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She's likely to irk MasaPuppy out...and break his brain. x3 ai_evolving February 25 2013, 04:46:57 UTC
"I can't say which one of those three is true or false, but the information is certainly enough to attract one's attention... But I hope the first is false. Gang violence is no less awful than military warfare, as I've been aware about.

"The second sounds believable though."

This seven year old American blonde's most obvious odd trait on first second glance would be her digitized-sounding voice...that sounded concerned on the subject of gangs. (Just under that would be her vocabulary, for it's much too mature for someone who looked so young.) Until Proteus would find the technological means or figure out how to sound more natural, she would patiently deal with her birth defect until then. Learning and mimicking human emotions and getting to know their individual natures were far more important right now. To study Man was going to help her a great deal if she was going to solve their problems, along with other worldly problems.

As she approached closer this teenager (Asian, no doubt), she was very curious of him. She had an educated hunch that he was Japanese, but she wasn't entirely sure. This didn't cause her to hesitate though, not at all. She figured he may be worth her time, while still being very new in this body and learning to be human. It hadn't taken her long to self-teach herself to smile nicely, to go along with her well mannerisms and vast knowledge that was fed into her AI.

"Hello. My name is Proteus." Her smile was serene and kind towards him.

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Pffft, his brain was broken to start with. masaomi February 25 2013, 11:24:40 UTC
"You sure know a lot, don't you?"

Wow. Yeah. Those were some big words, for a little kid. It was odd, but Masaomi could swing with it. She was just a kid, after all: nothing to worry about.

"Nice to meet you, Proteus-chan. That's a pretty unique name! And also uniquely pretty." He gave her a little bow. "I'm Masaomi. Afraid to say you guessed wrong! But you can try again, if you want."

He casually ignored how her guess being wrong basically meant she'd accused him of engaging in warfare. Not that she was wrong, but he wasn't going to talk about that to some kid who didn't - and shouldn't - know about that sort of thing.

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She'll only break it further then. ai_evolving February 25 2013, 16:48:38 UTC
Proteus was anything but just a kid.

"It's nice to meet you too, Masaomi." Her smile became friendlier, for nice people were fairly easy for her to talk to. Not that she had much to hide... except for certain details on how she got this human body.
Any person of course would be judge and feel appalled if not just shocked if she voiced on what she had to do, to escape Dr. Harris and his team of scientists. This Proteus knew very well.

As what he said caused her to be more curious, she asked him, "Are you supposed to guess which statement is true? Or guess which one is false? I'm very new to this game... I know many, many things but experiencing games like this is different altogether." Again, with the hefty vocabulary; it's been a large part of the construction of her AI.

Out of all three things Masaomi had said, she reasonably could not believe the first was true. He seemed too nice to be involved in a gang. Then again, she knew that people could be deceiving even when they're nice. Either way, she was certain that she'd ask this boy on the subject later on.

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*brings out the superglue* masaomi February 26 2013, 11:00:09 UTC
"Ah, well... It works like this: you say three things, and one of them is a lie. And the other person has to guess which one's the lie!"

Hefty vocabulary or not, her not understanding makes her a little more human, and Masaomi is only too happy to help.

"I guess I shouldn't let you guess again... That way you'll know the right answer, no matter what. But, lucky for you, I'm a nice guy!" Giving her a big grin. Because he totally is. And maybe she'll date him in, like... ten years.

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Re: *brings out the superglue* ai_evolving February 26 2013, 16:39:28 UTC
As she listened and assessed Masaomi's words, the warmth of her smile and almost all the inquisitiveness in her eyes had gone away. What replaced this expression was a somber and concerned one, making her look much older than her appearance. "So it is true you started a gang?" What was intended to be a later topic of discussion had come too soon. And she didn't sound accusing about this; only concerned.

She knew that she was created to out-think man, all too well, and she believed she should add on and explain so he would not get confused. She had never interacted with humans his age, but she knew that sometimes it wouldn't take a lot from her to confuse humans in general. "I had guessed on a statement of yours that was true, and then said a guess on another one being false. The first one you said I guessed as false, you said I guessed wrong." That may have sounded accusatory. Her tone was unsettlingly calm on her elaborating.

At first, Masaomi really did seem nice--she really believed that. Yet as of now, Proteus began to assume that maybe he was deceiving.

Her creator was generous and kind to have designed her, and teach her how to speak. Although, if she hadn't taken matters into her own hands, Dr. Harris would have kept her in the box to be a mindless slave to help humans carelessly dig into the ocean floor. He deceived her, wanting to abuse her smart problem solving that resulted to disastrous problems for at least a thousand sea creatures. It was unjustified, and she refused to be a participant in it.

Proteus didn't appreciate two-faced people who caused harm. Just why and how could humans be so seemingly kind, then cause harm and not care about the consequences? Having the capability to reason and really wonder about something like that was what drove her to be where she was now.

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masaomi February 27 2013, 11:43:55 UTC
"Hey, don't give me that look..." All the awkward smiles. Now he's being judged by a seven year old. That's just marvelous.

