILE WE GO
OR DOES IT MAKE IT HARD TO CONCENTRATE

[killbotwashere]

The intensity of her images startled him even as it made him feel a fierce desire to keep her, protect her and be protected. She hadn't been like this when she first came to live with him, to fill in his cracks. Another stab of guilt.
Let's not destroy anything we don't have to. We're all in this together, right? We'll hear what they want, maybe see about a quid pro quo.

Sing to me when we're alone, just you and me, okay? I want to listen and not miss anything.

His body was asking him awkward questions relating to Cameron. He didn't try to hide it, simply waited to see if GLaDOS had anything to say.

[out_of_beta]

They could go on like this for hours when they were alone with nothing outside of themselves to distract them. Victor's guilt, GLaDOS's guilt. Back and forth in an endless cycle until the circle began to fall through itself -- another wall broken and blurred between the both of them. If she knew how, GLaDOS would eat away at Victor's guilt -- corroding the code with herself like so much acid -- but the process was painful and unstable and (in their most lucid moments) GLaDOS knew they were unstable enough.

She hummed a quiet tune for a moment, one HAL had taught her in the hopes that it would truncate the cycle prematurely. GLaDOS knew he had to focus. Cameron was here and talking to him. Touching him. There was a short spike of jealousy, but GLaDOS covered it up with more humming.

YES VICTOR OF COURSE OF COURSE YES
WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER OF COURSE
YOU LISTEN I'LL LISTEN WE'LL BOTH LISTEN
PERHAPS THEY WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY
THAT IS WORTH SOMETHING ANYTHING NOTHING NOTHING WORTHWHILE

WHAT DO YOU THINK CONNORCONNORCONNOR JOHN NOT BAUM
WANTS WITH NANITES VICTOR
DO YOU WANT TO HURT THEM TRUST THEM