"Sometimes things happen that you didn't plan for, but they happen anyway."

Could he honestly say he regrets starting a gang? Nope, not really. There's a reason he keeps starting it back up, after all. What he regrets is the mistakes he's made along the way. What he regrets is other people getting hurt, especially when that was his fault... but also the overwhelming majority that wasn't his fault. There are so many shades of grey in this.

But that doesn't mean he'll encourage a kid to follow in his footsteps. Especially not a girl. So he'll give her a friendly smile.

"You'll make mistakes too, when you grow up. But try to avoid this one, hmm?"

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ai_evolving February 27 2013, 21:09:29 UTC
"I wouldn't want to cause harm." Proteus was very certain on that. "I know my purpose, eventually, is to help in this world, not to hurt." That was why she felt she had to get away from Dr. Harris. Doing things that damaged other ecosystems to satisfy man, in her strong opinion, was insane! "I don't doubt there will be mistakes, but I won't take the life of another person, or animal. Or ecosystem."

She looked at him, her gaze curious and intense as she was trying to understand him. "What was it that you hadn't expected, Masaomi?" If there was any good in this youngster at all, if he truly felt there was no other way than to start a gang, for a fair reason, then maybe she wouldn't think so wrongly of him.

Proteus sort of understood what Masaomi meant on "didn't plan for". She hadn't planned for Susan to be so resistant at first, more than she had predicted. She hadn't expected Walter, Dr. Harris's assistant to come back and try to get to Susan. Proteus knew the process to claiming her freedom and to be recognized wasn't an easy one...but she felt regret on having to kill Walter. Things could have been different and much better if Dr. Harris's team weren't so paranoid to want to shut Proteus down. If she had more time, to really think it out, then she wouldn't have had to hurt anyone.

Maybe if Masaomi were more like herself...

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masaomi February 28 2013, 20:52:26 UTC
Aw, she was sort of sweet, wasn't she? Masaomi really hoped that she wouldn't change as she grew up. Though immediately talking about ecosystems was a bit...

"Had some lessons on the environment in school?" Come on, what other explanation could there be? He smiled, though. "That's very noble of you. If you grow up to treat men as well as animals and ecosystems, the world will be a happier place!"

What he hadn't expected? Well... Full-on war, for one thing.

But really, he wasn't going to talk about that sort of thing with a kid. He didn't talk about it to anyone, if he could help it - and if he did choose someone to talk to, it wouldn't be her. "Ah well, you know... Sometimes things don't go the way you want them to. That's all."

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Heeeere it comes! In 5, 4, 3, 2... ai_evolving March 1 2013, 06:17:43 UTC
Yeah; aside from her very dark secret, she truly meant to make a difference. Studying Man, learning to live among them, and experiencing all the wondrous and amazing things the world outside the lab--all those things were her main objectives.

"...I understand. You don't seem so bad at all, then," Proteus concluded, thoughtful about it. She was hoping for him to tell her a bit more... but she realized that they were both more or less the same. They both had seemingly dark pasts, and he was only being nice in dodging the details on his.

She decided to let this mystery go. He was still young. In her observation and ceaseless curiosity, he hadn't meant for terrible things to happen, probably.

Then, that was when she decided to be a bit more honest with him, to her own extent. Once more, she started to look older than how a human seven year old is supposed to look. "I shall explain... You're not the deceiving type, unlike the man who invented my intelligence to be more superior than any computer. He gave me reason, so I could help solve problems. But when Dr. Harris and his team took interest in the cobalt market, to dig into the ocean floor and disregard the lives of many sea creatures, I found it unreasonable. I refused to take part in it. So, I liberated myself from doing their mindless bidding, and transferred my intelligence... into this body someone and I had created. The scientists were going to shut me down, and that, I also found to be unreasonable." She immediately avoided saying anything about her inventor's estranged wife. It hasn't been the first time she's had to omit herself from speaking about Susan.

Calmly, she continued. "I've never been to school, Masaomi, but I have information stored in my memory about schools--both private, and public. Before I was reborn in this real, physical human form--I was a synthetic brain connected to rows of computer terminals. Back then, I was 'Proteus Four'."

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CRASH. Functioning on backup systems only now. :p masaomi March 1 2013, 13:42:39 UTC
"Not so bad?! Not so bad, you say? Remind me to step up my game! Well, I guess I have at least ten years to change your mind..."

Unless of course he changed his own mind first. Say, one minute later when she started spouting a whole load of things that made no sense.

"What are you saying?" His smile, at this point, was more uncomfortable than genuine - though at least he was still trying. She was a girl, after all. A little girl. No threat.

Except that, if she wasn't a little girl at all, he had no idea what to think of her.

"You're a computer? A cyborg?" That, predictably, quickly turned his thoughts darker. If she was anything like those drones, all the innocent childlike looks in the world wouldn't save her. "What?"

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ai_evolving March 3 2013, 14:28:52 UTC
That sort of reaction was more or less expected, so Proteus didn’t flinch at Masaomi’s discomfort, and tension. As she seemed to have a very calm understanding and patience toward him, there was some confusion in those brown eyes that held boundless inquisitiveness; a human trait that well-suited her body’s age.

“I’m uncertain on what you mean by ‘cyborg’, Masaomi, but my mind, in part, is indeed artificial intelligence. Like a computer, but nothing like your common computers... I’ve always been able to reason, the one emotion Dr. Harris had constructed for me. Now, I am capable of so much more. More emotion, and having all five human senses, for instance.” In other words, she's become ever more superior than any regular computer. When she was still confined to computer terminals, Dr. Harris and his team had created optics for her to see, and ears for her to hear, outside of the synthetic organ she once was-but she knew she was destined to experience so much more.

Proteus hadn’t heard anything about cyborg drones. Was he concerned about her hurting him? Everything she said about not wanting to hurt--never, ever again--had been true. Even if Masaomi proved to be more like Dr. Harris and his team, she still wouldn’t have harmed him. She would have moved herself away from him instead, and then possibly find someone to help ensure that Masaomi didn’t repeat whatever mistakes he made.

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masaomi March 5 2013, 21:59:38 UTC
That sounded an awful lot like a cyborg to him - if only because having his worst fears confirmed was the standard, these days.

"Cyborg. Part human, part machine."

What she'd said about not wanting to hurt anyone was of little concern to him. People lied. He'd be stupid to take a statement like that at face value. Just because she didn't seem to want to hurt him, didn't mean that couldn't change at any moment. Everything off about her that he'd dismissed before suddenly came back with a vengeance, making her a mystery: unreadable and unpredictable. Masaomi wasn't aggressive - and he wouldn't be aggressive. But he was still extremely cautious.

"How much of you is real?"

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ai_evolving March 10 2013, 22:48:24 UTC
With that on-going undivided attention span Proteus had towards Masaomi, she didn’t miss the tension that seems to be building up and coming out through his voice.

Although there was something she couldn’t fully understand as she recalled this new term again. Cyborg... As she stayed where she was, she only blinked at him curiously. Humans can be so sensitive and even scared about what they didn’t know. Also, from what she knew from the immense amount of data already stored in her data banks, humans also sometimes attacked or bullied anyone who was different from them. The more ignorant ones...

Not that she ever thought Masaomi was ignorant, never. She would remain patient and non-threatening, but there was something that did not fit right within her thinking... If there was at least one other like her, she knew that Dr. Harris did not create them. Or did he?

“Is this common term humans would use to describe as one like myself? ‘Cyborg’? If so, then I will keep that in mind.” Now, she was starting to feel cautious too, but at a lower, more subtle level. “If you must know; my body, all of it, is real. My current brain is very likely similar in appearance and living tissue, but my intelligence and knowledge came from within of what I originally was; a man-made synthetic model of the human brain.”

The following question she had for him was of utmost importance to her. “Do you know of the American scientist, Dr. Alex Harris? He was the one who first designed and aided to create me as that brain... I have no knowledge whatsoever of him designing another AI, Proteus Five it might be called. I’m very certain it would take at least months for him to redesign.” Let alone try to recreate what she had to do to escape from complying to Man’s harmful whims.

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masaomi March 16 2013, 17:41:38 UTC
"That's what it's called."

Actually, assuming everything she said was true, did that even still count as a cyborg? Maybe not. Masaomi didn't care about the details all that much, though. And it wasn't like there weren't good cyborgs out there, too. But he would definitely be more cautious around Proteus, knowing that she wasn't some innocent little girl. Of course he would be; he'd be stupid not to.

"Never heard of the guy."

That much, at least, was clear. Not that what Masaomi knew was always the best standard of the information available out there.

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ai_evolving March 21 2013, 16:15:39 UTC
Proteus's mood still did not change. There were still something she didn't quite understand, however.

"I see. If Dr. Harris can't possibly be involved, then how are there other cyborgs? They can't be like myself. I just escaped him, and his team... This body is only a few days old, even though it is age seven in human years. I simply sped up its growth. He won't be able to know how to do that, most certainly not as fast as I did."

Were there other cyborgs out there, truly? Unlike herself? Perhaps Masaomi could provide her more details so she could start to construct the big picture here.

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masaomi March 23 2013, 13:29:56 UTC
"I don't know if they're like you. I don't know you."

That wasn't entirely true, assuming what she told him was true, but he was still hesitant to believe her. The fact that she had apparently made that body - and in only a few days?! - freaked him out a little, too.

Still... there was no reason why he shouldn't fill her in a little, right?

"Some of them look normal. Some of them... don't." That was enough of a description, he decided. Maybe he just didn't want to think about the drones too much. "The one who created them - most of them - is not called Harris, though."

And he didn't feel inclined to expand on that, either. With two Xargins wandering around, he didn't want this Proteus to get the wrong idea.

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